Chapter 14: Tobirama’s Shock

After Mū established both the ninja academy and the ANBU system, it sent shockwaves across the entire shinobi world. The move sparked immediate attention from the other four great villages, all of which were stunned by the rapid progress Iwagakure had made.

Suddenly, everyone was talking about the name "Mū."

The concept of a centralized ninja academy ignited admiration and curiosity throughout the other villages. The more forward-thinking among them were already looking to replicate the idea in their own lands. And the formation of the ANBU unit didn't go unnoticed either.

However, it was clear that Mū's ANBU system was not the same as the one that Tobirama would later establish.

In the original timeline, Tobirama's ANBU operated as a direct assassination and black ops unit reporting to the Hokage. It was a lethal force focused on missions requiring stealth and precision.

Mū's version, by contrast, functioned more as a wide-reaching national intelligence and security force. His ANBU patrolled from the shadows, upheld law and order, and gathered classified intelligence from across the Land of Earth and Iwagakure. All this sensitive information was relayed directly to Mū's personal desk.

He even stationed covert agents to monitor the daimyo and other high-ranking officials throughout the Land of Earth.

Naturally, operations of this sort could never be made public. Instead, Mū marketed the ANBU as a "defensive security force" tasked with protecting the village from unseen threats.

…

Land of Water, Kirigakure

Bang!

The doors burst open again, slamming against the walls with a sharp crack. Byakuren stormed in, his face twisted in fury.

Sprawled across the bed and snoring like a thundercloud was Gengetsu Hōzuki.

"Gengetsu, you lazy dango! Get up, now!" Byakuren shouted, veins nearly popping from his forehead.

He held out a scroll and shook it furiously. "Look at this! Just look at how amazing the other Second Kages are! Mū of Iwagakure just founded both a ninja academy and an ANBU system! And you? All you ever do is sleep or pull idiotic pranks! What exactly are you capable of?!"

Byakuren then clicked his tongue.

"If it weren't for your natural combat ability and the fact that the Hōzuki clan backs you, I never would've chosen you to begin with!"

Startled awake, Gengetsu sat up awkwardly, blinking in confusion. The scolding continued to echo in his ears, but as soon as he processed what Byakuren had said, his little mustache perked up in interest.

"Wait, what?! Mū came up with all that?" he asked, looking genuinely baffled.

Since when did that guy have brains for this kind of stuff?

"Yes! It's all true. I've already decided to use Iwagakure's model to shape our own future," Byakuren said, his voice steady again as he laid out his plans.

"Huh…" Gengetsu scratched his head, still surprised, but his expression quickly shifted into something more scheming.

"Hey, Mizukage-sama, I've got an idea."

He leaned in, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"We've only heard about this academy from the outside, right? But we don't know how Iwagakure is actually running things behind the scenes…"

A sly grin spread across his face.

"Hm? Are you saying we shouldn't copy them?" Byakuren asked, brows furrowing.

"No, no! I'm saying we should, but do it smartly. Let's send a delegation to Iwagakure. That way, we can observe everything firsthand. We'll learn exactly how their academy works, and copy it down to the finest detail."

Gengetsu gave a smug little nod as he spoke while Byakuren considered this with a doubtful frown.

"Hmm… But our relationship with Iwagakure is far from friendly. They might reject us the moment we show up."

Gengetsu knew that too. The tension between the two villages wasn't a secret. Still, he waved the concern away without missing a beat.

"Oh, come on, Mizukage-sama. There's no such thing as eternal enemies. Let me handle the letter. I'll lead the delegation myself!"

He thumped his chest with confidence, eyes shining with excitement.

Byakuren stared at him for a moment, weighing the risks, but ultimately nodded. The idea wasn't bad.

After all, Kirigakure was a long way from Iwagakure. So far, they had only heard rumors. No one from the village had actually seen the academy with their own eyes. Sending Gengetsu to investigate made strategic sense, especially since he was the designated successor to the Mizukage.

"Very well. It's settled," Byakuren said firmly.

He clapped once to finalize the decision, then turned and walked out of the office.

"Ehehehe boi~! Mū, we're about to meet again," Gengetsu murmured with a grin stretching across his face.

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. There was a personal reason he had jumped at this opportunity.

Ever since the battle where both of them had walked away injured, he hadn't encountered Mū again. He missed the guy in a strange, nagging way.

Now he had the perfect excuse to check in and to see if Mū's body was still as tough as the rumors claimed.

…

Konohagakure. Hokage Tower

"Oh my god. This guy Mū… he's basically me."

Tobirama Senju muttered in disbelief.

He had just received intelligence reports about Iwagakure establishing a ninja academy and an ANBU organization. And the moment he fully grasped the details of what Mū had created, his mind reeled.

It wasn't just that the ideas were impressive.

What stunned Tobirama was how perfectly they mirrored his own vision. These weren't mere similarities anymore; this was almost an exact replica of what he had planned.

Even the name "ANBU" was the same. He had been toying with the idea of creating a covert division and naming it ANBU for quite some time now.

If it had only been the academy, maybe he could've chalked it up to coincidence.

But the ANBU too?

Tobirama felt a chill. He half-joked to himself that maybe Mū had somehow eavesdropped on him while he was sleep-talking.

"That said, Mū really is something else," Tobirama muttered. "From the moment I met him, I had a sense he wasn't just an ordinary man."

His blue eyes narrowed slightly. A rare curiosity sparked within him. He needed to see with his own eyes what was happening in Iwagakure.

"No. I have to go see it for myself."

Without wasting a moment, he stood up abruptly. In the next instant, he used Body Flicker and vanished from his office.

He reappeared at Hashirama's residence.

"Aniki? Hey, Aniki?" he called out as he stepped inside, but there was no answer.

A moment later, Mito emerged slowly from the inner room.

"It's you, Tobirama? Your brother just left a moment ago," she said gently.

The moment he heard those words, Tobirama instantly knew where his brother had gone. And once again, he vanished.

…

Hokage Monument

Two figures stood together atop the colossal stone faces carved into the mountain, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

"Don't let it get you down, Madara," Hashirama said, his voice filled with urgency and sincerity. "The people in the village just don't understand you yet. Once they spend time around you, they'll see who you really are… they'll come to accept you."

But Madara's face remained dark, his expression unmoved. "Hashirama, you still don't understand. This isn't about whether they accept me or not. It's about ideology. We see the world differently."

Hashirama's brows furrowed with concern. He reached out and grabbed Madara's arm, trying to anchor him.

"Don't say that. You've still got me… and your clan!"

Madara let out a low, bitter laugh. "My clan? Those people stopped trusting me a long time ago."

He hadn't even finished his thought when a voice echoed across the mountain.

"Aniki!"

Tobirama appeared behind them in a blur of speed, his white hair catching the light as he approached.

Madara immediately fell silent.

"Tobirama?" Hashirama turned in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Tobirama's eyes flicked toward Madara, a flash of caution passing through his gaze. His voice was calm, but heavy with seriousness.

"I need to speak with you. It's about the village."

Hashirama nodded right away. "All right. Madara, wait here for a moment."

Without further hesitation, he followed Tobirama down the mountain, leaving Madara alone with the stone faces and the wind.

"Hmph."

Madara gave a cold snort and turned his back on the path they'd taken. He had felt Tobirama's suspicion the moment the man arrived. It was always the same. No matter how far they had come or how much they had accomplished, Tobirama still didn't trust him.

"If it weren't for Hashirama, I would've walked away from all of this a long time ago…"

His voice trailed off into the wind.

Even though they had built the utopia they once dreamed of as children, now that it existed, everything felt hollow. Something was missing. It all seemed off, twisted in ways he couldn't quite explain.

Maybe it was the painful distance between the dream and reality. Maybe it was the shadow left behind by his brother's death.

Or maybe… it was the fact that he had not been chosen as Hokage. Despite everything, the mantle of Second Hokage would go to Tobirama instead.

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