Chapter 23

I stood in front of them. The Elders of Suna. A council of 12 shinobi, most of them too old to contribute anything militarily, but kept in service for their minds. The idea of the thing had always seemed stupid to me. Especially since whenever Rasa spoke of them, it was like they were an obstacle he had to work around, being careful to avoid pissing them off too much while still getting his way. All those years ago, I didn't understand it. Now, I did.

It had been two days since Rasa died and he made his last decree. We'd rushed off from the border before the Iwa shinobi that definitely knew we were there started getting ideas. Rasa's body had been a hell of a thing to show up with, but the anbu knew protocol. They answered to me, and we'd done our best with keeping Rasa's death a secret. First of all, I'd come into the village in secret, infiltrating my own village and scumming around like a spy of some sort, doing my best to play the great game.

XXXXX- 16 hours after Rasa's Death

"Gaara of the Desert" She said in greeting, hiding her surprise at finding me here with expert ease. I knew she was surprised though. Chiyo was good, but I was pumping chakra to my brain and eyes, enhancing everything I saw with stunning clarity. With peak human intelligence, honed chakra control , and knowledge of how the human brain worked, my pseudo-sharingan was something actually impressive. Few things could deceive me. 

"What do you want?" The old woman asked, walking further into her office and taking the seat in front of the desk, not bothering to say anything about the powerplay I was making by sitting on her own usual seat. Shinobi had a good sense of danger, and Chiyo must have felt it if the lack of snide remarks and commentary were any indication. Good. I'd kill her if I needed to. In the time between the meeting and now, 16 hours, I'd done a lot of thinking, and I knew what was necessary to win. I had to win. 

"Rasa is dead" Straight and simple, to the point. Chiyo jolted at that, showing her surprise openly in a calculated attempt at getting me to drop my guard. The anbu guards at my side also shook at the reminder. They were squad zero, the Kazekage's personal guards. They'd probably been closer to him than his own children, so they were probably the most hurt at his passing. They also took it as a personal failing of sorts. Saving some of their lives, and avenging Rasa so quickly along with Rasa's dying decree had been enough to get me their loyalty. 

"How did he die?" She asked, showing some of the curiosity I'd expect of a famous gossip like her. Alleged gossip at least. I only knew she was one from gossip from the med training corps. Mebuki had loved spreading that bit of 'news'

"Orochimaru killed him. They met, they fought, the Snake Sannin won"

"And the Konoha nin?" There was a bloodthirsty tint in her smile. Everyone hated Konoha. It must not have been very hard for Rasa to get the people of Suna to follow him to war. 

"He beat Rasa. I beat him" I said, fudging the details a bit. It was all true though, technically. Did it make it seem like I was much stronger than I actually was? Yes. That was the entire point. 

"May the winds see him well." She said, making the traditional prayer sign that I didn't bother returning. I was an atheist. I'd always be an atheist. And even if I wasn't, that fucker didn't deserve to be seen well at all. That last stunt he played was just a clusterfuck. 

"Doesn't answer the question, though" She continued, poking, trying to understand. 

"He named me Kage in his place" 

"You're twelve, and a Jinchūriki besides." She began with the common objections. They were the ones I'd face first and foremost. 

"I am the strongest ninja in Sunagakure. The Ichibi no Shukaku has no bearing on the matter. Aside from a slip up six years ago, I have been in full control. We both know there is no danger."

"If you've got it all figured out though, why are you here?"

"This is the decree Rasa made" I said, tossing her a copy of the official edict. The Anbu might be loyal to me, but I'd very quickly lose that loyalty if I buried their Kage's last words. No. I'd let the decree come out, but it wouldn't matter. Rasa had limited power in naming his successor, especially posthumously. 

Chiyo devoured the words on the paper, the only sign of her being surprised at them at all being the raised eyebrow she sported after a few seconds of looking at the scroll. 

"I have the feeling I understand what you want, but spell it out to me. I will not bow before a man who can not say his mind."

"Rasa's decree must be overturned. I can not ascend to Kage myself on the back of that decree and then overturn the decree. Every rogue element in Suna would crown Temari as Kage and rise in rebellion. I'd win, let there be no doubt, but we'd all lose in the end. Kiri can survive a civil war. We can not. And I also cannot ascend and accept the decree as it stands. I will not cede the seat to Temari. She is not strong enough. She will never be strong enough…."

"A lot of faith you have in your sister" She interrupted, but I continued, ignoring the elder

"And even in the unlikely circumstance that she gains the necessary strength, she'd more likely than not make a terrible Kage. I will see Suna to a brighter age. Having an heir foisted upon me by my predecessor would be a hell of a way to rule. No. I refuse. What I need is for the council to overturn Rasa's decree but still crown me regardless."

"The former is easy. They'd do it without any prompting. The latter, though? The latter would be all but impossible." She said, not mincing words. This is why Chiyo was my first port of call. It was also why she'd warranted a personal visit. I had a clone speaking to the Daimyo now, and another keeping a watchful eye on things but Chiyo needed personal attention.

"But will I have your help in achieving the impossible?" I asked her. 

"Oh you fool boy. You've had it since the moment you won the chunin exams at the age of Six. Rasa never saw it, but I did. You are the future of Sunagakure. The only hope we have of returning to the times when our enemies feared us. When we were truly one of the Great Five, and not the greatest of the minor villages. You will lead us there, Gaara of the Desert. My heart and sword are yours, Kazekage-sama." The last words were joined with a bending of the head. Chiyo did not bow. Old knees don't bend so easily. 

"Good. Now, we have to get to work."

"Apart from my brother and I, there are 10 other elders for you to convince. To get named as Kazekage, you will need seven votes from the council along with the approval of the Daimyo. I can help you with the former, but not the latter"

"I have that well-in hand" I assured her. She nodded, and moved on in the conversation. 

"You can not speak to the entire council ahead of time. News of your presence here and your goal will leak faster than you can quell. No, there are only two elders you can speak to. But they are two of the thought leaders. With them on your side, turning another three votes will be doable. Not easy, but doable. However, you cannot kill them" She said with a severe look on her face. 

"Any disappearances will be suspicious. Too suspicious. If the other elders suspect you of being behind it, then you will have no chance and will damn the village to the civil war you seem keen on avoiding."

I nodded at her words. I had to be my most charming self here. I needed the old farts. I hated that I needed them now. I'd hate it even more in a few years, but it was something I could not avoid.

XXXX- Present

"The Kazekage is dead," Ebizo proclaimed to the rest of the council. "He has left us with a decree, conveyed through Jounin Gaara." The old man said in his droning tone. One of the anbu at my side passed me the scroll and I walked forwards. As I moved towards the council, my mind took me back.

XXXXXX- 21 hours after Rasa's death

"I am Gaara of the Desert, a jounin of Sunagakure" I spoke to the gathering of anbu agents. It wasn't the entire force. Not even close, but Squad Zero had done their parts in putting out feelers and getting me this collection of anbu captains and leaders. Altogether, they controlled almost two-thirds of the anbu agents. It was Twenty-one hours since Rasa's death, and my plan was well in motion. Chiyo was secured. Ebizo was secured, and the Daimyo was well on the way to being convinced to see things my way. 

"We know who you are. What we don't know is why you've called us here." one of them commented drily. I paid attention to the mask on their face. Dragon. The Anbu Commander. They only answered to the Kazekage. Ideally, they were the one I would have gone through to set something like this up. This was not an ideal situation. I could only hope they weren't too pissed at the snub, unintentional as it was. 

"The Kazekage perished in combat twenty hours ago. He named me as his successor." I said, breathing in the shock that travelled through the room. But beyond that, they didn't speak. They showed no signs of what they felt, and once again it was Dragon who spoke. 

"How did he die? Who killed him?" 

Here, I stepped back and allowed Squad Zero to handle this step of the questioning. 

"Eight days ago, Kazekage-sama received a missive from the traitor, Orochimaru of Konohagakure. Kazekage-sama weighed the risks of the mission and assembled a team consisting of four members of squad zero and Subaku no Gaara as his escort. We left for the meeting two days ago. When the meeting began, after words were exchanged, the Konoha ninja sprung the trap. Subaku no Gaara and the rest of us were attacked by the Sannin's own guards, preventing us from interfering in time. Orochimaru ended up succeeding in fatally poisoning the Kazekage, and Gaara of the Desert killed the snake for the affront" Shark spoke, giving a cliff notes version of the mission that we had undertaken that led to Rasa;s death. The anbu watched attentively, hanging on every word that was spoken. 

"Is there any evidence of this?" Dragon asked 

Shark tossed them the scroll written in Rasa's own hand and sealed with his own blood . They stared at it for a bit before nodding and passing it to the anbu behind them. When it had made the rounds, I stood in front of them once again and unsealed Orochimaru's head before holding it up. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was doing it. It wasn't logical. It was a feeling. A feeling that gnawed at me, and from the general body language of the group, the feeling had been right. 

Dragon was the first. He led them in all things. Even in dropped to his knees, and they all followed suit.. "Our hearts and swords are yours, Kazekage-sama" They proclaimed in unison.

XXXXXX- PRESENT

Anbu, and some of the elders had fallen in easily. Not all of them though. Some had needed more spirited convincing than I'd intended to give them.

XXXXXX- 29 Hours after Rasa's Death

"I understand all you say, Gaara. But what I don't see is how you expect to convince me to take your side in this. I was your father's most vocal critic on the council, after all" The man sat across from me spoke. Unlike with Chiyo, I actually bothered to give this man some measure of warning at my coming. Not much of a warning. Not enough for him to do something unfortunate. But enough for him to not believe I'd come to kill him. It said a lot about the attitude within Suna that most of the elders I'd already seen believed I was there to kill them before I could get to explain my intentions. 

"How else would I convince you? I am Suna's only choice as it stands" I told him honestly. 

"A lack of options does not necessitate picking a bad one. The council might as well decide to rule Suna itself." He said, taking a sip of his tea, and I had to stare at the balding man like he was actually insane. Tōjūrō was pretty much the second most powerful man in the council after Ebizo, so to see him espouse such stupidity was a tad bit shocking. 

"You would have Suna downgraded to a similar status as the minor villages?" I asked him, trying to show him how stupid that would be. The five major villages had Kage. That's how it worked. None of the other villages could claim such an honour. Not even Hanzo the Salamander had had the guts to name himself Kage. To make Suna abandon the Kage system was announcing to the world that we had no shinobi worthy to be Kage. That we had no S-ranks. No nation-killers. In a world like that, all our negotiating power would die as quickly as water evapourates on the desert sand. Wouldn't be surprised if all our neighbours took the sign of weakness and invaded within weeks of the decision being made. Suna had an abundance of enemies and precious little friends. 

"And what do you believe naming a child as a Kage will do? A jinchuriki child?" He screamed his words then, and I just stared. My sand ached to crush him for the disrespect. 

"Do you know why Kiri was the first village to attempt a Jinchuriki-Kage, boy? Before they hatched that insanity, it was understood by us all what Jinchuriki were. You. Your kind. All you are meant for is to serve the village as weapons of war. Kiri had two, that's why they could attempt such. You would have us place Suna's greatest weapon behind a desk while our enemies take that as a sign of weakness and invade us anyway?" His tone. His fucking tone. 

This time, when my sand rose up, I did not stop it. Instead, I harnessed it. Clones. Probably more clones than he could quickly count, but not more than I could handle for such a quick demonstration rose from the ground around us. 

"I control these clones from anywhere in the Land of Wind. If our enemies will think me occupied, let them. Let them come and see why Gaara of the Desert is uncontested in the Desert itself" I said, but not in only my voice. All my clones spoke in unison with me in what would have been a fantastic display of coordination if I didn't essentially control them like puppets from the beginning. 

"I see" Tōjūrō said without saying anything else before he coughed and straightened up. 

"Alright boy, I will consider you. Now convince me. How would you tackle Suna's economic problems?" He asked while staring at me, and I just smiled. Another one for the list.

XXXXX- PRESENT

At the end of the day, I'd only been able to personally speak to four members of the council to secure their support, and they all met my eyes at different times to show where they stood on this. TO show me I still had their support. At least, I thought that was what they intended. I could have been reading way too much into things. But apart from those four, I'd trusted Chiyo to speak to those she trusted, and to avoid placing all my eggs in one basket, I'd reached out to someone else.

XXXXX- 32 HOURS AFTER RASA'S DEATH

"Gaara" She screamed and jumped on me with a hug that I was quick to return. I abhorred physical touch, but this was not a time I could afford to piss off the few friends I had.

"What's wrong?" Mebuki asked instantly once she broke off from the hug, clutching my right hand in two of hers.

"Rasa's dead" 

"Oh Gaara" She said, swallowing me in another hug. I couldn't truly tell her I wasn't sad about what happened. I was pretty apathetic to the whole thing besides a certain feeling of satisfaction that came over me whenever I thought of him. He'd tried fucking me up with his last decree, and that was the only reason I was forced to skulk around my own village like a thief in the night. 

"It's fine, Mebuki-imouto" I teased her with the title. The manipulation seemed to work as it made her lean back a bit, and I pounced on the opportunity to change subjects.

"I want to succeed him, Mebuki. I want to be the next Kazekage. The fifth one" I told her, and her brain looked like it was running a mile a minute at this point. 

"Oh okay, Gaara. How can I help? That's why you're here, isn't it? You need my help" She said, staring at me. With anyone else, that would have been a red flag. With Mebuki, it was simply a statement that she intended to help. It insinuated that I would only ever truly come to see her if I needed her help, and not for the support of a friend, but Mebuki understood me. In a way I didn't even truly understand myself. 

"Councillor Ikanago adopted you to sponsor you into the medical corps, did she not"

"Yes. Yes she did."

"Good. How close are you?"

"She sees me as the daughter she never got to have" She replied instantly. 

"Good. I need you to prevail on her to support me when the time comes. Can I trust you with that?"

"Of course, Kazekage-sama" She said with a wide smile. 

"Not to you, Mebuki. I'll always be Gaara to you" Her smile got even wider and she engulfed me in another monster hug.

XXXXX- PRESENT

When Ebizo read through the decree for performative reasons, he passed the decree around to the rest of the council for them to verify its authenticity. When it had made the rounds, Ebizo spoke again. "Are there any objections to this final decree?" He asked, and Tōjūrō instantly had a hand up.

"Yes, Elder Tōjūrō" Ebizo said, giving the man the stage.

"What Kazekage-sama, winds see him well, has left us with is preposterous. It is a decree to name one as Kage, while giving another the hat and robes. In his lifetime, I never knew the Kazekage to be so indecisive. When he made a decision, he stuck with it for good and for ill. I'm sure we all have some memories of that happening. Now, what I believe is that Kazekage-sama was not in complete possession of his faculties when this decree was made. We must set this perverse ruling aside." He spoke, before leaning back in his chair, allowing the others to think through his words, and some of them to whisper among themselves.

"Elder Chiyo, you examined his body. What say you?" Ebizo asked, bringing order to the room almost instantly.

"I agree with Elder Tōjūrō. In my examination, it took me little time to discover the poison Orochimaru used in killing the Kazekage. While I haven't fully broken it down, the poison shows traits and ingredients similar to that found in several well-known hallucinogens and nuerotoxins" She said in her customary drawl. This approach had been Tōjūrō's idea. We could not overturn Rasa's decree lightly, so something like this had to be our only recourse.

"Thank you, Sister. Is there anyone to speak in favour of the decree?" Ebizo asked when it was clear that Chiyo had nothing further to say.

Yura raised his hand, and Ebizo ceded the floor to him instantly. Yura was one of the few I hadn't spoken to, either in person or through agents. There was no point in doing so, in my opinion. After all, he was never going to take my side. If there was anyone who would nver budge, it would be him. And with the whole being a brainwashed spy for Sasori thing, I wasn't going to be touching him with a foot long pole.

"While I agree that certain parts of the Decree are most unusual, it will not do to toss the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. Yes. I agree that the entire interim Kage ruling has no place in Suna, that does not change the fact that our late Kazekage has given his preferred candidate, his daughter, Temari. We should still endeavour to recognise that." Of course he spoke for Temari. He'd been chosen to serve as her Jounin sensei after Baki's death. He wanted the next Kage to be someone he had guaranteed influence over. The bastard.

"The doctrine of election, Yura. We can not approbate and reprobate at the same time. It is not our place to pick and choose which parts of a decree to follow. If we declare it null, then we do so to the whole thing and not just part" Tōjūrō pounced on the younger man's argument almost instantly, and from the nodding heads, pretty much the entire council agreed with him.

Yura made to say something else, but only a look from Ebizo was enough to dissuade him. "Now that we have heard arguments from both sides. All in favour of declaring the decree of Rasa of the Golden Dust as null and void?" He asked.

Every hand in the room besides Yura's went up. "All against?"

"The motion passes as intended." He spoke, before turning to the rest of the council again.

"Now, onto other business. The position of Kazekage sits empty. Are there any nominations?"

Ikanago, the only other woman on the council rose her hand at that. "Yes, Elder Ikanago" Ebizo gave her the stage and she spoke in her low toned drawl.

"I nominate Jounin Gaara of the Desert. Son of Rasa, the fourth Kazekage, Grandnephew of Shamon, the Second Kazekage, and Great Grandson of Reto, the first Kazekage, the Great unifier, Jinchuriki of the Ichibi no Shukaku, Winner of the Chunin exams, and S-rank shinobi of Sunagakure." She said, going through the full list of claims to fame that I might have made.

"Who seconds this nomination?" Ebizo asked.

"I do" Chiyo raised her hand.

"Is there any need for arguments? My bones are beginning to tire" He asked

"Let us take the votes first. If the margin is too small, we will begin arguments." Tōjūrō said.

"I agree. All in favour of naming Gaara of the Desert as the Fifth Kazekage?" Ebizo asked, and hands instantly went up. Eight of them in total. And seeing the majority on my side, three more hands joined the eight to make it eleven. As expected, Yura was the odd man out. His wife had been killed by Shukaku during that messed up accident six years ago, so I could not blame him.

"And now that that is settled, We must send our nomination to the Daimyo for him to make his decision" Ebizo said, preparing to end the meeting.

"There is no need for that " I interrupted. "The Daimyo himself has given his approval." I said, walking forwards and handing them a scroll." If anyone was going to speak about the presumptiveness of reaching out to the Daimyo before even being granted the position, it would be Tōjūrō, but that particular monster was on my side, so he held his tongue.

"I see." Ebizo said, reading through before passing it to the others.

"Gaara of the Desert, you are hereby named the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure. Our hearts and swords are yours" Ebizo said, bowing. The council quickly followed suit.

Finally.

The game agreed with me because it chimed at that moment.