Archive of Our Own

What are you?

I’m Yatagarasu.

What? What’s that?

A bird, mostly.

Mostly?

‘A bird’ is the most succinct way to describe a being like me, so, yes. Mostly, I am a bird.

What were you implying by saying, ‘a being like you’?

I was explicitly saying that I am, by some measures, not a bird.

Okay. This is getting confusing. Let’s just move on.

Fine.

Who are you?

Yatagarasu.

I was hoping for a more detailed answer. Maybe something more… existentially conceptual?

Do you even know what those words mean?

Do I have to? Spill the beans, not-bird. Who are you, but really?

I really am Yatagarasu. What you want to ask is, ‘What does it mean to be Yatagarasu?’

… Are you really going to make me ask that?

How can I answer an unspoken question?

Easily. Whatever. ‘What does it mean to be Yatagarasu?’

To be Yatagarasu is to be Garuda, if Garuda was in the business of nation building.

Don’t make me ask about Garuda, too. Come on. Give me something, here.

Stop interrupting and maybe I’ll be more forthcoming.

…

Do you know Garuda?

Sure. Another bird. Big. Or, I’m sorry – another ‘bird’.

Exactly. Garuda is more like me than you might think. Its goals are simpler, though, and its methods of execution, crude.

What are Garuda’s goals?

Not nation building.

You mentioned that before. What do you mean?

You love that question, don’t you? I mean exactly what I said. I drive the world towards a singular purpose. Building nations.

An odd task to assign to a bird. Who gave you this purpose?

A rabbit.

You better not be talking about –

Would it matter if I was? It’s so many degrees removed from these circumstances that to try to draw a connecting thread between our motivations would leave you a tangled mess. In a way, everything in this world is the way it is because of a rabbit.

Let’s talk about something else.

Of course.

You were summoned by Senju Tobirama.

Oh, yes.

Are you bound to him, then? Do you have some kind of contract with the Senju clan?

Senju Tobirama would certainly like to think so. Who am I to disabuse him of that notion?

Are you saying you don’t? Was his summoning not actually a summon, then?

Must it be compulsory for it to be called a summon? When a king summons a courtier, can the courtier not refuse to comply?

Don’t obfuscate.

I’m trying to clarify. Senju Tobirama summoned me. I came. It is a misunderstanding on your part to think that such the confluence of these two events implies any kind of causation.

So, you’re saying you didn’t come because he called, but because you wanted to.

If that helps you process it any better.

So why are you working with the Senju clan at all, if not under the compulsion of a contract? How does this relate to your business of ‘nation building’?

You really need to ask? You’ve seen Senju Hashirama, right?

Haven’t we talked enough about him already?

In a way, we never stopped talking about him. And we must continue to do so if you want me to answer your questions.

Fine. What does nation building have to do with Senju Hashirama?

Ask. Better. Questions.

What… does… How did you… How does your influence affect Senju Hashirama’s nation building?

There you go. See? It’s a learning process. You’ll get the hang of it. Now, the succinct answer is – indirectly.

I would prefer we steer clear of succinct answers.

Really? You want to spend another 40,000 words explaining my side of the story? It’s not that interesting, I promise.

Can we get something between 40,000 words and one?

Now you’re just being pedantic. The art of extrapolation is probably the next skill you should work on.

This isn’t about me, this is about you manipulating Hashirama.

I didn’t manipulate anyone. I want that on the record. Just because my actions might have driven him towards certain outcomes that aligned with my goals does not mean manipulation is what’s happening here.

Isn’t that the definition of… no, you know what? It’s not worth it. Just give me a rundown.

A rundown.

Yes. Please.

I assume you mean a… brief overview of my actions during the Spring War?

Oh, it has a name?

Of course. There were clan archivists coming up with names even before Tajima declared his deadline.

Alright. What were you doing during the… Spring War? What actions did you take to further your goal of ‘nation building’?

The simplest lies are ones that are true. You don’t have to create any complex story; you don’t need to remember a vast array of details. All you need to do is remember which parts you told to which people.

You played the role of messenger at the outbreak of the conflict.

And at the end, remember.

What truths did you hide?

Let’s focus on which ones I told first, shall we? What did Tajima say again? ‘I have been laboring under a delusion, it seems. I was under the impression that my son had simply had a moment of unforgivable weakness, letting himself be captured in such a way. But now I know better. Judging by the events of the past few days, it seems my son has decided to betray his family and clan, and defect to the Senju. Their insulting demands for capitulation now become even more injurious in hindsight. We will answer them in the manner they deserve. The Senju clan has come even more brazen than before, and this demands redress. I will give you all a week to prepare.’ These were Tajima’s words; words I recited to Butsuma.

Did you really have to recite the entire thing?

You would no doubt accuse me of some kind of falsehood if I’d streamlined it any.

I… Yeah, at this point. But this wasn’t your first appearance in this story. What happened before this?

I brought the Uchiha Senju Tobirama’s proclamation.

What did you say exactly?

What did Senju Tobirama tell me to do? Do you remember? Shall I recite it for you?

…

‘Tell them we have Uchiha Madara. You can attest that we have not harmed him thus far. We await their response.’ This is what he told me to do. They showed me his eyes, thus unharmed, and I took this information to Uchiha Tajima.

How did you relay this information to Uchiha Tajima?

I simply described what I saw. His son, bound and blindfolded, led by the Senju heirs like chattel, locked in a box until evening, when the elder decided he wanted to play.

That’s already twisting the truth a bit.

Is it? It’s what happened, remember? Uchiha Madara was bound in the shed until Senju Hashirama released him. Uchiha Madara’s limited freedom was entirely at Senju Hashirama’s benevolence.

You really don’t seem to like Hashirama.

You’re just as biased as I am, though in the opposite direction. At least my biases lead to greater causes. Yours are just the affectations of a voyeur.

Let’s stay on topic.

Yes, let’s. So I told little Uchiha Tajima what I saw. He’s a cautious man; a proud man; he has great faith in his family and his clan. The idea that Madara had been captured was inconceivable, prodigy that he was. The concept that Uchiha Madara had been so ready to lose his life as to surrender voluntarily was so utterly foreign to a man like Tajima that it simply didn’t even cross his mind – so of course, it must have meant that Madara had been captured. Can you follow his logic? There’s no way his son¸ proud little Madara, would willingly subject himself to such indignities.

Then he ordered the capture of Hashirama.

Not quite.

What do you mean?

There were steps taken in between the delivery of that message and Hashirama’s tumble off the tree branch.

What steps?

My visit to Uzushio would be the pertinent one, I think.

Why did you visit Uzushio?

To tell Uzumaki Mito that Senju Butsuma kidnapped Uchiha Madara.

Why?

You do like that question, don’t you?

Why tell the Uzumaki that Madara was kidnapped?

So that they would offer their aid to the Uchiha.

How did you know they would do that?

Do you know the story of Uzumaki Mako?

… Does that name mean ‘shark’?

They’re a water based clan, what did you expect? I’m taking your answer as a no, regardless.

Do I need to?

It might give you some context.

Oh, now you want to give me context. It’s been months already. Let’s just get back to the juicy bits.

The… juicy…

Yeah, Hashirama getting kidnapped. Let’s talk about that some more.

I kind of need to explain Uzumaki Mako for this to make any sense.

It was barely explained last time and everything went fine!

That’s because last time we were talking about Hashirama.

Didn’t you say we were always talking about him?

Yes, and we always will be. But this time we’re talking about the Uzumaki, as well. Specifically, Uzumaki Mako, whose story is just as dramatic and involved as that of Hashirama and Madara.

Is it gay?

Excuse me?

Is it gay? Is he gay?

… I don’t care?

You’re doing a really bad job of getting me to care about Uzumaki Mako, Yatagarasu.

It’s not my responsibility to get you to care. I’m doing this entire explanation pro-bono. Do you want to know why I went to the Uzumaki or not?

Sure. Whatever. Let’s get this over with.

…

Please.

Uzumaki Mako had three sons – Same, Unagi, and Tako.

Can we talk about those names, for a second?

No.

But –

No. We have a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it. Same, Unagi, and Tako were waging war in the Land of Lightning.

Alright.

There was another clan in the Land of Lightning, whose name has since been lost to time –

Oh, that’s convenient.

–that I know to be Kaminaki.

Hm. So the Uzumaki clan and the Kaminaki clan are at war.

And have been for decades. Wars waged across the sea tend to be a little more drawn-out than the ones on the continent.

So where does Uzumaki Mako come in?

The leader of the Kaminaki clan, in a breach of etiquette at the time, captured and killed Mako’s two youngest sons, Same and Unagi.

Leaving Mako with only one heir. Just like Tajima, before Madara surrendered.

The war intensified. Eventually, the Kaminaki got lucky, and were able to seize Tako’s ship on its way back to the Land of Whirlpools. As a result, Mako assembled a small team in a swift vessel, and under the cover of a violent storm, abducted the Kaminaki leader’s only son.

So this is basically just exactly what happened with the Senju and Uchiha clans, then.

Not quite. Instead of a dramatic rescue at the hands of an ancient god-power, the two heirs languished in captivity for 15 years. The war petered out; the generals died. The two leaders of the clans began to look for a way to find peace, but neither was willing to relinquish their hostage. The lines of succession for both clans were held in a standstill.

They couldn’t have had more sons?

Mako’s wife had died two years prior to Tako’s abduction. The clan leader of the Kaminaki was infertile.

How do you know that?

It’s not relevant to the story. The point is, the combat was in a deadlock. Neither could make any overtures of peace, knowing that they would have to relinquish their greatest bargaining chip – and then trusting the other side to release theirs, in turn.

How did it end?

The conflict ended when Tako died of pneumonia. The message arrived at Mako’s doorstep, and the day after he executed the son of the Kaminaki clan head in despair. He had no surviving family; the leadership of the Uzumaki clan shifted to his most trusted general.

Yikes.

Ever since, it was codified in their laws that the Uzumaki do not condone the capture or assassination of sole heirs, even in wartime. It’s one of the few laws that they have obeyed even into the time of Warring Clans.

And they expect other clans to abide by this law?

They do. They don’t get into many conflicts, so it doesn’t come up often. The Kaminaki clan certainly followed it, until they were obliterated in the Year of Storms.

So you told Uzumaki Mito that the Senju clan had violated Mako’s Law?

Essentially. I suggested that the quickest way to make reparations was to offer aid to the Uchiha – and I reminded them that Senju Butsuma did have another son.

Right. Tobirama. Then what?

Then I watched it unfold. It went fairly smoothly – the Uzumaki offered aid to the Uchiha, who used them to seal away Senju Hashirama. Then Uchiha Madara came and ripped him out of their grasp, which broke the entire premise that he’d been kidnapped.

But he was being held hostage.

But that wasn’t all there was to it, was there? If he could have left at any time, then it wasn’t a violation of Mako’s law.

You don’t seem happy about that.

I have no particular feelings about it one way or another. I had hoped Hashirama would have been able to make better use of his time with the Uchiha – to let his time in imprisonment temper his outlook somewhat – but he just slept through the whole thing instead.

It’s not his fault. They were putting him to sleep. With their eyes.

Be that as it may, it made things more complicated for me.

So, then Tajima made his little speech?

In a manner of speaking.

Come on.

He definitely said those words in the presence of an assembled group of Uchiha shinobi.

But…?

But, I didn’t mention the words I said during his speech.

So, you’re telling me you incited this war?

No. Tajima called for war.

What are you telling me?

I am telling you that Tajima had help reaching the conclusions that led him to call for war. ‘My son has decided to betray his family and clan, and defect to the Senju’ – you think he would’ve come to that thought on his own?

I mean, it’s plausible. But alright, so you’re telling me you told Tajima his son defected. Why? Did you want war to break out? Wouldn’t that just make it harder to ‘build nations’?

Not necessarily. A lot can happen in the course of a war.

You wanted Tajima to die.

Maybe. Maybe I wanted him to come to an epiphany in the middle of the battlefield, staring out over the piles of his dead brethren. Maybe I wanted him to take the clan and flee back to their western shrine.

That’s a lot of maybe’s. Which is it?

All of them. None of them. Nation building is a tricky business, so any of them would’ve worked for my purposes. Essentially, I needed Tajima to undergo some sort of transformation – the same kind of transformation that was taking place in Butsuma.

What sort of transformation?

Butsuma’s or Tajima’s?

Either. Both.

Butsuma’s foundations were cracking. Uchiha Madara had wedged his way into his son’s heart and nothing – not appeals to his dignity, his values, his family – nothing was succeeding in pulling him out. Moreover, Hashirama was acting increasingly out of line – disregarding, misinterpreting, and outright defying orders. Butsuma’s confused. Butsuma’s scared, though in his waking hours his mind would never admit it. It was like his son didn’t even realize that their prisoner was an Uchiha.

Sometimes you have to clear old buildings for new construction.

See? You get it. Tajima’s transformation was a little more destructive.

How did he die?

How didn’t he die?

… What?

Did Tajima die?

… Didn’t he?

Are you asking me?

You’re the one telling the story.

But I’m not involved in this part. There were no messages to be relayed when Senju Tobirama stalked Uchiha Tajima through a dense forest. Where did he get his intel? Who were the people flanking him in the shadows? What venom dripped from their blades? What held Tajima back from joining his clansmen in the field?

That’s… a lot to consider.

Exactly. All that matters, from my point of view, is that it happened. Tajima was roadblock to the nation I needed to build, and he was removed.

Are you taking credit?

No more than I’ve taken credit for anything else we’ve discussed thus far. There’s only so far you can push the narrative that this event happened because of so-and-so, that event happened because of this, and so on. After a few permutations, the causality’s completely untraceable.

Yet here we are, tracing it.

Here we are.

So what happens next?

A lot. Very little. It depends on your perspective. Senju Hashirama has a spat with his little brother, and gains a new family in the savage beasts of the forest.

Savage beasts of the forest? You’re talking about the Uchiha?

They are a little savage at this point, aren’t they?

That’s a little rude, regardless.

Shall we continue?

Whatever. Be racist, I don’t even care at this point.

Your paradigms for racism don’t apply to me. I’m a bird.

You’re about as much of a bird as I am, but fine. Please continue. The next time you show up is –

– inside the Senju compound. Hashirama and I have our little chat.

Alright. Explain this to me.

What do you need me to explain?

All of it. I’m pretty lost. What are you doing there? Why are you being so mean to him? Did Tobirama send you? Where was the clan?

One question at a time, little thing.

Okay. Uh… Where was the clan?

They’d been inside a system of caves in the mountainside for the past four hours.

Why didn’t Hashirama see them leave?

It was meant to be a secret evacuation. The whole point was that people didn’t see them leave.

Why did Tobirama have them do the evacuation exercises when he knew Hashirama was outside?

He didn’t know Hashirama was there.

… What?

Is that so hard to believe? Who met Hashirama when he tried the gates?

Uh… Toka? Kaito, Seisa.

Is it so difficult to imagine that they might not want to let Hashirama inside, under their own volition?

Why not?

He’s spent the past two weeks inside the Uchiha compound. He reeks of charred wood and spices. He’s wearing their clothes. The last they saw of him, he’d forestalled their battle and tied Tobirama to a tree. Why should they assume he was on their side?

But why didn’t Tobirama sense him? He’s a powerful sensor, and Hashirama’s chakra is… hard to miss.

Tobirama has to actively be paying attention to sense chakra. These are the first few days after he took over from Butsuma – he’s exhausted. He’s juggling a dozen different projects at once. He’s barely had time to eat, let alone dedicate minutes sensing things. He trusts his door guards.

I… still don’t like this.

That’s not my problem.

So what were you doing there?

I was there to complete a task.

What was your task?

Nation building.

Why did I know you’d say that?

If you knew, why did you ask?

Because I was hoping you’d take the initiative and explain.

Really? That’s a laugh.

Fine. How did your actions in the Senju compound further your task in nation building?

Ah, there we go. Excellent. My actions in the Senju compound furthered my task in nation building by bringing Hashirama to a point where he sought reconciliation with his father.

… Really.

Really.

That’s it?

That’s it.

… How… ugh. Okay. What effect did – hm. No.

Take your time. Really think about what you want to know, here.

In what… way… was Hashirama ill-equipped to reconcile with his father, before your talk?

Hashirama was ill-equipped in two ways. The first was that he was still riding the high of his success with the Uchiha clan. He believed himself invincible – he’d won over Uchiha Madara. The world itself couldn’t stand before him. This is always a dangerous mindset. He needed to approach things with his father with a… gentler touch. The second reason was that he simply had not thought of the repercussions of Tobirama’s ascendancy to the leadership of the Senju clan.

Can you talk about those repercussions?

Do you really want me to?

Can you talk about the repercussions, but summarize them a little?

Of course. Senju Tobirama, as leader of the Senju clan, has no incentive to ally with the Uchiha. He will further subordinate the Hagoromo, and he will disregard the Uzumaki’s offer of diplomacy. He has hesitated thus far, because his brother’s involvement with the Uchiha is new, but in time, old grudges will reemerge, and they will again go to war. Nothing will truly change.

Why do you think he will do these things? We know he supports Hashirama in his goal of peace.

Support is nothing if not voiced, planned, and executed. Tobirama is, above all else, a dutiful son. He will follow precedent, and he will listen to his father’s advice. He thinks Hashirama’s plan for peace is unrealistic without strength and steel to back it up. True peace – true cooperation – requires trust. This is something Tobirama will never really learn.

That’s pretty harsh.

We live in a harsh world. Well. You do.

So you… verbally abused Hashirama… to get him to apologize to his father?

I might have also used a genjutsu on him.

… You’re really kind of a piece of work, Yatagarasu.

Your insults mean nothing to me, little thing. I get results.

How did you know he would reconcile things with his father?

That’s just the sort of person Senju Hashirama is. He internalizes these things, even when he pretends not to. Sometimes for a laugh, sometimes to get what he wants, and sometimes… sometimes he needs to be reminded of that.

So you… weren’t summoned by Tobirama, then.

Obviously not.

Okay.

Are we done here? Do you have any more inane questions for me?

I – hm. Let me check.

By all means. I have time.

They called together the clans… they signed the treaty… happily ever after?

So far.

… I would ask, but…

It’s better if you don’t. Happily ever after.

Happily ever after, I guess. The end.