Dinner was eaten while we took care of the pleasantries. Topics ranged from what the children were doing to a few of the new things happening around Konoha. Some gossips among clans were shared but nothing that wasn't already known to others. Once dinner was finished the real discussion started. The five made sure that they weren't going to be overheard even by the guards outside. Once Minato was sure of everything he spoke "Alright Tsunade since you called us here it means that you have something important to say."
"I do but I hope you know I enjoy your company as well. I mean the dinner was delicious."
"Let's get to it. I have to get ready to head out I found a lead on Orochimaru that I want to track down." Jiraiya said as he leaned back into his chair.
"I found out more about the note and the source of it might surprise you."
"Did you discover the person who left it here with Tobi?" Asked Kushina.
"No I didn't but I know who the one who requested for that information."
"Is it someone we know?" Sarutobi had put his pipe in his mouth after asking.
"Yes. It was Tobi, that boy has more surprises than you could imagine. He's a lot more intelligent than I think any of us could imagine for that age. He made a trade of information before he came here and he wouldn't speak about the broker. I just know he paid a steep price for it."
"Then you mean that he's the reason we're alive right now?" Minato had trouble hiding his shock. He had wondered who had saved their lives and wanted to thank them for their help but he never imagined it would be that scared little boy. "What did he use to pay? He was a toddler when we got that scroll."
The rest of the room was also wondering that as well. They all looked to me for answers. "He paid with his life. Let me give you some background on how I found out about this before I go any further. The short version is he remembers his entire life and the long version is much worse." I recounted an altered version of Tobi's story. The part I told them about him knowing the future was from an experiment that Orochimaru had experimented with on him. He used his "visions" to help find a way to avoid them from happening. He hasn't had anymore of these "visions" since he's woken up. The reason for the three specific wishes was to ensure his safety when he found a way to travel to Konoha. The next part was the truth which I didn't need to alter. I told them about his fear and his life as an experiment. I told them how he walked through a base filled with dead bodies and the only thing he was thinking about was surviving. The more I think about him the more I realize he really is a survivor. It wasn't until I was telling this part did I realize it. I finished up my accounts of his story and left out the most important parts about his ability to travel through the rifts and him knowing these "Stories".
"There were only two things I enjoyed about Tobi's tale. The first was the fact that all the people who had 'cared' for him are now dead. Tobi's trauma for snakes is so bad he fainted when he saw one in the woods yesterday. I had to bring him back after we took a walk together." Tobi lived a horrible life before he came here and there really wasn't much to enjoy.
"And what's the other? I can't seem to find much enjoyment out of that child's suffering." Sarutobi was fond of Tobi from his few meetings and he wanted his teacher's clan to continue on.
"The second was a story he told about his first possession. The first thing he owned in this life as he put it to me. A potted plant."
"A potted plant?" Jiraiya laughed as he had an idea of what it was since the little guy loved to make flowers for others. "Let me guess it was the first flower he made."
"Yep and it's also the reason why he's a royal pain in the ass." Tsunade couldn't help but smirk at the thought of what Kushina would say when she finished her story. "Apparently he would carry this potted plant around with him everywhere. When they first tried to take it away he started biting and flailing at the caretaker. Tobi wanted it back so he became a pain until it got back to him. Eventually the caretaker gave it back after Tobi bit a few times. The problem was the caretaker also hit back so he learned from it. The second time it was taken away he started to scream at the top of his lungs and wouldn't stop. They gave the plant back to him and he became calm. Eventually it became known he would go crazy if you took his plant so they stopped trying it. He had trained his own caretakers to stop stealing his things." I couldn't stop laughing once I finished. Soon the house was filled with it and Jiraiya was the first to speak.
"Isn't that exactly the same thing he did to Kushina so she wouldn't pick him up?" His words were innocent but the person who it was directed to had stopped laughing and glared at Jiraiya. Soon a second round of laughter was had at Kushina's expense. It's times like this where he's useful.
Getting the room back under control Kushina decided to change the topic since she didn't want to talk about her training again. "Let's get back to the scroll. Did Tobi tell you what was trying to be conveyed in it with more detail than what was written?"
"He did. He told me bits and pieces of what he saw in the future. What he saw wasn't exactly the best so be prepared. One thing he saw was the fourth dying due to having his child kidnapped. The only survivor was Naruto who would grow up as an orphan. Tobi wanted to change that so that the great Fourth Hokage was alive to protect the village from an outside threat.
The second one was about Danzo and his schemes for Konoha. He's been the one feeding Orochimaru information as they are cooperating on a few things. He told me in the future his eyes have been replaced with sharingans from the Uchiha clan and his arm has cells from my grandfather. Tobi told me that isn't the worst thing either of them have done but it should be enough for us to find a link to get rid of Danzo."
"You mean to tell me that Danzo has stolen a Uchiha's eye? How the hell does he expect that to work and not have them kill him on the spot."
"That's simple and I had the same question. Tobi called it the Uchiha massacre as they were all killed in a single night."
Jiraiya slammed his hands on the table "What do you mean in a single night?"
"Exactly as I said. Tobi said they were killed by a Uchiha under the orders from Danzo and the mission was sanctioned by the third. He warned me I wasn't going to like what I heard when he started. I couldn't have been more wrong thinking how bad could it be."
"I'd never sanction something like that." Sarutobi was irate as he felt he was being blamed for something he'd never do.
"I thought the same which is why I asked Tobi if he could tell me a little more about it. The Uchiha were blamed for the deaths caused by The Nine Tailed Fox. Apparently a sharingan can control the beasts and that was how you died Minato. The Uchiha were blamed for the death of the fourth and all of the villagers. It drove the clan into a corner and a certain someone whispered in their ears. One Uchiha killed the rest to prevent a rebellion spearheaded by them. To protect his village that man killed his clan leaving only one survivor."
The room was blanketed in silence. Everyone looked at each other and then back at me like I had all the answers. "Tobi didn't tell me everything but he did tell me that there are worse events in our future. He told me he needs to get stronger to change the things he wants to. It's hard to imagine but I can only believe in his words. Oh and Kushina the post script from the scroll is likely information about two other Uzumakis. Tobi said that one of them will die soon if she isn't rescued while the other will be taken in by Orochimaru."
Minato looked at his wife who had started to tear up from her words. "There really are survivors? I'm not the last one?" She let out the tears that she had been holding back for so long. Wiping her tears away she smiled "I really do owe that little rascal if it's true. I'll take the trip myself and Minato this isn't a discussion."
"If that's what you want to do I won't stop you just bring a team with you. I don't want you to travel alone. Sarutobi please don't beat yourself up over something that you haven't done. We still have time to stop Danzo and we need to start planning for his takedown as soon as possible. This is no longer at the point of suspicion we need to act to remove him. I don't care if we don't have the evidence. Speaking of which why did Tobi include Danzo?"
"Its because he expected to be here as an orphan. What is the easiest way to train people to be loyal to you?"
"Its by kidnapping orphans." Jiraiya answered. "That means he's possibly doing that now. At least this might lead to something. I'll start investigating this tomorrow besides I can always put off my trip who knows maybe Tobi is what I've been looking for."
"Tsunade why didn't you bring Tobi so he could tell us this in person?" Sarutobi asked as she was curious why the little guy wasn't here if this is all from him.
"I left him home since I want him to be a kid. He's had enough of worrying about how to survive. I told him earlier that I plan on making him the Senju Clan Head in the future and until then to leave things to me. Ever since meeting him I've been dreaming big about the future. I want to see it myself so I'm going to do everything he can't do now." I said as each word had more and more weight behind it. I believed in what I said and I do want to see how he will shape the future.
"I'm glad for you Tsunade. You've truly moved on from the past and are no longer being dragged down by it. I can't tell you how proud I am of you Tsunade." Sarutobi had placed his pipe on the table he was close to losing his calm.
"Thank you Sensei. You don't know how much I appreciate your words."
"You've changed for the better. Those children of you have done more than I could have imagined for you." Jiraiya exclaimed. "I couldn't imagine the you if Tobi and Tsuna weren't around."
I let out a long sigh. "Tobi asked me why I haven't asked about my future. To be honest I was scared of knowing but he told me something that I think you should all take to heart as well. 'You aren't the same person I saw. The two of you have made different decisions that lead to different places'."
A loud boisterous laugh could be heard from the redhead across the table. "You're right Tsunade. That brat really is smarter than any of us thought. We've already proved that we can change the future so why can't we shape it the way we want to?"
"Kushina makes a good point. Let's do this right and make the future we want to see. First we'll take care of Danzo. Second we'll need to end this war in the Mist. We'll do this one step at a time. I ask for each of your help in this." Minato decided now was the time to take charge. We were each assigned a task from him. Mine was to lend people if need be since Minato couldn't trust the people he worked with. If we found evidence would act in a month at the earliest. We needed time to prepare and investigate a few things we learned from Tobi. Once we finished our discussion on Danzo we moved to the ongoing war in the Mist.
"Sarutobi do you think the person with the sharingan could control a kage?"
"It's possible I think. If we could ask a Uchiha about it then we would have a better idea about it. If they can control a Kage with a genjutsu then it might explain the aggressive movements we've seen in recent months. Things have escalated a lot more."
Tobi also told me that it was possible for a controlled tailed beast to control its host its not that I don't trust him but he himself wasn't sure if that was true. "I don't know if its reliable and someone else might be able to correct me if I'm wrong. Tobi told me that the Mizukage is a jinchuuriki and that the beast was being controlled before being sealed in him. This allowed the caster to control both of them. He didn't seem too sure of himself but it might be worth it to investigate. Someone with a dojutsu, preferably the byakugan, could probably find out if its true."
"Hmm." Sarutobi took his time before responding. He was thinking about what I had just said. "It does explain the weird aggressive nature of the Mizukage's forces in the war if he's being controlled. We've already been pushed back to the point where we might have to think about pulling out entirely. Ever since that kunoichi Mei Terumi joined with the Mizukage's faction the tide has been in their favor. We've evacuated most of the non essential fighting forces of the clans since she had joined their side. I think if things go as they are we should pull out the clans so they don't lose all of their fighting forces. Over half of them have sent some of their members here in case the war gets any worse. I hate to say that we've gained from that but it's true. I believe that we have lost this war. Out of the 20 jonin I have sent there 8 have already been killed in action. The numbers are worse for the chunins."
"Can you make gathering information on Mizukage the top priority in the time we have left there?" Minato asked since he knew that they were lacking manpower.
"I can but we're not exactly doing well there. I think we should cut our losses and clean our own house. We can help them regain their land in the future right now we have too many enemies to lend anymore strength there."
It was late in the night when our meeting ended. Sarutobi and Jiraiya left before I did as I stayed behind to set up some times for Tsuna and Akane to play together. It would be good for her to make some friends of her own. The walk back to the Senju compound wasn't too long. In the shadows ahead of me was a figure. "Tsunade I didn't want to ask in front of the others. Are you overlooking anything because of your relationship with him?" Jiraiya was unusually serious about this. "You know what I've been looking for all this time. I have a hard time believing a child is this intelligent."
Jiraiya stepped out into the street blocking my path. His figure in the light showed him without his joking expressions. "Are you absolutely sure that you can trust him? This isn't some storybook we're living in where everything will go our way because we believe in ourselves."
"This isn't like you. Did what you hear tonight change how you view things? Or do you think he's your prophesied child?" Jiraiya's questions weren't that much of a surprise to me as I expected it to happen while we were discussing this. What did surprise me was Jiraiya's serious attitude about this. I haven't seen this side since Orochimaru betrayed the Village.
"I'm serious about this Tsunade. There is too much at stake to leave this in the hands of a child. If you won't let me talk with him then I will use force to do so. It's not something I want to do but if it prevents Konoha falling into a civil war then I will do it. I don't want to see this village burn itself to the ground." He wasn't kidding around anymore. His voice was firm and his eyes had a conviction in them that I haven't seen since that day.
"If I say you can't?" I said teasing him.
"Don't force me to do this?" He shouted as he got into a stance ready for a fight.
I cracked my knuckles and started to stretch. "Do you think that after all this time you are a match for me anymore? I won't let anyone take my family away from me again. This includes even you Jiraiya." I dropped the coat that I was wearing to the ground. Even though this is in the middle of the village I wasn't going to back down. I'm no longer how I was in the past, I would no longer allow anyone to talk about my family that way.
"It really did come down to this. You really will put that child before the sake of this village."
"Yes I will. I told him that I would protect him." My voice had a weight to it. Power felt like it was flowing through me more so than usual. Is this what it feels like to fight for something you truly believe in? "I told him he doesn't have to worry that I will be there for him. Are you going to make me a liar Jiraiya?"
"To protect the peace? Then yes I will. I will do what is necessary"
The time for us to talk was over. I moved first, in a split second I closed the gap between the two of us. I punched straight ahead with chakra flowing through my whole body. Jiraiya dodged to the right and a huge hole appeared on the tree behind him. He's gotten faster since we last sparred. Jiraiya retreated a bit but he had a smile on his face.
"They weren't kidding when they said you've been training. I haven't seen you throw a punch that sharp in a long time."
Once again I rushed ahead. This time I threw more than one punch at him. He dodged my first to the left this time and I pursued him. I threw two more that missed their mark. He dodged with what looked to be minimal effort. Finally I threw a low kick which caught him off guard. I had mostly relied on my fist before but now I tried to be more balanced in my taijutsu. Jiraiya had lost his balance and I took my chance. I slammed my fist into his stomach with enough strength to end this right now. Smoke appeared when my fist obliterated the log he had substituted with. I charged through and once again assaulted him. He was no longer trying to block my fists. He was carefully parrying my attacks and still couldn't counter my offensive.
I intentionally left an opening after a large punch which he didn't bite on. He's grown used to battles after so many years on the road. He's gotten stronger than I remember and I felt sick that I wasted so much of my time wallowing in the past. We started another round but this time Jiraiya was the one to start it. He's improve his taijutsu again he must been training with those damn frogs again. I dodged one of his punches by a hair's width and the next thing I knew I was against a tree. How did that happen? Whatever I can think about that later. I got up from the tree I made an indention in. I cracked my neck to show off a little "I don't know what that was Jiraiya but the tricks you show to girls in those clubs won't impress me." This time I wasn't going to hold back. I'll show him that I'm no longer messing around.
The next round started with exchanging blows. A punch thrown would be block and countered. A kick would be dodged and returned with another attack. I was starting to get frustrated that I haven't even landed a hit on him. It was time to change that. I was starting to overwhelm him in our exchanges so he backed off to get some space. It was then that I rushed forward once more. This time I wasn't aiming for him. I intentionally missed wide and my punch landed on the ground causing a crater to appear. Jiraiya's face had an expression of shock as he stumbled towards me down the crater. I had him right where I wanted I kicked him in his gut to end this. He took the hit clean and was sent flying into the park next to the street. He had gone through a few bushes before coming to rest against a tree. I walked over slowly, that should have been enough for him.
"Still destructive as ever" Jiraiya said in jest.
"Okay I think that's enough for tonight you two." Sarutobi was smoking his pipe on a nearby bench. "You've both improved a lot in the past few years. I don't think there's a reason to continue this."
"No there isn't a reason. She obviously trusts the kid, that last kick of hers proved it."
"Jiraiya I have no problem with you talking to Tobi. The problem lied in your words. Remember this, If you ever talk about my family like that again I will kill you. That isn't a joke." I said with the most devilish smile I could have.
"I can talk to him?" He asked with surprise.
"I don't mind it's up to him if he wants to talk to you. Just remember your lesson from tonight."
"I promise. I don't want to have to feel a kick like that again. Do you mind patching me up?" After finishing speaking Jiraiya coughed up a bit of blood. "I think you might have gotten a few ribs with that."
"Sure, just hold still" I applied chakra to my hands giving them a green glow and applied it to his stomach. "Jiraiya I do believe what Tobi said. You can check for yourself if you can trust his words."
"If what you said is true I want to see it for my own eyes. I trust you but I have a hard time trusting a child like him. There is something off about that child and it isn't just how his life has gone so far. He's hiding something else from you"
"Fine, come with me but if he doesn't want to talk with you then you'll have to leave. I don't want him to be infected by a pervert like you."
Sarutobi bid us farewell as the two of us went back to the Senju Compound. I told one of the servants to prepare a room for Jiraiya since I did feel a little bad about his injury. I had him rest in the dining room while things were prepared. I thought about getting a guard to get Tobi but I decided to do it myself. I looked into his room to see him sound asleep. Attached to his arm was Tsuna who had drool hanging off of her mouth dripping onto Tobi. I think his punishment has been worth it so far. I closed his door and went back to Jiraiya in the other room.
"I didn't want to wake the two. Would you like to see what two adorable children look like when they sleep together?" Jiraiya got up from where he was and followed me back to Tobi's room. He gently opened the door and a minute later he shut it. We walked to the room prepared for him and his last words of the night "You're right I didn't want to wake them either." He smiled and entered. My long day had finally ended.