Tobi went back to his room when we got back. Our talk gave me a lot to think about and there was also a lot to do because of it. To be honest I'm not entirely sure how to treat him anymore. Sometimes he's like a normal child and others he's resolute in his decision making. "Koko, go and personally get Mako to come here. The three of us will be discussing a few things tonight. I want the both of you here as soon as possible."
I went to my office which was in a different side of the building from the residences. Our compound was purchased with the clan's growth in mind. Currently we can barely fill even a single building but in the future I plan on this might not be enough. I didn't want our clan to suffer from not having enough space which is why we purchased land at the furthest reaches of Konoha. My office was a second bedroom to me at this point. After years of trying to heal Tobi I had collected my fair share of medical books and other scrolls pertaining to all sorts of jutsus. I placed the maps and brochures on the table that I had got from inside the rift. I placed Yoko's pokeball on the table and sat in my chair. Placing both of my elbows on the desk I went over what had happened with Tobi.
Mako and Koko arrived shortly after I sat down in my office. I hadn't sorted out everything I wanted to yet but I had made my decision for what I needed these two for. "Mako, Koko what we discuss here tonight will only be between the three of us. It will be our clan's greatest secret and any betrayal of this information will be met with death."
"Yes" they both replied in unison.
"I'm sure Koko filled you in about our problem earlier tonight with Tobi?"
"Yes. I heard that he was found shortly after without harm."
"That is correct. Koko please go over everything that you've seen tonight so we're all up to speed." I had Koko give her report of tonight's events so Mako understood what had happened while he was off duty. Once they were done I started my part. "Tonight Tobi finally opened up with me. What he told me is still too much to handle right now to be honest. That boy has lived a tough life before he came to Konoha. I will talk about his past later but the most important thing is what we traveled through he referred to as a rift. The rift we travelled to is filled with weird creatures called pokemon."
Witnessing something is better than being told about it. I let Yoko out of her pokeball and she materialized on the floor between the two shinobi. "This is an Eevee and her name is Yoko. She is one of the creatures on the other side of the rift we went into tonight. The ball is a container for these creatures and I don't know how they work. Inside we can acquire more of them so hold off on asking about it. Yoko say hello to them."
"Eevee" The two shinobi looked confused at the creature that called out its own name?
"Yoko come over here and let them settle down." Yoko jumped over the table landing on my shoulder before walking around my neck to my other shoulder. She then decided to lay down there and let me continue "These creatures are intelligent and some of them are much more capable than our current summons if I can believe the information I found out. On the desk is a map and some basic information about the place. Please look over it and memorize it as I'd like to use the place to better the clan."
The two each took their time looking over things. "The most important part about that rift is time moves differently. Tobi and I spent 12 hours in there but only an hour out here passed. I'm sure you can understand how useful that can be to us. Koko you are to be an exclusive guard for Tobi. If he wants to go into a rift I will need you to escort him for the duration of the trip. This will be in addition to you tutoring him from now on."
"Lady Tsunade will we also be getting creatures like Yoko?" asked Mako. Mako looked a bit hesitant. If I had to guess it was due to lack of information on them. I'm sure he'd change his mind if he saw some of the pictures that I did in the adventurer's club.
"I would like that to be the case if we can use them properly but I would like them to be a trump card for our family not something to show off to the world. We already have enough people who covet the wood release we don't need to add anything else to it."
"When I am escorting the young master do I have permission to get my own if it doesn't interfere?" Koko asked with a bit of excitement in her eyes. She had been staring at Yoko since she had appeared.
"Yes and I'm sure Tobi will encourage you to do so. He still hasn't caught one that caught his eye. He's much more knowledgeable about that place than I am. I think he has his heart set on a certain one already." It was great to see Koko putting an interest in something that wasn't about being a stronger shinobi. "Tomorrow I plan on taking him around the city to see if we can encounter any more of these rifts. If there are other places he could find these at then there is a possibility of learning something that might not exist in this world."
The two both gave their acknowledgment in unison again. "I will also need to give Konan a few more missions outside of the village. I figured out his problem with her so I need to find a way to solve it. Until it is solved we will keep our schedule as is. Now let us talk about Tobi. He opened up to me and I came to understand why he has problems with people. He remembers his time being experimented on. He remembers it in vivid enough detail to tell me about it."
"You can't be serious about this. He was only a toddler when they had him. How could he remember that? I can barely remember what I did as a child let alone what I did when I was his age then." Mako retorted in utter denial of what he heard.
"Are you sure he isn't lying about it?" Koko asked just to make sure.
"No I can tell he isn't lying. Listening to it was one of the most uncomfortable things I've heard in my life. I only want this information to be told on a need to know basis. I don't want this to get out but I have to report this to the Hokage since it will affect the village." It was then with a heavy heart I told Tobi's story to the two. As they listened they too had a rage build up wanting to get revenge for him. When they found out that the entire based was wiped out leaving him as the only survivor it dissipated but they wanted to do something for him. It was a story the both of them were familiar with. They were both from outside the village who took Tsunade's offer. Trust and loyalty have been built up through a few years between the three.
"I have to agree with you on making it up. That is too creative for a toddler to make up and it does line up with some of his actions." Mako said as he took his words back from earlier.
"I sense you want to tell us something else as well m'lady"
"Yes. I want you to know he has an extreme fear of snakes to the point he will be paralyzed. It's a deep trauma that we need to be wary of. He fainted when we encountered a pokemon that looks like a snake. Thankfully nothing bad happened but it is something that can be used against him quite easily. We will have to work with him in the future to overcome it. I'm going to rest for a bit but before that can I trouble one of you to make an appointment in the morning with the hokage?" I asked ready to conclude this meeting.
"I'll take care of it and Koko can go back to guarding Tobi."
"Thank you and remember this conversation doesn't leave this room. If Tobi tells you things on his own that's fine but do not pry into him for any reasons. Do I make myself clear?"
Another reply in unison was the last things I heard as the two flickered out of the room. It was times like this I missed drinking after a long day. I let out a small laugh as I realized that he really has changed me. I think he was right that I'm not the same person I would be if I hadn't met him. The next time we go in with just the two of us I'll ask about myself in that future. I'd be lying to myself if I say I wasn't interested.
It didn't take much time for me to drift off to sleep and it was morning before I knew it. The sun was shining brightly and outside I could hear the sound of Shizune trying to get Tsuna to eat breakfast. Mako was waiting for me when I exited my room. "You have an appointment in the early afternoon with the hokage. He will be expecting you in his office at that time"
"Thank you." Today is going to be another long day. I'm sure Minato isn't going to make this easy on me. I should probably get some white lies ready to protect Tobi's privacy a little. We haven't taken care of Danzo yet so I can't trust anyone in The Hokage's office. After what Tobi told me of what he knew Danzo is willing to do I couldn't hold back my anger. Not only has he been manipulating us already he desecrated my grandfather like that. I can't wait until that old man is in front of me so I can pound his face in. Out of all of us I'm the only one capable of moving people in secret. If nothing goes as planned and the worst case happens we are going to have to get our hands dirty. I used to have a fear of blood but now that was long gone. I couldn't afford to let something like that hold me back any longer. I haven't told others so this should be able to be a trump card in case that old man tries to do something. Alright time to eat and then make spend a little time with the two before going.
Tsuna was bothering Tobi and asking him all kinds of questions. She was always curious about him when he was asleep asking me what he was like and when is he going to wake up. It hurt not being able to tell her when she could meet him. "Tsuna how would you like to start sleeping in Tobi's room from now on? He has trouble sleeping at night and I think you should protect him" Hearing my words Tsuna's eyes started to show excitement. "Can I really mom? I can really sleep in his room?"
"Yep and Tobi this isn't a suggestion." I said looking at the boy who knew why I was doing this. I don't want him sneaking into a rift in the middle of the night again and with Tsuna attached to him the guilt will keep him from doing so.
"Tobi, Tobi. Did you hear that I get to sleep in your room now." Tsuna had gotten down from her chair and jumped on to Tobi hugging him. She was full of energy and it livened any room she was in. Hearing her laughter and seeing her smile made any day worth living. Shizune and I sat down to have our breakfast and we chatted briefly about last night. I left the important things for later after my talk with the hokage. For now I told her that it was a false alarm as Tobi took a walk late last night. In the background Koko had taken Tobi to start his training this morning. Tsuna followed behind asking what they were doing. I told her she could watch if she doesn't bother them too much. If she does become a problem she won't get any sweets for a week.
Time flew by in a blink of an eye and it was soon time to leave. I took Shizune and a few guards with me to hokage's office. Inside the group was left waiting in a lobby while I was directed to Minato's office. "Tsunade it's good to see you. I hope everything is well with you and the clan. What brings you here today?"
"Things have been great since Tobi woke up. I've done enough tests on him to know that he'll be healthy enough soon. His problem right now is his lack of exercise so he's going to have to work hard to catch up to his peers. He should have enough time to do that before he enters the academy."
"That's great. He's a good kid and he'll have a bright future thanks to you. Now I know that this isn't what you wanted to come here to discuss."
"It isn't. I was hoping to meet with you and the third today but I didn't see him in the building is he around by chance?" I asked hoping that the three of us could talk discreetly.
"He should be with Jiraiya since he just came back from one of his trips. You know how those two love to catch up when they can."
"I do. Is kushina at home? I managed to find out some information on something she might want while I was out shopping the other day. If she's available then I'd love to tell her about it." Minato got what I was trying to say.
"Sure why don't I get everyone together for dinner tonight. I'd love to have you over if it isn't too abrupt for you."
"I'll take you up on the offer. Now let's discuss some business and we can leave the fun for later." Minato and I spent the rest of my time here talking about things regarding the Senju Clan. I made a deal with Minato that would allow us to send shinobi on missions every few weeks to make sure they weren't bored of guard duty. I don't want them to become rusty from not leaving the village. We spent over an hour talking about this as I didn't want to alert Danzo about anything yet. We all underestimated him and his abilities if half of what Tobi said is true. I'm surprised the bastard hasn't already performed his own coup. When our meeting was over my clan had actually gained something. I wasn't prepared for this but I guess I will have more time to myself before eating at Minato's place tonight.
I took my group back the Senju compound. Tsuna was quietly watching Tobi's afternoon practice. Which caught me by surprise, I didn't expect her to be that well behaved but I notice that she was trying to feel her chakra. In my office I explained the rest of what I wanted Shizune to know. I let Yoko out of her pokeball to show her proof and she had picked it up to pet almost immediately. With in seconds she was laying on her back on Shizune's lap asking to be pet. Ignoring my pokemon on her lap I went through my account of last night. I left out the biggest parts of Tobi's past but I told her more than I told the two shinobi last night. I was grooming Shizune to be my right hand. Hiding too much from her will only cause problems in the future. She was curious when she could visit the rift for herself and I think now was as good of a time as any. We could talk a lot more inside since a day is only two hours out here.
We interrupted Tobi's training when it seemed to be an appropriate time. "Tobi I was originally going to take you to walk around the village today. However I won't be able to do that since I have a dinner at the Namikaze residence tonight. Instead I'd like you to help me for a bit and Mako can you please watch over Tsuna while we're away?"
"Yes m'lady" Mako went over to Tsuna and held her hand "Let's go play a game inside Tsuna."
"Tobi I'd like for you to take the four of us through the rift if you don't mind."
"Sure let's go. Do you have Yoko with you?" I took out the ball from the bag and showed him. The four of us then moved to the frog pond. I wasn't sure if Tobi could take four people at once and I'm not too sure if he was confident himself. Once I could feel that horrible sensation come over me again I knew that we had been allowed through. Once I confirmed that all four of us were here I let Yoko out of her ball. It didn't take long for us to reach the town this time as Tobi was given a piggyback by Shizune. She offered to do it so she could ask him any question she wanted. The Koko and Shizune had memorized the map so finding our way through the town wasn't hard. We then entered the same dungeon from yesterday following the same dirt path. At this point Tobi wanted to walk on his own. He gave everyone two pokeballs for the chance that anyone saw something they liked.
Walking down the path we saw the same skitty from yesterday. It was sunning itself in the same spot as well. I didn't think much of it until I heard Tobi behind me "I can't believe that this lazy cat is still here." I don't know why he was so upset about it but he stormed off in front of us. Shizune laughed and Koko was looking around keeping vigilant. We reached the same lake as before. I was surprised that it took us nearly a quarter of the time to get here than it did yesterday.
"Excuse me young master but I'd like to know how to use the balls you gave us earlier." Koko spoke up from behind everyone and in her hands was the skitty from earlier. "I think this little guy wants to be friends and he is adorable" She said as she cradled the cat pokemon in her arms.
Tobi had an expression I couldn't understand but he walked up to Koko and told her about it. He then told Koko to hold the ball up near the skitty and to all of our surprises the skitty hit the ball on its own. It got sucked into the ball which dropped down to the ground. It made the same motion as yesterday and it was now the second pokemon that our clan has caught here. Tobi looked vexed now and we all couldn't help but laugh about it.
"It's not funny. Just let it back out and say hi to your new partner Koko." Tobi was having a bit of a fit about this. It was cute seeing him acting like a kid as Koko picked the ball up and hit the button to release the pokemon. What came out wasn't the cat pokemon we were used to. It was about twice the size of Yoko and it had black fur instead of the tan that Eevee has. Not to mention that this pokemon had blue highlights on its head and paws. It looked similar to the Eevee I had but it wasn't the skitty that she caught.
"Are you kidding me that lazy cat was a Zorua." The shiny Zorua jumped up into Koko's arms and made itself comfortable in her embrace.
Shizune was curious about what kind of pokemon it was. "Tobi what is a Zorua exactly?"
"Its an illusion pokemon. Its unique ability allows it to have illusions that are hard to see through. I'm pretty sure it is good at seeing through others as well but I'm not too sure on that part. When it evolves its strong and fast. It's about as strong as what Eevee will turn into when Auntie decides how she wants to evolve Yoko."
"Incredible. Could anyone see through its illusion?" Shizune looked around and saw everyone shaking their heads. None of us saw through this pokemon's illusions and it still has room to grow.
"I have to say Tobi you were right. Some of these creatures do have incredible abilities and to think this is just the entrance of this dungeon." It truly was a miracle being able to find beasts like theses as partners. Having these could help our shinobi survive much better in the battlefield. The forest was a lot easier to traverse this time as Tobi didn't meet anymore snakes. On the other side of the forest was another cave entrance that looked to be a way to a "lower" floor. We went through it and saw a valley similar to the one we came from. The sky was no longer clear and we had an overcast. In the center we had a few different lakes with an area that resembled a desolate forest. The land was flat there with few trees. The hills on the side were now forested. Behind the hills were more towering mountains.
"How does this make any sense? Where do these mountains keep coming from? Can we even get up there?" Shizune let out what everyone was feeling. Yet no one bothered to answer her. Tobi muttered an I'm sorry and Shizune quickly reassured him. Just like the other floor we moved down another stone path. We went to the center area of this floor. We occasionally passed people on the way who also had their pokemon walking besides them. Tobi could name each one and a little description for us. It looked like a group of adults listening to a child showing off his knowledge he learned at school.
Tobi listed close to a dozen pokemon most of which we hadn't seen. The one that caught my eye the most of the electric dog, Jolteon, that Tobi told me about. I couldn't tell how much power it had since I didn't have any comparisons but the confidence that particular one had was amazing. Yoko acted tough in front of it but she hid behind my legs after it had walked away. Don't worry you can be that strong too. Shizune saw a dog or a weasel looking pokemon with flames coming out of its back and asked the person where she could find one. The man laughed about it saying Quilava was his favorite and told her what she wanted to know. We talked with him for a good ten minutes before we were back exploring. In another hour we had made three more additions to our group. The first was a Nidoran boy which was caught by Shizune and then a girl who was caught by Koko. Tobi caught his first pokemon which was a Growlithe. None of them looked particularly strong but Tobi did tell us not to judge too much based on their current looks.
It took us a few hours to get back home but the trip was worth it. Tobi seemed especially happy with himself once he had a companion. It kind of remind me of the Inuzuka clan and their dogs. We spent some time in the village before heading back home for the day. A little over an hour had passed on the other side. I had some people prepare dinner for the kids while I prepared to head over to Minato's for dinner. After dinner Tobi had taken some pen and paper into his room to do something with what he learned from the trip into the village. He was the most active one once we visited the Adventurer's Club. If we had Konan's paper ability we might have been able to copy some of the books inside of the library. I can only wait until later to do that or get some money to buy a similar book.
It didn't take long for me to get ready for tonight's dinner. I went by myself and excused my guards from service tonight. I was the first one to arrive at the Namikaze residence. Inside there were two children running around with Kushina trying everything to put them to bed. Minato was left to entertain me as we could hear Kushina's trademark temper in the background. Eventually the kids were tired and Kushina had minute to catch her breath. Shortly after Jiraiya and Sarutobi showed up. Now that everyone was here we could start.