Hello! I am sure some of you already know the story by the same title, this one's just going to be in chronological order. That's all.
Oh and flashback breaks will be indicated, with the POV character. Year and age will always follow Danzo.
...
-Year 9: Age 5-
I let out a contented sigh as I stared over the village from my place atop the soon-to-be Hokage Monument. Half of Hashirama's big ass forehead was carved out in stone already.
It's been about nine years since Konoha was founded- I think, I was only five years old so the details were a little fuzzy. What I do know is that I gained consciousness about two-three years ago and found myself woken up by the sound of my house burning down.
Truth be told the sound might have been my screaming parents.
The house made it. They didn't.
Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with an interrogation on what caused the fire- I didn't know- on accounts of no one giving a fuck about it.
I dealt with the house fire and was fortunate enough not to bury my new short-lived parents because of fire's ability to cook people to nothing in this world.
Since then... I've mostly just been enjoying my new death-note free life. It was amazing what giving up a decade worth of memories, of using the cursed things to kill criminals, death gods and whatever was in between it, did to a person's mind.
Personally, I really enjoyed being able to enjoy the hints of nostalgia coursing through me with every passing day, but in the end, even that got old.
Truthfully speaking, however, I am not entirely sure I was there the past few years- Whether it was due to the fact I was a child or because for the first time ever I hadn't just taken over someone's life and/or body but was rather just... Born into it?
Didn't really care in all honesty.
Whatever the feeling came from, didn't change the fact I'd gotten thrown into the shonen wonderland of talking an arc to an end-
"Huh, it's you again." A voice broke me out of my musing as I turned to stare at the source, my eyes widening the slightest bit as I took in Hashirama Senju. I watched as a small amused smile took over the man's face before he calmly took a few more steps in my direction, an eyebrow curiously raised at me. "That's my spot, you know?" The man chuckled. "It's where-"
"Sorry Sheldon," I snorted in return and turned back towards the village below.
I didn't need to look to know the man faltered in his footsteps.
"It's... My name's Hashirama..." The man remarked slowly as he took a seat beside me, his gaze taking in the same sight as me. "I remember you, you know?"
I froze, panic rapidly filling me at the words-
Shit.
Was time-travel involved!?
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck-
"You asked me if I was proud of my name, a year ago I think." The man clarified after a moment with a wistful sigh. "Wasn't entirely sure what you meant-"
"...You know I am five right?" I interrupted him with a deadpan look. "A year ago is like forever ago for me?" He laughed at that, evidently finding it amusing.
"I know how you feel, believe me."
"Given how old you are, I'd figure it to be a few centuries ago for you."
He didn't find that one as funny, judging by the depressed look that swamped his expression.
"So, how about you? Have you decided on a name yet?" He asked kindly, his cheer returning in full force.
He wasn't been weird- What with talking to a stranger, that was a child, and coming off a little strong at that.
He was just being Hashirama.
I once saw him talking to a cat with just as much cheer and focus.
Still a year ago... I racked my brain for the memory before letting out a sigh of relief as I recalled in fact asking him the aforementioned stupid question in the newly renovated Konoha stone for dead people.
I distinctly recall booby-trapping and moving a certain other stone that a certain Black Sapling liked to plagiarise earlier that day.
Pity he still hadn't eaten the bait. Though I probably shouldn't have hidden it in a freakin' cave. And if not for the Uchiha that had almost caught me trapping it halfway through, I would've just left it there.
Freaking Uchiha. Always causing problems.
"Danzo Shimura," I answered his question idly as I leaned back into one hand.
Hashirama hummed in thought for a moment at that before nodding in approval.
"A good name," He remarked earnestly. "Easy to remember!"
I snorted at that. "Oh, I doubt it's the name I'll be remembered for."
"Hm, most of us usually aren't remembered for our given names," The man chuckled. "Big plans already though? At such a young age. That's good, we have our best ideas young." He nodded again, now directly gazing at me. "If there's any way I can help, don't be afraid to ask!" He gave me a conspiratory wink. "Just don't tell my brother about it- Calls it abuse of power or something."
A single beat passed before he frowned the slightest bit.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask- How'd you get up here?"
"I had a ninja bring me here," I shrugged out the lie.
"...And they just left you here? Alone?"
"Yup." I deadpanned, looking straight ahead. "Freakin' Uchiha right?"
He visibly sweatdropped at that.
"...Don't... Definitely don't tell my brother about that."
I turned a pointed look towards him.
"Don't you have a village to run?" I questioned amusedly. "Why are you here?"
He gave me a bemused look.
"...How do you run a village?" He looked down, his head tilted the slightest bit as he put a finger on his chin in thought. "A village with moving legs... There's a thought."
Yeah, that definitely checked out.
After a moment of thought on it, I watched as he simply shrugged it off and focused on something else, once again staring back out across the village.
"You know, it's always been a dream of mine, this,"
...I am starting to think the man doesn't have a social life if he talks to random children like they're his friends.
"So many people, so many clans all under one... Uh, bigger clan." He shook his head. "All one big village, working together. Helping each other, making the world a more peaceful place-"
I couldn't help the snort that came out, interrupting him in the process.
"Yeah, sure, peaceful." The snort turned into a laugh. "Traded free-for-all violence for a monopoly on it."
An uncomfortable aura filled the area, causing me to internally sigh-
"Monopoly?" The man questioned, utterly confused at the word.
I let out the internal sigh.
"Instead of killing your left neighbor, you work with them to kill your right neighbor. Until he joins you and helps you kill the neighbor across the street." I idly answered before waiting for a single beat and continuing. "Monopoly."
There was a somewhat wary look on the man's face at my words.
"How old did you say you were?"
"Five."
"...Are you sure?" A single beat passed before the man whispered to himself. "Maybe the next generation will be normal?"
"Huh?" I deadpanned to get his attention.
"Hm?" He gave me an innocent expression, "I was just thinking about the weather."
"Right..."
...
Flashback: Hashirama
...
-Year 8: Age 4-
He trudged along the dirt road, through the gates. His guard immediately scattering and securing the perimeter in the process.
He was admittedly tired, not that he could ever show it. Despite the progress he'd made towards establishing order, having managed to initiate the village system. Peace itself seemed further away than ever.
"Hokage-same!" The chunin in charge of Konoha's first graveyard called out before him. A nervous tick to his expression. "Apologies, but a child-"
He waved a hand. "It's fine, my brother personally picked out these men. I am sure they'll manage to keep me safe," He remarked through strained teeth the Tailed Beast Ordeal still fresh on himself. The chunin before him not batting an eye as he nodded, turning his attention towards the growing crowd instead.
What had caused his injuries hadn't exactly been a secret. Given they'd spread the news of their upcoming offer towards unity throughout the entire village. And if the cheering crowd was anything to go by, then Konoha agreed with his decision. And he certainly hoped it would pay off.
If a tailed Beast wasn't enough of a prize to warrant some form of peace in the war-driven world then he wasn't sure what would.
He'd already tried every other avenue.
Favoring his left leg, the Hokage followed along the path. The large stone, meant to signify Konoha's current and future heroes, came into view. And stood just before it was the aforementioned child.
Keeping a few feet between them, the Hokage took to standing beside him. His gaze set on the names. All he recognized.
After a moment of silence, he made to speak up-
"May the sage guide you to a better world-" The child instead chose to speak up at that very moment, his hands palmed before him. The tone and fluency surprised the ninja.
He couldn't have been past his fifth year in the world.
"-and if not, say hi to mother and father for me."
He blinked.
"How old are you?" He almost couldn't help the question.
The child didn't so much as turn towards him. "Lost track. How old are you?"
Funnily enough, Hashirama believed him. Still, the fact there wasn't a single human, not there for him specifically, around told him enough.
"Me too." He grinned, albeit subtly. The child however still refused to show any reaction. "What's your name?" He continued. The earlier, albeit dark, joke suggested he'd had some form of inter-
The child turned around, locking gazes with him in the process. "I haven't picked one yet. You look like you have."
He blinked, the retort taking him by surprise. His gaze focused up, and his senses turned alert as they took in the child appraising him. "I am proud of my name." He remarked, not the least bit offended, even if he pretended to be-
"Are you happy about it?"
That... He didn't have a reply for. The man instead elected to stay silent, the child before him not favoring him with another glance as he walked past.
...
-Year 10: Age 6-
I had to admit, I was pretty excited about today.
Officially, it was the first day of Konoha's Acadamy's school year. Unofficially, it was the start of the academy's second week- Certain clan-born kids, mostly heirs, according to the rumor mill had a bit of a headstart.
Fortunately, that meant the 'cliques' should already be formed meaning I wouldn't have to deal with any politically inclined childish ambition during breaks and whatnot.
Unfortunately, given the rap sheet I'd stolen when I'd first gone in with my application, I was one of the few civilians joining them- At most there were like twenty of us judging by their filler-character second names. Though that ought to change in a few months' time when the orphanages were given leave to start sending in their kids- Apparently the 'Hokage' was working some sort of law into effect for it.
Evidently, the other civvies were a little wary about their children, and the guardianless ones, becoming future ninjas.
Still, overall I had to admit, pretty stoked.
I haven't been to school in like centuries by this point so this ought to be fun!
Idly making a clone, I ordered it to clean the house, secretly, while I was out. I figured Observation 'Haki' ought to be enough to keep it out of any prying ninja sights- Not that any were predisposed to spying on my house in particular.
Overall, that ought to hopefully use up most of my chakra and make it a little harder for me to accidentally put a 'prodigy' sized target on my back.
Taking out one of the many storage seals I had hidden in my clothing, not that I didn't trust anyone in the village to try and rob my home of course- I just, well, didn't trust anyone in the village not to rob me. Which is why I literally kept every valuable thing I had to my name, on me- Which was a lot given my family were apparently merchants in this alt-universe, go figure.
I was fairly certain the Shimura's should've been a known clan but honestly, I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Ignoring Murphy's sense of humor, I calmly activated the storage seal and watched as a wad of cash came out.
It should be enough to cover my expenses for the day, what with me only needing enough for my overpayment to the admittedly nice couple that ran a food stall on the way- Who definitely needed it more than I did. And of course my usual donation to the despairing matriarch of one of Konoha's orphanages.
Unlike the couple- Or rather the young woman who always balked at taking the extra change, and balked, even more, when I'd mentioned my future prospects as a WMD- The old lady that ran the Northern District Orphanage hated my financial sense of stupidity to the point she's threatened on countless times to take it for herself and not give it to the kids that needed it. Even if every weekly threat was met with kids in fresher clothes and a more productive temporary home.
I keep this up, I'll be broke in five years' time- No matter how much of my mother's former jewelry I sold. The good news was, by then I should have been a genin for a year (I wasn't planning to stick out all the freakin' years) and if I didn't make that money back by then already, then I clearly wasn't doing enough S-rank missions.
Giving my bland appearance a once over, I couldn't help the grin on my face as I strapped the bag over my back and headed out.
Today was going to be interesting.
...
The academy, to my surprise when I'd found out, had a five-year course- Unless one, of course, proved themselves good enough to skip a few years, or just outright skip it altogether by taking the genin exams early- Which by the way you can actually do whenever you wanted.
Personally speaking, I was hoping to wait until I'd gone through everything the academy library had to offer, which considering the lack of restrictions meant there was a great deal.
Sure, the general restriction was informally meant to be a guardian of sorts- But it was amazing what a lack of guardian and being seen capable of surviving by oneself made for getting away with bullshit in this time period. Evidently, they practically treated orphans with money as adults in this universe- Which wasn't exactly a surprise given schooling was supposed to last five years before said kids were thrown into the deep end of the pool.
Taking in a deep breath, and ignoring the occasional gawking clan parent, I started walking in after flashing my acceptance badge towards one of the ninjas stationed as security, who also chose to give me a pointed look- I was the only parentless kid around.
Judging by the disapproving expressions, I had a feeling they were insulting my dead civilian parent's lack of care.
The actual building of the school was... Rather impressive, I had to admit- If one ignored the disturbing lack of windows, for a school this wide, given I couldn't see a single freaking one besides the one above the entrance.
It was a three-story wooden building that looked wide enough to accommodate a good six hundred or so students- And again, seriously the lack of windows is disturbing- Not that they had anywhere close to that amount but I had a feeling whoever designed the place thought they would.
Either that or they figured that while barely a third of that would graduate, the number of applicants once they let in orphans, would probably be in that range at the very least.
I frowned the slightest bit as the entrance desk came up- It was currently empty and yet for some odd reason... A bunch of the kids, of differing ages, had stopped short before it, the one in front chatting animatedly with literal thin air, while a few immediately broke off to the right side, which led to a hallway.
With the frown still on my face, I calmly broke off from the main batch, my gaze looking back the slightest bit as I took the right.
...Given those kids were from clans so...
Were they still being tested? If so then... For what? Which class they fell in? Or whether they could stay outright? It wasn't like they were going to kick these kids out after already accepting them.
Konoha certainly needed the future genin.
But then... Wasn't it just a matter of luck? Couldn't any of these kids just hop into the first classroom they saw and say they did it on purpose?
I stopped on my feet for a moment and idly tilted my head as I watched the first one in the queue start heading off towards the left side-
"Release!" A voice from behind me echoed out, quickly causing me to turn on the spot, my eyes widening the slightest bit as I watched one of the students that had broken towards the right walk into one of the classrooms, a relieved expression on his face, while the rest still walking down the hallway either didn't notice or care.
...What was he releasing?
With another frown, I calmly walked over to the classroom he'd entered and peeked inside, finding a gaggle of students there already, and no window for the room.
Idly looking over towards the rest of the hallway, I watched as the kids there, most of them older, broke off into random classrooms situated around. A few called out the name of Genjutsu dispelling technique, while those that didn't seem to walk into classrooms confidently, for a few seconds before quickly walking back out with an echoed apology. A second later and they started looking around in a panic- My eyebrow rose as I watched one of them haphazardly run past me, almost colliding with me in the process.
I started scratching the back of my head in bemusement before I let out a shrug and just settled for walking further into the hallway- My gaze set on the classroom at the end of it, the sunlight shining through the door's glass top was a literal beacon for me-
Given what I saw while outside of the building, it might be the only one with a window in it.
Needless to say, the moment I entered it, I immediately regretted it.
Between the clan heirs and their clan cliques that looked at the very least a whole ass year older- My gaze fixated itself on one Konohamaru-looking fuck.
I cursed the window in the room for tricking me.
I'd somehow lucked into the fuckin' Kage-track class, even if that fuckin' term didn't exist yet.
And judging by the expression of the teacher and everyone else, they were just as surprised to freakin' see me.
"...I wasn't aware we were getting a new student today." The teacher remarked surprised.
Well, that confirms it, it's the fuckin' early access class.
"Congratulations on making it this far..." The man gave me a pointed look and a subtle wave of his hand.
I calmly gave him a smile and introduced myself.
"...It was an accident I swear."
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"I don't think it was, the entrance exam is very well made I can assure you,"
I stared at him.
He stared right back while the class started whispering.
"...Hell no. There's like a hundred freakin' classes down there, I am going to one of those!"
I ignored the suddenly surprised expression as I closed the door on his and his student's faces and tried to walk away, to no avail given the teacher's sudden appearance behind me.
...
"Well done, Uchiha-kun!" The teacher remarked with genuine surprise on his face as he stared at one of the Uchiha in the room, said Uchiha preening at the praise.
Goes to show what he expected out of these idiots if that's all it took.
We were currently supposed to be doing the paper-cutting chakra exercise- Which considering this should've been a week into their studies was either too fast or slow in development, I wasn't particularly sure.
Lazily lifting the piece of paper in my hand, I idly let out a sigh and just stared at it.
"Shimura-san," The girly voice next to me called out, earning my attention- It was in fact a girl. "Do you know how to mold chakra?" She questioned amused as she worked on her own piece of paper, currently slowly cutting through it down the middle with slightly jagged edges being made.
I gave her a deadpan look and nodded, before turning back to my own paper and ripping it in half with my hands.
"...That's not- You're supposed to use chakra." She remarked with a twitch, a twitch that quickly disappeared as she handed me an extra slip of paper, before picking up another of her own and starting over. "Like this, look, you just need to focus your chakra at the bottom and-"
I ripped the new piece of paper in half with my hands again.
"..." She just stared at me, forgetting her own work in the process. "...You're wasting paper right now-"
"Oh really?" I interrupted her. "So it's not a waste if we use chakra? For that matter, wouldn't we be wasting chakra if we did- Which in my opinion as a glorified civilian seems more important than the paper it's used on." And to confirm my point, I idly picked up another loose piece of paper and just ripped it in half manually again. "Would you look at that, no chakra wasted- And it's a smoother cut too."
She was visibly twitching right now at me.
"He's got a po-" The other voice next to me started drawling out before he was interrupted by the girl.
"No, he's an idiot." The girl evidently chose scorched earth. "Don't listen to him Nara-san-"
"Well, you're a little shit, I just wasn't rude enough to point it out." I deadpanned, earning a snort from the evident Nara and a glare from the girl.
I idly watched as she raised her hand with a huff.
"Sensei, Shimura called me a little shit!" She called out loud, attracting everyone's attention.
I copied her before the bemused teacher could respond by raising my own hand and doing the same.
"Sensei, the little shit had it coming!"
Unsurprisingly, the class found my version of interruption funnier.
The girl definitely didn't.
The teacher let out a long sigh and muttered something under his breath before he started speaking out in response.
"Shimura-kun, respect your classmates." A single beat passed as the girl next to me pulled her tongue out at me. "Utatane-chan words can't hurt you," He added on without a care.
Which was, well, wrong considering Jutsus generally started with words.
For some odd reason though, she chose to ignore the teacher's words as she continued pulling a face at me in triumph.
"I didn't know teacher's pets were already a thing here." I deadpanned to her face.
She narrowed her eyes at me.
"What did you just call me!?" She screeched out a little louder than necessary, once again drawing everyone's attention.
"Well, I'd call you a teacher's ninken but you need a few more brain cells for that."
It was telling that one of the students with a pet dog found that very funny.
"See, the Inuzuka gets it." I smiled at her, watching as her face turned a very visible shade of red- Steam figuratively pouring out of her eyes as she stared at me with a glare.
"Alright now settle-" The teacher made to gain control of the class before one of the Uchiha, surrounded by more Uchiha, chose to interrupt him.
"Uncultured swine, it comes as no surprise that you don't know how to address your peers-" The little shit remarked as he turned to stare at me. "-maybe you do belong in the lower classes."
I let a smile grow on my face, and put a hand to my ear.
"Can you try saying that without the stick up your ass, 'cos I can't hear you!" I called out and promptly pocketed my hands while I raised both of my feet on top of the table.
The Uchiha in response, promptly stood up from his seat and turned fully towards me.
"Sensei, permission to beat some respect into Shimura?" He questioned the teacher behind him who was now holding the bridge of his nose.
"Sensei, can you give him permission to fuck around and find out?" I added on.
I locked eyes with the Uchiha, giving him a grin in the process.
"Enough!" The teacher promptly bellowed out, the words to my surprise causing all of the kids around me to stiffen for some reason.
The Uchiha, to my surprise, immediately turned back around and sat down.
I idly glanced around in bemusement.
"Shimura-kun..." The teacher remarked pointedly at me, a somewhat strange expression on his face. "Feet, off the table." He added on, with visible effort for some reason.
"Sure, " I snorted and calmly slid said limbs off and back under the desk before I idly put my head on a hand and just stared at him.
The shaking Nara to my surprise, for some reason, chose to whisper towards me.
"Oi... Can you not feel that?"
I turned a look towards him, away from the teacher now staring at me in complete confusion.
"Feel what?"
"The killing intent!" The Nara remarked warily, his eyes switching between me and the teacher presumably glaring at me.
"Was that what that was?" I deadpanned towards the Nara. "Sheesh, even the teachers are useless."
A beat passed as everyone just stared at me, a few with opening and closing mouths before the teacher broke the silence, the atmosphere presumably changing in the process given the sudden relief that came out of the Nara next to me-
I watched in mild amusement as the teacher ripped off the badge on his chest, gave everyone a calm smile, and started walking off.
"I am not getting paid enough for this shit." The man said on his way out of the classroom.
At the silence that followed and the sheer disapproval echoing out of everyone around me, most of it towards me, I grinned at them all and calmly asked them all if they wanted to see what killing intent really felt like.
None of them took me up on it- Though the girl from earlier and the Nara did elect to change seats.
It wasn't very long before another, older, teacher came in to take over the class.
"Alright, which one of you whippersnappers is responsible for my colleague leaving?"
Everyone pointed their fingers at me.
The fucking pricks.
I was surrounded by little snitches- Which given were all future ninjas really didn't bode well for Konoha's security.
The older man nodded once and calmly berated everyone else for selling out their fellow comrade and quickly started up on a lecture about trust and what it means to support one another as ninjas of Konoha.
I definitely couldn't help the genuine smile that came up on my face.
I think I am going to like this one.
...
It was surprising how quickly the hours seemed to pass by- And just as surprising was that we haven't had a single break from lessons yet!
I was starting to think we wouldn't. This particular class at that- I was fairly sure I'd seen some of the other classes out and about through the window, enjoying themselves.
"-and so that brings us to a decade ago," The teacher remarked, finishing his writing on the board with a swish as he titled and underlined the words the 'Dawn of Villages.' "Now," He promptly turned back towards us, most of the classes evidently enthralled with his historic tale. "Can any of you tell me why the warring era ended?"
Most of the class's hands shot up eagerly at the question.
The teacher's gaze swiveled over the hands before he locked onto the Nara, who'd swapped his seat earlier, who hadn't raised his hand.
"Nara-kun, were you perhaps sleeping during my history lesson?" He questioned to the sound of mild sniggering from the class.
The boy sat up the slightest bit at the words from my view.
"It's obvious isn't it?" The boy shrugged. "Hokage-sama decided he wanted to build a village." A beat passed as I held in the snort that a few of the class chose to let out. "So he built a village."
Which, well, was technically true.
The teacher agreed judging by the easy nod he gave out.
"Yes, but why did the others agree?"
"The Uchiha?" Nara questioned in response, bemusement oozing out of his tone. "I dunno, maybe they wanted to build a village too?"
One of the Uchiha in the room scoffed at that, while some of the other students chuckled.
The teacher had an amused expression on his face at the answers, before he shook his head slightly.
"I was referring to the other villages Nara-kun, though I suppose you aren't entirely wrong."
The Nara shrugged at that and leaned his head back on his hands.
I aspired to be that aloof someday.
"Would anyone else like to give an answer?"
On account of him having picked the person who hadn't raised his hands before, I elected to raise my hand to avoid scrutiny-
I twitched the moment I realized the others in the class had followed the same line of thought, and all kept their hands down, evidently wanting to be picked to prove to the world that they were as dumb as the idea of the Diamyu's continued existance in this world.
The teacher raised an eyebrow at me. "Aren't you a brave one, Shimura-kun." He remarked to the irritation of everyone else as they realized they'd all tried to do the exact same thing as each other. "Well, go on then," The teacher clasped his hands behind his back. "Gives us your answer."
I lowered my hand and let out a sigh.
"I don't really have one," I snorted. "I was just trying not to get picked."
The teacher blinked at that.
"By raising your hand?"
I nodded, rather seriously in response. "You picked the Nara for being lazy, right?"
He chuckled at that.
"I picked Nara-kun, because he fell asleep a few times,"
I nodded again.
"So, lazy."
A few kids were rolling their eyes at me for that one, while some others chose to whisper insults they thought I couldn't hear between themselves.
It was at that moment, that I genuinely believed that Madara was absolutely fucking right.
The teacher on the other hand kept a passive expression on his wizened face.
"Perhaps you can tell me your thoughts on the lesson so far,"
"Too much rambling," I immediately deadpanned in response, earning another raised eyebrow from the man, and a few facepalms from my classmates. "Show, don't tell, you know? Make a spectac-"
"Shimura-kun," The teacher interrupted me with a calm smile. "Your thoughts on the village system, please."
"I think it was a test, personally." I shrugged, leaning back into my seat. "I don't think Hashirama-sama-" A few glares were sent my way for using the man's name like I knew him. Jokes on them I practically did. "- did it for a village, I think he did it as a last-ditch effort for peace."
Something flashed through the man's eyes at that.
"Elaborate?"
I let out a sigh and promptly got comfortable by putting my feet over the desk again.
To my surprise, he didn't bat an eyelid at the action.
"Well, he obviously tried beating everyone black and blue for it-" Several Uchiha and a few Senju snorted at that. "Didn't stick, people just stopped hiring the weaker clans against him and started hiring the Uchiha." I paused for a beat. "Which turned it into a dick-waving contest between him and Madara, to see who got strong enough to wipe the other one out first." I let out a shrug to several glares from the same freakin' Uchiha, and very uncomfortable expressions on almost everyone else- Besides the Hyuuga, who didn't really give a fuck.
"And when that started taking too long- Hashirama-sama realized he was just a cog in a shitty cycle that was part of an even shittier game- To the point, his shitty cycle was now hell bent on cracking out Gods of Shinobi to try and end the cycle and hopefully then end the over-arching war."
I calmly pocketed both my hands, tilting my head to the side as I locked gazes with the teacher. His expression was almost unreadable- Which meant he was actually making an effort to guard it for some reason.
"At that point, Hashirama-sama decided to just cut the stupid knot in half by making peace with his equal and chose to create a veritable superpower instead, which well, destroyed any hopes of the other sides winning the war and effectively ended it in one move." I paused again, frowning the slightest bit. "Truth be told, for those few moments, he had definitely achieved peace in the world- Until the other clans got the same idea and elected to make their own superpowers."
The teacher's hand snaked out, the chalk in his hand hitting the board.
"Hold your thoughts there, Shimura-kun." I blinked at that. "Are you suggesting that before the other villages sprang up- There was true peace?"
I nodded easily at that.
"There had to be- The Fire Diamyu held all the cards, if the others didn't stop fighting, they would've drowned."
For a very small moment, his passive expression broke before fitting itself back together.
"Hm. And do you think it was a bad solution?"
"I don't think it was a solution at all." I snorted. "All Hashirama-sama did was create one big clan, that the others immediately decided to copy- The Warring Era never really ended- It just transformed." I idly took my feet off the table "Hashirama-sama knows it, it's why he went after the Tailed Beasts, himself." The teacher crossed his arms slowly. "Because he knew, given the amount of... Power it'd really take to make a difference, these days, someone else would've done it anyway." I shrugged. "So he did it first, and spread 'em all to keep things in an uneasy balance and to avoid everyone ganging up on his village. Because, well, that's the closest he'd get to peace."
Silence that lasted for a few seconds, that really felt much longer, filled the classroom before a Hyuuga, sat directly in front of me on the other side of my small desk, let out the loudest fucking scoff I'd heard so far.
"What are you stupid? Hokage-sama didn't give them out because he needed to- He gave them out as a message! As a warning to the others, to show them that Konoha was that much better than them!" The Hyuuga stood up from his own seat and turned fully towards me. "Uneasy balance?" He scoffed. "The other villages might be too stupid to realize it, but Konoha is at peace you mongrel. You make it sound like we're afraid of them? What the hell have you been drinking?"
"We're not afraid?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. "We're that much better?" I stood up from my seat. "So much better that we could give out Tailed Beasts like nothing? To show that have absolutely no fear of the other villages?" I leaned in with every question, the Hyuuga twitching once though he held his ground and stared directly at me.
"Then why do we have a ninja academy?" I hummed at him.
He shook his head the slightest bit in confusion at that.
"Why else, you idiot?" He scoffed again. "To train-"
"We are at war you dumb fuck." His expression turned venomous at my interruption. "We're literally here because Konoha needs to train weapons, in the hopes that one of us turns out fuckin' useful to the village," I interrupted him. "Because believe it or not, Hashirama-sama isn't gonna live forever, and when he kicks the bucket, Konoha is desperately going to need a useful fuckin' weapon."
The Hyuuga kid's eyes swiveled around in an almost panic for a moment before his expression resolved in what probably counted as a snarl for his clan.
"Are you suggesting that the Hokage made a mistake?"
I nodded immediately and opened my mouth just as fast before the other idiots started gathering their pitchforks.
"He made the same one the freakin' Sage himself did according to myths," I snorted. "He showed the world there was a ceiling of power." I sat back down. "And instead of appreciating the view, everyone wants to break through it."
The Hyuuga gave me a very disturbed look for a moment before he shrugged it off.
"What the hell are you-"
"That's enough children," The teacher cut through his words with ease, causing the kid to turn towards him.
"Sensei-"
"Shimura-kun is..." For a moment he looked to hesitate- Said hesitation enough to cause the Hyuuga to rather waver for a moment before he slowly sat back down. "Not wrong." The man remarked moments after with a sigh. "Tell me," He continued, now pointedly staring at me. "Do you think there's a solution?"
I gave the man a smile.
"Yeah, actually." A beat passed as the man's eyebrows rose. "It's called sandbagging, and I am definitely going to use it."
"...What?" The Nara chose to question me, while the teacher for some reason just tilted his head at me, completely bemused. "What's sandbagging?" The Nara continued, at least somewhat more sheepishly giving all the stares on him.
I snorted at that.
"Spoilers,"
The teacher didn't like that answer judging by the sheer disappointment marking his face.
"Hey, I signed up for the indoctrination, not to kiss and tell."
His disappointment was replaced by a very uncomfortable expression for some reason, one he held for a few moments before he let out a somewhat amused sigh.
"I am starting to understand why you scared off my colleague, Danzo-kun."
...
"I challenge Shimura!" Two voices abruptly called out, pointing their fingers at me at the same time.
Evidently, our last lesson of the day was going to be sparring- Though the old teacher had elected to at least give us a thirty-minute lunch break before it- One I'd spent eating through a sandwich away from the other kids in my class.
Don't worry, given I am not that insane yet, I threw away the crust.
Our class, unlike the others, were the only ones allowed their own separate break.
The two kids that had spoken out were the Hyuuga and Uchiha heirs specifically, both of them now subtly glaring at each other.
"Back of pale eyes, this is a matter of pride," The future leader of the mentally scarred remarked, crossing his arms.
"Ho? I didn't realize the Uchiha were the sole owners of pride," The future leader of the physically scarred scoffed in return.
"I think you're mistaking your ego for pride there," The future leader of the inevitably blind snorted in response.
"Tch," The future leader of cousin-abuse rolled his eyes before he turned towards the teacher. "Personally, sensei," He gave the future leader- Okay this is getting out of hand. He gave the tomato heir a pointed look. "I don't mind kicking Shimura's teeth in after feeding Sasani-kun some dirt."
Was that the Uchiha's name?
Yeesh, I was doing him a favor.
"Girls, girls," I loudly interrupted. "Please put your dicks away, I am not interested." I let out with a sigh.
The segregationist activated his x-ray vision at that.
The emotionally constipated's eyes turned red, with a single black... Uhh, what'd ya call it-
Judging by the sound of surprise from his own kinsmen, and the completely startled expression on the kid's own face, an expression that was followed by a rapidly growing smirk, I had a feeling he just unlocked it.
Huh. Turns out you can roast a sharingan out of someone.
Good to know.
The teacher, in light of the new unlock, raised his eyebrows and practically couldn't help himself before he picked the Uchiha, his gaze quickly swivelling back to me in sheer interest.
I gave him a middle-fingered 'thumbs' up for it.
He didn't bat an eyelash at it.
The kin-slaver, besides gritting his teeth, followed the teacher's choice and moved out of the circle drawn on the ground.
With a sigh, I stepped into the edge of the circle while crows-hair hopped into the centre eagerly, before rapidly falling into a combat stance.
"Remember," The teacher started, one hand between the two of us. "No maiming, no lethal attacks, and most of all- Don't step out of the circle."
I felt like Konoha Hitler had his priorities skewed, but who was I to judge?
With a nod from both of us, he quickly removed his hand and told us to start.
The depression-in-training immediately leaped off his position, a near manic grin on his face as he prepared to punch my head in before abruptly stopping the moment I raised both hands and calmly insinuated he go fuck himself.
"I surrender."
Khitler facepalmed on the side at my behavior, while my opponent blinked once before he stood up properly and turned towards the teacher, bemusement pouring out of him on what to now do.
Khitler removed the palm from his face and turned towards me. "Unfortuantely, Danzo-kun, while surrendering is always an option, it is not always guaranteed to stay an enemy's blade."
"I don't accept your surrender." Madara's (Most likely) bastard son immediately deadpanned at that, his face however was almost disappointed at me as he tilted his head to the side.
"Figures," I snorted before letting out a shrug and pointed to my cheek. "Well, go on then, knock me out of the ring, or do you need me to walk off?"
Khitler calmly nodded at that.
"One can indeed always kill themselves if pushed to."
Fire-crotch hesitated, his hand closing and opening before he shook his head at me. "What kind of shinobi doesn't want to fight?" He remarked, his sharingan turning off as he stared at me.
I pocketed both my hands. "Shinobi don't fight you little shit." His expression twitched, his sharingan blaring back to life, as his fist closed fully.
"Shinobis kill."
I tilted my head at him. "So unless you want a death match here and now, I'd say stop sulking and take it." He grit his teeth. "But if it's a death match you want, I am more than happy to gouge those tomatoes you call eyes out and plant them in a fuckin' cat your parents can be proud of."
He, on account of the... Everything, chose to immediately jump at me, one leg raised-
Jokes on him, I was still standing on the edge of the circle, so... I just dropped to the ground and watched him fly kick his way out of bounds.
The teacher was giving me a very exesperated look as he immediately disappeared and reappeared before Sasuke's-trasdimensial anger issues, stopped him from attacking any further and idly told him he lost- As well that it was inevitable the moment he let me get into his head.
Needless to say, that unlocked the second tomoe on his sharingan.
Ha.
I wonder how he was going to explain that to his parents.
With an undignified curse, Madara's (Most likely!) disappointment sulked off to the side.
Still though, two tomoes in such a small amount of time? Sheesh, either this generation was just built different, or Itachi-lite was hella sheltered and definitely spoiled.
Khitler turned back towards me, his gaze appraising me gravelly.
"Danzo-kun. From now on, any future spars between you and your classmates will have to involve silence on your behalf."
I gave him another middle-fingered salute.
He reacted to that one with a raised eyebrow. "I am starting to think that's an insult of some kind." He shook his head. "You youngsters and your secret language."
I snorted at that- Idly wondering if slang was actually just another way of saying secret language- And walked off the circle. Everyone was only allowed one spar after all.
"Oh, and before we settle onto the second spar- With hopefully less whining." The man gave the 'petulant 'Hn'' a pointed look before he towards my direction. "I would like to make one thing clear. If any of you-" He was straight up just looking at me. "-cannot work, cannot support nor can you in any capacity co-exist with another, you will fail the academy." A beat passed. "And that is a condition placed on every class."
Holy shit, Konoha Hitler actually believed in the power of friendship!
"...Cap." I immediately deadpanned.
"That is... Correct?" The teacher shrugged in bemusement to my words.
Fuck.
Guess I need to get a friend.
Naturally, I turned towards Hiruzen Sarutobi and just started staring, my mind trying to will him into our canon friendship.
Needless to say, he lost his spar, and by the end of the lesson was visibly worried about something.
...
"-nzo-kun." I blinked once at that, a frown immediately latching onto my face as my ears pricked up. "Danzo-kun!" The voice was a little louder this time, filled with a hint of irritation. I calmly raised my head up from my arms and blinked a few times at the exasperated teacher currently crossing his arms as he stared at me.
There were some bad perks to having no one sitting beside me it seemed- Though given the way the Uchiha and Hyuuga chose to avoid, or outright ignore my existence, I had a feeling even if someone had sat nearby they wouldn't have bothered to wake me up.
I watched as the teacher idly lowered his hands to the side, one of them snaking out towards the board behind him as he pointed at an unanswered question.
"Given your need for sleep in my class, I take it to mean you were up all night studying for this exact question that I've elected to ask specifically because you chose to doze off amidst my teaching?"
Lol.
There were a few chuckles that echoed out from the other kids at his words.
I was up all night devising a secret strategy to induct Hiruzen into the Cult of Danzo.
Phases one and two were already complete, pretend to suck at the leaf sticking exercise we did earlier. And of course by suck, I mean I spent an hour trying to balance it standing upwards on my nose. I was starting to think the teacher kept me in the class out of denial- Or because I was the only one he actually knew the first name of. It was either that or he genuinely thought I was trying to do it with chakra.
Of course said the practice also meant there would be no sparring today as, unsurprisingly, half of the kids were currently exhausted.
Phase two had been asking him and for some reason actually managing to convince him pretty quickly to help me train my 'abysmal' lack of leaf sticking capability during our lunch break. Evidently, without spars going on, we had a regular lunch break, with other classes. More evident was that Hiruzen's parents apparently trusted him to make his journey home alone.
"So, in light of your refusal to answer, I will take it as a yes." He calmly reached the chalk out. "Would you mind coming down and answering the question for everybody?" He figuretively activated my trap card.
I idly looked over the question before letting out a snort.
Instead of wasting energy by standing up, walking down, and then writing it on a big ass board of all things- I calmly ripped a page out of my own book, wrote down a few words on it, and made a paper plane and then threw it towards the teacher.
'Give me a second.' Was what the teacher read out loud, to subdued laughter, as soon as he caught said paper plane, his expression somewhat amused throughout the whole process.
Ripping another page out, I wrote down the actual answer to the board and took one of fifty nails out of my bag that I had prepared for this exact scenario.
With a smile on my face, I put the nail between my teeth, raised the edge of the paper above my mouth, and shot the nail towards the end of the teacher's question, causing it to barely stick to the board.
Needless to say, a few kids face palmed at that.
The teacher, after a single beat of having watched that entire thing play out, calmly turned towards the paper stuck to his board with a raised eyebrow before he let out a chuckle and just shook his head.
"Well done, Danzo-kun." A beat passed. "I suppose you can go back to sleep for now."
My head was on top of my arms before he finished his words.
...
Chakra coursed through me, immediately sticking the leaf to my head without a wasted movement, nor chakra.
"I don't get it... If you can do it now, why couldn't you do it in front of our sensei?" The voice ringing beside me belonged to, given no one else was evidently crazy enough to be seen socialising with me, was of course Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The moment the academy had ended for the day, I'd elected to high tail it out, Hiruzen in tow.
I may or may not have pulled him away from his other friends by his sleeve. And even if I did, I refuse to admit to any charges.
"Didn't want to attract attention," I shrugged, idly glancing around the rather sparse and empty 'training' field. It wasn't actually known as that of course- It was just one of the many patches on the edges of the village, the academy not far enough that the boy wouldn't have bothered coming here.
It definitely helped that it was in the direction of his family home.
Though he had been somewhat bemused when I'd asked him to point the direction of said home when I was deciding which empty field he'd be helping me train in.
I think he agreed because he thought I was shy or something- If the way he'd kept silently chuckling every time we passed by one I wasn't willing to use.
He thought it was the civilian spectators that convinced me to keep going.
It wasn't. It was the ninja currently using them, but well, he definitely couldn't see them.
Hiruzen blinked at the words, his expression puzzling further. "I don't think it would've attracted attention... You were the only one that failed it..." He shook his head. "Actually I am not even sure you tried it in the first place- You just kept on putting it on your nose..."
I sighed at that, the leaf dropping from my forehead. One hand tugged on the collar of my shirt. "It's in the detail." I idly explained as I dropped on the patchy grass without grace, my legs quickly crossing themselves.
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen questioned, albeit choosing to continue standing.
"When the others did it- They used a lot of chakra. I don't. The teacher would've noticed."
Hiruzen blinked as he processed the words. "Is that a bad thing?"
I furrowed my brow the slightest bit, considering how to answer before eventually settling on another sigh as I gazed at the large wooden walls that cut the area off from the open forests. "If they realized how good my chakra control is? Yeah." My back fell to the ground, slight relief pouring out of me as I basked in the sun.
The entirely human, albeit super-powered, body was a refreshing change from the other crazies I was used to.
"... Is it really that impressive?" Hiruzen questioned, still on his feet.
"I don' know, you tell me if having better control than the god of shinobi at six years old is impressive or not."
Hiruzen blinked once. "Prove it." The academy first year deadpanned after a beat.
I blinked at the proclamation, raising my head as I did. "How?"
Hiruzen didn't hesitate, immediately turning his head towards the nearest tree- One at the corner of the enclosed training ground.
"That. Break that tree-"
I quickly rose my back up, about to stand fully before Hiruzen immediately raised his hands in a stopping motion. "Without moving! Just use your chakra!" Hiruzen pointed a finger at me, his face serious- Which was...
Hm.
He... Didn't assume I was lying at all. He just wanted confirmation.
He genuinely thought I could do it- I frowned at that slightly. I certainly hadn't given any image off that I was actually good at chakra, had I? And given my actual chakra itself, it wasn't abnormal or anything- Actually it was rather below average in amount. So even if he was a sensor, at seven years old, he wouldn't be able to pick anything out of the ordinary for a below average six-year-old, on account of it not existing.
I mulled the words over in my head before shrugging and assuming he was just too trusting for his own good- Which rather checks out given canon really. I idly turned my gaze towards the aforementioned target. And with nary a thought- after covering myself and the other under a mirage-based genjutsu, one taught in the final year of the academy- I'd snuck into the library yesterday- It was a jutsu practically built for budding infiltrators.
I may not have great chakra, but my control more than made up for it to the point I might as well have had half the chakra of a Jinchuriki- The better the control one had, the less chakra they used.
Idly willing my mind and chakra to it, I created a load of strings, earning a shocked gasp from the other.
Briefly glancing towards Hiruzen, my gaze widened the slightest bit as I found him staring around the area thoughtfully before locking onto the things.
Evidently, he'd noticed both techniques.
That was... Fine? If anyone else noticed it, though the lack of ninjas around made that unlikely- Either way if anyone brought up the genjutsu I was going to fully blame him for its usage.
Focusing back on the tree, I willed the strings to immediately latch onto it, my hands not moving a muscle, and promptly ripped it into the air and repeatedly hulk-smashed it onto the ground.
After a few moments of silence, interrupted by the death of one of Konoha's trees, Hiruzen turned a wary, albeit impressed, look towards me.
"I am sure there are cleaner ways to have done that..."
I had to give props to the brat.
Reacting that way to what could, at best, be classified as a new bloodline was impressive.
Especially considering his age- Actually it might be entirely because of his age.
Crazy fuck probably thought he could pull it off with enough training.
"'t was your call. That tree's life is on your head."
Hiruzen chose to ignore that. "...Wait... If you didn't need any help, why did you invite me here?" He suddenly questioned the demonstration evidently at the back of his mind.
I turned my gaze away. this time hopefully keeping my expression out of sight.
Okay, I was a little embarrassed.
"I kind of need a friend."
Hiruzen blinked. His red, rather long-waisted at that, coat fluttering in the sudden breeze. Despite the blistering heat- I am so not used to the new weather- and utter lack of wind since the previous week. Though according to everyone I'd heard, and the general populous' choice of wear, it was rather chilly.
"Apparently you can fail the academy if you're a loner." I deadpanned.
"I don't think that's what our sensei meant- Wait... Then why-" Hiruzen clamped his mouth shut, almost as if he was unsure what to say. His eyes darting from side to side before he leaned in close towards me, his volume lowered to a whisper. "Why did you threaten to take that Uchiha's eyes?" A beat passed, his expression turning even more worried. "And put it in a cat of all things."
I shrugged.
"I said it before I found out you can fail the academy without any friends."
He gave me a deadpan look before he crossed his arms.
"...Fair." I don't think it was but- He quickly shook his head before tilting it at me. "I've been kind of meaning to ask... Why are you so..." He blinked a few times. "I mean why'd you even say it in the first place... The, uh." He blinked one more time. "Friendless failing thing aside, you really shouldn't talk to people that way you know?"
"...In my defense he got a second stage sharingan out of it."
"I don't know what that means- Aside from the sharingan part, I really don't get how that-" He shook his head again and wagged a finger at me. "Look you can't tell me you said those things to help him!"
"I didn't." I immediately deadpanned. "I said it 'cos I am the late arrival. And everyone told me to pick the biggest asshole-" Hiruzen flinched at the curse, a disapproving expression filling his face immediately. "-in the room, which was obviously going to be one of the Uchiha and intimidate 'em."
"...Who exactly told you that?"
"...Ok I lied, no one told me, I read it in a book."
At Hiruzen's silent stare, the brat's gaze somehow piercing despite the fact it was on what could only be described as the chibbiest of ninja- Hiruzen evidently has and desperately needs a growth spurt.
"It was a beginner's guide to dealing with kids." I clarified.
Hiruzen continued to stare at me, albeit his shoulders relaxed the slightest. Either he recognized the non-existent book or he was happy I was been honest-
"You don't know how to deal with our classmates?" Hiruzen questioned, once again in a whisper.
I nodded once.
"...Me neither." The other sighed, sitting down opposite me as he did.
After a few moments of staring at me, the brat turned towards the destroyed tree and back to me.
"...You could've messed up Sasani-kun, couldn't you?" He questioned with a deadpan expression.
"Who?"
"The Uchiha you sparred with."
"Oh, please I could've gotten his eyes to the Monkey-gay stage if I wanted."
He stared at me for that one.
"That's not a thing."
I gave him a grin.
His expression faltered for a moment before he shrugged it off, instead leaning back into his hands. "So, are you just good with chakra control then or?" He let an amused smile grow on his face. "Any good at Taijutsu?"
I gave him a deadpan look in return.
"If you're fine with getting your ass handed to you, you're more than welcome to find out."
He didn't take me up on my offer- But he did tell me to stop swearing so much.
I had a feeling him telling me shit I wasn't going to listen to was going to be a recurring thing.
The things I put up with, honestly.
...
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