Strategist from the heavens (Tales of a gutsy ninja 3)

Chapter 7 - The King's distress

Aira P.O.V

This is so beautiful...

I looked at the rapier in front of me. It had a sturdy handle and covering around the handle to protect the palm and the fingers. The blade was really sharp and looked to be of very high quality.

Not to mention, it was made out of diamond.

"It is a beautiful piece of work, isn't it?"

Madara was right by my side, watching my reactions carefully. Surprisingly, the longer I stayed with him, the lesser the threat I felt around him. He no longer tried to pry into my thoughts or ask questions. He would disappear for hours on an end...but ensured that I never left the Akatsuki stronghold.

The greatest difference I found between the anime timeline and my current situation was that...Madara was living in a castle and wore elaborate kimono robes for men. It looked good on him since his age was back to his younger self.

The size of his 'kingdom' was small and scattered, but it was more than sufficient to suppress the Five Great Shinobi Nations. They hid their villages and prepared in fear for the time when Madara would finally begin to attack the villages one-by-one.

"Madara-sama, why do you leave so often?"

"Just Madara will suffice. I leave so often because of what you refer to as 'business administration'. I go to see my subordinates who rule over each fraction... staying constantly in touch with them to prevent mutiny."

I placed the sword back in the sheathe, which looked recently made.

"Why do you need me here? Don't you, in a way, already have the entire world?"

He smirked and pulled out an old map. It had markings in red...which had clearly been made by me. The more I found out, the more I found the past me troublesome.

Just why did the past me hand Madara the world on a piece of paper?

"You see Aira, if you, a girl from no ninja background and financial backing made it so far...then is it not a threat to me to have you on the other side?"

The great Uchiha Madara considered me dangerous enough to keep me close?

"This world domination plan, it could have been carried out by any of the five great shinobi nations...or even minor villages, for that matter. Imagine the kind of damage possible if you use that talent against me."

I looked at the map and recalled the words I had written in my diary. The past me called it 'disruptive innovation". A change so huge, it would destroy ideas and beliefs thickly rooted in the society.

Okay...while I was pleased with his flattery and attention, it didn't change the fact that I was basically being held captive here. With nothing to do.

"Madara...do you plan on just keeping me here, completely idle and alone?"

"For the time being, yes."

I groaned and walked back to the bed, curling up into a ball.

I am being grounded, by none other than Uchiha Madara.

Madara P.O.V

I watched as Aira groaned and lied down on the bed. She seemed to be sleeping to stave off her boredom.

I looked at her hand. It should have been completely out of commission after she used the sound sphere attack on Kakuzu. Kabuto declared the damage too bad to heal, so I sent white zetsu to help her cope up. But now, her skin had no marks...and it wasn't paper white like it should be when Zetsu was inhabiting her arm.

It wasn't just her arm, her appearance on the whole had changed too much. Black hair and brown eyes. Her hands that should be slightly rough and colloused due to her training in kenjutsu was smooth like that of a noblewoman.

Worst of all, she was hesitant.

The old Aira, who was atleast ten steps ahead of others, was no where to be seen.

"Madara-sama, is this girl really Ryuugamine Aira?"

"She is. There is no questioning it." It wasn't me who replied. It was Obito. Apparently the current Aira was really close to the way she was, back at Konoha during her chuunin exams, when she dueled Obito. The Obito who was disguised as Mizushima Kanata.

"Did you find something, Obito?" He nodded. He had gone on a mission to Konohagakure, to discover Aira's roots. "You really wouldn't believe it."
His face seemed to say as much. The mask might hide his features, but the one eye that peeked behind his mask showed disbelief.

"Aira arrived in Konohagakure a week before the exams. At that time, she had the same appearance - black hair and brown eyes. The matron claims that within a week of arriving at the orphanage, her hair turned white and her eyes took on a shade of bright red."

"Are appearances meant to change that much on its own?" I knew what Nagato was getting at. He awakened his Rinnegan after his skirmish with Hanzo. The Uchihas unlock their Sharingan and it's higher abilities when they go through mind shattering horrors.

If there is a trigger that changed Aira's appearance, then we only have two options :-

1. Help her remember the past or

2. Replicate the conditions so that she awakens.

The trigger wasn't likely to be anything peaceful. The strategist who holds the key to the peace of our world - has to suffer the horrors of war.

Others wouldn't understand her pain. The knowledge of the future and the weight of deciding who does what. On the surface it is planning on action. But I am sure that the past Aira was strained because she was playing God - deciding who survives and who doesn't.

Why do I worry about her?

'Do you plan on just keeping me here, completely idle and alone'

Her words echoed in my mind. Whether it was coincidence or providence that she chose the exact words he would say, whenever I left him behind, unwilling to bring him to war.

That day, I made the mistake of conceding to his demands and taking him to battle. I wouldn't make the same mistake with Aira.

...the mistake I made with Izuna.