Author's Notes: Regular Updates you say? Well you guys deserved it! But school is starting soon soooo... :(

I'll try harder...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"I would like to thank everyone for attending in such short notice. This meeting can start once our guest has arrived." The Fire Daimyo called out to the council.

Danzo looked around the room with his one visible eye. He noticed the council was short one member...

"Hiruzen..."

"That seat hasn't been empty in a long time. Where is the Sannin, Jiraiya? We need to begin." Danzo said and the Daimyo nodded.

"Yes, well..."

Before he could continue, Jiraiya walked in the room with a frown on his face.

"You asked for me, Daimyo-sama." Jiraiya stated.

"Jiraiya-sama, you're here!" One of the civilian council members exclaimed.

"Jiraiya, sit down. We'd like to..."

"No. I already know what this is about..." Jiraiya cut him off sharply and the Daimyo nodded slowly.

"I see. And what do you say?"

Jiraiya sighed and with a tired look, finally sat down.

"I know you're in a tight spot, Daimyo-sama, but I won't become Hokage."

Danzo relaxed in his chair. If Jiraiya accepted the seat then he would have to object. After all, Jiraiya had been snooping around some old files Danzo would very much like to keep away from prying eyes...

"Then do you suggest anyone else for the position?" the Daimyo inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Jiraiya sat straighter. This was risky and he knew it...

"I have two individuals in mind right now..."

Danzo tensed. Two?

"Oh. Two you say? Who are they?" The Daimyo asked.

"Kakashi Hatake and Tsunade Senju of the Sannin. Of course, getting Tsunade to agree is almost impossible so Kakashi is the next best shinobi we can choose right now..." Jiraiya explained slowly.

"Tsunade-hime hasn't been in the village in years. You should find her and have an audience with her in the coming days. In the meantime..."

"Jiraiya, with all due respect, do you think Tsunade-hime would ever return to the Leaf on her own?" Danzo interrupted and Jiraiya turned to look at him.

"No. I don't think so. But, even if she doesn't accept the seat of the Hokage, the Leaf still needs her back. The Invasion cost us a lot of shinobi and even more are injured..." Jiraiya stated.

Shikaku Nara, chose this moment to speak. "Kakashi Hatake is an excellent shinobi. A Jonin with lots of experience on every aspect of a ninja. A former ANBU Captain and son of the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake. I think he is a very good choice for Hokage. Tsunade-sama of course is the better option but we should deal with this matter as fast as we can."

"This means right now." Jiraiya added.

The Daimyo nodded.

"Very well. All in favor of Kakashi Hatake becoming Hokage, raise your hands."

All around the room, members started raising their hands, one by one. Soon everyone had raised their hands except Danzo, the Daimyo and Jiraiya. Instead they nodded and the Daimyo stood up.

"It's settled. Kakashi Hatake is the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

One of the Council Members nodded and stood up. The Daimyo also stood up and with a graceful nod to everyone, finally left the room.

With some of the tension gone, Danzo coughed into his hand to get everyone's attention.

"Before ending this meeting, there is... another matter to discuss." he informed.

Shikaku raised his eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Danzo looked at Shikaku with a smirk.

"You are a shinobi Nara-san. Did you not support your fellow shinobi during the Invasion?"

"I was in the front lines." Shikaku replied coldly.

"And you never, ever noticed the Sound and Sand-nins that already had breached the walls being decimated by one of our new genin?" Danzo inquired and many council members' eyes widened.

"A genin fought among our elite in the front lines?" the current ANBU Captain asked.

"Not just any genin. It was Naruto Uzumaki."

Danzo waited for the impending outburst for a long while but after a whole minute of silence, he opened his eyes.

"Did everyone hear what I said?" Danzo asked, looking around the room.

"We heard you. So?" Shikaku replied and many beside him nodded.

"The child used some jutsus that I'm sure even Jiraiya has not seen in many years."

"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked as he leaned forward, now paying attention.

"Jiraiya-sama, did you see the Third Exam fights?" Shikaku inquired.

"N-No, I didn't. I arrived shortly after the fights and helped out during the Invasion."

"Well you missed quite a show. Naruto Uzumaki fought Neji Hyuga and won, using your prized student's techniques in open display." Shikaku continued.

"Y-You don't mean..." Jiraiya shook his head.

Danzo stopped Shikaku and continued.

"Yes. Uzumaki used both Rasengan and the Flying Raijin Jutsu during the Exam and the Invasion."

"I still don't see the issue..." Shikaku said.

"Naruto did... that..."

"Need I remind you that the child is our Jinchuriki!"

"The boy fought to protect us all!"

"The boy is a threat if not dealt properly!"

"He is not a problem that needs to be 'dealt with' Danzo!"

"The boy has attained power that shouldn't be left in his hands! What if he lost control?! Without proper training..."

"So is that it?" Jiraiya finally spoke and both men turned to look at him.

"Jiraiya-sama..." Shikaku spoke silently but was stopped by Jiraiya who stood up from his seat.

"Alright Danzo. If you're so concerned about the Nine-Tails then you can rest easy."

"What are you..."

"I'll train the boy myself." Jiraiya said and everyone's eyes widened. "If what you say is true then the boy is already a fine shinobi. All I have to do is help him learn to control the Nine-Tails."

"You can't become the Jinchuriki's apprentice. There's..."

"The Jinchuriki is not a weapon, Danzo. It's an asset. An asset equally valuable to any other shinobi or kunoichi. As long as I'm concerned the boy is a hero..." Jiraiya said and looked down before turning to leave.

"Jiraiya-sama, where are you going?" Shikaku called and the Toad Sage stopped in his tracks.

"I'm gonna go talk to Naruto and then I'll take him with me to go find Tsunade. Send someone to speak to Kakashi and try not to let the village fall apart while I'm gone..."

And with that he left the room, leaving a glaring Danzo and a satisfied Shikaku behind.

Shikaku sighed as he turned to glare at Danzo. With a sigh he turned to look at the rest of the council.

"I don't know what you all people think about the Fourth's Legacy but I assume you don't question the boy's loyalty anymore. I don't care if you're scared of him or if you hate him either. The boy is a Leaf Shinobi and has fought to protect his home. Think carefully about what you'll do next." Shikaku finished and motioned for an ANBU to come closer.

"Find Might Guy and inform him of the Council's decision. Tell him to bring me Kakashi Hatake as fast as he can."

The ANBU nodded and dissappeared in a swirl of leaves. Shikaku sighed and rubbed his head.

"I'm getting too old for this..."

XXXXXXXX

Moments later, Danzo stood in front of Homura and Koharu. With a gesture of his hand, he motioned for them to take a seat. He sat down in the chair behind a desk opposite of them.

"You were present in the Council earlier." It wasn't a question. The elders nodded.

"How do you feel about this... setback?" Danzo inquired.

Homura and Koharu looked at eachother before turning to Danzo.

"W-We don't think... Naruto Uzumaki is a problem that requires our attention." Homura answered carefully. To their surprise, Danzo nodded.

"I figured as much. In the beginning I was against the boy. But... he is an asset. At this rate, he might even help us in a few years..."

"Help... us?" they asked, confused.

"The Akatsuki. He might not know it but in a few years, he might be strong enough to take the fight to them."

"Why are the Akatsuki a problem now?"

Danzo, to their horror, began sweating at the mention of the topic. What could be so important? Important enough to make Danzo feel uneasy?

"Sasuke Uchiha's Curse Mark is gone."

"And?"

"Itachi is breathing down my neck."

The council members' eyes widened. Itachi was back?!

"W-What does he want?" they asked.

Danzo looked down. "He knew about my plan..."

"Y-You don't mean..."

"Yes. If Sasuke Uchiha had left the village under the influence of Orochimaru, he would no longer be a Leaf Shinobi. I would be able to get my hands on him freely. But the mark is gone..."

"How does this have anything to do with Itachi?"

Danzo gulped. "He... sent me a message. In blood. He knows about ROOT, he knows about my plans, he knows about Hiruzen. About Sasuke. Basically, the message says: I am still alive..."

"He wants us to stay away from Sasuke... What will you do?"

"Nothing..."

Koharu's eyes widened. "What do you mean nothing?! Wasn't Hiruzen killed by 'doing nothing'? It's his fault Orochimaru still lives..."

"Orochimaru doesn't concern me. He has his uses..." Danzo cut her off, looking at his hidden hand. "What I do worry about is Itachi. He has intel that could destabilize the Leaf overnight. And we can do nothing to him..."

XXXXXXXX

Might Guy jumped high and landed on a roof nearby. The news he just heard were... unexpected. His eternal rival, Hokage? It was something no one could ever predict! With a chuckle he imagined Kakashi behind the Hokage's desk, ignoring paperwork and reading his unyouthful literature.

He searched for his rival for a few minutes until he noticed a Jonin with silver, gravity-defying hair... fighting? His opponents wore black robes with a red cloud pattern. Kakashi! Asuma and Kurenai were with him.

"Everyone, hold on until I get there!"

Focusing chakra through his feet, he landed on the ground and sprinted, full-speed, to their location. The news could wait until after the enemy was dealt with...

XXXXXXXX

Hinata Hyuga was exhausted. No, exhausted would be an understatement. With sweat running down her forehead and her muscles aching and throbbing, she truly felt like lying on her back on the cool grass and never getting up would be the best decision of her life.

She didn't cough as much as she did 3 days ago, but she'd be lying to herself if she said she had fully recovered from her fight. Neji had already apologised, much to her surprise. She guessed it had something to do with his fight against Naruto. He even smiled occasionally!

She had been pushing her limits ever since the reconstruction had started. Although she hadn't made much progress, she kept trying. That was enough for her.

But when one moment you're looking at the clouds and the next at Naruto Uzumaki's smiling face... One tends to get shocked...

"Ahhhhhh!" Hinata sqeaked and shot up from the ground, her face flushed red.

Naruto jumped back in surprise and fell on his butt. He groaned and rubbed his head in embaressment.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you..." he told her, getting up.

Hinata calmed herself and turned to look at Naruto.

"N-No, I wasn't scared, just a bit surprised, that's all." she answered timidly. Naruto didn't say anything in return. He just nodded and smiled.

"Anyway... you seem to be training hard. You propably need a break." Naruto said and she blushed.

"Y-You mean... you w-were watching?" she asked, blushing madly. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, uh are you mad?" he asked.

"No, I'm not mad. But, why are you..."

"Why I am here? We have a date, remember?"

"..."

"..."

"I have a date with Naruto-kun and I totally forgot!"

"Hinata, are you all right?"

"Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry! I forgot about it completely... and I'm not dressed properly and..."

"Hinata! Breathe..."

Hinata calmed herself and nodded slowly, in embaressment.

"Now, don't worry about it. You look great in everything! But we have to go now or the food will get cold!" Naruto told her before running off.

Hinata blushed at the compliment and followed after him with a smile on her face...

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Sasuke was walking towards his home, deep in thought. He was supposed to talk with Kakashi today and they had agreed on a meeting place. Kakashi didn't show up. Sasuke waited for a few minutes before remembering that his sensei usually arrived on meetings 2 hours late. He left.

But now he felt like he was doing something wrong. Sure, his sensei deserved some punishment for always being late, but he also deserved some answers.

Before he even realised it, Sasuke was on a rooftop, looking for his perverted sensei's chakra signature with his Sharingan. Sure it was no Byakugan, but the Sharingan could memorize unique Chakra signatures when seen enough times. He found him along with two other signatures he didn't recognize, but his chakra was spiking, like it was under a genjutsu... But what Genjutsu could be strong enough to outmatch Kakashi's Sharingan?

"I've wasted too much time... I'm going over there!"

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, closing in on his destination.

I hope you liked the chapter :)

And as always...

Andrew out!