The Godaime's Reign

It was dark in the Land of Fire, tonight was a New Moon, and the night was made even darker by the curtain of tree trunks and branches, that were blocking even the tiny illumination provided by the stars. Darkness by itself is no danger, on most nights there would be sounds, the chirp of crickets, the hoot of an owl, even the sound of an occasional snap of a twig. Tonight, however, the natural inhabitants of the forest were utterly silent, and still, there seemed to be an ever-present air of menace, covering these woods with the stink of danger. The denizens of this forest knew that death was on the hunt, and he was after specific prey, none of them wanted to make the hunter change his mind about adding them to his menu.

The hunter's prey had silver hair, but not from old age merely a quirk of his family genetics, his attire consisted of a navy-blue, long-sleeved shirt, under a standard issue, gray flak-jacket, with shinobi trousers and ninja sandals. Normally, on his forehead, a hitai-ate would be there with a stylized leaf insignia in the center, but as of twelve-hours ago, and one dead Chunin, his former best-friend, later, he was no longer affiliated with the ninja of Konoha. For the last six-months, things in the village had gone downhill fast, ever since that woman had returned to the village things had begun to change, and not for the better in his opinion. He had just been about to leave the ninja corps and gain a cushy seat on the village's Ruling Council, when that woman abolished the civilian body of councilors. She demoted the councilors to simple bureaucrats, they now managed the minutia of details that came with running a village, mostly sanitation and building restoration, as well as an overhaul of the village's orphanages. She seemed determined to make sure all of the villages orphanages were looked after, and those found lacking, were sent packing. One orphanage she seemed to go out of her way to make an example of, the smallest infractions from that single orphanage, which would be overlooked in the others, was added to the list and within a month was closed down, and the orphanage personnel was flogged to within an inch of their lives.

Afterward, she was named Hokage by the Sandaime, and then she really began making changes. From instating a curfew on all civilians, with only restaurants and food stores allowed to remain open after nine at night, so ninja could get something to eat between missions. Prices were fixed for food stores or had a cap that they could not go above, and the cap was based on comparable goods sold in villages of comparable size to Konoha, now everybody paid the same price, whether the shop owner liked them or not. The one change this man applauded, was the law that stated no ninja could be excluded from any store, or business without just cause, and it had to be proven to the ANBU Squad leader, or the owner could find themselves slapped with a hefty fine, and closure of the business for one week; a second infraction led to a flogging, another heavier fine, and closure for not more than one month; a third led to permanent closure of the business, and revocation of the right to work in Konoha. They were not banished, but without the ability to work in Konoha, the person would be required to leave to earn money. The aim of these two revisions was quite clear to the more astute citizens, Konoha was a ninja village, it was for ninja, governed by ninja, and it was not ruled by democracy but by the Hokage, of which, only the Daimyo could overrule the Hokage, but only under very strict guidelines. Many tried to protest to the Daimyo formally, but were sent very clear orders by the Daimyo, to pack up and leave Konoha. If they did not like the way the Hokage ran her village, they did not have to stay there.

It was not just the civilian population, that felt the pinch of change when Tsunade Senju returned to the village. She instituted more discipline among her ninja forces, that the previous Hokage had allowed to lapse. To the old-timers of the village, it was nothing new, these were the same strictures of behavior that had been known under the regimes of the First and Second Hokage, and the first term of the Third, even the Fourth held these standards of behavior sacred, and he was, in his short term in office considered one of the more laid-back Hokages of those that came before him. This relax in discipline had been allowed under the auspices of the Sandaime's second term in office, because when he took back the hat, he had been enjoying his retirement and his mind had been hard-pressed to return to action as the Hokage.

There is a phrase used in the military, about how bad news tends to flow, and that phrase is 'shit rolls downhill,' and the changes Tsunade made at first, began with the Elders of the village then everything, went downhill from there. She started by curtailing their power immensely, by removing their power to call council meetings without her permission. Oh, they tested her sure enough, when they called a meeting of the Clan Council to have her ousted from the chair, they believed they had the grounds to do so, but when the three elders showed up to begin the meeting, all they found was Tsunade, waiting for them. The Clan Council, it seemed, liked the way Tsunade was running things and had sent her warning about the Elders machinations, to have her removed from office. Waiting with Tsunade, was the entire corps of ANBU, waiting with the remnants of the Uchiha clan, the rumors of its demise had been greatly exaggerated, it had actually only been all of the males of the clan, Genin and above who were slaughtered, plus the clan leader and the Elders of the clan. Shisui Uchiha had also disappeared the night of the massacre, his body was not found among the dead.

The contingent of ninja waiting with the Sanin, and the Senju herself, looked like, they had just been in a battle, they were disheveled, but the relaxed look in their eyes, not to mention the fact they were here and not dead, told everybody who won. Tsunade was sitting in her Council seat, one leg propped up over the arm of her chair, conversing with her student from her time as a Jonin-sensei, Mikoto Uchiha. From their giggles, it was mostly lady-business, nothing substantive was taking place in their discourse, until Tsunade spotted the Elders at the door, with astonished, bewildered expressions on their faces. A small flick, sent Mikoto away to converse with her clans people, Tsunade stood and a bright, energetic smile crossed her visage, "Esteemed Elders, welcome, we're just wrapping up here," she told them disarmingly while she approached them, "it seems while surveying the ruins of the part of Konoha, that was most effected by the Kyūbi no Kitsune's assault thirteen-years-ago, my ANBU found an interesting series of tunnels running beneath that section of the village. It was unusual to say the least, and a serious security issue to leave unexplored. If one wanted to, they could conceal a sizable contingent of personnel within Konoha, and we wouldn't have known anything about them until it was all over," she explained to them like they were children.

"That's entirely possible, Tsunade," Shiramura address the Hokage with familiarity, the way he used to do with the Third, "they should be thoroughly scouted."

Tsunade nodded, "they already have been, and wouldn't you know it, our worst fears were realized, it seems a, quite, large force of ninja had managed to infiltrate our village and had taken refuge in those tunnels." She seemed to remember something, "Oh, Shiramura-san, if you ever address me so familiarly like that again," she began sweetly, before her voice hardened with implacability, "I'll have you brought up on charges of sedition and insubordination, which is punishable by public flogging, and your chakra sealed permanently. My sensei may have allowed you some leeway in how you three addressed him, but that was only because you were friends and rivals in the Academy, and you two," she said, indicating Homura and Koharu, "were his teammates under, Tobirama-oji-san. That relationship doesn't extend to me," she stated clearly, "you will all address me as, Senju-sama, Hokage-sama, or even Lady Hokage in common talk, I would hate to have either of you whipped in front of your grandchildren. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," they chorused, now realizing this was truly a return to the military discipline of their youth, all but one of them were excited about this direction.

"As I was saying, Hokage-sama," Danzo began again, lending derisive inflection to the title, Tsunade decided to let that go for now, he would get what was coming to him soon enough, "the tunnels should be scouted and surveyed and the people interrogated, to see how far they have penetrated into Konoha."

"And, as I said, Shiramura-san," she said, lending the same inflection for him as he did for her, before faster than a lightning strike, she leveled a right-cross on the cheek, sending him flying against a wall, she had used a tiny bit of her monstrous strength, if she had used all of it they would not have found enough left of him to fill a shoe box for his burial, "we have already scouted the tunnels, and it's a little too late to interrogate them since most of them are already dead, and the others have been injured so thoroughly that they will no longer be able to speak coherently, the only one left intact so to speak, was a young boy, who has a remarkable talent for drawing. He is being held in the pediatric unit of the hospital, with his chakra sealed to prevent him from escaping," she pulled something from her pouch and tossed it to the floor, it was a mask, similar to the ones worn by her ANBU Corps. The difference was in the details, this one was a pure-white, full-faced mask, with the symbol for 'NEH," on the forehead, and it was blood-stained, she tossed it to the ground like an unholy thing. "They were all wearing this," Tsunade shivered theatrically, "the symbol for emptiness, a blank slate, without moral compunction for anything. Whatever they were, they sure weren't ninja, at least not the kind of ninja I'd want to deploy, I need people with the moral compass to know when to say no to a mission, or willing to go against the mission parameters if there is a greater moral imperative at stake."

Danzo was looking at the mask on the floor with wide, astonished eyes, then up into the eyes of his Hokage, they were the eyes of somebody daring him to make a move. They told him, that she knew all about his duplicity and subversion, but for some reason she was not accusing him of anything, she had him dead-to-rights, and she was not going in for the kill. It was not feminine gentility, her eyes and demeanor were as hard as a diamond, and glittered like one, with pure-malice behind it. Danzo turned his head down, in submission, whatever her game was, she was saving him for something… maybe someone else.

Tsunade, satisfied that she had the old-fart at her mercy, turned her head and gazed at all three of them, "by the way, I know why you all are here in my council chambers, you see unlike you three, the Clan Council likes the way I'm running the village. They feel that the discipline I've been re-instituting is actually good for the village, they think the caliber of ninja we've turned out for the past thirteen-years has waned, and with the possible exception of Itachi Uchiha, none of them are approaching legendary status, like they did under previous regimes. That means you three are guilty of treason, and insubordination," she accused them with an acidic voice, "this is my village, these are my ninja, and this is my council. You are my Elders, you serve at the pleasure of the Hokage, and at her bidding. Well, you were Elders, now you're all retired! ANBU," she ordered, and before her mouth was even closed, several ninja in animal masks appeared next to their Hokage, "take these three away, have temporary chakra seals placed on each and every one of their tenketsu, as well as the self-destruction sub-routine! They were Elders after all, the secrets they could reveal to enemy ninja could destroy Konoha overnight!" This meant that they were now trapped here within the village, this level of security meant, they were able to walk around the village as much as they wanted but were unable to go more than a mile from the village walls, or the seals placed over their tenketsu would activate, which would immediately and forcibly expel all of the chakra, within the chakra coils, which would lead to death via chakra exhaustion. They were also restricted from entering ninja buildings, they were now, persona non grata, to the ninja of Konoha, if they tried to enter places with restricted access, only to ninja, the same sub-routine that killed them if they left, rendered them unconscious for sticking their nose where it did not belong. At their age, the Elders could still die of a heart attack or stroke if that happened.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the ANBU bellowed.

Mizuki came back from his musings, he had learned all of that from his best-friend, Iruka Umino a week or two after it had gone down. The Hokage encouraged everyone in the room to tell of what they saw that night, she wanted everyone to know the level of her resolve for returning Konoha back to its former glory. Iruka had been recalled to active duty, after Tsunade had to decommission several ANBU commanders, Tsunade had ordered them to undergo psychological screening to make sure they were still viable ANBU.

The details were sketchy, but the Yamanaka clan was employed heavily, from what they had heard they were all given the same scenario, they had to watch a child being beaten up by several adults. It was always the same child, though who the kid was, was Need-to-Know only, the ones who stepped in to aid the child without being ordered were retained, those that had to be ordered, or refused to help even when ordered, were decommissioned, and, or executed for dereliction of duty. They were ANBU, to leave them alive would open up a potential enemy that Konoha could not allow, such was the Fate of all who enter the ANBU ranks. Those that served with distinction and honor could be let go almost without worry, those who defiled their position or otherwise served their village poorly, did not live long enough to become a threat to the village.

After the Elders were, for lack of a better term, sacked, Tsunade turned to the clans, while for the most part the Hokage could not interfere with the clans, the Daimyo could, and in Konoha his Shadow of Fire served in his name, so it was within this office she acted. It was during one of the Clan Council meetings, toward the end, when it all went down. They had made good progress in the meeting that day, without the Elders chiming in to add their two-koryo over everything which was discussed, that made things run more smoothly, even if Tsunade was looking to have them replaced.

"Yes, very well," Tsunade said with a pleased smile, "now, there is one more thing on the docket for which I need to address." She stood tall and her robes billowed in an unfelt breeze, the lights dimmed-down, almost to nothingness, she lowered her head until nothing, but her eyes were seen. They seemed to glow, with a fiery-orange light that danced within her eyes, the voice which came from her mouth was not that of a woman, it was a man's deep, rich, baritone, "Hark, I hear the voice of my people, crying out in the wilderness, for they have been placed under a yoke of slavery, which hath been anathema to the Will of Fire since the foundation of my Land of Fire. They wear a slave collar, though not around their necks, it hath been indelibly inscribed upon yon brow, for all the world to see, unless they would conceal it beneath their ninja headband. I have empowered my Shadow to fulfill my will in this matter, and whatever my Shadow wills, I will, and none shall gainsay her lest their life be in forfeit, by the Will of Fire I command thee, to heed her will as though it were my own!"

There was a short pause as the Hokage's spirit regained control of her body and voice, they were all quiet as they digested what took place. This was something that did not happen often, but the title Shadow of Fire, 'Hokage,' was more than that. When they took the chair as Hokage, they literally became, the shadow of the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, and when the Daimyo spoke through her shadow as he did just now, he was giving the Hokage the power to act as the Daimyo. The Hokage's already near limitless authority here in Konoha, was made to be equal to the authority of the Lord of Fire himself, and no power was greater in the Land of Fire. The phrase a man's home is his castle, while it may apply to limit the Hokage's power, does not apply to the Daimyo. Figuratively, every square inch of the Land of Fire, belonged to the Daimyo, that meant every resource the citizens of Hi no Kuni took from the land itself, or brought in from abroad, belonged to the Lord of Fire.

The Daimyo can literally walk onto any person's property and remove said person from the property, with little or no provocation. Luckily, every Daimyo from the Land of Fire has been a very reasonable man, and understand that too much heavy-handedness, could cost them the throne. Tsunade raised the hat and looked directly at Hiashi Hyūga, and without preamble began addressing the clan leader, "in case it wasn't made abundantly clear, Hiashi-dono, the slave collar he referred to is the Caged-Bird Seal, the Hyūga placed upon all branch family members."

Hiashi sighed, "I gathered as much, and I've never liked it, I think it's barbaric, we are literally subjugating members of our own family."

Tsunade just looked at him, "spare me your self-righteousness, Hyūga-dono," she snapped, "do you think I am coming at this without foreknowledge of the use of this seal?"

"Why, whatever do you mean," Hiashi sweated, "I am merely trying…"

"You are trying to make yourself blameless, for the use of this brutal form of Fuinjutsu," Tsunade accused him, "if you were really against this, then you wouldn't have used it on your own brother!" She pointed and in the direction of her hand, a door opened, and from the door emerged a Genin. He was dressed in the newly required uniform, all Genin were now required to wear, had fair skin and an ivy-league buzz-cut, and the white featureless eyes of the Byakugan. Today, he wore a desert-camouflage, long-sleeved shirt, a dull blue shirt beneath that, mesh armour beneath that, wore desert-camouflage, shinobi trousers, the right arm and leg were shorn-off to the elbow and knee respectively, and there were wrapped bandages around those appendages and his chest, as well. He had blue, shinobi sandals, on his feet, and wore a forehead protector. His name was Neji Hyūga, and at the time, he had been a Genin for a little over six-months, almost a year by now. Tsunade smiled reassuringly, "come in, Genin Hyūga, please stand at attention, and tell the council, what you have explained to me about the incident, between your father and his brother, the clan leader, Hiashi Hyūga."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he said popping to attention, arms at his sides, feet together staring straight ahead, he was not facing his uncle as Hiashi was off to the side. "Hizashi Hyūga, my father, was born mere seconds after my uncle, and as a result was placed within the branch family of the Hyūga clan, and at some point, in time, was branded with the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu. When I turned four, I was branded with it as well, at that time my cousin was three, and my father, appeared to have been about to cause her harm, my uncle used the seal on my father, to cause him to fall over, clutching his head in pain."

"Thank you, Genin Hyūga," Tsunade stated, again with a smile of reassurance, "you are dismissed, and may go find your team." Neji Hyūga wordlessly, turned to the Hokage and bowed, turned to the leader of his clan and also bowed, ignoring the pained expression on his uncle's face, before turning to the rest of the council and bowing to them all at the same time. He departed the council chamber without looking back.

Tsunade turned to the Hyūga clan leader, "I will not get into the attempted murder of your own brother, Hiashi, especially since we do not have any corroborating evidence. But tell me, what is the purpose of this seal," she asked?

Hiashi sighed, "It's original purpose was so that when a member of the branch family died, their Byakugan can be sealed away, preventing its secrets from being learned by enemies." He could almost hear the next question to fall from the Hokage's lips before she even opened her mouth, but she was not the one to ask it.

Tsunade's eyes were as wide as they could go, and hers were not the only ones, none more so than the Uchiha matriarch's eyes, "that's absurd logic, if the true purpose were to prevent the enemy from obtaining the Byakugan, why not brand it upon every member of the clan? Main house members are just as susceptible to dying in the field as the branch family! Your own daughters are just as liable to be kidnapped as anybody," Mikoto blurted out, "as was shown in the Kumo incident!"

"Not to mention, that all one would need to do to prevent the seal from activating, is capture your clansman alive," Shikaku Nara pointed out, "then excise the eye during surgery. We know from the Kakashi-Obito Case, that even an amateur medic-nin can transfer a dojutsu, from donor to recipient, while the donor is still alive, imperfectly."

"That first part of your statement is the kind of thing, I've exhorted to the Hyūga Elders over and over again, since the very incident, my nephew talks about," Hiashi then looked at the Hokage, "of which, I freely admit happened, but I claim that I was defending my daughter. I don't deny my nephew's accusation, I did use the seal against my own brother," Hiashi confessed, "and I have been guilt ridden over it ever since I did it. Not to mention that my brother, died in my place when after killing the Kumo delegate, the Raikage, claiming diplomatic immunity demanded my head as payment for killing their ambassador, for abducting my daughter," Hiashi stated bitterly, "or he'd declare war on Konoha."

"Can the seal be removed," Tsume Inuzuka asked?

"Very easily," Hiashi admitted, "from time to time, the main house's blood runs thin, and needs to be bolstered from blood by a distant branch family member. Part of the marriage contract always includes removal of the Caged-bird Seal, as an act of consideration within the contract," the clan leader informed his peers, "my own wife was chosen from a distant, and obscure section of the branch family, one which had not been chosen from, since well before our clan migrated to Konoha. The reasons have never come to light, and even our oldest archives tell conflicting stories," he said as an aside, "they practice an ancient fighting style, more an assassination art, than a taijutsu-style, different from the rest of the clan, called the thirteen fists from the stars, or Jūsan, and is said to predate, the Jūken," Hiashi rambled, then continued with his original line of speech, "the Elders seem to concern themselves only over the tradition of the seal mark, not over the reasons behind the mark in the first place. There is nothing I can do to change their minds," then looking at the Hokage, "the Hyūga unfortunately, are a democratically run clan, and I can be removed as clan leader at any time, as long as there is just means for my removal. While I would not totally resent that idea, it's the thought of branding my daughters with the caged-bird seal that keeps me in line with their preconceived paradigms," the clan leader admitted.

Tsunade was thinking while thumbing her chin, then a smile floated up to her lips, "While I can, and will if I have to, outright order the removal of the seal, I want you to put it to them this way, Hiashi. Your clan Elders are known to make journeys to Tanzaku-Gai to gamble away your clan's fortunes, tell them that they have a choice. They may either, remove the seal from every member of your clan, and disband it's use entirely, or they themselves may be branded with the Caged-Bird Seal, and restricted to the Village," the Hokage ordered, "they have one week to give you their answer, before I send my ANBU into your compound and remove your Elders. Make sure they are clear, that I am not just speaking as the Hokage, but as the Shadow of our Lord of Fire," Tsunade ordered.

Needless to say, the Hyūga Elders fell into line, and to make sure of 100% compliance, they had the entire clan of Hyūga muster in front of the Hokage Mansion, while half the ANBU searched the Hyūga compound for anybody not present. The members of the Branch families could not believe they were finally free from the Main House and the Caged-Bird Seal, but when they were, they wanted to turn against and kill them, nearly every member of the branch family, had a family member tortured or murdered before their eyes. And, the victims were not all adults. Mostly by the Elders of the clan, luckily except for Hiashi's onetime use against his brother, he never used it on any other member of the branch family. The Elders were brought up on several charges of murder, and there was enough corroboration from Hiashi himself, for them to be found guilty, and executed. Several families broke away from the Hyūga completely, they have become their own clan within Konoha, they became known as the Shirome Clan. Neji was offered a home with his uncle Hiashi, who begged Neji's forgiveness on his knees. His nephew relented after that and began joining Hiashi, in the training of his daughters, they were a true family, once again.

From the beginning, Tsunade's whole campaign was instilling discipline and pride in her ninja forces, this in her experience would serve to boost morale. To that end, the Hokage began instituting changes to how her ninja conducted themselves in public, she did not inhibit any of their freedoms, they were still free-thinking adults, and thus were treated like adults.

She began by requiring each ninja to wear a required uniform, similar to the uniform Mizuki was wearing tonight, in fact the only difference between a Chunin uniform and that of a Jonin was the flak-jacket. Jonin flak-jackets were forest green. Individuals with bright hair, like the Yamanakas, were required to wear a head-cover to hide the hair-color. Accessories like bandages, forehead protectors, and ninja tools, were up to the individual, as for aesthetics the ninja uniforms were provided in different colors, from red to violet and black, but bright colors were prohibited.

The style of one's hair was just as regulated. The shinobi were required to wear a buzz-cut, any style was allowed, as long as the top, was no longer than two-inches above the scalp, or one-inch on the sides and back of the head. Kunoichi were given more leeway, they could put it up in buns, a ponytail or a single-braid, as long as it was even with their sternums on the front. Mizuki chose a flat-top cut, for his hair, and most of the ninja are not too inconvenienced by the requirements, all provided for them by the new Leaf Village Exchange, commonly referred to as, LEX-mart. Mizuki had to hide his mirth whenever he watched ninja like Kakashi, having to get his signature spiky hair buzzed off, he could see Hatake's one visible eye twitching as he sat in the barber's chair. The Nara could care less about their hair, they merely cut-off their signature ponytails, and left their hair alone, in their estimation taking time they usually used for grooming their hair was more time they could use for wool-gathering, or cloud watching as they say.

Mizuki smiled to himself, when he remembered the emotional outcry from half of Team Nine, or Team Gai. Jonin-sensei, Maito Gai, and his little Genin clone, who could use no more chakra then it would take to perform the Academy Three, and chakra-control exercises, were no longer allowed to match each other. Maito had to abandon his green-spandex but was at least, allowed to retain the color-scheme of his original wardrobe. He was even more distraught, when he learned he had to ditch his signature fishbowl hair-style, but chose a spiky, flat-top cut.

Speaking of Genin, their mode of dress had to change the most, they were no longer allowed to wear just anything they wanted. They were now required to wear a camouflage, long-sleeved, zip-up shirt, camouflage trousers, and were required to wear their ninja tool-pouches, on the leg of their dominant hand. The camouflage was provided in patterns of the same color-spectrum as the Chunin and Jonin Uniforms. Some clans to distinguish themselves, required their ninja to adopt a certain color range.

The Uchiha, what was left of their kunoichi, adopted navy-blue uniforms, the males that became Genin after the massacre, began wearing black uniforms, and all had embroidered the Uchiha crest on their backs. Which had changed, from a fan-like shape, to a fan with a tear along one side, in remembrance of those they lost that night. The Inuzuka adopt a rich, dark-brown color, to remind them of the soil they came from, and must eventually return to, and to prevent the hairs of their canine companions from showing up on their clothing. Individual styles are still allowed, as shown by the Genin Rock Lee, he adopted the forest-green cammies, but retained his leg and arm-warmers, which still concealed his massive leg and arm-weights, plus he changed his ninja pouch, all in olive-green, instead of orange. The only way he could honor his sensei in imitation, was to cut his hair in the same spiky, flat-top as his sensei.

Of course, attire and hair-styles, are not enough to make one a ninja, that comes with performance. Tsunade began in the Academy, she kept the requirements for graduation, but made each section its own separate test, and each section was worth 25% of the total required for graduation. Academics, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and throwing, were each worth a quarter of the whole test, whatever score you got was weighted by that much, and students had to get a minimum of eighty-percent to graduate. Just being good at one thing, but mediocre in everything else would not allow one to pass, skating by would not work, you had to want to be there.

After the Academy, for which Mizuki had worked at the time, were the Genin Teams, there were benchmarks set in place before any team could even be considered for C-ranked missions. Each member had to have passed vertical-walking, and be at least half-way through water-walking, be able to hold their own individually, against their Jonin-sensei for three-minutes, using any means at their disposal, and have been on 50 D-ranked missions. Each Genin was given a Qualification Card, with each of those requirements listed, only when those benchmarks are met, could their sensei recommend them for C-ranked missions. Even then, it was still at the discretion of the Hokage, to deem one team ready or not, and if the Jonin were wrong then their pay for the mission, for the loss of a Genin, would go to the lost Genin's family, or be donated to the orphanage where they were raised.

There were standards, required for a Genin to be allowed to compete in a Chunin Exam, also. Time was not a factor, because there were Genin that were approaching their thirties, whom were still not ready to become Chunin. No, the factor that was used as a standard for a Genin's potential to become a Chunin was nothing but pure skill and tenacity. Taijutsu skill, chakra-control, ninjutsu skill with the Academy Three, they had to be able to perform them in an instant, not to mention their Stealth, Evasion, Cunning, and Strategic thinking had to be at the peak of perfection.

To go from Chunin to Jonin, was on a whole different level from those two combined, first, one had to be recommended by at least five separate Jonin to even get a shot. That had not changed, what had, was the process of selection, there was a period of evaluation, which could be as short as a month, but can take a full year, when that period of evaluation was over. If the Chunin was known to specialize in only a single skill, they were given the rank of Tokubetsu-Jonin, or Tokujo. Only when the ninja demonstrated proficiency in more than just his or her chosen skill, would they be allowed to progress to full Jonin.

Being Jonin, was no longer a place for the idle, or the lazy, there were bi-annual evaluations that were conducted to make sure no Jonin reached their desired rank and stopped trying. Just like in the Academy, the Jonin had to want to be there, and had to want to stay. If the Jonin was found to have backslid in their skills, after two evaluations, they were given another six-months, to get themselves back in shape and be worthy of the title of Jonin. At the end of that time, if the Jonin still has not returned to their previous skill-level, they were given a choice, they could be dropped to the rank of Tokujo, and remain there indefinitely, or retire as a full Jonin.

Uniform, grooming requirements, and performance requirements were not the reason, Mizuki decided it was time to defect from Konoha, and steal the Sacred Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage Mansion. Other than the simple fact that he is a sadist and takes pleasure in seeing the pain, and despair of others, is because he did not like the idea of being punished, for anything. In Mizuki's opinion, ninja are the pinnacle of society, and should be able to do whatever they wanted to, Mizuki was a narcissist in his mind he and he alone are all that mattered. When that woman, decided that ninja should be required to conform to specific rules of conduct and behavior, and would be held accountable, and even punished for not adhering to those rules, that was the last straw in his opinion.

As soon as, Tsunade Senju, gained the hat, she immediately began to draw up certain rules, and even laws, that would dictate how ninja acted in public. She called this set of rules, [The Code of Ninja Conduct], the people came to commonly refer to them as, The Codes. They were enacted slowly, to give people a chance to adjust to the change, every ninja of Konoha, was required to carry them on their person at all times. By every ninja, meant exactly that, every ninja, from the Hokage down to the very first day a student entered the Academy, in fact carrying the Codes on their person, was the very first introduction the Academy students had to wearing a part of the uniform. They were required to know them and were a part of the academics section of the exam, worth half of the grade, for that exam alone.

If Academy students were caught without the codes on their person, they had a point deducted from the score. Genin or higher, were fined, 500-ryo for each infraction, for all ninja caught without it. Mizuki looked back in his mind and ran down some of the Codes: a ninja represents the Hokage, and Konoha, whether inside the village or out of it, and must therefore present to the public at large, a bearing that is upright and attentive to the world around them. That meant that ninja could not engage in conduct in public, that would be unseemly and paint Konoha in bad light, in other words, no swearing, drunkenness, or lewd behavior in public.

This was directly targeted at the perverts of the village, namely, Jiraiya's peeping-tom habits and Kakashi's reading pornographic material while walking around in public. Even Anko Mitarashi, was taken to task for some of her more outlandish habits, which was her only outlet after the uniform change requirements, but she did not resent the new strictures for long, when she realized, she was no longer going to be ostracized for her association with Orochimaru, when she was promoted to full Jonin. She had been recommended ten-times by Jonin she had worked with, who were impressed with her performance, the recommendations had not led anywhere, apparently the Elders kept blocking her promotion. Now, without the Elders interference, she went through the, now requisite evaluation process, which found her skills more than adequate to warrant her promotion.

When she was called to Tsunade's office, she had no idea, what it was for, when she got there, she found her superiors with T&I present. Inoichi Yamanaka and Ibiki Morino, were waiting there, they had stern looks on their faces. Her five precious people standing to the side, at parade rest, her best-friends were there: Kurenai Yūhi, deciding to adopt the red kunoichi uniform, with her own tailoring to make it conform to her nindō, and Jonin flak-jacket, Hana Inuzuka, in her brown uniform and Chunin flak-jacket, standing there with the Haimaru brothers, and even her ANBU best-friend, Yugao Uzuki, call-sign, Neko, and Naori Uchiha, in the Uchiha Police Uniform, together they were known as the Ice Queens of Konoha; not to mention her boyfriend, Iruka Umino, in his ANBU uniform, who kept his position at the Academy, even with his ANBU status. They all had unreadable expressions on their faces and stared straight ahead. Anko looked around nervously, "what's going on," Anko asked? "I don't remember doing anything wrong… okay, I did punch that civilian on my way here, but that was only because she called me, 'Snake Whore,'" Anko concluded, "the Codes don't prohibit retaliation if you're attacked, and that was an attack on my emotions."

The Hokage's eyes hardened, "maybe, but try to obtain a thicker-skin if you can, especially while in your new position." Thus saying, Tsunade tossed the kunoichi a scroll, "open that, it'll give you the details of your new mission," she stated neutrally.

Anko unrolled the scroll, and found that it was in actuality, a storage scroll, thus with a tiny expenditure of chakra, called the contents forth. Even before, the smoke had cleared they could all see the astonishment forming in her eyes, for in her outstretched arms was a Jonin flak-jacket. She looked between it and the people in the room, several times, they were all beaming at her with pride. Inoichi's pride, not unlike what he would feel, if his little girl were receiving the same accolade. Ibiki's eyes now seeing her as his equal, and the rest of her friends were just happy for her, for finally getting the recognition she so richly deserved. Iruka's eyes were filled with love and pride, for the woman he loved, and knew in her own way returned it. Anko formed the ram seal, and yelled, "Kai," twice, just to make sure! When she was done, she felt tears welling up within her eyes, as she looked back at the symbol of her rank in Konoha code of arms. The others just giggled and chuckled at her actions, even Naori had a big smile on her face, showing her happiness for her friend's promotion.

Iruka walked over to her, and hugged her briefly, before standing back and speaking, "it is tradition, for the significant others in their life, to help the new Jonin, don their new raiment of rank," he explained in his teacher's voice. Then in a soft voice, "may I be honored to fill that role of significant-other on this occasion, my heart?" Anko, wordlessly nodded her head with a whimper, barely keeping herself from crying, so Iruka took the vest from her. Yugao and Hana had walked over too. Yugao, removed Anko's trench coat, and folded it over one arm. Anko had chosen a uniform with a dark-violet color, her optional kunoichi-cut (slits up both sides to allow freedom of movement) skirt cut to the knee, black shorts underneath for modesty, with her fishnet bodysuit seen moving down behind the shin-guards, and into the high-heeled ninja-sandals, her wristwatch, snake-fang, with her hitai-ate wrapped around her left arm, completing her look. Hana removed Anko's Chunin flak-jacket and stepped-back with Yugao. Iruka, opened the Jonin raiment, and placed it gently, but reverently over her head. He adjusted it to fit her, making sure she was comfortable, by looking in her eyes for confirmation. At her nod, he completed the necessary closures, to insure his most precious person was protected, and now was dressed in her new rank.

That was the carrot aspect of the Codes, there was another Code that proved to be the downfall of one of Konoha's most celebrated ninja, Kakashi Hatake. One of Kakashi's particular quirks from over the years, was his penchant for being late, by exactly three-hours to everything he was summoned for, apparently it was a way to remember his teammate, Obito Uchiha. There was a Code, within the body of the Ninja Code of Conduct, that addressed this specific behavior: The ninja of Konoha, cannot be thought of as irresponsible, nor should they show disrespect to their fellow Konohans, whether for a mission, or even a meeting with civilian contemporaries, all obligations for a ninja are sacred. The Codes, as Kakashi found out were going to be strictly enforced, he found this out, when one time the Hokage had called a meeting of all the Jonin, to discuss who, would be Jonin-sensei for the upcoming Genin Graduation Exams. Kakashi was, as always, three-hours late for the meeting, but it was not held up for him, they all had lives to lead, and would not be delayed because one ninja thought he was more important than everybody else. Among the Jonin, Anko, Kurenai, and Asuma Sarutobi, would be Jonin-sensei, for the next class to graduate, Mizuki's own class.

Kakashi showed up thirty-minutes, after the other Jonin left, exactly three-hours after he should have been at the office for the meeting. There was a knock on the door, "Come in," came Tsunade's voice.

Kakashi opened the door and walked in, saying, "I'm sorry for being late, everybody…" he stopped as before him, was not a body of his Jonin colleagues, but the Hokage, along with the new Elders: Hiruzen Sarutobi, he may have screwed the pooch with Naruto and maintaining discipline within the Ninja Corps of Konoha, but his experience was invaluable to the Hokage, because he had literally been through it all; Jiraiya of the Sanin, whom was now being required to remain in the Village, and actually help make it strong again; and Mikoto Uchiha, the matriarch of the Uchiha, and Commissioner of the Konoha Military Police, mainly staffed by the surviving Uchiha and also now augmented with a body of Chunin to help enforce Konoha and Hi no Kuni laws, including the Ninja Code of Conduct, and protect all citizens of Konoha. "Where is everybody else," Kakashi wondered?

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Oh, the meeting was concluded over thirty-minutes-ago, Hatake-san. Did you really, expect us to wait for you to deign to show-up," she asked in derision, "they all have lives to lead, Jonin Hatake-san? They have all grown tired of putting their time with their precious ones on hold, while they wait for you to act like the Shinobi, they once knew. They have informed me of this habit of yours," Tsunade snapped, "you routinely show-up, exactly three-hours late for any meeting, and when you finally do show up, you deliver the poorest excuses that even a child can see through. Your colleagues, have grown weary of your disrespect for them, treating their time like it was a commodity, that can be traded while you spend it in mourning." Kakashi's eye widened as she said that, Tsunade nodded to confirm his thoughts, "Yes, I know where you spend your time, you spend it honoring our heroes at the Memorial Stone, and while that is commendable, it is no excuse for not fulfilling your obligations to those remaining in life. I know what it means to let the past, weigh you down, Kakashi," Tsunade reminded him, voice taking on a soft tone, "I let the memories of my fiancé and little brother, drive me away from this place. For years, I wallowed in sorrow, gambling and drinking my way through Fire, trying to forget my precious people, trying to destroy myself," she admitted, "it took a very, very dear friend of mine, crawling his way into my heart to get me to realize. If I drank myself to death, and gambled away every penny I had, then I wasn't just destroying myself, I was desecrating their memory by letting their deaths consume me. His words, made me realize that Dan and Nawaki, would have wanted me, to not just live, but fulfill their dream of a better Konoha, and become the best version of myself that I can."

Sarutobi gave him a steel, hard look, "your father, would have disowned you for what you have allowed yourself to become."

"Minato-kun and Kushina-chan, would have definitely turned their backs on you as well," Jiraiya declared, before smiling, "after she got finished, kicking the crap out of you."

"Obito-itoko, and though I did not know her well, Rin-san," Mikoto added, "would have definitely let you know how disappointed they were in you, Kakashi."

"Naruto Uzumaki, we both know, would want me to teach you a lesson," their Hokage stated, "you were one of the few, who always helped him when he would be attacked, before that night." Tsunade adopted a stern face, then took a scroll and tossed it to the ninja, "and that's just what I'm going to do, Chunin Kakashi Hatake-san, this is corrective action from years of blatant disrespect of your fellow ninja, which is now a violation of the Ninja Code of Conduct."

Kakashi caught the implication and looked down at the storage scroll in his hand, his hands shook, but he was a ninja, and he knew he deserved this. He unstrapped his Jonin flak-jacket, and threw it down, unsealed the Chunin jacket and put it on, before bowing. In the back of his mind he should have expected this, and again he knew he deserved this demotion. Of course, there was no hiding his demotion, and when asked about it, Kakashi told the whole story, he used it as an abject lesson to younger ninja, that the Hokage was going to beat discipline into her ninja corps. If that's what it takes for Konoha to regain its heart and soul, even if she has to demote or fire every ninja under her command, then the Hokage would do it without hesitation.

That was over a month ago, and it was at that time that Mizuki decided it was time he left the village. He knew that he would not last long if he remained on the run, so he needed to find a bolt-hole that would take him in, he also knew that he was nothing special as a ninja. One of the reasons why he knew he could not seek fame and fortune while he was a ninja, so in order to get someone to take him in, he needed to sweeten the pot. By giving them something, they would never have been able to obtain on their own, plus he might learn something along the way, so he chose to steal the Scroll of Seals, and that meant his hidey-hole was going to have to be with Orochimaru. Mizuki, had learned of an agent of his, who still remained within the Hidden Leaf Village, who could get a message to the Snake Sage, offering to deliver the Scroll into his hands.

Mizuki waited until the night of his class's graduation, when most people would be distracted, celebrating or consoling their children. That was last night, and he had been on the run ever since, not daring to stop until, he had crossed the border and made his way to the Tenchi Bridge. It was too bad about Iruka, catching up to him as he made it to a secluded cabin, not far, but out of the way of the general search area. Unfortunately, it had taken both of the Fuma shuriken on his back, to kill his former best-friend, and now, he was reduced to kunai and ordinary shuriken.

Mizuki looked and saw something ahead of him, it had the orange glow of a campfire. So, he angled away from it, he could not afford to be seen at this moment. If he stopped at the campfire, he would leave knowledge of his passage, he could kill whoever was at the camp, that too would show people which way he had gone. He was concentrating so much on avoiding the firelight, that he failed to notice the ninja-wire lining his passage through the trees, Mizuki noticed it just before he tripped over it. This caused him to plummet the twenty-feet from the branches of the tree, to the forest floor below.

Mizuki lay dazed on the ground when a presence let itself be known. The boy, who came into his view had blood-red hair, and was well-built enough, to note that he was ninja, but he was in his early teens, had lavender-colored eyes, had a fair, but tanned complexion, and wore his hair in a ponytail. He wore a navy-blue, single-piece jumpsuit, with well-worn, work boots, and knee-pads, with patches on both shoulders, with the sleeves rolled-up to the elbow, revealing different tattoos on both arms, one of a vajra on the left arm, with what appeared to be a drawing of a whirlpool contained within a star, where the unity jewel would be, and a set of five black tear drops on his right arm. A brown utility belt, a holster of kunai and shuriken on opposing thighs, another pouch of senbon over his right hip, and a stout, blue, denim jacket with a canvas hood, which at the moment was thrown back, and on his head was a red, ball cap, with the symbol for journeyman, and another for metalworker across the brow. On his back, he wore an O-katana, with what seemed like an overly heavy and thick hilt, and a tanto sword, with a smaller version of the sword's hilt, on his left hip. What caught Mizuki's attention the most, however, were the six whisker-like marks on his cheeks, he recognized those markings, they once belonged to a student of his, one who was chased out of Konoha over seven-and-a-half years ago, only to return about three months ago, and become a ward to one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha.

There was an evil look on the face of Naruto Uzumaki, "wow, this sensory technique really came in handy, I really owe it to, Karin-itoko-chan, for teaching me how to use it properly," he said to Mizuki conversationally, "I knew right where you were going to go, bastard. Maybe I should look into the possibilities of becoming a Hunter-nin," he wondered idly?

Naruto grinned, then he looked down and spoke to the still disoriented Chunin, "well, Mizuki-sensei, long time, huh? I got the message from a dear friend of mine, that an, at best C-ranked ninja, was trying to use the Scroll of Seals to defect to another village," Naruto stated conversationally, as he drew the sword at his belt, the blade was in the shape of an ordinary katana, "that's smart, because it really would be the only leverage you could use to make yourself attractive to any other ninja village. I mean, you couldn't even use the Fuma shuriken you had properly," Naruto brought the tip of the blade to within a nano-meter of Mizuki's nose. "I'm not feeling very merciful tonight, you bastard. Do you wanna know why," Naruto asked rhetorically, and did not wait for Mizuki's nod to answer, "it's because, now that I have you, I'm gonna have to go back to Konoha? I wasn't planning to do that for at least a few months, for the Chunin Exams," Naruto informed him, "I was on my way to the Kasai mountains to investigate why the price for iron has suddenly skyrocketed. I had to put that off while I hunted your ass down," Naruto growled, "and every delay is costing me money, since my commission is based on how fast I can figure it out."

"Please, don't kill me," Mizuki quivered and pleaded?

Naruto looked at him as if Mizuki was an idiot, "weren't you listening, you bastard, I'm not feeling merciful enough to kill you. According to Tsunade Senju, there's a young Jonin, that would love to have a word with you," Naruto informed him, "you did just put her fiancé in the hospital. He'll make a full recovery, so don't worry, she won't be too harsh with you, I hear she always loved her work at T&I," Naruto leaned down and looked the Chunin in the eye, "I'm sure she'll take her time with you, you are her new work after all." Then, Naruto brought the heavy pommel of his sword down against Mizuki's temple and his lights went out.