AN: Note this. The first few chapters are pure Worldbuilding. No reason beyond me enjoying this.
Well, i do want to show Danzo's and Tobirama's fall. I'm of the opinion that the two are always done dirty. Literally have never seen a fic in which someone realistically tries to explain their circumstances and actions.
Shinobi World map. [1]
CHAPTER START
The meeting continued for a while. Young Danzo Shimura and his friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi silently remained at the door, following their duty as appointed guards for this meeting.
Neither their teacher, nor the advisors of the Hokage paid them much mind, discussing topics of resources, funding and war.
"We have yet to find the exact position of the other villages in their land. Our scouts searching the north of the Land of wind have disappeared, the desert is not a hospitable place for us to navigate safely. However if we assume their disappearance to be caused by Suna, we can assume their village's position to be around here, most likely further West from our scout's last position."
A click of the tongue escaped an elderly Senju as he stared at the map.
"Tch. Lord Second. I believe it to be better to cease all investigation and movement in the Land of Wind. Our situation is precarious and their country is a fortress. They will always have home-ground advantage in their Desert.
Instead, we could create an outpost here. A line of observation in which we may see downwards to the Valleys of Rivers. The land has yet to be consolidated, but if we move too deep into it and Suna gets wind of this, they will undoubtedly lay claim to the land and move against us."
A Kunoichi spoke up, her expression twisted into a frown.
"I disagree. While it is true that the Valleys of Rivers is highly coveted by Suna, it could prove to be a valuable defense Line for us. The Valleys offer environment which our Shinobi know well and is well suited for guerrilla warfare. If ever invaded, the Land offers enough natural Hideouts for us to strike their advance."
The elder stared at the map, before turning to the Hokage with a shrug. Tobirama then spoke up.
"We will set up different outposts for Observation. There will be no engagement, nor defense. Only reports. If we leave the population of these Valleys to their own discretion, they may form a natural buffer zone between us and the Wind. We need only make sure that Suna does not consolidate any authority there.
However, we will also need to set up a defensive line against the Land of earth. Iwagakure has been moving aggressively, we shall pull back from the Plains and the Rain, setting up a defensive zone there."
The same Senju elder simply stroked his chin before pointing back towards the map, towards where the Land of Iron was found on the map.
"The Land of Iron is an undisputed Neutral Zone, severing connection between Iwa and Kumo. If we assume this northern defensive line, we could very well interrupt it at their territory. They will act as a natural buffer.
This grants us possibility to push into the Rice-plains, push into the land of Hot-springs and hopefully conquer the Frost. If we hold the Frost, our forces against the Land of Lightning will be stretched less thin and by establishing some supply lines, we will be capable of holding down the fort."
Tobirama frowned openly.
"Kumo will not take well to that. The hotblooded cloud will no doubt see that as a Provocation."
Still, the Hokage's fingers rhythmically tapped against the table, showing the idea had yet to be fully dismissed.
"We shall this discuss this once the next report from our Scouts comes in."
*Knock, Knock, Knock.
Danzo immediately reacted, moving towards the door and throwing the Hokage a questioning look. He received a short nod as an answer, then opened it.
Immediately recognizing the entering figure, he respectfully stood aside, suppressing the small smile blooming on his face.
The man in question, was Kagami Uchiha. He may currently have been wearing the sleeveless ANBU uniform and the mask, but Danzo recognized his friend from posture alone.
Kagami walked in, giving the Hokage a respectful bow which Tobirama acknowledged with a nod before curtly speaking up.
"Report."
"Sir, this is the information you requested."
The ANBU handed over a small scroll which the Hokage promptly opened and read, his expression one of stone. Then, he simply nodded and made sign for him to leave.
Danzo's attention momentarily shifted to the mask and the Symbol of the ANBU as Kagami left.
They were a rather new unit, created by his Mentor for multiple purposes. It was in fact the reason that Konoha gathered so much intelligence on different fronts.
The Shinobi of the 5 villages were essentially Mercenaries, oftentimes affiliated to clans, which meant that the Hokage had no way to enforce their authority. It was also the reason as to why the Shinobi-Clans in Konoha allowed themselves so much leeway. Even if they refused the Hokage, only political consequences could follow.
And in conflict, this was problematic. If a war broke out and some clans refused to send their Shinobi or made up excuses, the ensuing consequences could destabilize, maybe even destroy the village.
The ANBU however, were Lord Tobirama's Solution.
An organization which was yet unknown by the World, comprised of multiple Departments for different tasks.
And most importantly, purely loyal to the Hokage.
He was essentially consolidating Power. That made him less dependent on the Shinobi clans, allowing him to give them less benefits, which would in turn force the clans to volunteer to fight for Konoha, in order to gain Glory and Respect and keep their Position in the Village.
So far, the existence of the ANBU was only known to the Hokage's closest. That meant the Advisors of the Senju Clan, Lord Second himself and his Students in addition to the members of the Organization the High court of the Daimyo.
The corner of his mouth twitched a little as he remembered his teachers plan.
'"Let the Shinobi Clans act out a bit, let them throw around their demands and requests. Let them be aware of what they are doing and let the ANBU step in when the time comes. The Clans will immediately understand."'
Those were his teacher's exact words and Danzo, despite being one such Clan Shinobi, found himself looking forward to when that day would come.
-
(Hours later)
The meeting had come to an end and both Danzo and Hiruzen found themselves dismissed from their teacher. As such, the two friends strolled through the village, pride evident on their expressions when observing their growing Village.
The two were currently on the search for a good place to eat, hungry after listening to the Plans and Discussions of their Elders. Their teacher always insisted on their Presence, considering these Events as learning experiences. But while Danzo tried to listen and understand, he often lacked the information to properly follow the Discussions and tended to get confused because of that.
Hiruzen was better in that regard. He seemed to have some innate gift when it came to guessing or inferring information from limited Intelligence reports. Danzo couldn't understand it. He needed a proper source of Intelligence. Because of that, he had already requested his teacher if possible to join an intelligence Division of the ANBU in the future.
"Hmm.... Ahah! Danzo! Look, this place here looks good!"
Danzo soon found himself drawn out of his musings. Hiruzen had grabbed his sleeve and stared towards a small stall with a watering mouth and shining eyes.
"Let go of me, Monkey."
Despite his abrasive comment, he followed Hiruzen and sat down by a small table. The service went fast, their order being taken minutes later and the food soon following whilst the two talked mundane topics.
"Hm-" Midst of taking a bite, Hiruzen suddenly asked a question. "By the way. Did you think about Teacher's riddle? The one about the Civilians?"
Danzo just nodded, deadpanning. "I'd hardly call that a Riddle. He just wanted to know our opinions."
Hiruzen shook his head, took another bite before talking.
"Mm. Hm. He asked if Civilians counted part of the Will of Fire. And if so, whether they should be held to the same Standard as us Shinobi."
"Did you get an answer?" Danzo's question was pure curiosity. He himself already had an answer.
"I mean, at first i said "Yes, absolutely." But then, i figured that us Shinobi protect the Civilians and that Civilians dying for us or the Village is wrong."
His friend paused, his eyes narrowing onto his food.
"So i'm a bit lost on that..."
"The answer is yes, Hiruzen. And our teacher already knows that. As i said, this was not a riddle."
Danzo's answer seemed to surprise Hiruzen.
"Oh, but then why did he even ask... Oh don't tell me...!"
For the first time in the Conversation, Hiruzen's expression turned serious. Shock and uncertainty filled his eyes as he stared at the stoic Danzo.
"We're on the way to War, Hiruzen. Everyone who can fight, will join the battle."
"But... they're not Shinobi! They cannot fight!"
Danzo just shrugged. Inwardly, he was a little curious about Hiruzen's mindset. He knew that while it was true that Shinobi generally looked down upon Civilians, they usually still held a strong sense of responsibility towards the Civilians in their care.
And while Hiruzen and Danzo were both Clan Shinobi's, the Shimura Clan had always be a lot smaller and less influential. Their Shinobi specialised in Wind Release, but if there was one thing they did better than that, it was remaining unnoticed.
During the Warring states, the Clan's survival technique had been to maintain a symbiotic relationships with villages or cities and staying invisible to other clans.
Only when the Senju and Uchiha allied, did the Shimura Clan join, consecrating their meager forces to the cause of peace.
What did that mean? It meant that the belief that Honor and Code was useless when it came to Survival was common in their Clan, even if their members held a certain pride towards being one of the first Clans allying with the Senju.
Meanwhile, the Sarutobi Clan had been a lot more impressive. A clan which had always been rather strong, they openly maintained relationships with other clans and protected cities.
Theirs was a belief of flexibility, duty and Protection. Essentially, they could have been considered the opposite of the Shimura Clan.
Thus, their mindsets differed.
Danzo spoke up again. "It does not matter. If you have Chakra, you have potential. Teacher is most likely going to open the Academy to Civilians. Most Clan Shinobi used to train in their own compounds, but teacher has been pushing for mandatory attendance for Shinobi at the Academy. If he manages to get Clan Shinobi to mingle with Civilians, even the Civilians will learn something."
Hiruzen's expression hardened a bit. "So its about Manpower?"
"And Power consolidation. You know... the new Organization... is better if those joining are unaffiliated to any Clans."
A tense Silence permeated between the two, before Hiruzen's head suddenly dropped onto the table with a Sigh.
"Haaaah, why does everything always come down to Power..."
-
-
(Pov: Tobirama Senju)(Evening)
It was already dark outside, yet Tobirama remained in his Office, staring at a small map. Pieces bearing Clan symbols were spread out on the map, marking each clan's or departments different compound.
But why was he present so late? It was not because of Paperwork, not even in order to prepare Strategies, but simply due to the report he had received today.
'Finally some good news.'
The letter bore no seal from any of the Clans, thus Tobirama knew immediately who it came from.
'The Hyuga Clan.'
This, was due to a certain agreement he had been pushing for.
His gaze turned back to the map of Konoha. [2]
There, his eyes stopped on the Uchiha compound, to the far south of Konoha. A light smirk graced his features.
He reached towards the figurine bearing the Hyuga clan's symbol, then placed it to the south-west of Konoha, to the left of the Uchiha Clan.
There, would soon stand a new compound close yet separated to the Uchiha.
A playground already sat between the Uzumaki and Uchiha compounds, making the area in front of the future Hyuga compound a hotspot for children and parents.
In addition to this, war was breaking out. Placing the Hyuga so far to the edge of Konoha was practical when thinking of Konoha's defense. Especially given that the north-east was already protected by the Inuzuka's hounds.
In short, every possible excuse for the relocation of the Hyuga Clan had been set. That was if the arrogant Uchiha would even notice the quiet Hyuga presence.
And it also meant, that Tobirama Senju finally had eyes onto the village's most dangerous internal threat.
-
CHAPTER END
I reiterate. The first chapters are mostly circumstances and explanations. I want to show Tobirama's and Danzo's, even Hiruzen's degrading mindset.
[1] I will post the Shinobi map. Note that the territory isn't fully clear yet. Some places are not consolidated, mainly the green states, so some are not refferred to as "Land" in my fic.
[2] In comment. If i manage.