Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 36: Calm Before the Storm

AN: First, sorry about the delay on the chapter, this fought me every step of the way, but here we are, hopefully there won't be as big of a delay with the next one.

Second, I hope you are all healthy wherever you are, keep yourselves that way.

I let out a sigh as I leaned back into my chair, staring at the assorted reports in front of me, tapping my finger on my desk.

Sunagakure was holding up their end of the treaty, sending us their chakra-receptive metal along with Temari, the metal being placed in a secured warehouse under 24 hour guard, to be returned to Suna when the time came.

Temari had been set up in a suite in the Uchiha building and temporarily installed as a Konohagakure shinobi assigned to Team 10 for the time being, hey even if I was making major changes to the timeline, it wasn't going to stop me from playing a little matchmaking here and there.

"Hokage-sama, I have a report from the hospital for you," Shizune announced as she entered the office.

I blinked out of my contemplation and looked at Shizune. "How does the initial batch of trainees look?" I asked her. Tsunade was finally in good enough mental condition to start up her medical-ninja program with today marking the end of the first month of the program.

"The results are looking good, Hokage-sama," Shizune reported excitedly. "We hope that we can get at least fifteen grade 3 medical-ninja from this batch, with five of them showing potential for achieving grade 2."

I nodded approvingly. Honestly, this was great news; normally it was only a handful of medical personnel per generation, but fifteen in a single generation, even if they could only do basic triage on the battlefield, was a massive boon. "Pass my congratulations onto Tsunade-san," I replied with a nod. "Plus, inform her I am increasing the budget by 50%."

Shizune beamed happily at me. "Yes!" she replied cheerfully, bowing to me gratefully. "I'll go and tell her now!"

I chuckled as Shizune ran off with a small squeal of happiness as she left my office.

"That's amazing progress for just one month," Aoi commented with a raised eyebrow. "Guess Tsunade-dono is a good teacher when she sets her mind to it."

I nodded in agreement, looking over the report, mainly a list of names and their current level of skills. "Indeed," I vocalized after a moment. "Hopefully the progress continues."

My guards all nodded in agreement as we continued our work for the day, just another day for us.

I read through the report sent to me by Jiraiya, apparently, he, Naruto, and the recently acquired Fuu had gotten involved in Yuki no Kuni's civil war, on the said of the previous Daimyo's reluctant daughter, Koyuki Kazehana.

Well, rather she had been reluctant.

Seriously, I should look into getting Naruto professional psychiatric training from the Yamanaka with how easily he was able to help people with their trauma and PTSD as it stood.

Since at some point during their mission in the country, Naruto managed to convince her to take up the position of Daimyo, Jiraiya adding in a note to expect a trade delegation from Yuki no Kuni soon enough.

Which could be a good thing, normally Yuki no Kuni didn't have much in the way of exports, but with the possibility of the heat generator that Koyuki's father was working on, the country had the chance to become an agricultural powerhouse.

While Hi no Kuni had a strong agricultural presence, the fact was, more food imports for building emergency reserves was always a good thing.

Militarily, there had been the armor used by the shinobi sworn to the Daimyo's service, while not quite a hidden village, their armor could be helpful for keeping shinobi alive in a warzone. Then again, wearing it had made the idiots too cocky and had fallen victim to traps most ordinary sinobi wouldn't have overlooked, so…?

I tapped my finger against my desk as I considered the information that Jiraiya's report gave me. It could be possible to work out a trade deal, while Yuki no Kuni did have flora, very little of it could be used for producing foodstuffs. Meanwhile because of our warm winter seasons we could grow food nearly year round, meaning we had seeds aplenty.

It could be possible to leverage those seeds, along with skilled labor in the form of farmers, in exchange for help with developing our own form of Chakra armor.

It could definitely be possible with the goodwill that Naruto garnered with their Daimyo, and it wasn't like they weren't getting nothing out of the deal. Seeds for us aren't worth much, but for a country that is only just starting to break through the frost that held them prisoner? They were priceless.

"Hokage-sama," one of my ANBU appeared before me in a respectful kneeling posture. "We have received an urgent communication from the Daimyo's Physician."

I looked up from the report Jiraiya sent and made a motion for the ANBU to continue.

"The Physician reports that the Daimyo is suffering from an illness that he has not seen before, and believes it could possibly be an assassination attempt, he requests your aid in curing the Daimyo," the ANBU reported, drawing a frown from me.

One would normally expect this to be the Daimyo attempting to flex his authority over me by ordering me to see to his illness, but, the fact of the matter was, the relationship between myself and the Fire Daimyo was one of respect. The fact of the matter was, he knew just how powerful I was, and respected the fact that I had an army of shinobi at my call.

I meanwhile respected the fact that he kept his country together through sheer force of will during times of unrest, refusing to even call upon us to subjugate rebellions against him, showing himself to be a competent military commander when the time called upon it, but fully willing to embrace the duties of peace when it was needed.

Not to mention the Daimyo's Physician was someone I had personally trained in the medical arts in the years before Sarutobi retired. Meaning he was capable of handling many different types of illnesses and maladies.

"Inform Hiashi and Tsume of my absence," I commanded as I stood up, grabbing my Hokage robes as Genma, Aoi and Chika stepped up to me. "I will return as soon as possible."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," the ANBU replied as my three guards made the seals for the [Flying Thunder Formation] before the four of us vanished in a flash of yellow light, reappearing in a room in the Daimyo's palace, set aside specifically for my use with [Hiraishin] and the [Flying Thunder Formation].

"Hokage-dono," one of the Daimyo's retainers greeted me with a bow after starting slightly at my sudden arrival. "Thank you for your quick arrival, Kikai-sensei is waiting for you in the Daimyo's chambers."

I gave him a nod as he began to lead the way through the palace at a brisk pace, thankfully the Daimyo's chambers were close by, my guards joining the Daimyo's in guarding the room wordlessly as I stepped in.

"Yuriko-sensei, thank you for coming so promptly," my former student, Kikai, said gratefully.

He was older than I was, and that initially caused some friction between us until he saw my skill with his own eyes and began learning from me eagerly.

"Kikai-san," I responded respectfully as I moved over to the Daimyo's bedside and began looking him over carefully, his skin being deathly pale and clammy to the touch with a burning fever. "I can see why you called me," I murmured as I began to cycle my chakra through the Daimyo's body, searching for abnormalities within him to explain his condition. "According to my scan, there is nothing wrong with him. How long has he been like this?"

"Not very long," Kikai replied with a sigh, frowning as he joined me. "He complained about some disorientation this morning over breakfast. After my own scan, we both agreed it was possibly due to a lack of sleep as of late. He only became like this recently, no more than three hours ago."

I nodded in response, taking in the formation as I began to use more specialized scans on the Daimyo, my [Sharingan] coming to life as I looked him over. "Ah," I commented after several minutes, Kikai looking at me hopefully. "I can see it now," I assured him after several moments. "A parasite, small and continually moving, hard to detect and nearly invisible to scans."

"I see," Kikai frowned in response. "Are you able to remove it? Can he be healed?"

"If you had called me any later, than it would have been too late, the parasite has already begun spreading itself, but, it is still early enough that the damage is mostly repairable, and it has yet to make its way to the Daimyo's brain," I informed with a small smile as I pulled a bowl filled with a chemical out of a seal and passed it to Kikai. "Left hand, index finger," I instructed. "That is where I shall eject the first batch."

"Understood, sensei," Kikai acquiesced quickly as he moved the bowl to the specified area, the two of us quickly working to remove the parasites from his body.

"This is a highly rare parasite," I murmured as I worked. "I had only seen it in one place before, Kusagakure."

Kikai nodded as he moved the bowl to the next part where the parasites were being removed. "Then how did it find its way into the Daimyo?" he questioned quietly, looking around furtively.

"An assassination attempt," I murmured in response as the last of the parasites were purged from his body. "That's the last of them. Help me with repairing the damage, it should stick this time."

"Of course," Kikai set the bowl to the side as he moved across from me and began aiding me in healing the Daimyo.

Thankfully the healing went through without a problem, and the Daimyo began to settle in his slumber. "Commander," I called out as I stepped out of the Daimyo's chamber, calling the samurai commander in charge of defending the Daimyo. "We have an assassin in the palace, quietly alert your most trusted, I will have my guards begin rooting out the assassin."

"Of course, Hokage-dono," the commander replied with a slight bow, deferring to my orders.

"Aoi, Chika, Genma, go," I commanded the trio who nodded in confirmation and began moving.

"Forgive me, Hokage-dono, what will you be doing?" the samurai commander questioned curiously.

"I will be remaining with the Daimyo, ensuring he recovers properly," I replied with a firm nod. "And to ensure a more direct attempt isn't made."

"Understood, Hokage-dono," the commander replied with another bow before marching off as I slipped back into the chambers.

I let out a soft breath as I meditated within the Daimyo's chamber, the lord woke briefly a couple of hours ago, being fed some broth and medicine before he drifted back into slumber.

There were definitely signs of assassins in the area, Chika having found what looked to be where the assassins had been hiding out in a neglected wing of the Daimyo's palace itself.

My ears twitched slightly as a soft, barely even audible sound was heard above me. Slowly opening my eyes, I turned my gaze up, looking up as a panel in the ceiling opened.

As my gaze watched it my kodachi whispered from my sheath as I whipped my blade up, blocking a kunai from stabbing into my jugular. "Idiot," I breathed out in disappointment, meeting the gaze of a black haired man with sharp features, a Kusagakure hitai-ate covering his forehead.

His eyes narrowed as he leapt back away from me as I stood up properly, the room wavering for a moment before the genjutsu I had in place dispelled, revealing the Daimyo nowhere to be seen.

"I see, you moved him then," the man commented with a slight frown. "No matter, my men will finish the job."

I rolled my eyes as I walked towards him. "Enough of your posturing and surrender," I commanded, bringing my will down upon him. "I care not for your arrogance."

The man across from me growled in response as flames began to gather in his palm. "Let's see how cocky you are, when you are my prisoner!" he shouted as he attempted to ram his hand into my gut. "[Fire Release: Heavenly Prison]!"

He was a quick man, but I had both my [Sharingan] which allowed me to track his movements, and my training with Gai that allowed me to react in time to catch his wrist before he could land his technique.

"Did you really expect me to just let you hit me?" I questioned dryly as I summoned my [Chakra Scalpel], removing his hand from the wrist entirely.

A scream tore from his throat as he staggered back, clutching at his wrist in pain.

He barely had time for another step before I lunged forward, cutting off his head with my kodachi.

"Report," I called out as I wiped the blood off my blade, Aoi appearing in the room with a smirk on his face.

"They're all dealt with," he affirmed. "The one Chika captured confirmed they're a part of the Grass Fruit faction of Kusagakure, they're under orders from Mui, the Warden of their prison."

"Explains this one's technique," I commented, looking down at the dead man. "Must have been hoping to entrap me with their jutsu for something."

"Hokage-dono, we heard a scream," a Samurai called out from the hallway.

"Inform your commander, the assassins have been dealt with," I called back before turning to Aoi. "Keep the prisoner alive for now, have Chika continue pumping them for info."

"Right, will do," Aoi confirmed with a nod before vanishing as I moved to meet up with the Daimyo.

Quest Complete!

The Daimyo's Life has been saved from assassins

+150,000 EXP, +25,000 Reputation with the Fire Daimyo

You are now Honored with the Fire Daimyo

I let out a sigh as I appeared back in my office with my guards. "Can one day go by without a potential catastrophe dropping in my lap?" I questioned dryly, running a hand through my waist length hair.

"Apparently not," Genma chuckled as I sat back down in my chair, scowling at the paperwork that appeared while I was gone. "It seems like no one is ab;e to handle anything without your oversight."

I rolled my eyes in response as I began sorting through the paperwork, focusing on the urgent things that needed to be handled first, and throwing out a good quarter of the paperwork into the waste bin - I was going to have to have a word with my secretary about properly filtering the paperwork again.

"Hokage-sama," one of my ANBU greeted as he appeared, kneeling in the center of the room

"Bear, report," came my reply as I started reading the requests.

"No emergencies during your trip," he reported easily. "We have uncovered several leads on possible Otogakure bases and a report on some possible Akatsuki movement."

"Have Epsilon look into the Akatsuki movements," I instructed calmly. "Gamma will start looking into the Otogakure leads."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Bear replied with a bow before he vanished to follow through with my orders.

Just another day as Hokage.

"Nee-chan!" Sasuke called out with a wide smile as I returned home. "Welcome home!"

"Hey, Sasuke-kun," I greeted warmly, hugging my brother briefly before retrieving Madoka from him. "How has your training with Hiruzen-sama been going?"

Sasuke froze at the question, a somewhat haunted look on his face. "It's going well," he replied woodenly.

I chuckled in response, ruffling his hair as I walked around with Madoka, playing with my daughter. "Just remember, he does know what he's talking about," I reminded him gently.

"Even if he's piercing my muscles with acupuncture to show me what muscles I shouldn't be using?" Sasuke questioned plaintively.

"Huh, that's an older method," I commented in reply, getting a nervous look from my little brother.

"So… it's an actual method?" he asked nervously.

"Yup."

The groan my brother let out made me chuckle again in amusement as he flopped bonelessly onto the couch. "Was it like this for you? When you were training to be strong?" he asked me plaintively.

"It never stopped," I admitted with a slight smile towards him. "Even now, I push myself to the point where I sometimes end up vomiting from the exertion that I put myself through. Other times, I couldn't even move for a half hour."

I smiled down at him as I ruffled his hair. "Training is not meant to be easy, nor is strength easy to obtain," I told him gently. "Keep putting the effort in and you will see results eventually."

Sasuke groaned in response as Roshi walked through the door. "I'm home!" he called out, sounding a little tired as he took off his sandals.

"Welcome home, dear," I called out affectionately as I walked over to greet him with Madoka, Sasuke giving a half-hearted greeting in return.

"Welcome home yourself," Roshi chuckled, kissing me as he entered the home proper. "Things go well?"

"Very well, thank you," I replied, giving him a smile as I placed Madoka into her playpen. "Shall we get started on dinner?"

"Please, I am starving," Roshi agreed with a chuckle joining me as I moved towards the kitchen.

"Are the preparations complete?" Pein questioned as the assorted images of the Akatsuki members appeared for their meeting.

"Yes, Pein-sama," Zetsu announced, his white half speaking. "Our operatives are in position outside of Fire Country, unfortunately since her ascension as Hokage, she has worked hard in ensuring the border security, even with the alliances she has made with the Great Nations," the black half informed. "If anything, it made them more secure."

Itachi frowned slightly as he looked over towards the Hologram towards Kisame who shared the same uncertain look he did.

Out of the entirety of the Akatsuki, they were the only ones who fought Yuriko Uchiha and survived, so they knew just how powerful she could be. And that left them feeling rather… nervous at the prospect of a rematch.

Even if they were not slated to fight her themselves, the fact that they will be invading her territory where there could be three to four - depending if the Gobi was visiting Konoha, was enough of a reason for worry.

And, if they took too long with their assault, then they would be drowning in enemy shinobi from nearby allies in Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

"The agents are not meant to be a real threat," Pein informed calmly. "Their role is to divert attention away from our approach."

"Which targets are we being assigned to?" Itachi questioned, his Sharingan eyes narrowing a bit.

"You and Kisame will be responsible for the Kyuubi," Pein replied. "Sasori, you and Deidara will be responsible for the Nanabi, Hidan and Tobi shall deal with the Yonbi, should the Gobi be in Konoha or arrive to aid them, Sasori and Konan shall deal with him."

"And you, Leader-sama?" Kisame questioned.

"I shall deal with this false idol the nations have rallied around, and show them what a true god is," Pein announced coldly.

Kisame and Itachi shared another look with one another as the communication jutsu faded out, leaving the two of them meditating in a clearing.

"Well… shit," Kisame sighed, scratching his head. "You going to be alright, attacking Konoha like this, Itachi?"

Itachi closed his eyes in response and took in a breath before nodding and reopening his eyes. "Yes," he affirmed. "If anything, this works out just perfectly, for me to face off with my brother."

"Heh, well, I'll do what I can to give you the one on one experience you want," Kisame replied with a shrug.

"My thanks, Kisame," Itachi replied gratefully, gracing his partner with a smile as the two stood up.

The plan was in motion.

"Someone is looking eager," Jiraiya chuckled as he and Fuu watched Naruto vibrate eagerly, obviously restraining himself from sprinting down the road towards Konoha.

"Of course I am!" Naruto shouted in response, a wide grin on his face. "It's been years since I've been home! I can wait to show you around, Fuu!"

The mint green haired, tanned girl giggled in response. "Can't wait to see this ramen place you keep telling me about," she replied, her orange eyes sparking humorously as they continued to walk.

"You'll love it, Ichiraku's is the absolute best!" Naruto called out cheerfully.

"Hm, looks like we're just about there," Jiraiya informed as he spotted the gates to Konoha over the horizon.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted, unable to restrain his excitement as he began sprinting off towards Konoha, leaving Fuu and Jiraiya behind.

The other jinchuriki sighed in response. "There he goes again," she sighed with a slump of her shoulders. "Hopefully he doesn't crash into any missing nin like he did in Oni no Kuni."

Jiraiya laughed weakly. "Wish I could say something in his defense," he replied as the two followed at a more sedate pace, checking in with the gate guards Naruto blew completely past.

Naruto grinned as he landed on top of a telephone pole overlooking the majority of Konoha. "I'm home!" he shouted out at the top of his lungs, the nearby civilians giving him odd looks as some of the shinobi merely shook their heads in response. "Oh wow! Nee-chan's head got added to the monument!"

"Naruto, come on down," Jiraiya called out from below. "We're heading to Yuriko to report on your training!"

"Right!" Naruto replied as he leapt down to rejoin them. "Heheh, so glad to be home."

END CHAPTER

Yuriko's Stats

Name: Yuriko

Level: 110

EXP: 351,158/975,000

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Title: Godaime Hokage (+100% Reputation with allied Shinobi, Command of Konohagakure Shinobi, you can gain 25% of experience given out for missions completed by loyal shinobi)

Secondary Title: God of Shinobi (+50% to all stats +100% Reputation with all allied Shinobi +10% Damage with all ninja arts. Skill [Aura of Absolute Command] active)

Fated Title: Fatechanger (+100% to all stats.)

STATS

HP - 20,025

CP - 95,800

STR - 120 (300)

INT - 160 (400)

DEX - 200 (500)

VIT - 120 (300)

WIS -160 (400)

LUK - 60 (150)

Ryo - 684,957,332

Stat Points - 20