Chapter 17- Prodigal

Kakashi appeared on a distant rooftop. He had used the rest of his chakra to shunshin as far as possible from the irate Kushina. Hopefully someone else would bear her wrath.

Sorry Sensei, but its time for you to pay your dues. And I am not exactly on your side after hearing about your attempt at ritualistic suicide.

He dropped back down to street level. He was tired, exhausted, and weary. He looked around him.

Somehow or another, he ended up at the same ramen shop he had eaten at earlier with Yama.

Just one bowl couldn't hurt. Besides. he was very explicit with his instructions to Pakkun this time around.

The puppy was still somewhat young, but he was loyal and smart. He had left the asset Yama in good paws.

Chouza stood there mouth agape. Kakashi had just dropped a lit explosive tag in his lap and left with barely a word.

He now had to deal with an extra Uchiha, but before that, Kushina looked downright murderous.

Chouza stammered out a few words.

"Kushina, go right ahead into the compound, I won't be in your way."

Kushina huffed and walked right in like she owned the place. Chouza wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and turned his attention back to Shijin.

"Kakashi said you're an Uchiha, but I don't recognize you?"

Shijin replied.

"I am related to the Uchiha clan, and I am visiting Konoha in order to learn a bit more about my family history."

Chouza squinted at him a little bit.

"Yeah, I can believe it, you're the spitting image of Fugaku when he was your age.

No offense, but you sure you're not a bastard?"

Shijin thought for a moment.

"Not of Fugaku at least, the ages don't line up."

Chouza nodded.

"Hmm, guess you're right on that.

Well, so here's the deal.

Something pretty big just went down in the village, and all Uchiha and their relatives are under house arrest for now.

You are going to be confined to the compound until further notice,

We are authorized to use lethal force to keep you contained.

Do you understand?"

Shijin shrugged.

"Yeah, but even If I didn't, I'd still be put in there no?"

Chouza laughed.

"Yep! At least you got a good noggin. My son was just born, hope he's as savvy as you are."

Shijin nodded and walked into the compound. He didn't need directions, as the layout of this place hadn't changed too much.

As he walked through the compound, he noticed quite a few members seeing him before doing a double take.

I really should have changed my appearance. It seems I underestimated the similarity between myself and my father.

Too little too late. Let's see where this goes.

Shijin made his way to the clan head's house. He had to introduce himself to the man and ask for a place to say.

It had been a very long time since he had seen his family. Shijin mused to himself.

Must be a blessing in disguise that my emotions are somewhat stunted right now.

I can't imagine being able to act well enough to get past the Sharingan without it.

Shijin stood at the door and raised his hand to knock. He heard a loud and raucous laughter inside. It seems that Kushina had made her way here before him.

He had heard that his mother and Kushina were good friends, but had never seen it due to Kushina's untimely death. If he was free, maybe he should invite Yama over.

Yama would probably be happy to see it.

Shijin rapped on the door a couple times, and heard it get a little quieter in the house. He heard Kushina yell out.

"Don't worry, I'll get it!"

Kushina opened the door and her eyes lit up a little bit in recognition.

"Shijin right? I kinda overheard Kakashi's short discussion with Chouza-san.

I'm Kushina Uzumaki, come on in. Let me introduce you to the Clan Head and his wife."

"Thank you very much, Uzumaki-san., I---"

"None of that now, you'll make me feel old, Kushina is fine!"

"Very well, Kushina-san. I would be most appreciative if you could make the introductions."

Kushina started walking back into the house and gestured Shijin to follow him. She walked into the dining room first and started talking.

"Mikoto, Fugaku-senpai, I want you to meet Shijin, I met him outside the clan grounds, apparently, he's a relative, and he's caught up in this whole house arrest thing too.

Shijin come on in!"

Shijin walked into the room. Itachi didn't really react, but Fugaku and Mikoto both dropped their chopsticks.

The two of them whipped their heads at each other. Fugaku stammered out some words immediately.

"Mikoto, I know what it looks like!"

Mikoto on the other hand activated her Sharingan.

"Oh you do, do you?"

And she picked up her chopsticks that she had dropped and launched them right at Fugaku's face as he was backpedaling away from the dining table.

With a tilt of the head, the chopsticks missed his eyes and impaled themselves into the wall behind him, cracks spreading from their entrance in a foot wide radius.

Mikoto started throwing other items that she could grab from the dining table. First came other people chopsticks, then plates, eventually leading to an entire bowl of rice being hucked at Fugkau's head. (A/N Yeet!)

Fugaku was still trying to get a word in edgewise.

"Look how old he is! There's not possible way I'm his father.

He does look a lot like me, but remember I had an older brother who died in the war!

Just calm down for a second, please!"

Kushina, Itachi, and Shijin watched the couple silently. All of them figured out what was going on near instantly, and they had no dog in this fight.

Best not to catch themselves in the crossfire.

Right after the rice bowl crashed into the wall with a loud THUD, Naruto and Sasuke, who were in a crib in the dining room started crying.

That seemed to snap Mikoto out of her state, and she instantly turned away from Fugaku and hurried back to her child and Kushina's.

Fugaku took this as his cue to exit. He locked eyes with Shijin and jerked his head in a Follow Me manner.

Shijin was happy to oblige, and the pair of them left Kushina and Mikoto with the children.

Fugaku was at a loss. Someone looking exactly like a bastard son had popped up at the worst possible timing. He already had the issues with the Hokage and house arrest, and now someone who was the spitting image of him when he was younger showed up on his doorstep.

The last thing he needs is another heredity dispute in the clan.

He had named Itachi as the clan successor, and some of the elders were still complaining because it was rumored that his elder brother had sired a bastard or two while out on missions and that those children should be the clan successors by rite of primogeniture.

Fugaku led the young man to his office and sat down. The boy had been following him wordlessly, and sat down across from him.

Fugaku took this opportunity to really look at him. The kid was about 16 or 17 years old, which was just in line with the age of the rumored bastards. He eve had the trademark Uchiha black hair and eyes.

Fugaku scrutinized Shijin's face carefully before letting out a heavy sigh.

There was no way he could play dumb about this. The kid looked like a mainline Uchiha, and it was to the level of being undeniable.

Fugaku broke the silence.

"Shijin, huh, what's your story, kid?"

Shijin looked at his father. He didn't remember his father looking this young, but that was to be expected.

It seems like he had been mistaken for a bastard of his uncle. He had no such desires, so he cut straight to the point.

"I am not a bastard of the Main Line and make no claims of heredity."

Fugaku sighed.

"That's not what I'm trying to get out of you, though I appreciate you trying to allay my fears. I mean it, what's your story? Why are you here?"

Shijin replied.

"My village was destroyed in the last Great War and my entire family had died long before that.

During the war, I was captured and subjugated to a form of sensory deprivation that has left my emotions stunted.

I knew I was a relative to the Uchiha, and I have traveled here in search of employment and shelter, such as room and board as a servant of the main house.

I hope that my time here may enable me to regain some of my emotional function.

I have no intentions towards the Uchiha clan, and only seek out a meager existence."

Fugaku sighed again. He could see that this kid was, for lack of a better word, really fucked up.

He had that look that some veterans get once they stop caring about anything and everything.

Every single time Fugaku had seen that look on a ninja, they did not come back from their next mission.

Fugaku looked at this kid. It was sad to see a product of the shinobi world staring him in the face with a face like his own. He wondered if Sasuke or Itachi would ever look like this

God, if you're up there, please watch out for my sons, and please help this young man before me.

It was like Fugaku was looking at a younger version of himself, and it reminded him of the day he lost his comrades and awakened his Sharingan.

Fugaku took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'll level with you Shijin, I have no idea how to handle you. You look like a younger version of me or my brother, which is going to blow up into some clan disputes.

We can take a blood test, but I have a feeling that it won't help. The Uchiha genes can be sedentary for generations and reactivate. If that happened to you, the test will say that you are full-blooded Uchiha.

Tell me, did you ever awake the Sharingan? You said you fought in the previous war? Were you a ninja?"

"I was indeed a ninja, but I was a genin, and I have performed a forbidden jutsu that crippled my chakra.

I cannot cast a single jutsu, and have even less of a chance of awakening the Sharingan."

Fugaku nodded at Shijin's statements.

"I don't know if I can get you the servant position you have asked for. The political issues are too much.

What I can do however is---"

Mikoto chose this moment to slam the door open.

"You think you can run away like that?"

Fugaku cringed, her Sharingan was still active, and it was boring holes in his skull.

She sat down next to her husband and looked at Shijin.

"Who are you?"

Shijin, under the scrutiny of a three-tomoe Sharingan had to choose his next words very carefully.

"It's a long story, however, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I am not the bastard of Fugaku Uchiha."

Mikoto nodded and deactivated her Sharingan.

"Makes sense, Fugaku would have had to been what 12, 13 to sire someone your age. The math doesn't add up."

Fugaku was agape next to her and muttered.

"Then why did you..."

Mikoto ignored his protests before continuing.

"The problem is however, you look almost exactly like Fugaku or his older brother did at your age.

Everyone in the clan that sees you will think you a bastard of one of them, and you probably are, even if you don't know it.

The resemblance is downright uncanny.

This leaves us with extremely limited options.

1. We pretend you're not related to us and bring great shame on the main line because it is obviously a lie.

2. We claim that you are a bastard of Fugaku, and he suffers immense shame. This also brings the age question into focus and shames Fugaku even more.

3. We claim that you are a bastard of his brother. This brings up heredity disputes. That would be extremely unpalatable.

Options 1 is not available. Option 2 is possible, but we would wish to avoid it for obvious reasons.

Option 3 however. When I looked at you with the Sharingan, I'm sorry but I noticed the state of your chakra..."

Shijin replied.

"It is as you have seen, I am essentially crippled when it comes to chakra. I have no reserves.

It may recover over years, but I may never become whole, either."

Mikoto continued.

"With that being the case, there is no way that someone will want you to inherit the clan, so option 3 can be safely executed.

Strength as well as bloodline are taken into account when it comes to successorship."

Fugaku chimed in.

"Right you are Mikoto. However there is one issue.

How shall I treat the bastard of my dear brother, who is no longer of this earth?

Shijin here claims that his entire family died, and so he is orphaned.

Thus, if he were the child of my brother, I would be honor bound to adopt him."

Mikoto looked at him.

"So?"

Fugaku tripped over his words.

"What do you mean so? We'd have to adopt him? He'd have to live with us?

We barely know him? He a foreign ninja? Aren't we being a little hasty? No offense Shijin.

"No offense taken, Fugaku-san. Those are valid points."

Mikoto looked at her husband like he was an idiot.

"You just adopted a godson. One more won't hurt.

Besides, I'm still convinced that Shijin is your nephew.

Look at him with your Sharingan."

Fugaku sighed and made a quick hand seal before activating his Sharingan. He gazed at Shijin and tried to see whats underneath the underneath.

His face twitched a little bit at what he saw, but he governed the majority of his expression.

The Sharingan revealed quite a few more things about Shijin. His face wasn't just eerily similar to the Main line Uchiha, it was the same.

Anyone that had a three-tomoe Sharingan would know that Shijin is a main line descendant. It was as good as a DNA test.

You couldn't even pretend that Shijin was an atavistic Uchiha, he was definitely his brother's kid.

Fugaku raised his hand to his face and pinched and rubbed his brow. He still had to ask though.

"Do you know what your father looked like?"

"I do."

"Did he look like me?"

"Yes."

Fugaku and Mikoto shared one last look before Fugaku turned back to Shijin.

"That servant position is impossible. I'm adopting you.

Come, let's introduce you to your brothers."

Aniki, you stupid freaking poon-hound. Still giving me problems you horndog.

Shijin followed the couple as they made their way back to the dining room.

When they got there, Itachi was still sitting at the table, but so was Kushina.

Shijin looked at her, and his spine dropped into his stomach. She was breastfeeding both Naruto and Sasuke.

I cannot let Yama know about this. He'll have a field day.