The years passed quickly and things had changed greatly, Tobirama had become widley accepted as the most powerful shinobi in the village, Hiruzen had grown to be a young teen, Tsunade was now a little older and understood things better, the village had grown even stronger, and everyone had become more comfortable with everyone else, meaning less conflict between clans. Not everything was good, however. A war was gaining strength and hidden villages were going against each other. There had recently been an attack on Konoha, luckily, only a few were injured. This did mean, however, that no one was safe, not even inside the village. Nina had been denied of her request leave the village to fight, Tobirama had refused each time she asked.

"Remember what you're here to do." He would always tell her. That was part of the reason she was so incredibly upset when she saw his team return from their latest mission. Without him. Hiruzen, who had grown close to her, had explained everything. He was every bit as upset as she. The boy had her pity, after all, he wasn't even an adult yet.

In accordance with Tobirama's wishes, Hiruzen was named the Hokage soon after. He would come to Nina's office every day in search of advice on one subject or another. She helped as best she could, giving him her thoughts on what would be best.

One day, she realized something that caused her to drop everything she was doing. She realized that everyone was growing up, everyone was moving forwards. If someone was to notice how she had not aged at all, had not changed at all, suspicion would undoubtedly arise. She had to avoid this somehow, so she went and spoke with the one person left alive who knew her story.

"What do you mean?" Mito demanded. "Leaving the village?" Her face was painted with worry.

"You can tell that I have not aged. Everyone can see that. If someone were to dig further into why that is..." The image of that Adachi girl stuck in her mind. "Things won't be good." Nina stated grimly.

"But you're one of the last shinobi left who helped found this village! Suddenly leaving will damage the morale of the council and elders, not to mention you're the one who handles most of the inner and outer village affairs." The Uzumaki tried to reason with her.

"Mito." Nina stared straight at her, gaze sharp and piercing. "I cannot stay." She said simply. The redhead closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

"When?" She asked solemnly.

"Tomorrow. I have a few things to sort out before then. And you'll be fine, there are others who are more than capable of doing the things I have, the village is in good hands. Besides, I'll always be close." Nina gave her one last nod and turned towards the door.

"Where are you going?" A small, sweet voice asked quietly. Tsunade. She's grown in the past few years.

"Nina-san will be going away for a while." Mito explained to the girl. Nina had been asked to babysit her quite a few times and she had grown to like the child.

"When is she coming back?" The girl asked, causing Mito to hesitate.

"I'll be gone for a little bit, but don't worry, we'll meet again." Nina bent down to her level and patted her on the head. The blonde grinned brightly and held out the small book in her hands. "Don't forget about me!" She demanded. "I'll let you borrow this until we can play again." Nina looked down at the cover; it was the picture book about Hashirama. She accepted it with a smile.

"Thank you." She stood and turned back towards the door. "I'll see you both later." She smiled back at both Tsunade and Mito. The latter held a saddened expression while the blonde waved enthusiastically.

"Come back soon, ok?" The child yelled, waving her hand back and forth. Nina smiled as she closed the door to the Senju's house, picture book in hand.

Nina held three bouquets of flowers in her arms, the sun almost down the horizon behind her. She scanned the rows of headstones before her eyes landed on one particular one. She approached it, laying one of the bouquets at the base of the weathered stone. Kneeling in front of it, she closed her eyes, smiling sadly to herself.

"You were a good man, Hashirama. The village couldn't have asked for better." She whispered to the silent earth. She then glanced at the stone next to it, also laying a bouquet down. "You were always a prick, Tobirama, but you were the greatest friend I've had in many years." She murmured. After whispering a prayer for her fallen comrades, she stood and walked silently out of the graveyard.

All the way across the village, she kneeled in front of another grave, gripping the flowers tightly.

"... I don't know what to think of you..."

"My clan has been pestering me about marriage." Madara sighed; it had been a long day for him. "Something about heirs and a secure future." Nina listened to his complaints patiently.

"They're right, you know. Having heirs to ensure the clan's stability is an important part of being the head." She commented, receiving no particular reaction from the man.

"Unfortunately there is no one suitable." He stated.

"Lower your expectations, find a nice girl from your clan and, if she's willing, there you go." Nina knew it was his clan's desire for him to keep the bloodline pure. She would have though a person like Madara would have more than a few girls chasing after him.

"As if it was so easy." He shook his head. "Though there is a person who may be eligible."

"Eligible?" Nina raised an eyebrow.

"What would you say if I asked you to be my wife?"

A long silence came between the two.

"I would ask you exactly when you had lost your mind." Madara smirked at her words.

"A man would be insane to court you" He stated mockingly.

"I'm hurt." Nina feigned offense.

The conversation was quickly forgotten as two continued to discuss more pressing subjects.

"You weren't a bad person." Nina said quietly, as if the grave could hear her. "You deserved to know the truth." She ran her fingers over the blank stone face, gave it one last look, then stood and disappeared. The only thing indicating that anyone had been here was the batch of flowers lying at the stone's base.

Hiruzen sighed as he dragged himself up the stairs, a thick stack of papers in hand.

"Nina could you help m-" He stopped himself when he saw the empty office. Confused, he looked back at the door plaque: 'Office 50'. This was indeed Nina's office... but where was everything? He looked around the room, the desk was empty, the books and papers were gone, and more importantly, Nina was nowhere to be seen. He frantically searched for anything that could indicate where she went, pausing when he saw a small piece of paper on the otherwise empty chair.

'I was never part of the village's founding. You do not know anyone by my name. I do not exist. Remember these rules and we will stay in touch.' The words caused him to dive headfirst into a state of panic.

"What?!" He stared at Mito incredulously.

"I don't know where she went." She said. It wasn't a lie, Nina had never told her where she was going.

"But why would she just leave?!" He asked loudly, causing a few passersbyers to turn their heads.

"Hiruzen, I don't know why she left or where she is, but she'll probably be back in a few days." Mito lied smoothly. "Besides she did say she would keep in contact, right?"

And it was true, after two weeks of not seeing the white haired woman, Hiruzen received an unfamiliar pigeon at his window, a note strapped to its leg.

'I know you must be confused, but understand that this is for the best. If you ever need anything, just write.' Was the short message. Out of the millions of questions swirling in his mind, Hiruzen decided to ask the most important one.

'Are you crazy? Why did you leave? The village needs your support. And where did you run off to?' He quickly tied the letter to the bird and sent it off, wishing he could speak to her in person and find out what was happening.

The bloody war finally came to a close after three more years, in that time, the village had all but forgotten about Nina. The few people who had known her personally, however, had still not given up hope. The anbu, who had been fully loyal to Nina after the death of Tobirama, still occasionally received special orders from her through the Hokage, they had been specifically told not to search for her, as it was "in everyone's interest" that she not be found. The captains of each squad remained loyal, as did most of the other members. Nina and Hiruzen communicated relatively often throughout the years, pigeons would be sent from the Hokage Tower and would usually be back with a reply in two weeks. From that number, Hiruzen had estimated Nina's position to be a good ways away from the village and had eventually stopped looking for her. Sarutobi had become a young man now and led the village with full support of the elders, council, as well as the villagers, something that surely meant a long era of peace, just as everyone hoped for.

'Very good, I see the village is in good condition as of yet, keep me updated on the situation with the Land of Water.' Hiruzen read the words from the rolled up note, the carrier pigeon perched on the window next to him. He sighed picking up a piece of paper and a brush.

'Nothing more has happened with the Land of Water yet, they seem to be calculating their next move. I'll be sure to increase boarder security. The Uchiha police force are doing well in inner-village patrol, they've grown in numbers recently so we have more people to work with.' He rolled the paper up, about to tie it to the bird's leg when he paused. He unrolled the paper and again picked up the brush. 'How have you been doing? Are you well?' He added to the message before sending it off.

He slumped in his chair, deep in thought, every question from where she was to why she was hiding ran through his mind. He still didn't understand why she had left, nor had she ever answered him when he asked. He did keep his promise of never bringing her up or mentioning her to anyone. Well, anyone other than Mito, but she seemed to have already known about her departure. Nina also kept her promise of staying in touch with him, she had also made him promise that only the person he chose to be the next Hokage would be told of her existence, however, they must only be told right before when they were named Hokage, never sooner.

And the years passed.

"Minato, I have something I need to speak to you about." An aged Sarutobi blew a cloud of smoke. The young man standing before him wore a dark green vest and had a mess of bright blonde hair.

"What is it, Hokage-sama?" The man questioned. Sarutobi took another puff from his pipe then set it down.

"I'm thinking of retiring. I need someone to take my place." He stated, voice thin with age. "I proposed to the Elders that you become the next Hokage." Minato stood still, shocked. A wide smile spread across his face when he finally snapped out of his daze.

"It would be an honor!" He finally said.

"So you accept my request?" Sarutobi asked. "Very well, in that case, I have something to show you." He stood up and walked down the hallway, motioning for Minato to follow. He walked down to the end of a hall, turned to the last door to the right, formed the rabbit seal, and pressed his hand on the wall. A creak was heard as the wooden door squeaked open. Sarutobi pushed passed the door, Minato following close behind. The younger man was curious as to the contents of the strange room as he had never been in there before nor had he ever seen anyone enter.

He was surprised to say the least.

Rows upon rows of small paper slips stacked all the way to the ceiling. They ranged from relatively new to at least half a century old, he examined the dates with wonder, careful not to damage the fragile paper.

"What are these?" He asked after a moment. Sarutobi cracked a smile, nostalgia rushing over him.

"Letters. From an old friend of mine." He stated simply, prompting even more questions to flood Minato's thoughts.

"Who is he?" The man asked eagerly.

"She." The older man corrected. "She helped Senju Hashirama found this village, she was a friend to both him and Senju Tobirama." He began to tell the tale of how she was involved in the history of the village, including all the events leading up to her disappearance.

"Amazing..." Minato mumbled, eyes shining with wonder. "But why did she leave?"

"That..." Hiruzen started. "I do not know. However, I trust that she had her reasons." He let out a long sigh. "Impressive, really, how she's still alive. It's been so many years."

"Will I be communicating with her? What do I ask? What if she thinks I'm not good enough to be Hokage?" Minato began thinking aloud.

"You are to update her on the condition of the village, any issues, and ask her if you need advice. She seems to have knowledge on just about everything." Sarutobi chuckled, remembering the time she had given him a rather impressive answer when he asked about what he should do to get his nephew to eat vegetables. "And she is one of the kindest people I've seen in my days, don't worry about that."

"Amazing." Minato grinned excitedly. "When can I start speaking to her?"

"I suppose now is as good a time as any." Sarutobi smiled, handing the young man a piece of paper and a brush.

Minato sat in his office, deep in thought, one hand gripped his brush while the other rested under his chin, he contemplated what he should write; he would need to make a good first impression, especially since it was someone that the Hokage himself respected so much. He recalled one detail the Third had told him that he found strange, 'You must never tell anyone else about her.' Sarutobi had whispered to him, almost as if he was afraid that someone else would hear. He slowly dipped the brush in ink as he finally decided what he wanted to say.

For the following weeks, Sarutobi had been busy training Minato on all the things a Hokage was expected to do, from handling treaties to managing inter-clan conflicts, Minato was anyways exhausted by the end of the day. On one night, the future Hokage stepped into the Third's office, expecting another lecture on one subject or another, however, when he saw the unfamiliar birds perched on the window frame, he began to wonder if the old man had something else to talk about.

"She's responded." Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork, handing him a single piece of parchment. Minato's eyes lit up and all the tiredness was instantly banished.

"Really?!" He quickly unfolded the letter and read every word with excitement.

'Pleased to meet you, Minato. Quite the letter you've written. Just to be clear, I would prefer future messages to be slightly shorter. The pigeon was barely able to make it.' He scratched his neck upon reading the words, maybe five pages was a little too much. 'You must be an admirable shinobi, I would like to meet you in person but I'm sure you know that's not possible. Anyways, I congratulate you on being chosen as the next Hokage, I'm sure you'll be a good leader. Sarutobi told me about your passion for collecting books, I have sent you a congratulatory gift. I look forward to hearing great things from you.' Minato finished the letter with the brightest smile.

"She sounds so nice!" He exclaimed, earning a chuckle from the old man. The Third lifted a well-aged book from his desk.

"This came by hawk, along with the pigeon." Minato slowly took the book from his hands, finding it surprisingly heavy. Carefully, he examined the dark oak cover. 'The Ōtsutsuki Clan' was carved on the surface in intricate lettering. He skimmed the contents, seeing many words he did not recognize as well as information he'd never heard.

"Ōtsutsuki?" He asked curiously. "I didn't know there were any original documents from them. This must be priceless..." He muttered in awe.

"Her resources must be quite numerous." Sarutobi laughed, "I don't know how old that is, but it looks like it's been around a lot longer than us. I suggest you take care of it."

"Of course!" Minato exclaimed, carefully holding the book in his arms. "Anyways, I'd like to write to her again and thank her." Sarutobi nodded.

"Once you're Hokage, she'll be expecting you to respond as soon as you receive her letter." He leaned forward to rest his elbows in the desk. "Which reminds me, the inauguration ceremony will be in one week, I will make sure you know about everything you need by then."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"No need for thanks, I'll see you tomorrow, Minato."

"Goodnight, sir." The two said their goodbyes and each headed to their own homes.

The night was still, the only sound was the rustling of trees and the whistles of the wind. The moon beamed down on the resting village, it all seemed so perfect.

"What is it, Obito?" Sarutobi sighed at the boy who had barged into his office, both his teammates at his heels.

"Whose house is it?"Obito demanded loudly.

"What house?" The Third asked calmly, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"That house at the edge of the village! Really close to the boarder, old looking." The boy explained.

"I don't know what you mean." The Hokage sighed at his antics.

"It's a witch's house, isn't it? I knew it! See Kakashi? I told you a witch lived there! No one ever goes near that house and no one never leaves or enters it but I've seen smoke coming from the chimney!"

"Obito, there's no such thing as witches." The silver haired boy, Kakashi, reminded him.

"Well whoever it is definitely isn't normal!" Obito countered, turning to the old man. "Can we go explore it?" He begged.

"That would be intruding on someone's property. It's rare to have a single-standing house in this village, people usually rent apartments or live in their clan's compound. Whoever lives there must desire privacy, meaning no children messing around on their property."

"Awww..." Obito slouched as the teammates pulled him out of the Hokage Tower.

"Obito-san, I'm sure it's just someone who wants peace and quiet and just doesn't come out much." The brunette girl reasoned.

"Besides, it could be someone crazy, never coming out of the house. Just forget it." Kakashi stated as the three approached their usual training ground.

"But I really wanted to see what kind of crazy they were!" Obito complained.

"Well of you really want to know, we can just take a look around there." A voice behind them said.

"Sensei!" Rin jumped a little, startled.

"You're saying we should trespass?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his mentor. "Are you sure that's ok?"

"Probably not, but I've been wondering about who lives in that house for a while now. It's around since I was a kid and no one I've asked knows who owns the place." Minato explained, receiving doubtful looks from two of his students.

"Yes! You're the best, sensei!" Obito exclaimed, jumping up and down. "We'll go tonight!"