Fury
Hashirama made a point of thanking his hosts, before he and Yamato left the next day. "I'm sorry I can't repay you in any way," he said, as he rose from his bow.
"Oh please, it was no trouble." Anko's mother had arrived in the evening and made them a rich dinner of chicken and rice—though Hashirama passed on the meat in favor of the mushrooms she had gathered and prepared on the side.
"Seriously, you were asleep like the entire time," Anko continued. "B'sides, s'not every day you get a long-lost king staying in your house."
"I'm not a king, Anko-san!" Hashirama protested, which only made her laugh.
At Hashirama's behest, however, Yamato said that TATE would send some money to the Mitarashi family to compensate for their care. And after that, they were on their way.
"The journey won't take us very long if we run," Yamato explained, outside of the village. "That's why I wanted you recuperated. My boss doesn't like it if anyone but him wastes time, really…"
"I understand. Which direction are we headed?" Hashirama said.
"South. Our headquarters is quite near the former site of Konohagakure. Call it symbolic," Yamato replied, shrugging. "Also, it's isolated. We aren't bothered, not even by the Uchiha clan. Then again, we have sensor nin at outposts away from the main base, so we usually take care of intruders long before they're a problem…"
"Ah, certainly…" Hashirama said. "Well, Yamato-san, please lead the way."
"Of course, sir."
And they began on their way.
There was very little time for talking, at the speed they were going. But they stopped for water and rest from time to time, sometimes because Yamato had to check in with people in villages and outposts along the way—TATE agents, Hashirama had to assume—and other times just for the sake of resting, which allowed for at least a few words.
"So what's he like? Your boss, I mean," Hashirama asked. He was treating himself to a peach he had grown (to Yamato's awe). "What's his name again? Hatake?"
"Yes, Director Hatake Kakashi," Yamato replied. "He's… an interesting man."
"Interesting how?"
"Well, he's brilliant, undeniably," Yamato said. He adjusted his position on the log where they were sitting, leaning over into a looser crouch. "His father was a member of TATE before him, you see, and Kakashi-sama himself joined the organization at the age of six."
"Uh-huh."
"So TATE's practically his family, you understand. He became our leader and director around the same time I was assigned to your case, sir, and has been doing a very good job since. He's just…"
"Just what?"
"Well, he's… eccentric. He might seem a bit casual when you meet him, Senju-sama, but he takes his job truly very seriously…"
"Ah, I see," Hashirama said. He took another bite of his peach. "Well, that doesn't seem so bad…"
Yamato shrugged, nodding a few times. "I suppose you'll see what I mean when we get there."
This was something of an excellent prelude for when they actually met with the man, a few hours later.
Hashirama was very much taken with the surroundings of the TATE headquarters first, though.
He could tell immediately that, whatever had happened 80 years ago, the damage had been catastrophic. What used to be dense, beautiful forests were now lush meadows of tall, tall grass, with young trees reaching up here and there, barely tall enough to provide shade. As peaceful as it looked now, Hashirama's heart ached, because he knew what it had once been, and he had loved those forests dearly.
Yamato led him, after a time, to a stream that became a river that tumbled over a high cliff and emptied into a vast, deeply blue lake.
"We've arrived, Senju-sama," he announced, at the cliff's edge. "Looks awfully peaceful for a resistance headquarters, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it's… quite lovely," Hashirama replied, vaguely breathless.
"The entrance is down below," Yamato said, motioning with his hand, "near the mouth of the waterfall. If you're tired, we'll just go around, but otherwise, we'll-"
But Hashirama had already begun down the side of the cliff face, sliding down the surface with a chakra-covered hand. Yamato put his hands on his hips, more of an exhale than a laugh escaping his mouth, before leaping over to join him.
On the ground together, Yamato motioned again. "Through here, sir." Near the waterfall itself, but not yet behind it, Yamato tapped a section of the rock wall, which rumbled dryly and swung inward, revealing a corridor that sloped gently downward. The air within was quite cool. Yamato led him in, down the hallway and a series of stairs and doorways, before they finally got where they were going.
"Welcome to the TATE headquarters, Senju-sama," Yamato said.
Hashirama was somewhat overwhelmed.
It felt like he'd stepped into the shadow of his dream; men and women in gray robes and armor, like Yamato, were everywhere within the high-ceilinged space. Some were coming in and out of corridors carved into the rock, while others were sparring with wooden weapons, or carrying metal ones. Ninjas, all of them, but clearly few of them belonged to any one clan.
They were united.
"Hatake-sama's quarters are this way, Senju-sama," Yamato said. "If you would please follow me."
Hashirama did. As they traveled, Yamato was hailed by a passing shinobi. "Back from another mission, Kuroshi?" he said.
"Can't talk now!" Yamato replied, jovially. "Gotta report to Director Hatake."
The others that passed them said nothing, staring pointedly at Hashirama. Though he had to wonder if they really knew who he was, or if he was just a newcomer to them, or if they thought he was a threat, of some kind. Hashirama couldn't quite sense from where or whom it was coming from, but there was a faint sense of danger around, like the air before a skirmish. But Yamato didn't seem worried, so Hashirama tried not to worry either.
Yamato led him, eventually, to a series of corridors near the back of the main chamber, and after that a ladder to an upper floor. The walls were cleanly carved—perhaps someone with a talent for Earth Release techniques had made it? Light was provided not by torches or candles but strangely-glowing glass orbs suspended very few feet from the ceiling.
Yamato must have noticed Hashirama's eyes upon them, because he explained, "It's bottled lightning. A gift from our friends out east."
"Fascinating," Hashirama replied.
Yamato smiled, and nodded. "We're here," he said.
He opened the heavy, wooden, gate-like door before them, and they stepped into Hatake's office.
Hatake himself was seated in front of a great window overlooking the main room through which they had entered. He did not turn to face them, as they entered; he seemed to be reading, actually.
"Director Hatake, sir, I have Senju Hashirama with me," Yamato said; his voice had gotten very crisp and official.
"I know, I saw you enter." Hatake put his book on the ground, and stood, turning to face them. "It's nice to see you awake, Hashirama-san. You're a lot taller than I thought you'd be."
Hatake was a fairly tall man, himself, though not as tall as Hashirama—few people were. He couldn't have been older than thirty, but his hair was already gray, and closely-cut. His left eye was covered by an eye-patch, under which snaked a violent-looking series of scars, and the lower half of his face was similarly wrapped in bandages.
"I'm very pleased to meet you as well, Hatake-san," Hashirama replied, bowing. "Kuroshi-san informed me that you're interested in having me join TATE."
"Right on target," Hatake replied. "Since discovering you were still technically alive, we've been formulating plans for how best to involve you. You actually couldn't have woken up at a better time."
"Oh, why… is that?" Hashirama said.
"Even a couple of years ago, you'd have just been involved in skirmishes with the Uchiha," Hatake said. "But over these past few months, we've received information that indicates the Uchiha clan is planning an all-out attack on the rest of the world."
"A war?"
Hatake nodded. "A particularly one-sided war, at that. Which is why your talents are needed now more than ever, Hashirama-san."
"I'll help in whatever way I can," Hashirama replied. "I mean, I can't help but feel a little responsible for how things have turned out…"
"It's a complicated situation, Hashirama-san. The current state of the Uchiha clan has much more to do with the leadership of Uchiha Madara than your absence, in my opinion."
Hashirama had a very uncomfortable twist in his stomach.
"Please, why don't you sit down with me? Let's talk," Hatake said, gesturing to the cushions by the window. "I'm sure Kuroshi did a decent job in getting you a little caught up, but I'm also sure there are things you still need to know. Eighty years is a long time."
"…yes, it certainly is," Hashirama said, and took a seat on one of the cushions. Hatake joined him, though Yamato, he noticed, stood at attention by the door instead.
"Hashirama-san, TATE is presently facing a potential threat of unknown size and severity," Hatake began. "The Uchiha clan is excessively well-trained and well-armed, but until very recently, their aggression has only been aimed at other large clans, and any civilian settlement larger than a hamlet. We've been opposing them whenever these flare-ups happen."
Hashirama nodded, with the pause.
"Presently, we believe they're collecting their forces. Amassing an army. We're not yet sure where they are first going to strike, or when, which is why we're preparing to our best ability in response."
"Do you know why they're doing this now?" Hashirama asked.
"That's honestly anyone's guess," Hatake replied. "My theory is that whoever's using Madara's name now is just antsy and over-ambitious."
"So Madara-sama himself—the one I fought—he's really dead, then?"
Hatake shrugged. "Could be. The whole issue of who—or what—Uchiha Madara even is these days is something of a puzzle, really. It's easiest just to think of him as a… figurehead, nowadays."
The same answer Yamato had given him, more or less. "Ah, I see…" Hashirama replied. The uncertainty ate at his voice.
"It makes the Uchiha clan's actions make a bit more sense, anyways," Hatake continued. "They seem to switch focuses every couple of decades. About twenty years ago, they were downright intent on burning the Land of Lightning to the ground, for some reason. And before that, they were messing around in the Land of Mist. Kinda bizarre, really."
"Sounds strange indeed," Hashirama said. "In my dealings with the clan, they were far more concerned with honor and glory than conquest. Even as my enemies."
"I'm not sure conquest is their aim, Hashirama-san," Hatake said. "Destruction and intimidation, sure, but they've mostly kept to their home base. They haven't settled into any of the areas they've sacked, and they only return to them to make sure they stay destroyed, for the most part"
Imagined memories of his beautiful Konohagakure in flames curved Hashirama's hands, folded in his lap, into tight fists.
"That upsets you, huh," Hatake said.
"It's terrible. I can't understand why anyone would do this, much less the Uchiha clan…"
"The story goes that when Uchiha Madara came back from his fight with you," Hatake said, "he had burns all over his body and was half-insane, and that he gathered his followers afterward by coercion or by force, killing whoever opposed him or wouldn't join—even members of his own clan. He even changed the clan crest from a fan to a blood-soaked skull. I wouldn't expect rationality out of him, or anyone associated with him, Hashirama-san."
Hashirama nodded again. "So what do you want me to do?"
"When the time comes? You'll fight," Hatake replied. "For now, thought, you're going to be our Madara."
"…excuse me?"
But before Hatake could reply in any way, the great door to his quarters swung open, apparently to Yamato's surprise. He jumped a little, and visibly had to collect himself.
The person who came through the door, meanwhile, was a woman, and her hair was a shade of red that Hashirama knew very well. She wore spectacles, and long sleeves of chainmail that covered her arms to the wrists.
"Director Hatake, sir, we have a minor situation."
Hashirama may as well have been invisible to her, and apparently now Hatake, who began speaking ot her without a moment's hesitation. "What sort of situation."
"Sai says there's an intruder and he's very upset that I kept him from taking care of it." She crossed her arms. "Will you talk him down?"
"An intruder, huh?" Hatake said. "Funny, you'd think I'd have noticed."
"I know," the woman replied, sourly. "Well, sir, what should we do?"
"Get him over here. He can meet the intruder himself," Hatake said, with no change in expression.
The woman seemed suddenly to notice Hashirama in the room, and her eyebrows rose. "Ah, you mean this man?"
"Yes. Bring him in, now. Oh, and, Yamato, could you go get Koyama too? Have her bring the fan."
"Yes, sir," Yamato said, and left the room after the woman did.
"Yeah, things are kinda like that around here," Hashirama said, in the silence that followed. "People coming and going."
"I-I see…" Hashirama said.
"That woman—she'll be back soon—her name is Karin," Hatake continued. "Among our enemies, though, she's known better as the Black Widow. Keep that in mind when she comes back."
"A black widow, as in… a spider?"
"One bite from her and you're dead," Hatake replied, casually. "Don't worry, though, she won't bite you. She's my right hand, and as of today, your ally. You'll be working with her from time to time, I imagine."
"I'll be sure to treat her with… due respect, Hatake-san," Hashirama replied.
"She'll appreciate it," Hatake said. "She more than deserves it."
The door opened again; Karin had returned, and she had a man with her that carried a bow and an annoyed expression. He had the palest skin Hashirama had ever seen, and an almost woman-like face.
"See? Your intruder. He's Director Hatake's guest," Karin said, gesturing with her hand. "Are you glad you didn't shoot him now?"
The pale man merely pursed his lips, and Karin sighed.
"Sai, this is Senju Hashirama," Hatake said. "He was Yamato's assignment."
"I know," the man named Sai replied.
"You know what, Sai," Hatake said.
"That he was Senju Hashirama. I'm unsure of your choice in bringing him here so immediately, sir," Sai said. He added, with a mumble of embarrassment, "I wasn't actually going to shoot him, I just wanted to see how he'd react to my presence…"
Karin sighed again, but Hatake shrugged. "Certainly, Sai. Though I'd appreciate it if you brought up issues like this to me before you go threatening my guests."
"So your name is Sai, then?" Hashirama said, smiling as much as he could.
"For our purposes here, yes," Sai replied.
"I'm pleased to meet you."
Sai scoffed.
"Sai, be nice," Karin said.
"No, it's all right, I understand," Hashirama said. "Neither of us have any reason to trust each other, beyond the fact that we both work for TATE. It's not much of a bond."
"What makes you say this so easily?" Sai said.
"It's the only way I could have ever come to an understanding with the Uchiha clan, Sai-san."
Sai scoffed again. "And look where that got everyone."
"Sai," Karin interjected, poisonously.
"I will tell you here, Senju, that if you put any trust in the Uchiha clan, you will be killed. Either by them, or by us. We don't suffer traitors," Sai said. "Especially those that associate with that barbaric, merciless-"
"That's enough, Sai," Hatake said, raising a hand. "You've gotten your point across."
Karin pulled on the quiver slung across Sai's back, drawing him back to her. He was visibly sulking, now, ink-dark eyes burning at the floor.
"The Uchiha clan you remember is not the same as the one you will be facing, Hashirama-san," Hatake said. "However, your memories of how they used to be are some of the most powerful weapons you own. Hope and optimism are hard to find in times like these."
"Optimism, huh," Hashirama said.
"It's nice to have a best case scenario in mind, and people with a willingness to negotiate," Hatake replied. "All of us would rather, eventually, reach an armistice or something than for there to be a complete genocide."
The smooth words settled roughly in Hashirama's chest.
"So keep that stuff going for us, okay? Memories stretch for a longer time than you think," Hatake concluded.
The door to his quarters opened again; Yamato had returned, and he had a brown-eyed woman with him, dressed in clothing Hashirama thought more typical of a Land of Earth peasant. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.
And she was carrying something that Hashirama knew and remembered very, very well.
"That's Madara-sama's-!" he began.
"The fan of Uchiha Madara, one of our greatest treasures," Hatake said. Though his face was covered, his eye wrinkled in a smile. "We recovered it from the site where you were sealed away, Hashirama-san. We've been saving it for you."
"For—for me? No, I couldn't possibly…"
"Hashirama-san, right?" The woman with the fan waved to get his attention. "Hi, I'm Koyama Ten Ten, one of TATE's weapons specialists. And believe me, there are very few people in the world that have the skill and power necessary to use a weapon like this. I've only heard stories, but we all have reason to believe you're more than worthy of owning it now."
Hashirama stared at the fan. It looked exactly as it once had; gourd-shaped, with black tomoe painted on its surface. It looked almost harmless in Ten Ten's hands, docile, not whipping up hurricane as he knew it could.
"…but it's not mine," he said, softly.
"Hashirama-san, remember how I told you you're going to be our Madara?" Hatake said.
"Yes—I'm still confused about that."
"Well, what I meant was that you are going to be for us what Madara is, currently, to the Uchiha clan. A symbol of what we represent, what we're fighting for. And you taking this fan as your weapon is a part of that: a reunion of Senju and Uchiha. What Konohagakure used to stand for."
An echo of words—old words, his words—floated through Hashirama's memory.
"Knowing this, you think you're up for it?" Hatake said.
Hashirama stepped forward, and he took the fan from Ten Ten. It felt light, and the wood of the handle almost felt like it was vibrating at his touch, saturated with power. Madara's power, and now… Hashirama's.
A symbol of a union long passed.
"It feels like my duty," Hashirama finally said.
"It was your duty," Hatake replied. "From what I understand, the title you were given as leader of your village was… Hokage, wasn't it? The Fire Shadow?"
He'd barely been Hokage for three days, when Madara ran off, when the village was destroyed. "Yes, it was…"
"If you don't mind, then, that'll be your codename here," Hatake said. "And we'll refer to you as such in mission reports and things. Like I told you, people remember things. Having an actual Hokage on hand will be very helpful."
Hashirama stopped looking at the fan, and once more, he smiled to the best of his ability. "I'll help you in any way that I can."
"Good. Your first mission's tomorrow, actually, if you're up for it. You'll be heading out with me and with Yamato to the north-western border, near the Land of Earth."
"Oh, no, I don't think I'm up for any sort of fighting yet…" Hashirama said. "I mean, even with Madara-sama's fan-"
"You won't need to do any fighting," Hatake said. "We're going recruiting, actually. There's this guy up there calling himself the Iron Man. Karin's been collecting information on him under cover as a servant in his house, and we've almost gotten him on our side. Having you meet him will tie things together quite nicely."
"Seriously, all you'll need to do is talk to him. Though you might have to talk for a while," Karin said, with a note of a sigh towards the end of her words. Hashirama was somewhat relieved to see that it wasn't directed towards Sai, who seemed to have lost interest in what was going on around him and was fiddling with the tip of one of his arrows.
"I am at your service, Director Hatake," Hashirama said.
"Great." Hatake's eye wrinkled in another smile. "Then, you and I will head out with Yamato tomorrow morning. And Sai, let's give you something to do—I'll send you out to look for the Giant, as well."
"Do I have to, sir?" Sai said. "We've tried finding him three times already, we should just give up."
"Who's the Giant…?" Hashirama said.
"An ornithologist with spectacular anger issues," Karin said, flatly. "I'll go with you, Sai. If I can't find him, then he's either dead or useless to us."
"Hmph." Sai crossed his arms. "Fine, if you're going with me, I'll go too."
"So good to see us all getting along," Hatake said. "Right, then. Yamato, why don't you show Hashirama-san to his quarters, now? Some food and rest seems like the right thing."
"Of course, sir," Yamato replied. "This way, Hashirama-san. Bring the fan with you, it's all right."
They left Hatake's office—Sai and Karin and Ten Ten remaining behind—and Yamato led Hashirama to a cell-like room with a futon and few other amenities. "We'll move you up to a nicer place soon, Senju-sama," Yamato said, almost apologetically. "We weren't anticipating you back with us so soon."
"That's all right, this is fine," Hashirama said.
"Meals are the fifth hour after noon. Would you like me to get you then?" Yamato said.
"Yes, thank you."
But Hashirama ended up falling asleep before that could happen, and Yamato did not disturb him, apparently. He placed Madara's fan, gently, on the floor across from where he slept, trying not to look at it too much, and trying even harder not to let his guilt consume him.
Yamato did wake him up in the morning, however, bringing him to the canteen for breakfast before they set out with Director Hatake for the north. Hashirama strapped Madara's fan to his back, after donning the robes and armor provided to him: dark blue kimono and trousers, a chainmail undershirt, and gauntlets and a breastplate, all painted red with shining silver accents.
"We want you to look presentable," Hatake explained. He, however, did not change out of his gray robes, like Yamato's, nor did he remove the long, dark coat he wore over them.
"Sure, that's… fine," Hashirama said, albeit awkwardly; he didn't expect to be wearing armor for what was apparently just a recruitment mission, but he supposed that they wanted him to look the part they had in mind. He tied a red sash over his forehead, then, to keep his hair out of his eyes.
Together, they went out.
And on the way up, Hashirama learned about the Iron Man.