The delay is because we merged our writing together! It took quite some time to find a medium we both were comfortable with. I bet you can't really differentiate our work now! *grins triumphantly* Also, a big thank you for the great reception! I didn't think that this fic would garner quite an audience already. :)
The said disclaimer still stands: this story is crack. Don't be butt-hurt when things happen and you go: "WTF?" I've warned y'all for the second time - and this is the last. Do you still want to read? Then WELCOME! :D
The Battlefield of the Young
"This is where you will sleep," Madara gestured to the open-spaced room they had –– clearly devoid of any unnecessary furniture. It had a bed, a drawer to keep the clothes in, and a lattice screen to get changed behind. Although barren, the sliding doors towards the koi pond they held inside the compound brought in a sufficient amount of sunlight to lift up the overall setting of the mundane room.
Tsunade slumped her shoulders back and rolled her eyes. It wasn't a room she has grown accustomed to –– being in the Hokage chambers and all –– but she was a ninja who was flexible in any given situation. Room preference shouldn't be a problem for a person who previously slept on mud during the Second Shinobi War.
"Perfect," she said finally.
The shaggy-haired Uchiha arched a brow at the blonde, as he thinned his lips. "You look familiar." His sudden speculation was as sharp as the weapon he held behind him. Although without the fearful blood-laden eyes, Tsunade could feel the extent of his scrutiny as he fleshed her out with his frozen gaze. After several moments of musing around, he resigned his defeat and placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "I need some sleep."
Relief flooded back into the Fifth, knowing well that she has managed to get away from his steeled eyes. Since she had great resemblance with her grandfather; it wouldn't be a surprise to see Madara grow suspicious about her origins. She merely smiled, half-heatedly, out of relaxation knowing that her identity was still shrouded in mystery. For now, she's just a girl who was God's blessing to the Uchiha clan.
Much to their dismay, she was no blessing.
"So do you," she lightly retaliated. "You look like a commoner."
He expressed a slanted-grin, beyond amused at how ferocious her bite was, even after the reveal of his affiliation. He's never met someone to have such a fiery spirit in the presence of his clan before. The sight of seeing someone quiver in fear had become the common sight, that he's forgotten that people like her actually existed. Her expression, her strength…. it was unlike he's ever seen before.
"Where did you learn medical ninjutsu?" He asked in a more serious tone, levelling his gaze slightly.
Tsunade leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking highly at him. "It's for me to know, and for you to find out." Just as he was about to protest, she added: "I will provide aid for your people, but you will not have the right to inquire more about me. I hate talking about myself."
The look on Madara's face suggested that he didn't seem to mind. "Then I'll make it my business to find out more about you, Tsunade. If that's even your real name." He inserted his hand inside his kimono and allowed his arm to rest in it before he casually walked out of her room with a look of determination. "Let's talk some other time," he waved lazily without looking back, wandering down deeper into the hall until his silhouette was nowhere to be seen.
She sighed and slid the door closed. "Good grief…" This was going to be harder than she thought. Not that she's concocted an effective plan as of now. Since Madara was rumoured to have caused the calamity of the Nine Tails' Invasion –– it would mean that he found a way to cheat death. Which was quite impossible to do since Hashirama saw to his death.
Could it just be a rumour or was it the truth?
Did Madara actually find a way to cheat death?
"What's your name again?" A brisk voice echoed in the room, startling the blonde immediately.
She turned on her heels, ready to gather up enough chakra from her system to garner up enough power to initiate an offensive strike. However, she fell still on her feet when she saw a pair of stone-cold eyes coolly analysing her brash move.
"You're…!"
"Izuna," he finished. "Madara is my older brother."
"I see…" Shit, she mentally swore. The boy's presence was kept hidden for such a long time that she didn't even sense him. His features, those damned eyes, and that protective gaze were far too familiar. He wore the shadow of Sasuke Uchiha's persona and appearance –– along with that overwhelming admiration for his older brother. Damn it all to hell. If he's going to be anything like Sasuke, he will certainly hinder her from her future plans.
Izuna waited quietly for several seconds before he asked again, "What's your name?"
This time, the blonde didn't flinch. "Tsunade."
"No affiliation?" He prodded further. The scrutiny lying deep in his pupils were all too revealing. Not even the darkest depths of his obsidian eyes could hide the scepticism he held against her.
Her lips curled into a foxy grin. This has been the first time –– in a very long time –– that someone has had such an audacity to stare daggers right in front of her. From a child, no less. Before he could open his mouth to further back her into a corner, she quirked her eyebrow up. "Should it matter?"
"It does."
"Being an orphan leaves you without an affiliation. Orphaned children are common, especially in this senseless war."
"Then how do you know ninjutsu?"
"Is it a crime to know of such a thing?"
"You're not bred to be a ninja. Of course it arouses suspicion."
"You talk too much for your age, you know that." Her hazel eyes darkened into a more molten hue, highlighting her growing agitation. "You don't need to be bred to be a ninja to have access to chakra. Chakra, once accessed, can be used in two different ways: to kill or to save. I chose to save. From thereon I have harnessed and refined my abilities as a medic."
Izuna took a careful step forward, eyeing her with amusement. "For one, my age does not define my intelligence, so don't mistake me for a mere brat. Secondly, you're wrong –– killing people can also save others. What do you think this war is about?"
"You tell me." She crossed her arms again.
"It's to save our existence; even if that means killing off those who want to exterminate us." His lips thinned in the same manner Madara's did. "You're not an Uchiha, and I don't trust outsiders. But since my brother brought you here, I'll give you my benefit of the doubt."
Tsunade feigned a smile. "You won't regret it."
"Madara," the Head Clan called out sternly from the shadows.
His son halted from his hasty tracks and looked over his shoulder, eyeing him like a hawk. "Father," he addressed back evenly, hiding his perturbed nature. He was already in great danger of being late to his secret rendezvous with the mysterious bowl-head kid. They promised to spar today –– it would most definitely suck to miss that opportunity.
"Do you trust that girl?" Tajima softly asked. "She's causing a divide within the clan. That's the last thing we need, but we need a medic in this field. If you give me your confidence, my dear son, then I will also relay my trust on that girl throughout the entire clan."
Madara rested his arm in his kimono. "I don't know yet, father. We'll know soon enough, anyway. So far, from what I've gathered, she's more than she seems. She's a powerful and gifted girl. We'll just have to give it some time."
He nodded understandably, "It's your call, my son."
"And this is it." The youngster dipped down and grabbed a small stone, smirking slightly. "Excuse me, father, I'm going out for a second."
"What are you going to do?"
"Skip stones." He innocently smiled.
Kakashi shamelessly dragged his barefeet behind Butsuma who strictly escorted him around their headquarters. He received the same stern glances from each and every member of the Senju clan. They were analysing his abilities –– and were weighing if he was worth to be gambled on. Each stare, each contortion of facial features, each sigh left the silver-haired ninja quite amused with the mono-expression they welcomed him with.
Since when were clans ever friendly with him anyway?
At the end of the shroud of the crowd was Tobirama with a gigantic sword resting on his shoulder. The weapon could have easily been his size, but that didn't seem to deter the ambitious boy from choosing it as his replacement for the sword Kakashi broke in their incident yesterday. He pursed his lips but he remained resilient despite his explosive nature. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle.
It turns out Tsunade took after her grand-uncle rather than her grandfather.
"You'll be guarding him for the day, Tobirama," Butsuma sharply ordered. "Your brother has gone out into the woods to patrol. So I'm leaving you with this boy –– don't let me down, understand?"
He nodded obediently. "Yes, father."
"Good."
Kakashi approached Tobirama and jumped on the boulder platform he stood on. He sat down and took a breather. "I'm not going anywhere."
The other boy stabbed his sword into place, creating a divide between him and the outsider. As moments passed them along with the gentle breeze that interweaved with the locks of his hair, Tobirama's patience was put on a whim by the other boy's seemingly infinite knack of silence. In all honesty, he would have been less surprised if Kakashi had already thrown in the towel and pleaded to be set free. Yet, that didn't happen.
"Get up," he sharply ordered, picking his sword back up from its rested state.
Kakashi cocked his head to the side, "Huh?"
"We're going to train." He hopped off the platform and headed towards the forest, swaying side to side in an unstable manner because of the weight of the sword.
The masked boy smirked and followed obediently. By the looks of it, he had just won the silent competition with the Senju.
They walked in a single file in silence, allowing for the soft chirps of birds to fill the void. Albeit Tobirama would grunt every once in a while as he would look over his shoulder, it was still devoid of any human conversation. Kakashi followed like a loyal dog would, casually surveying the terrain they trudged through with a high level of scrutiny.
"Siblings?" Tobirama suddenly inquired –– a half-assed attempt to start a conversation.
Initially, the Jōnin shook his head but found that verbal communication would be more beneficial in terms of bonding with the Second. "No," he dryly answered back. "My mother died when she gave birth to me. It's suffice to say that I was the first and the last."
Whilst the response was said without much thought or effort, Tobirama still picked up on the sharpness of his tone. It was as if he blamed himself for the death of his mother. One could not be so sure, but upon looking back –– he saw it. The look of sorrow staining the features of his face only confirmed his initial analysis.
He turned back round, clenching hard around his sword. Being emotionally attached was not in his comfort zone, but the oozing dark aura was just too hard to ignore. "What about your father?" Surely he was still alive. He's probably still in the Hatake compound.
"Dead. He committed suicide when I was five –– or was I six?" He lobbed his head to the side and narrowed his eye slightly at his own question. As he continued with his own private tour and change of scenery, he could feel the tension coil between them. He knew he was being blunt, but he was doing it consciously with reason. Wallowing in fragments of memories only lets unwanted feelings manifest, and he hates unnecessary things in his life. As long as he continued to answer the Second's questions, he was bound to be fine.
Tobirama stopped suddenly. "Hey," he lowly began, "how can you say such sensitive things so casually?"
"Say what casually?" Kakashi stood several feet from the boy, pushing his hands into his pockets with a nonchalant look.
"Your family is dead. Yet you can recall such events with ease?" He persisted, teeth gnashing together in frustration. "What are you? Are you some kind of––!"
"Machine?" His sudden interruption was enough to make the Senju flinch back for the first time. Then, Kakashi's eyes arched upwards in a meek way. "That's the perfect description of me. I have been trained to fight proficiently with a pack of kunai and some strings since I could walk –– maybe even before that." His eyes levelled with the maroon pair. "You're right, I'm a machine of war. Not the finest, but can easily be one of the deadliest."
Tobirama, for the first time, felt the magnitude of his chakra. Just staring into his eyes alone made him tremble in his spot. The way he lazily expressed himself was more deadly than anyone could imagine. He was a multi-layered man –– unpredictable… and powerful. If utilised right, he would ascend to a deadly asset to the Senju clan.
However, the presence of the boy was enough to let the first layer of his defence down. His squared shoulders eased as he expressed his sympathy for the scarred child. "I have brothers who have died recently because of this senseless war." He looked away, "My mother was tortured and killed by the Uchiha clan upon being captured. All I have left is my elder brother and my father." His hands clenched closed again, "And I will make damn sure that I will protect them."
Kakashi almost laughed again. This must have been one of the primary roots of where the Will of Fire originated from. The burning determination that brimmed around his eyes was enough to voice his character.
"What's so funny?" He inquired, offended by his outburst.
"Nothing," Kakashi quickly replied. "You just reminded me of someone I know."
Naruto….
Tobirama gazed up at the sky. "We should carry on. It's about to rain."
"Right."
Tsunade continued to replenish her chakra back to its fullest potential by meditating in her room. The stillness and the silence of her surrounding alleviated the burden of having to sit in complete discipline to regain her lost chakra. Thanks to her heritage, her chakra gauge was beyond normal –– and hence, would take longer to fully recover than others.
However, when the door of her room opened in the slightest motion, her concentration snapped and so did her meditation. She looked over her shoulder and saw one Uchiha clan member huffing and puffing, completely drenched in sweat. Tajima followed the hysterical man with a contrasting emotion: unlike the younger man, he was poised and collected.
"It's time you showed us your worth, medic-girl." His eyes were burning with the pool of blood ––the mature pattern of the sharingan. "Follow me quickly."
Tsunade jumped up on her feet as quickly as she could. "W-Where?"
"We're heading out to the battlefield."
The journey was hasty and chaotic. Even at her given distance, she could hear the wails of despair and agony from both parties. She jumped from tree branch to tree branch, as she kneaded chakra around her hands for immediate use. The leader of the clan led the pack, fighting off the whimsical attempts of rookies with a mixture of kenjutsu and fire style techniques.
Tsunade swung down from the branch and smoothly landed on the mossy ground. Her muscles constricted upon impulse at the realization that before even stepping into the battlefield, Death already enshrouded around her. Her teeth trembled at the sight of her family crest on one of the fallen soldier's armour.
The faint metal clashes became more distinct now –– the fight was nearing towards her. Damn it all to hell. This was between the Senju and Uchiha, wasn't it?
"Watch out, Tsunade!" One voice called up from above.
Almost instantly, the blonde registered back into her surroundings, and evaded the deadly strike from the incoming katana. She leapt backwards and used her sword to stab into the ground to refrain herself from skidding even more. She glanced up and saw a young Senju member glaring holes into her existence. If only looks could kill, she thought in amusement. Her opponent had a premature face and tiny body –– he was yet to become a teen. The thought brought great disdain to the blonde's eyes; he was too young to be in this bloody war. She can't afford to kill him –– he was still a member of her clan.
The boy lunged up to her again. This time, she grabbed a hold of the sword and broke it in half, using her chakra-coated hand. After disarming her opponent, she punched him in the stomach and stole his consciousness from him before continuing to dash forward. Unbeknownst to her, Tajima was closely analysing her movements in the shadows as he simultaneously fought against the forces of the rivalling clan.
Tsunade relentlessly hurried towards the action, evading and swiftly dodging enemy fire that was directed at her. As she ran through the wooded area, she carelessly set off a trap which sent a titanic log of trees to crash her way. Deeply agitated by its interference, the blonde summoned enough chakra to tear through two layers of the traps like it was paper. Tajima smirked, she was better than he had thought.
"Retreat!" The men from the Senju clan called out. "Retreat!"
The leader of the Uchiha clan halted and gestured for his men to do the same. They watched the remaining Senju sprint to safety, leaving the wounded and the dead. He turned on his heels and clicked his fingers at the men, giving them a silent order. Like machines programmed to do one thing: they unsheathed their swords and began to pierce their wounded enemies in the heart. Tsunade was frozen in place, mouth hanging low.
Her clansmen were getting slaughtered right in front of her.
"What are you doing?!" she gasped out at Tajima. "You have defeated them. Why are you proceeding to kill them? This is breeding more senseless battles! Let them go; let me heal them."
He grappled her by her forearm with a burning look of hatred. "They are going to be corpses for the enemies to collect. and for the vultures to feast on. This is the reality, Tsunade. It may dishearten you and cause great discomfort in your stomach, but you'll soon grow used to it. After all, you have already signed a covenant with my clan."
She stared, traumatized by the canvas that was being painted with her own clan's corpse. The Uchiha surrounded her –– and her gut tightened in a sickening way. At the end of the day, her DNA was still of a Senju, melding with the Uchiha was certainly not an easy task to do. But this was the reality, she told herself. She was not a naïve girl who expected paradise beyond the horizon. War was her second nature –– people either kill or get killed.
Those were the rules of this bloody game. They were just mere pawns playing along this orchestrated war until one side would claim checkmate on the other. But she knew better –– she had the benefit of hindsight –– no one won at the end. Both clans ended up destroying themselves with the power they had acquired.
Although no one would think of it now, in nearly one hundred years from now: both clans would be in near extinction.
"Do the job you promised to do," Tajima inserted his arm inside his kimono and stepped out from the scene.
Tsunade found the closest member and knelt down beside him. After moulding enough chakra in her palms she pressed it against the man's gaping wound and began to knit it close. After closing the deadly wound, she ripped off a portion of her top and tied it around his abdomen. "Don't move just yet," she gently whispered. "Sleep it off. You'll be fine now."
She moved on to the next victim, whilst ignoring the jagged pleas of her own clan members with sourness. As she patched up an Uchiha soldier, the scope of her hazel eyes spotted a desperate Senju reaching out to her for help. His dry mouth formed the same syllable over and over again until he drew his last breath.
Help.
Help.
Help.
Tsunade closed her eyes and attempted to calm her nerves. Her hands shook with regret and her eyebrows furrowed together with bitterness. She wanted to save him, because she knew she could. The laceration he had was nothing but practice for her. But there was nothing she could do for him in this circumstance, and it disgusted her that she had to force herself to look away and feign deafness.
As she trudged through the Sea of Death, her ankle was harshly tugged on. She stopped and looked straight down at the desperate soldier who gawked at her. "You're not an Uchiha…." he hoarsely whispered, "….don't be like them. You're not––"
Slash.
Madara suddenly flickered in the scene with a sharp katana in his arsenal. He had mercilessly decapitated the man to silence him. He swung his sword and dispelled the disgusting blood of his enemy from his blade. His stone-hued eyes glowered at the man's pitiful corpse without remorse etching his features. He merely kicked it to the side before proceeding to patrol around the corpse-filtered area.
Tsunade's legs finally gave in. She fell on the bloodied ground; her hands soaked in their blood, her clan's blood. She had just allowed him to die. That man was right –– she was not an Uchiha. She bit into her bottom lip and suppressed her emotion. Fuck this. For this to be called a war was almost laughable; children were fighting in the stead of adults, being blind and ignorant martyrs. This wasn't war.
This was just the gateway to senseless Death in the guise of righteousness and peace.
Madara stepped back to her, feeling her disdain at the procedure that was being handed out. He reached out and tried to dip his hand down, but he stopped –– his instincts told him to retain his distance, so he did. He withdrew and begrudgingly left the blonde to crack at her own accord.
"This is war," he whispered to himself, kicking through the corpse of both Uchiha and Senju. His teeth gritted together. "This is war…" he reiterated. "And I will incinerate every single idea of it."
"We can build a settlement right here!"
"Hashirama," he openly mused out, "Your utopia doesn't sound too bad, after all."
On the other side of the forest, a few miles up ahead, thuds of fists echoed sharply. Kakashi felt the full extent of Tobirama's punch when he delivered his own into his face. They both staggered backwards, drenched in both bruises and sweat. However, the Second was more responsive and was able to sweep a chakra-coated kick at the masked boy.
Kakashi grunted out loud when his crossed arms absorbed all of the force from his offence. He flipped backwards and found his footing. However, another strike was already directed his way by that time. He evaded just in time, putting a safe amount of distance between him and his opponent. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, as he counted the breaths he took in his head. His breaths were far too ragged for his liking. He was no longer respiring efficiently –– and his muscles were beginning to throb.
That being said, he was doing far better than the Senju. Tobirama was already spent and his attacks no longer had the same impact as it once did. Tobirama was holding the side of his stomach, heaving heavily in a groggy way. "Even with one eye, you still fight well."
"It comes with practice," he curtly replied.
The white-haired man lightly smirked. "Let's call this a draw for now."
Kakashi sank down on the ground and nodded with relief. "I agree."
"You two are getting along well!" Hashirama chirped in from the blue, jumping down from a treetop.
"We're sparring, not having a tea party, brother." Tobirama sat down and leaned against the tree. "You need to work on concealing your chakra. I could sense you from a mile away." Whether it was a joke or not, Hashirama was sent crying to the corner.
"It was that bad, huh?" He curled up into a ball and sulked. "I-I'm sorry… I'll do better next time."
The younger brother pouted in return. "Quit sulking. That's what babies do, not for soldiers ––so stop crying."
Hashirama pitifully wiped his comical tears away. "I'll try!"
Kakashi laid flat on the ground, staring up at the grey-hued sky. His eye involuntarily blinked several times when specks of water littered onto him from above. He shot back up on his feet at the sudden wave of creativity that struck him like a truck. He looked at his dominant hand and back up at the bleeding sky which was bedarkened and weeping. Streaming grey clouds writhed on, crackling lightly with pent up energy it desperately wanted to release.
Lighting.
He gazed back down at his hand.
The pitter-patter of silver droplets dampening the soil below him gave him unsettling chills. He has rested for far too long. He had nearly forgotten about his real objective –– Tsunade. He still needed to find her. And if he can't physically set off to look for her, he would have to make sure that she knows that he was still alive. At least, by then, they would be on the same page.
He jumped onto a tree branch and emitted a bit of lightning around his fingers.
"Look at what you've done!" Tobirama continued to scold. "It's raining because of you!"
"Now that's just too harsh!" Hashirama fought back.
Just as the Senju brothers were about to get into a senseless squabble, the sharp sizzles from Kakashi's hand punctured their ears, making them crane their necks up. They didn't exactly know what he was up to, but it was still enough to leave them deeply unsettled.
"What are you doing?" The eldest asked at the top of his voice.
"I'm going to send her a message." He released more electricity around his palm before he directed it upwards. "And I'm going to find her." His palm opened wide and the sizzles of his lightning grew rampant with the aid of water.
"W-W-Wait… Kakashi!" shouted Tobirama.
Tsunade sat on the rooftop of the main compound, deep in contemplation, inhaling and exhaling lightly, trying to make peace reside within her again. Soft rustles from crinkled amber leaves filled the loneliness which polluted around the Fifth; the zephyr in the atmosphere caressed her exposed neck, jawline and lips before it softly weaved through her golden strands.
Though she expressed a peaceful exterior, deep inside she was experiencing an agonizing sense of turmoil. She had completed her duty with diligence, resulting to more than a dozen of Uchiha being saved. Yet, her heart still ached at the fact that despite it all, she couldn't save her own flesh and blood from the shackles of the Uchiha.
It was a lost cause, she knew, but that didn't change the fact that they were...
"How are you holding up?" Madara casually sat beside her, sharing the same breathing space. He continued to look forward towards the dark slopes of the mountains where the dark clouds writhed in. In a soft voice he said, "It gets easier." It was his way to comfort her.
Tsunade arched a brow, "Is that what you tell yourself?"
"No. I tell myself that I am the saviour of this world." He produced a slanted smile, "It makes me sleep easier at night, you know."
She chuckled lightly. "Fool."
"That may be so, but it's better than giving up so easily." He finally made eye contact with her. "I saw your eyes back then, Tsunade. I know it's your first time seeing a corpse so close––"
"It's not my first time," she darkly confessed, hugging her knees closer to her chest. Her hazel eyes were shadowed when she leaned her forehead against her legs. "…This is just different." They were her family.
Madara leaned forward and observed the darkened clouds up ahead. "War is never different." Distinct cackles of untamed lightning echoed from within the greyed area up ahead. It wasn't natural lightning either. His onyx eyes tightened along with his chapped lips. "Be it family or enemy, they become nothing but moving pawns when battle starts. So detach yourself from those people you saw, Tsunade. They died with purpose; don't take that away from them."
The cackling grew more vibrant. Its bright light shone as brightly as the sun before it disappeared in the realms of the dark clouds. However, the darkness completely dispersed when the lightning expanded with a distinct sound of a thousand birds. Its electricity branched in the darkness and vigorously sparked in the sky, creating one word.
"…Gamble?" He spoke out loud in confusion, grasping for his sword immediately. "What the hell?"
Tsunade shot up on her feet, seeing the vibrant blue message that scattered from afar. That sound generated from lightning was distinct enough, but to receive a message that represented her hobby was a bigger bonus. "…Kakashi," she whispered under her breath in relief. He was still alive. Her lazy-ass subordinate was still alive. She clenched her dominant fist with a grin.
Knowing that he was alive was enough to give her strength. After all, who was going to punch him to Hell and back if she were to succumb to this?
"Can you see this!?" He eagerly vociferated as he strung his last web of power to the lightning up above them.
Both Hashirama and Tobirama watched in awe after being rendered silent by the boy's capabilities to completely tame lightning. It generated so much electricity that it awoken the unforgiving Heaven from above. Streaks of thunder clapped down to the ground, cutting through the branch Kakashi stood on. Quickly, the silver-haired boy leapt forward and rolled on the ground. The First grabbed his hand immediately and tugged him along, "Come on, we're going before we get toasted!"
"I told you not to do it!" scolded Tobirama, grabbing his gigantic sword from the ground.
"I'm sorry," he wearily apologized. "There was no other way."
He sighed out and continued to lead the way back to their headquarters. "Just make sure you find this wretched girl you're looking for, you hear me?! I don't want this to be in vain, considering it nearly took my leg off!"
Hashirama laughed mightily. "You exaggerate, brother. It was a tiny zap."
"Tiny?!" He bellowed back. "It was not tiny!"
As they blitzed through the woods with great skill to evade the thunder strikes, Hashirama noticed that Kakashi's footsteps had grown silent. He jumped back around and saw that the masked-boy had fainted on the muddy terrain. "Kakashi!" He shouted, dashing back to his aid.
"Brother!" Tobirama shouted back, "Watch out!"
It was already too late: the lightning had already struck downwards onto them. Upon impact, there was a blinding light that shone forth along with a destructive shockwave that obliterated everything within its radar. A blinding roar scraped throughout the wooded area as a giant cloud of debris enshrouded around the two.
Without delay, the younger Senju jumped into the scene and cleared the debris out of the way, only to see a titanic wooden shield erected from the ground. Hashirama stood, weak-kneed, with his sweaty hands clamped together.
"Wood-style…" he whispered finally, releasing his hands with relief.
"Brother, you just….." Tobirama had to blink several times. "You just combined earth and water together!"
Hashirama sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "It was a fluke. I don't even know how I did it."
"Still! –– It withstood a lightning strike."
The First shook off the compliment with a light smile before he looked down at the unconscious boy. "He exhausted himself from that move." He knelt down and searched for a pulse. Luckily, Kakashi's pulse was still strong. With a few hand seals, he emitted a strong green glow on his palm, which he used to heal Kakashi with. "His power is being restrained by his own chakra gauge."
"I've never seen anyone with such a small gauge." Tobirama placed one hand on his hip in thought, stabbing his sword back into the ground. "If he's from the Hatake clan, his reserves should, at least, rival ours."
"That's not the point…." He said suddenly. "He's not tapping into his reserves. Along with that, the sharingan is exhausting his supply all the time. Even when closed, it's still activated, meaning it is still in need of chakra."
"We need to report this back to father. He needs to know this setback."
"No," he shook his head. "If you tell father, he might kill Kakashi. Leave him to me."
"To you?"
"Yeah." He picked up his body and slung him over his shoulder with relative ease. "I'm going to train him."
Kakashi was laid down in Tobirama's bed, much to his initial dismay, in a fresh set of clothes. Hashirama walked past his brother and headed towards the meeting room that was held in another hut. They walked side by side in silence.
"Brother," Tobirama finally said, "Are you sure that you would want to train him?"
"Why are you doubting my decision?"
"If he gets too strong he might betray us."
"You're too wary, my dear brother." The First calmly responded. "He won't betray us. Can't you tell by the way he looks at us?"
"Looks?" He was the best sensory Senju there was, but that didn't mean he was the best facial expression reader.
Hashirama waggled his finger in the air, "There's this look in his eyes that just reassures me that he won't betray us."
"That's going to be the basis of your hypothesis?!"
"You bet it is."
A sweat dropped on the younger boy. This was going to be disastrous.
They entered in the hut and sat down at the back of the crowd. Their father was standing at the front, enraged more than ever before. His narrowed eyes were murderous and his downcast lips were dangerous. Their father was pissed –– like really pissed. Hashirama cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy whereas Tobirama grew more calculative.
"We are changing posts," Butsuma said matter-of-factly. "The Uchiha are beginning to close in, and it would be a big gamble to let them in close. We can't afford to put our women and children at risk."
"When are we changing posts, Sir?" One member asked.
"Tonight. We're leaving tonight." He scanned for his sons in the room with steeled eyes. "Get ready, the both of you."
"Why?" They asked in unison.
"We're going to pay the Uchiha back for what they've done." He crossed his arms. "Rumour has it, a gifted medical ninja is within their midst and that's why they didn't suffer as many losses as we did. We have already sighted a group of Uchiha in the West coast; if we're lucky, we will be able to kill that medical ninja." He gestured for one member to speak. "Describe their description."
"Y-Y-Yes!" the boy stuttered. "The medical ninja is a close-quarter combatant who's insanely strong. She crushed my sword like it was fine sand, sir. Moreover, she's quite agile and is not easily outwitted by simple devised attacks. When I encountered her, she was able to mess with my nervous system by sending electrical currents into my body. I couldn't fully move after a while ––not properly, anyway."
"Do you still remember what she looks like?"
The boy nodded and took the silence as his cue to continue. "She's a young girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes. From what I can remember, she seemed to be in her early-teens."
Hashirama flinched. "A girl?" And what's more was that she was even precise enough with her aiming that she was able to scramble the electrical pulses in one hit. He hasn't heard anyone do that from the Uchiha clan before.
"Blonde with hazel eyes," Tobirama mused, cupping his chin at the thought. "Doesn't that description sound familiar to you?"
"Huh?"
Twin maroon eyes tightened with suspicion. "It sounds exactly like the description Kakashi gave us about his friend."
"It could have just been a coincidence."
"It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think? An early teen who fits her description to the T is not a coincidence. This person is the same one Kakashi wants to find."
"Where's Kakashi?" Butsuma loudly asked. "Get him up and prep him for battle."
"But father––!"
"I'm not repeating myself again, Hashirama. He's not your friend, so stop treating him like one. At the given opportunity, there's no doubt in my mind that he will betray us. After all, he's still a wild dog that needs to be tamed."
"…Yes father."
"We're heading out to kill those Uchiha bastards!"
When he opened his borrowed eye, every mundane colour began to pale. Everything came alive. Tendrils of the ckakra from everyone in front of him on the tree branches sat perfectly in his vision, creating a ghostly effect. His depth and perception sharpened at the expense of his chakra. Thankfully, the First gave him some of his chakra to help him through the upcoming trail that was bound to be exerting.
They remained propped on the tree branches with their chakras tightly leashed. Kakashi's fingers grew agitated around the handle of his sabre –– he was ready to strike. His dampened hair clung into his scalp and dropped down onto his closed eye, perfectly framing the deadliness of its scarlet hue. It pulsed with thirst before it began to swirl clockwise in languor.
Foreign chakra seemed to have agitated his eye, resulting to more of his chakra being sucked away. He held his breath and waited for the twig to snap. It was at that very moment that a sharp cracking sound broke through the rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain.
Finally, the signal came.
It was time for the dog to hunt.
Kakashi's chakra unleashed itself until it became raw and palpable –– visible for the naked eye to see. He latched onto his sabre and dashed downwards with the intent to kill, his cloak fluttering with the wind. Hashirama leapt over the tree tops and also swept down at the back of the group. Tobirama took a bolder approach and dashed towards the ignorant enemies with his water jutsu already intact.
"IT'S THE FUCKING SENJU!" His voice soon failed him when Kakashi swooped from above and cut through him cleanly.
Hashirama swept the ground with his sword, as did Tobirama with his ninjutsu. Butsuma appeared from the shadows and eagerly mowed down the underlings in a single strike. His eyes dripped with an intent to kill –– and it wasn't going to be quenched until he had Tajima's head on a stick. He craned his neck upwards and saw the lithe movements of Kakashi, skilfully using the shadows to his advantage to strategically overwhelm his opponents –– just like a cold-hardened assassin.
One.
Two.
Three.
This was too easy, he clicked his tongue and continued roaring forward. These were children, pure and without the sharingan. How else could they fight against him? It didn't matter, he had a duty to exercise. His sword sliced through bones and skin in a single gesture before he was faced with a flaming ball of fire. His eyes widened instantly and he moved subconsciously from the posing danger.
His feet sloshed against the puddles and his hair stuck onto his wetted face. He hid behind a boulder and angled his sword slightly and watched as the reflection from the moon's light gave him the location of the hidden Uchiha. He closed his eyes and embedded his sword into the ground.
Ox. Rabbit. Monkey.
The air screamed with the sound of a thousand birds. Tobirama whipped his head back, as did Hashirama, in worry. Butsuma jumped up on a tree branch and watched in amusement. Streaks of blue lightning bolted from his palm and he further intensified it by channelling more chakra through it.
The mark stepped away from the shadow and scrambled away –– an attempt to flee.
Kakashi moved.
Along with the deafening screech of his blood-thirsty jutsu, the path in which he took was completely abolished. He caught up to the desperate teen and jabbed his fist into his back, piercing through his heart and ribcage, taking the vestige of his life instantly. Blood splattered in a messy manner, but Kakashi's eyes were steeled from the situation.
This was their agreement.
He had to follow his orders to the T. At least, until he found Tsunade.
He glowered at his hand which was spoilt with warm blood. The blood pooled and spilt from his palm in the same dirty manner as Rin's did. The sensation of the boy's last heart beats were still etched into his skin, as was Rin's. This was foul, he concluded, slashing at the thin air with his bloodied hand to discard the dripping rivulets from his fingertips.
"That was marvellous, Kakashi!" Butsuma praised. "You're not letting me down!"
The silver-haired man stood silently on the spot; his borrowed eye brimmed with a fiery sensation. It stung like his guilt. Was this Obito's way of reprimanding him? Was this the future Obito had hoped to see? He grunted and covered the scarred eye with his hand.
"What's this?"
A phantom spoke closely into his ear.
"….Are you filled with guilt?"
Kakashi bit into his lower lip as he fought his own private battle.
"Release me. Let's become one. Let's show them the true Cold-Blooded Killer Kakashi!"
"Shut up!" He roared suddenly.
Tobirama, who was fast approaching to the masked boy, stopped in his tracks. He sensed an unknown phantom lingering within Kakashi's shadow, surfacing inch by inch without being tamed. He blinked several times, as a way to convince himself that he was being delusional. He blinked for the fifth time as the moon escaped from the shrouds of the clouds.
There, he saw in black and white, a fleeting image of Kakashi's alter ego, proving that he wasn't hallucinating. However, its deathly shadow disappeared as fast as it appeared, leaving the Senju mildly befuddled.
Its blood-thirsty chakra had vanished.
….Huh?
The air was polluted with thick, heavy smells of the vicious aftermath of death. Pungent odours spewed throughout the desolated forest potent with thick consistency of blood and... death, all perforating through Kakashi's senses. Mismatched eyes coiled with blood-red, a typical red, reflected on the pool of blood which hugged the blackness of his sandals. Disarrayed limbs spewed around him, yet he was unfazed, calm and content. His red eye –– the Sharingan –– swirled erratically in its own blood-pool orb before it curved into its matured form. His gaze roved over his slain targets, disarrayed in a melange of limbs and lacerations before his feet –– and yet his eye pulsed coldly, swirled in languor, untouched by the carnage it wrought.
He flung his sabre to his side then retracted it back into its case.
Hashirama shared a look with his brother but decided to stay quiet. Butsuma approached the Hatake and smirked. "You did well for your first mission, Kakashi. You really condemned those Uchiha bastards to hell."
"I need…. to rest," he idly spoke, eyes dimmed from their colour. "I've seen enough deaths for the night."
While Kakashi was young externally, his outward thoughts and emotions were akin to a jagged war veteran, Tobirama thought quietly to himself. Hashirama tightened his forehead protector and eased a smile onto his lips. "Let's go home, brother."
The white-haired Senju smiled back and offered his brother a high five.
"Mission accomplished."
Kakashi broke out of the broken memory with a sudden jolt. Nothing like last time. It wasn't calm nor languid. It was chaotic and rigid. He came awake in sudden thrashes under his sheets, wailing and screaming out loud. He felt as if his diaphragm had clutched and suffocated his lungs to such an extent he couldn't breathe anymore.
Finally, his hands fumbled with his sheets and ripped it off him. He sat up with his sweating palms planted firmly on the mattress. He regained the tempo of his breathing again and his heart beats stopped skipping a beat.
Everything was fine he told himself.
Tried to tell himself.
The darkness was accompanied with the lulling silence in his new chambers. He stared up at the ceiling as he outstretched his hand to the slither of light that pierced into the room. Even though he was naught of blood, his eyes still tightened at the phantom traces of it.
"K-K-Kakashi…"
"Rin," he spoke out loud. She didn't need to die. But she did anyway. Would Obito still forgive him, he thought. Would he still give his signature cheeky grin and say that everything was alright? He shook his head, knowing well that the Black Sheep would never forgive him for his inadequacy. She died because of the senseless war, the ––
War. His eyes snapped open.
Everything that has happened was because of this chain-reaction that was birthed in this era. The power struggle between the Nations, the misplaced trust on traitors, the fear of the Senju and Uchiha have all led to the warring wars. If only he could change the trajectory by an inch…
….then maybe Rin would be able to live the life she deserves –– with Obito.
Every decision has an effect. The greater the decision, the larger the effects, the more uncertain the consequences.
And changing the course of history –– and rewriting it –– was bound to cause a typhoon.
He closed his eyes at the reckless thought.
It would have to wait until tomorrow.
Tsunade awoke from her sleep, deeply dishevelled by fatigue. She sat up and used one hand to prop herself upright. She stared out to the moonlit sky, as if hearing the phantom thoughts that lingered in the air. Her lips curled upwards.
"That fool is beginning to stir."
xox and Exciled3