Fugaku, as Katsuro's friend, was incredibly surprised by the revelation of his feats, and even more so when a young clan member had shown immense talent and was discovered by Katsuro. But he was not jealous, their relationship was a good one, the best any Senju or Uchiha had ever had. Some radicals may feel threatened by the Senju once again awakening the Kekkei Genkei of their ancestor, but Fugaku knew that Katsuro was above such things. He was only upset that even after losing his father and awakening his clan's Mangekyo, Katsuro seemed to pull away once again.
When Katsuro learned of Tajima's passing, his heart resonated with the familiar guilt and pain he experienced upon the death of his parents, Granny Mito and Nawaki. Tajima was named after his ancestor, the original Uchiha Tajima whose son was famously Uchiha Madara, and both of them were famed within their clan, and died as powerful shinobi. He briefly brought it up, seeing his old friend's clear underlying sadness.
"Your father was a great shinobi. A good father and clan leader."
"Yes, he was," Fugaku said quietly. There was an odd moment of awkwardness hanging in the air, and Katsuro coughed into his arm, ready to change the subject.
"I noticed, your chakra seems to have increased by a lot." Fugaku raised his eyebrow at the statement, squinting at Katsuro. My chakra has increased? Could he have noticed? But how? I am the only one who knows? He thought while Katsuro eyed with a smile looking directly at his eyes. But he wasn't pressed by Katsuro who clearly knew something was up, and as a result a small smile naturally formed on Fugaku's face.
"Right… so what about your plans as the next Hokage? It seems like you are already in power." Fugaku smiled.
"I forgot all about that," Katsuro groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers.
Hokage? It's been a while since I thought of that. But I'm no longer the only option the village has. Minato's dream is being Hokage, and I know for a fact he will do a great job. And now he also has the credentials for it. The kid's basically the strongest in the village after me, he's got a good reputation, well-liked and smart (for the most part). Katsuro smiled as he made up his mind.
—
Uchiha Tajima was a figure Katsuro didn't know too well, but was fond of. His relationship with Fugaku meant they had met on multiple occasions but often in formal settings. Regardless, Katsuro remembered the man who was open minded enough to allow his clan to progress with the Senju, and for that Katsuro would be forever grateful. His death was like a wake up call, making him realise that keeping Konoha shinobi here pointlessly was needless, and negotiations couldn't be all completed like this anyway. They could only deal with the Stone currently, every other major village would require delegations.
With this in mind, Katsuro had discussed it with his council and made a decision to send messengers to Iwa and Kumo to confirm their surrender.
After some time had passed, it was clear the Leaf shinobi were tired and exhausted. Looking around, Katsuro moved to the centre of the camp.
"Everyone!" he called out, "I understand you're all completely drained, and tired, and strained, both physically and mentally. Don't worry, soon, once we get a surrender from the Cloud and Stone, we can leave for Konoha!" Hearing this, the shinobi's morale increased slightly, making them more compliant with the wait they had to endure. Fortunately, as if staged, a messenger arrived.
"THE HIDDEN STONE AND HIDDEN CLOUD HAVE BOTH AGREED TO THE SURRENDER!" the messenger shouted out to the rest of the Leaf shinobi, and a deafening round of cheers replied. Katsuro and Fugaku looked at each other, before heading straight for the main tent, where all of the main Leaf leaders were located.
"So, they've agreed on a surrender," Jiraiya grinned, "that's great news!"
"Yes, and to make sure they stick to their word, we are keeping several important hostages from both sides." Sakumo nodded, "With the power we have amassed now, with all our key figures it would be pointless of them to keep fighting. They would just be spilling blood for no reason."
"Onoki has confirmed he will attend the meeting to decide Iwa's outcome, but we still need to decide terms for everyone else who attacked us. Delegations need to be sent for Kumogakure, Kirigakure and Sunagakure." Shikaku started.
They discussed who should go, and what they should try to gain. The Iwa negotiation would happen with Onoki the same day and should also be the smoothest with how much negotiating power they held. Kiri would be in a similar position, and Suna was especially weak. But Kumo may be an issue. They still could fight another war even with the Raikage dead and having lost the majority of his army. They were the village with the most Shinobi after the Stone and with those in reserve at the village and those led by A and B. Not to mention they had powers like A and B, as well as the new 2 tails Jinchuuriki at the village. With his fathers death, A would likely succeed, but his infamous hotheadedness could prove to be a problem. It would be a futile endeavour for them, and they just had to hope more reasonable elders and advisors could make him see that.
In the end it was decided, the Third would handle the Sand, with Sakumo and Orochimaru alongside an entourage to accompany them. Katsuro had a key voice in suggesting who went where, and with both Sakumo and Orochimaru he could be assured Konoha profited the best. Orochimaru's genius and cunning would extract the most benefits, and with Sakumo disillusioned to the Hokage, he would be the voice to prevent his over 'peaceful' ways that just ended up allowing Villages to get away scot free.
With Kumo being the most difficult job, Katsuro left that to Minato suggesting he should lead with Jiraiya, and Shikaku aiding him. That suggestion earned a side eye from Shikaku and a more intelligent Shinobi who understood the implications. Katsuro was propping up Minato to become Hokage, handing him that job and letting him get closer the the Jonin commander in Shikau and important allies of the Hokage with the Ino-Shika-Cho clan leaders was the perfect way to support him. This was not overlooked by Hiruzen who found hope in his constant state of defeat as he thought of ways he could maximise his benefit from this.
This left Kirikagure to him, with Fugaku, Kaito and other Senju and Uchiha members joining them like his 'Heralds' even as Uzumaki. That combination would certainly have their ancestors from the Warring States Era rolling in their graves.
Normally, they would set out for their missions once Iwa had been dealt with, allowing the army to go back home ahead of them. But Katsuro suggested they all go home too, and take a break from the war before resuming the missions. He sites how difficult it must be, mainly for the regular Shinobi who would accompany them. Normally this would be too risky, but Konoha was in a state of power. Katsuro the 'God of Shinobi' was an untouchable figure, and that didn't include their at least 5 other Kage level powers. That power would ensure they could afford to wait a little longer.
Once everyone had left the tent, Katsuro and Tsunade headed straight back to their own, sighing in relief.
"Glad everything's finally over," Tsunade sighed, "I'll still be busy with my patients but now we can head back to the village!"
"It's not really over though is it," Katsuro said, "We still have the negotiations to complete, and even after that a lot of work has to be done post war. Compensation for those who died, restrengthening, refilling and retraining our ranks. That's not even mentioning all the other changes Konoha needs. But that's for Minato to worry about. "
Tsunade nodded, "You're right. All we can do is try to continue and get things running back to how it used to be. But look how much thought you've put into it, you really would've been a great Hokage. But be careful, I'm sure Minato will force you to be an Elder or something." She said with amusement as he shivered at the thought of the workload.
"And who knows, maybe you'll end up as Hokage somehow anyway."
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