Naruto

Ch1 Putting Out Fires

This is a mess. I definitely held on to this seat for too long. Maybe if I had died instead of Minato on that day. Or if that idiot Jiraiya could stay still for once in his life, or if Tsunade didn't hate this position as much as she does, or if Orochimaru…. No, Hiruzen was spiralling, it happened more often lately, the price for being the longest sitting hokage since the village founding. Even among kage, only he and that fence sitter Oonoki remained from their generation. Hiruzen had to admit, it was not bad right now. Bar a few border skirmishes, the world was peaceful, a far cry from how it was when he was promoted to kage.

Often being a kage is not too convoluted, especially in this period of peace, this day however, had truly exhausted him. Ninja from the Kumo had infiltrated the village and would have successfully abducted the 5-year-old heir of the Hyuga clan if not for a swift response from the clan leader and the girl's father Hiashi. But now came the problem, foreign ninja had been killed by his people and the Raikage has demanded the heads of their killers in the pretense that his ninja had been diplomates. Hiruzen called for two of his personal guards -he would miss dinner with his grandchildren today- and left for a meeting with the leaf elders and some prominent clan heads at the Hyuga residence. Two individuals appeared in his office, a woman, no, a teenager, wearing the standard ANBU uniform of long black pants, a black undershirt with a gray flack jacket over her torso. A sword was slung on her back, unadorned, nothing ever is with these ANBU types. Her mask was on, a cat-like face with three red lines, one on each cheek and the final one on her forehead. Her only defining characteristic was her long purple hair. Next to her was a young boy, he wears the same uniform as the girl his mask however, his mask was a meercat face, around the eyes were green semi circles, while red spikes encircled the edge of his mask.

"Let's get this over with" Hiruzen says as he stands from his seat. He opens the panoramic window behind his desk and jumps out. The two guards follow him. It is a nice night, warm and stars dot the clear skies. In his youth, nights like these would be spent with his friends in the Sarutobi clan compound, damn I'm old, Hiruzen muses.

As they run above the bustling village on the roofs of buildings a voice asks Hiruzen "Lord third, wasn't captain Kakashi supposed to have been here by now?" Hiruzen turns to the young lady behind him "No Miss Uzuki, His mission became a bit complicated, he should be on his way now", the ancient man replies. "Thank you, my lord, but it would be wise to call me by my codename when we're in public" Miss Uzuki says. The Kage smiles, wrinkles deepening "Very well cat".

They travel in silence to the Hyuga clan's hall. Apon arrival the old man is ushered in, he tells his guard to stay to the shadows before going in. Inside the hall it's quiet, but tense. Leaders from the greater clans are all present.

Hiashi Hyuga is first to speak "They can't be serious; they wronged my clan and the village as a whole."

At least they know the story Hiruzen thought. But the one person he did not expect to be here spoke up "Lord Hiashi, the police force has looked through their belongings, while we know they wronged us, we don't have any evidence we can present to the Raikage" Fugaku Uchiha said. An Inuzuka clan member across from the Hyuga head nodded in agreement. Those two clans, the Uchiha and the Inuzuka worked closely together within the leaf police force. "So, what do we do?" Asks Shukaku Nara, "We can't send you out there Hiashi" dropping honorifics as he speaks to his one-time friend. Everyone agrees as Hiruzen speaks up for the first time "I will not allow you to leave Hiashi but I don't want to go to war either" A silence punctuates his statement, the third ninja war was the worst to date and it had taken too many young lives. Everyone in this meeting knew the hokage felt responsible for each of those deaths. "Maybe we shouldn't be here" said Choza Akimichi, " beside the Hyuga and the hokage, I feel like the rest of us don't have a say here, and honestly had it been choji I would've done the same." An indignant buzz spread through the hall.

Sigh "Unfortunately, Choza may be right, the best we can do is offer advice and try to alleviate your burden as you try to solve this" Fugaku says. This angers the Hyuga elders. "Would you abandon us?" One shouts. "I'd expect no less from an Uchiha" says another. As tensions rise, Hiruzen unleashes his chakra, shaking the very building they are in "Retract that statement elder, the Uchiha, the Nara, everyone here is here not on my command but by their own free will to try and assist you. Do not be so proud that you forget that" Hiruzen says, and total silence follows. If they had forgotten, now they remembered, he may have been old, but the professor, the third hokage was still a man to be respected if not feared. "I apologize Lord Uchiha, please forgive my outburst lord third" was stammered out. That seemed to pull the leaders out of their shock. With a nod, Fugaku acknowledged the apology, looked toward Hiashi then the hokage then dismissed himself. "I apologize my lords, with the Hyuga dealing with this the police force is trying to increase patrols along the walls because some of our best sensor ninjas are Hyuga, I must go." Sigh "It's fine Fugaku, you can go, you don't always have to be so awkward, thanks for the support" said a genuinely appreciative Hiashi. Mummers of laughter started around those who grew up with the Uchiha head, easing the tense situation. Once the Police chief left, the Inuzuka representative left as well and little by little the lords and ladies left until only the Hyuga and the Hokage stayed.

As they discussed possible solutions a young man wearing the leaf flak jacket and an armband that denoted him as a member of the police force ran in, immediately subdued by "Meercat". "I apologise my lords, Lord Fugaku told me you were here. There has been a breach on the western wall, nearest the senju orphanage, Ebisu has been injured, both Lord Konohamoru and Naruto Uzumaki have been taken." "Damn it", Hiruzen exclaims, "Fugaku and Lady Inuzuka are already tracking them, yes?". "Yes, my lord" says the young man. "Good, cat, go to the rest of your squad, mobilize and help in their retrieval, Meercat, unhand the young man and stay here, you'll be my eyes and ears, Lord Hiashi, Hyuga elders, I'm afraid I must leave, keep me informed on your eventual decision."

"Yes sir" Hiashi says.

H iruzen leaves, leaving the Hyuga to their eventual decision. This is what being a kage is, constantly putting out fires, he thinks as he leaves.

Fugaku was not amused. His ever-present scowl had deepened. It wasn't often to see the Police chief so perturbed; he saw a lot in his career. First as a ninja in the third shinobi war then as a policeman, abductions were nothing new to him but lately, whenever a child was taken, especially one of Itachi's age or god forbid sasuke's age and younger. He could not help but feel the parents' pain, even for an orphan like Naruto. Even though they had long since died, Fugaku knew the boy's parents personally. Mikoto was in the same team as the boy's father Minato and had become close to Kushina, Naruto's mother. It was painful after they died, he lost two of his few friends and was unable to adopt the child due to clan politics. Maybe if the Uchiha weren't mistrusted by those in the village, maybe if the Uchiha weren't so angry he could have better protected the child.

He and Tsume Inuzuka had left the western wall a few minutes ago following a scent her ninja hound has caught from a cloth the young Ebisu was holding. He must have tried to fight the kidnappers off, Fugaku muses.

"Hey, Fugaku, I think our prey is a few hundred meters ahead, their scent is getting stronger" Lady Tsume informs. "They are too far for my eyes to see. Can you tell with certainty how far away they are? And how many they are" He asks. "Nope not a clue, at this distance I can tell the general direction, and a general distance. If they don't know we're tracking them, they should be less than 600 meters away. About the number, there's about 6 of them" she says. Hmmm, they should've been closer, foreign ninja should be struggling in these forests, Fugaku muses and with their high number it would be difficult to navigate without being separated. "Ah crap" exclaims Tsume. "What's wrong?" He asks. "The kidnappers have started moving again, two familiar scents are following them. Kakashi Hatake and Maito Guy I think." "Were they on a mission? I don't think they should be outside the village" Fugaku asks a loud. "It's fine if Kakashi's tracking them we can give them back up. It's best we get there quickly."