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Chapter 82 - [BONUS] Eternal Genin

F*ck!

Danzo was fuming. 

How? How did it come to this? He thought, rattling the bars he was held in. When Sarutobi first told him that he was due for life imprisonment, Danzo had genuinely thought it was a joke. He, the leader of the Root, the true Hokage, imprisoned for life for doing what had to be done? He, who had sacrificed his morals, his values - his very humanity - for Konoha, had now been locked away for the rest of his life for it? 

All because of that brat. Danzo's anger only grew remembering that. He had known from the very beginning that Senju Katsuro would be a nuisance, but he'd never expected this. 

Damn you, Sarutobi! If you'd listened to me and we'd killed the brat when he was young or put him into the Root, we wouldn't be in this situation right now! 

Danzo seethed in silence, scratching and cursing the anti-chakra seals that the Uzumaki brats had taken far too much pleasure in placing on him. But even that was the fault of one man.

But Danzo wasn't done yet - no, far from it. Where there is light, there will always be a shadow, and it doesn't matter who that light is or how bright it is - the shadow remains.

Danzo closed his eyes, stopping his rage.

Sarutobi's a delusional fool - the Shinobi world is not at peace. With luck, within a few years - at maximum, within a decade - war will break out again. Sarutobi's growth is dependent on me, but he doesn't realise it - he barely managed to win this war with the Root, the Sannin, the White Fang and that monster. The idiot can't possibly win without me, and soon he'll realise it. 

As long as Sarutobi hangs onto the Hokage seat until war breaks out, which the power-hungry bastard certainly will, he'll be forced to free me for the Root to continue missions - secretly or not. 

After that, I'll have to be quick and ruthless - I'll have to dispose of the White Fang and Sarutobi quickly. 

But before that, there's someone else I need to take care of.

Senju Katsuro. I'm not a fool. I know I can never beat you in combat alone, or even with the Root as it was. 

But perhaps in your inexperience and youth, you haven't learnt yet - violence isn't the only way to kill a man.

A while later…

Katsuro and Kakashi were walking through the streets of Konoha, talking about current affairs. The Hatake heir was in a difficult place right now. On one hand, he had recently been made into a Chunin - remarkably young too, and that was certainly cause for celebration, especially considering Kakashi's goals. However, at the same time, Kakashi had been through a lot - far worse than Katsuro had been through when he was his age.

Mother died at a young age, his father tried to commit suicide and he was there to see him bleed out on the floor, and if that wasn't enough, all his comrades are dead. 

Even though Kakashi, being the strong minded and independent child he was, tried to hide it, it was clear to anyone that knew him how hard those events had hit him. He had inherited his father's strength and leadership skills, yes, but for better or worse, he had also inherited his sense of responsibility, and the deaths of his teammates couldn't have been easy.

Thank God you didn't die, Sensei, Katsuro thought. I don't even want to imagine what Kakashi would've felt.

Regardless, Kakashi was asking him for advice on how to accelerate to Jonin rank as fast as possible. Unfortunately for the young Hatake, however, Katsuro hadn't taken the conventional route to Jonin - in fact, technically, he'd more or less forced his way into Genin and skipped Chunin, even after failing the graduation test. Even so, Katsuro had heard things, and was more than willing to share.

"Well, I didn't take the normal route to Jonin, I just asked." 

Seeing the unamused look on Kakashi's face, Katsuro laughed slightly and continued.

"But for normal people, I'm fairly certain it's not something as simple as an exam, like for Chunins. Being a Jonin is complicated, from what I've heard - multiple criteria for entry. You've already got some of it - the ability to use at least 2 Chakra Natures. But mainly, it's about strength, merit, tactics and leadership - think about what Jonin actually do. They take on the hardest missions, hence strength, merit and tactics, and they also lead teams and teach lower ranks, hence leadership. Also, you'll need a recommendation - but don't worry about that. When you're Jonin level, I'll recommend you personally. You'll have your dad and Tsuna to recommend you too, so that's pretty much covered."

"So I'm not Jonin level right now?" Kakashi asked.

"Nope," Katsuro responded. "We both know you're certainly strong, especially considering your age, but not strong enough for Jonin just yet. And you need a bit more experience for tactics and leadership improvement."

"Oh," Kakashi said, looking slightly dejected, before quickly continuing. "In that case, aside from lessons from you and how I already train, how can I improve?"

Katsuro merely smiled.

"Honestly, some of it's about luck. Get a good Sensei, get a good team, and you'll be there much faster."

"Do you think I'll get a good Sensei, then?" 

Katsuro paused for a second. Hmm. Didn't Kushina say Minato had just become a Jonin too? Maybe…

"Actually, there's someone-"

"Kakashi, my eternal rival!" a shrill voice shouted from across the street. Kakashi immediately groaned, looking like he was about to escape, but in a flash, 2 males in forest green, odd-looking, full-body jumpsuits were in front of them. Strangely they were also completely upside down, using their feet as hands. 

Damn, that was quick.

It was a father and his son, by the looks of it, and both were sporting massive, toothy grins.

"I challenge you, Kakashi! A thousand laps of the village on our hands!" said the odd boy.

"Excellent idea, Guy! Let the power of youth explode!" loudly chortled the odd man.

"No." Kakashi flatly responded, turning to leave, much to Guy's chagrin, but Katsuro caught him on his shoulder and stopped him from leaving. He laughed to himself at the dynamic between the pair in green and his disciple before asking Kakashi, "Who are they?"

Kakashi replied in a dead voice, as if he couldn't bear to even be near their enthusiasm. "That's Might Guy, my academy classmate, and his father, Might Duy."

Wait a second - Might Duy, the Eternal Genin? That's him, in the weird green jumpsuit and always yelling about the power of youth! 

"Are you Lord Senju Katsuro, the Stormbreaker?" Might Duy asked him suddenly and loudly, attracting plenty of attention from bystanders, further amusing Katsuro.

"Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Might Duy," he said, extending his hand to the older man.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the man started bawling his eyes out, and shouting.

"Oh, Lord Katsuro, you are too kind! Please, call me Duy! I am your biggest fan ever in the whole world! I saw you on the Iwa front! You are the purest form of the power of youth I have ever seen! Please, sign my jumpsuit!" 

The man's loudness and odd request at the end actually drew a crowd, and for the first time in a very long time, Katsuro was actually left speechless. Luckily, someone else filled in the silence quickly.

"Papa! You're so inspirational, just like Lord Katsuro! Lord Katsuro, please sign my jumpsuit too!" The boy, Guy, was also now crying and shouting, and finally Katsuro came to his senses. 

To be honest, it wasn't the first time a 'fan' asked him to sign something, but this was… different. I am actually about to die right now, Katsuro thought. He was shuddering and barely able to breathe.

"Lord Katsuro! Are you alright?" both of the green jumpsuit men asked, perfectly synchronised and harmonised, and unfortunately, that did it for Katsuro.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Katsuro's laugh echoed through the village, loud for a very long time. Kakashi looked on, embarrassed of his godfather, classmate and his classmate's father, who was technically his inferior, while Might Guy and Duy seemed extremely relieved that their hero wasn't harmed because of them. After a long time, Katsuro finally stopped laughing, and agreed to sign their jumpsuits, much to the loud excitement and gratitude of the pair. 

After he had fully calmed down and the small crowd dissipated from around them, Katsuro realised something. He was interested in them, and his instincts told him there was more to them than what could be seen. They carried a different kind of confidence, one born from a certain mentality and hard work. Their weird but difficult exercises and the remarkable physique he could see made Katsuro interested in them, to him it did not seem like Might Duy was someone who deserved a moniker like Eternal Genin. 

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 next target is 500 POWER STONES for the next BONUS CHAPTER!

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