If Madara Were a Woman

The Uchiha Clan had no method for cultivating Ice Release. Aokiji had decent talent in Water Release, but didn't he also have talent in Fire Release? Even as a second choice, Water Release shouldn't have been his turn.

Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Elder Itachi slowly spoke. "Your Kekkei Genkai is Ice Release, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Aokiji looked confused. Why bring this up out of nowhere? What did it have to do with him learning Water Release next?

Elder Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Have you ever considered how your Kekkei Genkai came about?"

Aokiji answered as if it were only natural, "I inherited my mother's Kekkei Genkai."

Elder Itachi coaxed him further. "Then have you ever considered how the earliest Kekkei Genkai came into existence?"

Aokiji fell into thought, then shook his head and pretended not to understand, indulging the other man's desire to teach.

Elder Itachi smiled faintly and began explaining at length. "Chakra Nature Transformation is divided into seven types: fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, yang, and yin. When two Chakra Nature Transformations fuse, they produce a new type of jutsu, known as a Kekkei Genkai.

"Take your Ice Release as an example. It is formed from wind and water.

"However, only a very small number of ninjas can develop such new jutsu on their own. Once they succeed, the new jutsu is recorded in their genes and passed down to the next generation through bloodlines.

"That is how you inherited your Ice Release."

"I see."

Aokiji's eyes widened in sudden realization, as though he had discovered a new continent. "Then... did our Sharingan come about the same way?"

Elder Itachi denied it. "Our Sharingan is a special case and does not fall into that category."

Aokiji looked intensely interested as he pressed for an answer. "Then where did our Sharingan come from?"

Good question.

I don't know either.

That was what Uchiha Madara, controlling Elder Itachi from behind the scenes, thought.

It was not that Uchiha Madara did not know that the Sharingan's power originated from the Sage of Six Paths, but if he traced it back any further, he did not know.

The Sharingan had degenerated from the Rinnegan, but he did not know where the Rinnegan itself had come from.

Controlling Elder Itachi, he shook his head. "I don't know the answer to that either. Perhaps only the stone tablet passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan can answer you. But the contents of that tablet are obscure and difficult to understand. Even with my Dojutsu Power, there is much I cannot comprehend, unless I evolve my eyes to..."

At that moment, Uchiha Aka spoke up to remind Elder Itachi. Going any further would involve those eyes.

Aokiji froze. "Evolve?"

Elder Itachi paused, then smiled. "Sorry, I went off topic. Forget what I just said."

He had deliberately let that slip, intending to plant a seed and arouse Aokiji's interest.

"In any case, all you need to know is that most Kekkei Genkai come about this way."

Aokiji nodded. "Then if I want to improve my Ice Release in the future, should I work on the wind and water attributes?"

Elder Itachi said, "No need. You can simply cultivate Ice Release directly."

Once a Kekkei Genkai came into being, further cultivation had little to do with the two attributes that had formed it.

Aokiji asked in confusion, "Then why did you tell me to specifically train Water Release?"

Elder Itachi smiled faintly. "More accurately, I hope that while you train Water Release, you will also train Fire Release."

Aokiji: ???

After taking such a long detour, Elder Itachi finally began to unravel the mystery. "After everything I just told you, have you considered this? Since a Kekkei Genkai can be formed by fusing two Chakra Nature Transformations, can three or more Chakra Nature Transformations be fused as well?"

Aokiji's breathing stalled. With things spelled out this clearly, if he still did not understand, he would be an idiot.

He had not expected Elder Itachi to think so highly of him.

"Kekkei... Tōta."

Uchiha Aka answered for Aokiji in a low voice.

Only now did he understand what Elder Itachi was planning.

The curious Fugaku blinked and asked, "What is Kekkei Tōta?"

At most, he had heard of Kekkei Genkai. He had never heard of Kekkei Tōta.

Uchiha Aka was stunned by Elder Itachi's bold idea. He took a deep breath and steadied his emotions. "Kekkei Genkai are jutsu formed by fusing two Chakra Nature Transformations, while Kekkei Tōta are new jutsu created by combining three Chakra Nature Transformations. They are jutsu that stand above Kekkei Genkai. They cannot be obtained through inheritance and can only be achieved through later cultivation. The requirements are extremely harsh. As far as I know, only one person in the current Ninja World has mastered it."

To sum all that up in two words: damn awesome.

Just listen to those words, "stand above." The sheer swagger was unmistakable.

Fugaku was jealous. Elder Itachi was actually going to teach Aokiji such an amazing ninjutsu.

"D-Does that mean, Elder Itachi, you know Kekkei Tōta?"

Even Aokiji's voice trembled. He had never expected his clan to be hiding such talents, with someone who even knew Kekkei Tōta.

Elder Itachi shook his head. "Unfortunately, I do not know Kekkei Tōta. I do not even know any Kekkei Genkai."

Aokiji: (▽_▽) He felt like he had just watched the national soccer team and desperately wanted to curse, then demand a refund.

But on calm reflection, it made sense. Kekkei Tōta was an ability even rarer than the Mangekyō Sharingan. How could one encounter it so easily?

Besides, the Uchiha Clan were all obsessed with eyes. They believed their own Kekkei Genkai to be invincible under heaven. They barely had enough time to study eyes, so who would bother researching how to fuse Chakra Nature Transformations?

Aokiji said gloomily, "Elder Itachi, are you messing with me?"

"This is equivalent to giving you a goal, as well as a direction for your future efforts."

Elder Itachi changed the subject and said with amusement, "But then again, weren't you uninterested in being a ninja? Why are you suddenly so excited about becoming stronger? Did you change your mind?"

Uh...

Aokiji sighed. "I figured something out recently. In troubled times, running away cannot solve anything. Uh... I've decided to properly improve my strength."

Elder Itachi suggested, "In that case, stop going to the Medical Team and focus entirely on cultivation. Within a few years, I can train you into a ninja capable of standing on your own."

Aokiji flatly refused. "That won't do. I only said I would properly improve my strength, but going to the front lines is absolutely out of the question. I only want to quietly and safely treat people in the rear. Strength is merely my final safeguard against unexpected situations. Hehe, that way, I'll definitely be the safest person in every war."

Elder Itachi (Uchiha Madara): ...

Uchiha Aka: ...

Fugaku: ...

Fugaku mocked, "Coward."

"You little brat, what the hell do you know?"

Aokiji pinched Fugaku's cheek. "You don't know how to cherish your life, and you want to fight in wars?"

"Hmph."

Fugaku broke free from Aokiji's two-finger grip, his face swollen.

Though he turned his face away, he still shot Aokiji resentful side glances and secretly swore that one day, he would repay today's humiliation a hundredfold.

Aokiji found that expression amusing. The corners of his lips curled up as a mischievous thought surfaced in his mind. He stretched out a hand and beckoned.

"What?"

Fugaku stepped forward.

Aokiji poked Fugaku's forehead with a finger and smiled faintly. "Forgive me. That was a joke just now. I simply don't want our clansmen to die in meaningless wars."

He was telling the truth. Even in his previous life, seeing people get caught up and die in pointless wars through a screen had made him emotional. Let alone now, when these were living, breathing people around him.

As Aokiji spoke those words, a strange and special feeling quietly rose in Fugaku's heart.

Since birth, the words he had heard most often were that he had to become an outstanding ninja, yet no one had ever considered his safety.

It was the feeling of being cherished.

It differed from the love he received from his parents. Fugaku was an only child. If he had an older brother, he would probably understand what this feeling was.

"Hmph, I'll forgive you this time. Don't let it happen again."

Fugaku turned his face away and spoke haughtily.

Aokiji sighed. "Who knows how long this brief peace can last? It would have been great if the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had directly unified the Ninja World back then. Then I wouldn't have to live in fear every day of being sent off to fight some damn war."

Upon hearing his own name, the Uchiha behind the scenes curled his lips slightly. An intrigued gleam appeared beneath his drooping eyelids as he controlled Elder Itachi and asked, "Uchiha Madara... From the sound of it, you seem to know quite a bit about him."

Hearing that, Aokiji did not think much of it and scratched his head. "Of course. He was the strongest ninja in our clan's history, even the strongest ninja of that era. He was also one of Konoha's founders. It would be strange for someone born into the Uchiha Clan not to know about him."

Elder Itachi gave a self-deprecating laugh. "The strongest..."

Aokiji asked in confusion, "What are you laughing about?"

Elder Itachi sighed. "Before Senju Hashirama, he had no right to call himself the strongest."

Aokiji gave him an odd look. Why did that sound as if he were talking about himself? "Come to think of it, Elder Itachi, didn't you once guide Madara when he was young?"

"Who did you hear that from?"

"My grandmother told me."

"Hmph. Daring to speak of such unnecessary things."

Aokiji was quite interested in gossip about Uchiha Madara. "Elder Itachi, tell me what kind of person he was."

Elder Itachi half-closed his eyes, his gaze deep as he countered, "What? Are you very interested in him? Or do you want to become a ninja like him?"

"Well, he was the strongest ninja, after all. It would be strange not to be interested. Tell me about him."

Elder Itachi opened his mouth. "He was a... complicated person..."

Aokiji clicked his tongue, dissatisfied with that answer. "That tells me nothing."

"Then what kind of person do you think he was?"

"If I knew, why would I be asking you? But..."

"But?"

"I think it would have been better if he were a woman."

"Cough, cough..."

Even Uchiha Madara behind the scenes could not hold it together after hearing that.