Chapter Eight

It was currently mid-April, almost two months after Indra started his training in Konoha's Anbu division. The result of his training was interesting so to speak, although he became proficient enough in kenjutsu, he was by no means a genius at it. But what he showed to excel at was assassination. He was able to instinctively suppress his chakra and conceal his presence that no sensory ninja would be able to find him, making him the perfect assassin. Even the Byakugan wasn't able to locate his chakra signature when he was suppressing it, unless he was directly within their gaze no one would be able to find him. This was a unique discovery that even Indra wasn't able to explain how he was able to do it. When asked how he was able to do it, all he said was. 'I just wanted to conceal my presence as the commander had said and then I was able to.'

He was to going to take his final test before fully joining the Anbu tomorrow after having finished his training a few weeks earlier than anticipated, but for now, he had to report to the Hokage's office. His sensei suddenly died a week ago. At least that was what he thought at first until Mito told him he had been sick from before Indra came to the village. He was angry no one told him he was dying, even though Hashirama was his sensei. So he wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting the Hokage,

"Congratulations on completing your training kitsune, "Tobirama said to the kneeling masked Anbu operative.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kitsune replied impassively before getting back to his feet.

"Although you were originally going to shadow 'Hawk' after your training, with the current situation of Konoha that won't be possible anymore," Tobirama said with a slight frown on his face. "I already have a mission fo..." Tobirama wasn't able to finish what he was going to say before Indra angrily interrupted him.

"Did you know?" Indra demanded, angrily clenching his fist.

"Did I know what?!" Tobirama replied, feigning ignorance.

"Don't play with me, Tobirama!!" Indra said as black rods appeared in front of him as if he was daring Tobirama to feign ignorance again.

"Fine," Tobirama exasperatedly replied. "I knew he didn't have long left to live, that's why I was made the Second Hokage while he retired to spend his remaining time with his family. But he thought he'd be alive for a year longer, so answering your question, no I didn't know he'd die so soon." He added, as he got up and walked closer to Indra.

"I know you feel angry," He said, placing his hand on Indra's shoulder. "But now is not the time for that. Without the strength of Anija, the other villages have no reason to fear Konoha anymore. I've been preparing for such a situation for a while now, so I have a mission for you.

I know you're desperate to find your mother, so I'm sending you back to the Land of Rice Fields. We've received information that the Daimyo is planning on entering an alliance with Kumogakure. With Konoha probably facing the other four villages in war, I cannot afford to let a border nation enter an alliance with our enemy.

Calming down slightly, Indra asked. "So you want me to kill the Daimyo and the Kumogakure delegates?"

"Not just that, I want you to also kill every clan leader that supports the alliance," Tobirama said, his tone turning cold.

"Fine," Indra replied, not surprised at Tobirama's ruthlessness. With the black rods disappearing, he turned as he opened the door to leave the office.

"Indra," Tobirama said, stopping him. "Don't be too disappointed if you're unable to find your mother."

"I will find her," He replied, slamming the door shut as he left.

As Indra walked down the stairs of the Hokage tower, his Anbu gear disappeared from his body with a black and white robe, a black shinobi trousers and sandals, and a black fingerless robe replacing it. If anyone was watching, they'd just see an entirely new outfit appearing on his body.

He then started the slow walk back to his house, the atmosphere of the village was very weird. The citizens of Konoha had just lost their beloved Hokage but they weren't allowed to really mourn as Konoha shinobi headed out of the village every day to various strategic locations around the Land of Fire border. Every sensible person could feel it, the smell of war lingered in the air, the other hidden villages won't hesitate to invade the Land of Fire especially Sunagakure. Although Hashirama gave them 10 percent of the fertile land in the area of the Land of Fire that's closer to the Land of Wind, they still weren't satisfied and they wanted more land but the presence of Hashirama was a huge deterrent.

Indra came to a halt as he somehow found himself right at the entrance to the Senju compound, memories of Hashirama training him flashed in his mind as he thought of how much he'd grown to like the man that thought him what it means to be a shinobi. He stepped into the compound and walked towards Hashirama's house, no... Mito's house now.

Knocking on the door, a haggard-looking Mito opened stunning Indra as he hadn't seen her since Hashirama's funeral. "You don't look so good," he said, hugging the grieving woman.

Chuckling, "Yeah I know," she replied. "What are you doing here anyway, shouldn't you be entering the final phase of your Anbu training?"

"Yeah, I finished that yesterday, I'd be leaving for a mission tomorrow so I came to see how you and Tsunade are faring," Indra replied as he walked into the house. "Has she left her room yet?"

Indra sighed as Mito shook her head, "I'd go check on her," he said, walking towards her room.

Indra was about to knock on her door when it opened with Tsunade walking into him. He was about to say something when he realised he didn't know how to comfort others. Thinking back, he couldn't remember interacting with other people other than his mother before he came to Konoha. 'Huh!' he mused as he tried to remember someone other than his mother and dead father. He had been so focused on finding his mother that he never stopped to think about that.

'I remember the village I grew up in, I also remember my mother very clearly and when she had to stay back to buy time for me to escape. I know mother didn't allow me to leave the house after I turned three, but why can't I remember anyone else?' He thought, beginning to question his life before his village was attacked by bandits. Thinking deeply, he remembered bits and pieces of the time from before he turned three, but it was patchy. He was less than three years old so it wasn't really out of place, 'I remember interacting with some of the villager, but it suddenly stopped few months after I turned three, this is weird.'

"Indra!!!...."

Feeling someone shaking him, he stopped thinking about it. "Sorry, what, were you saying something?" He asked Tsunade.

"Yes, I was asking why you were standing outside my room," she said.

"Right, I came to check on you, and inform you I'd be leaving for a mission tomorrow."

"You're leaving?" she replied, sounding depressed.

"Don't worry, I'd be back very soon," Indra said, ruffling her already unkempt hair. "If you go into the bathroom and freshen up, I'd take you gambling." He added, the issue about his weird memories had already been forgotten

...............

Indra woke up a little bit later as he spent the entire night gambling with Tsunade, and coming as no surprise whatsoever to him, she lost every single bet she made. Her luck and gambling skills were atrocious, just like Hashirama.

After cleaning up and packing supplies he'd need for his mission in the Land of Rice Fields, he wore his Anbu gear and left for the headquarter. As an Anbu operative, he couldn't leave the village through the main gate while on an official Anbu mission, so he was using one of the entrances that led to outside the wall of the village.

The distance between the Land of Rice Fields and Konoha was short. While it took him three days to get to Konoha the first time he made the trip, it would take him less than a day to return this time since he is now able to use chakra.

A few hours later, Indra stood on the head of Hashirama's statue at the Valley of the End. Taking a look at the place, he was amazed at the strength of not just Hashirama, but Madara also. 'Amazing, to think two shinobi fighting created this place. Madara must have been strong to be able to match sensei,' he whispered. 'I will definitely surpass you, sensei,' he swore as the flames of passion ignited in his heart.

Sensing something, he paused "Who're you, stop hiding and come out," he demanded, his right palm wrapped around the handle of his gunbai.

After a few tense seconds with nothing happening, he shrunk his gunbai and stored it in his personal dimension. 'I guess I must have imagined it, it seems I am feeling somewhat tensed since it's my first time leaving the village. I could have sworn I sensed something,' he thought as he left, heading for his mission location.

After he left, a creepy voice resounded a few meters behind where Indra stood just a few seconds ago, "Madara-sama would want to know about this."

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[A/N:- I know this chapter was a little dialogue-heavy but I just wanted to get it over with. I didn't write more about Hashirama's death because I'm not really one for things like that, so I'd have messed it up or it won't have felt impactful at all.

For anyone wondering, the Land of Rice Fields is where Indra was born and was what Otogakure (the land of sound) was called before Orochimaru created his village there.]