I should have put another earlier disclaimer to this time-travel fiction. My only other disclaimer is that this time-travel fiction is filled with crack. Seriously, if you've read my profile or my other story, you will understand. This story is not the standard story you will get.
You have been warned. If you continue to read forward and find that it's not to your liking, don't blame me/us.
To Change or To Retain
The sharpness of the tip was as lethal as the scowl of the Senju. The furrowed eyebrows and downward lips of disdain were a spitting image of another Senju he knew very well. So this was the origin of Tsunade's temper. It was too bad that he lacked the same oozing zest as the other brown-haired Senju –– the First Hokage. The teenager was literally skipping towards them in a calm and collected manner, as if he were just prancing through a field of daisies.
"You're the spy who's been collecting the Senju's locations, aren't you?" Tobirama concluded harshly, lips downcast again.
Kakashi evaluated the scene meticulously. If he did escape this predicament, where could he go? The geographic surroundings were very different from what he was accustomed to. He could be in the Leaf right now, or at the border of Konoha, but he wouldn't know. The area lacked urbanisation and iconic landmarks for him to be able to depict his location.
Man, what a drag.
"I'm entirely innocent," Kakashi confessed lightly, hands stretched up in the air as a sign of forfeit. Unlike the ninja he had fooled a day ago, the boy remained rigid and calculative. Figures. He was a battled-hardened Senju, after all.
The Copy-ninja's eyes widened at the thought. Senju. What had happened to the Fifth Hokage? If he recalled correctly, the gate to his new eye was unlocked when he accidentally activated it and warped her in. Could she be in the same area? Or was she sent in another time period? His innate side of protectiveness burned rapidly. He was her subordinate –– her protector. He didn't have the time to deal with these discrepancies.
"I'm sorry…." His arms dropped to his sides. "I do not have the time to do this."
"What was that!?"
Within a nanosecond, Kakashi reached for the weapon and channelled his electricity through it. Since the weapon consisted of steel, it conducted his currents effectively. The Senju winced and jolted back, six feet away from him. The masked man took a hold of the sword and broke it into two, rendering it useless for Tobirama.
"I'm looking for a woman," he said carefully, knowing well that her identity isn't known in this era. "She's a friend of mine. I'm wondering if you've seen here. She's blonde with brown eyes."
"Oh!" Hashirama was enlightened, and he looked understanding of the situation. On the other hand, his younger brother folded his arms and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That's how it is!"
"Brother, don't believe this stranger!" He warned sharply. "People lie to survive in this world. Don't take things at face value so easily."
The boy bowed his head down and emitted a depressed aura, as he feigned his tears and hurt. Kakashi cocked his head to the side and found himself confused. Was the vaunted First Hokage rumoured to be a sulky and sensitive man? From the tales he had encountered during his youth, it was said that the First Hokage became dubbed as the 'God of All Shinobi' –– the most feared man in the Shinobi World. The masked prodigy was certain that he didn't achieve such recognition for his tears and oozing dramatic personality.
"What's your name?" Hashirama asked gently with a carefree smile. "Maybe I can help you find your friend."
"Brother!" Tobirama said again to protest, but it fell on deaf ears.
"Please, Tobirama," he raised his hand up to him, indicating that he wanted silence. His chocolate eyes levelled with the dark charcoal eye the Leaf shinōbi had. Hashirama could tell that the boy was more than what he actually let on. The mask was a mischievous deed to do, to keep the mystery. But he always loved a challenge. His silver hair was as pure as daylight and his only visible eye was jagged and lacklustre –– like his father's.
This man has seen death before.
Kakashi slumped his shoulders back, feeling obligated to share his identity. In the past or not, this boy he was talking to was the First Hokage –– the founder of the Leaf village, the man who simultaneously defeated Madara and the Nine-Tails. Being the obedient servant the man was, his lips parted and his tongue rolled out the syllables of his name before his brain could process it, "Kakashi Hatake."
"Hatake?" Tobirama raised a brow. "You're from a clan who's neutral from any side of this warfare?"
Hashirama cupped his chin, visibly intrigued. "I see it clearly now. He has their features –– silver hair with stone back eyes. They're just like the Uchiha, their features are all a spitting image of each other's!"
"What are you doing in this region?" The white-haired Senju inquired further, harshness coating his question. It was as lethal as the sword that was previously pressed against Kakashi's throat. One false truth, one wrong step, one unintentional provocation, and it will all be over. The Second Hokage was rumoured to be smarter than the Nara clan –– that spoke volume.
Kakashi needed to constantly remind himself that even though the Second was not yet in his prime form, he still posed a significant amount of threat. Carelessness will get him killed, he knew. Tobirama was not an ordinary brat –– he was beyond exceptional, easily surpassing the future prodigies produced in the Leaf village. His maroon coated eyes were steeled and iced; he was not wavering from his calm demeanour.
His guard was up.
His primal instincts were rearing to go.
"Perhaps the Hatake clan decided to join the war," Tobimara speculated lightly. "Is that why you're here? To spy and give feedback to your clan?"
There was wariness in his tone. Fright, maybe. The Hatake clan were always known to be a neutral party from politics (the Hatake never had much clout in the political sense), and the warfare between the war of clans in Madara and Hashirama's era. They were the smallest clan in the Leaf, but easily one of the strongest. For every generation, they would produce a hailed prodigy that would surpass the last. The Hatake clan were the hailed juggernauts within the confines of the Leaf, the elites among elites. One member could easily equate to twenty skilled ninjas. This was because they possessed profound knowledge, practicality and efficiency among an array of jutsu. They were skilled survivors, battle-hardened and sly. That's how such a small clan managed to survive through the ages.
However, due to the tragedies and ill-thought out plans during the First and Second Shinobi War, the Hatake numbers dwindled away massively. Sakumo's father and mother perished in the battlefield. And eventually, Kakashi became the next prodigy the village needed from the near extinct clan. The Hatake were essentially a dying breed.
To hear of their existence in this era oddly pleased Kakashi. His own flesh and blood were here.
"I'm not associated with the clan," he told truthfully.
"Ah, you're a rogue."
"Well––" he tried to say but was sharply interrupted.
Tobirama pulled out his substitute weapon, a sai. He crouched into a fighting stance, holding his spare hand out to stop his brother from intervening. "He's acting on his own accord, brother. He could prove to be a flight-risk –– or worse, a disgrace to his own clan. All clans have their set rules of conduct. It has been established that any traitors –– or rogues–– in a clan will suffer a death penalty. I'll take that responsibility for the Hatake clan. I'm sure they would the same for us."
Hashirama looked away, pursing his lips with disdain. His brother was not wrong. This was the conduct they abide by. Life is cruel, but this was their reality. This is the reality he seeks to change. To see his younger brother follow it without mercy or self-thought petrified him. Tobirama's young mind has already been corrupted by conducts, death and animalistic nature.
He took a step back from the scene as a sign of avocation. That was everything Tobirama needed to lunge at the Hatake. He lashed his sai upwards to avert his attention to the gleaming weapon. As Kakashi's eyes were drawn to the weapon, Tobirama took the liberty to weave hand seals within a second.
After Tobirama kneaded a sufficient amount of chakra into his stomach his hands formed the last seal: the rat. "Water style: Water Bullet technique!" An intense wave of chakra was released along with a dense amount of water from his mouth.
Although it was all impressive, Kakashi had already foretold it to happen with his shrouded sharingan. The Senju has not yet suspected his hidden eye, and Kakashi knew he had to be more carious not to show it because it would lead to more instigations that would be fruitless. Swiftly, Kakashi side-stepped and evaded the attack before he summoned his signature mud wall by his side, to stop Tobirama's eager slash that could have easily decapitated his head.
Both light-haired ninjas jumped away from each other, breathing stabilized and eyes focused. Hashirama observed from the background, astonished to what he could feel. Surely if he could feel it, Tobirama could feel it too. After all, his younger brother was gifted with a more innate sensory ability than him. There was a substantial amount of chakra tendrils emitting from Kakashi's hidden eye.
Just like an Uchiha.
Before he could investigate further, the channel of waves from his eye became non-existent. The emissions were cut off, dried out. The future First shook his head, thinking as if he had just imagined it. His attention drew to his brother who collected his breath once more.
"Tobirama," he began.
"I know," he said sharply, wiping the dripping sweat from his chin. "This boy..."
His eyes tightened, feeling weak on his knees.
The presence of his chakra was tooimmense.
"…he's not an ordinary Hatake."
Tsunade cautiously followed the future notorious terrorist of the Leaf. The man who built the foundations of the village with her grandfather. Her molten gold-hued eyes sharpened and flicked to the side with caution –– someone was tailing them. Although her sensory skills were not in the same league as her great uncle's, it was still reliable enough in a certain radius. She whipped her body back and stared into the woods.
Madara looked back. "Keep walking," he insisted, taking her by her wrist to tug her alongside him. He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "Act normal. Don't give away our innocence."
"You knew?"
"Of course. But I need them."
"Them?"
"In this war, there are the Uchiha and Senju –– the one of the biggest and most prestigious clans that have ever emerged. Then there are coalition groups, the vultures of our society. They pick on the weak, and suck the life out of them."
The pressure of his hand around her wrist heightened, making her wince unexpectedly. When he noticed her discomfort he immediately released her and curtly apologized, startling her. She never thought that a man with an infamous sinister nature would be so apologetic. Then again, animosity and hatred are bred, not born. Tsunade has never subscribed to the belief that people are born evil; that their origins of hatred derive from the moment they were formed in the foetus.
It may be fate that steered them into darkness, but it never forms straight from the womb. She saw this in Orochimaru…. and even in Kakashi. Although the two are entirely different scenarios, they did succumb to darkness at one point in their lives. But they were never born like that. Orochimaru may have been an aloof child from the beginning, someone who belonged to their own universe, but that was only because his thoughts far surpassed his peers. He was in a league of his own. Despite that, he was a gentle child. Tsunade remembered: he was always secretly soft.
But that all changed when his parents died in battle; when his eyes were opened to the limitations of the human body and the capacity of one's life force. He sought for immortality, because of the trauma of losing his parents so abruptly, so inhumanely. That was where his evil nature derived from.
Not from birth.
Then, there was Kakashi, the prodigy and trophy of Sakumo and his late wife. He was not a soft child by any means, but that was because he was oblivious about standard social norms. He was an empty canvas from it. His emotions were completely drowned by Ninja law and jutsu. Since his childhood, he was governed by a set of rules and regulations. He was the machine the Leaf manufactured, the perfect mould for a loyal dog for the greater good of the village.
That is where Kakashi's darkness comes from. Sakumo, Obito, Rin, Minato –– everyone Kakashi's ever cared for –– fell to their deaths because of the Ninja Decree. Their deaths only forged the shroud of darkness in his heart. His service in the ANBU, his near-miss betrayal of the Hokage, his ruthless nature and reputation were all blood-stained tragedies that came from the way he was brought up.
Of course, unlike Orochimaru, he fought against his demons and surfaced as a new man. But, with every small glimpses, Tsunade couldn't help but shudder when she saw a snippet of his dark masked alter ego. His other side remained hidden from the world, but it still lingered under the surface of his mask. His inner demon still lurked... and that was the scariest part of Kakashi.
His personality shouldn't be taken at face value, because underneath it all –– underneath all the grime and tears –– Kakashi hid a very deadly side to him.
Seeing it in person was enough to paralyse Tsunade. And she wasn't the type of person to submit to fear so easily, too.
"They took elders from my clan, people who have not stained their hands with blood. It's unforgivable." Madara's voice suddenly pulled Tsunade out from her musings, enlightening her with his passion for others.
"What do you plan on doing?"
"Kill them."
"But––!"
"I'll spare one to tell me my elders' location. Should he resist…." He bit his tongue back, "Well, I won't let it come to that. I should spare three, just in case, to spare myself from discrepancies. People will often bark as loud as they can for survival, I cannot have that."
"Is that why––"
"Yes. I'm leading them to an open field, to slaughter them."
"The numbers are against you!" What was she saying? He's known to have heavenly powers that were compared to a God. He's just a child now, though. Surely his prowess will be greatly restrained. Even the greatest ninjas has their downfall. This was his limitation –– his fragile and young body. If she helped him….
"I'm already one of the strongest in my clan," Madara stated suddenly. "Just watch, I'll save my fellow clansmen."
Tsunade felt her gut tighten; his chakra just boiled forth.
This was the Madara Uchiha she heard folktales about.
Metal clashed with metal. Fist punched through air, foot dug in abdomen. Jutsu countered and deflected jutsu. It was all becoming fruitless. Both ninjas panted and collected their breaths without wavering.
"You haven't performed much ninjutsu," Tobirama noted. "You've stuck with taijutsu and kenjutsu."
"I don't want to fight you." Kakashi stood back up on his feet, dusting away the debris off his clothing. He twirled the kunai back into his pouch and pushed his hair back, finally revealing his closed scarred eye.
"I've got to say, you're impressive to have put up a fight." The Senju's compliment fell short when his scowl resurfaced again, "But I'm taking you down."
"Tobirama…!"
"Water style–" His hands shakily weaved another set in quick succession.
"Like I said before, I have no business with you." Kakashi abruptly stated without batting an eyelash at the incoming attack. "I'm here to find a friend of mine." A friend of not, he needed to find Tsunade. She was the Hokage, after all. And he was her subordinate. It is his absolute duty to keep her safe. If he were to fail this ––
"-Instant bullets!"
Dozens upon dozens of moulded water were shot at Kakashi at tremendous speed. However, in a flicker of an eye, the Hatake's presence dissipated into nothingness. Tobirama flinched back and ceased fire, realizing the flaw in his self-absorbed attack. He lost his target, but it only had been a second.
Where did he go?
A shimmer of the reflected sunshine shone underneath him before the sharpness of the blade was leaned gently against his throat. Tobirama's hands fell shamefully to his sides and he bowed his head down in disgrace. A Senju –– a boy like him –– was caught from behind?!
"Game over," Kakashi spoke icily, composed.
Before Kakashi could justify his action and clear his name from the eager Senju's kill-list, he faced grave interruption by another Senju member. To his surprise, it wasn't Hashirama who intervened, but a stronger man.
"Father!" The First Hokage gaped, awestruck by his sudden appearance.
"For you to just watch an enemy press a weapon against your brother's neck is unforgivable, Hashirama." He scolded evenly, clenching his hand into a ball. "You'll face discipline when we come home to our compound."
Before Kakashi could react, or even register to the situation, the elder Senju dashed forward and grabbed a hold of his face. The Hatake didn't remember anything past the sensation of his head being bashed into the rigid ground. His consciousness was stolen away and his body was left limp by the Senju.
"Father, he wasn't going to kill Tobirama!" Hashirama protested finally.
"How would you know that?"
"Because…."
"You don't. We all have a common enemy –– the Uchiha –– but under all that, we also have other enemies to deal with. Brats like these are a threat. He could have killed the only brother you have left!"
Tobirama fell onto his knees and held his throat with relief. Before he could thank the leader of the Senju clan, he was sent to the other side by a single kick to the stomach. His body thumped onto the ground before it rolled several times. He groaned, holding his stomach, coughing up a tinge of blood from his mouth.
"Weak!" Butsuma spat with apparent disgust. "I taught you better than that!"
"I'm sorry, father."
"Save the apologies till later." He turned his back to both of his sons and led the way back to their hideout. "And bring that boy with you."
"W-Why?" Tobirama gasped.
"He's a mongrelised Hatake, that's why."
"What do you mean?"
"He possesses the sharingan." He looked over his shoulder with a wary look on his face.
Hashirama flinched but remained quiet. So his speculations were correct. It wasn't just his imagination. The boy did have a sharingan in his arsenal. That is why he was able to perceive attacks that could not have been easily followed by an ordinary human eye.
"We'll keep him as a prisoner."
"What for?"
"We can use him as a weapon."
Tsunade stood –– well, she was frozen with amazement –– by the raw carnage Madara reigned over the men he deceived into the open area. She has never witnessed a child have such a composure to wage war so heartlessly. It was natural in his eyes. He did it without exerting much effort. She looked at him without saying anything.
He clung to the sword shakily after killing the remaining three he extensively interrogated for questions of their whereabouts. He bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling before he turned on his heel to face the blonde. "Are you going to run away?" he asked.
"No." As much as she wanted to part with him, she needed to settle somewhere stable and get replenished before she could start piecing this shithole together. "What are you going to do now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He slotted his weapon back into its compartment and jumped on a tree branch. "I'm going to save my family."
Tsunade followed him and overcame the obstacles of the forest, running without any stops to the alleged whereabouts of his captured elders. They stopped on their trail and found a sealed tomb that towered over the both of them. It had to be six meters tall. The boulder was titanic and the Uchiha lacked the power to move it. He could easily summon his fire style, but he feared that he would overestimate the boulder's density and burn his family inside.
He reached for his sword and dashed forward, slashing at it relentlessly. His sword became awfully jagged per strike he ensued out of plain rage of helplessness. With the final ounce of frustration he had left to bleed, his sword broke into two. His feet touched the ground once more and he backed away, breathing unstable and on the verge of hysteria.
"Damn it," he sneered.
Tsunade stood quietly, contemplating on what she could do. She could either help him or feign helplessness and watch him fall into complete hysteria. It may be her lineage and the Senju blood that resonated within her, but helping an Uchiha made her feel cold. Of course, she's worked with a couple of Uchiha before, but it was a different era. The Uchiha she worked with believed in peace with the Senju, but Madara didn't. Helping him now would feel as if she were betraying own clan.
On the other hand…. this was his family. Even she would grovel on her knees and beg for help from a rivalling clan to save her loved ones. What if it were Nawaki and Dan trapped in that sealed cave? She would do anything to get them out of it. Be it her pride, dignity or her ability to be a ninja, she would sacrifice anything for them.
"I can help." Tsunade finally spoke up with resolute, engulfing her hand with potent chakra and allowing for it to fully enflame. She stepped closer to the imposing boulder, analysing the situation. If she were to smash the boulder into pieces –– which she could easily do –– the fragments may hurt the people who were inside. With a huff, the blue translucent flame around her fist dwindled and concentrated around her index finger, instead.
"Oi, what could you possibly do?" Madara asked with a sceptical frown. She didn't contribute to the fight he was just involved with. If anything, she stepped away.
"Stand back," she warned, raising her arm up. Before he could hesitantly comply, she slashed down at the boulder, halving into two. Hastily, she concentrated her chakra back into her entire hand and grabbed a hold of one side and hurled it to the other side, narrowly missing Madara's side. She looked over her shoulder without an apologetic expression, "I did tell you to stand back."
Madara watched, wide-eyed, as Tsunade broke the other half into smithereens. She stepped into the darkened cave with nonchalance, but he knew better. "That's been rigged!" He vociferated desperately, shifting on his feet to prevent her from going in further.
Tsunade already saw through the rigged traps and swiftly took a side-step to dodge the incoming kunais. Swiftly, after channelling a coating of chakra around her fingers, she slashed through the steel wires and punched the incoming boulder from above with irritation. This wasn't going to end was it? Another set of projectiles launched at her. In a lithe motion: she dodged, deflected and defused the last kunai that had an explosive attached to it.
At the end of the dark cave, she saw a family curled up, shivering out of fear and the cold. Madara dashed in and helped the elders out of the humid cave. "Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?" he questioned persistently, kneeling down next to them.
"We're fine, Madara." One elder man spoke curtly before he looked up at Tsunade. "Who are you?"
She wanted to snort out derisively. The audacity of some clansmen really amuses her. She saved them, yet this is what she gets –– a bunch of dirty looks and boring eyes. She really shouldn't have expected much from the Uchiha clan. They were not all that expressive to begin with.
Madara stood up. "Yeah, you haven't introduced yourself to me, either."
"My name is Tsunade," she said plainly, not wishing to expose her last name. It was seen to be taboo within the Uchiha clan. And since she wanted to keep her head attached to her body, she didn't want to cause an uproar and pandemonium.
"Thank you for saving us."
She looked down and saw a woman within the group holding her recently lacerated arm. Slowly, she knelt down and took her arm. Then, after calming her protests down, she placed her hand onto the wound and knitted it back together with the help of her chakra. Her eyes trailed upwards to Madara who was stood adjacent to her, watching her meaningfully.
Onyx black met molten hazel. Hatred met the Will of Fire.
His eyes flickered with mild curiosity.
"It's nice to meet you, Tsunade." He finally said calmly, blinking once before he continued to scrutinize her healing prowess, along with the raw strength she displayed earlier.
Her lips arched upwards into a faint smile though she didn't produce any niceties to reciprocate. She continued to heal the former hostages who were supposedly taken for negotiation. According to Madara, they were subjected to ransoms in exchange for the elders' safety.
Interesting, she thought. She never thought the Uchiha was such a compassionate clan to even care for the frail and weak.
The girl was strong, Madara concluded in his mind. Albeit not as strong as his fellow clansmen, she was strong.
And he was always fond of strong people.
Kakashi awoke. Though deeply disorientated from the blow he received from the Head of the Senju clan. He groaned and tried to outstretch his arms, only to find them bound by shackles of chains. He looked side to side: he has been restrained next a stone cold wall –– he was in a cellar.
He tried to wring himself free, to no avail. His feet shifted and attempted to push his body up, but... it proved to be fruitless. "Goddamn it," he cursed under his breath, bowing his head to let his sweat trickle down his face.
His cellar door was opened and Hashirama stepped in lightly. He shone the lantern at Kakashi and sat down on the damp ground. His meekness still remained untouched, even though he had bruises on his face that weren't previously there. He finally grinned to ease him from the ball of isolation.
"I'm really sorry about this," said Hashirama.
"I…." Kakashi breathed, "…. I don't have time for this."
"Ah, yes. You need to find your friend, right?"
"That's right," he spoke, looking up slightly to make eye contact with the founder of the future Leaf village. "I need to find her so we can…." He groaned as he tried to slip past the chains that were around his wrists.
Hashirama cupped his chin with intrigue. "Is that why you're no longer in your clan? Because you wanted to meet with this friend of yours?"
"No…"
"You can tell me, you know. I won't tell anyone." He said reassuringly, thumping his thumb onto his chest. "It's a man's honour."
"We got separated, that's all. We uhm…" he licked his lips. How could he possibly concoct a believable scenario? He couldn't just say the truth and expect Hashirama to believe him. They slipped into the cracks of his dimension, that's what happened. Who would believe that he has some kind of eye-sucking jutsu that warps into another dimension? Thinking of it was just as ridiculous as he thought.
"Could this girl be…" he started to giggle childishly, as a mischievous expression emerged from his face. "Could she be your girlfriend or something?"
Kakashi gave a wry smile, chuckling under his breath. The thought of it was unfathomable. She was a woman of his father's generation, she was the Hokage, and he was just a disposable subordinate. To receive such a question would obviously catch him off-guard. Then again, Hashirama was unaware that the girl he was referring to was his future granddaughter.
"No, she's not. Just a friend."
Hashirama sat upright and crossed his legs. "Tell me more about this mysterious girl!"
"I don't know much about her," he told truthfully, hanging his head low again. "I just need to find her, before…." Before they tamper with the past too much that it changes the future –– Naruto's generation, to be exact. They could end up being a catalyst for some kind of grand scheme that will gravely affect the future generations. If they weren't too careful, they could ruin everything. After all, this was where everything started, in the First's generation.
"I see…." He looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry –– if I had any say in this, I would let you go, but I don't."
"No need to apologize…"
"Father's coming soon."
"An interrogation, huh?" He wanted to chuckle.
"The sharingan: how did you get it?"
Kakashi closed his eyes tightly, taking himself back to the distant memory he locked from his brain. The sudden impact of a falling stone changed everything. He fell and Obito saved him from his demise. He then gave him his eye to see the future. Thinking about it all made his lips purse, but he didn't let it crack through his façade.
"I… don't remember," he lied.
"Hashirama," a masculine voice called from afar. "Get out of there now!"
"Y-Yes, father!" He hurriedly scurried out of the cellar after waving him goodbye.
Butsuma stepped into the darkened seclusion with his arms crossed, glowering down at the helpless child who was chained to the wall. He dipped his hand down and grabbed a hold of Kakashi's face, forcibly yanking his face up towards him. His lips twisted in scorn at the closed eye.
"That eye, child…." He dangerously spoke. "You're going to use it for the Senju clan."
"You're going to bargain with an unknown child with a sharingan? Isn't that like pitting yourself with an Uchiha?"
"The difference is, you're not an Uchiha –– at least, not a full-breed. My son, the one you fought, informed me that your name is Kakashi Hatake. The fact that you said that you're a Hatake and not an Uchiha speaks volumes."
"I may have lied."
"You do not have the characteristics of the Uchiha clan. Not to mention, your chakra signature is not like the Uchiha. If anything, you're nothing but a puppy compared to some of the Uchiha I have encountered."
"Still, to rely on a sharingan…" he openly mused.
"I don't care how you obtained it –– whether your line was mongrelised by an Uchiha –– but I do want to use it to end this war between us clans. It has gone on for far too long."
Kakashi hung his head down again. "I'll help, but in one condition…"
"You're not on the negotiating side here, boy."
"I need to look for a friend of mine. I will not be locked up in this cellar –– and I will be able to train as if I were a fellow member of your clan."
"I am a Senju––!"
"I'm aware." He dryly said, craning his neck again. "That's why your killing intent for an Uchiha is almost palpable. Had I been an Uchiha, you would have surely killed me in an instant. You wouldn't negotiate. But since I'm an outcast from both clans –– Hatake and Uchiha –– you're willing to cooperate."
"I'm only doing this because you possess the sharingan. The matured pattern of it as well. Only the Head of the Uchiha and a couple of others have such a pattern. For you –– a non-full breed ––to have such a pattern is unheard of." He folded his arms again, "If the Senju clan were to obtain the power of the sharingan, we can finally take the lead in the war. Even though you only obtain one eye, you have a rare patterned tomoe. It's more powerful than most clan members of the Uchiha."
"Do you agree to my terms or not?"
Butsuma rolled his shoulders back, easing slightly. "Fine, but I'm going to assign both of my sons to survey your every move. If you try and leave this area Kakashi, there will be consequences."
"I'm ready for them." He smiled. At least, he managed to negotiate a little bit of his freedom. It was better than being bound in a cellar without a source of light. This could still mean that he will have a chance to find the Fifth Hokage.
In order to keep the past from being tampered with any further, he needs to find her – pronto.
Tsunade sauntered into the territory of the Uchiha with caution. For such a uniformed clan, they sure lacked the precedence of having lookouts and patrols for any enemies. Madara was immediately greeted by a smaller Uchiha who raced up to him with a sword in his hand. "Brother!"
She was taken aback slightly when she saw Madara smile and pat his younger sibling on the head. Her demeanour fell downcast. Their sibling love and affection reminded her of Nawaki, and how he would always greet her like that… in the past.
She clenched the fabric of her clothing and looked away, refusing to witness anything more that will just remind her of the past she used to have. However, no matter how much she reprimanded herself in her head, her eyes traced back to Madara and his sibling grinning about sparring later that night.
Having a sibling must be nice, she sadly thought.
"Izuna," the older Uchiha finally said as he gestured towards her, "this is Tsunade."
The other Uchiha glanced at her and frowned. "She's not an Uchiha."
"A civilian," Madara clarified. "Father told me to keep the civilians away from the battlefield. We were initially going to take her to the outskirts to flee and find refuge, but…."
"You changed your mind?"
"Yes. That's why I need to speak to father. Immediately."
Tajima appeared from the corner of their main compound with a stoic expression. "You asked for me?"
Madara immediately showed his respect and bowed down. "Yes, father. I'd like for you meet Tsunade. She's the one who saved the elders of our clan."
Tajima's attention shifted to the blonde girl, eyeing her from head to toe. A girl saved the elders? No girl –– or woman –– was privy in the battlefield. Yet his son was claiming that she saved his lost clansmen? What in God's name is happening? "I thought I said that all civilians were to be taken to the outskirts for safety. Why did you bring her here?"
"Father," Madara calmly spoke. "She's an expert in medical ninjutsu."
"A…. what?" His clan lacked from such an ability. Whilst his clan had the gift of sight that the Senju lacked, they were rendered naught from the ability to heal. They didn't specialise in such expertise –– yet the Senju thrived in it. To have a woman to have healing abilities was a godsend. Finally, they could heal wounded soldiers quicker and more efficiently. Even though it's just one medical ninja, it was still better than the odds of having none.
"It's true, Tajima-sama," the woman whom Tsunade healed earlier on added. "She healed the deep laceration on my arm within a couple of seconds!"
He stared at Tsunade with heightened interest.
"You'll do."
She frowned in return. "What do you mean?"
"From now on, you'll be responsible for healing all the clan members. In exchange, we'll keep you fed and safe."
Tsunade swallowed thickly at the predicament she found herself in. This was a devil's offer. By healing the Uchiha members, she will be betraying her own clan who were fighting on the other side.
However, by doing this and cooperating with them, maybe she could change the trajectory of the course of time. Maybe she could change the outcome and the chain of hatred that still feeds into the present generation.
She looked at Madara who waited for her answer.
"Fine. As long as you keep your end of the deal."
Tajima smirked, "Do not fret, I'm a man of my word."
For the second time, the Fifth glanced at the boy who will later on: wage war against the Leaf, and attempt to destroy it with the Nine-Tails. Her eyes tightened. For the sake of the future –– to change everything ––
Madara will be her main priority.
Exciled3