Chapter 56.6- One Thousand Hands

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“Well, this feels like an ambush” I said as I walked into a room that did not have one occupant like I expected. Instead, it had eight. Every surviving member of my graduating class sat around the table, clearly waiting for me to arrive.

“Just a meeting Shori” Uzume said, appearing at my side and leading me over to my seat.

“Look at me thinking this was a date or something” I said to Uraume, and the second I did so, I felt Uzume’s grip on my arm tighten to unbearable levels. Was she that against incest? Pretty sure the only ones who had the Uchiha beat at that sort of thing were the Hyuga clan.

“We’re cousins” Uraume replied with a deadpan even as her eyes flickered to Uzume for a second. Guess I was the only one who wan’t aware of her incest aversion.

“Fine, fine. So what is this ambush supposed to accomplish?” I asked as I took the seat Uzume had led me to at the head of the table a second after she took hers at my right hand side. I was not going to interrogate it for now, but something about that arrangement just felt right to me. Like I could feel it right in my soul.

“We just want to talk, Shori. You’re our leader now and we want to know what you have planned” Toshiro was the one who spoke next, and as I turned to him, I realised just how little I’d seen him since Kusa. How little I’d seen any of them who weren’t named Uzume to be fair.

“Alright then. If anyone deserves honesty, it’s you guys. I mean you guys were the ones who got me the position in the first place” I said with a nod towards the clan heirs and heads around me. I hadn’t really anticipated it but somehow Uzume had managed to get them onside between when I told her about my plan and when we had the meeting. It was just the kind of thing that Izuku would have done. Fuck.

“Shoot” I said, referring to the questions they were undoubtedly holding in reserves.

“What are you going to do about Frost and Kusa?” Of course that was the first question. It was a valid one, even as the person asking it was a surprise. Inoken had a wry smirk on his face as he watched me closely, waiting for an answer.

“The Sandaime’s plan to let Iwa gorge themselves on Kusa and his defeat against the Raikage at Frost are both non-ideal. The truth is that the only thing open to us now is retreating past the border, slashing and burning the countryside to deny them resources and then picking the armies off one at a time” I said, even as I knew that would get me more questions. Inoken had asked his question with no competition. The next question had Toshiro, Shikahime, and Kizuru all speaking over each other.

Fun.