Shiroken and Monari walked upstairs, an Anbu was leading them in the front. But they could sense many eyes were on them. There were even some inside the walls for some reason.
Soon, they arrived at a normal looking door. The Anbu knocked on it and let them go inside.
Shiroken looked around at the room first. It was filled with a lot of papers and books. There was a big semi-circular window that overlooked the village. And then there was the main table, behind which, the white-haired person sat.
Tobirama was intently looking at Shiroken, trying to find out why he could not sense the boy even when he stood right in front of his eyes. This was something he had never felt in his entire life, and it truly made him feel a little scared. This boy could technically just walk behind him and stab him to death, without him even realising someone was there.
"Where are you from? I want the truth," he asked them in an authoritative tone.
"Where is Kurama?! And I want the truth," Shiroken asked back.
Tobirama didn't like this, "Don't forget you are standing in my village. You are surrounded by ninjas here. And worse… There is me."
"Confidence is good, but overconfidence always sinks the ship. Gyuki told me this. Tell me, where is Kurama? The big red fox the Hokage fought not long ago." Shiroken asked once again with a stern voice.
Tobirama was amused by this question. Nobody in the world, at least from what he heard, knew the name of that Demon Fox. Here, the strange boy was calling the name so affectionately.
"Is this Kurama the family member you have been looking for?" Tobirama inquired.
"Yes, he's the only reason I even came here, I don't need anything else and neither do I want to fight someone. Just tell me where he is and I will leave peacefully." Shiroken told him straightforwardly.
Tobirama was not going to do it, he'd rather fight than give up the demon fox. It was a deterrent for wars. It was the guarantee of peace for their wounded village.
"It is not possible, he killed many of us and was involved in a ploy to destroy our village," Tobirama replied, prepared to fight.
"And who was responsible for all this? Wasn't there someone else who probably forced him to fight? Kurama may be an angry being, but he's not dumb or senseless. He wasn't even supposed to be here, he was on his way to the desert to look for Shukaku." Shiroken tried to reason.
~Shukaku? Desert? Sunagakure? Didn't they also catch a tailed beast?~ Tobirama's brain immediately came up with a scheme.
"Who is this Shukaku?" He tried to act oblivious and asked.
"He's also a family member. As big as Kurama but made of sand." Shiroken replied, hoping for some information.
Tobirama acted as if he had just realised something, "I did hear about Sunagakure catching a giant wild beast. They have been quite vocal about it, telling everyone they are the strongest now."
Shiroken's worst fear turned into reality, Shukaku was indeed caught. His innocent heart felt very guilty for even letting Shukaku go. If he had stopped him, nothing would have happened.
Monari, who was silent till now, asked, "Do you know how they caught him?"
Tobirama shook his head, "No, probably some sealing jutsu."
"What about Kurama? Where is he?" Shiroken questioned him. He was being respectful even though he was about a hundred years old, much older than most people in the world.
~Sunagakure should have a headache coming towards them now~ Tobirama was happy with his plot.
"We don't know. He's certainly not in this village. You can search for him if you want. From what I know, after that fight with Madara Uchiha, the demon fox was gone." Tobirama replied.
In a way, he was not lying. Yes, after the fight Kurama disappeared because he was sealed. And yes, he was not in the village since Mito Uzumaki was sent to the home of the Uzumaki clan, Uzushiogakure.
Shiroken nodded and turned to Monari, "Let's go and find the leader of Sunagakure first. I will try to peacefully ask him to free Shukaku,"
"I don't think they will agree peacefully. Wait... isn't there a 5 Kage summit going on? The leaders of all 5 villages will be there. We can meet the leader of Sunagakure right away." Monari suggested.
Shiroken was completely in favour, "Let's go then. Thank you, Tobirama. We shall leave now."
In the blink of an eye, both of them disappeared from their place. The only thing that signified that they had left was the open door of the office and the building.
"Are you sure, my lord? Sending them away like this." Tobirama's disciple spoke up.
This was one of the three students of Tobirama, but he was the best of them. Hiruzen Sarutobi, a 23-year-old powerful Jounin, with a very good possibility of surpassing even Tobirama.
"No, Hiruzen. They are indeed very strong, I can feel it. Especially that woman, I feel the same as I did around Madara. And that boy, I cannot even sense him. I just made trouble for Sunagakure. And I'd rather not destroy this office when we just repaired it." Tobirama replied, revealing his plot.
But Hiruzen was confused, "Won't they eventually know that we have the demon fox? They will surely come then."
"I did not technically lie. And even if they do come, Hashirama and I will be here at the same time. Nobody can fight us together and win." Tobirama proudly replied. Constant winning had gotten to his head it seemed, even though he was a cautious person, his analytical abilities were starting to depreciate.
Tobirama then called an Anbu, "Quickly, send the fastest Ninja and inform the Hokage about these two. He must know the plan I have plotted and also not to interfere if these two engage in a fight with the Kazekage."
...
But, none in the world except a few could match Shiroken and Monari's speed. They had left the horses in the village and had run on foot. They hoped to meet the entourage of Hokage and then follow him to the destination.
"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Shiroken asked Monari.
She shook her head, "I don't know. His face was impossible to read. It looked as if the man didn't have any feeling."
"Me too, I felt weird when he was speaking. Hokage seemed nice, maybe he will tell us everything honestly. That is why I agreed to leave so quickly." Shiroken said.
"I hope you are right. But I'm still confused. How in the hell did the mighty Shukaku get caught by ninjas?" She wondered.
Shiroken had no idea. He had zero knowledge about the rest of the world, he had no idea how powerful the people were. He was regretting never learning about it.
All his life, he lived in this bubble created around him by the overprotective tailed beasts. Now the same thing was becoming a hindrance for him in understanding the world.
*Woosh*
...
They did not find where Hashirama was. But, they followed the trail left on the dirt road. And as not many people travelled on them, the footmarks stayed for a good long time.
They ran around for 3 days looking for where the meeting was taking place. It could possibly be happening anywhere in the world. But, Shiroken decided to first check the Country of Fire fully.
After 3 days, they finally saw a small building in the middle of nowhere in a jungle. It looked out of place because the building was very well kept.
Shiroken knew that there would be very tight security, so he couldn't just barge in. He stopped a good distance away and planned.
"Monari, you stay here. I will sneakily go there and see what they are talking about. If everything goes well, I will ask them about both Kurama and Shukaku." He planned.
"But, I'm supposed to safeguard you." She protested.
He quickly stopped her, "But they will sense you in a minute. While I cannot be sensed even if I am standing in front of them."
Eventually, she had to agree as there wasn't much else they could do.
So, he left her and slowly proceeded towards the building. He could sense everyone there, but nobody could sense him. Due to this, he easily passed all the guard perimeters.
After that, he jumped over to a window of the building and used the normal blending sheet to hide there, blending himself with the surrounding area.
From there, he started to listen in. But unknown to poor Shiroken, his whole worldview was about to change.
[A/N: Now you know where Hiruzen got his shrewdness from.]
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Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif* *Julian Rocamora* *Darrien Steely* *Franklin Walley*
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1 Stone = 1 Enlightenment Banana. [Effect: Makes you see the truth beyond every word spoken by man. WARNING: It might turn you insane.]