𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Fear

"... like I said, in my clan's eyes, there are only two types of people: those with chakra, and those without. Many of the people who wield chakra generally belong to a clan, and we have classifications for those clans: those that are active, and those that are inactive."

I sat in front of Shisui the following morning, finding myself half asleep as he drilled in more knowledge of the shinobi world. After my episode with Sasuke, I had barely slept when Shisui woke me up this morning to drag me to my daily routines. Too tired to even recall the night's events in my mind, I struggled to keep my droopy eyes open and focused on my tutor, and found myself constantly nodding off.

"Yah," reprimanded the Uchiha, suddenly smacking the tabletop and making me leap up in surprise at the loud bang. I coughed and sat up straight, rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands as I struggled to concentrate on him. "I thought you looked too tired to do any taijutsu training today, but I didn't expect you to be too tired for this!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I apologised hurriedly, shaking my head and sitting up straight. "I'm listening. Please continue."

He grimaced at me before continuing on.

"Anyway, following the end of the Warring States Period, the number of ninja clans that existed began to diminish, to the point where ninjutsu was no longer thought to have a place in the modern world," he explained to me. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity: if ninjutsu was such a powerful art, why was it all of a sudden shunned?

"Why is that?"

Shisui shrugged at my question, unsure of the answer himself.

"What's been told through the years is that the clans who turned their backs on ninjutsu simply found no need for it anymore," he said, albeit with doubt in his eyes. "I find that a weak excuse, but I have no need to question other clans of their decisions. These clans who no longer follow the shinobi way are referred to as inactive: seeing as we and the Senju are probably the only two clans who still wholeheartedly embrace our strengths and abilities, you can then assume that every other clan in existence is inactive.

"There are often exceptions, of course, so I can't really jump to conclusions just yet. This rule generally only applies to the clans we know of within the Land of Fire: seeing as your friend Haku knew of his power and originated from the Land of Water, we cannot be a hundred percent sure that we are the sole promoters of ninjutsu just yet. We know little of shinobi from other parts of the world; however, we have some exceptions.

"Orochimaru was previously a student of the Senju, even though he wasn't a member of the clan. After being taught by them he went off to do who knows what, and came back to Konoha with two students he had picked up on his travels. Those students were Kabuto and Karin, and all of them now currently work for my clan."

"That explains why they look so different to you," I mused, picturing the faces of every single Uchiha I had met and comparing them to the faces of the trio. Lacking the infamous Uchiha good looks with dark eyes and dark hair, as well as the surname itself, it had been blatantly obvious to me that those three weren't blood members of the clan. Shisui chuckled, tapping the desk lightly with his fingers.

"They are some of the few non-members of our clan who have been allowed within our ranks," he said. "Naruto, too. He and Karin are from the same clan, through his mother."

"How did Naruto end up with you guys?"

"Naruto's parents were good friends with my aunty and uncle," he said, frowning as he racked his brains. "They were both shinobi in their own right, but they died soon after Naruto was born. He was raised in an orphanage for a few years until Mikoto- Sasuke's mum- tracked him down and took him under her wing. He was raised alongside Sasuke, his older brother Itachi, and me, to an extent."