Chapter 2
The security in Konoha was way too lax if an entire clan could disappear for a week and nobody noticed. Fugaku and several others showed up on time for missions so when the civilian population disappeared, nobody cared. “Good riddance,” Some of the braver council members would say.
They were not saying that now. The night before, the realization that they left was made. There was of course a fight with the few that stayed. Danzo was ashamed they couldn’t at least kill Itachi. Because of the Sharingan, he could never mark the boy to keep his silence like his root members. The little traitor probably told his parents everything. Now, there was an emergency meeting for all the council and heads of the other clans were in attendance.
“We should hunt them all down and destroy the threat.” Koharu was adamant. Of course Danzo told her what to say. He couldn’t outright say it himself.
“Are they truly a threat to us? After all, they left when they could have attacked.” Hiashi, the hyuga leader, pondered.
“We should ask why they felt the need to leave, shouldn’t we. This isn’t just one or two rogues. It's concerning.” Asuma, Sarutobi’s son and heir, added. Danzo frowned. This wasn’t going the right direction.
“It doesn’t matter. The fact they left is treason!” Danzo gritted his teeth at the outburst and quickly controlled himself.
Shikaku interrupted before the meeting to diverge into a hunting party. “Let’s look at the contract they signed then. It should be simple enough. If they broke the contract, they are all traitors. If not, then what can we do?” His laid back demeanor was grating on Danzo’s nerves.
They sent a chunin to gather the documents and began chatting. “They had been pulling away for a while now,” one of the nameless clans brought up.
“Who knows how long they were planning this. They could be selling village secrets as we speak.” Homura, the other council member, brought up that point while banging on the desk.
“They do know a lot about how the village operates. Who knows how many secrets they can share.” Asuma sounded more concerned.
“I’m sure it’s in their contract that they can’t share secrets.” Shikaku commented. “Oh look, here it is.” He went to the door and retrieved the contract the chunin gave him.
He looked down and stopped the chunin. “Wait, I think you brought us the wrong document. This is the village charter, not the Uchiha document.” He tried to hand it back but was stopped.
“Sorry,” the chunin pushed it back. “This is the only contract that involves the Uchiha.”
“That can’t be right,” Asuma took the document from Shikaku and read over it as he thought about it. “What about land deeds or school records?”
The chunin fidgeted as he answered. “There was no official land contract. That’s why they were involuntarily moved to the edge of the village without them making a fuss. Apparently, it states in the charter that they were exempt from school contracts too.”
Of course the third hokage and Danzo knew this. It was why they were able to abuse them. The village charter required there be a place for the Uchiha clan but never specified anything beyond that.
“We may have a problem.” Asuma was frowning at the charter. “It says here that they have a right to leave at any time without reason.”
The third frowned and spoke for the first time. “What does that mean?” He looked towards the council for an answer but it was Hiashi that answered.
“It means that we should not have attacked them without cause last night. We’re lucky none of them died. They could petition the daimyou for damages since there are no laws keeping them here.” He looked worried now.
“Have we sent anyone after them?” Another village head asked the room.
“Impossible, we wouldn’t send anyone on such an important mission without agreeing on it.” Asuma was quick to reassure them. Danzo made a mental note to order a gag on the ones he already sent. The look the Hokage sent him told him he would have to recall them.
“According to this, they could tell the whole world everything about us and suffer repercussions.” Asuma continued. “We should review all the clan contracts and see about sending spies after them to determine what their motivations are.”
“Agreed” Hiashi seconded the motion. “We shouldn’t attack until we get in contact with them. This could end badly for Konoha.”
Koharu had to play their trump card earlier than she wanted to. “What about the jinchuriki? They obviously kidnapped him and he was a ward of the state.” They wanted to hold this card but they needed to criminalize the clan leaving.
“We don’t know where he is. His guard was drug into an unknown conflict and lost sight of him. We need to send spies to all the surrounding villages and question one of the kidnappers that were caught. It’s imperative we find him.” Asuma directed.
“Can we even take him back? I believe he lives alone with a family stipend controlled by the hokage. Is he a ward of the state? If not, even if we find him, our only option will be to discreetly take him back.” Hiashi was well versed in control and was concerned by the lack of in this entire situation.
“We’ll dismiss for today and look at the contracts.” They could do nothing else. After the room cleared. The Hokage held his head and hoped he didn’t make a huge mistake, letting them go.