Naruto was not late to a meeting for once. In fact, he was practically the first one present at the Delegates meeting. He had woken up early and Shino gave him news about what had transpired in the night and Naruto took an early trip towards the clinic. Sakura was in her office, dozing off and holding Sasuke’s headband in her hand, smiling as she had a dream Naruto was probably able to guess. He then was allowed to enter Konohamaru's room and saw his successor practically unconscious. Naruto smiled at seeing him. Not even days after being announced as one who would fill big shoes and already Konohamaru was proving that he had what it took to represent the Will of Fire. There was nothing but pride in Naruto’s heart as he saw that the young man was on his way to making his grandfather’s legacy shine much like Naruto had also made his father’s shine. There was hope after all for Konoha.
He then walked out but not before he heard…
“Naruto, nee-chan. I did it. I did it.”
“Yeah, Konohamaru. You did great.”
Naruto then walked back to his office and waited for the rest of the Delegates to show up. Hinata arrived not too long after with breakfast.
“Aah, it seems I forgot to eat again.” Naruto laughed.
“Don’t laugh, Naruto-kun. You can’t keep doing that. If you do that again, I’m not going to make you breakfast anymore.” Her voice may not have conveyed it but Naruto was very sure that behind that timidness was a threat he had to take seriously.
“I promise not to do that often. But if I do forget, please understand me. I don’t do it on purpose.”
“I know. Just worry about yourself sometimes. That’s all.” Hinata placed her basket on his table and decided to leave. She then nearly jumped in horror when she felt a hug from behind.
“Thank you, Hinata.”
“U-uh, sure Naruto-kun. C-could you let go now?” Naruto laughed and let go. Hinata quickly stormed out of the office. Naruto was left in a daze for a moment before deciding to dig in. Hinata had decided to learn how to make ramen so they could save on the Ichiraku costs and Naruto at first was quite suspicious of that but decided to try it out. He immediately felt the warm broth dancing in his taste buds and felt rejuvenated. The noodles weren't as smooth but the soup was thick and rich and just balanced it out so well. There was just something so homely about the entire dish, a sort of collection of all the flavors Hinata and Naruto had time to test out before he was appointed Hokage and this dish felt like the conclusion to all that. It had the right balance of sour and sweet that just tempted you to have more. There was a hint of pepper and Hinata hadn’t mixed it well so at some points, you could feel the sharp sting washing away the flavor but that was something Naruto had no issue with. He finished the bowl almost immediately and placed it with a large smile on his face.
“Aah, that was crazy good, Hinata.”
Hinata had also packed some biscuits which were shaped like the Hokage’s hat and despite the fact that Hinata warned him with a note not to eat all of them at once because they were too sugary, that is exactly what Naruto did. The sugar became too strong and Naruto fell into a series of coughs and immediately found some water and a note on the water saying…
“I figured you’d ignore my warning so here’s some water.”
Naruto felt a sting of guilt before gulping the water and soothing his throat. He then cleaned his desk and walked to the conference room and sat down. Sakura appeared, yawning and was startled to see Naruto.
“You’re early!”
“Figured I’d actually be on time for once.”
“Well, that’s great. Are you caught up on what happened?”
“Yeah, Shino stopped by and let me know.”
Kiba and Choji got in the room and Kiba jumped in shock.
“You’re early!” Kina exclaimed.
“You make it sound like I enjoy coming late.”
“Aah, sorry. I didn’t mean to put it that way. It’s cool to see you’re here, that's all.” Kiba quietly sat down and Choji did the same. Ino, Sai and Shikamaru got into the room.
“Ooh, Naruto is early today,” Ino said excitedly.
Naruto was pissed. “What is with you and me being early-ttebayo! Am I not allowed to be early?”
“It’s okay, Naruto. It’s just a running joke among us that you tend to be late,” Sakura said.
“Why does everyone have to be so mean?” Naruto whimpered. There was a quiet that filled the room. Shino entered the room with Hanabi who was rushing in.
“Sorry I’m late. Hokage-sama, I won’t be here late again.”
“Er, actually you’re right on time, Hanabi. Unless of course anyone disagrees with that,” Naruto said and everyone sighed.
“I feel like we’re not going to live this down,” Ino said.
Temari also arrived and shot daggers at Shikamaru before sitting down. Finally, limping and tired, Uchiha Sasuke arrived and Sakura immediately catered to him, helping him to her seat and offering to give him a chakra boost, which he nodded weakly. The air had suddenly changed. Sasuke was not an official Delegate but he was the true heir to the Uchiha clan so he was rightfully in the meeting.
“I guess most of the delegates showed up today. We should start the meeting. Shikamaru, do the honors.”
“Sure thing. Konohamaru is currently in the clinic because he had a busy night but his trips were able to add context to this meeting.” Shikamaru gave all the knowledge he had gotten from Shino to the Delegates and asked if there was anything new Sasuke had to add to the discussion.
“They seem to think that Naruto and the Five Kage’s choice to create more Jinchuuriki destroyed the plan for peace Naruto had in store and they want to return that peace, I believe.”
“What does that mean, exactly? Do they plan to get rid of everyone who is a Jinchuuriki?” Hanabi asked.
“It would seem so,” Sakura answered. “Mei-sama barely survived having the Tailed Beast extracted from her but I don’t think the person responsible meant to harm Mei beyond taking the Bijuu. It was a very clean process of extraction, even more precise than the Gedo Statue was.”
“That should probably mean we should assume that the person who attacked Mei was someone who thought fondly of her. From the information Sasuke has given us, it is more than likely that the person was a rogue Kirigakure shinobi,” Shikamaru thought.
“Why wouldn’t it be the same person that attacked Sasuke? The Sunagakure shinobi?” Choji asked.
“The timeline wouldn’t add up. Both Mei and Sasuke were attacked at the same stretch of time. Maki has not shown that she has the ability to do so and from her words, we should have reason to believe she is not alone in her work.”
“She did seem to have different abilities when Sasuke fought her and when she was defeated, Sasuke had reason to believe she wasn’t dead but instead retreated. Wouldn’t that be like a shadow clone or something?” Sai pointed out.
“She didn’t disappear the way a clone would. She used a specific technique of self-destruction,” Sasuke answered.
“We cannot outrule the possibility that it might have still been her all along. The way I see it though, I don’t think she had any reason to lie about there being more than one attacker. Besides, don’t you think it would have been easier to infiltrate Kirigakure as a Kirigakure shinobi?” Shikamaru asked.
“So who are you suspecting, Shikamaru?” Temari asked, her voice laced with bitterness. Shikamaru chose to ignore her.
“Ao. He’s more than likely the closest one to the former Mizukage and would have easily been able to take her by surprise. Moreover, he’s got a motive to want to do this in a way that keeps Mei alive.”
“Ao was part of us during the Five Kage meetings where we chose to have discussions over the whole Jinchuuriki affair. It makes sense that he’d be able to know enough to sway the thoughts of Maki, who was also present in those meetings.”
“But isn’t Ao like super old by now?” Hanabi asked.
“Even Madara was once thought to be dead for a long time. We cannot afford to think like that, Hanabi,” Naruto said, simply. Hanabi lowered her head in shame.
“It’s okay, Hanabi. It’s not a bad idea. It’s just that we have faced many moments where people we wouldn’t expect to start attacks were the ones ultimately responsible.” Sakura said with a smile and Hanabi smiled right back.
“So what’s our next plan then? Do we stop our arrangements for the Chuunin Exams?” Ino asked.
“No. That’s not an option. If we do that, we get the entire villages panicking about this situation and that might be what these people want. Instead, we have to find a way to solve this without derailing the exams. If we can be able to stop this in time for the event, even better.”
“I’m guessin’ that also means we can’t get many Jounin members involved in the solution,” Kiba said.
“Correct. This needs to be handled like a normal mission. We can add the level of people involved with time but for now, we have to trust the kids to find more information as we sort this out. Hanabi, what’s our situation with the Genin?” Shikamaru asked.
“Uhm, lemme get my book out, just a sec.” Hanabi pulled out her book filled with information on the missions. “Team 7 is on an active S class mission to help with the inauguration of the new Fire Daimyou as you all know. Team 10, which is Lee’s team, was sent to settle disputes between 3 clans in a village pretty far from here. A few other minor teams have an active mission as well. That leaves Moegi’s Team 8 currently in Konoha.”
“We’ll have to send Team 8 to Gaara to gather intel so we can see how we are able to help them. We’ll only add one Jounin as back=up so as not to insult the Sand Village’s ability to protect their own Kage.”
“That would be me,” Temari said.
“Sure, that’s even better. Let Team 10 know to immediately rush to Sunagakure as soon as their reinforcements arrive. We want to ensure any powerful Genin team is able to be there to end this. As for Team 7, their mission is just as important so they can remain in the Daimyo's palace until their mission is done. Hanabi, select two Jounin you’ll send as back up. The rest of us stay here in case of anything.”
“Uhm, sure. I choose…” Her eyes scanned the room, nervously looking at the eyes of her seniors, scared of even choosing one. Worse still was that Konohamaru, who is closer to her situation, is not here to offer moral support. There was a lump caught in her throat as time started to slow, her mind turning to fog. This was a moment where her elders would see whether she had what it takes to make the right choice. If she was wrong…if she was wrong, then the entire operation was her fault. She felt the weight of whatever her mouth was going to utter to be great. She had to believe in herself and make the right choice. “I choose Choji and Sai as back-up.”
“You heard her, gentlemen. Stand ready to leave whenever things get tough over there.” Choji and Sai nodded in agreement and Hanabi took deep breaths, holding her legs for comfort.
“I think this meeting has come to an end. Thank you for helping me out with this. Ino, Choj, Shikamaru and Sakura can stay so they can help with setting up a Five Kage meeting. The rest of you, thank you for being here. Adjourned,” Naruto said and with that, most of the jounin left.
“Hey, Shikamaru, not to intrude,” Naruto asked Shikamaru quietly, “but what happened between you and Temari?”
“She’s angry that we had to wait this long to make a decision that had Gaara’s life on the line. Don’t worry about it. Temari will be fine after she cools down.”
“That makes sense. Pretty scary, though.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice.” The group then moved to the main office and Ino stationed herself next to a wide receiver. Choji was present with Food Pills and Sakura was present as a medic should Ino need any help throughout her streaming. Shikamaru stood next to the Hokage and fiddled with the control to the camera and screens. Ino took a Food Pill and channeled her telepathic ability into the receiver, unlocking a channel that four other sensors had also accessed. Ino used her chakra control and connected all five broadcasts into one and the screens roared to life, showing the other Kage; Darui, Kurotsuchi, Chojuro and finally Gaara.
“Let the Five Kage meeting begin.”
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