(Thank you to ScarredPunLover, MetalDragon, Sunny, and KoreanWriter for their help brainstorming and editing.)
The garden behind the Sarutobi estate was precisely as it had been when Orochimaru had last visited, for what had turned out to be his final conversation with his Teacher. The neatly ordered rows of fully-grown herbs, each with labels written in an achingly familiar hand, were ripe for the harvest soon to come as autumn drew on. Nothing had changed from that last visit, and Orochimaru could almost hear the parting words he had thrown at his Teacher on the breeze, all frustration and spite.
Almost nothing has changed, the Hokage corrected himself, approaching the tent erected over a patch of the garden.
Guarded by a pair of Anbu and attended by an Aburame chuunin, it was all too clear what awaited him below the canvas.
Beside him, Jiraiya sucked at his teeth, a wet, almost hissing sound. His comrade's steps faltered and Orochimaru wondered if he would be approaching the white-walled tent on his own. But, after only a breath, his old teammate was again at his side, his geta rattling over the sun-hardened clay.
"Lord Hokage," the Aburame greeted, the two guardian Anbu offering only their silence for a salute. "Per your orders, nobody and nothing has touched Lord Hiruzen or his possessions. He remains exactly as he was discovered."
My orders? Ah, Jiraiya must have helped himself to my seal… I'd chide him for it later, if I didn't think it would bounce off his imperviously thick skull completely.
And… Usurpation or not, someone had to give the order.
I wasn't here.
Under the weight of Biwako's quiet, polite, implacable judgment, Orochimaru nodded gravely to the waiting chuunin, acknowledging the report.
"And who was it who initially discovered the Lord Third?" Jiraiya almost certainly knew the answer, but Orochimaru still asked the question.
It is, he decided,important to demonstrate that I am already making inquiries now, from this earliest moment. That I remain zealous in my duties and fully in command of my capabilities.
"It was Lady Biwako, lord," the chuunin answered. "After the gate guard told her that Lord Hiruzen's… guest had left the compound at speed, she came down to check on him."
Biwako? A puzzle piece slid into place in Orochimaru's mind. Of course it was Biwako who found him. Who else would have intruded upon a private moment between past and present Hokages…? Especially if the supposed Hokage had just taken to his heels like a greengenin. Biwako knows me well enough to recognize immediately how out of character that would be.
"I see." His voice was studied, level. In command of himself and his emotions. "I wish to see my predecessor."
"Of course, Lord Hokage." The chuunin drew back, leaving the path to the tent open. "Should I continue to hold back the insects from the Lord Third?"
"Yes," Orochimaru curtly replied, barely caring. It was as if his entire world had narrowed to those hanging veils of white cloth. "Do… that."
The flaps of the tent parted before his hand, and Orochimaru couldn't quite recall taking the six or seven steps between where he had been and the tent. Now, it was his turn to pause, surveying the scene within until Jiraiya nudged him forward, across the threshold.
Whoever had come to visit Teacher that last time, the old man had apparently gone to some small measure to make their conversation a comfortable one. A small table had been brought down into the garden and set up, complete with an earthenware tea service and two folding stools. The clay beneath the table and chairs was unnaturally smooth, and had clearly been flattened with the use of some Earth Release jutsu or another so the table would rest on even footing.
And on that unnaturally flattened ground, sprawled out in his dirt-stained gardening robes, was Sarutobi Hiruzen, his ever-present pipe still loosely clasped between his fingers. He had, Orochimaru noted distantly, undoubtedly slipped from his stool rather than being shoved down by his assailant. Judging by the placement of his feet and the way his body angled away from the still-standing stool, the old man had swayed in his seat, then fallen, never to rise again. His eyes were closed and a slight smile still bent the corners of his mouth upwards.
Were it not for the flecks of green speckling his lips and beard, Orochimaru would have thought that his old Teacher had merely opted to sleep out in his garden, perhaps out of some dementia-ridden fit.
"The other guy left his cup behind," Jiraiya observed, nodding to the second cup still on the table, a partner to the empty cup lying near Hiruzen's open hand. "If both cups were poisoned, we might be able to determine the substance they used."
"Unlikely," Orochimaru snorted. "I will have you know that, through me, you walk with refined company. Only the finessst and boldessst of poisoners are Mithridates. Experts too precissse in the execution of their craft to be so sssloppy as to leave such telling evidence as a cup full of their own persssonal concoction behind.
"Fortunately," the Hokage added, squatting down to peer into Hiruzen's cup, "it seems that the Aburame's kikkai have kept the contamination of Teacher's cup to a minimum. The residue should suffice for basic analysis."
Jiraiya grunted an absent affirmation, visibly moving on to examine the next angle. "This other person… We'll have to talk to the gate guard, but they weren't suspicious when 'you' came to visit. They only started asking questions when you ran straight out and down the road. Whoever was under that henge must have put on a fairly compelling performance… at least for a time. They had to have been truly convincing to keep playing the role of 'you' in front of Teacher, until he drank."
"Perhapsss," said Orochimaru, neutral as he stared down into his Teacher's dead face. The little smile on the man's face was tugging at his attention. The expression had been infuriating in life; in death, it was no less enigmatic.
What were you smiling about, Teacher? No matter how quick the poison, surely death wouldn't have come instantly. You must have known what was happening to you… But instead of attempting to avenge yourself, resist the poison, or call for help, you closed your eyes and smiled as you died…
"Besides the duty guard at the gate, were there any other witnessesss?" Orochimaru softly inquired, still not looking away from his predecessor's slack face. "Biwako said she called the Anbu; why weren't they on station to keep an eye on Teacher?"
"You know," said Jiraiya, slowly, ponderously, "I asked that same question last night, when the news first hit your desk. According to the chuunin on duty at the Sarutobi Estate last evening, Teacher himself told her and her squad to back off. And of course, they obeyed."
"Of courssse," echoed Orochimaru, his voice sour. "Of course they would. Even out of office, almost every ninja in Konoha ssstill conflates the Hokage with Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"That..." Jiraiya noted, gazing sidelong at his old friend, "doesn't seem like it will be an issue anymore."
"No," the Hokage agreed. "It doesss not."
Somehow, it seemed like the smile on his predecessor's dead face widened.
Genjutsu…?
Slipping a senbon from his sleeve, Orochimaru casually flipped the needle into the air, caught it, and speared it through the meat of his forearm without flinching.
Physical pain, Orochimaru recalled, eyes flicking around the tent for anything that could have changed, is always the most reliable way to destabilize illusions.
Nothing flickered, and nothing changed, except the brief, almost sad smile that blinked across Jiraiya's face. "No dice, eh?"
"It was worth a ssshot," Orochimaru noted, tongue flicking with agitation as he swiped a hand carefully infused with chakra over the arm and staunched the wound before any blood could contaminate the scene.
"Regardless," Jiraiya pushed on, setting the matter mercifully aside, "only the gate guard saw the fake Orochimaru enter and only the same guard and Biwako, who happened to be on her way to check up on Teacher, saw him run out. No other witnesses."
"Asuka said that they had found him in the garden," Orochimaru recalled. "Did she come when her mother summoned the Anbu?"
"I believe so, yes," allowed Jiraiya. "The three members of the Anbu squad on surveillance duty, the gate guard, Asuka, and Biwako were the ones who first found Teacher, after they saw 'you' sprint away and realized you would never do that."
"...A toxin deadly enough to kill Teacher before he could resist, in the hands of an agent capable of duping Teacher and yet too foolish to make a discreet exit. The Anbu all conveniently sent away by the victim and the clan guards all facing outwards." Orochimaru at last tore his eyes away from the meat lying at his feet to catch Jiraiya's gaze squarely. "Tell me, old friend…how likely does all that sssem to you?"
Jiraiya paused, opened his mouth…
"Lord Hokage! Lord Jiraiya!" An Anbu scraped the closed flaps of the tent, pulling the two Sannins'attention. "Lady Koharu has arrived. Lord Homura is on his way."
"Sssend her in," directed the Hokage, not bothering to lift his voice.
A moment later, the tent flap rustled aside to admit a kunoichi in her late fifties. A noted beauty in her youth, Utatane Koharu had lost that beauty along with her youth over the course of decades spent in Konoha's service. The woman who stood before the two Sannin was hard-featured and hard-eyed, with nothing in her demeanor or mien betraying a gram of sympathy or a millimeter of give.
That she wore a silk kimono heavily embroidered with floral patterns, earrings and bracelets hanging with pearls, and her signature hairpin, a gilded senbon adorned with a grand specimen matching her lesser pearls softened "The Iron Lily" not in the slightest.
The flap closed behind her, silence filling the tent as the three ninja regarded one another over the feet of the man who had been a throughline in all of their lives.
Ultimately, it was Koharu who broke the silence first. While Orochimaru had no doubt that the Iron Lily could stare a stone into blinking, he knew her as a creature of rules and propriety.
And subordinates alwaysgreeted the Hokage first.
No matter how highly placed said subordinate believes they should be.
"Lord Hokage," said Koharu at last, lowering herself to her knee and pressing a fist against her chest. "You called for me, I believe."
"Lady Koharu," Orochimaru recognized. "Jonin Utatane. Indeed I did."
When he had first come to the hat, it had taken an immense amount of self-control to not gloat openly about his elevation in front of his Teacher's old teammates. Much as the burdens of the office weighed him down, one of the few unmitigated benefits of the job in Orochimaru's eyes was how completely it had allowed him to humble Koharu and Homura. For years, he had been unimpressed by the two relics and their contribution to the progressive ossification of Konohagakure's government.
Almost as soon as the hat had settled atop his head, the newly minted Yondaime Hokage had done everything in his power to shove the pair out of the halls of power and into well-earned retirement. It was a move that could hardly have surprised the pair; neither they nor Orochimaru had made anything like a secret out of their mutual antipathy. Nor was it an unusual move for a Hokage; Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura themselves had been Teacher's replacements for his predecessor's council of advisors, elevated to positions of trust to advise and assist him in his duties just as their predecessors had advised and assisted the Nidaime before him.
Just as the cycle of the seasons brings about new leaves upon the branch, so too does the turning of the mantle bring about a changing of the guard.Orochimaru thought, almost wistful.
Still, the Hokage stared down at Koharu's upturned face, as blankly remote as the moon, it must have been a difficult development for her to swallow.
Difficult enough for her to support Danzo as an alternative Hokage, I wonder?
"As I am sure you have heard," Orochimaru stepped aside, permitting Koharu an unimpeded view of the corpse in the tent, "the Lord Third hasss been murdered."
"Yes, Lord," Koharu agreed. Not a flicker of emotion perturbed her face or her voice; by appearance, the senior kunoichi was completely untouched by the sight of her old teammate, the man at whose side she had stood since the days of Hashirama himself.
But Orochimaru could taste her agitation. No secrets could be kept from Manda's tongue, not when the organ in question could taste the air the target breathed.
Just a sense of the political ramifications of this death? Orochimaru wondered, tongue flicking out between his lips to sample the air again. The grief of losing a close teammate, and one of the remaining few who remembered the old days when you were both young and strong? Or… something deeper?
There had been rumors, long ago, that Koharu had once contested against Biwako for Hiruzen's affections. So far as Orochimaru could recall, those rumors had faded out of circulation by the time he joined Team Hiruzen. Nothing he had ever seen or heard for himself indicated even the hint of impropriety between his predecessor and his advisor.
…I suppose it doesn't really matter either way,Orochimaru decided, flicking the errant thought aside. If nothing else, Jiraiya alone is proof that even the most insufferable friends will find a way to sink their roots into you over the years.
And Tsunade is proof that it's not so easy to pry those roots out.
"As a recognized authority on the government and people of our Village Hidden in the Leaves," Orochimaru said, throwing just a hint of flattery at the veteran's feet, "do you have any thoughtsss as to whom the guilty party could be, Lady Koharu?"
"You believe the assassin came from within our ranks." It was not a question. "You are not pursuing potential foreign involvement? Every other hidden village had reason to want the God of Shinobi dead."
"Our foreign enemies of today were our enemies yesterday, just as they will be our enemiesss tomorrow," Orochimaru said, brushing her concern easily away. "If we learn that it was Kumo or Mizu who wielded the blade, what doesss it change? Would the hatred for our lifelong foes burn any hotter? Would we fight thisss blood drenched war any harder?
"I think not.
"Ah, but betrayal?" Orochimaru's lips curled into an expression that was, technically, a smile. "Betrayal always cuts the deepessst. Our worst foes are often our dearessst friendsss as well.
"Can you think, Lady Koharu, of any who Hiruzen Sarutobi trusssted enough to drink from a cup they poured, who would be willing to kill him?"
A moment of silent communication passed between the two of them. There was no question that Koharu did not understand what answer the Hokage was angling for.
The only question, Orochimaru knew,is which way the Iron Lily's scales will tilt.
So far as Orochimaru knew, Utatane Koharu had steadfastly operated under the principle that the greatest net good for Konohagakure as a whole was the only lodestar worth pursuing. No individual or group was more important than the village, and any individual, civilian or ninja, could be sacrificed to advance Konoha's goals. This policy had led Koharu to often clash with the Sandaime Hokage over the exact application of the Will of Fire and how the concept that all the village was a family should apply.
Despite agreeing with the thrust of Koharu's central thesis, Orochimaru had always found the old veteran tiresome and her arguments flawed. She was endlessly stubborn and clung to her assessments with bulldog tenacity, rendering her in his eyes hopelessly inflexible and all-together overly predictable. She, in his estimation, failed to adequately account for long-term benefits and so discounted them against short-term gains, a prime example of which had been her butting heads with Tsunade over the younger woman's push to lengthen the course of a medic-nin's training.
Then again, considering how Tsunade ran out on us, perhaps she had a point… Not that it matters now.
All that matters is, does she think that allowing Danzo to remain unchallenged represents a net good to Konoha or not?
That was thequestion, heavily hanging between them. Shimura Danzo had been her teammate too, a fellow student of the Nidaime Hokage along with Sarutobi Hiruzen. Koharu had stood at Danzo's side too, throughout the Sandaime Hokage's long reign.
Will the old Team Tobirama loyalty and the agreement between her values and the nominal values of Root compel her to side with Danzo? Or will her lingering affection for Teacher and the acceptance that I am the Hokage now and Danzo is not keep her loyal? Perhaps she might even believe Danzo truly did kill Teacher.
He did, Orochimaru remembered the rant on the night his predecessor had stepped down, attempt to do just that at least once in the past, so it isn't out of the question…
"I can…" said Utatane Koharu slowly, deliberately, "think of two."
"Oh?" Orochimaru was suddenly on alert, cold tingling up his spine. "Two names, you sssay?"
Mine and Jiraiya's, perhaps?
Despite himself, there was some part of Orochimaru that couldn't help but grin at the familiar thrill of danger. Its kiss-like caress, always so seductive, had perhaps been his first true love.
It was always in the moments of greatest risk and reward that he felt most alive.
From the corner of his eye, Orochimaru saw that his teammate's eyes had begun to glisten, shiny and wet and exactly like the black pools welling up in the sockets of one of his beloved toads. He wondered if his teammate had opened himself up to natural chakra, preparing to unleash his sage mode should Koharu declare them the murderers here and now.
"Two names," confirmed the Iron Lily, ignoring the sudden stillness in the two men looming over her. "Both of whom the… Both of whom Hiruzen trusted implicitly, and for whom he would do anything."
"Name them," snapped the Hokage, leashed tension riding his limbs.
"First, Lord Hokage," said Koharu, meeting his eyes and, still kneeling, holding them. "What are your intentions?"
The desire to lash out and break this impertinent prey's neck was almost overwhelming. How dare she impose demands on his need for answers? How dare she even think to question his wisdom and his authority?
The snake was there, abruptly at the forefront of his mind. Coldly furious, his inner serpent, the white snake whose tail wound from the grass atop the grave where his parents lay under false names across three decades filled with pain and murder to the present, when the fulfillment of all of his hopes lay nearly within his reach, opened its jaws and…
And was instantly checked by the other serpent, by the carefully groomed killer who had slithered across bloody killing fields almost since before he could even read. Who had achieved great unsung triumphs in concealed labs and battles recorded only in sealed scrolls, unknown to all among the living now save he. To that grinning serpent, what was life without death hanging in the air? What was the point of fighting if there was no risk of failure?
Where was the joy in crushing someone who didn't even try to fight back?
"You have no right to ask that question," stated the Yondaime Hokage. "But, here and now, I ssshall answer. By my will, Konohagakure shall be divided no longer, shall be blinded to itself and its purpose no longer. The village is greater than any one person, but no one who bears the Leaf shall be lost, especially not to those who put their own interessstsss foremossst and call it Konoha's good.
"We shall not hand over our own to Kumo, nor shall we bow forever before the Daimyo. All who oppose us, I shall humble. All who attack us, I shall devour, and all that shall remain of them will be the bonesss I leave in my wake.
"That, Utatane Koharu, is what I intend. A tree whose canopy casts an ever wider, ever broader ssshadow. And whose rootsss shall feed the trunk only, and not the parasssitesss clinging upon them.
"Do I make myself underssstood?"
Silence lingered in the wake of the Hokage's declaration, the very air crackling with the treasons spoken, the promises voiced.
"...The name of the first is Shimura Danzo," Koharu said at last, her answer to the unspoken question clear in her reply. "The name of the second…" she paused, lips barely parted, as if the name was caught just behind her teeth. "...is irrelevant, Lord Hokage. Shimura Danzo had Hiruzen's trust, and could have sought his death for any number of reasons."
Who did you decide not to name at the last moment, Utatane? Whose wrath could you have feared so much that you censored yourself at the very brink of sharing your suspicions…?
She was, Orochimaru decided, probably on the cusp of naming me a suspect out of spite alone, only to suffer a last moment attack of common sense.
"Lady Koharu," the Hokage said, speaking more calmly now, "Lord Jiraiya and I agree with your assssertion that the only person with both the means to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen in the heart of Konoha, on his family estate no less, and the motivation to do the same is Shimura Danzo. We are relieved that you are of one mind with usss, and hopeful that you will stand with Lord Jiraiya when he says as much before the clan leaders and elders of Konohagakure, who will be convening thisss evening."
His gaze sharpened.
"Are our hopesss in this matter well-placed, Lady Koharu?"
"I will always be loyal to Konoha, Lord Hokage," replied the veteran kunoichi. "And," she added, a moment later, still under his withering gaze, "it is clear that the interests of Konoha will benefit from… unity of purpose on this matter."
That's about as much as I can hope for from this donkey-brained fossil. Though… considering she has the wit to see which direction the wind's blowing, she clearly has at least a few functional brain cells left. She merits, Orochimaru decided,continued observation. Or perhaps a nice, long sabbatical away from Konoha. For the rest of her life, potentially.
"...Good," said Orochimaru, deciding to accept the victory. "Your record of ssservice is almost beyond parallel in our village. Your support on this matter would be invaluable..."
It went unsaid that her word would indict one of the few ninja in Konoha's service whose history with the village stretched as far back as Koharu's did.
"Ssstand, Jonin Utane," he ordered as he purposefully turned back to his Teacher's corpse, exposing his back to Koharu in a show of just how little of a threat he saw her as. "Tell me… How are you enjoying your retirement so far?"
"It has been very peaceful, Lord Hokage," came Koharu's equivocal reply as she rose to her feet with the grace of a much younger woman. "Very… quiet."
After getting cut off from all official briefings? Orochimaru almost smiled. I bet it has been very quiet indeed, oh Iron Lily. I wonder if her hunger for control and influence has begun driving her up the walls yet?
"You know," said the Hokage, as lightly as if he was discussing nothing more pressing than lunchtime menu options, "something really must be done to help firm up our southeastern flank. All these Kiri incursionsss have been sapping energies better invested in killing Cloud-nin. I have been consssidering sending an ambassador to the village of Nadeshiko, within the Land of Water, in the hopes of securing a regional ally to cull the ranks of the raiders flowing over our bordersss…"
Koharu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It is," she pointed out, almost as casually as the Hokage, "a village led by a matriarch, along matrilineal lines. Perhaps it would be best if the face representing Konoha's interests to them could be described as matriarchal as well."
And thus, payment for her support is tendered.
"Very probably," agreed Orochimaru, lips quirking up into a smile. "Such an individual would have an escort and office befitting their diplomatic ssstatusss, and a suitably generous stipend to accompany their autonomy on… local mattersss."
Go establish a private kingdom in Konoha's name and do what you will in it, so long as you remain out of my hair and at war with Kiri.
"As always," said Utatane Koharu, "I live to serve Konoha."
The conversation with Mitokado Homura, when he arrived, went much the same as the preceding conversation with Koharu had, save that Orochimaru stepped back to allow Jiraiya to take point in convincing their Teacher's remaining teammate to join his voice with theirs at the evening's meeting.
Which, Orochimaru noted, stepping out of the tent and gesturing for an Anbu, I should really get ahead on informing the rest of the village about.
"Sssend word to all clan leaders and their sssecondssss, as well as all the elders of the village, that their attendance is expected outside the Hokage Tower thisss evening," he commanded the dog-masked Anbu kneeling at his feet a moment later. "Also, send the same word to any jounin currently in the village. I want them in attendance too. Go."
As the operative vanished in a swirl of leaves, Orochimaru noticed a figure in black making her dignified way through the once-peaceful Sarutobi Estate herb garden.
Biwako.
He would recognize his Teacher's widow anywhere.
"Lord Hokage," greeted the Sandaime's widow, stopping before his successor and bowing low. Orochimaru had to catch himself from instinctively matching her stoop, the manners drilled into him for decades abruptly obsolete.
"Lady Biwako," he said instead, acknowledging her rank with perhaps slightly more curtness than he would have before the momentary near-relapse to childhood. "Is there something I can do for you?"
What are you doing here, standing so calmly and talking to me while your husband lies cooling at my back?
What, the Hokage wondered, meeting the eyes of his Teacher's widow, did you come down here to see?
"There is," Biwako unexpectedly replied. Her grief, because Orochimaru could taste it on every breath she exhaled, was nowhere in evidence on her face. "If your examination of his body is complete, will you release my husband's body into the care of his family? It is not right that a Hokage should remain out under the sky, unwashed and in the clothes he died in a full night after his passing. It is an affront to my husband's dignity that he has lain for so long without the preparations for his cremation begun."
A convenient answer that might even be true… She always was devoted to Teacher, but to the point of short-circuiting a potential route in the investigation of his death, purely to shield his dignity? That doesn't sound like Teacher's other half. But… if I deny her this… I could give fodder to those who suspect I killed Teacher out of petty anger, undermining my legitimacy.
…Did I just stumble into a trap?Orochimaru wondered.
Biwako remained smoothly emotionless, as if she didn't realize the fork she had stuck him upon.
If so, then it was a clever gambit indeed. The initial pre-funerary rites would already be complete, had custom been allowed to take its course. Instead, Jiraiya put a halt to them to give me time to arrive. Now that I am on the scene, you have come to interfere in any attempt to delve too deeply into the circumstances surrounding Teacher's death.
Had I been truly interested in investigating Teacher's death, this could have presented a serious obstacle. With Asuma, the heir, not in attendance, the control she, as Teacher's widow, can assert over his body and his arrangements is near total. I would have required an excellent reason to override her wishes without looking needlessly tyrannical and, considering how she couched the request in the man's dignity as a former leader of the village, disrespectful of both my Teacher and Konoha.
And,Orochimaru had to admit, still holding Biwako's gaze,there is another reason you want to keep a close eye on Teacher, isn't there, Biwako? After all… who knows what I could do with a sample of such quality? The materials the corpse of akagemight yield could be potentially very interesting…
Who would know better than the woman who taught me how to properly dissect all the small mice I caught as a child?
The Hokage considered his options.
Perhaps… I should just check. Just to make sure that my suspicions are grounded.
"Jiraiya tellsss me that the Slug Princess is only a few days away," Orochimaru commented airily, tongue flicking out to taste the breeze. "Her unparalleled expertise in medical ninjutsu could yield unexpected insssightsss into Teacher'sss final moments.
"And," his lips curved into an oh-so sincere smile, "Don't you think my dear comrade deserves the sssame opportunity to bid our Teacher farewell as Jiraiya and I had?"
Only his undivided focus on the woman before him let the sharp-eyed snake Sannin catch the tiny movements, the way Biwako's eyes moved ever so slightly to catch on his, the way she just barely shook her head, but their message was easy to understand.
"Don't let her examine his body. Don't examine his body too closely." Now, why would that be your reaction, Lady Biwako? Curious…
But perhaps I might have an idea or two.
"Alasss," the Hokage let out a put-upon sigh, loud enough to ensure that all the listening ears would hear, "I confess you have a point. I am sssuremy dear comrade would understand that we simply could not bear to allow our Teacher to rot out in the sun for the time it took her to arrive. It would be an undignified end for such a dissstinguished shinobi.
"By all meansss," he clasped his hands before her, closing the matter, "see that he is purified in body and soul. He is yoursss, after all – how could I keep him from you?"
Biwako did not rise to the bait.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage," she said instead, bowing again from the waist. "Then, by your leave…"
"Go," said Orochimaru, dismissing her and starting to turn away.
Hopefully Jiraiya secured the cup, at least, he thought, trying not to regret missing the opportunity he had just passed up. A new poison would be something of a consolation prize, I gue–
"Lord Hokage?"
It was Biwako again, and again Orochimaru had to resist the urge to jerk forward into a respectful bow when he turned back to the woman who had been the nearest thing to a maternal figure in his life since he turned six.
"Yesss, Lady Biwako?"
Somehow, he kept the snap out of his voice. Biwako clearly still heard it, judging by how her eyes narrowed a small, but familiar, degree.
"Since I am sure that your… grievance with my husband died with him," she said, just the slightest note of disapproval coloring her voice, "will you allow me to assist Lady Kushina with her delivery once more when the time comes?"
Momentarily thrown for a loop, Orochimaru clearly didn't reply quickly enough for Biwako, who ground grimly on, suddenly very much the stern matron glowering down on a disappointing boy again.
"Only," she was saying, "during your last conversation with him, you informed my husband that my help would not be necessary. Far be it from me to second-guess the Hokage, but I suspect you came to that conclusion out of pique. I am the best midwife in the village and, as I believe you told Lady Kushina herself not so long ago, her safe delivery of a healthy infant is of the highest priority to Konoha."
Ah, I did say that. To his horror, Orochimaru found himself at the brink of squirming guiltily under that implacable, piercing glare. That was… unwise of me.
"Assss ever, I have nothing but the highest respect for your capabilitiesss, Lady Biwako," said Orochimaru, the words coming smoothly to his darting tongue. "The delivery will certainly benefit from your presence and assistance. You will be in attendance when the happy hour arrivesss."
Biwako nodded. "Yes. I will."
Halfway back to the Hokage Tower, an Anbu appeared, already kneeling, in Orochimaru's path.
"Lord Hokage," the man said as soon as the Hokage gestured for him to speak, "message from Observation Post #4. Lord Fugaku's company has been sighted."
Ah, Jiraiya must have sent a messenger to them as well. Good thinking from that fool, for once. Observation Post #4, is it? So, Fugaku and Hiashi will be arriving at the Eastern Gate in a quarter hour.
"Tell the guards to pass on my complimentsss to Lords Fugaku and Hiashi for their speedy journey," commanded Orochimaru. "As well as a gentle request that they come and attend me at the Hokage Tower."
Out in the middle of a public street, with so many anxious people carefully peering out of the corners of their eyes at him and making a show of not eavesdropping, Orochimaru had no doubt that anything he said would ripple across the Konoha gossip network in minutes.
Best not to cause a panic… and best not to give the old bastard any more warning than I strictly must.
"Tell them," Orochimaru added, "to… Come as they pleasssse."
Curious despite himself, the Anbu cocked his head, seemingly on the brink of asking for clarification before visibly mastering himself. An Anbu questioning the Hokage simply wasn't done. Just like how the Hokage simply allowing those he wished to speak with to set their own schedule and come at their convenience also wasn't done.
Which is why, Orochimaru smirked to himself,both Fugaku and Hiashi will no doubt come at a run. Something so uncharacteristic will attract their attention and their curiosity… all without my needing to reveal my hand.
It was a petty piece of manipulation, but still amusing.
"As you will it, Lord," said the Anbu, once it was clear that no further additions would be forthcoming. He disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Orochimaru alone in the road.
Well… he thought, casting cold eyes at the silent throng of villagers suddenly very focused on whatever first came to hand, alone except for all of these mice.
Teacher, Orochimaru knew, would have said something warm and reassuring here and now, enough to smother their anxiety beneath a pillow of warm feelings. Lord Hashirama would have said something equally reassuring but strident and hard-edged.
No words came readily to his tongue, and so the Yondaime simply left instead, continuing down the street and on towards the Hokage Tower.
Perhaps,he thought, the sight of the Hokage calmly strolling through the streets without hurry or worry will count as a statement in and of itself.
When he reached his office on the top floor of the tower, Orochimaru was entirely unsurprised to find Sarina there, at attention beside her desk, clearly expecting his arrival.
So, thought Orochimaru, crossing to his own desk, blissfully free of standing piles of paperwork thanks to Sarina's intervention, and dropping down into his chair,heard me coming, did you?
"Y-yes, Lord Hokage." Orochimaru was impressed; she had barely stuttered this time. "Thank you, Lord. I'm t-trying my best."
Keep it up, he thought at the mind-reading Yamanaka, half-teasing the little mouse. Useful people can expect to last avery long time around me.
"I will," she replied, just a hair too quickly. "Umm… I'm… sorry for your loss…?"
Caught in the act of taking his hat of office off, relieving himself of the weight, Orochimaru froze.
…What, he thought, hoping he sounded calm and unruffled,are you hearing me think right now?
"Lord…?" Sarina tried, but, clearly realizing the question was not rhetorical, abandoned her attempt to wriggle free. "You… You feel like you should feel angry, but don't. You… I think you miss your… that you miss the Lord Sandaime, but can't quite figure out what that makes you feel…? And…" she gulped, "now you t-think that perhaps you should kill me after all, because that wasn't really what you wanted to hear from me…"
Realizing that his killing intent had slipped from his grasp and began to fill the room of its own accord, Orochimaru forced himself to stop fantasizing about summoning Manda to crush and swallow the girl whole.
"My… apologiesss." The word felt alien in his mouth. "I asked you a question. It isss… goodthat you answered truthfully."
"Yes, Lord." Sarina still looked sceptical, but Orochimaru couldn't find it in himself to care. "I'll… send the Uchiha and Hyuuga clanheads in when they arrive, Lord."
"Do ssso," the Hokage agreed, and allowed his secretary to flee his presence.
That, he decided, was poorly done.
Fear works best when applied purposefully… And of course, she's still listening… Yes, there was the sudden intake of breath, clearly audible through the office door.
Orochimaru sighed internally. Which, of course, she could also hear.
At this rate,I'mgoing to be the one who's driven insane! he hissed to himself. Perhaps I should just save myself the trouble and kill her now? No, no… She's useful. I can't go around snapping the neck of everyone who annoys me. I'd run out of citizens to carry out my bidding far too quickly if I did.
Besides… I feel like if I kill her now, I'd just be… losing, somehow.
He could already imagine Teacher's fresh ghost rising from the beyond to mock him with another lesson about his failed duties as a Hokage. About how he somehow hadn't even lasted a year before he'd started killing underlings out of unchecked paranoia, and how that damned golden haired brat might have been a better pick anyways, and-
Sarina is still listening to this isn't she?
A quiet squeak from the other room was all the answer he needed.
Fortunately for both Sarina's blood pressure and his own spiraling frustration at proving unable to will himself into not thinking, Fugaku and Hiashi arrived only minutes later and were swiftly ushered into the office and onto a pair of stools brought in by a pale Sarina.
"Sssarina," the Hokage called out as she turned to close the doors behind her, "go find out where Jiraiya'sss gotten himself off to. Make sure he sent notice to Lord Asuma that hisss mother has begun the preparatory rites for his father."
Recognizing the twin gifts her boss was extending her, both a reprieve from overhearing his thoughts and escape from bearing witness to whatever he discussed with the clanheads, Sarina wasted no time. With only an abbreviated bow, the Yamanaka mutely vanished, without even the benefit of a substitution technique.
"...Quite the fervent secretary you have, Lord Hokage," Uchiha Fugaku observed as the sound of Sarina's sandals slapping rapidly against the stairs echoed up into the office. "She seems… eager."
Orochimaru's thoughts spun away from him again at the mention of his secretary.
…I am going to need to invent a jutsu that can forcefully blank out the mind, aren't I?
"...To businessss, my lordsss," said the Hokage, dispensing with the pleasantries. Fugaku straightened slightly atop his stool; Hiashi's posture grew incrementally more stiff. Despite the Hyuuga's lack of pupils, Orochimaru knew the formidable clanhead's focus had narrowed only to him.
"Yes," agreed Fugaku, "to business. Lord Hiruzen is dead?"
Tension, yes that's there, noted the Hokage, his tongue tasting the air and sifting out the usual scents of the two men from the vague mustiness of the office. No fear, though, nor anger… Just calculation from them both.
They've come to negotiate.
"He isss," Orochimaru confirmed. "Sadly. Lord Jiraiya, Lord Homura, and Lady Koharu are unanimousss in their certainty that no less than Shimura Danzo murdered the Sandaime Hokage."
No surprise, Orochimaru observed, tongue flicking out between his lips again. Not that any sign would show on their faces, of course, but not even a hint of unease in their scents. Given the man in question, though, I suppose that's no great shock. Even if they thought I did kill Teacher, I'd hardly boast about my scheme to these two, and Shimura Danzo is a fine scapegoat either way.
I wonder if they are wondering what price those two asked in exchange for their compliance, or are they solely focused on how they too can best profit from this vulnerable moment?
"That is a significant accusation," stated Hiashi. "In most cases, some amount of supporting evidence would be necessary for such an accusation to be credible… But with such worthies leveling the charge in a public venue… Have they stated this finding publically?"
"There isss a general meeting scheduled for this evening," said the Hokage. "I have reason to believe that Lord Jiraiya shall make the accusation; Lord Homura and Lady Koharu shall serve as his sssecondsss."
Hiashi nodded briefly, his chin barely dipping down. "Very well. I find myself doubting that this will come as a surprise to Lord Danzo. After all," just the slightest touch of a smile touched the Hyuuga clanhead's voice, "who better than the Shadow's Shadow to anticipate the glaring light of an accusation?"
"Which means that Danzo is absolutely already making what moves he can," said Fugaku. "So, Lord Hokage… how can the Uchiha and," he emphasized, "the Konoha Military Police, help you to curtail this threat to the village?"
The message wasn't lost on Orochimaru.
So, that's what Fugaku's prices for his assistance in dealing with Danzo will be. An expansion of the Military Police's power, then? Or… perhaps a mere clarification?
"As alwaysss," the Hokage smiled amiably, as if happy to assuage the concerns of his citizens, "it is the traditional responsibility of the Konoha Military Police to handle the law breakers and dishonorable ssscum within the bounds and ranks of Konohagakure. As the apprehension of criminals and their confinement is the sssole province of your office, Chief of Police, I call upon your force to search for and arrest the criminal and his assssociatesss.
"The Anbu," he added, to further clarify his offer, "are merely the handsss of the Hokage, and in this role, they shall act purely as your guidesss. Think of them as an extension of my own will, pointing out places of interest for your own Police forces to investigate. They will provide my office's consssiderable intelligence, but the operation, and the glory, will be all yoursss."
Policing within the village shall be the Uchiha's purview; Anbu will focus on wetwork outside of Konoha.
"...Very well." The Uchiha clanhead nodded his acceptance, his black eyes thoughtful. "The Uchiha Clan and Konoha Military Police are at your service, Lord Hokage."
"Yesss," Orochimaru agreed. "They are. As," his eyes swiveled to Hyuuga Hiashi, "I would hope the Hyuuga are as well in thisss matter?"
"Of course, Lord Hokage," the pale lord murmured. "Lord Danzo has set himself beyond all bounds of loyalty; no matter what motives drove him to this extremity, he must be punished for his treason."
All fluff,Orochimaru dismissed. Name your price, Hiashi.
"Such sssplendid loyalty," he said aloud. "It is thisss commendable depth of love for Konohagakure that has seen the Hyuuga secure their place as one of the most preeminent clans in our lovely village."
"Your words gratify me, Lord Hokage," replied Hiashi, straightfaced even by his clan's standards. "And it is for that reason, the certainty of our allegiance to the village and to the village's leader, that my clan requests dispensation."
"Oh?" Orochimaru didn't bother to mime surprise. "And what… dispensation would best suit the Hyuuga, Lord Hiashi?"
"Before we discuss that," said Hiashi, "I have a… question for you, Lord Hokage."
Wariness, Orochimaru tasted. And the first hints of anxiety too…
"Asssk it."
"Lord Fugaku," Hiashi nodded at his fellow clanhead, "has related to me the information you confided in him and his wife, regarding your past… research… under Lord Danzo's orders. He specifically mentioned Lord Danzo's interest in his clan's dojutsu."
"Yesss, his… interessst," Orochimaru repeated, leaning back slightly in his chair so he could view both shinobi at once. "I cannot guarantee that it did not extend to your own clan's bloodline, Lord Hiashi, but I was never furnished with any ssspecimensss sourced from your clan. I suspect the Caged Bird Seal acted as intended in this case and preemptively limited Danzo's interest in the Byakugan, likely after a costly failure or two.
"Unlike the Sharingan, Lord Danzo has no eyes capable of activating your bloodline implanted," Orochimaru paused, and offered the man a helpless gesture as empty as his smile, "so far as I know, anywaysss."
"I see," replied the Hyuuga clanhead. He didn't relax, not truly, but the wariness had faded from his scent. "Now, on the topic of the dispensation we would request for recognition of our continued loyalty…"
Hiashi hesitated, just for a moment. A worrying sign, given the topic he'd just broached.
"The Hyuuga would like the freedom to negotiate and accept contracts from clients directly. Without intermediation."
Orochimaru almost felt like he'd been slapped.
"...You want what?" he hissed, incredulous. "A return to the old waysss, before the hidden villagesss? You want to operate free of Konoha yet ssstill under our aegisss?"
Before the hidden villages, every clan was a power unto itself, free to act as it pleased and to take whatever employment best suited their needs and capacities at peril of crossing other clans pursuing the same contract or in the service of other clients. These conflicts often provided the sparks that ignited generational wars. Lore had it that the initial root of the age-old dispute between the Senju and the Uchiha lay in the dispute over a contract offered by a long-forgotten daimyo.
Under the hidden village system, the Kage enjoyed complete control over what contracts the village would accept, as well as over which ninja would be offered the ability to complete the contract. The client would pay the village, and the village would pay the ninja who completed it on the basis of ranked difficulty. This innovation, pioneered by Senju Tobirama while he served as his brother's adjutant, benefited all parties involved. The client had a better expectation that their contract would be completed to their exact specifications, the ninja would be supported by the village stipend between contracts and wouldn't have to fear a default from a client, and the village itself would take pains to ensure that the price paid by the client exceeded the estimated cost of the mission.
"Lord Hiashi, the ssstrength and loyalty of the Hyuuga clan to Konoha is a bounty that the village would ssseek to repay tenfold, if it could." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "What you asssk, though, would unmake the village. Sssuch a request would not only fatally undermine my own authority as Hokage, but strikes at the very core of what it meansss for every clan to have joined under the banner of the Hidden Leaf in the firssst place. Sssomething you ssshould very well know. I sssuggest that you find yourssself a different requessst."
Though… perhaps the village system does not have the monopoly on force it claims,Orochimaru reflected, his own thoughts concealed in the shadow of the hat and the office attached to it. After all, have I not spent this whole day purchasing the loyalty of my allegedly sworn subordinates?
"Very well," murmured Hiashi. He politely folded his hands together and recomposed himself, as if this were merely some minor matter to be maneuvered around. "In that case, the Hyuuga request permission to freely engage in economic intercourse with other noble houses within the Land of Fire, in all spheres not related to those governed by the interests of Konohagakure."
…That was almost certainly what he wanted all along, thought the Hokage, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. He asked for something he knew I could not grant merely to set the stage. A classic negotiating tactic, and a classic because of how often it succeeds.
Still… This could be to Konoha's advantage. If the Hyuuga make in-roads with the city councillors in Hanyu and the burghers and merchants in the lesser towns and cities, that could open up new lines of credit for Konoha itself. Further, if the Hyuuga expand their influence within the ranks of the merchants and lower nobility, who knows what further leverage they could find…?
Orochimaru rolled it over his head a few more times, weighing the costs and benefits while letting Hiashi sweat a bit. Not that the damnably impeccable Hyuuga would ever visibly betray even the slightest hint of anxiety.
The bastard knows he has nothing to fear.
His, after all, was not a horrible idea by any stretch, nor would granting it undermine the core tenants of Konoha like the first. That didn't mean giving the Hyuuga clanhead what he wished lacked for risk. A clan with unique moneymaking avenues could enrich itself mightily, perhaps to the point that it could up-end the delicate balance of power within Konohagakure.
Still, the Hokage knew he had to give the man, and his rather powerful clan, some sort of token to keep them on his side and to demonstrate that loyalty to his Konoha was not a one-way street. A potential future issue of an overly wealthy clan was a minor place to pay if that was all it took to secure Hyuuga loyalty here and now, in this fraught moment.
Very well…
"Loyalty will alwaysss be rewarded under the Leaf," Orochimaru told the Hyuuga clanhead. "The loyalty you and your clan have so amply demonstrated, and will, I am sssure, demonstrate in assisting the Uchiha in hunting down Danzo, will be rewarded by a writ permitting the Hyuuga to act as it best suits their interessstsss, with the freedom to invest their funds as they will, provided that the clan's actions do not interfere with Konoha's own interests or sssecurity."
"Most generous, Lord Hokage," Hiashi acknowledged, dipping his head in another barely-there nod. "You can rest assured in the support of my clan and I, in these… troubling times."
"And likewise mine," agreed Fugaku. Then, with the business out of the way, a slight, razor-edged grin spread across the face of Evil-Eye, master of the Uchiha. "Well now, Lord Hokage… Where shall we begin our hunt for the spider?"
Orochimaru allowed himself the closest thing to an honest grin he'd felt all day.
"Where else, my lords, but at the center of his web of liesss?"