At this point, I wasn't surprised when I presented with a promotion. It wasn't something Tobirama had requested, nor something coming from Madara to make things clear that pseudo-nepotism wasn't behind my sudden elevation. No, it came from the officers just above me. I hadn't realized that even though it was the commander of the campaign to dispense the promotions, it was still a decision taken by the high command most of the time.
Right now, I wasn't exactly sure if I had been promoted out of the recent acquisitions and wins, or if the officers felt the need to put a pause to my rise by introducing more paperwork to my current leadership. The moment my position reached the role of Rikugun-Chuui (First Lieutenant), my command expanded on companies and that meant keeping track of logistics and having to sit a couple of battles out due to how terribly developed the current war administration was. I didn't blame it on anyone but time itself since it was the first war made through 'modern' means. First it was just clans, now it was about 'national' armies. It really didn't help that I had to also make some tough decisions regarding my platoon.
Someone had to replace me, and they had to come to my team. The appointment was first and foremost my choice, so I didn't expect anyone creating problems for me of all people when I decided to study the matter and eventually my best candidate turned out to be the one I wouldn't have imagined handing out my old post.
"Why not Reira? Why not Kagami?!" Hirotada looked the opposite of happy. Kind of unusual considering his background and his past personality. I didn't really blame him for being annoyed by this development, but it wasn't even something that stemmed out for something petty. I had to pick the one that had the best chance at leading the old platoon without messing things up.
We were sitting inside one of the command tents. Matatabi was quietly resting on the lengthy table, her gaze aimed at the small flame of the candle I was using to enlighten my sight over some papers I was finishing signing away. Logistics was already a pain in the butt and I just started delving into it. The rest of the team was still going through their tasks to retrieve enough equipment for the next mission, preparing for the first day they weren't going to have me to tell them how amazing they are, a role now given dutifully to the Hyuuga Heir of all people.
"Rei-chan is not a good leader. A fighter? A good one. An infiltrator and saboteur? She is brilliant. But she is no good replacement to me, and she already asked me to not pick her for the job," I muttered quietly, my eyes still aimed at the documents. "Kagami is too lazy and, without hesitation, I can say he would mess things up. He isn't suited, and I know he will live a better life without that kind of stress."
"A-And I can?"
I smiled, really appreciating how much war had changed Hirotada. Less of a prick, less ambitious, and definitely more cautious of this kind of gift. I was to blame, rightfully so and without any shame in my tiny body. I felt like a proud uncle that had just shown his nephew that the internet can be used for more than just watch AMVs.
"You have the best predisposition. You have been one of those that had been around the most with me and I know you have a keen eye when leading a small team. I'm not trusting a grunt to this job, I know this much," I replied calmly and he snorted. "But seriously, you're not going to make messes because I know how much you're careful during missions."
"But I… what if I wanted to be bolder?"
Oh? Did I corrupt him this much? I didn't expect to be such a bad influence.
"I-I mean, I've been training with Water Style to channel it in my fighting style, father approving of this decision but-"
"You think it's going to go to waste because you don't want to pull the team into a big mission, don't you?" As soon as I said that he gave me a tired glance and I hummed calmly, taking a moment off from the paperwork. "How about you just pass me the ideas and I tell you if those can be done or not? I promise to not take responsibility whatsoever if those end successfully."
"What if I fail?"
"My blame," I flatly answered and he looked annoyed.
"That's my decision-"
"Which I approved and given full support to. That's a little duty of commanding officers not many are willing to use," I interrupted with a sigh. "Let's just say that I trust you well enough to not rush into a trap without first consulting me."
"So you're just going to… trust me with the platoon?" He inquired and I could only hold back a groan as this was starting to get on my nerves.
"Are you planning to make any radical changes or even do something outright silly?" I asked back, quickly getting a negative look from him. "Then, I think you're in the clear. Any other doubts better be motivated or I might just give you the label of 'the whiner' the next time we go through a serious briefing."
He was annoyed by this forced interruption and how his effort to be spared by the job ended in a failure, but I could tell he was well-aware that I would have gone through that kind of tactic just to bring more pressure on him. And that I was going to do it regardless of any apology thrown my way before the next briefing.
As soon as he left the tents to discuss the first reconnaissance mission with his new responsibilities, I took a glance at the map that I had laid out and placed on the table, it was right beside Matatabi, and the chibified Bijuu hummed. "Do you think he will do fine?"
"He has people that can help him the first steps, this mission will also help him getting a grasp over what he is supposed to do-"
"Not my question." The Tailed Beast interjected quietly, almost enjoying the fact she wanted to have control in each conversation. I huffed, thinking well about this circumstance. Was he going to be the second coming of the insane guy I really am? I doubted it. Was he going to be as effective as I am normally in the field? I… think the answer isn't within my reach just yet. It's not like I want to be too harsh on him, but it's purely going to depend on his planning mindset. He might keep some of the things I had used in the past, maybe bring different variants so he wouldn't just copy those into a possible trap that expects this kind of stuff but… yeah, it's tough.
"He is my friend. I trust him."
Matatabi quietly nodded, turning her gaze upon the map and humming.
"The field is going to draw bigger fights now since we're entering a section without many forests. I assume you have a plan to return to these fights since I don't wish to be bored to death until the end of this war," She pointed out and I nodded. "Really? Didn't expect you to crave the frontlines this much."
"It's more of a commitment than else. A personal pledge to be there and make the difference," I replied with a sigh and crawled up until she was slumped right beside my left arm. A curious gaze was upon the paper and a mirthful glint entered her mismatched eyes.
"What if these documents were burned by an uncontrollable fire coming from me?"
"Tobirama would skin my butt, drop twice the hardwork and I would potentially be reassigned rather than demoted," I replied, my words driving more annoyance to her. "Don't worry, I don't plan to stay idle. Especially today."
A playful gleam appeared on her expression. "Oh?"
"While I did send Hirotada on a simple reconnaissance mission, that doesn't mean the rest of the company is going to slouch about for the rest of the week. Especially now that we're making good pushes into Kumo's mainland," I replied with a tiny smile, taking my brush and circling a tiny spot on the right side of the clearer section of the territory we were marching through. "Three platoons will strike at this specific section, drawing a perimeter and setting up defenses for possible counter attacks. They will need reinforcements to hold things out considering the odds they are facing and I already offered my availability to join that mission as a secondary force compared to theirs."
"Which means you want to be in the action and… have a free hand about it?"
"Mostly so, yes," I admitted mirthfully. "It's still going to be tough since, well, I'm not exactly aware of the full extent of the enemy forces, but I believe I can help setting up traps and ambushes to dwindle out the counter attacking force from Kumo if we get the chance to be there."
"So, we're just waiting for them to notify us to come and support them?"
"Yep," I confirmed with a tiny smile. "I'll also leave a Shadow Clone to handle the paperwork. I doubt I will have to expend too much chakra during this mission, so I don't think going at 3 quarters is going to be bad-"
"But what if it does?" The Bijuu mused out loud. "I want to hear your opinion, Danzou, for the worst case scenario."
That was partly unusual. Sure, she was bored and she had a propensity to inquire about human's idiocy and brilliancy, but this was the first time she actually stopped the pin at me. I didn't expect this to happen this soon but… I guess I just give off that idea of crazy and friendly at the same time. I am an ongoing experiment with how many things are changing due to my presence alone.
It wasn't even a flex, I was just trying to do something, it happens and then more things change to fit with this new narrative I was creating within this timeline. Sometimes it was a good narrative, others it was just a tiny bit worse but still in Konoha's favor. Regardless of these thoughts, I still offered a genuine response to that query.
"I suppose I would just fight back creatively if it comes to the extreme," I confessed without hesitation. "I would take all I have and use it as viciously against my enemies if it means bringing an end to the fight as quickly as possible.
"Yet you wish to manifest yourself as a representation of what the Sage wanted. You want peace and… yet you don't stop yourself from being so limitless in your capacity to go to war," Matatabi pushed, pushing herself up and sitting right in front of me. At this point, I wasn't even giving a damn about the paperwork. I was just too busy with that intriguing conversation. "Why would you behave so diplomatic in times of peace, and yet be so brutal about war right now?"
That was the question that, ever since I came here to replace the little bastard I had the tiny body of, got me to genuinely break my mask and react genuinely about it. The question was a direct provocation to my ideals and my morals, an inquisition about the truthfulness and the basis in which I believed to be right compared to others.
Of course, I didn't define myself the best bet ever, but I would be damned to forsake what I learned by being in this world for so long. Canon knowledge can take me this far, but in the end it's personal experiences I was making along the way that made me what I was right now. It was the viciousness of my teachers, the cruelty of the battles, the frightening hold over my heart at the chances of fucking things up immensely that made my insanity ever so sweet to embrace and order around as the true weapon in my soul. It wasn't my mind, it wasn't my body, it was my incapacity to accept a sane defeat before the insanity that this world really is all about.
"Context," I answered flatly, my voice lacking the previous joviality it stood for and the Bijuu noticed fairly quickly from the fascinating look she was giving me. "This war isn't just a war. This is a war that would have happened regardless of the best diplomatic efforts possible. I doubt the Sage could have stopped it, not because he didn't have the strength to, but because we all have two things we are proud and ashamed about."
Her questioning look pushed me to pause, to hold back what I could sense being too telling of my current mindset. Too much would have just been like begging to be studied like a higher specimen compared to the one I had presented myself as. So, thinking well against trying to be too genuine, I stuck by a single comparison.
"We all, humans and not, are still stubborn and greedy. We like to have things, even if it is just a tiny thing compared to the infinity of objects this world has to offer, and we stubbornly hold onto the idea that those are stuff we are rightfully claimant of. And the worst part? It doesn't have to be about material things," I continued to explain, my throat hurting as I thought harshly at this matter. "Right now this war starts because it was meant to show to most of the leaders that they have a worth with their villages. That their fief can and will be able to conquer stuff with proper determination and manpower. Losses? Negligible if it means getting influence and recognition. When soldiers sign that piece of paper to be recruited, they are literally entrusting their lives to a commander that may or may not care about their survival. I'm not saying that all of the officers are uncaring, but a large majority will ignore the losses for the sake of getting through with the missions because it's favored by their nation."
"You're part of the system. So you have a higher insight than many that are not," Matatabi added, her attention stolen completely by my words. "And yet you don't stand by it… while also fueling it to an unflattering point."
"Mata-chan, how do you make sure that a child never plays a game that in the end it's too dangerous?"
"..." She didn't say anything, listening silently as she knew it was a rhetorical question.
"You ruin it. You ruin the game to the point where the child has no more interest in it. The most common way to 'ruin' something for a child is by pushing a serious refusal as a parent. When a father promises a form of punishment, may it be verbal or corporal, it establishes an instinctual taboo that the child can't break until they are mature enough to understand themselves why it's so wrong," I further explained. "Right now, this war is driven by 'children' of a new age that are testing out new toys. Toys of equal power as responsibilities and… they refuse to believe they have a duty upon these 'tools' as much as those have to them. I'm the one fool that decided that the only way to prove a point, to stop them from being too eager to start a second war anytime soon, they will have to handle the same brutality they are seeing there. They will have to be ready to tell their already broken families that another generation or two are going here to fight and never come back."
The Tailed Beast stared, her gaze fixed on my face with utter calm and surprise. A paradoxical expression that would have normally caught me off-guard but… I was just too much engrossed in my own words to actually care. While at first it was just me being honest about what is going on, I actually brought up a lot that I didn't give much consideration about until now. I was shocked by my own yapping, and I couldn't help but feel that I had a lot of overdue thinking that I had to handle as quickly as possible.
Too much war just made me even more angry about it. I was modestly pissed at the beginning of this stupid conflict, but the pressure was definitely starting to get me more irritable when it comes to this topic. I could really do with some lone thinking and getting my priority straight once more. Things have changed, and I have yet to understand if this was for good or bad. Theirs and mine.
I felt something warm touch my chin, the chibi Bijuu was pressing her forehead onto that spot and nuzzling there. There was quiet at first, perhaps she was waiting for me to be fully drawn out from my own inner musing before speaking up.
"You sure are a complicated human. One that hates war, but drives forth a mad pace with it. You want to break the toy they have even if it means burning part of who you are. It's commendable, but stupid nonetheless," Matatabi said with a tired voice. "I can tell you're not just a child, but at the same time you're not as old and understanding as I am of your race's infantile nature. You believe this is the worst? That you are the solution? Do you know how many men and women have sold their soul to try and do the same as you are doing?"
I was surprised by her response, caught unprepared when she brought up that this wasn't the first time someone tried this. I mean, I couldn't exactly know that due to how limited History Classes were in this time period, and how much was lost in time itself due to the bloody conflicts of the Warring Clans period, but I still was perplexed by this discovery.
"So… it's hopeless?"
"No. It's just futile for you alone to become a single individual against so many. You'll need friends, you'll need family and allies- you will need others to rely on, or else how do you think others will stand by your ground if you are unwilling to let any sit beside you and understand your point of view," She remarked calmly. "The Sage wasn't alone. He didn't just have his brother and his control with Ninshu that aided him to stop the ultimate threat. He had followers, he had believers, he had those that supported him and gave him strength and legitimacy. Which is why, if you want to make a change, you should never try to be alone about it."
...Holy fuck, I could see her point about it. Naruto might have strong-armed peace into the Elemental Countries, but in the end those that maintained it were those that changed through his determination and willpower.
In a certain way, I was drawing the same results but… not fast enough to match up with my interest in concluding this war and wars in general. It wasn't something I could speed up, and I was well aware that I should have kept myself from trying to do something as stupid as that.
I really need to get some time to think about this. At this point, this isn't even negligible anymore.
"I can see your point. I agree to it," I answered to the Bijuu and she huffed.
"You doubted my wisdom, Danzou? Perhaps I should burn you to pieces just for foolishly believing I wasn't able to provide you with an answer," She threatened flatly and I chuckled nervously.
"H-How about I offer you some belly-rubs?"
A giggle, she was already with her belly up and ready to be treated for some relaxing massage. Despite the seriousness of the situation I couldn't help but feel relieved as that double-edged 'sacrifice' of mine actually brought me out of any uneasiness I might have been feeling up until that very moment.
It really helped when the message notifying of the urgent request of support finally arrived and granted us the chance to finally let off of some of the steam I got from that conversation.
And boy, did things get pretty ugly for the Kumo's Counterattack Force when I joined the battlefield with Matatabi.
Some of the blood of the numerous casualties I caused was currently staining my clothes. To be fair, it wasn't anything coming only from my reduced Chakra reserves, but a combination of my own skills combined with Matatabi's own boredom manifesting in quite the ferocious assault on the unsuspecting Kumo soldiers and in the insane amount of explosives I employed in deadly traps. As I had promised, I wasn't going to be merciful against my enemies if it meant quickening the peace process.
But, at the same time, I didn't go too far about it since I didn't really want to create a good enough reason for Kumo to paint me the greatest target in Konoha. I really didn't need that much publicity and so I proceeded to let the retreating force leave in a scattered and disorganized manner. Even the defending force regarded me nervously, but they were still willing to allow me to rest for a moment before going back to the headquarters. I managed to get the opportunity to check on the wounded within the provisional perimeter and I granted as much medical help as I could without drawing my energies too much into it. That seemed to be more than enough to lessen the little fright I had caused by being around in the battlefield, at least enough to get people to stop flinching at my walking around.
With that entire situation solved, I was ready to take a much deserved bath followed by a lovely nap… but of course, something had to come up and deprive me of what I was seeking for now that I wanted to sleep. I returned to the tent finding Hiruzen sitting beside my clone. The copy had seemingly finished with the paperwork and was grumbling as he lost another game of Shogi with the brunet.
I saw the Shadow Clone dispel as soon as I arrived on sight, leaving the fellow boy coughing for a moment at the smoke and then giving me an annoyed look at that trick.
"I'm sorry, I didn't give it that order. Still, I didn't expect to see you visiting, Hiruzen-kun."
He sighed. "I was asked by Tobirama-sensei to retrieve you, he said that he expected you to be there but… well-"
"A situation in our right push. I had to be there to prevent a major counterattack from Kumo," I replied curtly and that seemed to gain his interest… beyond the fact I was still covered in blood. "Matatabi did the most. So, any particular reason why your sensei wanted to talk with me?"
Was it about the sheer viciousness I displayed? No, he would have known I was out if that was the case and not have Hiruzen wait for me there.
"We… received some reinforcements. The situation in Iwa has stabilized as peace talks have entered the point where most of the troops have been relocated," He explained as I dropped the chibi Bijuu on the table and walked up behind one of the massive shelves within the tent to start changing in cleaner clothes. I had a feeling that I was going to need to be in presentable conditions if Tobirama wanted to talk with me about the new arrivals. "Some of which are… familiar with you."
I had a little idea of who it could be, but I decided to just brace and endure what was soon going to happen if I was right. I hummed quietly, swiftly putting on the new set of clothes and walking back to Hiruzen with a defeated look.
"I guess there is nothing to say beside I have to take this," I said with a quiet tone, causing the boy to chuckle at my fake despair. "Hold me Hiruzen, because I might have to murder someone if my sensei is there."
He gave me an odd look and yet he complied as he grasped at my left arm. "Why?"
"Let's just say he mistook a joke for a signal to get through with his plan to get together with Mom," I replied honestly, hearing a snicker coming from Matatabi as she quietly jumped and settled herself back on my shoulder. "Mata-chan, it's a tragedy. There is nothing to laugh about."
If only she knew of the monstrous man she thought little about. Hopefully she was going to change her mind the moment we ended up seeing if he was really there. The stroll was really short and I really had no excuse to bail away from the overdue meeting but… the hopes were high and my determination even more.
Sadly enough, this didn't matter as I would soon realize that Hiruzen wasn't just referring to Madara when he mentioned familiar faces. As soon as we both stepped inside the main tent of command, I saw a red-haired missile coming crashing onto me and wrapping her arms around my waist.
"Dan-kun!"
Oh, Yoshiko got a little taller- WAIT WHAT?!
"Y-Yoshiko-chan?" I muttered in pure shock, panic and true despair. My gaze moved up to a perplexed Tobirama as he checked the paperwork he was just given and a nervous but happy look from Madara. Madara was actually happy, Yoshiko was there and-
Am I going full insane right now?
The girl pulled away a petite pout on her face. "Dan-kun, what's with that reaction and… oh my~!"
The cute girl had just spotted the cute kitty. The kitty didn't spare me a look as she realized that within the mesmerized violet eyes of the Uzumaki child, she just found another belly-rubbing worshiper. She stated her demands, the redhead didn't hesitate in providing her with some affection. And there I was, cheated on with my kitty pal/pet by my supposed crush.
At that very moment, I knew only one person had the answers and she was definitely chuckling at the mere mention of bringing two 'lovebirds' together through some string-pulling and peer-pressuring with her husband.
Dang it, Mito!