Chapter 5 - Anbu

Tobirama Senju stood up, along with him the rest of those present. He stopped in front of Shinjo, the young patriarch and scrutinized him. Shinjo, noticing his gaze lowered his head in a calm and respectful manner and exclaimed, "Hokage-sama, its an honor to meet you in the flesh."

Tobirama could see a sense of respect for himself in those black eyes. Slightly relieved that the new generation did not fully inherit the clan's xenophobia, he muttered,

"in time, they will fully inherit the will of fire."

He was assured that once he started the Shinobi academy, the slight differences would disappear and the newer generation would fully embrace their identity as a villager of Konoha.

Self-assured, he patted his shoulder and complimented with a gratified smirk, while eyeing the others,

"Although this is the age of village system in shinobi world and there has been peace for two decades now, thank god for that!! , you lot have skills not inferior to those who grew up in the warring states period. I am gratified that the village will be in good hands long after me, as long as the newer generations such as you keep working towards the betterment of the village and inherit the will of fire. Perhaps a new hokage may be born amongst you. I have high hopes, don't let me down."

Saying that, he took out 6 forehead protector, that had a steel frame in the middle, held in place by a somewhat thick black cloth, which had a symbol of a leaf, distributed them one by one. The children took them reservedly, while maintaining a respectful and distant attitude, though a gleam of excitement flashed in their eyes.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama"

"Thank you, Hokage-sama"

"Thank you, Hokage-sama"

.....

After thanking the silver haired senju, they filed out of the room. No sooner than they stepped out, one of them squealed in delight, brandishing the forehead protector on her head. Showing off to her friends, she yelled out,

"How do i look? Do I look cool? Beautiful? Hey, hey tell me.."

Tobirama chuckled, overhearing the jests and laughters of the bunch, more assured that the new generation will be the pillar of the village. He turned his gaze back to the old men present, ready to address the elephant in the room.

"Clan head Kaemon, Hanzo-san and Hattori elders, the purpose of my visit today, is to establish a department that will directly answer to the Hokage, that will eliminate national threats that may or may not be confidential, under the sole orders of the Hokage." Tobirama began by outlining his plans and paused to sense any reaction from his audience. Not getting any, he sighed and continued,

"After my relatively long tenure as the Hokage, I have often noticed the need to deal with or elimimate threats that may be deemed disadvantageous, in some cases fatal for the village, without anyone pointing fingers at us. I have been held back only to uphold the prestige of our village. But more often than not, in hindsight they came out as wrong decisions. Hence the need for a department that will stay in the dark, uprooting threats before they have a chance to grow at all"

Kaemon looked at his father to get the approval, to which Hanzo nodded. Relaxed, Kaemon waves to the Hokage to continue, "I understand, Hokage-sama. What can we, Hattoris do for you?"

"It is already a universal truth that the Hattoris are the best assasins. I see no better candidate that your clan to take up the mantle in this department." Tobirama gesticulates to the rest present. He could see the satisfaction in their expression, having the hokage himself praise their lineage.

"I have no problem with your proposition. But you should know, we are a small tribe. I can't have the recently married couples, old men and children take part in what's guaranteed to be a dangerous job. I have the responsibility of the clan on my shoulder and I can't let it perish on my watch."

"You don't have to worry about that, Kaemon" Tobirama, pleased that there was at least a chance to negotiate continued,

"I will employ able-bodied shinobis and kunoichis from Senju, Sarutobi, Shimura, Aburame and Hatake clans as well. They will make up the numbers and mostly deal with the less important matters, however I will still need your clan to deal with the most dangerous tasks, afterall your reputation precedes you."

"I hope the fact that we are the de-facto leaders in this department you are buildung can remain a secret. I don't want anyone privy to this knowledge, except for you noone else should know. Else, that will undermine our effectiveness and safety" The elders all nodded to Kaemon's statement.

"That is plausible, I can agree to that. The department name will be Anbu - the dark department. Only Jonins and above will have knowledge of this department. We will only select its members from Jonins and Special Jonins."

Kaemon nodded and they went on to clarify a few more clauses for their clan employment before the the meeting was finished.

Tobirama left the room and saw Hana standing at the door. He nodded in acknowledgement and asked in jest, "Hana, I hope you have been treated well. Let me know if you have any problems, I will let Aunty Mito deal with them" Kaemon's lips twitched at the threat.

Hana replied abashedly, "I am doing good here, Hokage-sama, you don't have to worry. Have a safe trip."

"I will, oh are you expecting another child? That's a senju for you." He glanced briefly at her slightly bulging stomach and patted Kaemon on his shoulder, clearly in a good mood.

"Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Yes, Tobirama, Hana thinks it will be a girl for sure, so she decided to name her Sayuri, Hattori Sayuri"

"Good name, good name. My brother is also expecting a granddaughter, I hope they can become good friends in time. Alright, i am out."

Hana leaned on her husband's shoulder and quietly looked at Tobirama's back, as he left their clan grounds.

"I don't want my children to be Anbu ninjas, just yet. I want them to have a normal, peaceful childhood which we didn't have. I want them to grow up normally."

"As you wish, Honey, as you wish!!"

Husband and wife stood there, peaceful in each other's embrace, silently savoring the darkness that abounded their clan grounds.

....

As Tobirama was about to leave the forest, he paused in his stride and looked to his left. A slightly tall 7 year old was standing on a branch, his hand on the trunk, hidden in the darkness, quietly looking at him, as he was walking. His eyes had dark clouds swirling about, his black hair and black outfit nearly made him blend into the shadow.

'Shinjo', he muttered.

Tobirama stoically looked back and continued walking after the brief eye-contact. Leaving the light-less territory.

.....