Chapter 17: One step closer
"Thank you very much for inviting me, Kushina, Tsunade-sensei," Mikoto expressed her gratitude.
"Don't worry, Mikoto, you know you're always welcome," reassured Kushina.
"It's true! It's not every day I meet my first students," Tsunade added.
Two of the three members of the original Team Tsunade were reunited with their Jounin Sensei. After leaving Menma at the Ninja Academy, Konan went shopping for the day. Therefore, in theory, the Uzumaki house was left alone, and Menma and the redhead decided to invite Mikoto.
As the mother of the talented Itachi Uchiha from a very young age, Mikoto, a jet-black-haired woman, had left her career as a Kunoichi. However, she never lost contact with Kushina or Tsunade. Their friendship transcended the world of the Ninja, which is why they remained great friends despite the distance.
Menma found his mother's friendship with the Uchiha interesting. He thought it could be useful in the future, so he decided to continue nurturing it, even though Kushina only pretended to have severed her ties with Mikoto.
However, Menma was partly interested in the Uchiha matriarch because he, as the Uzumaki Prince, had begun a dark experiment in his mind. For this Mikoto would be essential.
"I needed this," Mikoto raised her glass of liquor to toast. "For friendship!"
"For friendship!" Kushina and Tsunade seconded.
Though not intoxicated, the effects of a couple of drinks made them lively and happy. They engaged in conversation about trivial matters and reminisced about their old days with joy. This brought some solace to Mikoto, who, later that night, would become an enemy to those two people she held so dear, or at least that's what Menma thought.
"Mikoto-san!" Menma exclaimed, surprising the raven-haired woman as he ran towards her and hopped onto her legs. Mikoto welcomed the young prince with open arms, feeling a sense of longing for another child despite having the prodigious Itachi Uchiha.
However, her husband was emotionally distant, which left her with an unfulfilled desire. Therefore, she enjoyed spending time with children.
She didn't care about the fact that Menma should be at the Academy. She was experiencing complex emotions, knowing that in a few hours, she would have to fight against Kushina and Tsunade when the Uchiha initiated the Civil War.
Yet, the memories she shared with her team were numerous and delightful, and she couldn't resist embracing this final moment of coexistence.
"Look, Mikoto-san" Menma reached into his clothes and revealed a precious platinum-plated, polished, elongated eight-sided crystal.
It was held vertically with a finely planned chain, which he presented to Mikoto, bringing it close to her face.
"It's very nice, Menma-kun," Mikoto observed with amusement, looking at the seemingly smiling boy.
"Take a good look at it, Mikoto-san," Menma urged her. "Look at the sparkles it emits with the light. There are so many… Among all those sparkles, you can get lost, captivated by their beauty."
In reality, the subtle glows that captivated Mikoto's gaze were not merely a reflection of light. It was Menma's chakra flowing through the 'crystal,' which was actually made of Kinton metal (Adamantine Sealing Chains) and coated with a dense layer of silver.
As Mikoto watched the sparkling crystal, she felt a surge of warmth within her. It was an unfamiliar, strange sensation that made her heart race, but she couldn't explain why. Slowly she began to get sleepy.
"At the slightest movement of the necklace, the lights blink, dance, go out and shine again... Look at their movement... From left to right... From right to left... Slow, amazing, captivating…"
Almost imperceptibly, Menma had been raising his necklace that she held in her hand until the jewel was above Mikoto's gaze.
Gradually, the young prince had modulated his voice, until it acquired a strange tone, like an incitement, persuasive, and then, little by little, authoritative, demanding. But apparently, the Uchiha didn't realize any of that. Her gaze had been caught on the oscillating metallic crystal, which Menma began to rock gently from side to side once he noticed his prey following him with his gaze completely.
"That's it... Right to left and left to right... You can't take your eyes off the sparkles... It's impossible to take your eyes off... All your attention, all your mind is on the pendant…"
The cheerful expression had not been erased from Mikoto's face. However, his eyes had lost their shine and were glassy, opaque and seemed to tremble as if they were trying in vain to oppose the irresistible force that closed his eyelids little by little.
As they watched how the jet was sinking into the power of its master, Kushina and Tsunade had to make an enormous effort to remain calm. Inside, their excitement at seeing their dear friend subjugated grew more and more, imagining the new memories they were going to build together while they served the future patriarch of the Uzumaki Clan with absolute devotion, dedication and fanaticism.
Menma reflected, once he confirmed that Mikoto was in his clutches by closing her eyes and resting her chin on her chest, about his plan.
He methodically thought about the plan, since the black-haired woman, being a Sharingan user, would be able to defend herself from his power unlike his other victims.
It could be catastrophic that after revealing his nature as the scourge of the Uzumaki Prince to the world, should the woman manage to escape him.
That is why he thought of another method to subdue her and had hit the nail on the head with that Kinton Jutsu through which he transmitted his Chakra through those multicolored beams of light to dominate the target just as he would have done with the crimson Doujutsu.
He would thus take her off guard and she would not be able to even try to defend herself from her.
"Well, now with Mikoto under my power, let them exterminate the Uchiha for me…" Menma smiled wickedly.
—----
Itachi Uchiha was tearing his heart apart inside...
He was a young ANBU with a promising future as he was a prodigy who only lasted a year at the Ninja Academy and soon rose through the ranks as his amazing ability was put to the test again and again. From a very young age he lived through the horrors of war and for that reason he was a fervent pacifist. He strove to make Konoha a better place to live every day. However, he was their the day when an Uchiha controlled the Kyuubi causing the Yondaime to offer his life to seal the beast.
And that caused the Uchiha to be held accountable. A series of fortuitous and unfortunate events turned into something terrible. The Uchiha had a special meeting about the continuity of their lineage, not knowing that the Bijuu attack would take place that day and they were marked as main suspects because the intelligence of the village reviewed in detail the brain of Minato's corpse to find out all possible details about the incident...
Then the persecution against the Sharingan Clan began. The first thing that was done was to relocate them to the periphery of the village so that they would be far from the centers of power. Subsequently, they were removed from key positions in the village command system to leave them without real political power and even to the point of paying them less for missions than Ninja from other clans in order to make them dependent on the budget that he assigned them the village.
All this became a breeding ground, where the resentment of the Uchiha found fertile ground to radicalize the members of the clan. It was then that Mikoto's husband and clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, began the machinations to reclaim the place he believed the Sharingan Clan deserved. He began to hold secret meetings to prepare the Ninja for the coup that after several clandestine meetings they decided to give.
They had plans for each of the clans: it was essential to defeat the Hyuga from a distance to avoid their powerful Taijutsu, trying to control as many women as possible to incorporate the Byakugan into the Sharingan clan; as for the Inuzuka, the idea was to corner and intimidate them to see if they could join them because the Clan of Dogs also had complexes and ambition to climb the command structure of the village; for the Akimichi they were thinking of proposing an alliance to take advantage of their physical power and if they did not accept, they would burn them to ashes. As for the other clans, if they could seize their secrets, they would be well used, but the important thing was to neutralize them at any cost...
And that scenario could violate the village so that enemies from outside would try to attack it, which, due to the crossing of alliances and pacts, could trigger a new Great Ninja War, something that Itachi was not going to allow for the world. In one of the most complicated scenarios for any person in terms of decision making, the Uchiha was forced to choose between the clan in which he had grown up and the village that he loved. And he decided on the last one...
An elite force made up of the best ANBU and him, waited for the final meeting where the coup would begin, taking advantage of the fact that all the Uchiha were going to be in the complex to kill them all...
Itachi led that privileged group, killing the strongest Ninja in the clan. His companions took care of the bulk of the Ninja body and the civilians after Mikoto's son revealed the secret refuges of the Uchihia complex... Just as it had happened years ago in Uzushio with the Uzumaki, the Uchiha, except for Sarada and her father Sasuke, perished with the obvious exception of the assassin who in the eyes of the whole world would look like a madman who killed all his family blood solely for his lust for power, who staged a jailbreak to escape from Konoha under the guise of becoming a Renegade Ninja...
The ANBU had one last meeting with his family: his father Fugaku and what he believed to be his mother. He had his back to them, who were calm, sitting on their legs with their knees on the ground.
"Excuse me, Itachi... " The leader of the Uchiha murmured
"I didn't think the village would get to the point of launching you against us.."
"Don't worry, son…" Mikoto's clone mused sweetly "Whatever happens, we'll always love you…"
"I'm sorry"
The ANBU struggled to keep his voice from cracking
"Really, I'm sorry…"
Two cuts to their spines and the leading couple of the Uchiha Clan perished as well. Itachi practically closed the curtains on his clan's history, thinking that after Sarada, the Uchiha blood would thin out, taking with it the Curse of Hate that had caused them so much pain and led his people to plan the cou to.satiate their lust for power and the desire for revenge...
…
"It's done, officially the Uchiha are extinct with the exception of Sasuke, Sarada… And Mikoto…"
A Kage Bunshin from Koharu had diligently arrived at the Uzumaki household to report the matter. The original, wearing her old lady guise as she did outside the four walls of the Uzumaki base of operations, was brewing the post-massage looting of the Uchiha compound with the secret goal of finding something useful for her master...
"That makes me happy…" Menma replied, causing a deep blush in his chronologically oldest slave's reply. "Good job, my good little bitch."
"That's why I exist, master…" The brunette said subtly excited, before dissipating herself and leaving.
'Now Mikoto-san, you are eternally mine…"
The family was in the kitchen, commemorating the addition of the beautiful raven haired woman to the entourage of slaves of the Uzumaki Prince.
Tsunade and Shizune clinked glasses with liquor, while Konan stood behind Menma dutifully. Kushina meanwhile was currently being teased by a toy in her cunt while tied up on the floor being ignored.
Menma was sitting on achair while looking at the immobile Mikoto, who remained seated in the same chair where she had been subjected, with her gaze lowered and her eyes narrowed, devoid of brightness.
"And now what are we going to do, master?" The blue-haired woman asked, running her index finger over the lips of the Uchiha.
"Since you said something, I suppose the time has come to execute the Jutsu I've been planning for a long time"
Menma answered as he stood up "Let's go to the basement, it's time to teach them something…"
The slaves followed the owner of their bodies, their minds and their souls to the aforementioned place, while Menma led the new acquisition of the clan by the hand, who allowed herself to be guided in a completely docile manner.
They soon reached the main room and without having to say anything, the slaves undressed in front of their master to change into the revealing sports outfits they were used to wearing in that place. Mikoto froze in the middle of the room, since she was in such a deep state of transe, that she needed someone to direct her even for the slightest movement...
When the slaves were presentable for their master, all their attention returned to their adored master, who had finished drawing a symbol consisting of a pair of spirals joined by several frets... Quite similar to the one the Uzumaki Prince had already used to rejuvenate Tsunade and Koharu.
"What is that stroke for, master-nephew?" Shizune was curious, since she had not seen the two previously used Shikijutsu
"It is to perform the Shikijutsu called Nine Masked Beasts"
The prince answered calmly
"That's why I've been saving my Chakra all this time and using it as little as possible"
"Now I understand…" The Sannin murmured, finally resolving the doubt she had regarding her owner's behavior
"Well then…"
Menma settled at the midpoint of the frets
"When I finish executing this Shikijutsu, you will be suprised, I assure you that…"
The women limited themselves to watching expectantly what their master was going to do...
Then, Menma took a Kunai between his clothes and for the concern of his slaves, holding the weapon with his right hand, he traced a symbol on the back of his left hand, then changed the weapon's end and prepared to mark his back from the other hand.
Blood ran down him from the cuts.
The slaves wanted to help their beloved lord, but they were aware that they had to wait for orders, since Menma's wisdom was far above them and he always knew what he was doing.
"I'll start then…" The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath
"Ah…!"
Menma began to release chakra in the form of a visible blue colored flaming aura. To the bewilderment of the women, Menma soon fell down seemingly uncousious. With his back exposed Menma's body began to visibly increase its muscle mass. His muscles wriggled beneath his skin seemingly alive.
Soon the unexpected increase in the volume of his body, began to exit out of his back. Slowly one after another, figures were released form his back each one different from the other. After all of the figures stood by Menma seemingly got a grip of himself and clarity returned to him.
"Now...!"
Menma exclaimed with an eager tone
"Nine Masked Beasts…!"
Little by little those figures began to gather in equal proportion on the spirals drawn on the ground. Little by little, some the figures began to take on human form while others took on the shape of animals.
Seeing the figures take shape Menma slowly stood up with a grin.
"Finally…. Although my life restricts me to loneliness, you all have individuality with the inability to betray me…and seeing as how you were all given life with a part of my soul, you should have inherited some similarities to me…"
Looking at the figures who had finally taken shape he couldn't help but be sincerely happy. Menma believed he would always be alone but this forbidden jutsu made subordinates on the basis of his own soul before using natural energy to supplement the rest and give them individuality.
This resulted in him bearing creation to nine new life forms each with their own distinct personality. The only difference between them and normal people would be their connection to his soul. Although they were individual existenses they all would share the same goal.
Starting from the beasts who took animal form was a white tiger name Byakko, Seiryu a slender blue dragon that resembles a seahorse, Suzaku a bird with elegant and dramatic plumage, Genbu a tortoise with a shell made of thick, interconnecting plates, and Kinja a massive serpent with golden scales.
The beasts that took Human form were Tennyo a priest dressed in yellow robes and silk threads, Shinigami a priest that resembles a skeleton and carries a scythe, and two brothers Hokuto and Nanto Seinin wearing robes bearing the yin and yang symbol respectively.
"It's great to finally meet you all…" Menma said with a smile.
Shinigami and Tennyo came forward to speak for everyone.
"On behalf of us all we appreciate you giving life to us…" Tennyo began in a wicked and smooth voice.
"Judging from the information that you gave us upon our creation I think I speak for everyone when we say we would be happy to help you with your goal although some of us have some requirements…" Shinigami spoke with a cold but enticing voice.
Menma merely smiled before letting them continue. He was happy to know that they wanted things in return as this was what separated them from his slaves.
"Me and Nanto only want to be paired together…" Spoke Hokuto softly.
"Yup me and Hokuto are going to always be together!" Nanto spoke in upbeat tone.
Menma nodded to acquiesce to their demands.
"I want to be able to kill a couple people every once in a while…" spoke Shinigami coldly.
Menma wasn't surprised based on the name.
"That's fine but just let me know before you do it to avoid complications." Menma spoke to which Shinigami nodded.
"I don't have any requests and would be happy to join your plans… It all looks so incredibly interesting…" Tennyo spoke in a soft and bewitching tone.
Menma nodded and gave a grin of his own before looking at the others.
"We only request an area to call our own befitting of our status…" Seiryu spoke in a noble tone while the other four sacred beasts nodded in agreement.
"I will grant you all areas according to your wishes and needs…" Menma said with a smile. He didn't mind their rudeness as it only showed their individuality.
"I only want a lot of treasures… and it must be shiny…" Kinja said with a glint in his eyes.
Menma nodded before pulling a scroll out with an assortment of shiny jewels which Kinja began eyeing greedily.
Menma merely tossed it over before nodding at Kinja who responded with a nod of his own.
"Now that we have the formalities out of the way I look forward to our future together. Although I created you I want you to know that I don't think of you as tools but my friends who I can rely on. As im sure you know I had thought I would be alone but now I don't have to and neither do you." Menma said with a smile.
The nine beasts looked up him before they all nodded with friendly attitudes.
Behind Menma his slaves watched in awe before Menma turned around and faced them.
"These are new members of the Uzumaki clan. Although you won't have much intersection as they will be doing their own thing, they are my friends as far as you are concerned." Menma said with a happy tone.
"Wh-what do you mean, master?" The red-haired woman asked, barely able to contain her curiosity.
"They are me but have gained their own individuality." Menma answered.
"But on some levels of conscience we remain united"
"L-Like a soul with multiple bodies?" Tsunade looked anxiously at her master worrying of the health concerns.
"Not quite that much but a link that keeps us of one mind. They all have their own dislikes and unique personality." Menma replied.
"For a long time I thought of someone who could really help me in my goal besides you and the conclusion was the I could trust no one… except for this."
"Although our desires are different we are united in our goal"... Menma spoke with a cold smile.
He approached Mikoto and took her possessively before tilting her head towards him.
The women looked behind him to see the nine masked beasts line up behind him each with their own distinct attitude. Some noble, some bewitching, some happy, some cold, but each held a flame inside them that seemed to unite them.
"Without the Uchiha it wont be long before the Uzumaki take control of this small world! Soon everywhere will belong to the Uzumaki!" Menma spoke before giving a mad laugh trying to hold back his excitement.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone