Chapter 14 - Hokage

Jiraiya was laying in bed, the woman he spent last night with was still asleep in the bed next to him, when he heard a knock on his door.

'I wonder who that could be…' He got out of bed and pulled on a loose robe, grabbing a kunai and holding it under one of his sleeves. He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Jiraiya-sama." The Konoha shinobi in front of the door lowered his head respectfully. "I have a message for you from the Hokage." He said, handing the missive over to Jiraiya.

"Do you need to take a response back?" Jiraiya asked the shinobi.

"No sir, but you're being recalled to the village. You'll understand when you read that."

'Recalled? Something happened then…' Jiraiya thought. "I understand, good work."

The shinobi nodded and disappeared immediately, the mission having been completed.

Jiraiya closed the door and walked back over to his bed to sit down. He opened the scroll and began to read the contents. His frown deepened the more he read, eventually coming to rest at a full-on scowl.

'What the fuck were you thinking sensei? A fucking genocide..?' Jiraiya knew his sensei had a soft spot for his old teammates but he didn't think it was this bad. He knew that Danzō sometimes went behind his sensei's back, but to think the situation was this bad. 'How long has this been going on..?' Jiraiya sighed. 'It seems I've been away for too long.'

"It's time to get up." He said, slapping the woman's ass.

"Hmm.?" She groaned, opening her eyes.

"Get dressed, it's time for you to leave. Money is on the table." Jiraiya said flatly. He had too many things to be worrying about now.

The woman frowned slightly, but remained professional. She got dressed quickly, took the money and left after stopping to say: "Thank You for your business Jiraiya-sama. I hope to see you again." She winked at him and left, closing the door behind her.

Jiraiya didn't even hear her. He was lost in his thoughts as he dressed himself. 'This puts us in a precarious situation. Even if Shikaku is holding down the fort now, our enemies could use this time to attack us if they get wind of this.'

He pulled out a scroll, placing his bag onto it and sealing it away. He rolled up the scroll and put it in the pouch at his side.

'It would be best if Tsunade-chan also came back, but she's too stubborn for her own good.' Jiraiya sighed. "I'm gonna kill that old man…" He said, thinking about his sensei and the mess he got himself into.

Jiraiya left the inn and vanishing on spot when he got outside, heading back to Konohagakure at the fastest speed possible.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A restaurant in a small town suddenly had its peaceful atmosphere ended when a giant crashing noise came from a back room of the establishment, scaring the other customers.

"Tsunade-sama, please calm down!" A slender woman with straight shoulder length, black hair pleaded, clutching a small pink pig to her chest.

"I'll kill him!" A beautiful fair-skinned woman with long, straight blonde hair that was pulled into two loose ponytails shouted. "Shizune, I'll really kill him this time!"

The woman with blonde hair, Tsunade, kicked the mains of the table she just smashed into the wall.

"Tsunade-sama please! We'll have to pay for the damage y'know!?" Shizune was looking at the wrecked room and slightly panicking. 'We're going to have to sneak out of this town too, aren't we..' Shizune wanted to cry but she had no tears.

"Fuck!" Tsunade shouted again. "What was he thinking!? He nearly ruined everything he's worked for his entire life! The old man should have just stayed retired!"

"Are we returning then?" Shizune asked her, hugging the pig in her arms.

Tsunade rounded on her, giving her an intense look that made Shizune gulp. "When I left, I had said I was done. I said no more! Why would I want to go back to that shitty place!?" Tsunade didn't wait for Shizune to answer.

"Fuck! Shizune, we're leaving!" Tsunade said as she jumped out the window and started to run.

"Where are we going?" Shizune asked, running to catch up, feeling slightly guilty about the room they just left behind. She was used to it by this point though.

"We'll decide on the way." Tsunade said sharply.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Hmmm..?" An extremely pale skinned man, long straight black hair, and purple markings around his eyes, hummed to himself as he read the report his spy in Konohagakure just sent him.

"The old bastard is retiring for good this time huh?" The man scoffed. "If he thinks he can just retire and live the rest of his life in peace… hehehe.." The man let out an eerie chuckle.

"That Nara brat is the temporary Hokage, hm?" He thought to himself for a moment. "Not a bad choice admittedly, but it doesn't change anything. They're probably hoping for Tsunade or Jiraiya to take the position permanently." His eyes sharpened in hate.

"It should have been mine.. The old fool chose that brat though." A dangerous smile crept up onto his face. "No matter… I'd like to see just how this plays out. It seems our team might be having a reunion sooner than I thought…"

He stood up and walked over to a glass window, looking into the room behind. There was a naked boy strapped to the table, maybe 9 years old or so. There were tubes running from a vat of green liquid inserted into his arms. He was currently unconscious, possibly in a coma.

"I'd like to see just how their new generation matches up to mine." He licked his lips. "Five years, sensei, just wait a little longer to see your cute student again."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Shikaku was currently sitting at his desk in the Hokage's office. The position still seemed strange to him and he was busier than ever. A large stack of papers were in front of him on the desk, and it seemed more were being brought to him every couple minutes.

He had his head in his hands, elbows on the table as he stared down at the report he was currently reading. "Over 200 estimated root members… and only 60 have been discovered so far. With the 18 that were killed the other night, that leaves roughly 122 unaccounted for." He rubbed his temples. "The seals on them vanished, and none of the root member's we've interrogated know the names of all the other members. It seems Danzō was very careful to keep them in separate cells. What a drag…" Shikaku sighed

"Having fun?" Inoichi said, walking into the room.

"If you brought more paperwork, I quit." Shikaku said, gruffly.

"Then you can relax, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said, emphasizing Shikaku's new title. "I'm just coming with news, and to see if you needed any help."

"Is Jiraiya here? Tsunade? Can I quit now?" Shikaku looked up hopefully. He didn't know what he was thinking when he agreed to take this position.

"Not yet, sorry." Inoichi chuckled. "Morino Ibiki discovered another root member, and through him we've detained another seven."

"It's a start…" Shikaku sighed. "But not enough. We don't know what they're doing, nor where their loyalties lie. They know too much as well, if they choose to betray Konoha, they'll do some real damage."

"We'll get them. We just need some more time. Jiraiya at the very least should be here tonight. If he agrees to take the position, then you'll be free by the end of the festival tomorrow."

Shikaku stretched. "If he agrees. Maybe Hiruzen can convince him. Or we guilt him into cleaning up his sensei's mess."

"Jiraiya has a decent sense of honor. I doubt we'd have to guilt him, he's probably blaming himself already. At least he wasn't involved in any of this. Having a second sannin as an enemy of Konoha would be enough to keep me up at night." Inoichi added, taking some of the papers off the stack and beginning to work through them.

"How's Hiashi doing?" Shikaku asked suddenly, looking at his old friend.

"Not great. But that's to be expected after losing his wife." Said Inoichi, flipping through papers. "Having Hinata and Hanabi helps him though. He's currently focusing his efforts on Hanabi. Hinata's shishou should be back sometime tonight, so he's decided to leave her training to him and the academy for now. Hinata has no idea Hayate will be back in time for the festival though, I'm sure it will be a pleasant surprise for the girl."

"She needs it. She's been through a lot." Shikaku said.

"What do you think of her?" Inoichi asked suddenly.

"Hinata?" Shikaku thought to himself for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "She's a smart girl. Strong too, with a firm will."

Inoichi looked up from his papers and gave him a level stare. "What about her character?"

Shikaku looked back at him. "Why are you asking that?"

"I was in her mind, remember? I felt the emotions she had during the night Itachi attacked. There… are a few things that I can't understand. Then there was what Danzō told us before he killed himself. He told us to 'use' her, and that she knew more than we imagined. Why would he say that? What could an 8 year old know that would interest Danzō so much?"

Shikaku leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts.

"You know something don't you?" Inoichi pressed him. "I saw your reaction that night. You weren't surprised or confused by what Danzō said."

"I believe we can trust her." Shikaku said simply, not answering his questions. "But she's just a little girl. She's not to be involved in anything until she at least becomes a chūnin."

"Heh." Inoichi snorted. "Too late for that. The girl has a habit of getting involved in things, whether she wants to or not."

"Just leave her to me." Shikaku said, ending the conversation.

"Very well, I'll leave it to you." Inoichi went back to reading the papers.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hinata called out, using a hand seal. A second Hinata was standing in front of her as she studied the clone's appearance.

"Success!" Hinata said happily. She had been practicing her technique for a couple hours now, constantly tweaking it to get the appearance perfect, and she finally managed to do it successfully.

The clone followed her movements and moved silently along with her as she ran. She did a few cartwheels and flips, excitedly watching her clone perform the acrobatic stunts as well.

"I can finally show off in class when I return to the academy." She said to herself, smugly.

"As expected *cough cough* of my apprentice. Still training *cough* so diligently, even when you don't have classes." Hayate said, appearing next to her.

"Shishou! You're back!" Hinata turned and jumped up to give him a hug.

"Heya kid. I'm back." Hayate said while smiling, patting her head as she hung off of him. "Alright, alright. You *cough* can let go now."

"Don' wanna." Hinata said into his chest. "So much happened when you were gone…"

Hayate's smile faded. "I know.. I really let you down huh? The Hokage *cough* just filled me in when I reported my mission to him." He picked her up and hugged her back. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

"It's not your fault…" Hinata said, dropping down and giving him a smile.

'How is she still able to smile so brightly after everything that happened?' He thought to himself, looking at Hinata. 'She has more than enough reason to be depressed right now…'

"How are you doing?" He asked her, studying her face.

Hinata's smile faltered a bit, before she fixed it. "I'm fine. I've been training and hanging out with Izumi-san, to keep my mind off things."

'She's not fine.' Hayate thought, having caught her reaction to his question.

"Alright, well even so, I want you to talk to someone. It can be me, your dad, or someone else you trust, but you need *cough* to talk about what happened. Compartmentalization is important for a shinobi or kunoichi, but having you trust *cough cough* to talk about stuff is also important."

"I'm fine, really. There's nothing I need to talk about. Just give me some time." Hinata insisted.

"It's not a suggestion, it's an order, *cough* as your shishou. Find someone." Hayate told her. "It's the first thing ANBU operatives learn as well. They're actually required to confide in someone. Not about mission details like names and dates, but about *cough* what they've done. Whether it *cough* was an assassination, or espionage, they'll share what they can, while being as vague as possible about the important details. They still have to get it out, or it can *cough* eat them up inside. Konoha has no need of shinobi that are compromised and can't complete a mission because of past trauma."

Hinata looked at the ground. "Fine… I'll find some to talk about my feelings." 'Blegh.'

"Good. And when you do, *cough* tell me who it is, so I can check to make sure you're actually talking to them." Hayate said, smirking.

Hinata gave him a hard stare and stuck her tongue out. "Are we gonna train or what?"

"Alright girl, take out your bokken. We're gonna start with a spar."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Jiraiya stood on top of the Hokage mountain, staring down at the city below. "I suppose it's time we had a talk sensei…" He sighed before disappearing, not even disturbing the air around him or the dust beneath his feet.

He reappeared in front of a modest house at the base of the mountain. He walked towards the door and knocked.

Hiruzen opened the door and smiled wryly. 'He looks older.' Jiraiya noted.

"Sensei. I've returned."

"It's good to see you Jiraiya. I just wish it was under better circumstances." Hiruzen sighed.

"Do you want me to come inside before I start yelling, or do you want me to do it out here?" Jiraiya said, with a frown on his face, and his tone sharp.

Hiruzen winced a bit. "Please, come in."

Jiraiya stepped inside, waiting for the door to close before rounding on his old sensei.

"What were you thinking?" Jiraiya hissed. "A genocide? A fucking genocide?"

"We're Konoha! We're supposed to be better than that! I thought you were better than that!"

"I didn't order the ge-" Hiruzen started saying, but Jiraiya cut him off.

"No excuses sensei! It happened under your watch! You let that man run wild for far too long, which makes you responsible!" Jiraiya walked to the kitchen before sitting down in a chair and sighed. "I'm surprised the clans didn't call for your head as well. The situation was handled surprisingly well."

"That's because of the efforts of Hyūga Hinata and Nara Shikaku. They apparently planned the whole thing to avoid as many casualties as possible. They only demanded the execution of Danzō, and they had gotten the Daimyō on their side before we even knew what was going on."

"Hyūga Hinata? Who's that, the name wasn't in the report." Jiraiya asked.

"We've scrubbed her name from any official report on the matter." Hiruzen explained. "It was under Shikaku's orders."

"The Hokage's orders, you mean." Jiraiya said, giving him a look. "Your Hokage."

"The Hokage's orders." Hiruzen said, sitting down and sighing.

"I'm old Jiraiya…" He looked at his student who was getting along in age as well. "I didn't realize that much until I took the hat off last week. But now that I'm not constantly working, I really feel every bit of my age…"

"I want you to tell me everything. Every dirty secret you and the council did while you were in office. I don't care how embarrassed you are or what it was. I need to know so I can fix your mess and make sure nothing comes back to bite Konoha in the ass." Jiraiya said, fixing his gaze on his old sensei.

"Does that mean you will take the position as Hokage?" Hiruzen looked at his student hopefully.

"Tch. I'll decide after I hear the details and talk to the current Hokage. Who knows? He might not be willing to part with the position now." Jiraiya waved away the issue. "Start with this Hinata girl. What part did she play in all this mess?"

Hiruzen spent the next half hour telling Jiraiya about the events of the genocide, Hinata's involvement, and Danzō's death.

"She's 8?" Jiraiya said disbelievingly. "She planned that whole thing, and she's fucking 8 years old?"

"That's right. I could hardly believe it myself when I heard."

"She's going to be a terrifying kunoichi in a few years. If the academy's graduation age hadn't been pushed to a mandatory 11, I'd have her promoted to genin now." Jiraiya said. "You mentioned she had a shishou, what lucky bastard got her?"

"Gekkō Hayate. He's a tokubetsu jōnin, and 19 years old." Hiruzen told him.

"That's young. What's his specialty?"

"Kenjutsu, with a minor in genjutsu. He's not our best kenjutsu user, but he's in the top three and has the potential of becoming the best given a few more years. He's also proficient in ninjutsu, he mastered your tōton jutsu, as well as kage bunshin no jutsu." Explained Hiruzen. "He was hired to train her in kenjutsu and has trained her since she was 5 years old. He took her as his official apprentice a week before she started at the academy a couple weeks ago."

"Tōton no jutsu, hm?" Jiraiya said, rubbing his chin with a lascivious smile on his face. "I like him already."

Hiruzen snorted. "He's not a pervert like you, brat."

"No one is a pervert like me!" The pride in his voice as he said that made Hiruzen sigh and shake his head.

"*Ahem*, How good of a shinobi is he? Can he handle teaching a genius?" Jiraiya asked, dismissing the awkward moment.

"He's very talented. Not on Kakashi Hatake's level, but very few are. His greatest disadvantage is his young age. I'd be more comfortable if he was ten years older, but he's already accepted her and she's very attached to him."

"I see…" Jiraiya looked like he was thinking about something. "No matter then, we'll just speed up his growth."

"Meaning?" Hiruzen asked, confused by the statement.

"Send him to Rō for ANBU training." Jiraiya said with an evil grin. "Not to join ANBU of course, just to put him through the paces. When he's done, we'll test his abilities, if he's not up to snuff, we'll make him go through it again and increase the difficulty."

Hiruzen looked at him as if he lost his damn mind.

"What? I refuse to let a talent like Hinata go to waste because a rookie took on more than he can handle. I've seen too many geniuses waste their crucial developmental age, because of shinobi playing shishou but aren't able to give them the necessary training. Going through ANBU training will also teach him how to better train her, as well increase his own strength." The more Jiraiya spoke, the more he liked the sound of his own idea. "By the time Hinata has graduated from the academy he'll truly have the skills to polish her into a gem of Konoha."

"You'll have to become the Hokage if you want to order it done." Hiruzen pointed out with a sly smirk.

"Speaking of Hokages." Jiraiya said, dropping his smile. "Air out the other dirty laundry old man, leave nothing out."

Hiruzen sighed and began telling him the major secrets of what has happened in the village since Minato died. He went on speaking for over two hours and by the time he finished Jiraiya was pacing around the kitchen shouting expletives every once in a while, with a frown on his face.

Jiraiya walked towards the door to leave after he learned everything he needed to know. He turned around one last time to face his sensei. "I'll always love you old man, and respect you as a shinobi and my sensei. But you've lost my respect as a person." Jiraiya turned around an left before hearing Hiruzen's response.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Shikaku was still finishing his paperwork for the day when he heard someone appear in his office, coming in through the window.

"Still refuse to use the door, Kakashi?" Shikaku asked, not looking up from the paper he was reading.

"I'm not Kakashi." Jiraiya said, with a smile.

"Jiraiya-san!" Shikaku exclaimed, looking up. "You're finally here."

"Yo, Hokage-sama. I heard you could use some help." Jiraiya said, looking at the stacks of paper on his desk.

"What I could use is a nap." Said Shikaku while stretching his back. "You took your sweet time getting here, I heard you arrived in the village a few hours ago."

"I was talking to sensei." Jiraiya sighed. "What a mess…"

"You said it. So? Will you do it?" Shikaku asked him.

"Haahh… You know I'm getting old too right?" Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head. "Tsunade might also be a better choice."

"Honestly, and no offense, we were hoping she'd take the position too. But she was spotted in the forest outside of the village's gates a few days ago, pacing back and forth muttering to herself. She eventually decided not to come in and ran off somewhere." Shikaku shook his head. "We don't know where she ran off too, and we can't wait on her forever."

Jiraiya sighed. "She still hasn't forgiven Konoha for Dan's death then…"

"We need a permanent Hokage now. Since doing this job, I've realized that I'm not suited for it. I'd prefer to be in a strictly advisory position, honestly. I'd rather just join the council, then sit at this desk all day."

Jiraiya snorted. "You think I want to be tied to this desk? I'm busy chasing Orochimaru and the Akatsuki around."

"Have you learned anything?" Shikaku asked.

"Not as much as I'd like honestly. Orochimaru is as slippery as ever, and the Akatsuki are almost as difficult to pin down as him. Though, now that Itachi has joined their ranks as a spy, it will be easier to get news on them." Jiraiya sat down on a chair in the room as he spoke. "I'd prefer if I was able to keep up the chase but it seems like I won't get that chance anymore."

"Meaning?" Shikaku looked up hopefully.

"Summon the damned council." Jiraiya said, rubbing his temples, before looking up with a grin. "I have a lot of work to do, and want to start as soon as possible."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Hinata panted as she stood back up, having just been knocked to ground for what seemed like the hundredth time since she started the spar with Hayate.

"You're getting better *cough*." Hayate said, relaxing his stance.

"Not good enough apparently." Hinata muttered, rubbing her side, wincing.

"Hah!" Hayate barked out a laugh. "What, I'm *cough cough* gone for a week and you were hoping to be able to defeat me when *cough* I got back? Cocky brat."

"Not defeat! At least.. Landing a hit, or something though, would be nice." Hinata said, grumpily.

"I'm a jōnin, and a kenjutsu master at that. If I got hit in a pure kenjutsu spar by a kid who hadn't even graduated from the *cough* academy, I'd hang up my sword and quit." Hayate said, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah." Hinata said, a smile growing on her face. "When are you going to teach me another jutsu? I've mastered all the others so far. I need something else to work on."

"How are you doing on the eight trigrams?" Hayate asked.

"16 palms." She told him truthfully.

"Not bad for your age, though I bet you could get to 32 if you focused on training it *cough cough* for a few more months. You'll also learn more *cough* in the academy soon. They'll probably go over kawarimi no jutsu next. Substitution is a staple of shinobi and it will give you something to *cough* practice in your free time. I want you to focus on reaching 32 palms first. Once you do, I'll teach you a ninjutsu."

"Alright, you promised!" Hinata cheered. "Come on then! Let's keep on sparring. I want to hit 32 palms as fast as possible!" Hinata felt her energy coming back to her, and ignored her aching muscles, putting away her bokken and taking a taijutsu stance.

Hayate shook his head in defeat. "Alright chibi-chan, bring it."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Tsunade was drinking from a bottle of rice wine, as Shizune sat next to her at the bar, watching her with a judging expression.

"Is going back really that scary?" Shizune asked. "As soon as you saw the shinobi approaching you, you ran away faster than I've seen you move in a while."

"It'sh not shcary! I jusht don' wanna shee that old geezer'sh face, ish all!" Tsunade replied, slurring her words.

Shizune sighed, reaching over to take the bottle away from her.

"Don' you dare! *Hic*" Tsunade glared at her, clutching the bottle to her chest.

"Tsunade-sama, you've had more than enough." Shizune said sternly. "It's time for you go to bed and sleep it off."

"Don' wanna." Tsunade said. "That damn old man! How could he let that shit happen on hish watch!? *Hic* I thought he wash better than that! I trushted him! *Hic*"

"It's awful. But everyone makes mistakes. He's still your sensei, and you should confront him if you feel this strongly. I haven't seen you this messed up in a while, Tsunade-sama." Shizune looked genuinely concerned.

Tsunade stared at the table. "I shee him everywhere y'know? *Hic* Every time I vishit that damned village…"

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, confused at the change of topic.

"Dan!" Tsunade shouted, getting the attention of other patrons. "I fucking let him died, but it wash that damned village that killed him! *Hic*"

"Ojisan's death was tragic, Tsunade-sama. But it wasn't your fault, or Konoha's. It's time you moved on, he wouldn't want to see you like this." Shizune said, putting her hand on Tsunade's shoulder.

Tsunade stood up, unsteadily.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked again.

"Come one. I wanna go to shleep." Tsunade said, almost tipping over as she walked towards the door.

Shizune sighed and put money on the counter. "Alright… Let's get you back to the inn."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Shikaku, Jiraiya, and the other council members stood in the Hokage's office.

"So you've decided then?" Hiashi asked. "You'll do it?"

"Yeah, but I have conditions." Jiraiya stated.

"What conditions?" Shikaku asked, worried about what he might demand.

"Nothing much." Jiraiya grinned. "I get to choose the staff in the hokage tower, no questions asked, I want accurate reports of the clans true current strengths, I want three days off a month so I can continue my research for my books, and I want access to the ōmizuao summoning contract. I know you're holding onto it Inoichi."

"We can let you choose your staff no problem, that is the right of the Hokage after all. The reports as well should be fine." Hiashi looked at the others and they nodded.

"Two days off. And they can't be during a crisis, or during times of war, but that should go without saying." Tsume said. "As for the last condition…" She looked over to Inoichi, who had a strange look on his face.

"How did you know I had the ōmizuao contract? We've never found a shinobi able to form a contract with that clan, and we've never told anyone about it before." Inoichi asked.

"Hah. You mean you never told anyone before. Your father, however, talks when he's drunk." Jiraiya said, still grinning. "Come one, you just said you can't get someone to form a contract with the clan. I have someone in mind that might be able to."

Inoichi still looked apprehensive.

"How about this. If the person I have in mind isn't able to form a contract with them, I'll return the contract back to you. I just want to give them a chance." Jiraiya said.

"Who do you want to sign the contract?" Inoichi asked.

"Gekkō Hayate." Jiraiya said. "You should know who he is, and who his apprentice is. I've heard you all have a soft spot for that girl. In time, he'll pass it on to her as is his job as her shishou."

"Fine. I'll get you the contract." Inoichi said.

"Good! Then it's decided!" Hiashi said, before dropping to one knee. "Hyūga Hiashi greets the Hokage."

"Nara Shikaku greets Hokage-sama."

"Yamanaka Inoichi greets Hokage-sama."

"Akimichi Chōza greets Hokage-sama."

"Inuzuka Tsume greets Hokage-sama."

"Aburame Shibi greets Hokage-sama."

The council members all dropped to one knee.