Land of Fire, Konoha Village Hokage Building, Hokage's Office.
"Fifth Hokage, these are today's documents."
"This… so much…" Kakashi stared at the mountain of paperwork before him. "Just put them here."
"Alright. I'll take my leave, then."
Click.
The door closed.
Kakashi stared at the stack of documents on his desk. The pile was so tall that it was practically taller than he was.
He slumped into his office chair.
Was becoming Hokage a good thing?
At least it wasn't a bad thing.
Kakashi had actually aspired to become Hokage.
But!
Kakashi had never wanted to become Hokage this young.
And, more importantly, he'd taken the position far too suddenly.
Actually, it was Kakashi who had submitted the application for the formal social visit to the Land of Whirlpools.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had glanced at the application and immediately stamped it with a decisive snap!
Kakashi, hidden behind his mask, had been absolutely delighted.
He had been about to discuss the selection of the main force heading to the Land of Whirlpools with Hiruzen, hoping to persuade the old man to include him in the group.
But then
Bang!
Hiruzen suddenly jumped up from his seat.
"Hokage-sama, wh what's wrong?"
"Nothing~"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.
"It's just that, Kakashi, I seem to remember you wrote in a little essay when you were young that your dream was to become Hokage, right~?"
Kakashi froze.
Essay?
What essay?
When he was young?
"Oh…"
Kakashi vaguely remembered.
Before entering the Ninja Academy, the entire class had been asked to write an essay about their future ambitions.
And thinking back on it…
Ninety-nine percent of the class had probably written:
I want to become Hokage!
Kakashi searched his memories before subconsciously giving a small nod.
"Mmm."
That single "Mmm" had plunged him directly into Hiruzen's trap.
Hiruzen Sarutobi retired.
Kakashi Hatake succeeded him.
Retired on the same day.
Succeeded on the same day.
And, somehow, even a Hokage robe embroidered with "Fifth Hokage" had already been prepared.
The moment Hiruzen pulled out that robe, Kakashi finally understood.
He had fallen into a trap.
A trap Hiruzen had meticulously prepared for a very long time.
After all, a Hokage robe couldn't possibly be made overnight.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had clearly been planning this for ages!
Now, sitting in the Hokage's office, Kakashi buried his face against his desk and sighed repeatedly.
Haah…
Haah…
His head remained pressed against the desk as his gaze eventually drifted toward a book sitting alone in the corner.
The title was:
Icha Icha Paradise: Sequel.
This was Jiraiya's latest masterpiece.
Among his circle of friends, rumors were already circulating that it was his best work in the past decade.
Before becoming Hokage, Kakashi had painstakingly waited in line to purchase a limited edition copy with a particularly high serial number.
His original plan had been simple.
Report everything about the Land of Whirlpools to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then immediately enter the Kamui dimension and enjoy his new treasure in peace.
Now…
No time.
Really.
No time at all.
"I finally managed to queue up and buy the latest sequel to Icha Icha Paradise…"
Kakashi let out a deep sigh.
"And now I don't even have time to read it. Life…"
With that sigh, his soul almost seemed ready to leave his body.
Just as Kakashi was about to mentally ascend to the afterlife, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.
A brilliant idea.
An idea that he would never have considered before becoming Hokage.
Kakashi immediately straightened up.
His hands quickly formed a series of seals.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof!
A clone appeared beside him, perfectly mirroring his current expression.
The original Kakashi coughed awkwardly.
He didn't say anything.
Instead, he pointed toward the mountain of documents.
Then toward the clone.
Then toward the copy of Icha Icha Paradise: Sequel sitting in the corner.
Finally, he pointed toward himself.
"......"
"......"
The two Kakashis stared at each other.
The clone understood everything.
He understood his original perfectly.
And after realizing what his original was planning…
The clone stared at him with completely deadpan eyes.
Then casually raised his middle finger.
One minute later.
One Kakashi sat comfortably in the corner of the office, leisurely reading Icha Icha Paradise: Sequel.
Another Kakashi sat behind the desk, processing documents with tears streaming down his face.
Of course, the one reading was the clone.
The one doing all the work was the real Kakashi.
Life was truly unfair.
Land of Whirlpools Outside the Border.
A large force from Konoha Village was currently sailing toward the Land of Whirlpools.
Even without deliberately amplifying their senses, Chinatsu, Naruto, and Sasuke immediately noticed their arrival the moment they entered the country's territory.
"So fast?!"
Naruto's eyes widened.
This wasn't something that could be solved with a simple hurry up!
Even if they could smash the statue into pieces within a few seconds, there wouldn't be enough time to clean up all the debris.
Besides…
Naruto couldn't bring himself to destroy the statue they had painstakingly carved.
Naruto turned toward Sasuke.
Sasuke turned toward Konan.
"Konan!"
"Please!"
Konan immediately understood what Sasuke meant.
Even though he hadn't explained anything, she understood perfectly.
Konan sighed helplessly.
She quickly rushed toward the enormous Chinatsu statue and raised both hands.
Then
Her paper ninjutsu erupted.
It could only be described as a divine papermaking technique.
Countless sheets of paper appeared from thin air, rapidly connecting with one another until they formed a gigantic sheet of paper cloth.
The enormous cloth rose into the air.
Whoosh!
It completely covered the massive Chinatsu statue.
Only a tiny sliver of what appeared to be a pair of perfectly normal legs remained visible.
Konan looked at her work.
"Is this okay?"
Sasuke stared at the cloth.
"Could the paper… maybe be a little softer?"
"Too late!"
Everyone froze.
They turned toward the left.
A group of figures was already approaching.
Might Guy and the Konoha delegation had arrived!
Their speed was astonishing.
It seemed as though the entire group had been physically pushed forward by Might Guy's overwhelming enthusiasm.
The Konoha delegation quickly used the Body Flicker Technique.
Whoosh!
In an instant, they arrived before Naruto, Sasuke, and the others.
Might Guy spotted Naruto and Sasuke.
His mouth opened.
He was about to greet them.
But before he could say anything
Naruto and Sasuke interrupted him simultaneously.
"Guy-sensei, it's you!"
"Where's Kakashi-sensei? Didn't he come?"
"Everyone, don't just stand there! Come with us first. We'll take you to your accommodations."
Naruto immediately continued.
"You need to put your luggage down, right?"
The conversation was tightly controlled.
Every word was carefully chosen.
Their goal was simple.
Distract them.
Keep their attention away from the gigantic paper-covered statue.
And it worked.
The Konoha delegation followed Naruto and Sasuke toward the accommodations.
Even after they reached the hotel, however, Naruto and Sasuke still didn't dare relax.
The statue's presence was simply too overwhelming.
Covering it with a giant cloth had only bought them some time.
They had to move quickly.
They needed to remake the statue.
Then, somehow, they had to secretly replace the old one before anyone discovered what was underneath.
Otherwise…
The moment the cloth came off, their carefully constructed image would be completely ruined.
And the consequences…
Nobody wanted to imagine them.