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Chapter Text

Tobirama was growing tired of war.

He’d hoped he would be done with this sort of thing after he’d agreed to make peace with the damned Uchiha clan. He’d swallowed so much hate and pride to agree to that, which, in fairness, many of the Senju did as well. 

The only one who had no reservations about this plan had been his idealistic brother. Hashirama had been a dreamer, and Tobirama couldn’t fault him for that.

After all, it had been those dreams that led to the creation of their village. Konohagakure was a point of pride for all the Senju, even though their name was no longer out there.

Hashirama had been ecstatic when he’d heard Tobirama’s suggestion that the Senju intermarry with the other clans. It had been his dream to create one unified clan, in a manner of speaking, that would represent the unity of the Leaf, and to that end, he’d succeeded in integrating the Senju.

He just wished he could have managed the same with the Uchiha before this war sparked. It might have saved them a lot of suffering had they been able to work together.

Regardless, he’d hoped he’d seen the end of war and that no generation of children would have to grow in fear as he and his brothers did. Of course, he knew that was a foolish dream even when he originally had it, but he couldn’t help but wish.

He supposed it was a small mercy that Hashirama did not last long after his fight with Madara, having expended too much of his chakra and life force in his endless battles. That meant he didn’t have to see what his dream had become.

He took a deep breath and pushed these thoughts to the side. Thinking about his departed brother would do him no good, especially not now. He focused on the task at hand, which was trying to make it away from the Kinkaku force.

Those brothers were powerful, no doubt about it, and they were accompanied by no less than twenty high-caliber shinobi. If he had to guess, at least six of them would be S-ranked, and the rest would be easily in the A tier, not that he could use those openly yet. Only those within the Leaf used his ranking system at the moment.

Still, what mattered was that the force that was following them had multiple powerful shinobi on hand, and that was not taking into account the two leading them. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were leagues above the rest of their squad when they tapped into the Nine Tail’s power and were no slouches without it.

And they were after him and his squad.

He knew what he had to do, but first, he had to see who would replace him.

“We will not be able to outrun them.” Tobirama turned to his team, analyzing them closely. “We will need someone to act as a decoy, someone to buy the rest of us time to retreat and regroup. Do we have any volunteers?”

He looked at all of them, already knowing who was going to answer. Kagami was too cautious to simply jump at the opportunity, which was a good trait to have in a shinobi. He would likely be considering why Tobirama would be asking this of them first.

Danzo would not jump at the opportunity either. He was too cautious, with some considering him a coward. Tobirama could not say for sure, but he knew he was unlikely to say anything for some time.

Koharu, Homura, and Hiruzen were left, but none of them were the reckless type. He knew not who would answer, but he needed one soon.

In truth, he had expected them to ask why he would not do it himself. Perhaps if one of them had, he might have picked that one as his successor.

Instead, it was Sarutobi who stepped forward. “I will, Lord Second. I will hold them off as long as I am able while you and the others retreat.”

Tobirama looked at Hiruzen closely, taking in the offer. He was genuine about it, willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his comrades. While it was not the only trait needed for a Hokage, it was an admirable one. Besides, he would have the rest of his team to advise him.

“Good.” Tobirama stood, turning to face the oncoming force. “Your answer is exactly what I was hoping for, Saru. As of now, you will be the Third Hokage. I will buy you time to escape.”

He turned to them, taking in their shock. “I hope the rest of you understand the situation we are in. You will need to work together and make sure Konoha does not fall.”

He didn’t stay long after that, jumping out of their hiding spot. “Go!”

He readied himself for what he knew would be the fight of his life as he stared at the twenty-two shinobi coming toward him. Despite it all, he couldn’t help but let out a smirk.

He’d always wondered how far his skills could take him.

It turned out his skills were beyond what he’d even expected.

Granted, he had spent most of his life comparing himself to his powerhouse of a brother and that powerhouse of an Uchiha who could push Hashirama, so perhaps he hadn’t been as fair to himself as he should have been, but the point still stood that he had never considered just how skilled he was.

Not until most of the force coming after him lay dead at his feet.

Granted, he was running on fumes, and he knew for a fact he could not survive this, but having whittled down the force from the attacking twenty-two to a mere three was nothing to scoff at.

Especially when only one of the Gold and Silver brothers stayed standing.

Granted, that had been a double-edged sword as the moment he’d killed Kinkaku, his brother tapped into even more of the Nine-Tails’ chakra than the two had been doing before, being completely coated in the corrosive chakra and resembling more a beast than a man.

He would not be able to last much longer.

He gritted his teeth and straightened his back. He knew he was going to die but he once made a promise to himself; if he were to die fighting, he’d make damn sure he took the bastards down with him.

He had one last trick up his sleeves that he hadn’t used, the Flying Thunder God technique. It was one he hadn’t used much, often relying on his other jutsu to get the job done. Despite that, whenever he used it, he knew he’d win. 

One only needed to look at what was left of Izuna to see how effective it could be.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed his kunai, throwing them at the remaining shinobi. They dodged, but that was fine. In a split second, he’d warped to the kunai next to the two other shinobi who were left with Ginkaku, slashing their throats before either could blink. All that was left was Ginkaku.

He turned to the demon in front of him and huffed. He only had one attack left, and he intended to make it count.

As he charged, Ginkaku caught him with his tail and started funneling the Nine Tails’ chakra into Tobirama’s body. It was painful, unlike anything he’d ever felt before. The chakra was burning his skin, boiling his insides, and corrupting his own chakra. He had to act fast.

On instinct, he tried to warp to one of his kunai, but he felt something go wrong. The world around him went dark for far longer than it should have. Instead of a searing heat, there was a numbing cold. He didn’t know where he was. This was bad.

He closed his eyes and hoped it would end soon. He figured this was his death, and he was going to the Pure Lands.

At least he’d managed to buy his team the time to retreat.

By the time Tobirama came to, he was in a familiar green field. He frowned, not having expected this. It was also morning, which made little sense given it had just been nighttime when he was fighting.

He got off the ground, still hobbling slightly as he did. The Nine Tails’ chakra likely affected his teleportation, which he supposed made enough sense.

He gathered what strength he had and stood up straight, taking stock of his surroundings. His eyes narrowed when he saw a block of stone in the distance, one he could not remember being anywhere near the Third Training Ground.

He dragged himself over to the monument, reading the inscription on the plate. His eyes widened as he read what it was: Konoha’s Memorial Stone, a place to honor all those who gave their lives in service to the village.

He had planned to introduce something of the sort before the war began, but he’d never managed to do so. There was no possible way for this to have happened since he started the fight. It could not even have been a few days.

He looked up at the memorial stone, reading the names inscribed into it. He recognized some of the names, most notably his own being at the top of the list. It seemed he was considered dead.

By all accounts, he should be.

He went down and frowned as he read Kagami’s name inscribed on the stone. He supposed it made sense that a shinobi as renowned as Kagami would have died in service to the village, but he would have expected Koharu, Homura, Danzo, and possibly Hiruzen to also be on the stone if Kagami were killed.

Perhaps he’d sacrificed himself to save their lives. It certainly sounded like something he would do.

As he went down the list, he frowned at names he did not recognize. The last one he knew was Hikaku Uchiha, and he supposed he’d heard Tsuna mention a Dan Kato in her academy class. 

He blinked twice as he read that name again. He would be Tsuna’s age, only eight. How long had he been gone?

He shook his head, resolving to learn that later as he continued reading. He recognized none of the names, with only Might Dai registering as a recognizable name. He remembered the young boy well.

Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, Ikkaku Umino, and many others had given their lives for the village, but there were two names that caught his eye.

Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. The first was a princess of Uzushiogakure, according to the inscription, which made him wonder why she would be in Konoha. Namikaze, however, was inscribed as the Fourth Hokage.

If there was a Fourth Hokage, that meant that he’d been long gone. Unless Hiruzen died much earlier, but then why was his name not on the Stone?

The names did not stop after that. There were many dead listed next to Minato and Kushina’s names, including three Uminos and a few Yamanaka. By the time he reached the end of the stone, he’d come to a conclusion.

Whatever mishap happened with his jutsu had sent him to the future.

That realization did not shock Tobirama nearly as much as it likely should have, but perhaps that was just because he was still suppressing any reaction he might have had. There was also the slight issue that he was incredibly damaged still and needed medical attention.

The main problem was he doubted he could stroll into the village and request medical assistance, not with how well-known he was. And with him being declared dead, it would not likely be a warm welcome he would receive should he choose to do so. He had to consider his options.

He did know some medical techniques from his time during the Warring States period, though they were limited. He applied them on himself and hoped they would be enough to last him until he could get proper assistance.

After patching himself up as much as he could, he squared his shoulders and made his way towards the village, making sure to apply a transformation to appear as a regular shinobi. There was a lot he needed to ascertain before he did anything, and this would be the best way to go about it.

He was not sure what awaited him in the Leaf, but he knew one thing. When he extended his senses, something felt very wrong.

There was not a single Uchiha left in the Leaf.

Chapter Text

The village had changed drastically since he’d been gone.

For one, it had grown. That was good to see. At the very least, the war had not destroyed the village; that had been a constant fear of his as he went through it.

Another change was the Hokage Monument. He’d had it commissioned soon after his brother died, wanting a way to immortalize him. Maybe it was just his way of trying to keep the only family that ever cared for him around, a way to not lose him permanently. The rest of the village had seen it as a way to honor the Hokage, and as such, he was added to the mountain.

But now, he could see two other faces. One was clearly Hiruzen, of which he was glad to an extent. While he knew they needed to talk, and he had a feeling he would not enjoy that talk, he was still proud that his student had become worthy of being carved into the mountain. At least, he was, for now.

The other face was likely Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. The man whose name was inscribed on the memorial stone alongside his wife. He looked at the man’s face, committing it to memory. That was someone he needed to remember. 

He extended his senses further, frowning as he felt Hiruzen’s chakra. It had weakened, of that there was no doubt, but it was definitely him. He was sitting in the Hokage’s office. If there had been a Fourth Hokage, then why did a Fifth not take office? Why was Hiruzen holding onto the position?

Those were questions he did not know the answer to. Questions he knew he would not like the answers to.

And yet, that wasn’t the worst part. The worst was when he saw children, actual children, wearing flak jackets. There was one who could not be older than thirteen wearing a Chuunin’s jacket, one who was ten wearing a headband. These were children who were given shinobi gear.

Just how far had Hiruzen fallen?

He could feel his blood boiling as he took in the sight. It seemed he’d made a mistake in his choice for a successor. And yet, he knew it would do him no good to barge in and demand answers.

He needed to know more about what had happened. 

But first, he needed to eat. Problem was, he had no money. That made things slightly more complicated than he would have liked.

Just as he was about to figure out a way to get some food, something entered his sensory range. His eyes shot up as he felt a familiar chakra signature.

For one, there was a Hatake. He remembered young Sakumo well, but this was not his signature. It felt close enough, however, so it might just be a relative, likely his child. Beside him were three children, one of which was an Uchiha. It seemed there was still one around.

But what caught his attention was a signature he would never forget. He remembered when Hashirama brought the Nine Tails into the village to be sealed into Mito. He acted like it was nothing, like he had not just brought in the most powerful of all beings on this planet to heel as though it were a stray dog.

He laughed it off, explaining that Madara had possessed the Nine Tails and used it to fight him. He spoke of it as though it were a casual spar. Tobirama would never understand his brother.

The fox was sealed within a child, an Uzumaki child. Tobirama raised an eyebrow as he got a feel for the child’s chakra levels. They were insanely large, almost as large as Hashirama’s were when he was young. He had more chakra than the rest of his team combined, it seemed, and that was not counting the Nine Tails within him.

He would watch that one with great interest.

Tobirama waited for them to arrive closer to him, figuring this would be a good way for him to learn about what had happened. If there were three children with the man, it was likely they were Genin, which meant the man was a Jonin. And if the Sharingan he felt in one of the man’s eyes was anything to go by, it meant he was a skilled Jonin.

Though, that did raise the question regarding how exactly he got that Sharingan. He would figure that out later.

He acted inconspicuously until the team made it toward him. He took a good look at them, taking in their appearance. The young Uchiha looked a lot like Izuna, though his eyes betrayed a frayed type of youthful arrogance that Izuna did not have. He wore a blue collar shirt, his hair was spiked up just like Izuna’s. Underneath the arrogance, however, Tobirama could see a level of sadness he had not seen in an Uchiha since Madara.

A sadness that eventually formed into madness. He would need to watch the boy carefully.

There was a girl with pink hair, too. She had very little chakra reserves and looked to be obsessed with the Uchiha. That could not be healthy, but he supposed it was not his place to judge. She had a look of innocence to her, a child who had not had to suffer to grow. The sight was a welcome one to Tobirama.

The Jinchuriki was as exuberant as Hashirama was in life. He was loud, boisterous, and had yellow spiky hair. His face looked similar to the face of Minato Namikaze, at least the one carved into the mountain. He wondered if there was a relation there. He supposed he would have to ask Hiruzen.

And then, there was the Jonin. A tall, sleek man with his headband covering his eye, the one with the Sharingan. He seemed non-threatening, but Tobirama could see the sharpness in his eyes. This was a former ANBU captain if he’d ever seen one, one who could potentially be deadlier than anyone else in this village.

He would do perfectly.

Subtly enough that the Genin would not notice, but any Jonin worth his rank would, Tobirama let his chakra leak. He could see the sensei perking up and glancing at him suspiciously. Tobirama approved of how subtle he was, with only his decades of experience helping him.

The man guided his team toward him before he feigned surprise. “Oh, you’re a new face.”

Tobirama smiled, trying to channel as much of Hashirama’s charm as he could. “Ah, I am glad to have met you, sir. I am Kujo Kawarama, a traveling merchant of sorts, and I will admit I’d gotten lost along the way.”

“What do you sell?” the man raised an eyebrow. 

Tobirama grabbed a few scrolls from his back pocket, glad he kept those on him. He unsealed them and showed his stock, a mixture of weapons and exotic hides he’d gotten in case he ever needed to go undercover.

“You use chakra, then?” the man tilted his head. “Curious.”

Tobirama knew what he was doing. “My father was a shinobi. He had hopes that I would follow in his footsteps,” he was also a piece of shit, but that was neither here nor there. “Unfortunately, this is the extent of my use of chakra.”

“I see,” the man looked over his stock. “How much for that kunai?”

Tobirama smiled. Perhaps this stock would be useful. “That one is handcrafted, channels chakra better than anything you’ve ever used before. It will set you back a thousand ryo.”

The man handed Tobirama the money without question, not seeming to care much. He was impressed, but he supposed if the man had gone on as many missions as he seemed to have, he would have a decent amount of money. At least that covered the food problem.

“May I ask for your name before we part?” Tobirama looked at him with a pleasant smile.

The man closed his eye, seeming to smile back, but Tobirama could sense the malice behind it. “Hatake Kakashi.”

The name meant nothing to him, but the way he said it, it sounded like he was trying to be intimidating. It seemed this man was dangerous.

Excellent. 

The children said nothing, seeming to pick up on the tense atmosphere. Tobirama had not noticed it until now, but it must have been suffocating for them.

“Well, we’ll be off now.” Kakashi gathered his students and led them to the Hokago tower it seemed. It mattered little to him.

What mattered now was that he wait and see when Kakashi would seek him out.

Kakahi Hatake was called many things.

Lazy, annoying, irritating, cold-hearted, perverted, hateful, worthless, terrifying, and many others. But the one thing he’d never been called was unobservant. 

He knew that the supposed merchant was lying. He was good, very good, but Kakashi was better. At least, he was better than the man showed himself to be. He didn’t know who that man was, but he didn’t even react to his name, which meant he was either incredibly dangerous or incredibly good at hiding his reactions.

Kakashi wasn’t sure which one he would prefer to be true.

He debriefed the mission with the Hokage, sending the children off after they left. A part of him had wanted to tell Lord Third about what had happened, but if he was being honest, his respect for Sarutobi was at an all-time low at the moment. Perhaps it was because he’d run into Danzo before going into the office, but he saw no reason to report this incident to the Hokage.

At least, he didn’t think it would amount to anything.

So, instead, he decided to take matters into his own hands. After he had sent the children away, he made his way to where he could feel his Kawarama. The man wasn’t trying to conceal himself, at least not to any experienced Jonin. It made Kakashi wonder just what his plan was.

He couldn’t be planning to harm the village, otherwise, he wouldn’t be this obvious about his chakra. He clearly wanted to be followed. The only question was why.

It didn’t take him long to find the man, though Kakashi was cautious. If he was found this easily, that meant he wanted to be found. “Mr. Kujo.”

The man turned to him with a pleasant smile. “Ah, Mr. Hatake. How may I help you?”

“I thought I would give you a tour of the village,” Kakashi smiled, closing his eye. “I had hoped to show you around. Perhaps you might find something that you might like.”

He seemed to contemplate the offer, though Kakashi could see that he’d already decided to come with him. Just what was this man playing at? “I think that would be a good idea. Lead the way.”

Kakashi didn’t bother being subtle after that. He led the man to the training fields, right in front of the Memorial Stone. The fact that he didn’t get a single question only raised further doubts in Kakashi’s mind. 

He turned to the man, pleasant demeanor replaced by killer intent. “Who are you?”

The man raised an eyebrow but did not seem to feel like playing games. He shrugged, dispelling the transformation technique.

When the clouds dissipated, the man standing in front of him was one Kakashi recognized well. His likeness was carved into the Hokage Monument, and his pictures were all over the place. 

It was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. 

Kakashi glared at the man, raised his headband, revealing his Sharingan, and attacked.

He would not let this man sully the memory of the Second Hokage.

Kakashi didn’t manage to land a strike on the man, with his opponent revealing a level of skill that, at the very least, matched his own. There was a chance it might even surpass his, though Kakashi did not care about that. He would face this threat until one of them died.

There would be no surrender.

“My, my,” the man smirked as he dodged another volley of Kakashi’s attacks. “It seems you know how to use that Sharingan better than even the Uchiha did.”

He didn’t let the man’s taunts affect him, focusing on the fight. The man ducked and weaved through every one of Kakashi’s strikes, though he didn’t fight back. That part threw Kakashi off for a moment, but he pressed on. He would not lose this.

He jumped back, launching a fireball at the man, who just chuckled and raised a single hand sign, calling out a water dragon not dissimilar to the one Zabuza used. The only difference was that this one was nearly twice the size, and he’d only needed one. Or maybe it was a half sign; Kakashi couldn’t tell, he was too busy dodging the strike.

He glared at the man, not saying a word. He looked completely nonchalant, staring at Kakashi with a hint of amusement, it seemed. His taijutsu was on another level, with only Gai’s being one that he could think would surpass it, and if that water dragon was anything to go by, he was also incredibly skilled at ninjutsu.

As skilled with water ninjutsu as the Second was reported to be. This was bad.

Kakashi knew he had to end this soon. He quickly charged up his Raikiri, ready to plunge it right into the man’s heart. He seemed intrigued by the jutsu, not scared. Kakashi hoped that meant he was underestimating it, not hiding an even stronger jutsu in his arsenal.

Kakashi launched himself forward, with the man meeting him halfway. They were matched in speed, Kakashi just about dodging a kunai he’d thrown toward him. The fact that this man could keep up with his speed in this state was not good, but it didn’t matter. This battle was over.

They were right in each other’s personal space, Kakashi finding it a bit unnerving that he was staring at the Second’s face. He supposed it didn’t matter too much as he brought his hand to pierce the man’s heart. The imposter would be dealt with soon enough.

Just as he could feel his hand get close, the man disappeared. It was like he flashed out of reality, moving somewhere else. Kakashi had seen this jutsu before.

He stood straight, letting the lightning fizzle out as he turned in wonder at the man standing behind him. “That was the Flying Thunder God technique.”

The man nodded, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve seen it before?”

His voice had changed, sounding deeper, one commanding respect. He supposed that made enough sense. “I have. My sensei used it to great effect. I take it he has you to thank for its existence?”

Minato had told him that Lord Second had created the jutsu that made him famous, and only two people had ever known how to use it. Between the water dragon and now this, there was no doubt left in his mind.

It helped that now that he was thinking straight, he could see with his Sharingan that the man was not under any transformation technique. He could also tell if he were lying.

“He does,” the former Hokage nodded. “I am Senju Tobirama. And I believe we have much to discuss.”