"Satoru, I've been informed that you're refusing to attend the Ninja Academy... Is that true?"
In the Hokage's office, the silence was heavy. The young Satoru Senju, only six years old, sat across from Hiruzen Sarutobi as if it were a meeting between equals. One leg crossed over the other, back straight, and arms resting on the chair's armrests.
His eyes, cold yet attentive, never left the old Hokage.
"I don't deny it," he replied without blinking.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. He took a slow puff from his pipe and exhaled the smoke with a sigh.
"May I ask why?"
"Because I don't need it," Satoru answered calmly. "I have no interest in training alongside the children of merchants, farmers, or apprentices from minor clans. I am the heir of the Senju Clan. My education must reflect that responsibility."
Hiruzen set his pipe down on the desk, letting out another sigh. He knew Satoru was different. But hearing him speak like that—with that blend of maturity and arrogance—unsettled him.
"The Academy is the first step for every ninja in Konoha, even those from the oldest clans. It's not just about learning to fight. It's about integrating into the village. Building bonds, forming loyalties… understanding your role within a larger system."
"Loyalties?" Satoru raised an eyebrow, mildly amused. "Like the loyalty the village showed my mother when she needed it most?"
Hiruzen remained silent. Not because he had no answer, but because he knew that no matter what he said, the boy had already formed his own worldview.
He also knew Tsunade's departure from Konoha had been his fault, though he would never admit it directly to Satoru.
Tsunade had lost faith in him, and so she left the village with her apprentice, Shizune.
It wasn't until years later, to his surprise, that Tsunade returned to the village with a newborn child.
But his shock was even greater when Tsunade left again with her apprentice—this time leaving the child behind.
"Konoha's politics aren't perfect," Hiruzen finally said. "And your mother… she had her reasons for leaving. But you are not her."
"And yet everyone expects me to be." Satoru rose slowly. He walked over to a window, gazing down at the village. "The Senju Clan no longer has a voice in the council. Decisions are made without consulting us. My grandfather's name is only used to remind the world who founded the village… but his legacy has been ignored."
Hiruzen watched him carefully. This was no ordinary spoiled child. This was a Senju who—though in a rudimentary way—understood the political value of his surname.
"That's precisely why you need to attend the Academy. Because if you ever hope to restore the Senju Clan's influence, you'll need allies—people you can trust. You need to understand how this village works from the inside."
Satoru turned his face toward him, expression serious.
"I don't need allies who follow me out of sympathy. The Senju should lead, not ask for permission."
"That sounds like pride. And pride can be more dangerous than any external enemy."
Satoru returned to his seat, but this time he didn't slouch. He rested his elbows on the armrests, fingers interlocked before his face.
"What's dangerous, Hokage-sama, is when founding clans become relics. And that only happens when their heirs settle for following rules designed to keep them contained."
Hiruzen felt a chill. There was an unsettling clarity in those words.
He also realized Satoru was referring to the Uchiha Clan.
"As your legal guardian," he said more firmly, "I order you to attend the Ninja Academy. Not as a punishment, but as a necessary step. You can't make such decisions at your age, and you know it."
"Then perhaps it's time to name another guardian—someone who truly represents the Senju Clan."
"Are you defying the Hokage's authority, Satoru?"
"I'm defending my clan's autonomy—something you swore to protect when you took office."
The air in the room grew tense, but Satoru wasn't finished.
"As Hokage, you have no authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the Senju Clan—or any clan—unless there's a direct threat to the village's security."
"Satoru..." Hiruzen tried to interject, but Satoru kept speaking.
"As the only present member of the Senju Clan within the village, it falls on me to assume the role of acting leader. And as such, I have the authority to decide that the heir of the clan—that is, me—will not attend the Ninja Academy."
Satoru stood up again, slowly, as if signaling the conversation was over.
"Unless the current Matriarch of the Senju Clan returns and orders me herself..." he said, without raising his voice, "I will not attend the Academy. Until then, I'll continue my training on my own. This conversation, Hokage-sama, is over."
He turned around calmly, his steps soft and deliberate. He opened the door without haste.
"Satoru...!" Hiruzen called.
But the boy did not stop, nor did he respond. The only sound left was the dull thud of the door closing behind him.
Hiruzen stared at his desk in silence. For years he'd feared the Senju legacy might vanish entirely.
Now, he feared it might return with too much force.
Tsunade had left him a child prodigy… with the temperament of a bitter adult.
Satoru was a problem growing faster than it could be contained.
"Weasel," Hiruzen called, voice firm and authoritative.
An ANBU ninja appeared instantly, wearing a weasel mask and the standard gray uniform of the ANBU Covert Operations. On his back was the Uchiha Clan's symbol.
"You called, Hokage-sama?" Weasel knelt before the desk, awaiting orders.
"Watch him. Do it secretly and report anything relevant. I'm beginning to suspect someone might be influencing or guiding the boy from the shadows."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Weasel nodded and vanished from the office as swiftly as he had arrived.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, exhausted. "One more problem," he murmured to himself. But this time, he wasn't referring to Satoru. The real headache lay elsewhere.
"The Uchiha Clan..." he said quietly, closing his eyes and pressing his lips together.
And above all, Itachi Uchiha, who had recently been promoted to Captain of his own ANBU Covert Operations Unit, directly under his command.
Hiruzen frowned as he thought about it. Although Itachi had given him no reason to distrust him, he couldn't shake the feeling—was Itachi truly acting on his own will, or had Fugaku placed him in that path intentionally?
A weight settled in the Hokage's chest. "If Fugaku sent Itachi here on purpose..." Hiruzen didn't finish the thought, knowing the implications were too dangerous to ignore.
Itachi was the greatest prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, a child raised under the watchful eyes of Konoha's highest powers. In Danzo's words: "The Boy Who Saw Through Everything." Hiruzen, though he trusted him, couldn't stop thinking about what it meant to have a Uchiha so close to the village's political heart.
"Satoru..." he thought, comparing the two.
Both were geniuses from an early age, both incredibly powerful and talented. But while Itachi had been shaped in Konoha's school, nurtured under the Will of Fire, Satoru seemed to follow his own path—with a more independent and dangerous mindset.
"If we reach a point where the Senju and the Uchiha fight for control of the village..." Hiruzen frowned, knowing that was a future he desperately wanted to avoid.
Even so, Satoru was still too young to be considered a threat. There was time to guide him, to teach him the Will of Fire, and above all, to instill loyalty to the village.
Despite the trust he placed in Itachi, Hiruzen couldn't help but worry. And more troubling was the possibility that Danzo might somehow be involved with Satoru.
"Tsunade would never forgive me..."
Hiruzen knew that clan politics in Konoha had never been easy. Though the Senju were the founders of the village, they had been pushed into the background in recent years. Now, a child as brilliant and unpredictable as Satoru could be both a blessing and a curse for Konoha. And if he ever fell under the wrong influence...
Hiruzen didn't want to imagine it.
As for assigning Itachi to watch over Satoru closely, Hiruzen wasn't entirely sure he had made the right decision. If history was any indicator, nothing good had ever come from putting a Uchiha and a Senju together.