THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE, THE HIDDEN LEAF

Hashirama sat in his chair awaiting the return of his shinobi. It was their first mission and he was excited to hear the details. More importantly, this was a test of Hikaku's and Tobirama's leadership. They were going to return any minute now. Beside him, was his wife Mito who decided to greet them as well. To their shock, Hikaku stumbled into his office with Torifu in his arms. Danzo was leaning on Kagami. They both groaned as they sat down while Hikaku got his arms healed by Mito. Hashirama was astounded.

"Greetings, Hikaku. Enjoyed the festival?"

Hikaku was furious. Is this a joke to him? Did he even know what we were up against!?

"Enjoyed the festival?! ENJOYED THE FESTIVAL!? Lord Hokage! You cannot possibly imagine what we have been through! We could have died on that mission if it wasn't for the Kazekage's aid! I don't care if I am disrespectful, but what was going on in that mind of yours, Lord Hokage!?"

Mito frowned and inquired, "Wait! What are you talking about? Why are your students such a mess?"

"We were ambushed by a rogue ninja from the Hidden Sand and Kagami was his target. Monzaemon Chikamatsu. The first person I have ever seen who uses puppets in battle."

"Puppets?"

"These were special puppets bred for war. I can vouch for the fact that one of his puppets is worth atleast ten of our jonin. At the festival, he appeared and wrecked havoc which forced the Hidden Sand into a state of emergency. We took him down, but suffered grave injuries. This mission was too dangerous for a rookie team like ours."

Hashirama was appalled.

"F-Forgive me! I did not expect such a complication to arise..."

Mito glared at Hashirama and then whacked his head.

"Is that all you have to say to them, Hashirama!? These precious little kids almost died!"

"I don't think their injuries are as severe as Hikaku really claims them to be...! Hehe...", said Hashirama with an awkward smile.

Hikaku snapped his fingers and Torifu immediately took off his black vest to show the wooden slab that was taped onto his fractured back.

This was enough for Mito to enter a rage mode. As her red strands of hair began to float in the air, her eyes began to turn red like those of the fox inside of her. The ground began to crack. This was Team Hikaku's signal to escape. Mito cracked her knuckles as Hashirama gulped.

"You may leave, Team Hikaku. I have some words of advice that I would like to give to my beloved husband."

Team Hikaku locked the door from the outside and walked along the hall as Hashirama's screams echoed throughout the compound. Danzo's teeth chattered as he heard glass being shattered and tables being broken. Kagami tugged his sensei's sleeve.

"S-Sensei? Is Lord Hokage going to live?"

With the same fear in his eyes, he replied, "Questionable."

Danzo could see a group of four people heading their way, possibly to Hashirama's office. An adult accompanied by three children. That's Tobirama-sensei! Their mission is over too? Hikaku placed his hand on Tobirama's shoulder.

"Let me guess...near-death mission?"

Tobirama slapped Hikaku's hand off and marched towards his brother's office.

"I am going to kill him, I swear!"

"Somebody has beaten you to it.", Hikaku joked as Tobirama heard yelps from the office.

"Doesn't matter. That idiot deserves overkill."

As Team Tobirama entered the office, Team Hikaku squished their ears to the wall. It was only a matter of time.

"Wait for it...", Hikaku giggled.

Suddenly, the door itself blasted open as Hashirama flew and crashed into the opposite wall. Mito walked menacingly towards Hashirama who looked for means of escape.

"NOT ONLY DID TEAM HIKAKU SUFFER...BUT TEAM TOBIRAMA AS WELL!?"

Hikaku quickly ran down the stairs.

"This is our cue. Escape before we die for real."

TWO DAYS LATER

YAKINIKU - Q, THE HIDDEN LEAF

"Well that's the last of us!", Danzo cheered as Homura finally came to the table with bandages and swabs moist with antibacterial solution.

"Two plates on this side please!"

Normally, one plate should be enough for two people, but since Torifu was here, an excess amount should be ordered. At the end, they could afford it since Lady Mito forced Lord First to pay them more than they deserved. With their new earnings, Teams Tobirama and Hikaku made their way to the yakiniku restaurant that recently opened last week, when they were on their missions.

"Man, I would have loved to be here on the opening day. Imagine the discounts we could have gotten!", Torifu lamented.

Hiruzen, Koharu, Kagami, Danzo and Torifu had met up in the restaurant after being sequentially discharged from the hospital. They had been recuperating since half a week now and had been begging their nurses to go outside. Torifu needed the most attention since his spine was cracked.

Everyone had finally gathered at the small table Danzo reserved and a series of plates with piping barbecue arrived and were laid on the grill. Of course, Torifu ate first and so did everyone else...except Danzo and Hiruzen. Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense as even Torifu stopped eating. Koharu and the others felt the table shake violently. Hiruzen's knee had been vibrating since the start. And Danzo was controlling the same by pinching his thigh. Koharu sighed as Danzo's olive-green eyes were fixed on Hiruzen's black ones.

"Oh dear. Here we go again.", Koharu groaned as she twirled a strand of her lavender hair with her index finger.

Kagami massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers as the empty cups rolled and tumbled off the table due to the tremors.

"Should we let them? I don't think either of them can control it..."

Torifu observed Danzo's incisors scratch against each other and grabbed his teammate's shoulder.

"Danzo, c'mon! Drop it. We came here for barbecue!"

Homura bit off a bit of his bandages and stuffed it in his ears. Koharu stuck her tongue out.

"Jeez, Homura. That is so unhygienic."

"I am prepared, that's all.", Homura replied as he saw Danzo and Hiruzen grow veins on the sides of their heads.

For a minute after, there was silence and the two boys seemed to have calmed down.

"That was a close one."

All of a sudden, the two boys slammed their fists on their table and shouted at each other. Time was too fast to determine who shouted the first insult and it looks like both initiated their argument. But Danzo's voice was louder.

"WE HAD TO DEFEAT TEN PUPPETS ALL ON OUR OWN!"

"OH YEAH?! WE HAD THREE DEADLY HUMAN ENEMIES! YOU TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN FIGHTING DOLLS!"

"THEY WEREN'T DOLLS! THEY WERE PUPPETS AND THEY USED ELEMENTAL JUTSU! WE ALMOST DIED TAKING ONE OF THEM DOWN!"

"ELEMENTAL!? PFFFFT! OUR ENEMIES USED A KEKKAI GENKAI THAT IS RARELY SEEN!"

"OH REALLY, HIRUZEN?! HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SPECTACULAR PUPPETRY!?"

"HAVE YOU EVER SEEN BONES COMING OUT OF SOMEONE'S HANDS?! EVEN KOHARU PLAYS WITH DOLLS!"

"DO YOU REALISE THE SKILL NEEDED TO CONTROL TEN PUPPETS AT ONCE?!"

"UM...NO! BUT WE HAD TO FIGHT THREE HOKAGE-CLASS NINJA WITH BRAINS UNLIKE YOUR WOODEN DOLLS!"

"STOP CHANGING THE TOPIC, HIRUZEN!"

"I AM NOT!"

"ALL IM SAYING IS THAT WE HAD A STRONGER ENEMY!"

"NO, WE DID!"

Kagami restrained Danzo and pinched his lips together. It's funny how they ended up praising their enemies.

In his relatively calm tone, he continued, "By analysing the data of the two opponents and on considering the damage done, I think our adversary was much stronger and dangerous."

Hiruzen felt cornered by the aggressive Danzo and the passive Kagami. He turned to Koharu. C'mon Koharu, say something!

"Um...would you like to say something, Koharu?"

Koharu paid no attention to Hiruzen's request as she was lost in Kagami's handsomeness. Even without his Sharingan activated, she could still feel the alluring red in his eyes. She begin to twirl her hair more as she adorned his jet-black curly hair and sideburns – a typical feature of an Uchiha. She was brought back to the real world when Hiruzen's fingers snapped in front of her face.

"What do you want Hiruzen!?"

"I SAID, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING KOHARU?!"

"Yes, I do!"

Hiruzen smirked at Danzo as he appreciated his so-called 'support' coming to his aid.

"I THINK THAT TEAM HIKAKU HAD A MORE STRONGER OPPONENT. I THINK KAGAMI IS CORRECT."

Hiruzen's jaw dropped as he felt the sting of Koharu's betrayal.

"WHAT?! Koharu, you're on our team!"

Homura finally pitched in as he sipped his tea.

"Don't be surprised, Hiruzen. Remember, Kagami is her deciding factor in these trivial matters."

Hiruzen laughed as he saw Koharu's face blush red. Her eyes immediately bounced of Kagami entirely but she could still imagine her crush's confused face. Kagami was confused as he questioned the sudden laughter.

"Hahaha! This confirms it entirely! KOHARU AND KAGAMI SITTING ON A TREE–", Hiruzen teased.

"Lemme stop you there, Hiruzen. Kagami became infatuated with someone else.", Danzo interrupted.

Kagami's cheeks immediately began to turn pink with embarrassment. Danzo, shut up.

"What was her name, again?", Danzo asked. He had always wanted to humiliate Kagami.

"Um..C-Chiyo. She was my nurse."

Hiruzen clicked his tongue with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"So you went international, huh?"

"And what's wrong if she is from another nation?", Kagami retaliated.

"Nothing at all.", Hiruzen assured but he winked at Kagami.

"But I like your tastes, my friend. Never thought you would be able to score a nurse!"

Homura sighed. How did your mind become so perverse, Hiruzen?

Torifu, after everyone calmed down, pointed his chopstick at Hiruzen.

"So why don't you tell us your story?"

Hiruzen's face immediately lightened up as he began to rant about his first steps outside the village.

THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE, THE HIDDEN LEAF

Hashirama massaged his swollen face as Tobirama sat opposite to him.

"Lady Mito beat you up real good, eh? You deserve it."

"Did the Kaguya brothers really mention that they were hired by the Mizukage?"

"They did. And I believe them. I am very sure the Mizukage had leverage over them and thus, coerced the Kaguya brothers to do his bidding.", Tobirama affirmed as he examined the world map hung on the wall behind.

"Do you still think that they are on our side? The Hidden Mist?"

"I am not sure. I do not know if they have a vendetta against us, the Senju, or the Hidden Leaf."

"Whatever it is, I do not want another war."

"Who is on our side?"

"Our side? Well, from your report, the Hidden Sand is a true ally."

"The other three?"

"I'm yet to figure that out. It's hard to do so when every Kage suddenly becomes God's angel at the summit. They make you think that they're your friend but then backstab you later on. I have been trying to keep them happy all this time...by giving Tailed- Beasts, crops and what not."

"Your policy of appeasement would would ensure peace until even you, Elder Brother, would stand up to them. Besides, your power far outclasses all the Kage combined."

"That is not the point, Tobirama. I may be powerful, yes, but I always lean towards pacifism first."

"You're too soft sometimes."

"I am not as soft as you think I am; I am just a bit...passive that's all. It is my duty as the Hokage to ensure peace in our land. If the security of my people is threatened in any way, I will take action."

"Even if it leads to war?"

"Yes. If this war puts an end to all wars, I would gladly participate."

Tobirama sighed at the thought of another war and looked out the window at the beauty of his home. It would be disastrous if his village went up in flames.

"Well, after all, you are the First Hokage. I trust you know what you are doing. But be wary. During times of war, people's minds become plastic. Easily moulded to other's interests. Think with your intuition and nothing else."

Tobirama turned around and closed the door behind him as he made his way down the stairs, leaving Hashirama all alone in his office. Hashirama looked out the window with anxiety. While things seemed to be going fine, he couldn't help but anticipate instability in the future. A future full of inevitable war.

He raised his arm and rolled back the white sleeve of his robe covering encasing his left arm. His entire left hand had turned purple for some unknown reason and Hashirama was unable to pinpoint why, despite his vast knowledge of medicine. It seemed incurable regardless of his healing capacity; it was the first injury Hashirama could not heal. It had been like this ever since two years and he could see it spread over time: from his fingertips to his wrist. Strangely, he had never told a soul of this new disease; he was a bit thankful that Mito hadn't noticed it yet. Initially, he never seem bothered by it, but now it began to concern him. But in light of new events, Hashirama could not let this oddity worry him. He stretched his sleeve to cover his hand and placed the Hokage hat – bearing the kanji for 'fire' – on his head.

Everything should be just fine...right?

"Wait, let me get this straight. Literal bones?!", Torifu asked with his eyes wide. The six of them walked the streets of Konoha after their meal chatting amongst themselves.

"You better believe it!", Hiruzen said proudly. Having vanquished a powerful enemy with an unorthodox style of fighting gave him great confidence. Of course, Danzo seemed as uninterested as ever. And Homura was glancing at Koharu, who was trying to get closer to Kagami.

Hiruzen stopped in his tracks when he noticed a familiar face make his way to the Hokage's Office. A jet-black ponytail? That signature red armour crafted by the samurai? No doubt! That's Haruko Senju! He broke away from his gang and wrapped his arms around Haruko's waist.

"Brother Haruko! You're back!"

"In one piece, thankfully!"

"How was your mission?"

"Well, I have some good news and bad news. Which should I tell you first?"

"Um...the bad news?"

"Okay...the bad news is that I can't tell you."

"What! Why not?!", squealed Hiruzen as he retracted his arms and turned into a bratty infant.

"Because, it was a secret mission. A mission assigned only to me by the First Hokage. And well, I was told that the information should stay with me as well. So, sorry!"

"Why can't you just tell me? I mean, you don't have to tell anyone else! I swear, I will keep this to myself!"

Haruko clicked his tongue. What a pesky, persistent eight-year old...

"Well, when you become Hokage, both of us can exchange as many secrets as you want."

"But I'm only eight! How can a Hokage be this young?!"

"I don't know. Surprise me! Now if you excuse me, I have to deliver my report to Lord First."

Hiruzen sunk as he watched his friend walk away from him, absorbed in his thoughts. What could he possibly be thinking about?

THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE, THE HIDDEN LEAF

"Are you certain?!", Tobirama yelled as he slammed his fists on the conference table.

"Yes, uncle. I saw it with my own eyes."

Tobirama sharply stared at Hashirama, whose eyes were under his hat, avoiding the burning gaze. He was silent as ever.

"Elder Brother?"

No response. Hashirama stood silent as he pulled out a piece of paper from his drawers.

"ELDER BROTHER! DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO WHAT HARUKO SAID?! AREN'T YOU EVEN A TINIEST BIT CONCERNED?! WHAT HE SAID HAS CONFIRMED MY SUSPICION!"

Haruko had returned from his mission which he departed for a day before Teams Tobirama and Hikaku embarked on their first missions. He brought distressing news. He was sent as a spy – since children are least suspicious – to gather intel on the Hidden Mist. As a Senju, he was talented in a multitude of ninja arts but what he was recognised for was his espionage skills. His mission report confirmed that the Hidden Mist was plotting war against the Hidden Leaf. But their plan was still in its incipient stage. Haruko had entered the Mizukage's office as a perfect clone of the Kage's trusted military advisor and heard his proclamation of war. But the most important piece of information from Haruko's report was the fact that the Mizukage had partnered with another Kage to increase their battle strength, fully aware of Konoha's might. Although, who that Kage might be was not revealed.

Hashirama sighed.

"What do you want me to say, Tobirama? If what Haruko says is true, then it is...I guess."

"Father, I–", Haruko intervened, but Tobirama stopped him and took a more calmer approach.

"Listen, Elder Brother. You need to think about this."

Hashirama's face was now painted with the colour of his usual depression.

"War...no matter what the era."

"Which village could it be, uncle? The one conspiring with the Mist...", asked Haruko.

"I don't know. It is unwise to point fingers. Sending you on another S-rank mission like this in another nation would most likely cause problems if you were caught. You should be thankful that you came back without anyone noticing you.", Tobirama explained as he ruffled his nephew's hair.

"How can Haruko know for sure that no one saw him?", Hashirama asked as he through the butt of his finished blunt into the bin nearby.

Tobirama nonchalantly answered Hashirama.

"He is a Senju like you and me, Elder Brother. I am sure he covered his tracks. Plus, if they spotted him, we should expect an infiltration or retaliation of some kind by the Hidden Mist. I suggest that we use the information we know to gather clues and evidence of who the second village might be. Till then, it is advisable that Elder Brother follows his policy of appeasement. It is probably our only hope now if we are to maintain peace."

Tobirama exited the conference room and was sure that it was his last duty for the day. The sun was beginning to set and he was assured that the town would resume its lively activities in the comforting darkness. As the threat of war lingered in his mind, he decided to let it go for the night and meet up with a friend he hadn't spoken to in a while.