Digging at old wounds
“What are you training for?”
The question caught Naruto unawares. He stood still, catching his breath after finishing the run up the tree.
Sheepishly, he scratched his head, “Well, I wanna be the Hokage you know.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes, “That’s such a chibi thing to say”
“Hey-“
“I mean, can’t you come up with something a bit more interesting?”
Naruto glared at the raven-haired boy. He took off his jacket and sat down at the base of an oak tree, pressing the back of his head to the trunk, he sighed.
“It’s-it’s a bit more complicated than just wanting to be the Hokage.”
Sasuke raised his eyebrows, “Go on.”
Naruto he took a deep breath, letting the calm of the forest ground him, he felt the nature here, it felt alive and serene, as if the trees themselves worked to bring a calming energy. Naruto always felt how the trees soothed his mind, he tried to organize his thoughts, which would usually be going by hundreds at a time.
“I’m, well, not particularly liked by the village you know,” he started, “the civilians or shinobi, they-they try to avoid me for whatever reason-“
“Mhm, I’ve noticed that, sure it doesn’t have anything to with you pranking merchants?”
Naruto shook his head, “Nah, it happened way before then. That’s just my way of getting back at them, regaining some control, I guess.”
Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.
“Well, there was an incident a few years back, a Chuunin, uh, he tried to kill me.” Naruto said, quietly, “or at least hurt me really bad, I was frozen, my body couldn’t move.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing!” Naruto snapped, “I didn’t do anything. He, he tried to get close to me, to find out where I lived I guess. One night, he just showed up with a kunai at my door.”
“How do you know it was a kunai?”
Naruto palmed his face, of course Sasuke would focus on the least important detail, “Sensing you moron, you know, the thing we’ve been learning to do for the last few years?”
“Sensing just allows you to feel for chakra, you idiot.”
“Nuh-uh, I can tell the body language or intentions of those I sense.” Naruto replied, puzzled, wondering how this somehow hadn’t been a topic of their conversation before, he decided to ask Kakashi about it the next time he saw the Jounin, “Well anyway, so I ran, he caught up, cornered me, threw a giant shuriken. Kakashi was who saved me.”
Sasuke hummed, as if he understood at that moment why a councilman like Kakashi was so close to Naruto. He’d only met the man a few times, but heard a lot about him through Shisui, who had taken the seat at the council, sorting Uchiha affairs in his stead.
“And well, I want to be Hokage, sure, but it’s more like, I want the village to notice me for who I am, acknowledge me for my — my strength, and not for being a fox or whatever-“ Naruto, in his rambling let the unspoken thing slip, ‘Shit’ he thought.
“A fox?” Sasuke quizzed as he stood up to walk over to Naruto.
Naruto hit his head on the tree behind him, “Yeah, he called me a fox before throwing the shuriken. I’ve tried to forget it, not think about it. I guess I failed at that.”
“What does a fox have to do with it? A fox? Or The fox? You know, like the kyuu-“
“Sasuke.” Naruto growled.
“I mean, you do have whiskers so-“
“Duck-butt, I swear to god”
“Okay, okay, no teasing about your whiskers,” Sasuke replied, “breath, idiot, I don’t care about a fox or whatever.”
They sat in silence for a bit, next to each other, they heard each other's breath, the sound of a small pond nearby, the croaking of frogs, the rustle of leaves.
“Well. Your turn now,” said Naruto.
Sasuke didn’t reply for some seconds. Finally, he shrugged and spoke up, “Well, I have to catch up to my brother.”
“The missing-nin?”
Sasuke glared, “Yes. Him. I need to get strong enough to defeat him.” Naruto chuckled, which only intensified Sasuke’s glare, “What?” he snapped.
“Nothing, it’s just.” Naruto scratched his chin, “Is that it?”
Sasuke turned his head towards the forest, frowning, “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You’re not your brother Sasuke,” Naruto was elbowed in the side, “Ouch, I didn’t mean it like that, moron. I mean that your life is not your brothers' life. What’s the point of doing all of this if you just want to defeat a single man? Life, I feel like, is more than just one asshole.”
“Revenge, Naruto, you wouldn’t understand. He killed my whole clan, he killed our parents.” Sasuke’s voice was unusually quiet.
“Sure, I don’t really understand all of it, but I do know revenge. Why do you think those asshole merchants are being pranked anyway?”
Sasuke sat in silence, he didn’t really wish to have the conversation, but he was the one to bring it all up, so there was no one he could blame.
“And well, I don’t really understand the point of focusing your whole life on another person.”
“Aren’t you the idiot that wants to become Hokage for the approval of others?”
Naruto sputtered, “That’s-that’s different” he whispered.
“Doesn’t seem that different.”
No matter what they talked about, the forest was the same, the same noises, the same wind. It helped Naruto think, to ponder things that he would not let disturb him in his own home.
“Fuck, you’re right.” Naruto spoke up after a few minutes.
“I know I am.”
“That’s it then, I’m becoming Hokage so that no other children feels the same loneliness, the same pain as us.”
Sasuke widened his eyes as he turned to look at the blonde. Naruto was sitting, looking resolutely at the sky, his spiky hair almost floating in the wind. It had been a long time since they first met, and yet neither of them felt that different, but at this moment, Naruto was almost unrecognisable to Sasuke.
“Huh,” said Sasuke.
“Yep, and once I’m Hokage, I’m going to end the shitty politics that try to control people like you.”
Sasuke closed his eyes, chuckling, “What the hell do you know about politics,” and even through his closed eyes, Sasuke could feel Naruto grin.
“More than you could imagine.”
Sasuke shrugged, “Well, good luck with that”
“And you’re going to live a full life and show that asshole that you’re not scared of his dumb skills.”
“What? Since when do you get to decide what I do?”
“Oh come on,” Naruto whined, “don’t you want to see the world outside the village? There are so many interesting things in here, imagine what it’s like outside. Who knows, maybe someone will actually like you even with your shitty attitude.”
“Plenty of people like me.”
“Fawn over you more like, I know just how much you like the fangirls.” Naruto giggled, “I’m serious Sasuke, there are so many people outside Konoha, so many people with life experiences that we will never have. Don’t you want to be free to live as you want to?”
Even with neither of them facing each other, both felt the small smiles on the other’s face, “Yeah. I think I’d like that.”
Sasuke felt Naruto jump up next to him, “Great! Come on, we have to be strong enough that no one can say anything when we do what we want,” Sasuke instinctively caught Naruto's kick, “Stand up Sasuke, I can’t have a rival be weaker than me. I’ll show you the chakra control technique Kakashi told me to check out if you beat me.”
“Back so soon?” Shisui shouted out as Sasuke returned home - past midnight, “You know the ANBU won’t like you-“
“They, can fuck right off.”
“Language!” Shisui sighed, “Sasuke, I know they’re not exactly making it easy to be likeable, but you must persevere, Kakashi and I are doing our hardest to remove the restrictions to your movement, but the council can be downright antagonistic at times.”
Sasuke shrugged as he sat on the futon in the living room, “Whatever, I’m becoming a genin soon, it’s not like they can keep me locked up forever.”
“Oh? Is that a bit of shrewdness I’m hearing? Where did you pick up that from?” Shisui chuckled as he sat beside Sasuke, “Chibi is a good influence on you.”
Sasuke stretched on the futon, not paying attention to Shisui’s quips. His mind was wandering on the conversation him and Naruto had shared.
“Do you think its stupid to make defeating Itachi my main mission? I know you’ve tried to steer me away from that, but-but how do i-“
Shisui’s eyed widened before his face softened, a small smile appearing on his face, “Oh Sasuke,” he put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, “What brought this on?
Sasuke avoided Shisui’s gaze as much as he could, “Naruto. I asked him why he’s training so hard. The conversation soon turned on me, and he said that there’s more to life than just one asshole.”
“Language,” Shisui chided softly, before pulling Sasuke closer, “You know, Naruto really is a good influence on you.”
Sasuke didn’t say anything, he just allowed himself to be wrapped in the older Uchiha’s hug.
“There’s no one who can tell you what decisions you should make for yourself, Sasuke, but I think that living your best life and doing something that you actually wish to do is the best way to honour those that have been lost. Itachi-“ Shisui sighed, “he did something unthinkable, and he will get what he deserves. You’re not alone in this, even if we forget about the village, you still have me, and Itachi was my best friend you know.”
Sasuke looked up at Shisui, the person who had taken him in and cared for him when there was no one else to do the job. “Why? Why did he do it?”
Shisui looked at Sasuke’s eyes, they were so lost in grief at times that it was almost easy to forget the tragedy and trauma that loomed over him. “I don’t know Sasuke. But trust me, I intend to find out. Because that reason of him wanting to see or prove how strong he was?”
“Bullshit.”
“Yep, bullshit.”
Shisui left his home soon after midnight. As usual, he would visit Kakashi, discuss upcoming council matters, both of their plans outside the politics game, and simply have a nice conversation.
He opted not to use the Body Flicker at this moment, preferring to wander around the streets that he had been so fond of earlier in his childhood. He remembered getting Itachi dango at the small stand near Izumi street. The name of the street also stirring up memories of him teasing the young Itachi after he had saved the second-liner Izumi Uchiha. He remembered how flustered the normally stoic Itachi would get.
Shisui stopped at a corner of a street, where for the first time in the many years since the massacre, he had an urge to enter the long-abandoned building to his right.
The building was showing the signs of overgrowth. As much as the village tried to keep the district clean following the massacre, the funds, and the willingness slowly were eradicated. Leaving the Uchiha clan quarters in the care of a few willing volunteers and the two Uchiha residing in it.
Strangely, the building was the sole building to not be cared for on the whole intersection. Shisui’s mind wandered, trying to remember who used to live there, or if there was a shop of some kind. Yet his mind came up blank.
Blinking his eyes in surprise, Shisui decided on a small detour.
“I swear I knew every single building in here.” He muttered to himself, still unable to remember just what the purpose of this building was.
As Shisui walked up the building, he noticed a small genjutsu on the door, hiding the entrance from any passer-by. He chuckled to himself, the Uchiha clan would always keep a simple illusion over the doors after certain hours so that any thieves or looters were unable to enter. It didn’t do much against other shinobi, but for the civilian populace of Konohagakure, it was enough. Perhaps unnecessary in the closely guarded quarters of the Uchiha clan, but a remnant of the days before shinobi villages existed.
Soon, though, a small feeling of dread swept through him. A genjutsu, much less one only known to the Uchiha could not have been active for this long without active maintenance. Even seals would eventually wear off, and it had certainly been a long time after the massacre for the supplied chakra to dissipate.
Shisui for the first time in many years, was wary and cautious in the Uchiha clan district. His eyes darted in many directions, sending out chakra to look for any nearby shinobi chakra, was uneventful. Still, Shisui approached the building as if it was haunted.
He dispelled the illusion after a few tries, surprised at the struggle, “How the hell did I never notice it before,” he wondered. Though that thought would have to be solved later. He refocused on the door, grasping it and pulling it outward.
Quickly, the smell of stale air hit his nose, as the midnight breeze slowly wafted over the years of dust buildup inside the building. Old, dried up parchment lined the walls, and a small futon was placed near the western window, the moonlight flowing in from the outside lit up the wooden floors of the building.
Shisui pushed himself in, and before long, almost without him knowing it, he ended up in the basement of the building. The entrance of which was even more surprisingly behind yet another, strong genjutsu. Shisui noticed a small oil lamp, which was kept in stasis by a simple seal. Fire manipulation allowed him to light up a small flame inside it.
As the flickering orange light of the lamp lit up the basement, Shisui was hit by a wave of memories.
He and Itachi finding the basement in the abandoned building of a long-dead merchant. Itachi showing him scrolls stolen from the crypts. Then practising genjutsu on one another. Itachi explaining to him something that he couldn’t quite remember. Shisui nodding and bowing to Itachi.
The memories had caught Shisui off-guard. All of it was part of the unaccounted period between him and Itachi joining the ANBU and Kakashi rescuing him from the river, and all of it was connected somehow. Yet Shisui did not know where to even start connecting the dots.
The basement was devoid of any scrolls that he was sure they had kept in here. The place was looted, or perhaps Itachi took them away with him for some strange reason.
Shisui rubbed his temple, “When the hell did you have the time to steal these scrolls, Itachi?” he muttered to himself once more.
Deciding that he had been in the basement of the building long enough without any answers, he ran upstairs and left from the front door. ‘I’ll figure you out soon, but I’m going to need some help,’ he thought to himself. Placing the genjutsu on the door once more. He body flickered over to Kakashi, eager to take his mind off the newly reappeared memories.
Over the past few years, Kakashi had become accustomed to his new role as the councilman and jounin of Konohagakure. There had been times when he had been a critical decider on issues, both critical and superfluous. Throughout all that, he had gathered considerable political goodwill from the prominent trio of clans.
As much as his own initial indictment of the political affiliations of different groups had bothered him, Kakashi knew he needed to put in serious work to get where he needed to go.
Shisui had been a god-sent, a great on-the-spot thinker and someone Kakashi could rely on to bring him back down to earth when his own thoughts and plans covered years and multiple unlikely circumstances to occur. Shisui was also great for the Uchiha clan, wrestling away the control advisers held on the almost extinct founder group of Konohagakure and managing to keep the account balance as well as political prestige whilst not needing to be outwardly hostile to anyone.
At this moment, Kakashi was sat down on his futon, drinking tea from the Samurai country. He’d returned from a week-long mission, the longest allowed by his position at the council, this evening, and he was willing to rest for the night, as tomorrow would bring mayhem.
Soon he sensed the familiar chakra of Shisui approaching Tobirama street. Walking over to the door, he focused his chakra on the locking seal his mentor had taught him a long ago, and returned to his position at the futon.
In a matter of seconds, Shisui entered his room, the small droplets of sweat on his forehead visible to Kakashi’s sole uncovered eye.
“Come in Shisui and tell me what’s got you sweating your eyeballs,” he said nonchalantly.
Shisui wiped the pool of sweat from his forehead and shook his head.
“I’ll just sit down for a few minutes if you don’t mind. Tell me about the mission.”
Kakashi brushed it away, “Maa, nothing too serious, just a recon mission on some rascals towards the north border.” Shisui raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, “they haven’t crossed into the Land of Fire, staying over at the Land of Rice Fields, so as far as the Daimyo is concerned, it’s none of our business. Just noting down their abilities and potential threat level.”
“Hmm,” Shisui grunted, “and? What’s the threat level?”
“Quite high, weird genjutsu techniques and either unknown bloodlines or some type of body mutation ability, but they haven’t ventured over here so I guess they’re smart enough to not make stupid decisions.” Kakashi shrugged.
“What’s that about weird genjutsu techniques?”
“Music as a conductor. Quite ingenious, no need to look at a person, even if sound waves are slow.”
Shisui nodded his head, still after so many years, new shinobi came up with innovative ways of using different techniques to catch people off guard. Though new techniques often got them a higher bounty due to the unknowns, so they mostly lived very short lives unless their innovations were very good.
“So, care to tall what’s got your panties in a-“
Shisui groaned, “Where the hell did you even pick up that saying, it’s so weird.”
Kakashi grinned under his mask, “Iwagakure are very ingenious when it comes to sayings and phrases.”
“Bloody rock-worshippers.”
Kakashi chuckled, “But seriously, tell me what’s up. I haven’t seen you this flustered since Sasuke asked you tips on getting rid of not-so-secret admirers.”
Shisui glared at the jounin, before sighing, “I found, discovered, or remembered a building at the Uchiha clan district that I haven’t noticed for the last few years.”
Kakashi didn’t have any outward reaction, though he was quite surprised, Shisui had a certain eye for detail, and it was very surprising for him to miss a whole building in the last couple of years, ever since he took up the project to renovate and maintain the clan district.
“And if that wasn’t concerning enough. The door had an Uchiha genjutsu on it,” Shisui replied, not caring that he was speaking clan secrets to an outsider, “we’ve used it since ancient times to keep away any who might want to loot or steal.”
“Yeah, the Kesseki genjutsu, very clever.” Kakashi mused, noticing Shisui’s widened eye, he continued, “What? I had an Uchiha teammate. You learn these things.”
Shisui palmed his face, “Yeah, okay, sure. Anyway, did you not catch what I said? The door had an active genjutsu on it. Active. As in, the person who applied it is still alive, and has been in the village at least in the past year.”
Kakashi scratched his chin, “Hmm, seems troubling.”
“Yeah, you don’t say. No one outside of the Uchiha clan knows,” Shisui sighed and corrected himself, “or should know the genjutsu. Let alone be able to perform it. I know for damn sure it isn’t Itachi.”
Kakashi widened his eye at that, “Wait, how are you sure?”
“I just know. I know his chakra, I know how he uses genjutsu. I know that I would’ve felt him at the compound if he was there.”
“Maybe you were on a mission?”
Shisui rubbed the back of his head at the easy remark, “Uh, maybe. But I just have the feeling it wasn’t him,” he looked outwards toward the window, “also why the hell would he return just to put a genjutsu on that building? It feels wrong no matter how you look at it.”
Kakashi put down his cup and pointed Shisui a stare, “That building? So it’s not just a random house? What are you not telling me?”
Shisui chuckled, “Of course you wouldn’t miss that. Can I have some sake before we continue?” He looked at the glass display of various sake from different countries that Kakashi had collected over the years.
Walking towards the cupboard, Kakashi took out two sake cups and grabbed a sake from Amegakure, a rare one, as the village doesn’t get a lot of sunlight, they would create artificial lights to stimulate rice growth, making very few batches. “I have a feeling I might need one as well.”
Shisui poured the sake for both of them, they had a small toast and sipped the drink.
“Okay, I might’ve got some of my memories back after joining the ANBU, and they were very much concentrated in and around that building.”
Silence reigned in the Hatake apartment for some time. Kakashi was eyeing Shisui quizzically, his expression unchanging. Question after question popped into the man’s head, but he calmed himself and motioned Shisui to continue.
“I don’t know why exactly that building, I think it was more of an opportunity thing to be honest. It was away from the centre of the compound and completely abandoned during my childhood. So Itachi and I made it our hideout for something.”
“Something?”
“Yeah, something. I’m still not exactly sure what, but I know that Itachi and I would meet there, we often wrote inside, Itachi even brought in some scrolls from the Uchiha crypts. And none of it is there.”
“And this was after you joined the ANBU.”
“It was, we trained there and often went back there after ANBU missions. There was something that we both agreed on together, I just don’t know what that is.”
“But you suspect it has something to do-“
“To do with the massacre. Yeah.”
Kakashi stared at his sake cup, questions he wanted to be answered popping up in his head. But he wouldn’t dare ask Shisui what was on the forefront of his mind.
“And no, Kakashi, we weren’t planning the massacre together.” Kakashi snapped his head quickly towards Shisui, who was smiling, his face full of sorrow and mirth.
“I know.”
“How could you, though? Maybe we were? I-I don’t know what to think. I remember so little, and I was the only Uchiha outside Konohagakure at the time. How did I end up there?” Shisui was on the verge of hyperventilating. The unsettling memories digging up old wounds of finding out about the massacre, of his friend’s betrayal, of the loneliness him and Sasuke felt for the last years.
“I know because I know you. And fuck it, I knew Itachi too, and there’s no world in which he would’ve done what he did.” Kakashi replied, a bit too loudly. The sake was strong, he had to give it credit, “Shisui listen to me, ever since the day we returned to Konoha, there has been this little thing nagging the back of my head, I spoke about it the day we all returned to Konoha with Jun and Aoi, Yamato trusts my gut, hell even Shikaku Nara has confirmed that the official details are just downright suspicious.”
Shisui widened his eyes, “Wait, you-“
“I’ve been doing a lot of things since I’ve become a councilman, and one of those is a deeper investigation into the massacre. All under the table, because you know what happens when you disagree with the official details coming out of the Hokage’s office.”
Shisui nodded, his face still frozen from shock.
“Now, as I said, Shikaku Nara thought about it, he confirmed that things were suspicious, but there was just about zero evidence of anything to disprove the official account, well nothing except for the weird circumstances of every single Uchiha being back in Konohagakure at the time of the massacre, even when multiple of their shinobi were on teams with assignments abroad, and the absolute nonsense of the timing.”
Kakashi took another sip of his sake, “Itachi was good, I know that better than anyone, but there is no way Itachi would be able to kill that many people in that little time. Even without accounting for the fact that at least someone would’ve alerted anyone. 783 people in 3 hours. Just unfeasible. I suspected a lot of people, the Hyuuga who have a grudge, and many others. Even Danzo who wasn’t exactly hiding his dislike for the Uchiha. I couldn’t get anything to stick on the old bastard, though him losing ROOT because of that antiquated law bullshit did cheer me up, even if he is still the adviser and fucking untouchable with Hokage’s backing.”
Refilling both of their cups, Shisui looked up at Kakashi, “Fuck me, Kakashi, I’ve tried not to think about it too much. Too much pain. But why didn’t you clue me in before?”
Kakashi’s eye softened, “Because you were grieving, because I wasn’t getting anywhere, because I didn’t want to bring up old wounds before you were ready to.”
“And this is something, right? This building, the memories, it gives us something to go off of.”
“Yes, and though it’s not much. At least we know you were planning something, and going against the Uchiha clan customs, the thieving from the crypts was not exactly looked upon favourably as far as I know.”
“What a mess.”
“Truly.”
Shisui refilled their cups again, they were going through the sake faster than the drink deserved, but the conversation was tense.
“Okay, we’ll work on that some more, maybe I can remember some more things. Accompany me to the building next time,” as Kakashi nodded, Shisui put down his sake and continued, “now tell me how that plan of yours is coming about.”
“If there is nothing else to discuss, we can call the meeting over.”
The council members looked around, some already speaking to their advisers, though one hand was up in the air, belonging to Hatake Kakashi.
“If I may, Hokage-sama, the honourable council.”
Hiruzen sighed, knowing a headache was going to be incoming. The jounin had a particular way of becoming entirely too much to deal with.
“You may, Hatake-sama.”
“I thank you. As we are all well aware, the graduation of the Academy are upcoming.” This caught the attention of the rest of the council members, who all inexplicably had their heir in the upcoming graduating class.
“Honourable council, I will not bore you with details, we are all at some level aware of the dedication of the students in the academy, their abilities have been plainly visible for years. Additionally, as you are all aware, Kumogakure and Iwagakure have been particularly brazen with their attempts at our shinobi, believing Konohagakure to be nothing but a shadow of its former self-“ the statement resulted in an uproar in the council. Kakashi expected it too.
“How dares the councilman Hatake besmirch the name of the village,” the adviser to the Hokage all but shouted.
“The damage inflicted on the village by the myriad of tragedies in the past years have done nothing to weaken the village, Konohagakure stands as strong as ever,” Hyuga Hiashi added on.
“We know the internal struggles of Kumogakure, and it’s Jinchuuriki, the Cloud village, is a small revolt away from being reduced to ashes.”
Kakashi raised his hand again, “And yet a revolt they do not have Inuzuka-sama. And to put a curtain our eyes is to be misled Hyuga-sama, Konohagakure has certainly not gotten stronger with the loss of the Yondaime Hokage, the Uchiha, the Sannin and the thousands of able-bodied shinobi. Konohagakure retains it’s name with reputation alone, and that speaks to the ability of the Sandaime to lead, but we must not be negligent.”
The room quieted down, Kakashi picked up a stack of his papers. “Again, I’m sure you’re all aware of the abilities of the students in our graduating academy, yet still, I would like to pass the assessments by their academy teacher.” He divided the stack and slid it along to every council member present, “Certainly, we can all agree that this generation of upcoming shinobi have the potential to be the greatest in many years. It is time to show the prowess of the Will of Fire.”
The Hokage eyed the papers carefully, truth be told, he had been too preocuppied with keeping the tentative peace with Sunagakure, upending the excursions from the Land of Sound and the Hidden Grass Village. His eyebrows rose at the two students at the top of the charts.
“I come to the council with the following statement,” the phrase got the attention of many, the word ‘statement’ was not often used during council meetings. A proposition, an offer, a request, they were the go-to for the politicians of Konohagakure, they didn’t make statements, they made deals, “I will be personally taking the role of the Jounin Sensei of our two most accomplished students.”
Again, the room was thrown into chaos, with yells of insolence, favouritism, flagrant disrespect of rules following.
Danzo Shimura who had sat silently through all the meeting up until now, hit his cane on the floor, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“Hatake-san,” the non-formal honorific was not missed by any, “Surely you don’t think yourself arrogant enough to disrespect the sanctity of team placements that have been a part of this Village’s culture since before your father? And furthermore, taking on the two top students? A Jinchuuriki and the heir of the Uchiha? What a joke.”
The room was quiet, the disrespect to a council member being noticed by everyone, yet none were willing to stand up to the old adviser of the Hokage.
Kakashi for his part, simply shrugged. “Adviser Shimura, as always your input is most appreciated, but do not misjudge my statement as a request.”
Before Danzo could raise his voice, the Hokage interjected, “And by which law is this set in stone, Hatake-sama? You are aware that the academy regulations do require a three-cell team and an independent board appointing the jounin sensei? Additionally, you know that the council members are not allowed to take on additional responsibilities that would consistently see them out of the village.”
Kakashi smiled. “I thank you for your inputs, Hokage-sama. I’m sad to inform you that there is no law reinforcing my decision. And yet, it will be done nevertheless. The charade of confining the heir of the Uchiha to the grounds of his clan, and forcing him into unscrupulous and illegal contracts-“
“That matter was sorted years ago.” Adviser Homura piped up.
“The absolute travesty of treating the Jinchuuriki, and the son of our-“
“Hatake-san, I warn you.”
“Yondaime Hokage… Warn me?” The room stilled, as Kakashi’s gaze fell upon the bandaged adviser of the Hokage, “Since when is a mere adviser in a position to warn an honourable councilman? I do mean no harm, adviser, but do not test my patience.” Kakashi was fuming, the rat of an adviser, the one that order him to assassinate the Hokage dared to warn him? People here, even after five years, considered him a novice at politics. It played in his hands, being underestimated was quite good for his current position, but he would not allow a power-hungry traitor to think himself better than him.
“As I was saying, the travesty of treating our Jinchuuriki, the son of our Yondaime Hokage like he was a common tool, to be abused and thrown away. These facts will not stand any more. If Konohagakure is to prosper, it’s by making allies and nurturing those shinobi during their formative years.”
Kakashi stood up, “If the honourable council has any shred confidence that anyone would be able to stop an out of control jinchuuriki and teach the heir of the Uchiha the use of Sharingan, I welcome your dissent. Hokage-sama, add any third member to my team, but I will have my team.”
The shinobi council was very rarely stunned to silence, the outright threat against the adviser, and one that actually worked, was something that was not commonly seen. Danzo Shimura, for all of his shrewdness, miscalculated with Hatake.
“And how do you plan on being in council meetings, Hatake-sama? As you’re aware, a council member simply cannot be a jounin sensei,” the Hokage asked after a few moments.
Kakashi smiled, “I don’t. As of this moment, the Hatake clan will defer to the decisions of the Uchiha clan, represented by its interim councillor Uchiha Shisui. Until further notice, the Hatake clan shall be giving its vote to the Uchiha clan in its future endeavours.”
The only word that escaped the council was that of Shikaku Nara.
“Troublesome.”
“Holy shit Kakashi,” Uchiha Shisui breathed out outside the Hokage tower, all other clan leaders had already dispersed at that point.
“Maa, I know, I’m awesome.” Kakashi smiled.
“You do know that Danzo will not let this go, right?” Shisui replied.
“I know, I’m counting on him not to.” There was that vicious grin again. Shisui would be terrified of it, if they were not on the same side.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, pondering the predicament they had been put a few days back. Hatake Kakashi had successfully outmanoeuvred both the Shinobi Council and his adviser. Not only through his strength, which Hiruzen had to admit, was likely to be without match in the whole village, but with shrewdness and tactical calculation that he had not seen since his short-live successor.
‘What do I do with you, Kakashi’ He hummed to himself. Deep in thought. Perhaps it was time for him to act, he could kill two or perhaps even three birds with one stone, regain some control over his council and just maybe-
He knocked twice on his desk, “Get me, councilman Hatake.”
The Hokage stood and looked towards his village, brushing his grey beard. Hatake would of course easily guess the game, but he had no intention to hide any of it.
In the meantime he settled on just overlooking the village, the evening sun lighting up the red terraces and wooden roofs. The bustle of the main street visible from atop the Hokage tower. Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, pondering the future of the village he had led for decades. He felt the powerful and sturdy chakra of one of his councilmen at the door of the office.
“Enter Hatake-sama”
Hatake Kakashi opened the door casually and took a few steps in, stopping in the middle of his office.
“I hope I haven’t complicated anything too much Hokage-sama, I do believe that the two being taught by me is the best course of action at this moment.”
Hiruzen turned to look at the silver-haired man, “Hatake-sama, whilst that method of yours could’ve been more,” he hummed, “subtle. I still find myself agreeing with you on all points.”
He noticed just how unmoving the shinobi in front of him was, a considerable politician's face. “Konohagakure has grown weaker, there is no doubt about it, no matter how much the other council-members like to — as you said, put a curtain over our eyes, — the loss of power is tangible,” he sighed, a genuine tiredness washing over his face, “We are in dire need of new legends.”
Kakashi nodded, “I agree, Hokage-sama.”
“And I am in dire need of help in this matter, Hatake-sama,” Hiruzen replied smoothly.
It didn’t even take a second for Kakashi’s eyes to widen and narrow, he already caught on, truly clever, this one.
“Hokage-sa-“
“Kakashi Hatake, I appoint you as the Jounin sensei of Team 7,” a very purposefully chosen number, “consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura.” He put up his hand before the shinobi in front of him could respond, “Additionally, I appoint you as the adviser to the Hokage.”
One could hear a pin drop in the Hokage’s office that afternoon.
One could also hear the tearing of parchment and screams of frustration in an apartment complex at Tobirama street that evening.