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Sakura pursed her lips tightly and settled herself deeper into her tree watching her prey closely and only half listening to the whispered argument next to her, Naruto and Sasuke’s voices mercifully hushed. “-we were supposed to go back farther! Before the other eight were sealed!” “I know, idiot. Must not have been enough power” Naruto’s breath hitched at the reminder of the cost of this gamble “Kurama wasn’t at full power but he hoped-“ Sakura elbowed the blonde hard in the diaphragm, letting his spluttering pull the attention to her. “Look” she hissed “I think we know our when” Naruto stared, even Sasuke looked like he was staring; “Is that….” The Uchiha whispered “A tiny, tiny Hatake? Is that sensei’s dad?” Naruto interrupted, eyes wide as they looked at the tiny silver haired boy sobbing next to Konoha’s unnervingly new walls.

“Ok” Naruto started slowly and then the boy let out a hitching gasp of a sob and Sakura saw his shoulders go firm in that way he had; “damnit” she muttered but leapt right out after him anyway. Team 7 (and no Naruto wasn’t still mad that they didn’t a cool team name like Densetsu no Sannin) dropped down next to the child, Sasuke already turning out to scan for enemies and Naruto knelt down to talk to the tiny!Sakumo; “Hey, hey little wolf, what are you doing out here?” he asked gently. There was a wet sniffle and Sakura looked over just in time to get a good look at huge wet eyes swimming with tears and wobbling lips. Yeah. No. She looked up at Sasuke’s murderous eye when the Uchiha spoke and knew that for once all three of them were on the same page “Who is bothering you!?” the Uchiha growled in an unusual deep rumble.

Tiny!Sakumo stared up at them with his giant gray puppy-eyes and made a manful effort to stem the tide of his tears, “I – I – I – I’m not supposed to talk to strangers” he forced out, biting his lip “Nidaime-sama says” and that was the last straw because he burst back into tears and Naruto’s self-control snapped and he gathered the child into his arms with cooing noises, looking a bit damp himself. Sasuke took a deep breath and gathered himself walking over to kneel next to them and speak to tiny!Sakumo, “But I’m not a stranger I’m an Uchiha” he pointed out in what Sakura liked to call his ‘supercilious-Uchiha’ voice; the one that said that because he was saying it and he was Uchiha clearly he was right and had to be listened too. tiny!Sakumo blinked and looked a bit better though no more inclined to get out of Naruto’s lap – which was probably for the best really, the blonde looked like he was inches from manifesting his tails and bunding tiny!Sakumo up in them, “Oh, you must be Uchiha, they’re the only ones that sound like that” he said, hiccupping halfway though and making Sakura’s heart clench (oh he was deadly) (also, ha! She had told Sasuke it was an Uchiha thing!). Sasuke nodded gravely, clearly pleased to be recognized (apparently he hadn’t realized that this meant the were more Uchiha around in this time, Sakura was not going to be the one to remind him) and preening a bit until tiny!Sakumo leaned closer and blinked at him with another sniffle, “’re you Izuna-sama back? ‘ve seen and you look like him so you must be, n’ Nidaime-sama could do ‘nthing!” and oh dear. Sakura hadn’t thought of this problem.

“Um” Naruto grumbled and cuddled tiny!Sakumo closer, taking over in his blunt way “No, this is Sasuke, he’s not Izuna and Nidaime-sama didn’t resurrect him” tiny!Sakumo’s face fell and Sakura’s heart twisted again. “oh,” he whispered into Naruto “right, he’s dead now” desperate to change the subject- though relived to have a bit of context for when they were (and honestly not to have to sort out Tobirama Senju, the man was a wild card and way too smart)- Sakura finally spoke up “Is that why you were crying?” she blurted, cringing a bit as she did – kami she used to have more tact than this! Naruto shot her a dirty look as tiny!Sakumo started sobbing harder in response and he cuddled the child closer with soft fox like noises until tiny!Sakumo was breathing easier and chocked out a confusing slur of words that Sakura had trouble following but Naruto and Sasuke seemed to get (well, that wasn’t surprising, Naruto was good with kids and anything Naruto got Sasuke did as well given that Sakura had decided thy must have some sort of psychic connection; luckily she was well past feeling jealous about the whole thing – she really didn’t need to know what was going on in either of their heads frankly).

“Danzo” both men said in one growling voice and Sakura straightened as the words shot through her, suddenly realizing that – shit, Danzo would be alive in this time if a lot younger, though not apparently any less of a dick; actually though, now that Sakura thought about it “Hey, guys, guess who else is alive in this time” they both looked at her with murder in their eyes “Orochimaru”. Naruto’s eyes blew huge and Sasuke’s jaw dropped for a moment before something evaluating flickered in Naruto’s blue eyes “He would be very young-“ “Fuck, oh my god imagine how cute he would be as a kid” Sasuke’s interruption made Sakura roll her eyes until the Uchiha added “just imagine it” and – oh lords of leaves. “Shit” she whispered as the mental image formed “oh fuck” “He would be a creepy little terror” Naruto breathed, eyes wide and thrilled as his tails poof-ed into existence and wrapped around a confused and wide eyed tiny!Sakumo “I want him!” well, shit, looked like she would have to keep them away from children again. Though…Naruto and Sasuke couldn’t be worse influences on Orochimaru than whoever he had had the first time and Sakumo was definitely a better choice than fucking Jiraiya as a friend (not that Sakura was going to tell Naruto that, they had gotten in enough arguments about the old creep already, she didn’t need to go there again – and, huh, maybe some of his worse behavior could be curbed with enough time and someone other than fucking Sarutobi involved).

Well, huh, that…wasn’t a terrible way of changing the future come to think about it, good adults that didn’t enable shit or shut people down might make a big difference in Konoha- and she wasn’t going to try and separate Naruto from tiny!Sakumo given how he was slowly smothering the child in his gold and red tails, the black tips flickering around the small enraptured face- well, well, child collecting it was then. In that case “Change of plans, Sasuke is going to tell everyone about his dad being Izuna Uchiha and we’re not going to tell anyone else anything else and in return you guys can have at Danzo whenever you want. Naruto wont bother to keep his precog hidden either” both men stared at her and raised eyebrows in sync before nodding slowly in agreement with her cover story. Izuna would have had to had a kid right before his death to fit Sasuke's age but if that was Sasuke’s parentage then they would have  to be let into to the village and it wasn’t like even the Yamanaka would find anything but horror and power and pain in the two of their heads anyway (Sakura could of course fool even Ino, she’d be fine and if she got pissed enough she’d just reverse psychology Madara into being in love with someone- Tobirama maybe? Ino would have liked that…- and let him be distracted by that. Uchiha were always a bit dumb in love, see example in front of her).

“Alright then tiny!Sakumo, lets go kick some Danzo but!” Naruto cheered, cuddling the boy even more aggressively until the tip of his tiny twitching nose and one happy hand were all that was visible as the adults traded nasty grins full of too-many teeth, as Tenten would say: Team 7 was here, let’s hear a halle-fucking-lujah!

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Sakura might have considered a slightly more discreet entrance but, well, Uchiha and Naruto in full tails, Kurama-eyes, fox ears, and over-long nails was about as far from discreet as you could get no matter what, so, they’d figure it out. (Step one was lengthening Sasuke’s hair a bit and mucking with him till the resemblance to his “father” was too strong to ignore – all while Naruto tickled tiny!Sakumo sick with giggling until the boy was clinging to one fluffy tail like it was a stuffed toy and yawning through clear emotional crash.) By the time Sakura deemed them ready to go tiny!Sakumo was sleeping in Naruto’s supernaturally strong tails and the blonde was looking around with wide, hungry, red-slit eyes; his long-nailed fingers twitching a bit as he looked at this old version of their home, one they could make better and stronger and – hell yeah Sakura was feeling the anticipation too, and she could see it in the lines of Sasuke’s shoulders as well. They were not going to let this Konoha stay the same – not the same as the world that had so easily fallen to pieces on them. No, it was time things changed and Team 7 was going to see it happen, come hell or high water!

With that in mind she waved at Sasuke to lead them out to the gates (the Uchiha clearly discomfited to be taking Naruto’s spot in the middle but dealing) in a purposeful stride as though he fully expected to be welcomed with open arms. And the Sakura’s pleasure they were, the power of sheer confidence once again coming to the fore and making people so uncomfortable about confronting them that they just…didn’t; even when Sasuke turned towards the Uchiha section (not a compound yet then, interesting) and headed straight that way rather than for the Tower and the waiting Sarutobi. (Sakura didn’t miss the uncertain look Naruto sent the Tower, well aware how conflicted he was about the old man; the blonde may have refused to think ill of his godfather but part of the reason he did was that he had already had to face the reality to how fucked up Sarutobi’s choices had been and how often he had let others take the blame - like letting the Uchiha blame Nidaime-sama for the compound and ostracization when he was the one to implement that, not Tobirama Senju. It had hurt Naruto a lot to face the truth of the old man’s…character flaws and she ached for him having to do it again, on the other hand-) Smirking the young woman leaned around to look at her teammate and murmur “You know Kurama is still alive at this point in time and in Mito-sama, I know you always wanted to meet her” and just like that the blonde’s sunshine came right back out in a brilliant smile, Sasuke blowing out a silent relived sigh; as unhappy with a sad Naruto as Sakura was though less willing to show it.

Just then as they stepped through a Tori gate at near the entrance of the Uchiha section a voice called out, all three turning as one to look at an Uchiha, tall- and nicely built in Sakura’s opinion-, with feathery, slightly curly, black Uchiha hair that was cut relatively short, his dark eyes fixed on them but widening as he took in Sasuke’s face and long hair (eyes blessedly not lingering on the missing arm or the way one of Sasuke’s eyes was covered). Then he looked at Naruto and his eyes got even bigger as he just gapped at them, looking, well, frankly, far too tired for this shit. “I – uh, who are you?” the man asked, and Sakura cocked a hip and rubbed at her mouth to hide her smirk as Sasuke straightened officiously, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder and clearly copying what he remembered of Madara’s body language. “I am-“ oh shit, they hadn’t come up with names! “Sasuke Uchiha” oh, well, that worked. She guessed. “I have come looking for my father.” He didn’t bother to introduce the rest of them, and Sakura rolled her eyes but, well that was fine enough really, though eventually they were going to have to introduce themselves and explain Naruto or whatever he wanted to call himself (given his love of disguises she was thought he might want another name, he had already grown out his hair when Sasuke did and insisted Sakura do the same - on the other hand another name would mean learning to respond to it so, toss up).

The Uchiha blinked at them for a long moment and then rubbed at his face, looking exhausted, “I, sorry, I’m Kagami Uchiha, I can see that you are of the blood but – I am sorry, I didn’t know we had one of our own that wasn’t with the clan, that is very rare you know” (ah, now wasn’t that interesting, Kagami Uchiha, one of the best Uchiha and another student of the Nidaime-sama- must be why he looked so tired if the Nidaime-sama had died recently- and also one of Danzo’s first victims). Something flickered over Sasuke’s face too fast for Sakura to track- though she trusted that Naruto would have gotten it if it was important- and he shrugged, “I didn’t know my father well but I was told to come to the Uchiha to find him by my mother, father may not have even known that I was born really; mission situation you know” and the angle of his jaw was just perfect Uchiha, a great copy of Madara Uchiha at his best; something that Kagami clearly noticed if the way he stiffened was anything to go by.

“And who was your father then?” he asked slowly, and Sasuke smirked a Madara smirk with a sleek shrug “Izuna Uchiha, according to mother but, you know” his visible eye spun into the sharingan, stopping at three tomoe to Sakura’s relief “this was a pretty good indicator that she was telling me the truth. Is he here?” and poor Kagami paled deeply, going white as bone as his eyes flickered over Sasuke’s face and hair and posture. “You had better come in and talk” he said softly and Sakura realized with a surprise that at this point in time Kagami would be newly the head of the clan wouldn’t he? Sasuke nodded regally and waited to let Kagami go first, looking around with unfeigned interest at the clustered Uchiha buildings, as yet without any wall to set them apart from the rest of the village.

It was…fascinating to see so many Uchiha alive and vibrant and interested in them, nodding to Kagami and reacting to Sasuke and Naruto with varying degrees of shock; clearly some of them saw the resemblance to Izuna as it was more interesting to them than even Naruto’s apparent inhumanity. Kagami lead the way to the house at the center of the Uchiha section and led the way in, kicking off his shoes and leading the way to the tearoom, and waving at them to sit; starting a little the Uchiha finally noticed that Naruto was carrying tiny!Sakumo and blinked at the sleeping child for a moment before clearly deciding to not argue with it as he excused himself to make tea.

“So” Sakura started “the head of the Uchiha clan” and Naruto nodded as Sasuke smirked, “He seems to be doing a good job, better than I would do without knowing the clan” Sasuke said calmly, tucking his empty sleeve neatly away and eye flicking around for listeners “I just wonder why he didn’t want to talk about father outside”. Hmm, so he thought there was a listener then, interesting. Naruto sighed a little and made sure that tiny!Sakumo was comfy in his tails, “They’re going to ask about me eventually, and why you only came now after you’re already an adult” he pointed out; Sakura shrugged, crossing her arms comfortably over her chest. “Well it’s not like it’s a secret what you are Naruto;” she said calmly “and your precognition isn't something we want to hide either” “No” Naruto agreed, smiling with far too many teeth (Sakura was ignoring Sasuke’s admiring look at the expression) “that’s you, our secret weapon” and oh, well, that was how they were going to do this then. Alright, she could do that.

“You’re far too sweet” Sakura purred back at him “as if you aren’t the reason we know half as much as we do” Naruto grimaced a little at that but didn’t argue, it was the easiest way to explain the sheer skill they all possessed without having any known teachers if they had been taught by a kitsune. “Well” he sighed “fair enough” and Sakura grinned, already feeling good about all of this.

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Kagami reentered with a tray of tea and a slightly more centered look on his face though the grief on it was still clear to see (how recently had the Nidaime died anyway?), “I apologize for taking so long” Kagami started but Naruto just waved the apologies away, beaming at the Uchiha brightly enough his slightly too-sharp teeth were on display. “No worries!” he chirped “It’s got to be tough being head of a clan and-“ he hesitated for a moment “-you lost your Sensei recently too didn’t you?” Kagami froze, his dark Uchiha eyes flickering with red for a split second before he responded slowly “News travels fast, it’s only been a week and already outsiders that aren’t connected to a village know” he said slowly, eyes intent and wary. Naruto just laughed, loud and boisterous as he waved a hand, long dark-red nails (claws) catching the light, “Oh I wouldn’t worry too much about that Uchiha-sama, I have some skills that most don’t, don’t you know”. Kagami’s eyes flickered over the ears on his head and the long tails behind him, “I suppose you must Kitsune-sama” he agreed lowly, “Call me Naruto!” the blond chirped “and this is Sakura Qiānqiū”. Politely Kagami bowed shallowly to both of them, though they noticed him keeping an eye on Naruto rather more than the rest of them (understandable).

“And you have come to Konoha with Sasuke looking for his father?” Kagami asked, sounding tired enough Sakura’s heart went out to him; “We have known Sasuke for a long time- Naruto helped us train- and then he said it was time to come looking for Izuna, so” she shrugged “here we are. We found the poor child outside the village and Naruto latched right on I’m afraid, his parents might have to fight to get him back!” she smiled at the Uchiha head, inviting him in on the joke so that he wouldn’t worry that Naruto really was going to steal tiny!Sakumo given he was a kitsune and all that. Kagami looked from one of them to another down at tiny!Sakumo’s sleeping face, “So it is Kits- sorry, Naruto-sama that brought you to Konoha. I – you have come at a difficult time I must admit, so soon after Sen-sensei’s death and Hiruzen taking the hat. But you are of course welcome here as an Uchiha, especially as the child of the main line which we thought was lost to us, but you – you look just like your father and you act like Shishou – Madara-sama I mean, as for your father...I am afraid he passed on a great many years ago. you have my condolences Sasuke" their Uchiha bowed his head for a moment and sighed deeply, "I had feared as much for quite some time" he admitted finally "but thought I should check and come meet the clan anyway." Kagami nodded understandingly "You will have to check in with the Hokage but as an Uchiha you have every right to be here – and we would never deny a kitsune and his students.”

Sakura sipped her tea to hide her smirk, sure the Hokage would have to be dealt with and the Yamanaka, but she wasn’t worried about that, “As for Sakumo," Kagami said, trying to lighten the mood - badly "well, his parents are both dead, died in the First War; but you will have to fight his aunt for him. The Hatake may have been badly thinned out in the First War but those that live are still strong and loyal.” Sakura laughed, lightly touching Kagami’s arm “Oh I wouldn’t worry about that, Naruto will just adopt the whole clan knowing him, he’s like that”. Kagami blinked at her in muted surprise at the touch and Sakura just smiled prettily at him “We should probably go see the Hokage at some point, no? Just to let him know Sasuke is in the village, do you have a preference fore where we stay?” Kagami searched her face, seeing the indications that they respected him more than the Hokage and clearly not sure what to do with it.

“You are welcome to stay here in the Uchiha section, the main house has been empty since Madara-sama left” yeah, Sakura could see why no one would want to live in there after Madara and his probable tag-along had inhabited it – assuming Zetsu had already been in his head at that point which seemed likely to her. “Otherwise I think the hokage would have an opinion about that” Sakura laughed airily, waving a hand as Naruto shifted just so to flare his tails and leaned his jaw on his hand “No doubt he will” she agreed lightly, clearly unconcerned “shall we go and deal with that then boys?” Naruto smiled toothily at her and Sasuke ‘hn’ed which was as good as enthusiastic consent. “We’ll see you later then Kagami, thank you for your hospitality.”

A little bewildered Kagami saw them to the door, looking a little like he had walked out of a hurricane as they breezed out and left with nods to other Uchiha around and all in all it was going quite well until – there was a small snek!Orochimaru walking down the street from the hospital and – look, he was just so tiny and pale and sad looking and, well, Sakura didn’t even try to stop Naruto from handing the sleeping tiny!Sakumo to Sasuke and pouncing on snek!Oro, scooping him up and bundling him in tails as he cooed at the child a few years younger than Sakumo. Snek!Oro stared up at Naruto with huge golden eyes, looking floored and confused and completely distracted from whatever had made him so sad as he stared at Naruto and the inhumanity clear on his face. “What ‘re you?” the child asked, impressively clearly at his age and given the amount of cooing he was getting, “I am a kitsune little snake!” Naruto rumbled, long clawed fingers scrapping back the long black hair “though- and this is a secret ok?- you could call me a Tenko instead.” Snek!Oro’s eyes narrowed as he tried to sort out what that meant while cuddling down further in his tails as they wandered closer to the Tower. “Wha’s that?” Snek!Oro asked, eyes wide and interested “That, little snake, is a type of yokai, which is a kind of spiritual creature; think Manda but not” the child nodded, turning to examining the fur of Naruto’s tails as they walked with the easy acceptance of a child.

“So” said Sakura “this one ours too?” not that she was arguing, Orochimaru was far too cute at this age and far too sad and if they could fix that they would. “Mine!” Naruto told her, eyes bright as Sasuke tucked tiny!Sakumo under his cloak-jacket and they approached the Tower. Sakura sighed and looked up at it for a long minuet and then nodded “Well, lets do this thing then.”

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Sasuke was unimpressed. Hiruzen Sarutobi was not yet an old man but there was something in the set of his shoulders that reminded Sasuke of the old, failed man he had known and though he knew he shouldn’t hold grudges for things that hadn’t happened yet, it was hard to look at this man and not see the man that looked the other way as his entire clan was massacred. That put an old friend (or more if the rumors were to be believed) above everyone else, even the village he pledged everything too. But this man was not that man yet, this man had wild dark auburn-brown hair (too much product, trying to look like the Nidaime) and a silly pointy goatee, the marks under his eyes had yet to vanish into wrinkles and under the hat and coat he was wearing shinobi clothes and mesh armor. His eyes were interested and unthreatened – at least until he got a good look at Naruto and his eyes widened even further, back going straight and tight as he looked at the grinning kitsune with a child of the village in his arms.

“Hello Hokage!” Naruto all but chirped as Sasuke sent unimpressed looks at the ANBU poorly hidden around the office “Kagami said we should come and talk to you since we are going to be living in the village now, Sasuke wants to get to know his family, don’t you know” the fondness in his voice as he said Sasuke’s name warmed the Uchiha as it always did and he tilted his head up in the position he had learned from Madara as he looked at the Hokage, trying to highlight his resemblance to the former Uchiha clan head. Sarutobi blinked at them for a long moment before he said “Family?” faintly, clearly not quite over having a kitsune in his office. “Mhm,” Sakura bounced on her toes “we know now that his father is dead of course, Kagami told us, but we are hoping to meet his Uncle maybe? Whenever Madara-sama returns to the village? Though I guess that could be a while, he must be in morning after Nidame-sama’s death.” If the silence in the office before had been muffling this time it was suffocating. Ah, Sasuke thought, so they were actually playing it that way; Sakura must be feeling vindictive.

“I – I’m sorry-“ Sarutobi spluttered “what?” Sakura cocked her head, her pink hair falling prettily over her shoulders to her hips “Well, Sasuke is the son of Izuna Uchiha – we were told they look a lot alike if you knew them and Kagami certainly seemed to see it; though – you wouldn’t have met him would you!” her eyes opened wide in well faked surprise as she didn’t answer what Sarutobi was really asking. “No – I – I never met Izuna no but I have seen pictures and he does look quite a lot - no what I meant was, what do you mean? Madara-sama is dead, he has been for years and why would he care that Sensei was de-dead?” Sasuke almost felt bad about the way his voice caught on the word, but not that much, man was still an asshole. Sakura must have agreed as she gave him a confused smile “Oh than, that must have been very hard for the Nidaime then, to lose his love so long ago.” Dead silence.

“The Nidaime loved Madara-sama?” that was one of the ANBU, Mongoose, and Sakura turned her weaponized confusion on them, “Sure, everyone knows about the star crossed lovers that were Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju.” She said easily and Mongoose’s mask stared at her, “But – they argued all the time-“ “Sexual tension” Naruto said knowingly, tweaking Snek!Oro’s nose. “They – they hated each other! The Nidaime-sama killed Izuna! Oh,” to Sasuke “sorry” the Uchiha shrugged, making his face blank as Sakura sighed and clasped her hands under her chin. “I know its so sad now that I know! How hard it must have been for Madara-sama to fall in love with the man that killed his brother even if it was a casualty of war! It must have tormented him!”

“Wait” the Hokage interrupted “this is common knowledge?” “Of course!” Naruto beamed “well known and well,” he tapped his nose “a fox always knows. It really is a sad story” so ok, they really were going with that then. Oh, well, it would piss Madara off when he heard and Sasuke was always down for things that pissed off his ancestor; and he would hear, ANBU were the worst gossips if it wasn’t a village secret and this clearly wasn’t. Within hours it would be around the village and take on a life of its own and people would be making up justification that it must be true (it was too juicy not to be believed) and the story would be iron clad by the time it started leaking out of Konoha and to Madara. Besides, it might confuse Danzo somewhat and that was entertaining as well.

“You –“ almost visibly Sarutobi wrenched his thoughts off the topic and back to the visitors in his village “if you want to stay here in Konoha – and you are of course welcome as an Uchiha” he added reluctantly “you will need to do interviews with T&I and the Yamanak for your backstories, just to be sure we’re not letting saboteurs in the village. We just ended a war not to long ago you know.” “Of course” Sasuke said evenly, shifting his hold on the sleeping tiny!Sakumo even as snek!Oro finally chimed in “No they don’” the small child said, blinking wide gold eyes “they clan, if clan says they-‘re ok they ok and hav’ to stay.” Sarutobi’s eyes widened at that and he winced even as Naruto laughed and waved a hand, assuring the Hokage that they didn’t mind doing a few interviews; for what good it would give them from him. Snek!Oro’s eyes narrowed and he pulled on one of Naruto’s long golden forelocks, “Too late for in-erveiws t’nigh, stay with me.” he said imperiously and, kami that was just too cute and even Sasuke could feel himself melting to the child’s whims.

“Alright” Naruto told the child “we’ll stay with you tonight, it’ll be fun!” he cheered and Sasuke couldn’t help the swell of cursed-fondness that always came at the sight of that bright, indomitable smile. Pleased as anything Naruto turned and followed Sasuke as he started walking out of the office without another word, not bothering with doing the polite goodbyes that most would say the Kage was owed (good, his own feelings about the Hokage might be conflicted but he wasn’t going to fight Sasuke and Sakura in their snubbing of the man). Behind them Sakura nodded to the old man, calling “You know what to find us!” as she guarded their back on the way out, ignoring the clear frustration boiling in the man’s chakra (Sasuke and Naruto hadn’t been born sensor types but the Sage’s gift had given them a lot of new abilities this was only one of them) as well as the thick confusion her words had sown.

“Really Sakura?” Sasuke muttered to his teammate as they left the tower and followed Snek!Oro’s directions to his isolated and poison garden surrounded home, the woman just laughed, bright and amused with a twinkle in her eye. “Oh come on Sas, think about it, the Ghost of the Uchiha is still alive right now and just think about the look on his face when he hears?! Can you think of a better revenge than him being in love with Tobirama Senju?” and that…that was a very good point as even Sasuke’s normal impassivity couldn’t resist the mental image of the utter confusion and distress it would cause Madara and a slightly frightening smile curled over his face (unknowingly making him look rather a lot like said ancestor). “That, that is a very, very good point Sakura. A very good point indeed” the Uchiha purred and over his shoulder Naruto shot them a fox smile, “Besides, it would bring that here as well don’t you think? I think it would make Nidaime-sama laugh, don’t you?” and thinking of what he had seen of the man at the end there when he was helping them make it work to come back here Sasuke could only agree, Tobirama-sama would be dying in the Pure Lands over this.

“Here!” snek!Oro said sternly, opening his little mouth uncomfortably wide, light glinting off his tiny fangs as they dropped down behind his baby teeth; authoritatively he reached in and nicked his little finger on his needle like fang and smeared blood on Naruto’s brow as the blonde obligingly bent to let him. “For th’ wards” he said, stretching to reach both Sakura and Sasuke and then Sakumo when the Uchiha held out the sleeping Hatake, little snek!Oro’s eyes widened at the sight of the sleeping Hatake and he looked at them with some curiosity, “did you drug him?” he asked, fangs flicking back up into the roof of his mouth and Sakura laughed, as she called one of her summons; sending the slug to find Sakumo’s aunt before the woman started to worry. “No we didn’t drug him, he lost someone dear to him and it wore him out so now he is sleeping it off” she told the child, ruffling his slick auburn-black hair as a funny look crossed snek!Oro’s face, “So he’s sad” a pause “I’m sad an’ it makes me tired too, does it make everyone tired?”

Naruto hummed lowly as they walked to the house, letting snek!Oro get the door incase there were any traps, “I think it depends on the person and why they are sad but it does make a lot of people tired” he told the child as they stepped into the dusty house and kicked off their sandals “why are you sad Orochimaru?” there was a pause s the child chewed his lip. “Da’ died, an’ now mom’s sick n’ the nurses don’t know what to do to make her better” he revealed finally and team 7 met each other’s eyes over his head. They all knew what Orochimaru had done once to get back his family, if they could save his mother…..Sakura nodded, tomorrow she would go to the hospital and look at the woman, see if there was anything she could do (she was after all one of the best healers to ever live). With a sigh Sasuke slipped into the kitchen and grimaced at the lack of groceries and things, there was enough to make rice and miso and some tofu which would do for tonight but clearly no one had been taking care of the child and that couldn’t be allowed, either they would move in here with snek!Oro or they would take the child with them as long as his mother was out of the picture.

Personally Sasuke wanted to go to the main house in the Uchiha section, he thought it established  the best image and that there might be information on what had happened to Madara there they could use but he was reluctant to take a child there until he knew it was clear and safe for them. So, tonight they would be here which meant, with a sigh Sasuke created several shadow clones and set them to cleaning and cooking; it wouldn’t do to let the house stay in this condition and the sight of a few Naruto clones told him the blonde had the same thought. They would do what they could for this small family and it wouldn’t be hard to claim snek!Oro as a student (Sakura’s maybe?) the way Naruto had already claimed tiny!Sakumo and Sasuke had a student in mind as well (Tsunade had her family at the moment, she didn’t need them and Sasuke lacked the patience that would be needed to deal with Jiraiya but Dan Katō, Dan he was more than interested in teaching if they could find the child).

Chapter Text

Sasuke had just put dinner on the table when there was a flurry of chakra at the gate to the house and Sakura got up with snek!Oro to let in tiny!Sakumo’s aunt; the woman had the typical look of the Hatake, the strong features and long eyeteeth that looked noticeably sharper than even the Inuzuka’s when she bared them at the gathered shinobi – at least until Naruto stood from where he was serving tiny!Sakumo and flared both his tails and presence, a low rumbling growl rolling out of him that was far deeper and more menacing than anything with a human ribcage should be able to make (it still sent a tiny thrill down Sasuke’s back to hear it when Naruto used Kurama’s voice) and if the woman had had ears they would have flattened on her head in an instant at the sight of an unhappy Tenko. Still, she rallied well and did her best to look unafraid as she snapped "You have my nephew-“ but her tirade was cut off when tiny!Sakumo sat up higher and waved enthusiastically at her, “Aunt! Look who found me! Izuna-sama’s son and a kitsune and a hime!” Sakura preened a bit at the title but didn’t argue it as the adult Hatake stared at them until Sasuke cleared his throat and gestured firmly at the place they had set for her at the table.

 “I-“ she started and then stopped, looking confused. “We found Sakumo outside the walls of Konoha, he was rather distraught” Sakura said calmly, serving snek!Oro more tea, “and Naruto claimed him as a student on sight,” the blonde grinned toothily at the Hatake “as we will be taking up residence here” but anything else she was going to say was lost as tiny!Sakumo stared at Naruto with stars in his eyes. “You’re gonna teach me!?” he gasped, looking like it was a dream come true when Naruto nodded and ruffled his hair, “You betcha,” he said “you’re gonna kick as-butt, believe it!”

“I will be taking Orochimaru as a student” Sakura said calmly, winking at the wide golden eyes “I think our skill sets would suit and you can help me with your mother. I am a healer of no little skill and I’ll look in on her tomorrow, alright?” if snek!Oro’s eyes got any wider they were going to fall out Sasuke thought with amusement, but he looked nothing short of thrilled at the idea and that was what mattered; Sakura would help him find a way to stay on the straight and narrow, or at least not go too far into the dark, Sasuke was sure. This barrage of information seemed to have thrown the Hatake off more than a little but she couldn’t really argue with her nephew being trained by a kitsune and so after a moment she slowly picked up her chopsticks. “Thank you for finding him, I – I didn’t introduce myself, I am Frigg Hatake, Sakumo’s maternal aunt and guardian. I thank you for taking him on as a student kitsune-sama.”

Naruto beamed at her and rushed to introduce all of them, hands waving and tails poof-ed with his pleasure at finding more Hatake. It was something they had talked about in the late nights of the Last War with the Ōtsutsuki, how so many clans had been all but wiped out in the first three nin wars; specifically those clans that might have been best skilled to fight Zetsu (the Hatake white chakra and the Senju mukoton being the two biggest examples) and it was a joy to know that though some clans like Orochimaru’s were already gone and the others were whittled down already they weren’t yet gone. There was still time to change things, to get an Uchiha kage so that the police could be opened up to other clans instead of needing to be a political move to keep them strong; that would be good as it would let more Uchiha out into the main shinobi force where they could be on mixed teams and fight in the wars to come rather than seeming almost protected from their position in the village. That would do a lot to help the Uchiha’s position in the village; if only Kagami could have been named as Hokage, they had asked Tobirama about it and the dead man had told them that he wanted too but as Kagami had already taken over as clan head and head of the police force with no one in the clan he felt comfortable passing that over too it simply wasn’t possible.

Though, now that Sasuke though about it, if Kagami started to trust him….he would be a built in replacement for clan head and police and then Kagami could take the hat – though….Sarutobi would have to either step down or be forced out and that would be, hard. If only the Nidaime was still alive that at least would be much easier but some thing’s couldn’t be helped, and trust needed to be established first. So, work on trust with clan and village, claim his student and find Jiraiya, spread the rumor about Madara and Tobirama being in love, undermine and torment Danzo, tempt Zetsu to them, anything else? Hmm. “Frigg, where is the Nidaime-sama buried? We would like to pay our respects” Sasuke interjected solemnly in a quiet moment, surprised by the length of the silence this brought, the Hatake shifting uncomfortably, her jaw tightening in anger.

“He – his body was never recovered after he ran into the Kinkaku force, the sensors felt his chakra wink out but the body is yet to be recovered, Hakage-sama said that he wouldn’t want us to risk people for a corpse.” Team 7’s eyebrows flew up and they exchanged dark looks, Naruto’s jaw tightening- he had always been closest to Tobirama- and Sasuke met his partner’s eyes seeing the dark in them and nodding immediately. “After our T&I interviews tomorrow” Sasuke promised, and then more reluctantly “I should stay here but you and Sakura should go” he couldn’t leave yet, they didn’t have enough trust for that but no way in hells were they going to leave Tobirama’s body out there for the elements, not after everything that had happened and the man had done for them. They owed him that at least.

Frigg looked between them for a moment, her eyes widening, “You’re going to go after him? The Hokage-“ Naruto snorted, shifting his head to hide the conflict in his eyes behind his bangs, as he said “the Hakage has no control over me, Sasuke maybe and Sakura maybe, but he has no claim over me” then a glint entered his eyes “no one but the Kyuubi himself has any right to tell me what to do.” “And even that is debatable” Sasuke muttered into his soup, smirking at the wide eyed children which seemed to give the still sleepy Sakumo some confidence. “You’re gonna bring Tobirama-sama back?” he breathed and Sasuke’s heart softened, remined that this child was thinking of a beloved family member not just his kage. “Yes” Sakura promised “we’ll bring him back” Frigg winced and he could almost hear her thinking that they shouldn’t make promises they couldn’t keep, but then again she didn’t know them that well yet; she didn’t know what they were capable of. That was fine, she would learn in time, they all would.

Sakumo went with his aunt for the night, with the promise he would see Naruto tomorrow, “After all I am your teacher now!” the blonde chirped, and team 7 settled down in the Mizuchi house, sharing a room as they normally did (well, normally it was a tent, this whole civilization thing was a bit much to take in all at once) with little snek!Oro tucked in between them asleep after Sakura read to him from a book on medical jutsu from memory to his clear fascination. Sakura started, “So tomorrow, we go to T&I, as soon as we’re done I go to see little Oro’s mother” (so Sasuke wasn’t the only one that was making an effort to think about this child as different from their Orochimaru in his head, he had suspected that) “and Naruto goes to see tiny!Sakumo while Sasuke goes to see the Uchiha main house. As soon as I am done with Oro’s mother I meet up with Naruto and we go after the Nidaime’s body while Sasuke keeps attention in the Uchiha block, yes?” both males on the team nodded firmly, sharing grimaces at splitting up but well aware that sometimes thing had to be done to accomplish the mission.

“And in the meantime we sow more rumors about Tobirama and Madara!” Naruto added, a wicked smirk curling his lips that Sasuke had very distinct feelings about; feeling that would have to wait until they didn’t have a child tucked up with them and Sakura could roll her eyes and wander off (there never did seem to be time for them, no matter when they were). Sakura laughed and flopped back onto her back, grinning nastily at the celling, “Man I am looking forward to seeing Madara’s reaction to that, its too bad the Edo is a bit much just to get Tobirama-sensei involved; he would think this was just hilarious.” Sasuke snorted, nudging Naruto with his foot and sharing a wistful smile with the blonde, yeah, the Tobirama they had known would have thought it was absolutely a great troll on a nin that he – well, Sasuke wasn’t sure what Tobirama had thought about Madara, he had seemed to respect the man even when he found Madara the most exasperating person in the world. On the other hand he seemed to find most Uchiha exasperating.

Oh sure Sasuke had thought that the man hated Uchiha when he first met him but the speech on the Curse of Hatred, he would never forget hearing “It was said that in contrast to the Senju clan who based their strength on love, the Uchiha clan’s strength was based on the power of their Jutsu. However. The truth is different, No clan feels deeper love the Uchiha and that's why they suppressed and sealed it away. Once a member of the Uchiha comes to know love. It's as if all their previously checked emotions are released. Strong Love and Power exceeding even the Senju's awaken.” Hearing something like that about his clan when he had always been told the Nidaime hated his clan had thrown Sasuke; at the time he hadn’t thought about it all that much but later it had stuck with him and Sasuke had had many long conversations about the Sharingan and the Curse with Tobirama in the days of the Last War and together they had long speculated on Zetsu’s place in this Curse and the Uchiha’s instability and reliance on hatred rather than their much stronger love. It was in leaning on that love that Sasuke had found his own power and personal peace but even he had to say that should something happen to Sakura or even worse Naruto he had no idea what he would do; he could only be grateful that his team was strong enough such a thing was very unlikely.

Still it was those conversations that Sasuke was hoping to lean on in making changes in his clan now and stabilizing them; starting with removing bad influences – i.e. Danzo and Zetsu. It was just lucky that the current head of the clan was one of the few Uchiha that had embraced love over hatred and rejected the Curse with the help of Tobirama’s teachings and exposer outside the clan. Seeming to follow his thoughts Naruto murmured into the dark “Your clan will be ok Sas, we just have to make sure the infection is cut out and their isolationist mentality eased.” He paused “and make sure the Senju way dies as well.” ah, right, that. Sasuke had been so focused on his clan he had almost forgotten that. Forgotten about what Tobirama had told them about his own clan and why it had declined so quickly and why he had encouraged it, encouraged marrying out of the clan and the loss of the Senju ideals and way of life with its painful focus on productivity and usefulness. The Uchiha clan may have been poisoned by hate and its focus on trusting only blood, but the Senju clan…the Senju way of life was toxic and dissolving it into the village had been an active ideal of both the Shodaime and Nidaime – another thing they hadn’t known before, but kami he was glad he hadn’t been born in the Waring Clans era.

“Something for later Naruto, we have enough to do tomorrow” Sasuke said finally, leaning back to take first watch as Naruto curled around his legs, one hand resting over the sleeping snek!Oro and resting on Sakura’s ribs to feel her breathe in the night.

Chapter Text

Naruto awoke the next morning- he always took the middle watch- to the sound of Sakura in the kitchen working on breakfast with snek!Oro, curled up tight around Sasuke as they always ended up when it was just the two of them. Sasuke was using one of his tails as a pillow and Naruto took a long moment to just stare at him and bask in how handsome he was in the early morning light (freaking Uchiha genes); he still couldn’t believe that Sasuke had finally come back to him and promised to stay, that Sasuke was with him in every way and seemed happy with it instead of constantly hungering for something the way he had so much back before the Last War. Gentle to the point of being reverent Naruto reached out and dragged the back of his fingers over Sasuke’s cheek, instinctively shutting out the hurt from seeing the long black nails that tipped his fingers (Kurama wasn’t gone, he was alive and well in this time, he was just…not Naruto’s Kurama anymore, this was shirty!Kurama and Naruto might never even speak to him given he was still on lockdown in Mito Uzumaki).

“Sas, hey its time to wake up, smells like breakfast will be ready soon and you know how Sakura gets if we're late” he called quietly, already thinking through how much clothing he had in his sealing scrolls and if they could find time to find clothes that fit this time better (Sasuke should probably switch to the Uchiha mantle even if he just wore it over his shoulders, it would help him fit in with his clan – hopefully he would keep painting his nails though, he had started doing it in memory of Itachi and Naruto liked the selfcare of doing it for his partner as Sasuke couldn’t do it one handed). Sasuke groaned and burrowed further into Naruto’s tail but it was only for a moment before he hauled himself out of the thick fur and sat up, scrubbing his face with his hand and looking bleary. “Ugh, too early” he grunted, twisting to faceplant into Naruto’s collar which at least let the blonde start fixing his hair (he liked the long hair, it was nice to play with and looked great on Sasuke, much better than Naruto’s thick braid over his shoulder did).

“I know but its Sakura, if she wakes us up it will be worse” he pointed out, biting his lip to fight a smile as Sasuke burrowed further into his neck, “we should replace our clothes probably, something a little more traditional maybe, I could probably get away with just a new haori but you should change your shirt and use an Uchiha mantle over your shoulders instead of your poncho” right on time there was the muffled “not a poncho” in his shoulder and Naruto grinned “and Sakura is going to have to cover more skin I think, we can talk about it over breakfast I guess.” Sasuke’s hair done and his sleeve pinned Naruto hauled the Uchiha to his feet and started moving them to the dinning room, stopped at the last minute by a clearer eyed Sasuke grabbing his face and planting a firm kiss on him. “Just in case I don’t have another chance before you have to go” he muttered, pressing their foreheads together and just breathing for a moment before they turned and joined the rest of their team for breakfast.

After breakfast they smothered a bewildered looking snek!Oro in hugs and promises to come back before heading to T&I, well aware of their jounin minders as they approached the big white block that was Torture and Investigation. They were met at the door by a nin they didn’t know with a grim face and dark brown eyes in a tan face set off by his bright blond hair; “Riku Senju” the man introduced himself to Sasuke first but he was tracking Naruto the hardest, not that the blond minded he was busy trying to put together things that Tobirama-sensei had taught him and – wait! This was Tsunade-baa-hime’s father! He must be only half Senju for the blond Yamanaka hair but, wow, Naruto hadn’t realized he would be meeting her parents, this was wild!

“Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Qiānqiū-hime, Naruto” (no last name, after all he was a kitsune) Sasuke introduced them all easily, giving Sakura the ‘hime’ title without a second though, which was fair; she had been treated as one back when they came from anyway. “The Hokage told you why we are here?” Sakura asked sweetly “It just Sasuke needs to meet with Kagami soon to open his family house again so we should keep moving if we can” ah, Sakura, always so skilled at looking so sweet and using it to just destroy people and get what she wanted. Riku nodded and waved for them to follow him, and Sakura turned to Sasuke, a glint in her eye again, “I wonder if we will find anything of your honored uncle’s in the house, like a diary! Can you just imagine how romantic and tragic that would be? That poor man, to be stuck in such a position over things he couldn’t control…” she trailed off and clucked her tongue sadly, ignoring the listening ears and Naruto biting his tongue hard to keep from giggling. Oh this was fun! Now Naruto just needed to add to it, humming thoughtfully “I think we should be more worried about what we might need to up Root from the gardens and grounds than anything else, after weeds do tend to grown in untended gardens and grief leaves much untended.”

In front of him Sasuke turned a laugh into a cough and Sakura’s shoulders shook once as the felt two chakra signatures twitch, (so, Danzo was already working on Root even this long ago; ah well, at least it couldn’t be too far along, the Nidaime would have sensed seals put on village nin if he had already started that) this was going to be fun!

It was. It was very fun and sure Naruto knew that it was probably less fun for the Yamanaka that was trying to get in his head (and possibly Sasuke and Sakura who had less solid reason for being….strange) but for Naruto it was hilarious to watch the Yamanaka land in his mind space- a strange mishmash of a star filled sky with the sun burning on the horizon like it was about to go down and underneath them, nothing but endless water, dark as obsidian and smooth as glass except where great ruins protruded through the water; the last walls of Uzushio and Konoha and Suna and the upraised hand of the statue of Madara at the Valley of the End and looming over all of it a great Torri gate with a broken seal- it took the Yamanaka a moment to get his footing and then he just stared at Naruto, burning and golden and wild (Tenko, not kitsune) like the sun had split and left a fragment to burn on the dark water. “You’re looking for my truth” Naruto’s voice boomed and echoed in the space and the Yamanaka nodded, clearly freaked out “look down – but be careful” and he looked.

He saw: flashes, flickering images; Madara and Hashirama crashing against each other and a dozen different fields (in a forest, in a broken Valley, in a barren wasteland with a red moon) – two men with brown hair in the Sage’s robes laughing together, fighting each other – a woman with hair as white as the moon eating a bloody fruit with another woman dead at her feet – the Sage ruffling the hair of one boy and ignoring another – the Kyuubi as a small chubby kit with too big ears wrestling another tailed beast – Izuna Uchiha laughing with a dark haired woman – the Tenko teaching the other two something in a dark forest glade – Sasuke Uchiha with spinning mangekyō – the woman with them punching a crack into the earth so deep that it spilt the earth and the fighting – a great war – and another – and another – and another – and another with more white people with shinobis falling like wheat to the reaper's blade – blood, so much blood it was impossible not to drown in it – rage and power and the sundering of the WORLD AND THE END OF ALL THINGS AND-

With a lurch the Yamanaka threw himself out of the Teneko’s mind, shaking and trembling as he fell out of his chair and scrambled backwards away from the quietly sitting figure. “I did tell you to be careful” the Tenko said, almost gently and the Yamanaka swallowed convulsively, “What – what did I see?” he gasped and the Tenko shrugged, “What is, what was, what could yet be” his eyes gleamed, a fragment of the sun he had seen shinning through, “what I yet work to stop.” The Yamanaka nodded and slowly picked himself off the floor stumbling out of the room and letting the interrogators take his place as he retreated to the break room; his cousin- the one who got the Uchiha- was already there and white as a sheet, looking green around the edges. “Bad?” the first Yamanaka asked and the other nodded, his face looking sickened, “I hate looking in Uchiha heads, it’s always the Sharingan memories at the front and those are always so – so bad; but this one…..he is who he says he is, lost his family and –“ his words choked off and he scrubbed his face with his hands as together they waited for the last of their number that had gotten the Qiānqiū-hime.

After a bit longer he entered, looked less tormented and terrified and more like he was nursing a headache of screaming portions; “I can’t say if that woman is lying about anything” he said bluntly, flopping into a couch “there’s just so much power and chaos running around in there it’s impossible to tell but” he snorted “I can tell you the Uchiha and the kitsune have a thing, the level of sexual tension before they got together…man she’s basically an expert about it at this point” at that their cousin perked up, clearly trying not to think about what he had seen in the Uchiha’s head “So the rumors about the Nidaime and Madara-sama?” and he laughed “In retrospect and comparing the fights between the Uchiha and the Kitsune and they way those stopped, can’t say it doesn’t makes sense. Sad though.”

Released from T&I Naruto stretched and leaned against the building, drowsing in the sun until Sasuke and Sakura came out to join him, “Clear?” he asked, peeking one eye open and smirking when both nodded, “Provisionally but yup,” Sakura said with a smirk “and I may or may not have spliced a few memories to show them what UST is and how it resolves; with any luck they’re already comparing them to the Nidaime and Madara. Now, I am going to go look at the hospital, Naruto, stop in the market on your way to the Hatake compound and try to replace a few clothes – tastefully. Sasuke, we’ll come find you before we leave, alright?” both men nodded, linking fingers in a fast goodbye before they split to go their separate ways.

The market in Konoha was more limited than it used to be but Naruto found a new haori in black to match his mission pants embroidered with a kitsune in red and orange with flames on the bottom that he liked. For Sakura he found a short kimono dress in a rich red dyed with chrysanthemum, it was still a lot of skin for this time better than her current dress. For Sasuke there was mesh armor and a kimono shirt in a shade of blue just off what Naruto remembered the Uchiha mantle was to go with his mission pants so he was calling it good enough (and sick of people staring at his tails and trying to touch them, not that he would let anyone other than the children do that and flicked them out of the way with ease whenever anyone came to close). So it was time to go see the Hatake!

The Hatake compound was small and seemed rather empty but there was still a child to take him to the main house when Frigg opened the door and her jaw dropped a bit at the sight of him (did he have something in his hair? His thick blond braid seemed fine and his Asura style forelocks were fine so-) “Kitsune-sama, I – I didn’t think –“ oh, right, kitsune had a reputation for flightiness, drat, he would have to work on that. Forcefully he beamed at the woman and said firmly, “As if I would ever not come see a student! Just ask Sasuke or Sakura, once you’re mine you’re mine! Now, is my student here? I don’t have long before Sakura is done at the hospital and we have to head out.” Frigg swallowed and waved him in, Naruto looking around at the architecture with interest, “The compound seems quiet, is there not many Hatake at home at the moment?” he asked, trying to sound innocent.

Frigg glanced sharply at him and shook her head, looking sad, “No, we were never a big clan but the First War cost us greatly, there are only about twenty five of us left now and many with missing mates have little interest in finding new mates and having children now. The future of the clan is bleak unless something changes and already there is rumors of another war on the horizon” well. shit. that was worse than Naruto had hoped and, frankly, couldn’t possibly be normal; Zetsu was definitely trying to get rid of the white chakra; this was bad. They would have to find a way to convince the Hatake to have more children even without mates or the entire clan would be lost and that would be devastating.

But before Naruto could ask more tiny!Sakumo raced into the room and threw himself at Naruto in what seemed to be a combination of excitement and sorrow (understandable); gently the blonde scraped his nails through the thick gray hair, crooning at the child as he felt his shirt getting wet. “Heeey kiddo, why don’t I teach you how to mold your white chakra until I have to go, ok?” that brightened tiny!Sakumo right up and the child was nodded profusely even if Frigg looked uncertain, still, she didn’t stop them and waved them outside to the yard where Naruto called on all the gathered knowledge from Tobirama-sensei, the Sage, and what Kurama had left inside him, to identify the white chakra. It was easy enough to start off with working on getting tiny!Sakumo more in touch with his own chakra, learning to feel out every spark and speck of it and finding both his ration affinity and also the glowing yin presence of the white chakra.

When finally tiny!Sakumo found it he leapt to his feet cheering, the tips on his fingers glowing slightly though it stuttered and failed when his concertation did, “That’s fine” Naruto promised “it takes time but if you work on this every day you’ll be able to find it easier and easier and hold it long and longer.” Tiny!Sakumo chewed on his lip and glanced back at the house where they could hear voices, “You have to go don’t you?” he asked in a small voice and Naruto nodded, “We don’t want to leave the Nidaime out there on his own, but we’ll be back soon you’ll see.” Tiny!Sakumo heaved a big sigh and lunched himself to hug Naruto as tight as he could “Be safe ok? I don’ wanna lose my teacher.” Naruto squeezed him tightly and then pulled back and hooked their pinky fingers together, “Promise”.

Saying good-bye to Sasuke- now wearing an Uchiha mantle open over his shoulders- was fast and silent, they had done this often enough to know the steps and after Sakura gave him a big hug Naruto stepped in, cupping Sasuke’s face and searching it for a long moment before pressing a fast kiss to the Uchiha’s lips. “Back before you know it” the blond promised, “Look for a diary!” Sakura chirped, smirking to hide her discomfort at them splitting up and Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Hn”-ing as he normally did and clenching his fist under the mantle, standing watching as Naruto and Sakura leapt up onto the roofs and vanished quickly over the buildings. It was only then that he turned and went back into the compound, jaw a little tighter.

Chapter Text

Naruto raced in the direction they had been told the Nidaime had last been seen in, stretching his senses to the limit, looking for any hint of old chakra from either the man himself or the Kinkaku force. He was no Tobirama Senju but one of Kurama’s gifts was an ability to sense lifeforce that was really just an extension of his ability to sense malevolent intentions and it could be used with the gift of the Sage’s Paths to find traces at nearly the same delicacy as Tobirama-sensei had and greater range if pushed; it was this ability to find life force he was leaning on to find the Nidaime’s body, after all just like it took time for a body to cool it took time for a life force to –

Wait, “Sakura” the woman landed next to him in a crouch, wary and intent as Naruto focused harder and stretched his range even further, “Sakura how big a first aid seal did you bring?” he asked slowly, trying to make sense of what he could feel. Already they were halfway to where they had been told to look but though Naruto could feel many dead Kumo nin there was a notable lack of the cool suiton he expected, even a week later there should be some trace, which might mean – he had to reach further. “The recovery seal, why?” Sakura answered, face tight with worry as Naruto’s chakra fared higher and higher, pulsing out through the ground, “I think this might be a rescue mission” the blonde grit out. “No” Sakura breathed “Tobirama-sensei said he was killed by the Kinkaku –“ “Yeah” Naruto agreed “but not when, come on, I think I feel him to the west” his jaw was tight with frustration and Sakura shared it, the idea that the Nidaime might not have died at the sight of the attack but instead been taken captive and held- Naruto didn’t want to think about that. He couldn’t focus if he did so instead he focused on sharing his chakra with Sakura to help her keep up with his blistering pace and meditated as she rested that night, knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep but able to feel the cool brush of the Nidaime’s life force much better now; it was weak and he was near death but not yet dead and if Naruto was right, not sealed to keep from sensing (of course not, the Kinkaku would want him to feel that Konoha never came after him, bastards ((Naruto wasn’t sure if he meant the village or the Kumo))).

The next morning they got ready to go into a fight in a grim silence, exchanging nods and a long look before they set off at a run to cover the last bit of ground between them and the mountains that Naruto could feel the Nidaime in. “the caves” Sakura breathed in his ear and he nodded, touching the ground to focus on which opening to – “There” he snarled, flexing his hands and loosening one of his father’s hiraishin kunai, eyes fixed on an opening about halfway up a sheer mountainside; “he’s alive, you take care of him, I’ll get the rest.” Sakura nodded and together they all but flew up to the opening exploding in a blur of light clothing. Naruto didn’t take anytime to analyze what was going on, simply fixing on the first Kumo signature and slitting their throat, throwing his kunai to the back of the cave and flashing back in a red-gold burst of light even as red chains burst from his back, tangled with his tails. Two chains snapped out and broke the necks of two more nin and his spinning kick and a tiny rasengan obliterated two more before the advantage of surprise was lost.

The Kinkaku were scrambling, caught completely off guard and focusing on Naruto so much he wasn’t even sure they realized there was two of them, which was fine, Sakura had to get the Nidaime stable and out; it was Naruto’s job to clear the way and he grinned bloodily at the nin, trying not to mark the telltale signs of torture. “Well” Naruto snarled “no one going to do anything?” not that he gave them a chance, his chains snapping out  and curling around every nin within reach, binding them and snapping their necks even as Naruto got into a flurry of close combat blows with another three nin; one of which still had Senju blood on their hands (Naruto could smell it)  and he could see how they had the skill to take down Tobirama Senju (though even then it was only when he was exhausted and protecting others) but Naruto was basically fresh and, to be honest, as close to a god as they came without being kami. These nin had no chance and it was mear moments before Naruto was wiping his kunai on their dead clothing, ruffling through their things to see if there was anything interesting.

There was very little of use but the directives from the Kumo kage (who even was that right now?) would be useful as would the notes that there was an inside source (Zetsu already or something else?) though it didn’t go into depth, just predicted the actions of the Konoha nin a little too well (like saying Sarutobi would tell them to honor the Nidaime’s sacrifice and that Kagami would be too busy dealing with his clan to do anything about it). “Naruto!” the call from the depths of the cave had the blonde standing and trotting back to his teammate where she was leaning over the slumped and battered figure of Tobirama Senju, miraculously alive even though he looked to have been tortured very badly. “Naruto, I need chakra, now” Sakura snapped and he hopped to, leaning down to place a hand on her shoulder and channel chakra into her rather than into the Nidaime who might not be able to take it raw right now. Red eyes slit open slightly and widened at the sight of Naruto, face framed by his tails, the man clearly struggling to track what was happening around him.

“Easy Nidaime, relax, we’re with Konoha and we’re going to get you home” Naruto soothed, heart aching when the man slurred “’no one coming” and wishing he could touch without it hurting. “We came” Naruto said instead “and we’re gonna get you home, you just hold in there ok?” something like relief flickered over his face and his eyes fluttered before rolling back in his head as he passed out. Other than the wounds he looked good, hell like most shinobi that made it to middle age he looked a good decade younger than he was (it was an oddity of chakra that most shinobi looked younger than they were if they reached middle age, so few did it was just hard to measure – though Tobirama would have also had the Senju vitality on his side to keep him young looking) but Naruto could feel the strain on his chakra and soul from years with nothing but duty to keep him going as he lost more and more and – well Tobirama-sensei had once told him how inadequate he felt at the Hokage position, his difficulties with people making him an awkward fit for the place but without a better choice he had been forced into a position he poorly suited and was all too aware of his failures at.

“How is he?” Naruto asked lowly after some of Sakura’s focus seemed to ease after an hour, the woman sighed and sat back Naruto’s hand slipping off her shoulder as she wiped her brow. “He’ll live, not sure how much strength he’ll get back but he’ll live, but Naruto, we can’t let him take the hat again, it will kill him; we have to find another way to get Kagami in the position.” She said, tired and worried “though, we may not have to worry about that, this coma could take a good long time to wake up from and we’ll need to leave a summons with him at all times, I don’t trust Konoha.” Naruto grunted in agreement, wondering if he still had the toad contract or if Kurama had made good on his threat to switch him to the foxes or if it was both somehow (that was another thing to do, keep Jiraiya away from the toads, it was that damned prophecy that had started his once-godfather down the road of think he knew better).

“Can we move him?” at Naruto’s question Sakura hummed thoughtfully, testing a few things and tightening some dressings, “Yes, summons to get him home?” well, no time to figure out what he had like the moment. Carefully Naruto lifted the taller Senju and carried him out of the cave, hopping down the mountain and setting him down as Sakura checked him over again; with a nervous lick of his lips Naruto bit his thumb and formed the signs, slamming his hand to the ground and holding his breath only to snort a laugh as a fox with five tails roughly the size of a horse appeared with a much smaller frog landing on it’s head, both it was then. “Do you know who I am?” he asked them and both looked him over the frog croaking in confusion as the fox’s eyes narrowed. “Nine tails” it rumbled “you are the Kyuubi and not, explain” so with a sigh Naruto settled down to do just that, explaining that he was a nine tails, a Tenko to be exact but not the nine tails; that he and two others had seen a great and terribly future and returned to the past to see that it never came to be, a future where the nine tails and all his siblings gave their lives so it might never exist.

“And what” asked the frog “was so terrible that all the bijuu together would help you flee to the past from it?” Naruto blew out a long breath, feeling the world still a little around him as he breathed “Ōtsutsuki, many of them. One Last War with the Ōtsutsuki for everything, a war of bones and ash.” The fox’s ears flattened on it’s head and it looked around in the unholy silence that curled around them for a breath “A war that we will see is never fought that way again, starting with unsealing the bijuu – sealing the spirits of chakra weakened it in the world and we will need all the strength we can get when the time comes.” The frog swallowed and nodded, looking spooked “I will take word of this to the sage but I think you will have more use for the foxes than us now; still, if there is need call and we shall answer” and it reverse summoned itself away.

“That will help” Sakura murmured, nodding to where the frog had been and Naruto nodded; it might be very helpful for their plan to see if the bijuu wanted to go live in the various summons realms where they would be safe and still connected to the chakra of the world. “If we had only known last time what sealing the bijuu would do to the world’s chakra….you can’t seal the wind and then rail at the lack of rain” Naruto muttered, scrubbing his face- this was why they were supposed to have come back before the sealing, not after- “fox-kin, will you help us get our-“ kami how to refer to the Nidaime “-litter-mate back to the village?” the fox looked at him for a long moment and then nodded. “I am Sora and I will help with your cat-kin, for he is sorely hurt and you have more tails than I” the fox said after a moment moving over to Sakura and letting the woman strap the Nidaime to his thick fur.

The run back to the village was slower in deference to the Nidaime’s injuries but they made it back just before sunset the day after the next and as they approached the gate Naruto flared his chakra from Sasuke to meet them, already exhausted at the thought of all the fuss they were about to kick up – especially when they refused to let the Nidaime stay in the hospital and took him with them into the Uchiha section.

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Sasuke grit his jaw as he looked through the shadowed halls of the Uchiha main house; kami no wonder no one had lived here since Madara, the aura of Zetsu and madness was thick enough to taste. It would take a good blessing on Naruto’s part to restore this place to a habitable home but Sasuke wasn’t without his own skills and he could at least clear out Zetsu's stink with the skills the Sage had once given them, the pure Yin release from the moon that had moved to his chest when his arm was blown off- Naruto’s sun had done the same- should clear away the thick, noxious chakra of Zetsu’s corruption. Sighing he turned to Kagami and nodded, “We will be living here then I think, it is big enough for our students and the three of us with room to spare so it should suite us quite well. I’ll have to clear the house, Uncle Madara” and oh that was fun to say “must really have been declining in his last days, I’m not even going to try and touch his study here for now until Naruto can help with it” with a grimace he slapped a blessed seal over the door, breathing out in relief when the dark aura cleared a bit; maybe he should seal the shrine room too, it seemed Madara had spent most of his time there and in his room in addition to the study so they were the worst.

“You’re going to clear the house?” Kagami asked slowly, clever dark eyes tracking Sasuke with intelligent wariness; the other Uchiha smirked and turned to the depths of the house, no time like the present. He breathed in, touching the cool lake of power that rested in him, the reflection of the moon glowing brighter and brighter and brighter until he flung his hand out, open palmed to the house as cool white moonlight poured out of his open hand in a white wave, crashing into the too-deep shadows of Zetsu’s rot where it clung to the corners and rafters and consuming it, reducing it to ash in pure white flame that could blow away in the soft wind from the sheer volume of chakra as the windows blew out in a blast of light.

In it’s wake the rooms were visibly brighter and the sense of looming doom and bitterness was gone; only the lingering madness and twisted passion wafting through the rooms like a lingering scent of bitter incense. “Well, that’s much better I think” Sasuke said calmly, shifting his shoulders to resettle his mantle over them “how such corrosive energy got into this place I will never know; it’s like someone wanted Uncle to go mad, he must have tried to leave before it consumed him” Sasuke tsked unhappily “if only Senju-sama hadn’t caught him he might have escaped it too.” Behind him Kagami made a choked sound and Sasuke was suddenly remined that Kagami must have known Madara before he left, possibly cared about him and fought to understand why he had acted as he had before landing on the Curse as the only reason but now, with what Sasuke was saying….

“Shishou was being hunted?” Kagami breathed and Sasuke winced, closer than he had thought then, unfortunate, “I don’t know, but the energy in this house is not normal and had I not been trained by who I was” let Kagami think of that what he would “it would be impossible to clear, the next person to live here could have been contaminated.” “Oh” Kagami breathed and Sasuke glanced at him through his hair, wondering at how odd it was to have another Uchiha around his age around even if he liked the other nin, “I never….I’ll leave you to get comfortable, I – the clan –“ graciously Sasuke nodded, allowing Kagami to slip out and collect himslef. As far as Sasuke knew he had been an orphan and one of Tobirama’s students and he called Madara ‘Shishou’ so he must have known him at least a little; he had lost a lot recently and Sasuke was determined to go around poking at wounds it was a wonder the man was being as polite and accommodating as he was all things considered.

With a sigh Sasuke turned to the house and the long job of cleaning it and setting up rooms, as far from Madara’s as he could for the moment – in fact he would just seal that one up as well after he cleaned it; but since snek!Oro would be staying with them- his mother could be healed, by Sakura, but it would take time before she would be well enough to leave so he would stay with them- he would need to shop as well as clean and – ugh. It was going to be a long few days waiting for his team to get back wasn’t it.

Somewhat to his surprise it wasn’t until the next day while he was shopping with Kagami that the Hokage gave up and came to find him since Sasuke had masterfully slipped the ANBU every time they tried to come get him to come to his office. It was still a surprise to see the man himslef in the market and Sasuke figured that he must have been wanting to get some air – at least until he caught the sight of another shinobi whipping around the corner (meeting with Danzo for tea then? Interesting the man didn’t want them to see him…) and vanishing into the village. “Sasuke Uchiha, just who I was looking for” the grandfatherly attitude suited him even less without the age to back it and Sasuke fought to keep his face straight as he turned to look at the kage, aware of Kagami just behind his shoulder (interesting, he seemed to already want to put Sasuke in as clan head). “Hokage” Sasuke greeted with minimal deference, just staring at the man and waiting for him to continue like a rock in the sea; after a moment Sarutobi’s mouth pinched a bit and he conceded “I was somewhat taken aback when two newly welcomed members of Konoha” probationary he meant “vanish from her streets so soon after they arrived.” Hmm, play the nonreactive to the non-question question or not?

“Hn” Sasuke responded, waiting and hearing Kagami snort with amusement behind him; this time there was a twitch of the jaw before the kage gave up, “Where did they go Uchiha?” it was nearly snapped and almost inexcusably rude to the son of one of the Uchiha main blood and Kagami hissed sharply in offence even as Sasuke only raised his one visible brow (thank you Sage- you asshole- for at least making the Rinnegan the eye with the brow he couldn’t raise) before responding. “They have gone to do what was Konoha’s duty, they have gone to bring the Nidaime’s bones home to rest with his kin in peace; as he deserves” Sasuke said coolly, feeling a bit bad for Kagami’s cut off gasp but bitterly pleased that this confrontation was taking place in public; the whole of Konoha should feel shame for not bring back the body of their kage without good reason.

Sarutobi paled, looking like he had been struck, “I – the risk-“ “A risk my partner and pact-sister thought deserved for the great service Tobirama Senju has done this village. The same risk that the Nidaime took when he brought back my uncle’s body after his death to rest here in dignity with his kin.” Sasuke all but purred, there was no need for them to know that Madara hadn’t died that day in the Valley of the End and Tobirama had gone back for the body when even Hashirama hadn’t brought it back (which didn’t hurt their narrative after all). Sarutobi was starting to look rather off balance, licking his lips and swallowing hard but clearly not sure what to say to that; in this case Kagami saved him, shifting forward and pulling Sasuke’s attention, his eyes red and bright, “You – they – they’re bringing Sensei back?” he rasped, voice tight with emotion as Sasuke met his gaze head on and nodded gravely; feeling a sympathetic ache for the gratitude and relief in that red gaze.

“Thank you” Kagami choked out, bowing shallowly to Sasuke who sucked in a surprised breath but only waved his kin to stand, catching the other man’s elbow and squeezing for all he wasn’t one for much touch. “We are Uchiha, we remember and we honor” he said lowly, aware of listening ears as Kagami nodded and swiped at his face; ignoring the Hokage at this point, well aware the man couldn’t do anything – if he protested after all this he would look bad (well worse), and if he tried to do anything but – “If they are successful all of Konoha will thank you” Sarutobi said, seeming honest in the sentiment even as Sasuke let his lips turn up in a tiny smirk and flared his chakra in a looming wave, like a moon-white dragon winding around the village, cool scales brushing over skin and buildings for moment before it vanished under his control again as he promised “They will be.”

Sasuke was getting impatient, his team was late and even having both snek!Oro around to teach and take care of and Kagami as a frequent shadow wasn’t enough to keep him distracted from what was missing. He missed his lover and his all-but sister and – the knife he was using to make dinner slipped through his fingers as Naruto flared his chakra like a shooting comet near the gate, what in the world-? In a flash Sasuke abandoned dinner half made- nothing was on heat yet anyway- and raced for the gate, grabbing Kagami on his way, betting they would need him as a clan head. “What-?” the Uchiha choked out, keeping pace with Sasuke in an impressive feet of speed and blinking as the gate came into view, Sasuke ignored him, bursting out just as Naruto and Sakura dropped down out of the trees, both looking whole and hale and grim.

“What-?” Sasuke started and then he saw the summons follow them out of the trees, a puff of white on it’s back; and there was only one reason they would bring him back like that, “Naru” he breathed and the blond bared sharp teeth, clearly trying not to rage. “He never did say he died there” the blond snarled, turning to Kagami and clearly trying to look less intimidating even blood splattered and angry, “Uchiha I am sorry but I am about to make your life very difficult, I ask for sanctuary with your clan in the name of Tobirama Senju.” You could have heard a pin drop and Kagami’s eyes were going red again as he breathed “What-?” and Naruto just shook his head, “Yes or no?” he pushed and – the Uchiha looked back at the summons and swallowed, eyes hardening “Granted” he snapped and immediately Sakura and the summons took off at full speed for the Uchiha section, Naruto and the Uchiha only just behind her and Naruto looking around like he expected to be attacked at any time.

They raced through the Uchiha area and by the time they were back at the main house and Kagami had set up a patrol around their area Sakura had already moved the Nidaime to a bed and had senk!Oro helping her convert her chosen room (the second most defensible in the house) into a sick room, working on the man as a wide eyed snek!Oro brought her things. Sasuke stopped outside the door to stay out of the way and accepted the firm hands that grabbed him and pressed him to the wall so Naruto could thoroughly kiss him hello, only pulling back to breath when Kagami came up behind them, face pale and grim. “Explain” he said, not quite harsh; Naruto exchanged a look with Sasuke and then shifted to let Kagami look in the room where his teacher was laid out, more than half-dead and clearly tortured.

“He wasn’t dead.” Naruto said grimly as Kagami swayed “but he would be if Sakura was anything other than the best living healer in the five counties. Here” he handed over some papers to the Uchiha head “found these on the Kumo nin- they’re all dead now by the way-, this is why he is here and not going to be going to the hospital. Sakura is better than them and she ways he’ll be in a coma for a while at least, while he is I don’t want him somewhere so uncontrolled.” Kagami went to take the papers, jaw tight, but Naruto held onto them until he met the blonde’s bright slit eyes “The only thing he said was ‘no one coming’, he would know, they didn’t block his sensing.” And then he let go as a mix of rage and heartbreak flashed over Kagami’s face.

Chapter Text

Sakura ignored the byplay and politicking, focused on her patient and keeping him breathing (it would be easier if the man didn’t have so much built up damage damnit! And had been better about sleeping and eating before he got caught) and as soon as that was done getting the room suitable for a long term hospital room with all the seals for cleanliness and safety that entailed. Snek!Oro was very helpful on everything until Sasuke called him down for dinner, Kagami bringing her her’s so he could look at his teacher, watching silently as the Nidaime breathed and Sasuke snatched a bite here and there around other tasks. “So he’s going to be ok?” the Uchiha asked quietly, sounding subdued and edged with a simmering anger (no wonder given he now knew there was a leak in the village, but no one did simmering anger better than an Uchiha). “He’ll live” Sakura corrected gently “I would refuse to let him take the hat again even if I don’t approve of Sarutobi, his constitution will be too weak for that to be safe for him.”

“He wouldn’t want it anyway” Kagami sighed “Sensei hated that hat and he always –“ the Uchiha cut himslef off sharply and Sakura sent him an amused look through her hair, “He wanted you as his successor then?” she asked knowingly and he winced, handsome face (slightly less fine boned than Sasuke but softer and honestly more appealing to Sakura) tightening. “How did you know?” he asked lowly and she shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder “It would make sense to put an Uchiha under the hat after two Senju and that would balance the politics much better, not to mention you were his favorite student, rumor has it and are both skilled and good with people, frankly you’re perfect for it.” He flushed and ducked his head a bit, “I would have been but, the clan needed a head and…” he trialed off and Sakura hid her smile behind her shoulder, “And now you have a potential new clan head dropped into your lap.” She pointed out and Kagami narrowed his eyes at her, “Why do you three dislike Hiruzen so much? Why push me to take the hat? And yes I noticed that, subtle though you were” Sakura laughed, straightening the Nidaime’s blankets and turning to face the Uchiha head on.

“There’s lot of reasons; what Naruto has seen, what we have seen- not going after the Nidaime’s body for one-, his relationship with Danzo Shimura who I wouldn’t trust with a slug, the list goes on. Yes, we think it would be better for the village if you took the hat and yes we want to make that something you can do but if you don’t want to we won’t force you, there are other ways to get things done if we must.” Kagami stared at her, face inscrutable, “You came here for more than just Sasuke’s family didn’t you” he said finally and she smirked, pleased he had picked up on that, “Naruto has many gifts – or curses, ask the Yamanaka what they saw in his mind, ask them what he said they saw, ask them what the world looks like when it burns and you will know why we came here – and what we seek to prevent.” Kagami’s face hardened and he nodded slowly, “I will speak to the Yamanaka,” he glanced at his teacher and pain spasmed over his face “and Hiruzen, he has to be told and he won’t be happy about Sensei staying here. I have to tell him about the leak” he warned her and she nodded easily, aware that that would happen even if she disliked her “but…kami, Uchiha always put blood first but this is just insane, I’ll keep some things to myself.”

Sakura nodded, relived that they had pegged him correctly as trustworthy to be allowed to know more even if he was only doing it for Sasuke. Kagami lingered a little longer even after a small, two-tailed fox slipped in and curled at the end of the bed, looking at the Nidaime; finally asking just as he was about to leave, “Is it true? The rumors that Sensei and Shishou?” the words burst out of him like he couldn’t keep them in anymore and Sakura smirked into her healing supplies. “You should ask him” Sakura told him “but….I know sexual tension and those fights…” because honestly it might have started as half joke-half revenge but the more Sakura heard about Madara and the Nidaime’s interactions…. Kagami choked a little and ducked out of the room- clearly he had run into Naruto and Sasuke kissing up against the furniture at some point- cheeks flushed as Sakura’s laughter floated out after him.

“Hime-sensei!” the bright- well comparatively bright, this was still Orochimaru- voice of her student chirped into the room and Sakura smiled at little snek!Oro peered into the room. “Hello Oro,” Sakura called warmly “was dinner good?” she asked, stroking his slick, silky hair and he nodded seriously up at her; “Kitsune-sama let me eat my meat raw like him and mama does and Sasuke-sama said we could go check on mama tomorrow if you had enough energy?” Sakura laughed gently again, poking his forehead, “I need a good long sleep but then yes, we can go check on your mother at the hospital tomorrow afternoon, how does that sound?” snek!Oro brightened further and grabbed her in a firm hug, “Thank you Hime-sensei” he murmured and the woman’s heart melted further; she wasn’t going to let this sweet, serous child be turned into the monster of their future, not this time.

The next day Sakura woke late, closer to lunch than breakfast and when she dressed- thank heavens Sasuke had picked up more clothes- and went downstairs it was to find Sasuke sorting through papers from Madara’s study- a room that made Sakura shiver every time she passed it, even with the blessed seal on it- at the table, a pile of onigiri in the kitchen explaining lunch plans. “Where is everyone?” she asked quietly, dropping to sit across from him and tossing her hair over her shoulder again (ugh, she needed a way to tie it back, Sasuke had his low tail and Naruto his braid so she should figure something out to keep it out of her way), Sasuke looked up a blinked a few times, looking distracted. “What?” he said blankly, “oh, Naruto is with tiny!Sakumo doing something, Kagami is at the Tower- Sarutobi hasn’t tried to come see the Nidaime yet so he must still be talking to him- snek!Oro is tending the garden at his old house- we need to find him friends, I should do find Dan Kato soon-, the summons say the Nidaime is still the same, and I am going through Uncle’s papers.” Sakura snickered at the clear relish with which he used the familial moniker and cocked her head, “Finding anything interesting?”

Sasuke snorted, propping his elbows on the table, and rubbing his face, “Lots, Uncle was far more involved in the clan matters than I was aware of- I sort of assumed he had stopped caring by the time he left honestly- and though he seems to have been stumped a lot as to what too do with them-“ “I doubt he was thinking clearly given that study” Sakura muttered and Sasuke nodded “-he was paying attention. There’s even notes about how to try and fix the integration that I think was supposed to go to Hikaku Uchiha- Uncle’s cousin- before he got sick.” “Zetsu?” Sakura asked and the Uchiha nodded, continuing “Looks like it if I had to guess, Hikaku would have taken over as head but he was too stable. There’s even notes here and there that indicate he knew- at least at first- that something was wrong with him, but what’s really baffling is this stuff though” and he pushed a pile of pages at her.

At first Sakura thought it was just a pile of mixed notes on the village, everything from infrastructure to politics and mission rankings, but then she noticed that most were signed with a neat Tobirama Senju at the bottom and there were notes along the edges. “This…” she trailed off, staring at the curling, elegant hand that must be Madara’s saying good idea, clever gorgeo- bastard. “I know we’ve been laughing about the UST but…” Sasuke snorted, looking like he wasn’t sure which way was up. “I mean it wasn’t like Madara was as focused on Tobirama as he was on Hashirama in the battle but, looking back on it, the way he dealt with him was rather…” Sakura thought about the way Madara had pinned Tobirama to the ground and – wow, that, that was personal in a way that had overtones that had nothing to do with killing Izuna, that was personal in a fixated way he didn’t treat any of the rest of them….huh. “Well shit.” Sakura muttered “I didn’t – this whole thing might be a lot easier than I thought.”

Sasuke snorted again and flicked the paper, “Yeah, think how much more convenient it would be to have him fixated on the Nidaime than on Hashirama or Izuna” together they glanced up in the direction of the Nidiame’s room “as long as he plays along.” Sakura laughed at that, “Oh com’on, you know Tobirama-sensei, a chance to fuck with Madara and protect the village? Could you play anymore into his favorite things? Madara might be spiteful- and we are going to use it against him- but Tobirama is petty and that is powerful indeed.” Sasuke flat out laughed at that, no doubt thinking of Tobirama-sensei’s petty pleasure that he was brought back in the Last War and neither his brother nor Madara was (after all, Naruto and Sasuke were as strong as they had been, they hadn’t needed strength as much as they needed brains in the end and Tobirama had more than enough of that with just enough unhinged to be useful).

“Let’s leave the papers out where someone can see them- kami we need to find the gossips in the village, other than Danzo,- and see what it adds to the rumors” Sakura offered with a smirk, a thoughtful expression coming over her face after a moment “what do you think about publicizing that there is a leak in the village? I know it might make it harder to find them but if its Danzo then he already knows we know from Sarutobi and if is Zetsu or another some how then it might make them behave differently; the information is already out so I feel like we should make use of it to undermine Sarutobi.” Sasuke frowned thoughtfully, tapping his fingers on the papers on the table as he turned the idea over in his head, “That….I don’t love it but I think it is more useful to us that way than keeping it quiet.” He sighed “I’ll go to the market and see if I can find Dan Kato and maybe feel out our best gossips, you figure out how to get these papers out. I’ll be back in a few hours so I can watch the Nidaime and you can go check on snek!Oro’s mother.”

Sakura nodded, already turning the idea over in her head as she cleaned up and tucked the onigiri in the icebox (kami tech was so old fashioned in this time), she didn’t know enough about who the gossipiest Uchiha were and that was what she needed to know to make this work, so; sharply she bit her thumb and slammed her hand to the ground, pleased when a small slug showed up. It wasn’t her first time summoning her summons and explaining what had happened and how she had the contract- that had been on the way back from the cave they found the Nidaime in- but she was very pleased to see one of her favorite spy summons appear even if Kaori was much younger in this time, “Kaori, would you mind doing something for me?” the slug perked up visibly “I need to know more about the Uchiha clan and the village, specifically who are the biggest gossips and of them who is on our side and who is loyal to the Hokage?” Kaori wiggled in excitement and agreed in a bright excited voice that was amusingly high pitched from her youth.

Smirking Sakura watched her slug slip away and sighed, stretching as she stood and turned to head back up and check on the Nidaime only to freeze at the feeling of a powerful chakra headed in her direction. She wasn’t the sensor the boys were to know who it was but she didn’t much care, tying her hair back into a messy knot and tightening her gloves as she stood in front of the stairs, ready to protect the Nidaime if she had too. As expected the presence didn’t stop at the door, throwing it open and blowing in, headed straight for the stairs only to halt at the sight of Sakura standing guard and nearly glowing with chakra.

Chapter Text

Sakura stared head on at the woman that had entered, keeping her face impassive with work as she stared at the aristocratic looking red head, twin buns pinned with sealing tags and the familiar shape of the Force of a Thousand Seal on her forehead. “Mito-hime” Sakura greeted, letting her chakra subside a bit but keeping a wary eye on the first jinchuriki, regretting that Naruto wasn’t here to deal with this. There was a long pause as the woman stared at her, finally saying “You must be Sakura Qiānqiū, one of the two that brought Tobirama back, the medic that is keeping him from the hospital” the woman’s voice was cold and hard and Sakura forced herself not to bridle, Mito must have seen the Nidaime as her brother and she had no reason to know anything about them (why wasn’t she on the village council?). Still Sakura tipped her chin up a bit and hardened her own face right back, “The medic that is keeping a badly tortured and wounded man in place I know is safe given there is a known leak in the village and too many people move around in the hospital, yes. Also the medic that saved his life and is keeping him alive at the moment and protecting him and one of the few people that was willing to go after him rather than leaving him to rot.” The words were pointed and sharp, after all the Uzumaki might be getting older but she wasn’t old and she had more than enough power to go after her brother in law had she wanted to.

Mito’s jaw tightened and her back straightened harshly “I couldn’t-“ “No, you could, you just chose to let a comparative child tell you what to do just like you let them keep you off the council” a stab in the dark but an accurate one if the wince was anything to go by “you let them cut you out and keep you from acting like you are some fancy sealing scroll and not a skilled kunoichi.” Sakura softened her voice “I know being the jinchuriki is exhausting but you gave up, you gave up and Nidaime-sama would have died alone and in pain because no one came after him. When we found him all he said was that ‘no one coming’, which he knew because his sensing was active, they didn’t seal it because they knew that no one would come after him, something they knew because of the leak in the village.” Mito swallowed hard and slumped a bit, grief and pain bowing her shoulders and cracking her face open in a way Sakura felt slightly uncomfortable to see. “You let them shut you out because you are fatigued and because you wanted to give the world over to a younger generation, I get that, but in doing so you nearly doomed him to a miserable death; you can’t just give up on the world and retreat, it will only hurt those you love.”

Mito’s eyes were exhausted but clever and intent “How do you know so much? You – you know far too much for having only been in the village a few days.” Sakura shrugged, “Meet Naruto, that will explain a lot of it. Now do you want to see Nidaime-sama? I was about to go check up on him.” instantly she nodded, straightening and smoothing her face as Sakura let go of some of her defensiveness and turned to lead the way up the stairs, unlocking the seals Naruto had used to lock the room and ignoring Mito’s interested gaze on them as they faded and she opened the door. As expected the Nidaime was still and asleep on his bed, white hair falling back from a hallowed and bruised face and red eyes shut as he lay silently; “Tobi” Mito breathed, sounding gut punched, “oh kami, Tobi”.

“He’ll be ok” Sakura promised, moving around to check him over with healing jutsu “not back to full strength I don’t think but once he wakes he’ll be alright and live. He’ll need to take it easier but he can still teach and live if he wake up.” “If he wakes up?” Mito snapped sharply, watching closely as Sakura methodically checked over all the many injuries and redressed them, channeling power into the cleanliness seals again and peeling open an eye to track his pupil response. “When someone is in a coma waking up is never a given and given now exhausted Nidaime-sama was even before he was captured it’s not a given he will want to wake up at all, we will have to wait and see how much will he has left after all the pain in his life.” Sakura responded evenly, not reacting to Mito’s wince at the reference to his condition before all of this; she hadn’t intended to hurt the woman but it was the truth and Mito should have done something about it.

Mito spent the next few hours watching Sakura tend Nidaime and was still there when Sasuke returned and walked into the room nodding to the woman and kissing Sakura’s cheek in an unusually affectionate gesture that hid him whispering “Found Dan, he’s downstairs, leak leaked and found two gossips” before he pulled back and turned to greet the Uzumaki. “Uzumaki-hime, I am Sasuke Uchiha, I take it you came to check on your brother in law?” Mito was staring at him wide eyed, and it took a moment for her to respond, “I – yes, I came to check on Tobirama as soon as I heard. You – you look remarkably like your father, but you carry yourself quite a lot like your uncle” Sasuke smirked a Madara smirk and thanked her politely, not acknowledging the way that Mito looked even more off balance at the expression.

“Sakura are you going to go find Oro and look in on his mother? I think the Hokage will be here soon and Naruto is on his way back so you don’t need to be here for that if you don’t want to” Sasuke offered and Sakura had to admit she was grateful to miss that confrontation which was sure to be a lot. “I’ll go, just keep the chakra down, him waking now might set his recovery back. Mito-hime will you be staying?” Mito hesitated, intelligent eyes evaluating everything they had said. “I’ll stay if you don’t mind” (good, she was getting involved, she had heard Sakura earlier) she said finally and Sasuke nodded, opening the door and gesturing  for her to follow him. “Join me and my student for tea then until they arrive then? If we are lucky Naruto will arrive first and you can meet him before the hokage arrives.” Mito followed him out and Sakura slipped out the window, sealing it after her and dropping down to the ground, ducking to pick up her summons as she walked, setting Kaori on her shoulder to whisper to her as she walked.

In the hospital with snek!Oro following her like a silent shadow- he had still been playing at his house when she found him, they needed to introduce him to some friends- and his mother was awake when they came into her room. Bashira Mizuchi looked remarkably like her son if less angular than Orochimaru had when he was grown and snek!Oro’s love for his mother was clear in the way he brightened at the sight of her, awake and sitting up for the first time in months (yes Sakura had heard the nurses muttering about her skill with clear respect, they had never thought the woman would recover at all). “Mama!” snek!Oro cried out, darting forward and crawling into the bed with his mother to give her a careful hug “You’re awake” he breathed, serous face looking his age for once. Bashira smiled at her son and stroked his hair gently, cupping his face and clearly looking for signs of his health, her eyes darkening when she saw the hollowness to his cheeks and darkness in his eyes from neglect. “I hope you don’t mind, Oro has been staying with me and my pact-brothers while you recover” Sakura offered, hoping to relive the worry she saw and stepping forward with an offered hand “Sakura Qiānqiū by the way, I’ve taken Oro as my student and been working on your case.”

Bashira looked her over with assessing eyes, “The medic that saved me I am told” the Mizuchi murmured “and you have been taking care of my son while I am here.” “Only since we got to the village, so it hasn’t been long, but yes. Orochimaru is an extremely clever child and a delight to teach.” Sakura agreed, smiling at snek!Oro at the child looked at her and then back at his mother, “I’s been great, ‘v been staying with Hime-sensei and Kitsune-sama and Sasuke-sama, Sasuke-sama cooks well and teaches interesting things and Hime-sensei has been showing me how to take care sick people.” He said seriously, golden eyes wide on his mother as she smiled warmly down at him, an intelligent mind moving behind her own slightly darker eyes. “Well then thank you Qiānqiū-hime for you and your pact-brothers taking my son under your wing, I have worried about him.” she said demurely, Sakura biting back a grin at the clear intelligence of the woman; of yes, Bashira was going to be a wonderful asset if she chose to work with them, Sakura was looking forward to it.

Sakura spent the next few hours working on Bashira, snek!Oro slipping out at some point as the two woman spoke and Sakura did her best to ignore the fluctuating chakra across the village (not her problem as long as they didn’t wake the Nidaime, not her problem). It wasn’t until snek!Oro raced back into the room and hid behind Sakura’s legs only to be followed by another child barreling into the room like a whirlwind that Sakura realized she knew another chakra in the hospital. Ity!Tsunade was so small it took Sakura’s breath away and the way she put her little fists on her hips was so characteristic that the woman sort of wanted to cry. Ity!Tsunade opened her mouth like she was going to read snek!Oro the riot act but before the tiny blond could say anything another woman burst into the room, dark-auburn sleek hair tied up in a high tail and warm Senju skin flushed from running as she called “Tsunade! You don’t just run into rooms in the hospital!”

Then she looked up and saw the other woman and flushed harder, groaning and burying her face in her hands (kami she was young for a mother, she wasn’t even Sakura’s age, how young had she been when she married?) “I am so sorry, Bashira, Qiānqiū-hime, I swear Tsunade does normally know how to behave in the hospital I don’t know what has her so railed up.” Bashira laughed, bright and tinkling, as her son leaned around Sakura and stuck his tongue out at ity!Tsuna “No, no, Matsui-hime, don’t worry about it! I am glad to see Orochimaru so lively.” The Mizuchi matriarch promised laughing again as snek!Oro ducked back behind his teacher to hide as ity!Tsuna stomped her feet “I could kick your butt!” ity!Tsuna yelled, “my grandad was the Shodaime!” “Tsunade…” Matsui said in a defeated tone (kami this must be Tsunade’s mother, That was so strange) but snek!Oro just peered at her around Sakura and glowered “And my teacher is the best medic in the village and has the Force of a Thousand Seal! Hime-sensei is better” snek!Oro had recognized the seal? Clever boy. Sakura had no intention of making him a medic but she was increasingly sure she could help him be a scientist and jutsu maker akin to Tobirama-sensei; he was smart enough as long as he was given boundaries and taught emotional regulation – and possibly some meds, they would see when he hit puberty.

Letting the children argue- as much as Orochimaru ever would argue anyway, even at this age- Sakura turned to the Senju with a smile, “Matsui Senju, we haven’t been introduced, I am Sakura Qiānqiū-“ “The one that saved my Uncle” the woman said swiftly and Sakura nodded, offering, “You can come visit him if you like, Mito-hime did so this morning.” Matsui paused, clearly turning something over in her head “Why is he there and not here?” the young woman finally asked and Sakura’s mouth twisted slightly. “Because as your daughter proved it is very hard to control who enters rooms in the hospital, there’s too many people moving around for it to be safe for Nidaime-sama.” Matsui’s eyes narrowed, thoughts racing behind her eyes “Then the rumor that there is a leak and that’s how-…” Sakura nodded, letting her jaw tighten as if angry that that news had gotten out. “He is safer with me and my pact-brothers, even if there are many children in and out of the house all the time now that we have sealed off Madara-sama’s rooms so the worst of the energy left from the creature that was hunting him is sealed in.”

A pause and Matsui laughed awkwardly, ignoring the last bit and focusing on the rest of it, “Uncle loves kids, having them running around would make him very happy – he hated that the Hokage position made it impossible to take new students.” Sakura smiled at the other woman, “Well whenever he recovers and wakes from his coma he should be able to do that again, he should never take the hat again but some happiness would do him good after everything he has lost.” That it seemed Matsui could agree with wholeheartedly and the three woman spent a little longer talked as the children challenged each other to chakra exercises, Sakura lingering until Bashira was clearly falling asleep and the chakra at the other side of the village had simmered down; then she collected snek!Oro and said goodbye to the Senju before heading home, hoping it was still standing.

Chapter Text

Naruto was sad to leave tiny!Sakumo behind but knew he needed to be at the house when Sarutobi came to see the Nidaime so in the end he just took the bright gray haired child with him, tucked up on his hip even though tiny!Sakumo was really too old to be carried at this point. The cub didn’t seem to be arguing, pointing things out to Naruto in a bright voice and clearly thrilled to be getting this much attention- his clan was often busy and sad from what Naruto had seen- as Naruto was focused on him, at least until a voice called “Kitsune-sama” and Naruto turned to look at the woman coming up behind him, she was a cheerful looking woman with long hair in a neat twist on the back of her head and a housewife’s apron. “Kitsune-sama, Maemi Uchiha, I hope you don’t mind me asking, how is the Nidaime doing?” she asked anxiously after a shallow bow and Naruto examined her for a moment before smiling at her, “I don’t mind at all, it was knowing the honor of the Uchiha and my partner’s family that led me to suggest we seek sanctuary with the clan. He is…” Naruto sighed and hitched tiny!Sakumo closer “his is alive, but he was badly tortured while thinking no one was coming for him- they left his sensing unsealed you see- so it is hard to say if his mind will recover enough to want to wake from his coma.”

Against him tiny!Sakumo stiffened but he said nothing as the woman covered her mouth, looking rather stricken just as she had looked proud before, “Oh kami bless, hopefully he will sleep a little better closer to where Madara-sama lived” she breathed and Naruto forced himself not to smirk, just nodding. “Now that we have sealed off the part of the house that are contaminated with whatever was hunting Madara we are hoping so.” the blonde agreed, delighting in the spreading of rumors and how little twisting of the truth was needed to do it; it really worked to their favor that Madara had been so obsessed with Tobirama even if it had been mostly malevolent for a long time, he was an Uchiha it was easy to tip hate into love as it was to tip the other way. “Now I apologize Maemi, but I must get back to the house, Sasuke is expecting me” Naruto apologized, tails swishing lazily as the Uchiha woman immediately excused him with much apologies.

“Sensei” tiny!Sakumo breathed in his ear “that’s not what you told me, you said he would wake up but that it might be a while.” Naruto grinned, more than a little pleased with his student and whispered “And I told you the truth, but I wanted her to feel sorry for the Nidaime and care about him more, the more protective the Uchiha are of him the better. And we don’t know that he will wake, I just am fairly sure that he will from what I know of his character.” Tiny!Sakumo hummed thoughtfully, apparently thinking about that for a long moment, “So you’re shifting the underneath aren’t you? Making people think in a specific way to protect Tobirama-sama” he said, young voice far wiser than Naruto had anticipated and he shot his student an impressed look. “Exactly, very good” he praised and tiny!Sakumo preened like a pleased pup.

“Now hop down, Sasuke has brought home his student for us to meet and there is another visitor here that is going to be a bit shocked to see me so best for you to be on your feet” Naruto said as they approached the door to the main house, Naruto fighting the need to lash his tails at the familiar feel of Kurama’s chakra even if it was still bitter and caustic with anger where he was trapped in Mito Uzumaki. Tiny!Sakumo nodded and grabbed Naruto’s hand as he opened the door, peering with interest at the boy that was munching on an onigiri and kicking his heels in the kitchen. Wee!Dan Kato was about a year older than tiny!Sakumo with long, very pale purple-blue-ish hair and bright teal eyes set in skin just a hairsbreadth darker than an Uchiha’s, his eyes were wide with interest but he seemed calm about waiting for Sasuke who was still upstairs with Mito form the feel of it and Naruto could feel the good in his heart and was sure that he and tiny!Sakumo would be good friends, the question is if they would take the younger snek!Oro with them or not – it wasn’t like the Mizuchi wasn’t smart enough to keep up!

“Hello!” Naruto greeted brightly “You must be Dan, Sasuke’s student, this is Sakumo Hatake, my student” wee!Dan it turned out was a very polite child and set down his food to stand and greet Naruto and tiny!Sakumo but it was cut short as Naruto felt a chakra spike from the tower. It was smart of Kagami to go to Mito first this morning but he really wanted to greet the jinchuriki without an audience so, “Boys, I have to go great our other guest and see Sasuke, will you be ok waiting down here? Please just stay away from the sealed doors, they are dangerous.” He said nothing about the papers left on the table, if they needed to be hidden then they would have been so it was fine to leave them out. Both boys nodded seriously and Naruto darted up the stairs, slipping into the Nidaime’s room and greeting Sasuke with a lingering kiss before turning to Mito, giving her a chance to look at him and get over the first shock at the tails and everything.

“Mito” he greeted and then flared his tails “Kurama-sama, I am Naruto, I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you but as you have my older brother trapped inside you, you will have to understand that sours things a bit for me.” the Uzumaki gaped at him, shock painted over her regal face, “I-“ then she froze up and Sasuke ducked his head to hide a chuckle in his collar at her shock, hand pressing briefly to Naruto’s lower back in an unusual show of affection, “you – you’re a Kitsune. I don’t know –“ “Didn’t know we were real?” Naruto offered “Come now, of course we are. Rare yes, but certainly real, just ask the Yamanaka.” He paused “I will need to talk to you more about my elder brother at another time but, though I hate to admit it now is not the time as we are about to have more visitors and these ones I don’t trust – and kitsune know these things.” Mito nodded slowly, eyes flicking back as she counted tails and paled a bit though the clear affection between Naruto and Sasuke seemed to reassure her a bit.

“Let’s go to the door please, Mito if you would like to stay here with the Nidaime that’s fine but, be careful please” Naruto said, the six tailed fox that had been sleeping under the bed poking his nose out and snorting to remined them he was there and watching. Mito jumped a bit at the sight but only sighed and nodded as Sasuke and Naruto headed down stairs, Naruto stopping his lover on the stairs to cup his face and give him another long, lingering kiss, relishing the soft press of his Uchiha’s lips and wishing- as always- that they had more time and never separated. “I know” Sasuke whispered, pressing their brows together “I know Naru, we’ll have time someday, I promise” Naruto let out a shuddering breath and nuzzled close form a moment before pulling back and leading the way to the front door just as there was a loud knock on the front door.

At the door a veritably crowd was waiting behind Kagami, who’s jaw was tight with frustration and his eyes apologetic at having some many with him at the same time. Naruto sighed and let all six in, eyeing them with some distaste, “Kagami, you know they can’t all come up at once” Naruto said, ignoring the way he was being stared at by the newcomers and the children peeking out of the kitchen “as Mito is already here we can only really let three of you up at a time.” One of them (a young Homura Mitokado it looked like from the glasses) visibly bristled- though so was Danzo he was just smart enough to try and make himself unnoticed- and spat “And who put you in charge of our Nidaime’s recovery?!” which was just about the last thing that Naruto wanted to hear and his chakra flared around him, bright and gold and blood red, like the feathers of a phoenix flaring out of flame as his tails flared and he straightened to his full height, lips pulling back from his teeth. “I put me in charge of the recovery of a man that you couldn’t even be bothered to go after!” he snarled “I put me in charge of keeping alive a man you left for dead and didn’t even go after his bones to lie with his family. I put me in charge when we found proof of a leak in the village – a leak that then leaked within minuets. I put me in charge when my pact-sister is the best healer in the five countries and saved his life and I put me in charge when it seemed no one else cared that much about keeping the Nidaime alive other than the Uchiha.”

The silence after his snarled proclamation was ringing and to his surprise the only woman of the group looked ashamed of herself and though Naruto remembered her as being nothing short of a nuisance and enabler of Danzo maybe here they could change that with careful intervention. Kagami looked grim and interestingly Torifu Akimichi looked approving while Sarutobi looked constipated; Hamura…looked angry and bitter, he would be a problem with Danzo then, good to know. Danzo also looked angry but was still trying to blend with the background and not attract notice, and all of them looked pale form the feel of Naruto's chakra, “Maybe just the original team Tobirama then?” Torifu offered, explaining “Danzo, Kagami, and I were originally his students and the others were Hashirama-sama’s until Tobirama-sensei took them over when Hashirama-sama didn’t have enough time.” Which, yeah, that sounded like Tobirama-sensei, Naruto nodded at the suggestion, waving for the three to follow him up as Sasuke leaned against the wall at watch the other three, meeting Naruto’s eyes for a moment with nearly physical heat (Sasuke did like it when Naruto stopped playing nice, too bad he couldn’t enjoy it).

“How is he?” Kagami asked quietly as they went up the stairs and Naruto shrugged, “Much the same, healing but its slow and the coma hasn’t shifted at all. Mito is here to see him and we hope being around people he cares about will help him wake sooner.” Kagami hummed his understanding as Naruto led the way into the bedroom, glad it was a large one and that Mito had taken a seat on the other side of the bed. At the sight of their teacher laid out and so frail looking Torifu made a sound like he had been punched in the gut and Danzo’s face twisted, a mix of upset and bitterness that Naruto wasn’t sure how to interpret (when had Danzo gone wrong anyway? Was it when he was still on Team Tobirama or was it only later? Naruto could see that he already had his claws in Sarutobi but had that started out as such a negative thing or had their been real affection there first? When did the split happen?). “Oh Tobirama-sensei” Torifu breathed, “kami, he….” Naruto felt his heart soften a bit at the sight of the Akimichi who was clearly heartbroken about it, he knew all too well what it was like to see a teacher that you had always seen as invincible brought low and broken and how it made everything in the world seem unsteady and uncertain.

Naruto hung back and watched as they interreacted with their silent teacher but it wasn’t long before they were leaving to let the others come up, Torifu stopping to look at Tobirama on the way out, asking quietly “Can I come back another time? When it’s quieter?” Naruto nodded easily. “If you give us warning and come alone, you understand why we need to protect him” the Akimichi nodded grimily and left, leaving Mito and Naruto alone with the sleeping Nidaime as the other three came up. “Mito,” Naruto said quietly “Koharu Utatane, she could use a mentor” Mito’s brow furrowed but before she could ask the other three came in, Kagami having led them up but staying at the door, and as Naruto had hoped Koharu made a broken little noise at the sight of her teacher, rushing to his side and carefully grabbing a bandaged hand like it was made of spun glass. Homura gapped at the silent teacher and Sarutobi paled drastically, confronted with the results of what his choices had allowed to happen.

Again Naruto stood back and did nothing, too aware of Mito’s eyes flicking back to him- she must have felt him flare his chakra and be wondering- and the way Homura didn’t seem to want to turn his back to Naruto. Finally Naruto cleared his throat and together they trickled out, Naruto looking at Mito until she met his gaze “There are important things to be done, you can come see him tomorrow” she sighed but nodded, standing and brushing off her kimono, “Tomorrow we will talk then” she agreed and Naruto nodded, sealing the seals after she left and following her down through the house, not commenting at her interested look at Madara’s sealed study.

Downstairs the adults were all trickling out and Sasuke was looking smug, smirking when Naruto raised a brow at him and muttering “Torifu is a bit of a gossip when it’s strategic and he got a look at the papers on the table” and after seeing said papers Naruto couldn’t help his snickers; this rumor was taking off with remarkably little work on their parts. He just wished he could see Madara’s face when he heard. “Now come on,” Sasuke said “we have two students to teach and an afternoon to spend on it, let’s get to work.” Both children visibly cheered at that and Naruto was more than willing to go to the white gravel square out back in the garden that had been used for minor training when the big training grounds weren’t needed. Some time working with their students sounded like the perfect way to spend the afternoon and let go of the earlier stress!

Chapter Text

Naruto curled tighter around Sasuke, feeling not at all bad for kicking Sakura out to her own room last night (they didn’t do that that much but once in a while…) when he felt bare creamy Uchiha skin pressed against his own darker skin. Happy and comfortable Naruto pressed a kiss to the back of Sasuke’s neck where it was bared by his hair falling away, breathing in the warm smell of him and feeling like if he were a cat creature he would be purring. “G’morning” Sasuke rasped, tilting his neck to give Naruto more room “suppose we should get up, there’s a lot to do” Naruto grumbled and set his sharp teeth into his lover’s skin, “It can wait a little longer” he rumbled, shifting to turn Sasuke onto his back and lean over him. “It’ll wait” Sasuke slurred an agreement against his lips and for a bit they forgot everything but each other, only emerging quite some time later to find Sakura humming as she worked on breakfast for them, snek!Oro and Kagami who seemed a little bewildered to be there.

“Morning ‘gami, Oro” Naruto greeted around a great yawn, stretching with relish and guiding a still sleepy Sasuke to sit and pouring his tea. “Good morning Naruto, Sasuke” Kagami greeted looking between them and then flushing as he got a look at the dark mark on his kinsmen’s neck when Sasuke shifted. “wh-what do you have planned for today?” Naruto shrugged, thanking Sakura as she placed an omelet in front of him, “Cleanse the sealed rooms I think and then I have to talk to Mito and hope to work with Sakumo more, other than that we shall see; how about the rest of you?” Sakura shrugged as she flipped an omelet in front of Sasuke “I already checked on the Nidaime and then I need to go look in on Bashira, maybe chat with Matsui again and work with Oro” she stoked the boy’s hair as she passed and gave Kagami his food. Sasuke yawned behind his hand and started eating, “Help you with those rooms and go to the market, I’d like to get to know more of the clan and I need to work with Dan more, so nothing too exciting today.”

Kagami nodded asking if he could stay to watch the cleansing before he went to work on clan matters, awkwardly pointing out “-and, at some point you might want to spar with someone, the village would feel better if they knew your skills I suspect. More than just a few chakra flares.” Team 7 exchanged looks over their food and nodded, that was logical and sensible, they didn’t love it, but it made sense and it would be good to back up their reputations. Which remined Naruto, he had to figure out how close they were to war; in the last timeline Tobirama-sensei’s death had started the next war but so far it had been nearly two weeks since he was attacked, and nothing had been declared. Maybe they would get very lucky and have put off the war for enough time to get Kagami in under the hat first; it would be much harder to get Sarutobi out from under it if he led them through a war successfully than before.

After breakfast Naruto cleaned the dishes with snek!Oro while Sakura checked on the Nidaime one last time and then collected the boy to go to the hospital; once they were gone Naruto turned to the worst of the rooms, the shrine room and put his hands on his hips. “You used Sage Art: Light of the Crescent Moon on the house at large right?” the blonde asked his lover, feeling out the miasma that was stewing on the other side of the seal; Sasuke hummed in agreement, Kagami next to him watching wide eyed. “Right, I guess there’s nothing to do but try things and see what works” Naruto muttered, peeling off the blessed seal and hissing at the wave of malignant energy that washed over him, fucking Zetsu; Naruto had been so busy fighting Ōtsutsuki in the end he had forgotten how much he hated that mushroom-horror. “Alright” he muttered, rolling up his sleeves and revealing more of his bandage wrapped prosthetic than he normally did as he threw open the doors and bared his teeth at the room and its lingering, cling shadows, ignoring the way they seemed to almost writhe on their own and Kagami retching behind him.

“Let’s try this on for size then” Naruto grit out, holding out both hands and tapping into the sun on his chest, calling up the counterpoint to Sasuke’s Light of the Crescent Moon in his own Sage Art: Light of the Noon Sun and girting his teeth as the light burned it’s way out of him in searing waves of golden-white light from which the shadows twisted and tried to flee but didn’t die and that – that just wasn’t what Naruto wanted so with a snarl the blond twisted his chakra and bringing both hands together, palm to palm with a small space in between. His chakra rose and Naruto activated the path to the divine that made him a Tenko and not a kitsune as he called on Heavenly Blessing: Wrath of the Nine Tails. In a flash burning golden flames filled the room, searing away all that was unholy and corrupt in a flash of divine power that slowly faded, leaving the room clean and bright, the air smelling faintly of incense and flowers as an insubstantial breeze flickered through the room.

“Well” Naruto said, smug and pleased “that seems to have done the job nicely” behind him there was a choked sound and Naruto turned to look at the Uchiha, unsurprised to see Sasuke looked satisfied but immediately feeling a bit bad when he saw how ashen Kagami was. “Are you ok Kagami?” he asked, hurrying to the Uchiha’s side. Kagami waved a hand and straightened, swiping at his ashen face with his sleeve, “I – I’m fine, just – that was what Shishou was living with? Kami no wonder he…..” another convulsive swallow “that was a lot of power you used, are you ok?” Naruto laughed brightly, pointing a thumb at his chest “Me? Yeah, I’m fine! There’s a reason I have all these tails y’know! Now come on, let’s get his study and bedroom done while the house is empty, no reason to let contamination linger any longer than we have too.”

Kagami nodded and followed quietly as Naruto cleansed the last two rooms with the same two jutsu, increasingly grim as he saw more and more of the darkness that had hunted Madara and increasingly wide eyed at the sheer power that Naruto was using to cleanse the rooms. They finished just in time as Mito arrived to see the Nidaime and talk to Naruto and the blonde sent the Uchiha off, Kagami with a smile and offer of dinner and Sasuke with a lingering kiss. Finally he turned to the Uzumaki- who looked much better today than she had yesterday- and waved for her to follow him to sit at the table in the tearoom, serving tea and sipping at his for a long moment before he looked her in the eyes and spoke. “I would like to talk to my brother Mito, I am sure you have tracked down every scrap on me you can find and talked to the Yamanaka about what they saw in my mind so you know that I am the real deal and know about things that may yet be. So you know that if I ask to talk to my brother I do not do it frivolously.” The Uzumaki’s eyes narrowed but the corner of her mouth ticked up a bit as she sipped her own tea.

“I did indeed find everything on you I can, I know that the Yamanaka that walked in your mind has refused to mind walk again and talks often about the wars, plural, he saw there. So, tell me how you would talk with a creature trapped in a seal and I will tell you my answer” Naruto smiled a fox-smile, pleased at how this was going, “Tell me, what do you know of the Bijuu? Almost nothing right? Only that they were said to be the children of the Sage of Six Paths and creatures of great power, unmatched power even.” She nodded “well did you ever wonder why? The stories are true, after a fashion. The bijuu are the children of the Sage, they were created out a greater power called the Ten-Tails, a power that wanted to consume all chakra in the world and that the Sage subdued and trapped within himself in a way very similar to what you yourself have done. However what the Sage then did was very different from what you did, he broke apart the power of the Ten-Tails and spilt it into nine different creatures that he created out of chakra. However what he could not have anticipated was what would happen after those nine creatures when they joined the world and were accepted by it- for they were at first, and still are by most but humans- they became part of the world in a way the power of the Ten-Tails had never been and could never have been. They became greater spirts of chakra, the kami of chakra you might say in fact. Now, do you know what happens when you cadge a kami? Do you remember the story of Amaterasu-okami and what it was like to lose the sun? What do you think happens when you cadge the wind Mito? What happens when you bind the spirits of chakra?”

In the wake of his words Mito sat silent, her face pale but composed and her fingers when she reached for her cup were shaking lightly, “You are saying we are damaging chakra by trapping the bijuu, impeding it somehow” she said quietly, and Naruto shrugged. “I am telling you that have seen a world where the bijuu have been bound for generations and the wars never stop but at the same time chakra itself grows weaker and weaker as the great clans decline and vanish. Already the Hatake are feeling the change in the power in the world and detaching themselves from the world. I am telling you that I have seen a final war of bones and ash and in that war chakra failed because the bijuu were lost to us.” Naruto’s eyes were cold and distant, full of blood and bitterness, a sharp contrast with the bright happiness he normally showed, and Mito swallowed hard; unable to disbelieve him no matter how much she wished to (she had always felt that there was something…off about sealing the bijuu but she hadn’t know what else to do).

 “I don’t – I don’t know what to do” she said finally “I hear you that the Bijuu cannot be sealed but free they will only be hunted down and trapped again, the One-tail was trapped before even Madara controlled the Nine-tails. This is at least controlled.” “Is it?” Naruto snapped, thinking of Gaara and then waved a hand, dismissing his words, it didn’t matter anymore, “Never mind that, we have a plan, a gift we can give the bijuu that would protect them and then send them to the summons realms where the power will flow more freely and they will become kami in truth rather than half way as they are now. I would not ask you to start, I will find a way to free the others first, but I would like to take to my elder brother about the plan before I enact it to make sure it is amenable to them first.” Mito hummed, tapping her teacup with her fingernails and clearly thinking. “And how would you talk to him?” She asked finally and Naruto grinned foxily at her, “I have my ways” he promised and finally Mito set down her cup and nodded firmly, “Then let us do this, how does it work?”

Chapter Text

Sasuke looked at the dirty child, the shaggy white hair still clear even through the mess. Shit. The child wasn’t quite cowering but he certainly wasn’t standing like he expected anything good to come from Sasuke’s attention and – look, Sasuke was not a soft touch but the child was so young and pocket sized and – it was impossible to look at this child and see the Jiraiya that had abandoned Naruto and made so many poor choices, this child hadn’t done any of that and this child didn’t have anyone. With a deep sigh Sasuke reached out and grabbed the child by the back of his shirt, lifting him like a rambunctious kitten and carrying him with him as he walked back to the Uchiha compound.

Halfway to the house Sasuke ran into Kagami talking to another one of his clansmen and Sasuke brightened, walking straight up to his kin and holding out the pocket!Jiraiya expectantly. “Kagami” he said firmly as a bewildered Kagami grabbed pocket!Jiraiya in a firmer hold, swearing like Sasuke was doing something wrong “congratulations on your student, he will be living with us.” Matter dealt with Sasuke turned to go, Kagami spluttering behind him and yelping “I have too much-“ but Sasuke just waved a hand, not bothering to stop walking “I will help with clan things, enjoy teaching, it’s a rite of passage.” And then he was gone, already thinking about making up a room for pocket!Jiraiya and another for Bashira Mizuchi when she was out of the hospital but not ready to live on her own (it was a good thing the main house was so big) and what he was going to teach wee!Dan today.

At the house Sasuke kicked off his shoes and felt Naruto’s chakra signature in the tearoom and went to find him, “Hey” Naruto greeted him, tipping his head back for a kiss “Mito’s upstairs with the Nidaime, I talked to her about the bijuu and got to talk to shirty!Kurama.” Sasuke winced at that and slipped around to sit down next to his partner, back to the table so he could face the blonde, “How did that go?” the Uchiha asked softly, sympathetic for how much it must hurt to see the being Naruto had seen as his kin so different and know what he was doing would insure that that person never existed. Naruto sighed and sagged, pressing his lips together tightly, and leaning into it when Sasuke curled his hand around the blonde’s ankle, “That bad huh?” the Uchiha muttered.

“It” Naruto rubbed at his face and dropped his hands with a defeated air “it’s not that I didn’t know that he wasn’t my Kurama but…he’s not my Kurama, not even close. I had no idea how much he changed in his time in mom and Mito-hime but he’s just…young, not at all the person that gave up everything to make sure that we could save the world from the Ōtsutsuki. He doesn’t seem to understand at all his place in the world and wouldn’t listen to me until I mentioned the Sage and pulled out a flare of the Sage’s power; even Mito listened to me about the bijuu but shirty!Kurama just…wanted to be angry at the whole world. He’s forgotten everything that made him wise and is lost in his anger; kami Sasuke no wonder there is so many wars if there is so much anger in the bijuu, we poisoned the whole world!” Sasuke hissed sharply, his hand tightening on Naruto’s ankle; that, that was bad and though the Uchiha had full faith in his partner and his talk-no-jutsu if it was bad enough that Naruto thought it seeping out might be helping instigate the wars – “Worse than Obito? Than Madara?” Sasuke asked

Naruto snorted, looking bitterly amused “Not even close, those were both Uchiha and Uchiha are easy when it comes down to it; find you an obsession and beat you into exhaustion and you’re manageable, shirty!Kurama is a whole ‘nother level, I don’t know if I can fix this.” Sasuke pursed his lips but didn’t argue, after Uchiha as a group did seem to be putty in Naruto’s hands so he must have figured out the equation at some point. “We have time” Sasuke said finally, “we weren’t planning to start with him anyway even when we get to the point we are ready to deal with the bijuu and we have to start with cleaning up Konoha first. Focus on that for now and the rest will come later, idiot.” Naruto ducked his head to hide a laugh, leaning forward until he could drop his head onto Sasuke’s shoulder and blowing out a slow breath like it was coming from the depths of the world, “Yeah, yeah, one step at a time and we’ll make it this time, believe it.”

The afternoon was spent working with their students all three of them together again for once, all working on finding and getting in contact with their chakra as well as chakra control and seeing if the three boys would bond. Somewhat to Sasuke’s surprise it wasn’t nearly as hard as he expected, in fact all it took was one instance of tiny!Sakumo trying to dumb something down for snek!Oro as the youngest and Oro flashing his needlepoint fangs at the Hatake as he spat the dictionary definition of the word tiny!Sakumo was dumbing down for the two boys to be attached at the hip as tiny!Sakumo attached to him like nothing else – though maybe Sasuke shouldn’t have been so surprise that a Hatake would pack bond quickly, he just hadn’t anticipated it with Orochimaru. Luckily they had no problem bring wee!Dan along with them and together he was willing to bet they would get into a lot of trouble – which reminded Sasuke, “Oh, Naru, I found an orphan today that is going to live here, he’s Kagami’s new student now – which means I’ll have to help with clan head stuff but that’s fine anyway, works toward what we want. We should also find a way to interact more with the Uchiha, integrate more.” Naruto blinked at that, clearly trying to keep up everything that Sasuke had said, “You – you just found an orphan and dumped them on Kagami?”  he asked slowly as Sasuke shrugged laconically “He needed to take the break and, he’ll be a much better influence for pocket!Jiraiya than Sarutobi was anyway.” Naruto gapped, clearly trying to catch up with that as tiny!Sakumo tugged on Sasuke’s sleeve.

“Want us to try and play with Uchiha kids more? Then you can talk to the parents easier” the child offered brightly, his gray eyes bright and interested as Sasuke stared at him; this…this was why this man would one day be called the White Fang and the only one to challenge the Sannin, so intimidating that the only person that could kill him was himslef. “Hn,” he grunted, ruffling the gray hair “clever. Yes, please Sakumo” the Hatake grinned brightly and grabbed snek!Oro’s wrist to pull him back to wee!Dan with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Jiraiya?” Naruto breathed and Sasuke shot him a sharp look “Pocket!Jiraiya” the Uchiha corrected sharply “not Jiraiya, since he is going to be living here you need to remember that.” there was a long pause and then Naruto blew out a slow breath, nodding and seeming to shrink in on himself a bit as Sakura watched them with one eye and the children with the other. “We need Bashira to come live here” Sakura said slowly “we need another adult for all the children and if she gets here than Matsui might start coming by with ity!Tsuna and that would only be for the best.” At that Naruto looked up, glancing at their cute little students before looking back at their teammate “How soon will she be ready to come here? Is she willing to while she finishes her recovery?” Sakura hummed and nodded, “In a few days if she continues to recover at the same pace and yes, while she is finishing getting healthy she said she was fine staying here – at least until she no longer needs supervision to stay away from a relapse.” She must have sensed the sadness that glinted in Naruto’s eyes as much as Sasuke did because she added “Even when the Mizuchi move back to their house Oro will still be over all the time and stay the night if I know children, all of them will be over constantly I promise.”

Naruto pouted but nodded as Sasuke snickered at him, well aware that the blonde liked having the children around, liked having a big pack gathered around him tightly to protect and watch over. “Come on idiot” Sasuke muttered as he stood “remember how much we pestered Kakashi-sensei even though we all lived elsewhere?” that did make Naruto laugh as Sasuke sauntered out to work with the children, gently guiding their meditations to find their chakra better until a loud noise form the front of the house pulled their attention and a second later Kagami burst out, wide eyed and holding onto a clinging pocket!Jiraiya like he was terrified to drop the child, the expression on his face immediately making Sakura breakdown into giggles as Naruto stiffened. Sasuke sighed and turned to his kinsmen, glad that the white haired child was at least clean and dressed in nicer clothing now, Kagami had managed that much at least then. “Sas-“ Kagami started and Sasuke just rolled his eye turning to the other children, “Dinner time then, please be nice to Kagami’s new student, he’s an orphan so he’ll be staying here with us but Kagami is his teacher so please be nice.”

All the children nodded seriously and wee!Dan immediately went over and coaxed pocket!Jiraiya down and away to wash his hands before dinner, leaving the adults alone in the garden. “It looks like you’re doing well with the child” Sakura giggled, laying a hand on Kagami’s arm and looking at the Uchha through her lashes and – oh. oh shit. Well. Sakura had always wanted an Uchiha and Sasuke guessed he should just be glad it wasn’t him anymore; Sasuke glanced at Naruto to see if the blonde had picked up on it and was unsurprised to see that Naruto looked excited and had stars in his eyes as he clasped his hands under his chin. Snorting Sasuke sauntered over and grabbed his blonde by the elbow to tow him inside, “Come on idiot, lets start dinner” he muttered, leaving Sakura to flirt with her prey.

Chapter Text

Sasuke wandered through the village market with Maemi Uchiha, the former kunoichi and current housewife pointing out all the best stalls and gossips (that was Asa Uchiha with the long hair in a woven knot that glinted with senbon saying "Did you hear they located poor Tobirama-sama? I hope he gets better soon. Poor Madara-sama must be fretting in the Pure Lands over how his love was treated... and by his students no less!" and Nozomi Inuzuka that was responding "I know! I can still remember that one day I caught Madara-sama checking out Tobirama-sama's...well, it was so adorable!" as she stroked her ninken, short hair falling in her eyes. Asa again with "I can’t believe he never went through with the courtship. It was so obvious they were meant for each other!" the third woman was Yuzuki Yūhi with the dark red eyes- she looked a lot like her descendent- who was tsking her tongue and shaking her head, “I still can’t believe that Hokage-sama wouldn’t send a team out after his teacher! What if that means he is willing to sacrifice one of our children like that?” and the fourth member of the group, the pretty Shimura- Yoshiko- had a sour look on her delicate face as she turned her nose in the air. “The Hokage-sama has only done what is best for the greatest amount of people, as he should.” The woman snipped and immediately the others rolled their eyes, the Inuzuka snorting in disbelief).

And there was Torifu, playing shogi with a Nara (Shou, brother to the clan head) muttering about the leak and how it got leaked that there was a leak so fast with a dark look on his face “-and I, well I just don’t know what Hiruzen is thinking these days. I thought I knew him fairly well back in our training days but now….well, would that Tobirama-sensei hadn’t had to give up the hat so fast.” The Nara hummed and something thoughtful glinted in his dark eyes as he glanced at Sasuke and the other Uchiha in the market, no doubt thinking of how Kagami had been the favorite student. The watching Yamanaka nodded, his eyes narrowed as he pounded back another cup of sake, huh, wasn’t he the one that had mind walked Sakura? No wonder he looked so unwell and deep in his cups. “I know what I saw” the Yamanaka said, slurring only a little and only a little over loud “and all I can say is that Nidaime-sama and Madara-sama, well…..and I wouldn’t want to bet that the Nidaime won’t wake up again, that hime once shoved her hand in someone’s chest and physically pumped his heart until she could heal them – which she did. I think he’ll make it with her working on him.” and the faint awe in his voice had Sasuke biting back a smile, it was about time that Sakura was given her due for the badass shit she did – it was just too bad that she wasn’t here to hear it.

“Tell me Sasuke-sama, how quickly are you going to start helping Kagami-sama with clan matters? I must say it's good of you to help him with them so he has time to spend with his new student.” Maemi asked politely (clever woman) and Sasuke ducked his head slightly in recognition of the question, finally saying “I started helping him with things yesterday, after all it is my blood’s responsibility as well to help with the clan.” Maemi giggled a little and waved him over to pick up some good mushrooms before resuming the conversation, “You do seem to have a strong sense of responsibility Sasuke-sama, it is good to see the honor of the clan so strong in you and your friends!” Sasuke ‘hn’ed and nodded to Matsui Senju who he had met when Bashira moved in yesterday, “It’s a side effect of being taught by a kitsune and then having one for a partner, Naruto knows our blood well and often pushed me to be the best of it and not give in to my baser instincts.” He was unaware of the faint smile pulling up the corner of his lips as he considered the long years that Naruto had chased him down and forced him to be better, to take the better path and not give in to the Curse of Hatred – Maemi was not unaware of it and fought down the need to coo at the tall solemn Uchiha, Sasuke-sama so rarely smiled and it was so sweet to see how much he clearly cared for the Kitsune! Was this peaceful strength what Madara-sama could have been like had he not lost his brother and – well maybe there was something to that Curse that Kagami-sama was always talking about and not giving into hate and choosing love instead. Such a pity Madara-sama couldn’t choose love for his hate! And whatever it was that had been hunting him, Maemi had heard about that, and it made her skin crawl.

“So you and Kitsune-sama are going to spar this afternoon?” Maemi asked as they picked out vegetables, Sasuke ignoring her snickering at his particularity with tomatoes as he nodded. “What is Qiānqiū-hime working on while you are doing that?” Sasuke considered and eyed the nearby Hatake arguing over venison and decided to risk it, “Sakura is working on something called IVF, in vitro fertilization, a way of becoming pregnant without a partner. We are all concerned about the lowering numbers of some of the clans and particularly the Hatake, but they are famously loyal to their mates and though we fear the clan dyeing- the Hatake are vital to the village and Naruto says the White Chakra is far too important to risk losing- we would never ask them to go against that loyalty.” Out of the corner  of his eye he could see Maemi staring at him, she had no doubt heard the ‘rumors’ about Naruto’s precognition and so would take it seriously but that was still quite the statement to come out with out of nowhere. (The Hatake the next booth over had gone quiet and had a complicated look on their face, their gray hair was long on the top and shaved on the sides and they had an androgynous face under a tumble of long braids; not someone Sasuke recognized- Frigg wore her hair long but in much simpler braids and dotted with white beads- but hopefully a useful person to have with that information. Hopefully.)

“That…” Maemi trailed off and then gathered herself, “well, that is quite the ambition and working to keep to Hatake clan strong would most certainly profit the village and – I should hate to see them lost. There are already so few Senju and the Mizuchi are all but gone after Issey died in that attempted Coup de ta that nearly killed the Nidaime-sama, only his wife and child left of the Family now – there was thirty of them when they joined you know, and now there is only two. Such a pity. I should hate to see the Hatake face the same fate.” The listening Hatake’s face hardened and something flashed through their dark eyes as they finished up their transaction and turned away, Sasuke neatly sliding his eyes away without letting on he had been watching their reaction. “There are many of the original Families that have been whittled down, I wouldn’t see it continue,” Sasuke shook his head, getting in one last shot before the Hatake was out of earshot “it's almost like some were targeted in an odd way, like Uncle was being hunted.” He clicked his tongue as the Hatake paused “Something is hunting in the shadows and doing its best to clip our roots to its shape and we would see that stopped – though I don’t know why the Hokage hasn’t acted on it yet, surely he can see it? Sense it?” and the Hatake’s back stiffened as ripples spread throughout the market.

Sasuke was rather looking forward to this, he knew he probably shouldn’t be, that sparing with Naruto would have to be a carefully curated affair that was balanced to show off just enough power without over playing their hand and letting on to either the Rinnegan or Tenko powers. Luckily even without those two gifts they had plenty of power to play with and enough to smack down anyone other than maybe Mito or the Nidaime, certainly enough to put some respect in the nin of Konoha without even breaking a sweat. Sasuke shed his mantle and kimono shirt, leaving him in mesh and mission pants, unsheathed chokuto sword in his one hand and not otherwise visibly armed – still, at least he had one weapon which was better than Naruto’s mesh and mission pants with no weapons; at least if you didn’t know that those long dark-red claws and tails were weapon enough on their own, it did at least appear that Naruto wasn’t going to be using the Hiraishin kunai – which, logical, that was a bit of a give away given the Nidaime hadn’t ever woken to teach him how to use it.

Naruto grinned, flashing long teeth and cracking his neck as he rotated the bandage covered prosthetic, the long claws on that hand having a metallic sheen that the organic hand didn’t. “Ready Sas?” he said, voice just below an excited fox yip as Sasuke rolled his eyes and nodded, swiping the chokuto through the air and missing Kusanagi, though that sword was long gone (broken in the war with the Ōtsutsuki a long time in the future), “Hn” he vocalized and Naruto laughed, tails lashing as the growing crowd of idling shinobi around the training ground grew restless. In a blur of gold and red Naruto exploded at Sasuke, his eye activating and snapping straight to the Eternal Mangekyō to track the speed with which Naruto was approaching and ignoring the surprised inhale from the crowd as he brought up the chokuto and blocked a slash from Naruto’s claws and twisted away from the other hand; snaking his sword along the line of the attack, point headed straight for Naruto’s shoulder until he twisted, sliding further into Sasuke’s space and lashing out with a tail at his legs even as his claws ghosted over the Uchiha’s stomach as Sasuke flipped back over the tail sweep, gaining space again to get the advantage and throwing a genjutsu at the Tenko as he did.

It was immediately swiped away by sharp claws even as it settled over many in the watching crowd Sasuke had thrown it with enough power as his eyes flickered over them with the movement of his flip. For a moment they paused, Naruto grinning like a menace and then lunging in to close distance again, tail headed for Sasuke’s head even as his claws went straight for the Uchiha’s throat; Sasuke smirked and bent back in a neat arch, chokuto bracing him as the chakra charged tail swept over his head, the power charging it so strong it was nearly visible. Twisting Sasuke kicked at Naruto’s feet and turned his head to spit a fire bullet of blue-white flame at his partner that made Naruto laugh as the chakra charged tail swatted the fire out of the air and threw a spinning rasengan straight at Sasuke’s face. Oh, fine, they were going to play it like this huh? Fine, black fire danced down the edge of the chokuto as Sasuke used Amaterasu and slashed at Naruto, nearly clipping his golden forelock as he danced bout out of range and then threw a wind jutsu back at Sasuke to blast back his fire jutsu in a wall of red flames that Sasuke dealt with by simply slicing through it with the Amaterasu charged blade; the black fire cutting the fire wall with ease (the watchers weren’t so lucky but that was their problem).

Another burst of jutsu, fire and wind and rasengan twisting together until a spinning tornado of flame was ragging through the field that neither Sasuke or Naruto were paying the slightest bit of attention to. It was not threat to them and batting it at each other was a nice distraction when Naruto either tried to get in close to claw him or Sasuke darted in, blade first to score a hit before the tails inevitably got in the way (this would be easier if he could use the Rinnegan) and he had to retreat to get distance before Naruto’s claws made too much of a mark on his mesh. They retreated and Naruto batted the tornado at Sasuke with his tail and Sasuke frowned, now annoyed as he brought raw chakra to bear on the burning twister and smothered it, nearly missing Naruto darting under its cover, long claws curling under Sasuke’s chin as the tip of the chokuto pressed to the blonde’s stomach. Together they froze for a moment and then Naruto grinned and slid around the blade to close the distance, hand curling around Sasuke’s neck as he ducked closer for a lingering kiss that Sasuke granted him – audience or no audience.

Chapter Text

Sakura frowned tightly down at her notes, wishing either Orochimaru or Tobirama-sensei were here to go over her hypothesis or give her new ideas to further her research. Sasuke’s idea for IVF was a good one and the best way to get around the Hatake vanishing (and even the Senju if they got Senju to be donners, then the Senju blood could merge with the Hatake and though the clan would still die out as the Shodaime and Nidaime had wanted the blood would continue which was needed) without asking them to take new mates or a mass Edo (could someone brought back by the Edo Tensei even produce viable seed?) which was just, not a good option in a lot of ways (it wasn’t). What she really needed was a second opinion from someone that knew something about this and – there was a knock at the door and Sakura sat up, frowning as she slipped out of her lab/study/clinic on the first floor and headed for the front door just as Bashira appeared at the top of the steps, snek!Oro and pocket!Jiraiya both following her with a pouting ity!Tsuna dragging on behind (her mother was watching the spar as the Senju clan head- though there were only really twenty-ish Senju left now to be head of-).

Sakura met the other woman’s golden eyes and shook her head, pleased when Bashira retreated into the shadows of the hall and gathered the children in close. In front of the door she checked that her clothing and hair were neat and then opened it with one hand charged with chakra behind her back (she had already chased off one proto Root agent from the house, she didn’t want to have to do it again) only to relaxed slightly at the sight of Hatake gray hair. As far as she knew Danzo hadn’t gotten to any Hatake and given their rabid loyalty it would take a lot to turn one so Sakura wasn’t too worried – yet. “Hello?” Sakura greeted after a moment, looking the androgynous Hatake with the wild braids over with curiosity, the person smiled a knife thin smile and held out a hand for a slightly over-firm handshake, “Gerðr Hatake” (ah, the clan head, interesting) “you are Sakura Qiānqiū?” Sakura nodded and stepped back, waving the Hatake into the house.

“Hatake-sama, welcome to my home, would you like some tea?” shit, Sakura was not the best at this, Naruto was much better at this whole host thing, but he wasn’t here, he was halfway across the village showing off for the watching of Konoha’s good and great. Gerðr followed her, looking around with sharp eyes as Sakura gathered the things for tea and led the way into the tearoom with the nice view out into the garden where she sat and set down the tray of tea, waving for the Hatake to sit down across from her. Gerðr sat with nearly palpable wariness but said nothing as Sakura prepared the tea and set it to stepping, sitting back and neatly folding her hands into her lap and cocking her head at the Hatake. “Now, what brings you to my humble house Hatake-sama?” she asked bluntly, not bothering with trying to look like anything other than what she was in the face of Gerðr’s obviously raised hackles. The dark gray eyes narrowed and the Hatake slanted a sharp look at her for a long enough moment that she could serve the tea, “I heard in the market that you are looking into a way for my clan to have cubs without breaking our oaths to our mates.” They said abruptly and Sakura kept her face clear with an act of will; Sasuke had told her that he had mentioned it in the market but not that the Hatake clan head had overheard.

Placidly Sakura stirred her tea once and then sipped it, looking up to meet impatient eyes evenly, “Yes, I am working on something called IVF, in vitro fertilization, it is a complicated procedure and I haven’t finished it yet” (after all it had only just been in the process of being discovered in the future before the Last War had derailed everything so Sakura was working form an only partially finished procedure with tech that was decades old) “but I am making progress and expect to finish it in time – time enough that you clan need not face extinction for your loyalty.” Gerðr’s face darkened, their lip curling up in anger, “And what makes you think that the Hatake would be interested in your ‘procedure’?” they snarled and Sakura raised an unimpressed eyebrow, leaning forward over the table and letting her chakra leak out around her, like a large Komainu crouching at her back; the brush of hot breath nearly palpable as she forced the Hatake to back down and stop fucking attacking her.

“I think” Sakura purred “that your clan would be very interested, I think that Sakumo would love to have more agemates and that the pack needs more pups, that you are drifting without pups to take care of and losing clan to missions that shouldn’t be deadly because they feel pack-less and can’t move past the loss of their mate.” Gerðr had recoiled a little and paled at Sakura’s blunt words “I think that you- like every smart clan head- have looked into what Naruto is and what he can do and know that when I say that if things continue as they are the Hatake will die out in three generations and with it the White Chakra and I think that you as the clan head know what mandate comes with that chakra; the responsibility that comes with it and keeping it in the world, the mandate from the kami that will be lost and doom the world if it is allowed.” Gerðr’s jaw went tight and they looked away, throat moving in a hard swallow as they finally picked up their tea and took a sip. “Naruto has seen a final war, a war of bones and ash, and we will do whatever we must to see that it does not come to pass; the Hatake are key to that, my recommendation is that the Hatake do everything they can to bring their clan back to full power and remembrance of what the White Chakra is.”

A long pause “And the fathers? Who would the fathers be?” well, that was better than it had been before and now Sakura had to decide…”It would be the mother’s right to choose of course but I would recommend Senju, they have strong blood that will be needed-“ Gerðr shot her a dark look “Tobirama wanted his clan-“ and then they cut themself off, clearly not sure if they should say anything. Sakura sighed, “I am aware of the pattern of the Senju clan and the Nidaime’s wishes for the name to die out, but the blood can not be allowed to do the same. Not with what hangs in the balance.” Gerðr eyed her with open curiosity, their hackles lowered finally as she looked over Sakura for a long moment as the kunoichi sipped her tea, “You are….different, all three of you. It is to be expected of a kitsune and the child of the Uchiha madness but you….you are something new, something we have not seen before in Fire. A change.” Sakura kept her gaze level with work and said nothing even as all the hair on her arm stood up at that piercing look, “A change may be just what we need, if you would hime, keep me appraised of your progress with your ‘IVF’, it is past time I reviewed the old texts and spoke to Okami-sage and the clan will await your word with anticipation.”

(Oh hells, now she really needed Tobirama to wake up) Graciously Sakura nodded and murmured her assent. They finished their tea in silence and Sakura showed the Hatake to the door, shoulders slumping as soon as it was closed and sagging forward to lean on it; not bothering to catch herself when it opened again as she could feel Kagami on the other side and slumping into his chest sounded like a very nice way to pick up her mood – especially since it made him flail so much even as he didn’t move her. Still, after a moment she straightened herself up and apologized to the blushing Uchiha, pleased at the way his hand lingered on her elbow and his dark eyes were worried on her face, “Sakura-hime?” (the most informality she had been able to convince him to use with her) he asked, looking concerned. Sakura sighed and waved a hand, flipping her hair over her shoulder and waving the Uchiha further in as she went to get the tea things and take them to the sink. “It’s nothing Kagami, just a stressful visit from Hatake-sama; they came looking for a fight and it took a bit to change their mind.” Kagami frowned at that, looking amusingly insulted as he followed her through the house, “The Hatake should be grateful that you are willing to expend so much time and energy working on something to benefit their clan without any expectation of reward!” he snapped, dark eyes alight and bright and, oh dear, this was why he had been Tobirama-sensei’s favorite and – shoot, Sakura had thought she liked him before, but this, this was rather different.

“Yes, well, I think they saw it as more of a threat than a gift. At least until I talked them around” Sakura muttered awkwardly, fighting down the flush she could feel climbing her cheeks as Bashira descended the stairs with the children who promptly raced outside to tumble in the garden – something they were allowed to do as long as they didn’t mess it up and only roughhoused on the gravel square. Bashira’s golden eyes flicked from Kagami’s indignant expression to Sakura’s faintly pink cheeks and the kunoichi could see the delighted glint light up in those golden eyes; oh hells, she was in for a lot of teasing for this…Luckily Bashira had the good manners not to do so in front of Kagami himself and merely asked if he was staying for dinner as she was the best cook out of all of them and did most dinners since she had moved in. Kagami nodded, holding up a stack of papers for Sasuke (it was good he had claimed a study on the first floor, though not, notably, Madara’s) to look over since he was helping with clan matters now.

“How did the spar go?” Sakura asked as she set the table, and a funny look crossed Kagami’s face, “It….I never thought to see the like of Shishou and Hashirama-sama again in Konoha but…clearly I was wrong, it was a hell of a fight and anyone with eyes could tell they were holding back to keep from making too much of a mess” (among other things) “so, well, I have no doubt they could rend another valley in the world if they so choose. I am glad they are not set against each other as Shishou and Hashirama-sama were” at that Sakura had to snort, giggling into her sleeve “’Not set against each other’ is a polite way of putting it” she snickered “I know how their spars end Kagami, I was there the time they first kissed after trying to beat the tar out of each other and am very familiar with how it goes with them.” Kagami flushed ducked his head, a wry smile pulling at his mouth as he took over stirring the rice while Bashira went to call in the children to was and send ity!Tsuna home when a haunted Matsui knocked on the door for her daughter.

“What’s wrong?” Sakura asked quietly under the ruckus, shifting closer to Kagami and gently hip checking him as he grimaced, “I – all I could think while watching them was that, that was what Sensei and Shishou could have been like if things had been different. They were so well suited to fight each other and, well, Shishou always called fighting ‘dancing’ and watching them I could see what he meant and I just thought – he and Sensei would have been so well suited for each other; seeing them spar like that would have been beautiful.” And that – well, sure Sakura had been spreading the rumor to piss off Madara but that…she didn’t quite know what to do with that so she did the only thing she could and shifted to pull Kagami into a firm hug. The Uchiha was only half a head taller than her and easily able to hide his face in her shoulder as his back shivered under her hands and Sakura held him just a little bit tighter, trying to be a bulwark against the endless sorrow that had filled his life and the painful ‘what-ifs’ that seemed to torment so many Uchiha.

Chapter Text

Sakura was in the Nidaime’s room charging the seals and keeping a passive eye on Torifu Akimichi and Koharu Utatane as they visited their teacher when she felt it and the seals near his head started flashing (kami what she wouldn’t give for modern medical equipment, she was making up enough of it as she went- she now had a reputation as an inventor to her chagrin and the healing hall was slowly adopting things she had created- and filling the gaps with seals Naruto was making for her, but it sucked). But that – that – it had only been two weeks since they had gotten him back to Konoha and – Sakura shoved that thought to the side and raced to the Nidaime’s side, pressing a hand to his forehead and chest to trickle chakra into him; trying to coax him further awake. It wouldn’t last long from the readings she was getting but even long enough to answer a few questions and make sure his mind was sound would be enough for Sakura at this point, “Come on” she muttered “come on, you can do it, just a little, just once, come on” her chakra flared, like a prowling Komainu behind her roaring and the heart seal flashed brightly and then – the slanted red eyes slit open, pupils pining and blowing as he tried to adjust to the light and Sakura snapped a command at someone to pull the shades.

“Nidaime-sama, Tobirama, do you know where you are?” Sakura asked firmly as the door creaked open and the Senju winced, “Naruto stay at the door, your chakra is too much for his senses right now.” an agreeing noise and Sakura kept her focus on her patient, “Tobirama, do you know where you are?” a long pause and a shaking female hand held out a glass of water with a straw that Sakura shifted to let the man drink a little, “not to much, it will hurt his stomach” Koharu made an agreeing sound. “Do you know where you are?” she asked one last time as the albino’s (and he was an albino, Sakura wondered why that was never in the history books) eyes focused, blinking and then asking “Madara?” which – Sakura had to take a moment and absorb that. Clearly the man meant that he was in Madara’s house but – that was not they way it sounded; it sounded like he was asking after Madara and right on time a broken sounding Koharu breathed, “Oh, Sensei, Madara-sama died, remember? You retrieved his body.” And Tobirama blinked, sensitive eyes tearing from the light in the room as water trailed down his cheeks (wellp, that was a rumor gaining its own life right there), “Oh. R-right. Feels like Madara-“  shit, this was painful, as was the sound of Naruto trying not to laugh at the door though luckily it sounded like coughing and he was moving away from the door now. “You are in Madara’s former home in the Uchiha district” Sakura interrupted “I am Sakura Qiānqiū and I am the medic who has been taking care of you, it was me and my pact brother that brought you back.”

The red eyes brightened and the tall body tensed, “The leak!” he rasped out and Sakura pressed him back into the bed as his eyes fluttered with exhaustion “Is known about – the whole village knows-“ “What is Saru doing-?” Sakura hesitated in the face of that question, glancing at a stone faced Torifu who shook his head, “I don’t know, the Hokage doesn’t speak to me about such things” Sakura said, trying for diplomacy and the Nidaime’s brow furrowed, eyes fluttering as he breathed “Should have…Kagami” and passed out again. Behind her Koharu stifled a sob and Torifu’s jaw was so tight she was a little worried he was going to hurt his teeth, “Is he going to be ok?” the Akimichi asked grimly and Sakura sighed, “Yes, I know this was stressful but it’s a good thing really. He’s woken once that means he is more likely to wake again and he clearly is tracking and cognizant which it a very good thing. It is a very promising start Torifu, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”

The Akimichi nodded once sharply and pressed a big hand to his teacher’s shoulder before turning to leave, wrapping an arm around an increasingly easy to deal with Koharu (Mito had done as she was prompted and taken the girl under her wing, pulling her out of the orbit of Sarutobi and Danzo and much for the better for it as far as Sakura could see). There was a small sound and the shrunken six tailed fox under the bed poked her nose out, Okemia eyeing Sakura with sharp eyes over her pale muzzle, “As soon as word gets out that he has woken up and expressed doubt in Sarutobi there will be more attempts to get in.” the summons (fast becoming Naruto’s favorite – and not just because at six tails she could change her size) said and Sakura’s jaw tightened. So far she had sent off the proto-Root agent that had come to the door by just not letting him in and the other they tried had been rebuffed by Naruto’s seals but now….now they would be dealing with a real attempt to get rid of the Nidaime before he could worsen the unrest that was growing about Sarutobi’s rule. “I know, we’ll have to go over the defenses and speak to Kagami about it; kami we need to know more about what is going on in the Hokage’s office."

“Send in a summons” Okemia offered “the Uchiha has small enough snakes for that does he not?” and Sakura gapped at the fox for a moment before sinking down to sit in the chair next to the bed, scrubbing her face with a hand and swearing under her breath. “Why didn’t I think of that?” she muttered bitterly “That’s such an obvious solution and we never even considered – ugh.” Okemia snorted and moved closer, one of her tails brushing over Sakura’s legs, “No use crying over broken eggs, just raid the coop again and move on” the fox advised wisely, licking at one paw before jumping to curl up on the window ledge “now go eat and pass on the news, I will keep watch tonight.” Nodding Sakura checked the seals one last time and then headed down to dinner, resigned to telling Naruto and Sasuke about Okemia’s idea after dinner given that the children and Bashira were there for dinner (though no Kagami tonight, no she was not disappointed).

Sakura watched on the engawa as Sasuke sent off Hisako (a small, dark, horned-snake summons that could hide in the shadows quite well) to try and get a feel for the word from the Hokage’s office; mostly at this point they were worried about where Konoha stood in terms of the historical war that should be waiting in the wings, it was that that made this worth the risk when they hadn’t considered it before. With a sigh she scrubbed a hand over her face and nodded to Sasuke as he went inside, trying to think through what she was going to teach snek!Oro today, they were working on chakra control as well as anatomy but maybe she should check and see if Oro had the snake contract yet? Bashira did she knew as all the Mizuchi Family had but at what age were you added to the contract? Sakumo was already on the Hatake one and had a gamboling white wolf cub that followed him around sometimes (Sakura privately thought that the clan had let him have it at his age to make up for a lack of agemates so he had someone to pay with but wasn’t going to be asking, not with only having just gotten Gerðr to like her), but he was several years older than Oro was. It infuriated her no little amount to know that the Nidaime had set up the academy so that the youngest you could join was eight even if training with your clan was more than encouraged before that (another thing Sarutobi had changed for child soldiers) and – wait, wait, what about Dai Might? As far as Sakura knew the Might’s weren’t a shinobi family so he wouldn’t have had any extra training and – oh dear she had better go find him and pull him into the fold, she owed that to Konoha’s Green Beast and the sheer damage he had done in the last days of his life.

Goodness they were collecting a lot of children at this point, luckily all of them were smart enough to avoid rooms that were sealed off (well, not pocket!Jiraiya but that was to be expected really and he had learned after a few shocks and now spent a lot of time just following Kagami around wide eyed and desperate for attention as the big, long haired, golden retrieving dogs that Sakura had seen in Water once) and entertain – what -

……nothing, the sound of her breathing and the water features in the garden and…..Sakura whipped around, senbon flashing from her fingers as her chakra flared in the warning pattern. Thud, thud, thud, thud, the senbon bit into the wood of the outside of the house just under the Nidaime’s window and the camouflaged figure peeled off the wood, falling back into the garden silently as Sakura raced forward, chakra blazing at her fingertips as Sasuke burst through the door out of the house after her – a moment to late as Sakura’s paralyzing strike slammed into the back of the Root agent, fingertips no doubt fracturing his spine. “Sakura” Sasuke asked, voice hard, “He was climbing under the Nidaime’s window” she ground out, “Naruto needs to up the perimeter seals, but we have our fish now” Sasuke nodded and vanished back in the house to tell Naruto to raise the seal to full power, something they had been loath to do and, well, having a proto-Root agent to interrogate had its uses.

Briskly Sakura frisked the figure (man, young, not older than fifteen and thin), prying his mouth open to check for suicide pills/seals/or other traps and roughly prying out a tooth with a cyanide capsule; still there was no death seal or tongue locking seal yet so, that was very positive as far as she was concerned. Satisfied he wasn’t going to be able to die before they could ask him some questions Sakura heaved him over her shoulder and turned to the house, nodding to Kagami (Sasuke must have sent for him, smart) and carrying the larger figure with her into the house and down to the underground room that they had prepared for just this situation. There were three down here, one that was sealed off with the strongest blessed seal Naruto could make, one that was the beginnings of a lab and one that was heavily reinforced for just this eventuality. “Are we not taking him to the Tower?” Kagami asked as they descended, more passive curiosity than any censor, “No” Sakura grunted, trying not to bang her hostage’s head on the narrow stairs “Or not yet, we want his information first since he was attacking us here and – well” she bit her lip, she didn’t want to hurt Kagami but….maybe it was time for him to know about Danzo. “There’s more going on then we’ve mentioned yet-“ “I gathered” the Uchiha interjected dryly and Sakura smirked weakly “-and this is tied up in that. I want to know some things before he conveniently goes missing.” And that did make Kagami tense behind her.

In the cell Sakura stripped the man to his mission pants and unwrapped all his wrappings to find any hidden weapons, grimacing at the look she didn’t recognize though it seemed that Kagami did if his sharp inhalation was anything to go by. “That – that’s a Kohaku” Kagami breathed “we thought the Family gone but that skin tone, the bronze skin and the tattoos on the hands, he’s definitely a Kohaku.” Sakura paused as Sasuke and Naruto slipped in the small room, glancing at the Uchiha head “Kohaku?” Kagami shot her a strange look but answered anyway, “They were a vassal Family to the Uchiha, they were few by the time the village formed and many died in the last war, as I said we thought them gone and now there is one of them here?” so, typical Danzo then, Sakura thought caustically, seeing the same thought in Sasuke’s eyes.

“Well” she said, shifting so that Naruto could get close enough to check the Root agent for seals “lets see what he has to say about how he ended up trying to sneak into the Nidaime’s room with rather a lot of poison then.”

Chapter Text

Naruto hated this, years of war had never hardened him to interrogation the way that it should have and he was more than willing to let Sakura take the lead; she had always been the best at it, at the hardening and segregation off of humanity that was needed for effective interrogation (Sasuke took it too much to heart and it wasn’t healthy for him and Naruto just couldn’t do it, not unless he was the only option and then, well, he had learned fear from Kurama; he could use it if he had to). So as soon as the man was clear Naruto slipped back to lean against the wall by the door, out of the bright light in the shadows where he could loom menacingly as Sakura took up pride of place and twisted her hair up and back, holding it in place with a few senbon as Sasuke’s Sharingan activated; Kagami watching with a tight look but not arguing as Sakura hit a few points and released the Root agent's head and chest to breath and blink and move while his limbs were still paralyzed. “Hello” Sakura purred, twirling a trailing lock of hair around her finger “I’m Sakura, who are you?”

The teen stared at her, wide eyed and clearly afraid of Naruto’s looming presence and Sasuke’s glowing eye; it was the wrong thing to fear and Sakura proved it as she jammed her fingers into a never cluster and the teen whimpered, clearly trying to move away and then even more afraid when he couldn’t even though he wasn’t tied down. “I asked you a quest-ion” the woman sing-songed “what is your name? Trust me, this is the easiest question I am going to ask you.” on the last her voice dropped to a throaty purr and to Naruto’s flash of amusement Kagami shifted, looking entranced with Sakura. “I – I – I don’t have one” the kid finally forced out “I’m just called Twelve” and that, that forced and angry growl to rumble out of Naruto, the unnatural depth of it shaking the room slightly and clearly terrifying the teen. Sakura glanced back at him and her jaw was tight with frustration, no one wanted to hurt and frighten a fucking child but, well, they knew how Root agents worked and there was little other choice.

“You’re more than just Twelve” that was Kagami, stepping up and crouching to be closer to the teen’s level as he took a limp hand “I am an Uchiha, I am the Uchiha, and I know a Kohaku when I see one. You had a name, you have a name, you are one of the Kohaku Family and my responsibility and I know this is scary but you are more than a number.” alright, apparently they had another option as the kid was staring at Kagami looking entranced, his bronze skin shinning with fear-sweat “And I am sorry we have to ask these questions of you, but we need to know, were you here to kill the Nidaime?” the teen hesitated clearly wanting to tell Kagami and wavering, “I’ll be killed” he breathed to the Uchiha and Kagami nodded, looking grim “If you tell they’ll kill you” he agreed “but if you don’t –“ he hesitated “-if you don’t I don’t know that you won’t be killed anyway.” He was wavering and Naruto chewed his lip, thinking of the seals he had made to help with the brainwashing for the other Root children, wondering if it would help here and – but something tired and broken was dawning in the teen’s eyes, “If I go back he’ll kill me anyway.” A hesitation “You said I have a name? A real name?”

Kagami nodded, eyes kind and dark “I don’t know any living Kohaku that still carry the name so I don’t know what your mother would have named you, but I know you are Kohaku and I know how they called their kids so. You could be Ramin Kohaku, it means rescued from pain because I can tell you from the blessing tattooed on your skin that you were loved by someone, you were cherished before you were just a number and you deserve to be saved.” And the kid broke, tears bright in his eyes and sliding down his cheeks “I want to be Ramin” he breathed “I want to die Ramin not Twelve” and Kagami nodded, jaw tight, “I don’t intend to let you die but if you do Ramin it will not be as a number.” He promised, Sharingan flashing to back his oath. Ramin hiccupped and nodded as Sakura removed the last of the paralysis, helping him sit up against the thin pillow on the hard bed and wipe his face before drinking some water; shifting to nurse seamlessly to Kagami’s stary-eyed observation. (Perhaps, thought Naruto, they had been at war too long, and as he exchanged a look with Sasuke he felt a tried sorrow that they hadn't even tried this before turning to pain; perhaps they had been at war too long.)

“He sent me to kill the Nidaime, said that his time was over and it was time the younger generation took over Konoha and then told me to make it look like the medic messed up – or sabotaged the Nidaime, either way as long as they were discredited.” Ramin told them in a small voice “He said that it was for the good of the village and that if the Nidaime had been tainted by the Uchiha he was lost to them anyway.” “Who is he?” Sakura asked, her voice walking the line of kind and firm, Ramin sent her a nervous look and twisted his hands, “I don’t – I –“ a deep shuddering breath “Danzo-sama” he whispered and Kagami went white as a sheet. “How did you end up with him?” Sakura asked with that same mix of kind and firm and the teen shrugged, “I was an orphan, I liked the orphanage and the Nidaime visited us from time to time but then Danzo-sama found me and said I had promise, that I could be one of his students and I – I wanted to be useful so I left with him rather than join the Academy, there were a few other, mostly contacts and friends of Danzo-sama, people that owe him things; people from his clan you know, that sort of thing. I wasn’t alone much I was just always training.” Naruto’s jaw bunched with anger, not doubt he had broken his normal pattern to target the Kohaku in order to target the Uchiha but knowing that he already had the beginnings of a web fall back on…that was worrisome, as was the way that Ramin had spoken of the Nidaime visiting with clear affection and somehow didn’t connect that to trying to kill him at all; he needed a Yamanaka.

“Sakura do you have this?” Naruto asked and she nodded, settling down for the long process of pulling every little bit of information out of the agent that they could as the blonde slipped out of the room, followed by Kagami though the Uchiha only leaned on the closed, thick door and covered his face with his hands. “Kagami?” Naruto asked softly and the other man’s shoulders shivered though when he dropped his hands his eyes were dry, “There has been something wrong with Danzo for years now, ever since it became clear that it was either me or Saru he has been…But I never imagined, I knew he was jealous and, well, my opinion about his relationship with Saru has long been unwanted but this-! And after Saru not sending anyone after Sensei…I just wonder…” he trailed off and Naruto winced, not sure what to say to all of this but maybe; in the future that wasn’t Tobirama-sensei had told him a lot about the clans and Families of his day and Naruto had remembered so maybe it would help Kagami to know. “The Shimura have long been angered by their lack of bloodline, they were a samurai clan for many years- that is why they have the Daimyo’s favor- and after they transitioned it has often bothered them to lack the power they see in the other clans. Rumor has it they sought a way to transplant the Sharingan in the Warring Clans years though they never succeeded.” Kagami paled dramatically at that information “They have long wanted a bloodline by hook or by crook and the Sarutobi have…interesting ideas about the value of children and childhood along with own hidden bloodline; the secrets of the wars in the other clans have not gone away simply because you all live in one place now and the Nidaime was never good enough with people to break the secrets open and cleanse them they way they need - something he well knows though he probably doesn't know about the Sarutobi's mindset and secrets.” (after all that information had come from Orochimaru, not Tobirama-sensei.)

Kagami gapped at him and them slowly shut his mouth, something strange flickering over his face in the shadowy hall; for a long moment he held his silence and thought and then his jaw firmed. “I hope Sasuke truly is willing to be clan head” he said finally and something in Naruto relaxed “I can’t say I like it but…things have to change.” And then he turned and slipped back inside the room as Naruto climbed the stairs, glad the children were out playing with Uchiha children in the centralized garden that had been set up for this purpose in the Uchiha section. He wanted to check the seals again.

Much later that night after a quiet dinner where Kagami took food down to Ramin - who he had claimed as the responsibility of the Uchiha clan and was going to send one of the clan to the orphanage to check if there was more of the Kohaku there though they didn’t expect that – Danzo would have already claimed them if there was. Naruto poured out tea at the table, nodding to Bashira who ghosted up the stairs- she had chosen to stay out of their affairs unless they needed her so she could focus on the children and finishing getting better- and waiting for his pact to come find him as soon as Sakura was done checking the Nidaime. Over dinner the children had told them about their new Uchiha friends Asuka and Touma, who just happened to be the grandchildren of two of the most conservative Elders of the clan – though luckily the Elders had less power now than they had before the forming of the village. And Sakumo and Oro had started planning to branch out and gather children from more clans if they could to play together; they already had the Senju heir given that ity!Tsuna hung out with them a good half the time so collecting a few more shouldn’t be an issue (Sakura had told them to find Dai Might, someone that Naruto couldn’t believe he had forgotten about!). Naruto was more than a little impressed that the children were having quite so much success with collecting friends in the right places but it seemed that Sakumo, Oro, and Dan were a winning combination when it came to making friends even if Oro was quite a bit younger and still more than a little antisocial - Sakumo seemed to make up for that with his adoration of the Mizuchi and compensation for Oro's faults.

Sakura came down the stairs and slumped at the table, curling her hands around her cup of tea as Sasuke slipped out of the shadows of the house, pressing his hand to Naruto’s back warmly before he sat next to the blond and they sat waiting for Kagami. Eventually the Uchiha head emerged from downstairs face grim though it lightened when he saw Sakura holding out a cup of tea to him which he gratefully took as he sat next to her. “So” Naruto said quietly “how bad is it?” Sakura sighed again and tilted a hand back and forth, a mixed look on her face, “Bad, definitely bad, but it could be worse.” (so, not Root yet, more Rootlets then full on Root; well, that was something) Kagami grimaced and sipped at his tea, hissing at the heat. “I have known for years that Danzo was…creating contacts in his clan and the others his clan is close to, circles of friends and hangers on – awestruck younger Gennin and Chūnin that wanted to be closer to the student of the Nidaime. He curried favors in those he could and debts where he needed and used his influence in ways that…I never approved of, but Sensei was too busy to do anything about and I never told him as I didn’t want to ‘tell on’ a teammate.” He snorted “Sensei has never been great with people and he knows it, I think he hoped that we would help him with that but we always….well, none of us stepped up in the end. Not even when we should have told him about Danzo’s currying influence; and by the time Danzo really focused on Saru…they got together after that mission when we thought Sensei was dead and it was said that it was the emotion of the loss ect, ect, ect; but now I wonder….”

Sakura covered one of his hands with hers and smiled gently at him, looking soft and lovely in the low light with her hair cascading over her shoulder, “It’s not your fault Kagami, yes maybe you could have done things differently but its still not your fault that they went the way they did. If things had gone the way they should have Madara would have become Hokage and the Nidaime would have stayed in the position he was good at as second to the Hokage – hell maybe it would have even been made official that the Hokage had a second, that would certainly be good. You are fighting generations of trauma and damage, that is a lot to take on especially when you are young” and she would know, they all would; this time they just hoped to nip it a little closer to the bud. Kagami closed his eyes and slumped a little, sagging into himslef and flipping his hand to grasp Sakura’s back tightly, “Maybe” he murmured, “maybe, it just doesn’t feel like it.” “No” Sasuke agreed softly “it never does.”

Chapter Text

Naruto curled his tails around Sakura where she was leaning on him staring out the window at the stars, tightening his arm around Sasuke where the Uchiha was leaning on him, all of them enjoying the quiet time together until Naruto broke it, “Do you ever think we spent too long at war?” he asked quietly. Sasuke snorted and slipped down to put his head in the blonde’s lap, absently stroking a tail as Sakura shifted where she was leaning on him, “Of course we did. We were child soldiers in a village of child soldiers and spent so long fighting the Ōtsutsuki in one way or another that we actually decided going back in time was the best option.” Sakura snorted at the caustic tone in Sasuke’s voice though his hands were very gentle still on Naruto’s fur, “I know what you’re thinking Naru” the woman of their pact murmured, not looking down from the stars “you’re wondering how broken we are and how much we are doing wrong because we only know how to go for the pain when presented with a weak point. Your wondering if we’re not going to make this all worse on accident because it is all we know.”

As always she had hit the nail on the head and Naruto sighed deeply, leaning his head back against hers and wondering who she thought about when she looked at the stars, which of their dead she saw in the flickering celestial fire. “And I think you are right that we need to be careful of that, that we have to remember to be gentle when we can- though now we have Kagami for that, you know we will have to tell him sometime- but you can’t forget that in the end we are readying them for a war, just not the war they think they are going to be fighting. They have to be strong and unyielding and unbending as we were, and they have to do better if we are going to win the Last War this time.” One that none of them but Naruto would live to see; it was something that they never, ever spoke of but the truth was that someday they would be old and dead and Naruto would not, he would live on and linger in the world until he had seen out the Last War for a second time and only then would he look to find a way to join them in the Pure Lands (he, more than any of them, could not lose his edge).

“Hey, we’re already making progress” Sasuke said, awkward as he always was when he had to be the positive one “the Hatake have already agreed to the IVF when it's done and I have no doubt the Senju will be donors and the other clans we need to keep an eye on will be fine if we can stop having so many wars which we can do by freeing the Bijuu as soon as Kagami is in office. We are making progress on getting Sarutobi out and with him Danzo and when we do we can work on the Hyuuga and start looking for Madara and Zetsu.” Naruto made a disgruntled noise, “You know we’ll have to split up right? I’ll have to go after the Bijuu while one of you goes looking for info on Madara and Zetsu and then I’ll have to go deal with them. Sasuke won’t be able to leave as Uchiha clan head and Sakura will have too many patients” (and not enough raw power honestly) “I’ll be the only one that will be able to leave without to many questions and – honestly I can only put of going after the Bijuu so long, especially if Hisako brings back news that war is brewing.”

There was a long silence after that as Sasuke’s jaw tightened and Sakura went stiff before she finally blew out a sharp breath, “We’ll wait and see what Hisako says, we still need more to work with before we can get enough clan heads to do a vote of no confidence in Sarutobi – or for Danzo to really fuck something up and drag him down with him.” Naruto forced himself to give an amused snort at that, unwilling to drag the mood down with how much he hated having to leave the for even the shortest amount of time, not after the last years of the War when they were never out of arm's reach and curled together under the slowly going out stars for comfort as their numbers were whittled down and down and down (and down, someday it would be only him, only Naruto in the world with those he loved long gone). “Fine, we’ll wait and see what Hisako says and hope Kagami has some ideas on how to make a vote go through faster if needed.” He said finally, drawing his fingers through Sasuke’s hair to see his Rinnegan eye, savoring this moment and wishing a little he had the Sharingan to preserve this when it was gone (no he didn’t, he knew too well the cost of grief that couldn’t grieve).

Hisako returned the next day in the late afternoon just after they finished with their students and Kagami had left with Ramin (his plan was both hilarious and audacious, simply reintroducing the teen as Ramin Kohaku and a ward of the Uchiha clan that they were overjoyed to have found! Wasn’t it wonderful! Let Danzo make of that what he would, Naruto would seal the house Ramin settled in and the teen had been told not to leave the Uchiha section or be alone unless he was under Naruto’s seals; hopefully it would drive Danzo up the wall not knowing how much they knew about his plans and if Sasuke was right it might very well make him slip up in anger). The small snake curled up Sasuke’s arm as they finished talking to their students and Naruto reluctantly sent Sakumo away with a ruffle of his soft gray hair, pleased to see the Hatake hug Oro before he left and fist bump Dan (Dai’s influence no doubt, the boy was going to join them tomorrow for training, raising the number of their kids to six even if pocket!Jiraiya was mostly Kagami’s and ity!Tsuna spent a lot of time with her clan), Dan rolled his eyes and said his goodbyes more softly (he was the oldest and some days it showed) before heading out as Oro slipped inside to go find him mother, leaving them alone in the garden.

Scanning around for chakra near them Naruto threw out a few silencing seals and they all clustered together to hear what Hisako had to say. The small snake lifted her head and gave them what was a grave look for a snake, “There is talk of war” she said immediately, not beating around the bush “it is slow but word has gotten out that the Nidaime isn’t what he was and the other countries are getting restless. Amegakure wants power and Suna thinks they have it with a young jinchuriki, Iwa is hesitating but if the other two go to war they will as well. Sarutobi said that he will abolish the age limit on the academy tomorrow at Danzo’s prompting.” Fuck. That…was not what he wanted to hear (though, it did mean that Sakumo, Oro and Dan could all go together and end up on a team if they played their cards right. Played their child soldier cards right, kami). Naruto sat back on his heels and rubbed at his face for a long moment, finally speaking into his hands “Tomorrow I leave for Ame, the Salamander needs to die and then I will go for the one-tail. That should slow the aggression if nothing else.” Sasuke sucked in a sharp breath and his jaw tightened as he lurched to his feet and stalked as far as he could without leaving the seals, speaking with his back to them “Once you go after one of them you will have to go after all of them” he ground out and Naruto shrugged helplessly, “Do you have a better idea?”

Sasuke said nothing, his hand fisting at his side as Sakura glowered at the ground, Naruto sighed and sat back on his heels, rubbing his face again and trying to think through what he would need to do to get ready for Shukaku (ask one of his summons to go to the Tanuki summons and ask about Shukaku living with them, figure out where Shukaku was and who he was in at this point in time and then – well a lot of it would have to be figured out while he was on the go). “Alright” Sasuke said finally “alright, fine, you have to go. We can’t – we can’t do war right now but, no going after Zetsu or Madara ok? Just Hanzo and one-tails and then you come back, ok? Things are volatile here and we need you, I know all our students will go straight into the academy and at least this way Oro can stay with Sakumo and Dan even with the age difference, but until Kagami is under the hat things are going to be too unbalanced here for you too be gone long, got it?” Naruto nodded easily, he didn’t like leaving anymore than they did, he just didn’t see another option without a war on the horizon unless they wanted to let the war happen and then just smash the opposing sides on their own – which they more than could do but, well, it would be playing a hand they didn’t want to play yet and might get Sarutobi too much credit (though they still might have to do it if killing the Salamander and freeing Shukaku wasn’t enough, just, try to make sure that it was clear that they were doing it for Kagami not Sarutobi maybe?).

Jaw still tight Sasuke turned back to them and hauled Naruto to his feet and into a heated kiss, “You’re coming back to me” he hissed and Naruto smiled, cupping his cheek with one hand and reaching for Sakura’s hand with the other, “I am, promise of a Tenko” he murmured back to both of them, voice echoed with the power of the oath.

Chapter Text

Sasuke refused to see Naruto off, unwilling to run the risk of branding the sight of Naruto slipping out alone before dawn into his mind for the rest of his life if some- no. Nothing was going to happen, nothing was going to go wrong, Sasuke was going to focus on taking over clan head duties from Kagami and looking into proto-Root as well as advising their students on how to do in the academy when the age limit was abolished today (he would have to think of the best way to pair up ity!Tsuna and pocket!Jiraiya, maybe encourage ity!Tsuna to get closer to Dai and have find then a distance fighter to round the group? Pocket!Jiraiya was already getting close to the two Uchiha children Sakumo had targeted and it would keep him tied to the clan which would be good so staying with them might be for the best if he could find a way to make it work). There was work to be done and none of it could be done while Sasuke was languishing in his room over his missing partner, mind made up he dragged himself out of bed and dressed, going down for breakfast and answering questions about Naruto’s absence as the kitsune having something he had to go do – foxes you know. Kagami frowned a little but didn’t question it which was good, none of them wanted to lie to the Uchiha head but they didn’t want to admit that they had spied on Sarutobi either; at least not yet.

“The Hakage put out an announcement on the Tower” Kagami said darkly, “the age limit on the academy has been abolished, all children can now join if their parents deem them ready.” the implication was clear, all children that weren’t ready were a commentary on their clan so every possible child would be joining the Academy – the Academy that wouldn’t be ready for the influx of students at different ages at all and would lead to overwhelmed teachers that paid less attention to their students which would lead to larger skill gaps and – ugh, what a mess. “Has the allowed graduation age dropped?” Bashira asked, her hand white knuckled on her chopsticks and no doubt thinking of her too clever child as Kagami’s jaw tightened and he nodded, “It has been dropped too. You graduate when you pass the test no matter your age, even if you are younger than twelve” the Uchiha said, clearly angry about the idea. Sasuke hummed and spoke to the Mizuchi, “Don’t worry about Oro, if he enters now there is a good chance he will end up on a Gennin team with Sakumo and Dan and that would be good for him. I worry more about the other kids, if this is going to be fixed it has to be reversed within a year before it is accepted as common. And I worry about why he did this as well, what is he trying to get more soldiers for?” and at that Bashira did pale even more, swallowing hard and ducking her head to hide her expression behind her hair as he looked at her son washing his plate in the sink (no one mentioned that the three students would almost certainly graduate early with all the chakra control and work that the pact had put them through).

Kagami swore and rubbed at his face, “I have to talk to Saru, Sasuke will you come with me?” the second Uchiha nodded, finishing his breakfast in a fast few bites and asking, “Should we gather more clan heads or-?” “No, I – I want to talk to Saru as my teammate first, but maybe bring Dan?” Kagami seemed uncertain about that but Sasuke could see the advantage of that, it wouldn’t hurt for Sarutobi to see the children he was dooming to being child soldiers in person and Dan was clever enough to keep his head. “I’ll collect him on our way, Sakura will you explain to Sakumo that Naruto had to leave and that even though he may be joining the Academy we are still his teachers?” out of the corner of his eye Bashira relaxed a bit and Oro perked up, the small look on pocket!Jirayai’s face clearing up a bit at the reassurance that they wouldn’t be dropped just because of the dropped age limits of the academy. Sakura nodded and picked up the rest of the dishes, resting a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and smiling reassuringly at Kagami before she vanished into the kitchen.

“Let’s get this dealt with then” Sasuke muttered, tossing his mantle over his shoulders with his hand and flipping his hair out of his collar, nodding to Kagami as the Uchiha clan head gathered himslef and firmed up his face with determination as he nodded, leading the way out the door. Sasuke smirked as he followed out and nodded Maemi on their way out of the section and more than pleased to see the Uchiha talking to Matsui and Frigg Hatake, both with black looks on their faces – no doubt thinking of their children that would now be enrolled in the Academy whether they liked it or not. Good, the village was pulling together and pulling away from Sarutobi; this decision would make him unpopular for sure – especially if the pact could make it clear that it wasn’t even needed, that children didn’t have to fight the wars of adults when the adults were supposed to be so strong (how was it that once upon a time Naruto’s dad had stopped a war nearly single-handedly but the second ‘God of Shinobi’ couldn’t do anything about it and had to send children to fight his wars? And ok, sure, it was more nuanced than that, but still).

“Kagami-sama, Sasuke-sama, have you heard about the children-?” Maemi interrupted them, eyes wide and worried as the two women behind her clenched their jaws and Sasuke nodded to Sakumo and ity!Tsuna, as Kagami patted Maemi’s hand (she had two young children didn’t she, kami what a mess; maybe that was part of why so many Uchiha had ended up in the police force and not on the frontlines – something that only worsened the rift between them and the rest of the village as the Uchiha clan lost less of their number than the rest of the clans. Sasuke could see why Kagami had acted to protect his clan- it was all he could do anyway in the village- but it had not…not improved relationships with the rest of the village). “We are going to do everything we can to ensure that this doesn’t last, I am going to talk to Saru now and I’ll let the clan know what he says, alright?” lips pursed Maemi nodded, Matsui’s face hardening as she turned to Frigg and said, “Take Tsunade with you to Bashira? I think this is a conversation I should be present for; the Senju and Uchiha should stand together on this matter.” Sasuke forced down a smirk, this was helpful for sure, the only other thing that could happen that would make it better is if Torifu was there; Kagami nodded smoothly to his counterpart and waved her to join them as they walked through the quiet village, the tension in the air thick and choking in a way Sasuke was all too familiar with.

Stopping by the Katō’s household was fast and Dan followed his teacher without question, bright eyes interested and engaged as they headed to the Tower and the passing nin watched them; already the split in the village was becoming apparent and though Sasuke knew that this was part of getting what they wanted it wasn’t…enjoyable. In the Tower Sarutobi’s assistant bit her lip (a Shimura, unsurprising but worrying) but waved them in, Sasuke entering and hanging back by the door, leaning on the wall with his hand resting on Dan’s shoulder as Kagami squared up with Sarutobi with Matsui at his shoulder; the other nin in the office (Danzo and- to Sasuke’s pleasure- Torifu along with his attending ANBU) pulling back, Danzo on the other side of the Hokage’s desk and a grim faced Torifu by with his arms folded over his chest and looking pissed.

“Hokage” Kagami said in a forcibly even voice, “why have you broken the age limits on the Academy? You know that Sensei felt strongly about the age limits, and it was one of the things he cared about the most, surely you don’t think he would agree with this change?” Sarutobi winced a little but didn’t back down at all even as his eyes flicked over the Senju standing with the Uchiha and Sasuke looming in the background, visible eye heavy lidded. “Kagami” Sarutobi started in a placating voice, notably not matching his formal tone – something that darkened Torifu’s eyes “I cannot lead this village by the rules of those who have come before without taking into consideration the current circumstance. Sensei is no longer the Hokage and even if he recovers who knows how much of his old power he will recover?” At that insult Kagami paled and Sasuke shifted where he leaned on the wall, voice nearly absent as he all but purred, “There is no reason to think that the Nidaime will not recover, but I find it interesting that you should measure the value of the last living founder of Konoha on his power. Surely his wishes should still be taken into consideration for his contributions to the village he all but built even if he wasn’t around?”

There was a long silence and Danzo’s face was painted with barely hidden rage as Sarutobi visibly struggled to gather himself and Torifu’s face darkened at the slight against their shared teacher. “But we can’t follow his sensibilities” the Hokage finally said, clearly trying to appeal to Kagami and their shared training without acknowledging Sasuke “I –“  a glance at Danzo, hmm “there is rumblings of war Kagami, Suna and Iwa together with Ame are coming together to come for Konoha if our spies are correct and we have to be ready to meet them, that means having every available shinobi ready to fight if we need them to face three villages fighting together.” Kagami had stiffened sharply at those words and Sasuke saw his shoulders draw tight, “And you don’t think the village should know that war is on the horizon? Or at least the clan heads? You don’t trust that our shinobi are strong enough to fight for our village without forcing children to fight for us?” at that Danzo finally stirred “Well, we will be facing three villages, even all the adults in this village aren’t enough to ensure that success.” He slanted a look at Sasuke “Especially as we cannot be sure that all the nin that live in Konoha will fight for her.” It was a clear jab and Sasuke raised a cold brow in response.

“No, we can’t be sure that everyone will fight for the village” Sasuke said evenly “not when we already know there is a leak here, but trust that if my cousin asks me, my partner and my pact sister to fight we shall do so; surely you have heard enough to know that even if the Nidaime no longer takes the field it shall not be so great an absence?” after all word of his and Naruto’s spar should have spread all over the village at this point. Danzo flushed blotchily at the pointed note that they would act if asked by Kagami not the Hokage; making it very clear where their loyalty laid as well as jabbing at the leak they still hadn’t isolated (but were fairly sure that Danzo knew about – now at least. They didn’t think that Danzo would have arranged for his teacher to be killed but…they did think he would have found out that there was a leak in the aftermath and used it to his betterment as well as not sending anyone after the Nidaime even though they didn’t know if he had known that the Nidaime wasn’t dead at the time). Kagami stared at the Hokage for a long moment, his face hard, “You won’t bend on this” he said finally “you insist on sending out children into war and overwhelming the academy teachers, breaking the thing that was most important to our Sensei even without knowing it was needed-“ “It is needed” Sarutobi interrupted and Matsui’s eyes narrowed as Kagami continued “-even without knowing, you would bring children into this.” the Hokage nodded sharply and Kagami nodded slowly back “Fine. But understand that I will not abandon Sensei’s values so easily, and I will notice if you don’t take to the field ‘God of Shinobi’.” The last words were sharp and cutting and it was very clear from the disdain on the Uchiha’s face that this was a breaking in their relationship, something that sent a strange look over Sarutobi’s face.

“The Senju stand with the Uchiha” Matsui murmured, eyes dark and opaque as she looked over Sarutobi and Danzo who had drawn closer as Kagami spun away and headed for the door, following him out without any other comment. Sasuke watched them for a moment longer, watching the way Danzo had stepped closer to the Hokage and curled a hand around the back of Sarutobi’s neck in a gesture that could have been fond, but was much more possessive than anything like the touch of a lover, his meaning clear. Danzo owned the Hokage (so the rumors were right then, the body language was clear, they were sleeping together even though Sarutobi was affianced) and he would not be giving up his hold on the other man, even if he was threatened by the pact and Kagami. Smirking Sasuke nodded to Danzo, murmuring “Ramin did say that you would feel that way.” before he turned and led Dan out, hand still on the child’s shoulder as Danzo went an ugly purple and his face twisted bitterly. Perhaps it was too early to set them against the man so clearly but Sasuke had no interest in pandering to the man and was happy to go to open war with the dick in the name of the family Danzo would have killed if he could.

Outside the Tower Matsui and Kagami were standing with their heads together, talking over everything and clearly planning together as Torifu joined them; Dan tugging on Sasuke’s hand and looking up at him with bright eyes. Easily Sasuke knelt in down to get on his level, stroking his hand over the pale hair, “Yes?” he asked softly, watching as his student thought over what he wanted to say, “Sasuke-sensei, do we have to go to war?” his small face was serious and worried and Sasuke stroked his pale hair again, heart aching (he had been only a little older than Dan when he lost everything). “No” Sasuke said, thinking of the things he and Naruto could do together if they needed; it would break their cover but…to keep this sweet kind child from being forced to do what they had done? He would move fucking mountains for that and knew Naruto would agree. “No Dan, you will not have to go to war or fight before you are ready. Being a shinobi means taking on a certain amount of danger but not open war and no student of mine will have to be a child soldier, we will stick to the Nidaime’s principles and trust me” he ducked his head a little more so Dan could see under his hanging bangs and see the spinning Rinnegan “if we are forced to take to field we will make sure that there is no need for children to die in war.” Wide-eyed Dan nodded, more than smart enough to put together that the strange purple eye was a secret and keep it as long as he needed too.

Chapter Text

Mami Aburame lingered in the shadows of the building near where Shou Nara was playing shogi with one of the Yamanaka again, absently watching her sometimes teacher play as she often did and gathering the gossip for her Uncle the clan head and ignoring the way the Shimura were watching her (Danzo Shimura wanted a host of the Kochū in his circle, he wanted one badly and had tried hard to tempt her and any others that used the worm insect into his influence. So far he hadn’t succeeded as far as she knew, all her clan were far too suspicious of the Shimura after the rumors about their attempts to get the sharingan or another bloodline in the clan wars to fall for his courtship just like that). A small shake of her head shifted the dull brown bangs of her hair enough she could see through them though they still covered both eyes, the rest of her long hair pulled back in a miko’s style to keep it out of her way even though it was often covered by her clan coat. Shou moved his white piece decisively and Isao Yamanaka groaned, reaching for his cup of sake (he seemed to always have one after mind walking the Qiānqiū-hime, but at least he hadn’t refused to mind walk at all again after like Ichigo after he mind walked the Kitsune-sama) and swearing as his sleeve knocked it off the table to roll on the ground as another pair of gossiping shinobi passed by muttering about the Nidaime-sama and Madara-sama (everyone had heard about the Nidaime-sama waking and asking for Madara-sama before anything else, had heard- though Mami thought this might be hyperbole- that he cried when he was reminded that Madara-sama was gone).

There was much to gossip about now; the Nidaime-sama and Madara-sama, the leak in the village, the fact that the Hokage hadn’t sent shinobi after his teacher, any of the members of the pact and their power (that spar!), the teaching of the students they had taken on, the clear and growing divided in the village of those that thought that the Hokage was doing the right thing and those that looked at him and his closeness to Shimura (and their bad reputation) even as half his old team grew further and further from him, the Kohaku that had popped up out of nowhere, and much more – especially if you had talked to Ichigo about what he had seen in the Kitsune-sama’s head and his rumored ability to see the future. And all of it ready to break the village open like a ripe fruit even as whispers were reaching the ears of the Aburame- who were always listening- that war was brewing in the power hungry villages of the other countries now that the frightening White Demon was said to be declawed. War. Mami had been very young when the village was created, young enough to not remember the days of the Clan Wars when the great clans constantly clashed and anyone could be ground into dust in the conflicts and now here they were again; back in the one place that the Nidaime-sama had wanted more than anything to avoid, war with children being weaponized so that the elders could hide in their houses and direct them like pieces on a board. Shou said that when the Nidaime woke up all the way it was going to break his heart.

“-and the Uchiha-sama, Sasuke-sama I mean, not Kagami-sama, promised his student that he wouldn’t let him fight in the war, and you remember his spar with the Kitsune-sama right? If they went to fight then it might be almost as good as having Hashirama-sama and Madara-sama back again! And that’s not even talking about what the Hime can do, after all we have never seen her in action have we?” the passing civilian said to her Hyuuga companion who looked worried and exhausted (wasn’t that Hiroko? Didn’t she have a daughter that was now of the age to be pushed into the Academy and probably graduate fast enough to be forced into a war without an age requirement? No wonder she looked so stressed about it and would cling to the idea that it might not happen). Shou looked up and managed to meet Mami’s eyes through her hair, her teacher’s dark eyes as opaque as ever before they flicked to the lingering Shimura nearby – there seemed to always be one of Danzo’s circle near her these days and Mami was starting to worry that someday they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“And all I can think-“ Isao said tipsily as if he wasn’t starting in the middle of a sentence “-is that if we had found a way to get Madara-sama into therapy or help the Uchiha with their eyes-thingy when they get advanced like Madara-sama’s did then he and the Nidaime could have figured out their shit and – they” a muffled hiccup and Shou looked like he was giving up on the game of shogi “they could have been soooo cute! And could have taken over the world together instead of being dead and a waste…” Isao trailed off sadly into his bottle of sake and Shou sighed with a muttered “Troublesome” as Mami wondered if maybe they could have stopped the madness that was handing out tailed beasts like party favors – not that any nin of Konoha should ever think ill of the first Hokage and in his defense the one-tail had already been trapped even before the nine-tail attacked and was sealed by Mito-hime, but still; how anyone had agreed that handing out basically weapons of mass destruction would go well Mami had no idea.

Then again the Aburame had always been more attentive to things like this and understood what it was to be the host to powerful forces much better than most, especially Mami and the other few Aburame with the Kochū who were valued greatly for their toxin which caused paralysis followed swiftly by death and faded out of the system fast enough to be undetectable (hence Danzo Shimura liking them for being as inconspicuous as mosquitoes and as deadly as scorpions; the perfect assignation tool). Those that used the Kochū knew all too well what it was to be the host to powerful weapons but, well, Hashirama-sama (may his soul rest in the Pure Lands) had never listened to anyone but Madara-sama and once in a while his wife or brother if they pushed hard enough. Kami the Senju clan was a mess in so many ways, Mami knew that Shou was fairly sure that the slow vanishing of the Senju name as clan members married out was intentional and she had to agree, the pattern was quite clear after all and some day she wouldn’t be surprised if there was only one small family that still carried the name if that. It would probably be for the best – if only the Sarutobi would do the same or at least change the way they viewed children, Mami had been on enough missions with Sarutobi members to know what they thought of children; that childhood basically didn’t exist and children had no value until they were considered adults – normally by blooding themselves. It was a very concerning view in Mami’s opinion and one she was sure the Nidaime hadn’t known about, or he would have never put one of the in charge; after all the clan had gone to a fair amount of effort to keep the clan attitude from him knowing how he treasured children and wished to protect them.

“Mami, walk with me back to my compound” Shou drawled as he stood, leaving Isao to sob into his sake about missed opportunities. Grateful that he wasn’t giving the Shimura a chance to talk to her the Aburame nodded and fell in next to her teacher, ducking her head to hide her smirk in her coat as the Shimura’s face pinched unpleasantly; making him look like a raisin with his close cropped hair and scrunched face. “Do you think a war is coming?” Mami asked eventually as they stepped into less populated areas of the village, Shou sighed deeply, stroking his goatee and looking into the distance. “I don’t know” he said finally, looking up at the clouds “things in Amegakure are pretty bad, their leader is an interesting case; once he had a strong conviction towards peace but like many leaders that have faced near constant conflict his conviction has slowly degraded into a clutching for power no matter the cost. It was one of the things that made Konoha’s founders so revolutionary, none of them even became consumed with the quest for power. Oh Tobirama-sama loved to experiment and invent and did so for the village’s benefit, but he might have made powerful jutsu but he also made plumbing plans and used the later but not the former. Madara-sama strove to be the peak of his own power but never wanted power for power’s sake- after all he did let Hashirama-sama take the hat without argument-, it was only later after he left and was it seems driven mad that he clutched for power. Hashirama-sama….he never wanted power, and though it’s hard to say if that was because he was never faced with anyone more powerful than him he still was not clutching for the power of the tailed beasts; which speaks well of his character whether it was a good decision or not.”

Mami hummed thoughtfully and wondered in the back of her mind if that meant that had Madara-sama not been driven mad by circumstances and some outside source (if the Uchiha were to be believed and Mami was inclined to do so) if he would have been the best mix of Hashirama-sama’s ideals and Nidaime-sama’s practicalities while still being good with people. There was something….concerning there in the idea that the best Hokage they could have had had been driven out of their village and the second their strong Kage fell other villages were waiting in the wings. Add that to a leak in the village and Mami had to wonder if there was some force out there that wanted Konoha to fail, for peace to fall. A force the current Hokage didn’t seem to notice or care about – she needed to talk to her clan head, the council of clan heads should be discussing this matter, with or without the Hokage.

On the edge of Takigakure there was a small village called Nendo no mura, mostly filled with potters that took advantage of the rich dark clay where the river cut through the mountains and made a special kind of strong and lovely pottery that was unavailable pretty much anywhere else in the five countries. Merchants from all over the countries visited the village for their pottery and brought rumors from all over, it was the place to go if you were looking for information on the shinobi world without being noticed and that was why Madara found himslef there, swathed in a henge that covered his long and distinctive hair and trying his very best to ignore the whispering in the back of his head and the flickers of Izuna’s memories that flashed at the edges of his vision (there was a reason that the Uchiha didn’t just transplant eyes whenever they got the Mangekyō, there was simply too much of the original owner that remained with the eyes- chakra was the stuff of souls and they did keep memories which were flavored with the perspective of the person that saw them- and it led to too much character transfer and instability in the person that got the transplant. Still, what was Madara to do? Refuse his brother’s last gift? All he could do was ignore the part of him that wondered if Izuna was doing it on purpose to poison him against the Senju with Izuna’s perspective). It was harder to ignore such things here in the village than it was in his quiet cave though at least his disembodied will didn’t follow him here; sometimes Madara just wanted a break from the whispering shadows muttering in the back of his mind about his eyes and that he wasn’t absorbing the flesh from Hashirama correctly.

Which, yeah, another thing that Madara didn’t want to think about, the idea that he had – had – done that with some of Hashirama’s flesh in his wound in the utter madness that followed his reviving still made his stomach roll with sheer disgust. And for what? Sure he had healed faster for it but he had still lost an eye to the Izanagi (a loss he mourned less than he should given the relief it was to escape from Izuna’s paranoia) and he hadn’t gained the Rinnegan that his will promised if he assimilated Hashirama’s cells properly (what did that even mean? Madara had healed and the – the cells were in him, did he have to manifest Hashirama’s fucking face on his chest to do it right?!). Whatever, it wasn’t like Madara wasn’t powerful as it was, he had more than enough strength and if he could only get some quiet and peace to catch his breath -! “-and of course we are all so very glad that the Nidaime survived but it's so sad you know, what happened to him and that he then woke up and asked about his love first. He must have forgotten when he was the poor dear.” The words jolted him to attention and he slanted a look at a merchant from Fire (from Konoha), stunned at the idea; something had happened to Tobirama? The White bastard had a love he asked about first thing when he woke? Even the idea of Tobi-fucking-rama Senju in love blew Madara’s mind so thoroughly it seemed to bow away the shadows and clinging cobwebs and the Uchiha felt more focused than he had in a long time.

“Oh it's such a sad story!” the other merchant chirped as she wrapped up pottery for the Fire merchant “I had no idea something so romantic and sad had happened to your Nidaime, imagine falling in love with someone like that and knowing nothing could ever come of it!” the Fire merchant nodded wisely, propping a hip on the stand “Oh yes, he even cried when he was reminded that his love was dead, they said it was just a few silent tears when his student reminded him that he was the one to bring back the body.” Tobirama? Crying?! No, surely that was nothing more than rumor and hyperbole, it had to be, right? But the pottery merchant gasped, a hand flying to her mouth, “He brought back the body of the man he loved?!” She breathed, “Oh that poor man, sure it was a doomed love but imagine having to be the one to bring back the body….” She trailed off and wrapped the last dish, Madara forcing himself to move on before he was noticed – and to get himslef to stop thinking about the way that Tobirama had carried him back to Konoha and made sure that his body was spared the dishonor of experiments and or being dug up and cut up by people trying to profit from it (and the burning outrage that he had done so for another, surely if Tobirama had had a lover Madara would have noticed? So that he could take it from him if nothing else). Tobirama was a lot of things and a fucking asshole was one of the biggest but….grudgingly Madara had to admit he would have been very grateful had he truly been dead (and the fact that he couldn't throw it in the bastard's face that he wasn't dead was a constant itch in his mind).

Chapter Text

Sasuke decided to spend the morning with the children, the village could take care of itself for a while and his machinations were already churning under the surface so while Sakura- with Oro watching- tried to wake the Nidaime again Sasuke took Dan, Sakumo, pocket!Jiraiya, ity!Tsuna, and Dai (a tinier version of his son at this age and already wearing the closest thing to a green onesie that you could get in this day and age) into the back garden to talk over their joining the Academy and do an overview of their skills. First though he needed to answer their questions, settling on the engawa as the children arrayed themselves in front of him in a half circle, Sakumo with his white wolf cub Ragnulf on his lap teething on an antler from the Nara. “Now,” Sasuke said calmly “I know you have questions, go ahead and ask.” The children exchanged questioning looks and then pocket!Jiraiya’s hand flew up, his eyes wide and worried, “Oro ate an egg! A whole egg! He just swallowed it whole! Is he going to die?!” Sasuke blinked, torn between being proud that pocket!Jiraiya cared enough about Oro to worry about him and not being sure how to explain that swallowing an egg whole would not kill Oro but definitely would choke pocket!Jiraiya if he tried. “Jiraiya, Oro has a different physiology- body- than you do, because his family has had the snake summons contract for a long time and their adaptive bloodline has allowed them to take on some traits of their summons, like the Inuzuka and Hatake. You know how he has fangs right? It’s like that, he can swallow things that someone like you couldn’t swallow without choking, so don’t worry about him but don’t try it yourself.”

Pocket!Jiraiya thought about that for a moment, “So Oro will get the snake summons when he gets older and Sakumo already has the wolf summons, will I get a summons?” Sasuke tipped his head, thinking over what he knew about Jiraiya and Sakura’s insistence that they not let this Jiraiya take the toad summons, “Well” he said slowly “the Uchiha have long had the summons for the crows and hawks so you could talk to Kagami about signing one of them when you get older?” he offered and pocket!Jiraiya brightened at that noticeably, settling down and looking at the others for more questions. Slowly Dai lifted his hand, still unsure of his place in the group, “Yes Dai?” Sasuke asked evenly, tiredly wishing that one of the others could be here to do this, he was not wordy enough to be answering children’s questions. “I – ‘m I really ready f’r the Academy?” the child asked softly and Sasuke tipped his head thoughtfully, thinking about the child’s skill level (good, very good with taijutsu and alright at chakra control even if his ninjutsu needed some work and in his line’s tradition might never be as good as others).

“Yes” Sasuke said, nodding sharply and then eyeing all the children “the changing of the age limits for the Academy might mean that some of you join early and graduate early and I know you will start hearing rumors about why the limit have been removed before too long but I want you to know that none of us have any intention of letting you fight in a war. We agree with the Nidaime about this and none of you will be put in danger for the village until you are ready.” that made some of them look a little better but they still looked stressed “And we are not abandoning you either, we are still your teachers and we will still be teaching you even when you are in the Academy; you can still come to us for anything and if anything at the Academy that makes you feel uncomfortable or uncertain we expect you to come tell us, understood?” he leveled them with a sharp look, pleased when all the children nodded dutifully, now looking much reassured. “Now, how about we go over everything we have worked on, so you know what you know going into the Academy?” and at that the children leapt to their feet, ready to show off everything they knew to their one of their teachers and burn off some energy.

The next few hours passed in a chaotic blur of movement and children’s bouncing energy as they showed him all of the basic skills the pact had been working on with them, Oro joining them before too long. Mostly working on the basics of how chakra worked and chakra control, trying to give the children what they never got – including the basics of Ninshū that they had managed to put together from the powers of the Sage and their own research in the very end their when they were attempting to share power with the others to keep more people alive (Sasuke had to admit that he was more than a little amused that Sakumo and Oro got the connection exercises far better than the others though Dan was a close second, those two had a bond that never stopped surprising the Uchiha, he couldn’t help but wonder if had they had that the first time around how much else could have been avoided – it wasn’t like Sakumo would let Oro slip into Danzo’s clutches and Oro would balance Sakumo’s honor with pragmatism).

All in all the children were doing very well and Sasuke felt confident that they could dominate in the Academy, each of them leaning in the direction of their separate specifications already and more than ready to start the more intensive training so it was with a pleased “Hn” that Sasuke sent off the children that didn’t live with them, raising an eyebrow when Sakumo instead wandered over to him and stood next to him kicking rocks as Oro sent him the closest thing to a worried look Sasuke had ever seen on the solemn child. Sakumo shook his head a touch and Oro huffed but followed pocket!Jiraiya inside, leaving Sasuke on the engawa with the Hatake waiting for Sakumo to find the words to say what he wanted. Eventually Sakumo took a deep breath and looked up at the Uchiha, meeting the one dark eye evenly as he could (kami but he was so young), “Sasuke-sensei, I – I was wondering, I have always been taught that pack – the team, was everything, that being true to your pack and people was what mattered more than anything else. That missions can be retried but lives can’t be brought back” (well, not quite, not as far as most people knew anyway) “and if it is a mission where the objective will be more important than the lives of the team you would be told and told why, that those missions are classified different and everyone is informed.”

Which, ouch, Sasuke nodded even as his mind scrambled to compartmentalize this verbalization of the very idea that had contributed to Sakumo’s death (had that been what it was like under the first two Hokage? Had missions really been classified different when the objective was more important than the team? Was that another thing Sarutobi/Danzo had changed? What a mess, that made it even worse that Sakumo had been persecuted for doing what he had been raised to do and prioritizing the team). Sakumo took another deep breath “Well I was talking to Asuka and – she said that saving the team wasn’t important, that the mission was more important and what if messing it up led to a war and then more people died? She said –“ a hesitation “-she said that it was Tobirama-sama’s fault that we might be going into war again because he wasn’t willing to prioritize the mission and objective and that if he cared about the village he would have let one of the less, um, valuable members of his team work as the distraction so he could get away and keep protecting the village and I just – I just don’t know what to think. Was, was she right?! Was it Tobirama-sama’s fault that-“ his voice was shaking and his eyes were bright with worry and tears and Sasuke couldn’t let him finish that sentence, holding up his hand and then settling it on the child’s shoulder, murmuring at him to breath.

“Sakumo, kiddo, here, sit down.” Sasuke muttered, trying to gather his thoughts and find the best way explain such a complicated idea, “It – Sakumo, I won’t lie to you and tell you that the Nidaime being weakened hasn’t emboldened the other countries that want war but the fact of the matter is that in most wars there is a lot more to sparking them than something as simple as one man. Here, think about it, three countries want to take over Konoha for power and resources; are they going to stop wanting that just because they are wary of the Nidaime?” slowly Sakumo shook his head “so what would have happened when he got older and died even from natural causes? What about if they poisoned him or assassinated him? Would they have stopped wanting to take over Konoha then?” Sakumo’s row furrowed and he chewed on his lip. “So you are saying that if they wanted war they weren’t going to stop wanting war they would just find another way to get Tobirama-sama out of the way?” the child asked and Sasuke nodded with a soft “Hn.”

“So you mean that if people really want to start a war they will find a way to start it, no matter what we do and it’s not fair to be mad at Tobirama-sama for saving his team because they would have found another way to get what they wanted.” Sasuke nodded again “But Sasuke-sensei, how do you stop someone that wants a war then? Does that mean that wars are inevitable?” Oh kami, ok, ok, how to…. “How do you stop anyone that wants something? Like another child or one of your wolves?” Sasuke asked and Sakumo frowned, chewing at his lip and kicking his feet as he thought that over, “Give them something else they want more?” he offered and Sasuke snorted, thinking of the handing over the bijuu and how it had only put off the war not stopped it. “Sometimes that works” he agreed “sometimes you can find someone else to be in charge that doesn’t want it, sometimes you can scare them enough that they don’t think that wanting it is worth it – but that doesn’t last well, sometimes the only thing you can do is stop them.” Sakumo frowned deeper at that, clearly not liking that answer – which, fair, Sasuke didn’t either but he had never figured out how stop wars “Talk to Naruto about it when he gets back, he’s better with this than I am; but Sakumo, remember this, saving a life is never useless, you never know what the person who’s life you saved will do – or not do. Someone else starting a war because you didn’t let someone die- unless it is a mission so coded I guess- is never on you, no matter what anyone says.” After all, look at what not being able to save Obito had led to.

At that the child’s shoulders dropped a little, looking a bit relieved, “And maybe talk to Oro about it before you talk to Asuka again, he might be able to help you think it through too. Don’t forget that she will be repeating her elder’s ideals and has probably never thought about it herself so if she does her opinion might change.” Sakumo looked a bit cheered at that idea and then brightened even further, turning his bright gray eyes on Sasuke, “What about the Ninshū? Could that help?” Sasuke shrugged and Sakumo nodded, something hardening behind his eyes as he leapt to his feet “Then I’ll look into that and talk to Sensei when he gets back! Thank you Sasuke-sensei!” and he bowed quickly before darting into the house, no doubt off to find Oro and talk to him as Sasuke watched him.

Well, he had done what he could, for his Sensei’s sake. If he had his way Kakashi would never grow up alone without his dad because of something he couldn’t do anything about, forever traumatizing their teacher. It was the least he owed Kakashi-sensei for all the shit he put him through and – and all that the last Hatake had done for them in the end; Sasuke would never forget (literally, the image was tinted red and permanent in his sight) the sight of Kakashi walking away from them over the ash desert to face off against the Ōtsutsuki and buy them the time to use Kurama’s plan and unwind time.

(The whole world was tainted red- it always was these days, Sasuke never let his Sharingan deactivate anymore- red and gray with endless plains of ash and bones pushing up through the dust like horrific scrub brush; nothing but ash and bones as far as the eye could see, the broken husks of the mountains cracked open like split melons and the rivers so diverted they became nothing more than stagnant lakes that quickly dried up, falling back to the earth as black rain. They had been fighting for so long Sasuke didn’t even know how old he was- some time in his twenties probably but the exact year was long gone now- all he knew was Naruto at his side and Sakura at their backs as Kakashi watched for attacks from the distance as they tried to keep the last living shinobi together and alive in a world where nothing grew. “We’re out of options” Kakashi-sensei said, eyes dark and mask shredded enough he finally gave up and pulled it down to hang around his neck “I know you don’t want to sacrifice this entire timeline and everyone that has lived in it but – we’re already dead, dying a second time won’t hurt and I won’t let the Ōtsutsuki have this world.” Naruto’s face was broken and torn, the marks of sage mode and Kurama permanent on his skin now “Kaka-sensei….” He breathed but their teacher just shook his head sharply, “Just – just make sure my dad has a happier life yeah? No dying for other peoples rumors this time.” Something in Naruto crumbled and he sagged, eyes wide and wet, Sasuke slinging an arm around his waist to keep him upright as the ash of the dead clogged his nose and throat, “Ok” Naruto whispered “ok, Kakashi-sensei…” but the Hatake just shook his head, head tilted to the distance “There’s no time, you need to go to the mountains graveyard and get this going, I’ll hold them off. I’ll hold them all off. You just make a better world for all of us.”)

“Sasuke?” he jolted in surprised as Sakura called his name, blinking at his pact-sister and trying to drag his mind back from the pull of the Sharingan memories. “We need to find a way to make Madara cleanse his Sharingan of Izuna’s chakra” he said, still a little disconnected “it can be done but I doubt he did as he probably wanted to hold on to what he had left of his brother and it is very bad for us to have uncleansed Sharingan transplants; with that on top of Zetsu’s influence he can’t be in his right mind and we have to fix that.” Sakura frowned like she wanted to ask him more about what he had been remembering but she knew better, having seen him get lost in his Sharingan memories before. With a sigh she sat down next to him, “And how do you cleanse the Sharingan? Did you do it with your brother’s?” she asked tiredly and Sasuke didn’t even wince, Itachi was an old wound now; one that had never stopped hurting but he had long grown accustomed too. “You overwhelm it with your own chakra, basically dump as much chakra as you can into the eye until it overwhelms and erases the original’s chakra traces. It only works if you have stronger chakra than the first owner of the eyes- so Madara should be fine as he was stronger in chakra than Izuna- and I…I didn’t until the Sage gave me the gift and the Rinnegan, getting that put so much extra chakra in me that it wiped out Itachi’s chakra traces for good.” whether he liked it or not.

Chapter Text

Sakura was working in her lab on the IVF again, trying not to think about the problem of Madara’s eyes (eyes? What were his eyes at this point in time? It was too early for them to be the Rinnegan wasn’t it?) when there was a soft ‘ding’ from the seal array near the door and Sakura slapped a stasis seal on her experiment, racing for the door and up the stairs as fast as she could, bursting into the Nidaime’s room as little Oro held out a glass of water to a confused looking Senju. The red eyes blinked at her as she went to close the curtains and dim the room so he could stop squinting at her as Oro waited by his side and monitored his heart the way she had taught him, “Medic-nin, where am I? What’s going on?” he asked finally, voice hoarse and rough with so long silent. Carefully Oro took the glass and solemnly walked to refill it as Sakura bustled around the Nidaime checking him over. “Nidaime-sama do you remember what happened last time you woke up?” Sakura asked, pleased that he seemed more stable this time than he had last time he woke, slowly the Senju frowned and then something caught in his mind and the lines between his brow deepened. “I – Madara’s house. I’m in Madara’s house and – the leak? You said that Saru isn’t doing anything about it? I don’t – it's all fuzzy. Why am I in Madara’s house rather than the hospital?”

And now they got to the difficult part, how to hide something from the smartest man in the room without lying; Sakura sighed and sat on the chair next to the bed as Oro brought over another glass of water, the Nidaime’s eyes visibly softening on the child. “Oro, darling, could you go get Kagami for me? Don’t tell anyone else the Nidaime has woken please.” Sakura asked her student gently after he had handed the water over and the child nodded once before slipping out of the room, “No, Nidaime-sama, I am Sakura Qiānqiū and it was myself and my pact brother that came to fetch you from the Kinkaku force. Kagami can explain much of what has been happening as I am sure you would rather hear it from him, so I will try to keep you awake for long enough to get the whole story, how does your head feel?” the Nidaime blinked at her for a long moment in an expression she recognized from Tobirama-sensei as the poor man trying to absorb a lot of information quickly when he wasn’t feeling his best but as expected he didn’t lose his composure as he answered. “Thank you then, for fetching me I mean, I thought – well, yes I would very much like to hear about what has been happening from Kagami and you think I will go under again after? Oh, my head is so-so, a bit dizzy and fuzzy but much better than the first time I woke.” Which really meant that his head was screaming and he was barely refraining from gagging from the dizziness and nausea, luckily Sakura could do something about that and raised glowing green hands to apply the jutsu to the Senju before she spoke again.

“I don’t think you will be awake for long stretches of time for a good while yet and a while after that before you will be able to get out of this bed, I may be the best healer in the five countries but you were in a bad way. Honestly Nidaime-sama you should be dead if we hadn’t gotten me to you at exactly the last possible moment and you have been hard on your body so that isn’t helping you heal.” The man didn’t wince but Sakura had known his Edo self well enough to know he wanted to at her pointed tone “For now I think it would be best to keep it on the low down that you are awake at all, Kagami can help explain why and there has been a lot of rumors; I am afraid you can expect some questioning about your relationship about Madara-sama, I do have to apologize for that.” there was a blank moment where the Nidaime just stared at her, slowly saying “My relationship with Madara” in a voice that implied he was deeply confused.

“We didn’t realize it wasn’t well known” Sakura sighed as she turned away to heat tea, carefully controlling her chakra signature “of course it makes sense that you would never have said anything to anyone about how you felt about him when he has been so villainized but….well, it makes me think about my pact brothers- Naruto and Sasuke- and well I just imagine the look on Sasuke’s face if someone had confronted him with how he felt about Naruto before he was ready to admit it and” she laughed lightly “if your Uchiha is any like mine his face would be a sight if he was around to hear the rumors!” there, bait out, let’s see if he took it. There was a long pause and Sakura brought over a tray with ginger tea to help with the nausea; the Nidaime was staring blankly at her, eyes a touch wide “People – that I and Madara – and there are rumors…” Sakura hummed easily, hearing Kagami on the stairs and smiling with a glint in her eye “I know” she purred “but think of the look on his face if he heard.” And just like that a light went on in the slanted red eyes, the slightly manic glint of truly petty!Tobirama latching onto something that would really bother someone else, a tiny twitch up the corner of his lips that might as well have been a Cheshire smile on his austere face; bait, hook (he was more than petty enough to torment someone in the Pure Lands, he had done more than one thing to bug his brother when he had been Edo-ed and Hashirama had not, so she bloody knew that).

“Yes” the Nidaime said dryly, sipping his tea as Kagami opened the door “I had hope no one would ever hear about – well, it is nice to be in his house where his chakra lingers.” And…huh, there was a seed of honesty in that that Sakura hadn’t anticipated and Kagami must have heard if the devastated look on his face was anything to go by. “Sensei….” He breathed and the Nidaime waved a hand, brushing away the word, “Tell me what has been going on in the village Kagami.” He said firmly, disallowing the other topic. Kagami glanced at Sakura, hesitating, “Hime –“ he started and she sighed a little, “I’ll go fetch some broth and porridge but get whatever is confidential over with quickly please, if you want him awake long enough to tell him everything you need me up here helping.” Looking relived Kagami nodded gratefully, Sakura tossed her hair over her shoulder and touched his neck lightly in comfort on her way out; she truly didn’t mind them talking confidentially, it would make it easier for them to talk about her and her brothers and for Tobirama to trust his words and add to that that some of the information (Danzo trying to kill him, what Sarutobi was doing, ect) was going to be painful – well. She really did get it, but she couldn’t leave them alone for too long or the Nidaime would pass out before the whole thing could be discussed; his health really was in a bad way at the moment.

Oro was in the kitchen reading a book and keeping an eye on Sakumo running around in the garden with Ragnulf, the wolf cub tumbling over his too big paws as he chased his summoner; both of them running off the extra energy that buzzed in them in anticipation of joining the Academy tomorrow. “So we’re not telling anyone that Nidaime-sama is awake?” the Mizuchi asked quietly, carefully pronouncing each word clearly (he was big about keeping up with Dan and Sakumo, never mind that both boys were a couple years older than him – luckily Sakura really thought he could keep up with their help) and Sakura nodded, going to the ice box for the last of the mornings rice porridge and the broth she had been keeping for when the Nidaime woke next. “For now it seems safer since people are already trying to kill him.” she agreed and Oro’s golden eyes narrowed in thought, “Can I tell mom? What ab’t Sakumo?” “About” Sakura corrected gently, smiling a little at the puffed out cheeks the correction brought even though Oro had asked to be corrected. “About, can I?” the child tried again as Sakura pulled the food off the heat and on to a tray, turning to lean on the counter while she let it cool and thought about it.

“Your mother, yes. I wouldn’t ask you to keep a secret from her but make sure she knows we are keeping it quiet please. Sakumo…” Sakumo was harder, he was Oro’s closest friend and as far as Sakura knew there was no secrets between them but that would mean asking Sakumo to keep a secret from his Aunt and that was pushing it a lot. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the Hatake but any secret spread far enough wouldn’t stay secret for long; but asking Oro to keep something secret might put a wedge between the children which was the last thing Sakura wanted to do. “I guess I have to leave that up to your judgment Oro, I don’t want to ask him to keep secrets from his family but all of them knowing would be too much so…” Oro nodded, eyes narrowed in thought “you can spend time with him though if he is awake, he would be a good person to learn from and could help you with your questions as he is possibly the most brilliant shinobi that has ever lived.” Oro perked right up at that, pupils narrowing in excitement which made Sakura smile as she turned to check the food; deeming it cool enough and heading for the stairs as Oro turned over what he wanted to do in his head.

In the Nidaime’s room the air was tense and the Senju looked stern, his jaw tight with anger and frustration (ah, so Kagami had already told him about his student’s betrayal of him and his ideals but she was guessing not about the Academy specifically or his anger would be much greater, Sakura remembered Tobirama-sensie's rage and it was as cold and deep as the trenches in the ocean not muted frustration even at his most exhausted) as Sakura swept in and placed the food on his tray, scanning him with medical jutsu and easing the muscle fatigue so his hands weren’t shaking too much for him to eat as Kagami finished filling him in. Sakura listened with one ear as she checked reflexes and wounds (everything seemed to be healing as well as could be hoped to her relief), glad that the Nidaime was used enough to med-nin to do what she wanted without paying it much mind while he listened to Kagami silently. When the current Uchiha head came to the end and the Nidaime had finished his broth- and made a good dent in his porridge with Sakura’s glares pushing him on- the Senju was silent for a long moment, “I want to talk to the Kohaku next time I am awake” he said eventually “I can’t help much in my current state but.” he paused and swallowed looking a little lost and broken to Sakura’s keen eyes “I thought that Danzo was different from the rest of his clan, I hoped that he would be different. I never….never trusted him all the way and I think he knew it, I think it made his resentment worse but – this-!”

Kagami leaned forward and placed a hand on his mentor’s knee, “You did what you could Sensei, you gave him a chance and he - well he failed you, I think we all failed you a little.” “Kagami-“ “No” the Uchiha interrupted “I should have told you that I had my doubts about Saru, about his clan. I didn’t know anything for sure but after I took over as clan head some of my clansmen came to me with stories about working with the Sarutobi clan and I never passed it on to you even though I should have. I thought Saru was better than that and would hold to your ideals, I thought that there was no point in burdening you with something that we could fix and – I never wanted to think about anything happening to you and who might replace you. I never would have guess he would remove the graduation age.” the Nidaime’s eyes narrowed slightly, hand tightening on his spoon in a flash of rage (so, not telling him about removing the loss of the entrance age limit yet but they were telling him about the graduation age limit being removed) “Kagami, what do you mean?” he growled in a bass rumble and Kagami took a deep breath as Sakura slipped to his side, setting a hand on his shoulder as he slowly explained about the Sarutobi clan and their views on children as well as the- very faint, Sakura had certainly never heard about it- rumors that the clan had a hidden bloodline.

As he finished the Nidaime closed his eyes, leaning back his head and looking like he was pushed right to the edge, “And I placed him in charge of a village that was made to save children. ‘No small graves’ and he…he would send them to die.” The brittleness of his voice frightened Sakura and she stiffened, worried for the man and – “We won’t let that happen” Sasuke’s voice cut through the tension in the room and the Senju’s eyes snapped open, slanted red eyes darting to the Uchiha in the doorway and tensing a bit as he took him in (understandable, the resemblance to Izuna was uncanny she was told). Sasuke stepped into the room and moved close enough the Nidaime could see him well but not close enough to touch and leaving Kagami between them as a buffer, “Kagami may not have told you but we are more than a little powerful and if needed we will make sure that the children don’t die. We might not be able to keep them from graduating but they won’t go to the field.” And then he flared his coiling dragon-like chakra to prove that he did indeed have to power to back up his claims, Sakura following a moment later with her own Komainu chakra; keeping a close eye on the Nidaime as his pupils pinned and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“You know that I was the one to kill your father” the Senju said bluntly something thoughtful in his carmine gaze (what did he know?), Kagami wincing even as Sasuke nodded gravely, “I do, you were at war. From what I know he would have done the same if he could have and you had to protect your clan” Sasuke paused, clearly thinking something over before he went on, eye spinning into the mangekyō “I have been down the path of Hatred Nidaime-sama and in the end I found it lacking, the pain will call to me for the rest of my life but I have learned that if I try I can place the good memories in front of the bad and – well, not grieve maybe but…accept the pain and let it go to focus on the present and those I love.” Something in the Nidaime relaxed at that and he nodded, eyes alight with interest “I hope to speak to you about your Sharingan at some point, I never could figure out how to help the Uchiha but it seems you may have found a better way to channel the power and beat the Curse.”

Sasuke nodded gravely “I would be glad to speak to you about it another time Nidaime-sama, and I swear we are doing everything we can to protect what you value about Konoha; you must rest and regain strength and trust that we will do everything we can to protect the children.” At that the corner of Tobirama’s lips twitched up as his eyes scanned over the three of them, his thoughts well hidden behind his red eyes “And from what I have seen that is rather a lot” he murmured dryly, already clearly flagging and Sakura didn’t take anymore time before ushering the Uchiha out of the room. Clearing the Nidaime’s lap and helping him lie back down, all to aware of the red eyes watching her when he spoke again, “You should ask one of th’ Uchiha aunties ab’t th’ Uchiha courtship” her eyes snapped to him and his eyes glinted “’gami deserves a proper courtship.” He told her smirking as she blushed and used a green jutsu to send him back to sleep a little bit faster – all she was doing was speeding the natural processes up! Though….he had a point, maybe she should go find Maemi...

Chapter Text

Naruto crouched in the dark corner of Hanzō’s hideout, swathed in darkness with his hood pulled over his head to cover his bright hair. He felt a distant sort of regret for taking the man out without giving him a chance but, well, if the Last War had taught him anything it was that sometimes you had to take out a threat before they had a chance to put a dagger in your back, and if that meant taking out Hanzō now before he was truly doing anything then Naruto would do it, even if it felt like a stain on his soul. Hanzō waved a hand and all but his closest lieutenants exited the room; now was the time to strike, when they were all together and relatively unguarded, but still Naruto hesitated, he didn’t want to…Nagato’s face flashed through his head and he thought about the papers he had already found in the Ame leader’s office that talked about attacking Konoha, thought about a future where Hanzō teamed up with Danzo, thought about all that could be lost even if Hanzō was still something of a good man in this time. The blonde’s hands hung in the air, uncertain about using the jutsu; was this the same as Ramin? Was this – Nagato’s face flashed in his mind, and then Kakashi’s before he walked away, asking only for a better future for his father and Naruto’s jaw tightened.

The hand signs for the jutsu Heavenly Blessing: Judgment of the Tenko weren’t complicated and used more of his tails than his hands truly but it was a powerful jutsu, one strong enough to wipe out a room full of strong shinobi in one blast as a golden blade scythed through the room, ripping the souls out of the Ame nin and calling the judgment of the Shikigami on their souls. There was a roar and the Shikigami appeared in the room, snarling mask leering down from the rafters at the frozen Ame nin as his tanto sliced through the bonds holding their souls to life; freeing them into eternal death until such a time as the Shikigami deemed them ready for reincarnation. He lingered a bit on Hanzō but took him all the same and when those glowing eyes landed on Naruto the Tenko was sure to meet the immortal gaze evenly; this was a risky jutsu and one he rarely used for the huge chakra drain- even for him- and the possibility that if it was used on one the Shikigami deemed unready to die it might take the caster instead but it was the fastest way to clear a room and Naruto wasn’t wasting time here he didn’t have.

The Shikigami examined him as Naruto pushed back his hood and then nodded slowly, speaking in a creaking booming voice, “You chose to do much to see your version of the future through, how do you know it is the right one?” and suddenly Naruto was aware that he knew very little about this being – and they looked a lot like Kaguya. Still, he would not be cowed, “I don’t” Naruto proclaimed “I have no idea if it is the right one, but it is the only one I can make so I am going to, because I refuse to have the future that was be the future that is. I don’t know what is right, but I know what I will do to try and save those I love and insure that the souls in the Pure Lands rest in peace until their time comes; I made a promise Shikigami-sama, I mean to keep it.” there was a long pause as he was examined and then the Shikigami laughed, a hollow echoing thing that went on long after the fanged mouth had closed; “Very well then, you have my blessing. Anything to piss off my cousins.” The Shikigami proclaimed, slowly vanishing and leaving Naruto alone in a room filled with dead shinobi, only half his chakra, and the feeling that he had escaped something by the skin of his teeth (clearly the Shikigami remembered the Future-that-was, did that mean other souls in the Pure Lands would? At least until they were reborn?).

Shaking a bit Naruto eased further into the room and checked the bodies perfunctorily, finding nothing of use he could take without it being questioned, he activated the Hiraishin tag he had left outside to get out of the building undetected. He had made sure that one of the higher ranking nin wasn’t in the room when he killed everyone, a nin that wasn’t interested in war and had spoken up against it; a nin with distinctive red hair that Naruto couldn’t miss and wouldn’t kill (hopefully Nagato would have an easier life as the son of a small Kage than he had originally, at least in this life he would never have the Rinnegan as they would make sure to deal with Madara before that. Hopefully that would spare his former clansman some tragedy). With some reluctance Naruto turned away from Amegakure and its more temperate climate to Sunagakure and its blowing winds and endless sands (sand and furry tails did not go well together).

The run was meditative and Naruto spent it thinking about what he knew of where Shukaku was at this point in time; was he still locked in the temple with the old priest at this point in time or had Bunpuku already died and Shukaku moved on to another jinchuriki that Naruto didn’t know the name of? He would start at the temple, that would be easier anyway and if Bunpuku was still alive Shukaku would be happier; Naruto had gotten the impression he had had a good relationship with the old priest in a way he hadn’t with his second jinchuriki – or his third until Gaara had gotten him under control and actually communicated with him. Still, Naruto would rather deal with pre-madness Shukaku than post if possible so he was hoping that Bunpuku was still around as he raced through the night at speeds no other would have been able to match for half as long (Tobirama-sensei could when he was Edo-ed, he was fast enough it was just a problem of matching Naruto’s stamina), hoping to hit the border before he found a place to bed down and gather his energy.

His night was plagued with dreams, back in the oppressive temple that existed in the seal space in Mito, the temperature was hot enough his breath seemed to choke in his chest and the bloody anger seeping through the tori gate enough to give the room a red cast. “Kurama-sama” he called into the gloom, so like the old seal space in Naruto’s seal though Mito’s took the shape of a temple not a sewer, “Kurama-sama I have come to speak with you!” his voice was oddly muffled in the space, not a single echo to be heard making it feel oppressive and stifling, like his words were stones falling on felt. For a long time Naruto thought there would be no response but he waited anyway, unwilling to give up this easily when he knew Kurama and knew that the fox would be wondering how Naruto knew his name. Finally something shifted and the light brightened a bit, showing that what he had thought was red pain on the temple was instead steadily flowing rivers of blood painting everything in shades of crimson; “Who. Are. You.” something hissed, low and deadly behind the gate and sounding nothing like Kurama as Naruto knew him and – Naruto jerked awake, panting slightly and shivering at the memory. The reminder that no one he knew here was the same person that he had known when he lived the first time. He had to remember that or he would simply make everything worse; just look at the mess with Ramin, how often would his instinct be to reach for violence instead of trying to talk his enemies over to his side? How much had the hopeless war with the Ōtsutsuki burned out Naruto’s willingness to try for kindness first? (Because kindness never mattered to them, they never cared, it was blood and power for them and trying to slow down enough to try and talk them down only left more dead in the end than just hitting hard and hitting fast. But how much had he lost to that? How much of what he valued about himself had he lost in those plains of ash and bone?)

Head and heart aching for his pact- for Sakura’s calming hands and Sasuke’s soothing warmth (at least one person he had saved, one person that had come back for Naruto in the end)- Naruto curled forward and dropped his head into his hands, panting slightly and shaking as his tails curled comfortingly around him until the dawn inched over the horizon and he dragged himself to his feet again.

Suna was hot and bright, the sun beating down and making Naruto sweat and itch (it reminded him far too much of what everything had turned to in the end, the sand far too like the endless plains of crematory ash in the way it blew and caught in everything – though at least with sand he didn’t have to worry about breathing in the ash of a loved one) and by the time he got far enough in to need a henge he was more than ready to add a desert robe over his darkening skin and tails (as a Tenko he was even better at henge and transformations than he used to be but there was always one tell-tale tail to worry about), stopping at a small oasis village to get a drink and some gossip (the rumors about the Nidaime and Madara had already reached this far out to his delight, how long would it take before Madara heard them?!) and a long robe to keep the heat off.

A few carefully questions told him that the living ghost of a corrupted priest still lived in the basement of the temple near the Kazekage’s palace (huh, he didn’t know it was a place in this time rather than a tower like in Konoha), locked deep in a dungeon in a sealed teapot to keep Suna safe from the ghost. So, still locked in the priest, that would help rather a lot even if getting down there was going to be a pain as was getting Shukaku out – though, maybe he should just crack the seals and let the one tails do the rest and then the Kazekage could think Shukaku had broken out on his own rather than just vanishing (what he had to be sure of was that there was no way to blame Konoha, that would only inflame war and as tempting as it was to just kill the Kazekage he selfishly didn’t want to kill the only chance for Gaara to be born – he would if he had too but…he didn’t want to even if Suna had long been a thorn in their side; even after they had peace when Gaara vanished briefly because of that whole thing with Hiruko ((oh shoot, they should find him and make sure he didn’t do go bad this time)) Suna was more than ready to go to war without asking any questions so yeah, always a pain in their ass though not as bad as Kiri). So, find the temple, tunnel(?) into the dungeon and free Shukaku and let him rampage out before sending him to the tanuki summons realm; easy peasy right?

Yeah, not so much. Getting into the village was easy with his skills and finding the temple and even the dungeon was way too easy with his ability to feel the bijuu even under the ground; but Naruto could also feel the layers of bastardized-seals that covered the dungeon and protected it from the tunneling that Naruto was hoping to use. Crap. Well, ok, pretend to be a priest and sneak in? Just sneak in? Hmm…the blond surveyed the temple and the people entering and exiting, wondering if he could sneak a hiraishin seal on one and try that? No, no way to make sure that he wasn’t seen when he entered, best to just stick to the seals and try and sneak in. Mind made up Naruto swathed himself in his cloak and shadow and slipped in behind one of the entering priests; the temple bells and shide swaying on the holy Shimenawa as he entered the sacred spaces, sending a mental apology up for not cleansing himself the way he really should, that would be a great way to be detected. Luckily as a Tenko he was a holy being and there was no other response from the temple as he slipped around the structures, following the feel of living beings under the ground to find the hidden entrance to the dungeons.

Luckily it seemed to be feeding time and Naruto was able to drift in after a priest, sliding under the watchful eyes of the of the shinobi guards with ease and ghosting through the dark halls, heading down and down and down, frequently ducking into corners and unpicking seals (so definitely needed Shukaku to break out to hide him breaking in then) as he went until he was in the deepest reaches of the dungeon where a man sat in a cell next to a huge teapot covered in seals. Hmm. The man was old, very old, and his clothing and bearing gave him away as a priest and Naruto could feel Shukaku’s presence radiating from the teapot even though it was also tied to the priest at the moment. How did he…impulse rose and before he could second guess himself Naruto stepped out of the shadows and slipped  off both robe and cloak before chirping “Hello”. Bunpuku’s head snapped up and the priest gapped at the strange blond in his dungeon, eyes going wider where they landed on his many fanned tails, there was a long pause and then the man bowed a little where he sat, “Tenko-sama” he rasped in a voice unused to use “what brings you to my humble abode?” Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, glancing around as if to ask ‘this is your abode?’ but refrained from saying anything.

“I have come for Shukaku” Naruto said plainly, unsurprised a priest could tell his true nature “it is time for the bijuu to leave this plan and learn to ascend with the other kami. The cost should they not do so would be disastrous” Bunpuku hesitated for a long moment, looking conflicted and Naruto sighed, inching closer, “think, you are a holy man, you know that the Kazekage would use Shukaku for, you can put together the cost of sealing spirits of chakra. What happens when you seal the sprits of the wind Bunpuku?” the priest jolted a bit at the use of his name and eyed Naruto with some wariness but the blonde could tell he was listening. “You know this isn’t right, that sealing and imprisoning a living creature like this is wrong and there will be no lasting threat to Suna as it is my task to free all the bijuu in the end and send them on to the next part of their evolution.” There was a rumbling from the teapot that seemed to be a secondary prison and connected to the jinchuriki and Bunpuku turned to it, Naruto tuning into the wavelength that he had been bequeathed by his Kurama’s death.

“If this esteemed one is extracted from you it will kill you” the one tails rumbled discontentedly and Bunpuku sighed, slumping a little where he sat, “I am an old man Shukaku, I didn’t want to tell you but they planned to extract you and placing you in a new jinchuriki soon anyway, one that could go to war for them. If loosing a few days allows me to spare you that horror then, well, I will count it well worth the cost.” Those old eyes turned to Naruto “You promise me that you will send him to a place where he will be safe and beyond mortal abuse Tenko-sama?” the priest demanded and Naruto nodded, wondering if Shukaku could tell anything that was going on around him. “Very well then, I will allow you to unseal him and take him to his next step on the wheel” Bunpuku seemed relived by that and Naruto politely turned his head away as the priest had his last words with the one tail, explaining and cajoling Shukaku into agreeing with a surprisingly deft hand (it was strange to see Shukaku having such a good relationship with his jinchuriki, like he and Kurama had swapped places in this time; it ached).

Finally they were ready and Naruto turned to the seals, finding Bunpuku a helpful voice in unpicking it and breaking the seal, clearly the man was a Fūinjutsu master in his own right and Naruto wished he had more time to learn from the old man (there was a time when Naruto would never have let Bunpuku die for this, there was a time-) but as the last bits of the seal came undone he could see Bunpuku fading, his body failing and his spirit ready to move on to the next plane. Still, seeing Shukaku crammed down into a smaller version of his shape to curl over the cooling body of his former jinchuriki and keening softly, high and sad like a mear cub rather than a fully grown bijuu (was he though? He had always seemed a little younger than the rest) made Naruto’s heart ache – both for the tanuki and for his own Kurama who was now long gone except in the few marks he had left on Naruto’s body. “Shukaku, we have to go, can you break out? I will lead the way but if you make a mess on the way out it will help. Once we are out of the village I will send you to your next destination” the one-tail turned huge sad eyes on the blonde and Naruto hesitated before offering, “do you want to take his body with us?” and Shukaku nodded immediately, maybe he had feared that Bunpuku wouldn’t be given a proper burial by the village – which given the rumors Naruto had heard was a fair fear.

“Ok, ok, I’ll carry him you smash our way out, yeah?” Shukaku nodded again, reluctantly moving out of the way and letting Naruto pick the priest up even as the bijuu expanded until his size was straining the cell. There was a breath of silence and then Shukaku roared, bellowing his grief to the skies and shaking the deep dungeons until rock fell from the roof, Naruto biting his lip and tucking himself behind the bijuu as Shukaku turned the full force of his anger on the cell, flattening the teapot and smashing the bars in a single swipe. What followed was a constant barrage of jutsu and rubble as Shukaku smashed his way out, destroying the dungeons on his way and leaving Naruto ducking and weaving to avoid getting caught in falling rock as they ripped out of the earth and Naruto had to prod the tanuki hard to get him to turn to the gates out of the village rather than the Kazekage’s place- though he didn’t stop the bijuu from swiping at it on his way and causing a major collapse on what looked like a administration wing before they ripped their way out of the village, Naruto killing the few sealing masters that came out to try and reseal Shukaku; something that was very easy given that no one was looking for him under the bijuu’s behemoth shape.

They kept going until they hit the outcropping that Naruto had prepped earlier where the summons for the tanuki was waiting for him before he turned to Shukaku, “I am sending you to the summons realm, the tanuki summons specifically. The Sages there can help you grow and heal and fully embody your power without threat of humans trying to find you and seal you again; because if you stay here they will and they will never stop. You will never be safe and free from being seen as a monster and a weapon, there you will be safe and chakra will stay strong in the world. Is that alright with you?” Shukaku looked at him for a long minute, clearly thinking about something, finally saying “Bunpuku said that there would be someone who would save and guide the future, this esteemed one never thought he would have been this literal. This esteemed one will go to the summons realm and burry Bunpuku there where he will be respected as he deserves.” Shukaku said finally, nodding to the waiting tanuki summons as Naruto handed over the body of Bunpuku to the bijuu, waving to Shukaku as the summons placed a tiny paw on the huge claws and both vanished, the sudden absence of something so large making the world feel off kilter and oddly like there was a vacuum in front of him.

Still, there was no time to waste, Suna would still be after him and it wouldn’t take long for them to get here so Naruto needed to wipe out the seals and hiraishin out of here as far as he could (which was all the way back to Fire with his chakra) before he gave Suna more reason to go to war.

Chapter Text

Sasuke was chopping vegetables for dinner- it was going to be a big one after the first day of Academy for the children- when Sakura burst into the room, panting and wide-eyed, her hair a mess and her clothing ruffled uncharacteristically. Instantly Sasuke stiffened, grip on the knife shifting to a combat hold as he searched for the threat that was big enough to have Sakura this ruffled, “Sak-“ but she interrupted him, flinging out an arm and pointing at him accusingly “WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL ME THE UCHIHA HAD SUCH COMBLLICATED COURTING?!” she bellowed, at a volume Sasuke hadn’t heard in a long time unless it was a battlefield (it was giving him flashbacks to their Genin days, bad flashbacks). Blinking in confusion Sasuke lowered the knife slightly, “I – what? We what?” he stuttered out, baffled and Sakura’s glare narrowed further; ‘Courting. Traditions. Why did you never tell me your clan’s were so complicated?!” which. What? Now more than a little exasperated Sasuke turned back to his preparations, “And how would I know that Sakura? Its not like I grew up in the clan and even if I did I would never have told you back then when you might have fucking used them.” There was a long pause and he knew if he glanced back Sakura would be looking at him with sad eyes and it made his skin crawl (kami he wished Naruto was here to smooth over these moments). Frustrated he snapped the knife through the green onions more harshly, trying to figure out how to move this on.

“So you planning to court Kagami the Uchiha way then? Who did you ask and what brought it up?” he grated out, a long pause and then Sakura sighed, thankfully letting it go and sitting at the table. “Nidaime-sama mentioned it so I asked Maemi about it.” she said in a sulky voice “I had no idea it was so complicated! Ugh, this is going to be such a pain…” she trailed off muttering under her breath and as much as Sasuke was curious about his clan traditions there was something more to ask about when it came down to it. “So we’re not going to talk about how we’re keeping the change in the Academy joining age from him then?” he asked calmly, flipping the onions into the pan with only a little awkwardness from his only having one hand (he was getting better, there hadn’t been much chance to practice cooking one handed in the war so it was an on going project). There was a long awkward silence from behind him and then Sakura sighed deeply, clothing rustling as she no doubt buried her face in her hands as her response was muffled and tried sounding; “We told him that the graduation age limit had been removed” but it was a weak argument and they both knew it, it mattered little if the Graduation age limit was removed if the limit to join was still in place but without that…children younger than eight would be graduating in no time and they all knew it.

“Sakura” Sasuke murmured softly and she sighed again, “I didn’t want to agitate him too much, he is still recovering and hearing about the graduation was bad enough I was afraid that hearing about the joining age removal would enrage him enough he would get out of bed and storm the Tower – which he is not strong enough for at the moment, not at all. I know it was bad to keep things from him but as his healer I couldn’t allow him to act rashly – and we both know that he would act with no regard for his own health.” Sasuke snorted at that; that was more than true after all, he was fairly sure that Tobirama had loved the Edo for the way that it freed him from mortal health constraints to do whatever he wanted and go as long as he wanted and would go back to his Edo form if given a chance even with it’s downsides. After all that was the easiest way for him to be a good weapon and useful and all the pact was well aware that Tobirama had had the Senju mindset of ‘usefulness’ beat into his head to a frightening degree (Sasuke thought that being an albino must have something to do with it – as had having to always be ready to compensate for his brother, Hashirama had been a lot of things but capable of running a village without his brother he was not).

“Yeah….” Sasuke sighed, stirring his pan as the rice maker started smelling ready “take the rice off the heat?” Sakura groaned but stood and trotted over to do as she was asked, moving the rice off the heat and then leaning into Sasuke’s side trustingly. “I know this could come back to bite us but with any luck by the time he is awake long enough to hear Kagami will be in place as Hokage and working to fix it” Sasuke shook his head, careful as he shifted his weight to not shake her off “You know that won’t stop him opening a can of whoop ass on Sarutobi and Danzo and anyone else he can reach that might be involved.” “Well, with any luck he won’t hurt himslef doing it” his all but blood sister muttered into his Uchiha mantle, leaning on him for another long moment before visibly gathering herself and standing to turn to the door where they could hear the children approaching, voices a bright mix of excited, petulant and disappointed. “Show time” she muttered, mustering a bright smile as she straightened her clothes and headed for the door as their children spilled into the room, filling it with bright chatter.

Oro appeared to be sulking where he was tucked under Sakumo’s arm but the Hatake looked more amused than annoyed so Sasuke wasn’t too worried about it- yet- and pocket!Jiraiya looked close to ecstatic where he was bouncing at the door as he said goodbye to Asuka and Touma; both Uchiha children looking a bright eyed after the long day at the Academy and excited to tell their parents about it. Matsui was out of town at the moment (to her great regret) so ity!Tsuna was with them and looking a bit sullen though Dai seemed to be doing his best to cheer her up, Dan was the last of them in, followed by his uncertain looking parents and Frigg Hatake. “Welcome! Welcome!” Sakura chirped, moving forward to ruffle Sakumo’s hair kiss Oro’s cheek, chucking pocket!Jiraiya under the chin and grinning at the other children as Bashira came down the stairs to welcome her son and Oro finally left the safety of Sakumo’s arm to go to his mother though he towed the older boy after him anyway.

Sasuke ran an evaluating eye over the children, trying to gauge if anything had gone wrong and seeing nothing obvious to his relief (though, if it wasn’t their kids getting picked on who was it? There was always one student in Sasuke’s experience – though maybe the teachers were all still appointees of the Nidaime which might mean that wasn’t institutionalized yet) as they and the adults settled around the table, Frigg and Dan’s shy, pale haired mother Fumiko coming to help him gather all the food and move it to the table. “So how was everyone’s first day?” Sakura asked brightly after the food was served out, giggling a little at Oro’s immediate pout where he was sitting between his mother and Sakumo. The Hatake rolled his eyes, looking amused and a bit frustrated but it was Dan that answered, “Its…fine, the teachers are good but they are way overloaded now with all the kids that joined today so unless you really stick out for some reason you don’t get much attention – which is fine for clan kids or kids that are already known to have been taken under someone’s wing” like theirs “but the other kids are getting the short end of the stick. Its….honestly it’s a mess and unless the Hokage starts appointing new teachers’ fast things are going to get…complicated.” Sasuke ducked his head to hide his grimace in his mantle, about what he had expected them really, “Anything that is going to be detrimental to you guys?” he asked gruffly as he pushed the rice and beef closer to Frigg who was looking a bit too thin for Sasuke’s liking. 

The kids exchanged looks over the table and then shook their head as one, faces set determinedly, as Sakumo met Sasuke’s eyes, “We can handle it, you guys have enough on your plate for the moment.” He said sounding so much older than the sobbing child they had met at the gate; Sasuke searched his face for a long moment, gauging his honesty and then looked over the other children, even ity!Tsuna nodding when he met her eyes. “Alright” he said finally “but if that changes you come to us immediately, got it? We will never have too little time for you and anything that is bothering you; you come first, all of you, do you understand?” the little Senju blushed a bit and ducked her head in a nod, Dai looking damp eyed and pocket!Jiraiya fierce as Dan was steady, Sakumo and Oro both meeting his gaze with surety they must have learned from Naruto in the months the pact had been in Konoha. Kami but Sasuke was so proud of them.

“Alright, he said evenly “there’s something else Sakura and I wanted to tell you but you have to understand that it has to be under the utmost secrecy, at least until we know who the leak out of the village is, understood?” this was a calculated risk and one Sakura didn’t like much but the Nidaime hadn’t woken again since the last time when Kagami filled him in and it wasn’t fair to keep it secret from people who cared about him like ity!Tsuna and Sakumo or expect them to keep such things secret from their friends so this was the best compromise – especially since if it did leak out they were still trying to push Danzo into something rash. There were nods around the table though the Katō’s looked a bit taken aback at being included and Frigg had noticeably tensed, “The Nidaime has woken, he’s asleep again now and will probably be for a while but when he is awake you can visit him as long as you are careful and don’t mention anything about the Academy, Sakura says his body can’t take the stress off hearing about that ok?” It was a lot to ask of the children but it was worth it for the way they brightened visibly and ity!Tsuna looked like she was about to start crying about her granduncle being awake. “The other thing you need to know is that someone is trying to kill him.” Sasuke continued, feeling a bit bad for the way it sucked the air out of the room in a rush, “we are working on doing what we can about and Naruto has set strong wards and traps around the house but the fact is that someone in Konoha wants him dead and we can’t let that happen.”

At that the children all went grim and sharp as Sasuke leaned forward, “I am not telling you to do anything, but if you hear something or get a bad feeling or anything, tell us. It could be the difference between him dying and staying alive, got it?” nods all around the table but Frigg’s eyes were narrow and sharp, “You know who is after him.” she stated and Sasuke leaned back, folding his hand over his mouth as he examined her, red glinting deep in his eye. Finally he said, “We have our suspicions and reason to think they are correct, but nothing we can act on yet.” He finally allowed, well aware of how she would hear the undertones in that; the way he was saying without saying that they knew who it was but the person was too powerful to go after without ironclad evidence – which would narrow the pool rather a lot. As expected Frigg’s eyes narrowed slightly and her lips pinched but she nodded all the same, stroking a hand over Sakumo’s shaggy gray hair.

It was later after diner was finished and he was doing the dishes as Sakura talked through a few more things with the adults- Bashira was planning to move out tomorrow and Sasuke was halfway sure it was to get out in the village more and be a pair of ears for them as much as it was to get Oro into a safer home with the Nidaime under attack- that Frigg found him, tossing her hair over her shoulder and taking over the drying. “It’s someone in the leadership of the village” she said softly, firmly, Sasuke glancing at her through his fringe and seeing the white-gray hair-

Kakashi-sensei was laughing as he watched Sasuke try to wash up after diner with only one hand, clumsily getting water everywhere but to stubborn to ask for help until their sensei joined him at the fire and took over the drying, still chuckling more honestly than he had since Gai died. “Sure, laugh it up mut” the Uchiha muttered, gently bumping their shoulders to take the sting out of it as he looked out past the fire at the bare, fire seared husks of the trees reaching into the dim sky like clawing fingers (it was never really dark now, not with the moon looming close enough to cover a quarter of the sky no matter the time of day or season). “Hey sensei, you said you talked to your dad, back then when Madara was the worst thing we had to face. Do you – do you think the others are like that? Just lingering close on the other side and waiting for us?” it was the most Sasuke had said in days and Kakashi-sensei’s hand stuttered a little but he kept going before too long, drying several more dishes before he responded. “I don’t know, I hope not, I hope they have gone on to better things and left behind this-“ he waved out at the barren plains around them “-but…Sasuke, does it matter? For you and me? Its not like they aren’t right here” he tapped under his sharingan eye “just waiting for you to think of them.” And as dozens of faces flashed in his mind’s eye, trapped in golden moments and broken ones, laughing and dying and burning and walking away. “They don’t have to wait for us when we are always waiting for them, just a breath away.”

-and sharp features of the woman. For a second it was all he could do to breathe around the memory. Eventually he forced out a neutral sounding “Hn” that Frigg seemed to accept as good enough response, her mouth tightening and her jaw going hard; “Hellfire, we had been worried about – the rumors and the way the Hokage has chosen to respond to everything – I thought a vote of no confidence might happen soon but now with this war…” she trailed off and glanced at him again, taking the last plate. “Sasuke-sama, I don’t know what you and your friends have been through, I don’t think any of us could but – this war, will you…will you be willing to take it up?” there was vulnerability to her voice (so like another Hatake’s) and it dug into Sasuke’s soft spots like bamboo under the nails as he leaned on the sink. Finally in a low voice he said, “I would never abandon my cousin or the children, but understand this Frigg” and he slanted a look at her, burning red and a glint of purple through the black of his fringe “some things once unleashed cannot be bound again, some boxes once opened cannot be closed. When you know not what it is you are releasing think long and hard on whether you want it in the world.”

Frigg paled slightly and nodded, but Sasuke smiled a sad smile, for he knew that she didn’t understand; not really, not fully. She had no way of knowing what Sasuke knew- knew in a way Sakura and Naruto couldn’t- that if (when) they went to war it would change everything; how could it not when the only way they knew how to wage war was at the end of the world when there was nothing but ash and bone to lose and carving out a valley would be the very smallest of the ruin the pact could rain down on the world (for they didn’t know how to stop anymore, Ramin had proven that). (It was their pact, made in the ash of their world ‘Burn until there was nothing left to burn or they burnt out together in a conflagration like none had ever seen before. If the Ōtsutsuki wanted a star they would get a supernova.’)

Chapter Text

Sakura tutted over the skinned knee of the child in front of her where she was kneeling in the market, having run across the kid in her search for the perfect opening gift for Kagami (though why it had to be something she was willing to burn she didn’t understand, sure she got what Maemi meant when she said that buying something and then burning it showed you valued them more than money but it still seemed like a waste to her – though it had helped the MadaTobi agenda when someone put together that Madara had burned a lot of things around Tobirama in the past, it was just lucky that the Uchiha knew that a non-Uchiha wouldn’t know the traditions). “There, how does that feel now?” she asked gently, stroking the child’s hair as he blinked at her with wide eyes, sniffling but really rather calm all things considered, “Much be’er” he mumbled “th’nks Hime” Sakura smiled brightly at the child and sat back on her heels as he stumbled to his feet and darted off with one more thankful and clumsy bow. Well, she thought, sighing to herself, now it was back to trying to find something for the man she would like to be able to call hers; honestly even though it was a lot of hassle Sakura didn’t mind the courtship, there was something rather nice about knowing the steps of the dance and how all of it was supposed to go instead of having to guess what everyone was thinking and feeling and – yeah, she didn’t mind it that much really, it was just a hassle and she wasn’t sure how to –

Her wandering eyes landed on a stall and the pink haired woman visibly brightened, surging to her feet and brushing off her clothing as she darted to the stand, leaning over the beautifully painted fans and plucking out the one that was Uchiha indigo with scarlet spider lilies touched here and there in gilt. This was perfect, she had seen Kagami’s fondness for fans and Madara’s collection and the spider lilies were a nod to the Nidaime to whom the Uchiha always brought fresh spider lilies every time he visited – which was as often as he could. It was rather a pity she was planning to set the whole thing on fire but ah well, if it got her interest in Kagami across she would deal and – honestly Sakura was starting to get impatient, she was flirting with the man as much as she could and he seemed to be responding but it was hard to tell for sure and it wasn’t like he was making any effort she could see so far to return her attention. So, this, this last thing and then if Kagami didn’t respond to it then she would back off and leave him alone even if the idea made her heart ache.

Kagami was just so….he was so beautiful and kind and though he was passionate as any Uchiha he was grounded too; she adored his gentleness and willingness to do what was needed while still making the harder choice of mercy (his mercy took her breath away, mercy had long been worn out of her but in him it shone so bright and she just never wanted to look away from it), she, well. She adored him honestly, she wanted to make her future with him, wanted him to be her future and if he didn’t want that then, well, she would learn to live with it and she wasn’t going to force anything of course if he didn’t feel the same but it was going to be a loss and one she…rather dreaded. Still, better to have tried and risked it all then not and never have the chance, the Last War had taught her that; through blood and bitter tears. “Hime? Do you want to take the fan?” the merchant asked and Sakura jumped, nodding and pulling out her money pouch to pay for the fan before tucking it away in her sleeve with a weak smile and thanks to the amused looking merchant (Sakura didn’t want to know if he was thinking about the colors of the fan, didn’t want to know if the rumors about her included anything about her walks around the village with Kagami at her side- though not on her arm to her disappointment-).

“Hime-Sensei?” Sakura started a little at the small voice and turned to look at Sakumo, unsurprised that the boy had taken on Oro’s name for her, “Sakumo! What are you doing out of school?” she asked, focusing on the boy and crouching down to his level. Sakumo smiled weakly at her, tangling his fingers awkwardly, “I – Oro is covering for me, I was wondering – could I spend the day with you?” what in the world -? Wait, ah, Sakura was fairly sure she knew what this was about, and she ruffled the Hatake’s hair as she stood, “Alright then, come on, let’s go home and have some tea, yeah?” at that the small shoulders dropped in relief and Sakumo beamed up at her as they made their way back to their house deep in the Uchiha district.

“Now” Sakura said as they entered the safety of the house and all its seals, “you really want to see the Nidaime-sama don’t you?” Sakumo blushed a bit but nodded, looking anxious and wide eyed with hope. Sakura sighed but really the kid had been smart about it and she had no doubt that he and Oro had a whole plan in place to make sure that no one asked too many questions and honestly she didn’t blame him, he clearly loved the Nidaime (she hadn’t forgotten finding him crying outside the village walls that fist day) and finding out that he had woken up would no doubt have stirred up the emotion in the child. “Alright then, come on, lets go see if he is feeling like waking up – but nothing about the Academy if he does remember?” Sakumo nodded firmly, nearly vibrating with excitement as they climbed the stairs and Sakura knocked softly on the door before pushing it open – more than a little shocked to hear a low, rasping “Come in”. Under her hand Sakumo made a high puppy noise that sent a sharp pang through Sakura’s heart it sounded so much like her old teacher, it surprised her so much that it was only at the last second that she grabbed the back of Sakumo’s shirt to stop him from diving on the still wounded man.

“Oh no you don’t” she said sharply “he’s still wounded, no jumping on him or hugging too tightly, got it squirt?” Sakumo whined but nodded, approaching much more slowly when she set him on the ground again and crawling onto the bed next to the Nidaime with nearly exaggerated care. “Hi” he whispered to a tired looking Senju, carefully picking up a bandaged hand as his lip quivered, “you’re awake, you’re alive” and the Nidaime smiled, warm and kind and gentle as he squeezed the small hand in his. “Hey cub,” he all but crooned “I’ll be ok, no need to look like that, Qiānqiū-hime has been taking very good care of me and she’ll get me back on my feet in no time.” Sakumo’s lip poked out and he sniffed, whining “But it’s already been months and you’re still in bed and-“ “Sakumo” Sakura interrupted gently, “these things take time, I know Oro has been talking to you about it and it can take a long time to recover from the sort of thing that Nidaime-sama has gone through, but he will get better.” Sakumo sniffed and visibly braced himself, dragging up a smile for the Nidaime and settling himself against the Senju’s ribs as soft as a feather.

“Ok, ok Tobirama-sama, how about I tell you all about the wolves since you’ve been asleep yeah?” Sakura shook her head at the child’s forced cheery tone and spent the rest of the afternoon reading a scroll on chakra control Bashira had lended her while Sakumo chattered at the Nidaime, finally looking up when the seals warned her that Kagami had entered the house and was headed up the stairs. Oh. oh shit. (She was panicking, it had been a while since she panicked last and she had rather forgotten how badly she reacted to this but –) the door swung open and Kagami stepped in, smiling and tousle haired and looking more than a little handsome with his feline features and kind dark eyes; the Uchiha indigo warming his creamy skin and making him look nothing short of stunning and – look, Sakura was only human and she was weak to Uchiha, especially this Uchiha. She couldn’t be blamed for her reaction, she really couldn’t be blamed and anyway it was a good time to do it right? Kagami’s sensei was there and so it could be counted as being in front of family right?

Either way it didn’t matter, Sakura was already doing it; watching as if from a great distance as she set aside the scroll and stood, straightening her clothing and marching up to the confused looking Uchiha with a grim look on her face (oh, she was really going to do this). Determinedly she reached into her sleeve as Kagami frowned at her in confusion and whipped out the fan (why did it feel like this was happening in slow motion?!) and laid it flat over her hands, all but shoving her hands and the gift under his nose with a sharply set jaw; giving him just long enough to look over the fan (oh look his eyes were widening! He looked impressed!) before she gathered a flash of chakra and set the whole thing on fire, blazing blue-white in her hands as Kagami’s jaw dropped.

There was a long silence as the fan crackled to ash and a few drips of melted gold and then the Nidaime cleared his throat and Kagami jumped, immediately blushing hotly; red sweeping up his face as he stared at Sakura and then- just when she was bracing for rejection- he spluttered. Awkwardly Sakura forced out “If you’re not-“ through numb lips and Kagami lunged forward, his hands covering Sakura’s and curling them closed over the ash and drops of gold as he yelped “No!” flushing even hotter as he struggled for words, “No, I – I mean – yes, I – yes. Please, um, thank you – I – oh! I accept your suit I me-ean.” Kagami stuttered out, red as spider lilies but eyes earnest as he was shy. “I accept.” And – the joy that swept over Sakura was like nothing she had felt in years, practically beaming at the Uchiha, her Uchiha. “Good” Sakura murmured, shifting her hands to tangle her fingers with Kagami’s without dropping the few drops of gold (she had plans for those) and smiling stupidly, “that’s very good then.”

There was a soft sound behind them and they both looked over at where the Nidaime was watching with palpable amusement even if it looked a little bitter sweet as he said, “Congratulations Kagami, Qiānqiū-hime; may your courtship be auspicious and proceed under a favorable star.” And Kagami’s face fell, though he didn’t let go of Sakura’s hand as he turned to face his teacher, “Oh Sensei, I didn’t think – Shishou-“ but the Senju held up a hand and stopped the younger man, shaking his head with a tired and really rather tragic smile on his face. “It was a life-time ago” he murmured “think not of it, this is something to celebrate Kagami and – and Madara would agree with me on that if nothing else.” (Well, maybe not, Sakura was not sure that Madara would ever think it was a good thing that one of his clan was tied to her. But he was ‘dead’ and was allowed no opinion, and if he did come back to life he had back taxes to pay anyway – no Sakura wasn’t looking forward to it.)

Chapter Text

Naruto watched Shukaku vanish with the body of his friend and hopped that there was a cuddle pile of tanuki waiting for him on the other side and then he put the thought aside and started wiping away any evidence of his and Shukaku’s presence, absently tracking the life-signatures approaching at a fast pace and stretching out for a hiraishin at the last possible second; pulling down rather more of his chakra than he liked to as he threw himself away from Suna and back to Fire country and something like safety. Once tucked away in the cave on the edge of Fire Naruto took some time to breath and rest, trying to figure out what he wanted to do next, the pact would want him to come home but now that he was so far out it was hard not to think about going to the Mountains Graveyard and check on Madara and Zetsu – especially Zetsu; though, he couldn’t get rid of Zetsu on his own, it would take Sasuke’s help as well to exorcise that creature so probably not worth letting it find out about him this early if it could be prevented (and he had promised Sasuke). Honestly that rather made up him mind didn’t it? He couldn’t show his hand and knowledge of Madara if Zetsu found him so – wait, wasn’t that-? Where was Chōmei at this point in time? He knew that the seven-tails had ended up in Waterfall but how and when had that happened given that Hashirama had soled the bijuu to the Five major countries, not to a country so small Naruto couldn’t even remember the name of it at this point, but that was definitely Chōmei he had just felt.

The Tenko sat back on his heels and gnawed on his lip, he could go back to Konoha and help make sure that war didn’t break out or – or he could take the sliver of time he had before aggression broke out with the loss of Hanzo and Shukaku and try for Chōmei since it was so close or one of the Iwa bijuu incase they entered the war like they had last time. Going after the Iwa had advantages of not fighting bijuu in the war but at the same time they were much better protected than Shukaku had been and he knew a lot less about where they were or what they though about anything (and more importantly he had promised Sasuke), at least with Chōmei he could be fairly sure the seven-tails would go with it and that the beetle summons would agree. On the other hand he didn’t want to break his promise to Sasuke to just get Hanzo and Shukau and come right back so…. Ok, ok, why didn’t he spend the night resting and trying to figure out if Chōmei was anywhere near enough him and then decide what to do (kami he just wanted to go back to his family in Konoha and curl up with Sasuke), in the meantime – a quick jutsu called up Goro, a small Japanese tree frog summons that had agreed to work with him as messenger to some of the summons (like the beetles and slugs) for whom the foxes didn’t work as well.

Goro appeared in a puff of smoke and ribbited at Naruto, flicking his tongue curiously as he looked around the cave, “Why have you called me summoner?” the small frog asked after a moment (Naruto had yet to call any of the bigger toads summons since he came back, he got the feeling they weren’t thrilled with him for also having the foxes and using them more as well as fucking up their prophecies) and the Tenko sighed a bit, folding his legs in lotus position and  fanning his tails behind him on the rock floor. “I need you to go to the beetles and slugs and talk to them about the bijuu joining them. Shukaku has gone with the tanuki but I plan to go after the seven-tails next if it works and at some point I will get to the others, so we need to move forward with talking to the other summons.” He said tiredly and there was a long pause as Goro examined him with sharp yellow eyes; finally though the small frog nodded, head dipping in acquiescence. “I will speak to the other summons, starting with the beetles. Hopefully the tanuki can help us convince the other if it is going well, good luck with the lucky seven.” And with that the frog reverse summonsed himself away and Naruto sighed again, rubbing his temples before he shook off his emotion and settled his hands on his knees, spreading out his chakra and heavenly gifts in a search for that flash of Chōmei again, hoping luck would be on his side (after all Chōmei often had it with them).

At some point he must have drifted into sleep, the tori gate and bloody light of Mito’s seal space mixing with the broken ruin that was Naruto’s mind space in the end, filled with the dueling sounds of low thunderous growls of pure rage and the labored, wet panting of his own Kurama at the end; struggling to live on as the very chakra in the world choked him and pooled in his lungs like thick, pneumonic blood. Two voices saying What/Naruto do/*pant* you/you want/have scum/to, vile/do leaches/*panting* of/this. my/Father’s/world art/needs – a gentle, well-loved voice mixing with the purest hatred he had ever heard, tainting the memory of his Kurama irrevocably and – Tobirama-sensei waking him from the dreams of blood and slow-agonizing death, as Kurama slipped away. Back and red eyes should never be so kind as Tobirama-sensei coaxed Naruto to lean on his chest and rocked them side to side, his armor cold under Naruto’s fevered cheek as the Senju held him in silence; saying nothing to make it better, knowing full well that there were not words for the end of the world (of Naruto’s world).

The sicky-hard feeling of Chōmei’s chakra coming closer jolted Naruto awake and he snapped out of the dozing dream, mechanically forcing himself to his feet and gathering his things, readying to go out after the seven-tails since Chōmei was so close and Naruto didn’t know when else he would have an opportunity.

It was raining, a steady drizzle dropping out of the gloomy brown-black sky and Naruto hissed a bit in irritation as his tails got wet (he hated that sensation) but shook it off as best he could, focusing on his mission  and getting home to check on the war as he darted through the trees. Chōmei wasn’t working too hard to out pace him which was good and Naruto found it and it’s current jinchuriki on the edge of the woods outside a small village where the man holding the seven-tails seemed to be waiting for him. Chōmei’s jinchuriki was a short, stocky man with red-brown hair that was shaved on one side and long on the other, dressed in clothing that looked like Suna style (oh, duh, of course that village wouldn’t only get the one tails; that was a terrible distribution oh power in the five countries. Naruto wondered how this man had escaped Suna, maybe there was more to the ‘lucky seven’ than he thought) he was twiddling his thumbs and clearly waiting when Naruto dropped out of the trees, all his tails fanning out around him as he straightened.

“Lucky Seven” Naruto murmured, cocking his head and examining the man that held Chōmei; his face was pointed and sharp and he had a worn eye-patch on the left side of his face; a face that was carefully held in stillness as he took in Naruto and his many tails. “You’re not the Jinchuriki of the Nine-tails” he breathed in a startlingly high voice, edged with the buzzing of Chōmei’s voice. Naruto cocked his head at the other man, pulling out a Uchiha fan and lazily fanning himself with it as he let the silence stretch before he deigned to respond (Sasuke was rubbing off), “Now, now, Chōmei I may not be your brother but is that anyway to great a Tenko? When I came all this way just to speak to you?” the jinchuriki’s eyes widened and he nearly vibrated with Chōmei’s curiosity. “Tenko?!” he nearly chirped, eye shifting to Chōmei’s solid beetle black as Naruto smirked over his fan and winked, tails flickering around him, “But of course my darling lucky seven, and I was sent here for you- well you and your siblings- but I can to you as soon as felt you, do you want to know why?”

Chōmei- who was clearly running the show- sat down right where they stood, flopping to sit neatly as Naruto chuckled behind his fan and sat more gracefully, tails arrayed around and over him. “Did you ever think about what you were made for Chōmei? You were made from the pure chakra of the Ten-Tails of course, but did you ever wonder why? What it meant for the wider world?” Naruto asked, channeling Uchiha drama as best he could as Chōmei would love it the most. In response the single dark eye narrowed thoughtfully and Chōmei rocked back and forth where they sat, “Well Father gave us each a temple to watch over but that….that rather fell apart and I don’t think we should be stuffed in people even though Chiyo is nice and got us out of Suna. I always wanted to do more you know!” Naruto smiled warmly at the young seeming hope that filled the buzzing voice and nodded, “You are indeed meant for more Chōmei, you are a spirit of chakra and the Sage knew not what he did when he made you- though he never seemed to really know what he was doing when he made things- and Hashirama Senju knew even less what he was doing when he sealed you. Think Chōmei, Chiyo, what happens if you seal away the spirit of the rain? What happened when the sun sealed herself away? How did the world suffer without them?”

Chōmei’s eye had widened and half of it- neatly bisected by a line- solid black and the other the jinchuriki’s yellow-green, “Oh” they breathed “oh, what is – sealing chakra?” and that was Chiyo speaking Naruto thought as he lowered his fan seriously. “It doesn’t effect it yet, it won’t for many generations but slowly, over enough time, chakra will weaken and falter and when we need it most it will fail. In no small part because the bijuu were sealed away and their influence on the world was slowed into nothing more than a trickle, in the end when the Great Threat came” he waved his fan and focused hard on his yin chakra- genjutsu would never be his strength- and the world around them melted into what it would have been in the Last War, nothing but ash and bone reaching up through the blowing white. Wind gusted over the land, stirring up the ash like snow, mimicking a blizzard of the dead and carrying the echoed sound of screaming and the dull chill that sank through the bones and curled around the lungs to steal the breath. Chōmei/Chiyo stared around them in blank horror, face slack with shock and confusion as they choked on the ash and with a wave of his fan Naruto let the memory go, watching as the jinchuriki spat out ash, coughing harshly.

Finally their coughing stopped, and they looked up at Naruto with a watering eye, lifting his patch to wipe at the milky white eye under it, “That – that is the future? The – that?!” they chocked out and Naruto hummed, holding out his water jug, adding lowly, “You’ll want to rinse out your mouth, those are the ashes of the dead.”. The jinchuriki blanched, rinsing his mouth and spitting out water as fast as he could several times before spluttering, “I – you – and sealing the bijuu is part of what brings that to pass? That horror?” Naruto nodded grimly. “There are other factors but the sealing of the sprits of chakra is a vital part of it.” he said softly and Chiyo blanched, visible eye fully his again, “But – what can we even do? Now that shinobi know they can seal the bijuu they will, the lust for power is too strong.” His voice was pleading and strained and Naruto reached over to pat him gently on the head, “Do not fear, I have a plan.”

Three hours later Chōmei said a sorrowful goodbye to his jinchuriki before following the beetle summons away into their realm and Naruto was left alone with Chiyo, the former jinchuriki looking a bit lost as he watched Chōmei vanish, clutching the beetle summons contract to his chest. “And this will work? This will help save the world?” he asked, somewhat desperately and Naruto felt for him, he really did; he knew what it was like to lose your bijuu after giving everything for them. “Did you volunteer for it? To be Chōmei’s jinchuriki?” the Tenko asked evenly and Chiyo nodded woodenly; Naruto sighed, to have volunteered to be a jinchuriki he must have been one of Suna’s best and then he had abandoned them for Chōmei’s sake even when he lost everything. There was nobility in that. Naruto respected that, sighing the Tenko rested a hand on the former jinchuriki’s shoulder, turning Chiyo to look at him and away from the place Chōmei had vanished; “Be glad that Chōmei yet lives, not here no but it still lives in a place it will be happier and free, not chased or treated as a weapon; and he is not lost to you completely, you still have the summons scroll, remember that. Treasure what remains.”

Chiyo met his eyes, his one yellow-green eyes flicking between Naruto’s, “Who did you lose?” he asked finally, voice notably lower now Chōmei was gone, and Naruto’s lips twisted “Everyone, everyone but my heart and my hands.” He breathed into the cooling dusk air, thinking of the world where Kurama was dying in him and Kakashi was walking away and the only ones that were left were so close they almost didn’t feel like separate people. Chiyo’s jaw tensed and he nodded sharply, turning to the near town and setting off at a sharp pace, “You coming? I don’t know about you but I need a fucking drink.” He called and Naruto snorted out a laugh, tucking away all but the obligatory one of his tails as he followed after the former Suna nin, a drink sounded like exactly what he needed.

Three jugs of sake in Naruto was slumped over his table laughing with Chiyo as he was availed of the rumors sunning around about Konoha, “-and- hic- they say that your Hokage lets his council run the village just to get good dick! That he even let a leak in the village go unpun- hic- ished and didn’t care to get back the Nidaime’s body. Don’t he know what people would do with the body of the smartest man ever!?” Naruto laughed loudly as Chiyo swayed, hiding the cold horror sinking in his stomach at the words behind a smiling face “’Course, ‘course,” Chiyo started again “they say that the Nidaime and that crazy Uchiha had a thing,” his single eye was huge “can you believe it? That the ice cold demon and the Calamity were a thing? Though” his face took on a look of exaggerated thought “it’d be hot as fuck mind you. Can you just imagine? The Uchiha is so big and broad and fiery and the Nidaime was all slim and cold and the Uchiha would just take him apar-“ yeah, no. Fuck no, Naruto was not listening to this no matter who was talking about it, Tobirama-sensei had been basically his Shishou in the end there; the one living(ish) male figure that had never failed Naruto and – yeah no.

Laughing uproariously Naruto knocked over the sake onto Chiyo and sighed in relief when the man yelped and tipped over backward, flailing wildly. “I think you have had enough” Naruto giggled hauling him up to his feet and staggering both of them up the stairs to the room they had rented, the smile fading from his face as soon as they were in the dark of the stairs and already planning the note he would leave for Chiyo about Waterfall. Shit. If those were the rumors that were going around about Sarutobi then war was inevitable and Naruto had to get home, now.

Chapter Text

Kagami was floating as he led pocket!- no, just Jiraiya, he couldn’t let Sasuke’s (many) oddities infect him- Jiraiya, led Jiraiya to the training grounds, fingering Sakura’s second gift (this one he got to keep!) with delight. The teardrop of glass with the pattern of his Mangekyō in it was enhanced by the small flecks of gold that was all that was left of the fan that she had burned in her announcement of her wish to court him; she had fashioned it for him herself and Kagami loved it (she had such control over her yang chakra that she could control the temperature of things touching her! Eternal flames why in the world was she interested in him?! Not that Kagami was going to question it, he was smarter than that)! “Sensei” He couldn’t believe that Sakura (pretty! Deadly! Prettydeadly!) was so invested in their courtship that she had asked about his clan traditions, “Sensei” and made the second gift of investment herself and- “SENSEI!” at Jiraiya’s shout Kagami jumped and blinked down at his pouting student, the white haired boy’s lower lip poking out and a petulant look on his small face.

“Oh ‘raiya” Kagami cooed, crouching down in front of his student and ruffling the soft white locks (much better than they had been the first time Sasuke gave him the child like one would give away a kitten – giving Kagami such strong flashbacks to his Shishou that it had rendered him dumb with shock), “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to not listen to you my student, I’m just-“ “Excited about Hime-sama courting you” Jiraiya grumbled, peering up at the Uchiha through his lashes “I am happy for you Sensei but you need to focus, you’ll run into the cabbage seller or something.” He kicked awkwardly at the dust and Kagami beamed down at the small child (still too small but better than he used to be), ignoring the watching eyes and listening ears with long practice, “I won’t run into the cabbage seller” Kagami promised warmly, poking pock-Jiraiya in the forehead gently like Sasuke did sometimes with the kids (Sasuke was odd sometimes, given Shishou it must be a blood thing) “you wouldn’t let me would you?”

Jiraiya puffed out his cheeks and looked away with a flush, grabbing the Uchiha’s mantle and pulling him in the direction of the training grounds stubbornly and grumbling under his breath as Kagami stumbled up from his crouch and laughed. Today was a good day, Kagami was looking forward to training his student – wait. There was a great surge of something at the gates and all humor vanished as Kagami’s focus narrowed, “Jiraiya, go back to the house, now” he snapped and the child nodded, face silent and worried as the Uchiha drew his authority around himslef and leapt on the rooftops, running for the gates just in time to see Naruto-dono and his many tails sweep through the gates with a grim look on his face as one of the pale gate guards raced away in the direction of the Tower, his ninken racing in the direction of the clan compounds. “Kagami” the kitsune said, gaze fastening on the Uchiha with something like relief flashing through his red, slit-pupil eyes “good, Sasuke will be here soon but we have to talk to the Hokage. I have news.” And from the grim set of his mouth it wasn’t anything that Kagami wanted to hear, he had a feeling that his good day was well and truly over.

Naruto-dono and Sasuke’s greeting wasn’t quite what Kagami expected, the kitsune speeding at the running Uchiha as soon as they saw each other, Sasuke’s one hand coming up to cup Naruto-dono’s jaw as they pressed their brows together, looks of such profound relief on their faces that for a moment they looked like something out of an old carving; so intimate and loving that Kagami looked away, feeling as though he was seeing something sacred. “You’re back” Sasuke breathed softly behind Kagami’s turned back “you’re back.” Naruto-dono hummed in response, the sound of his breathing deep and sharp like he was inhaling the scents of his mate(?) and taking him in for a long moment before he spoke with clear reluctance. “I’ll tell you about it later, I was successful and ran into an…old friend but I heard some bad news that the Hokage has to hear as soon as possible.” There was something about the way that the kitsune’s voice curled around the title that turn it into something that had Kagami shifting uncomfortably, even though he had come to terms with the fact that he was going to try and take the hat.

Sasuke growled under his breath and muttered something bitter sounding under his breath but when Kagami chanced a look over his shoulder the couple was pulling apart, though the Uchiha’s hand lingered on the kitsune’s jaw for a long moment before slipping away. “Come on, lets go to talk to the Hokage then” he snapped, harsh and clearly frustrated even as Naruto-dono’s red eyes softened, “Later” he promised and Sasuke nodded sharply, whirling on the spot and sending his low tail of hair snapping as he turned and headed toward the Tower (sometimes he reminded Kagami of his hazy memories of Izuna-sama so much it was dizzying).

In the Tower rather than going to the Hokage’s office they entered the large conference room where meeting with the full council of clan heads and village officials met once a month and were met with a milling crowd of confused shinobi (so that was what the gate guard was doing then), Hiruzen at the head trying to take control of the crowd and having rather less luck than he would have liked from the pinched look on his face and the dark look on Danzo’s. (Kagami still couldn’t quite look at Danzo full in the face, not since everything had come out and seeing the way Sensei had paled when he was told of Danzo’s plans as they knew them; it had broken something in Tobirama to have such a betrayal of all he held dear from one of his own students and for that Kagami found that he could hate like he never had before – like only an Uchiha could.)

“Kitsune-sama!” Inose Yamanaka snapped sharply as they entered, the kitsune and Sasuke flanking Kagami to his surprise, “What the hell is going on? Why were we all summoned here?” the Yamanaka clan head was an intimidating figure, one of the last of the clan heads who had seen the founding of the village and it showed in the fact that his hair was more silver than blond though it was as long as ever and his close cropped beard sharpened a hard jaw further. Next to Kagami Naruto-dono’s lip peeled back from his sharp teeth and his tails fanned as he snarled, lower than any human shape could make and twice as threatening, Sasuke hissing a little but just going to lean on the wall behind him mate (close enough), watching them all with a sharp red eye. “Watch it human” Naruto-dono hissed, his chakra seething with rage as thick as cooling blood until Kagami set a hand on his arm (honestly the Uchiha was just impressed that though Inose had paled a little he hadn’t backed down) “Naruto-sama, please” the Uchiha head murmured and after a moment the kitsune’s lips lowered, the chakra and killing intent receding a bit.

“I was running an errand- and no you have no right to know what that was“ the aside was clearly tossed at where Danzo was stirring and reaching out to prompt Hiruzen even though the blond head didn’t so much as turn to look at him “I have seen things you would never understand so don’t question me-“ (yup, that settled it, not kitsune, Tenko) “when I heard some concerning rumors about Konoha, rumors that will affect all of you. But first,” and then he did turn away from Inose to look at Hiruzen, eyes keen and clever and cold, “tell me, Sarutobi, why did you not inform the clan heads council that there was a threat of war on the horizon – and I mean more than just rumors that everyone has heard but hard info about it? That is why you changed the rules about the Academy isn’t it?” Kagami’s stomach dropped like a stone, cold rushing through his veins; it wasn’t a surprise, not really, Sakura had told him enough for him to have sorted parts of it out. But for there to be firm info about it and Hiruzen to hide that-? Except, he hadn’t had he? “That’s not quite right though is it?” Kagami asked coldly because neither Danzo nor Homura looked surprised though to his relief both Koharu and Torifu did, the only woman of their old group looking even more betrayed than the others.

“You told some people, just not the clan heads, only the people of your choosing, right?” and Hiruzen’s warm eyes snapped to Kagami with clear betrayal; had he honestly thought that Kagami wasn’t going to say anything after everything? Kami what did he even think was happening here? Around the room the clan heads stirred in anger, jaws tightening and eyes narrowing and Amane Inuzuka’s ninken’s hackles raising as the huge dog growled lowly next to his person. “Is that true Hiruzen?” like Sensei with water Mito’s voice from the back of the room parted the milling shinobi in the room, letting the regal Uzumaki look at their Hokage directly in the eyes; hells, Kagami had known she was involving herself in the village again but he hadn’t realized she would come to these types of meetings with her daughter though it was fully her right as Hime of the Uzumaki and jinchuriki (wait, where was Sakura? Why wasn’t she here? Did – Kagami’s stomach dropped again at the realization that she must be protecting the house, they must have feared another attack and Naruto-dono had gotten her a message somehow).

Hiruzen swallowed as all the eyes of the room fixed on him, waiting to see how he handled this and- possibly to his credit- the Sarutobi rallied under it admirably; straightening his shoulders and fixing them all with sharp looks that would have worked a bit better if he hadn’t been younger than over half the shinobi here. “You seem to have all forgotten something, this is a dictatorship and Sensei appointed me leader.” he started, ignoring the snort and muttered (‘Only cuz Kagami was out of the running’) from the back of the room “I can give out information at my discretion as I see fit and for security reasons I didn’t want to let the information spread, or have you forgotten about the leak in the village?” Kagami almost wanted to be impressed at his old teammate (not really though, Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu had been Hashirama-sama’s first before Sensei took pity on them) was trying to twist that to his use but he didn’t have to say anything as Shige Nara snorted at his words, lazily tossing her long back hair over her shoulder, her dark eyes keen and unimpressed, “You mean the leak you have done nothing about for months? It’s almost like you want to keep it around but that can’t be true, after all then would mean you all but killed your own teacher and that can’t be true can it?” her sarcastic drawl cut through the tense room and Hiruzen paled in true offense, his mouth dropping open as though it had never occurred to him that he would be accused of trying to off Sensei – but he couldn’t be that blind, right?

“Well that would explain the repeated attempts to kill the Nidaime since he has resided under our roof.” Sasuke murmured monotonously, like it was a throw away comment and not a game changer, his red eye flicked up, face half shadowed under his fringe and he smiled a Madara-smile, crooked and a little mad (something many of the gathered nin remembered still and withdrew from without thinking about it, the shadow of the Calamity lingering over Konoha still) “Lucky for us we have my husband to set seals and wards and keep the Nidaime alive long enough to recover but we had been wondering about who was assailing them so often.” The bomb of Sasuke calling Naruto-dono his husband was just enough to distract and keep the gathered nin from asking too many questions; that and their lingering wariness of the resemblance to Shishou enough to make them take his words at face value (….Kagami felt a chill slither down his spine. They were good at this and utterly ruthless, this right here was the reason he would never push for one of them to take the hat; he trusted them with his life and his clan and his children should he ever have them, he didn’t trust them with the rest of the world).

“I would never-“ Hiruzen spluttered, off balance and shocked and Naruto-dono snorted, “Maybe, maybe not, but would your ever faithful shadow?” and behind the Hokage Danzo jolted as cold, ageless eyes landed on him. “Do you know what they say about you Oh Hokage?” he all put purred, sliding forward a step as his too-deep voice vibrated in Kagami’s chest “The rumors that fill even Fire about Konoha’s Hokage? That you let the council- though not the clan heads, odd that- run the village while you, what was it again?” he paused in clear faux thought, tapping his chin with one long black nail though Kagami would swear there was something pained in his voice when he continued. “Ah, yes, ‘they say that your Hokage lets his council run the village just to get good dick!’ and that you let your own teacher’s body for scavengers knowing full well what places like Suna would do with it. The body of the smartest Shinobi to ever live.” (now that – that was a thought Kagami had done everything he could not to have and he sort of hated Naruto-dono for bringing it up) “Congratulations Sarutobi, you have now reputation even in Fire and now we can say without doubt that war will come no matter what. Konoha looks too weak for anything else.” His words landed so heavily Kagami could almost feel the wood under his feet- grown by Hashirama-sama himself- shake and around the room shinobi went white and grim as slowly something cold coalesced in his stomach (war. Again.).

“Hiruzen” Kagami heard himself say from a long way away “it would be too disruptive to our nin now but the second this war is over” (the second the pact ended it, Kagami had no illusions about that or how long it would take) “I am taking the hat. This is not a negotiation – and do not test me.” and flanked in two pairs of hellfire red eyes his old teammate, didn’t.

Chapter Text

Tobirama was exhausted, oh he was recovering ever more quickly (though Qiānqiū-hime warned him that he would never be as healthy as he used to be and it was a difficult thing to resign himslef to, life as an invalid- if he didn’t have any use-) but he still tired fast if he was out of bed. He was just relived that Qiānqiū-hime had asked him for help on her IFV idea (utterly ingenious and a great relief, if this could save some of the dying clans….Tobirama had feared so badly that they would lose the Hatake in the next generation or two and to have them saved-! Well, he owed them a lot), it at least gave him something to work on and keep his mind busy while he worked on the other problems that bothered him (what were they keeping from him? He knew they were keeping something but felt nothing ill in their chakra so he was letting it be or now, Kagami would tell him right?- on the other hand Danzo—he knew that Sasuke wasn’t Izuna’s son no matter how much they looked alike, how was the village going to survive this and what was this mysterious third member of their ‘pact’ like? Was he the strange rage-serenity-blood-roses-incense chakra that burned like fluoroantimonic acid in Tobirama’s senses?).

He was making progress on it too, Qiānqiū-hime’s impossible chakra control and her skill with yang chakra was making it a lot easier but still, they needed a way for it to be something that could be replicated by others if it was going to be of any use and Tobirama – “Nidaime-sama!” Qiānqiū-hime caroled as she entered the room in a swirl of red fabric and long pink hair, a bright smile on her lips and the starry look in her eyes that told Tobirama that giving Kagami his second gift had gone well (it….ached a bit, oh he played it off as missing Madara specifically- and yes he had to take a second to bask in how much the Uchiha would have hated that- but before he had resigned himself to giving all he was to the village and his student he had wanted – wanted something- someone- for himself and seeing happy couples had never stop stinging a touch). “I-“ but whatever she was about to say was cut off as the window was pushed up by a small snout as a small two-tailed fox nosed their way into the room. 

“Sakura-hime” the summons chirped, sandy fur and big ears ruffled as it panted “I have news from Naruto-sama, he was successful but the rumors are out of hand and he is going to confront the Hokage so he said to batten down the hatches and prepare for attacks.” Instantly Qiānqiū-hime’s face turned grim, her jaw tightening as she bit her thumb and spun to the wall, painting a strange looking seal on the wall in blood and asking sharply, “Nidaime-sama, where are the children? Are they all safe?” (and that, that was why he hadn’t pushed yet) Frowning Tobirama searched out the chakra of all the children that he had met or Sakumo had talked about, frown deepening when he found most at the Academy, wasn’t the little snakeskin-rosemary too young for that? (His jaw tightened and he forced down his temper, now was not the time, his rage would wait – Hashirama always used to say that Tobirama’s temper was most frightening when he had to hold it at a low simmer and the dropping temperature in the room backed that, frost creeping over the blood on the wall) “At the Academy, all but one of them that is on his way here.” He said, voice a bit too cold, Qiānqiū-hime sent him an apologetic but not regretful look but didn’t address it yet, just nodding and racing out of the room to get the child probably.

Tobirama blew out a slow breath through his nose, closing his eyes and trying to calm himslef, he wasn’t strong enough to do anything anyway and he needed his strength so he needed his chakra under control. “Oh” the little fox chirruped as the room heated again as Tobirama reeled his chakra in again “that’s much better, thank you pale-fox” stiffly Tobirama nodded to the small summons as it hopped up on the bed and sniffed at him. “I am Kovan, who are you? Naruto-sama didn’t say anything about you.” the bright animal eyes reminded him of his own summons, dearly missed but not summoned since Hashirama d-died (he just….couldn’t bring himslef to care about anything after that, it was the village and the village alone and look how well he had done that) and Tobirama tried to force a less sharp look onto his face as he greeted the fox and resisted the need to ruffle those big ears, “I am Tobirama Senju, though I am called the Nidaime-“ “Oh! You’re the leopard’s summoner! They talked about you” Kovan said brightly, making himslef comfy on Tobirama’s legs, luckily light enough to not hurt.

“I- yes, that’s me, though it's been a long time since I called them.” Tobirama admitted slowly and Kovan cocked his head, “Why not?” well. That was the hard question wasn’t it. Tobirama sighed deeply, looking out the window at the Uchiha district (the Uchiha who had hated him so much and now apparently loved him and Madara’s star crossed love, amazing what a lie could do. A lie that would never have been true. Still, somewhere Madara must be furious and that ghosted amusement through him). “I needed to focus on the village, there was always so much to do and I never had enough time for – for anyone even with clones, I suppose I just lost myself in it.” he said finally, tired and a little distant until the fox nosed at his hand “Well then call them now? You don’t have to be the village now do you?” (didn’t he? But then again what use could he be now anyway? What value did he have now? he was useless and useless Senju weren’t worth anything).

Before Tobirama could try and figure out how to respond to that the door opened and Qiānqiū-hime entered, still looking grim, “Jiraiya is in the saferoom with a summons” she said “any movement?” both Tobirama and Kovan shook their heads and some of the tension around her mouth relaxed. “Fuck” she breathed “what did Naruto hear that made him go this far?” it was a rhetorical question and Tobirama ignored it as he examined her, waiting until she met his eyes to say “Explain.” In the voice that once made even his brother listen. To his pleasure she started a bit and her eyes widened before a wry smile pulled the corner of her mouth, “You know Naruto is a kitsune and has precognition?” he nodded “and that Sasuke-“ “Is no more Izuna’s child than I am Madara’s lover” Tobirama said coolly and she grimaced “I told them you would be able to tell that!” she muttered and scrubbed her face, clearly thinking for a long moment as she moved to the window and looked out, considering.

“Do you know Nidaime-sama that your Edo Tensei works far better than you would ever believe? You even had the same smile.” She turned to look at him silhouetted in the pale light streaming in through the window “You truly are the most brilliant mind the shinobi world has ever produced and” a shaking breath “that didn’t change even in five generations and more wars than I can name, though none of them mattered as much as the Last War.”

Madara was going nuts. He couldn’t stop thinking about that damned rumor about Tobirama and Izuna’s eye wasn’t helping as it kept throwing up memories of the white bastard flickering at the corners of his vision (and Izuna had a lot of memories of that cold cunt) and add that to Madara’s tiny tendency to obsess and possible obsession with the pale fuck and he had spent nearly every moment since he had heard the rumor going through his memories and trying to figure out who Tobirama’s love was – so he could do – do – do – something. He was definitely going to do something if the ghostly witch had been in love with someone! He didn’t know what but he would figure that out once he knew who it had been and why Tobirama had cared for their body too! His disembodied Will (he bet this ‘love’ wasn’t strong enough to manifest a separate, independent Will!) kept muttering about trees and roots and his eyes and Hashirama’s flesh (which, gross) and Madara was mostly ignoring it as he went through every shinobi in the village and crossed them all off one by one. He had finished the list a week ago and gone through them all again but other than his students (which – no, just, no) Tobirama had never talked to much of anyone with any emotion other than his brother (possible? But, unlikely for merchants to find romantic and…it was Hashirama. Madara still wasn’t sure how he even procreated) and Madara himslef.

So – the eyes are just waiting all you have to do is connect- oh shut up, so, who else? Was there anyone pretty enough for the icy bitch in the Tower at all? Maybe the Yūhi woman? At least she had nice red eyes, though a bit dark for Madara honestly; he liked a brighter red and was she even pretty enough to match the drowned reaper? Not really. Damnit, he needed more information! Mind made up Madara lurched to his feet, trying to run a hand through his hair and yelping as it caught on a tangle, how long had he been fretting for his fine hair to get this knotted? Unless his Will was messing with it to try and get back at him for not listening to the eyes thing? Suspiciously Madara glanced around the cave with his one working eye, hair cradled close to his chest; some things were sacred and a man’s hair was one of those things damnit! Even Tobirama had known that and never made a single comment about Madara’s hair or gone after it even once (well, he had said something once, but it made Madara feel…funny so he didn’t think about the night Tobirama was punch drunk with exhaustion and told him he had the prettiest hair right before walking into a door face first. Wait. Shit. now he was thinking  about it-) wait, he had the best hair in the Tower! In all of Konoha!

Hashirama’s might have been more tamable but Madara never forgot the bowl cut and he lacked volume anyway, so if Madara had the best hair and eyes were out (the best eyes were-) what could have attracted Tobirama? Not intelligence, no one was as smart as the frigid asshole, so….? Nothing for it, EYES THE ETERNAL T-, hush, Madara would have to go to a village and see what rumors he could gather, it would be nice to have hot food again anyway and – he looked down at his beloved hair, maybe a bath was a necessity too.

As he left the cave, feeling lighter than he had in weeks he heard his Will screaming in rage behind him. It was really a bit odd that his Will wasn’t at all interested in Tobirama now that he thought about it; oh sure that frosty demon wasn’t nearly as important as Izuna or Hashirama but, really, Madara had to know who the love was, maybe he could resurrect them and kill them in front of Tobirama he thought, perking up. That would be delightful, he could kill them with fire and it would be all horrible and lovely and – oh he should henge before he went anywhere public and make sure not to let too much chakra out incase Tobirama felt it – which he would, impressive dick.

Chapter Text

Sasuke leaned his head against Naruto’s, just breathing in his lover for a long moment now that the worst of the fuss was over. “We’re going to have to make sure one of us is always with Kagami now” he muttered, unable to shut of the calculations in his head “he’s painted a giant target on his back.” Naruto hummed softly and curled his arms more around Sasuke’s waist, rocking them a little as they stood in the nearly empty conference room, Kagami speaking softly to three clan leaders in a corner (at least he had their support and one of them was Matsui so the Senju and Uchiha were united again). “We’ll assign Sakura to it, I don’t think she’ll complain” he murmured back and Sasuke snorted, pulling back to lean into the strength of Naruto’s arms around his waist and raising a sharp brow, “Given that she is two gifts deep in a traditional Uchiha courtship I don’t think she will mind much.” he snarked, leaning harder just to make Naruto hold him up even though the Tenko just smiled benevolently, raising both his golden brows back, “Oh? There’s a traditional way to do it? Should I have-“ “No!” Sasuke snapped, covering his lover’s mouth with his hand and grimacing dramatically, “and we’re already married as far as the village knows.” He added reluctantly.

They had never technically married in the future-that-was, there was never time, but they had made their private oaths to one another, so Sasuke considered it close enough and had taken the chance to make it village official by announcing it was already true. A little underhanded maybe but the last thing he wanted was a ‘real’ wedding where someone would have to dressing white and everyone would be staring and – yeah no, not on his list of fun things to do; this way was much better in his mind and it wasn’t like Naruto was going to care one way or another. As expected Naruto just smiled a little wider and rolled his eyes, one arm shifting to brace Sasuke as the other came up to cup his cheek, fingers under his long fringe just brushing the bottom lashes of his Rinnegan, “You know what I have wanted.” He said simply and Sasuke swallowed hard, leaning imperceptibly into the touch; he did know, he knew all too well what Naruto wanted and how hard he would work to get it (Sasuke, just Sasuke, for as long and as completely as he could have him, in any and every way. It had been that way for a long, long time).

He closed his eyes, just breathing, trying not to remember – Hinata was dead, her pale moonstone eyes gone behind closed lids that had sunken with nothing to hold them up, her mouth open in a death scream and her body stiff and twisted with rigor mortis by the time they got it back and Naruto had killed that Ōtsutsuki fucker. She hadn’t -she and Sasuke had had a…complicated relationship as Hinata came to terms with the fact that even though Naruto and the Uchiha weren’t ‘officially’ together that didn’t mean the blond would ever look at her twice when Sasuke lived; still, Hinata had been a better person than Sasuke ever was and when she had realized that she had tried her best to make friends with Sasuke and help him be comfortable in the village so that he and Naruto could be together and she – she had been so kind, she hadn’t deserved this, hadn’t deserved to die like this to an Ōtsutsuki because Naruto was gone after Sasuke again. “I’ll stay” the Uchiha blurted, “I’ll – if only they had known then that that was only the beginning, what killing that Ōtsutsuki would do in the end and the attention his death scream would bring.

“Sas” Naruto’s voice penetrated the flash of the Sharingan memory and the prick of his long nails jolted the Uchiha back to the present, and to worried red eyes (he would never get used to them being this color, he missed the blue though he would never say that to Naruto). “I’m fine, just, you know, the Cost.” He murmured and Naruto’s face spasmed, jaw going hard and eyes tightening as he inhaled deeply; but there was nothing to say to that, they had talked about the Cost of their actions for a long time before they had taken action and in the end come to the conclusion that in the end, they would simply have to pay it – no matter how high. “I’m sorry” Sasuke breathed, stroking Naruto’s long, loose braid and tugging on it a bit, “I know I won’t see it the way you will. I shouldn’t have brought it up Naru.” Naruto nodded sharply, a harsh jerk of his chin even as Sasuke sighed and eased closer into a proper embrace, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

“Were you successful?” he asked lowly into Naruto’s ear and the Tenko nodded into his shoulder, voice muffled in his mantle “Shukaku is with the tanuki and Hanzo is dead with most of his circle, I think Nagato’s Uzumaki father will take over the organization if I set things up right.” a pause “And then I ran into Lucky Seven and sent Chōmei to the beetle summons and his jinchuriki to Waterfall – that was who told me the rumors.” Sasuke hissed a bit and yanked on the golden braid in punishment, ignoring the muffled yelp rom his lover, “So you didn’t just deal with Shukaku and Hanzo and come home!” he snarled as Naruto whined excuses into his shoulder. He didn’t actually blame the blond for it, if Chōmei had been close then to not take the opportunity would have been foolish, still, Naruto had promised!

“So definitely Suna and Iwa will come then but Ame might stay out of it?” Sasuke asked after the whining petered out and Naruto sighed, slumping harder into him, “Yeah, probably. That is my guess though the Nidaime will know first with his range.” Sasuke sighed, already tired at the thought of having to fight again and the way that they were viewed would changed after this. Reluctantly the Uchiha eased back and glanced at Kagami who had finished his conversation and was waiting for them near the door with a grim look on his face, the lovers exchanging a look and then going to the soon-to-be Hokage. “One of us will be with you at all times” Sasuke said as they approached “Danzo is going to want you dead even more than the Nidaime now so until you take the hat and can prosecute him you don’t get to live alone.” Kagami grimaced but didn’t argue, he seemed a little shocked at his own action still but he wasn’t budging and Sasuke was proud of him for acting the way he had; if he had waited to act it would have made it a lot harder in the future and could have lost him support in the clans but he also couldn’t take the hat right before a war without making things worse – luckily it wasn’t like the war would last long with the pact involved.

The village was quiet as they walked through it back to the Uchiha district, Sasuke and Naruto flanking Kagami and keeping a sharp eye on the world around them, only relaxing a little when they reached the Uchiha section and wound their way to their house. Kagami catching an Uchiha and sending them to his house to gather some of his clothing and things since he would be staying with them now and let Ramin know he could either come to the main house or go live with Maemi who adored the Kohaku, as he felt more comfortable with. The second they stepped into the house- Naruto opening the wards for them and leading the way in- Sasuke could feel something, a chill static feel in the air that he hadn’t yet felt in this time and he and Naruto exchanged worried looks before both of them raced for the stairs, Kagami a few steps behind them as they raced for the Nidaime’s room.

The door was nearly frozen shut and Tobirama’s chakra was thick and heavy in the air but the frost was no contest to Naruto’s strength as the Tenko wrenched the door open and nearly off its hinges before exploding into the room. Inside Tobirama was still in his bed but his face was set in an expression that Sasuke knew well – Tobirama’s face was steely as he stared down the cruelly smiling Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, “Run” the Edo form of their teacher said calmly, his face cold and fey “you only have one chance to make this right and stop them” – and Sakura was leaning against the windowsill, watching the pale Senju warily, also familiar enough with his rage to know to simply hold still as Tobirama closed his eyes and clearly gathered himself, the chakra gathering back into himslef.

The kunoichi’s eyes flicked to them and her face tightened, “I told him” she said grimly “it was the best option, I was right and he would have sorted it out eventually.” Oh. Fuck. That – no wonder Tobirama was pissed the hell off, that was well deserved and he must not be feeling well to still be in the bed and not acting on the information immediately (Sasuke knew about his heart, blood pressure, badly weakened immune system, and nerve damage/musculoskeletal pains and some possible respiratory stuff- the Kinkaku force had been through- but was there more? Not that that wasn’t plenty to be getting on with). “Ah” Sasuke breathed, eyeing the man that had been their teacher and guard in some of the hardest days of their lives once upon a time, “well, it was always inevitable. We should tell Kagami too before long” Sakura winced at that and looked away, clearly well aware that she couldn’t go further with the courtship under false pretenses but also afraid it would lose her Kagami (it wasn’t like they had planned to tell anyone else except maybe Kurama if he could chill out- so probably not- and maybe Madara if they had to to beat it into his head that he had to chill the fuck out, but Tobirama and Kagami made sense and were trustworthy).

“Tell me what?” Kagami asked in a tight voice but Tobirama held up a hand, his voice icy but forced level as he spoke, “Not now Kagami, if you trust me not now. Wait until after this war is over and I have killed some people and then have them explain, you will need to focus and this will make it hard. It – well, we can trust them still if we can trust anything.” Kagami pursed his lips for a long moment and then sighed deeply, shoulders relaxing even if he didn’t look happy about it, “If you are sure Sensei” he murmured and Tobirama nodded as he opened his eyes, forcing a thin cold smile on his lips. “I am, it, it’s a lot and much of it – Danzo is dead” his voice lowered to an impressive growl (huh, Sasuke hadn’t thought that anyone other than Naruto could do that) and he took another breath before he went on “and I learned some things about what Madara – about his situation that…” he trailed off, an oddly lost look on his face that was so convincing Sasuke wasn’t even sure whether it was real or not. “Well. It wasn’t easy to hear, if only – “ but that it seemed was Naruto’s limit as he darted across the room to crouch at Tobirama’s side, picking up one pale, long fingered hand and his many tails thrashing on the floor (it seemed that Naruto, for all his effort not to see the Nidaime as their Tobirama- though the two were much closer now-, hadn’t quite managed it; which was fair, Tobirama had been the first fully supportive male mentor in his life and Naruto had grown very close to him).

“Don’t say it like that!” the Tenko all but yipped, red eyes wide “it’s not your fault what happened to Madara, there was a lot of other influences and you had no idea what was happening. I know you want to have helped him more and it must hurt but it was never your fault, none of it.” he shuffled a little closer on his knees, Tobirama looking shocked and touched as the blond lowered his voice and spoke again “And you need to stop thinking of your ill health as something that reduces your ‘usefulness’, you still live and think and can help us plan and piss certain people off and that, that is very important.” Sasuke winced a little, trust Naruto to jump straight on the paper bomb that was the Senju mindset – and even worse it seemed necessary if the look on Tobirama’s face was anything to go by (which, he should have seen coming given what Tobirama had told them in the future-that-was about the Senju; no matter how much Tobirama knew it was a toxic way to look at the world and was trying to get rid of it, in his vulnerability he always fell back on it).

After a moment Tobirama’s lips crooked in a tired looking smile, slipping his hand free from Naruto's and patting his fluffy hair gently, “Thank you for saying that Naruto, it means a lot to me.” he murmured – which was not agreement Sasuke noted sharply. Joy, another thing to worry about, Tobirama going and offing himslef because he wasn’t ‘useful’ enough; hmm, maybe when/if Madara showed up they could put him in charge of Sasuke’s Uncle and have that count as being useful? Something to think about. Naruto pouted sullenly at the Senju but didn’t push, changing the subject instead and asking, “Is the sedative starting to wear off then?” Tobirama shot him a surprised look and Naruto shrugged “You didn’t try and leave and whoop anyone’s ass when you were told about the Academy, she must have given you something.” The blond pointed out sensibly and Sakura snorted, pushing away from the window sill, “Of course I did, I told him I would explain everything but only if he would allow himslef to be sedated a little, there will be a time for you to get your vengeance Nidaime-sama but this isn’t it. Now, Naruto, go get pocket!Jiraiya from the safe room and let the other children in the wards, Sasuke will fill me in about the meeting and the Nidaime-sama will be resting.”

Naruto whined but didn’t argue, stopping to buss a kiss on Sasuke on his way out the door and waving Kagami to follow him to his new room, leaving the Uchiha alone with Sakura as she injected something in the IV she had fitted to Tobirama (introducing IV’s into the world early had been an easy choice, it wasn’t like the Uchiha couldn’t make the correct needles and though there was no pumps a simple drips system was manageable). With a sigh Sasuke explained everything Naruto had done (Sakura rolled her eyes about Chōmei but didn’t comment) and what had gone down in the meeting, Tobirama clearly angered by it but whatever Sakura had given him was working fast and he was already dropping of to sleep as Sakura clenched her fists and just barely restrained from punching the wall and bringing down the whole house. “So Kagami is going to be Danzo’s target ahead of time now then” she hissed and Sasuke shrugged laconically, “Naru and I figured you would stay close to him and protect him. That was before-“ he jerked his chin at the slumbering Senju and Sakura slumped a bit.

“He’s Tobirama Senju, I was never going to be able to keep it from him and he already knew you weren’t Izuna’s kid so…better to give him the whole picture and let him work form there than to try and hide things and lose his trust.” Sakura’s voice was defensive and Sasuke held up his hand, “Hey, I agree, in retrospect we were never going to keep it from him once he was alive” he hesitated “I’m just sorry to have sowed some discord in your courtship.” Sakura flinched a little and looked away, “I know I had to tell him some time if I wanted to marry him I just…” reluctantly Sasuke pushed off the wall and walked to his teammate, standing close enough she could feel him and not knowing what else to do, “I don’t think this will be a make or break thing, just talk to Kagami, he cares about you and Uchiha don’t give up on people fast.” Sakura sniffled wetly, shit. “Come on, I don’t think this will be the last of it, don’t give up too fast; it’s been good to see you so happy Sakura, really.” and at that she did laugh damply, swiping at her eyes and bumping their shoulders together. “Thanks Sasuke.”

Chapter Text

Sakura hesitated before the door, hand raised to knock but lingering in the air as she chewed on her lip. It had been two days- two days of uneasy peace- since Naruto came back and though is was wonderful to have him home and he was very helpful in distracting the Nidaime and keeping the Senju busy with infodumps, sensor sweeps (Tobirama had felt the gathering armies last night and it had sobered the entire home), and trying to convince him to summon his summons; though all that was great Sakura knew it was well past time for her to have this conversation if she didn’t want to lose Kagami. Slowly Sakura lowered her fist to knock on Kagami’s door, rapping twice before Kagami pulled the door open, without his mantle for once and dressed in a light undershirt and shinobi pants; a sight that made Sakura blush slightly at the way the pale gray fabric clung to his chest (he was half way between Sasuke’s slenderness and Madara’s width and just right ((though, anything without that cursed addition to Madara’s chest was a good start in Sakura’s mind- shudder- she would never forget that horror, it was scared on her mind forever))).

“Kagami!” she nearly squeaked, voice higher than she would have liked as she wrenched her eyes up to his face, something in her relaxing as she saw a teardrop of glass hanging around his neck. Oh, he hadn’t taken off her second gift, that – that was good right? “Sakura” the Uchiha murmured, rubbing a hand through his hair and looking tired (he was in meetings with clan heads constantly right now, Sasuke went to them with him as the Uchiha clan head to be) “is something wrong?” “Um” Sakura licked her lips, missing the way dark eyes dropped down to watch the movement “no, not really. I just – can we talk? I think the Nidaime-sama is right about waiting to fill you in on some things until after the coming war but – I don’t want you to think that I - that it is any lack of trust or –“ “Sakura! Look, come in, ok? We’ll talk.” Relived the kunoichi followed Kagami into his given room, settling on the cushions that Kagami had dumped under the window when he waved to them; fingers picking at her short red and white kimono with its embroidered sakura blossoms.

“Now” said the Uchiha as he sat next to her and handed her a cup of weak tea “I trust Sensei and I trust you” she shot him a surprised glance “I do, I never would have agreed to the courtship if I didn’t and-“ he sighed “-I’m not stupid, I know there are things that you guys have been keeping from all of us but, well, Tenko, it's not like I expect you to play by mortal rules. I can’t say that I am thrilled not to be filled in but, I trust all of you, if you think it needs to wait then it can wait; it's not like I don’t have enough on my hands with the clans and the war and taking the hat by force after its over, I’m not sure I have room for more right now – especially not anything that makes Sensei look like that.” and just like that Sakura felt like she could breathe again, letting go of her skirts and pushing her heavy hair over her shoulders as she tried to figure out how to say what she wanted to. “I – there are things that I have lied to you about, I won’t pretend there isn’t and having a damned good reason to do so doesn’t mean that it's ok; but, Kagami, if there is one thing that I have never lied about it was how I felt about you. You – “ she took shuddering breath “you are one of the best things in my life, one of the last untainted things; you make me smile for no other reason than because I am glad and that – after everything that means so much to me.”

Kagami was flushed, a blush high on his cheeks and ears bright red as he stared into his cup, all but squirming with delight and flattery; his feathery, curling hair brushing over his brow fetchingly in the low light. “Thank you” he breathed, Sakura beaming at him; he really was the best of them wasn’t he? The one that still had mercy, the one that still trusted, the one that still cared, the only one that they could trust to led Konoha into the future. Sakura giggled a little and inched closer, leaning her head on his shoulder and sighing in contentment, the world around her a golden haze as a sneaky arm slipped around her back; it blurred and wavered as she drifted off to sleep her dreams a strange mishmash of Hinata’s funeral happened at high noon under the white falling cherry blossoms, all gold and white as her funerary kimono- closed right over left- and the strip of cloth over her closed and sunken eyes under the veil covering her face; it was too bright and beautiful for such a terrible moment and Sakura felt numb with shock even as she turned her head to look at where Naruto and Sasuke were standing so close they seemed to be overlapping, both grim faced and bowed with unneeded guilt. The sound of fire snapping pulled Sakura’s attention back to the front where Lee was going up in a golden-red blaze, his kind eyes staring out of the inferno of his Gates; but – that had happened so much later when she and him went to the Mountains Graveyard to check and see if there was still a crack in space-time from Kaguya and the Demonic Statue there. Sakura was frozen with confusion as cherry blossoms billowed around Lee as he cracked open the crack into a rift they could use for Naruto’s mad idea with nothing but the power of his Gates. But, she hadn’t even seen this! She had been far down the mountain when Lee did this, she had never seen it, he had died alone and burning for a last ditch, insane plan they had already discarded. “Sakura!” No! what was Kagami doing here! Hinata was rising out of the coffin, clawing across the ground and the Ōtsutsuki always went after Uchiha first!-

“Sakura!!” with a sharp gasp Sakura jolted awake, clutching bruisingly tight at the arms around her and tucking her face further into the fabric under her cheek, sucking in shaky breaths and trying to ground herself in the present. The fabric was soft and thin, not something they had worn then and the scent was faint, tea and masculinity and a whiff of sandalwood; nothing of blood or sweat or ash or – nothing – nothing of then. Right. She was. She was in Kagami’s room, she had talked to him and he had blushed so fetchingly and she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. It had never been – that was a dream, nothing more than a mix of events she had both seen and not seen, she hadn’t seen Lee die- hadn’t even seen the after effects for a long time after- hadn’t seen Hinata when the Ōtsutsuki got to her, it was Sasuke that had burned her long dead body and she had only heard about it later. That – all of that was never going to happen, they wouldn’t let it, and with the Cost it couldn’t happen to some of them anyway. She was safe – Kagami was here, her pact was near, war was coming but what was a nin-army compared to the Ōtsutsuki?

“Sakura?” Kagami’s voice penetrated the fog in her head and she curled a little closer, trying to find her voice, “I – nightmare, just, give me a moment.” She rasped out and after a moment the hand on her shoulder moved to stroking her long hair, the soft, repetitive movement calming her as she slowly settled; eventually peeling her fingers away from the arm wrapped around her front where she was pressed to Kagami’s chest (he was going to have bruises, shit). “Sorry” she pushed out” yo-u’ll have bruises.” The Uchiha hummed, seeming unfazed, “Yeah, it happens. You feeling better?” he asked and she nodded into his chest blushing hard even through her lingering disorientation when she thought she felt a kiss brushed over her hair, “Good” he murmured “you should go to bed though, it's late Sakura.” “Can we stay here a little longer?” she asked in a smaller voice than she had let herself use since she was a child and Ino stopped being her friend over a boy. The arms around her tightened and Kagami hummed his agreement, holding her close as the lingering past slowly faded back into its box.

Sakura twisted and slammed her fist into the throat of the masked man with enough force to nearly decapitate the nin and toss him out the window, the woman letting out an exasperated sigh and grimacing at the mess on the floor even as the Nidaime staggered down the stairs a tiny smear of blood on one cheek. “Is that the last of them?” Sakura asked, eyeing the house with wariness and keeping Kagami behind her and closer to the wall, the prto-Root agents seemed to have some kind of skill or seal that suppressed their chakra enough that the Nidaime hadn’t sensed them right way but she suspected he had it sorted now and could at least feel them in the house. “Yes” the Nidaime rasped, swiping at his cheek when she gestured to it and wiping the blood away, “the children safe?” he could feel them all in the safe room she was sure but it wouldn’t be Tobirama Senju if he didn’t check on the children anyway. “Yes, Sasuke is with them, Naruto is outside clearing the perimeter and going over the wards.” She shook her head as Kagami slipped out from behind her and made his teacher sit down before the poor man fainted. “I knew Danzo would act at some point but this was poorly thought out of him, I expected something a bit more clever honestly.”

“Trying to poison the rice was clever” Kagami pointed out as he went to the cupboard and pulled out the tea to make them all some, Sakura snorted, “Not really, he knows you two live with a medic and a kitsune, it was foolish for him to think that we wouldn’t be checking anything that came in the house for poison.” She shook her head, shaking the thought off as Naruto spiked his chakra in the all clear outside and the was noise from downstairs as Sasuke and the children left the safe room (of course Danzo attacked when they had all the kids sleeping over, asshole), “He is getting desperate, the army from Suna and Iwa will be here tomorrow or the day after-“ “Tomorrow” the Nidaime interjected and she nodded to him, ignoring the swoop in her stomach at the thought “-tomorrow then. He knows that as soon as we take care of them and make it clear we are doing it for you and not Sarutobi his protection will evaporate.” She grimaced “He’ll try to kill you both while we are gone, Kagami should he safe-ish surrounded by his clan on the front lines but Nidaime…”

The Senju sighed, something bitter and angry flashing over his face at his own weakness, “Mito will come and sit with me, now that I know how they are hiding their chakra it won’t work anymore and-“ then he paused a funny look flickering over his face, red eyes snapping to Sakura but whatever he was thinking he didn’t say, going on as if something hadn’t occurred to him suddenly (Sakura was familiar with that look) “-so I should be able to tell if anyone is trying to attack me, Kagami will have one of my Hiraishin and I can go to him if I get overwhelmed.” The medic nodded, it wasn’t perfect but it would have to do as they couldn’t spare any of the pact from the front line - or rather they could but they reused to, it had been years since they had gone into battle without each other and they wouldn’t start now.

Kagami reentered the room with a tea tray and Sakura pecked his cheek with a kiss of thanks as she sat as the table and scanned the Nidaime to make sure he was alright as the children tumbled up the steps behind Sasuke. It was a few more hours and the children were all puppy piled in a room together to sleep watched over by summons when Naruto returned to the house, fussing a little over the Nidaime and helping him up the stairs and back to his bed though the Senju was clearly frustrated at needing the help; Sakura was glad that they were recapturing some of the closeness that they had had in the Future-that-was, not having that from the Senju had hurt Naruto on a level that Sakura didn’t quite understand and even though the Nidaime had mentioned that Naruto’s chakra was caustic to his senses (Kurama’s lingering imprint no doubt – Mito was worse apparently) it was apparently not so bad that he couldn’t live with it and comfortably interact with the blond which was what really mattered (there were days when Sakura wished that Ino had survived more than others, Ino had learned to be the very best of them when it came to handling people and their pain and without her here to show Sakura how to gentle the soul some days she felt so stupid. But Ino was long gone now, shredded on Sai’s ink constructs so thoroughly they hadn’t even had to burn her).

“You alright?” the soft question and strong, callused hands landing on her shoulders pulled Sakura to the present and she blinked up at Kagami for a moment, trying to reorient on when she was. Finally smiling sadly and covering one of his hands with her own, leaning back into his warmth and closing her eyes again, trying to remember the good things (the cherry blossoms, the warmth of Naruto’s smile, the surety of Sasuke at her back, the way that Kagami’s smile made her want to live again after everything, the new beginning they had sacrificed everything for, the sunrise over a living Konoha) and hold them close (she would need them tomorrow if she didn’t want to lose herself in the future-past), “No, but I will be just don’t let me go, don’t let me become something I can’t come back from.” She breathed into the cool night air, fragrant with tea and flowers where the door to the garden was still smashed open.

“I will do everything I can” Kagami whispered, leaning down till his lips brushed her brow “but Sakura, even if you lose yourself out there your will still have a home here with me. I know you can do things I don’t understand, I know that the world will shake when the three of you walk it for war; but I have seen titans bleed before and I know that even gods fear. Come back to me and we will find a way, no matter what tomorrow brings.” And Sakura blew out a shaking breath as tears slipped silent and cold down her cheeks, clinging to her dawn just as she knew Sasuke and Naruto were clinging to each other upstairs as they waited for her to join them. One last silent reaffirmation of their pact before they went to war.

Chapter Text

It had been hard to choose a good place to meet the armies of Suna and Iwa, mostly because the north-west of Fire had rather a lot of towns and those would all too easily be flattened in the action, but that was the direction that the combined army was coming from so they had few options and in the end they had settled on the largest open space they could find to the west of the Valley of the End (Naruto wondered what they would call this battlefield after they were done with it) and the forces of Konoha had arrayed themselves there, keeping back close to the trees before the high rocky line of the ridge with only the pact standing out in the open waiting under the low gray sky. Sakura had already had her sweet goodbye with Kagami where he stood surrounded by the Uchiha clan with Ramin and a grim Koharu (a welcome surprise) watching his back and Naruto and Sasuke didn’t need to exchange words, simply hooking their pinkies together once in a silent promise.

It had been made clear when they moved out that morning that the pact was acting only on Kagami’s request – after all the Uchiha head had asked for their help publicly and they had exchanged a look before nodding, Sakura stroking his jaw with a smile and a purred “Only for you” as all three of them ignored Sarutobi – who was forced on the field by the sheer peer pressure of everyone watching him and wondering why he wasn’t doing anything, Danzo skulking at his back as all available nin were called (though the children were blessedly not called upon yet – probably being held in reserve in case this dragged on, though everyone knew by now that the pact had plan and couldn’t be underestimated). Naruto shifted restlessly, flanked by Sakura and Sasuke and ignoring the way Sarutobi seemed to feel like he should be where they were at the front (it was….strange to see the man he had so revered as a child like this, strange to have so little respect for a man he had once – well, for years his friends had been trying to make him believe that Sarutobi hadn’t been the wonderful old man that Naruto remembered him as but – there had been so long when he had been all that Naruto had- part of his plan whispered Sasuke’s voice in his head, he wanted you dependent and loyal to him- that letting himself lose his faith in the hokage had felt like losing part of himslef even as Tobirama-sensei showed him how it was to have a teacher who’s faith in you never failed and who would give everything for you. Still, seeing him like this, it ached. It burned away a little more of his innocence and Naruto, Naruto wasn’t sure he had much left to lose).

There was a shift in the trees across the great barren stretch of rock they had chosen as their fighting ground and in flashes and flickers shinobi began to boil out of the trees, more and more of them in Iwa and Suna’s distinctive colors and yet – “The jinchuriki are being kept at the back” Naruto murmured to his pact, all his tails hidden but one that was tucked behind him enough that it wasn’t visible (best to look unassuming for as long as he could), Sakura hummed, something almost cheerful in her voice as she murmured “Well then I guess we can deal with the cannon fodder first before you free the bijuu, convenient.” And Sasuke snickered at that, his chakra already raising like a curling dragon at their backs as Sakura knelt on the hard stone and pressed her fingers to the stone, her brow furrowing as her chakra raced out in a great spreading net hidden under the stone. At the front two people stepped forward (Ōnoki- ah, a pity, Naruto hadn’t wanted to kill him and he was so young- and the Third Kazekage, Naruto didn’t even know his name though he had seen him as Sasori’s puppet so maybe this was a kinder fate than that. Still Naruto had known Ōnoki and though the old man had done some truly horrible things he had repented in the end, and now he would never have that chance) eyeing the pact with some confusion and wariness though Ōnoki was all too smug (the Kazekage at least was warrier having lost both his jinchuriki already though he didn’t know Naruto had anything to do with that). (So many would lose their chance in this moment, the Cost would truly start here and it burned in Naruto’s heart to know what they were sacrificing for just a single chance to win the Last War; so many that would never live because of their actions, so many lost friends wiped away forever for their choices. The Cost of changing everything paid in souls and fates stripped away.)

“Sakura” Naruto breathed (he had learned, it had hurt but he had learned, do not let the enemy monologue, strike hard and strike fast) and her chakra blazed, a shinning white-silver web burning up through the rock as her seal of a thousand spread, long lines painting on her face as she bent her impossible control on the world and froze the enemy nin in their footsteps; dropping their body temperatures so fast that they couldn’t even move from sheer cold. (They could have stopped there even as the other nin fought the cold, thy could have let that be warning enough. They didn’t.) “Sasuke” he murmured and the Uchiha laughed, wild and a bit mad as he shook back his hair and his chakra lifted it to writhe around him like a thousand snakes, lifting his fringe from his face and revealing the Rinnegan as his perfect Susanoo formed behind him, reaching into the sky higher and higher. Together with the Susanoo he shaped three hand signs, Tengai Shinsei starting to burn the atmosphere as Naruto flared all nine of his tails and loosed his chakra, a burning twisting blaze of heavenly-chakra that turned dust to glass around him. The enemy nin were frozen not only by Sakura’s hold now but by the sheer terror of the looming Susanoo and then those that could were screaming as the meteor dipped below the clouds, the great pillar of Naruto’s chakra slamming into the rock and burrowing into it until it was filled to the brim with golden-red light and the simple rock ball began to twist, writhing in the air and breaking like a strange mammoth egg until there was a blazing dragon made of molten rock and blazing heavenly power, long enough to circle the Valley of the End twice and still bite its own tail; the thing was so huge its heat was searing away oxygen from their lungs. (They could have stopped here, the nin were too terrified to ever fight such a thing, but the Ōtsutsuki had never been afraid and the pact was no longer in this time, minds far in a future that would never be again.)

Sasuke’s Susanoo arched over them, protecting them from the sheer heat of the infernal dragon as trees were vaporized in minutes; petrified Konoha nin fell to their knees as even their trees burned, suiton users trying to cool the air even as all water turned to steam and the few Uchiha with Susanoo called them up just to cover as many Konoha nin as they could, the clans huddling under the Uchiha for safety as Naruto called out something in a voice like a clarion bell, doom come tolling as the dragon dropped from the sky in fire and molten rock and glass, “You should have chosen another target! We will burn before we will bend and you will burn with us. Heavenly Art: Doom of the Dragon!”.

The noise of dragon as it came to earth was like nothing any had ever heard, like death and the earth being rent asunder and the roar of a thousand forest fires, and then it landed and even the screaming stopped and all that could be heard was the burning and a strange wild laughter like the call of a hunting bird as the dragon rolled, leaving nothing but ash and melted rock in its wake. Ōnoki was consumed in a burning maw before he could even try to run and the Kazekage’s sand turned to glass that melted back onto him as the heavenly power consumed him in a white hot rush, nin going up like roman candles (who knew humans were so flammable?) under the dragon and those- about half the nin- that hadn’t been captured by Sakura were running without a thought, stumbling and coughing in the heat as they tried to flee and choked on the ash of their burning comrades. Only the two jinchuriki, cloaked in their bijuu withstood the burn and without a thought Naruto launched himslef forward, racing over the dragon like it couldn’t burn him as he turned his attention to Kokuō’s jinchuriki and slammed all of his heavenly power into the poor man, ripping the five-tails out of the man as the dragon captured Son Goku in one burning claw. Sending Kokuō to the horses was a matter of minutes as he already had their agreement and they had told him they would explain; Son Goku though fought him, wanting to stay but Naruto wouldn’t let him and, shinning like a fallen star he spilt the bijuu from their container and tossed him to the monkeys, throwing away the former jinchuuriki before he could burn (they would see to it that the contract was offered if it was wanted after everything had been explained, this was not the place for such things, not anymore).

The dragon bellowed, belching flame and ash and Naruto, standing on its burning back and unaware of what he looked like wreathed in fire and molten rock on the creature that had just annihilated half an army in less than an hour, turned back to the Konoha forces, Sakura’s nod telling him that all the enemy nin had run. Cracking his neck he spread his hands and tails and called back the power he had lent to the magma dragon, gold and red pouring back into him in a rush as Sasuke let his Susanoo go and the dragon froze where with was twisting over the ground, turned into nothing more than stone and glass with its muzzle tipped back to the sky in a bed of still molten stone.

In the wake of the dragon returning to stone there was nothing but the wind through the distant trees that had survived and the way it moaned around the loops of the dragon’s stone body as it blew the ash that was all that was left of half of the armies of Iwa and Suna over the rock in snow like eddies. (How many friends forefathers had they killed today, Naruto wondered, how many more would they kill or see married to others? How great would be the Cost when he and he alone lived to see it paid in full?) The silence was a nearly physical weight as he leapt down from the stone dragon, curling his power under his skin again even as Sasuke’s Susanoo folded down into itself again and the Susanoo of the other Uchiha faltered and failed, leaving the Konoha nin to face the landscape that the pact had left behind (the one they knew best, ash and melted stone and death and that strange, terrible silence). The shinobi looked around in stunned shock, painted in ash and sweat from the heat of the dragon and the death it brought as they gazed around with the wide broken eyes that Naruto knew all too well; he remembered the look on Kakashi-sensei’s face the first time they did this (and back then it hadn't been this perfected), the first time Sakura froze their foes and Sasuke and Naruto called down the doom of the dragon on the returned puppet-dead the Ōtsutsuki had called back to fight them. He remembered how shocked and numb they had been, his friends, even when they were seeing only the death of the undead; how much worse must it be for these people that didn’t hardly know any of them but the fact that they could call down a doom so terrible that nothing in the world could stop it. (Well, maybe another Tengai Shinsei could slow the dragon but Naruto’s power would probably consume it now and just make the dragon larger and that – that would be bad, it wasn’t like he had more than the most rudimentary control over the construct really.)

Slowly Naruto returned to his pact where the lines of the seal of a Thousand hadn’t faded off of Sakura’s skin and Sasuke’s Rinnegan eye was still glowing brightly under his settling hair. Together the pact, his pact, reached for his hands as he reached them, Sasuke kissing his palm and Sakura squeezing his hand, her eyes still bright with bloody light and the blaze of the future-that-was; all of them would be having nightmares tonight he was sure, burning a little too hot with adrenaline and the strange disappointment that came from the battle being so fucking easy (Iwa and Suna had nothing on the Ōtsutsuki in the end). He hoped that Kagami had a way to calm Sakura because – well, back then when they were amped up like this Sakura had joined him and Sasuke in their bed to burn off some energy and find some grounding in each other, but that wouldn’t work now – not now Sakura had her own person. Thinking about that he turned and looked at the Konoha nin (how bad was the damage?), grimly taking in the shocky looks on many faces and the dead white skin of Sarutobi and Danzo; but, luckily, though Kagami looked shocked and slightly appalled (as well as tired from holding his Susanoo) he was already shaking off the hands of his stunned clan and coming straight to them with a determined expression.

Next to Naruto Sakura stiffened and her face smoothed over into impassivity as the Uchiha walked straight to her, taking her seal marked face in his hands and examining it for a long moment before he tipped it and pressed a kiss so gentle it made even Naruto ache to her brow. “Come back to me” he breathed and just like that the seal lines retracted and the pink haired woman sagged into him like all her strings had been cut, clutching at his mantle and breathing out a shaky breath as she let go of Naruto and – oh. this. Feeling oddly choked Naruto looked at Sasuke and met those chakra bright eyes; things were already changing, already time was moving on and Sakura was finding with others what she had once only found with them and as glad as he was for her – as glad as he was (and he was), something in Naruto froze in fear at this first real sign of time passing and changing them (the first sign that the world would someday move on without him, the first sign that in time he alone would persevere, frozen in the moment of Kurama’s death and his ascension).

“Well done, all of you, well done” Kagami said, pulling back a bit from Sakura and starting as he saw the purple glow under Sasuke’s fringe, “thank you.” Naruto grimaced a bit and glanced back at the stone and ash swirling around it, “We did warn you” he murmured “but still, it was worth it to keep the children from this. Their time and their wars will come but this was not their battle to fight.” Kagami nodded, still looking a little too pale and shaken but resolute anyway, “I know this will cost you in the village”  he murmured for them alone “I know you know that, so thank you for taking the hit for others.” And at that Naruto couldn’t help but smile a bit, bitter and twisted, if only Kagami knew the true Cost of what they had done, the actual toll of the choices they had made (would Gaara even be born? How many others would be lost?). “If anything is to be gained something must be lost” Sasuke responded, low and tired and eyes clouded with the perfect memories that only his clan possessed, for he was the only one of them that really remembered everything they were losing, everything they were fighting, everything they were betting on.

Still, Naruto thought as Kagami turned back to the Konoha shinobi with Sakura on his arm, it was working. It had to be working, “That was easier that it ever was in the future” Sasuke whispered in the breath of space between them and Naruto nodded; the chakra had come to his call like never before and the power had all but exploded out of him in the end of the jutsu. Chakra was stronger in this time, back when the bijuu hadn’t been sealed for so long, back when some of the key clans yet lived, back before it all went wrong; and if chakra could be this strong….perhaps, perhaps when the time and the Ōtsutsuki came back for them they really would win this time. Perhaps (it was the first time that he had truly thought that maybe, maybe this time it would work – maybe the Cost would be worth it. Maybe).

Chapter Text

Tobirama was doing everything he could to keep his feet under him, (he could feel Madara again which helped and didn’t all at once – how Danzo had gotten his hands on whatever technique Madara was using Tobirama had no idea but as soon as he sorted out the method Danzo’s men were using to hide and how to feel around it he could feel Madara again and – it was one thing to know that Madara was alive it was another thing to feel it) it felt like everything was moving too quickly and though the pact had been more than open with him about anything he had questions about (like Zetsu, what the fuck?!) being around them was…confusing. Their chakra reached out to him like they knew him, like they cared and missed him and wanted to rush forward and pull him into their fold; lapping at him like waves lapping at the shore, calling him in further and then pulling back as they remembered that he didn’t know them the way they knew him (and they did know him, far, far better than he had any idea how to handle). It was sweet and strange and confusing and the Senju was only glad that they were kind enough to give him all the time and space he could want; time and space he spent plotting on how he was going to get back at his former students as soon as Kagami took the hat as well as the IVF that Sakura was –

Tobirama’s hands froze as on the edge of Fire he felt Madara’s faint chakra (still strange and twisted though….that felt more like the strange presence that was following Madara, Zetsu? Fuck, if there was one creature that Tobirama wanted dead it was Zetsu), what was Madara doing-? “Tobi-“ Mito’s voice was soft and Tobirama was about to answer when there was a sudden blaze of chakra from the place that had been chosen as the battlefield, (komainu-silk-fathoms-ice-lavender, Sakura, using yang chakra at the coldest end of the spectrum, what-?) and then a second later another chakra signature unfolded like a flower (white dragon-memory-pine smoke-ash, Sasuke, using his Sharingan at the highest level and then – something else, something new that Tobirama had never felt before that seemed to nearly rend the chakra of the world around it-) followed by Naruto’s chakra, expanding in fractal shapes and searing through the world as it slammed into something else that felt of Sasuke and changed it; bending it into something else, something of chakra and power like he had never felt before (this – this must be the heavenly part of Naruto’s skills), something that raged like even the Kyuubi hadn’t raged, as mindless as deadly as a natural disaster.

It knocked the air from Tobirama’s lungs, stealing his breath as it filled his mind to the brim, blotting out everything else and burning, burning so much that he was sure he would see afterimages if he could close his senses. But he couldn’t, all he could do was bear with it, trying to breathe around the sheer overwhelming brilliance of whatever the pact had done, so choking he could barely breathe around it and it blotted out everything else, even the passage of time.

Finally the power shifted and Tobirama sucked in a sharp breath, dizzy and faint with dots dancing in his darkening vision and feeling as though the shape of the power had been burned into his mind. He could hardly get air and crumbled forward over his legs, flailing for anything to anchor himself on (Mito was no good, her chakra was too caustic with they Kyuubi and the pact too dizzying and he wasgoingtodrownwithout – Madara. Madara.) and then there was Madara. Twisted yes, and tasting of rust and old blood but still, still, mink fur-cloves-morning star-warm ash, but still known and as entrancing as Tobirama had always ignored and closed out (he never let himself feel it fully, not when it was so twisted and strange and hated him), and now it was the only thing that could ground him. The only thing strong enough balance the afterimage and steady (pff, Madara, steady) enough to help him ground himself and catch his breath; distantly aware of Mito’s voice in the background and the scent of fresh blood  as he tried to keep himself conscious and present.

Time passed in a strange smear and there was only Madara’s faint chakra and the smell of blood and the knowledge that Sakura hadn’t lied at all when she told him what they could do; but finally the blazing thing (like a sun come to earth) cooled and Naruto rolled his chakra back into himself and suddenly Tobirama could breathe again. Sucking in great gulps of air and struggling to orient himself; he was in the safe room (when?) Mito blocking the door and the hems of her pale kimono dyed red with fresh blood (so. Danzo had tried to kill him then, that….hurt) and her white chakra chains twisting in the air around her. “Mito” he rasped, shoving down the shame that he had done nothing when they were attacked even though Mito was more than strong enough to protect them, “Tobi!” She gasp, whipping around and darting to his side, “Are you alright? You – you went white as a sheet and then seemed to just vanish and-“ “Mito! I’m-” he broke off to cough “-I’m fine, the kids just used a lot of, ah, power and it was hard on my sensing. I should have anticipated it, what – Danzo’s people attacked?”

Mito pursed her lips, clearly wanting to pursue that further as she narrowed her eyes at him in a sisterly glare for a moment before letting it go, “Yes” her lips curled in disgust at his former student “I’ll be confronting him as soon as they are back in the village. This can’t go on.” Tobirama’s eyes narrowed, thinking that through; it could work, Kagami taking the hat as soon as they hit the village again and doing it in public would work – especially if Mito started it by accusing Danzo (Hiruzen would be guilty by association) and then Tobirama was present to back up the move while everyone was still in shock…yes, that would be best. Better to act now than to let either of his former students establish any foothold and if they acted they could keep the pact slightly out of it which would be best as far as village politics went after whatever shock and horror they had no doubt rained down on the enemy nin. Better not to have Kagami look like they had too much say in his actions even if they did; the clans would certainly be more comfortable if any of the stories about their abilities came even close (if there was anyone still living that knew how power could alienate you it was Tobirama – well, and Madara if he was sane enough to think of it. Crazy fuck). “Come on Mito, we have a village to fix” the Senju said firmly and shared a sharp smile with his sister in all but blood; it was long past time they cleaned house a little (sorry brother).

Matsui Senju knew she was the Senju head and held a lot of power in that position (even though there were barely twenty left that held the name – her own family included) but she had always felt a little as though she was lagging behind those who had come before her. Kagami was like a kind older cousin and as his great Susanoo arched above them while hell came to earth she felt once again the gap between her power and his – only now with the addition of the sudden realization that as far as she felt from Kagami (had always felt since he got the Mangekyō and she didn’t get the Mukoton), Kagami was eons further from the pact. They were all but gods come to earth and though she had heard rumors and stories from her father about the things that Madara-sama could do when he wanted, had even seen some of what her Uncle could do when he was angry enough this….this was something different. Sakura’s ability sent chills down her spine and certainly put her at the level of what she had heard of the dead Izuna Uchiha if not above, Sasuke’s ability to call down fucking meteors had been enshrined in legend as an Uchiha thing (only whispered in Senju stories that were passed down in the branch lines) so it had a base she could extrapolate from; but what the kitsune (kitsune? No, Tenko she would bet almost anything – and unlike her daughter she didn’t always loose ((fucking father and his gambling))) had done….what they had all done together – the amount of people that they had killed in a bare matter of hours-!

As she stared at the great stone dragon roaring to the sky and seeming to swim in ash, the heat in the rock still cooling and radiating back at the Konoha nin all Matsui could think was that she was glad that Naruto-dono was a Tenko; to think of a mortal having that power-! Sakura and Sasuke were strong enough to smash armies on their own, add Naruto-dono and annihilation was the only option (because she had no doubt in her mind that had they chosen to the entirety of both armies would have been gone rather than just half their number); the only thing that reduced the fear of the three was knowing Naruto-dono wasn’t human, somehow it was different that he wasn’t human or mortal, somehow that made him less frightening (would that have helped father? Uncle? Madara-sama?) and as she looked around at the others of Konoha’s shinobi she knew they felt the same even if the taste of fear was strong on the air.

Next to Matsui Nozomi shuddered and shifted on her feet as her cowering ninken whined, high and afraid, “This could turn bad” the pretty Inuzuka muttered, her normally bright voice grim and tight with her own fear as she looked around at the way the Konoha nin had clustered around those Uchiha with Susanoo (well, at least this would help that clan’s reputation in the village), “I can smell the fear Matsui, if something isn’t done they could turn on them.” She turned to look at the Senju, her short hair shoved back out of her face “We could have another Madara-sama on our hands, but much, much worse. I don’t want that to happen.” The meaning was clear, Kagami had already stepped up and gone to his soon-to-be fiancé but if he was seen as acting alone-! Hells (if there was anything that Matsui wanted to do less than go close to those people and that stone dragon she couldn’t think of it, months of friendship wiped away in the inferno that they had brought down on the earth. Kagami was braver than her, but that was nothing new) still, Matsui took a deep breath and cycled suiton though her to cool down as she shoved steal up her spine and hoped her husband wasn’t watching (Riku would kick her ass for this, he was no doubt pulling out his lovely blond hair as she took her first steps out into the burned area).

The walk out into the hellscape of cooling molten rock was terrifying, but meeting those red, slit pupil eyes and seeing the fan of those powerful tails was enough that it was only the thought of her Uncle’s iron spine in the face of her father’s death that kept Matsui from crumbling to her knees – even if she couldn’t keep her fear from his eyes completely. Something on Naruto-dono’s face shifted and shuttered and Sasuke slipped between them, his own red eye (was there a purple glow from under his bangs on the other side? No, she must be seeing things) blazing with power and defensiveness. “Senju” ah, shit, Sasuke was feeling defensive then, he only did that when he felt like someone had hurt Naruto-dono, fuck “what do you want?” the Uchiha snapped and Matsui shrugged, going for honesty since Kagami was still absorbed Sakura though they were facing the rest of the Konoha nin at least and she was safely ensconced on his arm (well, at least Hokage’s had a history of having powerful wives). “Well someone had to approach you and make you look safe and normal after…that, so, seems like a good time for the Uchiha and Senju to stand together. We need you and I know the poison that fear can spread, so, help me come up with some kind of speech to make to help them be less fucking terrified of you.” She waved over her shoulder at the rest of the shinobi and the three red eyes flicked over her shoulder, taking in the way the Konoha nin were gathered before Sasuke grimaced, face twisting as he waved her closer and leaned his head in for a rushed conference; Naruto-dono silent behind him, eyes shuttered and remote.

After a few moments of hurried conversation Matsui clapped Sasuke on the should and spoke in the loudest voice she could manage as she bowed to Naruto-dono, “Tenko-sama, Uchiha-sama, Qiānqiū-hime, thank you for your intercession on our behalf. Tenko-sama, I know such a thing does not come without the approval of the heavens and Konoha thanks you for your willingness to petition the kami on our behalf, I promise the Senju at least will make sure the proper rites are performed to thank the kami for this victory and blessing for you have saved who knows how many of our children from fighting on the battlefield at far to young an age and preserved that for which Konoha was founded.” There, that should help, make it about religion and remind the shinobi of all their children which were being rushed through the Academy in order to fight in a war that now would never happen; with any luck that would mitigate the backlash at least a little.

Face set in a strange expression Shige Nara stepped forward, flanked by the Yamanaka and the Akimichi, “We to shall give thanks to the kami, and thank you Tenko-sama” she bowed to the golden haired man and then looked at the other two “and to you as well Uchiha-sama and Qiānqiū-hime.” All three nodded with varying degrees of regality and Kagami stepped up to take over organizing getting the shinobi home, ignoring Sarutobi completely as he took over and Matsui was relived to see the fear in most eyes shifting to reverence; oh there was still a lot of space around the pact and few that would meet Sasuke or Naruto-dono’s eyes- Sakura seemed to be safer, both for her more understandable powers and the clear way that the couple was cooing over each other, Sakura clearly smitten and softened by Kagami-, but still it could  be worse. It had been worse. (And she would do everything in her power to make sure it didn’t get that bad again. There would not be another Madara Uchiha if Matsui had any power to change it.)

Madara was soaking in the steaming waters of the hot springs, his hair- once again silky and wild and voluminous- piled on top of his head with a few senbon; some hot water, a few hot meals, some peace and quiet from his disembodied Will always yammering about the Eternal Tsukiyomi and Madara felt more human than he had in years. He hadn’t had this much peace in way, way too long and though he hadn’t gathered much in the way of rumors about Tobirama’s ‘love’- too busy enjoying the hot water-, just what he already knew and that people though maybe the Hokage had been being a bit uncareful with his own health since his love died (which, when had that happened anyway?) – after all the fucking Hakage going to do things with only a team made of his own students was sort of passively suicidal (and yes, Madara had thoughts about that, that white asshole wasn’t allowed to die before Madara could kill him, he was Madara’s kill and the Uchiha was insulted honestly that the shitty Senju didn’t know that). But still, nothing that made it clearer who the ‘love’ was, people seemed oddly disinclined to say their name (his name, it was a man Madara now knew and honestly, he was offended, as if any of the men of the right age were even halfway good enough for the man who had bested Madara’s own little brother!) and just called him ‘the Nidaime’s love’, which helped Madara not at all with figuring this out! Really he needed to just leave the Onsen and start poking around in Fire to get better info, especially as since Konoha was- maybe?- about to be involved in a war and that would be a good distraction for Tobirama, but Madara was loath to leave the hot –

Boom!

Madara’s eyes snapped open and the working one spun immediately into Mangekyō as he bolted upright in the water, eye fixed on the glowing blue shape far, far in the distance. A Susanoo?! What the-? And then something else, something so big it shook the sky even where Madara was sitting in the hot water as – was that Tengai Shinsei?! How-?!! A pillar of gold-red slammed into the Tengai Shinsei and then, delayed like a shockwave, something scorched over Madara’s senses, a wash of caustic chakra and something else; something….more, something that for a moment wiped away the muck and cobwebs that filled Madara’s mind and for a moment all he could thing was (what the hell am I doing? What have I done?!) – and then a wave of black rot rolled over him and Madara dropped like a puppet with his strings cut, slipping under the water clinging to his last clear thought – I have to go to Konoha.

Mito was waiting in the large square in front of the Tower with Tobirama at her side when the Konoha nin returned and slowly filled the space as Kagami, Sarutobi, and Danzo came forward to see her, the pact hanging back when Tobirama flickered his chakra at them (when did he teach them that?); those nin that had stayed in the village waiting behind her, children peaking out around their parent's legs. Most had seen the glow of the fight in the distance and those with the best eyes had seen the Susanoo reaching for the sky before the glow of the chakra had gotten to bright so it wasn’t a shock to know they had won without even a single loss but still; almost no one had really expected it and the idea of the kind of power that would take was enough to stun those that had stayed behind to protect the village or were noncombatants. “Kagami, how did it go?” Mito asked, making sure to stand as straight as she could even as eyes flicked to her red dipped hems, Kagami’s eyes narrowed a little at her skirts but followed her lead anyway (he was a good kid).

“Mito-hime, as expected the pact dealt with it. We have Naruto-sama, Sasuke-sama, and Sakura, to thank for the lack of casualties on our side and the – death of half the armies of Iwa and Suna along with their Kage.” At that Mito faltered a little, she knew the pact was powerful (she had seen Naruto in the seal space after all) but this….that kind of devastation was just….it was hard to even comprehend; half their armies and the kage? Kami. this…this could complicate matters; even Hashirama and Madara would have found a feat like that hard to accomplish in such little time (Kami!). Gathering herself discreetly Mito hummed and bowed shallowly to the three hanging back and surrounded by a notable circle of space, “Then we thank you all for protecting Konoha, such a victory is no small thing and I am sure the Hokage will wish to reward you,” Sarutobi stepped forward and Mito peaceably talked over him “however, before such a thing can be done there is a matter that must be resolved.” And then she lifted her hand, holding out the head of the Shimura nin that she had been holding hidden in her long sleeve “Namely yet another attempt on the life of the former Hokage, this is – what, the fourth now?” Tobirama cleared his throat and spoke, a little pale and breathy but on his feet and steady (though Mito hadn’t missed Sakura’s narrowed eyes) “Sixth if you include poisoning the rice, though that was also an attempt on Kagami as much as it was on me.” the Nidaime interjected, arms folded and face icily impassive in a way that was clearly making his former students wary and worried.

Kagami had stiffened in worry at the sight of the head and he was scanning his teacher for wounds, clearly worried about him. “Sixth then” Mito allowed “and its no hard guess who has been sending them is it Danzo Shimura?” gratifyingly the man froze (had he not expected to get called out? How arrogant was this little shit?), spluttering out a denial and then going white as the Kohaku boy stepped out of the gathered nin behind Kagami, looking frightened but determined. “He lies, it was him. I should know, I was one of the first sent out to kill the Nidaime-sama and captured by the pact; it was only through Kagami-sama’s kindness that my family was explained to me and I was freed from D-danzo’s control. I owe him everything and I won’t let you pretend you didn’t try to kill him and his beloved teacher!” Which, well. that….she could already see the clan heads exchanging looks around the square but it was Matsui (Mito was so proud of her) that stepped forward and tipped her chin up as she stared at their current Hokage. “The clan heads call for a vote of no confidence in Hiruzen Sarutobi, there has been far too much that has shaken our confidence in you and your lack of leadership in a time of war is deplorable – and no, planning to force children to become soldiers does not count as leadership, not when it goes against everything that this village was founded for. You should no longer be Hokage.” (Mito was so fucking proud of her daughter.)

Both Hiruzen and Danzo paled further and it was then that Tobirama struck, striding forward and snatching the hat from Sarutobi’s head before landing a brutal kick to the man’s stomach as he turned large betrayed eyes on the Senju. “I should never have given this too you.” Tobirama snapped coldly, flippantly tossing the hat to Kagami “You’re in charge now Kagami, Sasuke can be clan head,” his voice dropped to a low hiss “and I give you a week to do what you need in terms of investigation on this shit stain and then he is mine.” At that Danzo quailed back and looked like he might run had he not run right into two Yamanaka and the grasp of a Nara’s shadows trapped as the clan’s shifted to Kagami’s command like it was prearranged – which of course it essentially was. “I -  of course Sensei” Kagami nearly stuttered as he spoke but caught himself fast enough most wouldn’t notice, “Hiruzen you are under house arrest until we have this sorted out, Sensei….” Tobirama snorted, icy eyes watching both of his former students be escorted away “A week ‘gami” he promised, turning back and watching with some surprise as Naruto took the hat and a hush fell over the square as the light seemed to gather on the Tenko as he lifted it and finally set it on Kagami’s head, implicitly giving him the blessing of the kami as well. “Lead well, lead far.” Was all the blond said before he melted back to his darker husband, letting Konoha explode in celebration of both their victories today.

Chapter Text

Sasuke curled his arm around Naruto where his husband (and yes it was nice to think that and have it be- basically- true) was watching the smoke rise over they Hyuuga compound as they burned incense for the kami – as they had every day for the last two days since the war-that-wasn’t. Honestly Konoha over all had been enjoying quite the religious comeback as all the shinobi gave thanks to the kami for sending a Tenko down to intercede on their behalf; really Sasuke was impressed with how well Matsui’s ploy had worked – and, well, it wasn’t like it was completely wrong. Just, sideways. “Naru” the Uchiha murmured, a little annoyed to have the Tenko so distracted when they finally had some quiet time together without the children or other clan heads around and Sasuke wasn’t busy working on clan head shit for once (ugh, there was so much of it, he needed a second and he needed them fast) “Naru, stop thinking about it. This is much better than it could have been, we were prepared for worse and-“ “And in a few decades you will be dead and they will still be worshiping me.” Naruto cut in, voice empty and cold in a way that suited him not at all and froze Sasuke down to his core; because what could he say to that? How could he make that better? How could he gentle the truth?

Swallowing Sasuke tightened his hold a little on his love, trying to find some words to make this better, “I – but I am here now Naruto, I'm here now love so be here with me.” weak words in the face of what Naruto faced but, all Sasuke had, all that any of them had and for now- as always (what Sasuke had had always been enough for Naruto even when it shouldn’t have been)- it was enough; Naruto softening in his arm and turning away from the spiraling smoke to face the Uchiha. “I am, I am trying to be – I just can’t stop thinking about the Cost and now this and I just…” the blond confided, sounding torn and pained in a way that made Sasuke rage; he couldn’t make this better, he couldn’t solve this, he couldn’t soften it, he could- for once, again- do nothing as the one thing he valued more than anything else suffered. “Don’t think about it” Sasuke grated out removing his arm to cup Naruto’s jaw, holding it a little too tightly as the blond faced him, “don’t think about it, think about now, think about me. Think about what we still have to do and change and implement; think about how we are going to go to bed together tonight and in a few months when Sarutobi and Danzo and Zetsu are dead- one way or another- we will see Sakura get married and have babies and maybe even drag Madara back to sanity and Konoha kicking and screaming for Tobirama to torment. Think about now and me and this, right here, don’t think about the future – it will come whether you do or not.”

And it was a foolish idea, thinking about the future was basically all they did in trying to make sure that it wasn’t the one they had faced and there was still so much to do (the Hatake, the Hyuuga and their cursed seal, the last few bijuu, facing Kurama, Zetsu, that fucking tree thing, Madara’s eyes and sanity, and probably more that he wasn’t thinking of at the moment), but still, Sasuke was all too aware that he could lose Naruto to the terror of the future he faced. Never before had he feared to lose Naruto- always had it been the blond chasing him no matter where he went- but now, to this, he might lose him and it terrified Sasuke to the bone. Naruto’s eyes flashed and the hands that had settled on Sasuke’s waist tightened and the Uchiha was hauled into a deep kiss, as though the blond was trying to bury his fears in physicality - something Sasuke was more than willing to enable him in if it helped center his husband and lover in the present rather than the looming future.

Forcefully the Uchiha shoved his hand into the long bright hair, knotting his fist in Naruto’s hair and pulling as he kissed back like he could consume everything that bothered his lover; hungry and deep, Naruto’s hands bruisingly tight on his hips and the sharp prick of the Tenko’s over-long nails a well known indulgence. “We- ah- should, fuck, bed Naruto” Sasuke forced out between biting kisses (he was going to be marked up as hell tomorrow, eh, he didn’t care and Naruto liked it so whatever), they had never worried too much about that in the future-that-was but they also hadn’t had children living with them then so – “bed” Sasuke used the hand in Naruto’s hair to haul him back and the blond blinked for a moment before his eyes narrowed and Sasuke had just enough time to swear and brace before the Tenko was ducking down and the Uchiha was- gently- tossed over his shoulder; Sasuke rolled his eyes and shifted to get more comfortable but didn’t fight it, allowing his husband to carry him upstairs to their room and waving to a giggling Sakura as they passed through, a bored look on his face to hide how turned on he was – at least until he was spilled onto their bed and could focus on Naruto and tethering him in the here and now.

The Ōtsutsuki came out of nowhere, after the one that had killed Hinata died (after that horrible scream) they simply appeared out of the forests of Fire and started wreaking havoc, it was Gai who first came into contact with them with his former team when he was sent to look into a strange disturbance in the east of Fire, and it was Gai that was the second casualty to the Ōtsutsuki though he took down Urashiki Ōtsutsuki with him and held off the other two long enough for Lee and Tenten to run – not that it helped Tenten much, she was so wounded at that point- courtesy of Kinshiki- that not even Sakura could save her. Still, she lived long enough to give her report; Sasuke was there for it, standing in the Hokage’s office with Naruto and Kakashi (they were still arguing about who was Hokage, it was getting old) as Lee and Tenten explained about the three Ōtsutsuki and how Gai had killed one of them and given his former students time to run before they got him. Sasuke remembered all too well the way Kakashi had paled and sunk to sit behind the Kage’s huge desk like his legs couldn’t hold himslef anymore, tucking away his hands but not before the Uchiha saw them shake as though the world had suddenly fallen out from under him (and maybe in a way it had, Kakashi had always had Gai to lean on, even when he was disabled after the war with Zetsu before Sakura had helped him find braces and enough healing to go active again, even then Kakashi had had Gai cheering him on and cheering him up).

“What?” the last Hatake rasped “Gai – he – I don’t-“ it was then that Naruto had taken over, stepping forward and taking over the debriefing as Tenten forced her last words out around the blood filling her airways no matter what Sakura did to try and save her. But Sasuke hadn’t really been listening to the report, too stuck on the look on Kakashi’s face, the way he looked like his whole world had just ended, the way losing Gai had broken something in him, something Sasuke hadn’t really noticed as still being whole. Ah, he thought, so even you needed a Person; I guess you were more Uchiha than I thought (and he wondered a little what that meant about the Sharingan that transplanting it to someone could make them so thoroughly like the Uchiha – or maybe it was Obito’s lingering chakra that had shifted Kakashi into something like a crossbreed, after all Kakashi would never have known to cleanse the Sharingan – nor, realistically, would he have given how deeply he grieved the loss of his old teammate. A common problem with Uchiha, after all how much harder would Zetsu have found it to corrupt Madara if his eyes had been cleansed?

Naruto darted around the desk to Tenten as she collapsed and-

Naruto bolted upright next to Sasuke and the Uchiha stirred out of his dreams sluggishly, turning to look at his lover and relishing the ache in his tailbone and steady throbbing from his bruises and bite marks (and no he didn’t feel smug about that, shut up Sai) even as he tried to gather his lagging faculties (ugh, he needed more sleep if Naruto was going to wear him out like this, he didn’t have Tenko stamina). “’ru?” he slurred, Naruto laid a warm hand on is back between his shoulder blades, head cocked like he was listening to something only he could hear and nose turned up to the wind and intent look on his face that had Sasuke’s weary mind grinding into gear as concerned prickled down his spine. “Naruto?” he asked, his voice sex hoarse; the hand on his back tapped gently, telling him to wait as Naruto was focused on something else. Sasuke pursed his lips, a little frustrated but willing to wait until Naruto’s attention was back on the present; sighing the Uchiha gingerly sat up and started trying to untangle his hair with his one hand, probably whatever had Naruto’s attention would mean no more sleep tonight and Sasuke was an Uchiha, they could only look disheveled if it was in a sexy way or it might give the clan a bad rap.

Finally Naruto stirred next to him, eyes a little wide and startled, looking like he couldn’t decide how he felt about something, “I – Madara is coming, like, Madara is nearly here and Zetsu is only a little behind him.” the blond breathed and Sasuke froze for a second remembering- “The fact that you posses such eyes proves that you will lose your very self, that is what they call a true ending.” He could still feel the pain from the stab wound, the feeling of cold death creeping through his extremities as he looked at the bare back of Madara Uchiha, his most famous of ancestors; could still feel the terror at the thought of dying and failing Itachi, and the bitter certainty that there was no way they could bring Madara down, not when back then he seemed so very powerful. He could still feel the way that the Calamity made him feel, so fucking weak and useless and broken; even knowing they had won in the end and the Sage had gifted him powers at least on par with Madara couldn’t full chase away that soul deep terror that he felt that day.- “Are – are you sure?” Sasuke forced out, trying to master the stir of fear (how ironic that even after everything and the horror that was the Ōtsutsuki he could still fear Madara in a way he didn’t fear most of the alien clan – except perhaps….Isshiki) that the thought of facing Madara brought out in him, even a Madara that wasn’t at the height of his powers was nothing to sneeze at and –

“Sasuke!” Naruto’s bright eyes shared his trepidation but his jaw was set in a mulish line “Sas, it’s going to be different, we have Tobirama and if we can keep him focused on him while we get Zetsu we might be able to rehabilitate him – and you know how much that would help the world. All we have to do is come up with a way to keep Madara distracted and on the wrong foot and we can do this, remember even Kaguya was distracted by my Reverse Herem Jutsu” he promised and – well, look, a lot of people compared Sasuke and Naruto’s relationship to Madara’s and Tobirama’s these days so – shit, if it was him….”The Nidaime isn’t going to like this” Sasuke breathed and Naruto’s eyes glinted as he followed Sasuke’s thoughts like he could read them as he so often did. “On the contrary” the blond said through a foxy grin “I think he is going to have way too much fun with it. Now come on, we need to talk to Sakura and the Nidaime and find something appropriate and flammable.” Oh kami, this, this was going to backfire so badly, Sasuke just knew it (still, should be funny if nothing else and, well, some days you just had to be in it for the LOLs, in Sai and Gaara’s memory is nothing else. After all Gaara was the crazy fucker that used his death at Isshiki’s hands to Edo Tobirama back to life so Sasuke liked to think the red-head would have approved of this plan).  

Chapter Text

Sakura thought maybe this counted as using her powers for evil but, well, it was Sasuke who pointed out the similarities between his clan’s main kami and Madara (the whole hiding in depression-cave and only coming out when something really shinny was on offer), it wasn’t her fault that the Nidaime heard this and thought about the dancing (cough*stripping*cough) goddess of the dawn dancing in front of the cave to distract Amaterasu so they could close it behind her and ran with the idea!....she may have helped sourced the, uh, clothing but that was just being helpful with the plan right? That was what a good student/friend/whatever-they-were to the Nidaime would do! He had a man to seduce, and Sakura was going to make sure it worked (if there was one thing she had learned from Naruto it was to never underestimate the power of sheer confusion and a little showing skin, it was just good shinobi practice to put that in action right? And if it helped with the terror that the idea of seeing Madara again- the feel of Naruto’s heart in her hand as she pumped it- well, fear wasn’t going to help her here and anyway this Madara was almost certainly one that the pact could take out if they needed too – though it would be better if they didn’t have to really).

And it was going to work, Sakura was more and more sure of that as she looked at the Nidaime lining his slanted eyes with kohl a bit more thickly than normal (and wasn’t that a shock, that Tobirama Senju normally wore eye-liner! It made sense of course given his sensitive eyes but still, it made her giggle a bit), dressed in high necked, large weave mesh armor and a loosely belted and too big yukata (though it looked more like a kimono in cut) in deep Uchiha indigo that gapped over his chest and slipped down over his shoulders even as it fell back and exposed oddly delicate wrists under the long mesh sleeves. It was….look, Sakura wasn’t dead and with the thick eye-liner and brushed slivery eyeshadow that opened his eyes a little and without the harsh framing of the happuri (he had told her that the seals he used to counteract his eyes troubles were on the faceguard, but Sakura had convinced him to inscribe them on a long ear-cuff that curled around the entirety of one ear and glittered with small garnets- more ostentatious than he would normally wear but it was what they had that had enough space for the seals-; they weren’t as good as the happuri but it was enough to make this work and the lack of the faceguard was an important piece of the look – something he didn’t disagree with, thank heavens), with his current look the Nidaime was….well, he was sex on legs honestly – look she had a pulse, she noticed.

“There” the Nidaime murmured, sitting back and running his hands through his hair to push it back out of his face in an artful disarray (he was way too good at this and – wait, he – he was too good at this, how-? Oh man Sakura didn’t want to think about that) “think that will do the job? Did Kagami give you the mirror? Madara isn’t far off now if we want to catch him outside the gates.” there was a gleam in his eye that Sakura recognized (petty!Tobirama was nothing to sneeze at, she loved it) and the kunoichi giggled. “You look lovely Nidaime-sensei, Kagami did, just, are you sure you can melt the entire mirror? I know it has lots of lovely symbolism with Amaterasu and price and saying you think he looks good and everything but it has to get hot and-“ the Senju shot her a sharp look and Sakura sighed, shoulders slumping “alright, I’ll give you a chakra pill as your stores still aren’t where I want them if you insist on using a mirror and katon. Just. Be careful, ok? We should have enough of a crowd watching that they will see Zetsu and that should help clear Madara’s name but, well, you know how much of a threat both of them are, so, just, be careful ok?”

The look the Nidaime sent her was much gentler and he turned from the mirror to look at her, beckoning her closer and taking her hand, “I’ll be careful. Naruto has talked to me about what he knows about the Uchiha mindset as has Sasuke, I can manage to keep him distracted; you focus on Kagami and the other two will deal with Zetsu. And after we have Madara subdued and contained you need to talk to Kagami, no more putting it off just so he has time to settle into the Hokage’s position, I have some ideas about that anyway - it seems to me that the kage’s with spouses do much better than those without so there really isn’t any reason to make the position formal and give it some power, like the Queens in the western lands but without that gendered nonsense.” He shook his head, visibly refocusing “And therefor you need to come clean to Kagami, now, no more procrastinating.” Sakura winced and ducked her head, she had been putting off telling Kagami everything and though she had the excuse that he was almost always busy with cleaning up the messes that Danzo had made and trying to get the trials and information he needed before Tobirama took his pound of flesh but still. She shouldn’t have put it off, certainly not this long, not when it meant that Kagami had no idea the level of threat that Zetsu posed to the village and the horror that thing could wreak; all he knew was what the whole village was talking about that Madara had been hunted by a yokai of envy and madness that wanted to consume him for his power – and, well, that wasn’t wrong maybe but it was….incomplete when – the moon was turning red and the world was ending, everything slipping through her fingers and Zetsu was laughing as it consumed Madara his wild white hair going straight and sleek as Hashirama’s as he was consumed and – “Sakura?” she jolted hard and looked at the tall, slender man standing in front of her, one brow cocked and worried.

“I know I need to tell him, I – I wish I had told him before Zetsu came to our gates, but I didn’t – well, I didn’t. I’ll tell him tonight, one way or another.” At her words the Nidaime nodded, squeezing her shoulder gently and straightening, checking the mirror one last time and loosening the folds of his clothing, something calculating in his eyes before he turned to her and nodded, “Mirror?” she handed him the small gold-set silver mirror (worth a small fortune in this time period) and he weighed it in his hand for a moment and then tucked it in one long, draping sleeve. “Come, to the gates, I can feel Naruto and Sasuke already in position in the forest” the Senju said decisively, turning to leave the room as Sakura followed him, talking more to comfort herself than because she thought he needed it, “They won’t come out until Zetsu does so you need to keep Madara unbalanced enough that Zetsu loses its hold on him and has to come out to establish it, I’ll be watching from the gates with the ANBU and Kagami and who knows how many other people knowing the way nin are about watching drama so I am the last defense if he slips past you somehow and-“

“Sakura! I already know all this, we went over it this morning, you just hold the village and keep my favorite student alive; and don’t overreact if he hurts me, I have a plan and bleeding a bit could be useful.” That Sakura very much did want to argue with but, well, out of all of them the Nidaime knew Madara the best and if he thought that letting Madara bloody him would help somehow than that was his choice and she would have to trust him and patch him up after, no matter how little she liked it.

Standing on the wall over the closed gates of Konoha Sakura slipped some chakra into her ears to hear better as shifted anxiously as she looked out toward the forest where even she could feel the comet that was Madara’s chakra searing through the woods at them. Warm calloused fingers covered her’s and she glanced at Kagami standing next to her, smiling thinly as he threaded their fingers together, the dark fabric of the gusset that covered the back of his hand stark against his pale creamy skin, “I’ve never seen you this nervous, not even when facing two armies.” He murmured and her lips tightened as she slipped closer, not lowering her voice though, it could only help if she was heard, “That was because last time we weren’t facing the Ghost of the Uchiha that has been nearly consumed by a yokai.” Confusion flickered over his face at the strange way of referring to his clansman but any words were cut off as Madara exploded out of the trees, releasing his charka as he did so in a searing wave of oppressive power that made Sakura shake with remembered terror even if this Madara wasn’t – wait, he wasn’t like the Madara they knew. Oh there was a lot of similarities, but….there was something about him that was just…not quite as corrupted as he had become when she last knew him and she grabbed at it with everything she had, clinging to anything that could ground her in this Madara and not the Ōtsutsuki!Madara.

For a moment it looked like the Uchiha might just plow straight into the Gates and take them down with him but in a flurry of power and speed the Nidaime appeared in front of them, his water dragon swallowing down Madara’s fire jutsu in a gout of steam that he walked forward out of like nothing less than a kami, a hand pushing his hair back out of his face and using the residual moisture from the steam to keep it out of his face (kami, he…he was really good at this, every nin in watching distance actually sucked in a sharp breath at the sight he made and Sakura felt oddly proud of her once teacher even as someone whispered, “Oh, Nidaima-sama, to face Madara…”). At the sight of the pale Senju, mostly undefended and without his armor, looking indeed good enough to fucking eat even Madara hesitated; long enough that Sakura could get a good look at him. He looked…well he looked like Madara, much like he had when he was revived with the Edo (of course he did, he had too much chakra to age fast when it wasn’t being sucked away by that creepy tree), maybe a few more lines and his fringe laying heavy over one eye but still handsome and broad as she remembered in shinobi pants and a loose uncomfortably Ōtsutsuki-like robe- though at least is was still Uchiha indigo rather than white- that showed enough of his chest for Sakura to see that though there was a patch of bad and odd scarring on his chest there wasn’t a fucking face (yet).

“Madara” the Nidaime murmured, inching closer to the Uchiha but still clearly audible to the watching shinobi with chakra enhanced hearing, he looked tired she thought, and fragile in a strange way. “Madara, you – you came back” it was nearly breathed like the Senju couldn’t quite believe it and a pale hand raised as though he was going to reach out before he dropped it “I thought you were d-dead.” Madara twitched, looking oddly poleaxed as Tobirama went on “I carried your body back and made sure the rights were done and you – how? how are you-? You are alive aren’t you? I’m not – not imaging this?” the Uchiha was still looking oddly rattled and his red eye (kami Sakura could have lived to never see that pattern again) was fixed on the Senju like the other watching shinobi didn’t even exist. “An old Uchiha technique, one few can pull off – but you would already know that wouldn’t you given that you have an Uchiha that can use Tengai Shinsei?” his deep, dark voice rolled over them like velvet and Sakura shivered with memory, well aware she was not the only one.

“The Tengai Shinsei?” the Nidaime asked slowly looking confused- well confused for him- and shifting in a way that made his clothing slip open a little further, a move the red eye tracked all too closely; every part of Madara was honed in on the Senju like he was the only thing in existence and Sakura sucked in a relieved breath. “I don’t – nevermind, it doesn’t matter, I – how are you Madara? Are you ok?” the words were tired and tentative and Madara’s eye narrowed, something flashing through his chakra as he snorted loudly, “What do you care if I'm ok Tobirama?” he snarled, ripping his eyes from the pale skin on show and even as Sakura bit her lip Tobirama reached into his sleeve as he bit his lip then straightened his back like he was coming to a decision, “I should have done this a long time ago. I know you would never accept but- well, still.” And he pulled out the mirror holding it out to a clearly confused Madara and then lighting his hand up with burning katon chakra, molten gold pouring over his fingers as glass cracked and snapped under the heat. For a second Madara just looked confused and then something seemed to click for him and his jaw visibly dropped, looking more shocked than he had even when Kaguya took him over; his chakra rose in a flash of power in response to his shock and- being Uchiha- it all dumped in his eye as if he was trying to break a genjutsu and – the mirror melted to nothing but molten metal and shards of glass – the chakra in Madara’s eye crested and something twisted in his chakra seemed to clear (wait, how had Sasuke said you clean an Uchiha’s transplanted eyes?) – rage visibly flashed over the Uchiha’s confused face and he raised a hand, a gesture and power Sakura well knew contracting as red turned purple and a black rod shot out from his palm; piercing through Tobirama and dropping the Senju to one knee, robe nearly falling off as rage transmuted to shock so profound it seemed to have frozen Madara where he stood.

Chapter Text

Naruto was nervous, he wasn’t afraid to admit it, this was risky, trusting the Nidaime to keep Madara distracted and also provoke him enough that Zetsu showed was risky and using the honey method for the confusion it instilled was a huge risk. After all as far as Naruto remembered Madara had wanted Tobirama-sensei dead quite badly in the future-that-was- even if he had seemed….a little obsessed with the younger man and the two of them had seemed to agree on some things, that was nothing to say that he wouldn’t just kill this Tobirama the second he could and – ok yes, this had been his idea but now that he was sitting in the trees waiting in hiding to ambush Zetsu he was wishing they had thought of another way of doing this. It was a feeling that was only made worse when Madara burned through the forest in a meteor of killing intent and obsessive focus (that was better than madness right? They had already figured out that it must have been the stunt they used to take out Iwa and Suna that had called Madara here – probably prompted by Zetsu if that thing realized that you couldn’t do what they did without the Rinnegan) only to pull up hard as the Nidaime appeared in front of him looking – well, shit…that. Um.

Next to him Sasuke snickered and spoke in a voice barely louder than breath, “Oh don’t worry about it, I’m totally thinking it too.” Which, ok, Naruto really wasn’t sure how to feel about the idea that his husband was also thinking about how fuc-attractive! Attractive, how attractive their once and past teacher was. At least he wasn’t in trouble for thinking it? And apparently it was enough to pull Madara up hard as the Uchiha skidded to a stop in front of the Senju rather than going for the Gates. Reluctantly Naruto ignored what they were saying in favor of focusing on the shadows, looking for the tell-tale bulges that would give away Zetsu – at least he was until their Nidaime said something that caused Madara’s chakra to crest worryingly and Naruto’s eyes snapped up at the same time as Sasuke hissed sharply in his ear, “Well, that’s one way to make him clean his Sharingan but I never would have thought that just seeing the Nidaime propose courtship would shock him enough to involuntarily cleanse his eyes” the Uchiha breathed and Naruto remembered what Sakura had told him Sasuke had said about transplanted Sharingan (“You overwhelm it with your own chakra, basically dump as much chakra as you can into the eye until it overwhelms and erases the original’s chakra traces. It only works if you have stronger chakra than the first owner of the eyes- so Madara should be fine as he had stronger chakra than Izuna- and I…I didn’t until the Sage gave me the gift and the Rinnegan, getting that put so much extra chakra in me that it wiped out Itachi’s chakra traces for good.” it had been the first time Naruto had heard about anything like that with Itachi’s eyes and it had made him wonder a bit about the ways Sasuke had changed after the transplant but before the meeting with the Sage).

“Oh” Naruto hissed “that is going to piss him off” and exactly as expected Madara reacted to losing his brother’s chakra in his eyes about as well as Sasuke would have done – which was to say he promptly managed to manifest the fucking Rinnegan (again, early) and stab the Nidaime. Tobirama dropped to one knee and Naruto couldn’t see if the black chakra rod had gone through his shoulder or – or lower, but he could see the pale lips move as he said something nearly silent to Madara and it was enough to shock the Uchiha to stillness; Madara flat out freezing where he stood and – Sasuke snarled, low and vicious, jamming an elbow into Naruto’s side as Zetsu surged out of the ground behind Madara, clearly pissed. “Oh no you don’t you motherfucker” the Uchiha hissed, throwing out a hand and snapping “Sage Art: Binding of the Soul!” as he did; gossamer strands like a dragon’s whiskers exploding from his hand and launching out at Zetsu as next to him Naruto breathed “Heavenly Blessing: Revealing Light” the radiance that suddenly blossomed from every corner of the space in front of Konoha’s gates throwing Zetsu in sharp relief and- more disturbingly- showing the sticky, dripping shadow tendrils that connected him to and wrapped around Madara like some strange, rotting spider’s silk.

On the wall there were gasps and horrified exclamations as the Ghost of the Uchiha and his…possession was thrown in sharp relief – as was the way he was clutching at the black rod through the Nidaime (who wasn’t even trying to fight back, that was worrying) as he froze in what appeared to be shock so complete that his mind had simply shut down and – and then Naruto shifted and got a look at the Nidaime’s face and his worry abated a bit; the Senju had an intent, oddly tender look on his face but there was a glint of pure pettiness in his eyes that told Naruto that whatever game he was playing he wasn’t out of it yet – even if they didn’t know how bad that injury was yet. So, best to focus on Zetsu and dealing with him as fast as possible and block out the drama at the gates as much as he could Zetsu was a wily opponent and Naruto didn’t want him slipping away.

“Sas” Naruto hissed and the Uchiha nodded, single hand fisting around the gossamer strands of the binding as Zetsu thrashed and Naruto threw himself out of the trees, hand burning with red-gold chakra as he reached for Zetsu and only just managed to get his hand around the slippery thing’s arm to haul it out of the shadows and into corporality. Zetsu wailed, fighting the binding, Naruto’s grip, and to not lose his hold on Madara – something Naruto couldn’t spare any attention for or he might lose his prey; he would just have to trust that the Nidaime could handle himself and Madara and hope, even as he faced this cold, alien remnant of the Ōtsutsuki –

Seeing Gaara crashing against Isshiki as the other Kage tried to spare them a little time to get just a few more nin evacuated; Naruto wounded badly already from clashing against the strongest of the Ōtsutsuki. They might have stood a chance had the three Ōtsutsuki not been working together but once Isshiki woke they were fucked and the day that he joined the battle had been the true beginning of the Last War. Gaara chanced a glance over his shoulder, face easing at the sight of most of the nin gone from the field through Sasuke’s portal – and then he jerked as Isshiki’s hand punched through his chest and Naruto lurched closer, desperate as the darkly lined eyes of probably his closest friend (Sasuke was different, Sasuke was….well, different) met his and blood seeped slowly out of the corner of Gaara’s lips even as they pulled into a toothy smile that would have better suited Shukaku; his hands forming signs Naruto hadn’t seen in years. “Kick his ass Naru-u-uo…” and he slumped over, jolting and crumbling to the ground as Isshiki yanked his hand free and a coffin rose up out of the ground near Naruto – the man inside Naruto’s only change to get out of here with his wounds even as Kaguya’s old partner turned cold eyes on the blond –

Someone was screaming, a sound of pure rage and hunting fury, more animal than human and distantly Naruto realized that it must be him – no one else could make that sound but it felt like it was coming from very, very far away as he faced Zetsu (Ōtsutsuki). Rage – fury, wrath, burned through him; hotter than anything he had ever felt, burning and every bit as consuming as Kurama at his worst (ah, so, this is still mine too then, thank you big brother, you furry menace) wreathing him in the shape that had one terrified Sasuke on a rooftop two lifetimes ago when his lover once wore that fucking curse mark. He couldn’t even see Zetsu through his mad wrath, burning chakra and heavenly power flaring and dying around him in waves as he bore down on this last remnant of the Ōtsutsuki; because that was what Zetsu was, a shattered, lingering, piece of an Ōtsutsuki and Naruto had long sworn himself to ensuring that no spec of that cursed clan lived on this earth – no matter the cost.

His wrath bore down on the Ōtsutsuki, wild and unchained, and it screamed, writhing in the face of Naruto’s power (cleansing and divinity and debriding and rage as scouring as anything in existence; there was a reason that Kurama had been the last, the Nine-tails, the final bijuu, the last step, the ending to all endings, the annihilator, the final Word. Indra had been imbued with the powers of endings, Kurama was the remover, the obliterator; and what he wiped from the world was gone to never return, no Shikigami needed, no wheel of souls, no soul at all, just the complete rending of existence until it was wiped clean – there was a reason he and he alone could send them back and shatter what had already existed). “You are nothing but a memory” Naruto thought he said “and soon you will not even be that – your very name forgotten to all that live, you no longer exist, I take you and I END you child of the cold spaces. CHAKRA GEAS: ANNIHILATION OF NINE!“

There was a great pause like the whole world was holding its breath and then Naruto’s power was smashing down on the Ōtsutsuki fragment in a great and terrible wave, the stronger chakra of this time before the bijuu had been long chained rushing to follow his command – wiping the name of the Ōtsutsuki thing from the minds of those few that knew it and scouring away every trace of its contagion on the world.

In the wake of the great rush of chakra ripping through him Naruto swayed, ears ringing too much to hear anything growing on around him and lights flashing in front of his eyes (if only he could have done that to the other Ōtsutsuki – though, they probably would have been too strong for it really –

Isshiki was laughing. It didn’t suit him. (Some part of Naruto pitied Kaguya a little, raised to be the sacrifice for someone else’s game, partnered with a sadist like Isshiki, she had never really had a chance and unlike these fuckers she at least had showed some signs of something like affection, humanity, care, remorse, grief, things these Ōtsutsuki seemed to be completely unable to feel – he had seen Kinshiki express fear when his sight was taken from him and now Isshiki was laughing as he killed Sai while Ino screamed but that was it.) And then the dead crawled out of the ground and Ino wasn’t screaming anymore – how could she with her throat ripped out by Sai’s corpse? –

they had been far more powerful that the mear remnant that Naruto had just wiped out of existence). There was an arm around his back, supporting him as he swayed, eyes fixed on the sun where it peaked through the trees of the forest and if someone was talking to him Naruto couldn’t hear it, pulse pounding under the ringing and blocking out everything that wasn’t the blazing too-hot heat of the sun blazing down on him. (oh) The sun was so bright and all encompassing and the hand on his shoulder tightened as the sun shone brighter and brighter and brighter and BRIGHTER

(well done. The mirror was a nice touch, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is quite amused at the clothing.)

Oh. was it gone? were they safe?

(for now. they will come again, and you will face them.)

 Alone?

(alone.)

And he didn’t want to be awake anymore.

Chapter Text

Madara’s mind was nothing but a buzzing mess as he scrambled (get to Konoha), occasionally collapsing against a tree and finding himself stirring hours later with no idea what he had done in the missing time. -eyes, they have the eyes, get the eyes- (get to Konoha, to To-) He staggered, head spinning and the taste of rotting meat nearly making him retch as it overwhelmed him -EYES- (Get to Konoha, Tobirama, Tobirama could hel-) his chakra ramping higher and higher; Tobirama, he had to – to – to punish – to find the lo- to burn- to – Tobirama (get to Konoha) -no, remember the plan, Remember the Eternal- he had to -remember Izuna!-

-

(Izu)

Rage. So great that Madara could hardly breathe around it and the stench of rot on his tongue, (get to kono-) it burned everything in him and the last miles to the village passed without a thought; even the hissing in the back of his mind shoved into a corner, his Will didn’t control him and he would – the trees cleared a little and Madara could see the walls of the village rising in front of him (get to-); fury burning through him as he threw himself at the gates and –

A flash of movement and light and Madara was brought up hard as suddenly Tobirama Senju was in front of him, looking nothing like Madara could remember; his mind momentarily going quiet as he took in the younger man’s disheveled appearance and (pretty-) pale skin. Why in the world had the White Demon come to defend the village in so little clothing?! “Madara” the other man murmured, inching a little closer until Madara stiffened as the movement showed off more moonlight skin, “Madara, you – you came back” the albino nearly breathed, looking far too emotional for the meeting between enemies (they – they were enemies, right?), one long hand raising like he wanted to reach out to Madara (what-?) before dropping, “I thought you were d-dead.” The soft tenor hitched on the last word and Madara’s mind ground to a halt, confusion blaring through him. “I carried your body back and made sure the rights were done and you – how? how are you-? You are alive aren’t you? I’m not – not imaging this?” why in kami’s name would Tobirama care? And why did he sound like taking care of Madara’s corpse had affected him?

Madara couldn’t rip his eye away from the pale shape (kami he was so-) in front of him, a response slipping out of his lips without thought even as he tried to pull his attention from the curve of the Senju’s neck and the sudden hunger that filled his mouth with saliva. “An old Uchiha technique, one few can pull off – but you would already know that wouldn’t you, given that you have an Uchiha that can use Tengai Shinsei?” a pause, then “The Tengai Shinsei?” Tobirama sounded confused, hair falling slightly over his brow as he tilted his head in confusion, momentarily derailing Madara’s thoughts again as his robe shifted further over his sharp collarbones (Madara wanted to bite-!). “I don’t – never mind, it doesn’t matter, I – how are you Madara? Are you ok?” (he sounded tired) Madara’s eye narrowed at the words, confusion making him bristle -eyes, the eyes!- and his disorientation making him fall back on aggression as it all too often had. The Uchiha’s eye narrowed and he snorted derisively, snarling “What do you care if I'm ok Tobirama?” as he dragged his eyes from the span of sleek muscle and pale skin.

Tobirama bit his lip (that was-) and straightened, shoulders squaring like he was coming to a decision, “I should have done this a long time ago. I know you would never accept but- well, still.” And then he pulled his hand out of his sleeve, holding out a small golden hand mirror to Madara like he was trying to give it to the Uchiha; for a moment Madara stuttered, confused as to why Tobirama would give him a mirror (there was something about mirrors, something that reminded him of incense and the resonant voices of the miko and-) and then the Senju’s hand lit up with fire; the expensive little mirror melting over his slender hands as the glass cracked and shattered (wait) -eyes, find the Uchiha with the Rin-. There was a second of nothing but confusion and then – (Tobirama had a love, a dead love, a love that was called ‘star-crossed’, a love who’s body he carried home, a love who’s name they wouldn’t say, a love – and now – Madara had been raised traditionally, he knew the courting steps and had grown up hearing about his father’s courting of his mother and – and this, this, t.h.i.s. –

What

No, not possible. And yet-) Madara didn’t feel his jaw drop, he didn’t feel his seething and agitated chakra rising steadily in his shock, how could he when his entire mind was filled with a buzzing blankness as his body flushed hot and then cold and his fingers went numb. What?!. (there was no way, there was no way, there was no way, there was no way, there was no way) (but melted gold and shattered glass and the way those entrancing red eyes were looking at him-) Chakra rose and rose and

Crash

Like he was trying to further shift his eyes to a higher level (as though he wasn’t already using the Mangekyō) to – find the truth? Protect himslef? – the chakra slammed through the tenketsu points behind his eyes, his own chakra slamming into Izuna’s eye and wiping away every trace of his last baby brother (the memories were still there but, dulled, and Izuna’s emotions, his paranoia and rage and love, gone. gone). Madara couldn’t have named the emotion that flashed through him in that moment (anger? Relief? Grief? Gratitude? Rage?) only that it was so strong he couldn’t breathe- Izuna was gone, his baby brother was gone, the endless paranoia was gone- and it was twisting his eyes, wrenching them into something new that made his chest ache even as he raised a hand – not entirely sure what he intended to do (hit Tobirama? When he looked so fragile and resigned and convicted?) as his chakra writhed and the endless pain in his chest wound tighter and tighter and tighter and then –

It took Madara a moment to realize that the black rod thing that lanced through Tobirama (shoulder or chest? Shoulder or chest?) actually came from his hand and when he did – (he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t feel his lips, he couldn’t-) this was the man that had just – he – (how long had it been since someone loved him? even knowing all his faults?) (he couldn’t breathe) the robe slipped all the way off one angular shoulder and pooled at his elbow as he crumbled to one knee and blood poured down his chest and a gold coated hand closed around the rod where it pierced him and (Madara couldn’t breathe) – “Madara, breathe” the Senju’s voice was weak and low but commanding and Madara gasped in a breath, unable to move otherwise as the scent of rotting meat rose and the blackness tried to fill his vision -ETERNAL! FIND THE EYES AND- “Madara! breathe!” following the commands again Madara did as he was told but couldn’t get any air past the horrible smell of rot and the strangling darkness (what, what was going on? Where was Tobirama?).

Something in his hand jerked and there was a distant gasp and then a hand (wet?) was on his face, pulling it down into the crook of a shoulder and curling tightly around the back of his head, fingers threaded through his hair. He gasped and the scent of rot was overcome by the smell of ink and tea and honey musk, relieved beyond words Madara gasped for air, sucking in the calming scent to blot out the scent of rot and death, his head swimming as the long fingers pressed reassuringly into his skull. (What – what was happening?) Chakra, burning and caustic and cleansing, wiping away the clinging morasses of darkness and leaving Madara staggering and disoriented in the light; clutching at the only thing that seemed to be holding him down, the slender, strong form pressed against him, the warm scent, and the white hair he could see through his glazed eye imprinted on his senses as the world around him shattered.

Tobirama clutched Madara to him, ignoring the ache in his shoulder where he had pushed forward and shoved the rod further through it to get close enough to touch Madara; it had missed the joint and his heart and he trusted that Sakura could handle anything else as long as he didn’t bleed out first and the heat of the molten gold had cauterized it well enough. He just had to keep Madara stable (and yes, he was fully planning to use Madara hurting him against the Uchiha, he knew well how powerful guilt could be for an Uchiha and though he wasn’t enough of an ass to actively use it to manipulate Madara, he knew that there would be power in it if Madara hurt him right after he proposed courtship and Madara couldn’t forget it – it was the fastest way to shift his image in Madara’s mind really and Tobirama was a big fan of efficiency) and focused on him until everything was sorted with Z-z-z….the Ōtsutsuki-yokai (wait, hadn’t it had a name?) and then they could handle the rest of this mess – luckily if the Senju didn’t miss his guess the eye problem was fixed (and man, wasn’t that a trip to know that Madara was being influenced by echoes of Izuna) and Madara’s eyes were his own; the apparent transition to the Rinnegan was a little worrying Tobirama wasn’t going to fuss about it – after all Sasuke already had it too, so he should be able to make sure nothing went wrong, right? And the black Chakra rods were, well, painful frankly; they weren’t surprising given that Sakura had mentioned them in an aside (the irony of it all wasn’t lost on him), and it wasn’t surprising that Madara had lashed out. Tobirama had known that he would at some point in this whole mess; how could he not when that was his fall back reaction when faced with things that surprised him? (It was Tobirama’s too to be honest, so he didn’t knock the older man for it or pretend it wasn’t there unlike his brother.)

“Good job, just breathe Madara, z-z…-the yokai will be gone soon” Tobirama murmured, lowering his voice to a soothing croon, keeping his eyes averted from the brilliance of the light where Naruto was doing whatever he was doing to unmake the yokai; he had no interest in losing his sight trying to see something that he wouldn’t even understand and anyway it was all he could do to keep his senses focused on Madara’s chakra, the mink fur-cloves-morning star-warm ash tethering him as the inferno of chakra that was Naruto went up like a forest fire. A gloved hand fisted in his robe and Madara shoved closer with a strangled noise (praise kink? Oh, oh dear), Tobirama swallowing back a gasp as pain lanced through him when the chakra rod was jolted though it had separated from Madara’s hand and he was only holding it loosely, seemingly unaware that he was even holding it at all. “That’s it Madara, just hold on, it will be over soon” Tobirama breathed, tucking his face in the wild black hair and reminding himslef of the blank shock that had blanketed the Uchiha's face when he realized what Tobirama was doing to cheer himself up; Sakura was right, that expression had been worth just about everything and fucking hilarious – something Tobirama fully intended to (gently) mock Madara with when the man was stabilized and a little more….humble, maybe; as much as he was ever going to be anyway.

The light was beginning to dim and Tobirama glanced up through his lashes and Madara’s wild but wonderfully soft hair, ready to look away again if it looked like it was going to be so bright as to sear his eyes. But no, now it was just Naruto, his tails limp around him and his face turned up to the shockingly golden lance of sunlight that pierced the trees and bathed his shape in light like some kami’s blessing; Sasuke thrown in shadow where he was holding up the broader blond with his one arm. There was no trace left of the yokai (Tobirama was sure that there had been a name to the creature) and Madara was slumped against him as though insensate, the chakra rod shattering into dust and – kami, that was agonizing, and Tobirama bit back a scream, trapping it in his throat rather than letting it out.

“Sakura!” Sasuke yelled, clutching at his husband as Naruto went limp in his arm and there was a yelp from the wall as the kunoichi threw herself off the wall and raced to her friend's side, hands fluttering as she scanned the Tenko. “I – I don’t think there is anything wrong, just, minor chakra exhaustion and – something like a dissociative episode, get him home and treat him like he is in shock” she said sharply “I’ll be along as soon as I see to the Nidaime and M-madara.” but the Uchiha just shook his head, “No, help them and then stay with Kagami, we’ll manage and he needs you.” their eyes met and something passed between them, something sad and knowing and resigned as she nodded reluctantly; pushing to her feet and hesitating for one more moment before she turned to Tobirama and Madara, darting to their side and scanning both of them with her jaw set in harsh lines and her eyes wet (was this the first time that they had chosen others over each other? Was this the first step in them truly leaving their past behind them and choosing the future – and others? If so, well, no wonder she looked so conflicted).

“Madara is – well not fine, he’s a mess, but right now he’s just in shock and his mind is trying to assimilate the changes, a Yamanaka would be able to do more if we can convince him of it eventually. His chakra is also a mess, but that will take more time to fix, and you can help with that; as for your shoulder….Nidaime! I know you mentioned that you knew Madara would be angry with you and would want to hurt you, but this is a bit extreme! Your shoulder blade is shattered and, ugh this is a mess, not to mention the gold you got in it, for kami’s sake…” Tobirama smiled thinly at the healer, shifting Madara closer as the Uchiha whined oddly, all too aware of the audience they had still listening on the wall. “I knew he hated me, he has for a long time Sakura, and not without reason. I was ready to take whatever justice he wished to dish out – I just, I didn’t want it to be a secret anymore.” Tobirama told her as her glowing green hands worked on his shattered shoulder blade; Sakura snorted, shooting him a sharp look, “Yeah, well, I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone anymore, not after melting a damn mirror all over your hand to show your seriousness about how you felt.” Tobirama grimaced at the wording and ducked to hide his face in the wild dark hair, both to hide the pain on his face and the flush on his cheeks at such frank discussion of his apparent affection for the Calamity with a muttered, “Shut up.”. (The cooing on the walls was ignored.)

Chapter Text

Sasuke brushed Naruto’s hair back out of his face, scanning the vacant features and wishing that his husband would wake up. It had been several hours now since the Ōtsutsuki-remnant had been erased (and yes, the vanishing of whatever that thing’s name was more than a little disturbing, he hadn't know Naruto could do that) and Sakura was still out managing the village with Kagami as Tobirama kept watch over the sedated Madara – which, speaking of, a soft knock on the door pulled the Uchiha out of his thoughts to turn and look at the pale Senju, still in his honeypot clothing but with the mesh cut away from his shoulder and it swathed in bandaging for the little Sakura couldn’t heal (mostly because of the gold that was now stuck under Tobirama’s skin in scaring like a strange tattoo). “Something wrong with Uncle?” Sasuke asked, voice a little rough and stressed (binding the Ōtsutsuki-remnant had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit), the corner of Tobirama’s mouth quirked up in amusement at the title given that he knew Sasuke’s real linage, but he didn’t argue it. “No, he is fully out of it, it would be better to keep him under until his body has some time to readjust to the lack of the yokai’s influence. It will be easier for him" there was a fondness and worry in his voice that made Sasuke want to snort himslef, only Tobirama would be petty enough to actually make himself love Madara just to convince the Uchiha that he was in love with him (after all, the Sharingan would have seen it if it was a true lie), though Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion Tobirama hadn’t found it that hard really.

“How is Naruto doing?” Tobirama asked softly, Sasuke turning back to his vacant faced husband; knowing full well that Naruto wasn’t actually unconscious in the medical sense, just….gone. “He’s…” Sasuke couldn’t bring himself to put a good face on it, “he’s not good, Sakura thinks he’s in some kind of shock or disassociating from something. I don’t know if it was facing an Ōtsutsuki- even a remnant- or something about the what he did to erase what-ever-it-was-called so completely so that we can’t even remember its name, or something else entirely.” He knew he sounded defeated and slightly frantic but – he had never seen Naruto like this, even back when things had been at their worst in the Last War he had never looked like this; like he just….didn’t care (it didn’t suit him at all and Sasuke hated it). Tobirama hummed softly and entered the room, kneeling at Naruto’s side “Sasuke, go see the children, they could use some dinner and time with their adults. I’ll see what I can do with Naruto” Sasuke opened his mouth to argue but the older man just shook his head, leveling him with a sharp look, “no, you need rest and this isn’t working. Go see to the children.”

Reluctantly the Uchiha hesitated one more moment and then leaned down to kiss his lover on the cheek, trying to ignore his audience even though Tobirama was kindly looking away and letting them have their moment. Finally he dragged himself to his feet and slipped from the room, leaning on the door for a moment after he closed it behind him and then giving himslef a harsh shake; Tobirama was right, he needed to take some time and get his head on straight if he wanted to be there for Naruto when he woke up and the children would help with that – plus they could all use some food. Mind made up the Uchiha turned to the stairs and headed down, hearing the piping voices of their students (all of them from the sound of it and Dai too, whispering together and the sound of someone making dinner – Dai’s mother if Sasuke was feeling the chakra right, it was always hard to tell with civilians) and feeling something in him untangle at the bright unblemished sound of their voices. He looked around the doorway and leaned on the threshold watching as the brightly smiling woman (Kazuko was always smiling) bustled around the stove and the six children gathered around the table leaned over something Sasuke couldn’t see. Just then Dan looked up and his eyes alighted on Sasuke in the doorway and he lit up, leaping from his seat and racing to tackle the Uchiha clan head where he stood in a suffocating hug.

“You’re ok! You are ok right?” the bright young voice chirped up at his stomach and Sasuke felt a wash of affection sweeping through him as he combed a hand over his pastel colored hair. “I’m alright Dan, a bit tried and could use some rest for a few days but I’ll be just fine” the Uchiha soothed gently, looking up as Sakumo approached with Oro attached to the back of his shirt and a worried look on his face. “Is Sensei ok? The village is buzzing about him and Madara-sama and they said that Tobirama-sama got hurt and Sensei looked like something happened to him and-“ crouching Sasuke held up his hand to stop the flow of worried words as Dan cuddled up to his amputated side and clutched at his mantle, “Hey, hey, its ok, calm down Sakumo; everyone is going to be ok. The Nidaime is alright, he got hurt but Sakura patched him up and he is sitting with Naruto right now while my Uncle rests and adjusts to the yokai being gone.” Sakumo chewed at his lip, offering “And Sensei?” Sasuke hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words to sooth the child without lying to him – something he was much loath to do. “Naruto is – he used a lot of power out there and then – there was some backlash and he is recovering from that but he should be ok soon; the Nidaime is looking him over right now and Sakura will check on him when she gets back with Kagami. He’ll be alright.” And kami but he hoped that wasn’t a lie.

“What are you doing down here?” Tsuna asked, her hands propped on her hips as Dai peered around her and Jirai chewed on his thumb nail. Sasuke smiled wryly at her, ruffling Oro’s silky hair and touched at the way the child leaned into the touch, “The Nidaime kicked me out to make sure you imps were eating something for dinner but I see Kazuko already has it under control.” At the stove the woman turned and smiled over her shoulder at him, her slightly plain, round face made stunning with her smile and her inky wavy hair swirling around her green dress as she shook at spoon at him; “Well I wasn’t going to let them starve! And frankly I figured the four– five?- of you had enough on your hands and I could take care of this.” something must have flashed over Sasuke’s face because her smile gentled and she shook her head with a soft ‘tsk’ “Honestly Sasuke-sama, this is what having a village is for, making sure that no one gets left behind or goes hungry.”  And – Amaterasu but he wanted to believe her, wanted her version of Konoha to be the one that existed in reality but, well, he remembered all too well a time when Naruto was shunned for being a martyr and he all to often went hungry with his clan dead (the village hadn’t cared about them then).

Sighing Sasuke shook his head and stood, letting Dan cling to him as he moved further into the kitchen, “I wish I saw the world the way you do Kazuko but I am afraid that that is not the world I have experienced.” The woman laughed, bright and slightly forceful, “Oh it takes work Sasuke-sama, but it keeps me young to look at the world in a better light and what is the world if we let age take us too soon, no?” (wait, was – was this the start of the ‘youthful’ thing? Had Sasuke found it!? That-! oh, everyone that had made that bet was long gone now) “Now, I know you just came down but take some food up for the Nidaime and Tenko-sama in case he wakes up and then come down have a sit down meal with use while the imps fill you in on what has been going on in the Academy, yes?” and though it was phrased as a question it wasn’t one and Sasuke didn’t fight as a try was placed on his hand and Kazuko gently turned him to face the stairs and peeled a reluctant Dan off him.

Amused in spite of himslef Sasuke did as he was told, focusing on getting up the stairs without spilling anything – not normally a problem but he was tired enough that it took a little focus and as such it was only as he was about to knock on the door that he heard the voices from inside and paused. Naruto was speaking (oh kami bless) as he stalled at the door and Sasuke paused just to listen to his voice and recover from the overwhelming rush of relief, “-and how did you deal with it? How did you keep going when they were all gone one way or another and you were alone with only your duty and that cursed hat? How did you be-ar it?” (oh, oh Naru…) his voice broke on the end and Sasuke’s heart with it. For a moment there was silence and then Tobirama hummed softly, apparently thinking through his words before he spoke, “I – when they died, when H-hashi died and Touka died and Mito went cold and pulled away, when they left me and my students started having their own lives that didn’t include me as more than a commander I – I let myself die with them. I let that version of myself die and tried to be reborn as a new version that could live with what I had.” he sighed deeply “I don’t know whether the Uchiha memory is a blessing or a curse; there is the Curse of Hatred of course and all the trauma they never recover from, but….if they would just use it to remember the good moments too then they would never have to worry about forgetting the faces of those they loved and I will never forget the moment I lost my little brother’s faces or when Hashi’s laugh started slipping away.”

“How – I don’t know how I am going to not lose myself when they are all gone and I am a-alone” Naruto’s voice broke on the last word again and Sasuke swallowed hard, leaning his brow on the door and blinking back tears. In the room there was a rustling of cloth as though Tobirama was moving closer and petting Naruto’s hair, “If there is anything that I have learned about how to live past all those you love it is that the only way to survive is to let yourself die with them and try to find something new to be born for. But all I can tell you Naruto is to take what time you have with them and clutch every second of it, don’t let even a moment of it pass you by, hold onto it with everything you have because someday you will have to let go of them or suffer losing them by inches.” In the room there was a choked sob that sounded like it was being ripped out of the blond’s chest with hooks, the Senju hummed and there was a the faint sound of more movement as Naruto’s sobs were muffled (this – this was good, it was good that he was crying about this, it was good he was expressing it and it shouldn’t have surprised the Uchiha that it would be Tobirama that would bring it out in him after everything).

Slowly Sasuke set the tray at the door and flicked his chakra, aware it would be enough for Tobirama to feel and note when Naruto calmed, wiping at his eyes and gathering himself before heading back downstairs. Taking a moment to lean on the wall and listen to the children chatter as Kazuko served dinner; after a moment he flicked chakra through his eyes, activating them at the lowest level, after all Tobirama had a point – what was the point of eyes that could remember everything if he never remembered those he loved unless they were dying? Better he take the time to imprint the good times on his eyes while he could, it wasn’t like he was going to need to save the chakra or go blind from overuse the way his forefather’s had worried about so much.

At the table Oro brightened when he saw Sasuke and darted to the Uchiha’s side, apparently unbothered by his eyes (though he used it often enough it probably wasn’t a surprise and he couldn’t see the Rinnegan under his fringe), “You having dinner with us Sasuke-sama?” he asked, trying to sound stoic and not pleading though he clearly wanted Sasuke to stay with them; it really had been far too long since they had had time to spend with the children. “Hn” Sasuke agreed, stroking his hand over the sleek head, letting Oro grab his hand and led them to the table where Dan shoved out the seat next to him for his teacher and Dai beamed, even Jirai seemed pleased and he could sometimes be a bit wary of Sasuke – seeming to hold the Uchiha that had saved him in some awe after his strange and unceremonious adoption. “Will Kagami-sensei be joining us?” Jirai asked tentatively as Sasuke nodded his thanks to Kazuko when she put food down in front of him with a bright smile; “I don’t know, he and Sakura- and Matsui-“ he added with a nod to Tsuna “have a lot to deal with with my Uncle back in the village and the evidence of the yokai. It will take a lot to calm the village and help them feel safe and stable again so they could be out for a long time, but I can ask Kagami to come say goodnight when he gets back if you like?”

“Even if I am asleep?” Jirai asked, perking up and beaming when Sasuke nodded. Hopefully Sakura and Kagami wouldn’t be back too late, but he remembered all too well what it was like having a father that was always working and how hallow it felt to never see dad – back then he would have given a lot to have Fugaku wake him up to say goodnight. It was strange having Sakura not be with them fussing over all three of her patents and Sasuke still wasn’t sure how he felt about telling her to go with Kagami but – well, she was courting him, she would probably marry him and move out before too long; he and Naruto couldn’t hold onto her forever just because they had made a pact to each other and had lived tied at the hip for…years, longer than Sasuke was really sure about. It felt like losing her to have her go with Kagami and yes he was a bit jealous of his pact-sister’s time but – time moved on and they had to do the same, they couldn’t stay frozen in the years of the Last War forever and Sasuke didn’t want them to, not really, not even for Naruto’s sake (bitter though the thought was).

“Sensei” Dan’s soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked down at the child “you ok?” and Sasuke smiled a tiny bit, pulled back to the present and the children for whom they were building this better world. “I’m alright” he promised “just tired, lots to do.” Dan nodded, looking a bit suspicious but willing to let it go if Sasuke stayed focused in the present with them for the rest of dinner. The Uchiha huffed a laugh and scooped up some rice, focusing on listening to the stories about the children’s days at the Academy and trying not to think too hard about those sleeping upstairs; Naruto had Tobirama with him and Madara…well there was no reason to tickle the sleeping dragon, it was already dangerous enough (that room the children were not allowed to go into).

Chapter Text

Sakura leaned against the windowsill behind and to the side of Kagami, tiredly eying the gathered clan heads (poor Matsui in particular looked exhausted, slumped against the wall and thrown in the shadows of the burning lamps around the room); they had been hashing things out for hours and working on reassuring the village that Madara wasn’t an active threat- though the clarity that his possession had been thrown in had helped with that- (which….hopefully was true, kami Sakura hoped so, at least Tobirama seemed to think so and he was the closest they had to an expert) and now finally they were wrapping things up for today, but that didn’t mean Sakura could go home and sleep yet. Kagami nodded one more time and said something to the nin, Matsui’s husband helping her stand and leading the way out of the room until it was just the two of them; Sakura and Kagami alone in the hushed golden light of the office. Finally the Uchiha turned to look at her, something complicated on his face as he leaned on his desk, “So” he started quietly “I know its late, but I think it’s time you explained to me why exactly I just went to bat so much for Shishou on nothing but your word that we needed him?” at that Sakura grimaced, looking away and nodding. She knew that Kagami would have wanted to defend his Shishou no matter what, but he wasn’t wrong that half the reason he had done so much for Madara was Sakura’s insistence that they needed him without her explaining why; and it wasn’t fair to ask him to do so without knowing why he was doing so (besides, Tobirama had told her to tell him today, one way or another).

“I – no, no you’re right, it’s just…a long story. And a confusing one, just remember that. I…” she trailed off, trying to figure out where to start and how to explain this in a way that he would understand. “Kagami, you – I have seen the world end, I have seen the ash turn all to gray and the sun burn like a fading ember, I have seen the moon blaze red and the God Tree cast a shadow so overwhelming that all is swallowed in its shadow, I have seen the end of the world and I will do anything to see it not happen again.” The cold, vicious, hardness in her voice clearly startled him but Sakura barely noticed, her mind locked in the past-future that she would never see again as she unconsciously straightened, hands locking behind her back in the pose she had often taken behind Naruto in command tents all over the five countries. “I know this might sound impossible to you Kagami but I -  I am from a time far in the future, generations away from you, though-“ her lip curled “-Danzo yet lived when I was a child, the fucking creep.” Her voice lowered to a low hateful hiss, and Kagami twitched, hand fisting as he watched her eyes turn as hard and cold as flint, cutting and bitter in a way he had never know she could be (this, he thought, was why she was the one to watch for; Naruto-dono wouldn’t hold onto hate like this and Sasuke-sama would never go against his husband, but Sakura….she hated in the special way only a woman could, colder than winter in Snow and harsher than the cliffs in Mist, with a memory that would not be swayed to forget and a patience that only woman knew, spinning revenge like a skein of yarn red as blood and regret). “But that, that is getting ahead of myself, I should – I should go back to the beginning so bear with me, for this is an old story and a…woeful one.”

Kagami’s face was in his hands, had been for long enough that Sakura had no idea what he thought about any of this but she careful held herself still and tall; she felt no shame for what she and her Pact had done and chosen and she refused to let even him make her feel strange about it. Her past was her past and she couldn’t change it; not more than they already were she amended mentally. “You –“ Kagami’s voice was opaque and grim “you mean to make us into a super weapon.” Ah, that, that was something no one had confronted her on yet (not when Tobirama had gotten it right away, he understood all too well – there was a reason Kagami was a better Hokage) and Sakura sighed deeply, dragging a hand through her hair, “Kagami, what you have to understand, what you have to know is that for us it was the Last War because in the end there was no one left to fight it; but for you, for those that will live after us, it will be the first war. I know the Ōtsutsuki, I know how they work and how they think and they - they are consummate devourers, it’s what they do, they devour a planet and all life on it and move on and once they realize that we, here, have fought back and won? They will not stop until they consume us, not when the strength that allows us to fight back is strength they could consume. They will come for this world and all that live on it and they will never stop and as the children of the first Ōtsutsuki to come here, as the children of chakra it is our responsibility to fight them off every damned time. So yes, if we have to set the shinobi world on the path of power, if we have to make Konoha a super weapon than we will, because at least then you will live.”

The silence after she finished talking was heavy and stifling and Kagami still hadn’t looked up, “That is why you are saving the strongest clans, that is why you are fostering the brightest minds of the next generation, that is why you are saving Shishou and Sensei, so that power can be passed on and grow with every generation.” It was a cold assessment but Sakura couldn’t argue with the truth of it; Oro would do much to further the path of chakra use if given the right guidance, the Hatake were too strong to lose, Madara and Tobirama had too much knowledge and power to let it slip away without being passed down, but still….”Yes, but also because our Sensei begged us to save his father and Oro is a good child and Tobirama-sensei deserved better and Madara had so much promise.” She sighed and turned away walking to the window and looking out at the lights of the village, “Kagami, have you ever been to Uzushio?” she didn’t give him a chance to answer, her voice wistful “I have, once, from a distance I saw it, the white shores and the whirlpools and the crumbling ruins reaching to the sky like a great creature’s sun-bleached ribs after it was sacked and broken by Iwa and Kiri under Hiruzen Sarutobi’s rein as Hokage. I think, perhaps more than any other day that that was the day that Konoha lost her honor, the day we were too late to save them and fulfill our promise and we will never know why Konoha was late – only that Danzo never wanted there to be any competitors to Konoha, no matter the cost or the bloodshed.”

Tiredly she turned back to look at him, “There were four shinobi world wars Kagami, four before the Last War, four wars and thousands dead; clans wiped off the map and Kiri became the Bloody Mist after their bloodline purge. How much would the Last War have changed if we had those thousand? If we had the kami blessed White Chakra that was made to balance out the Ōtsutsuki rot? If the bijuu hadn’t been sealed and crippled chakra? If the Yuki of Kiri hadn’t all died for a mad Kage?” and for a moment, just a few breaths, her chakra slipped it’s leash and around her the world bent and twisted as the Uchiha looked up, red eyes bright as he looked at her; hair short and body thin and weaponized, her face hard and hollow and her eyes dead and cold as ash blew around her and bones stretched through the dead ground “How many died for the past that could have saved the future?” she asked in a hollow voice as from below her feet a rotting hand reach up through the ground and a blond Yamanaka head clawed out of the ground, missing flesh and lower jaw but still with a Konoha headband. Sakura didn’t even look at the corpse as her chakra lashed out and ripped the undead to ash swiftly swept away in the wind, “What would you do to see the world made new when all that was left was the dead? When even memory broke and bled and the wheel was long gone?” her last words hung in the air even as the chakra faded and she was once again Sakura as he knew her, long haired and lovely and bright eyed; only the dusting of ash on the wood around her to show that what he had seen was more than a genjutsu.

“Anything” Kagami breathed “I would do anything, but I….” Sakura’s eyes were sad and slowly- uncertain of her welcome- she drifted closer to the Uchiha, “Exactly, we made a Pact in the end days, in ash and bone, we swore that we would see the Ōtsutsuki burn; that the star they thought to eat would be a supernova, and we will do what we must to see to it that when the Ōtsutsuki come this world will fight the way we could not – no matter the cost. But you have to understand Kagami, we were at war too long, so long I – I don’t even know how old I am. We lost so much we no longer know how to live in the world we are giving everything to create, already some we called dear friends will never be born, already Naruto will never be born – because, Kagami” and then she darted forward, kneeling at his feet and grabbing his hands as he stared at her with wide eyes “you have to understand, Sasuke and I, we will die, we are mortal no matter our power; we will never see the Ōtsutsuki come down or the world we seek to make come to fruition. But Naruto…..Naruto is a Tenko, Naruto Ascended when The Kyuubi gave him everything and Naruto will not die of old age, he alone will live to see the wars again and – no matter whether you keep my token, no matter if we stay together you must promise me this” her grip was too tight she knew but she didn’t care in her desperation “you must Swear to me that the Uchiha clan will keep faith with him when we are gone, you must Swear that your clan will tend to the one that has given everything to see them live again, you must promise me Kagami!”

The Uchiha looked rattled and frighted as he leaned close to her but Sakura hardly noticed over her fear, “Sakura, Sakura, I am not returning your token, I am not – not calling off our courtship, I promise I am not, this is just a lot and I – I haven’t lived what you have, I am not – not like you.” “Kagami-“ her desperate plea was stopped as he yanked a hand free and cupped her face, “I Swear” he breathed “I promise you, and I will have the clan make the same Oath, Naruto will not be Alone when we are gone. So long as our blood lives he will never be alone and we will never give up on him, this I Swear on my blood and Sharingan.” And the relief that stormed through Sakura was so great she collapsed forward over Kagami’s knees, shaking with dry sobs. A gentle hand- the one she wasn’t still clutching- stroked her hair until she calmed again and could finally think about what he had said enough to respond, “It is the fact that you are not like us that makes us trust you to lead us Kagami” she whispered, voice hoarse “like with Ramin, you saw how we no longer reach for kindness, first.” And she knew he was thinking about the massacre of the Iwa and Suna nin and the way that they could have stopped several times, they didn’t have to kill so many, they could have stopped after Sakura froze them as a warning, could have let the meteor kill enough to frighten them but not massacre so many, could have – and hadn’t. “We know we can’t be trusted” she breathed “we know – we know that this world we make, we make it not for us. We seek to make a kinder, better, world but it is not one we will ever fully live in; some part of us will always live in those last days and taste ash with every breath, like Tobirama-sensei who never truly left the Warring clans we are remaking the world, but not for us. Not for us.”

The sound Kagami made was broken and she felt his tears on the back of her neck, the tears she had long ago lost the ability to cry as he choked out, “It is your world, it is your world more than anyone else’s, for it is you that fashion it! And if you can’t trust yourselves then trust me, trust Sakumo, trust Matsui, trust the children, we won’t leave you alone to make choices you no longer know how to make.” it was, Sakura thought, sweet, but she didn’t believe him about the first part and didn’t have the heart to tell him that they already did trust them, that already they were tempered for the sake of those around them; their edges carefully hidden to keep from cutting too deep on those they loved that had not their armor. After all some things were better kept secrets, buried so deep that sometimes as the days passed the Pact themselves even forgot the secret and the blood that never stopped dripping; some secrets should die silent deaths with the Pact (after all, there was a reason she hadn’t told Kagami about the truth of Tobirama’s feelings for Madara – and their falsity, at least at the start. No that knowledge could do far too much damage now that Madara believed it and lived here, that was a secret that only they three and Tobirama would ever know and it would die with them, never to break an Uchiha heart).

Chapter Text

The Tenko woke slowly, mind slipping away from the golden haze that had filled it as he stared up at the ceiling with eyes that ached a bit from all the crying he had done last night in the arms of the one mentor that had never failed him. Next to him Sasuke snuffled and snuggled closer, his hair a messy tangle around him and his breath soft and warm on the Tenko’s neck, (“I – but I am here now Naruto, I am here now love so be here with me.” he begged in Naruto’s memory) achingly the Tenko closed his eyes and soaked up the warmth of Sasuke at his side, trying to just live in the moment, trying to hold it close for as long as it lasted, all too aware now that ((for now. they will come again, and you will face them.) Alone? (alone.)) it was transient and he was, fundamentally, different from those he loved the most (he had known he was a Tenko for a long time, had claimed it for a while, but he hadn’t Known, not until the sun touched him and scorched away what was left of his mortal illusions; not until the Lady told him the truth he had never wanted to know, and in doing so revealed the unspooling breadth of his existence. For now it was a truth he would hide, tuck away so deep that even he forgot when he wasn’t dreaming, pretend that the last of his bindings hadn’t been snapped like old iron, pretend – at least as long as he had this, Sasuke at his side, warm and alive and still his, for at least a little longer).

Carefully Naruto rolled over, curling closer until he and all his tails (golden with only the faintest sheen of red now below the black tips) were wrapped around his mate, breathing in the warm, living scent of him. He would never love another like he loved Sasuke, like they were one soul split in two bodies and the Uchiha was the better part; like he wanted to inhale and curl around his lover so tightly the vibrant moonlight-scales soul of him was tucked deep in the golden divinity that lived in the Tenko – but, no, Sasuke was mortal and like all such souls he would pass on with time, to the Pure Lands and the purpose his soul was destined for there (as usual the Sage was wrong about the origin of their souls, chakrik imprint of Asura and Indra or not). It would be wrong to keep Sasuke with him, the Edo Tensei was, in the end, an abomination when used for any great length of time (he had never forgotten the pain and loss it caused Tobirama-sensei as it ruined his soul to exist like that, pain that had been hidden from everyone else but that Naruto had seen and he knew using it for long was a horror his nature could no longer stand), and anyway Sasuke’s soul had a destiny when it passed the white shores; how could it not when it was the match for a Tenko? And Naruto couldn’t keep him from that for selfishness, not now that his last mortality was burned off in the Lady’s light.

But – no, he wasn’t thinking about that, he was going to be Naruto for as long as he could, he was going to find the shreds of that graying veil and pull it tight around himslef right until the moment that Sasuke moved on to his next task and Sakura was finally allowed her Rest. He was going to be Naruto. (And when he couldn’t any longer, he would make damned sure that the Ōtsutsuki found that they had bit off more than they could chew with their world; even if he had to make shinobi all but gods to do it. That was his calling and he would see it done, the shinobi would be bound together with the Ninshū he would bring back and he would insure that no more bright minds and good hearts were lost to this madness, the stars were watching and this world was going to burn bright.)

Time drifted by for a while, Naruto monitoring the nin in the house (the growing, grudging fondness in Tobirama-sensei, the stunned confusion in Madara, the way Sakura and Kagami were curled together, the children tumbling through as they got ready for the Academy) and it was late morning when Sasuke stirred, blinking awake with the vaguely stunned look Kakashi-sensei had told him was a clan thing in mornings. “’naru? Y’ ‘wake? Wha’ time ‘s it?” he slurred, not protesting other than a grumpy ‘hn’ as Naruto cuddled him closer before answering, “Late morning, the kids are at Academy, everyone else is still asleep- well not Tobirama-sensei, he’s watching Madara sleep-, yesterday was long I guess.” Sasuke blinked, looking noticeably more awake as he looked at Naruto, “Your fur color has changed” he muttered “and, yeah, Kagami and Sakura didn’t get back until way late but she told him so, that was good. Not about that of course and it’s too long for her to have told him everything but, enough.” Naruto hummed and nuzzled his mate closer in his golden fur, not commenting on it “So he knows and they are still together, good. They’ll have a lot on their hands dealing with the mess Sarutobi made- hopefully they will find a way to leave Oro with Sakumo and Dan- and I think Madara will be incapacitated for a good while as his chakra settles; he might wake but it won’t last I don’t think.”

Sasuke pushed his hand on Naruto’s chest, bracing to sit and look down at the Tenko, his sleek black hair trailing over his bare chest, “Why do I feel like you are building up to telling me you are headed out of the village for a while?” he growled and Naruto winced a little, hoping his mate didn’t notice the slight lag to it (this was harder than he thought, he needed time to find Naruto again before he was around them too much or they would notice, Tobirama-sensei probably already had but he wouldn’t way anything, he had almost certainly felt it in the Tenko’s chakra anyway). “Because I am. I don’t – I don’t want to leave Sas but we have to deal with Kiri before they go for Uzushio and I need to shift the be leadership to keep the bloodline purges from happening – or make Uzushio take over, that would work too. But right now things are….stable-ish and this can’t wait forever. Not to mention that as soon as the other countries get word about what we did to Iwa and Suna we will be facing a political mess that could lead straight into another war and I need to be back before that.” Naruto’s voice was tired and apologetic as he spoke and Sasuke’s face pinched in clear frustration but he didn’t have any counter arguments except, “And what about Sakumo?” which…

Naruto closed his eyes and covered his face with his arm, letting the quiet dark and the sound of his pulse calm him a bit, (he was going to fail someone, he already knew that. Now he knew why Tenko had a reputation as flighty) after a moment a thin hand curled around his wrist but didn’t try to lift his hand. “I – I’m sorry Naru, that…wasn’t fair. I know you have – I know this has to be done and if you do Kiri then only lighting is left, I just…” the Uchiha’s voice was uncharacteristically soft and Naruto’s chest ached as he flipped his hand to tangled their fingers together though he didn’t stop hiding. “The sooner I have the Bijuu dealt with the sooner I can stop leaving” he breathed finally “you have too – every time I leave all I can think is that I am missing time with you and there is so little of that in the end…I don’t want to miss a single second with you and the sooner this is done the sooner I can stay.” The last words grated out and Sasuke sucked in a surprised breath, holding it for a moment before sighing deeply and lifting Naruto’s hand enough that he could kiss the Tenko, golden hands with long nails immediately burrowing into his hair as he surged up into the kiss, abdominals tightening to hold him up as he kissed back like he could taste Sasuke’s soul on his tongue.

“Alright” Sasuke murmured into his lips, “you can go, just, wait until tomorrow? Please?” sighing Naruto drew back and nodded, it would be hard but the children needed to see him ok and if he started slipping too bad he could go ‘check on Madara’ and Tobirama-sensei would watch his back till he got his shit together. “Tomorrow, now come on, Sakura is up so we should have breakfast with her.” Naruto swept Sasuke up with him as he stood stretching and sliding his mate a sly look as he pulled the Uchiha into the shower with him.

Sakura was just putting food on the table when they came down, Kagami looking exhausted as he made notes on a pad of paper at the table and Tobirama-sensei flicking an evaluating glance over Naruto that hardly lasted a breath. “Hey Naru!” Sakura chirped when she saw them, looking tired but happy as she darted over to hug him tightly, hooking Sasuke into the embrace even as he grumbled sullenly about it. “How are you feeling? It looked like yesterday was…a lot, also, it is your fault that no-one can remember that thing’s name right? Because otherwise we have a problem.” Naruto blinked at the rush of words, rocking back on his heels as Tobirama-sensei sighed from the table where he was leaned over helping Kagami with something on his list, “Of course it was him, and we’re calling it the Ōtsutsuki-yokai now that it doesn’t have a name. “ the Senju told her absently, pointing to something and murmuring to his former student, “that won’t work, you need to had a defter touch with the Wind Daimyo, he is responsible but unless you get him personally invested he will just ignore anything his village does. He always has. But you are right, the Daimyos will be the best way to get into the village politics, in most of the countries they still have pull over their villages – Fire’s doesn’t but that’s mostly because I put the Twelve Guardian Ninja in place after I found out how much his family had to do with keeping the Senju and Uchiha fighting.”

“Oh!” Kagami breathed “You’re why the old Daimyo died and his nephew was put in power!” Tobirama-sensei sent him a calm look but there was a tiny tilt to his lips that gave him away as he murmured, “Would I have anything to do with that? Or intentionally make sure that he is given a nin guard that has an Uchiha and Senju that know about his family history on it and are closer than his samurai guards? Or shift things to make sure that he is never without at least one of them and they may have influence over his rule or succession?” Naruto blinked, wondering when the Twelve had turned from something closer to The Praetorian Guard from the west into the dedicated protectors of the Daimyo- to the point of not being allowed to keep any connections in the village like Asuma had until he left the guard- that they had been in his birth years. Never mind, they could make sure it didn’t happen this time and stayed closer to the limiter on the Daimyo that it was intended to be this time so it didn’t matter what had happened last time, they would fix it (having that power over the Daimyo was…a lot maybe, and took away a counter balance from the shinobi’s power, but….the Pact needed the nin as powerful as possible and a counter balance wouldn’t help with that – and it sounded like the Court had had more to do with the Warring states to keep clans under control than Naruto wanted to think about). (It also made him wonder about Kiri a bit, Uzu didn’t have a Daimyo and they did just fine, had the Water Daimyo had anything to do with the bloodline purges? It was hard to say.)

“Naru? The name? How you are feeling?” startled Naruto jolted out of his thoughts and looked at Sakura, shifting to let her scan his ribs with healing chakra. “I – yes, what I did – it um, I’m not sure how to explain it but I unmade the Ōtsutsuki-yokai. I wiped it from the world and all memory and that included even its name, it was the most terrible thing that I could think of at that time. And I feel ok, still trying to, um, assimilate some stuff I think but I’ll be fine, just need time.” Another slanted look from Tobirama-sensei but he said nothing as Sakura sighed and stepped back with a displeased look on her face, “Well, something has certainly changed- just look at your fur- but I can’t pinpoint what it is and it doesn’t seem to be hurting you so…just, tell me if something changes, alright?” obediently Naruto nodded and Sasuke squeezed his hand with a soft ‘hn’ before letting go and moving to sit as Sakura finished fussing gently. Clearly the need to separate yesterday and the way that their tight knit group was starting to loosen and involve others had shaken her and she was having some trouble adjusting – it was a little reassuring honestly, given how much trouble he and Sasuke were having with it. It was time, it was needed; Sakura needed to commit to being the lady of the village- especially since they were making it official eventually as a position of power in the village- and focus on that and helping the clans and the politics, Kagami would certainly have enough on his hands to need the help. Sasuke would never stop being Naruto’s mate (Tenko were possessive lovers it turned out) but he was going to be clan head and his clan needed him to work on fixing the mess that the Ōtsutsuki-yokai had made of their mental stability as well as steering them into reintegration into the village (hopefully Ninshū would help with both of those problems); something that would take his focus – not even to mention Madara and getting his shit settled!

And all of that while Naruto’s current duties pulled him from the village altogether.

No, no, Naruto shook his head discreetly, ears laying back slightly, he would be back soon and everything would be ok! At least for a little while, at least – a hand landed firmly between the Tenko’s shoulder blades and in a cool curl of chakra a seal bloomed and suddenly the burning ember of his divinity was veiled, tucked away under a curling whisper of mortal chakra and Naruto (Naruto, Naruto) blinked as the world solidified around him. A little disoriented the blonde glanced back at Tobirama-sensei who was watching him with intent, knowing red eyes, “Better?” the Senju murmured gently and Naruto nodded, feeling a bit dumbstruck and a hell of a lot more grounded than he had since the Lady spoke to him and he used the Chakra Geas. “Much” he breathed “how-?” Tobirama smirked faintly and slipped his hand away, the seal staying, curling just on his skin as the albino spoke, “I could tell in your chakra, you lost your….mortality when the Goddess touched you, all I did was give you a bit of my chakra to help you remember how it works- like the Strength of Thousand seal- it won’t last forever and it's not foolproof if you keep plowing through divine power like you did with the Ōtsutsuki-yokai; but it should be enough for now and we can find another way to fix it up if you need it.”

More relieved than he could express Naruto sagged into himslef and nodded, sniffling and dragging in a deep breath; he knew Tobirama-sensei would help, he just hadn’t realized the man would put together what to do so fast. “Thank you” he whispered “thank you.” Tobirama-sensei smiled softly and ruffled Naruto’s golden hair and ears, “Come no, sit down and eat and help us work on our next moves. Then spend the afternoon with the children and being seen in the village, we’ll figure this out.” It was nice to let someone else take over for a bit and tell him what to do as he got his feet under himself; and Tobirama-sensei was right, Naruto needed to focus on the here and now and what mattered to him here – he needed to stop thinking about the future and let it happen when it would, even if he still had to go to Kiri tomorrow that was tomorrow and Naruto needed to live in today.

Chapter Text

Tobirama tucked a strand of Madara’s hair back behind his ear, wondering if he should braid the Uchiha’s hair or something to keep it from tangling; it was softer than he expected, soft and fine as downy feathers or ash (no wonder it always billowed so nicely, Tobirama wasn’t oblivious, he hadn’t missed the fact that Madara had the best hair in the village). With a sigh he dropped the dark strands and turned away to the desk that had been set up in Madara’s room so Tobirama could work on things and keep an eye on the man at the same time; it wasn’t like there was any lack of things for him to do either what with helping Sakura finish the IVF (they were only one break through away from figuring it out he knew) and working on a jutsu to do something about this reincarnation mess that the Pact had told him about, (he was not letting that continue, especially since it seemed to get messier and messier with every incarnation or else they would never be able to live at the same time – that it might break Madara’s fixation on Hashirama was only a side benefit) as well as doing the work of Kagami’s master of whispers until Sakura could take that over (he thought Kijokemuri had a nice ring to it for her title) and his other work. Still none of his tasks kept his attention, his mind kept sliding back to what Sasuke and Naruto had told him about Ninshū that they had learned from a mix of the Sage’s info and the few scattered memories they had of Indra and Asura.

All in all the Pact had done a good job at reconstructing the ancient art but none of them were natural sensors and as one Tobirama had rather a different view on the art than they did (was Ninshū all that different from sensing in the end? Tobirama had never been able to pretend his enemies were anything other than human, not when he could feel their joys and their losses and their hatred) and he was hoping to help them reconstruct it into something a little more…actionable, rather than just a philosophy or religion that could only be used with those you loved. It needed to be something that connected all nin to each other whether they wanted it to or not if it was going to do what they wanted but – wait; in his mind Tobirama thought about the shinning web of chakra-souls that filled his senses, active or not, could that-? Maybe all shinobi couldn’t be connected together on their own…but what about if there were hubs? What if chosen powerful sensors became the hosts to Ninshū webs that stretched over countries and – he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face, what if they exchanged jinchuriki for another kind of sacrifice? This time to keep the ninja world together rather than to separate it? It would cost the new sacrifices much but…would it be enough? Could it even be done? Well, if anyone could do it it would be Tobirama and while he couldn’t take on more than Fire with his health being what it was (not with Naruto’s dark eyed words in his mind “I am leaving Madara in your hands ok? He is your responsibility and you have to keep him stable or he will burn us all down, you’re the only person that can – Sakura and Sasuke have to much PTSD about him, he’s on you, got it?”) but if he could figure out how to at least connect Konoha….Hm, he would have to work on this.

There was a fluctuation from the chakra on the bed (mink fur-cloves-morning star-warm ash-scoured raw) and Tobirama was jolted form his thoughts, turning just in time to see those purple eyes blink open slowly, staring blankly at the ceiling. “Madara – I mean, Uchiha-sama, are you alright?” Tobirama asked carefully as he rose to his feet, dressed as he always was now in a yukata in shades of blue- today’s was seafoam blue- over mesh armor and his new ear wrap rather than his much missed happuri. The Uchiha only blinked blankly at the ceiling but Tobirama hesitated at coming too close, he didn’t want to make the other man uncomfortable or disrespect his boundaries (that had happened enough) but he would also like to check that Madara wasn’t, you know, brain dead or something (that would rather put a damper on things). For a long moment there was no response and then Madara rasped out, his deep voice rough and lacking its normal richness, “I am….alone.” and the strange numb tone of his words sent something cold prickling down Tobirama’s spine as he slipped closer to the bed; close enough Madara would only have to shift his eyes to see the albino. “The Ōtsutsuki-yokai or – or your brother?” at his hesitant question Madara’s hands spasmed into fists but relaxed again swiftly enough and his black staring didn’t shift as the Uchiha gave a inconclusive “Hn” (this clan-!).

Slowly Tobirama inched closer a bit, licking his lips and trying to figure out what to say, finally settling for blurting, “I don’t remember what Itama’s face looked like, or what Kawarama’s voice sounded like, or – or what Hashirama’s smile felt like.” Hearing the crack in his voice on the last and the sound finally pulled that purple gaze to his figure though the look remained deadened, “It was all I had left of him and even though it was the worst of him, all his paranoia and pain and hate….” The soft words petered off and Tobirama gently finished the thought “It was still all you had left of him.” Madara nodded once jerkily and Tobirama sighed, scrubbing his face with a gold threaded hand before dragging it back through his hair, “Madara, you knew him best, what would he have wanted for you? Maybe not in those last horrible pain filled days- not when we don’t know how far the Ōtsutsuki-yokai reached- but, the best Izuna, the one that loved you more than anything, would he have wanted you to keep his eyes if they hurt you?” Something bloody and angry flared on his handsome face and a little desperate Tobirama leaned forward placing a hand on the strong shoulder and letting the neck of his yukata slip to show the golden scarring from where Madara had stabbed him.

“His gift doesn’t die just because his hatred did, it lives on in you! Unless you want to tell me that all he was was his anger and worst traits? That his entire heart could be encompassed in those last terrible days and all the time he spent loving and living and caring before that meant nothing? That it never existed and he was everything enemy propaganda tried to make him?” at Tobirama’s rushed and- admittedly- harsh words it looked for a moment like Madara might strike him, at least until the light caught the gold in his shoulder and the Uchiha’s visibly crumbled in on himslef. “I – no, no Izu was….he was more than that” and in the face of those broken hearted words and sad Uchiha eyes- purple or no- (damn you Kagami for conditioning him!) Tobirama folded, gracefully dropping to sit next to Madara’s hip on the bed and hesitantly reaching out a hand to stroke over that lovely hair as he looked out the window, saying nothing about the dampening fabric of the pillowcase as he watched the Uchiha hawks circle the bare trees outside against a cold spring sky.

It was chilly, one last gasp of winter's breath before she gave over to summer as Asa Uchiha looked up and watched the path of the crows over the robin’s egg blue sky far above her, reminded as she always was on days like this of the last few days of the Wars; back when the Senju and Uchiha were shaking hands under a similar sky and her brother was dying back in their healing halls. She had been a child back then but she still remembered it, remembered the pain and starvation and the anger at Hashirama-sama and his only asking for peace as he spilled their blood turning to anger at Madara-sama for not taking it; remembered how they had whispered that Madara-sama valued Izuna-sama more than he valued them or their loved ones, remembered how swiftly they had forgotten the arguments Madara-sama got into with the Elders and his brother to just have a ceasefire! Nothing else, just that! Remembered the way that they had all called the White Demon the worst of evils, knew that many Elders still spread the idea that Nidaime-sama hated their clan when he had never done anything against them except refuse to be the scapegoat that they had tried to make him and Madara-sama into and all that time-! Well, Asa could see how like would call to like (and they were very alike).

She was glad to see the clan accepting Madara-sama again (and kami hadn’t seeing that thing that had been possessing him been terrifying! How long had he lived with that trying to poison his mind? How hard had he fought it?) and finally taking the Nidaime-sama into their fold (he was their’s now, he had been brought here to recover, he had chosen to stay here, he was their’s damnit) but she wondered how much they would just….forget in order to not have to think about their mistakes. How often could even Uchiha lie to themselves to feel like the hero’s in their stories?

“Uchiha clan!” the call from the head of the square at the center of the Uchiha district where Kagami-sama- Hokage-sama now- was standing on the clan head’s engawa pulled Asa’s eyes from sky, the senbon holding her woven hair in place shifting as she moved. “Uchiha clan, I thank you for gathering today to hear what I have to say; I know you must be aware that as the Hokage I must give up all other positions in the village and that includes the clan headship and place at the head of the police. But I am also sure that you must be aware that there is another just as suited to take up those positions in my place, so it is with great joy that I tell you that my cousin, Sasuke Uchiha, son of Izuna Uchiha, will be the new Uchiha clan head and head of police!” and as Sasuke-sama stepped forward to stand at his cousin’s shoulder the clan burst into cheers, thrilled to be led by one so skilled and blessed by the kami. The man smiled a tiny bit as he looked over them, bowing his head in thanks to both them and the Hokage before he turned to address them, “As you know my uncle, Madara Uchiha is with us again but after his prolonged possession his health and heart are greatly impacted so it might be some time before you see him and if you do I ask that you give him the grace you would give any shinobi grieving and adjusting after a prolonged incarceration.” Asa winced a bit at the implications of that even as she admired the deft hand her new clan head had with rumors and spin, “There is also the worrying question of what exactly the yokai wanted with my uncle and whether or not it had any greater influence on the clan that we do not yet know about” what of his face she could see with half covered by his fringe was dark and serious “it may take time to fully understand what we are dealing with and how far the corruption goes and we as a clan may have to reclaim old things we long since thought lost, like our great ancestor Indra’s Ninshū.”

A spark of interest and curiosity snapped down Asa’s spine and she straightened as whispers swept over the gathered Uchiha (something of their mythical ancestor’s!? No Uchiha worth their salt would turn that down) and Sasuke-sama waited it out with a watchful eye. “There will be more to discuss as a clan later but I will end with this as my last announcement for today,” he slanted a sly look at the Hokage “as your clan head it is my great pleasure to announce the engagement of one of our blood, for Kagami Uchiha has accepted the third and final gift from my pact sister Sakura Qiānqiū and they are now engaged in the eyes of the Uchiha!” and as expected the Hokage flushed hard and ducked his head, even as a silly smile curled over his lips and he sheepishly nodded while the Uchiha burst into celebratory katon, fire flowering and bursting in the air over their heads.

It didn’t last long though before the Hokage’s face sobered and he stepped forward, holding out his hands to calm the ruckus, “Uchiha, Uchiha, I have indeed accepted Sakura’s final gift but I am afraid it is attached to something else, something much more somber indeed” and his dark eyes were as serious as they had ever been even as Sasuke-sama frowned slightly in clear confusion. “Uchiha Sakura, Sakura begged me” (Sakura Qiānqiū-hime? The same proud kunoichi that Asa so admired? Begged?) “for a promise – from both myself and our clan. You see Uchiha though we all know of Naruto-dono’s nature I think few of us have thought of what it would mean for him” and now Sasuke-sama’s face had completely shut down “for unlike his husband and mate Sasuke and his heart-sister my own Sakura, he is not mortal. And long after they and we are gone he will continue. Currently he is out doing to biding of the kami so that he may return as soon as possible and I thought this might be my only chance to speak to you the clan about what it means to be immortal as a Tenko is; to live  long past all those you love and cherish and lose them all in time and know that you shall go on after to see the long years pass under your feet as you alone persevere.”

Sasuke-sama had turned away, hiding his face even as his shoulders caved in on themselves and Asa felt as though her stomach was filled with ice at the thought; live forever? Like long past all you loved and cherished? And for Naruto-dono in particular to live past the almost-sister he clearly adored and the mate he was so devoted too? Surely the kami could not be so cruel? To an Uchiha the idea alone was just…an anathema. She could see her own horror reflected in the eyes around her and in Kagami-sama’s grim face, “I see that you understand what he is facing. Knowing that I am sure you can understand why Sakura begged me for the word of the Uchiha clan that we will keep the faith with Naruto-dono so long as our blood shall exist, that he will not be alone no matter what should come in the future. I gave her my oath, I Swore on my blood and Sharingan, and I ask the same of all of you and in the name of all the children you may have; the Tenko has given everything for us and as Sasuke once said ‘We are Uchiha, we remember and we honor’ I will not have that cease to be true now. Naruto-dono will give everything for us, the least we can do is keep the faith with him.”

There was a long silence in the cold spring afternoon after Kagami-sama stopped speaking and then, slowly, Asa dropped to her knees bowing her head and proclaiming, loud and sure as a calling hawk, “I am Uchiha, I honor and I remember; on my blood and Sharingan I swear, Naruto-dono will not walk alone” (she remembered, whoever else forgot she remembered, whatever lies they told she still remembered the look in her brother’s eyes as he died from a Senju blade and the way Madara-sama had been pale as a ghost when he shook hands with Hashirama-sama even if he had been resolute as anything). Close by Maemi followed her lead, her eyes spinning red as she too spoke the words that Asa had said and on her heels another Uchiha dropped and then another and then another until the whole clan was kneeling in the square, making an Oath that they would never forget under the same reborn sky as they once entered peace under.

Chapter Text

Sasuke watched the children tussle and tumble in the gravel square behind his house and ached quietly, mind echoing with the Oath that his clan had made; the Oath that he knew his clan would pass down with their blood and their stories and their memories, that he knew they would remake into the center of their clan with only a slight nudge. An Oath that would shape them as much as it would save Naruto and all he could think was, had they overreached? Had they gone too far? Had they broken too much in their quest to save the world that might be? How much were they destroying and remaking in their image in the name of the future they wanted? Had they been at war too long, to have forgotten that these were people they were reshaping like sculpting clay with lies and chosen truths and Oaths and choices they were taking away? (Had they overreached? Had they gone too far?)

But as he watched Oro giggle in Sakumo’s tight hug while Dan rolled his eyes next to them and Tsuna and Dai tried to punch deeper and deeper holes in a post, when he saw Jirai talking to a wary looking Asuka in a slow, low, respectful voice. When he saw the children they were raising, when he saw them as they were now; their choices to be who they once-never were taken away, but….changed into something that he could only think of as better (had to believe was better). When he saw that, he wondered, he hoped, that maybe they were doing the right thing even if they were doing it wrong; that maybe, maybe even if they had gone to far, maybe that was what it was, because it was all that they could do. All that they could do was try to shape the world to the best if could be, and maybe that made them like the Ōtsutsuki in the end but…but it was all they could do, they were doing their best, was it their fault that their best burned the world under their will (and their desperation. Grief had always been the strongest emotion a human could feel; and it burned in them)?

Maybe it didn’t matter, not when they weren’t going to stop. Not until death forced them.

“Sasuke-sama?” Oro’s small voice at his knee dragged Sasuke’s mind from his thoughts and to the small boy standing at his knee, already changed from the Orochimaru that had once-never been. “Sasuke-sama what is the matter? You look so sad, is it because Tenko-sama is gone?” the Uchiha blinked down at the child, smoothing his hand over the slick raw-silk hair, “I – yes, I miss Naruto very, very much but he has to go sometimes and I know that.” Oro frowned, clearly trying to work through something, “Then are you worr’d about y’r Uncle? Like I was about my mom?” which, well, that – that was quite a thought right there. “No, not quite, I worry about Uncle Madara but Tobirama-sensei will take care of him. I am just thinking about my clan and the village and all the things that I have to do. I….I wonder sometimes, if we are doing the right things; if making soldiers out of children and teaching you so many ways to kill is….right.” it wasn’t quite the same as what Sasuke had been thinking but it was the closest he could come to it and he watched little Orochimaru fold his arms and frown even deeper at the Uchiha with muted, sad amusement.

“But Sasuke-sama, there is monsters in the world isn’t there? Like poss-essed y’r Uncle? And if there ‘r monsters than there has to be somebody out there to fight them right? Maybe you’re makin’ soldiers but, somebody has to fight for everybody and y’r not gonna live forever. I think maybe its ok as long as it's to fight monsters, because someone has to and I’d rather know how than die without it.” the small face was as serious as anything Sasuke had ever seen and he stared at the child, slightly shocked at how close to the real heart of the matter Oro had gotten. Perhaps they were making weapons, but, what else could they do when there was monsters out there? Smiling thinly Sasuke ruffled the smooth hair, forcing out “That…that’s a good point Oro, thank you. Now, was there something you needed?” in a rough voice that had the Mizuchi frowning but caving as he explained his question about something they had learned in the Academy.

Per-Kagami’s decree all children under the age of eight had been sent through an evaluation to make sure they were ready for the academy mentally and emotionally and if they passed they were allowed to stay with the understanding that the graduation age was reinstated. This would allow kids like Dan, Sakumo, and Oro that had bonded but had age differences to stay together as teams but ensure that the age rules were back in place as only a few kids had stayed in when they could just come back in a few years when they were the right age rather than wasting time (either time to be a child or time to train more with their clan depending on the clan – crap, they needed to make sure the civilian kids were getting enough help, he would talk to Kazuko, Dai’s mother would be best placed to work on that). It was as a good a compromise as they were going to get given that Sakumo would certainly refuse to be separated from his Oro at this point and might botch his Academy graduation just to stay with his packmate given that the two seemed attached at the hip and Sasuke was fairly sure Sakumo at least had already decided what he wanted from the future if Oro ever felt the same (the Hatake were like that he was told by an indulgent Frigg) (it was a good thing the IVF was nearly done he was told, already it was something Sakura could do but they wanted it to be something other healers could manage as well. Well with Tobirama working on it it shouldn’t take long).

“Sasuke” think of the devil and he shall appear the Uchiha thought ruthfully, glancing over his shoulder to look at the slender albino (still was a bit of a shock to see him so slender out of armor and so soft), offering a multipurpose “Hn” that made the Senju smile slightly as he sank to sit next to Sasuke.  “I have something of a favor to ask of you,” Sasuke cocked his head in curiosity “you know I helped Sakura anchor the Genjutsu to gems for her last gift to Kagami?” Sasuke nodded, Sakura’s last gift (the Gift of Promise, the gift that symbolizes your hopes for a shared future, the acceptance of which meant engagement in the eyes of the Uchiha and the end of the courtship) had been stunning and deeply meaningful and Sasuke was more than a little impressed; knowing that Tobirama had been involved was no surprise. “Well it got me thinking about something that might help stabilize Madara. I would just Edo Izuna- only for a short time, no soul shredding-“ (wait, what? The Edo Tensei did what?!) “- but I don’t trust him to be free of his old prejudice and paranoia. Too hard to say if the Ōtsutsuki-yokai was part of it or not and Izuna condemning him would ruin everything at this point. So, I need a way to help your uncle remember that there is positive things in the world and to do that I need permission from you to look at your Sharingan to speak the older clan members that might remember Izuna and Madara’s childhood.”

Sasuke stared at the older man, flabbergasted and confused, “You – what?” Tobirama sighed impatiently, as if he had fully expected Sasuke to understand what he was doing from the scraps he had already said (fucking genesis, Itachi had done the same). “I intend to use a rather large sphere of red obsidian I have in my possession to hold the sharingan memories of Izuna as a child before the war poisoned him as well as as many positive memories about or around Madara as I can find, to give him a different outlook on the world than he has had in a long time.” something dark flickered over those sharp features and Tobirama’s lips thinned “I saw long before he left that Madara was drowning under the suspicion he was getting from everyone in the village, no one viewed him positively so how was he supposed to see anything positively? Children ran from him Sasuke, we know now that was probably their young and open chakra feeling the Ōtsutsuki-yokai but…that is damaging and I was never in a position to do shit about it, not with our history. All he had was Hashirama and my brother….” He trailed off and a deeply sad look crossed his face “my brother has ever been careless of those he loved, he refused to see the truth of what Madara was facing- choosing to lie to himself instead- until Madara left and then-“ a flicker of true pain flashed over Tobirama’s face “-and then as soon as Madara wasn’t his all he could see was the worst of him. Enough to be willing to stab him in the back when Madara gave his back to only Hashi and Izuna.” he shook his head, white hair falling in his eyes and a condemning look in his them “Given how Madara feels about people behind him the fact that my brother waited to kill him until his back was turned…..not sure I can forgive that.”

And Sasuke was reminded that Ignazi or not Tobirama had bought Madara’s body back and cleaned it for his funeral. Sealing his eyes so they couldn’t be stolen and sewing up his wounds; he would know how his brother had killed Madara, without honor or respect and only when Madara didn’t chose Hashirama over everything else – even when Hashirama had done nothing for the Uchiha’s grief or pain (or possession). Sasuke also wondered if Tobirama realized how much he had revealed with that little speech and how much this orb of memory sounded like the second courtship gift (first was the Gift of Worth, given and burned in front of family to show how much you valued the Uchiha. The second was the Gift of Devotion, given to symbolize your devotion to the courted and intended to be kept forever as a show of sentiment this orb idea certainly fit the bill perfectly. Not that Sasuke was going to point that out unless someone else did….but he was fairly sure his ‘uncle’ would given that Tobirama’s hand and shoulder were still marked with gold from his Gift of Worth).

“And anyway” Tobirama added, something sad in his eyes “the Uchiha don’t draw people much, too much reliance on the sharingan, I doubt Madara has any way to remember his other brothers and he shouldn’t have to forget their faces.” That made Sasuke’s stomach twist and he nodded slowly, “You plan to use the same pattern of chakra matrix as in the Sharingan and put it in the crystal to hold the memories?” he asked slowly and Tobirama nodded, “Basically, it’s a bit more complicated than that but yes basically. I am not sure what other application it might have in the future but if it is a worry the instructions can be handed over to the Uchiha after its done; Madara just…I don’t know if he’ll make it without something to hold onto.” Slowly Sasuke nodded, he didn’t love the idea of someone scanning his eye but it wouldn’t be right for Tobirama to go to someone other than the clan head and for his uncle’s sake, to keep Madara stable and bound here he would let his eyes spin to the sharingan (both with the memories and with the promise of a second gift even if it would be given unofficially ((unknowingly)) – that wouldn’t be a surprise really, not when Madara had never accepted the first gift, had in fact stabbed Tobirama over it so presumably Tobirama would be assuming that Madara had turned him down and wasn’t making a thing of it to respect Madara’s choice).

Looking a touch relieved Tobirama shifted and raised both pale hands, thin lines of scared over gold glinting in the light as he brushed feather light fingers around Sasuke’s red eye, only active on the basic three tomoe sharingan. It felt…odd, strange and slightly prickly and refreshing; a bit like mint tasted and cool surf curling around his calves, not invasive and oddly cleansing, soothing – soothing enough in fact that he wasn’t surprised to see a faint green glow to the older man’s fingers as they brushed over his orbital socket. “You said this isn’t your original eye?” the Senju asked distractedly and Sasuke nodded a touch but said nothing about whose they were – too unprotected outside to mention an older brother given hs 'father's' age. “Hmm, yes, I can feel the way it interacts differently with your Tenketsu point, less pooling of your chakra in a non native eye right?” Sasuke ‘Hn’-ed, glad they had already explained to their once teacher how the Sharingan worked and why transplant was such a risk to Uchiha (something Madara was a poster boy for) as well as why Eternal Mangekyō worked without blindness.

“Madara would have his from his brother so he should have the Eternal like you but his eyes are purple – or from what I have seen they shift between red and purple and sometimes I think there might be shadows of rings there.” Pale red eyes flicked meaningfully to Sasuke’s covered eye as he spoke and Sasuke winced, “Does uncle have any….um, foreign DNA in him?” Sakura had already told him about the discolored spot on Madara’s chest after she did her check but he wanted to be sure. Tobirama grimaced, his lips twisting in disgust, but he nodded, speaking very softly “A trace amount of Hashirama’s DNA and chakra, I am nearly positive that it wasn’t Madara’s choice to do that either, you said the thing he used to come back to life would have left him disoriented and confused and I am guessing the Ōtsutsuki-yokai took advantage of that to get whatever this higher evolution he is working on that needed my brother’s chakra.” Sasuke snorted, carefully not rolling his eyes as much as he wanted too, “Probably, the Ōtsutsuki-yokai needed the evolution to get to what it wanted and it needed Asura’s chakra in Indra’s incarnate for that; Sakura explained about that right? The Ōtsutsuki-yokai’s plan and the first Ōtsutsuki?”

Tobirama nodded, eyes far away in that way that indicated he was thinking hard about something and Sasuke let time slip past him as he watched the children play fight and got used to the feeling around his eye. Finally Tobirama pulled back, clearly mulling something over and nodding his thanks distractedly to Sasuke before he slipped away into the house again, no doubt to work on his plans for the gift. It was just as well, if he was busy enough it might even give Kagami another day to interrogate Sarutobi and Danzo before Tobirama claimed them given that his week was over day after tomorrow; the Uchiha wasn’t sure what they were going to do if Tobirama killed one of the men but no one wanted to get in his way when the Senju got a look like that on his face is was far too much like-

The portal was closing and there was no Naruto. Sasuke struggled, trying to get to his feet; clawing against gravity and exhaustion as the rift in the world thinned and twisted (he was out of chakra, it was all gone, there was nothing left and he couldn’t keep the portal open in the face of that but that meant that Naruto would be stuck on the other side and Sasuke –) something white glowed in the ash filled air, and there was a powerful pulse of chakra just as a shadow filled the closing space, shouldering through with a limp blond headed figure in his hands. Sclera black as pitch and eyes softly red Tobirama Senju stood in front of them, his face set in harsh lines and Naruto limp in his arms but alive.

Chapter Text

Sakura frowned down at the tools laid out in front of her; without modern science she and Tobirama-sensei had had to come up with another way to find viable ovarian eggs other an ultrasound but using the ninjutsu tool porotypes she had seen coming out of R&D before the Ōtsutsuki came as a base and a hell of a lot of sealing (Mito helped with that) they had come up with a jutsu-seal powered tool that did the same thing and could be used by any trained medic nin to find eggs. Luckily the needle/suction extraction method was still viable and the chemical slurry that was needed to preserve the egg was recreatable, as was the jutsu that was needed to preserve the male contribution until it was introduced to the egg and they could be placed in the carrier with a jutsu. There were still a great deal of risks- just as their had been in the future- and fertility jutsu and teas that needed to be done before the entire operation to ensure prime fertility but it should work now that the not-ultrasound tool was done and her fine control wasn’t needed (most med nin didn’t have the control needed to isolate a fertile egg). And yes, there was another way of doing it that involved only the introduction of sperm to the woman but this was a more sure fire way and dealt with other fertility problems that could come up; the problem was…..

Sakura sighed and dropped to sit on her stool, rubbing her forehead; it was ready but were they? How many doors did this open for bloodline thievery? Did it open more than already existed? It wasn’t like most bloodline clans didn’t already have every active shinobi on birth controls (both genders, men were historically as much a target- if not more- as woman as you could drug or coerce them and be done with them after one night they didn’t remember rather than needed to keep them for nine months) and IVF wouldn’t work if you were on those so it should be ok right? And what about the introduction of a tool like this scanner? It was the first of its kind, the first that was a mix of science, seals, and jutsu and though it wasn’t that much like the ninjutsu tools from the future – more seals, so much sealing knowledge had been lost when Uzushio fell. But it would still get people thinking and already Sakura was changing the pace of progress in technology so what if – she just couldn’t stop thinking about Kagami’s words that they were trying to make Konoha a super weapon. On the other hand if this was the only chance to save the Hatake and some of the other bloodlines….

Shaking her head Sakura lurched to her feet, she couldn’t stay here and keep ruminating about this; Kagami would have an idea about it and really, the choice didn’t come down to her, it was the Hatake’s in the end and she couldn’t take that from them. She took the stairs up from her labs to Madara’s room and poked her head in on the sleeping Uchiha, relieved when the Uchiha was still asleep even if the traces of blood on his face worried her; though it looked like Tobirama-sensei was taking care of him (Sakura wasn’t complaining, she was still flinching every time she saw the man). Speaking of, carefully Sakura poked her head in the room next door that Tobirama had claimed as his bedroom/lab even though he had been given Madara’s old study downstairs to use if he wanted and all his things from his old house had been moved over into that room. Not that Tobirama-sensei used it, choosing to stay close to Madara in this room or be helping Sakura in her underground lab; currently the unwell Senju- and he was unwell though he didn’t want to admit it- was leaning over a sphere of red obsidian about seven inches around that all but glowed in the slanting early afternoon sunshine. Though, wait, that wasn’t just the sunlight; there was definitely a glow in the orb itself, a glimmering matrix of light slowly building inside the orb that looked oddly familiar, where had she seen that matrix before?

Pursing her lips Sakura slipped out silently, she didn’t want to disturb what might have been a delicate process and she could ask the Senju about it later. In the meantime she had a fiancé to visit (and kami didn’t that feel amazing!) and a village to check over to see how everyone was feeling before she stopped in to see the Hatake and talk to them about what they wanted to do with the trial run of the IVF. Man there was a lot to do, and she wasn’t even officially Kijokemuri yet! Kagami planned to make the title official after Tobirama-sensei had done whatever he was going to do about his former students, both to wait until the tension was reduced and to distract if someone ended up dead. Sakura was just hoping that the relationships with the other countries and villages stayed stable-ish for a bit longer to let them get things done; at least they had their Daimyo under control and the letters slipped in from Wind’s Daimyo were tentatively positive as was the news from the new half Uzumaki leader of Ame. It was Kiri and Kumo that they had to worry about – mostly Kiri but word hadn’t arrived yet about Naruto’s intervention.

The guards at the Tower nodded to Sakura as she approached the door and one- an Aburame with the Kochū, good- pushed the door open for her with a murmured “Hime”; in the office Kagami was bent over his paperwork, his dark hair turned polished and bright in the just turned summer light and on his desk, prominently placed where it was the first thing you saw when you came in the door – oh. It was her gift, the empty scabbard long enough to reach nearly from one corner of the desk to the other; the wood was lovely and molted red and black and the wrap was Uchiha indigo silk and gold as well as being set with carved moonstones and star sapphires each of which was imbued with a genjutsu designed to trap and hold those with malignant intentions or anyone in the room but Kagami when triggered (it was also sealed against theft and for protection with every seal Sakura could get anyone to teach her). She knew that a lot of people wondered at Sakura giving her fiancé an empty scabbard, that they thought that a sheath with no weapon had no value; but they had no idea what it meant to the two of them, had no idea that- even ignoring the power the scabbard held alone which was nothing to sneeze at- it was a promise between them. A promise that though the Pact had become weapons and didn’t know how to be anything else, they would allow Kagami to be their sheath (at least they would unless Naruto was forced to do something by the kami, still it was enough for Sakura alone to make the promise; she could do enough damage on her own).

“Sakura!” Kagami’s (her fiancé!) bright voice pulled her eyes away from the scabbard to look at the Uchiha and a smile she just knew was more than a little besotted crept over her face, “what are you doing here? I didn’t think I would see you until dinner.” “Or later?” Sakura teased gently, referring to the fact that Kagami had had to stay late every night since everything went down. The Uchiha winced and looked down at his fingers, “I – I’m sorry Sakura, I didn’t mean to –“ but the kunoichi waved away the apology “Don’t ‘gami, I know you are just doing what you have to do as quickly as you can, I don’t blame you. I was just teasing, if it actually bothered me I would have come and got you – just ask Sasuke! No, I just wanted to come see you and make sure you were ok and nothing was going to hell before I go to see the Hatake – oh, and I was thinking about inviting the wives of the clan heads over for tea, can we use your house? Better not to bring them into the same space as Madara.”

Kagami blinked in surprise before a bright smile split his face again, “I think tea is brilliant and of course you can use the house, it’s not being used otherwise” (Kagami knew Sakura wasn’t ready to move too far from her Pact brothers yet – or her patents) “I think that’s a great idea, maybe ask Kazuko Might too? And you finished the IVF?” Sakura nodded and the Uchiha leapt to his feet with a whoop of joy, darting around his desk to lift her off her feet and spin her around in the air as Sakura laughed gently. “I am so proud of you! This is going to make such a difference for the village and the clans.” He crowed as he set her on her feet, Sakura frowning slightly as she smoothed her hands over Kagami’s shoulders, “You don’t think it will increase the risk of bloodline theft? I don’t want to put the Uchiha and the others at more risk.” She chewed at her lip as she finished and the Uchiha frowned, hands on her back pressing her closer, “Hey, no, no I don’t think so, there are easier ways of stealing a bloodline from a man if need be; but if it worries you we can talk to Mito about making a classification for stuff that’s not forbidden but needs seal backed secrecy oaths to use. Ok? And the clans will still do the anti-fertility jutsu anytime they are leaving – or really any time they don’t want children.”

Relieved Sakura sighed, dropping her head on Kagami’s shoulder, “That would make me feel better, please. It can wait a bit until the first successful trial is over at least so don’t worry about it right this moment, there is a while yet before we need a seal. I just…” the Uchiha swayed them a bit playfully, “Sakura, you can’t keep doubting yourself so much; the three of you made good choices so far, there is no reason to think that will change now. Trust yourselves and trust that if I see something that worries me I will tell you.” glancing at the scabbard on the desk Sakura nodded slowly into his shoulder with a muttered, “alright” letting her fiancé just hold her for a bit. “Everything else ok? Got everything you need from Sarutobi and Danzo? You know Tobirama-sensei will be coming after them soon even if he is distracted with a gift for Madara.” at that Kagami pulled back and looked at her with huge eyes, looking both gossip hungry and excited, “Sensei is giving Shishou another Gift?” he breathed, clearly excited. Sakura smirked a little, “Well, that’s not what he’s calling it- after all Madara didn’t accept the first gift so…- but it’s very clear that that is what it is; even if he says it’s not, he wouldn’t want to pressure Madara anyway – not to mention he’s just emotionally constipated.” She rolled her eyes a bit and Kagami snickered, folding over to hide his giggles in her pink hair, forcing out a few agreements between laughter.

Finally his laughs slowed and he pulled back to lean on his desk, “That does sound like Sensei. And yes, I think I have everything I need, enough to sentence Danzo to death at the very least; Hiruzen….” He had a conflicted look on his face and she knew he was hurting for his former teammate “that is harder, I hope Sensei has an idea for him. In the Warring clans era it would be enough to kill or banish him but as a former Hokage we can’t banish him and I just don’t know what else to do with him. Or Homura, he was definitely involved in this mess if not as much as the others, I should be able to handle him just by striping him of any rank. I think. As for the rest of the Five countries….Ame seems fine, Suna and Iwa will definitely hold a grudge but it sounds like they are too much of a mess to do anything about it, especially since the Wind Daimyo is willing to work with us. Iwa…the loss of their jinchuriki and Kage is doing a lot to sow discord; unless they ally with Kumo and Kiri and all band together to attack us we should be fine and the Daimyos plus the rumors about the favor of the kami might help with that even if they are afraid enough of us to band together.”

Sakura pursed her lips, “I wouldn’t worry about Kiri and Naruto will get to Kumo eventually. But even if we weaken them enough to not attack us this generation eventually fear will make them come after us in the next.” She scrubbed her face “What a mess. Maybe Tobirama-sensei will have an idea or we will be frightening enough they won’t come after us….strengthening Uzu would help…” she trailed off thoughtfully only to shake away the thoughts, “a problem for another day then. Let’s focus on the village for now and the quieter things we can do – which unfortunately means I need to go wander the market and then go see Gerðr about a trial run.” Kagami pouted at her but let her go with a lingering kiss, Sakura leaving a little ruffled and smiling as she walked leisurely through the market, waving to people she knew and stopping to talk to everyone that wanted too (mostly to talk about her engagement and when they wanted the wedding to be – in the fall when the colors went soft and nice ((and when they had arrived in this time)), it seemed that everyone had an opinion on the wedding and honestly Sakura didn’t mind; it was just nice to talk about something other than war).

Finally she wander up to Frigg and together the two woman walked back to the Hatake compound and she spilt off to go to the clan head’s house, knocking gently and waiting until a sliver haired teen escorted her to the tearoom where Gerðr was waiting for her over a steeping pot. “Clan head Hatake” Sakura greeted politely with a shallow bow, the Hatake’s thin lips turning up ever so slightly “Qiānqiū-hime, what brings you to my home today?” Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes a touch as she sat across from the clan head; “Come now, let’s not beat around the bush, I know you have as little patience as I do for it. I finished the IVF and it is ready for a trial run, I have come to see if one from your clan would like to and be willing to participate in a trial and have a child. I have already secured a male donor of the Senju bloodline- he prefers to remain unnamed and has no interest in raising the child, an option that will be given to all donners- all I need is a woman that wants a child and is willing to do something experimental with the understanding it may take a few tries to get it right.”

Gerðr searched her face for a long moment and then poured the tea, their fierce eyes lowered thoughtfully; “You finished it. We can have cubs without dishonoring our mates.” they murmured and Sakura shifted a bit closer, “You can even have living pairs take donations to be preserved in case something happens on a mission so they can still have a child by their mate.” She offered gently, watching as Gerðr’s eyes snapped sharply to her, “You – that, first we need proof this can work.” they pursed their lips “I have spoken to the clan about it and there are many that are interested for a variety of reasons, but I do have a particular woman in mind. Æsa Hatake lost her mate in the last war very shortly after their mating, she wants cubs badly and has strong chakra as well as being quite healthy and with regular cycles; she is eager to try it, should I send for her? Then you can explain to us both how this works and she can chose, as for the other idea….you already have a donner bank starting, I see no reason the Hatake wouldn’t want to be part of that if enough secrecy and security is in place.”

Sakura hid a relieved sigh, they were willing to go for it and already had a first patient in mind; that was better than she had hoped for. “I would love to meet her and explain everything. As for the donners, the anonymous donors will have their genetic material stored in the hospital under as many seals as the kinjutsu are in the Tower; very few will have access to the donations and only the basic info will be attached to each sample. My thought was that for clan or bloodline donations their banks would be stored in the clan sections with the clan libraries and other clan specific secrets.” Gerðr nodded thoughtfully and stood, walking to the door and opening it to send the attending teen for Æsa and giving Sakura a moment to gather her thoughts and notes; getting ready to explain rather complicated medical and chakra concepts that came from another time entirely to two people that didn’t have much basis in it. It would be a long explanation but if it worked – when it worked, it would be worth it. Kakashi would not be the last of his line and his father would not be alone, they wouldn’t break their promise.

Chapter Text

Naruto ducked behind a building as a Kiri patrol passed by, already he had been in Kiri for three days and though he had found Saiken he had yet to locate Isobu and get this done with before he went to Uzu and convinced them to conquer Kiri – something that should be more than doable given it had taken the combined force of both Iwa and Kiri and all their bijuu to bring down the island nation if they could be convinced. Sighing Naruto bent and pressed his fingers to the ground, reaching for the familiar feeling of the bijuu (hmm, Isobu was hidden deep in the caves; they must have heard that bijuu were vanishing, too bad Naruto was good enough with duton to simply sink through the earth and find them if he was fed up enough) following it and stepping out of the earth behind the current jinchuriki of the three tails. They were a child, pale green-gray hair that reminded Naruto of Yagura a little for all this child couldn’t have been older than four (how had the original jinchuriki already died? Hashirama- whatever his faults- would never have sealed a bijuu in a baby if this child had even been born then-).

“Hello little sibling” Naruto greeted, tucking his hands into his pockets and flaring his golden tails even as he felt the markings of sage mode stir under his skin around his eyes. The child squeaked and whipped around, clutching a kunai in a small shaking hand as tears spilled down their- his?- cheeks and Naruto felt his heart soften; sighing the Tenko sank to sit, his tails piling around him in a golden heap that glowed softly and added a warm light to the dreary cave. Carefully he bit his thumb and swiped the blood over the ground, focusing sharply as his small toad summons appeared, bowing slightly to Naruto where he sat. “How can I serve you lord Tenko?” the frog asked and Naruto felt his lips tip in a lopsided smile, (so, they could tell) “Goro, would you mind going to get a representative of the turtle summons please? I think the jinchuriki would feel better hearing this from them.” The tree-frog glanced over his shoulder at the clearly terrified child and nodded, vanishing in a flash of smoke as Naruto glanced up at the kid.

“I am a Tenko child, do you know what that means?” Naruto asked, as gently as he could and the child shook their head, still looking frightened (was this was Naruto had become?) and the blonde sighed again trying to find a smile for this frightened child. “A Tenko is….a guardian, a heavenly fox that takes direct orders from the kami themselves and is blessed” (cursed) “with divine foresight, the ability to see the future.” the child looked slightly reassured at that but hadn’t come even an inch closer, “They said, they said that the golden man with nine tails was a monster that wanted to kill me, that wanted to see us all dead and broken and bathed in the blood of the dead.” The child said slowly, sounding afraid and unsure and – Naruto ached (was this his legacy?) as he shook his head gently, closing his hand and opening it with a lotus of pure golden light in his hand and holding it out to the child, waiting patiently until the child inched closer to take it; curiosity overcoming fear as he had known it would. “It’s warm!” the child gasped and Naruto felt his smile widen a bit as the fear melted away and the kunai dropped in favor of the chakra construct, “It’s made of chakra” Naruto said softly “and a touch of divinity, you can keep it until it fades if you like.”

The kid looked up at him with huge eyes, “I can?!” he breathed, sounding thrilled as he clutched it to his chest and Naruto’s heart ached for a different reason, remembering all too well when Sushi had given him a ripe apple as a small child and the thrilled joy that had filled him to get such a nice gift. “Of course you can” the blonde promised smiling as he watched the child admire the flower until there was a puff of smoke and Goro returned with a small turtle summons, perfectly sized for a child. “Hi!” the turtle chirped, inching close to the child, “I am Isamu, a summons turtle.” “Oh!” the child breathed, fascinated with the child “Like Isobu? He’s a turtle too, of sorts I mean” Isamu nodded peering up at the jinchuriki “Yup, that’s why I have come to talk to you, can you tell me your name?”

The child’s eyes went narrow and suspicious and he shifted back in his crouch, “Why do you want to know?” he asked and Isamu rolled his dark eyes, “Well you can’t sign the turtle summons contract without your name now can you?” he asked sharply and the child’s eyes widened in unfeigned excitement. “I could have the turtle summons!?!” he yelped “My name is Masao, could I really sign the summons contract?” Isamu shifted like he was settling as Naruto propped his chin on his hand and watched, having the turtle talk had been the right choice. “Of course you will have the contract, how else are you supposed to keep talking to Isobu when he comes to live with us?” Masao flinched, covering his chest with a hand and looking frightened “I-“ “The kami have demanded it, the bijuu don’t belong in the mortal realm and they should be living with their summons siblings so that they can grow into what they are supposed to be; minor kami of chakra. It isn’t right to lock them up in humans” the turtle shook his head “the Senju should never have done that though I suppose the Suna nin did it first with Shukaku.” Masao hesitated, looking conflicted and Naruto shifted slightly, leaning a bit forward to get the boy’s attention, “Masao, doesn’t it hurt? Having Isobu tapped in you? Do you really think it’s the right thing when it hurts you and him both all the time?” the Tenko asked gently, watching Masoa’s face twist.

“But if I – if I don’t have Isobu they’ll kill me.” he breathed “they said that I would lose my life if I lost him. I – I don’t want to fight the kami, but - I’m sca-red.” Naruto glanced at the summons, getting a nod and then looked back at the boy, “Then you don’t have to stay here Masoa, after Isobu is gone you can go with the summons and learn in their realm if you like or I can take you to Uzushio or Ame or Konoha even if you like, you can go anywhere all you have to do is say.” Naruto promised, unsurprised when the boy started shaking his head at the idea of going to Konoha with a look of fear on his face, “I don’t – if I go to the islands or K-Konoha they’ll only be angrier” he stuttered out before looking at the summons “can I really go with you? I would be safe there and they couldn’t blame me for that after all!” Isamu nodded “Oh course you can come with us! We have to free Isobu and then you can sign the contract and come along to learn until they can’t hurt you any longer.” The turtle promised and finally the child’s shoulders dropped and Naruto let out his breath, finally getting to work on freeing another bijuu.

The three tails went quietly, seeming more confused and worried about Masoa than angry and was happy enough to pass on to the summons when he found out his jinchuriki would be going with him; excited even about the idea of having freedom and new things to learn as he fulfilled the kami’s purpose for him. Eventually when the cave was empty and even Goro had left with one last bow Naruto blew out a slow breath and stood, stretching stiff limbs and hoping that Saiken wouldn’t be as hard or take quite so long (it felt like every moment he was gone was another breath his mate was letting out he would never get back). Fingers pressed to the earth and his mixed divine-sage sense flashing through the ground he found Saiken in the Kage’s office and bit back a swear word – he had already killed two Kage’s and didn’t really want to kill more, but…if Uzu was going to take over this place anyway…

Mind made up the Tenko exploded out of the cave in a blast of Rasengan chakra, carving a lighting path through the village and blazing through the wall of the Kage office without a thought, bringing all of his weighty chakra down on the shocked man and not allowing them even a chance to fight back before his claws were sinking through the man’s chest (he didn’t even know his name) and ripping out his heart even as Saiken’s jinchuuriki called on the bijuu’s chakra to fight him only to be overwhelmed as Naruto instinctively went for Kurama’s chakra and instead went up in an inferno of divine chakra, the power of the Sage that was still his ripping out Saiken and sending him to the summons with the same brutality as he had used on the battlefield with Iwa and Suna. The woman (she looked like Haku a bit) collapsed, her body a scoured out husk that sent a pang of regret through the Tenko – no! Through Naruto, he was Naruto, he had to be Naruto (Naruto wouldn’t have done this, not when he had options). “I have been at war too long” Naruto told the woman numbly as she choked and gasped at his feet “I have…lost too much.” she collapsed, her soul leaking out like water from a broken vase and the Kiri nin were coming closer and Naruto (the Tenko) made himself a promise in those ruins, “Two more. Two more and then no more, not in their lifetimes, not until the Ōtsutsuki come again. I can hang on for two more and then no more, two more and then I am done for this generation. No more. no more.”

The king of Uzushio was Mito’s nephew, a tall man with short fiery red hair that was related to Naruto’s once mother somehow though he wasn’t sure exactly what it was (so much he would never know about his family). The coral crown sat well on his head and he had a regal set to his face that gave Naruto some confidence this might work as the Tenko sauntered up to his throne, not bothering to bow (there was only one mortal Naruto bowed to now, and his mate wasn’t here) and fanning his tails in a glorious golden display. Intelligently the king didn’t try to play power games with Naruto, who was thoroughly ready to go home now, “Tenko” the king said, neutrally and a foxy smile curled up Naruto’s lips, showing off the gleaming tips of his teeth and making the markings (so like his Sage markings if thinner and fainter) coming in around his eyes crinkle, “King” he returned and then cocked his head slightly, tails swaying and sending eddies of golden chakra drifting around them “so you do know what I am. Tell me, do you know what I can do King of Tides?”

Intelligently the king was looking wary now, though he kept his eyes on Naruto’s face and not his tails “I have heard stories about what you and your brethren did when Iwa and Suna sought to go to war with those you and the kami claimed.” He answered in a careful measured voice that made Naruto snicker a bit as he slunk closer “Oh yes, I am sure whatever you heard had nothing on the event, the kami were with us that day – and when we freed Madara Uchiha from the yokai that was haunting him” the king’s eyes widened at that and one of the advisors gasped, clearly they knew what Madara could do “but there are other gifts given to my kind o’ King, gifts such as divination and a certain knowledge of the future. Do you want to know what I see in the future of Uzushio o’ King?” the king examined him, pallid and holding onto the arms of his throne a little too tight, “I have a feeling you are going to tell me whether I want to know or not.” and at that Naruto did have to laugh, loud and a little yipping like a fox.

“Well, that’s true enough; the future of your land should you not act is this: Uzushio will be destroyed, down to the rock and the blood soaked sand until all that is left is broken stone and bleached bones. Those few Uzumaki that flee will be hunted and killed or used to their death and in the end there will be none of the blood left but one that has never known what it is to be of the waves. Kira and Iwa will come and they will know things that they shouldn’t and they will break you, they will shatter you like the waves on the rocks and Konoha will not come in time; Uzushio will be nothing but a name and even that will be forgotten in shame and fear over the horror that will be your ending. That is the fate of Uzushio should you not change it.” Naruto’s words hung in the air like the sound of a great gong, the king’s face slack with vacant horror as the truth rang through his words; implacable and unfightable, undeniable. “And how do I change it?” he breathed in a broken voice as Naruto smiled a slow, inhumane smile.

“Let me tell you.”

Chapter Text

Tobirama ran a whetstone down the edge of Madara’s rarely used blade (he wasn’t using the Raijin no Ken for this and using Madara’s made a statement – besides, he hadn’t forgotten the crimes that would-never be done to the Uchiha and it seemed right to do this with this blade), his mind quiet in the way it only got when he had to do duties like this (once upon a time this had been his job for his brother before they had Konoha, back where the world was harder – or at least more up front about its brutality. He had long been his brother’s sword; Hashirama had executed the judgment, Tobirama executed the judged). Plucking a hair- hmm, getting long- Tobirama dropped it over the blade of the chokutō, watching it split neatly into two over the freshly honed blade; slowly, meditatively, Tobirama ran a soft cloth down the blade one last time, brushing his long fingers over the worn leather of the hilt wrap (it should be replaced) and touching the uchiwa on the end that was also emblazoned on the dark sheath when Tobirama slid the sword away. He had done this often for his brother and killed his own kin, even former students from time to time but never…never like this (and never in part for crimes they had yet to commit but still might if given the chance), still it must be done, he wouldn’t leave it to Kagami to clean up Tobirama’s mess. And it was his mess, his mistake for not teaching them better, not seeing Danzo more truly, not understanding that Hiruzen was indoctrinated by his clan, not asking more about his clan to begin with! Tobirama’s failure, his constant failure of understanding people.

With a deep sigh the Senju shook off his dark thoughts and stood, checking that his happuri was on straight and that his icy blue yukata was neatly folded, right over left, and tied with white; the dark Uchiha sword stark at his side as he reached for the hiraishin in T&I and let his chakra flow through him.

The light of the square in front of the Tower was blinding when Tobirama appeared there, dropping the two bound nin he was carrying on the pale flagstone as his eyes watered a bit with the bright light and shaking away the memory of the fear in the eyes of the nin of T&I when he came for them and asked them ‘Are you planning to stop me?’ they hadn’t and now Tobirama was waiting for the village shinobi to gather after flaring his chakra with his arms folded over his chest, ignoring the wriggling and muffled protest of the nin at his feet. “Sensei” Kagami’s soft voice pulled Tobirama’s attention over to his former student, lips quirking slightly up at the sight of the Uchiha in the hat and robe (he wore it well) before his face went flat and stern again. “Hokage” he greeted with a faint nod as the heads of the clans and other nin gathered in a loose circle around him and the struggling shinobi at his feet “though you have been named so by the kami I claim this by right; these two were my students, raised at my hand and gone astray at my failure, and as they would return us to the ages of the Warring clans so too would I see them punished as they would have been had they so betrayed us then. I claim the judgment on their failures as mine for their teaching was also.”

Kagami paused, visibly trying not to chew his lip- and old habit- and then nodded slowly, clearly knowing there was no stopping Tobirama in this, “So that the village might know I will tell you what crimes they have committed against the village and her clans that T&I has discovered.” The Hokage said and turned to the watching nin, Tobirama tuning him out as he turned to look at his former students; Hiruzen was watching him with large betrayed eyes, uncomprehending it seemed of what he had done to warrant such formal judgment (had he thought Tobirama would forgive him for sentiment? That he would be allowed to retire to his clan and quietly exist in the village that he had betrayed – even if it was more through failure than action- Tobirama had failed too, Tobirama too would be stepping back and leaving the leading to others, Matsui would lead the clan ((what was left of it)) and Kagami the village and Tobirama would watch Madara for his failures, it was more than he deserved-).

Tobirama was jarred out of his thoughts when Kagami turned to him, “And what is your judgment, Nidaime-sama?” the words hung in the early summer air, cherry blossom petals blowing through the air and then in a silver flash Madara’s sward was raised and dropped, Danzo Shimura’s head rolling over the stones in a burst of red; no last chance for him to poison his supporters with words he used so well. A flick of the blade and chakra and it was once again clean as he turned on a shocked and dead white Hiruzen (the child he taught laughing as he played in the pond, the teen he raised splashing his team with water form the creek, the man-), slowly, letting the metal sing, Tobirama sheathed the blade, “You have acted less knowingly to see the village formed in your image” he said coldly “but by your inaction and willing obliviousness you have done enough and would have doomed many. Still, death is perhaps too much, and thus this is your sentence.” He leaned down and with a swiftly drawn kunai he cut a seal into his former student’s brow, numbing it in one last bit of mercy “I have sealed your chakra, you will never use it again, and the Yamanaka have blocked any memory of any information about Konoha that you might find valuable – or others might; and you are banished from Konoha for the rest of your natural life. May you find a better future in another place where intention blindness matters not at all.”

And with that Tobirama stood to his full height, the seal flashing and then vanishing so that it couldn’t be undone (a kinjutsu, at least Hashirama wasn’t here to see it used; he always thought that it was kinder to just kill them rather than bind their chakra – that was part of why his own mokuton was his death in the end) ignoring Hiruzen’s sobbing at his feet as two of Kagami’s guards stepped forward, blank faced as they lifted their old master and carried him to the gates where a pack would be waiting for him. “That is my judgment, my last as head Senju and Nidaime, I renounce that name and that authority for it is time that a younger generation lead us into the new world and I trust the choices of the kami. I will stay with Madara and see him returned to health if you have need of me.” Tobirama proclaimed, bowing to Kagami slightly and then using hiraishin one last time (ugh, blood pressure dropping, Sakura was right) to go back to his new home, feeling numb and cold to the bone as he ascended the stairs and opened Madara’s door, needing to look on his new reason to keep going, his new Purpose, only to blink when his eyes met flickering red and purple.

Madara was…confused. He woke slowly- odd- his last memory was the Senju talking to him kindly about Izu-Izuna and then…stroking his hair?! Clearly he was going mad (madder anyway) because there was no way – and then the door (it looked like the doors in his house, how-?) opened and he was looking into surprised red eyes, the angular pale face speckled with blood here and there and clearly shocked as well as fatigued. “Madara? I mean, Uchiha-sama, how do you feel? Should I call the medic? Are you well? Can I check you over?” the Senju sounded thrown and a little flustered in a way that left Madara feeling off balance, not at all the White Demon that was so burned into Madara’s memory (but was it? When the memory strongest in Madara’s mind was Tobirama’s face as his hands were filled with melted gold and his voice telling Madara to breathe even after Madara had hurt him). “I….what-? where am I?” he rasped out, confused and a little distracted as Tobirama entered the room more fully though the albino was careful to stay out of Madara’s space as he set down Madara’s less used chokutō on the side table.

“You are in your home in the Uchiha compound, in one of the upstairs bedrooms as they are more defensible and – well, your old one was pretty contaminated by the Ōtsutsuki-yokai even after the Tenko cleansed it so we thought we would put you here until you were feeling more able to protect your chakra.” The De- the Senju answered with alacrity “I don’t know why you came to Konoha or how you survived, Sasuke- the current clan head- explained but I’d still rather hear from you if you want to talk about it. But once you got here the Tenko- Sasuke’s mate- took the chance to cleanse you of the Ōtsutsuki-yokai that has been haunting you for a long time; he said that it had contaminated the house-“ the albino shivered a bit at that “-and given what I felt even after it was cleansed I can’t imagine how you held onto what sanity you had for so long, no wonder you left if only Hashi hadn’t….” he shook his head as he slipped off the happuri “Anyway, I am guessing you came back in part from seeing or feeling the battle with the Iwa and Suna nin that the Pact- Sasuke, the Tenko and Kagami’s finance Sakura Qiānqiū- took care of, it was a lot of Uchiha specific jutsu used there so it might have called you.” It was the most that Madara had ever heard him say in one go when he wasn’t ranting at his brother and the Uchiha was feeling overwhelmed, something Tobirama seemed to understand as he smiled ever so slightly and pulled a chair near Madara’s bed but not so close he felt threatened; his yukata slipping slightly to show the gold scaring in his shoulder (the black rod emerging from his hand in his fear and rage at the loss of Izuna’s ghost and piercing Tobirama’s shoulder, his pale hand covered in molten gold closing around the black thing as he shoved closer to hold Madara and-) “A lot has happened, I’ll explain but I really would like to check you over if you don’t mind me coming close. I know – I know you might not like me near you..”

Awkwardly Madara shrugged, unsure what to do and stiffening a little as Tobirama slowly came closer; the albino keeping his movements slow and predictable so that Madara could stop him at anytime without trouble (it shouldn’t comfort him as much as it did) (but gold on a stab wound and Tobirama coaxing him to breathe, the first time anyone had spoken gently to Madara in years, as if Madara had never hurt him). The scan of Tobirama’s medical chakra was different from Hashirama’s had been, not as strong but deeper and softer, like cool water trickling down through rock and it was comforting in a way the Uchiha didn’t want to allow. “Physically you seem ok” Tobirama said, voice low and soothing “Sasuke says your eyes are fluctuating between the Mangekyō and the Rinnegan and that until they settle you won’t be able to turn them off but when you do you should be able to again; so there is strain in the tenketsu points behind your eyes but not much. Mostly it is damage to your chakra coils and, um, soul, having so much corrupt chakra in your system and anger burning at your coils….it was like your chakra was at war with itself and it will take a long time to recover from that and for your chakra to recover fully – given the depth of the rents in your coils I think the yokai was feeding off of you for at least two decades. It will take time to come back from that and I suspect you will sleep more than you want for a good while yet.”

Madara shuddered, he could feel it now, the lack of – of – of his living will (which was never what it had been, how had it fooled him so badly? Had he always been so….gullible?) of the yokai, the way it was like a ringing in his ears had stopped and a veil over his eyes had been lifted and he could suddenly see the world clearer without the driving rage that had so filled him. He felt…empty and shaken from all the revelations and pain and all he wanted was to slip into the Pure Lands but – his eyes tracked Tobirama as the albino rose and walked to the table to pour a glass of water, scared on gold glinting on his hand; did Tobirama really-? It seemed impossible to Madara that the – wait, the rumors, the rumors and the mirror – and Madara’s brain flatlined.

What

What?

What?!

Distantly he knew that Tobirama was talking to him but he couldn’t seem to hear it over the shock filling his head (Tobirama….loved, him?! How? when? Why?) and the Senju was looking at him with clear concern before he darted out of the room, Madara alone with his shock until the door opened again and to his great relief it was Kagami (Kagami with the Hokage’s hat on his back, they – they had let an Uchiha take the hat? Madara had thought…).

“Shishou!” Kagami, the Hokage, yelped, darting closer like he wanted nothing more than to throw himself on Madara in a suffocating hug but was trying to respect his space until Madara numbly opened one arm and the young man immediately tucked himself into Madara’s side, holding onto him as tightly as he could. Slowly Madara’s mind came back on line to hear Kagami nattering on about his Hokage duties and- like he knew when Madara tuned back in- he slowly started explain everything that had happened since Madara left (Tobirama – Tobirama tried to keep the Uchiha safe and in power? Tobirama wanted Kagami to be the Kage but couldn’t when he was clan head? Tobirama nearly died?) and then everything that had happened since the Pact arrived- though Madara noted distantly that Sasuke (the Uchiha of the group)‘s origin was danced around a little, he was just too tired to follow up on it- and the battle with Iwa and Suna, something that Madara vaguely remembered seeing at the hot springs (that – that was what drove him to Konoha wasn’t it? Because the Tengai Shinsei required a high level Mangekyō and the – the yokai had been obsessed with that hadn’t it? That and the Rinnegan) though what they had achieved with the Tenko was breathtaking when Kagami shared the memory of it with him – ending it before Madara got a good look at this Sasuke who had taken the clan headship so that Kagami could be Hokage. And apparently the blood on Tobirama today was from the Senju killing one of his old students that would have seen the Uchiha ruined and taken their Sharingan for himself (Tobirama…protected…his clan?) and renounced his name?!

Madara was overwhelmed, Madara’s brain hurt and his eyes hurt and every time he closed them he could see (Tobirama kneeling at his feet with Madara’s weapon through his shoulder and a melted Gift all over his hands) and he just, he didn’t….”Shishou, shishou just sleep ok? I know it’s a lot to take in and your mind is still – just rest alright, Sensei isn’t going anywhere and he isn’t going to change his heart no matter what you feel for him; he’ll make sure you're safe, I mean, the first thing he asked about after we got him back from the Kinkou force was you!” and that – that was about all that Madara could handle, his mind simply shutting down rather than having to deal with that (his questions about this mysterious Sasuke leading his clan and the kami’s involvement and where the Pact came from, they would all wait), rather than facing the idea of Tobirama - Tobirama – Tobirama, just, no. No. Not now. Now he was sleeping. Sinking into the safe black.

Tobirama was leaning on the wall across from Madara’s door when it opened and Kagami came back out, looking both sad and happy, “How is he?” the albino asked softly and the Hokage shrugged as he waved for the albino to follow him into the tearoom. “He seems….empty and strangely sane, I didn’t expect him to be so…docile” the Uchiha whispered and Tobirama sighed deeply. “He’s been badly hurt ‘gami, it will take time for him to come back from that, I am sure he will be back to cursing me out at every chance soon enough and his passion will come back as his chakra settles.” The once Senju promised, slightly resigned to the return of the Uchiha’s anger and definitely looking forward to the return of his passion, the smothered flicker of his chakra was physically painful to feel and Tobirama wanted it back so badly it was nearly a physical need. Kagami sent him an understanding, sympathetic look, “Sensei…” but the albino just waved him off “Its alright Kagami, I never expected him to feel the same, it's more important that we figure out what we are going to tell him about the Pact so please ask Sakura what they want to do. I don’t know if Madara will be able to tell that Sasuke isn’t Izuna’s son but I would rather not lie to him about it given how much Izuna means to Madara – especially as if we do and he finds out it could break any trust he has in them unless we just blame it on me…” Tobirama trialed off, that could work, lies could be blamed on him if Madara was still going to hate Tobirama- even if he would also feel guilt over hurting Tobirama when he was giving a courting Gift, Tobirama had no ideas that that would be enough to make Madara have a complete change of heart about him- “Anyway, I think it will help Madara if I can finish the memory orb for him and give him back something of his brother so I should work on that, are you ok after today?”

Kagami had a funny look on his face Tobirama couldn’t quite parse but whatever he was thinking he seemed to set it aside, shrugging with a grim look on his face “I – they were my friends. They were – but they would have destroyed us.” He laughed harshly and rubbed his face “T&I said that they dug into Danzo’s mind and he was planning to kill me and steal my Mangekyō both for the bloodline and their specific skills, it's not much to guess that that would extend to the rest of my clan the way Sakura said. And when I think of that…I just…I guess I am just grateful you were willing to do that. I miss my friend but now I wonder if I ever even had that friend to begin with? Was Danzo always like that? If so how did I miss it? How did all of us miss it? I just…” Tobirama sighed, aching both for the boy that he once trained and for the young man sitting in front of him.

“I think, I think that it was always there in Danzo; I have long known that the Shimura clan wanted a bloodline, it was well known in the warring clans era and I let them think that I had tried transplanting the Sharingan and failed so that they wouldn’t try the same” (mentally Kagami made a note to tell Shishou about that) “I thought that was the end of it and that being in the village would stop the older faction from trying for it but…I guess I never noticed that Danzo had become infected with it. I think the seeds of it were there, as they were there in his clan, but I thought I could help him lead them into a new path and I – I failed that, I don’t know what pushed him over the edge but in the end I failed to lead him away from the toxicity of his upbringing. That’s my failure, that’s why I had to be the one to deal the punishment in the end, and why I don’t intended to take more students.” Looking out the window Tobirama missed Kagami’s huge eyes and dropped open mouth (he knew that Sensei’s greatest love was teaching, to hear that he was never planning to do so again and had renounced his name in the same day….kami bless, they were going to lose him. Unless Shishou could save him they would lose his beloved sensei and Kagami knew it.).

“Sensei…” the Uchiha breathed but Tobirama only shook his head, “Hiruzen was – Hiruzen was an artifact of his clan, though I didn’t know it until recently,” and yes, Tobirama was bitter that it was only now that he was told about the way the Sarutobi treated children “and he has always been too…influenceable, I had too little time for you after I took the hat and you graduated and I missed Danzo and him growing close- though knowing me I might have missed it even had I been paying attention, I was never as good with people as brother-“ (and wasn’t that still a bitter pill, he never should have been Hokage) (Kagami frowned, this, this was getting more and more worrying) “I hope I didn’t make a mistake with my judgment on him, I hope he won’t come back to bite us even with all the bindings on him; but…he didn’t deserve death. Not for just being a gullible fool led by his dick.” (Kagami bit his lip and said nothing about Sakura’s look at him after Hiruzen stumbled out the gates, nothing of her slipping away, blade in hand. Nothing of his small nod before she left – no loose ends, he wouldn’t stop her from that but he wouldn’t acknowledge what she was doing either.)

Tobirama sighed and smoothed a hand over his face, grimacing and pulling out a small cloth and some water to clean his face, “I should go get started on the memory orb- I need a better name-, Elder Mizuto agreed to give me memories of Madara and Izuna as children, apparently he was one of their teachers when they were young and that seems like a good place to start and you should get back to the office if you want to be home for dinner.” Kagami snorted, hiding a halfhearted smile (Sakura was right about it being a second Gift) and nodded, rising with his teacher and coming around to give Tobirama a hug that the albino accepted somewhat awkwardly but earnestly, waving off the Hokage and then heading out of the house and deeper in the Uchiha district looking for the Elder, the orb sealed in his arm ready to accept memories and taking most of his brain power – enough that he didn’t quite register how many Uchiha bowed to him as he passed and looked after him with warm possessive eyes.

Chapter Text

Torifu glanced over his shoulder at his wife, Etsumi was sitting at the dinner table- the place settings Torifu had placed out pushed to the side so she could write swiftly over a piece of paper; scrawling down notes about her ‘tea’ with the other clan wives as Torifu cooked dinner for them. It still shocked the Akimichi that he had managed to convince this amazing woman to marry him as his eyes scanned over her tall, Amazonian figure, her short dark brown hair pushed back from her face and her pale green eyes bright in her Senju tan face; she was an amazing woman, one more than willing to work with the need to coordinate pregnancy with the Nara and Yamanaka and willing to help Torifu cover the bases he missed and tend to the clan and keeping them strong as Torifu tried to help his Sensei and the village. Not that – not that Torifu had ever expected for thing to get this bad (Hiruzen had left Sensei for dead) or for the kami themselves to get involved. (Not to even mention the romance between Sensei and The Calamity, something Etsumi had given him even more details on from her gossip session and – well, in retrospect Torifu could see it, Sensei had always cared more about Madara than he did about others and for Tobirama that was saying a lot.)

But Torifu was more than grateful for her, relieved to not have to do everything on his own; he thought that was part of what might have led his teammates astray, the lack of partners – not that everyone needed a partner! Some people were very happy without them but…Torifu thought that most people, especially most shinobi, needed someone to focus on; Isamu insisted that that wasn’t a healthy relationship, that codependence was a bad idea (unless you were Hatake or, shudder, Uchiha and that was inevitable), but Torifu thought that maybe Isamu was setting his hopes too high for shinobi mental health. It was part of why he was so glad to see Kagami with a partner and part of what had worried him about Hiruzen when he never really seemed to connect with his partner no matter how respectable and intelligent Biwako was (huh, maybe Isamu could finally ask her out now – Torifu would try to see if there was still sparks, after all Isamu just getting married was the last thing he and Shige were waiting for to start on the next trinity trio even if Isamu wasn’t clan head yet as long as his uncle kept the spot). He…look, honestly Torifu had never liked Danzo much; he had respected him as a nin and trusted him with his back and adored Sensei but…Danzo had been a hard man to like and as soon as he realized that Kagami was Sensei’s favorite (and no wonder given the Calamity) he had started holding a grudge and never let it go, not even after giving himslef a scar after seeing a picture of Sensei’s dead younger brothers (that had been hard, when Sensei had seen the scar he had gone white as a sheet and looked lost for a long moment, broken in a way Torifu had never quite forgiven Danzo for).

Meditatively Torifu stirred his sake-soaked chicken and checked the soba noodles; the village had changed a lot over the winter and now, as the new summer sun poured down over Konoha it was like stepping out into a world shifted a step to the right. It felt…cleaner, the Kami were being properly respected now, there was more conversations in the market between clans, less hiding away of prodigies to keep them safe now that the entire village had seen firsthand proof of what Torifu had always known, that Tobirama would do anything to save a child – and the Pact were every bit his legacy. Oh there was a sense of waiting, a feeling that was threaded just under the skin of Konoha that they were getting ready for something; they were in no way less of a village preparing for war but – the time scale had changed, it no longer felt like a war tomorrow but like one that would happen decades from now (which, Torifu had heard what the Yamanaka had seen in the Pact’s heads, in the Tenko’s mind, he knew about the Last War and he wasn’t stupid, he knew that the Pact was readying them for it but it wouldn’t happen in his lifetime; they were working on the Kami’s time scale now and they worked in generations). It was- in Torifu’s opinion- probably the best thing that a shinobi village could be; he knew why the founders had wanted peace and he – kami he never wanted to go back to the warring clans era, but he thought that Hashirama-sama didn’t really understand shinobi in their bones.

Sensei might have but he had always been bad with people and, well, the Cal – sigh, Madara-sama probably did (he would have been a good Hokage), but Hashirama’s ideal of true peace fundamentally ignored the fact that battle was written in Shinobi’s bones. They needed conflict and if not given it they would make it (Torifu had known that war would happen again as soon as Sensei fell, shinobi couldn’t exist without it and without Sensei to hold things together through sheer devotion it would all go to pieces) but now – now with this Last War they had the conflict they needed with decades to prepare for it, now they could have peace and still be useful and fight and live. And even better, now that the jinchuuriki were vanishing (well ‘vanishing’ it wasn’t much of a secret that the Tenko was doing something about that) and Konoha was so clearly the strongest and most blessed the other villages would be put on a race to catch up; meaning that they would be stronger when the war came from simply trying to keep up (huh, he should point that out to Kagami).

“Done?” Etsumi asked, her mellow alto starting Torifu out of his thoughts and he checked the food before agreeing and pulling things off the heat to start plating the food, “Anything interesting?” Torifu asked as she moved her papers and pulled her place setting in front of her, reaching excitedly for her food. “Oh lots, Sakura-hime has says the second try of the IVF seems successful so far which means good things for the Hatake and maybe Bashira could even be convinced to donate her eggs so that line has back up even if she if too weak to carry again. Tobirama-sama is nearly done with Madara-sama’s second courting gift but apparently still ignoring that that is what it is, Sasuke-sama is pouting harder and harder the longer Naruto-dono is gone but doesn’t seem worried, Haruna is pregnant and Sakura-hime says it’s twins, the children seem to be doing well at Academy. Yasue says that the proposal for a village temple to the Kami that all clans have one member serving at has gone through, Sakura-hime is losing her mind because Dai wants to wear green like his mother’s dress and Tobirama-sama apparently whipped out a swatch of new fabric from Suna called spandex and started extolling it use for athletics. Apparently it is quite stretchy and breathable and Tobirama-sama pulled out the science and now the child won’t stop wearing it, Kazuko sewed it for him and thinks it’s a cute phase but Sakura-hime is insisting it is the end of the world and that they have no idea what horror they have unleashed on the world. Sasuke-sama took one look and turned around and walked back out the door with the deadest expression I have ever seen. Now Kagami’s student wants some and I swear that Sakura-hime started crying when Kazuko asked what color.”

Torifu grinned at that idea, he was sure that the children would grow out of the phase soon enough and it was good to see a flicker of Sensei’s warped sense of humor again – and he was sure that was what this was though he didn’t quite get the punchline (he often didn’t, Sensie’s humor was strange). Etsumi inhaled a few bites with an appreciative noise before continuing “Sakura also asked us to sit the children down and have a talk about how women are supposed to be treated, she is insisting that boys at the Academy take at least one semester of kunoichi classes- I guess Tobirama-sama thought that was a given?- and get a talk from a woman about respecting women; I admit I thought I was a bit much but she point out that orphans wouldn’t have anyone to tell them these things which is a good point. So I pointed out if the boys were getting a class on sexism- especially as it applies to civilians who can’t defend themselves- the girls should get a class on what it is to be male; it would help their disguises at least if they can mimic the body language and social expectations of other genders and classes.” Torifu nodded again, thinking of a memorable class with Sensei on just that where their tall, strong, male, teacher had henged down into a thin, delicate, long haired maiko dressed in a tight kimono with fluttering delicate movements and lowered eyes and even knowing who she was they had all changed how they acted and fought and been thoroughly humiliated for it – though the following lecture with their teacher still a woman had just made it worse (not that Torifu wasn’t glad of it, if he hadn’t learned then to treat woman right he bet he would never have gotten Etsumi to look twice at him).

(Wait, hadn’t the C – Madara-sama been walking by during that lesson and nearly walked into a wall? Huh. Maybe he should give Sensei a kimono to wear some time and see what happened…..)

“Sounds like a very productive day” Torifu offered as Etsumi focused on her food, sitting back and rubbing his stomach as he offered what he had noticed himself from the clan council Kagami now used. “Word coming in from the other villages is mixed, lots of resentment but in Suna they are finally starting to pick up on the fact that the Kami interfered and maybe actually having a temple would help and since Kagami has the Wind Daimyo on his side they will be focused inward for a good while yet. Iwa is livid but in too much turmoil to do anything about it and their Daimyo is…a concern, apparently he is pushing for them to attack Konoha in revenge even though would be a slaughter so Kagami might have to find a way to push a regime change there if they don’t do it themselves. Ame is peaceful under their new half Uzumaki Kage and seems to want good relations which is something and their Daimyo is a joke mostly. We just got word that Kiri lost their jinchuuriki and Kage in one go and they are frothing at the mouth but the Uzumaki seem to be gearing up for something so…” he trailed off meaningfully and Etsumi sighed, “Well, better Uzumaki take Kiri than it stay the way it was, they’ll get rid of the Daimyo and his whole court too which is nice; those people are mad as can be.”

Torifu hummed his agreement, mulling over his next words, “That just leaves Kumo and – well, who knows if we’ll see Naruto-dono before the Kami get to them. The Lightning Daimyo has always been the sensible sort so he should work with us but it could be tough depending on how hard the Kami strike, losing the Kage would be…a blow and an insult on top of the rest. It’s a good thing Sensei made sure our Daimyo is hamstrung  and we are strong enough that when Mito-hime gives up her burden we won’t go down with it.” Etsumi paused scraping the last out of her bowel to look at him, eyes serious, “You think-?” Torifu nodded sharply. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, Naruto-dono shows up out of nowhere, nine tails and red eyes and so much power after no one seeing Tenko in long enough they were nearly myth and the Bijuu are vanishing….makes me wonder, what are the Bijuu? Sensei never wanted to seal them, he thought it was sacrilegious and a bad idea- I know rumors said he did an autopsy on Madara-sama but even if he hadn’t been in love with the man he never would have, he is too god fearing for that; he knows what happens when you don’t let the dead rest in honor- but what if Sensei was right and it was literally sacrilegious? What if they weren’t just some chakra monster but chakra spirits and we were keeping them from the kami? What if all Naruto-dono is doing is sending them to the spirit world? He wouldn’t leave his all but bother here alone. No, I am certain, the nine tails will be freed and sent wherever the rest of them are as the kami will.”

Etsumi frowned, neatly setting down her chopsticks and folding her arms to tap her lips, finally nodding in agreement, “You’re right and I can’t way I won’t be relieved to have Mito-hime’s full attention back on the village. But that makes me wonder, Konoha is the only village to have the clear blessing of the kami, what if when we open the temple we invite any shinobi child that wants to come and learn? If we get Naruto-dono to teach once in a while then I am sure the other Daimyo will pressure villages to send children and if they do they will learn our ways and take them back to their own villages to make their own temples and in time there will be a whole network of them just waiting. We could even use them to spread the Ninshū that Sasuke-sama is teaching anyone that stands still long enough, let our branches reach out and shade the world from whatever is to come.” Yes thought Torifu, yes he liked that idea much better than roots, that could work quite nicely indeed, rising the Akimichi clan head took his wife’s hand and kissed the back, “You are a brilliant woman and I am a very lucky man, I’ll talk to Kagami tomorrow – though fair warning we’ll probably end up in charge of the project with the Hyuuga.” He told her and she laughed, squeezing his hand and then rising as well to take the dishes to clean, “Well it’s a good thing Isamu isn’t moving very fast in the wife department then isn’t it? If we have to work with the Hyuuga at least they will be distracted with children.” And Torifu had to laugh at that though…..children, twins, Hyuuga twins, he – he would have to talk to Mito; after all Sensei had long wanted to do something about this and Torifu couldn’t leave it to Kagami and the Pact to be Sensei’s legacy alone now could he!

Chapter Text

Dan watched with amusement as Oro folded his small arms over his chest and stared up at the teacher with hard golden eyes, a lounging Sakumo behind him watching with a sharp gray gaze, more than ready to back up the Mizuchi at a seconds notice if the teacher scoffed at the younger child (Dan wondered if the two of them realized where they were headed, his mother had told him that Hatake had a tendency to find their mates young and latch on like nothing else except an obsessive Uchiha; she told him to make sure that it stayed healthy and consensual as he was the oldest but Dan thought with their Sensie's that really wasn’t something they had to worry about). The teacher- who wasn’t the bad sort really, just a little confused and attached to the guidelines- blinked at Oro with some confusion, speaking slowly “But I only just got told about the boys attending kunoichi classes- and that they have to do it in henge- today and the gender classes won’t even start till next year?” they offered and Oro’s golden eyes narrowed as he worked through a set of hand signs and became a clear she – though at her age there wasn’t much to change. “And I want to attend all the kunoichi classes, I refuse to be restricted by something as stupid as gender!” she said with a haughty sniff and the teacher sent a wary look at Sakumo as he clearly braced, “And that’s, um, fine, you have time being in so young already, but – uh, some of the kunoichi stuff is for….um…”

Dan sighed and decided to put him out of his misery, he wasn’t old enough for this shit! “Honeypot missions, he means honeypot missions” Dan offered pragmatically with all the ‘done with the world’ an eight year old could project; Oro just frowned, he knew what a honeypot was of course, at least in the basics, but clearly didn’t see why that should bother him. Dan sighed again “And as your team, Sakumo and I might not love you doing those missions” that was the best way he could phrase it without pointing out that Hatake mates never did honeypot (Uchiha people did, but not Hatake mates) and by the teacher’s relaxing that was his worry. Sakumo had stiffened at the idea of Oro on honeypots and the Mizuchi glanced at the Hatake, his golden eyes softening, “Just because I know how to do it doesn’t mean I have to do it,” he said dismissively, all of five and much more eloquent with so many teachers giving him their undivided attention than when Dan met him “I can seduce them and lure them away and them kill them before they can touch me but I won’t just bow to gender just because.” Sakumo relaxed, looking quietly pleased as he grinned at Oro and Dan rolled his eyes at the baffled teacher. 

“Come on you two, let's go bother Tobirama-sama again and see if we can convince him to call his summons finally” Dan said tiredly, dragging his teammates after him back to the Uchiha district; Naruto-sensei was still gone and Sensei was clearly starting to get strained by it even if he was filling it with teaching Ninshū, and Sakumo missed his teacher deeply but having a task from the Hokage to poke Tobirama-sama into teaching them things- though with strict instructions not to call themselves his students or him Sensei- was helping keep them focused which helped. In the Uchiha district Dan waved at a few clan kids and Jiraiya where he was running with his Uchiha friends in a dark red jumpsuit (personally Dan thought those things were an abomination but whatever, it made him and Dai happy) though he had been convinced to add hakama in the clan section for the Elder’s sanity. It was strange- good! but, strange- to be so welcome in a clan area, technically the Katō were a clan but they were so small they hardly counted like the Namikaze who had just joined; and it was even cooler that Dan was allowed to just let himself into the clan head’s house (the clan head that was his teacher), pulling the stool over to get water for the three of them and grab some stuff for tea for Tobirama-sama before he looked at the hard glint in Oro’s eyes and nodded, all of them trooping up the stairs like they were on a mission as quietly as they could.

Whisper softly they pushed open the door the Madara-sama’s room and peered in, unsurprised to see Tobirama-sama bent over his second gift in the sun, his brow furrowed as tiny twists of chakra flickered around his fingers as he manipulated the memories in the orb of doom (Tsuna’s name for it; apparently Tobirama-sama was calling it the Kage no kioku but Dan thought Orb of Doom was better), his face not shifting even the slightest as he murmured; “Dan you’re still walking a little too heavy on the heel” without even looking at them as the child sighed deeply (yeah, getting Tobirama-sama to instruct wasn’t hard, it was teaching that was killing them). “You know” said Oro keenly “if we had adult summons to help us learn how to hunt it would a lot easier, Ragnulf is too young to be great at it and snakes don’t have the right anatomy so…” he trailed off and his golden eyes got big and sad as Sakumo kicked at the floor forlornly and Dan scrambled to put a downtrodden look on his face. Tobirama turned and looked over them with opaque red eyes, tapping his long fingers on the desk before he stood suddenly, moving over to Madara-sama and checking him over before sweeping past them in his Prussian blue yukata, not waiting for them to scramble to catch up as they exchanged excited looks (had they finally convinced him to call his summons!?! The entire household had been trying to do that for weeks and the person that managed it had been promised to be allowed to chose dinner for a week!) and tumbled outside into the back garden.

Tobirama-sama glanced at them again and then bit his thumb, swiping blood over one of the seals on his arm and stepping back with a blank face as there was a plume of snow and smoke and then a great snow leopard the height of Tobirama at his shoulder appeared, looking around with large pale blue eyes and flicking their (her?) long fluffy tail. As she scanned over all of them before turning to her summoner who bowed slightly to what was clearly a master summons, “Akira-him, I hadn’t intended to bother you, the children just need lessons to hunt.” He said softly and the leopard’s eyes narrowed and then in another puff of snow another, smaller snow leopard appeared, this one white and red rather than white and gray, “Teach the cubs” the first summons said firmly and the red-ish leopard bounded over to them, introducing herself as Akane and quickly capturing their attention even as Dan tried to pay attention to the discussion between Tobirama-sama and his main summons. It seemed tense, both of them drawn tight as bows though Dan couldn’t hear what was being said and then Tobirama-sama ducked his head, shoulders hitching slightly as the aggression evaporated from Akira-hime and the big master summons pounced on the tall former Senju and started licking at his head while purring up a storm.

At that Dan relaxed finally and focused on what Akane was saying, letting himself be pulled into a lesson on Proper Hunting and behavior with his team. Akane was a good teacher and made full use of all the trees and roofs- ‘Always come from above, no human ever looks up to check for predators above them’- and her speed as she showed them how to pounce correctly and by the time Tsuna and Jiraiya had joined them so had two other leopards and Tobirama-sama appeared to be asleep curled into Akira-hime’s fur as the summons watched over him which made Dan feel more than a little smug (the fact that once the leopards showed up they never quite left did rather put a damper on it- they seemed afraid if they left Tobirama-sama alone he wouldn’t call them again, which, fair- at least until Dan finally gave in and joined Sakumo and Oro in seeing who could catch whatever leopard was around and the pouncing game went on until someone tried to get Sensei and nearly lost a tail; then the kids were careful to keep it away from the adults).

Jiraiya loved being the student of the Hokage even if he had decided to wait to do Academy so he could stay with his Uchiha friends and keep learning from Kagami-sensei whenever he could fit Jiraiya in. At least that was what he told people when they asked, he didn’t say anything about the conversation that he and Oro, Tsunade, Dan, Sakumo, and Dai had had when the rules changed about the best strategy to take as a group; oh it was a given that Oro, Sakumo and Dan would stay in and stay together (which gave them a first hand knowledge of what things were like in the Academy and they knew that was important if things ever got wired and they needed to tell the adults) but the question about the rest of them was different. Sure they all could stay, they were all good enough to but they couldn’t graduate early so that just meant more years in the Academy; better for Jiraiya, Tsunade and Dai to stay out in the village and keep making friends with other clan kids to monitor the rumors and push their teacher’s agenda. Jiraiya was in charge of the Elders, especially the Uchiha Elders who were still pushing back though as time went on less and less of them were on board with it. After all Asuka’s grandfather Elder Mizuto had come around and actually was helping Tobirama-sama with his project for Madara-sama! Which, was honestly a big relief for Jiraiya as he really wanted to be on a team with Asuka and Touma and stay with his Uchiha friends (they had started being pulled in by Sakumo but Jiraiya was closer to them now), it meant that since they were both distance fighters by Kagami-sensei’s estimation- Touma was great with Fūma Shuriken ad Asuka had a talent for genjutsu- that meant Jiraiya needed to focus on close combat to balance their team (like Tsuna and Dai needed to find a distance fighter to round out their team, a Yamanaka maybe?).

Jiraiya thought he was making progress with Touma in changing the way he looked at the village; it certainly helped that every time his friend had met Tobirama-sama the former Senju had been kind and interested in what Touma had to say and since his parents were dead he didn’t get much of that (it also helped that Touma had seen Tobirama-sama tending to Madara-sama with that soft, worried look on his face and, well, that was hard to argue with wasn’t it?). Touma’s grandmother wasn’t – well she wasn’t budging but she was old, Jiraiya figured as long as she didn’t get much power they could wait her out if they needed too; even though it was hard on Touma to disagree with the only adult figure in his life – that’s why Jiraiya tried to bring him over a lot to see the adults in the clan head's house! Not only the Uchiha clan head and Kagami-sensei’s soon-wife and Oro’s mum, and Tsuna’s mother and Dai’s mother who was over a lot to help cook and – well, anyway, even though their teachers were so busy there was always someone around to listen to you and teach you something and wrap an injury and make you take a snack and that-! If you had told Jiraiya he would have that all those months ago when Sasuke-sama picked him up like a stray kitten he would have thought you were making fun of him; that he, Jiraiya, the orphan that no one wanted, that HE would be taken in and provided for and wanted and allowed to have things to do to help – it still seemed a bit impossible to him sometimes.

Oh sure he had always dreamed that he was secretly someone important and someday someone would come up to him and tell him some great prophecy or something that would suddenly turn Jiraiya from a nobody to someone that no one could ignore any more! But, this, this was better, this was real and not having some prophecy that was his alone to handle but having friends and a team and adults that all wanted him to do well in his OWN right; that wanted him to be the best for himself and nobody else, he didn’t need to have a prophecy to matter to these people and that – that was something that Jiraiya hadn’t know was even an option much less how much better it was. Jiraiya loved his life and his future and all the people he had to fight for; he couldn’t imagine living without it and never wanted to, that was why he was never going to ever let the Uchiha fall. Not as long as he had breath left to breathe; because in Jiraiya’s mind it was the Uchiha that were the heart of Konoha, people talked about the Will of Fire but Jiraiya thought that the Uchiha at their best were the embodiment of that. Sure he knew they could go bad and lose themselves, Kagami-sensei had told him about them and Madara-sama was a good example of it. But – as Madara-sama proved, just as Uchiha could be lost in the Fire they could be called back too if the right person reached out; and that – that was why Jiraiya all but worshiped the relationship between Tobirama-sama and Madara-sama (someday, someday he was going to write their story – oh maybe he would change names and shift it slightly so they didn’t get unhappy but…Jiraiya thought that the world deserved to know the real story of the Will of Fire and the Call of Water and the way they were the greatest love story ever told).

Chapter Text

Sasuke hesitated at the door to his…uncle’s room, chewing on his lips a little now that he was unobserved; how was Madara going to take this? How was Sasuke going to take this? Could he look at this man and not see the man that put a sword through his heart and feel the cold chill of terror that he still dreamed of even after seeing so many other terrible things? Could he overcome the long shadow Madara still threw over his life? Frustrated Sasuke shook his head a bit, no, no this man was nothing like that Tobirama had said; even Kagami had said that this Madara was different, calmer and more subdued even several days after his first time waking up. Kagami said that Madara was still trying to absorb the idea that Tobirama had never intended to do wrong by the Uchiha with the police force or – fuck, he was wasting time and Madara would know he was just standing here; already Sasuke had put this off as long as he could and doing so any longer would only end badly. He had to confront Madara and make the decision on how much they would tell the man; Sakura couldn’t make it for him and Naruto was gone still (fucking gone, still, Sasuke ached) so it was up to him to do this and make this choice. Gathering himslef and taking a deep breath Sasuke reached up and knocked on the door, the hollow sound echoing oddly with the strength of the seals that protected the room and Madara’s deep voice sounding distorted by it when he called for Sasuke to enter.

Jaw set and fringe shaken forward over his eye Sasuke opened the door and stepped into the room; the first thing to catch his attention was the way the golden sunlight slanted through the window and over the blue haori left over a chair pushed under the desk as far from the bed as possible, where Tobirama must be sitting when Madara was sleeping and keeping watch. A choked sound yanked Sasuke’s attention to the bed with its dark covers were Madara was sitting, his own thick hair tied in a loose braid and his dark eyes wide with shock as he looked at Sasuke and rasped, “Izuna?” Sasuke winced, (fuck) shifting where he stood and wishing that he could look at this man and see nothing of the Madara he had fought in the first Ōtsutsuki war but that would be a lie. He remembered how Madara had fought when he was still something like himself, how he spoke when he was freed from Kaguya and this Madara was every bit that man; regal even in the dirt, blazing with defiance and the pride that came from losing everything and getting up to keep going anyway (everyone said that Naruto was Hashirama reincarnated but Sasuke thought that his husband was as much this man that had lost and lost and lost and burned with powers no mortal should ever have).

“I –“ abruptly Sasuke realized he couldn’t lie to this man, he just couldn’t “no, I’m not Izuna.” he shut the door, two Uchiha that had once been the last alone in a golden room “I know Kagami has already told you some of this, but I am not Izuna, I am of his blood I think but I don’t exactly know how – things got kind of confused in the clan records.” Madara was staring, his large, dark, fox eyes fixed on Sasuke’s face like he was drinking him in, it was kind of making Sasuke a little uncomfortable. “You – you could be his twin” the older Uchiha breathed “your faces are so alike….and your chakra is even somewhat similar, but” those dark eyes seemed to look straight through Sasuke and he had a strange spinning moment of wondering if this was what it felt like to have a father or older brother that wasn’t trying to kill you and a second to wonder if maybe he wasn’t a bit of Izuna if Naruto had a bit of Hashirama in him – a mix of Izuna and Madara reincarnated, that sounded like a nightmare and he needed to not think about that. “But” Madara continued, gaze focusing so sharply that Sasuke was almost surprised that they didn’t spin red “but you aren’t Izuna, your heart – it beats to a different song than my brother’s did.” Sasuke swallowed hard, entering the room further to stand at the end of the bed and face his ancestor that wasn’t and fighting the need to rub at his chest where the scar of Madara’s blade still lingered.

“I don’t know about that” Sasuke admitted ruthfully “from what I know Izuna was a proud man, and hell bent on revenge when he would have been better served to focus on the living that he loved and seeing them happy. I think perhaps I was far too like him in that for far too long.” Madara winced a bit and looked away, out the golden window, “Izuna….was flawed. If you had the chance to grow beyond that I –“ his deep voice caught slightly “-I wish Izuna had that time.” Oh shit. Ok, fuck, they were doing this then. Sasuke sighed and settled back on his heels for a long conversation and started, “I almost didn’t.” Sasuke said firmly, pulling aside his clothing to bare the scar over his heart “I almost died- should have died- far too many times for my own arrogance and insistence on looking back rather than forward. Once when you put a sword through my chest” Madara’s eyes snapped back to him at that and Sasuke forced himself to hold still under that uncanny gaze “you don’t remember that, you never will for that is a future that will never come to pass but the truth is that I was no different from Izuna; only the man that I wanted dead for my Hate was my own brother who was nothing short of suicidal and had nothing left to lose when he threw himslef on my blade. My brother went to extremes that can only be called insane to insure that I was both Izuna and yet spared his fate and I will never know why that was. But blaming Tobirama for not being a man willing to kill his own clan is insanity and I will not stand for that; Izuna was a casualty of the war in so many ways and as someone who has been there and seen where it ends – do not let the Curse of Hatred take you, we can be so much better than that.”

Madara wasn’t looking away, his dark eyes sparking with intense emotion but not wavering and so Sasuke took a deep breath and launched into the long story of the time-that-never-would-be and how the Uchiha had died in the miasma of their own anger. It had been years since Sasuke had come to terms with his brother’s mental instability, the glimpse he had of Itachi’s world through his Eternal Mangekyō had been soaked in mental illness so deep Sasuke had long ago come to the conclusion that the only thing that could have saved Itachi was medication, counseling, and a job that never asked him to shed blood. He had been far too unwell to ever have been forced into the position he was and it was sickening in retrospect that the clan had been so deeply broken as to not see it. In many ways Itachi was the child of the world that Izuna had wanted to perpetuate and that was the biggest fucking tragedy Sasuke had ever seen; that a war that went cold generations ago could destroy a boy who only wanted to love. Cleansing his Sharingan of his brother had been a loss that had cut to the quick but losing the sucking miasma of Itachi’s mind had been a relief (and he still saw his brother in so many places, in the wisdom Itachi never lived to learn, in Sasuke's ever present grief, in his brother's young face set over Uchiha kin in a hundred different ways).

The longer that Sasuke talked the more closed off Madara’s expression became, the fate of the Uchiha and the unfurling of the Ōtsutsuki-yokai’s plan cutting through the room and making the golden sunlight pale and cold as the future-that-would-never-be settled around them though he let the other particulars vague. “-Kaguya was defeated by myself and my husband- Naruto, the Tenko- and you died, finally, glad to go to the Pure Lands with Hashirama. Tobirama’s face when you –“ Sasuke cut himslef off, he wasn’t sure what he thought of that still, the way Tobirama had looked in that moment had been…strange, and Sasuke didn’t want to try and consider why that was – whether it was Hashirama caring more for Madara than him or Madara once again defaulting to Hashirama or something else entirely Sasuke had never figured out. “-anyway, after the first Ōtsutsuki war we…well, life happened for a while and we lived it, until more Ōtsutsuki came from the stars and our world fell apart around us. They started the Last War, the War of Bones and Ash and in that war everyone died; and I do mean everyone, all but us three and a few that had been brought back to help us in those last days.” “Tobirama” Madara murmured and Sasuke shrugged, “Can you think of a better person at the end of all days? He helped us come back here, him and the nine tails who gave everything to Naruto in the transition. We came back later than we hoped but – we found Konoha and it was just such a…mess. I claimed to be Izuna’s unknown child and Naruto our teacher who could see the future and ever since we have done everything we can to correct thing.”

“Like kill the thing that was haunting me” Madara said, voice low “like saving Tobirama, you are trying to make sure that the Ōtsutsuki don’t come back.” Sasuke winced and looked away, out the window at the village under summer sun already better for their action he hoped even if some loved ones would never live (Asuma…) “Not – not quite” Sasuke admitted “to stop the first war and what happened to you yes, to kill the yokai that caused so much pain, yes. But.” a deep breath and Sasuke forced himslef to meet the eyes of the man that had once killed him – if only for a moment “The Ōtsutsuki will come. No matter what we do in time they will come and all we can do is make sure that our world is as strong as possible to face them when they do if we are going to survive that war, this time when the War of Bone and Ash comes we will not let it be the last War. I will not see it, I am not old no and others have lived longer with as much chakra” like Madara himslef “but” Sasuke sighed slowly and put to words something he and Sakura knew but never spoke of “we did not escape our War unscathed or wholly whole, ripping our spirits through time has scared them in ways that cannot be quantified and we will not grow to great ages and see the Ōtsutsuki come again – none of us but Naruto who will face them again and see our hopes to the end.” Sasuke’s mouth quirked a bit at the thought, though there was no humor in it, how Naruto.

For a long moment Sasuke was examined by his great ancestor, feeling strangely like this time he was the ghost of the Uchiha and not Madara – just the ghost of what was yet to come to pass. Finally Madara sighed deeply “There is more lessons in that than I am ready to understand” but he looked as though Sasuke’s story had aged him despite still looking much the same as he had when he was reborn through Edo Tensei “but I do not doubt your honesty. Still, I would caution from lingering too long on what has already happened for you and focus on what is – you have changed so much that future is of little use now nephew, do not forget to look to our future for the memory of your past.” ….ok, Sasuke got what Kagami had said about Madara being unnervingly docile and calm, this was a bit creepy. Like, helpful, but creepy. A bit unnerved Sasuke nodded, shifting where he stood and offering, “When Naruto comes back I will introduce you and when you feel strong enough we can loosen the seals – I am sure the kids will be in to bother you pretty soon after that.” Madara snorted at that like it was hard to believe and, slightly flippantly, Sasuke added “And Tobirama is still keeping an eye on your chakra and will be for a while, you can at least look forward to him giving you the Orb of Doom eventually.” Madara’s eyes widened, the fire coming back so suddenly it was a little surprising and Sasuke turned for the door with a lifted hand, calling “I’ll come back soon Uncle, have a nice nap!” and ignoring Madara’s cussing behind him and slightly desperate demands to know what the ‘Orb of Doom’ was. Sasuke was allowed to be a little petty, dammit - that sword had hurt.

Kagami was relieved that Sasuke had told Madara basically everything, if not in huge detail, it made it much easier Sasuke knew if he didn’t have to keep a secret from one of his favorite people and his cousin (the relation they had decided on) smiled gratefully at him over the desk in the office Sasuke had claimed as his own before his face fell a bit. “You know that Sensei gave up his name and title? And is refusing to teach?” Sasuke grimaced and nodded, he wished he knew what to do about Tobirama’s guilt, but it hadn’t been nearly so strong at the end of the world when he had been dragged through death and back twice. Kagami bit his lip “Matsui is planning to come over and have a little thing to recognize that he isn’t part of the clan, I think she wants to give him closure or something, but I am not sure and I saw her talking to Sakura so…” he trailed of and Sasuke had to snort, Kagami may be planning to wed Sakura and excited about it but that didn’t mean he was stupid or blind to her madness (Sasuke hadn’t learned many of the older traditions – his clan was too dead to teach him, but even he knew that when you left a clan there was a set of ceremonies depending on how you left, he just wasn't sure how that would help). “You sure you still want to marry her?” Sasuke asked drily, marking down another note on the report from the head of the clan police (the two roles hadn’t yet been combined to Sasuke’s surprise and relief) and Kagami laughed, leaning back in his chair until the wood creaked with a broad if wry smile. “Of course I still want to marry her, I can’t wait to make that woman my wife; doesn’t mean I am blind.”

Sasuke snorted and they worked in silence for a while until Sakura’s loud voice from downstairs called up to them for dinner; the two Uchiha exchanged a look and Sasuke snorted, “Mad man” but headed down the stairs anyway into whatever madness the women had planned. Downstairs was not only the normal group but both Matsui and Tsunade with red rimmed eyes, Matsui talking very quickly to Sakura like they were hashing some last minuet things out and the table hadn’t been set for dinner, instead a small incense brazier burning something herbaceous and aromatic next to a branch of a tree- a cedar maybe, though there was something about the wood that made Sasuke’s chakra senses itch-, and a large book with most of the names crossed out. Sasuke frowned but didn’t have a chance to ask questions before Tobirama came down the stairs and visibly stalled at the scent of the incense; his eyes flicking straight to the table and something agonized flashing through them. Sasuke frowned, maybe this was a bad idea he thought and then Matsui visibly straightened and lifted her small sharp chin, sleek auburn hair loose around her shoulders like her father wore it. She licked her lips and spoke, “Tobirama of the Senju clan, you have chosen of your own free will to leave the Senju clan behind and forsake the name, is that true?”

It had the sound of ritual and something shifted behind red eyes but Tobirama didn’t look away, nodding slowly and painfully as he said “I have” in a voice like a temple bell; Matsui sniffed and clenched her jaw “Tobirama of the Senju clan, son to Butsuma Senju and Rhiannon Senju, brother to Hashirama Senju, Itama Senju and Kawarama Senju; you are renouncing your claim to this clan and both all of your history and all that the Senju owe you and you do this of your own free will?” Matsui asked and Tobirama drew a deep breath, “I do” he murmured, steady and broken as only he had ever mastered in Sasuke’s experience (people thought that what made the Nidaime Hokage extraordinary was his mind or his devotion or his power; Sasuke knew it was his endurance that set him apart with Naruto alone having the same strength to endure through pain that crushed lesser men – or perhaps not lesser, for after all, it did seem to cause them so much pain). Matsui bit her lip and took a deep breath, eyes shinny and wet, “Tobirama, child of the Senju blood, do you renounce here and now that clan, that house, that blood?” and like the last leaf of autumn Tobirama breathed “I do.”

Now crying Matsui stepped back from the table and Tobirama approached it, stroking a finger over the cedar branch and shuddering minutely as he lifted it and set the tip in the fire of the incense burner; the wood going up in a way that could only be aided by chakra. When the fire faded the older man held a slender stick of burned wood that he handed over to Matsui slowly, his fingers lingering in her hand as he spoke, “It was never about you” and she nodded, taking the burned branch and turning to the book. Crossed out on the paper were many names, only one of them still unblemished and slowly Matsui set the burned wood to the paper, dragging it over the one name slowly and as the charcoal moved over the paper the letters seemed to lift off the page, leaving only a small smear of black on the paper between the other names.

Takemikazuchi Senju, ₢, †

Yuri Senju, ∞ †

Butsuma Senju, ₢ †

Shoto Senju, †

Kikotei Senju, †

Emi Senju nee Sarutobi, ∞ †

Takara Senju, †

Touka Senju, †

Rhianon Senju nee Hatake, ∞ †

Hashirama Senju, ₢ †

--------ma Senju, ₢

Itama Senju, †

Kawarama Senju, †

Giichi Senju, †

All of Tobirama’s family Sasuke realized with a sick swoop, the clan ledger – the very book he had burned after Itachi – and now Tobirama was being written out of it, taken from the history he hated and loved, the blood he had lost so much for, gone now. And – all those crossed out names….it ached, kami but it ached, and Tobirama closed his eyes, lips pressed together tightly, as he handed his happuri to Matsui without a word and the openly crying woman took it in shaking hands. She brushed her fingers over the metal, sniffing and wiping away her tears as they blotted the worn metal and then she forced something like a smile on to her face and handed the happuri to Sakura who took it with burning eyes and gathered a ball of intense chakra in her hand that she swiped over the metal where the Senju mon used to be, already striding forward to Tobirama as his eyes opened again to see what was happening and slapping the faceguard to their-once teacher’s face with a bit of chakra to hold it in place as she tossed a loose haori over his shoulders and said in a no-nonsense voice, “In the name of the Qiānqiū clan I claim you Tobirama as my uncle, to carry my name and history into the future and stand behind me in all battles. Do you accept?” Tobirama stared at her, Sasuke doing the same, this…this….actually made a lot of sense, in a lot of ways Tobirama was carrying their history forward form now on not that of the Senju clan and it was their agenda that he had promised to fight for not his clan. Him claiming their history seemed….right somehow, and the mark that Sakura must have chosen for her family mon rather suited them as it was a swirling stylization of a time seal that was melted in the metal of his happuri now.

“Sakura” Tobirama murmured and she tipped her chin back, “It's not a big family and it’ll get smaller when I marry out but, well, it's ours and we want it to be yours; so, yes or no?” the older man searched her face for a long moment, pale fingers reaching up to brush over the new mon as he thought something Sasuke couldn’t quite make out and then slowly he nodded, “if that is your wish.” He agreed, which, not ringing endorsement but Sasuke would take it all things considered. Sakura beamed at her new uncle and flicked a bit of chakra at him to lengthen his already overgrown hair enough to brush his nape, “We wear our hair long Uncle!” she chirped and Tobirama sighed deeply sending an exasperated glance at Kagami, snorting and rubbing his eyes Kagami moved forward to take his fiancé’s hand and draw her away as Tobirama pulled Matsui into a hug, murmuring something Sasuke couldn’t hear into her hair. Slowly Sasuke slipped out of the room to the engawa, breathing through the memory (that Uchiha book had been old and well loved, steeped in his clans chakra and blood, gilt and gleaming and it burned nearly white), that must have been the ceremony for one that chose to leave (not the exiling ceremony that the village elders wanted Sasuke to do publicly on Itachi at eight – he hadn’t even known how) and the branch – Tsunade, their Tsunade not this little girl, had told him once that the Senju used to have a sacred clan tree in their compound that was said have been grown by Asura himself. That later that clan had used a different tree in Konoha, a cedar, a cedar that felt of Hashirama Senju’s chakra and reminded Sasuke; they never had been told how the elder Senju brother died (there were stories though, about the Monkoton and the toll it took).

Tipping his head back to look at the far off stars Sasuke blew out a slow breath, wondering if he dared to look in that large gilt book for his grandparents' names; it seemed like asking for trouble to look too deeply into something he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know when the future was already wiped away and now they sought to write something new in its place. That thousand years was long gone now.

Chapter Text

Sakura was just clearing up the last of the dirty bandages that had been removed from Madara (she was still avoiding his eye, it – it was just… in everything she had ever seen Madara Uchiha was still one of the most frightening, even after the later wars it was Madara that had left a scar on her mind because he was human and still he – he was a monument to their sins and he terrified her), trying to ignore the man watching her from the bed where he was leaned on a pile of pillows. He had been quiet today, polite but his dark eye thick with thoughts Sakura didn’t know; she knew Sasuke had told the man the outline of the Future-that-wasn’t and it explained why Madara would be reevaluating her so intensely – she just didn’t want to answer any questions, she wanted to finish and leave and go check her other patients and – “You took Tobirama into your family when he gave up the Senju name.” Madara’s voice was as deep as ever, like smoke and thunder “Why?” Sakura paused, hand stilling for a moment before she kept moving and asked, “Why what? Why did I take him into my family when I am about to marry out? Or why did he leave the clan?”

Madara hummed, “Both I suppose.” Sakura sighed and leaned forward on her hands, fuck, ok, she couldn’t – exhausted she turned to look at the Uchiha, tossing her loose hair over her shoulder as she faced him, arms crossed protectively over her chest. “I took him into my family because he deserves to have a name and the one I took fits him, I did it because if Sasuke has told you anything he has told you how much Tobirama-shishou did for us even when he should have been well past obligation to do anything. He fought for us - not because of us, but for us. Few enough did that in the beginning and he stuck with us through it all – how could I spit on that? As for Tobirama leaving the Senju, well, you heard what his students were doing and planning, that the laws for the academy were being changed to allow children to fight for us. How was he supposed to feel proud after that? How was he supposed to carry that name that had all his brother’s dreams on it when he let them break through his actions? He feels he has lost his pride and right to claim his brothers, he feels he has failed and he doesn’t want his brother’s name attached to his failure. I think he would have preferred to die if it weren’t for you still being alive.” Madara’s finely arched brow pulled down over his visible eye (the one he hadn’t lost to Izanagi – that one was a dull silver now though Sakura thought she could restore vision in it if not the Sharingan), a thunderous look growing on his face, “I may not have always liked Tobirama or thought he made any good choices but that – that’s harsh. How was he to know that Danzo was that bad when he had six students and his brother’s job to do? How was he to know Hiruzen would be influenced by Danzo rather than Kagami who he was close to as well. And the police force thing was explained to me – he was trying to keep us in village to keep down eye loss and we are suited for it; it wasn’t discrimination and even I know that. So why-?”

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, not sure what to think (was – holy fuck, was this working?! Had Sakura gasslit, gatekept, girlbossed the romance of a century into reality?!? The though made her feel a bit hysterical honestly), “You have met Tobirama-shishou right? The man that didn’t fuss when his everything was ignored in favor of his brother? Not saying that Hashirama wasn’t a great man but – come on, how many things did Tobirama make and never take credit for? That man would rather assume all the blame in the world and die choking on it then admit that he is only human and allowed to fail and care without shame.” Sakura shook her head, thinking of conversations with Tobirama-shishou late at night on plains of ash and all the hidden love in him, “Though I think it was caring at all that caused him the most shame, fuck his fuck of a father.” Not that Sakura knew much of that, the conversations hadn’t been that deep even then, some things he had wanted to stay dead. Shaking off the thought Sakura looked at Madara’s dark eye, a little surprised at how displeased the man seemed even now at Tobirama’s pain, “Why do you care? I hope you forgive me for saying so, but I never had reason to think you felt anything other than anger and disgust for him after your brother.”

Madara winced, eye flicking away and sorrow falling over his face. For a while nothing was said and then Madara slowly answered, “It…was war. Could I respect a man that allowed his clan to be killed when he could stop it? I will not lie about my pain but – I should have cleared my-his eyes. I should have – have seen when my pain started turning into a curse” he grimaced like he hated using Tobirama-shishou’s words, “but I didn’t. Even then – we had our moments, you can’t build a village with someone and not have a few; now….Izuna is gone, completely this time. I have heard what I did when I couldn’t let that go, I have no interest in walking the same path twice – even if that means keeping the white asshole alive and not excessively depressed. Also, my nephew mentioned something about Tobirama giving me an orb of doom and I rather want to know what that means.” Sakura snorted at the slight desperation on his last words, lifting a hand to cover her mouth and hide the smile, dropping it as soon as her amusement was hidden and humming understandingly as she pushed off the desk and started sauntering to the door, Madara’s voice gaining an edge as he demanded to know what the ‘orb of doom’ was and Sakura waved it off with an airy hand. “Oh I am sure you don’t need to worry about it, its Tobirama, his experiments never go wrong, and he would want his gift to be a surprise – especially since you never did respond to the first one….” Behind her as the door swung shut Madara spluttered, a mix of shocked and horrified that cut off with the door clicking shut and Sakura’s bright peals of laughter bounced off the hall walls.

Shaking her head the woman turned to the stairs, already considering checking in with the Hatake on the IVF as well as probing a bit more into the Hyuuga and their mess before she got pulled into wedding preparations later. Kagami might not have any close relatives (besides Madara anyway, Sakura was a bit bummed they had missed Hikaku Uchiha’s death given how well her fiancé spoke of him) but he was related to Ruka somehow and the young woman had launched into wedding planning with a nearly frightening hunger that Kagami promised was inherited from her romantic father – apparently Kenshin Uchiha had been frightening when he got an idea in his head (Sakura was trying very hard not to think about how Ruka’s boyfriend looked so much like Sasuke’s father, she wasn’t sure how to feel about that). It was nice to have the wedding off her plate really, she had to give her go ahead and passed on what firm requirements she had but otherwise…. Sakura had no interest in planning a village wide wedding, even- or especially- not an Uchiha wedding with all the clan traditions she was only now hearing about (whining to Sasuke only got the annoying smug glitter in his eye again since he and Naruto were ‘already married’, fuckers).

Some things were easier, Naruto would officiate of course and Sasuke would give her away with Tobirama in as her male kin, Kagami would have Madara in the opposing place and Matsui as his witness the way Sasuke was hers. Honestly Sakura was curious about that choice, wouldn’t an Uchiha be a better witness? Still, asking Kagami only brought out a weak smile and a head shake, his hands shaking just a touch and his eyes far away in a time and earlier war Sakura would never truly understand. Somethings just… didn’t translate, and there was a poetry to it, to a Senju witnessing the marriage of an Uchiha Hokage at the end of her clan. Matsui had wept softly when asked, her shoulders shaking under her husbands hands and Mito’s regretful eyes – Sakura understood that a bit better, how it felt to just, never measure up to your stronger kin and always wonder if the shadow was all you would ever be even if for her it seemed to be thickly flavored in something older, something in the whispered “Finally, I have surpassed them all” cracked out between sobs and heavy with metallic rage oddly like Kurama’s in the early years.

Sighing explosively Sakura paused at the worn kitchen table, staring at the layered stories of the scratches and dings on the thick hardwood that had been brought from the old Uchiha compound to the village on its completion, the table that had stood in Sasuke’s house through the final defeat and razing of Konoha. The white wood had burned through a sickly rust-orang into something almost green as the heat increased and combusted in a riot of chakra as if a thousand Sharingan had fixed their gaze on the burning world; Yamato had been drawn into that fire like a man possessed, and it had burned for nearly eight days – days in which the Ōtsutsuki neither chased them nor harried them, their gaze affixed to the torch of the Uchiha table to the exclusion of all else. It saved many nin to fight another day, in a way the last gift of the clan to defend their home claimed in blood and pain; all that was left was a thin splinter of white wood that Sasuke carried until the last moment when it’s witchlight-fire lit their mad scramble to finish the time travel, only guttering at the last moment before the world went black. Sakura would never forget the image she saw in that blackness, the flickering green flame burning blood-red on the edge as it set a strange ribbon of spiraling prismatic light to incandescent fire; time as it was written burning under the weight of their loss and rage, each thread to flame another loved life consumed and another weak soul cut –

Bang! The door slammed and Sakura jolted, her head snapping up in surprise and then – what was -? “Sakura?” Sasuke’s face was confused and a touch concerned and she laughed weakly, leaning on the old table and scrambling to gather herself.

“Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts” she knocked her knuckles on the table, the hollow sound strangely grave and calling Sasuke’s eyes and understanding. “It’s a bit dangerous” she added, pushing off, she had things to do, “I’ve never heard you close the door that loudly! And I almost thought for a second you were your mom coming in! I had sort of forgotten that you look so like her.” She rambled as she toed on her shoes, “Did something happen? Hopefully nothing too bad, I do not need another task on the list, Naruto needs to come home.” Behind her Sasuke was frowning a little, his head cocked at an odd angle and a small furrow between his dark brows – at least until he heard his partner’s name and he looked away just as she looked up to catch his jaw tightening and the worried, conflicted look on his face. “Sasuke…” she breathed, picking at her cuticles, “he’ll be back soon, he just – he needs time, everything has changed so fast form him and you know-“

“I know that the only thing he wanted was a home and now that he fucking has one he’s just running AWAY!”  it wasn’t a shout, Sasuke didn’t shout, but – the painful, grating slam of his emotion into her chest hit like one of Kinshiki’s strikes straight to her sternum, caving the bone and shattering the ribs like greensticks and leaving her stunned and confused in its wake. In the painful silence nothing was said (he wasn’t wrong though, he wasn’t) and after a moment Sasuke looked away, letting out a slow measured breath the way Tobirama-shishou had taught him in the end until his shoulders dropped and his head dipped. “I didn’t – I know that’s reductive, I know he’s trying to figure out how to be Naruto when so much has changed, even his very nature. I get that” Sakura looked away, swallowing hard and painfully, had Naruto really thought that they wouldn’t see it? Them? Maybe Tobirama-shishou had seen it before her and had more to fix it but – Sasuke had known from the moment Naruto collapsed in his arms that something had changed, he just – “I do get it” his dark head ducked further “I do, but, how could he think that it would change anything for me? That we couldn’t solve it together, that I wouldn’t be there for him after all of it, how could he-?” his voice shattered under a sharp hitch and Sakura lurched into motion, smoothing her hands over Sasuke’s back until she could turn him into her arms.

“I don’t think he was thinking.” She murmured, voice free of softness as her embrace with arms of wrought steel and conviction, every bit the battle medic cussing out gods and death with nothing but chakra and fuck you attitude all the way down. “I don’t think he was thinking Sas, I think he’s scared, I think he is burning power he doesn’t understand and running on instincts he has never lived with before. He is terrified, you can’t – I’m not saying that you don’t have every right to feel as hurt and rageful as you need just, when he gets back – and he will, you need to pin him down and talk, try out that Ninshū or something. Make him listen. He spent years chasing you, now its your turn to hold him down and help him stay.” Sasuke’s shoulders jerked painfully, the grind of his teeth as he suppressed his pain too audible until Sakura gently loosed a hand to chuck him under the chin with a knuckle until he stopped and a weak laugh escaped. Aching Sakura rocked them a little, rubbing her teammate’s temple and allowing him all the time he needed, the woman would wait for her – Sasuke had saved her, she would never forget it, the way that after Kaguya when Naruto and Kakashi were passing the Hat like hot potato and Sasuke was still part of the village but almost never in residence, when Sakura felt like she was drowning in gender roles and the lack of manifest destiny that the boys had. It was Sasuke that stepped in, Sasuke who was still painfully awkward after Sakura made a pass at him in the recovery from that war (she hadn’t really wanted him anymore, not really, but – she had wanted a place, a role she understood, one the village expected her to take, and it just seemed…. Pat, somehow. Like it should be that way no matter how little their actual personalities fit it, Sakura should have pushed for more than a physical relationship with Ino rather than the agonizing event of Sasuke turning her down; Ino and Sai had been wonderful together but, well, a love that might have been she supposed).

It was Sasuke that found her after some time had passed after that (they never did talk about it again), it was him that needled her until her anger consumed her shame and helped her remember her name in a burn of chakra and confused frustration that shook the village. Later, when they entered the Tower together, shoulder to shoulder to kidnap their blonde for food, Naruto had teared up to see them together and united again and it had never again been that bad between them even when Naruto and Sasuke were still circling the thing everyone else could see between them. It was… funny, in a bitter way, to finally see Naruto going down in flames (well deserved after all that he had had to lead them through with so little time and experience, all he had lost and still would) like Sasuke and Sakura had already done. Sasuke’s breath was easing, so Sakura tapped out a little tune on his back, teasing gently, “If you do pin him down I am happy to help sourcing materials- be funny to see Kagami’s face at those rumors- but if you ask Mito for help with seals you will never be able to look her in the face again, its one thing to know people are a couple and another to help place seals on shibari ropes or harnesses.”

There was a fought pause and then Sasuke snorted out a powerful laugh, now collapsed into her to hold him up under gales of hilarity at the idea while Sakura grinned over his head, wincing a bit when his jolting laughter pulled her loose hair (she needed a different hair style dang it! …it should wait until after the wedding shouldn’t it, crap). Sure the idea was – “Ow!” she yelped, gently lifting Sasuke’s still snickering body off of her to lean against the wall, “Ok, ok, fucking funny yes and if you do I want to see her face, but right now I have to go see some people, are you good for now?” Sasuke waved his hand, chipped black nails dark on his fingers as he sent her off, still snorting out a chuckle every few seconds and his visible eye glittering with tears of mirth. Sakura rolled her eyes and checked that her hair and clothes were fine before slipping out, mind already racing ahead to the patient she had to see (Haruna Hyuuga concerned her, it felt early for Hiashi and Hizashi to be born but, it was twins and they seemed male and even if it was a bit too soon it was still close enough and it wasn’t like Sakura was that confident about the timing. Hadn’t Hiashi been in a clan team with Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame? But they didn’t seem quite ready for kids so – on the other hand, twins in this time, and Hyuuga, what was the chance that infant mortality or birth set back the clock? On the other hand, then the pregnancies got so close…) as she wound through the market, eyes flicking over the crowd in habitual cation. Either way now that Sakura was here the birth-

Her eyes flicked over the stalls, gray heads reminding her of Kakashi and that long bright white-blond of Ino, the long hightail of bright blond spilling forward over a bare shoulder as her best friend leaned over a display of colorful ink to try and make Sai use – Sakura’s heart skipped a beat and she paused, glancing back at the Yamanaka that looked so like her best friend, gods she missed Ino some days but she was glad to see how much she still remembered her first – well, her first a lot of things really. Ino had been wonderful like that when they both got over that stupid spat (over Sasuke of all things, they never did live that down when everyone was old enough to see how much of a emo looser he really was- he owned it, to be fair, even bought the outfit once and got them all starter kits with Sharingan trauma checked off- and Ino and Sakura had often threatened to ‘fix’ it by redoing it over a 'quality’ man, like Lee, or Gaara – or Neji they agreed in long nights under flickering stars well before they knew what was coming from those same far off lights), Ino…. She had been.. just, a wonderful once up on a time, and Sakura liked to think that she would have liked to know that even now, even now Ino's memory died slow. Smile warm and a touch bitter Sakura dug in a pocket for the hair ties she carried still- once for fine blond llocks and now for black and golden strands-, winding her thick pink locks into the hightail that had always swayed just so, confident and kind, always looking ahead. Yes, this would do, this would do nicely. 

Chapter Text

Naruto drifted down the soft sand of Uzushiogakure’s beaches, ghostly pale and eyes blown wide with the pupil little more than a thin line; his toes sinking deep in the sand but he hardly noticed, hardly felt his tails dragging in the glittering white behind him and only jolted to a halt when the in swept tide lapped around his ankles, temperate and idyllic and only worsening his spiral. No wonder they had never wanted to leave the island or felt the imperial itch most others in possession of power did, why would anyone want to leave paradise? Why strive for land when there was the mysteries of chakra to delve instead? At least, not until they had a prophet of the kami arrive and threaten them into conquering, gods. Aching dry red eyes closed as Naruto’s chin dropped to his chest, he felt sick – the Pact had even talked about reasons why it would benefit Uzushiogakure to take Kira that had to do with real current politics and yet – when it mattered, when it mattered Naruto let his itching instincts best him and rather than being clever and following the plan of the Pact he just threatened them! (Was, was he turning into Danzo?) It – how deeply was he going to betray all his personal values before all was said and done?

Shaken the Tenko sank into to crouch on his haunches, ignoring the way the water soaked into his fur and clothes, the salt stinging small cuts on his bare feet from walking the last bit of the crossing on coral reefs. Under the buzzing in his head an image surfaced; Ojiisama, sitting at Naruto's tiny table held up with stacks of books and desperation, the peeling laminate shameful enough to make his small cheeks sting as he tried to pour water over cheap tea from hands shaky with hunger. The way the large Hat threw shadows over the table under the buzzing and flickering fluorescent bulb (Naruto had been shocked to realize that migraines weren’t normal and changing the damn light was all it took, Sakura had been bone white with anger at eighteen and watched him like a hawk for seizures for ages even though he didn’t think that was how that worked even with his heightened senses), the nerves twisting like snakes in his hollow tummy, the way the instruction and advice felt so good (but, gods, that’s not how you teach a kid anything, that’s not – that’s not what Tobirama-sensei would have done), how it felt to have the Hokage and Second God of Shinobi pat his head and pay attention to him and call him special, to call someone familiarly and – and how small he always felt, how far behind Oj-Sarutobi always made him feel. How he could have memorized his father’s face (who would he tell? Who would have believed him that didn’t already know?) learned the cadence of his mother’s tongue, known the taste of the sea, carried their pride and prayed at their overgrown stones (his mother’s had never been tended and the stone had had to be replaced, his fucking mother, the girl that saved them all and carried the Nine-tails for them for years, ignored right next to a celebrated Hokage), he just…

Naruto tucked his head into his forarms crossed over his knees, squeezing his eyes shut until stars dance on his lids and the other image never wavered, just – Ojii, so young and misguided, so foolish and proud (so like Naruto when they came) not even considering that he was doing anything wrong and so shocked when he was ripped from the place he thought he deserved. His unlined confused face overwrit with Ojii’s, the way he looked as that Hat that had hidden his face so often, made Naruto feel so small and cast that hard line of dark on his table like the black-mold he couldn’t scrub away; he way his face never changed as it was taken away, the way – the way Kagami took the Hat like it weighed with all of their fates, the way it felt in his hands, the rough damaged edge scrapped Naruto’s palms when he passed over – passed on, his dream and an entire lifetime of dreaming that he carried in his hands just for a second, just a breath and so light. Kakashi and he had passed the Hokage title back and forth between them over and over after Kaguya was killed, Kakashi hadn’t wanted it but Nartuo was young and as long as his heart kept walking out of those gates he could never be what Konoha needed and they had both known it; that if Sasuke couldn’t find peace and stay in Konoha Naruto would have to choose and soon, choose between the only thing he had ever wanted as a child and the person that filled all the empty places in his heart, that made him rage and burn and love and live.

It had made that time feel so liminal, not like having the Hat at all (he never even wore it on his head, on his back sure if Kakashi was with Gai or something, but not properly), still an almost and then – then…. Hinata, a friend that died when Naruto wasn’t even home to fulfill his promise to Konoha to protect them. He would have had to chose then if Sasuke hadn’t – but, people started dying. So many so fast and Kakashi's light in the first wave, all his last joy snuffed out when Gai ragged against the dying of the light and succumbed; everything went so bad so fast and through it all Kakashi wore the Hat, how could he not when they all knew from that death that Naruto couldn’t be Hokage when he had to be warlord again, leading all the safest way through another battle with the stars, the Kage on one flank and his team on the other against all that would try to take it all away and then it hadn’t mattered at all and.... god Naruto wanted Kagami to be Hokage but there was something about handing off all your childhood dreams to another when no one else even knew, and all your shame and cheap innocence watched uncomprehendingly. It was - was so hard to not just think, how could all of have happened to me?  What did I ever do to see this be the result of every hope and dream, why has it always been me, and if you could carry it then – then why not me?

But then he thought of the look on the king’s face, of the elegant young woman with the swirling cloud of near floor length red hair and the delicate face behind the sagging fan sliding through her fingers, of her eyes struck with terror in the face of him even though she was a Hime of Uzushiogakure if a lesser one. Of the way she flinched back into the wall under his eyes, of the way her breath stuttered and froze in her chest at his attention, of the way his mother’s eyes in his grandmother’s face feared him.

It –

His breath hitched and hiccupped like his lungs were on a fishhook, salty water splashing invisibly into the consuming sea, if he had known, if he had only – only – only known (but he had, hadn’t he, he had known he was slipping, going to far, letting himself fall too far, could hear Kurama’s disappointed voice, Neji’s worry, Lee’s soft exasperated ‘Naruto’, how may had died for his unwillingness to face his own emotion?), how different would it have been if she didn’t flinch from him? Naruto had never even known her name before now (Yuzuki, the daughter of Makaira and Jin and Mito’s niece, a calligrapher and sealing mistress, in love with his grandfather- Bastiaan, a fierce fighter and often gone on the Uzumaki privateering boats collecting sealing knowledge and exploring the West- and anxious to wed but certainly not yet even close to that) and now –

“Oh Naruto” it was like a whisper but stronger and the Tenko froze, eyes snapping open and blowing even larger in the safety of his sleeve, surely he was imagining – “will you not even look at me my little squall? Has it really been so long?” it was mostly teasing and Naruto swallowed hard, clenching his eyes tightly shut as a hand half tangible and half immaterial landed on his head and stoked down his messy braid with a softy huff of breath. “Naruto” slender fingers he knew the shape of so well slid down his cheek and firmly guided his tear smeared face out of his arms and into the sea spray favored air through he refused to open his eyes, all he could smell was sea water and sand and seaweed and grave dirt mixed with that small star shaped flower that had totally overgrown his mother’s grave stone when he finally had time to tend it. “Oh my sweet boy, how unkind the world has been to you,” the callouses on her thumb scraped over the thin skin under his eyes “my brave, brave boy, you have done so well and faced so much. There is no shame in discovering your limit, but, Naruto, what are you doing here? Why have you not gone home my little storm, surely you know that is where you should be?”

And he – he fought against it, struggled with all his might to keep his face clear of his misery even had his brows collapsed into one another without his say so, his entire face falling in painfully acute distress as a thin whine ripped free of his lips and his eyes flew open, red meeting the soft plum-blue-gray of his mother’s eyes where she was crouched in the sea in front of him. Her edges blurred a bit into the churn of the water, the tide not quite eddying right around her legs and her hair floating on it like long spreading streaks of blood but – it was his mother, his mom, with his grandmother’s hair and the eyes that were a mix of her parents in color in the shape that belonged to her mother but the face that must have been all her father; the eyes…. The eyes that had looked at him with so much fear only hours ago from behind the same red and now stared at him with nothing but love and concern, eyes that might never exist like this again (so much might change now, a cost he had already known but… this one, this one would have been his mistake and not his choice if it came to be, a weight his soul might not be able to carry). “Mom” he rasped thinly, swaying her direction, his eyes red rimmed and stinging and aching, and so utterly exhausted; down to the very marrow, until even tears took resources he didn’t have any longer, like someone was ripping his bones out and consuming even the energy to respond to the pain. “Mom, I – I’m so tired.”

Kushina’s face pinched, his collapse reflected back at him, reminding him of something Kurama had once shown him (the last days and moments of his mother’s mortal life, the way that carrying him had burned through her and how brave she had still been even then, the pain of his birth and the loss of her everything, her deadly exhaustion and her reaching for him as best she could anyway. If anyone knew this, it would be her), “Gods, I know Naruto, I know you are little squall, not a second of rest from your first breath, I know.” And when her hands gently drew him into her not-quite-real arms he didn’t fight it, not her, not when this was the woman that had stayed in the Seal waiting for him and a meeting that might never come just because he was hers and she could never walk away from that even in death. (So many drew comparisons to his father, he was nearly Minato’s carbon copy in looks once and with his bright personality and wish to be Kage plus the Rasengan it was hard not to see Minato in him. Naruto cherished all of those comments as another way to keep them close after so long without them, but deep inside ever since he met his mother he craved the few times he was compared to the Red Hot Habanero- mostly by Kakashi with sad eyes-, he starved for connections to the woman that had endured so much and never let anyone else win, that chose to love him enough to damage her spirit to stay in a seal and help him. Naruto needed her, her skill to endure like Tobirama-sensei and fight like hell like Madara-sama, he needed her; to borrow her strength in order to carry his father’s soft heart and kindness without going hard and blood hungry like a cold fox-kit playing with his food out of futile rage against the truth.)

The sobs wracked his body, his hands knotted white knuckled in her clothing against the sturdy warmth of her back as he wailed, crashing forward until his knees splashed in the temperate surf, clothing soaked and fully broken as so few allowed him to be (one other time, in Tobirama-sensei’s dead arms, the same steady unyielding strength as a cliff besieged by a wave while Naruto screamed and sobbed and struck out at him). He trusted Sasuke and Sakura (and Kakashi-sensei) but – he could never entirely forget the way they had never trusted him at the beginning, the way Sasuke was always leaving and Naruto chasing and wondering if he shouldn’t be, the way Sakura never quite looked at Naruto or leaned on him until the world ended, the way he was so expected to be the strong one, the leader, the unflagging unfazed beacon at the tip of the shinobi armies that they all looked too to guide them and keep spirits up (gods it was so heavy). Once he had thought that Gaara would be the person he could lean on, and Lee and Shikamaru had never asked him to be a Hero, friends he had known through all of it and gave him a steadier love than the stormy passion and striving desire he had with Sasuke at the beginning before losing a war tempered them. But Lee died so early following his team and teacher and leaving Gaara with all his laughter stolen until he too vanished; and Shikamaru…. If Naruto had only seen what was coming maybe he could have stopped it, helped his friend, changed how it happened and convinced Shikamaru that this wasn’t the only way – but, maybe he couldn’t, not after Choji starved to death and Kiba – well, Kiba died a real Hero and Akamaru crawled his last legs to bring the missive before he followed his master, loyal to the end. If Temari couldn’t help Shikamaru maybe no one could.

He just – Kushina shushed him gently, stroking his hair and humming a lullaby he had never heard before as the fervor of the emotion crumbled into exhausted sobbing, he just…. He had already lived so long, seen so much, lost so much and had so little and there was no rest in any kind of sight; only generations to live through to see that all that would have to pay for his choices would have a chance at being satisfied with how it all ended. He couldn’t bare the guilt if he didn’t see it all through and at the same time, at the same time he didn’t know how to carry on any more; even his infatigable soul had finally found it’s limit. But in time even a Tenko ran out of tears and Naruto sagged into Kushina’s body, trying to ignore the painful nuances of her (when he met her as a teen he hadn’t really noticed but now… she was so young, so cursedly young and not even begun recovering from the pregnancy but frozen in that moment in time non the less; Naruto… he was already older than she would ever be and he had hardly even scratched his long life span), soaking up her strength and unswerving care; the way she didn’t ask for anything more than to be his son and didn’t judge any of his failures. “Naruto” she murmured as the sun dipped into the edge of the sea and the breeze started to cool, raising a chill that prickled down his spine “darling boy,” her cool, mist like hands cupped his face as she eased him back a bit, searching his face with her mother’s eyes “what are you doing here? You have a home, people that love you and miss you, a partner, children- an entire village- that look up to you, why – ah” she paused, expression sharpening “that’s it isn’t it, at lease part of it. Has the weight grown too great to carry?”

Naruto hiccupped a laugh, sinking to sit in the cool water and scrubbing a hand over his raw feeling face, salt water hot and stinging and his mother waiting with perfect patience where she too settled to sit in the cleansing wash of the sea, the colors of the sunset bleeding over the water and melting into the ends of her swirling hair. “Its…. My whole life all I wanted was to have a place in my community, to walk down a street and have people welcome me and smile when they saw me; to belong to the people I never seemed to be able to stop loving even in all the hate,” searing wrath flicked over Kushina’s face and was quickly subdued “because I love Konoha, even now I do, even after everything I just” a wet little laugh “I did figure out that that love is maybe not so healthy to me. Temari once sat me down to talk to me about things with Sasuke, about if it was toxic back when I was never enough for him to stay; and, well, she had a point to an extent but – mostly, mostly it just made me think about Konoha, the village I was co-leading and about how I loved it and how that love hurt me over and over and over. I started thinking differently after that, not loving less but, recognizing that it would never love me back the way I wanted, needed I guess. That maybe I couldn’t stop loving but… maybe I didn’t want to love it so close anymore after all of it. And that, that never mattered really, not when THEY came, and Sasuke and I worked hard on what we had; when there was so many I loved and that loved me better on the line and it wasn’t about the village at all anymore.” He ripped his eyes from the glowing sea and last curve of the sun as it dipped and his kami’s eyes closed in favor of the moon, a fragile moth-wing of a smile on his pale lips, “I had just learned how to love with duty and not hope, and they burned the entire place to the ground and sowed the earth with unearthly things; I – I didn’t even weep until the mountain was defaced and dad-! and now – now I have returned here and will loose so much for a village that I am not sure I am willing to rip out my heart for any longer.”

Kushina nodded slowly, turning it over and taking her time in a way that warmed the Tenko to see (she was listening and trying, gods she would have been an amazing mother – she already was and with so little time or real necessity), “You – you know, don’t you? The cost, the repercussions of unweaving time, of my being here, what it means?” Naruto looked away from her calm face, his stomach sinking but feeling oddly relieved to finally have the topic broached and spread out under the purpling sky for the cleansing sea to scour clean again. (They had talked about it once, long before they burned the bridge of time behind them, back at the beginning when they were talking about what the price might be and Tobirama-sensei painstakingly explained it all. Afterwards they had promised to never do it, sworn, right up until all those promises were ripped to shreds and shown to be pyrite and grave dirt under all the shine, and a stronger conviction was formed from the exposed bone of their hearts; one where all that had once stayed their hands was already lost to them. Even then they never spoke of it except in the slightest of mentions, as if not looking it in the face or speaking of it deeply would soften it, as if creating a taboo around the pain would change the reality of it in anyway.)

“I… we were warned of what it might mean, Tobirama-sensei told us and Kurama seconded his hypothesis as the most likely. At the time is was more than enough to make us refuse this path, we made so many promises…. But” he licked his lips, staring at he his claw tipped fingers “then things just kept getting worse, every day it got so much worse and there was nothing we could do to stop it and – and then the Ōtsutsuki raised the dead, reanimated them in total control and we all lied and said they were nothing but zombies that were just empty puppets, that the souls had gone on to the other side and rejoined the cycle of reincarnation and didn’t know what their flesh had done, we all promised to one another that we had never seen that glitter of desperate agony in rotting eyes, that if zombies could cry it was only the heat or the sun or any other lie. That the force that used Sai’s corpse to kill the woman he loved so was just an Ōtsutsuki spell and nothing else, that he had no idea that it was his hand that tore out Ino’s throat and left her to shredded to do more than twitch when she was revived. We all were so sure it wasn’t at all like Edo Tensei with better control seals, we had to be sure, we –“ he swallowed back the sour taste of bile burning at the back of his lungs, mind trapped on Tobirama-sensei and the accidental allusions to ‘soul tearing’ from the Edo Tensei and the soft promise from his mentor that after they were gone he would be able to rest and the wheel of reincarnation wouldn’t take him (because it couldn’t, because his soul would be too damaged for the turn on souls), he had seemed to find solace in that idea, in the permanent rest after everything and Naruto had never agued as it wasn’t his place but….

“Its not just that our going back in time and changing things means they won’t be born again is it? Its not just that we unwove time and it can never be the same again and they are lost to us from that, we can’t even look for their souls in new eyes, those that the Ōtsutsuki raised will never live again because their souls have been reduced to light and chakra and memories only we carry. Destroyed in what happened to them too utterly to ever rejoin us in any form even if we hadn’t set fire to time behind us.” The image of Iruka, his face half rotted and falling off, stained in gore to the elbow from mutilating a little girl only ten at most, and his one intact eye though fogged with death also frantic with panic and half mad pain, the man that had bandaged his knees staring out at him from the face of a body that had just killed the last of the intervillage crèche. That man had never wanted to come back either. (The way it looked to see Madara Uchiha raised again against his will, once more nothing but a weapon in the hands of others, the way Tobirama-sensei fresh from the Edo Tensei- the first thing he did once Naruto was well was take the blonde on a solo mission deep into enemy territory just to end this- cradled the Uchiha’s body after crippling it, white head bent over dark and those panicked powerful eyes fixed on the undead-Senju like salvation itself.)

“Yes” Kushin murmured, “they are beyond desecration, beyond control and pain and horror as even the Ōtsutsuki can weave it. Some day a child will be born with Hinata’s patience or Lee’s vibrance or Shikamaru’s depth, just glimmers of sunlight on different waters. The beloved dead are long gone, had you come back before their birth Madara and Tobirama would have been gone as well and when they die it will be their last life, time is burnt before them as it is for all you loved in life once up on a time. The nature of war is too take away and never give back and this war is no different, some prices cannot be unpaid and you walked this path fully knowing the Cost my son, fully knowing where you walked would only ever be a faint refrain of another life. You chose this” he curled in on himself tighter, but her voice was strong, so proud and brave as only a certain kind of woman could be. “You chose this, more than either of the mortals that followed you, you knew and walked this way anyway; but gods, my tempest, have you forgotten why you chose this path? You may face it all alone now, but gods once upon a time you were so, so loved Naruto; do you really think that doesn’t leave a mark? Do you think that just because they will not come again doesn’t mean that they were any less alive when they walked with you in the sun and stood with you through the night? You chose this for them and for me and for Kurama and Madara and Kaguya and for yourself, for your heart and hands, because you would not be my child if you didn’t choose to stand up straight and do the thing because it was right and because you could. I carried Kumara and all the hatred because that was who I chose to be and because that was who my mother raised.” Cool fingers curled under his chin “You do this for you Naruto, you do this because this is who you want to be in the face of everything and as long as you choose that their love will never leave you, not when it made you thus, not when that is the man they loved and followed.

Her smile was sharp as Kurama’s and tough as she had been all her life to make choices in the face of derision and impossibility as she stood from the water, wild red hair licking around her like fire when she hauled him too his feet too, the pat on his cheek verging on too stinging as her words, “ So stand up and be that man, be my son, be the man you chose, stop being a coward and go the fuck home baby squall, you are strong enough to stand alone – and if you don’t feel it we love you enough that you will never have to – love knows no limits of time or space and you will always have it, get off your ass and have faith Naruto. Go home, choose the sun and the moon, and know that I am so fucking proud of you. “ Naruto laughed wetly, tears filling his eyes as her image wavered and them vanished in the last flash of light before the sun vanished under the water, gods how like her, the Red Hot Habanero indeed. He sniffed and wiped under his eyes, somehow feeling more centered than he had in ages; he had lost his way for a bit, lost the path that should have been his to follow, forgot who he was and wanted to be, that he chose this person over and over even when Sasuke was running away and cursing his name and the entire village hated him, that he was alone maybe but never without the love and faith of the ones that mattered most and no distance would change that. He had lost his way and made a mistake, he had found a side of himself he would have to be careful of and remember to choose with care but – no one would ever say that Kushina had been merciful or that Minato had shied from bloodshed and if his grandmother flinched from his eyes it was his place to remember to do better and hers to choose if she wanted to grow past the girl who flinched at anything.

He wanted to see Sasuke, feel him close and laugh with Sakura, to smile at Sakumo and the kids and Tobirama-sensei and talk to Madara-sama about loss and isolation and tease the idiot, he wanted to go home. Perhaps it was his responsibility to see things through on Uzushiogakure given his actions, but, he turned from the see and back to the gleaming white beaches and the sweeping houses with their gem-bright roofs, lanterns lit in windows glowing into the settling night, so different from the ruin he first met; but maybe…. Maybe it was time to see what Kurama had tried to tell him at the end with the way he turned into a Tenko specifically, he wasn’t the war general anymore, he wasn’t the commander of the fates of the world anymore. He burned that time so that it could never happen again and here he was a beacon, a warning and a guide and a tide turner when he wished but the fates of this world and her people would stand or fall on their own merit not his control. He had no interest in being an Ōtsutsuki with people dancing on his order no matter their fear and perhaps he couldn’t control the fear, perhaps to an extent they should fear what he had run from but – his place was in warning, in assistance, in guidance, in tipping the hand at the last moment, shifting the scales; and Uzushiogakure like Ame, like Suna, like Kiri, would succeed or fail in his wake as the mortals that lived and died there chose. As always, he stood above – but there was a man waiting for him now as he had once waited for them and Naruto tired of interference. Time was precious, for after all when he settled fully into this time and his nature under a goddesses sun with Zetsu fresh dead and the last whisper of his parent’s seal burned out the last echo of his mother hung on this long before dissipating just to find the right time in the pace of her blood and his need.

Head tilted back into the light of the rising moon the Tenko sucked in a deep breath, clothing plastered to his skin and tails fanned out over the water as the tide rose for high tide, glowing with a firefly’s light, calm and lovely and strange, unearthly and no longer frightening. And then, on the outflow of breath over his lips the gold seemed to rise and – in a soft sigh of wind the sea sloshed as it filled the space he had once inhabited now empty and easy.

On the shore Yuzuki Uzumaki, who had been frozen in the act of picking her way down the rocky entrance to the beach jumped, her mouth open slightly in stunned surprise at the sudden disappearance of the Tenko she had sought out. He had frightened her badly in court, but Yuzuki was no fool, she had seen that flicker of anguished sadness in his eyes, and she just – she couldn’t shake it, the image in her mind of how deeply his pain struck sat in her mind like a splinter and – and – and now, the Tenko, so different from the hunting thing in her uncle’s halls in his aching grief, and with him…. A woman, more mist and memory than person and though Yuzuki hadn’t heard a word spoken from this distance she had seen – (that woman, the woman that embraced a Tenko like a mother and raised up the divine, that woman with Uzumaki red hair, that woman…. She had Yuzuki’s eyes).

Chapter Text

Tobirama frowned down at the gleaming orb, the flickering light of his lantern painting cobwebs of light over the dark surface and lighting the under lying colors in flickers and flashes, whispering memories running through cloudy red depths in flashes like lightning; tiny children that danced and darted like Izuna, always the lark to his last breath, children that rolled like Madara, like smoke and lava and leapt into sudden flight in the strangest of moments like he could see the circle they were trapped in and sought to break out as best he could. The tiny child like a puff of fluff kitten, the way the world in those memories distorted and preserved so much of the Uchiha’s golden days (the entire clan by now after the Elder saw how well it worked, even the nin-miko that watched the shrine to Amaterasu and held the clan’s ages of passed down memory, though those memories were under locks of varying strengths in the stone). (Sasuke had offered to show him, tilting his head just so to show the purple eye he hid so well, the one that would see any Sharingan memory no matter how old and divine; Tobirama hadn’t taken him up on it, he had made those mistakes once and had little interest in repeating them, some things were easy to let go after all it turned out.) It had taken things out of Tobirama’s mind to make this, seal matrixes he would never grow again, never be able to replicate the wealth of power and preservation placed on this…artifact, it was a work of art and pain and mad inspiration and in some ways perhaps it was the fullness of his legacy in the way that none of the other jutsu would ever be and even if Madara smashed it to dust when given the key to disarm the protections Tobirama didn’t regret it and would never seek to replicate it again – not when holding it in his hands felt like holding his own beating heart, the power expanding and contracting with the flex of his lungs – it made him wonder even more, what had he left in this living stone that cradled the dearest parts of an entire clan he was supposed to hate? What did it say about Tobirama that all he felt was peace at the idea that he might have constructed a second heart to hold the memories of these people in the careful bounds of his fingers (ribs).

It was ready, his gift to Madara and an attempt to ease the older man’s tortured psyche (and….his war retribution, far more personal than any insurance of their obvious position in the village that should have been theirs no matter who led, no, finally Tobirama felt as though he had come closer to bridging his part of the gap that so many clan wars had created and at least started to make amends for the lives and memories lost to his hand) or perhaps his doom as Madara remembered how much he had lost when he lost Izuna and what was left in his eyes – both times to Tobirama when he had never really liked the albino to begin with. Perhaps it would go badly, Tobirama would deserve it (Madara was not nearly as much fun about the idea of Tobirama being in love with him as the albino had hoped, at this point it was just sad and sort of miserable) and then he could go to the afterlife and hunt his brother for the fuck all mess that Hashirama had made of Madara and never tried to fix – so really, Tobirama  had done what he could do and any reaction from Madara was what it was (ok, admittedly, Tobirama was hoping to avoid another stab wound). Which – which meant that, fuck, Sakura was with Kagami as always, the kids at the Academy or darting around the village, Sasuke was bogged down at the elders hall, there literally wasn’t a better time to give the silly man his silly orb of doom and yet….

Pah! Tobirama shook himself hard, glowered at the flickering shadows of memories in the stone and tied the fabric around and over it in sharp, definitive motions, the chakra-silk rippling as it draped around the tight pleats and ties (the silk moth summoning contract hadn’t been given out in ages, Tobirama had been lucky to find this length in the soft indigo of the night sky with almost the exact same constellation pattern as was visible on the older man’s birthday – it was large too, fully big enough to be a shawl or rolled in tight and used in the hair or belt, chakra-silk was all but impossible to ruin or mar and looked near liquid in sheen and drape and as such it was very useful for everything but warmth). Trying not to take too long and chicken out Tobirama ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his clothing a bit- the kimono wasn’t in blue for once, black with silver fir branches and a silvergray tie- before striding down the short stretch of hall between their rooms, knocking firmly and holding his breath as he waited for Madara’s response.

Madara lurched out of sleep in a muddled mess, his wild and fine hair a cloud around his face and shoulders (it was getting a little out of hand at this length, but after that yokai fucking with it he was loath to cut even a single strand – might not have even allowed it to be maintained by others if it hadn’t been done in his sleep) and his breath ragged and stressed. The dreams wouldn’t stop. He had thought that without Izuna’s imprint the dreams would shift and they did, the w-…. The image of the Senju in his head had lost much of it’s poison but in a way that was almost worse, at least hating had been easy, now the muddled mix of agony and rage for Izuna and pity when another flash of memory burst through of Hashirama’s unintentional slights mixed and mutated in his head all overlayed with Tobirama gentle hand on his skin and the way he felt almost starving to feel that again and the gold in scar tissue from a gift Madara had rebuffed (but – he killed Izuna, - only, if he hadn’t Izuna would have killed him and any successful peace without the Senju’s mind, if he died to Izuna would anyone have cried as Madara did over his brother?) and – Madara’s head hurt. He wanted the dreams to stop and to heal faster and to stop thinking about that monster-

Knock knock knock, it was soft but firm, almost trying to go unnoticed but too well trained to ever being anything but assertive and firm, how very Senju. Madara eyed the door with weariness, it wasn’t that he hadn’t been alone with Tobirama since everything, it was just that when he had it had never been for long and he had always found himself too tongue tied to know what to say around the albino with the confusing mixture of emotions that the younger man incited in him  and maybe none of that was the Senju’s fault but – but. That didn’t make it easier. Still, Madara squeezed his eyes closed until lights flashed on his lids, combing a hand through his fine hair and tugging firmly at the thick black strands, trying to ignore that the pieces that framed his face had fully turned stark white as if the Yokai had pulled out the color on its way out (at least it hadn’t done the same with all of his hair that it had fucked with and tangled,  he would have looked like a horse with a spotted coat – or splattered with paint and either one would have been annoying), fuck. “Come in” he ground out, dragging his hand free and trying to ignore how little negative things he felt and how little Izuna rose in his mind when Tobirama looked like that as the door opened.

The albino was dressed in the same- rather Uchiha- style as he had been since Madara had returned and the longer hair was half tied up in a small knot on the back of his head with a gray crystal hair pin Madara had once given Kagami as a child, it looked…. Damn it. That style with the half up thick white hair and the wild bangs that fell around his face both accentuated  and softened his sharp features as did the habitual black kohl around his eyes (Amaterasu he was pretty), carefully Madara didn’t allow his face to change at the sight of the man that – that – that was supposed to – fuck. Seeming to gather something from his face- Madara had no idea what- the Senju visibly set his jaw and came as close to storming as he ever did when he approached Madara where the Uchiha was sitting up in bed, the covers draped over his legs and lower half lest Kagami’s fiancé catch him and turn that bloody look on him. “Here” the Senju ground out, a heavy cloth covered bundle smacking on to the covers with enough force that Madara sent up a halfhearted whisper of gratitude that the albino hadn’t just dumped it on his legs because that thing was heavy as fuck given the force it hit the bed with. Warily the Uchiha sent a careful look at the Senju, noting the faint quiver in his fingertips and the determined way the albino was looking over his head rather than fixedly meeting Madara’s eyes as he always had before; nervous, the Senju was nervous and that wasn’t helping Madara’s wariness especially if the was the ‘Orb of Doom’ Madara had heard so much about – though if it was why was the Senju still in a blast radius? On the other hand… Madara knew that eye twitch and was well aware that it never led to anything good and he had learned to get out of the way- and slip a patsy in the way- when it made its presence known – only that wasn’t an option now, not with them alone in the room with those golden scars and their brothers’ ghosts.

“What is it?” he asked finally, gruff and trying not to fall too far in any direction out of the sheer confusion on how he was supposed to respond to this (Izu-) or bristle when those pretty red eyes rolled in that way that the Senju had always had that always made Madara crack a grin, the expression on the Uchiha’s face twisting with a mix afront and amusement as his mouth opened, “O-“ only to hiss as the heavy bundle was nudged into his legs, a cat like curl to his lips. Madara snarled wordlessly, flinching back and then blinking in surprise when he realized that though heavy and hard it wasn’t cold of menacing; in fact, brow furrowing and Senju shoved to the side of his mind Madara poked the liquid looking fabric tentatively, cocking his head like one of his confused hawks as he nudged the gap in the folds further open. It… it seemed like crystal or glass, darkness filled with red fogged storm clouds like nebula in which Sharingan stars winked and vanished in slowly turning clouds of chakra all of it wrapped in a cool cradle of chakra, clean and deep, like falling through the darkness into the stars under the gaze of a watchful god – judged with ever mercy and enough objectivity that the promised rest of death felt real and imminent. All of it curled around the swirling universe that was more purely Uchiha than anything that Madara had felt in years, as enthralling as it was sobering to see what his clan could be when the Yokai had no place in their souls; their beautiful souls, all his clan in their passion and violence and adoration and grief, in their bondless promise that not even Madara was at all sure he had ever seen before so clearly. No hand could have formed this that did not love his clan and their potential, that did not believe they could overcome the treachery of memory and embody before all else the truth that memory is the vessel from which love is poured.

(How – how could Tobirama, Tobirama who seemed so unlike them, how could he see the heart of Madara’s kin so much more truly than even generations of Uchiha had?)

Madara’s hands trembled as he brushed the fabric off the stone, about seven inches in diameter and a greater world that his mind could ever understand caught in its depths, (the last time he felt thus he had been so small as he mother placed his baby sibling in his arms, her hand under his arms and the babe’s fragile head, her smile kind and warm on a wide eyed Madara) but this…. He cupped the stone, the surface oddly – silky, warm like sun warmed rock and cool like that rock draped in cool silk or liquid organza, decadent, beautiful. “How-?” he rasped, transfixed by the way he could feel ages of his kin in the stone, little fragments of every Uchiha with Sharingan and through them all the Uchiha that they had shared memory with that also had Sharingan in great lines of shared memories like shinning ribbons of moonlight in the dark. He couldn’t bring himself to look away from the stone even when the bed sank under Tobirama’s too-slight weight and a deeply uncertain hand landed on his wrist, long fingertips curling just over the bone of Madara’s wrist, softly chilly on his Uchiha warm skin. “How-?” Madara choaked out again, bent over the most precious thing he could conceive of that didn’t carry a beating heart, “how did you make this? How did you know – do you know? Do you understand-“ his voice was strangled again as he felt a flickering brush of his oldest brother’s memorized chakra over his skin, but how could Tobirama have understood? How could he when even Madara hadn’t known?!

Water splashed over his fingers and the stone, sinking through the crystal like it was made of something else entirely; Tobirama’s fingers were brushing over his skin in a medic check and his chakra was rising but – clean, true, steadier than it had been in an age. Cool fingers brushed feather light under Madara’s fringe, and he hardly noticed even when, gentle as butterfly wings and so tentative so close to an Uchiha eye even though that one had been ruined in using Izanagi; but he wasn’t paying attention to the albino’s so careful exploration, still transfixed on –

That-

But –

(how)

The sound Madara made was animal even as healing chakra curled spider web thin strands around his eye through blown chakra lines and wrecked flesh, he curled in over the stone more hardly caring about the way that his brow once again landed on Tobirama’s collar bone and the albino’s free hand cupped the back of his neck just like it had outside of Konoha and the soothing nonsense that was filling the air. How could he have been aware of that when he could feel the bright flash of Izuna’s chakra under his fingers, dancing around his hands as it had when he was young and not so thoroughly blooded (who gave that memory? Which of those that knew them as children had remembered Izuna thus and placed it here?); this was his Izuna, the one that he had lost ages ago long before either of them had to deal with Hashirama’s ‘promises’, this was the brother that built a trust born in kin-blood and built in long hours on their tutor’s floors arguing history and philosophy and right and wrong, this was the Izuna that would have backed his play without question and when he closed his good Sharingan –

Izuna grimaced bitterly, his small face red with anger as Kiyomizu watched the boys argue bitterly, continuing to escalate until Izuna screamed and stormed out, leaving Kiyomizu alone with the young clan heir, tears wobbling on his lashes but not falling even when his lip quivered. He also didn’t run after Izuna and Kiyomizu had to admit he was impressed – and touched, when he asked softly, “You’re not going to run after him? Try and make up?” it was curiosity partly, and a test the rest, a leader could not allow his certainty to be ruled by even those he loved best and though it was a hard lesson for a child they lived in a hard world as Kiyomizu knew far too well.

Madara sniffed hard, scrubbing his face clean and shaking his head sending his feathery hair floating like ash-down on the warm fall air, “No” he whispered “how c’n I – ‘m right, I KNOW I’m right and ‘f I let Izuna sway me now…” he trailed off, looking small and tired in their warm school room and Kiyomizu blew out a breath, kneeling and stroking the wild hair as strands of their own long sleek hair fell over their shoulder and the folds of their robe brushed against small shoulders that were carrying far too much on them already. Especially since Madara was right, in both the moral point and the point about allowing others to bend examined certainties with emotional demands; but a lecture on that was not what was needed right now so Kiyomizu stood after a moment and said nothing when the small boy set about helping them clean rather than running off to other- much more fun- pursuits. If a smile curled their lips when small shuffling steps finally came around the corner and lingered near the threshold, Izuna’s tiny apology almost lost under his sniffles and the patter of Madara running to haul his little brother into his arms comforting in its own way.

Touched the teacher glanced over his shoulder, letting his Sharingan flash into Mangekyō for a breath on the sight of the brothers curled together Izuna muttering that he still didn’t agree with Madara but “-’f I don’t agree th’n I’v gotta learn more so I can change you’r mind or mine!” he pronounced loudly, dark eyes glimmering with warm red “’sides, ‘ven if I don’t agree you’r my brother an’ clan leader, I trust you and I would back you through hell Madara, don’t you know I would? If I ever don’t you remember than that’s not me no matter what your eyes say, got it!” Kiyomizu’s heart ached, they hoped that this never changed – and for him at least it wouldn’t, this moment would live forever ever if time tore what now seemed so strong. Such was the nature of the Uchiha, to live with duality and in multitudes and see the beauty of it all; Kiyomizu would have it no other way.

Madara’s bed eye burned, it seared in his skull even with the cooling chakra but it didn’t hurt half as much as that image, as those words, Izuna’s promise made long before they knew better and – a sudden yank jolted him as a strong hand fisted in the hair at the back of his head, hauling Madara back just enough for thin pale lips the color of shell to press just under the corner of his eye and the chakra flow to strengthen until with a snap, something in his head shifted and Madara’s blinked dazedly with two working eyes. Wha-? “Kami” T-the Se-….tobirama’s voice was wry and grudgingly fond when his eyes dragged back to the albino who was mostly focused on picking his hand out of Madara’s thick hair “its always another giant chakra evolution with you isn’t it hmm? The new eye is rather pretty though, I had no idea they came in like this, red at the center like ink in milk - though the duochrome effect is interesting, at least you and Sasuke have something to talk about now though his is always purple so you will probably get comments on yours being ‘pink’” Madara yelped, slapping the hand not cradling the crystal to his chest to his face, only to grimace when it got close enough to smell, it smelled like burnt skin and Madara’s sharp eyes snapped to the fast healing scar of his fingers on Tobirama’s wrist in the split second before the albino casually flipped his sleeve to cover the mark; was Madara doomed to always scar this name when given gifts?

His spiral was halted sharply when Tobirama flicked him between his eyes, slanted red eyes glittering and clever, “I want it noted, bright hawk, that I not only fixed up whatever we are calling that but also got your eye fix up and bumped up a level, so never say I didn’t do anything for you. Capuche?” it was clearly a tease but Madara’s stomach lurched, Tobirama was right, he was two or three gifts in (though he was trying to avoid that wording in difference to Madara’s ‘refusal’ of the first one – which…was appreciated as Madara had no idea what to do with that) and several times saving Madara’s sanity and sanctity, honoring Madara in many ways as close to a spouse as he could and still respect Madara’s boundaries and antipathy – to the point of ignoring and hiding scaring that Madara had inflicted not only when it wasn’t needed or deserved but when he was actually helping the Uchiha and that…. Kami, Madara had never felt so much shame as he did at the thought of the times he had called Tobirama honorless even if he had only ever done so halfheartedly.

“I – I…. apologize S-, ah – Tobirama.” even with everything it was hard to say the word, even when Tobirama had already stood and walked to the window, apparently ignoring the way Madara was cradling the Heart of the remembered-Uchiha into his chest like a favored blankie, as both now restored eyes watched the tidal movement of the Senju, like a moon-colored wave – all calm lapping with terrible force and seductive death lingering just under the surface, waiting. Still, at that word the slender form stiffened, frozen for a long moment before he blew out a slow contained breath and the angle of his shoulders forcibly released.

“Well,” Tobirama’s voice was odd in a way Madara’s couldn’t place “possession is quite the excuse” (but, Madara hadn’t always been possessed, like moments ago when he burned that bony wrist; and anyway, while Madara wouldn’t press it also wasn’t an acceptance) “and since I truly can’t remember the last time anyone bothered to use that word with me I really think it’s unnecessary and we can dispense with such things considering all the past there is to consider. Water under the bridge and all that.” But that…. That didn’t feel good at all, in fact somehow Madara felt worse now and it had nothing to do with having apologized to the Senju that killed his brother, which was rather… novel honestly; Tobirama always did have a way with flipping Madara’s world around on its axis, literally and metaphorically. He had rather forgotten how refreshing it was honestly – if also a bit sad in the way seeing a soaking wet, starving street cat shivering and yet refusing any aid or kindness was sad and Madara was rather fascinated to feel his interest narrow in further on the albino, fuck, he – he didn’t – but honestly Tobirama looked almost jarringly pathetic and wispy, like without his brother and without his duty he was as lost as Madara had felt when Izuna died and all his avenues forward were closed in his face (at least until the Yokai got in, but Madara wasn’t ready to go there yet and even the thought had him clutching his comforting crystal a bit closer). Could it be that Tobirama found himself at the same strange place that Madara was only slowly starting to see? That crossroads when a myth has out lived their legend and though it would go on without them now… now that they had lived past their climax they had to navigate a denouement and try not to become the old toxin that they had fought so often in their youth; what was left when a myth- good or ill- took wing and rose higher and higher and you had to learn how to be a man again without it walking in your shadow, of perhaps for the first time.

Was – was it a betrayal of Izuna if Madara allowed his mind to fully latch on to the man that killed him the way it wanted too already? Could Madara live with himself if he allowed himself to memorize those strong hands and the golden scars the way he wanted to (could he touch without shame? Tobirama- even at Madara's most bitter hatred- deserved better than shame). It was horribly tempting, to not have to navigate alone this new world where he was so much older and stripped of all his goals and even his place in the culture; Madara wasn’t sure that he could re-find a place in this world that no longer belonged to him after all he lost and all that had been ripped out with the yokai (and all the betrayal, Hashirama why-?), he had no place in his clan or his village or family left, no duty or responsibility to cling too, no interest in becoming hidebound and cruel as his elders had been, he – he had nothing but a faint wish to strengthen the youth and molten gold on slender strong hands, hands that felt like succor to a drowning man in turbulent waters and were so freely offered (and so perfect on his skin when every time Madara thought he would lose himself again Tobirama had been there to comfort and calm and ease the pain no matter the cost to himself). Madara wanted –

But.

Izuna.

How could he disrespect his brother like that? How could he cherish and depend on hands that had once been dyed red in Izuna’s blood? Even the idea made him feel sick and Madara closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples. His body was exhausted but mostly hale but his mind was….. fragile, unwell, (an odd flip of Tobirama with the fulcrum of their weary hearts) and Madara was smart enough to know he couldn’t keep thinking about this without slipping and he had no interest in seeing what that looked like.

From the window there was a soft sigh, Madara already knew that if he looked Tobirama would be looking at him framed in sunlight, a sight he couldn’t bear to see at the moment. “Don’t think on it bright hawk, just, let it pass for now and don’t worry at it; heal, wait, let time pass and the pain settle, we have time enough for that now.” The albino’s steps were silent but Madara felt no concern when long fingers pressed gently to the top of his head, curling a few long black locks around them loosely before retreating in a mix of apology and forgiveness with his last words. “It’s a little funny, no? For us two of all to be the ones left to pass the slow years by…. Fate must have a sense of humor I suppose, time has a new meaning now for us – we have over flowing cups.” The last word trailed off in a wistful sadness that spoke of faraway thoughts and of pains ill-suited to the golden plains that unrolled ahead of them and Madara hiccupped a wet laugh, painfully aware of what Tobirama meant and how once again he felt as though the albino alone saw Madara and yet – still he drew Madara into him every time, offering comfort and understanding in the face of every contest when all others had turned away. Izuna… Izuna would have been suited for this, for aging and finding a new place in the clan and relishing the slow path that Madara had always eschewed for the drive of duty. But – Izuna – Izuna was d-ead and Madara had years yet to contend with and his only safety in freefall cradled him in red dyed hands.

Aching Madara swiped halfheartedly at the crystal and the wetness that was sliding over the polished suffice but it was only replaced with every wipe and hitching breath and finally he curled painfully over the crystal, body shaking as he ached at the idea of aging when the oldest Izuna would ever get was the boy in this stone - and the haunting shade of the bloodsoaked man that would have doomed them for blood rather than set down his blade, a man that Madara couldn’t even begin to reconcile with and feared that he never would no matter how many slow years he was burdened with.

Chapter Text

Sasuke leaned his chin on his hand, visible eye half lidded as he listened to the Uchiha clan council speak in the cool depths of the clan hall the light through the painted tatami throwing lovely patterns over the floor. There were only a few true Elders left (shinobi almost never reached great age, for all their power few lived to see their sixties and Uchiha especially rarely given the way the Sharingan could degrade over time especially in further evolutions; the clan had always maintained that in order to sit on the council as an Elder of the Uchiha you had to have a three tomoe Sharingan, be over sixty, and have served as an active battle nin for at least a year. Lineage helped and realistically few took up the position without being of the ‘higher’ bloodlines in the clan but some did, some did and especially now over half the council was appointed from feats of skill or wisdom rather than merit and blood; it was a stark difference from the clan of Sasuke’s youth that condemned Itachi and drove his father to increasingly brittle pride (Sasuke’s mother had been as close as was left to the mainline and Madara-oji, ((realistically Shisui had been a candidate too but with his early death…)) and both noble and extremely skilled with genjutsu, but his father… Fugaku had been a lower family and born out of wedlock to boot, his skill and obedience to tradition had raised him far but it had always been known that had Mikoto pushed it was her word that would have been final – hence her never speaking up and risking undermining him). This clan was still the loving passionate place that Tobirama-sensei had once spoken of, that had been such a terrible loss to the village and left a burned out hole in the place Sasuke had grown up in; and he hoped that someday he would stop seeing ghosts in every corner, seeing flickers of family faces sweeping the engawas, smiling under the sun, seeing Shisui beaming around the corner as he waited to spook Itachi when they were kids only to fall to smoke when Sasuke looked a second time.

Sasuke hadn’t thought he was all that clan attached after all of it, but seeing the lined and stern face of Asuka as he had known her watching the meeting from the empty cushion next to her ancestor, misty edged and fleeting, was just…. He had thought there was little lost love after all of Itachi’s pain and yet – and yet somehow seeing the way that this place was supposed to be lived in when there was still a life to live made him feel older than words could encompass. Surely he had not been so foolish a child to not see how much he had lost? Surely he was not still so foolish as to still be living in that other version of his life, walking with ghosts when the walls felt more real when they didn’t bounce back laughter and arguments and life; even here in the council of the oldest of his kin who had seen much horror and pain Sasuke felt so old, as thought he had lived a thousand years and a million lifetimes, the press of the Sage seal and the whispers of Indra curling around dead halls and whispering in burning buildings that went up like torches like they had just been waiting to burn and burn. (Flames constantly burned in the back of his mind, fires and falling stars seared into him like the ash of space and time still ate through his skin; all of time happening all at once when he had lived in so many ages and ‘whens’ in his strange and complex life, the one thing he couldn’t outrun that never left his side – time.)

“-And what thinks our revered clan head?” Ayaka’s sharp voice sliced through his musing sharply and with deliberate slowness Sasuke lifted his eyes off the past to turn his black gaze on the elder and the thin line of her mouth, her challenging eyes spiting with rage for his disinterest and apparent inattention.

“This one hardly sees the issue that we have spent the last,” he paused and made a show of flickering his sharingan to catch the exact timing “three hours and seven minutes endlessly chasing like a dog after it’s own tail. If you expect me to protest increased worship of the kami then you are a fool for forgetting that my husband is a Tenko, if you want me to be affronted that the other clans have also expressed an interest in worship and making a proper village temple with the idea to allow other clans to send there children to learn the way of worship as my Naruto teaches it then you are also a fool. In the end this one will not vote in any direction and if the honored council want to debate silliness to feel important far be it for me to stop you but you will have to put the vote to the clan as it will not be changed into absurdity here under this one.” One of the other elders, one that took pride in being liberal and fussily was always raising new stupid issues to debate just to show off his values, opened his mouth and Sasuke waved his hand sharply, annoyance starting to slide over his bones (he had no interest in disbanding the elders and their oversight but kami, the fucking stupidity they were willing to treat like a threat to the Uchiha way of life…). “No, this one grows weary of this foolishness, there is much to be discussed of the future and yet these honored elders sit and dig at the past as if doing so will change a dammed thing. We do not need to prove anything to anyone, the village the least of all, our lineage is well known as if our skill and memory; what need have the Uchiha to throw our clan at the front to be killed for empty words and titles that come to nothing, or have you forgotten the Sarutobi? If the elders are really as confident about the Uchiha blood and providence as they say they are then there would be no need to prove anything and I grow tired of seeing our blood and love dead for other people’s wars.”

A nasty knot of anger in Sasuke’s gut tightened harshly and, impulsively, he scraped his hand through his fringe, shoving it off his face and revealing the softly glowing Rinnegan that turned slowly as it took in the extra light, the black spiral on churning amethyst ambiently pulling at the minds of those around him without any charge of chakra. “You may think that little things like who builds what temples and worships how- as if the kami only belong to the Uchiha- matter,“ he scoffed and tossed his head a bit, the hot rotation of the Rinnegan a little soothing after everything “but I can promise you it does not. There will be plenty of time to earn acclaim by blood and loss in the future but I at least would see our blood outlive such times and that goal will take no little work; the past has come and gone and though we will never forget or leave it behind do not make the mistake of trying to live in it because the future it coming no matter what and if it takes us unawares we will not survive time with all the renown in existence.” The Rinnegan turned and a misty premonition rose around him for a flickering second before Sasuke squashed it, ignoring the fine dusting of white ash that was settling on everything, he missed Naruto – there was lots of reason that Sasuke would always regret the way he handled all that after the fourth war, the way he ran from Naruto and all that the village represented and never cut clear lines with Sakura earlier to save her the pain of all that shit, he hated that his running had meant that neither he nor Naruto had been there to save Hinata and deal with the Ōtsutsuki as was their place (they were as close as it came to being kin to that cursed clan, in blood and partial reincarnation and the gift- as if glorious purpose was a gift to any but the mad- of the Sage, the Ōtsutsuki were their burden and yet they had been gone when they shouldn’t have been and one of the best of them had died for it in refusing to allow that little Ōtsutsuki bastard to touch her; it hung over both of them Sasuke knew, a cloud of guilt and responsibility that was tethered to their very love and what it cost the world, never again. Never again).

The Rinnegan ached softly as it flicked over the frozen council and Sasuke tapped his nails to the lacquered surface of the tea tray, mouth pursing in frustration, “Tell me now, if it is the will of the Uchiha that they always live in the past and offended by slights long dead? Is our pride in dust worth more than our blood in honor? Tell me if this clan has fallen to that depth, if we have decayed so far from our forefather over the ages and the forgotten when for all his mistakes Indra never forgot what was owed to the living and once chose to leave loved kin in honor of the lost and in refusal of allowing his work to be discarded. He is the forefather of Ninshū as well as ninjutsu and so long as I am asked to lead this clan this one will never allow him to be forgotten in success and failure; so if we are quite done chasing tails and shadows out of fear that they have insulted us perhaps this council will be willing to move on to the second fucking page of the proposal and see the notes on using the temples to see that Ninshū is passed on to all nin that will learn it as Indra would have wanted?” the silence was stunned and frustrating and Sasuke felt the Rinnegan spin faster in his eye, gathering information that he chose to ignore for the moment, his patience quickly diminishing until at last Mizuto visibly gathered himself, firming his mouth and straightening his clothing sharply.

“Of course Uchiha-sama is correct, more worship can only be appropriate and the Uchiha are only as absent from the village endeavors as we allow ourselves to be; I think that Tobirama-sama is a clear enough sign of that given how many of our clan thought he shunned us and closed ourselves off for it out of fear without any action ever having been taken when it is clear now that any strangeness was only his affection for Madara-sama. We must not become focused on perception and forget that not even the Sharingan sees all of the heart-“ his eyes flicked to purple for a second but no longer “-we chose this place and we must continue to do so if we wish to live up to our best selves; Ninshū seems a meaningful place to begin to me, Uchiha-sama was bequeathed it from Tenko-dono?” Sasuke nodded sharply, close enough if in a circular way, and did nothing to uncover his Rinnegan again after his fringe fell forward over it again with the motion; slowly he relaxed back slightly as slowly the council gathered themselves, a few with ruddy cheeks from shame and discomfort and one or two taking glancing looks at his recovered eye. Perhaps revealing that had not been wise at this juncture, but they had to listen, this could not be allowed to continue or it would drive the clan down the road to isolation and death again without fail even if the particulars were changed of the crash and burn. Itachi might never be born into his clan again but if he was – if he was Sasuke refused to allow any version of his brother to see the same misery that he had once been forced to carry; if that meant ripping the clan open along the lines of their futile pride like an over ripe fruit then Sasuke would fucking do it. (And maybe in time, the sticky red on his hands would be pomegranate juice and not blood; or maybe not, Sasuke would almost certainly not ever live to see this clan made clean and sharp and bright as they could be, like the light of star fire and a razor sharp bade but – he hopped that no matter what even if his eyes never saw it alive, he hopped that the smoke of the burning timeline could carry it up to the changed afterlife and the last whisper of his dead kin, of his broken brother and forefather and sad mother and Shisui in the last moment before their souls burned ephemeral. Sasuke had an entire time to mourn, he hopped to do so with action and toil; perhaps in time it would change the soil into something rich and new to be built in the ashes, he could dream.)

Sasuke stood at the gates to the village and it took all he had not to shift impatiently and keep listening to what Mizuto was telling him, not when he could taste it in the air, like the building of a great lightning storm boiling and pushing a rain soaked wind ahead of it’s arrival; Naruto was coming home, Naruto was coming home, in the face of that the rest was pressed to the side as it had been since he first felt the proceeding edge of his lover’s chakra push over his skin in static and power. His kitsune had still been miles out at that point and Sasuke had tried to keep working as long as he could before the need to wait for his husband at the gate as Naruto had once waited for him had grown too overwhelming, even knowing it could still be hours before even the blonde's speed would bring him close to the village. Sasuke didn’t mind waiting, it seemed fair really that he do it this time and anyway Naruto had passed into the forest around the village not too long ago and he would catch Sasuke’s scent before long and then he would really put on speed Sasuke knew; soon they would be together Sasuke just had too – the raven on the edge of the forest stopped crowing suddenly, the dark head turning to the trees just as Sasuke’s lips pulled back in a broad smile and he stepped away from the elder without a second thought, the distant crack through chakra of Naruto turning up speed and shattering the sound barrier echoed back to him and he laughed, bright and delighted as not even a breath later a golden blur blitzed out of the dark greenery like a flash of lightning, slamming straight into the dark haired Uchiha without slowing at all as Sasuke laughed, the sharp BOOM of the sound barrier underscoring his delight as he caught lighting in his palms.

To the watching nin it looked almost impossible, lighting flashing out of the trees and splashing over the dark haired nin, illuminating him in gold and eye searing brilliance that seemed to almost coalesce in reverse into the shape of the Tenko, nine tails spread and gold hair loose and wild whips of knee length sunlight swirling around him as the Uchiha caught his immortal lover around the waist with his single hand, spinning the golden being with them pressed together and smiling blissfully at the same time, his eyes both shut and face soft as their brows pressed together, the Tenko’s infernal red wide open and fixed on the Uchiha like looking away was a cardinal sin.

Sasuke felt as though he could breath again, Naruto’s skin and chakra buzzing with brilliance and life once again, a little changed perhaps but once more clean and bright and vivid, Sasuke’s Naruto through all the hell that they had lived through together. The hands cupping his face- sharp claws lifted to keep from pricking the Uchiha’s skin- warm and calloused (Mizuto trusted the Tenko, of course he did, but – gods those sharp silver claws were so close to Sasuke’s closed eyes and he didn’t seem to care as sliver brushed his dark lashes, the long fingers tangled in their clan head’s fringe) and so welcome; “Missed you” the Uchiha breathed, the words slipping out far more easily than he would ever have believed they could have an age ago when he was still running away like he could do anything other than find that wherever he went his heart was there too, impossible to leave behind when Sasuke saw his other half in every smile and sunny day and glitter of light on the sea. He had always missed Naruto on those ‘missions’ but… well, he regretted running away now and hoped that he would never have reason to miss Naruto for so long again; he could love from any distance but it was admittedly rather more enjoyable when they could actually touch and he had learned to cherish every moment together when he had it, no matter the circumstance.

Naruto laughed softly, his golden tails curling around them as he used one of the hands on Sasuke’s cheek to steer the Uchiha into a soft, lingering, kiss; press and release and pressing in again like he couldn’t bare to breathe a breath that wasn’t supped from Sasuke’s lips. One hand stayed on the dark-haired man’s cheek and the other tunneled back into his hair as he murmured into Sasuke’s mouth, “Missed you too, always miss you, like moonlight through my fingers, just – Sas” his touch was clinging, and edge of desperation to the touch that Sasuke tried to sooth, petting down the Tenko’s spine and humming soothingly, the next “Sasuke” much softer and steadier and the Uchiha felt his lips turn up in a small smile as he opened is eyes and took in the harsh cut of Naruto’s jaw, the soft arch of his golden stubbled cheeks and the vibrant striations of impossible blue that still lingered around the slit pupil of Naruto’s eyes that no one but him would ever have a chance to see.

“I’ve just been waiting for you, you silly kit” the Uchiha teased – though the indecent amount of affection in his voice rather ruined any actual force in the words and turned them soft and gooey in a way that made the scattered watchers flush hotly and look away, it felt almost… inappropriate to hear such a tone from an Uchiha, especially when the fox smiled like that back at said Uchiha.

“Then slow down so I can catch up a bit” the Tenko whined, a flash of something real in his tone and Sasuke aching sweetly at the reference (how many times had Naruto called out ‘Slow down!’ as Sasuke ran over the years?), shifting his hand to tangle his fingers in the loose golden hair in response.

“I wouldn’t go so fast or so far if I didn’t know you would catch up eventually, no matter how far I go I know you will be with me in every step and thought, synchronized in breath if not in body – to the moon even I am sure.” Naruto laughed softly under his breath at the words, ducking in close enough to nuzzle at the Uchiha; a quiet, steadfast, earthshaking, adoration that had started almost from their first years knowing one another written in his ever movement. An adoration that Sasuke knew better than almost anything; even his much vaunted blood, even in a way than the Sharingan – for after all, one of the very first things his eyes saw was Naruto, in all his childish brilliance that had only been beaten into further purity with every passing year, trial and tribulation. In all of Sasuke’s painful years there was no denying that Naruto had been perhaps the most dependable things in his world and there was something almost sad about the fact that even the transmogrification of his very nature and burning of their timeline and the reality of his brutal fate could not shatter that simple fact of Naruto’s Naruto-ness. Perhaps Naruto would have been less pained had that not been true, perhaps had he been broken or bent of warped under the hammer of their world it would have caused him less agony with some level of protective change, but – that would not be Naruto, no, Sasuke’s Naruto would only ever allow some small jadedness and a thin coat of aloofness to ease the pain. Anything more extreme was a passing thing born out of overwhelm and had eased the second Naruto had a chance to catch his breath – which did not mean that Sasuke was not going to follow Sakura’s suggestions; it might be true that Naruto never stopped being Naruto but some assistance never went awry and Sasuke hoped that his heartbound would have reason to doubt that Sasuke was reaching back no matter the distance.

After all, time, distance, and divinity, had never stopped them thus far had it?

Chapter Text

Kumiko watched with folded arms as her teammates slumped around the small table in the Dull Kunia, the ambient noise of the barkeep washing glasses loudly a bit grating in the otherwise mostly silent bar where only the slow whoosh of the fans overhead broke the stagnant quiet that ill fit even a dingy dive like this. It was a bit of an jarring side effect of the odd timing that shinobi missions could enforce and the fact that most nin didn’t want to go home as soon as debrief was over if the mission adrenaline was up still and the crash hadn’t hit yet – mostly Kumiko’s team didn’t like to be apart for the first cooldown period and that meant finding a place to hang together until they crashed that was open at all hours and wouldn’t care about fights and shaking hands breaking glasses or tempers flaring. Not that that happened as often as it used to now, too much had changed recently and for all that Kumiko didn’t agree with everything that her teammates thought she wasn’t… she wasn’t unmoved by all of it and it put her in an awkward place honestly, enough so that even following their old habits no longer sat as comfortably as it once did.

Above the door the old bell clanked weakly, as close to wheezing as a bell could ever come, and Kumiko’s mouth twisted bitterly; she didn’t like the invaders in her team traditions either, that one she was sure of. She didn’t mind Hikaru of course as if Kamiko and Iemon had had their way Hikaru would have been on their mission team to keep their genin team together and now that Hikaru and Iemon were engaged that added more layers to the connection so she was an honorary part of their four man strike team; instead the fucking Hyuuga had flat out refused to allow Hikaru on an out of village team even though they had all graduated in the first class (and oldest class) through the academy together. But no, even though Hikaru’s twin was heir apparent until the clan head had kids and stayed in village so there was no reason to trap Hikaru too, they had still insisted that both twins stay as if Hikaru had something that her twin didn’t – Kumiko just hoped they wouldn’t try and meddle in the marriage and force Iemon to go to the Hokage for intersession, not that she thought that Kagami-sama wouldn’t intercede but…. Kumiko had a lot of reasons not to feel great about that these days, they all did. Which, in an odd roundabout way was why they were now joined in their favorite dive by people that had never been on a team with them leaving Kumiko feeling like a cat that had been petted in the wrong direction even if Iemon seemed to find enough value in it for her to keep her mouth shut if not play nice.

As if sensing her thoughts the Yamanaka shot her a cautioning glace out of dark amber eyes, his short cut honey blond hair falling messily into his eyes, a smear of dirt over his slightly too large nose for his nearly perfectly proportioned face; even his elegance slightly dented after a two week mission with little downtime and the dinge of their environment, his good manners a little less polished now as they had been ever since he mind walked Uchiha-sama despite his relation to his clan head uncle and Hyuuga fiancé. (Kumiko… mourned it, a bit, it had been exasperating being on a team with Iemon and Hikaru and their manners at all times but despite how often she had threated tearing that pretty elegance down now that it had been tarnished she found there was no satisfaction in it; not when it was accompanied by the screaming night terrors that he had trained to clench his teeth through in the night but still woke Kumiko and their two other teammates all too often to watch him suffer the backlash of mind walking a- the- Uchiha.) Slightly sullenly Kumiko tossed her thick black mane over her shoulder, mouth twisting in annoyance as the corse strands caught on her fingers and clothing, and looked away from where Iemon was standing up from his conversation with Shin, their pretty Nara teammate not looking much more pleased than Kumiko with their guests, to greet Homura as the bespectacled shinobi wove his way through tightly packed but empty tables to their corner booth, trailing his perpetual Shimura shadow as he always seemed to be these days (Kumiko had no respect for the little toady, Souta Shimura was all but incapable of making his own opinions as far as she could see and following Danzo and Sarutobi was just…. Gross).

“Mitokado, how surprising to see you today” Iemon greeted the slight older Shinobi, only mildly awkwardly which was probably impressive but Kumiko didn’t care as she exchanged a disgusted look with Shin behind his back. Sure, they might all have some of the same opinions but none of them would ever stand behind the kind of betrayal that Danzo had been cultivating or any level of disrespect to Tobirama-sama or even Madara-sama; as far as Kumiko and Shin were concerned you only got to say that sort of shit about living legends if you wouldn’t have an accident if they looked at you the wrong way, no matter what anyone thought of either man there was no ignoring that both had power and accomplishments that they gained while following their personal codes without fail no matter how much anyone else liked the code in question. Honestly it was a bit odd to be matching in response with Shin, Kumiko loved her teammate but part of what made the team work was the fact that all four of them were very different and they rarely had the same response to anything – especially Kumiko and Shin. Kumiko was passionate and action oriented, she would rather line her eyes darkly and feel the color of the firelight burnishing her bronze skin as she danced through arson than sit neatly and spin a spider web in a light pretty kimono with perfectly even lighting to look delicate and doll like, all soft pretty features, large eyes, pouty lower lip, and fluffy warm toned hair. (Kumiko wanted them to see her as the threat she was, Shin never wanted them to have any clue until they were choaking on their own blood, they complimented each other well and Kumiko got on with Shin’s girl when the prissiness got grating. Also, the fourth member of their team Michiko bridged the gap when needed.)

At the table where the Shimura rat and Homura had joined Iemon and Shin the Nara cleared her throat loudly, jerking Kumiko back to the present from where her mind had been wandering to her maybe-boyfriend in time to hear the rat-bastard bitterly muttering about the new Uchiha-sama taking odd pauses in weird places and staring into the distance like he was seeing something they couldn’t and had Iemon seen any madness in his head? (Kumiko…. Had doubts. It was an Uchiha, he probably could see something the rest of them couldn’t and the little rat was grasping at straws – straws that forced Kumiko’s all but brother relive one of the worst events of his life- the way he screamed when he dreamed-. This was stupid, this was so stupid and Kumiko -) exasperated the tall woman pushed off the wall she had been leaning on, too jittery from mission comedown to sit and drink with the rest pretending they liked this piece of shit, biting out a fast goodbye and bearing her teeth at Shin when the Nara sent her a nasty look for the abandonment; Shin’s girl would be there soon Kumiko was sure so fuck that, Kumiko wanted to see Shinku and drown in his pretty red eyes not listen to these crap trying to use the real and justified concerns of the village for their own shitty aims.

Rolling her eyes she stomped out, brushing her hand over Hikaru’s shoulder when she passed the pretty Hyuuga in the doorway on her way out but not stopping to talk – no point in it when Hikaru was focused on her beau and Kumiko only had so much to say anyway that wasn’t overcharged with frustration and exhaustion. The early afternoon sun seared painfully into her eyes and she blinked quickly, trying to clear the tears from the sudden change of light, Shinku wouldn’t be done with work yet; his job at the academy was time consuming and he was more than a little invested in it to the extent that he often stayed late until Kumiko came to roust her boyfriend out of the office; especially since Sarutobi’s recent meddling and the changes in the curriculum of late he was often not home when Kumiko was ready to eat -  honestly they had only moved in together three months ago and it seriously didn’t feel like he lived with her at all (Kumiko hated it, hated the uncertainty in her relationship and the sour tase in her mouth when she saw his family). With a tired sigh the woman shoved her hands in he pockets and set off in a random direction, not realizing how close she had come to the Uchiha area until a bright voice jolted her out of her thoughts and she looked up from her dusty sandals, freezing in her steps when- just visible through an odd angle of buildings that no one else might have ever noticed- she saw the current Uchiha-sama and his wild Tenko, fully absorbed in one another like nothing else existed.

Uchiha-sama was sitting on the engawa, the loose folds of a dark kimono setting off his coloring well as the golden Tenko stood before the powerful man, his eerily lustrous tails curled around Uchiha-sama and his own feet and his fine pale clothing lost in the gold fur and hair that made him look unearthly and fantastical. Kumiko’s stomach rolled as she watched silver tipped fingers cup Uchiha-sama’s face as it tilted to look at him, an impossible smile curling the handsome face with a sickening amount of affection; Uchiha-sama might be a good man, she had no idea, he was certainly a strong one by the kami, but…. it sat painfully in her stomach. How was everyone ok with all of this? They had all been told the same stories of foxes and kitsune and even Tenko, of how flighty they were and how they entranced their prey to play with them and the fates of men and vanished into the night without a second thought when their interest waned. Kumiko had to think that that was what was happening here when she saw that look on Uchiha-sama’s face; why was no one else concerned about this? Kagami-sama was a good man and great shinobi how could he have allowed-?  Someone must have checked, but, then again, when you were talking about this much power…. (Taro…) Kumiko just… she was afraid, afraid of what her home was becoming, where they would be in the future she wanted so badly to make with Shinko? Would the little girl she dreamed of paying with, teaching her skills and brushing hair as dark and thick as hers with eyes the same lovely oxblood as Shinko grow up in a world that Kumiko understood if the Tenko stayed involved and if he didn’t would they face another near divine-Uchiha mad with the loss of a loved one?

Not – not that Kumiko really blamed Madara-sama or would blame Uchiha-sama if it came down to it, Madara-sama had been an amazing leader and fighter and the loss of his brother had been compounded by the other founders actions (or, really, Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sama had just wanted to help the man he had cared for but with a thousand problems on his plate and no willingness to hand any of it over to others for assistance – though, given Sarutobi…), his actions made sense to her even if they did trouble her but this new Uchiha with entire broken worlds in his head and a lover that was as untrustworthy as any fox and unknowable as a spirit with all the power to do the unimaginable – well, Kumiko…. It scared her, to see how much her home was changing after how hard they had all worked to make the village work to begin with, what world would she even give to a child if she ever had one? How was she supposed to keep up and – she glanced at where the Tenko had ducked closer to kiss his husband, his golden flames of hair falling around their faces when those large angular eyes opened and fixed a brilliant red look on Kumiko that sent a cold chill crawling down her spine as she hurriedly looked away, trying not to scurry away down the street and show her slowly growing fear. Maybe it was time to go home and break out the sake and try to drink all this away, at least for tonight.

Slowly Naruto pulled back from Sasuke, though not far as he only went far enough to press their brows together and suck in a shaky breath, relishing having his best beloved close if not quite able to banish the woman’s look from his mind. Naruto wasn’t a fool, he knew that they were not universally welcomed in the village and there were many different fears about all of them and especially him; Sakura had the advantage of not being quite as overpowered as them and very clearly tied to Kagami and his wishes in addition to her projects in the village that were hard to mind in a healer and medic. Sasuke followed in the path of many legendary Uchiha’s that rose far above mortality, but Naruto…. He lifted from the dirt without explanation, without narrative that they could follow, the Harald of the sun that hung in the golden path alone; how could Naruto blame any of them that feared him? Only back twelve hours and still… “You know I would rearrange the sun for you” he whispered into Sasuke’s soft hair and he felt his lover shiver with a restrained laugh, head tipped back to look at Naruto, “you know I would turn the earth inside out and swallow stars if you asked it of me, make pyramid from grains of salt and see the path of every moonbeam laying utterly straight if they would fall to my hands straight from yours.”

Sasuke’s hand skated up his side, cupping the side of Naruto’s neck, his eyes lazy and half lidded, “I know love” he promised “I know dearheart, I know you would walk any path I set you, my sweet burning boy. We chose this way together, together and forever, us two.” The last two words felt almost sacrilegious but – Sakura had already made clear that her heart was in other places with Kagami and her work, hooked in this time the way that they couldn’t do; she as finding a place that was new and they had never felt anything but gratitude for her in that place it was true but times were changing and all of them could feel it.

Exhausted the blond let his brow drop to Sasuke’s shoulder for a second, “Enough of that, you promised to introduce me to your ‘uncle’ and that is overdue; let’s beard the dragon in his den shall we?” Sasuke snorted but didn’t fight it, smoothing his hand up Naruto’s side as he stood and gave the blond a hand onto the engawa with a soft squeeze before leading the way inside where Naruto could feel the older men moving around upstairs (men? Or myths? The line was so very fine, did it really make a difference one way or another until it was beheld? Schrodinger’s legacy perhaps). Naruto waved at a beaming Sakumo that was helping with dinner as he was toed past, paying up the force Sasuke was using to pull him until their path was followed by bright childish giggles that made Naruto grin brightly, all his sharp teeth on display as he tripped up the stairs after his partner, a glittering Rinnegan purple eye flashing back over a shoulder though fine black hair over a strong shoulder though Sasuke didn’t comment on it further when a steal gray head ducked away followed by a soft hissing complaint. They were good kids, Naruto had missed them.

Still as he reached the top of the stairs he straightened with a faint sigh. Madara. His first time seeing the man awake and himself since before Kaguya got involved though it was hard to say how much that man had been Madara entirely, maybe just Madara enhanced, turned up to eleven (or twenty) until anything softer or more considering was lost under the overwhelming rage and pain. It would be interesting see if any of the more considered and sensitive artist that had written some of Tobirama-sensei’s favorite poetry was visible in the man now – Naruto was almost looking forward to getting to know the man actually now that he thought about it. At the door to the tea room on the second floor where Naruto could feel both Madara and Tobirama Sasuke stopped to look back and raise his brow in question, a faint smile flickering up his lips as Naruto grinned toothily at the Uchiha and accepting the brush of a kiss over his cheekbone as he raised his hand to knock firmly; Naruto smirked at Tobirama-sensei’s even  “Enter” from with in the room and bushed the door open with one tail, hands tucked in his sleeves and Sasuke wrapped in another golden furred tail that he rolled his eyes about even as he stroked the fur gently.

The tea room was drenched in late spring light, the last cool breezes whispering through cracked widows before the season finally ceded into summer, at the table two pots of fragrant white tea steamed softly, a prettily trimmed fir branch in a pale green vase lovely but an odd choice until Naruto remembered what happened to Hashirama in the end – fir at least had nothing to do with that. At the table on the far side the man himself sat indulgently, one knee drawn up and his thick hair a wild mane around his face and shoulders, his yukata was a pale gray and his face was tired and still a bit sickly and sunken even if the white streaks suited him and his elegance hadn’t been dented by any of it – an impression added to by the way he carried himself and his kiseru in gloved fingers braced on his leg. His visible dark eye was wary and tired, and Naruto’s smile spread further when he saw the deepened glitter in the dark depths; so, how exactly had Madara managed that at this point in time and why did Naruto have a feeling that it was somehow Tobirama-sensei’s fault? Speaking of – the albino stepped away from the side board where he had been arranging a tray of cups and small snacks, Naruto instantly ignoring the Uchiha to dart to his favorite mentor with a pleased fox yip, tail catching the tray easily as Tobirama-sensei dutifully let it go in favor of pulling the Tenko into his arms, long suffering in the face of all the fur and impossible strength.

“Welcome back Naruto” the albino greeted when he was released just before the strength of his chakra could start to burn at such a close distance, “your venture was successful then?” he asked, absently catching up the tray as he continued to the low table, kneeling neatly to place it down and siting on the side to the left of Madara as Naruto tossed himself down across from the Uchiha, his long flickering tails piled up around him except the one that draped over Sasuke’s lap when he sat across from Tobirama-sensei but so close to the corner he and Naruto could brush elbows with just a little extra adjustment. Naruto chirped when the older man started serving and Tobirama-sensei sent him a quailing look when he shifted, “Hush you, I am not going to be served by a Tenko and it is stupid to ask it of Sasuke, say thank you and don’t be a problem hmm?” grumbling the blonde sat back, tail tips flicking in discontent though he didn’t argue the sense in Tobirama-sensei’s words only – just as Tobirama-sensei moved to start placing cups Naruto watched in fascination as a gloved hand landed on the pale red stripped wrist as Madara Uchiha gently took over the serving out of the cups without a word; the Tenko’s fascinated eyes torn between the faint red washing over the high of his mentor’s cheeks and the calm, inscrutable, look on Madara’s face. How interesting, this was a development that Naruto hadn’t realized was already heading this way – Sakura and Sasuke had been holding back on him! Still, the Tenko didn’t want to make a thing of it and embarrass anyone or scare anyone off so he let it go without comment, simply raising his cup in thanks to the older man with a soft chirp and a fanged little smile that Sasuke had always liked.

Easily he sipped at the tea, cupping it between his hands and absently drawing his long silver claw over the fine porcelain gently so as not to damage it, “It is good to see you up and about Madara-sama, I am not sure how much you recall but last time I saw you it was under much more stressful circumstances so it is always a delight to discover that Tobirama-sensei was right about the sensitivity of your soul and sensibility – I should quite like to read these pomes I have heard so much about!” Next to Naruto Sasuke sighed a touch, knocking back his tea like it was something stronger and holding up his cup for a mildly exasperated Tobirama-sensei to refill with a twist of hand sign. He was ignored as Naruto was much more interested by the tiniest whisp of mortified pleasure on the older man’s face, clearly both flattered and confused; Naruto had to assume that he was unlikely to be complimented on such things very often all things considered, like Tobirama-sensei he was probably treated like a weapon and demon far more often than he was anything else as much as Naruto hated that idea. (It…was a bit odd, to be so interested in an art when art had never really been his thing before; but such pursuits were well known to be much loved by kitsunes and Tenko so perhaps it wasn’t so surprising after all that Naruto would find his interests slightly changed in this. Strangely it didn’t overly concern him to know that had changed without his say so, hopefully he was actually coming to some sort of peace with what had happened and what it meant for him. That would be a relief.)

“You flatter me” Madara-sama murmured in that voice that Naruto had only ever heard shouting commands and philosophy over a burned out battlefield (it was a nice voice, he could see why Tobirama-sensei might had liked it) “I was not aware that Tobirama had ever read anything I wrote as I rarely share it, I suppose Kagami must have made different choices after my ‘death’.” the albino stared stubbornly out the window, refusing to acknowledge either of them or their conversation as Naruto snickered a the dry tone in Madara’s voice, the Tenko amusingly untroubled by any flashbacks to the fight with the other version of this man the way that Sakura and Sasuke had been from what they had told him. But then the humor faded from Madara’s face as he looked at Naruto head on, his restored right eye glittering from behind dark strands, “A ‘death’ about which I have some questions that I am told you have what answers there are to be had, considering how much has changed and how….convoluted and concerning the story of my family becomes the longer I look on it I certainly hope that you have some insight Tenko-dono; the path of my blood through time has been praying on me increasingly of late and I find myself with many questions I have no way to answer. I hope you can understand exactly how deep my concern goes in this when the Izuna with who I raised has so little in common with the man that died in my arms and willingly contributed to poisoning my mind with madness.”

The stillness in the room was overwhelming, Tobirama-sensei’s gazed fixed on his fingers and his jaw painfully tight as Sasuke’s hand like a claw on Naruto’s tail where it had dug through the fur the second Izuna’s deep and miserable shadow had entered the room, almost a living thing – each inhale sucking all the air out of the room and refilling it on the exhale with the heavy-sweet stink of death. Unfazed Naruto learned forward over the table and set his jaw on his palm, eyeing the truest Uchiha under heavy lids as he plucked a black lock of hair up and twisted it absently around his fingers, silky-slick loops so soft on his skin; “You are asking if Zetsu had anything to do with your families’ misfortune and Curse, and more specifically if it influenced Izuna himself to explain the hatred that he grew into when you cannot find a reason for it yourself unless you blame your own mistakes.” Madara stiffened harshly, his startlingly full mouth twisting in displeasure and his dark eye snapping with pained rage, almost visibly readying to bare his claws and lash out before Naruto waved a hand, the glint of his claws a sharp reminder in the light as the Tenko waved away the situation. “On the matter of Izuna it would be difficult to speak with confidence, but it is not likely that he escaped completely without being influenced when Zetsu has been involved with the Uchiha for generations. I have little interest in lying to you Madara-sama, Sasuke has already told you much of the painful truth of it on the side of the extraterrestrial nature of your ancestress but I guess he did not address the other portion of them mess.”

Carefully Naruto sipped at his tea, eyeing the intent but not yet bothered expressing on Madara’s face (it looked like Tobirama-sensei had been right and before loss and possession he really hadn’t had that much of a fast temper, huh), slowly replacing the fine china on the table and returning to his languorous position but also catching a few more stands of Sasuke's slick black hair to play with as he did. “No matter how you look at the history of the Uchiha there is no ignoring the flaws of the bloodline that have passed down their own mistakes with every succession; the Emperor Tenji neglected to treat Kaguya with the respect that should have been her due – especially after she became pregnant with his heirs allowing her to come to harm on the excuse of not restarting a war- as if it did not make his land look weak and ripe for the taking- was madness even if he was unaware of her powers. Kaguya allowing her fear and loss to poison her heart and in time produce Zetsu was what allowed her fear to drive her to the point that she could not be allowed to continue without intervention and the fear and arrogance she passed to her sons lead to the sealing and later idiocy that had led the Sage to believe himself so above even life and death as the ultimate when he is little more than a half-bred being from another world that never bothered to assimilate for his mother’s fear. It is the Sage that ignored Indra’s efforts and concerns and left him without guidance on the Sharingan that in time allowed Zetsu in, it is that arrogance that caused him to believe that Asura was the better prospect and set them against each other in the end. Not Zetsu. Not yet anyway. Indra understood that at least, that though his issues had been enhanced and his mind destabilized he knew that it was still his issues that were going unaddressed; he wasn’t allowed to find time to attempt to improve though, that was when Zetsu interfered – not to lay the wrong path but to ensue that the path could not be changed - that it only ever slopped down steeper and steeper and there was no way off. Indra wanted to rectify it before all that was lost, he failed. Izuna never even considered that he was making a mistake even when the path under his feet became a fall, the fault may have been written in his fate but he never tried to change it.” Naruto hesitated and then added “Itachi saw the cliff, he wanted to stop and change it, but he could not imagine a world when he could and thought that the rocks at the bottom and death was the same as change.”

“Is it not?” Madara asked lowly, his eyes hidden by his lashes as he stared at his hands, “Is death not the ultimate change? If the Uchiha carry the, ha, curse shall we say, from Indra then do the Senju not also carry another version from Asura?” Naruto smiled faintly, cocking his head in a waterfall of golden hair, examining the other man, the legend, as the quick mind he was so rarely given credit for worked behind those glittering eyes. How fascinating to see what this man could be without Zetsu or Hashirama muddying the issue – it made Naruto wonder a bit how much strain it put on souls when you broke off parts of them to reincarnate them and call it a whole soul and not a new one made out of a the broken off parts of another; had it been painful to Madara to exist with Sasuke under the Edo Tensei? Had it further impacted his stability if Sasuke had been formed like a pearl around a fragment of Indra-Madara that helped with the regulation? And while Naruto had a few ideas on how it could have been resolved now which one was right? Ah, well, perhaps it wasn’t worth worrying about now, what was done was done and the line had been cut already.

“Death is not change in and of itself, not for the one that dies and not even inherently for those they leave behind; it is a fork in the road, a choice, a juncture if you will upon which you are allowed to work with all that you life has taught you. But it is not always change, some souls are stubborn, like Butsuma” red eyes flicked to Tobirama-sensei just in time to see the albino stiffen “and will take a great deal of work to wear any evolution into. The Senju have often been thus, stone to the wind and storm of their brother-blood, but once in a while a truly uncommon soul arrives like a diamond in the rough and forces change. Thus was it for the Senju in this generation – or have you missed that in almost every aspect there is no Senju clan anymore?” the quiet in the room was only enhanced by the soft sting of his silver claws over china, only Naruto unfazed by the way the two Uchiha were refusing to look at the former Senju by the window. “When a thing cannot change” Naruto continued after a second “when it refuses to consider change or allow for mistakes the allowed options become slimmer, sometimes, when a thing cannot change, it must simply be unmade. So it has been with Asura’s children, the Sage’s legacy, and though it is a name with too much force in the world to allow it to be gone entirely when only one child carries it that power can be harnessed rather differently. And besides,” he tossed out, a bit careless “the blood continues in the Uzumaki and others that have not carried the pride through the generations – or at least not Asura’s pride I should say, I am sure they have their own ‘things’.”

Madara flashed a sharp look at the blond, garnet flickering in obsidian eyes like a bloodred butterfly winging over pooling ink, and his shoulders shifted like he wanted to look back at a stiff Tobirama-sensei; clearly fighting the urge to check in – which was fascinating honestly, how Madara already become so attached? What of all this had to do with Hashirama? Hopefully not too much, Naruto knew that he had pieces of Hashirama’s soul in his and he would quite have liked to meet the man in other circumstances – but Kurama? Kurama loathed Hashirama, the Senju drove the Kyuubi up the ever-lasting wall and though it had been very funny it had also been a bit strange though Naruto had never been allowed to asked about it, yet another conversation they never got to have, he and his closest kin. Still, Naruto wasn’t too surprised when Madara refocused on his again, his voice and face sharpened further now and shifting his weight to sit up more and place more of his shoulders between the time walkers and Tobirama-sensei (ah, that… ached, a bit, to know that here Madara truly did know their teacher better and longer than them now, in a world where Edo had never yet been used like that). “And is this unmaking what the Uchiha need?” he snapped and – Naruto couldn’t help it, he tipped his head back in gales of laughter, clutching his stomach and covering his mouth as tears of mirth gathered on his lash line even when Sasuke whacked him gently.

“Ah, I – hahaha, I ap-ha-apologize,” he forced out around his amusement, “only, in every world – in any time, every attempt to remove the Uchiha from the world has only ever been the first step to it’s destruction. Perhaps this planet was not created with the Uchiha here but now, ah, now after how greatly the Ōtsutsuki have reshaped the nature of the world and how deeply Kaguya and her choices about charka and its harnessing, now our world and the energy within it would not be able to continue without our memory keepers. Think on it, Chakra did not come with the Ōtsutsuki but it has been changed and harnessed so utterly that its very nature has changed; Kaguya is a goddess, the Sage a god or all but and his brother Shinigami, the tailed beasts were made from Kaguya and have evolved to become embedded in the world enough to be lower kami of chakra, consider that, consider the movement of the clans and the tide of power. The Senju followed the way of their tides – and perhaps more importantly they had no bloodline trait breed into them as the Uchiha universally do, the collective loss of the world's memory- the Sharingan- would cripple chakra, the Mokuton has only ever had one maybe two users in a generation and often none, they are very different. Besides, they will be needed in the Final War with the last of the Senju name, until that time has come to pass I will do everything I can to ensure that the clan does not fall again no matter how many outside forces attempt to execute such a massacre. You need not fear for the Uchiha from me – or look for any knife but the one at your back.”

Madara winced and Tobirama-sensei’s chakra rose in a cool wave not quite behind his peer but given that Naruto had heard about the Ghost of the Uchiha’s refusal to give others his back…. Interesting. Very interesting. “So” the deep voice murmured like distant thunder over the plains leading to the sea “you think that this ‘Curse of Hatred’ is my clan’s folly, that we should work on letting go and cleansing eyes and forgetting.” It was all but spat the last bit, light catching the harsh edge of his leonine cheekbone and the point of a canine as well as bringing out the red depths of dark eyes and Naruto cocked his head a bit; casually slumping all his weight on Sasuke who grunted a bit but took it without concern even when the Tenko drew his wealth of golden hair over his shoulder, most looking like fluffy fur, wild hair, pale silk and bright eyes tilted adoringly into the hand Sasuke reached across to scritch at his head with. A slightly heavy handed touch maybe but, well, these men were clever to notice no matter how Naruto did it and making it a bit more obvious was more polite in that circumstance he thought – besides, he had been away from Sasuke way too long and the skritches felt good.

“Of course not” he dismissed halfheartedly “don’t be silly, if I thought that the memory of the Uchiha was the problem would I have allowed Tobirama-sensei to finish the Heart of the Uchiha much less bequeath it to you?” there was an oddly charged silence, Naruto ignored it, he was tired and he wanted this over for other things (he didn’t see the way the others stilled, the implications, that he had known every step of the way what it was and what it would be and that – that he would say with such casual confidence that he could have stopped a founder and once his own teacher as though it was a known fact…. The divide between the divine and the damned was a wide one indeed, both founders revaluating the golden puddle and Sasuke’s watchful eyes on them – ready to defend a force of nature without question because it was his and his alone in the end as much as the moon belonged to the sun that loved it so). “The memory of the Uchiha is the point of their power in a world that would too often loose the knowledge and divination it gives; the problem is remembering that that memory is treacherous, it lies and bleeds and hates as often as it loves and both to equal blindness. I think the Curse of the Uchiha is the Sage and his stupidity, but I think the lesson of this age is that sometimes, we must forgive even when we cannot forget, that in time, when honor is paid and blood tilled deep under again, new crops must grow. Remember, learn, love, mourn, grow weary, and then go out and live, trust for once that the memory will always remain for you are Uchiha whether you cling or no; let a brother’s pain not become your own for you will never truly know why they hurt so deeply, honor, rest, lament, learn, let go. Be better than the fools that made stupid choices long, long ago, be better than the Ōtsutsuki and prosper as they never could, show them that this planet is different when they come again; that we remember, and it will make us better.”

The golden corona of passion that wreathed Naruto’s body burned harshly with the force of his passion as he leaned over the table to a slightly slack jawed Madara, the older man’s spinning red eyes open wide and the burn of the sun-fire on earth was reflected back in the depth of the striated, liquid red of the sharingan (like those hot springs in Tea Country where the water was hot, and still, and clear enough everything could be seen in levels, the pigment so clear and deep and uncanny – natural, like the dark other state was a lack of light not a change in color, not like Naruto’s which had never fully managed to look like they were natural and not a foreign infection seeping in from the outer ring. And not – not like Tobirama-sensei’s, which were red most strongly in light but in a softer lighting were closer to purple with the way they looked like two-tone silk woven in red warp but a sort of blue-lavender weft) making it very clear that the quality of the color on the two sets of matching red just wasn’t the same; inborn and infiltrated just weren’t quite the same Naruto was reminded at the strangest times with a pang he could not remember a time before.

“You have a great deal of faith in this village and the Uchiha especially.” Madara ventured eventually and Naruto sighed explosively, pushing back and toppling over onto his back and the cushion of his tails and hair (ouch – it took a bit of wiggling to deal with the pinch at the base of that tail…) to stare at the ceiling – at least until Sasuke leaned over him with a faint bemused smile and arched eyebrow. Helplessly the Tenko smiled at his lover, using the lock of silk hair he still had in his fingers to tug until Sasuke bent for a chaste kiss – immediately followed by Sas shoving back and mussing up Naruto’s long hair vigorously until the Tenko yipped in agitation and wriggled to his feet, tripping over tables and silk until he could shove his shoulder between the wall and Tobirama-sensei’s legs (good thing they were long legs) where the p;der man had moved to sit on the window sill again, sticking his tongue out at his partner from behind his new safety. Sasuke’s eyes narrowed without hesitation, visibly considering if he could roust the blonde without rising the ire of their once teacher and always tag base; as if following exactly the same thoughts Tobirama-sensei dropped a hand to Naruto’s hair and loudly cleared his throat, Sasuke settling back fully into a relaxed position with a faint poke out on his lower lip.

On the other hand Tobirama-sensei's hand tightened and he tugged the Tenko out by an ear, giving the blonde a stern look until Naruto laughed, nuzzled the wrist near his head and straightened, tugging his clothing haphazardly into place before giving up with a flippant flick of his hair. “Honestly, not so much, or not so much in the trusting the village – I do have an Uchiha spouse after all, a lack of trust would be very concerning indeed as far as that is concerned. But don’t mistake me Ma-dar-a,” the levity evaporated in a blink, the gleaming red eyes oddly innocent even as every flickering line of him seemed oddly hyper-illuminated, like an illustration in gilt on a manuscript dulled with age; power and that strange unclouded look in those doomed eyes. “my priorities are Sasuke, and seeing the Ōtsutsuki rendered into dust and ash the same way they would have done to us; all else is…. Incidental and no amount of loving a person will stop me from going through them to see my goals through. Perhaps if that bothers you, you should consider why you find your own reflection so unwelcome.”

The silence that dragged after his words was painful even as the emphasis of his power eased until the light had returned to normal and finally the older man looked away, blowing out a puff of a harsh sigh from the shadow of his wild hair. “I have always had a contentious relationship with mirrors” he admitted after a moment, voice dry and wry in the extreme, and finally the other two in the room relaxed; Tobirama-sensei snorting and slumping back to sit on the edge of the window and rolling his eyes as he looked out at the bright new leaves. Naruto watched with interest when Madara tracked the motion like he couldn’t help himself, almost radiating a reluctant enrapture; that was new – wasn’t it? Maybe…. Contemplative the blond leaned back into Sasuke as his husband came up behind him, his hand gentle on Naruto’s hip as he slipped closer to kiss the Tenko’s neck.

“Dramatic much?” Sasuke asked lowly, amused and affectionate, indulgent and possibly a bit pleased even as Naruto snickered brightly, dropping all his weight on the stability that his other half provided (the irony did not escape him) as he tilted his head for a glimpse of dark eyes. Sasuke face softened, his lips tilting up and his voice even quieter at the look of unfeigned- if impish- guilelessness on Naruto’s face, “yeah, I know, lean into it I guess – not like you were ever great at flying under the radar even before all the poofy tails.” Naruto’s eyes widened, at sharp “Hey!” followed immediately by a pounce and both of the older man looked back at their powerful younger counterparts as the two tangled and scuffled on the floor in a playful fight, puffed tails and slightly raspy laughter filling the air around their tangled forms. It was… heartening, somehow, to see that even now they still had that together, even in all the misery and loss; in a way it almost made the looming threat all the more real and concerning, the sunshine colder than the season should have allowed – all in all Madara almost wished it was raining.

Chapter Text

Kagami rubbed at the spot between his brows as he stared at the report from T&I; he just…. By all rights he should speak to Sakura at least about this as her soon-to-be spouse at least and yet as Hokage that would be deeply inappropriate at this point; it wasn’t like there was anything here that was anything other than whispers and tides as of yet (but Kagami knew better than most that those were the most dangerous things) and as it directly pertained to Sakura’s team asking her to choose the way telling her would imply would be terrible as well. It wasn’t like this was all new after all- or even unfair or undesirable over all- but, now that the Tenko was back in the village and somehow even more overtly powerful now that none of them were really hiding any aspect of their power (well, accept for Sakura, but she was overlooked in comparison and though it must have been painful for her at times Kagami was rather glad of it; he wasn’t sure if he could have balanced duty and love for her without it and her commitment to the village) the concerned parties felt they were slowly getting pushed into a corner – worsened by the way that Naruto-dono seemed more fox than he had before in an odd and insidious way that Kagami didn’t quite know how to interact with or what to do about. (His clan had made an Oath and they would keep it but Kagami couldn’t help but think that Torifu had the best idea of all of them with the temple that he had just pushed through the council and had asked Shishou to design for them so it could be started soon. The idea for allowing other villages to send out children to train had been handed to the Yamanaka for whisper-float already while the clan council worked on refining the particulars and sorting out the diplomatic side of things – another of Kagami’s exasperated projects, assigning actual diplomats and not just missions as they came or shows of power was something he had no idea why hadn’t been done before! At least things with their Daimyo had improved a touch when Kagami ordered the Twelve Guardian nin to ease up a bit and report more; they still needed them in court to make sure that the Daimyo didn’t undermined the nin like his father and ancestors had but there was also no reason to hang a fucking sword over the man and gloat about it either. The Tenko was enough sword of Damocles over the entire world realistically.)

Crack, Kagami bolted to his feet as his door snapped open with a harsh crack, Sakura stalking through with a frustrated look on her face; the long tail of her hair flicking behind her like a whip as she slammed the door behind her and whirled to look at Kagami, her lips pressed together so tightly they were almost white. She paused, closing her eyes and sucking in a slow and very carefully measured breath, her mouth relaxing when her eyes opened again and visibly more under control as he slowly asked her what was wrong; she sighed again, more naturally this time, and looked away, the harsh edges of chakra fading from her long cherry blossom hair before she spoke, “It’s – well, its not nothing, but there’s nothing to be done I just – “ with an exasperated air Sakura tossed herself into the chair in front of his desk “the memories just, they hit me at the funniest times and its so vivid when – like the Hyuuga temp heir, the twin, she reminds me of a Hyuuga I knew- Hanabi- in a lot of ways they are very alike and they have much the same bitterness.” Sakura’s lips pulled in a wry smile, her eyes distant, “I should have expected the bratyness in retrospect, poor girl is sensitive at even being called the wrong name, though she more than has reason I suppose.” Finally the distance of the past cleared in her gaze and she met Kagami’s eyes as he slipped around the desk to lean on it next to her knee, unable to hold back the faint adoring smile as her irritation melted and her own smile turned sweet.

Sakura shook her head and laughed a touch at herself reaching out to take Kagami’s hand, turning it over in hers and rubbing a war-firm fingertip over the callouses there from long training and conflict. “I’m acting just like the child I am criticizing her for aren’t I?” she asked wryly, eyes bright and glittering “gods, I have no idea why you put up with me!” the joy faded a little on her face, an old seriousness in her expression “Or any of us really considering all the drama we bring to your door. I know the village has always been a thing of multitudes really and never as unified as some of the founders would have liked but… I can’t imagine that everyone has taken well to our sudden appearance and influence, even before the extent of our menace was apparent.” Kagami swallowed hard, eyes thoughtlessly drifting to the papers of the report only to jerk back to her when she sighed deeply, tugging at his fingers “They would rather we be gone – or at least not so close to power, right? I’m not stupid Kagami, I know that Homura is still out there and that the Root still has their circle just waiting for a new activation. Many of the clans have little reason to want us around much less in your office; we may be trying to expand the Hatake but the methods are controversial and frowned on, many of the Trinity clans like us but the Hyuuga already are uncertain and will only get worse about it when we come for the seal. You don’t have to tell me anything about it, I’m not blind or so overpowered as to miss the undercurrents as Naruto is and you have your obligation to the village and yourself. Just… if I can help...” she trailed off and Kagami’s heart squeezed a bit. They were trying so hard and so haunted by the future they sought to prevent; it was an unwinnable war honestly, fighting ghosts of what was and what they sacrificed to the ungrateful that with any luck would never know to be grateful of.

“Sakura… you know I trust you, right?” Kagami asked carefully, flipping his hand to hold hers gently, like one might cup a fluttering moth in dawn light; her lip quivered and she looked away from him out the window, nails biting into his hand as her grip tightened harshly and she exhaled a shaky little sound. A pause and then she nodded once sharply, soft pink hair sliding over her shoulder to pool in her lap and then his as she shifted and carefully leaned forward to lay her head on his thighs, Kagami carding his fingers through the soft tail until her breath had evened out once more and peace wrapped tentatively around them, the peace he had only found with her in all the world. Perhaps if Sakura was willing to let it go Kagami should do the same, they weren’t going anywhere and they weren’t any threat at the moment in a major way; it wasn’t like Kagami didn’t have more than enough on his plate at the moment anyway, the clans and temple and the Daimyo and the way that just this morning he had received the first missive awkwardly demanding that they have a Kage meet over the tailed beasts and- Kagami was willing to bet- about him collaring his two legged beasts (Kagami had seen it once, he had been with Shishou when the letter arrived and Hashirama-sama called on his brother to handle it, he remembered the way that that his teacher had gone bone white with rage when another Kage had the gall to demand that Madara be controlled- “-and put that rabid dog on a leash!” to be exact- Tobirama had gone ballistic over the dehumanization and dismissal of all Madara had done in the founding. Kagami wasn’t sure what exactly had been done about it but he knew it had been messy and that Madara had never found out about any of it – it was frustrating he wouldn’t be able to keep it from his Heralds of the apocalypse as Shishou had once protected his Calamity).

“Sometimes” Sakura murmured into his thigh, digging her brow harder against the muscle “I think that more than just being wary about trusting me- us- you – I… if we could forget maybe it wouldn’t matter so much but, we can’t, and I am not sure that anyone should trust any of us anymore. We certainly don’t trust ourselves – and each other in only limited ways. When the tea circle meets and I look at them, all these people behind the clan seats that leverage trust for power that their spouses trust them with – all I can think is, I would not trust Naruto like that in the night; I would not trust myself on a midnight when I see Ino’s face and hear Tenten’s laugh and – who would trust grief and how should I allow the mourning to go after everything? I do not want to live here forever Kagami, I want to live in this moment with you and talk about kids if we want and not always wonder what Sai would think of all our actions when I see him at the table painting out another chakra construct. I want to be here with you, not with part of me always locked in a time we shredded to fine orts; I want to trust my head again the way I trust my heart with you.” Kagami stared helplessly down at the woman he had chosen to shape his future around, falling as fast and deeply as any of his kin, who carried so much pain like a bale of razor wire, like a mettle shirt that she plucked at with bleeding fingers but could not remove when it had been sewn into her skin. How was Kagami to lift that burdened and cut the threads when he came from the blood that most often failed at his exact trial; a pained little smile pulled at his lips as he combed his fingertips through her long soft hair, the scent of sakura blooming around them from the oil she worked in every morning, how strange to be wedding a lover that was in some ways was more Uchiha than Kagami had ever been.

But – all he had was what he could give and it had never yet been less than enough for Sakura, he had never been less than enough for her; she made him feel so… vivid, like he was everything he had ever hoped to become when reflected in her eyes. “Ruka came by earlier” he said, smile growing when Sakura rolled her head to send his disbelieving side eye, carefully using his thumb to press her lid down over her eye, had long lashes soft and trusting as a butterfly on his skin. “Hush, she said you and she had agreed on the colors and that you chose a fabric for the vail,” he traced a finger over the arch of her brow and down the curve of her cheek, finally starting to fill out and hold the softness that her time had scraped away. “You want blue iris and peony but I insist we have sakura flowers too, maybe white?” he paused and she hummed something close to agreement “Good, luckily the tree walk is large enough to fit the entire village though I refuse to seat everyone or invite them, Ruka said we can invite the important people and seat them and let it be known that anyone else can come as long as they are not disruptive and don’t fuss about the view which sounds good to me if it works for you.” Under his hands the tension was easing from Sakura’s astonishingly strong body, “She needs a date soon, and is gleefully planning how to pair up the wedding party for maximizing Shishou and Uncle’s enforced participation in romantic rituals because it’s funny.” Sakura giggled, turning her head to hide her laughter in his clothing though her shoulders shook tellingly, “Now dear” Kagami chastised “don’t laugh at our poor relatives! Its not Uncle’s fault that he has no idea what to do with a person of class and is totally fumbling the bag when the bag is all but throwing itself at his feet and thrashing around for attention.” (Kagami prayed that Shishou never found out that he was being compared to a bag of cats and geese when he needed people skills again, he would never let it go and Kagami had no intention of being a target for his teachers pettiness.)

Sakura’s shaking worsened and she lifted her head just enough to force out her words around smothered giggles, “B – ha – a-at this poi- pht-t, at this point, oh my god, we should have final singles nights- heehe- andgethim- hic- on stage with the stripers and hope that helps move shit along.” Kagami paused, thinking not of his Shishou but of Uncle and the look on his face if he saw Shishou- who was lovely, flexible, and a quite skilled dancer- on one of those stages with the long polls and less clothing. Honestly…

“We can never do that” he told his fiancé seriously, staring into the distance in a haunted manor and hardly noticing when Sakura sat up and peered at him in confusion, “I don’t think Uncle would survive that. His head would combust into steam and dust and make such a mess, not to mention the hit to our reputation if pole dancing was all it took –“ he jolted, snapping back to the present and grabbing her shoulders as he stared deeply into her eyes as if they were speaking of the Ōtsutsuki – or honestly more seriously, “Sakura, promise me you will not intentionally allow Uncle to see something that will break his head before he is ready to accept how he feels; the consequences could be dire and I will not be the Hokage under which something that stupid happens. Promise me!”

Sakura smiled wide enough it might have hurt, ducking in to press a few soft kisses to the Uchiha’s lips one after another, scratching her fingers through his dark curls as she smiled at him fondly. “I promise ducky, I may allow him to come close but I will do may best not to break the Calamity of the Fire with a little skin and a good splits; besides, a single doo on my side is more likely to be a military raid and arson than anything else, that tends to be how my boys and I bonded historically. It works well for us and-“ she perked up “-we should add that to our honeymoon! What better way to have fun and bond than a little blood and what could be more luxurious and sexy than structure fires!?” ….Damn, Kagami loved this woman – and the Kage guard was getting a lot better at clearing out than they used to be, he made a mental note to be proud of them later, mmm, much later….

Kumiko fought not to curl her lip, eyes fixed on the slender man limping in Tobirama-sama’s shadow; honestly she had no good reason to dislike the former Hokage’s lab assistant as much as she did, he was intelligent and respectful and had never done anything but be a bit insufferable in their shared classes, realistically his worst offence was being a little insufferable and too frail to put the bite behind it that it deserved and would allow Kumiko to hit him for his BS. Still though… she just – oooff! All of Kumiko’s breath being expelled from her lungs left her on a strange deflating sound as she doubled over, struggling to breathe again around the harsh blow to her diaphragm, mother fu- she hadn’t expected Yori to nail her like that even if it had been a little deserved and she shot a dirty look through the thick curtain of her loose black hair; Yori raised a sassy boldly cut brow in retaliation, cocking a hip and setting her hand it as she tipped her head to show off the designs shaved into her tight undercut on both sides of the longer shaggy red-brown hair and employing every inch of her impressive height to loom over the shorter woman. Fucking b-…Uggh, she couldn’t even think it, not when Shin might show up at any time at even the smallest hint that someone had even thought about insulting her girl. It was cute normally when Kumiko wasn’t already pissed off and exhausted and really should have stayed in when Yori invited her out.

Yori sighed, letting the position and intimidation go in favor of scrubbing a hand through her hair, grimacing when it tangled on a beaded decoration; “Look, screw the plans, come get something cold to drink with me and we can at least stew without it being so obvious that you want to kill Tsubasa in cold blood, deal?” Kumiko winced, it wasn’t like the man would be surprised, their antipathy had been well known in the academy but – she tossed one last look at where the slender man was leaning heavily on his cane, his sharp face pinched and the light doing odd things to the fade from auburn to near white at the ends and under layers; he looked like he was in pain and relived to have his mentor back, he looked…. Sicker (Kumiko had gone to school with him, she had had to learn the signs of a flare- they all had- and it seemed she hadn’t forgotten even after all that time; she wondered if he was sicker, who was taking care of him without the class to do it, was he still friends with that one Senju that still hadn’t chosen a new name?). Shaking her head she turned away, there was no sign he had had anything to do with the Root (realistically Danzo would never have taken someone disabled even with a mind like that) and for all his intelligence he was devoted to Tobirama-sama so really; he wasn’t her problem, none of the weaker members of the village were, they were Kagami-sama’s problem and she had to trust he was doing it and not letting them get run over by the literal gods infesting the village. She had to trust that wouldn’t happen again. She had too.

A cup of something cold and milky white was shoved under her nose and Kumiko sipped it without thought, startling at the sweetness that hit her tongue and finally jarred back to the present enough to look at Yori who was waiting and several fingers into her drink. “Back?” the calm Akimichi asked mildly, stirring her drink and leaning on her elbow as she waited patiently but firmly; not about to let Kumiko go without a proper conversation – something Kumiko did have to admit the other woman deserved given her place in their group and- had Shin not said anything to her own girlfriend?- yeah, Kumiko owed her friend this, it was just hard to figure out where to start and what to say in a place like this. Yori sighed deeply, pushing her cup for a refill and scooping the weight of her thick hair to hang on the far side where it didn’t hide her face, “Look, I’m not stupid Kumi, I can tell that something is going on and that you and your team are at the center of it as always; just, I want to hear it straight, raw, without the spin that Shin- much as I love her- would put on it. That’s not what I need right now, I need the damn truth when my clan is getting more and more involved in that temple that is being built; if there’s something here that is going to end up with me having to make a choice….”  She trailed off meaningfully, eyes fixed on the scratched counter “Well, I’d like that chance to make it for myself with a little time behind it.”

Kumiko chewed at the corner of her mouth, she had skipped her normal lip color this morning; the last mission had left her so dehydrated that her lips were a wreak and until they got better she would have to forgo it. Thing was… Yori was right, and had been more in village in the last six months than Kumiko and her team had been allowed as one of the best independent strike teams they had but there was no missing how much the Akimichi had become tight with the new Kage and powers in the village, enough to spearhead the temple project that was technically to Ninshū and chakra over all but everyone knew was really about trying to gain some purchase against the Tenko to have a level of control over when another Dragon Down occurred, the first had been bad enough really. Kumiko dug a nail into a gouge in the counter, trying to order things better but really it all started when – “Do you remember when the Dragon came down?” she asked in a near whisper, not looking at the other woman when Yori stiffened “I know that no one has really moved on or anything, but everyone seems to think that they can just trust them to be loyal to a place they have never even come to before, they – they have no reason to be loyal, at least not the Tenko and his mate, Qiānqiū-hime is sure invested in Kagami-sama admittedly. But the other two…. If they cared about the people – isn’t like everyone they killed even wanted to hurt us!” her voice, through rigidly held low and quiet, gained a sharp whine of stress and pain “I know they came for war and all, but, some were just following orders and would have found a way not to hurt us, some would have turned around or taken any chance they could to back down – they didn’t, he didn’t –“ the too fast pull of her breath strangled her in her chest, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and her hands fisted, splinters on her fingers drawing dots of blood to her warm bronze skin.

Next to her Yori sucked in a sharp breath, carefully walking her fingers closer and covering one of Kumiko’s hands, “I’m sorry” the Akimichi murmured, “I didn’t think – I didn’t check and I should have, Taro, he…. When the Dragon-“

Kumiko ripped her hand out from under the other woman’s, dashing away the tears on her cheeks with harsh hands made clumsy with anger, “You didn’t think! You didn't fucking care, nobody cares in Konoha and you sh-“

“Don’t take that tone with me” Yori snarled, her chakra flaring and rippling harshly, ruining what was left of the counter finish in a crackling electrical pattern “do not condescend to me Kumiko. Do not. Taro Kuna was an extremely gifted shinobi and one well worth cation, sure he was a good man and a good friend to you and Iemon but don’t you dare act like it wasn’t fucking convenient that he tripped into bed with the Hyuuga heiress or that he wouldn’t have obeyed orders and killed the kids that Sarutobi would have thrown into that the meatgrinder of that war. He was dear to you, I respect that, but I also respect the children he would have broken without a second thought and just called ‘war’ and frankly – I am a lot more concerned about them than him.” A pause and then, under careful regulation and a little softer, “But I am sorry that you lost him that way, I know he was… dear, to you.” Kumiko swallowed hard, staring at the counter and trying to ignore the burning in her eyes and the sick roil of her stomach at the thought of Taro, he had been – been… his face flashed in her mind as she closed her eyes tightly, the crooked smile and the strong line of his jaw, his pale ghost-gray eyes and the way it felt like he could see straight through you and found you fascinating (he had always had a skill to make anyone he spoke to feel like they took up his entire world).

“He never should have –“ she started in a voice dragged over rough roads, forcibly holding still when Yori made a frustrated sound and slammed her cup down like it had something stronger, cutting off the slightly younger woman with a bitter look.

“He never should have been in a position to have to be more than his nature – but that was the mistakes of dead men and not the fault of the gods.” Yori snapped back, harshly waving for the stronger drink and letting the silence draw out between them until her cup was full and she took a long draw, sighing explosively and scrubbing a hand over her face. “Look, he would have acted with his nature and if the Kage’s were fucking competent and – well, that wouldn’t have been an issue normally, loyalty isn’t a flaw, but – you can’t make him an exception and not do the same for people you don’t like like Tsubasa or Tenko-dono-“ at this Kumiko finally looked up, her face dead serous as she shook her head, her long thick hair rippling on the movement.

“Tsubasa sure, I don’t like him but that’s personal and me being a bitch and we’re both fine with that, I would never accuse him of really being an issue even if I find his superiority infuriating, but – Yori, the Tenko and Uchiha-sama…. They are different. Qiānqiū-hime is affianced to the Kage and been checked thoroughly for the surety of her feelings and commitment by almost everyone and every clan in every possible way and on top of that she clearly is a war medic; all of them are crazy fucks and would fist fight death with out hesitation in their commitment to the preservation of life and no other lines so she makes sense. The way she acts fits within expectations and make sense to all of us, but the other two…. Yori, the Tenko has barely been in the village and talked to almost no one but the clan and the leadership, his power makes no sense and his knowledge is too great, why would the gods care what we do now of all times? Why not when his kin was bound this first time? Why not when Hashirama-sama was alive and – acting? Why with so much violence and why with a mate that is one of the strongest Uchiha? You said that it was convenient with Taro and Haruka, doesn’t that go a hundred times more for the Tenko? Who is also a fox? We have all been raised on the stories about foxes and when one walks in with so much power and just, takes over, no one is stopping to ask any questions? Uchiha-sama is nice and he does make effort to be part of the village but he is very quiet and aloof and clearly places the Tenko above all else. And all of that is not counting what Iemon saw, Yori, I know that someone in the top must know something we don’t but – why don’t we know anything? And after that fuckery with Danzo why is no one asking more questions about powers guiding the Kage from the shadows? I just – none of us feel like the right questions are being asked or even heard out, and we’re not wrong to be concerned. We’re not!”

Yori said nothing for a long moment, staring at Kumiko with a pensive look on her face for a long time before sighing again and knocking back another mouthful, “Yeah” she said softly “that... that’s fair, I don’t agree but that is fair. Naruto-dono is…. Confusing, and alienating with his power as legends always are and he needs to be more in touch with the village but who is going to tell him that? Speaking truth to power is all but impossible honestly – especially when that power is god-like and massacred two armies leaving behind a glass dragon the size of a mountain. He is just, too alien, and through I am willing to trust that he at least doesn’t want us destroyed in all the time he has put into saving the village and Sadime-Sama as well as the other Uchiha-sama, and I trust my clan head when he says he has reason to have confidence; but, even so, I believe he wants us alive and strong, but I would be a liar if I said I hadn’t wondered with some concern about why he wants that so much, what use he intends to make of us. So, while I am willing to wait, I… I see it, I guess.” Pensively she swirled her glass and Kumiko grimaced, a little frustrated that Yori wasn’t agreeing to side with them; Kumiko would have like to have Yori’s level head in on everything with them to balance the more hostile minds but, well, the Akimichi had always had a stronger clan communication than most. “I am guessing that this little group of concerned is more than just you, Iemon, and Shin?” Yori asked, still watching her drink as she continued without allowing Kumiko time to try and sort out how she wanted to answer. “It would have to be you three but I am guessing Michiko is still distracted and not as close to the rest of the team?” Kumiko nodded “Right, so, not all four of you but probably the Hyuuuga twins given Hikaru’s relationship with Iemon and Haruka for her twin and Taro. But who else?” Kumiko shifted awkwardly, not sure if she wanted to mention Homura or the Shimura rat; Yori would not agree with that at all and Kumiko had no interest in being told off again.

Yori looked at her for a moment and then snorted, “Yeah, fine, that’s fair right after I said I wasn’t on board I guess. Kami knows Shin won’t tell me shit, and both of you have always followed Iemon so I’d have to ask him which I have no interest in right now. Just… be careful Kumi, ok? If you need anything I’m right here, dissent is fair but – just be smart, you know the Kage would hear you out and you don’t want the Hyuuga head involved for the twins sake as you know. I won’t ask you to be involved in the stuff between Shin and me either, if she can’t let go of that Nara thing about their intelligence enough to tell my anything that’s between us, I know that.” Kumiko winced, Shin and Yori loved one another deeply and had always been a good match when they were younger but over the years as Shin had gotten more and more, well, Nara, and less and less interested in telling anyone anything in her need to have all the cards close to the chest, it had strained things between the woman more and more as their affection struggled under stifled communication and lack of clear trust – something no Akimichi would put up with even knowing how the Nara were. Honestly Kumiko wasn’t sure they would make it long term with all of the stress, especially if Shin was keeping every little hint about what was going on from her girlfriend now. If they did split it would probably get ugly and their friend group might not make it; Yori had other friends in the remnants of the Senju and a few others of their age and around, and Shin had her team, they would be ok but Kumiko at least would have to choose and she had no interest in that if it could be avoided.

Awkwardly the younger woman hummed agreement and spun her cup, the silence that hung between them intrusive and uncomfortable as it hadn’t been since they were all teens and fighting over everything on every other breath, trying to integrate and get along with those that had been their enemies until only months before. And still, Kumiko just wanted things to go back to how the used to be, before the gods gave a damn and when the toil of men was enough.