The Subtle Knife
or
The Curious Incident of the Fox who Procured a Spot in the Kage Office
Disclaimer: emo fox ATTACK does not own Naruto.
Prologue
"Tsunade-sama, it is the Council's wish that you step down."
Tsunade had been expecting this confrontation with the Council of Elders for months. She had been the Godaime Hokage for well over a decade, had protected Konoha from the Akatsuki and Orochimaru, and had restored the village to a glory and strength that had not been enjoyed since the reign of Yondaime. But, there was something about Tsunade that infinitely irked the Council.
Tsunade was stubborn.
The Hokage and Council operated in a delicate dynamic of power and checks-and-balances. The Hokage could impose important mandates and decisions, all of which were subject to the scrutiny of the Council, who could and would null certain actions of the Hokage. However, there was a clause in the Hokage/Council Mandate that stated if the Hokage could provide sufficient evidence that his or her actions were beneficial to the glorification of Konoha, and had the support of the ANBU Captains, the Hokage could, in fact, overturn a decision of the Council and operate without approval.
The ANBU Captains were infinitely more loyal to their Hokage than they were to the most respected of Council members.
Tsunade had been very careful in exploiting that clause. At the start of her reign, she had only employed it to overturn small, trivial things: what type of decorations would be put up during the Kyuubi Festival to how many hours Academy students were required to practice their taijutsu, chakra control, and general ninja skills per week. Then, she started dabbling into things of more importance, such as which missions would be accepted and which refused. Finally, she influenced such major issues as to how far the power of Clan Heads extended and at which point the Hokage could interfere in Clan affairs to taking full control over the Leaf's diplomatic affairs and alliances.
Tsunade had been so careful that the Council could only sputter at how their lofty positions had been compromised so callously.
They did not take this lying down, of course. The Heads of the Council had appealed to the Daimyo on numerous occasions to aid them. He refused at first, and all seemed lost.
Then he died.
The Daimyo died tragically in his sleep, and his eldest son was hailed into his position and proved to be more eager to cooperate with the Council. After months of talks and useless bureaucracy, official documents calling for the impeachment of the Godaime Hokage had been drawn up.
It was an S-rank secret that these actions had occurred, as the subterfuge and general shady dealings amongst the government would surely send the villagers of Konoha (and all the common people of Fire Country) into a panic, causing a shockwave of aggression from the other Hidden Villages who were waiting like starving dogs for an opportunity to tip the scales in their direction and display their superior shinobi might. The Council had persuaded Tsunade that it would be in the interest of the public good for her to publicly announce her plans for retirement.
Tsunade agreed rather graciously to this arrangement, not because she cared too much about the probable negative backlash that would occur if she reacted differently, but because there was a juicy, wonderful catch.
Tsunade had been impeached, but it was and still remained her prerogative- hers and hers alone- to select a successor. Nothing the Council, Daimyo, or any higher-up did could affect or alter her decision, and only after a year of serving as the new Hokage could her successor be reviewed by the Council of Elders and Clan Elders for competency in the Kage office.
"I yield to the wishes of the Council, but first I would like to announce my heir and successor: one Uzumaki Naruto. Any objections?"
The Council was silent, and Tsunade's smirk was positively vicious.
"Good. He shall be sworn in as Rokudaime a month after I retire."
"Of course, Tsunade-sama: appearances must be kept up, so that the selection of Rokudaime does not seem the hasty action of a government cover-up."
The smirk was very nasty now.
"Of course."
Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is my first fic, but I'll try to keep it from getting too crappy. If you see any errors, be it grammar or a technical detail from the Narutoverse, please tell me and I'll fix it (eventually). And sorry for the length, but following chapters will be longer than this. Well, um, Read and Review!!
emo fox ATTACK