"We have to look to the future." Stated the deceptively mild voice once again.
The Daimyo's most belligerent advisor vainly tried to raise an argument again, but quickly crumbled under the force of the Daimyo's aggressive listening. He had long since discovered than nothing unnerved an ambitious subordinate more than giving them your total attention, and regularly used this knowledge to vicious effect.
"B-but Daimyo-sama, should we not crush the land of Wind while we still can?" The Daimyo raised a politely incredulous eyebrow at this last attempt. "Sakumoto, do you mean to tell me you are actually ignorant of what has befallen Konoha? Or do you deem a crippling attack by greatest of the great demons to be a trifling matter?"
Sakumoto waved a hand dismissively." Nonsense. The Kyuubi barely accounted for half of the leaf shinobi. Between them and our Samurai armies, all opposition will be crushed!" A great cheer went up around the warmongers in the court. The ageing Asuma (a/n NOT the jounin) rolled his eyes, the only visible indication of his deep-seated irritation.
"You must go to war!" Sakumoto screamed, drunk with his newfound popularity. Asuma went very still. Some of the elder members of the court flinched involuntarily, having had that unearthly glare directed at them at some point. "Only one of sits on a throne, and yet YOU dare to give ME orders in my court!?" Asuma snarled, inwardly calm as ever. His so-called "black moods" were simply yet another tool he used to cow unruly subordinates; both Sarutobi and Minato regularly informed him that he would have made a terrifying shinobi. Ah well, too late for that, he thought wryly.
Suddenly the herald shouted "Shinobi messenger; one Kakashi Hatake."
In a blur of movement, the was a young boy about a year or two shy of his teenage years. He had an odd mop of silver hair, his hitae-ate was slanted to cover his left eye, and he seemed utterly unaffected by the sombre attitude of the daimyo's court. Everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting for the outburst of eloquence they imagined from shinobi.
"Yo."
While everyone else was still inwardly writhing in confusion, Asuma took advantage of the opportunity to ask the young jounin what the message was.
"Kyuubi has been sealed, but at the cost of Yondaime's life. Sarutobi-sama has retaken the office of Sandaime Hokage, and Orochimaru is starting to cause mischief again."
Asuma knew full well that Orochimaru had never stopped, and that Kakashi had used that card to avert another pointless war; the only indication he gave of this was a knowing smirk.
"Thank you Hatake that will be all. Oh and please inform the Hokage to at least try to make sure whatever poor child Minato sealed the Kyuubi within doesn't have his learning sabotaged too badly. The way things are going" another nasty glare in Sakumoto's direction "he may well end up being the land of fire's last hope."
A/n: There you have it; the prelude of my first story. I really cannot make any promises with update speed, but feel free to let me know what you think; constructive criticism more than welcomed.