Hearing this Katsuro instantly dashed towards Sakumo with an overhead slash leaving a small crater in the ground behind him. Both their blades clashed creating sparks. Sakumo used Katsuro's own momentum and a subtle shift of his blade to send him off balance to the side before using his left leg attempting to kick Katsuro's midsection. Katsuro reacts immediately by raising his right knee to block while in motion and counters with a horizontal slash. Their clash of blades, demonstrating expert prowess in Kenjutsu that even Samurai of the land of Iron would revere, continued at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye. A civilian witnessing the battle would only see the blur of bodies and blades alongside the sparks of steel meeting. Sakumo out maneuvered Katsuro, trapping his blade and dodging the swing of his free arm to land a clean hit on his face, sending Katsuro reeling.
"Sensei, not the face," Katsuro groaned.
Sakumo laughed, "At the very least to beat me in Kenjutsu you will need at least a decade more of training."
Katsuro smiled, "Yeah, that's why I won't use just Kenjutsu."
Katsuro immediately made the signs for Lightning style: Thunderclap impulse before using Sakumo's own signature Shunpo to close the distance. Sakumo, a decorated Jonin and Kage level Shinobi, reacted quickly, body flickering away before making the very same hand signs and also using Thunderclap impulse. The earlier scene of Kenjutsu continued but at a far quicker pace with far more strength behind the blades that now had Lightning Chakra flowing through them.
Katsuro would try to not go beyond just using Thunderclap Impulse but despite creating the Jutsu the experience of his sensei and superior Shunpo and Kenjutus meant Katsuro could not defeat him with this alone.
Katsuro groaned as he realised he could not win easily and body flickered back before making hand signs so rapidly it looked like a blur. But, this was still his sensei and even if he did use other Jutsu it would not be anything too dangerous. "Water Style: Water Severing Wave," he exclaimed.
The same Jutsu he used to defeat Sakumo all those years ago was now being used again, but this time Katsuro's proficiency and chakra he put into it elevated the Jutsu to almost S rank level.
Sakumo quickly formed the seals for Earth style: Rampart in response, which barely bought enough time, before flickering away with speed he would become famous for.
"So you decide to use other Ninjutsu and the first thing you do is try to kill me?" Sakumo said with slight irritation.
"Relax Sensei, I knew you would dodge." Seeing Katsuro's leisurely smile despite the effort they had exerted Sakumo grew more annoyed. Katsuro then used a number of Jutsu in succession. He immediately cast Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Jutsu but took Sakumo by surprise and aimed it towards much of the water. This created a large amount of steam that blocked Sakumo's vision. Katsuro also hid his chakra so Sakumo couldn't sense him leaving him totally in the dark. Sakumo stayed prepared with his eyes peeled wide and hand on his sword, ready for anything. 5 shadow clones came at him with speed, all using the Thunderclapse Impulse. He took care of them despite the ambush staying wary for whatever Katsuro had next in his plan. But to his 'shock' as he punched through the last shadow clone it did not turn into a cloud of smoke, it became Lightning chakra that proceeded to shock him. A lightning style shadow clone. Sakumo thought through the pain.
Sakumo's built resistance to Lightning chakra meant he was only partially paralyzed and not for very long. But it allowed Katsuro to use the muddy ground from the water style Jutsu to use Earth style: Swamp of the Underworld, an enhanced version of the C rank, Earth Style: Bottomless Swamp Jutsu. The Jutsu would greatly slow Sakumo down, attempting to trap him within the deep swamp that was effective against large summons and even Tailed Beasts.
Sakumo realised the dire situation he was in and quickly created a shadow clone that would pull him out. While Sakumo tried to pull himself out, Katsuro used the mud to form the Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet and when it was dodged and cut apart he used his own creation of Wind style: Sword Wind Cutter Jutsu to target Sakumo. Sakumo, despite being midair, used his own shadow clone to intercept the Jutsu and bounce himself off into a safe location on a tree. Finally able to collect his bearings he spoke. "Not everyone has as much chakra as you Katsuro! Luckily I was prepared for your cunning schemes or I would've been caught. But let's end this here, I know you're holding back but even then the training ground is being destroyed."
Sakumo was proud of the strength Katsuro had shown and also of the strength he knew he kept hidden. Sakumo knew Katsuro was holding back, but he did not know just how much he was.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"I'm sorry, Tsunade, and you too, little Nawaki," Hiruzen spoke, his regret genuine (for once). "He was an excellent shinobi, and a good man."
In front of him, Tsunade stood rigid, unmoving, while Nawaki broke down into tears, mumbling.
"What do you mean, Lord Third? I want my Dad back!" The child's cries made Katsuro, who was watching from behind, stir with emotion, his heart aching. The scene was eerily similar to his own situation, and he felt a horrible sense of deja vu. Next to him, despite her trying to hide them, tears silently rolled down Granny Mito's face. She's just lost another son. Katsuro's heart ached once again, and gently, he reached out to hug the old woman, and as they embraced, her quiet tears turned into loud sobs. No parent should ever see their child die before them.
Tsunade and Nawaki's father, Senju Haruna, had died on a mission in a border skirmish with Kirigakure. According to the report from the Hokage, he had died a hero's death - his team had been badly outnumbered, and he stayed behind to allow them escape. The Hokage spoke as if that fact made everything better. But unfortunately for Senju Haruna's family, the harsh truth was that he was gone, regardless of the circumstances.
AN: If you would like to view up to 20 chapters ahead, and would also like to support me, please visit my P@TR30N, at pa tr eon.com / GhidorahWriter (remove the spaces). Also, if you like the story so far, please remember to vote for the fic by voting with power stones, so we'll be able to continue uploading daily! Thanks for reading!