Blind (Discontinued)

22

"Thank you all for coming to this impromptu joint council meeting," Hiruzen loudly announced, effectively silencing the various conversations taking place throughout the large conference room. "Now that I have your attention, I have three matters to address that are the cause for this meeting. The first has to do with the Council of the Clans, the second has to do with the sudden return of Itachi Uchiha, and the third will be revealed when the time comes. Any questions before the meeting starts?" No one responded, so he continued. "First off, I'd like to officially appoint Sasuke Uchiha as the head of the Uchiha Clan. If everyone agrees, of course, " he said, followed by reverent cheers of approval as the young Uchiha walked in and took his place as the new Uchiha Clan head.

"Now, while we're on the topic of appointing the heads of clans that currently lack a head, we've finally found the Uzumaki clan heir, as well as the Namikaze heir," Hiruzen continued. Although, they're actually the same person, and they were never lost to begin with, Hiruzen thought to himself, repressing a small smirk that was trying to form on his face.

"Minato had a child?!" someone exclaimed, most likely a certain aging man with questionable motives from the Citizen Council.

"Who are these two heirs?" someone else asked, this time from the Council of the Clans, or just the Clan Council for short.

"Due to certain circumstances, the two heirs are actually one person, one boy. He's just barely turned 15, which would make him the youngest council member, since Sasuke has been 15 for a few months now. This boy is none other than Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the orphaned son of the late Fourth Hokage and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki," Hiruzen declared.

"What? But a blind kid can't be the head of a ninja clan, let alone two! Besides, if he's the son of Minato and Kushina, how come none of us ever knew?" Koharu Utatane, one of Hiruzen's advisors and a member of the Citizen Council, exclaimed.

"The Hokage most likely had his reasons, so who are we to question him?" Bunta Takahashi replied dryly, his ever present cigarette somehow managing to stay in the corner of his mouth as he spoke.

"Now, may I please continue?" Hiruzen asked once Takumi's father had said his piece. The council members nodded. "Good. Now, as I was saying, Naruto's case is special, seeing as he's the only child of the Namikaze Clan head and the heir of the Uzumaki Clan. Since neither Minato nor Kushina had any siblings, Naruto is the only living heir to both titles. Being blind doesn't make him any less capable of handling the responsibilities of being the head of two clans."

"And I'll be there to help him if he needs it," Sasuke put in.

"Exactly. Even though he can't see, he'll have friends by his side to help him when he needs it. Remember, he's had two years to get back into the swing of things, and while he'll never be a regular ninja, he can still provide valuable input on certain matters" Hiruzen said, drawing a questioning glance from Shikaku Nara.

"That is true, we've never had someone who can't see on one of the councils before, which makes his input that much more valuable..." Homura Mitokado, another one of Hiruzen's advisors, said with a hand on his chin.

"But he was still a child when he went blind! How do we know he's mature enough to handle the stress that being a blind Clan head will bring?" Koharu asked, obviously against having Naruto accept his birth right.

"The old hag is right, what if he was traumatized by suddenly becoming blind? We don't know if he's mentally stable and no one has really seen much of him ever since. He's practically become a hermit!" Tsume Inuzaka stated loudly. A few agreed with her, while others disagreed, and soon the council room was filled with rather loud arguments, some seemingly pointless.