Ch25: Reasons 1/2

Yasuke, still surprised by Grandma Nora's confession, couldn't help but ask more.

-But why? Why do you hate ninjas, Grandma Nora? -he asked, his voice full of confusion.

Nora slowly turned to him, her expression serious and thoughtful.

-My full name is Nora Senju," she said with a calmness that contrasted with the bombshell she had just dropped.

Hearing the Senju surname, Yasuke felt as if a veil lifted from his eyes. Suddenly, many pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. The orphanage matron, a Senju, was explaining how a place with no apparent outside support could afford food, toys, books and even the grounds.

-You are... a Senju," Yasuke murmured, almost in a whisper. The importance of that clan in the history of the ninja was not lost on him.

-"Yes," Nora confirmed, her voice firm but filled with an indefinable emotion. And that is the reason for my conflict with the ninja.

Nora continued her story with a tone mixed with remorse and anger as she recalled the old days. It was evident that these memories brought with them a complex mix of emotions.

-"During the time of the fighting states, I was a shinobi known as Senju no Umi Tora," she revealed, her voice taking on a distant tone as she recalled her past. I was famous for my skill with water ninjutsu and my quick adaptability in combat.

Yasuke listened to her, amazed at the story unfolding before him. The woman he had known as a doting orphanage matron was, in reality, a historical figure of great importance.

-Even as a young man, the head of my clan asked me to teach one of his sons, Tobirama Senju, who would later become the Second Hokage," Nora continued. At the mention of Tobirama, Yasuke noticed how Nora's feelings clashed together, a whirlwind of pride, pain and some resentment.

-Tobirama was... special," Nora said, her voice trembling. Brilliant and dedicated, but also... drawn into the wars and conflicts of our time.

Nora explained how his mentality during the Warring States era was focused solely on accomplishing his missions, even if it meant sacrificing some of his fellow soldiers. Yasuke listened, increasingly amazed, trying to reconcile the image of the loving matron with that of the ruthless shinobi Nora was describing.

-I was not thinking of the suffering of others," Nora confessed. I just wanted to complete my goal, whatever it took.

Yasuke could not believe they were the same person. Nora's transformation from those times until now seemed almost impossible.

-But everything changed at the end of the war," Nora continued, her tone changing slightly. Hashirama, the stubborn brother of my student Tobirama, managed to unite the surrounding clans into one uniform village.

At the mention of this, a smile broke out on Nora's face.

-To tell the truth, I never thought Hashirama could pull it off. Sometimes I would laugh at him and ridicule him. But he always responded with a stupid smile," said Nora, her smile reflecting a mixture of affection and nostalgia.

Yasuke began to understand that experience and circumstance had profoundly changed Nora. The creation of Konoha had not only unified clans, but had also transformed hearts and minds, including Nora's own.

For the first few days, uncertainty and fear of the unknown kept Nora on edge.

-I was always on alert, expecting an attack from somewhere," Nora recalled, shaking her head as if to shake off the unsettling memories. I couldn't sleep well.

Her expression became serious as she remembered one day in particular.

-Then one day, Tobirama arrived with important information: other clans had begun to form their own villages. The war had escalated; now it wasn't just hundreds of people, but thousands.

-I quickly discussed with my student and he gave me permission to create a special force to protect the village. We call it ANBU- Nora explained- At first, I only wanted to recruit members of the Senju clan, but Hashirama intervened.

Nora imitated Hashirama's voice with a slightly mocking tone, but with a glint of affection in her eyes.

-With his typical insistence, Hashirama convinced me to accept members of all clans, even those he had faced in battle. That I understood, but what I found hard to accept was the inclusion of civilians. I couldn't understand how people with no ninja training could be useful.

Yasuke listened, fascinated by the complexity of the decisions made in those foundational days.

-Hashirama said that, beyond strength, the most important thing was the will to protect," Nora explained, "He assured that they would grow stronger over time and entrusted me with the task of guiding them in that process.

Nora explained how she established rigorous entrance tests for ANBU applicants. The experienced shinobi passed them with some difficulty, but most made it through. Of the civilians, however, only a few passed.

-At the time, I was even offended that normal people could make it," Nora confessed, a shadow of her former disdain crossing her face. So I stepped up the training.

Nora shook her head again, as if still processing those memories.

-I gradually raised my demands. All the remaining civilians dropped out, except for one," Nora said, clenching her fists, but in a loving tone. That idiot.

Yasuke was surprised to hear her. As far as he knew, Grandma Nora didn't like insults.

Nora continued her story.

-I got to a point where, in order to make him go away, I upped the training to an extreme level. But he wouldn't give up. I even started getting complaints from the clan ninja themselves.

Even the clan ninja started to complain about the intensity of the training. Nora knew that if she kept increasing the difficulty, even the experienced ninja would leave, and the strength of the ANBU would dissolve.

-So I came up with another way," she explained, "The exercises would be the same, but if one of them didn't complete it, they would all have to do additional exercises.

With this new rule, complaints began to be directed at the one member who did not complete the exercises: the civilian.

-I thought peer pressure would make him quit, but the opposite happened. He started to get stronger," Nora continued, her voice trembling at the memory. He didn't sleep, he didn't eat, all so he wouldn't slow the group down.

Nora recalled a specific mission that marked a turning point in her life.

-During one of our first missions, I was caught off guard. An enemy ninja wounded me with a mixture of chakra and different poisons, leaving me with this disease in Sunagakure territory.

Nora detailed how, according to the protocol of the time, her teammates should have left her for dead and fled. But one of the ANBU unit members disobeyed the code.

-While the others fled, he went back to infiltrate to find me," Nora said, her voice full of emotion. He found me there, debating between suicide or waiting to take revenge. He appeared with a jutsu he had created himself, the Nemu Neko Jutsu, an illusory jutsu that mimics the purring of a cat and induces sleep. Although I had laughed at him for considering it useless, he saved me with that jutsu.

Nora paused, struggling with her emotions.

-I knew that with his low chakra and the breadth of targets, the jutsu's effect wouldn't last. Still, she carried me and carried me out of Suna, withstanding all the attacks with me in her arms.

When we reached Fire Country territory, the attacks stopped. Nora recalled the moment she saw him put her down, her back severely damaged by kunais, shurikens, senbons and more.

-In my eagerness to get him to give up and quit, I never taught him offensive or defensive techniques beyond the basics," said Nora, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

-When I realized what I had done, I tried to apologize," Nora continued, her voice trembling with emotion. He downplayed his injuries, saying that my hard physical training had allowed him to endure the pain. He went to rest in the forest.

Nora recalled how, moved by concern, she followed the injured shinobi to make sure he was all right.

-I found him collapsed and bleeding to death," she said in a broken voice. Despite my own weakened condition, I knew I had to help him.

Using her knowledge of ninjutsu, Nora mobilized the moisture in the environment to clean his wounds and apply what little medical ninjutsu she knew to heal him.

-We spent three days like that, me cleaning his wounds and him not waking up," Nora recounted. Until Tobirama, my student, found us.

Nora's expression softened as she remembered the concern on Tobirama's face.

-I always taught him that the mission was the most important thing and that the lives of the shinobi were not worth the resources," Nora explained. I thought he understood, but seeing his anxious face made me realize that shinobi are not machines, we also live.

Nora's tears flowed freely as she recalled that pivotal moment, a turning point in her perception of what it means to be a shinobi.

-That day, my worldview changed," Nora concluded. I understood that behind every shinobi there is a story, a heart and a life worth protecting.

-When we returned to the village, I was still the leader of the ANBU, but I knew I no longer had the strength to hold that position," Nora continued, her voice reflecting a mixture of resignation and acceptance. I told Tobirama and he trusted me to find a successor. In the meantime, I focused on Kichirou.

-Until that day, I didn't even care about his name. But from then on, we started to get to know each other better," said Nora, a soft smile appearing on her face as she recalled those days, "I taught him as much as I could. Even though I removed the rule I had imposed, he still trained to the extreme, sometimes putting his own health at risk.

Nora related how, despite eliminating the strict rule she had imposed, Kichirou continued to train to the extreme, sometimes putting his own health at risk.

-I was no longer concerned about whether he was strong or not, but about his health. After months of work, I managed to get him to stop leading that extreme lifestyle.

Nora smiled at the memory of how she had managed to change Kichirou's habits.

-If I wanted him not to train, I simply had to take him to do other things. We went on picnics, to see plays, to have fun.... And so the years went by.

- Little by little, without my continuous hindrance, Kichirou became friends with the other members and gained their respect.

Nora revealed how, over time, Kichirou became the true leader of the ANBU.

-He became second in command, even though everyone knew I could no longer fight. They considered Kichirou as their true leader. They just didn't say anything because that stupid Kichirou thought it would hurt my pride if I was removed from the position.

To be continued...