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Butterfly and Moth
Chapter 40 - Away, at War
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It was still early into the day when the sunlight was forced to surrender to approaching darkness. Outside, the air was thick with the earthy scent of ancient sandstone as it turned into a churning maelstrom, carrying with it the whispers of countless grains that had weathered the ages.
Tobirama listened to the howling of the wind as he walked down the winding hallway. His destination was the office of the Kazekage. He'd been summoned.
Life in Sunagakure had turned out to be surprisingly peaceful for Tobirama. He'd anticipated a war to break out, and he still was, but finding the new vessel of the sixtails had proven more difficult than the Kazekage expected. So for months, they'd simply been searching and searching, while Konoha tried their best to keep the peace between Kumo and Suna.
It had reached a point where Hashirama suggested that he move back to Konoha in his latest letter. The relationship between Senju and Uchiha continued to be strained, but it was stable at least.
And Inori was getting engaged again.
Tobirama wondered what kind of life would await him in Konoha if he returned.
Shamon's office was filled with more people than usual, all high-ranking. Tobirama quickly realised that he hadn't been summoned to simply chat about new ideas for the next chuunin exams.
The atmosphere in the room was stifling. Sayo was leaning against a wall, and for once, her eyes didn't search for Tobirama's to meet him with a cheeky smile. She was chewing on her lower lip, her eyes clouded with sorrow.
A small wooden box was sitting on the Kazekage's desk. A velvet ribbon lay next to it, one that was usually used to wrap a present.
Shamon signalled him to have a look inside. Tobirama had a feeling that this was no present at all. At least none that the Kazekage had been happy to receive.
He approached the desk, and the pungent odour of death hit his nose. It was a scent that sent shivers down his back, one that was too familiar and connected to memories that he didn't need to be reminded of.
Inside the box, he found a head, its eyes staring lifelessly ahead at the ceiling. It had seemingly been cut off cleanly at the neck, and was neatly placed inside the box, propped on dark velvet.
"One of our best spies," Shamon explained, and Tobirama was glad that he did not know the face in the box. "His partner is still missing, likely dead as well."
Tobirama put the lid back on the box. "Was there a message that came with it?"
"There was," Shamon said. "They said that they are treating us trespassing and spying as a declaration of war."
He threw the letter over to Tobirama, who quickly skimmed its content. It seemed Kumogakure really did want war. Despite Suna's alliance with Konoha. So much that they had now decided to start it themselves.
Tobirama put the letter away, wondering if the situation was somehow salvageable. Konoha wasn't interested in war, but Hashirama was set on supporting Sunagakure should the situation require it.
But while the Senju was still wondering how to tell the Kazekage to not focus on revenge but on the location of the tailed beast instead, Sayo took a deep breath and faced him.
"I'm afraid there's more," the assistant said. "Our informants said that the Land of Lightning is already deploying troops."
"The Land of Lightning?" Tobirama repeated, alarmed. "Does that mean they have their daimyo's support?"
She nodded. "It seems like that is indeed the case. Thousands of samurai are currently marching towards the borders."
After all these months of peace and quiet, Kumogakure's action seemed way too sudden and aggressive. And out of the blue, war was approaching as quickly as the sand storm raging outside.
A week later, in a last attempt at peace, Hashirama met with the Tsuchikage and Raikage. It was a meeting that Tobirama attended as well. A meeting where Konoha was given one last chance to stay out of the conflict, the option to abandon Suna and stay neutral.
But Hashirama was a loyalist. And he did not appreciate threats.
Like that, the meeting of the three Kage marked the start of the first great war. A war between Kumo and Iwa on the one side, and Konoha and Suna on the other side.
And instead of returning to Konoha, Tobirama left for the front.
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War had always been a part of Tobirama's life, for as long as he remembered. Shinobi were used as secret weapons by nobles, hired to do the dirty work that any samurai would feel was beneath them, not honourable. When the daimyo of two lands fought a war, it was the shinobi who were sent to mix poison into their breakfast or kidnap their favourite child.
No noble would have ever wanted it to become public knowledge though that they used shinobi to win a war. The reputation of the silent killers had been too bad, the means of using them not respectable enough. Until the Fire daimyo decided to leave all the prejudice behind, and Konoha was founded with his blessing.
Morning dew covered the wide fields of the Land of Grass and silence filled the air.
Tobirama was standing by a riverbed, one hand engulfed in the ice cold stream. Water made it easy for him to sense if anyone was nearby. With eyes closed, he followed the water downstream. Tiny drops of his own chakra quickly spread before seeping into the ground. The soil was still damp from days of rain, which allowed him to monitor a large area with little effort. But apart from two rabbits enjoying their breakfast, the fields were empty.
So Tobirama allowed his thoughts to wander for just a moment as he continued scouting the area. He hadn't received a letter from his brother in quite a while. Hashirama was fond of writing, despite having awful spelling and handwriting. But it was a convenient way to talk to his brother despite them being in different countries.
Every once in a while, one of their messengers would deliver a letter that was just page after page of trivialities. Sometimes as small as recounts of what Hashirama had for dinner, other times updates on their friends and family. And he also casually dropped a detail or two about Akari and Chiyome in each letter.
To an outsider, it would seem like Hashirama was just ranting on and on about his own life, but to Tobirama, those few words always carried much more meaning.
Akari's daughter smiled at me today. She is such a cutie.
Chiyome took her first steps. Soon she'll be playing catch with Sakumo and Tsunade. I hope they will get along.
I can't believe Chiyome is already a year old. Time is passing by so quickly. Too quickly, maybe. But this war is keeping us all busy.
The last one caused a dull ache in his chest, even months after he had received it. Somewhere, far away, his daughter was growing up without him. More than a year had passed. More than a year he had missed.
When Tobirama was certain that there were no enemies in his area, he took out the latest letter Hashirama had sent him. He skimmed over it, until he found the part he wanted to read again.
I met them in the village today. Chiyome started talking. She wanted to call me "Lord Hokage," but that was too difficult. So I told her to call me "Hashi" instead, and she loved the sound of it. She kept repeating it with a smile on her lips.
Tobirama stared at the words, wondered what her smile would look like. Until one of his shinobi approached, prompting him to quickly hide the letter in his pockets again.
"There's a village closeby," Kichiro reported, but his tone already indicated that there was an issue. He was a young Senju, one who Tobirama had never really talked to before becoming his squad leader. "It seems they were attacked."
The older Senju decided to go and check it out, provide aid if needed. He was on his way to the capital of the Land of Waterfalls together with a small squad consisting of three chuunin and him. But it was still his duty to ensure the safety of the Land of Grass and its people.
It didn't take long and Tobirama recognised the small village Kichiro was leading him to. It was situated on top of a little hill. Last time he'd been there, farmers were working on the rice fields surrounding the village on every side. And he'd been carrying Akari on his back.
But this time, there was not a single soul to be seen. Except for the other two of his shinobi waiting for him by the road, Satoshi and Chie.
Most houses were already reduced to no more than black ruins of ash and coal. And the eerie silence suggested no life nearby.
Satoshi gagged as soon as they stepped through the entrance gate. He was a Hyuuga, a few years older than Kichiro, but hardly any more experienced. Corpses were lying on the streets and the smell revealed that a few days had passed already since the attack.
"What happened here?" Kichiro asked, his hand covering lips and nose in a desperate attempt to protect himself from the foul smell of decay.
Tobirama glanced at him, unsure if this question really needed an answer. But he could see genuine confusion in his eyes, irritation at the actions of their enemies.
"Likely a raid," Tobirama answered simply. Though he knew that hardly explained much.
"We are close to the borders of the Land of Earth," Chie, the Aburame, said. "This village was doomed the moment this war started. It's a surprise it wasn't burned down much earlier."
Tobirama knew almost nothing about her, apart from her skills and abilities relevant on the field. She was the oldest of their squad, older than him even, and hardly ever spoke a word with anyone unless necessary. A lot of the Aburame were like that, he'd realised after they joined Konoha.
"Isn't this a shinobi village?" Kichiro asked as he spotted a clan sigil on a stone figure standing close to the gate. "The ruling clan must have protected them… until now."
Tobirama's eyes fell on all the dead bodies. Both civilians and shinobi had been slain. Men and women. Old and young. Even children. In the end, the clan simply hadn't been strong enough. Small ones like that never were.
Satoshi was still fighting the stench that kept attacking their noses. And it almost sounded like he was about to break out in tears when he said, "You don't think those who did this are still around, do you? They have to be strong. And some of these coals and ashes are still warm."
They walked past the ryokan that Tobirama had stayed at together with Akari. Or rather, they walked past what was left of it - one half of it had been eaten by flames. The other half was still standing, but the walls had turned black from smoke and fire.
"It takes a while for houses to completely burn and cool down. So I assume they left several hours ago, maybe even days," Tobirama said, still taking in the surroundings. He expected to find neither enemies nor survivors. Yet he didn't want to accidentally miss either of those.
"I still don't get it," Kichiro said with too much emotion in his voice. "How could they kill all these people? Even children… What was the point?"
His eyes were focused on all the dead bodies. Each one told its own story - of civilians that had been running away, their child still pressed tightly to their chest, of shinobi fighting for their life and their village, and of the innocent hiding inside their houses or in tiny alleyways, praying for this nightmare to pass.
Tobirama continued walking, his squad following him. At the edge of the village stood the main storehouse. As he'd suspected, it was completely empty.
"This," Tobirama said. "They kill the villagers, live off their supplies for a few days, then take whatever they can find back to their own country. Once they leave, they burn down whatever is left."
"It's sick," Kichiro commented, feeling nauseous from both the poignant smell and coldhearted actions of their enemies.
"It's war," Tobirama corrected him.
All that Tobirama's squad could do was to burn the bodies so that they wouldn't rot out on the streets where their attackers had left them. It would only cause sickness to spread and pollute the soil.
"Wait," Chie suddenly said before they could start rounding them up. A tiny beetle was sitting on her finger. "There are shinobi nearby. Five of them. Maybe more that my beetles haven't spotted yet."
Tobirama was grateful for the warning, but he needed more information than that. He didn't even know which village the shinobi belonged to. So he sent his team out to scout the area again while he moved to the location of the five spotted shinobi.
The Land of Grass had turned into a war zone a long time ago. And every shinobi who couldn't prove their alliance to either Wind or Fire was basically walking around with a "kill on sight"-sign on their head. The five shinobi that he found hidden in the woods not far from the raided village bore no symbol of either country, nor of any of their smaller allies.
So there was only one course of action.
The enemy squad consisted of five shinobi. Four men, one woman. And all of them Iwa shinobi from what Tobirama could tell. But he recognised none of them, which was a good sign. If they couldn't be identified, then they were likely no more than chuunin that were not important enough to be known in the Land of Fire.
It was easy enough to sneak up on them. He observed them for a while, wondering if they had a certain goal. But it was always the same - spying, creating chaos and destruction.
So Tobirama decided to strike, dispose of the enemies before they could cause trouble.
He formed signs, careful that the flow of his chakra wouldn't alert them. It wasn't that he distrusted his squad. But Tobirama had always liked taking matters into his own hands.
The tiny water bullet shot through the air with such speed and added pressure that it penetrated almost anything it could find. And none of them saw it coming. The first enemy shinobi fell almost immediately, a small hole in his head with no evidence left but a few drops of water.
A second bullet followed quickly and found its target, and a second shinobi fell to the ground while the others were still trying to figure out where the attack had come from.
It was one of Tobirama's favourite abilities. At least for situations like these. Easy and simple, yet effective and silent. The perfect tool for assassinations, water.
The third bullet was dodged in the last moment, his enemies now too aware of the lurking danger. Tobirama grabbed a kunai and jumped right in the middle of the remaining three. His blade found one throat right away. Of the other two, one immediately ran away, while the other pulled out his own blade to counter the attack.
Metal clashed as each of Tobirama's strikes was blocked just in time. And maybe, this enemy was not exactly unskilled, Tobirama thought as he continued going for the vital spots.
The exchange of blows felt much longer than it actually was due to the speed of their movements. Several strikes had been blocked and countered by the time Tobirama managed to get a hold of his opponent's wrist. He twisted it until the blade dropped, and his own kunai vanished in the man's chest.
It was not enough to kill instantly. And there was always the risk that a fatal wound could be healed again with some form of medical jutsu. So while the man tried his best to ignore the pain and form signs, Tobirama went for his throat.
Only one was left then. The one who'd abandoned his team and fled.
Tobirama kneeled down, placed two fingers on the damp ground and closed his eyes.
A few moments later, he knew the position of the last shinobi and the direction in which he was moving.
Despite the head start, Tobirama managed to catch up almost effortlessly. The shinobi stumbled and fell as soon as Tobirama was closing in on him with the bloody kunai still in his hand.
And then he lay on the ground, body shaking, eyes big with terror. And Tobirama saw that he was more boy than man.
Tobirama slit his throat too before he could open his mouth to beg for his life. Just like he had done so many times those past few months.
He returned to his squad, made sure there were no more enemies around. And then they returned to burning the dead like nothing had happened.
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The capital of the Land of Waterfalls looked nothing like the capital of the Land of Fire. It lay nestled within a lush valley, with steep towering cliffs on either side of it. A river divided the city, one that started all the way up in the faraway mountains and came roaring down with untamed energy, filling the air with the constant sound of rushing water before finally slowing down and splitting up into several smaller streams. They weaved through wide plains, keeping the lands green and fertile.
It was one of those places Tobirama took an instant liking to, one surrounded by raw nature and lacking the hustle and bustle of its larger counterparts. Or he would have, if the peaceful picture of smoke rising into the sky above small farmhouses hadn't been tainted by traces of war - tents filled the plains, troops of samurai had turned the green fields into training grounds, their sharp war cries echoed down the valley, drowning even the rushing of the rivers.
Tobirama and his squad walked past the farms and samurai, further into the valley and towards the heart of the city where he dismissed them for the time being. He'd received a message from Sasuke Sarutobi, who wanted to meet with Tobirama, discuss urgent matters. But Tobirama wasn't too sure where he would find the man now that he had arrived.
He asked the first Konoha shinobi he ran into, glad to see more familiar faces. They pointed him towards the castle that stood on top of the cliff, overseeing the city that lay beneath it. It was where the daimyo of the small country resided.
Tobirama, despite being able to show the guards at the entrance several official documents identifying him as the brother of the Hokage and Konoha's ambassador of Sunagakure, was denied access to the premises of the daimyo. He had to wait for Sasuke to come and pick him up first.
"We've been at war for months, and I cannot spot even a single scratch on you, Tobirama Senju." Sasuke smiled as they were walking next to each other. "I'm not sure if I should be surprised or not."
"You are looking quite unscratched yourself," Tobirama returned.
Sasuke laughed. "I'd be lying if I said I was."
He pulled the collar of his hakama away from his neck until the beginnings of a fresh scar were revealed.
"A samurai?" Tobirama asked.
Sasuke had been working closely with the daimyo and samurai of the Land of Waterfalls. And instead of securing the borders and ensuring the safety of their farming' villages like Tobirama, he'd been fighting at the front against the armies of the Land of Earth and Land of Lightning.
"Those bastards sure are fast. Have you had any encounters with them yet?"
Tobirama had, though no substantial ones, so he simply shook his head.
"Well, you might soon." Sasuke sat down on a bench, then took out a map of the Elemental Nations. "The Land of Iron has assured us their neutrality over and over again. Yet our scouts have reported that a large army of Lightning samurai is passing through their country as we speak. We aren't sure if the Iron daimyo is aware of this, but I also doubt that he'll get involved."
"You believe that they are planning on attacking from both sides?" Tobirama was looking at the Land of Waterfalls on the map, which was located right in between Earth and Iron. The border to both countries was large, difficult to secure all of it.
Sasuke nodded. "From what we've gathered so far, it seems likely. I've been talking to the Waterfall's daimyo and his generals about a surprise attack on their army. You know, strike before they can. However, our dear highness is set on sending an army of his own to meet them at the borders, face on."
It had always been true that during war, the end justified the means.
Yet samurai had their codex that they lived by, an ingrained belief that you were to face your enemy head on, fight a fair battle. A true samurai wouldn't set a village on fire in the middle of the night and then vanish, just to return with an oil jutsu once people were out on the streets trying to save their home. And a true samurai wouldn't veil whole villages in poison gas without regard to the lives of women and children. And neither would they slaughter those who surrendered. A true samurai committed not what they believed to be crimes of war.
But shinobi were different. Shinobi knew no crime of war. Only means to win.
Tobirama started to understand why Sasuke had summoned him to the capital. The Land of Waterfall was a valuable ally. One with rich and fertile land, full of resources. They couldn't allow it to be occupied by Earth or Lightning because their daimyo lost one battle too many.
"I tried convincing the daimyo that we could keep casualties at a much lower count if we send a few skilled shinobi and trap them," Sasuke continued. "Futile, so far. I thought maybe you could talk to him again. He's not too fond of me in general, considering I'm not only a shinobi but also head of a clan that he's never heard of. He might feel differently if you were the one to lead this operation."
"You really expect him to be fonder of me?"
"You are the Hokage's brother and his right hand. That makes you the highest ranking shinobi in our country next to the Hokage himself."
"I'm no longer his right hand," Tobirama reminded him.
"You've been Hashirama's hand for two decades. And to us, you still are." When Tobirama frowned at the last remark, Sasuke added, "Well, at least you are still the Hokage's brother. You are as much nobility as you can get as a shinobi."
Tobirama reluctantly agreed to meet with the daimyo and Sasuke said he'd make an appointment with him as soon as possible. The daimyo was an old man, and no friend of shinobi at all. Tobirama didn't exactly envy Sasuke for the position he'd been given. Working with nobles was always an ordeal.
"I already assembled potential squads for this mission, considering how time is of the essence." Sasuke handed Tobirama a small scroll. "All the jounin on this list are on standby here in the city and are at your disposal. Of course, you can arrange the squads as you see fit."
Tobirama skimmed over the list. Taking out a whole army of samurai would require both superb shinobi as well as an elaborate plan. And they would have to put both of that together as soon as possible.
"Haruhi?"
"She's my daughter, so I can vouch for her skills."
More names caught Tobirama's eye. Riku Hatake, Akari's teammate. Shouta Hyuuga, Akari's former fiancé. It made him wonder if the possibility existed at all that Hashirama would ever deploy Akari too if this war continued, or, worse, if the war ever reached Konoha.
"Before I forget," Sasuke said, interrupting Tobirama's thoughts. "There was a messenger with a letter from the Hokage for you. I took the liberty of holding onto it for you, knowing that you would arrive here soon. It's in my tent."
Tobirama went to pick the letter up right away, eager to receive news from Konoha, his home that felt so far away. This time, neither Akari nor Chiyome were mentioned. Instead, there was a line that he had to reread, one that he hadn't expected.
Sickness has been troubling our people. Coughing, fever. This year is much worse than the years prior. Mostly children and elderly are affected.
It was odd, Tobirama thought. Too early into the year for summer sickness and yet too late for a winter cold.
But there was not much time to wonder. Because he already had a new mission: to eliminate a whole army from the Land of Lightning before they could attack the borders of their allies.
So a week later, Tobirama was deep in the icy mountains of the Land of Iron.
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A/N
Sooo… hi! I'm alive! I can't believe so much time has passed since I last updated, haha…ha…ha… I guess it was(is) a combination of my life being really busy with a new job and me really hating this chapter here. I've had this part here written for literal months. And I kept working on it and rewriting it without it really… doing much. So I decided to just… you know, throw it out there so I can move on and hope for the best. Might have to do the same for the next few chapters.
Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for reading (and returning to this story after all this time in case you did just that)! :')