Chapter 42

"Are you insane!?" I asked, completely taken aback. "Why the hell would Konoha be working with Orochimaru of all people!?"

Hiruzen let out a sad sigh, surely knowledgeable as to how I would react. "It's not that simple. Orochimaru is a missing ninja, yes, but he is also a war hero, twice over, and he's a very…driven researcher."

"You know damn well none of that justifies the atrocities he's committed in the name of his "research."

"In the world of shinobi, our art is the creation of disasters. Even the mightiest shinobi will need to dye their hands red in the blood of their enemies, remember that."

"I already knew that, stop trying to be poetic to save your ass!" I couldn't believe he was trying to deflect with some old shinobi wisdom. Suddenly a question flashed through my mind, and I denied it with every fiber of my being…but I needed to ask, for my sake. "Gramps, did you know Orochimaru was going to come after me?"

"No," Hiruzen answered immediately, his gaze locking with mine as I stared back. My sensory chakra was prodding at his, to get a feel for his emotions, and to my surprise, he toned down his massive chakra pool to let me. He was feeling a mix of emotions and feelings, but one trumped all others.

Regret.

"I see." I relaxed, leaning back into the chair. Knowing Hiruzen wasn't against me was a huge relaxer, but I still couldn't believe what had come out of his mouth.

"The deal we had with Orochimaru wasn't very detailed. We would keep in touch and trade information. I very rarely participated in the meetings Danzo would have with my former student…to see his face, what he's become…and what he once was…"

I couldn't understand his pain, I had never had a student that I cared for like a son, nor had I ever had a son, but I could sympathize with his feelings.

What I didn't sympathize with was his decisions.

"We both know that working with Orochimaru was a horrendous idea. I won't even continue to go into that." Changing the subject would be for the better, we had a lot to talk about, and I didn't want to waste too much time talking about his regrets. "You said you wish to arrest Danzo? How do you plan on doing that?"

Hiruzen sighed deeply, rubbing his hand down his wrinkly face. "I will deal with that, you need not concern yourself."

He has no idea what he'd get himself into if he didn't include me. How do I tell him that Danzo, almost certainly has Shisui's eye in his socket? No way would I be able to explain it without being questioned as to how I-

Holy shit, I think I got something?

"Gramps."

Hiruzen eyed me for a moment then gestured to continue.

"During the Waves mission, I learned a lot, and slowly I've been piecing together more and more information."

"Oh, have you learned something?" He straightened and leaned forward, full attention on me.

"I cannot guarantee to be correct, but I believe in what I've found."

"Then let's hear it."

Alright, well here it goes. "The Jonin Ao, from Kirigakure, do you remember him or some of the missions he's had against us?"

Hiruzen stroked his beard in thought. "Yes, I recall him. He managed to defeat and capture a Hyuga and perhaps managed to halt the caged bird seal effects with a seal master?" The old man hummed in thought. "The Hyuga he captured was most certainly a branch member, how he managed to steal the eye baffles me and anger the Hyuga more than anything."

"Well, as you know, he's dead." I shrugged.

"Yes, and excellent work with that, although I believe you were getting somewhere?"

"Do you remember any confrontations Ao had with Shisui?" I asked. This was an AU and Ao never brought up Shisui, more like he had no reason to. I needed to see if my plan would end up reaching a dead end.

"I recall several occasions." Hiruzen nodded. "More than once did I send Team Shisui to combat Ao and his band of shinobi. This was a time before the Mist rebels were so organized and instead worked in small groups, much like the warring states period. Did Ao say something to you?"

I got him hooked, just got to reel him in. "Yes, he did. We spoke more than a few times as we clashed, and Satsuki ended up in our conversation."

Hiruzen hummed. "Your talk about Satsuki ended up drifting to Shisui?" He guessed and for a moment I had to pat myself on the back. I was setting this up so well, he was getting further in my bullshit than I was.

"Yes. His respect for Shisui seemed to extend to the Uchiha…to some degree, and he had some words to say about Shisui."

"Enlighten me, Lei."

Here goes. "Ao told me about how much he respected Shisui, along with how much he feared him and why." I paused to gather my thoughts, making an error in front of a living lie detector would be a huge mistake. "When I stood atop the head of my golem when Ao was near guaranteed to fall during our fight, he imparted knowledge to me. He said: "Beware of Itachi Uchiha, for he may possess the eyes of Shisui Uchiha, the ability to alter the target's mind to make decisions as if they were their own."

Hiruzen closed his eyes in thought. I didn't dare interrupt his train of thought, I mentally prepared a few extra levels of defense to my words, in case he questioned me further.

"Shisui Uchiha, he ended his own life, the reasons are unknown, but I have had a few guesses." He admitted with a deep frown. "You're saying that Shisui could have given his eyes to Itachi?"

"I'm saying Ao said that, but I do believe his words hold some merit." I agreed.

Hiruzen went back into thought and I had to mentally pat myself on the back. If Itachi wasn't an evil guy in this universe, then receiving both of Shisui's eyes would have made him more likely to attempt to change the clan's opinions much like Shisui attempted to. If Itachi could take any possibility that wouldn't result in his clan's destruction or the destruction of Konoha, he would have. Hiruzen knows that better than I do.

"Thank you, Lei, for bringing this to my attention. Shisui's eyes are powerful, perhaps nearly as powerful as his grandfather's eyes. To have those in the hands of anyone against Konoha, would be unthinkable."

Yeah, let's nip that bud right now.

"Speaking of Itachi." I started, regaining his full attention. "The mysterious person who defeated Orochimaru…I believe it was him."

Hiruzen eyed me, his expression not changing at all. "Why would you think that?"

I didn't even need to reach into my ass for bullshit this time. "The Senju Library," I admitted. "Throughout the warring states period, the Uchiha and Senju have battled for centuries. With all that time we battled, my clan made a point to document most of the ocular jutsu and abilities throughout the years."

Hiruzen nodded, likely already knowing about such a thing. "It would make sense that you would know about the mangekyo sharingan if you've spent even a few hours of your time in the Senju library." He took another drag of the pipe. "Though the amount of Uchiha who possessed such an advanced sharingan was small, and information on abilities from those eyes are minimal at best."

"True." I nodded. "Though the ocular abilities that typically lacked descriptions were mostly genjutsu. An ability as distinctive as Amaterasu wouldn't go undocumented, and history is my witness." Tobirama was quite the history man, and while I doubt he ever actually saw someone use Amaterasu in his life, I'm certain he was the one to ensure that information was never lost to time.

"That it is." Hiruzen handed me the pipe. "I believe you may be correct, you are very lucky to escape with your life if it was truly Itachi who defeated Orochimaru.

"Yeah, I'm still curious as to why he would help us…"

"I do not think he was helping you, I cannot go into the details at this time, but know that Orochimaru involved himself with some dangerous people, some of whom want him dead." He said with the finality of a man who didn't want to speak any further on that topic.

Ah, a good deflection on the old man's part, pushing for the full truth would look way too suspicious.

"The very unlikeable snake is unlikeable. Makes sense." I hummed. "Well is there anything else you would like to speak about?"

I didn't want to keep talking to him. I was still upset about him working with Orochimaru, and the only reason I brought up Shisui and Itachi right now was that it might help him connect the fact that Danzo has one or more of Shisui's eyes, it's a very tiny hope but it may help in the long run.

As much as I disliked his decision, I didn't want to see the old man dead, or worse, made a puppet for Danzo's bidding.

"There is a great deal we must discuss, but we can speak on that later. Your team will be exempt from taking any missions outside of Konoha for the foreseeable future."

"I figured." I let out a sigh of relief. We cleared a C-turned-S rank mission in a little over a few days, but I didn't want to go on another one any time soon. Especially with an evil one-eyed shinobi and a damn snake hunting me down.

"Take a few days to rest and recover, that soldier pill shouldn't last too much longer, should it?" Hiruzen asked with some concern.

Realistically, the remnants of the soldier pill were the only thing keeping Kakashi and me standing right now, and the moment it wore off, I would be bedridden for a day at least.

"It should wear out in a couple of days." I groaned. The feeling of complete exhaustion fucking sucks and I hated feeling that way.

"Then we shall commence your training in a week." Hiruzen smiled. "I look forward to the next time we speak."

"As do I, Gramps." He had a lot of shit to answer to, but more than that, he needed to deal with a traitor.

—

The C-Rank Mission pay was bitter-sweet. On one hand, this was absolute bullshit compared to how difficult the mission was, but on the other hand, pay was pay, and it was time to celebrate!

I walked through the streets of Konoha with one hand in my pocket, waving from time to time at some of the faces I knew.

Which was a lot of people, admittedly.

Ever since I became known as a Senju, civilians, clan heads, and just clan members, in general, made it their mission to kiss ass, and while I didn't mind their hidden agendas, it became incredibly tiring.

A content smile split my lips as I saw my destination, the Hyuga Compound.

I could feel all of my girls' energies within and it motivated me to move a bit faster.

—

Hanabi

"Big sister, you shouldn't keep worrying." Hanabi frowned, ever since that…thing flew down and spoke to her sister, Hinata had been anxious, overly so.

Even now, Hinata clung to the bird, even as it told her that her friends were safe and within the village. She wouldn't relax until she had all of her friends in her arms again.

The younger Hyuga didn't know what was going on, all she knew was Lei and his team were in danger. As Hanabi looked away from her sister, she couldn't help but find herself hoping they would make it back in one piece.

She hadn't spent much time with Lei, Naruko, and Satsuki, but she had seen them and was acquainted with them. She had come to like them, somewhat, and for her sister's sake; prayed for their safety.

Suddenly Hinata's byakugan activated and she held onto the bird a little tighter as she looked towards the entrance of the compound. Hanabi couldn't tell what her older sister was looking at, so she activated her dojutsu as well. The familiar chakras of Satsuki and Naruko approached leisurely.

Hinata blasted forward, reaching them in moments, and wrapped them tightly in her embrace. The two girls were temporarily surprised, but once the initial shock had worn off, they returned the hug.

"Guess we worried you, huh, Hinata?" Naruko whispered into the Hyuga heiress' ear and said the heiress' embrace tightened.

"You underestimate us…but I guess I'll allow it this time." Satsuki humped as a soft smile expressed how happy she was to see Hinata.

"You…you're all so stupid." Hinata pulled away and gave them a smile Hanabi had come to love as her older sister grew out of her shell. A smile that Hinata had inherited from their mother.

"You already know that." Naruko ended the hug, crossed her arms, and nodded sagely. "We get it from our idiot."

"No, we get it from you, Naruko. Your stupidity has been rubbing off on us for years." Satsuki smirked.

"Can't hear you, flatty, say it with your chest!"

"You're not special you damn cow!"

Hinata didn't even attempt to stop it, instead, she walked back to the porch and sat down. To Hanabi's surprise, her older sister wrapped her up in a tight hug, one she wasn't given often.

"Are you okay sister?" Hanabi couldn't help but ask, wiggling in Hinata's grip for comfort.

"I'm glad," Hinata admitted with a happy smile. "Surrounded by the people I love, how could I not be happy?"

Hanabi looked at her sister with a contemplative expression. Was that what it took to make her happy? To have her special people around her, was that all it took?

She didn't really understand it, but it made her happy when her sister was happy, so perhaps she too felt the same.

—

Hiruzen

There was a lot to cover and even more to do, but such was the fate of any Hokage in history.

Orochimaru was a non-factor, dealing with that issue was simple, he would have to cut ties completely with his former student. The boy he had come to look at as a son had crossed a line, allowing him to work with Konoha in the first place was an issue, but now that he had attacked so many Konoha shinobi for the sake of his goals, Hiruzen couldn't just let it slide anymore.

The old Hokage poured himself a cup of sake, such a thing was needed to handle the stress of day-to-day life, even if he retired now, he doubted he would ever get to truly put his feet up and enjoy it. His life had been riddled with regrets, and to try and walk away from them…

Would be a huge disrespect to those he put in the grave with his decisions.

No, he would ride this out until the day he died.

"Damn it, I need to retire."

"I'll say."

He didn't even react to the familiar voice, he already knew who was present in the room, and it seemed the man he was waiting for had finally arrived. The man jumped down, landing in front of his desk.

Hiruzen let out a low sigh as he looked at his former student. "Did your travels find you well, Jiraiya?"