The Path of an Uchiha - A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 7

Sowing the Seeds

On a bright, sunny day, the now nine year old Kotomi was training out on the training grounds. Weaving hand signs, she was preparing to release a jutsu. "Fire style! Fireball jutsu!" Flames started coming out of her mouth. The wind was blowing hard, a giant fireball was in front of her.

Soon stopping, she started panting hard. "That was good. But you need to work on your endurance." Grunting, Kotomi saw Sasuke walking up to her.

"Onii-san... Were you watching this whole time?"

Sasuke nodded, his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. I want to see how you do with your training. Not just mine."

Kotomi couldn't help but smile. "That's so sweet of you!"

Sasuke looked a bit flustered. "It's because I want you to become strong too! Don't get the wrong idea!"

Laughing her head off, Kotomi held her gut, trying to calm her laughter. "I know! I know! Don't get so worked up, Onii-san!"

Sasuke let out a sigh. "I can give you a few pointers with that jutsu." Kotomi was no longer laughing as her face turned serious. Her attention was on her brother who was about to do the same jutsu she just did moments ago. Weaving hand signs, he was about to release a jutsu. "Fire style! Fireball jutsu!" A strong fireball came out of his mouth. It was much stronger than hers, and it lasted longer.

Kotomi stared at Sasuke at awe, not believing that he could do it so perfectly. "That was amazing..."

Sasuke just shrugged. "You can do the same thing if you train hard enough."

"Right!" She paused for a moment, an idea coming to her head. "Onii-san... Do you mind if we spar?"

A bit surprised by that question, he nodded once. "Just know I'm not going to hold back even for you."

"I'm aware of that." Kotomi got into a fighting stance. "I'm ready whenever you are." Sasuke was ready to fight. She made the first move, lunging towards him.

Their movements were in sync, encountering each other's hits. Sasuke activated his sharingan, soon smiling. "I'm going to make it a bit more challenging."

"Oh... So we're going to play it that way, huh?" Kotomi activated her sharingan as well.

Sasuke grunted at the sight. "When did you..?"

Kotomi lowered her eyes. "I awakened mine at the night when... You know..."

Now understanding, Sasuke nodded. "I see. Since we both have the sharingan, let's see how we can keep up with each other now."

The sparring session was becoming intense. Their movements were even faster than before. It was like they each knew when the other was going to attack, and where they were going to attack.

The match soon ended when Sasuke knocked Kotomi on the ground. Her eyes turned back to normal, managing to sit up. She saw Sasuke's hand extended out towards her as she grabbed it, having him pull her up.

Sasuke looked impressed but troubled at the same time. "You're good, imoto. But you still need work. If you work on your endurance, I know you'll improve and be at least at the same level as me."

Kotomi started to pout. "Just you wait! I'm going to be strong like you! I'm going to continue to train hard!"

Sasuke patted her head. "I know you will one day. I'm proud of how far you've come already."

Kotomi blushed, feeling so happy to hear her brother praising her. "Thank you, Onii-san!" She lunged towards him, hugging him tightly.

Flustered, Sasuke tried to have her let go of him. "H-Hey!"

***

A little later, the two siblings were walking together. "So... The chunin exams are coming up, huh?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. I know I can pass with flying colors. The only problem is... It's a team effort. I already know that idiot Naruto will mess something up."

Kotomi giggled. "Have more confidence in your teammates. I know you all will pass together."

"I guess." Sasuke then stopped where he stood. "Hold on, imoto. I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared in sight.

Looking around, Kotomi had no idea why he just suddenly disappeared like that. "What is he doing..?" Up ahead, she saw a familiar person being held by the shirt collar. Realizing who it was, she ran towards him. "Konohamaru!"

Konohamaru was being held by the shirt collar in midair, his feet dangling above the ground. A guy with a black hoodie with purple markings on his faces was holding him.

Just when she was about to reach him, the guy dropped him, a tiny rock fell to the ground. Stopping where she stood, Kotomi wondered where that came from. Just like everyone else was wondering.

Up on a tree, it was Sasuke, throwing a tiny rock up and down in his hand. Sakura was there along with Konohamaru's two friends, commenting how cool he was. Naruto looked irritated more than anything.

Kotomi shook her head, mumbling this under her breath. "So uncool." Her gaze turned towards the two mysterious people.

The guy who was messing with Konohamaru. A girl with blonde hair that was tied into four sections.

Kotomi and everyone else just noticed this mysterious guy hanging upside down on a branch, the same tree Sasuke was on. He had short red hair, the love character on the side of his forehead.

His gaze was intimidating, but Kotomi stood her ground. Taking his gaze off of her, it wandered to Sasuke. Jumping off from the branch, he started to walk away. The two started to follow him, disappearing in sight.

Sasuke came out of the tree, appearing near Kotomi. He was silent, staring towards where the guy walked off. It was worrying her a bit, but she knew whatever would happen, her brother would be able to handle it.

***

Later that day, Kotomi was home, cooking dinner. Sasuke was sitting at the table, waiting for the food to be done. "Hey imoto."

"What is it?"

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be training a lot more than usual, so don't expect me to be home until late."

"That's fine. But if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

Sasuke lowered his eyes. "Sure." In his thoughts, he wanted to become strong, stronger than anyone has ever seen. He didn't want to get defeated so easily by someone from another village. But more importantly, he wanted to protect his last family member. Looking up at Kotomi while she was cooking, Sasuke swore internally that he would keep her safe no matter the cost.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter was short. It's now transitioning over to the chunin exams! Soon enough, things will start to go down. They got to meet Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro!