Slowing Down

Chapter 1:

Tobirama Senju

Tobirama Senju was twelve when the world slowed down.

He was eating a small dinner with his brothers and his mother and there happened to be his favorite meal for dinner. In the mad rush to grab several servings before the rest of his brothers, he made time stop. How odd. Everyone seemed to be moving very slowly like they were in some type of clear molasses. Tobirama grabbed his food and then everything resumed back to normal.

It was selfish of him, but he didn't tell a soul about his ability. He didn't whisper it to Hashirama or hint at it to Itama. The whole Senju family was itching for a kekkei genkai and Tobirama saw how Hashirama's Mokuton made him the prized breeding pig. There is a certain intelligence to knowing when to shut your trap and Tobirama had this intelligence.

Time slowing was his little secret. He would practice it when he was absolutely alone. It was certainly useful in battle because it opened so many weaknesses in his opponent. It wasn't just that he was fast, it was that he sensed it at a normal speed so he had enough time to think through his actions and look for openings in his opponent's defense. He created a working teleportation jutsu to augment and play off of his kekkei genkai. Only he could use it because everyone else was either too dazed or too busy vomiting to continue fighting. It was really satisfying to watch his brother empty his breakfast after trying his hiraishin.

Gave him evil headaches when he overused it though.

It may have accidentally given him a reputation of being prickly and mean which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but certainly wasn't intentional. His brother needed someone with that sort of reputation backing him. While Hashirama could certainly handle himself and was plenty intelligent, he acted like the village idiot and that wasn't great at conveying strength.

His brother also needed someone who could ground his dreams in reality. While aspirations were great, they don't substitute for the concrete details needed to make these dreams reality. Tobirama was ideally placed to be this voice of pragmatism for his brother. He could build the institutions needed to make his brother's dream survive beyond their lifetimes.

If only his brother wasn't such a naïve idiot sometimes.

There are consequences to even good ideas and simple faith can't mitigate those. Tobirama's resigned to be the one to foresee the complications and to come with a plan to fix it that Hashirama will reject. They needed to create a whole new system of getting things done in the village that can withstand the consequences of a good idea and time. That's why they created the mission. Before, a nobleman would hire a shinobi clan to protect him at the sacrifice of their own lives. It was admittedly a lot better to have lots of specialists to choose from. There are still problems, but it works better and is generally more harmonious.

Sometimes when he was on missions he slept around a bit. He knew it was irresponsible, but who really was going to stop him? It gets tiring to be practical and responsible all the time. When he was around Hashirama he needed to be the pragmatic voice of reason, but here, out in the middle of nowhere, he could be anyone he wanted to be and no one would care one way or the other. Him being Senju didn't matter. His familial obligations didn't matter. He could just be alone. He didn't remember most of the women he slept with. There was a girl with blue eyes in the country of Rain, and the one with blonde hair on the border to Earth. They just weren't that important.

When he came back he didn't expect to be saddled with a genin team. While Hashirama had talked about all the jonin having the chance to teach the children, he hadn't expected that it would apply to him too. Every child seemed scared of him whenever he got near. Now he had to teach a bunch of brats how to not only survive but to thrive in this vicious world.

Hiruzen was a studious one and he'd come to do great things in the world. Homura was ever good at keeping schedules and making sure they got their jobs done on time and under budget. That seems small but that is a rare gift. Koharu had the eye for the bigger picture that Homura often lacked and that Hiruzen got lost in. He adored them. So much.

Then Hashirama died. It seemed impossible, but apparently, his endless optimism could run out. He was the Hokage now and he had a village to run. Mourning is important, but sometimes personal feelings and emotions have to be pushed out of the way for the greater good. He would deal with his grief later. Maybe.

And there was a definitely a war coming on top of the regular shit he dealt with. This was also a generation somewhat alien to the total bloodshed of the warring states period so they lack the resilience and unshakable quality that the adults were forced into having as children. It had been several years since Konoha and it wasn't that everyone had become complacent necessarily, but the luxury had allowed them to take some risks that would have paid off in the longer term, in shinobi sanity, but was biting them in the ass right now.

They need the children to have allegiance to Konoha above their clans. The academy was an obvious institution because the children create the future and he needed them to believe in Konoha as a whole. He conceived the idea of the Will of Fire when he was pissed drunk, but Hashirama loved the idea when he was alive and actually mentioned it in several of his speeches. Tobirama thought it was a bit silly as they were serious shinobi and a motto that encourages love and bonds seems antithetical to their purpose. Admittedly he could have thought of worse things while intoxicated. At least a fake ethos can unite people enough to lay down their lives for one another.

Feeling threatened, other shinobi villages formed to compete with Konoha. They've made aggressive moves since their inception in order to tear Konoha down. Konoha will not, will never, and cannot be cowed. Unfortunately, Konoha's steadfastness just means more paperwork and more meetings between delegates of the shinobi and delegates of the daimyos. Sometimes they're the same envoy. Sometimes all of them have completely different agendas even though existing in the same land. He hated it.

He didn't need to overuse his bloodline limit to get headaches anymore.

He decided to strike up an alliance between Konoha and Kumo to prevent future war, but that went terribly. He lay on the ground bleeding out and no help was coming.

He never felt fragile before. That was new.

At least the village was in relatively safe hands. Hiruzen was a little too young to be really taking up the job. Tobirama hoped to have a little more time before he gently forced Hiruzen to take on more leadership roles. Sometimes the best way to quickly learn is by necessity. At least Hiruzen had Koharu and Homura to see the things that he couldn't. They'd do well in taking care of his brother's dream.

Thinking of his precious students, maybe the will of fire had become real. If this was the legacy he left behind, He couldn't be prouder.