Mokuton Root Agent #7

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Mokuton Root Agent (SI)

Chapter 7

Previously

Faced with their collective pressure, he had been forced to cave to their demands and pass the law regarding the minimum age for active duty in the ninja corps which could only be subverted by ANBU recruitment or the Hokage’s express permission along with council from the council head.

But that was not the thing that was the most important thing she heard at that meeting. The next thing she heard was what chilled the very air of the council meeting..

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–Fugaku Uchiha–

While he was regaling the council with the happenings of the evening, he was internally shocked at the fact that Sandaime-sama was allowing it to happen.

He was even more shocked when he saw that he had finally done the unthinkable and gotten rid of Danzo from his elder position. He knew that it was only a stop-gap measure and eventually, Danzo would have found a way to become a problem again but when that happens, he and the Uchiha clan would be ready.

The only reason they were not able to retaliate till now was due to them not having any rational reason to. On the surface, all the actions the current Konoha administration took seemed correct but if you looked underneath, everything would become clear.

Delayed promotions, rejections based on outrageous reasons, literally relocating the founding clan of the village to the outskirts, visible surveillance to rile up the more hot-headed members of the clan..

The list went on and on. Sometimes, he wished that it wasn’t Minato but Sandaime-sama who died to seal the Kyuubi. It would still have been tragic but the Uchiha clan, the strongest clan of Konoha, would not have been sidelined like this, and with Minato alive, they would have still been the strongest village by miles.

Now, they were barely tied with Cloud Village and with war looming on the horizon, the village could ill afford any infighting. Thinking of this, he had refrained from taking any sides in the slowly but surely growing dissent within the clan.

Finally, he came to the important part of the evening, “Now, when Hiashi-dono’s Byakugan discovered something important, I was startled to find him flinging multiple kunais at the bark of the tree. Suspecting that something was wrong, I too attacked the exact spot and to my horror, the tree bark fell off, revealing a face in agony.”

The silence in the room was deafening.

The most pronounced reaction was from Shikaku. He had been stone-faced until now, aware of the atrocities Danzo had committed on the clan children but was blissfully unaware of another atrocity that Danzo was committing right under their noses and was now staring with his mouth agape at Sandaime-sama.

“How dare you? You promised me it was stopped. Y-You What have you done?” Shikaku whispered in a haunted tone.

“For those who have not yet caught on, according to the many records we have of the Shodai’s famed Kekkei Genkai, if the user wasn’t skilled enough, any bearer of Mokuton could be overrun by their own Kekkei Genkai and become a tree, just like the unfortunate soul whose demise we stood witness to outside,” Hiashi Hyuga spoke from his seat.

“I didn’t know. Danzo lied to me as he did to everybody else but I realise how hollow that sounds. So, effective immediately, I officially give my resignation and would suggest you all to find a new Hokage because I don’t think I am worthy of this hat anymore,” Sandaime-sama stood up with a sigh and flashed out of the room, too ashamed to face anyone.

“Hmph, running from one’s own responsibilities is the highest form of cowardice,” Hiashi Hyuga harrumphed.

But this was good for him.

Now, they could find someone who wouldn’t lead the village right into a civil war with his clan.

“The question we should be asking ourselves is who will be the new Hokage?” Inoichi asked everybody else.

Simultaneously, everybody turned to him, the question evident on their faces.

As tempting as that might have been, “No, I don’t think I am fit to be Hokage right now. The village is not in the best of states and even if it is hard to admit, the clan is not as popular with the village as it needs to be for me to become Hokage,” he shook his head and denied the Hokage recommendation.

He could spy Inoichi and Shikaku nodded subtly at him, aware of the real reason he had given for his rejection of the prestigious seat of Hokage.

It wouldn’t have worked out. Even if he took the offered seat, which it was not, he would at best be the Hokage for a few years and then someone, probably from the remaining loyal Sannins, would become Hokage. That would be a huge insult to their clan which might result in instant retaliation.

“I think we should just reject his resignation at this point in time since the search for a new Hokage candidate would take years at this point. Unless anybody here has any ideas on bringing Tsunade back to the village and making her Hokage?” Shikaku asked the room.

He had one but that would sooner have one of Tsunade’s fists in his gut than her back in the village.

“Not to mention that the village’s ninja reserves had taken a severe hit after the last war and were further depleted during the Kyuubi incident. Projecting strength at this point is crucial for the well-being of the village and as much as it pains me to say this, Sandaime-sama has been the face of a strong Konoha for decades and it would be unwise for the village to go through an important shuffling so soon after the greatest tragedy our village has ever suffered.” Inoichi spoke up, his voice grave.

That was the reason they couldn't afford to replace him.

“A compromise, then?” he found himself speaking up.

All of them looked up at him, “We have him stay as Hokage but ask him to refrain from making any significant decisions until the next Hokage is elected. In the meantime, we search for Hokage candidates and go from there.”

The majority of them nodded, agreeing with my idea.

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–Hiruzen Sarutobi–

Flashing out of the meeting room, he went straight to the grave of his beloved Biwako.

Oh, how she would just slap him right now to make him get out of his funk, as she called it.

But, she was not here right now. He had to admit that, in addition to the natural paranoia that his teacher instilled in him, he wanted to get revenge for his Biwako.

When he first learned about the Sharingan pattern in the Kyuubi’s eyes, the image of Madara Uchiha popped up in his head and he was instantly terrified of the possibility of someone even close to Madara appearing in the Uchiha clan.

And so, when he heard Danzo give that borderline treasonous order of hindering Uchiha forces from participating in the battle, he turned a blind eye to it and jumped into the battle with Minato, ignoring the future implications of that disastrous order.

After the battle, when he had some time to think it over, he realised his foolishness of that particular day and lamented over the loss of the trust of the Uchiha clan because, by the time he came to his senses, it had been too late.

Danzo had used his busy schedule against him and sent orders to the rehabilitation teams to relocate the Uchiha clan, a founding clan, to the edge of the village. By the time he came to know about it, the damage was already done. The Uchiha, in their pride, didn’t even contest it and left spiteful for the edge of the village, going so far as to construct their own little town, separating them from the village.

That was the day it all went downhill.

By that time, he was certain it was not Uchiha Fugaku, with his Mangekyou Sharingan, who was responsible for the Kyuubi incident. It was somebody else with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Fugaku was too smart to do that. Arguably, the Uchiha clan was the one who suffered the biggest loss after the Kyuubi incident, after Naruto of course.

“Oh, Biwako. I’ve grown too old, too weary of this life. Sometimes, I wish it was me instead of Minato. He had a long life ahead of him. Naruto could have had his father with him instead of this sorry excuse of a Hokage!” He was gnashing his teeth in the end, his chakra flaring around him.

He reigned in his chakra and took deep calming breaths to calm his raging heart.

He was the only known Kage-level individual in the village right now. The village needed him. He would die for the village but right now, he needed to live for it and that seemed infinitely harder to him.

As he was about to leave, ANBU Monkey appeared before him on his knees, “Father.”

His eyes softened as he replied, “Shinnosuke, I am no longer your Hokage. But before I pass on the hat-” he shifted into his battle gear and called forth the Adamantite Staff, “-I have some affairs to settle.”

He had grown lax in these past few years, resulting in multiple tragedies. The least he could do was bind the one who was responsible for said tragedies.

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Word Count - 1593