A/N: Who loves politics? Who loves scheming? Who's ready for a new chapter already?

Chapter 46: A Dance of Politics

"Where've you been?"

Sai blinked in response, staring back at the agitated face of his brother and failing to understand what the problem was. He'd been lost in thought his entire walk back from the ramen shop, and the sudden shouting rattled him so much his mind failed to switch gears. So instead of an intelligent response, his speech reduced to stammers and babbles.

"The clan meeting started five minutes ago," Naruto said tossing him navy tunic. "Put that on and try to focus."

Sai barely managed to slip his head and arms through the holes before Naruto put a hand on him and they Hirashined to the Hokage Tower. Hitting the ground at a brisk walk they made their way to the meeting hall while attempting to smooth out Sai's clothing.

"I thought Karin-nee was supposed to go with you," Sai said drawing his brow together.

"Changed my mind," Naruto said as his eyes shifted back and forth down the hall. "I decided it would be better if she stayed and continued working on the seals and you accompany me since that will put all the Angels at the meeting."

"Ah," Sai said and gave his brother the once over. "Where did you get those clothes? You look really…official." It was true. He wore matching crimson obi and pants with a navy shirt underneath. The sleeves and hem of his robe white with tiny black waves flowing the length of it. On his right hand he wore the clan signet.

Naruto snorted and side-eyed him, "Renge-obaa, who else?"

The Anbu guarding the entrance to the room straightened when they caught them approaching and one of them nodded saying, "Uzumaki-sama, you're late. The other members have already taken their seats."

Naruto's eyes hardened and the Anbu seemed to straighten a little more, "Thank you for pointing out the obvious." And he pushed the doors open causing the discussions inside to die as everyone turned to the late arrivals.

Naruto swept his eyes over the room once, taking in which clan heads had come and who'd come along as clan witnesses. The idea for the witnesses being those next in line for clan head would be able to get a grasp of how the meetings worked and the etiquette involved.

Shikaku had come, of course he'd no choice in the matter since he was also the Jonin Commander and it seemed he'd managed to drag Shikamaru along as well. On either side of them were Yamanaka Inoichi and Ino, and Akamichi Choza and Choji. The Aburame clan was there in the form of Shibi and Shino—good. That meant all for Night Angels would be present. On the other side of the room was Inuzuka Tsume and Hana, a woman and man he'd never seen wearing the Sarutobi emblem, the Shimura seemed to not be present, and finally…

Naruto stiffened as his eyes fell on the Hyuuga emblem under which Hiashi and Hinata sat. Hiashi watched Naruto closely, his mouth tugging ever so slightly down at something that displeased him. Hinata sat straighter, her eyes meeting his for a scant second before shifting to something else in the room face reddening and tightening.

"So glad you decided to join us, Uzumaki-san," Tsunade said drawing his and everyone else's attention. Behind her stood Sakura, her eyes intensely fixed on him. Tsunade motioned to her side were empty seats remained adding, "I'd have begun on time but it seems most of this meeting involves you and your clan."

Naruto grunted a greeting and they made for their seats while ignoring the uncanny resemblance to a particular Uchiha's form of salutation.

"The Shimura clan has deferred to attend this meeting as they are still trying to establish the next clan head, but trusts we will make the right decisions despite their absence," Tsunade said.

"How gracious," Naruto thought leaning back in his seat and folding his arms. His eyes narrowed when he realized Hinata sat across from him pale faced and blank. So he focused on the Minutes of Discussion placed in front of him and scanned it keeping his face neutral.

-Genin

-Uchiha Trial

-30 min. Recess

-Village Security

-Imprisoned Hyuuga

-Clan Privacy Act

"Not bad, Hyuuga," Naruto thought. "Half the meeting will be about you." He also noted that unless they brought it up during the talk about the imprisoned Hyuugas then they wouldn't discuss what actually happened during the festival.

"Now, let's begin," Tsunade said drawing everyone's attention. "Our first order of business is to welcome our newest member to the council. Congratulation on achieving clan status Uzumaki-san, although it's customary for the next clan heads to attend as the witnesses."

This is where he'd start. His eyes shifted to his right and said, "Karin-chan would've loved to come, Hokage-dono, but a certain workload needs tending to." He caught her eyes flinch barely and added, "I decided to bring my brother instead, since he and I have been working so closely on matters pertaining to this meeting as well."

A few seconds of silence reigned over the hall before glances and mutters broke out. Choji's mouth had fallen open and Ino glared at Shikamaru looking for answers.

A laugh drew his attention and he found Tsume smirking with her arms folded, unable to help but notice the similarities with her son, "Not bad kid. Keep it up and I'd say you could give Hiashi a run for his money."

"You flatter me," Hiashi deadpanned, "though I must admit your speech has improved by leaps and bounds, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto's grip tightened on his arms. Was that jest or a hint at more trouble to come? Hinata's glance at her father didn't give him anything to go on. He'd need friends on this council for what he had planned and he felt he'd have Tsume's support at least. Hiashi and the Hyuuga…given their current relationship he wasn't sure what to expect.

"You praise me too much," Naruto said unfolding his arms and resting them on the table. "But I believe we're here to discuss more pressing issues than my expanding vocabulary."

"Indeed," Hiashi said turning to Tsunade and Naruto could've sworn he saw her inner self face palm.

"Right," Tsunade said with a sigh. "The first item is whether or not to mobilize the Genin during the war. I believe you already know where I stand on the matter but I'd like to hear your thoughts and arguments."

"You can't honestly expect them to fight," Naruto said looking around the room. "The most experience they have is hunting that demon cat Tora. They'd be slaughtered on the battlefield."

"If the Genin are mobilized then they are generally used as reserves," Shikaku said, "positioned in the back and used as support. Or they carry messages, supplies, and munitions."

"Yet that doesn't put them out of reach from danger," The woman from the Sarutobi clan said frowning. "Many of our Genin are foolhardy and believe they're more capable than they actually are—which puts themselves and those around them at risk."

"Everything has a risk," Shibi said. "Why? Because it's war. Sacrifice is one of the few constants given to it."

"Poor Shino," Naruto thought. "I feel the love."

"As long as we try to keep them as safe as possible I believe they can still serve a purpose," Tsume added with Hana nodding.

"Our job should be to protect the future generations," Inoichi scowled. "Not march them off into danger!"

"Should they die in the line of duty then they will be celebrated as heroes and buried with honor," Hiashi said.

"How comforting will that thought be at night I wonder," Naruto snapped. "Knowing your child died with honor at least. If I'm not mistaken, Hanabi will be graduating soon. Are you willing to send her off into this shit storm, or is honor enough for you?"

"Great way to make allies Naruto, make it personal." Kurama whispered. "Give yourself a gold star."

"We all have children here, Uzumaki-san," Hiashi said glaring alongside Hinata though she wasn't directing it at him for once. "We all have a personal stake in this, some more than others."

Naruto ground his teeth and opened his mouth to give a retort but Shikamaru beat him to it, "All this bickering is meaningless so why are we even wasting energy discussing it?" The room turned to the Nara heir and his eyes shifted to Tsunade. "If the Raikage demands we mobilize our entire army—including the Genin—then we'll have no choice but to comply."

"Mobilization of Genin during wartime is not something we believe in, or, at the very least, minimize to the margins," Tsunade said. "The Third and Fourth Hokage worked hard to end the practice, and it's something I agree with. I wanted to see how the clans felt, and if they agreed with my view I planned to send messages to the other villages to help stand behind our refusal to send our Genin."

Disbelief surfaced on Naruto and his lips peeled back, "Then you're threatening the entire alliance."

The room stilled, and the shock on Tsunade's face quickly turned to anger. "I'm having a difficult time following where you stand, Naruto. You criticized Hiashi for agreeing to send Genin to war and now you're agreeing with him?"

"I disagree with the arrogant notion of justifying children fighting with honor. However I have no problem justifying it if the Elemental Nations are standing as a united front against an enemy." Naruto leaned forward pointing a finger at Tsunade, "You're allowing your own biases to get in the way of a decision that isn't up to you. If you refuse to follow the Raikage's orders, then you threaten the brittle alliance we barely managed to create."

"So to protect the alliance we'll send our Genin children to war," Choza frowned.

Naruto shook his in disbelief, "You're stereotyping Genin. You think just because someone is Genin, they're fresh out of the academy?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened a fraction, "Not all Genin are children, and not all children are Genin."

"Until a few days ago, I was still a Genin," Naruto said nodding. His eyes swept the room and he held up his hands, "Would you have kept me walled up in the village assuming I wasn't a jinchuriki? I've been in countless life or death situations yet I was only a Genin because of a botched exam."

"Then what are you suggesting," Tsunade asked sitting back.

"Ask the Raikage to set an age limit for those expected to serve outside the village," Shino supplied.

"And if he refuses," Tsunade suggested.

"Then we bite a tongues and follow orders," Naruto said.

The room quelled again, many of them looking at Naruto with varying forms of surprise, appraisal, and shock.

After a moment Tsunade dipped her head saying, "All in favor of requesting the Raikage place an age limit on all serviceable shinobi?"

The voting was unanimous in favor of sending a request.

Tsunade marked some notes and moved on, "The next item involves the—"

"Might I suggest we skip to the Village Security and save the heavier material for after the break," Naruto asked.

There was a pause as Tsunade eyebrows came together, her lips drawing in a tight line as she tried to discern his intentions. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Shikamaru perk and send an elbow into his father's side and motion with his head. Good—Shikamaru got the message which meant…He glanced to Shino and caught the subtle nod from him. Thank the heavens he worked with such brilliant people.

"I recommend we do just that, Hokage-sama," Shikaku agreed causing Tsunade shift away from Naruto. "I'm anxious to hear what he has to say."

Tsunade stared at Naruto for a moment longer and then nodded. "Alright, tell us what's going on."

Naruto suppressed a smirk, but he knew it reached his eyes and he could tell Tsunade saw it too. Time for some payback.

"During the month long preparation for the attempted Festival of Leaves coup d'état, my family and I realized several problems with the village's barriers and wall defenses." Naruto held up his hands and began ticking them off. "The barrier over the village was outdated and only served as warning system. The walls possessed elementary seals capable of deflecting only physical attacks. The ground underneath the village was vulnerable to tunneling. And there is no way of detecting approaching enemies.

"Since the festival we Uzumaki have updated the village barrier to actually prevent physical passage through the air. Updated and added seals to the walls allowing better repulsion of powerful physical and jutsu attacks. Implemented a barrier that protrudes under the village. Created seals capable of sensing approaching enemies and project a 3D image. And created a seal capable of identifying and marking an enemy that has infiltrated the village."

The room stared at Naruto as if he'd grown a second head.

"That's…quite a list of accomplishments," the Sarubtobi representative said.

"Your hard work and diligence seems to have paid off, Uzumaki-dono," Shibi added.

"Did you even have to sleep, or even eat for that matter," Choji asked looking pale.

"Funny you should say that," Naruto said before his ringed eyes cut to Tsunade, "Since I can count the number of hours I've slept on one hand for the past three days."

Never mind that a certain Hyuuga across from him was mostly the cause.

"So you're saying you figured out a way to detect the clones," Tsunade asked leaning forward. She didn't elaborate more than that and Shikaku seemed to be listening carefully too.

Naruto blinked, incredulity washing over his face before it slipped into a blank mask and his body began to shake with numbing rage. Seriously? That whole guilt tripping speech and she didn't even have the decency to blush? She was that focused on the seal?

A hand pressed lightly onto his knee under the table and he glanced at Sai, his eyes just as dark as his, and shook his head. The message was clear: it's not worth getting into it.

Taking a steady breath, Naruto let it out and sent ice at Tsunade. "No. We're still working on a way to discern them after they activate."

"Then notify me when you do," Tsunade said sitting back.

"I'll focus on that after we take care of the perimeter and surveillance seals."

"Excuse me," Tsunade scowled cutting back to him.

"You're excused," Naruto said and relished in the burns of outrage on her cheeks.

"I don't follow," Ino said not reading the mood. "I thought you said you'd taken care of those seals?"

"You're mistaken Ino," Sai said realizing the risk of letting his brother speak further. "We finished the seals, but we haven't produced or implemented them on a mass scale yet."

"How many do you need to make," Shibi asked.

"We planned to place a hundred seals for every mile of wall," Sai said. Everyone stilled as the basic arithmetic equated in their heads.

"F-Four thousands seals?!" Hinata said speaking for the first time. "Is it even possible to create that many within such a small time frame?"

"No," Naruto folded his arms sitting back. He didn't elaborate, and he wouldn't. He'd rather watch everyone else squirm, realizing who was actually doing all of the heavy lifting.

"What my brother means to say is that even if we worked tirelessly, which he have been, we won't finish for about another month," Sai said shooting a small glare at Naruto.

"That's unacceptable," Tsunade said pinching the bridge of her nose. "War could breakout any day. We need to finish this as soon as possible."

"That is as soon as possible," Naruto growled. "We have no way of mass producing seals barring my Shadow Clones which—in my current state—isn't possible."

Tsunade and shared a look with Shikaku and said, "What if we had a way to mass produce them?"

Naruto and Sai both sat a little straighter at that. They glanced at each other before Naruto said, "Explain."

"There's a weapon's manufacturer, the Foundry we call it, on the western border of Fire between Rain and Rivers," Shikaku explained. "It's contracted out from the Research Department to mass produce weapons such as kunai, shuriken, and different types of sealing tags. Those tags are created by machines which can run nonstop for days. If we create a seal block, which the Research Department can, then we can send it to them and have the seals mass produced in a matter of days."

Murmurs of agreement and nods swept through the room, but Naruto and Sai leaned together.

"What do you think," Naruto asked.

"I don't like it," Sai shook his head. "The production would be out of our control."

"Not to mention we'd basically be giving up clan jutsu."

"I'd be more concerned about quality control. They have no idea how seals work, they just expect to have some machine print out perfect seals every time." Sai's tongue wetted his lips. "You know what happens if even the slightest mistake is made."

Nodding in agreement, they sat upright again and Naruto turned to Tsunade. "I'm afraid we can't agree to that."

"What," Tsunade said shaking her head. "Why?"

"She actually expects me to just give it to her." Naruto's face tightened.

"For starters, anything created by us is considered clan jutsu and therefore protected" Naruto said, "You expect us to just give it up?"

"For the safety of the village," Tsunade said wide-eyed, "Yes!"

Naruto waved her off, "Then there's the problem of sending the seal outside the village, where protection of the seal would be severely lessened. And finally there's the issue with quality control. Fuinjutsu is a nasty business if you're not careful."

"Naruto, the Foundry has been around since the beginning of the village," Shikaku took over sensing the hostility between Naruto and Tsunade. "It's one of the most secure areas outside the Anbu Headquarters and Hokage Tower. As for quality control, they have a testing room designed specifically for that. How often would a quality test call for…theoretically?"

Naruto and Sai shared another glance, and Sai nodded. "Every ten," Naruto said turning back.

"Ten," Tsunade echoed.

"Ten," Naruto repeated. "And I'd want every quality test to be marked and sent back with the rest of the production so I can be sure they've been tested."

Tsunade shook her head. "Do you have any idea how much that would slow production?"

"We have a saying in our family," Naruto said folding his arms. "If you didn't make it, don't use it. Those are my terms—take it or leave it."

He met Tsunade's hard glare for a moment before it finally broke and she sighed with a frown. "Very well, Uzumaki-san. You leave me no choice. Send your seal over to the Research Department and they'll whip up a printing block for it. Once they're done they'll send for you to inspect it, and upon meeting your quality it will be shipped out to the Foundry with detailed instructions." Eying the clock she said, "We'll take a thirty minute recess and meet back at 2:30. Dismissed." Let out a sigh she closed her eyes. "If anyone needs me I'll be in my office…drinking."

Icy rivulets streamed down his face as Naruto looked up from the sink and took a deep breath. He never thought he could be so frustrated with Tsunade, but she was doing her damnedest to try and push him over the edge. The others had gone straight for a side room off the main hall around the corner. They were waiting on him, but he'd needed to cool off first.

He slipped out of the bathroom and made his way for his next meeting, but swung around when a hand tugged on his sleeve from behind.

"Naruto," Sakura said taking a step back when she saw his face. Her emerald eyes darted around the empty hall and she licked her lips, "Can I talk to you?"

"Does it have to be right now," He asked already starting to move away.

"Y-Yes."

His feet halted, and his eyes blurred back to his teammate to see her arms wrapped around herself with tears shimmering. He'd never seen her like that. Not since the time when he'd set out to retrieve Sasuke after leaving with the Sound Five. Which gave him the answer to what they're conversation would most likely be about.

"I don't have any news about Sasuke," Naruto said frowning. "But you should know I'll do my best to get him the lightest sentence possible.

Her eyes widened a fraction, but she shook her head. "This isn't about him…Well it is a little bit. B-But it's mostly about…"

"Okay," Naruto said stepping closer to her. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

She shook her head and looked around again while blotting her eyes. "Not here."

Naruto opened the door conveniently beside them and ushered her through into a smaller room. Locking the door behind them he turned to find her at the window staring out into the village, still holding herself.

"What's going on," he asked softly moving to her. "Tell me what I can do."

Like he didn't have enough on his plate already, but how could he say no to his teammate?

"I take it you've read my reports," Sakura shakily asked.

"Yes."

"A-All of them?"

Naruto hesitated, a slight blush coming to his face. "Yes."

"Well…" Sakura whispered, "There's something else I didn't write in there."

Naruto blinked, and his brow creased as his anger rose. But just as quickly it ebbed away when he saw her whole body shudder. "Hey," he said putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. She flinched but didn't move. "What's wrong? What didn't you report?"

She shook her head, unable to speak, but when she turned around and emerald ringed in red stared back at him he felt his mouth go dry. She dropped something in his hand, and it took a minute to register what he was looking at. But when it did he felt what he was about to do at the meeting get increasingly more difficult and easy at the same time.

"What took you so long," Shikamaru scowled as Naruto quietly closed the door behind him. "Never mind. Why did you buy time? I assume it had to do with the hearing?"

Naruto nodded, not entirely trusting his voice but forcing himself to speak anyways. "I wanted to discuss what you thought would be the best action to take regarding Sasuke's hearing."

"They'll push for a private hearing," Shikamaru said, "And given what's happened that'll probably be his best bet."

"I thought so too," Naruto nodded before looking at the rest of the group. "But I just spoke with Sakura and I feel like what she said changes everything."

Karin nudged open the door to Naruto's room, the basket in her hands half full already of dirty laundry. She let her chakra slip out and probed the room—every now and then he'd forget to turn off a seal. It'd had caused her to be the butt of family jokes on more than one occasion so she quickly learned to check first. Feeling nothing she crossed the room and set the basket on his bed before moving about it picking up discarded clothing.

It was her out for stress. Renge cooked, Jihibiki sculpted, Sai painted, and Naruto trained. But when Karin needed to empty her mind she turned to cleaning. Needless to say the past week had seen the Uzumaki household the cleanest it'd ever been.

She'd just snagged the last pair of dirty pants and tossed them in the basket when what sounded like a tree losing all of its leaves at once whispered through the room. Looking over her shoulder she found a pile of paper squares ringed around a vase and scattered on the floor. The bouquet Konan of Ame had given to Naruto as a sign of Ame's alliance.

Her stomach dropped.

They were silent. Shikamaru's mouth actually hung open, Shino's head had incline forward, and Sai blinked.

"So am I right," Naruto asked looking to Shikamaru.

"Are you kidding me," Shikamaru groaned rubbing his head. "This changes everything! The entire council is going to push for a private hearing, his chances are already low. This information needs to go public."

"The problem is we don't have the ability to vote," Shino said glancing between them. "We are only witnesses to this meeting, and I do not know if my father will vote that way."

"Not to mention they'll most likely throw out half the evidence that supports him," Sai said shaking his head.

"What about you," Naruto asked Shikamaru. "Do you think you can get your dad to vote public?"

"Maybe," Shikamaru sighed rubbing his head. A massive headache was steadily pushing forward from the back of his skull. "I need to talk to my dad right now if I'm going to convince him."

They exited the room and rounded the corner to see everyone beginning to file back into the meeting hall. Shikamaru practically sprinted to the door and yanked his dad off his feet as he dragged him away by the elbow and began furiously whispering into his ear.

Naruto didn't wait to see the result, instead filing in with the rest and taking his seat. Tsunade came in next with Sakura in tow—looking as if she hadn't shed a tear—and settled in her seat. Finally Shikaku and Shikamaru came in, the father looking irritated and the son looking aloof and frantic.

"Let's get this over with," Tsunade said bring the meeting back into session. "First up regards the Uchiha's hearing. I'm supposed to put this to a vote, but I think we can all agree on a private hear—"

"Let's not be so quick to make the Uchiha's hearing private," Naruto said causing the room to go silent for god only knew what number of times that day.

"Why," Tsume growled slamming her hands on the table. "The bastard's had his ass kissed by the civilians his entire life while he was here. He's arrogant, a traitor, and nearly killed you and indirectly my son, Choji, and Hyuuga Neji! I say put him in the hands of the shinobi he served alongside."

She was met with multiple nods and Naruto closed his eyes bracing. "Most of the civilians have no idea why he defected in the first place. They want answers, and rumors are beginning to circulate. Some say he's back. Other say he was actually on a long term mission. And then there's one about a conspiracy to wipe out the Uchiha bloodline." Naruto surveyed the room, his eyes fixing each clan head for a second until he got to Hinata and didn't look away. "We all know how dangerous rumors and whispers can be."

It was a lie. No rumors existed—yet. He'd have no problem sending some people out to begin circulating them though.

"Who would even fathom these ideas," Hiashi asked.

"The scary thing is, Hiashi-san, that none of them are necessarily untrue."

A clamor of whispers broke out and Naruto turned to Tsunade to see her staring again, trying to figure out what he was up to. Behind her, Sakura was doing her best to keep a straight face despite the beaded diamonds at the corners of her eyes. He needed to put this to rest before he lost momentum.

Naruto glanced to Shikamaru and gave a small lift of his brow. Shikamaru nudged his father and Shikaku scowled. "I vote to have the Uchiha's hearing made public," he said.

Inoichi and Choza twisted to their friend in surprise, but after a second of hesitation they nodded.

"I vote public as well," Inoichi said.

"As do I," Choza added.

That made three. The council consisted of nine clans so to win they needed the majority of five.

"I vote private," the Sarutobi woman said frowning.

"Private," Tsume glared at Naruto.

Naruto shifted to Hiashi and found the man watching him closely. They remained like that for a split second before Hiashi's eyes narrowed and he said, "I vote for a private hearing."

Tied. Shit.

"I vote public," Naruto said.

"And I vote private," Tsunade said a beat later.

Naruto bit back the anger from slipping onto his face and resorted to balling his fists under the table until the creaked and popped.

All eyes shifted to Aburame Shibi, the last vote that would break the split decision. His head dipped and turned slightly to Shino, murmuring something inaudible. Shino said nothing for a few seconds before inclining his head once.

"The Aburame clan votes for a public hearing."

The hall was too shocked to voice and indignations, and when he turned to Tsunade he found her scribbling on the minutes looking ready to level the entire room. Sakura's mask had shattered and freely but silently wept, although she still managed to send him a radiant smile.

"Hyuuga," Tsunade shouted not even bothering with a transition. "Have you come to a decision on the fate of the traitors arrested during the festival?"

"What the hell is with this lax attitude towards traitors," Tsume demanded furiously. "First the Uchiha and now the Hyuuga?! They should all have their heads removed and be done with!"

"The Hyuuga rebels were fighting against Hiashi-san's rule," Shikaku explained. "Since this could be considered 'Clan Affairs' the Hokage can't intervene."

"Not entirely true," Naruto thought shifting his eyes back to Tsunade. "But for how much longer will we have that to fall back on?"

"I've yet to decide between execution and prison," Hiashi said without a hint of remorse. "Perhaps even both."

Naruto stare at Hiashi with a certain level of disgust, and when he flicked to Hinata she looked away immediately unable to hide the unhappiness on her face. "So she's against the idea. Well at least she's got more of a heart than her father."

"You and I both know she has one," Kurama growled. "Don't sell her short."

"Judging by your response I take it you've not spoken to Neji yet," Sai said.

Hiashi watched both of them closely before saying, "No, I haven't spoken to my nephew regarding them."

Sai nodded in understanding. "He and I discussed at length an alternative. I suggest you speak to him about it then come to a conclusion."

Naruto couldn't hide the confusion on his face. He'd spoken to Neji about the Hyuuga rebels? When? He could tell Hiashi was watching him closely and seemed to take confidence in seeing Naruto wasn't involved in the idea.

"I will talk to him after the meeting," Hiashi nodded, and then turned to Tsunade. "You will receive my answer shortly, Hokage-sama."

"Then let's move on to our final topic," Tsunade said nodding.

"So we're leaving the village in the dark about the Zetsu clones," Naruto thought frowning inward. Did that mean she wasn't going to inform the alliance?

The thought of voicing the information crossed his mind, but when he happened to glance at the Nara seat he caught Shikamaru giving a small shake and Shikaku glaring at him.

Creepy. It's like they could read his mind.

"The Clan Privacy Act was established at the founding of the village," Tsunade said regaining Naruto's attention. "It granted the clans some autonomy from the Hokage so they wouldn't be forced into divulging clan secrets, jutsu, customs, and ceremonies. In short, the act prevented the eradication of what made each clan individual and unique. However, it also allowed clans to continue practices and other actions without repercussions despite they're immorality. So, in light of recent events I would like to proposal a repeal of this Act."

The room exchanged looks.

"Do you think it will truly benefit the village if the barriers around the clans are removed," Shibi asked.

"I do," Tsunade replied interlocking her hands. "I believe we will be allowed to become a more cohesive as a whole—with information, communication, and delegations flowing between each group more easily and readily."

Shibi nodded his head and even Tsume appeared to be on board. Not surprising—hive and pack mentality.

"While you're at it, you could go ahead and remove the other Hokage heads from the monument and overthrow the Daimyo," Naruto said and was rewarded with incredulous looks. "This village was founded with the idea in mind that multiple people could come together and live peacefully while retaining their own identity."

"How are you against this," Tsunade yelled slamming a hand down causing the table to groan. "You of all people should be for it considering your position and the role you played at the festival. It's for the village!"

"It's the beginning of a dynasty," Naruto shot back. "You may think it's for the best right now, but what about a hundred years from now? A thousand? Can you honestly say that our future candidates won't abuse the power we've handed them? We have a responsibility to not only defend this village presently, but protect its future as well."

Silence met his speech, and more than a few mouths hung open. He'd hoped to make this a unanimous decision as well—that could be their cohesion. Agreeing to work together while remaining who they were as a clans. He had the votes, of that he was sure.

Naruto's eyes surveyed the room once more. Senju, Aburame, and Inuzuka would vote for the repeal. He doubted the Nara, Akamichi, and Yamanaka would vote for it, and the Hyuuga would undoubtedly be against it. But the Sarutobi was a mystery.

"I agree with Hokage-sama," Hiashi said causing Naruto's neck to whiplash. "Within a decade there has been an attempt at regime change and a clan massacre. I believe that in order to stop these kinds of acts the Hokage should have full command of her shinobi."

A metallic taste filled Naruto's mouth. Of course the Hyuuga would opt for a repeal of the act—they were honor-bound to do so since they'd caused such a scandal. That meant only one more vote and they'd all be under the Hokage's control.

"You failed to mention in both instances true tragedy was averted because those within the clans stepped forward and brought information to the Hokage," Naruto said. He leveled a glare at Hiashi and growled, "Don't go spouting stories as evidence if you don't know the truth behind them."

"Perhaps that's the problem," Hinata said. Her voice was soft, but her edge wasn't. "Perhaps it's because some failed to share truth with those around them." Her eyes shifted away, "Our choices are only as good as the evidence provided."

It was dig—a well timed and executed one and Naruto actually flinched. Guilt rose and threatened to drown him, but he tightened his jaw and stemmed it. He had more important things to do than fence words on private matters.

"My point is the Hokage should rely on her shinobi to present danger when threats arise," Naruto said fixing his eyes on Hinata, "and the shinobi should trust the Hokage to lead them and make the right decisions, even if they don't understand why right away."

Okay so maybe he felt the need to get a dig in, but he didn't feel any better when her stare focused on her lap and her cheeks colored.

No one spoke after that, so Tsunade swept over the room one last time and said, "Let's vote. Senju vote for repeal."

"Hyuuga vote for repeal."

"Uzumaki vote for continuation."

"Aburame vote for repeal."

"Sarutobi vote for continuation."

A wave of relief washed over Naruto and he fell back in his seat with an exhale. That would clinch the victory for them.

"Inuzuka vote for repeal."

"Nara vote for continuation."

"Akamichi vote for continuation."

Silence fell and Naruto blinked. His eyes fell from the ceiling to find Inoichi frowning and struggling with his choice. A hundred questions fired at once, but the realization of why appeared shortly after. They Yamanaka thrived as an Intelligence clan. They'd integrated with the village years ago.

"In truth, we Yamanaka lost our identity long ago." Inoichi looked around the room almost pleading for everyone to understand. "Our jutsu and clan secrets have been unraveled and plucked clean by the I.D. to better facilitate in the retrieval of information."

Ino placed her hand over his and he gave her a sad smile.

"I'm not saying the benefits don't outweigh the costs, or that village has wiped away our identity completely…" Inoichi's other hand covered Ino's. "But our clan has lost something that makes us unique. We have jutsu, yes, and our clan excels at the techniques. But we don't necessarily own them…not anymore. And it would be no small stretch to say I've grown frustrated with how the other clans have been allowed to withhold their secrets, even if it would benefit the village greatly."

Inoichi looked around the room and sighed, "But I wouldn't wish this on anyone else. The Yamanaka clan votes for the continuation of the Clan Privacy Act."

The silence was suffocating, and the frustration radiating from the Hokage's end of the table seemed to agitate the Yamanaka clan head more by the second.

"I motion for the end of this meeting," Shikaku said.

"Seconded," Choza replied.

The room filled with shuffling as everyone began to file out as quickly as they could, Naruto and Sai being two of those people.

"You caused some serious waves in there," Shikamaru hissed as he passed through the door.

"I know," Naruto said giving an apologetic look. "Tell you dad I said thanks for the support."

"He trusts you, and so do I." Shikamaru blinked when he saw Naruto put a hand on Sai's shoulder. "You're not going to walk?"

"What, and risk getting roped into an ass chewing in Baa-chan's office?"

"Naruto," Tsunade's voice bellowed out the doors and echoed down the hall.

"See ya," Naruto said giving a lazy salute and the two of them disappeared in a flash.

Lightning filled the bedroom in the tower, rain falling heavy and hard against the walls until they shuddered from the crack of thunder. At a table a desk lamp flickered, bathing porcelain skin and blue hair in light while orange eyes jilted after her hand as she wrote.

Another crush of thunder slammed into the tower, and the lamp seemed to cower under the anger of the sky. This wasn't like Nagato's rain. Not the steady, soft, embracing kind that sought any and every hint of a threat to the city of Ame. This was relentless, angry, foreboding.

Setting her pen down, Konan eyed the letter one last time before closing her eyes and allowing her chakra to flow over the paper. It shifted, crinkled in on itself, and then folded into an origami hawk.

Standing up, she went to the window and opened the pane allowing wind and rain to howl into the room. Lightning split the sky again and the lamp died, but the hawk seemed to take the storm as a challenge and ruffled itself before blurring out into the wind.

Konan watched it go for a second before forcing the window closed again. She closed her eyes and turned to the side, "Please…Hurry Naruto-kun."

Another flash illuminated her profile, and the hand resting on her swollen belly.