The Iwa shinobi had retreated for the day. Their losses had risen too high, too quickly, to continue their attack. Tenji had done a lot and killed a lot of men and women in the fighting. If one of his former subordinates or even Kaguya could see him now, they might think that he had changed a lot. He was known to seek peace and not war, so how could he be so cruel now and kill so many people?
They would all be wrong.
While it was true that Tenji's actions appeared to have changed, it wasn't that he himself had changed. First, he had learned from the experience that led to his death. He had learned as much as he could, gathered as much information as was available and trained himself. What he had was experience and more maturity. Throughout his arrival in these times, he had listened to others tell him what his descendants had done and had seen what it resulted in. And he had arrived at a single conclusion.
He was the only one skilled and talented enough to ever hold a position of authority. He was the emperor, and he understood that almost no one was wise or talented enough to have that position. His sons had proven that power alone wasn't enough to warrant a position of authority. And the most recent example was Hashirama Senju. He had the power to end the war permanently, he had the power to kill Madara Uchiha and still go through with his plan to create a village. He held so much power in his hands, but then chose to split that power, in the form of the tailed beasts, and gave it away.
Tenji understood that someone had to stand at the pinnacle and keep those around and beneath them under control. It may sound condescending, but it was the truth Tenji had arrived at. The best solution was a single ruler who valued peace but was ready to put down all opposition and greed when they arose. But the way this was achieved was, of course, still relevant.
Kaguya had a similar idea, but had taken away people's free will. Such a thing wasn't really a good idea, if some could eventually contend with her power, as seen when Hagoromo and Hamura fought and defeated their mother. And Tenji also understood that, with his talent, keeping peace once he held authority would be simple, as he would do things differently this time around. He would remove all opposition eventually and stand at the top.
However... this was a long-term goal. Tenji's immediate desire and interest were to find his wife. Every day he knew that she was sealed was painful for him. But he already had a plan. He thought about storming the moon straight forward, but put it off for now, not quite ready for what it meant. But the plan was already in the works.
.
Tenji walked through the Konoha camp and gained a lot of thankful nods as he went along. He didn't care about them for now, but every moment was a way for him to learn and gather new intel. What he was looking for was Itachi Uchiha. He had felt something within that child, which he hadn't felt at this point. He felt a kindred spirit with the child, a link that seemed to connect them, which went beyond mere distant blood relation.
Tenji constantly uses the special genjutsu he developed. By using Yin-release and releasing it through natural energy, he saturates the surrounding nature energy and makes everyone see precisely what he wishes them to see. That's why everyone believes him to be an Uchiha, since he makes them see a Sharingan and Uchiha clothes and appearance, even though he clearly doesn't have one.
No one stopped him, as he used the genjutsu to make them ignore him. He stepped into the tent and saw Itachi sitting there and looking into the distance. Tenji walked forward and sat down next to the boy. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Itachi Uchiha watched the ground. His hands were folded neatly in his lap, as if he were afraid of dropping something fragile inside himself.
"How are you feeling?"
The boy thought for several seconds before answering. When he did, his voice was quiet, steady, and far too measured for his age.
"…I don't know yet," Itachi said.
"..."
"I don't understand it yet. I think I will understand later."
"War? Or the purpose behind such actions?" Tenji asked.
Itachi nodded.
"Are you afraid," Tenji asked at last, "now that you saw battle and death?"
Itachi didn't answer. But Tenji saw his little fists clench and his knuckles turn white. He was frustrated, and he understood why. The boy was indeed afraid, but for reasons that might not be expected.
"It is alright to be scared. Everyone is scared when they go through such moments."
Itachi looked at Tenji with searching eyes.
"You as well?" he asked.
"Naturally. But I fear different things than you do. Fear comes from uncertainty."
Itachi nodded his head lightly and thought about something. He was a very sensible child, and while this experience traumatised him, he thought it through carefully and tried to be objective.
"It's... wrong."
"Wrong how?"
"Few adults decide," Itachi replied, "and everyone bleeds. They call it protection, but the ones who need protecting are the ones sent to fight."
"…You are already wiser than all the rulers I've met," Tenji said quietly.
"Have you fought in many wars?" the boy asked.
"Yes."
"Did you believe in them?"
Tenji was silent for a moment and then chose to answer truthfully, not caring that he was talking to a 4-year-old child.
"I used to believe that one should be ready for war if he wanted peace. Long ago, I thought strength could end the cycle entirely, and that intelligence and prosperity could create a world where everyone might be happy. I went against the ancient traditions of my lands and much of what my father taught me. It was not well-received. Those of higher births grew greedy, and the others didn't fully understand what I was doing for them."
"What happened?" Itachi asked.
"Peace does not last on wishes alone. It must be protected… or imposed. My stance of granting as much freedom as I could was abused and my efforts betrayed."
"And now?" Itachi asked.
"Now, I understand that things can't go the way I tried. Power without direction is tyranny. But peace without direction will be abused and devoured by the greedy and scheming."
"So is a peaceful world impossible?" Itachi asked.
"No. But it requires the strongest of foundations to be built upon. In the end, the ones with power decide how the world works. The winners dictate history itself—what was 'necessary,' what was 'just.'"
"…Then nothing ever really changes," Itachi said.
"It can," Tenji replied. "But only if someone grows strong enough that their version of peace cannot be ignored."
Itachi looked up again.
"Strong like my father?" he asked.
"Haha, no child. Far stronger," Tenji said honestly. "Strong enough to stand alone against the entire world and come out on top."
"If I become strong," Itachi said, "will I have to hurt people?"
"Yes," Tenji said, "you will. And that's alright, as long as you are capable of knowing when to do it and when not to. But those things will come with time and experience."
.
Itachi and Tenji continued to talk for a while. The days passed as the situation against Iwagakure slowly settled again. The dead were buried, the tents rebuilt, and the wounded were in the process of being healed. During those two days, Tenji spoke with Itachi, slowly shaping his young mind in a direction that might change the course of history. Tenji also took his time to 'check up' on Itachi. He was conducting his own research, still looking for the best way to reach and free Kaguya.
As such, he used anything he could find about the long line of descendants to try to find a way to reach the root. The bloodline limits of the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan, were closely connected to his son Hagoromo, and it may help him connect to Kaguya. But while he came to understand things much better, it still wasn't what he was looking for. So when Fugaku was finally ready to bring Itachi back to Konoha, Tenji revealed his true self to the young boy.
"Where will you go now?" Itachi asked.
"I am going to get my wife back. She has suffered far too long," Tenji answered.
"And then what? What will you do then?"
"Then I will take back what was taken from us. I am Emperor Tenji Otsutsuki, and I shall take back the position taken through subterfuge and lies."
"..."
"You, Itachi, are closer to being a son to me than most who share my blood. Your talent is higher than almost all who came before you, and all that without you even trying. When the time comes that you need to make a hard choice, come and find me. You may come to me and ask for help."
"..."
"Farewell, Itachi."
After saying that, Tenji disappeared. His figure shimmered for a moment, and then he was gone. He hadn't lied to Itachi. There was something connecting them that went beyond blood. He understood that the reincarnations of his grandsons, Indra and Asura, appeared in almost every generation, to continue the fight they started all those centuries ago. Tenji felt that Itachi wasn't the reincarnation of Indra, but something else. And whatever it was, it made him special. His talent was indeed ridiculous and higher than it may have been had history been different. He unlocked his Sharingan at 4 years of age.
.
Tenji continued on his way. He travelled south, through the Land of Grass and into the Land of Rain. It rained almost constantly there, and the water flowed into a large lake, which surrounded Amegakure, the village hidden by rain. To get into the Land of Rain, Tenji had to use his special form of genjutsu once again, as the borders were well protected. Ame ninja were patrolling and were notoriously short-tempered. It was on his way through the Land of Rain that Tenji heard a few interesting pieces of news.
"Hanzo?" Tenji asked the ninja standing in front of him.
"Yes."
The shinobi was under his genjutsu, being interrogated. A beneficial way, Tenji had figured out. The use of Yin and Yan-release hid so much potential that it warranted extensive study and testing in Tenji's eyes.
"Hanzo of the Salamander?"
"Yes."
Tenji remembered something Mifune had told him. He had talked about his experiences and what happened in an extraordinary confrontation with Hanzo.
~Flashback~
"Hanzo of the Salamander? Why is he called that?" Tenji asked as they were drinking tea.
"At some point during Hanzo's childhood, he found a black salamander with deadly venom residing in his village. When it died, Hanzo took its venom sac and implanted it into his body, right into his left lower abdomen. He did that to give himself resistance to poison and make his body itself toxic. He told me he could envenomate people nearby just by breathing on them. This led everyone to be terrified of him, who was a kid at the time. To keep people around him safe, he had to start breathing through the mask he wears at all times. But the mask also protects him from poison. If he were wounded in his gut and the venom sac were to be ruptured, the liquid would spill out and vaporise, making a huge toxic gas cloud. Even with his substantial resistance to poisons, breathing something like that would stop him in his tracks. It wouldn't be enough to kill him, apparently, but it would give his enemies an opening. So whenever he faces opponents who could wound him, he is forced to keep the mask on at all times."
"I see, so his love for salamanders made him want to be one. But he was stupid and didn't think that he might not be able to handle the poison when he implanted the toxic sac into his gut."
"Yes."
~Flashback End~
Tenji remembered this talk he had with Mifune. But hearing the name again now made him pause. Something triggered one of his own memories when he heard the name Hanzo mentioned in the same breath as salamanders. But it wasn't a good one. Tenji chose to skip over the Hidden Rain Village for now and moved around it towards another battlefield.
The battlefield between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Konoha versus Sunagakure.