Chapter 4: Konoha Council

"We need to kill him as soon as possible. He's a threat to our village," shouted an old man.

Upon closer inspection, the man had a dubious appearance. He had half of his face and his right arm wrapped in bandages. On his ugly chin was a cross that begged him to look at his chin instead of his face, as there was nothing worthwhile to find on that except pure envy and greed well hidden beneath his mask.

"Danzo is right, to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox in a newborn. What was the Fourth Hokage thinking?" said Homura Mitokado, shaking his head.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox is a monster that is difficult to control Hiruzen", said the elderly slanted-eyed woman Koharu Utane as she looked at the Third Hokage. "For the good of Konoha, the carrier of the Demon Fox must disappear."

Confronted with the extreme opinions of his old comrades Hiruzen sighed. It had only been a few days since the tragedy, the problems were piling up more and more. To avoid causing more unrest, Hiruzen resumed his position as Hokage, which was welcomed by many except Danzo.

The leader's staff was returned to the God of Shinobi, who was known for his strength and kindness, bringing security to the residents of Konoha.

But even he was constantly faced with challenges from the Konoha Council. To prevent himself from sighing, he took a drag from his smoking pipe until he exhaled again. He tried to continue the conversation, feeling a little calmer.

"Danzo, Homura, Koharu, I've said it before, but Naruto won't be killed."

This answer did not seem to please them as the three frowned.

Danzo stood up and moved towards Hiruzen and gazed at him across his table.

"Don't you understand? The child is a monster that has the power to destroy the village. Do you really want to repeat today's tragedy? This time we had the Fourth Hokage who could prevent this crisis, but who will it be next time?" Danzo came up with several points at once to put pressure on Hiruzen.

The other two shared his opinion and pressured Hiruzen with their gaze

Hiruzen was slowly becoming a bit irritated by the three, but he calmed down again as he understood their perspective, as they only thought in favor of the village.

"First of all, Naruto is not a monster, on the contrary, he is a hero who was able to prevent several losses by sealing the Nine-Tailed Fox. Additionally, we do not know exactly what happened on that day to decide on any extreme measures," Hiruzen ended his argument by closing his eyes.

The Elders couldn't say anything against it. In reality, they themselves didn't know why the Nine-Tailed Fox was able to escape its seal back then. All measures to prevent this had been carried out and everyone who could have known something had died in that tragedy, including Hiruzen's wife.

Danzo, being Danzo, had something to say about everything, otherwise he wouldn't be Danzo. "This case brings indeed a lot of mystery with it, so you should have ensured that this incident ended without any problems, but where were you when the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life?!" He took the opportunity to lower Hiruzen's authority.

The face of the Third Hokage became bitter. Danzo hit Hiruzen in a sore spot. If he had come earlier, he could get past the Adamantine Sealing Chains to save Minato and Kushina's lives. An action he will regret for the rest of his life.

The other Elders didn't seem to be quiet either. Koharu glared at Danzo: "Danzo, we won't get anywhere with these accusations, and while we're at it, where were you and your Root in this situation?" Even if they often support Danzo, they will stay behind Hiruzen if the are reasonable points.

Danzo couldn't give a proper answer to this question and mumbled that he had something important to do at that time and huffed.

Soon he continued, "If you don't want to do it, then I will," with these words he tried to leave the room until he suddenly stopped.

Surprisingly, he turned back to face them, and so did the other two, as they were surprised by Hiruzen's aura.

"Silence!"

Those who know the 3rd Hokage would be surprised if they could see him now. This time, he stood with complete seriousness and a sharp gaze, turning against the three of them. "Danzo, I have heard enough from your side, but it's over now! Naruto is a child of Konoha, and he carries the will of fire on his shoulders. I will not allow him to be sacrificed for the good of the village because he too belongs to the village!"

With this decisive statement, silence fell over the room. In that moment, the Hokage had spoken and given the final word. Even though they were elders and had a lot to say, the Hokage still had the final say. Koharu and Homura lowered their heads in defeat.

Danzo could only click his tongue and said nothing more. He knew that if Hiruzen was determined, nothing could stop him.

'Well, I guess I'll have to make other arrangements to keep the village safe', he mused, already thinking about his other plans. If Plan A doesn't work, he always has Plans B and C.

"It looks like we still have an important point for today. Koharu, how is the relocation of the Uchiha district going? Are there any progress?" Hiruzen asked to move on from the previous topic.

"The relocation is mostly going smoothly. There were some dissatisfied people among the Uchihas at the beginning, but their leader, Fugaku, was able to convince them to carry out the relocation," Koharu replied.

"We have Fugaku to thank for everything going smoothly," Hiruzen smiled as everyone knew this side of him, as an old and kind grandfather to all.

At that moment, Danzo grumbled again, "Hiruzen, don't trust the Uchiha clan. Who knows what they might do—."

"Danzo," Hiruzen interrupted him, "I know what you mean, but keep your accusations to yourself because there is no evidence that the Uchihas were involved."

The possibility arose that the Uchihas were involved in the incident. How and why the Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly appeared in Konoha, even though the secret birthplace was far from Konoha, puzzled many people.

In the past, there was only one man who managed to summon a Tailed Beast. His glorious and mighty power still struck fear into people even by just hearing his name. Because of this man, his clan, the Uchiha clan, was suspected of committing this act again from the Konoha Council.

Without evidence, however, Danzo could not demand the eradication of the Uchihas. Instead, he attempted to diminish their authority in Konoha by removing them from the Konoha police force and banishing them outside of the city, allowing him to monitor them completely.

Unaware of Danzo's evil plans, Koharu continued.

She hesitated a bit, but then she continued. "Everything was going well so far... but there was a small report that our Anbu brought."

Hiruzen raised his eyebrows and Danzo also looked at her with slightly raised eyes. It seemed that she had news that his Root did not have.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

Koharu continued, "There was apparently a small internal dispute with a small family against the clan."

She handed Hiruzen the documents, which he looked at. It showed that a small Uchiha family consisting of a widowed woman and her daughter wanted to adopt a child who had lost its biological parents in the tragedy.

Just in case Danzo read the text but lost soon the interest.

"Hazuki Uchiha... She also lost her husband in this war," he muttered in pity. "But despite everything, she decided to take in a child, which is surprising but also very kind of her."

Normally, Hiruzen would be happy, as this proves that everyone in Konoha is a family, regardless of Uchiha or Hyuga or other clans.

However, it seems that the Uchiha clan had a small problem taking in a non-Uchiha child into their clan.

'It seems that the Uchihas already have some dissatisfaction, which is no longer controllable', Hiruzen thought.

He is well aware of why these doubts have arisen and that he is also responsible for them.

He just finds it harsh that an innocent child who has nothing to do with the whole thing is being blamed for the hate.

'It's exactly the same... as with Naruto and I cannot let that happen!'

Determined, he turned his gaze to the three of them and informed them that he will take care of this matter and the meeting is terminated for today.

The two elders disappeared immediately after the meeting ended. Hiruzen also made his way out.

The only one who stayed was Danzo. As soon as everyone was gone, he walked towards the exit with his cane. As he walked slowly, he began to speak.

"Spread the rumor that Uzumaki Naruto is the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails." It looked as if he was talking to himself... until the shadows around him began to move and disappear.

"Yes Danzo-sama," with just this, the shadow that looked like a male ninja disappeared, ready to carry out his master's plan.

"Hiruzen, you just don't understand. You'll regret not killing that monster later. I can give him some time until I become Hokage. Enjoy your reputation as a kind old fool Hiruzen," Danzo talks to himself this time to feel better about his corrupt sense of justice.