AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.
Proofread by: Author
Alright, so here come some talks about politics and kidnappings. I wish to point out in advance, that I personally hold little interest in politics, and this all is written with my limited understanding of how clan politics may function in Konoha. Hopefully, it isn't hard to follow, or too difficult to see it as canon friendly, as that is what I'm attempting. But most of all, I hope you find this chapter enjoyable as the rest.
Chapter 113: Clan matters and votes
Sakura felt like she'd rather be anywhere else than where she was at that moment. Their mother and father were both there, wearing serious faces as they all sat around the dinner table. Kizashi had already told Mebuki everything before Sakura's and Heikō's return.
Sakura couldn't help but fidget under the gaze of their parents. Stroking their brain nervously, she was very tempted to flip it over to the other shoulder, shove Heikō into the front and escape the situation. Of course, the guilt she knew she'd feel from doing so was enough of a deterrent to prevent her from doing so.
Thankfully, their parents weren't viewing them with disapproval or anger. Although, Sakura wasn't sure that disappointment and understanding were any better.
"Now, we understand that you don't wish to talk with us regarding your kidnapping, but-" Kizashi began, only for Sakura to shake her head in denial, prompting Mebuki to stop Kizashi by placing a hand on top of his, letting Sakura speak and explain.
"It's not that I didn't want to talk about it with you, but I had to play along with the cover story. I can't tell you two all that much, since there's an S-ranked secret attached to it, and… and there's a possibility that just admitting it might be enough for you two to figure it out. I'd have to ask the Hokage for permission to tell you." Sakura admitted, which left her parents frowning before they sighed sadly.
"Alright. Although, can we still discuss what you can tell us? Are you alright, both of you?" Kizashi asked, and Sakura nodded, which seemed to alleviate some of their parents' concerns, as they visibly relaxed a bit.
"Like I said before. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but we got back at some of those involved and managed to escape with both information, and some amazing, if not intentionally learned techniques." Sakura explained, managing a small smile at the thought of having outsmarted and bested Kabuto.
Their mother smiled in response to Sakura's smile, although Kizashi's brows furrowed a bit, making Sakura almost panic as she wondered if she had already given away too much.
"Who was it that kidnapped you, and how did you manage to learn something unintentionally?" Kizashi asked, probing. Sakura bit her lip as she knew that the only answer she could give was already uncomfortably close to giving everything away. She needed to distract her parents with something more uncomfortable.
"I'm not allowed to say. As for what we learned… We learned to heal since I was always healed after being tortured." Sakura revealed, wincing at the horrified look of their parents.
"Torture…?" Mebuki asked, before standing up and walking over to Sakura, enveloping her in a hug. Sakura glanced at Kizashi and gulped as she saw how his hands had balled into fists and how his face had contorted into a strained expression. It was obvious that he was holding back his anger. Turning her attention back to their mother, Sakura returned the hug, trying to assure Mebuki that they were fine.
"I told you, we're fine. It's nothing we couldn't handle. It wasn't pleasant, but not unbearable." Sakura lied. The torture had nearly broken them after all. They had only held out for so long and recovered so quickly because of their Kekkei Genkai. It truly was a gift that kept on giving.
"Sweetie… perhaps it is best to maybe retire, to-" Mebuki began to say, making Sakura look at her in surprised horror at the mere suggestion as she figured out what their mother was suggesting. Heikō was already ranting in their head, about to take control and make her opinion known, only for all of them to be startled by the loud smack of Kizashi's palms on top of the table.
"No! Absolutely not. I won't let my daughters-" He stopped, before sighing sadly, hanging his head. "We can't." He continued, sounding as if he was about to cry.
"W-what?" Sakura asked, wondering what the hell was going on. Heikō's anger had evaporated and turned into concern instead.
"Honey?" Mebuki asked, prompting Kizashi to sigh before covering his eyes with his hands and dragging them down his face, tiredly.
"At the clan meeting today, we discussed a new act the Council tried to pass. It is called the Clan Restoration Act. We stopped it, but it was close. I was the deciding vote, and I said that as long as Sakura is determined to be a Shinobi, I wouldn't stand for something like that." Kizashi revealed, confusing his wife and daughters further.
"What is this Clan Restoration Act?" Mebuki asked, brows furrowed in suspicion, as she sat down next to Sakura.
Giving both Sakura and Mebuki a tired look, Kizashi saw them both looking at him, awaiting an answer. "It's as it sounds. A decree meant to ensure the survival of clans near extinction. The council is worried about how many clans have less than favorable odds of surviving for much longer. The Senju clan, the Uchiha clan, the newly established Haruno clan, and the Uzumaki clan are all threatened to disappear, all of them considered too valuable to allow to disappear according to the Council." Kizashi explained with a sigh, before elaborating further.
"Since the laws and protections already in place meant to protect clans from extinction aren't satisfying the Council, they've taken to try and create new ones. For example, this Clan Restoration Act, proposing that the last members of the threatened clans will become eligible for a program where the clan members will be paired up with suitable partners to ensure the survival of the clan." Kizashi explained, only for Mebuki to explode in outrage.
"How is that any different from what they're already attempting?!" Mebuki demanded, outraged.
"It isn't, but there's more to it. This would apply not just to civilian members of the clan, but also Shinobi members. And it wouldn't limit them to just one partner. If a clan's blood is considered threatened, they'd be allowed to take on multiple partners to restore their clan, and the council would be in charge of finding suitable partners if the clan itself can't find any." Kizashi explained, and Sakura couldn't help but stare at him, wide-eyed and shocked. How could something like that even be considered. Mebuki simply stared at her husband agape.
"You said it was a close call?" She asked, wondering how it could even have been considered a close call. Who in their right mind would even consider something like that?
Kizashi sneered. "Only because the council had their votes and were able to speak for the clans without any available representatives on the council," Kizashi explained, frowning at the memory.
"What do you mean? What clans are you talking about besides the Uchiha?" Mebuki asked, confused.
"Since this decision would affect all the clans, not just the ones part of the war council or the allied clans of Konohagakure, every possible clan head was present for this meeting. The clan representatives present at the meeting were the ones for the Aburame clan, the Akimichi clan, the Haruno clan, the Hatake clan, the Hyūga clan, the Inuzuka clan, the Nara clan, the Sarutobi clan, the Senju clan, the Shimura clan, and the Yamanaka clan." Kizashi listed, pausing for a moment, working his dry mouth, until Mebuki put down a glass of water in front of him, which he gladly took and nodded towards her in gratitude, before continuing.
"Each clan had one vote, but what made it so close was because the council took to representing any clans missing a representative. That is to say, the Hōki family, the Kurama clan, the Lee Clan, the Onikuma clan, the Uchiha clan, and the Uzumaki clan. They said they would be representing the absent clan's best interests, which is a bunch of crap." Kizashi told them, his voice filled with venom. "It didn't help that some of the Aburame clan actually agrees with the idea of the Clan Restoration Act, or that the council itself also had a vote which Tsunade wasn't allowed to weigh in on. Tsunade was only allowed one vote as a representative of the Senju clan. As a result, the vote was really close. The two from the council obviously voted for the act to be passed, which meant that the votes of all the absent clans were thrown into that category as well. In addition to that, the Aburame clan agreed with them as well, meaning the Clan Restoration Act had a total of eight votes. Only because all the other clans voted against this act we managed to avoid it being passed." Kizashi explained, shaking his head tiredly.
"What the hell? Naruto and Karin are the only Uzumaki I know of, and Sasuke is the last Uchiha in Konoha, why didn't they get to vote for themselves? Why weren't they invited?" Sakura demanded to know, mad to know that the council had decided to speak for her friends, without their knowledge. Heikō decided to pack away the knowledge that Hatake was a clan name and to try and ask about it or to look it up later.
Kizashi sighed again. "It's because of their age. Just like how you're too young to lead the Haruno clan, and I have to represent your interests, they would need someone to do so for them. Because Naruto and Sasuke no longer have parents, and no one has adopted them into their family, their family seats amongst the clans remain under the control of the council. Our family's addition has become a major upset as the balance has now shifted as we've been officially recognized as a Shinobi clan." Kizashi explained, although Sakura and Heikō still felt mad. The council and their way of doing things was pissing them off.
"And the other clans? I haven't even heard about most of them before, except for the Lee clan, although I didn't realize it was a clan name." Sakura pointed out.
Kizashi nodded in acknowledgment. "That's understandable. I hadn't heard of some of them myself before being briefed on them. The Lee clan, while small, actually does have an active representative, although Pac Lee was not present at the meeting due to being out on a mission. I believe the only other member of the clan is a boy just a bit older than you two by the name of Rock Lee. As for Uzumaki, Naruto and Karin are the only two eligible to become the next representative of the clan. Probably whichever one of them has a kid first. The Hōki family simply decided not to attend the meeting, but from what I know, all of their Shinobi are medical-nin either way, and they rarely concern themselves with politics, even if they have a seat at the table of clans. The Kurama clan are supposedly the best there is at Genjutsu, but few in numbers. They also decided not to attend, trusting the council to vote for them on the matter. Similarly, the Onikuma clan did the same." Kizashi explained about the clans that hadn't been present and therefore given their votes over to the council.
"That sucks! No way that should be allowed. A vote affecting all clans shouldn't be allowed until all clans can present a fair representative!" Sakura argued, and Kizashi nodded in agreement, sighing as he did so.
"I agree, and so did some of the other clan representatives, but this has been done already for the longest time, and the council has proven on many occasions to actually vote the interests of what the clans they represent would have voted for. As a result, they were allowed to continue, despite my protests, because it is how it has always been done." Kisazhi explained, clearly as annoyed by the fact as the rest of the Haruno family.
"Well, I'm going to tell Naruto and Sasuke. I'm sure they won't be pleased, and that the council will find it very difficult to get them to agree with their voting." Sakura decided, making Kizashi smile at the thought.
AN: So… the clans of Konohagakure. Isn't this a bit interesting? I could get into explaining why there's a Lee clan, which I suspect some don't find canon friendly and would point out is more of a thing in Boruto. However, I wish to believe that if Lee and his son alone can count as a clan, and the Haruno family doing the same, then Rock Lee and Pac Lee would be able to make up a clan as well.
I don't know anything about Pac Lee except for his existence. However, for this story, I will consider him Rock Lee's uncle and legal guardian. As for the Kurama clan, which is an Anime exclusive clan, I've decided to include them here, as this story follows the Anime timeline of events. The same goes for the Onikuma clan from Boruto, which is implied to have existed during Naruto/Shippuden as well.
If you notice any errors, inconsistencies, or have any questions concerning the story in general, feel free to send me a PM or leave a review.
