Chaos herself' note:
Hey!
Here is a new chapter for you and without further ado I leave you to it.
Well, one thing I do have to say about a comment a guest has left on chapter 12: Kasumi is indeed much more harmless than Touka and Mito, but especially Touka is very opinated about the Uchiha.
Anyway.
Enjoy and have fun reading!
Chaos
...
Chapter 13: The Rise of Evil
"I can't believe that actually happened!"
Tobirama swept into Touka's chalet with the force of a tsunami. He seemed restless, despaired even. The Kunoichi approached him and pushed a cup of steaming hot tea into his hands.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
He paused, sipped on the tea and harrumphed. "Madara, of course," he begrudgingly murmured and blew into the cup, before he drank some more. The calming blend would soon soothe him.
Touka waited for him to continue and was awarded with a still exasperated Tobirama: "Guess what! When the Kyuubi was unleashed, he managed to control it with his Sharingan. Imagine the havoc he could wreck with it! And Hashirama still wants him to become Hokage. The terror-reign of the Uchiha is imminent, and I can't do anything about it."
He paced up and down until Touka blocked his path and held up a bouquet of valeriana and iris for him to take.
She was calm as this was no shocking news to her. She had already had time to come up with a plan, together with Sanzashi and Kinsenka. Therefore she said: "Nothing is set in stone yet. My people are already preparing for a vote. Let's have the villagers elect Hashirama-sama as Hokage. And then we'll see how Madara reacts." She thought for a moment. "That he can control one of the Bijuu is an imminent threat, indeed. But there are ways to contain the Kyuubi. If Madara brings this weapon to the party, we'll just have to seal it before he can destroy the village. I believe the Uzumaki are reknown for their sealing art. Why don't you ask your sister-in-law about it? She might be able to help."
Tobirama sighed and sipped again on his tea, as he twirled the flowers in his free hand. "You always have a solution to everything, is that it?" he said, reassured.
She winked at him, a wicked little smile on her lips. "Never underestimate the ways of a Kunoichi," she smirked and produced a tuft of belladonna.
He shook his head and chuckled quietly. "Thanks for the tea," Tobirama murmured and turned on his heels. "If you need help with that election, let me know." He simply disappeared and Touka only smiled to herself, crafty as a cartload of monkeys.
"Let's get to work then."
Days later they were in the middle of preparing for the election. Tobirama had handed a detailed list of all inhabitants of Konohagakure to Touka, and the girls were now writing the ballot papers and sealing them, so each and every villager would be able to vote. The election should be fair; everyone just had one vote and every vote should count the same. In theory.
"Do you really think it's a good idea to write down Madara Uchiha as candidate?" Rinshi Akimichi frowned, worried, and stopped writing for a moment.
"Hashirama-sama wants him to become Hokage, so we have to put him up there. But that's actually good for our cause. With the devil as alternative, even more people will be inclined to vote for Hashirama-sama," Touka explained as she prepared the voting boxes.
"I see," the girl nodded and smiled, then continued to write. But Inoko Yamanaka asked: "Then why putting Tobirama Senju up there as well?"
Touka grinned mischievously, but chose not to answer. She placed a well hidden Jutsu inside the voting boxes that would turn every tenth vote for Madara into one for Tobirama. Not that she thought he needed the extra votes. But Hashirama-sama would need an advisor; she might as well push his brother for that position. "Don't dilly-dally about! There are still so many ballot papers left. And we need to spread word even more."
The girls answered as one: "Yes, Irakusa-taichou!"
Touka met Kadohime Nara, Youko Inuzuka and Hotaru Aburame for tea at the local Kissaten. While they chatted for everyone to hear about the upcoming election and praised Hashirama-sama for what he had done for the village already and that it wouldn't have been possible without him, they secretly sent each other messages by pointing at the various flowers in the opulent bouquet sitting in a vase at the centre of the coffee table.
So much was clear: if Madara was able to control the Kyuubi, something had to be done and fast. They needed to change plans and come up with a solution to the Uchiha issue. But this was a village-internal problem. There were also threats from the outside, which needed to be investigated. Other villages might be interested in attaining the Bijuus' powers and using them against Konohagakure, too.
Touka decided to deploy Tsubaki and Kinka for reconnaissance missions. She could only afford to send those two as the others were needed for the preparation of the vote.
Their squad certainly lacked manpower - or womanpower, so they would also use the mingling with the villagers to recruit more clan ladies and even a few civillians who were interested in becoming Kunoichi. But they had to be extra careful so they didn't disclose their secret squad to the wrong people.
That was when two new customers entered the Kissaten and cautiously approached the quartett. "Senju-sama?" a demure voice made herself known, and when the four Kunoichi turned their heads towards them, the two women bowed politely. "I'm Kyouko Hyuuga and this is my sister Raiko. It's a pleasure to meet you. Uzumaki-sama sent us to meet you and... join you for tea."
Touka shared a glance with Sanzashi, and when she slightly inclined her head, she grinned at the two Hyuuga ladies: "Well, then. It's a pleasure to have you, Kyouko-kun, Raiko-kun. Please, have a seat." She picked a stem of lilac from the vase and toyed with it in her grasp.
"Thank you, Senju-sama," Kyouko murmured, and the sisters sat with the other clan ladies. "Oh, these violets, aconites and white roses are really beautiful," she observed and smiled.
Touka undersood their message, and so did the other three. She leaned in conspirationally and smirked. "Glad you like them. I think they make a nice bouquet together with this venus hair and lavender, don't you?" When they nodded, Touka continued with a raised voice: "But back on track. We were currently discussing the upcoming vote and why Hashirama-sama is the best choice. Any opinions?"
Later that afternoon Touka invited the two new recruits over, so she could test herself if the Hyuuga sisters were really as loyal as they claimed. And seemingly they were.
So Touka deployed Bara (rose) and Sumire (violet) on their first mission to investigate if other Shinobi villages had sent spies to Konohagakure right away; their Byakugan would be useful to detect strangers, more specifically significant Chakra signatures among the civillians, that told them they were Shinobi instead.
In the meantime Touka summoned Tsubaki and Kinka to tell them their mission details. While the Hyuugas would secure their home, these two Kunoichi would delve into enemy territory and do reconnaissance. Inoko could use her Shintenshin no Jutsu on birds, so she could approach and observe inconspicuously, while Hotaru had her even more unobtrusive Kikaichuu to gather the intel. Therefore the both of them were able to stay away from dangerous situations and find out about what the enemy was doing without being noticed - if everything went according to plan, of course.
But Touka was convinced they would succeed; they had to! Or else they would be oblivious to the many threats and enemies out there, falling prey to their schemes and running into their riven jaws and poisoned blades as the whole Shinobi world conspired against Konohagakure. Touka was convinced that this was true. So she had to do everything within her power to prevent it from happening. And with her growing squad - and especially those few sworn into her circle - she would!
After the Kunoichi had left for their missions, Touka wrote two messages that included the identities of Bara and Sumire - one sealed into a stinging nettle and one sealed into a peach flower so both recipients knew who these messages were from. To the peach flower she also added the ever present iris and white chrysantemum. Then she busied herself with making Kyouko's and Raiko's masks; they would soon need them for their missions.
As soon as she was done with her handiwork, Touka finally had some free time she could use to train some more. If Madara was going to use the Kyuubi against the Senju, and possibly against her, she had to be ready.
Fiercely she went through her various Katas, summoned a shadow clone to spar with and throw her strongest Gen-Jutsus at as she sustained those thrown back at her. The seasoned warrior soldiered on until it was so dark outside that she could barely see her own hands and she was exhausted enough to just drop where she stood.
Only then she went back inside and had a quick shower before she crawled into bed. But while her body wanted the rest, her mind was wide awake; the gears were turning so fast they were on the verge of catching fire. And it was fire that was on her mind: a burning Konohagakure, set ablaze by Amaterasu, torn asunder by a rampaging Bijuu and plundered by foreign armies. It was a recurring nightmare, but she didn't need to be asleep to envision it.
And she was determinded to never let it happen!
So Touka lay awake all night long and forged out and discarded plans, then made new ones. She would run them through Sanzashi soon, listen to the strategist's insight and adjust their schemes with her help. The vote had to be a success first. Then they could work on getting rid of the Uchiha threat and defending against the foes from foreign lands and within alike.
If only their squad had Hashirama-sama's blessing, if only they could act openly, if only she could glean strength from the whole Senju army... If only everyone would see war was coming!
