Year 60 of the Konoha calendar- Konoha.
The village streets teemed with life, a river of bustling bodies and carefree laughter. The air itself hummed with a prosperity that seemed to utterly deny the reality of the large-scale shinobi war that had raged just half a month prior, a conflict that had claimed the life of a Hokage. The memory of the Third's sacrifice was buried under the vibrant, urgent thrum of daily life.
Towering over it all, the Hokage Rock stood as the village's eternal sentinel. Carved into the cliff face at Konoha's rear, the stern visages of the past leaders gazed down upon their domain. And now, the fifth face was being etched into the stone, a work in progress.
Directly below the monument, the Hokage Building, the village's tallest structure, pierced the sky.
Boom.
The door to the top-floor office was pushed open. A man entered, moving with a languid, almost bored grace. Long, spiky white hair framed a face obscured by a black mask and a Konoha forehead protector pulled down over his left eye. Clad in standard-issue black shinobi gear, he ambled toward the large desk at the room's center.
"Lord Godaime."
He placed a form on the desk before a young man who sat there, a figure slightly his junior. Through the entire motion, his single visible eye never strayed from the pages of a bright orange book titled Icha Icha Paradise.
Witnessing this display, a middle-aged man with a spiky ponytail and two scars running down his cheeks let out a wry chuckle. "Kakashi. Truly, you are Jiraiya-sama's most devoted fan."
The white-haired jounin, Hatake Kakashi, Konoha's Copy Ninja, the man of a thousand jutsu, the wielder of the Sharingan, merely offered a noncommittal grunt. "Well~~ Well~~ Escorting the Daimyo's appointment documents was a troublesome mission. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Right now, all I want is a good sleep." He waved a listless hand, the picture of exhaustion.
The young man behind the desk, who had been silent until now, watched him with a playful glint in his eyes. A sly smile touched his lips. "Kakashi, before Jiraiya-sama left with Naruto to search for Tsunade, he entrusted me with the publication of his latest manuscript. I had considered letting you preview the original pages... but it seems you're too tired."
He held up a book, its cover a mirror image of the one in Kakashi's hands: Icha Icha Paradise. He made a show of starting to put it away.
"Wait!"
Kakashi's previously drooping eye snapped open, shining with an intensity that could eclipse the sun. He slammed his hands on the desk, leaning forward with newfound, absolute vigor. "I feel perfectly fine! I could run a hundred laps around Konoha without breaking a sweat!"
"Oh?" The young Hokage's smile widened.
On the sidelines, Nara Shikaku could only massage his temples, a flicker of pity in his eyes. "How many times has this guy walked right into our new Hokage's trap now?"
CRASH!
The window exploded inwards. A green blur landed beside Kakashi with a ground-shaking thud. A grin split a face adorned with ridiculous, bushy eyebrows, revealing a perfect set of gleaming white teeth.
"YOSH! Kakashi! My eternal rival! If you still possess the energy for a hundred laps of youthful passion, then let us engage in a contest of hot-blooded determination!"
"..."
Kakashi stared, utterly speechless, at the sudden apparition of Maito Gai. In that moment, the cruel realization dawned: he had been perfectly, utterly played by the unscrupulous man behind the desk.
BOOM!
Without waiting for a refusal, Gai's hand clamped onto Kakashi's arm with irresistible force, and the two of them vanished back through the broken window in a whirlwind of green spandex and despair, destined for their "youthful contest."
As they disappeared, the young man at the desk shook his head in mock admiration. "Such a magnificent pair of friends. It seems Gai's place in Kakashi's heart far outweighs even the pleasures of paradise."
Nara Shikaku: "...."
Are you sure it's not because you tricked him? he thought, but his well-honed survival instincts screamed at him to swallow the words whole. Antagonizing this particular Hokage was a fool's game.
"Ahem. Godaime-sama, I shall take my leave as well." Shikaku stood. "You know how it is. Unless it's a matter of national security, I cannot be late for lunch. And now that the Daimyo's documents have arrived, I must prepare for the Hokage Succession Ceremony this afternoon." He stated his reason plainly, not attempting to hide his… dedicated adherence to his wife's schedule. A man of discipline, not fear. Absolutely.
"Very well," the young man replied, glancing up from the compensation list to give a slight nod to the man famously and wisely henpecked.
Click.
The door shut, leaving the Fifth Hokage alone in the spacious office.
His eyes drifted from the list to the formal approval document from the Fire Daimyo. The playful glint vanished, replaced by a cold, razor-sharp intensity.
"Approval from the Daimyo?" he murmured, the words dripping with quiet contempt.
"The development of this world is… aberrant. The Daimyos hold the purse strings and the hollow title of ruler, while the true power, the shinobi legions, are kept leashed and dependent. How utterly absurd is it that the selection of a Kage, the strongest shinobi of a hidden village, requires the permission of a glorified bureaucrat?"
"Would the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, have needed such approval? Or the Second, Senju Tobirama, the master of all jutsu? Of course not."
"In the end, it all comes down to strength."
"Too pedantic. My teacher, Sarutobi-sensei, and that old badger Danzo… they were both far too set in their archaic ways."
A low, cold laugh escaped his lips.
"Ha. Just wait."
"Once I have thoroughly… dealt with the Danzo problem, I will initiate the plan."
"This world does not need a hundred squabbling ninja villages and petty nations."
"It needs only one. One village. One land."
"And only one ruler needs to exist."
A flame of pure, unadulterated ambition burned in Amano Yuu's eyes.
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Two Hours Later
From a concealed vantage point high on the Hokage Rock, Shimura Danzo watched. His body was swathed in bandages, a cane gripped in his hand, and a single, dark eye was fixed on the scene unfolding on the Hokage Building's rooftop far below. His expression was a mask of profound sinisterity.
Five figures stood on the rooftop.
The two surviving members of Konoha's Elder Council, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, stood together, their aged faces unreadable.
Flanking them were the two newest advisors: Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga clan, and Nara Shikaku, representing the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance and serving as the Hokage's chief strategist.
And before them, at the very edge of the roof overlooking the gathered masses, stood a young man.
He was clad in the traditional black shinobi garb, but over it, he wore the exquisite white haori of the Hokage, its ends painted with vibrant red flame patterns. Emblazoned across the back were five magnificent characters: 五代目火影 - Fifth Hokage. The Hokage's hat sat upon his head.
Yuu looked down upon the sea of faces, the villagers of Konoha, the countless familiar shinobi. A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips. He reached up, removed the hat, and raised his head, his voice projecting out, clear and commanding, carrying just the right blend of warmth and unwavering resolve.
"From this day forward… I will govern Konoha!"
"I will protect this village with my very life!"
"I am the Fifth Hokage!"
"Amano Yuu!"
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