"Lord Orochimaru, weren't you just planning to...?"
After bidding farewell to Rasa, a pale, white-haired youth standing behind Orochimaru looked at him with a hint of confusion. According to their original plan, they were supposed to ambush and assassinate the Kazekage here. However, throughout the entire conversation with Rasa, Orochimaru had never given him the signal to act.
"I've changed my mind, Kimimaro."
"As for this operation against the Hidden Leaf, you shall come along as well."
Orochimaru looked at the boy beside him with his characteristic smile, offering no further explanation.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
A look of pleasant surprise crossed Kimimaro's face upon hearing this. His life was nearing its end; if he could dedicate his remaining strength to Lord Orochimaru in these final moments, he would die with no regrets.
"Good boy."
Orochimaru chuckled softly, stroking Kimimaro's sickly, pale hair. His golden, snake-like pupils flickered with an unreadable light. No one truly knew him; no one understood him. Even this child, who revered him as a god, was no exception.
Admiration is a blind sentiment; worship is mindless. Admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding.
Sometimes, Orochimaru himself didn't even know why he felt compelled to visit the Hidden Leaf. Did his heart still crave the acknowledgment of that old man? It was both ridiculous and intriguing. It was ridiculous that he still harbored lingering feelings for their past teacher-student bond, yet intriguing that a man like himself actually wanted to give his teacher a dignified exit.
Orochimaru was a perfectionist.
Hashirama Senju had died mysteriously after fighting Madara Uchiha following the village's founding; Tobirama Senju had sacrificed himself for the sake of the Leaf's new sprouts; Minato Namikaze had given his life for the village. In light of such legacies, Orochimaru refused to let his teacher simply retire into obscurity and wait for a quiet death.
Hiruzen Sarutobi should die a hero's death like the Hokage before him, rather than dying an ugly, pathetic death in a hospital bed. Since no one else was willing to send Hiruzen Sarutobi off, Orochimaru didn't mind doing it personally.
Beyond that, Orochimaru wanted to see what kind of strength the boy who once stood behind Minato Namikaze—Kakashi—possessed today.
And... what a beautiful existence he was.
A handsome face, overwhelming strength, and an illustrious status!
Kakashi Hatake.
This Fifth Hokage was quite simply the perfect vessel for the Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Because Itachi Uchiha had never left the Hidden Leaf in this timeline, Orochimaru had not spiraled down the path of madness and obsession regarding the Sharingan as he had in the original history. His current attitude toward the Sharingan remained as arrogant as it had been before he ever encountered Itachi. To him, it was merely one of many tools available to a shinobi.
Orochimaru sought a powerful, young vessel. The current Fifth Hokage was his best choice.
Of course... all of this was predicated on being able to defeat the Fifth Hokage first. Orochimaru was immensely conceited in this regard; he had prepared numerous measures and was confident he could take down the Fifth Hokage with absolute speed.
Konoha: Training Ground 3
"Ah, as expected... Kakashi-sensei is just too strong."
Naruto and the other two lay on the ground, panting heavily and unable to get up. In the exchange they just had, the three of them had thrown everything they had at him—Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, Rasengan, Monstrous Strength, Fire Style, shurikenjutsu, and genjutsu. Yet, they hadn't even managed to graze the hem of Kakashi's clothes, let alone make him break a sweat.
"It seems I've gained a general understanding of your current abilities."
Kakashi looked down at the three youngsters sprawling on the grass, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Naruto and Sakura were fine for the most part. On the contrary, Sasuke's current personality was extremely withdrawn, making it difficult for him to get along with others. This was something Kakashi would need to put more effort into correcting.
"That's all for today. Prepare to start taking missions tomorrow."
Kakashi's words made Naruto sit bolt upright.
"Missions?" Naruto looked at Kakashi expectantly. "Will you be leading the team yourself, Kakashi-sensei?"
"If I were the one leading the team, would there even be a challenge?" Kakashi turned to look at Hayama Shirakumo, who had been standing by on standby. "Hayama, take them to pick out missions tomorrow. Whatever you think is appropriate will do."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hayama Shirakumo replied respectfully.
"What gives? It feels like Kakashi-sensei is just a teacher in name only," Naruto grumbled.
"Well, it can't be helped," Kakashi said, waving his hand dismissively.
In truth, it was exactly as Naruto said—he was only a teacher in name. At most, he would teach Naruto Sage Mode and hand Sasuke some Lightning Style Nin-Taijutsu along with the Chidori. Sakura was even simpler; he would just keep dumping her onto Tsunade. Becoming the sensei of Team 7 was merely a way to fulfill the promise he had made to Itachi Uchiha years ago.
However, Sakura and Sasuke could potentially try out the Sage Seal in the future.
"Hayama, I'm leaving them in your hands." Kakashi looked at the serious, meticulous Hayama Shirakumo.
"Please rest easy, Hokage-sama," Hayama replied with a solemn expression.
As Kakashi's confidant, he understood the vital importance of Naruto, the high regard Kakashi held for Sakura Haruno, and the special circumstances surrounding Sasuke. The fact that Kakashi had appointed Hayama as the acting sensei for Team 7 was proof enough of the trust he placed in him.
"Um, Hayama-sensei, what are we supposed to do today?" Sakura asked, looking up at the stern-faced man.
"Naturally, we will review your battle with the Hokage."
"While there is no need to feel ashamed of losing to the Hokage, that doesn't stop me from noticing the flaws the three of you displayed from the sidelines."
With that, Hayama Shirakumo sat down on the ground and began to conduct a post-match analysis of the entire battle for the three Genin.
Meanwhile, Kakashi had returned to the Hokage Building, where he was met by Shizune.
As the Head of the Medical Department and the person in charge of the Chunin Exams coming up in three months, Shizune would usually only need to create a standard, comprehensive plan. However, this particular Chunin Exam was clearly different from previous years. On one hand, the Raikage was coming to take responsibility for a previous treaty; on the other, the Kazekage was harboring ill intentions, and Orochimaru's shadow was looming over everything.
Although Tsunade had given her the position of Head of the Medical Department—allowing her to gain several years of experience in independent management—Shizune still felt a bit apprehensive facing this situation for the first time. She wanted to ensure everything was perfect.
Sitting in the Hokage's chair, Kakashi nodded slightly as he reviewed the proposal Shizune had spent the night agonizing over. She was, after all, someone raised by Tsunade; she had the talent, she just lacked confidence because it was her first time dealing with such high stakes.
"You've done very well. Even with the uncertainty surrounding the Kazekage and Raikage, if every single thing could be done perfectly, then you should be the one sitting in this Hokage chair."
Hearing Kakashi's playful reassurance, Shizune felt the tension in her chest relax.
"In that case, I'll get right to work on this." Shizune clutched the proposal she had stayed up all night for and couldn't help but flash a smile.
Kakashi smiled as he watched Shizune leave. It seemed his past decision to request Shizune from Tsunade had been the right one. Shizune was excellent at handling the Medical Department's affairs. Furthermore, because she had trained in Medical Ninjutsu under Tsunade for years, even though she couldn't master the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she was qualified to receive the Sage Seal.
The current Shizune was no longer the little girl who hid behind Tsunade's back.
After processing a few days' worth of accumulated paperwork, Kakashi leaned back in his seat, his fingers tracing the Hokage seal. There were still three months until the Chunin Exams. During these three months, Kakashi planned to do nothing but wait.
Wait for the arrival of Rasa and Orochimaru.
He had been preparing five years for this day; it had been long enough. To unify the entire shinobi world with the current strength of the Leaf, they only needed a single catalyst.
Even the so-called Akatsuki was, in Kakashi's eyes, merely an enemy worth a second glance. Even if Pain himself took the field, he was only worth that much. Compared to Pain, Konan was actually the one in the Akatsuki who commanded more of Kakashi's respect.
After all, six hundred billion explosive tags were nothing to joke about.
"I'm home."
"Welcome home!"
The moment Kakashi returned home after his day's work, Mirai ran out of the house on her bare little feet and leaped into his arms.
"Were you a good girl for Mommy today?" Kakashi asked softly, holding his daughter and patting her head.
"Yes! Mirai was super well-behaved!" Mirai nuzzled against the palm on her head and spoke with a giggle.
Kakashi was about to praise her when he saw Ichigo running over as well, rubbing his tear-filled eyes.
"Daddy, Big Sister bullied me!"
Seeing his son, Kakashi sighed inwardly with a wry smile.
"What did your sister do today?" Kakashi asked, crouching down while still holding Mirai to face Ichigo.
Back then, Hikari's hope for Ichigo was for him to be a man who never cried. Judging by his current appearance, however, he was likely heading in the opposite direction of those expectations.
"Liar! I didn't bully you!"
"It was Ichigo himself who broke the sunflowers Mommy planted!"
Mirai refused to let go of Kakashi's neck while glaring angrily at her younger brother.
"It was obviously Big Sister who broke them, but she insisted I did it!"
Perhaps because Kakashi was there, Ichigo found a surge of courage. Usually, he avoided his sister, but now he was standing his ground against her.
Even so, Kakashi felt a bit of a headache coming on regarding Mirai's personality. While being lively and active was good, she couldn't keep picking on her little brother forever.
"I don't care who did it—confess right now! Who broke my sunflowers!?"
At that moment, Hikari walked out from the inner rooms, hands on her hips and looking formidable as she glared at the two siblings. Facing Hikari's intimidation, the two children almost simultaneously pointed at each other.
Kakashi watched the scene and pressed a hand to his forehead. He could only hope these two wouldn't end up in a real fight in the future.
But looking at them now, that hope might be in vain.
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)