Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.

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Memories Of Others

Chapter 18

The Political Shifts

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The door to Hiruzen's office opened and three people filed in.

"Homura, Koharu, Danzo." Hiruzen said. The three nodded back, then sat down.

"Hiruzen… my sources tell me that the Jinchuuriki has learned one of the two techniques of the Yondaime." Homura began, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "Is this… wise? It increases the chance that the Jinchuuriki might choose to defect."

"The Jinchuuriki has a name." Hiruzen half-growled. "Use it."

"If Uzumaki Naruto decides to defect, it wil be difficult to stop him." Koharu said."Perhaps… a covertly-applied tracking seal should be applied so that we can locate him whe… should he choose to run."

Hiruzen raised a mental eyebrow at Homura's obvious self-correction.

"And what would such a tracking seal entail?" Hiruzen mused. "After all, having anything that can be activated remotely could be a considerable liability on the battlefield."

"The details still need to be worked out fully…" Kohura began, only to stop as Hiruzen slammed his palm on his desk.

"Details?" Hiruzen repeated angrily. "You mean that you've already come up with a seal and a plan to apply it, don't you?"

Although his former team-mates had almost perfect control over their expressions, Hiruzen had the advantage of learning how to read them in a combat situation. Not for nothing had those who survived combat against Team Tobirama spoke with awe about the trio's near-telepathic ability to work as one.

And now, the same abilities allowed Hiruzen to see the direction of his team-mates thoughts.

"You will not apply any seals to Uzumaki Naruto." Hiruzen growled. "Remember, it is the seal on his stomach that prevents the Kyuubi from breaking free and destroying Konoha. What would happen if the seal you wish to apply disrupts that seal?"

"The seal is perfectly safe…" Danzo interjected and Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.

"Ah, so now we get the root of the matter."

Danzo went expressionless at the emphasis placed on the word root and Hiruzen hid a smirk.

"I know that you believe that obedience is a good foundation for shinobi…" He continued, catching the twitch that betrayed Danzo's hidden wince, "But let us speak clearly. You want, once again, to turn Naruto into a weapon and nothing more. You hope to allow Danzo to apprentice him, which will put him in a position to not only turn Naruto into an unthinking automaton, but also to finally get your hands on the Hiraishin for your own ends."

Koharu opened his mouth to protest, only to close it again as Hiruzen leaked enough Killing Intent to warn him against saying anything.

"As it happens, there is already an Apprenticeship lined up for Naruto. Jiraiya will soon be returning to teach him, so if you think that you can take on both an enraged Toad Sage and myself, feel free to try your plan."

For a long moment, the atmosphere in the office was heavy with unspoken threats, then Danzo used his cane to pull himself to his feet.

"We shall take no action." He said, leaving 'at this time' unspoken but clearly heard. "You have heard our concerns and I believe you will do what you think is best for Konoha."

Hiruzen noted the specific phrasing of Danzo's apparent acquiesance to his will, especially the way that he was subtly casting doubt on whether Hiruzen's actions were actually good for Konoha.

"I believe that this covers the main part of what I wished to bring to your attention," Danzo continued, "So with your permission, I will depart."

Hiruzen nodded and Danzo made his way out of the office, leaving Koharu and Homura behind.

"So." Hiruzen said pleasantly. "What other matters did you wish to bring to my attention?"

The two advisers exchanged glances before Homura spoke.

"Well, with confirmation that Uchiha Sasuke has activated his sharingan, we feel that it may be wise to harvest some of his sperm to aid in rebuilding the Uchiha Clan via artificial insemination…"

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.

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"Zabuza. Haku."

"Mei-sama." The Swordsman replied with a bow, then he pulled out a scroll. "I come bearing a gift."

"You bring me the nicest things." Terumi Mei purred as she recognised the scroll as one for holding prisoners.

Zabuza unrolled it and applied chakra, causing a body to materialise in a cloud of smoke and slam headfirst into the ground, cursing.

"That fucking hurt!" The new arrival half-shouted as he pulled himself to his feet and glared at the bandaged swordsman. "You slam me onto the scroll and then drop me onto the ground headfirst? Why would you even do that?"

"To bring you to me, obviously. Zabuza, please introduce us." Mei said and the white-haired teen froze before slowly turning round. As he took in Mei's robes and hat, his eyes widened and he whimpered.

"Suigetsu, meet the Mizukage Terumi Mei. Mei, this is Hozuki Suigetsu, the younger brother of my former comrade Mangetsu."

"Hi!" Suigetsu squeaked.

"Haku and I had to fight off a snatch squad from Sound who were trying to capture him." Zabuza continued. "If he's anything like his brother, he'll make a good swordsman. From what I saw, he's already learned most of the basics."

Mei looked at the cringing Suigetsu, then at Zabuza with the Kubikiribocho across his back, then at Haku who had the Nuibari sheathed so that its handle was above his right shoulder.

"I was thinking that once I'd got him up to speed, I'd let him train with the Shibuki." Zabuza continued and Suigetsu froze. "Of course, he's learned to fear Haku, so I believe that he'll be loyal."

Suigetsu gave Haku a scared look and shivered.

"Excellent." Mei said with a smile. "Train him up well enough and I'll detach Chojuro from my personal guard to make a team to go to the next Chunin Exams."

"The one in Konoha?" Zabuza asked, then he grinned under his bandages. "Nice, it'll serve as a warning that we're rebuilding the Seven Swordsman once more. Any word on the missing blades?"

"Kisame still has Samehada and we're not entirely certain where the Kiba swords are." Mei admitted with a sigh.

"I'm sure we'll get them back to our land someday." Ao said from where he was standing behind Mei.

'Did he just say he'd find me a husband some way?' Mei thought in a sudden rage. "Ao, shut up or I'll kill you!"

Ao blinked, uncertain as to what had set the Mizukage off this time.

"Oh, one thing about one of Konoha's genin." Zabuza added. "They have an independent genin who's the son of the Yondaime and knows the Hiraishin."

"Oh?" Mei purred. "Tell me more? Does he look anything like his father?"

"He looks almost exactly like a younger Yondaime, but with whisker marks on his cheeks…" Zabuza trailed off as he looked suspiciously at Mei. "Mei… why are you blushing?"

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"The Hiraishin." Orochimaru gloated as he leafed through the report in front of him. "And used by the son of my old team-mate's apprentice… how very tempting."

"Indeed, my lord." The glasses-wearing spy said smoothly. "However, may I direct your attention to page seven?"

Orochimaru turned over two pages and frowned.

"Is this accurate? It's certainly a new use for that technique."

"Yes, my lord." Kabuto agreed. "By combining Kage Bunshin with the Hiraishin, Uzumaki can transport reinforcements to wherever he wants, so long as one of the Yondaime's Kunai is there."

"And we can be certain that he is ordering even more kunai." Orochimaru mused."Which means that if we can find one, we may be able to use it to capture him."

"I shall put that near the top of my list of priorities, my lord."

Orochimaru nodded and leafed through another page. "Ah, I see that young Sasuke has activated his Sharingan… wonderful. He will make a splendid future host for myself… assuming that he is strong enough."

"Perhaps you can watch him during the Chunin Exams?" Kabuto suggested. "I mean, assuming that you have no other plans for the occasion that would interfere."

"Well, I am planning to attack Konoha and raze it to the ground…" Orochimaru mused, "But that can wait until I've seen Sasuke fight."

"As you wish, Lord Orochimaru."

"Yes, as I wish." Orochimaru confirmed. "Soon, I will have the Sharingan and the one who wields it in my power… Kukukukukukukukukukuu…"

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"Huh." Tazuna said as he read the missive that had been delivered.

"Father?" Tsunami asked as she handed him a cup of tea.

"An official invitation to the third stage of the Chunin Exams in just under three months with the Yamanaka Clan volunteering to act as our hosts while we're there." Tazuna said, passing the message across for Tsunami to read.

"Well." Tsunami finally said. "I'm sure that Inari'll be overjoyed to see Ino again. Even if the other lads are teasing him about having an older girlfriend."

Tazuna chuckled. "Yeah, but the blond girl really did help him out of his ongoing grump, didn't she? You know, I don't know if I ever gave her anything as a thank-you…"

"I'll pick up something for her from the market." Tsunami smiled. "Heh, before they came, we didn't have a market thanks to Gato, but now, it's bigger than ever."

"And that's despite the bridge tolls." Tazuna smirked. "It ought to finish paying us back within ten years, even with Konoha's cut taken into account."

"How much are the tolls, anyway?"Tsunami asked. "I heard someone mention ten percent…"

"Half that, actually, split equally between Wave and Leaf." Tazuna corrected. "Low enough that the traders don't mind paying, especially with the security that the permanent outposts the Konoha-ninja have provides."

Tsunami nodded. "Well, I'll head there sometime next week to choose a gift."

"A gift? For who? And why?" Inari asked from the door.

"You know," Tazuna mused, "If you head in early, you could see if there's any more business for us. I was about to send a message to the Hokage anyway."

Tsunami nodded with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" Inari asked curiously.

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Hiruzen stood atop his tower and looked up as the familiar shape of Onoki descended, flanked by a single bodyguard.

"Welcome to Konoha." Hiruzen said as Onoki touched down.

"Let's not waste any time." Onoki growled. "I'm here for my grand-daughter and the eight idiots with her. You have them?"

Hiruzen made a hand-sign and nine scrolls were slapped onto the roof, unrolled and unsealed. Onoki stared at the unconscious forms, then nodded.

"Seal them back up, I'll take them back to Iwa with me. Here's the ransom for them and I'll tell them that if they ever set foot in Konoha again, I'll be very displeased with them."

Onoki's bodyguard lumbered forwards and presented a scroll to Hiruzen.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you. Perhaps we can do this again some day." Hiruzen smiled as he passed the scroll to one of his ANBU and Onoki growled.

"Can the pleasantries, Hiruzen, we both know I'm too old for them." Onoki grated. "So, you have a new Yellow Flash, I hear. You realize that I'll be sending a team or two to your next chunin exams so I can get a better look at him, right? Not any of these morons, though."

"Interesting how a mere genin can take up so much of your attention." Hiruzen countered and Onoki snorted in brief, bitter laughter.

"Well, we're done here. Akatsuchi, you got the idiots?"

The bodyguard nodded as he clomped back to Onoki's side, then the duo rose into the sky. Hiruzen watched them go with a wry smile on his face.

"Even when you're doing something else, you still somehow manage to shake things up, don't you, Naruto?" He mused.

"Hmmmm, my apprentice-to-be causing issues?" A new voice queried and Hiruzen turned to see a familiar figure lounging on the railing.

"About time you got back." He growled and the new arrival waved a dismissive hand.

"Meh, I was doing some research, that's all. Vital research."

"You mean peeping on the onsens in the neighbouring villages, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen retorted.

"Only doing what my teacher taught me to do… Sensei." Jiraiya shot back, then he dropped off the railing and walked over to where the Hokage was standing.

"So, while I was doing some research, I found this." Jiraiya said, handing over a small booklet. "Looks like someone is making a name for himself."

Hiruzen opened the book and leafed to the page indicated by the ribbon.

"Golden Flash Uzumaki." He read, raising an eyebrow. "Well, it looks like my favorite orphan now has two nicknames."

"So he does know the Hiraishin? My old student's technique?"

"Sort of." Hiruzen sighed. "He knows the Hokage Guard's version and does it with Kage Bunshin. He isn't able to do the full version yet."

"Still damn impressive." Jiraiya admitted. "I assume you want me to help him with the other one now?"

"Yes." Hiruzen stated, then he paused. "Well, once he finishes learning how to open his first two Gates, that is."

"What?!" Jiraiya gasped. "Why the hell does he need to learn that?!"

"Because someday, I will want to teach him as well." Hiruzen replied, leaving Jiraiya staring at him in confusion.

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Authors Afternote - Yep, it was a chapter which wasn't based primarily on the lead character.
It was needed to help set things up for later.
There will be other chapters like this...