A Lethal Observer (Naruto) [ALW Series Book Two]

Chapter 15

The entrance to the Uchiha territory lay in front of the two girls. Amane led the way back to their zone in the Land of Fire. She was nervous about setting foot in her hometown for the first time after nineteen years, but Hanako didn’t really give her a choice. Plus, she was right. Alone, it would be hard to survive if the war intensified —especially since the Uchiha were known to have become a lot more aggressive. 

The Uchiha crest in several flags was spread along the territory, marking it as solely Uchiha. Houses made of wood could be seen here and there. “Houses are arranged to follow a certain hierarchy,” Amane pointed. “Those in the outer territory belong to lower ranks of trained shinobi. The closer we move towards the center, the tougher shinobi we’ll encounter. Also, in the center live those who are not shinobi but have political influence, and the leader.”

Hanako looked around the area. There weren’t many people around. “Is there a battle going on around?”

“Who are you two?” 

Hanako and Amane turned to find two shinobi from the Uchiha Clan, fully armed to defend their territory. Those must be the lower ranks Amane was talking about. Their chakra is really close to regular Chuunin. 

Hanako sighed in disappointment. She expected a little better from Uchiha from the Warring States Period, but at this rate it was more interesting to fight Kakashi head on again. 

“Hey,” Hanako grinned at them. “We are travelers. We are also from the Uchiha Clan, but we were born outside. Our parents died in battle, so we don’t have anywhere to go.”

The two Uchiha narrowed their eyes. “How do we know you’re members of the clan?”

In unison, Hanako and Amane activated their Sharingan. Surprised, both men looked at each other. “We should give them a shot. They do have our visual ability.” They nodded. 

“We’ll take you to the leader.” 

Hanako smiled, and looked at Amane. However, she still didn’t seem convinced at all. In fact, she kept staring at a distance, waiting for someone to appear. 

Hanako had felt the walk pretty much calm. Since the lower ranks escorted them to the inside, they weren’t threatened by higher ranks. That was until he appeared. 

A guy with a long ponytail got in their way. A smirk decorated his young face. He seemed to be about Amane’s age, probably a few years younger. The lower ranks stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. “Izuna-sama?! You’re here?!”

Izuna? 

Hanako looked again at the tall man. 

He looks like an older version of Sasuke. 

“Don’t get in the way,” Hanako muttered tiredly. “We’re kind of in the middle of something.”

The lower ranks looked at her with warning eyes. “Don’t talk to him like that!”

Hanako raised an eyebrow. “Why? Is he the leader?”

They flinched. “No, but…”

“Then I don’t care. Take us to the leader.” 

Izuna walked past the lower ranks and glared at Hanako. Amane thinned her lips. “Kid…” she muttered carefully. “You really shouldn’t mess with him.”

“I’m the leader’s son.” Izuna narrowed his eyes. “And I will decide if you get to meet him or not.”

Hanako smirked. 

Amane closed her eyes and sighed loudly. “I beg your pardon, Izuna-sama. My little sister doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut.” She finished her phrase with a glare towards the younger girl. 

This woman really sounds a lot like Hikari. This is becoming annoying. Hanako looked at Izuna again, he was still glaring daggers at her. What’s this dude’s problem? I just want to go home, and kick Hikari for bringing me here. 

The flame was igniting again. Hanako could feel her insides burn. “I really don’t like when arrogant punks like you get in my way.” Her thoughts were filled with memories from the Inabi and the other seniors were playing with her, saying horrible things. “No one should treat others like they are lessers, this isn’t how the Uchiha should be. You will regret it in the future.”

Amane widened her eyes. Hanako’s eyes had become a bright red and the three tomoes joined into her distinctive Mangekyou pattern. Izuna’s lips quirked up into a devious grin. “What an interesting kid.” 

His hands curled into fists, and he struck a punch in her direction. His fist collided with flesh, but not Hanako’s. She was gone and in her place was one of the lower ranks. Izuna gasped and barely reacted when he sensed the air cut behind him. He dodged an upper kick and jumped back before she had the chance to hit him. 

She switched places with him?!

Hanako’s grin openly expressed confidence. “You didn’t think I was a weak little girl, did you? Izuna-sama.”

Izuna glowered. “You… Who the hell are you?!”

“Name’s Hanako,” the girl straightened back up. “Hanako Uchiha. Like I said earlier, we are just travelers who lost our parents and want you to take us in.”

I have no other option but to erase their memories later. If people in my timeline find out about me being here, I could cause a serious mess.

Izuna turned to the other girl. “And you’re her older sister?”

Amane looked at the leader’s son. “Yes. I’m Amane.”

“Izuna. What are you doing?”

A deep voice interrupted them. Hanako felt a chill run down her spine. This chakra… 

Sweat beads formed over her forehead. 

His chakra has such an ominous presence…

Izuna flinched. “Big brother…”

Brother? 

Hanako looked over her shoulder and her face paled. “Gramps?”

* * * 

Back in the present, Kakashi sighed loudly while preparing his dinner. Fried mackerel. After he had reported to Ibiki that Hanako had gone missing, he went into ‘dangerous mode’ and sent a team of experienced Anbu to search for her. 

Hikari had begged him to keep all the space-time ninjutsu a secret, since they didn’t want any of the elders to know about it. Much less Danzo. 

The Hokage had assigned Hanako under him mainly to keep an eye on Danzo and the Foundation. The Third didn’t want him anywhere near the girl. Kakashi never imagined she and her sister were such nuisances. How the hell did they manage to send Hanako to the past just to research some old scroll?

He didn’t understand what the Uchiha were actually capable of.

Once the fish was cooked, Kakashi put the fire away and placed his dinner on the table. He ate it straight from the pan. 

Hikari and Hanako had both seemed very suspicious in the forest last night. Especially since Pakkun was certain he had perceived another essence besides Hanako’s. She wasn’t alone there, she was definitely meeting someone. 

“What exactly are you doing, Hanako?”

He knew the situation among the Uchiha wasn’t very fluid, and Hanako was definitely suffering the consequences one way or another. 

“I just hope you don’t become a traitor…”

* * *

“Has anything else changed in the scroll?” Shisui asked Hikari.

“No, I don’t think it’ll change anymore. I mean, we’re holding in our hands a parchment with details of an event that already happened.”

Itachi looked at Shisui and Hikari. They were reunited in Hikari’s house, still hoping to find a way of bringing Hanako back. 

“An event that already happened…” Shisui muttered slowly, processing the words. “I’ve got it!”

Hikari jumped. “You have an idea?”

Shisui grinned excitedly. “We already know everything she did. If she’s in a parallel timeline, that means she’s in the same present as us, but in a different time. With this scroll we know what she’s doing, so we just have to arrange a meeting and stand in the same physical space so that you can open a portal to that timeline, and she can cross over to ours.”

Hikari frowned. “So we have to be at the same place…”

“At the same time,” Itachi finished. 

“But where could we be to have the highest probability of meeting Hanako?” Shisui pinched his chin, pouting. 

A sudden idea popped in Hikari’s mind. “The ruins.” 

Shisui looked at Hikari curiously. “What ruins?”

Itachi seemed to understand immediately what she was talking about. “I see…”

The older Uchiha groaned. “Can you guys let me in, please?”

Itachi explained, “If Hanako’s is in a time when the hidden villages didn’t exist, there is a high probability the Uchiha Compound at the time is far away from here. The village was founded by Hashirama and Madara in a territory that didn’t belong to any clan, so we’re in a completely different place she’s in. However, there is no way for us to know where the Uchiha Clan was located at the time, and it will be difficult for Hanako to come here while avoiding the constant battles, since the Senju Clan is probably close. 

“If Hanako deduces what we deduced just now, she’ll think of a place we will easily find. A place that exists in both timelines.”

Hikari continued where Itachi left off, “Hanako was investigating some ruins outside the village before you guys came back. She saw a memory of Amane in those ruins, so they definitely existed in that time. That’s where Hanako will go, and that’s where we have to be.”

Shisui nodded. “Okay, we solved the place. What about the time? How long will it take for Hanako to figure out our plan.”

Hikari smiled widely. “She probably already knows.”

Shisui was confused again, but Itachi put his mind at ease. “Hanako’s Sharingan has the ability to see the future decisions and events of one's destiny. If she uses that ability on herself to find a way to get back, she’ll know what we’re trying to do.”

“In other words, if there’s a future when she comes back, then we can get her back?” Shisui frowned. “Time is so confusing.”

Hikari smiled. “Pretty much. We need to manipulate time to our advantage, so that Hanako can get our message. If we open our minds, we can communicate. We send messages with actions in this timeline, and Hanako replies with this parchment. The future will determine if we in the present can send a message to the past and bring Hanako back.”

That scroll had suddenly become a vital instrument. “If we manage a way out of this, we will have tamed space-time.”