Tip Of the Spear
Chap 3
The Old Folks At Home
Konoha, The Village Hidden In The Leaves
"So you're telling us that our grandson and his fiance' was taken not only from the village but this world as well?"
"It appears so, his treatment by the villagers, civilian and ninja alike was deplorable."
"And you, you pervert, I thought you were keeping a close watch on him. What happened!?"
"N..n..n..now hime, I couldn't just waltz in a say 'Hi sensei, I'm here to raise my grandson,' could I?"
It was this scene that was playing out as Makoto the fox made his entrance. In front of him were the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the ANBU agent Inu, Kakashi Hatake. Makoto was used to seeing these two men as he was the go between for his boss, the Nine Tails and Sarutobi.
It was the other two that surprised him, two of the Sanin, the only two still loyal to this village were in the office as well. From the sound of things the group were in the midst of a discussion or argument of some sort. If the young fox had heard right the Sanin were claiming that Lord Naruto was their grand child. That information, if true, was something that Lord Kurama didn't even have. He needed to confirm and then relay it back to his boss and the children.
Hearing the animal pop into the room the Hokage turned and smiled at the animal that was now sitting on his desk. Somehow he was drawn to Makoto, the fox my be old by human terms but was yet a child in his world. Maybe that was why, Makoto's grin, when he gave one, reminded the old man of a certain blonde trouble maker.
"Good day Makoto," Hiruzen said in greeting, "I take it you have news of the children?"
"I do Hokage-sama, they send their greetings to you, Inu-san and the ramen people," the fox replied, "They are settled in their home and are attending school. You will be happy to know Lord Naruto is excelling in all subjects. In fact he's giving Lady Sakura a run for her money."
"And their shinobi training?"
"As expected of Lady Kushina's son, he is highly ranked in his age group in taijutsu as is the Lady. They also can be considered high genin ranked for Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu. His mastery of Genjutsu is still lacking but that is to be expected. Lord Kurama's chakra will always make Naruto have difficulty with his chakra control."
"I see," the man said as he looked at his former students, "You said that they are high ranked for their age group, please explain."
"Certainly, the various disciplines of Taijutsu are called the Martial Arts there and are ranked by belt color. The children are ranked as 3rd degree black belt holders in the arts of Taekwando and Judo. These are two of the most popular forms there and at the age of ten they are about as powerful as a high chunin or low jonin," Makoto explained to a stunned audience, "I would say by the time they return they would be ranked jonin in all areas."
"You said that they are now ten years old, how can that be when a few days ago Sakura had just turned six," asked Jiraiya.
"Time dilation, what you humans fail to understand, we of the summoning realm can travel between worlds. Time runs at varying speeds depending on what universal plane you're located," Makoto replied as he sat on the Hokage's desk. Somehow during his speech he had acquired glasses and a college professors mortar board head covering as well as the black robes.
"Picture a river, one that on the surface is running slow and calm. Underneath that surface are currents that run a differing speeds," the fox explained now pointing to a small drawing on an easel, "We are on the top and age at a very slow rate, the children are here," he said pointing to a current half way down, "their time stream is flowing at roughly one and a half to two times the speed of this realm."
As he explained the time flow the others slowly began to understand. "So do mean to tell us that we they return they'll be almost the same age as Minato and Kushina were when they died?" asked Tsunade.
"No, when they leave that world they will be placed into copies of their younger selves. You call them blood clones. These clones are being allowed to age at the normal rate in this world. When the time comes Lord Kurama will perform a modified dead deamon sealing technique taking the childrens souls with him to be placed into their copies."
"WHAT!?" Jiraiya yelled, of all people present he had the most knowledge of seals and what could go wrong. This was not only dangerous but reckless as well. "If something goes wrong with just one sign their souls are lost to us, how could the fox be that foolish?"
"Lord Jiraiya please calm down, Lord Kurama has done this many times in the past to save other children and worthy adults. The technique is result of a collaboration between him and other powerful pure deities. Trust him, it will work. Besides," Makoto said flashing his grin, "If it fails not only are the children lost but Lord Kurama as well."
"Yeah, that'll make me more confident,"grumbled the white haired sage.
Seeing as the meeting was going sideways Hiruzen cleared his throat getting the foxes attention, "Is there anything else or was that all for today?"
"That's all I was given Hokage-sama however I have a question for the Sanins," Makoto answered then began to wait until he had permission to speak again.
"And what would you like to know brat?" asked Tsunade with a smile, the little fox was cute and put her at ease for some reason.
"When I came in you two," with that he pointed the Hokage's former students, "mentioned a grandson. It's Lord Naruto isn't it?"
Both Sanins frowned at the statement, "That's one hell of a question there brat, but yes, he is our grandson," Tsunade answered sadly.
"What!?" Kakashi asked, "Why would you two leave him here instead of taking him in?"
Looking at the floor Jiraiya sighed, "Because Minato didn't know who his parents were," looking at his team mate he asked with a bitter tone, "You going to tell them or should I Tsunade?"
"I'll tell him, it's my fault after all... After the third war I was an emotional wreck. My fiance Dan had been wounded and bled out in front of me. Nothing I did or could have done saved him. At that point I was shattered."
Taking a drink from her sake glass to quiet the slight trembling of her hands she continued, "All I really had left in my life at that time was Shizune, the pervert over there, Orochimaru, our sensei and this necklace. One night I was so far in my cups Jiraiya and Orochimaru became worried for my well being. They both came to get me out of the bar I crawled into and safely home"
"Kami, I was such a fool and a mess that night. I didn't want to be alone and I thought this was my chance with that Snake bastard but that was also the night Jiraiya and I found out that Orochimaru not only didn't swing that way but we found that I was about ten years too old for his tastes."
All eyes were on the Slug Sanin as she filled her glass, the soft clinking the only sound in the office, with another sigh she pressed on.
"I was so let down that I began to cry even more and refused to let go of Jiraiya. Anyway he held me tight as he tried to sooth my broken heart and self esteem. As we held each other I kissed him and one thing led to another. I never told him that he was a father until after Minato was born."
"But that doesn't explain why Minato didn't know you were his parents," Makoto pointed out.
"You're right, it doesn't. When I realized what was going on with my body I talked to sensei and his wife. The scandal that would have resulted had it been known that I, the last of the Senju in the village, royalty in the eyes of that foolish council, was an unwed mother would have been horrendous. Sensei helped to cover things up, giving me carte blanc to travel using it as a cover for my growing belly."
"Shizune and I returned with a healthy baby boy who I said was found abandoned in Tanzuka town. I named him Minato and had sensei place him in the orphanage the Fire Monks ran. It was far better than the one Naruto was placed in but your Lord Kurama destroyed that place during his rampage," Tsunade told Makoto with a harsh glare.
The small fox looked down knowing she was right. It was an act that Kurama regretted everyday he looked at his host. Because of his weakness to that accursed eye Naruto had suffered and lost so much. Truthfully the little fox was at a loss for words after that story but he needed on last question answered.
"And Lord Naruto's family name of Namekazi?"
"My mother's maiden name," answered Jiraiya, "I may not have been able to raise my son but I was determined that he had a clan to fall back on in time of need. No one bothers to know my history as I'm always called the Toad Sanin. However, my family was from a minor civilian trading clan. It was nomadic by nature and tradition and only a few of us decided to settle down and grow roots."
"The family is located in Tanzuka and acts as a brokerage for the family members that continue to travel. Minato was welcomed at once the day I took him with me when he was my student," the white haired man explained his part in his son's life, "It was there that I told him who exactly I was to him."
"I also explained that his mother had given him up for his safety. Had anyone known that Tsunade Senju had given birth to a son his life would have been forfeit because the enemies his great grandfather, great uncle, mother and father had made would have sought him out to be killed for revenge."
Tsunade spoke once again as she sensed that Jiraiya was trying not to allow the pain of remembering his son's time travels with him all those years ago, "So, will you deliver this news to your boss so he can tell the brats?"
"It's something that can no longer be hidden, Naruto needs to know his family. But," he began looking the child's grandparents in the eyes, "He will not know if you two continue to run from your duties to your family. Better for him to believe that he has no living relatives than to have them alive but reluctant to share their lives with him," he scolded.
"That...that won't happen, running off and hiding I mean," Tsunade said holding the foxes gaze, "Jiraiya and I will be here when Naruto returns. While we may not share a house, we will share in his life and help him all we can."
The little fox silently looked at them before nodding his head, his grin lighting up the office, "I believe you will at that. Very well, I shall give Lord Kurama this news that Naruto-kun will not be without family on his return. Lord Hokage, anytime you need help from the foxes Enma has indicated that the monkey clan will act as intermediaries between you and my clan. If you all will now excuse me I shall take my leave."
Once he had spoken his last words the fox popped out of the room to deliver the news to Kurama and his Kits.
Almost at once Kakashi tensed, one of his kage bunshin had dispelled sending him the news they had been waiting for.
"Hokage-sama, they are coming," he told his leader.
"How many?"
"Just the two of them, the mummy is nowhere in sight."
"Good," the elderly man replied as he canceled the privacy seals in the office, "They will not be expecting what happens next."
Just as the seals stopped working the two village elders walked into the office with out asking permission as if it was their office and not their leaders. They had been on Sarutobi's genin and chunin teams long ago, had been trusted friends and advisers during the man's first reign as Hokage. The trouble with them and Danzo sprang from the privileges the trio had stolen for themselves. They had grown to like the power they, as village elders, held and that was something they would try to keep as their own for a long time.
Going behind their team mate's back the three conspired to make their positions a positions for life. Now Hiruzen meant to take back the power they and the council had stolen during the chaotic days after the fox's rampage.
"Hiruzen, why didn't you inform us that the Sanin were in the village?," Koharu demanded.
"Yes, Hiruzen, this should have been brought to our attention once they entered the village," Homura agreed as he adjusted his glasses a smug look of self importance surrounding him.
"That's Hokage-sama to you," snapped Tsunade visibly upset at the lack of respect the old fools had concerning their former teammate and leader.
Turning to face the Slug Princess Koharu began to speak, "Speak for yourself princess, as village elders and members of the council you will show us the respect we deserve."
"Oh, I think that Tsunade-hime is doing just that, showing you the proper respect that is," offered Jiraiya.
As Homura began to face the sage the Hokage spoke up, "Jiraiya, Tsunade, that is enough," he said continuing before the elders could get their own words in , "As for you two, she is correct. I'm the leader of this village not you two. This meeting had nothing to do with you but since you're both here I might as well get it over with."
Taking satisfaction in their stunned looks he held out his hand, "Jiraiya, the scroll," once the mentioned item was in his hand he began issuing orders, "Kakashi, guard the door, I want no intrusions during this hearing."
"As you wish Hokage-sama," came the reply.
"Hearing? What hearing? Hiruzen what are you up to?" the old woman demanded.
At this the Hokage slammed the palm of his hand on to the desk yelling, "Shut up and stand before me! From this point on you will address me in the proper manner!"
Shocked into silence the elders stood glaring at their leader and former teammate. Hiruzen sat looking at them for a few seconds before reading the scroll he was handed. Looking at Jiraiya he asked a question,
"Is this true? The conspiracy runs this deep?"
"Yes sensei, I cross referenced the information my agents developed with what ANBU and the Military Police uncovered. We now have the names of those that sought to take the office of Hokage from the rightful successor."
Glaring at the pair before him he hissed out a question, "Your names are on this list, you will tell me everything. What was your motive to try and steal the office from Minato's chosen successor?"
"What's gotten into you you old fool? We know nothing of a conspiracy," Homura countered.
"I figured as much, Kakashi, give the elder a level two prod to his memory."
"Yes sir," the ANBU captain answered as electricity coated his hand before he touched the spine of the old man in front of him.
While he felt a little shame in enjoying shocking the old fool he felt justified. These were the same elders that called for his fathers punishment after the man put his team ahead of his mission. These two were the leaders of the campaign that not only tarnished his fathers name and deeds but drove him to suicide as well.
They were also the ones that had time and again refused to allow him to adopt his precious little brother Naruto. Now thankfully, they will be paying the piper for all the crimes against not only the boy but the boy's father's wishes as well.
Hearing the man gasp and cry out brought a smile to Kakashi. Once the shock was delivered the man stepped back.
"Once more, what did you have to gain by your actions? Not only did you and your fellow elders conspire against the Hokage in waiting, you helped engineer the council's power grab after the attack. Who thought this all up?"
"Hiruzen! This is insanity, stop this right now!" Koharu yelled.
"To hell with you Hokage-sama", Homura sneered in an attempt to remain defiant.
"Level five please."
"Yes sir, level five."
Once again the hum of electricity was heard as the smell of ozone filled the office. On contact Homura grunted in pain but still stood.
"Once more please."
"Hiruzen please, remember his heart," pleaded his former teammate.
"Tsunade is here, she'll restart his heart if it stops. Kakashi, again please."
"Yes sir."
At the touch of the mans palm the soon to be former elder collapsed clutching his chest.
"Tsunade, if you will."
As Tsunade tended to the man's heart Hiruzen turned his attention to his other teammate, "Koharu, whose idea was it for the council's power grab, I will ask you only once."
"This is insane, on what grounds are you charging us?"
"I take that as a no, Kakashi, see if you can jolt her memory."
"As you wish sir."
Just as the man's palm drew close the old woman lost her nerve. She knew she was going to die and even if he could save her she knew their childhood friend would sacrifice her and Homura to save himself.
"Wait! Hiruzen, please it wasn't our idea but we had no choice," the old woman was pleading not only for her life but her partner's as well.
"Who?"
"Danzo, Danzo came up with the plan, he's the one that has been encouraging the council to fight you on everything. He want's the hat, he thinks he can do better than you or Minato could have done."
"He would lead us into a war at the smallest of reasons, try to gain power by oppressing the smaller nations! How could you go along with his plans?" roared the Hokage.
"He...he said it was for the good of the village."
"For the good of the village, yes, I can see how a war is good for our village. Next question, who started the rumor that Naruto was fox incarnate and encouraged the mistreatment and physical abuse of the boy?"
"..."
"Kakashi? Level eight."
"At once sir."
"Wait! Danzo, it was all Danzo, he was behind all of this. He wants to be Hokage and doesn't care how he gets the office."
"Naruto is the Hokage in waiting, any and all attacks on him are treason, the same as knowing about them and saying nothing," Jiraiya told the old woman, "Is he that arrogant to do these acts against a child?"
"Danzo only see's the boy as a weapon and not human. The fact that Minato named his son as next in line infuriated the man. Hokage-sama, we tried to talk him out of this path but he had things he would use against us," the old woman said as she tried to shift the blame.
"And the civilian council? Were they all forced to go along?" Tsunade asked.
"No, once Danzo promised the council a cut of Minato and Kushina's assets they were all for the idea. How is Homura?" the woman asked fearing for not only her life but her oldest friends.
"He'll live, what about Naruto? Did the council understand that they would be not only robbing the Hokage in waiting but encouraging harm to befall the boy?"
At this point Homura was shakily standing on his feet, "Who cares about the brat? His mother was an outsider, an Uzumaki, not a proper woman from Konoha, those assets and jutsus are by rights the villages."
Without being told Kakashi had delivered a lethal shock to the man. Once he hit the floor Tsunade revived him for Kakashi to repeat the technique several more times. Like a pair of cats the two toyed with their victim for several minutes before the mans heart burst under the strain.
Koharu was shocked. She had never seen her teammate or the man's students this sadistic and brutal. As she watched her partners cooling body she was asked one last question,
"Is ROOT still active?"
"Yes," she whispered, the fact that she knew that ROOT still operated after it was ordered shut down by Hiruzen and Minato both was another death penalty crime.
"Where is their base?"
"The entrance is behind the Hokage monument, there is a hidden door at the back of the shelters. You'll recognize it, it's the panel that has the chart of the hand seals on it."
Hiruzen looked at his former teammate with sad eyes as he spoke the last question, "How do you enter? And no tricks or deceptions, you are going to be kept alive until this is over. If you have us walk into an ambush or flash them a warning I promise you that what was done to him," here the man pauses and pointedly looked at the body on the floor, "will look like a lover's caress. So tell us, how do you get inside?"
"Push the signs on the wall, Rat-Dog-Tiger-Rat, that will open the passage up. A word of warning, it's patrolled and guarded so take lots of troops."
"Thank you Koharu, I was foolish as our friend stated, but not for the reasons he said. I was foolish to believe in you two even after I began to suspect that you both were involved in the abuse Naruto suffered."
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, not only did I let you down I let the village down as well. I knew the boy was not what Danzo said he was but the lie was so convincing."
"I know, Kakashi..."
The death blow was swift, just a palm to the base of the skull with the electrical charge at it's maximum. The old woman felt nothing as she fell like a puppet with it's strings cut.
ANBU was called to take the bodies to T&I for a forensic inspection. A loyal Yamanaka would delve into the silent brains looking for anything else that can be used in the downfall of Danzo Shimura.
That afternoon Danzo was called to the Hokage's office. Instead of appearing at once as he had done in the past he ignored the summons by his leader.. He knew the game was over as soon as rumors began to circulate. It seems that two of the elders he entered the Hokage's office but were not seen to leave. The man decided that he would keep that fool his old friend had become waiting, he, Danzo, was not a dog. He would not answer the Hokage's call as their were still questions where the other elders had gone. Instead Danzo decided to cut his losses and flee with several of his most loyal agents. He also left a nasty surprise for the village, a sleeper agent that didn't even know he was an agent. Danzo laughed at the thought of one of the villages prized ANBU captains destroying a major portion of the villages might with just the right word. As the traitor left his lair for the last time a smile played on his lips, when the time is right he would cripple the village in a way no one else could.
At the same time all available ANBU, Jonin and Chunin ranked shinobi's were briefed for the raid on ROOT HQ. Earlier Makoto was contacted by Enma on behalf of the Hokage, to the man's surprise the fox clan provided the best of their clan mates to help out. When it was clear that the last elder was not going to show the go sign was given and ANBU along with the most trusted Jonin personnel surged into the tunnel system ROOT called home.
Foxes the size of wolves would back the combat fighters while foxes of average size raced along the underground passages scouting out enemy numbers and locations. Their secondary task was to find and relay the locations of any hidden exits and entrances. The last group were foxes the size of Makoto, these were the tricksters. Their job was to open locks and disable seals to prevent their human comrades from getting killed or injured.
If an explosive tag or other booby trap caught a fox it just be dispelled to their home world. Makoto's sister Asahina was teamed with Kakashi and his group as they entered Danzo's lair. Working quickly she had disabled and disarmed all the traps and devices that held her human teammates at bay.
Inside the safe and desk was a treasure trove of information regarding Danzo's black operations. Kakashi found evidence linking the old man to many unsolved missing person cases, proxy wars and assassination attempts on political and military figures not only in other countries but the Land of Fire as well.
When the last elder failed to show as requested the raid was executed without a second thought. The ROOT nins fought well but all were eventually over come and defeated. Kakashi's team had managed to seize Danzo's office without a fight. The man had been caught flatfooted with the suddenness of the raid as the still open wall safe indicated.
One outcome of the raids were the discovery of many of the missing Konoha shinobi. Most had vanished when they were fresh genin on their first mission outside the protective walls of the village. Despite Danzo's mantra of doing what's in the best interest of Konoha, he had severely damaged the ranks of the villages military forces. By kidnapping promising young genin and then brain washing them to be loyal only to himself Danzo had made the village weaker than it should have been.
In the end it had taken weeks to remove the tongue seals on nearly all of ROOTs forces. The only ones that didn't have the seal was his commanders. These were taken to Inoichi and Ibiki to be interrogated. The seal itself lead the Hokage and ANBU back to the Hyuga elders.
In a Faustian deal with the devil himself the elders provided the traitor with a modified 'caged bird' seal to ensure absolute loyalty and and prevent any of his agents speaking his name or details of missions not just to enemy captors, but the intelligence officers of their own home. Their reason for providing the seal was simple. They viewed the current clan heads heir as weak and useless because the girl was shy and kind hearted.
With Danzo's backing as Hokage they would be able to rid themselves of not only the current head, Hiashi, but his weak daughter as well. The man had recently began speaking out against the seal the branch house wore. It was necessary they argued as it kept the lower house members in line and compliant to their wishes.
The one thing that disgusted Sarutobi and the Shinobi council was the discovery that Danzo had for sometime been working with Konoha's deadliest traitor, the Snake Sanin, Orochimaru. The information pointed to both men's involvement in the Nine Tails' rampage. Danzo's journals also detailed all the attacks made on Naruto and later Sakura. It was all there laid out in a seemingly insignificant black book with a red spine.
The reason was not out of doing what he felt best for the village as he always proclaimed his actions to be, no, nothing so altruistic and patriotic as that. His reasons were the same as any would be petty despot, jealousy and power. Simply put, he felt that he was better qualified the Minato to lead the village.
In his mind Danzo felt that he had earned the right to lead because of his age and experience, not to mention his political connections. The man had set up his own private ANBU style operation. At one time they were of use, the perfect weapons to use against an enemy that could be denied as the agents did not officially exist on the record books of the Leaf.
All that changed however when Danzo began to use ROOT for his own purposes. He played a dangerous game of instigating wars by proxy with the smaller nations that acted as buffer regions between the five major powers on the continent. The final straw was his involvement in Rain. Some of his agents were caught by Jiraiya's spies and mercenaries that had items that led them back to the Village Hidden in The Leaves.
That had been the final straw and the man was ordered to shut down ROOT. His punishment for going against the Hokage's orders were harsh, forcible retirement from the shinobi forces and blood oath that would protect the village secrets that he knew. Revealing any one of those secrets would activate the seals Minato and Jiraiya had carved into the man's flesh killing him instantly. Unlike the caged bird seal or the seal placed on his agents this was autonomous, it would activate only on certain conditions. It couldn't be activated by a person or other external means. Nor could it be rendered safe, it was
The second reason was far more base and common, greed. Minato Namekazi was a man that lived modestly all his life. The same with his wife Kushina Uzumaki. To them they did not need an extravagant life style to be happy, however, that's not to say they were poor. Far from it, over the years before he became a Jonin Minato had received a monthly stipend of 10,000 Ryo from anonymous benefactor on top of the stipend the village provided to all orphans while in school. Later the gift supplemented the young man's mission pay.
Unknown to either Minato and later Kushina, that 'gift' was small portion of his father's, Jiraiya, earnings from the man's Icha Icha book series. Minato was no fool and over the years invested his money into a wide range of businesses in the village. This was his original retirement plan with Kushina, he had planned on retiring at age thirty and growing his clan with Kushina's help. That all changed when to everyone's surprise he was given the title of Fourth Hokage.
More important than wealth was the jutsu library that had been entrusted to Kushina after the fall of the Village Hidden in The Whirlpool. Jutsu's meant power and power above all else is what Danzo craved. In his eyes, as well as the now deceased Homura, Kushina Uzumaki lost all rights to those techniques when her home village fell. Which, according to the man's journals, ROOT had a hand in the betrayal.
For that incident Danzo had justified his actions as the result of Uzu's refusal to teach him certain forbidden high level Fujitsu seals and techniques. Danzo lived by the credo, 'If I can't have it neither can you'. The perceived insult was all the reason he needed to stab Konoha's most loyal ally in the back. In doing this and letting it slip that ROOT was involved was all the reason for the survivors to go underground and not trust the Leaf village for decades.
By the end of the day many mysteries had been solved regarding the village and it's elders, the problem was however, as one mystery was closed out another opened up. Just how deep had the rot spread in the village?
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One week later a council meeting was called by the civilian council to discuss the whereabouts of the missing village elders and the increased ANBU and MP activity within the village. As a whole the civilian council over time and with the encouragement of the deposed elders had come to believe that they were in charge and the Hokage was largely a ceremonial position with no power but what they allowed him to have.
Today they would find out how very wrong they were. The first thing that should have tipped them off was that they had called for the meeting to begin at eight AM on the dot. It was now ten in the morning and not one of the shinobi clans, major and minor alike, had shown. Not only that their pet Hokage had failed to come running as he normally does when they demanded his presence. The second sign things were not going their way was when they had had enough waiting and decided to leave. Their way was barred not only by members of the Hokage's personal ANBU detail but by members of the villages Military Police.
The third sign that things were not going their way was when, at eleven AM, the Hokage swept into the chambers in full battle armor and flanked by his two loyal students. As they proceeded to his seat they were followed by multiple squads of ANBU who wordlessly began to restrain and remove fully eighty percent of the assembled civilian council members. As the detained members were taken out one door the heads of all the shinobi clans entered from the opposite side.
As they took their seats the Hokage handed a scroll to an uncharacteristically serious faced Jiraiya. Nodding as his leader took his seat the Toad Sage cleared his throat and stepped forward. Opening the scroll the man began to read the contents to the remaining members of the council.
"As of seven AM, Friday last week, Konohagakure has been in a state of war and under martial law. Concurrent investigations by three offices concerning public safety, internal and external security, have delivered to the office of the Hokage evidence of treason by members of this council and the village elders Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado and Danzo Shimura."
Hearing the shrieks of distress outside of the tower Jiraiya figured the detained council members and citizens alike have begun to see the suspended corpses of the two executed elders. Allowing himself a small smile he continued,
"As a result of a tribunal hearing elders Utatane and Mitokado were found guilty of treasonous activities and therefore executed. By the order of the Hokage and Daimeyo's offices the civilian council is hereby dissolved to be reformed at such a time that the clan heads, Hokage and senior members of the shinobi forces deem appropriate. All parties that are not a part of the Shinobi council are to vacate this venue at once. Those that refuse shall be considered in partnership with the detained members and traitors. They will arrested at once for treason. You have five minutes to comply."
Keeping an impassive look on his face the Toad Sage sat down next to his sensei and teammate. The civilians were shocked speechless as they looked at the faces of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the heads of the ninja clans. Not once in their recent memory had they seen every seat on the shinobi side occupied as they were at this time. The only seats empty were the ones for the Uzumaki and Namekazi clans. What shocked everyone was the sight of the Senju and Hatake seats being occupied, a clone of Kakashi but they didn't know that in the Hatake seat and Tsunade's apprentice warming the seat of the Senju clan.
As the civilian council filed out in shock the Hokage turned to the ANBU standing next to him and spoke loud enough for everyone in the room could hear him,
"Baboon, Weasel, pass the word to the citizens. Today at fifteen hundred hours there will be an announcement regarding the last weeks events. Bear, continue the investigations of the remaining council members. The rest of you meet me at the Hyuga compound in ten minutes. Hiashi, you, your daughters and Nephew are as of this moment in protective custody.
After watching an elder use the seal on a stubborn seven year old Neji the man had vowed to rid the clan of that barbaric tradition. Because of that the clan's elders, including his father, decided among themselves that Hiashi Hyuga was to be eliminated. As he stood in front of his village leader the man brought forward his nephew Neji.
"About our agreement Hokage-sama..." the man began.
"I did not forget my friend, Jiraiya, if you would be so kind," the Hokage answered with a small smile and his 'grandfather' voice as he looked at the three children in front of him.
"At once sensei," came Jiraiya's voice as he set about his work. Five minutes later Neji's seal was neutralized. It would still be visible for the near future but it would soon fade into his skin without a trace.
Hiashi nodded his thanks to the Sanin, Jiraiya's help in rendering the seal useless was a condition for his help, to render safe the caged bird seal that was placed against his orders upon his nephews head. It made him sick that of all the clans in the village his was the only one that treated half of the clan as slaves and servants. His dear brother had been caged in that manner and it made him sick. They were twins, there was nothing that said they couldn't run the clan as equals. It was the old men that clung to traditions best left in the dark ages.
One hour later the Hyuga elders were under arrest and waiting the tender mercies of Anko and her section. When she was done with these old bastards they would welcome the executioners sword with open arms and a smile. Of that she was sure. The look on the clan elders faces when ANBU stormed the compound as the sentries belonging to the branch house stepped aside was priceless. Anko had laughed and smiled at the shocked faces of the ancient bastards. Hiashi had sent Hinata to the branch house the day before to inform them as to what was going to happen in a day or two and instructions on how to help. One of the instructions was to ready a place safe from the byakugan for the three children. Now as the raid began he and his girls were nowhere in sight being guarded by the branch members that Hinata loved and cared about so much.
When the raid began the sentries were to stand aside and let the long arm of the Hokage do it's duty. If they were asked to assist in locating an individual they were to help as in addition to detaining the elders Hiashi had given Hiruzen a list of main house members that supported said elders. Today was going to be a day of changes, Hiashi thought, and some of those changes would be painful. Smiling at the children with him he allowed his branch family guardians to take him and the kids to a place of safety.
Two hours later found a large crowd gathered at the Hokage Tower. It was rare for the village leader to call the citizens to the tower for an announcement. It was quicker and easier to send a few teams of genin out to hand out leaflets and tack posters to walls and poles. To have the man himself address the village was only for important news and events. Now as they waited they could see their leader walk to the edge of the towers balcony.
As he stood a hush settled on the crowd as it strained it's collective ears. Using a simple amplification jutsu the old man began to speak to his village. "I suppose you all are wondering why I called for this gathering. You are here to be informed of a conspiracy that the majority of the adults in this village are as guilty of as well as the principles accused."
Seeing the shocked looks on the crowd the man smiled and continued, "A few years ago I stood here and told you of the death of our beloved Minato and his wishes that his son be seen not only as a hero but the boys naming as the fifth Hokage. Many if not all of you chose not to respect that wish and decided to believe a lie instead."
"You fools followed the words of traitors and drove the Godaime Hokage In Waiting out of his village. If I were to order ANBU to execute all those that did harm on the boy this village would cease to be. Consider yourselves, the simple masses lucky as only the leaders and conspirators on the council are to be punished."
As he finished he pointedly glanced at the gibbet that held the bodies of two of the elder council members. The fear these people felt was palpable now and Hiruzen decided to make it worse. With a gesture a genjutsu dropped as a gallows appeared with the members of the fox hunt that had almost killed Naruto and Sakura a couple of weeks ago pleading for their lives. Almost twenty people were on the stage with nooses around their necks.
At a signal the traps opened and all fell to their deaths. Hiruzen's voice to a harsh tone, "Over the years I have tried to reason with all of you, show you that Naruto was not what you believed he was. The events of the last of your fox hunts have made me realize that there is no talking and reasoning with you fools. Today that all ends, bring them out," he ordered as the half dozen shinobi were led to the gallows stage in chains.
"These traitors will not enjoy a quick death that the others received. Instead, for their crimes they will die in a very slow, painful and public death."
One of the crowd that felt brave called out, "What was their crime? They were only trying to finish the job the fourth had started!"
The Hokage and his students shook with rage, "Their crimes you ask? Fine I will tell you of their crimes. Failure to obey my order that Naruto and Sakura be protected from harm at all costs, failure to protect the last of the royal family of Uzu and the attempted murder of the Hokage."
Another fool yelled back, "Why would they want to kill you? And why are we hearing of it now?"
"It wasn't me they had tried to kill as I'm only filling the seat and acting as Regent until the true Hokage is of age and ability to take the seat. Did not anyone listen when it was announced that Minato had named his son as his successor? The son of your hero that all of you are so ready to kill? These shinobi not only failed at obeying their orders, they tried many times to kill their rightful leader, as all of you have done many times!"
"I now sentence this scum to death, Tsunade if you will."
Tsunade walked to the first man who had tears in his eyes whispering for mercy, he didn't know Naruto was the son of the fourth. As Tsunade approached his pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. Leaning down to whisper in the man's Tsunade hissed,"Mercy? You want mercy? My grandson Naruto plead for his life the other night and what did you do? Did you do your duty to your Hokage and protect him? No, you threw a poison laced kunai into his body and then boasted of your skill at hitting such a small target. As you asked for mercy like my grandson did you shall receive it in the same amount you showed your Hokage."
The mercy never happened as he was injected with a poison that attacked the chakra pathways as well as turning a persons chakra against it's owner. As Tsunade walked down the line dispensing the lethal doses she smiled at the slow rate of spread the poison had. She had made a trip to Suna and paid a visit to her rival in all things poisonous. Chiryo not only agreed to provide the Slug Sanin the poison she asked for the old woman custom made one that would cause the most agony for the longest tolerable time. Tolerable to the executioners and witnesses not the condemned as the death cries would get on one's nerves after a wait for death was a long one, it took each ninja a full ten minutes of agony until their cries ceased and their bodies stilled. When the last was pronounced dead the old man resumed speaking.
"As of this morning the Fire Lord and I have dissolved the civilian council with most of them arrested and facing the same charges the late elders faced. In addition the remaining elder, Danzo Shimura has been found to be the instigator of these crimes and has fled the village. He is now declared a missing nin and he is to be killed on sight."
"As if his actions toward young Naruto were bad enough, I was given definitive proof that he has been working with Orochimaru, providing him with healthy persons for the Snake's continued experiments. Shimura has been proved to also be behind the epidemic of missing people in the village. Even with the ongoing investigations we are still unsure of the extent of his crimes."
Before I send you all home to think over your actions and mistreatment of two innocent children, one that has had his legacy and birthright denied him, are there any questions or do you foolish villagers understand your own crimes against them?"
Once more a voice rang out but the Hokage smiled at this one. It belonged to the man that saw Naruto and Sakura for what they were, scared and hungry little kids, "Where are they now? Ever since the last attempt no one has seen either one?"
"They are in exile seeing that they were not safe or welcome in their own village. I allowed a retainer of his mother's side to train them. As a condition for taking the children under his wing, their sensei will be informing the pair of Naruto's heritage and titles as well as his position in the village as the son of the Yellow Flash and his fathers successor. I would assume when the two find out the truth that was denied him they will not be happy."
Seeing the look on the faces below him made the man smile. Only now it was dawning on them that the child they had abused, scorned and tried to hurt or kill was the son of the leader they adored in life and death. He was also the son of the most dangerous and short tempered kunoichi the village ever knew. A collective shiver ran through the crowd. Kami help them if Naruto inherited his mother's thirst for revenge.
As the crowd dispersed they were still in a state of shock. If what they had been told was true then the whole of the village, civilian and ninja alike, were all guilty of treasonous acts. Everyone of said acts against the son of their beloved Yondaime. Over time as more information was revealed many people began to turn themselves in for their part of the campaign of abuse against the small blonde and his friend.
Each one was turned loose being told that they would have to live with what they had done. Some could not live with the guilt and took their lives. Tsunade reported that the suicide rate had went up in the days following the announcement of the crimes of the council and mistreatment of their Hokage in waiting. Hiruzen to grim pleasure in that bit of news, the worst of the bunch were actually doing his job for him in punishing the guilty.
/
Over the next few years many changes were made in relation to how the village was run. Tsunade had taken over the hospital and began training medical classes at the academy to the students. By the time Naruto returns his graduating class would be boasting a few trained medic nins. It was her hope that the medics would increase the rate of survival for the squads.
Tsunade also began to help the Hokage with his workload. It was no secret the man was old and had been enjoying his retirement before the foxes attack. As it was now, he was acting as regent, warming the seat for Naruto until he came of age. Tsunade had begun to train for the job after talking to her teacher one day. The man wanted to spend his days looking over and training his grandson. When her grandson returned she would take over the role of regent and with Jiraiya and sensei's help train him for the role.
But for all the good that had taken place since the day of judgment as the people called it there still came a tragedy that Danzo personally took credit for. While on a mission Itachi Uchiha crossed paths with a plain unassuming man The man shared a drink with the prodigy as he rested from a day of travel. During their conversation the man uttered a phrase from Jiraiya's first book. That was all, one little phrase of little consequence. Two days later Itachi Uchiha had slain his his entire family but for the few that were out of the village and his precious little brother. Itachi could not bring himself to harm Sasuke physically so he did the worst thing to him without leaving a mark on his body, for seventy two hours Sasuke Uchiha relived the slaughter of his family while tied to a stump. He was eight years old.