章 360: Ch360. Unexpected Council Meeting
When Naruto decided to quickly retreat, Rei, Tsunade, and Mei looked at each other in slight bewilderment but also exchanged a small shrewd smile as they now knew exactly what prompted Naruto's fight or flight instinct in the flight mode.
'Heh, I reckon the next time the brat decides to have a little pranking spree at our expense, it won't take long to sufficiently deter him.' Tsunade inwardly smirked as the trio canceled their cloaking and entered the courtyard where Karin was still in the state of deep bafflement.
"Looks like that didn't go exactly as planned, did it, Karin?" Rei teasingly asked.
Snapping out of her reverie, Karin abruptly turned towards him and gave him a small, embarrassed, and sheepish smile, "No... I guess his non-Uzumaki part is to blame. He basically flashed out of here."
"Well, at least he doesn't have a fetish for flashing others yet." Mei quipped.
"If he ever develops one, I will make him go out like a broken flashlight." Tsunade snorted and crossed her arms on her chest, showing what she thought about the idea.
Rei really pitied the boy for having this kind of family but as he was about to open his mouth to pitch in his own 'flash' joke, he was alerted that somebody just 'knocked' on the barrier around the Senju Compound.
Tsunade naturally felt that too and her expression soured. "There are only a very few people who have the access to do that. Funny how no matter which one of them it is, my day will now most certainly become shitty." She grumbled.
Rei fought the urge to smile at her disgruntlement and simply clapped her on her shoulder. "Just go. It's not like we have time to spend time together. Mei needs to tend to her team-"
"I do?" Mei asked in surprise and tilted her head.
Ignoring her, Rei just continued, "-and I promised Temari to give her a tour of Konoha. Let's see each other in the evening."
Tsunade sighed, putting her hand over Rei's which was still on her shoulder, and sourly nodded in agreement before taking off towards the Compound gate.
When she arrived near it, at least some of her sour mood was alleviated when she noticed the designated ANBU operative who was mostly acting as Hokage's errand boy standing there, waiting for someone to show up. That meant the day just might not turn out to be an utter disaster.
"Lady Daimyo." The ANBU bowed when he saw her, "Lord Hokage told me to convey that there will be an unexpected Council Meeting in..." The ANBU briefly stopped, mentally measuring how much time passed since he got his order, "about seventeen minutes."
Hearing that, Tsunade's lips twitched, 'Of course, he would. When there is a day without trouble, why not go and make some yourself. You know... just for kicks and giggles.' She tiredly sighed. "Did he tell you why or who asked for it?"
The ANBU uncomfortably shuffled in his spot before quietly answering, "Hiruzen Sarutobi." And quickly shunshining away just in case Tsunade's legendary temper rose and her fist 'subconsciously' jerked in his direction.
Which it did.
...
The council chambers were clamoring with quiet, subdued chatter, mostly from the elected civilian side.
Despite Tsunade coming to power, she didn't fully disband the civilian council. Instead, she just 'tidied' it up a bit and restricted what they could and could not deal with. After all, civilians should stick their noses strictly into civilian matters.
Nobody knew why they were called into a session, especially now, when everybody was in some way busy due to the Chunin Exams.
It may seem like a reason to meet more but in fact, it was the exact opposite. If every little decision depended on the council in these times, nothing would have been done in time.
Shikaku Nara swept the gathered people with his half-squinted, tired gaze, stopping at the clearly annoyed Tsunade who was looking straight at him.
He grimaced before schooling his expression into an apologetic one but Tsunade just rolled her eyes at him, making him know that she asked for the cause of this meeting since she wasn't annoyed at him.
That only made him inwardly wince some more.
'Great... this is exactly why the Council is not supposed to meet too much during these kinds of times. An argument among ourselves when we have foreign ninjas inside the village is never good.' He thought, instantly squashing his growing desire for ignoring the situation with the help of an impromptu nap with practiced ease.
It almost made his chest swell with pride. His time as Hokage clearly taught him at least something.
That feeling lasted for no more than two seconds as he was once again reminded about the incoming clusterfuck when Hyuuga Hiashi entered the council room in all of his expressionless glory, his gaze instantly straying towards the Senju seat before he slightly frowned when he saw Tsunade sitting there instead of Anko.
Shikaku almost involuntarily smiled at the small flicker of irritation in Hiashi's eyes. The man still did not give up on pursuing Anko but... the Hyuugas were like that. Stubborn to a fault.
By now, Shikaku could with certainty say there was no snowball chance in hell Hiashi would ever get Anko's attention, much less her hand in marriage. Alas, it was not his problem to worry about so he simply enjoyed the occasional show with sadistic glee.
His eyes continued their journey, completely bypassing the civilian council, and landed on the Inuzuka matriarch who seemed restless, tired, and almost growling at her own shadow. Shikaku's gaze morphed into an understanding one, 'Her clan is tasked with the perimeter security of the village to make sure nobody is sneaking around, huh? Must be exhausting. No wonder she is mad about this meeting.' He gave her a deeper look, 'Ah, so she had a night shift and was probably woken up due to this meeting.' He inwardly pitied the woman.
On the other hand, it also made him a bit glad. From her state, he could easily deduce she would be out of commission for the duration of the meeting, hence, of no use to anybody.
It was almost enough to make him believe in the existence of happy coincidences since the Inuzuka matriarch was one of those who still somewhat... well, not trusted per se, but... those who were willing to at least listen to what Hiruzen Sarutobi had to say.
Shikaku was about to look at his friends Inoichi and Choza when the door to the chambers opened and Hiruzen Sarutobi confidently walked in, his expression grave and the air around him commanding as if he was still in charge. Shikaku not for the first time wondered how could such a decrepit old man give out such an aura.
Hiruzen was followed by an annoyed-looking Asuma...
'Ah? Wasn't today the day Shizune finally managed to get a day off from her office so she could spend it with her husband? Yukino was saying something about babysitting their kid... or something, wasn't she?' Shikaku's lips twitched at the thought. No wonder Asuma vehemently glared at his father's back as if willing him to burst in flames if it meant the end of this meeting.
'Poor lad. Cockblocked by his own father.' Shikaku inwardly snickered, knowing Asuma's mood will sour even more when the meeting turns out to be pointless.
Hiruzen stalked towards the Hokage seat like a man on a mission, intending to inform him of the grave news he heard and caution, possibly even advise the arguably smartest man in the village. He might not be on the council. He might not be one of the Hokage's chosen advisors... but he had his duty!
He fully believed it was his right to use his influence and call this meeting into a session for the greater good of Konoha.
He was so set on his objective, he didn't even look around to ascertain who was attending. That's why when he walked past the Senju seat and his mind registered a brief flicker of blonde hair, Hiruzen briefly froze before abruptly turning towards it with wide eyes.
"Y-You... what do you do here, Tsunade?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him and smiled in amusement, fully intending to give him an answer that will annoy him the most.
"I rule here."
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