Chapter 28: Master ?

Day 292

Tobirama Senju was currently sitting behind his desk leaning back in his chair, arms crossed as he pondered all the events that had taken place lately. And, despite the events in their favour, he couldn't help but feel that it was all a mess ! It was like a feeling that something was slipping away from him but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The Konoha troops had struck a blow in the first battle by quickly setting up a front line south of Hi No Kuni. This kept the Suna troops at bay as they tried to penetrate the land of fire. However, all these attempts were in vain and the Nidaime Hokage was sure of it as he received almost daily reports of the numerous attempts of the sand ninja to get through : without success.

On the northern side, their position was secured by Uzushio's troops who kept the attacks from the land of lightning at bay. Tobirama knew that this side would also be very difficult to pass. After all, Uzushio was the hidden village of the Land of Whirlwinds where their armed strength lay in the power of the Uzumaki clan's techniques. And it would take a miracle for this clan to be decimated by the armed force of the Land of Lightning. Indeed, the Uzumaki had earned their reputation as valiant opponents thanks to their mastery of Fûinjutsu, and as such, they were capable of anything and everything to defeat their enemies.

Moreover, the Hokage knew that the troops of his second ally, Mizu No Kuni, should be landing within a few days towards the coast of Kaze No Kuni. If everything went well, the front should turn in their favour and thus destabilise Suna's position.

But in spite of all this, Tobirama was not happy, indeed very upset. His country was still suffering from raids whose perpetrators were still unknown. He had sent his ninjas to gather information on these exactions, but none of his elite troops could get their hands on them. It was even worse : he had lost an anbu unit in the manhunt. And in the current conditions, losing ninjas of this value was a bad blow... especially since training good ninja was simply difficult. Losing manpower was absolutely unthinkable. Especially since he also had to send troops towards the land of rain which was being ravaged by Tsuchi No Kuni.

For in this war, there were three great countries, against two and their vassals. And one had to admit that the Leaf troops were clearly outnumbered, and if the Nidaime didn't do anything, he risked losing this war, even if the start had taken a favorable turn. So, after many hours of reflection, Tobirama understood that he would have to find a solution to fill the gap as quickly as possible, and he found it : women.

When Hashirama became the first Hokage of Konoha No Sato, Tobirama and his brother set up a shinobi system that allowed them to have exceptional ninja. But to get these ninja, you had to select them from many people. Tobirama, during his brother's tenure, set up a system that allowed for this selection : the Shinobi Academy. The clans known and reputed for their mastery of chakra and techniques could send their children there from the age of five.

For six years, these children would learn to become weapons of war. But not all would succeed in becoming ninja. Only the most skilled had the opportunity to become accomplished shinobi. At the end of the first year, some of the children could already join a master who could train them in a specific branch... while the others were either returned to civilian life, or for the luckiest ones, trained in the rudiments of combat without having the status of ninja.

At the time of the provincial wars, women were not allowed to go into battle, but Hashirama and Tobirama considered this a terrible mistake. For them, a woman, just like a child, could be just as deadly as a man. Moreover, they had proof of this when they met Mito Uzumaki and some other women of her clan. And so, Konoha No Sato was the first village to have a few rare female ninja in its ranks without elevating them to the same level as the men. But at least they were recognized for their value in battle.

But despite all this, Tobirama was forced to give an order that would allow him to last longer in this war : Every aspiring ninja, regardless of age or sex, was now a ninja requisitioned for the war effort !

By this decree many children and women filled the ranks. They were going to do specific missions : espionage, assassination, infiltration. But would this be enough ? The Nidaime Hokage had no idea, especially since he had to consider another fact that was just as disturbing as his numbers.

The day before, Danzo Shimura had come to him with a most disturbing analysis for the future of his people and the war : their reserves.

Danzo had been adamant that if the war went on any longer, they would simply lose it for lack of resources. Indeed, their reserves were really low compared to previous years. Was this a coincidence, or was it premeditated ? Tobirama did not believe in coincidences and immediately thought that it had something to do with the numerous raids that had taken place on his land. This idea could only irritate him more, but he was suddenly interrupted in his thoughts by a person knocking on the door.

— "Come in !" The Senju ordered without opening his eyes. He didn't need to open them to identify the people who were now entering his office : his student Sarutobi Hiruzen accompanied by his team members Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

This was also something unique in the world : the Konoha ninja team system. It was based on the principle of a group consisting of one Jônin accompanied by three Genin, thus allowing weaker troops to be led on missions. These groups were trained to work together as a team and to form bonds of trust between them. This saved many of their fellow soldiers from being lone shinobi.

This team was one of the most promising in Konoha and Tobirama was confident that they would change the world when they grew up. After all, Tsunade had been trained in the shinobi arts from a young age as a member of the Senju clan. Orochimaru was a shinobi child, and he had shown considerable talent in his exams. And then there was Jiraiya... he was an orphan who was nothing special, but he had the will to succeed and protect his people.

The three of them were ten years old and had been under the tutelage of Sarutobi Hiruzen for four years now. The four of them were Team Seven and Tobirama had high hopes for the future... if there was a future at all.

— "Master," Sarutobi greeted with respect, quickly followed by his students.

— "Hokage-sama," Jiraiya and Orochimaru said, bowing slightly.

— "Hi great-uncle Tobirama !" Tsunade exclaimed happily, royally ignoring the normally required protocol.

— "Tsunade !" Sarutobi exclaimed at the blatant lack of respect. However, the remark drew a very thin smile from Tobirama. He was losing members of his clan every day and it was nice to see joy and good humor somewhere. Especially since his brother had died, he had taken on the responsibility of taking care of his brother's descendants.

— "But sensei...," Tsunade sighed sulkily.

— "There are no buts ! That's no way to greet the Hokage," Sarutobi explained as the Hokage opened his eyes.

— "Gnégnégné," Tsunade grumbled, making a face when her sensei didn't look at her.

— "Listen to your sensei Tsunade-hime," Tobirama said in a calm voice with a thin smile on his lips.

— "Fine, great-uncle," Tsunade relented and bowed slightly, but still didn't say the famous Hokage-sama.

— "Sarutobi, you and your team are going on a mission," said the Hokage more seriously than before.

— "Destination ?" He asked, grabbing a scroll from his military leader.

— "The rear guard of the front line that is being set up in the land of rain," Tobirama explained as Sarutobi opened the scroll to read the details. "Danzo is already there, waiting for you to take over."

As the Nidaime Hokage explained this, Sarutobi's face was focused as he read the orders on the scroll. He took a good minute to read everything thoroughly before staring at his master.

— "Are you sure they are ready Hokage-sama ?" The dark-haired man asked, glancing discreetly at his students.

— "We are at war Hiruzen and unfortunately exceptional measures must be taken," the man in his late forties explained.

— "But master..."

— "Hiruzen, your team is extremely promising," Tobirama interrupted, remembering his own youth. "Where were you when you were their age ? Weren't you already defending your clan ?"

— "I understand," Hiruzen finally relented.

He understood all too well what his commander had just asked him. He too had had to fight from a young age and he knew that Tobirama Senju had been confronted with the horrors of combat during the provincial wars at an even younger age.

— "As soon as you get there you will take command and wait for the next orders," the Nidaime continued.

— "Good Hokage-sama."

— "I have complete confidence in the four of you," Tobirama reassured with a thin smile before looking at each member of this team. All four of them were unique in their own way, be it the mysterious Orochimaru, the perverted Jiraiya, and the descendants of Hashirama.

Looking at Tsunade, Tobirama had a moment of nostalgia. He thought of his brother and his wife... his wife. "You may go."

As the team left the office, Tobirama pinched his eyebrow and sighed. To him this war was a piece of shit ! And looking at Tsunade Senju reminded him of the news from the day before : one of his most prestigious and important shinobi was missing. An essential person who, through her marriage and her presence, allowed him to maintain an indispensable alliance. So when Tobirama Senju heard this news, he ordered the announcer not to reveal this information to anyone under penalty of death : Mito Uzumaki had disappeared !

Day 300

It had been eight days since Team Seven had travelled through the lands of Hi No Kuni towards the land of rain. The cold of late winter slowed down the group's movement because of the icy wind. For a normal person, walking in this cold would not be a problem, but moving at high speeds by chakra propulsion made you penetrate the air with force. And so, the cold air was three times as sharp as normal.

— "Sensei," Orochimaru began, jumping from tree to tree with his chakra.

— "Yes Orochimaru ?" Hiruzen asked alertly. They might be in the land of fire, but they could still suffer an attack from the enemy.

— "Do you think this war will last long ?" Asked the white-skinned teenager.

— "I couldn't tell you, Orochimaru," Hiruzen began, "I don't know for sure. This is a war like we've never seen before... a world war. I think it's the same principle as in the provincial wars."

— "Until one side gives in ?" Tsunade asked, remembering her great uncle talking about their many wars in the old days.

— "Yes and no. It is true that if Tobirama Senju were to die tomorrow it would greatly impact the war. Just as if the Nidaime Tsuchikage were to die, the war would take a completely different turn," the team leader explained to his students. "However, there are other factors to consider."

— "What are they ?" Jiraiya asked.

— "Resources, troops, but also morale. At some point, fatigue will set in, as well as fear, and that may lead to a cease-fire. At least I hope so," Sarutobi replied hopefully.

— "You say that as if we can't win this war," remarked Orochimaru, who was the most attentive of the three.

— "Let's just say we're heading into the unknown Orochimaru, and there's no point in hiding the fact that we're outnumbered," Sarutobi said truthfully, "if one of our allies were to fail, we'd be done for. And then the negotiations would come."

— "Negotiations ?" Jiraiya asked without understanding. After all, as an orphan, he hadn't received the same education as his two comrades.

— "Negotiations so that Konoha would not be razed to the ground, so that the people would not suffer... basically... negotiations for survival," Sarutobi said with a hard look on his face. This was a scenario to be expected and he definitely did not want it. He wanted his village as well as his country to be strong, powerful, and great in order to protect himself from the rest of the world.

— "But we haven't lost the war yet !" He added calmly.

— "Of course not, because we're going to kick their asses !" Jiraiya enthused a little too enthusiastically.

— "Don't be in too much of a hurry to get to the front, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said, remembering his many battles and casualties.

— "Why not ? Jiraiya asked and Sarutobi turned his gaze to his three students. He saw himself in each of them : the future of the village.

— "Who is the king of Konoha ?" Sarutobi asked.

— "What ?" Jiraiya said stupidly, not expecting such a question. "Uh... the Hokage... he's the strongest man in the village, so it must be the king."

The young Sarutobi remembered the teachings of his master Tobirama. Tobirama had also asked him this question and he had answered exactly the same as Jiraiya. Except that with time, Sarutobi had understood the true meaning of the question and especially what the right answer was : the children of Konoha. They were the future of the leaf and were therefore the most precious thing.

— "We'll have this conversation another time, Jiraiya," the team leader closed and raised his right fist in the air. The four of them stopped on a tree branch waiting.

The team leader had his warrior face on. He had felt something and it worried him greatly. He was not a sensory type ninja, but he was an extremely observant shinobi and his sixth sense told him something was wrong.

— "Sensei ?" Tsunade whispered and pulled out a kunai, ready to fight. Her two teammates had done the same, listening for the slightest noise from the surroundings. This went on for several seconds as the hearts of the four leaf shinobi sped up to a full minute. Then Sarutobi lowered his hand... it was nothing after all, and the three students each breathed a small sigh of relief.

— "COVERED !" Sarutobi shouted as he heard the unmistakable sound of a sharp weapon piercing the air.

The three students reacted quickly as they heard their sensei shout the order. When your superior gives an order, you obey, especially if you want to stay alive.

They all managed to take cover in extremis before a huge number of projectiles reached their former position. Not two seconds after the projectiles were fired, enemy shinobi appeared.

Seeing this, Sarutobi had a single thought. *Ambush !*

— "Orochimaru, the wind !" Sarutobi ordered as he saw a large number of earth ninja before them. He quickly composed the hand signs before channeling a reasonable amount of chakra into his lungs as he took a breath. "Katon : Gokakyu No Jutsu !"

— "Futton : Daitoppa !" Orochimaru uttered right after his master while kneading a large amount of chakra. They had done this exercise many times, they had to surprise their enemy with a devastating attack from the beginning. And this combination of elements made Sarutobi's fireball really big and dangerous. Orochimaru only knew this Ninjutsu technique and he had to put as much chakra as possible into it each time so that he could only use it once.

The fireball was fast, but as soon as the wind technique mixed with it it tripled its speed, taking many enemy shinobi in. Seeing this Sarutobi realized that there couldn't be too many dangerous shinobi in the mix, but he remained wary nonetheless.

— "In support ! Assist me and watch our backs," Sarutobi ordered before throwing a kunai in front of him. "Kagemane Kunai No Jutsu !"

It was normally a Kinjutsu, but against the enemy all moves were allowed, that was the essence of being a shinobi : Cheating !

As the soldiers in front of them dodged the devastating fireball, many did not see the projectiles coming towards them. There were a few more casualties before they finally came upon the leaf team.

Even though they were ten year olds, anyone could tell that their teamwork made up for their lack of skill and speed. Each of the three had a simplistic and insignificant role at first glance. But it was a great relief to Sarutobi, who could concentrate on a 180° angle rather than a 360° one.

— "At nine o'clock !" Tsunade said, announcing that an enemy was coming around their flank. Hiruzen swung his katana and forced his opponent to dodge, and Jiraiya took advantage of it. He crouched down and passed between his sensei's legs to stab his opponent in the stomach, disabling him.

By Tsunade's announcement, they moved back so that Sarutobi could face the one coming from the left.

— "Kunai !" Orochimaru shouted at his sensei's back. The latter spun around as he heard this announcement. By his experience and their exercise he parried the kunai coming from his back without any problem before facing the one in front of him again : it was a teenager. However, when it came to protecting his own, Sarutobi showed no mercy.

He made a feint with his weapon, which made his opponent hesitate and not focus on Tsunade. Tsunade grabbed his arm and prepared to stab him with a kunai. Instinctively, the shinobi went to strike her with his sword, but it was parried by their sensei and could not prevent the weapon from penetrating his torso.

— "Get down !" Jiraiya shouted this time as he saw a large Fuma Shuriken coming in their direction. Not that he doubted his sensei could parry or deflect it, quite the contrary. But it was always safer to dodge such an attack.

The four of them ducked, letting the weapon pass over them.

— "Two to nine o'clock !" Tsunade said as she straightened up.

— "One to six," Orochimaru continued as he prepared to greet his opponent.

— "Jiraiya with Orochimaru !" Sarutobi ordered as he couldn't handle two fronts at once. Out of the corner of his eye he had seen the age of the one at six o'clock and his two students would have to get through it together while he dealt with the two facing him with Tsunade.

— "Hai !" They both said at the same time before Orochimaru stepped forward very slightly being the more agile of the two.

— "Seven !" Announced the white skinned young man to his teammate Jiraiya who didn't dispute the formation at all. As Orochimaru came into contact with his opponent, the white-haired youth pulled two shuriken from his backpack and threw them at his teammate's sides. They passed him and his enemy with whom he had been having an exchange of arms.

As soon as the two shuriken were far enough away, Jiraiya pulled on the two thin wires attached to them to bring them back to the back of the earth ninja who never saw the blow coming.

During the war, no one bragged about their techniques, their skills or even their Dôutsu. All that mattered was to kill the enemy as quickly as possible in order to stay alive. And as Sarutobi sliced the head off his last opponent, Jiraiya shouted another warning.

— "Ninjutsu at twelve o'clock !"

Sarutobi immediately placed his hand on the blonde's chest to propel her towards her comrades : away from the path of the ground Ninjutsu. At the same time, he immediately extricated himself from his position by channeling chakra into his legs. He had just saved his student from a gruesome death, but now had to dodge the attacks of three opponents.

This was not a problem for him, he was after all Tobirama Senju's student, and even though he was only twenty-three, he was still an extremely talented shinobi. He knew his students were competent and prayed that they would manage without him while he was separated from them.

— "We're buying time ! We're not standing still !" Said Orochimaru who was to take command when their sensei was gone. And that was the best chance they had of getting out of there, considering the number of opponents approaching their position.

And for the next few minutes, it was a game of cat and mouse between the three students and the Tsuchi No Kuni ninjas. Except that the mouse was dangerous this time. It set a trap from time to time, threw projectiles, placed explosive tags : everything was good to gain time until the return of their sensei.

However, after a while, a series of kunai was sent towards the three and unfortunately seen too late. Announcing it would do no good, so Jiraiya acted accordingly : he pushed Tsunade's body with his and caught one of the kunai normally intended for the blonde in his chest.

— "Argh," Jiraiya groaned as he felt the metal pierce his flesh.

— "Jiraiya ! Tsunade exclaimed as she realized that her teammate had taken a projectile instead. Orochimaru immediately stopped his run before positioning himself in front of his two teammates who were on the ground.

The future snake summoner prepared himself mentally, calculating in his head how to fake his opponent approaching him at full speed. This one would be on him in barely five seconds.

However, just as the latter was about to cross swords with him, an individual stepped in.

A woman slammed her fist into the face of the earth soldier and Orochimaru heard the unmistakable sound of his neck snapping, accompanied by the dislocation of his jaw. The man didn't have time to understand what was happening as the life left his body as the three teenagers watched in amazement as a woman killed and propelled a man easily.

This person exuded an aura of power, strength and at the same time danger.

No sooner had she neutralised this man than she turned to the next ones who were attacked in the back for a second person.

Who were they ?

It didn't take more than ten seconds for the two protagonists to kill the three other shinobi on their tail. One had long black hair that was lost under a straw hat that hid his face, while the other was a woman with pink hair.

The dark-hair ninja stayed at a distance as the woman slowly approached them with her arms at her side and her weapons at the ready.

Orochimaru remained on guard even though he knew he had absolutely no chance against these two people. They were so fast, so strong and it had seemed so easy for them.

— "Not one more step !" Said the teenager, trying his best to look intimidating.

— "Peace, Leaf shinobi," Sakura replied as she looked at the boy who was going to make his team suffer in the future and conduct horrible experiments. The young woman put her thoughts aside as this had not happened yet and perhaps never would. Then she turned her gaze to the blonde and the young man.

The boy had a nasty wound in his chest and Sakura analyzed its severity by the amount of blood on the ground as well as on the weapon. It was something her future master should be able to handle... but, she had to reshape the future to her advantage. "We are friends."

— "If you are friends, then go help our sensei," Orochimaru demanded, still on guard.

— "Who is your sensei ?" Madara asked from a distance.

— "Hiruzen Sarutobi," Orochimaru answered.

— "Then you should be more worried about his opponents than him," Madara reassured him, remembering the young Sarutobi that Tobirama had taken under his wing.

— "It's going to be okay, Jiraiya," Tsunade announced.

— "Hey, girls love scars," Jiraiya joked in order to relax the one he loved.

— "Don't laugh at that baka !" Tsunade retorted before placing both hands on the wound and activating her Iryô Ninjutsu. This was the first time she had used this technique in front of someone. It was something she had tried to replicate after reading one of the books made by her clan and more specifically by Hashirama Senju. She had understood the basics and practiced on small animals and hoped with all her heart that she could save her teammate or at least stop the bleeding and bandage him up afterwards.

Both of her hands glowed with a faint green light as Jiraiya looked on dumbfounded. Very slowly the wound stopped bleeding, but the wound was still wide open.

— "What you are trying to do is something extremely dangerous and at the same time noble young lady," Sakura said as she watched from afar. "I can help you..."

— "How could you help me ?" Tsunade asked skeptically, after all, no one in her clan knew about this book written by Hashirama.

She got no answer, except for Sakura approaching them.

— "Don't come any closer !" Orochimaru warned.

Sakura ignored the threat and continued forward. The white-skinned teenager cocked his arm to strike, but was overpowered in no time by the young woman who disarmed him. She threw his weapon away from him before stepping around him to go directly to Tsunade's side. She put a knee to the ground and a hand on the wound of Naruto's future master.

Sakura channeled her chakra and a pulse went through the wounded man's body. Her hand lit up with a bright green light and the wound closed in a matter of seconds as the three teenagers watched in amazement. The pink-haired woman took out a small cloth to clean the wound : there was not even a scar.

— "Ho... How ?" Tsunade asked in complete shock.

— "What you want to become is admirable young lady, but extremely difficult," Sakura said with a serious face.

— "Sakura," Madara began as he felt Sarutobi's chakra speeding towards them. "We have to leave."

She conjured up a green covered book in a puff of smoke and held it out to Tsunade who took it in her hands.

— "When you're ready, come and see me," Sakura said cryptically before standing up and walking off with the second protagonist in another direction.

Seeing these two people disappear, Tsunade wondered if these two people were not the two ninjas who were helping the needy through this war.

The blonde and Jiraiya both looked at the cover of the book to read the title as their sensei appeared beside them : How to Become a Ninja Medic Volume 1 by Sakura Haruno.