Chapter 4: 1-Month Leave
While working with Mitsuki to make dinner, Inko giddily thought to herself. It's like a dream, Inko thought. I finally knew a part of my heritage. The Senju Clan!
From what she remembered reading about them, the Senju Clan was a powerful Clan of Japan's warring Era. Their rivals, the Uchiha, were the first to fight and the first to make the hidden villages.
Inko remembered the name Senju Hashirama was one, if not, the most powerful Senju to exist. He wielded the fabled Wood Release, said to be able to contain the Bijuu.
The Bijuu were constructs of Chakra, if she remembered correctly. She also remembered that a Bijuus Chakra was said to be infinite in the eyes of a human. She would mean that the Wood Release would rather:
synchronize and reflect its power onto the Bijuu, or absorb the power and use it as its own, or the Wood of the Wood Release was just that strong!
She suspected the second, but any could be probable. Damn, if only she could see that book collection again…
An idea popped into her mind. It was stupid, but it was the best thing she got. "Hey Mitsuki?" She said aloud.
Mitsuki, who was currently cutting carrots, stopped and looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Do you think we could visit Naruto again?" Inko asked.
Mitsuki internally pumped her arm again, cheering for her friend. "Yeah, let me text Naruto. I'll set up a playdate for you two."
"Mitsuki!" Inko yelled with a blush.
Mitsuki laughed hard, unable to contain her humor at her friend's face. It was something she was ever really going to see once. "It's fine, I'll call him after dinner."
After preparing and eating some Shanghai Lumpia, which Mitsuki said she got from Naruto, Mitsuki called Naruto. Inko was slightly worried with her confused face on Mitsuki's face. "Huh?" She said Dumbly. "What did you mean?"
A couple of seconds later, the confused look turned to understanding but slightly disappointed. "I see. So, a month, right? What are these trips for?"
There was talking on the other side of the phone. "... you're they're for that project. So you'll be in, what, China, Korea, or Taiwan?"
More talking. "Taiwan. Okay, cool, I'll tell Inko."
The talking got too quiet for Inko to hear Naruto. "Wait what? I don't understand. She can go to your apartment?"
Mitsuki knitted her brows before saying, "Okay, sure. I'll tell her that." The talking could be heard again. "Alright, cool. See you. Bye."
Inko was confused by the events, but it was entirely reasonable. She didn't have super hearing.
"Hey Inko, Naruto said that he's heading to Taiwan for a job. But, he also said he left a key for you with Old man Izuku."
Inko went bug-eyed at this turn in events. This was not what she was expecting. First, she, although involuntarily, was trying to steal his grandmother's necklace.
Another thing was that he was going to be gone for a month. A month was a long time in the business world. He ran a business here, so for a job in those places to be consistent meant that he did something no other did.
"Uh, Inko, you're muttering again," Mitsuki said sheepishly.
"Again?"
Mitsuki scratched the back of her head, a sheepish smile completing the picture. "Yeah, you were muttering when we were making food as well."
Inko smacked her forehead. It was her most notable quirk, and yet it fell out of her head every time.
"Uh, okay. Cool." A question popped into mind. "What is he doing in Taiwan?"
"He goes on these business trips, working for other businesses. I would think they'd hire people other than him, but he is the best engineer in the world. I would say he's probably the only person that can fix his own machines."
"Because of his quirk…" the thoughts about how old quirks popped into Inko's mind. They were incomplete, meaning that there were no comparisons. Maybe she could do that?
"Hey, old man!" Mitsuki yelled out. "I would have never guessed they lived in the same apartment complex."
"I guess so. However, you did say to me that Izuku was like a father to Naruto."
"Yeah, but he's a father to everybody! He'll treat anyone like his son or daughter!" Mitsuki groaned out.
"I heard him say straight from his mouth, 'Everybody is family to me. We all come from the Earth, and we shall return. So what stops me from them being my children?'"
Inko giggled at Mitsuki's expense when she got a thack! in the back of her head. Mitsuki swerved behind her, only to see a slightly irritated Izuku. "Do you really have to say that?" He asked simply.
Mitsuki was about to retort when Inko saw her deflate. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, asshole." Mitsuki muttered out.
Making a tsk sound, Izuku wagged his finger, saying, "language, young lady."
"WHATEVER, DAD!"
Inko cracked up. It funny to see Mitsuki worked up… though it was easy to do, but that was besides the point!
"Just give me the damn keys already!" Mitsuki said angrily.
"Use the magic word." Izuku teased, dangling the keys in front of her like a cat.
"MAGIC WORD? FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!" Mitsuki yelled out in frustration. There was something so infuriating with Izuku! He always found a way to piss her off, even on a good day!
Miysuki threw punches, but Izuku dodged them all, until he was beside Inko. Chuckling, he gave the keys to Inko, which thoroughly pissed Mitsuki off.
"OKAY, THAT'S IT!" She yelled, punching her fist into her palm, setting off an small explosion. "GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"
Inko laughed at the two, enjoying the show they put up. She felt the grain of the key dig into her hand, reminding her why she was here. She needed to know the full story.
She opened the door to see that the living room was the same. She would think he would put up some defence after her apparent attachment to his grandmother's necklace. Especially considering what his quirk is.
She looked through the book titles. The Great Shinobi Wars, the Different Clans, and finally… "Okay, Senju Clan. Let's see." She remembered the figures that are Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha. They were the founding fathers of Konoha, one of the Great Villages.
She kept reading, the writing changing ever so slightly. It didn't bother her until it said, 'Senju Hashirama dies at age 57, his final battlefield in a valley that was once a mountain. I, Senju Tobirama, shall carry on the Senju name.'
Things rapidly changed. Wars were raged and the Senju fell. They fell and fell until the writing stopped entirely. "Where's the rest?" Inko muttered. She didn't like a mystery, and considering this was her only chance of figuring out the truth? Like hell she was going to give up!
There was no more writing in the book, but the final Senju Clan leader, Tobirama, told of his and Hashriama's students. Maybe she could go from there?
The first was Mitokato Homura. A village elder, killed by Sasuke Uchiha before the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Second was Utatane Koharu, also killed by Sasuke Uchiha within the same time frame.
Lastly, was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage. He had earned many titles, such as the Professor and the Monkey King. He was killed by Orochimaru, Konoha's greatest traitor and one of his students.
She decided Hiruzen was her best lead. He was the Hokage, just as Senju Hashirama and Tobirama were. He had to have some associates with the Senju Clan in some way!
After reading a biography on him, she learned of his students, Jiraya, Orochumaru, and Senju Tsunade, the grandchild of Hashirama Senju and… Mito Uzumaki?
She had never seen the Uzumaki name here so far. But Naruto did say they were around during the Warring Era. It should have been bound to come up eventually.
But the more she thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. There was no mention of Hashirama having a wife. Sure, she was skimming the books, but she thought for sure she would catch such an important thing!
Looking back at the Senju Clan Book, she picked it up and skimmed it again. A page jumped out at her, named, 'The Wife of Senju Hashirama,' and her eyes almost popped out of her sockets. Mito Uzumaki was the wife of Hashirama Senju!
There was a knock on the door, and Mitsuki walked in. "Uh… what cha' looking at there?" She asked cautiously.
Inko had stars in her eyes as she showed Mitsuki the title. Mitsuki was surprised, and looked over Inko's shoulder. "Uh, Inko? The book's blank."
Inko shot a questioning look at Mitsuki. "No they're not."
"Uh, I hate to break it to you, but they are. I can't read a single word on this page because there are no words." Mitsuki responded.
"But they're right here! I'll read a paragraph for you!" Inko cleared her voice.
"'Mito Uzumaki is one of the sole members of the Uzumaki Clan after the Whirlpool Massacre. She is one of the only Uzumaki to marry an outsider. The marriage between her and Senju Hashirama was to solidify the alliance between the Senju and the Uzumaki.'" She said, pointing to where she was reading from.
Both of them heard a chuckle from the doorway. "You know, I reacted like you when I saw those books. A little suspicious, a little bit frustrated."
Izuku sat down with a sigh. "That was until Naruto wrote out entire books while looking at the supposed blank ones. He told me he used a special seal that requires a certain medium of sorts to see." His eyes crinkled like so many other old men did. "It appears you have this medium as well."
"What did he call this medium?" Inko asked. She wanted to think of it as untrue, but the evidence was there. She was a part or her family was named after the Senju Clan. They wielded Chakra. She was able to see this thing that only she and Naruto could see so far. Could she be wielding Chakra?
"He only called it this thing, ' a medium of sorts.' He was never particularly specific with his words." Izuku said with a shrug.
It was a disappointing answer, but it helped her relax. She just wanted a normal life. A normal house, a normal neighborhood, every to be average.
Chakra, however, had been specifically said by Naruto that it would change the world if reintroduced now. She didn't want to be special, she left that to others!
Now she was stuck waiting, hoping to get or find some answers. Within these walls! Within a place where that stupid necklace is!
