The typical sights and scenes of Konoha played out as usual the next morning. Within the Hatake household, Sumoku and Kakashi were enjoying a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. The sun had just breached the horizon outside the windows, pouring soft yellow light into the quiet home.
"I still can't understand why you insist on having Guy over so frequently… Doesn't he annoy you?" Kakashi mildly complained to his brother.
"Oh, don't be like that, Kakashi. You know just as well as I do that Guy could use the company these days," Sumoku lightly admonished him, "He's been pushing himself insanely hard ever since his father passed. The least we could do is show him some support as friends."
Kakashi responded with a resigned nod. This was already an improvement from his typical dismissal of anything relating to Guy, which secretly pleased Sumoku. He smiled gratefully at his younger brother's 'concession'.
'Looks like the kid is finally starting to get it. It's hard not to juxtapose Dad and Duy-san's situations when you really think about it properly, after all. I think it's about time I pass "that" on.'
Without saying a word, Sumoku left the dining table to rummage through some of his belongings in his room. He crouched before an antique dresser that looked centuries old. After a quick search through a few drawers, he found what he was looking for.
"Hey, Kakashi, come here for a second."
The teen lazily lifted himself from his chair before entering Sumoku's room. When his eyes caught the item in his older brother's hands, his entire lazy demeanor flipped.
"Is that…" "The one and only." Held within Sumoku's hands was the legendary White Fang Blade. The very same weapon that earned Hatake Sakumo his title.
"I remember Dad telling me that this short sword was crafted just days before the clan migrated from the Land of Lightning. He said it was meant to be an artifact passed down between clan heads, but I've never really been all that attuned to Lightning-nature chakra like you and him," Sumoku smiled mockingly at himself, "So, I figured it was time to give it to you. I'm pretty sure it's what dad had planned anyways."
He handed the short sword to Kakashi, who received it with both hands like it was the most precious thing in the world. Kakashi naturally knew the blade's history well, but hearing about its importance once more cemented a feeling of anticipation and awe in him.
"You should get familiar with it. I promise you it will easily outclass the basic chakra metal swords we have in storage. In the meantime, I've got business at the Uchiha Clan compound. Have fun!" Sumoku flickered away, leaving Kakashi alone in the room as he studied the blade in his hands with a fervent gaze.
The Hatake Clan head moved past the rooftops of Konoha at a moderate pace. The distance between the Hatake Clan and Uchiha Clan compounds was not too far, taking only two minutes by ninja standards. Of course, not even Sumoku was brazen enough to hop around the rooftops of the Uchiha.
The guards at the entrance to the compound wore Konoha Police Force uniforms, their stances relaxed yet attentive. When they saw Sumoku approaching, neither guard batted an eye, simply allowing him to pass.
Sumoku walked casually on the stone pathway leading to the clan head's home, arms stretched outwards with his hands clamped behind his head. The various early-rising Uchiha noted his presence for a moment before returning to their respective businesses. When Sumoku finally reached his destination, he walked in without ceremony.
"Good morning, Mikoto-san! Whatever you're cooking smells incredible, as always!"
"Oh, you flatterer! Good morning to you, as well, Sumoku-san. Fugaku is waiting for you in his office." Mikoto replied with a smile.
As Sumoku looked around the home, he recognized the two young boys playing by the dining table. Itachi patiently guided Sasuke, who sat in his lap, through practicing hand seals. Sasuke, being less than a year old, giggled and babbled the whole time, causing Itachi to dote even further.
"Looks like you're getting used to being a big brother, huh Itachi-kun? I told you you'd love it!" Sumoku commented from the side as he observed the cute scene for a moment, fully cognizant that he was making Fugaku wait.
"Mm. Good morning, Sumoku-sensei." Itachi greeted Sumoku with his typical poker face. Sumoku could tell, though, that he was very happy underneath the stoic appearance.
"Well, you two enjoy yourselves. I've got some business to handle with your father. I'll find some time to teach you something new later. And if Shisui happens to wake up before noon today, let him know I want to speak with him." Sumoku continued on his way to Fugaku's office.
Fugaku's expression was stern as Sumoku entered the office. The desk before the Uchiha Clan head was covered in scattered papers: reports, complaints, and applications. As sweeping reforms were made by the Fourth Hokage faction, the Konoha Police Force, being one of the four major pillars of Konoha, was not left untouched.
Thanks to Fugaku's close friendship to Minato and Sumoku, tensions between the clan and the village had eased up considerably. Minato had even granted the Uchiha Clan the opportunity to move back into the village proper. The price, however, was the near-constant headache that came with managing a rapidly-expanding police force. Fugaku was so exhausted at the end of day that he even offloaded Itachi's training to Sumoku recently.
Sumoku glanced sympathetically at his long-time friend buried in paperwork. He was technically the originator of this particular reform to the police force, so he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
'Poor guy… Maybe I should "convince" Shisui to pick up some shifts for him. We haven't had a drink together in months now.'
"Yo, Fugaku. What did you need from me?"
"You're finally here, Sumoku? Good. There was a report I received that I believe needs your attention." Fugaku spoke as he kept his attention on the piles of papers on his desk, occasionally making scratches with the pen in his hand.
"If it was just some ordinary report, I imagine you would have sent a messenger. What is it about this report that requires special attention?" Sumoku's expression turned serious.
"Uchiha Tekka discovered a sleeper agent amongst the civilians on his night patrol yesterday when they tried to send a messenger hawk outside. The difficult part is that we can't identify the memory sealing technique used on them. We don't know 'who' they belong to." Fugaku finally looked up from his endless work with clenched brows to convey his stress to Sumoku.
"We tried probing the seal with Yamanaka techniques earlier, but the backlash was unusually severe on the suspect for a typical memory seal, so we had to back off before we destroyed our only source of intel. I have enough headaches to deal with already, so I can only request your help on this matter."
"*sigh* And here I was looking forward to slacking off today… Alright, I've got it handled. I'll inform Minato and get his input, as well. For now, transfer the prisoner to ANBU – I'm sure you know who to contact in regards to this kind of stuff by now…" Sumoku's expression turned into one of tired resignation.
"*snort* You? Slack off? Your jokes and whimsical exterior may fool most, but you and I both know you never rest a day in your life. I wouldn't trust a fool to train my son, after all. Now get out, I'm busy." Fugaku smirked to himself while waving away his friend, as if satisfied at 'truly understanding' his friend.
Sumoku simply smirked with a calm look in his eyes. He appreciated Fugaku's blunt personality and self-assuredness. He was a much better sight now compared to the conflicted and indecisive clan head he was a few years ago.
'This guy sure learned how to delegate tasks in that time, at the very least…'
"Whatever you say, 'Evil Eye'. Make sure you spare some time to enjoy breakfast with your family, you workaholic. I'll keep you updated." Sumoku took his exit then, Fugaku waving him off to attend to his tedious tasks.
As Sumoku closed the sliding door behind him, he heard footsteps coming down the stairwell. He looked up and saw a yawning Uchiha with intense bed-head emerge.
"Eh? Sumoku-sama? What brings you here at this hour?" Shisui forced his words past a beastly yawn that escaped his mouth.
"Just some quick business with Fugaku. It could have been summed up in an email, honestly." Sumoku commented jokingly.
"An e-mail?? I don't follow…" Shisui seemed genuinely confused and secretly getting suspicious.
"Nothing, nothing." Sumoku waved his hands dismissively. "More importantly, you should reserve some time for noon. I'm gonna be teaching Itachi some new jutsu, and I figured you'd want to get some sparring in since you've been on break for a while."
"Sparring? With you?! Sumoku-sama, your jokes are certainly getting funnier by the day, haha…" A cold sweat formed on Shisui's forehead.
"Nonsense! The most promising Uchiha of our generation would surely love to compare notes with a veteran such as myself. No need to be so humble, Shisui-kun." Sumoku 'reassuringly' patted him on the shoulder, delivering a body-shaking force onto Shisui that only intensified his cold sweats.
"Right…" The notorious 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' was defeated handily.
"Noon sharp at training ground three. Don't forget!" Sumoku delivered one more heavy pat before bidding farewell to the family and heading out.
'You gotta love bullying the fan favorites from time to time. I might as well go help out at the dispensary while I have some time.'
Noon quickly arrived, bringing Sumoku and his Uchiha students to training ground three. Shisui squirmed in his place, clearly not excited about having to spar with the Commander while still on vacation time. Itachi simply performed the stretches Fugaku had taught him to the side.
"Alright, let's get started." Sumoku said as he performed the shadow clones jutsu.
"Itachi, you and Sumo-clone will be working on learning a custom fire-release jutsu I created. I call it Fire Release: Fire Fist. It's a close-to-medium range nintaijutsu that requires only one single-hand seal. If you master it to a certain degree, it can be performed without seals."
"Thank you for your teaching, Sumoku-sensei." Itachi bowed, then walked to a clearing with Sumo-clone to begin training.
"While he's dealing with that," Sumoku cracked his knuckles, "how about you and I get warmed up, Shisui-kun."
"...yes, sir."
After ensuring that they had ample room to maneuver, Sumoku grabbed a stone from the ground.
"Usual rules. We begin when the stone hits the ground, and we stop when one of us is pinned. You ready?" He grinned at Shisui.
Without waiting for him to respond, Sumoku gently tossed the stone in the air while keeping a casual stance. The moment the stone hit the ground, both ninja erupted into motion.
Shisui quickly brought a kunai up to block a swipe from the left flank as Sumoku flickered into range behind him. Two three-tomoe sharingan emerged beneath his guard, guiding him to slash towards the opening in Sumoku's stance.
The Hatake Clan head responded calmly, backing away from the diagonal slash while simultaneously forming hand seals at blinding speeds. By the time half a second passed, a burning expanse of fire encompassed Shisui's entire vision.
Instinct took over as Shisui flickered to his right and launched a volley of shuriken towards Sumoku's last position. He didn't dare to stop there, though, as he continued to flicker around the training ground while looking for an opportunity to attack his opponent again.
His opportunity never came, however, as silver wisps of smoke emerged from seemingly nowhere to encompass the entire training area. Shisui had enough experience sparring with Sumoku to know that relying on his three-tomoe sharingan in this situation would be useless. So, with a look of determination, a pair of mangekyo sharingan appeared in the smoke.
"Looks like you've learned to take things seriously from the jump, huh? Good, that means I can have more fun now!" White tendrils emerged from the surrounding smokey expanse, aiming at Shisui's limbs to restrict his movement.
Shisui tracked each and every tendril, flipping and flickering around as he dodged them incessantly. His thoughts were racing, trying to find a solution to his predicament.
'I'm not getting anywhere at this rate. If I keep wasting my breath dodging, his smoke is gonna incapacitate me before long… I need to get rid of it!'
Shisui's hands flashed through multiple seals before he slammed his hands on the ground. A circle of flames erupted from his body, expanding outward like an unstoppable tide of destruction. Within the circle, a vacuum formed.
The effect was instant. The smoke was dispersed upwards and away from Shisui's position. With his line-of-sight restored, his eyes quickly captured the next attack aimed at him.
A tide of ash rose in response to his jutsu, bypassing the wall of flames easily and aiming for the Uchiha. Sensing that there was another part to this offensive, Shisui flickered backwards while looking around for Sumoku's figure.
Another pang of instinctual panic forced Shisui to abandon his last body flicker. When he looked at his intended flicker spot, he saw jagged stones erupt from the ground in a claw shape with clear intention to crush whatever was caught in the center. The sweat on his back was drenching his undershirt at this point as the situation demanded his full attention. Instincts took over once more as a blistering heat approached from above.
Sumoku appeared above Shisui within the optimal spacing to deliver a devastating axe kick. White-hot flames coated his leg, enhancing the lethality of his attack and blinding the Uchiha's eyes at the same time.
Shisui displayed his incredible flexibility by twisting his body so that the attack missed by a fraction of an inch. The white flames, however, kissed Shisui's left arm, immediately turning it red from the increase in internal temperature.
Desperate to put up a fight, Shisui began layering genjutsu in his every move. It must be said, Shisui is a genius in the entire field of environmental genjutsu, not just his special body flicker. The subtle sound of his foot dragging against the dirt, the shaky distorted lines of super-heated atmosphere, all of it was used as a vessel for his multi-layered genjutsu.
Sumoku noticed the signs almost immediately, but instead of breaking the genjutsu, he decided to lay a trap. He feigned his ignorance by intentionally breaking only the first few layers of the genjutsu and launching slightly off-balanced attacks.
When Shisui saw a fireball heading in his direction go wide by a meter, he moved in decisively. Pushing his body flicker to the limits, Shisui launched himself towards Sumoku with a kunai poised to strike at his neck.
"Too predictable, Shisui-kun." The instant Shisui was within striking distance, 'Sumoku' turned his gaze directly at him before exploding into smoke.
Smoke filled the unguarded airways of the Uchiha, immediately forcing him into a monstrous coughing fit. In the next moment, the real Sumoku jumped off of a tree and sympathetically patted the back of Shisui, who was on his hands and knees while going through the worst of it.
Shisui looked up with tears in his red eyes (no sharingan active).
"Sumok- *COUGH COUGH* u-san *wheeze* water…"
"Hmm? Oh yes, I suppose that might help, but wouldn't it help more if the real you asked me himself?" Sumoku said with a grin as he flickered away once more.
Almost immediately after he moved, the grounded and pitiful Shisui disappeared like a mirage. In the spot where Sumoku stood, two hands emerged from beneath the ground aiming to grab at his ankles.
"When were you going to tell me you learned how to layer a dozen genjutsu on top of each other? I was so surprised that even my senses were fooled for half a second." Sumoku spoke casually while throwing a handful of kunai at an unassuming rotten log resting to the side.
Before the thrown weapons could pierce it, the log poofed away in a cloud of smoke, revealing Shisui who had to weave around them. Sumoku quickly analyzed that he was compensating for an injured left arm based on the boy's dodge patterns. Using this info, he went in for the winning blow.
Before Shisui could complete a desperate single hand jutsu to retaliate against the fast-approaching Sumoku, a pile of ash that went unnoticed below him rose suddenly to encompass his body entirely. Within a second, the Uchiha prodigy was completely encased in hardened ash.
Sumoku walked over to his new Shisui statue and knocked on the exterior two times while admiring the work.
"This is why I keep telling you to diversify your skillset. If you keep relying exclusively on fast movement and reaction speed, even with a mangekyo, you're going to cap out your potential. I speak from experience." Sumoku knocked lightly on the ash statue once more, dissolving it to release the captured Shisui.
"I was in the same position as you ten years ago, minus the sharingan, of course. I realized that learning others' techniques would only get me so far, so I needed to create something for myself." Sumoku gestured with his hand, causing the ash on the ground to swirl around the air in playful patterns.
"Now, I'm not saying that you need to develop your own kekkei genkai to grow stronger. My method of growth just happened to follow that path. You've already developed your body flicker to an incredible degree, but that alone is limiting." With another motion of his hands, smoke welled up in his palm forming a wispy gray orb.
"Ughh… This is why I hate sparring with you. Now I have to go to the hospital to fix up this arm-" Shisui complained while standing up. Before he could complete the motion, Sumoku's palm landed squarely on his bad shoulder, forcing him down.
"Hospital? Have you forgotten, Shisui-kun? I am fully capable of healing such a minor injury! I am a man of diverse capabilities after all!" Sumoku winked playfully as Yang-nature chakra flowed from his palm into the burned arm.
"You truly are benevolent and skilled, oh powerful Sumoku-sama." Shisui replied robotically, already resigned to entertaining the commander again.
*Smack!*
"Oh, don't be a smartass. You know I do it for your own good, you brat. Now get up! Time for round two!" Sumoku clapped his hands excitedly after completing the healing jutsu, already walking over to his side of the field.
'Kami, save me…'