frick it, he was done waiting. Just absolutely done with it. Period. End of discussion. He'd done the normal route. He'd done the not so normal route. He'd left messages, he'd confronted people. He'd gone through the current Jounin and even appealed to the Jounin Council. As far as the 'leadership' was concerned, he was back, and he was angry. He was fed up with watching the village fall apart around yet another absentee Hokage; the last in a long line, it would seem, since he'd left. Wars fought and nearly lost because the powerhouses had vanished. Well, enough of that; now. He was losing Naota and Amaya, this was true; and he had little information or reason to hold faith in the records of Rippa; but he was damn good at making friends and bringing them to his side... he'd have the village up to full power in no time, even if it meant putting outlanders in positions of power. Within reason, of course.

He had a good idea of his first promotion; but that was for later. As of right now however, he was stomping his way out of the council chambers; the place where the Jounin met to discuss things of importance to the village, in conjunction with the civilian elders, and /normally/ the Hokage; but as Sousetsu was now listed as MIA... well.

He'd stepped in.

In his robes.

In his hat.

In his job.

The Dog!Kage was back, and shit was about to get goooood.

Emergency summons where sent across the village; the announcement would be made today, as soon as reasonably possible. There was no contesting his claim, he was legitimately the Hokage, and it wasn't as if there was no precedence for this sort of situation. Upon the death of the 4th Hokage, the 3rd returned to the position until a successor was found. The biggest difference here was, Kenta was still in his prime, and well suited to maintaining active duty Kageship for years to come; with no reason or need to find a replacement. He was going to do what he'd supposed to; be the Kage until his lungs finally gave out and he died wearing his fucking hat.

Gods, the urge to make Michi his Sannin was high. But that wouldn't be smart. He needed Michizuka to be safe; for the sake of the kids, Michizuka had to be kept safe. So, no Sannin. Not yet. That being said... well, dat promotion was long overdue. His office was in the midst of being restored properly, now that the doors would open; so that would be done soon enough. For now... he merely worked his way up to the balcony which overlooked the meeting grounds; where all Hokage of the past had given speeches and such for generations untold.

He'd given an hour for ninja to approach and gather; it was plenty of time to get a rather large crowd going. A summons sent by the Hokage? Whispers of Sousetsu returning, whispers of a new Kage being selected; they raged around and around the soldiers for the duration of the wait. Hundreds had appeared, from all levels and ranks and positions; ready to see what was going on, and to finally hear from the one running the village. Really, after so long, it wasn't even surprising that everyone that could possibly attend was there; what with the lack of any sort of leadership or actual... well, Kage, for so long.

Kenta was standing just inside the door the led outside onto the balcony, Michizuka leaning comfortably against the wall in a way that made both of them smirk uncontrollably; it was such a juxtaposition from the last time this happened where Michizuka was nervous and jittery and just crying for joy over the entire situation happening; but neither of them was 17 and a kid anymore, so this was so easy and felt so right this time. Kenta himself was as relaxed as they got; golden eyes molten with determination that exuded from him in waves; he was going to fix the mess he'd caused by leaving, and that was all that mattered to him in that moment.

Well, that and the fact that his kids where standing in the crowd and would get to see this happen this time. The last time, they where only a few weeks old; to young to leave the house really, and if not for Amaya staying behind to watch them, Michizuka would have missed it too. Now... well, it was going to suck not having anyone by his side as he stepped out, but he would deal. Soon, very soon, he would fix that.

The time was at hand, he would step outside with the striking of the hour. All was silent outside, everyone was on edge, waiting to see who would be appearing. Listening to the crowd beforehand, the stance was unclear among the masses; whether they favored Sousetsu's return, or a new Kage... it was almost a tie, really. Or so it was among these assembled witnesses. He didn't much care either way; he'd be working through either scenario, same as he had before. He hadn't been super popular in the first weeks and months after his initial promotion; he was just a pup after all then; but now? He had a hell of a track record to support himself with, so he should be good. Across the village, bells rang out with the changing of the time, and he snuck a last kiss to Michi's cheek before stepping into the sunlight and a new era for the village.

His hood was pulled low as he moved to the edge of the balcony, to where the masses could see him and interact with him as needed. Silence, broken only by the wing and echoing bells, the chirping of birds or chittering insects; nothing human moved or breathed or spoke. Not until the moment that he shifted his stance to bring out his full height and clan alpha position; sunlight glinting off golden hair and golden eyes, his single fang mark standing proudly on his cheek; the mark of his clan, the mark of his pack and his family and his legacy.

The return of the Inuzuka Kage.

Elders of the ninja acted first; split between applause that raged like thunder and gasps of surprise. When he'd left, he'd been extraordinarily popular with civilian and ninja alike; but that didn't stop fans of Sousetsu from being confused. Or everyone, for that matter.

He gave them a moment before he began to speak, or act, or do anything, really. He wasn't going to stand there and start badmouthing or whatever, he'd been Kage too long to be that kind of person. Really, he had a plan, and he had something he wanted to say. Simple as that.

"So, literally everyone is now confused beyond belief. I understand this, and information about just what's going on will be made available after my little speech. The basics of it are as follows: Sousetsu Senju had been removed from the position of Hokage, due to being placed on MIA status. As of this moment, he is considered as such. Because of this, it has been decided by the consensus of the Jounin and Civilian councils that he shall be replaced. That being said, my own return a few weeks ago was fortuitous, as it left us with a valid replacement for him. As such, I have been reinstated as Hokage of Konoha. While many of you are rightly extremely confused as to how I am even alive, let alone standing here as the returning Hokage, well; that will be explained later. As of this moment, I wish only to announce that I will be returning to my former position, as well as to deliver a bit of a speech to the people of the village. Many of you will well remember my stances on certain issues, namely those pertaining to humanity and the role of the leaders of the people. I do not view the role of Hokage as that of a supreme leader, as some do. Put into my own words:

'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor, that's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible - Ninja, civilian; countrymen, or outlander. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich, and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls
Has barricaded the world with hate
We think too much and feel too little

More than machinery, we need humanity
More than cleverness, we need kindness
Without these qualities life would be violent
And all would be lost

Do not despair
The hate of men will pass
And dictators die
And the power they took from the people
Will return to the people

Let us all unite!
Let us fight for a new world
To do away with greed
Now let us fight to free the world
To fulfill that promise
Let us all unite!

Soldiers, don't give yourselves to brutes
Men who despise you enslave you
Tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel
Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men
Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts
You are not machines
You are men

You the people have the power
To make this life free and beautiful
Let us use that power
To make this life a wonderful adventure

Let us all unite!
Let us fight for a new world
To do away with greed
Now let us fight to free the world
To fulfill that promise

Let us all unite!
Let us fight for a new world
To do away with greed
A world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness

Do not despair
The hate of men will pass
And dictators die
And the power they took from the people
Will return to the people

Let us all unite~!

He stood above them all, silent now as he allowed his words to sink into the minds and hearts of those assembled; those watching the screens of the monitors to which this assembly and speech was projected to. All across the village, people ninja and civilian both witnessed the return of the Inuzuka that would be the Hokage yet again.

"In the coming days, new orders will be passed to all Ninja under Konoha's banner. Changes are coming; updating and modernizing of the squads and specialist corps. New groups will be announced, with open acceptance for membership. New Sannin have been selected for the village; however Captain Rippa will be retaining his position as both Sannin and Captain of the Sword Saints. Naota and Amaya Uchiha have elected to renounce their titles for personal reasons, and I shall respect their right to do so. Change is coming to the village once again; and with a little luck, things will be improving for everyone, now that there will be some proper leadership again."

With that, he was done; really. He had said what he was going to say, and done what needed to be done. Jounin Council members where approaching from behind him now, moving to address the ninja themselves, and allowing him to slip away and out of the spotlight for a bit.

He needed a drink. He needed some time in his office with paperwork.

And Michizuka. That desk of his needed to be broken back in again, after all.

WC: 2000

1000/1000 C-Rank Jutsu Cyclone Tunneling Fang
1000/1000 C-Rank Jutsu Silhouette Technique

Knocking on his door. Thirty seconds after he got back to his office. Three minutes after he finished his speech and slipped free of the spotlight. Right then. This was going to be interesting. Given the way the guards where turning away anyone under Jounin rank without an appointment at the moment... this must be someone important. Ish. He had a very different idea of what was important than most did; what with his whole 'my family comes first' attitude (which most didn't realize meant that he prioritized the village itself, as he saw the entire village as part of his extended pack and therefore his family of sorts); but that didn't mean he enjoyed random knocking on his door. Specially not at the moment, when he just wanted to watch his dogs roll around the office and make it their own once again. It was fun to just watch Yuki snoring peacefully in the sunlight leaking through the open window, or the massive Aki rubbing against every solid surface until it was stained red with his fur.

Ah, home. It was good to be back.

Oh wait. The person was speaking?

“Lord Hokage, may I come inside and ask for a favor?”

Of course they did. That's all everyone ever wanted from him, it seemed. Oh well. He grunted something that sounded very much like, 'Enter.', before reaching for whatever random paperwork was on his desk and pulling so that he looked like he was focusing on it. Important or not, he gave everything roughly the same level of his attention, so anyone that knew anything about him wouldn't be all that confused, or think anything was out of sorts with him. He didn't outright recognize the voice he'd heard, and it sounded like it was muffled via an ANBU mask, or something similar, so he was going to take a swing and pull up his mental listing of ANBU and such. Maybe he'd match a mask to a file. Or it would be a swing and a miss. Either worked.

WC: 351

351 + 2000 = 2351

“Let me introduce myself since you may not know me personally, but I go by the name of Uchiha Tenzō, and you could say that I recently joined this division. Also, may I remove my mask?”

Uchiha and ANBU. Sounded about right. If they weren't MP, they went ANBU, that clan. Not that he minded, he had a pretty solid relationship with them overall, and was willing to let them have free reign in whatever roles they wanted and where good at. Over and over the Uchiha had proven amazing at being ANBU and/or Military Police, so it worked for everyone. This was an Uchiha he wasn't familiar with, outside of a name on a file and the usual data contained within; but with such a massive clan, that wasn't surprising. He didn't claim to know every single member of the clan, nor would he ever try to.

“Let me not waste anymore of your time, so let us get directly to the point of my arrival. Sousetsu Senju was probably a busy Kage, and I do not know why he had given up on his duty and title. ... If I may ask, are there any plans to restore the Naka Shrine?”

Well, he wouldn't debate that. From the amount of paperwork he'd been saddled with, he'd pieced together that before the elder male had vanished, he'd been as industrious, if not more so, than Kenta himself had been; so that had salvaged a bit of respect from the void Kenta'd thrown it into. His opinion of Sousetsu was low not because he doubted the Senju's power or ability, but for how he'd handled things and vanished without a trace. Granted, he'd done similar; but his had been planned, even if no one believed or understood that anymore. Whatever. He'd fix that later, when he was done getting the rest of the village settled and running properly again. He glanced up at the male before him, lifting an arm to gesture toward either of the chairs that faced his desk. At the moment, they where empty and 'clean', in the sense of being freshly reupholstered and not covered in mud/dog fur/etc; so he didn't need to worry about offending the Uchiha's sensibilities with how... Inuzuka, his office normally was. "Sit. You're free to remove your mask if you wish. The Naka Shrine? As far as I've seen since I've been back, there are no active plans to do anything about it; however I'm not opposed to authorizing a repair if that's what you're after."

WC: 452

2351 + 452 = 2803