“Among the men they killed was your husband.”

Your breath hitched. It’s the only sound that could be heard after the revelation. You whipped your head towards your mother, her posture was suddenly tense. Her hands are clenched into fists, her jaw is locked and her shoulders stiff. It was obvious she’s seething but she’s trying to restrain herself from doing something.

Your father. Dead. Killed by a serial killer. A serial killer. A serial killer who allegedly belongs to Akatsuki. S-rank criminals.

Your mind was reeling. You put your hands behind your back to hide the way it’s currently shaking. You breathe in heavily and close your eyes in an attempt to calm yourself. You have to remain composure, the same way your mother was restraining herself from punching the wall.

“Now I understand this is a heavy subject, however, I do owe you this information since this is what Kakashi offered to get you back here. That’s also why I’m not going to assign any missions to you yet, Kana, so you can process things. And I won’t be having you back at the ANBU as I think it’ll make things harder for you. I know it’s hard losing someone dear to you, but we need you right now. The village needs you. The most I can give you is a week off.”

Your mother nods robotically.

Tsunade turns to you. “As much as I want to give you the same time off, the earlier you are admitted to the Academy, the earlier you can graduate and become a full fledged shinobi. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” You whispered.

“Now that I have given you this information, I forbid you both to do anything related to Akatsuki. You aren’t allowed to engage nor to approach the organization unless I order you to.”

Kana obviously wants to protest but Tsunade cuts her off. “Just because you’re you doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you. I’ll personally make sure you get punished accordingly if you disobey my order.” She threatens.

“I have already assigned the best people from ANBU to investigate more on matters related to Akatsuki and to Orochimaru as well, who has been identified to be a previous member of the organization. Jiraiya is also gathering intel during his travels. Rest assured, we are dealing with this with utmost importance. Please don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure to update you from time to time as well.” Tsunade’s voice softens as she finishes her speech.

Your mother looks relieved that this was being handled properly rather than having this be swept under the rug.

“For the meantime, use your time wisely. Hone your skills both in terms of strength and in terms of strategy. If they plan on taking the Tailed Beasts I’m pretty sure they’re highly skilled in combat. We don’t know what to expect from them so you have to make sure you’ll be stronger than what you are now.”

“Right. Thank you Hokage-sama,” you say on behalf of your mother.

She nods, “That’s all I wanted to say. Kakashi will you to your new flat. I’ll also have someone tour you around the village tomorrow Michiko.”

You bow your head.

Tsunade then turns to Kakashi and nods her head. He takes this as a signal that he’s dismissed.

The walk to your new home was silent. You’re replaying the whole meeting with the Hokage in your mind. So many things are running through your head from who exactly was your great grandfather to how you should train harder to become stronger.

Both you and your mother thank Kakashi after he dropped you off to your new flat. You silently start to unpack your things. In the midst of putting your clothes in a cabinet, your mother breaks the silence.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions for me. Although I don’t think I have all the answers right now…” Your mother says. “You can ask me anything and I’ll answer them truthfully if they’re within my knowledge.”

“Can you tell me about your side of the family?”

“I suppose it’s time for you to know… Where do I even begin?”

“The Hokage kept mentioning my great grandfather…”

“Right. Your great grandfather. He was the second Hokage. Senju Tobirama. He was one of the founders of Konoha along with his brother Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. During his era, he was one of the most powerful shinobis. Truth be told, he had already died when I was conceived so what I know about him is only what my parents told me and what I’ve heard from other people. Anyway, he’s well known for his speed, his sensory skills and his mastery of all five chakra natures, most especially Water Release.”

So that was what Lady Tsunade meant when she mentioned that your chakra affinity towards water nature runs in the family.

“He was also the one who created the complicated jutsus you know now — Shadow Clone technique and Flying Raijin technique.”

Now you understand why Tsunade holds your great grandfather in high regards.

“Why do you call those jutsus complicated?”

She hums, thinking of how to properly explain why.

“Did you know that the Shadow Clone technique can only be safely used by Jonin level ninjas?” Answering your question with another question.

“Really? Why?”

“Yes! It’s because the user’s chakra gets evenly divided between themselves and the clones they make. This rapid depletion can be dangerous, that’s why. The other version of it, Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, is actually a forbidden jutsu since the chakra cost is far greater.”

“Wow.” You didn’t really know about this. You just use it because you were taught how to.

“Now for the Flying Raijin technique, this is actually a technique that only our family, the direct descendants of Senju Tobirama, know. People with Senju blood have extraordinary life force and larger chakra reserves than average shinobis which allows us to do this technique. The only other person who was able to do it outside of our family was Minato, the Fourth Hokage.”

It made sense that your family knew this technique. When your mother taught it to you when you were younger, you had a hard time grasping the concept and you fainted a lot when you tried doing it the first few attempts since it took a lot of chakra.

“Why does the Fourth Hokage know how to do it?”

“Now that’s a good question,” your mother grins. “I taught him how to do it... I mean, initially it wasn’t him who I was teaching it to.”

You look at her questioningly.

She continues, “I was teaching it to my teammate, Kushina. She was once a jinchuriki so I wanted her to learn the technique to help her escape in case she gets captured. Because the Nine Tailed Beast was sealed inside her and she was an Uzumaki, she had huge chakra reserves that should allow her to use the technique. But she really had a hard time understanding it. M