A/N: This chapter used to be part of the one previous but it made the chapter too long for my tastes. As the story progresses (especially since it will be so long), there will be a few minor alterations such as these as I make adjustments. If you're already caught up, please proceed to the next chapter (unless you want to read the battle with the Senju again, of course!)
For the last few days, Sakura had felt like something was off. While little had changed in her actual day to day life, the atmosphere of the village had somehow changed. When she treated the few patients who came in, when she interacted with the others in the clan, and even when she was sparring with Madara and Izuna, it felt as if something was wrong.
It felt as if everyone was waiting for something and the thought had left her on edge for the past few nights.
It was only after she had gotten up that morning and after she had settled down for breakfast that her suspicions had become a reality.
She was interrupted halfway through her meal by a series of urgent knocks on her door. Quickly making her way to her front door, she was met by a frantic messenger already fully dressed in armor and with his weapon strapped to his side.
"Lady Sakura, you're being summoned. There's been an attack and you're needed on the front," the man quickly explained.
"An attack?" she parroted, shocked, "What happened? Where are the injured?"
"A battalion of Senju have infiltrated the outer perimeter of genjutsu and a number of scouts have already been killed. The injured have already made their way back but you're needed for the war party."
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as a frown tugged at the corners of her lips. "What do you mean I'm needed for the war party? I need to tend to the injured."
"There isn't enough time. We're gathering in the center of the village. Please hurry," the messenger replied hastily before turning to leave, jogging towards the heart of the village.
As Sakura watched the young Uchiha leave, anxiety began to build within her. Despite having lived with the Uchiha for nearly a year and despite her strength as a fighter, she had yet to be involved in one of the melees with the clan. Instead, she had always been asked to remain behind at the village not just because she was their healer but because she was needed to protect their home in their absence.
To hear that she was being summoned to join the war parties made her worry about how deadly this coming battle was going to be.
Sakura was quick to dawn her battle attire, slipping on a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt emblazoned with the Uchiha clan crest before strapping on her gifted armor. She grabbed her newest storage scroll, a fairly large scroll which carried her axe and a number of other ninja tools and medical supplies that could be useful for battle, and secured it to the small of her back. Finally, she tied her long hair back into a low ponytail to keep her hair out of her face during whatever battle awaited her.
As she rushed out the door, making her way to the center of the village, her anxiety continued to grow. The last thing she wanted was to be involved with another conflict with the Senju clan. She had already had too many confrontations with various clans during this time and another battle with one of the clans which would one day form her future home left her stomach roiling.
When she drew closer to the heart of the village, she was shocked by the sheer quantity of shinobi already waiting. Easily five dozen Uchiha men and women stood gathered around Madara and Izuna, the elder brother roaring out directions and strategies for the coming battle to the various squadrons of specialists in their small army. Sakura had never seen such a large force gathered and found her apprehension growing even further as she wondered what sort of battle laid ahead.
Making her way through the crowd of people who readily stepped aside for her, she approached Izuna. Turning to face her with an indifferent expression on his face, Izuna greeted her with a curt nod.
"What's happening?" Sakura asked simply, forcing her expression to not reflect her inner conflict.
"An army of Senju are launching an attack. They already broke through our genjutsu traps, likely due to Toka Senju, and they are getting too close to the village. It appears that Hashirama is among the force but, even worse, that bastard Tobirama is with them," Izuna explained, his harmonic expression making way for a deep scowl at the mention of Tobirama, "He is too skilled a sensor to have so close to the village. We need to maintain the secrecy of our location so we are going out to meet them for their fight."
At the mention of both Hashirama and Tobirama, Sakura's anxiety flared hotly, rapidly morphing into panic within her. She could not go into a battle against the future First and Second Hokages. Her presence on such a battlefield was too much of a danger to her future village. Desperate for any reason to avoid being forced into a conflict against a Senju force being lead by the future Hokages, she racked her mind for an excuse to stay behind.
"Wouldn't it be better if I stayed behind to defend the village then? Is it a good idea for all three of us to leave with this massive force? What if some of their army breaks off to attack the village?" she tried, her dismay and alarm leaking into her tone despite her attempts to conceal it.
Izuna's expression softened at her words, misinterpreting her anxiety as being dread at having to face the Senju once again after her massacre of their strike force nearly a year previous.
"We need you in the coming battle since Hashirama, Tobirama, and Toka are in their main force. We need you at the front of the forces with me and Madara. Haia has drawn back the scouts to defend our home but, as long as those three are out there, the village will be safe," he explained as gently as one could in the heart of a war party.
"I…" she tried again, frantically searching for any reason not to be drawn into this battle.
Sensing her apprehension, Izuna leaned in close to speak quietly, "I understand that this will be a trying battle for you but we wouldn't ask you to come if it wasn't an emergency. Not only are you the most powerful woman I've ever met but we will be by your side. We will turn them back and we will protect our family."
Sakura frowned deeply, looking off to the side. She closed her eyes for a long moment, fighting back the anxiety that heavily lingered in her chest. Even if her presence on this battlefield could alter the future… how could she say no to protecting those she had come to love? How could she abandon them in the face of such a deadly force?
Looking back to the man she had come to consider her closest friend, she nodded sharply. Izuna smiled in return, patting her on the shoulder.
"With you on our side, we have nothing but victory to await us," Izuna states proudly, his words doing little to quell the maelstrom within her.
"It's time to move out! Stick to your formations and do not challenge any shinobi above your skill level! And remember: give me, Hashirama, and Sakura a wide berth on the battlefield!" Madara's voice boomed, giving the final directions to the small army that surrounded them, "Let's move!"
With an ease that came from moving as an army for years, the Uchiha all began their sprint into the trees. Chasing after the clan heads in distinct units and formations, the army began their rapid march towards the Senju forces and the coming battle. Sakura fell in to the somehow surreal feeling sprint, following the clan crests on Madara and Izuna's backs.
As they ran, Madara turned to look behind him, momentarily meeting Sakura's eyes. There was a moment of silent communication between them, the look in his eyes asking if she was okay and if she was ready for the battle against the Senju. Sakura nodded resolutely in response to his silent question and concern, drawing a smile from him before he faced forward once again.
While they ran, Sakura could not abate the panic within her, the ever lingering fear of how her presence during this time was affecting the future. She had never dreamed that she would one day be in the position she was now when she first found herself in the past. She had once promised herself to make as little a difference in the future as she could, she had promised herself to avoid the clans and here she was battling one while in the army of another.
How much had her time her affected the future already? Had it at all or was the course of reality set in stone no matter her blundering? She wondered if her influence on the reality she was in now would lead to a future she didn't recognize.
Would this upcoming battle lead to the death of Hashirama or Tobirama, the First and Second Hokages? Would she be the one forced to strike them down? Could she even? Even worse, would this battle lead to the death of Madara or Izuna?
Would this battle lead to her own death as the course of reality finally righted itself and got rid of the interloper in this time?
Shaking her head, Sakura forced herself to focus on the task at hand and not her rapidly escalating thoughts. She had little time to once again agonize over her continued existence in this time. She had no time to continue to torment herself with thoughts of what could and couldn't be; not when she was about to be involved in what could easily become one of the deadliest melees of her life. Not when there were people she loved who looked to her for comradery and protection.
No matter what happened, no matter what actions she took and how they affected the future, she would never allow someone she loved to be hurt.
She would die first.
Hardening her resolve, Sakura continued in their sprint through the forest, following closely behind Madara and Izuna who lead the team deeper and deeper into the thick treeline. They sprinted over familiar creeks and rivers, rushed along an easily recognizable mountain range, and ran through well-known woodlands - some of which still bore the scars from her spars with the brothers. When they finally began to slow and emerged from the treeline, the branches they stood in overlooked a cliff face which dropped into a spacious plain beneath them.
When the small army that awaited them finally came into view, Sakura's eyes widened. From her bird's eye perch, it was easy to see the numerous people that the Senju had brought in their own army. A sea of green and gray armor stood below them, a few splashes of blue mixed in, their fighting force easily matching if not outnumbering their own.
Even from this distance, it was easy to sense the waves of malicious chakra roiling off of every last member. Easier still was it to sense the alarmingly powerful chakra of the three fighters who stood at the head of the Senju forces.
Hashirama, Tobirama, and Toka waited for them.
Sakura felt as the eyes of those below lingered on her, their combined animosity washing over her in a wave that made her stomach roll. In that moment, she knew that they already knew who she was; that she was the one who had killed their family members all those months ago.
She could feel their bloodlust like a kunai was being held to her throat.
For a moment, the world stood still around her. The forest was silent around them, not a single shinobi speaking and not even the sound of animals filling the air. It was as if the woodlands themselves could sense the destruction that was about to take place and held its breath as it waited.
The calm was finally broken by a familiar yet far more ruthless battle cry rending the air.
"Hashiramaaa!" Madara roared as he ran through hand signs nearly too fast to see, immediately summoning fourth great balls of flame which hung in the air above the force of Uchiha.
As the fireballs began to rain down on the enemies below them, the cries of the Uchiha and the Senju together boomed through the battlefield, the Uchiha launching themselves down the cliff face to meet the charging Senju. Sakura rushed in with them, her heart pounding in her ears and her breath already coming fast as she faced down an army before her.
Tobirama and a dozen other water jutsu users summoned water dragons, Tobirama's own dragon dwarfing all of the others in its sheer size and power. The jutsus shot upwards into the sky to meet the majority of the fireballs that rained down on the heart of the Senju forces, some of the fireballs overpowering the water and hitting the ground in great explosions of fire and earth. The fireballs that were overcome rained boiling hot water and steam down onto the battlefield, cries of pain already echoing across the front line.
Sakura ran alongside Madara and Izuna at the head of the charge, her eyes snapping across the combatants rushing towards her. Her gaze fell upon Hashirama and Tobirama at the front of the Senju army, the two already forming handsigns as they ran. Massive roots erupted from the ground to tangle and crush those who ran forward alongside jets of water so pressurized that they both cut through the earth and the fighters behind her that couldn't dodge the attack.
With a burst of speed, Madara leapt over the colossal roots to meet Hashirama at the other side, the two rapidly trading blows as the armies split apart to give the heavy hitters a wide berth. Izuna, easily ducking beneath Tobirama's deadly jutsu, descended upon him with his katana, the two meeting with the clang of metal as Tobirama drew his own weapon.
Forcing her attention away from the clan leaders, her eyes snapped forward and locked gazes with a dark haired woman in gray armor, her bangs hanging to cover one side of her face. The woman smiled, the corners of her brightly painted lips pulling upwards, as she sprinted headlong towards Sakura, one of her hands reaching up to draw a katana from one of the sheaths strapped to her back.
Sakura didn't recognize her face but she could easily sense the powerful chakra emanating off of her as they rushed towards one another. If this was the woman she thought she was, she was facing down the genjutsu master and kunoichi legend Toka Senju. If she wanted her friends to survive - if she wanted to survive - she could not go easy on her.
Even so, she did not want to have to kill her...
As they finally met, Toka's bearing down upon her with her katana, Sakura slid beneath her charge. Whipping around to face her, she was forced to duck beneath Toka's backslash, the blade of her weapon cutting a few of the longer hairs from the top of her head. Bolting forward, she attempted to land a chakra fueled punch to her exposed middle but the Senju shot backwards, evading her strike as if she already know the strength behind Sakura's blows.
Toka descended upon her with a flurry of strikes, forcing Sakura backwards as she dodged a succession of slices and strikes that make her thankful for Izuna's ruthlessness in their spars. Evading her rapid blows, Sakura attempted to sneak through her guard, throwing a series of punches and kicks that caused shockwaves to ripple through the air around them. Toka's hair was blown out of her face as she skillfully skirted around Sakura's strikes, only further revealed the thrilled expression on her face.
As they fought, Uchiha and Senju clashed around them in an explosion of metal against metal and jutsu so powerful that the heavy sensation of burnt chakra lingered in the air. Fire and water met in explosions of steam and boiling water. Blades of wind and bolts of lightning rent the air around them with the sound of thunder and gale force winds. The earth blew apart around their feet, forcing them to not only evade each others' blows but the chaos around them.
Leaping backwards to avoid not only a slash from Toka but also a stray lightning jutsu, Sakura used the space between to launch herself back at her foe. Front flipping towards her, the elder woman shot backwards just in time to avoid her axe kick. When Sakura's chakra fueled kick hit the ground, the land rumbled beneath her strike, the earth trembling beneath her as she landed back on her feet.
Instead of rushing forward once again, Toka stayed back, gazing at her with a critical eye. Not letting down her guard, Sakura stared back, silently waiting for her next opportunity to strike.
The heat of the fires and the steam around them made her sweat beneath her armor while the rapidly building smoke from the burning landscape made her eyes burn. The sound of the battle surrounded her, cries of pain and victory filling the air and distracting her with her want to help her injured companions. Blood already stained the ground everywhere around her, corpses slowly building as the battles continued ceaselessly.
Sakura could see Madara and Hashirama battling a great distance away, the two powerhouses having separated themselves from the main force to avoid hurting their comrades with their widespread jutsu. She watched in amazement as Madara incinerated a massive wood dragon that barreled down from the sky, the now flaming dragon emerging from the opposite end of his jutsu. While the dragon slammed into the ground Madara once occupied, bursting open into an eruption of earth, splinters, and charcoal, Madara ran up it's spine, confronting Hashirama at it's tail where they met in a flurry of blades.
Sakura was surprised when Toka chuckled, her eyes snapping back to the Senju and away from the battle behind the elder woman.
"It can be impressive, watching them go at it, hm?" she stated, amusement in her tone.
"It is," Sakura admitted, having nothing to hide from her foe.
"I'll admit I've heard quite a lot of incredible things about you since I've been back, Lady Sakura," Toka called out, shocking Sakura with the respect in her voice.
"If you're the woman I think you are, that is quite a compliment," she returned as the battle raged on around them.
Toka smirked in response.
"Then as one kunoichi to another, you have my respect. Although I expect the same from you!" she yelled out as she drew a wakizashi from the second sheath on her back, this second blade shorter than her katana but no less dangerous in her hands, "Now stop holding back and show me that those rumors are true!"
Toka clanged her two swords together, the sound of metal on metal sounding somehow distorted. It echoed around Sakura like the sound of a tuning fork, the sound rapidly becoming louder and louder until her ears stung. As her hearing was overwhelmed by the air splitting noise, her vision began to shake, shapes and colors trembling until nothing around her made sense.
It took Sakura a heartbeat to realize that she had been caught in an expertly cast genjutsu and only a heartbeat more to rapidly alter the flow of chakra in her body, shattering the jutsu. The loss of the shrieking sound of metal and the return of the battlefield around her was jarring but not enough for her to overlook Toka bearing down on her with her dual weapons.
As she descended upon her, Sakura shot out both of her arms, blocking Toka's strikes and opening up her middle. The Senju looked shocked for a moment, as if surprised her genjutsu had been broken so quickly, before Sakura thrust out with her palm. Her strike hit the woman square in the chest, launching her backwards. She rolled once to regain her footing before she skidded to a stop, coughing up a mouthful of blood before her gaze snapped back to Sakura.
"Now there's a glimpse of that legendary strength I heard of! Well done, Lady Sakura! I can't tell you how excited I am to face a woman of your power!" Toka cried out excitedly, the blood trickling from her mouth matching the lipstick decorating her widely smiling lips.
Toka shot forward, unconcerned with her injuries, and the two met once again in a whirlwind of strikes. Sakura found herself needing more and more of her chakra to fuel her strength and her speed as Toka descended upon her much more quickly and far more aggressively than before. She rapidly skirted around her blows while blocking others until one of the Senju's strikes finally finding purchase on Sakura's skin and tore open a gash on her arm.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she forced chakra into the wound, healing the profusely bleeding cut as she continued to skirt around her relentless attacks. Landing another blow, Toka slashed open Sakura's thigh before forcing her to back flip out of the way of a particularly deadly combination of strikes.
While she was midair, already working to heal the gash on her leg, she caught sight of Izuna and Tobirama's battle behind her. A battle where Izuna was knocked to the ground, his weapon clattering away, before Tobirama beared down upon him with his own katana.
"I have you now, you filth!" she heard Tobirama howl, his words making her heart stop in her chest.
A sudden silence within her that was immediately filled with panic and rage.
"Enough!" Sakura screamed as she completed her flip, forcing a massive burst of chakra into her feet as she came down.
When she landed, the earth opened up beneath her with a deafening roar of stone on stone before dirt and rock exploded around her. The ground sunk beneath her feet, crushing downwards and forming a crater beneath her that spanned a hundred feet. An earthquake spanned the entire field as the ground beneath everyone's feet cracked apart, jagged shards of rock and crumbling boulders shooting upwards around them. Many of the shinobi around her, Senju and Uchiha alike, lost their footing on the rapidly shifting earth, some falling into the crater and others breaking apart from their fights to avoid being crushed.
Using the rising cloud of dust and the explosion of noise and earth as cover, Sakura shot out of the crater, rushing towards a still downed Izuna. Even with the battlefield around them having been turned to ruins with her strike, Tobirama had regained his footing, intending to still take advantage of his enemy's downed state.
Toka, having maintained her foothold during Sakura's attack and using the makeshift pillars of stone she had created in the chaos of her kick, rapidly launched herself towards Sakura. Sensing Toka's forceful chakra coming down from above and unwilling to waste even a second she needed to save Izuna, Sakura timed her strike perfectly, whipping around at the last moment.
Her chakra powered kick hit Toka's sword first, shattering the weapon, before slamming into her side and throwing her into a nearby boulder with enough strength that the sound of her hitting the unearthed stone was heard over the roar of confusion and still shifting earth. Completing her spin, Sakura pushed off against the ground, her feet leaving indents in the solid rock as she launched herself forward.
As Sakura charged at Tobirama, the Senju already swinging down on Izuna with his katana, his eyes snapped over to meet hers. As she barreled down on him, her lips pulled over her teeth in a snarl, he attempted to redirect his attack to instead meet her assault. Flooding both of her hands with chakra, Sakura used one palm to parry his blow, her hand sliding along his blade to redirect it as she slipped beneath his guard and struck out with her fist.
Her punch met Tobirama's middle, the breath immediately being knocked out of him before the force of her strike launched him backwards. He tumbled across the jagged battlefield before slamming into a group of Senju who had just regained their footing on the finally settling landscape.
Sakura stopped behind Izuna, her gaze only snapping down for a moment to make sure he was alive before returning to Tobirama in front of her. As she knelt down, her hands already glowing with healing chakra to tend to Izuna's broken arm and the lacerations on his body, she watched as the Senju forced himself to his feet.
Tobirama's shattered armor fell to pieces, the broken metal plating falling off of his body and littering the ground around him as he clutched his middle. Even through the agony in his expression, he met her stare with a venomous glare, Sakura's gaze hardening with the silent threat in her eyes.
She failed to notice how the battle around them had stopped, both Senju and Uchiha alike staring at her with looks of awe, fear, pride, and horror.
"I'm fine, Sakura, I didn't need your help," Izuna growled from below her although he accepted her healing, still struggling to catch his breath through what she can sense were broken ribs.
She only tore her hands away from her healing when Tobirama took a threatening step forward, intent on taking her on to take back his would be kill. Ripping her scroll from her back, she let it fly open in her hands, revealing the largest seal at the beginning of the paper. In one smooth motion, she gathered chakra into her hand and slid it across the seal, a burst of smoke erupting from the paper.
When the smoke cleared, her axe was revealed, her scroll falling to the ground, unneeded, as she settled her massive weapon onto her shoulder. Standing protectively above Izuna, she waited for Tobirama's attack.
Second Hokage or not, she would not allow him to harm Izuna.
Just as the Senju prepared to rush forward, a deep scowl marring his features, he was stopped by Toka who roughly grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Get off of me!" he growled, slapping her hand away.
"Look around you!" Toka yelled back, blood spilling from her mouth and her trembling hand cradling her injured side.
At her demand, Tobirama's eyes snapped to the carnage around them, finally taking in the destruction that surrounded them. The annihilated battlefield, the shaken warriors, and, most importantly, the look in Sakura's eyes.
As Tobirama's gaze returned to her, a new understanding in his eyes, there was a flash of movement next to him. Hashirama appeared at his side, the elder Senju burnt and bruised but in far better condition that either of his clanmates who had bore the brunt of Sakura's fury. His eyes snapped from Tobirama to Toka before finally flicking across the battlefield to Sakura.
He stared at her for a long moment, his expression calculating but somehow bearing no animosity, and she met his stare, unwavering. No matter what happened on this battleground, she would not let anyone touch Izuna.
No one.
Sakura felt as the heavy presence of Madara appeared beside her although she refused to separate her eyes from the Senju in front of her. Izuna, fighting against the pain of his injuries, struggled to his feet, standing at her side as well. Despite the injuries he had sustained, malice still emanated from him in a wave that was palpable even to her.
A few heartbeats passed between the group, the standoff silent and the air heavy around them, before Hashirama finally broke the silence and yelled out, "That's enough! Everyone, fall back!"
Tobirama looked over to his brother with a look of betrayal before scowling deeply. He met Sakura's eyes once again from across the field, her hand tightening around the handle of her axe. Scoffing loudly, he finally looked away, disappearing in a flash of movement with Hashirama and Toka.
The rest of the Senju forces followed closely behind.
Madara watched Sakura as they returned to Uchiha lands, the rest of his army following behind as they ran through the forest. Despite having faced down Toka and despite having directly confronted Tobirama, two of the most powerful shinobi in the world, she remained strong. She hadn't even used a fraction of her strength in that battle yet she had grievously injured both of the Senju.
Even more than that, she had saved Izuna's life.
He was overcome with affection for her for having defended his brother when he couldn't. He was overcome with awe by how incredible she had looked on the battlefield, the goddess of war he had once seen when they first met emerging once again in all of her glory. The image of her protectively standing above his brother, his gift to her perched atop her shoulders and his family's armor proudly hanging on her body, as she stared down Tobirama would be forever emblazoned upon his mind.
Sakura was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
As they returned home, Madara realized that the battle had helped clear his concern of her leaving them for the Senju. She had fought back Toka, one of the strongest members of the Senju clan and one of the most deadly shinobi in the world. She had defended Izuna from Tobirama, a shinobi nearly on par with him and Hashirama. She had protected his family even though she had risked her life to do so.
Of course she wouldn't betray them.
She never would.
After the tactical withdrawal he had been forced to enact following the shocking destruction and injuries caused by the pink haired kunoichi, Hashirama and the rest of his clan had retreated back to their lands.
With the return of his cousin Toka from her yearly diplomatic mission to his wife's village of Uzushiogakure, with the Uzumaki reinforcements that she had brought with her, and with the information hinting at the location of the Uchiha's village, Hashirama had been certain that this battle would finally mark the conclusion of their endless war. He had been certain that he would finally be able to force the Uchiha into surrender and put an end to their centuries long war with one another. He had hoped he would finally be able to work out an armistice with the man he once considered his closest friend.
He had not counted on the rumors of the Angel of Kiso being true and he hadn't never even considered that the kunoichi legend had sided with the Uchiha.
Troubled yet curious, Hashirama found himself in a debrief with Tobirama, Toka, and Mito as they discussed the appearance of the mysterious Uchiha healer.
Toka leaned back against one end of the table between them, her chest wrapped tightly and her open top loosely hanging from her shoulders as she smoked from a pipe. Tobirama sat at his side and, although his closed shirt hid the wound and the bandages that tended to it, he still held his hand over the injury delivered onto him from the Uchiha medic. Mito sat at his opposite side, sipping at a cup of tea while he himself drank something a bit harder.
"I'm happy to find the rumors were true. I can see why the Fuma despise her so much," Toka chuckled, taking a pull off of her pipe.
"You're remarkably cheerful about the Uchiha having gained such a powerful ally," Tobirama grumbled, scowling as smoke drifted towards him before blowing outside through the open fusuma, "Aren't you upset she shattered your sword and your rib cage?"
"Hardly. You two have your own little rivals, perhaps I was a little jealous?" she laughed, "Besides. I'm always happy to battle against such strong women. I was beginning to suspect it was just Mito and myself who held the titles of the most powerful kunoichi. I'm excited to be proven wrong."
"I'm more curious as to where she came from," Hashirama mused, pouring himself a dish from his carafe of sake, "I've never met a person with pink hair before. Perhaps she is somehow related to the Uzumaki?"
"There were a handful of people with pink hair who lived in Uzushiogakure. Such a coloration is not so unheard of in the islands to the east. Perhaps she hails from somewhere near my old village?" Mito supplied, gazing into her cup of matcha thoughtfully.
"Are there any ninja clans who were known for such features?" Hashirama asked before taking a deep drink from his sake.
"None that I had seen, no. The few pink haired families who I had met during my diplomatic missions around the surrounding islands survived by fishing in the open ocean. While none of them were shinobi, they were adept fishers and sailors."
"She could still be from there. Perhaps she defected from Uzushiogakure and joined another clan to hone her skills?" Toka wondered aloud.
"I would suspect it would be more likely that she is the daughter of someone who left long ago if she is from the island at all. I have no memory of recent traitors from my village aside from Akane. More likely still would be she is related to those who lived on the coast."
"That stranger certainly was quite powerful either way. And I suspect we were only given a glimpse of a fraction of her strength during our battle today." Tobirama grumbled, absentmindedly touching the wound on his stomach.
"Ohhh, you have a crush on the Uchiha's mysterious medic, don't you?" Hashirama teased playfully as he attempted to lighten the mood, drawing a snort of amusement from Toka.
"Certainly not!" he barked back.
"That would likely be the only way a woman could get through to him: punching him across a battlefield," Toka taunted.
"That seals it then. You should confess your feelings next time we're on the battlefield," Hashirama continued, "It would be romantic!"
"You're both idiots! Why aren't you taking this seriously!?" Tobirama scolded loudly, glaring at them both, "The rumors of that woman at Kiso were true, that kunoichi can heal others and she's sided with the Uchiha! You need to realize the gravity of this situation!"
"I'm fully aware, brother. Yelling about it won't get us anywhere closer to the answer," Hashirama pouted in response, Toka rubbing her ear dramatically and raising an eyebrow at her cousin.
Tobirama scoffed in response although he lowered his voice.
"It explains why all of the Uchiha who suffered fatal wounds during our battles this past year returned to fight again," he growled, "If it wasn't for that woman, I would have struck down that scum Izuna earlier."
Hashirama frowned deeply as the silence stretched between them, the only sound being Toka taking another drag from her pipe.
"I wonder how she figured it out…" he finally spoke, voicing what he had been thinking ever since he first heard rumors of her healing jutsu, "I've tried for years to extend my regenerative abilities to others but I never discovered how. Perhaps it's a bloodline trait from a clan we've yet to meet?"
"She could be from lands we simply haven't seen yet. Our continent is far from mapped out after all, considering the conflicts any cartographer would have to brave to accomplish such a task." Mito commented thoughtfully.
"A bit more of a comforting thought than her being a runaway from Uzushiogakure," Toka tacked on.
"What is she's one of ours?" Tobirama asked gravely.
"One of ours? You mean you think she could be a Senju?" Toka asked seriously, a thread of disbelief in her tone.
The silence from before returned once again although this time, it was heavy with the weight of his proposition. To suggest this woman was a runaway Uzumaki was one thing but to suggest that she was a traitor to their clan of the utmost caliber? That she was a Senju who had turned her back so wholly on the clan that she had joined their worst enemy?
Hashirama laughed, dispelling the dark weight of the room, "Don't give me a scare like that! That would be ridiculous. She doesn't look anything like us."
"Well neither did mother and neither do I. It's not such a ridiculous theory. We could be dealing with the child of some traitor. What if her massacre of the strike force that was sent to eradicate Akane and the Nakano was due to some vengeful agenda? What if she's sided with the Uchiha in some ploy to destroy our clan?"
"That could be why she has a healing ability so similar to Hashirama's. She just might have been able to figure out how to extend it to others like you can't," Toka added, a deathly seriousness to her voice, "That could mean a lot of death in our futures if she has your wood style as well."
"You're both so dramatic…" Hashirama huffed, "We know of every deserter to our family over the past hundred years and none of them are young or old enough to have a child her age. You're grasping at straws here and I won't have us treating a stranger like a Senju traitor just because she has this healing ability."
"You know that we can't account for even half of our family. We never had any bloodline traits to sequester away like the Uchiha did… until you. She could easily be the bastard child of some Senju shinobi who deigned it unnecessary to bring his lover into the fold," Tobirama argued.
"That would explain her massacre at the Nakano's holdings," Toka theorized, "She could have a grudge against our family because she was abandoned by her father. Or worse."
"Hashirama is right. We can't treat this stranger like some sort of traitor or illegitimate Senju child," Mito interjected firmly, her tone brokering no argument, "I understand you are both worried with her sudden appearance in a battle against you and her unusual jutsu but we need to keep a level head."
Toka sighed, already dropping the subject at her matriarch's assertion as she leaned back and tried to take another drag from her pipe. Dissatisfied that the ember lighting her tobacco had already gone out, she frowned at the bowl of ashes before tapping it out. Tobirama simply grimaced, remaining silent although Hashirama could still see his thoughts playing out on his face.
"All we can do now is try to gather more information." Mito concluded simply before taking another drink from her matcha.
A/N: Although Hashirama is sometimes regarded as "The Father of Medical Ninjutsu", he is never once shown healing another person. Instead, I think he simply had an incredible regenerative power due to his wood style. Tsunade is the one who is both credited with the creation of the official Medical Corps in Konoha and who developed actual healing jutsu to points never before seen (something she passed on to Sakura who has taken it even farther).
Toka only has one brief still frame in both the anime and the manga (volume 43, page 176 and episode 140 of Shippuden) but of course that was enough for me to be like "I love her". She gets a bit more of a back story in the official character book where it's revealed she was 27 and where she was given the summary: "A Senju clan kunoichi. One of Hashirama's aides. She is skilled in genjutsu and her powers are well known in other countries." Needless to say, she will be getting far more attention in this story than in canon.