A/N: I do not Own the Naruto-verse
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the leader of Konohagakure and arguably the strongest shinobi in the Land of Fire, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Seated in front of him were Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. These three, together, comprised the Konoha Council.
"How did it come to this?" Hiruzen whispered, his voice cutting through the silence like steel. The kind and jovial visage he generally wore was absent today, his face a set of harsh lines.
"I suggest you order the ANBU out of hearing range. This conversation might contain sensitive secrets" Koharu suggested completely unfazed by the anger in his voice.
To a casual observer, the ANBU would have appeared stoic and unresponsive at the comment. They were, each and every single one of them, professionals. They had to be, as the Black Ops division of Konoha's considerable Military. They were the soldiers who carried out missions essential for Konoha's survival. Missions that could NOT be traced back to Konoha. If these operators fell into enemy hands, Konoha would renounce them and name them missing-nin.
Every ANBU knew this, they learned in vivid detail what awaited those who were caught by the enemy.
And yet Sarutobi's eyes, trained as they were at reading the nuances of body language, could see the slightest hint of tension in their bodies. Danzo would almost certainly notice it too. They were bristling at the indirect command, unwilling to leave the room. He understood where it stemmed from. The attack last night, had set them on edge. The uchiha clan had been almost entirely annihilated in one night. The once proud clan was reduced to only 5 members and instead of staying within the Hokage tower, Sarutobi had come here, to one of Konoha's secret bases at the outskirts of their village, to hold council.
To them, the threat level was unimaginably high. They didn't know who had attacked. Yet. They didn't know if another wave of attacks was planned. They didn't know anything right now, and they wouldn't, not until one of the surviving Uchihas became conscious enough to be debriefed.
However, Sarutobi knew. He knew exactly what had happened last night. He knew that it was an operation planned and carried out by at least one person in this room and he knew that there was not going to be a second wave. Not if he had anything to say about it. He would sooner kill the entirety of the Konoha Council than allow another Uchiha to come under attack. Here, in this room, he would learn their motives, their next moves. Here they would talk about their newest, darkest secret. A secret that could potentially cause the eruption of a civil war within Konoha. A war they could not afford. Not with Iwagakure and Kumogakure already sniffing at their borders greedily.
He waved his hand, a sign of clear dismissal.
Four ANBU stepped out of shadows, one from each corner of the room. Two of them moved out of the door and shut it. The others leapt out of the window and secured it, before moving out of sight.
They wouldn't go too far. He was certain they would barely stay out of range.
He shot a cursory glance around the room. There was another ANBU in the room. He could sense him clearly. The man wasn't trying to mask his presence.
"That means you too, Hatake." Sarutobi said, irritation creeping into his voice.
"It is my duty to advise you against this course of action Hokage-sama." Kakashi Hatake replied, moving out of the shadows.
He had his left eye uncovered, Sarutobi noted in faint surprise. Kakashi was really really on edge.
"It is not your duty to question the Hokage, it is your duty to obey him." Danzo replied silkily, his tone mocking.
That was as close to insubordination as an ANBU could get.
Sarutobi let it slide, Kakashi was paranoid because his partner, Itachi, was missing. He was the only Uchiha who wasn't accounted for. The rest were either dead or kept under guard.
"Your eye will do more good out there than in here." he said kindly.
There was a momentary pause before the ANBU nodded tightly and shunshined out of the room.
Sarutobi turned to the other's.
"We are alone now. Speak."
It was a command from a Kage to his subordinates. It was time for him to let them know who was in control of the meeting.
"I have no knowledge of this... Attack Hiruzen." Homura commented lightly, his lips tilted in a slight frown.
A single glance confirmed that the man was speaking the truth.
He turned to the other two. Danzo was completely calm, giving nothing away, but he caught the nigh imperceptible glance Koharu threw at Danzo, the slightest shift in her shoulder's as she settled in her seat.
He had the information he needed.
"You planned this." Sarutobi told Danzo mildly, his tone belying his anger. Nobody in the room was fooled.
"And you helped him." he continued turning the entire weight of his stare on Koharu.
"That is correct." Danzo replied inclining his head. "The Uchiha were planning on rising up against the village and taking the position of Hokage by force. Their foolish actions would have driven us to extinction at the hands of Iwa or Kumo. They HAD to be stopped. This was the only way."
"Ah, did it not occur to you, that I would be interested in knowing about this? That perhaps you should have brought the Uchiha's plans to my attention instead of acting uni-laterally?"
Danzo let out a bark of laughter.
"To what end? You already knew! In fact, you invited Fugaku Uchiha to speak to you hoping to quell a rebellion! Do you have any idea the mess you almost created Sarutobi? They could have moved their plan up. If I hadn't taken action yesterday, today Konoha might have been on fire!"
"Fugaku Uchiha was an honorable man." Sarutobi replied quietly, "He was a man pushed to the limit of his patience by this village, but he was honourable. He was smart enough to understand the need to avoid civil war. He would have listened and we could have hashed out an agreement. This much I know."
"The risk was too high." Koharu said quietly. "We had to take the initiative Hiruzen. He who attacks first, attacks twice."
"If there was even the slightest chance of getting through to them, we should've seized the opportunity."
"The moment you called for a meeting, they knew that we were aware of their plans. Like cornered rats, they already believed it was too late for them to back out."
"And if they had agreed instead? All the blood you spilt! It might have been a complete waste! Do not forget the strength of the Uchiha and their Sharingan. In one night, you not only killed dear friends, you also managed to considerably weaken Konoha and it's standing amongst the 5 Great Shinobi Nations!"
"We are shinobi, we do not live in the land of what-ifs." Danzo replied evenly, repeating the same words Tobirama Senju, Second Hokage of the Leaf Village, spoke when Madara Uchiha betrayed the leaf village for the last time. They were meant as a comfort to his older brother Hashirama who was blaming himself for not having done enough to help his traitorous friend.
"How... fitting." Sarutobi replied after a moment.
He sighed. The likelihood of Danzo being right was a higher than his own idealistic view. He had not become Hokage by ignoring the reality of the world they lived in. Nevertheless, he would still have liked to try.
Right now, however, he needed information.
"Enough talk about what might have been. Tell me, the name of your assassin."
"Itachi Uchiha." Danzo whispered his face calm, completely unruffled in the face of Sarutobi's wrath, "The mission for the elimination of the Uchiha clan was given to Itachi Uchiha."
Sarutobi cursed violently. The child was only 13 years old.
"The mission was an excellent opportunity. Itachi was already on an assignment. His task was to infiltrate Iwagakure and become a part of their military corps. The plan was for him to seemingly betray Konoha by leaking classified Konoha Intel to Iwa. Information that we know Kumo already possesses. This intelligence would look like a boon to Iwa, but when the 4th Shinobi war would begin, Kumo would have shared the information with their ally anyway. We did not lose anything we hadn't already lost. Even though Itachi was slowly gaining their trust, Iwagakure wanted solid proof that he was on their side. Nothing less would suffice. Itachi was already on thin ice when I tasked him with the Uchiha Massacre. Iwagakure knows how valuable the Sharingan is to Konoha. By eliminating most of the people who possess the valuable kekkai genkai, Itachi completed two objectives in one stroke. He cemented Iwagakure's trust in him while removing the problem of the Uchiha. When the 4th Great Shinobi war begins, we will have a loyal spy within Iwagakure. An operative who's loyalty to Konoha is beyond reproach. He will be an invaluable resource to our nation in the hard times ahead."
"Itachi Uchiha is a 13 year old boy, who was forced to kill his family under your command. He shall never be able to return to the Land of Fire, he will be a missing-nin forever. This is not how we treat loyal shinobi of the Leaf Danzo. You consigned him to a life of misery." Sarutobi replied furiously, "You've crossed a line this time Danzo, and I cannot allow you free reign anymore. I cannot risk you taking anymore uni-lateral action. Your ROOT corps will be dissolved and the soldiers will be added to the ranks of ANBU."
He turned the full force of his glare on Danzo. The man was almost vibrating with rage. His composure held together with tiny scraps of control.
"I did what I did for the good of our Village."
"That is the only reason you are still alive." Sarutobi replied, getting up from his seat. "This meeting is over."
He turned and walked halfway to the door before stopping.
"And Danzo, you will not attempt to strike against the remaining Uchiha. If you do, things will not end well for you."
There was a momentary silence that spoke volumes. When Danzo replied, he barely heard him.
"Understood."
A/N: There goes the second chapter. I hope you liked it. Next chapter will finally have some Naruto inside it. Do you think the Third Hokage played his role perfectly? Do you think Danzo was a little meeker than he should be? Review and tell me what ya'll think.
If you want to enjoy the fic and help my writing improve, you're gunna have to tell me what you want the characters to do.