Seizing power, sidelining the Third Hokage

"Meet him?" Fugaku took the bloodstained cloth, his fingertip brushing over the words. "He's an S-rank missing-nin now, and he still dares send messages into the village."

Hiashi glanced at the strip of cloth. "It's bait."

Shikaku rubbed his temples. "Even with bait, the question is whether we bite. Danzo has just been declared wanted, and the advisers have just been removed. What he wants most right now is to throw everything into chaos."

Sasuke folded the bloodstained cloth and handed it to Kakashi. "Have ANBU file it. We're not pursuing him. We're holding a meeting first."

The Third Hokage stood on the steps, no longer bothering to hide his ugly expression. "You have a lead on Danzo, and you won't pursue it?"

Sasuke looked at him. "Does Lord Hokage want me to take people out of the village so those left behind can seize the chance to overturn the verdict?"

The Third Hokage pressed his hand against the railing. "No one is trying to overturn anything."

"Then let's lock that door first." Sasuke walked into the Hokage Building. "The new council of elders' first meeting starts now."

In the meeting room, the seats once occupied by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stood empty.

After Hiashi sat down, two Hyuga record-keeping ninja stood behind him. Shikaku sat on the other side, weighing down his appointment letter at the corner of the table. The Third Hokage still occupied the head seat, but for the first time, no one waited for him to open the meeting.

Sasuke unrolled a scroll of new laws.

The Third Hokage stared at its title, his expression darkening further. "'Konoha's new laws'? Who gave you permission to draft something like this?"

Sasuke sat at the lowest seat, yet he pushed the scroll into the center of the table. "The council of elders has the authority to propose temporary amendments to procedure. If Lord Hokage thinks this violates the rules, he can have the Nara Clan Head read the precedents."

Shikaku opened the Old Records. "During wartime or a major rebellion, approval from three or more seats on the council of elders allows temporary restrictions on ninja troop deployments. Danzo has now betrayed the village, and the Root remnants have not been eliminated. The conditions are met."

The Third Hokage looked at him. "Shikaku, you've only just taken office, and you're already eager to strip the Hokage of his authority?"

Shikaku tapped his pen against the paper. "I'm eager to stop a second Root from growing inside ANBU."

Sasuke tapped the scroll. "Article one: all internal ANBU operations must be documented with three parties-the Hokage, the council of elders, and the oversight representative. Emergency operations may proceed first, but records must be filed within twelve hours afterward. Anyone who refuses will be treated as a private soldier."

The Third Hokage slammed the table. "ANBU answers directly to the Hokage. That system has been in place since Konoha was founded!"

Sasuke raised his eyes. "Root once answered directly to Danzo, too. And what came of it? An extermination order, stolen eyes, Wood Release experiments, an Explosive Tag beneath the special envoy's carriage. Does Lord Hokage still intend to use the old system as a shield?"

"ANBU and Root are different!"

"Then prove it to the whole village." Sasuke turned the scroll toward Hiashi. "Clan Head Hiashi?"

Hiashi stamped it without hesitation. "The Hyuga agree."

Shikaku picked up his pen. "The Nara agree."

The Third Hokage gritted his teeth. "I disagree."

Sasuke looked at the oversight document the special envoy had left behind. "The Daimyo's Residence requires Konoha to establish reliable controls over where its funding goes. If another scandal breaks out over ANBU's internal operations, the next round of funding will be suspended. Is Lord Hokage prepared to cover it himself?"

Shikaku twisted the knife. "With three seats approving, the Hokage's veto is invalid. The precedent is explicit."

The Third Hokage gripped his pipe, and a fine crack split its wooden stem.

Sasuke gave him no time to recover. "Article two: Konoha's finances will be divided into separate accounts. Death benefits, police subsidies, and border military expenses must receive cross-approval stamps from the council of elders. Any transfer exceeding one hundred thousand ryo authorized by a single person will automatically trigger a review."

The wrinkles on the Third Hokage's face deepened. "Finances have always been centrally allocated by the Hokage Building."

"Centrally allocated to the advisers' estates?" Sasuke shot back.

Shikaku pushed the ledger forward. "Lord Hokage, this article is difficult to oppose. The villagers are downstairs waiting for the new regulations."

Hiashi added coolly, "The Hyuga demand that all funding related to bloodline limit research be frozen, and that the old accounts be audited again."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "Article three: an internal ANBU review. Every ANBU member who ever shared passages with Root, was seconded to them, exchanged guard duties with them, or had overlapping missions must register again. Kakashi will handle the first round."

Standing by the door, Kakashi shifted his shoulders. "Me?"

The Third Hokage also looked at him. "Kakashi, you're the Anbu Captain. You would investigate your own people?"

Sasuke tossed a sealed stamp onto the table. "Precisely because you're ANBU, the Third Hokage can't accuse me of planting Uchiha in it. And precisely because you've seen all tonight's evidence, would you dare cover for Root?"

After a moment of silence, Kakashi took the stamp. "I'll do it. But the review records will be filed with all three parties."

"Agreed."

The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi. "Think this through."

Kakashi put the stamp into his ninja tool pouch. "Lord Hokage, I have. If Root grows back again, ANBU will be dragged down with it."

For a brief moment, no one in the meeting room spoke.

Sasuke continued through the scroll. "Article four: the Konoha Military Police Force will be expanded, with mixed units drawn from civilian ninja and personnel recommended by the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Ino-Shika-Cho. Law enforcement records will be filed to prevent any clan from becoming a second Root."

Shikaku raised his head. "That binds you, too."

Sasuke looked at him. "I'm not afraid of rules. I'm afraid of people hiding behind them to carve up corpses."

Hiashi stamped it. "Agreed."

Shikaku stamped it. "Agreed."

Watching the three stamps come down, the Third Hokage finally asked in a low voice, "Sasuke, what exactly do you want?"

Sasuke rolled up the scroll. "I want a Konoha where no one can decide an entire clan's life or death behind closed doors ever again."

The Third Hokage lowered his eyelids. "And what about the Hokage?"

Sasuke straightened his collar. "The Hokage is still the Hokage, of course. He stamps, issues orders, and accepts oversight. The Will of Fire is everyone's will. Wasn't that always your favorite lesson?"

Shikaku's pen paused, and he nearly failed to hold back a laugh.

The Third Hokage's face turned livid. "You're using my own words against me."

"They work."

Hiashi put away a copy of the new laws. "The Hyuga will enforce them."

Shikaku took a copy as well. "The Nara will handle the procedures."

Sasuke rose. "Kakashi, the ANBU review starts tonight. For the first batch, I want the Hokage Building's access-stamp register, the map of secret passages shared with Root, and ANBU's missing-person missions from the past three years."

The Third Hokage spoke. "Those are all classified."

Sasuke looked back. "Danzo has already fled with classified information. Keeping it hidden now only protects his secrets."

Kakashi looked at the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, hand them over."

The Third Hokage did not answer.

The villagers' shouts drifted in from outside. The Konoha Military Police Force had already posted the new laws on the wooden noticeboard in the square. Below the Hokage Building, someone read out the article on separate death-benefit accounts. An old ninja with a missing arm dropped to his knees before the notice and pressed his forehead to the ground.

Hiashi walked to the window and glanced outside. "There's no need to argue over who has the people's support."

Shikaku gathered the documents. "Sasuke, you have the authority, and you have the money. How do you plan to deal with Danzo next?"

Sasuke did not answer immediately. He opened the ANBU register Kakashi had just delivered, his fingertip stopping on a mission entry.

Mission location: abandoned valley to the northwest.

Mission notes: recovery of Wood Release remains. Root assumed control.

Someone had blacked out the execution date. Half of the character for "wind" showed beneath the ink.

Sasuke studied it for a few moments, then handed the register to Fugaku. "Gather the clan's elite with three or more tomoe. Only choose people we can trust."

Fugaku's gaze changed. "We're leaving the village now?"

"Not yet." Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "How many ANBU will follow your orders?"

Kakashi did not answer at once. "You want to bypass the Hokage and deploy troops?"

Sasuke pushed the newly approved laws toward him. "Temporary authorization from the council of elders. Operations related to Danzo require only three seats' approval."

Hiashi stamped it.

Shikaku sighed and stamped it too. "I knew these new laws weren't written just to hang on a wall."

Kakashi looked at the three stamps and reached out to take it. "I can bring eight people."

"Enough."

The Third Hokage rose, the chair legs scraping shrilly across the floor. "Sasuke, you can now deploy ANBU right in front of me?"

Sasuke looked at him. "Lord Hokage is welcome to join us, provided you're willing to accept the council of elders' oversight."

The Third Hokage pressed his lips into a thin line.

No one waited for his answer anymore.

Night settled over the Hokage Building. ANBU registers, financial ledgers, and maps of Root's secret passages were carried one after another into the newly established joint review room. The light in the Hokage's office still burned. The Third Hokage sat alone beneath the portraits, the ember in his pipe going out and being relit, then going out again.

Outside the door, Kakashi had switched to his ANBU mask but had not properly put it on.

Sasuke stood at the end of the corridor. "Regretting it?"

Kakashi fastened the mask to the side of his face. "I was just thinking about my teacher."

"The dead won't make your choices for you."

Kakashi looked at him. "The living aren't necessarily any clearer-headed than the dead."

Sasuke did not respond to that. "The abandoned valley to the northwest. Lead the way."

Kakashi spread out a map and placed his finger on a crossed-out marker. "That used to be a sealed storage site for Hashirama Cells. After Root took over, ANBU never went inside again."

Hiashi arrived with six Byakugan ninja. Neji was at the rear of the group.

Hiashi frowned. "Neji, go back."

Neji gripped his wrist guard. "I can see the Chakra Threads."

Sasuke glanced at him. "Stay behind the record-keeping team. Charge ahead on your own, and I'll have Hiashi seal your chakra pathways."

Neji nodded.

A Nara ninja sent by Shikaku handed over a black Sealing Box. "Lord Shikaku said that if this really is Danzo's last hideout, don't forget to take someone alive."

Sasuke took it. "That depends on whether he deserves it."

Just as the team was about to leave the Hokage Building, an ANBU ninja dropped from the roof and knelt on one knee before Sasuke, holding a blood-soaked eye patch in his hands.

"The scouting dogs outside the northwestern valley are all dead. Wooden branches grew out of their bodies."

Sasuke turned over the eye patch. A small piece of the Uchiha Clan Crest had been sewn inside, with another line written in blood beneath it.

"The right arm has awakened. All ten eyes have opened."