Warning: I do not own RWBY, that belongs to Oum & Rooster Teeth. Nor Naruto that is shonen and his creator.
xxx Konoha xxx
"Sarutobi, today is a fine day isn't it?" Naruto asked as he greeted the hokage.
"Yes, quite a nice day for an election isn't it?" Sarutobi replied.
Today was the day the elections would commence and the day to see who will lead Konoha.
"Yes it is. I have to admit I am happy to see our daimyo making sure this election is safe as possible" Ozma noted the contingent of samurai all over konoha. But more importantly the symbol these men wore, these men belonged to the Kage no kirā regiment or otherwise known as the anti-shinobi guard.
These men were trained specifically to deal with shinobi forces and taught special techniques designed to take them down. You couldn't go one place without seeing them. Under normal circumstances the village would sweating at the sight of them and wondering what was done to anger the Daimyo's wrath. However in this case it was to ensure no one tried anything funny. A message that was well understood.
Both of them looked out onto the growing crowd of men and women. It was still early morning and yet everyone could feel the anxious energies surrounding the village. After much debate with the daimyo it was agreed how the election would commence. First the clans would go starting from the smallest to the largest last to ensure a speedy process. After them would be the Jonin, genin, and chunin. The chunin's would go last due to the sheer size of the group and how long it would take to sort all their votes.
Already the first groups were being called through. They themselves voted ahead thanks to one being the hokage and the other a potential hokage.
For ozma the immortal had nothing really else to say to the man and bid him goodbye. His teammates were at his side as they too waited for their turn. All of them had their papers on them.
"So what now Naruto, I mean we got everyone we can get so now what?" Sakura asked. She was nervous over all of this and how could she not? In 24 hours the fate of her birth village will be decided and nobody could tell. She couldn't help but run the numbers in her ahead over and over again. Thinking about all the things that could wrong of if they failed to get a certain amount of people.
Ozma poken her shoulder "Relax Sakura, getting all worried up like that won't change anything you know. We've gotten all that we could, now all we can do is wait and see. The only real thing we can do right now is wait and see how this will go."
Sakura looked ready to object as Ozma shushed her "Go and relax, talk to your friends or something. We've done all that we can. Be proud of how much we got."
The girl looked annoyed and huffed before leaving. Ozma turned to Sasuke "And what about you? Are still worried as well sasuke?"
"How can I not?" the uchiha replied "But I understand what you are saying. I only hope that everything works out."
"Have a little faith, don't think I have backups" Ozma smiled. Sasuke shock his head as he followed after Sakura. Once they had both left the blonde let out a sigh.
"I hope that we win to sasuke, very much so" the immortal muttered. The last thing he wanted to show was any sign of worry to his teammates but even he was worried. He had gone over the various clans to ensure their loyalty and made last moment speeches yesterday in hopes of swaying any last minutes voters.
The immortal clearly knew what would happen if he were to lose. If he did then the hokage would not waste time in ensuring never again we could take power or stopping this method. That and he would be forced to explain his aura and magic, lying was an option but the chances of it blowing up in his face were large. No doubt he would be forced to reveal the truth of his existence and he wanted to avoid that no matter what, showing people the truth of himself without proper readiness tends to cause more headaches then he liked.
...
"Naruto Uzumaki, are you alright?" someone spoke. He turned around to see a heavily bandage man with a x-shaped scar on his chin holding onto a cane.
"Apologies, I was just thinking ... and did you call me Uzumaki?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Is that now what you are? By konoha's law Uzumaki is your surname, your mother was from that clan" the old man replied.
"Well most call me by my new last name. It is simply odd to hear someone use my old name."
"Hmph, fools. I find the uzumaki name far more stronger, the mokuton was a powerful bloodline but that was one man. The uzumaki were an entire clan that specializes in sealing, a far more powerful art then most understand. Shame what happened to them" the man replied.
"I see, and who would you be anyone. I never caught your name."
"Danzo Shimura" That interested in naruto. Danzo Shimura was not a name spoken commonly and the only people he had heard it from were from the older generations, those that fought in the 2nd shinobi war to be more precise. And yet even they either spoke about him in extremes, either they respected him or despised his very existence, nothing in between.
"Now isn't that surprise. It is not everyday that you see a man that fought not in one but in three shinobi wars. So what brings someone like you to little old me I doubt it is for a simple chat." he offered his hand.
"Now isn't that an oddity. Someone that actually knows their history" Danzo took the handshake "But you are correct that this isn't a simple chat. I want to ask you something Uzumaki."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
Danzo motioned him to follow as the two walked across the hallway "Tell me Uzumaki, what is your opinion on konoha, why do you want to be hokage?"
"Why? Well it is my home and for as long as I can remember I always wanted to become hokage—"
"—Don't give that common spittle Uzumaki" the man interrupted "Say that all you want to the masses but I want to hear your real reason for wanting to be hokage. Are you truly loyal to konoha?"
"Excuse me?"
The man sighed before speaking "Everyone knows of your heritage, of your burden. We have hidden your heritage from you and the chances of every finding out were slim. By all accounts you should be angry at konoha or bitter in some manner and yet here you are trying to become it's greatest protector."
"And that confuses you?" Naruto spoke.
"Yes, will you humor this old man"
Naruto cupped his chin as minutes passed "Well ... the reason so is that I find continuing hatred an unpleasant thing. You are right that it would be easier to get mad at the people of konoha or not fully trust them, but all I would be doing is continuing a disgusting cycle of hatred. What would I even get out of hating konoha or it's people, to feel better when I am alone? To somehow justify hurting them or even those they care about?
No, for me to even use hatred as an excuse is shameful. I've learned that it is better to move forward with life then wallow in hatred, I am willing to let past pains be bygones to start anew. If they are willing to try then good, if they wish to keep their hatred then I will not stop them." Naruto answered honestly.
"And what about Konoha?" Danzo asked.
"If I win then I will rule to village before it's time" Naruto answered.
"Before it's time? And what do you mean by that Uzumaki?"
"One day Konoha will end, it may not happen today or tomorrow but one day this village will come to its end. There have been hundred of nations that have fallen before the villages time and many more will after. I will rule it to the best of my ability but do not think this village or any other will last forever" Naruto explained.
The immortal had seen one too many make the claim of creating the greatest nation to ever exist, many of those 'great' nations never even made it into the books. The idea that anything could last forever was something he did not believe in, it was nothing but boasting from his creations.
...
"That is not what I expected to hear from you Uzumaki, you certainly have given me things to think over." The elder mused "Still it was nice to hear from the younger generation."
xxx Hours Later xxx
"It's been five minutes since they started counting the ballots" Sakura paced around.
"And five minutes since you started pacing" Naruto commented. "I do fear for the wooden floor, did you know that it was the first hokage that made the current flooring. I do hope you don't destroy any more precious history."
The girl whipped a glare at him as he worried for her poor neck. Sakura looked ready to speak as she stop halfway before growling and going back to her pacing ... what an odd girl. He looked to see Sasuke tapping his feat but remained passive over all. Kakashi was reading his books. All of them were waiting in the main lobby as were his allies and Sarutobi's lot too.
Most of the hokage tower was turned into an impromptu counting room with it guarded by dozens of samurai. Now they were waiting for the daimyo's officers to finish the counting process before announcing the winner. Seeing nothing else to do Naruto closed his eyes as he allowed himself a nice nap.
...
Right before he felt someone shake him. It was Kakashi calling his name. "Well about time you woke up, the officials have finished counting up the election. Their calling you and sarutobi."
Oh that was the reason. He wasted no time and quickly ran to meet up with the old man. Reaching to the meeting room he opened to see the daimyo and his court as well as sarutobi.
"Apologizes for making you all wait. I seem to have doze off, I promise to avoid that mistake again." He apologized.
"Well it was only a few seconds but it is nice to know you are willing to fix that." The daimyo looked bemused "Still let us get on with our business. My officials have told they have finished the counting and have now found the winner."
Both men straightened as they waited for the daimyo to speak.
"I have to admit this month has been the most interesting thing in a long time. Never before have I ever got some many different request to observe the election process form the different nations, some of which I have never talked to since my father's rule. But yes, onto the subject of being Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi."
The old man looked up
"You have gain 8750 of the votes"
Half the vote. Far from worse but was the last thing he needed, did that mean they needed a recount or was konoha truly split on the issue, what then ... would the Daimyo be the tie breaker? Looking at the hokage he to seemed in deep thought over the subject.
"And for you Naruto Senju ... 8950 votes. Congratulations Naruto or should I say future hokage?"
"E-Excuse me? Forgive me my lord but did you say I won by two hundred votes?" He was shocked, that shouldn't have been possible. Where in the world did those 200 hundred votes come from?
"Indeed, that is what my officials explained"
"That shouldn't be possible my lord. Konoha does not have an extra 200 hundred forces, we accounted for all forces including the reserves and the retired." Hiruzen spoke.
"Interesting, because the last time I checked the numbers were quite accurate unless you are stating something" there was a glint in the daimyo's eyes as the hokage backed down. "I assure you that we tripled checked everything and from our knowledge everything seemed accurate. If you must know where they are from they seemed to be under your ANBU division. Under a Danzo Shimura."
Naruto briefly felt a pulse of chakra from Hiruzen and saw the old man curl his fist. The man's face was the epitome of calm but one look at his hand and feet showed a different picture. For god's sake the floor under him was already creating a indent from the chakra pressure alone.
"I see, I now understand where the extra votes came from" the man croaked. Sarutobi turned to the immortal with a resigned look "Then I guess it means you are now hokage Naruto. I congratulate you and I warn you to keep your guard up, you duty is now to steer konoha into a new future. Do not fail your father or your predecessor."
"Thank you Hiruzen, I hope to live up to your expectations" the immortal answered back, the transferring of power was always an odd thing for him. It tended to be a messy thing for many, perhaps not for the ninja villages ... hopefully. "I suppose it is time to announce the results."
"Yes it is, come naruto it is time for konoha to see it's new hokage"
xxx Outside xxx
There were a lot more people than he expected. He knew the shinobi would stay but seeing so many civilians and with it being past midnight surprised him. Regardless, he still had a speech to make. There were seals around the area to ensure that his voice made it across the village.
The daimyo went first making a good speech on the village's founding and it's the beliefs before announcing the results. No one in the crowd spoke besides the shocked or smug looks people were giving each other. A slight push from one of the samurai and he made his way front and center.
"People of Konoha! Today is a day of great change for today, by the will of the shinobi of konoha I have been chosen to be the next hokage. I understand that not all of you wished for me to take the hat for various reason but if you are worried I will bring pain and ruin to you then I wish you to dash such notions. I understand that the last few weeks have been stressful and more importantly revealed deep issues within this village.
We prided ourselves as the greatest village and yet we forgotten about the hundreds of unnamed loyal shinobi who have been unknowingly crushed under the villages heel. For too long has this gone unnoticed and now we are forced to look at this ugly problem. It will not be easy to mend these wounds but we must if we are to remain strong. The others villages will prowl and prod at us and will pounce at us at the smallest hint of weakness.
But we will not show them weakness. No, instead we will force them see our village be propelled to greater heights than ever before! They will envy and hunger for our power and they will never have it. As hokage I vow to see this village heal its wound and see this village be brought to newer and greater heights!
I Naruto Senju, son of Kushina Uzumaki & Minato Namikaze, promise this as the fifth hokage!"
Half the crowd let a mighty cheer and the other half begrudgingly clapped with the crowd understanding the need of unity. The civilians cheer regardless, finally happy to see a new hokage and a chance for things to finally regain a semblance of normality.
"Impressive speech, a little simple for my taste" the daimyo nodded.
"Thank you my lord. I assume you will be staying for the festival? I heard tomorrow konoha will be hosting a grand festival to celebrate who ever won the election." asked naruto.
"But of course, however, that will not be the only reason. I do wish to discuss more on this aura business to" the daimyo replied.
"I understand my lord"
xxx Shimura Estate xxx
"Sarutobi, it is a surprise to see you here. What brings you to my home?" asked Danzo. He eyed his old friend who was flanked by his teammates and followed by his last loyal students. So Hiruzen finally discovered the truth, took the man too long.
"What have you done Danzo. Do you understand what you have done" Seeing Hiruzen not even raising his voice ... he must have been more angry then he expected.
"Ah yes, assure our new hokage has a chance in ruling konoha."
"A chance!? You just signed off konoha's death you fool" Koharu hissed "Now there is nearly nothing stopping him from doing what he wants to do."
"Are you that afraid of change Koharu? I've listened to boys plans and I must admit he clearly had a lot of time on his hand" Danzo replied "Is your wish for konoha to be stagnant while our enemies look from afar waiting for the moment to crush us?"
"You know that is not what she means Danzo. But you know of our suspicions of naruto, no boy regardless on how smart he is could create such a plan for konoha and somehow get half of konoha's forces to his side. It was simply unnatural and rang warning bells in all of us" Homaru spoke. The ever diplomat he was.
"My godson is way to young for the hokage's role for god's sake. I don't him to suffer all the stress that job will give him, don't you remember what happened to Itachi Uchiha when we decided to speed him through the ranks or all the others before him" Jiraiya growled.
Ah yes the ever loving godfather. Danzo withheld shaking his head, if anything the boy seemed too ready for the role as if he had been in a similar role multiple times. He looked to Tsunade and waited to see what her response would be ... she merely glared and huffed away. Finally, he turned to his old rival.
...
"Were you the one using him?" That made him widen his eyes a bit "don't lie to me Danzo. Did you use Naruto as a proxy to become hokage, what did you do to him."
Suddenly he felt Jiraiya chakra rise as Hiruzen waited for a response, one wrong move and a rasengan would be caving his face "No, I did no such thing Hiruzen."
"Truly, the only one else I could see turning half of konoha would be you. No doubt you still had lots of pull within Naruto's clan allies, what is saying you could have pulled some strings to see him get their aid. And 200 hundred extra votes, I'm ashamed to see that you hadn't disbanded ROOT when I ordered you." Hiruzen listed off.
"A fair assessment ... if you ignored the part of my influence in the clans. Tsume father and I were good friends but that did not mean it transferred to his daughter in fact I am sure the women has no love for me, partially for blaming me for the death of her father. As for Shibi, outside of support for the third shinobi war my relations with the aburame were always cordial and after Tourne the clan wished no connection with me."
"As for the Hyuga" Danzo couldn't help but scoff "You know my opinion on them. They're too powerful already and threatened the balance among the clans, why in the world would would I want to give them more power? Besides, who ever said I was helping the boy."
The leader of ROOT was amused when he saw the confused looks on their faces "You were right that Naruto Uzumaki is acting odd. His seemingly latent maturity, his skill against Orochimaru and the reviewed kages all the way to the Ichibi, and finally him getting so many of the clans to his side in a short amount of time.
By all account this is impossible. Not even Itachi or Orochimaru showed this level of potential. Through my own research I found no sign of Naruto being manipulated, no signs of genjutsu, no seals, no sign of drugs, I even wondered about Hypnosis but even that is impossible thanks to his burden. Something is wrong here a piece of the puzzle we are all missing and the only one who knows is naruto. So what other way then joining his side."
"Danzo, you don't mean—" Ah there was the intellect that gave him his moniker. Everyone else seemed to slowly getting an idea on what was happening to.
"—Yes I do mean it old friend. What better way then earning his trust, it has been some time since I done such a deep infiltration mission like this. He has no choice but to accept me into his ranks the boy understands he controls the village by a razor thin margin and keeping that control will mean making concessions." Danzo explained.
"Well shit, I didn't think you had that in you" Jiraiya looked awed as so did everyone else.
"I do what I must to protect konoha. Now Hiruzen, what will you do while I'm getting the boy's trust?"
"Like you said the boy controls konoha just barely. We still hold control over the other half of the village and he will need to make concessions to gain any semblance of unity" Homaru spoke "Yes, we may have lost the election but we still have influence in the village. Who knows what path naruto wants to lead us but at least we will have the power to temper whatever they may be."
"Protest will work to our favor" Koharu added with a smile "Like he said, any sign of weakness and the other village will test us. We may be able to gleam somethings from our angle that you may not Danzo."
...
"Danzo, you know the risk if naruto finds out. Is this what you really want" Hiruzen asked with guilt in his voice.
"Hiruzen, I fully accept this path. For konoha I will do what is need ... Hokage" Danzo knelt in front of him.
"Thank you Danzo."
