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Tobirama checks his mission pack one last time before heading towards the gate. He needs to be sure that he has enough supplies and weapons on him in case the mission goes sideways (the way it often does when the Uchiha are involved). Besides, it’s not every day that he willingly goes on a mission with his long-time worst enemy, much less does it secretly.
Touka is already waiting for him by the gates, so Tobirama shows the mission scroll to the guard and they head out.
It took Tobirama a whole week to get everything ready. First, he had to get everything in order in case he takes longer or doesn’t come back at all. Then, Tobirama had to organise all the notes and reports he had on the situation regarding the mission. But the hardest thing by far was convincing Hashirama to let Tobirama go on this mission without giving out any details.
In fact, he wasn’t able to convince his brother completely. Tobirama was touched that Hashirama worried for his safety, but in this instance, it was more of a nuisance. In the end, they compromised. Tobirama was allowed to go on the mission, but he had to take at least one more shinobi with him.
That is how cousin Touka ended up accompanying him, which means that he now has to find a way to avoid fighting between her and the others on first contact. At least she’s more reasonable than Hashirama and trusts Tobirama enough, or at least, he hopes that she will hold off her final judgement long enough to hear him out.
The bigger problem is warning Izuna and his Nara. Tobirama has no way of warning them, and at this point, Kako can probably already feel them coming. Tobirama can already feel them, and Kako is just as good a sensor as he is; therefore, leaving Touka out of sight might be even worse than taking her with him.
Tobirama slows down a short distance before the meeting place and continues at a civilian pace, which Touka follows immediately.
“You should know that I was hoping to do this alone,” Tobirama tells her. “Therefore, you should also be warned that my… ‘associates’ won’t be expecting you. For now, I need you to trust me and not initiate any fights if you can help it… please.”
Touka doesn’t say anything but the minuscule nod is enough for Tobirama to know that she will follow his lead.
“Good, because I’m almost certain that they know we’re here,” are Tobirama’s last words before they finally step into the clearing by the crossroad.
The first thing Tobirama notices is, of course, the two shinobi sitting in the tree. What he didn’t expect was to find them this relaxed. Tobirama knows that they know about his arrival, and he is also sure that they know about his team partner. They didn’t even try concealing their presence in any way.
Instead of any reaction Tobirama might have expected, they seem relaxed. Izuna is sitting on a low-hanging branch, his back to the tree trunk, one leg propped up to keep balance and the other bent at the knee and being used as a pillow by Kako. At their approach, Izuna does lift his eyes to meet Tobirama’s, but the Nara continues lying on the branch, still talking.
Like this, Tobirama can see why Madara assumed them to be romantically involved. They look at ease, enjoying their own little world even while waiting for a tentative ally.
Izuna flicks Kako’s forehead saying, “Get up, they’re here,” when the Senju are close enough to hear them.
Sitting up, Kako directs her attention to Tobirama and beams at him.
“Hey, Tobi!” she greets him and hops off of the tree. “I’m Kako; it’s nice to meet you, Senju-san!”
Kako’s enthusiasm is almost as startling as Hashirama’s and catches Touka off guard. Tobirama can see Touka’s eyes widening and the way she mouths ‘Tobi’ under her breath.
“This is my cousin, Senju Touka. Cousin, I’m sure you recognise Uchiha Izuna, and this is his best friend, Nara Kako,” Tobirama introduces.
“Some also call me Sasuke. Or some variation of it. Nice to formally meet you,” Izuna adds to the introduction.
“Anija wouldn’t let me out alone. This was our compromise. Touka shouldn’t attack without provocation. I trust this is acceptable?” Tobirama explains, hoping to avoid any outbursts. “You had no such problems I take it?”
“Madara-nii knows I’m with Kako. I introduced them weeks ago, and he knows I’m as safe with Kako as with any of my own clansmen.”
“My Clan Head knows I have out-clan friends. As long as they’re not our enemies he doesn’t mind,” Kako chipped in.
Finally processing the situation, Touka bursts out. “What the fuck, cousin? I thought you two hated each other. Since when are you working together?” And behind Hashirama’s back was unvoiced but clearly understood.
“Well, if our brothers can be best friends from opposite sides of the battlefield, what’s stopping us from following their example?” Izuna deadpans.
“I didn’t want to give Anija hope just yet, but I will if this goes well. Call this a trial run if you want.” Tobirama explains, glaring at his rival. Does Izuna have to be an ass and provoke Touka even after the warning?
“So… Now that we’re done with the explanations, how about we talk about this mission you had in mind, Tobi?” Kako redirects their attention back to the reason they’re here to begin with.
"Right," Tobirama murmurs. Now, how to explain the situation… “We’re being set up. And by we, I mean ninja clans, not just the Senju,” Tobirama settles on. “And not just clans against each other. The tension between ninja and civilians has been rising for the last few years. I am inclined to believe that it’s…”
“Wait, wait, wait! Back up! What do you mean we’re being set up?” Touka interrupts him with a shout.
“Exactly that. I found evidence of clans being framed when I knew for certain they were not involved.” Tobirama explains calmly. This time directing his attention to Kako, he continues, “The first time we met was when I noticed it. I came back to the compound and they were sure that the Uchiha were involved. The evidence was quite convincing, but…”
“If we wanted you out of the picture or kidnapped, I had the perfect opportunity in the ramen shop.” Izuna finishes his sentence with certainty, and the next question is only mildly curious, like he knows the answer and only wants to make sure that he’s correct. “What made you sure that misdirection wasn’t the plan all along?”
With a sigh, Tobirama admits, “I did think that it was your plan when you showed up, but your interaction didn’t feel staged. And then it happened again, and I was sure. And besides, it’s not like you to make convoluted plans.”
“Fair enough. Kako’s the one who comes up with all the insane plans and then somehow makes it happen.” Izuna agrees with no hesitation.
“Hold up. How long have you been meeting like this?” Touka interrupts once again.
“To be fair, both times we met up were coincidences. This is the first time we actually planned it,” shrugged Izuna, unbothered by Touka’s outburst. “And he’s like the fourth-best teammate to go on secret missions with. Scratch that, he’s third-best. For all the pranks Naruto constantly pulls, he wouldn’t know stealth if his life depended on it.” Izuna’s fond smile was expected because of the mention of his other best friend, but the hidden compliment to Tobirama was not.
“Who’re the other two?” Tobirama can’t help but ask.
“Kako and Kakashi-sensei,” he admits nonchalantly.
“What about Madara?” asks Kako intrigued.
Making a disgusted face, Izuna answers. “The dobe can at least be sneaky when he really wants, even if only when he’s pranking someone. Madara couldn’t even leave the compound without making a ruckus.
No matter how much Tobirama wants to ask more about what Izuna just inadvertently revealed, they came here for a reason, so Tobirama clears his throat to get their attention. “That is truly enlightening and all, but can we finish this conversation after we make sure no third party is taking advantage of our clans?”
“You know who they are,” Kako deduces.
“I found who in the Senju is working with them. And I was able to track down where the information is taken. In fact, I was trying to collect a team who could infiltrate without being noticed and fight if it didn’t go according to plan”
“I don’t know about Touka-san’s skill, but this sounds like a perfect mission for the three of us.” Izuna smiles his terrible battlefield smirk. It has always meant the death of whoever earned it, and now that Tobirama is realising that Izuna never truly tried to kill him, Tobirama understands why it was never directed at him.
It didn’t take much longer to share the remaining information, and they started plotting. Having two sensors and four members on the team proved to be perfect for this specific job. They were able to split into two pairs with a sensor each. Deciding to mix up the pairs was more unorthodox but proved to be a good opportunity to improve their teamwork, which is how Tobirama and Izuna got stuck listening in on a meeting while the kunoichi were on the other side of the building gathering information.
Touka finds herself considering her recent life choices. She supposes that she did wish for something more interesting to happen, but this is way more than she expected. To be fair, she should have known by now that most of Tobirama’s missions are more than they seem originally.
However, even by her baby cousin’s standards, this is strange. And by this, she means discovering an anti-shinobi organisation bent on turning clans against clans and civilians against ninja in general. That, unfortunately, is not the extent of this strangeness. Somehow Tobirama, her loner cousin, managed to befriend his battlefield nemesis and recruit him and his best friend into teaming up.
Now Touka is stuck in some hidden building, rifling through piles of paperwork in a building teeming with ninja-hating warmongers and giving everything that seems vaguely useful to the Nara kunoichi besides her.
In a way, she is jealous of the boys who get to practise their stealth and spy on the secret meeting happening on the other side of the building.
Touka wonders how they are getting along. They seem to understand each other surprisingly well. She has a feeling that now that they are friends, they will get along like a house on fire. Maybe some of their chemistry is due to all the years they have fought each other, but the rest is definitely their strangely complementary personalities.
It is immensely relieving when Kako informs her that they should get out of there and meet the other duo in the forest further away. If Touka had to stay much longer, she might have gone out to make some trouble simply out of boredom.
Izuna is the first one to disturb the silence once they are far enough not to get discovered. ”Anything useful?”
“Too much,” says Kako before, with a flair of chakra, they are surrounded by piles of paperwork. “It’s like they didn’t need to worry about being discovered.”
“To be fair, it seems like this has been going on for years, and it took our friendship and Tobirama’s genius to notice it,” quips Izuna.
“What now?” Touka asks. It’s not like they can just give the info to the higher-ups and hope for it to be resolved. Even if they could, it's likely that Tobirama would be the one dealing with it anyways.
“If the clans find out, it would cause mass panic and outrage. Getting rid of them discreetly would be the best,” concludes Kako, and unsurprisingly Tobirama and Izuna nod in agreement.
“Could we do it Team Red style?” Izuna asks Kako, and upon noticing the Senju’s confusion, quickly explains, “Too big to be shinobi.”
While they digest it, Kako answers, “...Possibly. Hmm… A convenient volcano would come in handy…”
“Which there are none. No mountains or rivers either.” Izuna interrupts.
“It's the rainy season, so no realistic way to pass off a forest fire as natural either,” Kako grumbles. “Although…” She tilts her head to the side, her eyes getting unfocused like she’s thinking deeply or maybe sensing something like Tobi would. Suddenly Kako’s gaze focuses on Tobirama. “Your chakra control is amazing and you’re great with water. Could you encourage it to dissolve minerals faster? By the time someone investigates, the underground river would have washed off all the remaining chakra traces.”
Touka has no idea what they are planning but it seems the others share the same brain wave because they just nod and continue plotting. “Sasuke and I can plant some destabilisation seals in the building to make sure that when it collapses, it covers most of the traces of our involvement, and the water will do the rest.”
“A sinkhole is a new one,” Izuna mumbles.
Touka has little to offer in their planning nor from her skillset. It seems silly now, but most of her skillset is easy to connect to her or at least to the involvement of shinobi. It’s like that with most ninja, which, she has to admit, works in their favour. Helping nature to create a convenient sinkhole, that’s something no one would connect to ninja activity. Too big to be shinobi , indeed.
Hours later, Touka is sitting in a ramen stand, far away from the new sinkhole, waiting for her food. Their plan went without a hitch, taking out many of the conspirators and leaving no clues for the remaining ones.
Touka is feeling conflicted. Their success is boosting her mood, but at the same time her three companions are unsettling her with their thought processes, and their conversations aren’t helping.
By now, they have discussed many drawbacks of the ninja clan system and found at least five cultural similarities between many clans. Their current topic is the advantages of pooling their resources to form interclan teams for the different viewpoints and more well-rounded teams skill-wise, as well as the need for centralised basic education.
Somehow it feels very similar to the Senju Clan Heads' dream of peace while never actually mentioning any of Hashirama’s points for why there should be peace between clans.
Touka listens intently and realises that while Hashi’s dream is great and, by now, most of their clan has joined in his wish, these three young adults are actually planning out how to make it possible. In fact, now that they have joined forces, the likelihood of it happening soon is almost unavoidable.
A shiver runs down her spine. Hopefully, enforcing peace will take a long time; otherwise, they might move on to world domination. There is a high chance that they would be just as successful at it.