Tobirama still remembered the days the clan's sigil had adorned the end of each official correspondence.
He still remembered his brother's annoyed expression every time he had to make sure he did not smudge the ink while applying it.
Hashirama had never enjoyed writing official letters. In fact, he had loathed it, and most of the time it had been Tobirama's duty to revise his communications.
Multiple times.
Because his brother had kept changing his amendments.
The result had always been a logically empathetic letter written in a tone of unpretentious certainty.
A perfect mix of their personalities.
Tobirama looked at the child he secretly called his own and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Naruto," he began in a solemn voice. "The jade in front of you symbolizes the might of the Senju clan. Our numbers might have dwindled, but our name alone still carries enormous weight. Taking up this sigil means taking up the Senju clan's legacy - and the responsibilities that come with it. A clan head has to make difficult decisions and your actions are going to have far-reaching consequences. Consequences that will not only affect you, but everyone who depends on you."
Tobirama picked up the seal with his free hand; too focused on his child to care about the surprised gasps his action elicited from the two Uchiha boys.
His eyes met Naruto's, and he was pleased to see understanding in the boy's nervous but resolute eyes.
If he had even seen the slightest sign of uncertainty, Tobirama would have reconsidered. No matter how useful the sigil was in their situation, his clan deserved a strong leader. It needed a strong leader, and it was his duty as their last head to find a suitable successor.
Tobirama would never hand the jade over merely out of convenience.
He would rather have preferred his clan to fall dormant than to entrust it to someone unsuitable.
It was better if their legacy died out, instead of becoming polluted.
Tobirama allowed a fracture of his power to fill the air to give credence to the importance of his impending action, never taking his gaze away from the child.
He had seen stronger men falter in front of him, quivering at the sight of a single raised finger, and yet Naruto still looked into his eyes, unwavering and determined.
Tobirama felt an unexpected surge of pride and he squeezed Naruto's shoulder in both affection and approval.
Then he lifted the hand holding the jade and began to speak the same traditional words his dying father had once given to his brother. "I am Senju Tobirama, head of the Senju clan. I am standing in front of you, Uzumaki Naruto on this memorable day. I have watched. I have judged - and I have deemed you worthy. I entrust to you, my chosen heir, the sigil of the Senju, the power of our clan."
Tobirama paused for a fraction of a second, remembering the rest of the ritualistic phrase and seamlessly skipped to the very end of it.
"May it prosper under your rule."
It was both a strange and an eerie picture - and yet it was incredibly powerful. The intensity of the moment even furthered by the subtle, but strong energy saturating the air.
Shisui shivered as he stared at the hovering jade and the young boy standing in front of it; unfazed by the silent, suppressing power.
He knew chakra could do some strange things, but he had never heard of a clan insignia flying towards someone out of its own volition.
It almost seemed as if the jade was eager to greet Naruto.
Shisui was now utterly convinced of his friend's ancestry.
Naruto's back straightened.
Shisui did not know why, but he was suddenly reminded of the way Itachi usually behaved around his father during formal occasions.
His impression was even furthered when Naruto's hand closed around the sigil. "I swear I will not disappoint you."
The conviction and solemnity in Naruto's voice was startling and more than uncommon for someone his age.
Shisui followed Naruto's line of sight, wondering what had inspired his friend's fervent words.
His gaze fell on the picture hanging on the opposite wall.
The Shodai Hokage was looking back at him.
Naruto was making a vow to the First?
How interesting.
Tobirama felt another wave of fondness at Naruto's words. "I know you won't," he answered. "I would not have chosen you if I had no faith in you."
He placed his hand on Naruto's other shoulder. "You are now the head of the Senju clan, Naruto. You will not be able to keep this status a secret for long. Once it becomes common knowledge, you might become a target for my and my brother's old enemies. There is a storm ahead of us and you are not yet strong enough to weather it. I will remedy this, now even more so than before. It will be cruel and harsh, but in the end, your suffering will breed strength. Are you ready?"
Naruto's mental answer was firm. "I am."
Tobirama smiled.
It was grim.
"I appreciate the benefits of having the Senju name to our cause," Itachi's voice suddenly cut in, "but are you sure you wish to do this? The magnitude of the task you are taking up is no to be underestimated."
Naruto smiled at him, touched by the concern in his voice. "I know. But if I can help you this way, I'll do it."
For a moment Itachi simply regarded him silently before he inclined his head in acceptance and appreciation. "In this case, it appears congratulations are in order."
"Yep," Shisui agreed and bowed in exaggeration. "Congratulations, Senju-sama. Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on winning countless hours of meetings, headaches and paperwork."
Then he became serious again. "Being a clan head is not easy and you are very young. We are not privy to your clan's customs, but we will help you any way we can. Itachi can probably teach you a thing or two, too."
Itachi nodded. "I will succeed my father one day; therefore, I am well-versed in many duties and customs."
Naruto grinned brightly at his friends. "Thanks, I would really appreciate it."
Itachi inclined his head. "Of course." He glanced out of the window. "The sun is raising. If this is everything you wished to show us, I suggest we bring the evidence to the Hokage soon."
Shisui followed his gaze and agreed.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "We can leave everything we don't need here. There's probably no safer place inside Konoha. Tobi- the Nidaime was the one who sealed this house."
Naruto silently cursed himself for almost speaking of his jiji in a familiar way. He was sure his friends had noticed his slip of tongue. It had been a rather obvious one. Usually, he was very careful about keeping any relation to the Second secret, but he was getting rather relaxed around his friends.
He glanced at Tobirama. His ghostly companion was only frowning mildly, looking more exasperated than angry.
Naruto was relieved.
"A secure place, indeed," Itachi replied, tactfully ignoring Naruto's little slip-up. "The Nidaime's sealing expertise is well known."
Naruto noticed that his jiji looked rather pleased. "He's the best," he agreed enthusiastically, and brushed slightly against the man's side.
Shisui snickered and Naruto huffed. "What's so funny?"
"You… you sounded just like Sasuke when he's talking about Itachi!" His friend finally managed to get out between two laughing fits.
Itachi glared at him. "Not amusing, Shisui."
Shisui flashed him a bright grin. "But it is," he disagreed.
Tobirama sighed. "May I remind you that you still have to visit Hiruzen – and that you have two captives you ought to decide how to deal with?"
Naruto slapped his forehead, immediately drawing his friends' attention. "The prisoners!"
Itachi and Shisui froze and instantly stopped their bantering, their gazes falling on the prisoner scroll.
"Yes," Tobirama replied somewhat sarcastically, "The prisoners. I strongly recommend that you do not hand over both of them. In fact, I would suggest you detain the woman since she was aware of the second operative; unlike the man you had captured first. Please relay this: It might be useful to keep one of them to further convince the daimyo."
Naruto complied.
His friends exchanged one of their silent but profound looks and nodded.
"Do you have cells here?" Shisui inquired.
Naruto mirrored Tobirama's curt nod. "This way."
They left the building.
Behind a mighty Sakura tree, a little slug stopped its happy nibbling on a delicious clover and stared intently at the jade in Naruto's hand.
'Jiji?' Naruto asked as he followed the ghost down the path. 'Can you tell me more about the Senju clan sometime? Or your... time in general?'
For a long moment, his companion remained quiet, and Naruto wondered if he had said something wrong.
Then he felt a distant flash of pleased surprise mixed with fondness and nostalgia vibrating through his mind.
It was foreign and yet familiar.
It reminded him of Tobirama-jiji.
Did he just feel his jiji's emotion?
'Did you feel that?', he asked mentally.
'Feel what?' the ghost responded, and turned around to regard him critically.
'You were surprised and pleased. I felt it.'
Tobirama narrowed his eyes. 'You did? How interesting. Perhaps this is another aspect of our newly formed bond. An avenue we need to explore later. For now, we have arrived.'
Naruto looked at the building in front of him. It was inconspicuous, save for the high walls surrounding the yards.
Power was vibrating through the air.
"The chakra residue is very strong here," Itachi commented. "Seals?"
Naruto saw that he had activated his Sharingan.
"The Senju compound is filled with seals," Naruto relayed Tobirama's answer. "Most of them have been placed by either the Nidaime, or the one he had learnt the art from. Uzumaki Mito. The Shodai's wife."
"Uzumaki?" Itachi repeated and fixed him with an interested look.
"My mother's clan," Naruto replied, a soft smile on his lips. "They were well known for their sealing abilities."
"Then you are descended from two clans?"
Naruto shrugged. "I guess. This is the prison, by the way."
He pointed at the building.
Itachi nodded. "Good," he paused before adding: "I believe this would be the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to weave."
Naruto blinked. "Weave?"
As it turned out, Itachi had not wanted him to learn a new handicraft.
He ignored the still laughing Shisui and smirking ghost in favor of following Itachi's instructions.
Itachi had been tactful enough only to laugh once when Naruto had bemusedly inquired about the lack of weaving looms.
Apparently 'weaving' had a different meaning in ANBU language and referred to the difficult process of preparing a prisoner for interrogation rather than to the practice of producing clothes.
Naruto huffed.
Just how was he supposed to know that?
Still, he kind of understood where they were coming from. Some knots he had to do seemed rather complex.
He sighed in relief when Itachi finally nodded in approval and stepped away from the still unconscious woman.
Behind him, Shisui was still snickering about weaving looms.
To say that the Hokage's secretary was startled when she saw the three grim and disheveled shinobi appearing in front of her, would be an understatement.
Her surprise grew even further when she recognized two of the figures as the Uchiha prodigies and the third as the Uzumaki kid who used to hang around the Hokage but had not been there for quite some time.
Uchiha Shisui nodded once but turned towards the empty air instead of addressing her. "We have to make an emergency S report. Code Nse five."
Almost immediately, a masked ANBU materialized in front of them and spoke quietly into his radio.
The office doors opened and the last thing the secretary heard was the ANBU announcing: "Jonin Uchiha Shisui, Chunin Uchiha Itachi and Genin Uzumaki Naruto have arrived to give an emergency report."
Then the ornate doors closed behind them and the secrecy wards went up.
A/N
Now Naruto is the new Senju head and the misunderstandings continue. I wonder what Tobirama skipped during his traditional speech?
So, I have two news:
The good one first: The passage in the law that had threatened the legality of fanfiction has been removed. Many thanks to everyone out there who has fought for the freedom of art. It's thanks to our common effort that the German fanfiction community can persist and that we can still share our stories with you.
The "less good" one: I have received a new job (In addition to studying for my bachelors degree) and have less time to write. So updates will be slow. Sorry, but it's RL and I need to pay bills. :-/ If I could sit down and write all day, I would totally do it. *xD*