Naruto: Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, and Unify the Ninja World

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Marker!"

A small amount of unnoticed iron sand lifted off the ground and latched onto the corner of Nawaki's shirt.

Having placed the marker, Uchiha Shin had no intention of chasing after him. Instead, he turned back toward camp.

If he rushed over to drag Nawaki away, and the brat resisted, he'd have to fight him.

Shin weighed the odds of that happening.

Pretty damn high.

If he really got into a brawl with Nawaki, he'd just end up looking like an idiot. The last thing he needed was to be the camp's new joke.

Shin wasn't dumb enough to involve himself in a pointless mess.

He landed silently in front of Tsunade's medical tent and stepped inside.

Tsunade was hunched over a collection of test tubes, deep in concentration. Using the toxins they had gathered, she was in the process of formulating an antidote.

The moment she spotted him, her voice snapped out like a kunai.

"Shin! Where the hell have you been? I need you to use your healing jutsu to test how effective it is against this poison."

Now that he thought about it, he was probably the only person in the entire camp capable of assisting her at this level. Without his help, the antidote's development would slow down drastically.

"Alright," Shin agreed, stepping forward and placing his hands over the test subjects, his chakra glowing with the pale green hue of the Mystical Palm Technique. He adjusted the chakra flow, observing how much was needed to neutralize the poison.

As he worked, he casually dropped the real reason he had come.

"By the way, I picked something up during my patrol."

Tsunade didn't look up, still mixing the liquid. "What?"

"Nawaki came to the camp."

The test tube in her hand slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor.

Her bright brown eyes widened, her expression shifting as a thousand emotions warred on her face. Her mouth opened and closed before she finally found her voice.

"…What?"

"There were a few unknown shinobi with him. Anbu or Root, most likely." Shin continued, as if he hadn't just dropped a bomb. "He accepted a reconnaissance mission. Based on the marker I put on him, he's already heading toward the front lines."

Silence.

Then—

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING ON THE FRONTLINES?!"

Tsunade's roar shook the entire tent. Her chest rose and fell violently, her anger tangible in the air.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Her fists clenched, knuckles popping loudly as her fury continued to build.

Her teeth ground together, her jaw tight as she growled, "Where is that little shit NOW?"

"They're approaching the edge of the battlefield," Shin answered dryly. "I can still sense him."

Tsunade's fury flared even hotter.

"That dumbass! He finally started getting better, and now he's charging into the most dangerous zone! Let's move!"

She ripped off her gloves and shoved her medical instruments aside, not giving a damn about the antidote anymore.

She knew her brother well. Too well.

Nawaki was kind-hearted, but that just meant he lacked self-preservation. With no battlefield experience, no real perception ability, and too much idealism, he wouldn't last a damn day.

Tsunade turned to the only other person present. "Mikoto, keep working. Follow the formula I gave you."

Uchiha Mikoto nodded and continued her work as Tsunade turned to Shin.

With him leading the way, the two of them sprinted toward Nawaki's location.

From Shin's sensory ability, he could tell that Nawaki was still moving, dashing through the forest like an idiot with no awareness.

The brat had no tracking jutsu, no experience, nothing. Just blind confidence.

Shin exhaled sharply, already predicting how this was going to end.

As Nawaki charged recklessly ahead, he reached the boundary of the Rain shinobi's territory.

A 'minefield' of explosive tags lay ahead.

Obvious.

Painfully obvious.

And yet, Nawaki didn't notice.

Shin had to hold back the urge to laugh. "Is this dumbass serious?"

The three Root shinobi tailing him certainly weren't going to warn him. Their orders were simple: escort Nawaki to the front.

If he 'accidentally' died?

Well.

That would just make their jobs easier.

Nawaki's eyes lit up as he spotted a set of footprints ahead. He grinned, his excitement making him run faster.

"This fool," Shin muttered. Even through his Iron Sand perception, he could clearly see the damn trap. "Is he blind?!"

He wasn't the only one who noticed. The Root shinobi saw it too, but made no attempt to stop Nawaki. Instead, they simply prepared to recover the body.

Then—

"YOOSHAAA!!"

With an excited shout, Nawaki leaped forward—straight into the trap.

Shin instantly moved.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Barrier!"

From thousands of meters away, his refined iron sand surged toward Nawaki, encasing him in a protective sphere just before his feet touched the ground.

Boom!

The explosion sent fire and debris into the sky.

Tsunade skidded to a halt beside Shin, panic flickering across her face. "What the hell was that?!"

Shin exhaled and said flatly, "Nawaki. He jumped into an explosive tag trap."

Tsunade's face went pale. "HE WHAT?!"

"I saved him," Shin added lazily. "But you seriously need to sit this brat down and give him a lesson on survival. Even academy kids know better."

Tsunade's hands clenched at her sides. Then, suddenly, she crossed her arms and looked away. "It's not my fault. I wasn't the one who raised him."

Shin gave her a skeptical look. "What?"

She shrugged. "I was already a chunin when my parents had him. They took care of him. Then Grandma Mito raised him, and after that, Orochimaru trained him. It's got nothing to do with me."

The more she spoke, the more it sounded like she was desperately distancing herself from the problem.

Shin stared at her. "You really gonna pretend you're not related?"

Tsunade scowled, crossing her arms tighter. "I'm not! I barely even know him!"

Shin just shook his head in amusement. Then, suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

"…Wait. You had parents?"

The air grew still.

Tsunade slowly turned her head toward him.

"…What did you just say?"

Shin, now sensing danger, coughed awkwardly. "I mean—uh—I never heard you mention them before."

Tsunade's fists trembled.

"…So you think I just spawned out of the fucking dirt?!"

Shin wisely shut up.

For a second.

Then he gave her a once-over. "Well, with how you fight, it wouldn't be that weird."

Tsunade roared and took a swing at him.

Shin barely dodged in time, smirking as they continued toward Nawaki's location.