"Now that you're a jounin, you're eligible to hold the title of clan head." Tsunade pulled a scroll from her desk drawer and unrolled it. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"There isn't exactly an Uchiha clan left for me to be head of, you know."
"Thank Uchiha Madara," she shrugged. "At the founding of the village, he demanded a clause in the law specifying that as long as a single Uchiha remained in the village, they would be considered a great clan. Same thing applies to the Senju, Sarutobi, Uzumaki, and Hyuuga clans as well."
"So Naruto's a clan head too?"
"Once he reaches tokubetsu or full jounin, he will be. Sign this and add a drop of your blood." The scroll was just a form legally recognising my new position, so I did as asked. "Good. Now we can get to business. The next village council meeting is tonight, and I need you there."
"Me?" I furrowed my brow. "What's so important about me being there?"
"Shimura Danzo," she practically spat the name, "and the other elders want to force Naruto back home before his training is done and pass a law preventing jinchuriki from leaving the village for any reason during peacetime. Apparently they saw that Kiri only had one jinchuriki in the village when you went over there and want to make sure we're never caught without ours. I think Danzo just wants an excuse to keep you both on a short leash in case he ever decides we need more pliable jinchuriki." I grimaced. Of course the old bastard would not hesitate to kill Naruto or I if it meant one of his brainwashed pawns could inherit our bijuu. I doubted he would make a move on me while Itachi was still alive, but Naruto was a different matter.
"You're the Hokage, can't you just tell them where to go?"
"Technically yes. Practically? If I ignore the council without a damn good justification, I'll look like I'm putting personal feelings ahead of the village. Convince enough people of that, and…" There was no need for her to finish. I had just seen first-hand the consequences of a kage losing political legitimacy in the eyes of their shinobi.
"Alright. Let's talk strategy."
The meeting took place at seven in the evening in a large room one floor below Tsunade's office. There was a long rectangular oak table and chairs in the centre of the room. The chair at the head was engraved with the kanji for fire, while some others were similarly marked with the crests of the great clans: Uchiha, Sarutobi, Hyuuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Inuzuka. Eight more were unmarked, presumably reserved for the village elders and the civilian representatives, and extra seats with the crests of the Senju and Uzumaki were sat out of the way against a wall. On the back wall hung images of the five Hokage, the first three of which were painted portraits and the last two photographs. There were no windows, and seals discretely placed in the corners would ensure that no sound escaped the room during meetings. Tsunade and I were the first to arrive and take our places, her at the head of the table and me in the Uchiha spot. I leaned back, arms behind my head, and waited.
Not long after us, Homura and Koharu entered.
"Uchiha-san," the latter spoke, sounding uncomfortable. "Your presence is… Unexpected."
"Utatane-san. I received my jounin promotion and took my position earlier today. That isn't a problem, is it?" She scowled, but did not answer. Homura shot me a searching look, and both took their seats beside Tsunade and withdrew papers from their robes.
After that was the civilian councillors, all of whom arrived in a group. They were whispering amongst themselves, sparing the shinobi representatives little attention. According to Tsunade, they were the ones most likely to cause me trouble, but also the least influential. They would probably go with whatever the elders, and particularly Danzo, suggested, but in the event of a disagreement between them and the Shinobi heads, the latter took precedence.
Asuma arrived next, Hiruzen having stepped down as head of the Sarutobi clan to enjoy his retirement. He gave me a nod of acknowledgement before sitting down, as did Hiashi Hyuuga when he showed up not long after. He was followed by the Inuzuka matriarch, who shot me a toothy grin.
"A new face, huh?" Her spot happened to be beside mine, and she held out her hand. "Inuzuka Tsume," she introduced. She had a strong grip.
"Uchiha Makoto. Pleasure to meet you, Inuzuka-san." Her nose twitched, and for the briefest moment a look of surprise crossed her face before being replaced by an even wider grin. Can she smell Isobu? I wondered. I remembered once overhearing Kiba mention that Naruto smelled faintly of fox, so it was no surprise that his mother would pick up on the Sanbi. If this was the case, then her reaction told me that my nature had yet to become public knowledge, a fact I could potentially exploit during the meeting.
"No need to be so formal, you can drop the honorifics," she offered casually.
"Likewise."
Next up was Shibi Aburame, who took his place silently. It was hard to tell due to his sunglasses, but I was pretty sure he was staring at me. It would seem his insects were just as good at sniffing out jinchuriki as Tsume's nose.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio arrived together, and Inoichi greeted me with a smile.
"Makoto-san, I haven't seen you in a while. Are you doing well?"
"I'm good. I don't think I'll be needing another appointment for a while, but I'll let you know if that changes." He nodded. The others introduced themselves and sat down.
The last to arrive was Danzo, who merely shot me an inscrutable look before silently taking his place. Everyone was present now. At the head of the table was Tsunade. Beside her were Koharu and Homura, then in opposite pairs: Danzo and Hiashi, Inoichi and I, Asuma and Tsume, Choza and Shikaku, then Shibi with an empty space, followed by the five civilian representatives. Amusingly, the old civilian sat beside Shibi was keeping as much distance from the insect-user as her chair would allow.
"Alright, let's get started," began Tsunade. "First order of business, Jounin Uchiha Makoto has assumed headship of the Uchiha Clan and is therefore a permanent member of this council."
"I object!" the woman beside Shibi spoke up immediately, only to be cut off by Asuma.
"You don't get to object to shinobi council members, Haruno-san," he said politely, but with the air of someone who had to deal with this kind of thing all the time and was deeply sick of it. I would have been sympathetic if I did not know that I would be putting up with her too from now on. The woman crossed her arms and huffed petulantly.
Haruno? She's too old to Sakura's mother. Another relative? What's she got against me? I wondered. Jade green eyes noticeably darted away from my own Sharingan crimson any time I glanced in her general direction.
"I'm sure my colleague meant no disrespect," another civilian spoke up, this one a man who looked to be in his early-to-mid thirties clothed in a fine blue kimono with a gold dragon motif. He was well-groomed and his posture suggested he was the kind of man who was used to getting his own way. "Though we must question the presence of such a young and inexperienced lady. Perhaps allowing a more… Worldly retainer to take her place as the Uchiha representative until such time as she is of a suitable age would be prudent?" The other clan heads bristled at the suggestion. Any shinobi who had worked their way up to jounin rank would be offended at such an insinuation of naivete.
"Are you suggesting that I am unqualified for my position, councillor?" I asked without bothering to even look at him, masking my irritation with affected boredom. The audible gulp that followed suggested that he understood how badly he had misstepped.
"N-no, Uchiha-sama, of course not. I merely-"
"Enough. This foolishness gets us nowhere." Danzo's cyclopean glare instantly silenced the civilian. "Let us move on to the reason this meeting was called: the jinchuriki."
It was interesting – the moment he said that, precisely three people glanced in my direction momentarily: Tsume Inuzuka and the other two elders. So the three of them plus Danzo and Shibi definitely knew, the other ninja probably did not know, and the civvies definitely did not. The Inuzuka was clearly unbothered, perhaps even angling for a clan alliance judging by her friendliness, so I could probably count on her to take my side. Shibi was as all Aburame I had ever met: an inscrutable wall, though if he was anything like his son he would likely take the most rational course of action, as would Shikaku. Inoichi and Choza would follow their friend's lead. Asuma and Hiashi were unknown quantities. The elders would follow Danzo, and the civilians would probably act against me out of fear.
"I move that Uzumaki Naruto be recalled to the village, effective immediately," Danzo proposed. "And that jinchuriki be banned from leaving the boundaries of the village except in times of war."
"I concur. The Kirigakure loyalists were caught with only one of their jinchuriki in the village, and they lost their civil war as a result." Homura pushed his glasses up. "We cannot allow ourselves to be caught off-guard without ours."
"I disagree." Shikaku shook his head. "Jinchuriki tend to be among the strongest in their villages. Confining them here would not only be a waste of their talents, but also deprive them of experience and stunt their growth."
"Hold on," one of the civilians interrupted angrily, a middle-aged man in red with an impressive salt-and-pepper beard. "You speak as if we have multiple demon containers in the village. We were only aware of the Kyuubi brat, is there another we were not informed of? How do you justify keeping such a threat to our safety a secret!?" The other civilians loudly voiced their agreement, only to be silenced by Tsunade's hand slamming the table.
"Enough! If someone," and here she glared at Danzo, "hadn't leaked the information against Sensei's will, you wouldn't even know about Uzumaki-san! The second jinchuriki was acquired only days ago. Uchiha-san?"All attention now fell on me.
"Two days ago, I returned from a mission to Mizu no Kuni in which I lead a three-person team to assist the Bloodline Rebels in their civil war. The details are classified, but during the final battle, the Sanbi was extracted from the Yondaime Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, and sealed within a member of the squad."
"And who was on this mission with you?" Hiashi asked.
"Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura." Haruno blanched on hearing her relative's name.
"Losing Kakashi-san from our active roster would be difficult," Asuma mused, scratching at his beard, and I smiled.
"What makes you think Kakashi-senpai is the one in question?" The looks on their faces as they figured it out were priceless.
Well, most of them figured it out. The ungodly screech from Haruno could only mean she had come to the complete wrong conclusion.
"Hatake-san turned my granddaughter into a demon!?" A glare was enough to stop her cold.
"First: jinchuriki are not demons. Second: I am the one who performed the sealing. Third: I am the new Sanbi jinchuriki."
Immediately, there was a panic amongst the civilian councillors, whose shrieks of fear and outrage would no doubt have drawn the guards from outside if the room were not soundproofed.
Typical. I lazily rested my head in my hand and rolled my eyes. "Were the villagers of Kiri like this too, Isobu-sama?"
"Yes. It seems humans are largely the same no matter where they live."
"Silence!" Tsunade once more shouted and pounded the table which, combined with a little killing intent, subdued the panic. Idly, I wondered if the table had been reinforced specifically to survive her absurd strength. Certainly none of my furniture would remain intact for long under such abuse.
"Uchiha-san," Shibi spoke up as soon as the ruckus calmed, "I would like to hear how you achieved this, and your reasoning for doing so." The others around the table all looked to be listening intently.
"I used a modified Uzumaki sealing jutsu I learned from the personal fox summon of Uzumaki Mito. Karatachi-san was too powerful to defeat conventionally, and this was the method with the greatest chance of success. As Sakura-san was overseeing the rebel medic-nin and Kakashi-senpai was engaging the loyalist forces elsewhere, the only available hosts were myself, Terumi Mei, and Momochi Zabuza. The technique I used required constant chakra contact between caster, bijuu, and host, so the most reliable solution was for me to act as both sealer and host."
"We shall have to examine the seal to ensure its stability," Danzo asserted, and I immediately pushed back, not wanting anyone with ties to that shady bastard going anywhere near it.
"The seal is an Uzumaki clan secret entrusted to the foxes in strict confidence. No one else gets to see it, nor will I be teaching it to anyone." The elders bristled, but there was nothing they could do. Village law was very clear on the subject of clan secrets: as a non-Uzumaki, I could not legally reveal it without the clan head's permission even if I wanted to, and until Naruto was promoted again, there would be no Uzumaki clan head to ask. Even then, Naruto could not order me to do so because I was not an Uzumaki and therefore not subject to his command; he could only permit the secret's release, not demand it.
Basically, there was no way anyone in the village could compel me to let them examine the seal or pass on the jutsu used to apply it.
"Well, as a jinchuriki yourself, what do you think of Shimura-san's proposal?" Asuma asked.
"I am opposed. Nara-san's reasoning is sound; my skills would be both stunted and wasted by confinement to the village, as would Naruto-san's. Besides, a similar argument could be made for keeping other elite jounin-level shinobi in the village – Guy-san is stronger than Naruto and I, do you intend on keeping him in confinement, too? What about the clan heads, who would be instrumental in organising and leading any defensive action? Where do we draw the line?"
"I agree," Hiashi added. "Excess caution can be just as dangerous as excess aggression."
"If we hold back our strongest ninja, the other villages will think we're weak," said Tsume. "We need to show our strength on missions, otherwise we're inviting an attack." There were murmurs of agreement amongst the other clan heads, and Tsunade smiled.
"All in favour of recalling Uzumaki Naruto to the village at once and confining jinchuriki within until such time as war is declared?" Danzo, the elders, and the civilians raised their hands. "All opposed?" All of the clan heads raised our hands. "That's eight for and eight against. As tie breaker, I vote against the motion. The motion fails." Danzo's visible eye narrowed and the other elders shook their heads, but they accepted their defeat. There was grumbling from the civilians as well, though none of them protested openly. "If no one else has any proposals, that will conclude the meeting." Danzo was the first to stand and leave, and despite his carefully contained manner, his immense displeasure was clear. At that moment, I decided.
Danzo was becoming a problem. It was time for him to go.