Chapter 85: I, Your Father, am a Skilled Mediator

In the wake of Suna's and Oto's failed invasion, a number of significant events took place. First and foremost was Suna's conditional surrender to Konoha. They had initially tried to shift the blame to Orochimaru, claiming he had deceived them under the guise of the Kazekage. Unfortunately for them, Konoha had concrete proof showing that Suna had been planning the invasion for nearly three years, long before Orochimaru murdered and replaced Rasa.

On the subject of Rasa, Suna quickly discovered his corpse, alongside several of his bodyguards. The autopsy showed each had been dead for more than a month, indicating their deaths had occurred even before the Chunin Exams were officially underway. In other words, shortly after the delegation from Suna had arrived in Konoha, Orochimaru murdered and replaced the Kazekage, ruling in his stead for more than a month without anyone realizing.

Among the conditions allowing for their surrender, Suna would not be able to designate a new Kazekage within five years. Furthermore, all of Rasa's children, meaning everyone that could potentially replace him, would stay in Konoha as political prisoners until Suna could either afford their ransom or negotiate an agreement qualifying their release. To that end, Gaara had been given a ransom of 300,000,000 Ryo, more than Suna's entire GDP, while Temari and Kakuro were each assigned ransoms of 16,000,000 and 14,000,000.

Though Suna was less than satisfied with the terms, they didn't have any leverage to complain as their invasion hadn't been sanctioned by the Land of Wind. Konoha had every right to retaliate, and, without a qualified Kage or a Tailed Beast to protect them, Suna lacked the means to administrate its armed forces and defend against the overwhelming might Konoha had displayed during the sixty-three-minute invasion.

Fortunately for Suna, they had someone from Konoha willing to negotiate marginally better terms for them. Unfortunately, that person happened to be the same individual responsible for the incredibly short invasion, Senju Wu.

Though he didn't dispute the evidence proving Rasa's wicked intentions, Wu argued in favor of Suna's assertion that Orochimaru had manipulated them. He even had proof in the form of witness testimony and documents that had been reclaimed from the ruins of Otogakure. He couldn't absolve Suna of their culpability in the invasion, but he did arrange for the ransom to be annulled if they couldn't pay them within five years. In exchange, he would be given an honorary seat on their Council, representing Konoha as an Ambassador.

Since the alternative was being saddled with 330,000,000 Ryo debt that would accumulate interest over time, Suna agreed to Wu's terms on the condition that Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro would remain within the Senju Clan Compound for the duration of their stay. This was a condition set by Baki, who, despite Wu's 'betrayal,' trusted the ludicrously powerful boy to protect his interests, or, more accurately, Temari.

While the negotiations with Suna were still ongoing, another event took place in relative secrecy. Those reanimated by the Edo Tensei were not released once the caster died, meaning Hashirama, Tobirama, and, most pressingly, Naruto's mother was still 'alive.' Unless they were sealed, the only way for them to pass on was if they no longer had any attachments to the mortal plane. Thus, since being sealed was a fate far worse than death, the trio would be sticking around until they found 'closure.'

And that's where the issues began...

Not only did Kushina reveal the fact that Naruto was Minato's, the Fourth Hokage's son, but, upon learning how he had been treated as a child, she went on a rampage that hospitalized nearly half of Konoha's Council. The only person who was spared from her fury was Tsunade. On the opposite side of things, Jiraiya nearly ended up in Intensive Care as it came to light that he was Naruto's Godfather. Yet, despite viewing Minato as a son, he hadn't even attempted to speak with Naruto, much less care for him.

Needless to say, it would take a while before Kushina attained the closure she needed to pass on. Until then, she would be living within the Uzumaki Clan Compound, caring for and watching over Naruto and Karin. She also planned to teach them their Clan's history and pass on her knowledge of Fuinjutsu, expressing that she wouldn't be content until both were at least Masters in the Art of Sealing.

Similar to Kushina, Hashirama and Tobirama weren't particularly happy to learn about the condition of their Clan. Tobirama, in particular, took aside Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu to ask how it was possible for 'the' founding Clan of the village to be ruined under their watch. There were a total of 207 members of the Senju when he passed the torch to them, yet every single one of them except for Tsunade had died? While his students were in charge of the village? He wasn't buying it at all.

And thus, the third major incident ensued when Tobirama openly accused Danzo of conspiring to eradicate the Senju, Uchiha, and possibly even the Uzumaki Clans. Danzo refuted this, but things quickly came to a head when Tobirama demanded to see what was under the man's eyepatch and bandages, sensing the Chakra of all three bloodlines flowing through his former student.

Instead of complying with Tobirama's demand, Danzo made the almost comical decision to try and flee from someone that had pioneered Space-Time Jutsu. He then tried to fight, but that simply exposed his true nature as he removed his bandages to reveal a disgusting arm infused with more than a dozen Sharingan. More disgustingly, the literal face of Hiruzen was found on his right shoulder, the result of transplanting the First Hokage's cells into his body.

Unfortunately, while they were able to detain Danzo with relative ease, the man took his secrets to the grave by triggering a Forbidden Sealing Jutsu, the Reverse Four Symbols Seal. When activated, it released an inky substance that rapidly expanded, 'erasing' everything with a 10m radius and destroying all traces of his crimes. At least, that's what he intended.

Since the taboo had already been violated, and there was no way they would let Danzo escape accountability for his actions, one of the death row inmates captured from Oto, was sacrificed to resurrect Danzo using the Edo Tensei. After that, all of his secrets were pried out of him before he was wrapped up like a mummy and sealed away within the tomb of the Shimura Clan. At least, that's why they had intended before realizing that Danzo had converted his Clan's ancestral mausoleum into the entrance of an underground laboratory.

While Tobirama was single-mindedly focused on tearing out the 'roots' that had permeated through the very foundations of Konoha, Hashirama was in comparably high spirits. He was devastated to learn that his Clan had effectively been annihilated but hopeful for the future after learning that his pampered granddaughter had gotten married. He was more than a little surprised to find out she had married someone less than a quarter her age but ultimately just laughed it off, even going so far as to pour a few drinks for Wu as he reminisced about the 'old days.'

When asked by Wu what he would need to obtain closure, Hashrima responded that he wanted to see a world where children no longer had to fight and die in wars. In exchange, Wu detailed some of his plans for the future, eliciting another hearty laugh from the man for how 'bold' his plans were. Wu half-expected Hashirama to criticize him, but after failing to end wars in his period, the weary-eyed founder felt he had no ground to stand on to lecture others.

As could be expected, Hashirama and Tobirama moved into the Senju Clan Compound. Instead of residing in the main residence, however, they both stayed in the manor that once belonged to Tobirama, back when he needed a place to conduct experiments and research in relative privacy. The man had single-handedly developed more than seventy percent of the Jutsu inscribed upon the Hokage's Scroll, so calling him a prodigy, at least in terms of 'theory,' was an understatement.

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Fortunately for Wu, as the future Lord of the Senju Clan, both Hashirama and Tobirama were willing to assist in his training. Hashirama even went as far as agreeing to teach anyone Wu brought to him, confining himself to the Senju Clan Compound so he wouldn't get roped into the affairs of the living. He made it very clear that his era had passed, so while he was willing to pass on his teachings, he had no plans of getting entangled in inter or intra-village politics.

Though Tobirama didn't share his brother's views, he also spent most of his time in the Senju Clan Compound, at least when he wasn't conducting his 'investigation.' His teachings were far more effective than Hashirma's, at least for everyone but Wu, so he became the de facto instructor for the growing group of people that trained within the estate grounds.

Because he couldn't use conventional Jutsu, Wu benefitted more from training with Hashirama than anyone else. The man was a complete idiot, but he was also an unfettered genius when it came to combat. However, what really made Hashirma's instruction worthwhile was the fact he also possessed a constitution capable of absorbing Natural Energy.

For the first time since his initial encounter with Jiraiya, Wu finally had someone that could teach him about Natural Energy and its functionally infinite uses. Hashirama's legendary Wood Release combined Earth and Water Natures, but what really gave it 'life' was the inclusion of Natural Energy. This was the main reason no one had been able to replicate his unique Kekkei Genkai over the years, as, even within his Clan, there were no other people who could both sense and utilize Natural Energy.

Unfortunately, while Wu was able to make tremendous progress in his utilization of Natural Energy, he wasn't able to learn Wood Release. He 'technically' had access to all Nature Transformations, including Earth and Water, but his 'Chakra' wasn't actually Chakra. All of the energy within his body was Natural Energy, so, without some kind of catalyst, he was stuck developing his own, admittedly broken techniques. If there was one thing he could complain about, even though he found it somewhat interesting, it was that his training to master something called 'Sage Mode' had caused him to grow a tail...

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[Seven Months Later]

With the transformed Tayuya slumbering on his chest, Wu stared at the sky with a faint smile and a listless expression on his face. The past few months had been fulfilling in a way he lacked the capacity to describe. Raiding Orochimaru's bases had been a pain in the ass, but he was more powerful than ever, surrounded by capable women, and gradually placing himself in a position to rule over the entirety of the Elemental Nations.

After convincing Temari that it wouldn't be a good idea for the ruler of a Hidden Village to also to be its Jinchuriki, Wu had the quadra-pigtailed blonde working tirelessly to become Kazekage. In turn, both Gaara and Kankuro were working hard to support her while, on the side of Konoha, Tsunade was training Sakura as her successor.

Though it was initially just an idea he came up with on a whim, Wu was now determined to ensure that the next generation of Kage 'belonged' to him. It was the best way to ensure long-term peace and would set him up to create an organization overseeing the operations of all Hidden Villages. The hardest part was finding a replacement for the Raikage, but it wasn't like there weren't 'any' candidates. As for the positions of Tsuchikage and Mizukage, Wu was fortunate as both of the candidates most suited to the position happened to be women, and, while not too important, both were single. Heck, one was even the same age as him, 'born' only twelve days apart...

Recalling the image of the Tsuchikage's grandaughter, a Chunin named Kurotsuchi, the smile on Wu's face became marginally more prominent. At the same time, Tayuya stirred from her slumber, remarking, "Your heart is beating faster than usual..."

Adopting a cheeky smile, Wu asked, "And why shouldn't it? I'm with you..." before smacking the crimson-haired girl on the ass...

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(A/N: Man, Dumbo really got killed 'off-screen.' Guess he wasn't that important to the story (U w U)...)

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