The news had spread quickly that the Hokage had been killed at the hands of the Raikage.
The hidden leaf and land of fire were in an uproar with the whole thing, with war longing on the horizon.
With both Hiruzen and Danzo dead, the elders of the village were the last of a generation, finding that the choice of whom to appoint as the next Hokage fell upon their shoulders.
Itachi had been the only one to return to the village, which certainly raised suspicion regarding his survival. However, once the Raikage took credit for the Hokage's death, the village quickly believed Itachi's story and released him from holding, without further questioning.
Fugaku was waiting for his son to return home knowing that he had been released from questioning and having heard the story of what had happened from his subordinates.
Now that the Hokage was out of the way he could set his plan into motion. Fugaku knew that the only others who would make a suitable Hokage at the moment were Jiraiya and lady Tsunade, both of who had seemed to have no interest in the position and were currently away from the village.
"Come in son," Fugaku said, sensing his son's presence coming from outside of the room.
Itachi did as his father asked and opened the door to enter the room.
Fugaku watched him and waited for him to sit down, not sensing any ill will from the boy.
"I see your mission was a success, even if it didn't go to plan," Fugaku said, getting a slow nod from Itachi.
Fugaku could feel that his son was different now, seeming to have changed in some way.
"What happened, tell me everything Itachi," Fugaku said, getting the sense he had unlocked a new power.
...
Meanwhile in the village hidden in the Mist.
Fuyōna had first received the news from his spies about what had transpired between the Raikage and the Hokage, resulting in the death of the Hokage.
Later the statement had come from the Raikage himself, declaring that the hidden Cloud would be joining the hidden Stone to face the Leaf and the Mist, starting with the death of the Hokage.
Fuyōna couldn't help but worry, now that the Cloud had joined the war against them would mean an even greater army to battle against.
But Fuyōna also knew that with the death of the Hokage, there would be the question of who would become the 5th, and would they uphold the alliance that he had created with the 3rd.
"Are you alright dear?" Mei asked, noticing that Fuyōna was still awake as she rolled over to hold him, distracting him from his train of thought.
Suiren was fast asleep on the other side of Fuyōna while Mei rolled over to cuddle with him, noticing he was still awake.
Fuyōna flashed a small smile at her, stroking her hair with his free hand.
"I'm fine Mei, just a lot on my mind is all." He said, trying not to worry her.
Mei nodded and placed her head on his chest, stroking it with her nails.
Fuyōna smiled and relaxed, continuing to stroke her hair with his hand as he tried to relax and allow his mind to rest somewhat.
Morning came quickly and Fuyōna knew that there would be plenty of work already waiting for him.
The village had taken a hit to its manpower in the last conflict between the Sand and the Stone, and Fuyōna knew he would be forced to use more now that the Cloud were involved.
He was worried this might happen, after the events with the three tails and his battle against the Raikage, he knew something like this would be a possibility.
Still, worrying about that now would get him nowhere and instead he decided to focus on the task at hand.
Once Fuyōna had breakfast with his family, he headed to the office, where he could start making preparations for the war.
The war had tenacity never ended, with the Stone refusing to surrender, whereas the Sand had done so, especially once they found out that Pakura, the 5th Kazekage had been under the influence of a powerful genjutsu.
Once again, however, Fuyōna would be forced to place the village on high alert, and utilise everyone that was available to keep it safe.
He had spies running around the world keeping tabs on other nations, just as they did on him. He had tracker ninja out trying to hunt down any deserters, which thankfully had been very few once he had taken leadership.
He had patrols, escorts for trades, messengers, and the normal shinobi out on missions trying to keep what was a large part of the economy of the village alive. All of it added up and he was running short on manpower.
He had also started the training for Haku, Kimimaro and the others, knowing that their skills and abilities once honed would become essential to boosting the village's power. Haku having a razor-sharp intellect and the ice release.
Kimimaro, who was a taijutsu genius, was gifted with the shikotsumyaku and also possessed the three tails inside of him, meaning once he mastered its power, he would become a very powerful shinobi indeed.
Then there was Koyuki. The daughter of Yagura, the former Mizukage. She was also a gifted shinobi and would prove to become a significant one just like her father.
Next was Hattori, gifted with not one but two Kekkei Genkai, just like himself. He is the last heir to his family, a noble of the land of water and a talented fighter for his age, giving both Haku and Kimimaro a serious run for their money during the chunin exams.
The others in their class such as Kujira, Chika and many more that had survived the Chunin exams were also talented in their own right, proving to be strong enough to be the next generation of shinobi that would run this village.
For now, Fuyōna would prioritise their training, and try to keep them away from the war front as best he could. Still, he was sure that their time to fight would come soon enough, no matter what he did.
Not only that, but Fuyōna also had more and more genin that were being trained up, requiring more and more chunin and jonin to be placed in charge of them, further taking away from his manpower as he wished to keep them out of combat for as long as possible.
Ao suddenly walked into Fuyōna's office, snapping him out of his thoughts as he spoke.
Sir, we have a message from the Leaf regarding their choice for the next Hokage." Ao said, handing Fuyōna the scroll.
Fuyōna picked up the scroll, reading it and seeing that he had been requested to attend the meeting, something that had never happened before in the history of the Leaf.
"Why would they want me there?" He asked, not sure of the reason.
Ao also questioned it, not sure of what to say.
"Do you think it's a trap?" Ao asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I would hope not," Fuyōna said, showing a goofy smile as he leaned back in his chair.
"If the Leaf would stoop so low as to betray us after the death of the 3rd Hokage, then they are not worth saving from the other nations," Fuyōna said, growing serious again.
"So what are you going to do?" Ao asked, knowing that look on his face.
"Well, i'm going to attend the meeting of course." He simply said tapping on the desk.
"I thought as much..." Ao said, not impressed.
"I take it you're going alone too?" He then asked, already knowing the answer.
"Wait let me guess. It will be easier that way?" Ao then said, taking the words out of Fuyōna's mouth.
"You read my mind." He said with a large grin, causing Ao to sigh.
"Mei and Suiren won't be happy about that you know." Ao then said, knowing he would be getting an ear full from Fuyōna's wives.
"Leave them to me, Ao." Fuyōna then said, also chuckling nervously.
-Back in the Leaf-
The village elders were currently preparing the funeral of the 3rd Hokage, while also trying to come up with a list of who they could appoint as the next Hokage.
As per the 3rds will and instructions upon his death, he had requested their ally, the Mizukage be present during the meeting so that he could meet the new Hokage and help keep their alliance alive.
"Hiruzen, you fool..." One of the elders said as she read his will.
"He places too much trust in the Mizukage." She then said, looking to the other elder, who also read a copy.
"I agree... However, He has proven to be very useful. Not only helping to boost our village's economy with trade but also help prevent a civil war with the Uchiha and bring the war to a halt." He said, seeming to weigh up his feats.
The female elder remained quiet as she couldn't argue with the facts.
"He also killed Danzo..." She said not looking happy about it.
"Yes, the death of Danzo was a shame... Although he didn't go about it in the best way, he always did everything he could for the village, no matter how dark."
"Yes... I wonder what he would do if he were still alive now?" The female elder said, knowing he would not want the Mizukage in the meeting.
"I agreed with him when he opposed the alliance..." She also said, getting a surprised look from her partner.
"Are you saying what I think you are?" He asked.
"I'm only saying that we could have avoided all of this if we had not joined with the Mist..." She said, getting a small nod from the other.
a small moment of silence passed before either of them spoke again.
"Anyway, let us send the information for the meeting." She said after a moment, knowing they would have to honour the Hokages will.
The news had now spread, and the elders of the village had placed the time of the meeting. The daimyo of the land of fire would also be attending, along with the other elders and heads of clans of the village.
After all, it was a very serious thing, electing a new Hokage and given they were also at war, they would be taking no chances.
The day of the Hokage's funeral had arrived, and Fuyōna was ready to head out, showing that he and the village of the Mist were also paying their respects.
Fuyōna slipped out of an ice mirror that lead him to the office of one of the elders, allowing him to knock on the door.
"Yes come in." The voice said.
Fuyōna did just that and got a surprising jolt as the elder realized who it was.
"L-Lord Mizukage!" He said, not expecting him to arrive at his office.
"Yes, sorry for the intrusion, but I thought it would be best to turn up here rather than at the village gates," Fuyōna said, watching as the elder calmed down.
"I see..." He said, understanding what he meant.
"Very well. I was just about to leave myself if you would like to accompany me?" He said, inviting Fuyōna to come with him.
Fuyōna nodded and followed the elder out of his office, also surprising more of the jonin guard that had been guarding the building, clearly clueless to his arrival.
Fuyōna walked out onto the roof of the Hokage's mansion, seeing that the whole village was starting to line up so that they could pay their respects to the former Hokage.
Fuyōna could make out everyone who was important, such as all of the heads of the clans, including Fugaku, who stood with Itachi at the head of the Uchiha clan.
His presence was not so unusual considering their alliance and Fuyōna's efforts in the war, helping to save many Leaf shinobi.
The elder stepped forwards as he gained everyone's attention, speaking a few words to the village and honouring the memory of the third Hokage, causing everyone to become emotional.
Fuyōna kept his sight on the village, looking at its people as they sobbed and mourned for their leader, wondering if his own would do the same for him.
Fuyōna remained there as he waited for the whole village to pay their respects, being the last of the village leaders to remain, showing his respect above all else, something that did not go unnoticed by the village.
-One week later... -
Now that the village had mourned the death of the Hokage, the meeting to elect the next one had arrived, meaning that Fuyōna would be travelling back to the Leaf village once again.
Over the last week, he had spent his time training Kimimaro and the others, helping them to control their abilities and setting them new goals to which they would have to aspire to.
Fuyōna appointed Mei, Kaga and Ganryū to oversee their training while he was gone, knowing that they would be more than ruthless with them, as he had asked them to be.
With his affairs in order, and leaving Ao to tend to the rest, Fuyōna had prepared to attend the meeting to elect a new Hokage.
"Do you have everything with you, are you sure you don't want to take someone with you?" Mei said, knowing that he should at least take an Anbu guard with him.
"Please Mei, I will be fine," Fuyōna said, reassuring her for the 10th time that he would be alright.
"But what if it's a trap?" Suiren also said, crossing her arms as she leaned onto the desk.
Ao was also present in his office but chose to remain silent, having already had this conversation with him.
"Please, Suiren. Like I said, even if it is a trap, it would be better if I am alone." He said with a smile, trying to put both of his wives at ease.
Mei sighed, knowing that there was no arguing with him over this.
"Fine... But if anything happens, you get out of there." She said, taking his hand seeming worried about him.
"Don't worry about me, like I said, we can trust the Leaf." He said, trying to push the small amount of doubt he had to the back of his mind.
"Alright, wish me luck," Fuyōna said as he kissed both Suiren and Mei on the forehead before looking at Ao.
"Be careful." Ao finally said, giving Fuyōna a nod.
"You know me, I always make it out alive," Fuyōna said, flashing them all a smile before he clicked his fingers to create an ice mirror.
"See you all soon." He then said, walking into the mirror, leaving the three of them inside the office alone, waiting for his return.
Fuyōna stepped out of his ice mirror, leaving him just a little outside of the village gates, this time deciding to enter the village in disguise, deciding he would scope the place out first to see what feeling he got from it.
Since Fuyōna had used his ice mirror to enter inside the barrier that was placed around the village, he had already passed through undetected, allowing him to transform into a hidden leaf chunin.
Fuyōna walked into the crowd that was passing into the village, mixing among the traders and other civilians that were going about their business before he caught the eye of one of the gate guards.
"Evening, you back from a mission?" He asked.
"Yeah, just finished now." He said, flashing a smile.
"Good, well get some rest." The gate guard said, turning his attention back to the others.
"See ya," Fuyōna said, entering the village with relative ease as he placed his hands into his pockets.
"Well, that was easy... I guess I should head to the meeting, but I still have an hour to kill yet." He thought as he tried to think what he should do.
"Hmm... I guess I'll just wander and see what happens." He said to himself, wondering if he would bump into anyone interesting before he skipped alone and hummed a tune to himself.
--------------------
Alright, that's the end of thos chapter!
Once again thank you for the wait. I hope you enjoy!