Land of Fire, Konoha, office in the Naruto Building.
"Fifth, here are today's documents."
"Th-this many... Just leave them here."
"Of course. I'll take my leave, then."
As the door clicked shut, Kakashi stared at the stack of documents on his desk, piled higher than he was tall, and 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 himself.
But!
Kakashi hadn't wanted to become Hokage this young, and the way he'd taken office had been incredibly, incredibly slapdash.
It had actually been Kakashi who submitted the request for an official diplomatic visit to the Land of Whirlpools. After reading through the application, Hiruzen Sarutobi approved it on the spot with a smack! of his stamp.
Beneath his mask, Kakashi was positively beaming. Just as he was about to discuss who would join the delegation to the Land of Whirlpools and insist that Hiruzen Sarutobi include him, Hiruzen suddenly sprang up from his seat with a bang!
"Lord Hokage, wh-what's wrong?"
"Nothing~ It's just that, Kakashi, I remember you writing in a little essay when you were a boy that your dream was to become Hokage. Isn't that right~?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi with narrowed eyes, leaving Kakashi utterly bewildered by the question.
An essay? What essay? When I was a kid?
Oh~ Right, there was something like that. But that had been before he graduated from the Ninja Academy. Back then, everyone in class had to write an essay about their dreams for the future. Kakashi searched his memory and recalled that ninety-nine percent of his classmates had written, "Become Hokage in the future."
Recalling those memories, Kakashi instinctively answered, "Yes." And that single "yes" pulled him straight into Hiruzen Sarutobi's scheme.