Chapter 4: The Fallen

The week passed by slowly as Konoha waited for their fallen leader to awaken. Talks of a new kage eventually began to emerge all over Konoha as Minato gave no signs of recovery. Biggest supporter of these talks were the war-veteran Danzo himself.

"We can't just sit here weakened idling our time away. Iwa could make a move any day now that their war deterrent is no longer a problem. We need to take action to ensure our survival." Danzo said to the council, passion and fury intertwined in his speech. Stepping forward, Danzo continued his speech. "It's not just Iwa, either. Kumo has desired our Hyuuga clan's eyes, and this would be an opportune time for them to attack. Konoha's strongest ninja is out of commission, and we haven't even begun to recover from the Kyuubi's attack."

He smiled inwardly as he saw signs of agreement among the council members. "As a veteran of war, I can see potential in strength in our shinobi, and for the position of Hokage, I recommend-"

"That will not be necessary, Danzo." Hiashi said, as he stood up, his Byakugan active. "Minato is conscious, now. His mere presence will be enough to deter Iwa, and Kumo's kage holds a close connection to Minato. Enough to deter war now that his safety is no longer in question. I'd like to put the council to a vote on ending this subject, and going onto the next important piece of advice. What we're going to do with the Uzumaki heir, who has the Kyuubi sealed within."

Whispers rang throughout the council, some of them showing their hatred of the fox and wishing to kill the boy, others exclaiming surprise that the boy was an Uzumaki. "Hyuuga, you certain this boy is an Uzumaki? He doesn't harbor the red hair characteristics of the Uzumaki clan." Tsume questioned the Hyuuga clan head, unaware of Kushina's relationship with Minato.

"I'm certain of it, I was close friends to the boy's parents. There is no doubt that he's an Uzumaki. You can't tell, but perhaps Fugaku can, is the boy's chakra coils. They're highly developed for his age, well above the norm for most, but within the norm for Uzumaki infants." Hiashi said in response, with a nod at the Uchiha clan head.

Bristling at his words, Danzo stood abruptly. "And why should we trust the Uchiha? Their Sharingan can control the Kyuubi." He said harshly, unable to completely hide his hatred of the Uchiha. The two elders flanking him nodded their agreement, desiring to have something to blame this disaster on.

"How da-" Fugaku began, as he glared at the war veteran.

"Enough." Minato's voice rang out from the entrance. Leaning against the frame of the door, he panted visibly. "The Uchiha are not to be blamed for this, I met the one responsible, and he was not from this village."

Slowly, he made his way towards Fugaku. "I apologize for his hard words, Fugaku. On behalf of Konoha, I beg your pardon and ask for your forgiveness. The Uchiha has done much for this village and don't deserve to be treated this way."

Blinking in shock, Fugaku was at a loss of words. "Hokage-sama...the Uchiha will always be your friends, from now on and forever." He said, thankful and forgetting the brief hatred he began to get for the village.

Turning from Fugaku, Minato glanced at Danzo and the elders. "You three, after this meeting, we need to talk."

Turning back to the rest of the Shinobi council, Minato stood firmly meeting everyone's eyes individually. "About my son, what did you decide?" He asked the council, knowing full well the shock it would induce.

To their credit, the council didn't show as much shock as they felt. "Decide? What needs to be decided? He's your son and thanks to your sealing, he's protecting Konoha from the Kyuubi." Fugaku said, already showing his increased loyalty and devotion to Minato.

Startling the council, Hiashi spoke up. "For once, we have an agreement between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. There is nothing that needs to be decided. Our course of action should be obvious."

With the two clans famous for their eternal rivalry in agreement with each other, the rest of the council could do nothing but agree in a shocked stupor.

"Dismissed." Minato said, satisfied at the results.

As the eight other council members left the room, Minato motioned to the three elders. "Danzo, Homura, Koharu. I've thought about this ever since I became Hokage, seeing how you acted when Sandaime-sama was still Hokage, and your actions today have settled my thoughts. The citizen council is being reformed. None of you three qualify to be on it. You're still able to offer advice as always, but you three won't hold the power you once did." He said firmly, as his plans began to play out in his head.

"I've got plans for Konoha. I love this village and it can be so much more. I want it to be a village that other villages can look up to. I want the villagers and shinobi to be like a close-knit family, and able to protect itself from anything. Disasters like the Kyuubi attack, I want us to be able to handle an attack like that with minimal loss of life." Minato smiled, "I wish it wasn't so. But with your poisonous attitudes, you're holding back Konoha, and if I hadn't woken up in time, we may have had an epidemic on our hands. The Uchiha are not a clan to be isolated, feared, hated. They're a strong clan and should be our allies."

Turning to Danzo, Minato frowned. "You nearly turned the remaining Uchiha into our enemies. Your actions are reminiscent of Uchiha Madara's. You could have ruined Konoha. Danzo, I hereby strip you of your status of a respected war veteran and shinobi. And you are to cease your illegal activities with Root. If I catch wind of them still being active, it will be treated as treason. Your actions borderline on treason and could bring the shinobi world to war many times over."

Turning to leave, he offered one last piece of advice, "Don't underestimate your Hokage, Danzo. Dismissed."

Leaning on the wall just outside the council room, Minato began breathing hard. "Damn it," he cursed to himself quietly. Slowly, he made his way out of the Hokage building.

Sighing, he made his way to his home. "Hokage-sama," a familiar voice called for him.

Pausing, Minato saw his friend Shikaku. "Hey there, Shikaku. How'd..." Minato swallowed. Letting out a deep breath, he continued, "How'd the Nara clan fare under the attack?"

Closing his eyes, Shikaku bowed his head and was silent for a few seconds. "We lost three good men. One of them was my brother. Akimichi and Yamanaka clans fared badly, as well. Akimichi lost a dozen men, and the Yamanaka lost five."

"Damn it," Minato cursed to himself. "If only I arrived sooner. I could have saved more lives."

"Minato." Shikaku began, a sign to Minato that Shikaku was talking to him as a concerned friend, and not as a shinobi of Konoha. "This was not your fault. You saved countless lives appearing when you did, we might have all died if you hadn't showed up. No one else here, not even Sandaime-sama could have stopped that fearsome ball of chakra from forming. Our people died protecting the village they loved. You may be Hokage, but we don't ask you to protect each and every one of us. That would be coddling and insulting us."

Speaking more softly, he gave his friend a gentle smile. "And if you truly regret not showing up sooner, make Konoha stronger. You're the only one who can. You're an amazing shinobi, an excellent friend, and it's an honor to know you. Minato, don't belittle yourself or the sacrifices shinobi make to protect what they love."

Patting his friend on the back, he gave him a cheerful smile. "Come on, Chouza and I are going to have some lunch together, mind joining us?"

Minato gave Shikaku a thankful smile, and shook his head. "No, I've got something I need to do. But thanks."

Minato headed towards the Uchiha district, wanting to get this out of the way early on. Hearing a gasp, Minato turned and found himself face to face with Fugaku's wife. "Hokage-sama," she said with a bow. "What brings you to the Uchiha district?"

Pausing for a second, Minato hesitated. "Is your husband around?" he finally asked.

Gently smiling, she said, "Yes. I'll take you to him."

Following her, Minato found himself admiring the Uchiha district. "Mikoto...if it's not too presumptuous of me to ask, roughly how many Uchiha activate the Sharingan?"

Mikoto gave Minato a gentle smile, as she led him to the Uchiha clan head. "Roughly a third of our boys activate the Sharingan, and while it's not as common in the girls, a quarter of those who become shinobi activate theirs. For generations, those that didn't activate their Sharingan were considered lesser by their peers. But my husband has been working to change that. He's pinning his hopes on Itachi though. He doesn't expect to completely change the ways in a single generation."

Blinking in surprise, Minato chuckled at the extra information he was given. "He's a good man. Uchiha has a clan head they can truly be proud of."

"Yeah...he is, we do." She said, stopping in front of her home. "He's inside. Make yourself at home, I need to finish shopping."

"Thank you...and sorry for interrupting you." Minato said, with a bow of his head as he let himself inside.

"Hokage-sama?" Fugaku said, surprised as he wasn't expecting to see Minato in his own home.

"I'm here on business. Do you have any shinobi who are either recently retired, or are still on active duty, but only used when needed? Additionally, they need to be strong-willed, independent, and above all, uncaring about status. I'm forming a new council to replace Danzo, Homura, and Koharu." Minato said, getting straight to business. "You don't need to answer right away. You'll have a week to think on it, send any candidates to the Hokage manor on the first. I'm giving you and other clans within Konoha time to think on it."

"Certainly, Hokage-sama." Fugaku said, bowing in respect.

Seeing himself out, Minato decided to head home.

Minato found himself walking not to his home at the Uzumaki estates, but instead to the Hyuuga manor. Smiling to himself, he allowed his feet to take him to his life-long friends. As he walked through the village, he watched as villagers and shinobi alike worked on repairing the damage the Kyuubi had managed to do before it was sealed away.

A smile made its way across his features as he watched the Akimichi Clan use their jutsu to do a lot of the heavy lifting. His mood darkened again as he thought of the many lost in the attack.

'No, no.' Minato thought to himself, as he shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'I've got more important things to work on right now.'

"Minato...?" A feminine voice rang out, startling Minato out of his thoughts. Hitomi stood before him, particularly well-rounded. "You're awake. Come. Little Naru-chan should be happy to see his daddy." she said as she pulled on his arm. Following her obediently, he smiled when he saw Naruto being cared for by Hiashi, as his twin enjoyed his time with his son Neji.

He made his way over to Hiashi and his son, truly calm for the first time since he woke up. "Thanks...Hiashi. Thank you for taking care of Naruto while I was incapacitated."

Leaning in front of his friend, he watched as Naruto reached his little hands up towards him. Smiling at the gesture, Minato moved towards Naruto. He felt Naruto's hands move across his face, up towards his eyes.

He smirked and started to laugh. Naruto was just a few days old, and he had already decided he wanted to be a ninja, if him stealing his headband was any indication.

"Minato, looks like your son doesn't think you're ready to be a ninja. Seeing as how he stole your headband as soon as he got the opportunity to do so." Hiashi said smirking.

"Yeah, I guess I should head back to the Academy soon." Minato said in response, grinning.

"I'm here for business, too. If you have any Main Branch members that recently retired from shinobi business, or on light duty, like yourself. One with independence, a strong will, and with no desire for status, could you send them to the Hokage manor on the first? I'm making a new council to replace Danzo, Homura, and Koharu." Minato said.

With an apologetic smile, Minato turned to Hizashi. "I hate that I have to limit it to Main Branch members, Hizashi. But just having the blasted seal makes them more able to be manipulated. I hope you understand."

Nodding in understanding, Hizashi said, "Yeah. I know. You're a good man, Minato. You don't need to explain yourself. You always have a good reason for what you do."

Nodding his head in thanks, Minato said, "Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to take Naruto and head home.

Minato stared at the closed gate leading to his home. Silently, he stood there as if waiting for something. Letting out a breath he had been unknowingly been holding, he walked forward and opened the gates. Deciding that it was time to accept it. Kushina was gone.