Council Meetings…and a unexpected visitor…

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Kyuubi talk"

'Kyuubi thought'

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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It had been a week since the worst day in Konoha history, the funeral had been held two days after the attack and now everyone was hard at work trying to rebuild their village. The funeral had been incredibly hard for Minato; all he had wanted to do there was break down and weep before the smiling pictures of his wife and Sensei. But he understood all to well that he was the central pillar from which all of Konoha drew its strength and he needed to be strong for them all. After the funeral, he had gone back to the duties a Hokage would have to do after such an attack.

The next day in a remarkable diplomatic move, he managed to secure a strong alliance with Suna, making sure that if anyone took advantage of their weakened state they would have backup. Most people in the village would never know of this, but the Shinobi who had heard it were all astounded.

But it was the week after the attack that Minato finally took off some time from drowning himself in work. After asking Sandaime to look after Naruto for a little bit, he headed off to the Memorial Stone. Once he got there, he was not surprised to see his own student, Kakashi, standing before it with a look of regret.

Not saying a word, the Hokage stopped next to the silver haired man and began to bore a hole in Jiraiya's name with his gaze. Looking over, Kakashi could see that his Sensei was troubled. His gaze was that of seriousness, regret, pain, and remorse. "I'm sorry Minato-sensei…about Kushina-senpai." 'I've never seen Sensei with such a serious look…their deaths must be affecting him so much more than he lets on.'

Initially the Hokage didn't respond, but stood there staring at the rock before them. After a couple minutes, he spoke up. "Kakashi…what do you think of my son? Knowing what he holds within him…"

"I…" He hesitated momentarily as he reached far into his mind to find how he really felt. "I see him as the hero he is, he'll have to keep that Fox inside of him his whole life…in my eyes he's more of a hero than even Jiraiya-sama, the hardships he'll go through in life, the hate from the public, not knowing why everyone glares at him. I don't know if I could handle such a burden."

Still starring at the rock Minato smiled slightly. "Good…well then to ensure that nothing will happen to him. I'm assigning you to shadow him whenever I'm not around and keep him safe. That is an ANBU's job after all."

"But Sensei…shouldn't I be used to make sure our village's power doesn't fall too much?!"

"No, this is more important…as much as I hate to think this way, with the Kyuubi inside of him…Naruto may become stronger than all of us one day, so for the village's sake he needs to be protected." Then his head slumped downwards if only for a moment. "Plus…you and Sandaime-sama are the only one's I fully trust anymore."

Kakashi understood completely, this wasn't an order from the boy's father, but from the Hokage. "Hai, Hokage-sama! When do I start?"

It was then that a small glint appeared in Minato's eye. "As soon as I get the Council to approve it…" He said quietly with a smirk.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows in a curious manner before slowly nodding. "Hai, Hokage-sama." With that he turned and rushed off in the direction of downtown Konoha, he did have other things to do that day and if he was to be assigned to Naruto he would need to get several things done beforehand.

Once Kakashi had left, Minato decided that it was about time he left as well. He was now on his way towards Hokage Tower so as to meet with the council when he began to think deeper into his idea while wondering if one of the council will be there. His mind was praying that he wouldn't be present at the meeting…him and his one eye.

Along the way back to the council, he remembered a saying that his Sensei had told him once, a saying that he in turn had learned from Sandaime. Minato smiled at the memory. "Memories, bonds, dreams…all these things are worth making sacrifices for because it is the legacy of the Will of Fire, and one day that Will shall pass on to those beneath you and it will only grow stronger." The memory set a new fire in Minato's heart; this was something e needed to do so that the future of the village was secure.

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Arriving at the council, the Hokage looked out the window at the bright blue sky before he sighed heavily and entered their meeting room. Seeing Sandaime, he gave a nod toward him, which he gave back to Yondiame. "Are you ready, Yondiame-sama?"

Minato nodded and he gave his grim face to Sandaime before saying, "Of course..." He said lightly before his eyes narrowed into a determined glare at the other two elders before him. "They're not going to lay a hand on Naruto."

With a small chuckle Sandaime motioned for the current Hokage to sit down at the table, he and Sandaime on one side and Homura and Koharu on the other. Homura saw them and stood up, speaking, "Good morning Hokage-sama. I believe you do know why we are here?"

"Of course I do. The issue of the Kyuubi is a grave one, but I will stand by my views on the subject. Naruto is a hero; he's holding that beast in him everyday and is going to for his entire life." Minato responded diplomatically.

Koharu shook her head and reasoned to his statement. "That may be true but how do we know that it won't take overtake the child? After all, Jiraiya-sama did seal him away but what if it escapes or…?" She paused momentarily before getting to the true aim of the council. "No…we should exile this container away from Konoha. "

Minato had seen this coming and had already planned ahead for it, but before that something she had said had ticked him off and he meant to correct it. "I hope you know that this 'container' you speak of is my son…Namikaze Naruto, and shall be addressed as such." His eyes narrowing at the two before him in a silent threat at their insult to his son's name. "But to your proposed idea…if that is the final conclusion…then I will be leaving with him." The two across from him gasped at what he was insinuating. "Yes, and I don't think having the leader of a village become a Missing-Nin would do any good for the village. In our troubled time, other nations might see it as a weakness and an opportunity to invade."

"You wouldn't dare…" Homura said between his teeth.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure that after hearing of my defection. The alliance that I created with Suna would vanish and they would be the first to attack."

Koharu narrowed her eyes at the blond man before her, he had completely trapped them. There was absolutely nothing they could do without risking a full out invasion on the village. Minato had foreseen this and made plans specifically to blackmail them into doing what he wanted. "You leave us no choice Hokage-sama…so what solution would you propose in order to keep the village safe from the contai…I mean your son?"

Minato inwardly smirks as his plans was coming to alive as he said, "Simple, any time in which I am not with Naruto, a ANBU of my choice will shadow him and keep an eye on him as well as protect him from any danger."

Homura slowly nodded while Kohana gave her disdain at Yondiame's idea. "A valid proposal, but do tell me why you should be allowed to hand pick this ANBU?"

Yondaime then coldly spoke to her, cornering them into his decision even more. "What other choice do you have? If you chose to exile Naruto, you lose your Hokage and will be invaded by neighbouring nations. On the other hand…if you choose to put my son to death…I can guarantee that not only will Konoha fall, but I will personally kill the two of you. So naturally the protection of Naruto should be your main concern, and after all the ANBU are our elite and no harm will befall anyone whom they protect."

The elders knew now that they had been out smarted and were forced to abide by the Hokage's decision. They didn't like the idea, but it was a logical one and could benefit them one day. Koharu's lips curved upwards slightly at her thoughts of the future. 'With the Kyuubi in the boy, he'll become very powerful one day…all the better for us.'

Knowing they were at his mercy, Homura quietly spoke their decision. "Very well, the council agrees with Hokage-sama's proposal that one ANBU bodyguard will stay with Naruto. Do you have your choice of which member…?"

Minato said, "I have already made arrangements, and his identity is of no concern to you, ANBU wear masks for a reason Homura-san."

Hearing that, Sandaime's jaw dropped. 'How far ahead had he planned? To think he got those two dancing in the palm of his hand with one threat!' A smirk crossed his face as he thought of how he had done it. 'You really taught him well Jiraiya.' "It's agreed then, it will all be left up to Yondaime-sama."

Homura and Koharu then looked at each other with a single glance to each other eyes; there was nothing they could do. So they did the only thing they could. "Very well."

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Elsewhere, a pale man with long stringy black hair and silted yellow eyes sat outside the village in a secluded spot in the forest. In his hand he held an odd ring with the kanji for Void on it. In his head he laughed at the perfect opportunity presented to him. It had been a day sent he had sent his message of needing an audience with one of the members and he was starting to get impatient. "Orochimaru..." He suddenly heard behind him.

Turning quickly he was suddenly face to face with what looked like a man sized Venus Flytrap wearing a black cloak with several red clouds adorned on it. "And you are…"

"Zetsu…now what news do you have for the Akatsuki?" The plant said in an almost robotic voice as the plant head opened up slightly to reveal a man's head with light green hair, half his face was white while the other half as black, and a pair of pupil-less yellow eyes.

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Look like something is happening between Orochimaru and Zetsu…but what? And how smart is Minato to think that far ahead of the elders?