"I'm going to retire." The fifth Hokage sat across from where he stood, legs crossed and looking infinitely pleased with herself. When she had arrived, he had decided to remain standing; despite his current position, it seemed rude to sit at the desk she once occupied.
"That's certainly good to hear, Tsunade-sama, considering-" Kakashi tapped his chin as though in thought. "-I've actively been your successor for eight years."
"Don't be cheeky, Brat. I can still kick your ass."
Kakashi smiled behind his mask; he had no doubt she could. Since she had been out of the Hokage's hat for some time, that only left-
"You're giving up the hospital?" He leaned against the edge of his desk, considering the implications of such a major change. He would miss having Shizune's help with Hokage matters, but she had worked under Tsunade for so long that the transfer at the hospital would be seamless-
"Yes. And I'd like you to formally support Sakura as my replacement for Medical Director."
Kakashi felt his stomach drop. He decided to keep his tone as neutral as possible. "She's rather young for the position."
Tsunade scoffed. "She's a year older than Minato when he became Hokage."
Kakashi resisted the impulse to remind Tsunade that for all his love and loyalty for his sensei, Minato had made some terrible decisions while in his brief tenure as Konoha's leader. Wearing the hat as he did now, Kakashi understood that strength and genius alone weren't enough for the position. He made difficult decisions every single day, and he often relied on decades of active service to help guide him in those decisions.
"She's more competent, too," Tsunade added, her smirk all-knowing. "She's ready, Kakashi."
Of that, he had no doubt. He had watched the last few years as the group once known as the Konoha Twelve grew into strong, capable and sure adults with unique skill sets. Sakura was no exception: His former student was an expert with both a kunai and scalpel, and she was one of the most in-demand healers and poisons experts not only in Konoha, but at large.
While he didn't know the intricacies of the medical position, he understood the parallels to his own. As Medical Director, Sakura would be in charge of not only Konoha's hospital, but the entire medical infrastructure, including medic-nins. She would, in essence, be a ruling partner in ensuring the safety and success of their nation. The scale of responsibility was daunting: a rough sea of difficult decisions, diplomatic maneuvering, endless paperwork, and both warranted and unwarranted comparisons to her predecessor.
It was nothing he wanted for Sakura.
She would be perfect for it.
"Is this something that she wants?" He asked carefully.
"Yes. And she already has an idea that this is coming, too. I'll put her name forward as my successor, but I need your backing to make sure it goes through without issue. I don't want those old bastards trying to usurp what's rightfully Sakura's because they hold a grudge against me."
In all his time of knowing Sakura, he had never been able to deny her anything, be it protection or the boldest of lies to reassure her. He wasn't going to change that now.
"Then she'll have my full support."