AN: We hit 75 Power Stones! Thanks for the votes, and as promised, here is the bonus chapter. For the next BONUS CHAPTER, the target is 150 POWER STONES!
The children stared at him in disbelief. The man famed to be one of the strongest Shinobi from the Leaf Village in existence, who single handedly took down a Tailed Beast, fought on equal, if not stronger, than Hanzo the Salamander, Demigod, turned two entire war fronts around, mastery in Iryo Ninjutsu, current leader of the Senju clan and still younger than 20 years of age.
"You…that's you?" the young lady with the healing powers murmured, looking at Katsuro, shocked, "You're the Stormbreaker?!" The youths quickly returned to an extremely vigilant stance but were in awe at the figure before them.
Katsuro smiled, "The one and only. Sounds like you've heard of me."
"What is the Stormbreaker doing here, in a small village like this?" the other girl, who previously used Sealing Jutsu, questioned cautiously, "And of course, we've heard of you. Anyone even remotely connected or affected by this dreadful war does. But it's not like you're a saint, not to us."
"That's right, don't expect us to fall down to your feet!" one of the boys chimed in.
"Never mind that, but… considering I'm a Leaf Shinobi, surely you shouldn't be attacking me so aggressively like that!"
"It was your village, after all, that's what our parents told us before they.... It was the Leaf, who- who let our clan be destroyed…" The boy's voice broke, clearly scarred by the memories of burning homes, cries of the wounded and the sight of blood and fear and death and far more. The youngsters were all obviously unable to trust Katsuro, who was slightly stunned hearing that the children knew about this, but didn't flee, realising Katsuro wasn't here to capture or kill them.
They know that the Leaf let them down, even betray them. If they know this much, their parents are- no- were probably high-ranking members of their clan. However, that boy, 'Nagato', didn't know nearly as much as they do. He didn't even know the name of his parents or the village where he was brought up in. These children do…
"Well since you're a high-ranking Leaf Shinobi, and we're Uzumaki clan members, give us some answers," the young man who had led the two other boys in their assault against Katsuro now raised his voice, seething with rage and fury.
"WHY DID THE LEAF BETRAY US?! WHY DID THEY ALLOW OUR CLAN TO SUFFER?!"
His eyes swelled with the tears he carried of the pain of his fallen clan members and relatives, as he launched himself onto Katsuro, who didn't dare move, only allowing the crying boy to wail and pound on him. The rest of the children only looked down, suppressing their own anger and sorrow, while the other 2 Uzumaki boys restrained the boy off Katsuro.
"Well, then, answer the question!" another one of the boys demanded, gritting his teeth.
Katsuro opened his mouth, but stopped before any words could exit, before thinking about what he would say.
"Tell me your names." Katsuro looked at the youths sincerely. The group looked at each other warily, before giving into the words of the Senju Patriarch.
"Souta. Uzumaki Souta," started the leading young man, who had now attacked Katsuro twice. A ghost of a smile danced on Katsuro's face, seeing that a possible bond of trust could be formed.
"Tenaki," the second boy stated.
"Masaru," nodded the third.
"I am Uzumaki Minari," declared the young lady who had displayed healing abilities from being bitten before, who looked up, before quickly glancing at Souta, seeing that he had mentally somewhat trusted Katsuro.
"Uzumaki Noriyu," said the final girl who had used Sealing Jutsu.
"I see," Katsuro cleared his throat, "I personally don't have the answer to your question, Souta. But you might find it by asking my deluded Hokage."
The youths shifted in their positions, staring at Katsuro, shocked that he would speak ill of his own Kage.
"The truth is, I've never actually stood by the Hokage's decisions, especially ever since I found out about his involvement in doing nothing to help Uzushiogakure. You may know Granny Mito- Lady Mito Uzumaki, that is to you. Well, I grew up with her, after my own parents died when I was younger than all of you. She's the one who took me in, treated me like her own son. She raised me even when I was past the age of a child. She never stopped caring for me. When she heard about how the Hokage and his faction did nothing to save Uzushiogakure, we both stormed into the Hokage's office. Of course, he tried to cover it up, blaming the Uzumaki for their own destruction. As if the best Fuinjutsu users would fail to send a message. In fact, we found out that it was Danzo, who was at the village when it fell. But he and his Root ninja just watched and scavenged the remains. The Third Hokage found out but tried to turn a blind eye to it. He turned a blind eye to the village, Granny Mito's home, which we, the Leaf, had sworn allegiance to. The Hokage faction did not think it was worth protecting their allies who had supported them since its creation. But they made sure to extract all the benefits, even securing a replacement for the Nine Tails host."
The youths' eyes widened finally hearing the real reason why their clan and homes had been erased.
So it was true. It was the Hokage's doing. Konoha didn't abandon us, Lady Mito didn't abandon us, it was just the Hokage faction. The same thought was running through the minds of the five youngsters. They had no actual reason to believe the Stormbreaker but they had heard about him. They heard he was no regular Shinobi. He was going to bring change to this world - and not only that. He was also grandson to the Matriarch of both the Senju and the Uzumaki clans (former Matriarch of the Uzumaki). He was not just an immensely powerful Shinobi - he led the clan, who were sisters to their very own. He seemed to speak the truth and didn't appear at all to hold any lies or manipulation behind his words, as noted by Souta, who was so proficient in sensory he could see through lies.
"I don't trust my own Hokage, neither does the rest of my clan, just like all of you. The current Hokage faction- the Third Hokage, Danzo, the village elders- all of them undermine and threaten the peace established by the previous ones before them. They treat the village as a their own personal kingdom, selfishly focussed on their own power rather than working for its' benefit as whole. They have forgotten our roots with not just the Uzumaki, but also the rest of our allies. I'm going to stop that. I'm going to restore the peace that Lord First, Second and Granny Mito sought for, and I'll do that by first doing what I can for the Uzumaki."
Katsuro now looked ahead, determined. The youth in front of him stared at him in awe. They didn't realise that such people existed. People with such purpose, honour and sheer will in their minds. This man, Emperor of Wind and Patriarch of the Senju, was set on saving people he didn't even know.
"Well," Tenaki sniffed, "How can you help us? We don't have a home anymore. We don't have families anymore. We only have each other. There's no one besides ourselves. Our clan is gone." The children looked up at the Senju Patriarch, and Katsuro saw the sadness lingering within them, even after his proud statements before.
"No home? Not for much longer. No clan and no one besides yourselves? You are my people now, my home is yours, the Senju will welcome you with open arms." Katsuro smiled, as the children looked at him incredulously, but also hopeful.
"What do you mean?" Noriyu asked, curious and excited.
"I mean, that's why I'm even here. You heard what I said before, I don't stand by what the Leaf higher-ups decided to do by not helping Uzushiogakure. In fact, I heavily oppose it. I did oppose it at the time, but it was too late. But now, I'm picking up the pieces from what you all had to endure. I- we- are going to find the rest of the remaining Uzumaki, scattered and hidden across the land, and your new homes will be in the Senju compounds of the Hidden Leaf Village. We have also suffered under their regime and have more than enough space for all of you." Katsuro boldly stated, not lying about a single thing he had just put out there.
Still unable to fully trust Katsuro, Masaru spoke up.
"So you're saying we should go live in the Leaf village. The Uzumaki clan, who the Leaf completely betrayed and watched suffer and didn't even provide any support to the remaining clan members. We should just-"
His words were cut short by Katsuro who interjected.
"No, you shouldn't. You don't have to trust our Hokage or his colleagues. But, trust me. Trust that I will protect you. I'm already the leader of the Senju clan, who I also saved and restored, and now they have all returned to the clan and live together. You can live alongside them, protected by each other and of course, myself. So is that a yes?"
Katsuro grinned, as the children looked at each other, silently making their decision, before Minari spoke up, looking at Souta. The young man looked back at her, softly smiling before he nodded.
Katsuro rubbed the head of the teen at the front, smiling affectionately.
"Let's go then."
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 150 POWER STONES for the next BONUSCHAPTER!