The Flames Above the Falling Leaves

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 1
Stewardship​

Dusk crept over Konoha as the sun began to set and the pale moon rose to take its place. The glint of the twilight sky reflected off the ceramic roof tiles, and the descending sun emblazoning the faces of past Hokages. There in the waning hours of the evening, an older gentleman impatiently walked through the paved streets of the village, a manila folder of documents kept in place between his armpit, only occasionally stopping to look at a pocket watch for the time. As he drew closer and closer to his destination, the ground became a bit more uneven as the paved cement was slowly replaced by untouched dirt roads.

When he turned the corner and moved onto a new block, he instinctively made his way to a pair of large oak doors that held firm in the middle of a stone wall. Two men stood quietly in front of the gate, as the cloth above them, marked with the Sarutobi Clan's crest, fluttered gently with the brisk October winds. Upon seeing the old man's approach, the younger of the two guardsmen wordlessly entered the clan compound, and a faint chatter could be heard beyond the wooden gates. Impatiently, the old man arhythmically tapped his foot and stared blankly as the hands on his pocket watch seemed to ever-so slowly lurch forward to the next minute. After some minutes of waiting, the young guardsman re-emerged from the gates with another old man in tow. Similarly, he held his own folder of documents.

"I apologize for the delay, Danzo."

"I would hope so, Hiruzen." Danzo crossed his arms as he replied, "You know how long I've been waiting for you out here?"

Hiruzen shrugged, "A few minutes?"

Mockingly waving his hands around, he retorted "Oh, a few minutes he says! You know, back in my day, a few minutes—"

Hiruzen held up his hand, his face also warped into a half-irritated, half-amused scowl. "First off, don't try to pull this 'back in my day' shit on me. It was 'our day' not just your day; I was there too dammit. Second, I don't know if you remember this, but I'm retired. If I want to stay in bed a few extra hours in the morning or spend my entire evening smoking in my yard, then I'll do as I damn well please."

Danzo clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, "You were late because you were smoking weren't you?"

Hiruzen groaned exasperatedly, "Biwako says I should stop because it's 'bad for my health,' but dammit woman, do you know how rare this tobacco is? It's premium quality black-leaf from the Fire Daimyo's private collection! And since she's out of the house, I thought to myself, why shouldn't I treat myself a little bit?"

"Mhm, mhm." Danzo hummed an indifferent acknowledgement to his friend, "Your tobacco addiction is rather fascinating, but you also forgot the part where that was my problem. Now let's go, best not to keep the Hokage waiting."

As the two finally made their way through the streets, Danzo kept his eyes glued forward and always maintained a few steps ahead, Hiruzen opted instead to lag behind, as he leisurely enjoyed the sights and sounds of the evening. Eventually, they reached their destination, and approached the small booth adjacent to a pair of solid metal doors, where a bored-looking Hyuuga wearing a Chunin jacket quietly passed the time reading a small book. When he noticed the two approached, the Hyuga quickly set his book down and gave a short cordial bow to the two men.

"Good evening, sirs." He slid a pair of paper slips through a small gap in the protective glass barrier, each to be taken by the pair of village elders. "Would you mind verifying your identities?"

They both pressed their thumbs down onto the slips and after exerting an insignificant amount of chakra, the faint tracings of their fingerprints were left embedded on the squares. The tenketsu around the Hyuga's eyes bulged as he activated his Byakugan, and after a thorough cross-examination of the slips with some previously cataloged chakra signatures, he nodded in confirmation and unlocked the metal doors. Once more through the gap, he slid the two a pair of IDs, meant to be returned to the office on their way out for safe-keeping.

Several large steel bolts audibly hissed as they slid out of their strike plates, and the twenty-ish year old guard gave them another courteous bow before the two finally made their way into the building. On the ground floor, it was not dissimilar whatsoever in appearance to the building's exterior – that is to say, it was unassuming. A rather spartan centralized office space, with a semi-circular desk facing the entrance followed by a set of hallways that led to further parts of the building. Even the security detail appeared rather inconspicuous, with a dozen Chunin placed in key positions to keep an eye out for trouble. For all intents and purposes to the outside, this was just another shinobi administrative office.

Walking down towards the far end of the hallway, a lone purple-haired Chunin stood inside an elevator serving as its operator. "Good evening, sirs. What floor may I take you to this evening?"

"Good evening, 'Chunin' Uzuki." Hiruzen replied jokingly, flashing some air quotations for added effect. "Seventh floor please."

She nodded in reply and as she went to press the button, her finger pressed down on a seemingly empty section of the control panel, though the characteristic chime of a floor being selected was nonetheless heard. Responsively, the doors slid shut and they felt a short and sudden jolt as the elevator car began to descend. Contrary to outward appearances, the true extent of the building was not a meager two stories, and in fact the majority of its floors were below ground level.

The ride down the elevator was unremarkable, as the alleged Chunin silently carried out her task and the pair of elderly shinobi passed the time staring at the doors or skimming through their documents. As they passed by the fifth subterranean floor, Danzo had once again started to arhythmically tap his foot. Finally, the doors slid open and the two men gave a small thankful nod to the Chunin, who in turn politely bowed, allowing her long purple hair to droop down and obscure her features.

Compared to the ground floor, the subterranean floors were much sleeker – well lit, well maintained and made out of considerably more expensive materials. Though made of polished cement and stone, the ceiling lights' sheen off the walls fostered a similar atmosphere to the sterile white interior of a hospital or a laboratory. The two stopped at another pair of metal doors, this time guarded by a pair of ANBU whose dark wooden masks, one gnarled and twisted like thorns while the other immaculate and adorned with a fan of branches on either side of the face, seemed to absorb the hallway's light. After flashing their IDs, the two ANBU wordlessly opened the doors and allowed the two to enter before pulling them shut just as quietly.

There was a central rectangular table taking up two-thirds of the conference room, though only two other people had arrived before them. Homura and Koharu nodded and waved respectively for them to take their seats near the head of the table. Koharu playfully elbowed Danzo as he sat down, "Running a little late today are we?"

"He ran a little late – I'm the reason we're on time at all." He responded somewhat defensively.

Homura snorted, "Let me guess, something to do with smoking some kizami?"

"Premium kizami," Hiruzen harrumphed, "Which, I'll have you know, came right from the Fire Daimyo's personal collection."

"Late is late, Hiruzen. Try not to make the rest of Team Tobirama look bad when you decide to go on a smoking binge."

The patriarch of the Sarutobi clan leaned his head forward and mockingly narrowed his eyes at his sole female teammate. "Look bad, Koharu? Nobody's here besides Team Tobirama."

"It's about propriety! If we show up late, what kind of a message does that impart on our subordinates?"

"Are we seriously having this conversation over arriving a few minutes later than usual? The meeting hasn't even started yet."

"No, no, she's right, Hiruzen. You can't keep hiding behind your retired status when it comes to these meetings. We know you don't really do anything else at home besides read and smoke."

Their mock argument ended abruptly as the doors were opened, and finally the meeting's attendants began to slowly trickle in. After five minutes, all but two attendants were missing. There was a bit of idle chatter in the room, though most of the attendees sat quietly organizing their files and papers. Another minute later, and the doors swung open for the final time, giving way to the Fourth Hokage, his face concealed by the low brim and impenetrable veil of his ceremonial hat. Garbed in the traditional maroon and white robes of his station, he and his right-hand man – or rather woman – made their way to the far end towards the head of the table. The room was silent for their arrival – not necessarily out of awe, but more so out of a tactful respect for their superior.

The two flanked either side of the table, taking their time to slowly pass by and offer a brief but courteous greeting to each individual member, shaking hands and exchanging small bows. As the current village leader passed by Hiruzen, he gave the former Hokage a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. Finally at the end of the table, the Yondaime seemed to explode from within his robes, taking the extra effort to dramatize his sitting down and making it into an ordeal of its own.

"Roll call." When he spoke, his voice seemed to slither throughout the room.

First to speak was the former kage, "Sarutobi Hiruzen – Strategic Advisor to the Office of the Hokage, present."

Then the rest of Danzo's teammates, "Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura – General Advisors to the Office of the Hokage, present."

Then he spoke, "Shimura Danzo – ANBU Commander, present."

So too then did the rest of the room. "Nara Shikaku – Jonin Vice-Commander, present."

"Yamanaka Inoichi – Intelligence Division Commander, present."

"Hyuga Hizashi – Intelligence Division, Captain of the Counterintelligence Corps, present."

"Uchiha Fugaku – Commander of Interior, present."

Nodding his head in approval, a slender hand slinked out from the Hokage's sleeve and parted the opaque veil shrouding his face. Gold and reflective like shards of amber, his serpentine eyes were highlighted by the angular purple markings that bordered the bridge of his nose, and contrasted sharply with his alabaster skin. "Orochimaru – Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, present. I suppose then we're set to begin our meeting, no?"

"Let's." Danzo spoke firmly in turn, "Item number one on tonight's meeting is the abrupt change to the government of Amegakure."

"Yes, I just finished reading over our intelligence reports the other night. Nono, my documents." Said assistant was already in the process of handing over a portfolio. "But refresh my memory anyways, what is the current status of Amegakure no Sato?"

It was Inoichi who responded this time, having been gestured by Danzo to read off a summary of the report.

"An insurgent group, the "Akatsuki," have successfully led a coup d'état against Hanzo of the Salamander, and have already begun to install a new government. Of note, the Akatsuki and Ame's new representative, going by the name Yahiko, has immediately extended a diplomatic channel between our two nations, and has claimed that he and two of his compatriots are former students of Jiraiya. This has subsequently been confirmed by Jiraiya himself, who is currently on his way to Ame with Nohara Rin for an official meeting."

"Will they be returning after the meeting is concluded?"

Inoichi shook his head, "Likely not. As far as I understand, her training is still not complete."

"I see, and what of Hanzo and his allies?" Orochimaru folded his hands, giving the Intelligence Commander an inquisitive look.

"His status is currently unknown. Our informants in Ame claim that he was swallowed by one of his summons, but as of now this is still unconfirmed. His allies on the other hand are actively being hunted by the new administration."

As Inoichi finished his report and sat back down, Orochimaru turned towards the ANBU Commander, "Can the ROOT look into his disappearance? If he can't be located, then we should make a priority out of establishing contact with his summons."

"We'll have our teams keep an eye out and investigate the surrounding countries. But if he has in fact retreated to the astral world, he may very well be out of our reach for the time being."

"If that's the case, I'll reach out to Manda and his clan to see if they may know anything." Though he said this aloud for the whole room, his statement was directed more towards Nono who began to jot down the information on a notepad. "Moving on, our second order of business is the progress of Nohara Rin. Would anyone here like to start?"

"I will." Homura spoke up, "Over the course of the last week, Jiraiya and I routinely checked up on her seals and reapplied any that we thought were beginning to fail. Otherwise, she seems to be adjusting slowly but surely to her tenant."

Before the village elder could continue, the room began to shake as a tremor rippled through the building. It was followed by a brief moment of respite before it returned, indefinitely repeating this pattern. "An earthquake?"

"No. It's not continuous-" This time the tremor interrupted Orochimaru mid-sentence, a not so distant crash accompanying it. "Evacuate the building and get all available shinobi to their battle stations!"

Like tightly-wound springs, everyone in the conference exploded into action, practically jumping out of their seats with their jobs in mind. Had the unknown situation aboveground not been so pressing, many would have gotten a chuckle at the sight of most of the conference attendees cramming themselves into the elevator cabin, with poor Yugao being shoved into the side of the wall as she attempted to make room. With no room left, the two – likely – oldest men in the room sprinted up the staircase, hoping to catch up.

Orochimaru and Nono were the last to exit, stopping just in front of the doors where the two ROOT guards still stood at attention.

"Yakushi-san, gather every document left behind in this room and take them to my office for safekeeping. You know where to put them." He turned away from her and towards the ANBU. "Escort her there."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

---

"I understand, Hokage-sama, we'll have a new barrier raised immediately." Ooime Kakoi, the youngest member of Konoha's Barrier Team, stood at attention for a moment longer than he needed to.

Although there was a considerable distance between him and the Hokage, being on nearly opposite sides of the council chamber, the unmistakable glow of Orochimaru's eyes seemed to smolder from behind his veil. For Kakoi, and most of the Hokage's subordinates for that matter, it was more than a bit unsettling. He bowed once more before leaving the chambers, and the council meeting finally began in earnest.

Made from varnished cedar, there was a set of six massive tables, three on either side of the room and slowly elevated above the one before it, and the slight groove on the inward sides of the tables lended themselves to the elliptical shape of the room. Each side's rows were intersected by four sets of stairs, two interspersed in between the rows' length and a set at either side of the room, with the pair at the far end of the room forking so as to allow members of the inner council to reach their seats. The flat, inward face of the table was appropriately marked with the clan that sat at that particular position, the fresh coat of paint upon each kamon attempting to betray how long ago they were initially carved into the wood.

From the noble clans of Uchiha and Hyuuga, to the more humble and modestly-sized Kurama clan, every major and minor shinobi clan of the village was in attendance. However, in spite of the room being completely filled, it was deathly quiet.

"Commander of Interior."

"Sir." Fugaku stood up from his seat, his stoic composure betrayed by the vacant look in his eyes.

"Status report."

"In the last twelve hours, the Office of Interior's most conservative figures estimate that the village has lost point-three percent of its population, and its most liberal around point-nine. The overwhelming majority of casualties were shinobi. Property damage was limited primarily to the southwestern quarter of Konohagakure, fortunately, the efficiency of neither the commercial nor industrial districts should be too heavily interrupted." There was a small sigh as he looked up from his documents and gave a grim, mirthless smile. "A silver lining I suppose?"

"Break down the casualty rates," Orochimaru leaned forward in his chair, his slender hands clasping one another. "By rank, if you will."

"The rank that sustained the most casualties were Chunin, with the current casualties totaling at thirty-two dead, with an additional thirty wounded. Only half are likely to completely recover. The second most damaged group was the ANBU, at twenty-eight casualties, ten wounded. Then Jonin at twenty-two and eight, and only two genin wounded."

"This was, at best, the equivalent to a pyrrhic victory in a major pitched battle. At worst…" To Orochimaru's side, Homura set his glasses on the desk in front of him and cupped his face with the other hand. "We've suffered a major blow to our home division which may not recover for another generation."

There was a sort of quiet chaos that skittered across the room, and the silent ambience that had once permeated the chambers was slowly replaced by the low and hushed grumbling of the clans.

"For those of you unaware," Orochimaru spoke again, his voice silencing the room. "Jonin Commander Namikaze Minato, and our eldest Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, were both killed in this incident. Which brings us to our next topic of great importance."

Receiving their signal, a masked ANBU emerged from the door opposite to the Hokage's semi-circle podium, at the base level of the council chamber. Cradled in his arms was a newborn infant, wrapped loosely in a blanket. For a child born in the last four hours without his mother, he was eerily quiet, though any worries regarding his health were placated by both the reports of doctors and the small cooing noises that emerged from his cloth-bound cocoon.

"This is their child, and the new container for half of the Kyuubi's chakra."

"And the other half?" Though he tried to speak softly, the presence of the infant influencing him so, Akimichi Chouza couldn't help but have the loudest voice in the room. Hushed as it was, it still seemed to reverberate through the chamber.

"Sealed into Minato before he killed himself with the Reaper Seal. He had requested that we make the child's status as a container known to the public, so that he might be celebrated as a hero. However, I will not be honoring this request of his. The last thing we need is for a target to be painted on the infant's back before he's even ready to defend himself. This information will be considered classified to any non-shinobi personnel, as well as anyone below the rank of Jonin. Anyone found distributing this information will be arrested and tried in a military court of law for sedition and treasonous behavior."

Most nodded their heads in acceptance, while others sat deep in contemplation, attempting to calculate what that would mean in terms of the new Jinchuuriki's strength.

"Does the little pup- I mean, kid, have a name yet?" Inuzuka Tsume leaned forward onto the desk, her claw-like nails beginning to brush into the underside of her chin. They said nothing aloud, at least not yet, but among her fellow clan heads who turned to face her, there was a quizzical look that graced their faces. A small handful were more suspicious than confused by her choice of wording, and their eyes seemed to pierce through her figure. She seemed entirely unperturbed by this as she spoke again, cutting off the Hokage before he could speak, "Cause if not… us Inuzukas wouldn't mind pickin' out one for him."

Fugaku and Hiashi both glowered at the matriarch from their respective seats, but before either of them could say a word, the Hokage quickly answered. "I believe they settled on Naruto."

"Naruto," Again, the Akimichi was seemingly disturbed from his silence when he heard the name, "Like the topping?"

Yeah, it's Kushina's kid.

Among those who personally knew just how unusual and – occasionally – scatterbrained Kushina, the choice in name was anything but a surprise. A few bit down or pursed their lips tightly, very much determined not to make a fool out of themselves at this meeting. Even Hiruzen and Danzo shared a look with one another, a cross between disappointed and amused.

Just as quickly as the child's name kindled amusement in the chamber, it flickered out. The weight of the boy's importance seemed to finally present itself to the occupants of the room, and most of the clan heads allowed their thoughts to be overcome with the unspoken subject of his fate. Suspicion and doubt shadowed over the clans as skeptical looks were cast back and forth across the rooms in a near-total silence.

Yet, no one dared to say a word – not yet at least.

Even among a coalition of militarized clans within a mercenary village that served as the sword of a feudal domain, there was still some sense of propriety that held back these pseudo-warlords from immediately trying to adopt their dead comrades' child.

"We'll take him."

It just wasn't a very strong sense of propriety.

"The Inuzuka clan would be more than happy to adopt the little one into our ranks." Tsume slouched back confidently in her seat, crossing her arms as she raised her chin and aimed her declaration solely at the Fourth Hokage. "Give us a decade, and he'll be making heads turn at the next Chunin Exams; give us two, and he'll be the greatest shinobi-hunter since Inuzuka Hachiko. I guarantee it!"

Again, it was Fugaku and Hiashi who seemed to glare through her form, as if in the hopes that their gaze could melt through stone. A moment of scowling later and the two had a sudden and placating realization that, surely, a Hokage as tempered and rational as Orochimaru would not be swayed by such baseless claims, no less from a clan as vulgar and boorish as these mongrel-lovers. However, these hopes, much like when a crow bashes a rock against a turtle's shell, were quickly bludgeoned to death when they saw him nod in potential consideration.

Whatever remained of any aforementioned propriety was swiftly executed. The proverbial floodgates did not open so much as they flew off their hinges as the Uchiha and Hyuuga patriarchs all but exploded from their seats.

"Gentlemen." Stern as stone, the ANBU Commander's sole eye froze them dead before they could so much as hurl an insult or let fly a sharp-tongued rebuke. "I'll have you remember the time and the place. This is a clan forum, yes, but this is also an official meeting held by the Office of the Hokage. Mind your words carefully."

"I am in absolute agreement," The former Hokage's authoritative yet grandfatherly voice added to their chastening. "After all, I'm sure we'd all prefer that no one rouse the sleeping child with any yelling, yes?"

For the briefest moment, there was a jolt of embarrassment that seemed to – almost unnaturally – convulse across the faces of the two clan heads. Hiashi was composed enough to maintain a straight face and not let the chastisement affect him too obviously, though his true feelings on the matter were all but betrayed by the dash of flush that graced his cheeks. Fugaku, on the other hand, cast his gaze low in shame as he held up his closed fist to hide his mouth. At the center of the room, the small infant's eyes – brimming with curiosity and innocence – met his own and further cemented his feelings of guilt.

So it was no surprise that Hiashi took advantage of the situation and spoke first. "Yondaime-sama, I apologize for any rudeness I may have shown in my… haste to respond to Inuzuka-dono. However, I must object to the consideration of the boy being adopted by their clan in particular."

Though Tsume's confident smirk remained splayed across her face, her dissatisfaction was made apparent when she clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. "You want to maybe, oh I don't know, back that up with a good reason?"

"Gladly." He didn't smile, but there was an unshakable amount of smugness that seemed to resonate in his voice in response to the challenge. "The crude nature of their clan does a great disservice to the outward appearance of Konoha's military, making us look like little more than wild brigands in the image of barking dogs. No, a child with this much power and potential should be raised in a civilized household that can instruct him in all things proper and military."

"Oh please." Tsume barked back, "Proper like being one of your little pretentious sommeliers?"

"Proper, like knowing how to bathe." From most angles, his face would have appeared neutral, but to Tsume, who had a perfect view of his expression, she could see the thin smile that he cast back at her. He seemed pretty proud of that retort. "All of which are doubtlessly important qualities for a shinobi to have, especially in regards to respecting the elegance of the Daimyo and his Fire Court."

One of Orochimaru's hands unclasped itself and gestured for him to continue, "Go on."

"As Konoha's noblest and mightiest clan, his upbringing should fall to us. We have the resources, the equipment, and the manpower to properly guide him into his role. And the Hyuuga, not the Inuzukas, should be the Jinchuuriki's stewards."

"And pray tell," Fugaku spoke, shifting the occupants' attention to his side of the room. "What are the 'prim and proper' Hyuuga going to do if the tailed-beast breaks from his seal? Tell me, Hiashi, what good will those all-seeing eyes of yours be in the face of overwhelming power? No, don't tell me," He bit back a laugh as he covered his smile with an open hand. "You'll disconnect a few tenketsu in the beast's paws, or shoot a few volleys of your willow-leaf arrows at him? Please. Try to be a bit more rational here."

"Yeah, you tell him Fugaku." Tsume bared her teeth in a crude smile. "Nothin' some Inuzuka hounds can't bring down."

"You're next." He raised a pointed finger at her. "As I recall, your hounds didn't seem to do much to hurt, or even stagger the Kyuubi this evening, no? And besides, wouldn't your clan's savagery only serve to stoke its viciousness?"

At this point, Tsume had begun to ground her teeth together. "You know, I'm not really sure if you're one to call us out for being quote, 'savages,' unquote. Madara and the rest of your forefathers definitely had their reputations as trophy-hunters for a reason. Or need I remind you of your little monument in the middle of the Uchiha District?"

"Trophy-hunters or not, the Uchiha have the means to control the Kyuubi. Just as the great Uchiha Madara once helped Hashirama subjugate the nine tailed beasts, so too can we collar-and-leash the beast should it break from its seal."

"The barbarity of both of your clans will prove to be the child's undoing! Yondaime-sama, please, I beg of you, entrust us with his stewardship."

"These milksops definitely can't be trusted with guarding, much less raising the young'un. Let the Inuzuka clan rear him as our own."

"Hokage-sama, if you wish for the beast to be kept under proper lock and key, then leave him in our care. The boy will be raised alongside my Itachi, and the beast will be closely watched should it attempt to influence him."

All three bowed as low as they could, and had the table not been in their way, they may very well have prostrated themselves before the Hokage. In spite of their yelling, Naruto remained undisturbed from his slumber, broken only occasionally to peer around the room.

"Ahem." The voice was like shuffled gravel. "If I may, Hokage-sama?"

Orochimaru lackadaisical waved for him to continue.

"Instead of having a single clan act as Naruto's custodians, why not operate on a rotational basis? It would anchor him to the village and the shinobi community as a whole, without attaching him to any one particular clan, and thereby, avoid any accusations of favoritism."

"The Akimichi clan will support this proposition."

"As will the Yamanaka."

"Absolutely not." If Shikaku's voice was rough like gravel grinding against the pavement, then Aburame Shibi's voice came like the muffled drone of whirling cuticle wings in one's ears. Chou, his wife, quietly whispered something that went unheard by the rest of the council before he spoke again. "The potential risk of clan secrets being stolen, or even passed along by accident, could mean the destruction of an entire clan. The Aburame clan rejects Nara Shikaku's proposed plan."

"Something to hide, Aburame?"

"As much as everyone else here does, Uchiha-dono."

"Fair enough, I suppose. The Uchiha also reject the proposal."

"The Inuzuka do as well."

"As do the Hyuuga."

"The Kurama clan abstains from this vote." It was a hushed voice from the corner of the council chamber, but not as monotone as an Aburame. Rather, it was as though his voice was scuttling into their ears, dragging and stamping thousands of little chitinous legs into one's canal. Most, save for the Aburame representatives and the members of the upper council, flinched a bit at hearing Kurama Murakumo speak aloud.

Most hoped he would also abstain from talking again during the rest of the meeting.

All eyes seemed to turn to the Hokage and the rest of the upper council. With his face shrouded, Orochimaru's opinions on the matter were as ambiguous as what might lie in the center of a deep blanket of fog. He merely drummed his fingers against the flat side of the table, allowing the sound to bounce around the now silent room. The ANBU Commander and the rest of his advisors were no different, and even without veils to obscure their faces, their unyielding faces may as well have been carved into the side of the Hokage Rock.

"Firstly, I should state I'm very impressed with you all. You all spent a quarter of an hour debating with one another on a matter most imperative. You even organized your own vote on the subject. All of which was an excellent example of you all acting hastily. Especially you, Tsume."

Tsume, the root of it all, was more than a bit taken aback, embarrassed even. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"I wish you would have earlier, begged my pardon, that is, since it was you and your impulsiveness that ultimately started this whole debate. Though, that's not to say you're the only one at fault here. All of you threw your fair share of fuel onto this proverbial fire, some more than others. All of you acted upon several proposals that were neither organized nor officiated by myself or anyone in the upper council."

"Then why allow the debate in the first place?"

Orochimaru merely shrugged. "Well, both Danzo and Hiruzen seemed fairly interested in at least hearing you all out, but as far as I can tell, neither seem particularly invested in any of the proposals. To be frank, I was also a bit offended that Tsume and the rest of you decided to waste my time with an illicit debate and an unsanctioned vote, so I decided that it would only be fair to waste yours as well."

"So, what of the boy's fate?"

"He'll be placed in the custody of Hatake Kakashi."

"He's a bit young isn't he?" Chouza asked, crossing his arms.

Inoichi nodded in agreement. "And still in the ANBU. Are you sure that he, of all people, will be able to take care of him?"

"He expressed an obligation in protecting his sensei's son. And just as Fugaku mentioned, his sharingan will prove useful in subduing the Kyuubi should it break free. Likewise, Kakashi has both the aptitude and competence to ensure the little one is well-trained and disciplined."

"But is Kakashi really all there?" Again it was Inoichi who expressed his doubts about the upper council's choice. "Mentally, I mean. Shouldn't we have Minato's son placed in the care of someone like Nohara Rin and Jiraiya?"

"That had been an idea, but that would require that we recall them back from Nohara's training. The risk of Naruto being whisked away while the two of them are off training is an entirely real possibility. Even with Jiraiya's protection, I'd rather not have two high value assets outside Konoha's walls, together no less, at any given time."

"Isn't Jiraiya the child's godfather?"

"Yes, though I do have my own reservations on whether Jiraiya could reasonably be expected to take care of the boy throughout this process. Frankly, with or without Rin to train, I think he may be a poor influence on the child."

Tsume snorted a bit, "Because he's a lech?"

"No, because he's absent-minded. Always had his head in the clouds, and never down to earth with the rest of us. His impulsivity around women and money could very well put them in an inconvenient, if not dangerous situation. One that inevitably, we'll have to clean up."

The Inuzuka couldn't help but nod in agreement. The council had received an excessive number of expense reports, all seemingly tied to either oirans or izakayas. "Aye, fair enough I suppose."

"Besides, it might do Kakashi some good to have someone to look after in his life. Might help him clean up his act a bit." Koharu said with a bit of optimism sneaking out through her tone.

"I second that." Homura added in affirmation as he readjusted his glasses. "With Nohara out of the village save for the occasional visit, and the rest of his team… indisposed, it'd be good to keep him occupied with someone."

"Excellent, I'm glad we all came to a unanimous group decision." The derision in Orochimaru's voice was hard to ignore as he snapped his fingers, an ANBU arriving almost immediately by his side. "Go and fetch me Hatake Kakashi."

There was a curt nod before he just as quickly disappeared from the chamber.

"Well," Hiruzen clapped his hands together, gathering the attention of the room. "If the Hokage would permit it, I propose that we take a short intermission while Kakashi comes to retrieve the boy."

"Very well. You are all free to do what you want for the time being. An ANBU will be sent out to notify you of the time."

---

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 2
Cigarettes on the Roof​

---

From the roof of the Hokage's office, thin streams of smoke seemed to drift up to the sky. Leaning over the railings, Fugaku could gaze out at the whole village, yet kept his eyes firmly fixed towards the southwest, the Shinobi Residential District. The last of the night's fires were being put out, and he could just barely make out distant shapes skittering through the debris. He hoped his men in the Keimu Butai were out there doing their job, helping who they could.

He didn't so much as blink, or even notice the taste or smell of his tobacco for that matter. There was some kind of noise behind him, but it was indiscernible at the moment, like static from a distant radio.

What looked like one of the taller barracks buildings in that district seemed to crumble a bit more, not collapsing yet, but he could hear the weight of the supports shifting even from here. Perhaps it was a hidden blessing that the Uchiha clan had been relocated towards the village outskirts by Tobirama. He let through that same mirthless smile from earlier in the meeting.

Again that noise erupted behind him, this time jolting him out of his stupor as he finally blinked and turned around.

"Hey asshole, I know we were arguing earlier, but that ain't a good reason to just ignore me." Tsume's voice was rough on his ears, not necessarily grating or annoying, just not something you'd like to hear after spending some time contemplating.

"Pardon?"

She held out her cigarette, "Light. You got a light?"

Not particularly keen on using any chakra, he drew a match from his coat pocket, struck it and lit the front end of her cigarette.

"Thanks." Tsume looked past his shoulder, glancing at what it was that he was looking at. "Mind if I join you?"

He extended his hand to the section of rail beside him. "Be my guest."

She hopped up onto the guard rail, pulling her legs through the bars and hooking them to keep herself in place. Seemed like something an academy student and not a clan matriarch might do. "So what's on your mind?"

"What isn't?"

"Ain't that the truth. I just hope the pups are doing all right back in our district."

"You keep them in the kennels right?"

"Well, not the human ones."

Fugaku couldn't help but scrunch his face up and look at her strangely as he took a rather large puff from his pipe. "You Inuzuka are still so strange to me."

"The word you're looking for is 'unorthodox'."

"Pssh." He snorted at her comment. "Surprised you even know words that big."

"Prick. I should just stick this cigarette into your cheek shouldn't I?" She crossed her arms and puffed up her chest. She continued on with an amused smile and some faux-bravado. "I'll have you know I won plenty of spelling competitions as a kid!"

"You, an academic? Sure, and I'm actually the most sought-after geisha in all of Hi no Kuni."

"Is this your way of subconsciously letting me know you like to crossdress? Aww, don't you worry, I'll be sure to let Mikoto know that her grumpy 'ol husband secretly wants to be a cute, little taikomochi for her!" Tsume burst out laughing at her own joke, much to his chagrin.

"I don't know why I bother associating with you." Even as he held his deadpan expression, she continued to laugh mockingly.

"Bet it's cause you couldn't keep your eyes off of me in the academy!"

His expression unchanged, Fugaku licked his index finger and thumb before he promptly extinguished her cigarette. "Don't flatter yourself. There definitely wasn't anyone looking at you back then, save for the instructors who were just trying to get you to shut up."

"I couldn't agree more." Someone new made their presence known to the duo. "I certainly can't imagine anyone else being interested in Tsume outside of maybe some runts from her own clan."

Unabated, Tsume spoke without paying either remark too much mind. "Hiashi, come join us."

"I don't smoke."

"I don't care. Join, or I'll be tempted to send some of my dogs to shit in your yard." She flicked her smothered cigarette behind her.

Shaking his head, Hiashi moved to join the pair, taking his place on Fugaku's left, opposite to Tsume. "You know, I'm more than a little surprised she even knows a word like tempted."

"See, Tsume? I'm not the only one who thinks you're stupid."

"Assholes, the both of you. Anyways, Fugaku, give me another light."

"As long as you don't try to tell my wife any of this horseshit that you're trying to make up."

"Oh come on, she'll think it's hilarious."

"Horseshit, you say?" Hiashi leaned forward, his interest piqued. "Do tell."

"Fugaku here is into crossdressing."

Said man withdrew his match back into his coat's inner pocket. "Suppose then that there'll be no need for a light."

Hiashi moved over to Tsume and held his hand out towards her unlit cigarette. He flicked his thumb against the side of his index in a similar fashion to how one might strike a match, a small flame hovering above its tip. "You were saying."

Fugaku could only pinch the bridge of his nose. "Why did I get put on a team with a bunch of gossipping hens?"

"You hush. Go on, Tsume. Tell me more about Fugaku's secret interest."

"He made a rather interesting comment about being, and I quote, 'the most sought after geisha in Hi no Kuni,' unquote."

"Mmm. I see, I see."

"Now, I was so bold as to assume this might have been him, subconsciously projecting his own secret fetishes to me, being his only female friend."

"Sure, 'female'." It was almost imperceptible, but both Fugaku and Tsume could have sworn they heard a bit of air wheeze out of Hiashi's nose in a pseudo laugh. "Oh sorry, do continue."

"Yeah, no, that was it."

"What so, no hard proof? No evidence of any of this?"

"Uh, no? I just pulled it out of my ass." With his blank, milky eyes, Hiashi stared at Tsume for a second, his earlier smile and interest having dissipated.

"Gods above, you're a boring woman." He quickly proceeded to do the same thing as Fugaku had earlier, wetting his fingers and snuffing out its short lived flame. He made sure to pinch a bit past the very front, twisting it and practically ruining the whole cigarette.

"For fuck's sake, this is two cigarettes in a row. One of you needs to pay me back for all this."

"Sure, tell you what," As the Uchiha took another long drag from his pipe, he started to chuckle a bit at a joke he just thought of. "How about I grab a few bones from my trophy monument? Would that be enough to pay you back?"

"Fugaku, you shouldn't joke about that." Hiashi and Tsume's faces were dead serious. "We shinobi have to know better than to act as inhumane as that."

"H-hiashi, you're not serious are you?" The Uchiha gulped as he tried to decipher his friends' true feelings. Fugaku stared at Hiashi with uncertainty, whose face had seemingly turned to stone.

"Of course not."

Fugaku's shoulders sank in relief, as the two sputtered into a fit of childish giggling. "You cheeky bastard."

"I had you there didn't I?"

"You just about did, but then I couldn't help and think about that thing, oh what was it again?"

"The Sightless Garden."

"That's it." Fugaku shook his head and tapped his index against the side of his pipe. "Still don't think I can ever forget that sight."

"That was when I invited our team to the compound wasn't it?"

"That's right, and wasn't Tsume trying to extort some pocket money from your – what was it again – eight and nine-year old cousins in the branch family?"

"Whoa whoa whoa." Said woman held her hands up defensively. "It wasn't extortion, I merely challenged them to a game of Daifugou, and when they refused to pay up, I wrestled them for a few sen. Absolutely nothin' extortionary about that."

"Of course, my bad. So, Tsume was mugging your cousins, Iinuma-sensei was getting berated by your clan elders, and you lured me to the back of the compound, didn't you?"

"'Lured you,' has some negative connotations. I prefer 'giving you a tour of the premises'."

"Hiashi, you led me to the back spot of the compound and proceeded to push me into the most nightmarish alcove I could have imagined."

The Hyuuga merely shrugged, "It isn't my fault that you're so frail and prissy."

"We were kids, of course I'd have been a bit disturbed by that. For the record, you pushed me into a thorn bush with a couple dozen preserved human eyes staring back at me."

"I, being the gracious host that I was and still am, thought that you, an Uchiha, would feel perfectly at home in a nest full of eyes, on account of your clan being equally obsessed with eyes."

Tsume snorted, "If you consider basically everyone at the compound being passive-aggressive as 'gracious,' then sure."

"Well, perhaps if all of you had been dressed more appropriately and behaved in a manner befitting of a noble household, then you wouldn't have been treated as such." Hiashi cupped his chin with one hand as he crossed the other underneath his arm pit. "Yes and if I recall, after one of the attendants let you into the gates, she described you all to me as a rabble of peasants, one of which in particular looked like a rabid mutt off its leash."

To their surprise, Tsume did not immediately react to Hiashi's proverbial jab.

"Makes you think though, doesn't it?"

Both men looked at her, a bit curious at her question.

"About preserved eyes?"

"About mugging small children?"

"No, retards. How long ago did we graduate?"

"Must've been, what, eighteen, maybe twenty years ago?"

All three of them stewed in their own thoughts.

Fugaku subconsciously ran a hand through his hair, uncertain of which strands had already begun to turn grey. "Gods, I feel old."

"Yeah, cause you are." Tsume snickered. "You're already starting to look grey from here!"

"Ahuh." Unamused, Fugaku took a few drags from his pipe and exhaled as much smoke as he could muster into her face. "Seems like I'm not the only one turning grey nowadays."

Before Tsume could respond, Hiashi cut her off. "On the subject of grey things, look who finally arrived."

The other two peered over the side of the railings and down at the entryway. Two masked ANBU were moving towards the entrance, though the one trailing behind was very clearly identifiable with his shock of silver hair. "Damn, how long ago was it that Hatake graduated? Seven years ago?"

"Nine." The Uchiha replied quickly.

"Nine! And now look at him, already in the ANBU. Might as well be more machine than man." Tsume turned around, resting her back against the guard railing as she toyed with her maimed cigarette bud. "Makes you wonder though, how's he gonna raise Minato's kid? I mean, half his team's dead, his only other teammate refuses to speak to him, and he has all of three other friends. At that, they're more his friends than he is theirs."

His former teammates' noses scrunched in response. The more outspoken of the two decided to voice their shared problem. "You're not even going to wait to bring it up are you?"

"Hm?" The Inuzuka hummed innocently enough.

"You're bringing up this whole Kakashi affair so casually and right after you completely ruined the chance of anyone having custody of the child! Most of all, us."

"You two think you even had a chance? Don't kid yourselves. Orochimaru was all but eating out of my hands until you two decided to butt in."

Hiashi couldn't help but raise one of his well-trimmed eyebrows, "Butt in? Tsume, we had just as much of a right to be his surrogates as you did. We were just as close to Minato as you were!"

"And what about Kushina, hmm? Thanks to my tomboyish charms, I was more than able to befriend both of them, unlike you two, who never seemed interested in expanding out of your little sausage fest with Minato."

The two men briefly glowered at her, before Hiashi's eyebrows raised ever so slightly and he leaned over to Fugaku, whispering something that was incomprehensible to Tsume. Their faces softened a bit as they nodded their heads in understanding. Hiashi stepped forward and placed a hand on shoulder, "Tsume. I'm so sorry."

"Huh?"

"Tsume," Fugaku shook his head, covering his eyes with his forearm as though he were about to cry. "We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but they weren't actually your friends."

Hiashi patted her shoulder, the way a father might console their crying child. "You, I am afraid, were their little charity case."

"I remember it like it was yesterday – Hiashi, Minato and I were all sitting at a bar, piss drunk rambling on about this and that. And I remember, clear as day, after he burped louder than I've ever heard anyone else before, he told us about how our weird teammate was trying to act all friendly around him and his girlfriend."

"That's right, that's right. We told him, 'Please, you have to understand, she's a bit of a special case. She's a little slow, but she always means well. It would mean a lot to us if you and Kushina at least humored her.' And the rest is history!"

Neither of her male teammates held it together for too long, nearly bursting out in laughter. Much like how one might flick a bug off their arm, she flicked her cigarette at Hiashi. "Fuck you guys, at least I got invited to her baby shower."

"Oh and I'm sure theyneverregretted that decision."

"I'm so sorry for her, you know!" Fugaku raised his pitch just a bit to imitate Kushina's, copying her verbal tic as he did a little faux-apologetic bow. "Yes, I promise, we'll be sure to pay for all the damages she caused to your place, you know!"

"Pieces of shit," She rolled up sleeves, revealing toned and scar-covered biceps and triceps. "I oughta fucking put you both into coffins."

As her – poor – choice in words finally settled among them, all three of them became a bit more dour. Tsume nervously scratched the back of her neck, realizing what she had said. "Uh, sorry, maybe that was a bit too soon to say."

"No, no. It's fine. It was an honest mistake."

"That's right." Fugaku smiled again, as mirthless as usual. "What would Tsume be without making some mistakes, right?"

They all chuckled, but there was understandably a bit of sadness in their tone.

"Pardon my intrusion." The three turned, where an ANBU stood upright with his hands clasped behind his back. He was a tall fellow, though not as tall as Fugaku. "We'll be returning to the chamber now."

"Hatake finally received the kid?"

"Yes ma'am." Just as quickly and silently as he appeared, the ANBU vanished from view, likely returning to one of their usual observation perches.

"Well, I guess that'll be that then." Fugaku exhaled the last puff of smoke for the night, the tobacco he had stuffed in all but burned away.

"Hey." Tsume ground her teeth together anxiously, still a bit guilty at how their conversation had ended but a few moments earlier. "What say we all go hit up a bar after this meeting's over?"

"Sure. I'mabsolutely certainthat a bar will be open past midnight, and right after a massive city-wide evacuation notice." Hiashi huffed tiredly.

Tsume stared down at the rooftop, kicking a displaced pebble of polished stone. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Forget I said anything."

The two looked back at her, before Fugaku lightly elbowed Hiashi. The Hyuuga held up his hands in placation. "Wait, Tsume. Let's go back to the Hyuuga District instead of drinking that overpriced piss-swill that the commoners call beer. I'm sure there's some fine bottles of umeshu with each of our names on it."

"Or… alternatively, we go to the Uchiha District, and I break out a few bottles of that premium Honjozoshu that I keep tucked away for special occasions?"

"What's wrong with the Hyuuga District?"

"Hiashi, we want to drink without being looked at like we're the dirt under someone's fingernails."

Tsume nodded in agreement. "So it's settled, then. We'll drink at Fugaku's place, and we'll have the little afterparty that Minato and Kushina would have wanted."

"Damn right."

"Indeed. A shot for each year we wish for Naruto's continued prosperity."

All three were now nodding in agreement.

"Now," Tsume clapped her hands together. "Let's hurry or we're gonna have the whole council yelling at us."

Lagging a few minutes behind everyone else, the former team were the last to make their way into the stairwell. Fugaku, who walked at the front of the trio, spoke up with some cheer having returned to his voice. "To Naruto?"

Hiashi and Tsume smiled sadly, each raising a hand as though they were holding a cup for a toast. "To Naruto."

"By the way, if the offer still stands, I'll take those bones you mentioned earlier, Fugaku."

---

Big thanks to my co-author, King Jucio for helping me develop this idea.