Summary: From a boy to a man, Hatake Sakumo grew as a cold blooded killer, feared and revered throughout the land, villages and people. But one thing, as all who knew Sakumo on a personal level was for sure of, he was really just one, loving, peaceful man. Loyalty just happened to be paid in blood. (AUish, bros. Gotta fill in the gaps somehow)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, any of the associated characters, or any other corresponding content. All rights are reserved to Masashi Kishimoto. Any OCs, jutsu, kekkei genkai, e.t.c that I have used in the story that have not been mentioned in the anime/manga, have been highly inspired by Kishimoto and thus is a correspondence of his work. However, I would greatly appreciate it if my readers would refrain from stealing and laying claim of this fan fiction story without my permission.
Chronicles of the White Fang
Chapter One
-Butterfly Effect-
"You have been created with the ability to change the world. Every single choice you make. . . Every single action you take. . . Matters. But remember, the converse is also true. Every choice you do not make. . . Every action you do not take. . . Matters just as much!"
"Sakumo." A feminine voice rang out throughout the small cottage. Deep within the home, inside a clattered closet, a small silver-haired boy popped out from the opening of the paper door.
"Hai?" He called out in answer.
"Come over here!"
Hearing the excitement in her voice, Sakumo complied. He pushed through the small fort within his closet and ran out of his bedroom. His light, grey irises peered down the empty hallway. Secure, he thought before he crept towards where his mother waited in their small living room.
She was standing beside the open window, smoothing out the ruffled feathers of one elegant, brown hawk.
Sakumo perked up at the sight of it. The bird being here meant that there was something delivered from his father. The bird gazed at him in curiosity; it's head tilted from side to side as it observed him.
Sakumo scrunched his nose in wariness. Although he was happy to see the bird, it was cautious of him. It gave one awful screech, but his mom cooed softly towards it before she waved a small little note to him: a simple storage seal.
"It's from your father," she gave away with a smile.
Sakumo closed the distance between them and took the small piece of paper. He laid the paper on the table, knowing full well what would happen when he would activate the storage seal drawn elegantly on it.
Since his mother was a civilian, Sakumo had to teach himself the ropes. First, his father had sent him a note on how to activate storage seals with a flare of concentrated chakra, and it wasn't until his mom gave the okay that his father began to send storage seals filled with knowledge and toys.
His mother practically skipped behind him and watched with an interested gaze as he flicked through a few hand seals before he activated the seal with a simple touch and flare of his chakra.
There was a white poof, and as the smoke cleared, the once empty table was now littered with numerous scrolls, books and even toys. His mother yelped and pulled him into a tight, bear hug. "My little ninja!" Sakumo smiled shyly, allowing her to hold him for as long as she wanted. "Now, let's see what he got you today, shall we?"
She prodded Sakumo closer to the table, urging him to sit down so that they could explore his gifts together. After a few moments, his mother yawned. "This stuff is so boring! Seriously! Does he not know that four year olds like toys and candies instead of books about chakara and-" She peered down in disinterest at one particular scroll. "Fuinjutsu?"
"It's chakra, mom," he corrected softly.
"Whatever." She smiled as she picked up a stuffed toy wolf. "This is so cute."
She began to play with it herself while Sakumo watched on in amusement before his gaze flickered down to rest on the 'Basics of Fuinjutsu,' by Senju Hashirama. He gazed at the name for a moment. It didn't take a genius to figure out who exactly Senju Hashirama was, and where the book was published. It was always books and scrolls that were published in the Land of Fire or the authors that resided around Konohagakure.
His father wasn't trying very hard to hide his identity when all the information given to him could narrow the man down to the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Ha-ta-ke Sa-ku-mo!" His mother sang out.
His head snapped up. "Hm?"
She smiled. "My little ninja is so smart." She waved at the small mountain of knowledge on their table. "Being able to understand this and all. But really, take some time off. I want my baby to have his childhood." She thrust the toy wolf against his chest and ruffled his locks.
Sakumo smiled in embarrassment. "Okay, mom."
"You see, that right there." She kissed his forehead before she stood. "I will miss. I can't wait until you become a bratty teenager." Her voice rang out all the way to the kitchen as she began to stack a few photos, as secretly as she could, into an envelope.
As if she could, he thought. Sakumo wasn't oblivious to her sneaking around and taking pictures of him, but he ignored it. His father needed to know that he was okay somehow.
"Give me a reason to actually scold you, seriously, you're the most perfect child ever." She tied the envelope around the waiting hawk's leg.
The hawk screeched; it took another sip of water from the small bowl his mom left before it soared off and away towards the direction that Sakumo knew was to the Land of Fire. He stared off into the night sky for a moment before he gathered the toy wolf and went back to his closet.
He opened the book to the Basics of Fuinjutsu and read the introduction:
The art of sealing starts with a brush, ink, and imagination.
Where imagination is limitless, so is fuinjutsu, but where the mind is unstable, so will be the foundation of a seal. Not a single drawing of an element could be imperfect or else the entirety of the seal would be canceled out or worse, malfunctioned.
Sakumo settled his toy wolf down next to him and continued on reading.
He flipped to the next page.
A few hours later, miles away at the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, the same hawk soared in lazy circles above it's caretaker. He was around his fellow shinobi, recuperating from an assault by Suna-nin, who tried to poison their water supply.
The fleck of white hair turned to look up at the looming bird. Noticing it, the white-haired ninja began to slowly move away from the mass group of people.
Once the white-haired ninja settled with a bit of privacy, he held out his black-clothed arm. The hawk swooped down into the air and landed a little roughly on its makeshift perch of clothed flesh. The bird screeched as the white-haired ninja gazed deeply into its red irises.
"Let me see, what you have seen," the ninja finally spoke.
Two, long fingers placed themselves against the bird's forehead. The bird settled down calmly at the familiar intruding of chakra, and suddenly, memories flashed throughout its mind, transferring into his own.
A beautiful, black haired woman jumped slightly in her seat on the living room, startled as the hawk landed on her open window sill. She smiled excitedly, putting down her book, and moving to give the bird water and food for its service.
Her lips curved happily as she untied the paper and called out their son's name.
He observed the woman without shame. Motherhood did nothing to cause her beauty to fade. Her flawless skin, grey irises, similar to their son's own, full lips, and the beauty spot of two moles: one on the bottom corner of her lip, and the other just below one eye. Hatake Suzume was always a beautiful sight to behold.
He flinched when he saw a flash of white in the corner of his vision. The hawk, always alert and wary of any being in its sight, looked up, giving the white-haired ninja a good view of his son. He was older than last time, and other than the remarkable color of his hair, that tied him too close to himself, Sakumo held more characteristics of his mother.
The boy silently and obediently went to his mother and undid the seal to stare blankly at the gifts he sent them. He sighed when he saw the boy's affections towards his mother, and the silent adoration within his mostly blank expression. The boy would have to learn the hardships of how to be a man the painful way.
Being protected and spoiled like that would only hurt Sakumo in the future. but. . . there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't want to do anything about it. Sakumo was their child, he deserved to have a good childhood within the dreary age of the Shinobi World War.
Their child would be okay, so long as he didn't wander too far from the genjutsu he placed around the perimeter of their home. As long as Sakumo was not seen by any enemy ninja that would tie the boy to him, then Sakumo would be safe.
And if any situation like that happened, Hatake Suzume would be able to counter such situations. She wasn't an S-Rank missing ninja for nothing. And in the worse case scenario, she could always summon him with the teleportation seal he littered around their home. . .
It was hard to see his family from afar, but many nights of passion with the exiled Hatake kunoichi would never be thought of with regret. There was no guilt in making love to her, no grief in bringing another child of his into the world; however, there was disappointment. Disappointment in himself for choosing his village over a family when he really shouldn't have let such things counter each other in the first place.
The white-haired ninja observed the innocent looking woman handing the little boy his stuffed animal. He had trouble in picking out the boys gifts without any of his own students noticing.
He closed his eyes, becoming disoriented after being inside the bird's mind for too long.
He rubbed in between his brows and sighed. Then he reached for the envelope tied to the bird and shifted his arm slightly, signaling to the bird that it was free to do whatever it wanted until the time for its service was needed again.
The hawk screeched and flew off in one graceful movement.
The white-haired ninja then pulled out the photographs of his son. They were black and white, but it was enough to tell him a story. He smirked softly, seeing the boy standing in the middle of a pond near the house. Another one was of him sleeping in the cramped space of his closet where stacks of the books he sent him loomed all around the boy.
"Tobirama-sensei." The familiar voice startled him out of his thoughts.
In one swift movement, the white-haired ninja, Senju Tobirama, pushed the photographs back into the envelope before his vermilion eyes flickered up to the young teenager standing below him.
"What is it, Hiruzen?" Tobirama stepped off the tree branch and landed gracefully in front of his student.
The teenager, Sarutobi Hiruzen, grinned as he held out a list for him to take. "Everything on the list is accounted for, sensei."
Tobirama took the list. His gaze took in every bit of information. "Very well. Inform your teammates. We're leaving tonight."
"Hai, sensei." Hiruzen eagerly set off to do as he was told. However, not even a minute passed by before the direction in which his student left him was ignited in fire. Tobirama's gaze narrowed as he heard screams.
"Enemy attack!" Tobirama heard his shinobi and kunoichi scream out in unison until suddenly, the air was ringing with war cries. The familiar sound of metal clashed together. A sound so familiar to home, and like the moment he heard the first cries of his son, his home, Tobirama relaxed his body naturally.
He cracked his knuckles before he reached back to pull on his gloves. Once the sturdy black fabric was pulled over his bare hands, he was surrounded. Sunagakure hitai-ate's glinted around him. It didn't bother him. One bit.
"Senju Tobirama," one sneered. "It's time to end your reign!"
The white-haired Senju didn't so much as flinch as they all lunged forward. Instead, he took a step to the side, vanishing from the center. Some stopped themselves in time while others collided against each other, ultimately ending their lives.
"Unsightly," Tobirama stated.
The only thing they could manage to do was see the glint of his crimson gaze above them. He defied gravity for one instantaneous moment, then he landed.
The earth ruptured.
Debris flew, cries faded into gurgles of choked blood, and a crater formed underneath him. He stood among the catastrophe. Then he brushed off the dust from his shoulder guards before he was interrupted by another wave of enemy shinobi. Tobirama straightened himself, and he proceeded to rip through them easily with one single kunai.
He shoved a Suna-nin against the tree and narrowed his eyes.
"Why do you laugh, boy?"
The teenager coughed up blood, but he continued to chuckle. "Because while you are occupied here, you shit," he spat. "Iwagakure is invading the other side of Amegakure's border as we speak."
Tobirama drove his kunai into the boy's throat. He took no pleasure in the strained gurgle that wheezed from his throat. It was a cold detachment Tobirama honed since young when he had been sent off to kill Uchiha adults since he was seven.
Afterwards, he sped through the trees, gaining more comrades with each jump from branch to familiar way they synchronized with each other in their movements, and the way they evaded and disarmed their enemies with ease by looking after each other's backs was what Hashirama, his brother, and Tobirama had instilled in them since they were young.
It was what a well-bonded team could achieve.
A principle ensured to be deeply ingrained within the young generations of Konohagakure.
His team: Team Tobirama, but better known as the Elite Rokunin consisted of six renowned ninja; they were Uchiha Kagami, Shimura Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Akimichi Torifu. Parentless children Hashirama and he raised since they were young and honed to be deadly shinobi of the leaf.
It hadn't been easy.
Especially with three, parentless children from the Sarutobi, Uchiha, and Akimichi clan, but back when Hashirama had been hokage, the clan heads entrusted them to Hashirama and Tobirama's teachings and guidance.
Now they were out of clan influence. Part of the first generation of clan members whose loyalty was to the leaf eyes gazed at the six students. "Kagami, Danzo, and Hiruzen, I want you to secure northwest perimeter. Koharu, Torifu, you will secure the southeast. Homura, since you work well alone, you will go southwest." He straightened and bowed his head. "I will secure the rest," and with that, Tobirama vanished from their sight.
When he reappeared, it was in the middle of battle where Sunagakure was overthrowing the few living konoha shinobi and kunoichi. Tobirama quickly stepped in, turning the tables around.
He tossed his kunai forward, using it to bend the dimension until there was only movement from point A to point B. He was like a white flash through the crowd of Suna-nin, bumping into them purposefully to mark them with his seals before he went in for the kills.
It wasn't until he cut through half of their forces that they came to the realization of who he was and what his special techniques were compiled of.
"It's the Nidaime!" One screamed.
Tobirama silenced him with a kick to the ribs. They shattered on impact.
There was screams of rage. Tobirama took his time to settle onto his feet. Just as he did, however, he flickered out of the way, barely avoiding the ripping gusts of wind that could have been damaging to his armor.
"Ah," he mused, eyes moving up to gaze at the attacker. A grinning kunoichi with two small fans in each hand waved his way.
"Finally, a worthy opponent!" The grin on her face stretched.
His eyes narrowed. It was always the loudmouths who died early. He whirled the dulled kunai in his grip, calculating the distance between them.
There was a sudden screech and he looked up to the familiar sound. It was his bird swooping down towards him. Before he could do more than frown, waves of wind rushed forward, obliterating everything in its wake until there was nothing but flesh, blood, and feathers.
Eyes narrowed as they turned back to the perpetrator.
"No, no, no," she scolded with a wiggle of her finger. "It's disrespectful to ignore a kunoichi like-"
A gurgle escaped her lips as he sliced his dull knife across her throat. Her reaction was that of shock as she collapsed to her knees. He looked away to stare at his worn out kunai. The seal on it was fading, becoming useless from constant use.
He blocked incoming projectiles behind him, sensing every location without even looking before he finally turned to see two suna-nin looking at him with pure hate.
"You killed, Mina, you fucker. . . I will never forgive you."
He raised a brow. "With that line of reasoning, I could say the same thing about my hawk."
"Good riddance too. It's only use was to bring us here." He spat on the floor and began to form hand seals for a weak earth jutsu.
Tobirama dodged with a jump to the air. His eyes flickered from side to side, observing the ninja that tried to flank him before he smashed his fist against the earth, putting a dent to their balance. That one second was enough to kill one and keep the other alive in order to interrogate.
"So you have followed my bird? From which location?" He tightened his grip on the man's throat.
"Screw you!" The man grit his teeth.
Tobirama's eyes narrowed before he clamped his hand down, strangling him with a crush to his esophagus. The man was a shinobi. No matter how weak or loose his tongue was in the heat of battle, a true shinobi would never willingly give information in torture.
He looked back to see his fellow konoha-nin finishing up their own battles before he forced himself to look at his dead hawk.
The other side of Amegakure's border was an army of Iwa-nin.
Sakumo.
REVISED: 10/23/2017