And God Came Down
In the deepest part of the voidspace that separates the mortal planes from the realms of the Elder Gods, where there is neither light nor dark, but only depth, where chaos and order seem as one, and all things are both known and unknowable, Vh’athl’loh stirs.
A ripple upon a once still lake. An echo breaking the silence of a tomb. Something has disturbed Their realm.
Vh'athl'loh turns outward, attention spreading like blood in water.
There.
Susano'o Is no longer. The piece of Vh'athl'loh that made him is diminished as a thick cloud hiding the light of the sun.
The storm god, though made from a piece of Vh'athl'loh, is not truly one of Vh'athl'loh's. Vh’athl’loh’s kin had come to Them and asked a boon of Them; to use a small piece of Them to create a child to preside over the waters of the mortal realm, for they raged unchecked, and no other gods could command them, and Vh'athl'loh had agreed, and given Their kin a single drop of the vast well of Their power over water, and thus was created Susano'o.
No. Susano'o was not one of Vh'athl'loh's, for Vh'athl'loh had no one that was Their own, but Susano'o's power dwelt in Their realm, and Vh'athl'loh was nothing if not aware of Their realm.
Vh'athl'loh stilled for a moment/millennia, Considering.
Vh’athl’loh's kin that had created these lesser gods had long departed and cared no more for those They once called Their children. They would not interfere with whatever was happening in the mortal realm to overcome the lesser gods.
And Vh'athl'loh was-
Curious.
--
Gone.
Every last god (the sons and daughters of Their kin) that Vh'athl'loh sought out was gone, their temples left desecrated and barren of life.
But for this one.
The frog is so small They almost miss it crawling out from under a shredded leaf, its high pitched croak nearly inaudible to Them.
Folding Themself down, Vh’athl’loh feels/hears/sees the tiny creature’s tale of how the being calling itself a Sage has been taking gods from their realms and imprisoning them, separating them from their powers and taking their powers and realms for himself, and anger stirs within Them as the far off rumbling of thunder to foretell a storm.
Once Vh’athl’loh knows what to look for They are able to listen/followtheechoes/sense/KNOW about what has been happening on the mortal plane. Of the Ootsutsuki, beings from the stars who harvest energy and matter across worlds, killing them as they go. Of the one called Kaguya who came to harvest this world and fell in love with it instead, and in trying to preserve it from her race began the capture of the lesser gods and fell prey to her nature. Of her sons, Hamura who even now guards his mother’s sealed form ignorant of the truths of his power, and Hagoromo who followed in her footsteps in capturing the lesser gods and taking their power for his own, fashioning himself as an enlightened sage, benevolently bestowing stolen twisted power on those Not Ready for it, both ignorant of the danger that still exists from their mother’s race.
(Vh’athl’loh is also the Elder God of both Knowledge and Hidden Things, once They know where to begin there is nothing that They cannot Know [for the Elder Gods have always existed out of time and matter, even more than the lesser gods])
It was Strange. The Ootsutsuki had not been Known to Them before this, but as Vh’athl’loh Observed the energy twisted from the power of the lesser gods, and twisted further until the mortals could assimilate it They found that the form of energy the Ootsutsuki use, this chakra that the godtree produces from its godly nutrients, is just off enough the They did not see/notice/comprehend it until it was brought to Their attention.
There was also the parasitic shred of Kaguya's will that was going about sowing the seeds for her revival.
And…
The volcanovent/starfire/supernova/endings/lovelovelove of Hagoromo’s first son, Indra, who gave body to all of Their niece Ameterasu’s passion/love/strength and grounded it in practicality. Who saw potential and need and innovated with what he had, even when it brought the ire of his father.
There was Something about this one that ensnared Vh’athl’loh in a way nothing ever had before. A potential They could nearly perceive/taste/smell. But there was no palatable way for Vh’athl’loh to get closer in Indra’s timespace, for Vh’athl’loh needed to experience/comprehend/assimilate this chakra for Themself in order to try/test/explore and They could not do so here, where only those handpicked by Hagoromo were given the power.
But perhaps…
There. A timespace where everything Vh’athl’loh wants aligns itself. It is unfortunate that the Black Zetsu was able to get such a strong foothold amongst Indra and his descendants, but the moment Vh’athl’loh has experienced/comprehended/assimilated all that chakra can do They will destroy the parasite, and bring down retribution suitable to each Ootsutsuki for their actions and desires against Their kin’s children.
--
Senju Tobirama is born without pigment in the dead of a moonless night in winter, when the stillness of nature will not be noticed. He does not cry, and his redred eyes cause the midwife to tut about albinism and pity him, but he grows without any complications that such a condition would bestow on him, rarely getting sick, with no more adverse reaction to the sun than is common, and no problems with any of his senses.
The more suspicious of his clan call him a demon or an omen of divine disfavor, but he is protected by his mother, Nozarashi, who was once called the White Wraith for her lethal speed and prowess in striking from blindspots before she married Butsuma after his first wife died in childbirth (a consequence of birthing a child with the Mokuton).
Tobirama is a child who is always hungry to Know, getting into everything that it is possible for him to get into (and even some things that shouldn’t be) and learning at a speed that is frightening to most, but his father is proud instead, and his mother is heartened by his strength and intelligence, her confidence in his ability to survive in this war-torn era growing with every new thing he learns and every feet of strength and chakra he makes his own.
Tobirama was born with the world laid bare before him, but it is only when they begin teaching him geography and how to orient himself that they discover this about him. A sensor they call him, and there is talk of sending him to the Uzumaki to be trained properly, but as young as he is, and his status as the second heir to the clan head cause them to decide to keep him until he has become sufficiently strong to make the journey with minimal escort (they wouldn’t want his loyalty to be divided after all, and if he lives among the Uzumaki while he is so young and impressionable it may give him cause to make a home among them). They do not think to question him on his range, and he takes care to only gaze into the northwest (toward the volcanovent/starfire/lovelovelove chakra) when he is certain that no one is looking, a part of him hidden from even himself Knowing that some things must be hidden.