I've only just turned eight, and Hideo is a month and a half from turning seven when he manages to make a stick grow.

It's a pretty anti-climatic really. We're in the park, as usual. I'm watching the other kids run around and play and Hideo is sitting next to me, staring intently at a stick. The first time it works, I don't even notice. Then Hideo, unable to do anything problematic without getting me involved, taps me repeatedly on the shoulder, hard enough that I fall to the side.

"What?"

"Looklooklook!"

That is when he makes the stick grow. Just a little. Just a tiny, two centimetre sprout out of the side. Still, he has undeniably made the wood grow.

Then he has the audacity to be shocked when I knock the stick out of his hand.

"Quiet!" I hiss as I pull him to the trees. Hideo is almost two years younger than me (alright a year and a half - close enough) and he's never been the brightest kid. Don't get me wrong, he's smart. He just don't think things through. He looks at the little picture while it's my job to look at the big picture.

"What're you doing?!" Hideo near on shrieks as I pull him to the abandoned grove. "We can't go in here! It's haunted!"

"No it's not," I wave off, "that's just so that people don't come here. Mostly teenagers come in here together. You just don't notice 'cause you're busy doing other stuff."

"Well why are we here anyway? We need to go tell Ka-san so I can come to the academy with you!" Hideo says, looking genuinely shocked. Sometimes I wonder how my brother can be such. an. idiot.

"Didn't Ka-san tell you that people can't know we're related to the first hokage?" I say, trying to sound patient. I'm mostly failing.

"Yeah? So? We only have to tell Ka-san, it can still be a secret!" Hideo insists, he pulls his hand out of mine so he can cross his arms.

"So you weren't just doing it in a public space where anyone can see us?" The vast expanse of the problem is starts to reveal itself to me and I groan. "Look Hideo, do you remember when the Snake Sannin abandoned the village?"

"No?"

"Neither do I." Hideo looks confused so I add, "I was too little, but I hear about it sometimes." The things you hear when people think you're asleep. "He stole children! If he could do it and still be a respected public figure for years-"

"Respected public figure? Everyone knows he's evil!" Hideo says, voice getting loud enough for me to wince.

"No, they don't. Most kids don't even know about him." I explain, "Ka-san told us about him right? Most people's mother's don't warn them."

"Why not?" Hideo asks as he wanders toward a tree.

"The Snake Sannin was obsessed with power, and the Senju were known as the strongest clan ever." Well okay, I don't know exactly why, but I can figure it out. Ka-san maybe didn't say it, but I can figure it out.

"Oh! So… if…" Come Hideo! You can do it! Think it through! "If I can make trees grow what does that have to do with the Senju." I avoid facepalming (it makes Hideo upset) but only barely.

"Making trees grow is the Senju kekkei genkei. Therefore, if you have the kekkei genkei you are obvious related to the Senju and have one of the strongest kekkei genkei that Konoha has ever had!"

"Is this something you learned at school?" Hideo asks, narrowing his eyes.

"No!" I shout, throwing my arms up in the air, then I pause and lower them slowly. "Okay, it might not be obvious to you. Ka-san warned us about the Snake Sannin and even showed us his picture in the Bingo book right?"

"Yeah?"

"And Tou-san warned us that just because some is strong doesn't mean they're good." I say, trying to lay out each piece of evidence is exhausting. There are so many different pieces.

"Yeah?"

"And Ka-san told us about the first Hokage who, and I quote 'was the strongest shinobi to ever live since the time of the Great Sage'."

"Yeah?"

"She also said that a great deal of his power was attributed to his ability to use the kekkei genkei known as mokuton." I pause, if I have to be this clear maybe I better spell everything out. "You know that the mokuton is making wood do what you want with chakra right?"

"Oh! Uh- Yeah! I knew that!"

"Right," I sigh and rest my lower face in my hand. It's as close to a facepalm as I can get without offending him.

"I get it!" Hideo lights up, "so if I have the same power as the First Hokage some people might think that I'm as strong as him and the Snake Sannin might kidnap me!"

"...Basically." It's almost right. Close.

"So… I have to keep it a secret?"

"Exactly."

"Even from Ka-san and Tou-san?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You aren't very good at it yet, so it's not very useful. Ka-san's hurt and Tou-san's busy. They can't protect you if someone wants to steal you away so telling them would only make them upset." Well. It would make Tou-san upset. Ka-san still thinks Konoha is amazing and perfect.

"So you want me to keep it a secret until I'm good at it?"

"Yes."

"But- but if I do that then I can't go to school with you!" Hideo cries out. I frown, that's right. I wasn't sure about what to do about it though.

"Only until you're good at it. As soon as you're good at it then you can tell them and come to the academy." It's taken him years to make a stick grow. Without a teacher it'll take years to improve too much, and by that time he'll be eight and able to join me anyway.

"Fine! Then I'm gonna learn how to do it now!"

It turns out that children don't have very much chakra. Also using the mokuton uses a lot of chakra. Also, Hideo's not a very good judge of when he's out of chakra. Good to know.