PRIMUS TOWER - THE KAZEKAGE'S OFFICE
Late Afternoon - Following a Genin Briefing
The reception desk on the ground floor of Primus Tower operated with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine, three shinobi manning the onyx surface, each representing one of Sunagakure's branches. Today it was Tanaka of the Main Branch, Hideki of ANBU (in civilian dress), and Nurse Yamamoto from Medical. They handled the steady stream of morning business with practiced ease: mission assignments, document filings, requests for audience with various officials.
Then the temperature dropped.
"What in Mother Suna's name—" Tanaka muttered, watching his breath mist in the suddenly frigid air. The lights began to flicker overhead, casting the reception area in strobing shadows that seemed to move with unnatural life.
"Defensive positions," Hideki said quietly, his hand moving toward the kunai hidden in his jacket. Years of ANBU training made the movement instinctive.
"Wait," Nurse Yamamoto raised a hand, her medical training allowing her to sense something the others missed.
"This chakra signature... it's not hostile. It's just... immense."
The figure that entered seemed to pull the shadows with him like a living cloak. Silver hair, an aura that made the ambient darkness writhe and dance, and an presence that spoke of power that transcended the merely human. When he spoke, his words carried the weight of someone accustomed to authority.
"Where is the Kazekage? Tell him Senju Kazuki is back."
The three reception shinobi exchanged glances. Tanaka cleared his throat, stepping forward despite the primal instinct that screamed at him to maintain distance from this man.
"Senju Kazuki-sama," he said, bowing respectfully.
"Welcome back to Sunagakure. Much has... changed since your absence. The Kazekage is currently in his office on the top floor, but he shoukd be finishing a mission briefing with a genin squad. I'll send word immediately that you've returned."
"Should we escort him up?" Hideki asked quietly, though his tone suggested he wasn't entirely sure three chunin could 'escort' this particular individual anywhere he didn't want to go.
"No need," Tanaka said, making a quick hand sign. A small orb of condensed air formed at his fingertip, a communication technique. He whispered into it:
"Lord Kazekage, Senju Kazuki has returned. He's requesting immediate audience."
The orb zipped away, darting up through the tower's central shaft toward the top floor.
KAZEKAGE'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
The genin had departed perhaps five minutes ago, Ryuni with his characteristic Yamashiro intensity, Tsumugu with thoughtful Renmei composure, and Rika with the determined edge of someone who had fought for every opportunity she'd ever received. Shin had watched them leave from his office window, three young lives now carrying the weight of a B-rank mission that could easily become their last.
He'd returned to his desk, forcing himself through the mechanical motions of documentation. Mission parameters recorded. Contingency protocols established. Emergency extraction procedures filed with ANBU. All the bureaucratic armor that couldn't actually protect them when blades started swinging and jutsu started flying.
The tea had gone cold. The refreshments sat mostly untouched—the genin had been too nervous to eat much, despite his efforts to put them at ease. Shin began clearing the low table with practiced efficiency, a meditative task that kept his hands busy while his mind processed what he'd just done.
Sent children to war.
The thought sat in his chest like a stone, heavy and unmoving. He'd justified it a dozen ways, but the village needed intelligence, they were the best option fforthis type of infiltration, they deserved the chance to prove themselves, war didn't wait for anyone to be ready. All true. All insufficient.
He was reaching for the second teacup when Tanaka's communication orb materialized beside his desk, the chunin's voice carrying that particular tone of controlled urgency that meant something significant had just walked through the Tower's doors.
"Lord Kazekage, Senju Kazuki has returned. He's requesting immediate audience."
Shin's hand froze mid-reach.
Senju Kazuki.
The name struck him like a bell, resonating through memories both recent and distant. His former sensei. The man who had taught him to see beyond bloodline advantages, to understand the fundamental architecture of genetic power. The Senju Overlord whose classes had changed the trajectory of Shin's entire life, steering him from puppet-making toward the medical innovations that now defined his career.
Also—and this detail crystallized with uncomfortable clarity—the man Shin had last seen in the company of Michi, that unsettling Ancient who had come seeking artificial souls. The encounter that had revealed Kazuki's true nature as a soul-consuming hybrid, his engagement to a creature of primordial power, and his apparent memory loss regarding their shared history.
That meeting had been... complicated. Enlightening. Disturbing. It had ended with Shin offering to produce artificial souls for Kazuki's consumption, a transaction that had never been completed due to the subsequent chaos of village events.
And now Kazuki was here. Alone, apparently. Seeking the Kazekage specifically.
"Send him up," Shin said into the dissipating orb, his voice steady despite the sudden recalibration happening in his mind.
"Top floor, my office. And Tanaka... ensure we're not disturbed unless it's an emergency."
He straightened, running a hand through his golden hair as he considered the situation. The refreshments were still serviceable. The tea could be reheated with a snap of his fingers. But receiving Kazuki required different preparation than briefing genin or conducting routine administrative business.
This was a man who had once been a Sennin of Sunagakure. A legendary figure whose name appeared throughout the village's historical records like a ghost—powerful, enigmatic, and apparently unkillable despite facing threats that would have ended lesser shinobi a dozen times over. Someone who had taught Shin, influenced his path, and then vanished for years before returning... diminished. Changed. His memories scattered like ash in the wind.
Shin moved to stand near the window, hands clasped behind his back, positioning himself so that when Kazuki entered, the artificial sunlight would frame him without blinding. A small psychological detail, but one that established presence without aggression. He activated his chakra sense, feeling the building's occupants like candle flames in the darkness.
There—a signature unlike any other. Cold. Vast. Ancient in its fundamental wrongness against the normal warmth of human chakra. Moving up through the tower with purposeful strides, each footfall leaving a wake of dropped temperature and restless shadows.
The last time they'd met, Shin had been the Medical Chief offering services to a former mentor. Now he wore the Kazekage's authority, and the power dynamic had shifted in ways both obvious and subtle. How would Kazuki perceive that change? Would he even remember their previous relationship beyond what the photograph in Shin's office had revealed?
"Where water flows, life endures," Shin murmured to himself, centering his mind with the Renmei motto.
"And where shadows gather... old debts resurface."
The door to his office stood open, welcoming. Shin could feel the temperature beginning to drop even before Kazuki reached the top floor. The plants in his office—the Yurei Orchids, the succulents, the ancient bonsai—all seemed to lean slightly away from the approaching presence, as if recognizing something fundamentally opposed to their nature.
Shin with a flick of his wrist, Shin would snap his fingers summoning a small controlled flame beneath each kettle. Fresh tea. A gesture of hospitality that transcended their changed circumstances.
`brings a ghost back to the living?` Shin wondered.
`what will he think of finding his former student wearing the Kazekage's authority?`
The shadows in the hallway outside grew darker, more pronounced. The temperature dropped another degree. The lights flickered once, twice, responding to the presence of something that existed in the spaces between life and death.
Senju Kazuki was coming.
And Shin, the Phoenix Sage who had learned to see beyond bloodlines and create life from chakra alone, waited to discover whether this meeting would be a reunion or a reckoning.
