22 The Coming Of War I
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Chapter 22: The Coming Of War I
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"I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens."
~ Woody Allen
'I feel death approaching,' Isaac mused, so much death. He even felt death approaching him.
Isaac was able to easily deceive Danzo about three years ago to get what he wants for the latter had little knowledge of his true capabilities.
After their confrontation, however, Danzo won't be so easily deceived. That's why information makes all the difference.
Yet strangely so, Danzo did nothing. He sought no revenge, no retaliation despite his hatred of the Uchiha, especially Isaac.
The past three years have been largely peaceful, and that's the anomaly. Isaac knows that Danzo is looking for the opportunity to dig his heart out once and for all.
Someone like Danzo won't take Isaac's offense without the darkest of retaliations.
Therefore, Isaac was certain that Danzo was scheming something big, or he at least knew something that made him hesitant to attack him just yet.
'He must know something. They might've told him something,' Isaac was sure that the eyes watching in the dark contacted Danzo.
Despite doing something similar with his clones, overseeing the world through countless eyes, Isaac still doesn't like being watched, especially by people who conspire against him.
'Plans cannot keep up with the changes,' Isaac thought, 'That thing watching me is one of the greatest hidden dangers to the future I am designing. I delayed eliminating it for long enough.'
Then again, could Isaac eliminate him? That is a question he still wonders. That thing is after all a part of a godly being.
Most importantly, that thing lived for nearly a thousand years. To underestimate it is to seek death, 'I can only do that, huh... My stay in Konoha was long enough anyway, so it's nearly time to leave.'
"Uncle Isaac... Uncle Isaac!!"
The yell brought Isaac out of his daze as he turned his attention to the kids before him, "What?"
"You were in a daze again," None other than Shisui, Uchiha Shisui, quite the talented child.
"Oh... Excuse me then," Isaac responded with a smile, "I have a lot to think about."
"Always the same excuse," Shisui couldn't help but point, "The great creator Isaac can't think of a different excuse?"
"Wouldn't it be that he's a great creator because he thinks a lot?" Uchiha Itachi to the side corrected.
"I guess?" Shisui subconsciously nodded before complaining, "But you always promise to guide us in our training, yet you still daze away."
That's what people had come to call Isaac, the Great Creator for he alone pushed the world's technological level by decades.
He innovated in so many fields that his company Cosmic Eye Technologies could no longer be called that. Instead, it became Cosmic Eye Innovation.
From numerous medical inventions to what people like most, cell phones.
They are certainly not as advanced, but they have a utility that seemed magical to the people of this world, long-distance communication.
How that simple small device could allow direct communication from so far away was something that put its creator, Isaac, in high regard.
Certainly, long-distance communication is limited as the infrastructure required for it to function is still constantly being built and expanded, the end goal being cell towers everywhere.
There are even rumors that the Fire Daimyo is in talks with the other Daimyos to get the necessary infrastructure in their countries as well.
The technology just has so much utility that the other Daimyos couldn't let it go.
"I don't have much advice for you," Said Isaac, "All the advice I have, I had already given, so just continue to focus on speed and utility. Some of the most powerful techniques are good and all, but if it takes you a second to execute them, that would be a second too long."
"Good advice," A new voice joined the conversation as Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi's father, stepped into the playground, "But do not ignore the said techniques. They can play a big role in the heat of the battle."
The two kids went back to training, leaving Isaac and Fugaku alone. Only then did the latter say, "War is coming."
"I know," Isaac nodded.
"You'll have to participate," Fugaku reminded Isaac, knowing just how much the latter hates war and meaningless killing, but everyone has to contribute to the village, including the Uchiha.
"I know," Isaac nodded.
"However, considering your value, If you talk to the Daimyo, he may see to it that you don't have to," Fugaku advised.
"No," Isaac shook his head, "I want to see it, war. I might learn something from it."
"I understand," Fugaku nodded. Isaac was always quite the strange Uchiha, "Keep an eye on the kids while you're on the frontlines, alright?"
"I will," Isaac nodded and watched Fugaku get up and leave.
Uchiha Fugaku is now the Uchiha clan leader, taking the position after the passing of the previous clan leader, and since then, he's been coming to Isaac for advice.
Isaac is still only a little bit older than thirteen, yet no one would see seeking advice from him to be weird. In fact, his status in the Uchiha is only a little bit lower than Fugaku.
"War..." Isaac murmured, 'It came sooner than I thought... All because of me.'
Because of a decline in national power, the reign of the Five Great Shinobi Countries was crumbling, most of the ones other than Konoha.
Along their borders, skirmishes with smaller nations broke out all the time. The prolonged conflicts gradually spread their flames far and wide, until inevitably develop into an all-out war.
At least, that's part of the picture, the bigger part starts with the numerous attempted assassinations of Isaac across the past few years.
It started three years ago, and it never ended, sometimes they try to assassinate him in the middle of the village.
Isaac is too dangerous, more dangerous than the majority of shinobis because he alone pushed the land of fire to much greater heights.
The great shinobi countries realized that if he continued to exist, the land of fire would continue to grow and leave them far behind.
Then inevitably, it will consume them. That's not something they can allow. If they can not have him, no one else can.
However, their assassination attempts never succeeded, thus the need for more extreme measures.
Isaac is certainly not the spark that lit the fire as it was going to happen anyway. He merely accelerated and unintentionally changed its circumstances so the land of fire is under more focus.
Isaac stood up and made his way back home, leaving the two kids whispering to each other, "Have you noticed? Uncle Isaac seemed more silent than usual?"
"Is that strange?" Questioned Itachi. The two are quite mature for children of their age, and they get along with each other quite well despite Itachi being quite three years younger than Shisui.
In fact, Isaac was the reason they met each other so much earlier as the two were quite likeminded.
"I just noticed that he's been getting more and more quiet," Shisui noted, "Almost... Almost like he's lonely."
"Hm? Doesn't Isaac have a lot of friends?" Itachi was confused, "Why would he be lonely?"
"Maybe I am just imagining things," Shisui kept that thought in mind as he said, hoping to ask Isaac the next time they meet.
Lonely isn't the right word. Isaac is mostly just tired, and mentally consumed. He might be mimicking the inventions of the great minds of his past life, but what should be understood is that he designs them himself.
It's not like Isaac had the entire encyclopedia inside his mind. He merely has a general idea of how things work, and then he has to develop them himself with that direction in mind.
Moreover, Isaac seeks to improve them wherever he can. To pursue perfection is to pursue exhaustion for perfection is a process of eternal refinement.
Isaac realizes that. He knows that the process may be arduous, but he'd take this path every single time. He'd rather have an arduous life than the life of the loser he once was.
Isaac fears nothing more than his past, afraid to take a single step forward out of hesitation and fear of imperfection.
Isaac's past is his obsession and his drive to walk such a steep road, such a lonely road.
