Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I own none of it.
Summary: A more rational Danzo takes on team 7. The world changes accordingly
Chapter 15 - Then Everything Changed
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk in the office of Hokage, an office he had held for so very very long, deep in contemplation. Team 7 would be here soon and he'd just finished going through a dossier on them that Danzo had provided. Between the information here, what he'd seen in the tournament and what he'd heard about them in reports… It put him in a difficult situation. Not to mention Danzo's little stunt publicly unveiling Naruto's heritage opened him up to some… Uncomfortable questions. In fact if this dossier was correct Sasuke intended to have him removed from his seat.
Perhaps that would be for the best, he mused as he looked over the village he'd done his best to guard his whole life. Perhaps he had made too many mistakes, perhaps it was time to step aside. Though the Leaf had just been invaded by a two village alliance it had barely suffered a scratch, and all reasons pointed to Danzo. By taking Team 7 it left Kakashi free to start training with Sarutobi to one day be his successor, and the defence of the village Kakashi orchestrated with Danzo had been nearly flawless. Naruto's clones had by all accounts been the reason so few injuries were suffered by Konoha shinobi, and Team 7's handling of both the exams as a whole and holding off an elite jounin until backup could arrive were beyond any expectations he had. Danzo was even the reason he's had Kakashi drag back Tsunade against her will…
And now he was dead, a hero of the leaf with so many hidden skeletons that could shatter his legacy. Hiruzen owed his friend better than that. He owed Team 7 better than that.
Maybe he owed Konoha better than that.
When Team 7 entered the Hokage's office they did so in full battle garb, fully prepared to be sent out on a mission after their meeting. Sasuke at the lead, sharingan eyes swirling lazily, Sakura and Naruto at either side of them. Seemingly recovered from the previous day's affair, if a little tired still.
Even as long as he's been doing this, it broke Hiruzen's heart to do what came next. Naruto who had been in this room many times as a child was surprised to see it cluttered with reports and dossiers of the war effort, Sarutobi's Kage hat unusually hung up on the wall.
The venerable kage tapped out his pipe and set it aside before picking up a thick file labeled "7" and making a show of leafing through it. "When Danzo asked for you three to be his students I will admit I had my doubts." He put the file back down with a loud thump. "But you've proven every notion anyone had of the three of you wrong." He began to smile. "If you were more experienced, and the times not so turbulent I would promote you to jounin. Of course you were already assured promotion to chunin so it should come as no surprise to you. Especially with the display of excellence in; your mission, the exam, and the invasion. Already I hear the three of your names spoken amongst those of Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade. A great many people as such, have also changed their tune on your sensei." He begins to frown. "Normally it would bring me great pleasure to see my old rival stepping into the light, to finally be acknowledged as the hero he is." He gets up to walk around the desk, a scroll held in both hands. It almost seemed as if the air grew heavy as Hiruzen approached Sasuke, tears already gathering in the corner of Naruto's eyes as her acute sensory abilities felt the weight of Sarutobi's despair. "It is my deepest regret to inform you that Shimura Danzo fell in battle with Orochimaru. I was by his side until the very end, and it was only thanks to your sensei we were able to stop Orochimaru at all." The room felt cold as Hiruzen handed over the scroll he held to Sasuke. "He's left everything he owns to Team 7."
Besides Naruto sniffling a little the room was silent. Sakura moved behind Sasuke to put an arm around Naruto in comfort, of the three of them Naruto had the deepest bond with their Sensei. Even still Sasuke's hands were shaking as he clutched the scroll he'd been handed.
Hiruzen turned away from them, looking out the window and over the village as if trying to gather the strength to do what he was going to do next. "Sasuke-kun." His voice was mournful as he continued. "I know you plan to rally the clans against me now that you're a chunin." Sasuke's eyes widened significantly as Hiruzen continued. "Danzo was both my greatest rival and best of friends, while I took the hat and built Konoha's reputation as a good and honorable village. Danzo did what was necessary to ensure Konoha could enjoy its station, and place on the top" Hiruzen looked back at the three of them. "He passed his will of fire to you three, he truly believed that you are what's best to ensure Konoha will be great." He paused once more. "He died to ensure Konoha's image of strength, and I won't have that tarnished by being deposed by the clan council." He turned away from them once more.
"I'll announce my retirement at his funeral. I expect you all to keep quiet about that." He turned to them once more. "I'm sorry for your loss, you're dismissed."
Team 7 sat in their apartment in silence for some time after getting home. No one wanted to be the one to open the scroll he left them. No one wanted to be the one to make it real that he was gone.
Finally Sasuke picked it up, hands shaking a little as he did. He looked down at it in his hands for a moment before he held it out to Naruto. "You knew him the best… You should read it first."
Naruto reached out with shaking hands, unshed tears glistened in the corners of her eyes as she tried to keep her composure. "Oh-okay." She choked out after a sniffle. Breaking open the scroll Dazno had left them.
"Left in care for Chunin Squadron 7, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura, & Uchiha Sasuke.
If you're reading this I fell in battle to Orochimaru. While this may be less than ideal, I will have ensured the Leaf will be forever safe from him. Over the past month, alongside creating the plans for Operation Mongoose, I've set my affairs in order.
My personal division of Anbu, The Foundation has been ordered to take orders from you three now. You can find the entrance to their facility in my home, which has also been left to you. The contract for my personal summon, Baku, and all of my sealing notes can be found in my study. All of your chakras have already been added to the security seals.
Whatever people tell you about things I've done, remember I always did them for what I believed was right. I always stood for the Greatness of the Leaf. But it was in these last few months with you three that I truly understood the Will of Fire.
And now you three shall carry mine, I hope it burns bright enough that you may walk always, in the light.
Never has a Sensei been more proud
Shimura Danzo"
Naruto was crying properly by the time she finished the scroll, passing it to Sasuke as she dove to hug Sakura, who was trying to keep a straight face but couldn't help but sniffle a little. Even Sasuke had a tear in his eye as he walked over to hold Naruto while Sakura read the scroll.
While they were all sad, certainly, they knew their Sensei died for what he believed in, and had done everything in his power to pave the way for them. That he believed in them and would give them everything.
As they all collected themselves Sasuke broke the silence. "I'd like to give him a funeral at the Uchiha grounds. We burn our dead and I think he'd like that."
His team nodded along before Naruto looked around their apartment. "Didn't Sensei pay for this place?" She asks with more than a hint of apprehension.
"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "This whole complex is Jounin and Anbu, I doubt they'll let us keep the place without Sensei around…" She looked downcast at the thought.
Sasuke looked between the two of them in disbelief. "You do remember we inherited his house right? With the secret compound under it? And even if that wasn't an option I probably independently own more homes than anyone in the village." He really wasn't wrong either, the whole Uchiha District sat empty.
Naruto was the one that could explain the feeling of loss they were all feeling, even Sasuke. "Yeah, but this is home, ya know? My plants like it here and… You know. This is where Team 7 happened." She looked up at the door where their Sensei would always appear unannounced.
With that Sasuke understood, nodding at the two kunoichi on his team. "You know something I learned living here?" He made sure his team was paying attention before he continued. "You'll always have those memories, no matter where you go. It was hard at first for me to leave the Uchiha district and live here. But it ended up being the best thing I could do for myself." He gave a small smile as he put a hand on each of the girls shoulders. "We'll figure out housing when we need to. For now no one's kicking us out of here."
His team nodded at him, the girls both wiping their eyes before they got down to business planning Danzo's funeral. Naruto clones poofing into existence and heading off to perform task after task in preparations for the funeral, that they decided would be best to have the very next day.
Team 7 spent the whole day preparing for the funeral the following morning. No expense would be spared, and no detail would be overlooked.
In an undisclosed location
Surrounding a table in a sealed room, lit by chakra powered flames that flickered and danced, painting the walls with the shadows of the most powerful men and women in Fire Country.
At one end of the table was Sarutobi Hiruzen, in full Kage regalia. On the other was the Daimyo. The seats between are filled by Jiraiya and Tsunade, invited personally by the Daimyo. Hatake Kakashi, representing the Anbu. Nara Shikaku representing the Jounin.
Now that everyone had arrived Hiruzen began. "Thank you very much for joining us Daimyo-sama. Now that we're all here we can begin our report." He nodded to Shikaku Nara to give the report.
"Right," Shikaku stood up. "So we knew about the invasion in advance thanks to intel acquired by the late Councilor Shimura." He paused and bowed his head briefly out of respect. "The information was kept extremely need to know in the time leading up to the invasion so that the enemies would play their hands and we could mount a successful ambush. By all accounts this was a resounding success. Kakashi-san if you'd like to surmise the battle report?"
"Hai, Shikaku-taicho." He stands and bows to the Daimyo. "On the front lines Lady Tsunade led the counter offensive. Before the invasion began she dug a tunnel under where she projected the summoned creatures would be closest to each other so she could collapse the ground and force the battle into the trees where our forces had a clear advantage. In combination with her in Shizune's medical prowess the front lines suffered less than 5% casualties." The Daimyo led a round of light applause at Tsunade's resounding victory. "Within the village itself I led the counteroffensive. I stationed key shinobi at valuable points such as Lord Hiashi guarding the stadium's evacuation tunnel, Lord Choza at the Hospital, Jounin Commander Nara at the administration building and Aburame Shibi at the Academy grounds. The shinobi forces assigned to me patrolled with their teams and engaged in guerilla combat with the enemy forces that had managed to infiltrate. A notable mention should be given to Team 7 for both stopping the enemy shinobi responsible for most of our casualties. As well as to Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto individually for both improving battlefield communications, providing battlefield medical service, and pulling many allied shinobi directly out of harm's way with her revolutionary evolution of the shadow clone jutsu."
Most of the people in the room had heard rumours that the young blond had been providing mass support to the village. This piqued Daimyo's interest though. "What's this about Minato and Kushina's girl?"
Kakashi didn't seem to know what to say to that, but it seemed Jiriaya was willing to pick it up. "If I may, Daimyo-sama?" He asked politely, waiting for the nod before he continued. "Naruto is an incredible young kunoichi, from the time she was conceived she was exposed to Kyuubi's chakra, her mother being the previous Jinchuriki as you know. This in combination with Kushina possessing the Uzumaki's fabled chakra, able to both manifest the Adamantine Sealing Chains and heal her own wounds if utilized correctly. Naruto's own chakra reserves already dwarf everyone's in this room and carries it's Uzumaki traits, and then she still has Kyuubi. A Bijuu in her gut that she can already utilize three tails of chakra from. And her genius of a teammate, the girl I've been teaching over the last month, figured out how to make a seal that lets Naruto communicate through the residual Kyuubi chakra present in her Shadow Clones, a jutsu she long since mastered under Danzo. So now all her clones can communicate in real time telepathically. Which is pretty handy seeing as she was trained as a scout, and can use her version of the Uzumaki chains to act as a field medic for most less serious stuff." The eyes of everyone present were wide. "I know right? When they ran the seal by me before tattooing it onto Naruto I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. When Sakura asked for some sealing lessons I didn't think she'd have a hope 'cause of her bad calligraphy. Turns out the Uchiha can scribe anything perfectly even if he doesn't have a clue what it means. The three of them have more sealing potential than me!"
The Daimyo claps excitedly "Bravo! So good to hear the next generation is coming up well. Maybe in a few years she'll be interested in one of my sons!"
The room laughs politely before Kakashi starts again. "Time will tell, but for now back to the briefing." The room comes back to attention. "The village proper sustained about 15% casualties, most of them caused by one exceptional enemy shinobi. Back in the Stadium all civilians were successfully evacuated and there were no confirmed casualties. However genin Yakushi Kabuto has been listed as MIA. Notably Lord Jiraiya was able to subdue the Ichibi, sealing it tightly within its Jinchuriki, Rasa's youngest son Gaara. Him and his siblings are currently in political custody and are under guard with suppression seals." The room lightly applauds Jiraiya's accomplishment. "In addition, preliminary reports state that Rasa's body has been found, so it's unknown how long Orochimaru was in control of Suna."
The Daimyo frowns at that. "The Wind Country Daimyo will be furious with Sunagakure if they went to war without his consent. You'll have a very strong place to negotiate reparations if they can't even rely on their Daimyo."
"You give wise counsel, Daimyo-san." Hiruzen nods politely. "As for Otogakure and Orochimaru, I believe we can consider them neutralized."
Jiraiya turned in his chair to face his sensei. "And how exactly do you figure that? Because he retreated?" The others present murmured between each other uneasily.
Hiruzen just sighed. "Kotoamatsukami." He spoke, silencing the room. "He used kotoamatsukami on Orochimaru, as he was in possession of one of Uchiha Shisui's eyes. I don't know what command he issued but I trust Danzo."
Kakashi scoffed at that openly as Shikaku's eyes narrowed. "And how exactly did he come to be in possession of Uchiha Shisui's eye?"
All eyes fell on Sarutobi Hiruzen as the man stood. "This brings us to the next point I wanted to discuss as well as any." The venerable kage takes off his hat, staring into it for a long moment before placing it down on the table. "I'd like to announce my retirement. The amount of mistakes I've made during my long tenure as Kage can no longer be ignored. I fear, were it not for my late friend, I would not have led us out of this invasion at all, nevermind in the condition we're in." He paused, building his conviction to rewrite history.
"Shimura Danzo had Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan eye because I ordered him to exterminate the Uchiha Clan and make it look like infighting." The crowd was stunned into silence. "Even Itachi thinks Danzo was the mastermind, he orchestrated a scene with Shisui to push Itachi over the edge. Truly my old friend could solve any puzzle I gave him" The feeling of horror built as Sarutobi continued. "I had options, but Konoha needed to look strong, so soon after the Kyuubi incident. Nevermind the Hyuga affair." He shook his head. "I did everything I could to keep things peaceful and quiet, but I let a lot of people down by maintaining that peace the way I did." He sat back down, appearing every day as old as he was. "Ironically, Uchiha Sasuke would have the clan council unseat me for how I mishandled Uzumaki Naruto, of all things he could be mad about." He gestures dramatically before falling silent for a moment.
"Kakashi, you've been training with me, and I hoped you would take the hat from me." He finishes without fanfare.
There was a lot of cross talk at the table as people looked between Kakashi and the Daimyo. Kakashi, for his part, sort of had his hands waving in front of him. "Maa-Maa, I'm not so sure I'm the right call for this. I've been in Anbu for so long most of the Jounin don't even know me anymore, never mind Chunin. I'm chronically late and-"
The Daimyo raised a hand to interrupt. "I can't help but agree with Kakashi on this Hiruzen, wouldn't Tsunade or Jiraiya be a better fit?"
Now both of the Sannin have their hands waving in front of them. "Woah woah woah no way am I taking the hat!" They managed in stereo, looking at each other in shock before the bickering began. "My family has done our part, there've already been two Senju Kages!" "See! It's in your blood, besides I have a spy network to-","Oh please you have a whore network to tend to!","Oh please, like you're any better. Legendary Sucker!","Now you listen here I was grieving-","We were all grieving. The war was barely over when you left." "Oh what, you were grieving some orphans you took in for a few months?! I was grieving the loss of my fiancee, and my little brother!","Oh right! The little brother that died dreaming of being Hokage! A job which you're currently avoiding!","Oh and you're not!? If you put as much energy into the village as you did chasing Orochimaru and whoring yourself to death Konoha would already be a golden beacon to the rest of the world for what a hidden village should be."
It seemed as though the two would go on forever, and while Hiruzen's head was in his hands muttering to himself. "This is why I wanted Kakashi."
It came to an end however when Shikaku's hands hit the table, an uncharacteristic shout from the usually reserved man. "ENOUGH!" All eyes fell on the frustrated Nara. "You troublesome people, if no one at this table actually wants to be Hokage. Does anyone have any better ideas?"
Everyone looked between each other, a few names came up but were quickly shot down. "Gai?", "Too weird.", "How 'bout Asuma then?", "He'd never do it, and I'm pretty sure he can't keep up with S-Rank.", "What about Itachi? If Hiruzen takes the fall for the whole thing he could come home.", "Oh 'cause that'll look great. International most wanted one day, Kage the next.", "Ugh. Fine. Hiashi?"
The crowd almost universally groaned. But Shikaku pushed forward. "Okay so, so far we've got Hyuga Hiashi, unless anyone has any other ideas or real reasons he can't do it now's the time."
The room was silent even as everyone tried to find something to say. Only for the Daimyo to raise his hand to speak for the first time in a while. "What about young Uzumaki?" All eyes now on him he continues. "I would want Jiraiya personally, but if he doesn't want it then why not her? Daughter of a Kage, last heiress of the Uzumaki clan, and already she changes the tide of the battlefield. At-" He looks at Hiruzen in askance. "How old is this girl?"
"She's only twelve Daimyo-sama"
The Daimyo doesn't seem to know how to take that. "And yet already I hear Jirayia singing her praises." He pauses for effect. "In fact I believe the last time I heard Jiraiya talking about a twelve year old in a situation report was when a young Minato rescued her mother from Kumogakure." He lets the implication settle. As he, for the first time that meeting, starts to open the dossiers full of reports from the battle. "I can't seem to find Naruto's report here."
At that both Kakashi and Shikaku start to scratch the back of their heads before Kakashi stands, sliding open one of the wall panels to display a closet filled floor to ceiling in dossiers. "Sorry about that Daimyo-sama, it seems Danzo instilled in her a…" He trails off before gesturing at the room once more. "Appreciation for fastidious record keeping." Those who hadn't already seen the pile of paperwork felt their jaws hit the floor. "If there's specific details you want to know we're better off just sending for her. Otherwise she included a helpful synopsys report." He picked up the smallest dossier. "This is basically a stats book with some notes." The Daimyo gestures for Kakashi to hand him that one as Kakashi explains how to read it. "Every page is an individual battle report. K for kills, A for assists, S for Saves, H for Heals. There's also notes, and totals on the back."
The Daimyo opens the dossier to a random page, reading out loud. "Zero Kills, One Assist, One Save, Two Heals. Notes - Hidden Clone witnessed team of leaf chunin engage sound nin. Called for another clone before substituting with endangered Leaf nin. Second clone arrived and provided distraction allowing for the two remaining Sound nin to be struck down. Used remaining chakra to restore Konoha-nin to fighting capacity, dispelling in the process." He flips the dossier over to show the stats on the back. "22 kills, 202 assists, 468 saves, and 492 healed." He dropped it onto the table in front of them. "Kakashi, you were Hiruzen's choice for the Hat and you went out of your way during the battle report to commend Naruto and her team. Jiraiya, you were my pick and yet earlier this same meeting you also praised Naruto as a truly exceptional kunoichi." The reality of the Daimyo's nomination began to set in. "Plus if Itachi were to be brought back she's already a friend of the Uchiha."
The table waited in silence for someone to come back with a good and well thought out argument against the Daimyo's points. Luckily Jiraiya had less qualms with restating a fact then the rest of them. Putting his hands on the desk he mustered as much inflection as he could to try and drive home what he viewed as a very important point. "She. Is. Twelve." His hands tapping the table with every word.
While a lot of heads nodded along with that point the Daimyo was unswayed. "And? I was a similar age when I took my position" He conveniently left out that that was because his father was assassinated in the first war. No one could contradict the Daimyo's point because... Well you just can't do that.
Luckily Shikaku had a diplomatic follow up. "Age aside, the Jounin won't vote for someone without proven mission history." Looking at Hiruzen to back that up.
Only to see Hiruzen holding his face in both hands as he recited her mission history. "Three A Rank, 4 B-Rank, 7 C-Rank. No history of D-Ranks." He finished with a groan as his head fell to the table.
By this time Tsunade was starting to laugh even as Jiraiya clutched at his hair in frustration. "What about international image? A Kage is supposed to be able to defend their village from any harm, could Naruto have fought off Orochimaru?"
Shikaku fell back into his seat already knowing what the Daimyo was going to say. "No, I don't think she could right now." He said with a mock sigh. "Then again, neither could Hiruzen it seems. And don't try and tell me Hiashi wouldn't have just as much trouble. But while Hiashi will grow old, Naruto will grow into her prime. Plus she's an Uzumaki who contains Kyuubi, she could well stay in her prime until she's 90."
Tsunade couldn't keep quiet anymore, laughing as she spoke. "Well Jiraiya it sure sounds like you're gonna get that chance to spend more time with your goddaughter-" She tried to stifle her laughter with a hand as she finished. "Councilor Jiraiya!" She throws back her head laughing as Jiraiya waves his hands in protest.
"Woah woah woah now, I still have my spy network to run! That's more important than ever right after an invasion. I can't be stuck here grooming some baby Kage. Besides she's your niece or something you stay."
"Please, you've already made one Kage make a second. I'll take over your precious spy network; it can't be that hard." Tsunade's back hit the chair as her arms crossed over her chest.
"Not that hard eh? And how do you plan to report regularly? The Toads have a secret tunnel from Mt. Myoboku that lets me report whenever I need to instantly." His arms cross as he speaks, clearly challenging Tsunade to do better than that.
"Easy." She ante's up. "Like you say Naruto's my niece, I'll let her sign my contract with Katsuya, then we can talk through her in real time, whenever we need." She finished with a smirk.
The Daimyo applauded, leaning forward in the chair he had just sat down in with a wide smile. "So it's decided then! Young Naruto will be Hokage with Jiraiya and Kakashi as her council."
Tsunade was laughing again as Jiraiya's head hit the table, crying dramatically. The Daimyo clapped and laughed along with her as Shikaku and Kakashi shared a glance, knowing the Daimyo now expected them to get this through the Jounin council.
Hiruzen sighed quietly as he sunk into the table, knowing that the best he could hope for from here would be to be quietly forgotten.
When Naruto opened her eyes she was in a dark, wet tunnel resembling a sewer. Immediately she extended her senses, she figured out she wasn't in the real world quickly. She flexed her chakra to try and break the genjutsu to know avail.
With nothing else to really do about the situation she followed her senses to the one thing she could find. The massive source of chakra and malice that made her think she was in a genjutsu in the first place.
Eventually the source of the chakra was revealed, as Naruto stepped into a room that seemed to go on in darkness forever, divided by a gate sealed with a paper tag. Even without seeing the nine tails waving lazilly in the darkness, Naruto knew where she was.
As she approached the gate she waved politely. "Hello!" She started quite loud. "I'm Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto! It's nice to finally meet you!"
The "room" was silent for a moment as the bijuu narrowed its eyes at his jailer. "We would have met once before, but your sensei lulled me to sleep with a powerful Genjutsu."
Naruto, for her part, was scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry about that!" She said with a chuckle. "Sensei's a little protective of us." She trails of, her tone darkening as she continues. "Or… He was."
Kyuubi sat on his haunches as he lowered himself down to make eye contact with Naruto. She didn't flinch away from the fierce bijuu's gaze, and as red met blue, timeless experience met empathy and something no one could have expected happened.
Naruto saw something underneath the underneath. Something that helped her know what to say when Kyuubi spoke once more.
"Yes, he was, wasn't he?" The fox mused, genuine interest in his voice.
"Yeah," Naruto flopped down so he could sit. "He taught me a lot and… I'm pretty sad that he's gone already, you know? But he made me strong, and gave me the space and confidence to really be myself." She smiled even as she wiped a couple tears away. "I'm gonna miss him a lot." She made eye contact with the fox once more. "You miss your Sensei too don't you?"
The fox visibly recoiled, falling back before one of his nine massive tails coiled underneath it's frame so balance itself, huge red eyes narrowing at the comparatively tiny human. "And what would you know of my… Sensei?" He all but spat at her.
Naruto puts her hands up placatingly. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I just thought, when I was talking about my Sensei that you could understand. I'm sorry if I was wrong."
Perhaps realizing that he'd been a little defensive the fox fell back to his more relaxed stance. "Perhaps you did nothing wrong. Maybe there is some truth to it. Maybe I do miss my… Sensei." He hesitated before using the word, as if it wasn't quite the one he wanted to use.
"Do you want to talk about them?" Naruto's genuine offer surprised Kyuubi almost as much as her initial insight had.
"I don't think I will." He paused, watching Naruto for any sign of deceit or trickery but found none. "I thank you for your kind offer though." The fox inclined his head somewhat in what Naruto hoped was a sign of respect. "Your Sensei did well with you. You learned to use three of my tails while I slumbered."
Naruto's smile threatened to spill her face at that. "Yeah we worked really hard on that! I lost control once and…" Her smile vanished for a moment. "And I killed someone that didn't need to die." Naruto looked quite solemn as she continued. "So that's why I had to learn how to be in control. Sensei taught me that to be in control I had to know myself, and act with clear purpose. He said the more at peace I was with myself, the more of your chakra I'd be able to use." She smiled up at the fox.
"Your Sensei was wise. But he forgot the other part of using my chakra. Me." The beast smiled at her, showing row upon row of teeth in an attempt at intimidation.
Naruto was either brave or oblivious though because she just smiled back. "That's fine by me, I'm sure we can learn to work together."
The fox was dumbfounded as he shook his head at the girl. "We shall see, girl. We shall see." The bijuu turned its head away from the gate. "Leave me girl, you have given me much to think about."
"Hey I have a name you know! And you never gave me yours!" Naruto jumped up, waving to get the fox's attention.
The fox "Hmph"d in response. "Fine then Naruto. Because you have impressed me you may call me Kurama, but never speak it to another human." Kurama made eye contact again to punctuate his point. "Now leave, now that we've spoken like this we'll be able to speak in your waking mind. If I feel like it." He tried to remain standoffish at the end.
But Naruto saw through it, a big smile on her face as she turned to leave the room she'd entered. Rightly believing that she would return to sleep when she let. "It was nice meeting you Kurama-sama, have a goodnight!" She threw over her shoulder as she left.
Kurama just shook his head, amazed by what he was seeing from his jailor. Maybe humanity wasn't completely doomed after all.
The next morning Naruto wanted to tell her team about the encounter she'd have with Kurama, but with everything planned for Danzo's funeral at sun up, there wasn't much time to.
It was a momentous occasion, for the first time since the death of the clan the gates to the Uchiha clan compound were opened wide. Though the district was far from open to casual snooping, the road to the funeral ground was lined by masked Root Shinobi.
In truth most of them were disguised Naruto clones, they lined not just the side of the road, they were on the rooftops, along the compound walls. Anywhere you looked the Anbu were in view, a show of force in respect to the fallen elder.
More people than you might expect came to attend the venerable shinobi's service. Maruboshi Kosuke, known as the eternal genin, was one of the first to arrive. Sarutobi Hiruzen and Asuma arrived separately but fairly early.
Surprisingly the other two rookie teams came as well, and not alone. When Hinata informed her father she'd be attending Shimura Danzo's funeral as the personal guest of Uchiha Sasuke there was simply no way he couldn't attend. Likewise most of the clan children had their clan heads in attendance with them. Liked or not Danzo commanded the respect of many.
The ceremony started when the sun broke over the Uchiha shrine, light shining onto the plaza upon which the pyre was constructed. The same place all Uchiha were laid to rest. As the light began to creep up the pyre Uchiha Sasuke's voice rose above the murmurings of the crowd.
"We are here today to honor a man." He started low but rose in volume as he continued. "A man that lived his life, to ensure Konoha's continued sovereignty. To ensure that every citizen of our village would feel at peace within our walls. To ensure that every shinobi would always feel pride, as they return from a mission and set their eyes upon Konoha's gate's." He paused for a moment as the sun reached higher, until it sat fully between the top of the Uchiha temple and the temple gates, illuminating the grounds fully in dawn's first light. "Shimura Danzo was viewed in poor light by many, but here and now he is bathed in the light of my ancestors. Here and now is he shown in the light of a Hero!" The Root Shinobi standing on either side clapping their fist to their chest in one final salute of their leader.
Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath to steady himself, feeling his team on either side of him as he finished his speech. "Shimura Danzo was our Sensei, and his Will of Fire will burn within us for all time. We honor him here, with an Uchiha's funeral, as my thanks to him for showing me the right path." He gestures to the Root shinobi, many of which are really Naruto and they begin a slow and gentle wind jutsu from either side, creating a slow but powerful twister within the pyre before Sasuke continues. "Now may his Will of Fire burn for all to see!"
His hands went through dozens of seals as he spoke with authority. "Uchiha Style: Return to Kamiyonanayo" Before he breathed out a small stream of pure white fire into the twister that had been created, which quickly caught on the oxygen rich winds. In an instant the pyre was engulfed in a blistering flame, the twisting air currents forcing the heat to gather in the center.
Before their eyes Danzo was turned to ash and the pyre burned down. As it smoldered Sasuke stepped back, making room for anyone that wanted to speak. Hiruzen moved to stand with Sasuke on the temple steps to say his peace, but before he was able to he was interrupted by an unexpected guest.
Naruto reacted only a moment before everyone else, Root moving in tandem with her clones as they shifted to form a defensive in between Sasuke and the robed man that appeared in front of the crowd.
Black robes with red clouds blew in the wind as Itachi let his straw jingasa blow away, his presence already known. "You defile this place, little brother." The crowd jumped back, recognizing who had arrived, the senior ninja standing between the genin and the notorious missing nin.
Now with Itachi surrounded, A ring of jounin and clan heads behind him and a wall of Root Anbu mixed in with Naruto clones in front… Something wasn't right. Either way, Itachi came talking and Sasuke knew it would be foolish to engage a man that had entered this kind of death trap. "Doesn't mean much coming from you, who bathed our compound in blood."
Itachi's poker face remained perfect as he stared down Team 7. "I did. In fact I did so on the orders of the man you just eulogized."
Eyes went wide by many people but as Sasuke began to shake in outrage, Hiruzen stepped forward. "I'm afraid you're mistaken Itachi-kun." He took off his hat and held it in his hands as let both his eyes and his voice harden. "I did." The crowd gasps as the venerable kage throws his hat into the still smoldering pyre along with his old friend. "Like so very many things, I let Danzo take the fall for the atrocities that were, I believed necessary." He looked up at the horrified crowd. "But he showed his true colours these last few months. Opposed me at every step with the handling of Team 7, who you now all know to be possibly the finest young shinobi this village has ever produced." As his hat burned away he looked to Team 7, and Itachi before looking back at the assembled crowd. "This village deserves better than me, and my mistakes. Uchiha Itachi as my last act as reigning Hokage you are pardoned of all perceived wrong doings." The venerable Kage starts to walk away. "I've already informed the Daimyo, I'm sure the next Kage will be put in place soon. I'll be at home with my grandson if you care to bring me up on charges once a new Kage is appointed."
The crowd was left speechless, none more so than the Uchiha brothers.
It took some effort to get everyone out of the Uchiha district. Luckily they have a large amount of masked Anbu at their disposal to assist in the matter. Team 10 was the hardest to get rid of, Ino insisting it would be good to have a neutral mediator present as Sakura tried to explain that Ino was in no way neutral. Shikamaru didn't even have an argument that good he was just being quietly resistant to leaving. Choji was just following their lead, though he too was concerned for his friends.
Eventually with assurances that they would be checked in on they were seen out. Only to find Hiashi and Hinata still standing at the gates. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and blushed as she saw them approach but Hiashi had no such qualms. Nodding at Naruto and Sakura as they saw off team 10. "A beautiful service, it is unfortunate it was interrupted. If you would inform Sasuke I wish to speak with him when he has time you would have my gratitude." His monotone made that hard to believe but that's as good as you can really expect from Hiashi.
Naruto and Sakura both bowed lightly. "Of course, Lord Hiashi." They spoke in stereo, causing Hiashi to raise an eyebrow. Either way he could tell the two wanted to be off so he gestured for Hinata to join him.
Once everyone was departed, Naruto used a quick bit of wind manipulation to pull the gates closed again before the two sprinted back to the Uchiha brothers only to find them still staring at each other. Itachi broke the staredown when they arrived to look at Naruto. "They're hunting you, after I was done here I was supposed to abduct you."
Naruto shook her head at the sudden unexpected information, but Sasuke had been waiting for a way to start talking and took his opportunity. "And just what is that supposed to mean!? "After this" what is this? What are you doing here?"
Itachi's eyes met Sasuke's as he spoke. "I had joined a group going by the name "Akatsuki" so that I could keep tabs on a man masquerading as Uchiha Madara. They seek to gain possession of all nine jinchuuriki, at which time their leader believes he will create a weapon so powerful it will end all war in fear of its use." He pauses for a moment. "He is wrong though, and the one that calls himself Madara will use its power to enslave the world."
Team 7 tries to wrap their heads around the new information, having not been prepared to hear about an end of the world plot that involved one of them. Naruto couldn't understand something though.
"Wait so if you know all that about them, and you were never really a traitor… Why haven't you done anything?" Sasuke shot her a look like daggers even as Itachi sighed.
"Originally that was my plan… But by the time I knew enough about their plans I was no longer a match for either the false Madara, or the one they called Leader. Even I don't know who he is… But he has the Rinnegan, and it's said he beat Hanzo the Salamander in a direct battle."
But that didn't make sense to Sasuke now. "But… But you killed the whole clan! You had the best mission record in Konoha history, the youngest Anbu Captain ever! How can you not be a match for them!"
Itachi looked at him again. "Little brother…" He shook his head with a sad smile on his face. "I didn't kill the entire clan. The one that claims to be Madara was there too. He was the one that introduced me to Akatsuki, I decided to join as the best way I could continue to serve as best I could. While maybe there was a time I would have been able to topple Akatsuki… My illness has progressed so far, and my eyes grow blurry with use."
Sasuke's eyes were wide and he was shaking when he felt his teammate's hands slip into his own, one on either side. "Illness? Blurry eyes? What are you talking about? You still haven't even said why you killed the clan in the first place!?"
"Because they were planning a coup." Sasuke went deathly still. "I was already sick then, it started when I was a little younger than you. There's something wrong with my lungs. No one was able to fix it even when I was young, but I chose to continue my shinobi training anyways. I was very young when the third war ended but I remember it all the same, I couldn't stand the idea of another war. Father refused to listen to reason, the elders were putting too much pressure on him. The order came from Danzo with a fake authorization from Hiruzen. Apparently it was intentionally faked and just set up to make Danzo take the blame." Yet another sigh breaks up Itachi's confessions. "You may remember my eyes the night of the… incident. I possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, a further evolved state of our clan's eyes obtained only by a select few. They provide the user incredible abilities, at the cost of the user's eyesight. The only known cure is by transplanting a similarly advanced eye from an immediate relative, granting the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan." He paused again. "My plan had originally been to let you kill me, evolving your eyes, providing you with a cure for their curse, and redeeming the Uchiha name all in one."
The air was heavy as everyone tried to digest the huge amount of information. All the while grieving the passing of their Sensei. Only for Kakashi to appear in a plumb of smoke, surprising everyone.
"Hey guys sorry I missed the funeral!" He waved at Team 7, noticing Itachi as he did so. "Oh hey there Itachi, heard you got pardoned!" He gives the man an eye smile before turning his gaze back to Team 7 "Anyways, Lady Tsunade and the Daimyo were hoping to see you at the Uzumaki temple Naruto-chan. I wouldn't keep them waiting, ja-na!"
And as suddenly as he appeared he was gone. Leaving Naruto looking between the Uchiha brothers. "Um hey, so meeting the Daimyo sounds sort of important. You two aren't going to kill each other? Or try abducting me or anything?"
The brothers share a look before Sasuke speaks. "I don't think so, but we probably won't stay here either." He thinks for a moment before he starts walking off. "Come on Sakura, Itachi. We need to go to Sensei's place and start sorting out his affects. Itachi and I can figure out our shit well we do that." To Naruto and Sakura's relief Itachi nods and follows his younger brother, Sakura giving Naruto a thumbs up and big smile before she jogs off with them.
As they approached Danzo's house it seemed Naruto had changed her mind, leaning against the wall waiting for them. How she beat them there was a mystery but her foxy grin was always a welcome sight. "Gosh you guys take forever, I've been waiting for you!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here Naruto? I thought you had a meeting to get to."
"Oh I do, I just remembered on my way there that I have this handy jutsu so I don't have to miss anything!" She turned with a wink as she opened the door. Her smile fell a bit as she stepped foot into their late Sensei's home. It was a simple dwelling, almost clinically clean. There were a few pictures on his wall, most of them in black in white. It was odd seeing her Sensei when he was young, having only known him as an old man.
The click of the door closing behind them snapped her back to reality as Itachi politely closed the door. Everyone looked at him in shock as he hung up his robe and took off his sandals. "What?" He said when he noticed their stares. "He was obviously a tidy man; it only seemed respectful." Three sets of eyes blinked at him owlishly before taking their shoes off and putting them on a rack.
"I'll make some tea." Sasuke whisked off to find Danzo's tea set. Seeking comfort in the familiar ritual as his world was turned upside down, again.
Sakura somewhat awkwardly gestured at the dining set. "Would you like to sit? I have to gather some things up but Sasuke shouldn't be long with Tea, he makes it with fire chakra so it's just right every time."
Itachi nodded at her before taking a seat as she darted off, collecting scrolls if he understood correctly. As he took in a room he couldn't have imagined he would ever be in, he was struck by what was obviously the most recently added picture, Team 7 leaving for the chunin exams. Several before that one as well, obviously taken in secret. He couldn't help but notice Naruto, going through every picture as if committing them to memory.
Perhaps Itachi really had been wrong about Danzo.
When Sasuke returned with tea he was stiff and formal, even as he poured an absurd amount of honey into Naruto's, a gesture of kindness and familiarity that brought a small smile to Itachi's face.
Before long Sakura was back, arms laden with scrolls, grabbing Naruto and pulling her over to the table as she passed. "Oh good I'm just in time for tea, okay come on we've got some stuff to go over." She starts unrolling scrolls over the table as Itachi takes the first sip of his tea. "Okay, so it looks like most of Danzo's accounting is in order. We've inherited a substantial amount of money but… Well I guess with us being chunin now you two can access your clan accounts." Her brows furrow slightly. "Or maybe not now… Sasuke, are you still the Uchiha clan head if Itachi's back?"
She looks over to him but before he can answer Itachi cuts in. "I don't believe it would be appropriate for me to make claims on the Uchiha clan, pardoned or not it would seem… In poor taste. Sasuke will remain heir."
Heir of a clan of two, went unsaid. "Right, well between you, Naruto, and now this we pretty much don't need to worry about money. Like ever, unless all of us have like six kids who also have like six kids and all of us have a gambling problem." She flips to the next scroll in her pile, opening it up and giving it a quick read. "Okay here we have Danzo's sealing notes. I'm assuming it's cool to learn from these but we'll need somewhere to keep them. Naruto you have room in the Uzumaki Temple Vault?" It seemed like the right place for it.
"Yeah no problem, I'll run them over once the boss is done with her meeting." Naruto takes a drink of her "tea" and noticeably brightens up, obviously a fan of honey more so than tea.
"Cool, alrighty next up we have Baku, sensei's personally summon. It says here that he's a powerful wind summon that can… Devour dreams? Yeah I don't really know, it also says he's a boss level summon that takes a lot of chakra to summon." She looks at Naruto, the obvious choice being both a wind user and a chakra powerhouse.
"Ummm, I'm gonna give a solid maybe on that one. I actually just got offered another contract that I think I have to take so I'll need to see if I can negotiate that with the two summons." Naruto looked a little sheepish at the admission.
Sasuke though had his interest piqued. "Who's offered you a summon? They're rare and powerful contracts."
"Umm, Lady Tsunade actually. I don't know details yet but when I asked about a summon I got told not to accept another contract yet. I guess it makes sense, she's like my great aunt or something." Itachi kept sipping his tea as Sasuke and Sakura were both staring wide eyed.
"Um, okay. Yeah that's cool. Alright moving on." She flips to the next document. "Okay, this one's pretty hard core. This is the "Master Scroll" for Root. Containing detailed information on every member. As well as a seal design that will apparently summon the nearest operative to you if needed." She sinks back as she reads more. "Wow…. Um I don't want to speak ill of sensei but the kind of training these shinobi endured was… Well barbaric."
The room was silent for a minute as everyone tried to think of what to do with Danzo division of Anbu. Long since time it was dismantled but what to do with them.
"So I've got an idea but I need you to hear me out." All eyes turned to Naruto. "So I grew up an orphan right? The village doesn't really have a good system for looking after orphans, and they only really get a future if they somehow make one for themselves. They don't have anyone to help them through the academy or anything." Everyone was waiting for her point. "Okay so, why don't we take a little piece of the Uchiha district." She powered through the pointed glares. "And start "The Uchiha Foundation". An organization funded jointly by the money Danzo left behind, and the Uchiha clan. It can maintain funding through missions or maybe restart the military police, and have it be like… A clan for the clanless. Orphans and outcasts join up, can get training for the Root Shinobi and have people around they can bond with. The academy graduation rate goes up, orphan quality of life goes up, and maybe bonding with some kids will help them." Everyone at the table seemed unsure. "Look, come on guys. It's because of each other that we got through Danzo's training. The bonds we have with each other. These shinobi don't have that, haven't been allowed to have that. And neither have a lot of the kids." Naruto spoke with passion, truly believing in her idea.
Sakura looked between them almost anxiously, before Sasuke eventually broke eye contact with Naruto. "Fine, it's a good idea. Who would run it though?"
Sakura actually had an idea for that. "Why not Itachi-san? An administrative job for a good cause would be great for him. Plus it keeps another S-Rank ninja in Konoha, making us look even stronger as we come out of this invasion. Assuming whoever they make Hokage is cool with it."
All eyes fell on Itachi. "I suppose there are worse things I could do." He locked eyes with Sasuke. "Is that okay with you, little brother?"
"Whatever. If the new Kage's cool with it you can have Root if you follow Naruto's plan." He looked to Sakura "Could you draft up a more detailed proposal? Work out any accounting that needs to be worked out and all that before I bring it to the council?" He locked eyes with Naruto as he finished. "You're giving the proposal and I'm standing behind you, understood?"
Naruto's smile threatens to split her face. "Yeah no problem, it's gonna be super easy I already know the next Hokage will be on board, and most of the clans are cool with us too."
"You're not wrong Naruto but Danzo had lots of enemies, it might take some convincing seeing as Root was officially disbanded years ago." Sakura weighed in, but Naruto's continued shit eating grin was beginning to unnerve Sasuke.
"No she knows something we don't." His eyes narrowed as he went over everything she'd said again before he asked. "Who's the next Hokage Naruto"
Naruto arrived at the Uzumaki temple not long after Kakashi summoned her. Tsunade and a Man that could only be the Fire Daimyo sat on its steps drinking what appeared to be very expensive sake. At least if the gilding on the bottle was to be believed.
Tsunade looked up from her drink, a slight red tinge across her nose already. "Hey brat! Get over here, it's time to have your first drink and meet the most important man in the nation!" The Daimyo waved his hands in false modesty even as Naruto turned red as she approached.
She bowed deeply to the Daimyo. "It's an honor to meet you, Daimyo-sama." But he quickly gestured for her to stand and come join them on the steps.
"Oh don't be so nervous. I was great friends with your parents if that sets your mind at ease." It did, a little. Even as she realized that anyone would be a fool to not be friends with the Daimyo.
"Ah, I didn't mean to appear nervous Daimyo-sama, I was actually just feeling embarrassed, I'm afraid I won't be able to have the honor of my first drink with you too." The two looked at her in surprise. "My team and I had our first drink before we left the village for the first time. Sasuke said it was Uchiha tradition."
The Daimyo's eyebrows raised at the Uchiha heir involving her in that tradition, effectively naming her blood family. Tsunade though, Tsunade clapped the girl on the back. "Thatta girl! Got it out of the way early." She elbows Naruto in the ribs lightly as she jests quietly. "Just don't rush to get all your firsts out of the way too early." Naruto choking on the sake she'd just tried to take a sip of as both Tsunade and the Daimyo burst out in laughter.
When they all calmed down Tsunade started again. "Well, first things first brat. I'm going to take over Jiraiya's spy network so I need a way to keep in touch with the village." She holds out a hand and has a large scroll poof into her grasp. "This is my personal summoning contract with Katsuya, the great slug of the Shikkotsu Forest. If you accept she'll go over her abilities and capabilities with you, but I figured you're family so if I have to let someone else summon her it should be you."
Naruto almost had stars in her eyes, almost not able to believe her luck at getting offered one of the three great summons. "Yes of course Lady Tsunade! I'd be honored to be on the contract with you." Tsunade nods and flicks the scroll open for her to sign, before showing her the signs for summoning. "Maybe don't do it now, with how much chakra you have Katsuya could accidentally crush us all." She chuckles to herself as Naruto looks a little sheepish, sipping at the sake she'd been provided.
After the three made small talk and drank for a while Naruto couldn't quite take it anymore. "So um, not to be rude Daimyo-sama. But why am I here? I don't think many chunin get to spend the afternoon drinking with their Daimyo." She chuckled nervously at the end.
"Mm." He finishes his drink. "You're very right Naruto-chan, I normally only make it a habit of drinking with Sannin, and Kage."
Naruto got more confused. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understand. Why make an exception for me?"
Tsunade laughs before answering. "That's easy kid, we're drinking to celebrate the promotion of our new kage!" She smirked as she finished. "Jiraiya would have been here too, but he's finishing up some work out of the village before he takes his place on the elder council."
Naruto still didn't get it. But if Jiraiya was going to be an elder then he wasn't Hokage, and Tsunade was taking over his spy network… So it had to be… "Oh, is Kakashi-san coming?"
The Daimyo smiled kindly even as Tsunade laughed even harder. "Well that depends, do you want him here Hokage-sama?"
It needed to be spelled out for her to understand, but finally it dawned on her. She was here drinking with the Fire Daimyo because she was the next Hokage.
Back at the table with Itachi and her team, she met Sasuke's eyes, a grin still on her face. Knowing her as well as he did, his head hit the table with a groan, Itachi and Sakura looking between them, not sure what was happening.
Naruto couldn't contain her excitement any more, jumping and spinning in place as she pumped her fist. "Get ready for National Ramen Day boys and girls, 'cause Uzumaki Naruto's gonna be the Fifth Hokage!" She finishes with a victory sign.
Well, at least they'd have an easy time getting Itachi administrative clearance.