I'm not Kishi, nor am I Chucklefish. I'm just a dope with a stupid idea. So here ;)

Chapter 1: Goodbye, Sharingan no Kakashi!

Kakashi Hatake was tired.

Relieved, yes. Content, somewhat. But coming out of the 4'th Great Ninja War, Kakashi was above all else, mentally and physically exhausted. While many of his past demons were finally put to rest, especially where Rin and Obito were concerned, he still felt as though he needed a drastic change in his life, and a change sometime soon.

While for civilians, the age of 31 is still quite young, for a ninja, you were an old man if you were blessed to live this long. Now, Kakashi would hardly call himself blessed, but he supposed there must have been some luck involved to get him where he currently was. He certainly felt old, the years of intense training and fighting finally seeming to catch up to him. And good merciful Lord did he feel tired.

These were the thoughts swimming in Kakashi's subconscious as he nonchalantly made his way to the Hokage Tower for a summons by Lady Tsunade. While the average ninja would be stressing over what the Hokage could possibly want, Kakashi was no ordinary ninja.

'I need to find a new series to read. As much as I adore Icha Icha, there's only so many times a man can read through perfection. Perhaps now that the war is over some new aspiring writers may rise up. It will never match Lord Jiraiya's literature, of course, but reading something new might not be the worst thing…'

As with his nature, Kakashi arrived to his meeting with the Hokage 2 hours late. "You're unusually early, Kakashi." Tsunade dryly noted as the silver haired man slinked into the office.

"Maa maa, Lady Hokage, I always get here as fast as I can." Kakashi replied, his tone making it unclear whether he was joking or not.

"I'm sure. Take a seat, Kakashi." Tsunade chuckled.

"Ahh." Kakashi sighed in contentment as he plopped down. "So, what can I do for you, Lady Hokage?"

"Well Kakashi, to cut right to the chase, I'd like you to be my successor, and become the Sixth Hokage."

Kakashi stiffened minutely, his usual casual demeanor going on vacation. "While that is very flattering, Lady Hokage, I hardly think I am the best candidate."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at the semantics. "Who is qualified then, Kakashi? We're a little short staffed at the moment. Shizune? Hiashi? Might Gai was on the short list, but now that he is wheelchair bound he can hardly be a choice."

Kakashi let her words soak in as he recalled the final words he received from his best friend Obito. "You be the Sixth Hokage… Kakashi…". At the time, Kakashi took his friends words to heart, but now that he has had time to think… 'I am sorry Obito, but this is not my path.'

"You are forgetting someone, Lady Tsunade." Kakashi began after his reflections. "A certain knucklehead ninja?"

"Naruto!?" Tsunade exclaimed, clearly not expecting this answer. "Surely you're not serious, Kakashi? If we were to go on power alone, sure, but he isn't ready! He needs at least another decade to study and prepare himself mentally for the role of Hokage! He's still too young!"

Kakashi gazed out the window for a long moment before continuing. "Naruto exceeds us both in both power and morals. Sure, he's not the most strategic or smartest of the crop, but with your guidance and some help from someone like Shikamaru, he's far and away the best choice. And if you are dissuaded by his age, I believe the Kazekage is a good example to disprove that point."

"But! He could get in over his head and get himself hurt-"

"I know you care for his safety." Kakashi interjected, raising his left hand. "I do as well. But Naruto has just recently faced down Madara Uchiha, and the Mother of all Chakra and lived to tell the tale. He is more than capable of this job. Hell, with his shadow clones, he could probably be the most effective Hokage ever in terms of getting the paperwork done."

Tsunade sighed, finally realising Kakashi's points were all correct. She was curious about one thing though. "And what of you? Why are you so adamant about someone else being Hokage?"

"Besides truly believing Naruto deserves it?" Kakashi stood up and turned away from Tsunade. "Because I have been thinking of retiring from the shinobi life. I'm tired, Lady Tsunade. So very tired. I think it's time for a new beginning for myself. I believe I may leave the village."

"Retire!?" Tsuande shouted, once again surprised at how this meeting had gone. "But you're one of the best ninja we have! You leaving would be a huge loss! And where would you even go?"

"Lady Tsunade, the Five Shinobi Nations are finally entering an era of true peace. A peace that Naruto is sure to help maintain. At the current moment I do not think you need to worry about military strength. I will not be sorely missed. And as to where I am going? Well, a few months back I found an old box of documents that belonged to my father. In the box was a deed to a sizable piece of farm land in a remote valley by a small town. I have been contemplating moving there. And I believe now my choice is clear."

"I see." Tsunade, once again not finding much fault with Kakashi's argument, simply sighed and grabbed a bottle of sake. "Well, I understand how much you have been through Kakashi, and so I want you to know I won't hold any ill will if you leave us. I'd be a hypocrite if I did that." She chuckled dryly, downing all her sake, before continuing. "Your points concerning Naruto hold merit. I will call him here soon to have him become the Hokage-Designate. I'll have him shadow me for a year or two before he takes the title though."

"A wise decision. And thank you, Lady Hokage." Kakashi turned back to Tsunade briefly to give one of his patented eye smiles before turning back to leave the office.

"One more thing Kakashi!" Tsunade called out as Kakashi opened the door. "What's the name of this place where Sakumo owned land? I don't believe we ever had any record of that."

"Ah, that's odd." Kakashi mused, taking the deed out of his pocket to read. "It's called Stardew Valley."

Nojo no Kakashi

A day had passed since Kakashi's meeting with Tsunade, and with a new resolve, the Copy Ninja began to pack his essentials for his journey to his new life. And by essentials, Kakashi of course packed up every Icha Icha every released, both the hard and soft cover editions.

As he continued to pack, someone began furiously knocking on his door. 'I wonder who this could possibly be.' Kakashi thought to himself dryly as he went to answer the door. As expected, a yellow and orange blur dashed into his apartment in a flash, quickly sucking the air right out of the room.

"Kakashi-Sensei! Kakashi-Sensei! Guess what!?" Naruto shouted, hopping on the couch in excitement.

"Tsunade named you the Sixth Hokage-Designate." Kakashi replied evenly, trying not to get upset about the dirt Naruto was tracking everywhere.

Naruto stopped dead and stared at Kakashi incredulously. "Yeah, how did you know that?"

"Just a lucky guess. Well in anycase, congratulations Naruto, I'm very proud of you. Want some miso soup? I need to use this up soon or else it's going into the garbage." Kakashi motioned to the now sparse kitchen.

"Nah, I just had ramen, I'm good!" Naruto gave a foxy grin as he hopped off the couch. He gave the apartment a proper scan before frowning. "You moving Kakashi-Sensei? You getting a bigger place?"

"Something like that." Kakashi sighed, dreading this impending conversation. One of Kakashi Hatake's many flaws was he absolutely hated goodbyes, especially with people he considered close. "Naruto, I'm moving outside the village to some farmland my father owned."

Kakashi flinched at the gaze Naruto was now directing at him. Eventually he replied quite loudly. "Just after we get Sasuke back, you're leaving! What the heck, Kakashi-Sensei, what's the big idea!"

"This is nothing like when Sasuke left the village." Kakashi asserted firmly, knocking Naruto off his soapbox. "I am honourably retiring and moving to start a new life. Who knows, maybe I'll become a world-class farmer."

"But… But… But…"

"Please respect my decision Naruto. I am tired. Very tired. I can't do the shinobi life anymore, I need a big change, and start anew. I will miss you, Sakura, and Sasuke greatly, but this is something I need to do. And hey, you can visit whenever, the valley I'm moving too is not too far south of Mount Myoboku." Kakashi put an awkward hand on his student's back, trying his best to act comforting.

After sniffing back some tears, Naruto jumped at Kakashi, giving him a bone crushing hug. "Alright, Kakashi-Sensei! I'll miss you a lot, but it'll be okay, dattebayo!"

"It will be, and you will make a splendid Hokage, Naruto. I promise to be there on your inauguration day, so make sure to keep me updated, alright?" Kakashi eye smiled, glad this hadn't been a total disaster.

"Right! Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei, for everything!"

"You are welcome. Now, I suppose I should go see a certain Uchiha and Haruno. I plan to head out tomorrow morning." Kakashi stepped back away from Naruto to give him some space to collect himself.

"You have to say bye to everyone Kakashi-Sensei! I know Sasuke is still locked up, but I'll gather everyone at the gates tomorrow to send you off. It'll be great, dattebayo!" Naruto cheered, slowly going back to his normal self.

"Now, I don't think that's necessary, I'd rather not make a big scene." Kakashi countered, really keen on not having some big over the top farewell party.

"Nonsense, Kakashi-Sensei! I'll make sure everyone in the village is there! Just make sure you say bye to Sasuke, because I don't think I can get him out of jail just yet!" Before Kakashi could argue, Naruto dashed out of the apartment, the air finally returning.

"Maa maa, I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from Naruto." Kakashi conceded, going back to packing.

Nojo no Kakashi

"Uchiha! You have a visitor!" Ibiki warned before opening the door of Sasuke's cell to allow the visitor to enter. With his eyes currently blinded, Sasuke could only make a guess as to who it was.

"Naruto or Sakura, which is it?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Neither, it's me." Kakashi replied, taking a seat on the cold bench next to Sasuke.

"What are you doing here, Kakashi?" Sasuke questioned.

"Just wanted to check in on my cute little Genin." Kakashi smirked, knowing he got under Sasuke's skin. "And also to tell you I'm leaving Konoha, most likely permanently, and I wanted to say goodbye."

"Is that right?" Sasuke responded, trying to hide the surprise in his voice. "And why would Sharingan no Kakashi leave Konoha? I expected you to become the Sixth, in all honesty."

"I'm hardly Sharingan no Kakashi anymore." The Copy Ninja lamented. "But that's neither here nor there. In truth I'm tired of the shinobi life, and fancy a change of pace. My father owns some farmland by a remote town I intend to take possession of."

"Farmland?" Sasuke snorted. "Who would have thought, Sharingan no Kakashi, a farmer? I suppose a more fitting name for you now would be Nojo no Kakashi (Kakashi of the Farm), eh Sensei?"

Kakashi chuckled at the joke, "Nojo no Kakashi sounds nice. I'd be honoured to be known by that title."

"I suppose the simplest things can often carry the most weight." Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. "Well, this may be our final goodbye then, huh?"

"Possibly, yes…" Kakashi drawled.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for several minute before Sasuke spoke up. "I'm sorry, Sensei."

"I know."

"I hope you find whatever you're looking for, Kakashi."

"To you as well, my cute little Genin."

Sasuke gave a small nod, and Kakashi got up and strolled out of the cell, sparing one last glance at his pupil.

Nojo no Kakashi

'When Naruto says he's going to do something, he sure as hell does it.' Kakashi shook his head bemusedly as he approached the gates of Konoha, seeing as quite literally the entire village was there to send him off.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" A certain pink haired kunoichi called out from the crowd, rushing over to give a life draining hug. "I'm going to miss you so much Kakashi-Sensei! It just won't be the same without you!"

"Maa maa, Sakura." Kakashi smiled, patting his student on the back. "We'll see each other again. I'll be here for Naruto's inauguration, and Naruto knows how to find me, so the two of you can visit whenever."

"I'll still miss you." Sakura whispered, doing her best to hold back the tears.

"Ditto, kid." Kakashi replied sadly, letting go of the hug after a few more moments to continue on. He made his way through a literal sea of wellwishers, before finally getting to the gates to be faced with his hardest challenge yet, Might Gai.

"Kakashi!" The green ninja called out in his typical dramatic fashion. "While the flames of youth may have set for both you and I, the glorious dawn of Autumn has just begun! May we both find our eternal flames in our new and perilous journeys!"

Unsure of what to say, Kakashi decided to go with the heart. "I'll really miss you Gai."

The simple words struck a chord with his rival, and the bushy browed man turned into waterworks. "And I will miss you, my eternal rival! When our paths cross again, we must have the ultimate test of youth! If I lose, I swear I will do 600 laps around the village on my hands without stopping!"

"I'll hold you to that, Gai." Kakashi eye smiled one last time before giving one final wave to the villagers. One step at a time, Kakashi departed from Konoha, his old life. Sharingan no Kakashi was officially no more. A new, bold adventure was on the horizon. And, for the first time in recent memory, Kakashi wasn't so tired.

Until Next Time...