Katsuro and Tsunade beamed at the sight, with the latter rushing off to help the injured, leaving Katsuro alone. His lack of chakra meant he would be pretty useless afterall.
"Lord Katsuro!" a familiar voice called out. Katsuro turned to see Kaito approach and smiled to see his right-hand man looking well.
"Kaito, it's good to see you looking well!"
"Same to you, Patriarch, we couldn't have won this without you. I hear-"
"LORD KATSURO!!" a loud, sobbing, manly voice interrupted their conversation, and a wailing Might Duy suddenly appeared next to the two. "It's so very amazing to see you! You saved us all with not only your strength, but also your words! They rejuvenated the spirit of youth within me when I needed it the most!" Kaito raised an eyebrow at that. But then Duy's gaze looked lower seeing his arm in a slingshot which caused his face to mirror Katio's own.
""Lord Katsuro! Your arm!"
"Yes Duy, it's great to see you as well! Honestly, it oddly feels like it's been a while since I've seen you. As you can see I am not invincible, that fight was tough for all of us. Regardless, you both fought with honour and great strength, yourselves, as did everyone else. That combined effort was the reason for our victory." Katsuro smiled to himself. It looked like nearly everyone had made it through alive. Nearly everyone, he thought, until he saw a group consisting of Sakumo, Kakashi, Guy, Rin and Minato to the side. "One moment," Katsuro excused himself as he made his way over to them.
Sakumo protectively embraced Kakashi from behind, as Minato rested his hand on their shoulder. Guy also stood to the side, offering words of encouragement to his classmates, however, the two didn't say a word, their eyes and faces full of regret, guilt and pain, far too much for mere children to cope alone.
"You two couldn't have done anymore," Minato said solemnly. He tried to conceal it, but it was clear- Obito's death had obviously struck him in the heart as well, just as much as it did to his students.
"He's right," Guy nodded, "He sacrificed himself in the name of saving his comrades. He was a true shinobi, and one that will be remembered for his bravery!"
"Exactly, Obito proved that he was much more than just a kid," Katsuro stepped forward. "His death wasn't just for you two to survive. It was to make sure you would have a future, and become great shinobi, yourselves. Let his memory serve as a reason to continue and grow as shinobi."
At this, Kakashi and Rin looked up and nodded, but still didn't speak.
"You two still have some minor injuries. Go get them checked out if they are free," Sakumo nodded to the medical tents set up. Guy nodded hastily, and took the two over to the tents.
"This war has clearly taken a toll on everyone, especially the children. Some even had to sacrifice themselves. It's wrong." Sakumo murmured to the other two shinoibi.
"We're lucky that nearly everyone else is alive, but you're right," Katsuro agreed, dejectedly.
"Hopefully, they won't try again after this," Minato sighed.
"I hear you had to face both the Raikage, Tsuchikage and Jinchuuriki." Sakumo said while clearly paying attention to his arm.
"Yeah, and it wasn't an easy fight. They were ready for me, but it was fine Sensei. It even helped me in the end, my fire was dimming, I was getting too comfortable, this has told me that I am not invincible yet, even if I am the strongest." He said, somewhat cheekily at the end.
Sakumo shook his head helplessly with a smile, glad his student was okay, while Minato took his words to heart and with the recent loss, he too vowed to become stronger.
I'll have to take Lord Jiraiya up on his offer about Mount Myoboku…
Katsuro continued making his rounds to his clan members, such as Orochimaru, the Hyuga brothers, and his Uzumaki disciples. They too were young children, and he made sure to check up on them after the harsh battle. Luckily they had all survived with relatively minor injuries. Having such a great medical shinobi in Minari was a true blessing. The girl was also currently working overtime, choosing to let people bite her no matter how much they refused. That alone was a great help to the overburdened medical staff. Other than those close to him Katsuro made sure to speak to and visit those who had fought for him, especially the injured.
There were far too many of them, luckily those with only minor injuries mostly waited to make way for more hurt comrades, or were treated simply by the Lady Katsuyu slugs Tsunade had summoned. But even accounting for those with much more dire injuries, there were thousands, showing first hand the gruesome nature of the battle Konoha had to suffer. Nearly 3000 Shinobi had died or faced serious injury, that was over half the original number for Katsuro's army. It was simply too many to deal with. With over 1700 confirmed dead, that number would continue to rise for the coming days. It was clear victory had come at an unimaginable price which heavily dampened the mood with Shinobi worried about their friends and family. It was part of the reason Katsuro was showing his face around, it was to show he cared, that he respected their resolve and sacrifice. Thus when he spoke his sincere words of gratitude with his own injuries, they hit all the more when the commander was appreciating them.
"We received a report from Lord Sarutobi. Our forces at the Iwa front were successful, and are nearly here," Hiashi said to everyone present. Sakumo nodded, noting even Hiashi using Lord Sarutobi instead of Lord Hokage.
"Alright, let's head over there tomorrow, and finalise their surrender and the plans for after the war. Send a message to the Tschikage, and whoever's leading Kumogakure now." Katsuro ordered.
—
"Are you sure you should be going to the meeting with the Tsuchikage and Raikage tomorrow?" Tsunade asked Katsuro in their tent. Unlike most others, she had the privilege of worrying about him, everyone else simply followed his words with complete faith. Night had fallen, and while everyone had gone to rest, the two were still awake. Much to Tsunade's ire, Katsuro didn't let his one armed status stop him, and as such she complained about him keeping her up. Yet they both knew she was a more than willing participant.
After some time, they took the moment of peace to ponder over the battle and the next day's negotiations.
"Why shouldn't I?" Katsuro blinked.
"Your arm," Tsunade rolled her eyes, "if you go looking weakened and whatnot, they're going to give us a harder time when it comes to negotiations."
"It's fine, I can just wrap it up with Wood style and conceal it with a clock or something. Or I could just send a clone of myself entirely. I should be present to show a front of strength, just in case they have other thoughts."
"If you say so," Tsunade replied, "you still haven't apologised."
"Apologised for what?"
"FOR HIDING THE FACT THAT YOU CAN USE WOOD STYLE FROM ME!" Tsunade punched Katsuro, but unlike normally she was conscious about his injury and did not put any chakra or power behind it. But nonetheless, Katsuo animately winced and rolled over pretending to be in deep pain.
Seeing his ploy for sympathy failing, he grumbled and sat up. "My bad, I just wanted to keep it a secret, for a big reveal. I didn't think I would have to use it any time soon, but oh well."
"Hmph," Tsunade crossed her arms, "I guess you're the only other person, with grandfather, who can use it. Ever. Don't let it get to your head!" Tsunade was very impressed by her husband's achievement, like everyone else. Wood Style was basically deemed only accessible by the First Hokage, exclusively. Now Katsuro had demonstrated it was a part of his skillset as well. Still, she didn't want to inflate his ego.
"I won't, I won't," he raised his hands slightly.
"When did you learn it?"
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