A Clan Lost in Time

The Senju Clan was a shinobi clan that left a heavy and colorful stroke across the entire history of the Shinobi World's development.

The Senju Clan stood proudly above thousands of large and small shinobi clans after enduring a Warring States Period of a thousand years of blazing war. How pathetic it was that after founding Konoha with the strength of the entire clan, they vanished into obscurity in just a few short decades, leaving only a single Tsunade lingering in the world.

This used to be yet another unsolved mystery of the original story. Some people guessed, and some analyzed. But no official explanation was ever given.

Now Kakashi stood right before this truth. To say he wasn't curious would be a lie.

"Instructor Ken possessed immense strength, excelling in Earth Release, Wind Release, and Nintaijutsu as well. My own foundation in Nintaijutsu was built solidly with his help. But a few years before the Second Shinobi War broke out, he unfortunately died during an S-rank assassination mission."

"I had doubts before. After all, given teacher's strength and personality, it was unlikely he would fall into such an ordinary mission out of carelessness. The ones fighting against him at that time were four Stone Village Jonin and a crowd of Chunin."

"Teacher not only failed the mission, but was also killed on the spot." The speaking voice gradually grew lower.

"Back then, the Senju Clan didn't have many prominent figures left. So teacher's death was also a huge blow to their clan. Tsunade even went to the scene personally back then to check the combat traces."

Hatake Sakumo, who had seen too much darkness through many years of experience. Although upright by nature, he was not stupid. Kakashi's words revealed nothing less than suspicion toward the higher-ups of Konoha.

"But even she, who carefully inspected the scene, didn't find any useful clues. After all, in that battle, two Jonin and six Chunin from Konoha's side all perished. The battlefield had been cleaned up by the people from the Stone Village."

"With the strength of your teacher, Father, he must have been a renowned powerhouse in the Shinobi World. For a shinobi with his own fame like this, no matter which shinobi village's people killed him, the village definitely would have publicized it. Didn't Father hear about it afterward?"

Kakashi quickly spotted a blind spot and asked.

"Well... the situation was quite urgent at the time. The shadow of war had already appeared. I had doubts, but as the war quickly broke out, these matters were all buried away. Until now, I finally had the time to dig out the past doubts again."

Preoccupied, Hatake Sakumo had carried too many past events forward through these years.

Having hesitation at this moment, he had even thought of pretending that everything was fine for a single split second.

Noticing his inner struggle, Kakashi leaned forward slightly, moving closer to Hatake Sakumo.

Those two deadpan eyes exposed outside the mask stared straight at him.

Hatake Sakumo, caught off guard and dazed by Kakashi's sudden movement, couldn't help himself.

He reached out his hand swiftly and gave the back of Kakashi's head a slap.

"What are you doing?"

"Father, even I can tell what your shinobi way is. It's to forge ever onward. Once you hesitate, it's just like a bright pearl gathering dust. It's ruined!"

"...Although he knew his son was worried about him, upon hearing a word like ruined... Hatake Sakumo still almost couldn't resist giving this brat another hit."

"My teacher deeply loved this village. He gave his life for this village, using actions to interpret the meaning of the Will of Fire. Accepting his legacy—this is also my lifelong belief."

Hatake Sakumo first stated his stance.

"Hold on a second. The Will of Fire and all that isn't the main point right now. The main point right now is to figure out how your master sacrificed himself."

Seeing that the topic was about to stray, Kakashi decisively corrected it.

"According to what you say, to this day, neither the Stone Village nor any other shinobi village has come forward to claim this merit. Then... eliminating all possibilities, the remaining impossibility is the only possibility."

Pausing slightly, Kakashi asked the question that made Hatake Sakumo's heart turn cold in an instant.

"During the same period, were there any... Konoha shinobi who died of unknown causes?"

"...Tch."

Silence, dead silence.

It seemed as if a century had passed.

"Swish... Boom."

An incomparably massive killing intent suddenly erupted from within Hatake Sakumo's body, closely followed by thick chakra fluctuations.

The short blade behind his back flashed by, the blade's light illuminating the night sky and completely occupying Kakashi's vision.

Looking at the distant gate that had already vanished, Kakashi deeply understood this man's feelings.

The feeling of being lied to for so many years while still helping people work for free...

If it were Kakashi himself, he probably would have grabbed his blade and rushed to the Hokage Building long ago.

Although the White Fang's outburst just now vanished as quickly as it turned, such a strong and unmasked burst of killing intent and chakra fluctuations still startled quite a few people.

Soon, multiple shinobi approached the vicinity of the Hatake Residence, among them a few ANBU.

Everyone watched from not far away and did not rashly enter this lord's home.

They waited until an ANBU on duty stepped into the courtyard.

"Lord Sakumo, did something happen just now?"

"Found a few rats, nothing else. You go carry out your missions. No need to pay attention."

"Yes!"

Following Hatake Sakumo's words, the watching shinobi and the ANBU who came to check all dispersed. One Root shinobi mingled among them left the scene and rushed to the Root headquarters to report to Danzo in person.

"Leader, those were the exact words of Hatake Sakumo. The three people we originally arranged to monitor Hatake Kakashi have all gone missing. We still haven't found them." The Root shinobi, who had kept his head lowered the whole time he spoke, awaited Danzo's next instructions.

"I know. You withdraw first."

"Yes!"

Until the entire hall was completely empty.

"Hatake Sakumo... Hatake Kakashi... Hmph! Outsiders, wouldn't it be better to just obediently accept your arrangements? There are some things, some items, that you will never be qualified to touch in your entire lives." The exposed single eye flickered with a chilling, murderous intent.

"Ryoma!"

"Present, leader!"

"I heard your clan has an academy graduate who is a classmate of Kakashi..."

Hatake Residence.

"Father, there is still one question I have always wanted to ask you. I couldn't find a reasonable explanation in the village's records."

"Hmm?"

"The Senju Clan used to be so powerful. How is it that now, whenever the entire shinobi world hears of someone from the Senju Clan, there is only Lady Tsunade?"

Even if the Senju Clan did not possess a powerful Kekkei Genkai heritage like the Uchiha, they had managed to survive the chaotic Warring States Period and become one of the most formidable ninja clans of their era. The overall strength of the entire Senju Clan was beyond doubt.

It was understandable that a freak like Hashirama only appeared once every century or even longer, but the rest of the clansmen wouldn't have been weak no matter how much lower their baseline was. Haven't you seen how strong the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and Princess Tsunade were?

Even if they dropped down another tier, falling short of the Second Hokage and Tsunade, there should have still been Elite Jonin. They couldn't have all died off, could they?

"...It's not what you think. No matter how much greater their hold on power, they wouldn't dare to do this kind of thing over and over again." Seeming to know what Kakashi was thinking, Hatake Sakumo still spoke a word of fairness.

"After the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha founded Konoha, a large portion of the Senju clansmen, already weary of a life of warfare, migrated to the homeland of the First Hokage's wife, Lady Mito Uzumaki—that is, the Land of Whirlpools."

At this, Hatake Sakumo pointed to the Uzumaki swirl pattern on the side of his Jonin flak jacket.

"This clan crest is both the crest of the Uzumaki Clan and the national emblem of the Land of Whirlpools. It's not just proof of the friendly relations between the Uzumaki Clan and Konoha; it also represents the establishment of the Land of Whirlpools, which had the support of Konoha!"

As Hatake Sakumo spoke these earth-shattering words, Kakashi felt as though he were peeling away the mists of history, catching sight of the truths hidden behind them!

"So that's how it is! If that's the case, everything makes sense!"