*drops down dead* Yeah I actually got to finish it xD More than 100 people arguing O.O Don't try it at home, folks xD
Moving on :) Naruto is forced to make a decision, and... What do you think will go down? Share your ideas (a.k.a. please review =P )
Also if anyone is interested, follow mirage-05 and Eleanor-Devil on deviantart for more on Sacrifices - illustrations and other things ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto peeps o.o
...
A dead silence followed as everyone in the meeting hall held their breath, intent on Naruto's answer.
"Let's not rush into anything," Naruto finally replied coolly.
"Rush? This happened because we weren't quick enough for judgement. Don't let your past cloud your decisions this time."
"I believe I'm capable of handling that part, thank you very much," Naruto said with a small squint, his tone decidedly colder than before.
Unconsciously, Konohamaru was aware that his hands were balled into fists, resting on the armsets of his chair. He felt ready to pounce up from where he sat, just waiting for another trigger.
"I believe Sarutobi-san has a good point. It will be for the good of the village that the boy goes away."
That was it.
"Hey, that's MY student you're talking about!" he snapped as he shot up, turning to face whoever had just spoken.
It was his former sensei, Ebisu. He had never really liked the man, but at that instant, it turned into a great distaste.
"Your student, let me remind you, whose father had killed your grandfather, the third."
"I know what Orochimaru did, but I'm not blaming Mitsuki for this!" the jounin shot back unbelievably. Did anyone really think he would take that on on a child?
The people in the room was watching the exchange intently, their eyes going from one to the other as if it was a tennis match. "I thought I taught you better than this." Ebisu finally said, adjusting his glasses.
"No, you only tried to teach me your point of view! Excuse me if I don't want a story like lord Seventh's to repeat itself!"
"Konohamaru," Naruto interjected softly. "That would do. I'm not bringing personal matters into this topic. And I would like everyone to act with the same sensitivity." he said, looking into Kichiro's eyes.
"Then don't. This isn't just a personal matter, this is a concern for all of the village. If that will deter any threats, the Hyuga demands the child to be exciled, too."
The jounin turned sharply to where the Hyuga clan sat, eyes widening. There she was, Hanabi, standing upright, and determinedly not looking towards him.
"You... you didn't just seriously say that."
Hanabi raised her head then, and he saw a hint of sadness pass through her expression before it was replaced by determination. "That's the resolution of the Hyuga." she repeated once again.
"Who knows what was the reason of him being sent here?" someone from the Nara clan interjected. "We all know what kind of being Orochimaru is..."
"Yeah, that would be his father," Shikamaru called from up front, his eyebrows a little furrowed. "The kid's name is Mitsuki."
"We don't know what kind of training he underwent with that traitor," a member of the Inuzuka put in matter-of-factly. "For all we know, he could be trained to be a killer."
"What?" Kiba scoffed, making the member of his clan turn to look at him. "How and when did we come to that deduction? He is just a kid."
"Kiba, just because you and Akamaru developed a liking to the boy doesn't mean he is a good person." Kiba's sister put in gently.
"You are saying that, Hana? You know better than me how the bond works between our dogs and other people."
"Well... this doesn't mean people can't be deceiving. And old age does affect Akamaru..."
She stopped mid-sentence when Kiba came to stand right in front of her.
"If he was a bad person, heck, even a killer, do you think he would take care of the pup? Or rather leave him alone? Or heck, if he was anything like his father, he could've just killed him to end his suffering. So tell me again why not to trust him." Kiba turned away from his sister, and addressed to the front. "I hereby claim my clan's view as ridiculous."
The Inuzuka were left speechless.
"I think we do need to think this matter out of the box." said someone from beside him, and Konohamaru turned to look at his younger cousin, Mirai. She had crossed her arms, and there was a firm expression on her face. "Like it or not, the kid is one of Konoha, and we should not just send him out there all alone just because."
"Why? What do you think that could happen? He's just a child after all." That was from Udon, his old teammate, and he had said it so casually, like it was nothing, that Konohamaru had the sudden urge to punch him.
"That's exactly our point." Kurenai joined in beside her daughter. Apparently, not all of those in their clan were jerks. "Some of us are willing to treat this case as if we are judging an adult whose treachery was proved. I see no such proof, hence, no such haste."
"That's exactly where our system has its flaws," Ibiki, the head of the interrogation squad cut in. "That kind of premonition whether we should take action in the wake of a possible threat. So many examples from the past, and we still haven't learned our lesson."
"Whoa, back up there for a second, do you even listen to what you are talking about?" Sakura exclaimed, holding her hands up. "How is that even fair? Blaming someone even before he did something?"
"What is wrong with a precaution? Do we need to take them only after things like this happen?" one of the ANBU said in a decidedly calm, emotionless voice.
"And it's not really like we cannot make the connection here." This came from Anko, Orochimaru's former student. "This is no ordinary person we are talking about. If anything, this kid is nothing more than a test subject whose intentions we know nothing about. Konoha shouldn't take such risks."
"Why don't all of you stop talking about the kid like he's an object?" Shino interjected. "He was one of my students, too, and I assure you that there were no weird behaviors that were displayed. To the contrary, he is quite normal for his age."
"And how do we know he is not play-acting?"
"Enough."
All of those who had been arguing stopped to look at Naruto, and the room went very silent.
"All of your views are taken into consideration. However..."
"I demand a voting." Kichiro said immediately, and although Naruto didn't say anything, it was clear that he didn't like it.
"Voting over what?" Kakashi asked calmly. "A voting is not necessary."
"Konoha is not gonna excile anybody." Tsunade put in simply, crossing her arms.
"This is not a light decision the Hokage office could alone make, not with so many clashing opinions. We demand voting, too." Hanabi added.
A buzz surrounded the room as many people agreed with the two heads of the clans. Naruto sighed and then raised his voice once again.
"We will have a break. You may discuss the issue. The voting will start in fifteen minutes."
...
He probably shouldn't have, but Konohamaru still went to find Hanabi as soon as they filed out of the meeting room. The Hyuga turned to him, wide-eyed when he grabbed her arm.
"Hanabi, stop this."
He watched as the black haired girl regained her composure after the initial moment of being caught off-guard. "Stop what?" she asked in a formal manner.
"What you've been saying... That can't be what you truly think! I know who you are, c'mon, Hana, you know this is not right deep down in your heart..."
"Konohamaru," she said, brows furrowed as a serious expression crossed her face. "Please, remember that this is a formal meeting, so there is no place for all these."
"Ugh! Just look into my eyes and tell me that is what you truly think!"
"That's enough! I made it a point not to involve my personal feelings in village business."
That was the last straw, and Konohamaru fet ice coating his tone when he next spoke. "I'm sorry, Lady Hanabi. I guess I never realized you didn't have a heart."
He saw a hurt fleeting hurt look in her eyes before they turned hard as steel. "Well, some of us have to think with their brains, not with their hearts."
The jounin didn't stay long after that.
It seemed like they weren't the only ones having a heated argument.
"Why do we always have to follow the Sarutobi?" Ino was asking to the head of the Yamanaka. "How can we blindly continue to support them even when the cause is wrong?"
"You know, she actually has a point..." one of the Yamanaka members mused thoughtfully.
"Our alliance should never falter," Chouji's father was saying. "It always helps to maintain a strong front against our enemies."
"Us maintaining a weak free will?" Choji asked sarcastically, earning himself a nasty look.
It sounded like there was too much opposition, too much hate, so much so that it seemed to burst out of the hall itself. Not being able to take much more of it, Konohamaru hurried out of the building.
He couldn't believe it. Since when did people of Konoha forget that they were supposed to be human beings?
In his frustration, he kicked at some of the pebbles.
'This was not the last they will hear from me,' he thought angrily, gritting his teeth. 'It is not gonna go down like this.'
"Konohamaru-san?"
He turned to the doorway to find Shizune there.
"The voting is about to start." she said. "Lord seventh expects all who will attend to proceed to the meeting room."
...
Naruto looked at those who were filing the room one by one, formulating his response in his mind as he did so. There were so many people, nearing a total of at least a hundred. He dared to hope not everyone had a hardened heart.
When at last the door was closed behind the last person, Naruto cleared his throat to get attention.
"We are going to do it like this," he began. "All of those who are in favor of..." he hesitated before saying the word. "exciling the child..." he continued, emphasizing the last word. "Please take your place on the left side of the room."
He waited with bated breath as people started filing to the left.
More than half...
Naruto felt his heart sank as he looked at the considerably few people left. He was relieved that at least none of his friends agreed with that view, although it pained him to see all of the Hyuga, led by his sister-in-law, Hanabi, were on the left corner.
He sighed. "In the case that some of you wish to remain neutral, those who are against, please move to the right."
There were only a few people in the middle of the room.
Naruto took a deep breath, feeling all of their eyes on him.
"Before I announce my decision, I would like to remind all of you of one thing." he began, and out of the corner of his eyes, saw some on the left stir uncomfortably. "We have been through many hardships. Many wars that cost many lives. Through the years I have served as your hokage, it had always been my priority to prevent differences turning into marginalization, mistakes turning into grudges... If I was to excile a child for the mistakes of his parent, I would go against everything I believed that would make me a good and fair leader."
"A leader should be ready to take action and defend his people. You have indeed gone soft over years of peace."
A loud thud cut into Kichiro's rant, and Naruto looked up with fire in his eyes.
"That," he snapped through gritted teeth, finally at the end of his patience, "has nothing to do with going soft over peace. I am not going to judge or punish a child for something that is beyond his control!"
"If we do not take immediate action, there will be more regrets! Lord third would never..."
That was a low blow, one which made Naruto flinch, and Kichiro actually stopped himself before he said something worse. Konohamaru scoffed.
"Bah. If you think my grandfather would ever shun a child because of something this stupid, you never got to know him at all."
"It's my final decision." Naruto put in, slowly but firmly. "Mitsuki stays. The meeting is hereby dismissed."
There was an uproar of protests, which Naruto mostly tuned out - until the Sarutobi leader's voice once again reached him.
"You will see that this was not the right decision to be made. This matter is far from over."
Something in his tone made the blond go cold. "Kichiro-san," he called over the rumble. "Do not forget about the decree - noone is allowed to harm the child under any circumstances."
The elder was just about to step out of the hall. When he heard him, he turned to look at the younger straight in the eyes. "You do not forget this - the decree had already been broken - and not by us."
...
Hope you enjoyed this chapter folks =) Stay tuned for more!