A/N: I'm just going to go ahead and start something new. It's been plaguing my thoughts and now I'm motivated to write something. Sorry to those waiting for an update from my other story. This is my take on how Konoha logically should have been run, considering it is primarily a military establishment.
This will be an AU story. I probably won't change much, but I'll change certain things that I think are reasonable and logical. God, I sound like an Aburame, don't I?
I intend to make pretty much everyone significantly more badass than they were in canon. That does mean everyone though, including the bad guys. If you have ideas or recommendations for certain characters, go ahead and leave with them with me. Actually, if you have any ideas at all for the story, go ahead and suggest them; my plans for the story so far consists of exactly fifty words written in a tiny notebook, so there's a lot of room for other ideas and stuff that can be included.
Go ahead and read the first paragraph of my profile for info about updates.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Danzō held the crying blond newborn in his arms. Indeed, it was to be expected that after such a traumatic event, the boy would be upset. It was truly miraculous that he had survived, but Danzō supposed he could attribute that to the blond man lying before him.
Danzō looked down at his successor's cooling corpse, a twinge of something akin to sadness sparking in his gut. Namikaze had been a fine ROOT shinobi, and an even better Hokage. It was truly a shame, seeing such a valuable asset to the village die without being able to stop it. Danzō never could stamp out his noble streak though, and now he and his wife, the only Jinchūriki in the village, were dead and the village was safe from the Kyūbi.
Saved though it was, the village did not escape unscathed. In the brief time the Kyūbi had to be held back to protect the civilians, an estimated 35% of the village's active shinobi forces were killed. Losing one third of your military power in the blink of an eye was a disaster, especially for the most powerful of the hidden villages.
All was not lost, though. Including himself, the village still had seven S-ranked shinobi at its disposal, though several of those were considerably older than when they first earned that rank, diluting their efficacy. A couple of the up-and-coming Jōnin had been evaluated with a potential for S-rank as well, which Danzō would work to develop as quickly as possible to bolster the village's strength. Additionally, the small blond Jinchūriki in Danzō's arms, child of two of the village's strongest ninja, would almost certainly grow to become a formidable shinobi with proper guidance; however, the boy wouldn't be of much strategic value for at least a few years yet.
Seven S-ranked shinobi and 4,000 standard active duty shinobi were not an inconsiderable force. If any two of the three major hostile hidden villages attacked, for example Iwa and Kumo, they would only be able to reasonably muster an invasion force consisting of two Kage, four Jinchūriki, and at most 3,000 standard active duty shinobi. Such an invasion would create massive losses on both sides, a result that Danzō was counting on; you didn't invade an enemy village if it put your own village at risk.
However, if all three hostile major villages joined forces, those being Iwa, Kumo and Kiri, Konoha would be faced with three Kage, six Jinchūriki, and around 4,000 active duty shinobi. Konoha would be wiped off the map in such an invasion.
It would take time and luck for cooperation between three of the big five, though, and hopefully that would be enough time for Danzō to implement Project Recovery and bring the village back to full power. If not…
Danzō clamped down on his emotions and turned away from the remains of two of the best shinobi he'd even seen, signalling to his ROOT guards to collect Namikaze's and Uzumaki's remains. He had to go find his head researcher to implement his plan immediately.
…
Orochimaru sat in his lab, sipping sake and absently looking through some notes left by his head fūinjutsu researcher. While his specialty was primarily the study of biology and chakra, he was reasonably well versed in fūinjutsu allowing him to at least review his subordinate's work, even if he encountered some difficulty inventing formulas himself.
However, his focus wasn't on the contents of the paper, but on the author. The surveillance seal installed on his favorite researcher had been disabled. Other than voluntary deactivation, of which Orochimaru knew his researcher was capable but unwilling, the only time this seal would cease functioning was when his researcher died.
The snake sannin stared blankly at the neat handwriting of the formula before him, considering the loss of one of his most valuable research assets. He wasn't really upset by the loss of his subordinate as a person; his ROOT training blunted his emotions enough that such strong feelings were a thing of the past. He was disappointed, however, by the loss of potential future research in the subject area. He would have to train someone else from the fūinjutsu division to take the position, someone who would almost certainly fail to meet their predecessor's standard of work. At least he had competent replacements available, however; had they failed to come to Uzushiogakure's aid, fūinjutsu specialists would likely be significantly rarer, and of significantly lower quality. Even if they turn out to be half as innovative and intelligent as Kushina, having an Uzumaki running his fūinjutsu division was still significantly better than having some novice in charge. Regardless, he could worry about that another time; for now, he had company.
"I suppose you already know that Kushina is dead."
Danzō watched as the sannin stood from his stool and turned to face him. The pale man nodded silently, standing at attention before his Hokage.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I'll find a suitable replacement and train them to take her place over the next month. I will ensure that output returns to standard levels within three months."
Danzō nodded. This was Orochimaru's area of expertise, and he liked to run a tight ship, so three months was likely the best that could be done.
"You should be relieved to know that the Kyūbi is no longer a threat. Namikaze expended his life sealing the beast into his child."
Orochimaru nodded, still expressionless.
"I have another assignment for you. I have decided to activate Project Recovery immediately in response to the Kyūbi attack. I expect a proposal on my desk within the week, to be enacted within two. Project Recovery is hereby classified, to be kept secure and secret from all personnel with clearance below S rank until the subjects reach maturity. You are authorized to use any civilian resources of your choice to facilitate Project Recovery, so long as you take precautions to maintain confidentiality. You are not authorized to modify any of the subjects beyond the parameters of Project Recovery unless approved by myself or, in the event of my death, my successor. If you complete this mission to my satisfaction, I will reward you with expanded funding and a more lenient approval process for some of your… questionable proposals. Understood?"
Orochimaru nodded again. He had been interested in trying out Project Recovery, if only to see if he could use it to prepare a custom made vessel for him to use. Now, though, if Danzō's promise was to be believed, Orochimaru would not need to hide his experimentation in immortality and other such pursuits. It seemed that, though Danzō liked to pretend he kept Orochimaru on a short leash, he understood that letting the snake work at his own leisure was of maximal benefit to Konoha. Of course, Orochimaru looked out for his own interests first and foremost, however there was no reason why his village could not enjoy the fruits of his research alongside him if they so chose.
Without another word, Danzō vacated the sannin's lab using his sensei's technique, the Hiraishin. The Nidaime had truly been a genius when it came to jutsu creation, and the Hiraishin was one of his crowning achievements. Part of the reason Danzō chose Namikaze as his successor was out of respect for the man's command of his late sensei's technique. Though Danzō couldn't use the technique nearly as well as the Nidaime or Yondaime, he was capable of using it, as were most of the high ranking shinobi of the village. After all, even disregarding its combat capabilities, being able to teleport oneself out of danger instantaneously was an invaluable ability. Who knows when you'll be trapped behind a barrier of some sort, forced to fight the resurrected and nearly indestructible corpses of two deceased Hokage and unable to do anything except die fighting or use space-time ninjutsu to escape.
Orochimaru watched his leader leave in a bright flash, before moving to one of the cabinets lining the walls of his lab. Opening one, he withdrew an unmarked manila folder filled with a miscellany of documents. From the folder he withdrew one concise sheet, marked with two columns of names and some adjacent handwritten notes about each potential subject. He smirked, perusing the list for combinations that would hopefully demonstrate the most interesting results.
Project Recovery was an experimental eugenics program designed to guarantee the production of incredibly powerful shinobi. As part of a standard "physical" required to become a shinobi, sperm or egg samples are collected from all ninja of the village, ostensibly to be tested for fertility. Many don't question the requirement, having no experience in the medical field to give them cause to dissent. Those who do object are drugged to induce compliance, before having their memory wiped. The samples are preserved and stored. If the shinobi is a kekkei genkai user, or if they prove themselves to be especially skilled or intelligent, their samples are moved to a high security vault and listed in a database to be used in Project Recovery.
The primary reason that the Project had been kept inactive was because of the likelihood of conflict over the procurement and use of the samples used. However, now that the village needed manpower to replace the ninja lost in the attack, the Hokage decided that there was sufficient justification to activate the program.
Now that the Project was active, the valuable samples held in the secure vault would be fertilized and incubated in a surrogate. With luck, the Project would yield subjects that were predisposed to success in shinobi pursuits.
Orochimaru's list held the various combinations that he thought would produce effective results. His finger slid down the list before stopping on one of the entries. Uchiha and Hyūga. He had theorized that such a combination would produce a hybrid dōjutsu of some sort, perhaps capable of some abilities available to each eye. The chakra theory behind each eye's functionality was incredibly complex, so much so that Orochimaru had only the faintest idea how the kekkei genkai might interact. At any rate, the combination promised to be an interesting experiment in cross-breeding. Orochimaru marked the entry, before continuing down the list.
Orochimaru paused again on the next entry. Hyūga and Nara. Shikaku Nara was likely the smartest man alive. His strategies had saved countless lives, and his mission completion record was nearly perfect. Only misinformation was capable of defeating him, and even then the man would likely be able to escape and salvage the mission later. A ninja with Nara-level intelligence and the universal sight of a Hyūga to gather information would be nearly unbeatable. The snake put down another checkmark.
His finger hit another interesting entry. Senju and Uzumaki. Their store of Senju zygotes came courtesy of Tsunade, one of the reasons for the protocol to ensure compliance. Extracting those samples had been… problematic. At any rate, both clans were known for their heartiness and their longevity, indicating that a combination of the two would be even moreso. The Uzumaki genetics or chakra components might even activate the dormant genes necessary to produce the Mokuton bloodline. Additionally, Tsunade's medical prowess would likely be passed on to any offspring, as would the traditional Uzumaki fūinjutsu abilities. Orochimaru theorized that fūinjutsu could be a considerable boon to medics if implemented correctly. However, due to the extreme difficulty of both subjects, Konoha had yet to have a dual specialist that would be necessary to design these fūin. Someone predisposed to excel at both subjects, however… Orochimaru marked the entry.
Farther down the list, Orochimaru landed on an entry that made him crack a small smirk. Jiraiya and an Inuzuka sample. As though Jiraiya's progeny would need even more carnal motivation. The potential for a heavy combat specialist was there, considering Jiraiya's large chakra reserves and jutsu talent and the Inuzuka's powerful clan techniques, but Orochimaru decided that such a combination would be more amusing than anything else. He checked off the entry in the name of science.
Down the list he went, periodically checking off entries that appeared promising.
Namikaze and Hyūga, to combine the natural Namikaze speed with the Hyūga's speed based taijutsu style.
Aburame and Uzumaki, to experiment with a high-capacity Aburame capable of managing an abnormally large number of hives.
Uchiha and Senju, to see if it was possible to get the two of the most powerful bloodlines in existence to hybridize.
Orochimaru's own sample and Uzumaki, to see if his intelligence and the Uzumaki fūinjutsu ability could produce a subject worthy of heading the fūinjutsu division.
Nara and Uzumaki, for a similar reason.
Yamanaka and Senju, to see if the Yamanaka bloodline and Tsunade's medical prowess would provide medical insight into the relationship between the mind and the body, or if the Yamanaka bloodline might be modified by the Senju bloodline to produce a hybrid bloodline.
Namikaze and Uchiha, to amplify the two bloodlines' natural speed and intelligence.
Nara and Uchiha, to create a tactical genius capable of cataloguing hundreds of jutsu to strategically utilize in combat.
Akimichi and Uzumaki, to reinforce the already impressive Akimichi strength, chakra and robust constitution with Uzumaki chakra and physical vigor.
Namikaze and Akimichi, to combine the Namikaze speed with the Akimichi strength.
Orochimaru counted the entries he'd selected. Fourteen. If he included the Namikaze-Uzumaki brat that now contained the Kyūbi, there would be exactly enough highly promising children around the same age to form five full teams without any subpar shinobi polluting the team dynamics. Perfect. Orochimaru sat down at his personal research computer and began preparing his report for Danzō.
…
Danzō was sitting at his desk in the Hokage Tower, looking down at the blond-haired baby sleeping peacefully in his arms and contemplating whether the child should be raised in ROOT or not. Having years of experience with ROOT training by that point, Danzō knew that raising children in ROOT, while typically producing high quality and utterly loyal shinobi, tended to stunt emotional growth and cause psychological damage. Since the child was already predisposed to be a skilled ninja, both genetically and because of the Kyūbi, Danzō had no concern over his potential skills.
However, the issue of loyalty was still to be considered. It would be disastrous if the boy went missing-nin at some point, taking with him the only Bijū at Konoha's disposal. Contrarily, it would be to the village's detriment if Naruto became the an influential of the village and didn't have the emotional capacity necessary to give a good impression to potential clients. Truly, the issue was quite vexing.
Quite suddenly, a bright flash appeared in the center of the office. As the light cleared, the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya stepped to the Hokage's desk, bowing to Danzō before gently picking up his godson. Danzō frowned slightly in annoyance; he'd forgotten that Jiraiya might pose a threat to his plans for Naruto. The white-haired orphan was one of the few high ranking ninja that had spent no time in ROOT, having expressed a nearly violent resistance to entering the organization.
The man would be considerably displeased with the prospect of his godson being raised by ROOT, possibly even driving him to take the Jinchūriki and become a missing nin. The risk of Jiraiya leaving if Danzō gave Naruto to ROOT was considerably higher than the risk of Naruto spontaneously leaving at some point in the future, leaving Danzō with an easy decision as to the fate of the small Namikaze.
"Hello, Jiraiya. My condolences regarding the death of your student."
Jiraiya looked down at the newborn in his arms, a tear prickling at the corner of his eye. He should have been there, available to provide the sacrifice necessary to seal away the Kyūbi. He had missed the boy's birth because of a rumor of hostile movements in Iwa that he had chosen to investigate. By the time word reached him of what happened, it was too late. Now his godson was an orphan in need of a guardian.
"I suppose you wish to be young Naruto's caretaker, considering your relationship with his parents."
Jiraiya nodded. He felt he owed it to his godson to be there for him now, in order to make up for not being there for his parents when they needed him.
"I will allow this, on the condition that Naruto remains in Konoha when you travel to maintain your spy network. With the Hiraishin at your disposal, you should be capable of returning to Konoha regularly to care for the child as well as maintain your information network. If you believe yourself incapable of this, I will find another caretaker to be the boy's guardian."
Jiraiya smiled slightly and bowed to the elderly Hokage. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Danzō nodded, dismissing the sannin. Jiraiya flashed away, likely to his home in Konoha, taking the child with him. While this would modify the old war hawk's plans for the Jinchūriki, the end result would likely still be to Konoha's benefit. After all, considering the boy's heritage, he may very well perform some heroic feat and gain international acclaim; doing so without capacity for empathy was a surefire way give the Leaf a bad reputation, which would in turn reduce client retention. In fact, the boy should be specifically conditioned to act in a socially acceptable manner, so as to enhance the positive image of the village.
However, having the child associate with random children from throughout the village may result in unwanted behaviors or habits being spread from children of unsavory individuals, compromising the entire affair. What he needed was a controlled group of children with which Naruto could socialize under the control of his shinobi, so as to limit the number of factors that could be detrimental to his plan.
Luckily, Danzō would have such a group available very soon, so long as nothing happened to Project Recovery. All of the Project Recovery subjects were of similar superior lineage to Naruto, and therefore should receive the same conditioning. With the group socialized together, they would be both cohesive enough to eventually cooperate in running the village and socially effective enough in general to be the face of the village. Plus, if they worked together, assuming they eventually achieve the level of skill Danzō expected they would and that most survived until adulthood, the group would be capable of defeating nearly any force that could be mustered by the enemy villages, cementing Konoha's place as the strongest village in the Elemental Nations.
He was getting ahead of himself, however. He still had a half-destroyed village to help convalesce. Instead of daydreaming about his village's superiority, he should be out there helping.
Danzō stood, flashing to ANBU headquarters to get an update on the state of his village.
A/N: Mostly introductory stuff, not much by way of action or whatever else, but it sets the stage for the rest of the fic.
I couldn't really work in what I wanted to about Uzushio, so I'll just tell you here to clarify it, as well as provide some rationale so it isn't just 'because I said so and it's my fic'. Uzushio was destroyed in the Second Shinobi World War, but Danzō had some ROOT agents established there as Konoha liaisons. These agents 'helped' some of the ninja from Uzu escape death (by kidnapping them and modifying their memory), bringing them back to Konoha to join the ranks of Danzō's ninja.
Also, to prevent confusion, the seven S-ranked ninja I mentioned are Danzō, Hiruzen, the three Sannin, the ANBU Commander and the Jōnin Commander.
A little challenge: Of the fourteen subjects of Project Recovery, eleven will eventually correspond to members of the Konoha Twelve and three will be OCs. If you can guess the identities of any ten of them correctly, either identifying who they represent or if they're OCs, I'll let you decide what kind of personality one of the OCs will have. You can make your guesses either in a review or a PM, I don't care which.
If you would kindly spread the Christmas spirit and leave a favorite, follow, review or any combination thereof as a nice Christmas gift, I would appreciate it. If you decide to warm me up with a nice flame in this cold weather, even better. Please disregard that I am not Christian and have no business asking for a Christmas present.