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luchicm04 · 2 months

Text

Eyes have a language of their own

Masterlist

Summary: Not every story is what it seems. Not every villain is evil. Not every hero is kind. Sometimes two eyes aren’t enough to uncover the truth, but once in a while, a simple glimpse is all that’s needed.

Pairing: Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Hikari/Nanashi

Word count: 8.4k

Overall warnings: angst, canon-typical violence, implied character death⚠️

All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto. Uchiha Nanashi appears on the game Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections

A/N: This is a remake of the very first fic I've ever made. Well, the first one I've ever written down that's not a drabble or an undefined idea. I changed the lore a bit to adapt it to the game, so I hope you enjoy it <3 Also, English is not my mother language so if I have many spelling mistakes, please let me know (gently please, I have a delicate self-esteem :'))

posted on ao3

Sasuke took a deep breath. After hearing about the creation of the Hidden Leaf by the First hokage himself, he began to think about his future actions. Despite his heart yelling at him to take revenge on the villagers and raze the village to the ground, his brain was starting to contemplate on waht he had just learned. Depending on what he chose to do, the future outcomes would alter his life drastically, along with the world.

He silently casted a hard gaze upon the four individuals in front of him. The previous leaders –dead, now revived into decomposed bodies- of the place he once called home. The previous hokages. All of them irradiated power and respect. He remembered how frightened he felt moments ago when they resealed a fraction of their chakra. Clearly they were all full-fledged warriors who had grown in times of war and developed themselves into shinobi gods, although in his opinion only one of them had earned that title.

Senju Hashirama, a sunny personality that could rapidly turn into a monster. He had always invisioned him as a powerful leader and a firm person due to all the glory that was thrown at him. The truth was far from what he imagined, he discovered. A kind person with big dreams and a huge heart that always seeks salvation in everyone, even his worst enemies. He reminded him of a certain blond idiot he knew all to well, but he gave more respect to the First, as he was actually able to take a stand and do his duty of finishing of his friend.

Speaking of blond and sunny, his eyes travelled all the way to the last. His official godfather and appearently father of his idiotic 'friend'. Namikaze Minato, who was said to achieve many great things despite his short ruling period. Many information about him had been kept secret because of his son, but he had defeated the nine tails and killed thousands of hidden rock soldiers, which by any means were remarkable achievements.

Next to him stood the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, a person who had been kind to him his entire childhood, who looked after him and helped him when his clan had been murdered in one night. Only to discover that said man had ordered the attack and the assassin, his beloved big brother, had been used by the village leaders to take down a 'potential threat'. While he could agree that his clan was taking matters too far, he still couldn't forgive him for letting his kinsmen die instead of talking some sense into them and allowing Orochimaru and Danzo to live and continue their atrocious actions. Those two he had alrealdy retaliated againt, but what was done was done.

And lastly, he observed the blue-armoured man, his fury growing back. The culprit of everything. Everyone always put the blame on the obvious villains and praised the heroes, but that man didn't deserve the title of 'hero'. He didn't even deserve being called a 'man', in his opinion. According to the story they had just described, he had told on Hashirama when meeting with Madara, severing their friendship and a possible ceasefire. He had killed Izuna, nearly destroying any chances they had of finally ending the wars, making many more people die. Ignoring Hashirama's efforts, he continued to taunt him and discriminate his poeple, to the point where he had practically drove Madara to a desperate point. And then, when ending with his enemy wasn't enough, he made life a misery for all those born into the clan of 'hatred'.

This whole war againt the revived shinobi was his fault too, he reminded himself. The edo-tensei a powerful jutsu that should have never been created, was created by his hands. Many call Orochimaru a criminal for all his experiments, and Danzo a traitor for his recently discovered actions. No matter how right they are to do, he could not begin to imagine the heinous things Senju Tobirama had carried out in order for that cursed technique to be created.

All in all, he hated him. More that any other enemy he had come to face. He hated him. He let out a long sigh. This was the result of his actions. His hatred had never felt more justified than right now. His resolve was clear. He-

A cough caugth his attention suddenly. He look at Hashirama, who had a fist in front of his moth.

"Young uchiha," he started. "I know what you must have been thinking, but I still want to tell you that this isn't the way."

He stared at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow. He had already told them his reasons for what he was doing, of course he would say anything to save-

"I've seen the way you were looking at my brother before, young one. After what has been said here, I can understand where your feelings are coming from, but I believe you are partly mistaken in your resolution."

What? "What do you mean by that?" he asked gruffly.

"Show some respect, boy," came the sharp voice of the Second.

"It's alright Tobirama, this young uchiha has every right to be angry at all of us, doesn't he?" he said back with a small smile, to which his brother huffed and looked away. "Listen, Sasuke. I can feel your hatred and thirst of vengeance inside you. And also to who they are directed to. Given the events you have gone through you aren't to blame for them, but before you make a decission, I would like to correct your innaccurate perspective."

Sasuke stared at him now with both eyebrows raised. The rest of the hokages looked at him with curious expressions, even the Second mixed with his usual scowling face. He was surprised by his words. He already was acquainted with his kindness, but he had expected him to try and change his mind, not to agree with him and tell him his perspective was... innaccurate? What did that even mean?

"And what exactly did you mean by that, Lord First?" Orochimaru asked behind him, ever so curious and respectful towards them. It was kind of strange how he always expressed his repect to them, especially to the Second, like he had ever done anything to deserve it. Birds of a feather, he supposed. Juugo and Suigetsu stood next to him, the First with his guard up in case they attemped any other attack on Sasuke, the latter still shocked by their presence, as if they hadn't been standing there and talking to them some minutes ago.

"Well, while I don't agree with all my brothers actions, I am still his big brother and I must say that your vision is lacking of a certain detail that could change you entire view of him."

His words came out in a wise and gentle tone, funnily enough considering his recent change of moods. What he did not expect was for the Second to regard his brother with cold eyes, like he had a slight clue of what he was talking about. The other two stood in silence.

"And what slight detail might that be?" he inquired impatiently. This conversation was taking to long.

The First remained silent for a moment, looking unsure and a bit nervous before he schooled his features again and responded in a serious tone, if not trying to hide how his lips turned up in the slightest. "Does the name Nanashi say anything to you?"

The reactions came in the form of curious gazes sent his way. He tried to remember any uchiha with that name from the clan archieves but he coundn't remember anyone with that name. His thinking process was interrupted when killing intent began to emanate from the Second, who regarded his brother with a blank face and murderous eyes.

"Anija, what do you think you are doing?" His voice was straining with anger he was traying to contain. The First just looked at him from the corner of his eyes for a second and sent him a smile that looked sad. Then he looked back at Sasuke and his mouth dropped down a little. "No, of course you don't. I should have assumed she would have been kept secret from everyone."

"Nanashi? Who's that? Is there even a famous person named like that?" Suigetsu whispered to himself. Orochimaru also had an intriguing expression, so whoever that was, it didn't look like he knew of, which was weird considering his obsession for his clan. The Third and Fourth looked at each other with confussion, while the First and Second looked like they were having a silent conversation. For a moment no one said anything, until his patience finally snapped.

"Well? Care to enlighten us?" he growled. Hashirama sent a silent apology to his bother and finally he spoke. "She was an Uchiha from our time. A powerful child who suffered in the most horrendous ways until her time came." He closed his mouth and regained his thoughts ignoring the furious look of the man next to him. "She was born with amazing abilities, and people treated her in a cruel and unfair way... Tobirama was actually very close to her."

"Oh please Anija, I only met her twice in my life, and we weren't even that close", he said having calmed down a little. "If anything, that suffering you say she went under was her clan's fault. Just another reason as to why that cursed clan is better now that it's gone."

Sasuke ignored that last jab as he kept his eyes on Hashirama. Eventually, he continued. "Young man, do you know the main powers of the mangekyo sharingan?" Sasuke remained confused but decided to play along so that this whole thing could be over. "Susanoo, Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Kamui, Kotoamatsukami, Izanagi and Izanami. What does it matter?" The First didn't react despite his rude comeback. "And do you know who their greater users where?" "Hn, why do you want to know that? You already lived with one of them."

Still no reaction. "Well, to answer your question, Nanashi was the greatest user of genjutsu that has ever lived. Unfortunately, that was also the reason of her downfall. Her story was trully one of a kind, but Tobirama will tell you more."

He directed his look to the Second, who looked seconds away from strangling his borther. "And why, pray tell Anija, would I do-" "Because -he quickly responded without giving him time to continue with a hard look- this story may help him decide what he will do, and by extension dictate the fate of the world."

With a heavy sigh, the Second stood up straighter and sent a judmental look towards Sasuke. Finally, he gave in and spoke. "From what we were able to gather, Nanashi was born in the main Uchiha compound with her mangekyo sharingan already awakened," he declared, to which everyone in that room adquired a shocked look. He waited a few seconds to make sure all of them understood the implications before continuing. "Her mangekyo ability was the Inkizami no Tsukuyomi, and it was extremily powerful. However, as a baby, she coundn't control it properly, and it resulted in her parents accidently being driven to madness by their infant daughter just weeks after her birth. The clan head at that time, Uchiha Tajima, found out and decided to adopt her as her own and train her to user her eyes for the clan."

Sasuke stood still not sure of if what he was hearing was real. There was an eighth technique? It was hard to believe, there was nothing writen on the Uchiha scrolls about this. It sounded so impossible, so fantastical. Oh, but if it was true... He could already imagine the possibilities. A child born with a mangekyo so powerful that it could destroy minds with just a small look. That girl sounded like a huge asset but... The clan hadn't any reccord about her. Why was that?

As if reading his mind, the Second continued. "This wasn't registered anywhere because of the darkness of the whole thing. A little girl trained from the moment she began to breath into a killing machine, who only had to peek at anyone to kill them mentally, but deprived of any love or affection. They even used a sealed headband to make her a emotionless slave. She was basically their ace up their sleeve. Their secret soldier who was sent to carry out the darkest missions only to be kept prisoner in a sealed cave, never to see the light other than to end a life. We were only able to gather this much information by pure luck. It's possible that not even Madara knew of her existence, with her being so young at the time of her disappearance." He released a thick breath, as if his words pained him. "Appearently, her clan feared her because of her abilities, and Tajima mistreated her a lot too, but he gained her loyalty when he proved to her he was inmune to her powers".

"Yes," Hashirama added with a somber look. "I still remember that day. It was a long time ago, when Tobirama was a young boy and so was I. We were both in a surveillance mission with our father..."

──

He remembered that day well. All to well. He and Hashirama were barely adults, patrolling their clan's borders with their father when he had detected two strong chakra sources advancing towards them too quickly. Their father and current clan head, Senju Butsuma, stood with his guard up and ordered them to prepare.

Luck had not been on their side. Tobirama always preffered to battle at night, when he could make use of his superior sensing abilities, but at the time he was still perfecting them. Besides, even if he could sense them, the Uchihas had their damned sharingan, which allowed them to locate them in the dark. The fact that the sky was full with clouds that blocked the moonlight was of no help.

He informed of their current predicament and right after doing so, he looked up at the sky. Not a star could be seen. They would have to relly on his sensing to return home. If they managed to survive this fight. While he was still young, he had already become a powerful asset to his clan, and a well-known warrior, but he couldn't affort to be arrogant. Those people were the first to die. Although the Uchihas, famous for their cockiness, had managed to stay in their position for centuries. If it weren't for their sharingan, the war would have ended years ago. Those cursed, bloody, red ey- Wait. Red. That brilliance... Was that-

Before he could figure out what he thought he had seen up in the firmament, their father and current clan head, Senju Butsuma, stood with his guard up and ordered them to prepare, but they weren't ready for what they saw. Uchiha Tajima, current head of the uchihas, and in his arms was a child.

A little girl with obvious uchiha traits. Black hair, black eyes and pale skin. But when he took a closer look, he realised she didn't exactly look like the other uchihas. Her hair was spiky with a blue tint and reached past her shoulder blades, instead of the typical ash black hair that most Uchihas had. She had an orange headband that secured her hair, allowing a few locks to escape. What's more, she wasn't dressed in the normal uchiha tunics. She wore a black cropped turtleneck and matching capri leggings underneath a blue coat with darker outline, brown belt with silver buckle, dark brown, fingerless gloves, and black boots. No sign of the Uchiha fan in any of her garments.

But this was strange. Why was the Uchiha leader here with a child on his arms? Who even was she? By the looks his father was sending them, it didn't look like he knew her. Then again, she was calmly seated in the man's arms, without fidgeting, which was weird for a kid her age, almost disturbing considering she was in front of her clan's most wanted enemies. Why was she so quiet? Why were her eyes so open and her pupils so small? And was nobody going to ask why was she on a battlefield?! For Kami sake, she looked barely eight years old!

"Well, well, look what we found, my dear. A small party of Senjus patrolling near our lands," Tajima spoke loudly looking at them with a sick smile on his face that sent shivers down his spine. "The one in the middle is Butsuma, their leader. The small ones are his sons. Hashirama, the brunette is the heir, and the white-haired one is Tobirama, his second son," he introduced them with a mocking face to the girl, who took them all in with an emotionless face.

"What is the meaning of this, Tajima? We are inside our borders, what business do you have here?" his father questioned severely. Tajima marely shaked his head and stood there unalarmed. He glanced to his brother who looked on guard but also confused. "Oh, us? We are here to put a stop to all the killing and destruction the wars have been causing," he innocently declared.

That made a new wave of puzzlement hit the three of them, although he could feel Hashirama perking up at the mention of stopping the wars. "Oh?" his father started. "And how do you propose to do that?" he all but scoffed. The brothers too were curious where this was taking and remained in silence. When Tajima spoke again, seemingly contemplating something, they all had to blink twice. "With your death and your kin burned down to ashes, of course".

Before anyone could say anything, Butsuma let out a loud laugh. They too were shocked, if not nervous, as the uchiha leader was not someone who made empty promises. And lately the uchihas had gained a lot of power with unknown methods. Still, he couldn't help but wonder why had that girl come along with him. He got his answers back soon.

"Nanashi-chan, my dear daughter", the senjus turned their heads sharply towards the little girl -now named Nanashi, as in that fearsome assassin the rumors spoke about? And daugher of Tajima, what- who responded by looking at her father with wide eyes. "Why don't you give Butsuma a piece of your mind on the matter?"

Suddenly, the girl turned her neck so fast he thought she could have broken it. Then her eyes changed, from small black dots to red with black tomoes, to a pattern they had never witnessed before. Her eyes were completely red with her pupils remaining small black dots, and three traingle-like patterns evenly spaced around them, making them similar to a pinwheel. She stared at her father for a few seconds before the man began to take steps back and muttering nonsense with his eyes so wide they looked as if they would pop out of his sockets. He stumbled, like he was dizzy, and fell down grabbing his head and started yelling like a mad man. Genjutsu? He and Hashirama went to him and tried to shake him out of it, but nothing seemed to work, not even his brother's healing jutsu. He still could sense the girl's -Nanashi's- gaze on his father. Had she casted genjutsu on him? But she was just a toddler!

How could she-

Movement! Behind him! What-

Sword-

Blood-

Before he could look back, Tajima suddenly appeared behind his father and thrusted his sword on his heart. Time seemed to stop. Not a sound was heard as he stared at his father's chest, once rising and falling quickly due to his harsh breathing, now covered in red with a sword sticking from his left side which kept leaking more and more blood. He remained there, still not believing what he was seeing. His father, his clan head. Was dying. Bleeding to death. He still coundn't believe it and yet, he-

A sudden yell from his brother made him come back to reality a little. Hashirama was screaming and trying to use his healing jutsu to his maximum but it wasn't working. Tobirama was looking at him with dead-like eyes because he knew the truth, though he didn't want to admit it. It was still unbelievable to him. Hashirama didn't give up, still trying to save their father somehow despite the obvious result. He desperately took Tajima's sword, who had gone back to his daughter where he had left her unguarded, and continued to try and yell and scream at their father to wake up and open his eyes.

His hand came up without him really thinking about it and soon found his brothers shoulder, who stopped moving with tears flowing from his eyes. It was painfully clear. Their father was dead. He had died a long time ago with their mother and their little brothers. And now their leader was gone too. Had been from the moment the enemy's sword had even scrachted his back. There had never been even a slight chance of saving him. A painless death. He almost laughted at the irony.

Nevertheless, laugh was heard. A wicked, empty laugh. Without turning they knew who it belonged to. The enemy leader had just finished of his greatest foes and rivals. And when he turned around, he could confirm it indeed belonged to Uchiha Tajima, who held his child in his arms again. She just regarded him with a poker face, her eyes normal again, as if she hadn't just tortured a man to madness and helped in his demise.

Then the ground started shaking. Wha- His bother's wood style! Roots started to grow around him, the trees howled sounding like angry cries who shared their master's pain. This powerful chakra was the reason why his brother was named God of Shinobi at such a young age. Hashirama was-! "Do it again!" An angry voice with a hint of a tremor sounded strongly. The child once again activated her eyes and the roots, which had already began to crawl around the Uchihas, came to a stop. Tajima let out a small exhale of air, and the girl remained with the same expression despite almost dying crushed. He, however, regained his inner fear as he turned his head to his brother and found him with a horrified look on his face, his eyes unfocused and speaking in mumbles too, just like their father before he had-

NO!!

He quickly drew out his sword and stood protectly in front of Hashirama with his eyes closed. It was clear now the girl was producing the genjutsus. Surprisingly strong for a little girl, taht not even his brother had come out of them. He was a sensor, he could fight with his eyes closed. Yes, he reasoned with a shaky sigh,it was alright. As long as he remained calm and with his senses on high alert, there was nothing to fear.

"And then there was one," he heared the taunting voice of Tajima. "The clever ones are always the last to die. I see you figured out my girl's little trick. Amazing, isn't it? Just a glance your way and your mind will be turned to mush. As long as she looks at your brother, he will never get our of that state." He heard steps, indicating the Uchiha was approaching. He took a stand with his sword. He felt him stop a few steps from him, and the girl standing there from afar. "Do you know what the best part of this is? I'm the only one who is inmune to her powers. Which means that with her by my side, there is no one strong enough do defeat me," he chuckled. "It's over, little Senju. Soon, I will kill everyone you hold dear. Your cousins, your uncles... they will all suffer the same destiny you father and brother did. You. Have. Lost."

Blinded by fury, his body launched itself into a set of angry attacks and jutsus. Fighting with his eyes closed, despite his good sensing, was always harder, but this time his eyes weren't coordinating his moves. It was his heart, his furious, raging, rabid heart. His mind was still sending possible strategies he could use to defeat him, but his inner person didn't want that. He wanted that demon to die a slow, merciless death. To suffer and erase that sickening smile from his face. So he kept striking, using his claimed speed to try and land a deadly blow. All in all, he became blind not by his closed eye lids, but by uncontrollable rage, which was the reason he didn't see when Tajima managed to sneek on him and slice his back with his katana, that he dodged with difficulty, still receiving part of the blow but not so that it took his life as intended.

With his last ounce of strength, he took out a kunai that we always kept on his chestplate just in case, and threw it at him so fast that it managed to scratch his left arm, tearing his sleeve. He had tried to use what was rest of his force on that blow, but it had failed. Now he was powerless to stop him. He opened his eyes, defeated, knowing what was coming for him, already accepting his fate but...

What he saw wasn't what he expected to see, though he couldn't express it well because of his fatigue. Tajima had dropped his sword, and instead of looking at him to kill him, he was looking at the arm he had sliced. No, not his arm. His gaze was fixed into a small seal on his forearm. 督 (Toku). Then his eyes lost their initial glee and turned scared and frightened that he had trouble believing this was the same man who had just killed his father. Even more weird, his eyes trembled even more as he looked at the forgotten girl, who had stopped looking at Hashirama and was frowning at her father. More specifically, at the seal which he now realized had the same kanji engraved on her headband.

Hashirama finally stopped speaking and fainted on the floor, and he felt he soon would too from chakra depletion. He was releived his brother could rest, and scared for what possible side effects it might have on him, but he came back from his thoughts when Tajima began to take steps back as his daughter came forward.

"N- Nanashi, my daughter... This isn't w- what it looks like, I-!" "I'm not afraid of you," her calm voice broke through his words as she advanced with an angry expression, while he kept retreating back, sweat visible on his brow. "Wait, please-" "I know what it's like to frighten other people. That's why I'm not afraid of you. I'm the only one." He kept taking steps back as he stumbled on a root and fell against a tree. The girl reached him and raised her arm. He just closed his eyes and lifted his own in defense, as pathetic as that was. He knew he was done for. That child was more powerful that all those in that field combined. He forced his eyes to remain open as he awaited the end of this battle, and felt his body hair stand in anticipation.

"Don't do this." Tajima's voice came as a scared whisper, and he witnessed as his daughter put her raised hand on his father's sealed forearm and stroke it gently. "Do what?" she inquired in an almost sweet voice. The man remained in that position for a moment before letting out a shaky breath and opened his eyes releaved. "That's my Nanashi-chan. Everything is going to be- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!"

Tobirama, even in his weakened state couldn't help but jump back as the man began to scream for his life as if a thousand knifes were gutting his insides. He watched astonished as black fire appeared on the girl's hand, which seemed to have no effect on her, and it burned and melted the man's skin, severing the right arm of her father from his body. He couldn't even believe she had the strength to do it, let alone the guts, but she didn't seem to mind as blood came down in flods from his right side. She still had an angry look on her face when she made him look into her eyes and destroyed his mind until the screaming stopped eventually and he fell down to the floor, his eyes now vacant of life and drool coming down his open mouth. That horrendous moment was chosen by his body to finally snap and he too fell down on the ground, face down. The girl appearently took this a sign, as she retreated her arm and stared at his body, and began to walk towards nowhere in particular. He had been spared, he faintly realized. She was at the edge of the field when his raspy voice came out one final time. "Where... are you gonna... go?" The girl turned back to him and regarded him with the same expression he had seen on her face before the battle began. "Nowhere," her childish voice responded as she continued walking. The last thing he heard where the sound of her heels marching away when he closed his and succumed to his wounds.

──

"... and then we didn't see her for years. After that, I becabe clan head and married Mito, the village was created, Madara... left and the rest, you all know," he finished.

The Third and Fourth were astonished as they didn't know that part of history from their predecessors. Orochimaru was impressed too, mostly because of the scientific possibilities he guessed. Suigetsu stood there with his mouth open, even the all-time serious Juugo had a surprised face. Sasuke was still in shock after hearing such a story. It still didn't sound possible for him. A child with that kind of power. But he could feel that wasn't the end of it.

"What happened to her after you last saw her? Do you know?" the Fourth asked, surprisingly enough. Sasuke reminded himself again that he was Naruto's father, so he should assume that his idiotic forgiving nature had come from his genes.

Hashirama gave him what he could call an I-smile-because-I-don't-wanna-cry look and answered. "Well, I actually never saw her again," he said rubbing his neck with a sorry smile. "Tobirama was the last to see her after we faced down the Seven Deadly Tengan." After that sentence, they all stared at him with dumbfounded looks. "What? It's not like we made up the name, they were the ones who presented themselves like that!" he said indignant when everyone regarded him with the same expressions.

"They were a group of civilans and rogue ninjas who were turned into crimminals," the Second explained for everybody's sake. "After many years, a group a mercenaries came out of nowhere and started to cause trouble to the neighboring villages, and we were sent to defeat them. I, Anija, Touka, Mito, my squad, Sasuke and many more. All of them possessed the mangekyo sharingan and represented one of the eight unique abilitys. Susanoo, Amaterasu, Kamui, Kotoamatsukami, Izanagi, Izanami and herself." That really shocked Sasuke even more. After hearing about that mysterious Nanashi, there were more like her out there? "Despite their seemingly relation to Nanashi, they were far from related to each other. They weren't even true Uchihas."

"How's that?" Suigetsu asked. He inmediatly hid behind Orochimaru as the serious look on the Second turned to him. "Because," he First interjected heavily. "She was the one who created them. With her very own doujutsu, Yachihoko. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that they could single-handedly defeat any of us, in the end it was the seven of them against the whole village. Eventually we took them down. Most of them, anyway."

──

Tobirama rested againt a tree as he regarded silently the enemies they had kept fighting against for a whole day at the ground of their newly built castle. The place looked as if had been taken out a fairy tail. Over a desserted wasteland , big and tall towers rose before them under a dark-clouded sky, and sorrounded by red trees with blue trunks. The most noticeable detail was the moon. It shone with a bright red color with a pattern resembling a mangekyo sharingan. Not Madara's or Izuna's, but a very familiar one nonetheless.

The Seven Deadly Tengan, as they had introduced themselves as. That name was definitely fitting. Yūbu had been an inpenetrable shield with a massive strength. Tsukai too was a source of destruction, with her unextinguishable black flames that could burn down anything. Luckily, those two relied on pure power rather than a strategy so they were the easiest to defeat. Idō and Musubi were a different story; one with intangibility and another with mind control skills respectively. With Idō, they had to decipher his technique and wait for the perfect moment to deliver the blows. Musubi had required lots of teamwork to overcome the mental control, and unfortunatelly the help of the uchihas to break it later.

Last but not least, the greatest of them all. Hiruko had the ability to regenerate from any wound, and even revive himself from the dead, which had come to intrigue him. Awashima could create powerful ilussions where she trapped you in a time loop, and made you lose sight of reality. They had been the hardest to take down. It painted him to admid it, that hundreds of shinobis had been needed to knock down that pair. As they discovered later, the answer was to make Hiruko lose his consciousness and as for Awashima, using the best genjutsu experts they had, they trapped her in her own ilussions. That's when Senju, previously Uzumaki, Mito came in.

Her help with seals had been expremely helpful during the fight, and also helping restraining them after being captured. "Aneue," he greeted her sister-in-law as she advanced towards him with his brother and Touka in tow. "Tobirama," she greeted back. "I need to ask you something. While we were fighting, I sensed a strong chakra signature radiating from the... Seven Deadly Tengan. –the name still sounded so silly, and yet they hadn't found anything more fitting- It was the same in all of them."

"Hmm. Now that you mention, I did feel something strange about them. And their behaviour was odd to say the least. It almost looked as if they were-" "Being controlled? I though so as well. What's more, judging from their title, it is obvious that one of them is still active and possibly hiding themselves. So I decided to step down for a moment during the battle to try and understand what it meant and I came to a conclussion". No surprises there, he mused. She had always been better at sensing than him because of her Uzumaki lineage. It also helped that she was capable of sensing emotions from others, something he had yet to discuss with her in order to comprehend it better. "It turns out that chakra was coming from inside the castle, which led me to believe whoever is inside is the last member that was controlling them the whole time."

That got them all thinking. Just who was so powerful as to control people as mighty as those six were. His inmediate thought was of someone from the uchiha clan, known for their visual prowers. Their enemies even had those cursed eyes, so it would make sense. But appart from Madara, now dead and buried, luckily for all of them, there were no reccords of any rogue uchiha.

"And... I think I know who it could be." Her voice made his attention turn to her one again. It seemed like she had a guess who could it be, though she looked uncomfortable for some reason. "You know I have memorized all the chakra signatures we all have faced down in time, and after comparing them, I believe the responsible for this was an enemy you faced down a long time ago." "So... Who is it?" Touka finally asked after a long, awkard silence. Mito took a deep breath and schooled herself. "Does the name Nanashi say anything to you?"

"What??" came his inmediate reply. His breath was caught in his throat. His memories came down crushing on him. Long forgotten memories that brought so much pain and still, he vividly remembered that little girl who had betrayed her father and ended his own life after taking his own father's and nearly his brother's. Nanashi. She had disappeard after their first encounter, she told him she was going... nowhere. At that time she didn't understand what she meant. An enigma he never had the chance of figuring out. And now it looks like she had taken out her anger on the world. But why? What did she want to achieve with this?

"Yes. The little girl you once told me about, who calls herself Nanashi. I had almost forgotten about her, despite the moon being an noticeable hint," she lamented, and no one there could argue with her really. The symbol engraved on the satellite was the same he had seen in her eyes all those years ago. How could they had missed such an obvious detail. "Alright, so what do we do about her? The last time we saw her, she helped us," Hashirama said, the ever forgiving soul. "Did you forget she helped in killing father and almost destroyed your mind too after that?" Tobirama reminded him harshly. "Well, we can't just do nothing. So maybe she 'helped' you a long time ago; she still can't go unpunished for all her crimes by using those six freaks over there," Touka pointed out.

Mito nodded her head. "I agree, we need to get to her and talk her out of whatever plans she has. Or else we will have to resort to violence," she declared firmly. Tobirama agreed too, and so did his brother, a bit unsure though. Then silence was implanted once again. In their heads, the issue was clear. They couldn't just go after her, of she could use them against each other. If anything, one of them shoud go inside. Alone. With a voice of steel, Tobirama voiced his opinion. "I'll do it. I'm the only one of us she has ever talked to. She might let me get close enough." His declaration brought him a series of frowns and clear denials on his realtives faces, but they still couldn't deny his logic. With only a few words shared between them, he was the one who she had most contact with. Still, nobody who erase the worry from their minds. It felt... nice, having people who worried about him. He wasn't the most animated person so he didn't have many friends outside his inner circle. As long as he had his familly by his side, his heart would beat with hidden affection. Not that he planned on telling them that.

"Before you go after Nanashi, you need to know what you're getting into," Mito's voice cut down the moment. They still had a strategy to plan out. One look at her guarded face spoke more than a thousand words. While she remained afraid for him, they couldn't just sacrifice the people's fates over his. They all understood that. "I've seen her powers before. She has the ability to give anyone she's in contact with hallucinations, as you can see," he explained, gazing at the fantasy-like background that surrounded them bathed under the red light.

"It's worse than you think. I checked her chakra line with my senses and her powers have evolved. She doesn't create hallucinations anymore, she telekinetically warps reality for as long as the moon's brightness can reach." "Please," huffed Touka nervously. "Are you trying to tell me all this is real?" He too wanted to believe that something that extraordinary wasn't real and that this was all a nightmare, but he had already faced down this situation long ago and learnt the hard reality. "Real, growing and permanent if we don't put a stop to it all. With my emotion senses I can safely predict that Nanashi is days, maybe only hours, from a massive chakra depletion. Her eyes must have been activated for a huge amount of time."

"Problem solved then?" Touka asked. "It isn't that simple. When she goes down, the energy backlash could kill everyone in range of her technique. That's a distance measured in thousands of miles," she said gravely while revealing something from her sleeve. A headband marked with a particular kanji. He remembered that symbol. It was writen on many of Mito's scrolls, which she had justified as them being part of an important project for the future she had been working on with the Sarutobi chief. 押 (Ō). Now that he knew what it did, he understood, what they wanted him to do. "Take her down before she takes everyone with her."

He didn't say anything as he turned towards the castle and started walking to its entrance, hidden behind a mantle of thorns. There was nothing to be said. He could feel their sadness irradiating in deep waves, but not out of fear for him. That had never been the problem. He knew, they all knew. "Do you understand what you're agreeing to?" he heard his brother's gentle voice, almost as if trying to persuade him from their already set objective. His only brother left, his Anija. The one who had always looked after him, protected him from any danger he had faced. It looked like time hadn't passed and they were still kids, when he had all but depended on his big brother to survive. "The only way to stop Nanashi for certain is to kill her."

He never gave back any form of response, not physically nor verbally. Instead he kept advancing to the principal door of the castle, the thorns drawing away from him with each step he took and closing back inmediatly after. When he pushed the doors open, the scenario inside the place looked even more unreal than the outside. A gorgeus garden welcomed him. Lush bushes filled with floers of all kinds and colors. Some even looked made up from a child's imagination. The ground was covered in grass, with stone tiles to walk over. There was even a sky up in the ceiling. What an intriguing jutsu. He could almost hear a soft tuned being played in the back, one that resembled those played at acts about mythical tales.

That wasn't the only sound that got his attention. When he turned back, his eyes finally met with her figure, lazily going back and forth on a swing. He couldn't help but take her new form in. Her hair had grown exponentially to her knees and had adquired way some spikes. The new hairstyle made him think she had chopped it in a messy way, possibly due to her lack of experience. Her old headband was gone, and so was her old attire. Now she wore black boots with short socks and a navy blue bodysuit resembling a nightgown, with wide sleeves and a turtle neck that didn't quite reach her knees, but remarked her age greatly, reafirming her gentle features. She had to be in the middle of her teenager stage, but she had defenitely grown into a fine woman.

Or at least, he suppossed so, because her dirty hair and the stains and cuts on her clothes only made her look like those orphaned children they had been receiving every so often in the village. That sight alone almost made him want to quit the mission. Almost.

The girl remained in place, swinging forwards and backwards like a toddler. An experience she never got to experience, he could assume. Finally after a moment, she acknowledged his presence. "Senju Tobirama," she saluted without moving her eyes from their position. Her pupils ever so small, she looked like she was looking at something only she could see. He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. "Uchiha Hikari," he greeted back with no emotion in his voice. "I see you have made quite the research. Not even him ever called me by my birth name."

Research he did indeed. That was one of the few information he had been able to obtain at that time until he had forgotten about her. "Did you like playing with my Seven Deadly Tengan?" she asked. Like a little kid showing their work to his parents and waiting for approval. Despite her past, her infant soul had somehow remained hidden deep inside her, and began to show when she became free. Still... "I can't say that I did," he replied, the image of his comrades lying dead on a battlefield not so long ago.

"Yeah. They aren't any fun at all. I gave them their powers, and they still hardly ever play with me." A snort came out unintentionally. "Can't imagine why," he said trying to hide a little sarcasm in his voice. She didn't speak for a moment but when she did, he clenched his fists a little too tight. "When I was little, he used to make me play all kinds of games, but they weren't any fun either," she began, her voice angering slightly as clouds covered the inner sky. "They'd make me train until by bones cracked and mute my will with their sealed headband, and force me to strain my eyesight to improve it and find out how it worked. 'Nanashi, can you move that object with your mind?'" A nearby tree lifted itself from the ground and into the dark sky. "Yeah, I can move it." He continued to look at her in silence. She needed this, he knew. To get it all out. "They weren't really games, you know. They were training me. Turning me into a weapon 'for the clan', they said," she stopped swinging and gave a little kick to the earth below her. "They got their weapon; I got cheated out of my childhood. All to become another link in the world's worst chain."

That had been the reason for this whole thing. The justification of so many deaths and destruction. A childish revenge, some would call it. But Tobirama... he understood her. Possibly better than anyone he could think of. Hashirama fought to lead their people into a safe tomorrow. Sasuke sought to become a better leader for his clan, which depended on him. Mito had the responsability to represent both Konoha and Uzu, being the wife of the Shodaime. Touka was a war general. Being her parents' only heir, she had been forced on the battlefield since she was a child to defend their honor and her clan's. But him? He was the second heir of he Senju. The little brother of the God of Shinobi. The spare in case his elder brother died. No matter how powerful he became, he was basically just a plan b, a second alternative. If he were to die, the village would still have their leader and the clan would still have their chief. Nothing would change significantly. Sure, he would be missed and a big soldier would be lost, but sooner or later he would be replaced with a new warrior from a yonger generation. Like Kagami or Saru.

All in all, he finally understood. She didn't hate him. She didn't hate the Uchiha, nor the village. She probably didn't even have the ability to hate anybody, no matter how much she wanted to. She just despised the Ninja World. It made sense. All the things she had to go under, the major reason for her continuous suffering was because of the reality they lived in. With her inmense capacities, she could have created more slaves to bring all the villages down if she felt so moved; she could literally alter the whole world with a single glimpse, as he had just learnt. But even with all that, she hadn't.

He just stood there firmly, unsure at first. Finally, he wetted his lips a bit. "I know what that's like," he said, mirroring his own childhood memories. Depressing as they were, he still thought nothing could compare to her past and present suffering. "You do, don't you?" she asked gently, her gaze landing on him for the first time. Speaking of first times, she also gifted him with a smile that he swore carried out an aura of sadness. But that face, it was just looked so accepting, so- "You don't have to answer. I've read your mind. That's how I knew you weren't going to use Mito's headband on me."

He revealed the accesory from his pouch without hesitation and allowed it to fall from his fingertips, leaving it lying to the ground. "No, I wasn't," he affirmed. "You were going to try and talk me into fixing what I've changed... before I die." Her words came out more as a sentence. He schooled his features. "Yes." "I'm dying very soon," she said again, her eyes not giving anything away. He gathered every bit of strength he had. For both their sakes. "Yes," he let out in a steady voice. "I'm sorry." He clenched his jaw thighly.

Those words seemed to be a breaking point for her. They probably sounded foreign to her. The first person in her life to ever apologising for what she went under, even if he wasn't at fault directly. A small sniff was heard as her shoulders flinched a little, most likely trying to contain her emotions. Many had called him emotioness in his early teens, but this girl had had that lesson drilled into her hear from the moment she began to speak. Still, a sad look dawned on her face. When she lookd back at him, long tears were coming from her eyes.

"Would you stay with me? I'm scared," she whispered, almost whimpered. He walked towards the swing next to hers and sat down, holding his hands on his lap. She wiped away her tears with her wrist and both stood there in silence. Eventually, he raised his arm, offering one final form of support. She stared at his hand and raised hers too. And there they stood, gripping each others hand.

──

"-Later after that, the moon regained its color and the land adopted its natural look again... He sat with her until her time came."

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