Kakashi Hatake, the Jōnin in Charge

Synopsis
During an emergency council meeting with the Land of Fire, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado of the Konoha Council are spurred on by Danzō Shimura to tell the Fire Daimyō that they need a new Hokage since not only is Tsunade in a comatose state, but because they hold her responsible for Pain's assault. Shikaku, knowing that Danzō is attempting to usurp Tsunade, rushes in to nominate Kakashi as Konoha's Sixth Hokage.

The Land of Fire is pleased with the choice, as Kakashi was the student of the Fourth Hokage, who was the student of Jiraiya, who in turn was the student of the Third Hokage. Feeling that Kakashi is the ideal choice, the daimyō nearly approves Kakashi's promotion until Danzō tells him that Kakashi, due to that exact chain, embodies the teachings of the Third, which are unwarranted and weaken their village. He adds that Tsunade's administration did nothing to prevent the rise of the Akatsuki nor did she officially mark Sasuke as a missing-nin, and therefore he should be the next Hokage. Convinced, the fire daimyō officially announces Danzō as Konoha's Sixth Hokage.

Meanwhile, Sakura tells Naruto, Shizune and Kakashi that Tsunade may not awaken from her coma anytime soon, and that she had entered the comatose state due to healing all of the village's wounded. As Naruto and Sakura go off to fetch some water, Kakashi watches them and reminisces on when he was first assigned to their team.

After being announced as the leader of Team 7, consisting of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi observed them for the entire day, witnessing Naruto and Sasuke's kiss, Naruto ambushing Sasuke in order to spend some time with Sakura, as well as Naruto's trip to the bathroom due to spoiled milk. As he takes out his bells, he muses that they don't show much teammwork and that he cannot imagine that they would pass his bell test. Meanwhile, the two elders of the Konoha Council berate the Third Hokage for placing the Nine-Tails jinchuriki on a squad with Sasuke, claiming that Naruto should not be allowed outside the village. Unbeknownst to them, the meeting is spied by Danzō, who believes that the Third Hokage only did so due to the Sharingan's ability to control the Nine-Tails.

In the present day, Kakashi watches as Naruto and Sakura walk off into the distance and tells himself that it is up to him to stop Sasuke.

Trivia

 * The majority of the flashback revolving around Kakashi monitoring Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura in this episode contradicts with the original story as established in the early part of the manga and anime.
 * The Third Hokage and Kakashi visit Naruto's apartment as the Third muses how Kakashi was assigned to watch over the Fourth's son as well as an Uchiha. After this, Kakashi notices a carton of spoiled milk. In the original episode, the dialogue between the Third and Kakashi is entirely different, with Kakashi stating that Naruto would be problematic before picking up the carton of milk and noticing that it was spoiled.
 * In the original episode, Kakashi notices Naruto's carton of spoiled milk at the end of the day. However, in this episode, Kakashi visits Naruto's apartment at the beginning of the day and proceeds to observe the three team members for the rest of the day.
 * In the original episode, after Naruto returns from the bathroom, he yells at Sakura, believing her to be Sasuke in disguise. However, in this episode, he notices Sakura's sad demeanour and does not approach her; instead, he rushes off to find Sasuke, holding him responsible for upsetting Sakura.
 * Upon finding Sasuke on the road, surprised that Sasuke has escaped, Naruto engages in combat against him, with the battle being witnessed from above by Kakashi. Naruto uses his Shadow Clone Technique in an attempt to defeat Sasuke, only for Sasuke to easily take out the clones. Additionally, Sasuke uses the Tree Climbing Practice although it wasn't until shortly after when he had learned to walk up vertical surfaces using only chakra. After their battle, they are approached by Sakura, who tells them that they are late for class. In the original episode, Naruto ran into Sasuke on the way to the bathroom. Surprised that Sasuke had escape from his binds, Naruto attempted to attack him in the hallway with his shadow clones, only to run into the bathroom due to the spoiled milk. Also, at that point, they did not return to the Academy for classes due to the fact that they had officially graduated.
 * Additionally, Kakashi is seen to have witnessed the fight between Naruto and Sasuke on the road, where Naruto used shadow clones. However, when Naruto attacked him with shadow clones during the bell test, Kakashi was surprised that he was able to do so and mused that the rumour about Naruto being able to use shadow clones was true after all.

Kakashi Hatake, el Jōnin en cargo