Hi, guys! This is my first story. I'm a huge fan of Naruto. Hope you guys like it.
Kakashi was not interested in being Hokage.
In the years following the war, Tsunade had been a pillar of strength for Konoha. Forging ahead with village reparations and drafting peace treaties among the hidden villages in order to preserve the alliances formed during the war. They had come a long way in those two years. But Tsunade was tired. She had given her everything to the village since her return and she was ready to put down the hat. She needed a successor - someone strong and capable. Someone with authority, who commands respect. But most of all, she needed someone who would risk their lives for the people. Someone loyal.
Everyone knew it would be him. Who better than a war hero who had saved the world, who had served the village for over twenty-five years? Although his student had long surpassed him as a shinobi, Naruto wasn't ready for that responsibility just yet. He may have become the Hero of the Hidden Leaf and the citizens may have come to acknowledge and even admire him, but they weren't ready for a 19-year-old to lead them. He had grown stronger and perceptibly wiser in the years Kakashi had known him, but he was still far too young. That only left Kakashi as a possible candidate for the position.
By the time he was six years old, his hands had already been bloodied by the ruthlessness of shinobi life. How could he go from years of consistent battle and death, the death of his comrades and the death he inflicted, to stuffy formal robes and frivolous arguments over economic and geopolitical nonsense? He knew being Hokage was far more than that, though. It was a title reserved for the greatest ninja in the village. And he was far from it. How could he possibly deserve the position when he was not even comparable to his predecessors?
Hashirama Senju. Tobirama Senju. Lord Third. Minato-sensei…
It was not a matter of if, but when. He knew he couldn't put it off for much longer. He'd been cleverly evading Tsunade ever since she started dropping hints of her retirement. He busied himself with missions outside the village, only daring to near the Hokage tower to receive mission details at the assignment desk, shunshining away immediately after.
Which is how he found himself on the border between wind and fire country, swiftly delivering an uppercut to the jaw of a nameless missing-nin, whose mission partner lay fatally wounded on the forest floor only meters away.
It was supposed to be a Standard B-rank mission, escorting the Kazekage's party back to Suna. He should have known. Death and the loss of comrades seemed to be a common occurrence in his life. His partner, Hisato, had been collecting water from a nearby river and wasmaking his way back into the woods where Kakashi had been waiting. They had been separated for just a few minutes, but that was all it took for the enemy to land a fatal blow.
The nameless shinobi recoiled, hand clutching the left side of his jaw, his blood indistinguishable from the shocking red hair framing his features. Deep, purple eyes followed Kakashi's every move as he lowered his stance and braced for the attack bound to follow.
The red head seemed at least a decade older than Kakashi, the only indication of his rogue status being the slash through the Iwagakure symbol on the hitai-ate across his forehead. The former Copy-nin stayed on the defensive, assessing his opponent's power while blocking the parry of hits and kicks sent his way. The shinobi was powerful, he had to be in order to take down a Leaf Jonin as easily as he had.
His face didn't seem familiar in the slightest, meaning he wasn't in the bingo book. He couldn't be any rank lower than S, but Kakashi knew he could finish this fight in a matter of minutes, only dragging the battle out to gather information on the enemy. His stamina had greatly increased without the Sharingan draining him of most of his chakra.
He sprung backwards and created some distance between them.
"Who are you? And why are you attacking Leaf shinobi?" Kakashi called out to the stranger, maintaining his fighting stance. The man said nothing, but bound forward, hands forming seals. He brought two fingers to his lips, scowl still prominent on his face as he roared,
"Water Style: Raging Waves!
A stream of water shot out from the man's mouth, heading straight for the silver haired Jonin. A rapid flurry of hand signs later, Kakashi placed his hands on the ground causing a stone wall to erupt from the earth before him.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
He braced himself for the impact of the enemy's jutsu. Wild, unconfined waves licked the sides of the wall with a deafening burst of sound.
Once the water cleared, his decision was made. If this ex-Iwa shinobi wouldn't talk, it would be best to end the fight right here.
Kakashi gathered chakra to the soles of his feet and leapt upwards to land on the ledge of the newly erected structure. He propelled forward, pushing off against the wall to increase his speed with a kunai directed towards the man's throat. The resounding clang of steel against steel echoed through the forest clearing as his blade was met with the enemy's.
The red head thrust his other hand forward in a fist approaching Kakashi's face but was stopped short when the Leaf-nin's free hand clamped down on his wrist.
"This is your last chance to tell me what I want to know," Kakashi said levelly.
The man let out a vicious snarl, but said nothing.
He was now face to face with the enemy, with both making attempts to overpower the other. Kakashi began to deliberate his next move. His thoughts were interrupted by a pained groan emanating from his right, a few meters away from their clash.
Hisato, he thought.
For a split second, his eyes flickered toward the source of the sound. He could not, couldnever, let another comrade die. The man used the opportunity to barrel forward, flipping the Leaf-nin onto his back. After hastily forming some sloppy one-handed seals, the man used his position to force the palm of his hand towards the former copy-nin's neck.
Chakra began to flow between them as the hand just barely connected. Kakashi's eyes widened, pain pulsating from his neck to his entire body as the red head smirked down at him menacingly. Whatever this jutsu was, it was certainly dangerous and Kakashi couldn't let it be completed.
The man's momentary victory was interrupted by a knee to the gut. The pain Kakashi's neck reduced to a dull throb as soon as they were no longer in contact. The enemy-nin stumbled backwards and Kakashi used the opening to prance forward and promptly slit his throat, falling to his knees next to the lifeless body.
He pushed himself up off the ground and staggered over to Hisato's side while biting his thumb and performing the hand signs for the summoning jutsu. It would take too long to send for a medic, and the slight pain in his neck reminded him that he had no idea how the enemy-nin's jutsu would affect him, so carrying Hisato was out of the question. That meant there was one option left.
He slammed a palm to the ground. There was a popping sound and as the smoke cleared, a massive dog with a Konoha-issued hitai-ate stood in its wake.
"What's up, Boss?"
"Bull, I need you to carry Hisato to the village as quickly as possible. He has a fatal head wound."
"Sure thing, Boss. What about you?" The animal inquired, while Kakashi carefully hoisted Hisato's body onto the dog's broad back.
"Don't worry about me. I'm injured, but I don't think it's anything serious. I can make my own way back. I'm fairly certain I won't be attacked again, since the one who attacked us," he motioned to the corpse lying not far from them, "didn't seem to have any backup"
"If you're sure, I can leave right away."
"I'm sure." A trademark eye-smile crawled it's way onto his face.
"Alright. Be careful, Boss."
Kakashi gave a curt nod and the animal dashed away.
He walked over the body of the man who attacked them and whipped out a sealing scroll. Maybe Tsunade would have some more insight on the unknown shinobi and more importantly, his jutsu. He sealed away the corpse and started toward the village.
He leapt through the trees at a moderate pace, chakra still not fully replenished from the battle. At his current speed it should take him about three days to reach Konaha.
Two hours into the journey, the pain in his neck abruptly increased and his steps on the branches almost faltered. He dropped lightly to the ground, deciding it would be safer to walk. He would have to send another summons to the village for backup. Before his hands could make even a single sign, the pain increased tenfold, burning and radiating throughout his body. He realized that he was becoming too weak to mold chakra. The corners of his vision began to darken, and his mind fell into a haze as he struggled to maintain his balance. He crawled over to a nearby thicket, where his body could remain relatively hidden until he awoke.
Where was he, again? He was on a mission with Team Ro...
No, that's not right, he thought. He left ANBU years ago. He had to get back to the village to report to The Thir– Tsunade.
"Shit," he cursed as he unceremoniously blacked out.
Sasuke hadn't been back to the village in almost a year.
The year after the war had been rough, to say the least. He had been imprisoned immediately after leaving the hospital. He hadn't been expecting anything less from Konoha.
The first few months had been excruciating. He would see his brother's face every time he closed his eyes. And, when he wasn't jolted awake by the constant nightmares, the phantom pains in his missing arm made it impossible to fall asleep.
With half his time spent down in TI and the other half spent rotting away in a dingy prison cell, bound and blindfolded, he had had many nights to wallow in the reality of his situation. He had relived his past over and over, with nothing to distract him from it but the walls staring back at him and, if he was lucky enough, the thoughtlessness that accompanied the pain of Ibiki Morino's torture. He had often wondered whether freedom would ever be within reach.Do I even deserve freedom? He had asked himself.
The decision was made for him when he was pardoned of all his crimes one year later.
Being released from prison had been a shock to his system. He drifted around a Konoha that felt so familiar, yet not at all. The Uchiha compound had been all but destroyed during the Pein attack. He hadn't been sure how to feel about it. It was his home once. But he had seen the bodies littering the streets and the blood painting the walls, the haunting figure of a once gentle brother looming over him with those treacherous, crimson eyes. If the compound were still around, he doubted he could dare to look upon it with the very eyes that destroyed its people.
Once again, his decision was made for him. The opportunity to make peace with that place had long ago surpassed him.
He went by mostly unnoticed with his hair covering the Rinnegan and black cloak concealing most of his form. But when the villagers caught a glimpse of his empty sleeve, or a flash of purple when the wind picked up more than usual, there was instant recognition and fear within their eyes.
And so, the past year had been spent travelling. He had called it a journey of atonement, and that's what it was – to an extent; (He had realized that he felt guilty for some of the things he had done as a rogue-nin, but certain thingsneededto happen. Danzoneededto happen).But he had also needed space. Space from accusatory glances and phantoms of a gruesome past.
Now, he was making his way back to the village. Tsunade had wanted him to report directly to the Hokage at least once a year. It was expected that they wouldn't trust him. If he didn't show up, he'd probably be hunted by every shinobi in the five great nations within days.
He wasn't sure if he was ready to see his old team again. And when he left almost a year ago, many things were left unsaid and unsettled. Not just with Naruto, which was a complicated matter in and of itself, but with Sakura and Kakashi as well.If he was honest, he knew that he had left on relatively amicable terms with Naruto and Sakura, but Kakashi…
His mind drifted towards his old sensei. He wondered whether the man had truly forgiven him for all he had put their team through, or whether he was putting on a show for the other two.
He ran through the forest, clad in black and armed with his katana. He was about two days away from the village by now. A faint flutter of chakra brushed against his senses as he approached a particularly dense part of the forest. He decreased his speed considerably. The chakra signature was that of a shinobi, but it was weak from this far away. It felt familiar somehow, so he proceeded forward, feeling the chakra gradually get stronger.
The owner of the chakra didn't seem to be moving at all, which meant that either; they hadn't detected him, they recognized his chakra and were waiting for him, or they were incapacitated. Since any option was probable, he determined that this person was most likely not a threat. He slowed his pace completely but approached cautiously, nonetheless.
Under the brush of bushes, not far from where he stood, lied the body of a man clad in Konoha regulated ANBU armor.
Sasuke rushed forward to get a read on his status.Bushes and vines obscured most of the shinobi's hair and mask. Sasuke knelt to his side and scanned the man for any injuries. He had no fresh bruising or cuts on his visible skin and no blood on his armor. He was seemingly unharmed. Sasuke could see the slow rise and fall of his chest and, if didn't know any better, he'd say the man was asleep. He decided it was probably a head injury or ninjitsu of some kind, not sensing any type of genjutsu.
Up until now, he had avoided removing the shinobi's ANBU mask to preserve his identity, but that meant nothing if his life was on the line. He began to clear the leaves and bushes away from the man's head and that's when he saw it.
The shock of silver hair that peeked out behind the mask had only ever belonged to one man.
Sasuke was confused. He extended his chakra once again and felt the unconscious man's chakra nudging back.It feels like Kakashi, he realized. But it was different from the way it had felt a year ago. It was closer to the way it had felt when Sasuke was 12, yet different still
He removed the ANBU mask and found a familiar masked face. What startled him was how different Kakashi looked. There were fewer worry lines visible across his face and the crow's-feet around his eyes were no longer present. He looked at least ten years younger.
He wondered if his eyes were deceiving him. He let his eyes rove over the rest of the man's body and found it to be slightly smaller than he was used to. His muscles were marginally leaner, and he was, most likely, a few centimeters shorter. His gaze wandered back to the shinobi's face– Kakashi's face. A dire theory began to form in his mind.
He put a firm hand on Kakashi's shoulder and began shaking gently.
"Kakashi," he said, at his regular volume. Nothing.
"Kakashi, wake up," he raised his voice a little, tightening the grip on his former sensei's shoulder.
Kakashi stirred and slowly began to open his eyes.