Shizuka Uchiha

I. The Beginning
As a child born in the Warring states, and into a warring clan, Shizuka witnessed the rise and fall of Uchiha men ever since she could first remember it at the youngest age. She watched her siblings fall to the blade of the enemy time and time again, hearing the news of death around every corner. It is because of this that she wanted to get stronger. She demanded to be trained and was allowed to after violent persuasion on her end. The five year old did not achieve the result in a day. She observed and taught herself what the instructors taught her siblings, all because she was a girl. She only succeeded when she demonstrated the ability to refine her chakra control.

Not many knew when she managed to activate her Sharingan, but rumor said it had something to do with the death of her mother, which sped up the process of her awakening. Following that are the many times she solidified her resolve to protect what she had left: Madara and Izuna. As she grew up, Shizuka went through the same rigorous training and even gained a similar moniker of how they were both geniuses in some fashion. Of course, Madara would boast that he was better until his sister berates him for being too prideful.

II. Meeting Her First Friends
During this endeavor, Shizuka met a young girl who shared her goals. Tatsumi was a bright and lovely child who stuck to the clan heir like glue. The two girls became fast friends and trained together. Along the way, they met a shy boy named Ryunosuke, the son of one of the medical ninjas they had, who was often bullied by the other boys. Shizuka was originally puzzled by the boy’s insistence to be a medic instead like his mother. Most boys wanted glory and to fight for the clan. However, the original heir was curious about this boy. While attention from this girl wasn’t a bad thing, it warranted the protectiveness of her brothers, older and younger. Luckily, the only female sibling of the family had a rational head and gave them all an earful. “I can have friends of any identity as I please,” she said with a defiant look at her brothers, “I’m not a helpless damsel who needs a man to save her! I am my own knight.” The guilty looks that the five brothers had were priceless before the withering gaze of the only girl left in the family.

It was apparent that Tajima was proud of his children. All of them, even his daughter, showed potential to be the next generation of the most fierce warriors. However, that ended when all but Shizuka, Madara and Izuna were the last ones left when the other three died during battle. While it broke Shizuka with each death, she continued to forge on as most couldn’t. As the newly-established oldest, Shizuka had to take on some responsibilities along with Madara. Both were contested successors because of their shared age and incredible power.

III. Entering the Forest of the Owls 梟の森
When she was around ten years old, Shizuka was out of the compound on her own at night and always sat in the trees to watch and listen for the owls. No one could explain why she was like this but let the young kunoichi be, until she followed an owl one day and disappeared. Many assumed that she was kidnapped that night until she returned the next day with an owl perched on her shoulder. The owl happened to be a servant of the Cikap-kamuy, the god of owls himself, from the Forest of the Owls. They picked the young Shizuka to be an owl sage, entrusting that she won’t use their teachings for purposes beyond the most selfish of desires and manipulation. Tajima gave consent and sent his daughter away. She went MIA for a few months to train with the owls. There, she learnt that they felt an ill presence in the clan compound from their last visit and it seemed to be emanating from Madara. The sister of two promised to secretly investigate her brothers to make sure that she can find a way to get rid of the malignant presence, not knowing that it may have been Black Zetsu, the last son of Kaguya. Upon her return, she was delightfully surprised to see that the shyer of her two friends managed to summon a tiger named Sensui as his summoning animal, a female one nonetheless. She was promptly smothered by the motherly entity along with her friends.

IV. Growing Up and the Mangekyou 万華鏡写輪眼
Upon her father’s passing and Madara’s succeeding the position as clan head, Shizuka took an explicit interest in the forging of weaponry. Madara was still reluctant to send her off so, during this lag period, she went to the smithy and spent her time there instead.

As a participant of the war, she was a notorious fire style and lightning style user who was just as strong as her warlord of a twin, and no less domineering. When she witnessed Tatsumi nearly die in her arms, the young woman awakened her Mangekyou sharingan, as did Ryunosuke. Unfortunately, like Madara, she overused her eyes and was nearly blinded. Even after hearing that Madara was able to successfully regain his sight through a transplant after Izuna’s death, she remained dubious. There were multiple occasions where she was temporarily blind for a couple days. Eventually, Ryūnosuke willingly gave her his eyes. Shizuka was initially reluctant. How could she take the eyes of her friend when he needed to see while he worked?

Ryunosuke continued to reassure that he’d be able to acclimate to his workspace well because he still was able to sense chakra. It took many days for Shizuka to cave in and accept the transfer. “I will be your light and eyes, Shizuka,” the healer then declared to her, “and let me guide you to victory. Also? I love you.” Those words were forever engraved into her heart. It might just be the moment she fell for him when he already fell in love with her brilliance. She carried that promise to live each day whenever she was out there, fighting other clans and protecting her siblings.

Everything came to a stop when Madara lost in the biggest fight that he and Hashirama engaged in, leaving most of both sides to watch as they unleashed their catastrophic powers. Never had Shizuka been more protective of her younger sibling than the moment that Tobirama dared to raise his sword against her fallen twin. Her chakra became a searing firestorm from its original hearth-like gentleness. She was wary of Hashirama as well, only to scramble to her feet and protest when he foolishly pointed his kunai against his abdomen. Thankfully, her twin was reasonable enough to stop him.

V. Establishing the Village Hidden in the Leaves [木の葉隠れの里]
She met with the Senju brothers with Madara every time they had to broker an agreement for the treaty. She was proud of her twin for denying the possibility of inter clan marriage, aware that she was against the idea of marrying for the sake of politics. No one could blame the woman for being a teensy bit of a romanticist. Thankfully, Hashirama, though mostly Tobirama, was able to respect that. Many times she had to send the Senju a stink eye, as did Madara. Shizuka was somewhat aware that she appeared attractive to men, which was why she wore a mask in battle, hiding how she actually looked when she was in a battle frenzy. In the end, when the treaty was finished, she was more than glad to put down her weapons and spend more time with her last friend and family, and maybe make some more friends.

Turns out, the white-haired Senju brother shared their fascination with the unknown. It wasn’t something that Shizuka openly discussed with her family before because of her gender status and it wasn’t piqued until she spent time with the owls and the Cikap Kamuy. Despite that Tobirama was Izuna’s murderer, indirectly, the older of the twins was the more reasonable one, thankfully, and was able to recognize when to appropriately display her distrust and hostility. They surprisingly became fast friends and were partners in crime with several lab accidents. It angered Madara that she hung around their little brother’s killer but Shizuka gave him an earful about moving past the hate, which she didn’t know never got through.

She contributed much to the creation of policies to the village and organising everything. She was an amicable Uchiha, and children seemed to like being around her, much to Madara’s envy (He pouts all the time). She was rough around the edges but easy to handle. This was how she learnt of Tobirama’s soft spot with children. It also amused her to no end when she saw how Ryunosuke handled kids in his blind state. It didn’t help that Sensui didn’t let up on nagging Ryunosuke to be careful due to his blind state.

VI. Marriage, Family, But Everything is Not Okay
Everything seemed fine. Shizuka ended up dating and marrying Ryunosuke with her twin brother’s blessing as the clan head and settled down. She was happy that she’s finally able to live in peace for the prospective years. That was, until Madara suddenly tried to rally the clan to fight against the Senju once more. Being done with all the violence, Shizuka and her family were some of those that turned away from him. She couldn’t handle bringing more violence to the world anymore. Not only that, she was pregnant. She couldn’t fight now even if she wanted to, much to Madara’s shock. Ryunosuke didn’t want to make any more poisons either, respectfully rejecting the clan head’s offer. He also wished to stay and protect his wife.

All happy things came to an end, Madara left the village and Shizuka took the mantle as the clan head in his stead. Now in the position that she was meant to be instead of her brother, she worked hard for her clan while also delegating some work since she was a pregnant mother. The Senju brothers came by often to check on the clan’s wellbeing and were delightfully surprised to see how well it managed under Shizuka’s level-headed leadership. Despite her pregnancy, she managed her way through the clan as if she was born to do so. Considering her married status, she never had the clan elders get on her case for being unmarried, much less about having heirs. While they weren’t exactly happy that Ryunosuke was a healer, Shizuka reminded them that her power came from the fact that he gave her his eyes so that she could be stronger in order to protect the clan. Of course, none wished to argue any more with her. They all recalled her temper when she was younger and more reckless. They were relieved that she turned out wiser than her twin. Perhaps it came from being an expecting mother and being one of Madara’s strategists.

VII. The Owl Sage’s Legacy Begins with a Seal
It was later confirmed that she was carrying twins, much like her mother when she was carrying her and Madara. Despite working while carrying to term, Ryunosuke was always around to make sure that his wife got enough rest. Eventually, the twins were born and no one could be happier than the moment when the heirs were born. The whole clan celebrated the birth of the children while also congratulating their parents. Some representatives from the other clans also came forth to celebrate with the couple. Tobirama came as a friend along with Hashirama to give their blessing to the twins and to have a long-lasting bloodline.

During Hashirama’s reign, after Madara left, Shizuka and Tobirama decided to mess around with the idea of a seal that could render a person immortal. With Tobirama’s extensive medical knowledge and Shizuka’s role as the devil’s advocate, they succeeded. One was to maintain the cellular metabolism of the body while the other capped the chakra reserves to maintain the seal. Hashirama must have known about it somehow. So, he decreed that, as proxy for Madara Uchiha, he bound the great owl sage in a written lifelong contract to protect the village in its time of need with her life. She must have the seal on her.

She smiled sadly then. She accepted the punishment and knelt on the floor of Tobirama's laboratory with her back to the white-haired man who drew the elegant marks onto her bare skin.

Shizuka felt no pain. Though, after the capping, she was deprived of her chakra, which greatly weakened her. Tobirama accompanied her back on a stretcher. She recovered about 1-2 years later.

VIII. The Kidnapping
This happened about a few years during the experimental stages of the seal when her kids were about two or three years old. Shizuka woke up to the sound of one of her children wailing for her. She leaped out of her tatami without regard for her hair and garb. She was in a shirt and trousers then while Ryūnosuke remained asleep. She grabbed her katana and bolted outside to find a cloaked figure with her baby boy in his arms. She called upon the wrath of owls and thunder when she shot off after the kidnapper. The chakra was muddled, but she recognized who it was once she pierced the offender and took her child back. How dare the bastard brother of hers try to kidnap her child when he left willingly without seeing them? How dare he try to take her baby away? That night, the whole Uchiha compound heard the thunderclap of their clan head's jutsu during the chase.

She reported this to Hashirama in secret the next morning while cradling her twins close to her, refusing to set them down. She carried them to meetings, demanding the utmost respect and best behavior lest they disturbed her children and trigger another rampage of blue flames. She scorched the training grounds in her fury many times.

IX. Tobirama’s Paranoia and the Owl Watches
However, what she didn’t expect later on was for Tobirama to project his fear onto her clan just because they had relations with Madara. She arrived in his office one day and called him out for his irrational paranoia and fear for their Curse, and thought that he “was being unreasonable.” She also called him out for his discrimination out of an old fear. He fired back with “the whole world still fears the Uchiha!” Shizuka understood that they could rob someone of their agency, but they hardly had a reason to do that. It did not end her friendship, but their relationship grew sour.

Meanwhile, Hashirama’s blessing seemed to last. After her twins came several more generations of children, including Mikoto Uchiha and Obito Uchiha. The line extended to Itachi and Sasuke, who became her next line of descendants. By then, she had long since stepped down as the clan head and many of her family, including Ryunosuke, all died off. Those who were there recalled the howls of grief that caterwaul through the walls when he finally succumbed to his old age and death, leaving behind his immortal wife.

Shizuka led a fulfilling life, rearing and taking care of the many children that carried her blood, knowing that no matter where they go, they’ll always come back to her in any shape or form. Being a mother for so long, and later a widow, she mellowed out with age yet never grew a day older.

Naturally, she was devastated when she heard that Obito died in combat. War took another descendant of hers. She came to meet the child who now bore one of his eyes. In turn, she vouched for the boy. She grew to know Kakashi and promised to keep an eye on him.

On the day the Nine Tails was let out and attacked the village, Shizuka herself stayed to protect the already marginalized clan. This was her family, at the end of the day.

She was alerted of what happened the next day. A masked man with the Sharingan infiltrated the birthing chamber, controlled the Nine Tails, and Minato and Kushina gave their lives to keep their infant son alive. She had to investigate the source eventually but she could tell it was not the clansmen in the compound. She knew because she was their elder.

And then? When they suggested the massacre of her clan because of the insurrection? Because her great grandson had to play spy for both sides? Because a child of her bloodline had to carry out Hiruzen’s orders? She was livid. She knew that Itachi could not lay a hand on her even on a good day. Besides, she was the protector of the Leaf. Hiruzen and Danzo would never lay their hands on her either, lest she threaten them with a massacre of her own.

X. The Uchiha Massacre and the Rest of the Canon Events
So, she sat out and felt her clansmen diminished under the child’s blade. Once Itachi was done, she gave her farewells to her elder great-grandchild in tears.

“Forgive your great-grandmother for not protecting you, my child. I should have done better,” she sobbed as she hugged the thin boy tightly to her, unwilling to let him go. She knew that Hiruzen ordered him to “leave” and scout information. However, she could not bear to see him carry such a burden alone.

“I will be fine, Granny Shizu. Just make sure that Sasuke is safe, okay?” he told her, words wise beyond his years. How could she say no to him? Sasuke was her little owlet too.

“Fly forth, little crow,” she told him, “but remember that I love you, okay?”

She was not allowed to take care of Sasuke either. She could only interact with him from afar through daily or weekly letters, though she wished it was not so. She would not raise the next Madara. What were they thinking? However, even she was bound by the word of the Hokage. Instead, she found herself interacting with the orphaned child left behind that day. Naruto was an unfortunate child who still held a light like no other. In secret, she approached him and befriended the boy who she noticed wanted to befriend her great-grandson. So, when she learned that they’d be on the same team, despite that the blonde had a horrible reputation, she wrote to Sasuke, asking him to at least try to tolerate the boy. “Although he is loud, boisterous and mischievous, don’t push him away. He might be your closest ally one day,” she told him through her elegant script.

Whether her boy paid heed, she did not know. However, from feedback, it seemed like he eventually grew closer.

Chunin exams? She was there in the shadows. Suna’s invasion? She was there, keeping the village in one piece. She saw the reanimation jutsu in use and her old friends. She could not save Hiruzen though.

But when Tsunade returned? To see the last Senju come back warmed her heart. She made sure to treat the granddaughter of her old friend out and dote on the woman. “Let Granny Shizuka spoil you for one day,” she had said, though both looked like they were the same age.

Of course, all good things came to an end. It devastated her when her youngest descendant left the village of his own volition for an intangible dream of power that she could have trained out of him herself. Did he forget that he still had a great-grandmother who loved him?

In her pain, she watched the bright-eyed child who wardened the Nine Tails leave with Jiraiya for training. Well, he will return. It saddened her to see the children leave. Naruto’s promise to return being the only balm on her worn heart.

Three years later, Naruto returned. She greeted him with Tsunade and Shizune at the Hokage tower.

No one’s seen her look so grim when Team 7 came back with news of Sasuke not coming back. “He is trapped in his desire for revenge. It is not your fault, Naruto. It is not because you are not strong enough, it is not because he does not acknowledge you, it is because he is struck with hate borne of a love he once had for his older brother.”

Naruto’s new training? She swapped out with Yamato since she had the Sharingan. It also gave Kakashi a break if she could put the tailed beast to sleep. But when she met Kakuzu? The kids got to see the old Shizuka return.

Jiraiya’s death reminded her of her…irregularity.

When she heard of sage training, she offered the blonde some tips in vague words of poetry, which was on brand. She figured that he’d realize what she meant.

Then Pain’s attack. She was sent out to find the controller behind the corpses. Upon finding Nagato and Konan, she burned her way in only after Naruto came in. She only found them because she recognized the ocular chakar in his eyes. She smiled sadly at the sorry sight of the dying Nagato. “You poor, poor child, you lived your whole life with eyes that never belonged to you. You, the living legacy of my twin brother’s power and strength,” she spoke softly, chakra burning so much that Konan’s papers only combusted upon contact.

“Tell me, Uzumaki child, how did you survive with the eyes of the greatest Uchiha in your skull?” she asked, much to the shock of the others.

She made the others not tell anyone about it. “It is faint,” she explained, “but I can see the ocular chakra of Madara Uchiha, my twin brother. The bastard progressed in his hare-brained scheme after all. This is too big of a deal to tell anyone. Tsunade is down, which makes the next candidate for Hokage all the less trustworthy. As students of Jiraiya, I must ask that you keep this from anyone’s ears. Keep those eyes safe no matter what. Whoever is behind that mask will want those back.”

When Danzo was chosen, Shizuka let loose a string of ancient curses that no one else heard in a long time. It was understandable. She knew what Danzo did with the eyes of her clan members, her family. She knew what he did with Shisui’s remaining eye.

So, at the five kage summit she attended, she did not stand in the rafters like the rest. She held as much power as any of the kage or more. Plus, she has amicable relations with the Land of Iron. She was a friend of the samurai there from the Sakamoto line. Naturally, she was treated way better than the others.

But also the number of times she felt her blood pressure rise up…

“I am the boy’s great-grandmother and remaining authority for Uchiha clan law,” she declared, “as the matriarch, as his family member, I believe I have a say as to who decides his punishment. Do not mistake my inaction for compliance. I am bound to the seat of the Hokage as promised by the First Hokage! Were it not for that, I would have maimed all of you for speaking that way to my descendant.”

“The Uchiha are a dying clan-”

“Must I remind you what damage my brother and I did to you and the second Tsuchikage back in the day?” she snapped at Onoki, activating her Sharingan, “I am more than enough to take all the Kage on.”

The thing was, with how heavy and oppressive her chakra was, she was not bluffing. Danzo knew she was not bluffing. Before him stood one of the greatest monsters of history. Even Ai sweated under her influence. She rendered all the kage silent. Mifune was the only one who brought her down from her rising temper.

The meeting only went on as smoothly as it could with five people antagonizing each other…and then her little one barged in and things got messy. Shizuka knew better than to interfere but she had to step in when Sasuke’s Susano’o made an appearance. She had to use hers. That said, she had a soft spot for mutual friends so she let the Kazekage talk for a bit with her fledgling. When it failed, she commended the young leader for his efforts. She might have instinctively pat his head out of parental affection before she charged at her great-grandson like he was the number one enemy. However, not once did she unsheathe her sword.

When Danzo died, she muttered something along the lines of “thank Amaterasu that he is smote off of this plane.” She really hated the Shimura boy. She was relieved that Tsunade was back.

That said, she nearly set the meeting room on fire when “Madara”/Obito declared the commencement of the fourth great shinobi war. “Not a word,” she growled at the five kage, “I am using all my willpower to not slice this room in half with my Susano’o!” She stormed off at first but deviated from her path when she sensed that her youngest was off somewhere.

Of course Shizuka came upon the scene of Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi on a standoff.

“Boy,” she growled as her Susano’o’s skeleton formed, “do you intend to enrage me so?”

She also muttered something about her descendants catching onto her brother’s crazy while her avatar pierced through Sasuke’s with its naginata. In the end, she backed off and let Naruto try to talk some sense into her little hawk who fled the nest way too early. She could see his broken wings, the unshed tears, the madness that a forced mask of hatred brought. Why was Sasuke so dishonest with himself?

Shizuka was sent by Tsunade (she was overjoyed and relieved to hear that she survived the immense chakra drain) to accompany Naruto to the Hidden Cloud. She disliked leaving the village but was reassured that it would not be under attack so soon. “Yamato needs back up,” justified the hokage, “and that Madara will come for your eyes.”

Ah, well, who was she to argue with Tsunade’s logic when it made sense? Too bad that the elder did not anticipate suffering motion sickness alongside Might Guy.