Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The Savior That Can't Be Saved

Chapter 12:

The Uchiha's Disorder: A New Leader, A New Future

Uchiha Mikoto stood outside her house that was inside the Uchiha compound, remembering the details and just of the meeting she went through earlier in the day. She knew that the Uchiha Clan elders were still debating on who would rule their clan after the failed coup and uprising against the village of Konohagakure, where the clan had resided for decades and a couple of centuries. After all, Fugaku, her husband, was a leader praised by much of the Uchiha's population for his clan laws and strict attitude, something that was positive in the eyes of the more traditional, typical clan members. She was too busy with the meeting to even think of going to the execution of her former husband, not that she would have gone if she could as she felt their marriage was already tearing apart after the birth of her younger son, Sasuke.

After all, very shortly afterward was the Kyuubi attack, a disastrous event that shook not only the village in general, but affected the fates of her family, her clan, and the family of her best friend, Uzumaki Kushina. The release of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox on the village definitely signified the death of the last Uzumaki, but another Uzumaki was born that day, her son Naruto, who obviously would share the burden of having to contain the biju in his body for the rest of his life. When Mikoto heard the news of the death of the person she held most dear, besides her children, and saw the body of the Red Hot Habanero, she broke down completely and, somehow; found herself looking inside a mirror when her eyes slowly and painfully morphed into a reminder of what happened on the day, the tenth of October.

Her normal, three-tomoe, crimson-red Sharingan eyes became twisted and changed until they morphed into her form of Mangekyo Sharingan, staring at her sharply and teasingly, to torture her into remembering her happy days with her friend and the feeling of never seeing her again bit into her soul. Her eyes now had halves of figures that looked like cherry blossoms pointed at each of the twelve points of the center of her newly developed eyes. The center of the twelve-pointed shuriken displayed a deeper, darker pupil that looked like an upside-down five-point star. The lines of darkness contrasted the crimson blood color that the whole eye seemed to swallow up, almost as if it was thinking that eating blood would give it blood that could make it live longer and easier.

The moment she saw those eyes, she vowed to never ever use them unless it was a life-or-death situation that affected her children. They just haunted her of how she got them and how she wished they would just fade away if she never used them. They held no use other than to remind her of why she was miserable, why she was so immersed with sadness; the eyes reminded her that she had no bright light or sunshine to rain down upon her face and make her feel alright. She felt she was too far gone, that she would never find a perfectly happy life.

But she would try, damn it!

She would have to try… …for Sasuke and Itachi…, for her sons…

Those two were her main…, no, her only reason to be living right now. Mikoto shook her head for a moment when she remember someone else she had a reason to live for, Uzumaki Naruto. She had to live to see the child of her dearest friend grow up, see his struggles and achievements, see his career as a shinobi, a ninja, unfold, and see how much he grows up, seeing if he becomes like his father, his mother, or has traces of both.

Besides if she didn't look, who would look at his achievements, his growth, and his life?

No one…

Well, besides the Third Hokage, her elder son, and his senseis, Umino Iruka, who had gotten attached to Naruto in the Academy after teaching him, seeing his own face on Naruto's, and Hatake Kakashi, his new sensei that was already watching over him since he is his deceased sensei's son. But the village… no, no one would look at Naruto in a light that would acknowledge his growth unless they fully saw him pull all the stops and become a full-fledged hero, and even then some would just ignore it, still thinking of the childish, happy-go-lucky brat that seemed to always have a crescent moon grin on his face.

She had seen Naruto sometimes recently though and she had seen what his face held when he gripped his forehead protector, strolling down the streets of Konohgakure with an expression of just pure happiness, not a fake smile like his usual wide, cracking grin. Then, Fugaku just had to take that happiness away, just because of his hidden grudge with not only the Kyuubi that Naruto held inside him, reminding the man of the day that sealed the fate of the Uchiha Clan, but with the one that sealed that very beast inside the little blond boy, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, the Fourth.

Fugaku could plainly tell Naruto was the spawn of Minato and Kushina. The face that Naruto wore that reminded him and Mikoto of the red haired Kushina and the towering blond mountain range of the Yellow Flash were clearly displayed out for everyone to see. It was amazing and terribly shocking that the majority of Konohagakure, which included practically all of the normal citizen population of the village, did see the resemblance of Naruto to their former leader and hero. Clearly, rage and emotions that were left from the Kyuubi attack still rang out and hang inside the minds of Konohagakure's inhabitants, blinding people from what they see the boy as. He is a scapegoat, someone to blame that attack for, someone to blame for why their lives are so miserable and dead, like the Uchiha Clan and their situation with the attack as well.

After all, it is clearly known by the majority of the residents of the village that the eyes that the members of the Uchiha Clan hold, the Sharingan, can control the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, shown in the history books when telling the tale of the epic brawl of Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, and Uchiha Madara, the first and only really known Uchiha to have been seen controlling the beast. But somehow, someone decided to attack the village that day, the day that the Fourth's boy would be born, and end up having the Fourth die by sealing the demon inside his own son.

Though if this was not the work of the fabled Uchiha Madara, then who would have enough of as grudge against the clan and the village of Konoha to release the biju onto the village and seal the inevitable clash of the Uchiha and the village itself?

Mikoto sighed at what she was thinking about, rubbing her hand on her forehead, feeling a headache erupting inside her cranium. She turned in toward her home when she felt a presence near her, one that definitely held malice for her. She wondered who would have such hatred for her, hiding in the shadows for a moment when she would let her guard down, be defenseless, and easy to kill. Though, secretly, she knew who would probably be attempting to murder her and it hurt her a bit to have her own clan, in a way, go against her.

Almost clearly, there was bound to be an elder, an Uchiha, where she was feeling this roll of killing intent from, faint yet clear. She knew why this person had come, and she could tell it was probably one of the members of the council that didn't want her to become leader of the clan. The reasons why were their own. They could be because she was a woman, something some men in the clan despised. After all, Fugaku was clearly not the loving husband; anybody could have seen that and could tell the Uchiha would stubborn to the core. Another main reason is because she was different than the majority of the clan, clearing someone that would bring the Uchiha to a different path than Fugaku or even any of the other leaders of the clan like Madara. Her views were simply her own, wanting to make the Uchiha a clan that was proud, respected, and feared in a different way than now. She wanted them to be accepted as an asset to the village, not something that was feared and wanted to be rid of.

She, after all, got along really well with the citizens of Konohagakure, whether they were the shinobi forces, young children, or the civilians that held no shinobi training and got their money from stores and shops that sold their goods and services. She was almost the complete opposite of the ordinary, stereotypical Uchiha that was seen in the Police Force or even in ANBU Black Ops or just strolling down the streets. She didn't hold in air of arrogance and pride in the way almost all the Uchiha do; she held herself like a kind woman, a perfect figure of a mother.

She sighed once again when she felt that the attacker was about to pounce, grabbing the katana displayed on the inside of a wall she was beside, drawing it quicker than the attacker predicted. She turned swiftly with an elegant and deadly spin, clashing the blade she randomly grabbed with the attacker's well-used kunai that still seemed to be strong enough to block the katana. The hooded Uchiha gasped in shock at what she was capable of, having not been a shinobi in Konohagakure's forces since the birth of her son Itachi, but the gasp faded into obscurity as the attacker glared at her through the darkness of the night and his black hood with his shining, crimson-red Sharingan eyes displayed clearly with the emotion of rage and hatred.

Mikoto put more muscle into the sword, slicing through the worn kunai, not easily though, as the attacker quickly jumped backward with ease, rising from his position to stand in front of her. The figure was only a few inches taller than her as she noted the bangs of black hair that moved when the person jumped backward, dancing shortly with the wind before hiding from her in the safety of the hood. She, for the first time in a long while, glared at the figure before her, wanting to end this quickly and not risk being injured. She didn't want Itachi or Sasuke being worried for her, after all. She was the one that was supposed to worry about them and herself, not those two worrying about what happened to her because of some random typical Uchiha.

"So, you aren't as rusty as I thought, eh, bitch," the hooded Uchiha grunted out as he flung some shuriken out from his hands, letting the stars float on the air toward the women. She swung the sword she held, making the few throwing stars drop to the ground right in front of her. "Definitely not as weak as I thought you would be." His eyes narrowed at her. "Have you been training all those years in secret when we've thought you were not being a shinobi, just taking care of your kids?!" The tongue he held in his mouth slipped through his lips, hissing out his words in anger, barely holding back his deepest, harshest feelings.

She held her glare upon the man, telling from the deep voice that hit her ears from the hidden hood on his cloak. "It matters not what I do with my time. I haven't done anything that has hurt or damaged the clan so you have no reason at all to even think of attacking me like this."

The hidden man chuckled harshly before cackling wildly and uncontrollably at what the female Uchiha said to him. He pulled his eyebrows down hard, glaring fiercer than he had earlier, his frown deepening into something darker and enraged. "Oh, I have plenty of reasons why I should take your head right here, lady! And I have no reason whatsoever to tell you them so don't even think of asking me!"

She just stood there, wondering what the hooded man was going to try next or pull out of his sleeves. He clearly wanted her to be dead and gone. The man suddenly rushed toward her, drawing out kunai from each of his long, black sleeves. The shinobi swiftly shifted his movements, appearing right in front of Mikoto, pushing his kunai knives toward her, but she countered one of the kunai with her katana, distracting and surprising him enough that she moved her right foot off the ground and into the man's stomach, causing him to lose grip of both weapons.

The female shinobi moved backward almost like it was second nature to her, flashing through familiar hand signs, getting more of a grasp on her abilities, her hiding power. She quickly breathed in some air and, then, released the air out, causing the air to come out of her mouth as a ball of blazing fire, hitting the man right where he had fallen.

"ERAHHHHH!" the hooded Uchiha shrieked out into the air as his body became nothing but ashes and weakening flames. The metal plate of his Konohagakure headband had fallen from the fabric that was ashes now was shining, glistening that light and color of the flames that killed its wearer. There was a line through most of the village's symbol of the dead man's headband.

Mikoto breathed out heavily, feeling the impact of her lack of training all these years and that she had just killed a person. She didn't care that the person she killed was a rogue that was against the village; she didn't even really fully notice that. All she knew was that she had just killed someone…

…Until she noticed the familiar sound of a jutsu being performed, noticing the body changing into a pile of oaky ashes from a stump. She quickly turned toward the sound of heavy breathing, seeing the man look at her, part of his face charred with ash from the wicked flames he resided in for a mere second. His right hand grew black from the flames' destructive yet magical touch, yielding the limp useless as the man winced at the sensation the flesh gave his body, the pain of the rising fire.

His hood was no longer covering his face, allowing her to see his left side as what he would normally look like. The left side of his face looked royal-like, stuck up with his rising chin and calm yet fierce crimson red eyes that just kept staring, glaring into her eyes. A bang of typical black hair was beside his eye, almost as if it was trying to take away the man's sight; after all, she could see his right eye was closed, showing signs of the fire's path of destruction that showed little instances of crossing to the left side of his face on his nose and chin, overlapping over them and fitting together like puzzle pieces. His hair showed signs of the burning, part of it being completely burned, which left him with almost no hair on one side, showing like tuffs of where quite a bit of hair must have been, and almost complete hair on his other side, showing only minor burns here and there.

The cloak he wore was burned, leaving him in a typical green Chunin vest and black pants that showed that he once was a part of the Uchiha Police Force, the familiar shuriken symbol appearing near his shoulder on his clothing. His non-burnt hand was twitching, showing that he flung those shuriken from his right hand and his shuriken pouch was just ash now; the metals joining with the flame. He silently cursed his luck, biting his lip in fury at how she caught him off guard.

"Damn it," the man wheezed out of his throat, the flames getting caught in his throat and lungs. He was glaring at Mikoto once again. "Fugaku already told me that this would be easy, that you haven't really been training for a long while, since you gave birth to Itachi, always told me how easily we could take you if it had come to it!"

She just stared blankly at the man, hearing the approaching footsteps of a shinobi that felt like an ANBU level from the way they carried themselves. She sighed; it was most likely her son, Itachi. After all, she hadn't seen much of him today. Probably because what he had to do in front of the village today, kill his very own father. She kept her gaze on the wounded ninja that attempted to kill her and she spoke.

"Then, it is your fault for underestimating me." Mikoto said to the man. "I knew you weren't going all out so I had to get the upper hand and get you into the position that you are now as quickly as I could. It ended up working according to plan too."

The man gritted his teeth, holding back his barking, just glaring harshly at the women when an ANBU Black Ops member popped out of nowhere, making the man's eyes pop open wide like they were the gates of Hell and he was going inside them. The ANBU first looked at the man on the ground, seeing the burns on his abandoned cloak and the rest of his clothes and body, noting that they obviously came from the Uchiha trademark technique, the Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu. He, then, turned his eyes to Mikoto, guessing that she had burned him. For what reason, he didn't know, but he would find out.

And with his observations done, he spoke.

"So, what happened to you, Uchiha-san," the ANBU asked her as the voice definitely was Itachi's.

So, I was right… Mikoto thought quickly before bringing her attention to her son and the situation before her. "I was sitting out here, thinking, when I felt a presence of killing intent coming from the many trees here. A little after that, I felt the presence pounce toward me and I quickly pulled a katana that was on the other side of the wall here and blocked their attack. I turned to see this hooded man you see on the ground as he commented on how well I blocked his attack for not having been a shinobi for years, striking me with shuriken. I blocked those as he approached me with two kunai in hand and I rushed in, countering one kunai and moving quick enough to kick him in the stomach, making him lose grip of both of his knives.

"I, then, moved backward on instinct and start to form the hand signs for the jutsu and hit him with it on his right side. He somehow pulled off a replacement jutsu just in time to not get completely burned, but he still seems to be struggling and those burns could be fatal on him, looking at how deep and how many there are."

The ANBU nodded and, then, looked at the man. "Is that all true, Uchiha-san?"

The man chuckled harshly as he looked at the ANBU. "Yeah, it is… There's no reason for me not to tell the truth. You could easily read it off of my expression and the way I am saying these words. No point for me to lie to you. I'd be in more trouble if I was caught doing that." He let out another chuckle, followed by a harsh cracking cough. "I guess I can tell you why I was attempting to kill her, no skin off my bones anymore."

The ANBU looked closely at the man as he chuckled once again with a crooked smile, "I guess I have your complete attention now." He looked at the ANBU and then began to speak. "I'll keep this as short as possible. One of the elders on the Uchiha council doesn't want her to become the new leader of the clan so he acquired some people like me for the proposition and I was the only one to take up the offer. After all, he was promising some sweet stuff like training and secrets of the Uchiha Clan that have only been heard by a little of the clan. I was curious and my anger for the death of our former leader made my decision for me."

He let out another chuckle as he stared blankly at the masked face before him. "I don't even know which elder; he kept his face hidden from me the whole time and communicated through one of his friends in the clan. His friend in the clan, though, killed himself shortly after the execution of our former leader, so you can't track him down or nothing."

Itachi looked at the man before him. "I already know who you are talking about as I've dealt with him already."

The other Uchiha looked shocked and stunned for a moment before glaring at the ANBU. "There's absolutely no way that you already dealt with him! You didn't even know what he had done at that time!"

"That's true," the black ops stated before staring blankly at the man before him, "but he did attempt to kill an ANBU, which is simply calling for some sort of punishment."

"What black ops would he even try to kill," the man questioned, wonder why the hell he would do something that drastic.

"The black ops member would be," the masked shinobi said, moving his mask a little, showing his left crimson red eye that morphed to have a design of a three-pronged shuriken with each prong twisting into some direction, "…me…"

This caused the man to widen his eyes in surprise for a moment before his eyes were crinkling, almost closing, until a sharp black orb was piercing, or trying to pierce, through the single showing eye. He cursed at himself, but still kept his narrowed eyes on the talented ninja before him. "I should have known it would be you…"

"And why is that…?" the masked shinobi merely asked, curious of the answer.

The man increased his glare on the masked face. "Because you killed our leader, your own father, you idiot! You were the member of the black ops that was tasked with carrying out the execution of Uchiha Fugaku! That is precisely the reason that he attempted to take your life! He was seeking revenge upon you, because you didn't have to be the one to do it! You could have easily had someone else execute him! You could have said…"

"No…," the black ops member said almost silently like a light wind's breeze barely escaping from his practically closed lips, "I had to be the one to do it, to end his life."

"No, you didn't!" The man furiously yelled at the young man before him. "Why were you even thinking that you had to do that?! I just don't understand!"

"Precisely," the young masked Uchiha said back to the man, now being right behind him. This shocked the man completely, wondering how the hell he got behind him when he felt a chop at his neck and consciousness leave him, right as he heard a whisper from the man that had made him pass out.

"You don't understand… not at all…"

And then the darkness took over him, leaving him with nothing at all.

XXX

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed at his office, looking at the piece of paper, before wearing a sad smile on his face. He knew that there had to be new leadership for the clan, and, at least, the one person chosen was someone he would get along with definitely. He lifted his head up to see the determined, ready face of Uchiha Mikoto; her expression almost one that reminded him of Kushina or Naruto. The old leader chuckled when he saw that face on her, puzzling some of the Uchiha Elders that had shown up with her to ensure their nomination of her.

"This was an awfully quick decision that you guys made," Sarutobi said, dawning a serious expression as he looked at the three Uchiha Clan members that filed into his office. "Are you for certain that she is the right person to lead your clan during this difficult time in the village? After all, I didn't like how certain members of your clan lost faith on the village and staged a coup, and I would definitely have to put in certain actions that won't be pretty if there's even a hint of another to come." Sarutobi smirked and chuckled internally at the sweat and fear radiating of the Uchiha elders, knowing that he still had what it took to be Konohagakure's Hokage.

"Yes, Hokage-sama…," one of the elders spoke out weakly before gaining strength in his voice. "We were approached by Mikoto-san and she definitely seems to be one of the best options for the betterment and future of our clan. Plus, she was the wife of our former leader…"

"But wasn't he the one who planned the coup," the Hokage said with a raise of his eyebrow. He asked this, but he most certainly knew Mikoto and knew she was almost the complete opposite of her dead husband.

"You know as much as us how much Mikoto cares for not only our clan, but the village as well." The other elder spoke up. "After all, she was very close friends with the Yondaime Hokage and his wife."

The mention of those two caused Mikoto to stiffen only for a slight moment before relaxing instantly afterward, but the shifting eyes of the wise leader already caught her. He had a slight frown, knowing the pain that the death of the couple had on the village. But he thinks that the death had the biggest effects on his former student, Jiraiya, their son, Uzumaki Naruto, and the kunoichi before him, Uchiha Mikoto. He quickly changed his expression with no one noticing his frown when he grew a calm, emotionless mask over his old face.

"Uchiha Mikoto," the worn voice of Hiruzen reached Mikoto's ears, causing her to raise her head and look at the old man.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," she said back to him, wondering what he was going to ask her.

"I want to hear from you right now and only you." His eyeballs never left her face for a single moment as she nodded in response. "As the leader of the Uchiha Clan, what do you plan to do to restore their relationship with Konohagakure? After all, it's not just the coup that has had my villagers fearing the clan, but the Kyuubi attack years ago is still in the minds and hearts of many people that live in the village, civilians and shinobi alike. So, what will you do with your new status?"

Mikoto already knew her answer; she's known her answer for quite some time and she had a ton of time to think about it. And with her fierce resolve, she spoke. "I will open the Uchiha Clan's living quarters and allow more openness for the area to seem that is more in the village. It will make clan members feel less secluded and more like they belong in the village. Another main thing is to allow the Uchiha Police Force to be turned into Konohagakure Police Force or terminate it completely and just use spare ANBU members to be the police. If that is alright with you, Hokage-sama, as I think it will make the Uchiha not feel as if they are being constantly watched and suspected of something that they are not guilty of."

She stopped speaking then as the Hokage started to have his chance to talk, asking her if she was done. The Uchiha women merely nodded as the Hokage cleared his throat and looked fiercely at the former kunoichi.

"I think that…" The elders and Mikoto stood silently with bated breath until the Sarutobi merely held a wide smile and put up a thumb. "…this is a splendid idea, Mikoto! You're the new leader!"

The Hokage couldn't help but laugh a good laugh at the expressions of the Uchiha members and how they crashed in their chairs at his reaction. "Ah, that felt good!" He smiled deeply at the about to be leader of the Uchiha Clan. "I always felt like you would be a great choice for the future of the Uchiha Clan, Mikoto. You even display traits of a Hokage! Now, I'll just sign this document and you'll be the new leader of your clan."

Mikoto rose from her chair and bowed to the leader quickly. "Thank you so much, Hokage-sama!"

The old man chuckled at her action as he dipped a pen into his black ink and began to write as he spoke. "No problem, Mikoto… I should be thinking you for finding the resolve to step up and become a leader of your clan." He put the Hokage Seal of Approvable on the document after his signature as he held a wide happy smile on his lips and gave the rolled up document to Mikoto. "There you go, Uchiha Mikoto. You're the new leader of your clan. I hope you bring the Uchiha Clan a much needed brighter future."

She smiled widely at Hiruzen and said, "I hope so too, Hokage-sama." And then she stepped outside the doors of the office and into the future that awaited her and her clan.