In A Life
7. Hokage
Sarutobi Hiruzen was nice enough, as ninja went. It was never exactly 'true' to call a ninja 'nice' or 'kind', because when it came down to it, that same smiling, baby-kissing ninja could eviscerate a man without a trace of remorse. The elderly Sarutobi was exactly this kind of ninja. Children loved him. Subordinates respected him. Enemies feared him. He had been perfect to take over the Hokage's office after the death of the Yondaime. Not only was he capable, he was experienced; he had been the Sandaime. In the period of time after the Kyuubi's attack and the Yondaime's death, when the village was still so raw, unwilling to broach the subject of nominating candidates for the Godaime position, and when experienced leadership was so acutely needed, what better to do than to bring back the Third Hokage?
Konoha was limping, so to speak. A large portion of the village was in utter ruins, thanks to the destructive power of the Kyuubi. People were without homes. Children were without parents, as the death toll of the battle climbed distressingly high. Civilians, ninja, it didn't matter. The Kyuubi didn't distinguish between the two; it was an equal-opportunity murderer. Morale of the Hidden Village was low, as they interred urn after urn after urn in the cemetery. As they etched their Yondaime Hokage's name into the Memorial Stone. Things had seemed so bright; the war was over, the soldiers were home, they had a young leader filled with potential… And then the Kyuubi showed them just how fragile it all was.
It seemed that the Sandaime Hokage understood this all, because he did his best to quickly and efficiently get Konoha rebuilt and restored. He knew how important it was to get the people moving back on track, how vital it was to not let them wallow in the despair and sorrow left over from the Kyuubi's attack. He'd seen them through the Third Shinobi War; he could see them through this.
Reflecting on the Sandaime's actions- how the man had practically hauled the village out of its emotional pit by the metaphorical lapels, gathering the broken pieces of the people of the Leaf and re-sculpting them, apparently never looking back- Kakashi wondered just how much it hurt the old man that he'd never been able to allow himself to really mourn the death of his successor, his young protégé. Sarutobi had had to be strong for the village, had had to drive them forward. He had never been able to really sit back and let the fact that Namikaze Minato was dead settle in his heart and mind. He had been too busy making sure that Konoha didn't shatter.
Beyond everything, Kakashi decided, being a Hokage meant sacrifice. When you took the position, you gave up everything that you were and became whatever the village needed. Once you became Hokage, you were unmade as a person. You became a weapon. You became a symbol. You became a war-general. The village wasn't yours— you became the village's.
Kage. Shadow. All the leaders of the five major Hidden Villages had the word in their title. Tsuchikage. Kazekage. Mizukage. Raikage. Hokage; 'Fire shadow.' Because, once you took that office, you lost your own identity and became an echo of your village, your country. Like a shadow.
