Chapter 116: Aftermath Part-2
A/N:- So, I will be releasing atleast 9-10 chapters a week from now on. I don''t have any exam for atleast next three weeks.
--------------------------
At the Leaf Vige Cemetery,
The remaining members of the Uchiha n are silently mourning the death of their loved ones. Fugaku Uchiha silently stands at the front of the n as his eyes are closed.
''My n has met with such an unfortunate incident and I was powerless to do anything.''
Fugaku clenches his fist as he stares at the gravestone of his friends and n members.
"Almost sixty percent almost sixty percent of Uchiha n members died in this incident."
Fugaku remembers the tally of dead nsmen.
"Seventy people were ughtered in this attack. They were assassinated silently and most of them were killed in gruesome ways."
Nerves popped out in Fugaku''s hand as he clenched his fist harder. Blood leaks from his palm.
"Our once noble n of elites has fallen to such a down crest position. Most of the remaining members are non-shinobis and only a handful of them are ninjas."
Mikoto pulls Fugaku''s hand and shakes her head. Fugaku sighs and closes his eyes.
The remaining Uchiha n silently prays for the rest of the dead as tears flow from their eyes. Izuna silently mourns the death of his n members as he remembers the faces of some n members.
''Many of them were so kind and friendly to me. But I allowed them to die such an unfortunate death.
Some things still happened despite my presence. But I never expected Danzo to be alive and hire Akatsuki to start a ughter.
Next time, if I see any Akatsuki member; I will kill them with no hesitation. There will be no mercy for them.''
Tears flow through his eyes as he recalls the state of many corpses. Most of their eyes were missing. Some corpses have even their heart stolen and some of them were dismembered beyond recognition.
-----------------
Crunch crunch
Izuna lifts his head as he hears the sound of footsteps crushing the gravel in the cemetery.
"It was an unfortunate turn of series; all of you have my condolences."
Hiruzen and the rest of the elder council members slowly approach the Uchiha n and stand beside them.
They close their eyes to pay homage to the dead.
"Uchiha n has fallen out of grace. With their downfall, they are no longer a part of the noble ns of Konoha."
Koharu closes her eyes as she mutters these words.
"Looks like some subtle changes are going to happen in the power scale of the vige."
Homura remarks as he closes his eyes.
Izuna raises his eyebrows as he hears the content of the conversation.
''These pairs of old bones are ying politics at such an asion. I have to somehow kick them out of the elder council. They have corroded the vige together with Danzo.
It''s time for some new people to join the council. I have to think of a way to instate Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage.
Sigh But she won''t abide by my request. I have already asked too much from her.''
Izuna looks at the carving of Minato on the Hokage Monument.
''Minato, Kushina, I will revive you soon. Just wait a bit longer.''
"Koharu, Homura!... let''s leave the political matter for theter meeting. We are in the middle of a funeral." Hiruzen reminds them.
Koharu and Homura stop their conversation and closes their eyes.
-----------------
After the funeral ceremony,
The Uchiha n members slowly disperse as they tend to the graves of their loved ones.
Fugaku slowly walks in front of his family. Sasuke is holding Mikoto''s hand as he silently stares at the grave of an old woman.
"Sasuke! Let''s give somepany to Grandma Furi." Mikoto carries Sasuke towards one of the grave.
Fugaku stares at Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi for a while before a sigh escapes from his mouth.
Sigh
"You three are the hope of the Uchiha n. With so many capable ninjas gone, the Uchiha n will suffer from further prejudice and scorn.
The nine-tails incident had already soiled our reputation with false rumors and then the Coup d''tat."
Fugaku stares at Shisui and Itachi.
"You were aware, father!" Itachi gulps his saliva.
"Who do you think am I? I already suspected you as a double agent when I saw you snooping around near various elder''s house."
Fugaku activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and shows it to Itachi. Shisui and Itachi are surprised to see his Mangekyo..
"During the third Shinobi war, I lost a close friend of mine and gained the power of Mangekyo."
Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and shows Fugaku.
"You aren''t the only one who lost a friend in the third war, Fugaku-san."
Shisui and Itachi also activate their Mangekyo Sharingan.
"What?" Fugaku''s eyes widen as he stares at the group.
"I expected Izuna-kun to have the power of Mangekyo. But Shisui and even you Itachi?"
"Father! I awakened my Mangekyo in this massacre." Itachi replies sadly.
Sigh
Fugaku sighs and pats Itachi''s shoulder.
"You have gone through a lot recently. I don''t want Sasuke to go through simr things. So, let''s try to protect that smile of his."
Itachi looks at the sad expression of Sasuke, who is praying in front of the grave.
"Yes, father! I will protect that smile of his."
Itachi turns to Shisui and speaks,
"Shisui nii-san, I think I have found my Ninja way. I don''t have any big ambition or goals. I just want to protect the smile of my family. I don''t want to feel the same sense of despair and helplessness again. So, I will grow stronger to protect that smile."
Shisui smiles at Itachi and pats his head.
"Yes, you will. I will always have your back." Shisui ces his arm on Itachi''s shoulder."
"And I will have yours." Izuna hugs both of them.
Fugaku looks at their interaction and a smile reces his ever-present frown.
''Looks like there is still hope for my Uchiha n. But first, I have to deal with the dirty politics of the vige.''
Fugaku frowns as he spots an Anbu member walking towards him.
Izuna and the rest notice him too. Izuna nods to Shisui and Itachi. Both of them flicker away.
After rying the message to Fugaku, the Anbu member flickers away.
"I will apany you Fugaku-san." Izuna walks towards and stands in front of Fugaku.
Fugaku ponders for a while before he nods his head.
"That would be great. Let''s go to the meeting."
-------------------
Inside the meeting room,
Various elders of the vige sit around arge round table. Hiruzen sits in the middle of the table with Koharu and Homura on his sides.
Many other n leaders are also taking part in the meeting. Fugaku and Izuna enter inside the meeting room.
Koharu and Homura frown when they notice Izuna in this meeting.
"What''s the meaning of this, Fugaku Uchiha? It is a meeting of council elders and n leaders. Why have you brought a n member in this meeting?" Koharu questions Fugaku.
Izuna stares at Koharu.
"It''s fine, Koharu. Izuna Uchiha is an elite jounin of our vige. His achievements are more than enough to grant him an elder position in the vige council. If it wasn''t for his age, I would have upvoted him for Hokage''s position." Hiruzen interrupts Koharu.
''What?... This pervert old geezer has such a high opinion of me.''
Hmph
Koharu snorts and ignores Hiruzen''s remark.
''This granny wants an early retirement. She fricking lived till Naruto''s reign as a Hokage and interferes in his rule. Soon, I will give her a long vacation.''
Izuna takes a seat beside Sakumo and calmly looks at the rest of the n leaders.
''Hmm From their expression, I can see that Hyuga n, Aburame n, Nara n, Yamanaka n, and Akimichi n have no feud with Uchiha n''
He continues to stare at the rest of the middle-sized n members.
''Huh!... Kurama n leader seems to be excited a little. From his heartbeat, his erratic breathing, I can feel his excitement. Hmm let''s see what he has to say during this meeting.''
Soon, all n leaders arrive for the meeting. Hiruzen raises his hand and signals the start of the meeting.
"Let''s start the meeting."
Hiruzen stands up and walks to the center of the round table to address the n leaders.
"As all of you know, the Uchiha n was attacked two days ago. In the night''s silence, Akatsuki members attacked the Uchiha n and killed most of their members."
Hiruzen pauses and stares at the rest of the people. The n leader nods their head.
"This attack ced a heavy burden on the power structure of the vige. We have lost almost all of the Police Force members and the security of the vige is in jeopardy. So, I would like to"
"I have something to say, Hokage-sama." Izuna interrupts Hiruzen.
Homura frowns and rebukes Izuna.
"Brat! We are still in the middle of our discussion. Don''t interrupt the meeting and waste our time."
Hiruzen silently stares at their interaction as he awaits Izuna''s response.
Bam
Izuna smashes the table and stands up.
"The matters of vige politics has got nothing to do with me. I want to ask the elder council, especially you two
Izuna points fingers at Koharu and Homura.
"Why haven''t you announced the name of the instigator of the Uchiha Massacre event yet?"
Bam
The table breaks from the force exerted by Izuna. Fugaku looks at Izuna and wonders.
''It was worth it to bring him here. He can voice his opinion and thoughts much more openly than me.''
-----------------------------
A/N:- Uchiha n is in a weird spot right now. They are suspected of the Nine-tails incident and the Coup d''tat. This massacre has declined their power. I want Uchiha n to assert their dominance. So, the next two chapters will have some politics stuff involved. This is required for the plot and for the Uchiha n to grow as a powerhouse.
PS: Hyuga Affair Part-3 will be released tomorrow alongside regr chapter.