Back at the Senju compounds, Katsuro and Tsunade were finally catching up - or to be more precise, Tsunade in particular was telling Katsuro about everything that had happened with her since he left on his quest.
"And this," she said proudly, pulling a dark haired girl to her side, with great enthusiasm, "is Shizune!"
Shizune blushed at the attention from such a well respected and famous figure within the village.
"It's an honour to meet you, Lord Katsuro," she said, bowing humbly.
Katsuro smiled gently. "Oh, please, Shizune, no need for honorifics - just Katsuro is fine."
Shizune blushed again as Tsunade continued.
"Shizune is Dan's niece, Katsuro," she said more seriously and with slight sadness, and Katsuro's expression morphed into one of solemnity at first, before transforming into a smile.
Tsunade wouldn't have brought her here if she had anyone else. Dan must've been her last relative.
"I see - well, I hope you've made yourself comfortable here, Shizune." He then looked at Tsunade.
"Am I right in guessing that you've taken Shizune as a student?"
Tsunade nodded smugly, the previously sombre mood uplifted by Katsuro's subtle change of topic.
"Yep! She's gonna be the best medical ninja around - after me, of course," she finished with faux arrogance.
Katsuro ignored Tsunade's jibe, and turned to Shizune, much to his girlfriend's indignation.
"Don't listen to her," he said snarkily. "She's not even the best medical ninja around right now!"
Shizune looked at him confused, unable to tell if the man before her was joking or not, as Tsunade berated him.
"Then who is?" Tsunade opened her mouth, knowing what Katsuro was going to say, but he still beat her to it.
"I am!" he said smugly.
"OW!" quickly followed his declaration.
The smug expression was wiped off the Stormbreaker's face as Tsunade used her super strength to pinch his neck, causing the normally stoic man to crease in pain.
"That's what you get!"
—
Later that evening, Katsuro reunited with Kaito, who was ready to give him a report of everything that had happened in the village since he left. Uchiha-Hokage faction tensions rising, growing prevalence of the Sarutobi and Shimura clans - pretty much what I expected, Katsuro thought.
"Also, I'm sure you already predicted this," Kaito continued.
"But there's been sort of… rumours and talking, I guess it could be called, around the war."
Katsuro's eyebrows raised. "Go on."
"Essentially, the Hokage's been taking more-or-less sole credit for the 'victory' in the war - of course it's not been him coming out directly and saying all this, but he probably planted the rumours himself - he won the war, he brought peace to the village, he's the strongest Hokage eve-"
Kaito was shocked and interrupted by his Patriarch's sudden noise, and panic overcame the Elite Jonin after looking at him collapse and writhe on the floor. Has he been poisoned? Is he choking? Is he dying? Kaito was only frozen for a millisecond, however, before jumping into action, leaping to the Patriarch's side and vigorously thumping him on the back.
"Lord Katsuro! What's wrong!?!"
Wait. He's-
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Kaito, moved away, sighing in relief.
"Damn, you really scared-"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Ok, Patriarch, I think that's-"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
For the first time in a long time, Katsuro genuinely considered the possibility of his death.
Oh my God. I've survived a war, 1 on 1 battles with 2 Kages, and so much more, and I might actually die to laughing at a 'rumour; like this! he thought, still cackling. But he didn't even blame himself - Hiruzen? Sarutobi Hiruzen? The Strongest Hokage? He wasn't even the strongest in the village!
Finally, after what seemed to Kaito like hours, Katsuro finally stopped laughing, out of consideration for his clansman, and he cleared his throat.
"And uh -" Katsuro fought off another laugh.
"And people believe it?" Relieved that Katsuro had finally stopped laughing, Kaito answered quickly.
"Uh, well, some people do-"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The laughter continued on like before, but as soon as it ended, Kaito seized his chance to speak again.
"There's been mixed reactions - on one hand, some people do believe, especially when you factor in the fact that the achievements of others on the battlefield have been greatly diminished, such as yourself and Lord Sakumo, and his have been exaggerated. It's probably worse for you than it is for Lord Sakumo too, considering you've been away for a while."
Seeing the outraged and unhappy expression on Katsuro's face, Kaito quickly continued.
"But at the same time, it's not like no one knows the truth - actually, every Shinobi that fought in the war knows the truth, considering those at the Iwa front saw you take down the 4 Tails and match the Third Tsuchikage, and those at the Suna front saw you take down the One Tails with Lady Tsunade and then cleverly defeat the Third Kazekage. It's more just that the Hokage's achievements are being constantly spoken about and pushed and exaggerated, which is drowning out yours and Lord Sakumo's."
Katsuro was about to open his mouth to respond, when suddenly both Shinobi paused. There was an unfamiliar presence at the compound - not Senju, Uzumaki, or Shizune.
Kaito looked at Katsuro questioningly, waiting for orders, but Katsuro merely raised his palm, telling him not to act.
Likely Anbu from the Hokage, we'll see how this unfolds.
—
"Who are you?" Masaru said threateningly, shielding his family members, although all of them, conditioned by war, were ready to fight. Although they were now in a safe space, old habits died hard especially in unfamiliar territory.
The masked Shinobi in front of them, however, made no move to attack, instead choosing to speak.
"Are you the Uzumaki that the Patriarch of the Senju clan brought?"
"What's it to you?" came the angry retort from Souta.
"Who is your representative?"
"Katsuro is," said Minari.
"He is a Senju. Your representative must be one of your own."
"He is one of our own!"
The masked Shinobi didn't respond, and stood there, waiting.
Finally, recognising the futility of the situation, Masaru pointed to an elderly man nearby, who had been watching the interaction carefully.
"Fine then. If it can't be Katsuro, then we choose Mr Yairya. He's our representative." Approving nods and murmurs came from the rest of the Uzumaki, and the masked Shinobi quickly went over to him.
Upon closer inspection, the old man named Mr Yairya confirmed, this masked Shinobi was an Anbu member - he could tell from the tattoo. Yairya was an ex-Shinobi of Uzushiogakure, but he'd been injured in previous battles, and was no longer able to fight, and so he had escaped with the children in order to oversee them. The old man had cursed his injuries before, partially blaming himself for the fall of his village and his bloodline, but now - now, it seemed that there was hope after all. But I know what this man is here for.
"The Third Hokage, Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen, has summoned you, Uzumaki Yairya, to act as a representative of the Uzumaki clan and of Uzushiogakure. Make your way to his office." Just like that, the Anbu Shinobi disappeared. Body flicker, huh?
Mr Yairya may not have had the physical capabilities of a Shinobi any longer, but his mind was still as sharp as ever, and he refused to be tricked by the Hokage again. I will not waste this second chance for my clan and my village!
"Come!" He ordered the children, who assisted the man to walk. "Take me to the Stormbreaker!"
—
"Katsuro!"
Kaito and Katsuro turned to face the familiar voices.
The presence is gone, and the Uzumakis are approaching us. Looks like it went just as the Patriarch expected, Kaito thought to himself, shaking his head with a small smile, still admiring his leader, even after witnessing all of his previous feats..
"Mr Yairya," Katsuro greeted the man, using an Earth Style Jutsu to make a makeshift chair for him from the ground, which the old man graciously sat on and rested for a moment, before speaking.
"Lord Katsuro, I have something to tell you - just now, an Anbu came to us - he asked for an Uzumaki representative, and when we tried to put you forward, he refused to accept it, and only accepted when I was chosen. He has asked me to meet with the Hokage, and I have a feeling it's about-"
"Mr Yairya," Katsuro interjected kindly, before continuing.
"Don't worry - I know all about the Anbu, and the Hokage, and his scheming. In fact, I'm the one that suggested it."
Yairya and the other Uzumaki gaped at him, shocked.
"But why?"
Katsuro merely smiled.
"Don't worry, Mr Yairya. Go to see the Hokage tomorrow morning - I trust you all implicitly, and I know you can handle it yourself."
Katsuro and Kaito bowed respectfully, and walked away, leaving the Uzumaki children slightly confused - but Yairya smiled.
Yes. Even though our village might have fallen, and our clan scattered, it seems there is still hope. Senju Katsuro, and the rest of the Senju clan - I will put my faith in you.
AN: If you would like to view up to 20 chapters ahead, and would also like to support me, please visit my P@TR30N, at pa tr eon.com / GhidorahWriter (remove the spaces). Thanks for reading and make sure ADD to your COLLECTION and VOTE with POWER STONES! The target is 350 POWER STONES for the next BONUSCHAPTER!