Naruto: The Butterfly Effect

I hope I wasn't going to turn waking up in hospitals into some kind of weird hobby. Luckily, this visit was short, because we, and I mean, Minato and I, were only treated for mild exhaustion and nothing else before we were let go.

"Finally!" I threw both arms into the air the moment the medic stepped away from the door, letting us both go. "Freedom!"

"We were here for one day," Minato muttered, glancing at me with a smile that slowly faded away. "And I'm more worried about the Hokage-sama's condition. Nobody is saying anything."

"Probably because they also don't know," I told him, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye as we walked toward the hospital's main entrance. "But yeah, he didn't look good."

However, I wasn't that worried, because I was enjoying the sunlight, the absence of gray clouds and rain... I would go home, make sure Mom and Dad weren't worrying, and then visit Sayuri. Then go and check on Kushina if they let us.

"Renjiro."

I stopped the moment I heard the voice because it wasn't Minato's or Sensei's. Haaah... Fuck. I turned around and saw Fugaku standing there, clearly waiting for us, because he was accompanied by Sakumo.

"Hatake-san?" Minato asked, a bit surprised.

He looked considerably better than the Hokage. His torso was wrapped beneath his shirt, one forearm heavily bandaged, and a small dressing crossed part of his forehead, almost reminding me of his son's future look in a weird way, but otherwise he was pretty much fine. However, their looks... Ugh... Did the old man bite the dust?

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked, thinking the same, gulping.

"Many things are," Fugaku said, his eyes moving between us as he answered, letting out a short sigh. "Come, both of you. You're needed at the Hokage Tower."

"If we are needed there, then there is more than just a little trouble," I muttered, already walking between the two of them, since they clearly wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You're going to give a report," Sakumo said, giving us a brief explanation. "The elders already heard our recounting and Ashina-sama's version, but because they keep asking, we have no choice but to involve you two, too."

"Be honest," Fugaku said to me, and I looked at him weirdly for a moment, but then understood what he really meant. So... Say what I want, huh? Am I being used? Heh!

There was more to this, I could tell, because I saw ANBU members constantly carrying messages between buildings. Maybe Hiruzen did not make it... Oh boy... If so, I can already guess that the one-eyed freak is gunning for the position and the two prune-eating raisin-faced bastards may very well vote him into power.

"So..." I murmured when my thoughts reached that point. "How bad is everything?"

"Bad enough." Fugaku answered, "We need to act fast."

"Great." I sighed again, looking between the two of them, realizing Sakumo and Fugaku were pretty much on the same page now.

"You'll hear the rest inside." Sakumo added, "And until then, make sure to recall everything that you did."

Even I fell silent as we walked, thinking about how to approach this, but I couldn't come up with any foolproof plan by the time we entered the Hokage's formal conference chamber. I will have to wing this naturally. It did not help that we got ther quickly and that the whole thing had been opened into the adjoining office to make sure everyone had space to sit at the multiple tables pushed together. And I mean everyone, because everyone was there. At the head of the table sat two people I recognized instantly: the two old fucks, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Who were they anyway? Because I don't think they were ninjas, and if they even were, still, fuck them. Why do they have any say in all this when they only show up in situations like this? Bastards.

Tsk... I couldn't even attack their age now, because none of them were as old as I remembered them from the show, which made sense... Haaaah. Then there was Danzō, sitting close to them. Oh, fuck off... With Orochimaru, too, and fuck off to a faraway place... please. Especially with that creepy smile the latter was wearing. Disgusting. Luckily, Jiraiya-sensei was there too, watching them, his chest and arms wrapped beneath his open robe. As I kept moving my eyes, scanning the group, Ashina sat close by to the empty chairs that belonged to us, and we looked at each other right then... But he just smiled. He already looked much better than before, probably thanks to his Uzumaki bloodline.

Naturally, the healthy ones were there too, like the Hyūga patriarch, sitting like he had a stick up his ass. Then the heads of the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans sat near one another, naturally. However... the Yamanaka elder was throwing me a stern look. Oh come on... We should be best buds! So I kept my eyes moving, not wanting to aggravate him, scanning the Aburame and Inuzuka representatives before moving on to the other smaller clan leaders, or whoever else was there to take notes.

Oh boy... The old one did kick the bucket, didn't he? Shit. This was about choosing the next Hokage!

"Why do I suddenly miss the hospital?" I whispered, but then Minato elbowed me. Of course, Koharu heard me and spoke up before I even finished.

"Renjiro Uchiha. Minato Namikaze." She looked at us, scanning us from head to toe. "Sit." She pointed at the empty chairs, and I had the urge to make Minato sit where the Hokage should sit... but Fugaku probably read my mind, grabbed my shoulder, and steered me to my actual chair before I could do something funny. I mean, stupid.

"We have statements from Jiraiya, Sakumo Hatake, Ashina Uzumaki, and the surviving members of the escort team." Homura continued, "But there are portions of yesterday's events that only you two witnessed. We would like to hear those."

"From what point?" Minato asked.

"The moment the summit chamber was destroyed." The two replied at once

"Okay. Easy enough." I nodded, and we began, telling our point of view to the whole room. It went well, without any questions, until we reached the part where Yahiko intervened.

"They identified themselves as leaders of a local insurgency," Minato was saying, and finally, we got interrupted.

"What insurgency?" Koharu asked.

"They called themselves," I leaned back slightly, holding back a smile, "Akatsuki." As I spoke, I watched the Yamanaka and Nara leaders begin scribbling to themselves.

"They told us the summit had been planned as an assassination from the beginning." Minato continued, explaining the whys and whats. "They told us that Hanzo made a deal with the other four Great Villages, that in exchange for allowing Amegakure to be used as the battlefield for the assassination, they agreed to keep the coming war out of the Land of Rain. They said the Hokage was the primary target," Minato added quickly before any other interruption. "Then us."

"They did send Hanzo after them," Ashina gave a tiny snort, smiling. "They weren't kidding."

"Why?" someone asked, and I turned towards the voice, which was, surprise, surprise, the Yamanaka elder.

"Because of Hiraishin," I answered like I was talking to a child. "And because they consider both of us future high-level assets and possible Hokage candidates. Or because I'm so good-looking. Choose one. But just so you know," I pointed at myself. "Apparently I'm very popular."

Fugaku closed his eyes, probably asking our ancestors for patience, but don't do that; you may just summon Madara.

"This is not a place for jokes," The Yamanaka idiot shot back, raising his voice a little. "They did not warn us, yet they knew?!"

"They didn't have the time." I shot back, not breaking eye contact, as if I were arguing with Minato for a moment.

"And you trusted them?" Danzō asked suddenly, making my head snap toward him as I glared back without fear or any kind of respect.

"Of course."

"Why?"

"They saved our lives when doing nothing would've killed us." I snorted, glancing over everyone else. "Not everyone is as calculative or a pawn in others' games as Danzō-kun likes to think and act."

"Watch your tongue," Danzō said, but I just tilted my head.

"Prove me wrong, first."

"Trusting enemy shinobi," He began, but I wasn't having it.

"I trusted Jiraiya-sensei's previous disciples. I don't see any issues with that. Do you?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Okay... now everyone had shut up, and even Jiraiya was looking at me, but I refused to budge. I won't let this weasily fuck get onto the throne. Fuck. That!

"So this is why you stayed there for so long..." Orochimaru spoke up first, looking at him. "Now it makes sense. You did have a soft spot for those orphans... I remember."

"I did." He nodded in the end. "They were indeed taught by me, while I remained in Amegakure after the Second War."

"You taught techniques... to outsiders?" The elders asked, hissing, making me laugh.

"I am pretty sure one of them is an orphan Uzumaki." I threw it out, deciding it was probably time to take a piss while facing the wind. "And we immediately bonded over that. They are allies, not enemies." I said, and Minato nodded, backing me up. "Now that Ame got rid of Hanzo, they will for sure take control, and it will mean we have an ally instead of an enemy."

"And we didn't trust them with anything sensitive." Minato added, "They wanted Hanzo's head, and we helped them with that."

"On whose order? Do you realize what this-" Danzō asked, making me laugh.

"I JUST FUCKING TOLD YOU! And on whose order?! Mine. Or should I have let the old fuck kill us?" I asked, sneering, "Whose side are you on, Danzō-kun? You know," I went on the attack while everyone was clamoring on the way I was speaking to him, "I have been wondering that for a long time!"

"You dare to speak, like–" he began, but I kept going without batting an eye, constantly interrupting the fucker. He was too used to everyone bowing to him and acting nice and friendly because he was the Hokage's old buddy. Eat shit. And I'm here to serve it on an Uchiha platter!

"I dare more than that. I accuse you of colluding with Hanzo, now and in the past, even in our exams! I dare YOU, you snake of a man, and I also dare your snake lover." I said, pointing at Orochimaru too while standing up, my Sharingan coming online, glaring at the two, "You both are or were in cahoots with Hanzo one way or another, and I would place my two eyes on the line that the ones gaining the most from the Hokage's death are you two. Especially after we urged him to look into you both! How interesting, eh? Just when the Hokage may decide to investigate your secret dealings, he gets ambushed and killed. I may have missed the start of the meeting, but I can guess you have already offered to take his place. Didn't you, you bulbous venomous dingleberry?!" I said, pointing a finger at Danzō, as Fugaku finally leaned forward and pulled me back to the chair.

"They went through a lot." He said simply, more to the others than to Danzō.

The room took a little time to calm down; some of them wanted to throw me out the window. But after my outburst, I could tell a real divide was forming... Most people didn't like what was happening, and some of the most influential voices were on our side and never interrupted me. Even the Yamanaka head, despite disliking me, didn't interrupt me in the end. Okay... this is good. Danzō can't just waltz in and take the spot.

"Who said he is dead?" Danzō said suddenly, as if wanting to get back at me, "Sarutobi is still alive, and we are keeping him alive. He is just not in the position to act, and we don't know when he will recover."

"He... lived?" I asked, and when Ashina nodded at me, I let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Then we don't need a new Hokage."

"We need one," Homura said then, looking at me like I was an abhorrent blemish on this meeting. "It is not your place to decide what this village needs."

"Neither is yours." I shot back, while Minato was simply holding his head, deciding to give up and see where this was going. "You are not the village."

"The Third Shinobi World War just started, you undisciplined child! The village needs and will get its Hokage to lead it through this war!" Koharu snapped, but I snapped back even harder.

"We still have the Third, you turd." I snorted. "You two think you can just make decisions because you were alive when the Second led the village, or what? You two, and those two snakes you hold in your laps, aren't even part of this village's everyday life! You are like outsiders, making decisions for Konoha and its clans and people when you don't even participate in their lives! I spit on you! A Hokage is for the village and its people, and you are not that. None of you are. Thus, you have no say in whether we need a new Hokage or not, not to mention who that person will be! Fuck you both!"

"He is more of an Uzumaki than some of my grandkids." Ashina laughed, breaking the tension a little, then nodded at me to continue. To my surprise, Jiraiya, Fugaku, Sakumo, and many more stayed silent... Probably using me to oppose Danzō's or the old ones' offer, which they made while we weren't even here. So be it. I'll be your sword if you all want me to!

"As I said," I crossed my arms, my Sharingan still on, "We don't need a new Hokage. The Third will pull through this and will return to lead us. Until then, we just need a council of all those who are present today. A war council, if you will. We can't elect a Hokage right now. It would ruin us, because hasty, untrusted decisions would be the poison that kills us on the battlefield, especially coming from people who were under heavy scrutiny just a few days before. No. Best if all the clans and our best shinobi work together, make decisions together until the Hokage-sama can return and lead us through the war."

"And if he doesn't?" Danzō asked, and was about to say more, but I just sneered at him.

"Previously you spoke of the opposite. What? Are you thinking of killing him now? It isn't going your way, so you stop keeping him alive? Are your ROOT agents worming their way into his personal guards now that we lost a few?" I asked, and he visibly flinched, making everyone look at me, then at Danzō. "I wasn't joking when I said that the Hokage was about to examine you... You nasty old fuck... You grave-robbing bastard. How's the experiments going, Danzō-chan? Orochimaru-chan? Did the Uzumaki corpses you two looted up to par?"

I may have overshot it, because the way the atmosphere changed was... electric.

But I had enough. Before the war kicks off for real... I am going to clean house. I am not going to hold two serpents in my bosom while we fight for survival!