Chapter 14
Tsunade and Kakashi
It was late in the evening and the whole hospital was quiet. Lady Tsunade sat in her office, a bottle of sake on her desk, as she sat deep in discussion with one of her shinobi.
"So tell me Kakashi, what are your plans for the future?" she asked.
"I guess I haven't thought much about that..." he seemed lost in thought at the question. "What else is there besides living in the leaf and protecting the village. I guess I never imagined anything but that." He responded.
"I have a proposal that I want you to think seriously about," she said as she handed him a cup of sake, "I am looking for a successor for Hokage and I'd like to name you." She cut right to the chase.
Kakashi raised his eyebrows and took his cup of sake.
"You must have gathered that might be the reason that I summoned you here tonight?"
"On the contrary, I thought this was to discuss the operation for two members of team 7. I have to admit that I am surprised." He responded.
"Why should you be? You have completed many missions for this village and are considered among our top shinobi. Your skills in the last fight saved our village, and you never stopped fighting even when it looked bleak. You are a leader in this village already whether you accept the title or not. I ask you because of the reasons I have mentioned and also because I think you can lead the village on the right path regarding the shinobi alliance and this new world we find ourselves in. In the distant future it is also my hope that Naruto can realize his dream and that you can mentor him on his path."
"I can see you've put a lot of thought into this, and I would expect nothing less from the 5th Hokage. But why would you want to step down as Hokage?"
"I have dreams of my own too, I don't want to be as old as the Tsuchikage before I retire." She downed her glass of sake, "I have always valued being a medic ninja and would like to train medical ninjuitsu for the leaf during my retirement." She refilled her glass and continued "I also like the model that the 3rd Hokage had when he retired and left the village to Minato, having another trained in the Kage role was a great asset to the Leaf and prevented attacks from neighboring villages."
"If I were to take you up on your proposal, would it be wise to transition while the village needs to be rebuilt, and while so many other things need to be dealt with?"
"Kakashi, you and I both know that you will take me up on this offer, so do we really need to speak in hypotheticals?"
"I guess not," he sighed.
"This would be the perfect time to transition because the people will credit the change in leadership with the revival of the leaf village. You will be the one to lead them into prosperity again and this is something the village needs. They need a reason to celebrate and rise from the ashes right now."
"Do you think you should be drinking that? Don't you need to be focus and rested for the procedure tomorrow?" he asked
"This is my last one, and it looks like we've finished our business early too. I will speak with the elders in the coming days to get the affairs in order. You will make a great Hokage Kakashi."
"Thank you Lady Tsunade, I will not let you down." He finished