Chapter 9

Hiruzen

Hiruzen's life had been filled with more heartache than most care to know. A little over six years ago, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and his chosen successor had passed away during the Kyuubi attack, leaving him to return to the office and once again bear the weight the hat put on his shoulders.

That same night, his wife, the mother of his two boys, had also died. It had left him in a state of work. He missed her more than life itself, and would switch places with her in a heartbeat if it meant she could be here once more.

Maybe then Hitoshi would still be alive…

He surely would have listened to her after all, his sons had always been momma's boys.

Yet Hitoshi ran off on a mission to find the man who killed his sensei three years ago and instead of avenging him, ended up losing his life in the process. Worse than that, they didn't even gather any new data or information from his death.

In short, he died for nothing.

Renji would be absolutely livid at both him and his son for handling everything so foolishly.

Then again, Renji was always a naturally angry man. A very powerful angry man. That was killed nearly instantly by the Masked Man.

In short, Hiruzen's life had been a hell filled with blood, death, and outrage.

And it was all on him.

He, the man who Tobirama-sensei had entrusted the village to, and the generations to come had let both him and all the young flames down. Two more shinobi wars started and ended with bloody battles under his rule, and what did they die for? Respect? Peace? Honor?

He had asked the dead many times in his long life if they died for any of those things, and the silence was always his answer.

Nothing.

They died for NOTHING.

Even the Senju clan, his senseis' clan, the honored founders of the leaf and the family of two men he looked up to beyond just teachers, his older brothers, had been slaughtered and driven to the point of extinction.

He could pray for their forgiveness all he wanted, but would they give it? Did he deserve it?

Once again the silence was his answer.

So he buried himself in work, in his duties as the Leader of Konoha, and tended to his grandson, Konohamaru. He was all he had nowadays, after Asuma had left the village in a fit of rage three years ago after the death of his elder brother. He had practically disowned himself.

To write wrongs of the past, he tried his best to succeed where he failed before. He raised the age of the academy graduation from ten to twelve. All in order to try and save as many young ones as possible. He tended to Naruko, giving her a place to stay after Danzo, his old friend, had outed her as the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. He had an idea as to why Danzo had done such a thing, but dwelling on them simply didn't bode well for the future. So he ordered the one eyed man to keep his hands off of Naruko and stay as far away as possible or face the disbandment of Root.

That got him to back off, at least as far as he could tell.

Yet the damage had already been done. He had tried his best to inform the village of Minato's intentions. That Naruko was a hero for bearing the weight of holding the Kyuubi, but they weren't having it. So he put a law in place to keep that information locked away from the younger generation. He classified it an S rank secret. Anyone caught speaking about it would face the charge of treason.

And eavesdropping on conversations in a shinobi village was like a combined wind and fire attack. They mixed perfectly.

Unfortunately he couldn't provide much more help to Naruko besides that. If he did, the truth of her heritage may come into question. After all he very rarely visited orphan children especially with his busy schedule. A visit a month was all he could manage without it looking too suspicious.

However even with his visits, Naruko was still incredibly lonely. She spent most days locked inside her apartment, and when she went out for companionship, she would be shunned and treated as an outcast. Everytime she would tell him of the horrible treatment she faced, he would send another apology to her parents.

Then one day when he visited Naruko everything had changed. It had been a little after she had enrolled into the academy, yet the sad and lonely little girl he was used to seeing was gone, in her place was a bubbly and happy child ready to tell him about the wonders of life.

She went in-depth explaining how she made friends, a lot of them, but two who were really close. "The bestest of best friends that could ever be the best." As she put it, her words made little sense, yet he was happy for her. Happy she could finally start enjoying life.

However, it was his job as Hokage and her 'caretaker' to look into these friends of hers and ensure there was no foul play. So he stuck his anbu to watch her whenever she was out.

He had come to learn that her friends were a group of about a dozen or so kids who she would play in the playground with and enjoy her youth. The best friends she referred to were what had his interest.

Hinata Hyuga. A shy timid girl from the experiences he had with her, and the Heir to the Hyuga clan. He knew she wouldn't be involved in any nefarious activities, and quickly wrote her off as a girl that needed friends almost as much as Naruko did.

The other one, however. Lei Kazumi. An orphan boy who had great grades, a decent physique and was naturally the best at the games they played within their friend group.

A friend group composed of six Clan Heirs.

It absolutely screamed Root spy.

His anger had risen, but he kept his cool and kept watching the boy. He had sent anbu to watch his every action. From the moment he woke up in the morning to the moment he went to sleep. He had to ensure the boy was not a pawn of Danzo's for the sake of Naruko.

He had found nothing suspicious, until one day.

The day everything changed.

The night before that he had received a report from one of his anbu that the boy was undoubtedly a sensor, and that he most likely awakened those abilities the same night. He went to sleep wondering what that meant for the boy. If Danzo didn't have his claws on him already, he definitely would by the moment, but doing anything for the boy would force him to truly order around Danzo.

Something he wasn't capable of anymore with how strong his Root had grown.

He had awoken to a knock on his bedroom door within his place of work. Someone had summoned him, a boy.

He absolutely hated early mornings, he had a village to run, and he didn't want to do so with no sleep, but he was also the friendly Hokage that vowed to instill the will of fire into the next generation, so he got up and went to see what the child wanted.

Any joyful attitude he had immediately died when he saw the boy who could very well be a spy of Danzo's.

The boy was surrounded by his Anbu, who were questioning him, all with their weapons drawn. A smile tugged at his lips as he saw the effectiveness of his anbu. One of the first things taught to them was the art of interrogation after all, and one of the best ways to get information out of someone is to scare them. A scared mind is an honest tongue.

Yet the boy insisted on saying nothing to the anbu, something that made him even more suspicious. Any normal six year old would have coughed up answers to save their own life, yet this one was looking death in the eye, and scared as he was, didn't back down.

So he made his presence known.

The boy's eyes widened at his appearance, and he relaxed considerably. Which brought a slight pause to him. If this was Danzo's pawn, why would he relax in the face of the most powerful man in the village? This would be when his mission is starting, not ending wouldn't it?

The boy went on to explain his reasoning for being here, explaining how he was doing some sort of training and ended up activating a kekkei genkai thought to be lost to time.

Wood Release.

It wasn't a funny joke, not at all in his eyes, but he'd humor the child.

So the boy led them outside, found a nice plot of grass and began infusing his chakra. As he eyed him, he realized the boy had pretty impressive control for a six year old, though not good enough to do a simple exercise like tree walking.

He had been pulled out of thoughts when saplings started to sprout on the ground and grow. The boy stopped growing them at around three and half or so feet and took a deep breath. As he eyed the plants, several things started going through his mind.

Was this boy like Tenzo? An Orochimaru experiment that succeeded and was planted into the village under Danzo's purview. That was the likely theory, although there was an unlikely one.

This boy simply had the proper genes to use Wood Release. A much rarer chance of being true, but possible nonetheless. Until he figured it out for himself, he would play the kind old man and that's exactly what he did.

He offered the boy a place in his office, to which he accepted. He needed a blood test, and he knew the boy would submit himself to one. So he asked him to do just that, to which the boy accepted, claiming he would follow directions and then took his leave.

The moment the boy left, his mind was plagued with all sorts of possibilities. If this was truly a Senju, then perhaps he could right his wrongs through this boy, to make it up to his senseis' and their family.

A day passed, and the results had come in. The sheer shock that overcame him when he read the results. 25% Senju blood with 75% civilian blood. His parentage was what surprised him the most.

Lei Kazumi - Renji Miyamoto and Haori Kazumi. Percentages of parentage, 98%, and 99% respectively.

This boy was nearly 100% confirmed to be the son of Renji, the very man who had trained his first son. Not only that, as he looked deeper into the ancestry his eyes grew to the size of saucers and his jaw locked as he read another familiar name.

Lei Kazumi - Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, Mito Uzumaki. Percentages of parentage, 52%, 34%, 1% respectively.

Any result above a 50% usually insinuated that they were a grandparent of some sort, and his close relation to Hashirama almost solidified that belief in his mind, but he needed to be sure, so he called for the test to be rerun, as well as a blood test for Renji.

Another day passed and the results held true.

Lei Kazumi - Renju Miyamoto and Haori Kazumi. Percentages of parentage, 97% and 98% respectively.

Renji Miyamoto - Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, Mito Uzumaki. Percentages of parentage, 99%, 77%, 2%, respectively.

This absolutely proved it, but he ran it again and the next day he got the same results. Then and only then did he call Lei in to tell him the news.

As the boy walked in he eyed him with a softer, kinder gaze. This boy was the combination of people he had loved so much.

Deceased people he missed. On his shoulders he held the legacy of all of them, and he didn't even know it yet. Even if he did, he wouldn't yet know the weight such a thing would bore down on him.

When he told him his bloodwork came in positive, the boy grew ecstatic, but he cut off that joy, it wasn't the full truth, and he should know it all before celebrating or sulking.

He let him know that upon diving deeper into the bloodwork it was determined that his father was his first son's sensei.

To which he only seemed slightly miffed. Not that he could blame him, he didn't know who his father was, nor did he know his child. He deemed not to say the next part and instead slid the paper over to Lei.

To say the boy was surprised would be an incredible understatement. He was absolutely frozen in shock. The look did put a smile on the old man's face as he confirmed what he was reading.

Though as the shock and contemplation of what this all meant got to the child, he couldn't help but feel a large sense of responsibility. Due to his mistakes, this child was here, as an orphan thinking about the members of his family. His little mind is trying to picture their faces, their complexion, their jaw structure, yet coming up with blanks.

So he opened himself up to the child. Told him about his sensei's, Lei's grandfather's sacrifice.

To his surprise the boy barely reacted. Had he already read that in the history books? Possible, yet the anbu watching him said he rarely if ever went to the library, so chances were slim.

Yet the chances of him being a Senju were also slim and he proved himself capable of breaking down the odds. His existence proved that.

Lei wanted to know his options, and he told him the truth. He could choose to take the Senju name, become the Head of the Clan, or just keep his mother's name. Unsurprisingly he chose the option that would grant him the most power and benefits, the one the old man was ready to write him down as.

Yet he was too young to deal with such duties right now. Clan Heads were required to come to meetings regarding the entire village, and forcing a child to hear about all of that wasn't something he intended on doing.

Not yet.

So he sent Lei off on his way, all the while thinking about the future. A descendant of Tobirama-sensei, with the kekkei genkai of Hashirama-sensei. Such a thing was a powerful combination, and one that could be used to benefit the entire village if he turned out like either of them personality wise.

—

As the years went on the Hokage watched as Lei grew from a boy to a man. Yet he was still a boy, but with the perseverance, leadership, and talent of a fully fledged man. The fact that he started training young Naruko, Satsuki, and Hinata just added to his potential. He was building powerful, loyal allies early. Seeing their potential and capitalizing on it.

It was about time he had a talk with him.

A talk that would change the future of the village, whether Lei knew it or not.

So when Lei showed up to training with Tenzo, Hiruzen eyed him with scrutiny over his every little move, and was greatly impressed by his learning speed and the control he had over the manipulation of his cells. Such a thing would be nigh impossible for him to do, but then again he couldn't sense the very life burning within each of his cells like Lei, and Hashirama-sensei could. Even Tenzo, who did possess Wood Release couldn't truly sense his cells as those two could, he simply lacked the natural talent. Which says a lot considering Tenzo is one of the strongest people in the village and a generational genius like Kakashi.

When the training came to an end, it was time to have that talk. So he invited Lei over before dispelling his clone. He waited patiently, all the while predicting the talk in his mind. He had come to know Lei a lot over the years, but didn't actually know how he viewed the village and the lives of the people.

When Lei arrived, he gave the boy a fair warning that the talk would be rather deep, and he even needed to pour himself a drink before beginning. However, instead of explaining their topic, he wanted to hear how Lei learned the village's history. So he let him talk. Going from the very beginning, all the way until after Hashirama-sensei's death.

That's when the wizened old man asked him the question both Hashirama-sensei, and Tobirama-sensei had asked him when he was a child.

"Since it's clear you know the basic history regarding Hashirama-sensei, let me ask you. Who do you think was right, Hashirama-sensei, or Madara?"

A simple question but one that held so much weight. To his surprise, Lei had chosen Madara after a lengthy explanation. There was no judgment in Hiruzen's eyes as he stared at the child.

There was no wrong answer after all. What determined the type of person one was, was their reasoning for choosing that option.

So when he ushered the boy to continue, he watched closely, eyes scanning the boy's own for any signs of lying or deceit. It wouldn't do good for him to lie after all.

So Lei did just that. The boy went into detail about the mistakes Hashirama had made, claiming it had set Konoha up for failure.

He couldn't help but find himself agreeing with him as much as it pained his heart.

As Lei continued it hurt his heart more. He knew under him two more great wars started, and he went to sleep with that fact every night. It was for that very reason that he left Danzo have more control.

In the eyes of many, he emulated Hashirama, while Danzo emulated Tobirama. He was the optimist, and Danzo the realist.

When he had come to realize Hashirama had a part to play in all the death, he gave Danzo power and even his own organization that he had no control over, since he knew sooner or later he would start to question his heinous methods.

As a good-hearted person would do.

It was a terrible idea, another mistake piled upon the endless tower of fuck-ups he has made throughout his life.

The more Lei spoke, the more the old man realized that Lei was like both Hashirama-sensei, and Tobirama-sensei. He possessed the will of fire and wanted nothing more than peace for not just Konoha, but for the elemental nations, but he knew that such a thing couldn't happen through love and kindness. He knew people would have to die, a lot of them.

Finally when he asked Lei what he would do to make sure the elemental nations gained peace-

That Konoha gained peace…

Lei answered a dastardly, heinous answer that made him wince even if it was only for a moment. To capture the tailed beasts and use them as deterrents. A plan that would never work, something Lei knew well before he even needed to say anything. What he really planned on doing was launching an attack that would destroy the other villages, and rebuilding from their ashes. To make a nation under Konoha.

Such a thing was…concerning, but it got the old man thinking. Would it work? In a hundred, or two hundred years, would peace still hold firm?

He knew there would be rocky patches here and there, but would wars truly end and an era of peace begin? He had to ask Lei how he would keep down any rebellions, and Lei's answer did more than surprise him, it made him nervous for the boy.

"Though branching from my question, I'm curious, if you went through with that plan of yours as Hokage, how would you quell any rebellions or infiltrations?"

"Without the need to go out and survey enemy villages, the anbu would be fully available to watch the actions of people within the village. They would act as the judge, jury and executioner to little bursts, while the larger ones would be brought to my attention where I would decide the best course of action. A good way to bring out those who would gravitate towards such things would be to plant someone trustworthy to encourage it. If you control the law and crime within a village, you hold absolute power."

Such an answer was not something he was expecting from him. The entire conversation was as if he was talking to a man with a great deal of experience in leading a nation and analyzing problems set by others. To come up with such a plan in the matter of seconds…

It reminds him of Itachi.

Another can of worms he had fumbled…

Eventually he decided to liven the mood by bringing up Icha Icha and giving his blessings to 'be fruitful and multiply.'

He would have had less tack if he didn't just have a talk that would leave even some chunin sweating from the seriousness of it all, yet Lei looked unbothered, at most a little uncomfortable. To say he was like Hashirama-sensei, or Tobirama-sensei, or even Madara was now an incorrect assessment. Hashirama, was a very powerful optimist who put his faith in others even if it wasn't the smart thing to do. Tobirama was a powerful realist who believed making logical moves that benefitted the village was the right move. Madara was a powerful and dangerous idealist, he saw the world how he wanted it to be, and did everything in his power to make others see it as well.

Lei however…Lei was a realist who recognized the problems in this world and made plans to destroy them for the sake of his home. A cruel way of creating peace.

…Yet it created peace.

It was then that he, the Third Hokage of Konoha made a decision that only he would know until he deemed Lei ready to hear.

For the sake of the civilians, for the sake of the children, for the sake of his shinobi, for the sake of the village, for the sake of peace…He would give his power to the one who would ensure their safety.

—

Present Day (Academy Graduation Day)

The old man let out a deep sigh as he took the seat in his office for the first time of the day. He had just spent the last five hours in a meeting, and the start of it was all negotiating with Danzo.

And by negotiating he meant exercising his authority so Danzo could get off of his back.

He opened the drawer of his desk, finding his pipe in which held the finest kush he could attain within the elemental nations from the small Village Hidden in the Grass. He didn't usually fill his pipe with this stuff, but for days like these where he was forced to age an extra year, he needed it to retain his cool.

Otherwise he would have killed Danzo and scrapped the Root Organization a long time ago, consequences be damned.

During their most recent chat, the topic of discussion was none other than one young Lei Senju.

—

Five Hours Ago

A yawn escaped his lips as he read over the files full of 'Root Operations' that Danzo had presented him. This was a fairly common occurrence. Though he gave Danzo the choice to start his own organization dedicated to protecting Konoha, he still wanted reports of what they were doing.

Yet he was not a fool.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at his old childhood friend and self proclaimed rival. Danzo routinely left things out of the report, his goals, objectives, and secret mission.

That was not a confirmed fact, but a gut feeling. One does not go behind his back and plot his downfall and be trusted fully after that.

No, Danzo was in every way a snake comparable to his former student.

A sad gleam appeared in his eyes for less than a millisecond that went unnoticed by everyone around.

"This file says you have plans regarding Lei Senju." He raised an eyebrow, looking at the man as old as he sitting across from him.

"That is correct." Was Danzo's short and simple response. He eyed him, he hated these games Danzo would force him to play. They both knew that wasn't enough information, yet here he was waiting for him to ask for more.

"What are your intentions?"

"To protect Konoha from the sha-"

"Danzo!"

It was very rare he raised his voice, but today he was getting tired of his shit.

"The boy is Tobirama-sensei's grandson, I wish to take him under my wing and teach him what it means to be a Konoha shinobi." Danzo explained, taking a sip of his tea. "I wish for you to send him my way so that I may personally tend to him. Putting him on your run of the mill three man cell would only squander his potential, Hiruzen."

Homura, and Koharu, his former genin teammates, hummed in response.

"He possesses Wood Release, I do not want him buried underneath Konoha in its roots. No, he will learn how a typical genin does. How you and I and both of you did." He frowned, looking at the three other people at the table.

"You think Tobirama-sensei would be happy with you wasting his potential? We both know if he were alive today, he wouldn't bother putting on a team, in fact he would have taken him out of the academy and taught him everything himself. If sensei had his way, the boy would be jonin levels by now. I can make up for the slack, don't be stubborn, Hiruzen." Danzo banged his hand on the table in anger, before calming himself down.

"I understand your point, Danzo, but trust me when I say I have thought this through. Had I intended on not placing him in a team, I would have been the one to teach him. I have already been doing so for the past few years anyways. He needs to be on a genin team not only for his own growth, but for the growth of his teammates, and if we're lucky, the sensei I plan on assigning them."

"Then out with it, Hiruzen." Danzo demanded.

"You will show me respect, Danzo!" He flexed his chakra ever so slightly, the room shook for half a second before stopping. All the while he eyed the chin scarred man.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." He said, bowing his head barely enough to be called respectful.

"With his usage of Wood Release, I deemed it absolutely imperative he be placed on Naruko Uzumaki's team."

"The Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Smart. Lord Hashirama could fight and handle all of the tailed beasts at the same time in his prime, having a boy who shows the same potential as him watching over the fox would be good for the village's safety." Homura hummed in approval.

"Who else?" Koharu asked.

"I had planned on having Kakashi as their sensei. As he was once Minato's student, I see it fitting he be the one to train his daughter, it may also bring Kakashi out of his depressed state having someone to live for."

"I had expected you to recommend Asuma. Chances are Kakashi teaches them nothing." Danzo raised an eyebrow.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at Danzo for a moment before sighing. "I thought about it, however, knowing my son, the moment he finds out Lei is Renji's son, he'd sooner prioritize protecting him then he would training him." He frowned as he thought back to the days Asuma would cling at Hitoshi's side while his first son was training with his genin team. "Also, I have ways of making Kakashi put some…enthusiasm into training them."

"Who's the final child?" Koharu queried.

"Satsuki Uchiha." The Hokage answered, no need for a verbal explanation. Lei, Naruko, and Satsuki already were on good terms, great even but with Kakashi around, he would be able to help Satsuki unlock her sharingan and use it. That alone would be a massive gain for her, and by extension, the village.

"That seems like an unfairly powerful team." Homura said, eyeing a piece of paper in front of him. "Lei Senju was the Rookie of the Year, Satsuki Uchiha was the runner up for Kunoichi of the Year, and Naruko Uzumaki was the third placer. That's without even mentioning Kakashi who is one of the strongest shinobi we have…"

"I'm sure you know I am not against making powerful teams." Hiruzen chuckled. "My own is a perfect example of that. I may alter the team, but I do like it where it is. Hinata Hyuga is interchangeable with Naruko Uzumaki, but I believe everyone benefits more with Naruko there in her stead."

"Yet Lei would benefit most if he learned under me, he wouldn't even have to join Root, he could just-"

"Danzo, I will say it one more time, I refuse."

A tense silence settled over the room as both Hiruzen and Danzo glared at each other.

"Is there anything else we're discussing." Koharu asked after a while.

"Yes, we must discuss the current affairs of the village with the Clan Heads. Today is the day of the Academy's graduation, so Lei Senju will not be joining us today. Boar."

The boar masked anbu man knelt in front of his Hokage immediately.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

"Summon the Clan Heads for our scheduled meeting. We have much to discuss."

"Yes." With a puff of smoke he was gone.

As another silence descended on the room, Hiruzen opened a file and flipped through the pages. On the papers were all this year's current genin teams and their squad leaders. He stopped on Team 7.

Naruko Uzumaki, Lei Senju, Satsuki Uchiha, Led by Kakashi Hatake.

He read through their individual files and descriptions before chuckling to himself much to the confusion of those around him.

"Something funny, Hiruzen?" Danzo asked, his glare still holding strong. The old bastard never could calm himself.

"Nothing, it's just…"

"Say it, Hiruzen." Koharu groaned, way too tired of her old teammates' antics.

"Any of you want to make a bet?"