The premise of this story is enough to make an amazing comedy, but I don't feel like making another comic fic; I've written so many (not on this account), and I'm a bit tired of it. Anyway, anything to say before I start…I'm more or less writing this on a whim, so it may jump from one character to another not no reason: that's just me being weird.
Also, I don't know what the currency in the Naruto universe is. Forgive me for using dollars.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The creator does, but I forgot his name.
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Restructuring
Chapter One
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The flames spiraled upwards, rose in a torrent, engulfed all around them. One couldn't see anything, but one didn't have to; the wanton destruction wrought by the fires told all the story. Buildings crackled, surprised by the flames, and collapsed as their support beams burned. Windows blew out under the extreme heat, while street poles collapse upon shops, walls, and carriages. If one did decide to see, to observe, to discover, they would find a plethora of black shadows, swarming the night sky, annihilating it with the bright red light of fire.
Amid the deflagration, there was another battle being waged. The aforementioned shadowy figures struck each other, adding to the calamity and pandemonium of the burning village. Every so often a shadowy figure would stop fluttering in the brightened night sky, and would lay motionless on the charred ground; this happened frequently, but the figures battled, flickered in the wind like the spark of a convex current, but ceased to die down.
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"You are not serious."
"Hokage-sama, this is completely accurate. We tallied every person in this village, even double-checked! The numbers don't lie!" Shizune whispered, her voice slightly cracking. An unknowing onlooker would have thought zombies were rising from the grave; her face was pale white, the only hint of life coming from her rapidly beating heart. Some calamity was stirring the Konoha village, the likes that the humble township had never seen.
"No, you are not serious. This is an early April Fool's joke. There's only two weeks left, you know. But I didn't think you had such a twisted sense of humor." Tsunade babbled. Her own face was pale, less so than her associate, but pale nonetheless. However, she was shaken more by astonishment then by fear and anxiety. She ran a hand through her blond hair, blowing air out of her mouth as if relieving a tornado of stress wreaking havoc on her insides. Rising from her chair in the Hokage's office, Tsunade paced, to and fro, for what seemed like hours. This isn't possible. Not anywhere, especially not here…
"What will we do?" Shizune blurted out in apprehension. She ran her eyes over the sheet of paper in front of her again; it was more or less a census, crude and contrite in make, almost as if its sole purpose was to give evidence of a horrible failure, a careless and atrophic blunder. A plethora of random facts and figures were on it; households, residents per households, family names, income, children of Shinobi age. But one figure was circled in deep red, a crimson so deep it forbade pain and suffering. Maybe they were just overdramatizing; maybe the issue wasn't that much of a problem, Shizune thought. But she kept looking at the circled figure, wondering how things had come to be this way, how her village of birth had fallen into such a hole.
"What do you think? We'll make more!"
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Naruto yawned, stretching soundly and moving his neck to shake out any abnormalities in it, however rare. It was a warm summer day, the sun shining upon Konoha, forcing its way through the abundant clouds deflecting its rays. These were the kind of days the blond Shinobi liked best; calm, slightly windy, well-lit. Team Seven would be in the usual spot at the bridge, no matter how small it was now, and a mission would be issued.
Team Seven had been cut by 25 for a few months now. Sasuke had decided that it was time to confront his brother, but had no knowledge of his whereabouts. The entire village had called it folly, Sakura most of all, but he had a score to settle. He was an avenger after all.
Sakura somehow restrained herself from crying, and the Uchiha had apparently appreciated it. He embraced her and promised Team Seven would be back at the bridge again, one day. That day never came, and was likely never to come. Rumors had been spreading that the body of an adolescent boy had been found, unclothed and unidentified, charred, as if ravaged by a histrionic fire. The hair was raven black, as was that of most Konohans, but a tattered Uchiha symbol hinted at the corpse's identity.
Naruto never gave the rumors much mind. Sasuke was constantly away, whether he had a mission or not, and the entire village was used to his absence. He was still undoubtedbly a part of Konoha, just a peripheral part. The name Sasuke was becoming a lingering memory, like that of an elusive dream, just like the name of his clan. The bell rung.
"Who the…" Naruto muttered, snapped out of his musings by knocks on the door and the familiar chimes of his doorbell. He strode towards the door, anxious to have his breakfast, but the face of the other side wasn't as cheery.
"Here." Shizune whispered, handing him a slip of paper. She turned to leave, but he stopped her quickly.
"What's going on? What's the rush?" Naruto inquired, his blue eyes sparkling with concern. Shizune was usually cheerful to a certain degree these days; it was unusual to see her this troubled about something. She stared at him, unsure of how to answer, and sighed deeply.
"Just read the announcement, Naruto-kun. A crowd has gathered outside Tsunade-sama's lodgings, waiting for her speech. Head over there as soon as you're done." She said. Placing a hand on his shoulder hastily, she turned and left, moving to the next set of apartments.
"Well, whatever this is, it's important." Naruto thought to himself. Sitting down on a nearby sofa, he removed the fastener adorned with the Hokage's seal and began:
Dear Citizens of Konoha,
We have reached a mortifying time in our history. Never before had such a situation been present, and never would it have been considered severe. The circumstances are extreme, however, so I urge you to be steadfast.
The latest figures reveal that Konoha is officially 27 men. Yes, you read that correctly. One out of every four people walking down your street is male. The recent conflicts, surprise attacks, floods, and obstacles of late have all have been braved by the city, but at the expense of most men of reproductive age. Regardless of how trivial the matter may appear to you, it is severe; the lack of men has meant a 43 drop in childbirth in the last year. All the men are gone, but because of that not enough are replacing them. If this trend continues, our glorious village will soon collapse due to a genuine lack of people, a situation never before seen in our long and plentiful history.
A course of action has immediately been considered by the elders and myself, and will be proposed to you, the people, in front of the Hokage statues. Be present at eleven o'clock sharp to hear the news for yourself.
Naruto dropped the letter.
"What the hell…?" He was going to laugh as soon as he read the first sentence of the second paragraph, but the rest of the message silenced him. The situation was worse than he thought. Naruto had always noticed that there was a distinctly larger amount of women than men. Most shinobi were male, that was granted, but the vast majority of workers, farmers, shopkeepers, attendants, and the Konoha population in general was women. But a gap of 46?
"You have to be kidding me…" He groaned. Pulling on his orange pants and their matching outfit, Naruto grabbed his helmet protector and raced towards the statues.
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There was no order.
People lingered, moved about, argued, screamed, bickered, cried, did everything but laugh and kiss. The five mighty Hokage statues hovered over this brazen crowd, as if scolding them for indecent conduct, but they paid no heed. The latest news wouldn't let them.
Neji was more or less lurking around the crowd. He really didn't care less about what this great announcement was (having not read the letter), and was here partly because Hyugaa Hiashi had sent him and it was a nice day. The clouds hung overcast, filtering the harsh summer sun and cooling the ground. The weather sure was nice, but the village itself was a dismal sight. If one was on a cloud, they would see the once circular green circle known as Konoha village reduced to an obtuse crescent (or perhaps a Pac-man shape) of greenery, with a hefty section left charred and black.
The war with the Lightning Village was over, much to the chagrin of the Lightning, but Konoha had been reduced to shambles. After the Lightning shinobi were routed, the Raikage more or less pleaded for a treaty, so his village wouldn't be annihilated by a counterattack; Tsunade agreed only to avoid more loss of life. However, a good chunk of the villages' residential district was burned to the ground until the fire was contained, and many villagers were either dead or injured. Konoha's population had declined already before the war had started; this was simply another step down the ladder.
With this knowledge in mind, Neji expected what to hear: another announcement about working hard to rebuild the village, or a plea to the villagers to remain alert for Lightning spies. He was really just here to report to Hiashi; the old man had become so xenophobic in regards to non-Hyugaas that he avoided them altogether. So, partly to demonstrate his spite for Neji and to avoid mingling with regular Konohan, Hiashi frequently sent his nephew on such "reconnaissance" missions.
Neji felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew it was Rock Lee thanks to his 360 degree vision, so he didn't move. Lee tapped his shoulder a few more times, trying to get his teammate's attention, but Neji remained motionless.
"What?" The Hyugaa growled, turning around. He was already in a bad mood, having been sent on another "recon" mission for no apparent reason. Lee frowned deeply, but his massive eyebrows only made him seem comical. More serious, however, was the sheet of paper he gripped in his hand. Neji had spotted it, and was curious as to why Lee was holding it so tightly; as if reading the Hyugaa's mind, Lee thrust it forward, and cringed.
It was Tsunade's letter. Neji read it quickly, then frowned deeply as well. Never in his life had he heard of such a situation, and never did he expect to hear of it. However, it seemed true; scanning the large crowd that was gathered at the statues, he could only spot about 100 or so males just around him; by comparison, there were easily 400 or so women around the same place; this ratio must have been consistent throughout the field.
Tenten arrived quickly, her disheveled hair hinting that she had rushed there as soon as she heard the news; as if on cue, Naruto walked down the street in confusion; he had not expected so many people to be gathered. Some activity could be seen through the Hokage's window, and it seems they were getting ready to say the speech. More shinobi and villagers arrived while the Hokage prepared herself.
"Citizens of Konoha," the Hokage bellowed, drawing attention to herself and silencing the alarmed crowd, "I have an important announcement to make!"
Everyone murmured anxiously. Kiba and Akamaru rounded a corner, both excited and surprised, and saw the mass of people staring at Tsunade with undivided attention. There were a few moments of silence as the Hokage thought of how to arrange her words.
Tsunade stared down at the crowd. It was a typical summer day in Konoha, the sun shining brightly, listless white clouds overhead; yet, the brutally maimed section of the village was clearly visible from her vantage point, and her own troubled mind added to the gravity of the scene. She coughed a few times, and gathered her resolve.
"All of you should have received a letter informing you of the purpose of this assembly. Whether you have or have not, what I am about to tell you will likely affect the fate of the village for the rest of its existence. In fact, what I am about to say, and your actions in response to it, will determine whether there is a village to be affected. Listen carefully." She said gravely. The crowd continued to look onward in complete silence, the kind that is more disgruntling than pandemonium because there isn't even the sound of breathing. Tsunade sighed, and began.
"Konoha, through the numerous attacks and wars it has found itself in, has grown weak and battered; it is the inevitable course of any object, person, or being, that is subjected to constant battery and abuse. However, the effects of these attacks have taken a heavy toll on our village. At the moment, Konoha has its lowest population since the first Hokage founded this village. There is one man for every four women, and the number of children being born every day is far below the number who die every day. If no action is taken, Konoha will cease to exist in two generations." She said firmly. There were a few murmurs, but otherwise, complete silence dominated the crowd. Even the characteristically loud and obnoxious villagers (or, for short, Naruto), sense the chill of their leader's words, and waited just as anxiously for her to continue.
"To curtail this inevitable crisis, the following policies will be implemented. Before I state them, however, I will like to say that we must all be strong and resilient, and try to adhere to the course of action I will describe. This is for the well-being of Konoha, and only for that purpose; some above you may refuse to participate, but know that you will only be harming your village and countrymen by doing so," Tsunade said, her voice crescendoing into a loud and forceful boom. The emotion in her voice was apparent, and it probably shook the crowd more than her ominous words. A few feet shifted, but there was nothing else.
"From now on, the legal age for marriage will be reduced to fifteen for both sexes. All men are encouraged to marry, and all women are encouraged to bear children with their husbands. A yearly stipend of two thousand dollars will be given to couples for each child they bear until these policies are rescinded. Contraceptives will be limited as to increase the number of childbirths. Furthermore, a larger number of social events will be organized to encourage our younger villagers to court and marry, and any and all villagers under the age of twenty-one are encouraged to attend," Tsunade declared, taking a small sip of water. The surprise in the crowd was apparent; they never expected something of this sort to occur.
"Divorces will not be granted without special review by a pre-ordained court, in order to promote stable environments for our future villagers and shinobi. I will like to add," she said, her voice changing from that of an objective gubernatorial drone to a cautionary remand, "this means that irresponsible marriages will have serious repercussions. Though we are in a time of crisis, it is not an excuse to relinquish neither our ethics nor our morals. It is not the time for frivolity and irreverence, and neither is it the time for harlotry. Remember, what you do for the next few years will decide this village's future!"
No one spoke.
"There is one more thing. I encourage all of you to assist in repairing the damaged parts of the village, and I plead that you be vigilant in the coming months. We never know whether another threat may assail us. I thank you deeply for coming."
No one would shut up.
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R&R. Written on a whim, but I suppose it could go somewhere.