The next book has been published (seconds after this) and is called Current Strength.

Toru honestly hates his luck. He thought the mission was going to be easy. It seemed pretty standard based on the mission scroll. A C-ranked mission – simply go into a building that may be guarded by mercenaries, take a book, and then leave; secrecy is advised but unneeded. Of course, that means it all goes to kami the moment Toru grabs the book.

Well, not quite. The mission had clearly gone wrong the moment Toru arrives at the building where the book is located, as the security is tighter than suggested and the mercenaries seem numerous and well trained, which the mission scroll didn't mention. Toru's good at stealth though, his henge is constantly improving, and he's managed to get the chakra output to mimic natural energy through carefully inked Thirteen Opposing Seal on major chakra points.

None of that matters as the moment Toru takes the book, he's forced to leap backwards to avoid being decapitated. Toru's henge is still in place, but it's clear his attacker knows where he is, so Toru easily drops the henge, rolls beneath the next strike, bounds across the room in a giant leap, and exits through the window. Whilst in the air, Toru seals the book into one of his storage seals on his shoulder. He lands, rolling with chakra softening his landing, but it still hurts and Toru tucks any sound firmly behind his teeth, and takes off.

An unnoticeable wave of chakra runs through Toru's body, and the chūnin increases his speed as the gravity seals stop working. Toru skids to a halt and whirls around by ninety degrees, and flips in that direction. He avoids a fireball and an earth ninjutsu, and then he's surrounded by a group of four ninjas clad in black with masks that don't allow Toru to see their faces.

Toru curses, because this is his luck, and does the one thing no one ever expects. He flips through four hand seals – and thanks the fact that he's worked on this jutsu enough that he can use one seal less. "Body Replacement Technique," he murmurs beneath his breath. Chakra surges and tugs him elsewhere, depositing him elsewhere.

Toru utilises the Transformation Technique again, and heads west, deciding to curve around to actually get to Konoha where he can leave the book and all its problems in someone else's hands.

That doesn't work, and suddenly Toru's henge is disappearing and Toru's forced to flip backwards, skip sideways, and then stagger forwards to avoid a nasty attack from a sword that glints with poison. The team of four – (where's the fourth? Where he is? There he is, MOVE) and Toru jumps up and out of the way – are capable of tracking Toru, probably via chakra because Toru still can't do that so well when he's moving with a henge. Toru twists and shifts backwards as a kick grazes his leg, and then he's bending backwards to flip rearward and avoid two more attacks.

The real problem Toru faces is the fact that the ninjas aren't giving him any time or space so Toru can't use ninjutsu, which is his best method of attacking aside from his seals – and Toru would prefer to keep those secret for now. Toru flinches out of the way of the poisoned-sword, hears the quiet crackle of lightning and recognises his own heavy breathing and that of his enemies, and then he's up into the air and there's lighting lingering in the air, intertwined with chakra.

He lands heavily, but he's had enough of defending and defending and not being able to move forward or move sideways or move anywhere, and he's charging forward and keeping low, darting beneath a leg and twisting between a sword and another fireball – and kami damn it, that's the Uchiha Clan's own ninjutsu and why is it so popular – and with a sword in hand, Toru lunges. He leaves the blade, and throws a kunai at each of the other ninjas, giving himself time, and kicks one in the chest, sending them backwards, before leaping forward to avoid the other two.

He brushes past his sword and grabs it as he goes, pulling it out of the body and smelling the heavy scent of blood as it explodes into existence. Toru's turning, feeling more than sensing, the third ninja get up despite being kicked. He's right, and there's three of them going through hand seals and fire is streaking towards Toru and he can't do anything and he slams chakra through the tattoo-seal that looks like fire on his lower left arm.

His summons, a beautiful sight in this fight, land on him, in front of him, and he feels like he can't breathe beneath the weight of them, and then there's fire roaring past him and he only feels slightly warm. He leaps forward, cockroaches dispersing, and his katana stabs downward, cutting deeply and then Toru's lurching backwards to avoid another attack, but the ninja he cut has fallen and isn't getting up.

"Armour!" Toru calls as the two ninjas left go through the same set of hand seals as before, and then his summons are there and he's safe. Toru uses the time behind his shield to rush through hand seals because he's got time and he's had enough of this fight. "Blade of Wind," he shouts out, and pulls back as the wind screams, and then he's going through more hand seals and mumbles beneath his breath, "Water Release: Clone Technique." He slips back, finding himself home among the shadows, and he uses the Transformation Technique again.

There's only one ninja left now, and they're leaping forward, and their sword digs straight through Toru's chest, but that Toru is already bleeding water, and the real Toru has leapt forward and it takes a moment to go through a series of quick punches and kicks and then he's slipping sideways and with a chakra-assisted punch to the ribs, his enemy goes down.

Toru heaves a sigh, tired and hating how this mission has gone so wrong, and then – after burning the corpses of his enemies and granting a mercy kill to the ones still alive and dying – he spins and he's speeding back to Konoha where he should be safe.

The worst thing, he (and who is he? Is he Jakkaru here or is he Toru here?) thinks, is that they are angry at him for ordering them to live. He stands across from them and he feels the anger that's pouring off of them. Someone's leaking killer intent as well, but it's not something conscious, and he easily brushes it away.

"You can't do this," one says – Tori says, and Tori sounds heartbroken and he would like to shout at them that this hurts him too.

He straightens himself, steadies himself, and remembers who he is. He is the ANBU Commander. He is the Yondaime Uzukage. He isn't their team leader here. That position has fled from his fingers even as he closed his fist.

"Are you disobeying me?" He questions, and maybe this is harsh but he's in so much pain and he needs to send them away.

"You will die!" Tori shouts, and Tori has always been one to fight for him, but that isn't Tori's position – not right now, not anymore.

"That is not an answer," he responds, stubbornly lifting his chin because he will not budge from his position.

"I will disobey you! Kami damn it all! I'll disobey you. I won't listen to your orders. I won't do anything you say. I will not leave your side," Tori responds, spitting the words out in anger and clearly feeling betrayed, feeling confused.

"None of us will leave your side," Tora adds, head lifted and tilted to the side just enough to make her look arrogant. "We won't leave you."

"We're a team," Kame adds pleadingly.

"You will leave Uzushio whether or not you want to, and you don't have to be conscious while you leave," he responds.

"We are the best," Tora says. "There's no one who can actually beat us."

This is, he has to admit, true. However, numbers can win out, except he doesn't want a civil war on his hands. He can't even have anyone take this team of three (it's meant to be four, he's meant to be part of it, this is hurting) out, because they're lacking the manpower and each day that passes more leave. He is thankful for that, but it means that this is a bluff – and they have called him out on it.

"I can," he says and it's true. He is familiar with their thinking styles, with their attacking styles, familiar with them. He knows how they work, with and without him. He is their leader and more powerful than them. He can't take them out altogether, but he isn't fair and he won't be fair here and they know that.

Tori growls and takes a step forward before stopping as he eyes the group of three ANBU dangerously. He is the predator here, and they know they cannot cross him. "Taichō, please," he says. "Don't do this to us. We won't be able to handle it. We can't leave you here to die!"

He is ordering them to live but… but why does it hurt so much to do so? He lets his eyes drop, lets his shoulders fall, lets his back sag, and lets himself collapse inwards. He allows them to see who he is currently – how tired he is, how stressed he is, how he knows he will die. He sits down, tired and weary and death yanks on his mind. He is ready for death, perhaps, and his team is not. They can live and they are Uzushio's hope still left.

Kame's shoulders, drawn up higher in confrontation, drop. "Taichō," she starts, before pausing, and then dropping it all together. She looks at the ground. Tori whirls around in anger, in confusion.

"We can convince him, Kame!" Tori says, and Tori tries to believe it, but he can hear the slight warble in the other man's voice that shows that Tori doesn't believe his own words fully.

"I don't think we can," Kame says softly, and she hates it because she feels like she's giving up. She straightens up, meets her leader's eyes and bows, deep and low, before straightening like the kunoichi, like the ANBU, she is. She takes a step back. She will see how it all plays out.

Tora shoots her a look but ultimately ignores her as she turns to face her leader. "What's so important that we cannot stay by your side? We could ensure you survive. You could live! Taichō, I don't understand. Why do you try to do this?"

"Uzushio will fall," he says. "It may be decades until we rise again because we will need time to rebuild and only when the world is at peace, when we are safe, when we can go unnoticed, can we be called back to Uzushio. Morals will drop, the world will forget our name. Our people will believe there is no point hoping for Uzushio's return. They will forget that the sea never dies. I need people to keep our spirit alive, to remind the world that Uzushio exists and had existed and that we did not end lightly."

Tori's posture sinks and the battle has been fought and won. Tora bows deeply and steps back in line with Kame. Tori wavers, clearly warring between decisions, but with a massive sigh, the shinobi folds, dropping low in a bow.

Toru, Jakkaru, ANBU Commander, Yondaime Uzukage, whoever he is, lets himself close his eyes and wish for a different ending. "Go," he whispers lowly, the words tugging at his heart and this is the last time he will see his family. "Go."

(He is not to know, but the three stick together for four months, fighting and fighting and always in Jakkaru's name, always in Uzushio's name. Tori goes down first, uncaring for his own death, uncaring about his teammates, because he has fractured without Jakkaru, without their leader, he broke because the world cared nothing for Uzushio's fall. Tora and Kame split up, becoming non-affiliated kunoichi for hire. Tora goes down, caught in crossfire between an Iwa-nin and some other enemy. She does not get up. Kame is the last of Jakkaru's team left alive, and she survives only nine months after Uzushio's fall before she, too, dies. She falls forgotten and left alone, but content with being on a beach that reminds her of Uzushio. She is glad she managed to take out twenty-five Kiri-nin before she finally fell.)

(There was no way this would end in anything but a tragedy. Jakkaru, Toru, was not to know.)

Konoha is a lovely sight to Toru's dark eyes, and he bounds forward, feeling life take hold of his limbs once more and his heart start to actually beat. He has a world in Konoha and they're waiting for him, so Toru quickly drops the book off, waves the chūnin's worried look away – because he's fine, honestly, just oh-so-tired – and he's home within minutes, silently entering through the balcony. His wards welcome him, humming with chakra, and Toru gives his seals a quick glance, doing a brief check, before he's entering and quietly closing the door behind him.

Toru takes a moment to breath, leaning against the wall. He estimated he would get back today, and that explains why there are two boys sleeping on the couch, waiting for the door. Toru would be worried that they could get attacked – but he's already spied Ken hiding in the shadows, Aki by the boys' feet, Haruto yawning with white fangs by the door, and Teisatu curled up beside Sasuke but still awake.

Toru surveys the dogs, before moving closer to the couch. He could leave the boys there, but he's sure they'll end up with muscle pain from their positions. He could lift them up, but it would be a bit awkward and uncomfortable for the two. Toru settles on shaking the pair awake.

Sasuke wakes first with a jerk and wide eyes, not frightened but nervous or maybe ready for something Toru knows not. Naruto wakes up quickly afterwards, with an aborted shout, he opens bright blue eyes, blurrily seeing Toru's shape and not making sense of it.

Sasuke, cool and intelligent Sasuke, makes sense of Toru's appearance and gives the boy a heartfelt hug. Toru returns it, resting a hand on the boy's back, and curling his other hand to rest on the boy's neck. Toru pulls back first, because he is dirty and tired and they should all be sleeping. He gifts Sasuke with a soft kiss on his forehead, before giving Naruto a hug.

Naruto yawns and snuffles, but doesn't seem to be aware of what's happening, so with a groan, Toru lifts the boy up, and nudges Sasuke towards the bedroom. Sasuke goes, walking just in front of Toru. Naruto easily falls into the bed, shuffling under the cover only with a few nudges from Toru, but before he truly falls asleep, he does something else. "Glad your back," he mumbles. "Missed you."

"Missed you too," Toru whispers before checking that Sasuke's gotten into bed. The younger boy rolls his eyes, but doesn't seem to be actually annoyed at Toru's antics. Toru goes to leave to the guest bedroom that seems to be becoming his ever since Naruto joined their family, when Sasuke wraps a pale hand around a dark wrist.

"Stay," Sasuke says with a light jerk to show what he means.

"Alright," Toru says, because he can't really argue with Sasuke and he really just wants to sleep. He quickly strips out of his mission clothes, putting his weapons down nearby so that they're in reach. He changes into civilian day clothes, a pair of loose pants and a t-shirt that doesn't really seem to be his due to how it drops down to his thighs and droops off his shoulders. He soon curls around Sasuke and falls asleep.

Toru seals the papers in the basement of the building that holds the Uzukage's office. Soon enough, he's leaping out of the building – the last to leave. Everyone else, all his ninjas who have remained in the face of everything – and many of them are ANBU, are waiting outside. Toru nods at the trio of ninjas wearing dark blue with a bright red 'x' on the back of their armour. The demolition squad share grins and move. Soon enough, there's a loud boom, fire and smoke cascade upwards, and the building goes down silently, and it seems weak and meek, which it isn't.

Toru can't help but grin as the demolition and explosion squad not at him before moving towards another building – the hospital. As per orders, they'll destroy the major buildings in a way that will leave the foundations steady, but make it appear that the building has been wrecked, while at the base of each building lie important seals that remain intact, containing information that no one can get their hands on.

"Jakkaru-sama!" One of his ANBU shouts, even as he lands on the ground. "Kiri-nin are closing towards yesterday's groups."

Toru almost rolls his eyes at the title, because of course his ANBU won't refer to him as Uzukage nor Toru even when they know death marches towards them. "The groups?" Toru checks.

"They've increased speed and are separating with the strongest sticking with the civilians," the ANBU responds. "Your orders?"

Toru lifts his eyes to the sky and feels his pulse quicken in excitement, in anger, in readiness. "Guess we'll have to get them to come back," he says nonchalantly. He raises his voice. "ANBU," he shouts, and almost all the ninjas in front of him straighten. "Unmask," he orders, "We're going to show why Kirigakure should fear us without using a mask to hide our identities. We are proud Uzushio ANBU!" Toru's own mask is secured on his hip, where it's out of the way but easily seen.

Toru pauses as all his ANBU – every single one – copies him, and withholds a laugh of amusement, although he can see their faces grinning at him, daring him to say something or do something in response.

"Uzushio," he says, and his people watch him, are ready for what he says, "our last stand is now. We hold on for Konoha's reinforcements, but we hold on so our people can escape. Those who aren't staying, head on out. We will stay strong. We will stand strong! We will fight for your lives! I'm not here to tell you we may survive. We all know the odds. We all know that staying foretells our deaths. I have not ordered a single one of you to stay. Some of you will leave, and good! Live for us. Those who stay, we do this for our people, our friends, our families, the rest of our village as they flee for their lives.

"Kirigakure thinks they can stop us! They think they can bring us to our knees! They think will taste the might of Uzushio today and win! They will taste almost nothing of Uzushio, because Uzushio is leaving. Uzushio is living. Uzushio isn't going to fall today! She isn't going to fall this month! She isn't going to fall this week! Uzushio will live because she is everyone who has ever wanted a village to call their own, she is everyone who is here today, she is everyone who has lived here and are now hiding. Uzushio is the whirlpools that surround her. She is everything we are. We are Uzushio!

"I will fall in our village," Toru says, and the crowd stills completely, "and many of us will. We will fall and we will die, but we have been brave. We have been courageous. We will be remembered by our people who will live for we will die for them.

"Do not mistake me," Toru adds, "I am not asking you to die for them. You have chosen this. I am asking you to fight for them, fight in spite, fight in anger. I am not asking for kindness or gentleness or mercy. These people are our enemies, and they have come here expecting us to cower, expecting us to die. We will fight with everything and do our best to take them all down. Prepare yourselves," Toru shouts, "We will call the barriers down! We will go all out and will hold out! The sea will never die so long as Uzushio survives and Uzushio will surive!"

Toru watches as everyone salutes, and he salutes back, because these are his people and this is his village. The group disperses quickly, readying themselves or finishing preparations. They all knew that they would do this ever since Toru had realised that they couldn't keep hanging out behind the barriers, as the Kiri-nin had started tracking those who were fleeing.

It's come at a good time, though. The Takahashi Clan left the day before, with the majority of the Uzumaki Clan leaving with them. Toru managed to convince three families from his clan, the Mizushima Clan, to leave as well. Four groups of ANBU went with them, along with the rest of the civilians who knew that their help and presence wasn't needed anymore. There are no chūnin left in Uzushiogakure, and the jōnin are starting to leave.

Toru starts heading to the eastern edge of the barrier where most of Kirigakure's forces wait. He stands at the edge and slowly groups of ninjas join him, but not everyone. Many will be preparing at other places along the barrier. They all know the plan. Hold out for ten minutes before racing towards Uzushiogakure, and waiting behind all their traps and seals and wards. And then they need to keep fighting.

The Yondaime Uzukage lifts his hand and places it on the border, which is glowing purple. There's a spark of blue chakra and a loud crackle and then the Uzukage withdraws his hand and steps backward. The barrier falls, sinking into the ground like an earth ninjutsu. The Kiri-nin are all still in surprise, and the Uzushio ninjas do not wait for them. They race out, weapons and chakra singing through the air and the scent of blood quickly fills the air. The Uzukage walks forward slowly, uncaring and Kiri-nin shy away from the killing intent pouring off him and the jackal mask on his hip. Then, one Kiri-nin either braver or stupider than the rest charges at the Uzukage. It's over before any Kiri-nin knows what happened and then the Uzukage is gone.

Death destroys the Kiri-nins forces, and with every Uzushio ninja that goes down, fire tinged with blue explodes into the air, taking everyone around them in a two metre radius. The suicide seals have never caught an Uzushio ninja yet.

Demons in the form of ninjas tear through their enemies, and the very sea turns on the Kiri-nin and explosions send boats sinking. Eventually the tides seem to turn, and the Uzushio ninjas seem to before falling back. The Kiri-nins race after them, angry at losing their comrades and angry at the Uzushio-nins for holding out for so long, and still following the orders of their Mizukage.

The Kiri-nins die in droves, and the Uzushio-nins watch behind traps and seals and things that they have never before needed. Uzushiogakure is engraved with seals, and their village will protect them. Their village is made so that only those who live there can fight well in it.

With a snarl on his face, the leader of Uzushio destroys three chūnin from Kirigakure, and leaps forward to kill others. His only hope is that Kirigakure never realises that Uzushio is only a delaying tactic.

Iruka enters the Uchiha-Uzumaki apartment with a key in hand. He knows that Toru was meant to have returned sometime yesterday, and if the chūnin is anything like Iruka after a mission, he'll be dead tired and not wanting to do anything but have a good shower and sleep for a few days. Therefore, Iruka's taken it upon himself to actually bring food to the apartment, because Iruka knows that in Naruto and Sasuke's excitement, the pair didn't go grocery shopping yesterday despite the fact that they had no food except leftovers which had been left for dinner.

Iruka silently puts the groceries away, sensing the wards humming in the back of his mind despite not making them himself. It's something that he learnt to do over time, and his ability to sense barrier seals has been helpful for many of his missions. Although, through trial and error, Iruka's found that he can only sense the barrier seals if they aren't meant for him and he has no ill intentions for the creator and-or user of the wards.

The suspicious lack of dogs has Iruka on edge, because he knows that Sasuke – because Naruto is much more straightforward and would shout out what he did – trained Teisatu to trip people up by laying in doorways where people can't see the Leopard Cur. Anyone who thinks that Sasuke is kind and innocent is wrong, and Iruka has evidence that Sasuke is not, in fact, kind and innocent – or, at least, he isn't always kind, because Iruka has seen Sasuke interact with Naruto and Toru.

Iruka can only smile as he reaches the bedroom, because the picture is too cute. He silently leaves the room, grabs something from the bookshelf in the lounge room, and silently renters the bedroom.

There's a click – but Iruka can't help that – as the camera takes a photo, light flashing. Iruka smiles as he looks at the picture, and he must get that developed.

On the bed, Toru lies in a slight curve, sheltering Sasuke who lies bent beside Toru's stomach. Meanwhile, Naruto's got a pillow and no blanket but is tightly curled up, his back resting against Toru's back. By Naruto's head is Aki, and Toru is using the black-and-white dog as a pillow. Ken lays at the end of the bed, not touching anyone else and not taking up much room. Haruto, on the other hand, lies stretched out on the end of the bed, head resting on Naruto's legs and body lying across Sasuke and Toru's legs. It's a rather cute picture, and Iruka searches for Teisatu – who turns out to have wriggled herself so she's somehow draped herself around Aki and curled up so her head's resting beside Sasuke.

It's the best thing Iruka has ever gotten a picture of, and he's sure that Toru will adore it. Toru who is awake, but almost not showing it. Iruka is too good to be fooled by the younger chūnin who has yet to reach Iruka's level just yet. The way the other chūnin lies still is telling that he's ready to do something. "I'll start breakfast," Iruka says quietly, and Toru opens his eyes.

"Thanks," Toru murmurs even as he closes his eyes again, now with the knowledge he's safe, he seems ready to go back to sleep. A second later, the Uchiha opens his eyes again but this time he looks much more aware, and he actually starts moving and raising a fuss about the others. With a small smile, Iruka heads back to the kitchen, ready to make a small meal for the group – for the family.

Iruka pauses between the third bowl and the fourth bowl, and wonders when he ended up basically joining the small family. With a soft laugh and a shake of his head, Iruka finishes filling the fourth bowl and moves to wash the dishes.

There's a shuffle, a shout, and a loud thump, and a dog comes slinking out beside Sasuke. "Good morning," Iruka greets, and Sasuke rewards him with a sleepy smile as the young Uchiha climbs up onto a stool and starts eating.

Naruto is quick to follow, already making a lot of noise and seeming far too awake to have just woken up. "Iruka-sensei, hi!" He greets loudly. "Did you make breakfast? You make the best breakfasts! Sasuke can't cook, and neither can I, but Toru isn't half-bad, but you make breakfast so much better because Toru likes making meals with vegetables and fruits and-"

"Eat your breakfast Naruto," Toru chides as he enters the room, "Iruka will be here afterwards to talk." The younger chūnin stretches before sitting on a stool to eat breakfast. "Save your washing up for now," he says, "join us for breakfast. Thank you for getting the groceries. How much do I owe you for it?"

"Nothing," Iruka says as he starts eating. "I'm serious," he says when Toru goes to talk, "nothing. I'm over here enough to contribute to food." He raises an eyebrow as he glances over Toru's top. "I'm over here enough that I leave clothes behind apparently."

Toru shrugs, "Sorry about that. I'll wash it and return it to you. I got back late last night and these two were waiting up for me, so I put them to bed and ended up getting tugged into bed with Sasuke." The boy in question flushes but doesn't say anything, and Toru continues, "I grabbed the closest set of clothes and changed without showering or actually looking what clothes I grabbed. I can't be held accountable for you leaving your clothes behind."

Iruka flushes and scratches his nose. "I am sorry about that," he says, but Toru waves it off.

"You look after these two often enough that I'm surprised such a thing didn't happen earlier," Toru says as he finishes eating. "Anyway, I'm going to get the shower I've needed for a few days," he adds with a stretch. "These two can help you with the washing up considering they forgot to get groceries."

Naruto turns bright red and Sasuke turns his head with a grunt. "Sorry, Toru!" Naruto says.

"I think they can be forgiven for being too excited for your return," Iruka says. "You two, eat up, the faster we finish washing up, the more time you can spend with Toru today," he says as Toru leaves the room. "Also, Toru?"

Toru lifts his head and turns, twisting to see Iruka. "Do you need any help with your injuries?" Iruka says with a pointed glance at the bandages Toru has wrapped around his leg and another around his arm.

"I think they're alright," Toru says, "but I'll get them checked out later today."

"At the hospital," Iruka orders, and Toru rolls his eyes.

"Of course."

"Heard you got a nickname," a small kid, perhaps around the age of five, says. The boy next to him, older by four years, hums in response. The pair are lying outside in a clearing that is filled with sunlight. The older boy has his eyes closed and appears to be almost asleep. The younger kid looks surprisingly alike to the older boy – in both manner and appearance. He, too, is lying stretched out and relaxed in the clearing, but he has his eyes open and appears to be gazing up at the clouds without much a thought.

"Shisui of the Body Flicker," the older boy reveals. "It's 'cause I'm great at the Body Flicker Technique."

"Surely you can't be the only one like that," the younger kid responds, going so far as to turn his head to look at his older cousin.

"Eh," Shisui says, finally opening his eyes and seeming to regain his energy, as he rolls onto his side so he can look at the younger kid. "What does that mean, brat?!"

The kid laughs lightly, "Well, it's a D-ranked ninjutsu. If you put enough practise into any low-level jutsu, you're going to get really good at it."

"Well, I'm good enough to leave afterimage clones," Shisui divulges, before lowering his voice to a whisper, "people think these clones are solid and can attack."

Shisui waits for his younger cousin to respond, but the brat just rolls his eyes. "People are dumb," he says.

"Oh?" Shisui asks, raising an eyebrow to add to the drama of their conversation, "What makes you say that?"

"If you're moving at a speed fast enough to leave behind clones then you're moving fast enough to be that clone and that's what's happening – people are mistaking you for being your clone. Adding onto that, you're moving fast enough to move so quickly that it seems like two clones are moving and being the solid at the same time, when it's really just you in one place and then moving another so quickly that the eyes of the other can't keep up… Would the sharingan keep up?"

"Not unless you have the training for it, little genius," Shisui says.

"Don't call me that," Toru whines.

"But you're so cute when you try to be all serious and analytical!" Shisui says cheerfully, "Although, you remind me of Itachi, and he's way too serious for his own good. You're not allowed to be like that, you hear me?" Shisui says, rolling over and starting to tickle Toru, who squirms as he tries not to laugh whilst trying to escape Shisui's hold. "Say you won't be all serious and remember to have fun."

"I will," Toru says, twisting to avoid Shisui's fingers. "I swear it!" Shisui laughs and tugs at the younger boy, pulling his younger cousin into a hug.

"Good," Shisui says, and if it's a tad too serious for such a light-hearted conversation, neither Uchiha mentions it.

Toru jerks into wakefulness, and feels his breath coming in harsh gasps. He lets his hand drop to a kunai he hid beside his bed, before getting up. He can tell he's not going to get anymore sleep tonight, but he doesn't feel like he wants to do anything. Toru slips into a set of training clothes after glancing at the clock, which reveals that he has a few hours until he would normally get up anyway. He writes a quick message out for Sasuke and Naruto, explaining that he's out training, and it might not be true, but it'll keep them from worrying.

Toru takes to the roofs, not feeling up to dealing with other people and the streets that aren't crowded but still look like they're towering over him and locking him down. He doesn't quite know where he wants to go, but he lets his feet lead him.

He doesn't remember the nightmare he just had, just flashes of blood, of pain, of death, of chains, of silent feet and screams and silence and refusing to fall, refusing to give in, but not able to do anything or be anything and stuck waiting for a chance that isn't – wasn't – coming and wanting a rescue but knowing it wasn't coming and–

He only had himself to lean on, only had himself to rely on, and maybe that's not quite true but that's how he feels. He trusts, damn it he does. He trusts his teammates, trusts the kids in his apartment, trusts Iruka. Except… there's something screaming in the back of his head, locked away and chained tightly because he doesn't want to know just yet, and it screams not to trust them fully. He'll trust them to have his back in missions, trust them in Konoha to look out for his family, but he doesn't trust them with everything – he can't trust them with everything. Maybe it's because he finds it hard to trust, maybe because someone killed his entire clan in one night, maybe because something's corrupt in Konoha and he needs to be wary but doesn't know what to be wary of, or maybe it's because he's in Konoha and not Uzushio, and Konoha can never be home in a way that Uzushio was.

He finds himself standing in front of a stone with names carved into it. He wonders why he ended up here. Very few people he knew ended up on this stone, far more are ashes with empty graves and a simple gravestone with little on it because no one knows them anymore. Is he here because Uzushio's people died in battle and have no graves, aren't remembered? Is he here for a reason?

(Why is he here? He is alone, but not lonely, but no one understands. He is the only one who knows everything, he is living a second time and he didn't ask for this. He didn't want this. He would've been happy to die… or maybe not, because Uzushio is forgotten and he didn't want that. He would've been happy to die and for his people to return to their home.)

He feels his body relax, muscles loosening, and there is someone else here. He cannot see them, but they cannot know he knows that they are there. Toru's heart beats quickly and something uneasy flickers in his stomach, but he pushes it down and he refuses to be scared that there are enemies closing in, lightning crackling and sharp-blades approach and the chains hold him and he can't do anything but scream!

Toru forces himself out of the flashback, grounding himself via the seals he feels on him. He didn't have them before, and they're always there and he can always feel them. It's something that he can constantly use to remind himself where he is and who he is.

He lifts his head, his mind feeling clearer than it had before, and turns around. His chakra sense, as bad as it is, can sense a chakra signature in the tree to the west of it. The person isn't trying to hide or anything, and Toru feels spiteful enough to give the tree a sharp glance, and then he bounds upward, even as dawn arrives, the sun's rays trickling down on Konoha-who-sleeps-but-never-sleeps.

He continues running along the rooftops for a bit, before dropping into the streets with a henge in the form of a stray dog. He takes a minute to get used to four legs and using them all to move, before finding a pattern and adapting to the shape.

He heads towards where Tomoe's gang tends to hang out, moving at a steady trot, lazy but alert. It's easy to be ignored, looking as Toru does, especially as his henge has developed to such a high level that detecting it is getting harder and harder – according to Shou and Kiku.

As Toru enters the alleyway, he lets the transformation drop, shakes his head, and then settles to sit on a large bin. The others are there, but only one is awake – Hikaru – and he glances at Toru with dark green eyes, nods in greeting before returning to his lookout. Toru admires it, admires the resolve to continue being on guard despite a shinobi being there, admires the way Hikaru doesn't trust him yet.

What catches Toru's attention, is the stiff way Hikaru holds his arm. An injury, Toru guesses, and moves closer to Hikaru. The eight-year-old looks at him, a stubborn expression on his face. "I can heal your injury," Toru explains. "If you'll let me."

Hikaru analyses Toru for a moment, before nodding, and pulling up his sleeve to show a deep cut on his arm. "Healing Technique," Toru murmurs softly, his hands glowing as he runs them over the cut, which closes.

Hikaru nods in gratitude, before stepping backwards and moving away, and Toru turns to leave. Before the chūnin leaves though, Hikaru mutters something softly. "There's a strange building two blocks west of us. It seems abandoned but old word on the street is that nearby street kids vanished from there."

Toru nods and takes off at a steady jog, heading in the direction Hikaru indicated. He reaches the building quickly, and wonders why the street kids have been disappearing. It could be something sinister like a murderer or it could have been the spies that have only recently been found, (and Toru doesn't know if he's meant to know about that).

Still, Toru investigates, slipping into the shadows and sticking up high in the roof. He surveys the building from the outside first. It appears abandoned, like Hikaru had said, but there's something that Toru can't quite put a name to. He slips inside through a broken window. The building is completely empty and there is only old signs that anything had happened there. Toru sighs, caught somewhere between relief and frustration, whatever had happened to the street kids – he couldn't do anything about it. It seems to have stopped, or at least it no longer occurred in the building.

Toru left the deserted building, heading back to an apartment he called home. Frustrated at not being able to do anything for the taken kids, but relieved that the kidnapping had stopped.

Toru sits, legs crossed and hands resting loosely on his knees, eyes closed. He forces himself to ignore the sounds around him, the feeling of the grass beneath his legs, the sounds of construction on the wind from the entrance of the compound, the sounds of a new world coming into existence.

Toru takes a deep breath, holds it for a count of two, and then lets it go. He feels his chakra, and tries to relax, tries to ignore everything around him and let his mind go black. There's something he needs to know, something he has been ignoring and pushing away because there are things in this world he doesn't want to know – regardless of whether it's necessary for him to know or not.

Toru feels something stir in his veins, and he welcomes the familiar flash of heartbeat-beneath-his-feet and chakra-of-the-land and waves-crashing-on-the-shore and high-pitched-calls-of-seabirds and is reminded that Uzushio lives in his veins, in his heartbeat, in his mind, in his soul, in his skin, in everything he is.

He remembers this, knows this, and for Uzushio he will relive death and live again. For Uzushio, for his people, for all that they are the same, for everything he is and can be and was. He will heed the scream in the back of his head that warns him against trust. He will review his death with a coherent mind. He will hold hope in his heart, and the flame will burn forevermore, but he will look at his past and see what really happened. He knows he is missing something. He knows it. He doesn't want to acknowledge it because… because…

Because who wants to admit they were betrayed by someone they knew, who they trusted?

(In the end, it had been the ANBU who learnt of the invasion – not the patrols of other ninjas. In the end, the Kiri-nin had already gotten past numerous traps and seals. In the end, the Kiri-nin moved through the whirlpools that gave Uzushio her name without hesitation. In the end, Ayumu died due to someone she knew. In the end, something wasn't right.)

(Where does he want his story to start? He fought so much and for so long that there are numerous battles he can choose as a starting point. He will start at the end of his last week. He will start a month after Ayumu's death. He will start with the end, for the end is very much the beginning of Jakkaru, Toru Mizushima, ANBU Commander, Yondaime Uzukage.)

It's well known that ninjas can last for a long time, for ages and ages without food or much water simply due to their training. They weaken, yes, but they are resilient, and they manage to live even under the harshest conditions. Fighting changes things, as chakra needs to be used, and the ninja is constantly thinking, moving, fighting, and that uses energy – energy that needs to be replenished or regained. Uzushio ninjas are no different from any other ninjas, and they need rest, food, and water – not in that order.

Barriers become one of the most used seals that week, and the Kiri-nin are definitely coming to hate the things. Barriers can form in numerous ways and can respond differently to unknown chakra, and every seal is limited only by the chakra put into it and the creator's imagination. Thankfully, Uzushiogakure central seals have been depowered, and the chakra they used doesn't lay dormant, and Uzushiogakure – whatever she is – guides the chakra to strengthen the barriers.

(Where is he in all of this? There. He is there.)

His heart beats in his chest, so quick and loud that it fills his ears and makes him think that Uzushio's horses are galloping into the fight. They aren't though. Many had been released into the wild and would survive hopefully, while others had been taken to pull caravans.

There is no time to think anymore, and his mind has grasped the think-instinct-respond-action-kill-think-attack-defend-repeat cycle, and it's all he can do. More than ever before, he uses his instincts, thought almost causing him to waver and falter and die.

Deflecting a tantō with a kunai is nothing but instinct. There's a split-second thought, and an explosion seal comes into existence and he has so little chakra, less than any other stage this week. Experience has him already darting backwards and spinning around. The sound of an explosion behind him is nothing but everything he has heard this week. He finds a new target – and that's what they all are, enemies, targets, killers – and growls at him. He has no strength to respond, but he's forced to stay away as the gains distance and uses a ninjutsu.

Tiredness has become a friend and an enemy. It pulls at him, entices him to stop and sleep and give in. It takes the edge off his mind and forces him to pause, weary muscles and weary mind wanting very much to stop, but a heart and soul refusing to. He thinks his death will approach this day, but he has thought that for six days previous, and he is not dead yet. Everyone is escaping now, holding the Kiri-nins back and escaping, because this is real. This is a genocide. They are the victims, and they are fighters, and so they will fight.

He has seals tattooed on him, seals that hold chakra but will be deadly when they break. He hasn't broken them yet, because he doesn't think he can. Maybe if he gets to another seal master and breaks them, or a strong medic-nin he will be alright, but there are few here alive, and he doesn't know if he'll want to live once this is all over.

(He is a killer, a murderer, and he knows this. He still holds hope for mercy and a want for mercy, but it means little in the end. It is not the deaths and those he kills that haunt him, but his own people.)

His most powerful ninjutsu are out, because he doesn't have the chakra for it, and there's nothing left for him here, nothing left for him to do. He does the one thing he doesn't want to do, has never wanted to do, has always hoped he would never do. He hoped he would never do it, not because of the pain it will bring, because the reason why he would do so would never be a good reason. Seals are not made to be broken in such a manner, and the chakra they release brings him to his hundredth (maybe) second wind. It tastes like relief and freedom and hope and blood suffocates him – the scent of it, the memory of it.

He hisses, the sound lost amongst everything else in this battle-filled world, on this broken battle front, in this ruined place. Splintered and fractured, the seals tear and tear and tug at his chakra pathways and he doesn't think anything has hurt more. The pain is so strong it makes him ignore the slash on his chest, the splinters in his arms, the cut on his face, and the injured ribs. Still, his chakra coils pump out more chakra, and that's what he needs here.

Wind and water comes together with a twist of his hands, and it swirls and swallows another enemy and disappears. Chakra is channelled from his feet to the ground, and Uzushiogakure takes his chakra and seals work for the first time in eons, and he doesn't know what they do, they are unknown to him just as they are unknown to everyone else. He knows Uzushiogakure is the one taking his chakra and he hopes that the village is doing something that matters (everyone knows Uzushiogakure is alive to an extent, the seals and chakra she holds are a testament to it). He is given no chance to wonder, not that he would, and the fight he engages in is not the one that kills him.

It's over quickly, but all his fights are now, and he's resorted to using devastatingly quick taijutsu now, with only small ninjutsu. There's something slowing him down, now. He doesn't know when it started, but he can feel it and it is more than tiredness. Poison, more than likely, and wishes he felt something other than blankness, because surely he should feel some emotion at the knowledge he will die soon, yet the only thing he might feel is relief. His mind is taken off the poison when a kick to the sternum grants him more pain.

He gets up, kneeling first and then standing, because he won't stay down because his people are running and hiding and this is all he can do for them now. He will buy them time. He will die but he has known that for a while. Death has been something – someone? – he has walked alongside for years, but that doesn't mean he likes it.

Sometime between one fight and the next and the next, between instinct and thought and hope and life and death, he ends up beside one of his kunoichi. They move forward, refusing to give in, but she is dying – they all are. She has hope though, something he finds hard to grasp here in the bloodied claws of death and with the dying agonising cries of his people echoing in his ears, in his heart, in his mind. She stops, she stops and tells him to keep going and she tells him she will hold them.

He cannot refuse, cannot protest, and he has her hope riding on his shoulders now as well. He continues forward, parting with Uzushio's current motto falling from his lips like it's an assurance everything will be okay.

"The sea never dies."

He doesn't escape, just like he knew would happen, because there is no way he would manage to flee and live. He is poisoned. His seals are broken. He has been dying for a while now. His village has almost fallen silent and he may be the last one alive here. The explosions have been lessening, and now he listens for others and all he can hear is his heart hammering, his wheezing breathing, his enemies feet pounding and all he smells is blood. His chakra senses, never the best but not the worst, search for anyone he knows, any familiar pulse of life and chakra. He doesn't feel anyone, but that doesn't mean everyone's dead.

(He already knows the truth. He is one of the last. He was always going to be the last to fall. The first to fight but the last to fall. Always.)

Faltering and wavering but damn he's proud. He's proud of his ninjas that are falling, that are dying. He is proud as he feels each seal that pulses before extinguishing. He is proud that they have held out for a week. He may be surrounded, may be dying, but Uzushio is surviving and he will take out these who dare face him before he dies, and he will die well, because he has done this. Uzushio is alive and he has done this. They will live. They will be remembered. Uzushio is alive.

Fighting is something he does as easily as he breathes, even more so now when every movement is a struggle and every breath is something that wheezes and gasping and panting. Still he fights, and the four who dared surround him – jōnins because strength is important when going up against him – go down, dead or dying or injured, but no longer a problem, no longer going to attack his ninjas.

He tries to stand. Legs buckle beneath him and he collapses onto his knees, blood-soaked stones beneath his knees. His vision flashes but he has never needed vision. He has trained blind-folded and this poison may take his vision from him, but he will try to keep holding them back damn it. Someone comes, footsteps loud and clear and purposeful, and his chakra flees from his fingers as he tries to create another seal, and then the thought escapes him and he isn't sure what he's doing.

(Here is where the ending would be, but endings are never truly endings, just where the narrator leaves the story off. Sometimes stories get joined, and sometimes they do not. He ends here but he starts here. Uzushiogakure ends here, but Uzushio is everywhere and they will survive.)

"No need to fight," the voice says with a lilting tone, and he does not know this person. Their chakra is unfamiliar, their voice is unfamiliar, and he is glad – he will not die by one of his ninjas, by whoever betrayed them. Maybe the one who betrayed them has escaped, or maybe they have joined Kirigakure – maybe they were always part of Kirigakure. Maybe there is something darker at hand here, or maybe there isn't and he's searching for one because he doesn't want to believe that one of his ninjas did this for no reason. "It's past your death date," the ninja continues, and his sight is gone while this person monologues, but every moment this person – the leader, this must be the leader, the Kage of Kirigakure, the Mizukage – talks is more time for his people to gain more distance. "You've done well," and the praise is nothing he wants, nothing he needs, and he knows that they've done well, and he is proud of this, "but you've fallen now. It's been two weeks; your village has fallen."

It has been two weeks, and a long two weeks. One week of holding Kirigakure with their barriers, and another week of holding Kirigakure with fighting and seals and forcing Kirigakure to push all their strength onto Uzushio, of ensuring that Kirigakure doesn't go after his people.

"Not dead," he gasps out, blood dribbling down his chin as he coughs, the action feels like its tearing at his throat, at his lungs, and maybe it is. He shouldn't tell the leader this, but they won't understand, and he will love it. They will think it's his hope, they will call him out on being wrong, but he will be right and they won't know. "Village never dies."

"I'm afraid your so-called village of longevity will exist no longer," the voice replies, and they think he is boasting about their reputation, at their other title. Amusing, that this leader will ignore what he says and think the words of a boast from a dying shinobi. He is dying, but the words are not a boast.

"You're afraid of our seals," he responds and wants to laugh at this, because they are afraid of their knowledge, of the destruction they can bring. "We won't end here," and they won't, but this person refuses to believe that and so he will say this and hoard this knowledge forever. He will tell the world that their village hasn't died, that their village won't die, and no one will believe it except his people who are his village. This, he thinks, barely alive and just hanging on, will be the biggest trick in the world – a village thought dead, ruined, killed, but alive and well and going unknown.

"You will," the voice says harshly, and he's barely listening because who cares what this person says, his village is alive. "There is no one left alive," and this knowledge, despite the fact he knows it's a lie, is like a dagger. He flinches, because he had always hoped that others from the fight would manage to survive, despite the chance dropping with every second that passed. The person laughs. "I think it's time to let you go greet your ninjas… in the afterlife."

His eyes widen as something stabs his torso, and he can't see anything but that doesn't seem to matter. He opens his mouth and screams, coughing and spluttering and hacking up blood, even as the pain grows. With a harsh twist, the blade's jerked out, and he gasps, unable to do anything more. He lies still and dying, and there's a moment between one thing and the next and then there's no pain.

It's something like a thought but decidedly not his but familiar like his own. It's something that can't really be understood, because it's alive but it's not. It is chakra in seals and chakra of nature, chakra of the world, and it is humming around him. He feels safe, shielded from the world, and this is another world, almost. There's a memory out of reach, but he knows it is filled with pain and he wants to avoid it for now, so he does.

The not-thought is tinged with emotions. It's crafted out of pain and sadness and grief but he finds himself agreeing with it, because it is hope and determination and stubbornness and not giving in and not giving up – and it is what he is, all emotions and life and a heartbeat. It's hard to give the not-thought words, because there is no language, no such thing as languages here, but there's knowledge and he has thoughts, and he gives it words that aren't needed as he understands.

The being, Uzushiogakure – the actual village with her walls and buildings and seals and chakra – for who else would it – could it – be?, tells him that she doubts her people will come home without a leader, without him. He doesn't agree, because he was the last choice as a leader, he was never made to lead innocent people. He is darkness and shadows and ANBU and a team leader who sent his team away without him, ordered them to go, and refused to let them decide for themselves. Uzushiogakure doesn't say anything, but he feels like she's chiding him but she accepts his words, not with agreement, but accepts that that's his belief and he's allowed that.

A seal without chakra, is what she explains in not-thoughts-not-words, and no one to activate it. No one calling her people home.

He prompts her, confused, for she is chakra and she can guide that chakra and surely she could activate that seal?

"No reason to stay," and perhaps the words are murmured by him, or maybe they aren't and it's a not-thought voiced or maybe it isn't. It doesn't matter at all, because he knows that it's truth. A village lies in ruins and will be forgotten, and his people won't return because they think only corpses lay in Uzushiogakure, because they don't know her as he does now, they aren't fully aware of what she is, what she can do. They think that death will return for them. They think it's time to give up, to give in, because no one left Uzushiogakure when Kirigakure attacked, and they refuse to disabuse that knowledge.

He died for a reason, for a cause, and he wouldn't mind if this is how it ends, because it is their choice to return or not. Still, he's annoyed because… because Uzushiogakure, Uzushio, is more than a village for the people who fled. It is a home for all those who seek one, it is a safe place.

The world doesn't need him, has no want or need for him anymore. He can give in here, and Uzushio will let him. She won't be happy but she will allow it. His opinion, his choice matters.

(What about everyone else whose thoughts and opinions and choices are ignored? His voice matters, so why don't theirs?)

He is human. She is not. They are in agreement. Every voice matters. There is a world that doesn't need them and that's okay, and no one says they need the world.

He laughs, and there is nothing but silence maybe or maybe his voice floods wherever they are. He is gleeful and happy and himself. His people will await a call to come home, hmm? His people want a leader? There are people out there who need a home whether they want one or not? There are people who need to be told they matter?

A step to the right of mercy. Not understood in a battle torn world. Hope held heart-deep but ignored if necessary. Helper. Friend. Family. Enemy. Teammate. Leader. Alive. Dead.

He is not moving or maybe he is, and a hand is stretched out in darkness. The darkness curls around his fingers, enwraps his figure, and he is in comfort, he is steady, he is ready, he is safe, shielded.

The world needs a safe place for people? Uzushio needs to be reminded that together is what they are meant to be? That a village split apart is not a village unless they come back together? Well, surely he can't let the world go unknowing of the greatest trick ever pulled.

(Take a breath. Take a step. Have a straight spine. Shoulders relaxed and back. Eyes up high. Chin up. Lips curled.)

(The world moves forward.)

He is not needed but he needs to be needed. He needs to be there to be wanted. There is a world and it is not nice and it is not good. They know this. They are aware of this. They are not good or nice. Uzushiogakure is not human and he is. He is flawed and all too raw and dead.

(The trick to dodge the sword is to know where it's going to go.)

There's a promise that became Uzushio's motto and a shinobi who died not foolishly and not a fool, but died and Uzushiogakure is not happy. Death may be wanted and craved but a choice is a choice and not-thoughts-not-words heard can still change minds.

(Hasn't anyone ever heard?)

Uzushiogakure's chakra rises and rises and surges upwards like a wave and a barrier falls around Uzushio, and Kirigakure ninjas are trapped and will die, but Uzushiogakure is displeased with their invasion and this is how she will show it. Everyone is dead and blood floods her streets and there are no funerals for those who have died on her ground today. There are seals everywhere and many of them are not nice. There is a war going on and Uzushiogakure has been reduced to ruins because of fear, because they held power. Uzushio will live on, but they are scattered and refusing to be who they are.

(The sea never dies.)

Seals are only ever limited by one's imagination. Uzushiogakure has no imagination, but she has a will and she has knowledge and she cannot carve a seal, but she can guide chakra in a pattern beneath the ground. She is Uzushiogakure, and she has never needed to use seals – they're just helpful.

"Live," she says proudly, straightforwardly, and maybe she is speaking and maybe she isn't, but they are in darkness and he is dead. "Call everyone home, and bring them back. Tell the world of Uzushio's tale and remember me, remember us. You will live and you will be needed, and when the time comes return to me. The waves will crash against the shore and the sea will dream of your return. Strength of the current is not strength alone." He is everything Uzushiogakure is and maybe they are one. Proud and refusing to die and refusing to break, and this is all that they have ever been. Stubbornness. Determination. Life. Love. Laughter. Resilience.

(No one knows, but in the world, there is something waiting.)

He will live again. He will have a family. He will be brave. He will be strong. He will live again.

Death cannot stop a force of nature.
The sea does not wait to be told.
Uzushiogakure refuses to mourn.
The unwilling Uzukage wants everyone to have a voice.
The world awaits the return and the reveal of the greatest trick ever performed

I'm thinking this may be a long note... Let's hope not!

The mission gone wrong? Don't have anything to say about it. Let's move forward. (Cockroaches are gross and that shield is gross and how about no Toru, let's not do that again).

A nightmare from a while ago... This is what one of the scenes was based on. Toru forces his team to leave, to go, orders them. He thinks they will hate him for it. He never learns otherwise. (My feelings are physically hurting)

Toru returns home and Sasuke is so cute holy crap, and why are they so cute and why isn't Umino Iruka & Uchiha Sasuke not a tag. Why people.

Awww, Uzushio, no. Actually yes, you kill those damn enemies who dare invade your home and slaughter your people and kill you all. Uzushio is made up of badass people. I refuse to believe otherwise.

Iruka, you joined their family when you stayed for one meal. Naruto cares for you and Toru's more or less like mine now rather than join us, and even Sasuke accepted you. Toru goes to you to look after the children - his children? his siblings? haha, you'll have to wait a book and another book to find out how everyone sees everyone - and Sasuke is an evil innocent devil child. Iruka refuses to believe otherwise. They're all so cute. Just the scene. It's so beautiful and I love it and dogs are painful and if mine would let me have my damn bed when I want to sleep that would be great.
Once again, Iruka is part of their family - not in any romantic sense. It's all platonic. I mean, Iruka is insanely young for his position. He's probably around 19 or maybe still 18 at this point, I don't know. But he's a teacher and for clan heads and -muffled sounds - no spoilers.

Shisui. You are a genius who went unknown and are so amazing and great and you deserve to be remembered. You were strong. You were impressive, and you tried, but you fell short of the mark, and I'm sure Danzo will regret stealing your eye because Toru is not someone you want on your bad side.

Toru still has PTSD. I was struggling to find a way to show it, and it manifested in this. Nightmares, flashbacks, and feeling watched and worrying over it. Using a henge in one's own village? Doesn't look like he feels terribly safe. What do you think happened in that building?

The ending... was hard. Also, I rewrote the 1200 words of Toru's death back in chapter three and ignored much of it and ended up with 2200 words rewritten. Then I wrote another 1200 words regarding Uzushio and Toru and living and death. I wasn't sure how to end it. Nothing seemed to /fit/, y'know? The thing is, as much as Uzushio wants her people to come home, Uzusho (and I'm saying Uzushio because Uzushiogakure is a pain to type) wants people to remember that they have a home. Uzushio was made by wanderers (my headcanon) and she wants everyone to have a home. Toru wants everyone to have a home and remember that they matter.

I didn't know how to end it. I think I like the end five lines though. It works better than having a small summary. Anyway, this is me out!

I hope you enjoyed Sea Dreams, because we're at an end here. Please join me in Current Strength, because it's going to be beautiful and great and I'm looking forward to it.