15 Again

by Krayt_spitter21

Summary:

Hey look, it's the Sannin time Travel AU!

What happens when you die? Well for the Sannin, apparently you wake up in your 15 year old bodies about 40 years into the past. Jiraiya has no idea what's going on at any given time, Tsunade is trying her best to stop herself from killing a lot of people, and Orochimaru is low key trying to get her to do it anyway. Let's hope nothing gets fucked up along the way, yeah?

Chapter 1: Part I 15 Again

Jiraiya was the first to wake, but he didn’t open his eyes. He felt a tingling just underneath his skin, not unlike when his chakra surrounds him in battle. The sun feels warm on his skin, rays shining through the leaves of the giant canopy of trees made from the Mokuton of Senju Hashirama. Here, right now, Jiraiya feels an unbelievable peace that he’s almost sure is real. But something kept him from being convinced though. It’s a feeling. Like something isn’t right, that he shouldn’t BE here. It alludes his memory, but he chases it.

He hears a stream nearby.

Water. Something about water. And… a message?

He bolts upright and gasps in air like he’s drowning. Because 5 minutes ago, he WAS drowning. In the sea that surrounds Ame, with metal rods piercing through his body as he closed his eyes to the shimmering blue water. He pats himself everywhere out of instinct. It’s only when he looks down that he notices it.

His hands are small and soft.

These were not the hands he had five minutes ago. Jiraiya gets up and rushes to the stream he heard. What he sees in the reflection does not only confuse the ever living shit out of him, but actually terrifies him.

…

Orochimaru was many things. A missing nin, a snake summoner, a scientist, a sannin, a monster. He was all these things and much more, but the one thing he absolutely, under no circumstance was, is a morning person. He hated waking up more than anything in the world. It was already hard enough to actually get some sleep in, being an insomniac and all, but the whole ordeal was made worse due to Jiraiya’s ungodly screaming.

Before he even opened his golden eyes, the snake sannin got up and was already reaching for where Kusanagi was strapped to his side only for his hand to grip empty air. Confused, but wide awake, he turned towards Jiraiya’s screams.

Wait. That can’t be right. Jiraiya was dead. He was killed by Tendo Pein. So why was he running around screaming about tiny hands?

“Jiraiya, would you please shut the hell up? You’re giving me a headache!”

Orochimaru froze. He knew that voice. But it sounded different, higher in pitch and younger. It was one he hadn’t heard since he was still a teenager. He turned with eyes wide, hand slowly reaching for where he used to keep his kunai when he was young. This had to be a trap. Or a genjutsu of some kind, perhaps the Infinite Tsukuyomi? No, because he wouldn’t have memories of that if it were the case. Well, he might as well just go with the age old question.

“Who are you and where am I?” He said, making sure to point his killing intent straight at the younger version of Tsunade. It would do well to be cautious. She was on the ground, propping herself up on her elbows in the grass, but if memory served, a teenage Tsunade was still a terrifying force of nature.

...

Man, she had a killer hangover. At least that’s what it felt like. She squinted in the sunlight, trying to figure out who was speaking to her. Was that Orochimaru she heard? It kind of sounded like him, but not?

“Orochimaru? Is that you?”

Then the killing intent hit her and she was up on her feet in a flash, fists raised and ready for a fight. As her vision cleared, she saw two things.

1) A fifteen year old Jiraiya was screaming bloody murder in the background.

2) A fifteen year old Orochimaru was holding a kunai to her.

Doing the first thing that popped into her head, she punched Orochimaru into the tree line. It was a low blow really, she knew he could never dodge her sucker punches, even when they became adults, but it was the only thing that popped into her head. Her second thought hit her like a boulder though as her brain caught up to what she saw.

“Jiraiya?” That seemed to get the toad sannin to stop cold in his tracks. He turned to her and his eyes grew wide.

“Tsunade? What’s goin-oof!” He was cut off as she barreled into him, crushing his bones in a great hug.

“I thought you were dead! Why aren’t you dead? And why are you a baby?” She cried out.

“Tsu... you’re crushing me. Can’t... breathe.” She released him and stared, waiting for an answer. Jiraiya wheezed a breath in and rubbed the back of his head in uncertainty.

“Uhhh, I have literally no idea to any of that.” God, she forgot how much of an idiot he was. Tsunade didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but right now, her best friend was here and that’s all that really mattered so she hugged him again. Jiraiya was all too happy to hug her back. They were soon interrupted however as someone cleared their throat.

“How touching. If you're both done making me want to gouge my eyes out, I believe I may have an inkling as to what is happening,” Orochimaru sneered from behind them. Tsunade turned to face her other best friend who was sporting a black eye. And Orochimaru was her best friend, no doubt about it. Throughout the years, she never stopped thinking of him as her friend. The bonds she shared with her team were not so weak as to break that easy. When she found out what he had done to Konoha’s children, she hated him. But a part of her always remembered that it was Oro’s shoulder she cried into at both Nawaki and Dan’s funerals. Hard to believe that the same hands that hugged her were the same ones that murdered innocent children.

“Orochimaru? What the hell is going on? And really, you know better than to hold a kunai to me,” she said with a smug smile. He had his arms crossed and was glaring daggers at her.

“I was being cautious, Tsunade. I didn’t know it was really you, but after that punch I no longer have any doubts. And before I even try to explain anything, I need the both of you to tell me exactly what the last thing you remember is.”

“I was drowning in the waters of Ame, killed by Tendo pein.” Jiraiya said first without hesitation. Even now, in the face of uncertainty, Jiraiya would always take Oro’s lead when crazy shit happened. Tsunade closed her eyes and went next.

“You should know, Orochimaru, you were right next to me. You had Kusanagi drawn and we were about to attack Madara when his Rinnegan activated and I saw this bright white light. Next thing I knew, this idiot was waking me up with his screams.”

“Hey!”

“Shut up, Jiraiya!” Orochimaru hissed. He looked deep in thought, a sour look on his face like he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“Why, what’s the last thing you remember?” Tsunade asked him. The snake sannin gave a sigh and looked her in the eyes with something resembling sorrow.

“I was next to you, Tsunade,” He said quietly. “But I wasn’t fast enough and you were caught in his jutsu. I saw you ripped to shreds in front of me. I charged in and saw the same light. And then I also woke up here.” Orochimaru turned away, not looking at either of them, but his haunted eyes betrayed the blank expression on his face.

“Oro,” she said in a low voice, “Jiraiya was already dead and if we...fell... during that fight, then... does that mean what I think it does?” Rationally, she hoped it wasn’t true, but some part of her thought it wouldn’t be so bad if it was. The world was already destroyed when they left it and everyone they knew was either dead or dying. That last battle was it, the last futile stand of weary shinobi. All their hope was lost when Naruto died and everyone just wanted it to be over, she supposed. At least in paradise they could see lost loved ones again.

“I sincerely hope not,” spat Orochimaru. “If this is the afterlife, I’d say I made the right decision to pursue immortality.”

“Only you could complain about paradise,” Jiraiya muttered.

“Shut up, the both of you. If we really are dead, then why are we 15 again? I personally don’t want to spend eternity like this.” Tsunade gestured to herself, clearly not happy with her previous body image.

“Ha ha, Tsunade has a flat chest again!” Jiraiya laughed. She punched him into the ground on principle.

It was then that they heard a rustling near them. Kunai and shuriken were drawn in an instant, all three ready for a battle. It seemed their adult senses were still intact despite the sudden de-aging.

A voice rang out and the sannin were once again stunned into silence.

“You know, I'd thought that, being ninja and all, you’d know how to stay quiet on missions.”

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, stepped into the clearing glaring at his three young students. He was young as well, no wrinkles to be seen, nor the weariness that always seemed to follow him in his later years.

“What the fuck?” Leave it to Jiraiya to ask the important questions.
...

“That’s language unbecoming of a shinobi, Jiraiya. And what’s with the sudden hostility?” Sarutobi looked at each of his students, noting their tense postures. It was like they were ready for a fight. “The mission’s over remember? And at the rate we’re going, we’ll be home by mid afternoon.”

Sarutobi would be lying if he said he wasn’t confused or slightly concerned, but he decided not to press them. The past few days had been hard on them, what with the Suna nin tailing them from Kiri the whole time. Still, the mission to retrieve a hidden scroll was a success and he was proud of his students. Sarutobi decided to leave them be for just a bit longer, it was still early and they were making good time.

“Listen, those Suna nin were tough bastards to deal with, but we have the scroll now, so no need to be so on edge. Why don’t you all pack up, eh? We’ll leave in 30 minutes.” With that he leapt up and disappeared into the trees. He told himself that it was probably just their nerves. They were still just kids after all, and he’d like to keep it that way for as long as he possibly could. Still, something in the back of his mind whispered that something that wasn’t quite right.

…

“What the fuck just happened?” Jiraiya asked again. Orochimaru blinked once before speaking.

“We’re not dead.”

Tsunade looked at him. “Why do you say that? Last I remember, you killed Sarutobi Sensei, so why’s it a stretch that he’s here too?”

“Don’t you two ever pay attention?” Orochimaru snarled.

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other before glaring back at him.

“I’m serious!” He cried. “Don’t you two remember this day?” Tsunade tilted her head.

“What day?”

“The Hidden Scroll mission. The one where Sarutobi took the mission with us and those Suna nin tailed us for three days when we were teenagers?” Realization dawned on Tsunade’s face.

“Oh my god, he’s right. Sensei was on lookout while we were sleeping. And after that we were ambushed on the way to Konoha.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jiraiya said, waving his hands for their attention. “What are you two implying?” Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

“Time travel, Jiraiya. I don’t know how, but we time traveled back to our younger selves.”

The toad sannin was silent for just a moment before bursting out into laughter. He laughed so hard he almost started crying. It wasn’t until Tsunade hit him that he stopped and saw their serious expressions.

“Oh my god, you’re serious. Orochimaru, that’s not possible, time travel isn’t real!”

“Then how do you explain all this?” Orochimaru hissed. “What other explanation could there be that we have memories of another life? That Sarutobi is alive and young? Not to mention, I don’t possess Kusanagi. I tried summoning it earlier, but I didn’t find it until I was 25.”

Tsunade bit her lip thinking. “Well, it could be that we simply fell into a version of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It seems like a stretch, but it’s possible.”

“I thought so at first too, but it wouldn’t make sense if all three of us were having the same dream. Not to mention, I know for a fact that this is not what I would be seeing if it were the case.”

“What’s an Infinite Tsukuyomi?”

Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at their old/current teammate.

“Oh my god,” Tsunade exclaimed. “You don’t know about Madara or the war.”

“Madara? As in Uchiha Madara? What’s he got to do with any of this? Hasn’t he been dead for decades?” Jiraiaya looked between Orochimaru and Tsunade, but neither were answering him. Orchimaru flat out ignored him and continued with his theory.

“It has to be time travel. There is simply no other explanation. The most pressing issue that comes to mind is how and why? What brought us here and why are we simply not dead?”

Tsunade snorted.

“That sounds like a you problem, Orochimaru.” Her eyes suddenly became saucers. “Wait, I'm 15 again. If we’re this far back, then that means… We have to get back to Konoha right now!”

“What? Wait, go back to the Madara thing. What’s this about a war? Tsu, what happened after I died, did you defeat Pein? Is Naruto alright?”

“Jiraiya I swear I will explain everything later, but we really gotta get back. The Scroll mission was a month before Nawaki’s 12th birthday, if we’re back in time, he’s still alive!”

“Then, does this mean we can do it over?” Jiraiya furrowed his brows in thought and then smiled brightly at Tsunade. “This is a second chance. We can fix things!”

“Hold it!” Orochimaru cried. “We still don’t know what’s going on for certain. For all we know, we could be in a trap, or this could somehow ruin the space time continuum, there’s been no real research on this, nothing but myths, what if we throw reality into chaos? We just don-” He was cut off as Jiraiya punched him in the arm. The missing nin’s glare was enough to scare seasoned ANBU members. Jiraiya just rolled his eyes.

“Will you shut up, it doesn’t always have to be that complicated you know. Maybe this really is a second chance for us. Reincarnation and all that.”

Tsunade nodded in agreement. She put a hand on Orochimaru’s shoulder.

“Didn’t you say to me once that people change or they die before they can? What if we get a do over? Don't you want to take that chance, Oro? To make better choices and do things differently?” It didn’t slip past him how she used his childhood nickname. He closed his eyes. She was right of course, he had changed. Not by much mind you, but it was there. He no longer yearned to unravel the secrets of the universe, not when the universe was constantly punishing him for it. And really, what was the point of immortality, if there was no world to live in? Maybe they were right. If he could do it all over again, would he do things differently though? Would he want to, knowing how things played out the first time around? Thinking on it, he realized he had far too many regrets to mess this up a second time. What was the harm in trying anyway? He’d already ‘died’ a handful of times and he was not eager to do it again. Besides, if this was some form of reincarnation, who was he to question the universe?

“Fine. But first things first, we can’t let anyone know we come from the future. There would be too much scrutiny and with war going on, we don’t need any distractions. We play our part and change what we can, but nothing more, lest we create something we have no control over. We have the power of knowledge now and nothing can stop us unless we let it. Tsunade? I believe we owe Jiraiya an explanation.”

“Right.”

And so Tsunade explained what happened after Jiraiya never came back from Ame. Naruto defeated Pein and managed to deal a blow to the Akatsuki, then Madara was revealed to be the one in control of the Akatsuki, the Kage summit happened, the whole Uchiha Sasuke ordeal, the beginning of the war, the ten tails, how far Naruto had come and how awful it was when he died. Eventually they finished with the apparent death of her and Orochimaru on the final battlefield where all hope was lost. Orochimaru supplied more info when he could give it, but as they cleared up their small camp, Jiraiya was all caught up.

“Damn, all that actually happened? Kind of glad I went out when I did.” He shrugged on his pack and walked with Tsunade to the edge of the clearing to wait for their Sensei.

“Yeah, me too,” she said. “Oh but you would have been so proud of Naruto. I know I am.” Tsunade gave a sad smile. She couldn’t wait to see him again in the (Future? Past??).

Jiraiya heaved a great sigh. “I’m glad my death wasn’t too hard on him. He’s one hell of a shinobi. Or he will be anyway. But first we have to destroy the gedo statue and kill Madara right? That way, none of this ever has the chance to start.” The two joined Orochimaru who was already at the edge of the clearing.

“That does sound like something we should do before anything else,” he said. “But we’d need a timeframe where we’re not otherwise preoccupied to do it. In this time, we’re at war, and if I remember things right, we’re due to be deployed to the front lines in a few months.”

“Oh right, I forgot about that.” Jiraiya shrugged. “Well, I guess we’re just gonna have to play it out, yeah? At least for now anyway.” Tsunade tensed as she sensed their former/current teacher’s chakra nearby.

“Quiet, Sensei’s coming back!” she hissed. They quickly stopped talking and waited for him to drop down to them. A few moments he dropped in from a low branch.

“All set?” The Sandaime asked. They nodded their answers and then they were off, rushing through the trees towards Konoha. It wasn’t long until they came across the ambush. With more than 40 years of experience, the teenage sannin made quick work of the Suna nin as they settled into the familiar rhythm of teamwork. It was like the last 30 odd years melted away and they really were 15 again. Tsunade was glad for it because she missed her boys and this was just another reason to change the future. They were a team and she would not let them be broken up again. Not when she knew how much it hurt to be apart from them.

It was a bit tricky, trying not to use their preferred attacks, but doing so would only tip off Sarutobi-Sensei that something wasn’t right with their skill level. Orochimaru sighed as he used his kunai to slice open a Suna nin’s throat. He really missed Kusanagi. Idly, he realized that he also didn’t have his summoning tattoos anymore. That was something he wasn’t looking forward to. Summoning tattoos were complex contracts and didn’t just mark the skin, it marked the soul itself. Needless to say, it’s a very painful process. He remembers his 18th Birthday when he got them and in all honesty, there was no way he could have done it without Tsunade holding his hand the entire time.

Orochimaru dodged a fireball and hurled a few shuriken at the ninja that was about to take Jiraiya’s head off.

“Thanks!” Jiraiya called out, but Orochimaru was too busy blocking flames with a wind jutsu to reply. The fireball that was headed towards him switched direction and engulfed the Suna nin. Tsunade grabbed the back of Orochimaru’s flack jacket and pulled him from a hail of shuriken that were about to rip him to shreds.

“Three o’ clock,” she said, as she put her back to his. He immediately threw a kunai at his three and the shinobi fell to the ground with a scream followed by a loud thump. And just like that it was over. Sarutobi retracted his fuma shuriken and looked at the carnage around them.

“Well done, you three. Though I have to say, Orochimaru, you’re usually more aware of your surroundings.” Sarutobi looked to the snake sannin who only narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

“I would have been, if Jiraiya ever bothered to look behind him once in a while.”

“Hey,” Jiraiya butt in. “I knew he was there, I was finishing off that other guy in front of me!” Orochimaru rolled his eyes.

“Then next time get on with it, so I don’t have to think about you instead of me.”

“Aw, you think about me?” the white haired boy teased. Orochimaru growled and was about to launch himself at Jiraiya when Tsunade hit both of them over the head.

“Will you two stop it already! We’re almost to Konoha and you both know how much I want to be home right now.” The look she gave them was enough to drain the color from their faces. The two quickly got up and gathered their packs.

“We’re ready, Sensei!” Jiraiya yelled a bit too desperately. Sarutobi was honestly too tired to deal with any of his students’ bullshit so he just nodded and headed into the trees. Ugh teenagers.

Chapter 2: Reunions

As the three future Sannin walked through the streets of Konoha, they looked around in wonder and amazement. It was exactly like they remembered. The buildings from their youth were still new and standing, while the shops of the future were still either under construction or non-existent.

“Ok, is anyone else just a little freaked out about this?” Jiraiya asked his teammates, watching as a few men constructed what would one day become the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

“I really don’t care right now, Jiraiya. I’m going home to find my brother.” Tsunade had a determined look on her face. Nothing would stand in her way of seeing Nawaki again.

“Can I come too? I’d love to see the little squirt again, right Oro?” The toad sage clasped Orochimaru on the shoulder, but quickly redacted it when the pale teeneger hissed at him.

“I don’t have time for ridiculous reminiscing. We need a plan and we can’t make one without research. A timeline would be ideal, but I need both of you to fill in gaps where I don’t have all the information. Do what you like, but we have things to discuss before we actually go about changing anything. Meet me at my old house tonight. We’ll plan through the night if we have to.”

“Wow Orochimaru, I’d have thought you would actually be excited to see your old student again. My mistake for thinking you actually cared.” A fist landed on Jiraiya’s face before he could react. Glancing up from his spot on the ground, Jiraiya saw the fury in Orochimaru’s eyes.

“Don’t you dare presume to know what I care about! You don't know me anymore, Jiraiya. Haven’t for quite some time.” Suddenly, a small voice rang out through the people starting to crowd around the sannin.

“Onēsan!” All three of them whipped their heads towards the sound. There, pushing through the crowd, stood the topic at hand. Nawaki, a huge smile on his face despite the tense air, ran to his older sister and wrapped his arms around her midsection in a tight hug. Tsunade stood frozen, eyes as wide as her teammates’. The small crowd that had gathered seemed to lose interest and soon it was just the four of them in the middle of the street while people went about their evening.

Tsunade looked down to her baby brother hugging her and she broke. Tears welled in her eyes and she crouched down to properly hug him. She had dreamed of this every night since he died and it took everything in her not to start sobbing right then and there. God, if this was how she reacted to seeing Nawaki, what was she going to do when she saw Dan again?

“Woah, Tsu, you were only gone for like a week. Did you really miss me that much?” The boy teased. His sister only choked back a sob though as she hugged him tighter.

“You have no idea, kid,” Jiraiya said, brushing dirt off himself as he stood up.

“Um, Tsunade?" Nawaki squeaked. "You’re crushing me.” She let go in an instant.

“I’m sorry! Just, let me look at you, ok?” She squished his face before giving in and started kissing his cheek. “I love you so much, you know that right? And I’ll never let anything happen to you, I swear!” She hugged him again, holding fast even as her brother squirmed to free himself.

“Oh, Tsu, not in front of Sensei!” He looked over to Orochimaru as if pleading for him to help, but the Sannin was just standing there watching the scene unfold. Golden eyes met the soft hazel of Nawaki’s and for an instant, Orochimaru really was 15 again, setting off on his genin team’s first mission outside the village. A pale hand gently touched Tsunade’s and she reluctantly let go as Orochimaru kneeled in front of her brother.

“Nawaki, I…” He fell silent, not knowing what to say. He would never admit it, even under torture, but he was afraid to see his student again. Orochimaru had long since made his peace with what had happened, but a small part of him would always tell him that it was his fault. That he should have been better, faster, should have brought Tsunade’s baby brother home alive instead of as a cold mangled body. Now here he was, in front of the same face that haunted his dreams for decades, floundering like a fish out of water.

“Did something happen?” Nawaki asked. “Why’re you guys being so weird all of a sudden?” The boy turned to Jiraiya of all people, as if he would magically have all the answers. The not really 15 year old only shrugged though, laughing at the sight in front of him. He put a hand on Orochimaru’s shoulder and this time the other paid the gesture no mind as he stood up.

“Let’s go, Oro. I’m sure Tsunade wants to catch up with the brat.” Turning to Tsunade he said, “Meet us at Oro’s when it’s time. See you then.” Jiraiya smiled and he started walking towards Orochimaru’s old house. Orochimaru said nothing more, but turned back to see Nawaki once more. The poor boy’s face was full of confusion and questions, but was soon placated as Tsunade took his hand and they started walking to the Senju compound.

“Don’t sweat it Oro, it’s not every day you see ghosts again,” Jiraiya said softly. Truth be told, seeing Nawaki alive again was nice. He missed the brat that always trailed after the three when they were young and had grieved just as much as his friends when he died.

“He’s not a ghost, Jiraiya,” Orochimaru scoffed. Softly though, he said, “Not anymore. And he never will be, not if I have anything to say about it.”

The sun was just setting and Jiraiya loved the way it made the sky look like a painting. The blues and pinks on Konoha’s horizon were what he missed while he was traveling. There was no place like home after all. Stray leaves were flying through the wind, making the road seem lonelier than it really was. How odd, Jiraiya thought. It was spring when he died, but now it was fall and the chill in the air made him shiver a bit.

Silence accompanied the two as they walked to Orochimaru’s old family compound. Although he was not born from a large clan like the Nara or Inuzuka, Orochimaru’s parents had been high ranking shinobi and were better off than most. The compound itself was small compared to others, but large enough for a decently sized clan. Oftentimes when he was growing up, Orochimaru would wonder if his parents had intended to have more children. He liked the thought of having a big family and perhaps that was why he so readily accepted the responsibility of a genin team.

The gates that surrounded the compound were of course rigged with various traps and seals so as to prevent any unwanted attention, not that anyone ever dared to visit the cold and seemingly heatless snake summoner. Needless to say, he was not the friendliest of people in the world and most stayed away from him. Jiraiya and Tsunade had helped buffer when they were still in the village, but the gossip and rumors only increased when they left.

The house was cold, just as it always was when he came home. It was clean, that much was true, but there was a faint coat of dust that said it was clear Orochimaru spent more time in the labs than in his own home.

“Was it always this cold and empty back then?” Jiraiya asked as he ran a finger over a shelf full of various books on biology and ninjutsu. Orochimaru rolled his eyes.

“I lived alone, you idiot. It’s not like I ever had anyone to come home to.” The toad sage winced and mentally kicked himself. Him and his big mouth. It’s been decades, but the topic of Orochimaru’s parents was always a delicate subject.

Jiraiya dusted off his hands and walked over to where Oro was pulling out a tea set and preparing a few leaves from tins. Orochimaru paused for a moment, a cup in his hands. He was staring intently at it, like it was a bad memory.

This was the cup that Anko would break in about 15 years. He was overcome with a wave of nostalgia and… regret? Anko was always so loyal, fighting anyone who said her Sensei was anything other than a genius. She wasn’t even born yet and he had a strange desire to see her again. He remembers when she left him of her own volition. He is a different person now. Perhaps she wouldn’t leave him this time around?

“Hello! Earth to Oro. You in there?”

Orochimaru startled and clutched the cup before relaxing and setting it on the kitchen table.

“I’m fine. It’s just- ” He shook his head, ridding himself of things that haven’t even happened yet. “It’s nothing. What are you even still doing here? Don’t you have your own house?”

Jiraiya turned around to face the opposite wall. “Well ah, don’t laugh, ok? I um, I don’t.. exactly… remember... where I lived.” After hearing nothing from Orochimaru, turned back and saw the teenager with a hand over his face.

“Get out.”

“But-”

“Out!” Orochimaru bellowed. “You are the biggest idiot in space and time, now get out of my house until Tsunade gets here!”

“But where do I go until then?”

“I don’t care,” Orochimaru growled. “Just as long as it’s not here. Now go, before I set my snakes on you!” Jiraiya didn’t need to hear that twice and was out the door before the teapot even started boiling.

...

“Writing a time travel Icha Icha novel now?”

Jiraiya looked up from where he was writing underneath the big oak tree in front of the compound. Tsunade was standing over him underneath the lamp light of the front gates. He put his manuscript away and got to his feet.

“No, but now that you mention it, I just might. Anyway, how was the reunion?”

Tsunade’s face lit up as she recounted her evening with her brother. “It was amazing! He’s exactly like I remember him, all sunshine and smiles. I almost started crying like 4 times because I was so happy. I bet he’s sick of my hugs by now, ha.” She started walking to the house with Jiraiya following close behind, both mindful of the trip wire and seals. “It’s weird though, now that I think about it, he really does remind me of Naruto. Maybe that’s why I took such a liking to the yellow brat.”

“Ha! That’s for sure.” Jiraiya put his hands behind his head and seemed lost in his thoughts. “Man, I miss him. I can’t wait till I see him again. I’ll be a proper Godfather this time, no matter what.” They reached the main house and saw Orochimaru waiting for them at the door, the light from the house illuminating his silhouette.

“First we have to figure out how that’s going to happen,” The snake said. “Get in, the both of you, we have much to discuss.” He turned into the house and the other sannin followed. Inside, there was tea and food set out on a low table in the sitting room. A pile of scrolls and journals were also laid haphazardly everywhere.

“Jeez, did you have a tornado come through or something?”

“I was doing research, Jiraiya. Something you should work on if your spy network is anything to go by.”

Jiraiya gasped in mock surprise. “I’ll have you know my network is spread all throughout the elemental nations, thank you very much!” Tsunade rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, and every contact is in a bathhouse.”

The white haired boy crossed his arms and pouted. “You guys are mean.”

“40 years and he finally catches on,” Oro said. “Nevertheless, we have work to do. I’ve laid out a basic timeline, but there are parts missing.

Tsunade looked through the scrolls, noting that there were quite a few notes on Danzo and Sarutobi Sensei. “What’s up with this Danzo vendetta?”

Orochimaru looked at where she was pointing and sighed. “Do you have any idea how much power that piece of filth actually had?”

“What do you mean? He was just an advisor right?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb Tsunade. The man had me plant Sharingan in his arm,” Oro exclaimed.

“He’s got a point, Hime. Danzo was creepy even when we were kids. Anything else we should know about him?” Jiraiya asked.

“Let’s see, he created Root, prolonged the second and third wars, oh, he’s the one who gave me Konoha’s youth to experiment on, then he tried to have Sarutobi killed, put suspicion on the Uchiha after the Kyuubi attack, thus creating the circumstances to have the clan exterminated, put the fall on me when I was caught with my experiments, then eventually tried to have me killed. I’m sure there’s more, but he was smart enough to keep things from me.”

Tsunade and Jiraiya were sitting with wide eyes and open mouths for a long while digesting everything that Orochimaru said. Jiraiya was the first to speak.

“You’re telling me that Danzo, Danzo the creep, is the one who stole all those kids?”

“You know I hate repeating myself.” Oro poured some more tea into his cup and put a bottle of Sake in front of Tsunade for good measure. She didn’t even blink as she drank straight from the bottle.

“How the hell was he still alive in our time?” Jiraiya asked incredulously.

“He had Root keep everything under the radar. Even if we wanted to, there wouldn’t be any concrete evidence we could use to accuse him for at least 20 years. It would be our word over his and knowing Sarutobi, nothing would come of it.”

“Why do you say that?” Tsunade asked. Oro scoffed.

“Because Sarutobi already knew most of this. He was just too blinded by sentiment to do anything until he couldn’t ignore it any longer.”

“That’s a lie!” Jiraiya yelled. “There’s no way Sensei would put up with any of that if he already knew.” Orochimaru put his cup down and looked him in the eyes.

“You like to think the old man was perfect, don’t you Jiraiya? Well I hate to break it to you, but Sensei was the one who first gave me the orders to do Konoha's dirty work and then left me to Danzo after the war ended. He may not have known it was Konoha’s children, but he knew what I was doing and he trusted that man enough to never question his work. I was only caught because Sarutobi couldn’t bear his guilt anymore. He never even bothered to know who it was that gave me the children in the first place. I don’t regret what I did, but I hate that I never had the chance to take Danzo down with me.” He leaned back and took another sip of tea.”

Jiraiya was about to retort something else but Tsunade stepped in before an argument started. Sarutobi Sensei was dear to her, but even she could see his faults when she looked back on her childhood.

“Alright, so why don’t we just kill the bastard and make it look like an accident?”

“No,” Orochimaru said reluctantly. “As much as I want him dead, he could be of use to us in the long run. Besides, I need him for certain things.

“You mean your experiments?” Jiraiya huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at him.

“Jiraiya, how else would we obtain indisputable evidence that Danzo was behind it?” Oro tilted his head to the side as if waiting for an answer. Growling, Jiraiya just continued arguing.

“So you’re just going to kill all those kids again?” Now he was really getting angry. If his old friend really was going to do it all over again, he would have no choice but to stop Orochimaru before he got the chance. They were here to change things for the better, not repeat atrocities. To his annoyance though, Oro just sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes.

“Why the hell would I waste my time on experiments I know for a fact are going to fail?”

Jiraiya, who couldn’t come up with a come back fast enough, looked to Tsunade for help.

“What are you looking at me for? He's got a point, if we make it that far, we could use the labs as evidence of the research and mark the kids as recruits for ROOT. We could take out Danzo and his lackeys at the same time.”

“Alright alright, its a solid plan, but what are we supposed to do, let him live and have the wars drag on?”

“No," Oro said calmly. “We are ninjas are we not?" Orochimaru smiled then, his golden eyes flickering with delight in the low light from the lanterns around the room. "I propose that we sabotage every single one of his plots until we gather enough evidence to make our case.”

Jiraiya took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Ok, I’m in.” The boys turned to Tsundae who had a wicked smile on her face.

“Fine, I’m in too. But just to warn you guys, when this inevitably blows up in our faces, then I'm just gonna straight up punch a hole through Danzo’s skull.”

“Looking forward to it, Hime,” Jiraiya laughed. Even Orochimaru, usually so calm and collected, was snickering in amusement.

...

After much arguing over what happened when, how to change what, who died and how to fix that, the three Sannin managed to make a comprehensible timeline of the second, third, and fourth Shinobi wars just after 4 in the morning.

“Seeing as we need to lay low, the ‘fixed’ timeline will stay hidden with me,” Orochimaru declared as he put his ink brush down. The others nodded their agreement and a sudden exhaustion swept over them. It had indeed been a very long and strange day for all of them.

The tea had gone cold and sake bottles littered the floor as Tsunade made to help clean up. Orochimaru waved her away though.

“It’s fine, go home Tsunade. Nawaki will be awake soon and it’s best if we keep things as normal as possible for now. Tell him I’ll meet him at training ground 5 at 7 sharp.”

“You sure?” She stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes. “I can help out.”

“Get some sleep Tsu, I’ll help the bastard clean.” Jiraiya stood up and started to picking up stray bottles and rolling up scrolls.

“Alright then. I’ll let him know, Oro. Oh shit I almost forgot, the brat wants to have lunch today with us. You both ok with that old barbeque place?”

“Yeah, I’m game,” Jiraiya said. Tsunade looked at the other sannin and he merely nodded in agreement.

“Alright then. See you both later.” And with that, she left the boys alone. Orochimaru cleaned up the tea while Jiraiya put the scrolls on a shelf. The man was about to leave when he heard a crash coming from the kitchen. Going to investigate, he saw Orochimaru with his hands pressed against the counter and part of the tea set they had used shattered on the floor.

“Hey, I got you that set.”

The snake summoner whirled around and almost on instinct, threw a piece of a broken tea cup at Jiraiya who was leaning against the doorframe. He ducked and the piece broke into smaller ones as it hit the wall.

“What are you still doing here, Jiraiya?”

Jiraiya shrugged. “I heard a crash. Thought you’d need help or something. You alright?”

“I’m fine you idiot, leave before I throw shuriken at you.” Oro went to pick up the pieces on the floor and accidentally cut himself on a sharp edge. Cursing, he stood up and ran his hand under the tap. His teammate only rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, cause you always have everything under control, right?” Jiraiya walked to a drawer and after rummaging through it, took out gauze and rubbing alcohol. “Come here,” he commanded, gesturing to the table in the middle of the room.

Reluctantly, Orochimaru went and sat down while his teammate poured a bit of the disinfectant over the wound. He winced, but no sound came out. Jiraiya was gentle despite his rough hands and soon the cut was wrapped tightly in gauze.

“You know,” Jiraiya started, “Tsu told me about how you saved her during the whole Madara thing.” Orochimaru shrugged and went to sweep up the mess on the floor.

“It was nothing. We needed her healing jutsu, simple logic.”

“Yeah,” Jiraiya continued. He held the dustpan steady as Orochimaru swept the broken porcelain in. “But you’re not the same person you were back then. You’ve changed, even I can see that much. There’s no way what you said was true. You do regret things.”

“What do you know about my regrets? I did everything because I was sure of myself, nothing more.” The snake Sannin, done with his task, leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his yukata.

“Bullshit,” Jiraiya challenged. “You’re telling me that you would still experiment on all those kids again?”

“Of course not,” the snake assured. “Only the ones I know for a fact will survive the process.”

“Oro!”

“What?” He huffed. “It’s not like they didn’t become useful in the long run, Tenzo being a prime example. How would the fox brat have managed without him? Besides, after I left Konoha, children just came to me of their own free will. Most of them anyway. I took them in and they were loyal to me. How else do you think Otogakure was made?”

“It doesn’t matter, they were children, Orochimaru! They had parents! Don’t you see how that’s wrong?”

“What makes you think they had parents?” Oro countered. “Every child I worked on were orphans as far as I knew. And when did you get so high and mighty? You’re the one who abandoned Konoha willingly. During a war, no less! You left us for those brats who killed you, Jiraiya!”

“They were good kids who were manipulated by Madara,” Jiraiya glowered.

“And I was manipulated by Konoha! But neither you nor Tsunade were there to see it. Now get out of my house, I have a training session to prepare for.”

Jiraiya stood up without another word and as he was putting on his geta, he could hear more of the tea set shattering on the floor.

Chapter 3: New Flowers

“Wake up already, Tsunade! Uncle Raiya’s here and he's making breakfast!”

Tsunade woke up with a start. Bolting upright in bed she accidentally knocked heads with her little brother Nawaki.

“Ow! Jeez, what was that for?”

“Ugh, Nawaki,” Tsunade grumbled, rubbing her forehead. “You know better than to wake me up like that!”

“Whatever,” he said. “Are you coming down or not? He's making omelets!”

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, still tired from last night’s brainstorming and yawned. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right down.” Tsunade then glanced at the clock on her nightstand and swore.

“Oh fuck, I forgot to tell you! Orochimaru wants you at Training Ground 5 at 7 sharp.”

"What!?” Nawaki shrieked. “That’s in 15 minutes and Ground 5 is on the other side of town!”

“Don’t tell me that, get going! You know how much he hates being kept waiting.”

“Ahh! You suck, Tsunade!” Nawaki screamed, as he ran to his room and gathered his gear. He came back into Tsunade’s room and went to her open window. “And I’m telling Obāsan you said a bad word!” With that, the boy leapt out the window. Tsunade laughed to herself and got dressed.

Looking in the mirror, she was almost offended by what she saw. Did she really use to dress like this? She made a mental note to go shopping for clothes today. There was no way she was going out in her old clothes. The flat chest was embarrassing enough, but with that top and those shoes? No thank you. As she took the stairs down to the kitchen she could hear Jiraiya cursing.

“Shit, shit, shit. Ow, fuck! Hey, Nawaki, you didn’t hear that ok? Mito would kill me.”

She rolled her eyes and stepped through the door. There, standing in front of the stove, was Jiraiya who was burning the charred goop he called an omelet. The idiot was even using his bare hands to plate it. He turned and yelped when he saw Tsunade leaning on the door frame just watching the chaos happen.

“Tsu! Uh, omelet?” He said sheepishly.

“What are you doing here? You know Obā-chan likes to make us breakfast on Tuesdays.”

“Is it really Tuesday? Huh, last I remember it was Thursday.”

“Yeah well, that was before we defied the laws of time and space. Seriously, what are you doing here, you have your own house.”

Jiraiya sighed and set the pan down.

“Look I don’t remember where I lived when I was 15, ok? It’s been a while and I don’t think I was ever in the village for more than four days at a time when I was an adult, so I mostly stayed in the ins. I’m not even sure the place is still standing in our time.” He crossed his arms and pouted when his friend burst out laughing.

“Come on, it’s not funny!”

There were tears running down her face even as her grandmother, Senju Uzumaki Mito, came through the door.

“Really Tsuna, isn’t it a bit early to be so loud?” The old woman shook her head huffed in exasperation as she took in the mess Jiraiya had made.

“Jiraiya dear, I know you live alone, but please, for the sake of everyone’s stomachs, just leave breakfast to me, alright?” She patted his arm as she passed by and Jiraiya’s face flushed in embarrassment.

“Yes, Mito-sama.” He helped her clean up and then she started teaching him how to properly make an omelet. Sage or not, there’s a reason Orochimaru was always the designated cook on missions. Eventually, all three of them sat around the table and enjoyed the omelettes Mito made with Jiraiya’s help. They weren’t that bad, truth be told, but it was evident that Jiraiya was in charge of cracking the eggs. so revealed when Tsunade’s omelette made a crunching sound.

“Tsuna, did you happen to see Nawaki this morning?” Mito asked.

“Yes, but he has a training session with Oro.” To herself she said, “Lucky little twerp.” It was just quiet enough for Jiraiya to overhear and he gave his friend a scowl, to which she just smiled in false innocence at. “We’re meeting them for lunch later today.”

“Did he manage to eat anything before he left? I swear, that boy would forget his own head if it weren't attached to him.”

“No, but I’m sure Oro has something for him. Nawaki’s done it enough times to make it a habit.”

“Good. Orochimaru is always so mindful of him, but he would do well to take his own advice, thin as he is. Oh that gives me an idea, why don’t you invite the boys for dinner today, Tsuna?”

“Oh, really Obā-chan I’m sure Oro and Jiraiya have better things to do than,”- but Tsunade trailed off when she saw the look her grandmother gave her.

“Jiraiya?” Tsunade looked to Jiraiya, eyes silently telling him to say yes. Jiraiya, unwilling to face the wrath of not just Tsunade, but the legendary Uzumaki Mito, could only gulp and nod fervently at the women seated before him.

“I-I’d love to and I’m sure Orochimaru wouldn’t say no to you Mito-sama.” Under his breath he muttered, “If he values his life, anyway.”

“Wonderful! Now tell me, how did your mission go?”

“Oh, it went fine.” Tsunade shrugged. “We were ambushed on the way home, but they weren’t anything special.”

“Yeah, me and Oro took most of ‘em, but Tsu and Sensei got the stragglers,” Jiraiya added.

Comfortable silence was had and after everyone was done, Tsunade helped Jiraiya wash the dishes.

“Hey, you wanna go shopping with me today? I can’t stand these clothes anymore.”

“I know what you mean.” He gestured to his dirty uniform that he’s been wearing this whole time. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

“Shut up, you idiot. We can swing by your house to get a change of clothes.”

“Yes!” Jiraiya pumped his fist in the air, much like he did when they were children and he had just mastered a new jutsu.

“After we’re done shopping.” The toad sage deflated like a balloon. In hindsight he should have expected that.

“Ugh, girls.”

…

Orochimaru was sitting beneath a giant tree in Training Ground 5 waiting for his student to show up. It was a mild day with the chill of fall in the air, but warm enough for a stroll around the village. He was scribbling in a scroll when he heard Nawaki rushing towards him at top speed. The genin was panting hard as he stopped in front of his teacher.

“Sorry I’m late Oro-sensei! Tsunade forgot to tell me we had a training session today.”

Oro let him catch his breath before handing the boy a bento box.

“Sit.”

Nawaki did as he was told and started eating quickly, eager to get started on today’s training.

“Slow down little one, we're not doing anything too difficult today.”

“Aw come on, Sensei. Can’t you teach me just one new jutsu today? I’m practically a boss at water release now.”

“No,” Orochimaru said firmly. “I want to talk to you and show you a few things.”

Nawaki finished his food and set the box back in the pack Orochimaru brought.

“Ok, ok. Oh! Before I forget, are we meeting up with Uncle Raiya and Tsunade for lunch? I told her to ask you guys last night.”

“Yes, we’ll see them later. For now though, I want to ask you something.”

“Sure, Sensei. What is it?”

Here Orochimaru hesitated, almost afraid to voice his question. Afraid of the answer he might receive.

“Do you trust me?”

Nawaki tilted his head and squinted his eyes in confusion. “What kind of question is that? I trust you with my life, Oro-Sensei. We’re a team, right?”

Orochimaru smiled warmly with a hint of sadness to it. “Yes, we are.” He’ll try his damndest to make good on his student’s faith and that means preparing him as best he can. That being said, he always regretted the fact that he never had the chance to show Nawaki the snake summoning contract, but now that he knew time was short, Orochimaru refused to waste it.

The Second Shinobi War was indiscriminate in taking lives and that included the younger generation. Children were being promoted earlier than usual in order to compensate for casualties in the field, most going in unprepared as a result. This was one of the reasons why he had started training Nawaki even before he graduated, in an effort to make him ready for the horrors of war that he would inevitably have to face.

Orochimaru stood up and went through a series of hand signs before touching the ground. After the plume of smoke dissipated there was a large snake on the floor. It’s scales glinted a muted green in the sunlight and its eyes were a golden yellow that matched Orochimaru’s.

“Hello, Mizuchi. This is Nawaki, my student. Nawaki, this is Mizuchi, who was once my mother’s summon and is now mine.” Nawaki, with wide eyes, bowed low in respect. Orochimaru was proud that he knew his manners when meeting summons, a habit no doubt formed from having Katsuyu around him all the time.

“Hello Mizuchi-sama,” Nawaki greeted politely. “But Oro-Sensei, I thought Lord Manda was your main summon?”

“The nesst is vasst, little hatchling. I was Orochimaru’s firsst summon when he signed the contract and once one of us hass been summoned, we claim the summoner as one of the nesst. We are his and he is ours.”

“Yes,” Oro said gently, stroking Mizuchi’s scales with a pale hand. “The snake contract is known for its lifelong loyalty from it’s summons. I should know, I signed it when I was much younger than you are now and they have served me faithfully ever since.”

“No way,” Nawaki exclaimed as he turned to his teacher. “You already signed it when you were a kid? Sensei, can I sign the contract? I want Mizuchi to be my first summon too!”

Orochimaru just chuckled and patted Nawaki’s head fondly.

“I want all my students to sign the contract and you are no exception, little one, but I always intended it as a reward for becoming Chunin.” At Nawaki’s crestfallen look, Orochimaru was quick to reassure the boy of his intentions. “However, since there is a war going on and promotions seem to be given to any who all but ask, if you can show me that you’re ready by the time you turn 12, I will sign you up for the exams in the spring. If I say you're ready, you'll no doubt pass and then you can sign the contract.” The 11 year old lit up immediately and gave a smile bright enough to break storm clouds. He pumped his fist into the air for good measure too.

“You got it, Oro-Sensei! I’m gonna train super hard so I can be ready for the chunin exams next year and sign the contract! I’ll make you proud, for sure!”

Orochimaru could do nothing more but hide the foreboding sense he had behind a smile. He knew what was going to happen, or at least, he knew what happened the last time anyway. In the original timeline, Nawaki had died before the exams were even announced.

“Then we best get on to training then, yes? I have some drills for you and Mizuchi is going to help.”

Nawaki narrowed his eyes. He knew a catch when he heard one, especially when it concerned training. “What do you mean, ‘help’?” Orochimaru only smiled though, and make no mistake, it was the ‘good-luck-not-getting-killed’ smile that he usually reserved for Jiraiya when Tsunade caught him sneaking looks at women in the bathhouse.

“Aw, man, you said it was going to be an easy day.”

“Now when did I say that?” Oro asked, a slightly malicious glint in his eye.

Hours later, when Nawaki was dirty, scratched, singed, and absolutely exhausted, Orochimaru called it a day.

“Finally!” Nawaki all but collapsed onto the upturned grass. Mizuchi had done well and had attacked her new hatchling with everything she had, holding back just enough so as not to flat out kill him. Satisfied that Orochimaru was teaching his student well, she said her goodbyes and returned to Ryūchi Cave.

“I think that was a training day well had.” Oro said as he watched Nawaki sit up tiredly.

“But you still didn’t teach me any new ninjutsu. Please Oro-Sensei, I have water release down pat. Isn’t there anything you can teach me?” Nawaki, the little snake, was already using his puppy dog eyes and that insufferable pout he always had when begging his grandmother for something. If Orochimaru were a weaker man, he would have caved, but he was one of the Legendary Sannin dammit, and he would not be swayed by petty tricks.

"No," he said crossing his arms.

It was then that Nawaki started tearing up.

“Oh, fine, you absolute brat, I’ll teach you a new jutsu.”

All pretense melted away instantly as Nawaki jumped to his feet and fist pumped the air. “Yeah! Alright!” He suddenly realized that Orochimaru was still standing with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised in a way that would rival Tsunade’s ire and abruptly composed himself, giving a deep bow. “Thank you Orochimaru-Sensei!”

Oro shook his head and sighed. “Yes yes, let’s get on with it. You still need to go home and change before we head to lunch. Let’s see, what can I teach you that won’t take up much time?” He tried to remember everything his student already knew, but it was a bit hard as this information was over 40 years old to him. He had water release, wind was alright, but needed work, Fire was out of the question for obvious reasons, and his Earth was his next best, but not by much. Suddenly, an idea came to him. It was a silly experiment, but Orochimaru had always been too curious for his own good. He tilted his head and thought about it some more before coming to his decision. “Alright, I have something. You’re going to attempt Mokuton: Wood Locking Wall. You most likely won’t be able to make anything of it right now if at all ever, but I’m curious to see if it’ll actually work.”

“Mokuton! No way, that was Ojiisan’s jutsu, right?”

“It was indeed. It was also thought to have been his Kekkei Genkai, so there is a chance, however small, that you might be able to replicate it. Follow my hands.”

Orochimaru went through the hand signs of Rat-Dog-Tiger slowly so Nawaki could quickly memorize them.

“Alright, now I want to simply feel the atmosphere.”

“Huh? What do you mean, Sensei?”

Oro thought about it before answering. “Think of it like this, you see the grass? Imagine how it grows, feel what it’s made of.” He gestured all around them. “Do the same for the ground it resides in, the air around you. How does it feel on your skin? How does it smell? Use your senses to picture nature itself and the life it gives to the world. Can you do that?”

Nawaki had closed his eyes and was breathing in the fall air deeply. He felt warm even though there was a slight chill in the air. He heard the quiet rushing of a stream nearby and the chirp of birds in the trees as they rusted the leaves. There was a feeling of peace and for a moment, he felt the life of not just the village, but of the entire world around him. Nawaki opened his eyes and nodded to his teacher.

“Good,” he heard his sensei say. “Now go through the hand signs and slam your palms onto the ground, putting as much chakra as you can into the Earth.”

Nawaki smiled and nodded again as he went through the hand signs again. Blue chakra emanated from his hands and with a scream, cried out,

“Mokuton: Mokujōheki!”

A puff of smoke appeared, but as it dissipated, it looked like nothing had happened. Orochimaru’s expectant expression fell, but was soon startled as Nawaki screamed in delight.

“Holy Shit! Sensei, look!”

“Nawaki, how many times must we tell you, that language is not befitting of a shinobi, much less a Senju. If Mito heard you say that she would have my hide, and I prefer to be amongst the livi-” But he stopped cold in his tracks, eyes wide as saucers as he stared at what Nawaki was excitedly pointing at. There, right in the center of the upturned dirt, was a small sprout. It was barely an inch tall and thinner than a twig, but it was there, with two tiny leaves at the top of it. Nawaki was grinning from ear to ear, pure joy on his face. When Orochimaru continued to stare blankly at the plant, his smile fell.

“Sensei?” He said hesitantly. “Did I do something wrong?” That seemed to break Orochimaru out of his trance. A million things were going through his mind, but he pried his eyes away to focus on Nawaki. He’s not even 12 yet, but somehow capable of great power.

“No. No, no, you did wonderfully, Nawaki. This is...amazing. No one has been able to naturally produce Mokuton since your grandfather, the Shodaime. But listen to me, and listen very carefully.” He kneeled down to Nawaki’s height and grabbed him by the shoulders, staring intently into the boy’s hazel eyes. “You are not to tell anyone you can do this, alright? Not your friends, teachers, Mito-sama, or even Tsunade. Do you understand me?”

“But Oro-sensei, you just said this was a good thing. Why wouldn’t I want to tell people about it?”

Orochimaru gave a sigh. “I can’t explain right now, but promise me you won’t tell anyone about this? It’s for your safety as well as the village’s.”

“But-”

“I will not argue on this, Nawaki.” Nawaki shrunk at that even though Orochimaru kept his voice level. Orochimaru tried a different approach, not wanting to see the boy so glum. “You said you trusted me, yes? Well I’m asking you to do so. You won’t understand even if I explain it to you and I have no wish to see you in danger, alright?”

Nawaki looked at his teacher, but saw only a face full of concern for him. It was a look that people usually give their younger siblings when something is serious. Tsunade had given him the same look throughout his life, but this was the first time Oro-Sensei had ever looked at him like this. Nawaki slowly nodded, trying to somehow convey to Orochimaru that he understood the situation even if he didn’t have all the information.

“Alright Orochimaru-Sensei, I won't tell anyone, I promise.”

“Good,” the teenager said, getting up. “Now let's get you home to change.” Inwardly, Orochimaru was panicking. Tsunade was going to murder him.

Chapter 4: Advice

The Sannin and his student left the Senju Compound after a stern talking to from Mito who was lecturing them both on how they should eat more. Orochimaru had to be honest, he missed the kind, if terrifying, woman he met when he was 6. Tsunade’s parents had invited their daughter’s team for dinner and the second Mito laid eyes on Jiraiya and Orochimaru, she had all but adopted them on the spot. As Mito ended her lecture, she told them flat out that Orochimaru was expected for dinner tonight as well as Jiraiya.

“I’d be honored, Mito-sama,” Orochimaru said with a bow. Like hell he was going to say no, the last time someone said no to her, the Nine Tails almost came out. Not a good day for Hashirama, who had told Mito it was her turn to wash the dishes when it was in fact, his.

“Good man.” She patted his head like she always did when they were children. Her head pats were the best in Orochimaru’s opinion, then again, the only other people who had ever done so were his parents and Sarutobi. Now that he was a man twice over, he realized this was the first head pat in 40 years, and Orochimaru nearly froze up at the touch.

“Now get going or you’ll be late,” the Jinchūriki warned. With a final wave goodbye from Nawaki, the two left the house and headed into town.

As they walked to the old (technically new) barbeque place, they passed a clothing store where Jiraiya was standing, arms full of shopping bags and clothes hangers.

“Hey brat, Oro, we’re over here!” The bumbling teenager tried to wave them over, but dropped quite a few parcels in the process. He tried catching them in mid air, but only succeeded in flinging them even farther away from him. Tsunade, who had seen everything, could be heard yelling from somewhere inside the shop.

“Jiraiya, those are brand new, you idiot! Be careful with them!” She stomped out into the street and to Orochimaru’s surprise, was wearing the exact same outfit she had when they were adults.

“You really couldn’t wait, could you,” the Snake Sannin smirked.

Tsunade merely glared at him. “You try wearing all those crop tops all over again, Mr.-I-only-wear-the-finest-silk-Haori-and-Kimonos.”

Orochimaru looked down at his outfit, a short, silk, black haori with violet flowers and a snake slithering through them on the back over a fine mesh shirt and lightweight black pants. “Now, now, Tsunade, there’s no need to be jealous. After all, it was your decision to wear the same shirt every day for two weeks straight, just because Dan said it looked cute on you.”

Tsunade’s face flushed bright red as she whispered to her friend. “I was 16, you ass! And if it’s romantic interests were talking about, at least I was brave enough to ask out my crush.” She gave a knowing smile. “Thinking of stalking Hatake Sakumo again, Orochimaru?”

Orochimaru’s face lost what little color it had. “I thought we agreed to keep that a secret,” he hissed.

Tsunade just winked in reply. It was then that Nawaki finished helping Jiraiya with the bags and saw his sister’s new/old wardrobe.

“Woah Tsu, you look…” He hesitated before continuing, fearing the consequences of what he was about to say. Then again, he knows he’ll never have another opportunity to do this with the assurance that Jiraiya and Orochimaru would at least keep Tsunade from pummeling him immediately. “Old,” he finished with a shit eating grin.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru hissed, wincing in sympathy. Tsunade simply smiled in that Don’t-fall-asleep-tonight kind of way that put cold fear into whoever saw it. “I can’t wait till we get home, little brother,” she said sweetly. She started walking in the direction of the restaurant they were supposed to meet up at and Jiraiya looked down at Nawaki.

“You’re a braver man than I’ll ever be, kid.” Orochimaru nodded his agreement before following Tsunade, Jiraiya tailing after him. Nawaki was left in the middle of the road with horror slowly dawning on his face.

“Oh my God,” he squeaked. “I’m dead.”

“Nawaki!” Tsunade shouted.

“Coming!” The boy ran to catch up with his sister and her friends, making the decision to sleep in his grandmother’s room tonight.

...

“So how did training go?” Jiraiya asked, in between mouthfuls of pork. Orochimaru watched him in disgust.

“It went fine,” he answered with a shrug. “Nawaki is progressing faster than I thought he would.” He took a sip at his tea, an herbal blend, and glanced at his student’s beaming smile. “But he still has much to go before his Taijutsu is where I want it.” The Sannin had to hide his amusement when Nawaki scowled and muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘stupid surprise attacks’.

Jiraiya roared with laughter. “Oh, man, I remember Oro’s surprise attacks. He’d hide in a tree the entire day and when you least expected it, he’d pop out and hurl a few dozen shuriken at you. It used to scare the hell out of Sarutobi-Sensei when we were kids.”

“Yeah,” Tsunade snorted. “One time Oro did it while Sensei was in a meeting with ANBU and next thing you know, there’s 8 grown men and women putting swords to his throat. He had the biggest shit eating grin the whole rest of the day, the bastard.” She nearly spit her drink out, she was laughing so hard.

Jiraiya joined her and slammed his hand on the table. “Sensei was so mad!” Nawaki gaped open mouthed at his teacher who only shrugged in response.

“There was an overhaul in ANBU security after that. And they called themselves the elite.” He shook his head in disappointment.

“Oh man,” Tsunade sighed after she calmed down. “We sure gave Sarutobi-Sensei a lot of grief growing up, huh?”

“I’ll say. Some might even think it goes beyond childhood.” Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru, eyes almost accusing. Orochimaru narrowed his own.

“That’s rich, coming from you, Jiraiya,” Oro sneered. “Then again, you would know the feeling, wouldn’t you.”

Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru and Tsunade dragged a hand over her face. “Boys,” she warned. “You know the rules; not in public.”

Orchimaru huffed in annoyance, but relented, drinking from his tea again. “Fine, but I do have certain things to discuss with you both. I may have come across something... interesting that disrupts our plans a bit.”

Tsunade had suspicion on her face now as she leaned into Oro’s side so he could whisper in her ear.

“I may have royally fucked up,” he confessed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she sat back in her seat and waved the waitress over.

“Your biggest bottle of sake, please.” The waitress just looked at her, confused before bursting into laughter and walking away. The Slug Sannin let her head fall to the table with a muted thunk.

“Oh my God, I hate being 15.”

“That bad, huh?” said Jiraiya, resting his chin in his hand. “Looks like it’s gonna be another late night.”

“Yes, and seeing as this is a delicate matter, I have to prepare. I’ll see you all tonight at dinner.” With that Orochimaru said his goodbyes and started towards his home.

“You know what, I gotta head out too,” Jiraiya said. “I wanted to talk to Sensei about something.”

“Alright. Oh and sorry we didn’t get to swing by your house.”

“It’s alright, I’ll head over there and change before dinner.” He laughed and to himself he muttered, “If I can find it, that is.”

“See you at dinner, Jiraiya!” Nawaki cheerfully shouted. Jiraiya smiled warmly and waved goodbye. The brat really did remind him of Naruto. He just had the same aura of sunshine that his godson had and it’s a wonder why he never saw it before. Perhaps it was because, unlike Naruto, Nawaki didn’t get the chance to grow into the fine Shinobi everyone thought he would. Jiraiya shook his head. They would cross that bridge when they came to it, right now he was in need of advice and the only person who would always lend an ear to him was sitting in Hokage Tower.

…

“Hey, Sensei, you got a minute?”

Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, one of the Densetsu no Sannin, and the teacher of the child of Prophecy, was timidly poking his head through the half open door to the Hokage’s office like a small child. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, looked up from where he was discussing something with his advisor and trusted friend, Danzo Shimura.

“Jiraiya, of course, my boy. Come in, come in.” Danzo, who at this point only had one sharingan in his right eye, cleared his throat.

“Good afternoon, Danzo-sama,” the sage ground out with a low bow. Despite knowing them for a majority of their lives, the old man still insisted on being greeted like a dignitary even when the circumstances were semi-formal at best.

Danzo hummed in satisfaction before turning back to Sarutobi. “Lord Third, I believe it would be best to finish our discussion of the new training regimen for new field Shinobi.” He pointed a condescending look with his eye at the teen that made Jiraiya bristle with anger. This man was the reason Yahiko died, he prolonged the second war that took Dan’s life and stole innocent children for his best friend to experiment on. It took everything he had to keep his killing intent under control. Despite that, Danzo seemed to notice Jiraiya’s ire and narrowed his eye.

Sarutobi, either not reading the room at all, or just plain ignoring the tense atmosphere, waved his advisor away. “Oh, it’s alright, old friend. This can wait a bit longer, I’ll see you in the war room later today.” Danzo grunted and made to leave the room, but not before giving Jiraiya the fakest smile he’d ever seen.

“Good to see you regardless, Jiraiya-kun. You’ve grown into a force to be reckoned with. It would do best to keep an eye on that progress.”

Jiraiya watched the man leave, rage coursing through his veins. He knew a threat when he heard one. The door closed and he turned to his old teacher.

The Sandaime had a warm smile and kind eyes that just made his anger ebb away. The man was still cheerful despite the mountains of paperwork cluttering his desk, like he wasn’t the least bit worried about current events at all. Jiraiya knew though, that the crinkles around his eyes weren’t there from smiling all the time. The war was getting to everybody and it was only going to get worse.

“Now, what’s bothering you, Jiraiya?”

Jiraiya took a breath and let it out slow, plopping himself in the chair opposite the desk. He crossed his arms over his chest and spilled as much of his feelings as he dared, careful to remind himself that they were supposed to be laying low.

“Sensei,” he started slowly. “How do you bring a friend back from darkness?”

Sarutobi looked at his student in surprise. It wasn’t everyday that Jiraiya, of all people, asked such complicated questions. The boy was always so sure of his sense of right and wrong. “Well now, that’s a serious topic.” Sarutobi narrowed his eyes as he suddenly remembered something. “This wouldn’t happen to be an overdramatic complaint about that bet you made with Orochimaru would it? Because I swear, if I have to hear about that damned cabbage cart one more time, I’m going to ban cabbage merchants in the village entirely.”

“What? No, that’s not-” Jiraiya paused as memories suddenly came to him of when he was 15. With a dawning expression on his face he felt petty bitterness rise up in his chest. “Oh my God, Orochimaru still owes me money! That cheating snake!” He shook his head recalling the reason he was here and continued. “Not, it’s not that, Sensei. It’s just that...Orochimaru and I had a fight, I guess and I’m just not sure who was really in the wrong. Maybe we both are. I don’t know, it’s all complicated now. He’s… changed. He’s not the same friend I made when we were kids.”

“Well you’re not the same brat I met all those years ago either. All three of you have changed, as a matter of fact. That’s just how time works.”

“Ok, but that doesn’t answer my question. I’m not sure we can fix it this time. I miss my friend and I want him back.” Jiraiya heard a lighter strike and he looked up to see Sarutobi lighting his pipe. The Sandaime looked old then, like he had lived beyond his years even though he was barely in his 30’s.

“Jiraiya, do you know why I made Danzo my advisor?”

“Because he can do the dirty work?” He couldn’t help it, it just slipped out, the previous night going through his head. Sarutobi looked surprised but let it slide.

“While he may be more suited to being behind the scenes, no, that’s not why.”

“Alright, so tell me.”

Sarutobi let out a puff of smoke, the wisps curling up all around him, giving off an aura of grace and wisdom. “Because he’s my friend. He has been my friend since I was 6 years old and he’s saved my life too many times to count just as I’ve done the same for him. He is also not the same person I trained with as a boy. He is more easy to anger, near hostile to people who get in his way, and he is set in stone against more peaceful relations with the rest of the Elemental Nations. And yet, I trust him implicitly.”

“But why?” Jiraiya exclaimed. “What if he does something that’s so unforgivable that you just can’t overlook it? Would he still be able to come back from that? And even if he did, what makes you think he won’t just do it again?”

“Danzo would do anything for Konoha and to him, the ends justify the means. While I may not agree with that philosophy entirely, no matter what he does, that feeling of trust I have is still there. Bonds are not so easily broken just because we’re different people now.”

Jiraiya looked down at his hands and remembered the day that the three Sannin were trapped in that Iwa cave during the Third War. Jiraiya had been in Konoha at the time and Sarutobi had asked him to go with Orochimaru and Tsunade to the front lines to even out the playing field. Orochimaru had tried to kill him to ensure that at least two of the Sannin would escape, but reinforcements had come at just the last second. Tsunade was in between them, the kunai already in Orochimaru’s grip. Even then, as his best friend was dead set on killing him, Jiraiya had felt nothing but trust for Orochimaru. The Snake Summoner had always been a loyal Konoha Shinobi, but maybe it wasn’t loyalty towards Konoha itself, rather to his teammates.

By that time, Danzo already had Orochimaru experimenting on the enemy’s Kekkei Genkai and was probably about to start him on the children as well. He was just following orders and Jiraiya wasn’t there to help him make the right decision, to help him see just how wrong those orders were. Looking at just the last two days, even Jiraiya could see how much softer Orochimaru was compared to when he invaded Konoha and killed Sarutobi. The snake could hide it all he wants, but Jiraiya had grown up with him and knows when he’s hiding demons from them. All three of them do, it’s why they could never lie to each other.

“I trust Oro with my life and I always will. He’s my best friend and I just want to see him happy. I’m just not sure how to make that happen.”

“You know Orochimaru as well as I do, Jiraiya, but sometimes you just have to ask him straight to his face. The boy’s a genius, no doubt, but he can be as dense as bricks when it comes down to it.” Sarutobi grunted and blew out another plume of smoke.

Jiraiya grinned, remembering all the awkward conversations as children because of this fact. “Ha, that’s for sure.” He looked up at his teacher again. “Thank you Sarutobi-Sensei, for everything.” Jiraiya stood up and gave a low bow in respect. As he walked out the door, Sarutobi Hiruzen was left confused, but happily so. Perhaps his students really have matured into fine young Shinobi afterall. They may be young still, but they have each seen great tragedy and as such have had to grow up faster than most. Hiruzen only hopes that he’s done his job as a teacher and mentor to pass on the Will of Fire like his teacher before him. Extinguishing his pipe, he went back to his endless paperwork for a seemingly never ending war.

Chapter 5: Apologies and Sake

The night was chilly, the air still, and cold enough to see your breath when you breathed out. Jiraiya was making his way to the Senju compound on his own after finally changing out of his disgusting uniform from their mission two days ago. While he was at Hokage Tower, he had stopped by the archives and had asked to see his service record. The two Chunins at the desk had given him odd looks, most likely due to him being dirty and starting to smell, but gave him the files anyway. From there, all it took was a glance to find his current address and make his way home.

The house was there, just as he had left it. It had belonged to his father before he died on a mission outside the village when he was a small child, too young to properly remember him. He lived with his grandparents after that, but they too had passed not that long ago, chronologically speaking. If he had his math right, he had been living alone in his father’s old house for about 2 years now. Once inside, he quickly bathed and changed into clothes that were at least somewhat formal before leaving. Jiraiya was never one for anything fancy and wore his old white haori with red flames at the bottom.

As he walked underneath the streetlamps, the Sage noticed movement from the corner of his eye. He turned to see Orochimaru, dressed in a semi-formal dark violet kimono with white tomoe on the trimmings.

“It's dinner, not a night on the town,” Orochimaru huffed. Rolling his eyes, Jiraiya noticed something in Orochimaru’s hands.

“What’s that?”

Oro glanced down to see what he was gesturing to and looked back up. “It’s a tin,” he deadpanned. Jiraiya stared at him in disbelief.

“Wow, who would have guessed. What’s in the tin, you bastard?”

The snake smirked. “It’s just tea leaves I gathered from my mother’s garden. They’re for Mito-Sama.”

There was silence then, tension in the atmosphere as they walked, neither willing to be the first to break it. Eventually, Jiraiya had had enough and decided to just suck it up.

“Can I ask you something?” He fidgeted with the sleeves of his haori.

“You just did, but very well,” Orochimaru answered.

Jiraiya hesitated, nervous instead of his usual confidence. “Are we friends?”

Orochimaru was shocked into silence for a moment, not sure how to answer that. He glanced at Jiraiya who had a hint of sadness in his eyes, but something resembling hope hidden there as well.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. He looked straight ahead, refusing to meet the Toad Sage’s gaze. “It’s been a long time since we were Team Hiruzen.”

“Are you still going to experiment on innocent children?” There was desperation in Jiraiya’s voice and it was clear he was looking for a ‘right’ answer.

Orochimaru sighed. “I am going to experiment on whoever wants me to. That’s what I did for Danzo and that’s what I did for my subordinates. At least after I left, I found loyalty in my charges. Danzo just told me it was for the good of Konoha and like a loyal Shinobi, I did as I was asked, nothing more. And then he and Sarutobi betrayed me.” The two went quiet again as Orochimaru’s words settled.

Jiraiya looked up into the night sky, the moon and stars still in their bright vigil of Konoha. “You know,” he murmured softly. “I always told myself I was going to bring you back home one day. Now here we are, back in Konoha, but you're still not home, are you?”

“I don’t think I ever really was, Jiraiya. Konoha despised me long before it made me into their weapon.”

That gave the Toad Sannin pause and he stopped walking, looking at Orochimaru with a frown.

“That’s not true.”

“Isn't it?” Orochimaru stopped walking as well, scowling at Jiraiya. “‘The Yashagorō demon child. The dangerous prodigy without mercy, without a soul.’ They were nothing but whispers and rumors when we were children, but then we grew up and those rumors ended up having a grain of truth to them after all. This village’s petty war made sure of that. Konoha raised us to be weapons, nothing more. I did as I was asked, ‘for the good of the village’, they told me. But when I finally refused to be manipulated any longer, Danzo tried to have me killed to hide his secrets. Even if I had only been captured and brought back, what makes you think he and our dear Sensei wouldn’t have still used me to do their dirty work, hmm? Danzo would have made me continue with the experiments with Sarutobi none the wiser because he trusted his ‘friend’ that much.” He turned and started on the road again, not looking back when Jiraiya caught up to him.

Sarutobi’s words come to Jiraiya just then, ‘Bonds are not so easily broken just because we’re different people now.’ Maybe Konoha really didn’t mean anything to Orochimaru anymore, but it meant something to Jiraiya and to Tsunade, so maybe there was hope yet. Jiraiya couldn’t bring his friend back to Konoha in his first life, but maybe he could bring him back to their team in his second. The three had always been stronger together and he wasn’t about to leave either of them ever again. Maybe this time, that would be enough. He really hoped so.

With a shameful expression, Jiraiya said, “Orochimaru, I’m sorry.”

“What?” It was the snake’s turn to stop in surprise. Jiraiya looked into Orochimaru’s golden eyes with such seriousness he hadn’t seen the likes of since the day the Sannin first walked onto the battlefield in Amegakure, surrounded by the dead and dying.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I’m sorry that I abandoned you and Tsunade in Ame, that I left Konoha to make my spy ring, never once writing to either of you. I’m sorry that I could never see your side and that I’ve been such a jerk lately. I don’t forgive you for all the awful shit you’ve done, but you genuinely have changed. Maybe not back to how you were when we were kids, but it’s better than how you were when I died, so I’m sorry for thinking otherwise. I trust you Orochimaru, I always have and I always will. ‘Bonds are not so easily broken just because we’re different people now.’

Orochimaru burst out laughing, earning him a disbelieving look from Jiraiya.

“Hey, what the hell? I’m laying out my soul here,” Jiraiya fummed, crossing his arms and glaring at the still cackling man turned teenager. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure he had ever seen Orochimaru laugh this hard before. After a good minute, Orochimaru finally got a hold of himself.

“‘Bonds are not so easily broken’? Where on earth did you hear that line?” He said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“What? You don’t think I could come up with it on my own? I'm hurt.” The sage put a hand to his heart just to add to the dramatics. His companion raised an eyebrow and shook his head in annoyance.

“Of course not,” Oro told him. “You’re not smart enough.”

“Hey!” Jiraiya pointed to the Snake Sannin as if he could demand respect from him. “I’m a Sage, remember? I can be smart and wise when I want to.”

Orochimaru raised both eyebrows now, giving him an expectant look.

“Alright, it was Sarutobi-Sensei,” Jiraiya deflated as he started walking once more.

“Wait, you went to the one person who has no business giving any advice on this matter?” he heard Oro say beside him.

“Well, same problem, different circumstances, right? I mean, we were talking about Danzo and how absolutely batshit crazy he is, but what Sensei said about bonds is true. No matter what you do there’s always gonna be a voice in my heart telling me to trust you.”

“Oh, don’t get so sentimental.” After a moment Orochimaru said softly, “I suppose we are friends, of a sort. Perhaps our friendship never stopped in the first place. Regardless, I accept your apology, but I feel I must say one of my own. I do have regrets. They aren’t anything big, like my experiments or Sarutobi, but I regret failing to save Nawaki, pushing Anko away, giving up on Tenzo and leaving him in Danzo’s clutches. I even regret not getting Kabuto out of ROOT sooner. Most of all, I regret never coming back to you and Tsunade.”

Jiraiya smiled warmly and bumped his shoulder on Orochimaru’s. “Now who’s getting sentimental, huh? You big softie.”

“Shut up before I cut your tongue out.”

“Haha! Anything you say, old friend.” Nearing the compound, a vegetable garden could be seen and Jiraiya gasped as he suddenly remembered something. “Hey, you still owe me money!”

“Excuse me?” asked Orochimaru, looking at his companion like he was insane.

“Yeah!” the Sage exclaimed. “Remember the cabbage cart bet?”

“How do you remember that? You had amnesia from the impact.”

Sensei said something about it and I remembered everything. Who knew time travel would give me back my memory? Now pay up, you bastard.”

“Jiraiya, this was 40 years ago, you really want me to make good on something you didn’t even remember until today?”

“Yes.”

Orochimaru tilted his head in thought. “Fine. How about this, do you remember that plant I grow in my mother’s garden?”

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “The Grass Country stuff that you used to supply the hospital with?”

“The same.”

“What about it?”

“I’ll give you the money's worth instead.”

“Deal,” the Sage said without hesitation. “You know, now that I think about it, Sarutobi always smoked that stuff when we were kids. Smoked some today, even.”

“Who do you think supplied him?” Orochimaru told him, a wicked gleam of mischief in his golden eyes.

“No way,” Jiraiya breathed, his own eyes widening in surprise. “Did you ever charge him for it?”

“Oh, I charged him extra.”

Jiraiya roared with laughter and slapped Oro on the back. The Snake summoner himself gave a small smile as even he found the whole ordeal amusing.

And that was how Tsunade found them, laughing and smiling as they strode through the gates of her family home. She smiled fondly to herself. The Slug Sannin remembers how hard Orochimaru fought to change his ways. Saw how much he grew and learned from his mistakes. It was hard. But he wasn’t alone. Tsunade was there to help numb the heartache of another merciless war. He’ll never know, but Orochimaru helped her just as much. Together they mourned a friend and a lost world. But for all the tragedy and ruin the three had endured, it seemed that they would always find their way back to each other.

…

Dinner was delicious. Mito’s cooking was the envy of Konoha and it wasn’t uncommon for a bold kunoichi or two to sneak into the compound looking for her recipes. Needless to say, Mito Uzumaki dealt with each and every one of them as if they were missing nin. She never revealed her secret recipes.

With the meal over with, Nawaki excused himself and went upstairs to bed. Mito had also gone to bed early after thanking the teens for cleaning up the kitchen. The baby Sannin themselves were whispering as they cleaned, careful not to wake the sleeping Senjus upstairs.

“So what is it you need to talk to us about?” Tsunade asked Orochimaru, drying off another bowl.

Oro looked at her and put a finger to his lips. Tsunade shared a glance at Jiraiya who shrugged. Orochimaru put the cups in his hands into the sink and pulled out a few paper seals from the inside of his kimono. Sound barrier seals to be exact. Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at one another again, wondering what on Earth could be so important as to require a sound barrier. Slapping the seals onto the walls, Oro went through the hand signs, quickly activating them. Once that was done, he nodded and took a deep breath.

“I may have... accidentally... discovered that Nawaki naturally possesses the Shodaime’s famous Wood Release Jutsu.”

“You did what?!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Oro shouted defensively. “He wanted to learn a new jutsu but we were going to be late for our lunch meet so I just taught him the hand signs for Mokuton, expecting nothing to happen! I didn’t think he could actually do it!”

Tsunade dragged a hand across her face. “Orochimaru, do you have any idea how stupid that was! What if Danzo gets his hands on him? Or even worse, Madara?”

“I would die before I let that happen!” he shouted. “I won’t fail him a second time!”

“Regardless,” Jiraiya interrupted. “This is bad, Oro. Really bad. Who else knows?”

Orochimaru crossed his arms. “No one besides us and Nawaki. I told him to keep it a secret, from everyone. As long as no one sees him using it or speaking of it, we should be relatively safe.”

“Fuck, as if this whole time travel thing wasn’t hard enough,” Tsunade muttered iritably.

Jiraiya hissed through his teeth. “I think now is a good time to mention that I sort of messed up too.”

“Oh this’ll be good,” Orochimaru grumbled.

“Now, before you get mad, I couldn’t help myself and you guys would have done the same.” Jiraiya took a breath and sighed. “Danzo may be a tiny bit suspicious of us now.”

Tsunade threw her arms in the air. “For fuck’s sake, Jiraiya! It’s been two days, what could you have possibly done to get on his radar?”

“I might have... pointed a small... killing intent at him when I went to see Sensei today.” Jiraiya shut his eyes and held his arms over his face in anticipation of the otherworldly punch he was going to receive, but no blows ever came. He tentatively opened his eyes.

“Kami, help us,” Tsunade muttered, looking up to the ceiling in resignation. “Alright, so what’s the plan? Do we straight up kill him now or what? I personally would love to see my fist through Danzo’s bandaged head.”

“No, I still need him!” Orochimaru shouted, almost desperate.

“What could be so important? You already told us you’re not going to do the same experiments again, so what gives?” argued Jiraiya.

Oro looked out the window in frustration. “I need him to find Tenzo for me, alright!” He went quiet after that. “I won’t... I won’t give up on him this time. He was the only one to survive the experiments and he should have been mine. Instead Danzo turned him into one of his demented ROOT agents.”

The soft way he spoke pulled at Tsunade for some reason. Did he really care that much for Yamato? Admittedly, the snake had a fondness for all his charges, that much was obvious during the Fourth War. Every time one of them met a horrible death, Tsunade could see the hurt in his eyes. It was only ever there for a moment though before steel bled back into them as he prepared for another battle.

“You’ll find them again,” she said softly to him, referring to all of his subordinates. “Until Danzo starts the research, there’s no proof we can use against him. God I want to kill him, but then we’d just be branded as rogue nin no matter how we spin it. The Third War is still our best bet to catch him in the act. In the meantime, we keep Nawaki safe and stop the Second War from going on for so long.”

“Fine,” Jiraiya relented. “But we still have no chance against Danzo and the whole of Anbu ROOT as we are. We’re just scrawny kids right now.”

“Scrawny!? Oro, maybe (Hey!), but I’m sure as hell not!” Tsunade was about to pound Jiraiya into the floorboards when Orochimaru held his hand up.

“Insulting remarks aside, Jiraiya’s right. We’ll have to become the Densetsu no Sannin again, but stronger this time. Not to mention, if we want to take out Madara before he makes his first move, we need to train to get back at our previous strength much earlier than before.”

“Well,” Jiraiya sighed. “That sounds like a plan. A crazy insane one, but a plan nonetheless.”

“I’ll drink to that,” laughed Tsunade. Turning her back on her friends, the Senju princess rummaged through a high cabinet and took out a bottle of very expensive looking Sake. Jiraiya already had the cups ready to be filled and handed one to Orochimaru.

The snake summoner swirled the transparent liquid in his cup with a concerned look on his face. “Are you sure we should be drinking this?” he asked. “What if your grandmother finds out? We’re not of age anymore.”

Tsunade raised the bottle in response.

“We are 50, technically 60-somethings back in time with a whole lot of shit going on. I don’t give a damn about the age of maturity anymore.” She waited with a smile as Orochimaru rolled his eyes and reluctantly held his glass up along with her’s and Jiraiya’s. She continued, “May Kami have mercy on Danzo and any member of Root who so much as lays a finger on my little brother, because I certainly won’t when I send them to the pure lands.” Tsunade then downed the whole bottle while the other two simply looked at eachother, shrugged, and drank with her.

“Well,” Oro said, washing his cup in the sink so Mito wouldn’t find out. “Two whole days back in the past and we managed to make things needlessly more complicated than they ever need be.” He gave a long suffering sigh. “We are absolutely, the worst candidates for time travel.”

“Hey,” Jiraiya heartened. “We’re the legendary Sannin, remember? How hard can this be?” The other two groaned in response, various curses floating through the air.

“You just had to say it, didn't you?” accused Tsunade.

“What? What’d I do?” demanded the Toad Sage, but both of his friends ignored him. Orochimaru shook his head and tore the seal of the wall and they continued cleaning up. When everything was clean, the boys said their goodbyes and Tsunade went off to bed, exhausted.

The next morning when she came down for breakfast, Tsunade found a scratch ticket sitting on the kitchen counter. Unable to help herself, her gambling addiction kicked in and she scratched the label off with her nail. She stared wide eyed at the results. She frantically checked the top of the ticket, desperate to be wrong, but low and behold, Tsunade had received the winning numbers for the Grand Prize Jackpot. Seething with rage, she looked out the kitchen window to Konoha.

“Damn you, Jiraiya.”

Chapter 6: Higher than Hokage Mountain

It had only been two weeks since they were reincarnated into their 15 year old selves and the Sannin were already at their wits end. If Orochimaru wasn’t busy training his genin team, he was mapping out a war strategy to shorten the Second Shinobi war. If Tsunade wasn’t working double shifts at the hospital every day, she was creating antidotes for when Chiyo eventually used her poisons in said war. If Jiraiya wasn’t training like crazy to get his sage mode back, he was spending every night gathering intelligence on Danzo and his ROOT faction, putting his espionage skills to use. In other words, the three were ready to collapse from exhaustion any day now.

“We need to stop,” Tsunade said. “At the rate we’re going, we’ll be too exhausted to change anything.” The three were currently sitting on Orochimaru’s engawa that overlooked his mother’s garden. It was still early in the evening and the pinkish hues of sunset were just starting to shine onto the clouds rolling lazily above them.

“You said it, Hime,” Jiraiya moaned. “Training to be a Sage the second time is somehow harder?” He was lying with an arm over his face in a futile attempt at a nap. There were bruises all over his face and arms that made him look like a street brawler when in reality, he was just training with Fukasaku on Mount Myoboku. Apparently, being one of the toad elders gave him some kind of cosmic wisdom and knew right away that Jiraiya was from the future. The little toad was ecstatic to learn that he had beat the shit out of Jiraiya with a stick in the past and was glad to do it again.

“You think you have it bad,” said Orochimaru from where he was tending to the garden. “I’m trying to drill 20 years worth of shinobi experience into literal children before they even go on their first mission outside the village.” In the first timeline, Orochimaru had focused heavily on teaching his genin ninjutsu, thinking that it would serve them well in the field, just as it had him. On their first mission however, Nawaki had run into a trap and the other two, Kana Totsuna and Noba Sanarabi had frozen up in fear at the ambush that followed. Now, Orochimaru was intent on getting them actually ready for the horrors that awaited them outside Konoha, namely being able to keep moving despite the traumatic violence a shinobi’s life was exposed to. In all honesty, he was expecting Kana and Noba to quit like they did the first time; neither of them had ever struck Oro as dedicated shinobi, both being civilian born.

Tsunade snorted in amusement. “So I've heard. You’ve been working them into the ground, Orochimaru. Even Nawaki is starting to get sick of it.”

Oro rolled his eyes. “It’s for his own good. For all the promise the child has, he has yet to actually land a blow on me.”

“To be fair, there’s not very many who can,” Jiraiya snickered.

“Regardless, I’m the one training him. Even Suigetsu could hit me two weeks in. And for some reason, Nawaki falls for nearly every single one of my traps. I don’t know if he actually can’t recognize them or if he’s deliberately setting them off so his teammates don’t instead. It’s concerning.”

Jiraiya rolled onto his side to look at Orochimaru. “Sounds like one hell of a hero complex.”

“You have no idea,” the other two Sannin said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment before quietly laughing at themselves. The silence that followed was comfortable, the friends simply enjoying each other's company after a long day. At some point though, Jiraiya had an idea.

“Hey, let’s do something tonight, yeah? Something fun.”

Tsunade took her eyes off from the cloud that she was watching and gave Jiraiya a disgusted look. “No, we will not be going to the bath house.” Jiraiya sat up to properly look at her and scowled.

“I wasn’t going to say that!...But just so you know, we could sneak in for a peak way easier now that I know all the good spots from the future.” He gave a little eyebrow waggle before Tsunade’s fist collided with his face.

“OW! Geez, Tsunade! What I was going to say is, I have an idea.”

Orochimaru didn’t even try to hide his amused grin as Jiraiya blinked, only to realize that his eye was swollen shut. “Well, what is this grand idea? Tsunade could you please heal him, I don’t want blood on my floor.”

“Thanks, Tsu,” Jiraya said as she finished her work. “Anyway, you know that plant you got from Grass Country, Orochimaru?” There was a gleam in his eye and Orochimaru stopped trimming his tomato plant to look at the far side of the garden. The Snake Sannin turned back to his friends who had matching expressions of ‘please-please-please-please-PLEASE’ He faked a moment of serious contemplation before giving his answer just to piss them off.

“Oh, I suppose.”

Ten minutes later, they were lighting up in a tight circle, eyes already starting to appear pinkish. For Orochimaru, it was quite the sight, what with his yellow irises.

“Oh my God, I haven't done this in ages,” Tsunade rasped out as she blew out a smoke ring and passed the joint to Jiraiya.

“Same,” he said blankly. “It’s weird, I never thought I'd get to experience this for the first time again. It’s like we…” Jiraiya took a hit and seemed to forget what he was about to say when his eyes widened in alarm. “Like we went back in time!”

“Jiraiya,” Oro deadpanned, taking the joint from him. “We did go back in time.”

The Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku slumped in relief. “Oh yeah. Say, what’s it like in the future?”

“What do you mean? Weren’t you only dead for like... 4 months,” Tsunade asked, shaking her head. That caused her to breathe in wrong though, and she ended up coughing up a lung instead.

“Yeah, but did anything happen?” Jiraiya asked.

Orochimaru took another hit and let the smoke out through his nostrils, making him look like a dragon. “Oh I don’t know, does the end of the world count?” He passed it along.

“Yeah, but did anything cool happen?” Jiraiya tried again. Oro seemed to think about it and was quiet for some time. The joint made a full rotation and he puffed once before shrugging as if what he was about to say was of no significance.

“Kabuto and I reanimated the dead.”

“Huh? Ugh!-” the white haired Sannin breathed in wrong and started coughing uncontrollably. The other two ignored him though as they were reminiscing.

“Oh yeah! Man, that was some crazy shit!” Tsunade erupted into a fit of giggles that became infectious when Orochimaru started laughing as well. And even if Jiraiya had no idea what was going on, he joined in too, not wanting to be left out. After about 5 minutes, the three seemed to calm down and Tsunade spoke again. “I got to see Dan, Jiichan, and Tobirama-oji again. Hell, even Sarutobi-sensei was there.”

“No way! That’s so fucking cool!” Jiraiya looked up at the sky. It was dark now and the stars were glittering in the inky darkness. He gave a content sigh. “You know, I don’t think I even remember them all that much. Wish I could have seen them again.” The joint was finished and extinguished as Tsunade smoked the last bit of it. Each of them had then gone into their own little worlds of thought, dreams and memories swirling together in a way they wouldn't while sober. This trance however, was interrupted as it was Orochimaru’s turn to have an idea.

“Would you like to?” he asked both of them, one eyebrow raised. Tsunade’s mouth gaped open and she narrowed her eyes.

“We are NOT going to desecrate my family’s graves!”

Oro held his hands up in defence. “I wouldn’t need to,” he said. “Kabuto perfected it, remember? I just need a sacrifice and some kind of DNA. It could be like, blood from a weapon or something. Or spit.” He blinked slowly. “Yeah, spit would work…. I think.”

The three looked at each other for about thirty seconds before they bolted for Tsunade’s house.

Twenty minutes later, after ransacking Tsunade’s grandparents’ house, they managed to find some of Hashirama’s hair from a scrapbook Mito kept, and some blood residue from a knife Tobirama once accidentally cut himself with. All that was missing were some good old human sacrifices.

“Now what?” Jiraiya asked. The three stood at the front of Tsunade’s door and brainstormed for solutions to their odd mission. The porch light suddenly turned on above Tsunade.

“We have enemy nin over at T&I, right?”

Two bribes, one marijuana deal, and a quick makeshift scroll later, they had all the necessary components for Edo Tensei. Now, it was time for the summoning. They thought the Forest of Death was the safest place to do this as no one in their right minds would be here at night and if anyone was, they could just blame the forest itself for visions of ghostly Hokage. Orochimaru placed the borrowed DNA onto the scroll’s seals and it glowed a greenish blue before two circular seals shot out from it and appeared under the two sacrifices. The two Kiri Shinobi that had been taken from T&I’s holding cells were bound and gagged on the soft Earth, both terribly confused as to why they were in the middle of Konoha’s famous Forest of Death, with three random teenagers doing some freaky ninjutsu and smoking pot.

Lighting another joint, Orochimaru puffed, passed, and started going through the hand signs. The sacrifices’ confusion soon rose to panic as they were suddenly being enveloped by dusty, rotting leaves. Muffled screams were overpowered by Orochimaru’s shout as he slammed his hands onto the ground.

“Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!”

...

Senju Tobirama opened his eyes and found he was not in Paradise anymore. He may not have remembered what it looked like, but he knew damn well that it didn’t look like the Forest of Death at night. That was his first thought. His second was:

“Who the fuck summoned my soul with Edo Tensei?!”

“Ah, give us a sec, Tobirama-oji, I forgot that our chakra reserves are kinda shit right now,” he heard a voice say.

He scrunched his face in confusion. Tobirama knew that voice somehow; it was a bit older, granted, but still high enough that he could recognize it. “Tsuna? Is that you?” he said.

A blond girl with two loose ponytails in her hair turned to him and waved.

“Yeah! It’s really me, Tobirama-oji! One sec,” She turned back to a passed out Orochimaru and with a glowing green hand, slapped him so hard, a handprint shaped bruise was forming on his cheek. “Wake up, you bastard, my grandparents are here!”

Orochimaru opened his eyes and gasped as he bolted upright on the floor. His gaze landed on Tobirama and a shit eating grin appeared on his face. He took the offered joint from Tsunade, ripped a fat one, and then proceeded to give the Nidaime Hokage the finger.

“I’m the genius who summoned you. Three separate times!” he said. Orochimaru started laughing but was cut off by Tsunade punching him into the ground.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “He’s a genius, but a really high one right now.” Suddenly, a red blur tackled her into a bone crushing hug.

“Tsuna! Good to see you, kiddo!” Hashirama bellowed. Tsunade laughed and hugged him back just as tight.

“Hi, Jiichan, I missed you too.”

Tobirama was really fucking confused now. “What the hell is going on? Tsuna, why are our souls back on Earth and how does this brat know how to do it?” He pointed to Orochimaru who was being supported by Jiraiya. Both were laughing and taking turns with the joint, blowing the smoke in each other's faces.

Hashirama let go of his granddaughter and went to stand next to his brother. “As much as I love seeing you again, kiddo, I think you need to give us some answers.”

Tsunade stared at them, lit one of the many rolls the Sannin brought, blew out the smoke, and offered it to Hashirama. “You might need this.”

Tobirama closed his eyes and sighed. “Senju Tsunade, I am very disappointed in you. I let the gambling slide because I thought it was just a phase, but to smoke marijuana-” he stopped as he opened his eyes again to the sight of Hashirama taking a long hit and blowing the smoke from his nostrils into the night sky.

“Oh that’s some good stuff, Tsuna. Much better than the shit Madara and I smoked.”

The Nidaime stood with his mouth gaped open like a fish as he stared at his older brother and grandniece smoking a joint. “Aniki! What are you doing?!”

“Just going with the flow, Tobirrama. You should try it sometime,” his brother giggled.

Tobirama Senju thought about his entire life at that moment and realized he was a stuck up old man who had too many regrets in life. It took him a second to make up his mind.

“Fuck it.”

And he took a long drag.

...

“So lemme get this shit straight, you guys are from the future where Uchiha Madara, who has a zombie shinobi army, has awakened the rinnegan in his eyes and gathered up the nine tailed beasts in order to perform a jutsu that basically puts whoever is under the moon’s light under a genjutsu type dream world where everything they ever wanted comes true, but the outside world is reduced to people in weird cocoon things that siphon chakra from it’s victims until they die, effectively ending the world, all in the name of peace?”

“Yeah,” Jiraiya answered Hashirama.

“That’s wack,” the Shodaime said.

The Sannin and reanimated founders of Konoha were all lying on the grass in the middle of the Forest of Death, passing the last bit of marijuana they had around in a circle.

“You shoulda let me kill that bitch when I had the chance, Hashirama,” the younger Senju brother spat.

“Yeah, but then Konoha wouldn’t exist,” Hashirama argued.

“Well, maybe it shouldn’t,” Orochimaru said.

“What do you mean, kid?”

Jiraiya waved a hand in the air. “Don't mind him, he’s got beef with the village elders.”

Tobirama sat up. “Is Saru still Hokage?”

“Yeah,” Tsunade answered. “But he might not have been the best choice, Oji-san.”

Jiraiys blew a raspberry into the air, accidentally spraying Orochimaru and Hashirama, who were on either side of him, with spittle. “You got that Hime. He sends kids to war and takes advice from that creep Danzo.” Hashirama and Orochimaru both punched Jiraiya on his shoulders.

“Shimura Danzo? What do you mean?”

“Well, he kind of made everyone’s lives a living hell. He got one of my students killed which made the other two create a terrorist organization in search of true world peace.

Oro raised his hand. “He made me experiment on innocent children who I then killed in the process and had me implant stolen sharingan into his arm.”

“He instigated the Uchiha rebellion and forced a 13 year old kid to kill his entire clan to save his little brother, who grows up crazy with dreams of vengeance.” Tsunade had a headache just thinking about Uchiha Sasuke.

Tobirama cringed at each crime. “Well, it can’t get any worse can it?”

“Oh and he tried to kill Sarutobi-sensei one time too,” Jiraiya added.

Tobirama hung his head in shame. He rubbed a hand over his face and smoked the absolute last bit of weed from their last joint and put the bud out on the dirt beside him. “What the hell ever happened to the ‘Will of Fire’, huh? Was I not clear on that?”

“Ha, your student sucks, Tobirama!” Hashirama leered. A shuriken flew out and nearly took Hashirama’s eye out before he deflected it with a kunai. He sat up and narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. “Was that a challenge?”

“Woooo, Hokage fight!” Shouted Jiraiya. He tried to stand, but was too high and stumbled back into the dirt, partially on Orochimaru.

“Get off of me, baka!” The snake summoner yelled. Jiraiya wasn’t listening however as he was too busy watching Hashirama and Tobirama duke it out a few yards away from them. They were sparring with their swords and clumsily avoiding the sharp blades. They both kept regenerating every time they were too slow and soon, they gave up on sparring, more concerned about how long it took to regenerate body parts. Tsunade, still high herself, was looking up at the sky when she noticed it was getting brighter.

“Shit! It’s almost morning!” All heads snapped to her. The Senju brothers sheathed their swords and ran to the time travelers. Hashirama hugged Tsunade first.

“Be good, kiddo. Give my love to Mito.”

“You got it, Jiichan.” She let go of her grandfather and wrapped her arms around her granduncle.

“I love you, Tsuna, but if you ever summon me again for shits and giggles, I will be very upset.”

“What if it’s the end of the world again?”

“I hope it never comes to that, but if it does, give us a call and I’ll kick that Uchiha’s ass myself.” He gave her a smile and a wink as Hashirama huffed behind him. Tobirama then turned to Orochimaru who was pushing a passed out Jiraiya off of him. “You, Yashagoro brat.”

Orochimaru stood up. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll release you, keep your headband on,” he grumbled.

“Actually I was going to say well done on perfecting my jutsu.”

Oro tried to play it cool and act like the compliment wasn’t a huge deal to him, but ended up tripping over himself when he walked over. He quickly picked himself up, dusted off his haori, and crossed his arms casually like nothing happened. “One of my students helped, but thank you. I admire your work as well, Lord Second.”

“Ha, he reminds me a bit of you, Tobirama. All science and no charm!” Hashirama pulled Orochimaru into a bone crushing hug.

“Good to meet you, Orochimaru. If my grandchildren come to any harm, I will personally make sure you never make it to the pure lands.”

Orochimaru swallowed. “Understood, Lord First.” The snake Sannin weaved through the hand signs, releasing the tethered souls. White light engulfed the brothers and their souls could be seen rising from the Kiri shinobi’s dead bodies.

“We’ll see eachother again, Tsuna. Hopefully not too soon, though!” Hashirama said as a final farewell. Tsunade and Orochimaru waved at them as the beam of light dimmed and the two Sannin were left with two dead bodies and a sleeping Jiraiya.

“Now what?” Tsunade asked her friend. Orochiamru looked around them, red eyes taking in the mess they were left with.

“Wanna get something to eat?”

Tsunade shrugged. “Yeah, ok.” And then they left, arm in arm, to get some breakfast in town. Hours later, when Jiraiya awoke to Sarutobi splashing a water jutsu on him, the toad sage was alone, surrounded by marijuana buds and two very dead enemy nin who should have been in a T&I holding cell.

Jiraiya sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “Would you believe me if I said it was Orochimaru’s idea?”

Sarutobi rolled his eyes and let off another water jet.

Chapter 7: Her brother's keeper

It was the night before he was to set off on his first mission with his genin team. Again. The last few weeks were harsh and exhausting. The Sannin were busy trying to gain back their previous strength and time was of the essence for Orochimaru. Training his genin team the second time was interesting, to say the least. Now it was finally time to change something monumental. This time, Orochimaru had taught his students that the world was not a kind place. That their little team could very well be dead before the end of the year, himself included. They were at war, it was cruel and merciless to all shinobi, no matter how young they were. Nawaki’s face had been heartbreaking to see, the raw anger at the world and fierce determination to change said world so out of place on his usually carefree face. It reminded Orochimaru of a certain blond headed fox brat from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade were sitting on the banks of the Naka river underneath the stars. He would never admit it to anyone, but the famed Konoha Prodigy was nervous, terrified, even. For years, this ill fated mission had haunted his dreams. It was one of the causes of his insomnia in fact. Watching a child who may as well have been your younger brother die before your eyes will do that to you. The first time around, Tsunade had told him many times that it wasn’t his fault, that it was an accident and he had no reason to apologize. But there was always that sense of guilt in the back of his mind. Perhaps if he had taught the boy better, or seen the trap like he should have, maybe he would have brought back Nawaki, instead of a mangled corpse. The kunoichi shifted next to him, tearing him from his dark thoughts. Orochimaru turned and saw the worry in her eyes.

Without speaking, she closed the gap between the three of them and wrapped her arms around her boys. Jiraiya’s response was automatic, his huge arms engulfing the smaller two like a protective shell. Like he could keep the sadness away simply by using his large frame to shield his friends. Orochimaru stiffened in place, not entirely sure what to do, but then again, he knew they didn’t mind so much. He was never one for physical affection and they accepted him just as he was.

“Oro, promise me,” Tsunade whispered into his shoulder. “Promise me you’ll bring him back alive this time.” Orochimaru tried to swallow the lump trapped in his throat. Memories from another time came rushing in, the stoic face he had when he came back, Tsunade’s cries as he held the necklace in his hands, the funeral and how he almost broke down at the sight of the coffin being lowered.

“Tsunade,” he said softly. I swear to you on the memory of my parents, he will come back alive and whole, even if it means I don’t.” And the scary thing was, he meant it. Throughout his long life, he had tried not to get attached to people, even when he was young the first time. He was always ready for the news that Jiraiya or Tsunade had been killed by some no-name nin from another country. They were shinobi at war after all, it seemed that they were destined to die young. Now though, he had a second chance. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around his friends and it was their turn to stiffen in surprise. Tears welled in Tsunade’s eyes and finally fell as she sobbed into his chest. And that’s how they stayed until the night grew cold and there were no more tears to shed.

…

The next morning at the gates of Konoha, Team Orochimaru was saying their goodbyes to their loved ones who came to wish them luck.

“I don’t care what happens out there, you do everything Oro says. To the letter, understand?”

Tsunade fixed Nawaki’s scarf into place making sure he was warm enough. It was a cold fall and it was going to be an even colder winter if her memory served her right.

“Ah c’mon, Tsu, it’s just a recon mission,” Nawaki huffed to his older sister. She ignored his aloofness and smothered him in a hug, kissing her brother’s cheek for what felt like the hundredth time that day. If Nawaki could feel the slight trembling of her arms, he didn’t say.

“I don’t care what kind of mission it is, be ready for anything, ok? You know I love you right?”

“Course I do! I love you too, Nee-chan. I’ll be careful,” he promised. He hugged her back and for once, wasn’t bothered by her worrying. He hugged Mito next and before he knew it, he was drowning in kisses again.

A few feet next to them, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were talking in hushed tones.

“Don’t sweat it Oro, you got this, ok? Second time’s the charm, right?”

“It's ‘the third time’s the charm’, you idiot and I’d rather not have a repeat of this,” Oro muttered, fiddling with a strand of his hair. Despite everyone’s confidence in him, Orochimaru was a nervous wreck. Everytime he looked at his genin team, he saw visions of their terrified faces and bloodied bodies. What if he wasn’t fast enough? What if they froze up again? What if more than one died this time? Did he really prepare them for what was about to happen?

Jiraiya, who saw the moment his friend went into nervous-panic-mode, rolled his eyes and punched Oro’s shoulder, hard.

“Ow! What do you think you’re doing?” Oro hissed.

“You were panicking,” the Toad Sage replied, crossing his arms.

“I don’t panic,” Orochimaru scoffed, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

“Um, yes you do,” Tsunade said, walking up to them. “Your eyes gloss over and you start to play with your hair. You used to do it a lot when we were kids on our first missions.”

Oro looked down at his hands and quickly let go of his hair. “I’m much too old to be playing with my hair, Tsunade.”

“Whatever you say, asshole.” A second later though, her face became serious and she hugged her friend one last time, kissing him on the cheek. “Be careful,” she murmured.

“I will,” he whispered.

Jiraiya wanted in on the action tool and gave Oro a big bear hug when Tsunade let go. “Keep an eye out for anything out of place. I’ve been hearing things about you-know-who making deals with Kiri nin to put another player into the war and try to instigate more fighting near the borders.”

Orochimaru patted him once on the back and nodded his understanding. “Thank you, I’ll let you know if I find any evidence of it. Now that I know what I’m looking for, we might be able to get somewhere.”

“Good luck, you bastard. Bring yourselves back home to us, alright?” Jiraiya put a hand over Tsunade’s shoulder and she leaned into his chest.

“Good luck,” she told Orochimaru. He gave her a small smile.

“Hey, Sensei! It’s time to go!” they all heard Nawaki shout. The Sannin looked at eachother one last time before Oro jogged over to his team. The remaining teenagers waved goodbye from the gates with the families of the other two genin. Suddenly, the scratch ticket from two weeks ago came to mind and Tsunade had a sinking feeling in her stomach. ‘Please let them come home safe,’ she prayed to Kami, or to whoever would listen to her pleas, really. ‘I can’t do this again.’

...

Orochimaru had to admit, he honestly had no memory of anything after Nawaki had walked into that paper bomb trap. The vaguest thing he could recall was seeing the boy’s bloody body before his vision turned red in a blind rage. The next thing he knew, he was covered in enemy blood and holding Nawaki’s still corpse in his arms.

He refused to let that happen a second time.

He grabbed his student by his collar at the last second.

“Sensei, what-?” But the question was forgotten as an explosion tore through where Nawaki was headed. The kid’s eyes were wide and he gulped, realizing just how close he was to death.

“Thanks, Sensei!” He exclaimed to Orochimaru. The Sannin however, was busy pushing Nawaki to the side as a hail of kunai came from above them, signaling the start of the ambush.

“Don’t thank me, Nawaki, just fight!” Oro shouted. And on further thought, “Stay alive, or your sister will kill me!” From the side of him, Nawaki laughed as he dodged the attacks of a Kiri shinobi. It was like the boy didn’t care that his C-rank mission just turned into an S-rank as they were ambushed by enemy ninja. Maybe he should stop hanging around his sister and her friends. Orochimaru himself was engaged with a swordsman. Drawing his katana and wishing, not for the first time, that he had Kusanagi with him. He slashed his way through the man and more shinobi, blood splattering on the forest floor, screams echoing across the clearing.

At the otherside of the field, Kana Totsuna, a meek 12 year old girl, was currently unleashing a wind jutsu to blow shuriken away from her. It seemed that the new training regiment was serving her well; last time, the girl had frozen up and had to be carried away by Orochimaru so she wasn’t torn to shreds. Noba Sanarabi was also standing her own against constant water jutsus. For a moment, Orochimaru was relieved he had taught them something more useful than the silly philosophy of the Will of Fire. To him, loyalty to your teammates was more precious than loyalty to a village that used you and then threw you away when you were no longer of any use.

Orochimaru ducked as shuriken went flying towards his head and were embedded into another enemy that was behind him. A look to his right and he saw Nawaki deflect a kunai that was headed towards Noba.

“Thanks!” the girl shouted behind her. The three genin then fought back to back, firing out jutsu’s and protecting each other as best they could. Something that might have felt like pride swelled in Orochimaru’s chest. They were a team and it looked like they would be alright. He pulled his katana out of another enemy and suddenly realized that something was wrong. All around him he saw Kiri ninja ready to join the fight, the problem though, was that there were way more shinobi here than Orochimaru remembered there being the first time. They were suddenly outnumbered.

Orochimaru’s eyes widened as blew out a fireball jutsu to counter a water jet headed straight for him while also using his sword to deflect a hail of kunai aimed at his back. He looked up and saw even more enemies hidden in the trees. “They’re in the trees!” he shouted. The split second of distraction cost him though, as another swordsman slashed at his arm, slicing deep into his skin.

“Argh!” A swift kick to the abdomen and the enemy was doubled over long enough for Orochimaru to see his face properly before he beheaded him. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks though, his katana still in its position above his head. The man was familiar, but in the way that one would recognize a person in an old photo from when they were young. It was a teenage Tsuchinoto, the ROOT member who was sent to assassinate Sarutobi after the Yondaime was killed fighting the Kyuubi in a Kirigakure uniform. Tsuchinoto saw the look of recognition on Orochimaru’s face and wasted no time in slapping a paper bomb to his chest. It was standard protocol to destroy all evidence of ROOT’s existence if a mission became compromised.

Orochimaru had a split second to realize his mistake and take a few steps away before an explosion tore through the clearing. He was thrown against a tree and heard a snap that went with a sharp pain in his left arm. Ears still ringing, he tried to get up, but fell back to the ground as he stumbled over a dead enemy. He put a hand to his head and felt more than saw the blood that dripped down the side of his face. It was far from his first concern though as his mind raced through the implications of what he just saw. Danzo was somehow involved. But why? This was supposed to be a simple recon mission on Kiri’s movements near the border. Team Orochimaru had never made it to the border however, when they were ambushed 40 miles from Konoha. He recalled the information that Jiraiya told him about Danzo’s plan to instigate more fighting. But if he had done that in the original timeline, why would this mission change when it had the exact same variables as the last time? No, this had to be something else unrelated to that plot. Something was changed to make this divergence of the original timeline. Orochimaru’s thoughts were cut short however as he suddenly heard Nawaki call out for him.

“Sensei!”

He turned towards the shout and saw that his three genin were boxed in by Kiri swordsmen, a giant boulder to their backs. Nawaki was in front, Noba and Kana behind him with three shinobi about to rush them.

Orochimaru’s heart stopped as he realised that he wouldn’t make it in time. The image of Nawaki’s bloodied body flashed through his mind.

No. No, he would not let that happen. He couldn’t let Tsunade down, not a second time. Without thinking, he went through the hand sign with his good hand and shouted, “Shunshin no Jutsu!”

Everything went still as the enemy paused in surprise at the sudden burst of smoke and leaves in front of them. As it cleared, Orochimaru was seen in front of Nawaki, two blades sunk deep into his chest and a third in his gut. Blood ran down his torso like a river. Without hesitation, the Sannin used it and his newly restored tattoos to summon hundreds of snakes. His summons made quick work slaughtering the rest of the enemy combatants, but at the cost of whatever was left of his chakra reserves. He slumped to the ground, Nawaki catching his teacher before he could fully collapse.

“Sensei!” The boy shouted. Orochimaru could barely hear him though, his heart thundering in his ears. He tried to speak, but blood gurgled from his throat, causing him to cough it up on Nawaki’s shirt instead.

Thinking quickly, Nawaki laid Orochimaru on the ground gently, before apologizing.

“Sorry, Sensei. Guys, hold him down!”

Orochimaru was about to ask what he was going to do when he got his answer. Blinding hot pain shot from his torso as the child pulled the swords out, one by one, his other genin holding him down as best they could without hurting him more. He tried not to scream, he really did, but his throat was raw by the time it was over.

Nawaki unzipped Orochimaru’s Jonin flak vest and pressed it to his wounds, tying it tightly in place with a scrap piece of cloth he tore from his own shirt. The sensation drew the breath from Orochimaru’s pierced lungs and he gasped trying to force air into them. Suddenly, he felt himself being clumsily picked up and placed face up over small shoulders, the rest of him being held up by equally small, but steady hands. A coldness was beginning to spread through his body, the pain in his arm going numb.

“Hang on, Orochimaru-sensei, we’ll get you back to Konoha. Please don’t die in the meantime,” Nawaki pleaded. “Tsunade would kill me if you did.” Orochimaru would have laughed at the irony if it wasn’t getting so hard to breathe. He settled for an eye roll. At least, he thought it was an eye roll. Maybe not, because he could hear Nawaki’s terrified voice screaming for him to open his eyes.

‘Funny’, the Sannin thought. ‘Tsunade screamed like that when I showed her the necklace.’ He hoped she would forgive him. Hoped that Jiraiya would too. He heard his name being called again with different voices, but they faded into white noise as the cold he felt ebbed away and darkness slowly overtook him.

…

Tsunade was making her usual rounds at the hospital when she heard a commotion at the front entrance. Being hospital staff, she knew that commotion generally meant that someone needed a healer asap. What she wasn’t expecting however, was her kid brother and his team covered in blood screaming for help. Nawaki caught sight of her and immediately ran to her, tugging her arm in a desperate attempt to get her to follow him. She stopped him before he could pull her away though and make him stand still as she kneeled in front of him.

“Nawaki, is this your blood? What happened, are you alright, are you hurt?” she frantically asked while checking him over for any injuries.

“Let go of me! Come on, you have to help, he’s dying!” He screamed at her, tears streaking his dirty face. Nawaki tried to pull her away again, this time with the help of his team, but Tsunade would not budge.

“Nawaki, look at me!” Tsunade took her brother’s face in her hands, but what she saw was absolute fear and panic. “What are you talking about, who’s dying?” He never had the chance to answer though, as the entrance to the hospital burst open and a team of shinobi were seen carrying a stretcher. The breath was stolen from her when she saw who was on it.

“Oro,” she whispered and in an instant, she was by her friend’s side, hands glowing even before she touched him.

“Take him to surgery room 4,” Tsunade commanded. Although she was barely 16 in this timeline, she was already known for her great talents in healing. No one dared question her authority, especially when it came to her injured teammates. She looked over her shoulder to her brother.

“Nawaki, go find Jiraiya and tell him to get here quickly. Oro’s lost a lot of blood and they match types. Hurry!”

“Take mine, I’m O!”

“Absolutely not, you’re too young. Go get Jiraiya, now!”

She turned back to Orochimaru and Nawaki along with the girls all but sprinted out of the hospital. Her first priority was to stop the bleeding and she had no doubt that her brother was the one who had the idea to try and staunch it with Orochimaru’s own flak jacket. As the medics rushed around to hook up Orochimaru to machines, his heart stuttered for just a moment too long. The color drained from her face as she screamed.

“Oh, no you don’t! You are not going to die here, Orochimaru. It’s way too early for that, you ass!” Putting more chakra into her hands, she let a nurse cut away his clothes and the wounds were properly exposed. They were deep and bloody, the flow barely being contained. For a fraction of a second she was reminded of the night Dan died. Tsunade almost froze up in fear, but she also remembered the reason she got over her fear of blood. Naruto’s face flashed before her and she strengthened her resolve. She would not lose someone close to her like this again. Not now and not ever. Not when they had a second chance.

Just then, Jiraiya burst into the room with a nurse already pulling his sleeve up.

“Tsunade, what happened, Nawaki said he..?” But the Senju princess paid him no mind as she barked out orders and the names of drugs he couldn't pronounce. He was so focused on what the medics were doing to Orochimaru, that he didn’t even feel when the nurse jabbed the needle into his arm. All he could do was watch as his best friend bled out on a metal table.

…

It was strange. He wasn’t in pain, but he could remember bleeding out not 5 minutes ago. He opened his eyes to a dark plane of existence. There was an orange glow to his right, making him think he wasn’t alone, wherever he was. Orochimaru patted himself down in habit and realized that he was dressed in his dark yukata with purple trimmings. Odd, he was sure he was wearing his Jonin vest. He stood up and took in his surroundings. The orange glow was coming from a campfire not twenty feet from him. Seated on a bench facing him, were two people he never thought he’d see again.

“Hello, little snake. It’s been a long time.”

He froze. Memories of a warm embrace and the smell of poisonous flowers filled his mind. There she was, his mother, standing beside his father, both looking exactly as he remembered them. His mother’s long dark hair, so much like his own, was strewn in front of her lavender kimono and his father’s piercing golden eyes were soft, just as they always were when he looked at his son.

“Oka-san? Oto-san?”

They nodded and smiled at him. It took all of one second before he closed the distance between them and was wrapped in their warm embrace. His father smelled of old books mixed with his mothers overpowering flower scent. Tears welled in Orochimaru’s eyes as he tightly held his parents. Eventually, they let go and his mother wiped the tears from his face.

“What is this place? Why are we here?” Oro asked. His parents looked at eachother and seemed to have a silent conversation. His father spoke first.

“Maru, do you remember what happened?” Orochimaru furrowed his brows and tilted his head. Flashes of a battle played before his eyes.

“I… I was bleeding?” The whisper of a boy screaming his name came to him. “I’m dying,” he stated matter of factly. His mother had a sad expression on her face.

“Yes, darling, you are.” She took his hand and he immediately squeezed it. God how he missed his mother’s touch. Her skin was soft despite having been a career shinobi.

“Ha, I suppose fourth time’s the charm,” he smirked. “Maybe this time I’ll actually get to stay dead.” Realizing what he said, Orochimaru paused to think about it. It surprised him to come to the conclusion that he meant it. He wanted to stay with his parents, wherever that may be, pure lands or not. He was old by shinobi standards, if not physically, then spiritually, and perhaps it was his time? He was shocked to find that he didn’t mind all that much anymore.

“Maru, we know that you’re not from this time,” Oto-san said. Orochimaru frowned.

“Then you know what I’ve done. Or rather, what I haven’t done yet.” Oro turned from his parents then, his hand slipping from his mother’s.

“Yes,” she said, “but we also know that you’ve changed since then. You shed your skin and now you’re trying to make amends.”

“What use is it, if I'm dead before I can change anything?” the Sannin scoffed. His father’s stern voice made him turn back though.

“Nonsense, you managed to change at least one thing. You saved him, Maru. You saved Nawaki.”

“So it’s possible? We can change what happens?”

His father smiled. “I think so. It was certainly difficult, that’s for sure, but you have to be careful, my son. At least if you choose to go back, that is.”

“What do you mean? Is this not death?”

“Not quite, my snake.” His mother brushed a lock of hair from his face and he leaned into her hand. “This is just the space between the living and the dead. Even now, your friend is trying to bring you back.”

Just then, Orochimaru felt a surge of chakra in his chest and the image of his parents blurred for a moment. He put a hand to where his heart was and felt it beating faintly, like it could stop at any moment.

“But I want to stay with you,” he pleaded to his parents.

“Are you sure?” Oto-san asked. “Didn’t you and your friends make a plan?”

“I don’t care about the plan, they can do it without me.” His heart started to slow and then stopped entirely, his parents becoming more solid. “I’ve waited and looked for too long to see you again, I’m not just going to let you go now!”

“But are you willing to let them go?” Oka-san said softly.

“What? What are you talkin-” But his mother pointed behind him and a sort of mirage came into view. He saw himself laid on a metal table, Tsunade nearly on top of him as she poured healing chakra into him. He looked closer and saw her crying.

“Oh, no you don’t! Fight it, Orochimaru, you are not going to die here! It’s way too early for that, you ass! We have a plan, remember! You’re the smart one and we need you!” A loud whine filled the room and Tsunade screamed. “Don’t you dare leave me alone with Jiraiya!” She heaved a shuddering sob as she said brokenly, “Don’t go, please don’t go.”

Tsunade was the sister he never had and he loved her dearly, even when he went rogue and they were on opposite sides. She would get over his death though. She got over Nawaki and now that he was alive, surely she wouldn’t mind her teammate leaving. Right?

“She’s stronger than you think, Oka-san. She’ll be alright.” He heard a huff and the scene changed. Now, he saw Jiraiya waiting outside the hall of the room looking drained. He was holding three children in his arms and whispering calming words to them. Narrowing his eyes he tried to see who was with Jiraiya and realized it was his genin team. Nawaki was loudly sobbing into Jiraiya’s chest, seemingly unconsolable and the girls were quietly crying and holding each other’s hands.

“He can’t d-die! Jiraiya, what if h-he, what if he doesn’t m-make it?” Nawaki blubbered. Jiraiya just held him closer.

“He’s gonna be just fine, alright?” But even Oro could hear the doubt in his voice. The sage had a blank expression, but his eyes were close to tears themselves. “Tsu’s doing everything she can and no one’s better at this than her, right?”

“Ye-yeah. Tsu will fix him. S-she’ll fix him and then he can see me m-make Chunin. A-and then Sensei w-will let me make the snake contract.” The desperate hope in the genin’s words however only upset himself and his teammates more. Jiraiya could do nothing other than hold the kids tight and wait for news.

“Don’t you dare leave like this, you bastard,” he said looking to the doors of the operating room. “They still need you. We still need you.”

The mirage disappeared and Orochimaru was left standing beside his parents. His father put a hand on his shoulder.

“They care about you, Maru. Even after everything, they are still your best friends.”

Orochimaru looked into his father’s eyes with hurt. “But what about you? Don’t you want me to stay?”

“Oh, little snake,” Oka-san said. “We've been watching over you this entire time. And you should know by now, we’ve always been there with you. No matter how much body jumping you may do.”

Oro winced at that. He thought about Tsunade, who held his hand a second time when he got his tattoos, about Jiraiya and their unwavering friendship. Then he thought of Nawaki. He completed his mission and returned him to Tsunade unharmed, but now what? Danzo was still operating from the shadows. Was he really just going to let that monster get his hands on his student?

No.

He had responsibilities now, had new goals and dreams. He wanted to see Nawaki sign the Snake Contract. He wanted to see Anko do the same and to see Kabuto again as well. He wanted Tenzo to be his student like he should have been in the first place. Yes, Orochimaru wanted to see how it all turned out. Sarutobi always warned that his curiosity would lead him to trouble. But then again, trouble always seemed to find him anyway.

Orochimaru looked at his parents once more, memorizing their features. They were smiling at him and he couldn’t stop the tears that fell from his eyes. He said nothing as he hugged them one last time.

“We’ll see you again one day, little snake. Hopefully it won’t be for quite some time, but we’ll be here waiting for you.”

“I love you both. I always have and I always will,” Orochimaru said. Their arms became less tangible as he felt his chest surge with chakra again. His heart started beating and this time it kept a steady rhythm.

“We love you, Orochimaru,” his mother called as she started fading away.

“Be good,” his father called. “Or at least try your best. Oh! And would you just adopt your students already? We want proper grandchildren!”

“Oyashi!”

“What? Kinora, the boy is basically a one man orphanage, the least he could do is make it official.”

“Be that as it may, he won’t even remember this when he wakes up.”

“Don’t listen to her, Maru! Get us those grandbabies!”

That was the last thing he heard his father say as his vision slowly started to blur again and he was engulfed in a white light. ‘Wait, did my parents just imply that my students are my unofficial children? Was I a parent?’ That became his last thought before he lost consciousness.

…

“Fight, dammit!” And it was as if the fear of Tsunade’s wrath was enough to bring him back. The heart monitor beeped once, twice and kept beeping. It was slow and faint, but it was there. He was there. Orochimaru gasped a wheezing breath and Tsunade laughed in relief. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, but it was a start.

…

Wow, did he feel like shit. Like the actual action of existing was sending pain to every nerve in his body. It felt just like when he transferred his soul into another body for the first time. Oh well, at least there was something soft underneath him. He had half a mind to tell Kabuto to get the good painkillers from his private stores.

Golden eyes snapped open. Kabuto wasn’t even born yet.

Taking in his surroundings, Orochimaru saw that he was in a hospital room. It was dark and the only other occupant in the room was a small boy sleeping in the chair next to the bed. Nawaki’s head was slumped near Orochimaru’s hand. A sudden wave of nostalgia and triumph hit him. He did it. He actually changed the timeline. It's the first of many changes he knows, but for now, watching his student sleep was enough to give him peace. The Sannin tried to brush some of the sandy hair from the child’s face, but stinging pain suddenly shot up his arm and into his chest. A light gasp is all it took to wake the genin.

“Orochim’ru-s’nsei!” Slurred Nawaki, not fully awake yet. “Hold on, I’ll go get Tsunade!” And he was off, quick as a flash, down the hallway. Orochimaru closed his eyes against the pain and when he opened them he was staring at Tsunade's concerned face.

“You know, when you said ‘even if I don’t,’ I didn’t think you meant it literally,” she scolded him softly. He gave her a wry smile.

“I happen to take my word very seriously,” he rasps. Even talking seemed to hurt. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously, my ass, you lying snake.” She injected a painkiller into his I.V. line and in seconds, the pain resided as he sank into the bed, his tense muscles relaxing.

“Don’t worry, Jiraiya and I will be here when you wake up,” he heard her say. She bent down and gently kissed his forehead. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Orochimaru’s eyes closed and slumber took him once more.

…

When Jiraiya walks in, he sees a too pale Orochimaru sleeping in a bed with the covers drawn up to hide his bandaged chest, his right arm in a cast over the sheets. Tsunade is already there looking at Oro’s chart and Nawaki is lounging in a chair, reading a book.

“How is he?” Jiraiya asks. It’s been two days since Orochimaru had last woken up and that was a week after he and his team had come back from their mission. So far, everything was looking good. The damage was bad initially, and it was close, but with Jiraiya giving blood, Orochimaru was able to stabilize just enough to get through surgery. Now it was up to Oro to rest and let his body heal what Tsunade couldn’t.

“Much better than last week, I’ll tell you that. He should be waking up properly any day now.”

“I hope so,” Nawaki whined. “I’m so bored without any training going on.”

“In that case, you can go find Maito Dai and head to Training ground 9. Your taijutsu is slipping,” a raspy voice said.

All eyes turned to Orochimaru as he tried to sit up in bed.

“Sensei!” Nawaki helped him sit up and gave him a glass of water to soothe his throat. “How do you feel?”

“Like Tsunade beat the shit out of me,” Orochimaru grunted. He laid back and closed his eyes for a moment.

“Haha, welcome to the club, Oro,” Jiraiya told him.

Tsunade’s eye twitched. “You were spying on naked women at the bathhouse.”

Nawaki laughed at Jiraiya’s flushed face. Tsunade then turned to her little brother.

“Go on, Oro told you to work on your taijutsu with Maito Dai.”

“What? The guy who can’t even do ninjutsu? Tsu, please, anything but that. Jiraiya, back me up here!” pleaded the 12 year old.

“What are you looking at me for? I’m not your sensei,” Jiraiya shrugged while smiling wickedly.

Tsunade was about to give her brother a piece of her mind about respecting other shinobi, when Oro spoke.

“The fact that he can’t do ninjutsu and is still a shinobi is a feat in and of itself. His taijutsu is remarkable and you could stand to learn a few things about his endurance and stamina. Now go on, little one, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I have something to discuss.” Golden eyes looked at Nawaki with a bit of warning. “In private.” Nawaki didn’t even flinch.

“Aw c’mon Sensei, I’m a proper shinobi now too, you can tell me stuff!”

Orochimaru sighed. Damn this child for being immune to his glares. He blames Tsunade for taking the boy along to training sessions with team 7 when they were younger.

“This is not for your ears, Nawaki. Besides, I thought you were going to become Hokage someday. Last I remembered, Kage are not usually felled by simple paper bombs.” The kid seemed to shrink in his seat. “Practice your taijutsu, with Maito Dai specifically. You were lucky this time, but I won’t always be around to save you from your mistakes.” Orochimaru was a strict but fair teacher and he won’t have anything less than perfection from his students.

The 12 year old heaved a great sigh and stood up. “Yes, Sensei.” Nawaki started to walk through the door before turning back at the three Sannin. “I’m glad you’re ok, Orochimaru-Sensei. And thank you for saving me back there.” He bowed low in respect.

“I think it’s me who should be thanking you, Nawaki. I wouldn’t have made it here without your quick thinking. Go on, you can come by and visit after you're done. I’m not finished with you yet, child.” Nawaki perked up immediately and pumped his fist in the air.

“You got it, Sensei! See you later, everyone!”

As the door closed, Orochimaru’s face became deadly serious. “Sound barrier,” he said with barely contained rage. Jiraiya fished for a seal in his side pouch and a moment later their voices were completely sealed within the room.

“What happened?” Tsunade asked as she crossed her arms. Orochimaru clenched his fist and ground out,

“ANBU ROOT was there.”

Chapter 8: Flower Fields

Notes:

Wow! Thank you for all the love and I'm really glad you like this little fic I've got going here. Kudos and Comments make my day and it keeps me writing, so please don't stop! Hope you like this next chapter!

“Again, my youthful friend! Keep going! Those push ups will not defeat you, but if they do, then you will have to run 200 laps!”

“What?! Around the whole training ground?”

“Around Konoha!” Shouted Maito Dai.

Maito Dai was an interesting character, Nawaki decided. Despite being 3 years older than him, Maito Dai was still a genin. It didn’t seem to bother him though. In fact, nothing seemed to bother the youthful teenager. He was ridiculed nearly everyday by fellow shinobi and even a few of the civilians around town, but still managed to keep his blindingly sunny disposition. Nawaki had to respect that.

“How many are left?” he asked breathlessly.

“Of the set of 500? Only 312 more to go!”

“UGH!” His arms felt like jelly. It didn’t help that before he started push ups, Dai had insisted on sparring to get a feel for Nawaki’s taijutsu level. Nawaki had then promptly gotten his ass handed to him. Say what you will about Maito Dai and his lack of skill in quite literally anything else, but his taijutsu was nothing to joke about.

Figures that Orochimaru-sensei would put him through this. Dai had said something about building up his chakra reserves by doing all of his exercises without the usual flow of chakra. Maybe that’s what Oro-sensei was trying to do, build up Nawaki’s reserves so he could do more powerful jutsus without getting drained as fast.

Suddenly, a woman came running up to them. From where he was on the ground, Nawaki could see her jonin vest and a scroll in her hand.

“Maito Dai! You have a mission and you’re to leave immediately. Please report to the gates to meet your team,” she said. The woman gave Dai the scroll and then left.

He opened the scroll and jumped at least 5 feet in the air. “How youthful! I have a mission outside the village! I will have to cut our training session short, my friend, but remember to continue your exercises so that you too can become stronger and more youthful!” Dai turned to leave, but Nawaki quickly got up and shouted for him to wait. Dai turned back around.

“What is it, my friend?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, but uhh,” Nawaki put a hand to the back of his head trying to be nonchalant. “Be careful out there, ok? It’s a crazy world out there.” All attempts at being cool about it went out the window though as Dai tackled Nawaki with a bone crushing hug. The teenager was near sobbing into Nawaki’s shoulder.

“Thank you, my youthful friend! I will heed your warning!” Dai then let go and went running to the gates of Konoha, leaving Nawaki alone.

“What the hell just happened?” he asked no one. Shaking his head, he started walking toward the entrance of the training ground. Nawaki was debating on whether to get something to eat or go visit Oro-sensei first when he got an idea. Instead of heading to the entrance, he took a right turn and ran to the next training ground over in The Forest of Death. He would need cover for what he was about to do.

Ten minutes later, he was deep in the dangerous forest and alone. It was late in the afternoon and the only sound came from the wildlife and Nawaki’s sandals crunching the autumn leaves. It was peaceful despite the man eating monsters in the shadows. Oro-sensei had made this their traditional training place and it felt like a second home to Nawaki. He slowed down as he neared a clearing and stopped in the center of it. Looking around once more to make sure he wouldn’t be seen, he went through a series of hand signs and gently touched the ground with his fingers.

“Mokuton: Kaika fīrudo.”

From the harsh ground sprung a small patch of wildflowers, looking very out of place in the dangerous wood. They were of every color he could think of and he smiled to himself. Picking a pink one up, he put it in his hair like his grandfather used to do to him when he was small. Nawaki was only three when Senju Hashirama died, but could somehow remember when Jiichan took him on a walk and made a huge flower field in the empty grasslands that surrounded the village just for him.

...

He remembers the day clearly. It was a warm lazy day in Konoha and Jiichan was taking Nawaki out for a walk, the small boy perched on his grandfather’s shoulders.

“Jiichaaan, where we goin?” the toddler complained.

Hashirama laughed and smiled. “We’re going outside the village, Nawaki. I have a surprise for you.”

“Surprise?!” The little boy immediately lit up. He had just turned 3 and had learned the word at his surprise party and was quite excited now.

They had walked out of the gates a while back and were now surrounded by a huge grass field that came just before the forest. Hashirama put Nawaki down and let him toddle around a bit before asking him something.

“Alright my little flower, what is your favorite color?”

“The rainbow!” Nawaki yelled. Hashirama let out a booming laugh and swept his grandson up in the air for a hug, the boy squealing in delight. Finally, he put Nawaki down again.

“Stay behind me, ok? And close your eyes, no peeking!” Nawaki did as he was told and covered his eyes with his tiny hands.

“Mokuton: Kaika fīrudo!”

“Ok, open your eyes now.”

Nawaki tore his hands from his face and gasped. Giving a huge smile he tackled his grandfather’s legs in a hug.

“Jichan, it’s butiful!” he screamed. The entire field up until the forest was covered in hundreds if not thousands of colorful wildflowers. Every color of the rainbow was there it seemed and in every shade too. Hashirama bent down, picked a pink one and put it in Nawaki’s hair, next to his ear.

“I’m glad you liked it, my little flower. How about we go running through it and pick some for Mito’s table, yeah?”

The three year old jumped up and down in excitement. “Yeah!” And together they went off and picked the prettiest flowers for Mito and even bought a vase when they walked back into town.

...

It was the only memory he had of Hashirama and it was very dear to him.

Nawaki picked another flower and started pulling at the orange petals. He thought of bringing some flowers to Oro-sensei in the hospital, but his thoughts grew dark as he replayed the mission in his head. How did he miss the paper bomb? He should have helped his Sensei fight off those swordsmen. Hell, how could he be so stupid as to get boxed in? With his whole team, no less! Ugh, it made Nawaki sick to know that all the training they’d been doing didn’t manage to make any difference. His teacher nearly died because Nawaki couldn’t protect his team well enough. What would Jiichan think of him?

Heavy footsteps tore him from his thoughts and he shot up to his feet. Whirling around, he saw an old man with a bandage over his right eye approaching him from the far side of the clearing. Nawaki had only ever met the man a handful of times in passing at Hokage Tower, but he’d spent enough time with Tsunade and her team to know exactly who it was.

Nawaki bowed in respect. “Danzo-sama, to what do I owe the pleasure?” (If there’s one thing Orochimaru taught him, it was manners.)

Danzo nodded in response and gave a small smile. “My, my, young Orochimaru has taught you well, little Prince. I was simply overseeing the training of some of my ANBU members and happened to see you pass by. I thought I'd say my condolences on your Sensei’s hospitalization.”

Nawaki looked down in shame. “We failed the mission, but at least everyone made it out alive.”

Danzo scoffed. “A blessing to be sure, but a failed mission is a failure nonetheless. Not a promising start for the Senju heir, is it?”

“No, sir. I guess not. I’m just not strong enough. Maybe if I… nevermind.” Nawaki shook his head to clear his thoughts. He promised Orochimaru that he wouldn’t say anything to anyone about his new abilities.

Danzo gave the boy a hard look and crossed his arms.

“It’s about the Mokuton, isn’t it?”

Fear gripped Nawaki’s heart. How did Danzo know about that? He was always so careful not to be seen!

“Oh, don’t be so surprised, I knew your grandfather and granduncle after all. Besides, pretty flowers like these don’t grow in the Forest of Death.” Danzo crouched down and picked a handful of the colorful flowers. “The Shodai was the God of Shinobi. It’s a shame his grandson, who was blessed with the same abilities, failed a simple recon mission.”

He made a fist and crushed the flowers, throwing them on the ground. Nawaki looked down again, his face warming in embarrassment and shame.

“I don’t know how to use or control it. I only know how to make flowers because Ojiisan made them for me when I was little.”

“Flowers don’t protect Konoha, young Prince. Your grandfather knew that and so did my teacher, the Nidaime.” Danzo glared at Nawaki but then smirked in a I-got-him-right-where-I-want-him kind of way. “It’s my understanding that you are aiming to be Hokage someday, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” Nawaki said morosely, still picking at the orange flower.

“And a Hokage is the protector of the village, correct? One who wields immense power, such as the Mokuton?”

“Yeah, they do, but I obviously can’t even protect one person with my power, much less my whole village, so what’s the fucking use?!” The flower was just a stalk now and Nawaki’s fists were balled up at his sides. He heard a chuckle and looked up to see Danzo smiling at him.

“What if I could show you the secrets of the Mokuton, young Prince?”

Nawaki narrowed his eyes. “And what would you want in return, Danzo-sama?” (Another perk of training under Orochimaru was that the man was constantly paranoid. For good reason, unbeknownst to Nawaki.)

The older man crossed his arms. “Hmpf, it seems you’re not as naive as one would think. Very well, if I help you learn Mokuton, you in turn will let me study the power you have. I believe research on Senju Hashirama’s Kekkei Genkai and DNA will eventually lead to great discoveries that would strengthen the village, thus upholding its power over the other nations. Who knows? Maybe it could even end this dreadful war?

“But how can you teach me? The techniques are hidden away in the Scroll of Seals.” At Danzo’s raised eyebrow, he quickly added, “Sensei told me about it once when I asked about Mokuton.”

The elder let out a huff. “Your sensei may be a jonin and student to the Hokage, but he is still just a child. As an advisor to Lord Third, I have access to the scroll and all its forbidden jutsu. I can show you how to wield Mokuton to your advantage and strengthen the village. Maybe then, the next mission won’t end so disastrously. Or Kami forbid, something worse happens.”

The last male Senju heir brought a hand to his grandfather’s necklace. Danzo was right. If he’d had full use of Mokuton, maybe he could have protected his team. Maybe Oro-sensei wouldn’t be in the hospital right now. There was no way he would let this happen again. Waiting in the arms of Jiraiya to hear news of Orochimaru had been the scariest moments of his life and if there was any way to keep his precious people from harm, Nawaki had no choice but to do it. And hey, if it strengthened the village at the same time, then who was he to say no? Jiichan would think it noble, he was sure. Forbidden Jutsu or not, Nawaki made up his mind and made his decision.

“How soon can we start?”

Chapter 9: Promises

Previously

“Anbu ROOT was there.”
...

“Jiraiya, let go of me right fucking now!”

Jiraiya held Tsunade in her arms, barely able to keep her against the wall and away from the door so as to prevent her from going on a bloody rampage in search of Danzo. “Tsu, you don't want to do this, you’ll be branded a rogue ninja! You said so yourself, remember?!” He struggled to keep the Senju Princess in place when he decided to just pick her up by her midsection. This quickly backfired though as she just started kicking wildly, more than one blow landing its intended target of Jiraiya’s unspeakables. Pushing through the pain, Jiraiya went back to struggling.

“Forget what I said, I want that fucker dead!” Tsunade screeched. Had it not been for the seal silencing and scrambling their voices, she would surely have been heard halfway across Konoha.

“Tsunade,” Orochimaru tried. “Get a hold of yourself! If I have to get out of this bed, I am going to be incredibly pissed off.”

“You get out of that bed and I’ll break your legs!”

“Regardless of how terrifying that sounds, I am still going to have to get up and stop you if you don’t calm the fuck down!” Orochimaru even made a show of flipping the covers away from him as a threat.

Tsunade looked like she was about to start foaming at the mouth. “ARGH!” she screamed as she punched a hole in the wall. All the fight suddenly left her and Jiraiya finally let go of her, collapsing onto the ground and moaning in pain. Crossing her arms, Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes trying to re-center herself. If Orochimaru of all people was cursing, then maybe she was being a bit rash.

“Alright,” she said with an edge to her voice. “I’m calm. What are we going to do about this?”

Orochimaru sighed as he sank back into the covers of his hospital bed. “Well the first thing is, we’re going to keep Nawaki as far away from Danzo as possible. We’ll have to be keeping an eye on him at all times.”

“At least he’s with Dai right now. But what about us?” Jiraiya asked as he stood up. “If that creep knows about Nawaki, then what does he know about us? Tsuchinoto tried to kill Sarutobi-sensei, so it stands to reason he was under assassination orders. The only question is who was his target?”

“Well for one, he might have killed me if I hadn’t known what he was about to do. No one outside ROOT knows about our protocols.” Orochimaru paused just then and tilted his head in thought. “Hmm, I never thought my ROOT training would ever come in handy like that.”

“Wait,” Tsunade said. She gave a careful look to her friends. “Does this mean we’re going to tell Sarutobi-sensei about this?”

Jiraiya scoffed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Like he would actually do anything. Sensei is completly wrapped around Danzo’s stupid finger.”

Tsunade’s eyebrows jumped up. It surprised her to see Jiraiya so opposed to their old sensei. Usually he worshipped the ground the old man walked on. She shrugged it off. At least they were all finally on the same page now.

“Ok, so what can we do?” she asked, looking at Orochimaru. “How safe is Nawaki?”

The snake Sannin sighed tiredly. “I honestly don’t know. The best course of action right now is to keep an eye on the boy as much as possible.”

Jiraiya snapped his fingers. “What if he learns to use mokuton? Kid needs to defend himself, right? Why not use that?” If Nawaki could learn to use his grandfather’s famous jutsu, surely Danzo would be no match for him, right?

Oro shook his head. “No good, he doesn’t possess the reserves required to use it, and even if he did, the risk that he’ll be seen is too high. ROOT has eyes everywhere.”

“Do you really think he’ll try again?” Tsunade asked quietly, even though she already had a good idea on what the answer would be.

“No doubt,” Orochimaru nodded. “We have to watch ourselves not just on missions now, but at the front as well. It would be awfully convenient for Danzo if the Sannin were to be killed in action.”

Jiraiya let out a tired groan and dragged his hands over his face. “Man, this time travel thing sucks.”

Orochimaru looked out the window to his right and saw the setting sun. Time travel does indeed ‘suck,’ he thought. Suddenly, a devious smile graced his lips as another thought came to him. He turned back to his friends.

“As it is, we can’t touch Danzo. We have no proof, so it’s my word over his and we all know how well that turned out the last time.”

“Yeah, we know, Oro, you don’t need to remind us,” Tsunade glared.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t touch his minions.”

Jiraiya pulled an utterly disgusted face. “Ew, Orochimaru! That's gross even for me.”

“No, you baka! We’re going to kill ROOT agents!” Oro shouted. If Jiraiya weren’t standing just out of Orochimaru’s reach, he would have slapped the toad idiot.

Slapping a palm over her face, Tsunade sighed in exasperation. Even when discussing the future fate of Konoha, her friends were bickering like morons. “Hold on, so are you saying we go after ANBU ROOT?” she asked. “Won’t he notice that someone is picking off his cronies one by one?”

The sly smile returned to Orochimaru’s face and all ire at Jiraiya dissipated like water in the dunes of Sunagakure. “Not if they’re all tragic accidents.”

The other two Sannin stared at Orochimaru with blank expressions.

Jiraiya was the first to break the silence. “You know what? Yeah, I’m ok with that.”

“Same here,” Tsunade said as she shrugged. “It might even make it easier on us in the long run.”

“Excellent, then I’ll just give you two a list of who I remember being in-”

Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door.

“Jiraiya, the seal!” hissed Tsunade. Jiraiya quickly pulled the seal off the wall and tore it to shreds, stuffing the pieces in his robe. The door opened a second later and the Sannin were greeted by two women and a man dressed in civilian clothes. Tsunade and Jiraiya had no clue who they were, but Orochimaru had met them a few times before. As one, Noba and Kana’s parents went onto their hands and knees and bowed.

“Orochimaru-san, we heard word that you had finally awakened and we came to give our sincerest thanks to you,” Noba’s father said.

“What?” said the Sannin in unison. Well that was a first. No one had ever thanked Orochimaru as far as all three of them knew. They looked at each other in confusion before turning back to the parents as Noba’s father spoke again.

“Thank you for saving the lives of our children, even at the near cost of your own! We are forever indebted to you!”

“Please accept these gifts and our vow that anything from our respective shops will always be free of charge for you and your family,” Kana’s mother said. She was a single mother who owned a bread shop in the merchant sector while Noba’s parents were civilian and shinobi tailors. The adults then stood and presented Orochimaru with bouquets of flowers and a basket full of fruits, bread, and sake.

Orochimaru on his end was simply stunned into silence, something that rarely ever happened. It was a long enough silence that Jiraiya had to hit his friend on his bad shoulder to get him to snap out of it. Orochimaru hissed in pain, but finally started to form the words his brain was trying to say.

Well, while I appreciate the gratitude, I was simply protecting my genin team, it was nothing but pure instinct, I'm afraid.”

“Instinct or not, my Kana wouldn’t be here today without you, Orochimaru-san,” Kana’s mother said with a tearful smile.

It was Noba’s mother who continued, “Yes, the children told us what happened. If it weren’t for you, we would have buried our girls days ago. Instead, they won’t stop talking about you and your bravery. Noba even told us that she wanted to continue being a shinobi despite our arguments against it.”

“Both girls want nothing more than to make you proud of them and worthy of your sacrifice,” Noba’s father finished.

“I see,” Orochimaru let out slowly. “As it is, they were very resourceful and worked together well, despite what happened. Your daughters are two very fine kunoichi. Very well, I accept your gifts and your thanks.”

Tha parents smiled in relief and placed the basket and flowers on the side table next to the bed.

“Thank you, Orochimaru-san. The girls wanted to be here too, but they had some reporting to do at Hokage Tower. I’m sure they’ll be here at some point to see you anyway though.”

“Ha, well he's not going anywhere, I can tell you that,” Tsunade chuckled. She patted Orochimaru on the back hard enough to knock the wind out of him and he ended up wheezing as the parents said their goodbyes.

“You’re going to pay for that, Princess,” Oro ground out.

“Ha. Like that’s gonna happen any time soon.” She crossed the room to the otherside of Orochimaru and grabbed the sake bottle from the gift basket. Before Oro could voice his protest, the bottle was half way gone and Tsunade had developed a case of the hiccups.

“Uhh, should you be drinking in a hospital?” Jiraiya asked warily. The only thing scarier than Tsunade was a drunk Tsunade.

“Lay off, perv. I’m *hic* off duty. *hic*”

The other two Sannin rolled their eyes in exasperation.

“Alright, *hic* I’m gonna go drink this in *hic* peace. And you,” she pointed to Jiraiya. “Need to *hic* leave Oro alone so he can *hic* rest.”

“What was that, Hime? I can’t *hic* understand *hic* you. *hic*” The smug smile Jiraiya had was quickly wiped off when the now empty sake bottle went flying towards his head.

“Ok, ok! I'm going! Geez!” On his way scrambling out the door, Jiraiya bumped into Nawaki and nearly stomped the poor boy into the ground.

“Be quick, brat, she’s throwing things now!” Jiraiya yelped as ducked, the bottle topper shattering on the wall where his head had been. He gave a terrified look at Nawaki before giving a quick, “Bye Oro!” and running down the hallway to the nearest exit.

“Uhh, Tsu?” Nawaki asked meekly.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I guess you can *hic* say hi, but it’s gotta be quick. I’m giving Oro a *hic* sedative to help him sleep.”

“You most absolutely will not!” Orochimaru protested tiredly.

“Too late! I already put it in your IV when the *hic* parents were here. If my timing was right, it should be kicking in any minute now. Bye!” And with that she walked to the door and closed it on her way out.

“Your sister is insufferable.”

“Tell me about it.”

Orochimaru settled into the bed and beckoned Nawaki closer with a wave of his good hand. The boy then went to the side table and placed a bundle of dark purple flowers he had made in a vase that Tsunade had bought two weeks ago. It was white with little gold snakes slithering on the surface. Nawaki had picked it out when they were in the ceramics shop.The small carnations seemed to be dwarfed by the huge bouquets left by his teammates’ parents.

“How was training with Maito Dai?”

Nawaki sat down in the chair beside him and leaned his elbow, chin in hand, on the mattress. “It was weird. He's a hell of a taijutsu user, but he’s definitely an odd guy to be around. He’s kind of annoying, actually. All he does is shout about youth and push ups.”

Orochimaru chuckled. “You’ll get used to it, I’m sure. He’ll be training your team while I’m out of commission and Jiraiya will help out with the ninjutsu part.”

“Oh, cool!” Nawaki lit up like a lighthouse. As much as he loved his sensei, Jiraiya was the badass older brother. “Maybe he can teach me how to be a spy, too!”

“Yes, perhaps.” Orochimaru’s face became serious then, a sort of weariness attached to it. “There is something else I need to talk to you about, before I inevitably pass out.”

“What is it, Oro-sensei? Is something wrong, are you ok?”

Oro waved him off. “I’m fine, Nawaki. This is more about you. I need you to promise me that you won’t go anywhere near Shimura Danzo.”

“Why? Isn’t he a village Elder?”

“That doesn’t matter, he’s not someone to put your trust in, believe me. He’s just an old man with mad intentions.”

“Are you sure?”

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. “Why do you say that?”

Nawkai sat up and started fiddling with his hands. “Well I’m just saying, he’s a leader of the village. Wouldn’t that make him someone you could trust?”

“Oh, child,” Oro said, cupping his student's cheek with a pale hand. His eyelids were getting heavy and his voice was getting drowsier by the second. Whatever Tsunade had given him was finally starting to take effect. The only reason it took this long was because Orochimaru was immune to most drugs, courtesy of the Yashagoro clan’s origins. “You’re much too kind for the shinobi world. But perhaps that’s for the best. Just promise me…” his eyes fluttered and he struggled to stay awake. “Promise me that you won’t go near him, alright? For my… my sake… at least.” Golden eyes that fought to stay opened closed shut as unconsciousness took hold of him. Deep breathing filled the room and Nawaki was essentially left alone.

The genin held Orochimaru’s hand in his and gently put it back onto the mattress. “I’m sorry Orochimaru-sensei,” he whispered. “But I don’t think I can do that.” Nawaki had never felt more shame and guilt in his life. Not even when lying to Mito had he ever hated himself more. “The only promise that I can make is that I’m going to make everything ok. I’ll get stronger and I’ll make the village stronger too, just like a Hokage should. I’ll make you proud, Orochimaru-sensei, you’ll see.” He knew that Orochimaru must have his reasons to keep him away from the village elder, but to Nawaki, nothing could be more important than the safety of his team and the village his grandfather loved so much. So he sat there, wallowing in his guilt until Tsunade came in and had to kick him out too. At least this time she was nice about it.

“Come on, brat, you can visit tomorrow, ok?” She said to cheer up her unusually glum little brother. It might have been the sake, but Tsunade had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right. She shrugged it off, deciding that whatever they talked about was private and that she shouldn’t intrude.

Nawaki nodded and tried to smile, but it was half hearted at best. Tsunade frowned, but let it slide. It had been a hard few weeks for all of them after all and despite being a shinobi trained by a genius prodigy, Nawaki was still very much just a twelve year old kid. Seeing his teacher nearly die has to have been a traumatic event for him. Tsunade was reminded of Hashirama’s original intent in making Konohagakure. It was built so kids like Nawaki wouldn’t have to go to war. Now here they were in a second Shinobi War that more than likely wouldn’t be the last despite the sannin’s efforts to prevent them. She was going to have some choice words with Sarutobi-sensei at the next war meeting. This time she is going to make him agree to put a medic-nin on every team, by force if need be; she has absolutely zero shits to give on her second chance.

She sighed tiredly and put an arm around her brother. “Come on, Nawaki, Bachan made dinner and we best not keep her waiting, huh?”

At the mention of his grandmother and her food, Nawaki perked up a bit. It was a small comfort, but in his opinion, no one could be in a bad mood when eating Mito’s cooking. And so the two Senjus left the hospital and made their way home through the dark, empty streets of Konoha.

End of Part I

Notes:

Hey! Thank you for reading, leaving comments, and giving Kudos everyone! Part I has finished and Part II will start with a short time skip. I won't be updating for a week or two because I want to have the rest of the series planned out and get a few chapters written before I post again. In the meantime, please keep telling me your thoughts! It makes my day and your comments really inspire me to keep writing. Thanks again!

Chapter 10: Part II The Hanzo Debacle

Notes:

Hello! The Sannin are back and ready to kick some shinobi butt! Just to clarify, there is a time skip of about 3 years which would make the Sannin about 19-20 years old now. I also realize that the Second war has been going on far longer in my fic than in the canon timeline, but hey, if Kishimoto doesn't give a fuck, then neither will I haha. Hope you all enjoy the next installment!

“Hime? I could use a little help here!” Jiraiya yelled from across the field where he was currently engaged with about a dozen Amegakure shinobi. The Second Shinobi War was in full swing and the Sannin had been deployed 2 years ago with little rest in between. Now the day had finally come where the three time travelers would face Hanzo of the Salamander for the second time.

Throwing rasengan after rasengan was honestly getting really annoying in Jiraiya’s opinion, but hey, if it didn't keep the enemies at bay. He had half a mind to just blow the whole field in toad oil and have Orochimaru set a large Katon to end this annoying battle once and for all. That, however, would result in a different outcome of this day, and the three of them needed to be named Sannin no matter what. It was a title that gave them a certain aura of power and respect, even if they were only given it for merely surviving the first time. Looking at his wristwatch, Jiraiya’s face turned grim. Hanzo would be here soon and they needed to get as many Konoha shinobi out of here as possible. Otherwise, it would be a bloodbath just like in the original timeline.

“I’m a bit busy right now!” The Senju screamed. “Go bother Oro!”

Tsunade on her end, was holding her ground as a wall of enemies tried to rush her. She threw punch after punch in an attempt to shield some wounded Konoha troops behind her. In the first timeline, their whole platoon was slaughtered by Hanzo and his forces, but maybe, just maybe, a few of their comrades didn’t have to die today. At least, that’s what she told herself. There honestly wasn't much any of them could do, but save a poor soul here and there; there were just too many Ame shinobi surrounding them.

“I can’t,” Jiraiya complained. He ducked as a volley of shuriken were embedded in the tree behind him. “He’s busy with something else!”

“What can he be busy with?” Tsunade punched a hole straight through a boulder and grabbed the man behind it, pulling him through, making a bigger hole in the process. “He’s supposed to be watching the rear end of the platoon!”

Jiraiya blew a wind jutsu that swept the group of enemy nin off their feet and into a trap mud hole rigged with explosive tags. He turned to Tsunade as the explosives went off and crossed his arms. “Well, why don’t you tell him that? He’s the one out at the front taking Kusanagi for a joy ride!” He pointed to a spot on the field that was seemingly being overrun with enemy combatants.

Tsunade threw a woman into a tree that splintered with the force of it and looked to where Jiraiya was still pointing before he had to let off a Katon hot enough to counter a Suiton. Sure enough, she saw Orochimaru at the forefront of the field, famed sword in hand and just going to town on what looked like at least 50 Ame nin. His hair was whipping wildly in the cold wind with some of it clinging to his face as it was wet by the ever present rain. He didn’t seem to mind though, as he was smiling the most vicious smile she’d ever seen on him, teeth bared like fangs on a snake. Oro seemed much too happy to be wielding Kusanagi again, in her opinion. Kami knows he nearly threw a party when he regained it a few weeks ago on a detour through grass country.

“Ugh, what is it with ninjas and their swords?” Tsunade muttered to herself. Well, at least the back of the platoon was relatively safe, thanks to the medic-nin that were deployed on Tsunade’s orders. She remembers the day quite clearly actually, despite it being over three years ago now.

...Three Years Ago...

The war meeting was going just like it had the first time around. Sarutobi-sensei was going on and on about how Suna and Iwa were starting to gain territory in Ame. If they broke through Konoha’s defenses at the border in Ame, then there would be little to no stopping either of them from invading the rest of Fire Country. The only way to counter was to go through Ame and do battle from behind as well as in front, so as to stop their advance and catch them in between platoons. In theory, it could work, but as it currently stood, Konoha simply didn’t have enough Chunin and Jonin available to make such a move. Sarutobi knew that, yet still decided to go through with it.

Tsunade was simmering with rage in her seat, Jiraiya next to her and looking amused, as if he was about to watch an interesting show. The time finally came for new business to be introduced and Tsunade’s hand was the first to go up.

“Yes, Tsunade, go on,” Sarutobi said.

The Senju Princess stood up and cleared her voice. “Thank you, Sensei. As you all know, our casualties have been staggering and they’re only getting worse by the day. I fear that we won’t even be able to pull off this brilliant plan of Lord Third’s. (The plan was originally a failure and the war continued for another three years) That’s why I am suggesting that we form a medical brigade to be trained and deployed into active battle so as to decrease the numbers.”

Sarutobi sighed and looked down at the stacks upon stacks of papers in front of him. “Tsunade, you know my answer, we’ve had this discussion before. We just don’t have the resources to create such a thing. We don’t have the manpower available to teach new recruits and with the advances of Suna and Iwa, we wouldn’t have the time either.”

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes in contempt. “Last I heard, you can’t win a war with dead shinobi, Professor.”

There was a thud as Danzo’s cane hit the floor. “Princess Tsunade, while I realize that Lord Third was your mentor and teacher, he is still The Sandaime Hokage and that title alone should demand your respect.”

“Oh, like you can have a say in this. You're not even on the front lines anymore, Danzo-sama,” she retorted, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Why, you insolent, little-”

Sarutobi quickly cut him off as he cleared his throat. “What I believe, councilman Shimura means, is that we simply don’t have the time or people to spare, Tsunade. Regardless if I agree with you or not. I’m sorry, truly.”

Tsunade was turning red at his words. “How sorry would you have been if Orochimaru had died on that botched mission, huh? If you really say we can’t spare any men, then what would be the use if one of your best heavy hitters and might I remind you, one of your own students, died while out on a dumb routine reconassaince mission? Would you ever be able to live with yourself? Even if he’s safe, he’s lying half dead on a bed right now. If Nawaki and his team hadn’t acted fast enough he’d have a headstone over him instead. How many more of our comrades weren’t that lucky? If even one person could be spared, then I say do it. I’ll train them myself if I have to, and I’ll do it with or without your permission, Sensei.”

...

“Holy shit, Hime, you really gave it to ‘em, huh?” Tsunade and Jiraiya were walking to the hospital to see Orochimaru after the meeting had ended with some more explosive words from both her and Sarutobi-sensei. In the end, she made all the right points and finally convinced the council to agree to a medical brigade, if only because she wouldn’t shut up about it the whole meeting and threatened to call Mito for some negotiations.

“Yeah, well if it didn’t happen this time I was gonna jump the table and start beating some actual sense into them.”

“Kami, I’d pay big money to see that. Wonder how far you’d get before the room started pulling you off of them.”

“At the rate the meeting was going, I’d say fairly long,” a voice said from behind them. Jiraya turned, but Tsunade was frozen to the spot.

“Sorry to intrude, but I just wanted to thank you for standing up to the council and getting a medical brigade set up. I’m Kato Dan.”

“Dan,” Tsunade breathed.

It was him.

In the back of her mind, she knew he was alive and running around, but their paths had never crossed in the few months they’d been back in time. Tsunade was so completely focused on getting her medical corps established that she forgot that this was also the night Dan properly met her and thanked her for supporting the same ideals he had.

“It means a lot to people who’ve lost loved ones from negligence. I know your friend, Orochimaru, was very lucky to have your brother around.”

Tsunade finally turned, unshed tears in her eyes. “Not everyone is that lucky though, are they?” She took in Dan’s appearance and she had to stop herself from shaking. Images of her one and only love bleeding to death in a no name forest kept flashing before her eyes. Blood was up to her elbows with the rain refusing to wash it off.

“Uh, Tsu?” You alright?”

She gasped as Jiraiya’s voice brought her back to the present (Past? Future?). Dan was looking at her in concern and Jiraiya had his hands planted firmly on her shoulders, keeping her on her feet.

“What? Oh, uh, Yes, yeah I’m alright. I’m fine. Sorry, it’s just…”

“Oh please, don’t apologize! I’m sorry if mentioning your friend struck a chord. I still get like that sometimes too when I talk about my sister. She died a few years back and now I take care of her daughter. It’s hard sometimes to even just say her name.” Dan looked up at the stars and sighed like he was much older than he appeared. “But hey, now with your help, things don’t have to be like that anymore. So thank you for that.”

“My pleasure,” Tsu said. “It’s the least we could do for Konoha.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Dan smiled, a light blush showing on his face and then seemed to notice that Jiraiya was still there watching all this go down. He cleared his throat and put a hand behind his neck in an attempt to be casual, but was just making it awkward instead. “Uh, if it isn't too much trouble, I thought I could maybe walk you home?”

“Yes,” she said immediately, much to Jiraiya’s chagrin.

“Hey, I thought we were going to see Oro together?” Jiraiya said in a small voice. She only waved him off though, thoughts of anything else going out through the window as she took Dan’s arm and began walking in the other direction to the Senju Compound.

“Oh, he’ll still be there tomorrow. Besides, he’s got you and Nawaki. Bye!”

That left Jiraiya standing alone on the dark road.

“Well, fine then. Screw Oro, I’m going to the bathhouse,” he said to absolutely no one. Idly, he wondered if Orochimaru would be willing to go with him like when they were kids despite waking up only two days ago.

“Eh, I'll sketch some pictures for him.”

When Jiraiya went to visit Orochimaru the next day, he was hit with a very expensive bottle of sake and needed 12 stitches which Tsunade did without any numbing medication.

...Now...

A bit over three years later, Tsunade was going steady with Dan and with a great deal of hard work, finally managed to create a system that gave every three man squad their own medic and a whole company of medic-nin ready to be sent to wherever Konoha needed them. Now there were more victories and less casualties, all thanks to Tsunade and Dan working together to train and assign med-nin. With Dan helping her and Mito retraining her, she even had time to get her Strength of a Hundred Seal back.

Tsunade wasn’t the only one getting stronger though. Jiraiya had been training with the toads at Mount Myōboku and had finally regained his Sage Mode, this time without the aid of Fukasaku and Shima. That, paired with the Rasengan, meant he now rivaled even the most powerful shinobi the world had to offer at just age 19.

Orochimaru for his part had also regained his previous strength. Kusanagi was at his side once more and with no small amount of training, recovered his vast chakra reserves he once had in the first timeline. Not to mention the speed at which he could now move proved to be incredibly useful in battles. His knowledge of the enemy’s war strategies also came in handy when preventing the slaughter of Konoha’s finest.

Yes, the Sannin were just about as powerful as they had been before they all died and traveled back in time to their 15 year old selves. The universe had given them a second chance and by Kami, they were not going to waste a single second of it.

A roaring thunder clap sounded from the sky and a giant plume of smoke appeared from nowhere. That was when Tsunade knew; Hanzo had just arrived on the battlefield. Forgetting her current objective, she saw Jiraiya and Orochimaru start running towards Ame’s leader atop his Salamander summon. She followed suit and soon all three of them were running, ready to use their famed combo for the first time in this world.

“You both ready?” Jiraiya asked from beside her.

“The strategy we first learned when we were teenagers?” Orochimaru scoffed. “What do you think, Tsunade?

“I think you should both shut up and jump!” Tsunade skidded to a halt and punched the ground with such force that it cracked and put forth stone pillars from beneath the mud covered soil. Jiraiya and Orochimaru jumped and landed on the pillars, leaping once again to gain height as they unleashed their jutsus.

“Gamayudan!” “Katon: Karyūdan!”

A great Toad Oil Bullet spewed from Jiraiya’s mouth at the same time a Fire Dragon Bullet sprang from Orochimaru’s combining midair into a great blazing inferno headed straight for Hanzō of the Salamander.

Hanzo saw it coming and tried to move, but his giant summon was too big to move fast enough and was caught in the attack, it’s tail being engulfed in flames. The screech was so deafening that Jiraiya thought he’d go deaf if it didn’t stop soon. There was movement atop the salamander and the summon let forth a hissing sound as a purple jet of mist spewed from its mouth.

“Tsunade!”

The Senju princess saw what was happening and created a pillar of her own and once high enough, let out a powerful wind jutsu up into the sky.

“Futon: Daitoppa!”

The mist was pushed up into the air and dissipated in the rain, but just as it cleared, a hail of kunai rigged with explosive tags hit the ground. The resulting blasts crumbled the pillars the trio were on and they had to quickly move so as not to get crushed. A swarm of bomb tags attempted to take Tsunade by surprise, but she knew it was coming and shunshined away, throwing a tagged kunai to trigger them and render them useless.

Orochimaru stepped up beside her. “Throw me.”

Without another thought, she picked him up by his waist, spun around to gain momentum, and let him go. He flew up into the air and landed on top of Hanzo’s Salamander.

The sound of colliding steel rang through the air as Kusanagi met with Hanzo’s Kusarigama, sparks flying from their respective blades. The two engaged each other and seemed to be a blur of movement, both too fast for anyone to see save for a sharingan user. Orochimaru slashed and parried, catching Hanzo’s blade anytime it came too close for comfort. The Kusarigama never slowed down though, even when being swung to put distance between them. The two blades locked as Kusanagi prevented Hanzo from cutting Orochimaru down from above and it became a standstill, the two holding their positions. Powerful explosions and a fiery plume of smoke mixed with rocks erupted from all around them, making it harder to balance, but still they held. Jiraiya and Tsunade were throwing every jutsu and exploding kunai they had at the Salamander summon attempting to kill it before it could let off another poison cloud.

“We’re going to kill you,” Orochimaru ground out with a sadistic smile, golden eyes glowing and hair whipping all around him. He looked positively insane.

Hanzo growled and narrowed his eyes. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Very well, then.”

Orochimaru let chakra flow into his arms and legs. With a great heave, he pushed Hanzo off of him. Losing his balance, the leader of Ame was open and Orochimaru maneuvered his sword into a spin, the Kusarigama chain being wrapped around the base of the blade. A strong pull and the weapon was ripped from Hanzo’s grasp into Orochimaru’s waiting hand. Hanzo screamed in frustration and ran to Orochimaru, ripping the respirator off his face. Orochimaru sheathed Kunsanagi and dropped the Kusarigama.

“Shunshin no Jutsu!”

Orochimaru flickered away and reappeared below with his friends.

“Jiraiya, Tsunade, now!” he shouted.

The three Konoha shinobi bit their thumbs, drawing blood. Tsunade and Jiraiya went through the hand signs as Orochimaru simply smeared a bloody line down his tattoos. As one, they touched the ground.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

Three enormous clouds of smoke much bigger than Hanzo’s appeared and when they cleared, revealed Gamabunta, Katsuyu, and Manda with their respective summoners atop their heads. Hanzo and his summon seemed dwarfed in comparison.

“I would know your names, Konoha Shinobi!” Hanzo shouted into the air.

“Senju Tsunade!”

“Jiraiya of Mout Myōboku!”

“Orochimaru, last of the Yashagorō clan!”

Hanzo looked up to the three powerful young adults. Never in his life had he seen such raw strength and skill, not even in a Kage.

“You three have remained on this battlefield while no other has.” It was true. As they looked around them, the field was littered with cooling corpses. Not as many as they remembered, thanks to Tsunade’s medics, but enough to call their platoon finished. “I applaud you for your prowess. Therefore, I name you the Densetsu no Sannin of Konohagakure! Revel in your new title as we shall surely meet again one day to end one or the other.” Hanzo barked an order to his summon and it made to move, slowly as it was injured. Suddenly, a hundred giant snakes flew out and wrapped around him and his summon, effectively immobilizing them. Ame’s leader whipped his head around and saw the newly minted Sannin with seemingly bored expressions on their faces.

“Didn’t I tell you we were going to kill you,” Orochimaru said flatly, raising an eyebrow. He uncrossed his arms and drew Kusanagi, channeling chakra and releasing it to produce crackling lightning all along the blade and around himself.

“You should really listen when Orochimaru says something. He usually means it.” Jiraiya stood up from where he was seated on Gamabunta’s head. Red marking appeared around his eyes with lines running down his chin, signifying his sage mode.

“You’re not going anywhere, Hanzo of the Salamander,” Tsunade finished. She released her Strength of a Hundred Seal and inky black markings grew from the diamond on her forehead, swirling down and around her face.

Hanzo was paralized with fear, eyes impossibly wide as all three of them pointed a killing intent at him. “W-who are you three?” he asked, voice shaky and barely able to be heard through the roaring rain.

“You said it yourself, Hanzo.” Jiraiya smirked. “We’re the Densetsu no Sannin.”

And then they attacked.

Chapter 11: Of Ame Orphans and Dreams

“So, now what? Do we just wait for my students?” Jiraiya asked as he stuffed his face with ration crackers. Tsunade rolled her eyes. It had been no more than a few hours since the Sannin had defeated Hanzo and killed him. Hopefully, if things went right, the Second Shinobi War would meet its end much earlier than it did originally. Now they were holed up in a cave, resting a bit before they started again for base camp. They were miles behind the stragglers of their platoon and were now waiting for a certain meeting to take place.

“Well, obviously,” Tsunde answered him. If I remember today right, then they should be fairly close to us. I’d say a few hours at most.” She took a bite of her own ration bar, grimacing at the taste of it. Man, she was really going to have to come up with a better recipe when they got home. Maybe she should ask Orochimaru to help her make some new food pills too. The man was a scientist and no doubt kept better records than she did.

And speaking of the devil, Orochimaru came back from his watch at the mouth of the cave and joined in on the conversation. “On the subject,” he said while ringing water from his hair. “How exactly do you plan on dealing with them, Jiraiya? I could kill them like I offered the last time.”

“What?! No, we’re not killing them! I don’t even know why you offered in the first place, you bastard.

Orochimaru shrugged. “They were war orphans. They were sad to look at.”

“So, your first thought was to kill them?” Tsunade asked in horror.

“Yes! A mercy killing. It’s not like you two haven't done it,” argued Orochimaru, arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised.

“Uh, I hate to break it to you, Oro,” Tsunade said slowly. “But that’s actually a war crime.”

“Well,” he huffed. “That’s news to me. In any case, I’d still gladly kill the Ame brats.

“No!” Jiraiya yelled. “They’re my students, Orochimaru, and I care deeply about them. They’re good kids. Really, they are.”

“Need I remind you how you died?” spat Oro. “They killed you, Jiraiya, and brought about the end of the world.”

“Like you’re one to talk! Didn’t Kabuto summon a dead shinobi army to fight against the Allied Forces?”

“Don’t you dare drag his name into this! Your students orchestrated the war and killed mine as a result!” The accusation in Orochimaru’s voice was enough to give Jiraiya and Tsunade pause. There was silence in the cave, nothing to be heard, but the pittering of rain from outside. Orochimaru took a deep breath to calm himself. “You...you don’t get to blame my students.”

Jiraiya stood up and put a hand on Orochimaru’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he said. Oro just shrugged his hand off though and scoffed.

“What for? Anko is barely two at this point and the others haven't even been born yet.”

Jiraiya walked off and leaned on the wall of the cave, looking out at the rain that was ever present in Amegakure. “Regardless, none of that shit has to happen anymore.”

“So, what, pray tell, is your grand plan then? Are you just going to leave again, is that it?”

Tsunade could hear the anger and hurt, subtle as it was. She remembers it like it was yesterday. Jiraiya had just left them in the middle of a war and Orochimaru was furious. The whole way back to the main regiment, he had been ranting about how this technically made Jiraiya a missing nin and deserter. He wasn’t wrong, of course, but Sarutobi gave Jiraiya a pass anyway. The old man always had a soft spot for his students and believed they could do no ill will. (He was wrong, evidently.)

Orochimaru was much more moody after that, always fighting a bit more viciously than he had to, never showing mercy to anyone (save for those ‘mercy killings’ apparently). Whenever she had to patch him up, she would try and get him talking, but he just shut himself away, content to push the thought of Jiraiya out of his mind. It never worked though. She remembers the two of them heading to the registry tent nearly every day to make sure their friend hadn’t been killed somewhere in Ame. It didn't help that Jiraiya never bothered to write to them.

It was hard on both of them, really. Oro’s best friend had abandoned him for a few orphaned brats they had just met and Tsunade had nearly gone crazy with fear that she would lose another of her precious people. Things only got worse after Dan died. Orochimaru tried his best to comfort and just be there for her, but no matter what he did, there was still a hole where Jiraiya should have been. They started seeing each other less and less after that, until Tsunade too left Konoha. Orochimaru was left alone and without the moral guidance of his best friends, the closest thing to family he ever really had.

Tsunade clenched her fists. She wouldn’t let that happen. There was no way in hell they were going to repeat any of that nonsense.

“He’s not going to leave us.” She turned and gave a you’re-going-to-agree-with-me-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you kind of look to Jiraiya. “Right, Jiraiya?”

The Toad Sage looked like a deer caught in headlights.

He swallowed the dry rations and tried to speak. “Uh, y-yeah, yeah, you’re right, Tsu. I-I'm not gonna leave again. Heh heh. Why would I do that?” He gulped and looked at both of his friends, eyes wide in actual fear of Tsunade’s fury.

“Alright,” Oro said irritably, rolling his eyes. “We’ve established that you’re terrified of Tsunade, now spill it, what are you actually planning?”

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head and looked to the ground in contemplation. “Well, I, uh, actually had this one idea.” He met his teammates’ eyes then. “What if we took them with us? Like, back to Konoha?”

The other two Sannin stared blankly at Jiraiya, neither completely sure if he was joking or not.

“Why?” Tsunade asked,deadpan.

“What do you mean ‘why’? I’m still going to train them, you know!”

“Jiraiya, what makes you think that they even want to leave their home country for another, which happens to be at war with them?!” yelled Orochimaru, making the cave reverberate with his voice.

“They’ll get used to it!”

Tsunade stood up now as well and started waving her hands around as if that would help Jiraiya see reason. “They are traumatized! Not to mention, one of them has the Rinnegan! What if Danzo hears about this? Do you want a Danzo that has sharingan AND rinnegan in this timeline?”

“This is the most ridiculous idea you’ve ever had. And I'm even counting that time you tried to ‘rescue’ Tsunade from me when we were teenagers.”

“Hey, you’re the one who agreed to it!”

“Because you said it was important to you!”

“It was and I’m very grateful you helped! But I'm still going to take the kids with me! Yeah, there’s a bit of trauma involving Nagato and Konoha shinobi, but we can work on that! I’m not going to leave. I know that’s where a lot of things started going downhill and I don’t want to lose you again.” Jiraiya pointedly looked at Orochimaru who looked surprised to hear that. “Either of you. I am not making this mistake a second time, believe me. But I have a duty to these kids, too.”

Tsunade hugged herself, suddenly anxious. “This is dangerous, Jiraiya. What if something happens?”

Jiraiya sighed. “Then they’ll be my responsibility. And don’t go making that argument, Tsu. This is no more dangerous than keeping Nawaki in the village. Alone, might I add.

“That’s different,” Oro snapped. “Nawaki doesn’t hold a grudge against Konoha.”

“And neither do they!” The sage dragged a hand over his face before facing Orochimaru again. “Look, all they wanted was peace in their country. They never cared about the other villages as long as they weren’t there to cause harm to civilians. Now that Hanzo’s dead, there's nothing to stop them from making Ame a better place and having good relations with the other elemental nations. Besides, wouldn’t having ties to Konoha just make for a stronger alliance? That could really come in handy when the next war starts, don’t you think?”

Tsunade sighed and looked at the snake Sannin. “As much as I want to disagree, he is making some good points, Oro. We’ll never know what’ll happen if we don’t give it a chance.

“I see,” he glowered. “It appears I’m outvoted. Fine. But if anything happens, if anyone gets hurt, Jiraiya, I’ll kill them myself. Understand?” Orochimaru gave his friend a look that could freeze Suna, his golden eyes never wavering.

“It won’t have to come to that,” Jiraiya quietly, but confidently assured.

Oro turned, walking back to the entrance to the cave. He stopped for a moment, back still to his friends, and tilted his head in Jiraiya’s direction.

“I sincerely hope you’re right. For your sake.”

…

“Ok, give it a rest. What do you brats want? We already gave you food, so why're you following us?” Tsunade whirled around to the three children that had been trailing behind them every step of the way back to Konoha's main regiment. Yahiko, Konan and Nagato were no more than 8 years old right now and to be quite honest, Tsunade thought they looked adorable, even if they were just as dirty as the Sannin were. It was hard to play the annoyed shinobi act when she saw their faces.

“Thank you for giving us food. This is for you,” Konan said, smiling and presenting Tsunade with a paper flower.

The slug princess smiled back then. She had been suspicious of the kids the first time, if only because her reflexes were fine tuned to battle. Now however, she accepted the gift and put it in her hair.

“Thank you,” she said to the girl.

“You’re Konoha shinobi, aren’t you,” Yahiko said matter of factly. He had a serious expression on his face, but Jiraiya knew that it was just a front so as to look strong for Konan and Nagato. The boy was a soft and kind hearted person, always looking out for his friends.

Jiraiya nodded. Here it was, the same moment playing out just as it did before, but with slight changes. He knew what Yahiko was going to ask and he was going to do his best, no, he’s going to do better this time. “Yes, we are. Why? What do you want with us?”

“Please, teach us ninjutsu.”

Jiraiya smiled. He glanced over to Orochiamru who said nothing and simply looked away from the children.

“Well,” Jiraiya started. “I don’t see why not. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve suffered.” All three of their small faces lit up in excitement and hope. “I have a catch though.” Their faces fell and they shifted into ready positions, almost as if they were expecting an attack.

“I want you three to come back with me to Konoha.” Jiraiya was met by silence, the only sound being the pitter patter of the light rain on the pavement.

“You want us to travel across the world so you can teach us ninjutsu?” Konan asked.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, it’s the safest option, to be honest. I’m not just going to leave you in a war torn country where you might be in contact with violent shinobi from who knows where that may or may not attack you and result in some kind of horrible accident where one of you has a breakdown about the moral ambiguity of life.”

Now everyone was staring at Jiraiya. He coughed and rubbed the back of his head. “You know, to prevent all that. So will you come? I promise you’ll be as safe as can be, you have my word and a ninja never goes back on his word.”

Tsunade and Orochimaru actually laughed at that, but quickly stopped when Jiraiya gave them both death glares.

The Ame kids looked at the Sannin and then at one another, having a silent conversation between them. Konan nodded and Nagato just shrugged. The orange haired boy took that as a yes and turned back to the Sannin.

“We accept your offer. We’ll come with you to Konohagakure, but after we’ve learned all that we can, we’ll come back to Ame someday.”

“That’s fine by me. Who knows, with Hanzo dead, you might even make your way to the top.” Jiraiya snickered at the kids’ faces when gave them the news of Hanzo’s death and simply started walking back to base camp, the other Sannin following him. The kids then broke out of their stupor and started running to catch up.

“Hey, wait for us!”

The three caught up with the Sannin and started to introduce themselves.

“I’m Yahiko. This is Konan,” he pointed to Konan who waved hello. “And that's Nagato.” Yahiko gestured his thumb over at the red haired boy. Nagato seemed to shrink from the attention though and sort of hid behind Yahiko and Konan.

Jiraiya smiled at that. He remembers how shy and nervous the boy was. That was alright though, he knew how to help him with that.

“I’m Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. These two are my friends, Tsunade and Orochimaru. We’re the three legendary Sannin, you may have heard of us.” The kids just looked up at him and shook their heads.

“Nope,” Konan said. “Never heard of you.”

Jiraiya’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Really? Nothing?”

Tsunade rolled her eyes. “Well, of course not, baka. We barely got those titles yesterday, no way they would have heard of us.”

“Hey, it was worth a shot. I miss being famous.”

“Jiraiya, we’re students of the Hokage, we’re already famous.”

“Yeah, but I mean like super famous.”

“Well,” Oro began. “We did kill Hanzo. After we give the report and the Kusarigama, I expect the news to travel faster than the hawk we’ll have to send to Sarutobi.” Orochimaru took the aforementioned weapon from his side belt and tossed it to Jiraiya, seemingly uncaring of the poisoned blade it had. “Your turn to carry it.”

Jiraiya yelped and scrambled to grab the handle, holding the weapon far in front of him. At least he was comforted by the fact that Tsunade had enough sense to grab the antidote Hanzo carried with him before they left. The only reason they had the weapon in the first place was to have proof of their victory, not just for their report back to Konoha, but for the other warring villages to see as well.

“Jeez, Oro, will you be a little more careful? I used to have nightmares about this thing.”

“We all did, don’t be such a baby.”

“Oh, lay off him, Oro, you remember when he got poisoned with Chiyo’s senbon that one time.” She leaned down to Konan. “He cried the whole time I was healing him.” The little girl giggled at that and the other kids joined in when they saw Jiraiya’s hurt expression.

“I did not cry!”

“Now that you mention it, I do remember a few tears,” Oro said with a small smile.

The rest of the day was spent with the six walking at a steady pace, Tsunade attempting to make the kids feel at ease with funny stories about Jiraiya, the toad sage grumbling the entire time, and Orochimaru just glaring at everyone. Eventually, they had to stop and make camp when it got too dark to see. The tent was set up with the help of the kids and soon there was a small fire going with a tarp to keep it dry, the heat a welcome change from the cold, dreary weather.

Orochimaru, like usual, had his poncho-like cover that kept him mostly dry wrapped around him. Jiraiya and the kids were all sharing a blanket while Tsunade had her own. They all sat in comfortable silence, eating the last of the ration bars and watching the dancing flames crackling in the dark. The night was cold, but peaceful; they were miles from the front lines by now and within Konoha territory.

At some point, Jiraiya had an idea.

“Hey, Yahiko, what’s your dream?”

The boy started and looked up to where Jiraiya was. “My dream?”

“Yeah, what do you hope to achieve or do someday?”

Yahiko made a face as if he were thinking very carefully about his answer. “My dream,” he said slowly. “Is to get strong, so I can protect my friends and even Amegakure someday.” He smiled, proud of himself and Jiraiya had to let a grin spread too. Some things didn’t change it seemed.

“Oh? Well, what about you Konan?”

The girl tilted her head. “I guess my dream is to have peace in Ame.”

“A noble dream if I ever heard one. Nagato?” Jiraiya tilted his head so that he could see the red haired boy more clearly. He seemed to sink deeper into the blanket however, not particularly comfortable with the new found attention to him.

“Um, I-I don’t know what my dream is, Sensei. Is that wrong?” Nagato looked up, his hair shifting to uncover a purple eye (Madara’s rinnegan).

Jiraiya let out a booming laugh though and hugged the kids tighter to him. “Not at all! Dreams are something that make their own way to you. You’ll find it someday, trust me.” That seemed to make Nagato feel better and he leaned back into Jiraiya’s chest.

“Dreams. You talk of them as if they come true.” All heads turned to Orochimaru whose face was illuminated by the fire, red flames dancing in the golden orbs.

“Oh lay off, Oro,” Tsunade chastised. “Just cause your dreams never came true.”

“Who’s to say they didn’t?”

That seemed to pique everyone’s interest, but surprisingly enough, it was Nagato who braved the question. “Um, Orochimaru-san? What are your dreams, then?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The serpent said, snake-like pupils piercing through Nagato’s even though his face was obscured by his red hair. It sent a cold shiver through the boy’s spine that had nothing to do with the weather.

Jiraiya gave Tsunade a troubled look. Turning to the kids, he said, “Ok, I think that’s enough talk about dreams for one night. Time for bed, you three.”

The kids started protesting then, saying how they weren’t tired and that they were still wide awake. The argument would have been more effective if all three hadn’t been yawning the entire time. Tsunade pointed this out and the children stubbornly nodded, grumbling the whole way to the tent. Soon, they were fast asleep, tucked into the corner and sharing a spare futon.

The Sannin themselves each had their own beds and once the fire was out, so were Tsunade and Jiraiya. Orochimaru on the other hand stayed awake for a bit longer, insomnia plaguing him since he was a small child. He looked up at the roof of the tent as he laid down, thoughts of the campfire conversation coming to mind.

Dreams. He had to scoff at that. Why would Jiraiya talk of dreams? Dreams were nothing but idealistic fantasies. Orochimaru had goals, that was true, but he’d only ever had three dreams in his past life. The first two were to master every ninjutsu and find his reincarnated parents someday. After the Fourth Great Ninja War began, he realized those dreams weren’t meant to come true. One had to be alive to achieve their dreams.

Now that he had a second chance at life though, he wasn’t quite sure his dreams even mattered anymore. So, what if he did learn every jutsu, what would be the point? To gain power? He didn’t want that anymore. He never found his parent’s souls the first time around, so what made him think he could do it in the second? Nothing will ever lessen the pain of losing his parents, but for some reason, ever since he had saved Nawaki on that ill fated mission, he felt more at peace whenever he thought about them.

Dreams

The third dream he ever had came to him when he was facing death in the form of Maradra with Tsunade. They were battle weary and alone, hiding from the crazy Uchiha when she had asked him what his dream would be if he were trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Orochimaru only answered with a name.

Notes:

Thanks for all the comments guys! Gott make a shoutout to Sorain tho, you really made my week, so thank you so much!

Chapter 12: Nightmares

Notes:

Holy Shit! over 5,000 hits! And over 300 kudos! Thank you to everyone who's given this story a chance, it really means a lot. And please, keep the comments coming, I like to know how I'm doing!

It was nearly dawn. The air smelt of blood and despair. The Allied Shinobi Forces were basically nonexistent and those who were left were exhausted. Sasuke had used his susanoo to shield a few of them from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but it might as well have been in vain. There was no way to stop Uchiha Madara anymore. Naruto was dead, killed when the insane Uchiha had extracted the Kyuubi from him. Headquarters was vaporized by a tailed beast bomb, and now, Madara had forcibly sent the previous Hokage back into the Shinigami’s stomach with his newfound power as the Ten Tails Jinchuriki.

The world was ending. No, it had ended. They were just prolonging the inevitable now.

The God tree had bloomed and the entire planet was encased into their own little dream-like worlds, cocooned in their coffins and dying with a smile on their face as their chakra was depleted.

Sasuke had just died in Orochimaru’s arms, Tsunade unable to stop the bleeding (for a second time). The snake Sannin calmly whispered sweet nothings into his ear, so as to let him leave this world gently. It was a small comfort, but Kami knows the boy deserved at least that much. Despite everything that happened, Orochimaru was fond of the boy.

They didn’t have time to bury the body, as Madara had changed his attention to the last remaining shinobi after he killed Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura who were giving the others cover.

The remaining Sannin panicked and tried to hide, a henge jutsu put over them, hidden amongst the rubble and dead bodies. It seemed that Madara was at least merciful enough to give them a few moments before their death because they weren’t immediately dead. They knew it was over anyway. Nothing could save them now. It was the thought of trying that kept them going, for if they didn’t try, then what would have been the point of being the last to live?

Tsunade sat with her knees to her chest, no light in her eyes, like everything that made her a living person had just vanished. Her clothes were ripped to shreds, she was tired, and dirty, and scared, and… sad. More than anything, she was sad.

“You know,” she said solemnly, “I always pictured that this was how we were going to go out.” She hugged her knees and it made her seem smaller somehow, the power and strength she usually held herself with, gone. Orochimaru shifted next to her, hair in tangles and dark circles under his eyes that made him look like a ghost.

“Fighting a God-like Uchiha Madara at the end of the world?” he deadpanned.

“No, of course not,” she laughed, but there was no mirth behind it. She shook her head in disbelief. “Not even Kami could have seen that coming.” Tsunade’s eyes met Orochimaru’s. “I meant together, baka. The only thing missing is…'' She stopped short, unable to get through the lump in her throat. In the end, the Senju princess didn’t have to say it. Orochimaru knew what she meant. To be honest, if he thought back to when he was young and before he left the village, he would have thought the same. The three of them, the Densetsu no Sannin, were always meant to be together, but life happened along the way. Perhaps when they died, they could be together again.

Wasn’t that a comforting thought? But it wasn't. It was sad and cruel that they had to die to finally be at peace in a world torn to pieces. They were going to die fighting side by side for the last time and he wasn’t with them.

There was silence when neither of them spoke. It was the last bit of peace either of them would ever feel.

“Oro, what would your dream be?”

“What?” He said, startled. Orochimaru hadn’t noticed that he’d zoned out for a second there.

“Your dream. In the Infinite Tsukuyomi, what do you think your dream world would be like?”

Tsunade was looking up at the brightening sky, the dark blue shade slowly becoming brighter. She already knew what her perfect world would be like. Dan would be alive and well. Perhaps the two of them were married. She’d like that. Her lover would be Hokage and Nawaki would still be a cute little Genin, ready to go on a mission that didn’t blow him to bits. And Jiraiya, Kami, she couldn’t forget Jiraiya. The buffoon would probably be trying to entice Nawaki into his dreadful taste in literature. Hell, even Orochimaru would be there, a loyal shinobi and an even better friend. She doesn’t know exactly when it all went wrong, but in her world, it never did. Everything was perfect. She would have her friends, her family and her lover all in one place. She would be happy. (It’s been a long time since she was happy.)

“Jiraiya,” Oro blurted. His eyes went wide as he realized what he said.

Tsunade chuckled, a bit of spark returning to her. She remembers a time where Orochimaru would tell her everything, including his current crush of the week. Teenagers were dumb like that and they were no execption. While Tsunade was gushing over Dan, Orochimaru was pining over Hatake Sakumo and on more than one occasion, their teammate. Not one to ever express his feelings, Oro just let the crushes pass and for Sakumo, it did, but not for Jiraiya. How could it, when the three were literally always together on missions or simply enjoying each other’s company?

She never mentioned it to anyone, it wasn’t her secret to tell, but she always wondered what that relationship would have looked like.

Orochimaru wondered too.

When he was alone in his labs late at night, with Kabuto already gone to bed and experiments on standby, he would think about what his life would be like if he had confessed his feelings all those years ago. Now, when asked what his ideal dreamworld would be, his first thought was Jiraiya.

His name had just popped into Orochimaru’s mind like a light turning on. Well, it was true though; his dream was Jiraiya. He wanted to see his friend again, wanted to laugh, and fight, and cry with him like they did when they were young. He wanted to try new things; he wanted to run pale fingers through that white mane, to hold calloused hands and taste lips that gave the softest of smiles. He wanted that and so much more.

“I want to see Jiraiya again. We’d be a team again, the three of us, no Danzo or shinobi wars to bother us.”

Orochimaru looked at Tsunade who had a bittersweet smile on her face. There were unshed tears in her eyes. He knew they weren’t born of fear, never fear, but of loss. Sorrow and loss of such a monumental scale, it was a wonder she didn't curl up on the floor and wait for the end.

“Funny,” she said, “That’s my dream too. I want us to be together, for Nawaki to be alive and me with Dan. I’d give anything to have that.”

“What do you think it’s like?” Orochiamru asked. “In paradise, I mean.”

“To be completely honest, Oro, I’m not sure paradise exists anymore.”

He had to laugh at that. It wasn’t funny, so much as morbidly interesting. “Paradise or no, even Hell has to be better than this, Tsunade.” She snorted in agreement.

Suddenly, a booming voice caught their attention, the sound echoing all around them.

“Come out, and dance, Sannin! It’s rather dull now that the brats are dead! Come and be my last bit of entertainment!”

Orochimaru took Tsunade's hand in his. Her tears fell silently now and Orochimaru wiped them away with a dirty hand. “Tsunade,” he said softly, their eyes meeting, “I’m glad you and Jiraiya were my friends.”

She gave him a sad smile and put her other hand over his. Who knew it only took the end of the world to get your friend back? “And I’m glad you were mine. I missed you and it’s good to have you back. Ready for one more fight?”

“No. But with you by my side, I believe I could manage.”

There was so much more they both wanted to say to each other, but they were finally out of time. Then again, best friends could always tell what the other was thinking and their faces said it all. They nodded once to each other and with a shunshin each, went in opposite directions, intending to flank Madara. Tsunade tore the ground apart, debris flying everywhere and slug acid from a small remaining part of Katsuyu spraying in front of her. Orochimaru on his part moved in a blur, Kunsanagi slashing away at Marada’s blind spots. Both were truly amazing since both were on the edge of chakra exhaustion.

In the end though, it was no use and their valiant efforts were for nothing. Orochimaru’s eyes widened in horror as Tsunade was caught in a jutsu that tore her to shreds, the Hundred Healing Seal rendered useless. He didn’t have a chance to cry out in grief, the last of his broken heart withering to dust as Madara changed his attention to him. He lifted Kusanagi in false bravery, tears stinging his eyes and rushed the Konoha founder turned malevolent God. His golden eyes met Madara’s purple rinnegan and the blood in his veins turned cold. Pure terror was his last conscious thought as a burning pain overtook his senses and a blinding white light blurred his vision.

...

Orochimaru bolted upright with a scream, clothes soaked in sweat and struggling to get air into his lungs as he started hyperventilating.

“Orochimaru-san?”

Orochimaru whirled around to see the source of the voice and locked eyes with Purple rinnegan. Acting on pure instinct, the snake Sannin drew Kusanagi and as he was about to sever Nagato’s head from his tiny body, a kunai stopped the sword from reaching its target, the clang of metal clear and loud.

“Orochimaru, wake the fuck up!” Jiraiya screamed, waking the rest of the occupants of the tent. Tsunade scrambled out of bed, kunai at the ready for whatever had awoken her. A second later though, she realized what was happening and relaxed, if marginally.

Kusanagi clattered to the floor and Orochimaru went with it, adrenaline gone. Tsunade rushed to him and put both of her hands on either side of his face, trying to get him to look at her, but golden eyes were glossed over and unseeing. “Oro? Oro, listen to me, calm down. Ok? You’re safe. Look at me, it’s alright.”

“J-Jiraiya-sensei? What’s g-going on?” Nagato was still in the same spot, trembling like a leaf and tears welling streaming down his face. Yahiko and Konan, both wide awake now, pulled the poor boy back down to the bed and wrapped their arms around him.

“Hey, hey,” Jiraiya soothed, wrapping his arms around all three of them. They hugged him back and he could feel more than one pair of eyes dripping tears onto his shirt. “Listen, I know what just happened was scary and awful, but you can’t blame Orochimaru. He just had a really bad nightmare.”

“A nightmare? Sensei, he almost killed Nagato!” Yahiko yelled. The child was angry, Jiraiya could tell, but not at Orochimaru so much as the violence itself.

“I know, I know. Listen, there’s something you kids need to know. When we become shinobi, nightmares aren’t just bad dreams, they’re memories. Of violence and loss, filled with horrible things that seem all too real to us when they happen. This isn’t the first time this has happened to him. Or Tsunade, or even me. It can happen to anyone and there’s not much you can do about it, so please, don’t blame Orochimaru, he didn’t mean it. He’s not himself right now. Ha, if you can believe it, this actually isn’t the worst thing he’s ever done. One time, he actually managed to put me in a headlock for so long, I passed out before Tsunade could calm him down.”

Jiraiya tried smiling at the children, but in all honesty, the attempt at reassurance fell flat with Nagato still crying his eyes out and Tsunade trying her best to calm a frantic Orochimaru down enough for him to breathe properly. Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “Listen, go back to sleep, ok? It’s alright, really.” Yahiko looked unconvinced, but nodded and Jiraiya let go of them. Together, the Ame orphans laid back down on the futon and tried their damndest to get back to sleep.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, Oro. Shh you’re safe, now. Calm down, ok?” Tsunade had ended up gathering her friend in her lap and whispering calming words into his ear in an attempt to calm him down. Jiraiya joined her and gathered the two of them into his arms, much like he did with the kids. Eventually, Orochimaru’s hard breathing slowly evened out and his eyes finally focused.

It was like a breath of fresh air after drowning. His eyes adjusted to the low light and focused. “Tsunade? Jiraiya?” Orochimaru turned his head to either side of him and saw his friends kneeling next to him. Tsunade was rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings while Jiraiya ran calloused hands gently through his long raven hair.

“You’re safe, Oro,” Jiraiya nodded. “Which war was it?” he whispered quietly, so the Ame orphans wouldn’t hear. He knew they were awake and listening to every word.

Oro took a shaky breath and closed his eyes before answering. “The fourth.”

“Again?” Tsunade asked, even though she already knew the answer. She’d been having the same dream as well lately. Perhaps the current war they were in had something to do with it. In any case, Jiraiya was right when he told the kids what their lives were like. All shinobi had all had nightmares of their time as soldiers (weapons) at one point or another. When they were actually 19 years old and stuck in a brutal war, they would hold each other like they did now, reminding themselves that they were together and alive. But the last time this happened was nearly 40 years ago to them. It was interesting how easily the three slipped into their old habits.

Orochimaru nodded once. Idly, he realized that it was raining outside, nothing like the downpour from the other day, but a soft pitter patter against the waterproof tent. It didn’t matter though, he still hated it with every fiber of his being; spending months at a time in Ame’s cold storms had made sure of that. He shivered involuntarily, remembering the ice he’d felt in his veins as Madara stared him down. Tsunade shifted so she was closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. Oro in turn leaned into her and Jiraiya draped a blanket over the three of them, making a makeshift cuddle fort. Slowly, they laid down on the thin double futon Jiraiya had made. Tsunade turned on her side and put her right arm across her torso so that her hand rested flat on Orochimaru’s chest. Jiraiya did the same on his side and their hands laced together, hugging Orochimaru from either side of him.

The snake Sannin’s stiff body relaxed immediately. It was like muscle memory, all the tension and anxiety seemed to melt away as the warmth of his teammates surrounded him. Tsunade hummed a lullaby her mother used to sing and Jiraiya continued playing with Oro’s hair with his free hand. This exact moment had happened many times over the years. Nearly every nightmare the Sannin experienced was soothed with this small comfort. In all honesty, it was the reason why they always slept in the same tent, even when resources were abundant during wars and missions.

The singing mixed with the sound of sprinkling rain had a calming effect that reached even the Ame children. Nagato shifted and Yahiko and Konan shifted with him, both ready to fall asleep at any moment. The Uzumaki child glanced over at his Sensei and had to pause. The Sannin were bundled together much like he and his friends were. A memory flashed through his mind of when Konan had once woken up from a nightmare in the cave they used to live in. She had been crying inconsolably up until Nagato decided enough was enough and hugged her tightly, not letting go and tightening his grip when Yahiko joined him. Konan calmed down after that and then they shared a futon they had stolen from an abandoned house.

Nagato looked at his friends now, both tangled in a heap and just being there next to him. If what Jiraiya-sensei said was true, then the nightmares they had were only going to get worse (if that was even possible). Well, he reasoned, if the Sannin had managed this far with being plagued by blood and war just by staying together, then he and his two friends could do it too. Suddenly, he remembered the words Jiraiya-sensei had said to him. “Dreams are something that make their own way to you.” Nagato now knew what his dream was. It wasn’t as noble or brave as Yahiko’s or Konan’s, but it was a dream and it was his. He wanted to keep his team safe and help them realize their own dreams. Maybe then, the world would be a better place for everyone.

He doesn’t think Orochimaru will apologize to him about what happened,(and he was right, the incident was never mentioned again) but Nagato won’t blame him. Fear makes people do crazy things and Orochimaru doesn’t seem like a person that gets scared very often, so the nightmare must have been a really bad one. The man didn’t particularly like the kids, but that was alright, maybe they’d warm up to him someday. For now, Nagato was content to be with his friends and fall asleep, hoping no nightmares would find him in his dreams.

The rain outside was overpowered with Tsunade’s humming and eventually, golden eyes drifted close as Orochimaru was lulled to sleep. She continued humming until all she could hear was the deep breathing of everyone in the tent and then closed her own eyes. The Sannin were legendary and feared amongst whole nations with flee-on-sight orders on all of them, but even they were plagued by sins and nightmares; they were only human, after all.

Chapter 13: Good News

Walking the rest of the way back to camp was relatively easy. There may have been a slight hiccup where Yahiko accidentally touched Hanzo’s still poison laced Kusarigama and Tsunade had to use the antidote she took off of Hanzo’s dead body to keep him from dying, but other than that, the walk was uneventful. Needless to say, Yahiko was forbidden from touching any more weapons until he had at least a basic understanding of how to use them.

As the six passed the checkpoint to get into the encampment, two Konoha shinobi appeared in a whirl of leaves before them, one a Chunin and the other a Jonin.

“Name and rank!” The Chunin demanded. The Sannin didn’t answer, save for giving the man a withering gaze. They, along with the kids, were tired, hungry, and not in the mood to play soldier right now. The Jonin beside him laughed nervously and punched his partner in the arm

“Haha! Sorry about that! Zato’s new to the front.” The Jonin then turned on Zato and began chewing him out rather comically. “Baka! Don’t you know who they are? These are the Hokage’s famed students!”

“What!? Ahh, my sincerest apologies! I didn’t mean to shout, b-but it’s protocol, you know?”

“Protocol doesn’t mean anything to these three! They’re single handedly putting an end to this war! Besides, they wouldn't have been able to get past the seals if they weren’t who they said they were anyway! You show them some respect, Zato, you hear me?!”

“Yes, Tomihiro-san!” Zato then began bowing multiple times and saying how sorry he was. Tomihiro was also doing the same and the Sannin rolled their eyes. Annoyed at the welcoming committee, the group just walked right past them, Ame trio in tow. The guards were right in that the seals which surrounded the 3 mile radius were made so that anyone not registered would be sealed into a scroll and captured. However, since the Sannin were leaders of their platoon, they had the power to modify the seal, thus giving the Ame kids access. The guards didn’t even notice they’d left until another patrol came and scolded them for neglecting their duties.

“Really,” Tsunade sighed, “You’d think they’d stop with all that crap by now. It’s been nearly two years.” As much as she usually loved the attention, it was starting to get on her nerves now that it was happening earlier and in a much bigger force than the last time. With Orochimaru mapping out counter strategies before the battles even happened, Tsunade magically healing people of Chiyo’s so called ‘incurable’ poisons, and not to mention Jiraiya’s Sage Mode, the three were beginning to be revered as near God-like shinobi. Kami help them when news of Hanzo’s death broke out.

“Wait, what’s a Hokage?” Konan asked.

Jiraiya huffed out a laugh. ‘Where’s Naruto when you need him,’ he thought. Aloud he said, “Well, he’s sort of the leader of Konohagakure. There are five Kage in the world who are the leaders of the five great shinobi villages. The only people above them would be the Elemental Daimyōs.”

“And you guys are the Hokage’s students?”

“Not exactly, we’re all grown up and have our own students now. At least, me and Orochimaru do. Tsunade’s still looking.”

Tsunade scoffed. “I’m not looking, I'm just waiting for Shizune to grow up a bit more.”

“Who’s that?”

Tsunade looked down at the curious little girl and smiled. “Kato Shizune is my boyfriend’s niece. He’s taken care of her since her mother died and once she graduates the academy, I’ll take her up as my apprentice.”

Jiraiya slung an arm over her shoulder. “Aw, how sweet, Tsu. Welp, Shizune and Nawaki are about to get some awesome cousins, right kids?”

Konan and the boys shyly smiled, not entirely sure what that meant, but nodded anyway.

The encampment itself was fairly large, big enough to occupy at least a few hundred troops going to and from smaller camps set up all around the line they currently held. It was cosy enough, but crowded these days because of all the wounded coming through. Tsunade’s medical brigade had their work cut out for them, but at least the troops were alive. Most were milling about and preparing to head out again and some were relaxing, having just gotten back. The smell of food was in the air and Jiraiya's stomach made a growling sound.

“Hey, can’t we get something to eat before we report? I’m starving.”

“No,” Tsunade snapped, “We have to report immediately, this news is too important to put off.”

“Oh, but if it was sake, you’d be the first in line,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” Jiraiya yelped. The kids were all snickering behind him, but they stopped when he gave them a look.

The three Sannin then went straight to the reporting tent, where all mission leaders were required to give their mission status to the Company Commander, in this case, Nara Yadawa. The woman was only a few years older than them, but already had the respect of the entire army. Her strategies were genius, even to Orochiamru and never seemed to lose her cool in the midst of battle.

Standing in a line in front of her desk, the three relayed everything that had happened to their platoon.

“Send word to the Hokage of Hanzo’s death immediately,” Yadawa said to her aid when they finished. The man quickly wrote something on a piece of paper, rolled it up, and attached it to the fastest messenger hawk to deliver. It screeched as it left, likely heading straight to the Hokage’s office. “As for those three,” she pointed her gaze at Yahiko, Konan and Nagato, “This is a military hold out, it’s no place for children, Jiraiya. They can’t stay here.”

“Hear me out, Commander. We’re due for leave any day now. Just give me until then, alright? They’re my students now and as such, they’re under my protection. From whoever that may be.” The threat in his words was not lost on the Nara.

Yadawa closed her eyes and thought about it. On the one hand, they were harmless kids who had no idea what was going on. On the other, they were orphans born of a war that tore their lives apart. There’s no telling what kind of revenge they’d be willing to plot against enemy shinobi. She opened her eyes and saw the sincerity in Jiraiya’s face. The toad Sannin really believed in these random brats. How troublesome.

“Fine. You have until your leave, but I want them out of sight and out of the way. If anything happens, it’s on you, got it?”

Jiraiya sighed in relief and quickly bowed. “Yes, Commander. And thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved, “You can all go now. Be careful out there, I'm gonna break the news of Hanzo’s death in a bit, so you’d best get back to your tent.”

“Thank you, Commander, but we’re going to the registry tent before we head back,” said Tsunade.

Yadawa’s face softened just then. “Worried about someone in particular?” she asked. She knew what it was like to lose someone during war. Half her clan was fighting as squad leaders and commanders in the field, so it was no surprise that every other day she received news that another had fallen. The time travelers however just glanced at each other before smiling smugly.

“Something like that,” Orochimaru cryptically replied.

They all left after that, leaving a confused and slightly concerned Commander Yadawa in their wake. She shook her head. Those three may be the Hokage’s students and geniuses in their own right, but man did they have a few screws loose, not that anyone would ever say so.

“Troublesome,” she muttered to herself.

...

The registry tent wasn’t exactly a fun place to be by normal standards. All around, the atmosphere was a mix between despair and fragile hope. It was war after all, and war is always cruel.

In the Sannin’s case however, it was like the lottery. And boy, did they have the winning numbers.

“I’ve got nothing, what about you guys?” Tsunade asked her friends, who were looking at the past week's KIA and MIA list, while she read through the POW.

Orochimaru squinted at the KIA bulletin before him. Answering as calmly as he possibly could, he said with a barely contained smile, “We have Yamura Goshi, Kinari Natsu, and Ebisaki Tatsuro.” He read a few lines after Ebisaki’s names and saw familiar Kanji. Himiko and Aminari Miterashi, Anko’s mother and father. He knew they had died in the second war, but not when. It appeared that Anko was an orphan now. It was true that he hadn’t started her apprenticeship till much later in the timeline, but perhaps he would speed things up and take her under his wing when they got back to Konoha. It wouldn’t hurt to start things earlier, afterall, and it would give him something to do while waiting for Danzo to approach him with the experiments.

“No way,” Jiraiya gasped excitedly. “All three of them? How?”

“Shut up, Jiraiya!” Oro hissed in his ear while Tsunade gave him a good punch in the arm. “I’ll tell you later, right now we’re meant to act despondent!”

“Ow, sorry,” Jiraiya whispered back. Louder, he said, “I mean, what a shame! Such a tragedy!”

Orochimaru and Tsunade simultaneously covered their faces in embarrassment.

“Kami help us, our only friend is an idiot,” Oro sighed, “Was there anything on your list, Jiraiya?

“Huh? Oh, nope, it’s the same as it was last week.” The Toad Sage sighed as he ran a hand through his dirty hair. Over the last three and a half years, the trio had been subtly sabotaging every single one of ROOT’s agents. They had devised a list of every agent Orochimaru knew of from the future as well as a list of current (past?) agents compiled by Jiraiya as he spied more and more on Danzo and his confidants. At first, it was small things, like poorly judging if their so-called comrade was within jutsu range when attacking an enemy. Then it evolved to intentionally not helping them out when out on a mission and they were surrounded by enemies.

Now, it was just straight up murder.

Case in point is that Orochimaru may or may not have put a few (hundred) rigged explosive tags into one of the three dead ROOT agents’ packs right before they left on a mission to infiltrate enemy lines. (Hours later, when he told the other Sannin this, they had just stared at him. ‘What?’ he said. ‘It’s not overkill if you have a purpose for it. The blast also took out a Suna puppet squad, for your information.’)

Jiraiya stretched tiredly. “Come on guys, let's go get something to eat, there's a bowl of miso soup with my name on it.” As the Sannin headed out of the registry tent, they picked up the Ame trio who were waiting outside and started towards the mess hall. They didn’t get more than 5 steps in though before someone shouted,

“Hey look, it’s the Densetsu no Sannin, the ones who killed Hanzo of the Salamander!”

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru shared a quick glance before Jiraiya picked up Yahiko and Nagato, putting each beneath an arm while Tsunade slung Konan over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Orochimaru went through a series of hand signs.

“Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu!”

Using the water from the pond next to the camp, Orochimaru created a thick mist, effectively hiding them from their comrades.

“Run for it!” Tsunade shouted. The three dashed through the mist, dodging tents, weapon stations, and excited Konoha shinobi to get to the otherside of the base to their personal tent. Sometimes being the Hokage’s students came with perks and a large reinforced, weatherproof tent was one of them. Putting a locking seal on the entrance of the tent, Tsunade put Konan down gently. Jiraiya on the other hand just dropped Nagato and Yahiko to the ground.

“Ow,” Yahiko muttered, “A little warning next time, Jiraiya-sensei.”

Jiraiya flushed in embarrassment and put a hand behind his neck. “Haha, sorry, kids. Uh, we can just eat some of our field rations for now.” To his friends he said, “I guess this means we're gonna be extra famous now, huh? I could get used to that.”

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. “Be careful what you wish for, baka. We’re meant to be laying low remember? How are you going to go around spying on you-know-who, if you have fans tailing you all day and night?”

“Oh, come on, Oro,” Tsunade said, “We just shortened this war, can’t you just relax and have a bit of fun? Who knows, maybe with all the attention you’ll finally get laid.”

“Hold your tongue Tsunade, before I cut it out with a knife,” Oro hissed, a dagger appearing out of nowhere into his hand. The Senju princess only waved her hand at him.

“Whatever, asshole.”

“What’s getting laid?”

All eyes turned to Konan. Jiraiya flushed bright red and Tsunade burst into raucous laughter. “Ha! Kami, I am so glad I’m not your sensei. This one’s all yours, Jiraiya.”

Orochimaru had a face full of disgust. “Somehow, letting this idiot give ‘the talk’ to children doesn’t sit well with me. At least when I gave it, most of my students had already heard it.”

Tsunade stopped laughing at that. “Wait, you gave all of them ‘the talk’? Even Sasuke?”

“Of course I did. He was a raging hormonal teenager. Truth be told, it wasn’t that hard actually. He mostly just grunted ‘hn’ the entire time. Telling Anko was the one that gave me a headache.”

“Um, excuse me,” Yahiko interrupted, “But what the heck is ‘the talk’?”

Jiraiya’s face blanched before turning red from embarrassment. “Uhh, that's a conversation I’m gonna tell you kids when you’re older.”

Suddenly a person could be heard from the front of the tent.

“Message for the Sannin from Commander Yadawa!”

Jiraiya, who was standing closest, went over and ripped the seal off the tent flap, poking his head out. A Jonin was bowing with a scroll in his hands held out in front of him. Jiraiya took the scroll and quickly slipped back inside before anyone besides the Jonin could see him.

“Well, what does it say?” asked Orochiamru. As Jiraiya read further and further, his face lit up in excitement.

“There’s gonna be a party! Apparently some of the Jonin captains convinced Commander Yadawa to have a party to celebrate us killing Hanzo!”

“What?” Tsunade asked in surprise.

“Can we go?” Yahiko asked. All three of the kids were wide eyed and excited at the idea of a party.

“Sorry kids,” Jiraiya apologized, “This is for adults only. You guys will be here watching the tent while we’re out.”

While the kids were grumbling their disappointment, the Senju princess crossed her arms. “I don’t know, doesn't it seem presumptuous of us to be having a celebration when the war hasn’t even ended yet?”

“They’re gonna let us drink,” Jiraiya said deadpan.

“When does it start?”

Now it was Oro’s turn to cross his arms, giving Tsunade a look of contempt. “Really, Tsunade, you can’t manage a few more months before your birthday?”

“Oro, I am this close to losing my shit. If I don’t have sake in me by tonight, I might kill you just for the fun of it.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, but you two can go without me.”

“But they want all three of us to be there, Oro! We’re the guests of honor, come on, please?” To make his pleading more dramatic, the Toad Sannin went on his knees and put his hands together.

“I said no, Jiraiya. You two would be the center of attention anyway, no one gives a damn about me.”

“Oh, don’t give me that! People are starting to like you now. If you won’t go to boost morale, then will you at least come for me? Please?”

Jiraiya had started pouting and gave his signature puppy dog eyes. It didn’t work on literally anyone except Orochimaru. Incidentally, this was also how he had enticed Oro to play the villain in that botched ‘rescue’ of Tsunade when they were teenagers, as well as many other shenanigans when they were children. (Mainly, trips to the bathhouse.) Orochiamru held out for about 10 seconds before he gave in.

“Oh, fine,” he said. Tsunade rolled her eyes and smacked Oro on the head for good measure.

“God, you’re whipped.”

She marvelled at how weak willed Orochimaru really was when it concerned Jiraiya. Why the sage never used that technique when Oro was leaving the village, she’ll never know.

Orochimaru rubbed his head and gave Tsuande a death glare. “I will go, but I won’t be drinking.”

…

“ORO, ORO, ORO!” The crowd chanted as Orochimaru chugged his 9th beer. He slammed his empty mug to the table, and held his hand up in victory, the crowd going wild. The poor soul who was up against him had paused halfway through chugging her 5th to vomit all over the floor, a friend holding her hair back.

Cheering at Oro’s victory, Tsunade shouted, “Shots!” A cheer went up as Jiraiya filled glasses with some very expensive looking sake and even more cheers erupted when someone shouted for a toast.

“To the Sannin, Konoha’s heroes!” Someone yelled.

“To the Sannin!”

...

All three of the Sannin woke up the next morning with the worst hangovers they’ve ever had.

“Argh, what the fuck happened last night?” Asked Jiraiya, groggy and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He took a whiff of himself and immediately recoiled in disgust. He reeked of sake and cheap beer.

Tsunade buried her head in a pillow to block out the noise. “I think you drank 12 shots of sake before passing out.”

“Was that before or after the beer contest?”

Just then, Orochimaru shot up from where he was sprawled on the floor. “I think I’m going to vomit.” He then scrambled to his feet and ran out of the tent, screaming in pain when the sun hit his eyes.

Tsunade sighed. “I’ll go hold his hair.” This was the last time she went drinking with those two. All night, they kept daring her to do more and more shots and now she felt like shit. At least she was 19 again and could keep this lifestyle going much longer than she could at 50. As she stood in the blinding afternoon sun, holding Orochimaru’s hair, Commander Nara Yadawa walked up to her and shoved a scroll in her face.

“Afternoon, Princess. Here, orders from the Hokage. He wants you three back in Konoha by the end of the week. You leave once you're all packed.”

“The end of the week?! That’s in five days! We’re at the edge of Fire Country, we’ll never make it on time!”

“Well, you could have left last night, but you were all shitfaced when I received the summons. Good luck, Sannin.”

And with that, Yadawa left, leaving an open mouthed Tsunade and a groaning Orochimaru. She let go of him and he landed face first into the dirt, thankfully a few feet away from the mess he’d made. Bursting back into the tent, she started throwing clothes and sealing scrolls into a pack.

“Jiraiya, get up, we’re going home!”

Jiraiya moaned from his spot on the floor. “Tsu, for the love of Kami, keep it down. My head’s pounding over here.”

Tsunade huffed in exasperation. Honestly, it was like he’d never had a simple hangover before. She's been through worse and still gone to work at Hokage Tower, sometimes still drunk from the night before. She glanced around the room only for her eyes to land on the Ame kids, who were helping pack up their supplies. An evil thought occurred to her just then. “Hey kids, want to learn your first jutsu?”

They excitedly looked up from what they were doing and Konan was the one to answer.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m gonna teach you a little something called the water bullet jutsu.”

…

An hour later and the six of them were on the road speeding to Konoha, Jiraiya and Orochiamru drenched to the bone, but fully awake now.

“So what did the scroll say?” Jiraya asked as he pushed off of another tree. He tried to be as gentle as possible with Yahiko on his back. The kid had nearly fallen off a few times because his grip loosened every time Jiraiya moved too much. Konan was on Tsunade’s back and Nagato was with Orochiamru. This way the group could go as fast as they wanted without needing to wait up on the kids.

“Well, Sarutobi-sensei wants us back in Konoha so we can go with him to the Land of Iron.”

“The Land of Iron?” Oro said, puzzled. “Whatever for?”

“There’s gonna be a Kage summit. Apparently, when we killed Hanzo, word got back to the other nations and now they’re rethinking this war. Suna, Iwa and Konoha want a peace treaty that involves Kumo and Kiri. Sensei wants us there as his bodyguards, but it’s more than likely he wants to use us as a power play.”

Jiraiya whistled low. “A kage summit. They must really think we’re something, huh? How much time do we have?”

“Two weeks. As of right now, there’s a ceasefire, but if anyone breaks it, then the company commanders are free to do what they want, regardless of what happens at the summit.”

“Um, if fighting breaks out, then what’s the point of peace talks at the Kage summit?” Konan asked.

“The Kage summit takes place in the Land of Iron, which is neutral territory,” Tsunade explained. “There, Samurai keep the negotiations peaceful as moderators. Even if something happens out in the field, the Kage have no way of knowing because communication with the outside world during a summit is forbidden by Samurai law. It could sway their decision if they knew what was happening. Missions are also restricted for this reason. That leaves the Company Commanders in charge and they will defend themselves if necessary.”

“Who would want to break a ceasefire?” Nagato asked, quietly to himself. He was almost too quiet to hear, but Orochimaru heard him regardless.

“Monsters,” he said.

As the Sannin and the Ame orphans traveled to Konoha, each had their own thoughts about what peace truly meant and how a Kage summit could achieve it. The Sannin in particular were concerned about what this meant for the timeline. The last Kage summit they remember didn’t exactly go well. (Damn Uchihas) Everything was changing drastically and much too quickly. There was no guide now and they were going in blind. They only hoped that they could end this war quickly before it took any more lives, Dan’s being one of them.

So, they kept marching on to Konoha. For five days, it was sunrise to sunset and to the pleasant surprise of everyone, they managed to make it back in time with a half a day to spare. What they saw when they arrived however, made the Sannin want to bolt straight back to the front lines.

Senju Uzumaki Mito was waiting for them at the giant gates and boy, was she pissed.

Chapter 14: When Ninja Clash

Notes:

Oof, sorry if this is a bit late, but it's a long one. Enjoy!

It was a bright and sunny day in Konohagakure. The birds were chirping, children were playing in the street, a gentle breeze was flowing through the trees. Shinobi went about their day fulfilling their daily duties and civilians were opening their shops or running errands. And oh, look, Mito-sama, the wife of the first Hokage and current jinchuriki of the Kyuubi was loudly chewing out her granddaughter and surrogate grandsons for not writing to her while they were away at war in the middle of the street for everyone to see. Yes, it was another beautiful day in Konoha.

“It has been half a year! No letters, no notes, not even a summons! And when all three of you were listed as missing in action last month, Kami, do you have any idea how worried I was?! I thought you were dead! And then I hear that you pop up again in Ame going up against Hanzo of the Salamander? ALONE!?”

“Our sincerest apologies, Mito-sama,” Orochimaru said, bowing slightly, “But we haven't exactly had time to write while in the middle of a war. As for the missing in action, I may have forgotten to tell our Commander that we took a detour into Grass Country to regain-I mean, find the Sword of Kusanagi.” Mito gave him a death glare if he ever saw one and he gulped. Wanting to save his friend, Jiraiya tried to shift some of her anger onto him.

“Yeah, it was an honest mistake, really, Mito-sama. Oh, and about the Hanzo thing, we had our summons with us, so we were totally fine, nothing to worry about.” He swatted at the air, like facing a dangerous, legendary shinobi on his home turf with the might of an army was no big deal.

“I don’t care if you do have giant summons or even ancient weapons, are you insane?! You could have been killed! Or captured! It’s a miracle you three have even survived this long!”

Tsunade, done with the lecture already, rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.

“Thanks for the confidence, Bachan.” Her sarcasm however was heard and Mito changed gears once again to focus on Tsunade.

“That’s enough cheek from you, Senju Tsunade. You know what? All three of you are grounded until the Kage summit.”

“What?!” The time travelers said together.

“Legendary Sannin, ha! More like legendary bakas!”

“But Mito-sama, we’re grown adults-” argued Jiraiya, but stopped short when he saw Mito’s eyes starting to change color from light brown to dark red.

“Not yet you’re not! I don’t care if you are shinobi, until you all reach the age of maturity, you are under my roof and under my rules!

“Mito-sama, I feel I must remind you that Jiraiya and I are not technically your- ow!” Jiraiya had harshly elbowed Orochimaru in the ribs and when the swordsman looked at him, Jiraiya was near sweating bullets with a face that said, ‘shutupshutupshutup’.

“Finish that sentence, Oro-kun, I dare you,” the jinchuriki growled.

Suddenly very concerned for his continued existence, Orochimaru blurted out the only thing that could save them from Mito’s wrath. “Have you met Jiraya’s new children?!”

“Y-yeah! Uh, Mito-sama, these are my new students, Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato. They’re orphans from Ame who were looking for someone to teach them ninjutsu. They found us and I agreed to be their teacher. Kids, this is Senju Uzumaki Mito, Tsunade’s grandmother.”

Nagato’s mouth opened in shock while Yahiko and Konan whipped their heads to look at him. “I-I’m an Uzumaki too,” he said in awe.

Mito looked down at the kids and her anger immediately dissipated, eyes going back to normal as she blinked and gave them a warm smile.

“Another Uzumaki? Come here, child. Nagato, was it?”

The red haired boy nodded and walked up to her, Mito bending down a bit so they could be level with each other.

“What do you know of our clan, Nagato?”

“N-not much, my parents...well, they died before they could tell me anything.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss, darling. Losing loved ones is hard, but it seems that you have found others to have by your side.” She looked back at Yahiko and Konan who ran forward to either side of Nagato, each grabbing a hand to hold.

“That’s right! We’re his family now!” Yahiko burst out.

Konan nodded. “Mhhm, and no one is going to take him from us!”

A blush hidden behind his hair appeared on Nagato’s face. He had never thought of his friends in that way before, but if he really thought about it, the same feeling of family was there. It was like Yahiko was his chaotic older brother and Konan was his reserved, but kind sister. They met and became friends, but after being with them through all their misfortune, they had become a close family in their own way.

Mito paused at the fierce protectiveness of Yahiko and Konan, but her face softened and she smiled with a bit of amusement. Not hesitating for a moment, she gathered all three of them in her arms.

“Ha! Well, then, I suppose that makes you my family too!”

All three of the kids were in shock. This old woman had just wholeheartedly accepted them as they were and she had barely met them 2 minutes ago. Right then and there, the Ame trio made the unanimous decision that they would kill and die for this terrifying woman.

“Welcome to Konohagakure, my darlings,” she said. Mito brushed some of Ngato’s hair to get a better look at him and her eyes wided a fraction of an inch in surprise at the purple color. It was only for a second though before she smiled once more and said, “And don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything I know of our clan and its history. Who knows, you might do the same to another lost Uzumaki someday.”

Mito let go of the kids and pointed a threatening finger at the Sannin. “All of you come straight to the compound after meeting with Lord Third, understand? We have much more to discuss before the Kage summit. And just look at you, nothing but skin and bones! I’m going to make dinner and you best be on time. If you see Nawaki before I do, tell him and his team the same.” She glared at the almost adults before waving goodbye to the kids and started walking back to the Senju compound to prepare dinner. Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan waved goodbye to the scary old Uzumaki lady.

“I like her,” Yahiko chirped, the others nodding their agreement.

Konoha’s legendary heroes however were left dumbfounded.

“What just happened?” Tsunade asked no one in particular.

“Your grandmother grounded us for a week as if we were still children and adopted Jiraiya’s students,” Orochimaru deadpanned.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Okay then, let's get this report over with.”

The group registered at the gates and then made their way through the streets of Konoha to Hokage Tower. On the way, the kids were completely fascinated by the sunshine and overall happy atmosphere around the village. The shops were full, children were running around and the smell of food was wafting from every street vendor.

“Jiraiya-sensei, do you actually live here?” Yahiko asked as he saw a man making dango from a shop window.

Jiraiya laughed. “Sure do, I can give you the grand tour tomorrow if you’d like. We might even meet up with Orochimaru’s team and make it a joint training day. Oro?”

“As long as they don’t get in mine or my team’s way,” the snake said coldly.

“That’s a yes!” the sage whooped. Tsuande and Oro both rolled their eyes while the kids just giggled at their teacher’s childishness.

As they approached the tower, people in the street began parting to let them pass, shinobi and civilians alike. Some even bowed. It was honestly putting the time travelers on edge. This much attention was the exact thing they were trying to avoid when they were in the village. Orochimaru was right in that Jiraiya was going to have a hard time spying on Danzo now that they were never going to be left alone. If anything, ROOT agents were probably going to start spying on them, if they haven't already. Debuting as the Sannin had given them more than just fame this time, now, they were a threat.

“Well,” Tsunade said, smiling and waving at a few children who came to see a glimpse of them, “I guess everybody knows about the good news.” The whole show continued all the way up the steps of the tower and through the door into Sarutobi’s office with secretaries and even Jonin bowing in respect.

As the door opened, smoke hit them, making the kids cough and wipe at their stinging eyes. The Sannin however, were well adjusted to the effects of Tobacco, having literally grown up with it. Sarutobi Hiruzen was seated at his desk, pipe in his mouth and paperwork in hand. Danzo was standing next to him, a stack of papers that needed to be signed sitting on the desk in front of him, when he caught sight of the newest occupants and stopped short. The war hawk stood up straight and narrowed his eyes, thinly veiled anger on his face. Sarutobi on the other hand, looked up and smiled like a father or grandfather would.

“My precious students, how proud you have made Konoha,” the Sandaime said. (They could never make him proud, no matter how hard they tried. And eventually, they stopped trying.)

“Yes, I believe congratulations are in order, young Sannin,” Danzo ground out. He forced a smile for Sarutobi’s sake, but the time travelers knew it was just a veneer. There was seething rage in the lone visible eye and it was a wonder that they felt no killing intent directed at them. They knew what his original plans were after all. Hanzo was merely a puppet to be manipulated for the sake of Konoha and later as the spark that turned Nagato and Konan into terrorists.

Feeling just a tad smug, the Sannin stood side by side in a line, the Ame orphans hidden behind them as they presented Hanzo’s Kusarigama.

“The weapon of Hanzo of the Salamander, former leader of Amegakure,” Jiraiya declared as he held out the Kusarigama and bowed, his teammates following suit.

Sarutobi stood and took the blade from his hands, a pensive gaze on his face as he inspected the weapon, hands hovering above the blade.

“I almost didn’t believe it when the hawk delivered the message,” he said, mostly to himself. Danzo shifted.

“Yes, one would have thought that it was a fake, and that you three were killed in action.”

“You wish,” Jiraiya muttered under his breath.

Sarutobi, ever the oblivious one, smiled brightly at his students. “But I am glad you made it out relatively unscathed. You three have changed the tide of this war and given us hope to end it on peaceful terms with the other shinobi villages. As such, I grant all three of you leave until the Kage summit.”

“If it isn’t too presumptuous to ask,” Orochiamru began, “What will our role be at the Kage summit?”

“Your role will be to act as my entourage and body guards to myself and Councilman Shimura as he will accompany me as my advisor.”

The Sannin had to hold back their initial shock and anger as Danzo gave them a smug grin.

“Very well, Sensei. If that is all, Mito-sama is expecting us for dinner.”

“Not quite, Orochimaru. There is still the issue of these Ame children in Konoha. Jiraiya, if you’d care to explain?”

Jiraiya took a deep breath and started to tell the story of how he and his team met Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. Sarutobi, on his part, was very attentive as he listened to Jiraiya’s tale and steepled his finger in thought when he was finished.

“I see. And will you take responsibility for them as their teacher and mentor?”

“Yes, I will. As long as they are safe and protected here in the village, I promise, no harm will come to pass, Sensei. You have my word.” Jiraiya’s eyes locked on Danzo’s single and made clear the intention in his words. Nothing would stop him if Danzo so much as looked in his students’ direction with malicious intent.

Sarutobi nodded slowly, the promise seeming a bit too steep for the issue at hand. If they were in Konoha then of course they would be safe, even from the more bigoted shinobi. The only problem he had with them even being here in the first place was the off chance that they could dole out some serious revenge because of the war ravaging their homeland. After looking at them though, the middle aged man could see that they were just children looking for strength and belonging.

The Hokage had no clue that it was Danzo that could do unspeakable damage if he got his hands on Nagato, (All three of the Sannin were incredibly thankful that Nagato’s hair hid his eyes from sight.) or even Yahiko and Konan. All three would one day become powerful shinobi in their own right, strong enough to control an entire nation and have it’s people revere them as Gods.

“Very well, they may stay and train as your new team. They are your students from here on out and as such, you will be responsible for their education and upbringing. They won’t be allowed at the academy as Konoha shinobi, but you may do what you please to get them up to speed.”

Jiraiya bowed low to add to the fake gratitude. He already knew how hard it was raising these kids the first time and that was in an active war zone. Here in Konoha, it’ll be like a walk in the park.

“Thank you, Sarutobi-sensei. I will make you proud.” (Empty promises)

“I’m sure you will. (Empty assurances) You may go now. Give Mito-sama my best.”

The group bowed and shuffled out of the office after that heading towards the Senju compound. It was early evening by now and the street lights were being lit. The children marveled at the sight and seemed happy, if a bit tired and hungry from the journey. Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at them as they walked. He remembers Yahiko’s dead body being used as a weapon and a sad Konan who stayed by the side of a tortured Nagato from a life long past lived. It was... nice seeing them as cute, wide eyed little kids. He can still see Yahiko’s tears as they mixed with rain when he left the three of them in Ame. Perhaps they weren’t as ready as he’d thought back then. In any case, they were here now and ready to learn all over again, this time in a place that had more to offer than a hut in the middle of nowhere.

As the Sannin walked in front, Nagato was suddenly captivated by a stand that was selling jewelry. He went to look at the black studs and earrings on display, but didn’t notice another person who was also walking to the display and bumped into them, causing them to stumble while Nagato fell to the floor.

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” the person apologized. The stranger held out a hand to help him up, but Nagato just stared at the teenager’s headband. Besides the Sannin, this was the first Konoha shinobi he’d seen face to face since the night his parents died. Nagato was just about frozen in fear, the teen still holding out his hand. Jiraiya, glancing back to make sure his students were following, saw Nagato and the shinobi holding his hand out. Not even thinking about what he saw and filled with a sudden bout of paternal instinct, he broke into a shunshin, planting himself firmly in between Nagato and the young shinobi. He was making the signs for a wind jutsu when he finally caught sight of the kid’s face. All thoughts of fighting disappeared as Jiraiya let his hands fall to his side and started to smile wide. The startled kid jumped back a bit at the whorl of leaves and looked at the tall man with wild white hair and red markings running down his face.

“Jiraiya?!” Nawaki said in happy surprise, face lighting up like the sun.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the little Senju brat, all grown up. Come here and give me a hug!”

Nawaki smiled and tackled Jiraiya in a hug. When they broke apart, Tsunade and Orochimaru were jogging up to them while Konan and Yahiko were helping Nagato up and dusting him off. Nawaki then ran to his sister and teacher, hugging both of them at the same time.

“Hey, Tsu, hi Oro-sensei! Long time no see, huh?”

“Two years isn’t so long in hindsight, little one,” Orochiamru chided.

“Yeah, well it’s sure as hell a long ass time for me.” The teenager let go and called over his shoulder. “Right guys?”

There, walking to the group from another stand were Noba and Kana, both smiling and eager to hug their teacher and mentor.

“We sure did miss you, Sensei!” Noba laughed.

“It’s really good to see you, Orochimaru-sensei,” Kana said with a soft smile.

Orochimaru patted their heads in fondness and pulled back to get a better look at his grown up Genin team. Noba had her hair up in her usual bun and was clad in a white haori with red trim that complimented the dragon on the right side of the fabric. Her left arm was wrapped up in bandages, no doubt from Maito Dai’s taijutsu training. Kana, the meek brunet, had a new purple haori over a black sleeveless jacket that went up to her neck. Unlike her teammates, she preferred shorts to the usual black uniform pants and wore sandals that went up to her knees.

When he looked at Nawaki, Orochimaru had to smirk. It seemed that Mito had given him some of Hashirama’s old clan armor. The young Senju had red vambraces with his clan’s sigil on them as well as metal thigh protectors hanging from his waist, all clashing with the black, long sleeved jacket he wore under the new white shoulder scarf with red dots along the bottom. The only thing that remained the same was his grandfather’s necklace that Tsunade had given to him all those years ago.

“My, my,” Oro said with clear pride. “It appears that the three of you have grown into fine young shinobi.”

“Aw, sensei, you’re embarrassing us in front of the kids,” Noba blushed, gesturing to the Ame kids. “Who’re the brats, anyway?”

“The brats are my new students,'' laughed Jiraiya. “I picked them up in Ame while they were wandering around looking for a teacher. That’s Uzumaki Nagato you bumped into, Nawaki, Yahiko with the orange hair, and Konan. Kids, this is Team Orochimaru, Nawaki, Tsunade’s little brother, Totsuna Kana, and Sanarabi Noba. Think of it like this, you’re all student cousins, haha.”

“It's nice to meet you guys,” Nawaki said cherily. “I’ve never met another Uzumaki besides Bachan, but I guess that makes us clan cousins! Sorry about running into you, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“T-That’s ok,” Nagato assured. After Jiraiya hugged Nawaki, Nagato’s fear lessened and eventually disappeared when he realized that this shinobi was also a distant family member. “I wasn’t looking either.” Mito’s words came to him just then. “Oh, by the way, your grandmother said she wants you and your team to come to dinner at the compound.”

“YOSH, I love Mito-sama’s cooking!” Noba shouted. Orochimaru’s face turned to dismay.

“You three have been spending time with Maito Dai, haven't you,” he stated. It wasn’t even a question. If there were any people in the shinobi world that would befriend The Eternal Genin, it would be these three.

“Sure have!” Nawaki laughed. “He’s a really cool dude when you get to know him. A little intense and uh, clingy, sometimes, but he’s a good guy.”

“He’s about to have a kid, isn’t he?” Kana asked. She remembers Dai gushing about baby names and tiny outfits for the kid when they had lunch at the barbeque place the other day. There were many tears shed that day, all by Dai who was so happy he started balling at the waitress who congratulated him.

“Yup. And he wants me to be the Godfather!”

“What? Why?” Tsunade blurted. Of all the outcomes of saving Nawaki as a child, this was certainly a surprise.

“Well, when he told me, he mentioned something about me being nice to him when I was a kid.”

“Oh my God,” Tsunade said. She leaned into Oro’s ear and angrily whispered, “If Maito Gai calls me ‘Aunty Tsunade’ for the rest of my life, I am blaming you, Orochimaru.”

Oro’s face broke into a shit eating grin. “Well I think it’s a wonderful idea, don’t you, ‘Aunty Tsu’?” Using just a fraction of her monstrous strength, she elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to make him double over wheezing in pain. It didn’t help that it was the exact spot Jiraiya had hit earlier.

“Was it worth it?” Jiraiya asked Orochimaru, who was on the floor, holding his side.

“Absolutely,” he wheezed.

Jiraiya bellowed with laughter. He picked his friend up, slinging Oro over his shoulder and started walking down the street, knowing everyone was following him.

“Put me down, Jiraiya, I can walk!”

“Just enjoy the ride, bastard.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, Oro.”

…

“Itadakimasu!” Everyone shouted.

All across the long table was food of every variety, from fish, to miso soup, to hot rice and steamed vegetables. Mito was seated at the head of the table with Tsunade and Nawaki on either side of her. Next to Tsunade sat Orodchimaru and then Jiraiya with Yhiko and Konan following. On Nawaki’s side were his team and Nagato. The kids ravaged their plates, only slightly aware of their manners as guests, but Mito didn’t take offense; she knew they must have been starving before getting to Konoha.

“This is amazing, Mito-sama!” Yahiko exclaimed after swallowing his food. “It's the best food I’ve ever tasted. How did you make it all?”

“Oh, thank you darling. I just whipped up a little something since we have so much company. As for how I made it all, some recipes come from my homeland of Uzushio and others are Senju dishes passed down from my late husband, the Shodaime.”

“Wait a minute, your husband was a Hokage?” Konan tilted her head and looked to Mito for an answer.

“He was the first Fire Shadow, yes. Senju Hashirama was a great and kind man, but he was burdened with many things in life. He never let them wear him down though. He was hailed as the God of Shinobi because of his prowess as a ninja and his famous Kekkei Genkai, the Mokuton. My husband was a powerful Hokage, but I fell in love with the silly man who put a flower in my hair every morning.” The Uzumaki woman smiled to herself, remembering a thundering laugh and a goofy smile from years and years ago.

“He sounds nice. What happened to him?”

“He died right after I turned three,” Nawaki sighed. “Tobirama-oji became Hokage after that and after he died, Sarutobi Hiruzen took up the hat. He’s the man that trained Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru-sensei.”

“Wow, so you come from a long line of Hokage, huh,” the little girl marveled.

“Sure do. And just you wait, someday I’m gonna be Hokage and protect everyone in the village!”

Orochimaru took a sip from his tea. “Still obsessed with that particular dream, are we? Well, you still have quite a bit to go, my little Genin.”

Mito slammed her tea cup onto the table and everyone froze.

“Nawaki,” she said, the shock and disappointment clear in her voice, “You haven’t told them yet?”

“Told us what?” Tsunade asked, looking to her brother and his team. She only received a sad expression from them though.

“I was waiting for the right time,” Nawaki mumbled.

“There is no right time for a conversation as serious as this. I must say I am disappointed in you three,” she scolded the teenagers. All three of them looked down at their plates in shame and guilt. “Orochimaru is your Sensei and you should have reported to him the second you saw him, if not because of rank, but out of respect. And Nawaki, to hold this from Tsuna?”

“We didn’t want to upset anybody, they just got home and we didn’t want to lay this on them so fast.”

“You barely have a week, young man!”

“Excuse me,” Jiraiya interrupted, “but would someone please tell us what’s going on?”

“We’re being deployed to the front, Orochimaru-sensei.”

Silence filled the room with Kana's soft words. The Sannin were speechless. Shinobi could only be deployed by order of the Hokage which meant only Sarutobi could have given the ok. Blind rage took hold of Tsunade, anger so hot, the blood in her veins felt cold.

“Over my dead fucking body.”

She harshly stood up from the table, food and tea spilling from the movement and made her way to the door. Before she could put her hand on the handle however, Nawaki was next to her, grabbing her forearm in a deathgrip.

“Where are you going, Tsu?”

“To beat some sense into that foolish old man.”

“Senju Tsunade!” Yelled Mito, but there was little anger in it. “You will show the Sandaime respect as his student and a Konoha shinobi, even if his current leadership leaves much to be desired.”

“With all due respect for you, Mito-sama, I don’t believe we have anything resembling respect for Sarutobi any longer. I agree with Tsunade and I’m going with her. Jiraiya?”

“Sensei’s done a lot of seedy shit, but this takes the cake. You kids aren’t going to war, ceasefire or not. Hell, you guys are still just Genin!”

“Actually,” Noba said, hesitantly, “we’re not anymore.”

“Elaborate. Now.” Orochimaru’s glare was enough to melt the land of snow.

Recognizing their teacher’s don’t-fuck-with-me-right-now tone, Noba and Kana stood up in a reporting stance. Noba’s face was serious as she gave a relay of what was told to them in the Hokage’s office five days ago.

“Lord Third has promoted a whole platoon of Genin to Chunin as of last week when word of his students’ platoon was wiped out by Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure. We three are to be deployed before the Kage summit to take their place as Captains in their absence.”

“Please,” Nawaki tried, “Don’t blame Lord Third. We weren’t even part of the original Genin to be promoted. We asked him to be deployed.”

The sound of a hand hitting flesh rang out and everyone looked to where Tsunade had her, now free, hand raised, Nawaki beside her, holding a palm to the throbbing red handprint blossoming across his cheek.

“How dare you destroy the legacy Jiichan gave us?” She seethed. "You and all the other Genin were never meant to go war, that was what Jiichan wanted!"

“He also wanted to protect the village! Don't you get it? I want to continue his legacy, Tsunade. I’m going to protect this village and everyone in it, even if that means going to war. You did. If you can do it, why can’t we?”

“You think we wanted to? Do you honestly believe we had a choice? We were children, Nawaki. You are still children! We have innocent blood on our hands. I’ve watched friends die right in front of me. Seen people I loved, ripped to pieces. Are you ready for that? Because we weren’t, and it haunts us every waking moment of our fucking lives.”

“We’re prepared to do whatever we have to to protect the people we love, by any means necessary. I say it’s worth it if we can protect our village and fight for peace!”

“Is that what you think peace is?”

All heads turned to Yahiko who was still seated at the table, picking at his food, appetite lost.

“What?” Nawaki blurted, confused at what the kid was trying to say.

“Peace,” the boy continued. He looked up at the mess of people before him, anger coloring his words. “You think fighting and killing in a war brings peace, but you’re wrong. It’s not something you can fight for. Otherwise it’s not true peace, you see. You’ll just end up hurting the other person over and over again. It’s just more and more violence. Besides, what makes you think other people don’t have a right to protect their home against you?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re just some little kid. Maybe you’ll have this figured out when you’re older.”

“He knows more than you think, kid.”

Nawaki glanced over at Jiraiya and he suddenly remembered where the kids were from. To them, Konoha was the invader.

“Look, whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway. You can’t stop us, we’ve already made our decision.”

“Nawaki,-” Tsunade started, but she was cut off.

“Enough, Tsunade. This is my team and as such I will deal with this.” Orochimaru took his gaze to the girls. “Tell me, do you two agree with Nawaki? Is this truly what you want?”

Kana and Noba firmly noded. “We just want to help, Sensei. Really,” Kana said softly.

“Very well. As a matter of fact, we can stop you. As your Jonin Sensei, I have a right to contest your abilities. If I can find fault in your skills as a shinobi, then I can prevent you from being deployed or even sent out on any mission that is assigned to you.”

“Wait, seriously, Oro-sensei?”

“Deadly. But don’t despair, I have a solution to our predicament. If I remember correctly, you three couldn’t take the exams three years ago because they were canceled due to the war. Nor did it help that I have not been present in the village long enough on leave to sign you up for the expedited exams. I’ll admit, it’s a miracle this didn’t happen sooner. Quite some time has passed and if you can prove to me that you are truly at Chunin level, then I’ll have no choice but to let you do whatever you three please.”

“Orochimaru, you can’t be seri-”

“I’m not finished, Jiraiya. Here’s the deal; If you can beat myself, Jiraiya and Tsunade in combat, I’ll allow you to claim the rank of Chunin and be deployed. If you can’t, then you’ll have to admit that you aren’t ready and I will force Sarutobi to keep you in Konoha.”

Team Orochimaru looked at each other. On the one hand, Tsunade and her friends were absolutely terrifying and powerful from being trained by a literal Kage, but on the other, Nawaki grew up with them and knows all their dirty little tricks. Ever the fearless leader, Nawaki nodded to the girls and they, being loyal to the end, nodded back.

“Yes, Orochimaru-sensei, we accept.”

Chapter 15: Two Memories and a Question

Notes:

Wow! I have been gone for a hot minute. I moved back to University and now I've got work on top of school, so there won't be chapters out every week any more, but I'm gonna try to make it every other week. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it!

p.s. I also updated the summary a bit

After all the dishes were washed and put away, the Sannin had decided to go to bed. Mito insisted that they all spend the night, as it was already too late to be walking all over town. Tsunade and the boys decided to sleep in the living room like when they were children having a sleepover. It warmed Mito’s heart to know that they still hadn’t grown up all the way yet. The teenagers on the other hand, excused themselves and went up to Nawaki’s room to go over some strategies for the mock Chunin Exams, so scheduled in 3 days. Those three were just so impatient to get out into the world and make change, that they were forgetting what Hashirama had intended for the village to be in the first place; a place where children wouldn’t have to grow up too fast and for shinobi to have a safe place to raise their families. The old Uzumaki just prayed that peace would come to pass in their lifetimes, for she knew it wouldn’t in hers.

With the others all taken care of, that just left the Ame orphans. It pained her to see these small children so beaten, but that didn’t mean they were defeated. There was so much hope and promise in them and Mito had no doubt that they would grow to be very powerful shinobi indeed.

She made her way through the photo covered halls of her home to the guest rooms on the downstairs level. Although she was old, she never got tired when going up and down the stairs, or having a stroll through Konoha. Perhaps it had something to do with the Nine Tails sealed inside her, or maybe it was just her unique Uzumaki genes. In any case, she was grateful for the energy in her old age. Kami-sama knows she’ll need it to watch over all of these kids.

Reaching the door to the guest room, Mito knocked twice on the door in front of her and opened it when she heard a small, “Come in!” from the inside.

“All ready for bed, my darlings?” Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were all in their own futons, teeth brushed, her grandkids’ old pj’s on, and eyes drooping as all three of them shook their heads in protest.

“We’re not tired yet, Mito-sama,” Yahiko yawned. Konan tried to nod her agreement, but she fell into a 2 second sleep before she woke herself up and tried nodding again.

Mito huffed in amusement. It seemed children were all the same in the end.

“Oh, yes, I can see that. Well, perhaps I can tell you a bedtime story to help you fall asleep, then. It always worked on Tsuna and Nawaki when they were your age.”

“I don’t think regular bedtime stories will work on us, Mito-sama,” said Nagato, trying and failing to blink the sleep from his eyes. He didn’t mean it in a rude way, she knew, but the words hurt her more than they would ever know. These young ones were well aware of the real world and had no patience for silly fairy tales anymore. They learned long ago that there’s not always a happy ending at the end of the day.

“Hmm, I fear you’re right, Nagato,” she said, solemnly. An idea came to her just then. Giving them a mischievous smile, she said, “How about a story about the Uzumaki then?”

That got the kids to sit up straighter, suddenly wide awake.

“Can you tell us about Uzushio?”

“No, I want to hear about how she met the Shodaime.”

“I’d like to know more about the Uzumaki clan.”

“Haha, slow down there, you’ll get the stories mixed up. Hmm, you know, I think I have a story that just about covers all of that.”

“Really?” Konan asked, eyes shining like jewels in anticipation.

“Oh yes,” she nodded, sagely, “This is a story of how the heads of the Uzumaki, Senju, and Uchiha clans all met. It was my 20th birthday and we decided to have a huge party in Uzushio, the homeland of the Uzumaki and the people of the Land of Eddies.”

The kids’ eyes widen in excitement and Mito sits herself on Konan’s bed as she begins her tale.

…

Uzushiogakure was a village built below the great, stone cliffs of the island Kaigara, which had jungles further inland that were filled with exotic flora and fauna. Below the cliffs and on the outskirts of the village, was the coast of the island where beautiful beaches with the softest of white sand were littered with seashells of every color, making the land sparkle like a jewel mine when the sun set across the sea. The salty sea spray was of no danger to the tower-like buildings as the Uzumaki clan had developed Fuinjutsu seals to protect them from the elements.

The Uzumaki were a proud clan and masters in the art of seals, or fuinjutsu as they called it. Travelers from all over the world came to Uzushio to learn the craft, though few were ever chosen to actually be taught. The secret of fuinjutsu was what gave the clan and the village their power, so as a precaution, only those worthy were permitted to learn that ancient ability. It was a hard skill to learn and it took most years, if not decades to perfectly master it.

Uzumaki Mito on the other hand, had done it at the age of 19. And now, on the eve of her 20’th birthday, she was to be declared a master in addition to the celebrations.

Mito’s skill as a kunoichi and fuinjutsu user was second only to the Uzukage, her father, who started teaching her when she was very young. As the daughter of the Uzukage and first born, there was a grand party to be held in her honor when she reached the age of maturity, with dignitaries from all across the elemental nations to be in attendance, as well as a Kage.

In fact, said Kage was about to arrive at the Island’s port and Mito along with her father, Uzukage Shijou, were there to welcome them.

“Which village are they from again, Otosan?” A young Mito asked her father as they stood on the edge of the dock, waiting for the ship that was steadily floating towards them. Shijou glanced down at her and marveled at how much she looked like her mother, blood red hair shining in the morning sun.

“Konohagakure, The Village Hidden in the Leaves, my little minnow,” he answered, her childhood name rolling off his tongue with sentimentality getting the better of him. Mito however didn’t seem to appreciate it because she scrunched up her face in annoyance.

“Otosan, I am nearly 20 years old, please, enough with that childish nickname.”

“Oh?” he challenged, raising an eyebrow in her direction, “Are you too old to indulge in your father’s reminiscing, when his only daughter is about to be of age?”

“If you embarrass me in front of the Hokage and his entourage, I’ll tell Mother who it was that dropped my birthday cake this morning.”

The Uzukage, one of the most powerful shinobi in history, a master of fuinjutsu and current head of the Uzumaki clan, paled at the mention of his wife’s wrath.

“A-as you wish, Mito-sama.” He then stood up straighter and looked straight ahead as the ship finally pulled into port and stopped at the dock. Mito had just the barest ghost of a smirk playing on her lips as he saw the ramp from the ship being pulled out.

A man she could immediately tell was the Shodaime walked down to them. His chakra was suppressed, but being one of, if not the, most powerful sensor in Uzushio, Mito saw through the veneer and for a second, thought she saw the power of a god. In many ways, he was. Senju Hashirama, Hokage of Konoha, gracefully walked down to them, a kind smile and eyes beaming on his handsome face. Another person, a dark haired man that Mito didn’t recognise, followed wobbly behind him, no doubt still not used to his sea legs. They both bowed once they reached the bottom and Mito and her father did the same.

“Welcome to Uzushio, Hokage-sama. I must say it is good to see a Senju grace these shores once more,” her father greeted.

“Thank you, Uzukage-sama. I thank you for inviting us in the first place.” Hashirama smiled kindly at Mito. “But I do think introductions are in order.” He turned to the dark haired man who now sported a grumpy, but neutral face. “This is my good friend, Uchiha Madara, the co-founder of our village.”

“I humbly thank you for welcoming us into your home, Uzukage-sama,” Madara said.

“Uchiha eh? Well, any friend of the Senju’s is a friend of ours. This is my daughter, Uzumaki Mito, the reason for all this celebration.”

“Hello, Mito-sama. I don’t suppose a tour of the village is out of the question, is it? I haven’t been here since I was a boy, I’m afraid and I admit I don’t remember very much,” Hashirama said, his shyness peeking through as he rubbed the back of his head.

She smirked a bit at his childishness. “I think that is acceptable. Otosan?” She looked up to see her father’s smug face, for what though, she hadn’t the foggiest idea.

“I don’t see why not. Meet us at Uzu Tower when you’re done. Oh, and we’ll send over your luggage to where you’ll be staying for the duration of your trip.”

“We’ll see you then,” Madara nodded. Once the Uzukage left, Hashirama’s regal pretense all but vanished into thin air as he sighed in relief.

“Man, your father is scary. He’s all so professional and confident, I mean, I'm still getting used to this Kage thing, but he’s got it down pat! Hey, are you guys hungry? I think there’s a ramen place here somewhere. Do you know if it’s still here? I swear, it had the best shoyu ramen I've ever had.”

Mito was left speechless at the informal way Hashirama was speaking. It suddenly hit her that he was also 20 years old, about to be 21. ‘Oh my God, he’s an idiot.’ She thought to herself. Her face seemed to say as much because Madara leaned over to her while Hashirama was still rambling and in a resigned voice said,

“I have to apologize to you in advance. He’s an idiot.”

Mito had the feeling he’s said that same sentence way too many times to count. She sighed as Hashirama continued his rambling and started towards town. Oddly enough, she knew the ramen place the Shodai were talking about and led them straight there. After eating and touring the rest of the town, the three finally made it back to Uzu Tower where the party was already in full swing.

The top of the tower served as a balcony for announcements from the Uzukage. Tonight however, it was decorated with string lanterns and party streamers. Tables were filled with chatting dignitaries who were drinking copious amounts of sake and Mito’s little cousins were running in between them, shrieking in delight as they played hide and seek.

“Wow, this place is amazing! You can see the whole village from up here! Uzushio is looking even better than the last time I was here! Oooh is that your cake? It looks amazing! What flavor is it? Wow, your presents table is huge, I remember one time when I was 8 my brothers and I had to share a birthday, blah blah blah blah, yadda yadda, blah blah blah.”

It was like the man never shut up. It would be annoying if his rambling wasn’t so innocent in nature. Mito looked over to Madara, who had honestly stopped listening from the moment they stepped off the boat, and saw he was just enduring it, like he was hearing this story for the millionth time in a row. (It was the millionth time he was hearing it in a row.) He had a drink in hand and was downing it like it could somehow save him from this tourture.

Suddenly, Hashirama stopped rambling and slumped down in despair, his hair covering his face as he looked at the ground. She was about to say something when Madara held up his hand as if to say, ‘wait for it’.

“I’m an idiot,” Hashirama said, morosely. Mito almost laughed out loud. Here stood the revered God of Shinobi, calling himself an idiot and sulking at a birthday party. “I completely forgot to get you a gift. Now you and your father and probably all of Uzushio are gonna hate me and then I’ll never be allowed to come back,” he moaned.

“It’s alright, you didn’t have to-” But Madara cut Mito off again with a shake of his head.

Just as suddenly as he had changed his mood, the rut Hashirama was in was replaced by an excited gasp.

“I can fix this! Mito-sama, please close your eyes! And no peeking!” He shouted.

“Uhh,” Mito glanced at the Uchiha for help, but he only nodded once in her direction before he downed another glass of sake and started walking to the food table where her father was.

“Okay?” She relented. Silently, she cursed Madara for leaving her alone with this odd man.

Mito honestly had no idea why she was even going along with it, but something about this man just intrigued her for some reason. She shut her eyes and when Hashirama told her to open them, she was met with calloused hands cupped around a beautiful, blue rose, that was the exact same shade as Uzushio’s sea at sunset.

“Happy Birthday, Mito,” Hashirama said, in a sweet and sincere voice.

She was speechless. She honestly didn’t know how to feel. The exclusion of her title surprised her, instinctual anger rising, but at the same time she could feel the tips of her ears warm and her cheeks flush pink.

No one had ever given her a rose like this before. She’d been showered with flowers before, it was true, but this time felt different. It was like Hashirama was giving her something precious and dear to his heart, like it was something from his soul. It was sweet and Mito was truly touched by this intimate, yet simple present.

Absent-mindedly, she remembered her father saying something about how Senju Hashirama had a special Kekkei Genkai that could create forests, but her main focus was solely on Hashirama’s handsome face. It was like the world was slowly melting away, the lights of the lanterns illuminating just the two of them as they stood on Uzu Tower, overlooking the sea.

“May I?” He asked, gesturing to her hair.

She nodded.

Ever so gently, he tucked the flower behind her ear, right below her left side bun. Hashirama leaned back to see his handiwork and suddenly froze as well. She was so beautiful. It was like he was looking at a siren who could drag him to the depths of Uzushio with just a glance in his direction. He thought his eyes were seeing the face of a Goddess, kind and merciless at the same time. Usually, when a lovely lady or gentleman would cross his way, panic gripped Hashirama’s mind because he was so shy and didn’t know what to do with other people’s affections. Madara and Tobirama had been with him many a night as he lamented his love life and drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

Now however, he was calm. He felt as though he was in the forest he created on the outskirts of Konoha, nothing but the sounds of nature in his ears, peace all around him. There was a sudden confidence in him as he gazed into Mito’s dark eyes and took her hand in his.

“Would you honor me with this dance?” Hashirama asked her. Mito said nothing, but nodded her acceptance once more.

He led them to the dance floor where they held each other in their arms, the outside world seemingly nonexistent. Mito’s eyes met Hashirama’s and she melted into his embrace.

Everyone had their heads turned in their direction as they danced in circles around the floor. He spun her around in a twirl, people clapping as they watched them. Mito pressed herself closer to her dance partner and tugged him down by the collar of his Haori.

“Close your eyes,” she whispered in his ear. He obeyed without question and she leaned over to the side of his face and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thank you for a wonderful night, Hashirama. I almost don’t want it to end.”

After he recovered from the shock of the kiss, he said, “I’m a Kage, Mito, with a village and it’s citizens to take care of. All things have to end, but I agree, I don't want this to end either.”

“Perhaps I should visit your Hidden Leaf Village sometime, then.”

“I’d like that.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and they slowly danced the night away, despite the fast paced music around them.

Shijou and Madara were leaning on the edge of the food table, watching the two, both aware of what was happening. They smiled to themselves whenever one of the love birds did something embarrassing, like when Hasirama accidentally stepped on Mito’s foot or when she spluttered her drink on the Fire Daimyo because she was laughing so hard at something Hashirama had said.

“If there’s one man in the entire world I would approve of to have my daughter’s heart, I’m glad it was the God of Shinobi,” the Uzukage said to Madara. The Uchiha smirked as his friend bumped into a kid and had another depressive episode as Mito giggled at his silliness.

“He’s no God, just a good man. A far better one than me.”

“And that is precisely why he is hailed as one. There are no good men in our world, Uchiha Madara. To be so kind and willing to sacrifice so much is what makes him so powerful, not that prowess of his. He will change the world, of that I have no doubt. As such, I will put my trust in him and your little Leaf Village. Uzushio owes the Senju that much at the very least.”

Madara looked into the glass of sake in his hand, Sharingan activating in his reflection. “To the bonds we maintain,” he toasted, raising his glass into the air.

“And the ones we create,” Shijou added, giving a pointed look at the Uchiha.

They clinked their glasses and drank their fill the rest of the night.

…

“It was the best Birthday I ever had. I don’t remember the rest of the night to be quite honest, because once it turned midnight, I was officially at the age of maturity, so everyone took shots until Hashirama and I passed out. Madara carried him to the hotel they were staying at while my father took me home. The End.”

“Wiat, but what happened after? Did you guys get married?”

“Of course they got married!” Konan shouted at Yahiko, throwing a pillow at his face. Mito laughed as Yahiko threw his pillow too, but missed Konan completely.

"Yes, we did marry. And that is why the leaf symbol for our Hitai-ate has a whirlpool in the center of it."

“Umm,” Nagato said, quietly, “But Mito-sama, what happened to Uzushio?”

“Yeah,” Yahiko rubbed at the back of his head. Despite it being a pillow, Konan threw it hard enough to make it hurt. “And how come we haven’t heard anything about your friend, Uchiha Madara before?”

The old woman looked sad then and just a tiny bit angry. The kids almost regretted asking their question, if not for their burning curiosity.

“Uzushio was destroyed about ten years ago, now. This war had only just begun and while Konoha started deploying troops to where the fighting was happening, Kirigakure saw their chance to use that distraction and attack the island. I was here at the time, as I had married Hashirama when I was 24 and moved in with him. I didn’t know about it until we received the hawk from Kiri. Apparently, they had sent for help, but the messenger was intercepted and killed before he could reach Konoha.”

The kids took all this in with somber faces. There wasn’t anything they could say that would make her feel better, they knew from experience, but Nagato got out of bed anyway, and hugged Mito tightly. Yahiko and Konan followed suit and the old Uzumaki was starting to tear up as she returned the hug. After a moment, she let go and the trio went back to their beds. She tucked them in and kissed each of them goodnight on their foreheads. When she reached Nagato, she brushed away his hair and looked into his eyes for a second. Memories flashed through her mind of a certain black haired man who hated boats because he never quite did get his sea legs.

...

The last time she saw Uchiha Marara was right before he left the village for the last time. It was midnight and she knew that he was leaving because he had told her. Senju Uzumaki Mito was standing in her night clothes at the great gate of Konoha with her friend Uchiha Madara. He had a pack on his back and his fan in his hand, his red armour glinting in the moonlight.

“He’ll be inconsolable once he finds out you’ve gone without saying goodbye,” she told him.

He huffed a mirthless laugh. “At least he’ll notice that I'm gone. More than I can say for my own fucking clan.”

“You don’t have to go. Surely there’s a way we can convince you to stay?”

“No. I’m sorry, I truly am, but this is not home for me. I can’t live in a place that doesn’t respect me or my way of life. I had a dream once, when Hashirama and I were children, that I could usher in an era of peace. This isn’t it, Mito, not for me anyway.”

“Where will you go?”

“I don’t know, but I won’t be back. This will be the last time you see me, old friend.”

“Madara, I don’t care about what this fight with Hashi is, but I do care that you two aren’t exactly friends anymore. Whatever happens, I truly wish you two would make up someday.”

Madara scoffed at that and rolled his eyes before giving his attention back to mito who looked furious.

“I mean it. I may be his wife, but you are his best friend and you mean the world to him, no matter what he may do to tell you otherwise. He loves you like a brother and you don’t know how much it really pains him when you feel that you don’t belong here.” She was starting to cry now and Madara suddenly felt guilty. He moved to hug her, but thought better of it and just put his hand on her shoulder instead.

“He means the world to me too,” he said with regret. “You should know, this is hurting me just as much as it’s hurting him.” He then moved his hand from her shoulder and gently lifted her chin so that she could look into his eyes. Mito gasped when she saw the purple rinnegan, tears silently streaming down her friend’s face.

“Tell him he was my best friend and that I wish things could have turned out differently. I’ll see him again someday, but it will be as an enemy. Goodbye, Mito. Take care of that idiot.”

Madara turned around and walked out the gates. Mito cried silently as she watched him. She watched until his tiny figure walked over the hill and she couldn’t see him any longer. Later, when she crawled into bed and Hashirama, awakened by her crying, asked what was wrong, she just shook her head and told him to hold her. He obeyed without question and whispered sweet nothings in her ear until she could cry no longer, and fell asleep in his strong arms.

…

Mito kissed Nagato and ruffled his hair.

“But what about that Uchiha Madara guy, Mito-sama?” the little boy asked, stifling a yawn.

She looked over at the other children who were fighting admirably to stay awake, rubbing their eyes and nodding their heads in agreement with their friend.

“That, my little minnows,” she sighed, wearily, “Is a tale for another time.” With that, she walked over to the door and right as she was about to turn the light off, saw that the kids had given up their struggle and had fallen fast asleep. A smile crept onto her lips, but confusion, anger and sadness took hold, turning it into a frown.

The door creaked closed and with measured unhurried steps, went into the living room where Team Hiruzen slept. The light awoke the almost adults and they blearily, blinked the sleep from their eyes as they saw Mito standing in front of them, a grave expression gracing her features.

“Bachan? What’s wrong?” Tsunade asked, shielding her eyes with a hand.

“Why the fuck, does that little Uzumaki boy have Uchiha Madara’s eyes?”

There was silence for exactly 5 seconds before Orochimaru’s tired and resigned voice rang out with,

“Oh, fuck.”

Chapter 16: Confessions

“Bachan, I really need you to calm down, ok?” Tsunade stood and held her hands out in an effort to placate her furious grandmother.

“Calm down?” Mito cried out, “Do you three even know what Nagato has? Because I do. For some reason, the eyes of my old friend who has been dead for decades are inside a little Uzumaki boy that just so happened to find his way to Konoha, oh so graciously, by my idiot granddaughter and her idiot friends who may as well be my other grandchildren!”

“Please, Mito-sama, we can explain!” Jiraiya cried.

“Then I suggest you start. Now.”

The time traveling Sannin looked at eachother, panic and confusion taking hold of each of them.

“Should we?” Tsunade whispered, uneasy.

“Why are you asking me, I’m not the ideas guy, he is,” Jiraiya deflected, pointing a thumb to Orochimaru. The snake looked just as lost as the other two though.

“I’ll admit I didn’t think this would ever happen, much less with your grandmother, Tsunade. I don’t know how this passed our minds, but if I’m being honest, I don’t see a way out of this that doesn’t include Mito-sama going straight to the Hokage. If we’re going to tell anyone, it might as well be her,” Oro shrugged. Jiraiya and Tsunade nodded and the Toad Sage rummaged through his pack he had, pulling out a silencing seal. Mito’s eyes widened at the sight of it, but said nothing as Jiraiya slapped it to a wall. With a deep breath, Tsunade crossed her arms over her stomach and hesitantly started their story.

“You see, Bachan, three years ago, when we were on that hidden scroll mission, we woke up in the middle of the forest while Sarutobi-sensei was out on watch. Now, I know this is going to sound absolutely insane, but it’s the truth and you have to believe us.”

“Enough with the dramatics, Tsunade, I’m the most powerful sensor in Konoha. I’ll know if you’re lying.” Mito crossed her arms as well and waited, an angry, yet curious scowl on her face.

“Well, we, uhh,” Tsunade stammered. Man, was she going to sound insane. “We're from the future.”

…

Upstairs in Nawaki’s bedroom, three not really Genins, but not quite Chunins were debating the best way to beat the shit out of the Sannin.

“Why the hell did we agree to this? There’s no way we can beat them, not when they’re literally legendary now,” Noba complained as she hugged her pillow. Team Orochimaru had had many sleepovers over the years and as such, all three of them had spare clothes at each of their houses for this specific reason.

“Oh, come on,” insisted the Senju. “We can do it, we just gotta fight dirty.” He laid out the spare futons and plopped down on his bed.

“But isn’t that cheating?” Kana was sitting on the floor and brushing her hair. At some point, Noba sat behind her and started braiding the already brushed parts.

“Kana, we’re ninja, it’s kind of in the job description,” the other girl said, making a three strand braid.

“Good point, but how are we going to do it? Like you said, they’re legendary.”

Nawaki grinned mischievously and sat up in bed. “Don’t sweat it, I have a few ideas in mind. First, we have to deal with Oro-sensei, obviously. He’s the brains of the operation, so if anything, taking him out should give us time to counter whatever attack they throw at us. Do you guys remember when he took those swords for us on our first C-rank?”

“How can we forget?” shuddered Kana. “That was the scariest night of my life. And my mom still drops a basket of food off at his house whenever he’s in town.”

“Well, here’s the thing, Tsu once told me that he starts to slow down when he’s hit too many times in the chest because the wound never really healed the right way.”

“Oh my god, so all we gotta do is fight him with taijutsu and focus on his torso!” Noba shouted, accidentally pulling on Kana’s hair. Kana, now finished with brushing her hair, whacked her friend with the brush.

“Exactly! Sensei hasn’t been around much, so he has no idea how good I am at taijutsu now. Thank Kami for Maito Dai!” Nawkai jumped from his bed and pumped his finst in the air just like he used to when he was a kid and landed back on his bed, bouncing a few times as he settled.

“Ok,” Noba said as she rubbed her shoulder where Kana hit her. “So what about Jiraiya-sama and your sister?”

“Psh,” the boy dismissed. “Jira is easy, you put a pair of boobs in front of him and he’ll be out on the sidelines with a nosebleed. I have a magazine I took from Old Man Third when I was 13 for that. And it’s a special swimsuit edition, too.” Nawkai wiggled his eyebrows knowingly, but stopped when his teammates gave him death glares. They rolled their eyes and went back to braiding each other’s hair.

“Now that just leaves Tsunade. What do you plan on doing about the strongest kunoichi in the world?” Kana asked.

Nawaki smirked as he got off his bed and started rummaging under it to produce a chest. The chest was just a regular wooden box, nothing too fancy. It might have once been used for his toys when he was small, but now it was covered in security seals. Making a few hand signs and pricking his finger, Nawaki placed his hand atop the chest and opened it, revealing everything from sharp kunai, to ninja wire, to stacks upon stacks of unmarked seal paper. He reached in and took out a small, pale blue book.

“I found this last year while Tsu and the guys were out on deployment. I had to break through a ton of seals before I could get it open, but once I did, jackpot! I know exactly how to get Tsunade out of the picture, but we’re gonna need a bit of help from Kato Dan.”

“Kato Dan? Isn’t he Tsunade’s boyfriend?”

“Yup, and she’s gonna freak when I yell everything that’s in here while he’s watching the fight. She’ll be so busy being mortified that she’ll be totally open for attacks. And just like that, we win the mock exams and we get to be real shinobi on the front.” He crossed his arm with a smug smile on his face and the girls just stared at him in shock.

“Oh my god,” Kana breathed, “This is the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard, but it’s dumb enough that it just might actually work. We might actually beat the Densetsu no Sannin.”

Noba nodded her agreement, finished braids swinging with the motion. “Not to mention, if we pass, Orochimaru-sensei will finally let us sign the snake contract.”

Nawaki’s eyes widened in sudden realization, the day Orochimaru showed him the snake contract flashing through his mind. “Holy shit, I forgot all about that! This is gonna be great! We’re gonna be legendary shinobi in our own right, just you watch! Team Oro for the win!” he yelled, not caring how loud he was.

“Shhh!” Noba and Kana said in unison.

“Shut up, baka, you’ll wake the whole house!” Noba hissed, but with no real anger in her voice. She was trying really hard to hide the excited smile from her face.

The girls giggled as they threw their pillows at Nawaki to quiet him down, but he only took that as a challenge and threw his own pillow. Soon they were in a full on brawl with feathers flying every which way, the teenagers laughing and shouting hysterically as they pelted each other.

Unbeknownst to them however, the Sannin and Mito could not hear them, their screams and laughter muffled from the sound barrier in the living room.

...

“And that pretty much makes you all caught up, Mito-sama,” Jiraiya finished. The three had taken turns telling of the lives they had led up to this point, with many interruptions over what happened when. All through it, Mito remained silent and stone faced, never revealing what she was really thinking. The toad sage closed his eyes and prepared himself for the explosion that he thought was sure to come from the old woman, but nothing happened. At the sound of weeping, he opened his eyes to see Mito crying, a hand over her mouth as she tried to hold her sobbs in. He looked to his friends for help, but they were just as confused as he was.

Suddenly, Mito came forward and embraced the three of them in a hug.

“Um, does this mean you believe us?” Jiraiya asked, trying not to get tears on his nightshirt.

“Darling,” she laughed, wiping her tears with the palm of her hand as she let them go, “I can sense when you’re lying to me. Besides, this tale is much too detailed to be a genjutsu, no matter who cast it. You three are not from this time. In fact, I can almost see it, now that I’m looking at you properly, through your chakra signatures. It’s like something is wrapped around you, fuzzy and faint. Kami-sama, I don’t know what to say, except that I am so proud of you three.”

“Proud? Bachan, you’re not mad? Even after all the mistakes we’ve made?” Tsunade asked incredulously.

“Now listen to me, you three, I won’t pretend to agree with all of your life choices,” she pointedly looked at Orochimaru who looked away from her in shame. “But I can say that based on what you told me and the fact that you three are even here in the first place, you’re all willing to change and make amends for the choices you’ve made. That has to count for something, surely. And, it’s not me you should be seeking forgiveness from. Tsunade, you abandoned the village, for valid reasons, mind you, but 20 years is far too long. Konoha needed you and you weren’t there.”

Tsunade hugged herself again and looked away. She had heard of the Kyuubi attack when Naruto was born, but back then, she was too drunk to even care. She didn’t even show up for the memorial ceremony. It always bothered her when she came back and looked at Iruka, knowing that his parents might still be alive if she were there to help.

Mito lifted her chin so that she was looking at her grandmother again.

“But when you did come back, you became a beacon of hope. Will you abandon Konoha in it’s time of need this time?”

“No, Bachan, I learned my lesson and I’m here to stay now,” she smiled.

The old Uzumaki nodded in satisfaction and patted her granddaughter’s cheek. She then turned to Jiraiya, who shrunk into himself, as if preparing for the reprimand heading his way. Mito rolled her eyes.

“Jiraiya, you also left the village at a time when people needed you. You’ve left a lot of people to their own devices when they clearly weren’t ready. Take those three sleeping upstairs, I’m so sorry for what they became, but even if it wasn’t entirely their fault, you should have paid more attention to them. That prophecy blinded you to the fact that they all needed you. And little Naruto, your actual Godson. Where were you while he was being terrorized by the village? In a bath house no doubt.” She shook her head in disappointment, but then looked up and saw how Jiraiya was taking it like a champ. He was always getting in trouble when he was a child and never really cared when he was getting lectured, but this was different. Jiraiya was a man twice over now and understood the consequences of his actions.

“But I can tell you’ve been a great teacher in your own right. Being the teacher of a hokage, now that’s something impressive. And I’m sure Naruto would have made a wonderful Hokage.”

“I never had any doubt he would, Mito-sama. But I’m gonna be there for him and my team this time. That prophecy might not happen anymore, but at this point, I really don’t want it to. If we can stop the end of the world from happening, then I’m all for it.”

“Good man,” she said, giving him a pat on the arm, tall as he was. Finally, it was Orochimaru’s turn. The snake had his arms crossed and was looking at a spot on the floor, a scowl on his face.

“As for you, Orochimaru,” Mito nearly spat, “I should kill you for what you’ve done.”

Orochimaru turned to her, but still did not meet her eyes, afraid he might see the Kyuubi’s instead. “I know, Mito-sama,” he said softly, “Believe me when I say, I wouldn't stop you.”

Suddenly, he was embraced as Mito wrapped her arms around him.

“Oh, you silly snake,” Mito cried, tears falling from her cheeks once more. “How can I ever harm the man who saved my grandchild from the Shinigami’s grasp? Nawaki wouldn't be here if it weren’t for you.”

Orochimaru gently pulled away and at last looked Mito directly in the eye. “It’s only the first of my sins I seek absolution from,” he said, regret heavy in his voice.

“And you’ll do well to address the rest of them. Speaking of, I hear that the Miterashi child you mentioned is an orphan. Tomorrow you will go find her and take her in.”

He bowed his head in respect and gratitude. “As you wish, Mito-sama.”

“Now, I’m sure you three have a plan and I’d very much like to see it. I don’t know why Danzo of all people is still alive, but I’m sure you have your reasons.” Jiraiya and Tsunade both glared at Orochimaru who hissed and scowled at them. “But for now, It’s late and you should get back to bed. I’ll have breakfast ready in the morning.” Mito started to leave but before she could open the door, Tsunade called for her to wait.

Mito turned and before she knew it, she was being hugged by the Sannin, all of them with relieved smiles on their faces.

“Thank you for listening,” Tsunade said, “I didn’t think this would be so liberating. I mean, we told Jichan, but it’s great to have someone on our side that’s with us.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

All three of the Sannin’s eyes went wide, Jiraiya and Orochimaru shooting accusing looks at their teammate.

“Oh, shit, I forgot we weren’t telling anyone about that.”

“Wait a minute, did you use Edo Tensei again? After everything that happened you decided to use that forbidden jutsu for fun?”

“Uhhh, in our defence, we were really high?” Jiraiya tried explaining. In his experience, honesty is the best policy, thank you very much. (Too bad he’s a fucking ninja.)

“You were what?!”

“Stop talking, you idiot!” Oro slammed a hand over Jiraiya’s mouth.

“Oh my God, do you ever shut the fuck up, Jiraiya?” Tsunade yelled.

Mito dragged a hand through her hair and shook her head.

“Nope, I’m done for tonight. This is tomorrow's problem. Goodnight, you three.” The old woman turned from the Sannin and walked out the door muttering something that sounded an awful lot like ‘Goddamn Tobirama, making his stupid forbidden jutsu. Just because he can.’

The idiot sage forcibly took Oro’s hand off his mouth and genuinely smiled. “Well, that went better than expected.” Tsunade promptly punched him in the head, knocking him out and letting his body fall to the floor with a hard thud. The two remaining friends stood in the now silent living room with expressions of dread.

“Yeah, no, she’s totally gonna kill us tomorrow,” Tsunade deadpanned.

“Absolutely,” Oro agreed.

“Nice knowing you, Oro.”

“Likewise, Hime.”

Notes:

Next up, The mock Chunin exams!

Chapter 17: The Sannin Exams!

Notes:

Ok, my bad. I have been so ridiculously busy with school and work I had no time at all to chill and relax, let alone write. I love writing this fic and there's no way I'm ever gonna forget about it. I'm on break now, so hopefully that gives me some down time to write more. With that said, here's a long chapter as an apology! As always, I hope you like it!

It was finally the day. Each team had three days to prepare and now it was the final test to see if Nawaki, Noba and Kana were ready to become Chunin and be deployed to the front before the Kage Summit was to take place. It seemed that word had gotten around because there was a steady crowd of shinobi and civilians alike heading to the Forest of Death.

The mock exams were to be a mix of the last two parts, the first being that it was taking place in the Forest of Death and the second by way of having a 3v3 in lieu of 1v1 matches. Whichever team had the clear winning blow against the other would win the fight. It would be a test of team work and raw skill and everyone was very interested to see how well Team Orochimaru would fare. There was even betting going on, with people guessing how long it would take for the Sannin to win. Needless to say, word from the front got back to Konoha and no one had any real confidence in the teenagers. I mean, really, how were three pipsqueaks gonna compare to the revered Legendary Three?

Mitarashi Anko, all of three years old as of yesterday, was holding Uzumaki Mito’s hand as she and the Ame trio walked through the entrance of the forest. It was an interesting ordeal, being tracked down by Orochimaru, who two days ago, went out to the village orphanage and seemingly adopted Anko on the spot. The caretaker of the place was understandably concerned when the snake Sannin all but slithered through the door and demanded the Mitarashi child be placed into his custody.

Anko on the other hand was just glad that someone had come to take her away from that place. Yeah, there were other kids to play with, but she missed staying with Kurenai and her mom while the other adults were away at war. Two weeks ago, Kurenai’s dad came back to the village and sat Anko down as he told her why her parents weren’t going to come back like he did.

Anko didn’t cry. Her mother told her that shinobi don’t cry.

As per Konoha law, orphans were sent to the orphanage until they were old enough to either enroll in the academy or support themselves. Children rarely get adopted and even less so during war times, so it was quite the shock when Anko was taken in by one of the Sannin, no less. His only explanation was that he saw potential in her. Welp, that was good enough for her.

Now here she was, with her new family about to watch her new sensei beat the shit outta some kids. She was so excited.

“Hey, there’s my friend Kurenai!” Anko shouted, pointing to where a man had a little girl on his shoulders just a few yards away from them.

“Would you like to say hello?” Mito asked.

“Yeah!” So together, the group went over to the pair. Kurenai spotted them and demanded to be let down.

“Anko! I missed you!” she shouted as she hugged her friend.

“I missed you too! Hi, Yūhi-san!” Anko hastily detangled herself from her friend and bowed to Yūhi Shinku, who gave a little bow back.

“Hello, Anko-kun. I see you’ve settled in well.”

“Sure have, I have a wicked cool new family now with Orochimaru-san and his friends! Look, I even have cousins!” She pointed madly at Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato who shyly waved hello from behind Mito. Yūhi Shinku laughed and ruffled Anko’s hair before bowing to Mito.

“Mito-sama, I didn’t know Anko would find refuge in people as powerful as Orochimaru and the other Sannin, but I am glad that she did. Her parents would be grateful.”

“I’m sure they are, Shinku-san. And you’ll be glad to know Anko has already started her training, mostly academic stuff for now, but she’s quite the curious learner.”

Shinku was recently given the position of Academy Instructor to help train the new genin and chunin. He was glad to be given the position as it meant he wouldn’t have to leave Kurenai and her mother anymore.

“Oh, yeah,” Anko piped up, “Orochimaru-sensei showed me a bunch of books yesterday about snakes and poisons! I tried sneaking into his lab, but he caught me and said I was just going to mess with his experiments n’ stuff.” The purple haired little girl gave a pout that made Kurenai and the Ame kids giggle.

Shinku’s smile fell a bit, not entirely pleased with the idea of little Anko trying to sneak into the labs of a known bio-scientist who regularly dissected enemy shinobi for fun.

“I, uh, think you’ll be well prepared when you join the academy Anko-kun,” he said instead.

Just then, a Jonin yelled to get everyone’s attention.

“They’re here! Everyone off the field! If you’re a civilian, we won’t be liable to any injuries you may or may not sustain during the exam!”

“Well, I suppose we should find a safe spot. We’ll see you later, Anko-kun, Mito-sama, kids.” Shinku took Kurenai into his arms and leapt up into the trees to find a good seat for the fight.

“He’s got the right idea, come, my loves, let’s find a seat.” Mito led the kids over to a tree where an elevator-like pulley system was loading academy students up onto the viewing platform usually reserved for exam proctors. They had just gotten to the edge of the platform high in the tree when another Jonin signaled for quiet around the makeshift arena.

“Today is the mock Chunin Exams, created in order to determine whether or not Team Orochimaru will be allowed to depart to the front as previously ordered by Lord Hokage. Standard rules apply, anything goes, including death. Whichever team has a clear victory, wins. Now, may I introduce Team Orochimaru, Senju Nawaki, Sanarabi Noba, and Totsuna Kana!”

The crowd erupted into cheers as the teens walked out onto the forest clearing, waving to the spectators. Each was decked out in their signature gear, Nawaki with his full set of red armour gleaming in the morning sun, Noba and her specially made red katana strapped to her side, and Kana who looked empty handed, but in reality, had hundreds, if not thousands of senbon hidden all over her body.

“Holy shit,” Noba muttered as she smiled and waved to the cheering crowd, “I didn’t think word would get around so fast.”

“Gotta love Konoha gossip,” Kana said, though she too was unnerved by how many people were there. It was as if they really were taking the exams properly in the Konoha Arena. Nawaki put his arms around his teammates’ shoulders in a half hug.

“Don’t sweat it guys, just stick to the plan. I already have Dan spotted out, he’s in the northwest corner of the clearing, sitting on a branch. Kana, do you have the diary?”

“In my jacket.”

“And I’ve got the magazine stored in my tunic, ready to be pulled out if Jiraiya-sama gets too close,” Noba added. The three nodded to each other before the announcer started speaking again.

“And here, the Legendary Three, Konoha’s heroes, the students of Lord Hiruzen himself, the Densetsu no Sannin!”

If the crowd was wild before, now they were ballistic. Everywhere around them, roars of people were chanting ‘Sannin, Sannin, Sannin!’ over and over. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru appeared in a puff of smoke on the forest floor. Tsunade waved politely while Oro had his arms crossed, a scowl gracing his features. Jiraiya, ever the dramatic, was flaunting around, showing off his muscles and winking at any woman who so much as looked at him. (He even winked at a few men, each one blushing and clearing their throats in an attempt to save their fragile masculinity.)

“What do you say boys, a bet for ol’ times sake?” Tsunade teased.

“Absolutely not, even knowing your luck, it would spell disaster for everyone involved.”

“Fair point. So how long we gonna toy with them?”

“Well, we gotta put on a little show, right? I’d hate to disappoint the people.”

“They’re disappointed in you, regardless, Jiraiya.”

“Wow, that one almost hurt, Oro.”

“Good.”

The two teams walked to meet the announcer/proctor in the middle of the clearing.

“Alright, I want a clean fight, well, as clean as you can get with shinobi rules. The fight begins when the explosive tag goes off.” The Jonin then leaped into the trees, a safe distance away before lighting a tag and throwing it into the air above the clearing.

“Scared, kiddos?” Jiraiya taunted.

“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, Jiraiya-sama,” Noba fired back.

The tag exploded.

Noba drew her katana and let off a wind jutsu with the edge of her blade that picked up the dirt around them, giving the teenagers a cover as they retreated back into the edges of the field.

Jiraiya let off a counter wind to clear the debris, his teammates going back to back with him. Kusanagi was also drawn and Tsunade had her fists raised. Nothing happened for a few seconds before a Katon fireball jutsu was suddenly headed straight for them, coming from above.

Tsunade went through the hand signs for a water bullet and the resulting mist engulfed the three of them. With their vision impared, Orochimaru barely saw the attack come for him. Noba shot forward with her sword, Oro catching it just in time to save Jiraiya from being impaled.

“You have speed, young one, but you’re not fast enough,” the teacher said to his student.

“I don’t need it, Sensei. Not when you taught me to use my strengths.” Noba pushed herself away and as she channeled her chakra the blade of her katana started glowing a hot red, getting brighter and brighter till it was almost white. It burst into blue flames and the air around her sizzled, the mist disappearing with the heat of the blade.

“Most impressive, Noba. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well.” Kusanagi crackled to life, lighting running up and down the blade and around Orochimaru. Noba swallowed a lump in her throat, but determinedly sank into an attack stance. Orochimaru didn’t raise cowards, afterall.

From the stands, all Anko could see were blurs of blue flames and white lightning encircling where she knew her sensei and sister-student were clashing. She looked up to Mito who apparently could tell what was happening because her eyes kept shifting all over the place. Frowning, she whispered over to Yahiko who looked just as lost as she did.

“Hey, can you tell what’s going on?”

The orange haired boy looked down at her and shrugged.

“Nope. They’re moving too fast for me to see, so I’m just looking over at Jiraiya-sensei and Kana.”

Sure enough, Jiraiya and Kana were more easily seen as they threw jutsu after jutsu at each other. Kana created a mudslide that caused the Sannin to lose his footing, but quickly rolled, to avoid the senbon heading his way. He made the dog hand sign, yelling,

“Fūton: Kūken!”

Blades of wind whirled around him before he directed them towards Kana. She had a split second to think.

“Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!”

A wall made of stone and dirt sprang up just in time to shield her from the blades. The rock wasn’t strong enough though and it was quickly beginning to crumble. Straining from the effort of keeping the wall together, Kana mustered up the strength to get her feet onto the wall itself and putting as much chakra into her legs as she could, pushed off, flipping in midair to stand upright a good 10 meters from where she was before. Not even stopping for a breath, she made her hand signs and shouted,

“Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!”

Kana drew air into her lungs and as she released it, a giant dragon made of hot flames burst forth, roaring and speeding towards Jiraiya.

“Heh, nice one, kid,” the man said to himself before making his own hand signs.

“Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!”

A matching water dragon appeared to take on the fiery one and they collided, creating a vortex of water and fire, hot steam shooting everywhere. Both opponents shielded themselves and disappeared from view as the steam covered them.

With four out of the six combatants not visible anymore, all eyes turned to the grandchildren of Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito. The two were engaged in taijutsu, Nawaki dodging as many of Tsunade’s punches as he could while also getting a few good blows in. He swung a sideways palm to her midsection, but she blocked it with her forearm. Tsunade aimed a roundhouse kick to her brother’s head, but he jumped above her and as he landed, used a kick to knock her off her feet. Not letting her recover, he started a flurry of jabs and punches to her body, some hitting and others getting blocked.

Eventually, Tsunade got to her feet and pushed Nawaki away from her with her palms. When there was distance, she drew back her arm and her fist smashed into the ground, creating huge shockwaves in the dirt. Nawaki tried but failed to keep his balance, getting carried by the waves until he stuck a kunai into the dirt, steadying him enough for him to get to his feet. The waves receded and Tsunade came rushing towards him. Suddenly getting an idea, he sank into a low crouch, his arms in front and behind him as if preparing to sprint. Tsunade, realizing too late what he was about to do, went through with her punch and created a crater where Nawaki had been not a second ago. The medic-nin had no time to dodge the kunai slashing into her as Nawaki shunshined back and forth with the blade outstretched.

Cuts seemingly appeared out of nowhere on her arms and face and she struggled to time her hits right. To the untrained eye, the cuts had no pattern at all, but to seasoned shinobi, there was the slightest hint of a technique. Tsunade shifted slightly and drawing her fist underneath her, swung with all her might upwards to hit Nawaki dead center in the chest, red plated armor cracking from the force. The teenager went flying into the air and into the tree line, the branches barely slowing him down.

The wind knocked out of him, he decided enough was enough. Breathing heavily and armor falling off him in shards, he activated a hidden seal on his vambrace with the blood dripping from his mouth. The arm guard glowed blue as seal markings appeared. He smiled and sunshined back to the makeshift arena.

All the way back in the playing field, Noba stood a few yards away from Orochimaru, both of them covered in cuts and burns. The grip of her katana glowed blue underneath her fingers and her eyes narrowed as she smiled.

20 meters away from her teammate, Kana felt the burning heat from her earrings as they turned a bright blue. The steam from the dragons finally disappeared as she let off a wind jutsu to clear the field.

It was time.

As one, the teenagers made a tiger hand sign and screamed,

“Hiraishin no Jutsu!”

With a flash of red lightning, Team Orochimaru traded places with each other. As they now stood before their new opponents, thunder cracked all around the forest, disturbing the birds and man-eating beasts from their slumber.

Orochimaru was honestly impressed with his students, Nawaki must have found Tobirama’s blueprints for the famed transportation jutsu that the Yondaime would one day perfect. It was a good trick, but regardless, there was just no possible way the three could win against the Sannin. Nawaki stood before him, armor destroyed, cuts and bruises littering his whole body. He looked a mess, but was smiling despite it. The boy sank into a ready stance, fists raised.

“Taijutsu?” Oro voiced aloud, confused yet intrigued. He remembers a little boy who once couldn’t even land a single finger on him.

“I’ve learned a lot since that day training with Mizuchi, Oro-sensei. Why don’t I show you?”

Orochimaru tilted his head in thought. On the one hand, the boy was clearly planning something, on the other, it would be a fine way to assess just how much he had progressed. Making his decision, he relented, sheathed Kusanagi, and nodded once.

Nawaki struck, fists flying faster than they had with Tsunade. Oro dodged and blocked, surprised at how strong his student had gotten. A hand collided with his chest, sending him back a few feet before he picked his leg up for a kick, only to be blocked by Nawaki’s undamaged arm brace. Oro swung it back and used the momentum to spin backwards and hit the boy in the face with his heel.

The Senju spit out blood and took out two kunai, spinning them with his fingers. Nawaki slashed upwards, remembering what Maito Dai had taught him about boxing. The Sannin slipped out his own kunai and sparks flew as they clanged together. Oro saw an opening and sliced the teenager's hand, causing him to cry out, dropping the weapon. Nawaki then went for a punch instead, aiming for his teacher’s side but changing direction at the last second to hit the chest instead.

The wind was knocked out of Orochimaru and he leaped back to catch his breath. ‘Damn that stupid ambush. Tsunade must have told him something about the injury at some point.’ Resolving to protect his torso more, he ran back into the fray, dodging and blocking nearly every blow dealt to him, kunai cutting through flesh. Nawaki was fast, but he was faster. It was a matter of stamina now and of how many times Nawaki could actually hit him. Funnily enough, the boy was actually getting better at it as they went on.

A kunai was kicked out of Orochimaru’s hand and the other was thrown at Nawaki’s shoulder. The student threw his remaining one and it stopped the blade heading towards him. Resorting to fists and kicks, blow after blow was struck. Oro was honestly having a slightly difficult time keeping his pace steady. Soon both were breathing heavily, growing sluggish with their blocks. ‘Curse this damn body.’ Idly, he wondered how hard it would be to acquire a white zetsu body again.

After what seemed like forever, an opening presented itself and Orochimaru was just about to land a final blow when he was suddenly barreled into by Jiraiya. The two of them tumbled for a few meters before skidding to a stop in the dirt. The toad sage was loopy eyed and his headband was gone from his forehead, a huge welt in its place.

“Haha, swimsuit edition. Now that’s classic,” Jiraiya mumbled. Oro got to his feet only to hear Tsunade’s enraged screams.

“Dan, don’t listen to this, it’s all a lie! I swear it’s all lies!”

The snake Sannin mouthed his confusion as he looked to Kana who had a small book in her hands, easily dodging Tsunade’s clumsy attempts to snatch it back by jumping from branch to branch around the field. He followed Tsunade’s eye line to see Kato Dan blushing tomato red and covering a young Shizune’s ears as Kana read from the book.

“Dear diary, Dan’s ass looked so fine today. I just wanted to slap it all day, I couldn’t even stop thinking about it during the Jonin debriefing this morning. Kami-sama, I want to top him so bad.”

“AAARRGGHHHHH!” Tsunade bellowed. She looked at Dan, absolutely mortified and that was her mistake. Kana took the chance and unleashed a dozen exploding senbon, disorienting Tsunade enough so the teenager could blast her with a water bullet that sent her flying right towards Orochimaru and Jairaya.

Oro quickly moved out of the way, but Jiraiya, who had just come out of his trance and was holding his head, wasn’t so lucky and hit the floor again as Tsunade crashed into him.

“Ow,” the white haired man groaned. The two untangled themselves and stood beside Orochimaru.

“This can’t be happening,” Tsunade growled in dismay, “Dan’s never going to be able to look at me again.”

“Oh, lay off, Hime, everyone already knew Dan was a bottom,” Jiraiya snapped. Tsunade had rage in her eyes and was about to pummel the idiot when a pale hand stopped her.

“Stop it and look around you. Where did they go?”

The three frantically looked around and put their backs together. Those were dirty tricks the brats pulled, but surely they were done? There was silence in the forest as the spectators held their breath. Something was about to happen, but they didn’t know what.

Mito muttered to herself. “Henge jutsu, they could be anywhere.”

Anko and the Ame kids glanced at each other, then whipped their heads all around the forest trying to find the teenagers. A voice suddenly cried out.

“Katon: Hibashiri!”

A giant jet of blazing fire set forth upon the Sannin, trapping them within a ring of fire.

“Fūton: Kamikaze!”

The wind picked up from out of nowhere and multiple miniature tornados started to form on the ground. They made contact with the ring of fire and all at once, became a whirlwind of fire as it created a flaming cyclone.

“Fūton: Kami Oroshi!”

The cyclone started to close. It became tighter and tighter until nearly all the oxygen was used up and then the gust of wind hit it and the whirling flames imploded on itself, igniting full force and sending white hot flames down to engulf the Sannin in a fiery prison. The fire hit the ground and rebounded up and into the trees. Shinobi who were watching had to use Suiton to prevent the inferno from scorching their seating places and protect the civilians watching. Still, flames licked the edges of the forest and Mito had to shield the children from the blaze as a Jonin beside them held back the blaze.

Eventually, the jutsu ended and Team Orochimaru were left standing at the north side of the clearing, all of them looking exhausted, embers and ash flurrying about them. A few dozen meters from them on the south side stood a crumbling Earth barrier that the Sannin had created together right before the cyclone imploded on itself. Whole sections were missing and the three were breathing heavily, practically gasping for air as sweat dripped from their brows. Tsunade had a nasty burn all along her side and arm from where her side of the wall collapsed. Orochiamru was kneeling on the ground, hands still holding a part of the wall together before it turned to ash and he accidentally inhaled it, coughing violently. Jiraiya seemed to be better off, having switched to using sage mode at the last moment, his side the most intact.

“We can’t take another hit like that. Or any kind of hit for that matter. They know us too well,” the sage said. He helped Oro to his feet and held Tsunade still as she slowly healed herself. “How much reserve do you two have?”

Orochimaru spat out blood mixed with ash. “Not as much as I'd like. All I can rely on confidently is kenjutsu.”

Jiraya looked at Tsunade. “Hime?”

But the Senju shook her head. “I can’t lend anymore when I’m healing. If I don’t do this now it’ll leave permanent damage. It’s up to you, Jiraiya. You can’t let them get to you. They’re powerful and I’m proud, but they are not going to be deployed. They’re undisciplined and they don’t know what’s waiting for them.”

Jiraiya nodded. “Alight, what’ll it be then?”

“Big Ball Rasengan.”

Jiraiya and Tsunade gaped at Orochimaru, shocked that he would resort to such measures.

“Are you insane? That’ll level this part of the forest!”

“It’s the only option. Nawaki inherited more than just the Mokuton; he has Uzumaki reserves. I’ve noticed that much just from this fight. He’s been holding back all these years, the little shit. And haven’t you noticed that Kana has barely used her senbon? She’s able to paralyze with them, so why hasn’t she done so? Not to mention Noba. That girl has been using nothing but kenjutsu this whole time. Even if she’s been using chakra to power her katana, she still has a vast reserve of stamina.”

“Kami, Oro. You trained monsters,” Jiraiya breathed in awe.

“No, I trained shinobi. Do it, or we lose.”

“Tsu?”

“I’m not going to lose my little brother to war, Jiraiya. Not again.”

Jiraiya nodded. He walked forth and slowly started to speed up. He raised his right hand behind him. It’s been a while, but he remembers it like it was yesterday; Naruto was begging to be taught a new jutsu and he had finally given in to the whining. The rasengan. He couldn’t wait till the day where he and Minato could teach it to the kid. For now he had to make sure these three kids lived to see that future. They’re gonna hate him and his team, he knew, but they'll thank them in the end, once they get over their resentment, that is. But he could live with that till then and he knew his teammates could too.

Jiraiya got closer and closer, the whirl of chakra and energy building into a giant sphere in his palm. Noba fired up her sword again, Kana stuck her hands into her robe sleeves, pulling out dozens of senbon. And Nawaki just stared at him, a grim look on his face. The Senju had heard what the rasengan could do, word from the frontlines traveled fast, afterall.

Nawaki’s face darkened. Even after all that, his sister, teacher, and unofficial uncle/big brother still didn’t believe he and his team were ready. What was the point of being a shinobi if you couldn’t go out and protect your village? Danzo-sama was right. Only power could show people that you were to be respected. ‘Ok, then, power it is,’ he thought. He was the grandson of Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito. Tsunade inherited the gambling addiction, but he inherited the power of a God.

Jiraiya was about to close the gap. Nawaki pushed his teammates behind him, ignoring their protests.

“Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō!”

Nawaki moved so fast. Jiraiya was too late to change tactics, he was caught in the jutsu instantly, the rasengan dissipated in a small explosion of wind due to it not being fully formed. Orochimaru realized what was happening, but couldn’t react quickly enough for a counter. Tsunade, having just finished healing herself, was also caught unawares.

Huge roots sprung from the soft dirt all around the Sannin and quickly covered their entire bodies. Branches weaved in and around, making a sort of prison, immobilizing them. Only their faces remained uncovered. A hushed silence washed over the whole forest as if even the animals within could tell that something phenomenal had happened.

The dust cleared and Mito brought a hand to her mouth as she saw the victors of the mock exams. Nawaki and Kana had kunai to Tsunade’s and Jiraiya’s throats while Noba had her katana pointed directly at Orochimaru’s chest. The Sannin had mixed expressions of shock and anger on their faces. A few more seconds went by with everyone frozen in place before deafening cheers erupted throughout the entire forest.

People were losing their fucking minds at what just happened. Anko had to cover her ears because of how loud it was. She was about to say as much to Mito-sama when she stopped midway through opening her mouth. The old Uzumaki woman had tears in her eyes and it looked like she was torn between frowning and smiling. The little girl put a small hand on Mito’s for comfort, but before she could say anything, the jonin announcer’s voice rang out.

“The winners are Team Orochimaru!”

…

“Well, that was certainly a show, don’t you think?” The Sandaime remarked. He looked over to his right from where he was seated atop one of the proctor towers to Shimura Danzo. The war hawk had a smile on his face.

“Indeed, Hokage-sama. Those three will be invaluable on the battlefield,” he said.

Hiruzen looked at his friend oddly, a feeling of unease planting itself in his mind. “Yes, I suppose they will.”

Danzo then turned and left, much like everyone else was. The teams were being looked over by med nin and there was nothing left to do but draw up the deployment papers for the younger ones. Danzo smirked to himself. The Senju boy would indeed make a great asset to Konoha’s rise in power. He was grateful, truth be told. This little exam was the perfect way to gauge just how well the boy was progressing in his private training. It seemed that there was a second coming of the God of Shinobi on their hands. The Senju heir will wreak destruction on the battlefield and it will only give the village more respect in the end. No country would ever dare to involve Konoha in a silly war ever again. Unless Konoha attacked first, that is. And when the current war eventually ends, there will be quite the catch of enemy shinobi to experiment on. Why stop at one God of Shinobi when you could have an army of them?

The councilman laughed to himself as he recalled just how lucky he had been to see young Nawaki discover the Mokuton that day when he was training with Orochimaru. To think, he almost had the boy killed! Just because he was bound to be a wrench in his plans someday, what with him being dead set on becoming Hokage. It would be far harder to whisper the seeds of unrest in that boy’s ear. The original plan was to kill the boy and use the Orochimaru’s resulting guit as a ploy to further entice the man to experiment on Konoha children. No, it was a good thing he didn’t kill Senju Nawaki after all. This way he could just use the boy to blackmail the snake into doing his dirty work. The only way to go now was up. And Konoha would rise far above the rest of the world. Nothing could stand in his way now.

Danzo walked through the forest, against the crowd of people and when no one was looking, held up a hand to a seemingly innocent tree trunk. Seals glowed red underneath his touch and a door opened, an endless spiral staircase beneath him. The man walked and walked until he reached the bottom, a hallway stretching into darkness. A door was at the end of it and when he opened the door, he was greeted by a dozen ROOT agents, all working in a huge underground laboratory with human subjects on metal slabs and people suspended in giant tubes filled with a green liquid.

“Report,” Danzo barked.

A woman instantly walked up to him with a clipboard.

“Subjects 9 and 10 from the last of the batch, seem to be faring longer than the rest did, but there is still no guarantee that the original or diluted Senju cells will adapt to the host body. We have a theory as to why, though. The host bodies may be too biologically developed to accept the cells. We’re trying everything we can, but none of us are experienced enough with bio-cellular work to make any real difference. Yamura Goshi and Kinari Natsu were the real experts, but they were killed in action last month on the front lines. We need someone with the same skill set if this experiment is to continue, Danzo-sama.”

“Hmm. Very well. I’ll be at Hokage Tower if any developments occur.” And Danzo walked back the way he came, but instead of going to the staircase, he went through another door which led to a series of tunnels that led to various locations all around Konoha. As he walked, the man sank into deep thought. It seemed that he would have to recruit Orochimaru sooner than he would have liked. He was still wary of the Sannin, but it couldn’t be helped. He would just have to keep the Senju boy a secret for now. That snake was notoriously protective of his students and Kami knows what he would do if he found out one of them was being experimented on. All he really needed was to corner the man when he was vulnerable, but how exactly to do that? Oh well, he still had time yet, perhaps a death or two would do the trick. For now, he had a Kage Summit to prepare for.

…

“Who taught you the Mokuton?”

“I learned it on my own.”

“Don’t you dare lie to me!”

Once the mock exam had ended, Team Orochimaru had gone their separate ways to be with their families and be congratulated. Or to be chewed out, in Nawaki’s case. He and the rest of their little parade went straight to the Senju compound where he was currently being yelled at for using his kekkei genkai for all of Konoha to see. Not wanting the kids to hear the fighting, Mito decided to take them out for dango, much to Anko’s delight.

Now, it was just the Sannin standing in Mito’s kitchen while Nawaki sat on a chair, the table between them.

“I’m not lying, Orochimaru-sensei. I gained access to the scroll of seals and learned Mokuton by practicing all the techniques in it.”

While not exactly a lie, it wasn’t the whole truth. The scroll of seals was currently under heavy surveillance by ANBU special forces. Too bad the scroll they were guarding was a fake, so planted by ROOT forces a few years after Sarutobi’s reign as Hokage began.

“How did you gain access to forbidden jutsu?” Jiraiya asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m Senju Nawaki, crown prince of Konoha, it’s not like anyone could refuse me if I wanted to know a bit more about my grandparents.”

Tsunade frowned at that. “Nawaki, you could have just asked me or Bachan. I have Jiichan’s old journals detailing everything he wrote down about his kekkei genkai. He wrote them thinking he wasn’t going to be around to teach anyone else who might have it.”

“Wait, really?” Nawaki’s eyes lit up, suddenly forgetting that he was in trouble. If that was the case, then he wouldn’t have to keep going to all those secret training sessions with Danzo-sama. Kami knows he could use a break, training was getting exhausting, not to mention all the tests and DNA experiments the war hawk put him through down in ROOT’S private labs.

“That is not the point, Tsunade,” Orochimaru ground out, “The point is that I specifically told him it was dangerous to reveal the Mokuton!”

Nawaki rolled his eyes. “You told Jiraiya and Tsunade! Even when you said not to tell them. Besides, that was three years ago!”

“So?” Jiraiya said, tired of the teenager's attempts at defending himself. “If Oro says something is dangerous, you better believe it’s not something to fuck around with, kid.”

Tsunade nodded. “He was right to tell us. There is a war going on if you haven’t noticed and just because we’re in the village doesn’t mean there isn’t any danger. Not just for you, but everyone in Konoha.

“What are you guys talking about? There’s a ceasefire right now! Besides, you saw what we could do, we’re some of the most powerful ninjas in the village. We can defend ourselves just fine now. What are you guys so afraid of?”

“I’m afraid I’m gonna have to bury my baby brother, you stupid brat!” cried Tsunade.

“Tsu,” Nawaki tried, looking sincere, “That won’t happen, not when I can decimate whole battlefields.”

She huffed in annoyance. “What happens when you run out of chakra, huh? You think taijutsu is going to save you against a whole battalion?”

Nawaki scowled at his sister and crossed his arms. “Now you’re just being dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” Orochimaru repeated. He walked to stand directly across from Nawaki, the table the only thing between them. “The Kage Summit is in 6 days, what will the other villages say when word of this gets out, because believe me it will. Word travels fast in the shinobi world, little one, and the moment you step foot outside those gates, you will be hunted down by enemies until you are captured or dead, regardless of a ceasefire. That act alone will spark fighting all over again, no matter what the Summit decides and while your sister, Jiraiya and I are left to clean up the mess, enemy shinobi will be dissecting your still warm body for the slightest amount of knowledge it could give them.”

Nawaki stood up from his chair to look at his teacher at eye level. “I keep telling you that won’t happen! Not with the power of a God in me.”

“YOU ARE NOT A GOD,” Orochimaru yelled, slamming his hands on the table, startling everyone in the room. “YOU ARE A FOOLISH BOY PRETENDING TO PLAY HERO WHILE THE REST OF US DESPERATELY TRY TO KEEP YOU ALIVE!”

Nawaki was scared. Orochimaru had never yelled at him like that before, but he was not backing down, not after going through so much already.

“I’m not a kid anymore, Orochimaru-sensei. My team and I have power that matches your own and we’re only going to get stronger. Using Mokuton is my birthright. I am the grandson of the Shodaime Hokage, and you will show me the respect that comes with my power.”

Orochimaru scoffed, his face twisting into something of a mix of disgust and regret. “Power. I learned long ago that power is nothing to the one who wields it for the wrong reasons.”

“Wrong reasons?” Nawaki gaped. “I’m trying to protect the village! Like you are!”

Jiraiya snorted, crossing his arms. “Kid, what makes you think Oro went to war to protect the village? That any of us actually had a choice in the matter?”

Nawaki scrunched his face in confusion, looking at each of the Sannin closely, trying to see what they were playing at. “What are you talking about, of course he did. You’re all Konoha shinobi, loyalty to the village and all that.”

“Shinobi I may be, but I have no loyalty towards Konoha, young one.” Orochimaru crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Nawak with disappointment in his golden eyes. “I’d have thought you knew that by now.” He looked away from his student then and with a voice that could freeze the sun said, “Congratulations, you are now a Chunin. You and your team will be deployed in four days when we leave for the summit. Now get out of my sight.”

...

The Senju prince walked morosely through the streets of Konoha. At first, he had run up to his room in anger, but after still being able to hear the Sannin talking about him through the thin walls, he jumped out the window and started wandering around town like a man without a home. Ironic really, since his family technically owned Konoha. The people milling about shouted their congratulations at him, and he smiled in thanks, but in reality did little to raise his spirits. One the one hand, he was filled with shame at upsetting his sensei, but on the other, what else was he supposed to have done? Nawaki had to admit that he had mixed feelings about the whole thing and as he sat down at the new Ichiraku Ramen place, Eisuke, the stand owner, seemed to notice his moodiness. The ramen man raised an eyebrow at the silence and wordlessly served the teenager his usual. The stand had only been open a few months, but it was long enough for Team Orochimaru to make it their unofficial hangout spot.

“Why so glum, kid?” The man asked. “I heard you and your team made quite the spectacle today over in the Forest of Death.”

“Not to some people,” Nawaki muttered, resting his head over his crossed arms that were on the counter.

“Hey now,” Eisuke chided, “You kids are amazing. While I might disagree on the whole deployment thing, you three have earned the right to be Chunin. Come on, cheer up. This round is on the house.”

Nawaki had to smile then. It was small, but it really was a comfort that at least someone thought he and his team were ready. “Thanks, Eisuke-san. Say, how’s your son doing?”

“Teuchi? Oh, he’s growing up, to be sure. He told me yesterday that he wants to make ramen for the rest of his life, like his old man haha!”

“Ha, he’s a good kid. Tell him I said hi, will ya?”

“Will do, Nawaki-kun.”

Nawaki picked up his chopsticks and was about to dig in when he suddenly heard his name being called.

“Nawaki! There you are, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Noba and Kana appeared through the curtains of Ichiraku, out of breath and looking urgent. Nawaki put his chopsticks down, alarmed at their tone.

“Why, what happened? Is everything ok?”

“Dai’s wife just had the baby!” Kana blurted out. “That’s why we didn’t see him at the fight, come on, let’s go!” Both girls frantically waved at him to follow them.

“Oh my god,” Nawaki breathed, grinning madly. “Eisuke-san, I’m gonna have to rain check on that bowl, see you later though!” Together, the three ran out and into the street headed toward the hospital. Eisuke just smiled and laughed.

“No worries, kid, give Dai-san my congrats!” he yelled after them, though they were already gone.

...

The room was dark, the last rays of the sunset the only thing illuminating the walls, shadows playing with the swirling colors of pink, orange and purple. Maito Dai was standing at the window so his son could feel the warmth slowly disappearing into the night. He heard a soft knock on the door and he turned slightly, careful not to jostle his sleeping newborn.

“Come in,” he called quietly. The door creaked open and the heads of Noba, Nawaki, and Kana popped in through the crack.

“Is it alright if we come in? Your wife told us you’d be in here,” Noba whispered.

Dai smiled, the small moustache on his face curving upward. “Ha, yes my youthful friends, come in, please.”

The three teens walked in and gathered around the bundle in their friend’s arms.

“We heard it was a boy, but we never caught the name, Dai,” Nawaki said. The boy continued looking at the baby’s face before he looked up to Dai expectantly.

“His name is Gai, after my grandfather who raised me.”

“Well, at least it’s not ‘Youth’,” Noba snickered.

“That was my second choice.”

Team Orochimaru held deadpan faces, like they really should have been expecting that.

“Would you like to hold him, Nawaki-kun? You are his Godfather, afterall.”

Nawaki looked nervous then. Sure, he’d picked up Anko and the Ame kids sometimes on his back and stuff, but he’d never really held a baby before. He knew he shouldn’t have brushed Tsunade off when she gave him the talk all those years ago. (Nawkai, Orochimaru doesn’t know shit and I’m not letting Jiraiya tell you, so sit the fuck down!)

“Uhh, I don’t that a great idea,” he said, backing away slowly. He made it two steps before Kana shoved him forward so that he was even closer to Dai and the baby. Dai then carefully, but quickly put baby Gai into his arms.

“Nonsense! You’re a natural, see, he likes you already!”

Nawaki looked down and realized that the baby was awake, cutely yawning and opening his eyes. Gai blinked, seemingly confused at who was holding him. His little lip started to wobble, tears starting to form and Nawaki began to panic. Doing the first thing that popped into his head, he shifted Gai so that he was nestled into the crook of one arm while his free hand mande a sign. A tiny puff of smoke appeared and when he opened his palm, he presented the baby with a green daisy. Gai instantly stopped his tears adn marveled at the tiny flower. He smiled and Nawaki put the flower in his ear beneath the little tuff of jet black hair.

Maito Dai chuckled, putting a hand on Nawaki’s shoulder. “He’s going to grow up to be a wonderful shinobi, of that I have no doubt. He will be so full of youth, he’ll be known as Konoha’s mightiest! And one day, I’ll teach him The Will of Fire, just like my grandfather, his namesake did for me.”

Nawaki looked up at that. The Will of Fire? He hasn’t heard about that in ages. He remembers his grandmother talking about once when he was still a kid in the Academy, but not much else about it.

“Hey, Dai, what do you mean by that?”

“The Will of Fire? It is only the most youthful of philosophies, my young friend. Your grandfather, the Shodaime and the Nindaime were it’s creators. Did you not know that? It should have been taught to you by your sensei, as all Jonin sensei do.”

‘Shinobi I may be, but I have no loyalty towards Konoha, young one.’ Nawaki looked over at Kana and Noba who had similar expressions of confusion and sadness on them.

“No, I guess not,” he murmered, seeing that Gai was yawning once more. He gave the baby back to Dai and the last remnants of light faded away, leaving the room in semi darkness as the moon took over.

“Well, if you’d like I can tell you, but I’m afraid it’s rather simple. The Will of Fire is passed down through the generations of Shinobi. We protect what is most precious to us and that is the youth of Konoha. That’s why I strive everyday to be as youthful as possible, to honor those who have given me the opportunity to do so. It’s a promise more than anything, a promise that as shinobi, you will protect the King of Konoha.”

“What do you mean by the ‘King’?” Noba asked. Dai simply laughed and looked down at his son.

“You’re looking at him. And you three in particular see it everytime you glance into a mirror.”

A switch flipped in Nawaki’s head. Like pieces of a puzzle coming together. He felt like an idiot. Everything his sister and her friends did and said these past few years suddenly made sense. They weren’t trying to protect Konoha, they were trying to protect him specifically. All these years, he thought it was because they were from Konoha that made them want to fight, to rigorously train him and his team to exhaustion until they perfected a jutsu, or landed a hit on Orochimaru. To grow into loyal Konoha Shinobi. That was The Will of Fire. Sensei may be a cold one at times, and he doesn’t particularly respect anyone, but he was always there for his students and his teammates. It may not have been the actual philosophy, but it was his personal Will of Fire and that in essence was what it was all about. To protect the next generation. To make a better place where they wouldn’t need to fight. Everyone had been telling him this and he was too thick headed to listen to them.

As he gazed at the small babe in Dai’s arms, Hashirama’s laughter echoed in his mind, a memory long since buried resurfacing.

‘Come here, my flowers,’ he said to him and Tsunade. The man scooped them both into his arms and started to tell a story. A story about a man and his friend who created a village to protect children, whose parents led dangerous lives.

Nawaki remembers crying because his grandfather had said that he couldn’t protect his friend in the end and he had failed The Will of Fire in doing so. But then he told his grandchildren that there was hope yet, for them to follow that teaching. One day they’ll find their precious people and they will find their own ‘King’ to protect some day. Only then would the Will of Fire truly be passed on. Until that day came though, they themselves were the King.

Nawaki had tears in his eyes as he smiled down at Gai. He understood now. Perhaps wanting to be deployed into a bloodthirsty war was a mistake, but shinobi don’t back down. Orochimaru-sensei taught them that.

“Is everything alright, Nawaki? You’re crying,” Kana asked. He sniffed and dried his tears with the back of his hand. Smiling he said,

“Yeah, yeah I’m alright. I just think I understand a lot more now. You’re gonna be a great dad, Dai. Ha, this kid is gonna have so much youth, Konoha might not be able to contain him.”

“Yosh!” Dai yelled quietly, not willing to spark the ire of his sleeping child. The teens laughed and stayed there with their friend for a while more, before Dai spoke once more.

“I heard about your fight today. I would say congratulations on your youthfulness, but you three are just as precious to me as Gai is and I don’t want to see you grow up before your time. It seems too late for than now though, so just remember one thing when you’re out there.”

“What’s that?” Nawaki asked.

“Never having to fight is the best defence one can achieve.”

Comfortable silence washed over them as each thought about the crazy day they had and what the future held in store for them.

Chapter 18: Secret Meetings

Notes:

Hey! University is a bitch! Work is a bitch! But I will keep writing!

The halls of ROOT Headquarters were quiet. If the place wasn’t so clean, Danzo would have thought it abandoned. It was all because of the war, the man told himself as he walked deeper into the fortress. The war that was now in negotiation to be ended, jeopardizing his efforts to secure useless enemy shinobi to use as human trials for the Mokuton experiments.

The clack of his cane echoed through the hall, the high walls reverberating with an empty sound. Eventually he would have more agents to use as he pleased, but that would have to wait until the war was over and he got permission to train more ANBU black ops. As far as Hiruzen knew, ROOT was nothing more than a subdivision of ANBU, completely loyal to the hokage. Who knows, one day that might even be true, to a certain degree. The councilman was already making plans in that regard. If all went well, the Senju brat would rise to power with Danzo pulling every string along the way. He would be Hokage in all but name and Konoha’s security would be guaranteed.

He reached the center of the underground chamber and paused, waiting for only a few seconds before a group of his agents appeared in a puff of smoke before him.

“The Kage Summit is in two days,” he said. “I leave tomorrow to secure our plans. This war must not end yet. As it stands, we do not currently have enough bodies to continue our experiments. Should my efforts for whatever reason fail, it will be unto you to salvage the remnants. The three of you will divide to the three fronts and infiltrate the enemy. Break the ceasefire. Do whatever you have to, but Konoha will not be the instigators. Take as many bodies as you can during the ensuing chaos, including Konoha shinobi. Is that understood?”

“Hai, Danzo-sama!” the three agents shouted.

“Dismissed,” Danzo said, and the ROOT shinobi vanished just as suddenly as they appeared. He turned to leave, but paused for a moment. It was true that Shimura Danzo was known to be paranoid from time to time, but it was never without reason; he worked in shadows afterall. Feeling uneasy, he activated the sharingan in his left eye, a parting gift from when he killed Uchiha Kagami all those years ago.

Looking all around him though, nothing was there. He tried the Mangekyo, but again the eye could see nothing amiss. Danzo deactivated it, a headache beginning to rise and blood staining the bandage he wore to cover it. As he walked out of the chamber and into the lower levels, he still could not shake the feeling he was being watched. Perhaps he was becoming too paranoid. Then again, one can never be too cautious when they’re a shinobi.

…

Letting out the breath he was holding, Jiraiya released his henge jutsu that revealed him to be sticking to the leftmost wall of the chamber. Being a fully realized sage this time around really had its perks, one of them being a sharingan could not see through natural energy jutsu. Mind reeling from what he just heard, he sunshined out of the chambers and bolted to the training fields where Tsunade was babysitting his students while he was on ‘Danzo Duty’. (Jiraiya came up with the name because “All good missions have cool names!”)

…

“You’re not quick enough, Yahiko! If you don’t dodge, Nagato’s gonna beat the shit outta you!” Tsunade shouted at the two boys currently engaged in hand to hand combat. Abruptly, Yahiko jumped back a few feet and made rapid hand signs, resulting in a great big fireball heading straight towards Nagato. The Uzumaki defended with a mud wall and was about to shoot off another jutsu when he saw Jiraiya running as fast as he could towards them.

“Jiraiya-sensei!” he yelled, waving his arm in greeting. Nagato however, forgot he was still engaged in a spar and was immediately blasted off his feet by a water bullet jutsu.

“Ha, I win!” Yahiko yelled as he jumped up in the air. Konan, who was watching them, rolled her eyes and helped Nagato to his feet, handing him a towel.

“Thanks, Konan.”

“Never get distracted kid, it’ll be the end of you,” Tsunade chided, messing up his wet hair and making it stick up everywhere. She looked over to Jiraiya’s fast approaching form and her face became serious. Something was wrong and she could see it on his face. The sage reached them and he tried to catch his breath.

“Tsu! We… we need to… find Oro! Now!” He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away, but she wouldn’t budge.

“Jiraiya, what is going on, what happened?”

“Come on, we gotta find Oro now! We leave tomorrow and we’re running out of time to figure this out!”

“Figure what out?”

Jiraiya pulled her in close and whispered in her ear.

“The Kage Summit is going to be sabotaged.”

...

Nawaki was bored out of his mind. He and his team were given the day as a rest before they were to set out to the front tomorrow as platoon captains. The problem was, there was nothing to do. He had already packed, already gone over the briefing reports, memorized the maps, hell he’d even polished all of his gear. Twice. Flopping on the couch, he debated going to Ichiraku’s for one more bowl of ramen before he left when he heard a knock on the door.

Opening it, he was greeted by the faces of Yahiko, Konan, Nagato, and Anko.

“Jiraiya-sensi and the others sent us here because they wanted to be alone for a meeting or something,” Yahiko said, walking in and setting Anko down on the couch, the others following him. “They told us to have Mito-sama watch over us.”

Nawaki scratched his head. “Uhh, Bachan isn’t home right now. She’s said something about bringing a cousin over for dinner though, so I guess you're stuck with me till then.”

“I’m bored,” Anko complained as she sunk into the cushions of the couch. Nawaki shuddered. He learned a long time ago never to say that in front of his sensei. When they were 11, Noba had said she was bored during a training session and Orochimaru had proceeded to give them 20 D-ranks to be done in one day with no time in between to rest and no lunch break. They never uttered those words ever again in his presence.

“You’re bored, huh?” he asked. Anko nodded, pouting a bit. “You guys too?” He looked to the Ame kids who nodded as well. “Well, do you guys have any ideas on what to do? Dinner won’t be for a while.”

Nagato shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you could show us some jutsu?”

“Yeah!” Yahiko shouted. “Show us how you did that wood release!”

“It was really cool when you did it at the fight the other day,” Konan said, nodding.

“You want to see wood release? Alright, then let’s go.” Nawaki went to the door and started putting his sandals on.

“Where are we going?” Nagato asked, helping Anko with her little sandals.

“We’re gonna go find Kana and Noba. And then, we’re going to The Forest of Death.”

…

Orochimaru was pacing in his living room, Tsunade chugging a bottle, and Jiraiya laying over dramatically on the couch.

“What are we going to do?” Tsunade groaned, throwing the now empty bottle into the wastebasket. “It’s not like we can be in two places at once and clones won’t work with this kind of distance.”

Orochimaru shook his head. “It wouldn’t matter if we told Sarutobi. He won’t believe us and Danzo will just deny everything anyway.”

“What if we sent agents of our own?”

Tsunade looked down at Jiraiya with confusion. “What the hell are you talking about? We don’t have ‘agents’.”

“Don’t we?” Jiraiya said, sitting up properly. “We currently have three shinobi about to take our place at the front, each exceptionally well versed in espionage if I do say so myself.”

“Wait a fucking minute, we are not just sending them out to battle against ANBU ROOT!” Tsunade shouted.

“I admit, it’s not a great plan. If the worst comes to pass, they’re dead and the ceasefire ends and tons more people die, but I don't see any other option. We have to be at the summit and someone has to stop the contingency if we succeed. Besides, it’s not like they’re helpless in the heat of battle. They beat us, afterall and Oro’s the one who trained them.”

“Who’s side are you on?” Orochimaru spat.

Jiraiya’s eyes hardened and he stood up. “I'm on the side that stops this war from destroying our lives again. I’m sorry, but you two were too hard on them. Nawaki, Kana and Noba may not be grown, but they are capable shinobi and we have to trust them like we did Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Otherwise we risk losing all of it. Danzo will keep this war going and who knows how long it will last this time. Are you ready to send Anko into another bloodbath? Or Shizune? Are you two ready for when they don’t come back again?”

The other two Sannin gave Jiraiya death glares. Orochimaru turned away from him in disbelief, memories of Uchiha Madara ripping apart his old students flashing before his eyes.

Tsunade wasn’t any better. She hadn’t said anything, but she had been counting the days until Dan’s death in the previous timeline. It was two months away. For all the tragedy she’d endured in her first life, she couldn’t fathom losing doing it all over the exact same way. She didn’t think she could take it to be completely honest. If they didn’t stop this now, Dan could die, Shizune would be raised as a weapon as well as Anko and probably the Ame kids too. How many of them would die out there? She didn’t want to think about it. But she also didn’t want to think about losing Nawaki. It didn’t matter how powerful he was, all she could and ever would see is her 12 year old baby brother. As much as she hates to admit it though, he was all grown up.

Tsunade wonders if Nawaki wasn’t her brother, she’d see a God instead.

The image of Naruto flashed in her mind. That ray of actual sunshine became so powerful at such a young age. She trusted him to finish a war and look where it got him. She didn’t want to make that same mistake, but what choice did they have?

“They won’t have any help from us,” She said slowly, her eyes locked with Jiraiya’s. “Do you really think those kids can end this war?”

Jiraiya smiled then, a soft and knowing smile. One he often caught himself giving Naruto when he was learning a new jutsu or making a new friend. “I believe in them and I believe in Oro’s training. They can do this, Tsu. Believe it.”

Tsunade smirked at the stupid joke, but became serious as she turn to Orochimaru.

“Oro?”

The snake Sannin looked resigned. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes.

“I was never in the habit of coddling my students in my previous life. Perhaps old age has made me soft. I have been blinded by my last memories of them when they were children. Weak, defenseless little things. Maybe I was too harsh on my students, but I would rather not have past mistakes repeated in front of me. Regardless, they have indeed grown into fine shinobi and are quite capable. It scares me to death that I’ll see their names on a memorial stone, but I have no choice but to trust them now. There is too much at stake for the future of our lives. They are already going to the front, so we may as well use them to our advantage.”

“Alright then,” Tsunade said solemnly. “Looks like the fate of this war is in their hands now.”

…

The Forest of Death was not a playground. At least not to normal people. Or even regular shinobi for that matter. People straight up died here, holy shit! But that didn’t stop Nawaki and his friends from making it a playground anyway.

Yahiko was currently jumping from branch to branch trying to tag Konan in their game of Tag. Noba and Nawaki were also playing, while Nagato, Anko, and Kana were making flower crowns in the tree house Nawaki had made with Mokuton. It was complete with a balcony, a slide that led to a bed of flowers on the ground, and a watch tower that was reminiscent of a pirate ship’s.

“Oh come on, you can be quicker than that Yahiko!” Konan shouted behind her while running up a tree and jumping into the canopy, effectively hiding her from sight.

“UGH!” The orange haired boy despaired as he paused on a branch. Crossing his arms he pouted until he suddenly heard something rustling. A few yards away from him, he saw the edge of a sandal moving behind a bush. Smirking to himself, the boy ran up into the canopy like Konan did. When he was out of sight of the other players, he silently made his way over to the tree line behind them, careful not to break any thin branches. When he was in position right above the bush, he ran straight down the trunk of the tree as fast as he could and pushed off at the last moment to tackle through the bush. He came out the other side pinning the other person to the floor and whooping in victory.

“Ha! Gotcha! Now you’re it!” But before he could run off into the trees, a few things abruptly registered in his mind. 1) The person currently under him was not Nawaki, Noba, or Konan. 2) The person was a girl with red hair, giving him the most rage filled glare he’d ever seen in his life.

“GET THE HELL OFF ME YOU TWERP!” The girl screamed. Yahiko was pushed off and tried to get up but was pinned back to the floor when the girl suddenly had shimmering gold chains burst from her chest and wrap around his body.

“Ahhh! Nawaki, help!” Yahiko yelled. The Senju then came out of the tree line lightning fast to stand between the two.

“Let him go, Kushina! He didn’t mean it, we were playing tag!”

 

13 year old Uzumaki Kushina simply glared at her distant cousin.

“Just because we’re cousins doesn’t mean you can boss me around. I’m 13 now, dattebane!”

“Yeah, well this is Jiraiya’s student and Bachan’s newest adoptee, so lay off, will ya?”

Reluctantly, Kushina pulled the chains back and crossed her arms. “Whatever. Mito-Obasan sent me to find you guys. She said dinner is almost ready and that your senseis are already there.”

As Nawaki helped Yahiko up, he let go at the realization that Orochimaru would be at dinner as well. The boy fell back into the dirt with a yelp. Nawaki realized his blunder and helped him up again.

“Sorry, Yahiko.”

“Hey, no worries, just over here getting bruises everywhere,” he said sarcastically and rubbing his arm. He then looked up at the young teenager with red hair just like Nagato’s. “So this is your cousin, huh?” To the girl he said, “Are you an Uzumaki like Mito-sama and Nagato?”

Kushina seemed taken aback at that. “How do you know my name? And who’s Nagato?”

“I am.”

The three looked behind them to see Nagato, and everybody else walking towards them. He and Anko were covered in flower crowns and bracelets, making them look adorable.

 

“Hi, I’m Uzumaki Nagato and these are my friends. Um, would you like a flower crown?” he asked shyly. Over the last few weeks the kid had really come out of his shell, but was still hesitant to make friends with anyone outside his normal circle of people.

Kushina decided then and there that this kid was going to be her best friend.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the offered crown and putting it in her red hair. She then put her hand out in front of her to properly introduce herself. “My name is Uzumaki Kushina, dattebane!”

Nagato smiled at her name and eagerly shook her hand.

“That makes us family then! Haha, I seem to be getting a lot of that lately. These are my other family; That’s Yahiko you caught with your cool chains and this is Konan.” He pointed to Konan who waved politely.

“Hey! What about me!”

 

Nagato blinked and laughed as he looked down at Anko who was pouting. “Oh and this is Miterashi Anko, our student cousin.”

“Student cousin?” Kushina asked. Nawaki rolled his eyes as he started walking to the gates of the forest.

“It’s a long story, we’ll tell you at dinner. Come on, kids, Mito will have our asses if we’re late.” At that, the group all followed Nawaki back home to the Senju compound.

…

Dinner was a tense affair. At least, to the three teenagers it was. They were about to leave for war in the morning and their mood was sullied by the last confrontation with the Sannin. The kids and Kushina on the other hand, were chatting away and telling about their days with Mito. The Sannin were quiet. All of them ate silently, none of them looking forward to the coming days. Kana was just as silent, glancing to her sensei and averting her eyes whenever he caught her staring. Noba was doing the same, though not as subtle. It took about 20 minutes for the atmosphere to finally break Nawaki’s limit before he put his chopsticks down and openly stared at his sensei.

“Are we gonna talk about it?” It was an invitation more than a question.

“Talk about what?” Orochimaru asked, tiredly.

“We’re leaving tomorrow, don’t you have anything to say to us? We’re not gonna leave on bad terms are we?” Nawaki trailed off at the last sentence, for all the world seeming like the insecure 15 year old boy he actually was.

Orochimaru put his tea cup down and looked at all of his students. He could see in their eyes all of them held the same sentiment. They were like sad puppies, kicked when they were down and left out on the streets.

“We will ‘talk about it’ after dinner is done with,” he said. “If you’re worried about bad terms, you three need not worry. I realize now that I may have been too reluctant to expose you to the outer world. That was my mistake as I can now see that you three are more than ready for life as a shinobi. That’s all I’m going to say until dinner is over.”

The three teens were left dumbstruck. That was as close to an apology they had ever heard from their teacher. Orochimaru went back to drinking his tea and his friends were trying really hard not to laugh at the teen’s ridiculous expressions. Jiraiya had to hide his smile with a mouthful of noodles. Mito herself was chuckling under her breath and dinner went on.

The mood was lighter after that, the Sannin engaging in conversation with Mito until Oro and Jiraiya had to scold Anko and Yahiko for flicking food at each other. That is, until Jiraiya started doing it to Oro just to annoy him and Orochimaru placed a tiny snake in his noodles which made him scream like a little girl. The whole table, including Mito, roared with laughter.

Dinner ended not long after that. With all the dishes cleaned and children in bed, (Kushina spent the night at Mito’s insistence) the teenagers followed the Sannin into the kitchen to ‘talk about it’. Tsunade placed a silencing seal on the wall and the mission briefing began.

“I just want to-”

“There are th-”

Nawaki and Orochimaru both blinked as they started to speak at the same time.

“I’m sorry you-”

“Go ahead-”

Tsunade rolled her eyes. “Will one of you just speak? We don’t have all night, ya know. Nawaki, go.”

The boy put a hand to the back of his neck and sighed. “Look, Oro-sensei,” he started. “I’m sorry for everything I said before. I know now that I have a lot to learn and that I may not be ready for everything that comes my way. I was being stupid and reckless. I was blinded by my eagerness to prove to everyone that I can be a protector of the village. I was just trying to uphold Konoha’s ideals and legacy, but I realise now that I was wrong in the way I was doing it. I believe in the Will of Fire and I think that that’s what you and the others are trying to follow too, even if it’s a bit more personal in your case. Sensei, you have to believe me when I say, I never meant to hurt you, Jiraiya and Tsunade. I’m sorry.”

 

The Sannin were shocked into silence for this was a very different Nawaki from three days ago.

“Well damn,” Jiraiya deadpanned. “What had to happen to finally knock some sense into you?”

“Maito Dai and his new son,” Kana said. “He told us about The Will of Fire and made us realize that we were the King the whole time.”

“Leave it to Gai,” Jiraiya muttered to himself. Aloud, he laughed as he took all of the kids into his arms, squeezing them as tight as he could. “Good to see you kids aren’t hopeless after all!” He put them down and his smile fell a bit. “But you do need to know. Loyalty to one’s country isn’t the same as loyalty to one’s friends and family.”

“He’s right,” Tsunade said. “We were raised to be weapons. Loyal only to the Hokage.”
She suddenly recalls the death of Hatake Sakumo. “A wise man once said,’In the ninja world, those who don't follow the rules are trash. But, those who abandon their friends are even worse than trash.’” She looked at her best friends in the whole world.

Orochimaru took a deep breath. “It is because of this sentiment that we ask you three to trust us with what we’re about to tell you.”

“Of course we do, Sensei,” Kana said. “But what’s going on?”

The kids looked from their sensi to the other Sannin. It was Jiraiya who stepped up and gave the briefing.

“This isn’t just a talk, this is a mission briefing. I’ve been keeping tabs on certain parties and I have info that a sabotage mission at the three fronts will occur during the kage summit. If it’s successful it will reignite the fighting, no matter what the summit decides. We’re going with the Sandaime to secure things on our end while you three will go to the three fronts and stop the fighting from happening.”

Noba shook her head in disbelief. “But how? And shouldn’t we have gotten this information from the mission desk?”

“No,” Orochimaru said quietly. “We are giving you these instructions because the person who ordered the sabotage is from Konoha. This mission must not be on the books else we risk exposing the fact that we know of the plot.” He took in the shocked and confused expression on their faces. “Tomorrow, you three will be branded as missing nin when your shadow clones are inevitably discovered at Headquarters. The day after that, if all goes well at the summit, keep the peace until word reaches you.”

“What happens if the fighting resumes, what do we do then?” Kana asked, eyes wide. Orochimaru felt sad then. These kids had no idea what they were in for.

“Then you will end it. Otherwise, thousands will die before word reaches you.”

Notes:

For real tho, I'm gonna try to update as consistently as I can, but it's just gonna be a while in-between chapters for the time being. Hope you have a great day though! And Thank you for over 11,000 hits!

Chapter 19: Teenagers Stop A Shinobi War

Notes:

I'M BACK BABY! Wow that was a much longer hiatus than I thought it was going to be. I'm about to start my last year of collage and I got a cool job so that's fun, but I am (fortunately) back on my Naruto bullshit. Here's this chapter that gave me an INSANE amount of writer's block. Hope you enjoy!

Tsunade was pacing the floor of her quarters. It was warm despite the snow falling outside and it was comfortable in her room. The bed was a standard futon with a desk and side drawer in the far corner. But as nice as the place was, the Senju princess couldn't shake the worry from her heart. The summit was on day three of negotiations and it was tense. Everytime someone even whispered the idea of a treaty, they were met with rebukes from all other countries over what spoils went to whom and no one could agree on anything. It was honestly exhausting fighting with words. (Naruto always made it look so easy.)

Suddenly, the door burst open and Jiraiya stood before her, a grim expression on his face.

“Tsu, they’ve made a decision.”

“What?!”

Without hesitation she followed Jiraiya to the debate rotunda where her sensei and Orochimaru were waiting.

“What’s happened?” Jiraiya asked the snake.

“The Kage have decided on keeping the borders the same. Hanzo’s death has created a power vacuum that no one is willing to contest. Danzo tried making a bid for it, but Hokage-sama vetoed it. We don’t have the numbers for that.”

“What about a treaty?'' Tsunade asked. Orochimaru shifted, letting Hiruzen answer that particular question. The man sighed heavily.

“You three in particular have been on the discussion table. Though they are loath to admit it, they fear your power as Densetsu no Sannin. As a result, there were talks of having you killed to even out the playing field.”

Jiraiya and Tsunade were wide eyed at that. Jiraiya gulped loudly.

“There’s a but in there though, right? We’re not actually gonna be killed, are we?”

“Of course not! I told them that if that were the case, this war wouldn’t be over for at least another ten years.”

The Sannin seemed surprised at that, wondering if their original version of Hiruzen would have gone to such lengths for his students.

“In any case, the only way to make a treaty is that we somehow level the balance of power.”

“How the hell are we gonna do that? Any way I see it, they have numbers on us, but we have better trained shinobi.”

“Exactly. We have decided that you three, despite being in your prime, will no longer be able to operate as field shinobi.”

The Sannin were left speechless. They were barely in their 20’s and their sensei had just proposed a forced retirement? Who would cultivate the spy rings? How the hell were they going to stop the other wars from happening? What if they were needed but were forbidden by stupid laws made to save pride from the other nations?

“Sensei, you can’t be serious? All because we killed Hanzo?”

“Not just that. You three have demonstrated incredible power. Kage level power. It was my intention to hand over the hat to one of you three if I’m completely honest with myself. That, I fear, is why they wanted you killed. Believe me when I say, this is the final decision at this summit. Word goes out tonight that the war is over. When we return to Konoha, you will give up your headbands and file the paperwork. Congratulations on retirement.”

Hirizen then left the rotunda to speak with the other Kage.

“Do you think the kids will be alright?” the sage wondered aloud.

“I don’t know, Jiraiya,” Orochimaru said truthfully. “We’ll just have to see if my training paid off.” The three of them looked out the window at the billowing storm outside. Tsunade took her friends’ hands and said a silent prayer to whoever would listen. Who knew what horrors the kids were going through.

…

Noba was bored out of her goddamn mind. No one told her waiting for some asshole shinobi to attack was going to be mind numbingly dull. It had been three days since they left Konoha and the Kage summit was probably just getting started. Thus, here she was on the border of Iwa and Ame keeping watch over the two sides. There was comfort in knowing that peace was so close to them, but it did nothing for her personal confidence. She was cold, tired, and counting rocks to pass the time. All around her the wind was whipping every which way across the rocky landscape. Although the standard uniform for ninja at war was bulky, it did little to retain heat and Noba was left shivering in the cold. It was getting dark so she pulled her poncho-like coat tighter around herself.

Her thoughts drifted to Kana and Nawaki. She hoped they were ok. Perhaps they were sitting alone in the dark too, hoping the others were safe. They were hundreds of miles apart from each other and Noba had only her katana for company. She gripped it just a bit tighter.

Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping caught her attention. There was movement from the corner of her eye and though it was dark, years of training at night had conditioned her vision to work just as well as in the day. A few meters away, she could see the faint outline of an enemy uniform from the treeline. That was weird, this was a safe zone as stated in the ceasefire agreement. Standing from her hiding place, Noba unsheathed her katana, the blade glinting in the moonlight.

It looked like the party was finally starting.
…

Kana was a quiet girl, that much was always obvious. What most people seemed to forget though, was that she was quiet for a reason. Kana liked to watch people. Ever since she was a little girl, she would hear things and see things that most people just never paid attention to. She knew how many shinobi came to her mother’s shop and she knew what their favorite flavor of tea was. The Hokage once came in with his wife to buy bread and mentioned that he was allergic to a certain spice. It was these small little bits of information that she kept filed away in her mind. She never wrote anything down, they taught you that at the academy on the first day. Words could be read and used against you. When Orochimaru became her teacher, she saw it as a challenge to find out what made him tick. After a while, she extended that to the other Sannin as well. Jiraiya picked up on her habits almost immediately and once joked that she would make for a great spy.

Kana liked the idea.

So, here she was, years later, behind enemy lines and watching all the different enemy shinobi go about their night as the ceasefire held. She was silent and did not draw attention to herself. She watched them and mimicked them in every way, from the way they relaxed, the way they walked and even the way they ate. Kana was practically invisible to the trained eye as she blended in with Suna shinobi.

Everyone was complaining that it was too cold, the shinobi not used to being outside the desert and going on about missing the sand. Kana internally cringed; she always hated sand, it got everywhere and made her feel grimy. It was boring recon work and the conversations with the other shinobi were just as bland. Days went by and nothing was out of the ordinary. That is, until she caught sight of a shinobi drinking her tea.

Now, being in an enemy camp, Kana experienced culture shock right from the get go. One of these shocks was the kind of tea they had with their rations. While Konoha is known for their earthy teas, made from leaves found in the Hashirama Forest, Suna had a very hard preference for sweet, floral teas made from the various herbs and cacti found in the desert.

It was dumb luck that Kana walked past the woman. If she hadn’t, she’d never have seen the tea leaves still steeping in the cup. Thank whatever god was out there that Orochimaru bored them to death about tea their first week as a genin team. (Kana likes tea just as much as the next ninja, but goddamn was that the most boring week of her life.)

The next few hours went by and Kana had been keeping tabs on the shinobi the entire time. Eventually, it grew to be nightfall and the woman disappeared into the crowd of Suna ninja walking to the barracks. Making her way to the center of the encampment, Kana saw a glance of her from the corner of her eye. Not wanting to get caught, she kept moving in the opposite direction, peripheral vision keeping sight of her target. Slowly, but surely, the teenager caught up with the shinobi and engaged in a henge jutsu. Hiding within a wall, she watched as the woman moved towards a shack. A sign posted outside marked it as a storage unit for puppets.

Kana undid her jutsu and with all the grace and stealth taught to her by her teacher, simply walked into the shack behind the saboteur. The woman had her hands busy with sticking paper bombs to every surface imaginable and only noticed the teenager when the faint woosh of air told her that a projectile was headed for her. She turned just in time to avoid a poison senbon headed for the back of her neck. Kana wasted no time in engaging the shinobi in taijutsu, not wanting to alert others to the fight. A jab here, a kick there, and soon it was a blur as blows were landing and being blocked. A knee to her chest took the wind out of her, but Kana recovered quickly enough to catch her opponent with her guard down and with two fingers, jabbed her in the back of the leg, hitting the main nerve there. Balance lost, the woman crumpled as she swung a fist. Matching her fall, Kana hit another nerve in the swinging arm and pinned the woman to the floor. Using a trick Tsunade taught her, she put her hand on the woman’s neck and pressed her pointer finger and thumb into the nape of her neck. The enemy made a strained sound before passing out cold.

Kana breathed heavily in the dark room. She took a scroll out from her pouch and laid it over the unconscious shinobi. Making a few hadsigns, the ninja was sealed into the scroll and put in the back of her pouch. The teen looked around and sighed. The other part of her mission was secrecy. Praying no one needed any puppets anytime soon, she started the tedious and delicate process of peeling off all the bomb tags. It was gonna be a long night. But after that, she would rendezvous with Nawaki like they had planned. She just hoped the fun didn’t start without her.

…

Clanging filled the air as sparks illuminated the dark forest. Noba was moving as fast as she could in an attempt to get past the enemy shinobi’s defenses. No matter what she did though, she just couldn’t find a weak spot. It was like this guy was trained by the best. (Which was impossible, because she was trained by the best) Jumping back, she set forth a fire jutsu to minimize the playing field. It wouldn’t do to just let the guy escape after all.

"Katon: Hibashiri!"

Noba blew into her hand and a ring of fire sprang from her, surrounding the two. Left nowhere to run to, the rogue shinobi raised his dual swords and charged. Noba dropped into a ready stance, her blade held out in front of her. She stood her ground and waited still as a rock for her opponent to reach her. When he did, the ninja was sent flying backwards as a slash of blue flame slammed into him. Using slow and steady movement, Noba slowly made her way towards the older shinobi and with each step, a wall of flame exploded from her katana.

“Step one, two, three, four, and back to one.” It was the incantation that was drilled into her as a 13 year old when Orochimaru finally let her train with a katana. (It was the same incantation Sasuke learned as well. A mantra he still whispered to himself as he fought Madara on the final battlefield.)

“Enough!” the man roared as he set forth a water jutsu to extinguish the girl. Steam surrounded them as the two elements made contact and for a moment, only the glow of her blade was the only thing Noba could see. A glint of metal rushed by and she had only a second to deflect the kunai that was about to embed itself in her forehead. More and more projectiles were thrown at her and she was quickly getting tired of this tactic when the mist finally started clearing.

A last shuriken clanged to the ground and the rogue nin set forth to flee when lightning crackled around Noba.

“You’re not getting away that easy, moron.” Electric tendrils of blue white energy swirled in patterns around her. “I was only getting started.”

All color drained from the man’s face as the whole valley they were in was illuminated in a growing light. Thunder could be heard in the distance and he wondered briefly if he was about to meet Kami-sama.

…

Sitting at the end of the world was something very few people got to experience. Rarer still for someone as young as Senju Nawaki to witness. He knows what everyone told him. He knows how humble he became in the end. But none of it still prepared him for what was happening below in the valley. Rain poured from every direction, drenching all those fighting in the mud. The field turned hell was covered in Konoha and Ame shinobi fighting to the death in a sorry excuse for honor. It made Nawaki sick to think he was once in the same mindset.

A whisper of wind told him two people appeared on either side of him as he gazed at the battle beneath them.

“How’d it go?” he asked hollowly.

Noba, just as detached, shrugged. “Used some lightning, sealed a crispy shinobi.”

“Sealed mine as well. Even picked up a few thousand paper bombs for my trouble,” Kana said. Beside her, Nawaki hung his head and took a deep breath.

“It started not too long ago. Both sides are in a stalemate. The bombs were set off simultaniously in both camps. There was nothing I could do.” Tears welled in the boy's eyes and he hoped the rain would hide them. Suddenly a hand touched his shoulder. He looked up to his right to see Kana smiling at him.

“You know, I thought the “God of Shinobi” didn’t give up so easily.”

“Yeah!” Noba added as she punched his left shoulder. “It’s no biggie. How hard can it be to stop a war?”

Nawaki laughed at his friend’s carefree attitude. He looked at his two best friends and then at the field below him. He couldn’t do it alone. He was no Hashirama, but he was still a Senju. And a Senju with friends for that matter.

“Alright. We do this together and we do this fast. Our goal is to prevent further bloodshed, not escalate the conflict. Save anyone you can, leaf or rain, it doesn’t matter. We’re all shinobi in the end. Watch each other’s backs. Noba?”

“Yeah?”

Nawaki gave her a lopsided grin.

“We're gonna need a bit of thunder.”

The glint of chaos in the girl’s eyes would stay with him until he was lowered into his grave.

“You got it, tree man.”

The girl unsheathed her katana. She closed her eyes and concentrated. An aura of blue chakra surrounded her like heavy static in the air.

The hairs on Nawaki’s neck stood up.

Noba opened her eyes as Kana launched her into the air with an earth jutsu. In one brilliant move, she slashed down and light engulfed the entire field. The bolt of lighting struck the ground with a CRACK as thunder ripped the sky, creating natural lighting to accompany the jutsu.

Everyone paused for only a moment to look at where the display had come from. Standing in a ring of electric energy were Noba, Kana and Nawaki, weapons out and ready to go. The moment of shock lasted for only a moment as ninja went right back to fighting, the Ame nin switching to the newest targets.

Kana took the first wave with senbon. From her haori’s sleeves sleeves flew a hundred needles that hit their targets with pinpoint precision and a hundred nin fell unconscious in the mud.

Noba took the second with practiced swings of her sword, the electricity not enough to electrocute, but enough to subdue groups of people at a time. Cracks of thunder were heard with every move.

Nawaki took the next wave. Although he knew he could do it in theory, he’d never actually done this jutsu before. Still, no time like the present to learn right? He made the hand signs and slammed his hands on the squishy ground. Nothing but a few roots could be seen moving below him.

“Uhh, guys?” he yelled with no little amount of urgency in his voice. He was not going to panic, he told himself. Panicking was bad.

“Yeah, Tree Man?” Noba responded. Nawaki tried to steady his breathing.

“I’m gonna need you to buy me some time.”

“How much?” Kana asked as she threw a stack of paper bombs haphazardly to created distance betwen shinobi.

“As much as you can give me.

“You got it, dude.” The glowing blade stopped its assault and changed motion to offense to defense. The ring of energy came back, but this time was strictly surrounded around Nawaki. Paper bombs were laid just outside the ring and Kana continued to paralize shinobi, leaf and rain alike. Eventually the Konoha nin caught wind of what was happening and now both sides were set against stopping the teenagers.

Wave after wave of jutsu was hurled at them, but the defenses held as the girls were reacting just as fast.

Inside the ring of protection, Nawaki breathed slowly with his eyes closed. He could do this, he knew he could! He just had to remember the training that Danzo was showing him. It seemed that every day he was getting more and more exhausted with the drills of Mokuton. He was good at it, but only now was he realizing that it was only ever in a controlled atmosphere. What good were drills if they never prepared you for uncontrollable situations?

Aw man, he really wished he had read Jiichan’s journal before he left Konoha, but Mito had told him he would read it when he got back. (If he got back, but she didn’t want to think about that.) It was the only advice he’d ever get for this power he had and now he was going to die along with his teammates. They were human and even they got tired eventually. There were just too many ninja! They’d be overwhelmed and the war would continue.

He wished Hashirama was here with him. He’d know what to do. The only conversation he had with him about Mokuton was when he was three and it was about flowers for fuck’s sake!

Wait. The flower conversation. It was damn near 12 years ago now, but he remembers the words like they were said yesterday.

…

Hashirama laughed like a bell ringing in the afternoon. His grandson, Nawaki, who had just turned three was running in the flower field and shrieking in delight. The tiny ball of energy ran towards him and tackled the Hokage’s legs, toppling them both into the soft flowerbeds.

“Jiichan?”

“Yes, my flower?”

“How do you do this stuff? Is it magic?” The little boy was picking stems and trying to weave them into a crown like he once saw Tsunade do. His fingers however weren’t as coordinated and ended up just making knots instead.

Hashirama smiled to himself as his grandson pouted in frustration. “No, darling, it’s not magic. It’s called Mokuton. It’s a power derived from jutsu that our clan has passed down from generations of Senju shinobi.”

“Ok, but how do you do it?” Nawaki looked up and shoved the knots of flowers up to him for help. Hashirama took the boy’s hands and started the process of untying and then weaving to make a proper flower chain.

“It’s like a feeling, mostly. Look around you, darling, there is life everywhere. It’s in the air with bugs, the ground with roots, and in the very soul of everyone you meet. It is peace in the chaos of battle and the eye of a raging storm. Just think of what gives you life and the rest is easy. Do you understand?”

Nawaki smiled as he looked at his hands and saw a crown of daisies. “Nope! But look, Jiichan! I did it!”

The God of Shinobi dramatically hung his head in chagrin and flopped to the floor. His grandchild would then look up at the darkening sky and start dragging the man to his feet because Mito said they better not be late for dinner or the Kyuubi would come out to get them!

…

Life. He understood now. 15 year old Nawaki thought of what gave him life. His sister, his grandmother, his teacher, the toad sage, the friends he had by his side. Even the friends back home in Konoha like Maito Dai and his new son. The trees of the Hashirama forest, the flowers in town, the people of his village. The shinobi fighting all around him. The wildlife that surrounded them. It was everywhere! Just like Jiichan said. Nawaki breathed and formed the hand signs again. With a great shout into the wind, he slammed his hands into the mud once again and screamed,

“Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō!”

Roots the size of grown adults sprang from the wet earth and tangled themselves around everyone on the field. Jutsus were stopped in the air and half formed hand signs were dropped as shinobi were restrained tightly in treelife. The rain started to lessen and by the time the last combatant was imprisoned, it had stopped entirely. The shouts of panic eventually died down as people turned to see who had created the jutsu.

Senju Nawaki was kneeling in the mud with his teammates holding him up. It took more out of him than he thought it would, but it was worth it; the fighting had stopped. But would that be enough? He could practically feel the hatred in the air. It was wrong for life to feel that way, he thought. War really was the worst. He wobbly got to his feet and the three of them stood tall and proud.

“Shinobi!” The Senju yelled. His voice was hoarse, but it would have to do. (Please Kami-sama, don’t let his voice crack into a little boy’s in the middle of this battlefield.) “I know why you fight, but believe me when I say it was a plot to destroy both sides. There was a spy sent by an unknown enemy and their only goal was to continue this pointless killing. Please, peace is almost here! All we had to do was wait, but someone decided that death and power was more important. Look at your comrades and see their faces. Did any of you actually want this? I- I know I’m just a kid and that you probably know so much more than me, but-” He had started crying at some point and it was getting harder to say the words flowing from his mouth. “But someone so very dear to me once told me that life was everywhere. I want to- no, have to believe that, but it’s so hard with this war and I just want it to stop.” He looked at all the shinobi encased in wood around him, tears streaming down his face. “Don’t you?”

There was a silence that swept the field until the sound of metal clanging rang out. One by one, ninja of both countries were throwing the weapons they had in their hands to the ground. People stopped struggling and sagged in their restraints, tired and in all honesty, relieved. It gave the three teens relief as well as they laughed in disbelief. The soldiers actually listened to them! (That and there was the unspoken understanding that Nawaki could crush them all in an instant if he wanted to, so it was best to quit while they were ahead.)

Nawaki released them all and everyone simply made their way back to their camps, team Orochimaru included. When they walked into base though they were met with cheers. A group even lifted the kids into the air and carried them to HQ. Once there, they were met with a woman.

“Hello. I’m Nara Yadawa, the Sannin’s previous company commander. You three have a lot of explaining to do.”

The three heroes laughed nervously and looked at each other. Noba stared Nawaki dead in the eyes and shifted her gaze to his vambrace. A clear, ‘let’s get the fuck out of here right now’ in her forced smile. The Senju boy glanced to his other side and saw Kana with the more or less same panic and he faced Commander Yadawa once again.

“Uhh, I’d really like to talk, Commander, but you see, we’re kind of late for a meeting, so, uhh, maybe next time?” As one, the three formed the hand signs and lightning flashed through the tent. Yadawa coughed at the smoke and looked up to see that the kids had disappeared.

“Troublesome,” she muttered. She then went back to filling out her towers of paperwork.

Chapter 20: The Trouble with Celebrations

Notes:

Yeaaaaah, it's been a minute, huh?

*Posts chapter and runs back to my cave*

Reports weren’t the funnest things a shinobi had to do, but they were far from boring in the Sannin’s experience. Both in the present and alternate timeline. (Looking at you, Naruto) Having the teens there as well was even less fun.

“You devised a rogue mission to thwart three separate sabotage events while the Summit was taking place, one of which failed and forced the debut of not just our newest shinobi team, but the heir to the Mokuton kekkei genkai before we were prepared for it.”

To say the Hokage was not pleased was the biggest understatement of the century. The man was radiating anger at the 3 young ninja before him and smoke blew through his nostrils when he huffed making him look like a ferocious dragon.

“Not only could you have broken the ceasefire permanently, but decided that you were suddenly capable of what can only be called an S rank mission. Now the world knows of the Mokuton’s re-emergence and I can only imagine what the next few years will mean for this country. Senju Nawaki, you are henceforth to train exclusively in Mokuton with Councilman Danzo (the joke was on Hiruzen because Nawaki had already been training with Danzo for the past 2 years while the Sannin were away at war) to prepare yourself and Konoha for the onslaught of challenges that are no doubt to come. We will not be made fools of, nor will we show weakness in this unstable time. Your team will train just as hard and together, you will be sent on missions to further propel your capabilities.”

Hiruzin sighed now and stroked his beard, eyes closed. It seemed like only yesterday, Nawaki was pestering him when he taught Tsunade how to walk up trees and the small 3 year old was demanding that he be taught as well. Hell, he even remembers when Nawaki was assigned to his team; the shining smiles all three of them had, so excited to be trained by Orochimaru and seeing the Hokage when Mito insisted on family dinners. Now they were ramrod straight, faces completely impassive to the reprimand they were getting.

“Speaking as someone who has watched you three grow up,” he started, “I have half a mind to place you all under house arrest for the next 10 years. As a Hokage however, I have more pressing concerns. This sabotage you uncovered is most peculiar. How did you come across it and why was I, the leader of your country, not told? The answers you give will quite simply decide your future as shinobi.”

The teenagers looked straight ahead. Thank Kami-sama Jiraiya gave them a backup in case they were discovered.

“They were only rumors, Hokage-sama,” Nawaki led. “Jiraiya had given me the contacts from everywhere in Grass Country and some were saying something felt off in the Northern front. I followed my instincts and I made contact with the agents on the Southern and Western fronts. They reported the same unease and I thought there could be something there.”

“Rumors. Fine, I’ll give you a ninja’s intuition, but why was this information not relayed to me before the summit?”

Kana spoke next. “The issue with all the talk was that no one could put a name to it. No one knew if it was Suna or Iwa. We didn’t want to risk the summit by pointing fingers. So we decided together that we should deal with it ourselves.”

“I cannot begin to explain how this was dangerous and stupid of you.” The Hokage glared long and hard at each of them, putting in as much disappointment as he could.

The teens looked down at their feet in shame. Their first real venture outside the village as Chunin and they managed to wreck the whole thing, political agendas included. The Hokage cleared his throat.

“But,” he began, tone softer and more lighthearted, “had you not intervened, the war would still be happening. You three are damn lucky the platoon commanders gave favorable reports to the Kage. I thank you for your bravery and service.”

The three perked up and smiled at each other in disbelief before standing at attention again when Hiruzen slammed a fist on the desk.

“But please, for the love of everything holy in this world, NEVER DO IT AGAIN!”

“Hai Hokage-sama!” the team shouted, tiny grins still on their faces.

…

Uzumaki Mito was washing vegetables in a bucket to prepare for dinner when her newest grandchild, Yahiko, came bursting through the back entrance of the main house.

“Mito-san, Mito-san! Come quick, they’re back!”

“Yahiko, darling, I’ve told you a hundred times, call me, Bach-” the words finally registered in her mind and the squash she was holding dropped into the bucket with a splash. “They’re back?” she said in shock.

Yahiko ran down to her and took the old woman’s hand, pulling her along gently, but excitedly. Mito then smiled and allowed herself to be rushed to the front of the house. As she opened the door, she heard rather than saw the massive crowds of people at the gates of the Senju compound. There were signs saying ‘Heroes!’, confetti, and streamers flying everywhere. A band was playing off to the side and children were screaming in joy from the tops of their parent’s shoulders. And in the center of all the celebration were both her grandchildren and their teams.

Tsunade looked up from the noogie she was giving her brother and saw her grandmother standing in the back of the amassed children they had left behind and waved.

“Hi, Bachan. We’re home,” the woman shouted over the commotion. Mito then ran to them and embraced her. One by one, she hugged the heroes and gave plenty of kisses, with some grumbles here and there. Once that was all done, the crowd decided to move on to the main party that was apparently happening in the middle of town and left the Sannin and Nawaki’s team to some much needed rest.

Inside, Anko immediately attached herself to Orochimaru’s leg and simply would not let go, no matter how dangerous the glare from him was.

“The children did miss you three,” Mito chuckled as she set a pot of tea to boil. “They ended up finding Maito Dai and asking for taijutsu lessons because they were so bored.” The Ame trio ducked their heads in shyness as Jiraiya gave a deep laugh.

“Ah, don’t worry kids, we’ll get to more training tomorrow, yeah?” For good measure, the Toad Sage patted each of his students’ heads.

“Well at least we didn’t just sit around all day like Anko did,” Yahiko said as Anko, all of three years old, stuck her tongue out at him, still attached to Oro’s leg.

“Training isn’t expected to start till she’s at least five. Anko, detach yourself or I will do so forcibly and painfully,” Oro said, giving his best death glare to the child. She only giggled before letting go and running over to Jiraiya who picked her up immediately upon being given the ‘uppy arms’.

Oro seethed in mild annoyance. “I can’t get her to stop giggling.”

Tsunade punched him in the arm and laughed. “She’s three, you idiot. Three year olds giggle.”

“Well, now that you’re home, I can’t see how I’m supposed to make dinner on such short notice,” Mito fussed.

Nawaki waved her off. “Don’t worry Bachan, there’s gonna be a huge party tonight. We’ll get food in town.”

“Yeah,” Noba added, “Konoha’s celebrating the end of the war and they want us all to be there.”

The children gasped with wide eyes. “A party?! Sensei, can we go? Pease, please, please?” Konan begged, the boys nodding and giving their best puppy dog eyes. (They were incredibly good at it, being war orphans and all.)

Jiraya bellowed with laughter, picking Konan up into his other arm and he shouted, “I don’t see why not! Come on, they’re almost done setting up!”

With dinner forgotten, the family and friends got ready in their festival clothes. The kids who didn’t have any were given hand-me-downs from Nawaki and Tsunade’s old closets and together, everyone started walking to the center of town. The walk was filled with people congratulating the teams and cheering as they passed. Once into the main square, it was bright as day even though the sun had gone down. Lanterns and fireworks lit up the night as shinobi and citizens were reveling in the newfound peace.

The children were amazed at all the festivities. In Ame, they had never had anything like this and the trio were determined to see it all. The teens even gave them piggy back rides to see everything better. At some point, a dango stand had declared that all dango was free for the night and the kids stuffed their faces until they couldn’t anymore. (No surprise that it was Anko’s favorite part of the night.) Then they were gathered in front of Mito along with dozens of other Konoha kids to hear her stories of when she was a ninja, with casual appearances of Hashirama and Tobirama. When she got to the 9 tailed fox, everyone shrieked with terror only to laugh when the old woman told them she regularly bonked the beast on the head to keep it sleeping. (Kushina, who was also in attendance, had a creeping suspicion that wasn’t all to the story. Unfortunately, a few years from now, she would find out much more than she ever wanted to know about the Nine Tailed Fox.)

Being teenagers, the 3 hero shinobi made it their mission to have their first alcoholic drinks tonight.

They failed miserably.

The entire night, Nawaki and his friends had tried (Tried being the key word here.) to sneak alcohol, even resorting to hiding it within scrolls, but they were foiled by every adult in Konoha it seemed. No one, not even Tsunade, would grant even the smallest of sips for the heroes of Konoha before their time. There was the sleight of hand attempt,(the bartender threw them out into the street) the, ‘Do you know who we are?’ attempt, (the waitress legitimately had no idea who they were because she did not keep up with the news and laughed in their faces) and of course the ‘please sir, we just want to sip it, please, please, please?’ attempt. (You can guess how well that one went.) Eventually, Orochimaru caught wind and actually caught them at the very end of the night about to drink from a stolen cocktail glass and sent them home with the promise of a lecture the next morning. (He was drunk at the time so he actually forgot that he said that and went right back to taking shots.)

Time went on and the day grew dark. After a spectacular fireworks show that included a fiery dragon jutsu, Mito took all the kids home for bed and the Sannin were left to party on with the older population, drinking and telling jokes about anything and everything. Sake and beer flowed freely and spirits were higher than they had been in years. Shinobi toasted fallen comrades and celebrated like there was no tomorrow.

Because tomorrow would be the memorial, and there would be only tears in place of laughter.

But hey, at least they could party till they passed out right?

And the Sannin took that personally. They were seated at the end of an outdoor bar and attempting to drink the place dry. Or at least the boys were. Bless their ambition, but to Tsunade, this was just another Tuesday. She was putting another dish of sake to her lips when Dan suddenly appeared behind her, making her spill a bit onto the counter.

“Dan!” She slurred, “Where have you been? Pull up a chair! I’m seeing how drunk the boys can get before they start dancing.” Tsundae pointed to Jiraya and Orochimaru who were having a chugging contest while people chanted their names. Jiraiya choked in the middle of his and spluttered all over Oro who in turn spluttered over Jiraiya when he started laughing.

“Hah,” Dan smiled and put a hand behind his neck, “Yeah, um, as much as I’d love to join in on that, there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Now that got her attention. She shifted so she could fully see him. “Sure, what is it?”

“Ah, can we go somewhere private?” He asked. “I have just the place.”

Tsunade looked a bit confused and suspicious, but trusted her boyfriend anyway and followed him when he took her hand. She left the boys doing shots and walked with Dan until the roar of the celebrations was down to a mere whisper. The streets were empty with all the action happening in the middle of town, making it seem like it was just another night. It was peaceful, truth be told, and she looked at Dan with love in her gaze. Sometimes, Tsunade still couldn’t believe that he was alive. Every kiss and every touch felt terrifying because she thought she’d suddenly wake up from the most wonderful dream. Only it wasn’t a dream. It was real and she was finally happy.

They arrived at a fountain that had lanterns lit around it and candles floating on huge lily pads in the water. It was romantic to say the least. Dan led her to the edge of the fountain and together they sat, watching the lanterns flicker in the night. The silence was comfortable, but a prelude to what Dan wanted to say.

“Tsu,” he said finally, “Do you think this peace will last?”

Tsunade took his arm and hugged it close to her body, laying a kiss at the top of it.

“I would never lie to you. No, I don’t think it will last. But I think we’ll have a good amount of time before the next one. We shinobi live violent lives and they end violently.”

“I suppose we do. For the meantime though, what do you want to do now that you’re retired?”

Tsu snorted at his smirk. “Ha, retirement. Now that’s something I never saw coming. But I guess it’ll give me more time to work at the hospital. Maybe train a few shinobi and get some new formulas for medicine and stuff.” She huffed a humorless laugh, but smiled when Dan leaned his head against hers anyway. “What about you, Kato Dan? Ever think of putting the hat on?”

Dan burst out laughing at that. It was a subject they had talked about many times. And honestly, he was starting to get convinced more and more each day that he should put his application in. Another few days and he might even start filling it out. (He ended up handing it in a week later.)

“You know, I think there’s something I want to do first.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” Tsunade frowned a bit when Dan tugged his arm free and she was about to ask what was wrong when he was suddenly on one knee. The breath was stolen away from her in an instant, body frozen in something like shock, but more along the lines of disbelief. Staring at her in Dan’s calloused hands was her grandmother’s wedding ring, the same one Hashirama gave her. The only thing running through her mind however was ‘Kami, his hair looks so good in this lantern light.’

“Senju Tsunade, I fell in love with you the second we met. I love your passion, and your strength, and the way your cheeks get pink when you’re piss drunk. I love you more than the night can love the moon and stars. I think I’d like to be Hokage one day, but I would rather do it with you by my side. So, I just want to ask you one question. Will you marry me?”

There was a solid three seconds of silence and Dan was starting to get nervous when he was suddenly tackled with incredible strength to the ground, Tsunade’s arms crushing the life out of him in a hug.

“Dan, I've waited my whole life to hear you say those words. Yes, a million times, in every timeline and universe, yes!”

He didn’t exactly know what that last part meant, but it was a fleeting thought as he hugged his fiance back. Once they parted, Dan gently put the ring on her finger. She smiled through tears. (Now she was truly happy.) She took his face in her hands and kissed him. They held hands as they walked back to the festival, giggling and smiling the whole way.

By now it was well into the last hour of the party as people were either passed out or stumbling home in the dark. Orochimaru was snoring lightly on the counter of the bar and Jiraiya was nowhere to be seen. Dan said his goodbye and promised to be at the Senju Compound before breakfast tomorrow to tell everyone the news.

All that was left to do was take a piss drunk Oro back to his house to sleep off what was probably going to be the worst hangover of his life. With years of practice, she picked up the slender figure, settling him on her shoulder and started off in the direction of his house. As she was walking, she felt someone following her.

“Jiraiya, if you’re going to follow me, at least be stealthy about it, you creep.” She turned and saw her other friend looking nervous and panicked. “What’s wrong?” she asked immediately. The man opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

“Jiraiya?”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Tsu, have you ever thought about what true love is?”

Tsunade groaned in disgust and rolled her eyes. “Jiraiya, you idiot, stop this stupid quest.”

“Hime,-”

Look, I’m sorry things never worked out between us-”

“Tsu,-”

“But I’m in love with Dan. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Tsu! Please, I-”

“No! I can't believe that after all this time you-”

“TSUNADE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

She stopped her rant eyes wide and angry. He had never yelled at her like that, frankly she hadn’t thought him capable of doing that to her, but here he was. His eyes were wide and he was panting.

“I know you love Dan. From that ring on your finger I can tell you’ll be happy with him. God, Hime, I’m so happy for you. I knew it couldn’t work for us and I get that, I really do. I love you so much, but I would never take Dan from you.”

“Jiraiya, what is this about? You’re scaring me.”

“Tsu,” the toad sage sank to the floor in a crouch, head in his hands, “He told me he loved me.”

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She glanced at the man on her shoulder sleeping soundly and then back at the mess in front of her.

“And you know the crazy thing?” His head lifted to meet her eyes, his full of tears.

She held her breath.

“I think I love him too.”

Her jaw dropped the same time she let go and Orochimaru hit the ground with a thump.

Chapter 21: I like to think I'm funny

Notes:

This one's for you, JiraOroIsLife.

Three Word Update.

Chapter 22: About Time

Notes:

Jk, I actually have a chapter for y'all. I am sorry for any emotional damage I inflicted with that last one, haha. Please don't take it to heart, I just like being a little shit when the opportunity presents itself. That being said, here's the next one!

It was a funny thing being in love. Tsunade had known the instant she saw Dan that he was the one for her and that no one else could ever compare. She thought it was like that for everyone, truth be told. Sarutobi had told her that was how he felt when he met his wife, her grandfather said the same and even her parents, when they were alive. Love at first sight, it seemed, was very real.

So, when the Sannin were kids, Tsunade was very confused as to why Jiraiya and Orochimaru had such an intense rivalry when they so obviously had crushes on each other. Year after year, they grew, and with it, so did Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s ‘rivalry.’ It got to the point where she even started making jokes about it and they would yell at her to stop, never realizing (or straight up denying) those feelings were actually there.

Fast forward a lifetime and a few shinobi wars later and here Tsunade was, standing in front of a drunk, sobbing Jiraiya and a piss drunk, unconscious Orochimaru while she was still reeling from getting proposed to.

She started laughing. It was slow at first, giggles here and there, but then it turned into a roaring laughter coming deep from her belly.

“Tsu, stop it! I’m having an existential crisis here!” Jiraiya hiccuped.

“AhHAHAHAHA! Oh, no way!” she snorted.

“This isn’t funny, Tsu, I’m serious!”

“No, no, I believe you. I just can’t believe it took you this long!”

“What?” Here, Jiraiya finally started to get control of himself. “What the hell are you talking about?” Tsunade’s laughter died down and she was left smiling at her oblivious friend. She bent down, picked up Oro, and started walking to her house.

“Come on, let’s get you two home.” With Oro secured on her shoulder, she held out her hand. Together, Jiraya and Tsunade walked to the Senju compound, the former leaning heavily on her and sniffling into her sleeve every so often. The second they reached the gate, Jiraiya passed out too, so she picked him up, and walked the rest of the way into the living room, dumping the pair onto the couch. Too tired to go upstairs, she decided that the floor was as good a place as any to sleep off her impending hangover and promptly fell asleep.

…

The next morning, the air was filled with the smell of breakfast cooking and children's laughter. Jiraiya, woke up first and he groaned as he rubbed his face, trying (and failing) to wake up properly. A shriek of Anko’s laughter woke Oro up next and he bolted upright.

“Don’t drop that beaker!”

Jiraiya jumped right off the couch and landed on Tsunade, rudely waking her. “Argh! Will you shut it, Oro, it feels like Naruto threw a rasengan behind my eyes!”

“Wha-?” The pale man blinked in the sunlight, covering his eyes as he winced. “What the hell happened last night?”

The sage’s eyes went wide and he was about to speak when Mito suddenly came in through the entryway with a cup of tea in hand.

“Are you three awake yet? Breakfast is almost ready. Oh, and Tsuna, darling, Dan is here and he says he has something to say to everyone.” The woman gave her a knowing look and gestured to the kitchen where Dan was helping Nagato make pancakes. I suggest you go get ready, because it looks like someone hit your hair with a wind jutsu and froze it that way.

Tsunade looked at herself in the corner mirror and gasped. “Tell him I’ll be out in five minutes!” With that she ran up the stairs to her room, leaving the remaining Sannin and Mito to go into the kitchen. Tea was poured and the kids were dying to get the details of the party after they went home.

“It was nothing more than drunken adults singing songs terribly and stumbling home, Orochimaru said as he sipped his tea.

“Yeah, but did anything cool happen?” Noba asked. It figured that her and Kana were here, it seemed like they were always having sleepovers at the Senju household, much like the rest of their interesting family.

“Truth be told, I don't actually remember,” Oro remarked. “All I recall is Jiraiya giggling about some vulgar joke, taking another shot of sake, and then I woke up here with a bruise on my shoulder.”

Tsunade walked in just then. “Yeah, sorry about that, Oro. You kinda slipped out of my grip on the way home.

“Of course,” he muttered. “In any case, care to tell us why Dan is here?” All eyes turned to the man sitting across from the Senju matriarch. Dan noticed and blushed, standing up to take Tsunade’s hand.

“Well, Orochimaru, I came here to announce something and I’m so pleased that you’re all here to hear it first.”

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. “Get on with it Dan, I’ve got a headache and I gotta start training later.”

“Jiraiya, if you don’t shut up, you’ll have more than a headache to worry about,” Tsunade growled.

“Before that happens, I’d just like to tell you all that we’re getting married!” Dan shouted, lifting up his fiance. Tsu held out her hand so everyone could see the ring on her finger. Mito started cheering with joy as well as the kids. The other Sannin just looked at each other, smiles on their faces. They knew how big this was. If Kami was merciful, or at the very least smart, Tsunade would have a long and happy marriage to Kato Dan.

As the cheers died down, breakfast was started and chatter was all on the happy couple. Dan and Tsunade tried to answer as many questions as they could, but it was difficult since they had only been engaged less than 24 hours and there was much planning to be done.

Everyone eventually finished and it was Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s turn to clean up. As Jiraiya dried the dishes, he nervously glanced at his friend. Oro was seemingly acting normal, like nothing happened last night. What kind of sick power play was that? Then again, the man was straight up an evil scientist for a while, so maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising. Still, there hasn’t been any mention of their conversation from last night. Maybe it didn’t happen then? No, that’s stupid of course it happened. Well, he was a sage dammit, twice over now, so he just has to man up and ask about it.

“So uh,” Jiraiya started. “Did you have fun last night?” Orochimaru looked to his left.

“Fun? I couldn’t tell you. I blacked out after the shots rolled out.” He went back to washing the dishes and Jiraiya was left standing frozen on the spot. He didn’t blink, he couldn’t breathe. It was like the rug was pulled right out from under him and he was falling endlessly into a dark void full of despair and fear. The words, “I love you” were playing back in his mind over and over again. There was a ringing that was growing louder and louder until-

“Hello? Earth to idiot, are you going to dry this or what?”

Jiraiya snapped out of it and saw Oro’s hand outstretched with a wet bowl. He put his rag down and ran out of the kitchen heading to Tsunade’s room.

“Alright then.” And Orochimaru went right back to cleaning the dishes.

…

“HE DOESN’T REMEMBER IT, WHAT DO I DO, HIME?!?!”

Tsunade was sitting at her vanity and putting on mascara. She was dressed in her funeral clothes since today was the memorial and was fixing her makeup while Jiraiya was having yet another existential crisis in her room.

“You know,” she said. “This is fucking hilarious. It’s like the universe is getting back at you for being such a disgusting perv.”

“But I stopped that ages ago! UUUUUUUGHHHH.” The groan was muffled by a pillow as Jiraiya flopped onto her bed. “ th unerse hat e.”

“What?”

He briefly lifted his head up and yelled, “I said, the universe hates me!” before plopping back down and whining some more. Tsunade scoffed and shook her head.

“I don’t know, baka. It did give you a do over. Seems to me that you’re just wasting it, though.” That got a rise out of him and he sat up angrily.

“Wasting it? Hime, how can I be wasting it if I don’t even know what’s happening? What if he didn’t mean it? What if by saying something first, I ruin our friendship? We just got him back and I don't want to risk anything that will alienate him.”

Tsunade put her lipstick down and took a deep breath before turning fully to face her idiot friend.

“Jiraiya, we have been through a lifetime together. We have all been through wars together. We are in our 20 year old bodies from forty years ago. There is literally no way that you could alienate him. You’re in love with Orochimaru and he is in love with you. It’s about damn time that you idiots realized this. So get out there and tell him or you will miss your chance, not once, but twice now. God knows he’ll never bring it up while sober.”

“Holy shit. You’re right, Tsu. That’s the answer! I just gotta get Oro to admit it first! Then we’ll have to talk about it and I can tell him I feel the same way!”

“Wait, that’s not what I-” but she was cut off when he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her forehead.

“Mwah! Thank you, Tsu, you’re a lifesaver!” He booked it out of her room and out the gates of the compound, no doubt making up plans as he ran home.

“Alright, then.” And she went right back to doing her makeup.

Chapter 23: Promises Never Made

Notes:

GUESS WHO GRADUATED COLLEGE, BITCHES!!! WOOOOHOOOO YEAH BABY!
Lol, too bad it was the worst time to graduate with a bachelor's in film since the writer’s strike is happening. So, here I am writing more of this fanfic I started 2 years ago to get my writing fix instead of sending out screenplays. Hope you like it! :)

The afternoon sun was high in the sky as Orochimaru made his way to the other end of the cemetery. It was a solemn funeral, full of tears and shinobi whispering the names of their fallen comrades, but in all honesty, he couldn’t bring himself to care enough. Death had lost its weight after all this time. Perhaps it was PTSD, perhaps it was simple apathy towards anyone who wasn’t in his immediate circle. In any case, since he was already in the neighborhood, he was walking towards the grave of his parents. It was an important visit by timeline standards and although it wasn’t the exact day due to changes he and his friends had made, he knew that Danzo was watching him. Waiting for when he would be most vulnerable. It was here where Danzo would approach him with the proposal to start experimenting on captured shinobi’s kekkei genkai now that the war was over.

How distasteful.

He bowed to his parents and said a silent prayer as he laid a white rose in front of the gravestone. He felt eyes bore into his back.

“It was a fitting funeral, wasn’t it, Danzo-sama?”

The man finally let himself be known as he very intentionally dug holes in the grass with his cane. Danzo could be quiet when he wanted to be and loud as an explosion should he wish it.

“It was a well said speech by our Lord, Hokage-sama. I see you have come to pay respects to your parents, Orochimaru.”

“Yes, I like to keep them updated on my accomplishments.”

“As one should,” Danzo agreed. “I wonder if you have told them about young Nawaki?” Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Odd way to begin the conversation, but not entirely concerning. Danzo knew nothing after all.

“He is perhaps my proudest achievement at the moment,” Oro said as he stood to face the Councilman.

“At the moment,” Danzo repeated with a hint of polite confusion. “Are there other things more fitting of pride than the second coming of The God of Shinobi?”

“Nawaki can handle himself just fine. He is no longer my student and I have taught him everything I can.” The Sannin crossed his arms, patience wearing thin. “Since I am no longer an active shinobi, I have my own experiments that have precedence right now.” That ought to steer them to what the wretched old man wanted. Might as well get this whole thing over with.

“Experiments.” It was a statement, not a question. Science was always in Orochimaru's interest and it was never a secret to anyone. “I wish you well on them. However,”

‘Here it comes,’ Oro thought, ‘I’ve got you now, you rotten excuse for a shinobi.’

“I also have a proposition for you.”

Orochimaru had barely enough restraint to keep the sadistic smile from his face. It was finally happening. This would be the downfall of Danzo Shimura. Once the Sannin had the evidence of illegal experimentation, they’d go straight to the Hokage, find Tenzo, execute Danzo and they’d be home free for at least 20 years. It was perfect!

“What kind of proposition, Danzo-sama?”

“I have a new set of laboratories that have begun work on some delicate projects. I could use a shinobi of your mind to make sure everything goes… smoothly.”

Orochimaru smirked in clear smugness. It was almost funny how Danzo thought he had the super hand.

“And should I refuse?”

“Then,” Danzo said in a low voice, face morphing from a kindly man’s to a disgust filled visage, “Despite the incredible capabilities of the Shodei reborn, your proudest accomplishment dies tonight.”

Many times in Orochimaru’s life has he been called cold blooded due to his reptile-like nature. By his friends, his teacher, and even the civilians who only knew him by reputation. So, it was a pleasant surprise that when someone actually made the effort to get to know him, they found he was just as human as the rest of them. Even with this knowledge though, the blood in his veins turned to ice. It froze him to the spot, a deep and bone chilling cold washed over him, his face losing all composure as his snake-like eyes widened beyond belief.

It was a threat so clear and direct that it surprised him, and yet he was also incredibly confused. What the fuck? What threat could this decrepid piece of shit be to the God of fucking Shinobi? In the back of his mind he realized that he was taking much too long to respond. He better make his response damn good.

“What?”

Nailed it.

Danzo chuckled as his face turned smug. “As you no doubt know, we have acquired some very interesting shinobi these past few weeks. I want their kekkei genkai and you want the young Senju boy alive. I had initially wanted him to serve as a weapon for the war effort, but that was interrupted by you and the other Sannin. Even so, with weekly sessions we’ve managed to replicate his cells. It’s amazing really, live test subjects are few and far in between, but we’ve learned so much already. In all honesty though, we’ve exhausted his usefulness. I suggest you consider it wisely. It would be such a tragedy if the young man should perish so soon after the war has already ended.”

The monster turned around and started walking away. The thuds of his cane were heavy in the grass. He paused and his head turned up to the bright blue sky. The passing clouds made shadows dance on his features.

“You have until sunset. Good day, Sannin.” And then he left, leaving Orochimaru standing stock still. This couldn’t be happening. This made no sense. How the hell would Danzo be experimenting on Senju cells already? It was at best a 4 year process to even begin replication, much less manipulation and experimentation.

Realization was like a lightning bolt to his nervous system. Danzo has known for years that Nawaki was gifted with the Mokuton.

He sprinted all the way to Tsunade’s family compound in a blind panic. No, there was simply no fucking way that Nawaki was stupid enough to have revealed the Mokuton to goddamned Danzo Shimura. He burst through the door with a bang, startling Mito and the children sitting in the living room.

“What the hell, Orochimaru-san? You scared the shit out of us!” Yahiko said as he put his brush down. Mito immediately swatted the back of his head.

“Language, young man,” she sighed, as if she had done this a million times to various different children through the years, Jiraiya, specifically.

“Sorry, Mito-sama,” the boy apologized. He looked at his ruined parchment. He had been practicing his fuinjutsu writing but the page of half drawn characters now had a giant line of ink going through it. Konan and Nagato started laughing at his blunder, their parchments clean still, but quickly got startled again as Orochimaru in his loudest voice any of them had ever heard, bellowed from the top his lungs,

“SENJU NAWAKI, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE, NOW!”

The utter rage and killing intent filled the room. Mito turned to the now frozen kids and said,

“Run to Jiraiya.” She didn’t have to tell them twice as they frightfully clamored to the door and booked it to Jiraiya’s house.

Upstairs, Nawaki, Kana, and Noba froze in gut wrenching fear. The cards they were playing with fell from their hands. They turned to each other for a split second before they scattered.

“Sorry, Tree Man, it was nice knowing you,” Noba said before jumping from the third story window and sprinting home. Kana was about to follow her when Nawaki caught her arm.

“Don’t leave me,” he begged. Kana winced as another shout for the Senju reverberated through the house.

“Nawaki, you will always be my friend. I have followed you to war and I would do it again.”

“Thanks, Kana,” the boy said in relief.

“But you’re on your own this time. Bye!” And she ripped her arm away as she shunshined away from the compound as fast as she could.

Nawaki stood alone in his bedroom, mouth hanging open in disbelief and betrayal. “Cowards!” he shouted at their dust trails.

“YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS BEFORE I SHOVE KUSANAGI DOWN YOUR THROAT.”

“I’m going to die,” he lamented before making the hand signs for Hiraishin. In the time between a second, he was transported from his bedroom to the middle of the living room where he was immediately met with a hard slap to the face. The force of it actually knocked Nawaki to the ground, the mark on his face throbbing with pain.

“Yashagoro Orochimaru!” Mito shouted, hands coming up to cover her mouth in shock as she rushed to her grandchild’s side.

‘Holy shit,’ the teenager thought. ‘Oro-sensei actually hit me.’ Tsunade, who had just walked through the door from the kitchen, crossed the room in the blink of an eye and viciously pinned her friend to the wall, anger rising with every breath.

“You have three seconds to explain yourself before I end you,” she snarled, face inches from Orochimaru’s bared teeth. Nawaki slowly stood, a face painted with hurt and confusion. It almost made the snake Sannin regret what he had done. Almost.

“You promised me to stay away from that bastard Danzo,” Orochimaru seethed. His eyes bore into Nawaki’s with rage and betrayal. “Is this how you repay me for saving your life? By destroying it behind my back!?” Tsunade pushed him into the wall again.

“I said explain! Now! What happened with Danzo?”

“He’s known about the Mokuton for years, Tsunade. He’s been experimenting with Hashirama cells. They’ve started testing on live subjects. The children are next. Tenzo is next."

Tsunade felt her arms go limp. Orochimaru dropped to the floor in despair. Mito’s eyes went wide as she held her grandson. She looked into his eyes, but all that was reflected back was pure and utter confusion.

“What’s going on? What does Danzo-sama have to do with anything? Who’s Tenzo?” The teen was fumbling and practically begging for anything resembling an explanation. Orochimaru just looked at him with sad eyes.

“You promised me you’d stay away. How long has he known?”

Nawaki was silent. He remembers the day in the hospital when his teacher was lying in a bed, near dead and begging him to make a promise the boy knew he wasn’t going to keep.

“How long, Nawaki?” Tsunade pleaded.

“Since the day in the Hospital Orochimaru-sensei. I couldn’t make your promise.”

“Why?” It was such a short question, but it was filled with a hurt ten miles long. It physically pained Nawaki to see his sensei’s eyes, but he couldn’t look away.

“I did it to protect the village. If my Kekkei Genkei could help strengthen the village, I would take that opportunity in a heartbeat. I’m sorry, Orochimaru-sensei, but I had to do what felt right.”

Orochimaru couldn’t think. He was hearing the words from the boy’s mouth, but none of it felt real. All this time, one of their greatest enemies has been experimenting on Senju cells to create weapons of mass destruction. They were finally to the testing stage. There were probably hundreds of dead enemy Shinobi by now. And children. That was the reason Danzo had approached him so early. He needs the equation to stabilize the children who keep dying during the process. And he’s been doing it for years right under their noses.

The man numbly got up and looked Tsunade in the eyes with deadly calm.

“We need to find Jiraiya. I’ll lead you to the laboratory. We kill him tonight.”

“What about ROOT?” the Senju princess asked, cracking her knuckles.

“We kill them too. Anyone loyal to him.” They started to walk to the front door, but Nawaki blocked it.

“What’s going on? I’m not going to let you kill anybody within the village. Please, don’t try me.”

“You brought this upon yourself, Senju Nawaki. Mito,” Oro called out behind him. “Tell him everything. If the village is destroyed tonight, he deserves to know why it was his fault.” Tsunade shoved her little brother out of the way and the two Sannin walked to Jiraiya’s house in silence.

“Bachan, what the fuck is happening?” Uzumaki Mito sighed and took her grandson into her arms.

“Oh, my little minnow, I have so much to tell you.”

…

Jiraiya, who had been babysitting Anko, was putting her down for a nap when his students crashed through his door in a panic. They started shouting about Orochimaru being scary and Mito telling them to go find him, but it was all jumbled in a loud cacophony of high pitched voices. Anko woke up crying and he tried to calm her back down as he shouted for his students to quiet down.

They gave their explanation, but Jiraiya was still confused. It took a lot to make Oro shout, but this sounded like screaming. What could the kid have possibly done to warrant that much anger? He didn’t have to wait long for an explanation as a while later, his friends showed up at his doorstep with the same far off looks of those who were preparing for battle.

“Take Anko and head to the compound. Mito will be waiting for you there,” Jiraiya commanded his students.

“But Jiraiya-sensei,” Konan started, but she was cut off by her teacher’s sharp voice.

“I gave you an order. Go.”

Nagato took Anko in a piggyback and together the four children set off back to the Senju compound.

“It’s about time we kick his stupid ass,” the toad sage said to his companions.

“It won’t be that simple. We need the evidence and the laboratory will be crawling with ROOT. We need to do this right. We split up. I’ll get the evidence. Tsunade, you keep Sarutobi barricaded in Hokage tower as best you can, ROOT will catch wind and ANBU will try to stop you.”

“I’d like to see them try.”

“Jiraiya, you keep ROOT busy while I destroy the lab. Immobilize if you like, but in my honest opinion, it’ll be easier to simply kill anything that moves.”

“They’re Konoha shinobi, Oro,” objected the sage.

“No,” Oro assured him. “They are not. They are ROOT shinobi with their loyalty bound only to Danzo, brainwashed as they are. There’s no hope for them. I would know.”

Jiraiya nodded in reluctant understanding.

“Then it’s settled. As soon as we have the evidence, we’ll make a break for Hokage tower. Look for us, Tsunade.”

“Just try not to destroy the village in the process,” she smirked.

“No promises, Hime,” said Jiraiya with a smile. They all hugged each other once before they scattered.

At the compound, Nawaki was being told the most insane story he’s ever heard, barely believing it only because it was coming from Mito’s mouth and she swore on Hashirama’s soul she was telling the truth. Upstairs, the children were fast asleep, not knowing they would be awoken by the sound of distant explosions at Konoha’s village center.

Across town, Noba and Kana were huddled on top of Noba’s roof as they waited for Nawaki. It was always Noba’s house they rendezvoused to whenever one of them got in trouble with their sensei. They would wait until they see Hokage tower erupt with smoke and then join the fight. Nawaki would be there too, but not as an ally.

For now though, nothing has happened yet and the lanterns are being lit across Konohagakure. Hiruzen Sarutobi sits at his desk puffing smoke into the air and signs important documents. He suddenly has the oddest feeling of dread wash over him though and he sets his pen down to look out the open window. The summer air is dry and despite it being a warm night, there is a chill in his bones. Something is going to happen tonight and he knows deep down there’s nothing he can do to stop it. He puffs out another cloud of smoke and waits, paperwork long forgotten now.

Chapter 24: This Bitch is finally gonna die I swear

Notes:

Listen, I know it's been a while. Life is an interesting thing to go through and who knew that writing a Naruto fanfic would bring me such joy? I have loved reading your comments and know that I do read them all because it's so encouraging. I feel bad that I only ever seem to update this once every year, so I'm going to try and make more time for it! I still have so many ideas and I can't wait to write it all out. So without further ado, let's watch this bitch get killed!

THREE YEARS AGO…

The underground lab was creepy. Like, really creepy. That thought was the only thing going through young Nawaki’s mind. Hell, even Sensei’s lab wasn’t as spooky as this. Everywhere he looked there were jars filled with suspicious liquids and scientists working with seals to manipulate what looked like flesh. It gave Nawaki the heeby jeebies and was honestly having second thoughts about coming here. But the young ninja steeled himself and followed Councilman Danzo anyway. A means to an end, he told himself. And that’s all that mattered right now.

“Sit,” the older man commanded the boy. There was a chair in the middle of the room with straps attached to the hand rests and button legs. Nawaki hesitated and took a step back.

“Danzo-samma, I-I think I changed my mind about this. I should talk to my Sensei first.” Danzo turned around from the vials and scrolls he was looking over. His eyes were cold with anger starting to swirl in them.

“I said ‘sit’.” Two ROOT shinobi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Nawaki by the arms, dragging him to the chair. The boy struggled, but one of them used her free hand to press a cloth to his nose. The scent was sweet and sour, burning his nostrils as he tried not to breathe it in. ‘Chloroform’ he thought before he passed out. Danzo watched as the shinobi strapped the young Senju in restraints. He prepared the seals necessary and made sure that even if the child did come to his senses one day, there would at least be a failsafe. ROOT members had a seal on their tongues preventing them from speaking of their sub organization, but this one would be different. This one would guarantee protection as well as indestructible loyalty to him and him alone.

“Apologies, young Prince. We’ll make a ROOT of you yet.”

Underneath Konoha, a little boy screamed as he was experimented on. Poked and prodded in hopes to extract the delicate DNA that could one day become a powerful weapon in the wrong hands. Or perhaps a beacon of hope in the darkest times of the village. It didn’t matter in the end though, because he wouldn’t remember a single one of the experiments. Danzo and his scientists made sure of that.

THE PRESENT (PAST?)

Komari Tsuri struck the match against the light post, the light bursting in color for just a second before it disappeared in the lantern. A moment later, the wick caught and the lantern lit up in a wonderful display of orange. As a girl, Tsuri thought it looked like a flower blooming in the night. She still believes that all these years later, but the simple magic of it was lost when she turned 17. Now, she lights the few remaining lantern posts around town. Every night she starts at the market and makes her way through the streets to Hokage Tower. It’s a thankless job with awful hours, but Tsuri doesn’t mind. She’s content to play her part in life, even if it’s more novelty than an actual contribution, what with electricity running through most of the village now. She picked up her own lantern off the floor and started walking down the road.

It was a beautiful night with barely a cloud in sight and the full moon illuminating the cobblestone path she walked. She looked up at the sky and marveled at the silvery glow. Out of the corner of her eye though, someone moved. It was a man and his daughter, both running like there was a lunch special at Ichiraku Ramen. That was odd, she thought, but brushed it off as she stopped to light another lantern. A minute later more people started to emerge. At first it was one or two quickly walking or jogging, but after four lanterns lit there were whole groups rushing past. Folks were running like mad now, the screams from children echoing down the street. A man bumped into Tsuri, making her drop her lantern. It extinguished, embers floating up around her, but the orange glow of flames was still present. Tsuri shifted her gaze to the sky once more and gasped.

Hokage Tower was a few streets away, but the fire jutsu could be seen from even farther. Huge rolling flames were shot out from seemingly out of nowhere, engulfing everything in its path. It was like watching the Uchiha clan use their signature Katon but on a much larger scale. It was incredible and terrifying. Tsuri had never been very interested in the shinobi arts, much preferring a simple life, but even she could realize that this was legendary talent at work.

A woman bumped past her making her lose her footing. Before she could fall to the hard ground though, a hand shot out and caught her by the arm.

“T-thank you,” she said shakily. The hand released her and a voice so full of pain and anguish spoke to her.

“Run to the evacuation bunker in Hokage Mountain. The Uchiha will help you there.”

Tsuri looked at the young woman next to her. She wore a white haori with a dragon on it, her bun messy and almost falling into her face. She couldn’t have been more than 15 years old, but her eyes spoke of someone much older. Tsuri took a step back and then another until she was running to Hokage Mountain.

Noba was left alone and wishing she was 10 years old again and nothing bad had happened to her yet. She leapt onto the roof of a nearby fruit stand to watch the two battling shinobi in the distance. She saw her best friend, Senju Nawaki, throw a few dozen paper bombs at his sister, Tsunade. The teenage girl closed her eyes at the sound of a building exploding into rubble.

Walking the length of the roof, she jumped to the next building, putting one foot in front of the other until she was sprinting across the green colored tiles. A shadow appeared to her right and Kana joined her.

“Are the streets clear?”

“Yes,” Noba replied. In another life, perhaps she too would have lit the lanterns of Konohagakure. “I’m scared, Kana.”

The other girl stopped on top of a tower that overlooked the village. Noba caught up and held onto the railing.

“I know,” said Kana. “I am too.” In another reality, where her friend had died too young, she grew up to be a baker. It was a good life. She had bread, friends, a few lovers here and there, but there was something missing. She never knew what it was until she bumped into a woman at the market. It was the girl who had been on her team as a Genin. Over tea, they rekindled their friendship and eventually it grew into something more. They never had any children, but that was fine because they got to grow old together. Every now and then, they would visit Senju Nawaki’s grave and say a prayer for him.

In this universe however, they were still 15 and scared because their lives were not simple and they were not peaceful. Still, they held hands and let the glow of the fire warm their cheeks as they drew their weapons.

…

The laboratory is colder than he remembers. It was a lifetime and a half ago, but he traverses the dimly lit hallways like he had always belonged there. Perhaps he still did. Above him on the ground level, explosions and screams could be heard. Jiraiya had taken to simply barging in and throwing jutsu after jutsu at the traitor ninja. It was foolish and loud, but a good enough distraction for Orochimaru to sneak down to the laboratories. Besides, with the toad sage making such a fuss, other members were sure to follow the sound of destruction. The base was essentially left empty as they all flocked to the noise.

As he walked, Orochimaru had one hand tightly gripped on Kusanagi’s hilt and another tucked casually inside his yukata. Every few meters, he placed a bomb seal on the wall.

When he reaches the sealed entrance of the active experiment ward, he places a seal on it with a gentle hand. The door explodes off its hinges and he walks inside, footsteps like cracks of thunder in an otherwise silent room. What he finds makes him see red.

The cylindrical containers are empty, glass shattered inwards and fluid lightly flooding the floor. The bodies are nowhere to be seen, but he knows they were disposed of in a furnace. He put some there himself in another life. The thought makes him sick now. Orochimaru breaks into a run. It was too late for the other children and that will be his burden to bear, but he might still be able to save Tenzo. He bursts through the double doors to the high security wing with a bang.

Shimura Danzo stands there in front of the glowing cylinder where a baby is suspended in what looks like green water. The light from the vat illuminates the side of Danzo’s face as he turns to the intruder.

“If it isn’t one of the legendary Sannin,” he scoffs. “Please, I need to know. Did you actually figure it out on your own? Or was it the young Prince that finally told you?”

Orochimaru draws Kusanagi.

“That information is irrelevant now,” spits the Sannin. “What happens next is I kill you and take the babe with me.”

“Oh, him?” Danzo places a hand on the vat, the tiny child twitching as if he could feel it. “I’ll admit, it was a risky choice to start experimenting on children. Though they lasted longer than the adults, none of them ever made it past a week once we administered the Senju cells. All except this one.”

“It won’t work. Whatever you plan to do with this insane idea, it will never work. You’d have to kill a thousand children before you’d have enough viable for a squad, much less an army.”

“Then I’ll do it, young Orochimaru. I’ll kill a million shinobi and a million more children if it means Konoha will win the next war. And there will be another, make no mistake. The world is cruel and I will do everything in my power to make sure this village remains at the seat of power. Once upon a time I might even have recruited you three, godlike as you are.”

“As if we’d ever accept.”

“Hmm, yes. Then again, it’s not as though I don’t already have a God of Shinobi on my side.”

The blood drained from Orochimaru’s face. His heart dropped and absolute fear ran through his veins. It all made sense now. Tenzo was never a means to an end. He was a back up. The final line of defense should the initial experiment fail. Danzo didn’t care about the child, he was dispensable now, not like in the first timeline where Senju cells were in short supply. Mokuton experiments could go on forever with Nawaki alive.

“What have you done to him?”

“Nothing I don't do with all my ROOT agents. Take the baby if you want, Orochimaru. I’ll make an army when I’m Hokage now that the Mokuton is mine.

“You won’t get away with this.”

“I disagree. You see, the young Prince has already been given his orders to kill Sarutobi, no matter who stands in his way. I’d be disappointed if he weren’t killing that bitch Tsunade right now.”

The blade was faster than lightning, but a puff of smoke and Danzo was gone, a log in his place. A goddamned substitution jutsu and Orochimaru had been too blinded by rage to see it. He breathes heavily to control his emotions, but it isn’t enough and he needs to kill something. He sees the figure in the vat and suddenly stills.

The baby’s eyes are open. Brown eyes wide and curious more than anything. He’s so small. So small and so very innocent. He can’t be more than a few months old. Kusanagi is sheathed. An explosion sends shockwaves through the base and dust falls from the ceiling. The cylinder is slowly drained and scarred hands lift a crying baby from his prison.

…

Jiraiya was having a rough time. Not because he’s struggling to hold off a hundred traitors at once, but because he’s actively snuffing out a hundred lives with almost no reaction. The Toad Sage sets off another Katon: Ryuka and 10 shinobi burn to a crisp, another 15 being caught in the flames screaming in pain. He simply watches and shoots a lightning attack at another group. After two lifetimes worth of war and violence, he doesn’t register it anymore. Jiraya wonders if his friends do. He knows they don’t, but he likes to lie to himself.

The numbers have thinned out by now and honestly he’s just waiting for Oro to come back out so they can leave to help Tsunade. A woman makes hand signs and suddenly he’s being thrown back by a solid mass of rock. He skids for a few moments, but regains his footing and retaliates by flinging kunais. The woman drops in a pool of her own blood. There are only a handful of ROOT left.

“Jiraiya!” shouts a familiar voice. White hair whips as he turns his head and sees Orochimaru with something tucked into his Yukata. ‘Time to go,’ Jiraiya thinks before a series of bombs go off from deep within the laboratory. The floor shakes with tremors and cracks appear beneath them. The remaining ninja are a split second too late as they plunge to their deaths. Jiraiya uses that split second to dive out of the way.

Creaking alerts him to the support beams crumbling under the strain of the shockwaves and suddenly Oro is there picking him up off the floor. One hand is pulling on his tunic and another is holding his midsection. For a horrifying moment Jiraiya thinks his friend is injured until he sees a small hand bunch up fabric in it’s grip. As they run to the surface of Konoha, he catches more glimpses of the baby and he can’t help but feel pure joy spread into his chest. Sure everything might seem really fucked right now, and their lives that they worked so hard to build are basically falling apart before their eyes, but they managed to fix one more thing. Two steps back doesn’t mean they can’t step one forward. After they get through this and that bitch Danzo is finally dead, maybe they can find a little peace. Idly, the toad sage wonders what it would be like to raise a child with Oro. Maybe this time around he doesn’t have to care for these kids alone.

They break out into the surface and dust follows them as the rest of the facility collapses. The two men drop to their knees and try to regain their breath, crying and screaming coming from the upset, but otherwise unharmed child.

“So. Congrats on being a dad,” Jiraiya laughs, though it turns into a coughing fit as he breathes in smoke.

“Shut up, you idiot,” but the snake Sannin leans into his friend anyway and hugs Tenzo tighter.

…

“Princess. The Hokage is not accepting visitors at this time.”

“Out of my way.”

Sound is muffled, but still clear enough in the silence of his office.

“I said let me in before I pummel you both into the ground!”

The voice is so familiar he almost doesn’t turn around as Tsunade bursts into his office, ANBU right behind her. Sarutobi Hiruzen raises his hands and the guards pause.

“Leave us,” he commands and the cat mask nods once. They two leave the Hokage and his student be.

“Tsunade. What is all this about? Surely this could have waited until morning.”

But she’s not hearing his words. Instead she makes hand signs and places a seal on the door. The second she does the ANBU outside are banging, roaring to be let in. The Hokage gets up from his chair in alarm.

“Senju Tsunade, you will tell me what is happening this instant!”

“Sorry Sensei, but there’s honestly too much to explain. The short version is, Danzo is dying tonight and I really hope I get to do it.”

The old man’s eyes widened in even more confusion. “What on Earth does Danzo have to do with this? Where are the other Sannin?” He moves from his desk to the door, but Tsunade stands firmly in front of him.

“Sensei, you won’t believe me if I don’t have proof.” (He didn’t the first time, even after Jiraiya had proof.)

“Try me.” And when he says it, Tsunade pauses. She hasn’t heard him this serious since the day she was shipped off to fight in her first war. The man had a sad knowing look on his face back then and he was wearing it now as she stared at him. Maybe he would believe it this time. She had to try.

“It was Danzo who ordered the sabotage during the Kage Summit.” She tries to hold weight in her words, silently pleading with him to believe her.

“That is a very serious accusation, young lady-”

She balls her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms. “And you will listen to me.” Hiruzin could practically see the vitriol in Tsunade’s eyes. He held his tongue and nodded for her to continue.

“This whole time, that monster you call a ‘friend’ was orchestrating this war and capturing enemy ninja. He’s a disgusting madman trying to create a world where Konoha holds all the power, a world where we are feared by even our own citizens.” Tsunade can hear the banging on the door become more insistent. Threats are shouted and footsteps pound on the wooden floors. More ROOT agents would be here soon. “Sarutobi-sensei, he’s been experimenting on the Moktun. On Nawaki.” Her voice breaks with anger and despair.

“What does he think to gain from something like that?” There’s desperation in his voice, a rationalization he’s trying to convince himself of.

“He wants to create an army with Jichan’s Kekkei Genkai. Sensei, he’s killing children to do it.”

“No,” he shakes his head. “No he wouldn’t do that. The Will of Fire was passed on, this can’t be true!”

Tsu sighs. She gets it. God, how she wishes she didn’t, but it's the same thought process she had when she was told of Oro’s experiments. The betrayal and hurt she felt is written all over her teacher’s face. “It is. Oro and Jiraiya are at the laboratory right now getting proof. His name is Tenzo and he has the Mokuton.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I can’t tell you.”

The Hokage scoffs with indignation. “And you expect me to simply take your word for all this?”

The commotion at the door has stopped. It is silent in the room and nothing is heard except for the creaking of the old tower, but the words she utters sounds like a firecracker exploding in the night.

“I expect you to believe the woman you raised.”

Sarutobi’s face falls at that. It was never said, not outright anyway, but it’s the truth. He raised three brats, three tragic children to become the very best shinobi they could be. He molded them into weapons. But he also sat with them through the night on away missions when they had nightmares. He clothed them in gear, fed them soup from a campfire and told them stories of the Shodime and Nindiame. He sat with them as they mourned dead parents and held them tight as they cried. Tsunade, Jiraya, and Orochimaru were his King. Why shouldn’t he believe her?

“Tsuna…” There’s a simple knock at the door. Confusion flashes across Tsunade’s face before she schools it back to neutral. A kunai slips from her sleeve into her hand and she stalks to the office entrance.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

Nawaki. Bachan must have finished telling him everything. She opens the door slowly and is greeted with dead ANBU at her feet. Blood soaks the wooden boards. Her brother is spatterd in crimson. He has wide blank eyes. Like Sai.

“Hi Tsu, is Sarutobi here?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before punching her so hard she flies back into the wall, the air gone from her chest.

“Nawaki! What are you doing!?” The Hokage yells.

“Only what I tell him to,” says Shimura Danzo as he steps into the office. Moonlight illuminates the left side of his face, bandage gone and Sharingan glinting red.

“Danzo! Old friend, what have you done?” It’s a question that’s already been answered for him, but there was a slight hope it wasn’t true. Hiruzen remembers a shy boy that asked to be his friend when they were 4. The man before him sneers with contempt.

“I’m sure this bitch has already told you. No matter. This will all be over soon enough. “Young Prince, I believe it’s time to end the Sandaime’s reign.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Nawaki says blankly. “KATON!”

The boy breathes in and as he exhales, flames sprew from his mouth like a dragon. They head straight for Sarutobi, but he wasn’t named Hokage without reason.

“SUITON: SUIJINHEKI!” A wall of water materializes out of thin air to encase himself and Tsunade who had managed to stand back up. The flames could not touch them, but the rest of the office goes up in flames. Nawaki makes another hand sign and sparks shoot out from his hands, cumbusting into a ball of destruction. Sarutobi and Tsunade were pushed by the shockwave through the wall of the office and thrown outside onto the roof.

They coughed smoke from their lungs as the Hokage helped his student up.

“Tsunade, I’m sorry. For everything,” he says desperately. She pays him no mind though, her attention still on her brother.

“Save the apologies for later, Sensei.”

Danzo and Nawkai jump from the destroyed Hokage tower onto the roof. People had gathered in the streets, curious as to what was happening. Their wonder quickly turned to horror though as the newcome God of Shinobi let off a string of lightning jutsu that blasted through a nearby house as the Hokage dodged it. Screaming rang out and everyone started rushing in all directions.

A flash of red lightning accompanied by thunder and suddenly there were two more standing in the wreckage of the tower. Noba and Kana stood in front of Tsunade and Lord Third.

“What happened to him?” asks Kana. There is pain and suffering in her tone. Tear streaks are drying on her cheeks.

Hiruzen rips the tattered Hokage robes away, revealing his ever present battle uniform and takes his fuma shuriken out. “He is being controlled by a forbidden seal jutsu. I saw the tag on his tongue when he threw the Katon at me.”

“I’m gonna rip his head from his fucking body,” Tsunade growls. “Girls, cover us as long as you can. Kill anything in an ANBU mask. Trust no one but each other.

“Hai, Tsunade-sama!” they shout in unison. The teens move as one, Noba drawing her katana and Kana digging through her pouch for bomb tags. Kana goes high and Noba goes low, each aiming straight for Nawaki. Blue fire hisses from the blade, sizzling the air and striking true. The Senju prince slams his hands on the roof and produces a wall of cement from the building remnants. The blaze cracks the wall and the bomb tags crumble it away. One hits beneath Nawaki and he is blasted off the roof. Danzo has leapt away faster than the eye can see thanks to the sharingan.

Noba and Kana rush forth to their friend and as they reach the ground, shinobi appear as if summoned. One by one, ANBU masks pop up and Noba readies her blade. Kana breathes in slowly as if to meditate and then lifts her fists in a taijutsu pose when she exhales. They know they’re outnumbered, but that’s never stopped them before. Nawaki stalks towards them, blank expression sending shivers down their backs. He spins dual kunai in his hands.

“Ready?” Kana asks her friend.

“You know it,” Noba says with a smirk. The first jutsu comes flying towards them and they leap into action.

Back on the roof, Danzo sets his sights on Sarutobi himself. “Futon: Kaen Senpu!” A flame is produced and starts to spin, faster and faster until it is essentially a disc, lighting up like a children’s toy on festival days. Danzo shifts his arms and throws the disc to his old friend. Everything in its path erupts into flames, wooden beams burning to cinders and roof tiles cracking from the heat. The Sandaime reacts quickly, a water bullet spewing like a roaring waterfall from his hand in the dog sign. It splits the disc and the flames sputter out beside them. In the next moment he throws his fuma shuriken, the spinning blades extending and detaching into three separate projectiles. Tsunade herself leaps up and punches the roof, the force sending tiles shooting towards Danzo. He dodges two of the shuriken but the third cuts his arm. The tiles are harder to maneuver around and they hit their mark as well. Blood drips from his brow into his eye and the shurikens return to Sarutobi in a puff of smoke.

“I’m done playing these games, Saru,” he seethes. He activates his sharingan through the blood and mimics the same moves. The shurikens come stronger now and in more numbers, tiles flying faster. Sarutobi moves as fast as he can, dodging each of the spinning blades like a strange dance. The ones he isn’t fast enough for, slice his arm and side. He falls to a knee, hand covering his side. Tiles come straight toward him, but Tsunade sends out bomb tags to disperse them, rubble falling harmlessly around them.

Danzo readies a second wave, but a whirlwind of fire shoots out like a bullet from his left catching him off guard. The heat burns his robes, leaving it in tatters and smoking while the scent of burning flesh permeates the air. The traitor lets out a scream of agony as the sharingan is left burning in his skull.

As the flames recede, Jiraiya and Orochimaru emerge, standing tall above all the carnage done to the village square. Tsunade and Sarutobi suddenly notice that fires are being spread around them. From their vantage point, it looks like Konoha is burning. Shinobi are rushing all around them, paying no mind to the battle as they try to suppress the blaze. The Uchihas are mainly in charge as their clan symbol can be seen leading squads all over. Screaming rings out every so often from people not yet evacuated. It’s like they brought the war home.

“Sensei, are you alright?” Jiraiya asks of his teacher as he comes to his side. Sarutobi takes his hand from his side and blood stains it, but it's not deep enough to cause major concern.

Tsunade hugs her friends. “Did you find him?”

Orochimaru nods. “We did. I left him with Mito at Hokage mountain. The children are safe.”

“Biwako and Hiro?” Sarutobi has panic on his face until Jiraiya answers.

“In the bunker. She’s telling the village children fairy tales.”

His shoulders sag in relief. “Kami, I love that woman,” he laughs, but it turns into a wince as Tsunade places glowing hands on his side.

“You need stitches, but you’ll live, old man.”

“Old man? I’m 43!”

“You’re lucky we aren’t calling you whippersnapper,” Jiraiya snorts.

“Why would you call me that, Jiraiya?”

“Well, technically-” Orochimaru elbows him in the ribs. “Oof! Ah, you know what, it’s a long story, nevermind.”

The Hokage raises an eyebrow but shakes his head in the end. “You three worry me sometimes.”

“You have no idea,” Tsunade mutters under her breath.

“LOOK OUT!” bellows Sarutobi.

A horde of branches hurtle towards the group. They try to scatter, but it's a second too late and they are thrown off the roof into the street, thick trunks of wood knocking the wind out of them. They groan as they sluggishly pick themselves up. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were the closest and took the brunt of the attack, both covered in deep gashes and bruises.

“Tsu, your brother sucks,” Jiraiya grits out, as he picks leaves out of his hair. Said brother is in front of them now, flora sprouting from behind him as his blood drips into the ground. There is nothing in his expression and somehow, it reminds them of an animal, mindless and determined. Hungry. Relentless. He’s nothing more than a tool now. A weapon.

Tsunade is still, but tears fall freely down her cheeks even as she stands her ground. “How do we free him?”

“The seal must be broken. Kill the caster, kill the seal,” hisses Oro.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looks from Nawaki to the roof where a figure stands against the red glow of the village. Disfigured and enraged as he is, Danzo looks more like a demon than a human being. Perhaps he is. “Tell me, is there any other way?”

“No,” Orochimaru growls.

“Even if there was, I don’t care. He won’t see the sun rise.” The Senju princess is shaking, eyes seeing red as she stares down that piece of filth. Nawaki gets closer, hand signs moving faster than they can see. In their weary state, it’s all they can do to move out of the way of another barrage of wood release. Tsu and Sarutobi manage to get away, but the boys are caught in the roots that rise from the ground, tangling together and binding them in place.

Sarutobi throws his fuma shuriken, but Nawaki makes two clones to confuse him. The weapons hit the decoys with a puff of smoke. Danzo leaps down to them, stumbles, but rises on his own. The sharingan is gone, blind and black with burns covering that entire side. Tsunade sprints towards him, fist glowing with chakra. She throws punch after punch, some landing, some not. The asshole may be injured, but he’s still a man in his prime and with his good arm, he does just as much damage to her. At some point a kunai appears in his hand and he jumps back as he throws it. She sees the tag too late and the explosion blasts her into a wall, the bricks cracking with impact. She slumps to the ground, vision swimming as she shakes her head.

Danzo is breathing heavily now, tired and battered. Lightning lights up the world and Sarutobi is left on his knees, both hands gripping his side in pain. Nawkai unsheathes Noba’s katana from his back. Where the girl is, Tsu has no idea, but if she’s lost her sword, it doesn’t bode well for her or Kana. The woman tries to get up, but her ribs erupt with fire and she cries out.

“Hold, young Prince,” Danzo wheezes. “I want you to kill her first.” The boy stops in his tracks, blade still in the air where it hovers above the Hokage. He turns to Tsunade and Danzo, tilting his head as if confused.

“Clarification, Sensei,” he says calmly.

“Kill Senju Tsunade.”

“Senju Tsunade,” mumbles Nawaki. He takes a step and then another.

“Snap out of it, kid! It’s Tsu, your sister! Don’t do it!” Jiraiya screams from his bindings. He hasn’t stopped trying to struggle free, but the Mokuton is too well made. Orochimaru is in the same boat, using all of his strength to break free with no results.

“Remember who you are, Nawaki! My student! Grandson of the Shodai and Keeper of the Nine Tails! Tsunade’s snot nosed little brother! Fight it!”

The teenager walks closer and closer, but the footsteps are hesitant now. The katana lifts in the air, but then goes down, only to rise up into attack position.

“Oro, keep it up, I think he’s still in there!” urges Jiraiya.

“Remember the chunin exams! I was so proud! You are intelligent, strong willed, and kind!”

With each word Nawaki grows more and more hesitant. He shakes his head as if trying to clear it. He stumbles forward, catching himself and then the blade falls from his hands.

“You can do it, you brat! Fight that bastard! You don’t want to hurt Tsu, you’ll never forgive yourself!”

“The Mokuton was never meant for destruction, Nawaki. It was meant for life. Hashirama created the forest that surrounds Konoha to protect it. Don’t be the one who destroys his legacy!”

Nawaki falls to his knees, hands holding his head. He starts to hyperventilate, mumbling names and repeating Hashirama’s words from so long ago.

“Get up you insolent fool!” snarls Danzo. Nawaki rises and now his face is no longer blank, but twisted with fear and despair. More protests from the Sannin can be heard, but still he trudges forward until he reaches his sister. Danzo holds a kunai out for him and smaller hands grip it tightly.

Tsunade looks up at her baby brother’s face. “Remember when Jichann told us about the Will of Fire?”

“Kill her,” Danzo spits. “Now.”

The blade falls, but before it can even touch her, Noba and Kana are there holding him back. They are bloody, clothes stained and tattered. Noba’s hair is no longer in a bun, but in her face and crusted with matted blood. Kana’s leg is burned and she is favoring her left arm as the right hangs limp at her side. Both have death grips on their friend and heels dig into the dirt to keep him from killing his own flesh and blood.

“I can’t hold him much longer, Tsunade-sama,” gasps Kana. Her grip slips an inch and the blade gets closer. Tsu looks at Nawaki and there’s tears streaming down his cheeks as he quietly sobs.

“Tsu,” he whispers. “I can’t stop. I can’t…I-I can’t stop.”

“It’s gonna be ok,” but her voice breaks.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

The blade is centimeters from her heart. The girls are screaming with effort now giving it everything they have despite the pain.

And just like that, Nawaki roars in agony, ripping free from his restraints, but backing away. The kunai slips from his hands and he screams his throat horse, hands nearly tearing his own hair out. He hits the ground unconscious.

“Nawaki!” Kana shouts as she and Noba rush to his side.

“You goddamned fools.”

Tsunade suddenly remembers that Danzo is still here. The woman turns her gaze to the councilman with a katana sticking out of his chest, a red stain spreading across his robe. The blade rips out of him and he falls to his knees revealing Sarutobi behind him. The Hokage throws the sword as if he’s been burned by it and sinks to his old friend, lifting dead weight into his arms.

“Why? Why did you do it?” he asks softly. Drops of water hit Danzo’s face. Even after everything, they’re still best friends.

“To protect the village,” Danzo coughs and blood bubbles from his throat. “You were always too soft, Hiruzen. You-you didn’t have the will… to do what n-needed to be d-done.”

“Children. You murdered children, Danzo. What kind of monster twists the Will of Fire into that?”

“We could have had it all.” Danzo’s breath hitches and he shakes as a cough rips through him. A burned hand grips Hiruzen’s tunic and there is pure hatred in Danzo’s face. “I loved you like a brother. I- I did what you c-couldn’t. Y-you’re weak and a f-fool, Hiruzen. You chose them over… m-me.” The hand loosens its grip and then falls limply to a still chest. His face is left slack and wet with tear drops. Hiruzen loses what little control he had over his emotions and sobs like a child. He hugs the body closer to him.

Tsunade musters up the strength to stand and she gazes upon the consequences of their actions. The village is dark again, only embers and the moon to light the night. Buildings are nothing more than rubble, Hokage Tower utterly destroyed. She trudges to Jiraiya and Orochimaru. With her remaining chakra, she pulls the boys free from the roots and she passes out into Jiraiya’s arms.

…

When she next wakes up, she hears Mito humming a tune. It’s an old lullaby that Hashirama once sang to her when she was small. Golden memories of a simpler time flow through her head and she settles deeper into the covers. In the time between a second, it all comes rushing back. A gasp escapes her as she sits up, only to hiss in pain.

“Shh!” Mito scolds. “You’ll wake the baby.”

Tsunade’s vision clears from the dark spots and there in the crook of her grandmother’s arm is a pale baby with a tuft of brown hair.

“Yamato,” she breathes in relief, but does not settle. “Where’s Nawaki?”

“Still asleep. It’s nearly mid-day now, but the Yamanaka's say he will wake soon. The last I saw of him, he turned cold and was headed towards Hokage Tower.” She shudders at the memory before continuing. “Orochimaru is watching over him with the girls. And before you ask, Jiraiya is with the rest of the children making lunch right now. They’ll be by later to see you. As for this one,” she nods to a figure with lilac hair lightly snoring at the foot of the bed. “He hasn’t left your side this entire time.” It’s only now that Tsunade slumps back into her bed.

“How do you feel, my little minnow?”

Tsunade huffs at the old term of endearment, but smiles anyway. “Like I can sleep for a year. What are you doing with Yamato?”

“Actually, I think he’s settled on Tenzo, but that one does have a nice ring to it.” Mito gently rocks the child when he starts to fuss and he falls right back asleep. “Orochimaru won’t leave your brother’s bedside and between you and me, I think he’s afraid to hold this little one.”

“Did he tell you about what happened?”

Mito sighs heavily and there is a flash of anger before she relaxes again. “He did. It looks like our family isn’t so little anymore, Tsuna. Orochimaru has more than enough work ahead of him yet, but I think he’ll do just fine this time around.”

“Me too. Ha, it’ll be weird seeing him with little kids. He usually took in teenagers.”

“I’m sure you and Jiraiya will give him a hand every now and then.”

“Bachann?”

“Yes, my little minnow?”

“Can I hold him?” Mito smiles and shifts so her granddaughter can hold her great grandson. “This is so weird,” she whispers to the baby. “The last time I saw you, you were helping Naruto escape a trap for the Nine Tails. I never did figure out what happened to you. You were captured by Zetsu three days later.”

The baby fusses for a moment and Tsunade begins to quietly humm the same lullaby Mito did earlier. Tenzo settles immediately and she smiles.

It is 3:42 in the afternoon. Lunch is on its way to the hospital via Jiraiya and his horde of children while elsewhere, Nawaki wakes up to Orochimaru smiling at him. The boy’s teammates then immediately crush him in a hug. On the other side of town in the makeshift command tent, Sarutobi Hiruzen drafts up retirement papers. Later when he rummages through the ruins of his office, he finds the photo of him, Kagami, and Danzo with Tobirama smiling behind them. He stares at it until someone comes to collect him for the press conference explaining what happened.

The rest of the day is warm and quiet as the rebuilding of the village slowly begins. From the ashes will grow new flowers and new plans for a better timeline. There are still two more shinobi wars in the future and more people to save. For now though, lunch is on its way and Konoha can rest.

End of Part II