A/N: So I'm going to be making Tobirama a relatively good guy but will be leaving Danzo as he is. Changing or offing Danzo is relative to changing the entire Naruto cause he's the cause of almost every bad thing that happened in the anime. The reason for him being bad won't be Tobirama's influence though. Futher explanations will be provided as we move forward.
Join my Patre@n at patreon.com/JoshRichie2 for Vol 3... 100+ Chapters ahead.}
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Title: Three Captains
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After his little Interlude, Tobirama caught up with the trio and continued their tour through the village.
They came upon a large space where children were running around with bright smiles on their faces, not bothering about the hardships that were going on in the world outside.
Hashirama was overwhelmed with emotions that he was basically smiling with tears pouring down his cheeks. "This is truly beautiful."
"I know. This is exactly what we're fighting for." Mikoto said and then turned to look at a direction and gave a curt nod.
"Who's that?" Mito asked as they all noticed this little movement of hers and looked towards a direction where they saw a normal looking young man playing with kids in such a goofy manner.
The young man was handsome and had pitch black hair, green eyes and a pale skin. Overall, he was the very personification of normal.
"He's the captain of the assassination squad, my fellow captain." Mikoto said indifferently.
"Really?" The three were shocked and immediately re-evaluated the young man once again.
Mito tried sensing his nature only to retch at the sight she saw before widening her eyes in shock.
"He's filled with an enormous amount of negative energy.. bu-but underneath that cluster of negative energy is a bright light. How is this possible?" She asked perplexed. Hashirama was also frowning, he too had sensed the true nature of the man playing around with the children.
"Of course it's possible. Do you think this island is peaceful because the sun rises from here? Please, the amount of blood we all have shed to protect the peace you see now is not something you'll understand without experiencing it." Mikoto said with a small smile.
"But we all know why we fight, unlike most people." Her smile disappeared and turned into indifference as she glanced at Tobirama.
Tobirama felt her eyes on him and couldn't help but ask. "Why do you have it out for me?"
"Hmm? Why would you think I wouldn't have it out for you?" Mikoto asked back causing his eyes to twitch but he wisely remained silent.
"Each one of us has to pass through a series of test before we became captains. The assassination squad test is even more trying than most."
"Why is that?" Hashirama asked.
"Because they're the core of this place. They fight in the dark while we do so in the light. What they see is far more darker than what we see, so they need a stronger anchor to keep them in check." Mikoto replied.
"By anchor, you mean.."
"Yeah. Something, someone, somewhere to go back to. A place of comfort." Mikoto said with a small smile. "Alright, let's move."
She said and continued walking. As she walked, she was greeted by people to which she smiled and nodded back.
"You seem quite popular." Mito remarked
"Of course. I'm basically the most popular after Aniki." Mikoto said proudly.
"Oh? Why's that?" Mito asked.
"Because of my Domain. I reject every negative ailment inside my domain. Cool right?" Mikoto said. Mito already knew this so she didn't find it cool so she said. "Yeah. Yeah."
Hashirama however was intrigued and asked how that was possible.
"It's simple, since I can heal any negative ailment with my chakra, I just have to will my chakra to do the same in an area around me." She explained offhandedly.
"If you wish to understand more, visit our Library. With your status, you'll be eligible to read some interesting things."
"Are you sure?" Tobirama asked in surprise. "Isn't that supposed to be a secret or something? What if it turns to backfire on you?"
Mikoto looked at him in disdain. "And why should we fear It backfiring in the first place if we can deal with it? What do you think caused the extermination of the Hagoromo clan?"
"That's true, I've always wondered how a clan as strong as them could be exterminated in a day, how and what caused it?" Mito asked.
Mikoto hesitated for a moment but seeing Mito's curious expression, she relented and explained the ins of the matter to them.
"The Chinioke clan young master and a member of our clan thought it would be wise to eliminate the Black Numbers, effectively weakening the people guarding Aniki. Unfortunately, they had overestimated their strength and although the Chinioke clan young master was intelligent enough to use our many years of research to make himself immortal, he didn't have the strength to actually make a difference." Mikoto explained.
"He couldn't die even if he was killed so Aniki opted to seal him away in the site of the Hagoromo clan."
"But what has this got to do with the Hagoromo clan?" Tobirama asked.
"Ah. The two conscripted the aid of the clan, so although we found that Jashin was controling them, they still had the blood of our men on their hands, hence their extermination."
There was a moment of silence before Hashirama said. "I see."
Nobody said anything for a while. This was the truth of life in this world. The strong preyed over the weak. The weak could either serve or suffer in silence.
Hashirama clenched his fist so tight that he began bleeding. He didn't blame the Tengoku clan for being ruthless. No. He himself knew he would probably do the same if his clan members were killed.
He was angry at the state of the world and sad that he wasn't able to change it sooner.
"Aniki said you can do it, so just believe in yourself and the people around you." Mikoto said from the front.
"Ah. Ha-ha-ha." Hashirama chuckled nervously. "I forgot you all could see around you clearly. Are you guys related to the Hyuga clan?"
"Those white eyed idiots? Maybe, I don't know, but Aniki said all the special clans probably shared the same ancestry so..." Mikoto said casually. "Unlike them though, we don't need any special handsigns to activate our eyes so we're better."
"That's true." Tobirama remarked quietly. "It'll be hard to actually assassinate someone from your clan."
"Not really. We do have a seal to turns it off. It can be quite annoying you see. Knowing what's coming before it comes. It takes away the pleasures of life sometimes." Mikoto said but the three following her felt like she was bragging about it.
"Oh. Here we are, the red light district. Hashirama is prohibited from entering, Tobirama however..." She said ambiguously.
"What's the red light district?" Hashirama asked curiously.
"Oh... It's were men and women go to relieve their stress at the end of the day." Mikoto answered.
"Oh... Like a hotspring area, but how come I don't feel any heat coming from there like the ones from the land of hotsprings?" He asked, but before Mikoto could give him an answer, Mito punched him in the guts sending him flying into a building.
The chakra oozing from her was enough to tell how angry she was. Her hairs were literally floating while her eyes were eerily blazing. Her green eyes added to the eeriness of it all.
"Mi-ko-to-chan, did you bring us here intentionally?" Mito asked with a creepy tone.
Even Mikoto was quite nervous of Mito's current appearance and hurriedly answered. "How could you think that Mito-chan? I only brought us here to offload Tobirama, so the girls here will help loosen those face muscles. I have an even better place to take the two of you."
"Really?" Mito asked as her chakra calmed down a little, Mikoto's emotions didn't fluctuate much, showing she wasn't actually lying, but experience had taught her there a thin line between a lie and truth.
"Really. How could I ever lie to you about something as sacred as this? You're Married for crying out loud, if I bring Hashirama here then I'd be the worst big sister in the whole world." Mikoto replied instantly.
"Hmm... I see... You're not the big sister though." Mito said as her chakra calmed down, as for Tobirama, he was currently trying to dig out Hashirama from the building he had collapsed.
"What's going on here? Ar~e, onee-san, don't tell me you're the one causing trouble this time around." A clear and mischievous sounding voice rang out from the gates of the red light district.
Turning abruptly to the source of the voive, Mikoto heaved a sigh of relief. "Yuri-chan, it's good you're here, help me rebuild this building fast before Fuji-san comes here with his police."
Yuri looked at the collapsing building and chuckled even more. "And what's in it for me? You know I don't do things for free these days, I'm running a business now soo..."
"C'mon Yuri, these are Aniki's guests, just do me this favour alright? I don't want to be reported to Aniki during this month's meeting, pretty please?" Mikoto pleaded.
Mito looked ashamed beside Mikoto, she was the reason why this was happening and although she didn't quite understand who this lady who just appeared or Fuji was, she felt she had caused her best friend some troubles.
Looking at the lady who was looking back at her, she bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for causing Mikoto-chan trouble, but please help us this once, I'll also repay this favour in the future."
"Oh ho? Although I don't know you, you give me the feeling you're one of those noble ladies born to those clans outside, Uzumaki perhaps? That's good, I've heard Onee-san talk about her rival for sometime now, it's good to finally meet you. How about this, in return for helping you both this time, I get to invite you into my most prided establishment." Yuri offered with a very kind smile but the look in her eyes was anything but that.
"C'mon Yuri, she's Married, you don't expect her to enter a place such as this right? What if aniki hears of this?" Mikoto angrily rebuked.
"What? She married, which is all the more reason for her to come and learn the art of seduction and love making. She'll need it in taking care of her husband wouldn't she? And did I ever say she'll be serving anyone? I just want to get to know her is all," Yuri said.
"Truly?" Mikoto asked.
"Truly." Yuri nodded to which Mito felt she wasn't also lying but something told her she'll likely regret this decision she was about to make.
"I accept, just help us settle this." Mito accepted before Mikoto could do or say anything more. She was suddenly having a bad feeling as they wasted time here.
"It's a deal then." Yuri said and formed some hand and casually stomped her feet on the ground. [Earth Style: Serial Earth Pillar House Technique]
As her words fell, the whole area rumbled and form the rubbles of the fallen building, new earth were produced and in less than five seconds, the building was reformed to how it was previously, the only outlier being the things inside were not repairable as the building structure itself.
Mito was stupefied by the sight in front of her, she had seen multiple earth style techniques but never had she seen anyone build a building with it. Suddenly she thought of something and looked at the buildings around her.
Could it be that all these buildings were built with Ninjutsus and not actually built the conventional way?
Before she could even think this through she felt multiple Chakra signature surrounding them with two being abnormally high, one as high as Mikoto beside her while the other being as high as Tobirama.
The others were relatively strong but not something she hadn't seen before. She had already known of nine others with chakra levels as high as Mikoto's but actually seeing three in a single afternoon was something else.
"What's going on here?" The man with the highest chakra amongst the new arrivals asked with a stern voice that would put Tobirama to shame.
Tobirama and Hashirama who had just recovered looked at the new arrivals in shock and confusion respectively.
Tobirama was shocked at their reaction speed, sense of orderliness and chakra quantity. This was the first time he had seen a group of people so... He couldn't even put a word to it.
Hashirama on the other hand was confused at the line up. He was just punched by an angry Mito and momentarily lost consciousness.
He wasn't surprised though, this wasn't the first time this was happening. Mito was strong, stronger than him in pure physical strength so it wasn't a surprise to him at how she could knock him out.
This was the main reason the two brothers feared and respected her at the same time.
"Ah, Fuji-san, nothing happened just a lovers spat between Sonchōs guests." Yuri answered as this was her territory, or at least in front of her territory.
"Guests? How come I didn't hear of that?" The stern man called Fuji asked.
"They just came over today and Mikoto-san was assigned to take them in a tour round the village." Yuri amswered.
"Then the explosion from earlier?"
"You must know who our guest is to understand better. He's Senju Hashirama, his brother and the Uzumaki princess." Yuri smiled as she introduced them causing Fuji to squint his eyes.
"The Uchiha isn't here is he?" He asked with his eyes darting around.
"Why would you think he'll be here?" Mikoto asked, speaking for the first time since Fuji appeared.
"No reason, just wanted to test out my eyes against the strongest Uchiha of this era." He said directly ignoring Hashirama, Tobirama and Mito.
"Don't tell me you're still feeling sulky about what happened when you were a child." Mikoto chuckled and asked.
"Humph." He snorted, looked at the red haired girl beside Mikoto and nodded in greetings before looking at the two brothers. "I believe Mikoto-dono will tell you this, but we have stipulated rules and regulations on this entire island. Do well to abide by them."
After saying that, he didn't wait for them to answer and immediately flashed away with his squad.
There was a moment of silence in the area, the crowd that were watching the show quietly dispersed without causing much of a ruckus.
This was a matter concerning three captains of the highest order after all, what had it got to do with them?
"That's one stern man, now I see why Tobirama's face doesn't seem to irk you." Mito said quietly causing both Yuri and Mikoto to bid their head seriously.
"He's all about the rule.. but a good man nonetheless... His nephew is Jashin." Mikoto said. "He's been a little bitter since that incident, his nephew was sealed away while the Tengoku clan man was out in prison, still enjoying some basic amenities while his nephew's condition is unknown."
"Unknown?"
"Yeah. His nephew can't die, but his crime warrants death, so Aniki opted to starve him to death on that land. Cruel but... Sigh." Yuri spoke.
"Alright, with that settled, time to pay up on your favours. Mito with me. Mikoto take Hashirama and Tobirama somewhere else." Saying that, Mito suddenly found the earth underneath her move and was directly dragged into the red light district despite her struggles..
"I feel like I shouldn't ask, but will she be okay?" Hashirama asked with a small frown on her face.
"Yup, she's my little sister, she won't do anything to your wife, in fact, your wife may come out a changed person.. the good kind of changed." Mikoto replied and then asked. "Alright, I'm getting tired of this, do you two have any where in particular you want to go to?"
They were surprised at her bluntness but Tobirama answered first. "The library..."
"Hmm. And you?" She nodded and looked at Hashirama.
"Can I go back to the place where the children were playing?" He asked
"Hmm, the playground then... Good." Bringing out a token from her sleeves like Shun always does, she gave it to Tobirama. "This will allow you to enter and leave the library at will, don't loss it or you'll bear the consequences yourself. That Fuji guy is strict on rules so..."
"Alright, Hashi-chan, let's go." She said and left the confused Tobirama and began walking away.
"Um... Mikoto-san?" Tobirama called out.
"Hmm?" Mikoto turned around impatiently.
"I don't know where the library is," Tobirama said.
"Sigh, just ask for the academy and you'll be directed to a building, when you reach there ask anyone for the library and you'll be directed there too. Jeez." She said and walked away again.
Not long after she left, Tobirama sighed and said, "Women." Only to hear. "Right?" From his side.
Turning, he saw a white haired old man walking beside him while looking all sagely. "I guess that's what is called mood swings. A very dangerous aspect of the female species. You're going to the library right? Come, I'll take you there."
...
Throughout their walk back to the play ground, Mikoto kept silent while Hashirama followed after her, admiring the sights. This peaceful atmosphere gave him a sense of peace he never felt outside, even in his own clan.
"Alright, we're here. I'll be handing you over to Kageno, listen to whatever he says." Mikoto said.
Hashirama felt weird hearing say she'll be handing him over as if he was some object but he didn't say anything and just nodded. He was a man of peace and humility so he didn't think too much about it.
Reaching the play ground, she caught sight of Kageno once more and gave him a nod indicating for him to come over to which he nodded.
Immediately, a clone of his came over and nodded to Hashirama in greetings before turning to Mikoto and giving a gentle smile. "Hey there Miko-chan, I was heartbroken seeing you leave earlier, what made you come back? Change of heart?"
Mikoto smiled at his remark but said nothing in response. He was the only person aside from Shun she found a little attractive. He was a normal person to boot, even more normal than the other normal captains, but his sheer will to protect made him unique in a way.
She still remembered when he was asked why he didn't want to take in subordinates, he had said he didn't find anyone suitable but in secret, he told her he didn't want the little ones to be burdened with the burden he had to carry.
He emphasized that if need be, he could make enough clones to take the place of the other ten members of his squad.
Unfortunately, Shun had told him that one day he would have to retire, and someone will have to take over from him. He was reluctant, but later determined to train the most compassionate people to be assasins.
According to him, they were the ones that knew why they were actually killing. They kill for the later good of the children, even if the children they're protecting don't know about it.
"I'm under a special assignment from Sonchō so I couldn't bring out any time for you earlier. This here is Senju Hashirama, he said he wanted to visit here again so I brought him here. Do you mind having him?" Mikoto asked with a gentle smile.
"I don't mind, he looks good enough to me, I'm sure the kids will like him." Kageno said as he gave Hashirama a scrutinizing look devoid of any respect of fear.
Hashirama was actually very impressed by these captains he had seen in just a day. They all carried themselves with a certain aura.
This was an aura very people could possess. He was Senju Hashirama, feared by a multitude of clans, yet, here, he was just that, Senju Hashirama, and nothing more.
"Then I'll leave him to you." She said and turned to leave, for a split second, her eyes flashed with sorrow which she hid immediately.
"Are you alright, Miko?" He grabbed her by the hand and asked...
Mikoto froze before turning around and smiling widely. "What could ever happen to me? I'm the strongest healer in the whole world."
"I'm not talking about that, your emotions feel out of place, are you alright." He asked in a strict tone similar to that of Shun.
Her smile disappeared and turned into a sad one. "It's nothing."
Saying that, she left hastily. How could she tell the only man that actually loved her more than Shun that she was probably carrying the child of another man she didn't even know till just the day of her friends marriage?
She was intelligent, infact, she was more intelligent than most people. The Tengoku clan had that trait from childhood, she could see the minute glances he gave her while she had her eyes on Shun but she didn't want to reciprocate that.
And as Shun always told her, being intelligent doesn't equate to being wise.
She could put two and two together but she couldn't actually make decisions that has to do with the emotions. That was one flaw the Tengoku clan had.
She now knows that there is nothing that could ever happen between her and Shun but this world valued chastity and she was anything but pure right now.
Shun had given her an alternative and even if that works, she wouldn't be able to give birth anymore, but there was a remedy. Shun himself said so.
Steeling her resolve to end this chapter of life, she made her way back to Shun's office.
"I'm ready." She said as soon as she entered the office and Shun looking at her, could feel a certain growth in her mental strength and smiled
"Good, then take off your clothes and lie on the table over there."
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It's a wrap boys, I'm done with the touring stuff. Next chapter will be the emotional counseling both Tobirama and Hashirama will be getting. I'm gonna leave Mito as she is, Quiet, lively, and Shy to her close friends, strict to the Senju brothers and noble to outsiders.
As for the relationship between Mikoto and Kageno, I just thought it up on a fly, I need to give Mikoto a happy end of sorts and also give birth to someone who will give birth to someone we all love from the Anime.
Stay tuned.