Naruto’s bored blue eyes scanned the papers before them before he sighed ‘As much as I love the peace, everything feels a bit boring without a battle.’ In the years since the Fourth Shinobi War, the Hidden Villages lived in peace with one another, Naruto had become Hokage and Sasuke had come back to the village. An ANBU with the mask of a fox entered the Hokage’s office, Naruto’s head popped up above the stacks of finished and unfinished paperwork.

“Nanadaime-sama,” said the ANBU bowing low. “Fox, what is it?” Fox handed a scroll to the 7th Hokage. Blond eyebrows rose as Naruto read the message.

“The Village of the Field has been destroyed?!”

In front of Konoha’s gates, a young woman collapsed from exhaustion.


Where am I? I pondered whilst taking in my surroundings. I was on a bed in a room of white and pale blue. A hospital? I flinched when I heard the door creak open and a woman with long pink hair and green eyes approached my bedside. “How are you feeling?” she asked with a kind voice, I shrugged “Fine, I suppose. Where am I? What happened?” “You’re in Konoha hospital, you were found outside the village gates, passed out from physical exhaustion.” ‘Konoha? Where have I heard that name before?’

Shinobi surrounded my mother and I, they had already seriously injured her. ‘They can’t take her from me! I won’t let them!’ Mom’s hand formed a weak grip around my glowing hands, “Go to Konoha, Tomoe.” Whispered my mother as she lay dying under my hands. I forced more of my chakra into healing her to no avail, and with her last breath she said “I love you, Tomoe.” Tears flowed down my cheeks, rage and sadness clouded my mind. Suddenly, the shinobi were just glowing chakra, no longer solid flesh. I punched the ground with all I had. Then everything drowned in black.

Tears came down my cheeks, first of sadness, then of rage. I cursed those shinobi internally. The woman's green eyes widened slightly before she hurried out of my room.

Sometime later, the woman came back. She asked if I could stand then if I could walk, I nodded ‘yes’ to both questions and she led me through the winding hallways of the hospital with no further questions. When we walked out into the streets of Konoha it was high noon, shinobi and civilians roamed about peacefully, some children late to their classes sped past me and I marveled at how seamlessly the new metal buildings melded with the old wooden structures. It was a short walk to the large building with the symbol of ‘fire’ emblazoned on the front. Into the building we went, traveling up the multiple staircases until we reached the front door of an important person’s office. Fancy place, in the largest building of the village on the top floor, this guy must be important.

My nurse and temporary guide knocked on the heavy door twice before the door opened.

Upon entering the room, my eyes first darted toward the seat directly in front of the aged wood desk; then at the rather ridiculous amount of people in the room, shinobi lined the walls of the office, some with green jackets others with porcelain masks of various animals. Was this all necessary? I just came out of the hospital and haven’t eaten in who knows how long, I’m torn between being flattered that they see of me as that much of a threat and being amused at the irony of this many ninjas here to restrain a pacifist.

A man with short blonde hair and whisker like markings on his cheeks sat at the desk and beckoned me to take the seat in front of him. As I sat down, a ninja clad in one of the green jackets approached my right side. Sending a questioning glance at the blue-eyed man, he said, “He’s here to make sure you’re telling the truth, believe it.” ‘Believe it’? Sure…

The man at the desk laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them. “Let’s start, believe it.” The masked ninja put his hand on my forehead as the questioning began.

“What’s your name, believe it?” “Tomoe Senji” “How old are you, believe it?” “19.” “Where are you from, believe it?” “The village of the field.” Questions came one after another with barely anytime in between for my answers. If he’s trying to piss me off with that verbal tick… It’s working.

I wonder if the guy is actually reading my thoughts or is he just checking my pulse? Smiling internally, I put a thought in the back of my mind “Believe it” believe what? That you sound like a broken record?’ “How’d you get here, believe it?” “I ran.” Blue eyes gave me a deadpan look. Mask has not picked up on it yet. In the break, I moved that thought to the fore of my conscious thinking. Glancing at Mask, I saw his lips twitch in a smirk. So, he is reading my mind, but I can choose what he sees. Good to know.

“Why or who sent you here, believe it?” Ah, here come the real questions. “I came to seek asylum. My mother was the one who sent me here.” “Where’s she, believe it?” That stopped me in my tracks. My eyes fell to the floor and I swallowed before answering. “Dead.” I mouthed, “What, believe it?” That phrase is seriously grating on my nerves. “Dead.” I whispered. I could feel his eyes staring a hole through my head.

“She’s dead, dammit! Can you ‘believe’ that?!”

The ninja in the room got on their guard as soon as I let the words fly from my mouth. Mask next to me was ready to slam my head into the floor from the way his hand tensed. I glared at the man at the desk for reminding me about the murder of the only family I’ve ever known. He sat up straight and took his elbows off the desk. “This interview is done. We’ve collected all the information we need.” And an instant later, I was escorted to out of the building, but not before the blonde said “I’m sorry for your loss Tomoe-chan. Believe it.” I could tell by his tone was that he was sincere; even if he wasn't, I wanted to 'Believe it'.

As soon as Tomoe had left the building Naruto turned to Sakura “We need to tell Sasuke.”

The meeting was short enough that by the time I walked outside it was still light out.

Why did he send me out? Don’t they need more information? Also, they just let me go; after all that security? He must have someone watching me. I sighed, I am much too tired to think about any of this. I spotted a park across from the Hokages building. Ah, shade and benches. I sat down and took a deep breath when a shuriken came flying by my face. It hit the tree to my left with a thud.

There goes my relaxation.

A girl with black hair and red glasses bounded from the shade of the trees. I took the shuriken from the tree and called out to her “Is this yours?” she came over with a slight blush on her cheeks “Sorry, ma’am. My aim still needs a little work.” “No worries. Are your hands ok?” I looked down at her hands, they were covered in bruises, cuts and blisters. “I’m fine! If I’m going to become Hokage, these little cuts are nothing!” I smiled, this girl has big dreams; I like that. As I placed the shuriken in her open hands, I healed the cuts and accelerated the repair of her blisters. She looked surprised when my hand retracted. “Thank you!” she said while looking up at me. “No problem. Good luck with your training, future Hokage-chan.” I said as I smiled and poked her forehead; a gesture my mother used to do when I was young, before walking away to look for a real quiet place to relax.

Sarada watched, stunned, as the woman walked away. ‘I thought only mom and dad did that?’ she wondered whilst touching the spot where she was poked. The young girl shook her head ‘I should be training!’ she thought as she ran back to her training spot.

I wondered until dusk before finding myself standing under the faces of the Hokage. I walked over to the railing and leaned on it. I looked over Konoha with awe. The streets below bustled with activity, the shops and streets started to glow as the sky darkened. Even from afar, I could feel the energy from the people of the Hidden Leaf. This place is so different from my village. We never had this atmosphere. I sighed, my family, the village, my home, everything I knew was gone in an instant. The people below became blurry as I allowed myself to mourn what I had lost. When my sobs finally lessened to mere sniffles, I looked to the sky.

“What do I do now?” I whispered.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, but when I turned around, they were gone. I looked down and found a scroll with my name on it and a lunch box. I took both items over to a bench. Under the light of the lamppost I opened the scroll. I peeled the wax seal apart and started reading.

‘Dear Senji-san,
Your request of temporary asylum in Konohagakure has been granted. Your living quarters are in the building adjacent to the Hokage building. Please report to Hatake Kakashi in front of the Hokage building at 7:00am tomorrow morning.
Welcome to Konoha,
Umino Iruka Chief Secretary’

Also inside was a map of Konoha with the meeting point and my apartment marked in red, along with a picture of whom I was meeting the next morning. I closed the scroll, then looked over to the lunch box and brought it into my lap. My stomach protested my delay as I checked through the contents. In addition to the food, taped to the lid were a set of keys and an envelope with some money inside. They think of everything don’t they? My stomach yelled at me again, this time I listened and dug into the meal before me. After shoveling the semi-cold food down my throat, I noticed the light became brighter and looked up; the clouds had moved apart showing a night sky full of stars.

Mom, you still there?

A shooting star streaked across the darkness and I took it as her answer. As I started toward my apartment, I took one last look over Konoha.

“I don’t know why you sent me here, but I guess you have your reasons. Alright Mom, lead the way!”

I passed out as soon after I locked my door last night. When I awoke, I sleepily looked at the clock on the nightstand ‘6:55am’ it said blinking red. “Crap!” I jumped off the bed and into the bathroom. I washed my face, and then bolted into the kitchen, thanking whatever deity that had blessed my fridge with food. I found a riceball, shoved it into my mouth and charged out the door. I berated myself on the way to the meeting spot; you had one job, meet this man on time in front of the Hokages office!

It’s a good thing they put the apartments close to the Hokage building.
My feet created a dust cloud as I forced them to a stop. Now, I’m here, but where’s Hatake-sensei? Taking the scroll out of my back pouch I glanced at the photo attached. A man with tired eyes and a mask and spiked silver hair… How could I miss him?

I looked around when I heard a deep voice behind me “Senji-san?” “Hmm?” I said while turning around. I saw a book flutter to the ground and bent to pick it up. I was about to hand it to the man in front of me when I glanced at the cover, ‘Icha Icha Paradise’. People still read this?! And in broad daylight?! Slowly, I lifted my gaze for the book to its owner. The first thing I noticed about Hatake-sensei was the scar running through his left eye and the mask covering the lower half of his face, of course. Other than that, I also noted he was slightly taller than I was as my eyes were level with his nose. “Thank you, Senji-san.” He said with, what I assumed was a happy expression through the mask.

We then proceeded to the training grounds, an open field surrounded by trees just outside of the village.

“Ok, Senji-san, we’re going to spar.” I smiled apprehensively “Huh? What do y-!” He did not allow me to finish before launching a frontal attack. I jumped back into a crouch when he disappeared from my sight. Dammit. He’s behind me. I need time to think. I jumped high over him and ran for the trees. Once in the relative safety of the trees, I took stock of myself. I have no weapons or scrolls, but I do have the element of surprise, he doesn’t know my abilities just yet.

~“Heighten your senses, Tomoe.” “Mom, I don’t get it!” “Try again.” I sighed but tried again. I closed my eyes and searched to feel the chakra around me. I could feel everything within a six-foot radius of my body. The grass, the trees, even the insects crawling under my feet, I could feel their chakra pulsing around me. Mom was outside of my area of perception but her life force was too strong to ignore. I felt her start to move. From the left! Eyes still closed I turned to the left and ducked under her sweeping kick. I pivoted on my left heel and brought my elbow into her back. No connection. Where is she now? She not on the ground. I realized a millisecond too late that she was attacking from above and barely managed to bring my arms up to guard my head. The force of her blow caused the ground around me to crack and sink.~

I’ve come a long way since then.

I sensed him from above; I jumped to an adjacent tree and intercepted his path downward, launching a kick to his side. He blocked me. I pushed off his block and flipped away. We landed on opposing tree trunks, I didn’t let up on my attack, speeding toward him with my fist outstretched. He responded, grabbing hold of my arm and deflecting me into the ground. My senses piqued when I realized his body wasn’t preparing to jump but reaching into his pouch. Kunai, shuriken, scroll? Which is it? Only a spilt second was needed for him to answer my question. Three kunai came at me from different directions. I dodged them but not perfectly, blood ran down my right arm, just a scratch. I ran for the open field; he has the upper hand in the forest. I grabbed a kunai embedded in the ground as I sped through the trees. I have one weapon and he has… a lot more. Great.

Finally, I reached the field. I turned on my heel to deflect the multiple shuriken that were previously hurtling toward my back. The kunai I took proved to be immensely useful as I used it to block what I couldn’t dodge. He came from behind and I dropped to the ground to avoid the cut aimed at my throat, I swept his legs but he anticipated and jumped. I stood up as he landed. He started charging forward, too fast for me to dodge, I raced to meet him in the middle. Sparks flew when our kunai clashed. I quickly realized that he outmatched me in strength; I applied more force and I felt him push back, once he did, I released the pressure and stepped to the side. I watched Hatake-sensei fall into my punch. I took full advantage of the contact, I stepped into the punch, using my core, shoulders, and his forward momentum to finish my strike. He flew backwards. After his body landed, it dissipated into smoke.

“You coming?” I called back to the forest where the silver haired man resided.

He created a shadow clone without alerting my chakra sense. Damn.

When Hatake-sensei came out from the forest, I made sure that he was the real one. I could feel him weaving hand signs. A gigantic ball of fire came hurtling at me. I took a deep breath and calmed my mind; my eyes perceived the chakra at the center of the flames. I reached through the fire and bent the chakra, the red sphere broke into multiple pieces then extinguished itself. I sensed my opponent weave more signs. A wall of water was next in his assault. The chakra isn’t in the center; it completely surrounded the liquid making the jutsu more difficult to disperse. Jeez. I jumped and landed on the wave, the chakra at my feet formed a wedge cutting through his web of control over the water. After popping the wave, I hit the ground running. Sensei saw me and put up an earthen wall.

My turn to drop in a clone. I gave my clone the kunai and hid. My clone rounded the wall, he wasn’t there. He burst from the dirt beneath my clone’s feet with a wind jutsu in hand. Such a small, tight shape is not going to be unraveled quickly. I need distance. The one thing I don’t have. More clones could buy me time to make distance however. I had my clone make three more copies of itself. The wind jutsu tore through the extras, thankfully giving my main clone enough time to jump back. Sensei came at full speed. My clone took advantage of his speed and deflected the hand that held the jutsu.

What I didn’t expect was his back arm to hook my clone’s neck, my copy disappeared with a ‘pop’.

I jumped out of the trees. I enhanced my speed with chakra approaching my opponent’s back. I heard crackling as I came closer. Lightning release. Another handheld ball of whirling chakra, compact and extremely lethal. Which hand is it in? I created more clones as a fail-safe. He whirled around quickly while my clones had him surrounded. The lightning ripped through my copies, but as it went through the clones the chakra unraveled enough to the point where I could dismantle it. My hand met his as he finished turning, I took apart the chakra strand by strand. The ball became smaller and smaller, as I pulled the last few chakra threads, the electricity left his hand. I put my hand over his and shook it.

“Good bout Hatake-sensei!”

His eyes widened the slightest bit and I guessed he was surprised. “How?” “Lots of training.” I grinned. He leaned against the wall of rock we battled around while asking “Why didn’t you attack?” “I did.” “With jutsu?” I laughed sheepishly “I… can’t.” “Then how did you negate my jutsu?” “Umm…”

How do I explain this? Mom always told me just to feel it. If I said that he would accuse me of lying. My stomach chose to growl at that moment. Perfect excuse. “Ah, all that sparring makes me hungry! We’re done here right? Let’s go eat! Have any place to suggest, sensei?” “Yes, we’re done, but let’s not get so off topic, ne? Oi!” I didn’t wait for him to hear him finish as I left a clone and started running into town. The sounds of my copy and sensei sparring became quieter as I ran farther.


When I stopped running I realized… I was completely lost.

I glanced around; I was in the old part of Konoha, most of the buildings were built of wood. A ramen shop caught my eye as well as my stomach. I walked through the short curtains that read “Ichiraku Ramen”. “Welcome!” said the employee. The food smelled amazing! I quickly sat down at the bar and ordered a pork ramen. As I waited I noticed there was a screen with moving pictures in the corner of the room. Is this a mass genjutsu? All the patrons seemed to be entranced by it. How odd. The woman on the screen was sitting across from a man dressed in orange. The man from yesterday! I kept watching and I learned his name is Naruto Uzumaki, he’s married with two kids and is successfully keeping the peace between the Great Nations. I made a personal note that he did not always end his sentences with ‘Believe it’; so he was doing it to rile me.

My thoughts were interrupted by my ramen arriving. I thanked the employee and ate with vigor. Full with delicious soup and noodles, I paid and left the shop.

I walked onto the dusty roads of rural Konoha with no idea where I wanted to go. I was about to pull the map from my pouch when I heard voice coming from the ramen shop. “Excuse me!” I turned. “Excuse me! I’m Sarada Uchiha, the girl you healed yesterday!” “Oh! Hokage-chan!” seeing I acknowledged her, she came closer “What’s your name? I want to thank you properly.” “I’m Tomoe. Nice to meet you!” “Thank y-” she didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence.

I pushed her away from me when my chakra sense alerted me to a sinister presence.

“Hey! What’s going on?!” Sarada yelled, landing in a crouch. A pair of hands broke through the earth beneath my feet. The hands took hold of my ankles attempting to pull me down. I jumped away before the soles of my feet broke the surface. More presences made themselves known. Five? No, there were six in total.

Sarada ran back to the ramen shop to get her team while Tomoe took on the six that had surrounded her. The young Uchiha wanted to help but she didn’t know how strong these attackers were. “Konohamaru-sensei! My friend is being ambushed!” Her team snapped to attention when they heard Sarada’s call. Urgently, they ran down the street. Team Konohamaru stopped short when they saw the scene unfolding before them. Four unconscious bodies lay on the ground. A woman was fighting off two shinobi simultaneously, one came up behind her with a blade slicing across her back, she bent forward the cut severing fabric not flesh. A well-aimed kick sent the man flying, his back hit a tree with a thud. Her other opponent was not able to complete his jutsu before she appeared behind him, her elbow came down hard upon his back. He fell to the ground, limp. She stood for a moment, her back to the quartet.

Through the torn fabric of her shirt, the crest of the Senju spread across her back.

I stood catching my breath. I heard a man say “Sarada-chan, who’s your friend?” I turned around to see Sarada, a pale boy, a blonde boy and a man whom I presumed to be their teacher. I walked over toward the group. “Hokage-chan, are you ok? Also, thanks for bringing reinforcements!” I smiled. The boys teased her about her nickname.

“Kakashi-sensei?” I looked up at their teacher then behind us.
Sure enough, there was Hatake-sensei. His arms were crossed, I had a feeling that through his mask he was not smiling.

“I guess that’s my que to leave. Bye Hokage-chan and company!” I said as I jogged over to silverette. “Hi, sensei… Now in my defense, you said we were done and I was really hungry.” He cut me off “Senji-san, I’m not mad.” That’s a lie. “Anyway, the Hokage has called for you.” “What for?” “You’ll see.” He stated cryptically. We ran through the village, over the roofs of metal and tile until we reached the office of the Hokage. The office seemed much more spacious without the shinobi lining the walls. The desk had acquired more papers since my last visit. The left wall was lined with pictures of previous Hokage, the last two faces I recognized as Hatake-sensei and Uzumaki-sama, both of whom were in the room. However, there is someone whom I don’t recognize; my gaze slid from the wall to the dark-haired man emitting an aura of power standing next to the Seventh.

I stared at the desk and waited for one of them to initiate the conversation.

“How did you come to possess the Sharingan?”

“Huh?” I looked up at the dark stranger who posed the question. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The Uchiha’s kekkei genkai, the user’s eyes turn red and three black tomoe appear around the pupil.” Hatake-sensei explained.

Mom held me in her lap as she sat down and took my older brothers hands into hers. She said something which had caused her and my brothers to cry. I wondered what she said that made all of them so sad. Mom then brought all of us into a hug. Through my brother’ tears and dark lashes, I saw sliver of red. What a pretty color.

Could that have been the Sharingan? But I’m not an Uchiha. Perhaps only my brothers were? Mom has some explaining to do then… If only she were still here to ask.

“Also, you have the crest of the Senju on your back, how did you get that?” the silver-haired sensei asked. Great one more question that I don’t have the answer to. “Senju and Uchiha?” I posed this question to the man standing next to the Hokage. Something happened when our eyes met and I felt my consciousness escape me.

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke got on their guard as red chakra flowed from Tomoe’s limp body. The crimson substance took shape into a bird. Its wings enveloped all four occupants transporting them to another dimension. Kakashi recognized the terrain, the last battle between him and Obito took place in this plain of white.

Unsure if this being was friend or foe, Naruto summoned Kurama and Sasuke called upon Susano’o whose armor covered the Kyuubi.

I am not going to harm you.

The trio was not convinced. They started to launch attacks on the phoenix, Tailed Beast Bombs, Amaterasu, even the blades of Susano’o passed through the being. The phoenix blew fire at them and they braced for impact. It never came.

As you can see, we cannot harm each other.

While the three-man team did not let they guard down by any means, they did stop their attacks.

I am fire incarnate. You humans may also know me as the Phoenix. I have come to you for help through this girl.

“If you’re ‘fire incarnate’ why do you need our help?” Sasuke demanded.

The Elementals create the balance needed to sustain life. We cannot interfere with the lives of humans. However, there is a human who has the power to harness The Elementals, he has already captured the Dragon of Water. Such a being should never come to exist through natural means.

“Then how?” Naruto asked.

Many experiments and selective breeding have produced such a child. Its mere existence was not a threat to us, but when he used the Dragon’s power to kill, the balance was compromised. The other Elementals had to take action. We sought representatives strong enough to confront this human.

“So who are they? More importantly, where are they?” Kakashi was curious.

The reconvening of Hagoromo Otsutsuki’s bloodline, a relationship between a Senju and Uchiha created three children, of whom we imbued with our spirits. However, the representatives of the Tortoise of Earth and the Tiger of Air were taken before their training was complete. They are still alive, but even I do not know how long it will be before their power is also compromised.

“How did Tomoe escape?” The blonde Hokage inquired while looking at her unconscious body.

Her mother, Tatsuki Senju, sealed the part of my spirit that was within Tomoe to hide her from the trackers. I can break free of the seal, but I do not want our positions compromised. I ask of you, incarnate of Indra, incarnate of Ashura and Child of Lightning, two things, to train Tomoe, so she may help restore balance to your world and to rescue my fellow Elementals.

The spirit was about to disappear when Sasuke spoke “Wait, you haven’t showed us the rest of the family. How will know who to look for?” He wasn’t much concerned about Tomoe’s siblings, no, he wanted to know who her father was.

The fiery bird dissipated into five figures, two women and three men. Tatsuki Senju was powerfully built, her silver hair and clouded golden eyes stood in stark contrast to the tan of her skin. To the right of her were her twin sons. They stood a head taller than their mother and took after their father; ebony hair and eyes with pale skin. One took after his mother in build and also like his mother a clouded film covered his eyes, though within them held a wisdom beyond his years. The other brother was thin with lithe muscles that spoke of speed. The last two were the patriarch of the family, Itachi Uchiha and his daughter, Tomoe. His sons may have taken the color of his skin, eyes and hair, but Tomoe’s face was a carbon copy of her father’s replicated in silver, gold and tan.

Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke stood, now unarmed, dumbfounded.

Kakashi recognized the silver haired woman from his days in the ANBU. He had never seen her without her mask. He never would have guessed she was blind. Her prowess as a fighter and healer made her an indispensable asset to any mission, she was in line to become an ANBU captain, but the Third had told them she was KIA tracking down Itachi. Could she have also been a part of the infiltration of the Akatsuki?

Sasuke wondered if there was anything else Itachi hadn’t told him. He did not see his older brother settling down with anyone, let alone having three children. The raven haired man had many a sleepless night after Itachi told him his story; he often thought about why he couldn’t save him and what he could do to live in a way his older brother would approve of. Sasuke had done so by finally swearing to protect the village his aniki loved enough to be exiled and die for, but the younger Uchiha had never felt it was enough. He stared at the sleeping body across from him, was fate offering him a chance to finally save his brother in the form of his offspring?

Naruto asked Kurama if what the phoenix said was true. The fox responded “The Elementals were the ones who trained Hagoromo and Hamura before they fought their mother. They taught them how to use their connection to the earth to supplement their power, in short, the brothers became the first Sages under their tutelage. The Tailed Beasts were also created in the image these Divine Beasts; even the color of my coat was directly taken from his admiration of the Phoenix.”

The figures melted into the pale floor. Flames spread from where they once stood, surrounding all four shinobi. When the flames died, they were in the office. Questions and statements flew from the conscious occupants of the room.

I sat up too fast and black spots appeared in my vision. “Ugh.” My head hurts. I looked up at the men who were, arguing perhaps, across the room. The dark stranger in the cloak noticed me sit up and made a motion to the others. They stopped their debate.

I’m in trouble aren’t I?