The Ninja Way

There had been a time, long ago, when Madara's black heart had slept. When the world had still seemed green and fresh and new. Back when his brother was still alive, still small, zipping through the yard and yelling "Madara! Madara! Try to fight me now! Bet you I'll win this time!" A time when Hashirama had been just another cocky, irritating little boy Madara had met by the river.

"You suck at skipping stones," Hashirama had taunted, "you throw them like you don't really mean it."

Madara had thrown a rock at the Senju boy and while he cursed and squealed to avoid it, had said, "There. I really did mean it that time." Madara never forgot that meeting, as insignificant as it might have seemed. It was on that very day that the young Madara had claimed Hashirama as his rival. Someone whose ass he always needed to kick.

Somehow, Hashirama's criticisms had lasted a lifetime. Branching from skipping stones, to leading villages.

It had happened so long ago, it might have all been a dream; a warped sense of reality embellished by Madara's fantasies and biases. Long before Hashirama's cool gray gaze had meant anything more than a damn good fight. Long before the Uchiha clan had become a diseased cesspool dirtying the walls of Konoha.

He remembered those days as he wandered, made an outcast, a fool, a dirty beggar, by those he had once accepted, even loved. He nearly grew mad with his own black thoughts as the years passed. Oh how he'd make them suffer for their injustices if the time ever came, if the gods were ever good. He'd show them a true ruler. A real one.

He remembered those days when he felt the heat of the Kyuubi's breath on his face, threatening to melt his eyes or swallow him whole into a fiery pit of hell for gazing upon it. He nearly sank to his knees in front of such power, nearly wept. Lightning had veined the sky that fateful night, the night Madara Uchiha, cursed, broken, forgotten, had stumbled across the demon in the belly of the forest.

His Mangekyo swirled, and the beast snarled, but Madara beckoned it with a finger and whispered, "Come beast," even as it threatened to break his spine. Here is my salvation from my fall from grace, he'd thought.

And with it, he'd bring in a new tide to cleanse the filth. The world would be rid of it, all of it. A world without the Senju, without the Uchiha, without the common, petty hatred of mortal men, and the thought was so beautiful he really did sink to his knees then as the beast before him bowed its head.

He'd remembered Hashirama had had this saying. Some annoying and confident little promise he used to say before each battle. He'd called it his "ninja way". I live for my people. Fight for them. Die for them. For as long as I live. This is my way of the ninja, how I choose to fulfill my promise to my clan as a protector. And you will never take that from the Senju, Uchiha. Never.

But Madara begged to differ.

The months were slipping by. Soon, the demon child would be born and Obito's ugly body could be tossed away, forgotten at the bottom of some river till the end of time for all Madara cared. He'd rise again, truly reborn.

And so would the world.

But he wasn't there yet. No. There was too much to do. He'd discovered, much to his annoyance (he would remember to greatly reward Kabuto's spy later. Who knew the little bastard had had so many advantageous connections? The spy had been the servant girl serving tea, and the Lords and the Guardians, had been none the wiser. Kabuto truly had been a fly on the wall. It was almost a pity he was dead), that the Lords believed assassinating the Jinchuuriki would stall the war. Stall Madara.

What foolishness!

As if Madara would allow such a thing to happen. No. Naruto could not die yet. Not until Sasuke Uchiha could have both partner and child cruelly ripped away from him. Until he was shown just how grave an end the Uchiha and the Senju deserved. How the two clans could never merge, and such an alliance would never mean peace. The Uchiha would always be bathed in the Senju's blood. It was the ultimate statement to the spirits of those long dead. Sasuke and Naruto would never find peace. Not while Madara lived.

It needed to be the right moment. The perfect moment. A moment that would make Sasuke Uchiha wish the Leaf's Elders had killed him.

Hashirama controls you still, even from the grave. It infuriates you, doesn't it? Knowing that they have what you never did. It angers you, so you want them to die in a particular way.

Kabuto had been sharp. He had seen into a sliver of Madara's mind, despite the mask. Madara could patient. He could wait out the months, the war. His army was doing well. New experiments were being created, thanks to a nin Madara had appointed to watch Kabuto carefully, and he never had to wait long before yet another village or town had been claimed in his name.

Yes. It was all going well. The Lords seemed to forget how powerful an adversary Madara was, and it almost made him angry. How dare anyone believe him so easily foiled? Did they really hope to stop his devastation by this two acts? If only Kabuto hadn't been so stupid, he'd be sitting here, right now, enjoying the turn of events and awaiting the newest developments with a grin.

"My Lord?" a voice from the shadows called. Manabu, the newest medic nin in charge of the experiments, entered the chamber cautiously. Madara was brooding, and it was common knowledge that whenever Uchiha brooded, disturbing him could get your throat slit.

The medic's adam's apple bobbed nervously and he did a jerky little bow. "My Lord, the experiments-I-I'm afraid the newest batch isn't taking well to the curse marks."

Madara felt a familiar rage begin to brew. "Show me," he demanded. He heard the snarls and the cries before he saw the girl. She was brought into the room in a cage, feral looking and orange-eyed, brown hair fanning over her face in a tangled mess. Chakra was leaking from the girl, and like acid, it was burning her slowly.

"MAMA!" she wailed, beating at the bars with bloody hands, "MAMA!" Madara closed his eyes against the noise and demanded the brat be taken away.

"What was that?" he hissed, pointing at the retreating cage. Manabu flinched.

"My Lord, you last instructed that for every two killed-"

"Did I ask for a child army, Manabu? Did I ask you to bring me infants?"

The medic paled. "M-my-my Lord, we were only your humble servants-!"

"What was wrong with the child?" he asked suddenly, furious.

"The curse marks are creating new side effects we didn't anticipate. The girl's abilities seemed to have backfired. We've already lost fifty due to this issue-"

"Fifty?" Madara hissed, livid. Manabu whimpered like the spineless coward he was and bowed on all fours, begging forgiveness. Madara stood from his chair, gliding towards the cowering nin before him. He grabbed Manabu by the hair and lifted his prostrate form.

"Fix it," he hissed. "Fix the girl and prove to me it's reversible. If she dies, you will join her."

Manabu scurried away, spitting apologies and promises.

Too quickly, Madara was alone again, seething, bitter, empty. For several long moments, the only sound was the distant rush of an underground river that sped through the cave. Madara made to leave. The next two days passed infuriatingly slow, even to someone who had lost concept of time. The rush to fix the experiments was underway, and it consumed nearly every moment. But when Madara was alone, he was filled with memories from a past life and the face of a lover long dead and much despised. The end was so close, how could he not think of such things? It was while Madara was pouring over some maps left to him in his chamber, that a voice echoed eerily off the stone.

"Madara..."

Madara spun around, Mangekyo activated and deadly. "Show yourself!" he hissed.

"Oh, Madara..." the voice whispered. "What have you become?"

If Madara had had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. Instead, his being only shimmered, torn between flitting away to safety and staying put to fight. The voice wasn't one of the living.

"You're dead, Hashirama," he said wildly.

"Madara..."

Behind him. Hashirama was behind him. Madara whirled around, but there was no one. For too long, he stared into a corner, waiting. When nothing happened, he turned, only to meet the pale face of an apparition. Its eyes were black pits of hell, its mouth opened with a wicked grin, and it looked down at him with the face of Hashirama Senju.

"I'll fight for them. Die for them. This is my way of the ninja, even from the grave. Join me, Madara!" It rushed at him, and suddenly it was gone. Madara shouted.

"HASHIRAMA! HASHIRAMA! FACE ME!"

No one answered. The cavernous room felt too empty, and so did Madara. It only then, as his footsteps slowed and a new understanding dawned in his mind, that he realized it truly had been a warning. Just not one he had expected.

Shortly after Kabuto's death, Madara had created a warning system. He would be sure that he could never be caught in such a trap every again. He had found his body after some searching. The link between soul and body was difficult to find, but it was there. It led Madara to an ancient tomb under the holy walls of the Temple of Izanami. Such a holy place...Madara almost laughed to now be buried along with the most powerful and wise monks of a forgotten age. The warning system was intricate. Something secret that no one could easily detect, something that when triggered, manifested itself in a Mangekyo illusion from his own eye. With a roar, Madara marched out of the room, and every Akatsuki member he passed steered clear.

How curious that the warning had come to him in the form of a vengeful Hashirama. Madara Uchiha was in a rage, and his followers cowered in his presence.

Someone was about to tamper with Madara Uchiha's corpse. Someone was about to die.

Afternoon near the mountainside brought icy spring rain. In the mists near the Mount Taiyou mountain range, a pair of eyes gleamed behind an ivory monkey face in its lush canopies, fixed on the trail below.

The Sun Mountain was one of the last holy places left to the Five Great Countries, and its borders were serene, not yet scarred by war. The actual mountain itself was a few days travel to the the east, sitting on the border between River and Fire Country. The mountain's temple, for the ancient goddess Izanami, still stood strong and gleaming, promising enlightenment and peace.

But not everyone seemed to understand that Izanami, while a goddess of life, was also the ancient goddess of death. Yet, refugees flocked to her walls to escape it.

It seemed fitting.

The rain was falling heavier now, and Tsutomu rearranged himself on his branch, cold and wet. He was beginning to despise the spring in the Land of Rivers. Yet, rumor was, the Jinchuuriki had been seen fleeing Wind Country. It stood to reason that the Rivers could one of many potential escape routes. So Tsutomu and his team had been dispatched on the main roads heading for Mount Taiyou. What better place to run and hide than a monk temple brimming with refugees? Tsutomu looked through the green-black shadows of the forest's trees. Still nothing, and no word. Restless, he let out a bush warbler cry to count the sharp eyes of his team.

It pierced through the rain, but there was no Tsutomu waited. Ten long minutes later, another bird call rang through the trees, then another not long after, and Tsutomu relaxed. All too soon, he became a part of the tree again, death in the branches. They had taken up Leaf ANBU uniform, their Guardian sashes coiled and wrapped tightly around their left arms instead of on their waists. They didn't want to bring immediate attention to themselves. And each man in Tsutomu's team had once served in Konoha's ANBU's forces.

Some days, Tsutomu forgot there was a face behind his mask's mocking red grin. That there was a man beneath the Guardian's uniform and cold blooded accuracy. Sometimes, he forgot what it was like to sleep deeply, or laugh loudly and suddenly.

But no jounin would risk death for a laugh.

Today, however, Tsutomu knew the man behind his mask very well. He was agitated, restless. The Fire Lord's commands still rang in his ears. Direct orders. No missteps. Kill on sight. Do not speak to the targets. Do not let yourself be seen.

The Hokage was going to die.

Back in his ANBU days, Tsutomu would have died for the Hokage first and the Fire Lord later. Now, ironically, it was supposed to be the other way around. He was to kill the Leaf's Hokage for his Fire Lord.

Fate worked in mysterious and bitter ways.

He was a Guardian. He protected Osamu the Fourth, reigning Fire Lord, and fought valiantly for his country. He took the lives of villains, of assassins. He kept peace and watched it unfold from a distance.

But this was different.

The Lords were bringing about a new change. A big change. Soon, three out of five Kages would be dead. Three new Kages, especially picked by the Lords, would rule the remaining hidden villages.

The Jinchuuriki would be assassinated.

The hidden villages would be ransacked for sealing secrets, their withholders and any and all who knew of these secrets murdered in their sleep without a blink or second thought. The ninja academies would come under new government order and would close their classrooms until after the War.

Slowly, the ninja way of life was going to die.

It had troubled Tsutomu greatly. Made him fitful in his sleep, recalling days in Konoha. His childhood. His sensei. He remembered thinking, they'll kill Sensei when they see him. He'll die, because of what he knows.

And Sensei was just a retired Jounin who liked shoji. A calm, peaceful old man with seven grandkids who were always playing in his vegetable gardens. He used to tell Tsutomu that the tomatoes and squash and the squabbling children made him forget about days he didn't want to dream of again.

But Tsutomu would dream of them to the end of his days.

"Marker," a disembodied voice in his ear piece crackled, "movement at twelve o'clock." Tsutomu looked. He waited, until the rain seemed like the only thing in the world. Sure enough, five minutes later, a small cloaked figure appeared to the far side of the north.

Walking slowly down the beaten down deer path that zigzagged through the forest, the figure made its way through the rain, nearly slipping down a gentle slope turned into water and mud. A green hand shot out to steady the walking stick, spearing it into the ground for support.

It was no person walking down the path. Not human at all.

"Saru," the voice in Tsutomu's ear piece crackled again, "report."

Tsutomu put a finger to his ear piece and said, "Arms down." It was nothing. No one important. Just a beast making its way towards the mountain's main road. A toad.

How unusual.

Like the monkey he was nicknamed after, Tsutomu dangled in the trees before leaping into the next, on a lower branch for a closer look. What would a toad be doing, wandering the Sun Mountain range? he thought.

A talking beast, when so rarely seen, was too odd to pass up. Especially given that, according to reports, Uzumaki was affiliated with the Toad Lands. Expertly, he balanced on the thin branches, moving with the toad as it passed beneath him.

Nearly a mile later, the creature paused, making a splash with its stick as it struck the ground once more.

"You underestimate me," called the toad, much to Tsutomu's surprise and amusement. "Come on out. I mean no harm. Just a weary traveler looking for a little peace. If you're a thief, I assure you my belongings will do you little good."

Tsutomu shrank away, concealing himself better. Suddenly, the toad disappeared with a poof. Cursing, Tsutomu scanned the ground. Not one to be deterred, he moved quickly through the trees, headed east on a hunch.

Three miles ahead, he found the toad again, but this time, he was careful. The toad was looking over its shoulder as it traveled, even stopping a few times to peer through the sheet of rain. Suddenly, it veered off the path and into the thick of the surrounding forests.

Tsutomu followed.

The old toad moved with an agility that defied its age. It hopped, leaped, bounded, walking stick seemingly forgotten as it sailed over fallen trees, boulders, and streams.

Deeper, it went, and deeper. Soon the trees grew so thickly, what little light the gray sky spilled was caught in the canopy, leaving the forest floor eerily dark. Tsutomu began to wonder what, or who, would be at the end of the toad's path.

The toad went faster, faster. Tsutomu smiled, his skills in the trees tested by the toad he chased.

Then, as quickly as he'd seen the toad, it was gone again. Tsutomu paused. For several long moments, he hung frozen in the trees, barely breathing, eyes narrowed as he searched the ground.

Silence.

His muscles began to relax, but too soon. A body loomed behind him, in the trees. Tsutomu spun like a cat in mid air, slashing out on instinct and landing on a lower branch. His kunai was was deflected with ease. A much different, and larger, cloaked and masked figure stared down at him from a higher branch.

Tsutomu sent a kunai embellished with an exploding tag flying towards the figure's face. They leaped away into another tree, just as the tree groaned with the explosion, some of its limbs flying away.

The force from the blast had thrown the mask from the figure as they tried to escape, and Tsutomu saw fleeting blue eyes, and a streak of blond hair as they escaped and scaled down the tree, more slowly than he would have expected, to the ground.

Below Tsutomu, standing in the rain and leaf-littered ground, was Naruto Uzumaki. For a moment, neither moved, only watched each other.

The Jinchuuriki was glaring at him, kunai at the ready, but he didn't make another move. "There's no need to come to blows," he said. "We're allies."

Tsutomu frowned behind his mask and dropped from the tree. "I'm afraid, Naruto Uzumaki, that as of last week, you are no one's ally."

The boy's eyes widened in confusion and dismay before he recovered, replacing his confounded look with something defiant and vengeful. He jabbed at himself with his thumb and growled, "I'm a ninja of the Hidden Leaf. I'm fighting against this war! I am your ally!"

Tsutomu shook his head, preparing to form hand seals. He didn't know why he was stalling. Why he had bothered talking to the boy. He was going against orders.

Do not talk to the targets. Do not be seen. Kill on sight.

But he stayed his hands. They felt frozen and stiff in the rain. It was unlike him. He never hesitated to kill, and never betrayed his superiors with a will of his own. It was what made Tsutomu invaluable. Unswayable. Loyal.

The Fire Lord's voice rang in his ears: Perhaps it is time we reevaluate how our hidden villages are handled. Perhaps it is time for change. We can't afford the hidden villages acting on their own law and will. Not in this war. It will be better this way.

Naruto Uzumaki was waiting, wary. He held up his hands as if to show he meant no harm. "Please," he said, only a little louder than the rain, "we don't need to fight each other."

Kill on sight. Do not talk to the targets. Do not be seen.

Tsutomu began his hand seals, and Uzumaki's face twisted with rage. His signature shadow clones popped into existence to flank him, but before anything could happen, a twig snapped to the left and Tsutomu whirled around to face another attacker. Suddenly, he felt himself fall.

For a second, he was so afraid he'd forgotten to be confused. Hadn't he just been standing on solid ground?

It was unexpected. This genjutsu. He was falling, losing his footing, seeming to plunge endlessly off the side of the mountain. He shouted, flailing. There was no end in sight to his fall, and his stomach seemed to climb into his throat and dive right back down into his knees.

He looked up into a sky that never met the ground, and in the sun's place, a great red eye glared down at him from the clouds, tomoe spinning with the Sharingan. Despite being imprisoned in the illusionary hell, Tsutomu could make out voices once he stopped yelling.

"No, don't kill him, wait! Dammit, Sasuke, stop!"

"What the hell is your problem, Naruto? I swear you don't even think-"

"Calm your ass down and listen to me! Damn, that knock to the head sure didn't do much to your attitude."

"You can't just pull this shit, Naruto-"

"Oh my-urgghh-I just-I forgot how stupidly annoying you are-!"

"That the kid talking or just you?"

"Don't be such an ass."

The illusion broke, and Tsutomu found himself face to face with Sasuke Uchiha, world-wide wanted criminal and member of the Akatsuki. He had Tsutomu at swordpoint, just seconds from slicing into his throat.

His face was pale and rugged, his eyes large and spinning, and he looked really pissed off. The whole scene threw Tsutomu off guard. Naruto Uzumaki traveling with Sasuke Uchiha?

What madness was this? Another genjutsu? Was someone wearing a henge? Was Tsutomu missing something here?!

He blinked.

"Naruto! Naruto!" another voice called, and the toad Tsutomu had followed came into view, stopping short.

"I thought I was being followed," the toad panted, glowering, but he was ignored as Naruto stepped forward. Uchiha didn't take his sword away, and he turned his head just enough to shout at Naruto to stay back and leave.

"I'll take care of this," Sasuke hissed. Naruto looked ready to blow a fuse, the toad was trying to pull Uzumaki away, and Tsutomu found he couldn't have moved if he tried. The Mangekyo seemed to hold him in a trance.

"This isn't your team, Sasuke," Uzumaki growled, dangerous. "So listen up. We haven't heard anything in three weeks. We don't know what's going on out there. I think it's a good idea to try and find out."

Sasuke's eyes drifted from Tsutomu to Naruto. The two ninja locked eyes, and Tsutomu could almost feel the electricity between the gazes. Tsutomu winced when the swordpoint stuck into his skin and twisted a little.

"Fine. Quickly," Sasuke relented, and Naruto walked up to Tsutomu. He noticed, with a chill, how closely Sasuke was watching him.

The kid meant business.

Naruto kneeled in front of him, blue eyes bright and suspicious. He looked different than the picture the team had been given. He seemed darker, his hair longer. He had a defined jaw, and a serious face that looked like it could suddenly split into a carefree grin if given the chance. Tsutomu thought he could see Kushina in that jawline.

Uzumaki looked so much like the Fourth then that Tsutomu froze, inside and out. He remembered, once upon a time, when he would have died for the Fourth.

But that had been a long time ago.

"We aren't enemies," Naruto said lowly. "If you could-"

"But we are," Tsutomu said suddenly, and Naruto's brow furrowed. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Tsutomu acted.

He had activated his own genjutsu the minute Sasuke broke his illusion, and he'd been feeling the Mangekyo slowly lift. He rolled away, hitting back Uchiha's sword. Sasuke quickly and protectively leaped in front of Naruto, pushing him back, but Tsutomu was headed for the trees. Uchiha was on his tail, and he knew it, but Tsutomu stopped climbing once the branches grew too thin, and the figures below were as small as a drop of blood,. All the while, Sasuke sent surges of electricity with his sword, while Tsutomu deflected and twisted out of the way.

Uchiha was glowering, looking venomous once he had caught up. "You're not getting away to squeal," he hissed, and Tsutomu shook his head.

Then he did the unthinkable.

He dropped his weapons and held his hands up in surrender. before Sasuke could deliver a hefty blow. Sasuke faltered, and Naruto was watching the scene unfold from below.

"In two days time," he said, making sure his voice carried, "the Kages will meet in a shrine at the base of Sun Mountain. It's a death trap. All but the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage will be assassinated. And as of last week, the Fire Lord deemed all sealing techniques and making of Jinchuurikis forbidden. There is a pretty price on Uzumaki's head."

The silence that followed seemed to quiet even the rain.

"The hidden villages are coming to an end of their glory days. Our lives as ninja, as we know it, are about to change. Ninja arts are about to become heavily guarded."

"Why are you telling us this?" Sasuke Uchiha whispered, and Tsutomu grinned bitterly.

"I had a home once," he said, "and I swore to protect it. I used to tell everyone it was my Ninja Way; I would always protect my people, no matter the cost. Maybe you aren't part of the Leaf anymore, Uchiha, but Uzumaki is. And we're all ninja. We all have common ground here. If I'm lucky, you'll reach the shrine in time to warn the Kages, and you'll know the stay the hell away from this mountain range. The team came up with all possible escape routes from Suna and covered them. They're waiting for you to take the road to Taiyou.

The Temple may be a great place to hide, but that's what they're betting on. They have the roads covered. Stray from the forests and you're dead men. Even then, it's only a matter of time before they start branching out."

He took a breath, realizing how high up he was.

"There's a wagon of refugees coming in from Wind Country. Raid survivors. Should be passing by the path here in an hour or so. It's already been searched. I can get you on there."

The rain stopped falling, and Sasuke lowered his sword after searching Tsutomu's face for a moment, as if he could find lies concealed in the lines of Tsutomu's face. A long moment passed, and Sasuke frowned, looking to Naruto.

"Take us," he said finally, red eyes fixed on the ground below. Tsutomu didn't need to look to know where the boy's eyes had landed. He wondered how Uzumaki and Uchiha had come to cross paths again, what kept them side by side.

An hour later, the four of them were huddled under cloaks along the strip of trees by the path, drenched in rain again. A light bobbed in the distance like a firefly until the wagon came closer and the driver stopped, wary at the sight of the Guardia. Tsutomu stopped the wagon, assuring its driver he had found some lost and weary wanderers on the road.

Uzumaki paused before he could enter, and turned to look at Tsutomu, a fierce light in his eyes. "You have my word," he said, "And that's my Ninja Way! I won't let anything happen to the Kages." WIth that, he climbed in, Uchiha watching all the while, an unreadable expression on his face.

Tsutomu watched the wagon disappear beyond a bend, and suddenly he was alone. The walk back to his base in the tree was icy, lonely, and bittersweet, but at least there was another pause between rain showers.

The Guardians were waiting for him in the trees, and Tsutomu felt the knifepoint in his back before it had been unsheathed. He stopped, unafraid, and turned to face his accuser.

"Where've you been, Saru?" The lizard, Denbei, asked behind his mask. Another figure closed in.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Saru. Never took you for a traitor," came the silky, effeminate voice of Yuu, the frog.

"Got word someone saw an Uzumaki look-alike on the upper road. Blond guy. Long gone by the time we got there, but the women there were only too kind to tell us about how a kind samaritan ANBU with a monkey mask had stopped the wagon to put three weary travelers aboard."

The knife pricked Tsutomu's skin. He didn't move an inch.

"You got them headed for Izanami's Temple, Saru?" Yuu asked.

Tsutomu thought of Konoha in the summer. Of his sensei and his tomatoes and seven loud grandkids and rainy winter afternoons spent playing shoji. He remembered the Fourth and the Third and the cliffside, and how his mother would be waiting for him in her rocking chair by the window in her bedroom, like she always used to when he was little and running late. She wouldn't see her son walk up that path ever again.

"No use lyin' to you boys, right?" he whispered. They didn't reply.

"I got them headed past the Temple," he lied with a grim smile, "to the shrine."

It was too good a bluff to dismiss, and Denbei and Yuu knew it.

The penalty for treason among the Guardians was immediate death, as Tsutomu well knew, and he didn't struggle when Denbei grabbed him under the chin and pulled his head back. He looked up at the sky, and noticed it was going to rain again. He could see a crack of it from a break in the trees. This time, he was grateful for it.

The spring rain in River Country was cleansing.

A/N: This was all one chapter until I realized how long I made it. Part 2 continues next chapter, along with Sasuke and Naruto PoVs