Hiruzen Sarutobi
The day was bright and warm, a contrast of the atmosphere within the Leaf. It had only been three days since tragedy had struck the village he loved. His people had been panicked since, such was the price of the massacre of not just one the most powerful clans in the village but in the Elemental Nations as well. The Land of Fire as a whole had lost and know people were scared the foundations of their country was in question. For three days he and all responsible for the Leaf had been working tirelessly to bring order and assurance to the village. In three days progress had been made but there was still enough anger and sorrow to warrant more work. Work was something he was familiar with having spent near 40 years in his first stint as Hokage and 6 in his second. It felt as though his second stint was much harder and chaotic than the first, but maybe that was because memories seem fonder with age. It didn't matter, the tree would stand against the storm as it always had.
Today he was working in his personal office in the Sarutobi compound. The hokage office was too busy for him to think and work on how to return Konoha to a less chaotic mood. He rarely worked in here but he had to make an exception, with a meeting Being held at the 'Court of Heaven and earth' later on in the day he had to come up with responses that will pacify the situation. The whole day that is what he had been working on.
He had never been the best at politics but he had always been a good leader for his nation and had always stepped up when he was needed by his people. The court was something else someday he wondered why it was formed but most he is glad that it was. The court did a phenomenal job in governing the Leaf. Formerly ruled by the Senju and Uchiha, in recent years it had represented by more clans with nearly every clan having had a seat in the court. His job was to manage the Ninja and their operations and head the military resources of the country. The court governed the village and country in terms of safety. As powerful as He was, they all had to work together.
It was exactly five minutes prior to court when he heard the signature call sign of his ANBU attendant. The sound was so miniscule and natural only the most trained ears could have deciphered it at first sample. "Come in, Rat. I guess it's time to go." He said as he moved from the desk he had been working on.
"Hokage-sama" the ANBU specialist said after appearing and kneeling to his lord. Rat was wearing standard ANBU gear, black long sleeve top and pants made of tough material specifically made to protect against tearing, both were made in a straight fit design but Rat like most of his peers had taped the ends with a special tape called hard tape. Over his top he wore a grey vest unzipped in the middle, the vest had a number of pockets to store equipment and was made to be hard to act as a means of protection from weapons.
The Hokage was wearing a different variation of his traditional hokage robe wearing them in a red, white and blue instead of his usual red and cream, with the traditional hokage hat. The significance would not be lost on the members of court, he wouldn't be surprised if others would do the same. "Let us go then my friend." The hokage said with a cheerful tone.
It took them less than two minutes to get to the court such was the perks of being a ninja. They entered through the hokage's entrance to bypass the crowd at the main entrance, the chair-holders would go through their own entrance as well. The separate entrances were for safety reasons, but he usually entered where everyone else did as he felt that The village is as safe for him as it is for everyone else. Inside there were jounin standing guard, who immediately knelt at his entrance, "Hokage-sama" they greeted.
He smiled as he walked past. His one man entourage became six as five jounin joined them four flanked him as one, Fara Ami walked next to him and began briefing him on critical Intel he would need.
The Court of Heaven and Earth was the most lavish public building in the Leaf, with all sorts of rich decorations, statues, paintings and tributes giving the building the atmosphere of wealth and power. The history of the place always made him think of old comrades who had passed to the next life. Like a true ninja he did not let his inner emotions show but instead walked with the confidence that surrounded all Kage worth their robes. He was the last person to enter in to the courtroom. The room was large, large enough to have a gallery seating 1000 people below was the stage seating the Court chair-holders, the Hokage and his appointed representative hence Fara Ami. Fara was a former jounin whom had progressed through the ranks to get to her position. She had been promoted by the fourth but when he was asked to retake the mantle he had kept her as his representative. His seat was in the middle with the Earth seats to his left and Heaven seats to his right, Fara was on his right next to him. They were placed on a rounded 'V' shaped table. On his left closest to him was Genji Senju, the first seat for the Earth seats. Genji had been in the court the longest, having sat it three years before he had been made hokage. Genji was an old friend of his, a man he respected and looked up to. Having served since he was 20 there wasn't much to be said about his ninja career but his political one was were he achieved glory, fair to say that Konoha would have been a different place without him. Next to him was his old teammate Homura Mitokado, followed by their other teammate Koharu Utatane. They were his two closest friends and had been the best advisors he could have asked for. Next was Kuzu Inuzuka, Mei Senju, Yosuke Hatake, Niko Senju, Mariko Senju, Zakata Sarutobi, Rakei Senju, Heishin Akimichi. All of them having done well so far, some even having taken their seats under the fourths reign. On his right it was a different matter with four of the eleven seats being empty. The closest seat next to Fara on his right belonged to Adama Uchiha the first seat on the Heaven chairs. Following him was Danzo Shimura, his old friend and last member of his advice council. Following him was the absent seats of Ami and Mikodo Uchiha, followed by Shikohana Nara, Momo Aburame, Abunara Nara, Hoki Hyuuga, Inoichi Hyuuga, Sozen Hyuuga and Saijin Uchiha who was also absent.
As soon as he sat, a loud gong rang signalling the beginning of court. Fara stood up to begin her speech. " Today we assemble to bring order to our country that has been grieved by the passing of the main house of the Uchiha clan. We hold court without four of our colleagues. For them may we bow our heads for a moment of silence."
He bowed his head same as everyone else in respect to the uchiha clan. He raised his head when they were told to. Fara began with her speech she spoke of the relationship of the uchiha clan and the land of fire. Said relationship wasn't as sweet as Fara made it sound in her speech, Konoha and the Uchiha have been at odds many times in the past and throughout his reign he has had play peacemaker more than he wanted. Not having a Hokage from the Heaven Clans inspired most of those conflicts.
Fara sat after finishing her speech. Danzo Shimura was the next to stand. "As the second seat, It is my duty to address the facts of the attack on the Uchiha clan. Evidence provided to us by the ANBU has allowed us to find the assassin behind the attack. It is with much disappointment that I announce, Itachi Uchiha as the criminal guilty of this injustice."
Danzo wasn't even able to finish his speech as the court went into a uproar at the name of the culprit. Chair-holders, noblemen, clan-leaders etc. Everyone was screaming their opinions at everyone else. Fara was trying valiantly to silence the masses but it wasn't working. "Itachi is the next hokage, he would never do that." Said one. "nononono, this is not true." Said another.
It was clear the response was disbelief from the people of Konoha.
As the crowd started to settle Danzo stood again to continue. " As most of us know Itachi Uchiha has been missing since that Night, it is our belief that he has forsaken the Tree and is now branded a missing nin. Our best are already on pursuit to apprehend or kill the criminal. The fate of the Uchiha clan on the other hand is not as crippled as feared. The attack was only on the main house in the compound. The record holds 63 casualties and one survivor of the attack that happened three days ago during a clan meeting. Unfortunately all critical leadership of the Uchiha is deceased, leaving behind a great number of heirs, one of those Sasuke Uchiha is hospitalised. He is the legal heir to the Uchiha clan. The rest of the clan has been given time to heal before coming out to the public eye." The news gave new breath to the people, the message was clear konoha would regain it's strength.
Danzo continued. " The question then is what do we do now? I purpose we suspend the Uchiha clan for now. The task ahead of the Uchiha is a difficult one, with so little authority left, to allow them to handle important organisations such as the Konoha Police, this court and the Navy is foolishness at its prime. I believe konoha should absorb those responsibilities for the moment." The noise that had been growing climaxed as Danzo finished.
He wanted to stand but he was beaten by Mei Senju whom had stood as soon as Danzo indicated sitting down. Mei was the granddaughter of Genji Senju and had only been in the court for three years in that time she had moved to fifth seat of Earth. "Danzo." The lack of respect from the youth put a frown on Danzo's face. " I don't know about everybody else but this sounds a lot like another of your schemes. Is it so hard for you to believe the Uchiha clan can rally behind one figure, if this happened to the Senju there is no way we wouldn't rally to the cause. A different direction needs to be taken to that of War-hawk sama." Mei's speech earned applause. Besides her attitude she had a fair point.
Homura Mitokado was next to speak. " Mei I shall remind you, this is a court not a playground. Shimura-dono has a point but the law states that the state can not be involved in clan affairs. Therefore it is the clan, that is to make that decision not us."
" That is the reason I made my point, who will make the decision and when. As it stands the Uchiha are leaderless we cannot afford to wait for ever. Our enemies are circling and we need to act. Any sign of weakness will be exploited. We need to act now." Replied Danzo.
The debate continued until there was a decision at which point he stood to address the court. "Thank you all for participating in todays session of court. We have been tested, the tree has been tested and yes this is a test. Today we have made our first steps to pass that test. The court has decided, The uchiha clan will be suspended from any and all ability for the next three months. This time has been allocated to give the Uchiha clan time to recover and reorganise. In three months time the Uchiha clan will be given an opportunity to defend their position as the clan of Heaven. Until then the ANBU black ops will police the village. The Uchiha navy will be shored for the time being and the four absent seats will be appointed to the Shimura, Hyuuga, Nara and Aburame clans. All other issues will be handled by Konoha. The Uchiha clan is not forgotten and in honour of them the names of those who fell will be written on the memorial stone." He waited for a bit giving people time to absorb the information before continuing. "It is not everyday that a Kage admits to making a mistake. We all were shocked at the attack on the Uchiha clan, as well as the attacker. But why, why would anyone do such a thing, to his family especially. Madness, we believe Itachi Uchiha has lost his mind. The shinobi life is stressful and this shinobi had more stress than most. He was the youngest graduate and youngest ANBU captain. He was also expected to be the youngest Director of the Uchiha police and even Hokage. We need to change and in response we will. The psychology preparation program will be refunded and will have a bigger role in not only the academy but all departments of our forces. On the other hand a new branch of the Academy and field forces will be implemented under the banner of the Golden leaf. This will be a separate academy. Subscription will be invite only, this academy will promote excellence in a safe and stable environment. It is my hope that our future talents don't follow in the footsteps of Itachi Uchiha. Thank you." As soon as he sat down the crowd began to ignite the doors were opened signalling the end of court.
The court would stay full for the rest of the day. He returned to the Hokage's office. After today he would be busier than before. As the first once said 'to be hokage is like being a rock of coal, the hotter you burn the more ash covers you. suffocating you to the point of nothing but you hold on, burning until one day you make a fire so big the whole world shy's in fear….a fire that casts a shadow.
