Chapter 79: The Weight of the Leaf This content belongs to NoveIＦire.net
Sunlight streamed into the Hokage's office, painting warm stripes across the polished wooden floor. But the warmth didn't reach the people standing in it. The air was cold, heavy with the news Kakashi had just delivered.
Tsunade sat behind her massive desk, her fingers steepled, her face a mask of stern concentration. The sake bottle in her bottom drawer was calling her name, but she ignored it. This required a clear head.
"Let me get this straight," she said, her voice low and measured, cutting through the tense silence. "You're telling me the boy everyone in this village wrote off as a simpleton, Uchiha Ren, not only orchestrated the attack on Suna but also possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Kakashi, looking more weary than usual, gave a single, solemn nod. "The intelligence from Suna is conclusive, Tsunade-sama. Gaara and Kankuro were both placed under a powerful genjutsu—Tsukuyomi. And during our confrontation... he manifested a colossal, skeletal warrior. It matches the descriptions from the outpost Suna lost. There's no doubt. It was him."
"A giant skeleton..." Tsunade muttered, her gaze drifting to a portrait of the First Hokage on the wall. A long-buried memory, a story told by her grandfather, surfaced in her mind. A tale of a divine warrior, a protector... and a destroyer.
"He called it Susano'o," Kakashi added, his one visible eye fixed on her. "Said it was the power of the Mangekyō."
The name hit Tsunade like a physical blow. "Susano'o," she breathed. "So it's real." She leaned back in her chair, the old wood groaning in protest. The pieces were falling into a terrifying picture. "Alright. So the crimes are Ren's, not Sasuke's. That changes things. Kakashi, we need to begin the process of revoking Sasuke's status as a missing-nin. I won't have a Konoha shinobi branded a criminal for crimes he didn't commit."
A murmur of relief went through the room. Naruto looked like he was about to cheer, and Sakura's shoulders, which had been tensed up to her ears, finally dropped a fraction.
"The wanted order cannot be revoked!"
The voice, sharp and imperious, sliced through the moment of hope. Everyone turned. Framed in the doorway were the two figures everyone in the office had learned to dread: Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, Konoha's elder advisors.
Tsunade's eye twitched. She forced a smile that was all teeth and no warmth. "Well, if it isn't Uncle Homura and Aunt Koharu. To what do I owe the pleasure? Shouldn't you two be at home, enjoying your retirement and complaining about the youth these days?"
Homura sniffed, unamused. "Tsunade. That is no way to speak to your elders. Did Sarutobi teach you nothing about respect?"
"My apologies," Tsunade said, her tone making it clear she wasn't sorry at all. "My respect is usually reserved for people who earn it. What 'business' brings you here to disrupt mine?"
"We are here about the Uchiha boys," Koharu stated, her voice like dry leaves rustling together. "The situation is clear. Uchiha Sasuke has abandoned his village and sworn allegiance to the traitor Orochimaru. That, in itself, is an act of treason. His potential is high; leaving him unchecked risks creating a second Orochimaru. The wanted order stands as a necessary deterrent. To revoke it on a whim would make Konoha, and your office, look foolish and indecisive to the other nations."
Homura picked up the thread, his logic cold and bureaucratic. "And as for the other one, Uchiha Ren... Hostile to Konoha, responsible for the destruction of a foreign outpost, the kidnapping and murder of shinobi from an allied village... his actions are an international incident. He must be classified as an S-Rank criminal, same as his brother. The Uchiha name must bear the weight of their actions."
Kakashi stepped in, his voice calm but firm. "With all due respect, elders, Ren never graduated from the Academy. He has no ninja registration number. Technically, he was never a Konoha shinobi. We can't classify a civilian as a missing-nin."
Homura waved a dismissive, liver-spotted hand. "A triviality. Create a file for him. Use his brother's photograph—they're identical twins, who will know the difference? The important thing is the message it sends."
That was the final straw. The two elders, lost in the old days of easily manipulating the Third Hokage, had completely misjudged his successor.
Tsunade's fist slammed down on her desk. The sound was like a thunderclap, making everyone in the room jump. A web of cracks spread from the point of impact across the entire surface of the expensive oak desk. She rose to her full height, her glare fiery enough to melt steel.
Her roar filled the room, leaving no space for argument. Koharu and Homura actually took a step back, their eyes wide with shock.
"I am the Fifth Hokage!" Tsunade declared, her voice vibrating with raw authority. "The decisions on how to handle these situations are MINE to make! Not yours. You are advisors. Your role is to advise when asked, not to barge into my office and issue decrees like some sort of retired monarchy! You have no right to order me to falsify documents or pursue policies that I believe are wrong for this village!"
Koharu recovered slightly, her tone less assured. "We are merely offering counsel for the stability of the village—"
"Your 'counsel' has been noted," Tsunade interrupted, her voice dropping to a dangerous, icy calm. She pointed a finger toward the door. "Now, if you have nothing else to add, get out of my office. I have real work to do."
The two elders were utterly defeated. The bluster drained from them, leaving behind two simply old, out-of-touch people. They had no power here. With a pair of indignant, wordless sniffs, they turned on their heels and stalked out of the office, the door swinging shut behind them with a definitive click.
The room was silent again, the only sound the faint creaking of Tsunade's damaged desk.
Shizune, who had been holding her breath the entire time, let out a slow sigh. Naruto was staring at Tsunade with undisguised awe.
Tsunade sank back into her chair, running a hand over her face. She looked at the cracked desk and sighed. "Add 'property damage' to my list of problems today." She then looked at Kakashi and the genin, her expression grave but resolved.
"Here is what we are going to do. Sasuke's wanted order is to be officially put under review, pending further investigation. We will not publicly revoke it yet, not until we have more concrete proof of his circumstances and can do so without making Konoha look weak. But internally, we will treat him as a victim of Orochimaru's manipulation, not a willing traitor."
She turned her gaze to the window, looking out over the village she had sworn to protect. "As for Uchiha Ren... We will open a file. But we will not use his brother's photo. We will mark him as a person of extreme interest and high danger level. But his status is... unique. He is a Konoha citizen who never became a shinobi. He is a rogue element. We will proceed with caution. Our primary focus is gathering intelligence. Is that clear?"
Everyone in the room nodded, a new sense of purpose pushing aside the frustration of the elders' visit.
"Good," Tsunade said, finally reaching for the drawer and pulling out her sake bottle. She poured a single cup. She'd earned it. "Now get out. All of you. I have a village to run."
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