Author's Note: If you're wondering, I have had a VERY tumultuous year, to say the least. I really wanted to get back to writing and I think at least a few people would be excited to get a new chapter out of this story if my reviews are to be believed. I hope you enjoy the longest chapter yet! Tsunade's real goals, the first real battle, and more!

Chapter 4:

Through the awkward air of the Hokage office sipping could be heard as Shikaku was trying to stay awake at the ungodly hour he himself decided a meeting would take place. Not an official meeting, but a meeting between himself and Might Guy to discuss a certain issue.

"You know what a double bind is, right?" Shikaku asked.

"That's how we're going to start this conversation?" Guy wondered.

"Right, sorry. How was your morning?" he replied sardonically.

"That's not really what I meant…"

"Look," Shikaku said, "I'm not used to doing things this early. Can't we just cut to the chase?"

"Sure. A double bind is one of those unwinnable things, right?"

He nodded. "Double bind, a no-win situation. That's the very dilemma you find yourself faced with."

Guy nodded in return before pausing and letting the confusion show on his face.

"Wait, what are we talking about…?"

"Right…I guess I got a little ahead of myself. I am saying that Tsunade has put you in a situation that cannot be salvaged."

"Huh? But she wouldn't make a mistake like that."

He shook his head solemnly. "It's intentional, I'm sure of that."

Guy did not know what to think. "So, what, she's trying to become Hokage or something?"

"No, she doesn't strike me as the power-hungry type any more than she strikes as stupid enough to make that careless of a mistake. She made a show of making it all seem spontaneous, but she only does crazy stuff without thinking when she's especially drunk."

"So…It was calculated, but not for power? What was it for?"

Shikaku shifted back in his chair. "That is the big question, isn't it? If you ask me, it is actually a very simple motivation. She was honest about not trusting you as Hokage. In other words, she's out to answer a single question." Guy gulped and leaned forward as Shikaku met his eyes. "What will Might Guy do when faced with an impossible scenario?"

Guy blinked a couple of times, face blank. "That's it?"

"It's simple, but important. Your answer to an impossible situation says a lot about your character. That is how Lord Second chose his successor. I suppose if she's going to give up her chance at being Hokage she has to hear your answer to the question she poses. I'm sure the more intelligent people watching will be waiting with bated breath to evaluate you for your choice."

"Hmm. How is it a no-win situation anyway? I thought she was trying to make me look good…"

"Just think about," Shikaku said as though it were obvious. Unlike most people, it probably was obvious to him. "If you win, you satisfy some people who thought you were too weak and maybe people who thought you were soft. On the other hand, some of the people will think you prideful. I don't know that the costs would outweigh the benefits, but it certainly wouldn't be a victory."

He never even considered that. "What about if I lose?"

"People will think you're weak. Worst-case scenario, a movement starts to have you deposed and Tsunade instated as the 'real' Fifth Hokage. Best-case, the opinion of the masses isn't swayed heavily by the event and your legitimacy is only questioned behind closed doors, mostly."

Guy groaned. "That sounds even worse!"

He rubbed his temple like he was trying to physically supplant an idea in his head as Shikaku drank the last of his coffee. He eventually lowered his hands as Shikaku nearly fell asleep in his chair.

"I know!" he shouted, startling Shikaku. "What if I refuse to fight at all?"

Shikaku smiled for the first time. "Well, sometimes the obvious answers are both wrong. You should think outside the box once and a while. If you cannot afford to win or lose, what can you do?"

"So, that's the right answer?"

He shook his head. "There is no right answer. Different people will want different things, and sometimes the right thing is what the minority of people want. It's a balancing act. A real leader listens to advice and knows how to sway people's hearts."

"I see," Guy said. "What answer would you chose then?"

Shikaku laughed shortly. "A good question, but a leader also inspires loyalty. I'm afraid I want to see your answer as well. Although, I will tell you that you haven't come up with the solution I have yet."

Guy was mystified. "How's that possible? Win, lose, or don't play; What other option is there?"

"I've said too much already," he lamented. "This isn't even why I came here."

'Ugh. I feel exhausted all of a sudden,' Guy thought. 'I feel like I've been doing a really hard crossword puzzle.'

"What's that look for?" Shikaku asked humorously. "I promise this isn't as nerve-wracking. I just wanted to tell you that Anko Mitarashi is going to seek you out today."

A relieved smile crossed his face at that news. "Aw, that's it? I haven't spoken with her in years! Actually…why would you know that?"

Shikaku gave a cryptic smile. "Well, that's just a hunch really. She's finicky so I decided to help you win her over."

To his confusion Guy's face lit up bright red. "Ah, well I'm the Hokage now! I don't really- That is, I'm not…"

"That's not what I meant," Shikaku cut in. "Win her over as Hokage."

The blush left his face and he cleared his throat. "Of course, that's what you meant! What else could you mean?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Shikaku said, "I'll just leave you with a couple of clues. One, Anko was the leader of an Anbu investigation during the Chūnin Exams despite being below Jōnin rank. Two, the Hokage has access to the records of its Shinobi; I would recommend using them. You might find something interesting about her missions."

"Please tell me you aren't this ambiguous all the time," Guy groaned.

He smiled slightly. "I'm too old to change my personality on a dime. I gave you all this information for free and even woke up early to do it. That was for your convenience, by the way. Combing through records is time-consuming."

Guy leaned in his Hokage chair and wondered aloud. "Why are you going through so much trouble, telling me about all this?"

He scratched his beard. "I guess you could say I'm rooting for you. Not that I have particularly high expectations…is what I would have said. Something about this conversation has convinced me. You aren't quite the fool you come across as, at least not where it counts. I guess I ended up saying more than I meant to because there is a certain quality about you. I'm more interested than ever to see your answer, Guy."

He stood and began making his way out of the room but paused at the doorway. "Anko is invaluable. Try to get along with her."

He left the room and let the door shut behind him.

Anko Mitarashi sipped her drink with feigned disinterest, looking to the door of the dango shop thinking of way to exit the awkward situation she found herself in.

"You're acting like a child," Kurenai admonished. Usually such admonishment would be met with a death glare, but Kurenai happened to be her best and only friend.

"Where's all this comin' from?" Anko wondered aloud.

"I…I don't have the skills that my student needs." It seemed painful for her to admit as much. "She has no affinity for Genjutsu, and none of my other skills are suited to her either. She has no confidence and none of my methods ever changed that. It's a gamble but I ask you to consider teaching Hinata."

The bow that proceeded made her extra uncomfortable. When had anyone ever bowed to her for anything? "Is your plan to make me feel awkward enough to accept?" When Kurenai raised her head with a sheepish look she continued. "This is totally out of nowhere. Last I remember, she got her butt whooped in the exams. She didn't even make it to my portion."

"You noticed?" Kurenai asked surprised.

"I wouldn't ignore your proud pupil." She had just said that pupil was 'whooped,' but Kurenai knew her well enough to accept her more blunt tendencies. "Is that where this is coming from? Did she feel like getting stronger because she lost?"

"It's nothing like that." Kurenai sighed. "It's because of Guy. You know he's Hokage, right?"

Wondering how this could possibly loop back to him Anko said, "Of course I know about our new youthful leader. I can't take a walk these days without hearing someone bitch and moan. It's becoming a serious pain in my ass."

"Well, she asked me how he managed to become Hokage. She must have thought if he could do it Naruto could, or something like that…"

"Your information-gathering skills leave much to be desired."

"That's more your department anyway," Kurenai quipped. "I know you're always busy. Please, at least consider it."

"Does it have to be me of all people? I feel like she'll topple over if I look at her funny."

"She's tougher than she looks," she reassured. "I don't trust anyone else enough for this. Not anyone with any grace. Come on, I know you've always wanted a student to coddle."

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Anko said, "What nonsense are you spewing now? I guess I'll give her a surprise exam one of these days. If you ask me, she'd be more suited to something besides combat."

"How much fighting do you do these days?" Kurenai asked rhetorically. "It's not like her father wouldn't let her do anything else."

Anko's expression sobered. "He's just too much. Rough life or not, where's that happy guy I used to know and tolerate?"

"He probably died when…Well, there isn't a need to drum up the past. You'll really give Hinata a chance?"

"I will," she promised. "Don't come crawling to me if she regrets asking for your help and quits being a ninja."

Kurenai gave a knowing smile and she could swear it said, 'Yeah, okay…softie.' Anko gulped down the rest of her tea and stood up quickly

"You're leaving?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah, I have something to do today."

"How do you even go on as many missions as you do? You need to rest once and a while, Anko."

"It's not like that. I just have plans." At seeing Kurenai's skeptical gaze she reassured, "Really. I just have an idiot I have an arrangement with."

Anko could feel curious eyes boring into her as she left the dango shop.

Having sat down a while ago, Naruto noticed the massive crowd building up. Despite it being quite a while before the match began, there was still a sizable number of people waiting, sedentary, with an air of impatience. Sakura had decided to come with him to watch the match, much to his surprise. Apparently, everyone in Konoha had heard about this event. It left him scratching his head since he assumed Pervy Sage was out to stop all this.

Approaching his decided spot in the audience, Naruto saw several familiar people scattered around the stadium. Near the spot he would be watching however, only Kakashi-sensei, Neji, and Rock Lee were watching; Kakashi being the only one not seated. Naruto changed course to sit with his friends. He might have been surprised to see Lee, but then, it was only natural for him to be here. What surprised Naruto was that when Lee saw him, he gave a genuine smile.

Grinning energetically, Naruto gave a, "Hey, guys!" before plopping down in his seat.

Rock Lee clenched his fist and with a fire burning in his eyes responded, "Naruto-kun, it's good to see you taking an Interest in Guy-sensei's youthful display as Hokage!"

The words didn't seem to belong in the same sentence in that order as far as Naruto was concerned. It all seemed so surreal. Did that guy really deserve to be the Hokage? He always seemed so goofy, but he was kind of cool in a way…Maybe he would wait to see what kind of Hokage he was.

"Naruto!" Sakura repeated, finally getting his attention.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

"I had to explain to a lovely couple that we took their seats while you were over here dozing off!" Sakura said. "It's a good thing our original seats were closer to the front row. Geez."

Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry."

"Just say it once…!" Sakura mumbled, irritated by his response.

'Ah, Sakura-chan is mad at me again,' Naruto thought, chagrined.

Sakura's gaze softened. "I want to sit with them too, but at least think a little first."

"Right. My bad, Sakura-chan."

He knew she was coming from a good place, and the warmth that the knowledge brought replaced the great irritation that would normally accompany a scolding.

Suddenly, something struck him as strange. Kakashi was standing, but there were no empty seats.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you ever going to sit down? You don't even have a seat here."

Kakashi looked a little surprised by the observation. "I didn't think you'd pick up on that, Naruto," he said, ignoring the annoyed look on his student's face. "Well, notice how there are a few people in the audience not sitting down?"

Sakura, Naruto, and Lee looked as unsure where Kakashi was going with this as he was, but Neji looked almost bored by the observation.

Kakashi sharpened his gaze the way he did when he was revealing something dramatic. "We're all Jōnin, stationed here to protect the audience on Guy's orders. A Kage-level battle like this can get pretty crazy."

Sakura did not want to buy into her Sensei's theatrics, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little more anxious to see the fight now. "There's no way that weirdo is going to beat Tsunade-sama," she said confidently.

"Didn't you say something about that with Sasuke and Lee?" Naruto wondered aloud.

Sakura scrunched her face and prepared to retort when she realized that he had a point. She could feel an embarrassed blush cover her face as she mumbled, "I wasn't wrong…"

Lee looked over at her with complete sincerity. "Guy-Sensei is a master of Taijutsu like no other. I know he'll win!"

Naruto couldn't decide but his thoughts screeched to a halt once he realized something. "Taijutsu master? That might be kind of…"

Everyone noticed his mumblings and Sakura asked, "Naruto, what's wrong?"

Leaning back in his seat and rubbing his chin, Naruto responded. "There was something Pervy-Sage told me about her and Taijutsu. I think he said it was her biggest weakness."

Everyone looked curious at that. Surprisingly, Neji was the one who voiced everyone's thoughts. "And how exactly is that? I've heard Tenten speak of her enough to know that Tsunade's greatest strength in combat is her Taijutsu."

"Yeah, but she did get her butt kicked by that Kabuto guy who was pretty average. Oh, that's right! He said that 'anyone who was skilled enough to work around her raw strength would beat her in a fight.' That guy went underground and stuff with Earth Jutsu and that was all it took."

Kakashi looked down at the arena with curiosity. Surely, Tsunade knows her weaknesses better than anyone. Why challenge someone like Guy? Everyone did seem born with the inherent talent of underestimating him, but this situation was more than a little suspicious.

'Just like I thought,' Kakashi pondered. 'So that's what she's after. Maybe there's a bit more love for this village than she cares to admit.'

"There's no way he'll win," Sakura said confidently. "I hear Tsunade-sama is the strongest kunoichi ever."

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask and leaned on the railing casually. "Well, one way or another it's bound to be interesting."

"Rising Phoenix!" Guy shouted, striking the air. The speed of the strike caused fire to gather around his fist, but it went out too early.

Disappointed, he landed easily on both feet. Despite trying to master his newest technique for some time, little progress was made. Not one to give up, he got into a fighting stance and cocked his fist and jumped into the air. Before he could throw a punch however, he was drawn out of his training by a sudden movement in the tree line.

Three kunai shot out of the tree line. Guy whipped three kunai of his own out of his pouch and threw them, deflecting the kunai in a fluid motion.

He grabbed a nearby branch and used it to swing himself. Landing on another branch, Guy readied himself for a fight, catching the panicked shuffling of a man who realized his attack had failed. Guy vanishing from sight, there was a gasp heard as Guy struck the man following him with bone-crushing force. A masked man in black robes fell from the tree clutching his now useless right arm and swearing at himself for getting caught.

He managed to land on his feet, but Guy was already waiting impatiently on the ground with his arms crossed. 'What the hell?' the man thought to himself. 'As a shinobi, my skills should be considered elite. Why is this joke of a ninja outclassing me?'

"You'll regret underestimating me!" His good arm flew into his pouch and he threw bombs on the ground. Thick plumes of white smoke emerged to disguise his retreat and single-handed hand signs.

Guy appeared suddenly, charging from the side he was retreating to. "Fast!" he managed to say before Guy met him in the air, striking out with his leg.

He took the blow to his chest, but he managed to finish his hand signs. "Not fast enough. Fire Style: Four, Extend!"

Guy was surprised to see an intense flame come out of his fingers as he made a sweeping motion. Guy contorted his body and most of the flames missed him. He hit the ground and rolled to put out what little fire managed to catch on his clothes.

"Whoa! I've never seen that one!" Guy complimented, looking at the big, fiery cut in the ground nearby. "But even more so..." He looked back at the would-be assassin's still blazing fingers. "The jutsu is still active. That's pretty dangerous."

Despite being complimented, he looked angrier than ever. "Why are you so nonchalant! I know all about you! You can't use any Ninjutsu! It just so happens that I am one of the best in that field. Even with one arm, I'll turn you into ash."

Guy scratched his head. "You're saying that like it's to your advantage…You know, The whole point was to train hard enough to make that disadvantage meaningless. In any case, it isn't like I can't do Ninjutsu. I'm just…really not good at it."

"I don't give a shit about your semantics! Just roll over and die!" He made another sweeping motion and a small wave of fire passed over Guy's head as he ducked under it and charged.

Guy cocked his fist and the man smirked. "Fire Style: Five!" An intense flame engulfed his open palm as swiped at Guy's incoming hand. Guy stopped his attack and swept the man's feet out from under him, but the man flipped and landed on his good hand. "Fire Style: Flame Spread!"

The fire that was covering his hand expanded into a quick sphere, burning the ground around him, but Guy had already backed off. "You are a lot more trouble than I expected," Guy admitted. "It's impressive how you can turn one Jutsu into similar Jutsu with no hand signs. I'm starting to wish we could have battled like this before I damaged your arm."

He flipped back up to his feet. "You still aren't taking this seriously? Let's see how long that lasts!" He performed a series of one-handed hand signs and his entire fist was encased in flame. "Fire Style: Flame Fist!" It was his trump card. Enough to punch a molten hole through steel.

Guy's mouth gaped and the man couldn't help but smirk. He dashed at their new 'Hokage' at speed he hadn't utilized yet. "Hah!" he screamed at the man who would have the shortest term as Hokage in Konoha history. He raised his fist back, ready to drive it through Guy's heart.

Suddenly, the air around him changed, Guy's skin turned reddish, and he disappeared in a flurry of wind. Bewildered when his fist met nothing but air, he gasped and looked around. "All the Anbu are gone! What the hell!?"

His heart skipped in terror when he saw Guy standing a way's away, punching a training dummy into pieces. "AHHH! That's my move! Someone came up with it already!?"

Shaking, the man's fire began dissipating from lack of concentration, his mind completely blank. Then, he shakily began backing up. "What the hell…? What kind of speed was that?"

Guy looked right at him. "I'll just have to get more creative with it later and see how mine stacks up!"

He stopped backing up. If he backed down now, his life was forfeit anyway. He could not afford to run, lose, or surrender. The fire reignited brighter than ever, and he gave a final desperate charge.

Guy widened his stance and pulled his fist all the way back. The air around him seemed to shift slightly before he also charged, fist beginning to light aflame.

They met at the point directly between them and called out "Rising Phoenix!" " Flame fist!"

Guy's flaming fist met the man's and the assassin's flame was immediately extinguished with a sickening crack. Guy kicked him backwards and jumped to meet him mid-air. "Falling Phoenix!" His fist dug into the man's stomach and drove him into the ground followed by a trail of flame vaguely in the shape of a bird, cracking the ground massively as he made an indent in the earth. He gasped and choked on his own blood.

Guy skidded across the ground before turning and giving a thumbs-up. "Nice fight!"

"Sorry for the rough treatment, but that arm should heal up just fine, and you other injuries aren't lethal, I think Now, why don't you tell me why you're following me. And while you're at it, why don't you tell me why my Anbu guard seems to have taken the day off."

He suppressed the massive pain and looked at the unwelcome presence of another Jōnin carrying a large scroll. "Unbelievable," he muttered to himself.

"Anko-san," Guy said with a hint of surprise.

"I was wondering when you would notice someone was following you. Impressive fight, tough I only caught the end there," she said before grinning widely and viciously. "Now then, it's time for our fiend to get introduced to my other friend at T and I. That is Torture and Interrogation, by the way. But you probably knew that, looking like an Anbu and all."

The man decided to cut his losses before he was detained and swallowed the capsule he had in his mouth. Hearing Anko let out a frustrated "damnit," a snake flew from Anko's sleeve and dove down in his mouth to retrieve the capsule. Unfortunately, she was too late, the man dying in mere seconds as Anko tried to think of a way to save him. Despite her efforts, the man let out a final breath.

Guy and Anko sourly stood over the fresh corpse and Anko shrugged. "It's times like this I wish I was more serious about medical ninjustsu." She unfurled the massive scroll she was carrying and used it to seal the body. "What the heck were you doing out here? Trying to perfect that crazy fire move before the fateful match?"

"Nothing like that," Guy answered. "I decided that as the Hokage I needed to get even stronger. That move will become the symbol of my resolve!"

"I thought you sucked at Ninjutsu, by the way?"

"Ah, that was pure Taijutsu! I have to unlock the first gate to use it though!"

"Just Taijutsu…? You really are the Green Beast of Konoha, I guess."

Guy rubbed his neck. "Anko-san, thank you for the help."

Looking surprised for a moment, Anko shrugged again. "Whatever. It isn't like I can sit back while my Hokage gets assassinated, right?"

Guy gave a wide smile. "No, that's exactly what you could have done. You followed me because you were worried, didn't you? You're so nice, Anko-san."

Blushing, unused to praise, especially of that nature, Anko said, "Nice? Are you insane? You just saw me threaten a dying man with torture. I'm carrying around a scroll I just used to seal a body like it was an average day."

"Yeah, but…How should I put this? It's your smile!"

Trying to remember how she smiled, she mimicked her earlier vicious grin. "Like this?" she said jokingly.

Guy hit his palm. "That's it. You always have an innocent, youthful smile!"

As incredulity overwhelmed her, her smile quickly dropped. "Innocent…? How the hell do you get innocence out of that?"

Guy let out a booming laugh. "That's just how it is! Besides, you helped me out, so my suspicions are confirmed." He stuck his finger high into the air before bringing it down dramatically, pointing at her. "You are a nice person!"

Stunned, Anko quickly recovered. "How do you know I don't want something from my new Hokage?"

Guy shook his head. "You can't fool my instincts, Anko-san. In fact, I have such a good feeling about you now that I must ask you a question."

This was why she never talked to Guy. He never did or said anything she expected, and she didn't like it. Feeling sufficiently shielded from his craziness, she nodded. "Let's hear it."

Guy took in a breath of air, possibly preparing for the weight of what he would say. "Please be my left hand!"

It may be impossible, Anko noted, to prepare oneself for what Might Guy will say. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ah, I might need to explain a bit. You see, a Hokage can't do anything alone…That is to say, he needs people he can trust. I know that Shikaku trusts you and I trust him!"

"So, you want me to,,,You have to know that won't fly," Anko said. Guy looked curious but said nothing.

"Look…First of all, the council isn't going to be happy about you bringing around some random person and acting like they're more important. Second, I'm not exactly high on the list of prestigious people. The village is already acting like a 'nobody' like you being Hokage is an affront to the position. And finally, even among us destitute clan-less, I'm particularly disliked. Haven't you heard the tales of the evil snake lady that eats children and causes misfortune wherever she goes?"

She almost felt bad giving him a dose of reality like that, but what can you do?

Guy looked almost thoughtful before he broke into a grin. "Nope, none of that matters!"

"Are you that dense? I hope you realize you aren't exactly the most popular Hokage to walk Konoha soil. I'll be frank; you're the most unpopular by a wide margin. If you start pissing people off even more, you'll have a rebellion on your hands. Hell, you already had an assassination attempt. That has to be a record."

Guy never faltered. "That's exactly why I need someone like you on my side. The more reliable allies I have the better!"

"If you consider someone with a reputation like mine a reliable ally 'cause of one deed, you're too far gone," she criticized harshly.

Guy dropped his smile and adopted a more serious look. "That's not it. You've always been my ally. Even now, the way you criticize me is filled with support." He adopted a thinking pose. "Have you considered being a teacher at the academy?"

"Teacher…?" Anko had nothing more to say. There was only one conclusion that she could arrive at. It was a realization that all people eventually reached about Might Guy, usually more than once. "You're completely insane."

"Actually, it was pretty tough, but I think I know your secret position in this village. Don't worry, I'm not going to publicly say we're close allies, yet. You need to be obscure, right?"

Anko's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And just what do you think you know?"

"Well, it was Shikaku who pointed me in the right direction. It took a long time for me to figure it out…You led a team of Anbu to chase Orochimaru, you take an obscene amount of missions, but you're not well-known, and all of those missions are classified and still have no information for people with authorization to read them."

Anko grew increasingly wide-eyed. "How much of this did Shikaku tell you?"

He looked a little embarrassed. "Actually, pretty much all of it. If I had to guess…You're actually at the top of Law Enforcement!"

"Whoa, that's pretty accurate," she said flippantly.

"What? Why aren't you more shocked or impressed?" he questioned.

"Well, it is kinda to be expected with Shikaku leading you by the nose and all. This seems more like a message from Shikaku to me." A message that read 'I trust this guy with top-secret information.'

"Ehhhh? I was looking for you all morning to be a glorified messenger?" he sulked.

"Chin up. It's an important message, if surprising. Ever since the police were disbanded, the Genin Corps did most of the policing, I do most of the policing though, secretly mind you. It's easy for someone with a reputation like mine to blend into seedy places."

Guy looked serious. "So, you're trusting me with this information because you want to be my ally?"

"Well, Shikaku trusts you a lot and I trust him…I guess so?" she admitted reluctantly.

Flashing a thumbs-up, Guy turned to leave. "I leave you to take care of the body. This is the first task as my trusted ally. I'm off to fight Tsunade and win in my own way. I'll capture the hearts of Konoha people everywhere with Tsunade-san's help!"

Snapping out of her trance, Anko said, "Wait!"

Curious, Guy stopped and turned around, letting out a "Hmm?"

"…Good luck."

Guy's smile was almost blinding and his wink disturbed her slightly. He took off and Anko wondered if she should have said something about his singed clothes and disheveled appearance. "Nah, the match is going to start any minute now." She stared down the road where he disappeared. "What was that wink about? He couldn't have been…Nah." She shivered from the almost-thought. "I'm thinking about taking a student, and I'm getting winked at by Might Guy. When did my life get away from me, I wonder? Wait, isn't this all because he got elected? So, it's Kakashi's fault!"

Somewhere in a Konoha stadium, a white-haired Jōnin sneezed and had a bad feeling.

Author's Note: So, there it is! I would absolutely love to hear what you think! I'd like to think my writing has improved in the last year.

If you are wondering, yes, Guy can switch to Gates Mode in seconds. In the fight against Kisame he went to the Sixth Gate in a second or two with no build-up. In the anime, it was A LOT longer. I really hope you like the direction I have taken Anko. Yes, she will be Hinata's precious Sensei. It will make a lot more sense as the story goes on. I have pretty much got an idea of how the whole story will go now. Feel free to ask if you have a question. With that said, Adieu!