"They want to overthrow the Hokage?!"

Naruto was horrified.

"Yes," Shisui confirmed, and there was something dark in his eyes.

"That's…that's terrible!" Naruto whispered, staring wide-eyed at his friends. "But…I don't understand what this has to do with the things we found today?"

Shisui sighed. "Itachi is reporting their actions to the Hokage, and Danzo made it quite clear that our clan will be exterminated if the elders don't change their mind soon. The Hokage…did not disagree."

Naruto had no idea what to say to that revelation. He only understood that his friends would die because some old people made some idiotic decisions and that the Hokage consented to Danzo being bad again and allowed him to kill an entire clan.

It was wrong.

It was horrible.

A coup.

Genocide.

"They feel isolated from the rest of Konoha. A feeling that started decades ago with the formation of the Uchiha Police Force. There are many of us who think that it had been a move by the Senju to control our clan."

Tobirama's mind whirled. It had never been his intention to make them feel like this. The Police Force had been his attempt to prevent a second Madara. He had wanted to keep the Uchiha away from the frontline and still give them an important position within the village. If they guarded the village, there was a lesser risk of losing their loved ones and falling to the curse of hatred.

It had seemed like a perfect solution, but he had not thought to take the Uchiha's feelings into consideration.

Tobirama had never been very good considering the emotional sides of his decisions. He had only ever chosen the most practical and efficient solutions. This was why he and Hashirama had been the perfect team. They had balanced each other's faults.

He was Hashirama's rationality, and Hashirama had been his empathy.

It had worked.

Until one-half of their team had been lost, resulting in the damning situation they were facing now.

The Uchiha were planning a coup.

And of course, Danzo was involved, probably stirring things up behind the scenes to get more Sharingan eyes.

He really had his hands in every one of Konoha's mud piles, didn't he?

Tobirama's gaze hardened.

First, he stole his brother's body, then Kagami's eyes and now he was planning genocide.

This was not the kind of loyalty Tobirama had taught him.

This was not the kind of student he acknowledged.

He would stop Danzo and get his brother's body back.

There was something else young Shisui had said that alarmed him. The village was making the Uchiha responsible for the Nine-Tail's attack.

Once again, he remembered the man with the orange mask. It seemed more and more likely that he had been the one who had released the Kyuubi.

The question was, why?

Why releasing a Tailed Beast on Konoha?

Tobirama had a feeling that the answer laid within the Uchiha clan. But where did he have to look?

He sighed. So many questions and no answers.

"You are not going to die," Naruto's firm voice cut through his musings, "and neither will your clan." He was exuding an aura of commanding confidence and his words carried absolute certainty. "The Uchiha are a part of this village. Konoha is their home. They belong here, no matter what that dusty old man says!"

There was it again. The fierce determination in Naruto's eyes. The fire that burned so brightly inside him. The unwillingness to give up, even if the situation was dire.

Tobirama felt a strange mix of fondness and wariness. Apparently, Naruto was determined to get involved, too.

He looked at the two Uchiha boys and while they did not seem to be convinced that their clan's fate could be averted, Tobirama could clearly see the gratefulness in their expressions.

Then Shisui snatched Itachi's arm and moved.

Tobirama watched in amusement as the Shisui-initiated group hug got a bit too enthusiastic and they tumbled over, falling into a laughing pile.

They were an unusual group, the three of them, but they were connected by the same desire.

Peace.

Tobirama's face hardened as he thought about the trouble laying ahead of them.

This was not a situation three children could deal with on their own. They needed a higher power. A higher political power.

They needed the daimyo.

But they were not in any position to appeal to him. They had no time to embark on a search for any of Naruto's clan members, and the Uchiha clan was part of the problem.

In truth, there was only one clan that would hold enough weight on its own. But the Senju clan was all but extinct.

Tobirama refused to dwell on that depressing thought and looked at Naruto, pondering over the Shinigami's words.

Their souls had merged, and they now shared a deeper connection than simply being of the same blood. It could be argued that they were each a sliver of the other.

Perhaps…

It was not something he would have normally considered, but Hashirama had not been too far off in saying he adopted the child - and his brother had apparently put a familial claim on him, too. Seeing that he was the Clan Head, it was as good as making Naruto part of their clan's main family.

Tobirama was not exactly sure when he had stopped seeing Naruto as just another responsibility and started to regard him as part of his family. Had Hashirama been here, he'd probably been able to tell him the exact moment his feelings had changed. His brother was… had been perceptive like that.

Still, he was getting off track.

He could reminiscence once the problems were solved and his duty done.

'Naruto.' His voice resonated through their newly formed link. 'There might be a way for us to salvage this situation. But you will have to follow my instructions without deviation.'

'I will do anything you want, jiji,' Naruto replied as the three children untangled themselves. 'I trust you.'

Tobirama could practically feel the honesty in Naruto's words. It was both touching and alarming. Trust without question was as dangerous as it was rare.

The child might be completely safe with him, but if Naruto gifted it to the wrong person, it might come to stab him in his back.

He put his hand on Naruto's head, mentally noting to caution the child about it later. 'Naruto, there is something I have to prepare. I shall leave you for a while. You are safe with your friends.'

Tobirama left.

Naruto was not happy.

It was Itachi's voice that reminded them of the current problem. "We should take a closer look at the documents before we decide on anything."

Shisui sighed and flopped on the floor. "So we are pulling an all-nighter? Great. Well, at least we have enough to eat."

Itachi nodded in agreement and pulled a box of dango out of his pocket.

Naruto grinned and took a stick as Itachi offered the box to him. "So, you have been secretly snacking."

Itachi threw a half-hearted glare at him. "Weren't you about to unseal the scroll? Well, get on with it."

"Yes, taicho," Naruto answered cheerily, "Whatever you say, taicho. I will follow your every command, taicho."

Shisui snickered.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You two are menaces. Stop teaching him strange things, Shisui."

His friend nodded in solemn agreement. "You are completely right, Itachi. You are a way better influence. Naruto, you should follow Itachi's example. The world can never have enough snarky dango addicts."

Naruto laughed and fished the first file out of the pile.

For the next few hours, they worked in silence and the floor was quickly covered with files separated in piles of "vital," "important," and "not important."

Tobirama looked at the building complex in front of him. He had always avoided returning to this place. It held too many memories. Both good and bad.

It was saddening to see the formerly lively streets so empty.

He moved quickly through the eerily silent district and entered the house that had once belonged to the Clan Heads.

His study was still the way he remembered it. Tidy and impersonal save for his brothers' pictures lining the walls. The only sentimentality he had allowed himself.

Tobirama picked up a brush and uncorked the ink, thankful for the preservation seals he had put on it and quickly jotted down the instructions for Suiton: Suiben before he pulled some of his older research notes out of the shelves and placed them next to it.

He was quite surprised when he suddenly heard Naruto calling for him.

So, they could communicate over distances, too?

Tobirama made a mental note to run some extensive tests to find out the consequences of their merging. 'Yes, child?'

'We are done looking through the files. Orochimaru has really been cooperating with ROOT to create Sharingan eyes.'

Tobirama's eyes narrowed, and he left the office. 'I will be rejoining you shortly.'

Tobirama found the three children congregated in a circle, still deep in discussion.

"This is high treason," Shisui looked grim. "We cannot keep this a secret."

"We cannot," Itachi agreed. "But the question is: What can the Hokage do? If we deliver these documents to him, it does not necessarily mean that he will act on them. This is an opportunity. We cannot afford to waste it."

Shisui nodded. "You are right. We can't."

Tobirama decided that this was the right moment to cut in. "Naruto, this problem should be approached from two sides. In such a delicate situation, it is not advisable to rely on a single plan. Especially since it is obvious that Hiruzen is tacitly approving, or at least tolerating Danzo's actions to a certain degree. A biased leader cannot be trusted to judge rationally. As his subjects, however, you are duty-bound to report your findings or you will become guilty of treason, too. Repeat what I said in your own words."

"Um," Naruto shifted slightly, and his friends' attention turned towards him. It was both baffling and very touching that they actually seemed to be interested in what he had to say.

"How about giving only the files in the important pile to the Hokage? I mean, like Itachi said, the Hokage knows something about Danzo, but he hasn't done anything yet. So, we don't know if he will do something this time. But we have to give him something or we will be guilty of treason, too."

Itachi exchanged a look with Shisui. "A valid point. But why the important and not the vital ones?"

"Because they should go to the daimyo," Naruto repeated Tobirama's mental answer.

That got a reaction. Itachi's eyebrows shot up and Shisui stared slack-jawed at him.

"You suggest playing a political game?" Itachi's gaze on him was sharp.

Naruto nodded. "I do."

Shisui stared at him like he had never seen him before and Itachi looked like he was reconsidering everything he knew about Naruto.

Naruto had the strange feeling that he just had irrevocably left the "intelligent kid" category and entered the "someone I have to take seriously" territory.

"The idea has merit," Itachi finally agreed while Shisui was still trying to wrap his mind around Naruto wanting to do politics. "But that would leave the question on how to establish contact. If we want to start an impeachment against a councilman as well-known as Danzo, we will need political weight of our own."

Naruto paused. 'Jiji?'

'Tell your friends that you have an idea, but that you need to relocate again to show them.'

Naruto repeated his words and his friends looked at each other.

"Where do we need to go?" Shisui inquired, finally thrown out of his stupor.

"The Senju Compound?!" Owl looked from the gate to Hare and back again. "You took us to the Senju compound?!"

They had donned their ANBU masks to avoid unnecessary attention.

Technically it was not necessary because neither of them had to worry about breaking curfew. Shisui and Itachi were of adequate rank and Naruto was in the company of authorized personnel - but the three had decided that it would be better not to be seen together at such an odd hour.

It would be easier to explain a late-night drill than a casual stroll.

"Nope," Hare replied cheerfully. "I am going to take you inside the compounds!" He was beyond curious to see where his jiji had lived.

Weasel regarded Naruto. There was a sharp intelligence in his eyes. "The compound has been sealed to deter thieves. None who is not of Senju blood can open the gates."

Hare placed his hand on the gate just as Tobirama pulled on the iron ring.

The gates swung open.

Hare grinned at his stunned friends. "So, who wants to go in?"

And another chapter. *xD* Revelations continue and suddenly those three are off exploring things, yet again. I am really starting to think I should just start writing an Indiana Jones or Sherlock Holmes crossover. Itachi would make an excellent Sherlock.

A word about the Senju compound: It always struck me as odd that an entire clan just disappeared without leaving any kind of trace behind. That's really strange. Especially since we are talking about the clan of the first two Hokage. So, in this story, Konoha retained their district and just sealed it off as an important memorial.

Another note about what happened during the last chapter with the Shinigami: Tobirama attempted to merge his chakra with Naruto to let him perform a high-rank jutsu, but Naruto trusted him enough to actually let him possess him completely. This kind of merging went against the natural order, so the Shinigami appeared.

That's a pretty rough explanation and I left out a lot of details, but those will be explored later.