23 Chapter 23

Chapter 23

KUSHINA UZUMAKI

The whole village was still reeling from the shock of Ohashi's death. The very air of the village was thick with tension, as the whole village could sense a major change. Behind the scenes, the shinobi forces were tense as well. With Iwa and Kumo being relatively quiet, everyone was on edge.

The news about the death of Danzo Shimura had also leaked, and there was major speculation that his death was somehow connected with Ohashi Hatake's death. The Grand Council, called by Lady Tsunade Senju, was set to begin today, and all the secrets would be revealed today.

As she turned the corner, she stopped as she found herself staring at a very familiar figure. Minato's apprentice and brother of the recently martyred Ohashi Hatake and the leader of the Hatake clan stood there a bit anxious as he leaned lazily against the wall, probably waiting for her.

Minato had asked her to help his apprentice, given that it was his first time attending the Council meetings. And though she hated these boring meetings herself, she had attended enough to understand their obscure plots and politics. As she saw him, she was reminded of Mikoto's young apprentice. He had been a natural at these meetings and had fit in quite easily amongst the rest of the clan heads as he sat in Kakashi-kun's place for the last couple of meetings.

"Kakashi-kun," she called out and saw him turn towards him. She didn't miss how his shoulders relaxed a bit as his eyes landed on her.

"Kushina-san," he greeted her respectfully as she walked towards him.

"I hope you didn't have to wait for long," she said sheepishly as they both began to walk towards the room.

"No, I just got here," he said as he looked around and then hesitantly asked her.

"The atmosphere seems extremely tense," he said, and she was impressed by his astute observations and nodded.

"Yes, this is the first time someone other than the Hokage has called a Grand Council, so the people are a bit tense. And of course, then there is all the intrigue surrounding the unfortunate events of the last couple of weeks," she replied and saw him stiffen a bit at her words before he nodded. They reached the door to the room and stopped as she looked towards him.

"Ok, I know Minato taught you everything about these already, though there really isn't much to do. It's mostly just sitting quietly and listening and speaking up if your opinion is asked. Your seat will be right next to mine, so if you don't understand anything, just ask me," she told him, and he nodded.

Then she closed her eyes and pushed open the doors. The Council room was quite large and had a large table in the center. At the head of the table sat the Hokage, with the two founding clans sitting right next to him, opposite to each other.

Most of the clan heads were already present, and even Lord Third sat on his seat. She saw Mikoto-chan's husband, Fugaku, glance up at her as he gave her a small nod as she walked past him.

She reached her seat and sat down, with Kakashi-kun taking the seat next to her. The whole room was quiet, and the tension was palpable, and then entered the very person who had called this Council meeting.

Tsunade Senju had a menacing look on her face as she entered the room, her gaze sharp and glinted as she walked towards her seat and sat down.

With this, everyone was present. She then looked around the room and tapped the table twice in front of her. She felt the seals placed around the room activate as she stood up once more.

"Let us begin this Great Council!"

0000

TSUNADE SENJU

Tsunade saw her sensei's gaze land on her as she called the Grand Council meeting into session. All the clan heads perked up at her words. Their eyes focused on her as they waited for her to tell them all why she had called this special meeting.

"As I am not fond of wordplay or riddles, I will get straight to the point," her words made everyone look at her with narrowed gaze as they waited for her to continue.

"Some time ago, a young shinobi from one of the village's most respected clans began to suspect one of our village's most respected veterans of treason," and the whole Council room stilled at her words. She saw Fugaku narrow his eyes, probably realizing whom she was pointing towards, much like Shikaku and Inoichi.

"He lacked concrete evidence to prove his suspicion, and so he began to investigate this on his own," she began telling them half-truths. For her as much as she was angry with her sensei, her meeting with him had made her realize that she couldn't let the village's belief in the position of the Hokage falter.

The Hokage was a symbol of unity and strength in the village, and though her sensei had been nearly complicit, they had come to an agreement about how to proceed with all this.

"And though he should have brought it to the Hokage's attention, the shinobi decided to wait until he had some evidence to prove his suspicion and began gathering said evidence," she said, and by now, more than half the room had caught on and had an idea about whom she was talking of.

"The shinobi I speak of was none other than the recently martyred Ohashi Hatake, who lost his life as he confronted this traitorous veteran," she finished and saw her sensei look down in shame as she continued.

"And the traitor he was investigating was none other than the elder Shimura Danzo," and she saw her words register as half the clan heads paled at her words. Surprise was the first emotion, quickly followed by rage, anger, and disgust as the Hiashi Hyuga looked toward her sensei.

"Is this true, lord Hokage?" he questioned, and her sensei sighed as he nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes. Danzo Shimura, one of my closest friends and one of the most respected veterans of this village, was indeed compromised," added her sensei, and the room broke out into mayhem as clan heads began to curse the deceased elder.

She watched the room dissolve into chaos and glanced towards her sensei, who nodded and stood up.

"Danzo Shimura had been one of my teammates. We had fought together for decades. I called him a friend, yet he wasn't worthy of that title. He overrode my commands and betrayed my trust as he tried to attain power for himself, breaking many of our foundational laws in his wake," her sensei began, his voice filled with sadness and betrayal.

"Young Ohashi saw through this façade and began looking into his various secretive ventures on his own, and about a week ago, was forced into a confrontation as he raided one of Danzo's secret bases to collect evidence. Their fight resulted in the death of them both, yet by then, the young man had already passed on the evidence to a person of trust who brought it to me," said her sensei as he looked towards her. The room was still reeling from this news, yet her sensei continued.

"I called Danzo a friend, often relying on his council, trusting our years and years of comradeship. Yet it seems the man I called a friend had been plotting against me and my village behind my back. And with that in mind, I have decided to step down from my position as the leader of the village," and The whole room was quiet as they internalized those words, as her sensei slowly took off his Hokage hat and placed it down.

"I believe it is time for someone new to lead this village," her sensei began as he looked towards her.

"And so we are gathered here today, to choose the right person. The person who shall take my place as the Fourth Hokage and lead this village into the next era!"

0000

MINATO NAMIKAZE

The past year had the whole village in flux. The betrayal of one of the most respected elders, followed by the heroic actions of one of the village's youngest prodigies, the story had shaken the whole village.

The Grand Council had ended as they had all expected. With Lord Third's resignation, it was time to choose a new Kage. Several names had been considered, and he was honored that his name had been amongst the many despite not being selected in the end.

But he didn't mind. He was still young, and just being considered for the station of the Hokage was honor enough. In the end, it had come to two people, Fugaku Uchiha, and Lady Tsunade. Despite the substantial support enjoyed by the Uchiha clan leader, Lady Tsunade's role in dismantling the whole Shimura scandal could not be overlooked. And in the end, Fugaku himself had recused himself, with Lady Tsunade becoming the Fourth Hokage.

Things had moved swiftly from there. A massive sweep had been done, destroying all the rot from the years and years of Danzo Shimura's subterfuge. Much had been uncovered, ranging from his illegal experiments to experiments that bordered on bloodline theft. Many other people in the village had been indicted.

And the world hadn't missed the massive shift in Konoha's power structure. Both Iwa and Kumo had shown their hands. Their forces had gathered and were ready to move out for what was being said to be the final attack of the war. It was their final push after Konoha had thwarted all their earlier attacks, as they would this.

And so, he found himself standing in the Hokage office again as Lady Tsunade looked at him from across the table, her ceremonial hat by her side as she looked him in the eye.

"So, you believe you and your team could pull this off," she asked him, and he nodded.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade. I believe we can. The supply lines of Iwa have serious choke points on the Kanabi bridge, and I believe that me and my team could take on this mission," he replied. Though at the rate they were growing, they would soon get away from him.

Ohashi's death had brought quite a change in Kakashi and, in that regard, in his whole team. While previously Kakashi had always been rather reclusive and headstrong, his brother's status as a village hero had changed him. He was a bit more approachable while becoming more of a team player, losing his fixation on the ninja rulebook he had established after his father's death.

"And who would be leading the team as you go and support the main force against the Iwa forces," she questioned, making him frown.

"I believe Kakashi Hatake would take the position of the leader," after all, he was the team leader, and he saw Ladt Tsunade lean back as she tapped her desk before she shook her head.

"No, he is too young to lead such a sensitive mission. I believe I have someone more appropriate in mind for this role," said Tsunade-sama as she picked up a file from the side and pushed it towards him.

"I believe your team has worked with Ohashi's team a number of times. Mikoto Uchiha is a well-established jounin and would be the better choice for leading the second part of this mission," and he nodded.

Mikoto had replaced Ohashi as the sensei for his team, and their teams had trained together occasionally. The foundation that Ohashi had given the three of his genin had been built upon by his old teacher, and the three young genin had flourished under her tutelage and were one of the more accomplished genin teams amongst their peers.

"As you say, though, may I ask who will be leading the assault against the Kumo forces since there are reports that the Third Raikgae himself is leading the men in the field," he asked.

Lord Ay, the third Raikage, was widely considered to be the greatest Raikage Kumo had ever had. The man was a monster capable of facing a tailed beast himself. His speed and durability were legendary, and he was probably the biggest threat to their village.

And given his skill level, they would need to send someone capable of facing the man on equal footing.

He saw Lady Tsunade frown at the mention of the Third Raikage as she cursed Kumo before she replied.

"Yes, that news is indeed true. The Third Raikage is indeed leading his men in the field, though you shouldn't worry about it too much. The Third Raikage may be a monster, but Konoha has several monsters of its own," she replied with a smirk.

"And this one had been bogged down by paperwork for quite some time," and he quickly caught on to the meaning behind those words, his eyes widened at the implication.

"You don't mean…." He began, and she nodded.

"Yes, indeed. The person leading the defense against the Kumo forces is none other than my sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage himself."

0000

MADARA UCHIHA

Madara Uchiha wasn't easily impressed. He had grown up on the battlefield fighting the likes of Hashirama Senju, Mirai Uzumaki, and Sasuke Sarutobi. These hadn't been merely mortals. They were gods—literal Gods who could change the whole world with their sheer will.

He had been relatively underwhelmed by the other shinobi. The likes of Muu and even that lightning cloak-wielding idiots from Lightning country had never truly stood a chance against the likes of him.

Yet he found himself impressed by the shinobi chained in front of him. Ohashi Hatake, the son of the White Fang of Konoha. Izanami was a mysterious technique, said to change a person's very fate by trapping him into an eternal genjutsu.

A year had passed since he had first cast the genjutsu, and yet the boy remained defiant. The Izanami was said to morph a person's perception of time itself, making them live out years and years in the genjutsu as only minutes pass in the real world. But even after all that, the boy hadn't broken and had continued to resist the inevitability. Zetsu had begun to lose patience and had implored him to search for a new vessel, yet Madara ignored him.

He let the imposter continue the ruse as he continued to use him, yet he never trusted him after he got to know the truth about its identity. An Ototsuki, a descendant of Kaguya, the progenitor of chakra. A shame that he was such a weakling.

He knew that he had already found the perfect successor. The young shinobi in front of him was the one he had been searching for, a true successor who saw the truth of this world. A person who could do what he ahd failed to do, a shinobi who could bring true peace to this world.

And then suddenly, he felt the chakra in the cave shift. Madara looked ahead at the unmoving body of Hatake and felt his chakra shift. A smile appeared on his face as the young man's eyes slowly opened, those black orbs heavy with the burden of the task he was about to take on.

"So, you have finally accepted your fate, young Ohashi," he asked as he looked him in the eye. The young shinobi didn't move and only opened his mouth.

"Yes, I have. I now know what needs to be done."

0000

Madara's broken Ohashi. Zetsu's days are numbered. And Sarutobi vs Third Raikage!

Things are getting interesting.

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