THE GOD OF SHINOBI

"There is nothing to discuss, Hiruzen. He was trained by an enemy of the village. This can't be chalked up to my paranoia anymore, I have solid basis for claiming that the boy is a traitor". Danzo's words infuriated the Hokage more than anything in the world. Mostly, because he was right and he knew it.

Inoichi's news had been a gut punch, Danzo now had significant reason to believe Naruto was in league with a missing-nin. The council had a seething hatred for Naruto, and their disrespect didn't stop even in his supposed death. It was clear he wouldn't last a week without Hiruzen defending him tooth and nail.

Worse still were Hiruzen's own doubts about the situation. Naruto was in Kumo for god knows what reason, and had supposedly been trained by the mysterious man who had assisted Itachi in his infamous massacre. It wasn't a good look, and Naruto hadn't said jack shit since his mind had been infiltrated by Inoichi.

Danzo was beside him as he entered the council hall, but Hiruzen had stopped listening to his blathering a few minutes ago. The room was silent as he approached his chair, but conversation burst out as soon as he was seated. Danzo had clearly taken the liberty of informing everyone about the situation, likely in whatever words would have them riled up the most.

Tired of the loud and meaningless discourse, Hiruzen raised his hand and watched in satisfaction as the men and women of the council shut their fucking mouths for once in Konoha's storied history.

"I would hear your concerns now. One at a time please, you are not children". Many hands shot up, everyone and their mother seemed to have an opinion on the Uzumaki situation, much to his chagrin.

"Hiashi?" He nodded to the Hyuuga patriarch, giving him the floor.

"The boy needs to be disposed of. We can seal the fox in another easily enough, Konoha has no shortage of orphans. Yes, it may mean that the weapon will take longer to be of use, but it is worth it to resolve any possible loyalty issues." Hiashi's cold suggestion was met with unease by the council, but Hiruzen knew better than to mistake it for hesitation to kill Naruto.

'They don't want it on their conscience, to give another orphan that fate'. It was selfish, and rather hypocritical, but Hiruzen would take what he was given.

"You would sign another child off to that fate? Could you so easily hate and disparage another child like you do Naruto, knowing that you were the one that made them this way?"

Hiruzen hated politics, but it didn't mean he wasn't damn good at them sometimes. Many of the more moderate council members had reflected on their behavior towards Naruto. Most of them were likely still content to lie to themselves, and hate Naruto the same way they used to. But Hiruzen had been in the game long enough to spot the faces in the room that burned with regret and uncertainty.

"You let your personal feelings get in the way of logic, Hokage-sama. Naruto may have been innocent of what some used to disparage him for, but that makes it all the more likely that he harbors dislike for us." Danzo's little speech was filled with fake compassion, and Hiruzen nearly cursed when he saw how many were nodding in agreement.

'And rightfully so, you cowardly fucks'. Hiruzen's historical dislike of the council had become hatred after what had happened to Naruto, he could barely keep up the charade of polite conversation with them as it was.

'Ah, well. Let's see if we can tug on some heartstrings then.' Hiruzen sat up in his chair, and fixed the council with his best "disappointed father" look, before starting to speak.

"I wonder why, Danzo. For whatever reason could Naruto dislike the village that treated him with such… compassion". Quite a few flinches from the civilian council, he was doing well so far.

"I'm sure his sacrifice was valued by his people, and he was treated with love and respect. Why, its preposterous that he would dislike our great and virtuous village". His voice was positively flooded with sarcasm and vitriol.

Danzo adjusted himself, leaning forward on the table and formulating his response. "And? We are ninja, we may have done the boy wrong, but we can't blame our failures on the rest of the village. They will be the ones who suffer from our , if we let the boy live that is."

It took naught but a second to realize that cowardice had won the day. The civilian council put on their solemn looks like it was their favorite winter coat, wincing in fake sympathy and nodding along to Danzo's little rant.

Anger poured out of him like never before, standing up with a purpose, Hiruzen shoved his chair against the table and pushed his way out of the council hall.

For being a supposed god among shinobi, he felt more powerless by the day.

"Naruto, are you there?" His voice was gentle, all of his previous rage sapped at the sight of the scarred and tired blonde.

"Hey, jiji". Naruto's voice was harsher than gravel and near unrecognizable, but that didn't stop the tears from welling in his eyes.

"Naruto, I swear. I won't let anyone hurt you, I'll- I'll find a way to fix this." His voice was filled with desperation, he didn't have the strength to keep his voice steady anymore.

Naruto shook his head in amusement before sitting up, looking remarkably more awake and alert. "I've gotten my offer Jiji. Danzo stopped by, told me how it was going to go. I'll be leaving the village for my 'mission' in a few days". Naruto made air quotes in reference to his mission, clearly unconvinced with Danzo's explanation.

An icy cold feeling gripped his old heart. Danzo was planning to send him on a suicide mission, to prove his loyalty to Konoha. Even if Naruto had the skill to complete it, Danzo would never have let the Kyuubi out of the village unless he planned to-

'Murder Naruto'. Worse still, Sarutobi wasn't sure he could stop it.

Perhaps some sorrows are too great for men to bear, not even the gods can hope to carry them.