Mentioning Danzo in correlation to the massacre had another purpose. Jun believed if Sasuke ever found out that Itachi had slaughtered the clan on someone’s orders, his hatred may be directed at Danzo instead of aimlessly searching for a culprit, and becoming manipulated by the likes of Obito. Jun didn’t want Sasuke to turn against Konoha.

He wasn’t overly attached to the village, and the idea of the Will of Fire made him sniffle with disdain. However, the village was where the people he loved and cared about lived. It was important to him to protect the place for their sake.

“I could get you an answer from Itachi,” Jun said to the boy.

“You or me?”

“I’d prefer not to be you.”

“Why? You think I can’t defend myself?”

“That’s not the reason. You are strong, Sasuke. You are more capable than I was at your age, and your power will only grow. I know you will do amazing things. It’s just that… there are many people I couldn’t protect. I wish I could protect you… even if it's only from Itachi.”

Sasuke failed to hide his embarrassment. He was touched by Jun’s words. He went back to twirling his kunai in his left hand.

“At least I know you’ll kill him.” The boy said without looking at him.

“Not so fast!”

“I know you want him dead too.”

Jun exhaled slowly. He thought of the cut on Izumi’s neck when Itachi nearly killed her. He thought of Itachi’s expression that night… so cold and grave like he was carrying the entire world on his shoulders. He thought of Shisui and his pleading look when he asked him to watch over Itachi.

He had promised Shisui. If he could, he would save Itachi. He’d prefer not to be a fight between them, and for Itachi to come back to Konoha one day. However, he didn’t see a scenario making it possible… Not with the current situation.

“I want you to be ok; I want you to be safe. Itachi is a threat. I won’t let him hurt any of my family members, and that includes you, Sasuke. I will kill him if necessary.” Jun said.

The boy’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Jun tried not to think about what would happen when he would face Itachi next. It would be a fight to the death; he knew it. He didn’t want to kill him. But if the choice was between Itachi’s life and the safety of his family, he wouldn’t hesitate. He would kill the Uchiha every day of the week.

***

The days passed. All the kids were ninjas now. Jun didn’t see them as much as before. Izumi was a chunin and went on missions with different teams. Karin was going on a mission with

Team Gai. Neji occasionally went on missions with other genins but was mostly with Team Jun. Sasuke and Kazuma were still too inexperienced to do anything more than D-Rank missions.

Jun was a jonin and sometimes had missions that took him away from the village for a few days. He could have been assigned even longer missions, but he was a clan leader. It gave him the luxury to refuse certain tasks. It was crazy the power the clans had within Konoha. With time, Jun realized the immensity of what the clans managed.

Officially, there were only two types of meetings the clan leaders participated in. One was the Grand Councils meeting which brought together the Hokage, the village elders, the heads of various departments, and the clan leaders. They met in the event of a crisis. The other meeting was the Clan Leaders' Gathering, which was restricted to the clan leaders. They usually met once a month.

The latter was informal. The clan leaders met in a restaurant for lunch. The conversation generally focused on the smooth running of their respective clans. The goal was for communication to be constant so that no clan would start harboring a grudge against another without the problem being arbitrated and resolved right away. This custom has existed since the early age of Konoha.

They discussed various topics. Sometimes it was weddings and funerals, or news of child prodigies. But they also dealt with other matters, like who was going to succeed the head of a particular department. Or should the refugees of Kiri with a Kekkei Genkai be recognized as members of a clan? Or was a new restaurant encroaching on the Akimichi’s business and could the other clans put pressure on the owner of the place to make them close shop or switch location? Or if the Kurama clan was having financial difficulties, was it possible to negotiate a temporary tax reduction for them?

Moreover, it was the best time to weave alliances for those who knew how to be subtle. Jun wasn’t particularly good with that. He wasn’t very comfortable navigating an extended social circle where every word had repercussions. So at these meetings, Jun would just try not to offend anyone, drink his tea and eat in silence while sticking to his allies, the Nara and Inuzuka clan. Shikaku Nara was his superior and occasional mentor. Nami Inuzuka was the mother of his sister’s friend. The Uchiha clan leader was on more or less good terms with almost everyone else.

His relations with Hiashi Hyuga were a little cold and those with the Kurama clan non-existent. But it was fine. Being friends with the Inuzuka also gave him the tacit support of the Aburame. His alliance with the Nara also put the Yamanaka and Akimichi on his side. Therefore, he was in a good position overall. Jun attended the meetings to monitor the village’s well-being. But it was also the best place to sow discord. As it was today.

The meeting started peacefully. Hiashi Hyuga announced two members of his clan were getting married. Shikaku Nara yawned and then casually brought up a conflict between his clan and the village’s research department over a copyright issue on a drug formula. Nami Inuzuka praised the prowess of a member of her clan who had recently become a jonin. Choza Akimichi announced the closing of one restaurant and the opening of another. Shibi Aburame announced that two Aburame had been promoted to chunin as a result of their performances in the field. Inoichi Yamaka informed them of the death of a clan elder. All that happened while everyone was eating and drinking tea.

“Does anyone else have any announcements or questions?” Choza asked.

Jun met Shikaku’s gaze. The Nara heaved a deep sigh, drawing the attention of the rest of the table.

“It’s a hassle, but a subject was brought to my attention by Jun Uchiha.”

The Uchiha clan leader should have known his counterpart would put him in the spotlight. Shikaku wasn’t the type to take all the credit or in this case, to be solely responsible for the chaos about to be unleashed.

“I just asked a question.” Jun protested, looking innocent.

Nami Inuzuka snorted mockingly.

“Oh, I have a feeling this is going to be funny. Go ahead Shikaku, what was his question?”

The head of the Nara clan looked resigned.

“Who should be the next Hokage?”

The room fell into silence for a few seconds before everyone started talking at the same time.

Jun had been waiting to raise this topic for years. He knew it was going to be compelling to many. The timing was also good. The Uchiha clan was thriving. Jun had laid a solid foundation as a clan leader. It was time for him to tackle the events that would come next. Konoha’s problems would begin soon, and Jun had no intention of letting the village run into them blindly.

If Orochimaru arrived, it would be advantageous to have one or two Sannins already in the village. And if the Sandaime were to die, it would be good for Konoha to have a replacement in mind.

The volume went down after a while. The clan leaders seemed to remember they were adults and not kids from the Academy. They calmed down. However, they quickly realized they had no good candidates within the village. They had powerful ninjas, but each one of them didn’t seem like a good fit for the prestigious position.

Ibiki’s name came up. He was a high-ranking and well-known shinobi but was deemed weak to fill the Hokage’s position. It was the same thing for the Chief of Police, Shiba Arata. There was also Yondaime’s former student, Kakashi Hatake. He was a powerful and famous shinobi, but they believed it was too early for him. The names of different clan leaders were mentioned as well. They were all experienced ninjas; their candidacy had to be considered. Unsurprisingly, Shikaku’s name was mentioned.

“Absolutely not… It’s a pain to be Hokage.” The Nara flatly refused.

There was also Hiashi Hyuga.

“I don’t want to. It would require me to give less of my time to my clan and devote myself to the village. Moreover, I have no heir ready to succeed me.”

None of the clan leaders was willing to consider becoming a Hokage. Their responsibility to their clan seemed to take precedence. In the end, as Jun and Shikaku had anticipated, they had to face reality. They possessed no viable candidates within the village.

“Lady Tsunade and master Jiraiya are our only decent options,” Shikaku said.

“But they haven’t set foot in Konoha for years.” Shinobu Sarutobi protested.

Shinobu was a man in his forties who resembled Asuma. He was the nephew of the Sandaime and was acting at the head of the clan while waiting for Konohamaru to reach his majority. Normally, it should have been Asuma representing the Sarutobi clan, but he always refused. The disagreement between him and his father, the Hokage, was an open secret.

Shikaku heaved a dramatic sigh and dropped his head on the table. Jun calmly took a sip of his tea before joining the conversation.

“They probably have no intention of coming back. Jiraiya-sensei is irresponsible and likes his freedom. I don’t see him managing a village or staying in the same place for more than a few days. However, he's kept in touch with Konoha and sent reports to the Hokage. In a sense, he’s better than Lady Tsunade. When was the last time the village heard from her?” Jun asked.

Shikaku groaned again and turned to the Uchiha clan leader.

“It’s your fault for bringing this topic up.”

“Feel free to ignore the question, and push it back until the Sandaime kicks the bucket,” Jun added with a smile.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. Waiting for the Hokage’s death to have the same debate and ending up with two Sannins in nature while wasting time to locate them wasn’t an ideal option.

“We must bring the Sannins back to the village. I don’t see a better option.” Choza added.

“Alright, alright. A tracking unit will be sent to locate them. Nami, Shibi, if you have any good ones in mind, please send them to me. You will also have to find a reason to call them back to Konoha.” Shikaku said.

“The Hokage could give them an order; they would not dare refuse a direct command,” Hiashi suggested.

“We may have to convince the Sandaime. My uncle has a glaring weakness for his students, and all three of them know it.” Shinobu said.

He mentioned all three, Orochimaru included. But no one picked up on it. The name of the renegade Sannin was hardly spoken in Konoha as if one feared pronouncing the name would summon the snake.

“So we have to appeal to something other than their sense of duty? Master Jiraiya was very attached to the Yondaime, maybe he could come back to watch over his inheritance?” Inoichi proposed.

There was silence, and everyone looked at each other.

“Probably not. Otherwise, he would have returned as soon as the Yondaime died. He probably no longer feels responsible now… twelve years later.” Sogo Kurama, the Kurama clan leader said.

“If he ever felt responsible at any time…” Inoichi grumbled.

The table was briefly quiet as everyone mulled over it and looked for an alternative. Then Shikaku raised his head, his eyes on Jun.

“Since you’re the one who brought this forth, I suggest that you be in charge of it.”

“What?”

“We’ll provide you with anything you need. I’ll brief you on confidential information you can use to persuade them. But you will be responsible for convincing them. You are already familiar with master Jiraiya, aren’t you? Then half of the job is done.”

The other clan leader hastened to give their approval. They were happy to push the responsibility onto someone else. Jun looked at them incredulously before resigning himself to his fate.