Iron and Soul (1)

"Shimura Danzou, I'm glad to see you come forth for this inquiry punctually."

Since when I am late for this sort of stuff?

In fact, why should I be missing this if I was the one that asked for it? It's been a long time since I had to handle such a complex matter and… these turbulent months after what happened in the Land of Waves had given me the chance to recuperate from any issue I had set myself to solve and improve on myself. The journey was far from over, but I could tell that my training did much to improve my current capacity in combat. Learning how to use the advanced version of the Sharingan gave me also the chance to gain a greater endurance with my eye so as to not get blind by overusing it.

The eye gave me access to my own version of the Susanoo which I could barely form in its 'half-body' phase, and also used a special genjutsu against my opponents. The Genjutsu bit was somewhat expected due to how many Uchiha had that sort of ability in their 'right eye', but the way this one worked was… chilling. And I was keen to think that even though I could still use the 'Barney no Jutsu' on my poor bastards of foes. The 'Kamiyonanayo'(1) was, as the reference may intend, the 'sequel' to the Kotoamatsukami technique available to Shinsui in the original timeline. Rather than being the ability to bend people's will into agreeing to specific thoughts implanted by their users as the comparable ability would, this one went 'beyond' that: it froze targets. The one that got hit by it the first time that I used it was actually Reira. I wanted to test out this Genjutsu with someone with greater chances to break away from it and…

Reira kind of 'died'. Her body froze up entirely, her heart, lungs- all organs shut down and her entire self went cold. I was plain shocked by this entire matter, but, to my immediate great relief, she woke up as soon as I disrupted the technique. She was 'fine', but the girl admitted feeling a bit colder than before 'blanking out'. By theory alone and a second experiment through a more skeptical Madara used as a lab rat, I confirmed that the Kamiyonanayo's main functions were established in two effects happening at the same time: A) The target's body is fully paralyzed in a comatose/near-death state; B) it would shut down their brain functions too, thus preventing any active effort to recover from this technique.

I was really frightened by this discovery as I initially thought that it was a literal 'gaze of death' and that I used it on two people I cared for. Turns out I was mostly wrong in that expectation as I would see by going for a riskier experiment. I tried to use it on a small squirrel, kept the little thing slumbering for an hour and… woke it up. It didn't show any behavior which would suggest any form of potential damage, and a quick diagnosis through a closer look confirmed the squirrel's body was left untouched by this phenomenon.

The only explanation I could find about this curious circumstance was that my chakra, the one I used to keep up with the expense of Kamiyonanayo, was partly used to 'preserve' the body of the target. The more time I would keep the squirrel unconscious, the greater the upkeep would get to not let it die. A terrifying move for sure, and one that I couldn't spam despite how powerful it was. Not when the requirements would force me to focus entirely on the target and could be beaten by not staring into my right eye while the Mangekyo Sharingan was active. Which was a draining process to keep up with in the long run so… it was not cost-effective for someone that didn't need to waste their reserves in combat so early on.

Senjutsu finally gave me an edge too as I finally got through to stabilize the form I was able to use and I was walking the steps needed to fully integrate its senses in my general physics. It was odd to explain but… the more I trained with it in a 'constructive way' rather than fighting, the more stable and less draining on my body it was going to be. It will even get to the point where it should become easy for me to tap into Sage Mode without having to meditate to acquire Natural Chakra. That ideal end goal was still far from reach, but it was getting close each time I was training into that sort of matter.

Puppets-wise I was also making progress into adding two more 'Stands' to my collection: Hermit Purple was a bit of an anomalous concept as the seals I used were heavily reliant on Natural Chakra, and that was quick to use only as I was using Sage Mode. Despite the drawback, the power within this puppet was so intense that it allowed me to replicate some of the Wood Release's effects and provide me assistance in case I had to face a demonic threat due to the natural energy that puppet could muster; Next was Magician Red and… it was pretty much similar to its original counterpart, except that, rather than produce flames, it was a 'controller' of those. It couldn't create fire out of thin air, but it could expand or reduce- or better, it can control a flame to interesting levels due to the sheer amount of seals I put in that regard. Due to how dangerous flames are for people and 'paper', there are fifteen pages of seals of various ranks which were meant to either 'control' or 'deter' fire from threatening a Fuuinjutsu specialist and their craft.

I also focused on other matters such as tending the growing family business as we managed to land a few profitable deals with Kumo and Suna, the former in the form of subsidizing some of their fertile lands and have their locals work the land in exchange of a slice of the profits made by the farmers, while the latter was more of a 'crop-exchange program' to improve the yielded resources within their new green houses. It was nice for once to use my brain on how to get the Shimura Clan slightly richer rather than how to murder people, and the end result was that I began setting up some 'green shops' in Konoha to promote and sell more products than the local markets could.

In a land where macroeconomics was yet to be fully studied by any potential expert on the subject, I had a free hand to employ a form of monopoly over Konoha's economy. An ambitious man would just take it all and control things from the darkness, however I was not in the general intention of conquering the village and controlling it. After all, just because I am not wearing a fancy hat at the end of that process, I would have to face the same amount of paperwork a Hokage would have to handle, maybe more considering how that take-over would give me hold of even those activities that normally didn't have to ask much to the Hokage to keep their businesses afloat.

No, controlling the village's economy wouldn't do… but that didn't mean that expansion was out of my plans. Konoha's size had to be expanded out of two primary reasons which saw Hashirama (and Tobirama even more) agree with me: population and housing. The more people lived in Konoha, the more housing needed to be there to allow them to stay. If there was no space for people to live in, then those would migrate and Konoha would suffer a demographic decline and a 'brain drain' due to how some of these people would mostly be those that had the coin to leave and join other major settlements. It would feel odd for a Ninja Village to suddenly see civilians take the 'smaller village' route. Not when its economy was booming, but the lack of a chance to enjoy it meant that there wasn't going to be a choice in that regard.

Hence why new edicts to expand Konoha ensued. Hashirama allowed this to happen through two potential kinds of terrains: one, those lands that once were used for farming and that now had ran out of their fertility by being overworked; and two, a small section of the forest which could be 'moved up' closer to the border and beyond in exchange of cutting down some of the trees. I understood his reluctance to outright reduce the trees within the village's inner border, which is why I decided to entertain an architectural idea. I was no Japanese so I couldn't be completely sure of it, but vertical development in housing had been a primary plan when it came to expanding a city. So, rather than create some more 'short, but wider' complexes, I asked the builders to actually create tall ones. The end results were six tall buildings that reached between four to seven floors. The structures were made of reinforced stone and wood, giving it a formidable foundation which could withstand big earthquakes if needed.

Two more warehouses and three storage buildings were also added to the 'queue', allowing for the new side of town to not drain too fast and too intensely from the available resources within Konoha. The immediate arrival of several old families that had left in recent years allowed for this expense to pay off and almost double the income generated by taxation while also increasing the amount of trade goods entering and leaving Konoha. A true success, and it also landed me in the 'good boys list' as I could now get my big request reviewed by Hashirama himself.

The man was smiling right now as I sat in front of him. I saw some pride in his look aimed at me as he could tell I… grew up. I was a month short from being 14 and I got taller. Puberty was finally getting to me too as my behavior initially got bolder, but was subsiding with enough discipline enforced in my body. I couldn't afford to get too 'distracted' with my changes as the girls were growing up too and they were getting 'more beautiful' in my eyes than before.

Yep, that's going to be a nightmare to endure in the next two-three years.

Still, beyond these tedious months of getting myself at ease back at home for the sake of my mental sanity and work on other projects which wouldn't cause the death of people, I had plans to finally make a trip outside Konoha for something I had put on the side for too long: get my Kenjutsu training through some professional help. I wasn't planning to delay this any longer and I really, really wanted to see what the Land of Iron had to offer to someone like me in that regard and more.

"I suppose Hokage-sama has been able to give a proper look at my full request," I hummed, deciding to tackle the issue as energetically as possible.

"I have, yes. And I believe my wife had given it a look too since she had been plotting to 'swarm' me with my 'many duties' with our children to keep you here," The man remarked, sleep bags under his eyes.

His kids had gotten old enough to finally crawl faster, further and even walk if they so wanted to 'train' new skills to 'make him lose his sanity'. Those were words he himself said while Madara was around… and Madara had obviously told me of as these were hilarious moments of bantering. Until he mentioned trying to provide me with a 'new brother' with my mother. That turned things sour quite fast during these interactions.

Nonetheless, the resistance from Mito was somewhat expected. Yoshiko was getting to the ripe age where girls with her noble pedigree could start courting people and it was no secret that she was going to ask me out quite soon. Reira was going to follow this line of thought, especially when this came up during one of our usual friendly hangouts. I think the Hyuuga Clan has plans to do something with me ever since I got the elders to accept stopping using the Caged Bird Seal and to free up those that were old enough and were not in a position to be kidnapped. It was a slow process to outright convince them to drop the practice, but it was working. And it kind of got Himeko even more interested in setting up an arranged marriage through my mother.

Luckily for me, mom wanted me to marry out of my personal love and belief. And yet she also wanted many grandchildren and had mentioned that, as the single heir of a clan, it wouldn't be odd for a young man like me to settle with multiple wives. Yes, things were getting bad for me if my own mother was looking forward to having me marry my potential harem, uncaring of the fact they were… kids. In my view, most were minors and… well, I was older than I looked. Himeko was a genuine adult, but the way she behaved around me was… well, chilling. And I really wasn't looking forward to being ensnared by that can of issues. Hence why I was plotting to bail Konoha for a few months so I could get the space and the time to plot a way to handle all of that.

"The Land of Iron in the north… it's quite far."

"Not the furthest place I visited-" The War took me the furthest from home. It wouldn't be any different to go solo this time around.

"And also quite known for its displeasure about ninja. The Warring States hit them badly before Konoha was formed," Hashirama remarked, interjecting my sarcastic response. "Which is why I want you to promise me you will keep a low profile."

"I just want to train. After all, I received no mandate to entertain diplomatic missions or any request for assistance. Plus, I will hold a fake identity for the duration of this trip to prevent any issues in that regard," I remarked calmly, getting a slow nod from the Hokage.

"And I am aware of this… still, are you sure you wish to leave Konoha so suddenly?" Hashirama inquired truthfully. "After all, wouldn't Madara take this chance to-"

"I thought of this many times, Hokage-sama," I dryly remarked, gritting my teeth and barely holding fake tears at that. "But a man like me, he has to accept destiny. It's unavoidable, as despicably as this might sound, I will let him take my mother!"

…

...

"...You did something to keep that from happening, right?" The Founder of Konoha asked quietly, picking up that there was something odd about my acting.

"Sorta~," I admitted jovially, revealing my real mood about it. Which had him react nervously to this.

"And… that is?"

"I offered mom a seal for her birthday a few weeks ago. It was a pregnancy detector in case she and Madara start to get… intense about it," I grinned cheekily. "She was so embarrassed by it, but thanked me for it nonetheless. The truth is that the seal also has a second function which will be enacted once she is in the middle of some… intense activities with him."

"A temporary sterility seal? I didn't know there was a seal that could work that way."

"I didn't know that either and I'm sure there isn't one available for me to look into just yet," I confessed calmly and it took a few quiet seconds for the Hokage to realize what I just said.

"T-The seal's hidden function is to keep both from making children… right?"

…

...

"The opposite."

Hashirama's jaw fell on the desk. "YOU WHAT?!"

"I know, why would I want my mother to be with a child with him so quickly and… the truth is that I studied Madara's behavior and I came to the conclusion this is the best outcome I could ask for."

"But you are allowing him to be with your mother. To- To be intimate with her and-"

"Just once."

…

"Beg your pardon?"

"Admittedly I can't avoid these two being together and sharing moments of intimacy, however I know them both and I know that once they know mother is with a child, they will not engage in any continuation of that sort of deed," I further explained. "Madara is someone that would hold back to do anything that, in his 'great mind' could harm his future child thus limiting his intimacy with my mother, while mom would be too busy preparing for the pregnancy, a very wanted one at that."

"So you just want them to… do it?"

"I can't prevent them from doing it at least once," I corrected. "However, I can do much to make sure it will happen just that once and never again for at least nine months."

Hashirama groaned in his hands, facepalming hard. "Danzou-"

"I know, it's a bit vile to an extent, but I think I am entitled to give them what they want without getting too much into it," I interjected with some irritation. "Plus, Hanzou is a smart kid. If they do it too frequently, he will pick up something's up."

The man in front of me flinched in agreement at that possibility. "I suppose it makes sense and… I see you are completely ready for this big trip."

"I took under consideration all sorts of possibilities in that regard."

He hummed. "Hiruzen?"

"Weekly letters."

"Hirotada?"

"Monthly letters."

"Kagami?"

"Monthly too."

"Inanis and Hanzou?"

"Visiting by reverse-summoning," I replied confidently and then Hashirama frowned.

"Gura?"

Oh yes, that was a bit of a hot topic to discuss. Gura had been given more freedom two months ago. Since we had all the important info she could give us, I voiced for 'rehabilitation' and keeping her from becoming a ninja again. It was her wish to not engage in combat until pushed into it, and she was quickly engaging into learning and becoming a builder. She wanted to build places and… 'blow things up to clear space if needed'. She just so happened to spend several weeks seeing the expansion of the village at work and got intrigued by the nature of that hard work.

Much to my surprise, Gura also got quite friendly with Ina and the two would exchange gifts from time to time. It was all platonic, and I could tell they were quick to accept each other due to their own traumatic pasts and how they were now.

"Daily letters. She can't keep from blabbering and would remind them about the reverse-summoning, and I know Ina will not tell her I'm visiting from time to time."

"...And I think you are completely ready for the journey up ahead, Danzou. Anything else you wish to ask from your village?"

"I think I have yet to be given my new papers? The false identity one."

Hashirama nodded and quickly retrieved the documentation I needed before departing for the Land of Iron. I picked the card and nodded, but just as I was about to leave, Hashirama stopped me one more time.

"By the way, Danzou," He muttered with a hint of curiosity. "Is there a particular reason why you picked 'Sasaki Kojiro' as your fake name?"

I paused, a small grin on my face as I turned and faced him one last time for today.

"I found it fitting."