#senjutsunade

[uchihaa-itachi]

A Twist of Fate

@fire-hearted-father

“Itachi, buy me more time, as little as it may be--”

As it had been. Everyone in the room knew the Hokage had been stalling - perhaps for the inevitable.

“We have no choice but to judge the Uchiha as guilty of treason”

They hadn’t been entirely wrong, though they hadn’t been entirely right either. It had been going on like this, back and forth since so long yet with no results. Even if there was an alternate to the inevitable, he had had his doubts they would see to it.

“The Uchiha are old comrades in arms, I do not want things to end this way”

No one did, yet Itachi could see it in their faces - all sans the Sandaime who looked troubled yet at the same time, contemplative.

Had he paid attention back then, he would have noticed him planning something, instead Itachi had been too busy focusing on keeping his expression calm, so as to not betray his rising panic.

“If all is as you say it is, I have no reasons to delay my orders any further”

Nothing could have prepared him for those orders, even now as he sped over darkened rooftops, Itachi couldn’t help the shock that still resonated in wide charcoal orbs. He couldn’t help the fine tremble of nerves in his being either, for all the things he had been mentally preparing himself to face, this had hardly been one of them.

Hardly. Swallowing thickly at the thought, Itachi slowed his pace as he reached the compound gates, though he didn’t bother to stop until he had reached the main house and was standing outside his father’s study. 

It was late, but not that late - and they had a clan meeting in an hour or so. It was not an unusual occurrence for the clan head to meet with other clan members prior, though as gloved digits raised themselves to knock twice on the wood lining their traditional sliding doors, he couldn’t help but hope the clan head was alone.

He had a report to make.

[konohagakurekakashi]

"There's your birthday gift!" points at the 4 feet tall pile of reports awaiting his attention. "I'd recommend starting on them as soon as you can if you plan to leave this office before tomorrow."

He blinked at the stack she pointed out, the urge to see what would happen if he just kicked the heap of reports (all most likely newly-minted, Genin, D-ranks if the saccharine smirk coiling at the Kage's mouth was anything to go by) growing by the minute. He shifted on his feet, the fantasy of a paper drizzle, only reeled in by the equally vivid vision of a downpour of miss-matched office furniture following in its wake. He was getting old now, he didn't heal as quickly as he used to, best to avoid that one.

"Maa....just what I always wanted."

His tone couldn't get any more blasé if he tried, dull gaze shifting from the stack of ink and dead trees, to the Godaime.

"You shouldn't have, Tsunade-sama...........Really."

[thepersonaofwill]

Artwork Of Lady Tsunade In A Bikini Enjoying The Pool 🌊

Perfect since Summer just arrived 🏖️

[minaa-munch]

|| Inspiration behind the Hiraishin no Jutsu? P.s. Your stupid guard platoon may be turned into chutney some day soon, if they keep denying to let the Godiame use it fir a quick visit to Tanzaku Quarters. She'd gamble on getting away with their murder if they keep refusing.

You have no idea what you’ve asked for - demo, I’ll be as brief as I can. 

Please note: this is my interpretation. Yours may differ. Which is fine. 

I’ll tackle the motivation bit first: Minato has always been described as quick, nimble, if you will. Couple that with the fact that he’s a sensor type, and…well, the need for something that compliments both becomes obvious, doesn’t it? I personally headcanon that he developed the Hiraishin during the Second Shinobi War through experimenting with chakra tags - imbue/mark something with your own chakra, and you’d be able to sense it better than anything else over certain distances [His sensory peripheral increases with experience/better chakra control]. The fact that they were at war during the time would provide ample opportunity to experiment and create something like this. 

Additional, random note to go with the aforementioned: It helps when you happen to hail from a village where the first and second Hokages were considered legends. Its not too far-fetched to believe that the seeds of possibility for Minato messing around with the concept itself may have been planted by rumors surrounding the Nindaime’s arsenal of jutsu. He was the fastest shinobi of his time, after all.  

Alright, back to Minato. Chakra, as you know, is a combination of physical and spiritual essences. The fact that sensory types exist in the manga hint towards the fact that every chakra signature has a certain frequency; an almost mathematical aura if you will. Minato was a very good sensor. If he could identify the frequency and align it with his own [coupled with the shunshin no jutsu], the Hiraishin would be plausible. Think about it, point A and point B share the same frequency; as does the object traveling between them. 

Speaking of, Minato cannot be credited with creating the jutsu itself [he stumbled upon it] - that belongs to Senju Tobirama. It is also very likely that the improvements he manages to make to the jutsu formula [which made most opponents in the battlefield soil themselves during the Third Shinobi War as a result] came around as a result of understanding the Nindaime’s technique. In fact, knowing Minato, he personalized it so no one could steal it/adapt it. 

Their jutsu formulas are vastly different. I’m adding a manga shot. Brace thy browser:

Here’s a clearer shot from the anime - a secondary source of information. 

Tobirama’s formula looks like an actual summoning fuuin - Minato’s is a cornier [it apparently translates to something about endurance, shinobi and love; typical, really] version that relies more on frequencies. He uses Tobirama’s initial design and improves it to make it faster and more versatile. Tobirama admits that in the manga [631]. 

Minato uses the Hiraishin with his kunai, and developed a variation of it which involved projecting certain chakra frequencies onto large objects [when he teleported Kyubi’s biju bomb] and shifting said object to another, marked place. What’s important is point A and point B.

My conversation with @bluesenju makes a cameo in this. Here’s a watered down version of the conception of the jutsu itself:

The Hiraishin jutsu is a type of summoning jutsu; inter-dimensional travel if you will. The user summons the self from point A to point B - and since this is a play on space and time, the action is seen as instantaneous. The original conception of the jutsu came around the time Tobirama was developing the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei technique, since it involves inter-dimensional/reality summoning. 

He and I agree that being a sensor would be a good pre-requisite for the Hiraishin. Tobirama and Minato, being exceptionally good sensors, happen to employ it likewise. That would make the jutsu extremely difficult to master [which is why there are no other known notable users] and since Hashirama sealed most of Tobirama’s secret jutsu away, you can very well imagine that Minato wouldn’t allow anyone to get their grubby little hands on his own formula. 

In fact, he taught his Guard Platoon a variation of the jutsu - a tweaked formula, so that it involves all three of them - Genma, Raido and Iwashi to teleport one, marked object between point A [themselves] and point B [a marked area/object/plain]. The formula, as I like to believe, is aligned with their chakra signatures/frequencies, so the object they teleport has to be imbued by it likewise in order to be teleported to the desired location. 

The jutsu was developed to make them better guards - not to aid future Hokages with regards to emptying the village treasury >> @senjutsunade quit it. 

Sidenote: If Tobirama and Minato could flawlessly tag-team during the Fourth Shinobi War, you can imagine the potential they could have had as allies. They offed themselves too young.

If you have questions related to the original conception of the technique, feel free to talk to bluesenju - a wonderful writer, really. I badger the mun quite often. 

[orochimartyr]

I wonder if Tsunade is secretly really upset that as her life went on she kept losing everyone & Orochimaru is sitting over in Oto collecting replacement family members that legitimately look after him. That this development should happen to HIM out of the three of them (sannin), if he deserves it or not, and that a spark of positivity in him had nothing to do with her.

[tenebrisforibus]

@senjutsunade

“As your grand-uncle, I really must lecture you about your excessive gambling.”

[blurredsharingan]

If you wouldn't mind writing it, I'd love to read about a mission that Kagami hated enough to not want to go through with it but still did because at the end loyalty to Konoha won over his own beliefs.

A carp broke the surface of the stream that ran southward along the road. It jumped in a bold arch, maws wide to snatch a curious dragonfly that had dared fly too low. A flash of silver scales behind a splash of rainbow droplets and it was gone, with nothing but the ghost echoes persisting in the two travelers’ ears to indicate that it had been there.

Tobirama’s gaze followed the silver shape as it faded underwater, contemplating the resourcefulness of nature’s predators.

Kagami did not look. His eyes were focused on the distant past, lost among the dust of the road.

“You’ve been very quiet,” commented Tobirama as he continued to walk.

Unlike Kagami’s, his footfalls were naturally silent. Years of experience transforming the acquired into the innate.

The young Uchiha blinked as though coming out of a trance. His master had stopped briefly to wonder at the carp and yet he stood a couple of paces in front of him. The boy tightened the strap of the cloth bag tied across his chest and caught up with him.

“Sorry, sensei.” The title came easily now. “It’s just— Azuchi Castle— have you been there before?”

The word before gained new meaning when it was an Uchiha who employed it.

Azuchi was the fortress of the Niwa, a noble family with ties to the daimyou that claimed control of the Land of Fire. The festivals that they held twice a year — once at the start of harvest season and the other close to the start of the new year — were renowned throughout the civilised nations, attracting thousands from all over.

Historically, the Niwa had favoured the services of the Hagoromo ninja clan and their allies, including the Senju. Thanks to these shinobi in their employment, the Niwa lords had resisted the spread of the neighbouring Western Coallition of Generals of the Desert and kept their rule over quite a large portion of land — miles and miles as far as the eye could see with several peaceful farming towns in between.

Their territory also included the grounds that the Uchiha had once called home. Rather than start a war with the reputed clan for trespassing that would cost both sides much unnecessary bloodshed, however, the Niwa had tacitly given them the freedom to occupy that land without charge, as long as they did not interfere with the lords’ business. It also had not hurt the Uchiha’s case that they were capable warriors properly motivated to defend their home, when the Niwa were struggling to defend their borders.

The Hagoromo had a reputation for being particularly mindful of their secrets, including the location of their home. Even the Senju did not know how to contact them, having to rely on a liaison who stayed on a semi-permanent basis at the Senju camp to carry messages between them and their allies.

As such, Hashirama and Madara had no means by which to contact them now in order to extend an invitation to join the newly-formed Senju-Uchiha alliance. Tobirama and Kagami’s job, then, was to locate a Hagoromo in the court of the Niwa who might carry their message to the leadership of the clan.

Kagami had not said anything when the mission to visit the castle had first been assigned to them, but Tobirama would not be surprised if his student was already familiar with the place.

“I have been there once before,” Tobirama answered. “The castle was not my final destination, but some of the servants there let me spend the night with a roof over my head while I travelled.”

Neither Tobirama’s past travels nor the servants of the Niwa were particularly agreeable subjects to Kagami, however. He avoided thinking about what else those past missions might have entailed.

With not a cloud in the sky to keep the midday sun from shining bright above, a wide river on one side of the road and an open prairy on the other, there was no way for bandits or enemies to sneak up on the two unseen. Tobirama still reached out with his senses in as wide a circle as possible without pausing to mold chakra and concentrate on the task, while he waited for the boy to reply.

Kagami said nothing.

“Is there something you’re not telling me, Kagami?” he prompted. The question was unnecessary. Something had to be on his mind. This much silence was uncommon.

For the first time since setting out, Kagami’s eyes left the earth-packed road at his feet to take in the river. There were rapids up ahead, the deceptive round peaks of black lychen-spotted rocks peeking from under the water and the rising mist of a waterfall after that. They were nowhere near enough to hear more than a whisper of the rushing water, but the sound of its roar on a new moon’s night filled Kagami’s ears nonetheless.

“I’ve been there before,” he replied. “It was the last time that my clan had business with the Niwa. Lord Madara took over the clan’s leadership shortly after and decided to focus in a different direction.”

The hairs on the back of Tobirama’s neck prickled when the boy mentioned Madara — his brother’s dearest friend — but he could hardly blame Kagami for showing the proper respect to his clan head. Loyalty was an admirable trait and, despite the many failings that Tobirama could point out about the man, even he could not accuse Madara of doing wrong by his clan. The Senju had nothing to say in regards to that.

“What was your mission back then?”

It would be inconvenient if Kagami had left a bad impression on the residents that they would presently encounter.

Kagami knew that if he were to focus on Tobirama’s question he would find a deeper purpose to it. The truth was just within reach, but for the moment his mind was too full of that awful, incessant roar to focus. Shivers ran down his spine as he once again felt those icy waters trickle from his hair to the back of his neck and underneath his shirt.

Kagami answered, nonetheless. Over the few weeks that they had known each other, Tobirama had somehow gained that much of his trust.

“Just reconnaissance and saving a comrade, an Uchiha kunoichi who was taken there as a captive.”

“And how did it go?”

“We never even saw the Niwa. There was a Senju team there at the time who intercepted us.” Kagami turned to Tobirama, looking at him in the eye. He did not want to miss anything about the man’s following reaction. “We killed one of them.”

That awful noise was still in his ears, mingled now with distant clangs of steel and the cries of those unlucky enough to find themselves in the way of a blade. The Senju had not been the only casualty that night and, right now, Kagami wanted Tobirama to know a little of what that had felt like.

They continued walking.

The Senju kept his expression schooled as he pulled memories from the back of his mind to try to form a picture.

Madara had not yet been the leader of the Uchiha at the time, Kagami had said. That meant that those events had taken place during Butsuma’s time.

Tobirama’s father had refused to die before his old rival Tajima. Out of spite alone, he had withstood eight long and painful months with one lung collapsed and the other stricken with acute pneumonia, just to get his wish. The treatments had been excrutiating; by the end, the doctors had not even bothered to remove the tube from his chest, letting the nauseating built up fluids drain directly into a bowl.

While Hashirama was out constantly fighting in the bloodiest battles, Tobirama had split his time between the front lines and home, ensuring that the clan elders and Butsuma’s advisors, left to their devices, did not destroy the clan before Hashirama could take over. As such, he had read the reports from most of the missions that had happened during that period. Most importantly, he had thoroughly examined the records of all of their casualties.

One Senju dead in the vicinity of Azuchi. He remembered that. The mission had been minor, just a supply run. Fighting enemy ninjas had never been considered a possibility. From the captain’s report, they had been as surprised as the Uchiha at the encounter.

Kagami’s kunoichi must have already been at the castle when the Senju arrived, before the Uchiha made their move.

Tobirama also remembered reading that at least one Uchiha had been confirmed killed in action. The researcher in him had regretted the lost opportunity to lift the veil on the secrets of the sharingan. The Senju captain had asked to be given custody of the body, but the Niwa had expressly forbidden it, threatening to cut ties with their clan unless the Senju left without it.

Knowing this, Tobirama could ask if the dead had been a friend of Kagami’s or if he had been close to the kunoichi who, according to everything he had read and been told, had been tortured in every way imaginable. His student was still young, unstable, prone to thoughts of revenge.

“Such is the life of ninja. But the past is the past. What’s dead is dead and we move on. Yes?”

Kagami lowered his head, chin against his chest. He had to, so he would not flinch. Tobirama was a wall. Whatever Kagami tried to direct at him always ricocheted back at him.

His brothers had been shinobi and nothing would bring them back. Dead was dead indeed.

“Yes, that’s right.”

It would have to be reassurance enough for the Senju, although Kagami himself was not convinced.

The pointed rooftops of the castle peeked from behind the treetops of a thick forest up ahead, the thick dark green branches unable to fully hide the fierceness of the guardian red and gold dragons depicted on the eaves, baring their teeth at nothing.

At their current pace, Tobirama and Kagami would be there within the hour.

*

Azuchi was well protected. Kagami remembered that much from his last time there. The walls around it were tall and thick, more than enough to keep out anyone who was not trained in the arts of chakra. Those that were found guards stationed throughout the grounds, strategically located not to allow any blind spots in their grid.

The tight security was the reason why Kagami’s team had been selected to go to Azuchi before. As children, they could walk through the front door, claim to be beggars out looking for refuge and not raise any questions.

Two guards now stood in Tobirama and Kagami’s path, well before they approached the castle itself.

Kagami smiled a little as he made that connection. Tobirama really could not fool anyone into thinking that he had yet to go through adolescence. He saw the arrival as more of an opportunity than a hassle, though. If one of them was a Hagoromo, then they could deliver their message right there, without need to get closer to that place that was the setting of his nightmares.

The guards’ gestures betrayed their lack of training before long. These were peasants who had been decked in ill-suited armour and told to make their poleaxes look threatening. They would sooner collapse under their own weight than present any real danger to a genin.

Tobirama agreed. After stating their purpose, the two shinobi were let through the gates, plus one escort behind them.

The closer that they got to the castle, the less natural the scenario appeared to be. Signs of human influence were everywhere, from an artificial pond, trimmed in polished stone blocks, to the flowering bushes of all colours that fringed the road. They went on a gradient from yellow, to orange, to red, to pink and violet, too carefully arranged to have been planted there by chance. Old granite lanterns of varying styles were set along the path at regular intervals.

One tree in particular drew Kagami’s attention: a maple tree whose top branches had been trimmed to force it to grow in breadth rather than height. The Uchiha could still hear his younger brother’s stupefaction when they had seen it for the first time.

“Why would they do that? You can’t climb a tree that low! Where’s the fun in that?”

Kagami bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. The past is the past. What’s dead is dead. Let it go, he told himself.

“Is the lord of the castle here?” Tobirama asked their escort. Kagami happily latched on to his voice to drown out the ones from his unwanted memories.

Surprised at being addressed by one who had such a threatening presence, it was all that the guard could do not to drop his poleaxe. Even a peasant without training was capable of recognising danger.

“Y— y— yes. We— before— my companion and I— we sent a message ahead that you were here, Sir.”

And so it was.

Lord Niwa, head of his family and sixth of his name, was waiting for them at the top of the steps that led to the entrance proper of the grand castle, standing in the shade of the lowest level of roof eaves. He was an old man, fat, but he wore his thinning black hair carefully coiffed, while dressing in layers of gold-threaded silk.

Around him and occupying the steps before him like a buffer, the real guards stood, heavily armed, gazes split between the newcomers and the large man who waited next to their lord. The captain of the guard wore gold trimmed black armour and a matching helmet and mask that obscured his features. His sword was twice the size of the others.

There were no unprepared peasants here, at the heart of the fortress. Just samurai and ninjas — some wearing the markings of the Hagoromo clan, Tobirama was glad to see.

The usual pleasantries were exchanged:

“If you’re bringing trouble to this door, ninja-san, you can turn around right now and be on your way!”

“No trouble, Lord Niwa. We are not here for you, but rather to see one of the men under your command. One of the Hagoromo, to be more exact.”

Tobirama’s gaze landed on those who were easily identified as part of that clan, but he noticed a few others react in the same way throughout the crowd, even among the servants. They were everywhere.

“And what for? I won’t have you settling your personal differences on my front yard!” the Lord said. As a sensor, Tobirama could pick up on his irritation to not have been the focal point of the newcomers’ visit.

Tobirama offered no apologies.

“No differences exist. We are here to speak and deliver a message only.”

The gold ring on Lord Niwa’s hand caught the glint of the sun as the man pointed a finger at the Senju.

“Very well. I will allow one of you inside. The boy stays out here with my men while you come and do your speaking.”

Tobirama bowed. Before making his way up the steps, he left Kagami with one final murmured warning:

“Remember: we are here to make allies. Don’t cause any trouble.”

Under normal circumstances, the orders would have presented no problems to Kagami. He knew how to be funny and charming and approachable when he wanted to. It would not have been hard for him to start a casual conversation with one of the sentries while he waited, perhaps finding out a little bit more of what the Niwa’s current dealings were in the process.

As it was, déjà vu was flooding and all five of his senses conspired to persuade him that he was six years old again and back in that awful mission that had cost the lives of his two brothers.

To the left, there was the tall flag pole with the Niwa name written in black over yellow cloth, the same one that he was supposed to climb — that he had climbed — to enter the left wing of the barracks complex through one of the windows. The glass had been repaired since and bars that had not existed before had been added.

Back then, thick ropes had hung down the side of the castle, coarse from exposure to the elements. Additional banners were hung when particularly honoured guests came to stay. They had been a convenient way out of the building for Kagami’s team, allowing them to protract the use of chakra-based techniques which would have alerted any resident sensors until the very final stretch of their escape.

The black steel hooks remained nailed to the outside of the third storey, but here the guards had learnt their lesson too. The ropes were gone, not to be put in place until an event called for their use.

The innermost circle of walls, now behind him, were the same, as far as the Uchiha could tell. It had been a difficult task for three children to climb them while carrying the dead weight of an unconscious adult kunoichi, but they had managed. They would have been the last real obstacle in their path if the Senju had not been waiting on the other side.

All the sights were as familiar to Kagami as they would be if he had lived there for the past four years. He had relived those events a thousand times in his nightmares, in vivid detail.

“Well, what do you know. The rumours must be true.”

The gruff voice brought Kagami back to the present. The captain of the guard stood before him in impeccably polished black and gold armour, hands resting atop the pommel of his oversized sword. It must not have ever seen real battle.

“What rumours are those?”

“That the Uchiha and the Senju have kissed and made up. I never thought I’d see one of you standing so cozily next to one of them. Or maybe that thing stitched to your shirt is fake and you’re just his little bitch?”

Kagami grit his teeth. Friends. He and his sensei were there to make friends, not scorch stupid wise-asses to a crisp.

He gave the man a thin smile.

“Oh no, it’s true. There’s a signed treaty and everything.”

“Fuck!” The captain shook his head while he laughed full-bellied. The steel plates of his armour rattled as he could not help himself. “A little piece of paper and ink put an end to that feud? Even I don’t believe that! If half of what they say about him is anything to go by, you should watch your back, boy. That Tobirama Senju is a strange one.”

The man — samurai?, ninja?; he carried a katana so Kagami was not sure — took two steps forward. The Uchiha would have liked nothing better than to take two steps back, but held his ground instead.

The mask covering the captain’s face was, like many others worn by those descended from wealthy families, specially designed to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies: a horned demon’s head with a snarl that contorted itself up to a pair of red forked eyebrows disappearing under the heavy helmet. The brutal imagery and striking colours were part of a cheap tactic to compensate for lack of any actual individual threatening qualities. As such, they did not impress Kagami. The slivers of skin and real expression that were visible through the gaps were of much greater interest to him.

“There really is an alliance.” Then, because he could not keep himself from needling back, even just a little, this man who was trying so hard to intimidate him: “But my sincerest thanks for worring about my safety.”

Most of the soldiers occupying the courtyard were breaking formation and going back to their regular posts, boots loud as they ground gravel and sand underneath. Only a small contingent of six remained nearby to back up their black-armoured leader as he kept watch over Kagami.

Thin lips whitened behind the mask as they pursed. The captain gestured towards a red gate marking the entrance of a path through the manicured gardens. Kagami reluctantly went with him, the six other soldiers following closely behind.

The stone slab pavement had been swept of leaves recently. While the flower bushes lining the road were delicate and beautiful, the cypresses that rose like a living wall on the other side were much more to Kagami’s liking. Their leaves were dark and their trunks trimmed to vertical perfection, standing closely packed together in a forest that afforded very limited visibility. They had been the Uchiha’s allies, keeping them hidden in that time long ago.

“How did you know about the truce?” Kagami asked.

It had been three months since the founding of their new, as of yet unnamed, village and both Senju and Uchiha had been too busy settling their differences to spread the news to the outside world. They had made it a point to keep their negotiations secret from the nobles and daimyous and especially from the rest of the ninja clans, lest they assume that the two largest players on the board had been defanged.

His and Tobirama’s mission was one of the first efforts to reestablish lines of communication. Other teams had been sent to other clans with similar messages — to the Yuuhi, the Katou, the Aburame, the Gekkou… — but, for all intents and purposes, the reason why Uchiha and Senju had so abruptly stopped accepting missions should not have been known to the people of Azuchi castle.

“Pshh. How does anyone know anything that goes on in this world?”

To illustrate his point, he took a leather flask from his belt and rattled the liquid inside it in Kagami’s direction, an offer to partake which the Uchiha excused himself from.

“Suit yourself, boy,” the captain said before removing his mask to take a swig. He exhaled afterwards like a contented horse.

Bandages covered one of his eyes. Other than that, he appeared much frailer than Kagami had expected, given the volume of armour on him. His neck was even thinner than Kagami’s — and he was generally considered scrawny. His cheeks were sunken, bones protruding around his visible eye socket, accentuating the purple skin around his eyes with shadows deeper than the mask could have cast. His nose had been broken and badly set somewhere along the way, but the lines on his forehead were carved deep, speaking of an unusual longevity for someone of their occupation. He was also drenched with sweat, which he wiped from his brow with the same hand that held the flask.

The sun was strong and the dark, bulky armour hot.

The path reached a wooden bridge arching over the wide pond that Kagami had glimpsed on the way in. No sunlight penetrated the water, reflecting back on an obsidian surface dotted in the green, white and pink of lotus flowers.

Kagami froze, taken aback by sudden recollection. It was another one of those places featured prominently on his memories, those that he wanted to do everything that he could to pretend that did not exist. He decided to turn right to go along the pond and then back towards the castle — Tobirama was not a conversationalist; he would return before long — but before he could take a single step, the captain of the guard had gone ahead onto the bridge.

He reclined against the railing half-way in and took another long gulp from his flask, eyeing the container afterwards appreciatively.

The opaque surface of the lake filled Kagami with mistrust. The roaring waterfalls were playing back in his mind, memories mingling until it was impossible to break the events of that long ago mission apart from one another.

“I’m older than you two, so it’s my job to keep you safe. Just promise me that you’ll get out of this and I’ll have no regrets!”

He did not go onto the bridge. Waiting at the peak of the arch, the captain noticed his reluctance right away.

“What’s the matter? Come on! You’re not scared of a little water, are you?”

He loosed another one of those belly laughs. It echoed unpleasantly in the small clearing, rebounding insolently off the solemn cypresses. Its noise was jarring against the backdrop of the peaceful gardens.

Be friendly, Kagami reminded himself, fists clutching the fabric of his shorts. This was the second time he was insulted and he still could not respond as he would have liked.

“Actually, I was thinking that we should go back. My sensei will be done delivering his message any moment now.”

“Oh, he can wait a little, can’t he boys?” the captain raised his voice at the end to ask the six men who stood behind Kagami. When called out, they advanced, tightening the circle at the end of the bridge.

Suddenly, the Uchiha felt like he was being caged in.

“Get over here, boy. Just come and get your fill of this view. This lake is unlike any other you’ll ever see. Our good Lord Niwa’s grandfather had it made so that it was deep enough for his koi to grow unfettered. The oldest one is said to date back from that time. It’s larger than a grown man: three meters long!”

“That’s fascinating, but I prefer fish that can be put over a fire and eaten.”

“This one would eat you, if it got past the tangle of lotus and seaweeds! It would be a damn shame too, with your pretty little eyes… it’d suck them right off your skull with his big maw and call them a treat. I reckon it would find them tasty. But not to worry — I’ll make sure you don’t fall in.”

Don’t fall in before what? the thought erupted. The man was too insistent, his gaze gaining new intent, and the six others were still stepping forward. It felt like they were trying to steer Kagami towards the bridge like a lost lamb into the pen. He did not like it.

“Thanks, but—”

Whatever excuse he had, he was spared from having to spout it, as the captain gave up on doing things the easy way.

“Fuck it, just grab him!”

Strong hands clamped around Kagami’s arms and pushed him forward. They came abruptly enough to force him to step on the bridge, but the young Uchiha soon gained traction against the wooden floorboards.

His body had gone rigid. The water was right there, right under him in the gaps between the planks. But Kagami would not go far if he did fall in. A mesh of jaundiced lotus stalks, peeling their outer layers, was visible through the murky water. It was not hard for the imagination to add similarly decomposing bodies, pale and white-eyed, forever lost, trapped in their snare as Lord Niwa’s prized koi fed and destroyed every last trace of them.

Meanwhile, the black-armoured captain had worked the top half of his flask free.

“It’s a shame to waste good sake like this, but at the price that I’ll be selling your eyes in the black market later this week? It’s worth spoiling this much to preserve the investment.” Yellow crooked teeth splayed themselves in a grin before Kagami. “That scarred Senju bastard can take the blame for this one, yeah? So come on, let’s see the money. Show us those pretty red sharingan of yours, Uchiha.”

Some of Kagami’s fear actually dissipated at that peculiar form of goading. With his arms pinned, he would have drawn on the power of his ocular genjutsu to get himself out of the predicament anyway. The fact that he was invited to do so by his captors was just evidence that they did not know the first thing about ninja, other than which body parts to scavenge.

Samurai, then.

The captain’s hands were jittering from excitement at the prospect of imminent fortune, so much so that he spilled part of the alcohol still in the flask.

Make allies, Tobirama’s ghost voice came to Kagami again, interrupting his momentum, right as he was about to get started.

Fine, Kagami answered it, grudgingly switching tactics to hit the samurai with a less harmful kind of illusion.

The world turned silent. The tops of the cypresses bent down with darkened fingers, while a million tiny particles of water rose from the lake’s surface like slow-motion liquid fireworks — perfect little round diamonds that reflected and encapsulated worlds inside them, each holding part of one of their siblings but each entirely their own.

A large koi fish with red and white patterns leapt high, adding to the spectacle with the droplets that rained from its skin as it flew above the bridge, fins splayed like wings, and disappeared into the black lake on the other side. The moment that it was entirely underwater again, several thuds were heard back in the real world.

All the samurai had fallen asleep.

One of them fell over the railing. His heavy armour threatened to drag him down towards the lake. Not in the mood to go fishing afterwards, Kagami quickly pulled him back to lay on the bridge.

With any luck, he and Tobirama would be well on the way home before the genjutsu faded and they woke up on their own. It would be difficult to explain to Lord Niwa that he had put them to sleep and still conform to the parameters of the mission not to antagonise his hosts in any way.

He gave the scene one last once over, to make sure that all seven of his would-be assassins were safe and sound — and that was when he saw it.

A spot of bright teal chakra on a body that otherwise glowed very dimly in shades of yellow. Not just any shade of teal either. It was the very particular hue of a hummingbird’s feathers, the vibrant colour splash on the underside of dark wings: his older brother’s teal.

“I’m sorry, Kagami, Tamazou. I won’t be there to see you two grow up after all. But I will buy you as much time as I can.”

The kunai was out of the weapons pouch and poised to cut out the eye that the captain of the guard had wrapped in bandages before Kagami became quite aware of what he was doing.

How could he let this bastard live?

“Are you sure we’re brothers, Kagami? You’re way too short to be a brother of mine.”

“Lay one finger on my brothers. Go on, you bastard. I dare you. Try it.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. You’re too soft. Looks like I’ll have to stick by your side until the rest of time to make sure that you’re all right, huh, Kagami?”

When Kagami opened his eyes, the weapon was on his hand and that lively warm chakra that he had missed so dearly right underneath.

He realised something then.

The flow of the captain’s chakra system was irregular, not just because of Kagami’s genjutsu, but because it was being syphoned towards Tsurugi’s active sharingan.

No wonder the man was so thin. Keeping their doujutsu active could drain the chakra reserves of a fully-trained Uchiha in a matter of hours. Kagami could only imagine what it was doing to a stranger who had no training in the ninja arts.

It would consume him from the inside out, draining energy faster than the man could produce it. He was wise to keep it hidden under a blindfold, but it was only a matter of time until the captain became too weak and lost the battle anyway. No cloth could fully block out the light of the outside world. In time, the sharingan would exhaust him of every last dreg of life that he had to offer.

The kunai came down, gently cutting the bandages and exposing the crimson sharingan to the world.

The genjutsu’s hold would not abate until at least one hour from then: not enough time for the stolen eye to finish doing its work, but long enough for it to make considerable progress. That was the whole point.

Still not making enemies, sensei. Not killing, not attacking, not even talking back, just like you wanted, Kagami thought.

He ran.

Past the lake and the cypresses and the flower bushes with their myriad colours and out through the red gate that led to the court before the castle’s entrance.

Kagami found a secluded spot, where he would not draw the attention of guards who might wonder where their captain was if they spotted him and waited.

As expected, Tobirama emerged before long.

“Any difficulties?” the Senju asked.

Kagami shook his head.

“Are we done here?”

His impatient shifting and acute watchfulness of his surroundings did not escape Tobirama’s notice.

“The mission was a success. We can go. I’m sure you’re looking forward to that.”

“Yeah…”

And just in time. Three guards disappeared down the path through the garden gate, out to look for their absent captain.

“I’m ready to put this place behind my back. With any luck, it will be the last time I see it.”

Tobirama nodded.

Without further ceremony, the pair set on the road back home, leaving the grounds of Azuchi castle behind.

//I don’t think I’ve quite fulfilled the standards of the ask, but it’s hard to think of a mission that Kagami would hate with all fours letters of the word because he is such an obedient little thing that he doesn’t know how to feel differently when given an order. I tried.

[uchihaa-itachi]

The Blond Wonder [Text 18:23]: Come on senpai, please?

Itachi [Text 18:23] No

The Blond Wonder [Text 18:23] At least let me try! Sakura chan said it did wonders for her reading group, tebayo

Itachi [Text 18:24] That girl from the library? Didn’t I tell you to stop stalking her already? 

Itachi [Text 18:24] ...Did you rename yourself on my phone? 

The Blond Wonder [Text 18:24] That’s beside the point 

The Blond Wonder [Text 18:25] And I don’t stalk her! Maybe if you got out more you’d realize what a normal conversation looked like tebayo =_=*

Itachi [18:25] Stay away from my desk, Uzumaki 

The Blond Wonder added Hatake Kakashi and Senju Tsunade

The Blond Wonder renamed the group “The Ramen Bowl”

The Blond Wonder [18:27] Back me up obaa chan, pervert senpai! 

@senjutsunade @konohagakurekakashi

[konohagakurekakashi]

A reliquary to the most expressive eyebrows in all of Fire Country. @senjutsunade

[kingpurplesnake]

*the ten year old found Manda all curled up and crawled on top of him and fell asleep, using him as bed*

Young Manda was in a deep sleep unaware that he was found out by a little girl.  When he felt little hands touch his scales, he opens one of his eyes and looks up only to see a strange little human girl on his head. He immediately panics as being even touched by a human would make him panic, “AAAH! Help! There’s a human on me! Get her off of me!  I don’t want to get sick and die!” 

[minaa-munch]

Did you not know how hard life would be for your new born child as you sealed the Kyuubi into him? Did you not know how hard life would be for your new born child as you sealed the Kyuubi into him?

Good question. Minato was far too logical and far too calculating to entrust everything to something as fickle as fate, right? 

Well, yes. Only once had the Namikaze mustered the courage to gamble - and that too with a play on countless variables and seemingly endless outcomes; only to come to one solitary conclusion. 

He was going to murder his own child. 

The evening air was crisp with the scent of ash and smoke; amidst the putrid stench of burning flesh and wood. Flesh that was unfortunately, not just his, for Konoha had suffered greatly tonight. 

“Naruto…from now on, you’re going to face lots of pain and hardship.”

Crimson bubbled from the corner of his lips as Kushina’s voice quivered, her words a mere whisper akin to the flickering embers that danced around them, practically glowing in the eerie moonlight.  

“Be true to yourself.”

Blue hues stared absently at her beautiful crimson locks, for that was all the energy he had left for; they were a welcome distraction from what felt like cold, icy tendrils originating from around his middle and slowly inching upwards.

They were running out of time. 

“Have a dream and have the confidence to make that dream come true”

Tan digits loosened from where they had been gingerly resting against the Uzumaki. Sweat peppered his brow, as relentless as the spiritual tendrils wrapped stubbornly around his soul. 

The agony, the sheer, unadulterated pain was more than he could have imagined - but it was nothing compared to what would befall his orphan son. Sucking in a breath, he chanced a peek at the small tuft of blond hair, so alike his own, over Kushina’s quaking shoulders. 

His son…Kami, he was really going to do this, wasn’t he?

“I wish I could stay with you longer.”

Naruto would be an orphan; a jinchuriki with no one to guide him, he would never know a parent’s love, nor of their compassion. There would be an incomprehensible void where he and Kushina should have been; the suffering alone would be enough to send an ordinary man over the edge.

Minato, for one, had never tasted that particular brand of loneliness as well, but he was certainly no stranger to it either.

But not Naruto…not him…he was no ordinary child; would grow up to be no ordinary shinobi. Minato was no fortune teller, but he could feel it; the resolve ran as deep as the blood in his veins, as the sure belief that this was no mistake. 

Iie. This couldn’t be a mistake. Blond brows furrowed lightly at the thought, resolute despite his blurring vision. 

There was no such thing as coincidence. 

“I love you.” 

Maybe this is what it meant to be a father? Unwavering faith in one’s child. 

Ah, but could he even claim the right? He was the Yondaime, wasn’t he? He had prioritized the lives entrusted to him over that of his most precious son, hadn’t he? By choosing to save them, he had chosen to doom the love of his life and the child he had been dreaming about since so long ago. 

Would they even understand their sacrifice? Naruto’s? 

Selfish? Maybe. Nirvana didn’t exist for people like him - rather, just him. If unwavering faith in one’s child made him a father, then robbing said child of the love he so rightfully deserved made him no better than a murderer.

“Naruto…I love you.”

He could feel his resolve crumble at her words. Kushina - this was not the life he had promised her during their hasty exchange of ceremonial cups of sake; it wasn’t fair that she had to endure so much pain and suffering for his decisions that had ultimately led them to where they were now.

The same decision that would pave the future for their son. He would gladly gamble his life away for the little babe who had just entered the world; for faith he didn’t even realize he had until this point. 

There’s a child of prophecy, you see.

Minato could feel it in his bones and for once he hoped against all odds that he was right because Jiraiya sensei had to be wrong. 

“Minato I’m sorry…I used up your time too.”

Minato wasn’t the child of prophecy (he had never been the child of prophecy); it was his son. The very son who had defied all odds and calculations with his mere existence; borne to a Hokage and a Jinchuriki, Jiraiya’s godson - a cataclysm for a future only he could be entrusted with.

Never had he been more convinced of what he alone probably considered unwavering, unquestionable fact. There was no such thing as coincidence. 

Fate? Faith? He didn’t even know anymore. All he knew was that he had just entrusted all his hopes and dreams to a cruel, unforgiving mistress; a gamble that involved his life and his son’s future which he clearly would not be allowed to partake in. 

Nirvana didn’t exist for Namikaze Minato - only the eternal tortures of the shinigami’s stomach.

I loathe you, Yondaime.

…And a very antsy roommate. Dull hues fixed themselves on the ritual alter, on the blood stained form of his sniffling son who had no idea what his foolish father had just entrusted to his tiny, tiny hands.

“My advice to you, as your father..” His breath hitched at the word, despite the watery smile it coaxed from his pained features, “Is everything your nagging mother just said.” 

Naruto… 

“Hakke Fuuin”

Forgive me. 

An eternity in hell for entrusting the future to his son - for those light blue orbs that had peeked at him oh so curiously. If he felt any regrets, it was with his dwindling conscious as the shinigami’s ethereal blade ripped his soul apart; atom by every agonizing atom. 

Ah…if only he had held his son one last time. It would never be enough.

P.s. Minato never did anything without a reason - but the one time he did, it was an act of faith. Who knew? 

Further P.s. You and Finger Seizure are going to be the death of my sleep schedule one day – that day had been yesterday. z-z @himekushinada for reference. 

[blurredsharingan]

The small blonde stared up at the only other occupant in the room, without blinking as if he was some curiosity she had to understand. Not that she was happy with Tobirama ojii for believing she needed looking after while he left for his meeting with the Kazekage, but she decided to figure out the puzzle that was Uchiha Kagami, a gennin on her grand uncles' team instead of sulking. "Tobirama ojii says you aren't evil like the other Uchiha because you are a black sheep. Are white sheep evil?"

Kagami had been sitting by the window, reading a little book about the history of the Fire Country Daimyou's family that his teacher had recommended to him. It served three purposes.

Firstly, to help him become familiar with more kanji. His reading and writing skills were still a little lagging in comparison to most kids his age. Secondly, to introduce him to foreign affairs. The world was becoming a dangerous place, the peace they had conquered with the founding of Konoha threatened. Thirdly, to keep his mind busy while he babysat little Tsunade. She was an adorable little girl, but twelve-year-old boys like Kagami were always yearning for more interesting pursuits.

"All sheep are evil," he delivers with a straight face that quickly dissolves into a smile. "But why do you think I'm a black sheep?" He pats his head. "Is it the hair?"

[zilaiyc]

[ @thenagaraja @senjutsunade || continued from here ]

His ear still throbbed from where she had snatched it, twisting in that terrifying grip of hers. Her claims that he deserved it were severely unfounded, a misguided notion from her own thoughts. Her mind had conjured the details of the joke he so carefully avoided speaking; it was a punishment completely undeserved.

Still, the bar was calling their name and from a glance at the time, their missing teammate was surely waiting for them with annoyance growing by the second. One of these times, Jiraiya would actually arrive on time for Orochimaru. Maybe. When it was no longer entertaining to rile the man into a peeved snit. Worked well enough that it was always at a bar even though he was well aware how much Orochimaru despised such places.

“Still not taking me up on that bet?” he murmured as they walked in, eyes already scanning for the silky black hair of the third. Though he was still careful of any more injuries that may come from the small woman at his side. “You know it would be entertaining.”

[irukasenseii]

After the tenth illegible report of the day - that too before noon - she was done with this shit. So when see saw him, the first thing out of the twitching Godaime's mouth was, "Iruka I have a Mission for you."

He slows to a stop, confused on whether or not he heard her right. "A mission....For me?" He didn't get many of those. "Of course, Tsunade-sama. What is it?"

[konohagakurekakashi]

|| Tsunade and Kakashi giving each other the side-eye every time they are forced to sit in yet another council meeting that could have been an email.

Loathe, yet forced to listen to the sweet, kill me now, soundtrack of Koharu-sama's gums siphoning the life out of an agar jelly cube.

Anmitsu aside...Is it just me or does it seem like they are seated in the presence of their future selves?...Why is there no such thing as a decent retirement package in the Hidden Leaf? Do they not deserve the rest?

Demo, the joint torture would surely make for some interesting scenarios @senjutsunade ^^''

[lord-danzo]

"Child? Seriously, Danzo?" the blonde scoffs, leaning back in her seat, pinning the annoyance of a council member with a dead pan, as she crossed her arms. "You could get away with calling me that when I was a genin. That was over 4 decades ago. Now you calling me that is just you showing how senile age really has made you. Adding to that, you believing you can confine me to Konoha?" A vicious little smirk twists onto the Senju's twisted lips. "You tried that before....and it didn't work. What gives you the delusion you will succeed this time?"

@senjutsunade

Danzo tapped his cane on the floor. He looked at her, and then closed his eyes.

"Delusions are for the mad. I deal in facts. Truth is--you didn't return earlier, because I wanted you gone for a while. You were in the way. At the time, Hiruzen and I allowed it. We let you to leave. What gives you the delusion you can just leave freely? You aren't your own person. You belong to the village, like property, like all of us. Freedom is a prerogative reserved only for the Daimyo."

He was sure, she would not leave today. He was here to stop her. And her foolishness too.