5 Chapter 5

"Now, why in Hashirama's name would I do that?" I questioned the Uchiha girl with raised eyebrows.

"Power…I need more power." Satsuki answered. Her eyes burned in furious determination.

I scratched the back of my head and looked at the annoyed blonde to my right, then to Hinata who was cowering behind Naruko.

"I'm glad that you want power and all, but you didn't answer my question."

Satsuki's body twitched, her focused face falling into one of surprise before settling on a thoughtful expression. Her face then darkened, as she prepared to answer.

"I have a goal. One that requires me to be very strong. Stronger than a jonin." She paused, her onyx eyes locking onto my own green orbs. "To accomplish my goal, I need to get ahead of our peers, to surpass even the brightest of geniuses. If I ever hope to defeat…a certain someone."

I nodded in understanding, falling into mock thought.

"Yeah, I don't think I will."

My answer caught the Uchiha girl off guard, while simultaneously putting a wide grin on Naruko's face.

"You heard him, snob, get lost!" Naruko taunted, sticking her tongue out at the dazed girl.

Satsuki's face shifted from surprise to anger in a heartbeat.

"Why not!? I told you what you wanted to know! So why!"

"Three reasons." I frowned while holding up three fingers. "One, you barged into my compound uninvited, then insulted my friend. Two you didn't even have the decency to ask. Instead you demanded me like I'm some clown or servant. Three, your goal, it doesn't tie into the type of future I wish to push for our generation."

"You have these clowns here, yet you won't help me?! Training me would be a much better use of your time!" Satsuki growled.

"Who are you calling a clown-" Our resident knucklehead started before being interrupted.

"Naruko." I gave the blonde a warning look. She returned my look with a glare that gradually faded into reluctant acceptance. I then turned my attention back to Satsuki. "Even now you continue to not only disrespect me, but also my friends. I truly have no reason to help you. In fact, through your time here, you've only given me reasons why I shouldn't help you."

Satsuki's anger burned brighter, her fists clenching so hard we could hear her knuckles cracking.

Then she did something none of us expected.

"I…apologize for how I rudely barged into your compound and demanded things of you. I also apologize for how I treated your friends…However I will not apologize for pursuing my vengeance. To kill that man is what gives me life!" Satsuki said, her body bowed down to near sixty degrees.

Huh…I really didn't expect her to apologize, much less bow to me. She must either want to kill Itachi so much that she's ready to dismiss her pride, or she's seen and acknowledged how strong Itachi truly is, and that without me, reaching him would be impossible.

Both could be true as well.

Naruko and Hinata were looking at me as I was thinking. Naruko's face was practically pleading I send her fucking packing, while Hinata looked as though she would follow whatever choice I made.

"I have heard your apology and accept it. However, apologizing to me for mistreating my friends is dumb. You must apologize to them."

Satsuki looked towards Naruko and her face scrunched in disgust before she turned to her.

"I am sorry, Naruko." She bowed, then turned her body to our resident Hyuga. "Hinata. I treated you both with disrespect when I should be treating you as equals. Please accept my apology."

Oh she one hundred percent doesn't believe her own words, but just seeing this is fucking satisfying.

"Good." I smiled. "There's only one more thing I require of you before I start training you."

Satsuki stopped her bow and looked at me resolutely. I let the silence hang in the air for dramatic effect before speaking once more.

"I will not ask you to stop pursuing your goal. To call for a change of one's own reason for living would be absolutely cruel of me. What I will ask though is that you pick two other goals to pursue either before or after your main goal. They must be positive goals, one of them must benefit the leaf, while the other must benefit yourself. I want you to think of these goals. Sleep on them for three nights, then return back here. Should I find them acceptable, I will train you."

The Uchiha girl's eyes widened, she contemplated my words for half a minute, then bowed slightly.

"If that is what you ask of me, then I shall do it. All I ask is that you train me until we graduate from the academy or until I surpass you. Whichever comes first." As she finished speaking, she turned around and walked away from the training ground. I tracked her chakra until she left the Senju compound then let out a tired sigh.

Surpass me? That'll fucking never happen, but keep dreaming I guess.

"Why are you training her!?" Naruko asked, her annoyance practically radiating off of her.

"N-Naruko, calm down." Hinata tried placating the girl, as she moved her body between us.

"Cause I want to? Didn't I train Hinata because I wanted to, and you because you wouldn't stop being a nuisance?" I asked, massaging the temples of my head. Dealing with someone as determined and loud as Naruko was always tiring. I now find myself understanding why Naruto could so effectively use talk no jutsu. It seems it carries over to Naruko as well.

"That's different, we're your friends!" Naruko shouted again, increasing my growing headache's intensity.

"Satsuki is our classmate and soon to be our fellow comrade. She will be a leaf shinobi, and strengthening her is strengthening the leaf. Training her is something I see no problem with. Plus there are plenty of benefits for doing so."

Naruko growled before running away from the training ground.

"Naruko, wait!" Hinata shouted. She turned to me and bowed slightly. "I'll get her, L-Lei."

I gave her an appreciative nod as she ran after the hidden leaf's nuclear bomb.

I could understand Naruko's thoughts and feelings, even if I couldn't resonate with them. She believes that since Satsuki will be training with us, I'll start not only treating her rival with respect, but I'll also start spending more time with her, with my focus being completely on her. Meaning I would spend less time with Naruko.

Which means she would only have Hinata while I train with Satsuki.

I will admit, I felt rather bad about it, but training Satsuki now and getting her on her good side is a must.

This world has plenty of changes from the original, Naruto and Sasuke being girls is one of them, and I can't for a second believe that there aren't some changes that will end up fucking me up down the line.

Having Satsuki on our side during those events, and not out of the village, will be an absolute must. However, to ensure her loyalty, we must build strong ties now.

Sasuke in the anime was hesitant to leave the leaf, and his only bonds were with his team, you could barely even say he and Naruto were friends, and don't even get me started on Sakura.

She was tolerated at best.

If we build ties with Satsuki now, should I fail to stop Orochimaru from giving the curse mark to her, I can be certain Satsuki will choose the leaf and her friends over power and revenge.

If things go well that is. There are too many unknown variables, hell I don't even know if all of the members of the Akatsuki barring Konan are men, they could deadass be women and I'd have no idea.

Which means I need information.

…Which means I need Jiraiya.

So many plans to make, such little time, such little information.

—

Three days later, Naruko, Hinata, and I were all sitting practicing our calligraphy.

"Ah! This is so boring!" Naruko shouted for the fifteen time, this time throwing her brush.

"I told you it is, but if you ever want to be a great seal master, then I suggest picking up that brush and getting back to work." I frowned, never taking my eyes from the storage seal I was drawing.

"I know that already!" She stomped around in frustration. "When will we be able to perform cool jutsu like the Flying Thunder God technique?"

I finally looked up from my work, giving her an 'are you an idiot' face. "Naruko, you'll need to at the very least be a seal master before you can be capable of even trying, and even then, some people just don't have the affinity for awareness and speed that is needed for use of the technique."

Naruko looked like she was about to rip out her hair.

"Keep going, Naruko, I'm sure you'll be able to do it." Hinata encouraged, giving the blond and heartwarming smile.

I looked at Hinata and stared. The girl looked back. A small blush started creeping on her face as we stared at each other.

"You just said an entire sentence without stuttering." I finally spoke, much to the surprise of the two girls.

"Hey, he's right! Nice job Hinata, way to make some progress!" Naruko cheered, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

Hinata's face only burned brighter as she tried to say words that just wouldn't come out. Naruko simply wouldn't allow such a thing with her bone crushing hug.

The familiar warmth of chakra entered the Senju compound and I turned in the direction of it, all the while waiting. Minutes later, Satsuki came around the corner and walked into the training ground.

Naruko and Hinata finally noticed the Uchiha. Both of them tensed slightly as they watched her slowly approach us.

When she finally reached us, I could see her eyes burning in determination, and I couldn't help but find myself liking that look on her.

"Have you decided then?" I spoke up first, earning a small nod from the last Uchiha woman.

I think.

"I have. Two goals, one that benefits the village, and one that benefits myself. The first of my goals…is to rebuild my clan to its former glory. It's a goal that I will likely spend the rest of my life accomplishing, after killing him." Her eyes narrowed slightly even if the blush on her face spoke different tales.

"My second goal, my personal goal, is to travel the elemental nations. To see all the villages, and civilian estates. To see the mountains, the trees, the waters, the deserts, and everything else this world has to offer." Her eyes softened a great deal, and I could tell she truly enjoyed the thought of carrying out this goal of hers.

I looked at her for a few moments, once again building the dramatic air of the situation before smiling.

"I approve of these goals of yours." My smile grew at her face being overcome with surprise. "Very well, Satsuki Uchiha, I will train you. Until you graduate from the academy or surpass me, but don't become surprised when you find that second goal of yours impossible."

Satsuki's surprise lightened as a small smile worked its way onto her soft features.

"We'll see about that."

—

To say Satsuki is a prodigy is an understatement, I would go as far as to say she's a genius.

Perhaps not as great as Itachi, but it's about the effort that she puts in, and her quick learning.

It took a week and a few days for her to get down tree walking, two weeks to completely master water walking, and another week for her to understand the basics of elemental manipulation control.

In a month she has caught up to both Naruko and Hinata even if her elemental control isn't nearly as great as theirs yet. There's also the fact they have been focusing on the sealing arts, though it still stands that she surpasses them due to her knowledge of her clan's ninjutsu.

Her elements are fire and lightning, and she has taken to prioritizing lightning at this point, saying it would greatly help her in accomplishing her main goal.

She has no idea.

If she had the sharingan, even at one tomoe, she would easily be the strongest person in our class, hell she might even be able to go toe to toe with some of today's genin.

Unfortunately, I exist. I haven't been slacking this past month, and even ended up creating some basic seals. I can make storage seals, and explosive tags. Though my main power increase comes in the form of taijutsu. Before training Satsuki, I am certain if we fought going all out, I'd win, but if we fought with strictly taijutsu, she would dog walk me. So I made an effort to train my body and practice in the Senju family's martial arts, the Natural Fist.

The Natural Fist is a fighting style that was created by Butsuma Senju, the father of Hashirama and Tobirama.

My great-grandfather.

The Natural Fist was created to counter the Uchiha's Intercepting Fist. While the Uchiha's fighting style prioritizes fast, deadly, and precise strikes, The Senju's Natural Fist prioritizes blocking, countering (deflecting) attacks, redirecting (parrying) them, and striking them fatally the moment they dropped, or lost their guard.

Basically the Uchiha fought like Samurai, while the Senju fought like Tanks.

It's why Senju weren't great in fighting many people at once since there was only so much damage they could take, while Uchiha would do better fighting multiple people due to their agile movements and quick pacing.

The Senju's fighting style is flawed in that regard, and I intend to change it until it suits my liking, but not yet. To do that, I must first become a master.

After a month of training in taijutsu, as well as attending the body conditioning class and working up as much of a sweat as possible, I can confidently say I could beat almost anyone in the class in taijutsu.

Still not too sure about Satsuki though.

"Lei, do you wanna spar?" Naruko asked, looking up from her seal drawing with a grin.

"Nah." I shot down instantly, making her do a double take.

"Ah, why not? These seals are sooo boring!" Naruko drolled.

She always whines about making these seals, even though she's further along in her seal training then me. Being a Uzumaki must be the reasoning behind that. Speaking of Uzumaki, maybe that would give her a little motivation?

"An Uzumaki whining about making seals? Never thought I'd see the day." I said in mock surprise.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?" The blonde asked in confusion.

"I knew you were a loser, but it appears you're stupid as well." Satsuki frowned as she paused her training to look at us.

"Oh yeah?! Let's see how much of a loser I am when I'm punching your head into the ground!" Naruko shot up, getting into a taijutsu stance.

"Calm down, Naruko, Satsuki, fighting now won't do anything for us." Hinata said, getting between them, her arms raised at both of them.

"Hinata's right, calm down both of you." I sighed, walking over and giving Satsuki an annoyed look which she immediately looked away from.

I then looked towards Naruko who still looked pissed and decided today would be the day I explained as much about her family as I possibly could without giving away too much.

"Naruko, the Uzumaki clan was a clan that prioritized in the sealing arts."

Naruko's eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing for a few seconds before she spoke.

"M-My clan? They w-were seal masters?"

"The best." I nodded.

The girl looked to the ground in contemplation.

"Y-You know about them?"

"Of course." I answered, a small frown growing on my face.

"Tell me." Her response was immediate, her hopeful eyes bore into my own, and I couldn't…wouldn't dare turn away my friend when she was looking at me like that.

"The Uzumaki were a clan filled with red haired people, they had their own village called the Land of Whirlpools. They ranged from civilians to shinobi, just as all other clans do. Yet all of them held a unique affinity for the seal arts. Unique seals were passed down through their clan for generations, and most of their higher ranked members were seal masters. Another unique affinity they had was their enormous chakra reserves. Uzumaki are naturally gifted with dense chakra that aids in their seal master as well as their ninjutsu mastery. They are a clan so powerful it took three of the five main hidden villages to take them down. The Cloud, Mist, and Stone." I explained, my heart dropping as Naruko's face fell into sadness after hearing they had been destroyed.

"A-Are there any others?" Naruko asked, deep down I was certain she already knew the answer.

"Not that I know of. There could be some that escaped, but I couldn't tell you with one hundred percent certainty."

Her fists started clenching, her hair shadowed her face. This was my fault, me telling her for her own benefit be damned, I caused this.

I walked toward the girl I had been friends with for over three years and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She stiffened in my arms, but after a few moments returned my hug. I could hear the quiet sobs leaving her lips and once again I felt worse.

I should have led with them being destroyed, instead of hyping them up just to tell her they died.

Hinata came to us and placed a hand on Naruko's shoulder before wrapping her arms around the girl from behind.

She was a really good friend. Hell, probably the best we can ask for.

I glanced over to Satsuki who was holding one of her arms and looking away from us. I couldn't tell what she was thinking exactly, but If I had to guess, I'd say it had to do with her own family.

After a few minutes, Naruko broke from the hug and started wiping her face with her hands. Her features were still shadowed by her hair.

"Lei, you said my clan were strong right, so good at seals many became seal masters, so powerful it took three villages to take them down?" Naruko asked, her voice low.

"Yeah."

"Then…Today I swear. I'll become a seal master, not just any seal master, but the greatest Uzumaki seal master ever! Then, I'll…I'll become hokage, the strongest of the hokage, that way the village will stop looking down on me, I will let them see the power of the Uzumaki!" Naruko's hair stopped shadowing her face and I saw the pure determination in her eyes. Determination that burned so brightly I would have believed her even if I didn't know her future.

"A damn good dream." I grinned at the blonde which she returned.

Naruko quickly got back to work drawing her seals, increasing her pace yet still staying precise with her calligraphy.

Hinata, motivated by Naruko's enthusiasm, sat down and also continued her work.

I looked over at Satsuki who was already back to working, on her lightning manipulation, but even from a distance, I could see the slight upward twitch of her lips.

Try as she might to avoid it, we were growing on her.

The grin on my face grew just a bit as I started walking back towards the main house.

I left unsaid that the Senju hold that last of the Uzumaki's knowledge within our library. Mito Uzumaki didn't bring over a lot of the Uzumaki clan's sealing knowledge, but she did bring over enough to make a difference. Not that I had access to that part of the library yet, but there was a whole shelf dedicated to Uzumaki seals from what I could see.

Once we became genin, I would allow Naruko to view all of it. I'm sure Hiruzen would agree with me as well, the Uzumaki's seals were her birthright after all.

As I made my way back to my home, I planned out what C-rank jutsu I was going to grab. I was thinking of a defensive earth jutsu today since I have been prioritizing offense, but I froze when I felt an unknown chakra above me. When I looked up I saw something-

No, someone familiar, just lounging around on my roof.

A slug.

One about as big as I am.

So she's finally decided to take a peek at me? I don't know whether I should feel hurt or happy that she sent Lady Katsuyu.

—

Tsunade 1 year ago

"Get out of here, you filthy drunk!"

"Fucking make me you tub of shit!"

"Please Lady Tsunade, let's just leave, before you mess up the place and have to pay for it…again."

Tsunade Senju, the slug sannin, grandaughter of Hashirama Senju, and the best fucking medical ninja in the world scoffed at her apprentice.

"Shizune, how many times do I have to tell you, Sensei always pays the bill, he fucking better after locking me out from the Senju's treasury! Who gave him the right!"

Eventually Shizune had somehow managed to lead her out of the bar. All the while whispering softly into her ear quiet affirmations of how great she was and still is.

Yes, keeping Shizune around was the right choice. The girl knew well just how lucky she was to be her apprentice. Her bearing a small percent of Dan's blood also made keeping her around easier.

Shit and now she was about to start crying again. Before that could happen, a dog ran up to their legs. She looked down at the dog and scoffed.

"The fuck do you want, Pakkun?"

The dog didn't take offense to her crass vocabulary and instead settled on snorting. He fucking snorted at her!

"Message from the Hokage." Pakkun gruffed out.

Tsunade's eyes widened along with her apprentice. For a moment she forgot she was drunk. Sensei never sent her messages. Never. Since she left around twenty years ago, she was free to do whatever she wished as long as she didn't start anything with the other villages, or endanger the leaf in any way. She wasn't dumb enough to overstep when it came to her sensei. If she truly pissed him off or endangered their home, she wouldn't be surprised if the next day she found Jiraiya at her door and a rasengan to her chest.

"Sensei? What does he want?"

The lazy asshole's dog had the audacity to start rolling in the dirt instead of answering her.

She fucking hated this dog, almost as much as she disliked its summoner, Kakashi. She had met the teen once when he came to request the location of her medical notes, and his lazy attitude, and nonchalance pissed her off to no end. To add insult to injury when she was writing down directions on how to retrieve them, he was reading an icha icha book! Needless to say she burned that shit the moment its existence became known to her, and ever since then he had been sending his dog to either request shit from her at the behest of Jiraiya, or warnings of where conflict was sparking, places she should be wary of.

"Lord Hokage wishes to inform you that another Senju has been discovered, and is currently living in the clan's compound." Pakkun answered, gaining a serious undertone in his voice.

Her breath hitched for a fraction of a moment before she returned to her previous demeanor.

"That has nothing to do with me. Is that all?"

"Nope. Apparently the kid is a seven year old academy student at the top of his class, a class deemed to be one of the greatest in history, as it's filled with seven clan heirs, not including him."

That did get her to raise an eyebrow. Although it quickly dropped when she remembered the greatness of her own clan. Simply existing Senju's bodies are naturally strong, a Senju kid with minimal training could outpace a kid who had been running for months on end.

"Kid is also the grandson of Lord Second."

Shizune spat out the water she was drinking to sober up, and Tsunade's eyes widened. Both her and her apprentice stood in silence as they stared at the annoying dog. Searching for any signs of deceit. Not that they'd find any, ninja dogs are masters at hiding their emotions.

"...Y-You are sure of this, Pakkun?" Tsunade asked with narrowed eyes.

"I put it on the treats Kashi's giving me when I'm done here."

That didn't mean much to her, but there was truly no real reason to lie. It wasn't like this news would make her go running back to the village and become an active shinobi again.

"Lord Hokage says the kid even has Lord First's bloodline trait, Wood Release."

Her heart stopped as she stared at the blank face of Pakkun. Her entire world froze as she contemplated the meaning of such a thing. Her grandfather, the strongest hokage, strongest shinobi in history, and only known user of the Wood Release, now had a successor, and it just so happened to be his grand-nephew at that.

Her second cousin.

Family.

Her eyes flashed back to happy days with Nawaki, then flashed to his body covered in bloody sheets, his mangled face and torso when she lifted the covers up. Then her vision flashed to Dan, the man she fell in love with, then to his dying form, his blood soaking her hands.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune shouted, but she barely heard her. Her breaths were increasing at an unhealthy rate.

Nawaki, his dream to be hokage, destroyed by a paper bomb. Dan, who shared the same dream, cut to pieces much like his kidneys.

All because of this fucking necklace.

Her hands clenched the necklace in sadness and anger. Her vision shifted to a man with a face she couldn't see. Trees growing around him as he clasped his hands together in prayer. On his back was a cloak that read 'Hokage' and on his head lay the hat reserved for the leader of Konoha.

The image warmed her heart, but subconsciously she knew the man was not her grandfather.

She regained control of her breathing and once she had finally calmed down she looked at Pakkun and asked.

"What's his name?"

The dog smirked it's cheeky fucking smirk she grew so tired of before answering-

"Lei Senju."

—

Lei

A few moments after the slug saw me, I felt pulses of chakra leaving its body.

An attack? No why the fuck would she attack me. She's probably sending a message back to Tsunade.

I locked eyes with the slug for several minutes before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Well, that happened.

I didn't let my thoughts wander to Tsunade. I needed her help with advancing my medical knowledge, but not at this point in my training. I had so many other things to work on, and I still hadn't even truly started learning Wood Release yet thanks to the old man.

If I wanted to be anywhere near the powerhouse that Hashirama was, I need to start training my bloodline right now!

—

Instead of heading into my house, I turned around, made my way out of the compound and towards the Hokage's Mansion.

It was about time Hiruzen finally helped me out and threw me a bone. Stalling my growth was not something I could let slide.

When I reached the mansion, I entered and saw a woman with black hair, black eyes, and glasses.

"Hello, child, can I help you?" She asked with a polite smile.

"Yes, I need to see Lord Hokage. My name is Lei Senju."

Her face stilled for a moment before she got up out of her seat.

"If you would please follow me, Lord Senju."

Throwing around the Senju name was absolutely therapeutic sometimes.

We arrived at the Hokage's office, the woman giving three knocks before hearing Hiruzen's tired voice.

"Enter."

She opened the door to let me in, bowed and left.

"Oh, Lei. My boy, what brings you here?" He asked, forcing a smile on his face. I could tell he was absolutely exhausted and I started feeling bad about coming here to demand something from him now.

"Lord Hokage-"

"Enough of that, Lei. You're my sensei's grandson, and your father and I were quite close. You needn't be so formal." His smile seemed to grow a bit more genuine.

I looked at him in shock. I hadn't expected him to try and close the gap between our relationship. I expected him to keep me at arms length while letting me get off with a bit more than he would let others get away with.

What the hell do I even call him?

"Gramps then?" I asked, feeling weird even saying it out loud. Hiruzen looked at me, his smile changing into a grin.

"That'll do. Now, I assume you needed something?"

"Yes, I would like to start learning Wood Release now. I believe I am ready."

Hiruzen's grin slowly fell off his face as a more serious and thoughtful look adorned his features.

"Hashirama-sensei's kekkei genkai is a very powerful one. Most of the techniques would be forbidden if they were used by anyone but him. Are you sure you're ready for such a thing?" He asked, it was clear he was concerned.

"I am. I believe I have spent enough time working on my reserves and learning the basic jutsu to practice molding my chakra correctly. I will not overstep in my training, and what you deem to be harsh, I shall avoid." I answered resolutely.

Hiruzen took a drag of his pipe, blowing the darkened smoke out before his eyes settled on me.

"Very well, starting tomorrow I will start mentoring you on the proper steps to take regarding Wood Release."

I bowed slightly. "Thank you, Gramps."

That did put a smile back on his face as he took another drag from his pipe.

I took that as a sign to leave and gave a little wave, one he returned before exiting his office.