I was probably too excited as I passed out shortly after relieving myself. The next thing I know I was waking up again in a different room. Someone was holding me in their arms but I had another prompt in front of me so I quickly accepted it without checking. I had no time to be composed and read the thing. I thrashed about once more only to feel a hand on my back to try and comfort me. They probably didn't know but that only made me feel scared. A hand as big as your back isn't reassuring when you think you might be locked back up. I guess they finally gave up and put me on the couch. I saw that the one who was holding me was Tsunade as she bent down to my eye level on the couch. Then she started speaking to me "My name is Tsunade. Can you tell me who you are?"
How does she want me to answer this? I'm a Senju please let me live with you? How horrified would you be if you saw a baby smart enough to say that to you? That idea went right out the window and the only thing I could think of was to run again. I don't know what her relationship was with Orochimaru at this point. Had he already betrayed the village or was I an escaped experiment he was hunting down before I exposed him. I couldn't remember at what point he left the village and I wasn't going to take a chance in running away from him. For all I know I could have always been in the leaf without ever realizing it. I made a break for it but sure enough Tsunade caught me easily and placed me back on the couch. Next she tried asking for my name but I don't know if I've ever been given one. Most of the caretakers just called me whatever and some of them just called me plant after the pot I always held. I missed it, a lot.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Why are you trying to run?" Tsunade asked me. I want to believe that she's here to help me but I can't be sure. How am I supposed to get someone to trust me, a child that came out of nowhere. Even if I could get enough trust to where she would take care of me the biggest problem is how do I communicate with her. Do I pretend to act my age and be a innocent little boy or do I say what I really think. I can remember enough about the stories I've read to have an idea of getting her to help me. The way she was staring at me made me want to tell her everything she wants to know. Even though she's younger than what I know she still has that dominating air about her.
What if what I said cause fear? Disgust? Hatred? What if she didn't accept the fact I was a Senju? What happens if I was a clone that Orochimaru made? How would I be treated? In the end I stayed quiet and just looked down. There were too many unknowns for me to just blindly trust someone else with my life. I had to do something to get her to trust me but what should I do? I couldn't get away from here and we both know this. She put her hand on my head to try and reassure me. The problem was I know about her monstrous strength that could easily crush my head like a watermelon. Not to mention how petrified of people I am as this all came together and I started screaming as loud as I could.
"Hey, hey, calm down kid. I'm not going to hurt you" Tsunade took a step back and continued "Who are you afraid of?"
It took me a few minutes to calm down. Thank god she's not going to crush me was the only thought in my head. I started thinking about what she said and I didn't bother to hesitate anymore. I told her the one who I was scared of was Snakeman. Its one hundred percent truth. He really does terrify me and I think if I saw him right now I'd have another accident. Tsunade looked like she has more questions than answers in front of me. I thought about telling her that I feel the same way. Once she settled her thoughts she continued trying to talk with me. She decided on asking me why the Snakeman wanted me. I could tell her but I think the easiest way was to just show her.
I tried moving from the couch and to my surprise she let me get up. I walked towards one of the exits of the house or at least what I hoped was one. I couldn't reach the handle so I left that part to Tsunade and she helped me out. We were in the backyard of the house, I took a few steps forward and found a bald spot on the ground. I put my hand near it on the ground and looked back at Tsunade. She nodded to me and I figured it's now or never. I used the only wood style jutsu I knew and made some flowers. I was nervous so I used too much chakra and made a circle of them instead of just a few. The more chakra that drained from me the more the circle filled up in front of me. This was the most I've ever used up until this point as I saw a few flowers bigger than what I've made in the past. My last thought before feeling sleepy was how beautiful they came out. Standing up was hard and I eventually fell down while everything became dark.
A few hours later and I had finally recovered enough to move my tiny body. The sun was setting outside and I was being fed by four different women. I easily recognized three of them but the fourth could have been a few different people. Tsunade bent down in front of me once I was done being their entertainment. She spoke softly to me
"You told me earlier that you don't have a name right?" I nodded and she continued to speak. "In that case I'd like to give you one. Is that alright?"
"Yes" I meekly let out but since it was my first words to the others they all got excited. They were happy that I had sounds come out of my mouth that weren't screams or sobs.
"I want to give you the name Tobi. My great uncle had a similar name and he was a great man that a lot of people admired." She told me that with a great sense of pride. I nodded as I didn't mind the name Tobi. It'll be interesting if I ever meet the other person with that name that I know of.
"Tobi, do you know if you have any family?" I shook my head as I really didn't know. A frown appeared on Tsunade's face. She was probably hoping that she could meet my parents as they were most likely Senjus as well.
"In that case would you like to live with me?" I didn't nod right away. Is it bad that I surveyed the room before answering her hoping that maybe one of the other people would take me in instead. I nodded once the others in the room were waiting on me. Tsunade then picked me up and said in a boisterous voice.
"Tobi from today on we're family. I'll be taking care of you now so you don't have to worry about the Snakeman or anyone else." I tried to hug her but it was barely enough to call it clinging. I whispered to her in a voice she might not hear "Thank you." That was all I wanted before I would fall into the coma I knew was coming.
A week soon passed and I was now leaving the Namikaze house to live with Tsunade. She's talked a little with me but I decided to look like I didn't know what she was talking about most of the time. It didn't take long for her to refer to me as the little clan head which made her happy. I wasn't going to ruin that for her and besides it gave me a place in society which is what I needed. I found out that the quest I had accepted without looking was [Prove you are a Senju. Rewards: A home Failure: Being sent to the orphanage. Do you accept? Yes/No]. Needless to say it seems like I managed to complete that one in the best manner.
I only had a week left and I was happy to spend that time with Tsunade. She was nice and honestly not as big of a drunk as the show made her out to be. She barely left me alone and when she needed to go out Shizune was there to watch me. She seemed to like me as well. She'd look at me like I was the best thing in this world. I didn't know any wood style besides making flowers but maybe I could do something nice for her. I ran outside and she followed me with a smile. I put my hand on the ground and she was starting to scold me thinking that I might use up all my chakra again. I only made a single flower this time. It was the same one I had in my potted plant and I gave it to her.
Shizune had her hand over her opened mouth as she looked a little more shocked than I expected. She immediately accepted the flower with a smile. "You're going to be very popular if you do things like that when you grow up." She said as she picked me up. Shizune put the flower on top of her ear to hold it in place as she spun me around a few times. It was fun until I got a little dizzy. When she stopped I tried to hug her as best as I could to let her know I enjoyed it. When Tsunade got home Shizune bragged to Tsunade about how I made a beautiful flower just for her. I got scared of the look Tsunade gave me and hid behind Shizune's leg causing the both of them to laugh.
It didn't take long for me to meet the pervert of a teammate Tsunade had. He was a lot funnier in person and seemed to like me. I wonder if he can teach me in the future like he did with Naruto when I get older. I'm sure if Minato is alive he might want to train his son instead of Jiraiya but he might be too busy with the job. Jiraiya made a joke about taking me on his research trips which caused him to get punched by Tsunade. I couldn't stop laughing and gave him a flower and placed it on him like it was his grave.
"Isn't he adorable?" Tsunade asked him as he took the flower off of his chest.
"Yeah he is." He smiled before giving me a dirty look like he'd get revenge later. I waddled away knowing I got the better of him right now.
I learned quickly that people seemed to enjoy when I gave out the flowers I made so I did it as often as I could. Whatever can buy me the goodwill of the people around me. Shizune took me away a little later to let the two have some time to catch up. I could hear Tsunade talking about the day they found me. There conversation was all over the place and Shizune made sure to keep my attention. We played in the other room and as it was getting late I was soon put to bed. It was a nice night, too bad I'd be entering a coma tomorrow.
The next day I tried to be as interactive as possible with those around me. I did what I could to make a lasting impression on anyone near me. Act cute, do what I'm told and didn't bother them when they needed to do something. Soon I was put down for my afternoon nap which is something Tsunade made sure to do each day. It was then I got a prompt telling me that my time was up. The next thing I'd know it would be four years later and I'd wake up in a strange place again.
My biggest fear about the coma was being conscious the whole time while I couldn't move or do anything. Four years of just lying there still as can be with no one knowing that every second you're trapped in your own body. Thank goddess I didn't have that happen to me. I'm already a mental case as it is right now but if that happened to me I don't know what I'd do. To me it was honestly only a moment that passed in the blink of an eye. I felt like I took a nice nap and was woken up to another prompt. [Congratulations you have received the ability to travel through rifts.] I wasn't sure what rifts were yet but it also came with a quest for them. It wanted me to visit one and the reward was pretty simple. The next quest I received would have a better reward. After accepting that I could open my eyes. The room I was in seems to have changed. I was wearing some clothes that fit my body just fine even though its been four years. I was filled with a warm feeling knowing that I was cared for and to prove that point I was in a nicely made bed. The room was clean, like it had had regular cleaning. I could tell that I was taken care of and I couldn't help but cry in happiness. I did it, I finally had a home. I wanted to hug Tsunade as I'm sure she did all of this. She was treating me like her own child before I fell asleep. I tried to get up and that was when I noticed there was a little blond girl at the doorway. She seemed a little younger than I was but I didn't recognize her at all.
The girl in front of me went wide eyed as I saw her. She turned around and ran away as soon as she saw me. I could hear her outside the room calling for her mother. I tried to get up but I wasn't used to my bigger body yet. Everything felt off to me. I'd reach out but my arm was further out than I thought it would be. I tried standing up and fell over instantly. I never knew walking could be so hard. I finally stumbled to the doorway. I couldn't even walk one step without falling or losing my balance. I looked like a newborn deer trying to walk for the first time. I could hear a few voices outside now and they seemed pretty excited. I don't remember this hallway so I picked a direction to stumble down. It took me a minute to move to the other end of the hallway. I had to use the walls to help me so I could make my way down. I heard a voice behind me call out my name.
I turned around to see Tsunade next to the little blond girl from earlier. She looked proud of herself now and Tsunade was having trouble keeping it together. "Tobi? Do you remember me?" She seemed scared, excited, hopeful and distraught all at the same time. I turned around and tried to stumble towards her without using the wall. I thought maybe I could get to her without falling but I was wrong. I did manage to get one step on my own but the next had me falling face first towards the floor. Tsunade caught me and hugged me tight. I called out her name as she was squeezing me too hard.
"Tsunade can you please stop I can't breathe." I told her between the few breaths I could take. She was full on crying while holding me and the little girl was confused. "It's really you. You're awake. I thought you might never wake up. Tsuna can you please go find Shizune and bring her here to me?" The little girl nodded and ran away again. Tsunade wouldn't let me go no matter what. She kept asking me questions without waiting for me to answer. I lost track of how many different questions I had to answer. Shizune running down the hallway was what finally saved me from Tsunade's arms. She too had started crying and I felt the warmth that could only be described as family.
Everything moved quickly after that. Tsunade had picked me up in her arms and brought me back to my room. I made sure to smile at Shizune and Tsuna while we were heading back. "Tobi, I'm going to give you a check up to make sure you're healthy. You've been asleep for a long time and I want to make sure that you're healthy. I'm.." Tsunade started to choke up at this point "glad that you're awake. Don't scare me anymore."
"I'm sorry" I didn't know what else to say to her.
"You don't have to apologize to me. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Promise me alright."
"Yes!" I made sure to look directly in her eyes so she knew.
"Tobi I'd like you to meet your cousin, Tsuna. She's a little younger than you so make sure to take care of her for me." Tsunade said as she knew her daughter was curious about the sleeping boy finally being awake.
I looked at Tsuna and introduced myself. She was following along with us not knowing what was going on. "Momma what's a cousin?"
"Tobi had different parents but they were related to me. Cousin just means you had different parents but you're still family." She said trying to explain how it worked.
Tsuna was trying to process this but I think her logic might need some help. "Does that mean he has to play with me too?"
"Yes, when he's healthy he can play with you all you want." I think I just woke up to a nightmare. Thoughts flashed through my head of a little Tsunade with monstrous strength chasing after me to play. Tsunade caught on that I might have been a little afraid. So she made sure to reassure me. "We're all family here and no one is going to hurt you anymore. I won't ever let that happen to you. Tsuna is a good girl so be sure to protect her since you're older."
The medical exam she gave me lasted a lot longer than I thought. Apparently she had studied a lot of new things in the past four years. Shizune was in the process of telling me that while I was in a coma Tsunade had completely changed. She was more focused than she had ever been. After having Tsuna she made sure that nothing will ever harm her children. I think she had done more than just study medical techniques but I can ask about that later. The rest of the day was the four of us spending time together. Apparently we had now moved into the new Senju Clan Compound that the two had bought. Tsunade had made the clan have a sizeable income by using her knowledge as power. Shizune managed the affairs of the clan and became the steward of the clan. The clan had hired a few shinobis as guards since there was now a chance that either of the Senju children could be kidnapped.
The next day Tsunade sent word to the hokage that I had woken up. The biggest reason she did it was to rescind the bounty she put out for finding someone to heal me. Once word had gotten out about my waking from my coma we had many visitors but Tsunade turned them all away for right now. She wanted me to get used to people first as I still had trouble around new people. The biggest problem I had was that Tsunade wouldn't let me do anything by myself. If she or Shizune weren't available I was within a guard's eyesight at all time. The captain of our guards was a shinobi by the name of Mako. I didn't know anything about him but apparently he was a shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village who had migrated here because of the war. The vice leader of the guards was someone I recognized from my memories. It was a blue haired woman who should not be here by any means.
I was terrified whenever she was the one watching me. How the hell could I feel safe when one of the akatsuki members was sitting there watching my every move. I was told numerous times by Tsunade and Shizune that she's trustworthy and she's here to protect me. It didn't help at all. I know how strong she can be and I was terrified. I tried to avoid her at all costs. It took me a month to calm down around her enough to not alarm others. The only reason that happened was because she was taken out of the rotation of guarding me. I spent most of my time with Tsuna since we were close in age and she made me feel like I could actually be a kid. Thanks to her I could stop worrying about how to survive and enjoy the life I was living.
It didn't take long for visitors to finally be allowed in. Tsunade wanted to be sure I was able to move properly and was healthy enough for me to see people. People might look down on our clan if they saw me stumbling about like a newborn who hasn't learned how to walk. She made sure to give me physical therapy and some light mental exercises to make sure that I could get back to what a normal child my age should be able to do. Overall I'm much weaker than a normal five or six year old as I can barely walk around the compound without being severly out of breath. I'm sure my muscle strength is laughable since I haven't tried that yet.
The first visitor to be allowed in was The Fourth Hokage, Minato, and his wife Kushina. They brought along their two children as well. The oldest being their daughter Akane Namikaze who was born just a year before their son, Naruto. Tsunade was talking with the couple and Tsuna and I were left to play with Akane as Naruto was still too young to move around on his own. It seemed she took after her mother quite a lot. Both children seem to take after one parent more than the other. In Naruto's case it was his father and for Akane she took after Kushina. We were still supervised by a guard and I only knew because Tsunade had told the couple about her worries.
A short while later other clan heads started to come as today apparently turned into a party to show off my health to the village. I had no idea but we were soon surrounded by many of the future characters that I would see in the academy a couple years below me. Most of them are too young to probably remember today but the only one missing would be Uchiha Itachi who was a few years older than me as he was already preparing for the chunin exams. I heard his father boasting about how amazing his son was. I honestly don't know how old I am since I never found out what my birthday was. I could only go by how old I knew other characters were. The main branch of the Uchiha clan also had another child as Mikoto got pregnant at the same time as Kushina. There was now a middle daughter in between Itachi and Sasuke. Her name was Ruka Uchiha who was now playing with some of the other children here.
I was honestly out of my depth here as there were too many people. I didn't know how to talk to them. I know I would be a disappointment if I ran away so I tried to stay here. Tsuna seemed to be enjoying this a lot more than I could. She was bouncing all over the place talking with every kid possible. A smile was constantly on her face, if I had to guess she has never been around this many kids at once. Most of the clan heirs were a few years younger than I was so I left them to Tsuna. I spent the most time with Hana Inuzuka that day as she was already in the academy.
After a little while I finally got Hana to try showing me some things she learned in the academy. I still don't know how to do anything besides create some flowers, maybe she might be able to tell me something I don't know. At first Hana seemed to be pretty indifferent to me but when I pestered her to show me something she learned something changed for her. I think she might be a little eager to show off. The first thing she started talking about was the basic things the academy teaches. She was only in the first year so I guess this is as much as I could get. Then she went on to talk about hand seals. She attempted to use a transformation jutsu but it didn't turn out well. She turned into a sickly version of me. A crowd showed up because I was laughing too hard. She seemed pretty embarrassed so I tried to cheer her up and thank her. I think failing in front of people really hurt her as she was about to run away from me. I didn't mean for this to happen. I grabbed her hand and took her to the backyard which was just around the corner from the courtyard we were left in. Once we were there I hopped onto the ground below.
"I can't do what you just tried but I can show you something I'm good at." Hana wasn't sure what I was talking about so I try to goad her into wanting to watch. "If I mess up you can laugh at me as much as you want then we'll be even."
This at least caused her to stop sniffling and sit on the edge of the platform. I don't know how much my chakra improved while I was asleep so I very well could pass out again. I should probably learn some hand seals for this but I think I might have to make them. I put my hands back on the ground and poured a little chakra into the ground imagining a circle of flowers around me. I wanted different types and colors. I think actual wood style might still be too much for me so I didn't go that far. Soon there were flowers blooming all around me and I poured a little more chakra in and the ring soon thickened around me. I hope this might change her mood. I stopped the flow of chakra into the ground to look up at a girl with wide eyes. She hopped down next to me and started looking at the flowers. The sobs from a moment ago had turned into a smile. She took a few different flowers to keep with her and gave me her thanks. I soon heard someone calling my name. It was Tsuna who was followed by a few of the other children. "Tobi you meanie why did you leave. You said you would play with us." Tsuna looked at me, then Hana and then the ground. "No fair. Why didn't you make any flowers for me."
She jumped off the ledge straight at me knocking me off my feet. At this point Shizune had come out of a different room and started to scold Tsuna. She complained about my health but she stopped when she saw the ring of flowers I had fallen on because of Tsuna. "Tobi did you make those?" She looked at me with a serious expression so I had no choice but to tell her the truth. Her expression changed to a softer one and then she told the other children to take some if they liked the flowers. The boys jumped down first and then followed by a few of the girls and soon the children were all picking the flowers I had made. Shizune came over to continue scolding Tsuna for jumping into me. "Tsuna you can't just jump like that into Tobi. He's still not healthy and if you hurt him again how can he play with you if he's sleeping again?"
"Okay. I don't want Tobi to sleep again." Tsuna had snot starting to come down her nose as she was just a step away from crying.
"And Tobi you shouldn't be using your chakra until Tsunade says you can. I'm going to have to tell her about this. Don't think gifting me a flower will make this go away." Shizune knew I did that when people were mad at me. I could only stare down at my feet in acceptance. She then put a hand on both of our heads before pulling us into a hug. "Now go play with your friends and have some fun."
Shizune then walked away after that and back inside to what I'm assuming is just an impromptu meeting for the adults. I looked up at the guard who was on duty and it had changed from Mako to a woman with long black hair. Another ninja who I didn't recognize. I have to say seeing the Senju Clan's mark on the guards clothes is pretty awesome. I know that people used to wear them as forehead protectors in the past but our guards still wear their Konoha headbands. Most of the flowers I had made were picked by the other children and Tsuna had finally got some. She was happy when one of the other girls put them into her hair. Hana came over laughing at me and I couldn't help but tilt my head in confusion at her. "What are you laughing about?"
"I failed but you got yelled at for doing nothing. How can I not laugh at you?"
I started laughing because she was right. I mean I know I'm not supposed to use my chakra but I did get yelled at because Tsuna jumped on me knocking me over. If I hadn't fallen on my circle Tsuna was probably the only one going to get scolded. Hana and I laughed for a little longer. The party was over a short while later and the children went back home with their parents. It was a pretty boring night after everyone was gone. I explored a little more of the backyard since I hadn't had a chance yet. The Senju Compound was a lot bigger than I expected. Right next to a frog pond was a weird light. I walked up to it to see a prompt in my eyes. It read [Would you like to enter the Mystery Village Rift? Yes/No].