"Idiot!"
Naruto crashed hard into the dirt face first, courtesy of Sakura's fist. Kakashi felt no sympathy for the loudmouth. He rubbed his ears with a fever, trying to rid himself of the ringing brought on by the boy's previous scream of joy. It should not be feasible for a human to be so loud.
That actually gave him an idea.
'Hmm… not gonna happen,' He scratched such an idea from his mental notes. Teaching Naruto to weaponize his vocal cords would be more trouble than it was worth. "Did either of you listen to me?"
"Of course, sensei!" Naruto was back up in an instant. "You said that I'm going to be the next Hokage. I mean, I already knew that by the way, but it's cool that everyone else is getting with the picture!"
"Get over yourself, dumbass." Sakura rolled her eyes. "If anyone is going to be the next Hokage, it Sasuke-kun. Right Sasuke-kun?" She looked at Sasuke, hoping for a positive reaction. The Uchiha only grunted, uncaring.
"I see that I was too bold with my statement." Kakashi sighed. "None of you are guaranteed the position of Hokage. There's more than a handful of shinobi more qualified to become Konoha's next leader, far more. The three of you stand at the beginning of a path that can lead to the such a seat of power. It's on you to reach that road's end. You can start by acting as a kage should. Remaining calm even as emotions take you would be a start, so avoid flying into fits of excitement or rage."
"Er, right? I'll keep that in mind, sensei." Naruto promised, rubbing the nape of his neck.
"Sorry." Sakura apologized, more to Kakashi than Naruto, giving the jonin a slight bow.
"Why mention it all?" Sasuke asked, lips twisted into a scowl. "What's the point of telling us something that is so far off."
"The truth?"
Sasuke nodded, Naruto and Sakura also looking at him for the answer.
"Well…" Kakashi took a moment to gather himself. His underlining concern was evident in every aspect of his body language. "...Konoha is in a peculiar situation right now. It would not be too speculative to say that war in on the horizon." The genin trio took the news poorly, put on edge by it, but Kakashi took that continue regardless of the recoil.
"The signs of war go overlooked by civilian and inexperienced shinobi. Those that haven't lived through war don't think to pay attention to the warnings, so let me spell it out for the three of you. Sunagakure is in an economic depression. Kirigakure is still in the midst of a long-lasted civil war. Konohagakure never recovered from the Kyūbi's attack, in reality. The death rate has taken a sharp increase as the administrative branch sends less experienced shinobi on missions that would have been reserved for those that we lost that night. These dire straits that we were left in only worsened after the Uchiha's collective demise. All the while Kumogakure and Iwagakure have been building military power in earnest." Naruto and Sasuke moved about uneasily at the mention of the Kyūbi's attack and Uchiha massacre respectively.
"I don't get it. What does all that have to do with war?"
"Will you think for once," Sasuke growled, visible pissed by how oblivious Naruto chose to be or maybe it was him taking his aggression out on the blond. "How do you think the third great war started?"
"There was a decline in national prominence among the great villages. For the first time, the world was in relative peace, but the peace made the five villages docile. We became less concerned with showing our might. Lesser villages took this as a sign of weakness and made bids for power; attacking the great villages. The early days of the war were spent putting down would-be usurpers. The great villages would later turn on each other, brought on from disagreements on how annexed land – gained from defunct villages – should be sorted." Sakura – knowing that Naruto did not pay attention to history lessons – took pity on him; tapping into her encyclopedic knowledge to explain matters to him.
"Correct." Kakashi nodded. "Too few shinobi understand that they should remain vigilant even in times of peace. The best way to ward off war is to always be prepared for it or at least appear to be."
"Why tell us this? What do you expect genin to do?" Sasuke asked. Genin are guppies in a pool of sharks, what were they to do to stop a war?
"Tacticians prepare for war by looking at current and future threats. Wars could last years, so they prepare for long-standing combat. Veterans and new recruits alike should display themselves as capable and strong. Konohagakure, even in current times, has a strong pool of older shinobi. Its the younger generation where the worry sets in. It has been over a decade since any academy student has done anything to draw any sort of fame to themselves. Not since Itachi Uchiha."
Sasuke was fuming now, his mask of indifference cracking.
"So that it? You're hoping to motivate us into becoming a viable deterrent to other villages?"
"Hn, not quite," Kakashi leaned forward leveling his eye on Team 7, unnerving them. "You're all members of Team 7 now. Your share a legacy with my teammates, with my sensei, so you're going to live up to that mantle. I'll break you down to your core and create you anew from the crumpled remains if needed. I figure you are least deserve to understand my motives on the days where you curse my existence. Those days will undoubtedly come. So any questions?" Kakashi chirped, reasserting a perky disposition. It proved to be unsettling after his speel on how he would be putting them through hell.
"Only one." Sakura raised her hand. "Why were we chosen over everyone else. I understand Sasuke-kun, but Naruto is an idiot and ...well I'm..."
"Both of you do suck." Kakashi blunt words cut deeply.
"Hey! -" Naruto began, but Kakashi raised his hand in a halting motion.
"I'm not here to sugarcoat you issues, kid. You and Pinkie have terrible foundations. It's almost as if you didn't take the academy seriously at all."
"They didn't," Sasuke interjected. Sakura shriveled up into herself as her crush mocked her, whilst Naruto looked ready to spew a string of foul language.
"That's neither here nor there now. The two of you managed to slip pass your exams by a sequence of small miracles, so you're my problem now. You won't be allowed to half-ass your way through life from here on. I assure you as much. That being said you two aren't without redeeming qualities. Sakura, if your records are to believed, you excel at mental challenges and have an eidetic memory as well as a firm grasp at controlling your chakra. I can definitely work with that if you are willing to put forth your share of effort."
Sakura brightened, a bit of her confidence restored by Kakashi's appraisal.
"What about me, Sensei!"
"Naruto Uzumaki, an idiotic delinquent that failed the academy exam three times. The holder of the record for most absentees in academy history."
"Sensei." Naruto glowered, wishing that the scarecrow would get to the point.
"You have a tremendous amount of chakra. You're also actually capable of achieving excellence with the proper motivation and guidance. That appraisal is straight from Iruka's mouth. He's the academy's most competent instructor so I have reason to believe that you are not as hopeless as you first seem. Beyond that, you should know why you're on this team…" Naruto froze, fearing that Kakashi would reveal secrets that he wasn't ready for the world to know. "… You're the last member of the Uzumaki Clan, a family that rivals the Uchiha and Senju during the warring states period. I plan to drag forth the latent potential that I'm sure is in you somewhere."
"I'm what!?/He's what!?"
Kakashi sighed, running his hand through his hair, looking ready to pull it out. 'I have my work cut out for me.'
"Well then, shall we begin?"