Naruto - The Wind Calamity

Chapter 198 : Hiruzen's Arrangements

In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu and Homura sat. Everyone had a serious look on their face. They had been up all night ensuring that the village stays calm.

Homura said with a sigh, "Itachi stopped the coup. What are you planning to announce to the village, Hiruzen?"

Koharu said, "We will also have to build a new police force. And we have to come up with a reasonable explanation to give to the clan leaders and the council."

Hiruzen replied, "I have thought about it. But first..."

He looked at Danzo and said, "I hadn't issued the mission to Itachi. So effectively right now, the Root will be disbanded. The Root ninjas will be placed under my command in the Anbu."

This news surprised Koharu and Homura. They looked at Danzo. They wanted to oppose but realized why Hiruzen took this step. After all, Danzo had overstepped his boundaries too much. However, they didn't want the Root to be dissolved. Both looked into each other's eyes, tactically agreeing to ask Hiruzen to cut Danzo some slack. However, their short gaze didn't escape Hiruzen's eyes.

Danzo began arguing, "Hiruzen..."

However, Hiruzen cut him off right away and firmly said, "No more discussion. My decision is final. You still remember who the Hokage is, right?"

As he spoke, his chakra began exerting pressure on the entire room. Danzo, Homura and Koharu immediately felt an intense pressure bearing down on their old bodies. Breathing became tougher for them as they looked at Hiruzen.

The Anbu who were on guard outside the room also felt an intense chakra. They looked towards the room with sweat gathering behind their masks. They didn't know what was happening in the room but their minds, which were in chaos due to the unimaginable massacre the night before, calmed down. All had the same thought, 'As long as we have Lord Hokage, we have no reason to worry.'

In the room, the elders analyzed whether they should resist Hiruzen's chakra. After all, Hiruzen hadn't displayed his full power. If they decided to, they could counter the current pressure. However, Homura and Koharu decided against it. If they did, Hiruzen would just overpower them. Homura and Koharu were reminded of the massive difference between their strength and authority when compared to Hiruzen.

Homura said, "Alright."

Koharu also nodded. Hiruzen stopped exerting his chakra. The pressure in the room was slowly lifted.

Hiruzen said, "Uchiha Sasuke has woken up. He talked about his interaction with Itachi. Itachi claimed that he did this to test his power. We will report that to the village and the council. Though some clan leaders will realize that something is off and might even figure out the truth, I doubt they would speak of it."

Everyone in the room understood that Hiruzen was speaking of Shikaku. He continued, "As for the police force, establishing a new one will require a lot of work and manpower. Also, the common people were upset at how the Uchiha policed them. So I have decided to abolish it too. Instead, the Anbu will take up that responsibility."

Koharu said, "Even with the Root, the Anbu won't have a lot of manpower. Are you planning to expand the Anbu?"

Hiruzen nodded, "In a month and a half after the flames of this event settle down, I'll recruit more chunins into the Anbu. The Uchiha clan had the highest number of Jounins and Elite Jounins. We will have to invest a lot of resources into the existing chunins and raise them to the Jounin rank as soon as we can. Even if we don't promote them officially, we have to ensure that they have Jounin-level fighting capabilities."

Homura asked, "What about the other villages? Though preventing the Coup has conserved our strength, other villages may have some evil ideas as we have lost the Uchiha clan."