To his surprise, however, no one said a word. 'Weird, by now at least ten people should be yelling in outrage,' Itachi thought, confused.
At that moment, Aika's gentle voice broke the tension. "Mikoto, we all understand that you are worried about Hotaru. However, you need to at least inform the clan of the reasoning behind your decision. Don't you think so?"
With Aika's words, the tension in the room eased significantly. She had subtly reminded everyone that Mikoto was speaking from a place of emotion, while also prompting Mikoto to clarify the reasoning behind her decision.
"Nice assist, Grandma," whispered Itachi, mentally giving her a thumbs-up. He considered what he would have done in a room like that and smirked as he murmured to himself, "Maybe I'd just take out everyone—it would be a more permanent solution, after all. Ha ha."
But then he felt a swell of admiration for her. "She really knows how to handle a room—maybe I should take notes for when I finally start attending these meetings."
The discussion inside the room resumed once again.
Mikoto, realizing her mistake, said, "I'm sorry, everyone. I was too hasty. But consider everything about Hotaru's situation that we are already aware of.
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure incurred huge losses of ninja during the last War, and Minato had been responsible for most of them. They will almost surely want some kind of revenge against Minato. Now that he is gone, they will target Hotaru.
"And Hotaru… forget about Minato; it would be a miracle if he even becomes a jōnin. I don't like to think this way, but it's the truth.
"With these things in mind, he is almost guaranteed to be hunted down by the other villages. He can't avoid going outside forever. And the only ninja who can stay inside the village without ever having to go out are our clan's Police Force. Even during the last war, our clan members in the Police Force have stayed behind in the village.
"Minato and Kushina have done a lot for the village and our clan. But, unlike Kushina, I don't trust them. They have always been angry with Minato for standing by the Uchiha clan, so I don't want to leave Hotaru's fate in the hands of the village. Therefore, I want Hotaru to join our clan's Police Force to keep him out of harm's way."
Once Mikoto finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the room as everyone considered her words.
In this past year since Minato's passing, Itachi had found himself thinking a lot about him. He had only recently realized that he had grown up seeing this legendary figure almost every other day—something any other ninja would find enviable. In fact, he had spent more time with Minato than either of his own children. Although his memories from when he was a baby weren't very clear, he vaguely remembered Minato always showing him affection and spoiling him, which Mikoto would often point out to Minato.
Itachi had always admired the Fourth Hokage. Almost everyone had heard tales of his heroic feats during the last war against Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
In fact, Itachi was so inspired by Minato that he wanted to become strong enough to save the village on his own, just like the Fourth Hokage had done. A playful smile played on his lips as he said, "Nope! I'm going to go one step beyond the Fourth Hokage and surpass him! I will make sure a war wouldn't even start."
To say that Konoha came out on top during the last war because of Minato wouldn't be an exaggeration.
So, Itachi found it difficult to believe that the village would not take care of such a person's son. 'Maybe Mother is being too paranoid and wants to personally arrange things for Hotaru so that she could be satisfied with the arrangements.' Itachi nodded to himself. 'That must be it. After all, why would the village be angry if the Fourth Hokage helped the Uchiha? That doesn't make any sense.'
Since the silence was not broken after so long, wanting to find out what was going on inside, Itachi dared to take a peek into the room. He saw that everyone was deep in thought, and every now and then they were looking at other people in the room trying to gauge their stances on this issue.
Itachi smirked. The arguments would erupt any moment now. He turned to look at the faction that usually opposed any kind of idea that doesn't benefit the clan. Even a lot of people inside the room did the same as Itachi and turned their head toward them.
Itachi shook his head and sighed. 'This group of people always oppose anything that doesn't benefit the clan. They would never agree to a little bit of sacrifice by the clan so that the entire village could benefit. They cannot see the bigger picture.'
It appeared to Itachi that everyone apart from this faction seemed to be in favor of his Mother's plan. Now it all comes down to what choice they would make. And Itachi knew what they would choose.
'Only a fool couldn't see their choice. No matter what, these people wouldn't change their minds,' Itachi thought letting out a sigh.
It was then.
An elderly man with ash-grey hair and squinted eyes stood up from his chair and stretched his body.
"Hooah," he yawned.
He lazily said, "What a waste of time! Mikoto-san, there was no need for this meeting."
He yawned once again and started walking toward the door. He wore the standard Uchiha clan outfit. His high-collared shirt was purple and short sleeved with the Uchiha crest on the back and he wore a pair of brown pants.
Itachi recognized this man. He was one of the people around whom this faction was gathered.
"Yashiro-san, what do you mean by that? Do you oppose Hotaru joining the Police Force?" Mikoto asked in a slightly trembling tone, panic evident in her voice.
All the people in the faction also stood up and followed Yashiro to the door. Once Yashiro reached the exit, he paused and waved the others to go on ahead.
Yashiro remained behind after everyone in that faction left. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
"Mikoto-san, about this matter with Hotaru-kun…" he paused, patting his pants in search of a lighter. "I don't…"
Itachi breathed in and thought with disdain. 'Only a fool couldn't see their choice.'
"mind…" Yashiro continued.
Itachi didn't hold his breath. 'No matter what, these people wouldn't change their minds.'
"I don't mind having the boy in the clan's Police Force," Yashiro said as his hand stopped moving. He seemed to have found the lighter.
"Only a fool… Huh?" Itachi's words tumbled from his lips, his expression shifting from disdain to surprise as he was caught off guard.
A series of gasps echoed within the room; evidently, Itachi wasn't the only one astonished.
A small smile touched Yashiro's lips.
Yashiro wasn't in a hurry to speak, allowing the astonishment in the air to simmer.
He uncapped the lighter, and with a quick flick of his thumb, a bright flame sprang to life, illuminating his face.
"Mikoto-san, I am not against the clan helping Hotaru-kun or his family…" he began slowly.
As the flame flickered to life, Yashiro carefully brought the lighter to the tip of the cigarette, trying to light it.
"In the future, anytime you want to do anything to help them, you don't need to hold a meeting; we would never oppose it," he continued in a sincere voice.
Itachi's eyes slowly widened. And the faces of many people inside mirrored Itachi's expression.
"In fact, if you need any help with Hotaru-kun or his family, I would gladly risk my neck without a second thought," Yashiro said in an even tone. The cigarette ignited with a soft hiss, and Yashiro took a slow, deliberate puff, letting the smoke escape leisurely from his lips.
'What happened to him? Did Yashiro's chakra affinity suddenly change from fire to water?' thought Itachi with growing disbelief.
"After all, not only had the Fourth Hokage done a lot for the clan, he did more than all the other Hokage combined, including the First Hokage, who promised the world to us, the Uchiha," said Yashiro, his voice slightly trembling with anger upon remembering the other Hokage.
After a moment's pause to compose himself, he closed the lighter with a soft click and pocketed it.
"It would be poor repayment to leave the Fourth Hokage's family in the lurch when he was the only one who helped us to his own detriment," Yashiro said, his voice now smooth as he resumed speaking.
With a relaxed demeanor, Yashiro took another puff and walked out the door, leaving behind his final words in a low voice, "If I don't help them in their time of need, I won't be able to face Minato-sama in the afterlife."
A cloud of smoke lingered in his wake as he closed the door. Everyone in the room was left flabbergasted by Yashiro's words. No one expected this from him. And no one anticipated him to address Minato with '-sama', as Minato was much younger than him.
A tear slid down Mikoto's cheek as she silently mouthed a 'Thank you' to Yashiro, who had just left.
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Surprise! A triple release for you all.
Big thanks to MMEStudio, Daoist, and Rafael for the Power Stones lately!
Appreciate all the comments as well.
And a special shout-out to aragis and Neon for the first reviews! Thanks a bunch.