After a few hundred laps around the village together, Might Duy bid Hidetada goodbye, as he had to go and pack his supplies for the upcoming patrol duty.
Waving the man off, Hidetada hopped onto a nearby utility pole and crouched atop it, his eyes scanning the horizon as he wondered what to do now. He had originally come outside specifically to train with Duy, but now that the man had departed, the Senju heir found himself with nothing better to do.
So instead, he remained perched on the narrow metal arm of the electric pole, looking toward the distant, stoic faces of the Hokage Rock while contemplating his next move.
Mikoto would likely be leaving for the Academy soon, and he had promised to pick her up after her classes concluded, not before. Aside from the prospect of teaching her later, Hidetada truly had nothing to fill the remaining hours with.
With a soft sigh, he hopped down from his perch. Gravity took hold, and the rushing wind blew his long brown hair upward into the air before his feet landed firmly on the dusty ground with a muted thud. All this idle thinking had finally reminded him of his hunger; he realized with a start that he had not eaten a proper meal since yesterday.
Looking at the angle of the sun, Hidetada guessed that Mito and Kushina would probably be awake by now, as it had been a few hours since he had originally left the clan compound. Jumping back up into the air, his feet found purchase on a tiled rooftop as he began to speed his way back toward his home.
The bright, unfiltered rays of the morning sun illuminated his skin as they landed on him, his hair flowing like a banner behind him. As he moved, Hidetada narrowed his eyes in deep thought. What was the meaning behind all the talk regarding a ceasefire between the Village Hidden in the Stones and the Village Hidden in the Clouds? Most of the time, he avoided asking about the specifics of the war to keep his growing dissatisfaction at bay, so he did not know much about the shifting political tides within the conflict.
Might Duy had been right about the fact that there was something fishy going on; Hidetada just could not quite put his finger on the pulse of the issue. He almost cursed his lack of foresight regarding the Second Shinobi World War, but there was not much he could do considering the fact that there was almost no concrete information about this specific era in the original anime he remembered.
Maybe it had something to do with Uzushiogakure? Their support for Konoha had not been something to bat an eye at; at most, they supplied the village with vital materials for war, such as specialized scrolls, complex seals, and other such logistical equipment. Officially, there was no formal military alliance between the two; the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools had remained largely neutral from the perspective of the other Great Nations. Then again, the war had not yet reached a desperate level where Konoha would require more overt support than they already received.
Still, the situation was worrying, especially considering that both Mito and Kushina were from that very clan. He certainly would not want to see either of them fall into despair over the total loss of their original place of birth.
'What to do...' Hidetada thought as the high walls of the Senju Clan compound came into view. If he were to simply send a letter to the Whirlpool authorities or try to explain the danger to the local leadership, they would likely laugh at him or, at worst, brand him a lunatic. Because despite his reputation as a prodigy, what was he supposed to say?
'Oh yeah, I am from another world, trust me, where all of you guys are just fictional characters who happened to die before the series even began.'
Just the mental image of that conversation gave him a massive headache.
Perhaps he could pretend to be a seer? Was there even such a thing as a genuine seer in this world? Not to his knowledge. There was that one girl from a Naruto movie he barely remembered, and even then, Hidetada could not say for certain if that counted as canon here. Sending an anonymous scroll would just result in them throwing it away; after all, why should they trust a random person over their own battle-proven barriers and ancient defenses that had protected them for hundreds of years?
As a matter of fact, he was not even sure which of the other four nations actually led the assault on Uzushiogakure. He was fairly certain it included the Stone and the Cloud, but he was hazy about the involvement of the other two villages.
The only truly viable option to prevent their destruction was to ensure that the enemy forces were decimated before they could even contemplate attacking the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. But even that was currently impossible, due to a certain stubborn Hokage refusing to let him deploy to the front lines.
With an annoyed huff, Hidetada finally landed on the compound grounds and made his way toward the main house with calm, deliberate steps. Sensing the distinct chakra signatures of the two women, he steered himself toward the dining room, still wondering how to tip the scales in his favor.
The realization that he possessed incredible meta-knowledge yet remained powerless to act was not a very comforting one. With a quick turn, he walked through the wide hallways, a faint frown growing on his face.
Stopping in front of the sliding door of the dining room, Hidetada opened it and stepped inside. With a single glance, he took in the palpable, awkward atmosphere filling the space. Both Mito and Kushina were sitting at opposite ends of the dining table, eating their food in a thick, heavy silence. His grandmother seemed perfectly content with the quiet and only glanced up briefly to acknowledge his arrival. "Ah, Hidetada. I was wondering where you had run off to." She gave him a small nod before turning back to her meal a bit too quickly and resuming her quiet breakfast.
The awkwardness near Kushina evaporated instantly as she took in his figure with an excited air. Though she had tried her best to pretend to be tough yesterday, her defensive facade had melted right off after the realization that Hidetada was actually a decent person.
With an excited wave, the red-haired girl tried to speak, but her words came out unclear and gargled due to the massive amount of food currently stuffed into her mouth. "Heigh—" Kushina started, before collapsing into a fit of coughing and taking a frantic sip of water as he sat down between them. With a small smile, Hidetada greeted her back with a wave of his own, taking a bit of amusement in her suffering.
"You should not speak while eating, Kushina," Mito reprimanded her with a sharp, disciplined tone as she looked at the girl with severe eyes. Kushina seemed to physically shrink beneath that gaze before rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Hidetada could not really blame her for being intimidated; he had spent the last fifteen years of his life under that same piercing look, and it could be truly terrifying when directed at you.
Moving forward, he sat down in his usual spot between them, where plates had already been meticulously arranged for him by his grandmother. Kushina quickly swallowed her food to clear her throat before starting to speak again. "Hey! How could you just leave me here all alone with... her?" She glanced at Mito suspiciously before turning her wide gaze back to him.
With a mirthful shake of his head, Hidetada reminded her, "You should not speak about your elders like that, Kushina. She is, like, almost sixty now."
Kushina's mouth hung open as she began to protest, then she went silent, turning to stare at the woman at the end of the table with an incredulous look. Mito could only roll her eyes exasperatedly. "Don't tell me they did not teach you about the Mito Uzumaki? The first Jinchuriki, wife of Hashirama Senju, married to him as the cornerstone of the alliance between the Villages Hidden in the Whirlpools and Leaves? Does any of that ring a bell?"
Hidetada's amused voice brought the girl back to her senses before she began speaking in a surprised tone. "I mean, I think they taught us that? I vaguely remember hearing the names. But I was not really paying much attention during the history lessons."
As Kushina saw him trying to suppress his laughter, she added annoyedly, "What! You can't blame me for it, dattebane! It is the teacher's fault for speaking in such a boring, monotone voice whenever he used to teach..." Her memory started to slowly return to her. Before she was brought here, the elders had informed her about the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, though at that time she had been in deep denial and had not really been paying attention to anything happening around her.
"But how do you look so... young!?" Kushina stared at the older woman again, who merely shook her head with a faint, amused smile. "You will learn the answer to that later, when I start your formal training," Mito replied easily with a secretive shrug.
Though that did make Hidetada wonder as well, what exactly was the secret of this woman's longevity? How did she maintain such a youthful appearance? Maybe his earlier jokes about her sacrificing the blood of virgins contained a grain of truth. With a smirk, he turned his attention back to his own food and began eating, his chopsticks clicking gently against the ceramic.
Meanwhile, Kushina could not keep her mouth shut for long. She ate and spoke at the same time with animated energy, informing him about everything from her previous village, including her old friends, her rivals, and her absolute favorite ramen shop back home. It was endearing in its own way, and Hidetada realized he had missed the sound of lively conversation during meals; it reminded him of better times.
After some time, all of them had finished their food. Usually, he would have been the first one to bolt out the door, but there were many things that needed to be discussed today.
As Kushina took huge, thirsty gulps from her glass of water, Hidetada shared a meaningful glance with Mito, letting her know that they needed a private word.
With a soft sigh, the matriarch began speaking. "Kushina, how about you go for a stroll around the grounds while Hidetada and I discuss a few matters?" The girl immediately opened her mouth to argue, but she was silenced instantly by Mito's firm gaze. With a slump of her shoulders, knowing there was no winning this battle, the Uzumaki girl waved at Hidetada excitedly before exiting the room.
Waving back at her, he waited until she was well outside the sliding door. Standing up, he stretched his muscles with a long yawn before moving toward the exit himself.
Hidetada struck the wooden frame with his fist, which was immediately followed by the distinct thud of someone falling over on the other side. A snort escaped his lips as he heard the stumble. "I will meet you in a few minutes, Kushina. Just find something else to do until then." A small squeak rang out from the hallway before the startled girl replied quickly in an embarrassed tone, "Uh, yeah! See ya!" The sound of her feet scampering away could be heard echoing down the corridor.
Smiling helplessly, he turned back toward his grandmother, who was now staring at him intently. With a few long strides, he sat back down on the ground with his legs crossed as he waited for her to speak. Mito's deep blue eyes locked onto his. "I know it is probably confusing for you, regarding exactly why Kushina is here, so I will begin by saying—"
"I already figured that part out. She is meant to be the next Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, no?" Hidetada cut her off while she was mid-sentence. The Uzumaki Matriarch hummed to herself as she reached out and took his hand in hers. "Yes, she is. I should have known that you would have realized that," Mito paused, adding with a touch of dry humor, "And no, that does not mean that I am going to die anytime soon. While it would be for the best if the beast were sealed inside of her while she is still a teenager, that is not an immediate worry because we are Uzumakis for a reason."
With a smirk at that proud statement, she laced her fingers through his before continuing. "Though we decided it would be for the best if I start training my successor from this moment, as the war might require even me to step onto the battlefield if it continues for a few more years." Her eyes became absent-minded for a moment, staring at something far away before coming back into sharp focus. Mito withdrew her hand to stroke his cheek with a possessive touch. "However, that still remains to be seen. I am not going to leave you anytime soon."
Hidetada hummed to himself as she caressed his face, resting her hand against his skin while her blue eyes searched his own.
"Right, I forgot to mention," Mito said, her tone shifting slightly.
"But someone sent a letter for you."
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Word Count: 2321.