29 Waking Up II

A well-dressed man and woman holding hands walked up to Kane's group. They stopped in front of him and bowed.

""Thank you, Kane."" the couple said together before straightening up.

"Without you, we wouldn't have survived. I can only imagine what we would have gone through if we had stayed behind. If there is ever anything we can do for you, just say the word. We are in your debt." The man before the couple walked past them into the Senju compound.

Kane was stunned by the couple's actions. Their words gave him a funny feeling in his chest that he didn't understand.

Before he could do anything else, a woman with three children around Kane's age came forward, and something similar happened.

""""Thank you, Kane,"""" they all said before they walked into the compound.

One of the three children looked at Kane with wide eyes that never left him until he was out of sight.

Kane recognized that look in his eye. It was admiration, and he wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"It looks like you already have a few fans, Kane. I guess you should stop showing off, or you'll only get more popular," Nawaki joked while ruffling his hair.

Their little moment was cut short by the next group approaching.

Person by person and group by group, they came forward to show their gratitude towards Kane. After a couple hours had passed, the last of the hundreds of Uzumaki clan members approached him to show their appreciation.

Nearly everyone had extended blanket favours to Kane, offering their services in case he needed anything. Their gesture was touching even though he had everything he'd ever needed.

 The hours of near-constant earnest praise and gratitude profoundly affected Kane. 

He still regretted being unable to save Uzushiogakure, but his guilt was no longer devouring him. What's done was done. There was nothing to gain by wallowing. Instead, he had to make the best of what he could to make sure nothing like that would happen again.

After the last person left the group alone in the training ground, Naito asked about Kane's mental state.

"Heya, squirt. Feeling better yet?".

"Yeah," Kane said quietly with a nod. "I wish things were different, but nothing can be done. I got there, and there wasn't anything I could have done, but I wish there was something I could have done. I hate feeling so powerless."

"That's good," Mito said with a smile. "Because it's time that you fix that."

Kane fixed her with a curious look. He may hold a grudge for stopping him, but that doesn't mean he will disregard her instruction.

"Frankly speaking, you are too weak for what you seem to expect from yourself-"

Her words stung, as seen by Kane's flinch, but they weren't inaccurate. He did, after all, try and run off to stop a war without knowing a single jutsu.

"-and I know you well enough to know there is no point in getting you to slow down. Therefore, I arranged tutors for you and your sister. You both will train with Hatake Sakumo in the mornings and while Kushina attends school, you will train with someone else."

Kane's mouth fell open at that. He was going to be learning swordsmanship from the white fang?! Of course, he wasn't known as that yet, but that didn't mean his skills weren't incredible!

Kushina was excited for a different reason. She had someone who could teach her how to use the sword Kane gave her properly. And she got to train with her brother!

"Who is the second ninja?" Kane asked excitedly, his displeasure forgotten entirety in his excitement.

"I'm not telling you; you have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

-

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, a tense meeting occurred between two ex-squadmates.

Hiruzen sat behind his desk while massaging his temples with his hands.

Across from him, Danzo stood wearing his carefully cultivated political mask.

A half-opened scroll sat between the Hokage's desk between them amidst the scattered piles of paper.

"Why did you hide this from me? Do you realize the problems this would cause if this were to get out!" Hiruzen's fury was barely contained as he reprimanded the head of the Shamura clan.

"I've always known you were ambitious. But this is beyond foolish, even for you!"

"There was nothing foolish about it. It was well planned. The easiest way to gain loyalty is to rescue the desperate. It would have worked perfectly. However, that barrier was completely unexpected."

"So what if it didn't go according to your plan? It didn't! We must bury this, or we will have hundreds of severely pissed-off seal masters looking to take revenge! Do you understand how bad this is?"

"It is inconvenient, yes. I didn't even manage to get anything from the ruins of Uzushiogakure. The remaining shinobi there eradicated everything before the last of them died." 

Danzo's nonchalant reply just made Hiruzen's headache even worse.

"Inconvenient?!" he said, slamming his hands onto the desk.

"You call purposely hiding reports of an invasion on an ally from the Hokage inconvenient because it didn't go according to your plan! For fucks sake, Danzo, that is a textbook case of treason! We wouldn't even have this discussion if we hadn't grown up together. You'd simply be imprisoned."

There was a long moment of silence in the room where the only sounds were the breathing of the two and pieces of paper landing on the floor.

Sensing that things would go south quickly if he pushed further, Danzo chose to step back.

"I see that I may have taken things too far this time, but I hope you know that I only have the village's best interests at heart."

"We both know you do. Now go bury anything on your end that can tie us to this timebomb."

"Of course."

Hiruzen stood from his desk to gather the scattered pieces of paper on the floor. Danzo had just touched the door when Hiruzen's words made him freeze.

"The Uzumaki should not be touched. No matter how tempting their inventions are, they cannot be pushed around until they are fully settled. Give it a few years; we will have a steady stream of talented ninjas. Don't risk that with your foolish actions."

"Can I take any for my root when the time comes?" He asked without turning around.

"No. Things will not be peaceful now that the other villages have begun to move, and the Uzumaki will stand out too much. We cannot risk them falling into the hands of another village even with the precautions you have in place."

Danzo pushed open the door without answering. An action which was an answer in and of itself.

'Pathetic peace lover,' Danzo thought to himself, walking out of the Hokage building.

'The Uzumaki are perfect weapons and should be used as such. Their vitality. Their innate abilities. Their chakra. They are the perfect soldiers. All they need is direction, loyalty and purpose. All things only I can give them. And then there is that Kane.'

Danzo ground his teeth in irritation at the thought of that gem mine being kept just out of reach.

"That child would be my ticket to the Hokage's seat, but he is too protected. How can a 3-year-old child have such staunch supporters?!'