Ultimate Weapon

At Uchiha Genshiki's house, Big Brother Shinji looked at the note, then at Genshiki's kindly smile.

Genshiki shook his head. "Actually, many Uchiha know this forbidden technique..."

Big Brother Shinji smiled. "Of course."

He glanced at the few words on the note, then used Chakra to ignite Fire Release and burned it to ash.

Izanagi sounded like a forbidden technique, but really... it was simply a technique forbidden to the Uchiha Clan, one unique to the Sharingan!

Of course, this Dōjutsu, Izanagi, was not the Izanagi with which the Sage of Six Paths had created the world.

Activating it was simple: form three hand signs, channel Chakra along a set path, and trigger it with the Sharingan. That was all.

The most important part

was that first requirement—the Sharingan.

It had nothing to do with ocular power. As long as you were a shinobi with Chakra, you could implant a Sharingan, activate the Reanimation Technique, and use it...

If Izanagi was a forbidden technique that altered reality, then Izanami was a Genjutsu. In a sense, it could rewrite a person's will.

"Can the Clan Head really avoid the aftereffects of Izanagi and Izanami?" Genshiki still looked uneasy.

"Yes."

"Then this old man can rest easy. Otherwise, if the clan ends up with a blind Clan Head, the blame will be mine! My reputation will be ruined, and those youngsters will skin me alive!"

Genshiki chuckled at his own joke.

Big Brother Shinji shook his head helplessly. "Elder Genshiki, I have a second question. Please answer me honestly. Don't hide anything!"

"Otherwise, I may have to use my Dōjutsu."

Genshiki froze.

He glanced at Big Brother Shinji, then lowered his head in thought. What question could drive a Clan Head to use Dōjutsu on one of his own?

A long while passed.

Still baffled, he asked, "I don't understand. Does the clan have some secret even I don't know about, something that calls for this much caution?"

"Maybe. Maybe not... It's hard to say. But if you know anything, you must tell me the truth!"

"...All right."

Seeing how serious Big Brother Shinji was, the old prankster put aside his playful mood.

Big Brother Shinji asked, "Do you know of an existence called the 'Uchiha Ultimate Weapon'?"

"The Uchiha's ultimate..."

"Weapon?" Genshiki murmured.

"...The Gunbai?"

"No, that's not it," Genshiki muttered. "There's nothing secret about the Gunbai. It's just a weapon."

Big Brother Shinji thought for a moment. "Ultimate weapon" was rather vague... What if it had gone by a different name back then?

So he rephrased the question. "Hmm... A person, perhaps? Or some kind of sealed being?"

"...Sealed? Could it be?!"

Nostalgia flashed through Genshiki's eyes. "Clan Head... could you mean that Demon?"

"Demon?" Big Brother Shinji paused.

"Yes... a Demon that took the form of a little girl, wandered the Shinobi World, and spread a plague!"

"Hm?"

Big Brother Shinji's gaze sharpened.

He had no idea what the plague was about, but if a little girl was involved,

at least there was a connection...

Genshiki looked bewildered. "No, that makes no sense! Clan Head, you're so young. How could you have heard that story?"

"..."

Big Brother Shinji had no answer.

Still...

"A story?"

"That's right. A story once circulated through the clan. It said a Demon had descended upon us, one that could drain the Chakra of everyone in the world. On the night of a full moon, it would plunge everyone into endless sleep, shatter the world's order, and bring about the end... Yet its true form was a beautiful, harmless-looking girl."

Big Brother Shinji: "???"

What kind of nonsense is that?

"Yes! The Demon's human form was a little girl... Later, the Uchiha joined forces with the Senju Clan to seal her away, so she could no longer wreak havoc!"

"..."

Silence was tonight's Big Brother Shinji.

"So, Elder Genshiki, you only heard the story? You never saw that Demon... that little girl yourself?"

"She was a Demon! We were still children then. How could we have learned more about such a frightening story?"

Genshiki sighed. "But as I grew older, I gradually came to doubt it. What kind of Demon could make the Senju and Uchiha seal her away together?"

"The two clans were at war back then! It's absurd..."

"Mm."

Big Brother Shinji nodded emphatically, his expression solemn. "It really is absurd... The Senju and Uchiha sealing an enemy together? Hah! That's stranger than a myth."

"But..."

"But what?"

Genshiki closed his eyes in thought. "I remember a strange period when I was young. Some clan members hadn't gone out to fight, yet they extracted Chakra all day and looked terribly weak. The adults warned us children not to ask questions, or the Demon would latch onto us too, just as it had the others..."

"For a long time after that, it was as though the Uchiha Clan had divine help. We won battle after battle and brought back many prisoners from the Senju side to lock up. I think it was around then that the plague stopped affecting our people. Everyone was full of energy and laughter, as if victory were just around the corner..."

Big Brother Shinji nodded. "I see."

"How do you know about any of this, Clan Head?" Genshiki asked again. "It isn't something your generation should know."

"I'm the only old relic from those days left in the clan."

Big Brother Shinji raised his head and pointed at his eyes, making something up on the spot. "These eyes showed me what happened in the past..."

"Hm?"

Genshiki's eyes widened.

A Dōjutsu that could see the past?

Big Brother Shinji did not elaborate. Any more and he would have trouble keeping the lie straight.

He quickly changed the subject. "So, Elder Genshiki, do you know where that 'Demon' was sealed?"

Genshiki shook his head. "I don't... After Konoha was founded and Lord Madara left, the clan went through many shifts in power. A lot of records disappeared. You might not even find them in Konoha's archives. You could try the Senju Clan's records. The story may be unreliable, but it has some detail to it..."

"There might be a scrap of written evidence somewhere."

"I understand."

As Big Brother Shinji rose, Genshiki asked curiously, "Clan Head, can you tell me what you saw? What exactly is this so-called 'ultimate weapon'? What does she do?"

"Hah."

Big Brother Shinji took a moment to find the words. "If she ever breaks free, the world really will end, just as that story warned."

"A final boss if ever there was one!"

Big Brother Shinji sighed, then said his goodbyes and left.

Genshiki gazed at the moonlight outside his window, frowning in confusion. "Ultimate weapon? Final boss? What are those?"

Moonlight hung like mist.

The Uchiha Clan Compound was eerily quiet that night.

Uchiha Izumi rose onto her toes.

She clasped her hands behind her back.

Gazing at the light shimmering across the lake, she smiled happily. "Itachi, it's so good to see you relaxed, without that worry on your face!"

Uchiha Itachi stood behind her. "Izumi, I was too childish before. The clan leader understood everything all along. I'm sorry I put you in danger."

"Oh!"

Izumi glanced back with a smile. Cold moonlight washed over her delicate face. "It's okay! Big Brother Shinji... I mean, the Clan Head is a very kind person!"

"Kind...?"

Itachi repeated the word softly, then lowered his head with a smile. "Yes. He is."

Izumi looked ahead with bright hopes. "With the Clan Head guiding us, things will surely get better for the clan!"

"The clan... the clan... Izumi, I'm truly sorry..."

"Hm..."

Izumi turned around, puzzled.