Kisetsu wa mawaru

***

Chapter 17: :Kisetsu wa mawaru 

the season turns

***

I walked with clenched fists, bloody lips, bruised knuckles. Because life doesn't knock you down and stop, it stomps your face into the curb and kicks you till you piss blood. I pity soft hands. 

Dave Wise

***

Present Day

: :Hokage's Office, Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure: :

Tsunade is never going to sleep soundly again. Between the wounded still occupying the hospital, Shizune's suspicions about the identities of the Hanta, and the resurrected Uchiha, her nerves are never going to settle.

Case in point.

Tsume is in her office, and Tsunade is still a little sore that she lost their childish competition during the Yokai attack.

A new addition to her neverending to-do list: figure out who or what Tsume is.

She looks at the old woman with the Inuzuka. Sarutobi Beniko, if she remembers correctly, though she hasn't seen her around the tower much since Tsunade became Hokage. She used to be around a lot when Hiruzen was Hokage, but she'd left quietly. A contrast to many others.

"Where's the sake?" Tsume planted her butt on Tsunade's desk and ignored Jiraiya and Shizune sputtering behind her.

"And why are we drinking?" Tsunade felt her eye twitch.

"Since when do you need a reason?" Tsume sent her a sly look as Tsunade's chakra roared. "Besides, I think averting another clan massacre is a good enough reason for a bottle or two."

Tsunde's eyes flicked to Beniko. "Averted?"

"Hmm, Asuma is resting at my compound. Poor boy's at the end of his rope."

"And the Sarutobi Clan?"

"In their compound."

"Should I send healers?"

Tsume snorted, "Hardly. They're fine and not going anywhere anytime soon. Are they, Lady Sarutobi?" 

Beniko bowed her head, "They are not Lady Inuzuka."

"Tell the Hokage why they're not."

Beniko was stone-faced as she faced the Hokage, "I activated the ward that prevents anyone from leaving."

"You have a compound ward to keep people in?" Jiraiya peered at her over his glasses. "I've never heard of something like that."

"Danzo placed it years ago."

"So there's no current danger?" Kakashi clarified, and both Tsume and Beniko shook their heads. He headed for the window with a nod to Tsunade. "I'm going to check on Asuma."

She waved him out, focused on Beniko.

***

Present Day

: :Inuzuka Compound, Konohagakure: :

Fathers are a complicated subject. 

So are mothers. 

Parents, in general, really. 

Good or bad or indifferent. There was always something missing. There was always a better set. There was always a hug that was missed. Affection that was too little or just timed wrong, sometimes only by seconds. Attention that was too much.

There was always damage done no matter what. Children were clear as raindrops at birth, but mere existence left its marks no matter how careful you were, and by the time they were adults, they resembled a muddy river bed more than anything else.

Minato-sensei would have pointed out that from the muddy water grew the lotus, but Kakashi wasn't ready to start talking to him about things that deep.

Really, Kakashi was getting to the point that he was just going to hand off his responsibilities to the next unlucky fuck to cross his path and disappear into the Forest of Death.

But he was going to check on Asuma first. He owed him that much.

Kakashi appeared immediately outside the gates, surprised to find them open. The Inuzuka Chuunin on guard waved him through without bothering to look up from his card game.

Asuma's chakra was muted, not sealed, just…depressed. He'd seemed just like he had before he died. Had they really missed something so big?

Had Kakashi? 

Despite his dislike (fear) of personal relationships, he'd considered Asuma a close friend and a reliable shinobi.

"Sometimes I look in a mirror and see him. I get so worried I'm making the same mistakes that I question everything I do."

Iruka.

"I almost took Aunt Beniko's head off when she said I looked like him. Have you talked to Fugaku yet?"

"No, no point in doing it now. We could all die fighting Kaguya. Might as well have peaceful last days."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what the books say."

"Whatever."

"At least you get a chance, Iruka."

"I don't know. He might show up at the rate things are going."

"Oh kami, don't say that. I've got enough work ahead of me fixing my own head. I don't know if I'd be able to do it if I had to face him too."

"All that matters now is defeating Kaguya…I never thought I'd actually get the chance to say any of it to him, and now that I can, all my words have dried up."

"I have entire speeches written in my head, things I want to say to him. It feels stupid, but I can't help it."

They fell silent as Kakashi approached, and Iruka stood before he could speak, hugging Asuma tightly and then stepping back. "I'll check on you later."

"I'm fine, Iruka."

"Yeah, I don't think that one's going to fly right now. Right, Hatake?" Iruka glanced at him, perfectly cordial. 

Kakashi nodded, braced himself for Iruka to say something, do something that would give away what happened between them, but he didn't.

The relief was…oddly painful. 

But there was something more important at the moment, and Kakashi turned his attention from the man who'd occupied his bed to the one he considered a friend. 

Asuma's eyes were red, his skin pale. He was thinner than the last time Kakashi had seen him and had lost some of the muscle mass he was so proud of. He looked up at Kakashi and then immediately away, gaze falling to the dirt under his feet and something painful and dark twisted in Kakashi's chest. Such a big man shouldn't look so small.

Iruka glanced at Kakashi one last time as he stepped away, offering a small smile that didn't seem to mean anything in particular, even though it lingered for half a second too long to be considered polite.

"Goodbye, Kakashi."

Another time, another day, and Kakashi would have been paying more attention. 

***

Seeing Kakashi standing over, then sitting beside Asuma in the shade of Tsume's private engawa lifted some of the darkness from Iruka's heart. That terrible fear that had settled when Gaku had appeared at his window with Tsume's message and the resentment that had taken root. That they'd driven Asuma to this. Strong, steady, gentle Asuma who just wanted to protect everyone and who'd been so terribly excited when Kurenai had told him she was expecting. 

He'd had a panic attack a couple of hours later and woken Iruka up at two in the morning to talk him down. Kurenai had apparently been expecting it because she'd shown up not long after to calm them both down.

Sitting tucked into the kotatsu, sipping steaming mugs of coffee as the sun came up, was one of the best nights of Iruka's life.

There'd even been a moment since then that he'd imagined doing the same with Kakashi, but that still seemed like it might be a ways away. 

If it ever happened at all.

But they make a pretty picture. Kakashi, tall and lean and glittering in the sunlight. Asuma, tall and broad and glowing. Heads bent together as they looked out over the Inuzuka gardens, where Kurenai was introducing Mirai to several puppies.

It was a nice last image to carry with him his last day.

How ironic that it was one day short of the first anniversary of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

***

Present Day

: :Hokage's Office, Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure: :

"He's not a danger to the village."

"Is that a joke? You just told me he was about to wipe out your clan."

"It was a moment of weakness. All humans have them," Beniko dismissed it with a sniff.

Tsunade glared at her and then turned it on Tsume.

"He'll have to step down at the very least," Jiraiya put in.

"Absolutely not," Beniko snapped.

"How the fuck can you justify him staying as clan leader?"

"The Sarutobi need a cleansing." Tsunade and Jiraiya stared at her in horror, but Beniko ignored them. "However, the cost of carrying it out would damage Asuma too much." Her gaze flicked to Tsume briefly, "And since Clan Leader Inuzuka has refused to do it herself-"

"I should fucking hope so," Tsunade snapped.

"Calm your tits, Senju," Tsume rolled her eyes and then did it again at Jiraiya's screech of outrage.

"When something stagnates, it rots, and the only way to save what is still good is to carve the rotted part out before it can spread its infection. Or do you delude yourself that this village is not in danger?"

"I'm well aware of the state of this village, Beniko. But I don't think mass murder is the answer."

"Well, I suppose you are different from Hiruzen in that."

The barbed comment made both his students flinch. 

"But something must be done and quickly," Beniko insisted.

Tsume dug another bottle of Tsunade's sake out of her desk and poured another round as Jiraiya rolled up his sleeves, the same damn thing he always did when he was getting ready for a fight. 

Tsunade pulled him back, "You're clearly here because you have something specific you want me to do, Inuzuka. Out with it."

Tsume cocked her head, "How familiar are you with the founding constitution of this village?"

"The first laws or the agreement signed by the clans?" Because they were very, very different documents that most people mistakenly assumed were actually one.

But her ability to differentiate the two made Tsume smile.

***

Present Day

: :Dango Stand, Restaurant Alley, Konohagakure: :

"Yo, Scales, have you seen Ruka?" The interruption to her afternoon snack made Anko scowl until the words sank in, and she whipped around.

Kotetsu stomped across the street, bandages a little askew and his hair a tad wilder than usual. Sure signs he was frazzled.

"Not since yesterday. Why? Where is he?"

"I can't find him."

She shoved the rest of the dango balls in her mouth all at once, ignoring Ayame's head shaking.

Ayame turned to Kotetsu, "Is something wrong?"

Kotetsu chewed on his bottom lip. "Just a gut feeling."

Anko and Ayame shared a dark look. Kotetsu's gut was annoyingly reliable about trouble.

Not that it ever stopped him from creating it. 

"I'll tell my father," Ayame hurried across the street to Ichiraku. Teuchi had no standing in the shinobi world, aside from being recognized as one of the best chefs in the village, but on the civilian side, he was on his third election as leader of the Service Workers Union, and there weren't many civilian leaders in the village that wanted to cross the laid back noodle master.

Fugaku had always taught them to pay attention to the non-warriors, the civilians and soldiers that didn't use chakra because they were the embodiment of the unexpected. There were plenty of shinobi who had died at the hands of civilians because they'd assumed they were harmless.

Lesson # 9: Everyone can hurt you if they want to. No one is harmless.

Underneath the underneath and all that.

"Taka mobilized ANBU last night," Kotetsu muttered.

"It's going down already? Ruka never said anything!" Anko tossed her garbage and grabbed Kotetsu's hand.

"I don't think they told him. Moreno's our best bet." They formed the hand signs and disappeared into a puff of smoke and leaves.

***

Present Day

: :Hokage's Office, Konohagakure: :

"Get out."

Even at fifty-something, Tsunade had never seen someone look so pleasant and friendly while being so blunt.

Itachi's smile was soft, his eyes warm and reassuring as he climbed in through the window. 

Beniko left immediately, with a bow to Tsunade and a deeper one to Itachi, not that Tsunade was measuring. 

Tsume just muttered 'finally' and dropped a kiss on Itachi's head, flashing Tsunade a look that promised violence as she did, and then left through the same window.

Shizune squared herself up like she was going to argue, but when Itachi looked at her, she shivered and glanced at Tsunade. So determined to be loyal. 

Jiraiya huffed, but for whatever reason she'd pry out of him later; he didn't argue, just draped an arm around Shizune's shoulder and swept her out with him.

"Can I stay?" She was being sarcastic, but Itachi just smiled and folded neatly into seiza across from her.

"If you'd like."

"I'm not in the mood, Uchiha." 

"I'm not here to fight."

Tsunade sighed, "Then spit it out so I can have five minutes of peace before the next crisis."

Itachi pulled a bottle of sake from his pocket. A deceptively plain white bottle with a simple label that Tsunade recognized as a brand brewed personally for the daimyo. 

It was illegal for anyone but the daimyo to purchase it, and he rarely gave it out as a gift. 

She pushed her cup across the table.

"Do you know how the Uchiha's contract with Moro came to be?" Itachi asked as he poured the crystal clear liquid.

In a rare moment of pure honesty, Tsunade slumped over the table. "Itachi, I think it's safe to assume I don't know anything about your clan." He presented her cup, so smooth and fluid the sake didn't even ripple. "Showoff. I used to think I knew about the Uchiha. But I also used to think I knew Hiruzen."

"People change, and unfortunately, they never stop changing. You probably did know him and for a good while. It just wasn't always."

Tsunade inhaled the scent of crisp apples and cold plums. Her mouth watered. "Pour yourself a cup. You can at least drink with me while you're making me feel stupid."

"I'm not trying to make you feel stupid," But he did pour himself a cup.

They toasted, and the sake, Kokushi Muso, maintained its form as she drank. Cold and sweet all the way to her stomach. The unique brewing method of aging it in snow chambers left it pure and chilled, no matter how long it sat out. The daimyo was said to drink a cup first thing upon waking. Had even taken one of the family's daughters as a favored concubine to honor them. 

There was something to say about rich, powerful people in golden towers, but Tsunade hadn't exactly grown up poor, so she swallowed it down with another sip.

"Alright, tell me the story."

"Kikyo-meijin is the First Uchiha. Youngest child of Indra himself, all of us who live now are from her line. Indra developed the Sharingan not long after she did. On his own, to his credit. He was Kikyo's teacher, and she was the most talented of his children. When Indra first began wandering, before his official break with his father, he fell in love with a minor princess from a long-dead kingdom that existed where the Land of Whirl Pools is now. She traveled with him until her death fifty years later and gave him six children. All of them survived to adulthood, a rare feat then. All of them prodigiously talented in ninjutsu."

"Naturally," Tsunade drawled.

"None of his children ever acknowledged Asura or any of Indra's Otsutsuki family out of respect for him. The stories of reincarnation are nonsense. Indra never reconciled with his family before his death. When Kikyo struck out on her own to explore the world, she encountered Moro while she was still healing from the battle with Kaguya. They made a deal. If Kikyo could defeat Moro, whom not even Kaguya could bring down, Moro would teach Kikyo the ways of the gods."

"And now we're stuck with her?"

Itachi grinned. "Pretty much."

"How did she win?"

Itachi blinked slowly. The Sharingan spun to life in his eyes.

"The Sharingan defeated a god?" She hadn't had enough sake to believe that.

"Not exactly, but even the gods had not seen Kikyo's Sharingan at that point. Their battle lasted for seven days and shattered the Island of Mu into a series of islands -"

"That are now the Land of Water. For fucks sake." She pushed her cup at him, and Itachi refilled it without complaint.

"Kikyo didn't win, but she did manage to capture Moro in a genjutsu and held her under for thirty days. When she released the Wild God, Moro agreed to a contract. In exchange for a Sharingan."

"But Kikyo still has hers?"

"Yes, she does. Those who had developed the Rinnegan can't share their eyes. She's much more possessive than the Sharingan."

"Well, that's terrifying. Who's is it then?"

"Indra's."

Tsunade swallowed her cup of sake in one go.

***

: :Ancient History: :

: :Land of Z: :

It had been three years since Kikyo had left her father's compound deep in the heart of the Land of Z.

Nestled in the old forests as far from the Land of A and Asura as Indra could get. To this day, Asura had no idea where his brother and his descendants lived, though by now, he'd definitely heard of some of their exploits. 

Indra had not spoken to his father or brother since the day the battle with Kaguya ended and he'd walked away from his family. He had his own family now.

Three of Kikyo's older siblings had just had a new generation of children, bringing the total number of grandchildren to sixteen. The Uchiha were thriving in their solitude, scouring the ends of the Earth for new knowledge and adventure. Their growing success and reputation as mercenaries was enough to keep Indra from following the suggestions of his Grandmother's creepy puppet, and he'd banished Zetsu a decade before at the request of Kikyo and her siblings. 

Despite their rapidly growing numbers, Kikyo knew her father was terribly lonely. Her mother had died three winters ago, and those first few months after, they'd all been terrified he was going to follow her. 

He'd held out for three years, longer than any of them had thought possible since they'd all noticed by now that their blood didn't love like everyone else. Kikyo hadn't been expecting to come out of her battle with Moro to a summons to his deathbed, but at least she would get the chance to say goodbye. 

She headed straight for her father's bedroom, bypassing the street to land on the roof and crawl in the window -conveniently forgetting her older siblings' complaints that her nieces and nephews were picking up the habit-.

Life had done a number on Indra's heart but not his body. Despite his hair turning grey, he boasted few wrinkles, still fit enough to fight if he needed to. 

But the vibrancy that had been in his eyes was gone.

She'd never seen her father so…small.

"Otou-san."

"Ko. You made it."

"I ran."

"You won?"

"I think it's closer to a tie."

"Still, against a god, excellent work."

She was careful as she sat on the edge of the bed and took his head. "I made a deal. A contract for the clan."

"With a spirit?"

"No, with the god. Moro."

For a brief moment, that vibrancy was back in his eyes, "A contract with a god. What an honor for the Uchiha. Excellent work, daughter."

"It's not signed yet. Moro wants a Sharingan in exchange."

Indra's mind was still intact. It only took a second for him to parse Kikyo's dilemma and solve it. "Then it's good you arrived when you did. She can have mine, I have no more need of it."

"Are you sure you don't want it with you in the Pure Land?"

"The Pure Land is peace, is it not? What would I need with a weapon?"

She helped him take a sip of water and, as she placed the cup on the small table next to the bed, saw the letter lying crumpled on the floor. 

Asura's handwriting had always been terrible, and it seemed like it hadn't gotten better with time.

Like all the letters before, he was begging Indra to return to the fold. Expounding on family and love and loyalty while somehow remaining utterly oblivious as to why his brother had left in the first place. 

Indra rarely spoke of the time before he'd struck out on his own, but the break had been occurring before the war with Grandmother. Hagoromo's designation of an heir had not been official until after, but unofficially, word had reached both Asura and Indra well before. Indra's decision to leave the Land of the Ancestors despite the insistence of his father, the begging of his brother, and the orders of his grandmother had only hastened the inevitable. Kikyo had turned ten the year Hagoromo had decided matricide was their only option. 

Kaguya, who had always favored Indra above all others, for his opinions most closely matched hers, had expected him to side with her. Hagoromo, wise enough to realize he could no longer order Indra to do anything, had spoken of a son's duty to his father. 

But to the rage of both, Indra had turned deaf to their words. 

It wasn't until Kaguya attempted to kill Asura that Indra had chosen to fight. And Kikyo and her siblings had gone with him, much to the surprise of everyone on the battlefield that day.

Indra's little defiance. He had never spoken of his children to the family he'd left behind, so the sudden appearance of six children and a wife had actually paused the battle for a moment. 

Asura, fool that he was, had nearly lost his head to the ten tails. 

When they'd finally sealed Kaguya away, Kikyo and her siblings had left with their mother, who was even more determined to snub her husband's family for insulting him than said husband.

Indra had never spoken of what was said after they left, but he'd caught up to them mere hours later. 

Kikyo had seen it later, once she and her father had developed the Sharingan, and it had shared the memory. 

Her father had been on the fence, the right word, and Kikyo's life might have been drastically different, raised in the bosom of the Otsutsuki. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on opinion, neither Hagoromo nor Asura had said the right word. They had both failed to understand why Indra had come back to help them. 

Hagoromo had been furious to learn Indra had married without his knowledge and even had children.

Asura had felt betrayed.

Both of them felt entitled to information Indra had not felt comfortable sharing. 

And both had assumed that his arrival on the battlefield had signaled his return to the family fold.

They had been very, very wrong.

And Indra had walked away for good.

Kikyo had never worked up the nerve to ask her father if he regretted it after. 

Not even when Indra had refused to see his father on his deathbed. Kikyo had gone instead, ideal curiosity more than anything. She'd wanted to see the old man cry, wanted to see a sign that he missed his child, but all he'd done was curse his disloyal son with his final breath. 

And in the days that followed, she couldn't tell if Asura's tears were for the father he'd lost or the brother, so she'd left, and no other Uchiha had ever been interested in going back.

Asura had written Indra over the years, often enough at times that they'd all wondered who was ruling the Land of the Ancestors while he was locked away scribbling, but Indra had never answered. Had burned all of Asura's letters after reading them.

Even this one didn't say anything new. 

Asura clearly had no idea his only brother was dying. 

"I can send someone for him." She offered, despite already knowing his answer.

"Nothing has changed. Summon the God, and I will give her my eyes."

Moro had come quickly enough, eager to possess the Sharingan. The greed of a god was an impressive thing, and maybe Kikyo should have considered the risks of giving a God a weapon like the Sharingan, but at the time, it had seemed a brilliant idea.

Indra had insisted on ripping out his own eyes, even though it was his final act, the strain of it killing him within seconds. 

Moro had signed the contract while her new eyes were still healing and attended Indra's funeral pyre. 

She'd asked Kikyo, once the Sharingan had wormed its way into her system and she could access Kikyo and Indra's memories, why Indra had gone back to fight against his beloved grandmother when it only hurt him.

All Kikyo had been able to say, "She was trying to hurt his baby brother."

Because it had never been a lack of love that had driven Indra away.

***

Tsunade's stomach turned as the genjutsu faded away and her office returned. "I hate it when you guys do that."

"It's the easiest way," Itachi poured her the last of the bottle.

Indra's refusal to return to the fold had stayed with all his descendants. Even Itachi occasionally felt the chaffing of confinement in the village.

But there were more important things than their comfort. 

Tsunade eyed him over her cup. She was a beautiful woman, even Itachi, devoted as he was to his husband, felt the flush of arousal true beauty always brought. Driven and strong and brilliant in her field, Tsunade had been marked for greatness at birth, and she'd lived up to it. In another time, she could have been even greater if she didn't have to correct her teacher's failings. In another, maybe she never would have had to be Hokage at all. Could have dedicated her life to her healing and done more for the world than the rest of them combined. 

Unfortunately, humans only got one life.

And maybe that was a sign itself. That this was what she needed to do most. 

That the most important thing Senju Tsunade would ever do was rip out the infection in Konohagakure to allow it to finally heal.

"Indra went back because he loved his brother." Itachi said, "But nothing could ever convince Asura that his brother loved him. And nothing could ever convince Indra that Asura loved him."

"It's fucking stupid," Tsunade snarled, tongue loosened by exceptional sake. "They were brothers. They should have just talked to one another."

"You can say something to someone's face, over and over and over, and they can still hear something different every time."

Tsunade growled.

"How long did it take you to understand what Jiraiya was saying?"

Decades. 

It had taken her decades to understand that everything Jiraiya said was the same thing, using different words.

Put everything you've got on me dying. (I love you.)

Are you going to cry for me? (I love you.)

Getting dumped always makes a man stronger. (I love you.)

And she still had moments where she didn't believe it. When doubts crept in because he was an idiot and a pervert and such a damn child sometimes. When she thought about his achievements as a shinobi, as a writer, as a teacher, and how he'd always failed to see his own worth.

"Indra's anger. His sadness and determination and distrust and denial are all the same thing. It's all just different names for grief. And grief itself is just another word for hurt. Asuma is the same, but there's still time for him. Maybe he doesn't have to end the same way Indra did. Bitter and lonely on his deathbed."

"It's not just about healing, Itachi. Asuma may be strong enough to resist, to recover, but if word gets out…Someone else won't be, and we'll have another massacre on our hands. People can justify the most terrible of things under the banner of good intentions. Especially if they don't fear punishment."

"Asuma did not carry through. If you punish him for thinking, you set a dangerous precedent."

"As dangerous as not punishing him. I have to choose."

"Do you?"

"They didn't make me Hokage to not make decisions."

"In most cases, but there are always exceptions. The strongest leader is the one unafraid to show mercy."

But what happens when it doesn't work? Tsunade thought. What happens when they hurt someone? I will be blamed for that, too, and then the problem will be twice what it was.

"Do you know why none of the clans could defeat the Uchiha? During the age of the Warring Clans?"

"Define defeat?" Her Senju pride could only take so much.

"We united; we didn't lose." Apparently, Itachi had his own Uchiha pride. "For the Uchiha, there is only one thing that matters, that remains above all else. It supersedes pride, honor, and loyalty. Even love. It is the war against Kaguya. It is the reason we exist. Despite everything, Indra swore never to allow Kaguya to return because he knew what she would do, and we have carried his oath in our blood and our eyes ever since. We will carry it until the ending of the world. Everything we do, training, battle, learning, loving, is all in the service of this duty. All that talk of debts and dues during the Waring Clans Era meant nothing beyond that day because it had no value to the true war. There was no peace coming. There will never be the kind of peace that the rest of you talk about because Kaguya will always be there. This war will rage until the end of time. That is what the Uchiha plan for."

Tsunade stared at him, disbelief and horror and terror warring on her face.

"The Clan Wars, the Village Wars, the World Wars," Itachi laughed, "They're all just training for Grandmother Kaguya, and once she's been sealed away again, we'll just keep preparing for the next time. There is no break, no final battle. Where we are, who we are, it doesn't matter. It never ends. Lesson number thirteen: get back up every time. Get. Back. Up. And you'll win."

"So that's it? You're just going to fight until the world ends?"

"Yes." He said it so casually. A forgone conclusion that had thus far dictated thousands of lives and would now dictate thousands more.

Until the end of the world.

"You can choose another course." That was the great gift of humankind. Free will. The ability to choose. 

Itachi shook his head, "No. The rest of you can, but we cannot. The Sharingan will not allow it. It is even more dedicated than we are. The duty comes with our blood, our name, our kekkai genkai. We will never be free of it."

And they couldn't give up the Sharingan, she concluded, because it would likely kill anyone who attempted it.

"We remember it all, you know. We carry with us all the memories of Uchiha who have come before. Even Grandmother Kaguya herself. I can feel what she felt when she received the mission that sent her to Earth. The wild hope when she first thought about eating the god fruit herself. The love she felt for the Emperor and her children. How proud she was of Indra. Her desperation to protect and the moment it turned to hurt and the rage that came after. I can feel what Indra felt when he finally walked away from his brother and the hope he'd never admit to each time a letter from Asura arrived. I know the feeling of Kikyo's exhaustion, of her muscles tearing and healing as she grew stronger and stronger, and the loss each time she buried someone. I see Grandmother through the eyes of every Uchiha that has already faced her. I can feel the strength and the warmth of your grandfather's arms because he loved to hug Madara. Something about the Mokuton making him feel cold all the time, and the stronger we are, the hotter we run. I know your Great-Uncles fears, the ones he confided to Kikyo and Kagami in the dark hours. I know Obito's longing for love, Iruka's rage, and Sasuke's loneliness. I know my mother's pride and my clan's defiance. I know my father's desperation, his constant worry about balancing the lives of his sons and his clan because that is what you are now. You realize that, yes? The village has become the clan. As far as the Uchiha are concerned, everyone in this village is Uchiha now."

"I want to be there when you tell them that."

Itachi's grin took on a vicious edge, a startling reminder that he was still Clan-Killer Itachi, the shinobi who'd taken out a clan of warriors, the one who'd understood what was coming and saw most clearly how to achieve victory.

Who had cared enough to make the sacrifice.

"The time of clans has passed, Tsunade. We cannot cling to the trappings of bygone eras any longer. We either unite as one and win, or we die and never have to worry about anything again."

"There's a better way to phrase that argument, but I take your meaning."

Her grandfather had seen peace when he built this village, had spoken of that dream so convincingly that clans had come from across the Land of Fire, but he'd built it with Madara. 

If they were as close as she'd heard, as close as the Uchiha implied…

There was no way Hashirama had not known about Kaguya. So had he made the village in peace?

Or had he been building an army to fight alongside the Uchiha?

What had Uncle Tobi known? So famed for hating and mistrusting the Uchiha now, but…Itachi carried a bit of him, in the straightness of his spine, in his vicious elegance on the battlefield, always a hundred steps ahead. Even Sasuke carried a shade of the Senju Ghost when he looked down his nose and sneered, the same breathtaking arrogance informed by a level of skill unlikely to ever be seen again.

Iruka…Iruka and Obito smiled the way Hashirama had once, ridiculous things that split their faces and sucked you in and reassured you and drove you mad all at the same time.

So many secrets because none of them trusted each other?

Or…had there simply been that much blind trust? 

Had Madara felt Kaguya's infection spreading and relied on Hashirama to end him? Had Hashirama and Tobirama chosen to die to ensure they wouldn't have to fight Madara, both of them walking willingly to their deaths.

Her grandfather's death was still a mystery, and Uncle Tobirama, so many didn't understand his choices simply because they could not comprehend the level on which he thought.

Those were not the actions of someone who hated.

Tobirama had loved.

Had they all simply misunderstood this entire time?

"In all things, we are strong. In all things, we love. In all things, we are devoted until death." Itachi murmured and he looked comfortable, confident in the Hokage's Office. The room itself seemed small in comparison to him. 

But then, from the stories she'd heard, he looked confident and comfortable no matter where he was. There were few opponents Kakashi spoke of with such respect and maybe a bit of awe the brat would never admit to after the younger man had smashed all his Academy and ANBU records. 

All of them were remarkable in their own ways, Fugaku's sons. Obito in his learning, Iruka in his caring, Itachi in his achieving, and Sasuke in his…well, Sasuke was still growing, but hadn't he already managed all three?

Apparently the pride Uchiha Mikoto was said to take in her children was justified.

And, also…Indra's eyes. Still alive after all this time. "Why can't you fucking Uchiha just die like normal people?"

"Don't insult us. We're far too special to be normal."

The implications, good and bad, of that statement made her laugh. Just as he'd intended.

"This is going to be uncomfortable for a while," Tsunade warned as a plan took shape in her mind.

"We could all use a little discomfort right now." Itachi grinned, a troublemaker just like his big brother. 

***

Present Day

: :Moreno Ibiki's Office, T&I HQ, Konohagakure: :

There weren't a lot of things that could make Ibiki nervous anymore. Whether it was because his nerves were finally frayed down to nubs that would never recover or everything had just been so overwhelmed it was basically dead now didn't really matter.

Even the news that Kaguya was coming back hadn't elicited more than a sigh. 

But looking up to find Miturashi Anko and Hagane Kotetsu leaning over his desk was enough to fire off even his dead nerves. 

"Iruka's missing," Anko said.

"You owe Fugaku," Kotetsu added.

And that was true, unfortunately. But maybe he could finally pay off that debt and not have it hanging over his head again.

Still, Ibiki glanced at Anko. "I would have done it for you."

She grinned, leaning over to kiss his forehead, gentle in a way she rarely was because she'd never been treated that way. "I know, but I don't want you to resent me."

"I wouldn't." But he reached under his desk and sounded the alarm. "Where was he last?"

"The Inuzuka Compound."

***

Present Day

: :Root Base, Forest of Death, Konohagakure: :

In all the years that Danzo had been struggling to protect the village and defeat the Uchiha, he'd never managed to successfully capture one of them. The slippery bastards always managed to scurry their way out of danger like ants, or they killed themselves before his operatives could bring them in.

It had taken a decade to put something in place that cornered Iruka and left him no choice but to walk into Danzo's arms, but he was finally here. 

Fugaku's fire in the flesh. The one he'd trusted with Naruto and Sasuke and the village in his absence. 

The one who'd gotten in Danzo's way Every. Damn. Time.

And laughed at him while he'd done it.

Physically the weakest of the four, but the most unpredictable, the most troublesome, the most beloved, which before now had meant Danzo had to exercise restraint. 

That was no longer required.

The cloth tied over Iruka's eyes was painted with seals that suppressed the Sharingan along with Iruka's chakra, making it impossible to track either but also preventing the Sharingan from warning its ilk.

He hadn't managed to take a Uchiha alive, but he had managed to steal several Sharingans after the massacre, though he couldn't bring them back from death with him. He still had all his notes, enough to have figured out that all Sharingans were linked somehow.

And that Uchiha blood was required to access its more…elevated abilities. 

He's never managed to take blood from a living Uchiha, but now…

Now he has one.

Forced to walk into his arms willingly, Iruka is alive and bound so well that there's no chance of escape or self-harm. It took the better part of Danzo's life to find a way to suffocate the Sharingan, and any instant of weakness or hesitation, it would be free.

And it would kill all of them.

There had been a period, and not a short one, where Danzo had attributed all the Uchiha's strength to the Sharingan. He knows better now and won't make that mistake again. They are all finely honed weapons without the Sharingan.

With it, the best among them are more.

With the Rinnegan…they are beyond the rest of them. He knows all four of Fugaku's sons have achieved it. The first since Madara himself. He's even managed to discover the unique gifts that come with the Rinnegan. Madara's were only ever rumored. Itachi's is still a mystery, guarded so closely by the Uchiha that Danzo had not even realized he'd achieved it until his death.

But Iruka's…

Iruka's is the most valuable of all. An ability so valuable that Danzo, even in the depths of his rage, never actually considered killing Iruka. 

Not since the night he saw it.

He'd barely escaped with his life. The Uchiha desperate to hide Iruka's ability.

As soon as one of them learns he has Iruka now they will descend upon his Root forces like summer locusts devouring everything in their path and leaving behind nothing but famine and death.

He must break Iruka before then, or there will be nothing to sway the village against them. Tsunade has been far too lenient in letting others dictate the narrative, and the Uchiha have become martyred heroes instead of the monsters they really were.

He should have smothered the Jincuriki in the cradle when he had the chance.

Spider and Pig tighten the fourth layer of restraints. Danzo remembers vividly those years when Iruka was allowed to run wild through the village and how rarely anyone actually managed to catch him.

It's taken twenty years to get his hands on him.

There will be no escape.

Spider and Pig disappear into the shadows once they're finished, leaving the illusion that Danzo and Iruka are alone in this pitiful little room that smells of damp earth and iron.

"Are you listening to me, boy?"

"Do I have anything else to do?" Even now, Iruka's defiance burned bright.

Even Danzo was capable of admiring that after two decades of rage-induced denial. Now that victory was in his grasp, it seemed petty to deny Iruka's strengths. He'd been an admirable opponent.

Danzo's most challenging, if he was being honest. He deserved respect. 

And one last chance to change his mind. 

"It's not too late, Iruka."

"It is for you."

"Do you ever give that smart mouth a break?"

"Nope."

Danzo sneered. "Of course not. All the things your father taught you, and he never bothered with obedience."

"He doesn't think it's valuable enough to waste time on." Iruka's head tilted left and right, trying to sense something beyond the seals. Or trying to dislodge the blindfold.

It didn't matter which. Neither succeeded.

"We can still make a deal, Iruka."

"No."

"You haven't even heard my terms."

"Never make a deal with someone you don't trust."

"I have given you many, many chances to trust me."

"And yet you haven't taken the hint."

"I know why you're so resistant, Iruka."

"Because you want to wipe us out of existence."

"I gave you a chance. Many chances. None of you took them. You could have been by my side, but you chose to burn instead."

"A tyrant is a tyrant, no matter what their justification."

"I have spent my entire life in service to this village. I gave my life protecting it."

"You died trying to overthrow it. With a bunch of my family's stolen body parts attached to you."

"It's not like I was able to use them the way they were meant to be used."

"Oh, that excuses it all then," And Danzo could feel Iruka's eye roll even if he couldn't see it.

"I don't know why you're still bothering to resist, Iruka. I've won. You know it. I know it. It's only a matter of time before everyone else knows it."

"This would be playing out in a very different place if that was true. You wouldn't be crawling around in the dark like an insect. Though I guess that's not right, insects are a vital part of the ecosystem. They do good for the world. You don't."

His palm stings with the force of the strike. Iruka's cheek turns an angry red.

"The arrogance of your blood has always been impressive. Foolhardy, but impressive."

"You'd know."

"Enough," his patience finally starting to thin. Iruka sneered, but it was mostly just amusing, with half his face covered. "You know what I want."

"I know you can't have it."

"I don't care what you think."

"Ha, all this time, and you still don't understand. I can't give it to you. It's not in my power."

"They're your eye Iruka, you can."

"You think you know about the Sharingan, but really, you know nothing."

"I don't want the Sharingan. I want the Rinnegan. I know your is special. They all are. I know they each have a…talent, for lack of a better word. I know Sasuke's can open doors to other dimensions. I know Obito's can see across the world. I haven't yet figured out what Itachi's does, but it's only a matter of time. I know it's rumored Madara's could stop time, but that's unlikely."

"Is it?"

"If he could, why didn't he use it?"

"Maybe he did. Maybe you just don't remember."

"Very funny." There is a kernel of doubt, but logic rules out. There is no way Madara had a power like that, and no one remembered him using it. The outcome of the war would have been drastically different if he'd had that power in his hands.

Like most things about the Uchiha, it's another lie.

But Iruka's Rinnegan…

Danzo has witnessed its power with his own eyes.

"I know what yours does."

Iruka stills at that. "Oh?"

I saw it. The night of the Nine Tails attack."

"Still saying I summoned it?"

"No. I know how it escaped. With the poison in her system, the seal was never going to hold."

Iruka's breath catches. "Poison?"

"It is the height of irony that there were so many of us conspiring for the same outcome that night. Madara and your brother could have stood by and done nothing and still succeeded."

"You poisoned Kushina," Iruka's disbelief is palpable. "You're lying."

"Her tea."

"Their food was checked daily." The security measures in the final years of their lives had been truly ridiculous. Every meal, every letter, every interaction tested under heavy guard. No other Hokage before and after had been under the protections Minato and Kushina were at that time.

"Daffodil. Of all the toxic plants, it's the one people forget most often. The bulb is the dangerous part. In small doses, it causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Easily disguised during a difficult pregnancy."

"You fucking bastard." Iruka's chakra roars. Weak as it is, it still burns when it crashes over Danzo.

"Don't be a child. You know the game of politics."

"I know the game of treason."

"Grow up, boy. Give me the Rinnegan, and I'll let your brothers live."

"Bullshit."

"Fine. I'll let the youngest ones live. The traitor and the monster."

"No, you won't."

"You're going to give me your Rinnegan either way, Iruka. I need it." He draws blood for the first time, a long, superficial cut along Iruka's bare arm. 

"I'll die first."

So defiant, Danzo sighed, even at the end. "No, you won't."

***

: :Present Day: :

: :Konohagakure: :

By the command of your Godaime Hokage, Lady Senju Tsunade, all recipients will attend the Second Council of Clans at Noon on the Eighth of October. Be prepared to render a vote on the continuance of Government Law 48.7: Establishment of a Senior Advisory Council. Failure to appear will result in immediate arrest by order of the Hokage.

***

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil but because of those who look on and do nothing.

Albert Einstein

***

~tbc~