Chapter 33
Chapter 33
“You know you really shouldn’t be meeting them like this. If your friend tells his father, the whole clan could be in jeopardy. We’ve gambled a lot by moving this close.” Senju Touka lectured as she ran through the trees beside Hashirama. Despite her grumbling, the brown haired girl still followed at the heels of her only friend among her clan. To the rest of the Senju she was a brat, a girl constantly throwing a tantrum for attention and trying to fill a boy’s shoes.
“He’s not like that,” Hashirama defended quickly. Madara had been more then reasonable during their first meeting. Even Hashirama likely would have reacted worse then Madara or Sakura had. Of course he knew exactly who the two Uchiha were, they were famous. The heir and the second were distinctive after all.
“Let’s hope,” Touka grumbled as they moved through the forest, rapidly closing in on their destination. The trees soon parted to reveal the mighty Naka, though here it was wide and shallow, a calm patch that had become their meeting spot. Hashirama had been here many times before and today the only difference was Touka’s presence.
“You brought a friend.” Madara noted dryly and Hashirama couldn’t help but grin. Madara looked annoyed but wasn’t making any hostile moves or hand seals, a good sign. Shifting his eyes towards Sakura, Hashirama saw the girl’s eyes were fixed on Touka, a light blush coloring her cheeks.
“Well I figured you had a friend so I should bring one as well. Besides I knew that you’d get along with her, Touka why don’t you introduce yourself?” Hashirama turned to Touka who was currently blushing furiously while looking at Sakura. A string of silence followed before Hashirama laughed awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Touka?”
“Right, okay, sorry she’s just so, I feel strange. Hashi, do I have a fever? I feel like I have a fever!” Touka panicked, much to Hashirama’s amusement and Madara’s visible exasperation. Touka’s face was flushed, though for some reason, she didn’t seem sick, at least not to Hashirama.
“I think you’re fine? Shy perhaps?” Hashirama ventured and Touka blinked before visibly gathering herself. The girl’s cheeks quickly cooled and she nodded, her face set into a fierce mask of resolve.
“Right, sorry, I’m Touka, this idiots uh cousin? Yeah, anyways I’m here to make sure none of you are bullying my friend. He’s too kind for his own good and everyone pushes him around because of it and I won’t allow that.” Touka stated firmly, causing the two Uchiha to exchange glances. Hashirama could see the familiar mischief in Sakura’s eyes that always lead to a prank or joke while Madara just looked vaguely amused.
“Well we would never take advantage of Hashi-chan, would we Madara?” Sakura asked, grinning like a fox. Hashirama watched as Madara rolled his eyes and smirked, more then happy to humor the rosette’s games. The two were effortlessly in-sync, almost as if they could reach each other's minds. Hashirama wished he had the same bond with his brothers but their thoughts were ever a mystery to him, especially Tobirama. He loved his younger brothers dearly, but they were just so different from him, colder, more reserved and certainly unwilling to talk with any Uchiha.
“No, we would never.” Madara agreed, his expression menacing and eyes glittering with amusement despite his faux exasperation. Hashirama couldn’t help but admire the two of them, they were fascinating, so alive and free with their expressions. The Senju stressed discipline and stoicism, they were people of stone, unmoving no matter what they faced in life and Hashirama hated it. It was stifling, suffocating even and the only one in the clan who ever seemed to agree with him was Touka.
“They’re just messing with you Touka.” Hashirama offered quickly, aware the two Uchiha were trying to get a rise out of her. He knew they’d needle the girl, might even demand she leave but this playful teasing was a relief. “So, do you two mind if she joins us occasionally?”
“Just for lunch.” Madara said firmly, though all four of them knew that was going to fall apart fairly quickly. Hashirama had started it, training together that is. He’d been dreaming of the fight he’d seen between the two Uchiha and had all but begged them to spar him, one on one. Hashirama knew he was strong, his chakra always did exactly what he asked of it and his reserves were massive but he couldn’t handle both of them.
What he’d learned from their spars, was that both Madara and Sakura knew how to hold back. Furthermore Sakura knew how to hide her skill and her style, falling back on incredibly simple but well timed strikes that hid her attack patterns and habits. The rosette couldn’t hide her perfect chakra control though and Hashirama had been surprised to find it was almost as good as his own. Even among the Senju his control was prodigious and she couldn’t be that far off.
“Just lunch, for now.” Hashirama grinned at his two friends. Sakura answered with a shark toothed grin of her own, the rumors that she was at least part Kaguya had been confirmed by letters from the Uzumaki clan rather recently. They didn’t know if she had the kekkei genkai to match yet though.
“Just lunch.” Madara reiterated, glaring at Hashirama who couldn’t help the answering grin. Madara acted stern and cold, but he was just as playful as his pink haired friend. He’d never admit to it of course but Hashirama thought that was just part of his charm.
***
Notes covered in fuinjutsu littered Sakura’s room within the Senju district as she stressed over her upcoming performance review. Her rate of ANBU missions had ticked up, with her being ten years old, Bear could no longer stop her from going on the same kinds of missions that Itachi had. The lie that the missions had been what caused Itachi to snap wouldn’t hold water, at least not with the current Hokage and his council, so the number of bodies Sakura left in her wake were slowly climbing. Not that Sakura particularly cared, she was a child of war, knew the cost of fighting well and in the world she lived in, that was just the way of things. She didn’t like it, nor did she lose sleep over it, it was simply normalized in her eyes.
The image of Touka wielding a guandao had been burned into her mind. She hadn’t used the sharingan, they were all still pretending after all but even so the sight had made her heart flutter and blood boil. Not to the same extent as fighting Madara of course, her instincts sang whenever they crossed blades, but still it was the first time this had happened with anyone else and Sakura was decidedly confused. Worse, it was interfering with her efforts in recreating Madara’s legendary war fan.
‘You can’t absorb ninjutsu, it would take more chakra then exists in the jutsu itself.’ Sakura knew that while it was theoretically possible, in lab conditions to absorb someone’s chakra, it wouldn’t be possible while they were trying to kill you. Even fuinjutsu wasn’t quite that powerful, though redirecting attacks was certainly possible. The Yondaime had famously diverted the Kyuubi’s bijuudama during their fight after all.
‘We’ll need to be that strong ourselves one day.’ Inner whispered in the back of Sakura’s mind, giving word to the fears and ambitions that had been building within her. She knew Madara’s legend and was determined to stand at his side, not behind him. This was the first part of that, recreating or likely inventing the fuinjutsu that had been carved into his fan. They had enough spirit wood for several weapons and Sakura and Madara both had some set aside for custom pieces.
Touka’s genjutsu had been artful, subtle enough that it would likely slip past most sharingan users. It targeted the other senses, weaving false sounds and a general sense of danger. It was incredibly advanced for a girl so young, though Sakura could guess the reasons. Touka was a girl, among the Senju, the clan that embodied rotting tradition and conservatism. To them, she was a broodmare for the next generation, not a human being with her own agency and ambitions.
‘Senju scum,’ Inner growled, her voice inhuman as Sakura remembered a throw away line that had snuck past the censors. The Senju punished abortion with death, even in the case of rape. They viewed it as a chance to steal an enemy’s kekkei genkai or clan affinities. They didn’t give a damn about the woman’s emotional well being and if she objected, well she’d die for it. ‘Touka deserves better.’
‘That’s it!’ Sakura thought standing up after thoroughly messing up her hair. She needed to talk to someone and the only person who would understand was Izumi. Izumi knew what it was to love an enemy, of sorts. Itachi’s situation was complicated, he hadn’t committed the massacre willingly but he was still very much their enemy and would remain so for as long as Danzo held his mind in his blood soaked palms.
Leaving her room, Sakura felt Sasuke’s chakra rushing through the compound. ‘It’s the end of the academy day.’ Sakura thought idly as the Uchiha ran towards her. Sasuke was still wearing the makeup she’d ‘forced’ onto him this morning. Eye shadow and nail polish since lipstick would just get smeared. ‘Perhaps some lip stain?’ Sakura grinned at the idea and ruffled Sasuke’s hair affectionately. It was still in the short wild cut that somewhat resembled hers though Sasuke’s bangs were shorter and lacked the emerald rings Sakura had picked up that hung at cheek level and kept her bangs mostly tamed. Her hair was beginning to get more wild lately, spiky even, though not to the same degree as Madara’s.
“How was the academy?” Sakura asked, dancing around Sasuke via the wall. The boy rolled his eyes at her random display of chakra and then grinned happily.
“Nobody bothered me about the makeup! A few of the girls even said it looked cool. Though they think everything I do is cool so…” Sasuke crinkled his nose in annoyance. Sakura knew he never appreciated the fan girls who had appeared after the massacre. Overnight he’d went from a pariah, one of the aloof, arrogant Uchiha to ultimate prince charming, the tragic survivor to a once legendary clan. Sasuke hated each and every one of his fans, or at least the ones who had appeared after the massacre, the few he had before he tolerated. “So, what about you? You seem jittery.”
“I need to talk to Izumi-onee,” Sakura replied and Sasuke nodded in understanding. Izumi, with her Buddha like patience had become the resident big sister, even edging out Naori for the title. The physically older Uchiha hadn’t even argued, instead finding comfort in having another adult around for company even if Izumi was in the body of a fifteen year old girl.
“I’m going to go practice kenjutsu with Naori, oh and Naruto said he’s planning a big prank with Tora-chan, anything I should know about?” Sasuke gave his adoptive sister a look. Sakura just flashed him a playful grin that meant trouble and darted away. “Great, that means it’s going to be big.” Sasuke let out a sigh and made his way towards the training grounds, while Sakura opened the door to Izumi’s room.
“What is it Sakura?” Izumi asked, looking up from her book on medical ninjutsu. She had the chakra control for it and brain surgery was their only route to healing Itachi so naturally Izumi had begun to pick it up. It had inspired Anko and Naori to start practicing as well, mostly so they could patch wounds in the field and even Sasuke had gotten in on it though he’d had no success so far.
“Well I met this girl,” Sakura began before pausing. It wasn’t like she could explain her trips to the past, despite the years that had gone by, she still felt it hard to wrap her head around. If she hadn’t gotten the chest from Shisui, and the inheritance she’d planned for herself, she might have eventually convinced herself it was just dreams. “And she makes me feel strange.”
“Strange how?” Izumi asked, keeping judgment from her voice. In fact the half Senju didn’t seem to be feeling anything other then kind patience, her chakra amicable and steady, a comforting blanket of cool power that hung around her like a winter storm.
“Well, my stomach feels all fluttery when we spar and sometimes my cheeks get all hot and she keeps popping into my thoughts.” Not as much as Madara went unsaid and unheard, at least by Izumi. Sakura had moments where she wasn’t focused on the past, on her shared burden with her best friend but it was a frequent focus.
“Do you enjoy her company? Or do you dislike her?” Izumi’s tone was careful but Sakura could already see where this was leading. She was ten sure, but she was a very intelligent ten year old thank you very much.
“I’ve got a crush,” Sakura realized aloud and Izumi nodded in understanding. “On a girl.”
“That’s fine you know, nothing wrong with it.” Izumi pointed out and Sakura nodded numbly because it wasn’t the fact that she was crushing on a girl that bothered her. No, it was the fact that girl was a Senju, which would be fine in the present but in the past? Unthinkable.
‘At least we know for sure and can address it before it becomes a problem.’ Inner advised and Sakura sent her other half a silent wave of agreement. They couldn’t fall in love with Touka, that wouldn’t end well for anyone, least of all Madara. To him it would be a betrayal and she would never put him through that. Besides, Madara was more fun to fight. ‘Back to studying chakra?’
‘Best to focus on something and get used to driving her from my thoughts.’ Sakura agreed, though she knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Still, her current efforts had born fruit. She hadn’t actually implemented a solution but she understood the problem.
‘Why don’t you talk me through it?’ Inner suggested, since they both shared the same understanding of things, but could hold different views. The benefits of having two minds.
‘Well ninjutsu cannot be sealed, at least not other people’s ninjutsu. The Yondaime got around this by redirecting it through a portal but that required three physical anchors for the seal and another three for the destination, along with a large amount of chakra.’ Sakura explained while Inner hummed her agreement. They both knew what the problem was, to absorb an attack was impossible, to nullify it required the same amount of chakra or more if you used the wrong element.
‘But what about redirecting? You only need to cancel the chakra propelling the jutsu in a given direction, not all the chakra of the attack. Let’s use a fireball as an example, most of the chakra is in creating the fire and maintaining it with only a small amount dedicated to its speed and direction.’ Inner pointed out and Sakura felt the realization snap into place.
Of course she didn’t have to cancel a jutsu, just redirect it and to redirect it she only needed to overcome the small fraction of chakra giving it direction. It was brilliant and with the right seals, she could return the attack with an added boost of power and speed, a quick blast of complimentary chakra to fan the flames as it were.
‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!’ Sakura wanted to scream in frustrated excitement as she got to work, her plans quickly coming together. Now that she knew what she wanted, she could go about achieving it. Her dry run would be her ANBU armor, a simple repulsion seal to prove the concept. If it worked, it’d redirect weaker jutsu. For stronger attacks, she’d need chakra steel armor, though even chakra steel could only direct enough chakra to reflect a B rank jutsu at best.
‘It’s chakra density that ends up being the problem.’ Inner mused as Sakura thought over the various materials she could use. Of course it came down to chakra density, Izumi’s fascinating discovery. Much like a blade concentrated force, A rank ninjutsu had so much concentrated chakra they were basically unblockable and had to be met with another A rank or simply avoided. Fortunately, the spirit wood she had on hand from Kaminari no Kuni could support an S rank fuinjutsu array, so once she was confident it would work, she’d make a pair of gunbai, one for herself and one for Madara.
***
When Madara woke up, he felt a strange unease wash over him. The morning was crisp and cool, the beginnings of winter just starting to set in over Hi no Kuni. The harvests had come and gone, bails of rice now stocked the warehouses throughout the Uchiha territory and kotatsu rolled out to provide islands of warmth amidst the winter chill.
Sakura appeared across from him and offered him a small smile, clearly she felt the unease as well. Something was off, the world was too still, the birds silent all around the fortress. It was an omen, a promise of impending strife, as if the whole world was holding its breath. The war had been gone for so long, but it had to restart sooner rather then later. The Uchiha had been building strength, their injuries healed by Sakura’s small hands and their armories full of explosive tags and storage scrolls. It was a revolution, though the Senju were no doubt benefiting form the Uzumaki’s trade as well.
“Should we wear our armor today?” Madara asked and Sakura actually considered his words. Most days when he was feeling uneasy, she dismissed it. Today however, she clearly paused and thought over the suggestion before shaking her head.
“Just mail, underneath our normal clothes.” Sakura replied and Madara gave her a nod. That meant they’d be bringing their scythes in scrolls as well. Sakura passed him a sealing tag he didn’t recognize, and he could feel power stored within it the moment his fingers touched the thick parchment. “A protective tag, it’ll block one C rank ninjutsu. Don’t rely on it.”
“I won’t,” Madara promised, wondering how Sakura found the time to do it all. She couldn’t match him in jutsu use anymore and his taijutsu was better but she was by far the superior medic and she was picking up fuinjutsu like it was second nature. Perhaps not as fast as he learned new ninjutsu or genjutsu but she was clearly in her element when working with pen and parchment.
The two children got ready for the day, eating rice balls filled with freshwater fish. The rice had been cooked in broth made from fish bones and well seasoned while the fish had been steamed and was perfectly tender. All in all, a good start to the day and Madara quickly forgot his foreboding as he pulled on a chain mail shirt over his undershirt and threw on a navy blue tunic to cover it. A satchel of kunai and shuriken along with his weapon scroll completed his kit for a day of hard training and the two children quickly headed into the forest, their escorts tailing them.
Patrols had been stepped up significantly since they had run into Hashirama and Madara could feel Uchiha moving through the trees ahead of them. No signs of battle or chakra flares caught his attention but channeling Sakura’s chakra into his body had become habit and her perfect chakra control allowed him to notice even the tiniest shifts in chakra, providing him with razor sharp sensing. If he pushed chakra into other senses, they could be amplified as well, though he hadn’t trained that nearly enough. It was hard to find the time in the day and he had his own areas of training to focus on, like leading the clan in battle.
Reaching the Naka river, Madara stopped at the bank. He could feel Hashirama’s chakra, earlier then normal and focused on it. Hashirama was stressed, uneasy about something and Touka was with him as well. Both Senju were early but Madara couldn’t help but feel he was missing something. It was like there was a sound just beyond his hearing, a whisper of something he couldn’t place. At his side, Sakura was faring no better, her eyes roaming the forest nervously, red threatening to bleed into emerald as she kept watch.
“They’re earlier,” Sakura murmured and Madara nodded in agreement. “I don’t like this.” Sakura added, which made two of them. Both Uchiha children could feel their hands shift towards their weapons though they didn’t draw them.
Hashirama burst from the forest and landed on the bank, sandy dirt and pebbles scattering violently with the impact. Touka touched down beside him, far more controlled and her expression was tight, not quite blank but as near as a ten year old could manage. This close Madara could feel their chakra spiking with anxiety, nervous and ready to be called upon at a moment’s notice.
“Hey Madara, up for a game? Skipping rocks perhaps?” Hashirama asked nervously and Madara shrugged, moving forward and picking up a smooth, pebble. Hashirama mimicked the action but a rock dropped from his sleeve into his hand. Sakura grinned at Touka, showing off her razor sharp fangs which Touka answered with a frustrated look, glaring at the ground and kicking at the dirt in a show of frustration. Something was very clearly wrong.
Madara looked at his rock and then Hashirama, then took aim. Hashirama did the same and their stones went flying simultaneously. Madara’s stone skipped across the water, making its way to Hashirama while Madara caught the other boy’s stone. ‘Run,’ Madara felt a burst of chakra and looked up just in time to see a kunai whistling towards him. A second kunai took it from the air, sending the blades plummeting into the water as Senju Butsuma burst from the cover of the forest.
Tajima moved to meet him as Madara saw a white and blue blur rocket towards him, a boy with blood red eyes and snow white hair landing on the river, a barrage of needles shooting towards him with no time to react. Madara jerked as the tag Sakura had given him burned into action, blocking the jutsu and water splashing the ground around him.
“Kuchiyose no jutsu!” Sakura’s call out immediately escalated the fight as her hand slammed into the ground and a white tiger the size of a small house burst into view. Chakra flares were erupting throughout the forest as the tiger roared, lightning crackling across its fur.
“Trying to kill my son as well Uchiha?” Butsuma smirked at Tajima, the two meeting in a flurry of blows as they danced over the water’s surface. They had fought countless times before and knew each other's techniques like the back of their hand. “Tobirama, kill at least one of them. Hashirama help your brother and attack! Or are you incapable of even something this simple?!”
“If your son takes another step forward, you won’t have anything left to bury.” Tajima warned lightly, earning a grin from Butsuma. The man jumped back, fingers flying through a familiar chain of seals and Tajima moved to counter. Tobirama, trying to take advantage of the fight, shot forward, intent on gutting the Uchiha patriarch but was forced to dodge a flurry of senbon, his eyes shooting towards Madara and a glare on his face.
“So the girl ran, good they don’t belong on the-” Tobirama was cut off as Sakura emerged from the water, her fist slamming into his breastplate and shattering the steel with ease. Ribs cracked and deformed fragments tore open skin as Tobirama was hurled from the river and straight towards his older brother.
“Hashirama, get out of here!” Sakura shouted as her eyes spiraled to life, sharingan blazing under the morning sun. Killing intent rolled off the girl as Madara drew another handful of senbon and hurled them towards Butsuma forcing the man to dodge and giving his own father an opening. Tajima kicked the Senju, sending him back to the opposite bank of the Naka, where he landed next to his sons.
“Chichiue, Tobirama needs a medic, his ribs are broken and he’s bleeding.” Hashirama’s words earned him a furious glare from Butsuma, however before the man could snap at him, Sakura’s tiger charged across the river, finally finding an opening to attack. Lightning gathered around the summons as it closed in on them, its claws buzzing and chirping with plasma.
“Take your brother and fall back. Make sure the girl doesn’t get captured, she’s of good stock.” Butsuma ordered, earning a seething glare from Touka who took the opportunity to leave without another word. Hashirama shot Madara a pained look before leaving, Tobirama limp in his arms.
“Running away old friend?” Tajima asked, smirking as a water dragon rose up behind him. Butsuma growled but was forced to jump further back into the forest as the justu shot forward, lightning filling it as Sakura’s tiger added its fury to the attack. Senju chakra was alive in the forest, though they were present in far fewer number then the Uchiha who had been prepared for just such an attack. Sakura’s tiger roared again, clearly eager for battle, its electric blue eyes darting to its master as she stood beside Madara.
“Madara, Sakura, you two are the target of this attack. Return to the fortress.” Tajima ordered and then looked at the tiger, who quickly shifted its gaze to him. “Keep your master safe.” His tone was respectful but firm and the tiger dipped its head, returning to Sakura’s side.
“Did you kill him?” Madara asked as the two took off, running through the trees. Their route was familiar, even if it felt alien now. Around them, Uchiha moved silently, faster then the normal eye could follow but clear as day to their sharingan.
“No, broke his ribs and my hand.” Sakura grimaced, cupping her right hand in her left, emerald chakra slowly piecing the bones back together. Madara winced, a flash of sympathy pain rushing through him along with anger at seeing her injured. She had struck with all the fury of a goddess and had caught the Senju bastard completely by surprise. If he hadn’t been wearing armor, the boy would be dead, though Madara wasn’t sure he wanted that. The white haired boy was Hashirama’s brother after all and for all that he was a Senju, Hashirama was also Madara’s friend.
“Perhaps that’s for the best.” Madara said softly and felt Sakura’s chakra twitch with blood lust. The girl’s lips were pulled back and briefly a black rage burned through her before it was devoured, no doubt by her Inner personality.
“No, I really wanted to kill him.” Sakura admitted, the words catching Madara off guard. She meant it, truly and utterly, she wanted Senju Tobirama dead. Her chakra pulsed and burned through her veins, still agitated and angry though now at levels that were more reasonable and wouldn’t consume her. “He tried to kill you. He nearly succeeded.”
“Thank you.” Madara said softly and Sakura’s facade crumbled as they reached the rice fields. Pain and loss bled into her chakra as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Wordlessly she took his hand and gave it a squeeze, driving home just how close Madara had come to death. If he didn’t take the tag with him, if Sakura hadn’t given it to him, if his opponent had used just a bit more chakra, he’d be dead.
“I’m not losing you too.” Sakura whispered and Madara grit his teeth, the muscles in his jaw going taught. He remembered two years ago, how Sakura had fallen apart, how her emotions had dulled and her eyes became distant. Her chakra had burned with the fury of the Uchiha’s curse and yet she didn’t have enough chakra for the change to occur. She’d recovered, as much as one could recover from such things and on. Most days the scars didn’t show but here and now he was reminded how much his continued presence meant to her.
“You won’t, I promise.” Madara had promised himself he would get stronger. He’d frozen up, terrified that he’d end up having to fight Hashirama or Touka. He’d been afraid and stunned, he hadn’t truly expected a battle, wasn’t in the proper mindset and he’d locked up. That would not happen again, if he had to become the perfect warrior, so be it.