A Senju Tale: Change of Fate - 27 A Grim Forecas

It was a cold morning in Konoha. A thick layer of snow covered the ground. It had been snowing for a few days now. Although it was coming down slowly, it had built up quite a lot. A young man woke up and sighed as he noticed that it was still snowing. Despite the sigh, he soaked in the scene.

It was such a peaceful and pretty sight. In the courtyard outside his window, a lone tree towered over the ground. It was painted white with snow. The branches hung down under the weight of the snow. The hedges and other plants that lined the perimeter of the space were also buried.

The man stood up and got out of bed. He walked over to grab a shirt but stopped at the mirror. He looked over his body. His body was built, but toned. His skin was smooth all over and had no body hair. A large scar stretched from his chest down to his midsection.

Looking up, he stared into his face. Gazing upon his face, the red marks that were once on his cheeks were fading as they got closer to his overall skin color. He had fair, white skin and soft but defined facial features. His large brown eyes sparkled as they reflected the light.

His hair had also grown out a bit. He reached for his dresser and grabbed a hair tie. Gathering his hair, he put it into a ponytail. Satisfied with the job, he walked over to the dresser and grabbed a soft, brown hoodie. He raised it over his head and pulled it over his head. After pushing his arms through the sleeves, he exited his room.

The house was quiet. He closed his door and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. After grabbing some food from the fridge, he started cooking up his breakfast. As he was cooking, he heard a door open and close upstairs. He smiled knowing who it was.

As he was finishing up, a teenage girl floated into the kitchen following the delicious smell. She then said, “Nawaki chan, I’ll never get tired of waking up to the smell of your cooking.” Nawaki chuckled and said, “Must be nice. I’m just happy that you enjoy my food. Where is Okaa san?”

Tsunade sighed and replied, “She probably left already. Everyone is busy these past few months with preparation. It takes a lot to organize it all.” Nawaki sighed and said, “It really is unfortunate that it has come to this. Why can’t people just understand each other?”

Tsunade then said, “You’re just like Jiraiya. He longs for peace and friendship. War is such a horrible thing. I just pray that not too many people die. Are you going to attend the briefing today?”

After sipping his tea, Nawaki threw his head back and sighed. He then said, “Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that. I guess I’ll go if you’re going.” Tsunade laughed and replied, “Okaa san will be there so we can say hi before it starts.”

Nawaki picked his head back up and said, “Yeah. She hasn’t been home much lately. Can’t blame her tho. Hey, on that note, I had an idea.” Tsunade turned to her brother and said, “Hmmm. I always get nervous when you get ideas. I can never tell what is going to come out of your mouth.” They both laughed and then she said, “Soooo. What is this idea?”

Nawaki grinned and said, “Alright. With war, certain things are inevitable. A lot of people are gonna die. That got me to think about the reasons they die. Obviously, we can’t do anything about the people that are killed on the spot during battle. However, I was trying to think of a way to reduce the amount of deaths that result from complications due to their injuries. In the academy and since I have become a ninja, none of the medical training I have done was mandatory. I think that it’s kinda weird. What do you think, Onee san?”

Tsunade thought about what he said. She realized that he was right. In addition to that, the amount of ninja with some form of medical training was very limited. She then said, “You’re right. I can’t believe I’ve never realized it. What should we do?”

Nawaki smiled and said, “How convenient of you to ask. I think that the two of us are the perfect people to take action. We are considered two of the best medic ninja in the village so we have the credibility. I think that we should make a proposal at the meeting today. We can suggest that all ninja must undergo some basic first aid training. In addition, we should get as many people trained in medical ninjutsu as possible. I think you mentioned it once before. Every squad should have someone with medical training. However, I’ll go even further to say that every ninja should be able to stabilize a wounded ally.”

Tsunade smiled upon hearing this. She had been wrestling with this problem for a while now and she could finally see a potential solution. She then said, “I’m in. What do we have to do?”

Nawaki nodded and said, “Glad to have you. Since you’re more experienced with handling the higher ups, it would be great if you could write and present the proposal. I will come up with the lesson plans for first aid and medical ninjutsu courses. Does that sound fine?”

Tsunade stood up from her chair and said, “Yep, that sounds perfect. I’ll get started right away!” She jumped as she turned around and skipped down the hall. Kensho then scoffed and said, “I know this is important to her but it still surprised me how excited she got. How can a person have so much energy in the morning?”

Nawaki laughed and said, “I haven’t got the slightest idea. You’re guess is as good as mine. She was so caught up in it that she didn’t even help me clean up.” He sighed and then stood up. He made a hand sign and a wood clone separated from his body.

Nawaki turned to his clone and said, “Can you clean up? I gotta go write up that lesson plan.” The clone threw his head back and said, “Come on dude! Why is it always you that gets to do the fun stuff? I swear, I’m gonna go on strike one of these days.”

Hearing this, Nawaki laughed and said, “Well, I’m the one with Kensho. If you had him, I’d clean up myself. He is kinda important to double check the knowledge that we are pulling from our previous life.” The clone let out an annoyed sigh and got to cleaning up the kitchen.

Nawaki returned to his room and sat down at his desk. He picked up a pen and opened up an empty scroll. Without delay, he got right to it. There was no time to waste. The meeting was set to start at 3 in the afternoon and he approximated that it would take him 4 hours to finish the plans.

At around 1pm, the plans were complete. For each one, there was an overview that listed everything that would be taught. The first aid course would be separated into 2 hour sessions over 4 days. The medical ninjutsu course would hold 4 hour sessions daily until missions related to the war start being issued.

Satisfied with his work, he looked at the clock on the wall. He had over an hour before he had to leave. He decided that he would take a nap. As he got into bed, he said, “Humor me Kensho. Display the usual.” Kensho appeared and said, “You got it.” First, the status page popped up.

Age: 13 years, 2 months

Height: 5′ 4″

Weight: 107 lbs

Chakra Levels: S

Chakra Control: SS

Elemental Affinities: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning

Bloodlines: Wood Release (Kekkei Genkai), Uzumaki

Titles: Sage, Will of Fire, Diplomat, Fuinjutsu Master

Seeing this, Nawaki smiled and said, “Hmmm. I thought that I’d be taller. If my growth keeps slowing at this rate, I’ll be a midget.” Kensho laughed and said, “Well I know how tall you’ll get but I’ll keep that a surprise to you.” Nawaki scoffed and said, “I really do hate you. Next.”

Unique Perk: Insomniac

Perk: Sage Mode (Mastery) – Able to enter sage mode at will and maintain it for a long period.

Unique Perk: Sensor Boost

Unique Perk: Primal Tongue – Allows the user to communicate with animals.

Nawaki recalled when he received the Primal Tongue perk. As usual, he was meditating on the Senju grounds. Suddenly, he heard a voice ask, “What are you doing?” He opened his eyes and looked around trying to find who said it. It spoke again saying, “I’m right here moron.” Nawaki looked over and saw a bird hovering in front of him. It then said, “Are you deaf? I’m talking to you.” Nawaki then asked, “Since when were you able to talk?” The bird scoffed and said, “I’ve always been able to talk. I’ve been trying to get your attention for as long as I can remember.” Then the notification popped up and he sighed. It would be useful but annoying at the same time.

Kensho then said, “That was hilarious. The look on your face was priceless.” Nawaki sighed and said, “Next.”

Skill: Cooking (Mastery) – Allows the user to prepare foods to perfection.

Skill: Stealth (Mastery) – Use of chakra control to hide one’s presence. Will falter against those with high sensing capabilities.

Skill: Active Camouflage (Advanced) – Uses chakra to bend light rendering the user effectively invisible.

Skill: Maintenance (Mastery) – Allows the user to clean and maintain weapons.

Skill: Passive Sensing (Mastery) – Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in small ranges.

Skill: Active Sensing (Mastery) – Allows the user to sense chakra signatures in a larger range via chakra expenditure.

Skill: Chakra Precision (Mastery) – Boosts the growth of chakra control to help reduce the amount of wasted chakra

Skill: Fuinjutsu (Mastery) – Wide arsenal of seals known. Able to create them almost instantaneously. Allows the user to research and develop new seals

Skill: Tracking (Mastery) – Allows the user to track a target over large distances.

Skill: Japanese (Mastery) – User is completely proficient with the native language.

Skill: Medical Ninjutsu (Mastery) – User can heal most injuries.

Skill: Kenjutsu (Mastery) – Complete proficiency with various sword styles. Allows the user to create their own style.

Nawaki smiled and said, “Well, I got my work cut out for me when I have some free time.” Kensho then interrupted and said, “I suggest that you get ready. You have to leave soon.”

Nawaki looked over at the clock and said, “Ah shit, I didn’t even get to take a nap.” He got up and got dressed. Since he was a bit older, his style has changed. He pulled on fitted black pants that cut off at his ankle. Next, he removed his hoodie and put on a chainmail mesh undershirt. Over that, he put on a loose fitting gray t-shirt. Then, he grabbed his flak jacket. He pulled it on and zipped it up. Lastly, he picked up his forehead protector and stretched it around his head. He replaced the headband with an elastic one after it was torn to shreds on a mission.

Tsunade then called out, “Come on Nawaki, we’re gonna be late!” He smiled and said, “Coming!” He grabbed the scrolls from his desk and stuffed them into a pocket before running out of his room. The two siblings put on their sandals, grabbed cloaks to keep warm, and rushed out the door.

It had been a year since Nawaki and his teammates were promoted to jonin. Since then, they have had to attend various meetings with the other jonin. They learned quite a bit about how the village worked. Usually, the meetings were held monthly. However, they occurred weekly now due to the impending conflict.

Nawaki and Tsunade arrived at the Hokage mansion. Like everything else, it was covered with snow. The fencing, the grass, the ponds, the roofing, all of it. They made their way inside and headed over to the conference room.

It was a huge space. It was easily the largest room in the building. It was filled with tables and chairs. At the front of the room, Hiruzen sat with his advisors on each side. In the front few rows, all of the clan heads took their seats with the noble clans occupying the middle. Behind them sat most of the jonin in the village.

The two siblings made their way to the front of the room and found Toka. Nawaki complained, “Okaa san, I haven’t seen you in days. I thought you left us.” He sneered as he finished. Toka walked up and bonked him on the head, “Idiot. Like I’d ever leave you two. Now go take your seats, the meeting is about to start.”

Nawaki and Tsunade headed towards the back of the room and sat down together. After another minute, the meeting began. It was pretty boring. Nawaki almost dozed off a few times. All of the recent intelligence reports were presented and some speculation on the expected timeline took place. After a painfully slow hour crept by, Hiruzen stood up and said, “That is all for today. Before you are dismissed, I will open up the meeting to anything else that has yet to be discussed.”

Upon hearing this, Nawaki perked up and poked Tsunade to get her to stand up. She sighed and stood up saying, “Hokage sama, I would like to make a proposal.” Everyone turned to her. They wondered what some teenager could possibly have to say. Hiruzen then said, “Alright, we are listening. Let’s hear it.”

Tsunade then went on to discuss the proposal. She hit on each of the key points. As she concluded she said, “Lastly, I have come up with 3 rules for medic ninja to abide by. First, no medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end. Secondly, no medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines. Lastly, no medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon. That concludes my proposal.”

Hiruzen thought for a moment and said, “That sounds like a good idea. Who would the instructors be?” Tsunade smiled and said, “Nawaki and I will spearhead the effort. We plan to ask for assistance from the hospital so that we can get this training done as fast as possible.”

Hiruzen smiled and said, “That decides it then. I approve of your proposal.”