Naruto: The Senju Patriarch

He grabbed the jaw of the Shinobi, forcing him to open his mouth and there he saw it - the cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. 

The Root. He thought. Despite his rage, he assessed his next steps. However, while he planned, the Chunin bit down on something, and dropped, convulsing on the ground. Dammit, they're all dead. Even if I bring this up, Danzo will completely deny this incident, claiming those Shinobi never even existed in the Root, and were merely Iwa enemies. And of course, Hiruzen will say he will investigate the matter and do absolutely nothing.

Katsuro was not technically a shinobi, and while this had greatly benefited him it also came with drawbacks. He lacked experience, he should have been able to react to the Shinobi trying to kill himself but didn't expect this. Even killing people was something he had to train, by finding bandits who he had judged to deserve death - murderers, rapists and the like. I was really naive back then - almost got stabbed for hesitating while killing one of them, and even after I did, I vomited … How embarrassing.

Katsuro noted how far he had come, but also how far he still had left to go. I still need to get more experience - I'm holding back, but even so I should still have been able to finish this much quicker without using **** style. I've been hiding how much strength I have from everyone. Since young, I've known how much darkness the village truly has, but it seems this was a mistake. Hiding so much meant the likes of Danzo think they can target my clan, even after my threat. 

Considering the attack, the team and Katsuro returned back to the village. Under the approval of their clan leader, the Senjus, and the 2 Genin, went to report the incident to the Hokage. On the surface, this was information of vital importance after all - an enemy squad had infiltrated so close to the village. 

Following the incident, Katsuro's hands were tied. He could not get vengeance - Danzo had covered himself appropriately, especially with the Hokage covering for him. Instead he called for a clan meeting, telling those in attendance that Shinobi of the clan should not take missions for the time being. This order came with some resistance, as the Senju were innately quite patriotic toward the village that their former clan leader had created. But once he had informed them of the incident and his reasoning, they too, who had seen the discrepancies, agreed. Katsuro told them to focus on training, and that the clan would cover them financially for now. The orders were passed down and Katsuro, whose strength had now been witnessed, was treated like their king. They followed his words without fault. 

Even when he was summoned to deliver his own report on the incident, Katsuro did not even attempt to convince the Hokage that Danzo was targeting his clan and should be punished. He already knew the Hokage was implicit. Instead, as he made his report, he made it simple but sarcastic, stating how weak the Shinobi were, and that whoever was their master was probably "an old weak idiot who only had one real working arm."

It was Katsuro's own veiled message to Danzo telling him "I know it was you and I killed them all knowing they were your people". But Danzo could not say or do anything either, as it would be admitting his involvement. Katsuro had used his own deception to leave him feeling completely insulted.

Eventually, the entirety of the Senju clan refusing to take any missions was noticed by the higher ups, and Katsuro, as clan head, was summoned. 

At the Hokage's Office

"You called for me, Lord Third?" Katsuro's tone was polite and unassuming, annoying the Hokage and his faction, who knew that he was the one to cease Senju missions. As much as he liked to see them annoyed, Katsuro himself took no pleasure in being polite to them - the only reason for his outward friendliness was the fact that Tsunade, who was also in the room, had promised him to be respectful of the Hokage before she left on her most recent mission. This is the first time we've seen each other since then, he thought, smiling at Tsunade. The Senju Princess tried and failed to hide her blush, but smiled back all the same.

"Katsuro," the Hokage began, his voice also cordial. He's trying a new approach I see, Katsuro thought. No - it's not just that. He's trying to sway Tsunade too. He wants to present himself as the kind, diplomatic one, and me as the problem. He already knows that I gave the order to refuse missions, and that's why Tsunade's here - he wants her to hear it for the first time here, so that he can manipulate the situation and turn her against me.

"How are you, my boy?" Across the room, Danzo snorted to himself, albeit quietly. Hiruzen, you truly are a fool. Always trying to play the light when you belong in the darkness with me.

"I'm fine, thank you, Lord Third," Katsuro returned, equally falsely polite. "May I ask why you called for me?" 

"Well, you see, Katsuro, recently, Senju shinobi have been refusing to go on missions. As you can imagine, it's meant that many of our missions have been hindered - the loss of 100 or so shinobi is quite impactful, particularly the Jonin. As you know, war is nearing, and we really do need the full force of the Senju by our side, to protect Konoha." Hiruzen spoke winningly, but Katsuro saw through his manipulation.

"Unfortunately, Lord Third, that won't be possible. You see, it was me who gave the order for the Senju to refuse missions, and I intend to keep it that way."

"Katsuro! I promised Sensei that you wanted to protect the village! Why the hell would you do that?" 

As Tsunade spoke, Hiruzen feigned surprise and shock, but inwardly celebrated. The foolish child is playing straight into my hands! Unfortunately for him, his celebrations were cut short by Katsuro's next words.

"Well, you see, Tsunade," Katsuro said, mimicking the words of the Hokage just now, "While you were gone on your most recent mission, I discovered something quite peculiar! Do you know what the Root is?"

Tsunade's angry eyes briefly switched to Danzo, who had frozen, not expecting the direct confrontation.

"What about them?"

"Would you be surprised to know that they've been targeting Senju shinobi?" As Tsunade's eye widened in shock, Danzo tried to speak. 

"That's preposter-"

"Shut up, Danzo. I'm talking." Katsuro's voice was deathly quiet, but his words carried the force of a thousand drums, and no further words left Danzo's mouth. Looking directly at the Hokage, Katsuro continued.

"Last week, Lord Third, do you remember the mission where I tailed that team that got ambushed by Iwagakure? Well, there's something I left out. Before I killed the last one of them, I placed a chakra sealing seal on him, and I opened his mouth. On his tongue, was a Cursed Tongue Eradication seal. Tell me, Lord Third, which organisation operates using Cursed Tongue Eradication seals?" 

AN: Here is the bonus chapter! The next goal is 50 power stones for another!

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 you COLLECT and VOTE with powerstones for more! Let me know what you think in the comments!