Demon: Welcome back to the Orphan Trio.
GoodWriter: Demon, another call for you.
Demon: Seriously, son of a bitch. Hello?
Creeper: Dude, I need you to get me out of here! Now!
Demon: Creeper, I can't bail you out. They didn't allow bail.
Creeper: So?! You have connections! Get me out!
Demon: I'll see what I can do, Creeper. Just hold on a little while.
Creeper: Tell GoodWriter his ass is grass!
Demon: I'll tell him. (call ends)
Lexboss: What was that about?
Demon: GoodWriter, Creeper's pissed.
GoodWriter: It had to be done.
Demon: Well, let's start the chapter while I try to handle this. By the way, I'm not naming most of the civilian council due to the pointlessness of it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way. Nor do I own Ninja Warrior/Sasuke in any way.
"Talking" – Thinking – Demon/Summoning Speaking/Jutsu – Demon/Summon Thinking
The Orphan Trio, Chapter 4: The Council
"Well, you guys ready?" Toshi asked his two friends as they stood in front of a large red building. Kurohi, who was usually loud and excitable, confirmed in an uncharacteristically calm tone. However, Naruto was practically bursting at the seams in excitement. "You bet! We can finally become ninjas!" The blonde shouted happily.
The last few days had been extremely busy for the trio. Naruto, surprisingly, managed to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu in just over an hour. Then again, he was being taught by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi himself. Once that was taken care of, Kurohi quickly went about setting all preparations needed in place.
The Kiri native managed to talk to the organization involved with Ninja Warrior and got the permits taken care of. In addition, Sarutobi signed all permits necessary immediately upon agreeing to the loan. As soon as all paperwork was done, Kurohi and Toshi summoned a clone each to gather the necessary building materials in town.
The day after Sarutobi gave the loan, the trio started construction on the first stage of the obstacle course's first stage. This is where they learned that the Shadow Clone jutsu was a godsend. While most ninjas were barely able to summon one or two shadow clones with their chakra reserves, Naruto stunned his two friends and the aging Hokage by creating 100 clones effortlessly. With so many clones, the group was able to construct two of the obstacles for the first stage in just two days. Even with the academy taking the majority of their time now, they determined they could finish the course and have it ready to go within a month.
On their way to the academy this morning, the group noticed the hateful glares the villagers tossed at Naruto. There were a few directed towards the other two, but the majority were aimed at the blonde. Naruto had a smile on his face as he walked, but Toshi and Kurohi could tell it was a fake smile, which infuriated the two of them even more.
"Let's head inside and find our classroom. The last thing we need is to end up late on the first day." Toshi said, with both nodding and heading into the building.
(page break)
Finding their classroom after five minutes of searching, the three students entered and found an empty seat. Knowing they could take some time to find their room, the three made sure to get to the academy half an hour early. As such, there was only three other students inside the room. The first student was sitting in the back corner. He was dressed in a large overcoat that covered his face, aside from his eyes, which were hidden behind dark sunglasses. He was Shino Aburame.
The second student, who was sleeping in a seat in the center of the room, was dressed in a mesh shirt over a sleeveless shirt. His black hair was in a ponytail that made him look like a pineapple. This student was Shikamaru Nara.
The last student was a female sitting in the opposite corner of Shino. She was dressed in a large cream-colored overcoat and blue pants. Her hair was midnight blue and she had white, pupil less eyes. She was Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga clan.
As the trio sat down in the seats near the wall, they noticed that none of the three were giving any dirty looks at Naruto. Shino was staring straight ahead, seemingly not noticing the new students. Shikamaru couldn't look at anyone with his eyes closed and behind his crossed arms. As for Hinata, she was glancing over at Naruto, but she wasn't glaring. In fact, she seemed a bit transfixed on the oblivious blond, much to Toshi's and Kurohi's amusement.
Naruto spent the extra time before class started reading the scroll, trying desperately to succeed at the Clone jutsu. Toshi was reading his Iwa history book to pass the time, while Kurohi decided to pull a page from Shikamaru's book and take a nap.
(page break)
Sarutobi was sitting in a large room with two long, semi-circular tables in front of him. On his left sat Koharu Utatane, and on his right was Homura Mitokado, his two teammates from when he was a Genin. Sitting directly below him was another teammate, Danzo Shimura. Sitting on the Hokage's right side on the large table was the Shinobi council. The council was comprised of a number of major Shinobi clans in Konoha. The current councilors were Shikamaru's father Shikaku Nara, Choza Akamichi, Tsume Inuzuka, Shino's father Shibi Aburame, Hinata's father Hiashi Hyuuga, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Asuma Sarutobi, who happened to be Hiruzen's son.
On the other side sat the council representing the civilian section of Konoha. Six of the councilors were unimportant aside from certain sections of the village. The only major clan head was Kizashi Haruno, who was a partial investor in the Yamanaka's flower shop. As such, the Harunos and Yamanakas were friendly with each other, surprisingly rare with civilians and Shinobi.
Sarutobi honestly hated the civilian side of the council with a passion. It was created during the time of peace before the Second Shinobi World War. The idea was to relax the civilians after the first war took place, but the civilians quickly began to overstep their boundaries. During the Second War, the civilians underhandedly forced Konoha to turn against the Uzumaki Clan in Uzushio, the hidden Whirlpool village. While Minato Namikaze managed to rein their control in, they gained back their authority once he died, something Sarutobi regretted with every breath.
What pissed him off greatly was the fact they kept butting into Shinobi business. The Shinobi couldn't control much of the civilian matters unless it pertained to them as well, which gave the civilians an unfair amount of pull. Mentally sighing, Sarutobi got the headache-inducing meeting started.
"This meeting is in session!" Sarutobi announced with a strong, clear voice. Looking towards the civilians, who wanted the meeting, he motioned for the first order of business.
A muscular civilian stood up, bowing at the Hokage with an arrogant smirk. That was another thing Sarutobi hated about the civilians. They knew they had a lot of power, and they tended to flaunt it in front of everyone. Even when they showed "respect" to the Hokage, they did it while not actually being respectful.
"The first order of business involves the development of some structures in the northern part of the village. There were no permits applied to the area, and whoever constructed the structures need to remove those things immediately." The civilian said, keeping his smirk somehow while frowning. Sarutobi sighed, knowing this was going to suck.
"I'm afraid you're incorrect, councilor. The individuals responsible came to me directly for permits and I agreed to them." The councilor's frown deepened as he glared at the Hokage. "Then who got the permits?" He roughly asked. Sarutobi stared at the councilor as he spoke. "The three individuals were Kurohi Yami, Toshi Jiryo, and Naruto Uzumaki." At the last name, the majority of the civilian council erupted in outrage. "How could you let him build anything in this village?!" Another civilian angrily shouted, standing up near the first councilor.
This was what pissed Sarutobi off the most about the civilians. The council hated Naruto with as much passion as Sarutobi hated them. They all had lost someone in the Kyuubi attack and immediately blamed Naruto for it. Most of them saw Naruto as the Kyuubi since it was inside him. They constantly worked to screw Naruto out of everything they could, and whatever Sarutobi prevented, they ignored anyway. Furthermore, after three civilian councilors were executed for violating the law concerning Naruto, they started referring Naruto as "boy" or "him", managing to avoid the penalty by the skin of their teeth.
The only civilian councilor Sarutobi didn't hate was Kizashi Haruno. Despite losing his mother in the Kyuubi attack, Kizashi held no ill will towards Naruto. He and his wife Mebuki were able to understand what Minato accomplished, and so they did not believe the blonde was the fox in human form. Along with most of the Shinobi councilors, Kizashi offered to adopt Naruto, but the rest of the civilians stopped that dead.
"Naruto and his friends suggested a good business idea, so I agreed to pull permits for them. In fact, it was Kurohi Yami that requested the permits, so you cannot say I showed favoritism towards Naruto." Sarutobi glared at the majority of the council. All glared back except for Kizashi. The pink haired man knew Sarutobi had no hatred or anger for him, but he would act as though he were involved in the civilians' plans. This allowed Kizashi to stay a council member, and allowed Sarutobi to have an extra supporter where he normally wouldn't.
"So, what's this great idea the boy suggested?" Kizashi asked in a gruff, fake angry tone. As far as he was concerned, anything positive for Naruto and his friends was a good thing in his book. Sarutobi faked a glare at the councilor before responding. "They are constructing a difficult obstacle course for training purposes. For a small fee, people will be able to take on the course for a chance at a cash prize. This will allow for our ninjas to get some good physical training during their time off because the course will prevent the use of chakra, meaning they will rely solely on their physical ability."
The Shinobi council listened closely, their interest piqued. They could tell this would be a great way to improve a ninja's physical prowess and allow them to fight without the need of chakra. Surprisingly, even the civilian council could tell this was a good idea, considering many of their children, who were attending the academy, lacked large amounts of chakra. Allowing them to increase their strength would be beneficial to all involved.
"Fine, then. In that case, I nominate that when the course is open and running, we get fifty percent of the money earned." The muscular councilor stated, with another councilor seconding immediately. "All in favor?" The majority of the civilians raised their hands, as well as Koharu and Homura. "All opposed?" The Shinobi council, Kizashi, Sarutobi, and Danzo all raised their hands. "So, that's 8 in favor and 10 against it. The motion fails." Sarutobi announced much to the anger of the civilians. Kizashi knew the civilians weren't going to stop bothering about it, so he quickly came up with an idea.
"Lord Hokage," Kizashi started, bowing with actual respect, "will this course be operated at night?" Sarutobi, as well as most of the council, was confused about the question. "Well, Kizashi, I am not sure. We didn't discuss this during the meeting. Why do you ask?" Kizashi gave Sarutobi a quick wink, informing him that he had an idea.
"Well, if it is going to run at night, there will have to be sufficient lighting for safety reasons. Therefore, I have a solution in mind. In return for Konoha providing the lighting necessary for nighttime use, the village will receive ten percent of the money made, excluding any prize money awarded. With the course lit at night, it can make more money, benefiting all involved." The pink haired councilor explained.
Sarutobi inwardly smiled at Kizashi's plan. By enabling the course to run all night as well, more money will be brought in, which will help the boys greatly. In addition, by offering the ten percent, the council won't be bugging the hell out of him or the trio to get their money. He knew Kizashi would be helpful on that side of the council.
"Very well, I second it. So, let's put it to a vote. All in favor?" All hands were raised except the muscular civilian, who still wanted more money. "All opposed?" The councilor raised his hand, pointlessly. "Well, 17 agree, so it is done. Konoha will provide nighttime lighting for the entire course in return for ten percent of money made from the business." Most seemed content with the decision. The civilians may have hated Naruto, but they will at least get some money from him without Sarutobi punishing them.
"Now that the only concern this meeting is taken care of, this meeting is adjourned!" Sarutobi announced, and the room began to clear. Soon, the only two still in the room were Sarutobi and Danzo, who had remained silent for the entire meeting. "So, any chance the civilians will stop mistreating Naruto?" Danzo asked, slightly concerned. Sarutobi sighed. "Unfortunately, I doubt the civilians will ever show much respect for him." The Hokage replied, turning to his teammate and friend. "I appreciate you not asking to put Naruto in ROOT anymore." Danzo smiled at his friend.
"Well, I must admit, while Naruto would make an excellent soldier, I mainly wanted him to join so he'd have peers he could trust somewhat. But now, with his two friends supporting him, there is no need to make him a ROOT." With this, Danzo began walking towards the door before stopping at the frame. Without looking back, he spoke. "I know his father and I didn't always see eye to eye, but I did respect him for what he did for the village, both before and after the Kyuubi attack. If only those idiots did not see the boy for the demon he contains, maybe he could live a normal life." Sarutobi sighed sadly as he followed his friend.
"We both failed Minato, Danzo. But, maybe Naruto's life can change for the better with his friends by his side."
(page break)
The rest of the class had filed in and Toshi was closely inspecting each student while reading. The boy in a fur jacket, Kiba Inuzuka, was looking around with a feral grin. Shikamaru was talking with a large boy, Choji Akamichi. And, much to the chagrin of the three friends, there were two fan girls, a blonde and a pink haired girl, arguing about who would sit near Sasuke Uchiha, a black haired boy who was staring out the window, ignoring the two fan girls. The two girls were Ino Yamanaka, the blonde, and Sakura Haruno, the pink haired girl.
'I can tell most of these kids can be capable ninja, but I honestly don't know about those two fan girls.' Toshi thought with a mental sigh. As he finished another chapter in his book, the door opened, revealing two adult males. One had brown hair and a scar across his nose, and the other had a large head of white hair. "Hello, class. I am Iruka Umino, and this is Mezuki. We will be your instructors for the next four years." The scarred man announced.
Despite the man not saying anything, Toshi, Kurohi, and Naruto could tell Mezuki was glaring at the blonde boy. All three shared the same thought at the realization that Mezuki was one of "them".
'Well, this is gonna be a great fucking time, isn't it?'
GoodWriter: Well, it seems chapter 4 is finished.
Lexboss: So, Kizashi and Danzo are both good here?
Demon: Yeah… (talking on phone) That's right, number 3185516518*.
GoodWriter: I don't know much about Naruto. What's the big deal?
Lexboss: Well, in canon, Danzo was pretty much a bad guy, and most fan fiction has Sakura's parents hating Naruto.
GoodWriter: I see, so it's like if Eggman from Sonic was a good guy here. Odd, even in fan fiction.
Demon: Pretty much… (on phone) Yes, that offense.
Lexboss: Okay, what the hell are you doing?
Demon: Pulling a favor… (on phone) Yes, thanks. (hangs up)
Lexboss: What was that all about?
Demon: You'll see soon.
GoodWriter: Wait, did you just…?
Demon: Yep. Anyway, read and review!
Lexboss: No flames!
GoodWriter: …shit.
*By the way, if you can PM me with the code behind the number, you'll receive a shout-out in the next chapter! You have from the time this is uploaded to the next upload. Good luck!