_________ POV Narration _________

As promised, Ken took his sweet time returning to the Leaf Village.

He was sure they would get the message about the alliance falling apart. Hell, he was sure that the world would learn that the 7 Tail Jinchuriki got killed as well.

And he was sure that his name would once again sound out in everyone's ears.

Getting that much attention was a good thing, however. He had no reason to hide himself, and it just meant more work for the Dark Brotherhood.

The Waterfall was not stupid enough to make enemies out of the man that murdered their most powerful shinobi.

They were likely just going to bide their time and try to grow stronger over time. But they were never going to pose a threat to the ever-growing Dark Brotherhood singlehandedly.

Ken was confident enough that the Dark Brotherhood would grow stronger than most villages.

Currently, the only villages Ken thought stronger than his Brotherhood were the Cloud and Leaf. Of course, he counted himself amongst the Brotherhood's forces in those calculations.

Without him, the Dark Brotherhood would likely still be able to wipe the floor with the vast majority of Smaller Villages, but the large ones were harder targets.

The Brotherhood had already grown a lot, in a very short time.

The children were all grateful to their leader, and they were also glad to have grabbed onto that opportunity and persisted through the training.

Many wanted to quit at first, especially the younger ones. They weren't ever going to train to become shinobi after all, they just wanted to live their lives happily.

But thanks to the war taking everything away from them, even their young minds understood that there was no such thing as permanent happiness while weak.

That was the realization that sparked their desire to grow stronger.

And after a while, the gratitude they felt for the Dark Brotherhood's leader and his retainers was what drove them to become even stronger.

Every child strived for their parental figure's agreement and attention. They weren't much different.

Tosho had showered them with attention as well, but Ken was a bit different...

He was hard to read at first, especially for the younger children.

He didn't make too big an effort to get close to them either. At least not at first, slowly he had also started showing them more and more warmth.

He became a stoic pillar to them, a person they looked up to. And the one person that deserved to be called their 'father'.

Tosho was more of a Big Brother to them, raising them, training them and guiding them as a brother would. He was warm and always there for them essentially.

He seemed to develop alongside them as well, growing both stronger and more mature as time passed.

Akira was still as childish as all of them though, so he was no father figure. And lastly, Saburo was not exactly approachable. Well, at least he acted friendly enough.

They were certainly a dysfunctional family.

But Tatsukio and the rest wouldn't have had it otherwise.

_________ POV Tatsukio_________

The other children seem to be getting a bit restless...

No one likes whenever our Father stays out for too long. But this situation is a bit different from the ones before.

We had just dealt with some personal business alongside him. The 7 Swordsmen were the targets of his hatred for what must've been years.

I remember first walking into his office when he officially started training me and seeing their posters on that wall by his side.

It was strange, really. But I didn't pay much mind to it. I focused on my training and grew as strong as possible in that short time.

As Yue already pointed out to him directly, our stoic father figure always taught us, both through his own words and through the other's instructors, that one's feelings should never lead their actions.

But then the revenge happened... Sure it wasn't anything too dangerous for us, the 7 Swordsmen were separated and killed off in quick succession.

It all seemed fine at first, Father was certainly acting stranger than usual. He wasn't exactly the type to mock his targets after all.

After the ordeal was over, much faster than we had anticipated, we all returned to base. And only Father remained behind.

It's always hard to tell what goes on in his mind, but I doubt there were any pleasant thoughts in there.

Revenge is a messy affair. All of us have been wronged by others in the past, be it to stray Shinobi or to bandits, we all lost loved ones that we wish to avenge.

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But most of us have already chosen to not let that hatred rule our lives. We decided to live on, grow stronger, and live our lives with our new families while looking forward to the future.

It's what our parents would've wanted from us anyway... At least this is the case for most, and for myself as well.

I would love to find the Shinobi that cut off my leg, I would love to slice his throat with my own two hands. But at the same time, it's not even worth the time to seek that lowlife out.

I'd much rather spend my time with my brothers and sisters. Basking in the warmth of a family, dysfunctional or not.

I wish Father thought the same. But at the same time, he was also more than strong enough to take his revenge.

He had the means, the resources, the reach, and the influence to handle the backlash from the Mist... I guess it just felt wrong to not do it.

But the fact that he hasn't returned is what is truly concerning to most of us.

After an episode like that, it feels odd not seeing him here. We don't know if he's safe, or how he was affected by finally having his revenge.

I know he is safe, wherever he is. In my mind, there isn't much out there capable of matching him in strength.

Maybe only the Tailed Beasts and the God of Shinobi? It's hard to tell, I've only heard stories about them. But I don't know if there are many humans capable of matching up to our Father.

Among the older children, there is also that sense of uncertainty.

'What if Father only wanted to build the Brotherhood to take out his enemies? What if he only built it for the purpose of revenge?'

It was certainly an unusual thought for us, loyal children. Not once has Father shown that he just wanted to use us.

If anything, he is postponing our 'use' until we are all older and more mature. It's clear that he had plans for the future, or is at least thinking for our future.

But that's not the only reason that thought is stupid in my opinion.

First and foremost, Father is strong, his back won't bend or break in the face of any adversity.

He could have easily killed all 7 of the Swordsmen without breaking a sweat. And the Mist itself is likely nothing to him. Father is not a normal human, that much is clear.

"Big Bro Tatsukio... When do you think Father is coming back?"

Currently, I am supervising the training of the younger ones. It's my task until Big Bro Tosho returns. Lord Saburo is apparently concentrating on something rather important in his laboratory.

The little girl that stood in front of me with a confused expression must be not even 1 centimetre above 1.3m. She has short black hair with bangs that cover her eyes.

She is currently wearing black training clothes, much like the rest of us. Umebi, my cutest younger sister.

Her body was small, and lithe, besides Yue, she is the most flexible one among us. She is also among the youngest, being only 10 years old, 5 years my junior.

"Don't worry Ume, Father is just out on another mission. He'll be returning to us soon enough, no need to worry about him ever abandoning us."

My answer sounds a bit generic, but most of my brothers and sister put a lot of weight on my words. So just hearing me say that is enough to comfort them.

It seems to have been enough for little Umebi anyway, she just nodded with a cute smile on her face and skipped off to continue her training.

Hah, feeling them respect and look up to me this much is a bit stressful...

Is this how Father feels when looking at all of us? I somehow doubt it, he is a greater man than me, I still have much to learn.

After Father personally trained me, I became one of his two direct disciples.

Yue and I... Both of us have gained a heightened position in the eyes of our brothers and sisters.

Even if Yue isn't fully a part of the Brotherhood, she still is an honorary sister to us and Master's first personal disciple. I am the second, despite being the first among my peers.

"Tsk, so you think Leader is still planning to use us in some way? Was using us for his revenge not enough?" Here comes number 2...

Can't ever get any time to rest with this guy around.

"What's your point exactly, Morita?"

Morita, a blonde 14-year-old standing at around 1.7 meters, the same height as me. He is one year younger.

Mr.2 as he is called, he is the second-ranking among us recruits, the one that sits right under me.

"My point!? My point is that we should ask this so-called father to clarify his intentions!"

His voice grates my ears. But I don't blame or resent him either. There is no such place for these emotions in a true family.

He is a disillusioned child. Father's attention and time aren't limitless, and the children that don't get his recognition may end up throwing tantrums. This is just one example of that.

A childish outburst. Teenage angst, whichever it is, I don't resent my little brother for it.

I have matured faster than my peers, maybe fueled by trauma among other things, but I have a good understanding of a child's mind.

Still, he's lucky that Yue is currently back at her real father's home, visiting him after a big mission.

If she was here, then no rumours about Lord Ken would ever be flying around as they are... And no one would dare to speak out like this.

I'm pretty sure she would've spiked his food with a strong laxative at best. Regardless, he wouldn't have ended up too well.

But I also shouldn't let him speak in such a manner about father... It's straining the atmosphere and interfering with the training of my smaller siblings.

Just as I was about to tell Morita off, someone decided to interject...

"Maybe if you have such complaints, you should address them to him directly?" A deep voice broke out at the side, and another person appeared in the field.

It was none other than Big Bro Tosho, with that strange living sword wrapped in bandages and strapped on his back.

"B-big Bro..."

Even if Morita has complaints about Father, he would never dare to speak out against Tosho, who recruited all of us and has essentially raised us this whole time.

As expected, the children flocked to him, all excited to hear news about both Tosho and our Father.

Morita sulked a bit to the side, unsure how to react.

Tosho took off his mask, smiling at the children and speaking to them a bit, before he finally walked up to Morita, who was standing at the side awkwardly.

The children were silent as they saw that. They didn't know what to expect, they may have had their own dissatisfaction, but Morita was the only one to voice them out in that manner.

It had been the first time one of them had actually done such a thing. So they didn't know how Tosho or their Father would react...

"I was serious." Toshio's voice was calm, his gaze was warm as he looked at the blonde fledgling assassin.

"W-what?" Morita seems a bit panicky and confused. Thankfully, Big Bro Tosho didn't let him stir in confusion for too long.

"If you have any issues, don't hesitate to speak up. Leader may seem a bit cold outwardly, but he takes all of your opinions into account.

If you have any complaints, you can always speak to him."

Hah, I can see the panic vanishing from Morita's face, he just skulked, rubbing his elbow and looking at the ground with a childish pout on his face.

Tosho then turned around to the other children.

"All of you can speak to him. The doors to his office are open most days.

Currently, he's out dealing with the Leaf and making some deals. But he will be back soon."

Tosho then patted Nr.2 on the shoulder, nodding to him, before leaving us to our training.

As soon as he left, the children broke into talk, voices overlapping each other as they spoke of things they wanted to tell their Father, and how excited they were for him to come back.

Knowing them all, they'll keep this up till dinner, we can't have that...

"Get back to training if you're done gawking!"

My shout seems to have awakened them back to reality. Father isn't home yet, so they needed to continue their training and wait for him diligently.

Morita, as much as he likes to complain, also went back to training.

Ah... We really are a dysfunctional family...