A/N: Mildly graphic content up ahead.


For one tiny second, it seemed like time had frozen still. And then, all of a sudden, the room was in an uproar.

Men leaped up from their chairs, their voices all rising in a chaotic crescendo. Accusing fingers were pointed in his direction, their faces red as they spat curses at the quiet black-haired man sitting at the head of their table.

"Blasphemy!"

"Who do you think you are, boy?"

"I would have shot you in the head by now if I had my gun with me."

Sasuke had no doubt about the previous statement. Most of these men had violent, criminal backgrounds and were now bound to their own twisted version of the law. Danzo had been their one leader, who they would have blindly followed to the edge of a cliff if he desired them to. It was how they survived.

And now the leader had been changed suddenly, without prior notice, and this terrified them.

The sharp crack of a large dagger meeting the wood of the table interrupted the angry buzz of the audience. A young man with straight shoulder-length white hair looked up to meet everyone's startled eyes as he loosened his grip on the handle of the dagger.

"Hey," he said irritably, purple eyes flashing. "Shut your fucking traps before I shut them up for you, hear me?" He bared white teeth that seemed filed to a point, like a shark's.

"Suigetsu," A red-haired woman wearing glasses next to him pinched his arm warningly.

"Ouch! What the hell, Karin?"

"You better shut up first and let Sasuke finish talking."

"Don't make me stab you first you four-eyed bi-"

"Silence." A deep voice interrupted their little quarrel. Sasuke recognized the owner of the voice immediately. Those ghost-like white pupils surely belonged to one of the Hyuga clan. He was one of the few who had remained seated, deep in thought and with a furrowed brow, when Sasuke had spoken of Danzo's demise. "Settle down, all of you, immediately."

Everyone complied, albeit begrudgingly, indicating that this man held a high position of authority amongst them.

The Hyuuga man stood up to face Sasuke and bowed lowly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hiashi Hyuga and, on behalf of the rest of the Hyuga clan, I pay my respects to the next leader of Konoha city."

Sasuke nodded curtly in acknowledgement.

A few men shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Hiashi Hyuga had been one of the last people in the room they had expected to accept the situation so quickly. The man was known for his strict and uncompromising disposition.

"Hiashi," someone spoke up. "Surely you don't mean to support a reckless little kid like him-"

"-something doesn't seem right-"

"-he called himself an Uchiha-"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you helped the brat kill Danzo in the first place."

Everyone froze, eyes turning to the person who had spoken. With hooded eyes and a large smirk across his tanned, scarred face, Ibiki Morino lounged back in his chair.

Hiashi's reply was ice-cold. "What utter nonsense."

"Why else would you be so eager to welcome the boy into the brotherhood?" Ibiki leaned forward, dark eyes blazing frighteningly. "Unless you were given some sort of incentive. Now I don't know about you damn Hyugas, but in my neighborhood, traitors are given the treatment they deserve."

"And in my clan, blind accusations are considered as betrayal."

"Now, now," An amicable voice rose from the crowd. Kakashi Hatake, immediately distinguishable with his silver hair, put a hand on top of Ibiki's shoulder. "We should all put what happened last week behind us. It's not good for business to quarrel."

'Last week' referred to the incident when a member of Morino's Torture and Interrogation Unit - an unofficial underground branch of the Konoha Police - attacked a Hyuga royal while drunk. The next morning, Morino's subordinate was found dead, stabbed in his own apartment with no trace of the killer. Tensions had been running high between the two groups ever since.

Ibiki leaned back with a loud grunt as Hiashi sat back down with grace.

"Now, young man, is it true that Danzo is dead?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.

"You damn right he's d-" Suigestu had barely began to speak when Karin clamped a hand over his mouth and, with Juugo's help, dragged him to the back.

"He is dead by my hand," Sasuke replied, ignoring the interruption.

"And may I ask how?"

Sasuke lifted his hand silently; Juugo placed a blood-stained katana in it. Ibiki boomed with laughter and Hiashi looked away in disgust - the Hyuga clan did not believe in fighting with weapons of any kind, only their ancient martial arts. The rest of the room looked mildly impressed.

"Primitive," Kakashi commented, his eyes sharply going over the gleaming blade and hilt. "But efficient. Just like the ancient rule of succession."

"Kakashi," Asuma said with exasperation. "Not you too."

"We all know the rule by heart. Whoever kills the leader establishes themselves as the strongest in Konoha - thus becoming the leader of Konoha themselves. Our individual opinions do not matter in this case."

"I agree with White Fang's son," an older man piped in. "While his face mask annoys me, he speaks with reason." A few murmured in accordance.

"I don't know about 'the strongest in Konoha'. All I see is an ambitious kid with a trail of minions thinking he can do whatever he wants," Sasuke met his eyes and Ibiki's smirk faded. "I hope you're smart enough to know you're playing with fire here."

Asuma exhaled a cloud of smoke as he removed his cigarette from his mouth. "I'm more surprised to see my father's old disciple with him." He glanced Orochimaru's way, who smiled back with malice. "Makes me think he's more than what he seems."

"Oh, you have no idea." Sasuke heard Karin say to herself.

"You said we were 'witnesses'. What do you mean by that?" Hiashi asked.

"Orochimaru." Sasuke said, his tone commanding. Orochimaru reached into the pocket of his robe, retrieving a pale, long object and tossing in onto the middle of the table. It landed on it with a loud smack. Gasps of barely contained horror began circulating around.

It was a single finger, wizened with age, wearing an unmistakable ring.

The ring of the leader.

The ring of the strongest authority in Konoha.

A silver ring with a large jet-black stone with the symbol of 'Fire' carved onto it.

Danzo's ring on Danzo's amputated finger.

"A token," Orochimaru said gleefully. "From Danzo's corpse for you, Master." He was enjoying everyone's reactions greatly.

"Primitive," Kakashi repeated, his voice quieter.

They watched, stunned, as Orochimaru took the ring off the finger and polished it with a handkerchief, putting it in a velvet-lined box with great care and placing it in front of Sasuke. Now he had their undivided attention.

Deliberately making his movements slow, Sasuke slipped the ring onto his own finger.

"So it is true," Asuma said heavily. All around was a defeated atmosphere. All arguments had faded away the moment they had seen the ring. The ring Danzo had not taken off in over ten years. The ring symbolizing his invincibility. Danzo would have only let someone take it over his dead body.

Sasuke crossed his hands on the table, making sure the ring was fully visible to all. "I know you are more worried about your own businesses than Danzo's well-being. There is no need for me to interfere in what little balance of power you have maintained in this city over these years..."

The corner of his mouth lifted.

"...unless I have your full cooperation."

Ibiki gave a short, startled laugh. "Now there's a threat if I ever saw one. I like you already."

Hiashi bowed again. "I offer you my full support."

"So do I."

"As do I."

Slowly, but eventually, everyone muttered some sort of cooperation some way or another.

"If I may," a young man in a grey suit asked suddenly, his dark eyebrows drawn together in concentration. "What do you plan to do here?"

Sasuke looked up at him and when he spoke, the cold determination in his voice chilled all his listeners.

"I came to take back what is mine."