Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 66: The Aftermath

Chapter 66: The Aftermath

The thing about killing a shadow is that nobody notices right away.

Three days passed before anyone in the village even realized Danzo was missing. Another two before anyone cared enough to look for him. By then, there was nothing to find. Just empty halls and locked doors in an abandoned ROOT compound. Just whispers and rumors and questions with no answers.

Exactly how I wanted it.

I spent those five days in a haze of training, missions, and sleepless nights. My body moved on auto-pilot while my mind tried to process what I'd done. Not the killing—I'd done plenty of that—but the way I'd done it. Cold. Calculated. Personal.

I'd enjoyed it.

And that scared the hell out of me.

"You look like shit," Genma said, dropping onto the branch beside me. We were on patrol duty, running the perimeter of the village. Simple work. Mind-numbing work. Perfect for someone trying not to think.

"Thanks. It's a new look I'm trying."

He snorted, that ever-present senbon needle bobbing between his lips. "Well, it's working. Very 'zombie chic.'"

We ran in silence for a while, just the sound of our feet hitting branches, the whisper of leaves in the wind. Konoha spread out below us, peaceful in the late afternoon sun. From up here, you couldn't see the cracks. Couldn't tell that the village was holding its breath, waiting for something—anything—to happen.

"They found Danzo's office," Genma said finally. "Empty. Cleaned out. Like he knew he was leaving."

I kept my face blank. "Any sign of where he went?"

"Nah. The old war hawk just... vanished." Genma glanced at me, eyes sharp under his lazy demeanor. "Funny timing, don't you think? Hiruzen dies, and right when we need the council most, Danzo disappears."

"Very funny."

Another stretch of silence.

"You know anything about that, Kakashi?"

I met his eyes. "Would it bother you if I did?"

The question hung between us. Genma was smart. ANBU smart. And he knew me well enough to read between the lines.

He shrugged. "Nope."

And that was that.

The emergency council meeting was held in the old war room beneath the Hokage Tower. A circular chamber with stone walls, lit by flickering torches that cast long shadows across the faces of Konoha's elite. Jonin commanders, clan heads, ANBU captains. All of them grim-faced, all of them scared, though they'd never admit it.

I stood in the back corner, arms crossed, watching.

Homura and Koharu—Hiruzen's old teammates and the remaining elders—sat at the head of the table, looking older than I'd ever seen them. Like the weight of the village had suddenly landed on their shoulders and was slowly crushing them.

"We cannot delay any longer," Koharu was saying, her voice stronger than her frail body suggested. "The other villages are watching. Waiting. They smell blood in the water."

"We should focus on finding Danzo," one of the jonin commanders argued. "He's the most qualified to—"

"Danzo is gone," Homura cut in sharply. "Whether by choice or by force, he is not here when we need him. We must move forward."

I bit back a smile. Oh, he's gone alright. And he's never coming back.

"The Hokage position cannot remain empty," Shikaku Nara said, fingers steepled in front of him. His eyes, always calculating, scanned the room. "Not even for another day. We need leadership. Stability."

Koharu nodded. "We have discussed potential candidates. The list is... shorter than we would like."

"Most of our strongest shinobi died during the Nine-Tails attack," Homura added, a flicker of grief crossing his face. "Minato should have had years ahead of him."

The room fell silent at the mention of the Fourth. Even now, four years later, the loss cut deep.

"What about Jiraiya?" someone suggested.

Koharu frowned. "We've sent messages. He's somewhere in Amegakure, investigating that group... Akatsuki. Even if our birds reach him, it could be weeks before he returns."

"And would he even accept?" another voice added. "The man has refused the position twice already."

"Tsunade, then?"

"No one knows where she is," Homura said with a sigh. "She's been wandering for years, drowning in gambling debts and sake. And her... feelings about the village are complicated at best."

I shifted against the wall, already knowing where this was heading. I'd seen the looks the elders had been giving me for days.

"There is another option," Koharu said, her gaze finding mine across the room.

Here it comes.

"Kakashi Hatake."

All eyes turned to me. I didn't move. Didn't blink. Just stared back, face carefully blank behind my mask.

"He's young," Homura admitted, "but his reputation is unmatched. Student of the Fourth. Captain of our most successful ANBU squad. And his strength..."

"He's the strongest shinobi in the village," Shikaku finished bluntly. "Has been for some time."

Murmurs rippled through the room. Some nodding. Some frowning. I could almost hear their thoughts: Too young. Too strange. Too powerful.

"Well, Kakashi?" Koharu asked, her voice cutting through the whispers. "What do you say?"

Every eye in the room fixed on me. Waiting. Expecting.

I pushed off from the wall, hands in my pockets. Slouched forward to the center of the room. Let them all look at me—this weird, broken, overpowered thing I'd become.

"No."

The word fell like a stone into still water.

"No?" Homura repeated, like he hadn't heard right.

"That's what I said." I shrugged. "Find someone else."

Koharu's eyes narrowed. "This isn't a request, Kakashi. This is your duty to—"

"My duty?" I cut her off, voice sharper than I intended. "My duty is to protect this village. And I do that best from the shadows, not sitting in an office signing papers."

"The village needs—"

"The village needs a Hokage who wants to be Hokage," I said. "Someone who believes in all that Will of Fire stuff. Someone who can be the face, the symbol, the hope. That's not me."

The council erupted in arguments, voices overlapping, tempers rising. I waited for them to quiet down.

"I've been in ANBU since I was thirteen," I said into the lull. "I've done things— seen things—that would break most people. That's where I belong. In the dark, doing the dirty work so the Hokage can keep their hands clean. You don't want someone like me as the face of Konoha."

You don't want someone who enjoyed killing Danzo to lead your children.

Shikaku was watching me carefully, those shrewd eyes missing nothing.

"Then who?" Koharu demanded. "If not you, then who?"

I thought for a moment, scanning the faces around the room. The answer was obvious, really. I'd been thinking about it for days.

"Find Tsunade."

Murmurs erupted around the table.

"I told you," Homura said, "we don't know where—"

"Then look harder," I cut in. "Send me. I'll find her."

"And convince her to return?" Koharu scoffed. "The woman who swore she'd never set foot in Konoha again?"

I shrugged. "I can be pretty convincing."

"She's been gone for years," one of the jonin commanders argued. "Drinking and gambling her way across the continent. Is that really who we want as our leader?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "She's one of the Legendary Sannin. The greatest medical ninja who ever lived. Granddaughter of the First Hokage. Student of the Third." I looked around the room. "Her blood and history are tied to this village in ways none of us can match. And she's strong enough to protect it."

"She's broken," Homura said quietly.

"Aren't we all?" I countered. "At least her cracks are on the surface. You know what you're getting."

The council fell silent, considering.

"If not Tsunade," I continued, "then Jiraiya. I know where to find him. And I can... persuade him to stop running from responsibility."

I'll drag him back if I have to. Knock him out and tie him to a toad.

"Jiraiya has refused before," Koharu reminded everyone.

"Things are different now," I said. "Minato is gone. Hiruzen is gone. His student's son needs protection. He won't say no this time."

Homura and Koharu exchanged looks. A silent conversation passing between two people who'd known each other for decades.

"We will... consider it," Koharu said finally. "Tsunade would be ideal, if she can be found and persuaded. Jiraiya would be our second choice."

"And if both refuse?" Shikaku asked.

Koharu's gaze drifted back to me. "Then we may have no choice but to revisit other options."

I nodded, already edging toward the door. My work here was done. "I'll start preparing for the search. Let me know what you decide."

"Kakashi," Shikaku called after me. "A word?"

Damn. So close to escaping.

I followed him into the hallway, away from the continuing arguments of the council. He led me to a small alcove, checked that we were alone, then fixed me with that penetrating stare.

"Why not you?" he asked bluntly.

I shrugged. "I told them—"

"The real reason."

I stared at him, weighing how much to say. Shikaku wasn't just smart; he was possibly the most intelligent person in the village. Lying to him was pointless.

"I'm not... stable," I said finally. "Not for that kind of role."

He raised an eyebrow. "Because of Danzo?"

My pulse spiked. "What about Danzo?"

"You think I don't know?" Shikaku's voice was quiet, matter-of-fact. "The timing. The way you've been acting. The blood on your sandals that first day."

Shit. Careless.

"Don't worry," he continued. "I'm not going to say anything. The world's better off without him. But it proves my point—you did what needed to be done. That's what a Hokage does."

I shook my head. "A real Hokage would have arrested him. Brought him to justice. Had a trial. I just... removed him."

"Sometimes that's necessary."

"Maybe. But not from the person sitting in that chair." I met his eyes. "The Hokage needs to be the best of us, Shikaku. I'm... not that."

He studied me for a long moment, then sighed. "For what it's worth, I think you're wrong. But I understand."

I turned to leave, then paused. "Make sure it's Tsunade. She'll pretend she doesn't want it at first, but... deep down, she needs this. And Konoha needs her."

Shikaku nodded slowly. "She'll be hard to convince."

"I know. But better a reluctant Hokage who's qualified than someone desperate for the hat who isn't ready."

"And Jiraiya?"

I shrugged. "He's been running from responsibility his whole life. But he's loyal to the core. If we can't get Tsunade, he won't let the village down. Not now. Not with everything at stake."

Shikaku studied me for a long moment. "I'll make sure the council understands our options clearly."

I walked away, feeling the weight of his gaze on my back. As I pushed open the door to the outside, the fresh air hit me like a physical thing—clean and cool and so different from the stifling politics I'd just escaped.

Above me, the stone faces of the previous Hokage stared down at the village. Hiruzen among them. Minato next to him. Both gone now. Both expecting me to protect what they'd left behind.

I'll do it my way. From the shadows. Where I belong.

I already knew that tomorrow I'd be setting out with a small team to track down Tsunade. It wouldn't be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. And the village needed stability, needed healing, who better than the greatest healer the ninja world had ever known?

I looked up at the darkening sky, watching the stars begin to appear. Somewhere in the village, Kushina and Naruto was probably eating ramen. Obito and Rin were likely on a date. My ANBU team was undoubtedly waiting for orders. Life going on, unaware of the power shifts happening behind closed doors.

Tomorrow, things would start changing. The ripples from Danzo's death, from Hiruzen's assassination, from my choices—they'd all start spreading outward.

But tonight, for just a moment, I let myself breathe.

One crisis handled. A hundred more to go.

Just another day in the life of not-Hokage Kakashi Hatake.

Thank god.