Author's Notes
The following is an Elseworlds re-imagining of the story of The Avengers, set in the Naruto universe. I own neither properties, but I'm sure all of you know that.
Updates will be sporadic, as this is just something I'm writing for fun in between working on my other fic, In The Blood. Hopefully you'll enjoy one or the other.
Cheers, and let the Avengers assemble!
- Rii
Age of Marvels
In the last minute of it all, Hashirama remembered three things.
The first thing was his desperate shout over the roar of the fire and the fox that it didn't have to end this way.
Madara ignored him.
The second was the creeping, gut-twisting feeling of change, of death, as those fire-wheel eyes got their hold of him, and began turning his skin into wood, his wounds and blood into leaves.
And the third and last thing was the horrible, oxygen-starved cry that ached out of Madara's mouth as, with his last ounce of consciousness, Hashirama thrust forth his flaming, wooden limbs, and embraced Madara with fire.
As they, together, burned, as Hashirama's eyes closed for what he knew was the last time, he saw Madara's face, burned to a red skull, his eyes still open and swearing revenge.
And then, nothing.
Hashirama's own survival surprised him.
Waking in a bed somewhere, he sat up quite quickly, and after coming to the conclusion that, yes, he was alive, he took great care to look over all his fingers, the skin of his arms—still there, and completely healed.
As for where he had woken up, it seemed to be a peasant's house; wooden, and quite ordinary. The futon that covered him had a few patches on it.
"Ah, you're awake!"
There was a female voice behind him, and he almost flinched in hearing it. She laughed at this, and she continued to smile as she talked.
"You were out for the longest time. We were worried you wouldn't exactly make it."
She was a young girl, maybe twenty years old, and roughly pretty; she wore a kimono of yellow checked cloth, and it was not tied neatly.
"Where… am I?" Hashirama said.
"Ootani, my village," the girl replied. "My Pa found you while out gettin' firewood. You're kinda the talk of the village right now, buddy."
Hashirama, however, struggled with the unfamiliarity of the name. "Which country are we in, I mean…?"
"Oh, I thought you'd know. Sorry. We're in the Land of Fire, 'bout a day's journey from the Land of Rice," the girl replied. "Kinda north-ish."
He and Madara had traveled that far? He began to get out of the futon.
"Whoa, whoa, hey, where you goin'?" the girl said.
"I have to get back to my village." He noticed that the girl's family had dressed him in new clothes, while he was asleep; they were honest folks, too, it seemed, for his necklace was still there, pressed against his chest.
"Oh, where's that? My Pa can go with you when he gets home."
"No, sorry, I have no time," Hashirama replied.
"Oh, buddy, you were asleep for almost a week. I don't think you should be goin' anywhere without somethin' to eat, at least. That isn't miso broth, anyways…"
The girl seemed to be right, for no sooner had he taken a few steps did Hashirama stumble, feeling the intense weakness in his legs. Luckily, the girl caught him.
"Come on, big guy, let's siddown," she said. "My Ma and Pa are out right now, but I'm here to look after you, 'kay? The least you can do is tell me your name while I get you some lunch."
"I suppose I could do that," he replied, sitting back, feeling quite foolish. "I'm Hashirama, of the Senju clan. And you?"
"Jeez, so formal." The girl went to attend to a pot in the hearth at the middle of the room. "I'm Mitarashi Anko."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Yeah, same." Anko added a lump of seasonings from a small pot to the rice porridge in the pot, and stirred. "Funny, I thought the Senju clan had all but died out."
"There's still a few of us left," Hashirama replied, smiling easily.
"Yeah, apparently." Anko continued stirring the pot. "So, I assume you're a ninja, then?"
"You assume correctly."
"So what's a ninja like you doin' all the way up in the country, sleeping ass-naked in the forest?"
Hashirama's face flushed. "Is that how I was found?"
"So my Pa tells me."
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to recall. "I was in a battle. And I believe I lost."
"Huh. A duel?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Duels usually ain't that loud or destructive," Anko replied. "I mean, if it's just two guys goin' at it and not whole armies."
Hashirama blinked a few times. "You didn't consider that loud?"
"Consider what?"
"The fight between me and Madara-sama."
Anko's eyebrows rose dramatically. "Whoa, you were fighting with Uchiha Madara?"
"Yes."
"Damn, what'd you do to piss him off?" Anko said. She leaned forward from the pot, eagerness in her eyes.
"I was just trying to… get him back home, is all."
Anko's face grew very suddenly distrustful. "So you work for the Uchihas, then."
"No, not—exactly. We're… supposed to be allies."
Anko scoffed. "Allies? Jeez, buddy, you must be dumb as hell. Uchihas don't help none but their own. They got a bad habit of screwin' over anyone that tries to get in with 'em."
Hashirama's eyes fell. "We were trying to change that…"
"Who, you?"
"Me, my clan, the Uchiha clan…"
Anko scoffed again, returning to the pot. "Can't set a bone that ain't broken…"
"Excuse me?"
"You can't reason with Uchihas, I mean," Anko replied. "S'how it's always been. An' they're sorta proud of it too."
But hadn't it been that every Uchiha but Madara had wanted to call a truce? To live in peace? "Not all Uchihas are like that, Anko-san."
"Sure, says the guy who got his ass kicked by the head honcho."
Hashirama didn't say anything for a while after that.
Anko had gotten him thinking about Madara again.
He still couldn't figure out why exactly, he'd gone and done what he did. Things had been going so well, otherwise! He was drafting out new laws with Tobirama, based on talks with the Uchiha elders, and was receiving audiences from other clans that wanted to join him in his vision of unification.
He had no reason to suspect anything when, the morning that everything went wrong, Madara left for somewhere. He was apt to take walks or journeys at random, anyways, and Hashirama knew this. Nothing had seemed wrong.
And then he'd come back with the nine-tailed fox, a monstrous legend, in his possession, roaring like a thunderstorm over the cliffs that cradled and protected the young village.
Hashirama had very little time to act.
He told Mito that he'd be back soon, and for her not to worry about him. He told Tobirama to protect the village in his absence.
And he half-lured, half-chased Madara away from the village, and they began to fight.
He couldn't imagine how worried about him Mito must be now, or Tobirama.
And what had become of Madara?
"Here ya go, big guy." Anko broke him out of his thoughts, placing a bowl of hot rice porridge in front of him. "Eat up."
"Ah, thank you…" Hashirama took the bowl and began to eat, ravenously. He had the bowl emptied in only a few swallows.
"I knew you were hungry. Want more?" Hashirama nodded. Anko took his bowl and began ladling more porridge into it. "So, where's your village, anyways?" she said, handing him his second bowl. "When my Pa comes home we can talk about gettin' you back there."
"It's called Konohagakure," Hashirama replied.
Anko's face, which had been smirking pleasantly, became very suddenly confused. "Say that again?"
"Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in Leaves."
She shook her head, exhaling in disbelief. "There's no such place."
"Well, it's a bit far away, and it hasn't been around for very long-"
"No, no, I know what it was. It was that ninja village they tried to set up before the Uchiha clan went and destroyed it."
Hashirama felt his breath die in his chest.
"…you're not… serious, are you?"
"Of course I'm serious," Anko said. "I mean, nobody even lives near there any more, why would you think-"
Hashirama was beginning to stand, however, damning the weakness in his legs. He had to leave.
"Hey, where you goin'?"
Konohagakure? Destroyed? Surely not, he couldn't have been asleep more than a few days…!
"Oi, Hashirama!"
The daylight outside the house was almost blinding, and when his eyes adjusted, Hashirama saw in the near distance, beyond the other, nearby houses, the great gashes in the earth that must have given the village of Ootani its name.
In all his time wandering the Land of Fire, Hashirama had never seen anything like it. The Land of Fire was one of rolling hills and grand forests, not these scar-like, rocky crags.
Anko had followed him. "Be careful! You could hurt yourself."
"Where is this place?" Hashirama said.
"Didn't I just tell you?" She was reaching for his arm now.
"I've never seen this place before," Hashirama continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "The land isn't like this."
Anko gave up on tugging his arm, her breathing agitated from the effort. "The heck are you talking about, man?"
"The northern areas, those canyons weren't here before, I know it."
"The canyons…?" Anko frowned in thought. "I dunno, they've been here as long as I can remember, but my grandpa told me stories 'bout how the Uchiha clan made 'em a long time ago in some huge fight, or something. I mean, I always thought he was just tryin' to scare me, but—hey, are you okay?"
"Anko-san, I think I'm missing something here…"
He had to swallow, feeling heat and pain in his eyes.
"When was Konohagakure destroyed? How long ago?"
Anko opened her mouth to answer, but confusion stayed her tongue. "Wha-?"
"Anko-o! Where are ya, girl?"
Anko's head snapped over her shoulder. "Oi! Pa! That you?"
There was the rustle and crackle of a person approaching from the woods, and soon after, two men appeared. One was dressed rather like Anko, with a roughly-tied kimono and messy hair, while the other was far more neatly attired in gray robes.
"That big guy you picked up finally woke up, Pa!" Anko continued.
"Ah, good. Kuroshi-san was just askin' about him!" Anko's father came closer; Hashirama could see the stubble on his face.
"Who?" Anko said.
"Kuroshi Yamato, at your service," the man in gray said, bowing courteously. "And this must be Senju Hashirama-sama, yes?"
Anko's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How d'you know his name…?"
"My associates and I have been watching over the site where Senju-sama was sealed away for a long time," he replied, evenly.
"I was sealed away…?" Hashirama said.
"You've got a bit to be caught up on, Senju-sama," Yamato said. "Would you like to sit down while we talk? This may take a while."
"…I'd like to finish my meal first, if that's all right," Hashirama said. His legs had never felt so weak.
Fortunately, Yamato allowed this, and sat with a patient, though tight, posture, as Hashirama finished two more bowls of rice porridge back in the house. Anko and her father watched all this near the doorway of their home, faces wrinkled in confusion at this strange display.
A while after the last bowl was eaten, Yamato asked, "Are you finished, Senju-sama?" Hashirama nodded, unnecessarily wiping at his mouth. "Very well, then. Mitarashi-san, if you and your daughter would please wait outside while I talk to Senju-sama?"
"What for?" Anko said.
Yamato's face grew very suddenly and very frighteningly serious, almost demonic; the shadows in the room seemed to hit the deep bags under his eyes in just the wrong light.
"It is business far too dangerous and secret for your ears, young lady," he said.
"J-jeez, okay," Anko replied, fighting off a visible shiver.
"Will y'let us know when we can come back in?" her father said.
"Yes, absolutely," Yamato said, returning to an easy smile. That said (and that seen), they left.
Yamato seemed to be waiting for Hashirama to speak, after this, sitting at attention. He said, not long after, "Well?"
"Er… well, what?" Hashirama said.
"Do you have any questions for me, Senju-sama?"
"I have… a million questions," Hashirama replied.
"Oh, please, then, feel free to ask," Yamato said. "It'll give us somewhere to start."
Hashirama exhaled, his brow lowering. "Anko-san told me that the Uchiha clan destroyed Konohagakure. Is this true?"
Yamato nodded, his eyes closed. "Following your duel with Uchiha Madara, Senju-sama, he returned alive to Konohagakure and rallied his clan together in a revolt. Those who were not able to flee were killed; the village was burned to the ground."
"…and how long ago was that, exactly…?" Hashirama said, softly.
"Eighty years. You've been asleep for a very long time, Senju-sama."
Hashirama could feel his head lowering, as if there were a great weight now within it. "The survivors, is there any record of how many there were, or who…?"
Tobirama would have made sure of that, had he lived…
"Oh, yes, several," Yamato replied. "The Uzumaki clan survivors in particular managed to rescue a great amount of people. They migrated east and settled in the Land of Lightning. We are in excellent contact with them."
Which meant that Mito had probably survived; she was too clever and skilled not to. "Thank goodness…" Hashirama raised his head. "Though, um—who is this 'we' that's in contact with them, exactly?"
"We're known as TATE," Yamato said.
"Er… 'shield'?"
"It's short for tanitsuka temukai—the Unification Resistance. But having it sound like 'shield' makes it easier to remember," Yamato replied. "It was founded by your brother in the wake of Konohagakure's destruction as a means of responding to Uchiha violence."
"My brother survived?"
"Yes. Though some years after founding TATE he disappeared without a trace. It's believed he had gone off on his own in an attempt to assassinate Uchiha Madara, but..."
Hashirama couldn't help but laugh, though bitterly. That sounded like his brother, all right. "He wouldn't have been able to rest easily if he hadn't tried."
"So I hear, yes," Yamato replied, smiling gently. "As of today, we're the largest organized collection of shinobi and kunoichi in the world, and our allies in the Land of Lightning are the second-largest. It's really an impressive feat. Though not as impressive as the village you founded, sir."
Hashirama's eyes fell, again. "A village that I let get destroyed."
"Senju-sama, please, don't blame yourself." Yamato brought himself a little closer. "Your last act as leader was to try and draw Uchiha Madara away from your village, to protect it. That was very brave."
"If you say so," Hashirama said. He looked up, suddenly, with a thought. "Is Madara-sama still alive? Anko-san talked about him as if he were…"
Yamato inhaled through his nose, his mouth drawn. "That's not an easy question to answer. The Uchiha clan's current leader goes by the name of Madara, but considering the nature of the injuries you inflicted upon him in your duel, and his age, it's possible that the man in charge now is merely a figurehead using his name."
"Ah, yes… It's been eighty years, after all…" Hashirama said. "He sealed me away, didn't he? Knowing he couldn't win the battle. I remember that."
"Yes, so it seems," Yamato said. "According to our analysts, he used some sort of genjutsu to turn your Wood Release against you and seal you into a tree. The tree itself has been under TATE's watch ever since we found it. Even if you didn't wake up, we didn't want your body desecrated, sir."
"That's very kind of you," Hashirama said, hesitantly.
Somehow, though, this made Yamato smile especially warmly. "I've been in charge of watching over you for the past ten years, so you're very welcome. You know," he added, shuffling forward again a little, "there's a particular reason why I was chosen as your guardian lately."
"And what would that be?" Hashirama said.
Yamato looked around, apparently searching for something, before grabbing a wooden spoon that was resting by the hearth. He held it upright in his left hand, and began making a pulling motion with his right hand above it, like a magician.
And the spoon began to sprout leaves.
Hashirama's eyes widened. "You have a Wood Release also?"
"Not nearly as strong as yours, sir, but yes," Yamato replied, with a note of pride at the end of his words.
"But that's… impossible, I never had children to pass on my gift to," Hashirama said.
"Oh, well, I am a Senju, on my mother's side," Yamato said. "But there have been such innovations in understanding bloodlines these days, Senju-sama. It's believed that the Wood Release showing up in me is due to mutations in my blood; Shintaku-sensei has written so many fascinating books on the subject…"
"Pardon me, but I really don't understand anything that you're saying…" Hashirama said, somewhat sheepishly.
"Oh, pardon me," Yamato replied. His eyes darted to the sprouted spoon, and with a flustered motion he wiped the leaves off of it and put it back on the hearth. He cleared his throat, afterward, replacing his enthusiasm for poised composure. "At any rate, because of my similar gift to yours, I was assigned to be your guardian. Though there was a bit of confusion recently, since we found your tree twisted open and your presence missing. The seal had apparently worn off. But we managed to track you down."
"I see," Hashirama said. He didn't' say anything, for a time. "So, then, now what? Since I'm awake, now…"
"For now, Senju-sama," Yamato said, "you rest. And once you're feeling better, we're going to visit my boss. I believe he has a job for you."
