9.MEETINGS

HOKAGE TOWER,

MEETING HALL.....

Emergency Council Meeting Between Go-Ikenban, Shinobi Council And Hokage!

"Let us start this meeting!" Hiruzen said to the council in as civil a tone as he could afford at the moment.

Koharu Utatane, one of his former teammate and current advisor commenced the meeting, "In light of recent events, I think that we would all like to know exactly what has happened from a reliable source like the Lord Hokage and not from some rumours and speculations circulating through the village." Several other members nodded their heads in agreement to this statement and the Hokage informed them in detail, regarding what he knew about the incident, and what has transpired with Naruto.

After he was finished, Nara Shikaku had added his thoughts on the subject, "How troublesome!" Inoichi then presented his findings after the evaluation of Naruto. He then informed the council, "The boy was in good mental health, and considering what he had to endure on a daily basis from the villagers, it's nothing short of a miracle that he was in excellent mental health. There was no indication of any influence by his tenant."

The Sandaime then spoke in neutral tone, "I have examined the seal and from what I can tell there is no malfunction and the seal is working perfectly." Before anyone could say anything to the contrary he continued, "And, Yes! I have already sent for Jiraiya to return and inspect the seal himself."

While the Sandaime made it appear as though he had complete faith in Jiraiya that he would receive his message and answer the summon with his return, his thoughts were contrary and rather sad. Because while Jiraiya was an excellent shinobi, he was incredibly difficult to track down because he keeps moving around the Elemental Nations to meet his contacts from his Spy Network all over the Shinobi World. It was seldom that Jiraiya would even contact him with any information and it had been eight long years since his former student had even been in this very village. He had no way of contacting Jiraiya through his toad summons and therefore had to send out messengers. It was therefore very unlikely that Jiraiya would be able to arrive before the trial.

"Shhuuh! I have no idea when and if Jiraiya will even arrive here but if he isn't in Fire Country, it could take weeks to find him and I can't send ninja outside of our borders for an extended period of time in a situation like this. I have already sent several messengers to search as much of Fire Country as possible before the trial. If he isn't found then it is obvious that he cannot make it before the trial. And I have to call off the search soon, I don't have a choice because I can't waste resources in these troubled times of civil unrest with every enemy nations eyeing Konohagakure to pound since we have considerably weakened from the Uchiha Massacre. Please! Return soon Jiraiya otherwise..." The Third Hokage wanted to bang his head on the table. As immersed as he was in his thoughts, he was awakened from his stupor by a question from Aburame Shibi, "Lord Hokage! What is the current situation of Uzumaki-san? What will exactly happen to him?"

"Naruto is currently in a holding cell in ANBU headquarters where he will stay until a trial is held. He has yet to know of the charges against him. He isn't a ninja, therefore he isn't under my direct control and I cannot shirk the Laws of Konoha and Fire Country. Hence, a trial must be held to determine his guilt or innocence but I would like to postpone it as long as possible."

"How exactly are we going to conduct a fair trial?" asked the Third Hokage's other advisor and former teammate Mitokado Homura.

{{{A/N: Danzō has been under house arrest so he isn't attending the meeting neither the Civilian Council because the civil unrest has created a state of emergency, so the Hokage could easily overrule anybody.}}}

The Hokage contemplated on this and responded, "Considering that a jury from Konoha is out of the question and the sensitive nature of the trial, I believe that we will have to request an arbitrator from the Fire Capital to come to Konoha and oversee the trial. We will need to have the trial in an undisclosed location to keep civilians and shinobi alike from disturbing it. Given Naruto's young age, I don't think it is wise to have him present at the trial to listen to the evidence presented against him. It would be better if someone was chosen to represent him at the trial."

The other members of the shinobi council nodded in understanding at the Sandaime's words.

"Lord Hokage! How long do you think you can postpone the trial?" asked Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Since the investigation is almost over and in accordance with the law, I will have to request for an arbitrator in the morning. However long it takes for the arbitrator to arrive will determine when the trial will begin." responded the Third Hokage.

The other shinobi again nodded in understanding and agreement at their leader's words. It was written in the Laws of Konoha that after an investigation is over, a trial must be held as soon as a jury is assembled or in this case, an arbitrator is found.

The members of the council were pleased to know that despite the situation and the Third Hokage's fondness for the container, the laws of the village would not be cast aside or ignored. Despite Naruto's age, the village actually didn't have laws governing minors. Because no crime similar to Naruto's had ever been committed by someone so young and also shinobi as young as a five years old could become Genin, and therefore automatically adults, so no law regarding the minors has ever been created as such Naruto will be trialled under adult laws with some leniency. Thankfully, under the watchful eyes of the arbitrator, it won't be as horrendous as public execution or penalty of death desired by the civilians.

As the meeting ended and the participants filed out from the hall, the Third Hokage couldn't help but feel that this had been one of the longest and worst days of his life. If he didn't follow the laws or conduct a trial, then the citizens of Konoha would most likely complain to the Fire Daimyō, if it hasn't happened already. As a leader of this nation, the Fire Daimyō will then have no choice but to investigate these complaints and the Third Hokage could end up be removed from his position and someone else will be chosen to be the next Hokage like Danzō which will be disastrous for not only the village, the Land of Fire and the entire shinobi world but foremost for Naruto itself. He was ready to bear Naruto's hatred for the rest of his miserable life rather than hand him over to Hokage Danzō, imprisonment is far better for Naruto than being in Danzō's clutch.

He can only hope that one day Naruto will come to understand his reasonings and will forgive him for his incompetence, "I am sorry Minato! Kushina! Please forgive this old man!"

There really weren't many choices but the Third Hokage needed to keep his position in order to help Naruto as much as possible. He didn't want to put the boy on trial, what he really wanted was to just make all of his current problems disappear but this was not going to happen. A trial had to occur and Naruto had to be judged even if he is innocent, he couldn't help it but curse the bastard who framed him for the umpteenth time.

No matter how many times, the Third Hokage wished, it wasn't going to happen, Naruto had to be trailed. With most of the evidences against Naruto, he knew his little grandson will be found guilty no matter what, which means that the trial was just a sham and everyone in the council room knew that as well. The only thing that the Third Hokage was concerned about is damage control. He needed to make sure that the sentence was as light as possible and something that he could work with. It was obvious that the civilians wanted execution even though the boy was just eight years old and the mere thought of it was ridiculous. That was mainly why he wanted a neutral arbitrator to decide and not a jury or even a judge from Konoha, because they would push for the maximum possible sentence. The Third Hokage just hoped that the boy would be shown mercy.

EAST DISTRICT OF

KONOHAGAKURE,

DANZŌ'S QUARTER....

Danzō was not pleased. He was seething in rage. He was unhappy. His plan has spectacularly failed. It was so good. The Jinchūriki was almost in his grasp but he has to let go of it now, otherwise the entire Civilian Body and atleast 'Twenty Percent' of the shinobi forces will revolt against the Konoha Government and will destabilize Konohagakure itself and civil war will broke out. He cursed Hiruzen for his softness which has lead to this situation, if that fool of a Hokage would have been remotely good at his work then this situation would have never occurred in the first place, he would never allow such insolence in his reign. This is why, Shinobi should never be allowed to have emotions and civilians must know to fear Shinobi. This incident has proven that his Method of Training, his Root Shinobi are far better than the regular ones. His plan had been so ingenuous but all is ruined because of the hatred of the citizens of Konohagakure for the Nine-Tails. He had thought it has lessened over the years but he was wrong and has again underestimated the human nature and their ridiculous emotions.

"How could I be so naive? No! No! It's not my fault, it's totally Hiruzen's fault. If he would have just executed one or two leaders of the riots, specifically from the Shinobi faction, publicly then everything would have returned back to normal. And the Daimyō wouldn't have interfered since the public execution would have been a Shinobi matter. But no, he couldn't! Just how weak-minded fool can he be! Can't he see that those execution are important to maintain law and order in the village... Tobirama-sensei! Just what were you thinking when you decided to make Hiruzen the next Hokage. You should have chosen me, then I would have made Konohagakure a champion by now. All the other villages would have been licking our boots and cowering before our power, if only... If only Hiruzen would understand that the public execution would have returned everything back to normal, the villagers would have then stopped these riots due to fear of execution and peace, law and order would have returned within the village. Not to mention, I would have gained the Jinchūriki and all would have been perfect but now we have to sent the Jinchūriki to prison and made him foster hatred towards the very village he was created to protect." thought Danzō bitterly. "And Now, it is too late! We can't control the situation anymore lest we risk the civil war. I could and should have intervened but I didn't and now we have to sent the Jinchūriki to the prison, unless I revealed myself. But then Hiruzen would find out who had framed the Jinchūriki, in which case he would be most likely execute me. I can't let that happen, I must remain alive at all cost for the good of Konohagakure."

{{{{{A/N: This is Danzo's philosophy. Everybody is expendable except him. The guy fears death as much as Orochimaru and hides this fear under the pretense 'For the good of Konohagakure'. He is perhaps the biggest coward in the series. He never admits his fault and then tries to justify himself using the name of Konoha or frame others in his place; not to mention he is power-hungry, warmonger and very ambitious.}}}}}}}

Danzō once again resumed his line of thinking, "And in addition to, the Foundation mustn't interfere in the village matters for some time to maintain it's continued existence a secret and to give a false sense of inactivity to Hiruzen. I will do something about the situation with the Jinchūriki when it is released from the imprisonment. If it turns against the village then I will simply incapacitate it and make the boy reproduce an uzumaki offspring then I will extract the Nine-Tails and execute him. Later, I will turn his offspring into the next Jinchūriki, a capable one at that."

"You called for us, Danzo-sama!" said Team Kasumi.

"Yes! Kasumi! l am disappointed in you all. I did asked you all to the highlight and leak the details of the case related to the Jinchūriki to the public. While you all followed the order perfectly and I am pleased with it but you have failed the mission and also me. I asked to you all to advertise him as an accomplice of Itachi, not like some monster who alone annihilated the entire Uchiha clan all by himself. You should have interfered to run some damage control when the situation started getting out of control. But you didn't and now the entire Konohagakure is on the verge of 'Civil Unrest'. We lost the golden opportunity to have the Jinchūriki in our ranks. So what do you have to say in your defense?" asked Danzō.

"I am sorry! My Lord! We have failed the mission, failed you. We are ready for any kind of punishment." spoke Kasumi for the entire Team Kasumi.

"Huhh... I am asking you why you all didn't run the damage control." said a internally frustrated Danzō.

"There weren't any such orders. We didn't receive them. So we didn't interfered! My Lord!" Kasumi swiftly replied.

Danzō frowned and said, " Kasumi I did taught you all that shinobi are tools and must follow the orders of their superiors at any cost. But I also taught you to be able to judge a situation to act accordingly. Didn't I?"

Team Kasumi looked at each other in confusion. Danzo gritted his teeth at this and sighed, "I taught you all to be emotionless, not brainless. Send me the Root Instructor Head. You are dismissed!"

"I am gonna fry that insolence instructor alive." thought Danzō in frustration and anger.

{{{{A/N: Hahahaha! Serves Danzō right. This is what happens when you make tools. They never thinks, just follow the orders line by line like a robot.}}}}}

ONE HOURS LATER,

HOKAGE TOWER,

HOKAGE'S CHAMBER.....

"Knock! Knock!"

"Enter!" responded the Third Hokage.

"You wanted to talk about something with me Lord Hokage!?" asked Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Ah... Yes! Inoichi! Come here and take a seat. I want to discuss something really important to you and I want your personal opinion on it." said the Third Hokage.

"What is it? Lord Hokage! I will try to give you my best opinion possible." replied Inoichi respectfully.

"It's about the Naruto situation...." trailed off the Third Hokage.

"What about him? Lord Hokage! Please clarify it! I don't understand." requested Inoichi Yamanaka in confusion.

"I want your consult Inoichi on what is the best course of action for informing Naruto of the Nine-Tails and the charges against him. You have done your psych evaluation on Naruto. What should we do about it?" asked the Hokage.

"Based on the psych evaluation on Naruto, you can inform him about everything, the charges against him and the Nine-Tails yet I will advise you against it on my personal experience as a psychologist and psychiatrist. You can inform him about the charges against him but he mustn't know that he holds the Nine-Tails. There is a chance that Naruto doesn't take the news well enough. His mind is already in shock considering what he witnessed at the Uchiha Compound, not to mention, the interrogations, imprisonment and the day to day treatment at the ANBU headquarters and on top of that you have to inform him of the charges against him. So there's a very high chance that the news of him being the container of the Nine-Tails might break him beyond repair. That's why you mustn't revealed it, Hokage-sama!" said Inoichi in a reasonable tone.

"I see... I thought as much." said the Third Hokage in a defeated tone.

"Also, he should not be present at the trial. It will be detrimental for him." Inoichi advised again.

"That's what! Ibiki advised me too!" said the Hokage while nodding.

"Well! I will go and inform him. Thank you for the advice, Inoichi!" thanked the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama!" said Inoichi while thinking about something.

"Yes! What is it?" asked the Third Hokage.

"You shouldn't personally go to inform him. You shouldn't visit him." replied Inoichi.

"What?! Why?" asked the Hokage in bewilderment.

"You are his last hope. He is clinging to you and if you informed him that you can't help him. Even you have failed him, then it also might break him." said Inoichi.

"Then...Then what do you expect me to do. Just sit here and watch him suffer! You are asking me to not even comfort him in this crisis!" exclaimed the Third Hokage in frustration and pain.

"Hear my reasonings! My Lord! Even then if you think I was wrong then you might do as you please." said Inoichi with calmness.

"Explain!" said the Hokage in a commanding tone.

"It is clear from the evidences that Naruto will be punished, whether he is innocent or framed. It doesn't matter one bit. So we must present him as an partner in crime of Itachi....." Inoichi begin his explanation.

The Third Hokage interrupted him in disbelief, "What! Have you gone mad Inoichi?"

"No! Lord Hokage! Please listen to me! Please! Lord Hokage!" requested Inoichi.

The Third Hokage sighed and said, "Continue!"

Inoichi nodded and said, "The entire Hidden Leaf knew that Naruto craves for attention, friendship and acknowledgement." The Third Hokage nodded in acknowledgement and Inoichi continued, "We will present the case in such a way where Itachi took advantage of Naruto's insecurities and manipulated him in joining in the Uchiha Massacre without his knowledge. Then we can say that those weapons, the files on Sharingan's weaknesses, on the patterns of the movement of the Uchiha clan, etc are all belonged to Itachi. We could argue that Naruto had no prior knowledge of what is Itachi Uchiha was going to do to his clan when he visited the compound with him at the night of the tragedy. Then we can say that suddenly Itachi attacked and started killing his clan members. And Satsune Uchiha retaliated. Naruto having no knowledge of what is going on around him, he killed Satsune in self defence. So the arbitrator will have to consider that Naruto killed Satsune Uchiha out of self defense and itachi has taken advantage of his insecurities, not to mention he is a minor. So the most the arbitrator will sentence him is between seven to eight years of imprisonment."

"That's an excellent plan Inoichi. It will help greatly lessen the severity of Naruto's punishment, yet I failed to understand why I shouldn't visit him." asked the Third Hokage in confusion.

"During his imprisonment, he will be in need of a support pillar and you will become that pillar, Lord Third! You will become his false hope in his times of darkness, I know it is immoral, morbid and macabre way of thinking yet this is the only way for you to help him keep his mind sane during his imprisonment, not to mention, the most valid excuse you could have to rekindle your relationship back with him, when he is released. Otherwise he might lose his mind."

To make sure that the Hokage understand his point Inoichi further explained himself, "It is as I have said before, you are his last hope. You mustn't snatch it away from him by visiting him. Because if you visited him, you have to explain yourself to him. You have to tell him that you can't help him, that you can't protect him from this injustice, in which case Naruto might break and will lose his sanity." He stopped and then said again, "We both know that he is a Jinchūriki. Therefore you can use it as an excuse to release Naruto in another four or five years after all of this mess and Konoha itself cools down. You could use it as an excuse and explain that you were doing everything in your power to save him that's why you didn't visited him and he was released earlier. You could say to him that it would have been suspicious and could have created hindrance in his early release or something else or that your visit could have been used against him in the court. You could use any other excuse, Lord Third. He may hate you but later it will make sense to him then you can finally ask for his forgiveness. I am sure he will forgive you. Think about it, Lord Third!"

"Thank you for your insight Inoichi, you may leave!" ordered the Hokage.

Inoichi complied and left the Hokage chambers, leaving the aged Hokage alone to his thoughts.

After giving sometime and contemplating over Inoichi's plan and advice, the Third Hokage sighed in defeat and decided to go with it. He called ANBU Dog who was also in agreement with Inoichi's plan. He then ordered Dog to go and inform Naruto of his charges and that unfortunately, he won't be able to visit him.

SOMETIME LATER....

"Knock! Knock!"

"Enter!" said the Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Third Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

"Homura! Kohura! What can I do for you?" asked the Third Hokage and internally grimaced at his thoughts, "Don't tell me, they came for another meeting. Can't they understand! How stressed I am feeling!? I want to relax... Please anything but not another meeting!" The Third Hokage pleaded to the deities of the Narutoverse, alas his prayer remained unheard.

"We came to talk to you about the next course of action we must take for the good of Konohagakure." said Kohura.

The Third Hokage cursed and sighed, "Ok! Let us start the discussion..."