Sometimes when I write I feel like I'm not putting enough "soul" into the piece. Do tell me if you feel that way as well. Reviews say you liked the story. They also say you want me to continue.

Tobirama's attire: When he is not on ANBU missions he where's the black shoes and pants of a regular Jonin. A linked chainmail undershirt, a long sleeved black shirt, a cloth belt, a black Kimonolike sleeveless shirt on top of that and gloves with metal shin guards (like Kakashi's). The only other addition is a Katana he wears on the left side of his belt.


CH4

Another puff of smoke escaped from the confines of a pipe, disapparating with the help of an open window. The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzun took another whiff of his pipe as his thumb traced the glass frame of himself and his gennin squad. Where were they now? Tsunade, Jiraya? Today was one of those nights when all the missions were stamped out and Hokage business was taken care off. It also counted among those numerous nights in which insomnia dogged his footsteps and guilt decided to join him for company hitting him full force in the gut.

How much more shinobi would he have to sacrifice for peace? How much more to give up? He was old and he was beginning to feel his age. Today he had lost another battle. He couldn't understand why the second had left him in charge when he failed so miserably at protecting the village, this time from itself. He was incompetent, unable to even keep the peace between the village and the Uchiha. Now one of their own would have to do what should have been avoided at all costs. Another shinobi of Konoha sacrificed because of his own inability to placate the Uchiha.

He wanted so much to retire, to call quits. But he couldn't step down, not now, not when there was truly no one to inherit the will of fire from him.

He traced his thumb over the smiling faces of his students. Jiraya, Tsunade, and the poker face of Orochimaru. Perhaps he would make a good Hokage. But he was too unstable always in danger of falling down the darker path, he had seen it himself, but, he had also seen a side of his student he never thought he would.

The war had killed his students. Physically they were fine, but sometimes the hidden scars are the largest one can carry. Jiraya was always somewhat of a slacker and many were not surprised when he took an extended sabbatical leaving the village behind for his "research." But Sarutobi had seen right through the excuse. His student was running, running from his failures, from the deaths of his students that would always hang over him like shadows. The research only helped alleviate the pain just like paperwork helped him focus on the present. Then there was Tsunade. He blamed himself for her losses. It was not easy to be Hokage. To know that it was you who sent your students lover to their death. He didn't even know of her location. Probably gambling and getting stone drunk in random bars. She was very strong willed that woman but the war had destroyed her.

And then there was Orochimaru, he would never admit it but Orochimaru always had a soft spot in his heart. He reminded Sarutobi of himself in his youth, an orphaned prodigy, ambitious with charisma. Only his heart was colder perhaps he hoped more durable. He had thought that out of them all the genius would come out unmarred. Well, those two years of bringing up the worst case scenarios of his students deeds made him lose that hope. It seemed that the one who had let it on the least had lost himself the most for if a heart of ice is shattered there is nothing left to take its place. So he had been surprised at how vulnerable and human Orochimaru had been that night five years ago…..

The retrieval arc had been a success. Well an "official success." More information was acquired on the labs by the two semi sane Anbu who made it back to Konoha. But the price had been high. Thirteen Anbu lives were sacrificed to the cruel brutality of the "rogue" organization that existed in the rain.

Placing down his pen the third Hokage paced his office. He received a report that Wolf was in critical condition. He sighed as he removed his ridiculous hat. Not only was Tobirama the current head of the near extinct Senju clan but he was also Orochimaru's student and Tsunade's nephew, both of who had been his students, making the Anbu operative a part of his own teaching line and like Kakashi, Tobirama would always be a regret. Granted he was never prone to suicidal tendencies but he had lost his uncle and indirectly his aunt and sensei to the war. With these thoughts in mind Sarutobi made his way to Orochimaru's lab, where he heard the teen was.

The dimly lit cave always unnerved him somewhat. He passed several empty cells and entered a dimly lit cave with several tables one of them a med table had the ailing Senju. It was only feet away from a desk pushed to the wall with several shelves of potions above them at each side. Sheets littered with what appeared to be formulas littered the floor.

The rapid scribbling suddenly stopped the pen pausing mid-sentence, plunging the cave into silence save the periodic droplets of water which fell.

"Have you come here to gloat?"

"Remember what you told me once Sensei? Well are you happy now? What was it you said about Karma? That it would one day bit me? Is this what you wanted?" The hiss cut the sharp silence followed by a gray flask hurled at the opposite end of the cave. The marksmanship was impressive due to the distance. The glass exploded into shards which fell in clinks onto the cave floor.

"Are you happy now?"

The intensity of the action unnerved Sarutobi, stealing his words away. "-No"

His student walked over to the table where Tobirama lay his chest rising and falling too quickly under the bandages for even Sarutobi who knew little to no medical ninjutsu.

"I would never rejoice at the pain of my student. I never mean it in that way."

"LEAVE!"

"I am sorry." Surprised as he was that Orochimaru was so deeply affected by the looming end of his student Sarutobi knew what it was like. Even losing the students of his students was painful for him. How much more so if he lost Tsunade or Jiraya?

Walking toward his student he reached out and settled a hand on his students shoulder in a comforting gesture but Orochimaru flinched away gripping the sides of the med table.

"He's not dead yet." Orochimaru hiss sounded more like it was to console himself rather than make a statement.

Sarutobi studied the white haired man. Crisscrossing his arms were black sealing marks which were slowly disapparating into the air leaving behind what looked like thin knife cuts. The design reminded him greatly of the human time bombs the rock sometimes made of the captured leaf ninja.

"How much longer?"

"Hours at best, if he were not Senju he would have been unable to fight the poison for this long and would have died three days after injection. The antidote! No variation is good ENAUGH!" The yell echoed eerily in the cave.

The sannin walked up to a table and with a sweep of his arm chemicals and viles clattered to the floor. Sarutobi took a step back slightly fearing for his students remaining sanity.

"I killed them all you know Sensei." He chuckled darkly his eyes staring blankly at the cave wall. His head turned slowly to face Sarutobi. "You must be really proud of me Sensei! It was a new record! Twelve men in under four minutes."

"There was a boy you know a very odd one with glasses and white hair….." he continued his eyes meeting Sarutobi's. "The head medic he was only ten!" The hysterical laughing started again causing the fear in his heart to sharpen.

"The Orochimaru I knew wouldn't give up so easily."

"The Orochimaru you knew would have the antidote hours AGO!" Another piece of glass was sacrificed to the sannins temper.

Sarutobi flinched at the grating killing intent which vanished when it produced a sharp intake of breath from Tobirama whose legendary sensory skills were apparently still present even in his current state.

Orochimaru walked to back to his workdesk and bent over a new sheet of paper. "Leave me to my work." The defeated tone did not encourage the Hokage. Leaving his student in this state was out of question.

"I will stay."

Picking up an overturned chair which must have as well suffered at the hands of his student in his wrath he settled by Tobirama. He looked so much like he second that for a moment Sarutobi felt young again.

Orochimaru muttered something under his breath but didn't cease writing. An hour passed. Not once did his student pause. Viles were tossed every so often, the number of sheets that littered the floor increased though most were torn up in anger and frustration. Sarutobi monitored Tobirama whose temperature was rising rapidly, droplets of sweat beading his face.

Suddenly after another half an hour there was a pause. And then more writing. And another even longer pause that almost always indicated a breakthrough.

"Of course, ridiculously simple." Chemicals were combined with precision and speed. Several more were combined and then poured into a syringe.

The syringe was inserted into Tobirama's shoulder. Almost instantly he began to stir an echo of pain wracking through his body. Orochimaru smoothed away the white hair plastered to the fevered forehead and forced a current healing chakra to bring about his student faster.

"Whe're?" The broken voice indicated that speaking hurt causing Sarutobi to look down in pity at the boy.

"My lab." Tobirama's eyes fluttered closed.

"My left hand the're?"

"Can't feel't"

"It's there," his students cool voice broke the silence cutting through Sarutobi's guilt at what the dead Anbu must have been put through. "I will repair it after I remove the toxin."

"It was a coll'ction of missing nin." Tobirama suddenly gripped at Orochimaru's wrist eyes struggling to open. The hoarse whisper continued. "Insane chakra level's." His hand suddenly fell dully to his side eyes beginning to lose focus.

A moan escaped echoing loudly in the silent cave, eyes rolling back. "Tobirama!" Orochimaru's hand instantly hovered over the forehead adding chakra a frown tugging at his lips. "Tobirama report!"

The command had its effect. Slits opened with effort as Tobirama struggled to gain consciousness.

Sarutobi frowned. "He needs rest the report can wait…"

"He needs to stabilize first." Orochimaru's dismissive voice was back, Sarutobi never thought he would ever miss it but the relief he felt of his student's sudden return of reason made his shoulders droop. Iron weights removed.

That had been a long night. One where he was forced to watch Orochimaru literally drag the poison out from his student's cells as two Anbu operatives held down one of their own. Orochimaru had surprised him that night. Most would have given up. Most would have never attempted to look for a cure but he had. He had been the one who insisted on retrieval. The one who threatened to go himself if he had to, in place of where, Sarutobi himself would have given up. This had spoken volumes to him. Perhaps his student wasn't a lost cause. Perhaps he had closed off his heart because he cared too much. But if anything else was an indicator he was here in the village and two out of his three students survived. That's what Sarutobi called a good record.


I do realize that I am writing many flashbacks, but this is just to give a basic understanding of the changes that occurred, I will of course be writing the other Jonin in soon. Next chapter I am planning for Anko to make an appearance.