As soon as he was warned, the Daimyo called an emergency meeting.
It would take place the next day, and in the meantime, the news would have to be contained.
To date, no Hokage had ever been assassinated in cold blood.
The First had people trying, of course. The latest being a young man from Taki. All of them had failed.
The Second had died during the war, taking down some of Kumo's best and brightest with him, crippling its military.
The Third was the only living Hokage. Living proof that the job did not necessarily have to end up in death.
The Fourth had cemented his place in Konoha's legend as a bright, self-sacrificing hero who had taken a mythical monster down.
And now, this. The Fifth, a man who had tried his best to mend so many different bridges…
Murdered in his own home.
Nobody in the village knew about it yet, but the Uchiha clan had undoubtedly noticed their Hokage had not come home last night.
"What a fucking mess." Nara Shikaku sighed, echoing what most people in the room were thinking, even though formality meant they would not say it in present company.
The Daimyo sat alone on his side of the table.
On his right side was his committee of advisors.
On his left, the Konoha Council, as well as an ANBU representative and Nara Shikaku.
Utatane Koharu had an expression of distaste on her face, either resenting the bind they found themselves in… or the Nara's crude wording. "Lord Daimyo… The situation is grim. With Fugaku dead, our enemies won't hesitate to take advantage of our momentary bout of weakness."
"Can we not simply ask Hiruzen to step back in?" The Daimyo asked, fanning his face. "He has been doing a good job of things, hasn't he?"
"Hiruzen was a great Hokage." Homura spoke, willing to concede as much. "But his time has passed. Not because of his age, mind you, but because he has already stepped down twice. I fear asking him once more might lead Konoha to a worse situation than the one we're facing now. A reluctant leader is the last thing we need."
"I see, I see…" The Daimyo said, nodding slowly. "What about Jiraiya… or even Orochimaru?"
Danzō stood up. "Jiraiya is one of our best field agents. But he is unfit to rule. His teachings, and by proxy… the Third's teachings, are what led the Fourth to die after putting personal feelings above the village's needs. Orochimaru…" He paused. "Once, he would have made a strong Hokage. This time, too, has passed. His loyalty is uncertain, and his personal ambitions might lead to him using the village as a stepping stone. He is not a viable candidate either."
Shikaku frowned. "I nominate Uchiha Shisui."
"Oh!" The Daimyo let out a surprised little noise. "He is an interesting one, isn't he? I like him very much."
Danzō squinted. 'Imbecile.'
"He's strong. Well-known and an upstanding man." One of the advisors said.
"He's too young." Danzō said. "There is no doubt that in the future, he might be a worthy candidate, but he doesn't have the experience needed to lead us through the conflict that is coming our way."
Praising him felt as though he had bitten something sour, but if this were what was needed, Danzō would not hesitate. Shikaku took a long look at him.
He continued, Koharu nodding in approval. "For the same reasons, as well as the fact that both of them are too soft, plagued by too much unneeded compassion… Hatake Kakashi, and yes, even Uchiha Itachi are not viable options."
"These three are the best options we have, aside from the two Sanin." Shikaku argued. "Not yet in their physical prime, leadership, strength and willingness. If their youth proves to be too much… Since Jiraiya-sama refused last time, Orochimaru-sama might be the best option."
The Daimyo, fickle as ever, seemed to be swayed by Shikaku.
"Besides, there's no one else-"
"Let's hear Danzō finish, Shikaku." Homura interrupted.
"The sort of Hokage needed in such times is someone who can lead Konoha to come out victorious in the coming war!" When the Daimyo paused, he continued. "Because a war is what is coming, I guarantee you this much. Fugaku might have tried to ignore it, but I won't stand here and hide the truth from all of you."
"A war, you say?" The Daimyo muttered. "That is a pretty big thing to say."
"It is, indeed, Lord Daimyo." Homura nodded. "But I fear Danzō might be right. Our enemies are growing stronger each day."
"It won't be long before the Suna-Kiri coalition… and even Iwa, too." Koharu finished. "Oppose us more directly. Someone who has been through several wars already is our best option."
'Ah, so that's what they've been planning.' Shikaku thought.
"Lord Daimyo-" He started.
"Let Danzō finish, Shikaku." The Daimyo waved off. "Who do you propose, then?"
"To make Konoha even greater… and stay this way. Somebody who knows how to fight a real war is needed." Danzō paused. "After living through two of them, I believe I am the best suited person. The Hokage… should be me!"
"That is not our w-" Shikaku contested.
"Yes… I have decided." The Daimyo nodded, proud of his choice.
'No way.'
"I name Danzō Sixth Hokage."
Danzō nodded gracefully, hiding his triumph.
"I thank you for your faith in me, Lord Daimyo."
"As my first act as Hokage, I will find justice for Fugaku." Danzō declared, once the Daimyo was gone.
Homura and Koharu nodded.
Shikaku shot a hard look at Danzō. The Daimyo was a fickle fool, as all five of them knew. But he was the most openly powerful man in the land.
Now, Danzō was only second to him. It only took a few minutes for the village to take a sharp turn.
What was he planning now…?
"I have many men and women investigating his murder, as we speak. With the right tools, people… and corpses can speak… even beyond the grave." Danzō said, his lone eye dark.
To Shikaku… This meant nothing, since as Hokage, Danzō could have whoever he wanted sent to investigate. And he knew firsthand how devious Danzō could be.
"How did this happen in the first place?" Shikaku asked. "There are ANBU whose sole role is to prevent this. Where were they?"
"They did their role, and they tasted his food, his drinks." Danzō said. "They found nothing."
"Then… how?"
"I have asked them already. Fugaku dismissed them at some point. That's the only window of opportunity the assassin had."
Shikaku frowned.
'If only Inoichi were alive.'
Not only because he had been incredible at digging into dead people's brains.
They had been teammates for decades, and he could use his friend's support. He would have to speak with Chōza soon, too, despite the orders not to share the news.
"Are there any suspects?" He asked, despite the thousands of other things he truly wanted to scream.
Danzō nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. The poison that was used is a rare, immediate one."
The ANBU in the room nodded. "We found traces of it in Fugaku-sama's tea… and his body. The amount in the cup would have been more than enough to incapacitate and kill a man of his size. It inhibits brain functions, as well, and he probably didn't even realize what was happening."
Danzō continued. "Yesterday, according to his schedule, there was only one person who had access to the cup he drank. That would be the last person he met before all of us. As Shikaku can attest, Fugaku was already drinking from the cup when we arrived."
Shikaku nodded. He had noticed the steaming cup when he had arrived, and had thought nothing of it, since Fugaku had his own habits. Tea was preferable to Hiruzen's tobacco, as far as keeping in fighting shape went, anyway.
Well, until yesterday.
"Well…" Danzō concluded. "There is only one person that could have done it. We are interrogating her, as we speak."
'Her?'
Shikaku wondered.
Yesterday.
"Yamanaka Ino. Come with us." The four ANBU said, cutting off any escape route.
"…With you guys?" She tried to laugh. "I assume it's important, then."
Had they somehow found out about the scrolls? Was this about something else?
One of the ANBU restrained her.
"Ouch! Hey, knock it off!"
Shit. And she had not even managed to deliver either.
On the other side of the village, the man named Indra waited. And waited.
As a Yamanaka, Ino had tortured people. Pushed them until they broke. When it had been needed, she had killed them afterward.
Any shinobi would understand this: No village was good.
Shinobi could be heroes to some. And still, they would be monsters to others.
From what she understood, the Fifth had been assassinated, and she was the prime suspect. Which, she was sure, she'd feel terrible about — this was Sasuke's dad, before anything… if she hadn't spent the last twenty hours being interrogated.
Her stay in the holding cells was even more unpleasant than expected.
Being subject to mind-reading had been bad enough, but she had been trained against it, so this was not a first. One of the men was a Yamanaka, then.
She had expected it to end here, since she had willingly let them access these specific memories, in the naive hope they would let her go once they realized she had nothing to do with it.
It wasn't enough, apparently. There were things she had to keep hidden, the most recent one being the scrolls she had been tasked to deliver.
Her refusal to give them complete access to her mind gave them enough reason to go on.
In return, she told them nothing but the truth. That she had nothing to do with the assassination. They felt she was lying, withholding something important… or they simply didn't care.
Either way, she wasn't going to talk.
Which didn't mean she was going to enjoy the beatings, of course.
If her hunch was right, — and it probably was, as she knew Konoha's interrogation methods pretty well, by now — they would likely bind her soon, and start suffocating her, see if physical torture would help.
At the very least, it would lower, if not break her mental defenses. She would be in real trouble, then.
Maybe Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, Chōji… or any of their families would be able to do something?
Leveraging their political power might accomplish something… or it might not. Konoha wasn't fucking around, when it came to assassinations in their own village.
Especially not a Kage.
Whoever the new person in charge was, he wasn't taking any chances.
Who was it likely to be…? She would try to figure it out over the next few days. It would at least give her something to focus on… rather than the torture.
A purpose was a decent way to keep your mind through tough times, her father had said.
Once more, she wished he was still alive.
Uchiha Sasuke marched toward the Hokage's desk room, tears rolling down his face.
The ANBU in front of the door hesitated. One of them tried to grab his shoulder, but flames burned his hand, once he got too close.
"Let him through." A voice came from inside.
'Danzō…' He thought, and it felt as though even his mind were distant from him.
When Itachi had come this morning, his face heavy with sorrow, to announce that their father had been murdered, their mother had fallen to the floor.
Sasuke's first reaction, besides taking her in his arms, absently noting that Itachi did as well…
Well, his first reaction had been denial. Their father was one of the strongest, wisest men in the village. He was… He was…
He was not supposed to die. Not now. They just had dinner, had laughed together, as the close family they were, the evening before.
As he started walking to the tower, just a few hours later, he felt… empty.
There was an unbearable hole in his heart. With it came the realization that his father was just a mortal man, after all. Everything ended here. There would be no more happy memories to be made, no proud smiles to be seen.
His father wouldn't take walks with his sons in the evenings, or have tea with his wife in the mornings. He wouldn't teach him anything, ever again.
The tears started rolling.
'Uchiha don't cry where others can see.'
Sasuke found he didn't care.
But by the time he reached the Tower, anger started burning. He knew his eyes had likely shifted in their most advanced form, from the scared looks the people he passed gave him.
Now that he was standing in front of Danzō, a man that had hated his father even more than his father had hated him in turn…
(Not that his father ever said much about it, but knowing the man as well as he did, it was obvious.)
A man that had taken his father's position before his body was even laid to rest…
A man who likely rejoiced from it, too…
And a man who could even have been the one to orchestrate the whole thing in the first place, no matter how far out this seemed.
"Uchiha Sasuke." The impostor in the Hokage's hat… his father's hat said.
Instead of throwing accusations around, the way he really wanted to, he gritted out. "What happened…?"
Danzō closed his eyes, in what looked like mourning - determination - duty - anger, even to his Sharingan. If he were faking it, he was one of the best actors Sasuke had seen.
"It is exactly as you've heard. Your father, Uchiha Fugaku has been assassinated."
"…Who did it?" Sasuke muttered.
"We have found traces of a rare poison within his blood stream. And the same was found within the tea he had drunk." Danzō sighed. "There is only one village that has the knowledge of how to prepare it."
"I said. Who…?"
The demon inside him stirred some, reacting to his strong emotions.
"I am getting to it, Sasuke." Danzō allowed what sounded like sympathy to bleed in his tone. "The poison is one that Suna has used to murder our people in the past."
"Suna…? This makes no sense. Jiraiya-sensei is right there, as we speak! Negotiating!"
Danzō nodded. "And one of our spies there confirmed that some of the highly-controlled ingredients were stolen just a few days ago. Jiraiya is back on his way as we speak, and the agreements are canceled. Entirely."
"There's… No way." Sasuke breathed out. "Do you expect me to believe this? That doesn't prove anything in regards to… my… to…"
"I didn't want to, either. Despite my distrust of Suna… And my complicated relationship with your father." He acknowledged with a wince. Sasuke glared at him. That was an understatement. "I won't pretend we were good friends, but we shared love for this village, and we chose that it mattered more than our petty conflicts. And… Yesterday, the ANBU found proof that one of our own has been compromised. This person entered contact with a foreign agent that delivered the poison to her. Both are still in the village."
"A foreign agent…?" There was one person that immediately jumped to his mind. But there was no way that…
"We don't know how involved in the plot this person is yet, nor Suna's part in it… but one thing is for sure." Danzō continued. "I had a neutral party review the suspect's memories. There is no doubt. The suspect is the one who killed the Fifth, likely under a foreign village's orders."
Danzō's next words seemed distant, as Sasuke tried to wrap his mind around the words he had just uttered.
"We are still trying to get her to break, but… she has been too well trained." He sighed. "I will get the answers out of her, anyway. No matter the cost."
"I will only believe something like this if there's proof. Where is this person?" Sasuke gritted out. With his Sharingan, he could get to the truth.
"You'll be able to talk to her as soon as we're done with her." Danzō nodded. "Prudence is good in a shinobi, Sasuke. And despite what you may think… I'm sorry about your father."
His patience spent, Sasuke left the tower. To where, he was not sure himself.
But anywhere would be better than facing Danzō right now. It wouldn't do to attack the… new Hokage on the first day.
Later that night, inside the Tower, Danzō made plans for the future of Konoha.