Kumogakure was a land of rocky mountains, with most homes perched atop peaks or sheer cliffs. Walkways and cableways connected its main peaks, and first-time visitors could hardly fail to be awed by the magnificent scenery.
In an inconspicuous corner on the outskirts of Kumogakure, a figure held a scroll and formed hand seals with one hand. Lines of intelligence appeared across the scroll.
Snap.
The scroll rolled shut and was tucked securely into a Ninja Tool Pouch.
The figure turned slightly sideways, then vanished in the next instant. Only a glimpse of white hair peeking from beneath his hood flashed through the air.
Several days earlier, in the Hokage's Office.
"Someone spotted a Sharingan in the Land of Lightning."
Tobirama Senju stared at the mission scroll, puzzled.
"You're assigning this sort of mission to me? Are you sure you want me to investigate rather than kill?"
At the Hokage's desk, Madara Uchiha had his three-tomoe Sharingan activated as he wrote furiously, his hands moving so fast they blurred. He did not even look up.
Uchiha Izuna sat at an assistant's desk nearby, heavy dark circles beneath his eyes. Fighting his exhaustion, he raised his head and explained, "Killing him is fine too. According to the clan's records, he's a traitor to the Uchiha Clan. He killed his teammates and defected during a battle against Kumogakure shinobi. Capture him alive if you can. If you can't, interrogating him before killing him is also acceptable... use your own judgment."
With that, he plunged back into the paperwork.
Tobirama Senju read through the mission details carefully. There really were no oversights. Suppressing a smile, he took his leave.
Ever since Madara Uchiha's inauguration as the First Hokage, the Uchiha brothers had been working relentlessly through official business. The countless matters, great and small, involved in founding a village left them both dizzy and overwhelmed. Uchiha Izuna had not picked a fight with him in ages.
At first, Tobirama Senju had been deeply concerned about being pushed out of the political inner circle. But after watching the two brothers devote themselves to their duties, make reasonably fair and impartial decisions, and do a decent job overall, he had begun to revise his opinion of the Uchiha.
In particular, Madara Uchiha had repeatedly refused Hashirama Senju's invitations to go on what were ostensibly missions but were really outings for fun. He replied expressionlessly, "I'm the Hokage. I can't leave the village without good reason. Besides, the paperwork isn't finished yet... I have to work overtime."
Tobirama Senju had to admit that his opinion of Madara had improved considerably. At least Madara Uchiha had a strong sense of responsibility. In that respect, he was far better than Tobirama's elder brother Hashirama.
Having dismantled some of his own prejudices against the Uchiha, Tobirama Senju even tolerated Uchiha Izuna's overt and covert attempts to make life difficult for him. His attitude was so mild that Uchiha Izuna suspected an enemy had placed him under genjutsu and kept secretly activating his Sharingan to inspect him.
Finding no signs of genjutsu and getting nowhere, Uchiha Izuna became too busy with official business to stir up trouble. He settled down to assist Madara Uchiha, exhausting himself so thoroughly each day that he fell asleep slumped over his desk.
Tobirama Senju enjoyed the peace and quiet. He spent his days immersed in his laboratory research, occasionally fulfilling his duties as a [Konoha] shinobi by going out on missions.
For the moment, however, the Uchiha brothers-especially Uchiha Izuna-still did not entirely trust him. The missions they assigned were therefore all trivial errands, involving neither core affairs nor confidential information.
These missions might have been difficult for others, but for Tobirama Senju, they could hardly have been easier. He could even send his real body out while leaving a Shadow Clone in the laboratory to continue his research, getting both done at once.
Meanwhile, Hashirama Senju, who had proposed the [alliance], ended up with the most free time of anyone. He simply did not have a head for paperwork; the mere sight of text made him want to tear his hair out. Every time Madara Uchiha dragged him over to help, he looked miserable. Not only was he inefficient, but he also sighed so constantly that Uchiha Izuna threw him out in a rage.
Bored, he wandered around Konoha every day and discovered that Wood Release, so powerful on the battlefield, was also an excellent tool for building houses and bridges. The God of the Shinobi World, Hashirama Senju, reinvented himself as Konoha's greatest building contractor. Konoha's infrastructure flourished, earning considerable praise from its civilian residents. No one got hurt-a happy ending all around.
"Is that the child?"
Tobirama Senju stood in a tree with a Military Rations Pill in his mouth, feeling somewhat tired.
The [Flying Thunder God Technique] consumed not only chakra, but also physical stamina and mental energy.
After accepting the mission, he had taken a short rest, temporarily halted his laboratory research, and set off for the Land of Lightning.
Several days of wide-area spatial sensing, combined with concealing his identity while gathering intelligence, had left even him somewhat weary.
But his efforts had paid off. He had found a few leads.
Combining the Uchiha Clan's written records with intelligence gathered on the ground, he had roughly pieced together what had happened.
Many years ago, a free-spirited, unruly Uchiha had fallen in love with a young woman from another clan. War had been raging at the time, and the Uchiha and Senju were locked in fierce combat. Amid the chaos of battle, he had killed his teammates and defected.
Madara Uchiha's father, Uchiha Tajima, had been furious and personally led men in pursuit.
For some reason, however, there were no further records of the incident. Uchiha Tajima had suppressed the information.
Even Madara Uchiha did not know the exact reason.
But according to Tobirama Senju's investigation, the woman that Uchiha defector had fallen in love with was none other than a girl from the Senju Clan!
Uchiha Tajima had held no goodwill toward the Senju Clan, their mortal enemies at the time. Whether this information became known within the clan or to outsiders, it would have been a humiliating disgrace for the Uchiha.
It was therefore reasonable to deduce that the clan head at the time had suppressed the information to keep anyone from learning of it.
Tobirama Senju surmised that the Uchiha defector had most likely already been killed by Uchiha Tajima. But because the incident had been too shameful to record, the current clan head, Madara Uchiha, knew nothing of it.
After receiving the report that "a Sharingan had been spotted in the Land of Lightning," Madara Uchiha had searched through the clan's records and mistakenly assumed that the missing-nin was still at large.
He did not know that the Uchiha missing-nin had long since died. His wife, a female shinobi of the Senju Clan, had escaped successfully and, in her grief, raised their unborn child alone. When the child was four, she had died of overwhelming longing, still burdened by regret.
The Sharingan wielder who had now appeared was merely a child who looked around four years old-the offspring of the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan.
He has considerable research value. I could take him back and raise him in the laboratory.
With that thought, Tobirama Senju turned his gaze toward a spot nearby.
"Thieves should be beaten to death!"
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you mute?"
"I think he's an idiot. Hahaha..."
Several children stood around a little white-haired child, laughing and jeering.
They were villagers who lived near the Land of Lightning and made their living growing sweet potatoes. A few days earlier, this unfamiliar white-haired child had appeared on the outskirts of their village. Afterward, households began reporting missing food, so a handful of mischievous children with nothing to do had banded together and noisily launched a campaign to catch the thief.
In the end, they really had caught him: a little white-haired brat who looked like a refugee fleeing famine. His eyes were sometimes black and sometimes red, making him look ominous.
The villagers here were already poor and struggled to feed their own children. They had little kindness to spare for a thieving brat, especially one whose appearance reminded them of an evil spirit.
Still, seeing how young he looked, the villagers had softened and forgiven him for stealing food to fill his stomach. They had merely driven him away, telling him with disgust never to return.
The adults had let him off, but the children had not. They had secretly followed the white-haired child and, filled with righteous indignation, loudly mocked and tormented him.
The little white-haired boy watched them helplessly, curling into a tiny ball as they hit and insulted him.
"Thief!"
"Bad guy!"
"That white hair is disgusting. He looks like a ghost."
Weak-willed. He'll never amount to much.
Hmph. An Uchiha brat, all right.
Tobirama Senju stood in the tree with his arms folded, silently assessing him.
But-
What's wrong with white hair? White hair looks handsome too, you know!
His fingers absently brushed the white hair at his neck. With a turn of his wrist, several stones appeared in his palm.
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