Mito Uzumaki !

Day 295

Almost four months had passed since Hashirama Senju had decided to leave Konoha. The man had not sent any news and no one knew where he was.

No one except one, his wife.

However, Mito Uzumaki hoped that he had managed to reach the fire temple because he was really in a critical state when he had made that decision. In fact, for the first few weeks after his departure, Mito had to hide the truth from his brother-in-law, Tobirama. Tobirama, seeing that even the wife of the Shodai Hokage did not know what had happened, was forced to take over the leadership of Konoha No Sato.

Mito remembered only too well the terrible decision Tobirama had made after a while.

— "Mito ! Konoha cannot remain without a leader. The credibility of the Elemental Nations and above all the safety of Konoha are at stake. Hashirama would not have wanted the village he created to be left to its own devices like this !"

— "You speak as if he were dead !" The red haired woman exclaimed. "Hashirama is the Shodai Hokage and..."

— "And he's not here to perform his duties ! Alive or not, my brother is not in the village ! You yourself have no idea where he is or even if he is still alive ! Therefore, it has been decided that I will become the Nidaime Hokage."

Mito had to contain her anger that her husband was thus considered dead and already buried. He hadn't even been allowed the village honors, but in a way, the woman understood her brother-in-law's position. War had finally been declared between the nations and unrest was beginning to emerge here and there and Konoha No Sato could not remain without a commander in charge. It was better, for everyone's sake, if Tobirama took over from Hashirama.

But today, the red-haired woman was finally relieved. A letter had reached her, Hashirama was safe. He had managed to reach the temple of Hi No Tera where he was safe.

However, the contents of the message left her worried, her husband needed her by his side. It didn't take her more than a minute to decide what to do. Hashirama Senju was her husband and as such she had to obey him. But their relationship was not based on this relationship of domination and submission. Mito was in no way forced to behave this way towards him, even though she had been raised with these precepts to be a good wife. Mito sincerely loved the man she had been told to marry, she had learned to love the man long before their marriage was arranged.

So it was only natural that she should decide to join him since he had asked her to do so, for that was her place : at his side in all circumstances.

She knew that her departure had to be done in the greatest secrecy. Indeed, while the war was still in its early stages, if Konoha's enemies learned that Hashirama Senju was still alive but weakened, they would not hesitate to attack the land of fire. Tobirama was the face of the village now and things should stay that way.

But the red-haired woman also knew that if she too disappeared in an unexplained way, it could create tensions within Konoha itself. But her husband was far more important than this whole war. He needed her and nothing in the world could stop her in her quest to help him!

Mito walked around her home and gathered her things to seal them. She looked at her husband's battle armor and weapons and decided to seal them as well, just in case.

There was only one thing left to do, get rid of the shinobi set up for her protection. Indeed, her father had insisted that she always be under good security. Mito was not just a simple woman, she was a formidable Kunoichi and unfortunately for the shinobi in charge of her security he didn't see it coming and was knocked out in no time.

Mito applied a Hengen on her, she had taken on the appearance of an ordinary person. She crossed the Senju domain and left the village of Konoha No Sato in broad daylight without anyone noticing.

When she was far enough away from the village, Mito propelled herself with her chakra to cover the distance between her village and Hi No Tera as quickly as possible. Not only was she in a hurry to get back to her husband, but she shouldn't be on the road. War might not yet be in the land of the Land of Fire, but she was not immune to running into enemies sent to scout.

Day 296

Mito had hardly stopped since she left the village. It took her barely a day to reach the temple of Hi No Tera. She rushed to the doors and knocked vigorously on them, waiting impatiently for someone to come and open.

She was not a very patient woman by nature, like many of her clan members. So when a member of her family was in potential danger, she was unresponsive. The time seemed like an eternity since she was waiting in front of that door, she had to take great pains not to kick it in. But she also knew that it would have been very unwelcome and disrespectful for such a place of peace.

Then, after a long minute, the door opened at last to reveal a man in beige robes holding a pearl necklace in his hands.

— "Yes ?" He asked with a neutral look on his face

— "My husband has requested my presence here," said the woman briskly.

— "None of our members have wives," the man replied, still stroking one of the beads on his necklace.

— "I have not come to see one of your disciples, but rather one of your residents : Hashirama," said Mito, who had to restrain herself from pushing him out of the way to enter this building.

The man looked at her in silence and then stepped away from the door.

— "Please do not disturb the serenity of this place... follow me," the priest announced before letting Mito enter.

Mito bowed her head slightly in thanks, but she still had to wait for the monk to close the door and lead the way. He walked quietly through the corridors, inwardly exasperating the red-haired woman who was following him, almost seething at this imposed slowness.

After five minutes of walking the two individuals arrived at a wooden door.

— "Don't forget where you are. The temple is a place of meditation and silence. No disturbance is allowed in here," the monk reminded them before placing his hand on the door handle and pressing it open.

With this gesture, he reminded people of the rules of life in the monastery and that anyone could enter the rooms without having to announce themselves. In this way, he made Mito understand that, although she was the wife of this resident, certain things in the life of a couple were not possible here, such as intimacy.

Mito did not take up the remark and instead observed the room that opened up before her.

It was a small room, very spartan. Inside was a futon, a storage unit and a tray. Then her gaze turned to the bed where she recognized the figure that was sitting there. Hashirama Senju was lying on his back, his eyes closed.

As soon as she saw him, her heart lurched in her chest : finally ! Mito ran over to him and knelt down in front of the bed, not caring about the monk who closed the door behind her, leaving them alone.

— "Hashirama," whispered the heiress of the Uzumaki clan as she gently stroked her husband's forehead.

With this gesture, she was putting all the love she felt for him into it. From the moment she had seen him, all her internal turmoil had stopped, she was complete again because he was there. They were together again. She let a little chakra burst around her so that he could feel her presence next to him.

As soon as she touched his skin, Hashirama let out a soft moan.

— "It's me...," she whispered, "it's Mito, I came as fast as I could my love."

— "Mito... I've missed you so much... I've missed you," Hashirama replied with great difficulty as he opened his eyes to his wife.

The man was still very happy to be able to feel his wife's chakra close to him again. To be able to breathe in her delicate scent again and to feel the softness of her skin against his with delight.

— "I missed you too... but was your friend able to help you ?" She asked again, eager to know why after four months her husband still seemed as weak as when he left her.

— "Yes... and... no," Hashirama sighed as he tried to sit up with the help of his wife.

— "Does he even know what you are suffering from ?" The woman worried.

— "More or less... I can't use chakra without weakening further," the man admitted, fumbling for words.

— "What do you mean, you can't ?"

— "I... my fight with Madara..."

— "I knew it ! That scumbag and his cursed Dôjutsu...," the woman snarled at the mention of the Uchiha. She didn't care for him at all, and knowing that he was the cause of her husband's critical condition didn't help matters.

— "Mito, please," the Senju begged, not wanting to get into this conversation now. He didn't have the strength and it was rather difficult for him to explain clearly to his wife what was wrong. The fatigue was really persistent when he had just slept.

— "I'm sorry, my beloved. You know what I think of him... but go ahead, explain to me what your friend diagnosed in you, your fatigue is not natural !"

Hashirama silently thanked his wife and painfully resumed his explanations.

— "My chakra coils were broken and for the moment, Kenzo has locked them with the Hakke Rokujûyon Shô technique. My chakra no longer flows out of my body."

— "But you have the ability to heal yourself usually ? Why doesn't it work ?"

— "I used so much chakra that my body can't stand any technique. And the Iryô ninjutsu technique alone is not powerful enough to properly repair the chakra coils."

— "What about natural energy ? Don't you use it to amplify your techniques ?"

— "That's the problem, Mito ! Senjutsu acts on me like a poison. I'm still in this state today because I wanted to use it... I lost what little I had recovered in the last few weeks," he admitted with despair in his voice.

Hearing and seeing her husband in such a weakened state was tugging at Mito. She knew how psychologically difficult it must be for a man like him to admit that he was in a weakened state. But she loved him all the more because he was not ashamed in her presence. He knew that she would not judge him and that, on the contrary, she would support him in his ordeal.

— "You wrote to me that I was the only one who could help you ? How could I ? I didn't inherit the healing abilities of some of my clan... maybe we should..."

— "Don't even think about it ! I know some Uzumaki have this ability, but the fewer people who know about my condition, the better !" Hashirama exclaimed before relenting. "And I only trust you for this mission... you'll be able to help me, I'm sure."

Mito clasped her husband's hand in hers when he showed her this mark of trust. Indeed, this was the way their relationship had always worked. Hashirama was one of those rare men at the time who respected the female gender and especially his wife. And he was not stingy with his compliments towards her. He was not trying to flatter her by saying that, on the contrary, he was completely sincere : he believed in her !

— "So what do you want me to do ?"

— "Fûinjutsu," he answered simply, suppressing a yawn.

— "How will my seal technique help you ?" The woman asked in astonishment.

— "It would have to... it would have to have something to capture the Senjutsu so that it could be directed only to a specific location... and it would have to somehow seal the natural energy so that I could manipulate it afterwards before mixing it with my healing technique !"

Just as Mito was about to answer her husband's request, the door opened and a monk entered the room with a tray containing a bowl of rice and a jug of water.

— "Make him understand that he will never be a shinobi again ! That will save you a lot of trouble !" Exclaimed the monk who didn't mince words.

— "Kenzo-san ?" Mito said, completely surprised to see this man again.

— "It's good to see you too, Mito !" Kenzo said as he put down the tray and picked up the other one from the small chest of drawers. "He doesn't know how to listen to the wisdom of a monk, maybe he'll be less hardheaded if he listens to his wife !"

— "Is his condition as critical as that ?"

— "Only madmen have the hope of regaining their sanity !" Exclaimed the monk while staring at the red-haired woman.

— "But only those who persevere are successful ! And it's because I've always believed in the possibility of creating a village that Konoha came into being !" Hashirama retorted, slightly offended at being taken to task in front of his wife.

Mito was inwardly amused. She knew the Hyûga well enough to know that he never took the gloves off when he had something to say. She remembered perfectly when he had told her husband that he was leaving the Konoha forces for the monastic life. His motive was that he did not believe that humanity could ever be saved from its bullshit desire to dominate others. And to escape participation in this nonsense, he preferred to try to save his soul while there was still time ! Had he really converted ? No one could say, except that he had not changed his way of addressing people openly.

— "And only those who don't dare to do anything in their lives don't know how to appreciate the simple everyday things that are offered to them," Mito replied without looking away from the monk.

The latter leaned to one side and looked at the man who was still sitting on the edge of the bed, with a slight scowl.

— "I hope you are well aware of the value of your wife! I wish you courage," he added in the direction of Mito. "I don't know if channeling in one point is a good idea, but if we don't try anything we think is possible, we'll never know what's right or wrong."

Day 315

Concocting a sealing formula was not the most complicated thing for Mito Uzumaki to do. At a very young age, she had developed the ability to perform Fûinjutsu formulas. But it had been a month since she had joined her husband and a month since she had been thinking relentlessly about finding the best sealing formula.

In one month, Hashirama's condition had barely improved, he was barely able to dress himself and move around the temple gardens. She now understood why it was so important for her to find the solution to allow her husband to regain his full strength.

But she was faced with a dead end, and not just any dead end : Senjutsu.

Hashirama was the only ninja known to know how to use Natural Energy. And since she couldn't ask him to channel it at the risk of him being weakened again or worse, it made her task very difficult.

Mito was scribbling many formulas on a scroll while the monk finished checking the state of the Shodai Hokage's chakra coils. The coils were far from being repaired and even though some of them showed signs of being repaired, the monk maintained that it was foolish to even try. The Senju had to give up !

But that was without counting on the stubbornness and pugnacity of the red-haired woman.

The monk watched Mito work, there was no doubt that she was doing her best to save her husband.

At that moment the door opened and a monk appeared.

— "My friend," he said, addressing Kenzo. "A scroll has arrived for you."

Kenzo Hyûga grabbed the mail and nodded his thanks to his colleague who left as quietly as he had arrived, leaving the three of them alone. He looked at the scroll and recognized the clan emblem on it. He raised an eyebrow, as it was usually he, as a member of the Bunke, who had to give news. He unrolled the scroll and what he read on it disturbed him intensely.

As soon as he had finished reading the message, his eyes turned to the red-haired woman who had not been disturbed in her work. Her husband lay behind her, warmed by a brazier, half asleep.

Knowing that men were so capable of destroying an entire city with its inhabitants reinforced Kenzo's feelings about human beings in general : humanity was lost if it was capable of such atrocities. He knew very well that the woman in front of him belonged to this village since she was now the last representative. Should he tell her the news at the risk of causing her immense grief ?

The question no longer arose as Mito sensed that she was being watched and looked up at the monk. From the look on his face, he had something important to share.

— "Yes ?" Mito asked curiously.

The Hyûga said nothing and stayed that way for a long time before moving closer to the table with a heavy look on his face.

— "I'm sorry for you," Kenzo said before dropping the small message he had received earlier before leaving the room. He knew that this woman would be suffering soon, and he preferred to leave these two alone in their suffering : he would have been an embarrassment.

The Uzumaki took hold of the small scroll before unrolling it to read its contents.

'Uzushio no longer exists.'

The woman opened her mouth slightly in amazement as she grasped the profound meaning of these few words. How could this be possible ? She shuddered slightly, caught up in the sudden emotion of this sad reality. Her home village, her clan, her family... her father... they had all left this world without her being able to hug them one last time.

They were all dead.

She suddenly felt desperately alone ! How could she have felt otherwise ? With this letter, she understood that she was the last of her clan, the last of the Uzumaki... and that only amplified the pain she was beginning to feel. The silent tears that had been flowing for a few seconds now turned into sobs and trembling that she couldn't suppress.

— "Mito ?" Hashirama asked, completely worried.

Indeed, long before he heard his wife's sobs, Hashirama had immediately perceived that something was wrong. His chakra had become cloudy to the point of being unstable, that could only mean one thing, something was wrong. He drew on his reserves to get up and move closer to his sweetheart.

He had never seen his wife in such a state and did not understand what could have caused such a burst of pain. He grabbed Mito in his arms, into which she took refuge to cry and shout her distress.

— "They... they are all... dead," the woman managed to say between sobs.

The man realised that something terrible must have happened, and he held the woman he loved a little tighter to give her what little comfort he could at that moment. And as she poured out her grief against his chest, he saw the piece of paper. He grabbed it and read it back to her.

He felt sorry for his wife who had to take the terrible news. But several questions came to his mind. How could Uzushio have been attacked and above all defeated ? Who could have done this ? Where had the Konoha forces gone ? Why had the alliance pact not been respected ?

This sudden event only strengthened the couple's conviction and resolve : if an enemy was capable of crushing shinobi as powerful as the Uzumaki, someone had to stop him. And without needing to say it out loud, they both promised each other that they would do everything in their power to restore the great Hashirama Senju so that world peace could finally be restored.

Day 360

After many long days and nights of thinking and writing all sorts of formulas, Mito Uzumaki thought he had finally found a way to help his husband. Today was the first real test : the theory was more than worked out. Now it was necessary to know if it would work in practice.

Hashirama was currently lying bare-chested, with Mito at his side. She had a quill and an inkwell in her hands and was about to apply a Fûinjutsu seal to her husband, hoping that the experience would be positive.

— "Guide me Kenzo-san," Mito said as she brought her pen to Hashirama's arm. She had made a first sketch of a seal, but she needed to test it to know what to modify. But her problem was that she didn't know where the chakra coils were located. But that's where the Hyûga came in, he and his Byakugan.

He channeled chakra into his pupils and the Dôjutsu expanded, causing veins of chakra to appear on the man's temples. Once this was done, he gently grabbed the Uzumaki's hand to place the tip of the feather right in the centre of a coil.

— "Just below that is the centre of the coil."

— "Right, approximate circumference ?"

— "Less than a centimetre in diameter."

It wasn't much and that was what made the exercise even more complex. For the past month, Mito, with the help of the Hyûga, had somehow mapped the chakra network of the Senju's arm so that the woman was practicing writing her formula on a very concentrated space.

She inhaled deeply and for the next few minutes silence reigned in the room. It wasn't oppressive, but clearly the atmosphere betrayed the enormous concentration the red-haired woman was showing. The only sounds to disturb the surrounding silence were the quiet breaths of the occupants, and the sound of the crystal as Mito plunged the quill back into the inkwell.

— "Too far to the left! Shift... again... there !" The Hyûga said.

Mito was now regulating her movement, it was a matter of millimeters. And she put the pen down to draw a multitude of seals on the small surface of skin where she could act. The Hyûga's interventions were precise and extremely helpful. It was absolutely necessary that she not come into contact with the main veins of chakra and that was one of the greatest difficulties.

Hashirama admired his wife all the more for seeing her at work. He had full confidence in her and was eager to see how effective her work was on him. She wasn't Ashina Uzumaki's daughter for nothing ! Even if Mito didn't like being called that, she was truly a virtuoso in the art of seals.

— "Fûin !" Mitô said as she sealed the formula into the Senju's skin when she had finished drawing.

— "Applying the seal is done, it remains to be seen if it will work," Kenzo remarked, still having big doubts about the result.

— "Right, the rest is up to you Hashirama," Mito added as he looked at the man concerned.

The man took a deep breath before moving into position. He was a little apprehensive because after all this time spent here with his wife, he felt he was doing much better. But today would probably be the start of his rebirth. However, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel a little afraid that it wouldn't work and the pain would come back... and kill him.

Hashirama channeled his own chakra, which slowly circulated through his body before he focused on the surrounding chakra. He gently grasped the natural chakra and directed it towards him... but not in the usual way. In the past, he had guided it throughout his entire being, now he made sure to direct it to one place and one place only : the seal on his forearm.

— "It's working" Mito whispered to herself as she saw the seal activate as the Senjutsu was directed to the formula. Indeed, the combination meant that any Senjutsu that penetrated close to its range would be immediately absorbed in order to direct it only to the targeted coil.

And Hashirama was delighted to find that there was no pain at all ! He felt an intense itch and intrusion into his body, but he was able to manipulate the Senjutsu and amplify his Iryô Ninjutsu to repair the broken chakra coil within a minute.

This had been closed by Kenzo in the past and being fully healed by the Senjutsu caused it to reopen. And with it a relief.

— "Stop channeling Senjutsu !" Kenzo ordered as he saw the ground acting strangely.

Indeed, once the seal's primary function had been fulfilled, the overflow of Senjustu chakra altered until it broke the seal in place. The warning had been given in time as no Senjutsu infiltrated the network. It was far too early to risk such a manoeuvre. One coil had been repaired, of course, but all the others had to be taken care of before the natural energy could flow freely again, and that was far from easy !

Hashirama let himself fall back against the bed and sighed loudly.

— "How do you feel ?" Mito asked worriedly.

— "I'm fine... I... it worked !" Hashirama exclaimed delightedly. I... I feel my chakra moving with more ease in one part of my forearm."

— "Indeed, the chakra flows much better there," confirmed Kenzo, whose Byakugan was still active. "But I'm not sure what happened to the seal in the end."

— "Senjutsu is very unstable when you don't know how to control it," Hashirama replied.

— "It's not easy for me to deal with this Kenzo-san, Senjutsu is very volatile and I'm going a bit blind in my conception of the seal since I don't know what I'm dealing with."

— "Don't worry my dear, you have just opened a big window of hope for me and I don't expect to stop here... It will take as long as it takes, but I feel in my heart that I will be able to defend our home again," reassured Hashirama, who knew his wife was still sensitive to the loss of her former people.

— "That doesn't solve the fact that you still can't use Senjutsu and probably never will again. And I seem to remember that was one of your greatest strengths," Kenzo remarked, turning off his pupils.

— "Yes, but the world won't know that, my presence alone will be enough to make people think twice before attacking a neighbour and it will allow negotiations," the man affirmed, straightening up again to look at his friend. He was back to his old self, determined to make this world a world of peace.

— "When will you understand Hashirama ?"

— "What is it ?"

— "Stop being so naive ! Since when is the world content with negotiations ? Men are always at war with each other ! There will always be someone who wants to dominate the other !"

— "Peace and harmony between people is possible, Kenzo ! Men prefer to live in peace than in war !"

— And yet that doesn't stop them from attacking each other ! That is human nature !"

— "But I had succeeded in bringing peace ! I will succeed again !" Exclaimed the Senju, convinced of his words.

— "You gave Konoha a way to get stabbed in the back instead, yes ! You let the wolf into the fold with great pomp and circumstance while allowing Madara to live ! And even with him defeated, what is the world doing now ? Killing each other !"

— "You don't know what you're saying, Kenzo ! You were a Konoha ninja ! You know however that I have always done everything to ensure peace ! I allowed each nation to have its Bijû ! The forces were thus balanced and were enough not to envy those of the neighbour !"

— "But when will you stop being so blind ? The benevolent people can be counted on the fingers of one hand and even they are capable of the worst atrocities when the situations require it ! Human beings are selfish and they don't like to be dominated by anyone or anything !"

— "He's right, Hashirama," Mito added in a deep voice.

— "Mito ?" Asked the Senju, surprised that his wife supported Kenzo.

This was the first time his wife had ever expressed her opinion out loud. And if she was doing that, it was because somewhere she wanted to make him understand something he was not getting or did not want to hear. The man knew that she had never liked Madara Uchiha, but she had never disagreed with his way of looking at the world. Why had she changed her mind ? Or rather, what had made her not support him ? He was not disappointed, on the contrary, he was rather curious. Because even if he was convinced that he was on the right path, he liked to share other people's points of view to make up his own mind later.

— "Hashirama, think about it. Put aside the fact that I never carried Madara in my heart. Do you honestly believe that giving the Bijû to the different nations was really the solution ?"

The man was about to answer in the affirmative again, but the woman continued her tirade. Her tone was harsh, but not authoritarian. There was no anger in her, but rather a desire to share her point of view so that her husband would open his eyes to the truth he knew all too well.

— "It was commendable of you to bring balance to the shinobi forces, but is life fair ? You know, more than anyone perhaps, that nothing is fair !"

In saying this, Mito was referring to the fact that at a very young age, Hashirama had lost his brother during one of the many conflicts between his clan and the Uchiha's.

— "We can try not to cause any harm to the clan," he said.

— "No matter how hard we try not to cause any rivalry, it remains a utopia. Just within a family, there are injustices. How many children lament not being loved in the same way by their parents ? So let's take this to the scale of a village, a country and the whole world. In any situation, some people will always feel that they are being treated worse than others. Each person will find the situation in which he or she finds himself or herself unjust in relation to his or her neighbour. And these injustices, legitimate or not, push the world to war !"

— "Yes, but at least I had the merit of trying and believing that it could work," admitted the Senju in front of this truth that he had not wanted to see at the time.

It's true that he was young at the time, he was impressed to have the opportunity to change the face of the world. And having succeeded in those first negotiations had given him confidence that the world could live in peace and that everyone would easily adhere to his perception of life.

— "Trying is one thing, succeeding is another !" The Hyûga retorted.

The Senju wanted to retort but was interrupted by Mito who rebounded on the monk's acerbic remark.

— "Kenzo-san is not wrong ! I'm not saying that you failed my beloved. But finally admit that if you hadn't trusted that deceitful Uchiha and if you had kept the Bijû for the Land of Fire, you would surely still be a shinobi in full possession of his abilities. And Hi No Kuni would be the strongest nation in the world ! Your desire for peace would have been assured, because we would have kept all the dissuasive forces on our side. No enemy force would have dared to attack us and you would have been able to make everyone accept your vision of the world."

The man had nothing to say about what Mito had just told him. He simply lay back down and closed his eyes. He needed to rest and meditate on all this. Had he been so short-sighted ?

Mito looked at her husband with tenderness and kindness. She knew she had been harsh with him in her words, but it was time he heard her and made the right decisions. And she had faith that her husband would know what to do : for the good of all.

She settled back on the table where she began to make some modifications to the seal she had tested earlier on Hashirama. She wanted to make sure that her husband would be able to repair his entire chakra network.

Day 380

Hashirama Senju was getting better and better ! Mito had managed to improve the Senjutsu seal and the chakra coils were being repaired one after the other. And since his heart could circulate his chakra normally within him, he could stock up on it again.

Hashirama was walking in the inner courtyard of the monastery. He was able to resume physical activity and strengthen his muscles again. Indeed, months of not training and not being able to really eat had left the shinobi a shadow of his former self. His muscles had begun to atrophy and his whole body was in need of exercise.

Kenzo came to meet him, holding a scroll in his hand.

— "Hashirama !" The monk asked, addressing the man who stopped and turned to his friend, a big smile on his face as he was so happy to be able to exercise his body.

— "Hai ?"

Kenzo Hyûga wore a serious and closed face. His clan had just sent him a missive, announcing the end of the war but especially its bad news.

— "What is it, my friend ?" The Senju worried.

— "Peace has been signed," the Hyûga announced with gravity.

— "Good news !" Hashirama exclaimed, genuinely pleased that this conflict has come to an end. "What are the conditions ?"

— "White peace, as well as reparations for Hi No Kuni... but..."

The Hyûga was known for not mincing his words. But he still had some bad news to announce and the first one was not the easiest. He knew that it would cause a new shock and a new source of grief for his friend.

— "What was it ?"

— "Your brother... Tobirama, was ambushed while signing the first peace treaty."

— "Tobirama...," Hashirama repeated with difficulty, and he had to sit on the floor because of the shock of the news. He knew his brother was powerful, and he had never thought that his brother would perish so soon in his life.

Hashirama took this information in stride, for immediately his heart overloaded with guilt. Once again, because of his choices, because of his fault, Tobirama had ended up dead !

The monk crouched down in front of him and looked at him sternly :

— "Stop feeling sorry for yourself immediately ! Regret, let alone remorse, does not bring back the dead ! There is more to it than that, my friend."

— "How could my brother's death not be the most serious ?" Hashirama said, his voice trembling with emotion and grief.

— "It seems that the war has not only taken your brother, but all of your people. Your brother, due to lack of manpower, had no other choice than to send all those who were able to fight. For the others, unfortunately, famine or disease took them to the other world."

This was too much for the Senju who could not hold back the tears in his eyes. To hell with dignity ! Not only had his beloved brother died in this conflict, but also his entire family ! How could the world have come to this ! First the Uzumaki, now the Senju !

— "Hashirama...," the monk continued without taking his eyes off of him.

— "What is it now, Kenzo ? Hashirama exclaimed as he heard his friend call out to him in that voice that meant he hadn't finished giving him the report on this armistice. "Don't tell me that Konoha has been razed to the ground, I won't survive it !"

— "No my friend, Konoha is still standing, your brother has appointed Hiruzen Sarutobi as the head of the village."

— "That is good... Hiruzen was one of my brother's disciples," the Senju congratulated himself, this news eased his grief a little, the village was safe.

— "My clan reported to me the details of what happened to Uzushio."

— "What happened ? What nation was able to surpass the Uzumaki ?" Hashirama asked with interest while drying his tears with the back of his hand.

— "Your wife's village was not invaded... it was simply annihilated by one person," the monk announced slowly to make sure his interlocutor understood the situation.

— "I beg your pardon ? Who could have done that ?" Hashirama exclaimed, rising abruptly to his feet.

— "Here, you'll understand better," the monk said simply, handing him the scroll.

Hashirama took it and read the entire letter. Tobirama had indeed died during the peace treaty, he had indeed appointed Hiruzen Sarutobi to lead Konoha. But apparently, two individuals had not stopped talking about them during the whole war. No one had been able to discover their identity, but they were sure of one thing, one of them had wiped Uzushio off the face of the earth. Only one technique had been used, a Ninjutsu of rank S.

Hashirama had been walking the whole way through his reading. The shock of his brother's death was over, he had a completely different idea in mind now.

— "What are you going to do ?" The monk asked as he saw the Senju thinking hard.

— "Strengthen myself... recover, find my village and make those who dared to do this pay !" Hashirama said harshly.

It was rare to see the shinobi god with this tone of voice. At first, he had thought it was the enemy army that had razed Uzushio to the ground, but if one person had done this, it changed everything.

— "Hashirama..."

— "No, Kenzo ! This is not my dream of justice and peace ! At least not in the way I had imagined ! But if one person is capable of wiping out an entire village, I must do everything I can to stop such a psychopath from acting and attacking Konoha ! I must protect my people and for that, I must act !"

The Hyûga didn't insist, he could see that the man was determined and that nothing and no one would take that goal away from him.

Day 500

Hashirama Senju was regaining his strength and physical abilities as the days went by. He could knead chakra in small quantities and perform small techniques that consumed very little. But he was far from fully recovered.

Mito had managed to develop other seals so that they expanded the area of action of the Senjutsu. But the experiment showed only one thing, Hashirama could no longer use Senjutsu during a fight. Indeed, his body could no longer tolerate it. Fortunately, Mito had been able to contain the action of the Natural Energy on a small part of her husband's body, otherwise it would have been totally destructive for him.

Despite this blow, Hashirama was not discouraged. On the contrary, he was even more motivated to recover and develop his other fighting skills. However, he was well aware that if two individuals were spreading terror and chaos on the face of the earth, he would need his wife's help if he wanted to defeat them.

He knew nothing of their abilities, but Hashirama knew that he should not underestimate them. On the contrary, for one of them to have succeeded in wiping out an entire village, he and Mito had to be fully prepared to fight back with the same strength, if not stronger.

And this morning, when he got up, Hashirama knew what he had to do.

— "Mito, my love, I have been thinking," he announced in a deep voice. "There is a threat to the world and to Hi No Kuni."

— "You mean the existence of those two individuals who would have caused the destruction of my family ?"

— "Hai ! They remain a threat to the Land of Fire and I refuse to allow them to attack again what we hold dear. The loss of your clan is unbearable enough to consider the same fate befalling Konoha."

— "And what do you wish to do ? Your current state does not allow you to travel the world in search of its individuals, and even less to fight with them !"

— "I am well aware of that, my dear. And I will not do the foolishness of leaving to face a threat of which I am unaware of all its power. And as I know that I won't be able to use all my techniques, we must prepare ourselves together ! I will need your help to defeat them when the time comes to face them ! Because yes, I intend to find them and stop them before they commit any more crimes !"

Mito looked and listened attentively to her husband. His decision had been made and carefully considered, he would become a shinobi again and he was preparing for war against enemies they knew nothing about !

— "Mito ? How is the cohabitation with the Kyûbi going ?"

— "You're not thinking of using his strength, are you ?" The woman asked, surprised that he was talking about the fox demon she was harbouring inside her.

And there was reason to be surprised. Mito, from the moment she had sealed the Kyûbi inside her, not a day went by without her having to mentally fight with him so that he would remain safely locked up. Her internal fight required a concentration of every moment.

— "According to you, how could a cohabitation with such a demonic and unhealthy creature take place ? The Kyûbi is not like you, Hashirama ! Diplomacy is not his strong point ! Fortunately my chakra chains prevent him from doing anything to me but I don't think we can get anything from him !"

— "I think on the contrary that we can ! The Kyûbi is an evil creature, but I am persuaded that if we train him enough, he could help you to be even more powerful !"

— "And what do you intend to do to achieve this ?"

— "With this," said Hashirama, taking off his necklace.

The pendant was a gem made of a rare crystal with exceptional properties. Indeed, it allowed Hashirama to channel his own chakra into it and thus exert control over the demonic chakra. It was thanks to this pendant that he had been able to control the Bijû during their distribution among the elemental nations.

He wondered why he hadn't thought of entrusting this crystal to his wife earlier when she had sealed the fox demon inside her two years before. But now that he was thinking clearly enough to decide what to do, this seemed like the best idea he'd had in a long time !

— "And what is this supposed to do ?" Mito asked, not knowing what his husband was getting at.

— "I want you to make the Kyûbi give up some of its chakra without it taking possession of you ! And to prevent that, the necklace will control this overflow of demonic chakra !"

Mito looked at her husband and widened his eyes ? Had he gone mad ?

— "Seriously ? You want me to ask this evil, bloodthirsty creature to give up some of his chakra to me ? Hashirama ! You are very naive to believe that is possible !" Mito exclaimed at the absurdity of the request.

— "Mito ! I've never been so serious in my life ! This is the only way we can ensure that we are as powerful as our opponents and without you, I can't do it !"

The Shodai Hokage glared at his wife who did not blink at the intensity he was putting into it. He didn't need more words, he had convinced her. Not with his words, but with his eyes. Through his eyes, Mito saw the confidence he had in her. He believed in her ability to overcome the mass of hatred she held within her. He was showing her his greatest mark of love.

It was thus that Hashirama and Mito trained together so that the Kunoichi could master the demon chakra inside her.

The task was not easy as the man was not fully healed and could not fully invoke all his demon chakra control techniques.

The first days were even quite critical because as soon as Mito released his hold on the Kyûbi, he took advantage of it to pour all his hate out of her. This manifested itself by covering her body with demonic chakra, giving Mito an almost animal-like appearance. The fox-demon tried to free himself completely from his host's grip by seeking to materialize through his body.

One day, the fury of the Kyûbi was such that the metamorphosis went as far as the appearance of the skeleton of the beast around the body of Mito as well as the appearance of five tails out of the nine.

But thanks to the Shodai Hokage's necklace, Hashirama was able to regain control over the demon and seal it back inside Mito. Both of them had finally understood how the external manifestation of the demonic chakra could be done.

Indeed, everything was actually happening in Mito's mind. As soon as she tried to appropriate the fox's chakra, he would take advantage of it to pour out a quantity of hateful words. He was looking for Mito's weak points and anything that could make her turn to hate. He was looking for ways to use this hatred to finally free himself completely from his fetters.

The Kyûbi thought he had succeeded one day when he teased her about the fact that she had abandoned her father and her people to a cruel fate ! If she had not married Hashirama, her people would still be alive.

And fortunately, that day, the Senju was much more fit and thanks to the crystal his wife wore around her neck, he was once again able to control the demonic influence. This enraged the demon inside Mito, who had to rest for several days in a row because the psychological battle between her and the fox had been so hard.

But when she regained consciousness, she had a revelation : the Kyûbi was a mass of hatred and violence. If she answered him with the same attacks, it would only amplify his strength. She had to destabilize him and thus appropriate his chakra.

— "My beloved ! Could you use Kakuan Nitten Suishu around me ?" Mito asked one morning as they were about to make another attempt at training the fox.

— "Are you serious ? Mito, you're not going to let the Kyûbi out and take possession of your body !" The Senju worried in front of such a request.

— "I'm as serious as can be ! I know how to take possession of the demon's chakra. Trust me !"

The long-haired brunet looked at his wife carefully : she was determined and she obviously knew what to do. He gave her an affectionate smile and she sat down, cross-legged. It was fortunate that they were conducting their fox demon control experiments in a vacant lot several miles from the temple.

So he invoked his technique which was a Mokuton, the precious Kekkei Genkai of Hashirama. Several wooden pillars appeared around Mito who seemed to be in intense meditation. Strangely enough, Hashirama found his wife perfectly relaxed for someone who was about to face the endless hatred of the Kyûbi once again.

All the other times, Mito had been more of a warrior, showing her deep repulsion against this creature she had to seal within herself to save her husband and the world from a terrible fate. Today it was something different.

— "You again ! Aren't you tired of coming before me, woman ! I'll end up taking a bite out of you and your stupid chakra chains !" The Kyûbi shouted when Mito appeared before him.

— "Stay still, demon ! Your hatred does not reach me anymore !"

— "Men are doomed to embrace hate ! I only make their task easier !" Answered the creature while trying to free himself from the shackles that the Jinchûriki maintained against him.

— "I don't care about your hatred for the world ! It is because I want to save it that I need your strength ! Then, that you want it or not, I will recover your chakra !"

While saying this, Mito carefully released a few chains that held the creature who began to stir, ready to free himself and unleash his fury on this tiny woman who dared to provoke him. It was out of the question for him to let even a tiny amount of his evil energy be stolen. What did she hope to achieve by releasing him ?

And just as he thought he had found the loophole and was cocking his gigantic paw to strike his host, he was thrown backwards by a new chain that pierced his paw. Mito jumped up and grabbed the mass of chakra that was coming out of the beast to extract some of it. Of course, the demon struggled and tried to prevent the woman from attempting what she was doing.

On the other side, Hashirama was watching his wife, palm turned towards her, to contain any demonic manifestation. But strangely, nothing was happening as usual. Mito was still sitting as if she was meditating. Her body had indeed become covered in orange chakra, but for the moment it seemed frozen. Was it the wooden technique ? No one could tell. Then Hashirama had this intuition that he had to do something more. While maintaining the Mokuton technique, Hashirama flushed chakra through the stone around Mito's neck.

Without knowing it, he had just given Mito the push she needed in her mind. Indeed, when Hashirama activated the necklace, it had the effect that Mito was looking for. The force that the chains exerted on the demon was increased tenfold. And she also felt, through this action, all the love that her husband had for her, his love and his confidence in the success of what she was doing : for the good of all.

And against all odds, Mito Uzumaki succeeded in doing what few Jinchûriki could claim : she had seized part of the chakra of the fox demon. The latter had then gone into a rage but now clothed in the demon's robe, Mito Uzumaki overpowered him in no time and sealed him safely in her mind.

When she opened her eyes, she came face to face with the stunned eyes of her husband. He was staring at her like never before.

— "Yes ?"

— "Mito ? Is that you ?" He asked in surprise.

— "Who do you want it to be ?" The woman was surprised that he didn't recognize her. She felt great, as if she had just slept for days to recover.

— "Look at you, Mito ! You... you did it ! I think..."

The woman then looked down at her arms and saw that she was covered in that golden glow, characteristic of the fox demon's chakra. The emanation of it was intense, as intense as the creature itself could be. The only difference was that for the moment, there was nothing evil emanating from it.

So she had succeeded, they had succeeded in training this mass of hate to use the considerable strength that this chakra conferred. This gave the Shodai Hokage hope that with Mito by his side and mastering the demon, they would be invincible.

Day 780

Hashirama suddenly raised his head, followed by his wife. How could this be possible ? There was no doubt about what he was feeling : chakra ! A gigantic amount of chakra was coming from somewhere. He immediately turned his head towards his former village as it really seemed to be coming from this side.

Whatever it was, the person or creature giving off so much chakra was preparing a very important Ninjutsu technique. But Hashirama was far too far from Konoha to recognize the user's signature.

Then, still looking towards his village, Hashirama was attracted by something coming from the sky. He opened his mouth wide but no sound came out as he was desperate to do anything to prevent the inevitable. The ball of rock was hurtling down to earth ! And it was obviously heading towards the location of his village.

— "Please don't let this be over Konoha...," he murmured, all too aware that this prayer was futile. The sphere could only crash through here, and the probability of it not reaching the village was close to zero.

The man told himself that in the past, he could have tried something. Senjutsu would have allowed him to amplify one of his wooden techniques, but he knew that he could no longer master Senjutsu to use it without any risk to his own life.

It was thus helplessly that Hashirama and Mito watched this mass of rock inexorably approaching the ground before hitting him. The impact was so monstrous that they felt the vibrations under their feet. For the sensation to be so strong, it could only mean one thing: the sphere had made a destructive impact where it had landed.

Hashirama couldn't stand not knowing whether or not Konoha had been the target of that aerial attack. He was ready to leave immediately to go back to his village, to help if necessary... he had to go.

— "Hashirama no !" Mito said immediately as she saw her husband leaving.

— "Mito ! You saw as I did ! We can't just sit here and do nothing !" Asked the surprised Senju.

— "And what are you going to do there ? You don't know who caused this catastrophe !"

— "Is it necessary to know that ! We're talking about our village, Mito ! Our citizens, our friends, our comrades !" The man tried, but the woman put her hand on his arm. A simple gesture, just to keep him at her side while she spoke.

— "And even if you could get there to confront the person or persons responsible : answer me honestly, will you be able to defeat them ?"

— "I... Mito I... I'm not fully recovered yet because you haven't finished fixing my entire chakra network," he sighed in resignation.

— "I know how frustrated you are with this situation. But let's face it, neither you nor I are ready to face these enemies. The mastery of the Kyûbi as well as the end of your convalescence required much more time."

— "I don't blame you in any way Mito. Of course I'm grateful for everything you did to save me... but... I..."

— "We'll fight these enemies of peace my dear. I swear to you, we will, but for now, we must finish repairing the last damaged coils."

Hashirama's shoulders slumped at this evidence. Once again, Mito, his loving wife and advisor, was reasoning with him and showing him the right way. Yes, he had to wait, but the day would come when their enemies and their actions would be stopped for good.

Day 790

— "Noooo ! Nooo this is not possible ! How could this happen !?" Hashirama shouted as he read the scroll Kenzo Hyûga had handed him.

— "Hashirama, please ! Calm down, we're in a monastery and silence is a must !" Mito begged, shaking her husband's hand in despair.

— "Your wife is right," added Kenzo in a calm voice. "Don't disturb the place by shouting or you'll be chased out of the temple. And there's nothing more you can do, the damage has already been done !"

— "I can't do anything ?! What do you mean I can't do anything ? Of course I'll do something ! I've waited too long ! I've let these lawless psychopaths do as they please for too long !" Cried the Senju, wracked with grief and anger at the knowledge that his village had been subjected to a punitive expedition because of a bad decision by the Sandaime Hokage.

The man couldn't believe it, it was far too big to be true. But once again, Mito reasoned with him.

— "Hashirama Senju ! You're going to stay here quietly and calm down ! You won't be able to face and defeat our opponents by being impulsive ! I only have one more chakra coil to repair ! Once that is done, we will leave for Konoha and check the extent of the damage. And only there, we'll decide !" Mito Uzumaki exclaimed in a firm and sharp voice.

The man sighed once more in helplessness. But he had no choice but to listen to his wife, who was right again. He had come to wonder how she managed to keep so calm when she was usually the impatient one ! He reread the scroll the monk had handed him.

'Kenzo,

A conflict has broken out between Konoha No Sato and Ta No Kuni. The Sandaime had ordered the assassination of the Daimyô of this country but the attempt failed. As a result, we had to make a choice between staying in Konoha or not.

We, the members of the secondary branch of the Hyûga have made the choice to turn to this country which promises us a better life : in peace and security. We are currently marching towards their capital city called Heiwa.

If your wish was to return to the village of Konoha one day, just know that it has been wiped off the map, just as Uzushio was.

You are now free of any constraints from the clan.'

Day 798

Mito and Hashirama had been traveling for a day through the Fire Country towards Konoha. Even though it had been several days since the terrible attack, they both hoped to find survivors in their village.

But when they arrived at the edge of what should have been the village walls, they were simply stunned.

A pile of ruins and rubble.

The landscape looked like nothing but a huge crater, empty of life and filled with rubble of all kinds. The mountain of faces had collapsed: there was nothing left.

His dream had been reduced to nothing, so much effort swept away in a pile of debris and dust.

There was no need for any kind of search : no living thing could have survived such an outburst. They both thought that none of them had really suffered from the impact and that they had all been swept away into the other world at once.

The man walked through the rubble anyway. A way for him to honour all those who had given their lives for the realisation of this dream, his dream. Suddenly he was attracted by something that grabbed him even more deeply. A red and white reflection : was it a sign ? He bent down and grabbed the piece of cloth that had miraculously survived the disaster : the hat of the Kage of Konoha.

Hashirama Senju dusted it off before putting it on his head.

— "As long as he remains a living member of Konoha, the flame of the fire of willpower will continue to burn !"

He joined Mito who was waiting with a serious look on her face, still sweeping the sinister sight with her eyes.

— "Yes ?"

— "We are leaving for Heiwa since our enemies have obviously established themselves there."

— "So be it."