To see his own reflection startled him in the worse way possible. It brought him out of what peace he had been experiencing. More importantly, it showed him the fate he would never escape. Madara stared, remaining a little blank in his observation. It was a feat in of itself, but with recent experiences, he learned how to be more stoic and more composed.
While there were obvious changes, he almost paid them no attention. The body was just a husk and nothing more. It was a temporary existence. A finite and a limited existence. The changes still intrigued him nonetheless and he was certain it intrigued Mikito twice as much.
His eyes were glowing-there was no white part of it visible nor an iris...But, he could see the storm of chakra that was really his gaze. As bright as the Sharingan glowed, so were his eyes. He could not see his tomoe nor the whirl of his Mangekyo, but he could feel the power surging uncontrollably.
The water ruptured in front of him, as if a great stone had been thrown in.
Madara turned away from his reflection, noting that somehow his hair had grown back, longer than before, and was also a great deal messier. His skin was not fair, but closer to an olive complexion. He would appear dark to anyone who would see him now, that had seen him before nonetheless.
He changed-as much as he changed physically, he changed even more on a chakra level.
Mikito was indeed correct.
I'll need to tread carefully, controlling this new power will be complicated.
Madara stopped pacing once he was by Mikito's side and he was facing the same direction. A great canopy of trees was ahead of them, and it almost appeared to form a sort of ceiling under the sky. A great arch, separating the cruel and unforgiving shadowlands from the human world.
The civilized world.
A world where they would not fit.
"Your eyes..." Mikito murmured, breaking the long silence.
Madara blinked, shifting a little. He had been comfortable in the silence with her. "I have to tread carefully with my focus and concentration."
"As do I." Mikito agreed with the sentiment. "Well, shall we?"
Madara looked back one last time, and wasn't sure why he felt so sad to leave. Anyone else would be happy and relieved, but a part of him had always longed to be in such a place. It almost completed him, and all of his experiences, and all of those battles for life and death-they were real.
Pure.
Not like humans fighting.
He turned to Mikito. Her focus was pointed on the ground. Her eyes were covered by the bloody cloth which she always kept tied to her head. A great pressure and oppressive heat radiated from her furnace, it was so pure and potent that she was vitality itself.
A reflection of the sun.
Just as he was a reflection of the moon.
"Let's go."
A path was cleared before his line of vision, clear as it was steady. Even once they got past the arch, there was still much vegetation to get through. The compound would be a few hundred miles away from that point, and they'd be able to clear that distance in a short time.
Back to a world of chaos.
A world of humans.
Madara stepped ahead.
Mikito followed.
They stepped beyond the arch, crossing the threshold. They walked in silence for what felt like hours, but it was just short of an hour. The vegetation and verdant tangles grew less and less violent, less threatening, and overall, less overwhelming to get through.
Still, it was no easy feat.
Madara didn't come to a full stop until he came upon a scene of destruction and carnage. He could only remember seeing damage on such a scale only when those beasts and monsters were battling each other. Tree trunks and boles laid scattered everywhere. Branches and leaves were strewn about as if someone had grabbed a hold of them and swung until they broke. Even roots of trees and the clay within the earth was thrown about.
The smoldering remains burned into his nose.
The scarred and ripped landscape ingrained his memory.
"Fire...Jutsu..." Mikito muttered with a pause, tilting her head slowly.
"Is it possible debris from our battle reached this far?" Madara asked.
"It could have happened, but everything is too fresh for that to be the case."
Madara's eyes narrowed to slits when he caught sight of tracks-human and a paw print. A large paw print. There was also a slide spot around the entire area-like something that had been wet came onto the land and moved around. It was sporadic at best and chaotic at worse, but whatever it had been, was hungry.
Few things preyed on humans and shinobi, but if there was one creature he knew that would eat a human without any shred of doubt it would be the crocodile.
"There was a crocodile here...And, this paw print belongs to..."
"A leopard, most likely."
Madara scanned the area, a low growl scratching the back of his throat. "There are more paw prints. Some are bigger."
"Lions and probably a tiger...This battle must have got their attention or the scent of fresh blood got their attention, but the closest body of water is just down the path. It spreads out further than that, but some of it is shallow in some parts where only smaller fish can live. If the crocodile was hungry, or caught scent of something, it would come this far. One of the beasts could have ventured out this far as well if they were provoked or forced into it-shinobi would do such a thing."
It wasn't often Madara felt his heart sank, but that feeling was painfully throbbing.
The compound was still a good distance away from where they were, technically speaking. However, this encounter-the battle that took place between humans was far too close for comfort. Too close for him to be comfortable about it, and these creatures, all known for being man eaters, had also been present. Beasts from the shadowlands had been forced this way.
Blood was everywhere, limbs and bodies were pulpy shreds and sinew hung from everything it could stick to. Madara could not tell if it was from wounds or a body. If there had been bodies, they had been blown away so thoroughly that not even dust remained of them. One of the creatures could have dragged some bodies off, but the signs of bodies being dragged stopped after a certain point.
Madara scanned the area carefully. He stared at the trees. He took note of claw marks. Long scars in the earth. Gouges in bark that had to be made by razors and powerful jaws. The shredded leaves that were like dust, more than a solid object also caught his full attention. The entire landscape was devastated, and for every tree that stood, there were thrice fallen and splintered.
Hunger and blood thirst from all sides.
Creature and human.
"In the middle of a hunt...An ambush happens, the creatures are either caught in the middle, or drawn to the battle. It spreads and one of the beasts from the shadowlands or multiple beasts are provoked."
"They get involved, something happens, whoever was present evades."
"The dead bodies were either hauled away by the kin or destroyed with some jutsu. The beasts could have carried them off as well or bit a chunk out of them."
Mikito hummed in agreement, but her expression was a flinty one.
"Do you disagree?" Madara asked, curious.
Mikito surveyed the same area, head lowering until her chin was near her breastbone and her eyebrows were drawn sharply.
"No. I just don't know who would have been here-this far. Some creatures from the shadowlands stray this far depending on their size and behavior. Pack hunters are always bold as you know. The only humans who come this far are Domou and Subatsu, and that is for the required stage of training."
"Tobirama?" Mikito moved forward, searching. "Hashirama?"
"I thought it may have been one of them, or someone sent by them, but I may have been wrong in thinking that. Hashirama wouldn't bother at this stage, considering he is focusing on his precious village. Tobirama has to follow his lead in that regard, no matter how paranoid he is or how much he wants to fight us. Same thing can be said for the clans that join Konoha."
Mikito could admit he had a point.
Hashirama and Tobirama would be a problem when they started trying to push and promote the village system to other countries who don't have one as of yet. And, even that was an entirely different problem than the one they were facing at this moment in time.
That was a battle of ideals, for starters. Hashirama and Tobirama would battle them personally, face to face, and there wouldn't be any aftermath to deduce what happened. Everyone would be well aware of what happened, and the only thing left to do would be to prepare for the next time. Until both of the Senju were cut down.
This was just for the sake of spilling blood. This was not ideals. This was not a speech of peace like Hashirama would blabber or about cooperation. This wasn't even about conflicting ideals. This was not about villages or founding them. The idea itself. It was none of that. This was about one thing and only one thing.
Blood letting.
Hashirama and Tobirama would never do something like this. Those two would be going country to country speaking on good terms and working out issues if they had their way. Conflict wasn't at the heart of their goals or interests, and it was a hindrance to their interests and goals in reality. They would fend off any perceived threat, but that is if push came to shove.
Now that Hashirama had founded his village, he had achieved his dream. And, to that end, he would try to promote the system and his so called peace and cooperation. He would only fight if it was a direct threat to Konoha-which means it would have to be right before his eyes while he is in the village. Hashirama wasn't the kind of man to respond to threats.
Tobirama was, but Hashirama wasn't.
She had to reconsider the options.
"It could have been the Hyuga or Sarutobi? Aburame, maybe? The Shainingu and Hageshii are in the Lightning country, so that rules them out of this. I don't think the Mitirashi would do this, considering it is winter, and they don't venture outside of their territory."
"Not entirely. I doubt the Aburame were even present, considering it is winter. Their Hiden jutsu is useless when it is cold."
"If the position of Raikage requires the leader to be somewhat diplomatic, it does. For now at least. Unless a splinter group breaks away."
Madara stayed level and calm, even as his heart pounded like a drum. "Do you recall who took the mantle of leader with the Hyuga?"
"After Daiki fell in battle...I believe it was Kurou but there was another man by the name of Yoshimaru that was also in the running to become leader...I can't say for sure who took the mantle."
Mikito looked to the sky and could feel the pressure.
It couldn't be...
"If Takehito is holding onto his grudge still, he could be in league with Genzo Sarutobi. If there is hostility between Genzo and Sasuke, Genzo could rally many irate Sarutobi to his cause and Takehito could rally a portion of some men to his own cause. We could be dealing with Uchiha and Hyuga working together, possibly Yotsuki. Together they will have enough men to cause serious problems for everyone. If that is true, Sasuke would need to find something to balance that out, if it were to happen. If he was becoming hostile with Genzo or vice versa. He would need to be in league with somebody powerful, but Hashirama, or rather...Konoha isn't an option because he wouldn't want the Sarutobi to be absorbed into it."
Madara frowned, rubbing his fist against his chin.
Some of that didn't make sense.
"Why would Genzo and Takehito want to join hands?"
"Their hatred will make them unite. If they want to kill two birds with one stone, that will make them even more bold. Konoha. Kumo. What we are trying to achieve. They will just put two and two together."
Madara shrugged at that response, not entirely convinced. "Even so, they will be a small group in comparison to everyone else. My problem is Sasuke-he has always been problematic and will always push his boundaries. Who would he be in league with him in the first place?"
Mikito carefully brought her hand in front of her, not using any force.
Have to be careful...Control...Control...
"It could become a bigger problem. If shinobi not satisfied or disillusioned with their village will flock to such a splinter group. Imagine shinobi from all the nations in one force-The Allied Shinobi Force. We would be dealing with Five Great Nations and a splinter group equal in power. We would be facing shinobi from all nations, and that splinter group could hold political sway greater than the separate Five Great Nations."
Madara wasn't entirely convinced of that. Shinobi would kill each other before they would ever come to peace. As trained killers, selling out their services, taking missions...Making their living from strife and war...Peace was impossible. A truly united Allied Shinobi Force was impossible-the Five Villages would never come together. The Five Nations would never come together.
Shinobi from those nations, rogue or otherwise, would never come together.
"Well, let's not go over every possibility."
Mikito shook her head, a little annoyed. "Whoever it is has enough clout that Sasuke doesn't really care if Genzo goes rogue or not, and they are bold enough to attack this deep in the territory."
"It could only be...When you put it like that...He would ally with the Hyuga." Madara mused.
Mikito nodded, brows drawing together. "Sasuke and Kurou join hands, but Genzo wants nothing to do with it. Something happened with the Hyuga and Sarutobi. Maybe a disagreement. Maybe someone got cold feet and didn't hold up their end. Genzo breaks away from the Sarutobi and joins hands with Takehito who is also sharing similar feelings...It all seems a little too convenient."
"This was a direct attack, aimed right at the heart. I do not think this was confined to just our compound either. The fact it is too convenient means the shinobi would do it."
"What do you mean?"
"Subatsu were here in addition to Domou."
"Are you sure?"
Madara nodded, his posture and expression changing to one of grim and dour nature.
Mikito's expression tightened, turning into one of stoic contempt. If it really happened I will have no problem with genocide and extinction.
"That still doesn't point to who attacked." Mikito said, tone low.
Madara crossed his arms over his chest, though they were trudging past the carnage and destruction, it lingered on his being almost like a stain. Something terrible had happened there. Bodies were so shredded and torn apart, it was a slaughter and nothing less.
They had many enemies. The Uchiha had many enemies. The alliance meant that those enemies became enemies of the Domou. The Domou had made enemies as well in several shinobi clans. The killing of so many would not be forgotten or let go.
If they couldn't get them-the leaders, if they couldn't get commanders, if they couldn't get spies, a shinobi, their enemies...Would go after whoever they could. The old. The sick. The dying. The young. All who were not prime and aware in all ways.
And, Madara realized what happened, but he did not feel hot rage. It permeated from the black smoke of his furnace of a heart. He held onto it, aware of it, aware of how his fury made him boil. This was the nature of shinobi and the reality of the era and world that they lived in. Life expectancy was thirty at best.
If Domou, Subatsu, and other clan children were attacked...
It could rip the clans apart-if the children of Uchiha, Nohara, Hagormo, and the clans allied with them both respectively were killed, it would only magnify the implosion. He could only see Mikito running towards him, wailing like a child, screaming that their son or daughter was killed.
That's all he could see.
That's all he could hear.
How many women were crying right now? He didn't want to imagine or even guess how many could be. He had never done well with emotions or showing emotions, and women were nothing but emotion. They could try to be stoic, but that was only the calm before the storm.
This had the propensity to rip apart everything they had worked for so far. That they were still working so hard for. They were nowhere near done or finished-they had a long way to go before they even considered it. But, this could ram all the nails into the coffin.
They could dissolve and go to war with each other in their grief and rage. People were not rational when emotions ran high, and if children, or young in general were killed, not even humans, people went into an uproar. There was screaming and cursing. Then there was war and death.
If someone wants to fight, but another person doesn't because they are too consumed with grief, there will be friction. If one pushes against the other, the other person will erupt. That would spread to everyone, and then the mothers and fathers of those children had to mourn. If they were pushed, they would do nothing but wreak carnage and destruction.
And, there is no way the women or mothers could be consoled. Not the Domou and Subatsu. Not the Uchiha. The women from those three clans alone were so determined and bullheaded that getting on their bad side was not the wisest thing to do, but attacking their hearts...
Attacking their children was the best way to dispose of them without actually having to.
It would break them.
"Mikito..." Madara broke the silence, keeping his thoughts centered. "Can we be certain Subatsu children were there?"
"Ninety nine percent. The only oddity would be if there were adults, other than the Sarutobi and Hyuga, or shinobi from Kumo or Konoha. But...There were no adults there other than the Sarutobi and Hyuga."
Madara wouldn't rule it out. "How can you be so sure?"
Mikito tilted her head. "If I wanted to attack, I would do it right now. Things are still and quiet. No wars because of the cold winter. The only problem would be escape, so to that end, there must have been some that stayed behind in order to assist and cover."
It was then that both of them stopped walking and remained still. For a few minutes they did not move. Madara kept the sword gripped in his hand and he distanced himself from Mikito.
It was like noticing flies.
They had known they were there. Observing them. Following them. Not letting them escape their gazes. They could feel the fear and uncertainty bristling through the ranks.
Like heavy winds gusting a tree branch, sending leaves flying everywhere.
"Come out...Shinobi..." Madara said, tone low.
Thirty shinobi sprang from their cover.
They took their battle stances. Some formed seals. Some drew swords and kunai. Others slammed their fingers together in a hand seal. They all bore similar attire-the bright clothing of the Hyuga, and the rustic earthen armor of the Sarutobi stood out.
Madara just watched the whole thing.
Mikito shifted her feet slowly, carefully, toes brushing against the earth as her soles came to bear her weight. With a deep breath, she shifted her focus-the pin pricks battered against her perception. Her soles tingled. Her palms tingled. The inhales and exhales were like sharp blades cutting through wind.
She could not see, but even if she could, she would not see these shinobi as people or humans. She could feel their cells vibrating and moving. She could feel the tension of their muscles, the steady, but growing beat of their heart, the slight hesitation as they waited.
All of it did not escape her.
None of it did.
"None of you will leave here alive. But, before I or my husband reduce you to utter nothingness, you will confirm what we have been discussing. I am sure I already know the answer, but I'd rather hear it from one of you." Mikito said, tone low.
The Hyuga and Sarutobi were not deterred. They stood their ground and some who were bold enough began to close the distance, but remained cautious.
"We will do no such thing."
"We have our orders to take you both out."
Madara watched them with the same composure he had before, noting those who were just getting a little too close. While they were maintaining their distance, the blood lust and boldness of some was slowly starting to rule out their reasoning.
They were just rank and file, but they knew what happened. Some of them did. One had to know at the very least. It was just a matter of who to spare.
Madara could just see pools of chakra. He didn't see bodies or faces. He didn't see flesh. He seen chakra. Organs. Cells. The tension of tendons and ligaments. The strain of muscles beginning to pump with chakra and lactic acid as some maintained founded stances.
"Fulfill your orders to your very death. I will be happy to kill you."
One Sarutobi who was bold charged ahead, blade coming over his head. He took only a few steps before he paused in mid step, his body shredding in a gory and pulpy mass. It hit the ground with a wet thud, organs and fluids spreading out before slowly burning away.
Another Sarutobi tried to strike, but his body curved inward before he could raise his blade. His core strained. With a pop, his ribs snapped to pieces, his entire torso rotating so hard and fast his body bisected in two at the spine. Without any delay both halves exploded, the shock waves of force spreading out blood and gore for several feet in a mist.
Seeing two of their own fell so effortlessly, the others rushed ahead screaming as loud as they could. If they were going to die, they would die fighting for their lives and fulfilling their mission.
Madara sent them on their way with calm efficiency mangling and shredding their bodies. Mikito was much more methodical and brutal in her process, leaving nothing behind but gallons of blood to splash on the forest floor, the bodies ground into a fine pulp.
A fear stricken Hyuga maintained his distance, teeth clenched to their limit. "I...Impossible..."
One of his comrades tried to attack, instead of staying behind, and suffered the same fate. He was rolled into a ball before blood sprayed everywhere along with pieces of organs and body fluid. It turned into a shower that forced him to deactivate his Byakugan out of reflex.
Out of pure terror.
Neither Madara nor Mikito broke a sweat-they were ripping them apart, literally.
"W...What are you?" He struggled to speak.
Madara swung his sword once, watching as two of his foes split right down the middle, both halves falling in opposite directions. He hadn't even felt their bodies resisting, if there had been any. The spray of their organs lasted longer than their fight had.
Now those who remained found themselves stepping back. To die by blade, sword, or even jutsu was common and wasn't an uninvited thought. However, to die by being ground into nothing but blood, to have themselves rolled up and shredded like paper, was not an inviting thought.
Trained as they were-shinobi could feel horror.
This was one of those times.
"Tell me...Were children killed by the likes of you...Hyuga and Sarutobi or were there more? Shinobi of Kumo. Shinobi of Konoha."
"It is only us Hyuga and Sarutobi...None of those putrid villages being founded. Uchiha, Nohara, Kurama, and maybe another clan's children were killed. We planned it all and it worked perfectly. Sasuke, Kurou, and Genzo worked in unison."
Normally they would have screamed back and cursed. They would have attacked. They would have done everything in their power to kill. But, seeing their comrades being reduced to nothing but pools of blood and little pieces shook that resolve.
It brought fear to them, and in that fear, they were paralyzed. They knew that nothing could be done for them to escape the same fate or worse. Even once the information was divulged, there wasn't a shred of any doubt that they would lose their lives.
Perhaps that was why the fear stricken Hyuga could speak so easily. He knew he was going to die and he had to accept it.
There was no fighting it, not against Mikito and Madara.
Something had happened to them.
They changed.
Whatever they had done was not normal, and they were not normal. They were not human. They were not human by any stretch of the imagination. Their presence was too great. The way their energy and chakra felt, their appearances, and how they moved, it was almost as if they were...
Phantoms.
"We will break the spirit of the Domou and Subatsu. If any clan rallies for war allied with you lot, it will cause a rift in your ranks. I imagine Haji must be sending a message to your compound as we speak. That's okay-you can all lick each other's wounds. Wolves licking other wolves wounds, you wounded pups."
The Hyuga smirked.
"Even if you have some new-"
Mikito closed the gap, paying no mind to whoever was attacking her. The bold Hyuga did not back away from her nor offer any fight. She smashed her palm into his throat, sending him into a choking convulsion. His feet bucked as his tongue bulged out from his mouth.
The Hyuga's body exploded a second later.
There was no bones. There was no organs. There was no hair or skin. It was just a shower of gore and blood. Nothing was spared from the shower, and even after the splatter hit and echoed, the surviving Hyuga and Sarutobi remained where they had been.
Their eyes wide with horror and their mouths gaping.
The gore was all over them.
"So this was a direct attack. The sad thing about all of this, is the fact you may have actually succeeded in your goal. You can live up to your purpose, which was to be disposed of. The shinobi are to be used and disposed of...Shinobi live a fickle existence. You will never have any peace or know peace. You are doomed for extinction, your deaths are inevitable."
Mikito stepped forward, slowly but surely closing the gap. She was in no great hurry and her foes were not she got close enough to reach out with her hands, they attacked, only to get torn through as if they were as delicate as silk.
Mikito did not grimace nor flinch from the agonized and anguished screams and pops of bones. Neither slower her pursuit, nor wavered her thirst for blood.
She didn't flinch when gallons of blood splattered against trees and the ground, splashing even further than the original trajectory. She didn't need to apply any force at all, just the fact she was close to them, touching them, reaching out towards them, they could do nothing but be reduced to meat pulp.
"You're a monster...You're all monsters..."
Hyuga and Sarutobi began to weep in fear, screaming the statement over and over.
The men's existences ended with a gory explosion as everything was sent out like shrapnel, everything from pieces of organs and ligaments, to possible waste, and brain matter.
Mikito eyed the Sarutobi before her with a flinty expression.
"Just like those brats...You're all monsters and demons, not a single one of you is human...But, you...You two..."
He screamed in terror, unleashing a jutsu.
Mikito imagined the man folding like a towel. His skull was the first thing to compress, folding in on itself. His skin sagged, his eyes and mouth rolled backwards like a swirling mass, his teeth gouged out from his chin.
The body and legs followed a second later, bones snapped and popped, all in seconds, smashing into the compressed skull, folding until there was just a bloody stump left of what had once been a body.
The bloody mass hit the ground.
Madara just watched Mikito do her thing with a frown, having nothing but contempt for the men she leveled one by one with sheer brutality. His contempt for the shinobi as a whole was even greater. The mentality was all the same, regardless of clan or village, and this just served to make Madara resolve and accept it.
Shinobi would kill children and anyone they viewed as a threat or potential threat. They would do it for no reason at all. They would do it to start a war. Whether it was Konoha or Hyuga, Kumo or Sarutobi, another village or the Nara, they were all the same in the end.
Differences in ideology, certainly, but they were all the same.
As Mikito said-shinobi were to be used and disposed of.
Living a fickle existence.
So, when it was all over with and blood was covering everything and dripping like slick tree sap for miles, he just walked past all of it without a care in the world. Those men who were shinobi were nothing lower than dirt in his eyes. There wasn't anything that made them special. They were weak just like their leaders. They were weak like all shinobi.
Now they were just...
Nothing.
He would not say it wasn't enjoyable leveling those shinobi-it had felt beyond great to do it. The excitement of moving in for the kill and watching their body explode never left him even for a second. There was no way for them to put up more of a fight against him or Mikito, but he wished they had.
Only one remained.
"Mikito..."
She stopped in her step, turning towards Madara.
"I want to finish off this one. He is Hyuga. You got the last little chimp."
Mikito shifted, stepping to the side.
"Don't take your sweet time. Hyuga like to dance too much."
Madara turned towards the Hyuga man, eyes steady.
"Won't take me very long."
Madara lashed out with chakra, seizing the man in an immobilizing, crushing grip. His opponent tried to protect himself, throwing up a field of rocks to deflect or possibly stop the incoming assault, and even threw up a barrier of chakra around his body, but Madara's attack tore through the pitiful defense, wiping it away as if it hadn't even been there.
There was a strangled cry of pain from the Hyuga as Madara tightened his hold around him and lifted him up from the ground.
The Hyuga gasped, barely able to do anything as the oxygen was squeezed from his lungs.
Dawning horror spread across the Hyuga's face.
"Not...Like this. Release me. Let me...Let us fight."
Madara tilted his head to the side.
The Hyuga was starting to turn red, his head growing a shade of light blue, and his body shook as the pressure mounted. Veins were bulging from his upper chest, all the way up to the top of his skull. Each word he spoke took tremendous effort, yet somehow the dying man found the strength to make his final plea.
"More...Pride in...Death...Combat?'
"Pride...Dead is dead. You shinobi make fire with chakra and are amazed with that, you are satisfied with that. You just scratch the surface...Your death is inevitable...Your extinction is inevitable..."
A final push with his chakra tightened the vise. The Hyuga tried to let out a final scream, but with no air in his lungs it came out only as a trembling gasp that was lost beneath the snapping and crackling of his bones as his torso was squeezed until it was as thin as a branch.
If Madara and Mikito were still been capable of such emotions they might actually have pitied the man.
As it was, Madara simply let it hit the ground there after.
Now, they had to scramble.
"What are we going to do now?" Madara asked, tone brisk.
"I...I don't know. The last time something like this happened my parents, aunts, uncles, and older cousins went on the war path. It led us right into a collision course with the Subatsu. It is how my siblings and Gentatsu, and so many others...Were killed in battle. It stretched on for years. That isn't before dissension nearly filled the ranks because everyone was struck with grief, there was a lot of rivalries and internal strife because emotions were running high."
Madara kept his tone even as he possible.
"We can't let that happen. We cannot let what we have been working so hard for be done away with because...Because of...We cannot let this spiral out of complete fucking control."
Mikito agreed with his sentiment.
"We were going to unify with the Subatsu and the clans with them. The Hagoromo and Mo. That was a part of the end goal at least. To do that Shin Domou would marry Usagi Subatsu considering they are younger and more mild mannered compared to most of us. If emotions prevail and people lose sight of our goal, everything is going to fall apart before we can even get the pieces together."
Madara tried not to let his temper flare up.
He had to be rational and maintain control for obvious reasons. His tolerance for what could or what was about to happen was getting slimmer and slimmer, and he hadn't even been assaulted with it yet. This was something he did not miss even the slightest.
The world-nature itself, was peaceful. The animals, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the trees, and all of the land, and all of the oceans and the rain...And more, these things were all peaceful.
They pleased him.
The shinobi creed was just a cancer spread across everything that was good. Spread across the land. Shinobi were just a cancer spread across the land.
So long as both existed, there could be no true peace.
"We may just have to move forward on things without..." Madara trailed off.
Mikito sighed softly, massaging her forehead.
"That is part of the problem...We can't just move forward without a meeting and everything else."
"We do not have time for that and I am not patient enough."
"Well, let's just see what storm we are walking into first."
Madara tried not to growl.
He was the furthest thing from happy.
"What did that man mean...About the brats..."
"If it is true, this is the worst case scenario. And, it means I have to tell you a few things about us Domou...When we are faced with certain things, like about to face death. This entire thing could spiral out of control, out of anyone's control, including my control and your control. This is something that could span entire decades, Madara...Generations, on both sides..."
Madara was not happy.
"I don't care if it is battle, but it will not spiral out of control in our ranks to the point everything we have been working so hard for is obliterated by our own damn hands. We will focus all of our grief, rage, anger, fury, hatred, malice, disdain, and everything else on the shinobi and their creed, and our other goals as well...We will focus it all on the slavers and the outside nations and countries. We will bear it all down on the shinobi and anyone who remotely affiliates with them. We will bear it all down on the nobles."
Mikito drew her lips together.
"I agree."
The Hokage Building was one of the first buildings to be completed A large mansion that would be occupied by the Hokage during their tenure. It was where they would spend most of their time, and any advisers or aids would also call this place home.
Located close to both the Academy and what would be the Hokage Rock-it was a sign that the Hokage was never truly far away and could always watch over the people of Konoha.
It was circular in design and would always be one of the largest buildings in Konohagakure. Three stories, with an attachment that was two stories. It towered over the other present buildings, though they were still in the process of being built. There was also the kanji for fire painted on the roof.
Within the massive building, Mito watched history unfold before her eyes. Her sense of pride was only overshadowed by her sense of accomplishment. For countless millennia shinobi had fought and killed. Their own kin and each other. Nobles and commoners.
The world was soaked in blood, but finally the dark era was coming to an end. This era of so much blood, injustice, and war was finally coming to an end. Kumogakure and Konohagakure were only the first steps in the overall process.
And, she was a part of it. The Uzumaki were a part of it.
She could only contain her smile because Hashirama was hard at work going through paperwork or physical labor, as was everyone else. If Hashirama wasn't handling the paperwork, or smaller technicalities, Tobirama would step in and handle it.
One by one the leaders of the clans appeared before Hashirama. They all stood in postures of high alert, their eyes narrowed against the blaze of the setting sun, delivering their reports, appraisals, and their expert assessments of the state of Konoha
Hashirama listened to everyone without comment.
In some outlying villages and countries, arsenals of weapons, in some cases entire crates of shuriken, had been commandeered by rogue shinobi groups and ronin before their forces could reach them.
Smugglers, ronin, rogue, pirates, and other scoundrels were taking advantage of shinobi villages and their need to consolidate power. They were blazing new routes for the movement of spices, herbs, and other goods from sea all the way through land.
Bounty hunters were tracking down any shinobi or other group colluding against Konoha. The academy was filling with new recruits, all hailing from shinobi clans with them and even some civilians.
The Water damiyo and all those mad clans were still warring with each other, and it was only a matter of time before they'd need to take up arms.
Progress was lagging on a few projects, owing to a lack of skilled construction workers and builders...When the last of the clan leaders had come and gone, Hashirama dismissed everyone, including his brother and Mito.
He sat gazing over the western landscape as it came to brilliant light in the deepening dusk.
Under the rule of the nobles, samurai warlords, and shinobi warlords, the future of the shinobi world had been in fickle hands. The wrong hands. Now responsibility for maintaining order within the Fire country fell solely on Hashirama's shoulders.
For this moment it was enough that the clan leaders, advisers, aids, and other shinobi had a healthy respect for him. Respected him for establishing peace within the Fire country. Respected him greatly for his power and his ability to combat the group that had posed the greatest threat to their continued stability.
Of course Tobirama and Mito respected him, but, eventually they, just those clan leaders, advisers, aids, and other people would need to fear him.
They would need to understand the great power he wielded, as both Hokage and Hashirama Senju. And, to that end, Hashirama needed Tobirama. If someone as powerful and skilled as Tobirama answered to him, even if he was his brother, then everyone else would think-how powerful must the Hokage be!?
Hashirama spent several hours just drifting on the currents of possible futures.
Swiveling in his seat from the view of the western landscape, Hashirama turned his focus onto two of his most trusted people entered the office.
Hashirama ordered them to take a seat with a mild tone, and sat appraising them with an intense, yet calm gaze.
"Events are unfolding so far as we have seen they would." Kiyoshi said.
Hashirama nodded.
"The Fire damiyo is very predictable. Our intervention will be minimal. Unless Danzo tries to play both sides of the fence and wishes for the power of Hokage."
"The Fire damiyo was willing to allow Sasuke and Kurou to leave for a moon cycle, and come back, having provoked something far worse than any of us could anticipate...Is that that what you really mean to say, Tobirama?"
"It certainly seems that way, but given what our scouts said they went into the Western Territory. We know the Domou and Subatsu are there." Hashirama mulled it over.
"At present we won't make an issue of it. What of the Domou and Subatsu?"
Kiyoshi sighed, pinching between his eyes. "Young were attacked. Gravely wounded. Perhaps dead. I got a message."
Hashirama's eyes widened. "Do Syrus and Haji know? What of Mikito?"
"I cannot say when it comes to Mikito, but I am certain Haji and Syrus are well informed. The message I got was stamped and signed by Haji himself."
"And what about Madara?"
Kiyoshi's eyes narrowed. "Even more troubled by the outcome, perhaps he will be the most troubled save for a few people."
Hashirama allowed a grim expression to stretch on his face.
"It is worse than I feared. If their children were killed, it will be the end of us all as shinobi. Syrus made something very clear-Subatsu do not tolerate the killing of young, human or animal, and this...This is just something that could impede our progress here..."
Hashirama hit his desk. "How could Sasuke and Kurou be so stupid!? Do they not understand what I am trying to accomplish? What our village of Konoha represents?"
Kiyoshi frowned deeply. "I sent two dozen Nara women to marry into the Subatsu...I am getting a feeling that we are in something that is beyond our control. I hope this quells whatever is brewing, if only slightly."
"You didn't really do that, Kiyoshi?" Mito asked, brow raised.
"I certainly did. If Haji sent a message to your father, I can promise you he is at least considering sending Uzumaki to marry in."
Mito frowned, but was cut short from speaking.
"Ashina may try to argue, but Hisao will not hear him if Ashina cannot see the bigger picture." Hashirama said, tone grim.
"The bigger picture are shinobi villages like Konoha and Kumo. If we can make them take hold, we can end this era. If my father cannot see that or understand that, I will be disappointed."
"Which will bring more conflict, in the end. Hisao-dono is wise, Mito. You are lucky to have such a man as your father. He understands peace and wants it, for his people, not victory. Not war."
Had he and his brothers had a father like Hisao-if the Senju had such a leader, perhaps peace could have been founded long ago. Children wouldn't have been sent off to die in a war that was never their war to begin with. He would have never needed to experience what he had, and would continue to.
Noting his brother's brooding silence, Tobirama spoke up before Hashirama could dive further. If he got too wrapped up in his thoughts he would become pessimistic or start thinking he was a mass murderer without doing the deeds himself.
Tobirama didn't want that. His brother fought for peace of all people and clans, and to that end, Tobirama would support and defend him fiercely.
"We just need to get ahead of it before it gets out of control. Kiyoshi-san has already sent out Nara women to appease Syrus or whoever sent the particular message. We cannot lose our focus, not now, not now of all times."
Hashirama stared at his hands.
"It will not be that simple. Not with young felled. It may not be just Domou and Subatsu. There could be Uchiha, there could be Senju...If so many young were killed...We could be put right into the middle of this brewing storm. We are still shinobi-we hold to the same creed as Sasuke and Kurou. We have our differences, but we are all shinobi..."
Kiyoshi just closed his eyes and sighed, brows furrowing until there were wrinkled.
"Mikito loathes the death of children. It is what will make her snap. When she snaps, she cannot be consoled or reasoned with. She is more monster and beast than human. Only wrath and hatred."
"We can't let this impede us from making progress." Tobirama said, keeping his tone as even as possible.
"I agree." Mito seconded, regardless of the circumstances.
Konoha had to take hold, and push the boundaries-to establish or help the establishment of other villages like it.
"We cannot and will not overlook what has happened and Sasuke and Kurou will answer for it when the time comes...We are trying to stop this very thing from happening so often like it is and it is happening right under our noses...We have to end this era. We have to, it is no longer a question."
Tobirama stressed each word.
Hashirama could not comment any further.
If Subatsu and Domou young were killed...
It was the end.
Their end.
The Era of Warring States would end, but so to, would the shinobi and the shinobi creed.
If the Domou and Subatsu had their way, and they would eventually go on the war path...
Along with Uchiha...
The brewing storm was far beyond their control, even if Tobirama wanted to think that it wasn't. It would continue to be out of their control, out of anyone's control, and there was no way to turn back from this moment, or what was to come next. They couldn't turn away from it.
War.
The possible end of shinobi.
"Mito-san, how sure are you about Mikito?" Hashirama asked, tone careful.
"If Uchiha, Domou, and Subatsu children were killed you are going to be contending with Madara, Izuna, Haji, Syrus, Souji, Mikito, and people you've not yet encountered...You are going to be contending with the might of those three clans, in addition to anyone who is allied with them at this point in time. I will warn you right now, you do not want what the Domou and Subatsu call Brutes in their clans to be trained on you."
Hashirama could imagine why, but he still felt a need to ask.
"Brutes?"
Tobirama narrowed his eyes, listening carefully.
"Savage, ferocious, pitiless, utterly cruel, and bloodthirsty in combat. Even among their standards. They are wild and out of control fighters. A good many are near seven feet or a little over seven feet. They weigh five hundred pounds. Some are five hundred and eighty pounds. The smaller ones are nothing to scoff at, and those are the ones you have to worry about. They will attack without warning, and they attack in groups. Massive groups."
Hashirama didn't like how that sounded.
He had little time to ponder it over.
There was a deep rumbling through the floor. It shook the entire landscape around them and sent snow plummeting from lofty perches. A roar, like the earth splitting itself open, combined with the splitting escapade of an explosion rocked the air.
Hashirama, Tobirama, and Mito fell to the floor. Jarred from the impact, they stood to their feet. Hashirama bolted for the nearest window.
Fires climbed to the heavens and smoke spread out in a giant plum cloud. Hashirama's eyes were as wide as saucers as he took in the ominous cloud. It was almost like the whole cloud was going to consume the Fire country. It felt like the shaking and trembling was going to up heave the entire landmass and swallow it whole.
Tobirama narrowed his eyes, teeth gritting. "Those are the traps Danzo was talking about!"
"Then...That means the Water damiyo and those clans have made landfall on this landmass..." Mito murmured, eyes filling with worry.
Hashirama felt the shaking of the ground through the soles of his feet. Danzo and the Shimura must have set up millions upon millions of these traps, from the water, to the coast, and as far as into the snowy mountain forests.
The sweltering flames in the far distance did nothing to quell his growing worry.
"We have a some time before they can advance...Judging from the reverberations I would say they are all running and fighting into the traps laid down in advance."
Hashirama clenched his teeth, his eyes shining with a worry and anger he had rarely experienced. Most people, shinobi or not, would pull back hearing the first explosion. If there were a chain of explosions they would do everything in their power to get away.
But-the Water damiyo and those clans native to the blood soaked land were different. They laughed at death and kicked dirt in the face of it. Death didn't deter or scare them. Death brought them glory. Death brought them joy.
To shed blood brought them joy.
Savages.
"That monster..." Hashirama muttered, eyes narrowing. "We'll focus our efforts here, for now."
Tobirama frowned briefly. "Is that a good idea?"
"If precautions are not set into play to ensure Konoha is safe during all of this...Everything we have worked so hard for will be reduced to embers of war and flames of anguish. We cannot let what we have right now be done away with."
And, Hashirama would not allow that to happen.
No matter the cost.
"Call an emergency meeting. I want all the clan leaders to gather, and we will go to the Fire damiyo and request his audience. I am sure Danzo is already there and is filling in the gaps until we get there."
Without further ado, Hashirama left the room-broad shouldered and head held high. A pillar of Konoha. A pillar that would continue to nurture Konoha. His broad shoulders would cast a shadow on the village, and from his perch, he'd always be able to see.
He did not wear the Hokage robes.
He wore black shinobi gear, his armor in a seal, right in his pocket.
This is First Hokage Hashirama Senju.
He knows Konoha can only do two things.
Make or break.
Itself.
And, him.
He also had an enemy-a man who would confront him eventually, and more with him, but first and foremost...
Madara Uchiha