A massive monolith stands as if guarding the Hidden Leaf Village. Carved into its stone face is a giant likeness of a human countenance. This is the Hokage Rock, an icon that watches over every soul living in the village. It provides the people with a sense of security, a reminder that they live under the protection of the Hokage. Currently, only the face of Hashirama, the First and current Hokage, adorns the cliff, but as the title passes to the second and third generations, more faces will join it.
The carving of Hashirama perfectly captures both the fierce resolve of a veteran who ended the Warring States period and the innate warmth of the man himself. It was a masterpiece that even Hashirama was proud of. Yet, the man in question currently stood atop his own stone head, his expression clouded by shadows. The wind whipped through his long hair, cooling his cheeks.
Hashirama had watched the village grow since its inception. This sprawling, developing landscape was the treasure he had once chased alongside his sworn friend, Madara Uchiha—a dream they had finally made real.
As children, they had shared their hopes for the future. Recognizing each other as kindred spirits, they were eventually torn apart when their respective clans took the lives of their precious family members. They were mere boys then, toys of fate, who eventually grew up to become the leaders of those very clans.
After years of war, Madara finally acknowledged Hashirama's strength and character—moved by the fact that Hashirama still called him "friend" even after decades of bloodshed. They finally shook hands, taking a detour that lasted twenty years.
The reconciliation with his friend. The end of the Warring States. An organization where children would no longer have to die. Hashirama and Madara had achieved everything they once desired, yet their ideologies slowly began to diverge. Still, Hashirama wanted to protect this peace above all else. Because of this village, because of this peace, he had been able to meet the family he loved so dearly.
"Madara..."
But his friend was no longer there. Madara's ideals clashed with Tobirama's political direction, and shortly after Hashirama became the First Hokage, Madara left the village. Consumed by the belief that the village had betrayed him, he became a ghost of vengeance. He returned with the Nine-Tails—bound by the ocular power of his Mangekyo Sharingan—intent on raking the Hidden Leaf into the dirt.
With a heavy heart and a sense of profound helplessness, Hashirama rose to meet him. The battle lasted all night, ending only when Hashirama stood victorious. Beside a newly formed waterfall created by their world-shaping struggle, Hashirama had gazed down at the face of his friend, who looked as if he were merely sleeping.
He was torn between the agony of why it had come to this and the absolute resolve that he would not forgive anyone who threatened the village. No one could imagine the bitter grief the gentle Hashirama felt in taking his friend's life. Words could not describe the chaos of his emotions. He felt no regret for the act itself—only a deep, hollow loneliness.
"Hey! Grandpa!"
"Oh! Tatamima! ...Wait, what?"
The familiar voice of his grandson reached his ears, and Hashirama's melancholy vanished instantly. He transformed back into the doting, "useless" grandfather in a heartbeat. He looked around but couldn't see the boy.
"Over here!"
Hashirama looked down. There was Tatamima, standing vertically on the side of the cliff face, waving his hand.
Hashirama scrambled to the edge and scooped the boy up. Walking on walls was a step up in chakra control—not particularly difficult, but something that required a solid foundation. When he heard Tatamima had become Tobirama's apprentice, Hashirama had been sulky that he wasn't the one teaching him. However, as the Hokage and clan leader, he understood Tobirama's reasoning and had reluctantly stepped aside.
He was proud that the boy had already mastered wall-walking, but his overprotective side immediately kicked in. What if he lost focus? What if his chakra wavered and he fell? Hashirama himself had mastered standing on water and climbing trees before he was even Tatamima's age, but that didn't stop him from being a worrywart. He jumped to the very top of the cliff, standing on the rim above the faces. From here, the view of the village was even more breathtaking.
"Whoa... this is incredible," Tatamima breathed.
Hashirama felt a surge of nostalgia. He had stood in this very spot with Madara when they were children. Back then, there were no faces carved in stone; the land where houses now stood was nothing but a dense forest. They had chased a dream of ending the war, of realizing peace, of protecting their families and ensuring children could grow up. Even if his friend wasn't by his side, the village was here, and so was his family. This was the world beyond the dream.
"Tatamima... do you have a dream?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Hashirama panicked. He thought back on what he had taught the boy so far: tending to bonsai, how to gamble, and bragging about his collection of ninja tools. He realized there was a very real possibility the boy would say, "I want to be a professional gambler." Mito had just scolded him about his bad influence the other day.
How will he answer?
Tatamima looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding to himself. Hashirama waited with a mix of anticipation and dread.
"I think... I want to become the Hokage and protect everyone."
Though Tatamima often acted mature, he was still a cute grandson in Hashirama's eyes. He had likely chosen this dream without fully understanding the weight of the title. But that didn't matter. It was a vital first step, just as Hashirama's dream of a "village" had once been.
All Hashirama could do was pray that the boy's path remained straight. He hoped Tatamima wouldn't have to walk the sad road he had—where he had to kill his best friend to protect his family—or the dark road Madara had taken, falling into despair when his heart was broken by the very peace he sought.
Hashirama let out a long sigh. He hesitated. Should he pass on the "Will of Fire" to Tatamima, as he had to his student, Hiruzen Sarutobi? He worried that defining it might narrow the possibilities for a young leaf just beginning to sprout.
Still, he wanted to give the boy a signpost—something Tatamima wouldn't be bound by, but could use as a guide to find his own dream. Whether this was ego or trust, Hashirama wouldn't be around to see. But if his grandson inherited the Will of Fire and walked the path toward the true dream Hashirama envisioned, then all the hardships of his life would have been worth it.
"Tatamima. The Hokage is the one who carries everyone's hopes. The people of the village believe in me, and I... I believe in them. That is what it means to be Hokage."
"I see... Yeah. I'll remember that."
Seeing the boy nod solemnly, Hashirama broke into a wide, goofy grin. A single leaf caught a draft of wind, dancing up toward the sky.
A moment later, Tobirama appeared out of thin air and dragged Tatamima away. Hashirama, as usual, was powerless to stop him.
***
"Took you long enough!"
Tatamima arrived late for his meeting, showing absolutely no sign of remorse. He had one hand in his pocket and gave a lazy wave with the other. A blonde girl, Ina Yamanaka, looked like she was about to snap.
"Why are you late every single time!?" she yelled, pointing a finger at him. This bickering was a daily ritual. Beside them, a silver-haired boy named Sakumo Hatake covered his ears, looking exhausted by the drama.
"Sorry, I was napping," Tatamima said bluntly.
"Could you at least try to sugarcoat it!?" Ina's eyes narrowed, her breathing becoming heavy with frustration. But as she saw Tatamima shrinking back from her sheer intensity, she let out a tired sigh. She'd almost prefer a fake excuse about helping an old lady cross the street.
"Well, it was only five minutes," Tatamima muttered. "No need to get so worked up every time."
Ina blinked, stunned. She hadn't expected the latecomer to defend himself so casually. A mix of shock and frustration swirled in her heart, and her jade-green eyes began to well up with tears.
"But... a ninja has to be on time... ugh... WAAAHH!"
Ina hated that she cried so easily when her guard was down; she considered it a failure of mental discipline. Tatamima panicked, gently patting her shoulder to get her to stop, while Sakumo felt a twinge of guilt for not intervening sooner. Ina was tough in a fight or an argument, but she was surprisingly fragile when she was caught off-guard.
"Anyway, I want to go somewhere today," Tatamima suggested once she calmed down. He pointed toward a specific part of the forest far from the village.
"Aren't we supposed to be sparring?" Sakumo asked. "You said Lord Tobirama told you to practice Taijutsu. That's why we gathered."
"There's a weird part of the forest past the gates," Tatamima explained. "It's bigger than the rest, kind of tangled and... strange."
"Oh, so that's how it is," Sakumo said, throwing up his hands. If they went to the "strange" forest and got in trouble, it would be on Tatamima's head, not his.
Years ago, Hashirama had taken his grandson out of the village—with Tobirama's permission. At the time, Tatamima was just starting to learn ninjutsu and begged to see his grandfather's skills. The bratty kid had told Hashirama that Tobirama's Water Style was more diverse, and that Earth Style was "boring."
To please his grandson (and because he couldn't say no to him), Hashirama had performed a Secret Wood Style Jutsu: Deep Forest Emergence. He had been so eager to impress that he overdid it, transforming the area into a sprawling mess of unnaturally twisted trees.
"So you're saying you're the reason the local ecosystem is a mess," Sakumo sighed.
Tatamima laughed sheepishly. Ina poked him in the ribs. "That wasn't a compliment, you know!"
Before things could escalate, Sakumo cleared his throat. Ina quickly pulled back, blushing slightly and covering her mouth.
"The Hokage's Wood Style, right?" she said. "My older sister mentioned it. She said he can grow flowers too. He even gave her one once."
Sakumo nodded in appreciation. Tatamima looked a bit bored by the praise. Ina stood tall, her tightened midriff—wrapped in bandages beneath her crop top—on display. It was an odd fashion choice, but Tatamima thought it suited her. Then again, he was currently wearing a simplified set of flashy red armor over his chest and hips, which made him stand out just as much in the village. Only Sakumo, in his standard, plain ninja gear, looked like a normal shinobi.
Even so, to any child of the Hidden Leaf, a forest created by the Hokage was an alluring prospect. Sakumo was interested, but Ina hesitated.
"But I told my mom I was playing here..."
"It's fine. I sent word to her already," Tatamima said.
"Really? Then let's go!"
"Talk about a quick turnaround," Sakumo muttered. "Wait, how did you send word? When?"
"Shadow Clone," Tatamima replied. Sakumo nodded. Fair enough.
As they walked through the residential district and reached the massive "A" and "N" gates of the village, they each carried a bag of fruit bought with their pocket money.
"Master Tatamima," one of the gate guards said with a respectful nod.
Tatamima gave a casual wave, used to the treatment, though Ina and Sakumo always felt awkward when adults treated their peer with such deference. Tatamima told them they were heading out to play. With the war over and treaties signed, the gates were open and movement was free, despite the recent Madara incident.
As they entered the forest, the atmosphere shifted. It was much thicker and darker than the woods near the village.
"We can use as much Earth Style as we want here," Tatamima noted.
"True. We did get scolded for wrecking the training grounds last time," Sakumo added.
"Don't group me in with you two!" Ina snapped. "I tried to stop you, but you both got way too into it!"
"Hahaha! Yeah, that did happen."
Recently, Tobirama had taught Tatamima about "Nature Transformation"—the advanced skill of changing raw chakra into one of the five elements. Tatamima had an affinity for Earth, Fire, and Water.
He had also been obsessed with the idea of Wood Style. Since it was a Kekkei Genkai—a bloodline trait—passed down from his grandfather, he assumed he could do it too. In a sparring match with Sakumo, he had tried to force it. Instead of trees, he had accidentally unleashed a "Landslide Jutsu."
Because the jutsu lacked the proper control, it had turned into a massive, uncontrolled wave of mud, rocks, and debris. It had swallowed Sakumo and Ina, flowed past the training grounds, and crashed into a corner of the village, swallowing houses while people screamed and fled.
Tobirama had been forced to intervene with Flying Raijin to suppress the "attack," while Hashirama used his Wood Style to rescue the unconscious Ina and Sakumo. That was when Ina's sister had seen the flowers.
"It's not funny!" Ina said, smacking Tatamima on the back of the head.
"Ow..."
After that incident, Tatamima had faced a multi-hour lecture from Tobirama and his parents, followed by a "discipline" session via Genjutsu. The Landslide Jutsu was now officially a Forbidden Jutsu within village limits.
"Hey, it's in the past. Stop bringing it up," Tatamima grumbled.
"Ugh..."
"Anyway, let's move! We don't want to be late getting back!"
Tatamima grabbed Ina's hand—perhaps a bit too forcefully—and pulled her toward the dense trees. Sakumo followed behind with a sigh, biting into a piece of fruit. It was a little sour.