#it explains why I wrote this entire thing v_v

[cpelise]

Headcanons on Tobirama and why I write him the way I do:

Allow me to first and foremost emphasize the word headcanon(s), before proceeding. I’ve written this out to essentially explain how I personally view Tobirama, why I write him the way I do for a series of fanfics I recently posted to AO3, and may potentially continue to write :3

With that being said~

When he was younger I feel that he had to put on a strong face for his brothers. He felt the need to protect and shield them from his father’s hard training and abuse. He observed the world around him and approached everything matter of factually not just for them, but for himself, to accept the reality that they were stuck in, as a way of coping.

As he grows into a teen-young adult, he becomes even more serious with training and his curiosity heightens for learning new techniques to further his skills. He does so to keep his only remaining brother safe and to keep their mutual dream alive. I headcanon that he trains with Hashirama often so that they both can keep their skills at their peak. When he can’t train with Hashirama because he’s training elsewhere (sage training for example), he dives into reading and studying, he trains himself harder in suiton, he trains with other clan members, or this is where the -insert fanfic opportunity- to visit a potential S/O comes in.

No, I don’t think all of his time is spent training. Him and Hashirama have other duties to attend to too- mainly politics and chores; providing resources for meals (Tobirama would excel at fishing and enjoy it), shopping at local populated towns or areas for other groceries and supplies, attending meetings with other clans regarding anything from illnesses the Senju could help with- to escorting clans, people with power, notable figures, or others, etc. Later on this knowledge and experience would provide handy for them in the founding of Konohagakure and bringing clans together, imo.

Around age 24, the time of Izuna’s death, he’s visibly shown in a clan battle scene fighting for his life. You can see the expression written clearly on his face that he’s irritated of this clan war; he wants it to be over with. The peaceful future his brother and he desires for, can never become a reality as long as this clan war continues.

Around 25-26 Konohagakure is founded.

Around 31 he creates the Ninja Training Institution that later becomes known as the Ninja Academy.

Around 34 he becomes his team’s Sensei.

Around 40 he becomes Nidaime Hokage, creates the Konoha Police, and later that year- is killed by the Kinkaku Force.

^ 24-40 age bracket are more fact-type timeline things than they are headcanons, but they’re relevant.

Time/Type:

Frankly the timeline is probably the only solid information here, as my headcanons are simply that- headcanons. Sorry admirers; he’s probably not looking for any potential love interests until after the clan war with the Uchiha is over- that’s my personal headcanon and that’s one of the reasons why I wrote my fanfics with my Original Character the way that I did. I insert as much freedom into this man’s life as I could for an S/O, but his life is overwhelming and chaotic. Not saying don’t do it or don’t try it. ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ This man is 100% worth it.

I imagine this man as Demi- he’s not going to fall for you unless he knows you on a deeply personal level. He needs to trust you, and that’s something that requires building.

For his Persona:

It’s fanon- (I doubt it’s established canon, because manually who’s counting this?) that we’ve seen over 5,000 jutsu in the combined Naruto/Shippuden series, and Tobirama is responsible for inventing more than 3,500 of those.

To create so many in such a small lifespan, you’ve got to spend all of your time solely dedicated to the cause. But he has a clan to defend, eventually has Konohagakure to help establish, has missions to run, he has a team to mentor, he eventually becomes Nidaime Hokage. And without a doubt it helps that he develops shadow clones (kage bunshin no jutsu) to help with this later down the line.

The man likely uses all of his spare time pouring into the task, and forces himself to sleep. But when he finally lays his head down to rest- his mind is still left brainstorming and racing through copious amounts of information. That’s where I headcanon him the way that I do.

When he’s first introduced during the chūnin exams, he’s not exactly thrilled with the situation but  he’s shown smiling quite a bit. You can tell he enjoys battle to some extent. In my view it’s also a level of coping (or denial). Being so used to something negative, or painful, to such a degree that you let it wash over you, shrug everything off, and smile or laugh about it. I see it a lot irl. A lot of successful functioning adults carry on with this attitude.

Towards the end he tells Sarutobi that he’s sorry for causing him trouble- those words in itself hold a lot of gravity, imo. He’s taking in accountability for the forbidden technique (kinjutsu: edo tensei) and the domino effect that it has caused his former student.

In a filler episode he’s shown again helping the ‘Eternal Genin’, Kosuke Maruboshi. This time his attitude is a little more serious, but it’s still helpful and reaching. He desires to teach Kosuke skills to defend himself. ‘Give a man fish, it feeds him for a day. Teach a man to fish, it feeds him for a lifetime.’

In the Fourth Shinobi War Arc, he appears again- this time he appears a bit more aged than the first time he was summoned via Edo Tensei, and this time his mannerisms and persona seem more mature. It’s stated that he was summoned differently from the first time, so it only makes sense. Orochimaru also doesn’t blank out his personality this time around. He has more freedom to function and operate- to be himself.

What’s notable to me is how he interacts with everyone around him. He still interacts with his Brother as was shown in the flashbacks. He interacts with Minato and Naruto in a somewhat easy-going and friendly manner. I.e. they mesh well and can read each other’s abilities without having been acquainted long, and Naruto slowly frustrates him with a shadow clone jutsu explanation, lol.

He listens to Sasuke and his team to receive the full details of the situation, though desiring to make haste to the battlefield. He doesn’t have much choice and his brother makes a final call. Another +point to the ‘respects his brother’ tally card.

To me these scenes tell me that his morals are high, his need to set things ‘right’ are high. That he holds high respect for his brother, and that he has the capacity to evaluate the details of a situation and explain at length to others information they require.

Later there are several other scenes where we catch sight of him, and he’s again: smiling, or he has a grin, in most.

I’d describe him as sassy, he’s got that in spades. He’ll be the first one to call you out on any mistakes, or make a blunt assessment of the situation. Meaning he’s vocal. One of the opposite traits of ‘stoic’ (I’m tired of seeing this word being used to describe him). I’d also describe him as observant, and takes the situation for the seriousness it deserves.

When it comes to battle, sparring, or anything competitive like, he is seen to have moments of pleasure on the battlefield- he is caught with those smiles or grins. Be them from amusement, contentment, out of sass, feeling confident- they are most certainly there. And that is where I choose to write him. I will take that leap and write him playful and smiley any day of the week.

And don’t let that handsome smile fool you. He’s still cunningly brilliant, and quick, with shadow clones! He’ll catch you when you least expect it- now that’s canon. Madara said it himself in the anime.

Welcome to my Naruto-verse. And my Tobirama Headcanons \o/

Extra tidbit of Into:

In a databook it’s mentioned that his favourite words were "Mind, technique, body" (心・技・体, Shin - gi - tai).

>>>

I want to delve into this a smidge. More headcanons btw. He may have picked this up over time after studying through so much information, or maybe it was inspired by his Brother and the sage training he went through- perhaps it’s an accumulation of both. The fact that he aligned the three to begin-with signifies awareness, imo.

He’s aware when his body doesn’t have the right nutrients or isn’t properly fed- that he’s going to be subpar on the battlefield (applies to everyday activities as well).

He’s aware if he doesn’t have the right amount of sleep, when something has his head space distracted- that his thoughts are going to drift elsewhere and he’s going to be subpar on the battlefield (applies to everyday activities as well).

He’s aware if his abilities, skill, or knowledge in an area is mediocre or weak, that he’s going to be subpar or not as effective as he could be on the battlefield, potentially even a risk. And in a political environment, it could lose the trust and cooperation of peers or others.

I think he attempts his best to take care of himself to maintain that order of ‘mind, technique, body’, and to be as effective as he can for the sake of those around him; he just may fail at it sometimes with his lifestyle.

Sources:

Timeline (fandom), https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/User:Seelentau/Naruto_Timeline

Jutsu Creation (fandom), https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-Hokages-die

 Anime (personal perception); I created a collage of screenshot some time back specifically for this (and then completely forgot to add an important scene and omitted several similar-in appearance scenes). I’m going to add that collage again (with minor edits). This collage helps to display the foundation of my thought process for Tobirama's behavior and mannerisms:

Extra Nonsense:

Repeating myself a bit; I’m not trying to start a war or begin a debate with all this *gestures to all of the above*. I just wanted to explain why I wrote Tobirama the way that I did in my Tobirama x OC fanfics before I was piled with a bunch of questions regarding it. Not that I dislike questions! This is just easier- to explain it all, in its entirety, all at once. Honestly I don’t think anyone will care enough to read the fanfics in the first place, lol. Regardless, here~ have my Tobirama headcanons~! x3

And I don’t know if it’s obvious, but I’ve been trying to repeat and emphasize the word ‘headcanon’ a dozen times. 95% of this, if not more, are headcanonssssss~