"Nagato believed in you, so I believe in you, too."
Konan
Akira Senju.
Arata Senju.
Akihiro Senju.
Akihiko Senju.
Aoi Senju.
Hiroki Senju.
Fumio Senju.
Asami Senju.
Hashirama and Tobirama were more than familiar with all of them at this point in their lives. They were the Council. They were at least four times their respective ages, and some were even older than that. Some were pushing close to eighty, while the Senju didn't have the Uzumaki's longevity so to speak, they were extremely vital even in old age, thus they looked to be in their forties despite being much older.
They all shared similar appearances. Wrinkled skin, graying or silver hair-one thing that couldn't be helped. Their eyes were all sharp. Lastly all wore white yukatas.
These meetings usually went one of two ways. The first was they were short and sweet, few words were exchanged and everyone would be on their way; more to the point they didn't happen at all. The second being they ended with nothing short of high tension and everybody ready to strangle the other, and he was not exempt to this. Even if he was the more stoic than his brother. The Council often times forgot their place as advisers and not actually being leaders. It could be argued they were the actual leaders, since anything important had to be run and go through them beforehand, but he wasn't going to inflate their egos any more.
Tobirama kept his sigh down as he sat next to his brother resisting the urge to cross his arms over his chest. They barely had enough time to get changed and set their payment down before Akihiko told them they were waiting.
Which meant get to the meeting room.
The room was dimly lit with lanterns, the Senju symbol drawn on their sides. The last thing he really wanted to deal with returning to his compound was the obstinate elders. He had nothing against them, but they were old. Old people were set in their ways and didn't budge, it also didn't help many of them disagreed with his brother and his methods. He disagreed with their methods. They wanted peace, but their methods were different in comparison to his own. And, some of them wanted the conflict to continue. It was in short, a mess, in his opinion.
"Is there a reason a meeting has been called?"
Akihiro sneered at Tobirama, not taking kindly to his tone. "In fact, there is a reason. You can worry about Mito later, all her needs are taken care of."
"It is to our understanding the alliance with the Subatsu has ended." Asami took the reins before Akihiro chewed Tobirama out or the two began to argue again. Tobirama was always a bit of a brat, and it didn't help Butsuma would always defend him when he lets his mouth get far too ahead of him. "It is a severe blow to us, their prowess and strength was invaluable, but we will survive. It's also tragic Toka is no longer with us, her knowledge and experience was needed, but Satoshi has even more experience. Moving forward, it is also to our understanding that you've been battling the Domou clan..."
"Indeed." Tobirama nodded stiffly, already dreading which direction this was heading in. "They've allied themselves with the Uchiha so it's only natural we would come into conflict with those monsters sooner instead of later. They're no better than the Uchiha." He wasn't going to sugarcoat anything, if these elders wanted to be obstinate he was going to be nothing short of agitating for them. "I think we should start scouting their territory, they are more ferocious than the Uchiha."
"Tobirama." Hashirama frowned. "What are you saying? If we do that we'd be declaring war on them."
"Tobirama-san, you will mind your tongue." The elder immediately said, glaring hell fire at the white haired Senju. "Hashirama-sama is correct, and that won't be happening."
"I'm only speaking the truth."
"No, you're being a little brat." Akira spat with venom, slamming his fist on the table. He kept his strength in check as to not destroy the whole thing.
"You will silence yourself and listen." Aoi added, stern faced.
Tobirama snorted.
"Is there something you'd like to say?" Akihiro asked, inclining his chin. "I thought so, shut up now."
"Moving on from the Tobirama-san's interruption. You were battling the Domou in addition to the Uchiha in the next region." Hiroki said a bit coolly, flicking his eyes from one brother to the next before continuing on. "I don't know why you'd ever think of doing such a thing, let alone following through on it."
"What do you mean?" Tobirama practically snarled. "They are our enemies and are allies with the Uchiha. Mikito, that witch...That monster killed, she killed Hachiro. The Domou have slaughtered Senju!" He couldn't stop his voice from rising. He wasn't going to allow these bags of wrinkles to speak against the choice he and his brother made to confront the Domou. It was something that couldn't be avoided. Mikito-not counting the rest of them, had wiped out at least forty Senju during each of their recent battles, and there wasn't a shred of mercy to either of the Senju. Male of female, she cut them down, the Domou mowed them down, bashing them to pieces without discrimination.
"You will mind your tone!" Akira snarled.
"Yeah, right..." Tobirama crossed his arms over his chest, a clear sign of disrespect. "If you can't handle the truth that isn't my problem."
"You will mind your tone." Fumio affirmed, sternly.
"I have to agree with Tobirama." Hashirama cleared his throat loudly, catching the eyes of everyone for a few moments. "We had no choice but to confront them in the next region, all out war erupted and we were on opposing sides of the spectrum. The Uchiha are our enemies, and the Domou are permanent allies with them, we can't avoid conflict with them."
Though he would try.
"How deluded have you become, Tobirama?" Aoi asked, tone and expression still as stern as before. "And, you, Hashirama, defending his actions against us. The just Council that keeps everything in order, how deluded have you become?" Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer from the tan skinned Senju, and only a snarky remark from the white haired Senju, he continued on with a low sigh. "I expected better out of Butsuma than this, but I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less out of him...A true tyrant. That misled sense of pride he always had. How could he have let his two only living sons remain so ignorant..."
Every person gathered save for Tobirama and Hashirama shook their heads.
"Excuse me?" Hashirama raised an eyebrow, trying not to sound incredulous. "I'm not ignorant."
Akihiro sighed next. "Butsuma really didn't explain it to you or your brothers?"
"Explain what?" Tobirama asked in a snarky manner, earning several glares in return. He just shrugged them off, they can glare all they want.
Hiroki snorted. Tobirama was such a little brat.
"Butsuma really didn't explain this to either of you growing up..." Asami sighed in what seemed to be pity. She knew Butsuma only seen what he wanted to see and heard only what he wanted to hear, but there had to be a limit to such a dogmatic mentality. He couldn't subject his children to the same dogmatic mentality and pound it into them. There had never been more arguments than when Butsuma was leader and tried to speak over them, as if he was all powerful and had no faults. He was a foolish man. Truly foolish.
"From this point on you-Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-san, and every Senju alive and breathing will not confront the Domou for any reasons." Fumio said, his tone breaking no argument. He could already see the signs of rebellion in Tobirama's ruby eyes and didn't even brace himself for what was about to come out of his mouth. Like father like son, the apple doesn't fall far from tree.
"That's impossible! They're allies with the Uchiha!" Tobirama snapped.
"You allow your disdain of the Uchiha to cloud your judgement, you brat." Akihiko spat. "You will not under any circumstance confront the Domou for any reasons. Do not make me repeat myself."
"And, like I said that is impossible." Tobirama retorted. "They are allies with the Uchiha. They are our enemies."
"Do you know why it is we Senju haven't crossed paths with the Domou for many centuries?" Aoi asked, and of course he wasn't expecting an answer. These two brats didn't even know the foundation of it, let alone the details of it. "I expected more out of Butsuma, but it is pointless to ponder over past mistakes. He didn't inform you both of this, so now I will since he failed." He paused, taking a collective breath. "The reason why we haven't crossed paths with the Domou for centuries is because it was an unspoken agreement between our clans. They gave us a special scroll containing a special jutsu and demanded us to leave them alone-we suffered heavy losses in our war against them, and so we agreed before anymore lost."
Hashirama narrowed his eyes. This would explain why Mikito was so...So vexed with him and every other Senju. He could feel the cold fury gush from her pores every time he was near her, he could see the glinting ferocity in her eyes, he could feel the rage brewing through her with every single punch and kick. Mikito kept things simple and he learned this hard way. She was so vexed because they weren't even supposed to be seeing each other, but there he was battling her among other people, completely ignorant of this fact.
"The special jutsu is the Mokuton, Hashirama-sama. Tobirama-san." Akihiko snapped the younger man out of his stupor. "It was given to us as a ceasefire. The Domou were tired of us, and we suffered heavy losses, it was a compromise that worked for both of us at that point in time."
"That's a lie! The Mokuton has been in the Senju's possession for centuries!" Tobirama was about to lose it, completely. Thy were going beyond common stupidity.
"Because, the Domou gave us it many long centuries before that. Mind your tongue, Tobirama-san." Asami said, narrowing her eyes sharply. "I understand this is a lot to take in. Your father should have told you both this while you were still young. Instead he was arrogant as always and flaunted the Mokuton like it was something we created, when it is the exact opposite. Though, I shouldn't expect anything less. This is the reason our clans haven't crossed paths or have gone to war for many centuries."
"Hashirama, do you know what this means?" Arata asked, gently interlacing his fingers and resting his chin on top of them.
"I've been using what was to broker peace between our clans against them in our conflicts." Hashirama said, eyes darting for the table. His fists clenched. This was probably the cheery on top of Mikito's fury-he was using what kept peace between them to wage war and seek conflict. His father never said such a thing to him that he could remember. He always said the Mokuton was something their ancestor Ashura had created in order to combat his most fearsome foe. But, that couldn't be right since Ashura was known to use an avatar of pure chakra or something along those lines.
Ashura wouldn't have use or need for something like the Mokuton.
He never questioned this of course, and took it as the truth. His father was belligerent, but he wouldn't outright lie to him. At least he thought so.
Then again, his father did punch him that one time...And continued to punch him there after until he hit puberty, then that all changed. Too many times were they locked, very close to combat, and he put his father on his ass a few times.
The worst part for him was he was perpetuating the whole thing.
"You have also declared war on the Domou." Akira said, tight lipped.
"Brother, you can't really believe this!" Tobirama's eyes were glinting furiously. "Even if they are the Council this is nothing but lies! The Domou are our enemies as are the Uchiha, that's the truth! We don't even need to entertain what they are spouting!"
"You speak as if you are above us, Tobirama-san." Aoi said, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Remember your place."
Hashirama couldn't hear him, however. For he was just somewhere else altogether. What had he done? How could his father lie to him!? How could he have been so...So ignorant!? He was just pushing and pushing, every single time he confronted Mikito, Souji, or a Domou he was spitting in their faces and laughing about it. He was taking the peace they had for centuries and ripped it to shreds while laughing-and he did it with his own two hands. He started and perpetuated a conflict...It'd be no different if he just started battling the Uzumaki-even if they were distantly related.
They had peace with each other, and he'd go and rip it to shreds.
He declared war.
Hashirama felt himself start to shake.
"Brother! You can't take their words to heart! They speak lies!"
"One more outburst like that and you'll be kicked out of here, Tobirama-san!" Akira shouted viciously, having more than enough of Tobirama's need to shout and cut them off every single chance he got. Butsuma used to do the same exact thing, except he was much more aggressive about it. "Do not try my patience, Tobirama-san. If you couldn't care less about being kicked out of here, you'll be demoted and no longer be second in command. Stop taking after your father and shut your mouth!"
Tobirama snorted.
"You have something you want to say, Tobirama?" Arata questioned, anger saturating his tone as his face contorted with anger. "Do as you're told! Your father isn't here to make excuses for you anymore, you will suffer severe consequences if you step out of line again."
"We'll be lucky if Mikito doesn't come charging through this compound with all of the Domou and destroy everything in her path and then destroy the surrounding area because of your ignorance!" Akihiro slammed his fist down on the table, sending a boom echoing across the room, he didn't restrain himself in the least and left a hand sized hole in front of him. He was done restraining himself at this point, these two little fucking brats needed a reality check.
"We narrowly avoided her taking action against us years ago when Butsuma foolishly launched an attack on them and lost the entire division and came back on the brink of death with his neck, arms, ribs, and legs broke and a lung collapsed! If we weren't so exceptional in medical ninjutsu he would have died! The only reason she didn't take action back then is because the Senju wouldn't be able to do a thing for several months! You dare to use the same jutsu that her clan created against them!?" Fumio added.
"They are our enemies!" Tobirama seethed, struggling to keep his voice even. He was normally stoic, but he couldn't contain his anger at the sheer lunacy the Council was speaking. "Are we supposed to just roll over and die!? They are allies with the Uchiha, permanent allies I'll add. the Uchiha have no mercy! They hate us! The Domou are monsters! Your logic is flawed. To even say that the Mokuton is their creation-"
"That clan of monsters you speak of had no qualms with us before. They created and gave us the Mokuton. It's because of you and your brother that things have escalated to this point." Akihiko said, equally trying to remain calm. Tobirama only seen it from the fact the Domou were allied with the Uchiha permanently and were thus mutual enemies to the Senju-he didn't see the fact there had once been peace between their clans, because of his and Hashirama's actions that was thrown away.
That would mean he was wrong, and like Butsuma, Tobirama didn't like being wrong or called out when he was wrong.
Asami sighed softly. Tobirama's reasoning was nothing short of being skewed at best at this point, he was sounding like a broken record. They're our enemies, they're allies with the Uchiha. It was the same dogmatic and warmongering nonsense Butsuma perpetuated during his reign. The Hagoromo would have left them alone, but because they were allies with the Uchiha he launched an attack on them and suffered the consequences for his actions. They warned against it, but naturally he did just the opposite! "You are just like your father."
"A carbon copy." Hiroki nodded while glaring at the white haired man.
"You don't realize we were faced with the real possibility of extinction when your father made a move against the Domou when he did years ago...You have no idea how close we were to facing extinction. Mikito was beyond furious and would have ripped through the compound by herself she wouldn't even need all of the Domou backing her up! She would have left nothing but a smoldering crater behind where our compound resides. You couldn't have done a thing about, either of you! You were just a bunch of little sniveling brats! Your father would have been as helpless as an infant! Our compound would be nothing, the Senju would have faded away with time! We'd all be extinct!" Asami snapped, seeing Tobirama's eyes flash with rebellion once again.
"And, through your actions you've brought about this possibility again." Aoi said grimly, letting out a low sigh. "The only reason Mikito didn't kill us all back then is because she showed mercy."
"I doubt that woman even knows the meaning of mercy." Tobirama muttered. Mikito, merciful...That was too rich. The same woman with titanic strength. The same woman with monstrous and ginormous chakra. The same woman with tremendous and vast life force. The same woman that tried to beat him into the ground and flatten him, the same woman that formed those wind destroyers, the same woman that breathed storms and entire oceans of fire, the same woman that forced lightning storms to surge, the same woman that tried to beat his brother and squash him like a bug, and can't forget the big one.
The same woman that is married to Madara Uchiha.
The Uchiha who knows no mercy.
Maybe it's time to change this Council, because they were well beyond absurd at this point. Mikito was extremely dangerous, and instead of combat her they want to avoid any conflict.
It was impossible!
"If she had attacked that would include slaughtering the children, killing the infants and newborns. You ignorant brat. You really are just like your father, a carbon copy." Hiroki growled, fingers clenching the table. "You're starting to make me sick, how deluded and dense can you be? She spared us because she can't raise her hand against a child, let alone an infant! She can't beat a child, let alone an infant! She couldn't care less about us adults at that time, we were all fair game and would have fell to her, but the children... You, Hashirama, Itama, Kawarama, and the many others weren't fair game and she didn't want to take your lives."
"And, if you even think of saying something snarky, you will not like the consequences." Akihiro grated out between clenched teeth.
"Your logic is flawed." Tobirama said in a low tone.
"I'll make this right!" Hashirama spoke up, adding some volume to his tone so he could silence them. He respected the elders, and they were right on all accounts, but he could only tolerate someone speaking to his brother the way they were, and Tobirama speaking to him the way he was-even if it was warranted on both sides. There was nothing else he could do other than make this right, if not for his sake than for the children of his clan...If Mikito and the Domou came swarming through this compound there'd be nothing left. Even if Senju survived, the compound would be long gone. "Somehow, I will make this right. Even if I have to forfeit my life."
"Brother!" Tobirama clenched his teeth.
"You had better make this right, Hashirama-sama. This is your gigantic fuck up. If you want to blame anyone blame yourself, blame your tyrant of a father for keeping you so ignorant. Blame your brother for pushing for conflict with the Domou instead of leaving them alone." Akira said sternly, locking eyes with both of the brothers before letting them burn into Tobirama's.
"The damage is already done." Arata said, shaking his head slowly. "He's been using the very same jutsu they gave us to fight against them, Mikito won't let such a thing go without severe repercussions."
"We have enough time, Mikito is still in the next region." Hashirama tried to remain hopeful. Mito was on good terms with Mikito, and they had been very good childhood friends. She would be able to think of something to smooth this over. Barring this last incident, which he and Disuke provoked. "I'll make this right."
"We'll need to send her something, once she returns." Akira said stonily. Seeing the younger man nod in agreement, he stood up from his post. "This meeting is over. Don't come into conflict with any Domou. Tobirama-san, if you even send out one person against them...You will be exiled."
"What!?" Tobirama slammed his fist down on the table. "Exile me!?"
"Don't fuck around." Hiroki snarled, punching a hole through the table getting a loud snap. "Do not let your wariness of the Domou blind you, don't tread on ice that is that thin."
"The Domou are not like the Uchiha." Asami said, gently clearing her throat and bringing the room back to a more even atmosphere. She had been expecting there'd be this eruption, Hashirama would accept it, but Tobirama would oppose it with vehemence. "The Domou do not hate us. They are a clan of resolution, not a clan of hate and revenge like the Uchiha. They put being together above everything else, there's no single person doing the killing. If you provoke them...If you seek to battle them, they don't hold back! They will kill without hesitation and will not hold back! You want to provoke the Subatsu next? That's where your line of thought is going."
"If they show signs of being a threat-"
"If you provoke it." Akihiko grated out.
"You're right, the Domou are not like the Uchiha." Hashirama said, cutting Tobirama and everyone else off swiftly, voice unusually serious, but soft. If the Domou were like the Uchiha they'd be a divided clan, but they were completely united. There was no division at all. They knew no such things, they all worked, they all trained, they all built. Everything was a group effort, they had no slaves or servants to take care of the mundane tasks-they took care of that and everything else with their own two hands.
He also had no doubt in his mind he would have already been dead by Mikito's hand. Ripped apart like a sheet of paper. He wasn't going to overestimate himself by any stretch, he would be dead, because Mikito's power would be hatred. The Domou's power would be hatred. Hatred consumed everything, and even the Senju children would fall before her. Mikito wouldn't bat an eyelash, but she couldn't harm a child...She couldn't even raise her hand against one. If she was so consumed with hatred killing a child wouldn't even faze her.
The same can be said for the Subatsu...They weren't like the Uchiha. Their power is not hate. They don't live for revenge. They were no divided like the Uchiha, they didn't use slaves or servants. He'd never forget the time when Syrus visibly grimaced when the damiyo used the word servant and slave. If the Subatsu were consumed with hatred if that were really the case, if Syrus was consumed with hatred, he would have killed him before he left and the rest of the Subatsu would have swarmed them.
Ultimately both clans just wanted to be left alone...When someone provoked a conflict though, the Domou and Subatsu wouldn't hold back-he witnessed that first hand. Excluding missions which were necessary, neither of the clans sought out conflict with anyone. Only those who came onto their territory, threatened it, and did the stupid thing of damaging it would suffer the full extent of their wrath which was immense.
"We will not provoke the Subatsu." Hashirama said firmly, that is the last thing he wanted and needed. Syrus couldn't care less about him at the moment, but the minute there was a Senju on his territory scoping out for an attack... "We will also settle this with the Domou, amiably."
"If you send any Senju to confront a Domou or scout their territory, you will be exiled, Tobirama-san." Akira said sternly. "They'll be surrounded the second they step foot in that territory, don't send our shinobi and kunoichi to their deaths just to satisfy your own hatred. This meeting is over."
Tobirama fumed silently as they all departed. These meetings never really went well, but this one was just downright a disaster. Hashirama never really put anything in, and he was forced to keep the elders in check before they got crazy. This would be one of those times when they got completely crazy, and it was for a crazy and downright inane reason. "Brother, you can't be serious about forfeiting your life."
"What else am I supposed to do, Tobirama? What else can I do?" Hashirama asked, trying very hard to not get annoyed, but he was just an emotional mess, more than usual. "I've been perpetuating a conflict that should have never happened in the first place. I took the peace we had with the Domou and tore it apart, and I didn't even care at the time. I was too ignorant. I've been using the jutsu they created to wage war against them. I'm surprised Mikito hasn't killed me at this point."
"Brother, you can't!" Tobirama stressed, feeling like he was grasping for straws. Hashirama was impossible when he had his mind set on something like now. "If you forfeit your life they will take it. They will take your life! You can't do something so foolish."
"I may just need to do that!" Hashirama clenched his eyes shut. Few times did he get this frustrated that it bordered on anger. Those few times had been when he was in the same room with his father and they opposed each other on every single thing that they could. When his father wanted to kill, he wanted to talk things over and settle it without cutting someone in segments. "Mikito doesn't trust me, you, or any Senju...I want to avoid her attacking this compound. She is Madara's wife."
"You're not thinking of using her to get through to Madara and the Uchiha?!" Tobirama barked in outrage.
Hashirama remained silent.
"I can't believe you..." Tobirama heaved a sigh, annoyance and slight anger starting to brew inside of him.
"Madara doesn't listen to me, maybe he'll listen to her." Hashirama reasoned.
"Before or after she rips you apart?" Tobirama couldn't believe how far in no known direction Hashirama's thought process was going. "I am wary of Mikito, she's even worse than Madara in some aspects. I don't need to worry about that Uchiha ripping you apart limb from limb for starters!"
"I'll take that chance."
"I am going to station guards-"
"Did you just hear what the Council said?" Hashirama scratched the back of his head, sighing.
"It doesn't matter! They can't exile me."
"Nobody is going to confront the Domou! The Subatsu will not be provoked! I am standing behind their decision." Hashirama snapped, pounding his fists on the table. "Whether you put one or a thousand guards around this compound won't make a difference. Not against someone like Mikito..." He paused. "She will just rip them apart and leave them in pieces. Listen, I messed this up, I have to make it right. We had peace before, I messed it up!"
"I can't let you do something as stupid as forfeiting your life to the enemy. Our greatest and most ferocious enemies on top of it!" Tobirama wasn't going to budge on this. He absolutely refused! Hashirama had a dream he wanted to bring to reality and he would see to it that dream became a reality. He wasn't going to let the idiot give himself over, the dream would never become reality. The Uchiha would do unspeakable things to him, and they wouldn't kill him to end his misery. At least the Domou would make it a very swift, if very painful and gruesome death.
The Uchiha would subject him to genjutsu and drive him mad.
"We have to change the shinobi system, brother. How can we change it when you are dead because of a foolish decision?"
"I didn't forget, but how can...I make that dream a reality if I can't even set this straight?" Hashirama leveled a hard gaze with his only surviving brother. He refused to lose Tobirama to the machinations of the system they were trapped in. "The village will have more than just the Senju and Uchiha clans, there will be many clans coming together. I want Mikito and the Domou, Syrus and the Subatsu to be part of the village, too. If I'm this ignorant and incompetent now, what good will I be when the village is formed? If I can't resolve myself to die for this, how can I resolve myself to die for the village? More importantly..."
What good was changing the system if the people didn't change their mentality-if the mentality wasn't changed.
Mikito was right. It was doomed to fail and cause problems down the line.
"Don't even try using that half ass logic!"
"You know I'm right, brother." Hashirama knew when Tobirama was grasping for straws, like he was now.
Those old, obstinate fools! how dare they... Tobirama thought, fury starting to course through him. But, it wasn't the elders to blame but his dogmatic father, the elders were merely stating a fact, a fact he couldn't and wouldn't believe as long as he could help it. "Forfeiting your life isn't the answer, brother. We don't need to worry about this now."
"I suppose you're right." Hashirama nodded, clearing up a bit of the emotional fog that was consuming him. For all his stoic poise, Tobirama loved him greatly. He wouldn't expect anything less from his brother. "Let's go home we need to get ready, or at least get the preparations ready in order to take Mito-hime-chan back to her compound. I'm pretty hungry too, think you could make that fish you always do?" I guess now a ceasefire is the only way to settle this...Or my dying...
Tobirama nodded, silently following after his brother.
Despite this shitty meeting he was just happy to be home at last.
Snow.
Craters.
Fire.
Kagami flashed through across the torn up terrain, so fast his feet didn't even leave marks as he covered ground with leaps and bounds. The far north was always a hostile territory, a lot of battles took place there and it was an epicenter of sorts. Not including that demonic cult he'd be dealing with a lot of shinobi, a lot of rogue shinobi that have either been exiled from their clans or chased out. There would also be ronin, a samurai would never pass up the chance to try to one up a shinobi. A shinobi couldn't care less, but the high and mighty samurai cared about such things.
He hadn't encountered any resistance thus far, but the chakras were still swarming, boiling hot against the back of his mind. It seemed whoever was fighting had no intention of stopping anytime soon.
Kagami immediately brought himself to a stop. Danzo just swiped off the head of what appeared to be an average person, but upon seeing his head roll to a stop, the man only grinned wickedly.
Besides the wicked grin what caught his attention the most was the way the man''s body looked...His skin was pitch black, with bone-white markings all over his chest, face, arms, even on his legs and toes.
Kagami felt revulsion, Sharigan bleeding into form. This person looked and felt vile their chakra was nothing short of putrid.
"I told you, little brat." The man let out a loud whistle. "You'll be a sacrifice for Jashin!"
More people just like him swarmed around the young Shimura, and Kagami wasn't surprised with how easily Danzo mowed through them. He must have already come to the conclusion that they could survive even the most grievous of wounds, because he was taking off their heads. It was such a biting ruthlessness. These cultists didn't even have time to blink before their heads were sent flying twelve feet over head.
It wasn't until nearly fifty were all on the ground and without heads that the cultists seemed to stop coming for Danzo and focused all of their efforts more inward, where Ajo and Chojo were.
"You're all weak." Danzo said coldly, jabbing his sword into one man's skull. Flesh squelched. "I don't care about your Jashin or whatever you're calling it." He infused a bit of wind chakra and throwing dozens of shuriken. They all met their marks, burying themselves into the skulls. "You can survive getting stabbed in the heart, but I wonder about your head being blown to bits.
Kagami lunged up several dozen feet, avoiding the blood spatter and gore that painted everything for several feet.
"Kagami..." Danzo appeared from one of the shadows on an opposing branch. "I guess you're here for your comrades. However, that won't be happening-Ajo and Chojo are occupied with them at the moment and it's my task to keep you away." He drew a tanto. "I'll kill you, instead."
Danzo charged forward. He swung across to his side, aiming for Kagami's shoulder first-he narrowly avoided the devastating slash, one foot skidding as he brought his sword down. Danzo pressed himself back, but retaliated, smacking aside Kagami's follow up thrust, evading the next sliding in towards him tanto glinting as it speared forward.
Kagami grunted, blocking. Danzo just didn't quit-he was always aiming for his eyes.
Here he comes! Kagami flipped to the side. Danzo shot passed him like a missile just missing him but like a shark to blood Danzo continued his attack.
Kagami spotted it. A small-barely noticeable pivot in Danzo's left foot, she watched the sword get closer and closer, his body twist forward, and dodged at the very last second lashing out with his own kick, slamming it against Danzo's ribs. "Danzo, move!"
Danzo only narrowed his stance, shooting right towards him the very next second.
Kagami braced against the blows, feet digging, fists flying and sword cutting through the air. Now you get serious.
Kagami skidded back, slowly wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. He was bleeding for a while now, he had a busted lip. It hurt a little, sure, but it wasn't anything alarming. He launched himself away, and it continued-a bit different than the first time. Danzo got several blows in, Kagami kept his assault contained and counter his ruthless attacks.
They slid back, feet ripping trenches through the ground.
No good, it's just like before. Danzo inwardly concluded. He couldn't get around Kagami's visual prowess, but that didn't mean he couldn't slip blows in, he could, but the killing blow couldn't be merited.
Danzo whipped a shuriken at Kagami, flashing through a series of seals and forcing the one shuriken to multiply into a storm of them.
Kagami cursed softly, speeding away to the side. The projectiles forced him to accelerate, more and more. They came crashing into the ground detonating with deadly force throwing up a cloud of smoke and dust. He shifted, one shuriken sent flying back, deflecting several more.
He flashed through his own series of head seals, forcing the shuriken to swarm into a storm, throwing ninja wire as well.
Danzo intercepted him with a quick kick, slamming his instep under the Uchiha's gut. Kagami grabbed him by the side of his leg, twisting forward and jamming three of his knuckles against his chest.
Kagami swayed away to the side, sending another fou shuriken forward. Danzo struck back with a swarm of his own, some batted each other away some skewing at the last moment.
He pressed his attack, jumping in the air and swinging the back of his fist. Kagami parried the attack, lunging off of the ground with a swift thrust.
Danzo, fired several more shuriken forward, adding some kunai into his swarm as he steadily dashed away.
Kagam just twisted with passed them deflecting all ten with twenty.
Danzo would fire thirty.
One just grazed his shoulder.
Danzo took advantage of the distraction, beaming across their gap. Danzo's speed easily tripled, if not quadrupled!
He swung, the blow jarring his bones as he just blocked the attack.
Danzo narrowed his eyes, teeth slightly gritting. A black blur shot passed him. He dodged Kagami's touching down on a branch behind them.
Kagam sprung up with a few quick lunges, snow falling off of him with a few small scratches on his frame, but unharmed for the most part.
"Hmph," Danzo mumbled to himself. "What's the matter, Kagami?"
"Where's Hiruzen?"
Danzo chuckled. "If you must know that Domou, those two Uchiha, Chojo, his pack, and I an my unit ran him and what few Sarutobi were left out of here, he's in the next region or heading there."
"What business do you have this far north?"
"The Yuki and those other clans are bound to attack soon, call it preparing." Danzo replied.
He's skewed the shurikens' trajectories... Kagami thought, furrowing his brows together as he caught the glint of his ninja wire. It wasn't a battle of attrition, but of precision and distance. For every shuriken his foe launched he had to launch at least triple that to even it out, so when the Shimura did skew the trajectory of just one of his shuriken there was a multitude more to put it on course and change Danzo's. "Get out of my way, Danzo."
"That's not going to happen." Danzo said bitingly. He flashed through three hand seals.
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! Kagami didn't even form the necessary hand seals, he just inhaled as deeply as he could before exhaling with all of his might. The orb of radical flames burned free from his mouth and tore its way across the terrain, honing in on Danzo with an eerie keenness. It was almost like the jutsu itself shared Kagami's persistence.
Danzo only smirked, exhaling a small orb of wind in retaliation, forcing it to accelerate with a flourish of his chakra. It wasn't anywhere near as massive or potent as Kagami's orb of flames, but he didn't need size. He didn't need it to be potent. He didn't even need strength. The only thing he needed to do was feed the orb of flames just enough so that'd it compress in on itself from all of the power and then explode. He already had explosive seals on his shuriken and kunai.
The ground shook violently. The surrounding area erupted first with white, it was a blinding mist, before it was practically steamed out of existence replaced with storms of ripped bark, tendrils of fire, and the earth itself.
Kagami tried to speed away from the shock wave, not too concerned about the projectiles since he could just cut those, and the fire would only graze him if barely. It was the shock wave and debris that would do the most damage, and once the wave hit the bark projectiles would be a real danger. His foot sunk into the ground as he pivoted hard sending his leading foot forward, and his other shooting in the opposite direction. A storm of bark shot over him, and he could practically feel the cutting force skimming against the ends of his hair.
Danzo took a different approach. Instead of trying to out run it he simply bolted up nearby trees, moving as fast his legs would allow him. From up here he'd be able to avoid the shock wave, along with everything else that as a danger, and then he'd strike Kagami from this vantage point. Snow blinded him, and before he could swipe at the powder every single bone in his body vibrated-the shock wave slammed into him, just grazing him, but it was more than enough. Spine first into a tree, he hit frontwards on its trunk, daring a glance up, and sighing as he just missed being impaled by a rather huge branch.
That actually hurt... Danzo struggled to stand to his feet, feeling his knee give for just a second before he strengthened his stance and stood up fully. The shock wave had been his first concern. The fire really was the last thing that would harm him, given the height he was at, but the shock wave would reach out in every possible direction and have no limit really-his wind jutsu would ensure that. The shock wave would turn debris, like the branch that was stabbed just a few feet above him, into projectiles capable of doing just that.
Stabbing through a tree.
He couldn't spot Kagami, but he could feel his chakra a bits ways away from him. It was another thing he had been accounting for, once those explosive tags went off their fight would be put to an end completely. There was no way they'd be able to clash when trees were falling and debris was falling everywhere-not to mention the other fight that was going on pretty close by. No, for now their clash was over until they met in the next region, and they would without a doubt. Heh, Uchiha did himself in.
He chuckled softly letting some of his restraints go as he pressed his back against the trunk. There were no enemies near him at the moment. The mission was completed to the utmost perfection, and he managed to hold Kagami at bay more than long enough for Ajo to finish up his fights. If Kagami was still insistent on going in that direction he'd need to dodge and outpace collapsing trees-which would be no easy feat since there'd be dozens of them raining down, their massive branches being the first to fall before the actual boles themselves smashed into the ground.
It was only a shame he couldn't have fought Hiruzen in addition to Kagami.
Instincts forced him to move, but cunning gave him an insane foresight. He was back on his feet, tanto firmly in hand as he watched the person get closer. Upon better inspection he realized it was Ajo. "Ajo-sama."
The older man looked at Danzo, grimacing as some blood flowed down his mouth. He was a mess, but still alive. Those fools screaming about Jashin put a better fight than he thought, though they were more suicidal than anything-just after his blood. Not including Yuko, Rio, Toshi, Chojo, and the Inuzuka he had a lot of people to contend with, it was only natural he'd get some wounds from the battle.
However, he suffered greater wounds than he thought he would sustain.
"Are you okay?" Danzo couldn't help but ask, concern evident in his voice. Ajo was a tough man, one of the toughest he knew, but rarely had he ever seen the man take such damage. He was Daishiro's right hand in all affairs along with Kosuke, simply put Ajo just didn't get wounded really bad. And, he was wounded bad. There was a large gash running down the side of his head, there were cuts and bruises dotting his body, his armor was ragged and some of the plates were completely gone, some contorted, and his attire was littered with gashes.
"We're going to the next region." Ajo said sternly.
"Chojo, is he?"
"He's dead, but not by my hands." Ajo nodded, there was a small shiver of apprehension that run down his spine as he recalled seeing those flames, so different than regular flames. That shriek that woman emitted before everything took a turn for the worse. When she just went ballistic-there was no doubt about in his mind anymore. "There won't even be ashes left behind. Goro is already in route, we have to meet with him and the others."
Danzo simply nodded following after his superior with deft speed. Ajo didn't seem to want to divulge any further than what he just explained, and while he didn't sound shaken up he did sound put off. Something caught him off guard, someone or something had done something he hadn't been expecting. It was rare, but it happened to everyone, and Ajo was no exception. But, what could have thrown off his superior to such an extent he was remaining so tight lipped on the matter? He hadn't divulged any further than the fact Chojo's ashes wouldn't even remain behind.
Even the strongest fire jutsus left ashes behind, unless one was able to harness and call on the more dense and uncontrollable flames which would be inferno, but that was a fool's gamble. Those flames were uncontrollable and a thousand times more potent, they'd burn the person up before they could even finish the whole jutsu. Going to that level required a lot of training and a lot of willpower.
"What of the Domou and the Uchiha?" He couldn't not know what happened to his second priority.
"When everything went to shit they were estranged from that Uchiha woman. They must be heading back to the next region themselves." Ajo replied, keeping his focus forward.
Again, another tight lipped answer. Ajo was never one to spare details when it came to this sort of thing. He could only ponder and theorize at this point, and he wasn't even sure if he'd be privy to this information that Ajo is keeping sealed away. He could only focus on the things he knows that are for certain. The first being that he would be in the next region in less than seventy two hours and would once again come into conflict with Hiruzen, and Kagami once he returned. The second being that he completed this mission to the utmost perfection, once again.
Kagami winced in pain. He seen Uchiha girls do the splits with ease, but that's because they were girls. He was flexible, but he always felt men weren't meant to do the splits.
And, he was right...
Ignoring the small but persistent pain he continued forward. Behind him were the remains of the destruction caused by Danzo's and his collision, there was no way he was going to be getting out of here easily. Not as easily as he came in at least. More than likely he'd have to go completely around and out of the way just to make it to a path or road where he could actually gather his bearings. It'd probably be far from his destination he needs to get back to as well.
I'm not feeling chakras like I was before...It's almost like they dissipated... Kagami mused inwardly, eyebrows crunching together as he increased his speed a sense of dread and wariness taking a firm hold. It was dead silent save for the desolate winter wind that continued to howl it way through, and the snowflakes it picked up to slam into nearby trees. There were no explosions from jutsus or explosive tags going off, no screams of agony or anger, no war cries, nothing. Nothing at all. Either everyone pulled back, or the fight was over.
Without realizing it he came to a stop, shock forcing his eyes to widen at the destruction that lay ahead of him...There were bodies everywhere. Sarutobi. Civilians. Shimura. Several dozen Senju. Akimichi. Nara. Yamanaka. Inuzuka. Those cultists-there bodies were all black with this white markings. Some of the bodies were covered with gashes, mile long cuts, others were horded with kunai and shuriken making it look more like a it was used for target practice, some were burning with the wisp remainders of a fire jutsu, and some were crushed by large pieces of earth. The tell tale signs of lightning were all around; trees being chipped and cracked in the center and the looping burns on flesh. The precise gaps in the ground.
Every person from that cult either ran away or was killed, because there were hundreds of headless bodies dotting the terrain.
He took a steady breath, resisting the need to retch.
This was just something else entirely...
However, what caught his attention the most was...Black flames.
They were absolutely voracious and ate at everything they were on. Some bodies were completely gone and it was still burning away at the ground itself. Is that a fire jutsu? No, it can't be...No matter what regular fire jutsus can't turn black, regardless of how much chakra is put into the jutsu itself...One can harness the more powerful flames, but even those are not pitch black, they're more white and blue in color. He jumped just slightly, his foot crunched into the snow, and he continued to carefully advance, flinging a kunai at the black flames and watching with slight horror as it was just engulfed.
No, there's no way it could be a normal fire jutsu. While his kunai would catch on fire, it wouldn't catch on fire that quickly. It's like that fire had a mind of its own.
Better avoid that.
He avoided the black flames completely whenever he'd come across them. The further he went in the more destruction and death there was. Shinobi were hanging from trees, some of them were just half of what they used to be and there were frozen blood trails going all the way up to the body. He wasn't sure how long he'd last if he had to keep seeing things like this-no doubt Inuzuka had around they were notorious for leaving people in segments. Wait...There's one chakra, but it's faint... He picked up his speed, honing in on the small pressure as quickly as he could.
Of course he could see chakra with his Sharingan, but there was a drawback with this. The color was at its brightest while the person was alive, naturally, so when they were dying it'd fade and in essence have no color at all. So, it wasn't necessarily a drawback as long as he didn't rely on his Sharingan too much, his chakra sense was pretty acute and more often than not he used that instead of his eyes to search people out. Many Uchiha relied on their Sharingan too much or got cocky because they had the Sharingan.
He always tried to stay humble.
Despite moving as fast as he could it felt like ages before he made it into a clearing...Well, it was more like a crater within a clearing, with dozens if not hundreds of more craters dotting around it with bodies strewn across. The black flames were in high abundance here, more so than anywhere else. Again, he avoided the voracious flames, feeling just a little bad he wouldn't be able to bury any of these bodies, but at least they'd be reduced to nothing by the black flames.
"Yuko-san..." Kagami trailed off, mouth gaping as he spotted the bright haired girl covered from head to toe in blood. "Yuko-san!" He sprinted towards her, sliding on his knees as he got closer and quickly checked for a pulse. He pressed his finger to her wrist and then her neck. No good. He steadied himself, resting his ear against her chest, and sighed in relief as he felt the slow but steady beat of her heart. She doesn't appear to be hurt...
Her skin looked perfect, there were no gashes or stab wounds. This blood could just not be her's, but he felt doubtful about that. Some of this blood had to be her's, it as soaking the inside as well as the outside of her white kimono-like blouse. He did a quick once over of the area. There were dozens of Senju all burning to crisp, dead and fallen Sarutobi and Shimura, there were black headless bodies being burned to a crisp, and there was one particular giant mass of black flames several feet away that was eating away at a tree.
Yuko seemed to be the only one not to be effected by these flames, but given her range she could have just escaped by the fraction of an inch. After all, there were a lot of bodies that were just outside of its range. It was either someone else did this and she escaped just in time, or she is responsible for these flames in the first place. Either way it was still daunting to ponder, being able to use such flames was...Not pleasant They weren't showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
"Mm." Yuko murmured.
Kagami sighed softly, letting himself rest on his knees. Fatigue and wariness finally caught up to him. The snow was a welcomed relief. Yuko was safe, his comrades were in route to the next region, which was another major relief if it could get any better. There was only one more thing left to do, and that was to get in route to the next region as well and report this.
How am I suppose to report this? He wondered silently. There was no possible way he'd be able to report this...Madara and Mikito would have their hands full ultimately working out his reports with the rest of his unit's, his report would just be another piece to the puzzle. But, the question still remained, how would he even be able to explain this? He was a rational, if mindful person; trying to explain these black flames and demonic cult were going to throw that to the wayside.
He grunted softly, hefting Yuko up into his arms. She was a good deal taller than him, and he did his best not to let his hands roam too much. Even though she was out completely he didn't want to do anything too rash, it wasn't right, and he's only eight years old. "You're sort of heavy." He said a loud as he stabilized her weight in his arms, keeping one hand against the backside of her knees and the other against the small of her back. He was just thankful Yuko was asleep, because a man wasn't supposed to ask or say anything about a woman's weight or age.
But, his comrades were safe and were in route, he had Yuko in his arms...She looked worse for wear.
Everything was all right.