8:30 a.m.
The plaza in front of the Hokage Building was already packed—today was the inauguration of Konoha's Seventh Hokage.
Ninja stood to the left, villagers to the right, the two groups clearly separated.
"Neji, over here!" Tenten waved in the crowd.
"Go on," said Hyuga Hiashi with a smile. "I'll go find Shibi and the others."
"Mm." Neji nodded and wove through the crowd with the ease of an elite jōnin, reaching Tenten in no time.
"Hinata didn't come with you?" Tenten asked.
"She's probably with Kitazawa-sensei," Shikamaru cut in.
"Yeah," Neji nodded. "They eat breakfast together every morning."
"Hinata's not the issue—Sasuke is," Kiba said, worried. "I haven't seen him in days. No idea how he's doing."
"Same," Shino agreed.
"Sasuke's biggest dream was to be Hokage. Losing to Naruto… of course it stings," Shikamaru sighed.
"Losing to Naruto was kind of inevitable," Neji said, shaking his head.
"Totally," Karin said, feeling it. Any of them who'd graduated from the Advanced Class—who hadn't been clobbered by Naruto?
"Feels like Naruto edged him out because he's more open, closer to the villagers," Kiba mused, rubbing his chin.
"Are we even talking about the same kind of 'open'?" Tenten couldn't help snarking.
Everyone went quiet, picturing Naruto throwing a thumbs-up and shouting about youth. With him as Hokage… what would Konoha's future look like?
"Ino's not here either?" Hana Inuzuka glanced around.
"She's the Hokage's secretary—handling the handover," Shikamaru said. "A lot of posts shift when a Hokage changes."
"When Ino steps down as secretary, you'll be the next one," Choji mumbled around a mouthful of chips.
"Yeah, Naruto said ages ago he wanted you as his secretary—looks like you finally got your wish," Kiba said, nostalgic. He'd once dreamed about being Hokage—or at least the Hokage's secretary—but after becoming clan head, he dropped it. Neither role really fit him.
"The Hokage's secretary is a job brimming with youth!" Rock Lee thrust up a thumbs-up. "Too bad it can't be me!"
"It definitely shouldn't be you," Tenten said, deadpan.
She imagined Naruto as Hokage and Lee as his secretary—those two bawling in each other's arms in the Hokage's office every day. Just picturing it made Konoha's future look… bleak.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Akamaru barked in support.
"Akamaru's right," Tenten joked.
Truth was, she had no idea what Akamaru said. Jūgo could understand dog, but he wasn't here—his Curse Mark Unit was handling village security today. Kimimaro and Tayuya had joined that unit too.
"Close enough," Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome things never stay avoided."
"Haven't you already been doing the Hokage secretary's job for a while?" Tenten grinned.
Back when Kitazawa was Hokage, he'd regularly dumped work on Shikamaru.
"I no longer have the strength to resist," Shikamaru said, hands up in surrender. "Fine, I'll do it. Not like I can run."
Everyone laughed.
"Are Sakura and Sasuke coming today?" Yakumo Kurama asked, peering into the distance.
"No idea," Karin said, shaking her head.
"They'll be here," Neji said with certainty. "Given his bond with Naruto, there's no way he'd miss this."
"I agree," Tenten nodded. "They've been rivals since they were kids."
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Akamaru barked suddenly.
"He says he smells Sakura and Sasuke!" Kiba perked up, translating.
"Over there!" Neji scanned the crowd and quickly spotted Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.
"Sakura! Sasuke!" Tenten waved and shouted.
They walked over.
"Sasuke looks normal today," Kiba said after a once-over.
"He's not the type to wear his heart on his sleeve," Shikamaru said.
"Either way, let's not bring it up in front of him," Yakumo warned.
"Of course," Tenten nodded.
"You all came this early?" Sakura smiled.
"Had nothing else to do, so why not," Kiba chuckled. "Seems like only Kimimaro and his lot are busy."
"Don't forget Kabuto-senpai and Haku," Shino added.
Sasuke didn't join the chatter. He stood there, thoughts drifting.
He and Naruto had competed their whole lives, but he'd lost more than he'd won. In last week's jōnin vote and the villagers' vote, he'd lost again, and Naruto became the Seventh Hokage. That pretty much cut off Sasuke's Hokage path. Even if they offered him Eighth, he wouldn't take it—it'd still put him a head below Naruto.
"The Hokage is here!"
Cheers erupted all around. Sasuke and the others looked up to see two figures step out onto the Hokage Building rooftop: Naruto Uzumaki and Kitazawa. Naruto grinned and waved energetically at the crowd.
"Thank goodness Naruto didn't wear a green jumpsuit for this," Kiba muttered.
"Naruto knows how to read the room," Shikamaru said.
"Not when it comes to 'youth.' He gets impulsive," Kiba nudged him. "When you're the Hokage's secretary, make sure you rein him in."
"Now that you say it, I have a bad feeling," Shikamaru admitted.
"It's fine—Kiba's not me," Sakura said, self-mocking.
"Jinxes aren't real. Don't take it seriously," Tenten rushed to say.
She knew Sakura was joking about Tenten "jinxing" Sasuke out of becoming Hokage.
"Right," Yakumo, Lee, Tenten, and Neji all nodded.
"Losing to Naruto is normal," Sasuke said after two seconds of silence. "Don't worry about me."
They exchanged looks—then everyone quietly exhaled. If Sasuke could say that, he'd basically moved on.
"Everyone, quiet," Kitazawa said, lifting a hand.
The plaza fell silent.
"Today is the Hokage's succession ceremony," Kitazawa said with a smile. "I'll keep it short: from today on, Uzumaki Naruto is the Seventh Hokage."
He handed Naruto the Hokage hat.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto took it with both hands, eyes shining. "In the name of youth, I'll be a great Hokage!"
"I believe you," Kitazawa said, patting his shoulder. "The rest is up to you. I'm heading out."
Naruto watched Kitazawa turn to leave, stunned. He had no idea what the next steps were!
"Thank you all for your support! From here on I'll unleash my youth to the fullest and build a better Konoha!" Naruto put on the hat and waved.
The crowd roared back; the atmosphere exploded.
Seeing that, Naruto relaxed and just… started talking.
"What's he even saying?" Shikamaru groaned, palm to forehead.
"Why is he talking about his favorite instant noodles?" Kiba asked, helpless.
"Now he's talking about us," Sakura sighed. "I don't want to be famous in Konoha like this."
"Idiot," Sasuke said—simple and direct.
"Boo-hoo! Wonderful!" Lee wept openly. "This is youth!"
"Shikamaru, Konoha's future is in your hands. Naruto… doesn't sound reliable," Tenten said solemnly.
Neji couldn't help nodding.
"I'm out. See you," Sasuke said, frowning, and turned on his heel.
Up on the roof, Naruto had just started reminiscing about all the spars he and Sasuke had in the Advanced Class.
"No wonder he's leaving," Kiba said, mouth twitching.
"Is he going to talk all morning?" Shikamaru felt the fatigue wash in. He wasn't even officially the Hokage's secretary yet and already the pressure felt mountainous.
And sure enough—Shikamaru's words came true. The ceremony didn't formally end until noon.
He hurried to the Hokage's office—only to find someone already there.
"Hokage-sama, I'm ready!" Konohamaru Sarutobi said, dead serious.
"Excellent! You'll be the pillar of Youth U!" Naruto said, satisfied.
"Hold it!" Shikamaru blurted. "What's 'Youth U'?"
"Short for Youth University!" Naruto beamed. "I'm thinking of renaming Konoha University to Youth University. What do you think?"
"I think Kitazawa-sensei will kill you," Shikamaru said, struggling to keep a straight face.
"Huh?" Naruto scratched his head. "That serious?"
"Konoha University was founded by Kitazawa-sensei," Shikamaru reminded him.
"Then forget it. It stays Konoha University," Naruto said, regretful.
"It's fine, Hokage-sama! Even if there's no Youth University, I'll still be Konoha University's pillar!" Konohamaru declared. "I swear it on my youth!"
"What pillar? What are you planning to have Konohamaru do?" Shikamaru asked.
"Make him a teacher for the Advanced Class," Naruto said.
Shikamaru relaxed a little—at least not principal. Konohamaru was too young for that, and principals were usually Hokage or venerable elders.
"Konohamaru, you can go for now," Shikamaru waved. "I need to discuss some things with the Hokage."
Konohamaru nodded and left.
"Shikamaru," Naruto said as he sat behind the Hokage's desk, "you're my secretary from now on."
"As expected," Shikamaru accepted calmly. "So what's the first thing you're going to do as Hokage?"
"How about we change the Hokage ceremonial robe to a green jumpsuit?" Naruto asked, excitedly taking off the hat.
"No." Shikamaru almost choked.
"Then the flak vest—can we swap that?" Naruto tried again, scratching his head.
"Also no," Shikamaru said without hesitation.
"We could put it to a vote at the jōnin meeting," Naruto said, fists clenched. "I want to see everyone's youth!"
"Jōnin meetings aren't for wasting time on this," Shikamaru said, firm.
"Alright," Naruto relented, seeing how hard Shikamaru shut it down.
"Let's start with the vacancies," Shikamaru said, suddenly feeling like he'd just prevented Konoha's destruction.
"Sasuke!" Naruto jumped in. "He could be the Hokage's aide!"
"With his strength, he'd be up to it," Shikamaru nodded. "We'll note it and bring it to the jōnin meeting."
"Too bad Kitazawa-sensei refuses to be a Hokage advisor again," Naruto sighed. "If he were here, he'd definitely understand my youth."
"...?" Shikamaru's mouth twitched. Do you… misunderstand Kitazawa-sensei?
"Let's keep going," he said, dragging the discussion back on track.
They talked straight through to dusk and finally sketched out the basics.
"Shikamaru, let's stop here for today," Naruto said, standing.
"Yeah," Shikamaru nodded. "I'll write it up and bring it tomorrow."
"I lost a whole day—I need to recharge my youth!" Naruto stretched, suddenly hyped.
"You're going to train?" Shikamaru asked. "Don't go too late—you're working tomorrow."
"Mm." Naruto shrugged off the ceremonial robe—revealing a green jumpsuit.
"…" Shikamaru's face froze. What are you doing?
"Lee!" Naruto called out the door.
"Hokage-sama!" Rock Lee sprinted in.
"Anbu ready?" Naruto grinned.
"All assembled!" Lee replied.
"What Anbu?" Shikamaru felt doom creeping up and hurried after them.
Outside, the Anbu had all changed into green jumpsuits. They fell in behind Naruto and Lee and started running laps around Konoha.
"Konoha is doomed," Shikamaru muttered as the world went dark.