Lady Senju Tsunade of the three legendary Sanin, soon to be the fifth Hokage of Konoha, returns to the village after years of self imposed exile on a warm and sunny august day. Her return isn't grandiose or celebratory; most people are too busy with the renovations of the village to even notice the small party she travels with. However, rumours soon begin to spread: the legendary Tsunade the Slug Princess, one of the Legendary Sannin, has returned to Konoha.
Sakura hears of Lady Tsunade's return from a smiling chunin who swears that he saw her as she passed by on her way to her new office.
"She's something, alright!" he tells her and anyone else who will listen, which is a sizable group of mixed genin and chunin. "Hot as hell, and with a great pair of bazonkas, if you get what I mean!" He gestures in the air what he means, in case they don't.
"It's time this village got a nice looking face on the mountain!" another one replies.
"Too bad they won't include those titties of hers!"
"Well, they should!"
Some of the older boys cackle, but Sakura doesn't have the time to be annoyed. She has more important things on her mind.
"Did she have company?" she asks. "Was Naruto there too?"
"Who?"
"Uzumaki Naruto?"
The chunin shrugs. "I don't know. She was with an old guy and some blonde kid, if that's what you mean?"
She can't literally drop everything she's doing but as soon as she gets the chance she apologises to her friends and dashes off, heading for the hospital. She even takes to the rooftops to get there quicker.
By luck, she arrives just in time to see Sasuke-kun sit up in bed. Three pairs of eyes turn towards her; a beautiful blonde woman, a brunette and Naruto.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaims. "You'll never believe it, Grandma here fixed Sasuke!"
Grandma? Sakura thinks, glancing between the two women. They both look to be somewhere in their twenties, certainly not old enough to be someone's grandmother.
"Thank you," she says, ignoring her own confusion and bowing lightly to show her gratitude. "We've been very worried for both Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei."
"Yeah, come on! Kakashi-sensei's next!" Naruto urges, all but physically dragging the blonde woman over to the next bed.
"You're so loud," Sasuke complains, glaring at Naruto.
"Well I got you help, didn't I? So you've no right to complain!"
Sasuke glowers but doesn't argue. Also, he notably doesn't get out of bed, even if he does turn towards the other bed as the blonde woman places her hand on Kakashi-sensei's forehead.
Something clicks in Sakura's memory, and she finally recognises the blonde woman from pictures in her history books. Lady Senju Tsunade. The First Hokage's granddaughter. Only, she looks just about exactly like the pictures, even though she must certainly be somewhere in her fifties by now?!
Before Sakura has fully recuperated from the shock that someone that old can still look so young, Kakashi-sensei stirs. He groans quietly before opening his eyes, quickly taking in his surroundings.
"Tsunade-sama?" His voice is hoarse as he confirms Sakura's deduction of the blonde woman's identity.
"Hatake Kakashi. How disgraceful. I heard you were taken out by two lowlife punks. And here I thought you were supposed to be the best at what you do."
Lady Tsunade's voice is teasing, but there is an edge to it as well. Sakura is grateful that she's not the one levelled with it.
"Sorry to … disappoint you."
Slowly, stiffly, Kakashi-sensei sits up in bed. Whatever was wrong with him must've been bad. Sakura has never seen him move like that before.
"Just don't make me fix you again too soon, alright?"
Soon after that Lady Tsunade and the brunette leave, leaving team 7 alone together for the first time in over a month.
"Alright!" Naruto exclaims, pumping a fist in the air. "Naruto saves the day!"
"Shut up idiot!" Sasuke-kun snarls, though frankly it sounds more exhausted than anything else to Sakura. "This is a hospital!"
"You shut up, Stupid Sasuke!"
As the boys begin to bicker, Sakura tunes them out. Instead she steps closer to the other bed.
"How are you feeling, Kakashi-sensei?"
"It's just a headache," he assures her, his voice short and coarse in a way that isn't very reassuring at all. "And I think I need to sleep a bit more …"
Ignoring the two boys he lies down and she's surprised to find that he's out like a light. Worriedly she glances over towards the boys. Sasuke-kun looks torn between jumping out of the bed to physically beat Naruto and burying himself beneath his pillows.
They must really not be feeling too well, if even a jounin like Kakashi-sensei is out despite Lady Tsunade healing him.
"Naruto?" she says, interrupting Naruto's tirade of how he did not only make Lady Tsunade return to Konoha but also learned a super awesome new jutsu along the way. "How about we leave Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun alone for a bit? I think they need to sleep, and the nurses will want to see them soon and everything."
"Sure!" Naruto says, eagerly abandoning Sasuke-kun to scramble towards her. "Let's go to Ichiraku's!"
She winces internally at having subjugated herself to time alone with Naruto but the grateful look Sasuke-kun sends her way as they leave almost makes up for it.
They have a late lunch together. Naruto excitedly tells her about his recent travels and his new sensei.
"He's real pervy and sometimes I have to hunt him down from where he's spying on women or whatever, but he's a cool dude too! Kind of knows what he's doing, y'know?"
He sounds like an awful teacher, but if Naruto is happy then Sakura is happy for him. Truly. Naruto deserves to have more people who care about him.
"That sounds nice, Naruto."
"So what have you been up to, Sakura-chan?"
After hearing all about his adventures hers really start to seem small, so she just shrugs off the question. "Not much. Just working with the Genin Corps."
"That's cool. So have you gotten to do any cool missions? Or, like, learned something awesome?"
Though the question should hurt, especially after hearing all about the awesomeness about Jiraiya and Naruto's new jutsu, but the pure excitement in Naruto's voice is just strangely encouraging. His big, blue eyes watch her with the kind of anticipation that simply comes from treating everything as an exciting adventure.
She feels a smile tug at her lips.
"Well, I don't know," she says, teasingly drawing the words out and grinning as Naruto eagerly leans forward in his seat. "I guess I have been doing some cool missions. We did go on a C-ranked one to kill a monster boar."
"A monster boar?! That sounds so cool!"
"Oh, and we did end up saving a bunch of kidnapped village children as well."
Naruto's excitement is almost through the roof and for once it doesn't bother her too much. She smiles and basks in the attention, retelling her adventure and finding herself more excited about it than before simply because Naruto's excitement is contagious.
By the time they've finished their meal she's genuinely sorry to have to go.
"I'm still working with the Genin Corps and we've still got a lot of work to do on top of what we usually do," she apologises.
"That's cool, that's cool. We should totally meet up again soon, though, right? Maybe when Sasuke's out of the hospital, yeah?"
"Yeah, totally."
So with those tentative plans to meet up again they go their separate ways.
It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining. There's a light breeze, still carrying the warmth of summer yet also bringing with it a freshness heralding autumn. Children are laughing and the reconstruction of Konoha is well underway.
In other words, it's a perfectly nice day to sit down in a tree and enjoy oneself.
If only his body didn't feel so heavy, Kakashi thinks. And, you know, if only the world would stop spinning so erratically around him.
Maybe he made a mistake. He'll admit that much, at least to himself. But the hospital was driving him insane. Still the stench clings to his clothes and he's itching to get back home, have a shower and lie down in his own bed. For now though, he has no choice but to recline in this tree and hope that he looks more like he's taking casual rest rather than collapsing from sneaking out of the hospital too soon.
Slowly the world stops spinning and Kakashi finds himself able to breathe a little bit easier. Looking up from his book he mentally calculates that he's about one-third of the way home. Just two-thirds left to go. Can he make it that far in one go or will he have to stop and rest again? There's a nice little park, so perhaps he can stay there if he has to take another break. If it's still intact, that is. He thinks it might be.
"You know you're getting predictable, right kid?"
Kakashi resists the urge to sigh and instead leans his head back, looking up at Jiraiya.
"Sorry to disappoint," he says, echoing his earlier words to Lady Tsunade.
Jiraiya smirks, as if he knows. Maybe he does.
"Anyway, I was just on my way, so-"
With a stupid amount of effort he stands, preparing himself to leave, but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder. A surprisingly heavy hand - or perhaps that's just his knees being so weak.
"Not so quickly. Since you're strong enough to sneak out of the hospital, Tsunade and I have a job for you."
"So that's, what, four hours back in Konoha before you're both ordering me around?" Kakashi asks, exhaustion creeping into his voice. "You do realise she's not even Hokage yet, right?"
"Well, I'm not about to tell her that. Are you?"
And risk exposing himself to those fists of hers? Certainly not.
"Let's get going, kid."
Still with an arm on Kakashi's shoulder, half supporning him and half restraining him, he guides Kakashi away.
That evening Sakura returns to the hospital again, unsurprised to find Naruto already there and loudly arguing with Sasuke-kun. She is however surprised to find the other bed in the room empty.
"Where is Kakashi-sensei?" she asks.
Naruto shrugs.
"He climbed out the window about an hour ago," Sasuke-kun adds.
Sakura feels her eyebrows rise on her forehead in surprise but doesn't comment further. Instead she joins the two boys on the bed. There is a deck of cards laid out between them, and from a quick survey it looks like Naruto is rapidly losing at poker.
"Anyway Sakura-chan, tell Sasuke that a full house totally beats his stupid four of a kind!"
"It's the other way around, idiot! Four of a kind is like the second highest hand!"
"But they're fours! My sixes and eights totally beats that!"
Sakura smiles and reaches to collect the spread out cards. "Actually Sasuke-kun is right. And it doesn't matter if your cards are higher, his hand is still better."
Reluctantly Naruto accepts his defeat and hands over his cards to her. Sasuke-kun gleefully collects the few coins that make out his winnings as she mixes the cards carefully.
"So what have you guys been up to this past month?" she asks as she hands out new cards.
Naruto excitedly dives into some of the same tales he regaled her with earlier in the day, curiously with seemingly even more enemies than then. Predictably he loses the hand. Badly. Sasuke-kun collects the winnings and Sakura once more collects the cards.
"And you, Sasuke-kun?" she asks as she divides the cards.
He makes a non-commitical sound, eying his hand before glancing at the two of them.
"Don't hold out on us!" Naruto urges, volume somewhat more quiet as his attention is split between the conversation and his cards.
"Kakashi and I mostly just camped in the countryside and trained," Sasuke-kun slowly replies, still eyeing his cards. "A lot of chakra exercises and such, and then he taught me the Chidori."
"What's that?"
Sakura makes her voice as innocent as possible. Sasuke-kun gives her a suspicious look before dismissing her as a non-threat and answering.
"It's an A-rank lightning-nature jutsu."
"That sounds cool." She carefully ignores the little beast of envy that stirs in her stomach. "What was that jutsu you had learned, Naruto?"
"You mean the Rasengan? It's this super cool jutsu where you make a ball out of chakra in your hand and-"
She almost feels guilty when she collects the winnings of the game. Then again, it is not her fault that the two of them get their strange tunnel vision when pitted against each other. Better they learn to overcome that now than in the field, and if it fills her pockets in the meantime then that's just an added bonus.
They play a couple of more hands - the discussion between Naruto and Sasuke getting more heated and her pile of winnings growing larger - before a nurse comes by to tell them that visiting hours ended almost an hour ago.
"We should totally do this again, yeah?" Naruto says as he scrambles to collect the cards.
"I'd like that," Sakura agrees.
Sasuke makes a humming sound that is probably agreement.
"At least now we've got something fun to do while we wait for Kakashi-sensei in the mornings. When're you getting discharged Sasuke?"
"Tomorrow, probably."
"Cool. So, we'll meet up at the bridge as usual then?" Pocketing the deck of cards Naruto looks expectantly between them.
Sakura hesitates, because she hasn't really had the time to talk to Kakashi-sensei yet. She glances over to Sasuke, noticing that he is hesitating as well, and then she's suddenly hesitating because he's hesitating.
"Did Kakashi-sensei mention anything about a team meeting?" she asks at last.
Naruto looks at Sasuke, who shakes his head negatively.
"Well, we should meet anyway and then maybe Kakashi-sensei will come along, right?" Naruto suggests.
She hesitates again, glancing between the boys.
"I don't know if I can. I've been working with the Genin Corps and there's still time left of my contract with them and- What?"
Sasuke makes a face when she mentions the Genin Corps and her contract with them. He meets her eyes with a scornful look. She does not avert her gaze.
Naruto looks confusedly between them, his mouth hanging half agape in confusion.
"Genin Corps?" Sasuke finally breaks the silence. "What a bunch of losers. I'd rather die than work with them."
There is malice there in his voice; completely unnecessary, hurtful malice that cuts right through her earlier good mood. She gapes, struggling for words.
"Well, I wasn't suggesting you join them …" she says awkwardly, trying to keep her voice pleasant and hide how much he has hurt her with his words. "Anyway, maybe we could meet up when my contract is over? I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will contact us before then anyway, but -"
"How about not?" he interrupts, his voice growing colder as he speaks. "I don't have time to wait for the two of you; I need to get stronger."
This time she's truly speechless, mouth agape as she struggles to comprehend his rudeness. Where did it even come from? A few moments ago they were having a perfectly nice time together, and now he's back to the anger of a month ago.
And boys say that girls are emotional!
Naruto finds his voice before Sakura does.
"Hey! Don't think you can be all high and mighty just because you've learned a new jutsu or whatever! You're not the only one who's improved, y'know!"
"Don't even begin comparing me to the likes of you two! You-"
An angry looking nurse rushes into the room. "Visiting hours are over! Leave. Now! The patients need their rest!"
And with that both Naruto and her are herded out of the room, Naruto loudly trying to continue the argument all the way out into the street.
"What an ass!" Naruto glares after the nurse as she heads back into the hospital, as if that will somehow make things better. Then he turns to her and shifts into a bright smile. "Don't worry though, Sakura-chan. I'm sure he'll come around. Or we'll just have to show him, right?"
The idea of the two of them teaming up to beat Sasuke does have an undeniable appeal, however strange it seems.
"Yeah, sure," she agrees easily, smiling back at him.
They say their farewells and she begins making her way back towards the Genin Corps' Headquarters, walking slowly along the streets as she ponders the conundrum that is Sasuke.
It is not until much later that she realises that somewhere along the evening "Sasuke-kun" has turned into the much less impressive "Sasuke", in her mind.
He's so far beneath the ground that he'd rather not think about it. Or about the amount of stairs he'll have to climb to get back out again.
Finally, Kakashi finds himself in a large chamber, roughly cut out of the very bedrock beneath Konoha. It's dimly lit by crude torches, semi-evenly spaced around the room and casting dark, fluttering shadows along the uneven walls. In the middle of the floor, surrounded by the most extraordinarily complicated seal Kakashi has ever seen, lies the Sand Jinchuriki.
Restrained to the floor with chakra-restraining cuffs on both his hands and feet, dressed in nothing but underpants, he looks deceptively defenceless. Like the skinny, thirteen-year-old he is. Yet the cuffs glow lightly as they continue to drain him of his chakra, feeding it into the seal that restrains him. Despite the continuous drain on his chakra, which would leave any ordinary individual in a perpetual state of chakra exhaustion, waves of sand still clash against the invisible barrier created by the seal.
Really, jinchuriki are freaks of nature.
"Careful that you don't step on the seal," Jiraiya cautions him, though the warning isn't really necessary. Kakashi's been around seals enough to know how easily they can be disrupted, and to know better than to do so. Best case, his chakra will get shocked. Worst case? With a seal this big, and this complicated? He might get incinerated. Or, his incineration might set off an explosion that may or may not reach all the way back up to the surface. Difficult to tell, especially with something as volatile as a jinchuriki.
"The seal keeping the One Tails within the boy is unstable," Jiraiya explains, leading Kakashi towards a table near one of the walls.
A handful of ANBU-guards are stationed around the room, their captain standing at attention next to Lady Tsunade. She herself is slouched over the table, intently studying what Kakashi quickly realises is various seals, including a smaller copy of the one currently restraining the Sand Jinchuriki.
"How's it going?"
From the glare Lady Tsunade sends Jiraiya's way, Kakashi deduces that things are not going well. Then her glare shifts to him, and suddenly Kakashi finds himself very aware that despite being a medic, Lady Tsunade also has a reputation for being able to literally flatten mountains with her bare fists. He should probably be a bit more careful before doing something stupid like sneaking out of the hospital too soon.
"Idiot." She kicks a chair in his direction, thankfully not in an attempt to harm him.
Grateful for the reprieve, Kakashi adjusts the chair and sits down. He's not really sure he could've remained standing for much longer anyway, and he's grateful to have been spared the embarrassment of collapsing.
"What am I doing here?"
"You're here to help us figure out a way to stabilise the Sand Jinchuriki," Jiraiya answers, in lieu of Lady Tsunade. He pushes a sheet of paper in front of Kakashi. "This is what we've managed to deduce of the seal restraining the beast within the boy."
Looking down, Kakashi sees that it's an almost laughably incomplete sketch of a seal.
"According to his siblings, the beast was sealed within the boy before he was even born, which of course makes it that much harder to figure out exactly what seal was used."
"Not to mention the effect the seal would've had on the baby's gestation and vice versa," Lady Tsunade sighs, making a note on the paper in front of her. "There does not appear to be a clear barrier between boy and beast. Rather, the two have become fused together in a way which does not happen when the beast is sealed in an older container."
"And as it is, that lack of barrier is driving them both insane. We need to find a way to safely separate the two and/or a more permanent solution to restraining them as they are."
Kakashi leans back in his seat, his gaze looking from Jiraiya to Tsunade and back.
"Fascinating, I'm sure. But what exactly is it you think I might be able to do here? You two are the best sealing experts in Konoha."
"The best sealing experts alive in Konoha," Jiraiya corrects. "Minato was the best."
"Oh, I'm sorry, are we counting diseased sealing experts as well? Because if we are, why don't we count Lady Mito herself, while we're at it?"
"We are." Lady Tsunade gestures to a pile of large tomes in the middle of the table. "But unlike her, Minato didn't write his knowledge down for future generations."
"Ah." Finally Kakashi sees where things are going. Except, they're still wrong. "Minato didn't really teach me anything though."
At that age, Kakashi had been torn between the wish to become the perfect shinobi and his interest for jutsu creation. Minato-sensei had wanted to teach him the Sealing Techniques, but young Kakashi simply hadn't been interested.
"He taught you some. As his only remaining student, you might have insights the two of us do not." Jiraiya's voice has gone softer now.
"And you were the one who taught him the Sealing Techniques to begin with, so I doubt there's anything I know that you don't."
"I was his first teacher in the Sealing Techniques, but I was not the only one."
Kakashi pipes up at that. Minato-sensei'd had more teachers than Jiraiya?
"Who?"
"Kushina, of course."
Kakashi snorts at that, because Kushina certainly wasn't a sealing mistress. But then, she'd been an Uzumaki. Like Lady Mito. And an Uzushio native.
"Seals are as ingrained in Uzushio culture as kunai and shuriken are in the lives of shinobi," Jiraiya explains. "After I'd taught him everything I knew he learned all that he could from Kushina and anyone else who would teach him, and then he developed his own style. His own, particular seals, including his take on the Hiraishin."
Kakashi swallows around the sudden ache in his chest. Not for the first time he wishes that he'd made other choices when he was younger. That he'd listened more carefully, learned before it was too late. Before everyone around him was gone.
"So, though you might not realise it, he might have taught you some of his own techniques, Kakashi. So get thinking on how we'll handle this Sand Boy before the One Tails figures out a way to break out of those chakra restraining cuffs."
With a deep, steadying breath Kakashi reaches for a pen and a scroll and gets to work.
The next morning Sakura, Hajime and Tomomi are summoned to Commander Hatake's office at the end of breakfast. Sakura swallows nervously, allowing Hajime and Tomomi to lead the way. Has Kakashi-sensei come to a decision regarding her future then?
"Come on in," the Commander greets them from his desk. "Close the door behind you. I have a mission for you three."
"A mission?"
So this is not about her future then? Confused, Sakura stands next to the other two before the desk, folding her hands neatly in front of her.
"Yes. As you know the village is shorthanded when it comes to shinobi at the moment, and as such I am lifting your ban on C-ranks prematurely. This is not to be taken as a reward for your behaviour. I expect all three of you to exercise good judgement and not get in over your heads, especially if you find yourselves in a situation where you are ever a teammate short. Understood?"
No, she thinks even as she nods in tandem with Hajime and Tomomi.
"A boy has gone missing in a neighbouring village to the one you visited before, and the villagers suspect that it might be a new band of bandits kidnapping children. I want the three of you to go there, investigate the matter and if possible bring the boy back home to his parents."
"Understood," Hajime says, standing a little straighter.
Sakura copies his stance, still not sure that she fully understands what is going on. They're being given a mission? Another C-rank even?
"Understand that if there are bandits there is a chance that they are a part of a larger organisation. If so, you are not to engage them, but simply gather as much information as you can and bring it back, so that we can investigate the matter more."
"Investigate, bring back the boy if possible and gather information otherwise," Tomomi repeats, her voice calm and collected.
"Precisely. Any questions on that?"
Sakura opens her mouth but no words come out. The Commanders gaze turns to her, and after an encouraging gesture she manages to ask:
"Isn't this the kind of mission that's more suited for a tracker team? Like, an Inuzuka or a Hyuga or something?"
Surprisingly, the Commander nods in agreement. "Ordinarily, yes, but like I said we're all short staffed at the moment. Anyone with those kinds of gifts are prioritised elsewhere at the moment, sadly, and so you'll just have to do your best. I know Tomomi is a good tracker, and Hajime and you make good backups."
Somewhat less confused, Sakura nods.
The Commander hands over a scroll. "More specific information and the mission parameters are included here. You leave immediately. Don't make me regret trusting you with this."
Hajime and Tomomi hurry to leave the office, heading for their rooms to quickly pack their bags. Sakura hesitates in the doorway, glancing back towards the Commander.
"What is it, Sakura?" he asks when he notices that she's not leaving.
She hesitates, her throat dry, but ultimately decides to ask the question on her mind anyway.
"Kakashi-sensei haven't contacted you about me yet?"
His eyes soften a little.
"No, he has not. I'll let you know as soon as he does."
Nodding a final time she leaves his office, hurrying after Hajime and Tomomi.
Half an hour later the Konoha Front gates disappear behind them as they make their way towards the village in question.
Kakashi had been pretty convinced that he'd gotten away scot free for sneaking out of the hospital, but when Lady Tsunade grabs him by the collar and physically drags him away from the memorial stone the next day he realises he might have been wrong after all.
There's not much use in fighting. He'd rather avoid fighting any of the Sanin even on a good day, and despite getting a couple of hours of sleep last night today is most certainly not a good day. Besides, there's probably a rule somewhere against fighting the future Hokage. Loyalty, obedience towards superiors and all that.
Which is how Kakashi finds himself dragged into a large conference room in the Hokage Tower, ordinarily used for the reception of foreign dignitaries and other important people. The fact that there's multiple other people present is mildly reassuring. Capital punishment isn't commonly practiced in Konoha, after all.
With carelessness contradicting her reputation as a medic she deposits him into the nearest chair, before stalking around the table to sit down next to the three elders of the Konoha Council; Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
"There, everyone present. Now, can we please get this over with quickly so that we might all get back to more important matters?" She glares pointedly at the three elders beside her, who look utterly undisturbed by her anger.
Curiously Kakashi looks around the room, taking in the people present. Standing behind Tsunade, looking like a looming bodyguard, is Jiraiya. The end seat of the table has been left empty in honour of the late Third Hokage, his portrait still hanging on the wall. Then there's Asuma, Kurenai, Gai and, to Kakashi's surprise, Kichiro.
"What, exactly, are we here for?" Kakashi dares to ask, part of him still expecting some sort of reprimand.
"We need to discuss the results of the Chunin Exams," Homura states.
Kakashi resists the urge to roll his eyes, but Lady Tsunade does not. Really, as if there aren't more important things going on right now.
"Ma, none of my kids are up for it, so I might just as well get going then." Kakashi makes to stand and leave, but a stern look from Lady Tsunade has him aborting the motion quickly.
"Actually, one of your kids has been recommended for promotion." Koharu's voice is dry as sand.
Obediently, Kakashi sinks back a little in his chair, relieved that he's not getting beaten half to death after all. At least not yet. Judging from Lady Tsunade's angry gaze, someone will definitely get a beating before the day is over though.
"Let's get started then. According to the Exam Protocols, Nara Shikamaru performed well in all of his fights. Furthermore, he has been recommended for promotion by the head of T&I. Thoughts on him?" Expectantly, Lady Tsunade looks around the room.
"It is my understanding that he has been essential in making the children of the Kazekage cooperate with T&I," Asuma states. "Not to mention that he's a great strategist."
"And on top of that, he had a quite interesting match during the exams," Kurenai adds. "He displayed both skill and strategic thinking."
"The examiners give him great reviews as well," Homura says. "Sounds like he might be a candidate for promotion then."
Kakashi listens vaguely as they discuss Asuma's other two students, dismissing them both as not ready for promotions, before moving on to Gai's students.
"Neji did win two out of his three matches during the final stage, but sadly he was injured when fighting against the Sand-Jinchuriki and is likely looking at months of recuperation even if your surgery of him is successful, Lady Tsunade." Gai's voice is unusually sombre as he speaks.
"I agree. I'm still researching for the surgery, but even if I'm successful he might never fully recover again."
"And he should have known to yield his last match," Jiraiya says. "He had seen Gaara all but slaughter everyone he fought, and if that wasn't enough he should've realised that he was outmatched the moment he used his Byakugan."
Kakashi and the other sensei nod quietly in agreement. Kakashi sends a silent prayer to whoever might be listening that Gai's student will be alright. Such a young boy, just a year out of the Academy, and already his career might be over.
Gai's other two students are summarily dismissed as potential material for promotion to chunin, though Lee is decided to have great potential and likely to receive a promotion in the next exams.
"Aburame Shino?"
Kakashi winces at the memory of Aburame's opponent losing both of his arms during their fight.
"He won his first two matches in the exams but ultimately lost against the Sand-jinchuriki," Kurenai states. "Shino says that there was just too much chakra for his insects to handle."
"He did well not to end up injured though," Asuma points out. "So far, he's the only one who've fought Gaara in the exams and not come out either severely wounded or dead."
"His hive was severely decimated though."
Lady Tsunade hums quietly and marks Aburame down for promotion.
Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba are both dismissed as chunin candidates before Lady Tsunade finally turns to Kakashi, her gaze sharp. Kakashi holds up his hands, indicating his own innocence.
"My kids failed out of the first stage."
"And yet you've got both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Itachi's little brother on your team." Danzo's glare is surprisingly cold, considering the fact that he's only got one visible eye. Then again, Kakashi is somewhat of an expert himself on one-eyed glaring.
"Uzumaki Naruto is not ready for promotion," Jiraiya says. "He's got great potential, as you have no doubt seen, Tsunade, but he's not ready to lead missions."
Tsunade nods in agreement and looks at Kakashi.
"None of my students are ready for promotion. They all need to improve their teamwork." Though there's potential there. In all of them.
"And it would no doubt look good for Konoha to have another sharingan amongst its ranks," Homura points out. "Even more so the last Uchiha."
"Less impressive when that Uchiha gets himself and/or his teammates killed because he underestimates his opponent." Kakashi's voice is short and to the point. He does not mind Homura pointing out the obvious - in fact he even appreciates it to some degree - but Sasuke's potential promotion needs to be nipped in the bud right now.
"Pride runs deep in the Uchiha genes," Jiraiya says thoughtfully. "Perhaps he would benefit from a few challenging C-ranks?"
"Sasuke needs to be challenged with both missions and training," Kakashi agrees. "But moreover, he needs to learn to trust others. His teamwork within team 7 has grown worse, and he's actively dismissing the strengths of anyone he works with, including superiors such as Yamanaka Inoichi."
"Sounds like he needs to be tied more closely to Konoha, in order to ensure that he remains loyal," Danzo points out. "Perhaps-"
"I plan on taking Sasuke on as my apprentice," Kakashi hurries to interrupt, before the ANBU-head can try to claim Sasuke. The very last thing Konoha needs is for Sasuke to turn into another Itachi under Danzo. "I assure you he'll be ready for promotion by the time of the next Chunin Exams."
The other sensei nod in agreement, and Lady Tsunade notes Sasuke down as not ready for promotion.
"Lastly, we've got Haruno Sakura-"
"Sakura. Not Haruno, just Sakura," Kakashi corrects quietly.
The Hokage raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him before continuing.
"Regardless of her name, the girl has been recommended for promotion by Hyuga Hiashi, after saving his daughter from an attempted kidnapping and single handedly defeating two Kumo chunin."
Kakashi is not entirely surprised that it is Sakura who's been recommended for promotion. After all, Hyuga Hiashi did the same the last time his daughter's kidnapping was prevented, resulting in Sakura's father being posthumously promoted to chunin. It must gall him to be in debt to another genin, and especially so this particular genin.
"Moreover, though she failed out of the first stage of the Chunin Exams the proctors note that she completed the written exam with perfect marks without being caught cheating."
"She didn't cheat," Kakashi states. "In fact, she didn't even realise that she was supposed to cheat."
The other senseis give him surprised looks at that piece of information.
Something klicks almost audibly in Kakashi's mind. Something so obvious it should've clicked much, much sooner.
Lady Tsunade hums thoughtfully. "So she's a smart little thing, with an edge to her."
Kakashi can only nod in agreement. Though he'd missed it up until seeing her kill those chunin, he can no longer deny that Sakura does have an edge to her.
Potential.
Like, so much potential.
Because Sakura did not realise that she was supposed to cheat during the First Task. She was visibly uncomfortable even attempting to "cheat" when he tested team 7 again, even though he'd laid it out fucking clearly for them that they were supposed to work together. And everything in that file of hers, which he'd admittedly avoided reading for as long as possible back when team 7 was first being forced upon him, points to her being a know-it-all little teacher's pet.
Cheating does not come naturally to Sakura.
Which means that, despite seeming impossible, it is very unlikely that Sakura has been cheating at all, for as long as Kakashi has known her.
And yeah, Kakashi'd been slowly arriving at that conclusion already, but it doesn't make it any less incredible when it finally clicks into place.
"What is your opinion of the girl, Genin Commander?" Koharu asks.
Kichiro hums thoughtfully, fingers playing with his cane as he thinks.
"I agree that Sakura has a lot of potential. She's a quick learner and strategic thinker, adapts quickly to different situations and works well with her teammates."
Kakashi can see that now. All of it. And so much more.
That level of chakra control is simply unheard of.
"However, in my opinion, she's not quite ready for promotion to chunin yet."
"How come?"
Kichiro meets Lady Tsunade's gaze as he answers. "She's less than six months out of the Academy. Although not born to civilians, she's basically civilian raised. Her jutsu-repertoire consists of the jutsu she's learned in the Academy, tree- and water-walking as well as a chakra thread jutsu."
"Chakra threads are typically considered C-ranked, but I see your point. And you are suggesting that her lack of experience makes her unsuited to promotion to a chunin?"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade. If it were up to me, I'd give her another six months or so to grow before promoting her."
It does not escape Kakashi that Kichiro is not saying that Sakura needs another six months before being evaluated for chunin again. Rather, he's saying that in six months time she will be ready for promotion.
What if I'm not good enough? she'd asked once, shortly before joining the Genin Corps. Do I have what it takes to become a chunin? He hadn't known what to answer back then. Hadn't truly seen any sign of her having any potential to rise through the ranks, aside from that brain of hers. Now, however? Given the right teacher, someone who can stimulate that knowledge-thirsty mind of hers and help her utilise her impossible chakra control, she could become a force to be reckoned with.
Kichiro is right. Sakura does have the potential to make chunin. Maybe even more.
"Well, that's it then," Lady Tsunade says, making another note among her papers. "The genin up for promotion are Shikamaru Nara and Aburame Shino. Hyuga Neji would be a candidate as well, if not for his current injuries and uncertain future."
Kakashi leans back with a sigh, not sure if he should be relieved or not that none of his kids are up for promotion. There's so much potential. In all of them.
He'd known it before, with Sasuke and Naruto, but the last month has certainly shown how much each of them can grow when given a chance.
A chance to be away from him?
