Two days have passed since the invasion of Konoha and a massive chunk of the population and members of all the clans were standing in the cemetery as they watched the coffin lower with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage.

Even the Daimyo and his family were also present for this funeral.

The Hokage guard continued to lower it until it finally came to a stop, everyone then continued to wait until the monk finished his chant before they began to fill the grave.

Near Hiruzens grave was a new monument for all the ninja that were killed by defending the village. One of the most prominent names on the stone was Hiashi Hyuga who died in combat while defending his daughters.

Naruto continued to look at the grave that now held his jiji, it hurt him knowing that his grandfather figure was dead, but... he was happy that in his last moments he died how any ninja would want to. Protecting your village and loved ones, with your very own life.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Akane and Fuu both grabbed his hands to comfort him, he smiled lightly and squeeze their hands back to show his appreciation at the gesture.

With Tsunade she was staring at the grave and was in just as much turmoil as Naruto was and lots of the other ninjas here.

Her sensei was dead and two days ago she got to see her son, daughter in law and grandparents, but sadly it was fighting against them and only with them killing Orochimaru, they were able to talk for a couple minutes, before they had to pass on back to the after life. But thankfully she got to see Naruto hug both his mom and dad before they left, which meant the world to him.

Tsunade was pulled out of her thoughts when the Monk finished his chant and everyone threw flowers into the grave, before the Hokage guard began to fill in the grave.

Just then she felt a tap on her shoulder and saw that it was the Anbu commander Dragon "Forgive me Tsunade-Sama but we have to head to the council room with the Daimyo to discuss everything and you being appointed as Hokage".

"Very well" she said as in the corner of her eye, she saw the Daimyo give a bow to the grave before he turned and left, heading to Hokage tower.

Looking at the grave one last time, she sighed before leaving and heading for the tower herself.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the council were all the members of both sides of the council with every seat besides the Hokages and the Uchiha seats being taken. They also had a couple additional seats for the Daimyo and his private council to help discuss what will be happening next and if he needs to send additional funding to the village.

"So now that the invasion is over and we buried Hiruzen, we must move on... so please inform me of everything before we discuss Tsunade becoming the 5th Hokage" said the Daimyo looking over the council.

Shikaku stood up, gaining everyone's attention "before I begin, I must let you know we haven't completely finished counting the casualties given we are clearing out the rubble" he said before taking a deep breath. "But from the numbers we did count, 637 civilian casualties, 24 Anbu, 45 Jonin, 127 Chunin and 79 genin. These numbers are still high but thanks to our spy network and Jiraiya-samas spy in Orochimarus ranks, we were able to prepare ahead of time or else our casualties could be much much higher".

The Daimyo nodded his head at that, these numbers were indeed to high and it will take at least 2 years to fully recover the ninja casualties if they were to encourage joining the ninja force or if they implemented a partial draft.

The next member to stand up was a member of the Sautobi clan who represents them "from what we have told, about 7% of the village is critically damaged and about 22% is damaged, thankfully the damages aren't so horrible we will have to hire a massive amount of builders from other villages, but we will still need to call some since we don't have enough construction workers here in the village".

"That's good, I was expecting worse given how the buildings looked when on my way here" said the Daimyo.

"That would be because main street is where a good chunk of the fighting and damage took place, Daimyo-dono" said Tsunade.

"I see, anything else?".

Dragon stood up and began "Yes sir, we have some very very good news, we killed a little over 400 Suna ninja, 700 Oto ninja and a massive amount of missing ninja and bandits, but note that we haven't finished counting and these are only bodies we can count accurately". He took a deep breath and continued "we have also captured the Kazekages children and over 200 Suna ninja which shall be a huge bargaining chip against Suna, we have also counted at least 100 'missing' Iwa ninja that have been killed".

"So what has Suna said in response? Are we still at war with them?" Said the Daimyo.

Tsunade cleared her throat to get everyone's attention "no, we have informed them that Orochimaru was the one who tricked them all and placed a seal on Rasa to control him, they examined his body after we sent it to then, after we examined it ourselves".

"So do they wish for peace?".

"They have asked for temporary cease fire given they lost their Kage and we have the children of said Kage, they are the only ones who can become the next kage, so they have lots to talk about" said Tsunade. "But they have requested one of the kazekags children, preferably Temari so they can have her be the main representative between our villages during the talks".

"Hmm well then what about Oto?".

"We plan to continue the war against them, once we have secured our border we shall start sending squads of chunin and up to investigate the borders and begin to destroy the villages logistics, before we send in squads or even companies on ninja to start to destroy the village" said Tsunade.

"What has the Raikage said about this? We'd be near his borders".

"He said, that Oto has also attacked him and he wants to establish a alliance with us, so he will be attacking from the east once we attack from the south" said Shikaku.

"I see... given we are now in a state of war I shall provide the village with extra funding... I shall also leave a couple of representatives here to help with this and if my samurai are needed" said the Daimyo.

"Thank you Daimyo-sama" said Tsunade.

"Now onto the next issue... Tsunade, Hiruzen wrote in his will that if he was to pass, you are to take the title of Hokage, though he also told me before hand that you already accepted the position" said the Daimyo.

"Yes sir, I have already accepted the position and will take the title as the 5th Hokage" said Tsunade.

Everyone in the room besides Danzo, the elders, a Hyuga clan elder in Hiashis old seat and a couple of civilian council members smiled at hearing this.

"Also I shall only hold the title as Hokage for a short period of time and I already know my successor who shall take the position after his 22 birthday" said Tsunade.

It didn't take a genius to know who she was talking about, she was going to make Naruto her successor and once he's a bit older, right in that if anything happens to her, he shall take the seat immediately.

"Very well, Tsunade Senju, then by my power as the lord of the land of fire, I hereby pronounce you as the 5th Hokage of Konoha" said the Daimyo.

Everyone besides those couple people clapped at hearing this.

"Thank you Daimyo-Sama, I'd like this to say private for a couple days so we can focus on rebuilding, once we are more secure then I'd like this to he announced to the public" said Tsunade.

"If that is your wish than so be it, also after this council session I have something important to talk to you about" said the Daimyo.

"Very well, also given we are in a state of war... i hereby disband the civilian council, Anbu escort them out the room" said Tsunade shocking the council, but making the clan side very happy.

"WHAT YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO US!!! WE ARE MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL AND WE HOLD PLENTY OF POLITICAL SWAY!!!" Yelled a pink haired member.

"You do but in a state of war, I can take that away if I deem it fit" said Tsunade not caring, she wasn't going to get pushed around by the civilian council and she wasn't going to let Naruto handle a nightmare when he takes this seat, when she can fix it.

Anbu immediately appeared behind the civilian council and began to drag them out while 'accidentally' slamming them into the wall on the way out or 'accidentally' dropping them down a flight of stairs.

"Good now that they are gone we need to begin discussing plans for war against Oto and securing our borders near Ame and the Grass village, we should also send word to Taki about us stationing troops in their borders to protect them from both Oto and Iwa since they border both" said Tsunade.

"That would be a good idea, plus we can ask them to allow us to send troops into Oto or ask them to join in the war against said village.." said Shikaku.

"I doubt they'd join in the war, they only protect their own borders and don't have any drive for war" said Tsume.

"That is true, during the years Taki has become more concerned about keeping its borders secure and village safe, hence why they asked for a military alliance with us and requested we send teams to patrol the border they share with Iwa given they don't have enough ninja to stop said village from attacking them" said Shibi Aburame.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As these talks were being held, inside the Hyuga compound was Hinata Hyuga who was laying on the ground crying as she held her forehead in pain, with her cousin Neji trying to comfort her.

On her forehead was the caged bird seal that her grandfather forced onto her, before he took her title as heiress away and gave it to her sister. He then threw her into the branch family compound before forbidding her from ever seeing or talking to her sister again.

"N-neji...".

"Yes Hinata-sama?" He asked as he continued to rub her back in the same comforting way his mother did after he was branded.

"W-why did all of this happen... why did dad have to die and why did g-grandpa do this..." she asked.

Nejis lips thinned into a line, he didn't have a answer for the first one, but it did seem suspicious... not even a day after he passed, the Elders took away Hinatas heiress title then branded her, before they gave it to her sister. It seemed really suspicious given how fast they acted and how they had everything ready.

"I'm not entirely sure Hinata-sama... but it does seem suspicious.." he said not wanting to get into it and make her feel worse.

"W-what should we do?".

He stayed silent for a little bit as his free hand went to his forehead and touched the metal plate that covered his brand "I don't know... this is entirely a clan issue, so we can't ask the Hokage for help. All we can do is try to change it ourselves and try to get allies to help us".

She nodded her head before a new wave of pain coursed through her because of the brand and it made her yelp in pain.

___

"Gotta say the dumbass has a nice house" said Tayuya walking around and looking at everything "don't ya agree Karin?".

"Mhm, it's much nicer than anything I've ever been in" she said watching her sister explore the house the she's been in since Naruto, Akane and Fuu rescued her in the forest of death.

A tick mark formed on Akanes forehead as she in the kitchen cooking lunch, while Fuu was helping her and Naruto was off talking to Kakashi, then said he had to meet the anbu named Neko afterwards.

"Can't you be a bit nicer to him? He saved you and gave you a home" said Akane while pointing the spatula, she was wearing comfortable civilian clothes and had a apron wrapped around her waist, plus had her hair tied into a bun.

"Nah, he's a dumbass and he gets this is how I talk, call it my Uzumaki charm" she said with a cocky grin "maybe I should give him another kiss~".

*crack*

Fuu was cutting more steak for the stir fry when she heard that and her strength got the better of her and she embedded the knife into the table.

Akane was no better as she gripped the handle of the frying pan so hard, she bent it at a weird angle.

Karin then saw lightning start shooting off between all three of them and decided to be the one to try and keep then calm.

___

"I gotta say you did an amazing job Naruto" said Kakashi looking at his little brother with a very proud expression as they both sat on the edge of a building overlooking the village.

"Thank you, I also heard you took out a couple squads of ninja, that's very impressive" said Naruto.

"Eh it was nothing" he said before opening his book.

"So... when you and Anko getting married?".

Kakashi jumped at that and almost dropped his book, before quickly catching it and looking at him shocked.

Naruto gave him the same grin that his mom always had in these types of situations, he then pointed at his nose "it ain't as strong as a Inuzuka, but I can smell her all over you".

"...well when are you getting together with your teammates, it's obvious they love you" he said trying to turn the conversation against him.

Naruto went silent before looking off into the village and smiled "very very soon... I'll tell them how I feel, I just wanted to wait till I knew I was strong enough to protect them and show them I can".

Kakashi chuckled and patted his back "I'm sure they wouldn't care about something like that, they seem to really care about you... though do they understand the whole multiple wife thing you have to do?".

"They have mentioned it to me.. I know they didn't like it at first, but they know I have no choice... but I will tell them, that any woman I get with will have to get both of their permissions" said Naruto.

"That's a good idea, sorry to cut it short Naruto but I have to get ready for my patrol" he said standing up.

"It's no problem Kakashi, next time let's have lunch and a quick spar".

"I'd like that, now see ya" he said before body flickering away.

Letting out a small chuckle Naruto stood up and began to track down Neko, he needed to ask her about what she said to Baki when she defended him.

He walked for a little while and eventually found her home and sensed both her and her boyfriend inside. He knocked on the door and only had to wait a couple seconds before the door was opened by Hayate.

"Ah Yugao has been expecting you" he said before he coughed and let him in.

Naruto looked around the apartment and saw that it was your average styled apartment with couches, chairs, painting and pictures along with a small dining room and kitchen, plus a hall that led to a bathroom and two bedrooms. His eyes then saw said person he was looking for, she was sitting in the dining room drinking some tea.

"Ah Naruto-sama its good to see you" she said with a smile.

"It's good to see you too Neko-san.. or should I saw Yugao" he said with smile.

"Call me whichever you prefer" she said before taking a sip of her tea "I'm sure your hear to talk about what I said during the fight against Baki when I told you to run and why I always add the sama suffix".

"Yes to both" he said before a cup of tea was placed infront of him by Hayate before he sat down next to her with his own.

"I'm not sure if you know about my clan, the Uzuki".

"I'm still reading a lot on my clans history, but I did see lots of references to a clan that served the royal family and were the retainers of us and protected us with their lives".

"Yes, that was my clans job, we served the Uzumaki royal family and I'm the last member of my clan, during the invasion my parents already lived here when they found out what happened to Uzushiogakure... they were devastated to hear that and felt as if they failed the royal family... but then they found Kushina and swore their lives to her and their future children to her line" said Yugao.

Naruto was a bit shocked to hear all of this, but that then brought up some questions.

"It wouldn't be till a couple years later that I was born and my parents taught me about my clans traditions along with the Uzumaki clan so I could fulfill my role as her retainer or her child's retainer and serve them".

"Then... how come I wasn't raised by you?" He asked confused.

"That was something I fought with Hiruzen with a lot... but it had to partially do with the fact he gave you the fake name Namikaze to protect you. If people found out I was raising you then they would put two and two together. But he did thankfully put me on your security detail when you grew up and Hokage-sama told me once you become a chunin then I can if I wished become your retainer".

"So he did that to both protect me and in a way you so you wouldn't have to be constantly fighting off assassination attempts... and for the chunin part, is that why you didn't reveal yourself more until near the exams?".

"Yes to both, I knew you would pass, so I started to reveal myself more and called you by the suffix you deserve.... so Naruto-sama.. will you accept me as your retainer and fulfill my clans duty?" She said.

Naruto was silent before he spoke "before I answer that... Hayate what do you think of all of this?".

"*cough* it doesn't bother me, she already explained to me her clan and it's traditions along with serving the royal family... as long as you don't abuse her trust and promise to help protect our future children then I have no qualms against it *cough*" he said.

Nodding his head Naruto stood up and walked towards Yugao, she immediately got out of her chair and got on a knee while bowing her head.

"Yugao Uzuaki I accept your request and I hereby make you my retainer.. my protection and my future children's protection shall be in your hands" he said with a smile.

A tear of happiness ran down her cheek for finally getting the words she's wanted to hear for so many years, she looked up and spoke proudly. "Naruto Uzumaki Senju, I Yugao Uzuki promise with my life I shall serve and protect you and your family along with future children with my life and my clan will serve you until we are no longer needed" she said.

Extending his hand, he helped Yugao up, then hugged her "I promise to never take advantage of your kindness and I promise my line will always treat your clan with the respect they deserve".

Smiling more, she hugged him back "thank you Naruto-sama".

___

Chapter 39. Promotion And Political Marriage. Is Available On Patreon