Takeshi looked down at the former Hokage, the tempest inside of him was like a raging inferno, he tried to control his anger, his annoyance, as he looked towards Asuka, the one who had hurt the village that he had trusted with the village and who had left it in this state, he allowed his mouth to curl slightly, the gun on his hip squirming as well, feeling the anger, the change in its owner rattling through, in the mind of the Hokage the screaming started with the last words Asuka spoke, she was a bar owner and nothing more.
"Stop, your losing control of yourself, of me, you need to focus and control your emotions right now, the pain, the suffering, you're changing its tearing me apart"
The voice was low in his head the pain in the growl that was emanating as the weapon wriggled in its holster, trying to break free, trying to escape the waves of energy that was lingering around Takeshi, whipping at him with ease. Like a lashing that could not be broken from, the weapon rattled harder in that silence that lingered between the two as Takeshi maintained eye contact with Asuka, it not breaking as the Mangekyo sliced into her very being.
His mind raced back in time, to when she was so different, before her life he found himself standing in the academy, the group of students at the desk the eagerness in their eyes, the fresh look that they had in their faces, it was clear that they had so much potential, so much drive, and passion as well. As he stood in what would be considered his past, he remembered the chalk on the board for Asuka, the first time that she had been a student with Soku and the others, the friendships she had brought to pass, and of course, the growth that was still in front of her.
"Takeshi....stop...your losing control"
The voice banging at his head once more as he remembered the memories of laughter the smile on her face, the start of what would be the relationship the two had. As he felt the storm inside of him slowing becoming a small rotation as he watched the lessons slowly going by, the class falling away from his memory in the few moments as the cascade, the change was starting to take hold of him. He knew full well the experience and actions of the future would also be seen.
As he blinked his eyes focused on an older Asuka, one that was out of the Academy and part of the village, watching her in a time of need for the village, this time he could see that she was acting quickly when the village was in trouble, protecting those that couldn't help themselves and trying to spread the will of fire from herself, it was a mission, simple enough and time of trouble but of course, she took it into her strides and provided success from what could have been a failure.
The whirlwind inside the Hokage sparked slightly as everything faded from this vision, it seemed that the path he was walking down would be a long one, as the memories flooded into him with each second, unrelenting and unyielding it was clear that he still had to walk this path the inferno wrapping him in fire, as he stood there, the heat soaking into every inch of him as he stood there consumed in darkness, it seemed that the clashing in his Chakra and emotions was on the inside, as the time passing was meer seconds inside of the Hokage office between the two of them.
As the flames shifted out the way he saw the moment that he had the privilege to stand with Asuka, and promote her to the rank of Chunin, the memory clear as day as he considered those moments between the two of them, how young she had been, how many promises she had and how proud he felt, it seemed that the world would be hers to grab if she wanted, still with the dreams of the world, how the future could be and how everything could still be settled with talking, without blood being spilled.
The next image was the shift, Takeshi watched the image of Asuka standing over the body of dead students, the students she had killed, the ones that had committed treason against the village, and in their stupid thinking, they considered it an option that they could walk away when the village was under attack and they had sided with those attackers, the simple action of a broadcast had caused so much hurt inside of the village and ripped Asuka way from the world that was so innocent before, he felt the heavy burned inside of him, the pain of the loss not only to Asuka but to the village.
The tempest erupted again as his anger became closed fists as he stood there looking at that scene, so much damage had been done and yet it was the damage that it left on the ones who carried out the punishment for the crime that he saw even to this day, a single tear running down his cheek as he stood there watching that moment of silence. The weapon rattled in the fire that lashed at his legs, at the weapon clip, it was clear that it was aiming to break free from him, no that was wrong, it was being stripped from him by his own fire that raged inside.
"Calm......Your slipping and I cannot follow"
The voice once more cried out to him in that split second, trying to hold on to its master, but this was not to be for what was coming had long since slumbered inside of the Uchiha, what had been thought to be crushed and corrupted had once more come back, it was waking like a beast that had been caged for so long, destroying anything that bared it's away and bringing the Hokage back to his place and to his powers that he should have had all this time.
Feeling himself reaching out it was clear that his body was rebuilding itself, though what felt like an eternity was broken when he felt his weapon breaking from his hip, flying into the darkness, his companion vanished into the darkness, before feeling a voice speaking up to him, it was clear that his mind was fighting itself to hold control but losing that grip, as he fell towards the floor, his knees giving way to him as he reached out to stop the fall landing on all fours like a broken child his breathing became heavy as sweat dripped from him.
"You failed to train Asuka, the bond you made with this innocent child, look at her now, broken, ruined, and all because she became a friend with the mightly Lord Forth, we could have done so much more, we could have been so much more Uchiha Takeshi. But look at the situation we are in now, the past, and of course, this is only the tip, we must dive deeper to see the truth behind it all."
"She protected the village, she defended it and did her duty, her actions, her pain, its every Kage's path to walk, we lose, we suffer loss and we must still stand tall. Even now one that I might have considered my own daughter stands and stays she is gone, she stripped me to my core and yet I must stand tall. She failed in her duty not me, I have always done the best for this village, have I failed?"
"Failed well that is in your eyes to decide, but the strength is within you, release your companion, accept the brand that you were always deemed to wear, and stand once more the pillar of stability that is expected of you, your actions and your destiny is yours, she burns and hammers you with words, yet she is still a child, you gave her the opportunity and instead she fell, now will you rise, from the ashes that she has left behind, will you finally let your heart be set on fire, be the one that the village needs, or will you let your emotions control you. Will you allow what has been holding you back to still stand in your way?"
The darkness, the voice it was clear in its tone, its malice in those moments as it spoke, no whispered to him as he allowed his head to look up, seeing the figure in front of him, the colors, the black skin of it, the look in its eyes, a look of weakness, it seemed that he knew the figure, he knew it all too well, it was part of him, his weapon, but broken and weak in a human form as he looked towards the pleading eyes it not speaking instead the look confirmed all he needed to know.
"Let us look into your history more shall we?"
Without warning, he was dragged to his feet in the darkness, the vision becoming faint at first, before snapping him into reality, it was three of them, Asuka, Yuki, and Him, enjoying time together, the words unclear to his fuzzy mind, but the happiness was there the trust. Family. The word stung him to his core, at the betrayal that had been committed in his absence, as his rage burned up inside of him, he screamed out to nothingness the scene of pure love was destroyed now, the trust fractured and broken beyond repair.
Feeling the fire inside rising to his eyes, the burning pain once more lashed at him, it fed on his emotions as he screamed out, clawing at his eyes, the blood trickling down his face as he tried to remove them, as he closed them he felt the build-up of pressure behind his eyes, opening them the black flames ripped free from the world he was in, lighting it as he stood in silence with himself, the pouring sensation lingering as the black flames lapped around him, undying and twisting in unreal forms.
Regaining his vision once more he brought himself back to focus as he watched himself fight with Asuka on the statues, the trial of her becoming Hokage, was one that he made tradition after Umashi had done it with him, it was his proudest moment his life handing the robes to her after this fight, to trust her with the future, as he watched that moment he felt the lump in his throat as he understood the change he was forgoing, she has broken him, Asuka one child had broken Takeshi, his soul, his fire had dwindled, there was nothing that she could do to him that would make this worse.
No, he would retake what was his, he would reclaim everything after these memories, he would come back stronger than before, he would destroy anything that stood in his way, gone was the weak, and back was strong, he knew what these visions were saying to him, he knew in that instant what was being asked of him by the legacy that flowed through his veins. As he watched the darkness come to collect him once more this time the door stood in front of him.
Putting his palm against the Uchiha clan logo he pushed it open, his strength flowing through him as he stepped through, looking into the darkness he saw the standing figure in the middle of what was his past, as he let the power serge into his very being he felt the armor of the giant wrapping around him in that second, covering him in the purple defenses, the arm snapping out and grabbing the figure as he stood there, the two made eye contact for a second before it tried to speak.
"Don't do this...."
"I am coming back with a vengeance, you are passed, my feelings and decisions toward those inside the village made me weak, that will be destroyed today, you will be destroyed today and I will pave the future for me as the Head of the Clan and Head of the Village, begone from my life and I accept this new power."
Susanno formed around the Hokage fully, before the former weapon even had a chance to react, black flames engulfed it in that split second, the two powers of the Uchiha in one being, as he held the weapon there, watching it melt into the ground, the truth of the matter, Asuka had unlocked this dormant power, the trauma of the deepest wound she had carved had unlocked the Uchiha's full potential now. Watching the screaming weapon turn back to its original form, he threw it, to watch it shatter into millions of pieces against the wall, the soul inside destroyed as he stood there, breathing heavily. He was an Uchiha once more and his strength flooded into his very being in those few seconds, he felt the pain, the fire all contained within him as the armored god roared out in anger towards the pitch black.
His heart ached with pain, suffering, and regret he needed to clean the village from the failures he had since being Hokage, this was his shot, his chance at redemption, a new future a new village. An opportunity most would not get in their lifetime, he knew full well that the wound that lashed at his heart would be erased from his memory, as he watched Asuka flashing past the time going back to their first meeting, before it faded from him, as he closed his eyes and prepared himself to open them once more to the real world and back to that office.
As the gap between Asuka and Takeshi came back to him, he felt the weapon beside him shatter into a million pieces and scattered around the office with the metallic sound, its core, its very soul destroyed to make way for the true power of the Uchiha, as his closed eyes opened his Sharingan had changed since reawakening once more, the Mangekyo Sharingan shifting, as they locked onto Asuka, his armor shifting to show the Uchiha crest on the back as he stood in the office, the pure blood of his clan flowing through his very veins.
"That bastard died inside this village, not running from problems, but instead coming back to protect the village, that bastard did something you didn't do. Stand firm and face the fire, no instead he took everything that came at him and he gave his life, that bastard that you called him, was found dead for Leaf. By the same missing that attached the village and vanished, instead of taking the time to find out the truth about what did you to Asuka, no you blamed the other villages, breaking allegiances and causing pain to more people in the process. You didn't do anything bar go on the offensive."
As he walked away from here, he felt the fire inside him, wanting to rip out, wanting to lash out at her and take vengeance for her actions, and the state things were in, he breathed in and controlled himself, it had been a while since this very fire was inside of him, the tornado normally so cool but no Asuka set this blase inside, the wound graved in his heart leaking the will of fire into his veins that threatened to take over him at any second, he needed to keep his focus.
"I was gone Asuka, retired and wanting to live my days in peace with Yuki, do you think I didn't damn well deserve to grow old in peace? No, instead I am brought back to retake the title from my daughter, and what does she do, spit in my face, and tell me that she would rather be the prey than the hunter? That I left her, she was alone, no one cared, and that Shinobi are emotionless weapons? So tell me Uchiha Asuka, if I didn't give a shit about you, why do I feel like my heart is being ripped out by your words, please tell me who the hell you think you are?"
He spun back to face her the rage in his eyes clear at her jabs, her actions, as always Asuka had never seen this inside of Takeshi, no this was nothing but raw emotion from the Hokage right now, the cool face completely gone from the wound she had created to him.
"I have never said we are weapons, no we are people who protect the village and give our lives to do that, the list I have lost is longer than you will ever know, but know this, the list of those that have wounded me this deep is one name, and yes daughter that name is Uchiha Asuka."
As he faced back out the window, he shook from the anger, the pain, and the change his body had undergone, instead now stood the true leader of the Uchiha, his Eternal Mangekyo unlocked, due to the pure wound that Asuka had carved right into his chest, as he put a hand on the window propping himself up, he made sure his head lowered to keep himself steady as he focused on what needed to be done.
"Uchiha Asuka, you are hereby stripped of the rank of Jounin, you will take the rank of Chunin, you want to get that title back, and the right to teach the next generation then you will complete the following mission. You will take this letter, and yourself to Sand, to the Kazekage and beg forgiveness, as they never attacked us, it was the missing ninja playing both sides, and you fell for it, and pray with your words and me begging in writing that they will forgive and once more call us their allies, and you will take a letter to the Raikage as well doing the same. You will be assigned a squad leader and follow their direction, as you need one clearly. Once this has been achieved, then maybe then, I will allow you to teach in the Academy and see if you can find yourself again. Do I make myself clear, I have summoned your squad leader to this office as well".
Takeshi felt a tear run down his cheek, he felt and in that instant in front of Asuka looked old, so tired of fighting, so tired of running, and so tired of hurting. As he waited to hear her response he knew the wound was too fresh to forgive between the two of them.
[Asuka demoted to Chunin]
[Soku Summoned]
[Kinjutsu Removal Card Used]
[Applying for EMS]
