The Lesser Evil
Story Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with Naruto or its ideas.
Author's Notes: This idea has been nagging me and nagging me for a month now and I can not concentrate on Shattered Dreams until I at least get started on this. So here's the Lesser Evil.
Prologue: The Aftermath
Three people stood looking down at the now ugly man that they had cherished and held in such high regards. This man was no more; all that was left was an empty carcass that was missing an arm and a good. The once bright eyes were dark, no longer showing the vitality they had once held. Clutched to his chest was a small bundle that squirmed drawing all eyes towards it.
For in this area nothing moved except those three people, for everything was dead.
What had once been a lush land filled with much greenery now held nothing but a barren wasteland. No vegetation was left and deep craters marked where either bodies had hit or disappeared under a powerful attack. The land had never seen such destruction, not even during one of the three great shinobi wars.
Where in the wars cries from the wounded might be heard at the end of the battle, here nothing was. For nothing could have survived what had happened on this night.
The oldest member of the three bent down picking the small bundle up and looking at it curiously. The mess of blonde hair on the child's head was amazing enough considering that this man knew the baby was new born. Not only that but it's size as well.
There were three other distinguishing things that made the baby more prominent to the old man. Well technically there were eight things, but he was counting six of those as just one.
The first happened to be that the child had a massive imprisonment seal placed on its stomach. It covered the child's entire upper body, and though the old man was proficient in seals he was no master. Though he could tell that the seal was meant to contain something, he knew no more.
The second was the six marks on the child's face three on each cheek. With the way they were positioned they appeared to be similar to whisker marks. Since the old man had been there during the child's birth he knew it had not had these scars when it was born. Though now it did a slightly puzzling fact.
The third and final surprising fact about this child was this it was not only completely silent but also looking about. Its head was lifted slightly, not much for it didn't have the muscle power or strong enough bones to support its head. But enough to make it obvious and with its eyes open the same blue eyes that the now dead man had once wielded were shown for all to see.
The old man sighed, sadly for had he not known what the dead man had meant to do he knew that even with his incredible knowledge he could not have figured it out. Oh there would have been suspicions but no definite proof.
His two companions looked at him as he sighed; the one to his left spoke. He was an older man showing his age far more prominently then the one holding the child but he was younger then his comrade. He also wore glasses and a pair of formal robes, in contrast to the old man's shinobi gear.
"So… he really went through with it." The man's voice was hesitant as he said it, and fear was evident in his voice as he spoke. He was unsure of how to deal with this… thing that had been a child for mere moments before the dead man had corrupted it.
The final living member in the area spoke, her voice similar to her taller comrades. Her clothes as well, though she seemed mildly braver then him when she spoke about the child. "We will have to bring… it… before the council. Its fate must be decided soon." The old man wheeled on the woman his face distorted into a grimace of pain at the woman's choice of words and a snarl of anger.
"You should not speak of this child that way. He is our savior as much as my successor." He paused making sure that the implications of his words were soaked in by the two people with him. "We will leave now…" The old man looked down at the dead, larger version of the child in his arms. "We must meet the council."
As those words left the old mans mouth he felt a familiar feeling of foreboding. Similar to what he had felt when he'd charged through those tunnels to confirm the reports on what his student was doing with his villagers. The feeling also brought an unending sadness upon his shoulders.
† † † † †
Almost an hour later the old man and his two comrades stood in a very well furnished room. It was large and held a semi circular table that held a representative from every major shinobi clan in Konoha. Then ringed around it with plenty of room to spare was a completely circular table around which sat the entire civilian council. In the center of the entire room, half ringed by the Shinobi clans, and half by the civilian council sat the old man.
Along with his burden. On either side of him and set several feet back were his two comrades. As befitted their rank as senior advisors, it was their right to sit with him then the others. The old man sighed wondering what deity he had angered to bring such a thing on his head.
Or what deity was sick enough to bring such problems on a mere child's head. He shook his head to clear these errant thoughts and focused on what people were saying. It was just a loud clamor as many people spoke all at the same time. The old man grunted in such an annoyed manner that the shinobi immediately stopped speaking.
It took a moment, but the civilian council eventually realized that the shinobi had shut up because of the old man and not because they were conceding their positions. The old man looked around himself to meet the eyes of the majority of people within this room before speaking. His voice a wizened baritone that had too much softness for any shinobi, and yet an underlying sound of steel was always evident to remind people of his prowess.
"We are gathered for a reason, and it is not to bicker incessantly." He paused to strengthen his gaze into a steely glare at the loudest talkers before continuing on. "Namikaze Minato, formerly the Yondaime Hokage and the Yellow Flash of Konoha has sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into this child in order to save our village."
The old man was about to continue on when the talking started again, and the old mans steely gaze developed a hint of true unrefined anger into it. And blood lust began to leak into the room; several of the shinobi clenched their jaws while the civilians looked on in surprise.
As soon as the killing intent had been unleashed the child in the old man's arms had laughed. Any normal child would have cried but this… thing… had chosen to laugh at the formidable anger of the old man. It was relatively humbling for the old man, and he found it… entertaining. Well slightly, the kids laugh was rather disrespectful and had slightly ruined the moment.
But, what else could he expect from a recently born child who had already experienced more then most thirteen year olds.
Shaking his head slightly he spoke again, that underlying anger more present then before. "This child is not the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He is the jailor of the demon, not its reincarnation. I believe he should be raised honorably as a hero, as the Yondaime also wanted."
Instant chaos ensued at the old mans words, as literally everyone bickered for the man's attention in order to tell him he was wrong about how to treat the boy. Finally it was the Hyuuga's who drew the attention of the room. The man sitting there had been clan head for almost ten years by this point and his own heir was due to be born soon. "I do not believe that the… thing… should be raised at all, Hokage-Sama. It is too dangerous to be left alive, the Kyuubi no Kitsune could easily break free from such a… weak… prison."
The old man, having been identified as the new and old Hokage of Konoha frowned at the Hyuuga. He'd been hoping that the man's semi-close relationship with the Namikaze clan would have him supporting the boy being raised as a hero. Apparently that bridge had been burned as soon as the man who had carried the name had died.
Though admittedly he hadn't come right out and say it should be killed, he'd merely planted the idea of such a thing into everyone's heads. Clamoring from the civilian members began to call for the child's death. The Hokage sighed, more in annoyance this time then anything else.
"I believe a child that posses' such a demon could become a valuable tool and weapon for the village." The icy calm tone that these words were delivered in cut through the bickering of people and silence ensued. All eyes turned to the man that had said this. He was of average height, only about five foot seven, and had long black heir like the Hyuuga's only wilder and his eyes were black instead.
The fan symbol on his clothing marked him as an Uchiha, and the quality of his clothes and his bearing marked him as Uchiha Fugaku the clan head. The Hokage frowned; he'd suspected Danzo to make this request, not the Uchiha. In fact he'd figured the Uchiha would call for the boy's death more then anyone else.
The Hokage considered his thoughts; there were eight major shinobi clans in the village. Well their used to be nine but since the Hatake's had fallen from glory and the Namikaze's were now considered dead (since he didn't even consider telling these idiots the boys heritage, that was an immediate death sentence) the Shinobi council had once again devolved onto the same clans that had founded it. Except one. The Senju were down to two living members, one would more then likely not live through the night.
The other, hated the village and would not return to claim their seat any time soon. The Hokage sighed as he considered where each shinobi clan would place their vote, for that was what really mattered. Each portion of the civilian council generally followed a certain clan's guidance when in voting. It was, obviously, meant to garner favors from that clan by supporting them.
"I'd like the call a preliminary vote then and see where we stand." The Hokage frowned turned to look at Koharu, his long time advisor and former teammate. He knew both of his friends more then likely wanted the boy dead and it… irritated him to no end. But the agreement of the council was with the advisors and the Hokage visibly ground his teeth in anger as he spoke. His voice flat and commanding as he did so.
"Fine but this is merely a preliminary to see where people stand, it will not be followed until a final vote has been done." Everyone understood what that meant. If the Hokage didn't like the results they would return to the debate, it was his prerogative to do so.
"With that said, you have three choices. Let the boy live and be viewed as a Hero, Turn the boy into our 'ultimate' weapons, or kill him." The Hokage continued, voicing his opinion on each of the voting choices by simple voice inflection. He wasn't sure which thought he hated more, the second or third. Both were horrible but which would be better for the boy in the end?
He didn't know, nor was he sure he wanted to really think too much into it.
This time when he spoke it was to have the representatives of each clan stand and be recognized for what they were voting for. The Civilian council would follow.
† † † † †
The Hokage frowned, he had not expected the Preliminary vote to go well, but he had thought that maybe sometime of debate would bring more people around. But it appeared that in such a large crowd it was hard to convince anyone to let go of their prejudices, long enough to see a new thought.
It had been over three hours now since the second preliminary vote, which meant it was five hours from the first one. And still nothing seemed swayed much. In fact it was a damned near even tie with what to do.
Exactly one, repeat ONE, clan and its allies voted to have the boy treated as a hero and raised normally. The Sarutobi clan and its allies among the poorer merchants would end up being the deciding factor. This was obvious.
The Hyuuga, Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans plus their civilian council allies were all on the kill the boy bandwagon. Though that was one more clan then the Weapon Bandwagon the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans didn't have as strong a following in the civilian council as all the other clans. It was what was tying up this whole bothersome affair so much.
The Aburame, Inuzuka, and Uchiha clans plus their civilian council allies wanted to make the boy into a powerful weapon. It was quite simple wherever the Hokage choose to support would be the one that would win.
Not by an overwhelming majority, but definitely a win. At the moment the votes were something like a hundred and ten to a hundred and thirteen. Clearly not enough to pick one of the choices. It was at this point that Danzo choose to make his presence known.
He'd kept relatively quiet allowing the shinobi clans to duce it out and decide who would do what, it was probably what was making this so dangerous. The Hokage knew that if Danzo had been the one to offer up the idea the Inuzuka and Aburame's would never have gotten any where near it. But it had been the Uchiha's who'd offered it up.
Though they were generally noted to be the most aggressive members, well in a war like fashion, it hadn't been entirely surprising that they would give such a plan thought. And everyone knew an Uchiha did not follow anyone else's thought unless it benefited them the most.
"I believe, as I'm sure a majority of the rest of us here, that you should be decisive Hokage-Sama. You're clan could easily choose which option would be the most beneficial as it is obvious that no one here will support your option. So it is a waste of time for us to be debating about it any more, your clan has become the decisive factor Hokage-Sama."
The Hokage looked up at the scarred and mutilated man with an obvious frown adorned on his features. He felt like he had been set up, everyone knew how he wanted to protect that boy. And it would have been easily apparent even without his arguing and before the session had ever been caused that he would protect that boy. Simply because he believed no child should be treated so horribly.
Frowning the man wondered if he had been set up. He would feel guilty for any decision made here, but he would feel doubly guilty for anything now that it was his clan's choice. He made an unpleasant sound in the back of his throat as he considered all the options. Minato would not want either of these choices for his son, but what would he want? The Hokage sat up in his chair, there was only one choice he could make for the boy.
Though it would weigh heavily on his heart the old man knew he must do so because it was the only option left available to him. He couldn't let the boy die; he was the last hope for his clan. Though he would be treated harshly at least he would be alive and there would still be the chance that he could become better accepted as time passed, and wounds healed. Or so the old man hoped.
"So be it. The Sarutobi clan and the Hokage move to support for the boy to become a weapon of Konoha." Not many were surprised, though some undoubtedly were. It was a choice between killing the boy and giving him a hard, uncaring life. The old man sighed calling for the final vote, there were still details to be hashed out but at least the ultimate fate of the boy had been determined.
It took less then ten minuets for the final decision to be made, and it was amazing that the moment the Hokage himself moved to support the issue the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans also moved their support leaving only the Hyuuga's to support the boys death and giving them the more then two thirds majority they needed to win. The Hokage frowned; the more he thought about this the more and more it felt like a trap to him.
"With this decided that means the boy is officially made a ward of the village and put under my direct control. Until he has the capability of molding chakra he will be housed in the village under the assumed name of Uzumaki Naruto." The Hokage frowned, hoping against hope that the boy would be a late bloomer with his chakra. He doubted it, but there was always that hope.
Plus maybe he would be able to get some acceptance and love in the short time he would have to receive it. "Once he is capable of molding chakra he will begin his training to become a weapon under the teachers chosen for him. Until then he will need a place to stay, my cla…" The man was interrupted before he could finish, and this irritated him to no end for it was the Hyuuga doing so.
"I think it would be better if he were sent to live in the Orphanage. It would not do well for any clan to raise the boy for it might give him… loyalties to that clan more then any other. None of us will want any other to think they're trying to control our new tool." The Hokage frowned, he'd feared someone might suggest this and the way everyone was clamoring to follow this thought was unsettling.
He wouldn't be able to raise the boy with the love and affection he would need to sustain himself. Not if the entire council forbade anyone from adopting him, as it appeared they were going to do. The man looked down at the child feeling the need to weep for the horrible fate that he had been destined to.
"Fine." The Hokage's soft, cold voice cut through the voices like a scalpel through a person's skin. "If his mother does not survive he will become an Orphan until his ability to be trained is assured." He continued on in his cold, highly annoyed, killing intent laced voice. It brooked no argument, and no one would ever attempt one when he used this voice.
"However in concession I am creating two laws this night. Either you accept these two laws or my clan will be allowed to raise the boy as I see fit until he must be trained." He glared at the gathered people, daring someone to contest his words. But no one did… yet. They would wait to hear the laws before anything was said, if anything would be said at all.
"The first law will be that from this day forwards no one but myself and the boy shall be allowed to speak of what is sealed into the boy. No one! The penalty for breaking this law will be death, painful and publicly. Only myself, and the boy when he comes of age, will be allowed to give anyone permission to speak of it."
No one said anything; it wasn't like this was really a bad law. It didn't help anyone but the boy, and that was iffy at best for there were loop holes everywhere. The Hokage paused; he knew this next law would be the one that might bring objection. But he made sure the pause was made to look like a way to intimidate people rather then the hesitation that it really was.
"The second law will be that when the boy becomes a member of ANBU I will tell him of his heritage and until then no one will know what it is. Or if they manage to find out will not be aloud to speak of it, until it is publicly announced. If this law is broke, death will be your punishment." Frowns creased many a person's forehead as they thought about it. No one wanted the boy to become an official shinobi, that might give him too much standing.
But everyone wanted to know who the boy's parents were. And how were they supposed to find out now and brag to each other and find out who'd found out first? They nodded though, it was acceptable. For the Hokage had sworn to make it a public announcement. This meant that eventually everyone would know and the law would be repealed. The bragging could begin then.
"Good. Then you are all dismissed, I will take him to the orphanage if his mother dies."
It was a horrible end to a horrible day. It wasn't what anyone wanted in the end, but it was the only outcome and as the Hokage thought about it he figured this was the lesser evil of the two choices that he had. And the only choice he could have made, he just hoped that in a couple years when he looked back on this day he would feel the same.
in a couple years when he looked back on this day he would feel the same.
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Author's Notes: So hopefully some of you will tell me what you think. And to answer questions I would have if I was reading this:
For those of you who like pairings – Don't ask because I don't know. If it ever does crop up you'll know, until then –shrugs-.
This won't be a SUPER POWER Naruto thingy majigers but please consider that he is going to be training from the Age of four so he is going to be powerful. But he will have his faults.
Yes, this is a kinda doom and gloom kind of thing right now. If it picks up and the sun decides to come out, I'll be nice and warn you guys. Wouldn't want anyone dying of surprise.
Next Chapter: The Village