Hey everyone, it's been a while.
After taking some time to reflect and think about what to do next in this story, I realized that telling it from Miyu's point of view was very limiting. As Hokage, she tends to move around in limited locations, and to understand the context of the situations that would occur, putting her in those places could feel forced.
I should also point out that the Hokage's job isn't much different from that of a public servant—not very exciting. If it weren't for the personality I created for Miyu, the scenes where she's in the office would be incredibly boring and bland.
Therefore, until I feel it's appropriate, the story will be told in the third person.
With nothing more to add, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
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Third-person POV
The village of Konoha, the strongest ninja village, both militarily and economically—or so many people say—with its unique location in a world currently dominated by ninjutsu, was a place where many could find opportunities to produce and live peacefully without many worries.
But propaganda is always propaganda, no matter how many people talk about these supposed facts. After all, a lie, no matter how many times it's repeated, doesn't become the truth; it will always remain a lie. And propaganda is designed to sell an object or an idea, even if it's not entirely accurate.
Thanks to the current government of the Hokage, Miyu Senju, several areas of the village have expanded and progressed very successfully, such as the medical, commercial, and educational sectors. This has led many people to be quite satisfied with the current government.
But many people are not everyone. This means that there will be people who, in fact, don't like that things are going well.
Among these people was an old man in his tunnels beneath the village, staring into space, his cane gripped in fury.
Danzo has always been a biased man, wanting what's best for Konoha and striving for its greatest achievement, but the truth is, if he doesn't do it himself, then, from his perspective, it's not valid.
So, despite many things I do, Miyu, as Hokage, largely agrees, and perhaps things he himself would do, he simply can't accept.
Especially after all she's delegated and humiliated. He can't accept that manipulative woman. He can't accept what she does and her actions, no matter how much they contribute to the growth of the village he loves so much.
But he has a major problem, and that's the support he has. Currently, within the village's upper echelons, there's no one who pays attention to him, respects him, or listens to him, which makes him grind his teeth and curse inwardly.
Or so it was before, until he remembered something very important, something he could take advantage of regardless of the consequences.
"Danzo-sama," a voice called from behind him.
The old man looked at his Root ninja kneeling with his head bowed, showing complete respect to the elder before him.
"Did you do as I asked?" he inquired, only to realize that so much time spent in the shadows of those two had made him begin to doubt his own men, a realization that angered him and made him grip his staff tighter, cracking it.
"Yes, Danzo-sama, we gave the evidence to the Uchiha," he reported emotionlessly. "We also asked them to be discreet with the information, since the current clan leader is an associate of the current Hokage."
"Good," the old warhawk said, feeling somewhat calmer. "And the remains?"
At that moment, the Root ninja handed him a jar of bone, taken from a grave.
Danzo, seeing this, could only smile wider. With this, his doubts might dissipate a little, and he'd have a way to attack Miyu if his hypothesis was correct; he just had to wait for her son to be at the academy so he could obtain some of his DNA.
"If everything goes well, I can get rid of these two nuisances in one fell swoop," Danzo remarked, starting to walk to his office to continue with his plans.
...
At the ninja academy, a woman could be seen holding hands with a young boy, who possessed keen eyesight and exuded a maturity beyond his years.
"The ninja academy has certainly changed since my last visit," remarked the woman accompanying the boy.
"Was it really that long ago, Grandma?" Yami asked dryly.
Yami was the eldest son and heir to the Senju clan, a child prodigy who had tried to speak with his mother, who happened to be the military leader of their village, to see if he could be excused from attending the academy.
This boy, who lived by logic and common sense, had his request denied, forcing him to come to this place despite his reluctance.
For this reason, he was somewhat annoyed and unmotivated. Although his face was the same, an unchanging poker face that betrayed no emotion, his actions were different. He was practically dragged along, almost by force, and reluctantly chipped away at stones in his path.
"Did you call me an old brat?" Tsunade asked, somewhat annoyed, looking at Yami.
"I didn't say that, but if you see yourself that way, that's not my problem," he replied, letting go of her hand and practically running inside the academy, knowing what was about to happen.
"You're a... going into the building isn't going to save you from my beating," Tsunade threatened, running after her grandson in a rage.
Yami might be a serious child, but his mother and siblings were another story, and however different he was, they were still family, and he was bound to inherit some of that.
...
Yami sat among several other students his age. Some were well-known, others not.
Despite his lineage being so sacred and revered by the village, he knew he couldn't be arrogant, especially since his clan, thanks to his mother's leadership, was no longer a ninja clan but merely a merchant clan with a few ninjas whose prestige was temporarily sustained by Miyu.
On the other hand, his mother had told him several times about great ninjas who had once been ordinary civilian children with nothing to back them up, using great-uncle Jiraiya or even the Fourth Hokage as examples. Therefore, there might be a child prodigy in this class, so he had to be kind and courteous to everyone.
As he drifted into thought, the academy director appeared to begin the opening ceremony for the school year.
But Yami's keen eyes and senses noticed two things: first, the director's nervousness, and second, the ninjas running around talking amongst themselves.
Just then, in the middle of the ceremony, her mother appeared, not quite ready, while two civilian employees of the academy tried to stop her. She simply ignored them as they were swept along by her movement.
This was the reason she hadn't accompanied Yami to this ceremony: she was going to address the new generation of ninjas, as was done every year. But apparently, some didn't want her to speak this time.
The director, now in Miyu's presence, became nervous, while she simply stood there waiting for her turn to speak.
"And now, next, a few moving words from our Fifth Hokage," the nervous man announced, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, giving way to Miyu, who smiled and stood before the microphone.
"Thank you very much..." the Fifth Hokage began, only to realize her microphone had malfunctioned at that very moment. She ignored it, moving her voice to another spot and using chakra to ensure everyone could hear her.
"Thank you so much for coming and for entering this headquarters of knowledge and progress. Daurnet, these past years we've been making reforms to ensure this place doesn't produce useless individuals or cannon fodder who can be killed with a single kunai. And then there's the matter of the Will of Fire and all that nonsense that's irrelevant here."
The Hokage's words left everyone somewhat bewildered. The children didn't understand what he was saying, while the parents thought he was joking, speaking that way and using those words.
But the ninjas and staff of the academy knew it was no joke.
Over the years, Miyu had always given these strange and uninspiring speeches, so every time the academic year began, everyone tried their best to prevent her from giving them. But the last time, she fired the former headmaster and sent him to work in the Inuzuka family's dog pens for three years straight without a break.
An unpleasant fate that the current headmaster didn't want to suffer, so, ignoring the others' previous pleas and out of fear of Miyu, he let her give the speech while he went to hide in his office, avoiding the reproachful and disappointed looks of his colleagues.
"Perhaps some of you will become great shinobi who will bring pride to your families and honor to generations to come; perhaps others will die in battle protecting the will of the people; and perhaps still others will achieve nothing, lacking the talent to be ninjas. But don't worry, everyone is talented and intelligent, just not for everything; you simply must find your path. With that said, I bid you farewell and wish you luck in your studies, whether for a short time, since we'll be accustomed to those who are useless, or for these six years demonstrating some talent to be here. May the blades of fire burn bright, or something like that." With that speech, Miyu fell silent.
No one quite knew what to do or say. Someone in the audience began to applaud, either because the person in front of them was the Hokage, to break the awkward silence, or simply out of goodwill. Everyone else followed him almost instinctively as the Hokage left, unaware of the uncertainty he had caused among the new students.
Meanwhile, Yami sat processing everything his mother had said, his mind racing with a single thought: "Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't the kind of speech to give at a ninja academy."
...
In the lawless zone of the village, an Uchiha police ninja could be seen walking alone through the streets, scanning his surroundings, wary of anyone following him.
Once he reached the alley, shrouded in darkness, a Root ninja appeared.
"I hope you've brought something good this time; last time, it wasn't enough to convince Elder Setsuna to join our cause," the Uchiha ninja complained.
"I believe this information will be very useful to your cause," the Root ninja remarked, handing over some documents.
The Uchiha opened the papers, his eyes widening in surprise. They contained something he hadn't expected.
The current Hokage had been experimenting on members of the Uchiha clan with the permission of the current patriarch.
This was something he hadn't anticipated, and yet, it pleased him.
During this time, discontent within the Uchiha clan had been steadily growing, particularly with the current government and the clan leader.
Obviously, they were ignoring the fact that most of the hatred they received from the village was practically their own fault, due to their arrogance and pride as Uchiha, and that the current Hokage had defended them against the accusation that they were the ones who controlled the Nine-Tails when it repeatedly appeared.
This only revealed their hypocrisy and their lust for power, whatever the reason.
This was the most radical group, those who wanted the Uchiha to rule above all else, something an old man had been gradually exploiting, fueling their thirst for power and rebellion.
The Uchiha ninja continued reading the information in the document, which was technically true, but vital parts had been omitted to make it seem as though Fugaku would freely hand over the Uchiha so that Miyu could possess their bodies in order to get to know them.
"That Senju," the Uchiha said furiously, while the Root ninja, in a display of excitement, mocked the Uchiha for how easily they were manipulated.
"I remember to be careful and not to say too much; you don't want their rebellion to end before it even begins," the Root ninja reminded him.
"I know," the Uchiha ninja said, somewhat irritated, biting his finger and summoning a small bird, which delivered the document to him, intending to take it to his superiors.
"Whatever the situation, remember that you have Lord Danzo's full support in this." With that, the Root ninja vanished as if he had never been there.
The Uchiha simply spat where he had stood, demonstrating his displeasure with the Root ninja, but they were now partners in this, so he could only do such things when the ninja was gone.
Just as he stepped out of the alley, he heard a voice.
"What's an Uchiha doing in places so far from his district?" As soon as the Uchiha heard it, he turned around to see a member of the Yakuza looking down at him.
Something that irritated the Uchiha ninja.
"My business is none of yours, trash," he retorted.
"Oh, how arrogant. Let's see if you can say that after I knock your teeth out in one blow," the yakuza said, holding a steel cane.
The Uchiha said nothing. He was simply going to draw a kunai and kill the guy, but he realized he couldn't move.
He looked at the ground only to see that his shadow was connected to another.
On the other side, he saw a ninja from the Nara clan, bearing the mafia's emblem, holding him still.
Before he could say anything, he heard something from the other side.
"Good night." With that, the yakuza punched him in the jaw, knocking the Uchiha unconscious.