Welcome all, to another chapter.
"Thinking, Bijuu speech or jutsu"
"Dialogue"
Chapter 9: Proposition of change.
Sharp pain coursed throughout his body, his skin was caked in dried blood from several puncture wounds in his arms and legs.
There was a tingling feeling running throughout his fingertips, a side effect of each of his nails slowly being ripped off one by one.
He heard pained screaming coming from outside the cell. Another poor soul caught in something they had no right to be caught in.
As time passed more voices rose up together in a horrible choir. Some screaming out in pain from the horrible torture the guards loved to dish out to them; the others, begging to be let go from this horrid nightmare.
A dull orange glow from the torches outside, shone through the square peep hole in his door. He had never considered himself religious, but if hell was real it looked like this.
The sound of footsteps came closer and closer to his door.
"Thump. Thump. Thump." The guard pounded his fist against the door. "It's feeding time runt. Come get your scraps." Came the gruff voice of the guard.
Slowly, painfully; he tumbled out of the bed and onto the cold floor. The rough stone cut into his hands as he hit the ground.
He could see the eyes of the guard looking down upon him as he crawled toward the door. The man portrayed both pure loathing and sadistic pleasure at seeing him in this position.
"Here runt. Hope you choke on your food like all you leaf maggots deserve." A small flap on the bottom of the door opened, a plate of "food" sliding through to him.
He slid up to the door and rested his back against the cold metal. His lungs cried out in pain as he let out something between a cough and a laugh.
The guard appeared to get angry at his levity. "The hell you laughing at!?" The guard said kicking the door-sending a wave of pain through him.
Again he laughed, this time his lungs not hurting as much.
"I'm laughing because of how much you want to kill me. Yet the same person that delivered me into your arms, is the same person that stops you from killing me. It's funny."
The guard let out an angry grunt and kicked the door, sending a wave of pain through the boy's spine.
"Just you wait maggot. When the commander gets the information of your little spy ring out of you." He could hear the guard rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "I'll make you pay for every one of us that died in the war."
"Hope you're good at waiting then." Cough! Cough! "Because I'm not giving you a-holes shit."
The guard snorted and briskly walked away. spewing curses about the maggots he couldn't wait to slaughter.
He grabbed the few measly slices of bread and slowly consumed them. The prisoners here were fed only enough to survive, to dangle on the edge of starvation.
In this bleak situation he found himself in, the only thing keeping him going were his memories of home. Those beautiful green gates, it had been so long since they had graced his eyesight.
Desu just hoped that the kids he had been looking after wouldn't fall into this organization's hands.
He'd kept a careful eye over as many orphans as he could, helping them out in any way he could-Teaching them or giving them information.
Hopefully the things he had taught them would be enough to stay out of target.
"Sashi, Dara, all of you. Stay safe, Please."
A cool breeze blew through Masashi's coal black hair. He hadn't paid attention to it in quite a while, so it had grown out to his shoulders in a loose fashion.
(Think Benimaru Shinmon from Fire Force.)
He sat upon one of the buildings overlooking the busy streets of Sector 4. Civilians and shinobi alike crowded the streets looking to spend their hard earned Ryo.
Despite the bustling chaos of the streets below, his hazel eyes were focused in like a hawk. Concentrated on his mark moving through the streets.
He had been quite apprehensive when Desu had brought up the idea of stealing from a rich merchant, too high profile for him. If he was find out, the man had numerous assets to hunt him down, and he would stand no chance.
Yet in peacetime, with all the shinobi back home, it made pickpocketing rather difficult. Too many Shinobi looking to grab a quick buck by catching common thieves.
Not to mention that his informant had up and disappeared completely. Erasing his flow of information that he had been provided with previously.
In other words, his income and supplies had gone to shit...
The back of his head throbbed in pain for a moment, serving as a reminder of his failure at the restaurant. If not for the 5 tails jinchuriki saving him he would have died of blood loss, and that frustrated him to no end.
He'd been having to rely on such measly means of survival. In a world where power was so easily accessible, he had none. At least none that he could conventionally use in a matter that could benefit him.
There was power inside of him, apparently enough to blow up a small orphanage. But that couldn't be accessed until he had better forms of study.
He hopped over from building to building as his target moved through the streets. Desu's information seemed on point so far, the merchant didn't have any sort of guard detail. The man simply walked around obnoxious to anything happening around him.
The merchant stopped and went over to one of the candy shops, coming out with a rather large bag that he kept glancing at in salivation.
"Fat ass is eating candy while I'm fighting for every fucking single scrap of food."
As if to remind him of his situation, his stomach rumbled in a cry of hunger. "Being weak and poor sucks."
Masashi continued the stalking of his potential victim, following him through the streets of sector 4 and its many shops. Often times shinobi would look at him curiously as they hopped across the rooves around him.
It brought him a bit of joy in his days of struggle, to be able to climb and leap from building to building. Using only his physical ability to stay high above the masses on the streets.
If he had to point to one thing that he was grateful for in this hell-scape, it would have to be the body he had inherited. Even without a steady diet it kept gradually increasing in strength. Chakra surely was a wonderful thing, he could feel it running through his veins, supplying his body with strength.
He would spend a good portion of the day tailing his target, but the whole time his mind wondered toward chakra and the way it shaped the world.
He couldn't wait for the day he learned to wield it.
The chiming of the grandfather clock rang throughout Onoki's otherwise silent office. Its constant screeching throughout the years had contributed to his madness.
He gazed out across Iwagakure, its high reaching stone towers ascending to the sky-a sign of the village's never ending search for greatness. Yet now to him, the towers didn't seem so tall. Instead they looked...thin, weak. A reminder of the times when the rock stood strong and unbreakable.
Now the leaf had taken their spot at the seat of power in the shinobi world. And that snake Hiruzen had played him for a fool, played everyone for a fool.
Committing to striving for peace, meanwhile grabbing all of the power for yourself. And now that blonde demon was going to take over the leaf.
Everyone in the village had lost someone they knew due to that man. Onoki himself had lost much of his family on that day; Cousins, nephews, nieces, young lives with so much left to live. Yet those lives meant nothing, those lives ended in the blink of an eye. It sent a chill down Onoki's spine, the pure speed and efficiency. He could only wish that Iwa could have people like that.
As much as he hated to say it, Onoki would one day need to give up the hat. When that day comes he would need to make sure that the village would be in good hands.
If Iwa was ever to be the dominant force on the continent it needed people to rally behind. Strong leaders who could rally thousands to their side, and smart tacticians to help them execute winning strategies.
A strong next generation needed to rise up, a generation that would be strong enough to beat the tree huggers. By any means necessary.
Onoki rose up from his desk and floated over to the glass wall. Not too far away he could see his citizens filling the streets of the sectors, each one doing their part to make this village run smoothly.
He looked over to the large grandfather clock, the old thing had been here even before him. It was quite the work of art, all of its gears working together in a sweet symphony of synergy. Looking at it made him remember what Tsuchikage Mu had told him long ago.
"There are hundreds of pieces inside the clock. If you take some of the smaller pieces out it will impair the way the clock runs, but in the end the clock still works. But if you take one of the gears, the whole process breaks down.
The gears are your most important pieces, the others can be replaced but the gears...the gears are the most important piece to the clock."
Onoki gazed back across the crowded village. So many people, so many unknowns. "Who will rise up out of the ground, who will become the gears that run the village.
Will they come from the prosperous shinobi bloodlines, the second-rate citizens or the squalor of the slums. Regardless, gears will arise. Gears that I can mold, shape into the perfect tool for the village.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the intercom buzzing, A sign of his secretary having something to tell him.
Floating over to his desk he sat back into his chair, and pressed on one of the buttons on the small electrical device.
A moment of white noise followed by a noticeable clicking sound, signifying that the line went through.
"You have a visitor lord Tsuchikage." The soft voice of his secretary echoed through the intercom, the girl had a voice quite like his wife had. It reminded of him of much simpler times, times of passion, love, and foolishness.
Onoki looked over to his calendar, even with his eyesight decaying he could still tell it was blank.
He rubbed his fingers across his temple in an annoyed manner. "I had no appointments booked today. Who is this visitor?" A click over the intercom once more, followed by several moments of silence.
"He says he's a merchant here to offer a proposition that could benefit the great stone. those were his words exactly sir."
"Wonderful, another businessman looking for his big break. Just what I needed."
"Very well, send the man in." Onoki prepared himself for another man asking for too much money, for an idea that wouldn't work out.
Just another duty as the Tsuchikage.
The doors creaked open ever so slowly. Since his room was L shaped he couldn't immediately see who entered the room.
Quickly he put on his kage hat and got the necessary paperwork for what should be a quick rejection. He had to have turned down a good dozen crazy ideas in the last week alone.
as he went to grab his quill pen he was hit with a feeling that crawled through his body, from his fingertips all the way to down to his toes. It was as if a million microscopic bugs were crawling under his skin begging to be let out.
Now in his age he had seen and felt many genjutsu-Ranging from pathetically ineffective, to trauma inducing. This was no genjutsu, just an aura of sorts. A feeling that encompassed the whole room, yet it had no chakra in it.
Slowly into his eyesight appeared a man in an astonishingly clean lab coat. He was not physically intimidating to Onoki in any way yet, there was something about him that made Onoki uneasy. Like he was looking at a sight so grotesque that it would make a normal person reject their last meal.
The man put his hand across his stomach and gave a deep bow. "I thank you for this tremendous opportunity, lord Tsuchikage." His voice was cold and grated against Ohnoki's ears.
"Yes while it is one of my duties as Kage to hear potential business ideas from aspiring businessmen, a long standing tradition I'm afraid."
"Of course lord kage, it's quite a smart public relations move is it not? To empower potential businesses that could grow to turn a profit? And who knows, maybe one day one of those businesses could penetrate into a market larger than Iwa."
He raised a brow at the man. "I suppose that it could be highly beneficial to our village to improve its economy. However, if the product being sold would have any possibility of aiding those against us in any way, I would make sure that the idea never sees the light of day."
Onoki had never had a good perception of the other villages. Now after this peace summit, his ideals were stronger than stone. Konoha needed to be taken down, their sins would catch up to them.
"My lord I must apologize to you." The man said, getting up from the chair and walking over to the glass wall. "I am not here to discuss a startup business. I'm here for much more important things."
Onoki eyed the man suspiciously, but waved off the anbu as he felt no threat from the man. "And what would that be?"
"Vengeance." He said sliding his hand down the glass wall, leaving a faint smudge.
"Vengeance? Vengeance against who?" Onoki asked.
"Konoha, those bastards instigated a war against us and butchered our brethren. And to add insult to injury, they have put spies inside your village my lord."
"SPIES!" Onoki roared, slamming his fist onto the desk causing the once neat papers to fly everywhere. "You mean to tell me my forces have failed to detect a spy ring operating under my very nose?!"
"Indeed my lord, and they would have remained undetected had my men not intercepted messages."
The businessman took out a folder from inside his lab coat and tossed it down on the desk. Several papers fell out, displaying several different illustrations and charts.
Onoki peered at the papers for a moment. They looked completely ordinary, just architecture plans and profit charts. "What am I supposed to draw from these? I don't see anything out of place." Onoki said with a tinge of annoyance.
"No my lord, these are just ordinary papers. Until..." He retrieved a small lighter from his coat pocket. "You look at it with the right perspective."
With a click the lighter sparked and a small flame came to life. Hovering the flame over the papers slowly revealed multiple sequences of letters and numbers.
Onoki's eyes raised in surprise, quickly he snapped his fingers and gave the papers to an anbu. "Have intelligence study this to see if it's real." The anbu disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Onoki looked back to the man with a modicum of respect. "If those do turn out to be real, you will be compensated quite handsomely. That is my word as Tsuchikage."
"My lord may I ask for a different kind of reward? I have no need for surplus currency."
Onoki thought to himself for a moment before nodding. "If it is within my ability to do so, then yes you may request something else as a reward. What is it that you want?"
The man's eyes lit up with an electric glow, a mysterious gleam that conveyed somethin ranging from childlike glee to cruel satisfaction. Onoki couldn't tell if he should be amused or afraid.
"My lord please allow me to assist you in hunting down these rats, I have many resources at my disposal-All of which can be used for the good of the village. Their extermination is the only reward I Desire."
Onoki could barely hold in a grin, could his prayers have been answered?
"Could I have I found a gear?"
Konoha
Oda walked though the empty halls of the Hokage mansion, his every step sounded echoed out around him. It was late now, midnight had long retired and with it much of the village.
As he passed through the building, he noticed how much more grand it seemed than the last last time he was here-almost 10 years ago. Crystalline chandeliers descended from the ceiling, their light red bulbs illuminating the inside with an ethereal fire-like glow. All around him on displays and platforms, stood historical artifacts from ages past. Ranging from weapons of the once savage tribes that roamed the lands, to beautifully carved jewelry from the great craftsmen of nations past, to masterfully created epics of a language long forgotten.
He exited the main room and into the stairway leading up several stories, Quickly he channeled chakra into his feat and jumped. It was as if gravity had turned off as he almost floated up to the top floor, his feet landing as soft as a feather on the top floor.
"Kami how I love chakra." He though to himself while looking back at the several flights of stairs that he had just skipped. The energy was so very useful in even everyday life let alone shinobi work, non chakra users really had no idea what they were missing.
He resumed his path forward towards where he knew Danzo would be, the anbu had told him that Danzo would be in hokage tower and that was more than enough. He didn't have to be a master of the psychological arts to know exactly how Danzo perceived himself.
As he made his way through the top floor he noticed how distinctly different the aesthetic was from the main hall. wherein the main room was bright and bombastic, the top floor was rather dull and sterile. Troffer lights emitted a dull light barely illuminating the hallway. The same lights also made a buzzing sound that constantly assaulted Oda's ears, as if the worlds largest bee was flying next to him.
One of the doors opened and out came who Oda assumed to be the janitor, a rather unassuming balding middle aged man; a lifelong citizen who had never seen the battlefield, no ring on the finger so no wife, but there was was a white indentation indicating a divorce somewhat recently.
The man looked over to Oda, his brows raising in surprise. "I don't often see people in here this late shinobi-san." He said with a smile.
"Yes the shinobi life never really stops I'm afraid." Oda responded, grimacing to convey that he was on some official shinobi business.
"Well then young man don't let me keep you then." He said, gathering the rest of his equipment and walking past Oda, but not before exchanging pleasant goodbyes.
As Oda continued the walk to his destination, The surrounding building around him faded away in its blandness. Before He had even realized it, he was standing in front of the doors to the kage's room itself. The doors themselves had quite a majestic look to them. The wood itself was a dark red, a symbol of the ever burning "will of fire." Created by Hasirama Senju himself, the doors were almost magical in their nature; they never stained, chipped or scratched. It was said that as long as those doors stood strong, Konohagakure would never fall.
Oda thought it was a rather foolish notion, to pick a door as the representation of your village's lifeline, but people were prone to be illogical, something he had learned rather quickly in wartime.
Not one to waste time Oda grabbed the door handles and was about to swing them open in a rather grand entrance, when the doors opened slowly by themselves, revealing one old man sitting in a chair.
Now it was not just any old man in any old chair. That seat belonged to the Hokage himself, it was the throne of Konoha, and Danzo was sitting upon it. His eyes looking out upon the whole of the village though the large glass windows. It was as if he saw himself to be some grand protector, the real Hokage.
Oda walked forward to the middle of the room, the doors closing behind him. The whole of the room was only illuminated by the moonlight.
"I had heard that you were back." Danzo said, turning around to face Oda. His body covered in white bandages from old war wounds. "News will soon spread through the masses, the Maestro has returned."
"I would hope that ten years of war would be enough to make people forget about silly stories. Things like that are destroyed in wartime." Oda said in a rejecting manner. That caused Danzo to smirk, probably the closest thing he would ever get to laughing.
"People do not often forget their heroes, you will soon find that to be true. But I did call you here for business, and business is what I shall speak of."
"Not interested." Oda said immediately, catching Danzo completely off guard. The old man definitely wasn't used to being dismissed without a second thought, but he quickly steeled himself. After all, he had dealt with overconfident brats before, what was one more.
"Now Now don't be too hasty to make decisions, you don't even know my offer. You might benefit greatly from this."
"Danzo. Outside of maybe Orochimaru, you are the last person that I would ever trust to hold up an equal deal.
"You don't have to trust me, but trust that my actions will only serve to help the village in the long run." Danzo did his best to channel his altruistic side, appealing to the man's patriotic side.
However Oda was still highly mistrusting of him. "You say that your actions will stand to benefit the village. Yet you sit here on the throne, as if you are the true ruler." He shook his head in mock disbelief, and pointed a finger at Danzo. "How am I supposed to trust the judgement of a man so delusional to sit in a throne not his own. It is a sign of madness."
The conversation was not going quite exactly the route Danzo had envisioned. He had known that the young red-head was not his biggest fan, yet he expected him to be reasonable at the least, not just plain out insulting.
"Every Hokage needs someone behind the curtain, a person who is not afraid to dig their hands into the filth-so that the Hokage may keep theirs clean. That, is the shadow Kage, the one who keeps the leaf safe."
It was not an easy world that they lived in, Constant threats of; sabotage, assassination, terrorism, and the looming threat of war was a constant. The Hokage had enough on their plate to be able to handle the hidden threats, that duty fell upon the shoulders of those who were brave enough to do their work in the dark.
"When Minato ascends there will no longer be a need for a this supposed "Shadow kage," he can and will bring peace to the shinobi world."
Danzo sighed and got up out of the chair, walking up to the window and gazing at the village. "You can't possibly be that naive, a man like yourself. You've seen the true face of the world, you've had to do what most others couldn't. I do not believe for a single second, that you think that enemies of the village would hesitate to destroy us.
"I believe that they would if they could, but with the current armistice and our recent addition of another bijuu. None would even dare stand against us. To do so would be suicide. So in other words, I don't trust you enough to deal with you and I don't believe it would benefit the leaf. This has been a waste of my time."
"You would benefit from listening to my offer-"
"Fuck your benefits."
Oda turned around and began to walk away, frustrating danzo who had never been so blatantly disregarded. Quickly he paced toward Oda, who was halfway out the door, he had hoped to hold onto his ace in the hole longer.
"You value your friends very much don't you." Oda stopped in his tracks, his body rigid. "It would be a shame for them to discover just what you-" Before he could finish his sentence Oda had turned around and rushed at him with his Wakizashi pulled. The sword was stopped mere inches from piercing straight through Danzo's throat-Four of his Root held tanto's to Oda's neck, ready for him to move.
The two men looked at each other right in the eye, dull brown clashed with violent teal.
"I had wanted for us to have a civil discourse, but you seem to be set against me. Now we have to resort to underhanded tactics like blackmail, shame."
"What is stopping me from slaughtering you right here, right now?" Oda asked.
"Well there's four blades for a start. But if I was to die..." Danzo leaned in and whispered in Oda's ear. "Your life would be forfeit."
Danzo walked back to the desk and brought out a scroll, laying it flat. Now I think you have no choice but to accept my deal."
Oda, even in his current situation had kept a rather lighthearted demeanor-Even looking around at the Root and chuckling at them.
"You seem to know quite a bit about me Danzo, even though I had gone to great lengths to stay away from the village." He said nonchalantly, as if there wasn't four blades about to slice through his neck.
"I make it my job to know everything that pertains to Konoha and it's enemies. After all. Knowledge is power."
"Well it Looks like you overestimated your knowledge. Dumbass." Danzo's eye narrowed, but faster then he or the root could react, Oda had formed a one handed tiger seal. The four tanto's pressed against his skin, were made of chakra metal, and all he needed was a conductor.
"KNEEL!" Oda's command thundered through their eardrums with such force it could cause a concussion. The four root fell down to their knees as if they were prostrating before their god on judgement day.
Oda slowly walked toward Danzo, each step made the whole room shake. He walked right up to him, Their faces mere inches apart, Neither man backing down.
"It was a bad move to blackmail me Danzo, I'm not the type of person to let grudges go easily."
"It was all for the sake of Konoha" Danzo replied.
The two men found themselves in a stalemate. Oda could kill him at a moments notice, but Danzo had a dead man's switch that would release whatever information he had on Oda, if he was to be killed.
"I guess I'll take your offer, seeing as there is no other option that doesn't involve you dead or my reputation ruined." Oda reluctantly admitted.
Danzo turned to the side and pointed to his scroll. "Shall we start?"
And so the most unstable business relationship in the shinobi nations began.
Fugaku walked briskly through the bustling Konoha streets, his eyes set forward towards an inevitable destination. As he was walking he didn't notice that he was exuding a slight aura, people had started to part as if he was splitting through water.
He couldn't say for sure but something felt...off. It wasn't a sense of danger, no he had developed quite the sense for that through the years. It was more akin to a sense of uneasiness, like someone or something was actively working against him.
There was something going in his clan, he had heard whispers of dissent against him and against the village. Whether that was justified was a different question.
But the feeling didn't come from that, no all of that could be dealt with in due time. This feeling was gnawing at him, and he didn't know why.
That frustrated him to no end. However he was brought out of his thoughts by the distinct smell of ramen hitting his nostrils, signifying he had reached his destination.
Fugaku parted the door curtains to the best ramen shop in the village, and sat down on one of the stools. "I'll be right with you!" Came a voice from the kitchen.
"Take whatever time you need." Whatever business the chef was doing stopped immediately, and from out the back a young Teuchi emerged.
"Fugaku!" He said flipping the dishwashing towel over his shoulder. "Well I'll be. I haven't seen you in years! Glad you got through the war alright."
"Same to you as well, I'm glad to see to that you've finally accomplished your dreams with this place." Fugaku looked around the quaint little shop. "It's. Pleasant."
Teuchi smiled at the man's compliments, his small talk had improved through the years. "Well Fugaku what brings you to my little ramen shop? Shall I bring you a fresh steaming bowl of my signature dish?"
"Thank you but I will decline, I'm actually here to meet with Minato of all people. Who should be here by now." Teuchi was somehow able to convoy surprise in his ever squinting eyes.
"Official business it is then, to think that my humble place of business would be used by people of such power." Teuchi reached down underneath the counter and pulled out a bottle. "Sake from the land of hot springs, share a cup with me for old times sake." Teuchi poured out two cups for the both of them.
Fugaku stared at the cup for a few odd seconds before grabbing it. "Hn. Very well then." Both of them raised the cups to the sky in a toast.
"To old acquaintances." Teuchi said.
"To old acquaintances." Fugaku repeated.
The sake was smooth and sweet, and it made fugaku relax his muscles. "This is quite good Teuchi, a fine brew." He extended his cup for another drink
Teuchi poured and downed another round. "A souvenir from the land of honey. Smoothest sake in all the elemental nations."
A burst of wind blew open the door curtains, bringing the gentlemen's attention away from the delicious sake.
In through the curtain door walked the Minato. Odd, the soon to be Fourth Hokage was never known to be tardy, especially with his abilities.
Quickly he sat down on the stool next to Fugaku, "Sorry I'm late Fugaku, I was help up."
Fugaku looked over his friend from head to toe. His appearance was quite disheveled, as if he had put on his clothes in an extremely hurried manner.
There was an underlying layer of sweat coming off of him, as well as a faint scent of something sweet wafting off him.
"Is that? Strawberry's?" His nose was proven true when he saw the unmistakable smudge of red lipstick upon Minato's collar. "Hn, Looks like the wife required him, That does explain quite a bit." Fugaku thought with a smirk.
Teuchi who had also seemed to notice, shared a knowing look with Fugaku before attending to Minato. "Can I get you something Minato? It's on the house for an old teammate."
Minato looked at the chef with amused confusion. "Not as the Fourth Hokage? He asked.
"Even the Hokage has to pay for ramen my friend, my product IS the best of the best after all."
"Alright fine I'll take the teammate discount. One Miso Ramen please." Minato asked
Teuchi took out a small notepad and wrote down Minato's order. He then walked to the back and disappeared behind the stove.
"So You wanted to speak with me Minato. Speak Lord Fourth."
Minato took a deep breath to compose himself, before putting his hands together in a seal.
Fugaku didn't notice any change, but he knew enough to understand that some sort of privacy seal had activated.
Minato spoke first. "As you know the coronation event tonight will be attended by almost the whole village tonight. Even a few notable individuals from outside the village will be attending."
"Yes, It will be a day of much celebration. It will be filled by many who have waited for you to ascend to the seat of power. And many who would rather see you dead.
Despite His popularity, there were many people antagonistic to him ruling. Especially the traditionalists that wanted to keep the hat on the heads of members of major clans, and the blood hungry leaf supremacists like Danzo.
The first were opposed because of their infatuation with maintaining a chokehold on the political and commercial influence. Namely the Hyuga and Inuzuka clans.
Danzo was the only one of note in the second group, but he did have allies in every corner.
"Agreed." Minato responded. "There are many who wish to do me harm, whether they be from outside the village, or in it."
Fugaku leaned in closer to minato. "Are you worried that one of those people are going to act on their wishes tonight?
At that moment Teuchi emerged from the back with a fresh bowl, and Minato deactivated his seal.
"Here you are Mr. Namikaze. One fresh bowl of ramen, on the house." Minato thanked Teuchi and the two men walked over to one the small booths.
Minato put clapped his together "Thank you for this meal." And with speed that justified his moniker, the ramen was practically inhaled.
When he finished, the seal was reactivated and the men went back to their conversation.
"While I do believe that there are threats to me, I do not believe anyone would actually act on it." Minato stated rather confidantly.
Fugaku looked at Minato confusedly "So you asked me here to tell me that there is no threat to the village?"
Minato just looked at Fugaku with a smirk.
"Fugaku? How is the perception of the Uchiha clan within the village."
"Well over time trust has continued to increase in the clan, our efforts in the war certainly helped. Unfortunately, There is still mistrust, repercussions of the great traitor I'm afraid."
"No doubt that the clan could benefit from a boost in popularity, a strong showing of strength and loyalty."
Fugaku sneered, "Has the the police force not been strong and loyal enough?" He said in a rather biting tone. "We are wolves stripped of fangs Minato. The second Hokage created the the police force to give us responsibility. Yet in reality it was a ploy to segregate and keep us under the watchful eyes of the village leaders."
Not to mention that any sort of official shinobi judicial business fell under the jurisdiction of the anbu. Most of the work the police force was regulated to was simple crimes in the civilian population; they had no power to arrest, investigate and prosecute any shinobi that had any sort of influence.
Minato put up his hand in understanding. "And I agree with you Fugaku, The Uchiha have not been treated fairly for how much they have helped this village. But I'm going to change that." He said with a blazing fire in his eyes.
Fugaku looked at Minato stoically for a few moments. "How?" He asked.
Minato smiled in a way that only he could, his goals inched ever closer.
"Like we said earlier, the coronation tonight would be a perfect spot for an assassination attempt on my life. And rumors can spread very very fast.
"So we tell the public that there could be an attack tonight, but in reality there is no threat at all. But how does that correlate to my clan?"
"Well if there was a concern for my life...what could be a better show of trust to the Uchiha clan than being front and center as the official guards for the event. 10 of your best men to stand by my side in display for the whole village."
Fugaku put his hand to his chin in a thinking posture. "Hnn, It's not a game changer, but it is a start."
Minato nodded his head in approval and extended his hand. "One step at a time."
Fugaku grabbed Minato's hand in a firm handshake, one between two men who trusted and respected one another deeply.
"One step at a time."
(Minutes before the ceremony)
The crown roared in thunderous applause as they waited in front of the Hokage Tower for their new kage. An enthusiastic chant of "MINATO! MINATO! MINATO!" Echoed throughout the entire village. The people loved Minato, and right now they would let the whole world know.
Holding back the massive wave of people, front and center for all to see, was the Uchiha Police force-with Fugaku himself at the front. They stood firm and proud. Proud to be able to serve one such as Minato, and firm in their will to protect him.
When Fugaku had informed them of Minato's decision to put the front and center for all to see, the whole clan gained a sense of respect for him. They hailed him as an ally of the clan, some even went as far as to say they would pledge their lives to him.
"Get back!" He yelled to a group of over zealous citizens, Flashing his sharingan at them to scare them away. He received some glares in return, as well as a few curses and muttering of red eyed demons. The Police force stood strong, never wavering or shaking. For they had a new person to put their trust in. They had a kage they could trust-Minato Namikaze.
Minato stared intensely at himself in the bathroom mirror. In it he found little imperfections in his face that he had never known were there. His eyes weren't perfectly aligned, he had several moles on his skin and there were a few scars that has appeared sometime during the war.
Beads of sweat flowed from his golden hair all the way to his chin. His heart thumped so loudly he could hear it, yet even louder were the thousands outside cheering his name, over and over and over again.
Something felt off, why was his hand shaking? Why was there a shivering feeling crawling up his back? Why did he feel so nervous? He had been prepared for a long time now, this was his goal, his dream. In this village full of thousands of people, why did he feel so alone?
When he accepted the hat, the weight of the village would fall onto his shoulders. By his order thousands would live and die, he would no longer be a simple soldier on the battlefield.
The reality of the situation hit him, how could he ever hope to change the way the world worked? To stop the ever consuming conflict, once and for all. He was just one man. Suddenly, a different feeling wrapped itself around him, a warm embrace. "Are you okay?" Asked a soft comforting voice. "I felt your chakra from outside." Kushina held onto him with such care, as if she was holding something extremely fragile.
"Just stay with me for a moment." Minato asked, something Kushina was more than happy to oblige with. Slowly, he felt the negative emotions fading away as she channeled her chakra into him, and he hugged her back. The two of them stayed there in each others arms for a few minutes, basking in the others presence.
"I know that I must do this, I must take the hat, I must protect everyone. I-I'm just afraid, that I won't be able to. What if I'm not fit to be-"
Kushina cut him off by kissing him passionately, much to his surprise. When she finished Minato was had a rather adorable blush on his face, which caused her to giggle.
"Idiot. You can and will protect everyone, you've done it your whole life and you always will." She said while sifting her hands through his hair. "And do you know why?"
"Why?" Minato asked.
"Because you are Minato Namikaze. Not the brave soldier, not the wise leader, but Minato the man who I love." Kushina said with a smile so infectious he couldn't help but smile himself.
"Thank you." He said, letting go of her and straightening up. In the presence of his wife all his worries seemed to vanish, he had peace.
"Now, let's go. The whole village awaits." He nodded and the two of them left the bathroom.
Outside Hiruzen and a few others had been waiting for him. When he exited the bathroom they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Minato my boy are you ready?" Hiruzen asked. He was met with an enthusiastic nod from Minato.
"Good. Speaker!" He yelled to a well dressed man with long grey hair. "You may begin the ceremony."
"Yes my lord." The man responded and walked up the stairs to the roof. Soon after they could hear him speaking to the crowd though a very powerful microphone.
Minato looked around. "Wait where are Kakashi and Rin?" He asked to the group. "I asked them to be here." On his biggest day he wanted his two beloved students to stand by his side.
"I don't know but we must continue with the coronation Minato. They're probably just held up in the crowd." Hiruzen said.
Minato reluctantly agreed. But he still wanted them here.
Five minutes later the speaker was ending the introductory ceremony. Minato was tapping his foot on the ground anxiously, looking for his students to pop up.
"AND NOW PRESENTING TO YOU. YOUR NEXT HOKAGE. MINATO! NAMIKAZE!" the masses erupted in a roaring cry. "MINATO! MINATO!"
Hiruzen looked over to Minato with pide in his eyes. "They're ready. Yondaime."
Minato was sad that his students weren't here, but nevertheless he started his ascent up the stairs-Hiruzen by his side.
The crowds chants seemed to sync with every step he took up.
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
His heart started to beat faster.
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
"SENSEI!" That cry wasn't like the rest. "SENSEI!" Two desperate cries rang out from behind him. He turned around and surprisingly saw Kakashi and Rin running towards him, panicked looks on their faces,
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
"MINATO!"
Minato had a horrible feeling in his gut. Something was terribly, horribly wrong. "Get away from the roof!"
there was a deafening noise, a blinding light, and Minato lost consciousness; as the roof of the of the Hokage Tower exploded.
Chapter End
Sorry for the long wait. Have a good one.