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"Boil release: Stream Dash!" Katsuro yelled out, bubbling up his chakra to an extreme temperature before shooting a stream of magma from his lips, effectively scorching the cloaked enemy.

He clenched his jaw at his rival, watching as whoever he just burned alive used the last bits of their life to weakly use a transportation jutsu.

Katsuro didn't care much, either his enemy would burn to death wherever he was transported to, or he'd survive and live a life filled with wounds.

Lord, if his mother witnessed that she'd have a stroke, Katsuro was sure of it.

Katsuro didn't manage to catch a good look at his attacker's face, only ever noting that he used a chain to fight, he was short, and had pale skin.

Once the mysterious figure was gone, Katsuro ran a hand through his hair in apprehension. It wasn't out of the ordinary that he would engage in combat, rogue ninja and criminals were still very prominent, but something about this altercation felt odd.

"Dad? You good?" Katsuro called, turning his back and jogging towards his father who he separated from recently to go and fight whoever that cloaked person was.

Once he found his father, he approached him with an arched brow. That was until his ruby red eyes landed on the child on the floor.

Katsuro's eyes narrowed, and he was thrown for a loop as this enemy and the cloaked one who just fought had certain similarities that Katsuro was barely able to make the connection between.

"Oh damn there are more of them?" Katsuro asked curiously, going to walk towards the opponent on the floor, but Sasuke shot out an arm, stopping him from doing so.

Katsuro sent his father a confused glance.

Sasuke was protective of Katsuro, sure. But he also believed in his son's skillset enough to let him handle things on his own, so why was he stopping him now?

It's not like the opponent seemed exponentially strong or anything....

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, his sharingan clad gaze pointed directly towards the odd enemy across from them.

The boy in question didn't speak, but instead slowly rose up from the ground and turned to face the two Uchiha men. Katsuro's jaw subtly dropped and Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the sight of the boy's eyes.

He had the sharingan!

The boy, much like Katsuro's opponent from minutes prior, used a simple transportation jutsu to flee as he knew this would be a fight he couldn't win. In turn, he left the father son duo in a state of stunned silence.

"Did your opponent also have the sharingan?" Sasuke asked seriously, turning to his son who looked deep in thought.

Katsuro shrugged, "I didn't get a look of his face, he had that cloak on and fled before-" He paused mid sentence, a look of realization dawning on his features.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I hit him with a boil style jutsu, and it was burning him from the feet upwards. But he looked desperate to preserve where his eyes would've been, that isn't somebody's first reaction when I hit them with that jutsu." Katsuro claimed.

Sasuke's stoic face remained, but after years of knowing the man Katsuro knew better than that. His dad looked concerned.

"That means we're dealing with a group of people who have access to the sharingan." Katsuro went on to say, worry clearly etched into his face. Sasuke sighed and turned around, opting to summon one of his messenger hawks.

"I'm going to update Naruto."

His name was Shin Uchiha, or at least that is what he named himself. He was a cloaked man standing on top of a pillar in the center of his extravagant cave-like hideout.

Beneath him was one of his subordinates, specifically the one who had survived his encounter with Sasuke Uchiha. The other who was sent to fight Katsuro passed away from his injuries, but managed to preserve his eyes before dying as he was instructed.

"So, you've seen him?" Shin asked curiously beneath his cloak, gazing down at the clone standing beneath him.

"And? How was Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Strong...Really Strong." The child-like clone admitted, retelling the events seriously.

"That's nothing like his true power. The power of Sasuke Uchiha's sharingan, that is." Shin replied much to the clone's angered expression.

"Sharingan? He killed Itachi. He's unforgivable. Must kill-" The clone exclaimed

"That's right. Sasuke, the disgrace of the proud Uchiha. He tainted his bloodline with the blood of his enemies by having children with Haru Oshiro Senju of the Akatsuki. And then he gave her his last name. He doesn't deserve to have the sharingan." Shin murmured, disdain laced through his tone.

Shin's young clone nodded in understanding.

"I saw Katsuro Uchiha as well, I don't think he's the one you were looking for. But he's also very strong." The clone claimed.

Shin nodded at the news, "Well then, that leaves three candidates. The twins, and the youngest amongst the five."

"How do we know Masahiko didn't have it? The rinnegan?" The clone asked curiously, looking up at his master with respect.

"He would've used it to escape, but he didn't. He escaped through brute strength, that's how I know he isn't the one." Shin admitted, thinking back to the white haired teenager who looked so much like the second hokage Shin loathed.

He managed to slip away from being captured earlier, and it angered Shin greatly. Masahiko would've made an honorable kill for the Uchiha clan, he's a disgrace.

He's the biggest disgrace out of all of those kids, and yet he wields the sharingan the most.

"Well, you know your mission. Update me soon."

And with that, a new plan commenced.

I could hear my own heartbeat just from how nervous I am walking through the doors of the Konoha hospital.

My mom specifically told me to stay in my room, but of course, I was itching to go outside and get the answers I craved after crying my lungs of anger for ten minutes in my room.

So now I'm here, in the Konoha hospital, the same building as my mom. Hopefully all of my experience hiding from fanboys will help me out here!

I walked around with hesitation, dark eyes scoping the various hallways and waiting rooms with caution as I made my move.

Okay. Hide from mom. She's somewhere in this hospital so I gotta be careful. Find granny Tsunade or Ms.Shizune-

"Runa? Oh my goodness I haven't seen you in so long!"

Oh! That was way easier than I expected...

I pivot my foot and turn around to face one of the two women I was looking for in the first place. "Ms.Shizune!" I exclaim, walking towards her with a bright smile.

Shizune's been a friend of my mom for years, therefore she was always around with granny Tsunade when I was growing up! Hopefully I could talk to her in confidence about this...

Under the fluorescent hospital lights, I can't tell if Shizune notices my reddened nose and glossy eyes. God I wish I could be one of those people who easily masked signs of crying after a couple of minutes, but no.

Ever since I was little, my eyes would be a dead give away for hours of my previous crying state, and that hasn't changed ever since.

Shizune arches a brow at me but approaches nonetheless, it's clear that she's confused by my presence but it's overrun by her happiness in seeing me. "Looking for Haru? She's upstairs I could take you to her-"

"No! No, that's not what I came here for." I say with a sweatdrop. Again, her eyebrow quirks upward in confusion. I gulp, eyes shifting around nervously in search for any trace of my mom's presence in the hospital hallway I've found myself in.

If my mom knew I left my room, she'd kill me!

No no it's fine, she won't notice! She's too busy with Daisuke right now.

"There's actually something I'd like to ask you Ms.Shizune," I admit, looking around cautiously for any traces of my mom in the hallway. Luckily, she's still nowhere to be found.

"But please don't tell my mom about it!" I exclaim, stepping towards her hopefully. Shizune tilted her head a bit, even more confused than before but agreed nonetheless.

She brought me to a place where we could sit down a bit more privately, away from the sneaky ears of anybody who'd be curious enough to listen on.

It's then that I ask her the question that's been plaguing my brain.

"Of course Haru is your mother!" Shizune exclaimed, bewildered at the question I threw her way. I bite my inner cheek, looking down at my manicure analyzing the black paint coating each nail.

I was around six years old at the time. I had a missing front tooth, unruly long black hair that was always windswept, and little scuffs on my arms and legs from playing outside for too long.

I walked back into the house after a long running around session, the light purple dress my mom put me in had stains from the grass all over it, and in the back of my head I was worried that she'd be upset with me over it.

Once I found her however, she said nothing about the dress and looked over at me with a big smile. Haruki was sitting across from her on the couch, never one to rough around and play outside in the scorching hot sun and adrenaline running through her veins.

No, she always stayed inside (Unless the outdoorsy activity was strolling through my mom's carefully crafted flower garden with an umbrella protecting her pale skin) and followed my mom around.

Just like she was now, as she sat across from my mom I noticed the various bottles of nail polishes, some had iridescent sparkles and some were pigmented with soft pastel shades.

Upon further inspection, my mom was holding one of the bottles in her hand, a light pink shade with sparse sparkles running through the color.

Haruki.

I glanced over at my sister, noticing how her hair was neatly tied up in a sleek ponytail with a cute bow, and the ends of her white hair bounced up in big girls.

It was a huge contrast to my windswept hair, to say the least.

The dress she wore was identical to mine except for the color, as hers was a powdery blue color while mine was a soft lavender. And of course, hers was free of any stains from the outdoors unlike mine.

If my mom cared about the state of my dress (Which she never did) She didn't show it. Instead, her bright smile only grew at the sight of me, and gestured that I walk over to her with her free hand.

I followed her orders to a T and approached the two, glancing between Haruki's outstretched hands and my mom's face.

"Hey, you've been out there for a long time. You want me to make you some lemonade? Or do you want some ice cream?" Her voice was melodic, soft, very loving.

Much to my initial worries, she seemed amused rather than terrified by my visuals as a result from playing outside for too long. She tightened the polish bottle in her hand, done with Haruki's little manicure and ready to pay me full attention.

She did so by gently brushing away wisps of dark locks that had fallen on my face with her fingertips, and pinching at my already reddened cheeks from the sun exposure.

I blinked up at her curiously, going back to looking between Haruki's nails, the row of polish bottles, and my mom's face.

My mom easily noticed where my attention was, and she quirked a brow at me. "Do you wanna do your nails too Runa?"

Again, I glanced back and forth between all of the sparkly bottles, Haruki (Who had finished her manicure) And had resorted to laying down on the single seated sofa for a nap with her stuffed bear, and my mom.

I look down at my tiny hands curiously, the small bangle on my right hand with numerous sparkling crystals glittering under our living room lighting catching my eye.

Hmmm....If I had sparkly nails a sparkly bracelet, that'd be too much!

"I don't want those colors." I mumble honestly, letting my mom hook her hands under my arms and pick me up to sit me down where Haruki once was.

"No? Then what colors would you like?" My mom asked, still toying with my hair and fixing up my disheveled appearance. She pulls away only for a second, to lightly scratch a small spot on her arm, and yet my eyes follow her hand.

My mom's always had the same manicure, always always always.

Her nails are long, like... long. And they're black! A far cry from Haruki's sparkles and pastel shades.

"I want them like yours mommy." I say out loud, reaching out and taking her hand in my smaller one.

Unbeknownst to me since I'm stuck staring at her nails and playing with her slender hands, toying with her glittering ring, she freezes at my request.

"You want them like mine?" She asks, a small smile appearing on her face. I nodded nonchalantly, squeaking out in surprise when she hooked her hands under my arms once more and picked me up.

She placed me on her hip and stood up, carrying me over to her room upstairs where she had her own stash of darkly colored polishes.

I don't know if I've ever seen her so excited, she plopped me down between her dozens of soft pillows and kissed my cheek before rushing into her walk in closet and rummaging through some storage units.

I watched with big and curious eyes as she returned with the desired color and shook the bottle, giddily taking my small hands and carefully going to paint my nails like I wanted.

I watched with wide eyes, this being the first time that I've ever done my nails & that I've ever had a moment to myself with my mom like this. Normally she had Daisuke attached to one hip and Haruki attached to the other.

Once she was done, she gently blew on my manicure so that it'd dry a bit faster, and showed my own hands to me in excitement.

"Do you like them?" She asked, eyeing me carefully to garner my expression.

My mouth turned into an O shape out of surprise, which then morphed into a smile. My mom, excited by my reaction, hauled me into her arms once more and attacked my face with kisses.

All I remember hearing was her telling me how cute I looked and how I was her mini me, and that she loved me so so much-

I blink slowly, tearing my eyes away from my hands to look over at Shizune.

I take a deep breath after remembering the fond memory (One of my only fond memories with her) and frown.

"Could you tell me about my birth? You were there right? Who else was there? I haven't seen any pictures of my mom carrying me when I was born, but I've seen pictures of everybody else." I go on to say inquisitively.

"Oh- umm well a lot of that is confidential." Shizune admitted softly. It does nothing to ease my suspicions, instead, it only furthers my need to investigate further.

"You know, I looked around and found Haruki's birth certificate but I couldn't find my own." I reveal, turning to her with an arched brow.

"Oh honey but that doesn't mean anything! I'm sure Haru has it somewhere in that big house of hers." Shizune said calmly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Trust me when I say you're her daughter. I've known her since she was around your age now and you two are more alike than you think." She admitted with a smile, mentally noting my similarities to my mom.

I look away from her, staring off into the distance rather blankly. All of my mom's friends always tell me the same thing, that she and I are the same, but I just can't see it.

If we were alike, then I'd think we'd get along! Not fight all the time like we usually do...

"There are just so many coincidences, too many that are adding up. Do you know about a red haired woman with glasses? While my mom was in that coma, my dad would always bring me to her. But he wouldn't leave Haruki with her, do you know anything about that?"

To my absolute horror (Although I don't show it) Shizune tenses up. She tries to mask the reaction by sending me another comfortable smile, but I know what I saw.

She's hiding something from me.

"I do, but I'm sorry Runa, it's also confidential." She sighed, her calm expression turning into one of worry. "But I can promise you, you are Haru's daughter. There's not a single doubt in my mind."

"Ms.Shizune, I'm sorry. That's very nice but it's not enough." I say softly, bowing my head away from her.

"How could I confront you with all of these questions and evidence, and only receive a 'trust me' in response? How am I supposed to believe that?" I ask, then standing up from beside her.

"Runa I know it must sound bad, but you really do have to trust me on this" Shizune sighed. I blink at that, still entirely unconvinced by her argument.

"Right...Well, I'm gonna go now, I think I got the answers I needed." I say, sending her a curt nod before walking off on my own.

So many thoughts are coursing through my head. Why couldn't she just give me some evidence to prove me wrong?! The missing birth certificate, my mom's secrecy, the situation with my dad, Haruki, and Karin, my relationship with my mom, everything!

Everything is making sense in a way I don't want it to!

Who can I even go to talk to now?

....Maybe I should ask my dad directly! Yes! That's it!

I'll seek him out myself and ask him everything I want to know, and I'll get to see him at the same time! It's a double win!

Brain still overrun with so many flustering thoughts, I nearly miss the sight of a certain white haired girl crossing paths with me in one of the hospital's many hallways.

I freeze at the sight of her, and she freezes as well, equally as shocked to find me here of all places. Well, I'd be shocked to find myself here if I were her as well.

I absolutely hate hospitals! All they do is make my very rational irrational fear of needles ten times worse!

With both of us awkwardly paused in the middle of the hallway, I take a moment to notice the flowers and box cupcakes occupying Haruki's arms.

I eye the balloons that are tied to the box of sweets, all decorated with a 'get well soon!' lettering that makes her intentions in this building crystal clear.

"I just wanted to leave these with mom, so that Daisuke will have them when he wakes up." Haruki claimed, skipping the greetings as we both endure this awkward stare off.

I nod slowly, shifting my gaze from her dark yet sparkling eyes to the wall besides me.

I'd rather watch paint dry than stare into her critical gaze, I swear she gets creepy as hell and forgets to blink it's terrible-

"Did you go see mom?" She asked, taking a step towards me and narrowing her eyes the slightest bit. I sigh, knowing that lying to Haruki is a waste of time.