#art tower mito

[hiroshi-kariya]

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[dlyarchitecture]

[yamashita-kobayashi]

Solo exhibition "To Others, and Together With Others" at Art Tower Mito, Japan

We are pleased to announce our solo exhibition “To Others, and Together With Others” at Art Tower Mito in Japan.

The exhibition will feature approximately 120 works from 35 series, which represent almost all of our works from before our debut to the present.

The main part of the exhibition is a participatory project, “What Humans Do To and Together With Flowers”.

We will create a huge flower bed in the plaza in front of Art Tower Mito.

Everyone is invited to buy your favorite flower seedlings (or grow from seeds), bring them to Mito, and plant them in the flower bed!

Venue: Art Tower Mito Contemporary Art Gallery, and Plaza Date: July 27th(Sat) - October 6th(Sun) Web: https://www.arttowermito.or.jp/english/gallery/lineup/article_5312.html

[germanpostwarmodern]

Museum “Art Tower Mito” (1986-90) in Mito, Japan, by Arata Isozaki

[justsomeoneunordinary]

Hashirama's long neck haunts me... I think it's chapter 500 or thereabouts ❤️

But it doesn't really matter, Kushina wasn't there 😏

SCREAMING!!!

I’ve been laughing at this for about 10 minutes or so omg lmfaooo 🤣🤣 I know Kishimoto got more stressed out the longer the story went on but this does not look anatomically correct achsdkfjfjkfjd

You’re right, this can’t be canon—not only because Kushina wasn’t there so she wouldn’t know, but also because Hashirama isn’t beefy. ‘Tis a fake flashback, case closed. (I say as if I’m not fully aware that the characters lost more and more individualism the longer the story went on until everyone just had a generic body except for a few exaggerations.)

Anyway, have a shitty height correction because I can neither photoshop nor art but am determined to show y’all my vision anyway:

(I couldn’t make Mito taller because it started to look too weird, but please do imagine just a few inches more of her towering over Hashirama)

[ventureeast]

I've got a riddle for you, what are big, tired, and sore all over? I know you were thinking a plane, but it's actually my feet. I walked the city today:

First I went to Mito church, then I walked with a friend around lake Senba, walked to the art tower, and then took the train back home.

I took lots of pictures:

Mito church was having its Pentecostal service, so they did readings and prayers in about 6 different languages. It was pretty cool. They were also doing spring cleaning today, so the three OC students there helped. We cleaned bathrooms, wiped surfaces, and helped a little with the yard.

We then headed to the station to get lunch. Me and Nathan took it to lake Senba and ate at the bridge:

Then we walked around the lake; it was honestly super relaxing. The day was mostly walking and it was really nice because we just went where we pleased.

Magikarp ⬆️

We also went to the art tower. It was a short experience but a good view:

That was the day. It was good and tiring but I feel good about it.

[dr-lychee]

LIFE Exhibition (2006) poster

[denialcity]

for adoration grow - tobiizu unconventional hanahaki au - 75/?

『The Uchiha hold great sway socially and culturally. It is impossible for me to put it into words but I will attempt. Like how a man of power and influence may wish to keep a tiger or bear, nobles of the capital find great pleasure in having a warrior perform the arts. And the Uchiha perform to the highest standards, like molten gold, like candlelight on Obon offering boats, like towering pillars of flame. A strange spell, a sweep of their eyes can be one's undoing.』

At the time, Tobirama had scowled at such florid prose being part of a mission report, and complained to Mito-aneue. Then Uchiha Izuna had held him hostage with his cursed genjutsu and sat across the river with shamisen in hand, and sang.

And Tobirama understood. 

[for adoration grow tag] / [chrono tag]    

[rayshippouuchiha]

Unbroken legacy au: I imagine that the weight never feels wrong to Naruto because he's never known anything different. Maybe it's easier to assess those memories since they won't register as not his. Like, he looks at a seal and just knows what it can do and how to make it better. Or he has mannerisms that have shinobi feeling like they're looking art a ghost. Sarutobi looks at Naruto and sometimes sees Mito or Kushina instead.

Naruto is a lonely child filled up with ghosts, so different from Mito and Kushina who had both been as loved as they were fierce.

There’s no one there to tell Naruto what is and is not possible, what is and is not real.  There’s no one there to soothe his fears and his heartache when he dreams about war and death and big calloused hands running through his hair as a voice whispers “Mito, Mito, my beloved Mito.”

There’s no one there to soothe him when he wakes with hatred eating away at his soul or with a woman’s heartbroken sobs echoing softly in the very depths of his mind.

There’s no one there to realize that Naruto doesn’t so much learn as he does know, hands and body and mind moving automatically across tasks he should not know how to complete.

And Naruto, lonely and alone and never realizing that the thoughts, emotions, memories, instincts that war within him are not normal embraces what anyone else would shy from.

So Naruto is Naruto but he is also more, is a boy filled with echoes and guided by shadows only he can see.

But, eventually, people do notice some things about him.  They notice the kimono’s, hand crafted from scraps of scavenged cloth and silk.  They notice his hair, left to grow long and wild and littered with what looks suspiciously like sealing tags braided into the mess. They notice the quiet dignity, the cutting temper, the unwillingness to be abused and cowed. They notice the way he basically steps directly through the Academy, like there is nothing there that can be taught to him, like it’s only a formality.

Sarutobi feels the blood drain from his face when Naruto, all of eight, stares up at him, a hauntingly almost familiar patchwork kimono sitting regal on his too thin shoulders and a pride he should not have straightening his spine, and says “Saru-chan smoking is undignified” and for a split second all he can see is Mito who used to say that to him every time she caught him with his pipe.

Kakashi freezes, goes stock still, the first time he meets Naruto officially. His guilt and grief and adherence to orders have only allowed him to take passing glimpses of the boy and he is unprepared.

“Still too skinny,” Naruto murmurs, a sort of long suffering note in his voice that’s wildly out of place in the middle of the jonin lounge not to mention being spoken to Kakashi who’ve he’s never actually met.

The next day Kakashi and the rest of the jonin stare at him when he arrives, at the shabby green apron and the towering bentos and the orange hair clips that keep his bangs away from his face and feel ice trace down their collective spines.

Because, in that moment, all they can see is a shadow of Kushina.

[tommeurs]

Art Tower Mito, Japan

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #153 - Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV, 1971

Quando uscì l’8 Novembre del 1971 sul disco non c’era scritto né il nome della band e nemmeno il titolo (che sarà il filo rosso che legherà le scelte degli album di Gennaio), tanto che l’Atlantic, la casa discografica che lo editò, era sicura che fosse un fiasco colossale, anche perchè la gestazione di questo lavoro fu travagliata e molto più lunga del previsto. La Storia poi dirà che il quarto disco dei Led Zeppelin, che propriamente non ha nessun titolo ma nei cataloghi, considerata la titolazione precedente, è segnato come IV o Four Symbols (ci arriveremo tra poco) diventerà uno dei dischi più venduti di tutti i tempi, anche grazie ad una qualità musicale che ne fa, unanimemente, uno dei più grandi dischi della storia rock. La decisione che i quattro inglesi, Robert Plant,  Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, all’apice del successo dopo tre dischi già leggendari (Led Zeppelin I e II, del 1969, e il III del 1970), cioè non firmare i loro ultimo lavoro, fu una presa di posizione contro il mondo della critica musicale, secondo loro tutta impegnata a dipingerli come rockstar viziate e a cercare di inquadrarli nel panorama musicale in uno stile predefinito. Come per il precedente III, che segnò una virata nel loro suono hard rock verso sonorità più acustiche, la band si ritirò a Headley Grange, nella villa rurale dell’Hampshire, con lo studio di registrazione mobile dei Rolling Stones. Tra il dicembre del 1970 e i primi mesi del 1971 fu scritto e provato moltissimo materiale, tanto che la band era orientata a spiazzare il mercato (e la critica) proponendo il disco come 3 Extended Play o addirittura un doppio disco. La Atlantic convinse il gruppo a ripiegare sul più classico 33 giri, ma Peter Grant, il tirannico manager del gruppo, impose alla Atlantic la scelta del gruppo di non avere né il nome sulla copertina né il titolo al disco. Tra l’altro l’uscita prevista per la primavera del ‘71 ritardò a causa del giudizio negativo sul mixaggio fatto a Los Angeles da parte di Page, che riorganizzò tutto il materiale agli Olympic e Island Studios di Londra. Musicalmente, il disco è, come già accennato, uno dei pilastri del rock, un apice di coesione, potenza, anche ammaliante poesia musicale con pochi paragoni. I Led Zeppelin trovano un equilibrio perfetto tra l’anima hard rock, l’elettrificazione del blues, i nuovi accenni folk acustici e scrivono 8 brani, nessuno escluso, leggendari. Black Dog è lo strepitoso inizio, dedicata ad un golden retriver nero che gironzolava a Headley Grange durante le sessioni: è un brano portentoso, che ispirerà un’intera generazione di chitarristi, anche per l’uso delle sovraincisioni per l’assolo centrale; Rock’N’Roll è selvaggia come suggerisce il titolo, Misty Moutain Hop parla scherzosamente di un incontro con la polizia dopo aver fumato marijuana, Four Sticks è un omaggio a “Bonzo” Bonham e alla sua fragorosa classe di batterista (le 4 bacchette del titolo sono proprio un omaggio alla sua tecnica meravigliosa). E poi ci sono 4 canzoni ancora più grandiose: Going To California è una delle ballate più belle di sempre, probabilmente scritta e dedicata a Joni Mitchell, mito per Page&Plant, con il suo ritmo ondeggiante e sognante ha influenzato per decenni i musicisti; When The Levee Breaks è la ripresa di un vecchio blues di Kansas Joe McCoy e sua moglie Memphis Minnie nel 1929 e incluso nell'album Blues Classic By Memphis Minnie, uscito solo nel 1965: 7 minuti e mezzo di puro blues elettrico, dove la fanno da padrona il riff marziale di Page, l’armonica a bocca di Plant e la batteria di Bonzo, che fu posizionata nell’androne delle scalinate di Headley Grange per dare un effetto più fragoroso; nel disco c’è un’ospite, l’unica voce ospite in assoluto ad accompagnare Plant in qualsiasi disco dei Led Zeppelin, ed è quella meravigliosa di Sandy Denny, che all’epoca era la voce dei Fairport Convention; insieme cantano le gesta della suggestiva The Battle Of Evermore, forse ispirata ai racconti di Tolkien e a Il Signore Degli Anelli, dove Page suona un toccante mandolino. C’è poi un altro brano, che dura 8 minuti, che definisce forse come pochi altri il suono di una band, l’idea che avevano in mente questi 4 ragazzi inglesi: dall’intro suggestivo e quasi spiazzante, con un crescendo di strofa in strofa, raccontando una storia oscura e simbolica, probabilmente ispirata ad uno dei libri preferiti di Plant, Magic Arts In Celtic Britain di Lewis Spence, di una donna alla ricerca di qualcosa, in un mondo di regine di Maggio e pifferai magici, che ha poi uno degli assoli più fantastici di ogni tempo, e che probabilmente è la canzone più famosa di tutti i tempi: Stairway To Heaven. Il successo strepitoso, l’aura magica e misteriosa che già circondava il gruppo e la decisione di pubblicare un album senza nome scatenò le controversie più disparate: esistono ancora oggi gruppi di ascolto che sono sicuri che suonando il disco all’inverso sia zeppo di evocazioni sataniche, che i quattro simboli che ogni membro del gruppo usò per definirsi nelle pagine interne siano messaggi occulti (scelti da un libro molto famoso tra gli occultismi del ‘900, Il Libro Dei Segni di Rudolf Koch, da cui poi nasce Four Symbols altro identificativo del disco, anche se in realtà i simboli sono 5, perchè anche alla Denny ne fu assegnato uno) e dei messaggi subliminali che ha la copertina. Quest’ultima, tra le più belle e famose del rock, ritrae in fronte la foto di un muro scrostato con la carta da parati in disfacimento e un quadro di un anziano contadino intento a trasportare a schiena del legname: aprendo l’album il risultato (che si può vedere qui) mostra il muro semi caduto dalle cui rovine si intravede un grattacielo, l’allora appena inaugurata Salisbury Tower vicino Birmingham; all’interno c’era anche un bellissimo disegno di Barrington Coleby (accreditato come Barrington Colby MOM nelle note di copertina) raffigurante L’eremita, da allora simbolo della band. Il disco, con buona pace della Atlantic, andrà in classifica dovunque e per anni ha detenuto numerosi record di vendita, tipo 267 settimane consecutive nella classifica di Billboard, con 35 milioni di copie vendute nel mondo, il punto più alto di una musica spettacolare che come poche altre ha segnato intere generazioni di ragazzi, tanto che c’è un’ultima storia da raccontare: sebbene mai uscita come singolo, anche per la durata, molti dj radiofonici iniziarono a far passare in tutta la sua durata Stairway To Heaven, scatenando così tanto entusiasmo che lo spartito della canzone è di gran lunga il più venduto della musica pop occidentale. Era così tanta la smania di impararla a suonare tra gli appassionati che nei grandi negozi di dischi americani, dove è pratica comune poter provare gli strumenti, ci fu per un periodo un cartello: No Stairway, l’avevano sentita così tante volte storpiata e suonata male che era meglio non provarci subito.

[hiroshi-kariya]

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Seeders 2022-2023

[shinsengumi-archives]

Bakumatsu Era Kyoto

From Illustrated Shinsengumi

[full size]

The illustration depicts Kyoto before most of the city was burnt due to the Kinmon Incident (July 19, 1864). Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a palace to enclose the city of Kyoto in order to enhance the defense of the town of Kyoto, but even after more than two hundred years under the Tokugawa administration, a part of the Kamogawa side was lost. Most of them remained old-fashioned until the end of the Edo period.

The characteristic of Kyoto city at the end of the Edo period is the expansion of the clan's residence. Until then, there were more than 200 of his clan's residences in Kyoto, but most of them had only a few clan resident, and in some cases, the house of a servant merchant was called the clan's residence (Kyoyashiki). ..

At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, when the daimyo took his vassals and moved up and made them stationed in Kyoto as troops, a large clan residence commensurate with that was needed, and it was expanded. Since the center of the city has been a high-density space with townhouses since the Middle Ages, many seek land to the east of the Kamogawa River. In particular, 11 clan such as Kaga clan, Echizen clan, Tokushima clan, and Hikone clan advanced from Shogoin to the Okazaki area. Even if it is in the suburbs, it is an urban area as soon as you cross the Kamo River, and it is probably because the flights to Gosho and Nijo Castle were good. This site later became Okazaki Park, and became a cultural zone where Heian Jingu Shrine and Kyoto City Museum of Art are lined up.

In addition, the Owari clan's residence (currently Kyoto University headquarters) in front of the gate of Hyakumanben Chionji Temple and the Satsuma clan's residence (currently Doshisha University) at Sokokuji are also large-scale clan residences. In addition, the Kyoto Shugoshoku residence (currently the Kyoto Prefectural Government) was also built in the city area. The guardian residence was different from the clan residence in the suburbs, and was built by forcibly relocating a private house.

Kyoto at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate can be described by the word "forest of samurai residences". After the Meiji era, the land of these samurai residences was reborn as a public facility, laying the foundation for modern Kyoto.

(Munehiro Ito, Kyoto City Library of Historical Documents)

Legend

Imperial Palace area (red)

(A) Forbidden Palace, (B) Sento Imperial Palace, (C) Sakaimachi Palace Gate, (D) Hamaguri Palace Gate

Main samurai residences (red)

Nijo Castle

Wakasa Sakai Mansion (Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu Ryokan)

Kyoto Shoshidai's residence

Kuwana Matsudaira Mansion

Yodo Inaba Mansion

Kyoto Shugoshoku Residence

Mito Tokugawa Mansion

Satsuma Shimazu Mansion

Hikone Ii Mansion

Tosa Yamauchi Mansion

Owari Tokugawa Mansion

Aizu Matsudaira Mansion

Morioka South Room

Awa Hachisuka Mansion

Aki Asano Mansion

Echizen Matsudaira Mansion

Hikone Ii Mansion

Tosa Yamauchi Mansion

Kaga Maedayashiki

Hirado Matsuura Mansion

Uto Hosokawa Mansion

Zensho Honda Mansion

Matsushiro Sanada Mansion

Tosa Yamauchi Mansion

Hikone Ii Mansion

Choshu Mori Mansion

Satsuma Shimazu Mansion

Main temples and shrines (black)

Toji Temple

Nishi Honganji Temple

Honkokuji

Mibudera

Myoshinji Temple

Ninnaji Temple

Ryoanji Temple

Toji-in

Kaenji Temple (Kinkakuji Temple)

Daitokuji Temple

Myokaku Temple

Myokenji Temple

Shokokuji Temple

Kamo Gososha (Shimogamo Shrine)

Myomanji Temple

Honnoji

Rokkakudo

Bukkoji Temple

Higashi Honganji Temple

Kikoku House

Tofukuji Temple

Sennyuji Temple

Sanjusangendo

Hokoji Temple

Myohoin

Koyasu Kannon

Kiyomizu Temple

Hokanji Temple (Yasaka Tower)

Kenninji Temple

Gion Shrine

Kodaiji Temple

Gesshin-in

Chion-in

Nanzenji Temple

Konkai Komyoji Temple

Jishoji Temple (Ginkakuji Temple)

Shogoin

Yoshida Shrine

Hyakumanben Chionji Temple

North-south streets (orange)

Onmae-dori

Senbon Street

Omiya Dori

Inokuma-dori

Nishiborikawa-dori

Horikawa-dori

Samegai-dori

Aburanokoji-dori

Saitoin Dori

Shinmachi-dori

Muromachi-dori

Karasuma Dori

Higashinotoin Dori

Takakura-dori

Sakaimachi Dori

Tominokoji-dori

Teramachi-dori

Kawaramachi Dori

East-west streets (purple)

Kuramaguchi-dori

Imadegawa-dori

Ichijo Dori

Shimodachiuri

Marutamachi Dori

Nijo Dori

Oshikoji-dori

Oike-dori

Aneyakoji-dori

Sanjo Dori

Rokkaku-dori

Takoyakushi-dori

Nishikikoji-dori

Shijo-dori

Ayakoji Dori

Bukkoji-dori

Takatsuji dori

Matsubara-dori

Manjuji-dori

Gojo-dori

Rokujo Dori

Shichijo-dori

Shiokoji-dori

Hachijo-dori

Other important places (blue)

Shinsengumi Mibu Headquarters

Shinsengumi Fudodo Headquarters*

Tenmaya

Sarugatsuji

Tankora

Ikedaya

Omiya

Shogunzuka

*The relocation to the Shinsengumi Fudodo Headquarters is in 1867.

[architectcher]

Tetra-helix tower, known as Art Tower Mito, was inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s Endless Column (1938) and comprises 56 triangular panels in varying orientations. — Arata Isozaki

[amazingarchitecturewebsite]

Designed by Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist Arata Isozaki. Art Tower Mito (水戸芸術館, Mito Geijutsukan) is an arts complex in Mito, Ibaraki, #Japan. Read more: Link in bio! Project name: Art Tower Mito Architecture firm: Arata Isozaki & Associates Principal architect: Arata Isozaki Location: 1 Chome-6-8 Gokencho, Mito, Ibaraki 310-0063, Japan Completion year: 1990 Floor area: 22432 m² Height: 100 meters Other designers: Nagata Acoustics Metal work: Kikukawa Photography: Jun Tazawa courtesy of the Art Tower Mito, Korall, Kikukawa #tower #skyscraper #архитектура www.amazingarchitecture.com ✔ A collection of the best contemporary architecture to inspire you. #design #architecture #amazingarchitecture #architect #arquitectura #luxury #realestate #life #cute #architettura #interiordesign #photooftheday #love #travel #construction #furniture #instagood #fashion #beautiful #archilovers #home #house ‎#amazing #picoftheday #architecturephotography ‎#معماری (水戸芸術館) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDOq-tgFiXw/?igshid=1wn05m2xjnt3p

[dimancheetoile]

mud on our knees (we won’t wash it off)

Written for @shikasaku-week Day 2: mud on our knees

this is supposed to be a "what if". what if naruto isn't a great hokage. what is the clan system doesn't work. what if, instead of going to war with other shinobi nations, konoha turns against itself. what if there is a konoha civil war. you don't have to read this if you don't want to question your views of the naruto world. this world is six pages of being critical of the naruto world and i know it's not everyone's cup of tea. it's fine by me. read what makes you happy.

also there are a lot of real-life believes of mine in this, notably regarding raising children and my view of the nuclear family and the idea that in real life it's very common to have children from different relationships instead of one true love. again, you don't have to read. i'm a bit angry because i wanted to post this on time and it got out of hand and it's much longer and much more complicated than it should have been. so there's that. i hope you enjoy anyway, and the next one is almost finished so you should have it soon. tell me what you think!!

___________________

“GET DOWN!”

Sakura doesn't wait for an explanation, doesn't even stop to think as she crumbles to the ground, plastering her whole body against the sticky, wet earth. Cheek crushed against a puddle, the filthy water going in her nose and her eye, she frantically tries to look around her while moving as little as possible. The sight calms her down as much as it can ; all the other bodies, face down against the earth, all have red or pink hair, and the familiar pitch black body suit with the blood red arm patch, what should have been a white circle stained with dirt, blood, and shit.

Her own patch was ripped from her suit when she had lost her left arm, a week ago. Her cousin had sewn a new one on her left arm and sewn shut the sleeve of her left arm to protect her still tender stump. He didn't look at her with pity, or sadness. In his eyes was the same thing that still burns in hers, in the rest of their clan. Pure, unadulterated wrath, an unashamed blood rage and thirst for revenge. Her arm would be avenge, just like all the dead they had suffered. They're winning now. It's just a matter of time.

Once the last explosion is confirmed to be the last, Sakura gets up quickly, reuniting with the three other members of her squad. The four of them are the only shinobi of the Haruno Clan, so they had been named the de facto leaders with the approval of the Clan Head.

“What's our next move?” Hanako asks, brushing caked dirt from her hands. She's a chūnin, on a clear path to become a tokujo because of the dōjutsu she had developed, to the entire clan's surprise. It's nothing as strong as a sharingan or byakugan, but her iris-less, entirely grey eyes allow her short burst of speed that are so strong they look like teleportation.

“Kura and I are still working on the seal,” Nadamaru says, his arm curling around Sakura's waist. She presses without shame against her cousin, her head falling on his shoulder. Nadamaru and her are the two jōnin of their little squad, him having been in the Sabotage Unit since his promotion and her having joined the unit a few months before the beginning of the war.

“I'm taking Shikamaru with me and we're going to prepare the new set of traps. Did any of you finish the poisons we talked about?”

Both Sakura and Nadamaru nod, handing a leather bag to Mikata who takes it gratefully. He's the youngest of them all, having barely made chūnin when the war started. He's the best infiltrator of them all, his lithe body and small height ideal for stealth. Since the beginning of the conflict, he's been the one making sure the traps are all working, and scouting the enemy camps.

He's also incredibly smart, not that the three others aren't, but he's on par with the Nara, which makes him ideal to work with Shikamaru. They've been planning every move of the Haruno Clan, approved by the Clan Head and the other shinobi, but they're responsible for their most successful actions.

Sometimes, Sakura has to take a step back and remind herself why they're fighting. It's the bloodiest, most vicious conflict she's ever been on and she took on a goddess. She can't believe it's already been five years since they started fighting, and on the worst days, when she's seen too many people die on either side, she can't believe it's only been five years.

What had started as a new law passed by Naruto's Administration had turned into protests and countless strikes, which in turn had become an endless, single strike that went on for so many months Konoha had started to starve, and when winter had come, people were dying of cold, of injuries, because no one was working in the hospital anymore. It had been a grim time. So the government had passed a new law in a panic, stating that all the striking workers would be counted as traitors if they didn't come back to work.

That had been received as well as could be expected. Not only had the strikers not come back to work, but the civilians had decided to barricade the civilian district, building in one night a wall around it. Then they asked the civilian clans, the rich businessmen, the clans that had half-civilians and half-shinobi like the Haruno, for help. Not a single one of them refused. Suddenly, the civilian district was patrolled by hundred of shinobi, not a single civilian was outside of the wall, and they were self-sufficient since they accounted for all the workers in the village, from every single profession.

They had the land to grow food, the workshops to build whatever they needed, and all the healthcare personnel of the village to take car of them. So, in desperation, the Administration had ordered the shinobi force to march on the district. About a third of them refused to fight their brothers and sisters-in-arms and joined the civilian district to warn them of the incoming battle while feeding into their already respectable ranks.

What was left of the shinobi force was still deadly, and it accounted for some of the strongest and most respectable shinobi clans.

Konoha's first civil war was born.

In the last five years, the village had been turned into a battleground, each force having about half of the ground, buildings in the middle reduced to rubble with the dead piling up on each side. The civilian side had been trained intensely by the shinobi within them, each civilian clan taking on a specialisation of shinobi life.

The Haruno Clan is the Sabotage Unit, the small Hagoromo Clan had been trained as medics by Sakura and the hospital staff. The Tsuchigumo Clan is trained in Interrogation and Intel Gathering. The Yanagikage Clan, though the smallest of them all, is their Hostage Retrieval and Escort Unit. All small, or unknown clans, mostly composed of civilians who now have extensive knowledge in martial arts and shinobi training.

They were the healthiest side, because of the food and the medics and doctors, but the other side had the money to bring in food and medicine and even a few medics who kept leaving once they saw the horrors of the civil war and replaced by others.

And then there were the bigger clans. The most famous clans of the village, that everyone knew about, the Noble Clans who had been the pride of Konohagakure before this bloody civil war started. They didn't have a choice. They had to take sides.

Some never recovered from their choice.

Sakura hugs Mikata briefly, who is also a cousin of hers, and Hanako, technically her sister-in-law. When the war started, all three of her parents were killed in a raid that was meant as both a hit against her for her support of the civilian side, and against the Haruno, because as soon as the civil war spread to the entire village, the Hokage Tower had been swarmed by a suicide run from the civilian side and all records made public.

It was a good idea, because it allowed for clearer goals for their side and ammunition against the other. But it also meant that the Haruno kekkei-genkai, a State secret since Mito's marriage, was made public. The Uzumaki who were born with this particular gene were integrated within Konoha with the rest of the refugees from Uzushio, and to protect them from the backlash their kekkei-genkai would cause, they changed their name and became the Haruno Clan. And now their secret is out, and it caused assassin to come and kill her two mothers and her father, who were respectively the previous Clan Head, Clan Second and part of the Haruno Council.

In one night, she lost the three most important people in her life and the assassins' plan almost worked. She had been hit so hard by the three simultaneous losses that she had almost ended her own life in a fit of madness. Only Shikamaru's intervention had saved her life. Her aunt and uncle, twin siblings, had been named Clan Head and Clan Second in replacement, and herself became a Haruno councillor. As per Haruno tradition, she had been adopted by the first willing family, her great-cousin and his husband, and she became Nadamaru's sister, who was in turn married to Hanako.

She had always loved the sense of family her clan has, how you could just choose who you would live with, how children navigated homes like safe havens. The Haruno would either marry out of love and have children that they would keep, or they didn't feel it was the right time for them and have children anyway that would be raised by the community. And those who didn't marry young or didn't marry at all would be encouraged to have one night stands and have children for community raising as well.

That was how Sakura was born, from one of her aunts, though she didn't know which one, and didn't care. Her mother and father had a child who they gave to the community, and when they met her other mother years later, they decided they were ready to raise a child and adopted Sakura, who was seven at the time and completely happy to be cared for by the fifty parents of the Haruno Clan.

That's how it works, and she thinks it's brilliant and she doesn't understand how only the Haruno, what's left of the Uzumaki and the Hagomoro raise their children that way.

Thinking bitterly that those cultural differences were the reason the civil war even existed, she kisses Nadamaru's forehead before shunshining away towards the headquarters of the rebellion, where all the clans and families have a representative to coordinate their side's actions. She needs to get the pages newly translated from the records they stole from the Hokage Tower, hundreds of scrolls scavenged from Uzushio after its fall without ever warning the remaining Uzumaki of what is theirs by right.

They have a woman who specializes in studying dead and old languages, who is translating the scrolls painstakingly to give all the information on seals she can find to the two Haruno, who are crafting seal after seal in a hope to gain a clear advantage against the other side.

In the HQ, she finds a hive of activity, all clans mixed with one another in a constant buzz of intel and planning and headcounting. In the back of the room, there are desks aligned to face the organized chaos, where the representatives are sitting side by side, all working on different projects or talking between themselves.

Instead of going straight to the translator, Sakura makes a beeline for the desks, a smile already forming on her face. There are little signs in front of each desk, drawn by the children of the clans in adorable, wonky kanji and symbols. She doesn't even try to stop the swell of pride that she feels whenever she sees how many clans and families they gathered t their cause.

On the far left, the Hagamoro, then the Tsuchigomo, the chair empty since they managed to capture a Sarutobi and everyone from the clan is on deck to try and get as much out of him, as soon as possible. Next, the silk black hair and single white eye of Hyūga Neji. The Noble Clan had been a total surprise, one of the first to join the rebellion when it was only the Fuma Clan, Ichiraku family and Haruno Clan. He raises his head when he senses her coming, sending her a warm smile that she returns with pleasure.

Next to Neji, another empty chair because more often than not, he's in the training ground helping the weakest fighters, is Lee's desk. His clan is tiny, just him, an adopted Tenten, and the child Sakura and him had together after the Fourth War. They had a brief but incredibly loving relationship, that had healed them both in ways they hadn't expected, and a precious boy had been born from them. Takumi is seventeen now, a taijutsu master like his parents, ridiculously handsome with his long pink hair, always braided, and his lovely dark eyes.

After the empty chair, the Yanagikage elder, then Aburame Shibi. The tragedy of the Aburame Clan had been one of the great costs of the war. As one of the Noble Clan, and as of today, the last to defect the Administration side to join the rebellion, their choice had enraged fiercely all the remaining clans and family of the other side. When Shibi had announced his decision, the others had decided to prevent their defection. There had been a mass assassination, and only the few Aburame who had been on the other side of Konoha for negotiations had been spared. Shibi, Shino, Torune and their mother Kanbai are the only Aburame left.

The second tragedy, and arguably the worst, shows in the dark circles and empty eyes of Akimichi Okashi, Chōji's mother. When the Akimichi had tried to join the rebellion, the Yamanaka had stood against them, in a move that shocked both sides. Their battle had been bloody, ruthless, and tragic. Friends fighting friends, to the death. The Akimichi won. Barely. There are no Yamanaka left, and the Akimichi are half their original number. Chōji is a trainer, alongside Lee and others, and his mother leads the clan.

Next to Okashi, the Fuma Clan, the Ichiraku family, and finally, the Haruno Clan representative. Shikamaru is bent over a pile of paperwork, his pink hair falling over his eyes in an obviously annoying manner given the frustrated, repetitive movement of his fingers to try and put it behind his ear.

His black bodysuit clings to his broad shoulders in a way that makes Sakura's heart beat, the red Haruno patch proudly displayed on his arm. She ignores the ache of her own missing limb, and goes straight to her husband. Only after being a few metres from him does she notice the black strap around his torso, holding the sling that presses their youngest against his back. And playing under the desk, crafting a story of wooden toys and adventures, are their two other children.

She revels in the joy of seeing her family, safe and whole, despite the circumstances. With a flush on her cheeks and her grin matching the beat of her heart, she finally reaches the desk and leans against it.

“Hello, Haruno-sama,” she purrs, enjoying the adoring look Shikamaru gives her instantly, like nothing could make his day better than have her at his side.

“Hello, Haruno-sama,” he answers with unashamed fondness, his hand reaching for her. He brings her knuckles to his lips, kissing it twice in a way that still brings blood to her cheeks.

“I have important news for you. I haven't told anyone, because I made the call that you should hear it first.” Shikamaru is deadly serious, his eyes flashing white for a moment, the Haruno kekkei-genkai showing through his stoic facade.

She knows this game since childhood, so her hand squeezes his and she sends a burst of consciousness through their point of contact, her mind flashing in images through his to convey love and calm and what she talked about with her three clansmen. Her eyes shine a blinding white before turning back to green when the connection stops. Shikamaru nods once, before grabbing his file, ordering it without need in an obvious nervous gesture.

“Get it over with. If it's going to hurt me, I'll heal better with time and the soonest you tell me, the soonest I can deal with it. And if it's going to make me angry, well, delaying won't change that,” she chuckles, her attempt at humour falling flat when Shikamaru grimaces.

“Well, here goes.” He takes a deep breath. “In our last sabotage run, we planted bombs over the supply roads to cut their food chain. But what set off the bombs wasn't a food caravan, but a full escort and delegation for Suna. Apparently, after five years of trying to hide the war, they were getting desperate enough to ask for help. Which they won't get, since everyone is dead.”

“Anata,” Sakura says softly, the pet name rolling of her tongue more like a reproach. He nods again.

“Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi were all in the delegation.”

Sakura freezes, her mind going numb. Suddenly, she can only hear white noise, the chaos of the headquarters thinning down to a bare hum. She sways on her feet, before the information slams into her like a battering ram. The noise comes back in a wave, crashing into her in a second strike.

“They're dead,” she whispers.

“They are. And when the sabotage team made a quick sweep of the scene for anything useful to scavenge and identify the bodies, they also found the prison's location. Five years, but it was so worth it.”

“Did they—?”

“Yes. Everyone. Sai was starved and probably tortured, he's in the Hagamono's care. And they got...” Shikamaru is chocked up suddenly, looking down at his desk. “They got my mom and seven Nara out.”

Sakura breathes deep, taking in everything, from the death of the people who ruined their life for so long and caused a civil war, to the retrieval of some of the most important people in Shikamaru's life. He's been a Haruno for five years now, having joined when they decided to adopt Yozora from the community raising. He did the ceremony, got the kekkei-genkai that turned his hair pink, like every Haruno child. He became Haruno Shikamaru of Clan Haruno, because he wanted to be a part of something and being a part of Sakura's clan made the most sense. At the time, he thought to be the only Nara left.

Sakura's heart feels full to bursting knowing he'll get some of his family back. Not that her and their children aren't his family, but she's so glad he'll get those eight Nara in his life again.

And she'll be able to see Sai again...

For the first time since hearing the news, a smile breaks out on her face, her eyes welling up with all the tears she didn't shed the last five years. Shikamaru is getting up from his desk, carefully avoiding Yozora and Sora next to his feet, before gathering her up in his arms.

“They're dead,” she whispers against his hair, heart wild and feeling like she can finally breathe.

“They are, love. They're dead.”

“Without them, the Uchiha and the Senju won't have any leaders, and they won't be able to rebuild the Hatake. We've basically won the war.”

“And don't forget that we can now tell our Uzumaki they can finally elect a proper Clan Head,” Shikamaru smiles, fierce and proud.

“They're going to be so happy,” she giggles.

Shikamaru's voice is soft. “Our cousins,” he states, like a fact of the universe that makes him unbearably happy.

“Kura? What's going on?”

They pull themselves apart, turning to look at the rest of Sakura's squad where they just entered the headquarters. Sakura grins wide, feeling like a God and a leader at the same time, her blood pumping through her veins like the sweetest confirmation of everything they stood for in the last five years.

“Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi are dead,” she announces to her brother, sister-in-law and cousin, face illuminated with glee.

“You're kidding me,” Hanako whispers. “You're kidding me!”

“Yes!” Nadamaru grabs his wife by the shoulders and kisses her hard on the mouth, uncaring for her open, wide eyes. Mikata's shock is so sweet to see, and that's when Sakura and Shikamaru notice the people standing him one by one, getting closer to them.

The news is spreading like wildfire, all the people working in the headquarters passing the information along like water on a summer day, and more and more smiles and laughter and tears are appearing. The noise in the building reaches critical levels, and no one cares. They've practically won the war.

“We're going to be alright,” Shikamaru says, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and putting his chin on her shoulder.

“Yes we are,” she says softly as her children wander next to them, curious and happy.