Play To Win || Naruto Fanfic

Preparation

Preparing for war was no easy feat.

Obito and Zetsu were off building their massive Zetsu army, said Zetsu were patrolling the Elemental Nations for any sign of Tamako and her posse of misfits, but let's be real, even if Obito found them, it wasn't like he could kill all five of them by himself. Konan had already bugged the entire sea with her explosive paper seals, Itachi had the entire base in a wide-range genjutsu that naturally suggested any wanderers to wander back where they came from and Kisame himself was a deterrent. That man had enough chakra to fuel Tsunade's Byakugō several times over.

Tamako was a little jealous.

But Kisame was more of a teacher she could ever ask for. He showed her ways to better utilize suiton, taught her multiple techniques and just one day training with him was far more than her bitch of a sensei Kaito had ever done for her in a whole year and half. 

Kisame really was fit for sensei-duties, and she would love to one day hear of him complain about his cute genin pups. 

He taught her his version of the Water Dragon, how to splinter the bullets of Water Bullet, and most importantly, how to wield the katana masterfully. When she forged her usual tanto, Kisame had chuckled and snapped it with two fingers.

"A tanto? Don't tell me you were trying to emulate ANBU. The tanto is for the unskilled, a common weapon." He pulled out a katana from a sealed scroll and gripped it. "Before Samehada, I was the best kenjutsu katana master of Kiri." Then he swung.

The clashes were heavy, the katana was much longer than her usual tanto and she struggled with its uneven weight. "Don't use the katana like the tanto, use it's weight! Take a feel for it." He swung down and she caught his blade an inch from her flesh. Sweat dripped down her temple and her bones creaked. "Forget it, your tanto skills are from trial and error, no? Then." He grinned so evilly, shadows casted on his face. "Trial and error we shall."

Tamako took it back. 

Kisame with little cute genin would be child abuse and negligence. 

Unlike with Kisame, Itachi was much more patient. His memories of teaching Sasuke were at the tip of his tongue, as he guided her through practices and showed her the signature Uchiha jutsu, Great Fireball Jutsu. "Are you sure?" She asks. She already knew the hand-signs, where she should clinch her chakra and to coat her throat. It was all guttural, that jutsu, why else would the Uchiha communicate with hms, hns and grunts?

"Yes." He said, slowly going through the hand signs as his chakra swirled dangerously in his belly. He pinched the chakra at the base of his throat, the fire flowing through his fingers as it burned away in the air, the sound of water sizzling beneath their feet. He turned to her with a small smile. "There aren't any Uchiha around anymore to teach but..." He paused, his arms falling to his side. He looked nostalgic. "You are family."

Itachi knew she viewed Sasuke with familial love, saw him as a brother. But that alone shouldn't warrant this old Uchiha Tradition, it's monumental symbol of Coming of Age, of official acceptance into the clan.

She shook her head, "What I feel shouldn't dictate and bend an old tradition." She sighs in the air, now used to the salt in the winds. "You never know, perhaps Sasuke will settle down and there will be little Uchiha about." Then with a snicker, "Maybe you too."

The lines on his face crease with his small grin, "Perhaps. But to form a family means to bring one in." He turned towards the now dusking sun, "Now, learn."

There's a pause in Tamako's mind as she ponder his words. What did he mean?

She glances at the man in front of her, now twenty-one and will soon live on past his fated death.