Konoha's Maelstrom

10

Hiruzen surveyed the room around him. The final civilian and shinobi members were entering and seated on their separate sides. On Hiruzen's right sat the Shinobi council, heads of clans and high ranking shinobi. On Hiruzen's left, the civilian council sat with worried eyes cast over the area.

Hiruzen briefly glanced at the four empty seats. Hatake clan, empty because Kakashi was more into the mission aspect of being a Shinobi than actually going to meetings. Then there were the Namikaze and Uzumaki seats, the two empty for very painful reasons. Hiruzen, however, knew that the seats would be filled by the sole heir to both seats one day. He also knew that the Uchiha seat would be filled by a young Uchiha one day.

He turned away and focused on the final smatter of talk and then it died down.

"Why have you called this meeting, Hokage-sama?" Kanran, a wealthy civilian council member that focused on the food rations of shinobi, which shouldn't have been possible. Civilians should hold no sway in what shinobi ate, or didn't eat, nor should they have the power to control what they ate in general.

Hiruzen surveyed him. Kanran had been in the council for nearly a decade, and in that time, the shinobi rations had become smaller, almost as if the funds had been embezzled.

"Do you all, especially the Civilian Council," Hiruzen started, levelling the civilian side with a careful look, "know why the Civilian Council was created by me sensei, the Second?"

Blank looks replied to his question, but Hiruzen was pleased to see that many shinobi and perhaps a few civilians did seem to understand the weight of the question. Hiruzen noted that the elders also seemed to have figured out the purpose of this meeting.

Koharu, one of Hiruzen's old teammates and the three elders, stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, you can't possibly–"

"It is my village and I can do what I wish," Hiruzen cut him off, barely looking at the man. He was an advisor, meaning he had a sway in Hiruzen's ideas, but the final decision came down to the Hokage, and the Hokage alone. Once Hiruzen was sure Koharu would not try to stop him again, Hiruzen continued; "The Civilian Council was created to aid the village in times of war. Konoha, nor most of the Hidden Villages, have been at war for nearly 15 years. Therefore, your entire existence is unnecessary."

Stunned silence and then outraged cries. Many civilians were shouting angrily, trying to deny this. Hiruzen noted that perhaps four or five stayed silent, guilty looks crossing their faces and trying to shrink. Perhaps some were repentant, but it was too late.

Hiruzen glared, his KI filling the room. The silence was deafening when the Civilian side shut up and sat down.

Hiruzen watched them, making a discreet hand signal to the anbu around the room to continue using KI if anyone else spoke too loud or out of turn.

He took another deep breath. "I had lost many great shinobi after the Kyuubi attack, and during this troubling time, many Civilian Council members decided that they would take advantage.

"They tried hard and eventually managed to get the Academy into their grasp. This was perhaps four years before the Uchiha genocide, where the Academy suddenly found themself decreasing the grade boundaries and altering the syllabus."

There was a murmur of anger, but it was silenced quickly by the anbu KI. Hiruzen glared just as harshly. "Does anyone remember the Uzumaki clan, closely related to Konoha, that we even wear their symbol on our Hitai-ate and flak jackets? I do. I remember Lord First being married to an Uzumaki, Mito Uzumaki, and a very well-respected shinobi named Kushina Uzumaki.

"The Uzumaki clan were vital to our history and for some reason they have been completely erased from the history books. Was this perhaps because of Meiko?"