Chapter 55.5- One Thousand Hands

Danzo stiffly stood up from the seat at the head of the table and moved off to the side, to the left of the room— the same side as the Senju clan and moved close to the end of the table taking a seat next to the Izuno Clan head and opposite the Fuma Clan head on the other side of the room.

“Now, we can move on to the first bit of business— choosing a head of this council”

“A true coup then” Danzo snidely remarked but the entire room ignored him.

“Does anyone have any nomination?” I asked.

“I nominate Shorirama Senju, Head of the Uzumaki Clan to head this council for the period the Hokage remains incapable of ruling under his own authority” Uzume said, standing up and setting things in motion.

“I second the motion” Uraume’s look still screamed- ‘God, I hope you know what you are doing’. Shika glared at both Uzume and I before she sighed and nodded at us. Good, we had her support. With her would come Inoken, and with the both of them leaning one way Choni’s cousin would have no choice but lean in the same direction because of their allowance. Shiba’s uncle stared in our direction, head flicking between me, Uzume, Uraume, the empty kage seat, and Danzo. I wondered what he had running through that famously analytical mind.

“Is there any other candidate”

“I nominate Shimura Danzo, Head of the Shimura Clan” The Izuno clanhead spoke out, looking around.

“I second the motion” Shiba’s uncle said, making me double take. Shito Aburame had gone from voting for Danzo to step down to seconding his nomination to return to essentially the same position? What the hell had he seen to make him make that shift?

“Any others?” I asked without missing a beat, not even seeing Danzo as competition. Compared to me, he was nothing. I had the pedigree, the support, and the strength. These people would have to be blind not to see it. And if Uzume’s entreaties had worked, then the vote would be a formality.

“In the absence of any others, I move that both candidates speak to this body and plead their cases” Shito said. We all nodded. I had nothing to lose from it.

I stood first without asking permission, the act itself a statement.

“You know who I am. You know what I am— what I can do. But for those who have forgotten, I will give a list of names. Ay, the Second Raikage, Han, the Jinchuriki of the Five tails, Kubo Yatsuki, Piandao the Weasel. All four of them S-ranked Shinobi. All four bested by yours truly. Konoha needs a name that can drive fear into the hearts of our enemies, and that is what I bring to the table. Beyond that, I am the only one in this room with any meaningful victories in this war. Who drove Suna back into their desert in Rivers? Who annihilated the Iwa offensive in Waterfall? Whatever you might think of me as a person, there should be no doubts in any of your hearts that I am the right choice for leading us through this mess.” I said, meeting every eye that dared meet mine before returning to my seat.