Chapter 12 – Transition

The heavy sound of metal scraping against metal filled the cavernous room and a square of white light pierced into the dimly lit interior of the large circular room where a single slumped figure was seated. Guards snapped crisp salutes as a tall, trench coat clad individual stepped briskly across the room to where the prisoner was being held.

"Commander Ibiki," the ANBU guard acknowledged as the scar faced man looked down with contempt at their prisoner.

"Wake him," Ibiki commanded. The ANBU made a gesture and a second guard stepped forward with a syringe to administer an injection. A moment later the prisoner began to gurgle and stir.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Ibiki said. His voice was flat and unfeeling.

"Morino Ibiki," Sasuke said in the same tone. Ibiki's eyes flickered with annoyance. Sasuke's eyes were still covered by special chakra repressing paper stamped with powerful seals created by the sannin. He hadn't realized that the Uchiha would remember his voice so easily.

"It looks as if you and I will be getting to know each other very well for the next few weeks," Ibiki said. "We're going to go over every single day you've spent outside Konoha. I want to know where you've been, who you've met, everything down to the last insignificant detail. If Orochimaru liked drinking plum sake or taking long walks in the moonlight I want to know about it down to the last detail."

Sasuke twitched, his arms flexing against the restraints that held him strapped in the chair as he shifted into a more comfortable position before relaxing limply. His body still ached down to his very bones and the bloodline limit that had become a part of his daily life was agonizingly out of his reach. He said nothing.

Ibiki stood unmoving and regarded his prisoner in silence when he determined that the young ninja wasn't going to talk. After he calculated that enough time had passed he gestured to one of his assistants. The man approached, molding chakra for the first technique to be applied to begin the torture. Even the most hardened individual could be broken, especially if their nerves were treated for enhanced sensibility.

"Stop," Naruto said before the assistant could finish the seals. Ibiki didn't turn around or flinch even though he had not sensed Naruto entering the supposedly solid room, nor heard the door open.

"Leave us," Sakura added. "We will interview the prisoner for now."

At this Ibiki turned to see the two sannin walking leisurely toward him as if they had passed through the solid steel door like it wasn't even there. Ibiki scrutinized the two, noting Sakura's black and pink uniform that still largely mirrored the uniform of her youth and Naruto's long flowing overcoat that resembled his father's. He looked on curiously, however, at the ancient sword that rode on Naruto's back. Orochimaru's traitorous blade…

"I have orders from the Hokage herself," Ibiki replied. "The prisoner is to be interrogated immediately."

"Baa-chan will understand this one time," Naruto said. Naruto seriously doubted that there were any orders from Tsunade. The bureaucracy of Konoha's military apparatus took many actions in the Hokage's name before those in the highest levels of command could issue orders. This had a distinct advantage during the heat of war when low level initiative could mean the difference between victory and defeat, but it also meant that sometimes more aggressive individuals took things into their own hands.

Ibiki stared at him for a moment, exchanging steady gazes with the blonde ninja until finally he signaled his men with a jerk of his hand. His authority might technically outrank a sannin's authority as long as they were on his turf in Konoha, but this was Naruto's personal crusade and Ibiki had too much respect for the blonde to get in his way over this matter.

"Naruto-sama," Ibiki acknowledged as he followed his men in exiting the room. "You have thirty minutes."

The door clanged shut and a deep silence enveloped the room as three long parted teammates looked at each other expressionlessly.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said emotionally. She launched herself into a furious hug of the wayward Uchiha.

"Teme," Naruto said roughly, grinning widely as he stepped beside Sasuke's chair and gave him a friendly whack on the back of the head.

"Get off me," Sasuke said indigently. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Is that all you've got to say to us after all these years?" Naruto asked.

"You're finally free Sasuke," Sakura said happily.

Sasuke turned his face away from his old friends bitterly. His mind had cleared somewhat from the altering influence of the seal, but that had not brought him any comfort. Orochimaru and his manipulations were a disgrace.

"Is this what you call free?" Sasuke retorted, indicating his bonds. "My life has failed. I can never avenge my family; I have no home, and nothing to look forward to except torture and scorn."

"Baka," Naruto said softly. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"I meant what I said to you back then," Sakura said as she released Sasuke from her embrace. "We're here for you. You can start over again, if you want to. No one will blame you for what happened while you were under the influence of the seal."

"Please Sasuke, let us help you this time," Naruto said, affirming Sakura's words. "We're going to see the Hokage now. We'll have you out of the bingo book and reinstated in no time."

"What do I care?" Sasuke replied coarsely. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's because we care about you," Sakura said gently.

"I didn't ask for this," Sasuke said as they turned to walk away. "I didn't ask for anything!"

"Just promise me that you'll cooperate with Ibiki," Naruto said as he and Sakura neared the door.

Sasuke didn't say anything, nor could he see as his two old teammates regarded him sadly.

"Your time isn't up," Ibiki said flatly as they left the interrogation chamber. The badly scarred man had been leaning against the wall outside the door.

"No torture or techniques," Naruto ordered. "Sasuke will tell you everything you want to know. You have my guarantee."

Sasuke had no reason to protect Orochimaru's confidences. The influence of the seal was gone and the snake himself was dead. Naruto only hoped that Sasuke's pride wouldn't keep him from cooperating.

"As you wish, Naruto-sama," Ibiki replied. There was a flicker of motion and the young couple vanished away under the influence of a teleportation technique.

A few moments later they appeared a short distance away, electing to jump from roof to roof toward the central government building where the Hokage's office was located. It was still very early in the morning so many of the civilian activities were just beginning to start up for the day.

"Shall we go on up?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked at her curiously since she usually berated him for not using doors.

"Sure, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied.

"Don't do that, I'll get it for you Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, her voice the first thing Naruto and Sakura heard as they looked in on the scene of chaos. Jiraiya and Tsunade, both still sporting bandages, were apparently searching through a mountain of paperwork.

"Baa-chan, we need to talk," Naruto said.

"Yes, we do," Tsunade replied.

"Sakura and I just came from Sasuke's detention cell," Naruto began, but Tsunade cut him off.

"You can deal with that later," Tsunade said. "More importantly we're conducting a new census of Konoha's military and economic assets."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly at that and she looked over toward Naruto quickly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto asked.

"It means I finally get to retire," Jiraiya said. The white haired ninja had become somewhat physically diminished following the attack by Sasuke and Orochimaru. Any ninja could tell that Jiraiya, while still formidable, was not finished recovering from his injuries.

"Sasuke's attack showed me the limits of our age," Tsunade said sadly. "Even though I look like this I'm afraid that my techniques have taken their toll on my vitality. Ten years ago there is no way Sasuke would have surprised either of us, but as it was we nearly died."

"Don't be so dramatic Baa-chan," Naruto said. "You just need to drink less."

"A good Hokage knows when to make changes and carry out important duties," Tsunade said. "That's why I'm performing my final duty as Hokage and announcing my successor."

"Your…successor?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"I'm going to choose you, Naruto," Tsunade said quietly. It was the Hokage's sole discretion to select a successor, not that there was hardly anyone left who would disapprove of Tsunade's choice.

"Congratulations Naruto," Sakura whispered as the blonde sat down. Sakura could see the mixed emotions flowing through him as he absorbed something that he had to have known was coming, at least subconsciously.

"I've already informed the bureaucracy," Tsunade continued. "There will be a transition period beginning immediately. The annual budgetary review is going to be coming up before too long and you'll want to start setting guidelines aggressively."

"I guess after all this time I should be happy; excited even," Naruto said. "But I've still got too many things to do in the field to start keeping books."

"Those things are important," Jiraiya said.

"I know that," Naruto said sharply.

"Tsunade, you just said that a good Hokage knows when to make changes and carry out important duties," Sakura said. "Naruto and I have things that need to be finished."

"I can't divide my time just yet," Naruto said. "And Konoha's internal affairs need full time attention."

"Fine," Tsunade grumbled. She had been looking forward to stepping aside. "I won't retire after you take office."

Konoha had a long history of having two Hokage's in office at the same time, so why should now be any different? The Third had stayed on in the background after the Fourth, Naruto's father, had assumed office.

"Thank you, Tsunade-san," Naruto said. Tsunade's eyes narrowed as they focused on him with intensity.

"You're welcome," she said after a moment.

"If you two are finished, there's still a lot of stuff here to review," Jiraiya said peevishly.

Naruto nodded and sat down as the old hermit handed him a file. Sakura took a seat beside him and together the old leadership began the process of passing on the future to their successors.

"Iruka-sensei, why are we up here today?" a young academy student asked him.

"Today a very special ceremony is due to occur," Iruka said. "The new Hokage is going to be acknowledged by Tsunade-sama."

Iruka's students all began to murmur and stir at such an exciting event. None of them were old enough to have ever seen a new Hokage enter office.

"But Iruka-sensei, why is there a new Hokage?" another student asked. "Is Tsunade-sama okay? No one said there was going to be a new Hokage."

"Tsunade-sama is fine," Iruka said quickly. "And no one announced that there was to be a new Hokage because it would be bad if other villages found out. When a new Hokage ascends there is always some confusion, which as you all know can be dangerous to a ninja village like Konoha. Secrecy is important to prevent assassination attempts or even invasions designed to exploit the transition period."

"Will we get to see the new Hokage?" A voice asked.

"Who is the new Hokage?" another asked.

"Patience, patience," Iruka said. "You will all get to see the new Hokage. In fact, part of the reason we're up here early is that I wanted you all to meet him yourselves."

"We get to meet him?" A chorus of voices asked.

"Yes," Iruka said proudly. "You see, the new Hokage was once a student of mine just like all of you."

"Really?"

"Amazing!"

"When will he get here?"

"He's already here," Iruka said. His students looked behind them to where he gestured and were startled to see a tall figure wearing the Hokage's robes standing there.

"You're as sharp as ever Iruka-sensei," Naruto said. He moved to greet Iruka, somehow gliding through the throng of students without disturbing any of them.

"Thank you for coming my friend," Iruka said.

"Of course," Naruto replied. He turned to the assembled students. Some of them were whispering with excitement that Naruto was the new Hokage. "Your sensei asked me to come today. I hope you are all studying hard under his guidance and appreciating his teachings."

"Yes Naruto-sama," everyone sang out. Naruto couldn't help but flash a grin toward Iruka, who also appeared to be quite amused by Naruto encouraging others to be good students.

"But more importantly, I wanted to talk to you all about Konoha," Naruto said. "There are many people in the world that see a ninja village as a military organization or band of mercenaries. Some even see us as nothing but tools for the benefit of others. This is a philosophy that Konoha has always rejected."

"Naruto-sama," a small boy said hesitantly. "But ninjas fight wars and take missions for money."

"Yes, we do," Naruto acknowledged. He turned away from the assembled children, his face hidden by the distinct headpiece of the Hokage. "Even if we often try to take work guarding property and policing bandits the world is a dangerous place. Sometimes we're forced to carry out assassinations or even fight against other nations. However, that doesn't define us as nothing more than a band of soldiers for hire. We define ourselves by our relationships with each other. You see, Konoha isn't just a group of people, a village, or a military force, but instead it is an important family."

"Like my nee-san?" the same boy asked.

"Yes, like your nee-san," Naruto said. He turned back around to face them all again, his robes shifting gently in the morning breeze. "Konoha defines itself by a philosophy not found in much of the rest of the world. We respect individuals and refuse to restrain their lives. Everyone can live as they please so long as they don't harm their fellow citizen. We value the life of every person, no matter who they are. There are some villages that believe in strength above all else. They force young ninjas like all of you to fight to the death against each other as a part of their training."

Many of the students looked shocked while others had apparently already learned of these sorts of practices.

"But those villages are mistaken," Naruto continued. "True strength doesn't come from death, but from life. Ninja in Konoha are the strongest in the world because they fight to protect those people who are most important to them. A Konoha ninja knows that the safety and freedom of the entire village depends on him at all times. Knowing that their efforts will protect those who are special to them gives them the strength to persevere even when things are difficult."

Iruka looked away from Naruto, his stomach twisting slightly as he remembered a very similar speech that he had once heard many years ago. At that moment, to him, it was as if he was once again listening to the Third Hokage.

"All of you have someone important, I know," Naruto said. "And if you think to yourself what you would do if that important person were in danger you'll begin to understand what it means to be a ninja of Konoha."

"I'd do anything to protect nee-san," the boy said.

"Do you have an important person Naruto-sama?" a girl asked. Iruka had somehow known that question would be asked and what its answer would be.

"Yes, I do," Naruto said. "To me, everyone in Konoha is an important person."

The class seemed to collectively murmur at that, but no one said anything.

"That's why I wanted to become Hokage to protect everyone," Naruto said. "As I look at all of you I can see the potential for Konoha's future and I know that all of you will grow up to be strong ninja. You too will inherit the Will of Fire that has been passed down from generation to generation and one day protect your own important family. As long as you remember these things Konoha will always be this world's shining light."

"We won't forget Naruto-sama," several voices promised.

"I know you won't," Naruto said, smiling broadly at them. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but it wouldn't do for me to keep everyone waiting."

"Thanks Naruto." Iruka said. "I hope you'll visit our class again soon."

"I'd love to," Naruto said.

With a slight puff he disappeared. Iruka joined his students as everyone reverently looked toward the top of the central building in Konoha where Naruto emerged a few minutes later flanked by Tsunade and Sakura. From all across the village hundreds of ninja and thousands of citizens began to gather as the word went out that the ceremony was starting. There, among the watchful eyes of the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade officially ushered in the Sixth Hokage Uzumaki Naruto.