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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha.

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Chapter 2 – The Will (2)

A new day, and a brand new problem to deal with caution and fury.

I was never the kind of man that loved to prank people to get back at them. Maybe it was because I never had a reason to make use of pranks in general. Even as a kid, I still had my own limits at my own bratiness.

But now that the situation couldn't have been solved through mature means? I guess a prank was the best bet two students have to explain a couple of things to two foolish masters.

I was still surprised that Madara had indirectly teamed up with Tobirama. The First Hokage confirmed that the two hadn't somehow allied just for this stupid event by checking if they had somehow contacted each other over the matter.

Part of me blamed fate itself for having conjured such a troublesome coincidence. But then again, I really wanted to test what the leader of the Uchiha had as patience. I knew from my own knowledge that the guy was already easy to anger, possibly because there wasn't much of a proper settlement over his brother's passing.

Sure, he might have accepted Hashirama's dream as the proper route to take instead of keeping onto the old Warring States Era, but he still hated both the Senju Brothers for never addressing the death of Izuna Uchina. Which Tobirama was responsible for.

Kishimoto never explained how both sides settled over this sore spot, but I had reason to believe that there was never a settlement about it from the way this bitter rivalry still continued to exist.

I could understand if it was just a childish one, but the generally crass insults and the malicious threats once in a while did show the true nature of their relationship.

And despite my early reluctance to actually pit both morons one against the other, Mito found my initial plans of dealing with them individually to be too lenient for how the two Shinobi had handled their 'responsibilities as our masters'.

Hiruzen wasn't keen to offer any suggestion, keeping to himself as I tried to come up with the best plan possible for both Hashirama and his wife to accept.

The former was quite easy to satisfy. Albeit he was pissed at what had happened, he was still a goof when dealing with his brother and childhood friend. I didn't blame him wholeheartedly as I knew that he was inherently kind because of his ancestor's influence.

But Mito? She was incredibly petty over the matter.

I had to dissuade her multiple times from actually employing anything that could offer permanent damage at the two. While I had expected a mind geared for pranks, I wasn't really hoping for her to be this brutal with revenges.

Eventually we concocted a fairly simple plan that involved a letter detailing about an 'important mission', a booby-trapped building and lots of whipped cream.

Yes, in a world without TVs and other electronic appliances, the delicious thing was actually available at the market. It had appeared as one of the first inventions born just after Konoha's creation, and I expected it to be the result of the first stable civilian-based economy funneling funds for new technologies.

Conflict might not be around the corner, but the fact that the Hokage had promoted a general sense of prosperity for everyone from the very beginning was enough of a warning to start and improve life conditions.

Shinobi, merchants, peasants, bureaucrats- everyone was enlisted in that silent mission of making Konoha a great place to house the clans scattered all over the Land of Fire.

But that wasn't important to the great event for today.

I woke up a little after than yesterday's hour and… my first destination was the Academy.

Differently from what had developed from yesterday, Hiruzen and I did find Mito and Hashirama already waiting for us.

There were two Jonins speaking with the Hokage, quickly disappearing once we were close enough to the couple.

Ah, the Body Flicker Technique. I really need to get my hands on a scroll containing its instructions as quickly as possible.

"Hiruzen-kun, Danzou-kun, I hope you're both ready for today and-" The brunet paused, looking slightly concerned. "Maybe we could've done this a little later instead of asking them to be awake this early in the morning?"

Mito huffed. "I'm sure these two will get plenty of rest once we're done with Madara-kun and Tobirama-kun. I hope you're not planning to allow the two fools to get a chance to punish the children with some harsh training."

The subtle threat was easy to perceive, and even someone as dense as Hashirama couldn't help but notice the moment this reached his ears.

"O-Of course not," He stated with a brief moment of uneasiness, swiftly recovering from it. "I will let them have a full day to rest."

Then he offered us a kind smile, with Mito following up with a calm sigh and a patient look.

Our next stop was the little setting the Hokage himself had decided for us to stay as the 'prank' unfolded.

It was a small hill that offered sight over the scene. The walls of the building were still going to cover the action itself, but the place granted us a proper look over where the two fools were going to 'leave' the building.

But some explanation is certainly needed to understand the simple but effective prank that was going to unfold.

While Madara and Tobirama were probably waiting to receive some immediate punishment from either the Hokage or his much-scarier wife, they weren't going to miss any serious letter coming from the Hokage's office.

The sudden letter sent at both would surely spark their suspicions, but the content of the letter itself was written in a manner that it would've been difficult for them to refuse.

A rogue clan had decided to create chaos in the village by setting up a bomb within one of the still unused buildings in the settlement. Their job was to find the explosive and defuse it.

The selling spot? Some low-key praises that justified their candidacy in that 'solo' mission.

Albeit they weren't closely related, both Madara and Tobirama still had the same habit of flaunting their own abilities and prides left and right. The Uchiha was the worst of the two, but the youngest of the Senju Brother wasn't that far from him.

The letters had been sent just a couple of minutes earlier before Hiruzen and I had the chance to arrive at the gates of the Academy. With our quick-paced stroll to reach our current spot, it was expected for the two to find each other and the 'bomb' in 3, 2-

Ka-SPLAT!

I bit down a groan at the fact that I had been off by just a second, my attention stolen as I saw two figures rushing through the windows instants before the explosive fully detonated and… they were unable to dodge the scattershot of whipped cream completely wrapping around their frames.

While Tobirama merely groaned at the disastrous development, Madara kept quiet as his brain tried and failed to understand what had just happened.

Both were coated in white, but the Uchiha suffered the most considering how his long hair weren't spared by the punishment. All in all, it looked quite the messy situation for them both.

Heh~.

There was silence at first, but soon it was Mito that broke the quiet by letting out a muffled giggle.

Hashirama snorted, while Hiruzen's own smile was twitching as the boy tried to hold back a full laughter at the amusing scene.

I held a proper smile, as my entertainment was dampened by the fact that now we would've to approach the two… and see their reaction dangerously close.

"It would seem that you two have ended up in a sticky situation," The Uzumaki said as she spearheaded the group towards the unfortunate victims of the prank. "To think that the mighty Uchiha and the swift Senju were defeated by whipped cream."

Tobirama had the decency to allow a huff to leave his lips, while his the Gunbai-wielder gawked at the approaching group. His surprised eyes took a moment to study the four of us, only to settle on me.

He narrowed his dark charcoals in a furious manner. "You-"

"Don't blame the child for the fact you are the one that warranted my wrath, Madara-kun," Mito interjected before the Uchiha had the chance to continue. "Both of you, how could you've thought that Hashirama and I would've allowed you free after this foolish behavior you both displayed."

Tobirama frowned in confusion at first, noticing that his sister-in-law was mentioning a plan he might have shared with Madara and then realization struck him shocked as he stared at the annoyed man.

"You copied me!"

Madara turned, his annoyance doubling at the accusation.

"What?" He asked coldly, only for Hashirama to answer in his brother's stead.

"Yesterday, you both send your apprentices to disrupt my time together with Mito-hime," The brunet explained with a tired sigh. "I swear, you two are really starting to become too much to bear with your own antics."

"Then control your brother, Senju," The Uchiha rebuked dryly. "Instead of allowing him to bark madly left and right, perhaps you should assign him to border's duty."

"As if your word actually matter in the decision-making of this village, Teme."

Aaaand they were bickering again.

I felt Hiruzen walking closer to where I was, holding a hand up close to my ear to whisper something to me.

"Do you think they will remember about us?"

Allowing a grimace on my face, I shook my head. "Nope."

And while I was quite convinced of this considering how intense that shouting contest suddenly became, I had forgotten about an element that I had yet to still see in action before this common dynamic.

"If you think you can just ignore us by trying to appear angry at each other, then I have something else coming for you both," Mito exploded in a fierce fury. "This is not the first time that you decide to drag Hashirama and I into your petty exchanges. And I think it's high time you both apologize to each other for being this stupid."

"I will never apologize to that filthy piece of-"

"Enough," Hashirama interrupted his rival. "Not before the children and… Mito-hime is right. You two have been going at each other for months now. I thought you would've calmed down once things had settled down properly and… I was wrong."

Madara snorted. "And what do you plan to do then? Banish me?"

I noticed the Hokage narrowing his eyes at the brazen Uchiha in that very moment and… I felt dread.

Did I unwittingly escalate the break-up process between the two reincarnations?

The mere thought was enough to trigger plenty of alarms in my head, and my brain ditched self-preservation to make an effort to avoid this possibility to happen.

Instead of keeping put as the scene would've demanded from me, I finally moved from my standing beside the young Sarutobi and made a few steps toward the irked Uchiha… before turning around to face the Hokage to offer the man a formal bow.

"Hokage-dono, please don't take his words as ones delivered out of lucidity," I muttered quickly and tensely. I felt my throat tightening at the fact I was trying to defend Madara before the Konoha's leader. "The prank, the fact that he is sparring words with Tobirama-sama- these elements are influencing him to be this much… blunt."

…

"You know that Uchiha-san is someone that will never accept this kind of defense, Danzou-kun?" Hashirama inquired calmly. "Despite the good points you're bringing up to understand his behavior, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

I thought about it, knowing that now I was going to get punished by the man for doing something so humiliating and 'unneeded'… but I still nodded. "Yes, Hokage-dono."

…

The oldest of the Senju Clan sighed tiredly.

"Forgive me if I bring up bad memories by saying this, but didn't your father die a few weeks before the Shimura Clan properly joined Konohagakure no sato?"

Oh- Okay, why he needed to go with that?

"Y-Yes, Hokage-dono," I replied with an uneasy tone.

"Did your mother let you read the letter that your father sent to Konoha before leaving your first home?"

...Was there a letter? And why would my 'mother' need to tell me about it?

"No."

He sighed, this time his tone clearing away from any sadness and worry.

"Your father was… endeared by the idea of bringing peace through unity. He wanted to be part of this idea, and to see his son grow away from the horrors of war and death," Hashirama continued, his voice resounding as if he was bringing up a fond memory. "He also believed in the Will of Fire. The chances of bringing an end to conflict through love and understanding."

It was a novelty for me. But one that really didn't paint Danzou in a better light than I remember him as. Heck, I think this revelation worsened up the big picture the head of the Root had created through his actions during his last years of life.

"Madara… we will discuss later about this," The Hokage concluded with a slow nod. "I think you have much to think about."

The Uchiha was quiet at first. I had expected him to snap at my humiliating defense, and yet he had kept silent as I spoke with his childhood friend.

He offered a muffled grunt before walking up to me and grasp at my shoulder. His hold wasn't outright painful, but I noticed that he was squeezing a little bit too much as to dignify his current mood.

"Madara-"

Before the brunet had the chance to urge his rival to calm down, the world around us warped and… we were no longer in Konoha.

Did it actually happen? Did Madara actually snap and-

"How is your control over the Fireball Jutsu?" He inquired blankly as he let me go and advanced towards… a large body of water that was just beside us. I blinked at it, or rather, I stared up at the large system of tubes and pipes that extended over and within the limpid lake.

"It's… good?"

What is going on? Where were we right now?

This location was unfamiliar, but I was sure that we were nowhere near to Konoha. How did we get in there when the only teleportation jutsu was Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique?

"Prove it. Use it towards that opening," The Uchiha ordered while pointing at the strange entrance that connected with the rest of tubes spread all over this area.

I gave a confused look as I approached closer to the target, stealing a glance at Madara as the man started to remove his stained armor.

What's going on?!

I couldn't really understand what was happening… but I still complied with his demand. Calibrating my jutsu as I had grown accustomed to, I released the fireball while aiming at the proper opening of the pipes and… it swiftly was siphoned inside the tubes.

Heat started to spread all over the place as the water quickly warmed up at the increase of temperature. A few seconds later, I found myself gawking at the thin fog that was created by… the warm water.

A natural onsen? Why are we here and-

My brain failed to conclude that thought as I saw Madara enter the lake without saying anything.

His armor and his folded clothes put close to the edge he had entered from.

There was silence at first, and I merely stared at what was unfolding before my tired eyes.

Yet the man didn't seem content with the current status quo and sighed loudly. "Join me."

I blinked, gritting my teeth. "I think I will pass the offer."

"You need to clean up."

Has he gone mad?!

"I'm perfectly clean and fine, what are you-" I froze just in time to notice the sticky sensation on my hair. I reached out with my right hand and my eyes widened as I realized what was wrong.

He had nudged on me, staining my hair with some of the whipped cream during the 'warp'.

…

That fucking bastard-

He was actually smiling right now that the realization was visible out of my face. The smugness of having retaliated back after that prank now evident in his grin.

Narrowing my eyes at that cheeky counter, I knew that I couldn't exactly avoid this kind of situation. It was awkward to put my clothes to the side… but then I decided to charge up and go for a high jump.

"CANNON BALL!"

Madara's amusement vanished as the large wave crashed onto him.

He quickly glared at me, but my own smugness canceled any of the malicious effects of such a stare. Heck, he could've switched to his Sharingan, and I would've give no fucks about it for how 'proud' I was.

"And I thought you were a step above the common brat," The man commented as he started to work on his own hair. "Yet you failed me again."

I allowed a frown to settle on my visage as I contemplated these words.

"First, you thought that by appearing like a foolish mongrel before Hashirama would spare me of any escalation, proving how terribly stupid you can be when you're aware of my honor," Madara explained with a calm tone. "Then you decide that being a 'child' once more will dissuade me from thinking more about what just happened."

Tensing up at that, I continued to stare in shock at the Uchiha. Was he suspecting that I was not-

"Tell me, Shimura-kun. Do you think like your father did… that understanding your enemy will bring us true peace like Hashirama loves to sprout about?"

…

I was tempted to give a convoluted answer, just to disarm the man of any chances of speaking more about it. But then again, I wasn't really hoping to lose my cover so suddenly.

So, instead of giving the legitimate answer, I went for the silly but also child-like response to this specific query.

"Yes."

Madara blinked, surprise painting his face at that curt response.

"Why?"

I blinked, bringing up a faux nervous look. "Because it worked already."

…

"Explain."

"Konohagakure no Sato was created by the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. They founded the village that exists now and… yet they were at war with each other years ago."

"I'm aware of that, yes," The man muttered impatiently. "But why does this matter to my demand?"

"Would you have accepted peace if you hadn't known Hokage-dono when you were younger, Sensei?" I inquired back with an innocent tone. "Hiruzen told me that you and the Hokage were friends since childhood."

I waited for some time, noticing how my early response got a surprised understanding coming from the Uchiha.

"You think that I accepted this dream of his… because I knew him beforehand?"

"You understood him and you still do. You know that he wasn't lying back then and even now," I pointed out with a nod. "I think I can tell right now when Hiruzen-kun is lying to me. He never does since he prefers to be sincere, but I feel like I can tell when he isn't honest to me."

"I understand Hashirama," Madara pondered quietly, seemingly detaching himself from the conversation. "Which is why… I believe him despite how many years have gone by?"

"Do you distrust Hokage-dono, Sensei?"

…

"No," He replied dryly. "And that, sometimes, makes me think of how silly this all is."

He turned to glance at me once more. "If you had the chance to decide who is going to be the Hokage from now on, would you choose me or Hashirama?"

Oh, now he's trying to play the whole 'But I want to be the Hokage' card on chibi me. Poor guy doesn't know that I've the perfect answer for that.

"I would choose… Hashirama-sama," I stated with a nod. "If you were the Hokage, Sensei, you wouldn't be my sensei any longer."

He frowned at that logic. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, when you sent me in that important mission," I emphasized the event in an effort to show my annoyance to it, only to be ignored on that front. "I noticed that Hokage-dono had numerous papers still sitting on his desk despite having the large majority of the paperwork in his house."

…

"You think that if I had been Hokage, then I wouldn't have had the time to train you?"

I nodded and he sighed tiredly.

"I would've left someone else to deal with it," Madara pointed out and I gave a confused look.

"Isn't the paperwork the big part of the job?"

The Uchiha snorted. "Being the Hokage means being the strongest," He rebuked dryly. "Why do you think I want that stupid hat?"

"I think it's a nice hat," I admitted, a minor degree of smug latching onto my words. His stare narrowed at that quip. "But I don't think being the Hokage means being the Strongest in the Village."

…

"Why?"

"Well, the Hokage has to stick by the Academy most of his time and he doesn't have time to go in missions," I answered with a sigh. "Since you're not the Hokage, Sensei, that means you're not restrained from actually going in a fight out of the village to defeat a threat."

"That sounds ridiculous-"

"If there was a skirmish between a clan and Konoha that is beyond a diplomatic resolution, would Hashirama-sama go on his own or send someone like you to deal with them?"

…

He didn't answer that. In fact, the conversation kind of ended there as we stood in that onsen for a couple more of minutes. Once I was properly clean from the whipped cream, I stood out of the warm lake and allowed the steam to dry me up a little bit before I reached for my clothes.

Once we were done with this strange situation, Madara reached for my shoulder again and we 'warped' back inside Konoha. This time we were… standing in front of the Uchiha compound.

"We shall speak again tomorrow, at the usual training spot."

Curt, impassive and pretty much stern. Yet, compared to the usual tone, there was a strange touch of leniency.

I didn't linger further, noticing that the man was already walking inside the main building of the household, leaving me to make my way back home.

I was confused, fascinated and overall spent with what happened today.

Yet, despite my tiredness, I couldn't help but spend the rest of the day to try and understand if the man had used some unknown jutsu or reverse summoning to get us out and back in Konoha.

Nonetheless, I felt like I did make some progress for what was meant to be a silly prank. Hopefully, it's all for good...

AN

Danzou-kun might have made a miracle. Let's hope this is truly a flawless victory and not actually a turning point for a stranger development for the relationship between Hashirama and Madara.

Also, about the Beta-Reading affair… well, I think my 'date' bailed! It's been almost three weeks and I'm still waiting for some signs of life from this guy. Hopefully he's alright and nothing bad happened to him.

REVIEW Q&A!

Middernacht: The 'Curse' of the Uchiha is that their eyes are unlocked through pain and sorrow. The Sharingan is unlocked in a moment of distress, the Magekyo version is unlocked through losing someone important to the user, the Eternal version is when someone offers their Sharingan for the user to replace their eyes with.

Isaac LB: The two only knew that Hashirama and Mito were having 'busy time' and they both had the same idea. No genuine alliance on that bit.

KitCat0922: Who knows… maybe?