5 Chapter 5

Chapter 5

TSUNADE SENJU

Disappointment wasn't a foreign concept to Tsunade. Neither was disgust, yet when she sat on the chair opposite her sensei, she felt disgusted with herself for returning to this cesspool of hurt, treachery, and pain.

Her sensei seemed a bit heavy to see her, a sentiment she did not share at all, given the recent reports she had gotten about the village. Reports that made her remember the deaths of Nawaki, Dan, and the rest of her family.

"I had never thought you could condone such behavior," she began, finally breaking the silence of the Hokage office. The smile on her sensei's face stiffened as she continued.

"I just think what Grandfather would have done in your question?" she finished as she glanced at the portrait of the Shodaime Hokage on the side wall. She felt her sensei stiffen at her words, for they knew exactly how he would have reacted.

The Third Hokage sighed at her words, and she knew that had this been anyone else, such words would have gotten them killed. But there were perks to being Tsunade Senju.

Her sensei put down his smoking pipe and began slowly.

"You blame for things you don't understand, Tsunade. I did nothing….," and she scoffed as she cut him off.

"And isn't that the issue? You did nothing! You think grandfather would have done nothing! You think Granduncle would have done nothing! You just let the whole village turn Hatake into a villain and pushed him so much that the man killed himself," she finished in a single breath, and it seemed her sensei was surprised by the vehemence in her tone. But her sensei did not relent as he narrowed his eyes, his back straightening as he spoke up in a much stronger voice.

"The man failed a critical mission, as he prioritized his teammate's lives, jeopardizing the whole village's safety. I was merciful that I did not have him executed as soon as he stepped back into the village," and before she could retort, he continued.

"And don't talk to me of duty and legacy. You and I both know what would be the fate of anyone who would abandon the village like you!" she saw a glimmer of the professor as his chakra began to radiate off of him in waves. Yet she wasn't the young student as she had been years ago and did not cower off as she let go of her own chakra.

Their chakras clashed, and she sensed the ANBU getting agitated by this, yet they correctly chose to stay out of it.

"You speak of duty! Then what about my clan, my family? Can you tell me how the hell does a whole line from one of the major clans gets picked off one by one? Answer me!" she shouted through gritted teeth. Yet there was no answer.

Just as there had been no answer all those years ago. She scoffed,

"Tell me, did you even carry out an investigation? Did you even try to look for any…," but she stopped as she heard a knock on the door. Her sensei frowned a bit though immediately reeled in his presence when the door was opened suddenly to reveal the bandaged form of his old friend.

She groaned internally as she reeled back her chakra as Danzo Shimura walked into the Hokage office. The frown was wiped away from her sensei's face as he looked at the interrupting party.

"Why are you here, Danzo? Is there an emergency?" her sensei questioned the bandaged man who was now standing to her side and seemed to be staring at her with his sole eye.

"Ahh! Princess Tsunade, you arrived earlier than I expected. It is good to see you in the village once more. One would have thought that you would have returned when the war had started," the man criticized her though Tsunade did not deign the man with a reply.

"Danzo," her sensei interjected once more, probably knowing that her temper was running short, "why did you interrupt us?" questioned her sensei once more, a bit more forcefully. Shimura turned away from her, took out a scroll, and passed it to her sensei.

"There are reports of movements in Iwa. I believe they could be planning an attack. We need to fortify our border on that side," spoke the bandaged man, and suddenly she felt his eyes land on her once more as her sensei skimmed through the scroll.

And Tsunade knew she wasn't liking where this was going.

"Perhaps you could serve as the commander on that front. Having a Senju as a commander would go a long way to boost the mora….."

"NO!" her sensei cut him off before she could retort.

"Shikaku will be fine as the commander on that side. Tsunade will be serving in the hospital to retrain our medical corps," her sensei ordered, and she had truly had enough. So, with a small nod, she got up and began to walk out of the room.

"It seems even after all this time, you haven't changed Princess. You refuse to carry on the legacy of your forefathers as you refuse to lead from the front," muttered Danzo derisively, making her stop as she opened the door.

"You are a disgrace to your famil…."

CRACK! BOOOM!

There was the sound of an explosion as the piece of the door she had thrown was blocked by her sensei's earth wall. She glared at the bandaged man as he stood there behind her sensei, who seemed livid. A part of her wanted to squash Shimura like the bug he was, yet the look on her sensei's face stopped her.

"Don't you ever run your mouth about my family again, Shimura!" she warned as she let go of her chakra, making the very ground she stood on crack up. And with that, she finally walked off.

Perhaps she would go and finally see that cousin of Shizune's she had been hearing so much about.

0000

KATO SHIZUNE

Kato Shizune had learned of her cousin Ohashi about five years ago. She wasn't in the village and was traveling with Tsunade-sama when she received a letter about one of her cousins having a child. Along with the official letter had arrived another letter from her unknown cousin as well, hoping to obtain a writing partner.

She had consulted Lady Tsunade and, with her blessing, had decided to take up a correspondence with her distant family member. They had kept up their correspondence over the years, with him asking her for advice and her asking him about the village. This was her first time seeing him, and she felt a bit saddened by their lack of resemblance.

Ohashi's features resembled his father more than the Kato side of the family, especially with his silvery ashen hair. However, she did notice they lacked the special Hatake prickliness and were rather tame. She smiled as she finished the family examination, and it wasn't a surprise that they would run into each other in the hospital minutes after her arrival in the village.

"So, your injuries are healing nicely though I would advise you not to exert yourself for a couple of days to avoid any needless complications. Otherwise, you are clear to carry on with your regular activities," she concluded as she gave him the slip and took the seat opposite to him.

"Thank you," he replied, taking the discharge slip and looking up at her continued.

"So, what brings you to the village? Weren't you enjoying the delicacies in the capital the last time you wrote to me?" and she nodded, for indeed, their return had not been planned and had been rather a spontaneous decision from Lady Tsunade.

"Yeah, but Tsunade-sama seemed a bit concerned over the worsening of the war and decided to return. And I am sorry about what happened to Sakumo-san," she began slowly, and Ohashi nodded as he replied with a small smile.

"Thank you," came the reply as Ohashi stood up.

"So, how about you join me for lunch? We could catch up and have a nice chat," proposed her cousin, and she nodded. It would be good to have a nice and candid talk with him face-to-face.

"Sure, why not," she said as she joined him as they both stepped out of the room. At the outpatient desk, she told the med-nin to inform Tsunade-sama of her leaving. Though suddenly, she heard someone call out Ohashi's name.

"Ohashi, is that you?" came the whisper, and she looked to find Ohashi looking at a kunoichi. An Uchiha kunoichi with a child by her side. Ohashi seemed a bit surprised to see her, and the smile on his face made it evident who the lady was.

"Mikoto-sensei, what brought you to the hospital?" questioned Ohashi, a bit abashed, as the Uchiha patriarch scrutinized him like a mother, examining him for any injuries.

"Nothing, it was just the time for little Itachi's regular check-up. On the other hand, why didn't you visit me? I had thought you still had returned from that mission of yours!" commented the Uchiha matriarch as Shizune finally stepped forward. She noticed the eyes focus on her and saw the realization dawn on her as she gave her a smile.

"Oho! Is she your gir…" but Ohashi cut her off.

"Cousin. She is Kato Shizune, my cousin from my mother's side," Ohashi intervened, and the Uchiha matriarch smiled as Shizune greeted her. They exchanged pleasantries, and she found the lady to be as perceptive and intelligent as Ohashi's assessment. Though suddenly, Ohashi intervened from the side

"You said you were here for a checkup for little Itachi. Perhaps Shizune can look him over. She has been trained by Lady Tsunade herself," but the Uchiha matriarch waved away his request.

"Ohh, it's fine. You both should go. The regular healer will do just fin…," but Shizune decided to speak up.

"No. No. It's no hassle," she said as she kneeled down to the young Uchiha's level and put forward his eye.

"Hi, I am Shizune. How about you join me in the room," she asked with an encouraging smile on her face. The almost two-year-old child seemed a bit hesitant but shook her hand after a while.

The Uchiha matriarch thanked her for her help as they all began to move toward her room. Though, Ohashi suddenly stepped forward and came to her side as he whispered to her in a barely audible tone.

"Please examine his lungs thoroughly?"

And Shizune nodded, remembering his interest in inherited respiratory system diseases. Then her eyes focused again on the quiet two-year-old walking by her side.

Well, there was nothing wrong with being extra cautious.

0000

OHASHI HATAKE

Ohashi sat on the benches outside the examination room as he thanked for the circumstances of having brought Mikoto-san to the hospital at such an opportune time. It was as if the stars had aligned in his favor for once. Now, hopefully, Shizune-san would be able to find Itachi's illness, and that would prevent the kid from dying early.

He sighed as he waited for the other kid that Mikoto-san had brought with herself to show up, his mind going to the times he had first met her. Ohashi had been surprised when he was assigned to a team under the Uchiha matriarch. Their team had lost one of their teammates, and he would be the replacement.

Getting a good jounin sensei was a rarity. It would literally be the thing that could make or break your career. And he had been lucky that he had been assigned to Mikoto-sensei. With their modus operandi aligning, she had helped him reach his full potential. Hence, this was his way of repaying her, hoping that Itachi's illness could be discovered and treated earlier.

Suddenly he spotted the other little chipmunk that had come with her, as a kid with curly black hair looked around with wide eyes, probably searching for Mikoto-san.

"Hey, little shrimpy, here," Ohashi spoke from his place, and Shisui's eyes immediately snapped towards him, and he rushed towards her. Stomping his foot as he came to a stop right in front.

"I am not a shrimp. My name is Shisui, and look, I have even gotten taller since we last met," rattled out the young Uchiha as Ohashi smiled, seeing the little kid getting irritated by his words. Though suddenly, Ohashi ruffled the young kid's hair as he motioned for the kid to sit beside him.

"Mikoto-sensei is inside with Itachi for his check-up. I was sitting here waiting for you to come back," and the kid nodded as he glanced at the door. Ohashi decided to continue the conversation to pass the time, for it had been quite some time since he had met the kid.

"So, how old are you now? You should be three now, right," Ohashi asked teasingly, and the young Shisui just huffed.

"Four. And I will be turning five soon," the kid said before he turned to face him.

"Mikoto-san tells me she will train me once I am five," and Ohashi raised his brow at that.

"Oh, did she. Then I will become your senior officially," and the young kid's eyes lit up. And before the kid could reply, someone else decided to interrupt them.

"Ohh. So, you are the kid that's been bugging Shizune for all this time," came the voice making him look up, and his eyes widened as he found Tsunade Senju staring straight at him, examining him from head to toe with a complicated expression.

"Who are you? And what do you want with Ohashi-senpai," muttered Shisui with a frown as he stood up in front of me. Tsunade-sama's eyes shifted from him to the little Uchiha.

Ohashi immediately stood up and bowed to the Senju princess.

"It is good to see you, Tsunade-sama," he greeted her and watched Shisui's eyes widen as he finally recognized the person standing before them. But before the kid could speak up, Shizune-san had come out of the room and was already by Lady Tsunade's side.

"Oh! It is good that you are here! I need you to look at something Tsunade-sama!" she said, her voice serious and grave, and Ohashi thanked the gods in his heart for this. Then she turned to face him.

"Ohashi-kun, this could take some time. Mikoto-san asked if you could look after Shisui for a bit more?" He nodded as he ruffled the kid's hair again.

"Tell her that it's fine with me. And about that lunch, we could meet up at dinner instead?" he proposed, and Shizune-san nodded with a stiff smile.

"Yes, that will be more manageable," and with that, she and Lady Tsunade vanished into her room again, leaving him alone with Shisui again.

"Is everything okay?" Shisui questioned him, and he nodded.

"Hopefully, it will be," he replied before he stood up.

"So, how about I treat you to a sumptuous lunch? It's been quite some time since I have eaten out. Perhaps you could recommend someplace good," the kid was still a bit concerned but nodded and joined him as they left the hospital.

0000

Just our Ohashi, casually saving a life.

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