Fanfic / Compass of Thy Soul

Compass of thy Soul is a Naruto SI-OC fanfic written by Umei-no-Mai, and set during the Warring Clans Era. It's complete at 12 chapters (plus an omake), with a sequel complete at 18 chapters and an epilogue. The series can be also read on AO3.

Official summary of Compass of thy Soul: Being reborn into the Uchiha clan during the Warring Clans Era is surprisingly idyllic, so long as you don't mind hard work and are too young to know any of the people who are actually dying. But innocence never lasts, and trying to help family stay alive is a road strewn with a surprising number of pitfalls and last-minute diversions.

Official summary of Direct thee to Peace: Peace is harder than it sounds; it has to be built, with words and promises and trust and compromise, and then maintained with dedication. Not everything survives the change.

Now has a spin-off in the form of Unchained.

It also has recursive fiction in the form of Celestial Fix which is both a fanfic of Compass of thy Soul and Dreaming of Sunshine.

Watch out for Late Arrival Spoilers!

The markup is: Has a Heartwarming page

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These fanworks contain examples of the following tropes:

A-E

• Abdicate the Throne: On several occasions, a person would retire from their position in the Uchiha clan in favour of a younger or better-trained relative.
  • The position of Homeguard Head, in charge of dealing with the clan's economical and internal affairs, goes from Ohabari, Madara's aunt to Kita, Madara's fiancé, and then to their cousin. First, because Ohabari gets pregnant and Kita's has both completed her training and has greatly contributed to the clan's economy with her various ideas (non-combat-oriented seals, giving jobs to widows, producing their own silk, starting a pottery business, etc.).
  • Due to its size, the clan is divided into Mangekyou lineages — there are several types of Mangekyou Sharingan, each with their own power set and way of awakening. Whenever an Uchiha gets their Mangekyou, they become the Head of their respective lineage. For instance, Kita is moderately removed from her lineage's main family, but when she awakens the Toyotama Mangekyou, she becomes the head. Other than the Mangekyou being very powerful, this custom is a way to honor those clan members who have suffered the most.
• Abduction Is Love: Apparently one of the historical Uchiha Outguard Heads, Uchiha Biei-Fuji, kidnapped one Senju Kabema for a concubine. According to Kita, she had eight children with him.
• Abusive Parents: Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma to their respective sons.
• The Ace: Several among both shinobi and civilians, with Kita, Madara, and Hashirama being the most obvious examples. Of course, the effects of having practically no equals are eventually deconstructed In-Universe:
  (Madara's narration) Geniuses unaccustomed to losing take being outmatched rather more harshly than those who have more frequently experienced being outplayed, just as those used to having their power run unchecked take greater offense at being chastised.
• Achievement In Ignorance: Kita's sealing style is very simple, stable and safe, while heavily utilizing symbolism and metaphors. And completely different from the scientifically precise and exacting way everyone else does it.
  • And she figured out how to throw seals like a jutsu.
• Action Girl: A number of women in Uchiha Outguard, such as Taka and Sakurajima. Also Senju Touka.
• Aerith and Bob: In-Universe. Uchiha names range from popular civilian names in branch families to traditional but appropriate in main lineages to positively archaic.
• All Issues Are Political Issues: Since Hashirama is Madara's vassal, his murder attempt could be considered treason against his liege. And as a clan head, it might indicate that all the Senju are at fault and be grounds for breaking the peace treaty. Luckily, Mito's actions mean that Madara can choose a sufficiently lenient punishment that will spare the clan from mass execution.
• Altar Diplomacy: Defied. The Uchiha don't marry out of their clan and the Senju know better than to offer Touka in a marriage.
• Always Identical Twins: Averted. There is about an equal amount of fraternal and identical twins seen in the series.
• And Then What?: Kita raises a very good point when she asks Madara what shinobi are supposed to do if true, lasting peace is finally established, since most of their warrior skills would become unneeded.
• Armour-Piercing Question: Kita has some for Madara:
  • What will he do with his live after he achieves his dream of peace, and there is no longer a need for any fighting?
    Kita: Then again, if we had peace, what would you do?

  He decides to learn what non-shinobi clansmen do for living to get some ideas, eventually developing interest and skills in pottery.

  • Kita also questions his friendship with Hashirama.
    Kita: Why do you consider [Hashirama] your friend?

  Which causes Madara to rethink his friendship with him, leading to a conclusion that it wasn't healthy.

• Arranged Marriage: Discussed.
  • Daimyo, his nobles and samurai make exclusively arranged matches. In fact most samurai consider falling in love to be a sign of a weak mind.
  • Shinobi don't do this unless it involves a Clan Heir or an alliance, mostly because an unhappy shinobi will happily resort to murder.
    • Examples include: Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Kita; Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito; Senju Butsuma and Hatake Kikuno; Hyuuga Main Family.
  • Merchant class makes arranged matches almost exclusively. On the other hand, many young women (and some men) are willing to court shinobi since it allows them to have some choice.
  • Peasants don't bother, since they have neither a surname nor much of an inheritance to secure.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership:
  • Any Uchiha who gains Mangekyou becomes the head of their lineage.
  • The Senju rank their clan members according to martial prowess, with only active shinobi being permitted to hold the surname and the strongest one leading. At least until Madara decides to overturn their succession as a punishment for Hashirama's crime.
• Awakening the Sleeping Giant: What Madara literally and accidentally did by shooting down a fleeing enemy right above a sleeping bijuu. Suffice to say, the Sanbi did not appreciate this wake-up call.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Armour-weave ^note a.k.a. the material used to make flackjackets in canon is less conspicuous than armour, doesn't melt or burn and can be worn as additional later of protection. It also needs to be made in laboratories, is hard to dye or fit properly, and near impossible to repair or reuse if damaged. Therefore it's mostly used by daimyo guards or public servants such as firefighters, showing their allegiance. All the Lightning shinobi wearing uniform made of it is very telling.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Sharingan allows the Uchiha to pull it off by memorizing vast quantities of data - providing they have training to collate and analyse that information.
• Awful Truth: Considering the setting it was bound to happen.
  • For Madara and Izuna: their father Tajima murdered his brother, because Niniji was, in secret, taking taking care of Homeguard Head's duties and their father didn't want to share power.
  • For Hashirama and Tobirama: the fighting that killed their brothers was instigated by their father after Butsuma's assassins murdered Uchiha Tajima's younger sons and a niece.
  • The actual cause of Hashirama's death is this for those who know the truth, at least before the Internal Reveal
• Badass Longcoat: Uchiha clan coats, which are considered a clan secret and could probably be classified as a light armour.
  Kita: An Uchiha battle coat is double-quilted around a canvas core with two different patterns. It is long-sleeved, covering the bones of the wrist, the lower hem hangs below the knees and the collar is high enough to obscure the chin but not the mouth when standing straight. The outside is indigo cotton marked only with our clan crest between the shoulders, and the lining may be cotton or silk according to the status of the wearer. Such a coat, when dowsed in water, is nigh-impossible to set on fire. The double layer of padding protects the wearer from blunt force and the canvas core helps to defend against blades. The high collar not only shields the throat, but provides a filter to breathe through so the lungs will not be fouled by smoke or soot.
• The Beard:
  • Uchiha Biei-Fuji was this for her official husband, Izuna, since the man was more interested in her own brother.
  • Tobirama for his cousin Uzumaki Chika, complete with a Citizenship Marriage.
• Beneath Suspicion: All Uchiha Elders freaked when seals started to appear in their compound and they couldn't identify the one responsible... until Tajima walked on the new Toyotama coat-maker - a pre-teen girl - happily sewing seals in his nephews' undershirts.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • Kita. She's calm, polite, civilian and pacifistic, while flawlessly manipulating people for the Uchihas' benefit and she subjects a Senju assassin to a Cruel and Unusual Death.
  • Uzumaki Mito. She's perfectly polite and always calm, but Izuna noted that she flawlessly leads Hashirama by nose and is probably the most dangerous person among the Senju. She murders Hashirama because his plan would have endangered her children and clan.
  • Hyuuga Hinagiku is a picture of an ideal wife in her few appearances in the fic - and also casually usurps the Headship of the clan from her much less competent husband.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: The attitude of the Uchiha clan when it comes to some of their members. According to their saying, all Uchiha has the same penchant for drama, some of them just save it for special occassions. Just look at Kita.
• Big Brother Bully: Hashirama to Tobirama. He doesn't seem to realize he's doing this, and that may be even worse.
• Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Kita's third son is born less than an hour before her grandmother Fushimi dies.
• Blatant Lies: No, those attackers were not affiliated with the Lightning Daimyo or acting on his orders. Please ignore their very recognizable uniforms made from a fabric that could only be acquired from his Court. Or the fact that his bastard half-brother is the military commander of their village.
• Blessed with Suck: Madara's opinion on the Mangekyou. Despite being called "strength of the clan", it can only be achieved through death of family or close friend, leaving the user traumatised. Moreover, continuous use will lead to deteriorating eyesight and severe psychological problems. Not worth it.
• Blue Blood: The Uchiha, the Akimichi, the Hyuuga and the Aburame are all of noble blood. The Senju... are not.
  • The Uchiha in particular are fourth doujou kuge, meaning they are higher ranked than the current daimyo.
  • The Kaguya Clan claims to be the remnant of the old imperial dynasty. The opinions In-Universe are still mixed on whether or not they are correct.
• Boring, but Practical: Kita's most important contributions are basics of economy, statistics, scientific method, infrastructure planning and seals that prevent rot, decay and destruction of various things.
  • There is also the fact that the seals rarely destabilise or fail, making them very dependable. Even then, the failures don't explode, implode or set anything on fire. They just don't work.
  • Similarly, the most important step on the way to peace was finding a way to bring money to the clan without resorting to warfare and diversifying the skills of shinobi population into civilian crafts.
• Boxing Lessons for Superman: Since sealing depends heavily on the master being able to understand and describe various concepts, sealing apprentices spend a lot of time learning new vocabulary, obscure kanji and principles behind various nature phenomena.
• Brain Bleach: Tobirama desperately wishes for one after finding some of Kita's dirty haiku.
• Brick Joke: In the first Chapter of Compass of thy Soul, Kita mentions Izuna reading some terrible philosophy scroll. In Chapter 10 of the same fic, Tobirama reads the same scroll and is not impressed, even writing a critique of the entire thing.
  • Graduates to Running Gag in Chapter 6 of Direct thee to Peace.
  • In Chapter 8 of Compass of thy Soul it's noted that Kita writes smutty haiku for Madara. In Chapter 9 of Direct thee to Peace, Tobirama finds them and is promotly traumatised.
• Broken Pedestal: Madara realizes Hashirama doesn't value their friendship as much as he does.
  • Tobirama realizes that his brother probably doesn't care much about him.
  • There's also a general theme of children being disappointed in their parents.
• Bullying a Dragon: Both Earth and Lightning shinobi antagonized the Uchiha and their allies, despite being severely outgunned. Kita thinks that years of peace made people forget the kind of slaughter a trained Uchiha can unleash.
• Cain and Abel: Uchiha Tajima is Cain to Niniji and Ohabari's Abel.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • The Sanbi. Is mentioned during the briefing about Water Country then shows up during the pirate chase, and in the final chapter of Direct thee to Peace.
  • The bunraku caravan from Wind Country is brought up several times before her members decide to settle down in Konoha.
• Child by Rape: Several of the Hyuuga women rescued from the pirates later give birth to children.
• Child Marriage Veto: Arranged marriages with an Uchiha party have a clause allowing for a dissolution of the bethrotal if the Uchiha falls in love with somebody else or if the spouses just can't get along.
• Child Soldiers: Defied with the Uchiha. Madara even raises the minimal age limit for Outguard members to sixteen years old and lengthens the training period to delay their entry into combat.
  • Played straight with the Senju, who see no problem with sending kids onto the battlefield. Not even Hashirama.
  • The Lighning Daimyo conscripted and put into field shinobi well below the age of majority.
• Chosen Conception Partner: Played with. Yes, a woman can ensure conception with sufficient chakra control skills but a majority of embryos would still be miscarried before reaching fourth week.
• Citizenship Marriage: Tobirama to Uzumaki Chika, since she wants to travel the world but wouldn't be allowed to do so by her birth clan. They get divorced as soon as their second child is past the naming age.
• Civil War: Around Chapter 10 of Direct thee to Peace Water Country collapsed into one between various shinobi clans, starting with the Kaguya attempting to annex the neighbouring island. The entire conflict lasts several years, before the Water Daimyo re-establishes the order.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience/Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: Konoha Military Police uses an orange sash to denote their members, since different clans would not agree on a single uniform design.
  • While an uniform design is implemented by the Epilogue, the sashes still are part of it.
• Combat Pragmatist: The entirety of Uchiha Homeguard since every second spend fighting is a second that the Clan is in danger. They always go for the kill.
• Cool and Unusual Punishment: Tajima has Kita host tea ceremonies for variously important guests because he knows how she stresses over them.
  • Apparently, any misbehaving member of the Outguard is punished with a task of filling a storage bag with rocks suitable for laying foundations. Keep in mind that those bags can hold volume equal to two big warehouses.
• Conspicuous Consumption: The Minister of Ceramics is always showing off his wealth and scheming to acquire more rare things. Kita isn't impressed.
• Crippling Overspecialization:
  • The Uchiha are strongly fire-natured and have problems with using other elements.
  • The Senju, since every member is an active shinobi and they have no idea about many things related to everyday civilian life.
    (Tobirama's narration) War is all he knows; war is all his brother knows, no matter his eloquence on the necessity of ending it. How can the Senju flourish without war if the don't know how?
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The Senju assassin thrown into a pigpen... while paralysed and in chakra restrains.
  • Most of Hashirama's opponents, since what the Senju consider basic medical techniques and treatable injuries are way beyond everyone else.
  • One of Tobirama's favourite moves is pulling the water from someone's body into their lungs.
  • The shinobi from Lighting Country who were killed by Kita for attacking Konoha children.
• Culture Clash: Between shinobi and civilians, and between various shinobi clans, with people regularly tripping over the differences.
  • In particular, the Senju consider only their trained warriors to be a part of the clan and don't train civilians in chakra techniques. And they assume everyone does the same.
  • Since the Senju aren't nobles, they have no understanding of specifics of noble ranks, court and diplomatic protocol, or land tax and ownership. Madara and Kita take advantage of that during the peace talks.
  • Apparently, Water Country social rules and culture are bizarre and convulted even by shinobi standards.
  • Invoked by Kumogakure. Their young shinobi were deliberately raised in a way that would make them both loyal to the daimyo and isolated from average civilian lifestyle. Consequently, they would be incapable of blending in and assimilating if they ever left the village behind.
• Cultured Warrior: Many among the Uchiha as befitting a noble clan.
  • Madara likes to draw, appreciates poetry and tea ceremony, and hawks in his spare time.
  • Izuna likes discussing philosophy and dealing with courtly life.
  • All the Lineage Heads are expected to learn how to play an instrument.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Kita vs. two squads of Lightning Country's shinobi. It's hard to fight against 20-something meters dragon, after all.
  • Madara, Mito and Hashirama vs. bunch of water pirates.
• Deadpan Snarker: Kita just a little, mostly in narration.
  • The Hatake clan as a whole are noted to be low-key snarkers.
• Death by Adaptation: Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Hashirama.
• Death by Childbirth: Hatake Kikuno. Uchiha Naka (Hikaku's mother), probably due to going into premature labour out of stress. Also Kita's mother, Minami.
• Death of a Child: Newborns and toddlers die sometimes, either to illness or to assassins.
• Decadent Court: The Water Country's Court is considered to be especially dangerous, with multiple layers of plots, obscure protocol and complicated order of precedence for nobles.
• Deconstruction Fic: Very much so. This series takes everything that Kishi ever mentioned about Warring Clans Era, sticks it in rather more realistic setting and expands on it.
  • In particular, there's Hashirama's behaviour, which is not excussed in any way. His actions are shown as thoughtless, naive, overly idealistic and deeply insulting in a strict pseudo-Japanese culture, and are speculated to be a result of people never correcting him as a child and him being unwilling to see other perspectives. Moreover, his relationships with both Madara and Tobirama are portrayed as abusive, though how much is intentional remains to be seen.
• Defiled Forever: Mentioned by name by Kita, with her Lampshading the Double Standard that women can have their reputation destroyed by even a rumour of an extramaritial romance, while men can be seen in every brothel and "tea house" in the country without any repercussion.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Since the series is set in a pseudo-Japanese world.
  • Left-handed people face a slight discrimination and are encouraged to use their right hand.
  • There's an emphasis put on family honour and respecting your ascentors, though Kita doesn't really care.
  • Being early to an appointment is worse than being late, since your host may not be completely prepared to receive you.
  • There is a general emphasis put on being humble and polite, especially between people of different ranks.
  • A woman should not be seen with her hair down in public.
  • Attacking your liege is a crime for which the least severe punishment is loosing a hand, with the most common being the execution of the perpetrator and their close family. Of course, liege attacking their vassal is perfectly acceptable.
  • Concubinage and multiple spouses are a right and a privilege of noble clans and families. This includes marrying someone against their will.
• Determinator: Deconstructed with Hashirama, who is considered too naive to make his plans work in long-term but too stubborn to listen to advice or give them up.
  (Tobirama's narration) Hashirama believes whole-heartedly that if he pushes hard enough then everything will be fine, that he can make it fine. Which it won't and he can't, but Tobirama's long since given up on getting his brother to see reason there.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • According to Tobirama, Hashirama has a serious case of this trope.
  • Lightning Daimyo really didn't consider that the kidnapping attempt may go wrong. And he certainly wasn't prepared for the consequences.
  • The Kurama's elders should have really thought twice about attempting to conceal a bloodline theft.
• Disappointed in You: Kita learned how to project a disappointed intent. Apparently, it's very useful when dealing with clan elders and misbehaving children.
• Divine Date: Possibly downplayed and implied example, when Senju Touka claims she conceived her son by praying in a shrine of Inari.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Subverted. While Kita and Sahoro bring it up mostly as a clan anecdote, Madara's internal narration acknowledges that Kabema was a prisoner who tried to escape for over a decade before giving up.
• The Dreaded:
  • Uchiha Tajima to his enemies and his own clan. And for good reasons.
  • Hashirama to the Uchiha, especially the younger members. So much that they are willing to hide from him behind complete strangers from the Senju clan and stay far away from any trees.
  • Madara to various shinobi outside Fire Country.
  • Anyone with a brain avoids bijuu and runs like bat out of hell when confronted with one.
• Eaten Alive:
  • The unfortunate Senju assassin thrown into the pigpen.
  • Probably several of the assassins that Kita killed as a wani.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Kita to Madara on several occasions.
• Embarrassing Nickname:
  • Some of the nicknames given to differentiate the various Nakas are less than stellar.
  • Tsune the Bone-digger, because she keeps looking for skeletons in the closet and is a terrible gossip.
  • "Kashima-oji" for Hashirama a.k.a. "Uncle Noisy" among Uchiha children. And Izuna calls him "the kudzu" or variations thereof.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • Downplayed when Tobirama hears Kita's toddling twin sisters call her and Madara "mama" and "papa". Combined with the fact that his brother has a same-age son, he naturally concludes the girls are Madara's biological daughters.
  • A lot of people seem to think that Tobirama is a Hatake, especially since he's mostly called "Bira-sensei" by anyone who met him as a child themselves.
• Equivalent Exchange: Averted for the Mangekyou. Madara notes that its techniques take noticeably less chakra than they should according to the currently known rules.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Kita is introduced aged three, happily taking care of her chores, while thinking about her family and clan, and about knowledge from her past memories. And then she gets distracted with playing showing that she's not an average SI-OC.
  • Madara is introduced reviewing documents related to the current clan situation, and then dutifully taking part in a meeting. When he learns about betrothal, he decides to get to know Kita better and try to make it work.
  • Twice with Uchiha Tajima. In Kita's POV, she notes Tajima doesn't ask for her name and never uses it. In Madara's, he betroths his son, only informing him at the same time as the clan Elders.
  • Kita first meets Hashirama when she chokes on his unrestrained chakra. He's briefly contrite but doesn't actually apologize or dampen his chakra, and starts whining when Madara rebukes him.
• Et Tu, Brute?: A mutual one in Chapter 13 of Direct thee to Peace: Mito felt betrayed that Hashirama puts his desire to capture the bijuu over the safety of their children. In turn, Hashirama was shocked when Mito literally back-stabbed him, leading to his death.

F-L

• Facial Markings: Beside the canon examples, we also see two different variations in the Uchiha Clan:
  • Some Uchiha will tattoo kanji and other symbols dedicated to a particular Kami to invoke their protection;
  • Most of the women serving in the Outguard tattoo their faces because if the enemy is looking at the patterns then they're not paying attention to their facial features. For bonus points, the markings often draw attention to the eyes, allowing for catching people into Sharingan genjutsu.
• Failed a Spot Check: Kita didn't notice for several years that she had a sharingan, until after she gained Mangekyou.
• False Flag Operation: Since any Uchiha seal specialist would have to face assassination attempts from the Senju, the clan decides to present Sannosawa as their sealmaster, rather than Kita. Indeed, he is killed after several years, along with a number of other specialists.
• Family Relationship Switcheroo:
  • Kita's sisters Toshi and Azami are referred to as her daughters and even call her their mother. They claim that Kita is the only mother they've ever knew or needed.
  • Turns out, one of Hashirama and Tobirama's cousins, Senju Keika, is actually their older sister. She just cut all the contact with her birth father after apprenticing to clan healers.
• Family Theme Naming:
  • Many Uchiha are named after Japanese mountains. Also, each lineage keeps a listing of traditional names, their meanings and any notable ancestors with those names, which parents can consult when naming their child.
  • Among noble clans, the children of main family will often have a particular kanji as part of their name.
• Fantastic Caste System: The Water Country has a strictly-enforced caste system. Not much is know about it beside the fact that at the bottom are the casteless which are often-time (but not always) also slaves to members of other castes.
• Fantasy Contraception: Several different options are mentioned through the stories.
  • There are some unspecified herbs mentioned by Yori which are supposed to prevent a pregnancy.
  • The immunity boosting seal can act as one as it encourages a woman's body to miscarry early on, but is not exactly reliable. In fact, Kita managed to conceive while using one.
  • Uchiha E creates an actual contraceptive seal which is completely reliable and prevents a conception from occurring.
• Festival Episode: Chapters 6 and 7 of Compass of thy Soul, taking place from the leaf-viewing festival to Shichi-Go-San at the daimyo's court.
  • Chapters 6 and 11 of Direct thee to Peace when the peace between the Uchiha and the Senju is celebrated.
• Foil: Uchiha Kita and Uzumaki Mito:
  • Both were in an Arranged Marriage. Kita and Madara worked hard during their betrothal to make their eventual marriage work and are very much happily married, while Hashirama and Mito seem to be cordial with each other but no more.
  • Kita is several years younger than Madara, while Mito is older than Hashirama.
  • Kita works with Madara and has equal say in clan matters as him. Mito often has to work around her husband and Hashirama does not seem to value her opinions and experience.
  • Kita is a self-taught seal mistress of the Performer variety, while Mito had an extensive training and is distinctly Technician in style.
  • Word of God has revealed that Mito's clan, the Uzumaki, descends from pirates and have as their only claim to rank the fact that they are the de facto owners of the island they live on by the right of "got here first" while Kita's is distantly related to imperial royalty, are one of the few remnants of the kuge, and are nominally daimyo on their own right whose lands are technically a country on itself
• Follow the Leader: In-Universe. After witnessing just how successful Konohagakure grows to be, others decide to establish their own shinobi settlements. However, some countries impose a more the nationalistic bent.
• Foreshadowing: All over the place.
  • The conflict between Tajima and his siblings, and the reason for Niniji's death.
  • Madara notes that some Uchiha are liable to react rashly while under strong emotions, and not be prepared for the scale of consequences.
  • Kita's sharingan is hinted at since at least Chapter 8 of Compass of thy Soul.
  • The exact details of the Uchiha's noble status are very subtly hinted at since the beginning before being revealed in the first Chapter of the sequel.
  • Hashirama is repeatedly hinted to have a nasty temper under all that cheer. Several times he's noted to subtly threaten people when they disagree with him.
  • The Hatake Clan decides to abandon their ancestral lands in Lighting Country due to increased political pressures from the local daimyo.
  • The conflict started by the Kaguya in Water Country is noted to be spreading over the islands.
  • The group of children that Kinkaku and Ginkaku cornered was comprised of three girl Uchiha and a Hatake-looking girl.
• The Four Loves: Discussed. The Uchiha value each one the same, with no type being considered more or less important.
• Friend to All Children: Tobirama isn't eager to get marry and reproduce, but he's very much a Cool Uncle to his nephew Tsunama and is quickly accepted by the Uchiha kids.
• Game Changer:
  • Discussed in regards to a contraceptive seal that E developed. It has potential to drastically shift the balance of power within clans, potentially leading to the end of making any arranged marriages.
  • Konoha becomes this across Elemental Nations, prompting creation of various shinobi villages, some independent and some not.
• Gender-Blender Name: Most of traditional Uchiha names are unisex, depending on the kanji used to record them. Combine that with the androgynous looks of many clansmen and people understandably get confused.
• Glamorous Single Mother: In the second story, a significant number of Uchiha women have no intention of marrying the fathers of their children despite knowing their identity. Kita doesn't care though Ohabari is rather irritated by this development.

• Godzilla Threshold: Before ceasefire and eventual peace treaty was established, the fighting was so bad that Kita seriously contemplated putting her more dangerous combat seals to battlefield.
• Gravity Master: Apparently Kita has a seal that can cancel gravity.
• Hanlon's Razor: Hashirama's problem is that he's really, really thoughtless. Unfortunately, it's other people that suffer.
• Happily Married: Kita and Madara. Izuna and E. Hikaku and Yori. There are more and more such pairings as the story progresses.
• Heir Club for Men: Averted with the Uchiha. While the firstborn is more likely to inherit, it doesn't depend on their gender.
  • Moreover, the clan realises that Mangekyou heritability is more complicated than a simple father-to-son or mother-to-daughter inheritance.
  • In the Hyuuga Clan's history there was about an equal number of male and female clan heads. Plus they often co-lead the clan alongside several lineage heads.
• Hidden Depths: All around.
  • Madara turns out to be suprisingly skilled at drawing and pottery painting. And he's a flirty drunk.
  • Izuna is very skilled at navigating daimyo court and understanding unspoken social implications.
  • Hashirama cultivates bonsai.
  • Tobirama is suprisingly good with children and a patient teacher.
• Hide Your Lesbians: Uchiha Kamui formally adopting Uzumaki Chika as a sister at the latter's wedding wasn't actually a symbolic wedding gift, but Madara refuses to waste time explaining it to Hashirama.
  • Aparently it's a standard practice for the Uchiha.
• History Repeats: Actually invoked — when an assassin is put under arrest by the Uchiha, Sakurajima thought that emulating her idol Biei-Fuji would be a terrific idea and agressively seduced the guy until he agreed to a wedding. Much to Madara's annoyance.
• Honorary Uncle: What Tobirama becomes to Kita's children. It's actually a bit more than honourary, as Tobirama was considered family to Kita since the moment she awakened her Mangekyou to defend him. His eventual adoption only cements this.
• Hot Consort: Kita for Madara. Mito for Hashirama.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Mito justifies her murdering Hashirama by pointing out his plan to capture all bijuu would have resulted in all other nations targeting Konoha - specifically their children - and Uzushio.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Tobirama after being exposed to Kita's dirty haiku.
• I Thought Everyone Could Do That: Apparently, the Senju have no idea what is the average level of medical care available to Fire Country's citizens. Especially when it comes to healing lethal and crippling injuries.
• In Love with Your Carnage:
  • Sakurajima's reaction to her groom slaughtering his traitorous clan elders and gifting her with their kinjutsu scrolls? Be overjoyed over this show of commitment.
  • Downplayed and bloodless example. Tobirama is in awe of how Madara sets up a coup against Earth daimyo right under his nose while using only veiled insults and vague comments.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • The village is still called Konoha.
  • The military police is created by the Uchiha, though other clans' members join in too.
  • Tobirama has all his canon students... plus nine other children to teach, too. He's also heavily involved in the creation and administration of village school.
  • Konoha does not get along with Kumo and Iwa. At all.
  • Subverted. It seemed that Hashirama would kill Madara due to a disagreement over the bijuu... and then Mito intervenes and kills her husband.
  • The head of the village is still called "Hokage".
• Inadequate Inheritor: Hashirama for the Senju clan. The problem is he's too powerful to actually disinherit.
• Interclass Friendship: What Madara actually has with Hashirama — the Senju don't even own the land they live upon, while the Uchiha are a remnant of the former Imperial court.
  • Also, Kita with several of her out-clan friends.
• Intimidation Demonstration: Deconstructed. As Madara points out, fear is just as likely to cause people to try harder to kill you as it is to make them surrender.
  • In particular, Hashirama's plan to capture the bijuu is considered to be insane and liable to backfire horribly.
• It Can Think: Madara has this suspicion about the bijuu, as the Sanbi was attacking Mito, Hashirama and him in a way that showed understanding of tactics above that of even a very smart animal, and didn't react to obvious distractions and baits.
  • Outright confirmed In-Universe in the last chapter as the bijuu shows up again to talk.
• It's All About Me: Hashirama has tendency to wail and complain if something doesn't go as he wants, and have problems with acknowledging others' opinions as valid. Unlike manga, it's not considered amusing.
• Killed Off for Real: Too many to count. Death count goes up every time the fighting between clans break out.
• Klingon Promotion: A Senju warrior who wants to become the Clan Head might challenge the current head for their position in a duel to death. At least until Madara changes their succession as a punishment for Hashirama's actions.
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • The Terumii Clan offers to help the Fire shinobi with hunting for bloodline thieves, just please stop burning all the islands to the bedrock.
  • Averted with Hashirama. Tobirama notes his brother only retreated on their father's command and since his death he never run away from any fight. Mostly because he never met an opponent who truly outclassed him.
• Lady-In-Waiting: Kita has several of her fellow Uchiha act as those during her visits to the Fire Daimyo's court, including Inemi and Asami.
  • She also takes a very large retinue to the visit in Water Country.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Several Lightning shinobi kill Uchiha Nakano before his lover and taunt the woman over this. Uchiha Yari awakens her Mangekyou and promptly turns them into greasy smears on the ground.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: It's hard to discuss the plot of the second fic without mentioning the peace treaty and the new village.
• Lessons in Sophistication: Kita receives those from Ohabari to prepare her for her role as a wife of a Head.
• Like Brother and Sister: Tobirama and Kita are this to each other especially since Tobirama is unofficially considered to be part of her family after she activated her Mangekyou in his defence.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Madara and Izuna weren't aware of the details of the conflict between their father and his siblings, at least until Kita clued them in.
  • Neither Hashirama nor Tobirama was aware it was their father who started the fighting that resulted in deaths of their younger brothers.
  • Hashirama, somehow, missed the fact he's not Hatake Kikuno's biological son. Nobody who knows actually tries to correct his assumption.
    • He also doesn't know he has an older sister still living, Senju Keika.
  • The Lightning Daimyo didn't tell his shinobi that their comrades were captured and held in prison camps, instead letting them think those people died.
  • Tobirama wasn't aware of the details of Hashirama's death. Too bad Mito didn't know it beforehand.
• Long Game: The peace treaty is systematically revealed to be one by Kita and Madara, with a dash of Batman Gambit and Xanatos Gambit to cover their bases.
  • First of all, with a hostage exchange being a mandatory part of any serious treaty, they were expecting to host Tobirama for several months, thus leaving the Senju under Hashirama's management. Considering his lack of actual management skills, it had a potential to severely cripple the clan and leave the Uchiha some breathing space in case of hostilities restarting;
  • Second, the village being on Uchiha's lands means that the Senju become their vassals. This gives the Uchiha a degree of control over their former enemies, who can't get out of it without suffering the consequences of breaking the treaty;
  • Finally, only shinobi are entitled to Senju name and with the peace treaty there will be less incentive to become one, thus the clan will start losing their members. First the ones who don't want to fight, then the ones who can't fight and eventually only the main line will be left.
  • Also, back during the visit to the capital, Kita mentioned that she wants to make Tobirama think about his loyalty to his family - and how deserving of it they are. It might have taken over decade, but the results certainly speak for themselves.
• Loophole Abuse: Since Senju farmers are not allowed to use the clan name, they are technically independent farmers and have to pay lower tax to the daimyo. Also, Senju homes are considered "temporary dwellings", again leading to lower tax. Too bad Kita and Madara plan on closing this loophole.
  • Those same farmers are not safeguarded by the peace treaty due to technically not being Senju.

M-R

• Made a Slave: Anyone unfortunate enough to be abducted by Water Country pirates, since the islands still practice slavery.
• Mama Bear: Kita. Uchiha Ohabari. Uzumaki Mito. Senju Touka. Those are the most obvious examples.
• Mandatory Children: Clan Heads and their siblings must marry and have children even if they aren't particularly interested like in Tobirama's case.
  • Averted for Uchiha Lineage Heads who can get away with nominating a sibling or a cousin as their heir.
• Manipulative Bastard: Uchiha Tajima, who often plays clan elders against each other. He also tries to pressure Kita into making combat seals.
  • Kita is a rather benign female example, being mostly socially manipulative.
  • Madara can play politics with the best of them. He arranged a coup in Earth Country without using chakra even once and in such a way the nobles thought it was their own idea.
• Marry for Love: Shinobi in general, mostly because they aren't above murdering an unwanted spouse.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: Apparently rather normal among the Uchiha. Madara had four younger brothers. Hikaku is eldest of four. Kita ends up being the eldest of nine.
  • As of the latest chapter Kita and Madara have 3 adopted children and 9 biological ones,in addition to their various wards.
  • Defied for Uchiha E. She wants to have 2 children at most and created a contraceptive seal to ensure this.
• A Match Made in Stockholm: Sakurajima follows the footsteps of her ancestress and idol Biei-Fuji by marrying a prisoner of the Uchiha: Kakuzu of Waterfall.
• Meaningful Name: Each Uchiha lineage is named after a different god, kami or youkai from Shinto myths, which corresponds to powers of their Mangekyou and, in some cases, to lineage specialty.
  • Amaterasu: the lineage of both Clan Heads; their powers also include Tsukuyomi and Susano'o, among others;
  • Futsunushi; creating swords out of any available materials;
  • Inari: they manage the clan's intelligence network, particularly among courtiers, nobles and merchant class;
  • Mizuhame: the clan armourers, can extinguish any flame (including Amaterasu) and make things fireproof;
  • Raiden: can call down lighting from skies;
  • Toyotama: they make clan battle coats and supervise most of other textiles; have an ability to turn into a wani and seem to carry recessive genes for water affinity;
  • Yatagarasu: hold the Crow Summoning Contract; have an ability to perceive the perfect spot for One-Hit Kill;
  • Yomotsu-shikone: can chase their target without regard for obstacles and cannot be stopped by an outside force until the target dies;
  • Lineages with unknown powers and areas of influence are Konjin and Koujin.
  • On personal note, Madara decides to name his third son Shirakami to see him live to old age, as the boy was born early. It's also a sly homage to the white-haired Tobirama who delivered him.
  • Played with. The Hyuuga children born in Konoha to the kidnapped women have names written with the traditional kanji 日 (hi), meaning "sun", but they sound like they should be written with the kanji 秘 ("hidden").
• Might Makes Right: The philosophy of Senju Clan when it comes to leadership, especially for Hashirama and Tobirama's generation — result of Butsuma's policies, no doubt. Luckily, Tobirama was leading clan's children away from this attitude and Madara's ruling on Hashirama's crimes has put an effective end to it.
• Minored in Ass-Kicking: Those Uchiha that stay civilian still learn to fight with at least knives and fire jutsu.
• Mistaken for Romance: Tobirama grows to genuinely like Madara as a friend and basically consider Kita as a sister, but from the exterior it startingly looks like the Uchiha Head and his wife decided to add a Senju concubine to their family life. Uchiha Minami somehow looking like Tobirama and Megata having an affinity for water certainly doesn't help the rumors to settle.
  • By the events of the Epilogue, it's a little less mistaken as while their relationship is not inherently sexual, it does carry a great level of commitment. Tobirama even refers to them as his spouses while talking to young Yoshino.
• More Deadly Than the Male: When it comes to politics, Kita is definitly the one more skilled at manipulating people. Especially, when it involves dealing with Hashirama.
  (Tobirama's narration) Kita-san is without question far more ruthlessly pragmatic than her husband where Hashirama's blatant attachment to both Madara and the prospect of peace is concerned.
• Motive Decay: Madara isn't impressed by Hashirama's neglect of Tobirama, since one of their reasons for wanting peace was to ensure their siblings' safety.
• Mundane Luxury: Inverted. Fresh fish is considered a rare and expensive treat inlands, but since the Uchiha live alongside a river, most of the clansmen eat it nearly everyday.
• Mundane Solution: The Uchiha deal with pests and vermin around their compound by contracting the cat summons and exercising hawking birds over fields, respectively.
• Mundane Utility: The Uchiha craftspeople often use fire jutsu to make their goods. Also, Kita prefers to make seals with civilian purposes in mind.
  • Sharingan is used to memorise kanji and books, while genjutsu are used to hold detailed meetings in a short span of time, teach specific skills or pass a person's description along.
  • Kita and Madara encourage this since it furthers their goals for peace.
  • Tobirama decides to work on civilian applications for elemental jutsu, such as laundry.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • Kita after killing an assassin in a very cruel manner.
  • Tobirama, when he realizes his strategies and actions resulted in deaths of dozens of civilians.
  • Madara is noted to be in deep shock after Hashirama's murder. It is unknown if Mito feels the same about her role in the entire mess as she mostly insist she only did what was necessary.
• My Instincts Are Showing: Anyone with a summoning contract will experience some bleed-over. Tobirama in particular is very feline-like in behaviour and has visible fangs.
  • Tobirama's daughter Yukino can actually yowl like a cat.
• My Secret Pregnancy: Downplayed. Since there aren't any methods to check, most women wait couple months until they are sure of a pregnancy (or that they won't miscarry).
  • Though, some people consider it bad luck to talk about pregnancy to outsiders, and don't mention it until shortly before the labour.
  • Played completely straight when it comes to the Hyuuga women who were abducted and raped by pirates. Their pregnancies are not talked about or even officially acknowledged by anyone, and the newborns were quietly relegated to the Branch House.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Kita notes that Hashirama's idea of "peace" would have resulted in various clans either trying to join the forming powerblock or to create their own faction - exactly what happened in canon.
  • Hashirama and Madara have a fight involving a bijuu, which ends with one of them stabbed in the back. Madara tries to stop Hashirama from sealing the bijuu and Mito kills her husband to protect her clan and Madara. Only they actually make sure to burn the body.
• Naginata Are Feminine: Kita and number of other Uchiha women were trained in this weapon.
• Never Learned to Read: Downplayed. Only the highest ranked Senju know (some) kanji, with the rest learning only hiragana or katakana.
  • This changes after the village school is created as sufficient reading and writing skills are mandatory part of shinobi training.
• Never Smile at a Crocodile: Those damned beasts can eat skilled and trained shinobi without a care in the world. Oh, and the Mangekyou manifestation specific to the Toyotama lineage allows the wielder to shapeshift into a wani. ^note a mythic beast sometimes described as a crocodile, sometimes as a sea dragon
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Word of God is that Kita inviting Tobirama to the tea ceremony was this. Afterwards, Butsuma demanded that his son prove his loyalty to the clan, which resulted in the strategy of targeting Uchiha trading parties — the entirely civilian parties.
• No Social Skills: Downplayed with Hashirama who consistently misses subtext and unspoken implications of various actions.
• Not Your Problem: Inverted. Madara insist that Touka's single mother status is not his problem, despite her cousin numerous complains.
  • Before that, he specifically granted Sakurajima an early adulthood so he didn't have to deal with any upheaval she might be causing outside of Outguard's pureview.
• Odd Friendship: Kita and Aburame Akitsu. Kita and Tobirama. Izuna and Senju Touka. Izuna and Tobirama.
  • On a larger scale, the Uchiha often allied with the Inuzuka.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Kita, when Tajima catches her making seals.
  • Both Madara and Izuna have a small one when they learn about Kita's Mangekyou, since it means that anyone can get one even if their loved ones died years ago.
  • Tobirama, when he realizes that yes, the Uchiha are higher ranked than the daimyo.
  • The younger Uchiha when Hashirama is discussed. And again when he actually shows up.
  • Madara, Mito and Hashirama when the Sanbi takes offence to their presence.
  • Mito when Kita confronts her about what happened in Water Country, while using extremely misleading wording.
  • Several people when the Water Country official refers to Madara as the Hokage.
  • Absolutely everyone when Sanbi shows up at the Water Daimyo's sakura-vieweing picnic. Except Kita, that is.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Nobody will ever let Kita forget that she once bit someone's arm off.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted. There are names shared by many people, though some are more common than others, such as "Naka" being very popular among the Uchiha.
• Only One Name:
  • Invoked. Only Senju warriors are allowed to use the clan name, with civilians having no surname.
  • Invoked again by Kumogakure. The younger shinobi have no surnames to cut them off from any previous familial connections and make them dependant on/loyal to Lighting Daimyo. Some of them were even renamed to further indoctrinate them.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Kita becomes increasingly stressed, short-tempered and vicious in Chapter 8 of Compass of thy Soul, to the point Tajima is starting to worry about her.
• Outliving One's Offspring: A sad reality, due to illness, accidents or assassinations.
• Overt Operative: The bunraku caravan stopping by in Konoha is very obviously spying on the village. They still allowed to stay and perform, mostly because the Uchiha already knew them for several years and they have ongoing trade relations.
• Pacifism Is Cowardice: Senju Hashirama is a Deconstructed Character Archetype of the Stock Shōnen Hero. The fact that, even with all of his power, he constantly refuses to do what he needs to do as a clan head and kill his opponents (which then leads to them either having to be mercy-killed anyway because he maimed them beyond any capacity to live a normal life and considers that "pacifism" or they leave to regroup and attack again) means that everybody else in the chain of command considers him a cowardly, unreliable Manchild and are forced to work around him to get anything done.
• Parental Neglect:
  • Kita's mother tended to favour her two sons over her daughters.
  • Hashirama completely ignores his toddler children unless they are training together.
• Parents as People: Kita's mother tended to ignore her daughters in favour of long-awaited sons, and indulged the boys more than the girls.
  (Kita's narration) It really hurts when parents prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they too are human and fallible.
  • Uchiha Tajima tried to be a good parent to his sons. But his ideas were not necessarily what Madara and Izuna needed.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Madara and Kita. It helps that they had 8 years to get to know each other.
• Place of Protection: A sufficiently skilled sealing master can turn their home (or indeed any place) into a fortress as shown by Uzumaki Mito, Uchiha E and Kita.
• Plausible Deniability:
  • Kita and Madara's plan to have Tobirama as their hostage and leave Hashirama in charge of the Senju's finances cannot be actually traced to them. Despite this, they fully expected this outcome and hoped that Hashirama's inept governance would buy them time in case the peace broke down.
  • There was no detectable chakra in that lighting strike and people can't do jutsu on that scale - clearly it was all natural, a complete coincidence, really. Please ignore those greasy smears that used to be our enemies.
• Playing with Fire: The Uchiha clan to the point that even their civilians know multiple fire techniques and the Grand Fireball Technique is considered one of the requirements to be acknowledged as an adult.
• Politeness Judo: A favourite tactic of Kita. She effortlessly steers Hashirama during the peace talks without him noticing anything.
• Poor Communication Kills: A whole lot of misery and pain could have been avoided if some parties hadn't made too-quick assumptions and acted on it.
• Pose of Supplication: Madara to Kita when he begs her to save Izuna's life.
• Power Perversion Potential: While not exactly described, Kita and Madara are using sharingan illusions for something that leaves them rather breathy and flushed.
• Pregnant Badass: The aforementioned Biei-Fuji fought until the sixth month each time she carried a child.
• Pretty in Mink: Downplayed. Tobirama inherited a fur collar from his mother, which he often wears with everyday clothes.
• Promotion to Parent: Hikaku for his younger brothers. Kita for Benten and later for her twin sisters.
• Punny Name: Most of Kita's seals have those.
• Puppet King: Kita to Ohabari as a Homeguard Head. Downplayed, because Kita doesn't want to and isn't supposed to be a Head.
• Rags to Riches: Downplayed, but Kita goes from a girl from a branch of a minor lineage to a wife of the Outguard Head.
  • Several of the new Uchiha Heads came from branch lines or had no lineage at all.
• Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Standard practice among pirates as shown in the aftermath of the attack on Shigekagure.
• Real Men Wear Pink: Madara enjoys drawing and poetry, and is a decent cook. Izuna likes to gossip.

• Refuge in Audacity: How Uchiha Madara's group robbed a tea caravan under the Senju's noses - they disguised themselves as civilians and swapped sacks of the tea for random debris under genjutsu. And later Kita served the same tea to Tobirama during a tea ceremony.
  • Madara's reaction to the Earth Daimyo's incompetence and self-serving nature was to decide to stage a coup... by making the nobles think it was their own idea to overthrow their ruler.
• Related in the Adaptation: Tobirama is from Hatake stock - which explains his pale colouration contrasting with his dark-haired brother and father, and means he's only Hashirama's half-brother since Kikuno is explicitly named as Senju Butsuma's second wife.
  • Senju Touka's mother, Sumi, is a Kurama by birth.
  • Implied, with Danzou having an older brother named Hanzou.
  • The Uzumaki and the Terumii have intermarried repeatedly over the years.
  • Various Senju vassals eventually decide to take new family names for themselves, including Haruno, Maito and Imano.
  • The Epilogue shows that, among others, Yoshino is descended from both Tobirama and Touka through her parents, making them ancestors to Shikako and Shikamaru, while Jiraiya's parents are a Senju and a Hatake.
  • The author's canonical family trees on her deviantart account show some others: Sasuke and Itachi are descended from Ohabari through their mother; Sai is a half-Nara Uchiha; Orochimaru is the parent of four children made in-vitro with Kita and Madara's youngest daughter; Tenzou's mother is a minor Senju; and Kushina's father is Uzumaki Makuma, Tobirama's son who moved to Uzushio, making Naruto Tobirama's great-grandson as well as Shikako and Shikamaru's second cousin
• Relatively Flimsy Excuse: People think that an Inverted version is happening in regards to Tobirama and Kita's twins, due to Minami looking so much like him. In reality, he's not their father and the resemblance is due to a common ancestor nearly a dozen generations back.
• Required Secondary Powers:
  • The Uchiha are naturally resistant to high temperatures due to their strong fire affinity. Later interactions with Tobirama suggest this, and equivalents, is normal for anyone with sufficiently strong affinity.
  • It seems that in the Uchiha, the parts of the brain responsible for pattern and shape recognition, and visual memorisation are more developed than in average population. And that's even with an inactive sharingan.
• Revenge Before Reason: Lampshaded and Exploited. Kita notes that some Uchiha will go out of their way to fight the Senju, even if it is disadvantageous to their mission, and some civilians will deliberately hire one of the clans if their rival hired the other one.
• Robbing the Dead: Standard among shinobi clans, at least during a war.
• Royal Harem: Various daimyo keep harems composed of a chief wife and multiple concubines, with the one belonging to the Water Daimyo being notes as particularly large. In a realistic example, those women are there mostly to advance the interests of their respective clans and gain high-ranking court offices for their relatives and themselves.
• Royal Inbreeding: The Uchiha prefer to marry internally to preserve their bloodlimit. It rather common among shinobi clans with powers.
  • Deconstucted with the Kaguya who definitely take it too far by allowing marriages between too closely related clan members and not taking in any outside blood.
• Rule of Symbolism: Sealing and even jutsu manipulation works by subconcious association between various concepts by the user, with little to no actual science involved.
  Tobirama: (in dead voice) Handseals work because we expect them to. Sealing works because we expect it to. Chakra works because we expect it to.
  • Exaggerated with Kita's sealing style, which is heavily symbolic and metaphorical in nature.
• Running Gag:
  • Kita stressing over her tea ceremony skills - she's not good at it!
  • Izuna's terrible taste in philosophy.
  • Tobirama being either traumatized or flustered by Kita and Madara being their married selves.
  • People bringing up the time Kita bit off somebody's arm.
  • Maru the exceedingly feline and Tobirama behaving like a cat.

S-Z

• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: The Senju who focus on shinobi skills and leave everything else to their vassals. Tobirama even notes he has barely-to-no knowledge about anything not related to war.
• Samurai: The Akimichi are considered this due to their historical origin and ties to daimyo's family.
  • The Hatake used to be a samurai clan before becoming ronin and then shinobi.
• Samurai Ponytail: A common hair style among Uchiha men hinting at their imperial connections.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • Izuna moves out of the clan hall when it becomes clear that Tobirama will be hosted by the Uchiha for half-a-year.
  • Played for Laughs in Chapter 6 of Direct thee to Peace. With three sealmasters experimenting in the Clan Compound, Izuna decides to move far away from any potential insanity. A number of fellow Uchiha follow after him.
  • The Hatake clan leaves their ancestral lands in the Lightning Country rather than deal with the political pressure from the daimyo.
• Secret-Keeper: Tobirama does not mention Kita's Mangekyou to his clan. Later on, he covers for another Uchiha who just activated hers.
  • Madara and Kita and later on Tobirama are the only ones who know that Mito was the one to kill Hashirama. Though Madara thinks that certain people might suspect something, and eventually there's in an Internal Reveal.
• Side Bet: Between Kita and Tsune, concerning Izuna's latest lover. Kita wins.
• Shout-Out:
  • The storage seal has a shape of an umbrella with a parrot head handle.
  • The daimyo's wife is named Murasaki.
  • Chakra concealing seals are based in the story about Koschei.
  • Let me tell you what I wish I had known when I was young and dreamed of prestige: you have no control of who lives, who dies, or how you are remembered after.
  • At one point, Kita recites Song of Salomon to Madara.
  • Apparently, the Uchiha really like the stories about Kuri the Cucumber, the pirates who don't do anything and so on.
  • Kita transcribed various songs and melodies, including ABBA and Pirates of the Caribbean's main theme.
  • Kita created several maps that are very clearly based on the Marauders Map, though she names it "Aniki Seal".
• Shown Their Work: As with her other fics, Umei-no-Mai did a lot of research on topics ranging from period appropriate food, to clothing, to chadou, to court manners, to cloth production and silkworm rearing.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Kita. In fact Murasaki-sama calls her "a rose-child" since her gentle manners hide very sharp thorns.
  • Also, Uzumaki Mito. Izuna even thinks that she's the most dangerous person among the Senju.
  • Hyuuga Hinagiku. She never once loses her composure even while usurping her husband.
• Simple, yet Opulent: Kita adores such things, being a fan of wabi-sabi principle.
• Slasher Smile: Madara has a particular way of smiling at his enemies, which has been compared to an open grave.
  (Tobirama's narration) The smile that says, "Come and die."
• Sleeping Single. In the omake of Compass of thy Soul, it's noted that Mito and Hashirama have separate wings in a mansion.
  • A throwaway line mentions that Hatake Kikuno lived in her own house with the children, while Senju Butsuma lived in the clan hall.
• So Bad, It's Good: In-Universe, this is Madara's opinion on Kita's haiku, which he considers hilarious.
  • Though, she did eventually improve - at least in form. If anything, the subject of her poetry only got more inappropriate.
• Sole Survivor: Apparently the Uchiha are all that's left of the old imperial court, by virtue of not being in the capital when it was visited by the Kyuubi.
• Spared By Adaptation: Izuna. Tobirama.
• Spoiled Brat: Jounen. Kita thinks their mother indulged him too much.
  • Kita's rather uncharitable opinion about Hashirama.
    Kita: The problem is that Hashirama is used to getting his own way because nobody dares challenge him, so expects that to continue working on all social and interpersonal levels.
• Statuesque Stunner: Apparently, being tall and slender is the "classic Uchiha figure" for clan women, with Kita being an example.
• Stealth Insult: The polite way of dealing with people you don't like. Kita in particular favours it and uses it heavily against Hashirama. Not that he notices.
  • Madara definitely paid attention if his moves at the Earth Court are any indication.
  • Hashirama's nickname is one as "shinobi" is written with kanji for "suffering" and he sure causes a lot of it.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • Every Uchiha in the clan is similar to each other due to all the intermarriages. It's noted that outsiders may have problems with differentiating individuals.
  • Tobirama looks very much like a Hatake, to the point that people who don't know better mistake him for one.
• Stronger with Age: The wani transformation of Toyotama Mangekyou gets bigger the older its user is. Madara estimates that by the time Kita has grandchildren, they will reach the size of a bijuu.
• Sufficiently Analyzed Magic: The Uchiha in general and Madara in particular want to do this with both sharingan and Mangekyou's weirder features.
  • The spinning iris effect is explained as a pigmentation trick, similar to an octopus changing its skin pattern. It apparently helps with moulding chakra for genjutsu.
  • The damage from Mangekyou is explained as a chakra overload, which is already known to cause damage to any organ that was infused with too much of it.
• Supreme Chef: The Akimichi clan. Any mission from them results in a minor fight over who will go.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: Since Tobirama has a Hatake complexion, Kita implies that he is one to the Uchiha children during the hostage exchange and no adult does anything to correct this assumption. At least until the peace treaty is formalized.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Enforced and justified. Any female Uchiha who serves in the Outguard is required to dress and act like a male, with some of them even using different names in the field. This is so that they aren't specifically targeted on the battlefield.
• Take a Third Option: Several lineages of Hatake Clan don't want to settle in Konoha but cannot stay on their ancestral lands due to increasing political instability. Madara proposes that they settle in Sora-ku instead.
• Taking You with Me: How Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma die, with the former taking a fatal hit to get a chance to kill the latter.
• Technician vs. Performer: Kita is the performer, being self-taught and using simple but heavily symbolic and metaphorical seals. Tobirama and Mito are technicians, both having formal training and using very precise, clearly defined and scientific styles.
• Textile Work Is Feminine: Both Kita and her female relatives are skilled in many textile crafts, including weaving, embroidering, patchworking, dyeing, spinning and so on. In fact, it seems to be the specialty of Toyotama lineage.
• Thought They Knew Already: Mito was under impression that Tobirama was already informed of the details behind Hashirama's death.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Played for Laughs when Tobirama realizes that everything concerning chakra operates on Rule of Symbolism.
  (Kita's narration) Tobirama actually twitches, his facial expression abruptly full of the blank and mildly horrified introspection of a person questioning deeply-held assumptions.
• Time Skip: Multiple ones, which is expected considering the story spans several decades In-Universe.
• Too Dumb to Live: Uchiha Tokimi's uncharitable opinion about the Kurama Clan's actions concerning Kurama Shinonome. The moment they found out she was pregnant with an Uchiha baby, they should have handed her over to Hikaku to be judged for bloodline theft. Instead, they attempted to conceal her actions... in Konoha, which is inhabited by over seven hundred Uchiha, each one capable of recognizing a clan child on sight. The end result is Shinonome's death by an enraged wani, followed by a mass execution of over sixteen Kurama clansmen.
• Tranquil Fury: Madara reaction to the mess at the beginning of Chapter 12 is to calmly ask who tried to kill Tobirama, a hostage for Izuna's life, and then behead the man responsible on the spot.
• Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Mangekyou, with details explained and explored. A person first needs to experience a grief of losing somebody close to them, and then become hyperfocused on an idea connected to their specific Mangekyou lineage. And those two events do not have to happen close to each other as shown by Kita.
• Turn the Other Cheek: Zigzagged.
  • Tobirama is bewildered that Kita forgave him for killing her father. Kita understands that her father knew the risk of the mission and that Tobirama had to defend his men from her father. Tobirama is geniunely remorseful for his actions and Kita is more concerned on getting the bloodshed between their clans to stop.
  • Hashirama has shades of this, much to everyone's annoyance. He tries to have Kakuzu released despite the fact that the man just tried to assassinate him. This is a deeper symptom of Hashirama's sense of invincibility as he is so powerful that he doesn't see most people as threats.
  • Madara proceeds to deconstruct this trope In-Universe. If they don't punish the guilty in appropriate manner, then more people will try later on, civilians will be caught in the cross-hair and eventually somebody will succeed.
• Twin Switch: Yamanaka Inoko and Inoka often pull it off with one another, to the point certain people in Konoha think they are one woman with a split personality.
• Unexpected Successor: Since a person with Mangekyou automatically becomes the head of their lineage, there are some sudden changes to the internal hierarchy.
• Unishment: Played with. Tobirama's punishment as the Head of Senju Clan for his brother actions amount to being forced to move into Uchiha Clan Hall with his children and an order to step down in favour of Tsunama in few years, none of which he minds. However, Madara also puts an end to the Senju practice of Asskicking Leads to Leadership by confining their succession to only Mito's descendants, regardless of their occupation.
• The 'Verse: Kind of. The story was inspired by an AU of Dreaming of Sunshine and it shares a lot of background worldbuilding and OCs with those works.
• War Is Hell: Yes. Multiple characters make no bones about the fact that war destroys people and keep on destroying them long after the actual fighting has ceased.
  (Kita's narration) War does not end when the fighting does; people carry it with them and inflict it on their children.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 8 of Compass of thy Soul: Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma die, as do Kita's parents; Kita and Madara marry; Kita murders a Senju assassin in a very disturbing way; the ceasefire gets broken by a group of Uchiha; and Izuna suffers his canonical injury.
  • Chapter 11 of Direct thee to Peace: Several Lighting shinobi corner a group of Konoha children and try to kill Senju Madoma; Madara protects the same children while Kita massacres the attackers; the Lighting Daimyo is implicated; and it looks like the Fire Daimyo will declare war against Lighting Country.
  • Chapter 12 of Direct thee to Peace: Fire and Lightning countries are locked in embargo stand-off; Shigegakure (Hyuuga village) is attacked by Water pirates; Madara, Mito and Hashirama give chase to retrieve the kidnapped and annoy the Sanbi in the process.
  • Chapter 13 of Direct thee to Peace: Hashirama proposes sealing all the bijuu; Mito kills him to protect her children and clan; Tobirama takes learning about it badly.
• Wild Child: Downplayed, with Tobirama often being compared to a cat when he behaves in certain ways, as he was largely socialising with his mother's white leopard summons following her demise.
  • The Uchiha with the Cat Summoning Contract are obliged to raise their children with the help from summons, and the cats sometimes raise clan orphans. Suffice to say, the clan is accustomed to quirky people.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Besides the trauma needed to even activate Mangekyou and the associated issues, there are also very subtle psychological changes everytime a technique is used, which can be compounded over time to produce the canon levels of insanity.
  • Amaterasu increases paranoia;
  • Susano'o causes an unfounded feelings of invincibility, encouraging recklessness and lack of self-preservation;
  • Toyotama causes detachment, defensiveness and general irritability;
  • Tsukuyomi encourages sadistic tendencies;
  • Yomotsu-shikone lowers empathy and sympathy.
• With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Played With. Madara thinks that political power and influence means that both a person and their clan need to carefully consider their choices before taking an action, as they will affect a great amount of people everywhere.
• Worldbuilding: Another thing characteristic to Umei-no-Mai's works.
• Would Hurt a Child: Senju Butsuma. The moment his wife died, he abandoned an alliance with the Hatake clan that specifically forbade killing of children.
  • Also, the various Senju assassins and clan members over the years.
  • The Lighting shinobi trying to kill Madoma and various Uchiha children.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: As years pass, more and more shinobi from Konoha acquire this mindset. It helps that they aren't trained to expect children on the battlefield due to a high minimal age limit for Konoha active forces.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Uchiha Ohabari. Uchiha Kita. Uzumaki Mito. Murasaki-sama. Hyuuga Hinagiku.
• You Killed My Father: Most of Uchiha children whose parents died either know the name of the responsible Senju or have a sufficiently good description to recognize them by sight, which is why Madara refuses to move any of his clansmen to a trading outpost set up alongside the Senju.
  • Consciously and willingly defied by Kita. Her father knew he was putting his life on the line when he took a fatal mission, Tobirama wanted to defend his own warriors, and if someone doesn't break the Cycle of Revenge it will never end. So she decided to forgive Tobirama.
• Young Future Famous People: Since the story is set about 60 years before the canon, those show up on ocassions.

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