Despite it All

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Ikam's POV (Nearby The Gathering Outside the Trial of Janus Building)

A man as experienced as Ikam had experienced much of the world and the experiences life offers. He had lived as a shinobi, a samurai, now he lived as a Uzumaki. He had operated in the shadows for years. Lived under the name Ikam for years. Formed his group slowly and collectively finding scattered Uzumaki and selling them on his goals. It had been an unfortunate discovery that the Uzumaki had held what he sought. He spent years tracking them down and slaughtering them. Eventually, he learned what he needed was at the Leaf and likely under the guard of the remaining loyal Uzumaki. Such he found himself where he was now. Attending the Chunin Exams had been Ashira's idea. A good one to scout out Uzumaki. But it had yielded little fruit. None of the ones he saw were anything more than future victims. Barely worth the deal they had given the samurai. Helpful in one way or another due to his getting to observe potential future threats. As well as measuring the strength of the villages, he needed something else to make this worthwhile.

As such he was now on the move. Usually, he moved a bit more carefully, sending men out to do his task. But he wanted to be involved personally in this one. It was always more enjoyable to bask in despair personally. At least of the accursed clan. Besides he would get to see her a little closer for a moment or two. He slowly shifted through the samurai dressed as one of them. The trained men could not detect one who moved as they did after all. Suddenly he body flickered to the building above the observing Kage. He could feel their chakra react to his presence but it mattered little. He had moved for years despite them and would continue to do so. He unreeled a scroll as several shinobi and samurai spotted him and moved in. He ignored this as he unsealed the contents of the scroll. Thousands of papers flew from it quickly filling the clearing. It stunned the approaching shinobi and samurai who were surely expecting an attack. A burst from the roof of the structure they were in with a lightning-enhanced fist mere centimeters from Ikam's face.

"It is fortunate for me that I don't intend to fight today," Ikam said smugly, suddenly being covered in smoke as the scroll he emptied sucked him in. Allow him to evade the strike of the Raikage. He continued to fly upwards due to momentum before landing on the roof. The scroll fell towards the ground. A without missing a beat attempted to destroy the scroll with an incredibly quick punch. But the scroll poofed away before he could do so. Hiruzen and Mifune joined him on the roof, reaching out with their chakra to see if Ikam was still in the area. Jiraiya and Tsunade spread out to the edges of the clearing to establish a perimeter as samurai did the same.

"Damn coward. I was looking forward to smashing someone." A complained.

"I've seen him before. He has attacked my village several times." Hiruzen said with a frown.

"That is most troubling; he sought asylum here but mentioned nothing of being wanted. He offered some high-quality blades. I believe his name was Terun Maki?" Mifune mentioned in a concerned voice.

"We know him as Ikam Uzumaki." Hiruzen replied.

"A criminal then? An even further shame I couldn't kill him. I'll have bounty posters out for him within the week. Ikam Uzumaki or Terun Maki will find no peace in the Land of Clouds." A said as he went to climb back down before several gasps and the sound of hurried footsteps filled the clearing. Stopping him as the three leaders observed the Genin.

There was a wide berth around Naruto Uzumaki. At his side stood only Ino, Gaara, and Samui. The others seeking distance or in the case of the Leaf Genin were frozen by shock. "What's their problem? Is it something to do with this paper he spread everywhere?" A asked ignorantly as he observed the happening. Mifune's face held a shocked expression as he read the note that had been spread. Hiruzen's expression was one of a man on the edge of rage. A reached down to the roof and grabbed one of the sheets of paper. He laughed as he read it. "I knew there was no way you lost the nine tails." He said with a smug smirk.

Samui read the note with shock on her face. As Ino stood to the left of Naruto with her guard up. Seemingly intending to shield him. Gaara shockingly did the same to his right. Neji after a moment of shock joined them. Lee was quickly next as well as Shikamaru and Choji. Shortly after Kiba, Yuno, Shino, Sakura, and Tenten (who dragged Sai), all shielded the shocked blonde from the gazes of distrust and shock of the other participants.

"Naruto…" Samui started with an angry grimace. "This is so uncool…"

Naruto flinched at this. He had been happy to make a new friend of the strange woman so quickly. It would hurt for her to hate him now…

"How could someone expose you like this?" Samui finished as she stood up, seemingly joining the group around the blonde fully. Naruto was shocked and could not contain the smile that crossed his face.

"You're such a drag Naruto." Shikamaru complained as he tapped his friend's shoulder. "That's one mystery solved. I promise I'll find out the rest. Even if it is a drag." Naruto looked around overjoyed to see his friends by his side. From his teammates Ino and Neji, to his guy friends Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee. Even his new friends stood with him.

"I knew you were interesting." Yuno said simply.

Two others joined the large group as well. Karui and Omoi.

"A jinchuriki huh?" Karui asked, annoyed. Dragging her more reluctant partner. "Our master is one too. No worries, we don't discriminate unlike some of these bastards."

"Oh god, this will start such a brawl. Which will lead to a battle, that will lead to a war, maybe even The Fourth Great Ninja Wa-'' He didn't get to finish on account of Karui flooring him. Behind the theatrics of the two Temari and Kankuro joined the group backing their brother in particular.

Naruto contained his emotions as he realized he didn't stand alone. Perhaps they all did it for different reasons but they stood with him. He felt the eyes of those who were less accepting. But in truth, it mattered little. Most people looked down on him anyway. So having this much support made things easy.

Sasuke merely smirked. Not moving over with the blonde and shaking his head as Hinata ran over eager to "help Neji". "So the loser is something special aye? Maybe he will be fun to crush." He commented as he observed the situation on the side.

Hiruzen, A, and Mifune observed from below as the drama happened.

"Well look at that shinobi uniting behind one." Mifune said with a small smile. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Hmm, his friends make sense but my shinobi as well as the Sand?" A questioned looking genuinely confused.

"Perhaps the burden of jinchuriki simply bypasses such simple matters as different nations. People can always unite together as long as they try to understand one another." Hiruzen said, smiling widely.

"Damn tree huggers are always talking about peace, or friendship, or understanding. Pisses me off! DARUI! SETTLE THEM DOWN! I WANNA GET STARTED ALREADY!" A roared angrily.

"I suppose letting things go like they are would be dull. We got an Exam to do after all." Darui remarked as he walked to the front of the separated Genin. He slowly weaved through hand signs. "Luckily my technique is anything but dull. Storm Style: Laser Circus!" As he said this a ring of light surrounded his hands. It grew in intensity before several white beams fired off towards the crowd. The beams moved so fast that most couldn't even react as they raced around them and slammed into a hill in the distance. The lasers smashed into the hill before they exploded. The flashing explosion ended soon, showing the hill completely gone. Mere rubble and ash remaining. The flashing lights and powerful explosions cut through the tension building only moments ago. "I get it's interesting that, so and so is such and such, but let's be mature aye? You still wanna become Chunin right?" Darui questioned now that he held the attention. The group all seemed to relax. "It's fine anyway we intend to split up and reform into teams of four. Don't worry about being paired with a "scary jinchuriki" ; they aren't allowed to harm teammates." Darui explained using air quotes with the "scary jinchuriki" line. "Let's see, there seem to be thirty-two of you remaining. So there will be eight teams. Once again randomly selected." Darui explained as a samurai handed him a note. "So the teams will be."

Team 1

Ino Yamanaka of the Leaf, Omoi of the Cloud, Shino Aburame of the Leaf, and Temari of the Sand

Team 2

Gaara of the Sand, Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf, Fuu of the Waterfall, and Samui of the cloud

Team 3

Kabuto Yakushi of the Leaf, Chojuro of the Mist, Benotti Itilo of the Waterfall, and Raan of the Cloud

Team 4

Raiga Kurosuki of the Mist, Mubi of the River, Karui of the Cloud, and Yuno Uchiha of the Leaf

Team 5

Shikamaru Nara of the Leaf, Sasuke Uchiha of the Leaf, Suigetsu Hozuki of the Mist, and Rock Lee of the Leaf

Team 6

Sen of the Sand, Kiba Inuzuka of the Leaf, Choji Akimichi of the Leaf, Ayuma Rotal of the Waterfall

Team 7

Sakura Haruno of the Leaf, Mangetsu Hozuki of the Mist, Kankuro of the Sand, and Hinata Hyuga of the Leaf

Team 8

Neji Hyuga of the Leaf, Tenten of the Leaf, Sai of the Leaf, and Kurotsuchi of the Stone

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Danzo's POV (Assembly of Council Room)

There was an uproar once he walked in. Such a thing was expected of him walking in as a known criminal now. He even noticed several of the clan heads tense as they looked him down. To think he had fallen so low as to be unwelcomed in the council he had spent years working in. He supposed in some way he deserved such a wretched fate. But it mattered little, his home was in need.

Tsume and Choza both stood and stepped forward as if to apprehend the older man.

"This wasn't smart Danzo." Choza stated as he prepared to grab the man.

"I always wanted to take you down a peg or two." Tsume growled as she approached with a smile.

"Let's not be hasty now." Danzo chided as he walked confidently past both. The two shinobi were shocked by his casual demeanor and the instant of killing intent he exposed. "Our Hokage permissed my presence in this meeting after all."

"He did? Any proof of such a thing?" Hiashi asked with a frown. Danzo threw him a seal of the Hokage. A unique stamp unique to Hiruzen, it was kept only on his person. It allowed him to issue subtle orders without them being intercepted by those outside of the know. "I see." Hiashi said with a frown. "I suppose carry on then."

"It appears my timing is most excellent." Danzo stated. "It is a known fact we try not to hold the council without a Kage or elder present to ensure no standstills. As is known to often happen with the shinobi and civilian portions of the council. Once again it happens. It seems the argument in question is the response?"

"Indeed," Shikaku stated with a frown. He didn't like the man being here but there was little he could do about it. "The majority of the shinobi votes want to proceed offensively. The civilian group prefers extreme defensive measures." He explained.

"So it would seem my vote has quite the say in this particular matter." Danzo said as he stalked to his seat and gazed across the room to the various members. Silence followed as he waited. "Well, present your cases to me."

"I resent a man like him being the deciding factor." Shibi stated annoyed. "The man is a convicted criminal after all."

"Perhaps, but Danzo-sama is quite wise." Perume belted out as he laughed. "I think it would prove wise to hear his opinion."

"Hearing his opinion is one thing but surely we will not have his vote." Inochi said calmly.

"Who are we to ignore the orders of our Hokage?!" Fubuki yelled angrily.

"Not to mention doing so could be pursued as treason." Usami added sweetly.

"Everyone calm down. Your bellyaching is pointless anyway. I will be present for this meeting and my vote will count. Such was decreed by Hiruzen himself. It is only for meetings such as this one where he is unable to attend." 'Besides I'm shocked as well. I never thought he would be so flexible. It matters little, with his approval I'll do what's necessary to protect the Leaf.'

Roars started before Hiashi called out to the others. "Let's just move on. Without him, we'd be at a standstill anyway. Each group should elect one speaker to argue their case. At least this way we will come to some sort of decision. If you feel passionately for your side, show it by presenting your argument well." He lectured causing the others to settle down for the moment. Recognizing this was happening this way regardless of their wishes.

The shinobi and civilian groups each elected e member to discuss their side of the argument while Danzo seemed to scan the room. He could see the civilians seemed particularly upset. He scanned the document about the loss of life and damages from the latest assault. They were considerable, but truthfully not as bad as they seemed. But to the untrained masses they represented they must seem crushing. Combined with the recent attempt on the Hokage which led to losses and from their perspective the shinobi were failing to defend them. They likely would not let the matter settle easily and it was hard to blame them. They wanted to tighten up what seemed to be weaknesses in their system by shoring up their defense.

The shinobi like himself surely had a different position. Trained as they were they knew the most effective counter to a smaller force like this was an aggressive show of force. So they leaned towards attacking. Their logic was solid enough, he supposed. Most of the time he would've leaned towards such a tactic. And so far this event he felt the same. But perhaps there were factors he had yet to consider. He would see if they could offer him knowledge in the situation he could consider.

Hiashi Hyuga walked forward for the shinobi. A choice Danzo approved of, Shikaku may be the sharper mind but his social skills were slightly lacking. He would likely struggle to convince the group of civilians who were thinking irrationally. Hiashi was known for her wit and patience. Known to smooth over operations often with word alone. The Hyuga clan is the most legitimate clan of the Leaf to the civilians. Known to be "classier" than most shinobi. Gave him considerable pull even among civilians.

For the civilians stalked forward Usami. She was an obvious choice for the civilians. She was one of the few who matched a shinobi wit. As well as being well-versed in debating even in high-pressure situations. Things could very well get rather interesting.

"I'll start if you don't mind Usami." Hiashi stated as he prepared to begin.

"I do Hiashi-san," Usami replied sweetly. "I suspect Danzo may lean towards your argument. The two of you being shinobi and all likely landed on the same idea no? As such I would think it appropriate for me to start. "

"That very well may be the case but"

Hiashi started but was interrupted by Danzo. "She makes a fair point besides it being a small matter for someone to speak first. Usami continues." Danzo said decisively.

"Thank you Danzo-sama as I was going to say." Usami said with a glance towards the annoyed Hiashi. "The recent assault on the village represents an unprecedented failure of security. Furthermore, this is only shortly after a considerable attempt was made on not only your life but the life of the Hokage as well. So we civilians have significant reasons to doubt the ability of the shinobi to protect us. With that in mind of course the idea of you sending more men out seems foolish. If you struggle to protect us with your current numbers it seems absurd we would subtract them further. We instead suggest focusing on defense with only critical operations taking place. Once the Lord Third and his party return, we can think of striking against the criminals that ail us but for now, we must protect our own interest."

"You do realize that's what they intend for us to do right?" Hiashi asked with thinly veiled anger. "Shinobi are trained to infiltrate even the most secure of locations. They won't be stopped by this measure of yours."

"Nor would they be yours. Assuming we can somehow find them we have to muster the forces to crush them, arm those forces, and deploy them. I may not be a member of the military but surely you can see it would leave us wide open. The advantage of being a smaller force against a larger one is flexibility. Coverage is our best option. Ensure that you can do your job fully as well as ensure defense people like myself aren't caught in the line of fire. We're merely asking you all to provide the best protection you possibly can."

There was silence as Danzo collected his thoughts. The woman made for quite the politician. Not many would so openly oppose Hiashi Hyuga in dialogue and do so well. She made some great points and her logic seemed reasonable enough. She did seem a bit overly confident in hiding but in this case, she may very well be right. "I see, Hiashi if you will."

"Of course. Firstly it may seem we have failed defensively but in both instances, we reacted as well as any force could be expected to. In the case of the Hokage, he was surrounded by his guard as well as Danzo and his men. It may have barely been enough but in the world of shinobi things rarely ever do. Even the assault yesterday was answered by several nearby shinobi as well as us clan heads once the nature of the threat was discovered. Furthermore, we are now aware of the threat and likelihood of attack catching us off guard is unlikely."

"Unlikely?" Usami questioned.

"Nothing can truly be certain in the world of shinobi." Hiashi acknowledged. "But that is why we must move with a solution in mind. Not bunkering down and making ourselves easy targets. But to put the village on tight security and to strike out would be the wiser course. Let them strike while we're gone and we'll repel them again. While they wasted their time we'll find both Ikam and Orochimaru and crush them."

"You realize you have been hunting Ikam for months! Orochimaru for years, how can we trust this effort to weaken our home will even be effective!" Usami called getting angry.

"I will put the full weight of the Hyuga behind it. We will see these scum suffer." Hiashi answered grimly.

"Didn't you, personally, allow the subordinate of Ikam to escape earlier today?" Usami questioned. Hiashi growled at this, looking prepared to move forward.

"Now you threaten me?" Usami asked with mock fear. "You truly are incapable of protecting us."

The group of shinobi and civilians all roared at the climax of the argument. Hiruzen would've surely scrambled to get them composed. But Danzo had learned how to thrive in the chaos long ago. He listened to the arguments with ears trained hard throughout the years. Heard various points throughout the storm of voices. But none of them truly swayed his decision from the very beginning.

"My vote is decided." Danzo states simply. "I vote for the plan proposed by the civilian members of the council."

Further outrage rang out at this announcement. This time purely being shinobi. But before it could continue any further Shikaku interrupted the chaos by standing up and raising his hand. "I vote for it as well."

This shocked the room into silence. Shikaku was known far and wide for his intellect primarily in the shinobi world. So they knew how substantial it was for a man like him to switch sides. The outraged Choza and Inonchi both reluctantly sat down and became quiet. Hiashi shortly followed after though with a huff leading to the other heads doing the same. "With that in mind, our decision is decided. Remember upon the arrival of the Hokage another meeting will be had to discuss the plan going forward. Dismissed." Shikaku finished quickly. Normally a meeting would never end so suddenly but in this case neither side wished to stay much longer. Slowly the room of split factions filtered out the room. Leaving only Shikaku, Choza, Inochi, and Danzo in the room.

"Choza, Inochi, would the two of you mind establishing a perimeter?" Shikaku asked with a frown. The two men nodded quickly leaving the room. "So what's the plan Danzo? I can see Hiruzen releasing you. Even allowing your presence in the council meeting when he's absent. Despite your proclivity for violence, you're a wise man. Able to achieve his goals despite the odds. That's why I'm confused. Why would a Warhawk like yourself agree on a measured response like this?"

"Perhaps my time in incarceration changed me." Danzo replied easily. "An older man like myself struggles to survive in the harsh prison climate."

"Bullshit Danzo. You can talk circles around most, but you know you can't pull it with me." Shikaku called the bluff. There was silence for a second before Danzo offered a small laugh before replying.

"I find types like yourself refreshing. A shinobi who's personable yet professional. You would've gone far in my root."

"I gotta disagree. Life's a real pain, but love gets me through it." Shikaku replied easily. His thoughts drifted to his fiery wife and lazy son.

"A shame for a man as incredible as you to be ruled by emotion." Danzo said.

"Stop. Stalling. Get. To. It." Shikaku demanded, now angry.

"You already know the answer already, Nara." Danzo replied with a smile.

"Even now you have them aye? Hiruzen may very well execute you when he finds out." Shikaku mentioned.

"He won't, a tree is nothing without its roots. Besides, the civilians will not allow us to pursue them. But a force loyal to the Leaf but not tied to them? Well, such a force would be bound by no laws. My mistake was having the root be a part of the Leaf. The tree never sees its roots after all. So while we will be going by the civilian plans. The others will not be so limited" Danzo said as he was escorted back to his cell.

"You're a damn drag you know that right?" Shikaku said this with a frown. Said to the man as he was dragged away. He knew Hiruzen wouldn't like the Root being free but he couldn't fault him for using them in a beneficial way. Despite the questionable morality of it.