𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

90

"This is unorthodox, but I called you in here because I needed to ask you something personally."

Called into the Hokage's office a few days after the Kouhage clan massacre, Sasuke stood with his eyebrow raised as he held Sayuri on his hip, while she was busy leaning out and trying to grab ahold of Tobirama.

"You seem to be very involved in raising your children," mused Tobirama as he reached out and took Sayuri from the Uchiha's hands, holding her high in the air and making her giggle. "Your father decided to bring you along while he does his errands, did he?"

"I can't risk having Sayuri out of my sight."

"Good point. Anyway, I've called you in here because I need some advice."

"The Hokage needs advice?" scoffed Sasuke, unable to believe his ears. "What kind of advice could I even give you?"

Hashirama leaned over his desk with his hands clasped, looking up seriously at Sasuke.

"We relayed the message to Ashina, but he's asked whether or not he should disclose the information to [Name]," stated the Hokage, brow furrowing in worry. "I get that the whole point of [Name] leaving the village was to let her start afresh, but her whole family had just been slaughtered. And as long as Madara is out there, she can never be one hundred percent safe. Would it be better to alert [Name] that Madara has left Konoha, or to let her live on in ignorant bliss?"

"Surely she deserves to know that her family have died too," said Sasuke, stroking his chin as he thought of how [Name] would react to the news. "It's a horrible thing, but she needs to know."

"And speaking of Madara, you forgot to mention about our tip off," called out Tobirama as Sayuri pulled at his face, trying to rub off the red marks on his cheeks and chin. Hashirama scratched his head as Sasuke raised his eyebrow, having not heard anything about this so called tip off.

"It would appear that Madara has been spotted not too far away from the village outskirts," sighed Hashirama. "But every time our shinobi try to apprehend him, he just keeps moving."

"Right. So he's waiting for [Name] to return to Konoha. Is that what you're saying?"

"It looks like it."

"Sasuke, as much as I want to alert [Name] of the circumstances, who knows what Madara will do if she returns? I'm more concerned for her safety than anything else."

"[Name] isn't weak."

"I know she's not. But Madara's been... out of it, to put it lightly, and we can't predict what he'll do to her when given the opportunity."

"... no, but we can predict what [Name] will do. If we tell her, there's a high chance she'll return to the village to find Madara for herself. No matter how much we try to tell her not to return, she'll do it anyway, just because [Name] is stubborn and she does whatever she wants. We can easily set up precautions for her return, like having someone meet her somewhere between Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure so that she's not alone when she returns to Konoha and Madara, most likely, strikes. We can also be prepared at the village so that we can intervene and take Madara under custody for his crimes, and put him on trial so that we're still being fair."

Hashirama looked towards his brother as Sasuke proposed his idea, earning a shrug from the white haired Senju.

"Hey, the Uchiha's known [Name] far longer than we have," said Tobirama nonchalantly, blowing air in Sayuri's face and making her laugh.

With a frown, Hashirama came to a conclusion.

"Very well. However, I don't want Ashina to be the one to tell her. We need to tell [Name] directly."

"Send her a letter."

"No. If we're going to tell her, we need someone to relay the message in person. But it has to be someone who will be able to handle Madara alongside [Name] once they return to the village. It'll be easier for the person who relays the message to be the same person who comes back with [Name]. And quite possibly deal with her rage once they've delivered the message."

Both Senju's eyes landed on Sasuke, earning an incredulous "hmph!" from him.

"As much as I would like to be your tool, I promised [Name] I would look after Sayuri," said the Uchiha, his gaze moving towards the little girl in Tobirama's arms. "It's not safe to take her with me, or to leave her here alone, so I'm staying here with her."

"How romantic, a man of his word," sighed Tobirama with a slight grin, earning a glare from the raven. "Very well. I don't mind relaying the message myself."

"I see no issue with that."

"Seconded. Although I'm sure [Name] will have something to say about how you allowed Madara to escape the village," said Sasuke pointedly, earning a dark look from Tobirama.

"That," interjected Hashirama, "was my fault, and I will gladly take responsibility for it."

"It may have been your responsibility at the time, but it was a promise I made to [Name]," said Tobirama, shaking his head.

"It can't be helped. The crime has been done, and Madara has escaped. We can only move forward from here."

"You're right." Tobirama gave Sayuri one last smile before handing her back to Sasuke. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I hope you prepare well."

"And I'll write to Ashina to let him know," said Hashirama with a sigh, reaching over for his ink brush and a new sheet of paper. "Why can we never truly have peace around here?"

"Because as long as Madara lives, there will always be a reason for war. It's just who he is."