Chapter 72.3- One Thousand Hands

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Uzume looked nervous. That was new. That was very new. It was like looking at a scared lion or a small hippo. It was so strange and new that I allow dit to stretch out, perhaps for longer than I should have. The Council meeting was in two days. I’d handed the report, and copies over to Uraume and we were discussing a schedule for approaching the relevant clan heads. The ones who were undecided s far as we knew and were likely to supper me instead of Hiruzen once the report was out. The report was damning. Even without it, I should have been the obvious choice but that wasn’t how politics worked. Personal interests over country always.

We rounded off the meeting with a base decision and list. “Can you excuse us, Cousin? Uzume has something to talk to me about” Uraume didn’t look much surprised at the dismissal. She’d probably noticed Uzume’s nervousness as well. In fact, the only person who looked shocked was Uzume herself, snapping to attention like she had been caught dozing off in class or something. I fought off the desire to chuckle…barely. She wouldn’t appreciate being laughed at very much.

“What? What do you mean?” She asked, even as Uraume had left the room in all haste. Probably eager to get to work spreading my will and clearing the way for me. I gave Uzume an assessing look. Uchiha and Hyuga. Both clans and the Uzumaki to some extent would be the backbones of my power bloc for a while. They would need to be rewarded. That shouldn’t have been too difficult except that they had some ill-conceived rivalry that went back a while. Unlike the Senju, there hadn’t been any true reconciliation there, If I wanted to bring them together, it would take some effort to get their respective elders to agree.

“I mean that you clearly have something on your mind. What kind of friend and Kage would I be if I didn’t give you a good forum to vent it. Talk to me, ‘Zume” I said, standing from my seat to step closer to her. I caught a whiff of her perfume. It was spicy, the kind of thing that was harsh in long doses but intoxicating in short.

She looked hesitant for a second or two before she made a decision.

“Come. I want you to pray with me” She said, and I nearly tripped over my own two feet at that.

“You said what?”

“I said come pray with me” She said, and so she began dragging me out of the office. When we’d left the building, she turned to me and I could see some hesitance returning. That wouldn’t do.

“Race you to your clan shrine?” I offered. And in a blink, she was off.

I joined her, resisting the urge to cackle into the air.