Otokage

Selection

Kabuto took off his glasses and rubbed at his tired eyes. For the past three days, he'd been sorting through name after name and file after file of people how had the credentials of becoming Orochimaru's successor. The credentials were so vague and cryptic (if it were possible) if he was allowed to say anything about it.

- Must be from Konohagakure no Sato

- Needs a mind sharper than the rest

- Able to hold the weight of a village on their shoulders

- Has absolute control of their inner workings

- Has the capability to defeat a greater enemy

- Holds the greatest reason for leaving their village

Couldn't Orochimaru be a little more specific? He sighed and looked through the files once again. Must be from Konohagakure no Sato. Kabuto had already set aside the ones who didn't match the required background and was left with a considerable stack of folders. A mind sharper than the rest? Anyone could possibly fit that description. Anyone at all!

He skipped down to the last thing on the list: Holds the greatest reason for leaving the village. That was probably the hardest requirement to meet. Konoha was that type of village who had the most loyal shinobi under a headstrong Hokage. It was rare for someone to defect from Konoha, much less without reason. Kabuto was about to shuffle all the files together and start over from scratch when his eyes landed on Haruno Sakura's.

He slipped on his glasses and pulled hers from the pile.

Needs a sharper mind than the rest. She was a medic and undoubtedly a high-ranking one, considering that she studied under one of the legendary sannin renowned for her ability to heal and her monstrous strength. It was also listed that she had a natural aptitude for genjutsu. He recalled that sometime back when he cast the jutsu over the arena in the chuunin exams, she was one of the few who was able to dispel herself.

Able to hold the weight of a village on their shoulders. Literally speaking, she couldn't do something like that, but he was pretty damn sure she could destroy one whole village with a single fist to the ground. Metaphorically speaking, she was already doing a lot of the paperwork in Tsunade's place and already had a developed political outlook, giving her that advanced education she would need to rule a village.

Has absolute control of their inner workings. Sakura had to have astounding chakra control to be able to harness the strength of a thousand men. And again, she was a medic. Only a few people could enter that field and excel in it. And has the capability to defeat a greater enemy? She had previously defeated a greater enemy not too long ago—Akasuna no Sasori. Granted, she wasn't alone, but the old woman would have never succeeded unless Sakura was there with her. And that antidote. People gave her too little credit for creating an antidote overnight for a poison created by a poisons master himself.

Lastly, holding the greatest reason for leaving the village. Kabuto thought about her team dynamics and her relationship with Konoha. He had to hand it to them—Team Seven was an absolute mistake from the start. First, you put a boy who would seek nothing for revenge with another who only wanted to be accepted and make friends. Then you throw in a girl just for the hell of it. It might look like a good team: dead last, the rookie of the class, and a girl with more book smarts than anything else. It looked balanced based on skills, but on a personal level, it was the worst three people you could possibly mix together.