As the midnight hour approached, most of the villagers and shinobi of Konoha were sound asleep in their cosy beds. But in the heart of the village, the imposing Hokage tower stood awake and alert.
Inside, the piercing wail of a newborn echoed through the dark and silent corridors. The usual Anbu and guards were nowhere to be seen, leaving only two figures in the dimly lit office.
"You can't be serious, Tsunade!" The Hokage exclaimed, his aged face twisted with anger and disappointment. He slammed his fist on his desk, making papers and scrolls fly in the air.
Tsunade glared at him from across the room, her eyes full of pain and darkness. She held her child in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. She didn't look at him, as if he didn't exist. "He is also a precious asset for this village!" she spat out, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "The last of the Senju clan and the descendant of the first and second Hokage! and you can keep him, your precious asset, in your village"
"Yes, he is!" the Hokage agreed, trying to reason with her.
She shouted back with disgust on her face. "I don't want to witness another bright eyed boy from my family get sacrificed for the future of a world where there is only war, death, and pain!"
"He is your flesh and blood, Tsunade! He is your legacy! How can you just abandon him like this?"
"Don't judge me, Hiruzen!" Tsunade snapped. "Don't you dare judge me! You don't know what I've been through! You don't know what it's like to lose everything you ever cared about!"
"I do know, Tsunade." He spoke softly, his voice full of sadness and compassion. He looked at her with a gentle gaze, hoping to reach her heart. "I do know what it's like to fight, suffer, and lose in war. I've seen many friends and comrades fall before my eyes. I've seen many families torn apart by grief and hatred. But I've also seen hope and love survive in the darkest times. And now you have a chance to experience that again. You have a chance to love someone new."
Tsunade clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with fury. "Don't you dare lecture me, Hiruzen!" she snapped. "You don't know what I've been through! You don't know what it's like to lose everything you ever cared about!"
Tsunade shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't bear to hear his words. They reminded her of all the things she had lost. Her lover Dan, who had died in her arms, Her brother Nawaki, who had been killed on his birthday, Her grandfather, Hashirama, who had founded this village with his dream of peace, All of them are gone, leaving her alone and broken.
She couldn't let that happen again. She couldn't let herself get attached to this child.
She couldn't betray Dan's memory.
With a look of disgust on her face, she shouted back and spun around to leave. "I'm not going to make a drunken mistake in my life! I'm not going to betray Dan! This discussion is over! I will make him the successor of the Senju clan, but you can take care of him as you see fit!"
She walked towards the door, ignoring the Hokage's pleas.
"Please, Tsunade! Don't do this! Don't leave him here! He needs you! He needs his mother!"
She reached for the door handle but stopped when she heard his final words.
"At least tell me his name."
She turned her head slightly and looked at him over her shoulder. Her eyes were cold and empty.
"He is yours to name."
She opened the door and left in a swirl of leaves.
The Hokage sighed deeply and slumped in his chair. He looked at the child in his arms, who was still crying softly.
He smiled sadly and stroked his cheek.
"Hello there, little one," he said softly. "Welcome to this world."
He looked into his shining green eyes and felt a surge of affection. He wondered who his father was. He wondered if he had inherited any of his Senju bloodline's abilities. He wondered if he would grow up to be a great ninja like his mother and grandfather.
He hoped he would.
He was about to say something else to the child when he sensed a familiar presence behind him. He tensed and turned his head slightly, seeing a shadowy figure standing in the doorway. He recognised him as his old rival and friend, Danzo Shimura, the leader of the Root organisation.
He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a cold tone.
"What do you want, Danzo?"
The figure stepped into the light, revealing his bandaged face and his single visible eye. He wore a long black cloak with symbols of darkness on it, a symbol of his allegiance to the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. He respected Tobirama's ideals of sacrifice and loyalty for the village and sought to become the darkness that protects the light.
He looked at the Hokage and the child with a mixture of curiosity and contempt.
"What an amazing bunch of students you have trained, Hiruzen! A pervert who hates to stay in the village and chases after women all over the world A woman who abandoned her son, the last remaining bloodline of Tobirama-sensei. A scientist who could be the next Hokage but is obsessed with power and research
And now this—this bastard child of Tsunade. What are you going to do with him?"
He sneered and continued.
"Are you going to raise him as your own? Are you going to make him your successor? Are you going to use him as a weapon for the village?"
He paused and looked at the child with a sinister gleam in his eye.
"Or are you going to let me have him?"
He smirked and added
"I have a feeling that he has some interesting potential. Just like Orochimaru."
He said the name with a hint of mockery.
"You know, your other student seems to have some... curiosities of his own."
Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temples, feeling tired and weary. He ignored Danzo's jabs at his most intelligent student. He knew some of what Orochimaru was up to. Although he did not fully control the darkness that was Anbu, he kept an eye on the most powerful people in his village.
For now, however, Orochimaru's research, immoral as it may be, did not harm the village in any way. He saw no reason to stop them, for they may have the potential to help the village in the future.
He looked at Danzo and said firmly, "The boy will live his own life until he becomes a chunin. Then you may invite him to join the Anbu."
He said this as a compromise. He knew that Danzo wanted to recruit the child into his Root organisation, a secret branch of Anbu that operated under his direct command.
But Hiruzen also wanted to give the child a chance to grow up normally and make his own choices. He wanted him to have friends, mentors, and dreams. He wanted him to have a life.
Danzo nodded and started to leave. But then he turned around and said coldly, "Tatsuya. That will be the boy's name."
Hiruzen raised his eyebrows and replied playfully, "Achieving the will. Who would have thought, Danzo? You still have some hope somewhere in the darkness."
He said this as a tease. He knew that Danzo had named the child after his own father, Tatsuya Shimura, Tobirama's right hand man, who had died in the first Shinobi World War. He also knew that Danzo had admired Tobirama Senju's will of fire, the belief that shinobi dedicate their lives for their village and comrades.
Danzo frowned and said seriously, "I just don't want the legacy of our teacher to die. I hope this boy can make the legendary Senju name proud."
He said this as the truth. He respected Tobirama Senju as his teacher and leader, who had trained him and Hiruzen along with Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. He also respected him as a visionary who had created most of the systems for the village.
He was about to leave, but Hiruzen gave him one last warning.
"Danzo, don't try to recruit him into your family." After all, you wouldn't want sensei's last legacy to be an emotionless puppet."
He said this as a threat. He knew that Danzo's Root members were brainwashed and conditioned to follow his orders without question or emotion. He also hoped that Danzo would not attempt to get Tatsuya into Root again. He knew that Danzo had given him the name and placed the hope and legacy of Tobirama on him. He knew that Danzo still had a twisted sense of loyalty and duty.
Danzo left the room without acknowledging what he heard. He closed the door behind him with a loud bang.
Hiruzen looked at the child in his arms again. He smiled softly
The child was a small bundle of warmth in his arms. He had soft black hair and shining green eyes that reminded Hiruzen of Hashirama Senju. He wondered if he had any other features or abilities from his Senju heritage.
He wondered what kind of life awaited him.
It was late at night, and the office was quiet and dark. The only light came from the moon and stars outside the window. The only sound came from the child's soft breathing.
Early the next morning, Hiruzen summoned all the clan heads for an urgent meeting. He had an announcement to make that would shake the foundations of Konoha. A Senju heir had been born.
The clan heads gathered in a large hall, where a small crib was placed in the centre. Inside it, a baby boy with black hair and green eyes was sleeping peacefully. He was the son of a Senju woman who had died in childbirth, leaving no other relatives behind. He was unaware of the commotion he had caused and the fate that awaited him.
"Look at him. He's so adorable." Kushina Uzumaki whispered softly as she leaned over the crib. Her husband, Minato Namikaze, the most likely candidate to be the fourth Hokage, smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. They had always wanted a child of their own, and now they had a chance to adopt one.
Shikaku Nara, the current Jonin commander, cleared his throat and asked the Hokage, "What will be done about little Tatsuya here, Hokage-sama?" Before he could answer, Tsume Inuzuka snarled, "We will take care of him, Hokage-sama. He belongs to us, the Inuzuka. We are his kin by blood." Immediately, Hiashi Hyga retorted, "Impossible. He should be given to us, the Hyuga. We would raise him as a proper Konoha Shinobi worthy of his clan" A heated argument ensued among the clan heads, each claiming their right to Tatsuya.
Hiruzen slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Enough!"
"This meeting was not called to discuss Tatsuya's adoption." He told them sternly. "This meeting was called to inform you of my decision. As Tatsuya's closest relatives by marriage, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze will be made guardians of the child. They have agreed to accept this responsibility and honour his Senju heritage."
A murmur of discontent rose among the clan heads. They were not happy with Hiruzen's decision, but they knew better than to openly challenge him. After all, he was the Hokage, and he had the support of Minato, who was widely respected and feared as Konoha's Yellow Flash.
After the meeting, Hiruzen and Minato met privately. "You must take this opportunity to improve your standing among the clans." Hiruzen advised him. "Although you are supported by the civilians and some clan leaders, your status and connections among the clans must increase. Otherwise, it would be problematic in the future." Minato nodded and told Hiruzen with a sheepish smile "Kushina is already not happy that I am treating a baby, our baby, as a political tool."
Hiruzen smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry too much about that. Kushina is a strong woman, and she loves you. She will understand your position and support you. Besides, you are not using Tatsuya as a tool. You are giving him a family and a home. You are also honouring his Senju heritage and protecting his future."
Minato sighed and nodded again. "I hope you are right, sensei." He said
-Author's note:
Hi guys,
So yeah I really wanted to write a Naruto fanfiction.
At first I thought of writing a gamer fic I even finished writing the first ch and the drafts of next 3 chs however How much I tried a seriousness that I wanted in my Naruto fanfic seemed missing . So here is my next attempt. I want this story to be serious. One of the main objective here is to make the main character's power creep make sense.
So please enjoy leave a feedback or any suggestion that you might have.