*Chapter 30*: Chapter Twenty Six: Countdown

Edit: spelling. TY to goku90504 for spotting that.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Countdown

"Welcome home, Hinata-sa-" Was as far as the branch girl was able to get out before Hinata tore past her, bolting up the stairs and locking herself in her room. Her crying was loud enough to be heard even here at the front door.

"Juuko, what happened?" Asked Hiashi as he came down the opposite stairwell, casting a meaningful glance in the direction of Hinata's room. Hiashi was clearly rattled; it was entirely unlike him to be so direct.

"I-I'm not sure, Hiashi sama." she replied. "She said nothing as she came in, simply ran up the stairs and into her room." Hiashi frowned. "Was she hurt?"

Juuko shook her head. "Not that I could see, milord."

Hiashi's frown turned brooding. "That will be all, Juuko." He said, before turning and walking up the stairs towards Hinata's room.

People talk.

The Hyuuga family made no mention of why Hinata had returned to the village and gone immediately into seclusion. Nor did they make public mention of any reason Hinata would request extended leave from duties for three days. And they certainly would never mention why Hinata would choose to avoid Naruto after her return, nor why she would quickly excuse herself from any conversation in which he was brought up. No accusations were made, no blame assigned, no censure or disapprobation made about the blonde genin, by the Hyuuga family. Nobody could get an answer from Hinata, or Shino, and none were brave enough to ask Naruto.

But still, in absence of hard facts, rumors flew in their place.

As more rumors passed, certain rumors gained popularity, and by the time they were spoken loud enough to reach the ears of the parties involved, the public at large were convinced they already knew the truth.

The Hyuuga clan eventually made formal statement that no improprieties took place, nor did Naruto in any fashion force himself on or take advantage of Hinata during their mission. They even went so far as to announce Naruto's permanent appointment as Guardian of the Heir of the Hyuuga clan only the day before the Chuunin exam finals.

Yet despite this measure, the damage was done. Almost every kunoichi genin and most of the chuunin had filed request to never be placed in a mission that included Uzumaki Naruto. Just to be safe.

And each justified in their minds that if the rumors were flase, why would so many other kunoichi not wish to be teamed with him?

Rumors are like storms- few understand fully the forces that set them in motion, but none can deny their power. And rumors, like storms, can leave devastation in their wake.

A few words spoken...

A few words left unspoken, until too late...

What difference can they make? Only Everything.

This is not to say that everyone believed the rumors- indeed, everyone who knew Naruto even casually rejected the idea as ludicrous. One jounin in particular who'd been on repeated missions with him put forth the opinion that he actually had no hormones at all.

But a rumor of ill nature about a jinchuuriki is almost guaranteed perpetuation. Guilty until proven innocent. And no defense witness can be found who could be called unbiased.

This state of affairs would not last forever. Three days after the attack on Konoha the council would be compelled to unseal the records of the mission to seek out and retrieve Senju Tsunade. With the revelation of the facts of the mission, even in the eyes of the public at large, Naruto was rightfully exonerated, by which time it was far too late.

Words have power. Spoken or unspoken, they can change the course of history.

All because People Talk.

Even at Ichiraku ramen, Naruto felt uncomfortable. It had only been two days since his return, and people were treating him like a leper. Hinata had been avoiding him completely- and he felt a little betrayed by this. He had understood that her feelings were hurt by what he'd told her on the return trip to Konoha, but reality didn't care much one way or anotherhow one felt about it. Some things nobody could change; he knew that better than anyone.

And now, when he'd finally felt he'd made real, visible progress, that he'd begun a genuine change in how people saw him, now conversations once again stopped, people crossed streets to avoid him, and looks of general dislike greeted him any time he went out in public. About the only difference was that the dislike was laced heavily with fear, and nobodyopenly- asked or demanded that he leave when he walked into a place.

It was pretty damned thin comfort, that difference, but it was the only comfort it looked like he was going to receive.

When he'd left for this last mission, he felt he'd finally made progress at last. Yet now, he felt keenly the loss of that progress to back where he started in his academy days, and it tasted like a mouthful of bitter ashes. He'd never gotten a fair chance, courtesy of the Kyuubii, not that he resented the Fox any longer. It had been true to its word in its dealings with him, it never judged him- much of the time, it even helped him. He really had no secrets from Kyuubii now, and it startled him to realize that Kyuubii was the closest friend he had.

Naruto registered a motion to his left, and his eyes shot sideways to track the bowl of cha-shu ramen as it slid in front of him. A quarter of a boiled egg garnished the top with a generous amount of crisp vegetables and sliced, marinated pork cutlets arranged in a circle around the noodles in the middle. A large dab of hot mustard was perched proudly on the rim of the bowl. His eyes slowly turned up to look at the young waitress tiredly. "Arigato gozaimas, Ayame san."

Ayame seemed a little disappointed at the somewhat stiff 'San" as she replied, "Do itashi mashite, Naruto kun," with a slight stress on the 'Kun.'

Naruto's brow crinkled- there was something in her voice that made him look back at her. "Nani? What is it?"

Ayame was blushing slightly as she looked away a moment. "Um... Naruto, you're a boy... I was hoping you could give me some advice."

Naruto froze with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "Advice?" he asked. "Advice about what?"

Ayame sat next to him on the neighboring stool. It was pretty clear to see that something was bothering her. "Well... it's about my boyfriend. I was hoping you could tell me what's going through his head. You see..."

Naruto spent the next half hour hearing Ayame describe her relationship with her boyfriend... at length. She talked about their last date, what she'd worn, how much time she'd spent getting ready, and her distress when he'd finally picked her up and didn't say a thing about how she looked. She'd waited through the whole date for him to say something.

"... Anything would have been fine- even if he didn't like it, I don't mind, it was a new style for me, but it's like he didn't even care how much effort I put into that outfit or my hair. And then on our way back, I caught him looking at another girl who was wearing her hair the way I used to, so I asked him if he liked my hair the old way better and THEN I find out he didn't even notice I changed my hair at ALL."

Ayame stopped, and looked over at Naruto. He hadn't eaten his ramen; mostly he'd sat there with an increasingly poleaxed expression as his eyes glazed over. "Uh, okay." he said a little belatedly. "So he, uh, was looking at another girl. And... um..." Naruto was floundering helplessly.

"What is he thinking?" Ayame asked, almost pleadingly. "Am I really important to him? I mean, he didn't even really notice the other girl's hair, he said, and I kind of believe him because he OBVIOUSLY didn't care about mine, but is it because I'm some sort of a game to him, or should I be happy that he's with me because he likes my personality? And I WANT to be pretty for him but he doesn't even help at all and he won't tell me what he likes..." Naruto was no longer hungry. At this point, he just wanted to escape.

Maybe, he thought to himself, being social isn't everything it's cracked up to be.

"...and so THEN I thought to myself, maybe he's cheating on me? And if he was, I was gonna KILL him, I mean, what has she got that I don't?"

The words hung in Hiashi's brain like a fog, blocking out any clear thought.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato, is dead.

The old man was the legendary professor. The mightiest ninja alive. Enma had to be mistaken. "How?"

The Monkey king seated across the desk, scratched his chin a moment, before looking up at Hiashi. "He fought Danzou to the death. Based on what I gathered from things Hiruzen has told me in the past, Danzou was in fact a plant, a spy, for someone named Pein."

Hiashi was confused for a bare second, before the pieces fell into place for him. "The counselors. Sarutobi."

"Even so." Nodded Enma. "And he fell, accomplishing his goal- his mission complete. A truly fitting end for the finest of shinobi."

"So the Hokage we've been seeing since the purge... this was an imposter, or a kage bunshin?"

Now it was Enma's turn to be confused. "There has been an impersonator? No one knew? Hiruzen had assumed that he would be listed as nuke nin, and struck from the records."

Hiashi frowned thoughtfully. "Enma, how much longer may you stay here?"

"I may yet remain for a few more hours." Enma replied. "I have one last task I must accomplish before I depart for my realm in any case. But I can spare some time for what you might need."

"Then this is what I request of you..."

Paperwork. It's the bane of every Hokage since the Shodaime.

Even the surrogate Hokage.

Kakashi rubbed at his eye, trying to clear the blurriness from both his sight and his brain. His attention was disrupted by the sudden shunshin of two persons into the Hokage's office- something that never happened unless there was an emergency. It was Kurenai and Gai.

With them was the Monkey king Enma.

Kakashi felt hope well up inside himself for an impossible moment before logic asserted itself, and his stomach sank into his shoes. The grave expressions on the faces of Gai and Kurenai said it all, but Kakashi refused to allow himself to believe it.

Don't say it, please don't say it. He thought to himself numbly. Don't make it real.

"Hatake san..." Said Enma, his bright eyes solemn as he spoke, "It is my sad duty to inform you that Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato... is dead."

Kakashi's eyes burned suddenly as his chest tightened. Something hard and painful had formed in his throat; swallowing around it was difficult. After a moment, he forced his lungs to take air, willed his voice to remain level, and asked, "How did it happen?"

"What do we do about this?" Asked Anko.

The door opened to the secluded compound, and Anko, Kakashi, and Gai turned to face the arrival. It was Morino Ibiki. "I strongly disapprove of being brought out here to perform a barrier jutsu on a compound building without being brought into the loop of what's going on." Ibiki growled. "Especially since I have no idea what I'm not supposed to see and therefore unable to avoid."

Kakashi answered grimly, "There isn't any avoiding this one. We're hip deep in double S class pile of trouble and you're the only one qualified for this that we- and Konoha- can trust."

Ibiki swore sulfurously. "I should have known from the moment I saw who was here. I'm getting slow in my old age." He sighed in resignatioin. "So who is it this time?"

Kakashi, Anko, and Gai exchanged a look before Kakashi responded, "Perhaps it's better if we just showed you."

The four of them went inside the main house of the compound.

There, in the courtyard, under a long open air hallway, stood the Monkey King Enma, over the bodies of seeveral dead shinobi. Directly at his feet, shirt torn away to reveal the Shiki fuin, was the Sandaime Hokage. His face was peaceful, serene, and except for the lack of breathing and the waxy paleness of his skin, he might have been sleeping. On his chest lay a white chrysanthemum. At Ibiki's raised eyebrow Enma nodded, indicating that he was the one to have placed the flower.

Ibiki felt a crushing wave of emotion, the likes of which he hadn't allowed himself to feel in a long time. He forced himself to show nothing, cleared his mind until it vanished, then gave Enma a direct look. "How did it happen?"

Enma frowned, his simian face almost seeming human as he did so. He described the events, his talk with Hiruzen the day before, the suspicions that Sarutobi had regarding their foe.

It took some time, but finally Enma finished. There were a few minutes of silence before Ibiki finally said, "So then, Sarutobi sama ordered you to report to us?"

Enma shook his head. "He was not alive to do so- I instead reported to the highest ranking person in the village that I knew of."

"And thus, your conspiracy gained another member." Said a voice from the shadowed side of the courtyard. "And it is well that your co conspirator's story held true. Otherwise, we might have had an incident among the higher jounin of the village to rival the Uchiha Massacre."

Hyuuga Hiashi walked calmly forward, still speaking. "I understand the choices that your group made. It is indeed vital that the other villages not be aware that we no longer have a Hokage to lead us. While there was a possibility that he might return, masquerading as though he never left was a viable plan. With Hokage sama dead, our crisis is now compounded. We have no leader, and with the number of visitors in Konoha today to see the Chuunin exam finals, our territory and security are compromised thoroughly. We cannot afford to have no clear chain of command- we need a new Hokage.

Immediately."

Ibiki shot a glance in Kakashi's direction as the Copy nin began speaking. Something in his voice made Ibiki pay close attention. "But we cannot afford to simply make the change in front of all our visitors from the five nations and beyond. The transition is too sudden, and we would still have no clearly defined chain of command."

"The charade would indeed need to continue until the end of the exams. Then, the new Hokage could be sworn in, and Sarutobi dies peacefully in his sleep." Hiashi confirmed. "I am not... comfortable with this in its entirety. It feels as though I am desecrating the Sandaime's legacy by this deception. But weighing my sensibilities against the good of the village is no contest at all. This cannot be revealed, now, to anyone who is not a part of our contingency plan."

"'Our?'" mouthed Ibiki silently.

Gai, meanwhile, regarded Hiashi thoughtfully. "And I imagine the best candidate for Hokage would be you, wouldn't it, Hiashi-sama." The 'sama' was ever so slightly stressed in his tone.

Hiashi didn't miss it, either. "And what exactly would that mean, Gai-san." He asked, although like Gai's earlier comment, it was less a question than a statement.

Tact was right up there with committed relationships for Anko- both were entirely, ludicrously unnnecessary. "I'd have thought the implication fairly obvious. In fact, at first I thought he was being deliberately insulting, but I guess it turned out he had a better measure of your mental capacity than-"

"Anko! Silence!" Kakashi barked. The tokabetsu jounin fell quiet, but her glare lost none of its venom. Kakashi's appraisal, while no less intense, was still more respectful and contemplative. After a moment, Kakashi gave a short nod. "Whether or not it is what Hiashi sama meant to say, it remains quite correct. We need a strong Hokage, especially now, and there are few who could claim par with Hiashi sama." Kakashi leaned against a support beam for the open air hallway and folded his arms. "But you will not be able to fill in for the Hokage today. You will be expected to be in the Hyuuga section to oversee the matches."

Hiashi gave a thoughtful nod of his own. "Then I can expect your support when selection of Hokage is made?"

Anko chose this moment to burst out with, "Are you both insane?"

Kakashi fixed her with a level glare of his own. "Unless you can propose an alternative, Konoha has little choice."

Ibiki had been busying himself with the preparation of the Hokage's body, before he struck a match and set it ablaze. As the body burned, Ibiki turned to the others. "Actually, I'm willing to bet I know the reaction of the village elders. Tsunade and Jiraiya are both in the village for the first time in years. They have two candidates for Hokage that they would select in a heartbeat. And all due respect, Hiashi sama, both are more... qualified for the position."

Hiashi snorted. "Hokage is more than mere prowess- it is judgement and strategy and diplomacy. Do you truly believe that they would select an irresponsible pervert or an alcoholic gambling addict, both of whom have voluntarily broken formal ties with Konoha, over the clan head of the most powerful kekkei genkai in Konoha? Those irresponsible, irrational-"

"-disloyal pair of buffoons are your first choices for Hokage?" Asked Hiashi in disbelief.

Ibiki's smirk, standing off to the side as he was, remained visible only to Hiashi. The Hyuuga's features darkened; for Ibiki, it was enough.

It wasn't enough for Hiashi. "I urge the council to reconsider. We are in direst need of more than a strong ninja, but likewise a strong leader. Most especially not a gambling wastrel or a lecherous fool."

Linali shared a glance with her aide, then the remaining council members, before finally looking back at Hiashi. "Very well, then, Hyuuga san." She said calmly. "For the time being, we will ignore the criticism implicit in your lack of confidence... On one condition. Do tell us exactly what it is you deem necessary in a leader- for a hasty judgement is in no-one's best interests, for all that there remains only two hours yet before the next and final public appearance of the Sandaime Hokage, at the Chuunin exam finals."

Hiashi knew he was being baited, and probably mouse trapped as well. None-the-less, his best course of action would be honesty. "The times when sheer personal strength was adequate to aspire to leadership are long gone. A leader must be shrewd, must be diplomatic, and must have the ability to lead by example, to compel others to excel for a greater cause than themselves. A leader must show finesse, responsibility, and most of all, loyalty to the cause- or village- which they are to lead. And it is for these reasons I-"

"That is all well and good." Linali interupted. "We asked you of the traits inherent in a candidate, not your opinion of previously named candidates. May we assume that you answer has been rendered to this council in full?"

Hiashi's lips were a tight, thin line. "Hai, councilwoman."

Linali nodded. "Then we are in agreement, Lord Hiashi. Our prime choice for Hokage shall be Jiraiya of the Sannin, followed by Senju Tsunade as our second choice."

Hiashi stood up, affront clear on his face. "Have you taken leave of your senses?" He demanded.

"Hold your tongue!" Sanpped Shinzashi Hyuuga. "You have no right boy! Don't think it has escaped me how you evaded the letter of the law with the execution of the Privelege of Hyuuga. You'll come to regret it, too. But I will not allow you to disrespect this council in such a fashion. There are a great many things that even you, head of the Hyuuga Clan, are not privy to. So hold your tongue carefully, whelp, before you cause more damage than you already have."

('Any children of Byakugan and Kamigan will die should the kekkei genkai be crossed.")

Hiashi's traitorous memory reminded him of how his actions in absence of vital knowledge had already caused his daughter a great deal of pain. As he wrestled with this uncomfortable memory, Elder Linali spoke up again. "By the criteria you yourself have set forth, Jiraiya is the best option we have. I have a number of evidences to support this, first and foremost... how much do you know about Akimichi Choji?"

Hiashi's brow furrowed. He knew the name, and the clan, and that said genin was from the most recent graduating class at the academy. Other than this... "Admittedly, very little."

"Akimichi Choji." Spoke a a husky man in his early fifties, himself the representative of the Akimichi clan, Kamakiri. "Twelve years old. Middling grades on graduation from the academy. Fourteen D-rank and four C rank missions. Has displayed good combat ability in the preliminary round to the third exam of the Chunin Exam. Eliminated from the preliminaries by the Jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruto." He finished with obvious pride.

Hiashi nodded. THAT was where he'd remembered the name from. The recording of Naruto's match. "Very well. What bearing does this have in the topic at hand?"

"Jiraiya has selected him as his newe disciple in his position as gama sennin." Linali answered. "Understand, Hiashi, that while Akimichi Choji has shown good progress since his graduation, he truly is only a little more than average. But Jiraiya claims that what the boy lacks in native talent he more than makes up for in character and determination. And from what the Akimichi clan has related, this discipleship has given them great insights into the inner workings of their kekkei genkai."

"He is a good teacher, then." Hiashi responded. "But there are many such in our village."

"Despite his younger reputation as the madman of Konoha, Jiraiya is shrewd. He has been out of the village of late on an extended mission, managing nearly the entirety of Konoha's intelligence network, keeping tabs on the movements of all possible threats and points of interest to the village. His leadership skills and management skills are unquestionable. His ability to be diplomatic is easily demonstrable in that, in the space of a little less than a month he has convinced the Akimichi clan to confide their clan techniqques and kekkei genkai secrets. His willingness, without orders or payment, to take on as apprentice one of the more mediocre gennin simply for the sake of teaching him shows that he can devote himself to something higher than his own wants and needs. And his loyalty to the village is clear from the fact that his years of service as spymaster to Konoha were done not only without payment but were in fact funded by Lord Jiraiya's personal money." Linali's eyes were as hard as diamond chips and almost as sharp. "Do not presume to think that we make any judgements or choices lightly, Lord Hiashi. Now, if you have nothing else to say?" Linali took Hiashi;s silence as assent. "Then we are in agreement. Our choices for successor to the Hokage's position stands."

Hiashi sat down, both chastened and thoughtful. Linali looked to the head of the table where two seats that had lain empty for several months now sat filled again.

Koharu, seated in one of them, nodded back. "Very well. Linali san, what is our next order of agenda? We are short on time."

Homura and Koharu stood side by side in front of the office of the Hokage. One more moment and they would be within the office to begin the official transition out of the reign of the Sandaime and into the term of the Godaime.

"Are you alright, my friend?" Murmured Homura.

"It is the life of a shinobi." Koharu sighed. "Violence, chaos, and destruction run in our wake- except now, team Saru is no more."

Homura chuckled. "And of our generation, now, there are only two." He replied. "I always told him I'd outlast him."

"You retired." Koharu countered. "So technically, he outlasted you." "He retired first when Minato became Yondaime." Homura replied. "He came back, though, and served another fourteen years. So in actuality it wasn't truly a retirement, simply a long sabbatical." Koharu said with a trace of smugness.

"A very long one." Homura conceded. "Even in death, the old bastard still wins."

Koharu favored him with a sly, sidelong glance. "Even after all these years, you still can't let it go."

Homura raised a grey eyebrow back at her. "An interesting observation from a woman who attempted to again win his heart from almost the day his wife died until our short hiatus before the exams. And at your age, too!" He added with a snort.

Koharu said nothing for a few long moments, as the slight humor of the situation bled away, and the gravity of what had come to pass reasserted itself. "Pride, love, fear, and hope. All of them only grow stronger with age. And as they grow we lose our ability to change, clinging to what we know as the world around us moves on and leaves us behind."

Homura nodded. "Prehaps it is a mercy that we grow old and die." He agreed. "Better that than to linger on in memory and regret when everything we've ever known is gone."

Homura and Koharu waited a moment longer, before Koharu reached out and opened the door, and the two of them walked into the Hokage's office.

End Chapter 26

-AN: My apologies for the exceedingly long delay. I had a lot of real life issues crop up, and a great deal of work to redo. I am issuing my first retcon- REAL retcon- of the story, in that Naruto is, in fact, listed as Namikaze Minato's son, rather than his godson. Nothing else would really work for the story, despite my efforts to the contrary over recent weeks. It isn't the ONLY reason I'm so delayed, but it is certainly a major contributor.

Next time: A seemingly bloodthirsty monster terrorizes a Konoha entrant- and it's not Gaara? The Chuunin exam finals begin!

An omake, then sign off.

Omake: Training Has its Hazards.

"And this, Sasuke, is my A class assassination technique:" Kakashi said, as electricity crackled around his hand. "The Chido-"

Kakashi's face went slack in shock as Sasuke huddled up on the ground. "Don't taze me, Bro!"

End Omake Ja Mata.

-AXENOME