Warning: I do not own RWBY, that belongs to Oum & Rooster Teeth. Nor Naruto that is shonen and his creator.
xxx Konoha xxx
"This chair is very stiff" Naruto grumbled.
"Really, the first thing you say as hokage and that's it?" said Sakura.
"Sit in this chair and say it. Who in the world made this chair? ... And it's bolted, who in blazes made this!?" The wizard looked shocked. Why would anyone want to sit in this nightmare of chair. He made a note to self to get this sorted out quick.
"Ignoring you complaints so what's our first order of business? There's a lot we need to go through" said Sakura. She pointed to the stack of different papers on his desk.
Naruto sighed as he grabbed the top paper and skimmed through it "Well it seems to me that we need to focus on getting my council first. I've already promised the hyuga clan a seat but who else do you think I should add?"
"Shikaku Nara will be good option. The man was the jonin commander under the thirds & fourths rule and is well respected by the corps. Putting him on the council will ease tensions from the traditionalist parties, but it will leave the jonin commander post open." Kakashi offered
"Can he not run both?"
"Maybe but it will be quite stressful for the man if he had to run two jobs at the same time" Kakashi explained. Naruto nodded in understanding as he went over to his next candidates.
"Having Shibi Aburame on the council was my next choice. The man is respected among the minor clans and can work as a representative for them as well. I was thinking of adding an Inuzuka into my council as well but I am also thinking of Tsunade as well." said Naruto.
"Why Tsunade? Wouldn't that be the worse thing, you took her role as clan head and kicked her sensei out of his job" Sasuke wondered.
"True but having her and Shikaku will keep the more vocal of traditionalist calm. Plus she was the heir of the senju clan before naruto and because of that she was taught how to deal with politics as well as more experienced dealing with them. That and she did serve as head of the medical corps during the 2nd & 3rd shinobi wars, Tsunade knows her way around Konoha legal system" Kakashi explained.
"Indeed, plus I do have other plans for the Inuzuka. I've been thinking of handing partial control of the military police force to them as well as the Abureme and other minor clans. Sasuke, I understand that the Uchiha were once in charge do you mind—"
"—Take it, I have no problem with it" He cutted Naruto off. Perhaps there was a time that he did care about the military police but after Itachi had killed everyone ... it was better to suppress those memories. Regardless it would take generations before the Uchiha could even possibly control the police forces again.
"I see. Well besides that the only two things I want to discuss right now is the chunin exams and Danzo Shimura" said Naruto.
"What reason do you have with that man naruto?" Kakashi narrowed "That man is extermous dangerous, I'd rather you not go searching about him."
"Don't have a choice, I won because of 200 votes all of which came from Danzo" he watched as kakashi looked shocked and pale at the news "You know something about him sensei?"
"Yes I do, to simply put he is the last man you ever want to meet in your life. Danzo Shimura was once the Third's right hand man and severed as ANBU commander during the 2nd shinobi war and the founder of ROOT. If you don't know what ROOT is don't be surprised, there a black-ops group that went on missions that could never see the light of day unless we wanted to start another war" Explained Kakashi.
"That bad" Sakura looked horrified as even sasuke was worried.
"I only know of them from second hand sources during my time as ANBU but what I do know is that only the head of ANBU and the hokage are the only ones allowed to read the missions they've done. They walked a very thin line of treason and loyalty until they were finally disbanded, or at least that was what I thought was the case."
"And now said man will want to try to get in my good graces. What other reason would he support me" said Naruto.
"Indeed, as much as I hate to say it I think granting him the a seat on your council will be prudent. The man still carries influence and many of the shinobi world are still wary of the man for good reasons. Having him will bring aid from the more militant and nationalist side of konoha too." Kakashi looked bitter at even thinking of having that man so close to his sensei's son, but there was no other way.
"As I feared" Naruto grabbed some paper and a pen and started to writing something down. He grabbed the hokage wax seal and then handed the lettered to his sensei "Kakashi-sensei, I need you to send these to my potential council members."
The man understood before vanishing from the room. A quick pulse of aura showed no one else was in the room, naruto's eyes glowed as he placed magical glyphs throughout the room to ensure no one heard nor saw what was said next.
"Well, the first part of our plan is now accomplished and with that we can begin with phase two" the immortal now golden eyes twinkled in joy. "I can't express my joy in this occasion"
"More like relief" said Sasuke "So what now Ozpin? How are we going to be stopping Salem now that we got the hokage seat?"
"First is to establish ourselves into the village's bureaucracy and to ensure when I reincarnate that my newest incarnation will be able to regain control in a quick manner. Second is to arm konoha and in time the other villages with the technology and the skills needed to oppose Salem's forces as well as ensuring our control over the other villages. Third is utilizing all of Konoha's and the elemental nations knowledge on space time jutsu's to create a means to go back to remnant."
"So we're really going to arm konoha with dust and all the technologies involved with it. I bet you have an answer ... but how do we do it? I understand your emerald grove has dust but I am not sure how we can explain this stuff" said Sakura.
"Well you were right when you said I have a plan. Actually it has been growing since our mission in wave" he shaked his head at their confusion "There is much you do not know of dust but in time you will understand. Regardless even if we modernized Konoha we still need to get the other villages to our side and that will take some time. Plus with rapid modernization means the chance of war increases significantly."
"You have any idea how to avoid that?" asked Sasuke.
"Sadly I need more time before I can make any choice on that front. However, I can discuss one more thing, the chunin exams" said Naruto.
"What about them?"
"Well I was wondering if you minded being promoted to chunin. Both of you acquired two important targets and aided konoha in stopping Shukaku from causing anymore damage. And since we're technically at war with suna I can write it as a field promotion, that is if you want it?" Naruto explained to the two.
"No, as much as I would like it that would not do use any good" said sasuke. Naruto looked perplexed but allowed the Uchiha to continue. "I think it would be seen as favoritism which is something we can't afford right now. Plus I don't feel like we did anything to deserve a rank, while it may give us more benefits the added responsibilities may be counter productive. Being genin means we can focus on gaining our strength until we are ready for chunin rank."
"I see, you do make a fair case. Sakura, do wish to be chunin or do you want to stay as genin for now?"
"I agree with sasuke, I don't really feel like I'm ready for a role" sakura answered. Naruto nodded as he took out other papers, specifically the ones of the chunin exam contestants.
"I understand. However that means you will be one teammate down and with everything that has going on it will be difficult to get another team member. At the moment I'm putting you under the reserves until further notice, this will give you all more time to train before going on any more mission. For the time at least."
"So I guess this means you won't be training us?" Sasuke asked.
"Of course not, I'll send a clone every week to train you two. Don't assume just because I'm hokage means I won't have time for you two" the immortal assured "However, I still have a lot of work to be done, you two take the day off for now there isn't much that can be done for now. "
xxx Nara Compounds xxx
"Taking a nap now of all times commander? Your wife will be pretty mad when she learns of this" Kakashi chided, appearing before the now awake jonin commander.
"Kakashi, what brings you here" Shikaku Nara drawled "I doubt it is to talk over a nice drink."
"Hokage's orders" he answered "Naruto is willing to let you keep your role as jonin commander and in turn become a member of his new council." He handed the clan head the letter. Shikaku looked at the hokage's seal on top, opening the letter the man read over the contents of the letter.
"... Tell the hokage that I need some time before I decide anything" Shikaku asked. Kakashi nodded before leaving, minutes later he heard the sound of his wife's footsteps as the door opened for him to greet his annoyed wife.
"Shikaku! What are you—What is that you are holding in your hand?" his wife growled.
"A letter from the hokage. Looks like the new hokage is willing to let me keep my role in return for becoming a part of his council" he explained.
"You can't say no Shikaku, he's the hokage and we must obey his word" his wife answered. There was worry in her eyes and understandably so, they had opposed the boy and lost as a result. By all account he should have lost his position, that the boy was not doing it spoke more wisdom than many would expect.
"Seems our hokage understands that his current position is held by a very thin line. Putting me on the council will keep his enemies at bay and give a sign of unity to the other villages. However it will be difficult to do both at the same time" said the man.
"Then what will you do shikaku?" She asked. The last thing she wanted was for her clan to be at more odds with the new regime and being at odds with the hokage was asking for trouble.
"I have no choice. I will inform the hokage that I will accept the role" the man spoke "However, I will press to see if I may have shikamaru go in my steed."
"What!? Are you mad, you want our son to be thrown into that viper pit of politics" Yoshino looked appalled "He's nowhere ready for such a responsibility!"
"I said he will go in my steed, he will only be my representative I will still have the final say in any decision. I merely want him to get close to the hokage. I don't like this as much as you do but right now our clan is in danger of being ousted from the inner workings of the village and I must do what is needed to ensure our clans wellbeing.
I am hoping we can form a strong friendship with the new kage. Both come from the same generation and it seems they have a cordial relation together. On top of that our son shares little care about his burden too and has remained neutral during the election" Shikaku explained.
"I still do not like this, this is a dangerous gamble" Yoshino spoke.
"I know my love, but there isn't any other choice"
xxx Hokage Office xxx
"Danzo Shimura, I don't know if I should be happy or suspicious" said Naruto. "On one hand thanks to you I have won the one thing I so desired. But on the other I've recently learned of your past, Head of the ROOT."
"Ho? Has my intervention cause you grief, I did not intentionally mean if so" the man spoke.
"Perhapes, but let us both be blunt you want something from for helping me become hokage. So what is it that you want?" Naruto spoke.
"Hmph, straight to the point I see. Very well, I wish to sit among your new council as well as see ROOT reinstated" Danzo listed.
"The first request I can give, but the second one ... please, tell me why I should allow a group of extremist black-ops group to return?" Naruto answered.
"And how much do you know of ROOT, have you seen the records and what we have done to ensure konoha will not perish?" Danzo asked.
Naruto motioned to all the paper around him "With everything that has been going on I've only heard from what my sensei have told me. Personally I am not impressed with ROOT at the moment."
"Kakashi is a biased source my lord, his knowledge is based only on second-hand sources and even then it is muddied by his own beliefs. Officially ROOT was the name for a mercenary group formed up of retired shinobi with strong nationalistic ideas of konoha and the fire nation. But we both know that was a false cover, ROOT's true goal was to be a black-ops group doing missions that could cause the next shinobi war if they were ever found out.
We did things that will never see the light of day and on the chance of being found konoha could keep their hands clean. We were instrumental during the 2nd & 3rd shinobi wars, your father was the one that finally shut us down. I implore you to look over the files before making any decision, but I assure you that ROOT only did what was needed for the good of konoha" Danzo explained.
"I fear that we may need such an organization once more. With suna having betrayed us we lack any sort of major allies and I fear Iwa or kumo may find this the perfect time to test our strength" Danzo explained his worries.
"That is something we will need to see first Danzo. Besides, our other guest should be arriving about now" the door behind opened as the heads of the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clan. "Welcome, please take a seat all of you I have much I want to discuss over the four of you."
"Four? Forgive me but why is he here?" Tsume looked over to Danzo.
"Please Tsume, let us not start any fights here. Danzo is a ... critical ally in helping me gain this seat and such will participate in this meeting" the immortal watched his allies as Tsume looked annoyed while the other two were impassive.
"Now, the reason why I have brought you all here was to explain your new roles. I promised that I would see that your clans will have a bigger say in Konoha's politics and I intend to keep it. I hereby announce that all four of you are now members of my personal council and will aid me guiding konoha to peace and prosperity.
However that is not all what I want to give. Tsume, for your clan being the very first to ally themselves with me I grant you the honor of taking over the role as Konoha's military police. Too long has the military police been left unattended and with the last uchiha's blessings I want to give your clan this role."
"I ... I am honored my lord. The Inuzuka are honored to be given such a role" She was shocked that the boy would give her clan such a role. Ever since the massacre the military police was staffed with a handful of retired chunin and mostly civilian investigators, some even say the damn role was cursed. But benefits were large, it would give her clan greater prestige and a larger role in the inner workings of konoha ... plus a chance of looking into all the clans that screwed them over the pass.
"I hope you live up to my hope Tsume. Now, Shibi Aburame for you I wish to tap the resources of your clan and the minor clans in helping me see just how far the corruption within konoha has gone. It may not be as great of an award but I want you to spearhead these investigations and I believe your clan to be the best choice, will you take it?"
"I can see why you would ask for our aid in this matter. The aburame and its allies will take this duty, I believe I know some people that will help us" Shibi agreed.
"Excellent, your clan has my thanks. Hiashi Hyuga, your clan already knows what I am willing to give to you but again I would reaffirm and ask if you or one of your clan members will stand by my side as we steer konoha into a new future" said naruto.
"You already know were we stand. The hyuga clan will stand by your side as you stand by ours and I will be honored to help you rule over konoha" he nodded.
"Excellent, then we can move on to the other subjects I want to go over with you. Mainly two things, the chunin exams and Suna. First is the exams, I've gone over each of the continents and wish to hear your opinion on them. Excluding suna and the oto teams the three I wish to start with are Kabuto Yakushi, Misumi Tsurugi, and Yoroi Akadō. While all three of them may have passed the first and and the second exam I cannot find any reason to promote them to chunin.
Their skill in the fights after the second exam showed a lack of planning or any diversity in skill, they rely too much on a single technique. Plus their records showed a lackluster experience. I'm surprised they haven't applied a request for a chunin promotion, they already filled out the mission requirements."
"Not everyone wishes to be chunin. Outside of the added responsibility their is the added taxes, monthly quotas, and less time to focus on growing their skills. It's possible for them to live a meager existence with the funds they receive as a genin" Shibi explained.
"I see, if that is the case then they will stay as genin. The next is team 8, the first one I wish to go over is Hinata Hyuga; While she and her team passed the first two exams she lost to her cousin in the battles afterward. In the first exam she showed usage of her bloodline in getting the questions, during the second exam she showed high levels of teamwork and trust as they were able to get to the towers a few days.
I am willing to overlook her fight with Neji Hyuga as the boy is known to one of the most skilled fighters of his generation. Do any of you think the girl is ready for chunin promotion or should she try next time?" Naruto asked.
"Heard the girl had some self-confidence issues. I don't feel comfortable giving her the rank, if shit goes down I don't think she has it in her to deal with it. Let her have time to get used to the shinobi life and fix that confidence issue, then I'll be for all in it" Tsume answered.
"Agreed, the girl could use more time before given the rank" Shibi agreed with Tsume.
"I will keep my opinions to myself. I do not wish to color your opinion" was Haishi answers.
"I agree with the Shibi and Tsume" Danzo nodded.
"Very well then Hinata Hyuga will stay as genin for now. Now on to Kiba Inu—"
"—Genin, my son is nowhere near ready for chunin rank. The brat is too impulsive and stubborn sometimes for his own good, thinks more with his teeth then brains" Tsume interrupted. Naruto turned to his other advisors and they too slowly nodded with the women.
"Very well, Kiba Inuzuka will also stay as genin. Finally we have Shino Aburame, the boy has been shown to have a good head on tactics and leadership. From the reports he was the first genin to realize it was futile on trying to kill the sand clones and focused on slowing down. During his fight with the sound nin he was able to exploit his enemies greatest strength and turned it against him" said Naruto "The boy shows the best chance of being chunin."
"Hey, if anyone on the team should be a chunin it would be the Aburame" Tsume sighed "Yeah, I can see the boy being one he certainly has the mindset for it. We can always put him on guard duty or do light patrolling."
"Konoha will always welcome anyone who can use their wits" Danzo nodded.
"He will need to catch up to his older peers. His sensei will need to train the boy harder and get him ready for the role quickly, but I can see this to only benefit us" Haishi agreed.
Shibi stayed silent.
"Very well then Shino Aburame will become chunin and placed on light duty until he shows strength and skilled needed for future missions" Naruto stamped his papers and moved onto the next "Next is team 9, consisting of Rock Lee, Tenten Yumi, & Neji Hyuga. Sadly Rock Lee is cannot gain any promotion due to his current injury so we must pass him.
Next would be Tenten Yumi, the girl showed high skill in various weapons and talent within fuinjutsu. However, outside of her major skills the girl has yet to show anything worthy of chunin rank" Naruto spoke.
"The girl should try next time and hopefully get some more skills then just weapons" said Tsume.
"I concur" shibi agreed.
Danzo and Haishi nodded in agreement.
"Tenten Yumi will stay genin for now. Next is Neji Hyuga, a prodigy of the gentle fist that showed the ability to utilize the main branch techniques. His sensei is noted to defer him as the team leader in the chance that he is unavailable and shows the skill needed to be a leader. However, it should be noted the boy does enjoy taunting his enemies and at times focus more on spouting his beliefs then ending the fight" Naruto listed off.
"I ... believe Neji is worthy of the rank of chunin. I understand his arrogance could be a risk but the boy understands his orders and is willing to set it aside if the mission is serious. Plus, since his battle with you the boy has changed for the better, his personality has become more positive and his belief in fate no longer seems to be there" Haishi spoke up.
"I thought you were keeping your opinions to yourself when it came to your clan members" Shibi spoke "You did not speak up for your daughter but you are for your nephew?"
"Neji is the pride of our clan and even during his battle with you many still whispered about him favorably. Allowing him to be chunin would have more nobles investing into konoha through missions" Haishi replied.
"And not because of his impending trial with the hyuga elders" Danzo asked aloud "I heard that your clan elders were quite furious on learning that a branch member somehow learned their secret arts ... well that is not including the crime of potential kinslaying."
"And I would recommend you not to put your nose in the Hyuga clan's business!" He hotly replied back.
"Enough" Ozma let out a plus of chakra, adding a small bit of the Kyuubi's own "Danzo, I would prefer that you do not try to antagonize your fellow councilmen. Haishi ... I am willing to let this slide for now, I understand you have your reasons but do remembers that this will not be forgotten."
"I understand Hokage-sama, thank you" the hyuga nodded in thanks.
"As my hokage commands" Danzo answered. Naruto turned to his other advisors, both of which had nothing else to say on the matter.
"Than Neji Hyuga will be henceforth a chunin, his actions will be on your shoulders Haishi. Now, the last team we have is team 10 ... Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara" said Naruto.
"And failing them is not an option?" Tsume asked.
"No it's possible, however, I do want keep tension from getting worse then they are now. The only one I can give a promotion to would be shikamaru, out of all of them he showed the skill needed to be chunin."
"I don't know if we show weakness others may want to take advantage of us" Tsume argued "The last thing we need is for others to think we can be pushed around."
"On the other hand letting one of the sarutobi's closer supporter's son become chunin could go a long way to cool tensions. The last thing we need is to fall the same path as kiri" noting the war ridden nation "But I can see your reasoning too. Many of sarutobi's supporters may want to press and prod us, we are about to cause immense discomfort to quite a few and some will try to seek revenge" Shibi replied back.
"Exactly, look at the land of hot springs with their demilitarization. They allowed themselves to be bullied into submission and now any nation could roll over that nation any time they want" said Tsume hotly "It may be extreme but the idea is there, we show weakness and they'll strike at us!"
"The enemies that you speak of are our allies. Are we to be like Kiri and start declaring who among us are friend or foe?" Danzo interjected "Unless you want our home to be torn apart then we should give the sarutobi faction this.
I understand that the Inuzuka are governed by different rules but konoha's strength comes from the strength of our shinobi. If our men and women cannot trust each other then we may well as call for the end of this village" Danzo slammed his cane "Unity is our strength and the creed of this village."
"... I must side with danzo. Let us make peace with the other side and work for a better future. Like us they to only want what is best for konoha and it's people, if we cannot unite under that idea then I truly fear for everyone's lives" Haishi nodded.
...
...
...
The four adults watched as naruto took his stamp and pressed it onto the boys file.
Shikamaru Nara was now chunin
"Danzo & Haishi are right, remember you two in the end we are all citizens of konoha" the wizard had to agree with the two men. It was too easy to demonize the other side and forget the reason why the opposition was there in the first place.
In the end all everyone wants is better future.
"Well with that now over we now only need to wait for the other two councilors. In fact we're a few minutes early then I expected" he looked at the clock as Tsume spoke.
"Other councilors, forgive me hokage-sama but I thought we were the only ones?" the Inuzuka matriarch looked perplexed.
"There are others and we will need their expertise for what comes next" only Danzo and Shibi realized what he meant.
"We're going to war with Suna"