My father has always been so kind to me. He never pushed me to do something I didn't want to, he educated me as he would have done with a male first born but loved me as his little girl. He always thought highly of me and asked me for help in paper issues. Until now I never would have thought that at the end it would be the same:

I'm a woman, and I could not decide my own future.

My father, General Kato, was one of the three military Generals of the Fire Land in representation of the coast region. The land, after ages of war, became a state thanks to the power of the Senju clan that unified the more powerful clans and, in the process, subjugated the rest of the clans in a state of relative peace through politics or force if necessary. In order to administrate it better, the land was divided in 3 regions: coast, mountain and valley, each one with a source of production and it's own force to serve and protect the order the Hokage has established.

We lived in a medium sized household that faced the sea on one side and a thick forest on the other. It was strange to have a place to belong to after all that time of warring and I wished to see more of the world. But in this world, in this era, it was not possible. I had a duty to my family, to my beloved father, that exceed all the wars and battles and a couple months after I turned 22 I was finally asked to fulfill it.

-o-

Valley Region: Hokage tower – Hokage's office

"A falcon messenger has arrived from the coast, anija. It seems General Kato cannot attend our upcoming meeting." - Said the white haired Senju, a trace of preoccupation in his stern face.

"Ahhh, is that so? Why not?" - said the black haired one as he signed the freshly arrived pile of papers.

"It seems he's suffering a sickness, although he didn't say which one."

"General Kato? But he was always so healthy! This is so sudden… I think we should send one of our physicians…"

"Aren't you overreacting now, anija? It may be just a cold…"

"Tobirama! He gave us the tactical move that won the war! We can't afford to lose him. Besides, his intel is so good and he's loyal as a dog! We can't-"

"I know! I know you! We appreciate it a lot. Just control your crush on him..."

~sigh~ "It's just… He's an honorable man. It would be a shame to lose him to a sickness for lack of caution…"

"Okay. I'll send one of the best-"

"The best! It should be the best physician-"

~sigh~ "You are the best physician, anija…"

"Oh! So it should be me-"

"Don't even think about that! People need you here. I'll send the one who follows after you."

~depressed sigh~ "Okay…"

-o-

Coast region - Kato household

"Father? Did you call for me?"

"Ah?...Who? Ah! Makoto-chan!"

"Yes. Are you okay papa?"

~sigh~ "I wish I was my dear. I must talk to you while I still can."

"What's wrong, father? You are scaring me."

"Child…I'm so sorry but I'm afraid you cannot yield your birthrights to your sister anymore…"

"Wha-"

"Please, listen carefully. You are a clever one, I know you'll understand…"

~Nod~

"Sit by my side, dear…Take my hand."

And that's when she realized it, she was doomed. Her father's hands were trembling but they were sitting by the fire in a comfy couch in his office. His sickness was far worse and there wasn't any medicine to cure it. She looked at her father with a mixture of realization, sadness and anger, and she hated that she couldn't say no to him.

"I knew you'd get it quickly." ~he said with a melancholic smile~ "You always do." He patted her head full of golden brown hair.

"The Senjus sent a physician, and he caught me easily. I had to confess your… authorship in the last tactical plans."

~She raised her head in astonishment~ "What?! But father! They could hang me for that! I'm not allowed to-"

"Shhhh… relax child. Hashirama wouldn't do that. He appreciates me to much. But I know you won't be allowed to do as you wish. That tactical plan was a masterpiece, they'll be good to you."

"But father… The master of the ancient library already made a place for me… It took so long for him to say yes. If I go now they can't reach me in the neutral land…"

~He looked at the fire, sadness clear in his dark eyes~ "Child, Mako-chan, I… I wish I could let you go now, that there's some peace here. But I didn't raise you to throw your talent to the wind or to enclose you in a god forsaken place. That's why I skipped the fact that you were a girl…-"

"Then what do you want father! For them to catch me and lock me up like a pretty, good wife and then force me to bear children and do women chores? Because that's what they'll do when you die! They'll use me to replace those who died!"

She didn't intend to sound so rough but the idea was so repulsive that it made her feel psychically ill. She did not - would not - let them lock her up doing house labor when she had fought for her place during the war, and in secret helped her father with the tactical and intel moves. It was just unfair!

"Kato Makoto! I'm still alive and your father!" - he was angry, but not because of his daughter's harsh words but because they were true. He knew it . That's why he had agreed to Makoto's petition to give away her birth rights as lady-heir of his home to her younger sister and go away to find the place she wanted to have in this world. She had won that right after her efforts in the war. But now he was sick and the war was just reduced to a lower scale and complicated political affairs. He couldn't let her go. Not now. They still needed her, the cultivated mind in which he so put much effort after he saw the spark of intelligence in her. He knew what the Hokage would ask and his answer would be yes. He knew his child. She would never say no to him. She would go.