The meeting room sat within a deep forest. Like so many of the buildings within the Domou compound, this building itself was another work of art, with many columns and soft rounded lines for the sliding doors that drew in the eyes and held the conscience there. Gardens and trees showed in many area, with the sun's rays angled at varying length to distort the shadows into the designs of the mystery that grew and grew the longer one stood in front of it. Inside, the meeting room was no different. It truly was a place of communication, a place which the design invited the mind to wander, explore, and settle, a place where every line of architecture needed interpertation. Art was as much a part of what it was to be in the amalgamation as was the warrior and stern training they all underwent.
Mikito and many others considered art to be a conscious link to the mysteries of Chakra, Nature Energy, and so the sculptures and portraits that line every hall and staircase were more than mere replicas. These were all artistic interpertations of the great people they represented, saying in form alone what the depicted individuals might speak in words or express with their intent. Gotou and Daishiro slowly walked down one clean and decorated corridor, the candle lights were out, and the wooden screens were moved to allow natural light in, but there was a brightly illuminated room in the distance before them.
"What do you make of it?" Daishiro pondered, shaking his head. "We should've seen an attack coming from those hairy beasts...This should have been no surprise to the wary, and easy for us to predict."
"We're too focused on the future, but we have to be." Gotou replied. The stern man seemed tired. Daishiro could more than understand the source of that weariness. "We're going to need to crunch our time."
"And only those who are a part of the village system or our amalgamation can sense the possibilities of the future..." Daishiro said.
"The only way we're going to be able to predict anything is by probing the coastline where the Water damiyo and his legion are."
Daishiro spent a moment digesting that remark, doing that was going to be no small thing. Not at all. Journeys to the edges of the Water country were not to be taken lightly. Even more dire, the fact that Daishiro believed that the disturbance all of them had sensed was so entrenched in the blood of war was truly foreboding.
"It's been a few months since the Water damiyo attacked, and still he nor his main legion have shown themselves." Gotou remarked, daring to say it aloud.
"Do you think they're are behind this present disturbance?" Daishiro dared to ask.
"They're out there by the coast wreaking havoc." Gotou said with careful resolve. "A certainty that is."
"Do you think we'll be able to thwart those humanoid creatures so we can bring balance to where we are?"
Gotou stopped walking and slowly turned to regard the other man, his expression showing a range of emotions behind the mask that reminded Daishiro that they didn't know what destroying the Water damiyo would entail.
"Only if we keep pushing the way we are." Gotou replied, They resumed their walk, the only sound the patter of their footsteps.
"Only by cutting off that part of the forest will we be able to do what we need to. It's only a matter of doing that in a timely fashion."
Clad in gray war armor that was somewhat outdated, burned from countless ninjutsu attacks, but still undeniably effective, Hashirama sat easily on the ledge, a few stories and more up from the Konoha streets below. His Kabuto helmet, too, was gray, except for a red ridge crossing his eyes and running down from brow to chin. His perch seemed somewhat precarious, considering the wind at this height, but to one as agile and skilled as Hashirama, and with a penchant for getting himself into and out of difficult places, this was nothing out of the ordinary. Right on time, a cart pulled up near the ledge and hovered there, a mix of clan members, Tadakki nodded to him and climbed out, stepping carefully onto ground to get the supplies.
Hashirama paced between his desk and the two shelves made from his Moktuon jutsu to hold all of his scrolls. Some for battle, others were works of literature and for his personal education. Tobirama and Kiyoshi watched him carefully. They knew a battle rage. The noise and screams of the monsters and the explosions were muffled as far as they were from it, but every time the trio felt and could hear the faint boom of a collaboration ninjutsu, they had to stop themselves from wincing and growling in frustration. Their imaginations and mental imagery training showed and supplied the damage of the gargantuan ninjutsu had inflicted on the landscape.
The enemies were these hairy humanoids. They were between three feet tall and twelve feet tall, they had three fingers and were covered in hair. The ground forces and the biggest and tallest were being bombarded and bifucrated by the sheer ferocity of the ninjutsu onslaught. Around them, the snapping movements of Katsumi and others layed waste with sword and ninjutsu used in combination. They had chosen the high ceiling Hokage office as their central headquarters for this scouting mission between the three of them.
"Hashirama-sama...Can you sit down?" Kiyoshi called out in a quiet tone. "You're making me restless with all your pacing.
In moments of crisis Hashirama was always calm. Tobirama, just a little shorter than Hashirama was always much more serious during times like this. Kiyoshi could see the strain on their faces. They had slept earlier in the day, and they got done snacking just a few hours ago before the moon began its long rise into the night sky.
Mikito, Katsumi, and others had been fighting for nearly fourteen hours now. They were waiting for the news from one of their scouts they had sent out in that direction, and it seemed to be taking too long. At one point Hashirama could remember their mutual quest to bring peace to their war torn world, even if their ideals and ways of going about it never met completely. Their respective wars with their Council of Elders was yey another remind of the bloody history of their era.
The clans themselves had been torn by conflict for centuries, as the two, leader and Council, struggled for dominance and control. It was Hashirama, Mikito, Tobirama, Haji, Syrus, Ahiko, and Usagi that finally called for peace and change. It was the young that ended the Council of Elders, and instead made a Council that would be mre streamlined and quicker to take action. The Elders had tried to refuse, but once they realized they had to make actual contributions, rather than dictating, a lot of them could agree with the plan.
Hashirama had never believed in a cause more. He had never believed in a cause more than he had with Konoha. He had forsaken most of what Butsuma had taught him when it came to certain things. He had turned his back on him to battle for peace in their war torn world, one of the very few to staunchly hold this position besides Madara, Mikito, and Syrus. Sometimes he couldn't believe he actually made the decisions leading up to this moment, with help of course, but it still mystified him.
He'd look at the clans gathered, and all of the children, and he'd remember why he had to make such a decision. He had never felt as close to anyone as he did with Tobirama and Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi's dark eyes cleamed into his face, that was starting to streak with sweat. Tobirama's eyes gleamed briefly. He patted the seat where Kiyoshi had gestured to just a few minutes ago.
"I'm sure we'll be able to get on good terms with Mikito and the Domou." Tobirama assured his elder brother. "It must be done."
"Incredible." Hashirama murmured, finally finding his seat. "What monstrous power."
"We have to strike when the Water damiyo's ships and other ships are refueling and replenishing. It's our only chance to get the preemptive strike that we need. The Shimura's traps dealt the first lethal blow, we have to follow it up."
Danzo and Tobirama had been the ones to note that the Water damiyo and those other clans were attacking in the same patterns. Chaotic and completely unorganized, but there was a pattern to the attacks that disguised their true intentions and movements in these attacks. The advanced weaponry and ninjutsu had to be refueled, refitted, and cooridnated with the utmost precision. Some of the war ships had been fighting for so long, the cannons were all but worn out and could only make a few more volleys at best. Their collaborative ninjutsu were also becoming less and less as the strain they induced was far too great.
The oldest and aging of the ships had to be checked more frequently. They had to be refueled more frequently. Hasty repairs were made using earth jutsu, and some of these ships were being controlled by clones. They were vulnerable now, but there'd come a time when they were completely exposed and couldn't do anything but scramble. Hashirama's plan was to invade the coast with a small unit during the refueling process. While someone disabled the sail, coal, and steam powered converters on these ships, the others would serve as lookouts and take out any resistance that happened to be there. If a battle did start, the first objective was to distract the enemies and lead them into another Shimura trap or ambush. It was risky, but if they were able to do this successfully, victory in the long term would be assured.
Recently those of the middle generation, a little older than Hashirama offered their complete and total support. They formed an alliance all by themselves working together, but victory was only in the sight. And, since the middle generation was offering the younger generation their assistance, the Elders would be outnumbered if they tried to change what he put into place.
Danzo, the leader of the current unit making their move, was now working to expand a small side tunnel into the coast's interior shafts and cliffs. Fromt here they would be able to enter the coastal region through a secret passage in the landscape.
"All we need is timing and luck." Tobirama said.
Hashirama grinned. "We don't need luck."
"Everybody needs luck here and there." Kiyoshi said.
"Not us. We have skill and determination on our side." They held out their fists toward each other, their knuckles as close as they could without touching. The gesture was a ritual they'd developed through the many battles over the past weeks.
Suddenly, a small, slender girl rushed into the vault. "We just got back. Danzo says we're all clear."
"Thanks, Fumiko." Obi-Wan said, springing to his feet. "Are you ready for this mission?"
She nodded and held up her fingers, making a snipping motion. "I'm ready to cut the valve to their strength."
He hated to involve Fumiko and Danzo. She was just one year younger and used to battle, but her father had been a master at sabotage and used to bring down castle walls. She'd grown up around every kind of water and land transport available. She knew how to use her chakra like a cutter, and how to disable a power converter with these huge sailing ships and coal powered monstrosities. Tobirama was counting on the fact that she was small, swift and agile. She could slip into the ships through the cargo holds or through the openings the cannons made if she really pushed it. With lots of luck on their side, she could do it without being seen.
Hashirama, Kiyoshi, Fumiko, Tobirama, and Danzo hurried through the tunnels made by earth jutsu. When they got to the new tunnel immediately beneath the coast, they moved more carefully. They were now directly below the armies and guards fighting. Danzo slowly made his way toward them. His face was completely covered in dirt and muck. His clothes were filthy.
"Took longer because we had to work so quietly, the battles just ended a few hours ago." he murmured to them.
"You'll come up right behind the fueling tanks in these ships. Three of the Water damiyo's ships are lined up next to the Akebino's steam powered war ship. Two are close to the coast line. There are two dozen Akebino shinobi and six dozen normal guards watching over it. When they go bang, they won't be expecting you to come from below."
Remember, my child, when you are outnumbered, surprise is your best ally. Fumiko's father's calm voice entered her mind, twining through her apprehension like a cool river. She felt a pang. She had never carried off an operation like this without her father or lots of adults by her side. Fumiko reached out to the chakra around her. She would need it in this battle. But the chakra slipped away from her like an unseen sea creature that brushed against her and then moved on. She could not reach it or summon it from where he was. She could only imagine its great power. The same power that had kept her face to this very point.
"Nature energy can never leave you. It is a constant, that's why it feels like it slips out of your reach. You must look inside, not out." Kiyoshi said in a quiet tone, looking at Fumiko with his ever observant eyes.
"Yes, Hokage-sama" Fumiko thought aloud. "How can inside when I'm in the middle of a war zone?
"Fumiko, you're not getting nervous." Danzo touched her shoulder. "It's time."
Danzo moved the boulders aside carefully. Tobirama boosted Fumiko and Danzo up at the same, and then followed. Fumiko swung herself out with her usual agility. Hashirama clambered up a little clumsily, but without making a noise. They crouched behind the huge jagged cliffs. The shinobi on guard, and the soldiers patrolling were working busily to refuel the ships and clean up the casualties, didn't notice them. Nor did the guards, who stood at the entrance of the ships, their backs to the mountain edge.