In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu and Homura sat. Everyone had a serious look on their face. They had been up all night ensuring that the village stays calm.
Homura said with a sigh, "Itachi stopped the coup. What are you planning to announce to the village, Hiruzen?"
Koharu said, "We will also have to build a new police force. And we have to come up with a reasonable explanation to give to the clan leaders and the council."
Hiruzen replied, "I have thought about it. But first…"
He looked at Danzo and said, "I hadn't issued the mission to Itachi. So effectively right now, the Root will be disbanded. The Root ninjas will be placed under my command in the Anbu."
This news surprised Koharu and Homura. They looked at Danzo. They wanted to oppose but realized why Hiruzen took this step. After all, Danzo had overstepped his boundaries too much. However, they didn't want the Root to be dissolved. Both looked into each other's eyes, tactically agreeing to ask Hiruzen to cut Danzo some slack. However, their short gaze didn't escape Hiruzen's eyes.
Danzo began arguing, "Hiruzen…"
However, Hiruzen cut him off right away and firmly said, "No more discussion. My decision is final. You still remember who the Hokage is, right?"
As he spoke, his chakra began exerting pressure on the entire room. Danzo, Homura and Koharu immediately felt an intense pressure bearing down on their old bodies. Breathing became tougher for them as they looked at Hiruzen.
The Anbu who were on guard outside the room also felt an intense chakra. They looked towards the room with sweat gathering behind their masks. They didn't know what was happening in the room but their minds, which were in chaos due to the unimaginable massacre the night before, calmed down. All had the same thought, 'As long as we have Lord Hokage, we have no reason to worry.'
In the room, the elders analyzed whether they should resist Hiruzen's chakra. After all, Hiruzen hadn't displayed his full power. If they decided to, they could counter the current pressure. However, Homura and Koharu decided against it. If they did, Hiruzen would just overpower them. Homura and Koharu were reminded of the massive difference between their strength and authority when compared to Hiruzen.
Homura said, "Alright."
Koharu also nodded. Hiruzen stopped exerting his chakra. The pressure in the room was slowly lifted.
Hiruzen said, "Uchiha Sasuke has woken up. He talked about his interaction with Itachi. Itachi claimed that he did this to test his power. We will report that to the village and the council. Though some clan leaders will realize that something is off and might even figure out the truth, I doubt they would speak of it."
Everyone in the room understood that Hiruzen was speaking of Shikaku. He continued, "As for the police force, establishing a new one will require a lot of work and manpower. Also, the common people were upset at how the Uchiha policed them. So I have decided to abolish it too. Instead, the Anbu will take up that responsibility."
Koharu said, "Even with the Root, the Anbu won't have a lot of manpower. Are you planning to expand the Anbu?"
Hiruzen nodded, "In a month and a half after the flames of this event settle down, I'll recruit more chunins into the Anbu. The Uchiha clan had the highest number of Jounins and Elite Jounins. We will have to invest a lot of resources into the existing chunins and raise them to the Jounin rank as soon as we can. Even if we don't promote them officially, we have to ensure that they have Jounin-level fighting capabilities."
Homura asked, "What about the other villages? Though preventing the Coup has conserved our strength, other villages may have some evil ideas as we have lost the Uchiha clan."
Hiruzen replied, "Suna is still weak and Kiri is involved in their internal battles. They aren't in a position to do anything. The only concerns are Iwa and Kumo. But, they are wary of each other. So they won't make a move eit..."
Danzo interrupted him, "I disagree. Kumo must have already begun making plans to take advantage of us. Have you forgotten what they did after Orochimaru left? Let me keep the control on Root and I will ensure that they can never start anything."
Hiruzen shook his head and said, "Even if they do, they will only probe us. As long as we respond according to what they do, we should be fine. Besides, instead of getting greedy for our lands, they would be more concerned about a rogue S rank ninja who could massacre the entire Uchiha clan. By the time anyone is ready to make a move, we would already have defenses in place to deter them."
The group discussed and debated a lot of other issues before they began talking about the remaining Uchiha children.
Hiruzen said, "Itachi requested that they would be looked after properly and be integrated properly into the village so that this event never has to be repeated. He also hoped that the surviving Uchihas would be well trained."
Koharu said, "Well, we first have to move them out of the Uchiha compound. Letting them live there will just bring back the nightmares."
Homura nodded and said, "We will also have to ensure their safety. Otherwise another incident like the Hyuga one could happen."
Hiruzen nodded and said, "I thought about this issue. I have decided to have 4 Anbu squads keep a watch on them at all times."
The elders were surprised. Koharu said, "4? 16 Anbu ninjas for just 35 children? That's a huge waste of our manpower, Hiruzen."
Hiruzen replied, "It is. But it's the least we can do for Itachi after what he has sacrificed for the village."
Koharu immediately stopped speaking. Compared to what Itachi had done, 4 Anbu squads were really not worth mentioning. Hiruzen continued, "I will move them to their old clan compound so that they won't be on the outskirts of the village and have an easier time navigating to the academy.
In addition, I will employ some civilians permanently to look after them until they graduate. I'll also hire some retired ninjas to train them properly. Considering the trauma that they went through, it is likely that most of them will awaken the Sharingan. So with proper training, in two decades, at least half of them will become Jounins."
The elders were satisfied by Hiruzen's arrangements. They ended the meeting and got to work.
In Fujin's house, Teru asked, "Do you two want to continue as a team?"
Hoka and Fujin were silent. After some time, Hoka said, "No. Mieko completed our team with her skills with Fire Release and Genjutsu. We could find someone who is good at Fire jutsus but finding someone who is also good at Genjutsu will be very difficult."
Fujin nodded in agreement.
Hoka sighed and continued, "Not to mention, we will miss her if we stay in the same team. It could affect our concentration on the mission and be bad for us."
Teru said, "Yeah, I had the same worry."
He looked at Hoka and Fujin and said, "I was a bit sceptical of the team when you approached me, Fujin. But I joined as it seemed like a fun idea. I am glad that I agreed that day. It's unfortunate that it ended this way. Who would have imagined something like this would happen?"
Fujin and Hoka sighed and nodded, "Yeah."
The three said goodbyes. All three were sad. Fujin sighed, 'No point in being dejected and wasting time. After all, it was my decision to not interfere. It's time to get back to training. And time to take the next step.'
He entered his basement to continue his training.
In the afternoon, Hiruzen made an announcement. The entire blame was put on Itachi's head. His image was painted as a bloodthirsty lunatic. Following the announcement, they participated in the council meeting.
3 days after the massacre, a funeral was held for the deceased Uchiha clan members. All the Uchiha orphans had woken up and were present. All of them were crying. The entire place was filled with their cries. And with all the Uchihas dead, they didn't have any relatives to comfort them.
A lot of other ninjas also showed up. Fujin, Hoka, Teru and Renjiro were also present. So were all the Academy teachers. Renjiro looked very sad. Fujin observed the Uchiha orphans. Unsurprisingly, other than Sasuke, he didn't recognize anyone.
After the ceremony and mourning, everyone began leaving. Only a few stayed back. Renjiro, Fujin and Hoka stood in silence in front of Mieko's grave, paying their last respect to her.
After some time, Renjiro broke the silence. Fujin and Hoka could feel the sadness in his voice. He said, "I never spoke about this with you. Before you, I had trained another group of Academy students."
Fujin and Hoka listened to his words carefully.
