Title: Hokage of Youth

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from Naruto.

Author's note: My other story isn't getting a lot of traffic, so I decided to start this story for a bit of good fun. I update frequently. This is basically what might have happened if Itachi and Kisame showed up a little later.

Chapter 1: Not According to Plan

An assembly of the Land of Fire's most powerful and influential members were gathered in an ordinary room located in the Hokage Tower. Indeed, the room might be too boring to be the location of such an important meeting. An everyday room, with a long, square table seating 11 people. On one end with no one sitting opposite to him, the Fire Daimyo sat on a garish chair. It was made even more noticeable by the complete lack of embellishment throughout the rest of the room.

Aside from the daimyo, assembled together, there were 5 of the Daimyo's council, and 5 of the leaf villages most influential people. The 2 Members of the Konoha Council, the Jōnin Commander, and a member of the Anbu Black Ops. This time however, there was 1 more attendant than usual; Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, who was brought in by special request of the attending jōnin Commander, Shikaku Nara.

The Daimyo gave a dramatic sigh, "I can't believe the Sannin, Jiraiya rejected the position of Hokage."

One of Konoha's esteemed council, Homura Mitokado, responded with, "There is no need to worry. Lord Jiraiya has assured me personally that he will find Tsunade of the Sannin and convince her to take the mantle. All we must do is elect her, and I am sure that the jōnin will accept her as well. Please forgive us for wasting your time like this, Daimyo-sama."

"Tsunade?" He fanned himself absent-mindedly, "You say 'there is no need to worry,' but isn't she the gambling-addicted alcoholic Sannin with severe trauma? That doesn't exactly scream 'leader material' to me. If we inaugurate someone like her, we'll seem desperate; after all, the things I said are common knowledge. Besides, she left the village. Who's to say she would come back?"

Homura flinched at the ruthless, but undoubtably true, assessment. "Well…that is true, but I am sure that she has many fine qualities that befit a leader. I'm afraid we don't have any other strong candidates." He was obviously struggling to overcome the evaluation of Tsunade's qualities.

Shikaku Nara sat back in his seat, fighting a smirk. One does not reach his rank without planning ahead. This is exactly why he brought Kakashi. If they could pinpoint a candidate that seemed plausible to elect, but would never be elected by the jōnin who knew him, they could buy a good deal of time while Jiraiya convinced his old teammate.

The Daimyo looked in Shikaku's direction. "So, I'm rather curious as to why you brought an ordinary jōnin to a meeting like this, Shikaku-san."

"Well, my friend here is the renown Kakashi Hatake. An elite shinobi, and a strong candidate for Hokage. I would say that his voice holds a lot of weight. Wouldn't you, Daimyo-sama?"

"I don't care to hear him promote himself to me, but I suppose it's not against any rules."

Kakashi began speaking for the first time, "I am afraid you misunderstand, Daimyo-sama. I have no personal interest in the seat of Hokage."

"Hmm?"

"Actually, Shikaku-san and I suspected we might end in a stalemate like this one. I am here to nominate someone."

The Konoha Council looked somewhere between angry and surprised. They obviously did not like to be surprised. The Fire Daimyo closed his fan and examined Kakashi carefully, "Nothing you've done has been against the rules, but this Is certainly unusual. Tell me, why exactly can Shikaku-san not nominate this person himself?"

Shikaku crossed his fingers, "The thing is, Kakashi here is a close friend of the nominee in question. He also spars with him on a regular basis. That's why I think he is the only one who can do this great man justice." He felt himself wince internally. 'I might have oversold it a bit.'

But the Daimyo had bought it completely. "So, who is this mystery person, exactly?"

Kakashi made his best faux serious face, not that anyone could see it all that well, and said, "The Leaf Village's own, Might Guy."

The Konoha Council looked shocked for but a moment, before they schooled their features. They had begun to understand Shikaku's underhanded tactic. Koharu Utatane, the other member of the Konoha Council, cleared her throat. "Yes, that seems to be a good idea. He is a very…passionate man." The compliment did not come easy to her.

The Daimyo sat forward with apparent interest, "Might Guy? I've heard his name before! He's a great jōnin, no? Reaching the level of Jōnin indicates not only skill, but a penchant to lead. Let alone, to be among the most famous and powerful of such prestigious people." He leaned back again and nodded to himself, "I see. But I thought he had no interest in the position? Otherwise, why wouldn't his name have come up by now?"

Kakashi was prepared for this line of questioning, and he sincerely hoped his bluffing skills hadn't waned. "He is very modest. He thought that if Lord Jiraiya was in the running, there would be no need to have himself nominated. I wanted to respect his feelings, however…I firmly believe that not only is he Hokage material, he actually far outstrips the Sannin themselves in terms of eligibility!"

The Daimyo looked rather suspicious, "And how exactly do you plan to back such a claim? I will give you ample time to make a case for this man. Try not to waste it."

"Thank you, Daimyo-sama. Well then, in terms of combat skill, he leaves all of them in the dust! I would say that at full strength, he exceeds all the previous Hokage! And we should also consider how Might Guy is a more capable leader than any Sannin. Orochimaru is out for obvious reasons, but Lord Jiraiya doesn't even care to be a leader; he lacks any passion. Tsunade, as you pointed out, is a gambling maniac, as well as a drunkard. Are these really the people we should give power equal to yours?"

Shikaku kicked him under the table and whispered, "Kakashi, you're overselling it! Reel it in! We aren't supposed to make Tsunade look bad."

"You have to be kidding. To think the legendary Sannin would be so untrustworthy." The Daimyo shook his head in disappointment. "And I hear no disagreement. Is everything being said true? So, I suppose he has the passion to lead; is that what you're saying?"

"Guy is the most passionate person I've ever met. You can ask anyone in the leaf village to confirm that." Every leaf ninja at the table nodded in unison. "I bet he would see improving the village as a challenge that he would gladly take on. His heart is so big that he took on a student that couldn't use ninjutsu and made him one of our most promising prospective shinobi. In fact, his entire genin squad is full of promise. Both of these things speak not only to his kind spirit, but to his leadership."

Shikaku was impressed, 'Man. He's making Gai-san sound really good; maybe too good. I might feel disappointed when Jiraiya retrieves Tsunade.'

The Daimyo seemed to be taking Kakashi's words to heart. "I see, I see. But there is one quality that the Lord Third once said was vital to being Hokage; darkness. Does he have that quality as well?"

"He does," Kakashi said in a tone so genuine, it surprised Shikaku. "Despite his kindness and generosity, he fought in the Third Shinobi World War. He is no stranger to death; even his own father was killed in front of his very eyes. Despite this, he holds no grudge against the village responsible. He even saved me when my father died, showing a great deal of empathy and wisdom in the process."

Everyone's silence was broken when the Daimyo clapped his hands. "Very good! You've convinced me. Does anyone have anything else to say?" The Fire Daimyo allowed a short pause, "In that case, I hereby nominate Might Guy of Konoha to be the next Hokage. Should the Jōnin of Konoha agree, he will become the Fifth Hokage!"

After the meeting had disbanded, Kakashi had stopped short of leaving the building when he spotted Shikaku leaning against the wall. "Shikaku-san…"

"So, that was quite the little speech you gave in Guy's favor." He looked at him sharply. "I told you I wasn't looking to make him out to be a strong candidate. We needed him to be elected in the absence of other choices. The way you talked him up, we're going to have to defend Tsunade in the next election."

Kakashi rubbed his neck sheepishly, "Yeah. The thing is, part way through talking him up, a thought occurred to me. 'Why wouldn't he be Hokage?' I guess I'm taking his nomination seriously now."

"Come on, man. You know better than anyone that he's not cut out for this. He isn't the most intelligent person we could pick; you know?"

"I take issue with that, Shikaku-san. He's not as foolish as he comes off. Besides, if the Raikage can run a village, I can't see why Guy wouldn't be able to."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes, "So then, you're serious about this? What a pain…"

Kakashi walked past him to leave the building, but he was stopped when Shikaku said, "I won't vote against him personally, because I trust your judgement. Even with my support, I don't think his chances of winning are particularly high."

"Thanks." Without saying anything else or looking back, Kakashi continued walking.

Author's Note: Don't forget to leave a review! Anything from harsh criticism to a "nice!" is welcome.