A/N: Just continuing to warn you, this book contains a metric ton of non-canon material and reworked lore. This will have a huge bulk of it.

"...and that's how you stitch them up," Shizune finished as she held up the fish. "Do you think you've got it?"

"I believe so!" He nodded. Bowing his head, he narrowed his eyes at his own fish before readying his hands above it.

Shizune watched as he slowly, meticulously began to mend the flesh back together. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he made an inch's worth of stitching. When he finished, he held it up.

She inspected the fish and nodded her head with a pleased smile. "Good job! I can't even tell it was ever cut through."

The relieved expression on his face warmed her heart. "I did it! I can't believe I'm actually becoming a medic!"

"That feat deserves a short break, I think," she replied as she took the fish and set them aside.

Hideki leaned back, wiping his damp forehead with a handkerchief from his pocket. "Whew. I didn't think it would take that much energy!"

She chuckled. "Performing those techniques takes a lot of time and dedication to learn. It's not for the easily-addled nor for the impatient."

"I can see that," he commented with a breathy laugh.

Things quieted down for a few moments. Both of them sat among the trees listening to the birds calling to one another and feeling the breeze brushing against their cheeks and ruffling their hair.

After a moment, he asked, "I've been thinking about something for a while… and if I don't ask, it's going to drive me crazy."

Shizune glanced his way. "What did you want to know?"

"I've been seeing a lot of wilted plants around Morino, and I know they weren't here when we got here," he explained. At the frown blooming on her face, he hastily added, "I- if it's nothing then it's stupid and I'm sorry, but I've been seeing flowers blooming out of season and I know it's not just me-"

Holding up a hand, the brunette heaved a quiet sigh as he shut up.

"Before I tell you anything, I must let you know that what I'm about to tell you must stay between us," she replied seriously. "I mean it. If the wrong person were to hear about this, it could put not just this faction, but everyone else, in grave danger."

"I won't tell a soul, I swear on my life." He slapped a hand over his heart.

She nodded before taking another breath. "Are you familiar with the Senju clan?"

"Not really…" Hideki reluctantly admitted. "We were never taught about much concerning the great clans, only that they were one of the strongest in the world and they're now extinct."

"Your history teachers were half-right. The Senju clan was, a few hundred years ago, one of the strongest clans in the world. They comprised one of the Ancient Three: the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Hyuuga."

"To correct some of the misinformation you were fed, I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning," Shizune continued. "As you already know, our world was inhabited by two gods: Kaguya, the goddess of the moon, and Isshiki, her companion. Together they created the first humans with chakra, fifty of them in total. They lived in harmony with their new creations until the gods decided to visit other planets. In the eight-hundred year interim, however, humanity grew dramatically, both in population and in their restlessness, and began attacking one another. By the time the gods returned, Earth was in a full-scale war."

"The gods were forced to kill their creations by purging the earth with a great flood that turned to ice, and when the ice melted the gods were forced to begin again. This time, however, they created five groups of ten humans, one group for each elemental affinity: fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. Kaguya and Isshiki taught their new humans to live and rule the Earth in peace and prosperity, as well as to cultivate their new gifts. This time, the planet thrived more than it had previously, and the gods were pleased with how their new race had turned out. The five elemental nations were finally at peace."

"While the gods were here, humanity began discovering all sorts of things, such as new elemental types. Chakra natures such as Dust and Ice began popping up in the population as people intermingled, and people with different element affinities soon branched off to create their own spaces populated with more of their nature. Very soon, the strongest type of these was created from joining together Earth and Water, and the first Senju was born: a young woman with Wood Release."

"The gods praised her abilities, for she had the ability to rejuvenate the earth at her whim. Using her chakra, she created a lush forest where she could live in peace with her family. Soon enough more with the Mokuton were born, and they all gravitated to the forest, where their skills were highly sought after due to their excellence in botany and medicine."

Then her expression darkened. "But things weren't happy for long. Soon enough, the humans realized their own potential and selfishly tried to harness the powers of the gods for themselves. After a failed uprising against them both, Kaguya sealed herself into the moon and Isshiki sealed himself into the sun, where they remain to this very day, watching over humanity in the forms of day and night. It's said that they await the day humanity is wiped out for good so that they can return and start anew with a new race of people, and periodically they bless certain humans with divine gifts of a powerful chakra or a strong connection to their own lifeforce."

Hideki nodded. "We were taught all of that in school, I remember."

"Good. This is where things begin to deviate." Shizune smiled at him. "The elements are supposed to work together to keep balance. You cannot have the sun without the moon, darkness without the light, nor can one side of the elements be more powerful than the other. Excluding lightning, which generally falls towards the middle, the elements governed by the sun are Earth and Fire, whereas the elements governed by the sun are Wind and Water. Soon enough, the governing clan of Fire, the Uchiha, got into squabbles with the clan of Wood, the Senju. The Uchiha head believed in peace through force, and the Senju head believed in peace through prosperity. They had been childhood friends, but their differing views tore them apart and manifested as an interclan war. Spurred by years of manipulation from the clan elders, years of complicated clan politics, and the death of his younger brother at the hands of Hashirama's younger brother, Madara went to battle with Hashirama with the goal of ending it once and for all."

"Madara ended up the victor, and consequently Hashirama went into hiding to recuperate - but due to his overuse of his Mokuton, his body was slowly breaking itself down. Mokuton users are under a unique curse: the more they overuse their abilities, the more they risk dying of overexertion and their bodies literally disintegrating into fertilizer for the earth. This is exactly what happened to Hashirama: he ended up dying of his injuries, and from his body grew the largest tree in the land of Fire, which looks over the capital to this day. Madara couldn't bring himself to cut down the tree out of grief and guilt for his friend, and it's said that Hashirama's spirit will bless whatever Mokuton user augments the tree with their own chakra. After the majority of users were hunted down by the Uchiha so that their abilities wouldn't be used by anyone else, the rest of them, at Madara's insistence, were sent away to other nations, namely Earth and Water."

"Wow," the boy breathed in wonder. "But wait, what about Madara? Didn't he die?"

"He did," Shizune confirmed. "But not until much later. When he was a very aged man, he came across Orochimaru, a young man who had lost his parents in the civil war. Orochimaru offered to increase his longevity and strength by using some of Hashirama's remains, and Madara agreed. Whether it was selfishness or due to longstanding grief at killing a friend, we'll never know. Orochimaru gave him a blood transfusion with some of Hashirama's blood, collected just before he died, and the result ended up reversing some of Madara's aging for a time. But as you know, he is dead now. The consequence of reversing his physical aging was cutting his lifespan ever shorter, and he died about nineteen years ago in his eighties."

"Wow." He repeated, this time in disbelief as he sat back. "So everything I was taught is wrong?"

"It depends on what you were taught, and by whom," she reminded. "That is the full version that I received from Tsunade, who got it from Tobirama Senju, Hashirama's younger brother and Tsunade's grand-uncle. She is the only direct member of the clan through blood, or so we know thus far. There are many more who branched off from the clan, such as the lesser-known Haruno clan, who were renowned for their abilities in medical prowess and unusually-colored hair. Another good example is the Momosuki clan, a branch off of the Uzumaki, known far and wide for their incredible chakra control and martial arts."

"So… so Tsunade-sama is a…?"

"She is a Mokuton user, yes," Shizune confirmed. "But we have a couple more in camp, though they wish for their identities to remain anonymous until this disagreement is over. Surely you've heard of the despicable things people do just to get their hands on a Mokuton user, preferably the younger ones."

Hideki shook his head.

Shizune let out a disbelieving breath. "Mokuton users are widely sought after due to their abilities. Not long ago, in fact, there was a whole trafficking ring dedicated to buying and selling users of it, the more powerful and young the better, for affinity breeding and experimentation. Due to the Peaceful Death Curse, as it's incorrectly named, many scientists have long wondered just what the limits would be for a normal user who has unlocked virtually all of their ability. They often work users to death just to find out how far they can be pushed before their bodies begin to break down. Yet in many more cases they're used for breeding purposes like cattle, either for unsavory types who desire a Mokuton-wielding child to train up as a clan weapon or to have their DNA harvested to make clones that carry the same abilities."

At this, Hideki's jaw dropped. "What?! That's… that's horrible! Inhumane! Who would do such a thing? Don't they care that they're hurting other people?"

The tired woman tried to smile at him, though it came out forced and mirthless. "Hideki, it's because human curiosity knows no boundaries or limits. It's true that some of our greatest discoveries came with people acting in others' best interests, but as long as mysteries about our world remain, humanity will all but destroy themselves to find the answer."

The ginger boy sat back, eyes downcast in horror.

Shizune hummed to herself, recapturing his attention. "The majority of active Mokuton users are under protection of other nations, which is why you won't find many practicing people here. If they do decide to stay, they have to hide their abilities behind identifying as an Earth or Water affinity, or they cannot go into the ninja business at all. I've only truly met one other user beyond the ones we have in Mimei, and they were able to keep the secret from me for the entirety of the months I knew them. They…" she swallowed past the lump in her throat, "...they died in my arms, confessing. The only reason they told me, as they said, was because they didn't want to die with the secret still on their chest, and since they trusted me enough, they told me for peace of mind."

Hideki's eyes were watery, but as he brushed the tears away, he wondered aloud, "You said we have Mokuton users here. Do I know them?"

"You definitely do." She nodded in affirmation. "But as I stated before, they want their identities kept secret until new policies are in place forbidding the trafficking of Wood Release affinities. It's for their own protection."

"Wow." Hideki nodded in wonder. "That's… super cool. Not- not the whole 'kidnapping and selling' part, but the fact that I actually know people who can grow plants with their body."

The woman laughed, patting his shoulder. "There are many more than you may realize," she teased. "Now shall we get back to practicing? I'd say that's enough of a break for you to replenish some of your chakra."

As she launched into a new explanation, Hideki couldn't help but think to himself, "I wonder just who they could be? She said I definitely know them, but… I only know a small group of people by name. I wonder…"

Meanwhile, not far away, Hinata was sitting beside a planter. New flowers were coming in, and among them she was watering some bushclover.

She smiled fondly at the eager boy drinking in every one of Shizune's words, but as she turned away she closed her eyes. "Ino, Sakura, Shikamaru… please, please be alright. I pray fervently for your safe return."

A/N: Please tell me what you thought!