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Chapter 15 - chapter 15

The silence of the Nara compound was a stark contrast to the psychic earthquake that had just rocked the village. Shikaku Nara was waiting for them on the engawa of his home, two fresh cups of tea already steaming beside him as if he'd anticipated their arrival precisely. He didn't look surprised. He looked tired.

Jiraiya touched down first, his usual boisterous energy replaced by a grim intensity. Tsunade landed beside him, her arms crossed, her expression a storm cloud.

"Alright, Shikaku," Jiraiya said, dispensing with any greeting. "What in the name of the Sage is going on? Who is that woman and what did she do?"

Tsunade's voice was a low, dangerous growl. "And start from the beginning. A week ago. What happened after the Old Man died?"

Shikaku sighed, gesturing for them to sit. He took a slow sip of his own tea, organizing his thoughts with the methodical precision of a master strategist.

"A week ago," he began, his voice a low drawl, "Hiruzen-sama, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Danzo Shimura all died simultaneously in the council chamber. The medics said their hearts just… stopped. No signs of struggle. No poison. No jutsu. It was as if they were clicked off like a light switch."

He let that hang in the air for a moment, watching the Sannin process the impossibility.

"The village was leaderless. Panic was imminent. Then… she emerged." Shikaku's tone was neutral, analytical. "Hana Uchiha. Twenty years old. A non-entity in the clan until that moment. She walked into the Hokage Tower and… began to give orders."

"Orders?" Jiraiya prompted.

"Flawless ones," Shikaku stated flatly. "She mobilized the Uchiha Police to lock down the village. She had my clan processing intelligence within the hour. She deployed hybrid tracking teams of Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka to sweep for intruders. And most impressively… she brought ROOT to heel. They are following the command structure she established."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Danzo's ROOT? How?"

"I have no idea," Shikaku admitted. "But they obey. She summoned the clan heads and laid out a crisis management plan so comprehensive it left no room for argument. She had already sent teams to find you two before we even met."

He took another sip of tea. "For the past week, she has been the de facto ruler of Konoha. She has held the village together with sheer, unnerving competence. She never raised her voice. She never asked for permission. She simply… knew what needed to be done and did it. The council is gone, so she has been making decisions unilaterally, and every single one has been the correct strategic choice."

Jiraiya ran a hand over his face. "And the mountain? That… display?"

"That," Shikaku said, a hint of something like awe finally cracking his stoic facade, "was new. We knew she was competent. We did *not* know the extent of her power. What you felt tonight… that chakra is beyond any I have ever sensed. It is, as you know, comparable to a Tailed Beast. And she used it to carve her face onto the monument herself. Then she gave that speech."

He looked from Jiraiya to Tsunade, his dark eyes serious. "She has not put a foot wrong. She protected the children. She established a merit-based path for leadership that the clans can support. She stated the village's purpose in a way that united everyone. The people are terrified, yes. But they are also… hopeful. For the first time in years, someone is in charge who acts with absolute conviction and whose actions directly benefit the most vulnerable."

Shikaku leaned back. "As for the deaths of the previous leadership… it remains a mystery. A deeply convenient one for her, certainly, but a mystery nonetheless. There is no evidence. Only a power vacuum she was uniquely prepared to fill."

He finished his tea. "So, to answer your question… what is going on? Konoha has a new, fifth Hokage. She is an Uchiha of immense, terrifying power and political genius who appeared from obscurity at the perfect moment to seize control with stunning efficiency. She has, in one week, secured the functional loyalty of the military police, the intelligence division, the black ops, and the civilian populace by being ruthlessly competent and unexpectedly benevolent."

He met their gazes squarely. "Your move."

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