The Hope of the Senju Clan

Chapter 35: Engagement

Iwagakure-

Sitting in his office, nursing the migraine that was slowly beginning to form in his head, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki (Ōnoki of Both Scales) finished reading the reports he had received from his granddaughter Kurotsuchi and her partner Akatsuchi.

"I'm getting too old for all this shit!" the elderly Kage thought to himself, before looking up at his son Kitsuchi, who was sitting in front of him. (1)

"Is it as bad as Kurotsuchi said?"

"Worse" replied the aged Kage, remebering when Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi returned from their mission in Konoha.

After returning to Iwa, the two of them came racing into his office, ranting about Suna betraying Konoha and the Senju heir drawing water from plants and the air and creating trees.

It was only after he got the two to calm down and start from the beginning that he got a better understanding of what happened during the Chunin exam.

When the Tsuchikage learned of Suna's betraying Konoha and joining with Otogakure (Hidden Sound) to attack the hidden leaf, he was pleased, believing that it presented an opportunity for his village. Not only to avenge their defeat at the hands of Konoha in the Third Great Shinobi World War, but also to expand their influence and perhaps finally replacing Konoha as the strongest of the Shinobi nations.

But his mood almost immediately shifted when Kurotsuchi told him of the abilities Naruto showed during his battles in the finals.

At first Ōnoki was sceptical of his granddaughter's tale, but with Akatsuchi backing her up, he was forced to admit that what she said might be true and had them both write up a detail report on what they saw in the Chunin finals. He also had his spies send him a report on what happened in Konoha.

After reading both reports, Ōnoki was finally forced to admit that Naruto possessed the legendary Bloodline limit of his ancestor, the Shodai Hokage.

"It's not enough that he possess his Mother's monster's strength and the Nidaime Hokage's talent for Suiton Jutsu, but to have Mokuton as well...Just what sort of freak of nature did that brat Tsunade give birth to?!"

"So it's true then, Senju Naruto possesses the Bloodline limit of the Shodai Hokage-sama?"

"Yes..." grumbled the irritated Ōnoki, "And if that wasn't enough, it would seem that brat has also inherited the Nidaime Hokage-sama's talent for Suiton Ninjutsu. Allowing him to draw moisture from both their air and plants, he also seemingly has an unnatural talent for Futon Ninjutsu, where during his battle with Kumo's jinchuriki, he created a Wind version of the Hyuga Clan's famed Kaiten (Revolving Heaven). After only witnessing it a few hours ago, when he fought a member of the Clan."

"Impossible!" cried a stunned Kitsuchi, "No child could do such a thing! It would take years of training, for even the most gifted of shinobi, to do that...if it's even possible."

"Not only is it possible..." replied the short Kage, " It's true. Our spies in Konoha have confirmed Kurotsuchi's story."

After learning that what his daughter had said was true, Kitsuchi could only stare at his father in stunned disbelief, still not fully believing it. But after a while, he was finally forced to accept the truth.

"Do we know Konoha's current level of strength?"

"Not exactly, both Konoha and Suna have suffered some damage to their forces and Konoha has suffered a great deal of damage to the village itself. But we do not yet know how weakened they are. The only thing we know for certain is that Konoha was able to push Suna and Oto's forces out of their village and inflict heavy losses on them. Shortly after Suna surrendered, and announced that they had been tricked by Orochimaru, who disguised himself as the Yondaime Kazekage after secretly killing him and his guards."