Walking out of the Hokage's office alone, Kakashi finally let out a long sigh of relief.
As expected, the higher-ups didn't object to the plan—anything that promised a better success rate and fewer corpses was fine by them. The meeting was, as always, a formality wrapped in a power play.
What was less expected—though not shocking—was Danzo sending a Root invitation his way the moment the discussion concluded. Luckily, Tsunade shut that down instantly, claiming Kakashi as her candidate for the next director of Konoha Hospital.
A convenient excuse. An effective shield. A bullet dodged.
As for why he lingered behind after the meeting... well, the Third Hokage had decided to give him the "special treatment."
Lots of kind words about potential, nurturing talent, investing in the future. A heartfelt lecture on the Will of Fire, late but deeply... expected.
Kakashi shook his head, trying to clear the warm-and-fuzzy propaganda residue from his brain.
On the way back to the lab, he stopped by a street vendor to grab some glutinous rice balls and anko sand buns. The human experimentation had been paused for now, but his personal experiments on First Hokage cells were still ongoing. It wasn't exactly ethical research—but hey, baby steps, right?
Maybe it was Tsunade's intervention, maybe it was Orochimaru's whim, but lately, he'd been given a lot more leeway. Even the highly-coveted First Hokage cells were now within reach. Naturally, he was suspicious at first. After all, Orochimaru wasn't exactly famous for not coveting other people's bodies.
But the peace lasted. And little by little, Kakashi dropped the pretense and openly pursued his interest in the First Hokage's cells.
He wasn't doing it for Wood Style, though. Not really.
No, what he wanted... was the Sage Body.
The top brass of Konoha were still daydreaming about a Wood Style-powered golden age, as if slapping vines on people could fix their political mess. But Kakashi knew better. He'd read ahead in this book.
The Wood Style wasn't strong because it existed—it was strong because Hashirama Senju existed. Period.
Yamato's landscaping-tier Wood Style was proof enough of that.
Suppressing Tailed Beasts, regenerating like a monster, absorbing chakra like a vacuum—those weren't the perks of a water-and-earth fusion. That was a bloodline perk. A divine bloodline. A glorified cheat code.
If Kakashi, who wasn't exactly the reincarnation of Asura, wanted in on that party—he needed the real deal. The Sage Body. And that's why he stuck around.
Ding-ling-ling~
The alarm cut through the quiet hum of the lab. Time check: one hour before he had to teach at Konoha Hospital.
His stomach growled right on cue.
Ichiraku Ramen. The promised land.
But just as he was about to leave—
"Uh, thanks for the food."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow and turned to see little Anko standing awkwardly, cradling the experimental documents like they might bite her.
Well, well. Turns out Mitarashi Anko wasn't immune to the age-old power of free snacks.
This was the same kid who'd been throwing side-eyes at him for days, pissed that Orochimaru had been favoring him ever since he showed up. And now, one round of meatballs later, she was talking to him like they were old friends.
Kakashi smirked internally. Classic.
But outwardly, he only gave her a calm glance. "Just a thank you?"
Anko shifted, clutching the papers tighter. "Well... I don't have any money."
Kakashi tapped his chin. "Can you afford Ichiraku ramen?"
"Huh?"
"I treated you to glutinous rice balls and anko buns. Is it wrong to ask for a little ramen in return?"
Anko's eyes narrowed. She was clearly doing the mental math of how far her pocket money would go if Kakashi turned out to be a bottomless pit.
Still, after a moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Okay... but I need to deliver these to Lord Orochimaru first. I won't run away, I promise! Or... you can come with me—"
"Nah, I trust you. I'll wait at Ichiraku. Don't make me regret it."
"Got it! Twenty minutes!"
They parted ways outside the lab. Watching her run off with determination and slightly too much speed, Kakashi chuckled softly.
Was this him being nice? Or just indulging his evil sense of humor?
Hard to say.
Kakashi arrived at Ichiraku and claimed a seat. Ayame, cheerful as always, greeted him as he sat down.
True to her word, less than twenty minutes later, a puffing, red-cheeked Anko burst in through the front.
"Over here," Kakashi waved.
She made her way over, dropped into the seat beside him, and blinked in surprise when he slid over an Anko smoothie.
"I was just messing with you," Kakashi said with a shrug. "This one's on me."
Anko blinked again. "Huh? But I thought—"
"You said you didn't have much money. What kind of person makes a kid with no cash pay for ramen?"
"I'm not a kid!"
Kakashi arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
Seeing she wasn't winning that battle, Anko folded her arms and muttered, "I was going to pay, y'know... eventually."
"Sure. And I totally wasn't going to order a second round."
"...Were you?"
"Eh. Depends on how good the miso is today."
He turned to the counter. "Uncle Ichiraku, two bowls of miso ramen. One mild."
"How'd you know I don't like spicy food?" Anko squinted at him.
"It's a secret," Kakashi said, sipping his water like he hadn't just hacked her taste profile.
"Tch. Fine. Be mysterious."
But she quickly forgot her irritation as soon as she tasted the smoothie. Her expression melted into pure bliss.
Kakashi watched her for a moment, thoughtful.
In another timeline, Anko was one of the saddest casualties of Orochimaru's betrayal. A once-promising kunoichi, apprenticed to a Sannin, nearly on par with Minato in terms of mentorship pedigree—only to be discarded like an old experiment the moment Orochimaru defected.
Labeled. Mistrusted. Left behind.
And she never really recovered from that.
But here, maybe things could be different.
"Hey Kakashi," Anko said suddenly, smoothie in hand. "I heard you're Lady Tsunade's disciple. So why're you working as my master's assistant?"
Kakashi set his cup down. "Because Lord Orochimaru's a genius. Kind of creepy, but brilliant."
He leaned back slightly.
"If I can blend the medical ninjutsu I learned from Tsunade with the scientific madness I'm picking up from Orochimaru, maybe I can figure out a way to keep more people from dying in the war."
Anko blinked. "You think that's even possible?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. But if there's a chance... I want to try."
Anko looked at him with something like awe. Then she grinned.
"Well, I hope you pull it off!"
"Thanks," Kakashi said with a chuckle, ruffling her hair. "I'll borrow that hope."
"Hey! Don't mess up my hair!"
"No one's gonna see it."
"Still!"