Ah, my fan fiction debut: such a wonderful day, don't you think?

"Tsunade!"

Sitting on the wooden chair behind the hand carved oak desk was a tall, blonde haired woman wearing green garments and sandals. She appeared quite young for her age, with broad shoulders, strong, muscular arms and a face that withheld an ancient beauty. But now, a frown lay upon her face, which consisted of raised eyebrows and tightly sealed lips indicating a sense of seriousness. On her desk sat a gold plaque with the Konoha leaf carved into it, and a mess of papers. Clearly, she wasn't the most organized person, but when she meant business, she meant it. And this was one of those times.

"Tsunade, a dead body was found on the banks of the Eastern Konoha River."

"And?"

"And his ninja plate proves that he is one of our own."

"Let me see the pictures."

The ANBU member reluctantly handed over the folder of selected photographs taken at the crime scene. He had been working with forensics for quite some time now and knew Tsunade did not care for stray details. Rather, she liked when people got straight to the point. That was precisely what he would do usually , but this was not an ordinary case. In fact, telling Tsunade about the details of this case directly was simply a bad idea, as agreed unanimously by his peers. They advised him to keep the victim's identity secret for as long as he could manage; he'd try to follow the suggestion. But it was difficult since Tsunade questioned him so thoroughly and quickly. He ended up blurting everything out.

"Our team thoroughly searched for important clues. We've determined that the death was intentional."

"Murder?"

"Suicide. And a quite clever one at that. Nobody noticed it for weeks."

Tsunade was still looking through the report. The victim was so young, but not only that. Judging from his body features, he also seemed overwhelmingly strong. Did she recognize this person?

"Ma'am, the body has been identified as..."

A look of horror creeped over her face as she examined the final picture- the deceased's face. The black onyx eyes, the dark blue hair- her realization was inevitable.

Tsunade gasped.

"Uchiha...Sasuke..."

"I don't believe this," Tsunade continued, "How accurate was your investigation?"

"Accurate enough to know that this is undoubtedly the Uchiha Sasuke," the ninja replied.

Tsunade laid back on the wooden chair and closed her eyes. Her breaths were deep, but silent; taking these calmed her down. It couldn't be a suicide. Somebody must have planned for his murder. Itachi? Did Itachi do this to further the Sharingan's exclusiveness? Sasuke had been getting more powerful from intensive training. Was Sasuke's brother frightened of his vow of vengeance, and thus killed him before he could carry out his promise? Or perhaps Orochimaru is behind this?

Solving the case was challenging, but there was a larger problem at hand. What would she do next? Being the Hokage was a complicated job; for twenty-four hours a day Konoha had to be kept under close surveillance. On top of that, loads of paperwork, mission assignments, and Konohamaru had to be dealt with. The villagers depended on you to provide stability and peace. Protection. And assurance. They relied on the Hokage for the comfort of being safe. For knowing there was a companion high up in the ranks who would defend them. Someone who would make the decision best suited for them. Somebody who was honest and trustworthy. Tsunade had to be that person. But now, she was clueless on what her next move was. Sasuke's death would be an enormous blow to the village, how would she reveal it to everyone? What would she do next?

Tsunade held many regrets after accepting the title of Hokage. She used to be a legendary Sannin, a carefree woman who had nothing to fear, except getting into debt from gambling too much, or having a hangover from last night's heavy drinking. These were the simplicities of her former unrestricted life. Just her and Shizune, travelling the world, having fun, living with ease. But now her schedule was filled with duty, responsibility, and loyalty to her village. She had left Konoha, living incognito just to escape from that moral code she had always been taught to follow. Yet she found herself confronted by it once more. She was trapped. It was despicable for a Hokage to abandon her village, thus resigning was not an option. Resigning represented all the qualities that dedicated ninjas rejected; it was dishonorable, a sign of betrayal, surrender, unfaithfulness. Tsunade could never face that kind of humiliation. As strong as she was, that was one thing she could not handle. What a change it would be, from admired hero to a scumbag who left her village. Tsunade was confined inside a wall that she could not climb, the boundary of ethics.

"Alright," Tsunade ordered, "Prepare the funeral for Uchiha Sasuke. I will inform the villagers about the…startling situation this afternoon."

"Right away, Hokage," the ninja answered. He left the room quickly.

"Shizune, pass out some flyers telling everyone to meet at the Forum twelve o'clock sharp."

The dark-haired girl had been standing beside Tsunade during this entire conversation, but she was so quiet that her presence wasn't even noticed. She was traumatized by the information the ANBU member had just released. Tsunade understood that this kind of reaction was to be expected from Leaf Village when she made the announcement. It was what she had feared. The village needed to be heavily protected at this time; there was the threat of the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and countless more dangerous ninjas that had not yet been discovered. It seemed that Sasuke's death had come at the opportune time for enemies to advance. In a short while, a blanket of sorrow would descend upon Konoha, and remain for a very long time.

However, Tsunade couldn't keep this a secret from the village; her students, her friends, her supporters- they bestowed to her the title of Hokage because they believed she was competent. Inconceivable as this event was, the truth must be let told. Sasuke had died so young, with a bright future at hand. He could've surpassed the most legendary ninjas, achieved something that would go down in history. His growth rate was spectacular, and his feats innumerable. Why did this have to happen? Tsunade decided she would try to soften the blow by givng a speech about how cherished Sasuke was, and by asking close friends to speak for him. She supposed Kakashi's team seven would like to be speakers. Naruto won't make a fool of himself, she thought and chuckled with a tear streaming down her face.

At that moment, the ANBU member who had been talking to Tsunade just seconds before ran into her office, out of breath.

"He's...he..."

"Who's what? Spill it," commanded Tsunade as she casually wiped her eyes.

"He's gone," the ANBU member said, "The Uchiha's body...it's gone."

Yeah, I'm working on Chapter 1.