Night soon fell and the village was silent. Nina, cloaked in a long black cape and hood, silently crept out of the small house and slipped into the woods behind it.

Racing through the trees at a speed that to most could only be seen as a light rustling of leaves to most, she headed in the direction of her house, her actual house. Her shakujō was still there and she needed it to carry out the Receiving Justu. Not long after, she felt a slight shaking from the last branch she had landed on, one not caused by herself.

Unfortunately, she had expected this and only hoped that it wouldn't happen. She was being tailed, and by the looks of it, the person was good. She couldn't detect a single trace of chakra anywhere. The shaking that she felt was probably caused by a slight misstep, and she only detected it out of sheer luck in timing. Not stopping for a moment, Nina pushed off of the next tree branch, continuing towards her house.

About a hundred steps away from her front door, she came to a halt, back turned to her pursuer. She heard a quiet, almost unnoticeable sound when the person had stopped on a branch a couple trees behind her.

"Make yourself known." her voice pierced through the silent forest.

No answer.

She decided to try to work this out peacefully, after all, she was not here to fight.

"Tell me your business here, you will not be harmed."

There was a moment of silence.

Then a chuckle.

"That's what I've been saying for months." a familiar brunette landed silently on the ground. "I'll answer you if you answer me." Hashirama said, offering a crooked smile that did nothing to help pry an answer from the woman.

The atmosphere was not dark.

It was not awkward.

It was not tense.

It was just silent.

The two stood motionless, illuminated by the pale white moonlight flowing through the trees.

Not friends, not strangers, not enemies.

It was Nina who broke the silence.

"Why are you following me?"

"Why are you out?"

"What do you want?"

"To know who you are."

"You won't be getting any answers."

"Then you're not getting rid of me."

Again, silence.

Nina turned away and continued towards her home. For all the traits this man had in common with Hagoromo, persistance was certainly an obvious one.

He matched her pace, keeping the distance between them.

They soon came upon a small cabin under a large tree. Hashirama stopped as he saw the woman in front of him step into the house. He trusted that she would be emerging soon, and that she did. Only a moment after she entered the cabin, she stepped out with something in her hand. A staff of some sort. He got a feeling that he should stay silent for now.

They continued their walk towards a destination unknown to him.

Finally, after dozens of twists and turns, he saw her halt on the edge of an open field.

"Don't come any closer." came the command. "For your own good."

Hashirama obliged, getting the feeling that she knew more than she let on.

The woman stepped into the field, drawing a pattern on the ground with the efficiency that only came with repeating it a hundred times. He watched as she jammed the end shaped like an open circle into the ground, jumping to land on top of the other end. The end she stood on was a loop with six rings hanging from it; three on either side. The entire staff seemed to be made of a material that was a shade darker than black.

They must have stood there for well over an hour before anything happened. She formed a chain of hand seals; hare, tiger, ox, bird, boar, hare, and, as if by her command, moon began to glow a pale orange, as did the symbol that had been drawn on the ground. The color began to get darker and darker. A stream of red moonlight drifted towards the ground.

Hashirama could feel it. The same odd chakra that the woman carried was streaming down towards them. It seemed to be getting absorbed into either her or the staff. It was only then that it hit him. This was the blood moon.

This was what was causing it.

She was what was causing it.

By the time the chakra stream had stopped, Hashirama was left with far more questions than he had come with. When the woman had stepped off the staff, a gust of wind blew away any marks she had made on the ground, leaving the area as unremarkable as it was before.

The woman walked towards him, stopping a few feet away.

"There are a few things you should know." she began.

For the next few hours, the two sat on the edge of the field. Nina told him her story.

Of who she was, of why she was here. She told him about her death almost a thousand years ago and about her revival soon after, not specifying whom she was revived by. She told him about her role as a guardian for the world, to protect the decedents of the Ōtsutsuki as best as possible while keeping herself as unknown as possible.

Even having listened to all this, Hashirama wanted to know more.

So she told him about her clan, about their architecture, about their festivals.

She told him about the princess, about the chakra tree, and about the rampage.

Next came the part about the princes.

She told of the sealing, of the creation of the tailed beasts, and of how the first person to receive chakra was a close friend of the legendary sages.

When Hashirama, intrigued by the idea of being the first person to receive chakra, asked to hear more about this person, all Nina could say was that she knew the person. They were young when they received the chakra were and even rumored to be as powerful as the two sages. She told him how no one knows much of what happened to the person, they disappeared just before the clan relocated.

The Senju's curiosity seemed to be unending. He would have asked many more hours' worth of questions had he not been interrupted by Nina.

"It's about time we get back. The sun will rise soon." she said, eyes fixed on the horizon. They stood up, dusted themselves off, and began heading back to the village after dropping off Nina's shakujō at her home.

The sun's light had not yet reached the sky when the two stepped foot in the village. They were just about to part ways, when Nina felt a hand on her shoulder. She felt his hesitation.

"Why did you choose to tell me all that?"

The question was simple, seemingly obvious. But she had to think about it for a minute.

"I'm not sure." her eyes softened. "Perhaps you reminded me of someone I knew."

The image of the younger version of her and Hagoromo flashed in her mind. They were sitting in a field, talking and laughing as if they had known each other their entire lives.

"Or perhaps your interrogations were just getting tiresome."

Hashirama smiled amusedly.

"Of course. Anyways, thank you for sharing your story. It was very interesting." and they parted ways.

As Hashirama walked back to his office the image of that strange woman, telling him of her past, eyes glazed with nostalgia, a softer expression on her face than he had thought possible, refused to leave his mind.

The next day did not start like it usually did. Ia had come to escort Nina a number of hours later than expected. They did not speak on the way to the interrogation.

When they arrived, Nina found out that the interrogation for the day was, in fact, not an interrogation at all.

"Thank you Ia, you are dismissed."

The said woman nodded at Hashirama and backed out of the room. He turned to Nina.

"I have a preposition for you." he began as she took the seat in front of his desk. "You want to keep peace between my clan and the Uchihas right? I want you to help me convince their leader, Uchiha Madara, to enter a peace treaty with us. My intention is to establish a village, one that will be a home for any clan willing to join. A mass alliance of sorts." he looked at her in anticipation.

The expression on her face gave no hint as to how insane she thought it was.

"War is part of human nature. It has been going on since my time. Putting so many clans in one permanent alliance will bring you trouble in the future." she stated bluntly. Hashirama's face fell.

"Do you think it's that bad of an idea?" he trailed off, thinking about it for a moment before snapping his head back up. "But you can help me! You seem to know more about what good, functional villages are than I do. I've only known my village, you must've seem dozens more!"

Nina shook her head lightly.

"All the villages I've seen have been comprised of one clan, many of those have even failed. There have been none that follow your idea of alliance." She saw the discouraged look in his face, his eyes dulled along with it. "...but perhaps you can make it work."

His face instantly lit up upon hearing this.

"Does that mean you'll help me?" he asked, clearly excited.

"If that's what it takes to bring peace." Nina nodded.

Hashirama suddenly stood, hands pressed against his desk, a determined look on his face.

"I swear you won't regret it." he beamed.

She looked up at him.

So excited, so driven.

'Hagoromo, I can't help but see you in him...'

The next few days consisted of meetings with Hashirama, Mito, and Tobirama, the latter of whom was extremely unhappy upon hearing of the plan to start a village with the Uchihas, especially with the help of a stranger from a different clan. Of course, he soon begrudgingly agreed to it.

"There should be an order to how the clan compounds are placed. The friendlier ones put closer to us, the more untrustworthy ones put near the outskirts." Tobirama stated.

"The placement of compounds should be up to the individual clans so they don't see us as dictators." Mito commented, though slightly distracted.

"We can let them decide, but only after we know which clans I've spoken to are actually willing to join. Some precautions will have to be considered, of course." Hashiirama settled.

The four continued to bounce ideas around until the sun set and they retired for the day. As Nina was outside the building waiting for Ia, who seemed to be late today, she heard a voice behind her.

"Who, exactly, are you?"

"Mito." She greeted. "I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"Neither would Hashirama. He said he trusts you, though. Why?"

"I can't say."

"Well, I can say that I'm not as suspicious of you as Tobirama is, however I must ask one you question."

"Please do."

There was a pause.

"Hashirama mentioned that you're particularly knowledgeable on the topic of the tailed beasts. There is not much information on them that I know of. I want to know where you learned of them."

"Ah, I'm afraid that's also part of what I cannot reveal." Nina gazed at the golden horizon.

A young woman stood in awe.

"They amazing, Hagoromo!" she looked up at the enormous creatures. A metallic turtle, a sand colored tanuki, a bright orange fox, and six others stunning creatures. "These are the tailed beasts you created?" she asked the young man next to her.

"Yes. They were split from the ten tails. They are still small but will grow quickly. I need to ask you to watch over them for a time. As you can see, I am not able to do so myself." Hagoromo said lowly, referring to his currently weakened state. "Your chakra is more than enough to control them and they do not seem to be hostile towards you."

"Of course I'll help." she beamed.

"Thank you, Nina. I leave them in your hands for now." he turned and retreated, presumably to get some much needed rest.

"Who are you?" she heard a voice ask. She looked up at the creature: blue with black makings. It seemed to be communicating telepathically.

"My name is Ōtsutsuki Nina. I will be taking care of you guys for a little bit." she smiled politely.

"That man created us. You seem to know him well." the metallic turtle observed.

"Yes, we've been friends for many years." she heard the hesitation from the nine creatures.

It was the fox who spoke next.

"Your chakras are very similar... how is that so?"

At this, Nina laughed lightly and proceeded to explain all the events that have happened, starting all the way from when the princess ate the chakra fruit. The nine beasts huddled around her, eagerly listening to the tale. They were especially interested in the part where they were separated from the ten tails.

"The ten tails was the result of princess Kaguya's fusion with the Shinju, the Divine Tree. It was a hideous creature, really. Enormous and more powerful than anything I've ever seen." She grimaced at the thought of the monster. "But Hagoromo and his brother, Hamura, managed to defeat and seal it. I know it was hard for them, to seal away their own mother..." Trailing off, her gaze fell to the ground.

Just then the loud sound of a bell ringing pierced the air. Seeing how the beasts flinched, Nina was quick to reassure them.

"It's just the Evening Bell. It always rings a little before midnight to tell anyone that's still out to quickly get back home. Don't mind it." she smiled gently.

For the rest of the night, Nina told the nine beasts of all kinds of stories. From the ones about the village history to stories of her times with the twins. She told of how she had died during the attack of the ten tails but was revived by her two friends. She told them about how she was the first person they had given chakra to so hers might develop to be almost as powerful as theirs.

Of course, the beasts bombarded her with unending questions about every possible topic. Asking for more detail about their own existence, more stories about her life, more information about Hagoromo.

It was a few hours after midnight and Nina was leaning against the paw of the fox, peacefully asleep. All nine of the beasts were looking at her curiously. A long silence hung in the air.

"I like her." one of the beasts whispered, as to not wake the woman. Eight mumbles of 'me too' were exchanged.

"Hey!"

Nina was snapped out of her daydream by someone calling out. They both turned to see Ia running towards them.

"Sorry I'm late." she panted. Straightening herself up, she smiled at the two. "Anyways, let's go." she said to Nina, bowing her head slightly at Mito, leaving the latter with questions swirling in her head.

Day after day, the meetings began to form into an overall blueprint for the village and how it would be run. The four would often receive response letters from the clans Hashirama had approached. Many had agreed, many more had declined, yet he did not seem discouraged. Today, their goal was to convince Madara to bring the Uchihas into the mass alliance. The two brothers were the ones to go and confront him. When they had left, Mito turned to Nina.

"I must ask you a favor. Please go after them. I'm afraid Hashirama won't be able to convince him. Madara is a hard headed man, if a conflict were to break out, Tobirama would not hold back but he isn't as powerful as Madara. Hashirama may be able to defeat him, but he doesn't have the will to do so." the redhead held a worried expression.

"I was planning to do exactly that. I know they were childhood friends." Nina told her, "I'll make sure no one gets hurt too badly." She then quickly headed in the brothers' direction, tracking their chakra trail while hiding her own.

Not long into her chase, she felt the Madara's chakra approaching. Reaching the point above where the trio stood, she concealed herself in the leaves, watching their interaction. Being too high up to hear their words, she observed their actions and body language closely. Tobirama seemed to be the most prepared to attack while the other two were in a heated argument, presumably about the proposed village. She saw sparks fly as the two suddenly had their swords in a deadlock. A full battle soon erupted, but Nina was calm, she trusted that they would not be going all out.

The conflict burned for a long while, both sides were worn out, but Madara, having taken the defensive most of the time, was evidently more tired than the Senjus. Soon, Hashirama had overwhelmed his opponent, a sword pointed at the Uchiha's chest. Hesitation was clear on his face, he was fighting an internal battle. Slowly, he retracted and sheathed his sword. She heard the words he spoke next.

"Why do we fight? Why can't we have peace?"

She heard Madara's response as well.

"Peace? Peace requires great sacrifice. Prove to me you are willing to sacrifice for it." his voice was strong, unwavering. "Kill your brother."

Silence.

Hashirama slowly spoke.

"I won't. He's the only brother I have left, I cannot lose him too." Hashirama then looked up, towards the sky. "However, I am willing to kill myself."

Tobirama stiffened and interjected.

"Hashirama." he warned. But the said man only shook his head.

"If it will bring peace to our clans, I am completely willing to make the sacrifice." he took out a kunai, not even giving it a glance. Madara seemed to have no reaction.

It was at that moment that they felt a flare of chakra. The kunai shattered and next thing they knew, a fuming Ōtsutsuki was standing in front of them, rage radiating off her in waves, her glare was one that could have made the Sage of Six Paths himself flinch.

The Senju brothers were frozen for a second. Madara, on the other hand, sported a smirk.

"About time you showed yourself, woman." he said, only to be ignored.

"Perhaps you forgot about your wife back in the village, waiting for you. And your sons. And hundreds of villagers, waiting for their leader." she continued to let her anger seethe into the sharp words. "Did you think your village would thank you for killing yourself? It would have only caused more hatred. Did you ever consider the consequences before racing into action?"

Tobirama opened his mouth to speak, only to quickly close it upon receiving her glare. With those words and a furious sneer, Nina disappeared, leaving behind a long period of silence.

Finally, Madara cleared his throat, breaking the quiet.

"I agree to your proposal. I will help the village."