24 Breaking the News

"What do you mean Uzushiogakure has been attacked, you know?" Ashita asked.

Mito and Kushina were talking in the kitchen of the Senju compound. Outside the door, Kane was listening, staying as quiet as he could.

"I don't know much more than I've already said. The other four villages formed a coalition to wipe out the Uzumaki. They asked the village for help, but there is very little we can do right now. We are strong, but Konohagakure isn't ready for an all-out war against the four great villages combined." said Mito.

"So what?! Am I supposed just to accept that the village will be wiped out? That our people are going to be genocided? What is the Hokage actually doing?" Ashita whispered harshly.

"As a founder of Konohagakure, the third Hokage has dispatched six teams of elite shinobi to help bring as many Uzumaki refugees as possible to the village safety. These teams include his disciples and many shinobi from other bloodline clans, all specializing in reconnaissance or jutsu. They will do their best to ensure the survival of as many Uzumaki clan members as possible." Mito answered Ashita's impassioned questions in a cold, detached voice.

"Fine. Fine! As a Konohagakure resident, you've said your piece, and I am satisfied. Now tell me what is going on as a fellow Uzumaki."

Mito released a deep breath before responding.

"It's not good. Not good at all. With the force being mustered against us, the chances of survival are bad." 

"How bad does it look?"

"Very. 1-3%."

"The chance of victory?" Distraught, Ashita asked a question she knew to be foolish.

"Utterly impossible. At most, they do enough damage to make the attackers unwilling to pursue complete annihilation."

"What do we tell the kids? Do we tell them anything?"

"I think we should keep it quiet for now. We can tell Kushina about it once we know more. As for Kane, he has been listening to us the whole time." Mito said

'SHIT!' Thought Kane.

He ran to his room as fast as he could. There wasn't much he could do, but he could at least do something. With his control over the Natual Energy, he could turn the tide of the battle.

In his room, he threw many clothes into his storage bracelet. He already had enough weapons in there for his own use. Sure, he wasn't proficient in using them, but he would figure it out.

Fully packed he ran out of the room, only to find into Mito just around the corner.

She was in the middle of the hall, standing in his with her arms crossed.

"Where do you think you are going?" she asked accusingly.

Kane looked past her and saw Ashita standing behind her with a frown.

With no time to think, Kane used the first lie that came to mind.

"T- To explore the village. You said yesterday I shouldn't spend all my time working on seals." 

Mentally, he was praying she would fall for his lie. Yet he was also adjusting his feet, preparing to bolt in the opposite direction.

"Good, good. Then you won't mind if Ashita and I join you. After all, a child should be exploring on their own." Said Mito.

'Damn it.' Kane mentally cursed.

With the lie failing, he returned to his room, aiming for the other exit. unfortunately, halfway across the room, a pair of hands picked him up by his armpits.

Holding him in the air like a lion cub, Mito asked him again. "Where do you think you are going? And don't think about lying to me this time."

Unable to move or fight back, he did the only thing he could do. He shut his mouth tightly.

"Fine. If you want to behave like a petulant child, I'll treat you like one." Mito said.

She tossed Kane in the air, flipping him upside down. Inches before he hit the ground, Mito caught him by the ankles and held him there.

"Now, how long do I need to hold you like this before you start talking?" 

Based on her tone of voice, she was no longer playing around.

"Mito, isn't this a bit much?" Ashita voiced her concern about his treatment. Her concern overrides her worry about the state of her clan temporarily.

"You may think so, Ashita. But what do you think he will do if I let him go? I can guess, but it seems like you can't." 

After lecturing Ashita, she turned to Kane.

"Are you ready to talk?" She asked.

By this point, Kane's face was all red. After another 10 seconds, he gave up and spoke.

"Alright, put me down!" He said in a strained voice.

"Fine."

Mito released his ankles, and he fell face-first into the ground.

Thinking fast, Kane brought up his hands to protect his head. He still hit the ground hard, but at least it wasn't a faceplant.

"Mito! What do you think you are doing?!" Ashita yelled.

Ignoring her student's mother, she asked him for a third time. 

"Where do you think you are going?"

Turning and looking up from the floor, Kane glared at his teacher and extended grandmother.

"I'm going to Uzushiogakure to help the Uzumaki!" Kane shouted. 

His emotions were extremely volatile between being treated like a child and his doubts and regrets about his actions in Uzushiogakure.

"Good, you found your tongue. But that doesn't mean you get to go anywhere." 

Mito's tone sounded highly insulting in his current state.

"What? What do you mean, Kane? You are too young." Ashita said

"Why!? You know I'm strong enough! I'm not a shinobi; leaving the village is not desertion!" 

By this point, his emotions had completely overtaken Kane's rational thoughts.

"What do you mean why? Do you think that just because you are a seal master, you can suddenly affect the outcome of this war? Do you think you are Hashirama or Madara?" 

Mito scoffed at his bravado.

"Of course! You know what I can do!" Kane said.

"What do you mean, Kane? Mito! What is he talking about!?" Ashita was yelling at this point, but the two paid no attention to her.

"So what if you have a bit of power? It means nothing. In the face of an actual powerful shinobi, you are a child! A weak child. What can you do?" Asked Mito in a mocking tone.

"I can do this." Kane ominously replied.

He drew Natural Energy from the surroundings into his body and activated his self-taught sage mode.

Unbeknownst to Kane, a series of faint gray stripes appeared on his face.

Kane launched himself at Mito. His amplified strength and his small stature made him move at jonin speeds, an incredible feat for a child with no training. 

However, that was ineffective against a kage-level ninja, especially if they had as much experience as Mito. 

The floorboards where Kane pushed off cracked from the force of his jump.

Ashita was dumbfounded by the skill her son showed. She watched on slackjawed as his fist quickly approached Mito.

But close was as far as he got. 

A flash of gold appeared for an instant behind Mito. In that single second, Kane received an impact on the back of his head, knocking him out cold in mid-air.

"Stupid, impulsive kid. He has become too overconfident due to his natural gifts."

Crouching down, she checked his pulse and the back of his head where he hit him. There was no blood and minimal swelling; he should be fine in a day or two. 

"He sure is durable, you know," Mito mumbled under her breath.

A few seconds after Kane hit the floor, Ashita woke from her stupor in a rage.

9 chains exploded out from her back, and she took a combat stance against Mito. Each sharp tip of her chains was aimed at her with lethal accuracy.

"Explain yourself now, or you will die here and now." 

Mito looked up from the floor in exasperation. 

"Hush, hush, child. Let's get Kane into bed, and then we will talk. You have much to catch up on."

A/N:

Last week's chapter.