“In the morning as I wandered about along the seashore. I remembered things from the old times,” Izuna grits his teeth as the image of Tobirama overlaps with the red/ blonde woman. The red/ blonde woman had been on her own mission to Iron Country, collecting the Aika clan’s shipment of the metal that gave the country its name. He hadn’t made the connection until he heard her name, Yamabuki Yuki.
The rumors of Yamabuki ‘s fights with Tobirama had spread all over the country. People loved to talk about their fights and joint missions. It had made him so angry that Tobirama had just replaced him. He had seen red and attacked her. Yamabuki had pulled out a Nodachi sword out of nowhere and blocked. She managed to push him back.
The red/ blonde woman had arched her eyebrow in a manner similar to that of Tobirama. She gave him a once over. “Ah, Izuna Uchiha, I presume.” His glares confirmed her guess. She grinned. “This will be fun.” Then, she started singing.
Only his instinct had allowed him to block her swing. The two of them get involved in a ferocious sword fight. Unlike Tobirama, Yamabuki ‘sword style was more unpredictable and controlled. Not even the Sharingan could predict her movements. However, there was no wasted strength in any of them.
“Fire style: Great Fireball.”
Yamabuki tosses a kunai into the fireball. The kunai completely absorb the fire. Then as the kunai near Izuna, Yamabuki made a hand sign, causing the sealed fire to explode. The explosion knocks Izuna back.
“Water style: Water dragon.” Yamabuki quickly weaves another set of hand signs. “Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration” Izuna quickly roll out of the way, managing to avoid the majority of the jutsu combination.
Yamabuki grimaces, then sigh. She shouldn’t have expected it to be so easy. After all, he was on par with her best friend. She unsealed a whip from her wrist and moved to attack again. Humming, she weaves another genjutsu. A subtle one, just to make him see her attacks are a few centimeters off. It worked enough to her get several hits in before Izuna caught on. As Izuna got closer, she tossed a kunai engraved with an exploding seal at him, forcing him back. Then, she sensed a massive fire-natured charka approaching. Based on Tobirama’s description, it should be Madara Uchiha. Either way, she knew she was no match for him. Making a snap decision, she lunges at Izuna and grabs him by the collar. Increasing her strength with Charka, she tosses him directly at the mass of fire Charka. Seeing the fallen katana, she used her whip to retrieve it. Eyeing it with a blacksmith’s and weapon master’s eye, she begrudgingly noted it was good quality.
She quickly forms the hand sign for the Hidden Mist jutsu, making sure to saturate the mist with enough charka to hide herself from the Sharingan. “I look forward to facing you again.” With that, she returned to the Land of Water.
XXXXX
In the Water Damiyo’s palace, Yamabuki glides down the hallway in a beautiful red and white kimono. The servants bow to her, both out of respect for her position and fear of her abilities as a shinobi.
“Ahh, Yamabuki. How did your mission go?” Tobirama looks up from the scroll he was reading.
“Well, enough. I had an interesting encounter on my way back.” Yamabuki giggles.
“Do tell.”
Yamabuki recalls the story of her battle with Izuna. “I brought you a souvenir.” She removes a scroll from her sleeve and unrolls it. With a huff, the katana she had taken from Izuna appears. Tobirama picks it up and examines it. Seeing the uchiwa on it, he realizes she had taken it from Izuna.
“You don’t want it?”
Yamabuki huffs proudly “My clan could make weapons far better than that.”
Tobirama rolls his eyes fondly. The Aika clan was the clan Yamabuki was born. They were the only fire nature clan in the Land of Water. They lived on the island closest to the Land of Whirlpool. Their island was full of metal deposits. As a result, the entire clan was masters of metalwork. Everyone, even those who weren’t shinobi, were masters of weapons.
This is due to the fact that the Aika clan believes to make the best weapons, you need to know how to use one. All Aika clan members learned to use weapons as soon as they could walk. They are only allowed to leave their island when they can wield a weapon as though it were an extension of their body.
Akia members often drained themselves of charka when they were forging weapons. That was when enemies tended to attack, to try and steal the newly forged weapons. The creators then used the new weapon to attack, which doubles as a test to see how the weapon works.
“So, what are you working on?” Yamabuki looks at the scrolls.
“A new agreement with the Land of Snow. They want to trade for some of the crops that the Senju are growing.” The Senju clan had settled in well and was able to produce a bountiful first harvest. (Not that they had to worry with the money they received from the Uchiha Clan.) It was still more than what the other clans had been able to grow. The native clans had grumbled about it. They had grumbled much more quietly after the excess crops had been gifted to them by the Water Daimyo to celebrate the anniversary of Tobirama’s marriage.
“Let me help. “ Tobirama shuffles to make room for her. A servant brought more ink and another brush.
“Thanks. You have got better at this.”
Yamabuki has always been good with numbers. It comes with always having to do her clan’s financials. Yamabuki, despite her battle skills, was also trained in the day-to-day running of a clan. It had to do with the fact she was required to keep the Aika clan running while her cousins were fighting each other for Headship.
Yamabuki is the niece of the current Akia clan head. Her father had been his elder brother’s favorite, by virtue of being too young to fight him for headship. He had pulled his weight in the clan, but he had never been a threat to his elder brother. Yamabuki’s very birth had been timed so that she would be of no threat to her cousins from the main line.
“I learned a lot from Fuyuko,” Yamabuki’s voice fills with grief as she remembers her late wife. Fuyuko had perished during an attack in what was once the Land of Swamp. She was part of a diplomatic group sent there by the Land of Water. The Akia and Yuki clan had conquered the Land of Swamp as restitution and annexed it to the Land of Water. The two clans divided their resources among themselves.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Tobirama awkwardly pats her hand in comfort. Even though her marriage with Fuyuko had been arranged and Yamabuki was actually the replacement, after her fool of a cousin eloped, the two women respected and cared for each other. Ironically the marriage and alliance work out better with Yamabuki, than her cousin.
“Thank you. It is getting easier. If nothing else, helping the Senju clan and you settle me helps me cope. It takes my mind off everything.” As the elder sister of the Yuki clan head and respective of the Yuki Clan, Fuyuko had a high place in the Daimyo’s court. She had known the ins and outs of the entire court, something she had taught Yamabuki. Yamabuki kept up the habit after Fuyuko’s death because it brought her comfort. That, and the fact she had been Tobirama’s friend since they met as children in Whirlpool, was why she was chosen to guide Tobirama in his new position.
“There is going to be something else to occupy your mind. Elder brother’s birthday is coming up, which means we need to prepare.” The birthday of the Daimyo was always a large event. So many guidelines to follow to show his status, so much information to gather around, and so many noble conflicts to navigate.
“You don’t have much to worry about. After all, you are his favorite sibling-in-law.” Yamabuki sips the tea a servant brought her. Tobirama’s husband was the Daimyo’s favorite sibling because he made it clear he had no interest in the throne. That was why he married a man. It was an unspoken rule that if someone marries a person of the same gender, that means they are not interested in Headship. Any child born, of one such marriage, would be illegitimate and not have much status.
The two friends spend the rest of the day, talking about the event and the administration changes that Tobirama wants to make. The Water Daimyo listens to Tobirama on matters regarding shinobi. Thanks to Tobirama, the various warring clans have started to calm down. The Land of Water’s shinobi has always respected Tobirama for his abilities as a water user.
XXXXX
“I will behead that woman the next time I see her,” Madara tunes out Izuna’s rambling.
“Where is your sword?” He asks.
Izuna froze, then looking through his memories, he realized “Yamabuki take it.”
Madara groans “You know that father is going to be furious. Things have been tough for the clan, ever since the Senju left.” As the son of the clan heir, Izuna’s katana had been one of the best and most expensive weapons in the entire clan. To replace it won’t be cheap.
Izuna quiets “I know.”
When the Senju clan had left, they had made several demands of the Uchiha Clan. The Fire daimyo had agreed because it would put an end to the century-long feud, and it wasn’t coming out of his pocket.
The Senju clan had demanded that the Uchiha Clan pay a lump sum for their relocation as well as 25% of their income for the next decade. This was so that they would have a safety net as they established themselves in their country. The largest concession was the fact the Uchiha had to match the dowry that the Senju were giving Tobirama.
Taijma had choked in horror and shock when he was told the sum. When he asked why it was so much, Butsuma had said that the Senju clan members, whose children had all been killed before they married, had given Tobirama the money that their children would never use.
“At least all the Hyuga are gone,” Izuna said in an attempt to lighten the mood, as they cross the former Senju-Uchiha border. To ensure that there won’t be a skirmish that would delay their move, Butsuma had petitioned the daimyo to station neutral shinobi along the border of the two clans’ land. The daimyo had agreed to his request. The Hyuga clan and the Trinity clans had been assigned that task. It hadn’t affected the Senju clan, who were too focused on packing. The Uchiha, who had to routinely leave their lands, on the other hand, came into constant conflict with the Hyuga.