Welcome one and all to the rewrite of my long abandoned Forest Dweller story. This story has gone through many different versions in my head and I have finally settled on this one. This will be a "Dark Timeline" story. Things aren't going to go the way you expect them to. Something akin to the Fallen Hero timeline from the Legend of Zelda timeline. The updates will be horribly inconsistent so read at your own discretion. With that, I hope you enjoy the read!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Bijuu talking"
'Bijuu thinking'
THOSE WHO DWELL AMONGST THE LEAVES
Smoke. Soot. Fire and screams. The Sandaime Hokage stood above his village looking down on the mayhem and chaos the Kyuubi had caused. He felt a sense of relief that the battle was over with as minimal casualties as one could expect. That relief dissipated as quickly as it came as the baby in his arms began to cry. He looked down at young Naruto and felt a pang of pain in his chest. Minato and Kushina were gone. Their sacrifice to the village was of a level monuments would be created. And no one would be able to know that they did it. This would need to be kept on a low profile until they could figure out what had happened and how the Kyuubi broke free in the first place. Without Kushina and Minato however, the information they had was minimal.
The Sandaime was pulled from his thoughts as an ANBU appeared next to him.
"My lord, the clan leaders and the council are meeting now to discuss what happens next. Will you meet with them?"
'I'm getting too old for this…'
"Yes, I'll meet with them now. Let them know that I will be there shortly."
The ANBU disappeared in a shunshin, leaving Hiruzen alone. He looked down at Naruto again. "It's a heavy burden you bear Naruto. I will help you however I can." The baby stopped crying and looked up at him. His blue eyes lit up with the flickering of the flames that glowed below.
The Sandaime turned and used a shunshin of his own, not looking forward to the meeting he was about to have.
Hiruzen walked into the council meeting room to a cacophony of arguments and yelling. He had expected this and did not overtly announce his arrival. He simply walked to the head of the table and sat down. As he did so, the others slowly noticed, calmed down, and became silent, looking to him for answers.
Hiruzen took a deep breath and steeled himself. Now was not the time to be emotional. There would be time to mourn once the organization was handled.
"I'm glad to see all of you are alive and well. This attack is unprecedented and will have drastic effects on our ability to show our strength outwardly. Effective immediately, all clans are to recall their members from the borders and will be replaced with Anbu and Jounin of B class or higher. Patrols around the village will be handled by Shikaku. You will all report to him directly for assignments of your clan members."
He looked to Shikaku as the man nodded. Always pragmatic and logical, he was the right choice to head the defence of the village in this hour of disaster.
"Inoichi will continue to head our intelligence network and will work in conjunction with other sensor types on patrols to create and maintain a constant vigil in a thirty mile radius around the village. If a butterfly enters that radius, I want to know about it. Are we all understood?"
A chorus of nods or verbal affirmatives was all Hiruzen needed.
"Shibi, Inoichi, I would like at least one member of each of your clans in each squad that will be heading out. I understand this will stretch you thin, but it is a necessity. Hiashi, for each team that cannot have one of their members, I will request a Hyuuga to fill in each role. Chouza, I would like the Akimichi to head the recovery efforts with some small assistance from the other clans non active members. You will coordinate with the hospital and assist with supplies and transportation. Fugaku, I would like the Uchiha to continue their role as police and help to maintain a status quo while this rebuilding process goes. I do not want chaos in the streets. Tsume, I need the Inuzuka…"
Hiruzen was cut off as the doors to the council chamber opened and in walked Shimura Danzo. Inwardly he frowned, his face showing nothing of what he was feeling. This wouldn't bode well at all.
"Hiruzen. I see we are in the process of the recovery efforts. I will lend what help I can." He took his seat at the opposite side of the table, the room growing eerily quiet.
A sigh escaped Hiruzen, unknowingly, as he felt the tension build in the room once more. "Danzo. Of course your help will be needed in the months to come." He eyed Danzo, wondering what he was planning at this point. Ever a nationalist, the man would be more concerned about the recovery of the village than power grabs at this point in time.
Danzo cleared his throat and Hiruzen watched as everyone turned to look at him. A commanding presence indeed.
"It seems a new Jinchuriki has been created. Were you planning on informing the council and clan heads of this?"
Hiruzen frowned. Danzo's spy network must have been working tirelessly if they already knew about Naruto. A problem for another day. Hiruzen nodded to him.
"The recovery of the village and the efforts required there are of more importance than our Jinchuriki's status. There is plenty that still needs to be explained. Minato is gone. As is Kushina. They gave their lives to seal the Kyuubi within young Naruto here."
He watched as the council members each showed different emotions. Shikaku, Inoichi, Hiashi, and Choza all showed a brief moment of sadness before returning to their neutral faces. Tsume allowed anger to enter her features and they remained there. Shibi was unreadable behind his glasses. Danzo was expressionless, clearly knowing the outcome already. He cleared his throat again.
"You should allow me to oversee the boy. I could train him and turn him into an asset for this village." The frown that Hiruzen showed was an intentional one.
"Naruto will be handled by myself as I see fit. Do not think to overstep your station, Danzo. The boy will be protected until such a time that he can begin training, should he so choose to do so."
Danzo frowned at him and he felt the tension intensify. This was not going well.
"You are too soft, Hiruzen. Especially now, we need to show strength more than ever. The other villages will find out about this sooner, rather than later. If we take steps now to protect the village, we will be able to maintain our status as untouchable. Don't let your love of Minato blind you to the steps that need to be taken."
Hiruzen felt his fuse ignite, his patience evaporating. "Enough!" He flared his chakra, cracks appearing in the table in front of him. "I will not be questioned to this degree. With Minato gone, I will resume the title of Hokage until such a time that a replacement can be found. As such, you will all resume the chain of command and all that comes with it. Understood?"
Danzo leaned back in his chair before slowly standing, and left the room. As he walked past Hiruzen, he leaned in. "This will not be the last we speak of this."
With Danzo gone, the tension in the room dissipated. He regretted not having reigned Danzo in when they were younger. The man was as much a political enemy as he was an asset. Hiruzen sat back down and allowed himself a moment to calm down, gently rocking Naruto who had not seemed bothered by the loudness or chakra from before. He looked up and saw the other members of the council eyeing Naruto, a mix of emotions on their faces once more. He sighed for the hundredth time that day.
Hiruzen held Naruto for them to see. "This is Uzumaki Naruto. He has an incredible burden to carry for this village. I expect all of you to assist with protecting him. Regardless of any personal opinions, understood?"
There was another chorus of confirmations. "You all have your assignments and who to report to. Tsume, see Shikaku for assisting either with recovery or patrols. Any of you have any questions, speak with Shikaku. Shikaku, we will meet in a few hours to go over specifics or questions. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication. This disaster will not stop the Will of Fire and we will come back from it stronger than ever. Dismissed."
The council members quickly left, leaving just Hiruzen and young Naruto. He snapped his fingers and an ANBU appeared beside him.
"Let Biwako know that we will have company for the next few weeks. She will be happy to hear that there will be another baby in the Sarutobi household." The ANBU didn't move, shifting uncomfortably.
"My lord, Biwako was found along with her apprentice. They didn't make it, sir." Hiruzen felt his world spin. Biwako was with Kushina for the birth of Naruto. Whatever happened with the seal led to the death of his wife. He passed Naruto to the ANBU as he stood and took a few steps to try and steady himself. Whether due to exhaustion or the weight of this news, he felt his legs shake, using a chair near him to steady himself.
"Take Naruto to Kakashi. He is being given an A rank mission to watch him for the next twenty four hours. He is to not let him out of his sight. Send out a message to Jiraiya and Tsunade. They are being recalled for the recovery effort. If Tsunade doesn't answer, send a squad and let them know she is to be brought back by force if necessary. I am not to be bothered for the next hour by anyone. Dismissed."
The ANBU disappeared with a shunshin, leaving Hiruzen alone. He made several hand seals and placed his hand on the floor, a seal array traveling across the room, creating a soundproof barrier. He fell to his knees, the tears springing to his eyes unbidden. The culmination of so much loss, the attack, and now this was too much for the aging Kage. He allowed himself the decency to mourn Biwako earnestly, honestly, and without regret.
The hour came and passed, the seal was released and Hiruzen rose from the floor. He was the Hokage and the hour he took was selfish, but necessary. There would be time to mourn again later. He left the council chambers and headed for the Hokage tower. He moved slowly, the fighting from earlier weighing on him. He made his way through the streets and took in the devastation. People were flooding into the streets guided by either Akimichi or Uchiha members, heading back to their homes or remnants to see what they could salvage. The cries of loss went out long into the night as the sun began to crest on the horizon.
Hiruzen fielded questions from shinobi of all ranks as they were in and out of his office. He wrote letters to the Fire Daimyo and had it sent out via a squad of ANBU. They were stretched thin. Now was a time to show strength, as Danzo had said but he didn't have the personnel to truly make it happen. He would need ROOT.
Finally, towards the afternoon, as the recovery effort was truly in full swing and the chain of command had been formally established, Hiruzen called for Danzo. The man was there within minutes, expecting this call it seems.
He sauntered in, taking a seat in front of him, placing his one good arm on his lap, patiently waiting for Hiruzen to speak.
"I will need the assistance of your ROOT members in order to secure the border and ensure there is not an untimely leak of information to the other nations." Danzo smirked.
"Ah, now in private we can speak of the dirtier things, Hiruzen? Yes, I will lend you my ROOT agents as you are requesting. I can cover each border to the other four, allowing you to use our ANBU to handle the minor countries."
"My Anbu will handle the borders to Kawa no Kuni, Ame no Kuni, Kusa no Kuni, and Tetsu no Kuni. I will need your ROOT to cover the coast towards Uzu no Kuni, Nami no Kuni, Mizu no Kuni, and Cha no Kuni. The Jounin I have will handle everything else."
Danzo's smirk left his face as the verbal sparring was in full force. He cut right to the chase.
"Hiruzen, allow me to train the boy. You know of my success with ROOT. I will make him this village's greatest asset."
"No. You know how we do things. How those who taught us did things. We will continue the Will of Fire and keep things going as we always have."
Danzo slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "That isn't good enough! Look at how their way of doing things has gotten us. We are the strongest village of the five. All we need to do is exert our influence and make some strategic moves and the other four will be helpless against us. Give me the boy Hiruzen. Let's take this step together."
Hiruzen looked at his old rival and saw the fire in his heart like when they were younger. That drive to do more and be more. But in that fire he saw the shadow and darkness behind it. In the light it would appear one way, but in the shadows it would be something else. If he gave him Naruto, the boy would not come out of it unscathed..
"No Danzo. I will not spit on the heritage and tradition of this village. We will hold ourselves to a higher standard and take the hard path. We do this because it is hard, not in spite of it. It's easy to kill, to take control, to mold things as we see fit. But that is not the way of the future. It is not the way of our children's children to be controlled and be simple pawns in our game. I will not hear of this from you again."
Danzo rose again, turning his back before looking over his shoulder. "You will come to regret this decision Hiruzen. Sooner or later, your choices are going to come back to bite you. Look how you handled Orochimaru. You have been too soft for too long and we will be the ones who have to deal with the repercussions."He walked out, closing the door silently behind him.
Hiruzen felt the sting of those words and couldn't help but feel that he could be right. His reign was filled with war starting back with the Second Great Ninja War when he took over from the Nidaime. He took steps to transfer power during a more peaceful era after the ending of the Third Great Ninja War with Minato. Now here he was, a tired, broken man whose very morals were being constantly questioned by those around him.
He leaned back and pulled out a tobacco pipe from a secret compartment in the desk. Seemed Minato never found it. He had intended it as a gift. A second compartment had tobacco that he routinely went about packing, tamping, and lighting, taking a long draw and feeling the familiar taste of the leaf. This was all too much too fast. However, he had no choice but to buckle down and lead his village as he had in the past.
He stood and turned, facing the village and admiring how already, the villages came together in unity to help one another. This was the Will of Fire. This was what the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage's fought and died for. What Minato fought and died for. What he would fight and die for. Some things needed to change and it needed to start with him. He would not allow another catastrophic event to cripple his village. Mark his words, the Professor would do whatever was needed to protect his people. Naruto included. That was a promise.
A.N
Chapter one complete. A quick intro to the world you know and love. Keep an eye out for the next one and I will see you next time.