Chapter 21: Discussions

Hashirama watched his wife work in silence, his emotions were heavy and his arms were folded over his chest. In some hours, she and Sakura were going to somehow speak to the Nine-Tails, and to keep the village safe and everything secret, Mito had decided to do this outside the village in a cave. She was applying seals inside the cave, so that in the event that something happened the Nine-Tails would still be contained. Hashirama agreed that it was a necessary precaution, but he was still going to be there, outside of the cave if they didn't want him inside, to oversee the whole thing. If there was an incident, he and Madara were the only ones who could stop it from escalating.

Hashirama had taken Sakura's words to him earlier seriously. It was hard to split between the Hokage and husband in a situation that was so serious and could affect the entire village and international relations. But Mito's silence since she'd told him of her plans had been bothering him, and he could see the reason behind Sakura's lecturing. Mito finished and sat back on her heels, letting out a sigh, before she stood up and brushed the dust off her knees. Without thought, Hashirama moved. He walked over to Mito and before she could move away from him or turn, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him and feeling her back press against his chest. He felt her flinch, which sent a shot of pain through his chest and try to slip away from him. He didn't let her go.

"Let me go," she said in a strangled voice.

"No," he responded, ducking his head down and pressing his lips to the top of her. "I won't."

"Hashirama, please," she said again, trying to shake herself out of his grip, forcing his head up.

He tightened his hold on her, finally understanding that he'd been too caught up in the village affairs and had been overlooking the issues that had been brewing in his own home. Mito was in pain, the kind of pain he couldn't see, but he could now hear and feel it.

"I'll never let you go," he said to her in a low voice. "I love you, Mito. I love you."

Mito ceased her struggling but she was still tense against him. He could only hope that it meant she was hearing him. For him, there would be no one else and he wasn't going to lose her, or let her lose herself.

"No matter what happens, I'm going to be here," he said to her. "I'm not going anywhere. You're my wife, the mother of my child."

He felt Mito begin to tremble, and her hands reached up and gripped his arms tightly.

"Talk to me, darling," Hashirama pleaded.

He felt her hands tighten slightly.

"I'm scared," she breathed, so quietly that he almost couldn't hear it.

He released her and turned her around, bending slightly so their faces were at almost the same level. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and saw her eyes were watering.

"Do you think I'm a monster?" She whispered.

"No, darling." Hashirama felt disbelief course through him that she could think that of herself. "I know you're not."

"You didn't see me. You couldn't feel what I felt," she whispered. "So much hate, and anger."

Hashirama gave her a gentle smile and brushed away the tear that fell with his thumb.

"I don't know much about what you're going through, I'm not Sakura. But I want you to know that you never have to hide anything from me. I'm not just the Hokage, and I'm sorry I've been absent lately and haven't noticed your distress."

She tried to shake her head and tell him she was fine, but he silenced her with a swift kiss.

"You don't have to be strong for me, Mito. I can be strong enough for the two of us."

He pulled back and her lips trembled.

"I love you," she said wearily, giving him something of a smile. The first one he'd seen all day and the anxiety in his chest began to settle.

"I thought we were supposed to talk to the clan and clan heads about Sakura," Shikata said to Shikaru the moment he walked in the door.

Shikaru gave his son a tired look and rubbed his hand across his tied-back hair, sighing long and loud.

"That's being put on hold for now," he said.

Shikata folded his arms over his chest and Shikaru saw the critical look in his eye.

"What happened?" Shikata asked him.

If only his wife was still alive to distract Shikata. The trouble having a genius son whose attention had been woken up by a mysterious, generous, compassionate and strong girl who he was about to adopt, was that now Shikata was intensely curious about all things in the village.

"I'm tired, Shikata," Shikaru said to him. "I need to sleep a few hours."

"Does it have something to do with why Sakura and Lady Mito were in the hospital?" Shikata questioned.

Shikaru clenched his jaw with irritation. "Shika, now is not the time."

Shikata narrowed his eyes at him.

"I heard they woke up today and were whisked off somewhere secret."

"Who'd you hear that from?" Shikaru asked sharply.

Shikata shrugged.

"No one in particular."

"Sakura is fine if that's what you're worried about," Shikaru said. He saw relief pass through Shikata's eyes. "But Shika, you are more than aware of my position, and at this moment, I can't talk about it anymore."

Shikata's face set in a stubborn line.

"Fine," he muttered.

Shikaru nodded.

"Give it a few days," Shikaru said. "Then we'll see - and do not ask Sakura's students about this either."

"So they know, but I can't?" Shikata asked annoyed.

"They are both under orders from the Hokage," Shikaru said.

Shikata nodded and Shikaru saw he understood but was still irritated by it.

"If you want to find yourself in a position of responsibility, get more involved in the village, find a place to start and work hard to understand how it works," Shikaru said after a moment. "You're not a child, you're a man, it's time to step into the world."

Shikaru watched his son absorb his words and give a slow, thoughtful nod, before leaving the room and, presumably, heading to bed. It was nearing midnight. Shikaru wasn't there for the discussion Sakura had had with Shikata after the Nine-Tails attack a few weeks earlier, but her words, like usual, had been effective. In the last few months, Shikaru had seen his son grow and mature, physically and mentally. From Chojime's reports, he was more active in their training sessions, and the few times they had been out of the village on missions, Shikata had been showing initiative and leadership. The change of his rank from chunin to jonin would probably come faster than he realised, since Tobirama had been carefully monitoring his progress. With Sakura's taijutsu sessions, although her style was less finesse and more destruction, Shikata's largely supplementary training was providing him with a broad foundation of skills that would aide him and their clan in the future.

Shikaru let out a long, tired sigh and collapsed onto a chair at the kitchen table. The last few days had been long and tiring. The results of Inorou's interrogations had been largely inconclusive. Only half an hour before earlier had he finished interrogating the bound shinobi. They still didn't know if the Kumo shinobi were working under orders from Kumo or not. It seemed that the two shinobi who'd been killed were the ones in charge and knew the full details of the mission, particularly the man who'd been able to disable his chakra. The two who had been brought back were only ever approached by him and met up with the woman on their way out of Kumo.

The memories that Inorou had previously sealed away about the fight with Madara, and then the Nine-Tails, had remained sealed. They concluded that the other man had indeed disabled his chakra and been witness to the entire event. It was, as Shikata would say, troublesome.

Sakura woke up in her bed to see Madara still sleeping beside her. She yawned a little and gave him a soft smile before leaning over and planting a kiss on his cheek. He frowned in his sleep and blinked tiredly.

"Good morning," she whispered to him.

"Morning," he murmured tiredly. His eyes slowly focused on her. "What time is it?" He asked.

Sakura gave a little shrug.

"I don't know," she replied.

He closed his eyes and sighed a little.

"I'm sleepy," he breathed.

She giggled a little and under the blanket she brought her hand to his shoulder, dragging her fingers across his bare chest. He gave a tired moan.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Sakura said, tracing the muscles of his chest with her fingertips.

She looked up to see his eyes on her, looking more awake now. She bit her lip and smiled. He suddenly caught her wrist and rolled so he was on top of her.

"You're going to make us late," he murmured, his face in the curve of her neck, his breath sending shivers down her body.

Sakura hitched her leg around him, keeping him from moving away from her. She felt him smile into her neck and nip at it with his teeth. She inhaled sharply and then forced him to roll onto his back so she was straddling him, the blankets tangling beneath them. He looked at her hungrily, and she leaned down to kiss him lightly on the lips before she detangled herself and got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

She slowly removed her shorts and singlet, standing naked before him.

"For a bath," she called out, walking from the bedroom with a grin.

She heard the blankets fall to the ground and the soft padding of feet following her to the bathroom. They were late.

"Where have you been?" Hashirama asked Madara with an unusually irritated frown.

Madara struggled to keep the smug look off his face.

"Nowhere," he replied.

"Where is Sakura?"

Hashirama glanced behind him as if Sakura should be following him around everywhere, which was ridiculous. After their particularly steamy bath, Madara had gone home to cool off and change his clothes, and Sakura had said she would go by the hospital. He assumed she'd be arriving momentarily, and he told Hashirama that. Hashirama suddenly sniffed.

"You smell like strawberries," he said with a scrunched up nose.

Madara didn't bother to respond to that.

"You smell like Sakura," he continued.

Finally, Hashirama noticed the slight dampness at the ends of Madara's hair.

"Oh," he commented. "I suppose you had a, ah, nice bath then."

"Don't be vulgar," Madara replied. "I had an extremely good bath."

"Whose the one being vulgar now?" Hashirama retorted.

Madara couldn't keep the smirk from his face. Hashirama gave a disgusted grunt.

"If I'd have known Sakura would bring out this side to you, I'd have brought her back here from the future years ago," he muttered.

Madara scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous. She was a child then."

"Ah," Hashirama said. "I forget she's quite a few years younger. Six, seven?"

Madara nodded. Hashirama's eyes suddenly widened.

"We need to find out her birthday."

"It will be in her file," Madara said.

Hashirama looked at Madara curiously and then gasped.

"It's your birthday in a few days. And the Rinne Festival."

Madara rolled his eyes.

"What is your point? We're busy possibly planning a war, there's no time to plan anything."

Hashirama's posture sagged.

"Does Sakura know?"

"Undoubtedly Matsuri will inform her if she doesn't know already," Madara said with a disinterested shrug. "Where's Mito?"

"I'm here," Mito suddenly appeared beside them, out the front of Hokage Tower. "Where's Sakura?"

Hashirama gave Madara a pointed look.

"I assume she's checking on something at the hospital and will be here momentarily."

Like her husband, Mito sniffed and frowned.

"You smell different."

Madara stared at the pair of them uncomprehendingly. Did they both somehow develop Inuzuka noses? Hashirama hid a smile. Madara observed that Mito looked more refreshed than the previous day. She still looked tired, although it wasn't marred by the stress it was. She looked better.

"Sorry I'm late," Sakura said, arriving slightly out of breath. "Things took a little longer than expected."

"I imagine they did," Madara responded with a slight smile.

Hashirama snorted.

"Are we ready?" Sakura asked Mito.

Mito nodded.

"Yes."

"I'll be waiting," Madara said quietly.

Sakura nodded.

"It's for the best," she said. "Hashirama will be enough."

Madara nodded but he didn't like it. He'd prefer to be with her, but he did understand how his presence would only provoke the Nine-Tails. The atmosphere around the four of them became serious, and with a final good-bye, they all left. Madara watched them leave with conflicting feelings. He knew Hashirama wouldn't allow anything to happen to Sakura or Mito, but it didn't stop his worry. He headed out towards the training grounds, wishing that there was someone left in the village that would present him with some kind of challenge. Tobirama and Yuri were both out of the village on their separate missions, Hashirama was needed elsewhere, as were Sakura and Mito.

Madara did not enjoy pitting himself against those whose abilities he far exceeded, he considered it a waste of time, but he couldn't deny the thrill of battle. Part of him was hoping that Kumogakure were in fact foolish enough to have sent shinobi after Mito. Peace was pleasant, and his time with Sakura was more fulfilling than he imagined it could be, but he still missed the scents, the sounds, the feel of war. He passed a young chunin in the street and was struck with an idea. He stopped the boy and told him to fetch Takuma Senju to the east training fields, fully armed and prepared for battle.

Takuma arrived thirty minutes later.

"Lord Madara," he greeted him.

Madara was pleased to see him dressed in the newly designed and distributed dark blue armoured chest plates, although he had left off the hip and shoulder guard. He wore his headband tied around his forehead.

"Takuma," Madara said in greeting. "We're going to test the limits of your abilities."

Takuma looked surprised and a little anxious.

"You want to spar against me?"

"No," Madara responded, taking his own headband out from its usual place in his obi and tying it around his forehead. "We're going to battle."

Takuma glanced at the headband and gave a slow nod.

"I suppose I should be honoured that you have deigned me a worthy opponent," he said.

The headband felt odd on his head. He smirked.

"That is an incorrect assumption. I deem you worthy enough to fight alongside me, but against me is another matter altogether," Madara said to him. "With Hashirama and Tobirama Senju leading your clan, a weak Senju is an affront to the clan. I'm giving you the opportunity to prove yourself worthy to your name."

Takuma's eyes narrowed.

"In all the battles between our clans, I refused to clash blades against anyone other than Hashirama," Madara said. "This should be an honour for you."

"I am aware," Takuma responded.

Madara could see he was little offended by Madara's words.

"Your reputation and prowess are formidable, and I can now see the rumours of your provocation towards your opponents wasn't understated."

"Show me what you can do."

Madara's eyes spun red and he made the first attack, forcing Takuma to shuffled backward and off-balance. Still, Madara was slightly surprised that he managed to dodge the attack. Unlike Takuma, Madara wasn't armed at all, save the sealing scroll he always kept on him that contained his weapons. If Takuma managed to force him to use it, Madara would be impressed. In shinobi battles, the first tactic was taijutsu. Takuma regained balance, and their battle began. It was clear that Takuma had been training with Yuri, as Madara picked up on several distinctly Uchiha moves thrown at him, and he had to admit that Takuma pulled them off quite well. He grew excited.

Takuma was slower than he was, which was to be expected, but he was intelligent and made up for his lack of speed and the predictive abilities of his Sharingan with quick thinking and creativity in his attacks. He used a lot of feints, even combining feigning feints to attack while blocking Madara's attack. It was apparent to both of them, by the twist in Takuma's mouth, that Madara was certainly superior in this bout.

"I must admit, you have surprised me," Madara said to him, as Takuma blocked an attack with his forearm and quickly returned a jab and knee of his own.

"High praise," Takuma said with a small amount of sarcasm.

He quickly withdrew his katana, swiping upwards from the scabbard on his hip in a ranged, slicing attack, Madara evaded the attack by leaning backward. He planted his left foot and used it to launch forwards, using his momentum and speed to catch Takuma's arm holding the katana with his left hand, stopping it from lowering, and with his right hand, caught Takuma around the neck and forced him backward and to the ground in a swift, powerful move. Takuma was stunned for a moment, but Madara didn't miss his quick grasp of the kunai at his right hip and jumped off Takuma to avoid the kunai coming at his stomach.

Takuma came back to his feet with a spin that released several shuriken from his hands, forcing Madara to jump and twist his body to avoid them. Takuma used the split second Madara was off the ground to perform and earth jutsu meant to entrap Madara, but Madara overpowered it by laying his hand on the surface of the earth, and sending his chakra with lightning nature throughout it, shattering the earth.

"Too weak," he mocked Takuma.

Madara landed in a crouch and with a single hand sign, performed the fire style jutsu, shooting a massive ball of fire towards Takuma. With his Sharingan, Madara was able to see Takuma's descent into the earth and easily avoided Takuma attack from below by a small step backward.

Realising his mistake, Takuma's eyes widened as they met Madara's, and Madara landed a hard punch in Takuma's stomach, sending him backward, but not before Takuma managed to slap on an explosive tag on Madara's shoulder. Madara ripped his sleeve off and flickered away only a split second before the explosion went off. He put his foot on Takuma's chest, holding him down a moment.

"Well done," he said, holding a hand down to Takuma to help him up.

Takuma took his hand. He was sweating, panting and wincing in pain. Compared to Madara, who only had a slight sheen of sweat, and a ripped off sleeve, he looked far worse for wear.

"Thank you," Takuma coughed.

They formed the sign of reconciliation.

"You should go to the hospital," Madara said to him.

Takuma breathed a laugh.

"Has Lady Sakura been teaching you how to punch?" He asked, rubbing his stomach.

Madara almost smiled.

"If she had been, I'm certain I'd be carrying you to hospital in critical condition," he replied.

Takuma looked at him ruefully.

"Did I pass your test?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

Madara looked down at his bare arm and ripped shirt.

"You are not at the level of Hashirama nor Tobirama, but I don't suppose many will ever reach that level," Madara said. "But I will say that yes, you are a worthy opponent, and I have a student that will do well learning from you."

Takuma looked at him in surprise and then frowned.

"So you wanted to test how good a shinobi I was for that reason?"

"I was also bored," Madara responded. "And Hashirama is busy. I'll send a messenger to you in the new year to discuss your future responsibilities."

Madara left the training grounds and headed for home for a new shirt, feeling quite satisfied.

Mito and Sakura sat cross-legged facing one another in the center of the cave. Sakura had her hands lain over Mito's open palms.

"I'm not sure exactly how else to do this," Mito said to Sakura. "But if you can concentrate on slowly transferring your chakra to me, I will attempt to pull you inside my inner mind. I think that will be the safest way to speak to the Nine-Tails."

Sakura nodded.

"Whatever you think is best."

They both took deep breaths and closed their eyes. Sakura focused on her chakra, slowly pouring into Mito, and then she felt a pulling sensation. It didn't take as long as she thought it would. Sakura looked wide-eyed around the inner-mind of Mito, who stood beside her. They stood in a plane of golden chakra, and before them in the center of the space, was the Nine-Tailed Fox.

His entire body was strapped and held down by chains that seemed to glow, wrapping around his neck, torso, waist, arms and legs, and giant spikes that held down all his tails. The chains seemed to come from the golden charka itself, disappearing into the field, and keeping the Nine-Tails in a state of laying on his stomach. Sakura's heart pounded in her chest. His eyes slowly opened, and when it focused on Sakura, she felt panic course through her veins as it narrowed his eye in rage. Sakura swallowed and gave him a weak wave.

"Hello," she said awkwardly.

"You," he growled, breathing heavily and turning his head fully towards her.

"It's me," Sakura chuckled, slightly terrified. "I heard you wanted to talk to me."

He growled at her and Sakura flinched. Mito grabbed her hand.

"He can't move, so he can't hurt you," she said. "I'm just going to… fade."

Sakura looked at her and suddenly it was as if she was there, but also behind some kind of wall, and she just knew that Mito couldn't hear anything anymore. Sakura turned back to the Nine-Tails.

"Who are you?" He asked.

To Sakura's immense surprise, the Nine-Tails wasn't a snapping jawed, frothing mouth monster. There was definitely anger rolling off him in stifling waves, and a frightening look to his eyes that screamed he'd like to kill her. But there was also an interest, curiosity, a strange thirst for knowledge that seemed to subdue him.

"Sakura Haruno," Sakura replied, swallowing her nerves. "And, you're the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama."

At his name, his eyes narrowed and he breathed hard, hot air from his nostrils, his teeth bared.

"You think I have a name? A beast like me?" He growled.

Sakura almost, almost could have smiled. But fear held it back.

"You're name is Kurama."

He growled fiercely.

"How can a brat like you know such things?" He snapped.

Sakura's fist clenched in fright at the suddenness of his move.

"I am not a brat," Sakura replied. "And I know more than you can know."

"Humans," Kurama hissed. "You think you know everything. You know nothing."

"Then why did you want to talk to me?" Sakura retorted.

"As if I'd want to lower myself to speak with you," Kurama snorted derisively.

This time, Sakura did smile. Kurama almost reminded her of Sasuke at that moment, acting like he didn't care when he did.

"I think you want to know how I know your name."

Kurama strained on his chains, leaning closer to her. His massive face dwarfed her and she tilted her head to look up into his red eyes, fear hammering in her chest, but she didn't move away from him.

"You have the scent of … " he narrowed his eyes.

"Indra and Asura Otsutsuki?" Sakura offered.

For the first time, she saw surprise on his face. Slowly he settled back into his chains.

"Don't lie to me, brat," he said to her. "Who are you? How are you alive after an attack from me?"

Sakura clenched her jaw.

"Do you truly believe you're so powerful it's a someone might survive you?" She questioned. "You've faced Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in battle and you haven't beaten them. Now you're locked away inside an Uzumaki."

Kurama roared in rage and Sakura stumbled backward.

"I am from the future!" Sakura cried out. "I saw the Ten-Tails revived and I was there when Kaguya was defeated!"

Kurama suddenly stilled.

"Impossible," he growled angrily. "Liar!"

Sakura shook her head.

"No, it's not. I'm not lying," she reiterated. "How else could I know your name? I've seen you become one with your jinchuuriki, I heard him speak your name. I've seen all the tailed beasts together and the Sage of Six Paths. I am not an ignorant brat unaware of everything, I've seen more than you know."

Kurama breathed in deeply and out loudly, studying her. Sakura frowned, wracking her memories.

"I am here because Indra's curse was broken," she said, looking at Kurama, who didn't react. "He brought me and Itachi Uchiha back in time to stop Zetsu, that beastly thing that made Madara take control of you before."

Kurama bared his teeth.

"Uchiha," he scoffed. "A wretched, cursed clan."

"Not anymore," Sakura said.

Kurama barked a menacing laugh but didn't say any more.

"Zetsu was the Will of Kaguya," Sakura said to him. "Her son, who manipulated and used Indra and all his reincarnations throughout history to try and awaken the Rinnegan."

Kurama growled lowly, but he was listening.

"In my time, it was Madara who awakened the Rinnegan. There were a lot of different circumstances that led to it, but the entire shinobi world allied and unified themselves against Madara and his followers in the Fourth Shinobi War."

Sakura took a breath.

"The Sage of Six Paths appeared from Madara's body when he was the ten-tails jinchuuriki. He gave his powers to the reincarnations of his sons, Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was your jinchuuriki then, and you worked together, you were partners, friends."

At that, Kurama snapped his jaws menacingly.

"Friends?" He roared. "With a human who imprisoned me? That will never happen!"

Sakura ducked and covered her ears at his roars. Mito suddenly appeared beside her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, crouching down next to Sakura.

Sakura nodded. Kurama was thrashing against the chains, seething rage.

"I'll get out of here one day!" He roared. "I'll destroy you all!"

Sakura took a breath, while Mito looked on with anxiety and some panic.

"Stay strong," she said to Mito, who nodded and tightened the chains around Kurama.

Sakura steeled herself and walked towards the Nine-Tails. She didn't know what it was inside her that made her want to confront him directly, that made her always want to tackle things head on, but Sakura continued to approach him. Mito suddenly produced a chain around his face that effectively muzzled him. Sakura jumped on top of his snout and walked until she was in front of his eye, that was wide and angry.

"I don't know how Naruto managed to befriend you, and I know it wasn't easy for either of you," she said to him. "I don't know if this helps you understand or not, but they called him the Child of Prophecy, and he was changing the world and how they looked at jinchuuriki and the tailed-beasts."

She frowned, somehow feeling like it was important to tell him all she could about Naruto. Like something other than herself was telling her it was important.

"He was a Toad Sage, with blonde hair and blue eyes, like his father, but his mother was an Uzumaki, and one day he's going to be born again. I don't know if you'll be inside him this time, but I hope so because you're going to understand that the world isn't just filled with hatred and people who want to use you. Because I don't want that either. You should be free, but if Mito didn't have you inside her, some other nation would take you and use you for evil and power and I know we won't do that."

Kurama shook and growled underneath her.

"I completed my mission to keep you from going back to the ten-tails and to keep Kaguya sealed. One day, Kurama, you'll know that I'm telling you the truth. Just give Mito a chance in the meantime."

He narrowed his eye at her in a way that implied that he would never do anything she told him to and she smiled, which seemed to anger him more. She jumped off him and went back to Mito's side.

"Are you ready?" Mito asked.

Sakura nodded. The muzzling chain fell away and Kurama opened his jaw in another loud growl.

"Even if you are touched by the old man and his sons, I will still spew my hatred into this world and destroy everything you love," he spat. "Your fear of me is plain to see."

Sakura looked up at him.

"I've seen you be better. I've seen your true form. It's golden and bright and awesome to behold. My fear won't stop me from knowing the truth."

He roared in frustration as Sakura faded from Mito's consciousness. Sakura gasped as she opened her eyes, blinking several times before she could focus again.

"Are you all right?" Mito asked her, concern in her eyes.

Sakura gave a slow nod.

"That was… intense," she breathed.

Mito swallowed and responded with a small nod of her own.

"All the seals have held. At least now I know for certain it's relatively safe."

"You probably shouldn't let just anyone inside there," Sakura said. "And definitely not Madara, or any Uchiha."

"I'll take your word for it," Mito replied with a little smile.

They both stood and let out a breath each.

"I don't know if it'll be better or not, but I told him as much as I could, so maybe he'll think it over," Sakura said with a hopeful voice and doubtful shrug.

Hashirama poked his head inside the cave.

"Are you both okay?" He asked them, sounding a little nervous.

"We are fine," Mito replied.

She gave Sakura a quick hug and whispered a thank-you in her ear before she walked over to Hashirama. Sakura watched them for a moment, Hashirama with a slightly furrowed brow, but a smile on his face and Mito, who seemed more relaxed with each moment. They fit together well. She wondered if she and Madara looked like that when they stood side-by-side, like they fit together perfectly. Apparently not, according to the Uchiha Elders.

"Sakura," Hashirama called out to her.

Sakura broke out of her thoughts and walked over to the couple.

"We need to get back to the village. The reports on the Kumo shinobi will be ready by now."

Sakura clenched her jaw.

"And if they were on orders from the Raikage?" Sakura asked him.

Hashirama set his jaw seriously and his eyes darkened. He drew Mito closer to him.

"I cannot allow such a brazen attempt of theft, let alone the insult to my wife and myself personally, pass without taking action," he replied. "Not so soon after the supposed truce between our countries."

Mito suddenly snapped her head up.

"Tobirama is back."

Hashirama looked at her in surprise.

"He isn't due back for days. I had a message last night."

Mito frowned.

"He's not alone. We should go."

Hashirama, Madara, Sakura, and Shikaru waited for Tobirama and the two Kumo shinobi he'd arrived at the gates of Konoha with to arrive at Hokage Tower. Mito and Inorou were kept in an adjoining room, whilst Mito prepared several privacy seals to make certain the discussion about to take place was kept private. They were also waiting in case Mito needed to be part of the discussion, and Inorou needed to report on their prisoners. They were meeting on the first floor in a cleared out meeting room, away from all sensitive offices and documents. Sakura drummed her fingers on the long rectangle table.

Madara glanced at her.

"How was it?" He asked.

She knew he was referring to the discussion with Kurama. She gave a little shrug.

"Not fun," she replied with a smile. "What were you doing? Paperwork? Meetings? Boring things?"

"No," he replied. "I was training."

"Oh," Sakura said with some surprise. "How was it."

"Productive and satisfying," he answered.

"You know, I haven't really trained with anyone other than Tobi and my students," she said thoughtfully.

"We should spar together!" Hashirama suddenly cut into the conversation, leaning forwards to see around Madara, and holding back the cloth of his hat. He was grinning excitedly. "We could battle to the death!"

Sakura opened her mouth in disbelief and confusion.

"What?"

"You have your seal, and I have my regeneration," Hashirama grinned. "We can have a real fight."

"A real fight would level the village," Madara commented dryly. "Neither of you have any idea how to hold back."

Sakura looked offended.

"That's not true."

Hashirama drooped into a depression, a dark cloud hanging over his head and Sakura elbowed Madara, who gave her a stern look and then rolled his eyes tiredly.

"Hashirama, pull yourself together, you fool. Until this situation is resolved, no fighting," Madara said firmly. "Tobirama is here."

His eyes spun into his Sharingan. At that moment, the door swung open, and Tobirama, looking stone-faced and clearly struggling to keep himself in check, walked in followed by two Kumo shinobi, who looked equally serious. Hashirama, Sakura saw, had immediately switched into his Hokage-mode, and all signs or cheek, depression or levity were wiped from his expression. For Kumo to come directly to Konoha was a bold and telling move, particularly for only two of them. Immediately, Sakura concluded that it was likely they were trying to avoid war as much as Hashirama was.

She sat straighter in her chair. The Kumo shinobi both swept their eyes over the room and its inhabitants, lingering on Sakura for a moment before continuing on to the Hokage. Three Leaf shinobi guards followed them in, closing the door, and taking a position along the back wall. Sakura thought they looked odd without their masks, but that wasn't a task for her. They had Itachi's notes to work from. There was a tense silence in the room.

"Lord Hokage," Tobirama said.

"Tobirama," Hashirama greeted his brother. "Welcome home, although this is unexpected."

Tobirama grimaced.

"These two claim to be sent by the Raikage, with an emergency message," he said. "They came to the border seeking an audience."

Hashirama's brows raised in interest. Tobirama took his seat on Hashirama's other side.

"Good afternoon, Lord Hokage. My name is C," the blonde, older male said. "My companion is Sarui. We are representatives sent from the Raikage of Kumogakure."

"I am the Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and this is my council. My brother, you have met. Madara Uchiha, and Lady Sakura."

The Kumo shinobi inclined their heads respectively. Sakura noticed Sarui taking a keen interest in her and she frowned at him. Shikaru, who stood behind the Hokage, wasn't introduced.

"Indeed we hope to be welcoming to those we have alliances with, however unsteady and new they might be," Hashirama said. "Your visit, however, is unexpected."

C, an imposingly large male, perhaps even bigger than the other lightning shinobi Sakura had faced, responded to the Hokage with an apologetic nod.

"We apologise for the intrusion, however, due to the fact that our treaty is new and tenuous, we were dispatched as soon as the news reached our Raikage," C said.

"And what news is that?" Madara questioned.

"That four of our shinobi had gone rogue in pursuit of the Nine-Tails," C stated.

Sakura glanced at Hashirama. She couldn't see his face through the cloth, but she saw Madara looking rigid beside her. Sarui held out a scroll.

"This is a message from our Raikage directly to you, Lord Hokage."

Hashirama nodded, and one of the guards behind the Kumo shinobi appeared, took and opened the scroll and then handed it to Hashirama, before returning to his place. Hashirama read over the scroll before he passed it over to Madara. Everyone was silent. Madara and Hashirama shared a look that Sakura didn't see.

"Lord Raikage wishes for us to reiterate that he is more than aware of the benefit to our treaty, and would not risk war between our nations during this time of redevelopment within our lands," Sarui said.

"Shikaru," Hashirama said.

Shikaru leaned in closer, heard what the Hokage said, nodded and briefly left.

"That does not change the fact that four of your shinobi invaded the Land of Fire, kidnapped unarmed two civilian women and laid a trap for two of our shinobi, " Madara said.

"We were sent as soon as the intelligence was received," C replied. "It is in neither of our interests to go to war."

"No, it is not. However - " he leaned forward, " - the target your rogue shinobi attacked was my wife."

His voice dropped threateningly low, and the entire room seemed to fall just a little darker.

"And based on nothing more than the word of a man your Raikage describes as 'crazed', people followed him into my land and attacked my people. This I cannot just overlook."

Sarui and C both glanced at each other.

"In an effort to avoid conflict between our great villages, Lord Raikage has offered to pay Konoha the bounty for each of the four shinobi," C said.

"Sakura."

Sakura was surprised to hear her name.

"What do you think?" Hashirama asked her.

Sakura suddenly felt the entire rooms attention turn to her. She swallowed and looked at C and Sarui.

"Considering I was the other shinobi your comrades attacked, I think you understand exactly how precarious the situation is," she said, trying to sound like she wasn't nervous.

Sarui looked surprised at her confession.

"We did not know that, Lady Sakura," Sarui said. "Our sincerest apologies to both you and Lady Uzumaki."

Hashirama was still waiting for her verdict.

"Since I was also the one who killed them, I'd be quite happy to take the bounty offered," she said.

She didn't notice the flickers of surprise, curiosity, anger and interest on the faces of both C and Sarui. Shikaru returned to the room carrying two scrolls that were instantly recognisable.

"You may confer with your Raikage before payment and collection of your comrades," Hashirama said, taking the scrolls from Shikaru.

"And the other two?" C asked.

"Well, I suppose I could go and kill them now if you want them dead," Madara said in a bored but clearly threatening tone.

"They're alive?" Sarui asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Madara replied cryptically.

C's jaw clenched.

"Please allow us time to communicate with our leader."

"Of course," Hashirama said. "We'll show you to your accommodations and provide you with an escort."

Sakura could see the displeasure on both of their faces.

"Thank you for your generosity," C replied with a bow of his head.

"Thank you," Sarui said.

Shikaru was given the task of caretaker over the Kumo shinobi, and the moment they left the room, Hashirama let out a loud sigh.

"You were right, Sakura," Tobirama muttered with irritation.

"About what?" Sakura asked.

"Never trust Kumo," he replied.

"Bribing us to avoid a war they know they'd lose," Madara said with some disgust. "And now they'll be even more suspicious of Mito as well."

Hashirama brought his fist down hard on the table in frustration.

"Tobi, keep watch over them, and keep them as far away from Mito as possible," he ordered.

Tobirama nodded and followed out after Shikaru and the Kumo shinobi.

"Did I make the right call?" Sakura asked quietly.

Madara gave her a small nod.

"There was little else to do," he replied. He frowned. "I didn't like the way that Sarui was looking at you."

"Neither did I," Sakura replied.

She rolled her shoulders in an effort to relax them. It had been an intense day.

"Sakura." Hashirama stood. "Join the Kumo shinobi for dinner tonight," he said.

"Excuse me?" Madara asked.

"It's not a request," Hashirama said firmly. "And the two of you are not to act too familiar until those two are gone from the village. Any word about your relationship status outside this country is only going to make the target on Sakura's back bigger."

Madara folded his arms over his chest unhappily. Hashirama left the room, and Sakura guessed he was off to find his wife, or his office and the sake he kept hidden away.

"The price of fame," Sakura said to Madara, trying to break his tension.

He gave her an unamused glower.

"You know, C is a very high-ranking official in Kumo," Sakura said.

"How do you know - " Madara shook his head. "Never mind."

Sakura chuckled.

"The Raikage is known as A, his partner as B, and so on, so forth. So C is one of the two closest to the leader. For A to send him, it must mean that he really wants to avoid conflict."

"Or he's an excellent intelligence gatherer," Madara muttered. "Do not presume the best in people in matters of politics. It will only end badly for you. This is not your time of a unified world. We are always at war."

Sakura sat back, biting her lip unhappily.

"I wish I knew more about what started the First Shinobi War," she said bitterly.

Madara pushed his chair back and ran a hand through his hair.

"War is inevitable in the life of a shinobi," he said.

"It shouldn't be," Sakura said.

"No," Madara agreed. "But it is."