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While the darkness beneath the village stirred, Naruto's sixteenth birthday had already stirred a huge reaction from Konoha and the entire Elemental Nations.
Naruto's sixteenth birthday wasn't even private among friends and family like it always was; for very specific reasons, it was almost completely public.
Naruto reaching sixteen wasn't just him growing up; it was also when he was recognized publicly as the Senju heir.
Before Naruto's birthday, invitations with his full name, Naruto Senju, were sent to all those who are in the governing body in Konoha: the Hokage, his advisors, the clan heads, the civilians who are part of the council, and many more. An invitation was also sent to the Daimyo by Tsunade.
And on Naruto's birthday, it was a celebration and also a political event. The Senju compound received many guests that day, including the Fire Daimyo, his wife, and their escort.
Before the celebration took off, Tsunade made the announcement to all the guests. Naruto was recognized publicly as the Senju heir in front of the entire political power of the Land of Fire. Naruto would be the next head of the Senju clan whenever something occurred that made Tsunade no longer the clan head.
It wasn't that Tsunade wanted to do this; she loved her baby boy no matter what or how much he had grown. It's just that it is the logical and political next step since Naruto reached the age that is recognized to be the beginning of adulthood, all things considered.
Even though only Tsunade and Naruto remain of the Senju, the Senju are still recognized as a clan for a lot of reasons that were obvious.
The Senju founded Konoha alongside the Uchiha; they own a huge portion of the village, their contributions to the village and their Jutsu contributions are second to none, and much more. So the Senju will remain a recognized clan even if only two people are remaining right now.
With the event ending, the news spread in Konoha like wildfire. Not only were there a lot of important figures at Naruto's birthday party bringing him lavish gifts, but the news of who Naruto really is shocked the populace of Konoha.
Most of the population knew Naruto as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the one who killed shinobi, including a jonin, when he was just eight years of age. He was feared and avoided for that.
And here they get to know that he is the heir of the Senju. The child of Tsunade Senju, the great-grandson of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the great-grandnephew of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Some tried to deny it, but the facts were clear and verified by Hiruzen. Naruto is Tsunade's son, not adopted or anything like that. Her son through and through.
Let's just say that the general populace was shocked to the core, and for a while, their reaction to the news varied.
But what was for sure is that the way the general public looked at Naruto changed.
While the reaction and thoughts in Konoha varied after the news, the effect of it outside the Land of Fire was much greater and direct.
...
...
...
Entry No.2058
(No picture) (A/N: Cameras are very rare in this time period, with only Shinobi registration in each village having one to take pictures of their own shinobi for registration. Pictures are added if a Hidden Village added one of a traitor or defector in the bingo book, or if the filer had one, which is very rare."
Name: Naruto Senju
Alias:Akashi (The Red Death), Akai Shinigami (The Red Reaper), Mori no Oji (Prince of the Forest)
Age: 16
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Rank: Jonin
Appearance: Around six feet tall. Bright red hair with black highlights. Bright blue eyes.
Skills and abilities: Elite Jonin-level in Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and Ninjutsu. Sighted using fuinjutsu, level unknown. Can use Katon, Raiton, and Suiton. Can use wide-range Katon and Suiton jutsu. High-level medical knowledge and medical jutsu. Highly intelligent. Monstrous chakra capacity. High level of chakra control. Sensor. The Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. User of the Uzumaki Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Threat level: S-Rank
Bounty issued by:
Kumogakure: 100,000,000 Ryo Alive. 90,000,000 Ryo Dead. 1,000,000 Ryo to 5,000,000 Ryo for provable new information.
Kirigakure: 5,000,000 Ryo Dead or Alive. Reasons for bounty: Killed a candidate for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. (unupdated)
Iwagakure: 100,000,000 Ryo Alive. 90,000,000 Ryo Dead. Reasons for the Bounty: Not given
Notable Feats and Battles:
The student of the Third Hokage.
Won the Chunin exams in Kumogakure with only a two-man squad and won the Chunin finals.
Fought and captured the fully transformed Nibi Jinchuuriki.
Killed dozens of Kumo Shinobi at once with a single jutsu.
Additional Notes: Tsunade Senju's son and the Senju heir. If encountered, approach with extreme caution and with multiple Jonin, as this individual was seen using Shadow Clone Jutsu with ease, indicating having a very large chakra pool. Recommend engagement strength of Kage strength, either individually or in a group. This individual was seen using the Kyuubi's chakra with relative ease (mastery level over Kyuubi's chakra is unknown). This individual wasn't sighted performing regular Shinobi missions since achieving the rank of Chunin and is assumed to have joined Konoha's Anbu (code name and mask unknown).
....
That was the updated Bingo book entry after the news took the Shinobi world by storm. Not only did Tsunade Senju have a son, but he was basically royalty in the eyes of the Land of Fire and the rest of the world.
And let's not talk about how the news of his age affected those who have encountered, met, or fought the young man. Some were astonished, but many were angry, blindsided, or ashamed, especially those who fought him when he was just around twelve years of age in the most recent Konoha-Kumo war.
The bounty on Naruto Senju is unprecedented for someone his age. The young man is a very talented and deadly shinobi, but bounties usually increase because of experience and age for shinobi who live long enough.
Naruto's recent bounty increase was mostly because of who he is, what that says about his potential, and how much of a threat other villages see him as.
To just put this more in perspective, not only did his bounty more than double, but also the only ones who are higher in bounty than Naruto are the Kage and the Sannin. In simple terms, that's how much of a threat Naruto is perceived to be by the world right now.
That's also why, when Tsunade read the updated version, she ripped the book in two in her hands. She knew that was going to happen, but she didn't think the bounty would be this high, and she definitely didn't like it. Although she didn't want to do this, she had to. Her son was old enough and strong enough for this to be out in the open. Naruto's status couldn't be hidden for long, and she knew it. So it was better that she was the one to announce it; it would be better for her and for Naruto to have done this publicly and in a formal setting. It's better than it being leaked or happening in a worse way.
Tsunade still wonders sometimes how Naruto's status as the Senju heir didn't leak, as there were a lot of people who knew about it in Konoha before the announcement.
She seemed to be unaware that she was feared enough in Konoha that no one wanted to be the one who leaked it, fearing that it would be traced back to him/her. They knew they wouldn't survive it.
The reactions to the bounty in Konoha were expected—pride and astonishment from most people, while Tsunade worried. The people who knew Naruto or knew of him outside Konoha had different reactions.
...
In Kumo, after the update of the bingo book:
"Bee-sensei is late," Mabui said, while Samui nodded.
"Now that you mention it, he definitely is. He usually is on time just to 'rap' as soon as he arrives." Yugito said.
The three of them sat in their old training grounds, where they trained as a genin under Bee. It became a tradition for all of them to meet here at least one time a year; sometimes it is more, depending on how busy they are.
Now they are all Jonin and have grown up considerably since that time. They are now three of the most beautiful kunoichi in Kumo, if not the most.
Despite their beauty and their strength, they are rarely ever approached by others. Samui is cold to almost everyone, while Mabui, the most approachable, still keeps to her circle of people she knows.
As for Yugito, being the Nibi jinchuuriki is enough for her not to be approached.
"~yo yo~," Bee said as he arrived.
"Finally, Bee-sensei. This is unlike you; you aren't usually late." Mabui said
"~Not my fault, girly; I have to go see Broski. He got news a bit ago that disturbed his entire flow~" Bee said before his face turned to one of delight as he took out a notebook and a pen.
"~ That was fine; I need to write down that line~," Bee said before chuckling
"~ This line too, yeah~," Bee said as he wrote frantically while his three old students sighed. They had seen his antics way too much to be surprised.
"It must have disturbed A-sama too much for you to see him, Sensei," Samui said in her monotonous tone.
"~That wasn't the worst he was. You should have seen him when he got that news a week ago~," Bee said, making the three young women look at each other.
"Seems very bad if Raikage-sama is still on it a week later," Yugito said
"~Bad for Bro and the council, maybe. But to me, it's a brother doing good that makes me worry~" Bee said, which confused the other three.
Bee took out a familiar book and handed it to Mabui, who stood closest to him.
"~ Open Entry 2058, it got an update~. " Bee said before he took out his notebook again.
"~ Oh baby, that rhymed well.~" Bee said as he wrote it down.
"Wait, isn't that Naruto's entry?" Yugito asked as she looked over Mabui's shoulder.
"Yeah, it is. I have seen it after it got updated last time." Samui said, looking over Mabui's shoulder.
"Here it is," Mabui said as she reached the entry.
"Th...This is??!!" Yugito stuttered as she looked at the entry
"S...Senju??!!" Mabui breathed out with astonishment. The surname Senju is still known even after all this time.
"Look at his age," Samui said with a voice filled with disbelief.
"H...he is sixteen?!!" Mabui said in disbelief.
"Are you saying that I lost to an eight-year-old in the Chunin exams?" Samui said, starting to feel upset and amazed at the same time.
"Why are you even upset? You weren't the one who lost to him in the final match, even while using Matatabi's chakra. And let's not even begin to talk about how miserable he made us all be, especially me, when we fought Konoha about four years ago." Yugito, while throwing her hands up.
"Ohhh yeah," Mabui said with almost a pained expression
"You did get captured that time. And by an almost twelve-year-old, apparently." Mabui said, making Yugito groan in self-pity: "Don't remind me".
"That bounty is absurd," Samui said softly, with a bit of worry in her voice, making the other two look back at the entry.
"Yeah," Yugito said softly, worry in her voice as she looked at the bounty issued on Naruto by her village.
It's the dilemma that they all live with.
The three young women now understand what Bee meant by 'it's a brother doing good that makes me worry'.
They know that Bee sees other Jinchuuriki as brethren. He meant that Naruto is doing good as a shinobi, which is reflected in his bounty, but that is also what makes Bee worry for him, even though the bounty is issued by his elder brother, Ay.
As for the three young women, they respect him as a shinobi, but he is also one of the very few people they call friends. That is the dilemma they face: they like him, but he is from another village, and they fought him in a war before.
They are Kumo Kunichi first and foremost, but they couldn't help but feel a bit of worry for their friend.
He is from an enemy village, and their village hates his guts, and they accept that. But it's hard not to worry about him when he is one of the very few people they enjoy being around. Especially Yugito, as Naruto is one of the very few people who treated her as a friend.
Even if his temperament is very different on the battlefield, they accept it, as they were doing the same.
Sometimes they, privately and alone, wondered what if Naruto was one of Kumo's or if they were from Konoha.
Thoughts and dreams are free; reality is different and doesn't care about anyone.
...
In the Land of Rain, after the update of the bingo book:
"This has turned very complicated, but it will not stop us. I will deal with him when the time comes." Pain said as he put down the bingo book that Konan brought him.
Konan stood nearby; her thoughts went back to the time she met Jiraiya and his teammate. She knew now that their target was the son of Jiraiya's female teammate, which might lead them to clash with their old Sensei down the line.
Konan looked at the back of Pain, who looked out towards the rain, before turning around and leaving. She knew that, by how things were planned, a clash with Konoha was inevitable.
...
In an underground hideout somewhere unknown:
"Interesting, very interesting." Orochimaru studied every detail of Naruto's entry with piqued interest.
"To think that Tsunade had a son. I didn't see that coming at all." Orochimaru said with a chuckle
"Even with Sarutobi-sensei taking him as a student, I didn't think it was like this," Orochimaru said as his eyes read through the details.
"Now I have to meet him. A son of Tsunade who is a jinchuuriki and also has the Uzumaki adamantine chakra chains. I am sure that boy has much more hidden." Orochimaru said, with interest reaching new heights.
...
In a hideout somewhere in Kirigakure;
"This was unexpected." 'Madara' said as he looked at the entry of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.
'Madara' didn't seem particularly alarmed by this news, as he knew Nagato would be the one to bring the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki in.
Someone or something else near him secretly felt extremely anxious. It had lived long enough to know that a Senju left to grow isn't always a good idea. Especially a Senju who, at 16, is making the shinobi villages fear his potential.
It hopes that it's just a variable that wouldn't affect its plan too much and will be dealt with. The last thing it wants is for this variable to be someone like Hashirama.
It let that thought dissipate; it sounded absurd, as nothing pointed to the boy being even remotely close to what his great-grandfather was.
To be continued.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
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