the seventh | private

[Masahige]

The chair was uncomfortable and the room was stuffy. The paperwork seemed endless; a true testament to the late Hokage's desire to do it. Masahige sighed and leaned forward, grasping for the feathered pen resting in it's ink bottle.

"Kusunoki Masahige."The tone in which his name was spoken was unnerving, even to him. The entire Council of the Hidden Leaf Village stood before him, watching him with calculating eyes. He could only guess as to why they'd called him here. Had the death of Uzumaki Naruto been foul play, and they'd called on him to track down the assassin?

"We have called you to this meeting to inform you that we have selected you as the Seventh Hokage."

A small pile of paperwork had been completed and moved over to a 'done' pile. With each passing paper, Masahige remembered another sad face during his inauguration. Naruto was a beloved Hokage, and his death rattled the entire village. All Masahige could do was pick up the pieces and keep the village moving forward. It was not going to be easy, though. And somehow, Masahige knew that word of Naruto's death would stir the other villages into some questionable behavior.

Meetings with the other Kage would be necessary to maintain positive relationships with the other villages. Hopefully the Hidden Sand would remain an unshaken ally, as well as the Hidden Cloud. He could not be too sure about the Rock or the Mist, however. The lesser villages might even pose some concern. He needed to seek out Nara Shikamaru's advice on these things, and soon.

"It looks like I might be in for a rough start."