#sage's stuff

Like, if that was all I was gunna do, I could just chuck poor Shisui into the open ghost slot, but because I'm a massive world building nerd, currently ghost cousin is 15 year old Uchiha Haruka. (Name might change, who cares that's what we are using here.) Chunin. World building wise, I'm really interested in the spiritual side of the Naruto world- where it crosses over with the chakra and ninja. We already know monks can use it, we know there's at least one god (Jashin) or something god-like, we have deity names for abilities, the hints of mythology with the Sage of Six paths, the chakra tree, summons- how can I make this make sense?

Mwhahahahha

Natura chakra- we know chakra manifestations can be sentiant/sapient, look at the tailed beasts. My worldbuilding has the 'gods' of this world, Kami, as those, but for nature chakra. Not too unfamiliar imo. Before the rabbit lady graced the planet with her presence, they were a thing. But the giant tree fucked up the world natural balance, and now the ley lines/dragon veins/energy currents that used to run through the planet are mixed up, and the gods are basically still resting to recover from the damage. The farther you get from the elemental nations, the healthier the Kami get, since the tree appears to have been planted there TWICE now. So even in the current Naruto time period, you get far enough away into the outer lands, and you start running into the Old Things that have adapted to chakra.

Kami/gods here are ONLY nature spirits, however. Concepts and such like the moon, the sun, war, love, not a thing. Or at least, only very rarely. Kami and Gods don't interact much with the world in general, even at full power, they are NOT Human. They do not function in the same timeframe or thought processes as mortals do.

So the tree fucks shit up, and local Kami to the elemental nations take a nap. A very long nap. Weaker Kami might have even died. Offerings and worship can help strengthen them, but they no longer manifest communicative forms.

So why is the Kami, god thing important?

River spirits!

The Naka river has plenty of show time in the series, and runs through a MASSIVE portion of the elemental nations- if any nature spirit is somewhat active, it would be this river.

That's where the concept started. Uchiha clan worldbuilding. This clan has been around for at several hundred years. (Lemme Google it rq)

https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/User:Seelentau/Naruto_Timeline?useskin=fandomdesktop

And

https://www.fanverse.org/threads/the-great-naruto-timeline.998102/

Yep, nearly a thousand since Kaguya showed up. Let's say her sons wander around as near immortals for quite a while, trying to stabilize the world, which is why the sage of six paths is so well known across multiple cultures. Maybe 200? Who says they have to have human lifespans anyway? Plus, Sage died by the time his sons started having children, he was OLD. So... 250? 300?

Let's say 300, so we have 700 years between Indra and Asura, and the main story. Plenty of time for a clan to build its own identity.

I read a lot on the Japanese imperial family, and took some inspiration from there- Uchiha mythology and bloodline time!

Indra (Uchiha) and Asura (Senju, Uzumaki, ect) are brothers. While Asura's lines split into multiple clans, because of the Sharingan, the Uchiha did NOT. For my purposes, I'm having the Sharingan gene stretch up to 4 generations from a 'double' Uchiha. So they were marrying cousins, because if you did marry two 4th gens, the countdown restarts/the genes replenish. This meant they were NEUROTIC about tracking the bloodline. Bastard children? Automatically clan, they couldn't afford the Sharingan being stolen via bloodline theft. It was beaten into heads that reproduction was for marriage only, simply because of the danger it posed to everyone involved if even one child slipped through the cracks. Family therefore is HUGE. Blood is not everything, but the Clan Bloodline and it's risks were a huge part of how they operated. They were VERY careful about their marriages, they didn't marry first or second cousins at all. With the high death rate that their feud with the Senju caused, the clan did not get large enough to start splintering.

So, Indra. We are going multiple wives here. Whether they died, or were married at the same times doesn't really matter rn, but for me, he had 3 wives. Their traits are considered 'inner bloodlines' that show up among the Uchiha.

First wife- Indra's first wife, Kana (name subject to change) was one of the first Shinobi, her family was one of the ones who was first taught to work with chakra and create ninjutsu. I've imagined Indra was a little older than her, but on good terms with her father, and that they got along well. Not quite childhood friends or highschool sweethearts, but they did like each other, and after the sage died, her father offered her hand in marriage to seal his alliance with Indra. Her family was originally blacksmiths, and it's their smithing techniques passed down through the clan. Kana's inner bloodline is noted for her curly hair and mild temperament, as well as speed. Since I wanted each wife to be very different from each other, she was very down to earth and practical, and was in an affectionate marriage, if not a passionate one.

The second wife, Teiko, was an imperial princess from a nation around the time of the sage dying. What clan wouldn't want to be able to brag they have 'imperial blood'? lol. This was a much more political match, and while the pair was cordial and amicable, they were not known to be particularly affectionate. Her inner bloodline is considered to be brown hair, the aristocratic look most Uchiha have inherited, her icy temper and composed demeanor.

The third wife, Masami, is where things get fun. Since I already knew I wanted the Uchiha clan to have ties to the Naka river, and worship the Kami, I went all in on the 'spiritual' aspect. Masami is the human daughter of the Naka River and a Dedicated Priest. This is where the clan gains an association with dragons. Masami and Indra were a love match, her gentle and willful nature was unusually good at cooling Indra's temper. She was trained as a Miko as well, serving at one of her mother's temples, and was sought out by Indra when he sought an answer to the Uchiha's 'curse of hatred '.

In the manga, Hashirama is the one who explains that the Uchiha love very deeply, we also know the Sharingan affects the chakra and probably the neurons in the brain as it is used and enhanced. I'd imagine that is partly to blame for clan members regularly losing their shit. Mangekyo Sharingan gives you brain damage, and that's not counting the issues from just using the normal Sharingan and its memory abilities. Uchiha get traumatized A LOT. So, when an Uchiha is losing their shit, (I'll probably refer to this as 'Burning' for more fire and water symbolism) there needs to be an actual fix. Clan would collapse if there wasn't.

Masami is the one who helps develop the techniques that help in that. The Uchiha police themselves and each other very closely for emotional disturbance, since the first people usually hurt by someone going batshit is another Uchiha. (Side note, I have this as a theory for why Obito was so ostrisied (?spl?) in the clan, one or both of his parents lost their shit but were not able to be calmed down. With their intense focus on bloodlines, the majority of the clan considered him ticking time bomb, and avoided interacting with or teaching him. He wasn't hated, but they were probably very wary of him)

The techniques Masami created range from simple 'rituals' or habits to reinforce positive memories and assist with trauma for those with the normal Sharingan, to a special 'Lullabye' she created with the Naka River Kami to help 'dowse' the 'flames'. Other options, such as actual rituals involving being submerged in water or the river, special teas, ectra, were also developed. Izanami was one of the techniques created to prevent a high level Sharingan user from attacking the people around them. It bought time and basically basically the ultimate time out.

Masami actually had grey hair, which rarely turns up in the clan, and was an archer and musician. She helped create a lot of the Uchiha's clan traditions, and her connection to the Naka Kami is part of the reason the Uchiha are so consistent with their care and dedication to Naka Shrine even in the main timeline.

So, the basics of the clan worldbuilding- 3 wives- one was a swordsmith and ninja, one was a princess and tactician, and one was the daughter of a River God who helped combat the consequences of the Sharingan.

Both fire AND water play a large part in the Uchiha clans inner workings.

What does this have to do with ghosts?

So, if I can have God's and Kami and Monks, why not ghosts? Without the once abundant spiritual energy that existed before the tree thing happened the first time, ghosts are much weaker, and less common. HOWEVER, the Sharingan can see such things, due to its nature, and the mingling of Masami's spirit touched blood, plus the Traditional Shrine teachings the Clan still applies. (Such things would be much more effective in lands outside the elemental nations, again because of the tree. But despite the fact that the clan could be seen superstitious by outsiders, they still do shit.)