Naruto: The Senju Patriarch

The meeting had ended with multiple conclusions. Katsuro would be leading the Kiri front, near Yugakure- the Village Hidden in Hot Water, with the Hyuga clan sons, Hiashi, the current head of the Hyuga clan, and his brother Hizashi of the Branch House, acting as deputies. Along with them, Katsuro would have the Uzumaki and majority of the Senju clans with him and several Hyuga clansmen. The White Fang and Tsunade would take charge at the Suna front, in the Land of Rivers,along with several Senju clansmen and the majority of the Aburame clan with squads made up of numerous clan and non clan Shinobi. Tsunade's Iryo ninjutsu and medical prowess would give them the edge over Chiyo's various poisons. The Senju and Uzumaki clans would, like in the last war, provide a huge benefit alongside the rest of the other Shinobi fighting at their designated fronts, with their higher vitality and physical and signature Jutsus. Clans such as the Hyuga and Aburame would also be scattered within other squads and fronts with their high skill in sensory abilities.

Kushina, being the Nine Tails Jinchuriki, was not allowed to participate in the war for her safety, which was accepted after much protest from the Uzumaki girl.

Others such as the Hokage, Fugaku, Jiiraiya, Orochimaru and Minato would be allocated in other areas. It had been realised that there was a high possibility that Kumo and Iwa would decide to attack the Leaf Village, so these Shinobi would be part of responses to these potential assaults, by initially drifting between other fronts, in order to be able to either fight against the other two villages or provide aid to the other fronts if Kumo and Iwa didn't attack the Leaf.

Even if the Sannin were separated, all three had grown so greatly and impressively since the previous war, a single one of them would be able to tip the balance at a single front. It wasn't just with that trio, however. Everyone at Konoha had developed in their own ways, in the name of protecting their village, homes, families and their future.

While everyone was still slightly concerned and shaken by the sudden news of the approaching war, they were more than ever ready to fight for Konoha and its citizens. After all they had been through, this war would be another testament to their resilience and strength.

A few days later…

Katsuro had said his goodbyes and farewells to Tsunade and Sakumo who left to the Suna front. During their exchange, a small twinge of fear within Katsuro caused by the separation between him and his wife and Sensei emerged, but this fear was quickly extinguished by Tsunade who put him at ease, alongside Sakumo's reassurance. Everyone had grown since the last war, and it was evident. This put Katsuro's worries at rest, and he confidently waved them off.

He had been doing last minute checks on everything possible, as he and the rest of the Konoha forces at the Kiri front were set to depart soon. Equipment, medical supplies, tents, food, weapons, plans, everything. He had also been going around to the rest of his forces- the Senju majority, Uzumaki and several of the Hyuga- when he caught sight of Kushina, huffing, irritatedly, away from the main house of the Senju complex.

"Kushina!" Katsuro called over, cautiously, not wanting to experience the wrath of accidentally further provoking the already angered red-haired girl.

"What! I'm busy y'know!" Kushina snapped back as he approached her.

"Well, how can you be busy if you're not even participating in the war, huh?" Katsuro stated, innocently, not realising what he had said he sounded mocking to his sister. Kushina's eyes glowed an angry red, with a bulging tick appearing on her forward, her fist raised towards her brother's head.

"Wait, I didn't-" he tried to explain.

"SURO YOU-" her sentence was cut short by the arrival of a messenger.

"Lord Senju, we have received reports of the approach of Kirigakure forces at the Village Hidden in Hot Water!"

Kushina looked up at her brother expectantly.

"Well?" she prompted.

"Our forces aren't ready yet and we were set to leave later," the Senju Patriarch murmured, "but I did anticipate this. Seems like I'm going to have to scare them back for now." He smiled.

"Don't worry," Katsuro said, turning to the messenger, "send a message to the rest of our Kiri force and the higher-ups. Say that I'll go ahead and stall them for now, until they arrive."

The messenger nodded, not questioning the declaration and disappeared.

"I'll be back," Katsuro grinned at Kushina who rolled her eyes, and before her eyes, he vanished.

Katsuro had used Flying Raijin to teleport all to the multiple markers he'd left across the land near and around the Land of Whirlpools on his quest to find survivors of the destruction of Uzushio, before moving closer to the Village Hidden in Hot Water looking for any sign of Kiri scouts or Shinobi. It was imperative that he intercepted and neutralised as many as he could - the more time he bought by not allowing the scouts to report back would not only intimidate the enemy because it was obvious the scouts had been killed or captured, but it also allowed Konoha more time to mobilise and prepare for battle on the Kiri front.

For the first few teleportations, he found no scouts, which was a good sign - his markers were on the close side to Konoha, meaning their scouts hadn't yet made too much progress, but it also used up large amounts of chakra - so much that even someone like Katsuro felt it. Either way, he pushed on, scouting around until his very last marker - and still there were no scouts.

Katsuro sighed. I guess that means I'm running then, he thought to himself, groaning. He quickly made multiple Shadow Clones, handed them each a real Flying Raijin sealed Kunai, and they dispersed across the land, covering far more distance than the average Shinobi team would.

The Senju Patriarch had been running for about 10 minutes before one of his clones finally ran into an enemy team. The team was composed of only 4 Shinobi, so the Shadow Clone alone was able to take out the team with relative ease, and continued forward. This process of a clone finding a scout team and neutralising themselves continued for a while, and there was only one instance of the original Katsuro himself having to teleport to neutralise the enemy, and that was because that team in particular was stronger and larger than the others, likely composed of multiple teams - however, Katsuro noticed that they had been retreating, and an idea began to form in his head.

Katsuro changed tactics now - he teleported himself to each and every one of his Shadow Clones to give them new instructions, before continuing on his path. For a while, the pattern of clones finding and killing enemy scout teams continued, until finally, Katsuro's plan came into fruition.

One of his clones self-combusted, and Katsuro immediately teleported to the dropped Kunai, and he vaguely made out a small team of 4 Shinobi retreated backwards, towards the direction of the Village of Hot Water. Katsuro smiled at his clone's actions - he had, of course, carried out his mission perfectly, and the scouts hadn't noticed him. The original Katsuro continued to tail the retreating team for a long time, before finally, he got his reward.

In front of him was a small camp, full of Kiri Shinobi. It appeared to be a base specifically for the scouts, as Katsuro saw multiple teams moving in and out of the base, and many more in the camp itself.

About 400 by the looks of it.

Katsuro immediately disbanded all his Shadow Clones, learning of some of their eliminations of Kiri teams - it all added up. Therefore, Katsuro remade 8 Shadow Clones, giving each a decent amount of his chakra, and told them to spread out in a circle, surrounding the camp. They had orders to eliminate any teams coming in and out of the camp, thus preventing any escape or leaking of that information back to Kiri headquarters. Finally, Katsuro himself prepared for battle. For him, there would be no sneaking around, no lying in wait.

I can't afford to put any unnecessary strain on the clones - I need to eliminate the entire base as quickly as I can so that only the smallest fraction try to escape.

He took a deep breath, and unsheathed his katana.

"Lightning Style: Thunderclap Impulse!"

"Wind Style: Wind Chakra Mode!"

"Combination Jutsu: Susanoo no Mikoto!"

That green mist, etched with lightning, surrounded Katsuro making look like the unholy spawn of the Storm God himself.

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