Chapter Text
Danzo stood silently in the rain, hiding the crowd as many mourned. Eighty thousand... that's how many bodies have been recovered so far. It's been a week since the Kyūbi attack, and Konoha's forces are still recovering the dead.
"People of Konoha... I stand before you today! To tell you all... that these last several days, without a doubt, have been the hardest!" Hiruzen shouted from a podium. Behind him was the monument to the attack, a giant ball of fire with nine branching flames. He would chuckle if he could at the irony.
"But we still stand! Here! Right now we shall mourn! We shall grieve! We will cry and shout! But know this! If not for them we will not be alive to cry! And with Lord Fourth's death... I... I am coming out of retirement to..." Danzo heard Hiruzen sigh, turning to leave, not wanting to hear the rest of his speech. He could tell that the old monkey was tired, that he was about to dread the next set of words he was going to say. "To substitute for Lord Fourth until a Fifth can be found!"
Danzo paused for a moment. A substitute? Until a Fifth can be found? He reached up with one hand, scratching the scar on his chin before shaking his head. As much as he wanted to, he didn't have time to think about it. For now, he had to turn his attention to other matters. Walking out of the crowd, he vanished, using Body Flicker to get away from the crowd.
Elsewhere:
In the rain alone were the pictures of Minto Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. A memorial was made in their honor the day after their deaths. As the rain was coming down on their pictures, it suddenly stopped as an umbrella appeared over their pictures. A lone figure stood, holding out the umbrella as the rain fell around him. He took out a rag, cleaned both the pictures, and made sure that the glass wouldn't get any water stains. He then placed the umbrella over their pictures, taking out his own.
The lone figure was Danzo, cleaning up the memorial of the Fourth and his wife... or... at the very least... his son and wife. Using both hands, he made sure that the picture of his son was the cleanest it could be, along with Kushina's picture.
"You know... I at least hoped to talk to you when you were alive... to congratulate you." Danzo spoke. "And to apologize for leaving you at the orphanage."
He then pulled out a small broom from his cloak, brushing away the wet leaves at the base of the memorial. He was going the extra mile to take care of the memorial while everyone was at the Kyūbi Attack Memorial. He didn't want anyone to see what he was doing. More importantly, he didn't want Hiruzen to see what he was doing.
"I'm sorry, Minato. I'm sorry for not caring enough to tell you that I was your father... but... it's not like telling you now changes anything. I realize now that love and emotions cut a lot deeper than any sword could." Danzo whispered as he saw that his vision was getting blurry. He then felt the urge to fight back tears. Biting his tongue, he fought back such an emotion, continuing to clean up the memorial.
"Honestly, all I wanted from you was a punch to the jaw... It's best that no one ever knows about our connection. I've made a lot of enemies, but the same can be said for you." Putting away the broom, he turned away, looking at the village. The memorial was placed on an overlook above the village, symbolizing that a Hokage would always look over the village even in death.
"Minato... why do I care of a sudden?" he sat on the wet ground, not bothering to set anything down beforehand. "Why do I care? I never cared before like this in my life... why now? Is it because I regret it? No, I think it's because I regret loving."
Pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, he crossed his arms, scratching his chin as he pondered. His mind was filled with thoughts foreign to him. He hadn't felt this way since Lord Second's death, when his sensei gave his life for them.
"I regret that I have emotions like this... it only goes to prove that things such as love are a weakness that must be purged." He wanted to believe those words, but he had doubts. If such emotions are a weakness, then why was he here? Talking to his dead son, who didn't even know that he was his father.
He was going to talk for a bit longer but sensed that someone was coming. Quickly standing up and brushing himself off, he vanished again, hiding in nearby trees. He was sure that everyone was at Hiruzen's speech, so who was coming here? He soon found his answer as a young, white-haired child walked up to the monument.
"Hey, sensei, sorry I'm late! Lord Third was giving his speech and I didn't want to interrupt him." It was that Hatake kid... Sakumo's child.
He huffed, leaving once he knew it was just his son's student. Using Body Flicker once more, he vanished from the trees, leaving Kakashi alone at the monument.
Later:
Hiruzen sat in his office as he watched the basket of blankets on his desk. Shifting around in the basket was an infant named Naruto, his predecessor's son. The infant was sleeping soundly as Hiruzen thought about what to do with him. He wished he could smoke, but he knew better.
"Minato... what am I going to do?" Hiruzen whispered, getting up from his chair to look at the portrait of the Fourth. "You left me with big shoes to fill and a stomach to feed."
He stared at the portrait, feeling that the picture was staring back before closing his eyes. His hand twitched, begging to hold a pipe of tobacco. Right now, he had an irritating feeling of emptiness inside of him, not only from the urge to smoke but from the feeling of having lost a lot more than he ever had.
Before he could even think to himself, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Hiruzen said, not bothering to move from his spot. From the door appeared Danzo, walking in without a care in the world
"You ended your speech early?" Danzo replied, seeing Hiruzen standing near the array of Hokage Portraits.
"As much as I like it when you keep my seat warm, I've been busy... what do you want?" He returned to his desk, taking his place behind it as Danzo followed, sitting across from him. Danzo followed Hiruzen on instinct, knowing that they were about to argue. But, given the current situation, Danzo was expecting his 'friend' to put his foot down.
Sitting in the guest chair, Danzo saw the basket on Hiruzen's desk. He watched the bundle of blankets shift, hearing tiny breaths from it. He reached out a hand, trying to inspect it. But he stopped, seeing Hiruzen raise his hand, grab the basket, and pull it away. Sneering in response, Danzo put his hand back down, setting it on his lap.
"I assume this is the... Jinchūriki?"
"Yes, his name is Naruto." Hiruzen almost growled, pulling the basket closer to him.
'They named him after cured fish surimi?' Danzo thought. 'Well... something tells me it was Kushina's idea, given her love for ramen.'
"You had your look at him." the Third glared at Danzo, pointing at the door. "Now what do you want?"
"I was hoping we could discuss future events regarding... Naruto." Danzo used his name... he used his grandson's name. He felt his heart skip a beat. He was surprised he still had a heart at all! But that was for later.
"Don't worry about him. I've taken care of everything. He will go to the orphanage, safe and sound."
"Good... then I suppose you will tell them that he's the Fourth's son?" Danzo asked. 'The orphanage is good, at least he'll have a roof over his head.'
"Hmm, no. No, I haven't."
"So then, his status as his son is to be kept a secret?"
"Yes."
"As well as his status as jinchūriki?"
"No."