Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kakashi woke up with a pounding headache and dizzying nausea. He sensed that his chakra was behaving erratically and was confused as to the reason why. Trying to temper down the dizzying feeling, he took a deep breath whilst lying down, brought his hands together in the familiar ram sign and then attempted to control his chakra and calm it down. As he started to feel his chakra swirling around his body, he noted with confusion that his body was exuding a large amount of spiritual energy.

Kakashi consciously swirled his chakra in the opposite direction of his natural counterclockwise state, attempting to impede the flow of his spiritual energy. He could feel the swirl of energy slow down as it tried to move in an unnatural direction. With time, he managed to slow down enough mental energy and expelled it outwards. The imbalance was still significant, so he set off on another round. He repeated the process over and over, allowing for the physical energy to balance better with the now-lowered spiritual levels.

Once the nausea started to subside as his body rebalanced, he turned his thoughts to the reasons why. Between the Orange Masked Akatsuki who claims he's Uchiha Madara declaring the Fourth Shinobi War and the revelation behind the truth of the Uchiha Massacre, Kakashi knew a storm was coming and his trouble magnet student was going to be in the middle of it. Not to mention what Naruto told him about Madara being the one behind the Kyuubi attack, there were so many secrets being uncovered and they all led back to Madara. He couldn't believe the mess one person could cause.

Was it possible that the heightened stress was affecting the spiritual energy component of his chakra? He heard of cases where mental strain caused chakra problems, but documented cases were driven by long-term psychological or physical torture. Maybe the drums of war at their doorstep impacted him more than he realized? Not only was another war coming, but Naruto was a prime target. If he had any chance of protecting Naruto, he needed to seriously level up his abilities, especially if Uchiha Madara was involved.

Then there was the truth about Itachi. After Itachi killed his entire clan, Kakashi felt like he failed in passing on the Will of Fire to his junior in ANBU. He recalled the first time he heard about the massacre; at the time he couldn't believe Itachi would commit such atrocities against his own family. He had always felt a kinship with the younger Uchiha and was devastated that the shinobi he trusted went down such a dark path. The truth gave him some closure in that regard, yet opened old wounds about the darker side of how Konoha is governed.

He understood that this was why Sasuke chose revenge once more and could relate to a degree. After his father's suicide, Kakashi also saw Konoha in a different light. His father was a legendary hero who protected the Leaf and dedicated his whole life to the village. One mistake and he was ostracized to the point of choosing to take his own life. He was beyond angry in the first years following his father's death, but Konoha was his home and he wanted to protect the village which meant the world to his father, and with time, Kakashi himself. He wondered how far Sasuke would go down the avenger path and if he could truly be redeemed.

The train of his thoughts did nothing to alleviate his pounding headache. With a groan, Kakashi moved to sit up, massaging his temples with a grimace. Taking in deep breaths, he waited for the eb in his head to slowly subside before Kakashi finally took stock of his surroundings. He expected to find the same lodgings he, Naruto and Tenzo were resting at, but found himself in an unknown location that was somehow familiar.

With that observation, his instincts immediately kicked in and he pushed the covers to the side and jumped out of the bed to get in a defensive position… or rather, he tried. As he moved to get out of the bed, his legs didn't reach the floor as expected and it knocked him off balance, causing him to tumble. With his honed reflexes, he quickly stuck his hands onto the floor, pushing himself into a makeshift handstand before jumping forwards and righting himself before he could land face first on the floor. The landing was shaky, but he still managed to stand upright, yet the tumbling movements brought upon another wave of sickness that made him sway on his feet. That is when he noticed that his legs were shorter, far shorter.

In response, Kakashi put his hands into the known seals to dispel any genjutsu, however, his shout of 'kai' did nothing and Kakashi's dread grew. His chakra still felt weird, but he knew that he performed the release properly, albeit not as efficiently as he usually does. He opened his left eye to aid in the situation, but the familiar field of vision that Obito's Sharingan displayed did not appear. Kakashi tried to dispel a genjutsu again, this time channeling even more chakra and concentrating more on maintaining proper chakra control but was disappointed once more with the lack of change.

He cursed for not noticing that an enemy caught him in a genjutsu and his concern for Naruto and Tenzo spiked. If the genjutsu was strong enough to nullify the Sharingan, it had to be another Sharingan user who had caught him, so he concluded that Madara had come back sooner than expected. That begged the question of why Madara hadn't simply eliminated him, or why Tenzo and Naruto hadn't dispelled the genjutsu yet.

Highly confused, Kakashi began observing his surroundings, trying to get more hints. If he was indeed caught in a genjutsu, there was nothing for it expect to hope that his teammates dispel it. He spread out his chakra feeling the area around him and could sense the chakra of what would be regular citizens and shinobi milling around. Observing his surroundings, he found them quite familiar as if plucked from old memories. The bed was situated under the window adorned with a blue kunai patterned comforter. To the left of his bed, his desk was overlooking another window, where scrolls and paper were strewn all over the surface in a messy bundle. A bookcase was standing next to it filled with books and numerous scrolls, some he collected while on missions outside of Konoha while others he had inherited from his father. To the right of the bed a closet and some shelves that stored a few more books. In front of the bed, two doors were closed, one that led to a small kitchen while another to a small bathroom. The quaint corner apartment was just as he recalled.

In fact, he could smell his own scent all over the room. This level of scent not possible from a one-night stay, rather, a degree indicating that Kakashi spent an ordinate amount of time here. Olfactory genjutsu were rare, and the level of detail that went into this genjutsu had to have a purpose beyond delaying him from a fight. Why would Madara place him in a genjutsu that dropped him into his childhood home, reverting him into a child and taking the time to add his scent and foreign chakra signals outside?

As time passed by with him simply standing in the middle of the room with no changes, a genjutsu was becoming less and less likely. If he got trapped mid-fight that was still ongoing, his teammates would have cancelled it by now. If his teammates lost, then Madara would have moved forward by either killing him or whatever other purpose he could have in mind.

Concluding that he was most likely in no immediate danger but has found himself in another set of bizarre events, Kakashi turned his thoughts to the mystery at hand. Kakashi sat back down on the floor, taking on a meditative position. This time, he studied the flow of his chakra, reading the various energy levels for clues. He focused on the feel of his spiritual energy, and it was clearing overpowering his physical side. Comparing it to the natural feel of his chakra though, it felt normal, familiar, comfortable. Shifting his focus to his physical energy, the energy swirling inside him felt weaker than usual.

Was there a jutsu that could reverse aging? That would explain his small stature and why his physical energy suddenly plummeted, driving his chakra system out of whack. Yet if that were the case, why would he be in his old bedroom? Was it possible that it wasn't his adult body turned to that of a child, rather, his soul sent back in time. The second he thought of that possibility he dismissed it, there is no such thing as going back in time.

At that point, Kakashi decided to summon Pakkun as an experiment to simply gain more data. Biting his thumb and running through the familiar hand seals, Kakashi called his most faithful companion. Yet, Kakashi only managed to create a cloud of smoke and growled in frustration. This time he consciously mixed his energies as opposed to weaving through the signs as if it was second nature to him, and Kakashi attempted the summoning jutsu once more. In a puff smoke, Pakkun appeared before him much to his relief. Before could Kakashi get a word in, Pakkun addressed him.

"So, it's not just us," Pakkun said evenly taking in Kakashi's form, his bored tone not able to fully mask the concern the pug was feeling.

"Did all of you get smaller?" Kakashi asked for clarification.

"Yes," Pakkun sighed.

"…and this isn't a genjutsu," Kakashi mused out loud.

"No," Pakkun confirmed and started sniffing around "it's your scent alright. What's happening?"

"No idea," Kakashi could feel his headache increasing again, with a sigh he closed his eyes, dipping his head upwards and pinching the top of his nose in annoyance. "I'd say we've gone back in time, but that's ridiculous."

"Is that the best you could come up with?" Pakkun was unamused.

"Any better ideas?" Kakashi asked rhetorically before plopping down on the bed, his legs dangling in the air as he they were too short to reach the floor.

"You're the genius, not me," Pakkun shrugged before jumping on the bed next to Kakashi.

"You spoke at four months," Kakashi reminded him with a small fond smile. Pakkun's only response was a small snort of amusement before they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. If it really were true, what would that mean? Was this a second chance? Did he even want one? Were his students dead? Would they be born again, and if so, would they ever be the same people he grew to love?

He was hit with a flood of emotions from melancholy and loss to a glimmer of hope to anxiousness all at once. If he had truly time-traveled, was there a way to go back? Even if there was a way back home, should he take it? This could be an opportunity for him to give his students a happier childhood. Even if their bond would never be the same, didn't he owe them that much? They were the most precious people in his life now. His entire life he had sacrificed so much for the village and the future children of Konoha, couldn't he do the same for his students?

With that train of thought he felt a stab of annoyance; after so many years in darkness, he had finally become happy. Didn't he deserve that happiness? Why him? Couldn't anyone else have been thrown into this mess? Be saddled with this responsibility? A restless energy overcame him, and he stood up abruptly only to find Pakkun giving him looks of concern.

"Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to get more evidence," Kakashi mumbled, "let's go for a walk and try to detect if there is anything out of the ordinary. If we don't find any other explanation, then although it's improbable, time travel will become the only likely conclusion. Then we can worry about what comes next."

"Sounds like a plan," Pakkun replied faithfully and Kakashi nodded gratefully.

Kakashi then walked over to the wooden closet and picked out the familiar blue baggy pants and navy t-shirt with white stripes on the side. Throwing them on quickly, he decided to forego the arm guards and made for the desk. Leaning slightly more on one leg, briefly noting that uncomfortable feeling of walking around heads shorter, Kakashi grabbed the calendar and marked the year as three years before the Kyuubi attack.

"I seem to be 11 years old," Kakashi informed Pakkun.

"So, you've been in Team Minato for two years, are Obito and Rin chunin yet?"

"It's July so yes, if I recall they would have just been promoted two months ago," Kakashi replied as he placed the calendar back, "meaning we're getting training missions to get ready to be sent to the frontlines soon. I should become a jonin in around a year. If this is all true, that would give me a little bit less than one year to change Obito's fate."

Kakashi grabbed a stack of papers and started riffling through them for more clues, "these are my notes for Chidori, so the timeline measures up with the date. I seem to have just started coming up with the jutsu. Some of these notes are hilariously wrong though, I'd laugh if the situation wasn't so aggravating."

"In what way?" Pakkun was curious.

"The technical details are right but the way mini-me was trying to piece them together to create a stable form of chakra is off. The elemental manipulation is on point but mini-me is still using the logic of the base chakra form of the Rasengan instead of the proper shape manipulation. He wants to adjust the shape but is still leaning towards forms that favor explosive damage like the Rasengan despite envisioning the cutting effects of Chidori. Lightning is more suitable for precise attacks, thus favors a different form," Kakashi elaborated before going through more stacks of paper.

"Maybe mini-you is still trying to add nature manipulation to the Rasengan," Pakkun suggested but Kakashi shook his head.

"I never tried to do that theoretically, only tried that hands-on and failed. In hindsight, that was a stupid move," Kakashi added. "Nothing else here is very interesting, studying some basic seals, the theory behind the Water Formation Wall, no mission report which means we're in a training period. I'm probably missing a meet up with my team if anything. Regardless, the accuracy of having these notes means we're definitely not in a genjutsu, I can't imagine the amount of planning it would take to create such a scenario. I'd say it's the Mangekyo Sharingan, but Madara's is a space-time jut…"

Kakashi suddenly felt dread as the pieces came together, "Pakkun, if we really did time-travel, then the only explanation that it's a jutsu of Madara's. If that's the case, then he probably time-traveled too. Maybe I traveled too by mistake? Maybe it's because Obito's Mangekyo is also a space-time jutsu? Maybe other people time traveled? There are too many possible scenarios but imagine how easier it would be for Madara to move along his plans if he has fore-knowledge! Come on, we need to see if anyone else could be a time traveler and we can't do that here."

With that, Kakashi and Pakkun made their way outside, Kakashi quickly locking the door and activating the seals, filing away the need to upgrade them down the line if he was in the past. Walking around Konoha, Kakashi first peered at the Hokage Mountain to only find three Hokage looking down at the village. As he started making his way towards the Hokage Administration Building with Pakkun trotting by his side, he kept an ear out on the conversations around him hoping to pick up some clues.

While he had moved apartments down the line, he had walked this path so many times that he easily followed the proper route without much focus. There weren't many conversations around him as he meandered through the familiar side streets, making his way towards the main market area in the village. However, as stalls and shops started lining up the side of the road, the conversations picked up.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Ukai kun will make it back safely."

"They're fifty-two ryou and I won't go down, take it, or leave it. These medicinal herbs are getting scarce with the war. I hope our ninja can secure more soon but until they do, I can't give you a lower price."

"Aren't you worried about sending your kids to the academy during these times? Yuki keeps asking me to join but I can't bring myself to sign him up with a war happening."

"I already need more kunai, with so many missions I feel like I'm restocking my weapons every other week!"

"Have you talked to Saryu san recently? She is still mourning, and I can't get her to leave the house. Have you had better luck?"

"It's been a while since we were in the village at the same time. Do you want to grab some… oi look, it's the Hatake brat. Still can't believe they made him into a ninja."

He slowed down as he heard his name coming in a conversation between two men a few meters away and then pretended to be interested in the books a nearby stall was displaying, hoping to catch useful tidbits. He was far away enough that they wouldn't suspect him listening into their conversation, but with his advanced sense of hearing, it was easy to hear everything they were saying.

"I heard he really helped out on a mission with Idaki with his lightning style jutsu by negating the opponent's techniques to provide him an opening; he is a genius after all."

"I know he's a genius, but Sakumo was also legendary and look at the mess he created. It's not his skill I'm worried about, it's whether he can be trusted. Besides what is he doing with Idaki on a mission, isn't the brat under Minato san's wing now?"

"Well, his teammates are still fresh ninja so they can't keep him on D-Rank missions. The kid has been a chunin for years."

"Good, at least he's out there risking his life, that's the least the brat could do. Maybe he'll die and we'd be rid of him."

"He's just a kid, Kanzaki. Besides, the more ninja we have fighting the better."

Pakkun started growling and Kakashi uttered his name lowly but with urgency. He couldn't risk bringing attention to himself and the villagers' opinions of him were the least of his concerns now. Pretending he finished browsing the collection, he placed one of the books back on the display and started walking once more. When the men saw him approach, they changed the subject to other topics.

That said, the information about Idaki san was useful. He recalled that mission for transporting supplies to one of the front lines and being ambushed by Iwa ninja. If his memory served him correctly, this is the time when forces on both sides started to dwindle so more enemies were making it past the front lines and deeper into enemy territory. As such, many skirmishes would break out closer to the villages and genin were no longer being sent out on many missions, rather focused on supporting the village until they were better prepared.

As he made his way towards the Hokage Building, most of the conversations were mundane. From the small snippets he heard so far, there appeared to be no changes to the timeline as he remembered it. One conversation on the other side of the road, however, made him stand at attention once more, this time opting to stand at the side of the road pretending to observe those coming and going.

"You wouldn't believe what I heard from Yoku chan. Fugaku sama took the Uchiha heir with him to the battlefield! What would happen if Iwa ninja managed to kill him? That would have been a disaster. Can you imagine the moral boost the Iwa scum would have? I think it was just too risky," a woman bemoaned.

"Fugaku sama only took him to a battlefield after the fighting was done," the man who appeared to be her husband shrugged as he balanced bags of vegetables, "I think it's a good idea to inspire the kid to train hard. The Uchiha are some of our strongest ninjas, and while I don't like most of them since they think they're better than everyone, you can't deny their strength."

"But he's too young, and what if there were reinforcements?" the woman wasn't convinced as selected carrots and placed them in a bag, before handing them to her husband and ripping out another plastic bag placed around by the vegetable stand.

"The Legendary Sannin became genin at six years old and look at how strong they are now!" the man reminded her with less than a patient tone, "Even the Hatake brat became a genin at five and is active in the field. Look at Uchiha Shisui, he's already making waves. It may not be completely safe, but exposing geniuses to the realities of the ninja world early has helped shape them into strong weapons. Don't spew nonsense about them being kids, we're ninja."

At that statement, Kakashi felt his temper rise but didn't outwardly show any reaction other than shifting his legs to place more weight on his right one and stuffing his hands deeper in his pockets.

"I wasn't going to," the women seemed to be getting annoyed at her husband, "I may only be a chunin but even I know that a ninja village's strength is linked to how many geniuses it breeds. I'm with you. I just think the heir is still far too young to protect himself for a few seconds if anything went wrong. What is he, five?"

"He's four," the man shrugged, "He also had a bunch of Uchiha with him, he was fine."

Kakashi had heard enough and jumped to the roofs. Pakkun, who was picking up on his summoners' mood, expected the move and was quick to join him. He didn't expect Kakashi to stumble and overshoot his boost.

"You ok?" Pakkun asked with concern.

"Struggling with a bit of chakra imbalance. Anyway, it's interesting what a few years can do to change your perspective on things," Kakashi sighed as he moved to jump to the next roof, this time accounting for his chakra issues as Pakkun followed. "I forgot how harsh people's opinions were during times of war. Well, not forgot per say, but I didn't really focus much on what was happening around me, just on becoming stronger and stronger. This was just background noise."

"What really triggered you though?" Pakkun questioned, filing the chakra imbalance for a later conversation "you didn't care when those men spoke about you worse than these two did. Was it Itachi?"

With that line of questioning Kakashi stopped at the next roof and turned to Pakkun, the pain in his eyes clear to the loyal pug. "He was a kid, Pakkun. He was only thirteen, I can't imagine what he had to endure. It also explains why he didn't do anything that day in Konoha when he came with Kisame. I always wondered why he chose torture despite having such a window to simply kill me, Asuma and Kurenai."

"He did stab you for three days straight," Pakkun noted, "I wouldn't call that nothing."

"Itachi was never the type to torture his victims, always going for the swift death," Kakashi shook his head "I was so blind." Ironically, Kakashi thought about his phrase of looking underneath the underneath. In hindsight, the signs were there, and he missed them. If anything, that was probably why Itachi was brutal; it pushed Kakashi to believe that the comrade he once knew no longer existed, instead of really consider the implications. He truly had failed in so many ways. His heart heavier Kakashi continued onwards until he made it to the Hokage Building.

"I can take it from here Pakkun," Kakashi announced, not wanting Pakkun to attract attention as others would wonder why a summon was there.

"I'll wait for a summon soon," Pakkun understood, "whatever this ends up being, you're not alone." Before Kakashi could return the gesture with gratitude, Pakkun disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi smiled regardless, promising himself to treat the pug to some steak sometime soon. The more the day went on, the more time travel was a possibility. It also made sense that Pakkun and the pack time traveled alongside him as summoning was a space-time jutsu binding the summoner and the creatures of the bond.

As he walked inside, he sat in one of the benches alongside ninja waiting to meet with the Third to receive their missions or give a debrief about a completed one. If anyone had time traveled, there is a good chance they would come here and demand to speak to the Hokage. Nobody paid him any heed, assuming he was there for ninja affairs. His thoughts continued to plague him as he observed the ninja coming and going, but it was becoming harder to concentrate as his mind kept drifting back to Itachi and Naruto.

Unfortunately, after around two hours when the office started winding down, he concluded that even if there were other time travelers, they weren't coming forward. Furthermore, there were no ninja who seemed to be acting differently or simply observing as he was. With that, he walked back outside and noted that dusk was starting to rise in Konoha.

The nausea was starting to return as his spiritual energy built up once more over the last three hours. Not wanting to catch unwanted attention by dispelling his chakra sporadically in one of the busiest areas of Konoha, Kakashi started to make his way back home on foot. His progress was slow as the dizziness refused to subside but the very idea of jumping on the roofs made his world turn.

Luckily, nobody paid him any heed as usual, and he made it back to his apartment complex unhindered. By the time he had made it home, night had fallen on Konoha, and Kakashi was shaking slightly from the exertion, sweat falling down his face and his breathing shallow. With his head to the ground, Kakashi grabbed the staircase railing to support his ascent to his apartment on the upper floors. As he slowly made his way up, he started to lightly expel some energy as he wasn't sure he would make it upstairs if he waited any longer.

"Finally," Kakashi muttered when he saw the familiar door. He quickly opened the door, fumbling a bit at the lock. He walked inside, closed the door behind him and then collapsed on the floor, leaning his head back on the doorframe. He spread out his left leg outwards and lifted his right leg as he began to expel spiritual energy more readily.

As his chakra system stabilized once more, he could feel the dizziness abate. This is going to be a problem. He was so consumed by the process that he didn't sense the presence of someone at his window till they called out his name.

"Kakashi! What's the matter?"

Kakashi lifted his head and found his sensei crouched at the window, a flood of emotions washing over him as he took in the face of his very well and alive sensei. His sensei, who left the world too soon and was unable to meet his bright son beyond a few minutes in the Kyuubi's seal. His fate was too cruel. In fact, his sensei of twenty-one years was now a good decade younger than Kakashi himself. That brought forth a protective instinct in Kakashi, as opposed to the usual sense of tranquility. It was now his job to protect his young sensei, not the other way around.

While he gathered his thoughts, Minato had already opened the window by the desk and made his way inside, kneeling in front of Kakashi who was still sprawled out by the door.

"Kakashi, what are you feeling?" a sense of alarm in Minato's voice as Kakashi failed to reply and only stared at him.

"Nausea," Kakashi answered to reassure his sensei, years in ANBU enabling him to mask his emotions quickly "but it subsided, I'm fine."

He saw Minato placed one hand on Kakashi's forehead and frowned "There's no fever. Any idea what brought this on?"

Kakashi batted his sensei's hand away, "it's probably just something I ate," he offered as an excuse "I thought a bit of fresh air would help but that was clearly a mistake."

Minato gave a small noise of acknowledgment before he extended out a hand, "Can you stand?" Without replying, Kakashi took the offered hand and allowed his sensei help him get back on his feet, his stomach choosing to growl at that moment. Kakashi had been so wrapped up in the events of the day that he had forgotten to eat anything. Minato picked up on it and raised an eyebrow at the younger ninja, "Have you eaten?"

"I was feeling too nauseous," Kakashi shook his head slightly and was secretly glad he used food poisoning as an excuse, it conveniently fit.

"Come on," Minato led Kakashi to the kitchen, "I'll make you some soup." Part of Kakashi wanted to tell the man to leave as his head was still swimming, but he also wanted to simply enjoy his sensei's company again, something he never thought he'd be able to. "Where do you keep the pots… and well… everything?" Minato had never been in Kakashi's kitchen before.

"I got it," Kakashi shook his head fondly and began navigating around the kitchen. He first started with exploring the ingredients in his apartment, not sure what he had in stock and what he could cook.

While his student was busy setting things up, Minato took the moment to examine the neat kitchen and noted multiple cookbooks balanced at the side of a counter. Curious, Minato walked over and browsed the titles ranging from simple dishes, to specialized ones for certain cuisines. "You enjoy cooking?" he couldn't help but ask, surprise lacing his voice.

"It started off as a necessity after father died," Kakashi answered his sensei, his face inside the fridge as he explored the items inside, decided to make some vegetable soup, and started taking out the necessary ingredients, "a ninja must also make sure to eat a healthy balanced diet. That said, I did find myself enjoying it and like to try out new recipes when I have some time."

Minato was surprised at the mention of Sakumo but decided not to dig deep on the sensitive topic and instead replied "I've never seen you bring anything to training other than simple bento boxes," as he watched Kakashi move back and forth from the fridge to the counter, placing radishes, carrots, green onions, mushrooms, tofu, satoimo and burdock root on the countertop.

"Can't have something heavy whilst training," Kakashi shrugged "I usually cook meals for breakfast and dinner only. Anyway, do you like Kenchinjiru Soup? Any ingredients I should avoid?"

"Do what you will," Minato smiled as his student began preparing the ingredients and wash the vegetables, "how can I help?"

"Can you tear the tofu into smaller pieces while I prepare the vegetables?" Kakashi asked as he started drying off the vegetables with a kitchen cloth.

Minato obliged and couldn't help but note the surrealism of the moment. When Kakashi didn't show up for training, he was highly concerned as he knew it would take something serious for his strict student not to join them. He even debated canceling training then and there, or at least sending a shadow clone, but refrained from being a mother hen as Kushina often accused him of.

Regardless, he wasn't surprised to find Kakashi feeling unwell, but would never have thought he would end up cooking by his student's side. His student, who was currently midway through chopping green onions with speedy efficiency. The fact that Kakashi was apparently an experienced cook was a surprise and he didn't expect the young ninja to hone any techniques that weren't directly correlated with ninja skills.

Minato watched his student take the bowl of tofu he prepared with a quick thanks and make his way to place them with the rest of the ingredients in the pot on the stove and stir them. After the liquid started to bubble, Kakashi turned down the heat to simmer and turned the knob for the timer. "Should take 10 minutes or so," he announced, "I just need to skim off the foam from the surface every now and then. Would you like some water while we wait?"

"You're quite the host," Minato nodded. Kakashi gave him an unamused roll of the eyes as he went to fetch some cups, causing Minato to chuckle fondly. He grabbed one of the chairs at the table and turned it around, sitting down and leaning forward on the top rail of the chair.

"So, what did I miss?" Kakashi asked as he handed his sensei a cup before downing his own glass and moved to refill it.

"Since you weren't there we worked on Obito and Rin's sneaking abilities. You're already ahead in that regard so you didn't miss anything," Minato informed him, taking another sip of the water.

Kakashi jumped to sit on the countertop, checking on the soup as he replied, "How'd they do?"

Minato raised an eyebrow at the line of questioning. Since when did Kakashi care about Obito and Rin's training? Out loud he said, "Rin is displaying advanced chunin level skills, she really improved in masking her chakra. Obito does well at the start but is struggling with suppressing his chakra for long periods of time."

"Rin always had good chakra control, even at the Academy" Kakashi noted, not surprised with the information. He saw that foam was starting to form and grabbed the ladle before starting to scoop some of it out and stirring the contents a bit.

"Becoming a medical ninja at her age is a testament to that," Minato added his two cents, recalling how she already knew basic medical jutsu when she first joined his team. With those skills and her dream to save as many of her fellow ninja as possible, Minato arranged for her to take medical lessons at the hospital two to three times a week early in the team's formation. He was very proud to see her flourish under the tutelage of the Medical Corp and always received stellar feedback from the hospital.

"With Obito's clumsiness, it's a good thing she is," Kakashi snorted, knowing he needed to jab at Obito otherwise his sensei would get suspicious. He couldn't change his personality over night after all.

"Kakashi," Minato gave a light warning as he spun the now empty cup in his hand. Kakashi just shrugged and refrained from replying. With nothing more to say on that topic, a comfortable silence fell between the two as the smell of the vegetable broth created a homely atmosphere. The silence was only broken occasionally when Kakashi tended to the soup.

Minato, unfortunately, wasn't the best of cooks. Sure, he could get by, but he only knew how to make some basic dishes. Luckily, Kushina was a wonderful cook and readily prepared meals for him. She would also occasionally come by their training grounds to feed his students. Growing up as an orphan, Kushina always longed to have home cooking, and thus, strived to learn cooking from an early age. As her skills grew, feeding those she loved was something that brought her immense joy. It appeared that his student was more similar to the love of his life than he thought.

Kakashi, on the other hand, watched his sensei fondly from the corner of his eye. He nearly snorted in amusement when his sensei got a slightly sappy look in his eyes, clearly thinking about Kushina. His sensei was always head over heels for the redhead and it was easy to read the look of love now adorning his sensei's face. He wondered if his sensei was always easy to read and he simply didn't make the effort in the past, or if it was just his years of experience.

"It's ready," Kakashi announced after a few minutes as the timer rang, jumping down from the counter, turning off the stove and starting to pour some soup into the bowls, "you can stop thinking about Kushina san now," he couldn't help but add.

He was rewarded with a splutter of indignation, "I wasn't," his sensei lied as he stood up to line the chair back properly before sitting down again. Kakashi placed a bowl of soup in front of his sensei before raising both his eyebrows and titling his head slightly in an unspoken gesture of disbelief. "Thanks for the food," his sensei avoided the topic and moved to grab the spoon.

Kakashi obliged him and let the matter go. He sat down on the table in front of his sensei and took down his mask to join his sensei in eating, not seeing the point since his sensei already saw his face numerous times by that point.

"This is delicious!" Minato exclaimed, his eyes shining with joy. Although it was clear Kakashi knew his way around the kitchen, he still didn't expect the rich flavors that exploded in his mouth. He had vegetable soup many times, but this was on par with restaurant quality. Then again, he shouldn't have been astonished, his student was a genius and surely any skill he decided to pick up would be developed with care.

"It pairs well with sake," Kakashi nodded, a joy bubbling in his chest at the pleased tone of his sensei. After everything the man had done for him, it was nice to repay him, even if it was with a small gesture of gratitude of cooking him a basic meal.

"Speaking from experience," Minato joked before taking another mouthful.

"Of course not, sensei," Kakashi replied staying true to his younger persona, "even if I wasn't underage, it's one of the three prohibitions."

"That doesn't mean you can't drink at all when you're of age," Minato lectured, "just make sure you have it under control." To prove his point, Minato unbuckled a latch and took out a storing scroll, bringing forth a small bottle of sake.

Kakashi watched his sensei add a bit of sake to his soup and stirring it, "Should I be concerned you have sake readily available?" he asked dryly.

"Don't be so melodramatic," Minato hummed with amusement, "this is useful on missions for when you want to gather information. You'd be surprised how much more open people are over a bit of sake." Then he took another mouthful and sighed in content, "You're right, that really hits the spot."

Kakashi managed to control himself from teasing his sensei further on the matter so as not to come across off as acting strangely. It was much more difficult than he thought. He got so used to trolling people and watching them fume never failed to bring him joy. It was no wonder Jiraya enjoyed teasing him growing up, he could now appreciate the humor of his younger self's reactions.

"So how are you feeling?" Minato asked once they had both finished their bowls.

"Better, but still a bit fatigued," Kakashi wanted to get out of training the next day to get his bearings and determine the best approach moving forward. Moreover, he knew he needed to see his teammates from afar before meeting them again on training day, lest he have a severe reaction. Not to mention he needed to sort out his chakra imbalance as well and get used to moving around in his smaller body. He didn't need to give Minato any more reason to be suspicious or observe him closely.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital and get checked out?" Minato suggested before grabbing the plates and placing them in the sink, signaling Kakashi to remain seated when he moved to help. Kakashi typically trained till he dropped, so seeing him voluntarily admit to needing rest when he wasn't bleeding out or lying unconscious was out of character for the young ninja.

Kakashi grimaced visibly at the mention of the hospital, "No need for hospitals, it's just an upset stomach. One more day of rest and I should be back to normal. If I go to the hospital, they'll keep me under observation for days or some such nonsense."

"Right, I forgot about your fear of hospitals," Minato said as he started washing the dishes.

"I'm not afraid of hospitals, sensei," Kakashi frowned at the impression, "it's just deathly boring there and the antiseptic smell can be nauseating with my advanced sense of smell. There are much better ways to spend time instead of lying down in a bed for days." Minato was hinting at Kakashi's desire to always leave the hospital as soon as possible, which was due to him wanting to train and not waste time resting. However, he didn't expect his sensei to assume that he was afraid of hospitals. After getting the Sharingan and spending many weeks in the hospital for chakra exhaustion, Kakashi tried to avoid the place as much as possible.

"If you say so," Minato didn't seem to be convinced as he placed the now clean dishes in the drying rack. Kakashi let it slide, not really wanting to get into that as it wasn't important in the grand scheme of things.

"I'll leave you to rest then," Minato walked over to Kakashi who was still seated at the table and ruffled his head. Kakashi ducked his head to the left to avoid the action, but Minato continued unfazed. "Take tomorrow off and I'll see you the day after. If you need anything else, send one of your Ninken to find me."

"Will do, thanks" Kakashi nodded and followed his sensei to the door as he made his way out of the apartment. With that, his bid his sensei farewell before locking the door.

Minato's arrival helped ease his concerns and distract him a bit, but Kakashi still felt drained from the events of the day. He went through his bedtime routine, wondering how he would quiet the thoughts in his head long enough to get some sleep.

After changing into his nightwear, he walked into the bathroom and startled at his reflection. It would take some time getting used to seeing his younger face staring back at him. As he brushed his teeth, part of him selfishly hoped he would wake up tomorrow, everything would be back to normal, and he could chalk all of this up to a weirdly realistic dream. Conflictingly, he also wanted to stay in the past to spend more time with his sensei and old teammates. He gurgled some water to wash the toothpaste out of his mouth before waking back to his bed.

The covers of his bed were still sprawled out in a messy heap, a sight Kakashi wasn't used to as he routinely made his bed each day. Nonetheless, tidying his bed was the least of his concerns today. With a sigh he lay down on the mattress and covered himself with the blanket, staring up at the ceiling.

At first, he was considering the actions he needed to take the next day to get a plan started for changing the past, then he mulled over his memories to try and paint a picture of what to expect of his teammates, then he would jump back to the truth of the Uchiha Massacre before settling at the thought of his students no longer existing. Every time his mind wandered to his students, he immediately changed course, not wanting to process the implications of their somewhat 'death'. As his thoughts shifted, so did he. It was around two more hours before sleep started to claim him.

One good thing did come out of Minato's visit. While in the afternoon Kakashi did not want to sort through this mess, enjoying his sensei's company strengthened his resolve to create a better future for those he loved and to foil Madara's plans. He had always been the protector from the shadows. Maybe that was his fate. It was time to stop wallowing in self-pity and take up that role once more. With that promise, he finally fell into a deep slumber.

Chapter Text

Kakashi tapped the edge of a brush against his temple, letting out a small hmm of consideration before bending down slightly and bringing his ink to paper and adding another line of text to one of the eight scrolls laid out in front of him.

The slight breeze slightly ruffled the tips of his hair as the sound of the village carried lightly inside, creating an ambience of white noise to fill the silence of his bedroom. Kakashi had already tidied up his younger self's notes into a neat pile and placed them in the lowest level of the bookshelf and took over the desk.

It was already approaching afternoon, with most of Kakashi's morning being taken over by meditation to balance his chakra when he first woke up with the familiar nausea, followed by his morning routine and planning.

While he still had doubts, spending time with Minato drove him to act and sort out his emotions on the go. He had to make sure his sensei's fate won't end with the blonde being eternally sealed in the stomach of the Death Reaper.

He knew he would have to study and explore more regarding space-time, but he couldn't just wing it while he explored the reasons behind his predicament. For all he knew, there was no way back. If his main theory stood, then Uchiha Madara was also in the past and he was not constricted in his movements as Kakashi would be as an eleven-year-old chunin that's part of a team. He needed to move forward, and the first step was getting used to this new, or rather older, body.

There were many actions he needed to take, so Kakashi decided to develop an action plan and sort out the priorities, hence the scrolls strewn over the desk. Kakashi jotted down more notes, pausing to grab the cup of orange juice he poured himself and taking a few sips. He figured he had six main focus areas, under which fell multiple tasks and subpoints. The first scroll listed his main objectives, the others scrolls where dedicated for each of the main objectives.

Becoming Comfortable with Younger Body

Navigating a Personality Shift

Researching Key Information Areas

Changing Events of the Future in a Plausible Manner

Developing Personal Training Plan

Developing My Generation's Skills

Miscellaneous

Knowing he didn't want to waste the entire day just planning, especially given that he had training with his team tomorrow, Kakashi finalized the list of urgent tasks for the day. He cast a minor wind jutsu that helped dry the ink quickly and then proceeded to summon Pakkun.

"It wasn't a dream," was Pakkun's greeting, clearly trying to mask his underlying distress.

Kakashi could easily sense his companion's unease and kneeled in front of him, ruffling his head gently, "Just one more thing we have to deal with," he said softly.

Pakkun simply gave an affirmative noise and changed the topic "what's with the multiple scrolls?"

"Plan of action," Kakashi informed him, standing up to start rolling the scrolls, "can't have them in the apartment as the security seals are quite basic and I can't upgrade the seals to S-Ranked ones overnight; given I was only up to C-Ranked sealing at this age. Minato sensei will definitely notice and ask questions I can't answer. I want you to give them to Bisuke for safe keeping until I can reasonably set up better seals."

Kakashi decided Bisuke would be his best bet. While his top choice is Pakkun, it was precisely that reason why he couldn't keep the scrolls with the pug. If he were in a middle of a mission and summoned anyone but Pakkun, eyebrows will be raised. At the same time, he couldn't risk summoning Pakkun outside of his apartment with those scrolls. Thus, Bisuke. Bisuke was the second ninken he built a bond with and is his go-to when Pakkun isn't available.

"Makes sense," Pakkun shrugged, "what's first on the agenda?"

"I need to get used to this new body," Kakashi replied as he sealed the last scroll shut. "I still had to expel spiritual energy in the morning and can already sense the build-up. Not to mention I must be able to do taijutsu with annoyingly short limbs." Kakashi grew into a lanky build and got used to having reasonable reach to deal damage with caution. He always fought right at the edge, just out of reach of his opponent to avoid damage but close enough to strike quick at the first gap in defense. Now he had to fight at a closer range, not to mention stick to a more basic move pool around his team.

With the scrolls secured, he got a small pouch and placed them inside. Pakkun jumped onto the now empty desk. Kakashi held out the pouch and Pakkun grabbed it with his teeth, giving a nod before disappearing in a puff of smoke. With that out of the way, it was finally time to get started on the day.

While he told Pakkun his first order of business was to get used to this body, he had another task that was more important. That was how he had found himself at Konoha's cemetery, making his way towards the familiar tombstone of his father. There were multiple families and ninja paying their respects to fallen loved ones.

Kakashi usually avoided the cemetery during the middle of the day, preferring to come at the less busy hours of dawn and dusk to avoid people glaring at him as he paid respect to the man they blamed for the war. However, the opinion of some of the villagers did not matter to him. Even after he gained the respect of the village for his service, he learned that respect was fickle and focused his energy on fighting for his precious comrades and for a better future.

Luckily for Kakashi, those at the cemetery were too focused on their prayers and nobody paid the young ninja any mind. "Hello father," Kakashi greeted as he placed the chrysanthemums, which he purchased from a modest flower shop in route, in the small potholders on each side of the tombstone.

"I'm not sure if you remember our final farewell or if you're still tethered to this world," he spoke softly, grateful that nobody was visiting the graves around his father's so he can speak freely, "but I wanted you to know that I forgive you, just in case."

"When you committed suicide it hurt me deeply, but I understand why you did it, dad. Comrades are precious," he dipped the cloth in one of the buckets at the cemetery entrance and began cleaning the tombstone with water. "I found great friends too. Do you remember Gai from the academy, the one who failed but trained hard? Well, he kept challenging me and we ended up becoming friends. He was the lone constant throughout my life. I owe him a great deal."

"Speaking of deals, I'm now dealing with a bizarre situation, but you don't need to worry," he hung the cloth from the bucket's handle. "That's the one thing I'm good at; dealing with all the hardship that's been thrown my way over the years. It's like you taught me: we're ninja, we endure."

"Anyway, I will protect those I love and help guide Konoha to a peaceful future, no matter what the rules say," Kakashi promised "I will protect them, like you did. Thank you for teaching me that. I'm proud of you father… proud to call myself your son. I hope you can move on because I'll be more than fine. I hope you find peace." Kakashi moved to brush the top of the tombstone gently with his fingers.

He stood in silent prayer for a few minutes, wondering how different things would be if he had traveled back in time to save his father. Kakashi took a deep breath, lifted his head up to the sky and watched the sunrays peeking out from behind the clouds.

While he wanted nothing more to simply stay with his father, he couldn't waste too much time as he had a mountain of tasks to get through today. He had to deal with time travel of all things after all. Fate loved to mess with him. He stepped out of the cemetery and made his way to the market.

Eventually, he saw a splash of numerous green and red shops that marked the ninja gear shopping district and slipped into an alleyway. It was a shame Pain's attack had destroyed all these shops. Unlike other shopping districts in Konoha, this district retained the buildings from the founding of Konoha, whereby the shops and trades were passed down through the family. While the shops in other districts were more prone to renovating to create flashier displays as more civilians moved into the city and opened new stores, the shops in the ninja gear district maintained the original buildings. The belief was that the older the building looked, the better the perception of expertise that shop would have.

His first order of business was to buy some sealing equipment. His younger self did not dabble much in sealing, and only had a few low-quality paper seals to practice on. To fix his chakra imbalance issue, Kakashi had a multi-layered plan. Yet until he could execute it, Kakashi had to guarantee that the imbalance wasn't noticed by his sensory-attuned sensei, thus needed to resort to the sealing arts.

Kakashi typically purchased his seals from the same shop frequented by his sensei. He wanted to purchase a large amount of sealing equipment and knew he would stand out. Kakashi didn't want word to reach his teacher, therefore, he hid in the alleyway and transformed into a generic looking ninja by mixing a few of the most typical Konoha features. He now had short light brown spiky hair, dark brown eyes and an average build. Satisfied with the look, Kakashi walked out into the district and made a beeline to his sensei's favorite shop.

This wasn't the first-time Kakashi had to deal with an imbalance, although it was at a smaller scale. Growing up, Kakashi had trained both energies as equally as possible to have a wider repertoire at his disposal. This allowed him to utilize jutsu across multiple ninja disciplines; not having to stick to certain techniques. It was not that ninja had equal energies, rather, it was that Kakashi had become accustomed to having nearly equal energy pools. In actuality, most ninja have a larger reserve of one type of energy.

That's when chakra control comes into play, allowing ninja to mix these energies in the correct proportions to execute jutsu. The mixing ratio of spiritual and physical energy depended on the jutsu. For example, ninja who focus on genjutsu or medical techniques rely more on spiritual energy. If a ninja attuned to spiritual energy executed a genjutsu, they would need to pull less energy than a ninja with a smaller spiritual energy pool. The ninja that resorted to pulling a larger portion would not be able to consistently cast genjutsu as they'd run out of spiritual energy quickly.

In Kakashi's case, developing nearly equal amounts of energies made it easier for him to control the mix as the pull from his pools was similar. After the death of all his loved ones, Kakashi could only describe his mental state as depressed beyond belief. His pool of spiritual energy, which is closely tied to a person's mental state, decreased. That said, his physical condition was still high, given that before the death of Obito he was obsessed with training. This led to an imbalance in his energy pools which Kakashi wasn't accustomed to.

During that period, and thanks to his excellent chakra control, Kakashi was able to readjust the mix of energies with relative ease. As he devoted less time to training due to back-to-back ANBU missions, numerous injuries and increasing ennui, his body's physical condition mirrored that of his dampened spiritual energy. Eventually, this resulted in a balanced pool of energy once more. It was this balance that allowed him to copy ninjutsu midbattle without having practiced before. Yet the decrease in his energy pools meant he tired out easily, especially when using the Sharingan.

After fighting Zabuza and his face-off with Orochimaru after sealing Sasuke's cursed mark, Kakashi picked up his training; knowing he needed to improve should he desire to protect his students. The more time he spent with them, the more his mental state improved as well. The fading darkness and higher pace of training allowed him to enlarge his energy pools once more, and in fact, reach a level where he could use the Mangekyo Sharingan despite not being an Uchiha.

Still, there were three key differences between the two situations. The main difference was that the first imbalance happened gradually, whereby Kakashi continuously made small adjustments and managed to maintain seamless chakra control. The second disparity was that in the first scenario he was still a child, and had relatively small pools of energy, compared to the spiritual energy of his thirty-year-old-self. Lastly, he did not have to deal with nausea. Kakashi was unaccustomed to having such a large discrepancy between the energy pools within his body that it resulted in bouts of dizziness.

He knew that once he manages to bring up his physical energy, he would have access to a high-jonin-level chakra pool. Being a genius, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for him to develop advanced chakra pools, even at this age. He did achieve the rank of jonin before hitting his teenage years after all. Not for the first time since taking on Team 7, Kakashi cursed his inability to snap out of his depression and missing out on his true potential. As a child, Kakashi had larger than average chakra pools, being able to do Kage Bunshin and the chakra consuming Earth Style Mud Wave jutsu before even graduating from the Academy. He vowed not to repeat that mistake.

Regardless, no amount of genius could explain how his spiritual energy more than doubled overnight. Luckily for him, last night his sensei was focused on his illness and had arrived just as Kakashi had expelled his excess spiritual energy, so nothing seemed amiss. Yet without a seal to contain his spiritual energy, Minato would detect the odd imbalance as he was a top tier sensory ninja.

His plan consisted of old-fashioned intense physical training and constant meditation. That would take some time, and that's where sealing would come in handy. Kakashi needed to create the illusion of accelerated development by slowly decreasing the rate of the chakra absorption seals.

"Good afternoon," a man in his fifties greeted Kakashi as he walked in and received a quick greeting in return. Kakashi vaguely remembered the man's name as Takumi, the father of Kaito who managed the shop in Kakashi's time. Takumi san would sometimes come by the shop and work on seals behind the counter while Takumi tended to customers. He never had much conversation with the man beyond a nod of greeting if their eyes happened to meet.

The store had two main sections, the larger being ready-developed seals for numerous purposes ranging from explosive tags to storing seals. The other was dedicated to sealing equipment for those who worked on developing their own seals. Given that fuinjutsu was a rare art, the second section was much smaller which made it easy for Kakashi to quickly find and pick up ninety chakra holding sealing papers and three Grade A quality sealing ink.

"That's a lot of sealing paper," Takumi observed with raised eyebrows when he eyed the transformed Kakashi walking to the counter, just as he had expected.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Takumi questioned as he started ringing out the order. "If you're using this many seals, you're probably drawing the wrong formula."

Kakashi had mentally debated the pros of cons of using body sealing vs paper sealing. While paper sealing was great for temporary sealing arts, body sealing was more apt for chakra suppression.

The issue with body sealing arts was that regular application could have negative effects on his tenketsu, putting them under strain. There was a reason body seals hurt when applied. Therefore, body sealing served long-term applications, but a long-term seal was not a solution as it wouldn't allow Kakashi to develop his energy pools when not with his team or on a mission. Conversely, the problem with paper seals were that they typically didn't maintain a constant effect, as they were usually inactive when not in use. Yet they could still be applied for chakra control purposes.

A good example would be the seal Jiraya gave Kakashi to suppress the Kyuubi's chakra if Naruto lost control. In fact, that was his inspiration for the seal he had developed this morning. Unlike Jiraya's seal, which focused on suppressing a large amount of chakra in one go, Kakashi needed to draw one that would constantly and subtly drain spiritual energy in small amounts to remain undetected. The low capacity meant that he wouldn't be able to reuse the same seal as it would fry after a limit, hence, the three-month stock.

"I'm using them for training purposes," Kakashi lied easily, "I recently got into the fuinjutsu and am struggling with the amount of chakra to draw in the seals. My mentor advised drawing various seals with different chakra mixes to get a better handle on that before moving to the next stage."

"You're quite dedicated," Takumi bought the lie easily as he placed all the items in a bag, "most people would give up at this point. I hope you keep at it and don't get discouraged. That'll be 7,250 Ryo."

"I hope I pass this hurdle with this purchase though," Kakashi stated as he counted the money, creating an excuse to ward off suspicion once his fake persona doesn't come back "sealing can be quite expensive."

"That's true, but it's very rewarding. Sealing is a delicate art, so your struggle is not uncommon." Takumi pitched in the hopes of securing a future customer, "Some of the best ninja use sealing like the Legendary Sanin and Konoha's Yellow Flash."

"It's what inspired me to start, let's hope I have some talent in the art," Kakashi stated as he grabbed the bag of his sealing items, "thank you for your help."

"You're welcome," Takumi replied, "I hope to see you again."

Unlikely, but Kakashi kept the thought to himself and just nodded as we walked out.

With that first purchase out of the way, Kakashi hid in the alley once more before canceling the transformation jutsu. He then created a shadow clone and handed the bag over to him, "Get started on creating the seals," he ordered. His clone simply nodded and headed off to the apartment ahead of him. Developing Naruto's clone training method and seeing his student's constant use of clones had now made clone-solutions top of mind.

He then moved on to the next store that specialized in taijutsu-related gear, knowing they had high quality training weights. He knew he couldn't use a Transformation Jutsu in this store as he needed to match the weights with his size, but any purchase Kakashi made here wouldn't cause any confusion, so he was in the clear.

This store was more chaotic than the sealing one, featuring rows and rows of various equipment. Moreover, the place was much busier, with numerous ninjas inspecting the goods across the shelves. Kakashi could even see a line forming at the purchase counter. With his intention of purchasing weights only, Kakashi hoped he could complete his purchase with quick efficiency. Unfortunately, life had other plans.

"Kakashi!" a familiar voice called out enthusiastically from the nunchucks aisle he had just passed. "How are you, my rival?"

Kakashi turned to face Maito Gai, who had run up to him by the time it had taken him to turn around. Nostalgia washed over Kakashi as he took in Gai's smaller stature - and dare he say - youthful features. He was tempted to raise his hand in a small wave with the familiar greeting of 'yo', but managed to temper his instincts and simply nodded.

By this age, Kakashi and Gai had formed a strong relationship, and Kakashi was grateful that he wouldn't have to build the relationship from scratch. Of course, the years they had lived through had strengthened their relationship, but Gai, like Naruto, formed strong bonds quickly. Kakashi knew that the young taijutsu user in front of him already valued Kakashi highly. Logically, he knew this, but he still felt a sense of loss knowing that his Gai no longer existed.

"It's been a while since our last challenge," kid Gai exclaimed before Kakashi could get lost in his thoughts, his left hand still holding the nunchucks, his right clenching into a fist of passion "how about another test of our youth?"

"I'm busy today," Kakashi declined rudely in line with his past self "what's with the nunchucks?" he deflected the conversation before he got roped into a challenge. He knew Gai was skilled with nunchucks but never really bothered to wonder when Gai started training in them. The first time Kakashi saw Gai use them was during a challenge in their teen years. He didn't expect Gai to have started at a younger age.

At the question, Gai's demeanor changed to a more solemn one that Kakashi didn't expect, "Father died protecting us against the seven swordsmen. He did it using only taijutsu. But if he knew how to use weapons, then maybe…" here Gai hesitated before shaking his head to dispel his uncertainty, "maybe he could've defeated them without losing his life. I want to have something else to use if taijutsu is not enough."

I can't believe I forgot that Gai is one year older than me and lost his dad at twelve.

"You've thought this through. Nunchucks pair well with your taijutsu style," Kakashi said out loud but inwardly felt like a terrible friend for not noticing this in the past. Kakashi was the one Gai confided in when he felt embarrassed by his father begging for forgiveness after screwing up on missions and being stuck as a genin. Naturally, he was also the one Gai turned to as he handled the grief after his father's death.

Kakashi had always admired Maito Dai. While his younger self valued ninja skills, even he couldn't help but find Maito Dai's honesty and belief in himself refreshing, voicing as such to Gai. After the man's death, Gai felt guilty about how he doubted his father's way of the ninja. Kakashi quickly squashed those feelings and encouraged Gai to keep his father's memory alive by carrying on his teachings. After that, Gai bounced back quickly and Kakashi didn't think much of it.

"They do?" Gai smiled from ear to ear and Kakashi nodded in affirmation, marveling at his friend's ability to shift emotional gears so easily. "Hearing you say that gives me confidence, my rival. I will become a super strong nunchaku!"

"Ok," Kakashi replied with a shrug, knowing that Gai did indeed become one of the strongest nunchucks user he ever fought.

Before Kakashi could dismiss Gai and get back to his shopping, Gai continued the conversation, curiosity tinging his voice "What are you doing here?"

"I want to get training weights," Kakashi didn't see a need to lie.

"I will not fall behind, my rival!" if Kakashi didn't know any better, he would say that Gai's pupils turned into small fires of excitement, "our taijutsu spars will be legendary."

Kakashi was counting on the benefits of sparring with Gai more often to help grow his physical energy and was glad for the opening Gai had given him. "We can also spar using weapons once you get a better handle on those nunchucks. I'm not an expert, but I know enough about them to help with any gaps, at least in the beginning."

It was a bit out of character, but Gai was the only peer his age Kakashi had opened to in the past. If there was anyone Kakashi would warm up to first, Gai would be the least suspicious. "You are too kind, my rival" Gai was ecstatic as he cried tears of joy, "I will start training right now!" Gai rushed to the counter to make his purchase before Kakashi could reply. Kakashi chuckled softly, finding comfort in the familiarity of his interaction with Gai in the face of these circumstance. For a few minutes, everything had felt normal.

The rest of the afternoon passed by without any other unexpected run-ins. After purchasing the training weights, splurging on the weights layered with sealing jutsu that allowed him to adjust the settings as he improved his strength without having to constantly buy new ones, Kakashi grabbed a bento box from a nearby vendor and then headed off to train.

The training ground he opted for wasn't large, consisting only of a circular patch of dirt with a few logs off to the side for taijutsu training, but it was obscured by multiple trees and was out of the way. It was usually utilized by the Academy to ensure that students kept up with their katas during survival training drills. Survival training drills only happened on occasion, so the training grounds was free for most of the year.

He expelled the built-up spiritual energy and then spent the remainder of the afternoon going through taijutsu training, forgoing the weights for now to get used to his current speed for when he went out on missions. He started by running though some katas to get a better feeling for his body. He started with slow katas, whereby his attention was on technique and not speed. As he ran through the choregraphed set of forms, he slowly built-up speed while maintaining his technique.

After an hour of katas, he created a clone to spar against. He further had his clone change to different statures so Kakashi could learn to naturally adjust his techniques to various builds. He had his clone fight namely at a similar stature to his old team to start with. The method was obviously not perfect, as his clone was also fighting with a handicap in the unfamiliar statures. Still, it was better than sticking to katas with no opponents to serve as a point of reference for dynamic situations.

It was awkward at first, but as the evening rolled around, Kakashi got more comfortable. Fighting in this body still wasn't second nature by any means. He occasionally mistimed attacks and could still not fight at the top speed in this body. On a happy note, and as expected, his defense was in a much better state than offense, where reach played a lesser role.

Therefore, he decided to end the training for the day by having his clone transform into his thirty-year-old stature and attack him while he stuck to defense. This allowed his clone to be much more fluid in his attacks, resulting in a few bumps and bruises as his defenses were penetrated despite his clone holding back.

Staring up at the sky and watching the sun start to set, Kakashi decided to stop for the day. He still had a long way to go and hoped that training tomorrow would be devoid of taijutsu. Given that he was supposedly recovering from an illness, Minato sensei was probably going to avoid physical training. If he doesn't, then Kakashi would cite fatigue to get out of it. It may be out of character, but fighting in a clumsy manner would be a larger red flag so he would take the less obvious of the two.

There was one more red flag he needed to eliminate for tomorrow's team training, and he wasn't looking forward to this task at all. With a heavy heart, Kakashi left the training grounds. Eventually, he stopped at a roof that allowed him to hide between a cluster of water tanks but still have eyes on a familiar path from his childhood and waited.

The more the minutes passed, the more Kakashi felt like bolting. He could feel his heart pounding, and he would take deep breaths to calm down, only for the pounding to resume after a while. He closed his eyes on concentrated in his breathing, deep breath… one, two, three… exhale. One, two, three, four, five… exhale.

"I was awesome today!" a voice cut through his meditation and Kakashi reluctantly opened his eyes, "Minato sensei kept finding me, but my time was getting so much better! I'm going to become a stealth master at this rate." Obito. Young and smiling widely. Not a care in the world. Kakashi's breath hitched, suppressing a sob.

"I thought you wanted to stand out," Rin laughed, and Kakashi didn't even know how it was possible, but hearing Rin was worse… much worse. He staggered back, retreating further between the water tanks. His breath came in quick short gasps as an immense wave of guilt washed over him. Their voices drifted farther and farther away, not because they were moving faster away, but because images filled his head.

His hand stabbing Rin through the heart…. her blood flowing freely,

the smell of burnt skin as his Chidori burnt her body,

Rin, calling out his name, louder and louder, angrier and angrier…

Obito accusing Kakashi of failing to protect Rin.

It was a recurring nightmare, but now it assaulted his reality. It was too much. I'm having a panic attack. Kakashi rested his back on one of the water coolers as he tried to control himself.

Step 1, find a comfortable position. His mind supplied him with the steps to manage a panic attack once he realized what was happening. He expected a reaction but not a full-blown panic attack. It was much harder than expected to see them.

Step 2, focus on your breathing. As he shifted his attention to his breathing, the images in his head abated, his brain now consumed with analyzing the pattern of his breathing.

Don't think.

Obito and Rin's voices started fading away as they walked further away.

Step 3, deep breaths for four seconds, hold for two, exhale slowly. Now that he had gauged his breathing, Kakashi moved to controlling it. 4-2-4. 4-2-4. The familiar breathing pattern helping slow down his heart rate. 4-2-4.

Obito and Rin turned the corner, their voices joining the cacophony of the hustle and bustle of Konoha's active evening streets.

4-2-4

Vendors were closing shops and comrades were meeting up to have meals at restaurants, others opting for quick drink to toast a fallen comrade and the hopes of a coming victory.

4-2-4

After a few repetitions, Kakashi had finally regained control, grateful for having the foresight to pick a spot that hid him from view from all angles.

How can I face them tomorrow?

Part of him wanted to run away, but he immediately buried those feelings. Resolutely, he pulled himself back up and jumped through the roofs once more. He estimated that his panic attack was around five minutes. He had to catch up with his teammates again. He had to do this.

He easily managed to sense their chakra and headed over. He was grateful that when his eyes landed on them this time but he didn't feel like the whole world was crashing all around him. His chest felt heavy, his breathing constricted, but he was in control this time. He followed them discretely and listened to their inane chatter.

Around the corner, up the hill, across from the fruit stands…

Every time he felt it became too much, he would stop briefly, close his eyes, collect himself, and follow again. By the time Rin and Obito wished one another a good evening and went their separate ways, Kakashi was able to watch them without panicking and falling into despair. While by no means had he gotten over the guilt and immense sadness, he was certain he would be able to mask his emotions tomorrow without giving anything away.

Emotionally exhausted, Kakashi made his way back to his apartment for some rest. His clone had already dismissed himself a while back after he had finished the seals and hid them in various books on Kakashi's shelves. Not in the mood to cook anything, Kakashi opted for a simple omelet and quickly brushed his teeth before collapsing on the bed.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Despite that fact that he was getting used to his body, Kakashi made it a plan to get in early morning sessions before having to meet with his team from here on out. During this time, he would focus on becoming attuned to this body while also building up his stamina and balancing his chakra.

Therefore, the first session consisted of running multiple katas and strength exercises with his weights. After which, he switched to sparing to build back the sharpness of his attacks and preferred style of combat.

Kakashi still hadn’t had a chance to practice against multiple enemies. Since creating multiple clones to spar with was a waste of chakra so early in the morning and not something he could maintain for long, his ninken where the next best thing. That was he found himself weaving through the attacks of eight dogs during the early morning hours, slowly improving the timing of his counterattacks.

Knowing he had to get to his own team’s training soon, Kakashi had halted practice to squeeze in sometime to unwind with his pack. He had purchased some meat for his dogs to enjoy after training, and they were munching their treats happily all around him. He was also enjoying the meal while sitting on the back of Bull. Kakashi hadn’t been able to sit on the back of Bull since he turned fifteen. He enjoyed the throwback to a simpler time, when he didn’t have to worry about the fate of the world resting on his shoulder and watched his ninken try to beg for more meat from Uhei, who ate at a more sedated pace.

“You should head out soon if you don’t want to be late,” Pakkun stated, not getting involved in the ruckus.

“I still need to get changed quickly,” Kakashi sighed as he took in his dusty appearance. “Minato sensei wanted me to take it easy, if he finds out I was training early he’ll go into lecture mode and I’m not really in the mood.”

“There’s no way you can make it back to your apartment and back on time,” Pakkun cautioned. “Coming in late will worry him more than an early workout session.”

“I’ve already planned for this,” Kakashi replied as he took out a change of clothes from the backpack that was propped up next to Bull. “I didn’t just carry meals for you.” He gave Bull a quick scratch behind the ears before jumping down from his back. He let out a whistle and his pack stood to attention and trotted over. “Thanks everyone, I’ll see you all again soon.”

“Bring more meat!” Urushi begged with a bark.

“You guys are going to bleed me dry,” Kakashi chuckled fondly before dismissing them. He quickly changed his clothes and moved to pack his training weights. It was then that he sensed the familiar chakra of his sensei heading over. Confused, Kakashi closed the latch of the bag and turned to the direction his sensei was coming from.

“There you are!” Minato sensei announced his arrival, “What are you doing all the way out here?”

Resigning himself to the lecture, Kakashi sighed before replying “Minor training session. Did anything happen?”

“Training? Why would you push yourself so quickly,” Minato frowned.

“It was just some light exercise. Yesterday I barely sparred with Rin and wanted to kick myself back into gear. I didn’t overdo anything,” Kakashi replied “Did anything happen?” he repeated the ignored question.

“We have a mission,” he stated frown still on his face, “You shouldn’t have solo training sessions without clearing it with me because you know we may be assigned a mission,” he added a reprimand.

“Since we have a mission, if anything, it’s good I had a chance to loosen up before we head out,” Kakashi dismissed his sensei’s words. Moreover, it was his first chance to fight multiple enemies in this body, so it was more important than resting for a fake illness.

“We’ll discuss this later, hurry up and get ready,” Minato sighed but let it go “I already told Obito and Rin. It’s going to be a deployment at the support lines at the Land of Grass. Expected time of deployment, one month. Meet up at the gates in 30 minutes.”

Kakashi nodded but internally shuddered as Minato teleported away. The Land of Grass was where the Kannabi Bridge was and the battleground for many clashes with the ninja of the Stone. In fact, as a chunin growing up in times of war, he ended up fighting there often. He hated that land with a passion.

He quickly packed, making sure to take a bunch of seals, as well as his Fuinjutsu tools to make some more in case the mission extended. As he activated his security seals, he tried to rack his brain to remember a deployment to the Land of Grass at this time.

He remembered a few short missions there as part of Team Minato, but nothing about a deployment. At this time in the war, his team was mostly stationed in the Land of Hot Water to maintain the ground Konoha had gained from the aftermath of the fight between the Third Raikage and ten thousand stone shinobi. He didn’t have time to change anything. Was getting sick from time travel enough to already start changing the timeline? 

The implications filled him with dread. He may not have had a huge impact on the war at this point in time as a chunin, but his sensei sure did. Wherever his sensei was stationed, Minato was sure to have played a role in the way the war unfolded. He considered the date and tried to match it with his memories of events from his past.

He remembered that it was around this time that Konoha’s lines faced a major setback in the Land of Grass. A small taskforce of elite ninja had infiltrated their lines and caused devastating losses to Konoha before being eliminated by Orochimaru and a team of trackers who followed in pursuit after the attack. They succeeded, and despite the loss of the high-ranking Stone ninja, the attack had damaged Konoha more.

As for the developments in the Land of Hot Water, he didn’t remember anything special around this date and their deployment had been smooth… well as smooth as fighting a war could be. There were loses on both sides, but if Minato wasn’t there, would Iwa gain the advantage?

When he arrived at the gates, Rin was the only one there. He nodded at her in greeting and she replied with her own greeting before they fell in companiable silence. Kakashi was still considering the implications of the changes in the timeline while Rin was mentally preparing herself for the mission. Minato arrived with Obito in tow a few minutes later, and Kakashi wasn’t sure if he picked him up specifically or if they met on their way here. Obito did manage to come on time on occasion for missions, always excited to prove himself.

“Goooood morning Rin chan!” Obito smiled, breaking away from Minato and running up to them.

She gave a small laugh at his energy, “Good morning, Obito kun.”

“You guys ready?” Minato asked.

“Yes, sensei” they chorused. Rin gripped her backpack tighter in determination, Obito gave him a fist bump and Kakashi just stood there stoically.

“Be careful out there,” one of the ANBU at the gate stated. The ANBU would usually just nod at the ninja heading out, but Minato was building up a reputation. During times of war, chunin guards didn’t cut it, another reminder to Kakashi about the state of the world that was waiting for him outside these gates. In a way, it was fortunate that he knew of the Fourth Shinobi War coming, as he had mentally prepped himself to go back to war.

“Thank you, ANBU san,” Minato gave him a short bow, “We’ll do our best. Let’s head out.”

With a nod of acknowledgment from the ANBU, they bound off, Kakashi in the front with Rin and Obito flanking his sides a little bit to the back, while Minato stood behind them all to keep an eye on his team. This was their typical formation. On cue, Minato started to explain the mission as they ran forward.

“Our mission will be to provide medical supplies to our main support camp,” Minato explained, “I have the supplies sealed away. It will take us around 22 hours to get to camp so I plan to arrive there in a day and a half. Once we arrive, Rin, you will join the medical team. Obito, you will join the camp guard. Kakashi and I will head out to the frontlines. Kakashi, you will work with the rescue and evacuation team to get our injured back to camp. Is that clear?”

“Why don’t we get to fight,” Obito complained, “Whenever we are sent to the Land of Grass, we only end up on support teams while you go fight, sensei. We’ve fought at the frontlines before. We can help!” In the past, Kakashi chalked it up to Obito whining and being childish. However, he was able to pick up on the undertone of frustration for not being able to help more. Obito wasn’t complaining because he felt guard duty was beneath him, he wanted to fight alongside others and protect his comrades.

“The Land of Grass is the main battleground with the Stone and can get more chaotic than you’re used to,” Minato didn’t berate Obito since he understood where the frustration was coming from. Kakashi used to think it was leniency. He really was blinded by his own set of code. “Each one of us plays an important part, and only by supporting one another can we win this war.”

“I’ll get stronger so I can play a bigger role next time,” Obito vowed in reply.

“I know you will,” Minato nodded in encouragement.

“There was a major fight between the Stone and Cloud, right sensei? So, won’t it be more quiet than usual? Or will there be a lot of ninja who are injured?” Rin spoke up now that Obito has relaxed.

“It won’t be quiet, the Stone have a large number of forces and are still fighting strong in the Land of Grass despite their setback” Minato answered her truthfully, “To answer your second question, yes there will be a lot of our comrades being injured. They need to be healed, then sent back to the front lines as soon as they can fight again. We were originally supposed to be posted in the Land of Hot Water, but there was a change of plans with Kakashi’s illness. The main fighting is in the Land of Grass so you must keep your guard up.”

That answered Kakashi’s question. It took all his self-control not to curse loudly. He couldn’t help but tighten his fist in anger, nonetheless. The advantage of his past knowledge won’t be as useful if things were already starting to change. Moreover, how far into the future would he be able to rely on his knowledge? It would be more dangerous to operate on wrong information than no information at all. This was going to be trickier, and his self-appointed mission had just become exponentially harder.

“Will I be able to keep up with the pace of healing?” Rin voiced her concern out loud, cutting through Kakashi’s thoughts. Kakashi turned to look at Rin, along with the rest of the team. As Obito started reassuring her with his blinding faith in her, he saw Minato raise his eyebrows in surprise at the question.

“Focus on what you are able to do,” Minato cut in Obito’s rain of reassurances to provide targeted advice, “talk to Tsunade sama and she can better direct your efforts to where you can have the most impact. Inform her of the techniques and procedures you can do comfortably and be honest about your chakra capacity.”

At this point in time, Tsunade had already developed her fear of blood and was never stationed at the front lines in the Third War, focusing on healing fellow ninja once others got the bleeding under control. Her fear of blood was a well-kept secret, and both Konoha and Iwa forces assumed she remained in the main camp as the ultimate form of defense; her presence a large deterrent to attack attempts on the camp. Kakashi recalled that there was some speculation that having the Sannin operate as a team would be more effective, but Konoha ninja ultimately trusted the Third’s strategy and didn’t question it much. Also, while the Stone had more ninja, Konoha had a better medical force due to Tsunade’s efforts, some figured it was too risky as Tsunade would become a prime target.

“I should’ve taken your advice about maintaining my physical training more seriously,” Rin wasn’t fully appeased. She closed her eyes tightly to shake away the helplessness she was feeling. Kakashi knew she was recalling his words yesterday.

Imagine if we’re at the frontlines and you heal ninja after ninja as they’re carried in from the battlefield. After healing a few, you’ve exhausted your chakra pool because your physical energy is low. Then, Obito comes in, injured. You know the advanced technique to save his life, but you don’t have the chakra to perform the procedure.

Feeling responsible for her state of mind, Kakashi couldn’t help but jump in before Obito could start giving empty platitudes once more. Obito meant well, but simply telling Rin that she’s great is not what she needs to hear.

“You never know what scenario will unfold at the front lines,” Kakashi stated, and she looked up to him, her eyes glistening with fear, but there was also a small light of hope, “What we talked about yesterday, that’s just one possible scenario.”

“Talk yesterday?” Minato mumbled quietly in confusion, but Kakashi ignored him and kept going.

“The advanced procedures you have learned may be the difference between life and death for a fellow Konoha ninja,” he continued, his experience as Sakura’s sensei coming forward “I only meant that you cannot neglect the physical side so you can heal for a longer period. If we’re stationed at the main camp, after you deplete your chakra healing, don’t just sit around dejectedly. Do some physical exercise and build your capacity.”

He was rewarded as her mouth slowly ticked upwards in a faint smile, replying with a quiet but determined affirmation.

“You suck at being encouraging,” Obito groused despite Rin’s uplift in mood “say something more inspiring than ‘you need to train’, Bakashi.”

“Like what?” Kakashi gave him an unimpressed half-lidded glance “You got this, you can do this, believe in yourself, you’re a great medical ninja?”

“Yea,” Obito seemed excited that Kakashi was getting it… or so he thought.

“Those are just generic words. We’re ninja, stupid clichés like that are meaningless,” Kakashi stated coldly and Obito’s face fell. Obito’s expression reminded Kakashi of the times when he’d troll his genin team, filling him with a weird sense of nostalgia and loss in one go.

“You jerk, they’re not meaningless!” Obito pointed at him in outrage.

“Obito kun,” Rin jumped in placatingly “Kakashi kun is right, I need to train. I’ll also do what I can, but like he said I won’t let my training go to waste. Don’t let your efforts go to waste either, let’s protect our comrades together, alright?”

“Rin chan,” Obito’s eyes got watery then smiled brightly, “you’re right, we got this!” Obito couldn’t help it and turned to Kakashi again, “That’s how you encourage someone! Learn something from Rin chan.” Kakashi just rolled his eyes and trained them forward again.

“Whatever gets the idea across, right, Kakashi kun?” Rin laughed softly, referencing his words again. Kakashi scoffed out loud. Minato and Obito were confused by the exchange, knowing that there was something they missed. Obito’s heart twinged, feeling jealous and was about to lash out again, if Kakashi hadn’t intervened.

“Nee, sensei, if we were scheduled to leave to the Land of Hot Water, who was sent in our place?” he hoped it was someone that would be able to hold up the vacancy his sensei was leaving behind.

“Worried? You don’t need to be. We switched stations with Orochimaru sama and a team of three chunin.” Minato replied. At the mention of the Sanin, Kakashi relaxed, finding it ironic that any mention of the Snake Sanin would bring about any feeling other than dread. He knew that Orochimaru would be more than up for any challenge his sensei may have tackled in the past.

“I’m not worried,” he felt the need to add despite his feelings. Minato just chuckled but left it at that. He knew his sensei thought Kakashi was concerned that his illness may lead to unfortunate events that would be traced back to him. If something were to happen in the Land of Hot Water that could have been avoided with Minato being there, his younger self would have blamed himself for his weakness. He would also be worried that the villagers would blame him too; looking for any excuse to point out the flaws of the traitor’s son. Compared to his worry about changing the timeline towards a trajectory that led to Konoha’s loss, his younger self’s concerns were negligible.

__________

The remainder of the time they moved forward was uneventful. Rin and Obito chatted while Minato would pitch in a thought or two every now and then. As night started creeping, Minato signaled for them to stop and set up camp.

“Kakashi, sleeping bags. Obito, fire. Rin, perimeter with me,” Minato always asked a different student to set the wards with him to ensure that they all knew how to set up a safe location. As Kakashi started unrolling the sleeping bag, he internally bemoaned the fact that he couldn’t get his comrades to do the heavy lifting of camp setup while he lazed around with a book. It’s been a while since he wasn’t a team leader.

“All done, you two?” Minato asked as he and Rin joined them after a few minutes.

“Yup!” Obito chirped and gave him a thumbs up as they sat around the fire.

Minato opened his backpack and took out sandwiches and passed them along, before taking out a bag with skewered meat and started to cook it over the fire “Might as well enjoy some rich food before we’re stuck with war rations,” he smiled.

“You’re the best, sensei!” Obito got excited at the sight of the meat.

“Thanks sensei,” Rin moved to help him set up the skewers on the campfire properly.

“Sensei, you said the frontlines at the Land of Grass are intense even with the Third Raikage’s stand in the Land of Hot Water,” Obito brought the topic back, “Wouldn’t a loss that big make the Stone ninja need to recover or something?”

“The Land of Stone have much more ninja than any of the other nations,” Minato explained, “That’s why they’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“That sucks,” Obito kicked the dirt lightly “if they didn’t have that many ninja they probably would have pulled out of the war now.”

“Actually, it was lucky for Konoha in this instance,” Kakashi spoke up, “If they didn’t have the numbers then they wouldn’t have sent a force to the North and there wouldn’t have been a stalemate between the Stone and Cloud.”

“What do you mean?” Obito was confused. Rin also shared similar sentiments.

“Konoha is geographically located in the middle of all the nations, and they all want to defeat us,” Kakashi explained “Therefore, our forces are the most spread out as we have to defend our land from all sides. The battle between the Stone and Cloud ninja was the meeting of their forces as they each tried to find a way to enter the Land of Fire from the North. They kind of took each other out, for the time being at any rate. It would have been tough for Konoha to defend against either battalion if they made their way closer to our lands without meeting. We’re lucky that they decided to attack at the same time and ended up fighting each other.”

“That seems to be an oversight from the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara,” Rin commented, taking a cooked skewer of meat from the fire. “Maybe it would have been better to have established Konoha somewhere on the corners of the continent?”

“During the time of the Warring Clans, the Land of Fire was where the Senju and Uchiha have made a home,” Minato shook his head. “Also, their vision was to create peace, and influence other lands towards the same, so having a central location made sense from their perspective.”

“We were also much stronger so they probably weren’t that worried!” Obito pipped up. “The Uchiha elders are always telling us that when Konoha was founded, the other nations feared Konoha because it was the collection of some of the strongest clans.”

“It’s that strength that has made Konoha a target,” Kakashi told him, “They don’t want Konoha to get too strong and control them. So instead of making peace, they decided to attack Konoha and bring our manpower down.”

“We won’t let them,” Obito stated determinedly.

“Right now, Konoha is at a disadvantage in the war,” Kakashi burst his bubble, “The Stone are targeting us with large numbers, the Cloud has specialized strike teams that can carry out critical operations and the Mist are growing in strength. It’s good that the Sand are still licking their wounds from the Second War and are focusing on recuperating their forces, only expending energy on defense.”

“If the Stone’s strength is numbers, the Cloud special operations… what’s ours?” Rin asked.

“Two things,” Minato answered, “teamwork and elite ninja.”

“Elite?” Obito gave his sensei a weird look.

“You said it yourself, Konoha is a collection of some of the oldest and strongest clans in ninja history,” Minato explained “As such, Konoha produces the largest number of most naturally gifted ninja. This is not just from the major clans; the bar of excellence is higher in Konoha than other nations and we have the largest number of S-Ranked ninja. I’ll admit that the Cloud are trying to build a similar approach and have numerous formidable ninja. Anyway, for the Stone, their approach is that even the strongest ninja will fall to a large army. It’s working. While they lost ten thousand ninja, they still killed the Third Raikage. The Stone currently have the largest advantage in the war.”

Instead of Obito and Rin getting discouraged at the thought, they seemed to get more determined, “We’ll show them the strength of Konoha! I’m the future Hokage after all, I’ll get stronger and push them back. If I have to fight a hundred ninja, I’ll win!”

“Also, if you think long term, if the Stone lose the war they’ll have the worst situation economically,” Kakashi added.

“What do you mean?” Minato was interested in the train of thought.

“Well, the entire reason this war started is because other lands are starting to build ninja corps. If lands don’t have to commission ninja from the major villages for missions, the demand for low-ranked missions will go down. However, even if small villages build their ninja force, they will be faced with situations that require high caliber talent. When that happens, their choices are Konoha and the Cloud, and Konoha is closer to most lands. The central location that is our disadvantage in times of war is our strength in times of peace.” Kakashi shared his thoughts. It was what happened in the future. After the war, Konoha grew its might, and bank, once more.

“I haven’t thought about it that way,” Minato was intrigued, “I guess that’s what makes Konoha another tempting target. With Konoha out of the way, they can make more money.”

“Which is why it’s imperative that when peace treaties are made, there are terms that help create balance so that it doesn’t get to that point.” Kakashi nodded “Konoha wasn’t founded to be rich, it was founded so that children around the world can grow up away from battlefields. If anything, we’re farther from that vision than during the Warring Clans Era. The villages are sending fresh genin to the frontlines.”

“We can handle it, I’m not scared” Obito announced.

“We’ll do our part to bring peace,” Rin smiled in reply to Obito’s statement. Minato gave them both an encouraging nod. Only Kakashi noticed that it was forced. As a sensei, he could only imagine how troubled Minato was that his students were being sent to the frontlines.

Kakashi felt that was his cue to leave and stood up, “I’m going to sleep, wake me up when it’s my watch.”

“Already?” Rin seemed concerned. Kakashi didn’t answer her and just kept walking away from them. He quickly grabbed his hygienics kits from his bag and went behind the trees to get ready for sleep. Kakashi could hear them continuing their discussion and grimaced.

Their words and energy rubbed Kakashi the wrong way. They died. They didn’t know that, but they died so young. After the Third War, the Kyuubi Attack and the Uchiha Massacre, peace was fragile, but all the ninja worked hard to ensure that Konoha remains strong to avoid another war. Kakashi himself was flung into S-Ranked mission after S-Ranked mission; eliminating threats left and right. In fact, he amassed the largest number of S-Ranked missions completed after the Legendary Sannin by the time he was twenty.

Seeing the future generation grow up having retained their innocence was well worth it. Part of him wished that he could have had a similar childhood, but there was no time to dwell on wishes. This was the lot he drew in life, to be born into the longest war in Shinobi history as a genius, and he had made his peace with it. But hearing his team talk about bringing peace, knowing they never lived to see it, was hard to bear. He vowed to make the First Hokage’s vision a reality again and save as many lives as possible, for the sake of his comrades and the future children of Konoha.

__________

Morning came without any incidence, and they headed off again, planning to make it to the main camp by midday.

Unfortunately, life had other plans.

It was an hour and a half into their day that Kakashi sensed someone approach just as Minato called the team to a halt. “Standby,” Minato stated as he jumped in front of his team “it’s probably a Konoha shinobi since they aren’t hiding their chakra but stay alert.” His students nodded and Minato moved a few branches forward, ready to intercept.

A few second later, a shinobi appeared between the branches, his forehead protector and green jonin vest identifying him as a Konoha shinobi. The man was bulky and spotted short messy brown hair.

“Tanaka san!” Minato exclaimed in worry, given that the ninja in front of them was clearly injured; his left shoulder bleeding heavily and his right arm attempting to staunch the flow of a stab wound in his gut.

“Minato, kun! Of all the shinobi…. who could’ve been approaching…. am I glad to see you,” the man his sensei identified as Tanaka stated in short breaths. He seemed somewhat familiar, but Kakashi couldn’t pinpoint where he knew this man. As far as Kakashi knew, this person wasn’t a part of their ranks in the future. Kakashi figured probably dead in his timeline. Although, given that the man appears to be in his mid-forties, he could simply be retired for all I know.

Rin moved to help but Kakashi stuck out his hand to stop her, “We must verify he’s not an imposter. Sensei?”

“I’m not an imposter,” Tanaka replied, weaving through hand signals that Kakashi recognized as ANBU code. He wasn’t supposed to know ANBU signs at this stage so remained quiet.

“Identity verified,” Minato spoke up for the sake of his team. He helped Tanaka san settle on the ground and motioned for Rin to heal him, “What happened, Tanaka san?”

Now that Tanaka san had found backup, he slumped in relief. “Ambush,” Tanaka grunted as he removed his right hand to allow Rin better access to heal his stab wound. Kakashi was grateful to note that while painful, it appeared to be shallow. “My squadron was heading back to rest at main camp when three A-Ranked ninja attacked us. I don’t know how they managed to get this far behind our lines. The ninja are Ito Kaito, Yoshida Kenji and Hayashi Haruki. They were also accompanied by B-Ranked Mori Hina, who was providing support.”

Minato cursed and Kakashi couldn’t blame him as he recognized the names. He wasn’t sure if he had good or bad luck; but here he was in the middle of the event that led to mass losses in their backline.

That said, he was confused. In the past they only learned of the ninja sneaking in their territory after they had attacked. As far as Kakashi knew, they still hadn’t. Was it possible that Orochimaru’s team headed out earlier, while their team was given a day’s breather for him to get over his illness? If that were the case, then Orochimaru would have missed Tanaka san and would have had to back pedal from the front lines to deal with the threat. That was the most likely scenario and if so, their timing and early alarm could mitigate the disaster of that event. They needed to get word out quickly and foil the plan.

“We’re still three and a half hours away from the main camp,” Minato stated and Kakashi moved through the seals to summon some of his pack before Minato could ask. After the smoke cleared, Pakkun, Shiba, Bull and Urushi stood at attention.

“Emergency summoning,” Kakashi stated quickly and got down to business, “Urushi, I need you to head to the main medical camp of Konoha, it’s three hours and a half, 32 degrees west from here. Tell them that there is an infiltration of a squad of A-Ranked stone ninja: Ito Kaito, Yoshida Kenji and Hayashi Haruki, they’re supported by Mori Hina. Anything else, sensei?”

“Yes, tell them that I moved to intercept them,” Minato nodded.

“Sensei! You’re great but it’s too risky, even for you, to take on that squad by yourself,” Kakashi cried out. Internally he was panicking. Was it possible for his sensei to fall to the shinobi? Minato sensei was stronger than each of these shinobi many times over, but it was one against four. His sensei defeated a thousand ninja but that was still in a year, with more training and experience.

“Don’t worry, Kakashi kun,” Minato smiled reassuringly “I’m well aware of their specialties, I’m a terrible match up for them. Please hurry, Urushi.” Urushi turned to Kakashi who could only nod in hesitation. Getting his summoner’s go ahead, the dog sped away at top speed.

Kakashi had to admit that what Minato said was true and thought out loud, “Kaito and Kenji are sword specialists, Haruki uses stone golems and specializes in large scale earth ninjutsu. Meanwhile, Hina is a medical ninja that also has a minor specialization in genjutsu. The squad tactic is probably Haruki san manipulating people into positions on the battlefield that favor the sword specialists, while Haruki tries to disorient them further with genjutsu. If anyone gets injured, Hina can heal them so that they can keep going.”

“That style is in line with the fight we just had,” Tanaka verified, his breathing now under control with Rin’s healing. “We couldn’t keep up and started losing ground. Since I’m the fastest, we switched to me escaping to warn someone. Yuto, Masato and Katsuki managed to intercept them as they tried to follow me. That was two hours ago.” At this point in the tale, Tanaka cursed and slammed a fist in the tree bark, startling Rin and causing her healing chakra to waver for a few seconds. Nobody said anything, although they all knew it; his teammates were probably dead.

Minato broke the few seconds of silence by addressing Pakkun, “Pakkun, can you pick out the scent of the enemy ninja around Tanaka san?”

Before Pakkun could reply, Tanaka san took out ripped cloth from his pouch, “I snagged this from Kaito,” he held the cloth towards the dogs who immediately jumped closer and sniffed the fabric.

In the meantime, Kakashi continued his analysis still concerned, “Minato sensei, you have the Rasengan so the golems should be easy to destroy. You can weave around the sword specialists’ attacks easily with Flying Thunder God. But the biggest threat could lie in their weakest member. If the other three keep you busy, a well-timed genjutsu can give them the opening they need.”

“I agree, I will take out Hina first of all,” Minato nodded, “once she’s out of the picture dealing with the rest will be much easier. Their attacks are more straight-forward, and it’ll be a matter of patience breaking through their defense.”

Kakashi let out a sigh, knowing he had to trust his sensei. “Pakkun, Shiba, if you memorized the scent can you start heading in that direction and try to pick it up. Once you pick up the scent, have one of you head back to grab Minato instead of howling, then follow the other’s scent. The element of surprise will be critical,” Kakashi commanded and pointed to the direction Tanaka san came from.

“Roger,” Pakkun and Shiba replied before jumping in that direction.

“Before you go sensei, there is a Konoha outpost one hour from here, right?” Obito spoke up, a hint of fear in his voice. Despite his optimism, even Obito could see that the situation was risky even for someone as strong as his sensei “Why don’t we get you some backup first, Minato sensei? I know that if we try to support you, we’ll just get in your way. Still, even if you are a good match up, these are three A-Ranked ninja! You could seriously die!” Obito’s hint of concern devolved into panic at the end.

“No time,” Minato explained and ruffled Obito’s hair to reassure him, “Tanaka san’s teammates may be alive. On the other hand, if they’ve already been defeated, the Stone ninja would probably start attacking some of the other outposts to do as much damage now that Tanaka san has fled and sounded the alarm. The far back outposts from Tanaka san’s direction don’t have high defense and are small communication and resupplying stations. They’ll be slaughtered. I won’t sit back as our fellow ninja are in danger if I can do something to stop it. Have some faith in your sensei.”

“Also, I’m sure the guys gave those bastards a good fight,” Tanaka san spoke up resolutely. “They won’t be in top condition. Don’t worry, kid, Minato kun won’t lose to them.”

“You better not, sensei,” Kakashi cautioned. Part of him wanted to help his sensei. Obito said they’d be a liability but not a Kakashi with the experience of numerous S-Ranked missions under his belt. Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t leave Obito and Rin if there was a breach in their defenses. As far as he recalled, the breach was just these four ninjas. Then again, there could have been other breaches that were closed, and he hadn’t heard about them. He couldn’t risk the lives of Rin and Obito on that chance.

“Head to the outpost Obito mentioned. Bull, keep them safe. If you smell anyone, take an alternative route as you make your way. Take care of each other,” Minato jumped to a branch and gave his team one last look. He took out a scroll and threw it at Kakashi who grabbed it easily. “Those are the supplies. If I get delayed, make sure they get to Tsunade, they need them. Remember, teamwork is your strongest weapon.”

He waited until all three nodded before he jumped away, getting farther and farther way. Kakashi clenched his fists in annoyance and put away the scroll, Obito fidgeted with his goggles, and Rin clasped her hand together in worry. Tanaka san was about to snap them out of it, but Kakashi beat him to it, “Let’s go. Obito, help me support Tanaka san. Bull, lead the way, please.”

“Leave it to me,” Bull barked and bounded off. With Obito and Kakashi supporting Tanaka, and Rin in front following Bull, the team started to make their way to the smaller outpost. They were quiet, each consumed with staying alert in the case of another breach.

Kakashi could feel the tension from Rin and Obito but knew nothing would reassure them other than hearing from their sensei at this point. He himself, was struggling to maintain his worry. The chances of Minato dying to these ninja were very slim… but they weren’t zero. Knowing what his sensei accomplished, the stakes were too high.

They were around thirteen minutes away from the outpost when Bull paused and let out a small bark. “Foreign ninja, heading towards the outpost too. He’s around 16 kilometers out and headed towards us. It’s not Kaito but there is a faint scent of Kaito.” Bull informed them.

“Damn it,” Tanaka cursed, “That means he’ll reach us in around five minutes.”

“Does this mean Minato sensei lost?” Rin was concerned.

“No, too soon,” Kakashi reassured her, and Rin nearly deflated in relief, “they may have split up or somebody came out to kill Tanaka san before he could sound the alarm. Most likely, they missed Minato sensei and came from a different direction.”

“That’s great and all but an A-Ranked ninja is heading our way,” Obito’s cried out, “What do we do?”

“Rin, help Obito with Tanaka san,” Kakashi commanded “I’ll delay him, you guys get to the outpost and bring backup.”

“You may be a genius kid, but you can’t delay an A-Ranked ninja,” Tanaka pointed out “I’ll do it.”

“With that wound you won’t delay him long enough,” Kakashi shook his head, “He’ll eliminate you and catch up. Same with Obito and Rin. I’m our best chance. I use sword techniques and am a lightning ninjutsu specialist. I’m the best match up and the most experienced from those of us not injured.” Obito and Rin wouldn’t stand a chance.

“There must be another way,” Rin exclaimed. Obito seemed to be struggling to find words but was biting his lips and shaking lightly, “If we all fought him together…”

“We’d all die. We can’t protect you and Tanaka san while also fight. We need the backup.” Kakashi cut her off. He saw Obito about to pitch in and continued hastily “There’s no time to argue, I need to set traps. The sooner you go the more time I can prepare,” he grew impatient, knowing that every second they held this discussion was time he lost in setting up traps.

If he was in his adult form, he could take out the threat easily. While they were A-Ranked ninja, Kakashi had fought tougher opponents and lived. One-to-one fights were his specialty. In this younger body, however, he needed the element of surprise.

If they were being chased by the other sword specialist, Kenji, Kakashi would be hard-pressed to keep up speed-wise. Haruki would be easier; he was a mid-range fighter specializing in large scale earth ninjutsu. He remembered the thousand jutsu he copied and would be able to read the signs and anticipate his attacks. It was likely that Haruki fought from a distance because he was weaker in close combat. In this weaker body, a battle of wits is a better scenario than a physical one.

Kakashi helped Rin support Tanaka san and once he was sure they got it, he addressed Bull. “Bull, if anything, tell Pakkun and Bisuke to give it to him. They’ll know what I mean. Get them to the outpost safely, I’m counting on you.”

“I got this,” Bull barked and then jumped forward, the rest following suit.

Obito looked back, and saw his teammate face the other direction. Obito could only think that his teammate’s back was too small to face off against an A-Ranked ninja. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was seeing his teammate alive for the last time. Rin’s choked sob didn’t help matters.

Obito had liked Kakashi when they were kids and admired him. After Kakashi’s father’s death, Kakashi turned cold towards him, but Obito decided that we won’t give up on trying to be his friend. He could tell Kakashi was hurting and wanted to help. But then, Rin developed a crush on Kakashi, and his jealousy overrode his desire to become friends. As they bickered, the rift between them only grew. Still, a part of him still wanted to be friends. Obito felt that now, he would never have that chance.

Before they could get far enough, Obito spoke up, his voice wavering even though he tried to sound brave “We’re getting that backup, so you better not die till then, Kakashi!”

Kakashi, without turning around, gave Obito a thumbs up and added resolutely “I don’t plan to.”

Obito closed his eyes in frustration, tears leaking out, but he faced the front again and kept moving forward. As frustrating as it was, and as dense as he sometimes acted, even he knew this was their best chance.

“How long will it take for us to get back up?” Obito asked out loud.

“Once we’re five minutes from the outpost we can send out a flare signal to get help,” Tanaka san replied “With that, we can have support here in around fifteen minutes. It will take the enemy around three minutes to reach Hatake. Therefore, if Hatake can hold out for a little bit less than twenty minutes, there’s a chance.”

Nobody voiced it out loud, but that was a long time for a chunin to hold back an A-Ranked ninja.

_________

The second his team moved ahead, Kakashi went into motion, setting up traps to hopefully catch the enemy by surprise. He decided to keep the seal on his stomach for now, opting for his natural balance as opposed to gaining access to more spiritual energy. If anything, if he got low, he could release the seal and increase his spiritual reserves. With that, he could stick to techniques that required more spiritual energy to buy more time.

He only managed to prepare two traps when he sensed the enemy approach. It was time. Kakashi hid behind the trunk and waited for his enemy. After a few seconds, the ninja burst forward and Kakashi was able to take a glance as he passed him, identifying him as Haruki much to his relief.

Kakashi cut the wire, releasing a rain of kunai and shuriken on his location. The man easily dodged backwards and closer to his hidden location. Kakashi manually triggered the explosives on the ground below, having forced him into that location with the first trap. Haruki cursed and jumped upwards to avoid the explosion; his back now exposed to Kakashi.

Kakashi moved.

He collected chakra at the base of his feet and launched himself forward, white saber unsheathed. Haruki sensed Kakashi, weaved his body to the right and ducked as Kakashi made contact. The saber dug through Haruki’s upper left shoulder and sliced through his collar bone, making Haruki grunt in pain.

Kakashi flipped midair to avoid having his back to his opponent and landed on the ground below. Kakashi examined the injury he gave Haruki and noted that it was less damage than Kakashi hoped to start off with, but the wound would slow Haruki down and impede him in close combat.

Haruki glanced at his injury then turned to face Kakashi with annoyance clear on his face. Kakashi smirked and readied his saber once more, crouching down into a battle stance “This is as far as you go, Haruki san.”

Chapter Text

Kakashi cut the wire, releasing a rain of kunai and shuriken on his location. The man easily dodged backwards and closer to his hidden location. Kakashi manually triggered the explosives on the ground below, having forced him into that location with the first trap. Haruki cursed and jumped upwards to avoid the explosion; his back now exposed to Kakashi.

Kakashi moved.

He collected chakra at the base of his feet and launched himself forward, white saber unsheathed. Haruki sensed Kakashi, weaved his body to the right and ducked as Kakashi made contact. The saber dug through Haruki’s upper left shoulder and sliced through his collar bone, making Haruki grunt in pain.

Kakashi flipped midair to avoid having his back to his opponent and landed on the ground below. Kakashi examined the injury he gave Haruki and noted that it was less damage than Kakashi hoped to start off with, but the wound would slow Haruki down and impede him in close combat.

Haruki glanced at his injury then turned to face Kakashi with annoyance clear on his face. Kakashi smirked and readied his saber once more, crouching down into a battle stance “This is as far as you go, Haruki san.”

Haruki scoffed, gathered chakra in his feet and rushed at Kakashi, kunai out. Compared to the numerous enemies Kakashi had fought in his lifetime, he noted that his opponent had average speed levels.  Right before Haruki attacked with a frontal attack, he let out a burst of speed to stand behind Kakashi and struck.

Kakashi easily saw the attack and crouched, the kunai slicing through air, a few strands of hair floating above. Not giving his opponent time to move away, Kakashi followed with a sweep of his legs to knock him off balance. Haruki read the attack and flipped forward, above of Kakashi and landed in front of him. Kakashi slashed his saber forward, yet Haruki twisted and caught the saber with his kunai, metal and metal clanging loudly.

Haruki immediately started to push his kunai hard against the saber. With the adult’s superior physical strength, Kakashi was being pushed closer to the ground. Knowing he wouldn’t win a contest of strength, Kakashi abruptly relaxed his grip as he twisted his body even lower to the ground and shifted to the side. The sudden lack of force caused Haruki to slightly lose his balance, and from his crouched position Kakashi took the opportunity to flip his grip on the saber and slice at Haruki’s feet as he dashed away from his opponent. The saber met its mark, leaving a shallow cut on the man’s calf.

While not deep, Kakashi noted the glint of annoyance resurface in Haruki’s eyes. Clearly, he didn’t expect a fight and had tried to end it then and there. Conversely, Kakashi was analyzing his opponent’s fighting habits before going in for the kill as his usual style. While he could easily read Haruki’s taijutsu, his body was barely keeping up. He wouldn’t be able to act carelessly. Knowing that, Kakashi unleashed his first jutsu to take note of how his opponent would react.

“Lightning Beast Tracking Fang,” he called out, and a wolf of lightning streamed rapidly towards Haruki. Haruki dodged the attack by jumping over it at a faster speed and showing he could still kick into a higher gear if need be, although it seemed one directional. That was, at least somewhat reassuring.

Haruki ran through hand seals of his own, and Kakashi recognized the seals of the Earth Wave Jutsu, luckily one of the first Earth jutsu he learned. Clearly, Haruki was still underestimating him; wanting to throw him off-balance and then finish him off with another quick attack. As Haruki slammed his hands on the ground, Kakashi in the memory of his past moniker, ran through the same seals faster, catching up to Haruki and in tandem they called out “Earth Wave Jutsu.”

The two jutsu moved towards one another and collided, causing the earth to shake and an explosion of rubble chunks to rocket outwards. Haruki did not expect the same jutsu as a counter and was delayed in his escape as shock stilled his movements for a few seconds. Despite jumping backwards, his delayed reaction forced him to be caught in the collision and he had his hands raised to protect his face as the rubble struck him.

Kakashi, aware of the impending collision, had immediately launched upwards onto a branch after he finished his seals. He struck at Haruki’s left side. His saber connected but Haruki was already in motion, bringing his right hand to grasp Kakashi’s hand to stop the momentum. The saber dug into Haruki’s side but stopped before it could do serious damage. Haruki then used his left hand to elbow Kakashi on the head. Kakashi’s hand was still stuck in Haruki’s grip, and he couldn’t dodge. The attack connected and Kakashi exploded in a shower of blue light. Electricity painfully coursed through Haruki who cursed out loud.

The real Kakashi jumped at the opportunity, kunai charged with lightning in hand and moving in to strike the finishing blow. He was centimeters away from connecting when he felt a rush of chakra gather around Haruki and Kakashi’s kunai met a wall of hard stone. His charged kunai wasn’t powerful enough to strike through the stone and clanged uselessly before flying upwards as Kakashi let go. Better to let the force unarm him than revibrate through his arm and injure him.

Before he could counter, Kakashi felt a rush of air from his left and raised his left arm to guard his face, the right arm crossed behind his left to support against the incoming attack. A punch of hard rock slammed into Kakashi, sending him flying before crashing into the ground, the momentum dragging him along the earth. When Kakashi came to a halt, he grimaced in pain as he lugged himself into a battle stance once more, grateful that he had reinforced his guard with chakra. He was sure that his left arm would have been broken otherwise. Right now, it was heavily bruised and pulsed painfully, but still functional. Probably a fracture, he noted.

In the clearing, where Haruki previously was, now stood a golem of stone, double the size of his adversary. The menacing behemoth stood proud in its muscular frame, with each segment of its body appearing to be made of boulders organically fused together. Kakashi noted that the torso twisted slightly, indicating agility despite its stony composition. The only part of Haruki Kakashi could make out was through the eye slits on the stone head, where Haruki’s eyes looked back at him with a calculated gleam.

“I never would have thought I’d have to use this form against a child,” Haruki’s tone was thoughtful. A final gambit of defense, Kakashi cursed. “Clearly, I won’t be able to kill you and move on without a serious fight. You will die here, but take pride in getting me to fight seriously, child of Konoha.”

Those words of warning were all Kakashi was given before the massive golem rushed towards him. Kakashi braced himself and got into a defensive pose. Haruki jumped diagonally before the golem came crashing down onto Kakashi’s spot. Kakashi heard the whistle of air from the force of the golem’s decent and immediately dodged with a back flip. The golem crashed into the ground, sending debris flying, a few stones crashing into his frame.

The golem used the momentum to rush towards Kakashi, who ducked under a right punch thrown his way. As Kakashi continued to dodge the attacks at the last second, he noted that this form of Haruki’s was slower, but it covered more area. One hit from those would be devastating and Kakashi found himself barely edging away from attacks. Each missed attack let out a rush of air that whooshed around Kakashi’ frame, a reminder that the slightest miscalculation would be devastating.

Kakashi tried to create some distance but just as Kakashi used some chakra to jump away, Haruki seemed to realize that he wouldn’t catch Kakashi with frontal attacks and two more golems appeared. These golems were much smaller in size, a bit large than Kakashi’s frame, but appeared to be built for speed. They also appeared to be controlled by Haruki remotely, as opposed to the behemoth. A sign that the jutsu was quite the chakra drain.

Kakashi concluded that these were the golems the man was famous for using to manipulate enemies into certain positions. He would do so by overwhelming his opponents with the golems’ attacks and coming in for the killing strike. Knowing that in a fight of endurance, Kakashi was at a disadvantage, he needed to deal with the golems quickly.

As the golems came in to attack him, the behemoth prowling on the sidelines, Kakashi made his move. He brought his hands into the familiar seal, “Shadow Clone Jutsu”. The two silver-haired ninja moved away from one another, remaining in parallel. As the golems got close, both Kakashi and his clone threw exploding tags at the rushing stone figures.

The golems were barely damaged, only pausing for a second to resist the recoil of the explosion. However, Kakashi’s goal wasn’t to damage them, just buy him a few precious seconds to jump back farther way, widening the distance between them once more. The golems continued their rush, but this time Kakashi was prepared to meet them.

As he jumped back, the original Kakashi had tied ninja wire to a kunai, throwing it to his clone while he secured the other end of the wire onto another kunai. Once they landed, they each held the end of the ninja wire cable and rushed forward to meet the golems head on. As they ran forward, the two channeled lightning chakra through the wire, creating a weaker but usable version of his Lightning Cable jutsu.

Kakashi’s left arm screamed in protest as he focused on maintaining his position, his fracture flaring up in pain, but he didn’t slow down. If the clone had taken the right side, it would have dissipated from the fracture, so he gave it the easier job. His clone should be thankful.

Haruki noticed and manipulated the golems to evade by rolling to the sides, clearly trying to pincer Kakashi from the behind with the smaller golems while he attacked from the front. Yet, Kakashi and his clone quickly gathered chakra to their feet and jumped to the side, covering more distance than the golems’ rolls did. With that maneuver, the four combatants were nearly standing in a single file line, with the Kakashis at the far most positions.

Kakashi observed that his wire would connect, but at the speed they were going it won’t be enough to slice the golems, therefore, he and his clone gathered chakra in their feet once more before bursting forward at the same time. The lightning-charged wire connected. With the added speed boost, the strength was enough. The rock creatures were sliced in half and crashed into the ground, landing in a useless bundle on the ground. Kakashi disconnected the cable and clutched his left arm in pain, glad for the small respite to catch his breath.

While it was weaker than his original Lightning Cable, lacking the sheer force and speed of Raikiri, the two smaller golems were built for agility not defense. Thus, Kakashi was optimistic his attack would work even if it wouldn’t against the larger golem protecting Haruki.

The man’s curse was music to Kakashi’s ears. For the first time since they started to fight, Haruki was clearly rattled. These golems were what earned him his notoriety, and they were defeated within one minute. Moreover, it took a lot of chakra to create golems that can be manipulated without chakra threads. Haruki wouldn’t be able to create more of them easily.

Kakashi was never one to play fair, and saw the opportunity to annoy his opponent further, “Too bad Earth is weak to Lightning,” he shrugged casually. He was rewarded with an eye twitch. That said, he couldn’t celebrate early. He was already around 65% down on his chakra so dispelled his clone to save up on chakra. I need to end this soon.

Haruki was already charging at him again, but unlike the beginning, Kakashi now had a plan. As he found himself dodging the behemoth once more, Kakashi discretely removed the seal binding his spiritual energy, feeling his chakra reserves’ balance start to shift. He wouldn’t face an imbalance issue because Kakashi was now going to spam his spiritual energy and aggravate Haruki even more than before. Let nobody say that driving your opponent mad in frustration was not a sound strategy.

“Lightning Senbon Jutsu,” Kakashi manipulated his chakra into many lightning senbon that fired in quick projectiles at his enemy. The senbon struck the golem in the chest, but they didn’t do much damage, barely cracking the armor. Although the senbon lacked power, it meant that they relied heavily on spiritual energy and Kakashi now had that in spades.

Haruki, however, was an A-Ranked level threat, and wasn’t going to simply try to crush his opponent with uncreative attacks. As Kakashi released the third volley of senbon at the golem’s leg, he heard Haruki call out “Earth Flow Spears”. Kakashi flipped upwards to avoid the first spear that came at him, using it as leverage to push himself to the side to avoid another. He ducked to avoid the third and felt a stab of pain in his right calf.

As another pillar came rushing towards him attempting to skewer him, Kakashi grabbed the top of the pillar stabbing his leg and used his hands to push himself into a handstand as the pillar crashed into the other one. Kakashi grunted in pain as the movement allowed him to break away from the pillar, but his leg was now bleeding profusely. He quickly jumped away again.

The fact that Haruki was inside the golem and could cast jutsu without Kakashi being able to see the hand signs was frustrating. He would accuse the man of cheating if they weren’t ninja. He was tempted to use the Hidden Mist Jutsu to even the score but didn’t want to tip Haruki off that he could use the water element.

Haruki didn’t give him a chance to dress the wound as he attacked him once more with pillars, and moved in to attack in tandem with the pillars. As Kakashi ducked under the golem once more, he took out one of his custom energy absorption seals and slapped it on the stone. The seal was designed to absorb a continuously small amount of only spiritual energy, thus, wouldn’t be noticed by the ninja early on unless he was a sensor ninja.

Now it was just a matter of time. It was sheer adrenaline allowing Kakashi to still dodge and ignore the pain in his leg, still launching wave of senbon after wave at his adversary. Between dodging pillars and waves of Earth, as well as the towering golem, Kakashi managed to add another seal to the back of Haruki to speed the process along.

Haruki wasn’t idle either. The stone ninja had managed to nick him in various places, leading to multiple shallow wounds, worst of which was a small gash on his side. Frustratingly, these were all injuries he could have avoided. He saw the attacks but simply couldn’t get his body to move fast enough to react in time.

“You’re getting desperate, you brat,” Haruki scoffed as he batted away another volley. Kakashi internally smirked. He had respected that Haruki wasn’t the garrulous type of fighter, not giving anything away as they traded blows. If he had decided to speak up mid-attack, it meant that he truly did believe he had won and had grown overconfident.

To play up the part, Kakashi replied boastfully, “You never know unless you try,” and released yet another wave of lightning senbon at the golemn. The golem was now littered with small scratches from the senbon attacked, but none had penetrated deep enough.

“You may think you have succeeded in delaying me, but someone with your aptitude for lightning jutsu will grow into a serious threat for the Stone,” Haruki continued the conversation while rushing in with a punch and completely ignoring the senbon, “Therefore, killing you here before you can mature is just as beneficial.”

“I don’t plan on dying, Haruki san,” Kakashi smirked as he jumped upwards to avoid the attack.

It was at that moment Haruki launched another jutsu attack, “Earth Dragon Bomb Jutsu.”

Kakashi observed the small cracks in the armor start to get wider, the golem jutsu was destabilizing. On that note, he immediately countered with ninjutsu of his own, “Water Dragon Bullet.”

 The jutsus collided in midair, releasing a shower of water and mud onto the combatant zone. “You still had the water element under your sleeve? How does Konoha keep pumping out geniuses?” The man grumbled, his voice giving away his frustration that the fight was still ongoing “This game of cat and mouse is over!”

Haruki gathered chakra at the leg of the golem, dashing forward and closing the gap between them. Kakashi jumped above the block but not quickly enough; his injuries had started to slow him down. Kakashi collided with the behemoth’s chest and the slam rocked his body as he fell to the ground a few centimeters away. He rolled to the side quickly and righted into a battle stance but realized it was unnecessary.

The force of his body hitting the golem’s chest was the final nail in the coffin. The cracks made by the senbon started to grow larger and crisscross all over the body as the balance of the jutsu broke. As the cracks connected, they grew larger and more rapidly. The golem creaked under the damage and fell to its knees. Haruki moved to dispel the jutsu to escape the now brittle rock, but Kakashi moved faster.

“Lightning Rod Jutsu,” he muttered, channeling his lightning chakra through the pools of water the dragon collision had created. The pools of water, that Haruki was now conveniently standing over. The pools of water, that Kakashi had made sure to keep Haruki around, waiting for this moment.

The speed of electricity was faster than Haruki and the electricity stunned him in place. Before Haruki could shake off the shock from the jutsu, Kakashi gathered his chakra into a familiar rotating ball and rushed forward and shouted “Rasengan!”

His sensei’s jutsu connected and the golem completely disintegrated. Given the damage, the remainder of the golem’s body was not enough to cancel out the Rasengan which was still rotating strong and further collided into Haruki’s chest. Haruki let out a gasp of pain before being launched away. Not wanting to risk it, as he had seen enemies get up after being hit by the Rasengan before, Kakashi followed suit.

Haruki’s flight halted as he crashed into a tree, but Kakashi was there to meet him before he recovered. Once in front of Haruki, Kakashi crouched down and released a devastating upwards kick, catching the ninja in his jaw and launching him into the sky.

The jaw is a weak point because direct blows to it can shake the brain sufficiently, potentially causing a concussion intense enough to render a person unconscious. At minimum, it would cause the person to momentarily lose ability to move. Between that, the electric shock and the Rasengan, Haruki became a sitting… or rather, flying duck.

Kakashi moved to jump, but knowing he was close to victory, the adrenaline in his body was fading. The pain in his calf shook his leg into a stand-still. He became acutely aware of the throbbing in his arm and leg, the rapid rise and fall of his chest for keeping a pace his younger body wasn’t used to and the dizziness that came with blood loss.

“Not yet,” Kakashi growled, shook away all the pain and launched himself to the sky, his brow sweating profusely as his body shook in fatigue. Right under Haruki, he kicked the man higher, then threw ninja wire to grab him and pulled him under. Now above him, Kakashi unsheathed his saber, and slashed him across the chest, right through where the Rasengan met its mark. Not done yet, Kakashi twisted in the air, and kicked the man in the head, sending him crashing into the earth below. His saber still out, Kakashi rolled downwards to gain more momentum, gaining speed with each flip. Once close, he righted himself and struck down with the chakra-charged saber, burying it into his enemy’s back and through his heart. Haruki’s body spasmed briefly then lay still.

Kakashi sat on top of his enemy’s back, panting deeply, his hand still clutching his saber. Black spots danced in his vision as his brain finally processed the blood loss, fatigue, and pain. It wasn’t chakra exhaustion at least; that was the only reason he was still awake, but his body was at its limit. Knowing it was a bad idea to lose consciousness without knowing if any other enemy were close by, Kakashi tried to fight the darkness. To no avail, he finally slumped forward on top of Haruki, his head resting on the saber still stuck inside his enemy’s body. I hope Rin and Obito arrive with backup before I bleed out.

__________

Kakashi’s consciousness started to return, and he blinked a few times to clear his vision and gazed upon a wooden ceiling. Before he could process anything else, he heard Rin’s voice from his right.

“Kakashi kun!” her voice was a mixture of relief and worry in one. She had noticed he was awake and Kakashi heard the scrapping of a chair being pushed back as Rin stood up. “How are you feeling?”

He turned to face her and saw Obito also standing next to her, face etched in worry as well. He didn’t see his sensei and his stomach flip flopped. “Minato sensei?” he asked instead, his voice a bit raspy.

“I’m right here, Kakashi kun,” Minato’s voice came from the left and he turned to face his sensei, relief washing over him.

“Thank Konoha,” Kakashi muttered in relief and moved to get up. Rin immediately jumped in to help him sit upright. He winced as the wound in his leg pulsated but otherwise Rin seemed to have healed him well. His left arm was in a sling. He had bandages wound around his stomach and smaller ones across his body. His leg seemed to be the worst of it. If slight movements hurt, he was sure he won’t be able to walk on it right now. Once he was settled, Rin handed him a glass of water which he quickly gulped down.

 “I think that’s my line,” Minato chuckled once he was sure Kakashi was fine, “When I noticed Haruki was missing and his trail led back to this outpost…” he let the statement hang in the air, implication clear.

“Now you know how we felt when you went to chase three A-ranked ninja,” Kakashi grumbled in annoyance. Minato chuckled in reply but stopped when Obito burst out in anger.

“It’s not funny!” he exclaimed, his hands balled into fists, “Rin and I thought you died. When we found you, you weren’t moving… you were as still as a statue and pale as a ghost! And we still didn’t hear anything from Minato sensei! We didn’t know if he was alive or not. Rin... we… I….”

“Obito kun,” Rin’s voice was soft as she grasped Obito’s hand reassuringly, “We’re all safe now. That’s what matters.”

“No!” Obito was still enraged, and tears started falling down his face, “This is crazy!”

“Obito kun,” Minato walked over and kneeled in front of his student, hands on his shoulders in comfort, “what our team faced was definitely crazy, as you put it. Unfortunately, sometimes we find ourselves in crazy situations. We’re ninja. The best thing you can do is pick yourself up, learn from them and be grateful that your comrades made it out alive. I know you must have been terrified, and I’m proud of all of you.”

“Maybe Rin and Kakashi, I couldn’t do anything,” Obito muttered, “I was useless.”

“That’s not true,” Rin pipped in, “when we asked for backup and Itame san was hesitant, thinking that the safest option was to hang back and reinforce our defenses here… I was devastated. I couldn’t speak. But you immediately ripped him a new one. Your words inspired him to coordinate backup.”

“It wasn’t needed anyway,” Obito scoffed with a dismissive wave of his hand, “Kakashi already killed Haruki by the time we arrived.”

“I was bleeding out quite badly if I recall,” Kakashi spoke up, “My last thought before I drifted into unconsciousness was hoping that you and Rin would bring backup before I bled out. Maybe it wasn’t as dire as I recall and maybe I would’ve survived until, Itama san was it, realized that the fight was over and sent help. Anyway, I’m glad that I was right to trust you two to get backup.”

“Kakashi?” Obito was clearly stunned by his teammate’s reassurance.

“Besides,” Kakashi continued, “it was luck that kept me alive. I could read his attacks, but my body couldn’t keep up,” here Kakashi gripped the sheets in frustration “I got lucky, any of his attacks could have fatally injured me. I almost died a bunch of times. I seriously needed that backup, probably in 9 out of 10 possible scenarios during that fight.” He overplayed the odds a bit as it was more of an even match, but his team didn’t need to know that.

“Thanks,” Obito smiled hesitantly. He then removed his hand from Rin’s grip, stepped away from his sensei and wiped away his tears with his arm. He buried his face in his elbow as he composed himself. After a few moments, Obito took a deep breath and brought his hand down, giving them all a smile. Minato, now reassured Obito was alright, ruffled his hair before standing up.

“You’re truly learning the art of encouragement, Kakashi kun,” Rin teased, and he gave her an unamused roll of his eyes.

“That said though, it wasn’t just luck, Kakashi kun” Minato turned back to Kakashi “You’re selling yourself too short. It still takes great skill to fight against someone of Haruki’s caliber. Luck may have factored into it, but it was also your technique. I examined Haruki’s body before sealing him away. Rei san said you beat him up quite badly. Well, she used more colorful language but anyway. That was a nice Rasengan,” he gave his student a thumbs up at that.

“It’s not enough,” Kakashi shook his head. There were so many things he needed to accomplish; he couldn’t afford to die here. “I started to focus on my physical training recently, I even purchased a set of weights. But it took me too long to realize that gap in my skills. I have to get faster so I can keep up. I won’t be as helpless next time.”

“Bakashi, you beat an A-Ranked ninja! Stop being such a bummer,” Obito complained.

“If it wasn’t for the element of surprise, him underestimating me in the beginning, my lightning countering his earth element and sheer dumb luck, it would have ended differently,” Kakashi muttered. Sure, from his team’s perspective it was quite an achievement. He wasn’t eleven though.

“How did you defeat him anyway?” Obito pipped in, his previous worry now replaced with excitement for a good tale. Kakashi was about to reply but his stomach beat him to it and chose to grumble in hunger. He blushed behind his mask.

“We got caught up in the conversation!” Rin exclaimed. “You need to eat; I’ll go get you some breakfast.” Without waiting for a reply, she dashed outside the room.

“Why don’t you go with her Obito,” Minato suggested, “Also, be sure to pack up all our belongings because we need to still head out to deliver those supplies.”

“You got it, sensei!” Obito saluted him with a wide smile before chasing after Rin, “I still want to hear the story, Kakashi!” he shouted before leaving the room as well.

“The mission!” Kakashi cried, “we’re late in delivering those supplies.”

“Yes, but seeing as to how we stopped a ‘behind the line’ invasion that could have been devastating, one more day isn’t the worst thing,” Minato winked at him before grabbing the chair and sitting next to Kakashi once more.

“I can’t walk though,” Kakashi spoke up, “am I staying here?”

“No, I’m going to carry you,” Minato sighed, “there was a debate to send someone else but with the breach, we don’t know if there are any other ninja around. I have the best chance of beating whoever else may be here, so I need to be the one to take the supplies.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re taking me if I can’t move,” Kakashi pointed out, “Won’t I just be a hindrance?”

“Maybe,” Minato acknowledged with a frown, “but I don’t trust Itame san with your care. Sure, I can understand where he came from, yet I won’t leave you with a person that was willing to abandon you to your fight. It’s only three hours to the main camp, we should be fine. Worst case, I’ll summon the toads to take you the rest of the way.”

“Hmmm,” Kakashi refused to comment. He did think his sensei was worrying too much, but then again, he wanted to be with his team. Moreover, his sensei had no way of knowing that it was only those four ninja if history was still mostly on its set course.

“One more thing,” Minato added, “we’re not telling people you defeated Haruki san.”

“Makes sense,” Kakashi shrugged, “That will immediately put a target on my back, and as I’ve said, I have a lot more to improve on before I can handle A-Ranked ninja without having lady luck on my side.”

“Ye..yea that’s true,” Minato blinked in shock, “I ah, well honestly I expected some push back.”

“Why?” Kakashi decided to probe before he said anything.

“Well, you know…” Minato looked uncomfortable.

“I don’t,” Kakashi raised an eyebrow in faux confusion although he had an idea as to what his sensei was hinting at, “that’s why I asked.”

“I thought you’d be upset that a chance to prove yourself was taken from you,” Minato spoke slowly and was clearly choosing his words carefully. Kakashi understood the undertone; his younger self would have seen this as a major step in redeeming his clan’s honor.

“I guess,” Kakashi titled his head as if pondering, “To be honest, I was just focused on buying Rin and Obito enough time to escape.”

“I’m so proud of you, you know,” Minato smiled, “well, part proud and part wanting to reprimand you for being so careless.”

“I didn’t have a choice; it was either me or all of us” Kakashi’s voice went low as he stared his sensei in the eyes to convey seriousness. This was a chance to set a new tone for his personality and he would take it. It was tiring being so despondent all the time. “I didn’t think I’d survive. I resigned myself to that when I sent Rin and Obito on their way.”

“I know,” Minato sighed as he sat next to Kakashi on the side of the bed, extended his arm around his student’s shoulder and comforted him with a half-hug. Kakashi felt Minato squeeze his shoulder in support and relaxed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.”

“You don’t need to apologize sensei, you can’t always be there,” Kakashi shook his head in disagreement, “Besides, it was peaceful in a way. Even if I had died, Obito and Rin were safe and somehow… well somehow that was enough for me. There was also regret for not reaching my goals. I don’t know…. ahhh it’s weird.” Kakashi crossed his arms and sighed. Internally, he was proud of his performance. Maybe a career in the movie industry wouldn’t be amiss as a backup plan.

“You had quite the near-death experience so it’s normal to be confused about how you’re feeling. It will take you a while to sort out through your emotions and epiphanies” Minato reassured him. “I’ll be here to talk once you’ve had some time to mull over your thoughts.”

“Thanks, I guess. Don’t worry though, one thing I know for sure is that I’m going to get stronger,” Kakashi told his sensei, “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” Minato chuckled “I know I’m not often involved in your training as I keep getting sent to the frontlines, but if you ever need any guidance…”

“I will,” Kakashi nodded with a soft smile.

“Speaking of which,” Minato stood up again and rummaged for something in his pouch and took out one of Kakashi’s spiritual energy custom seals, “the backup team found this seal and I recognized the ink coming from Kurokawa’s Sealing Arts. I never saw this seal for sale before. Did you make it?”

Kakashi cursed internally, he wanted to keep his skills in the sealing art hidden for now. He can’t grow leaps and bound across all ninja arts. He wanted to focus on ninjutsu so he could use more of the jutsu he knew and was planning on revealing his ability to channel the fire element next. It wouldn’t be believable to have leveled up fuinjutsu to A-Ranked level and have learned a fourth element in such a short amount of time. More and more things were outside of his control than he had hoped. Oh well, it’s not like I use a lot of fire jutsu anyway.

“Yea, I was learning about chakra absorption seals and was trying to separate the matrices into functional seals by themselves,” Kakashi explained “Another example of how lucky I was to have had them on me.”

“No wonder you were interested in my sealing scroll the other day. You should’ve said something I would have taught you. Anyway, you used the seal to imbalance the golems?” Minato’s excitement rose once he verified that his student had created the seal.

“Haruki had a final gambit of defense that was a towering golem, so I used it on that,” Kakashi nodded, “The smaller golems I…”

“Cut in half,” Minato filled in, “I went back to examine the scene once I was sure you’d be alright. I don’t recall you having a jutsu that could do that though.”

“It wasn’t a jutsu,” Kakashi elaborated, “I created a shadow clone, tied ninja wire between two wires and ran lightning through them. At the last moment I also added a burst of speed that gave additional strength to manage the feat.”

Minato whistled in appreciation, “That’s really creative!”

“I’m trying to create a similar jutsu, so I had it in the back of mind,” Kakashi rubbed the back of his head nervously, “I took it from there and improvised.”

Minato was about to reply but was cut off by Rin coming in carrying a tray, “Kakashi kun, I managed to get you some eggplants!” her face flush with excitement, Obito right behind her.

“Thanks,” Kakashi nodded in gratitude as she handed him the tray. He took in the aroma of eggplants and was excited to dig in.

“Eat and then get freshened up, we’re heading out in forty-five minutes,” Minato commanded. When his three students replied in unison, Kakashi saw Minato’s eye thrill in relief. Being a sensei, he knew it was adorable when students would reply together in one beat, it used to warm his heart. His sensei was probably grateful that all three were alive and well to do so.

“I need to finalize a few things with Itame san so we’ll meet at the outpost gates,” Minato continued. Before he left, Minato caught his eye and gave him a nod. Kakashi got the message and knew that their conversation wasn’t over. He nodded back and then busied himself with eating while listening to Obito and Rin’s chatter. While part of him wanted to brainstorm over how to move forward with the reveal of his sealing knowledge, he decided to simply appreciate being in the moment with his teammates and relaxed. There was time before Minato sensei would be free enough to have a full-blown conversation. When that happened, he would begin executing his plan to change the past.

Chapter Text

Memories churned in Kakashi’s head as their team finally made it to the reinforced wooden outer wall of Konoha’s main camp. They had passed a few patrol rotations who were relieved to know that the threat had been eliminated. The four-story wooden towers lined the outer wall, a roof of wood covered by foliage providing shelter and camouflage from above. Kakashi could spot some ninja peering into the landscape with binoculars between the greenery and sensed the chakra barrier providing protection around the perimeter.

The barrier was actually designed and deployed by Kushina to detect any unauthorized chakra signatures, alerting to the presence of enemy ninja. The ninja tasked to upkeep the barrier were sensory ninja who would update the wards whenever young ninja were newly deployed, older ninja died or others went rogue. Kushina, with the help of Minato, Jiraya and Orochimaru, had also layered the wooden perimeter with reinforcement seals to strengthen them for further protection.

Of course, that was not the only protection, as there were many traps and defensive parameters laid out around the area. Moreover, there was a constant rotation of patrols, which was Obito’s assignment for this deployment. Kakashi had been assigned patrol duty numerous times in his early chunin days. Given how fast he had developed his skills, that didn’t last long, and he was assigned more dangerous missions.

“Things seem quiet,” Minato struck a conversation with the team manning the gate. The captain, whose eyes were nearly pupilless and white, rolled them at him.

“Ever since you’ve sent the warning message, we’ve doubled our patrols, and everybody is on edge. It is distinctly not quiet, Minato,” he grunted in annoyance.

Minato laughed nervously, and Kakashi winced as the movement caused his leg to shift again. “You say it like it’s my fault, don’t stab the messenger, Ren.”

“You always give me nothing but trouble,” Ren groused but his voice lost its harsh tone. Minato knew the Hyuga was referencing them crossing paths on a mission a few years back. Ren and his team had successfully completed their mission and were looking forward to heading back to Konoha. Minato and his team had arrived moments later, requesting their help. Newly surfaced intel required them to have some backup for a successful infiltration. The Byakugan made the mission much easier as well. They succeeded with no issues, but Ren had held that situation against him jokingly for years.

“Anyway, Captain Sarutobi is waiting to debrief you and discuss strategies for next steps.”

“I’ll go right there, just as soon as I drop off my student at the medical cabin,” Minato nodded.

“It’s your head,” Ren shrugged but then his eyebrows shifted upwards as he realized something, “Please tell me it’s not your injured student that was assigned to us? With the double patrols we need all the ninja we can get.”

“No, Obito will be the one joining you,” Minato flicked his head towards his other student.

“Uchiha Obito! Pleasure to meet you,” Obito introduced himself loudly, puffing his chest up. “Don’t you worry, with me around we’ll keep everyone safe.”

“I see,” Ren replied hesitantly, already worried about the prospect of having an energetic child on his roster. “Follow me, I’ll introduce you to your patrol team.”

“Yes sir!” Obito saluted him, gave his team a final cheery wave and quickly moved to follow him.

“Good luck to the patrol team,” Kakashi muttered, and Rin giggled in response.

Minato sighed but refrained from commenting and just gestured for Rin to follow him, “Come along, we’ll go to the medical cabin together.”

The team entered the camp, and it was just as Kakashi remembered, as if plucked from a childhood memory and dumped into the world as is. The outpost was packed with tents where various ninja could be seen lounging in groups outside. The smell of ramen and noodles penetrated their noses as the cacophony of conversations accompanied them. Many were engaged in light-hearted conversation: small talk and humorous stories to bring a semblance of normalcy to their war-driven reality. Some of the ninja glanced over in curiosity as they passed by. Once they recognized Minato, they erupted in urgent whispers. His sensei’s reputation was large even now and only growing.

“We knew you’d stop them, Namikaze san!” a young ninja exclaimed loudly as they walked by.

“I wasn’t going to let them get away with their plans,” Minato nodded in reply. Emboldened by the first cheer and Minato’s reply, others started to share similar sentiments, until they joined together in a celebratory cheer. Rin seemed uncomfortable by the attention and walked closer to her sensei. Obito is going to be annoyed when he knows he missed a hero’s welcome, even if it is for sensei.

The cheers accompanied them as they walked towards the center of the outpost. The tents were slowly replaced by stalls and smaller wooden buildings. Over the five years of war, Konoha had invested in having civilian construction workers come over to build a few permanent buildings. Some civilians stayed to provide the forces with basic services, main of which were food stalls. Despite there being a dining hall and an official food distribution station, some ninja preferred a quick meal to avoid the hassle. Less common stalls provided entertainment such as books and cards, while other small buildings provided hygiene facilities from common baths to haircuts and grooming services.

Kakashi knew they were close to the central area of the outpost as they approached the communication tower and the spaces around them became mostly wooden structures. Despite the outpost growing into a small economy of its own, the majority of the forces slept in tents. It was only the communal spaces that were changed to basic wooden structures. There was no character to these buildings; all simply cubes of wood and stone to provide basic shelter. The communication tower, which doubled as the command center, was the only structure with a unique shape, whereby it spiraled upwards to overlook the camp. Kakashi spotted some messenger eagles above enjoying the summer weather.

Closer to the center, the cheers subsided. Kakashi knew it was because they were about to approach the medical cabin. The medical facility was the only two-story building in the camp, therefore easy to spot, and one of the first structures to be built. Kakashi spotted some ninja lounging around the building in varying degrees of worry. With the limited space, the protocol was to deliver the injured and wait outside while they were treated.

The building’s atmosphere was a contrast to the rest of the camp. While ninja tried to keep morale high across the camp, the medical facility was where their dead comrades were stored to be transferred back home when possible. Those who had remains that could be brought back at any rate. Some watched them approach, a sigh of relief at the implication, but they were in no mood to celebrate. The somberness deepened as a kunoichi started crying as a medical ninja updated her, face tight with remorse.

“…everything we could, but the damage was too extensive,” Kakashi heard the medical ninja say as they walked closer. “His body couldn’t handle all the stress. I can take you in to say goodbye.” The dead ninja’s three comrades could only nod and walked in after the medical ninja.

Minato was a few steps behind and was approached by a female medical ninja upon entry, with the red kanji inscribed in a circle on the top left of her medical coat indicating her to be a senior healer. Kakashi scanned the medical area and noted that there was no rush of new injuries, rather care and monitoring. It appears that no large skirmish had taken place over the last two days. That said, it was still bustling with medical ninja checking in on patient after patient or helping them with physiotherapy to get back on their feet as soon as possible.

“Namikaze san,” she nodded in greeting, “I can take your injured student from here.” She was scanning Kakashi to determine the extent of his injuries as she said this.

“Hello Myoji san. I need to discuss a few urgent things with Tsunade sama and my student has some things to contribute to that conversation,” Minato replied. “In the meantime, my other student, Rin here, is joining your team.” Minato titled his head in Rin’s direction.

“It’s nice to see you in good health Rin chan,” Naomi Myoji smiled. Although Rin was typically posted in the Land of Hot Water, she did train in Konoha’s hospital, where Naomi was one of the instructors for upcoming medical ninja.

“It’s been a while, Myoji san,” Rin bowed in respect, a smile on her face as well.

“Minato!” Tsunade walked over. She had definitely heard the cheers and knew he had arrived. “Glad to see you alive. Do you have those supplies?”

“I’m glad to see you in good health, Tsunade sama,” Minato tilted his head in a small bow. He shifted Kakashi’s entire weight to his left hand before using his right to unclasp one of his vests pockets to reveal the sealing scroll with medical supplies and tossing it to Tsunade.

“Myoji, sort through them while I talk to Minato,” she threw the scroll to her right-hand woman, “Give me a report of our updated stock afterwards.”

“Of course, Tsunade sama,” Myoji bowed before turning to his teammate, “Follow me Rin chan, I’ll also get you settled in. You can tell me how much you improved so we can sort out your assignment.”

“Good luck Rin,” Minato gave her a reassuring nod. Rin didn’t need it though, having the familiar face of Myoji seemed to make her relax. Falling back to routine, she followed her instructor as they walked further into the medical facility.

“There you are Minato,” Shigeru Sarutobi had made his appearance as well, accompanied by two guards and his vice-captain, Inuzuka Gaku. Both ninja were formidable and had built a fierce reputation. Although they didn’t have a flee on sight order like his sensei, they were seen as ones to fight with caution with their designation of S-ranked.

“Sarutobi san, Inuzuka san,” Minato greeted the ninja.

“What’s with the formalities?” Inuzuka Gaku raised an eyebrow at him. Minato and Gaku have been paired up numerous times before, and to Gaku, Minato was like a light brother. Yes Minato was stronger but Gaku had been beside Minato through his rise and protected him during Minato’s chunin days. Minato chuckled in reply and gave him a wink.

“Drop your student off and let’s go, we have much to discuss,” Captain Sarutobi was all business.

“He has some things to add to the conversation,” Minato replied.

“Can’t you fill us ---” Sarutobi started but Tsunade had lost patience.

“We’re burning day light. Let’s just go to my office and discuss, I can heal the brat too,” Tsunade said sharply before turning heel and walking away, not even bothering to wait for affirmation of her commands. Kakashi almost chuckled; even though Sarutobi was technically in charge of the outpost, nobody dared challenged Tsunade. He watched in amusement as the shinobi around him just sighed or shrugged before chasing after her.

Minato weaved through the hustle and bustle of medical ninja, careful to avoid bumping into anyone. They quickly made it to the stairs at the back left and towards Tsunade’s office on the second floor. The office was simple. A desk was laid out at the center with two chairs set in front of it. Scrolls and logbooks were laid on top in neat stacks. To the left, there was a bookshelf filled with medical journals and a cork board that highlighted the positions and teams at camp. A number below each team indicated how many medical ninja were assigned to each in a way to keep track of shortage in personnel. To the right, Tsunade had set up a small examination bay for patients she wanted to check herself. Similar to her time as Hokage, there were no personal artifacts on display. When they all filed in, Tsunade closed the door and activated privacy seals.

“Alright, what happened?” she asked the moment the seals went up.

“We intercepted a squad of elite rock ninja trying to make it to the other outposts to target our medical corps apparently,” Minato began explaining as he moved to the examination bed on the right to lay Kakashi down. Tsunade came forward to assist, grabbing Kakashi by the back and thighs to lift him gently and set him down to sit on the side of the bed, legs dangling. Her priority was the injured, she could get the details once her patient was healed.

“Any serious lingering injuries?” Tsunade asked as she scanned him from head to toe before she brought her hand to his slinged arm, palms glowing green.

“Right-calf,” Kakashi replied. He sighed in relief as she healed his arm. Rin had already healed the fracture on his upper arm, but there was still some lingering stiffness. As Tsunade’s chakra washed over his arm, he felt his muscles loosen up around the fracture.

“What happened out there?” Sarutobi was losing patience.

“On our way over, Tanaka informed us of that Ito Kaito, Hayashi Haruki, Yoshida Kenji and Mori Hina had infiltrated our line,” Minato started.

“Yes yes we got all that from the summon. Your team escorted Tanaka to Outpost 12 and you moved to intercept. What happened then?” Tsunade sighed impatiently as she moved her hands away from Kakashi’s arm and took off his sling.

As Minato began providing details of his pursuit, Kakashi tested his arm by moving it up and down, noting it was one hundred percent healed. “Thanks,” he stated quietly to Tsunade who distractedly nodded, focused on Minato’s update.

Kakashi listened as Minato described his fight without going into too much detail. As they had discussed before his sensei left them to hunt the stone ninja, he had killed the genjutsu user in a surprise attack before they knew he was there. Afterwards, it seemed to devolve into a fight of speed and tricks. Despite the two-sword users covering for one another masterfully, they couldn’t keep up with Minato’s constant teleportation and creative fighting style. They eventually fell to his sensei without Minato sustaining much damage.

“Is Haruki still at large then?” Shigeru asked with worry.

“No, he’s also dead,” Minato shook his head. With that announcement, the relief in the room was palpable. One of the guards even relaxed his stance. Minato unclasped more pockets at the front of his vest, revealing four body-sealing scrolls; one for each ninja. These were some of the top ninja of the Stone, anything they can learn from examining the bodies could provide an advantage.

“Alright, so what happened?” Gaku asked as Minato placed the scrolls on Tsunade’s desk, his tone lighter now that the imminent danger had passed.

“Lie down so I can check the rest of your injuries,” Tsunade ordered Kakashi with a lower bark than what he was used to. With the reprieve from the tale, Tsunade took the chance to finish healing him. As Kakashi obeyed, he felt a pang of sadness in the difference between the Tsunade of his time and the one in front of him. She still had her fiery disposition, but it was somehow muted.

He had come to know Tsunade as his confident and fearsome Hokage. That still rang true, but it was subdued behind a wall of sadness Kakashi could recognize in her eyes. This was the Tsunade that hadn’t been inspired by Naruto and was still jaded. She was all business. The banter that Kakashi had gotten used to outside of official business was gone.

When his students left to pursue their training, Kakashi had continued his role of protector of Konoha, taking on some of the most dangerous S-Ranked missions. As such, he had developed a relationship of trust and mutual respect with Tsunade. So much so that she would call him into his office for advice on occasion, along with Nara Shikaku; in an unofficial role as advisors. He didn’t blame her for not seeing eye to eye with the council who were still stuck in the old ways. Shikaku had confided in him after Tsunade fell into a coma that she was grooming Kakashi as her replacement, but Danzo had gotten his way and wormed his way to the hat. Kakashi would make sure that neither he nor Danzo would bear that responsibility, but that Minato would live to see it through.

“After sealing their bodies, Kakashi’s dog summons began tracking Haruki’s scent. It wasn’t long before we realized that Haruki had double backed to Tanaka san. It was clear he was trying to eliminate him before he could spread the word,” frustration leaked in Minato’s voice for the first time at this point.

“Clearly he caught up,” Tsunade commented whilst removing the wrapping from Kakashi’s leg.

“What happened kid?” Shigeru shifted his attention to Kakashi at this point who was resting on his elbows to prop himself up and keep eye contact with everyone in the room.

“My other summon who was with us sensed Haruki chasing us. We weren’t close enough to the outpost to make it before he caught up. Tanaka san was injured so I sent Obito and Rin to take Tanaka san to safety and bring backup while I delayed him.”

“I’m sorry,” Tsunade’s voice grew agitated, and she moved back to give Kakashi an incredulous look, “you thought it would be a good idea to intercept an A-ranked ninja by yourself? Do you have a death wish?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Kakashi shrugged.

“Like hell you didn’t” Tsunade’s voice grew louder and she smacked him lightly on the head. Children in the battlefield had always been a sore spot for Tsunade after the death of her brother. Clearly, the ordeal had resurfaced unpleasant memories if the way her eyes darkened was any indication.

“What would you have done in my place?” Kakashi shook off the cuff to his head and folded his arms in defiance.

“Stayed with the team to have a chance of survival,” Tsunade growled, “Once closer, throw some explosive tags in the air to warn the outpost who would’ve come to investigate.”

“That idea has a higher chance of getting the entire team and backup killed,” Kakashi stated, staring up at Tsunade challengingly, “With my approach, there were better odds of overall survival.”

“What about your survival?” Tsunade asked him, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward to glare in his face.

“We’re ninja,” Kakashi replied resolutely, refusing to get intimidated. Really, he was used to Tsunade being angry at him over the years. Her temper could flare up at the smallest issues or bad news. He had developed an immunity of sorts. That’s not even mentioning Sakura, albeit her anger was never directed at him.

“We’re getting side-tracked,” Shigeru intervened impatiently, stepping closer to Tsunade and placing a hand on her shoulder, not wanting things to escalate further. “We can debate the best course of action later. Right now, I need to know what happened.”

“I’ll spare you the details. Basically, I managed to defeat him but lost consciousness at the end,” Kakashi answered him as he watched Tsunade shrug Shigeru’s hand off her shoulder and glare at him. Better him than me.

“Seriously, what happened?” Gaku asked unamused, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Clearly the man didn’t believe him.

“I managed to defeat him but lost consciousness at the end,” Kakashi reiterated monotonously. The ninja other than his sensei were stunned into silence so Kakashi felt the need to add, “I got lucky.”

“This is why I have a favor to ask you, Tsunade sama,” Minato jumped in here, voice more serious than Minato’s usual tenor. “The autopsy will reveal that it was Kakashi who defeated Haruki. But he’s still an eleven-year-old chunin. If news got out that he defeated Haruki, luck or not, he would become a target. For his safety, the autopsy report for Haruki cannot be revealed to just anyone. There can be a public report for the details that can benefit Konoha, but the full details need to be redacted.”

“Even if I do, if his injuries are lightning-based or have traces of Sakumo san’s white saber, it would be obvious,” Tsunade stated. Clearly, she knew enough about Kakashi to have an expectation of his fighting style.

“He used the Rasengan,” Minato shook his head, “that should be enough to shift the focus, right?”

“Ah… yes,” Tsunade didn’t expect that. Tsunade had healed Minato after the fight with the nine-tailed fox inside Kushina’s seal, therefore, she knew of the Rasengan’s difficulty and power. Her assessment of the young ninja next to her rose at that piece of information.

“If he knows the Rasengan, I can now understand how, with some luck, the kid could defeat Haruki,” Gaku snorted in amusement. “He is Sakumo sama’s son after all.”

Kakashi startled. It wasn’t the reference to his father that surprised him; that still happened from time to time in his youth. It was the respect for his father and fondness in Gaku’s voice that threw him off. He didn’t know the man that well, but he recalled that his sensei had fought alongside him numerous times. Unfortunately, Gaku had retired from an injury before Kakashi got the chance to engage with the man.

“We’ll announce that you defeated all ninja, after Hatake managed to stall Haruki for a few minutes,” Shigeru nodded seriously. “I’ll let Hokage sama know in private communication the full details. Who else knows?”

“Those at Outpost 12,” Minato replied, “I already told them to keep quiet.”

“I’ll also send an official missive to highlight the seriousness of a loose tongue,” Shigeru noted.

“Thanks,” Minato smiled in relief, his stance less rigid. “There’s not much left to say at this point. I arrived at the outpost and once I made sure my students were fine, I checked the perimeter of Outpost 12 but there was nothing to worry about. We were still concerned about other stone ninja being around, so I didn’t feel safe sending a communication eagle. Instead, we left first thing in the morning. There were no signs of other enemies on the way over.”

“We have also sent commands to other outposts to do zone checks and they’ve all been coming back clear,” Shigeru stated.

“The question now is, what do we do next?” Gaku asked what was on everybody’s mind.

“The Stone just lost a major battle to the Cloud so this could have been an infiltration to stop us from attacking them while they lick their wounds,” Shigeru mused. “They lick theirs; we lick ours, then continue where we left off.”

“Well, they killed the Third Raikage. Maybe it’s more of a tie?” Gaku wondered.

“Whatever,” Shigeru waved the technicalities away. “If the infiltration to kill some of our medical teams had succeeded, I would be hesitant to launch a counterattack. However, since it failed, we have the advantage if we push now.”

“I agree,” Tsunade growled, “they tried to kill my medical ninja. Let’s show them why that’s a terrible idea.”

“Ichiro san, find Nara Shikaku and ask him to meet me in my office to plan our strategy. Also tell the squadron leaders to join us,” Shigeru ordered one of the guards, then he turned to Minato, “Do you need to rest, or can you join us?”

“I’m well rested,” Minato reassured him, “Slightly lower chakra levels but already near back to full levels.”

“Great,” Shigeru nodded and began walking out.

“I’ll join you right after I finish healing the kid,” Tsunade informed them. As the conversation escalated, Tsunade had gotten distracted, and his leg had yet to be healed.

“Can you get the kid healed enough to join the battle?” Shigeru asked. “If he defeated Haruki he’s a good asset. We don’t have many ninja who can use lightning in Konoha. Even fewer that can use high-level lightning jutsu. It would give us more options for strategy to bypass their defenses.”

Tsunade’s back was to the ninja, and only Kakashi could see her eyes tightening in anger at the question, “The kid fought an A-Ranked ninja and can’t even walk,” she growled, “Temper your expectations.”

Shigeru narrowed his eyes, not happy with Tsunade’s dismissal. He was about to reply but Minato interjected as he felt the tensions rise. “It’ll take some time for everyone to meet up, so I’ll stay with Tsunade sama while she heals my student.” Minato disabled the privacy seals, a silent direction to end the conversation then and there.

“Sure thing,” Gaku shrugged as he walked out, more than happy to avoid further arguments between his Captain and Tsunade. Conversely, Shigeru lingered, internally debating whether to push the matter. After a beat, he just grimaced and walked out as well, closing the door not too gently—a gesture not strong enough to be rude but sufficient to convey his annoyance.

Tsunade just scoffed as she moved closer to examine his leg, moving it slightly to get a different angle, “Whoever healed this did a good job.”

“That was Rin, my other student you saw at the entrance,” Minato stated with pride as he took a seat on one of the chairs in front of Tsunade’s desk. Tsunade rolled her eyes at the not-so-subtle brag. “She’s been assigned to you this deployment; I know she’ll learn a lot and continue improving.”

“Stop selling her,” Tsunade twisted her head to give Minato an unimpressed look, “Still, it’s impressive for her age. I’ll have her work with Shizune. That way she gets to learn from some of the most challenging cases. Young talented medical ninja are rare. I won’t let her talents go to waste. Myoji mentioned her before as well.”

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled and will rise to the challenge,” Minato nodded and Kakashi could see him beaming from his peripheral vision.

“Your cheerfulness is nauseating,” Tsunade commented. Watching his sense’ face fall made Kakashi tempted to tease his sensei, but he knew that he still needed to work on his personality change before he could do so.

“You’ll need five days to recover before you can go back to duty, but it should completely recover," Tsunade stated as the green healing chakra faded away.

“Can’t it be healed sooner?” Kakashi asked as she rewrapped his leg. While healed, the patch of skin was pink-toned and still tender.

“So you can go risk your life again, no,” Tsunade shot him down immediately.

“I’m on the transport team, I need to help bring back our injured comrades,” Kakashi didn’t back down.

“Look kid, I can heal it on the spot, but you’re still a child,” Tsunade informed him “Your body is still growing and straining it then healing it before straining it again isn’t conducive to your physical growth.”

“Just this once?” Kakashi pleaded. He knew the upcoming fight would be a new shift in the war. He can’t predict what the outcome would be. For all he knew, the Stone would send their jinchuriki after the failed mission and his sensei would sacrifice himself to defeat them. It was far-fetched but not outside the realm of possibility. He couldn’t sit here.

He gave his sensei a pleading look to help him. Minato simply inclined his head forward in a short nod, a message to Kakashi that this was his fight. Kakashi knew part of his sensei agreed with Tsunade and was relieved he wouldn’t be fighting in the upcoming skirmish. He understood that his sensei had come close to losing his students and was more worried than usual. He understood. But that didn’t stop him from glaring at him. Minato gave him a smile in response, clearly unaffected by his student’s harsh gaze.

“Why?” Tsunade asked him curiously as she finished rewrapping his leg “Haven’t you done enough for now?”

“Haruki is one of the most formidable earth ninjutsu users and my jutsu was effective,” Kakashi replied, looking at Tsunade again. “Don’t worry, I don’t have an inflated ego after defeating him and I know my limits. Still, if this skirmish can put Konoha on a faster trajectory to victory and an end to this war, Konoha could use my lightning jutsu to tip the scales. I’ll be safe. I won’t take unnecessary risks. If I sit here and learn that I could have made a difference, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

“You can help Konoha by surviving and getting stronger,” Tsunade responded unapologetically. She stood up and moved to leave.

Desperately, Kakashi called out to her, “I’m not Nawaki kun.” It was a low blow, to use her brother. Yet, the fate of Konoha rested in his hands. He couldn’t afford to sit back.

Tsunade startled to a stop. Minato’s eyes widened. The temperature in the room dropped. Nobody dared to move or speak. Kakashi saw Tsunade clench her fists, face bow downwards and heard her breath quicken.

He felt guilty as he saw his future Hokage having a severe emotional reaction. Part of him wanted to take it back, but another, the one that felt the weight of Konoha’s fate on his shoulders, pushed that feeling down.

As the seconds ticked by, Minato shifted his weight to stand up, but then he hesitated and sat back down with a frown on his face. He had already left this between his student and Tsunade; it didn’t feel right to intervene now. That said, we wanted to guide his student to apologize and turned to look at Kakashi to convey the message.

At that point, Kakashi was showing concern for Tsunade, yet as he felt his sensei’s eyes shift towards him, he stared back fiercely. He wasn’t backing down. If Minato was uncomfortable, it was his own fault for refusing to help.

Minato saw the concern in Kakashi’s eyes before he noticed him and felt comfortable knowing his student wasn’t being maliciously deceptive. Given Kakashi’s history of dishing out harsh comments without a care, he was proud to see his student finally show some emotional intelligence. He briefly wondered whether it was the near-death experience or a sense of connection to Tsunade’s tragic past that brought forth this gentler side of his student that he hadn’t seen before.

When Tsunade’s breath relaxed, Kakashi took it as his cue to speak up again before she could begin yelling at him.

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi spoke up softly, apologizing for the hurt he had caused her with that simple statement. “I truly am sorry, but I am not Nawaki kun, Tsunade sama. I can’t predict the future, so I can’t promise you I won’t die. But I have a lot of things I need to do, and I don’t plan on dying before I accomplish them. Therefore, I can promise you that I won’t risk my life carelessly. I really had no choice yesterday, but I won’t run into crazy danger if there is another option. Just this once? I promise.”

Kakashi knew he had to take calculated risks to change the future. Dying without acting on his future knowledge was not something he wanted to entertain. Therefore, this was a promise he felt comfortable making. This was a promise he could keep.

Tsunade continued to give him his back and refused to acknowledge Kakashi’s words. The room was shrouded in silence once more. Unlike the first bout of silence, Tsunade was calmer, and it was clear that she was mulling over Kakashi’s words. After some time had passed, she took a deep breath before turning to face him. Kakashi noted that she was biting her lips in frustration and his guilt bubbled again.

“You promise you’ll be careful?” she asked hesitantly. Kakashi’s heart skipped a beat in relief.

“I promise,” he nodded, his eyes shining with determination.

Tsunade sighed and the hesitation in her eyes faded away as she walked towards him again. The only sound was her heels clicking as she took a seat beside him once more. Without a word, she cut the wraps off with the Chakra Scalpel technique. With a few more seconds, Kakashi felt his calf muscles stitch back together and Kakashi marveled at her speed. He had been healed by her numerous times, but he had never seen her rush a healing as fast as she did now. Clearly, she wanted them to leave as soon as possible. She moved his leg around to test and nodded once she verified all was well.

“Thank you,” Kakashi said. She didn’t acknowledge his words just waved him to leave her office. Not wanting to cause her anymore duress, Kakashi jumped off the table and left her office at once. He heard the scrapping of a chair as his sensei moved to his side and closed the door after them.

Student and teacher walked out of the building in silence. It allowed Kakashi time to think of how he could help Tsunade moving down the line. He owed her a lot. He wasn’t Naruto. He was jaded himself, but maybe, just maybe he could help Tsunade or at least start the spark. Jiraya had regaled him with their story of bringing Tsunade back to Konoha after he found out that his student had learned the Rasengan. Tsunade found hope in Naruto’s determination and decided to bet on someone again.

Kakashi didn’t feel worthy of being bet on. His sensei, however,… many had hoped that he could bring about the change the ninja world needed. He also knew that his sensei was working with Tsunade on improving the medical corps before the Kyuubi attack. The Third got busy doing damage control and by the times things had stabilized, Tsunade had already left the village behind. He would work towards creating the opportunity for such initiatives to start again once the war ended. He won’t let them be tossed aside and hopefully she finds her purpose again. That’s the least he could do for her.

It was only once they walked a few meters away from the medical facility did Minato break the silence. “Good speech.”

Kakashi turned to his sensei deadpan, “Thanks for the assist.” He kicked a pebble in his way moodily, still upset with his sensei for refusing to help.

Minato chuckled nervously at the reply and childish display of anger, “I knew you could do it,” he placated his student but couldn’t ignore the elephant in the proverbial room, “Although, bringing in her brother may have been too strong of a push.”

“I didn’t want to, but I had no choice,” Kakashi replied touchily. He really had tried to avoid reopening Tsunade’s old wounds.

“Even if I may not agree with your approach, I’m still proud of how you handled that. I’m glad I gave you the space to tackle the situation yourself” Minato stated.

If Minato was being honest with himself, he let his fear of Kakashi being back in action so soon after he nearly lost him override his judgement. Selfishly, he left his student to debate Tsunade by himself and expected his student to lose. Nonetheless, Kakashi’s maturity during the ordeal stunned him. Internally, he chalked the situation as a failure on his part. He still had a lot to learn as a sensei.

Despite the praise, Kakashi saw right through his sensei. “And the fact that you’re worried had nothing to do with your refusal to help?” Kakashi asked knowingly.

“I know I know,” Minato sighed. Leave it up to Kakashi to not give him a break. He knew he couldn’t get away with empty platitudes and decided to be open and honest with his student.

“You have to understand though, as I made my way back to the outpost, Pakkun smelled your blood… just yours and Haruki.” Minato rubbed his face at this point as he took a deep breath. “I knew then, what you probably did. Sure, it could be that Obito and Rin were injured in ways that didn’t cause bleeding but that was unlikely. With that realization, I steeled myself to hear news of your death upon my arrival.” Minato’s voice was calm and steady, belying the emotions he was feeling.

Kakashi didn’t know what to say but his sensei’s plight was all too familiar. It reminded him of the dread he felt chasing down Naruto and Sasuke after the latter’s defection. The worry as he rushed towards the scene was some of the worst he ever felt; even more so than in high-stakes missions. Seeing Naruto lie there hurt deeply. Especially when he saw the Chidori shaped hole in his student’s jacket. For a second, his breath hitched, fearing that Naruto was dead.

“When Tsunade wanted to let you recover here safely, it was very tempting,” Minato added. “The three of you have been in danger before, and I’ve saved each one of you more than once. Yet knowing you’re in danger when I’m not there to protect you isn’t easy. The frontlines are chaotic, and anything could happen at any time. One split second I’m focused on an enemy could be the moment you need protection.”

“Eventually we’re going to go on missions on our own,” Kakashi pointed out. He couldn’t fault Minato though. The fact stands that Obito and Rin died very soon after his sensei stopped accompanying them on missions. They were in way over their heads. At the same time, Kakashi didn’t need his sensei’s protection as much now that he had years of experience backing him up. His sensei didn’t know that though. Kakashi was still adjusting to how those around him see him now that he no longer had his hard-earned reputation hanging at his back.

“Of course, and I want that for each of you,” Minato nodded as they walked inside the communication tower. One of the guards standing at the entrance was the same as those who accompanied Shigeru and just waved them inside.

Once they made their way to the stairs, away from the bustle inside, Minato continued where they left off. “After yesterday though, can you blame me for needing a beat before I am comfortable thrusting you in the middle of the frontlines?”

“I guess not,” Kakashi replied softly. It had been a while since someone was worried about him as opposed to him being the guardian.

“One day you’ll have students of your own and you’ll understand,” Minato smiled at the soft tone of his student’s voice. It wasn’t often that Kakashi conveyed fondness towards him. He knew his student cared about him, but Kakashi was on a mission to erase his emotions. He was worried about the emotions Kakashi was conveying today. The near-death experience seems to have thrown his student for a loop. After they finish this skirmish, Minato vowed to have a long conversation with Kakashi lest he close-off again. Minato saw hope for the first time since taking Kakashi on as a student. Hope that he can help him learn to be a ninja, but a human too. He didn’t want to lose this window.

“Oh no,” Kakashi grimaced “no, not happening.” His younger self would hate the idea with a passion.

“Hey, you never know; you might be good at it. Won’t you even consider it?” Minato asked with a laugh. Kakashi didn’t even bother replying and just grunted, which only made his sensei laugh more.

Minato’s laugh shifted the mood. It had been an emotionally charged afternoon and they still had the strategy meeting, which Minato knew would get tense… it always did. Minato was glad that he had this moment of light-heartedness before he had to shift to being serious again. It was going to be a long day. Kakashi shared similar thoughts.

They walked up the final steps they made their way towards the briefing room. Kakashi spotted Nara Shikaku talking to Captain Shigeru. He could spy more ninja already inside, talking in hurried tones. As they approached, Shigeru looked at them and smirked when he saw Kakashi walking, clearly glad that Tsunade healed him after all.

“Hey Minato,” Shikaku greeted lazily.

“Hey,” Minato gave a three-fingers wave to his long-time friend. “How’s Yoshino san?”

Despite Shikaku being two years older than Minato, Minato had graduated early, and they had gone on several missions together over the years. While Minato ended up on missions with Akimichi Choza more often, he was still fond of the lazy Nara, and they enjoyed the occasional Shogi game. Unfortunately, he lost more often than he won against the tactical genius of the Nara. In spars, Minato could had the upper hand and could surprise the Nara with plenty of tricks of his own. Yet, Shikaku was naturally more gifted at commanding multiple units and complex battle plans while Minato’s genius shined in innovative ninja techniques and quick decisions in the heat of battle. It made their fights interesting, be it spars or on the Shogi board.

Shikaku sighed and looked down-trodden at the question, “She’s mad at me.” It appeared to be a common occurrence as Minato simply encouraged him to hang in there.

“You defeated Haruki huh?” Shikaku looked at Kakashi appraisingly. They were in the most secure part of the outpost, so he was comfortable speaking freely. Apparently, Shigeru wasted no time in updating the Nara.

“Yes sir,” Kakashi nodded.

“No need for sir,” Shikaku scowled at the title, “What contributed to your win the most?” Shikaku asked with curiosity.

“Luck, chakra nature match-up and trickery,” Kakashi replied easily.

“Trickery that worked on an A-Ranked ninja,” Shikaku noted, “seems like you take after your sensei in that regard.” No ninja had managed to surprise him more than Minato. In a full-out spar, Minato would win easily. However, they tend to place rules that would even the playing-field. Despite that, Shikaku was always on edge fighting the blond as he never knew what new trick Minato would throw at him. He was pleased to know that Minato’s battle style was apparently being absorbed by his student. Kakashi was the genius of his generation and Shikaku knew he would have to carry that responsibility down the line. The stronger he was, the better.

Kakashi didn’t have anything to add so he just nodded in reply before walking inside the room. After another two minutes, Kakashi saw Tsunade walk in and was surprised. He didn’t expect her to collect herself before the briefing based on her earlier reaction. She caught Kakashi eyeing her and shook her head sadly in response at seeing him there as she took a seat. Once everyone was present, Shigeru called them to attention. It was time to plan their counterattack.

Chapter Text

The room was already filled with ninja from the outpost, many of which belonged to clans of Konoha. A few were watching the door and nodded towards his sensei respectfully. Aside from a few ninja who gave him confused looks, nobody paid Kakashi any notice.

Some shinobi were already taking their places at the table in the middle, while others stood behind them as there weren’t enough seats for everyone. Kakashi wasn’t jealous though, the wooden chairs did not look comfortable at all. Plus, he’d been carried all morning and was filled with restless energy.

Sprawled in the middle of the table was a large map of the Elemental Nations. Kakashi noted that the map cut short at the boarders of other nations, allowing for a closer lens at the battle zones. Small flags of various colors represented known outposts, key routes, and allied villages of the different nations: red for the Leaf, brown for the Stone, yellow for the Cloud, green for the Sand, and blue for the Mist. The Sand and Mist had few flags as they weren’t as active in the war, yet the small splashes of blue flags creeping upwards were a concern. Kakashi’s eyes briefly flicked to where he knew the Kannabi Bridge lay, noting the lack of brown flag.

The head of the table was reserved for key players from Konoha’s most prestigious clans. If Kakashi’s memory served him right, the leaders of the outpost would be the clan delegates Sarutobi Shigeru, Uchiha Noburo and Hyuga Masato. Delegations from other clans of Konoha would take their place at the sides of the head table. While the heads of all the clans remained in Konoha during times of war, each Clan Head recommended a delegation in their stead, whose assignment and position were only approved by the Third Hokage. The other third of the table seated the prominent ninja that didn’t belong to a clan. At their head was the most prestigious among them, today that being his sensei.

Given that the Land of Grass was the main area of skirmishes, the clan delegates were permanently present here. Meanwhile, other S-Ranked ninjas had flexible assignments; deployed to where they’re needed the most. This included ninja like Minato, Jiraya and Orochimaru to name a few. Despite not having a permanent assignment, they had a large say in major decisions and a seat at any table.

Minato took his seat at the end of the table and was quickly joined by an ANBU Captain donning a turtle mask. The ANBU wasn’t interested in making conversations and barely acknowledged his sensei’s greeting. Kakashi dutifully stood behind his sensei and was joined by some others who gave his sensei a respectful short bow. In contrast to the ANBU, these ninja struck up a conversation with Minato and requested details of the failed infiltration.

Already knowing the full story, Kakashi turned his attention to the room and watched the gathered ninja carefully – he was only a solider during the Third War and was woefully ignorant of the alliances at play. This was a chance to pick up some intel on the relationships at the outpost. One would think that with a war, they’d all be on the same side. Alas, Kakashi had to play the political game and knew that underneath the main goal, the clans always vied for more visibility and prestige.

His eyes immediately found an Uchiha and Hyuga conversing with one another in a corner. And not just any Uchiha and Hyuga, they were the clan delegates and led the Special Operations and Tracking teams respectively. That’s odd, Kakashi thought with intrigue. Those clans had a rivalry, both wielding eye-related bloodlines and were always trying to prove their eyes superior to the other. Yet here they were, having a chat and seemingly quite familiar with one another.

Unsurprisingly, Inoichi and Choza were having a discussion together, and were soon joined by Aburame Yuma, the uncle of Naruto’s classmate. Unlike the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Shibi had become the head of the Aburame Clan at an early age due to an illness claiming his father’s life. As such, he remained stationed in Konoha at the end tail of the war and had to nominate a new delegate in his stead.

A Yamanaka Kakashi didn’t know by name walked up to the trio, whispering a few urgent words to the group. Whatever was said, the trio wasn’t pleased. Choza frowned as he looked across the room and towards the doors. Kakashi followed his eyesight. His eyes briefly found Tsunade as he shifted his attention to the door, who like the ANBU Captain, barely acknowledged the presence of anyone around her.

At the door, he saw Shikaku and two Uchiha chatting. Why this would make the others annoyed was a mystery. Shigeru, who was chatting with Shikaku when Kakashi had first arrived with his sensei, was now whispering urgently to Inuzuka Gaku and Inuzuka Genji instead, Captain of the Transfer Team. Kakashi made a mental note to meet up with the man after the meeting as he was technically assigned to his team for this deployment.

Despite being from the same clan, other than Genji, the clan representatives weren’t engaging with their fellow clansmen. In fact, the non-representatives seemed more open to mingling with the other clan and no-clan ninja. Kakashi knew that this occurred to facilitate information-gathering, but also that their lower clan status gave them more freedom to talk to whoever they wanted to without political ramifications.

It was with this thought that someone came running into the room, a sheepish smile on his face, “Sorry sorry, I was answering nature’s call when you sounded the urgent meeting. It took a while for Isa san to find me.”

“Too much information, Tatsuki san!” a member of the Sarutobi clan laughed as others joined in with fond chuckles of their own. It was clear that everyone was used to the man’s unique brand of honesty. Kakashi was similarly familiar with the man’s good-humored nature, having been on a few missions with him. Despite hailing from no clan, he was a solid ninja who was friendly with everyone. He only ever achieved the rank of special jonin for his sensory abilities, yet he was respected by all. In fact, Tatsuki played a vital role in some of the assassination and information-gathering missions Kakashi had completed over the years. At the time, darkness was Kakashi’s companion and he didn’t appreciate the garrulous and easygoing nature of the man.

“Just sit down,” Hyuga Masato grimaced at the lack of professionalism as he took his own seat at the head of the table.

“Killjoy,” one of the ninja next to Kakashi muttered and Kakashi had to agree; Hyuga by nature tended to be serious all the time.

“Before we get started, let me sum up the situation to make sure everyone is up to speed,” Shigeru started with a booming voice once the shuffling and chatter had stopped now that everyone was present.

Once he made sure he had everyone’s attention, he officially started the meeting, “Four high-ranked enemy ninja infiltrated our lines. We believe their intent was to hit our support teams. They wanted to recover from their losses after facing the Raikage while we recover ourselves. This way, they can ensure they don’t lose ground to us as they send backup and more supplies. Luckily, Minato san stopped them. And now… well now we have a chance to hit back, and hit back hard.”

“You say that, but even if we decide to push, they’ll wait for us at the open fields where they’ll have the terrain advantage,” Hyuga Masato was the first to comment, voice laced with skepticism. “It’s why we have commanded my tracking units never to pursue beyond the plains.”

“I agree, why? They’ll play the defensive game,” Aburame Yuma added in his two cents.

Here we go, Kakashi sighed internally as a handful of ninja started to speak all at once. After letting them squabble for a few seconds, Shigeru moved to quiet the room but the sound of a fist slamming into the table shocked the ninja into silence before he could get a word in.

“That won’t ever change,” Uchiha Noburo spoke forcefully once all eyes were on him, “I’ve been working with the special operation forces on coming up with strategies to bypass their defenses should it ever come to this moment. Shikaku san has been working on this matter as well. It’s what we’ve been building up to. We should go for it.”

Quickly concealing a grimace, Shigeru added, “We won’t get another chance like this anytime soon.” He was clearly displeased with Noburo’s actions. Shigeru was easy to read, a weakness in their current setting.

Noburo wants to take control of the room from Shigeru, Kakashi noted.

Even after Shigeru’s words, many of the ninja standing in the back continued to look at Noburo, waiting for his opinion. Noburo clearly noticed as well, the tell-tale sign of a barely concealed smirk on his lips before he addressed the room again, “I believe that my teams are ready to shift the balance in our favor. Shikaku san, where do you stand on the matter?”

Smart, Kakashi conceded. By addressing Shikaku san directly, any person speaking up instead of the man would be deemed rude. This way, neither Shigeru nor Gaku, who seemed to be gearing up to regain control, could interject.

“We’ve been practicing coordinated attacks for exactly this day,” Shikaku nodded. He showed no outward emotion to the political interplay. “With Minato san here, our tactics have an even higher chance of working. Our tactics will allow us to break apart the defensive walls of Iwa and hold enemy ninja in areas that will make their forces hesitant to use large-scale offensive earth ninjutsu. However, our main issue is that they can always recuperate or send backup to a downed defense with their large numbers. There is where Minato san’s high mobility will come in handy. If you can instantly teleport units to where we disrupt enemy formations or even impede the backup, we can strike before they can get support.”

“I’ll need you to brief me of your combined attacks so I’m better prepared, but that’s doable,” Minato nodded easily, as if teleporting large number of ninja across a battlefield was as simple as strolling through a park on a sunny day.

“I think you’re forgetting the Iron Stone Guardian, Gou Ogata,” Akamichi Choza stated with a frown. Kakashi noticed a few other ninja scowl at the name.

Kakashi had never met Gou on the battlefield but has heard of how big of a headache he was for Konoha’s forces. He was famous for using the Hardening Jutsu to stall Konoha’s high-caliber ninja, the same jutsu that Kakazu had used in their fight. With a high level of defensive abilities and speed, he would always jump in to keep their strongest ninja busy, his teammates never too far behind to provide support. This would allow his comrades to fight the rest of the forces more safely. While Gou wasn’t strong enough to defeat Konoha’s strongest ninja, the fear wasn’t defeat, rather, being sidelined in a crucial battle.

“With Minato’s teleportation, Gou won’t be able to delay him. Minato would just teleport away,” Gaku pointed out with a gruff. Kakashi filed the lack of suffix. Even ninja familiar with one another used “san” or “sama” in formal settings as a sign of respect. Kakashi knew Gaku and his sensei were close so didn’t think much of it. It was just Inuzuka being brusquer than the rest, as per the usual.

“Maybe not, but he would delay the rest of us,” Hyuga Masato countered.

Does this guy ever provide useful counterarguments and advice, or does he just shoot down everyone’s opinions? Kakashi found the man annoying and was grateful he wasn’t deployed to his Tracking Team.

“Would you be able to take him out quickly instead, Minato san?” one of the younger ninja standing in the back asked hopefully.

“You idiot, that would only stall Minato san and play right into their hands!” Noburo glared at the ninja, making him shrink back.

Even without the Sharingan, the Uchiha glare is to be feared, Kakashi joked sardonically as he saw the ninja being consoled with a reassuring pat from him teammate. The ninja probably won’t speak up again in a meeting for a while.

“Unfortunately, Noburo san is correct,” Minato sighed, “I know I can defeat him, but it would take time as his jutsu nullifies the Rasengan.” Kakashi detected the slight annoyance in his tone. He knew that with the addition of elemental nature, Gou wouldn’t have stood a chance. As it was, the Rasengan wouldn’t be able to cause internal damage against Gou. It would become a game of attrition, one that would delay Minato.

A small lull in the conversation, Shigeru is going to jump at the chance to regain control, Kakashi predicted.

Right on cue, “We need to determine who best to pit against Gou,” Shigeru summarized. “Someone who we can afford to have delayed while our key units do their job. It can’t be Noburo’s units or Ino-Shika-Cho as they’ll be working to break the defenses. I need to command the rest of the units along with Gaku san. Therefore, I believe Yuma san, alongside a team, is our best option.”

“Yuma san, I mean no disrespect but can your jutsu keep up with Gou’s speed?” Choza asked with concern.

“Yes,” Yuma nodded, “but only for a while.”

“I can do it,” Kakashi knew that this is where he could make a difference. He saw everyone turn to him, some in surprise that he was there, others in annoyance clearly thinking he was about to waste their time. Undeterred, Kakashi continued, “I have a jutsu that will be effective against Gou, but it’s not a hundred percent complete.” If his Chidori worked against Kakazu, it was sure to work against Gou. Nothing against Gou, but Kakazu was on another, albeit very creepy, level.

“Then what’s the point Kakashi kun, there’s no time for you to learn it by tomorrow anyway,” Noburo dismissed him with a casual wave of a hand. Kakashi knew he referred to him by the suffix to point out his young age and add more weight to his dismissal.

“How can it be effective if it’s not complete, Kakashi?” Shikaku asked instead, curious at the wording Kakashi used: complete instead of master. Unlike Noburu, he knew that Kakashi wouldn’t make a suggestion if he didn’t think it would work. He also didn’t use the ‘kun’ suffix to indicate to the room that he was taking the young ninja seriously. Since he couldn’t use ‘san’ or ‘sama’ in Kakashi’s case, avoiding the youthful suffix was the next best thing.

“It’s a highly concentrated lightening blade with penetrative power and can tear through most earth jutsu. But it requires high speed to be effectively utilized. While I can reach that speed, I get tunnel vision when using it and can’t see counterattacks; making me vulnerable,” Kakashi explained nonchalantly. Minato was surprised at the revelation, given that Mini-Kakashi hadn’t relied on his sensei to create the jutsu. The first time his sensei saw Chidori was during the Kannabi Bridge mission.

“I don’t remember encountering such a jutsu fighting against the Cloud,” Inoichi remarked thoughtfully, rubbing his chin in contemplation. It appeared that only his sensei and Shikaku caught on to the fact that he had created it.

“That’s because I created it,” Kakashi shrugged to bring the rest up to speed. From his peripheral vision, Kakashi could see the ninja in the back shake their heads or scoff lightly. Interestingly enough, Kakashi noticed the clan representatives gauging him with calculating glimmers. Even Noburo, who had initially dismissed him.

“Minato san?” Shigeru asked for his sensei’s opinion.

I’m right here, Kakashi thought with annoyance. It was a bit demeaning to have them refer to Minato instead of asking him for more information directly.

“Kakashi has an affinity for nature manipulation,” Minato stared the clan representatives in the eye, conveying his trust in Kakashi and daring anyone to disagree. “If he gets tunnel vision, I can protect him from any counters.” For Minato, it clearly wasn’t a question of whether Kakashi can or cannot, rather, a question of how best to support him in landing the jutsu. The display of faith meant a lot.

“The earlier we can eliminate Gou, the more that plays in our favor,” Shikaku replied folding his hands on top of the table and resting his chin on top, “Don’t forget we still have to deal with Kohaku and Hiroto. Their explosive ninjutsu will be annoying. We have fire on our side so it’s manageable, but Yuma san’s insects will be a life savior to detect any hidden traps and drain them of chakra. If Kakashi can deal with Gou, that should be our Plan A.”

“Key word, ‘if’,” Hyuga Masato remained skeptical and Kakashi could swear he heard people sigh in their heads. “Even should the jutsu prove effective, how would he manage to land a hit; he’s just—"

“If Minato san thinks he can do it, isn’t he the best judge as his sensei?” Tatsuki countered loudly, which everyone appeared to be grateful for. The Hyuga seemed to want to throttle Tatsuki, who conversely didn’t even bother to look at him.

“Hatake was able to stall Hayashi Haruki for around twenty minutes until Minato came to finish him off,” Gaku leaned back in his chair, conveying his lack of concern.

Damn him, Kakashi thought as he saw the mood of some shift with the mention of his clan’s name. ‘Kakashi’ wasn’t associated with anything. ‘Hatake’ was associated with his father. I need to distract their focus, and quickly.

“The only difficulty will be where to hide in an open field to catch him unawares,” Kakashi said. He further wanted to show that he wasn’t taking the task lightly. “If Minato sensei keeps him busy, I can create a stone wall as a defensive ruse and strike him after Minato sensei leads him towards it. My skills are focused on ninjutsu and stealth. I can do this.”

There was a moment of silence as the ninja contemplated the information presented. After a beat, Shikaku spoke up “I believe this is the best course of action. What say you, Shigeru san? Noburo san?”

“If Yuma san and his team are available to help navigate the explosives, the more of our ninja survive. I agree with this plan,” Shigeru nodded.

“As long as you defeat him quickly so that Minato san can join our forces in breaking down their defense, do whatever you want,” Noburo shrugged.

“We’ll take him down, then I’ll send Kakashi back to the Transfer Team and join you,” Minato affirmed. At this, Inuzuku Genji gave Kakashi a nod; he would be fine without him until he finished this task.

“Great, then let’s discuss the remainder of the battle,” Shikaku closed the topic and moved on to provide more detail on how to neutralize Iwa’s terrain advantage.

As everyone shifted their attention accordingly, Kakashi felt Tsunade’s eyes on him, and he met her gaze to find himself on the receiving end of a minuscule glare. Clearly, she thought that taking on another strong Iwa ninja wasn’t in line with his promise to remain safe. In hindsight, Kakashi found it weird that Tsunade hadn’t contributed to the discussion at all. Did her trauma also impact her ability to make life-death decisions for her fellow comrades?

The thought made Kakashi’s heart ache once more. All his life, he knew Tsunade to be a force of nature. Of course, he knew of her struggles, but he wasn’t witness to them. It hurt to see her light diminished. Although it wasn’t common for his younger persona, Kakashi smiled, his eyes curving into the crescents familiar to his students…. I’ll be fine. Tsunade glared more harshly, a warning that he better stay safe, then shifted her attention back to the discussion. Everyone was focused on Shikaku and Noburo, so the moment wasn’t noticed by those in the room.

The strategy meeting continued and stretched into the late afternoon, but the decision was made: Konoha was going on the offensive the day after tomorrow, and they had a plan. There was another debate as to whether to attack tomorrow or the day after. Some wanted to attack as swiftly as possible, while others cautioned that more time to rest and prepare would serve their forces well.

I lost count of the number of debates; the clan representatives can’t agree on anything, Kakashi complained internally, resisting the urge to shift from leg to leg during the last hour.

Fortunately, both Shigeru and Noburo, who were clearly leading the two political sides of the outpost, agreed for once. Therefore, the plan was set to leave tomorrow evening and engage the Iwa front-outpost the next day. Hyuga Masato was frustrated as per usual, but didn’t push further after the other ninja folded.

Right after the meeting was dismissed, Shigeru left to summon one of his contracted monkeys to update the Third. Despite many messenger birds, urgent information would be conveyed via summons, whereby the Third would call upon the Sarutobi monkeys of his clansmen stationed at key outposts twice a day. If the Third had any comments, they would adjust accordingly in the morning. Now it was the captains’ jobs to inform their respective units.

As the ninja filed out, eager to get something to eat and rest before the day after tomorrow, Kakashi waited for his sensei, who was taking his time stretching. “I’m never sure what’s worse, standing for an entire meeting or sitting down,” Minato joked, his hands interlaced and stretched out in front of him.

“My leg would have preferred I sit,” Kakashi replied. Although healed, his leg cramped up a bit near the end of the meeting.  

“Is it hurting you?” Minato asked with worry.

“Relax sensei, it’s fine,” Kakashi rolled his eyes.

“You need to rest,” Minato sighed as they made their way out of the room, “but first, I need to see this jutsu in action. Better to know what to expect. There’s a training room in the lower floor.”

“I can only manage three uses of the jutsu a day,” Kakashi informed him. While Sasuke could only manage two at the age of twelve, Kakashi had larger reserves as a child. Kakashi couldn’t help but curse his lax training after his sensei’s death once more. “I’m also slightly low on chakra after the fight with Haruki. I can explain it to you in detail though. I created it while trying to add nature to the Rasengan so it should be easy for you to imagine.”

While that’s he told his sense, Kakashi did in fact need to test the Chidori as he hadn’t tried it since traveling to the past. With his chakra control problems and physique change, he had focused on other matters. Yet, now he needed to test it out and adjust to his current chakra mix. If his sensei saw him struggling with control, he’d assume Kakashi hadn’t mastered it yet and would pull him out of the operation. My best course of action was to prepare in secret, he thought.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you created a jutsu? We talked about how I created the Rasengan just the other day.” Minato titled his head in confusion.

“It’s not complete, I wanted to keep it a surprise for a spar,” Kakashi crossed his arms and lifted them behind his neck to rest his head inside the crook with a sigh. “I was excited to use the element of surprise to hopefully beat you for once.”

The wistful tone was not lost on Minato who laughed. “I won’t let you beat me anytime soon; I have a reputation to uphold after all. Maybe when I’m grey and old.” Although his sensei was laughing and joking, Kakashi could still detect a hint of worry in his sensei’s gaze. First defeating Haruki, then sealing and now Chidori, his sensei was bound to ask questions soon. He really needed to nail the conversation his sensei would force upon him soon.

“Does this mysterious jutsu have a name or are we going with ‘Highly Concentrated Lightening Blade’?” Minato asked, dispelling his concerns for another day as his curiosity won out.

“I call it Flapping-Birds Rasengan Inspired Lightening Ball,” Kakashi teased as they started descending the stairs.

“Hey now!” Minato pretended to be offended, “If I had known you’d keep making fun of Ice Pop-Inspired Nimbus Jiraiya Twin Whorl Sphere, I would never have shared.” Kakashi could tell he was lying, if anything, Minato’s eyes thrilled to see his student joke around.

“It’s such a great name that letting it rest would be a disservice to the universe,” Kakashi replied with a shrug.

“I should have known that if you were ever to joke around, you’d have a sarcastic type of humor,” Minato replied with a wide smile.

Kakashi was tempted to keep up the banter, but knew he had to stop for now, “Anyway, I call it Chidori because that’s what it sounds like.”

“How fast would you be going?” Minato asked for more detail.

“As fast as I can, so mid-level jonin,” Kakashi replied.

“Wait a minute, this morning you said that you’d been planning to improve your speed. Did you decide that, so you have a better chance of landing this Chidori on me?” Minato asked in amusement.

Kakashi didn’t. But it did match up with what Mini-Kakashi would have done. His sensei really knew him well. “Well, you are the ONLY high-level ninja I fight against,” Kakashi pretended to be peeved, “You’re my benchmark for what I need to work on.”

“Hmm I haven’t considered that,” Minato tsked “I need to get you different sparring partners. It’s not good to train against the same people; it may keep you ignorant of a weakness until you’re suddenly faced with it on the battlefield.”

“Anything that will help me improve is welcome,” Kakashi easily agreed.

“That said, I’m not too thrilled about you taking on such a visible role in the next battle,” Minato sighed. “It defeats the purpose of keeping your battle with Haruki quiet.”

“There is a huge difference,” Kakashi dismissed with a shake of his head, “I fought him alone, here, you’re fighting him and I’m just sneaking in with a supporting attack.”

“Still, it’ll bring the spotlight on you as a strong lightening user, which will make you a target,” Minato groused.

“All the more reason to train,” Kakashi replied without concern, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Minato shook his head fondly at the reply before changing gears as they arrived at the ground floor, “Alright then, I have a few things to finish up, but I got all the information I needed on your jutsu. You still need to meet up with Inuzuka Genji san, Captain of the Transfer Team,” he suggested. “Do you know him?”

“Yes, I’ll find him now,” Kakashi nodded, “Can I have my bag please?” His sensei had sealed both their bags before they left Outpost 12 so we can carry him. No sooner than he’d asked, his sensei unsealed a scroll and two bags popped up. Kakashi quickly grabbed his bag before giving his sensei, who was strapping on his own, a parting wave, “Thanks.”

As he approached the tower’s exit, he heard the rushed chatter outside. It was clear that they have announced the plans to attack. Finally outside, Kakashi saw Gaku explaining the plan to some fellow ninja. He spotted Inuzuka Genji amongst the crowd and waited for the man to finish so he could introduce himself properly. While he waited, Kakashi could sense that many were excited to deal a major blow to the Stone. Some appeared to be nervous, but there was a thrill of barely contained excitement at a chance to turn the tide.

It made sense; the war had been raging for six years now. Everyone was tired and the majority have lost someone close to them. Others have spent these years on the battlefield, barely seeing their families and living in constant fear of losing more loved ones. This skirmish wouldn’t end the war, but it would break Iwa’s momentum and hopefully allow Konoha to win the war, sooner rather than later. A chance the Konoha ninja were willing to die for.

After a few minutes of idling around, Kakashi saw Genji break from the circle of ninja and walk eastward. He quickly followed suit. Having to shift to a light jog to catch up with the man’s longer strides, Kakashi fell into step next to him. “Inuzuka san?”

“Ah, Kakashi kun,” Genji stopped once he noticed the chunin by his side.

“Hatake Kakashi, reporting for duty sir,” Kakashi gave the man a light bow.

“Yes, I know who you are,” the man barked in laughter. “Inuzuka Genji, but you already knew that! Welcome to the Transport Team. I read that you did a short stint on the Transport Team in the Land of Waterfall?”

“Yes, Inuzuka san, it was with Kobayashi san,” Kakashi affirmed. Genji nodded before he started walking again, beckoning him to follow. Kakashi quickly caught up again as they made their way further east.

“Genji san is fine. There are so many of my clanmates here; don’t want anyone to get confused,” he then let out another laugh. Kakashi wasn’t sure if the man thought his comment was funny or recalled a fond memory.

“Anyway, nothing against the Land of Waterfall units but the Land of Grass is a whole different beast,” Genji informed him, raising his eyebrows in an exaggerated manner as he leaned in slightly to make sure Kakashi was listening. “The scale of the fighting is much larger. Especially with this skirmish, we’re going to have to save our comrades left and right.”

“I’ll keep up, Genji san,” Kakashi reassured him. The man nodded before righting himself up once more.

“Your dispatch papers said you worked on the defensive perimeter of the medical backlines so that quick first-aid and transport of the injured can happen safely,” Genji suddenly took a left, forcing Kakashi to shift directions sharply.

“Yes sir, and my dog summons would help look for any survivors after the fight,” he added. Specifying his past role brought up faint memories. His last stint with the Transport Team was before joining Team Minato. With no sensei, and no constant team, he was shuffled from one assignment to the next. It was only after Team Minato that he had some consistency. That said, being on the Transport Team was one of his favorite assignments as it brought him closer to the action. His younger self saw it as being trusted with harder missions and he tried to absorb as much as he could amid the battlefield.  Now though, he knew he’d hate the assignment; standing on the sidelines as others fight puts a bad taste in my mouth.

“You want to fight, I can see it in your eyes,” Genji observed, “Our job is important. I know some believe that fighting would be more beneficial. If I fight, I can save lives. But there are strategic values in having an evacuation team. Do you know them?”

“Yes, having a Transport Team allows for the preservation of life, boosts morale when ninja know they have a chance to survive after being injured and allows Konoha to have a sustained fighting force. Also, should we need to retreat, the Transport Team would be responsible for covering our forces as they fall back.” Kakashi cited dutifully.

“Exactly,” Genji nodded empathically, “our numbers are lower than Iwa so we can’t just throw numbers back at the problem. We need to be more efficient! The sooner our comrades receive treatment, the better chance for quick recovery and prevention of lifelong injuries. It sucks for the Iwa ninja. They know we have this system, and they don’t. That makes them question their leaders’ approach.”

“Don’t they just spin it as a weakness of Konoha; that we’re too soft?” Kakashi recalled that being a perception thrown about by their enemy.

“When it’s your life that isn’t being protected, you want your leaders to have a soft spot for you,” Genji explained. “Sure, Iwa does try to spin a narrative, but those fighting in the frontlines know they’re seen as dispensable. Does that make sense?”

“Iwa’s approach is about the number of ninja they have; the more the merrier. Konoha’s approach is not about how many ninja we have at a given moment, rather, how we manage, sustain and support our forces,” Kakashi paraphrased to show his understanding.

“They said you were smart,” Genji clapped loudly once.

They made it to a collection of green-colored tents and ninja started throwing casual greetings to Genji. Kakashi was similarly greeted by the smell of cup noodles and grilled chicken. They had arrived at the Transport Team’s zone.  Genji called out to two ninja and a kunoichi near the zone entrance, “Tell everyone we’re meeting at our bonfire in fifteen minutes. Urgent meeting.”

“You got it boss!” one of the ninja saluted him with a smile before he and his peers started to walk around and spread the word. Kakashi took a glance around the camp as he continued following Genji, not having been dismissed yet.

Most ninja were dressed lightly to stay cool in the summer heat. Lines ran in between the tents so people could string up their washed clothes to dry. Like the entrance of the camp, ninja here made small fires at the entrance of their tents to prepare quick meals. Just as his nose caught, most trash bags around these fires contained empty noodle cups and dirty wooden skewers. The team appeared to be friendly with one another, as Kakashi could make out low laughter and levity in the conversations around him.

The zone was a contrast to the remainder of the outpost Kakashi has seen so far, though he had expected nothing less with Genji as Captain. The man was clearly laidback and wouldn’t care much for neatness and order. Kakashi knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if he were to walk into the zone the Uchiha and Hyuga were responsible for, not a single piece of wood would be out of place. Then again, the Transport Team was set at the outskirts, thus, farther away from somber news. Moreover, as part of the backlines, they registered fewer causalities than most assignments.

Despite Kakashi used to having more order, Kakashi preferred this atmosphere to one that was overly strict. It was a reminder that they were people too, not just tools. As long as the chaos didn’t border on unsanitary, Kakashi would make do. This brought forth memories of a terrible stint in the Land of Hot Water. His captain at the time cared little for hygiene. Unluckily, meetings were held near the captain’s lodgings and the smell of old shoes and sweat would always waft into his nose, even with the mask.

“Ah, here we are!” Genji announced, rescuing Kakashi from having to relive the memory further. “Banri, Taiki, Katsu, this is Kakashi kun. He’ll be lodging with you and  be part of your squad while Akane heals. Make sure he has everything he needs.”

“Of course, Genji san,” one of them replied dutifully. They were all clumped together so Kakashi had no way of telling them apart during Genji’s introduction. A quick glance showed that the three were in their teenage years, his best guess was fifteen or sixteen years of age.

“Meeting at the central bonfire in fifteen,” Genji nodded, “If you have any questions, let me know, Kakashi kun.” The second Kakashi nodded, the man rushed away, leaving an awkward pause in his wake.

Kakashi found the faces of his deployment squad familiar; part of Konoha’s chunin ranks. They had never made an impression on Kakashi, hence, he had no idea what to expect in terms of their character or skillset. Regardless, I just hope they’re not annoying, was Kakashi’s thought as he moved to introduce himself properly.

Chapter Text

Kakashi found the faces of his deployment squad familiar; part of Konoha’s chunin ranks. They had never made an impression on Kakashi, hence, he had no idea what to expect in terms of their character or skillset. Regardless, I just hope they’re not annoying, was Kakashi’s thought as he moved to introduce himself properly.

“Is Genji san always this…um.. animated?” Kakashi asked lightly. That was the right question to ask as it sparked smiles from two of the teen ninjas, though one’s scowl barely hid his disdain.

“You’ll become accustomed to it,” the one who replied to Genji laughed, “My name is Fujita Katsu. I’m the squadron leader of our humble team.” Katsu gave an exaggerated bow, his wavy black hair animatedly swaying with his movement. As he bowed, Kakashi noticed the bow strapped to his back, marking him as a long-distance fighter.

“This here, with the unique haircut, is Hirose Banri,” Katsu’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Unique? You mean stylish,” Banri retorted, his tension slipping away at the familiar banter. His spiky hair was dyed red at the tips, and he had foregone the standard vest. Instead, he sported a maroon belt filled with smoke bombs and exploding kunai. Kakashi internally bet that Banri had a fire affinity.

Katsu completely ignored him and introduced the last member, “Last but not least, the one, the only, Taira Taiki!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Kakashi kun” Taiki said, rolling his eyes at his teammates’ behavior. With straight light brown hair and light blue eyes, he wielded a long tanto, prepared for close combat.

Kakashi noted that the team seemed to have seriously thought about their composition. Taira Taiki appeared to wield his tanto as their short-range fighter. Hirose Banri was clearly the mid-range fighter while Fujita Katsu supported from a long distance. Not that they’d listen to me easily, but this gives us multiple options, he thought.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hatake Kakashi,” he introduced himself. It was clear that the teenagers had a strong bond, so Kakashi felt the need to ask, “How long have you been a team?”

“Since our sweet and innocent genin days,” Katsu answered him with eyes twinkling in remembrance of his early ninja days, “Akane joined the team a year ago. She’s also a kid, only thirteen. But she got injured recently. How old are you anyway?”

“I’m eleven,” Kakashi replied, wondering what role Akane filled. “You seem to have a balanced team suited for various distances, where did Akane san fit in your formation?”

“You noticed that already,” Taiki smiled softly, “your reputation of genius seems right.” At that comment, Banri snorted; clearly unimpressed. Katsu gave him an annoyed look while Taiki ignored their teammate and answered Kakashi’s question. “Akane chan is a medic, actually. She generally administers emergency aid to those we rescue before we help secure them for transfer back to camp. I know you’re not a healer but don’t worry, there are a lot of medical ninja that we protect in the backline, so anyone can jump in. What’s your fighting style?”

“I’m a close to mid-range fighter. I specialize in lightning and earth ninjutsu and wield a short tanto,” Kakashi replied, adjusting his stance to show them his father’s tanto strapped on his back.

“Great, none of us have an affinity to those elements,” Katsu nodded, “I can do water ninjutsu while Banri and Taiki are both fire users.” Kakashi acknowledged his correct guess with a quiet sense of satisfaction.

“Even so, Taiki and I don’t use a lot of ninjutsu and prefer our weapons,” Katsu continued. “Banri tends to create lots of explosions and complement that with fire jutsu. Our style is to try to keep the enemy as far away as possible. If they get close, Taiki jumps in to push them back. As long as the enemy is far away, Banri continues to carry injured ninja back to the backlines with Taiki close by for support. I stay back and provide cover with arrows.”

“Ok, so if the enemy is far, Hirose san brings the injured in. If the enemy is close, protect the backline,” Kakashi summarized, raising a finger for each one.

“Exactly,” Taiki nodded while Katsu gave him a thumbs up.

“We need to head to the briefing, any other immediate questions?” Katsu asked.

“No, but I do have another task to complete early in the skirmish. I will join you as soon as that’s done, Fujita san” Kakashi informed them.

“Don’t worry your little head,” Banri rolled his eyes, “we’re just fine without you.” Before waiting for anyone to reply, he stalked off. Katsu and Taiki gave each other a quick look before they nodded to one another in silent agreement. Taiki gave him an apologetic smile before rushing after Banri while Katsu stayed with him.

“Sorry about Banri,” Katsu sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, clearly anxious about his teammate’s behavior.

“Why’s he so upset?” Kakashi asked, scowling lightly. He suspected it might be due to his heritage as the White Fang’s son but was cautious not to jump to conclusions without understanding the full story.

Katsu exhaled heavily, “Why don’t you throw your backpack inside the tent? I’ll fill you in on the way to the briefing.”

Kakashi nodded and quickly ducked inside. He gladly noted that the team respected each other’s personal space. The tent was empty down the middle, with three sleeping bags laid out at various corners. While two corners had some items strown about, one area was meticulously neat, probably Taiki’s living space. Taking the only available open area by the left of the tent flap, Kakashi placed his bag at the corner.

Should I take out my sealing supplies, he wondered.

He still needed to find a place to practice his Chidori. His sensei did mention the training area in the Tower, that was his best bet. But to drown out the sound, he would need to create another seal if the training area didn’t already have those installed. It would be bothersome to walk back and forth. Mind made up, Kakashi quickly sealed his gear and walked out to find Katsu waiting for him, arms folded and a light frown on his face.

Katsu looked up at the sound of the tent flap opening and started to unravel their story, “Banri has always been very ambitious. During our Academy days, he would talk out ear off about how he would become a legendary ninja and protect Konoha. He had this vision of blazing into the scene. After two months as genin, our sensei died on another mission, and we were shuffled around low-risk assignments. They said we lacked the experience but didn’t need a new sensei, so he felt trapped.”

The commotion around them grew louder as they walked closer to the bonfire pit where the Transport Team squads were gathering. Kakashi drowned them out and listened intently, understanding more about Banri’s frustrations and how they might be misdirected at him. “So, he yearns to prove himself at the front lines,” Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Katsu, “and my assignment reminds him of the opportunities he feels he’s missing?”

“Precisely,” Katsu replied, his voice flat and unenthusiastic. “Adding to that, he blames himself for Akane getting hurt. I swear he’s a great guy and is usually the one who keeps us in high spirits.”

Kakashi could emphasize with that. He was glad that Banri’s attitude had nothing to do with his father. While he was over it, he didn’t want to have to deal with the backlash of his father’s decision again. He already had a lot on his plate and that was one less thing to work around.

“I understand. I won’t take it personally, Fujita san” Kakashi responded, his tone even.

Katsu’s shoulder untensed at his words as they walked into the bonfire area, “You don’t have to be so formal with us, Katsu is fine,” the teen said to which Kakashi nodded.

The bonfire area was a deep circular pit that had been carved into the earth. The pit's design was thoughtful, featuring gently sloping sides that descended to the fire's location at the center. This amphitheater-like structure allowed attendees to find seats along the inclines, ensuring that everyone had a clear view of the fire pit below. It wasn’t very large, but the capacity was large enough to host everyone albeit a bit cramped. As such, some had taken a seat in the surrounding trees instead.

“Come on, I see Taiki and Banri over there,” Katsu instructed. Kakashi could easily make Banri out as well; his hair was too unique not to spot easily. “Good thing Taiki convinced him to wear a bandana when we go to the frontlines, otherwise, he’d be a beacon for enemy ninja. Not that your hair is much better.” Katsu’s tone was light-hearted, and Kakashi realized the teenager was trying to lighten the mood before they rejoined his teammates.

“I was born with this hair,” Kakashi huffed, making sure his voice showed no anger so that Katsu knew he wasn’t upset. He felt for Katsu, who was clearly trying to fulfill his role as leader and keep the peace. Having been the leader of impromptu squads that squabbled in the past, he knew how annoying it was to deal with. Then again, Katsu didn’t have to deal with Naruto and Sasuke or himself and Obito; he had it easy.

They made their way over to join the other two who had taken a place near the back of the pit. Both were already seated; Banri was resting his elbow on his thigh, his head sitting lazily in his open palm as he watched the other ninja milling about. He appeared to have calmed down. Whatever conversation Taiki had with him clearly worked.

“Thanks for saving us a seat,” Katsu stated as he settled next to Banri, while Kakashi followed, taking a place next to his squad leader. Taiki nodded and gave Banri a quick glance but was ignored. Clearly, Banri was supposed to apologize. Kakashi didn’t care one way or another; he had much more important things to worry about than the attitude of a hormonal teenager.

Kakashi was already aware of the details of the skirmish and the details pertaining to him. He would meet up with his sensei in the morning and join his squad. Once he played his part, his sensei would teleport him to the backlines. From there, he would make his way to join Katsu and the team, who were stationed third to the right.

Therefore, he kept a loose ear to Genji as he began the briefing and scanned the area to see if he recognized any ninja. He noticed many familiar faces, but none he was particularly close to in the future. Very few were surprised by the news; word having already reached them by the time the meeting had started. As with the other ninja Kakashi spotted around the Tower, the Transport Teams were also excited at the opportunity to shift the momentum in Konoha’s favor. After a few questions were answered, Genji dismissed them to prepare.

“Anyone need supplies?” Banri was the first of their team to speak after the dismissal. Kakashi saw other squads aligning on their preparation. “The gear and supplies line will probably have a long queue if we wait too long and I want to restock on some exploding tags.”

“Can you get me two sealing scrolls; I want to pack some extra arrows, just in case,” Katsu replied, to which Banri nodded.

Taiki declined, “I’m set. I’ll go and grab some meat skewers for dinner though.”

Kakashi assessed the sky’s fading light. “I’m good as well. I just have a few final touches to handle at the Tower.”

“See you at dinner, then,” Katsu bid him farewell. Kakashi offered a brisk two-fingered salute and leapt away, navigating through the bustling camp to the Tower.

Upon arrival, Kakashi found the training area manned by two middle-aged women, busy with administrative duties due to their injuries. The quiet of the training area was a welcome change from the camp’s chaos.

“Excuse me,” Kakashi spoke up once he was at the front of the desk and the women paid him no attention, “is there a training room available?”

The one with the sling turned to him, a blush rising on her face for not realizing he was there, “Yes, training room 6 is free. If you’re part of Uchiha Shigeru sama’s team, they’re running final drills in training rooms 1-4.”

“I’ll take room 6,” Kakashi said, receiving a nod as his name was recorded.

The other women, bandaged and skeptical, questioned, “Shouldn’t you be resting before tomorrow, Hatake?”

“I know my limits. Just a quick session,” Kakashi reassured her. “Do the training rooms have sound suppression seals?” He really didn’t want anyone to hear him practicing and alert his sensei; the sound of Chidori was sure to draw unwanted attention. He also suspected that his sensei was with Shigeru so that he could better coordinate with the teams during the battle.

“They all do,” the cooperative woman smiled in reassurance. “This your first time here?”

“Yes, it is,” Kakashi said. Given that he was never assigned long-term at any outpost, he never had a need to train at camp. He would finalize his missions and go back to Konoha, where he could train at any of the grounds. In fact, most ninja reserved training for when they were back in Konoha so that they were always battle-ready. The training areas at outposts were to run simulations, test combinations and complete jutsu they were close to mastering. Any other training would wait till a ninja was back home. The woman then launched into the facility’s usage protocols, including the booking process and the different training room capacities.

“Thanks, umm...” Kakashi realized he never got her name.

“Ogawa Masuyo,” she introduced herself with a soft smile. “You’re welcome,” and she dismissed him.

As he walked over to the last room on the right, he heard the other kunoichi comment, “You have so much patience for this.”

“I want to find a way to be useful, no matter how mundane,” Masuyo replied.

“Ughhh,” Kakashi heard the thump of the other dropping her head on the desk in annoyance, “Why’d we have to get injured at such an important time?”

As Masuyo reprimanded her for bumping her already injured head, Kakashi walked inside the sixth training room. He relished the silence. He hadn’t realized how drained he felt from the constant conversations till now.

He glanced around the bare-bone room surrounded by wooden walls engraved with necessary seals: sound-proofing and defensive reinforcement seals. Konoha didn’t even bother tiling the ground. Kakashi walked across the soil towards one end of the room.

While he could create Chidori without any hand signs, given his lesser control it was best to take it step by step. Therefore, he ran through the familiar signs, focusing on the flow of his chakra as the Chidori sparked to life. Kakashi miscalculated the amount of physical energy, assuming he needed more to balance with his higher-than-normal spiritual energy. This caused the lightning to dance erratically around the ground and the center’s typically circular core to bulge lightly outwards like small petals. Luckily, his control wasn’t too far off that he had to halt the jutsu. Instead, he concentrated on injecting more spiritual energy into the Chidori to stabilize it. Within a few seconds, it stabilized and Kakashi smiled at the feeling of his prized jutsu beating familiarly in his hand once more.

He closed his eyes to focus on the energy mix. Once he was sure he would remember the ratio, he ran across the room at full speed, stopping before he damaged the opposite wall. He let the jutsu fizzle out and frowned. He was slightly slower than expected. I must make sure I wait for a proper opening but I’m ready, he thought.

Confident he wouldn’t mess up tomorrow, and knowing there wasn’t an urgent queue for the room, Kakashi got into a fighting stance and visualized Haruki’s movements. Now that he had a few moments, he wanted to replay the fight while it was still fresh in his mind. He needed to make sure he continued to correct his ingrained habits, building ones compatible with his new body instead.

As he replayed the fight in his head, he lamented the loss if the Sharingan. Kakashi had a photographic memory even before the Sharingan, but the Sharingan was akin to capturing videos of even the most miniscule of details that people didn’t pick up on in the heat of battle. As such, while he never needed the Sharingan to remember theory and his studies, it really helped him run through fights he had with alarming detail. Hopefully, when Obito awakened his Sharingan, he would bother his teammate to provide these details should the need arise. He’ll make sure Obito trains that ability when the time came.

Regardless, he began fighting the imaginary Haruki. His main issue was lack of speed, but barring that, there were moments were Kakashi realized he could’ve left Haruki with deeper injuries if he moved a bit closer before attacking. Moreover, there were times were Kakashi reacted too quickly; assuming he was larger and brought up his guard early. An early guard meant a longer time with a blind spot. Luckily for Kakashi, Haruki wasn’t the strongest of taijutsu fighters. It was only a few milliseconds, but a ninja like Gai would make those count.

Kakashi was still proud to note that he had generally fought without making too many mistakes. Not wanting to push it, Kakashi halted the training and made his way towards the desk to notify them that the room was free again.

“That’s it? You shouldn’t rush your training,” the woman with the head wound remarked.

“Indeed, but efficiency is key on days like these,” Kakashi replied sardonically. It was obvious from her earlier comments that she assumed he didn’t know what he was doing.

His reply earned him a stifled giggle from Masuyo. “Stay safe tomorrow, Kakashi kun,” she dismissed, cutting off any retort from her colleague.

Kakashi appreciated the prompt exit. Once outside, he could see that Banri was right as queues at the various supply stations snaked around the stalls. He figured he had two more hours before he’d have to rejoin his squad for dinner. Before then, he wanted a light snack to curb his hunger, having not had anything since breakfast. Mind made up, he headed towards the west side of the camp where he knew he’d find snack vendors but avoid the supply stalls.

If his memory served him correctly, the eastside of camp, where the Transport Team was stationed, was busy as it housed the entrance from Konoha’s direction. Meanwhile, the supply stalls, administrative ninja and civilian quarters were all located in the south side. This is where the logistics were handled and tended to be the second-busiest area after the middle section. Without a way to enter and leave the camp from here, it helped ensure the safety of the civilians and keep them out of the way. The northside was the entrance that led towards the Stone Village, as such was the most heavily guarded. The patrol, tracker and sensory units tended to remain in that area.

Similar to the southside, the westside had no entrance or exit outside the outpost. Conversely, the westside of camp tended to be the quietest. The rest of the ninja force were stationed in this area, but other than a few merchant stalls closer to the center, most of the area was simply tent zones. With no services being provided, and the team leaders staying in rooms at the Tower, there was less commotion here.

Kakashi found a stall that sold Nori Wraps and joined the short queue. The wraps won’t substitute a meal, but they would be enough to satisfy his hunger.

“…go dying on me,” a kunoichi expressed her worry to her companion in line.

“Worry less about me. If anything, you’re the that one should be careful. I’ll be in the backline healing,” the man replied, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I know the Transport Team do their job well, but medics are a prime target,” she argued, a hint of frustration coloring her tone.

“I heard most of Shigeru sama’s squads are coming tomorrow,” the man changed the topic to distract her.

“I hope whatever plan they concocted gives us the advantage,” she replied.

“The Yellow Flash is joining them,” the man replied excitedly, “if he’s here, tomorrow will be a victory for Konoha.”

“He’s strong but not invincible,” her tone contradicted her words.

“You’re also relieved. You can’t fool me,” he called her out playfully.

“I’m being realistic,” she huffed in reply, “Tomorrow will be dangerous and we have to stay vigilant.”

“He defeated a squad of three A-Ranked Iwa ninja and doesn’t even have a scratch on him. I, for one, am greatly relieved he’s here,” the man countered.

“It’s inspiring, isn’t it? To think he isn’t from a famed clan,” she said in awe.

“You’re already remarkable in your own right,” he assured her with a smile just as the vendor called them over.

They make it sound so easy, Kakashi felt burdened. As a genius himself, he was no stranger to grand expectations. In ANBU, he could feel the relief of his comrades when he was included on a team; the ninja who completed the most S-ranked missions after the Legendary Sanin. The most accomplished assassin in Konoha’s ANBU. But he knew, more than anyone, that he wasn’t infallible. He couldn’t protect Obito and Rin. He also lost a few comrades during his stint in ANBU. Despite having a near perfect mission record, he considered any loss of life on a mission a failure. The only mission he truly failed was killing Orochimaru after he defected. In hindsight, how the Third expected a teenager to stop one of the most ruthless ninja Konoha ever produced was beyond him.

However, Minato had it worse, rising in the ranks during times of war. At least for Kakashi, his work was to protect Konoha from the shadows. Yet his sensei was a beacon of hope in times of war. Every time he ventured outside Konoha’s gate, all eyes were on him. Although sensei doesn’t show it, I’m sure that’s a lot of pressure, Kakashi sympathized. Kakashi understood his role – to support his sensei and elevate his team. This resolve steeled him to match his skill to the burden of his duty.

The couple in front of him finalized their purchase and walked away, so he shuffled forward, “Good evening, sir,” Kakashi greeted.

“Good evening, what would you like?” the older man asked genially. Kakashi was surprised by the old age of the man, as it was young men who typically opened stalls at war outposts.

“What do your vegetarian nori wraps contain?” Kakashi asked politely. He knew Taiki was getting meat and thought to balance that out with some greens. I should probably get some for the team as well, Kakashi decided.

“Those are one of my specialties,” the man got excited, “I include tofu, cucumber, carrot, and bell peppers, along with rice seasoned with my home-made vinegar. It’s quite delictable!”

“I’ll take a dozen,” Kakashi replied after verifying that he would enjoy the blend.

“Coming right up!” the man was spirited for his age.

Although he wasn’t one for small talk, his curioisty about the man’s presence at the outpost won out. “Aren’t you a bit old to have a stall in a war outpost?” he asked politely.

“Ah it’s not easy,” the man nodded, no offense in his voice. “My son wasn’t interested in the family business and became a ninja instead. He is stationed here and I wanted to make sure he and his comrades ate well. We’re grateful to our ninja for protecting us and this is the least we can do.”

“Your son is lucky to have you,” Kakashi complimented him as the man finished packing his items and brought them to the front-counter. The man’s warmness reminded him of Teuchi san, the owner Ichiraku Ramen Bar. Maybe it’s an old chef thing? Kakashi mused.

“I wish he was here to hear that,” the man winked. “He thinks he’s being babied with his old man tagging along. That’ll be 150 ryo,” he said. Not knowing what to say to that, Kakashi simply nodded as he paid for his snack.

With nothing more to do for the day, he made a beeline back to his tent. He noted the absence of his squad mates and took the opportunity to set up his sleeping bag. After the green sleeping was quickly prepared, Kakashi grabbed his backpack and placed it on the end of the tent as a makeshift support beam. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but Kakashi dealt with much worse on missions. That done, Kakashi took out one of the nori wrap containers, leaned back, and helped himself to some.

The muffled sounds of ninja wandering about outside were his only companion as he lazily took small bites from the wrap in his hand. As he sat there nonchalantly, the sounds slowly shifted to a low constant din and he fell into a trance. Since waking up in the past, this was the first time Kakashi found himself relaxing, his shoulders, unbeknownst to him, releasing tension and resting comfortably. Once he finished the wrap, Kakashi crossed his arms and used them to rest his head in, leaning back even further, dipping slightly in a more laidback position, and stretching out his legs. A soft sigh was released into the air as he closed his eyes.

A bit longer than an hour later, but for Kakashi what felt like only a few short minutes, he was shaken into attention by a hand grabbing his shoulder and nudging him lightly. Kakashi opened his eyes and met the light blue eyes of Taiki. “Sorry for waking you up, Kakashi kun,” the young man spoke with a gentle lilt, “It’s time for dinner.”

Kakashi blinked rapidly and brought two fingers to the bridge of his nose, rubbing away the tendrils of drossiness brought forth by his impromptu break. “Thanks, be right there.”

Taiki nodded at that and ducked out of the tent. “He’s coming in a sec,” Kakashi heard him inform the rest.

Kakashi sluggishly sat upright, stretching his arms above his head with a yawn. He grabbed the wraps container and ruffled his hair so that it didn’t stick inwards as he listened to a friendly debate break out.

“Oi Banri, how many times do I have to tell you to stop feeding the fire so much,” Katsu grumbled.

“And how many times do I have to tell you that it cooks faster this way,” Banri replied without a care in the world.

“Cooking requires patience, why? Because slow-cooking meat makes it more tender and juicier,” Taiki said stoically.

“I didn’t know we had a secret Aburame on our team!” Banri chortled.

“Of course you didn’t. Why? Because you are clueless,” was Katsu’s playful contribution. Banri let out a choked noise of protest while Taiki laughed.

They really are a close team, he thought. A sigh escaped his lips as he finally pushed himself to stand. Outside the tent, the camp had transformed. The twilight had deepened, casting long shadows between the scattered fires dotting the landscape. The smell of barbeque and sounds of chatter filled the air. The peaceful atmosphere contrasted with tomorrow’s events. Kakashi bleakly wondered how many would never enjoy another dinner with their companions.

Katsu turned his head when he heard the rustle behind him and greeted Kakashi with a smile. “Hurry, before Banri turns all the meat to charcoal!”

“I purchased some vegetarian nori wraps,” Kakashi announced, raising his hand to show the container while Banri hit his teammate lightly in the shoulder for his remark.

“I love nori wraps, thanks,” Katsu pushed Banri away and moved to grab the container.

“You can have my share,” Banri offered with a wave as Katsu inspected the wraps, “I choose meat over greens any day.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Katsu had no complaints, taking out one of the wraps with a smile.

“Thanks, Kakashi kun,” Taiki said, “Katsu loves vegetables and fruits, but the meat line was so long that I didn’t have time to buy him some.”

“No thanks needed,” Kakashi shrugged as took a seat next to Taiki, “I try to have a balanced diet, so the addition of vegetables was necessary.”

“Don’t tell me we have another health freak?!” Banri groaned loudly, throwing his head back.

Katsu voice took an instructing tone as replied, “Having a balanced diet is not being a health freak, it’s ---

“Standard shinobi practice,” Taiki and Banri sing-songed together, finishing their teammate’s sentence. Katsu blushed at the display and dug into his wrap to avoid replying.

“I stand with Katsu san,” Kakashi felt sorry for his squad leader, hoping to give him one ally in this seemingly long-standing debate amongst the teens. Katsu shot him a grateful look while the other two simply rolled their eyes.

The night carried out in similar banner, the squad jumping from one topic to the next. They made sure to include Kakashi by asking him questions. Even Banri engaged him in conversation… well mostly jokes and quips but that was the teen’s default. The three avoided looking at him when he’d go in for the bite. Part of him was forlorn at the lost chance to string them along in his antics, while another was grateful for their consideration.

As the night wore on and the camp's noise dwindled to a murmur, the light-hearted atmosphere gave way to a palpable tension; the proximity of the impending skirmish was unspoken but heavily felt. The sound of crackling of fires become more prominent as they also grew quiet in contemplation.

Taiki was the first to break the quiet, “I’m going to turn in,” he said, pushing himself up with a weariness that seemed more mental than physical.

“Me too,” Katsu echoed, and they both disappeared into the tent.

Left alone with Banri, Kakashi was about to follow when Banri’s hushed voice stopped him. “Wait,” he whispered, urgency lacing his tone.

Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets as he turned around to face the teen. “Tomorrow, I’ll probably be rushing in constantly to bring in the injured. Make sure you protect Katsu when I do. His taijutsu isn’t the best.”

Kakashi read the underlying fear in Banri’s eyes, a fear they all shared on the eve of battle. “I will,” he promised, understanding the weight of the assurance he was giving.

Banri nodded, seemingly comforted by the response, and turned back to the fire lost in thought, his leg bouncing up and down.

Leaving Banri to his vigil, Kakashi retreated inside and began preparing for sleeping. He knew Rin would be safe because Tsunade would not send children out to the backlines. Obito should also remain safe on patrol. Minato was strong, Kakashi was sure he would be able to handle himself out there.

No, Kakashi wasn’t as worried as his squad mates probably were. The promise he gave Banri was not one he carried lightly though. I promised Obito I’d protect Rin and look how that turned out, he thought spitefully.

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have made that promise. He always said he wouldn’t let his comrades die. It was a vow, but also an admonition towards himself. How many times had he wished he could go back in time and drill the importance of teamwork into his younger self’s brain. Traveling back in time was an answered prayer, wrapped up in melancholy of future bonds that were lost.

Kakashi shook his head to dispel these thoughts. Tomorrow is an important day, Kakashi. This isn’t the time to lose yourself, he ordered himself. He may not prefer the transport team assignment, but he would do his assigned task well and protect those around him. It was with that thought that Kakashi finally drifted off.

Chapter Text

The energy of the next morning was less depressing, as the morning sun gave the Konoha ninja positive vibes. All around Kakashi, ninja were getting dressed, finalizing their packing and saying farewell to those who’d stay at camp. Kakashi ignored the bustle around him and was busy tying bandages around his legs outside of their tent. He could hear his squad squawking inside in their usual banter.

“There you are! Finally!!” a familiar voice called out. He raised his head to find Obito running towards him in all his orange glory, a smile plastered on his face.

“Obito?” he asked in confusion. He didn’t think Obito knew what squad he was assigned to, let alone how to find him.

“I heard you’re heading out? How? You’re still injured!” Obito was clearly worked up; hands folded and a grimace on his face, as he stared down at Kakashi, who was still sitting down.

“Tsunade-sama healed me,” Kakashi informed him.

“Hmph,” Obito was unamused as he plopped down on the ground next to him. “You sure you’re able to fight? Your leg was pretty messed up.” He leaned closer into Kakashi’s personal space as he asked, challenging him to tell the truth.

This was new. Obito rarely showed concern for Kakashi in the past; definitely not enough to scour the camp looking for him to make sure he was in fighting condition. It appeared that Obito having to leave him behind to deal with Haruki had thrown him for a loop. How should I handle this? Kakashi wondered.

“If it were any other medic, probably not. Tsunade-sama is incredible though and my leg is as good as new,” he reassured him, lightly pushing him away from his personal space. His younger self would have bit back at Obito for worrying about him and would perceive it as Obito pointing out his weakness. But as the incident tore down some of the barriers Obito had between them, Kakashi wanted to reciprocate in kind. He didn’t want to maintain animosity with the boy, and the sooner they could call a truce, the sooner Kakashi could embrace his own personality instead of keeping up appearances.

“That’s good,” Obito let out a sigh of relief and finally relaxed.

With nothing more to add, both boys fell silent. Obito fidgeted, clearly not wanting to go but not sure what else to say. Kakashi wanted to cement a change in their relationship so decided to keep the conversation going. “How was patrol?” he asked. He then looked down and continued tying his bandages, missing the shocked look on Obito’s face at the question.

“Umm… patrol? Yea, patrol is… ok? It’s a bit boring to be honest,” Obito spluttered out a reply.

“I found it boring too,” Kakashi agreed, ignoring Obito’s fumbling.

“That’s right, you said you did patrol a few times before we became a team,” Obito recalled the conversation the team had over the campfire on the way over. Kakashi nodded as he fastened the final knot and began to wear his shoes.

“Hey, Kakashi-kun?” Taiki’s head popped out of the tent. When he saw Obito, he gave him a nod, “Teammates?”

“Yes, this is my teammate, Uchiha Obito. He’s on patrol,” Kakashi introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you, Obito-kun,” Taiki smiled and Obito greeted him back. “Anyway, Kakashi-kun, do you have any extra kunai holster tape? Banri didn’t notice he was low.”

“I’m telling you; Katsu took my extra ones!” Banri exclaimed from the inside.

“I did not,” Katsu argued back, “you just forgot to restock, you idiot!”

“Yes, sure thing,” Kakashi nodded, ignoring the other two. He grabbed his bag and rifled through it quickly, finding the tape and throwing it casually to Taiki who plucked it from the air easily.

“Thanks!” Taiki smiled again and ducked back inside the tent.

“You’re lucky your teammates are young, mine are all boring adults,” Obito groused. “My squad’s idea of fun is to play Karuta… KaRuTa.” He enunciated every syllable with incredulity.

Kakashi nearly laughed at Obito’s predicament. A game involving matching cards based on poetry is probably a form of torture for the non-studious Uchiha. “Bringing together memory and physical reflexes is an interesting aspect of the game,” Kakashi decided to tease Obito indirectly by discussing the game, making sure to keep his voice neutral.

“Of course you would,” Obito moaned in exaggeration and raised his eyes and hands to the sky as is asking the heavens for help. He certainly didn’t remember Obito being this dramatic. Then again, if Kakashi was being honest, all Uchiha were dramatic in a way.

It was then that his squad were finally ready and stepped out of the tent. “Now that Banri is finally ready, let’s go to the gate,” Katsu said cheerfully. Banri glared at Katsu but luckily did not counter, preventing another argument from breaking out.

“I’ll meet up with you in a minute,” Kakashi said as he stood up. Katsu nodded in agreement and the three teens walked away. He then turned back to Obito, who had also stood up and was ready to head back to his team. “Good luck on patrol, I guess” he said in farewell.

“Be careful out there,” Obito replied, a bit uncomfortable with having had a full conversation with Kakashi devoid of any arguments. Kakashi nodded and walked away feeling lighter. It wasn’t much, but it was a step in the right direction.

Over the next two days, Konoha’s forces marched through the forest until the terrain at the Land of Grass transformed into a vast expanse of lush, green grass fields which swayed gently in the breeze. Despite being a small country, the shifting landscapes of the Land of Grass made skirmishes unique. Konoha, true to its name, dominated the forests of the Land of Grass. Meanwhile, Iwa controlled the hilly area closer to their borders and the grass plains stretching across the country’s center.

A few meters ahead, Kakashi could spot the famed Grass Gate of Iwa. The fortress stood against the bright blue sky, its stone walls exuding a sense of strength and resilience. The formidable structure was defined by three prominent towers, each adorned with brown-tiled roofs that curved upwards. The central gatehouse, flanked by twin towers, served as the main entrance. The gatehouse comprised of five slabs of seal-fortified stone that protected the inside; slabs that only select Iwa ninja could open and close using Earth ninjutsu keyed to their chakra.

This was the second-most important outpost Iwa had, the first being the fortress that stood near their borders. In Kakashi’s timeline, the Grass Gate of Iwa fell two months before the Kannabi mission. Kakashi wasn’t part of the battle, but his sensei was, and he had elevated his notoriety during that battle. After which, the destruction of the Kannabi Bridge helped starve the main fortress at the border of supplies until Iwa eventually conceded, leaving the fate of the war between Konoha, Cloud and Mist.

In terms of positioning, Iwa had the current advantage. Konoha could only approach through the open field, while the Stone ninja situated themselves in front of the fortress a couple of hundred meters back. Kakashi could spot enemy ninja in the towers, ready to provide backup from afar. Moreover, the plains were riddled with traps to prevent a direct assault. If it weren’t for these factors, Konoha would have had the advantage on the grassy plains were they could easily set the vegetation on fire and leverage their higher mobility. However, Iwa had established a base here faster than Konoha, which was too busy defending against the Cloud during the beginning of the war.

Sarutobi Shigeru, Uchiha Noburo, and Namikaze Minato stood in front of the forces, eyeing the fortress of the Stone. Their squads only a few paces behind them while the rest of the forces lined the back. Kakashi was standing alongside the units providing his sensei’s squad with backup and could easily hear the three skirmish leaders speak.

“There is no panic, seems like they expected us,” Noburo stated nonchalantly as he observed the fortress where Stone ninja were already lining the tower walls; ready to defend.

“It was one of the scenarios Shikaku-san considered,” Minato shrugged not worried either. “It appears that since they didn’t hear from Haruki san, they assumed they were defeated and prepared to defend.”

“Plan Three it is then,” Shigeru stated, Gaki nodded and signed the order back, allowing the command to trickle down to all the fighters, they didn’t want to give anything away to the Stone, even if it was something as simple as ‘we’ve planned for this’.

As they gave time for everyone to receive instruction, Aburame Yuma stepped forward, along with twelve other ninja. “We’re ready anytime,” he stated calmly.

“Even though they were expecting us, I don’t see any extra fortifications,” Noburo informed the Aburame peering at the terrain with red eyes, “Doesn’t mean there aren’t any so you should still proceed with caution.”

“Chiaki-san?” Yuma gave the silent order.

“Byakugan!” Chiaki said as she activated her bloodline and scanned the open plains. After a few seconds, she confirmed, “Nothing unusual, captain.” Her voice wavered lightly, the tension of the upcoming battle clearing affecting the young teen. Gaki, who had a soft spot for the younger generation, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she smiled back.

“Remember, if we spot any of the jinchuriki we’re retreating,” Shigeru reminded the rest of the ninja, and they all nodded in affirmation. “Otherwise, we have the advantage. Don’t forget that,” he stated, and looked at Chiaki in particular who nodded with determination.

The jinchuriki of all nations tended to stay in the village or at border encampments. Still, Iwa had planned to attack Konoha from two fronts, from the north with a large army and from the north-west with a surprise attack. Both attacks had failed. The attack on the north failed as the army met with the Cloud instead, resulting in a fight that caused the loss of thousands of Iwa ninja and the death of the Raikage. Meanwhile, the attack on the north-west failed by Minato and Kakashi killing the invaders.

As such, Shikaku concluded that the most likely scenario was for Iwa to have initially stationed the jinchuriki closer to Konoha to take advantage if their plans had succeeded. With the multiple failures, Shikaku believed that Iwa had probably withdrawn the jinchuriki closer to the border once more. The Cloud was out for revenge, and they couldn’t leave their borders vulnerable. Given that the Raikage’s heir had been trained for the position and thus a gap in Cloud leadership wasn’t an issue, it was very likely that the Fourth Raikage would march in revenge. Just as Konoha saw an opportunity to attack, so would the Cloud.

Still, Shikaku had warned them that should Iwa be ready for them, there was a chance that a jinchuriki would be deployed to protect the camp. A fight between the Konoha forces and a jinchuriki may result in many causalities on Konoha’s side, even if they did defeat the jinchuriki. As such, the plan was to retreat should the jinchuriki join the fray. Plans to defeat the jinchuriki existed, but relied heavily on Jiraya and Orochimaru, alongside Minato and Kushina. Currently, only Minato was present. Orochimaru was guarding the north border and Jiraya was conducting espionage. There was no time to call them to the battle in time before the window of opportunity closed.

“Time to go for it,” Shigeru announced, “Units 5.1 and 5.2, ready?”

Under the guidance of Shikaku Nara, Konoha had employed key squad and backup squad tactics for this mission. Each key unit would have a backup unit serving to protect the key unit and prevent the Stone from delaying them from their objectives. In this case, Unit 5.1 was Aburame Yuma’s team of three squads, tasked with dismantling the traps. The job of Unit 5.2 was to defend against enemy attacks while the traps were being dismantled. For the first part of his role, Kakashi was in Unit 2.2, the backup squad of Namikaze Minato. Depending on the role, the unit could be any number of squads. Minato’s Unit was a team of four, but their backup was two squads, plus Kakashi as a solo addition.

“Ready,” Yuma stated.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about, Yuma-san,” Sarutobi Niko, leader of Unit 5.2 proclaimed with a smile and raised fist, “we’ve got your back, do your thing!”

“Let’s go kill some Iwa ninja,” Shigeru unleashed his killing intent as he raised his palm in the air and motioned forward, signaling the start of the raid.

As the Konoha ninja raced forward, the Stone ninja threw an explosive tag into the air, alerting all their units that Konoha had forged forward. As Units 5.1 and 5.2 made their way across the plains, Kakashi saw ten Iwa squads rushing to meet them. Based on their zig-zag pattern, they were avoiding the traps close to the tower.

The two sides were still some distance from clashing. That said, Konoha wasn’t going to wait for a clash to begin attacking. Three ninja from Yuma’s team jumped into the air, hands weaving the signs for fire jutsu. Some of the Stone ninja paused in their approach to counter with their own jutsu.

“Great Fireball!” the Uchiha of the three shouted. The others joined with weaker, but nonetheless powerful fire jutsu, “Fire Spiral Jutsu!” The fire raced downwards towards the ground.

“Earth Bullet Jutsu,” some of the Stone ninja called out a beat later, aiming at the ninja vulnerable in the air. The small sharp spears of stone aimed at the airborne ninja were blocked by Unit 5.2, using a strong wind jutsu that forced the sharp earth spears to stop mid-flight and fall to the ground.

At the same time, another set of ninja called out a different jutsu, “Mud Veil Jutsu!” The fire jutsu Konoha aimed at the ground was met with a wall of mud, an attempt to prevent the fire from activating the traps hidden underneath. Fortunately, experience allowed Konoha to anticipate this. As the mud blocked the fire jutsu, one of Yuma’s squads released a barrage of explosive kunai towards the ground below the veil. Within seconds of meeting their mark, a large explosion shook the earth. The chief explosion triggered other traps to activate, creating a chain of smaller explosions across the battlefield. The force created strong winds that battered the forces on standby of both sides.

By the time the winds subsided, the first combatants were already engaged in clashes. The ground was upturned, and massive craters littered the area where explosives had been located. Kakashi also saw dismantled sharp objects lay useless on the ground, clearly from traps meant to unleash weapons when triggered. Kakashi saw that Yuma’s teams were fanning out to try to dismantle more traps on the sides. Iwa squads were now rushing into battle; with the main traps gone there was no need to stand back.

“Frontal units, engage! Remember to keep alert to traps on the sides!” Shigeru yelled out in a booming voice. Kakashi rushed out with his unit immediately. The sounds of clashing could be heard all around as the fighting started. It took Kakashi back to his younger years of fighting on the battlefield. His darkest days were those in ANBU, yet it was on the battlefield that he lost his innocence. As the blood on his hands continued to increase, he simultaneously closed off his heart more and more. It was easier that way. Now, here was again, poised to strike down lives amidst the clang of metal, boom of explosions and cries of ninja all around him.

As planned, Minato and his squad joined the rest of the Special Tactics teams to dismantle the defenses of the Stone ninja. Nara Shikaku had paired his sensei with Uchiha Jiren, Sarutobi Koharu and Inuzuka Maki. Kakashi had never fought alongside any of these ninja, thus wasn’t sure how they complimented his sensei’s fighting style. That didn’t matter however, his task was to follow them undetected, wait for Gou to make an appearance, and strike at the first opening the squad would create for him.

Hiding within the Konoha forces, Kakashi made sure to not bring any attention to himself as he observed the battle. Minato’s squad ran towards a group of Stone ninja standing defensively at the frontlines while Kakashi remained with the secondary squad providing backup. The Stone ninja saw them coming and three created a wall of rock to defend against the incoming squads.

Kakashi saw his sensei signal with his hands to call out a strategy. Without hesitation, Sarutobi Koharu acted, “Water Dragon Jutsu,” she called out. The water dragon charged ahead, targeting the base of the wall and flooding it. Before the dragon hit the wall, Uchiha Jiren was already following up with the Great Fireball Technique. The sudden heat after the water softened the wall; weakening the front face and creating cracks in the structure. At that point, Kakashi saw Inuzuka Maki and her dog companion use Wolf Fang Over Fang. Two spinning columns assaulted the wall at the opposite ends. The force of the jutsu against the cracking wall was more than the stone could handle and the wall shattered.

As the defensive wall fell, the Stone ninja were ready, releasing multiple Earth Bombs forcing the Konoha squad to dodge and halt their attack. Meanwhile, Inuzuka Maki, who had released the technique and was poised to attack in mid-air, released a flurry of kunai at the ninja from above. The Stone ninja immediately rushed to block the kunai with their own.

Unfortunately for the Stone ninja, the kunai were marked with the Flying Raijen. In a blink of an eye, Minato was already behind the enemy lines, kunai slashing at the ninja. Despite their attempts to block, Minato simply teleported to another kunai and attacked from their blind spots. By the time Inuzuka Maki landed, the Stone ninja were dead.

“Who’s next?” Maki whooped in victory. Kakashi noticed his sensei frown at the cavalier attitude but shifted his attention forward, where Jiren and Koharu were already engaging the next unit. Having trusted Minato and Maki to deal with the first squad, Uchiha Jiren made the autonomous decision to forge ahead and signaled to Minato and Maki their next attack.

“Don’t you dare get cocky, Konoha scum!” a ninja yelled as he threw explosive tags at the incoming Konoha ninja. Clearly, he had heard Maki’s comment.

A poof of smoke appeared next to Koharu, revealing a large shuriken. “Shuriken Shadow Clone,” Koharu retaliated with one of the Third Hokage’s signature jutsu. The large shuriken multiplied and blocked the explosive kunai. The range of the shuriken was larger than the explosion, and a few shuriken continued forward towards the Stone ninja.

“Nice one, Koharu-chan!” Maki cheered.

“Focus Maki-san!” Minato ordered sternly as he and Maki joined Jiren and Koharu’s attack.

“Earth Style, Mud Wall,” an enemy called out as he spat mud onto the ground, which rose to create a solid wall of earth and blocked the shuriken. Minato signaled for a change of tactics as the mud wall rose.

“Rain of Fire Jutsu,” Uchiha Jiren yelled out in response to Minato’s command. A ball of fire shot above the mud wall. The Stone ninja were familiar with the technique and knew that the ball of fire would disperse into smaller bullets that rained down on them. As such, they had erected an earth shield above their heads. What they didn’t anticipate was for Koharu to follow up with a Water Bomb. As the ball of fire began to split into smaller fires, the water collided with the bullets and enveloped the enemy in a cloud of heated mist.

As the enemy ninja yelped in pain at the unexpected tactic, his sensei attacked the wall with a spiraling Rasengan, destroying their fortifications. Uchiha Jiren ran through the hole Minato created, Sharingan blazing, heat armor flickering and attacked the enemy through the mist. While Kakashi couldn’t see Jiren, he could hear as the man razed through the Stone ninja with his superior visibility. Some Stone ninja had escaped the mist from the left side, but Maki was already there. Crouched on all fours, the Inuzuka attacked with ruthless speed before they could get their bearings, a smile on his face as he disposed of the enemy.

Recognizing the squad as a serious threat that was quickly cutting a hole through their defenses, one of the enemy commanders gave out new orders, “Fall back and regroup! Do not engage directly.”

The order was quickly followed, and the enemy retreated. A few stayed back to set up a new defensive line along the retreat path to slow Konoha’s advance. “Earth Flow Spears!” multiple enemies shouted. The earth rumbled and shook as multiple sharp earth pillars rose from the ground, sharp ends pointing towards the Konoha ninja in attempt to skewer them.

This was followed up with the Earth Style, Rampart jutsu. A large wall rose from beneath the feet of the Stone ninja behind the pillars, allowing them to gain a height advantage and loom over the Konoha ninja. At the same time, backup squads from the Stone ninja were sent to join the fray.

“Incoming reinforcements,” Minato announced to the team as they skidded to a halt, “Backup unit, intercept.” Despite the action in front of him, Minato was still aware of the large wave of enemy making their way towards them. The backup squad ran to meet the reinforcements head-on to keep them away from Minato’s unit as his sensei’s squad moved straight ahead to tackle the giant obstacle now in front of them.

Minato’s backup squad was one of the largest, yet they were still outnumbered by the Stone ninja. Unlike the initial assault, the clash of reinforcements was favoring the Stone ninja, who were being supported by attacks from their comrades atop the rampart. Knowing he couldn’t engage directly, Kakashi reminded himself that his role was currently confined to throwing kunai and shuriken to annoy the stone reinforcements and provide his teammates a few precious extra seconds to avoid attacks.

In a matter of moments after the reinforcement units began to fight, Kakashi saw a Konoha kenjutsu specialist fall and resisted the urge to rush in and help. He had to stay between the Konoha squads, providing minor support to the secondary unit yet maintaining a close distance to his sensei’s team. As such, he was mostly ignored as the battle around him raged.

Minato and his team were maneuvering the pillars as they made their way higher to engage the enemy. The Stone ninja delayed their advance by unleashing weapons and stone spikes at the unit.

“Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!” the Stone ninja continued their attack. Although the Leaf ninja couldn’t see what was happening, but Kakashi knew the effects of the jutsu being called out. He wasn’t sure if Minato and his team knew of the jutsu. Most likely, the ninja were aware as they had fought multiple skirmishes with Iwa, yet Kakashi didn’t want to leave it to chance.

“A large lump of earth is about to be thrown at you,” he yelled out. On cue, a huge ball of earth was hurled downwards at the Konoha ninja, attempting to flatten them. While the jutsu was only B-ranked, it was clear the attack was a combined one, as the size of the lump of earth was three times its usual size.

“Keep going. Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Minato called out and a clone popped into existence. “Big Ball Rasengan!” both versions of Minato formed a large Rasengan in their hands. The Rasengans collided with the earth. For a few seconds, both jutsu fought against one another. However, the Rasengan was superior, and the earth lump shattered into smaller bits. Minato’s team slowed down, carefully maneuvering to avoid the chunks of earth and block kunai and shuriken raining down.

The Konoha ninja were more than half-way up the rampart and the Stone ninja cursed. “Earth Flow River Jutsu!” a few yelled, transforming the pillars Jiren and Maki were running on top of into a mud river. The two ninja easily avoided the attack by jumping upwards, but the enemy had followed up with some exploding kunai. In an instant, the two Konoha ninja disappeared. Minato had marked them before the battle, and he easily flashed towards them, grabbing them and teleporting them back to his position, where he had stuck a Flying Raijin kunai into the pillar.

While the enemy were focused on the three male combatants, Koharu had made it to the top from the far-right side of the rampant. “Fire Element, Fire Dragon Flame Missile!” her main element was clearly water, but she was still a Sarutobi and her fire jutsu packed a punch. The fire missile roared as it swept in parallel to the rampart’s edge, forcing the Stone ninja to jump back and finally allowing Minato and his team to reach the top uninhibited.

“Good work, Koharu-san,” Minato acknowledged.

“Let’s go get them,” Jiren gave Koharu a respectful nod and she smiled at the praise.

Kakashi crouched on one of the high pillars which allowed him visibility on both his sensei and the backup team. By the time Minato’s squad had made it to the top, Kakashi noted that the backup unit had become overwhelmed by the reinforcement forces and cursed when he noticed that more Konoha ninja had fallen.

Fortunately, Shigeru had noticed and appeared to have ordered more units to provide backup. Kakashi saw a few Konoha squads jump into the fray, allowing for a more even skirmish to unfold. Regardless, with the backup team fully engaged, Minato’s squad was now on its own.

This fact didn’t deter his sensei, “Third tactic,” he ordered the squad. At the command, both Jiren and Koharu unleased the signature Grand Fireball Jutsu at the enemy. The two large balls of fire kept the enemy busy. Maki focused on picking off any enemy that was too slow to avoid the attack. He seemed to relish in his role as the sweeper. Kakashi didn’t want to know what the man had gone through to develop such a visible bloodlust.

His sensei took the opportunity to throw a Flying Raijin kunai high above the enemy. He flashed into the air and unleashed a barrage of marked kunai “Weapon Control, Twin Rising Dragon.” Kunai littered the immediate battlefield and Kakashi saw panic overtake the Stone ninja.

“Retreat! Retreat!” the commander called out. It was a moot command as the Stone ninja had already started trying to run away, to no avail. Nothing could be seen of Minato expect a flash of blonde hair as he flickered across the rampart, killing numerous enemies in an instant, including the enemy commander. Jiren, Koharu and Maki remained on standby but kept out of the way and allowed Minato to decimate the enemy by himself.

As his sensei moved in to kill the few remaining enemy ninja in the area, Minato’s kunai was stopped by a person’s flat-open palm. The Iwa ninja who almost died nearly passed out in fear and continued to retreat, even as a reinforcement squad joined the fray.

“That’s enough, Konoha’s Yellow Flash,” was the greeting given as Minato teleported back next to his squad and they regrouped to take on the new challenge.

Gou Ogata had finally made an appearance.

“Enough? We’re just getting started,” Jiren replied, the trademark Uchiha smirk gracing his face. “This time I won’t give you the chance to retreat, Gou Ogata.”

Minato’s squad’s job was to forge forward faster than any other unit to ensure they were identified as the key threat and that Gou was deployed against them. Shikaku’s plan had worked.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Gou snorted at the Uchiha’s words as more Iwa joined his side, “I don’t care about you. You’re just another Konoha insect. I’m here for you, Namikaze san.”

“I don’t care who is sent my way, we’re moving ahead,” Minato replied seriously.

Minato’s team was uninjured but glad for the moment to catch their breaths as the two sides assessed one another, the tension palpable. Gou was accompanied by two other units. The battle was twelve against four. Moreover, Gou wasn’t the only formidable Iwa ninja that the Konoha team had to contend with. From his hiding place, Kakashi identified two more A-ranked ninja, more troublesome of which was Chisaka Masaru, a user of lava style. The other, Kido Sho, Kakashi recalled, was a ninjutsu user with the wind element. Each of the A-ranked ninja was supported by three other ninja.

Though the odds were unfavorable, Kakashi was still relieved; no jinchuriki. If a jinchuriki was here they would have come out by now, seems Konoha is in the clear to continue this assault, he thought.

“I’d like to see you try,” Sho smirked, raising his hands to the sides to highlight their larger numbers.

“Oh, we’ll try Iwa trash,” Maki jeered, “it’s quality over quantity that wins the fight.”

“Too bad this is where I’ll end you,” Masaru growled, “Volcanic Ash!” A black cloud of smog was blown in the direction of the squad.

“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” Minato countered, pushing the smog back with strong winds.

“I’ll take on Sho, you two take Masaru,” Jiren commanded as Minato blocked the attack.

“Gladly,” Maki smirked while Koharu nodded hesitantly. Kakashi wasn’t surprised that the Inuzuka wanted to fight the most emotional of the three ninja. Kakashi just knew that their fight would devolve into a cacophony of insults and jeers. He felt a bit bad for Koharu. A bit of taunting was well and good, but too much backbiting was a pain in the heat of battle.

“Water Gunshot!” Koharu followed up quickly and launched a large bullet of water in the middle of the Iwa ninja, causing Gou to dodge one way, and Masaru and Sho another.

As instructed by Jiren, the team split up and faced their opponents. Kakashi approved the division. Jiren’s fire would cause Sho trouble as wind was weak to fire. Meanwhile, Koharu’s water jutsu was a good counter to lava style. Still, the large area damage of the lava style would make it hard to get close, which is where Maki would come in as support. Not to mention that Jiren and Minato were stronger and better equipped to handle 4-1 odds.

Iwa was not going to stand idly by and let Konoha dictate the matchups. “Wind Release: Pressure Damage,” Shu attacked before the Konoha ninja could converge on their position. A tornado-like mass erupted in the center, pushing the combatants and most of Minato’s kunai away. Kakashi frowned as his sensei’s kunai blew away from the rampant and fell below, scattering across the pillars.

The Iwa ninja stood taller after that, but Konoha’s ninja weren’t worried. They took Iwa’s momentary pause to appreciate countering Minato to force them into their preferred matchups after all. Kakashi focused his attention on his sensei’s battle as the fighting began; his target was only Gou.

“Earth Wall Jutsu!” two of Gou’s teammate create three walls that barricaded Minato by himself in an attempt to limit his movements. The only opening was the drop behind Minato that he had scaled to reach the top of the rampart. Once the walls were erected, Gou and his fourth teammate rushed in with a flurry of taijutsu, keeping Minato preoccupied. If Gou was attacking by himself, Minato would have found a chance to release another barrage of Flying Raijin in the confined space. As it was, having two taijutsu specialists working in tandem with the support of earth ninjutsu users who would launch ninjutsu when provided with an opening made it hard to throw kunai around.

However, Minato’s strength wasn’t solely built on the Flying Raijin. He had mastered the art of hit-and-run tactics. Even as the Iwa squad tried to overwhelm Minato, they failed to land an attack on his sensei, who blocked and dodged with a grace not many ninja were able to achieve.

“Earth Dragon Bullets!” one of the enemies shouted, launching an attack. The head of a dragon emerged from the ground, and from its mouth a torrent of mud rushed towards Minato. Unbeknownst to the ninja, Minato had seen him form the hand seals from his peripheral and had positioned Gou and the other taijutsu user between him and the incoming jutsu.

Gou easily dodged the attack, but his teammate stumbled briefly as the ground below him shifted at the unexpected friendly fire. Minato took advantage of the brief distraction to spin and deliver a devastating kick that sent the man crashing into one of the earth walls.

This allowed Minato a moment to throw a kunai at the wall behind him. The earth ninjutsu users called out to one another. “Earth and Stone Bamboo Shoot!” Four condensed pillars of stone and rock, thinner and deadlier than the area version of the jutsu, converged at the kunai to skewer Minato once he teleported.

Instead, Minato used it as a feint, dodging Gou’s flying roundhouse kick and closing in with a burst of speed on the taijutsu user who was regaining his footing. Before the man could properly form a defense, Minato slashed with deadly accuracy. The man fell with a thud, no longer moving.

The earth ninjutsu users cursed while Gou grimaced, frustration evident in his eyes. Minato took the opportunity to taunt his opponent, “How long can you delay me by yourself, Iron Guardian?” Minato asked.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic behavior. His sensei had displayed a calm demeanor so far, however his sensei rarely taunted in battle. Determined statements sure, but not taunts. Minato clearly wanted to rattle the enemy and end the battle as soon as possible. Kakashi worried that his sensei felt rushed by the urgency of his role. No matter how strong Minato was, Kakashi knew that his sensei was still young and the fate of the battle resting on his shoulders could be stressing him out. I must take the first chance I get. The sooner I help sensei, the less worried sensei will be, Kakashi thought.

“I’m not alone,” Gou replied confidently and rushed to attack, not wanting to give Minato room to attack his other comrades. Kakashi knew that Gou was probably also feeling the pressure to try and stop the Yellow Flash, and the confidence he displayed was at attempt to boost his own morale.

As the fight became harder for the Stone ninja, Kakashi used the opportunity to sneak closer, hiding behind the corner of a wall where a pillar had conveniently provided cover. Kakashi only needed to duck under the pillar to join the fray, it was the perfect position to launch the surprise attack. To inform his sensei of his location, Kakashi waited until his sensei and Gou had jumped away from one another. His sensei used the reprieve to throw an exploding kunai towards one of the ninjutsu users.

It was in that moment that Kakashi took the marked kunai his sensei had given him prior to the battle, and threw it into the pillar, away from the eyes of Gou and his teammates. The throw would signal to Minato the activation of the marker, alerting his sensei of his location. With Gou a few meters away, Kakashi made sure that the activation did not distract his sensei. His sensei made no visible sign to having noticed the marker, but Kakashi trusted that his sensei got the message.

Gou was already running towards his sensei again, even as the ninjutsu users countered the exploding kunai. Instead of engaging with Gou, Minato teleported on top of the bamboo shoot jutsu where his kunai still lay and threw a wind-infused kunai at one of the ninjutsu users. The man had just recovered from the exploding kunai and did not see the attack coming. The kunai forcibly stabbed him in the side and threw him of the wall.

While the other ninjutsu user shouted in dismay, Gou did not let the loss of another teammate delay his attack and he was on top of Minato once more. As they traded taijutsu blows, Gou appeared to have increased the forcefulness of his attacks. Conversely, the ninjutsu user appeared to have lost confidence in the value of his support. Minato had turned all their jutsu against them, and now two of his teammates lay dead.

As the taijutsu battle continued, Minato secretly guided Gou until the man’s back was to Kakashi. Minato blocked a punch from Gou using his left hand and created the spiraling jutsu with his right.

“Rasengan!” his sensei attacked. Gou was unconcerned and simply hardened his body, bring his hands in a cross in front of his chest to prevent the Rasengan from doing any damage. As the Rasengan failed to injure the man, Gou smirked.

“Your jutsu is useless against me,” the man mocked his sensei as the only outcome of the jutsu was to push the man back a few steps.

The ninjutsu user regained a spine at the display and grabbed a kunai wanting to support Gou, but Kakashi was quicker. Without a moment of hesitation, Kakashi ducked under the pillar, hand charged with lightning, and rushed in close from Gou’s blindside. The ninjutsu user shouted a warning and tried to change course by throwing the kunai at Kakashi instead. His panic and imbalance made him miscalculate the trajectory vis a vie Kakashi’s speed. The enemy kunai landed aimlessly behind Kakashi. Kakashi thrust his hand forward. Gou shifted his body to the side. A grunt of pain. The smell of burnt flesh filled Kakashi’s nostrils as blood splattered.

Chapter Text

The ninjutsu user regained a spine at the display and grabbed a kunai wanting to support Gou, but Kakashi was quicker. Without a moment of hesitation, Kakashi ducked under the pillar, hand charged with lightning, and rushed in close from Gou’s blindside. The ninjutsu user shouted a warning and tried to change course by throwing the kunai at Kakashi instead. His panic and imbalance made him miscalculate the trajectory vis a vie Kakashi’s speed. The enemy kunai landed aimlessly behind Kakashi. Kakashi thrust his hand forward. Gou shifted his body to the side. A grunt of pain. The smell of burnt flesh filled Kakashi’s nostrils as blood splattered.

A swing of a blade rushed towards Kakashi. He pulled his hand out of his enemy’s body as his sensei’s kunai met the blade, blocking it from hurting his student. Gou jumped back, but Minato charged after him not allowing him a moment’s respite.

I missed, Kakashi cursed. A brief examination of his opponent showed that Gou’s left shoulder was bleeding profusely, his arm hanging limply. The man wasn’t quick enough to evade a crippling attack but had managed to avoid a fatal wound. I really need to improve my speed, Kakashi berated himself.

Kakashi didn’t have much time to dwell on that fact as the ninjutsu user had joined the fray, slashing at Kakashi with a kunai, rage in his eyes. Kakashi swerved away from the attack, pulled out his father’s tanto, settled into an offensive stance and shifted his focus to the enemy in front of him. Gou was barely hanging on; his sensei did not need his help.

The Stone ninja wasn’t perturbed and rushed forward instead of using ninjutsu. He wants to save his chakra to help Gou, that will be his downfall, Kakashi vowed. Not wanting to delay, Kakashi blocked the next few attacks, and took a step back. The man didn’t hesitate in following, and Kakashi kicked some dirt upwards. The enemy raised his left arm to protect his eyes and dodged to the side as Kakashi’s kunai slashed forward, creating a cut right above the man’s right elbow. Kakashi quickly followed that up with an attack to the man’s neck, but his opponent managed to step back in time to avoid the killing blow.

The rage in the man’s turned to worry as he readied himself once more, now aware that underestimating the child in front of him would lead to his death. The man threw his kunai at Kakashi and then jumped backwards, launching into a series of hand seals. Kakashi followed pursuit, tilting his head to the side to avoid the kunai. Still, the man was able to finish his jutsu, “Earth Shard,” he called out and an earth saber materialized in his hand. The tapered blade was slightly longer than Sakumo’s White Fang. The edges of the blade were adorned with lighter green accents, giving off an aura of ancient design. Kakashi internally whistled in appreciation; it wasn’t often he came across a new ninjutsu after the thousand-plus he’d seen. He managed to read the seals and filed the jutsu away to learn later.

Kakashi didn’t let his interest in the new jutsu distract him though, and he was in striking range once more. As the man raised his guard, Kakashi flipped over him. Now behind his enemy, Kakashi dug the tanto into the ground, balanced on top of the hilt and aimed a kick at the Stone ninja. The man was turning while keep his guard up, expecting a slash but was met with a kick to his lower abdomen instead. Despite Kakashi using his full strength, he was still in the body of the child, and the man only stumbled back a few paces. Kakashi expected as much. Hand still gripping his tanto, he quickly plucked it out of the ground as he landed and threw it at his opponent’s face. The man scrambled to bring up his blade to block the tanto once more. The metal clanged against the earth saber as Kakashi rushed in. He grabbed his tanto from the hilt before it could finish its fall and slashed forward. The blade created a dangerous white arc of chakra as it met its mark, nearly skewering the man in half. Kakashi barely registered the man’s life leave his eyes, already thinking about how to support his sensei.

Fortunately, his last fight was near the bamboo shoots where his sensei’s Flying Raijin kunai still lay. Kakashi quickly jumped upwards onto the bamboo shoots, grabbed the kunai and twisted his body to face the fight between his sensei and Gou. Utilizing his years of experience, Kakashi was able to take in the scene in split seconds and sent the kunai flying behind Gou.

“Corrosive Quicklime!” a spray of white from atop the earth walls blocked the kunai and caused it to dissolve. Chisaka Masaru entered their melee. Minato’s eyes hardened as the implications of Sarutobi Koharu and Inuzuka Maki’s fate set in.

Unfortunately for Gou and Masaru, however, Minato had already marked Gou’s body during their exchange and was waiting for the opportune moment to strike. With the enemy thinking they managed to prevent the Yellow Flash from teleporting, Minato did just that. In an instant, Minato was above Gou, a blue ball of chakra swirling in his hand. “Rasengan!” he called out as he landed his famed jutsu on Gou’s back from above. The force of the jutsu sent Gou crashing into the ground.

Masaru yelled in aggravation and jumped down to assist, but Minato was faster and threw another Flying Raijin kunai above the man. In a flash, Minato was beside Masaru and grabbed the man’s ankle as the momentum carried him forward. The man’s ankle in his grip, Minato spun in midair to gain force and then threw the man into the defensive walls. Kakashi knew Minato charging at Masaru meant that his sensei trusted him to finish Gou.

Not wasting this chance, Kakashi gathered chakra at the soles of his feet and leapt at Gou’s prone form, gripping a kunai buzzing with electric chakra. Gou, slowed down by the blood loss and the force of Minato’s Rasengan, could only lift himself a few centimeters off the ground before Kakashi’s kunai sunk into his back and straight through his heart, hardening jutsu useless to defend against the lightning natured attack. The Stone Guardian twitched for a few seconds, then went still. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief as he yanked his hand back. Mission complete, sensei. 

Kakashi turned to assist his sensei with Masaru but found no need. Masaru was slumped against the wall, blood seeping down his neck as he too lay motionless. In a flash, Minato was next to Kakashi and grabbed his arm. Kakashi’s surroundings warped away in an instant and he was in front of the medical teams at the backlines. Kakashi didn’t even have time to address his sensei, only hearing a quick “Great assist,” before his sensei disappeared.

Shaking his head in amusement, Kakashi quickly scanned the Transport Team lines guarding the medics in search of his squad. As he’d been told, they were holding the line third to the right. The backlines were still devoid of fighting and the squads were focused on bringing in the injured from the frontlines. Kakashi saw Banri carrying an injured comrade back and Taiki standing guard to prevent an enemy from chasing them. Moreover, someone had created a long pillar of stone for Katsu to shoot arrows from to dissuade anyone from chasing after the injured.

Now reassured that his squad were in no immediate danger, Kakashi took this opportunity to observe the current state of battle before joining them. Konoha still had the advantage, but the Stone ninja were starting to target the Special Tactic units with great numbers, recognizing them as the main threat. The path his sensei’s team carved out was being widened as more units forged forward. There was a splatter of earth structures all around as the Stone ninja erected barriers, swamps, ramparts, pitfalls and pillars across the battlefield to hinder the Konoha corps.

Without warning, Minato flashed back, carrying Sarutobi Koharu. The smell of burnt flesh wafted into Kakashi’s nose as he took her injuries in. Her left leg was mangled and badly burnt, whereby the flesh below her knee completely missing. Blood spilled onto the ground as Minato laid the unconscious kunoichi down. Kakashi immediately went to her side and started to tie a tourniquet around the wound to stem the bleeding as his sensei called out to any medic for assistance.

“Maki san?” Kakashi asked as he got to work, knowing his sensei had to go back and support Uchiha Jiren.

“Dead,” Minato replied solemnly before looking up. “I’m leaving her to you, medic san,” Minato addressed the two medical ninja that were running over and then flashed away. The senior medic nodded at Kakashi in approval of the tourniquet before waving him away, already peppering his junior with instructions on how to heal the wounded ninja.

With a grimace, Kakashi left the scene, knowing there was nothing he could do. He dashed away from the medical teams and towards his squad. As he made his way over, he winced as he saw a Konoha ninja jump in to defend another. The ninja was alive but was injured badly. Fortunately, his teammate pushed the enemy back and someone was already running over to carry him back to the medical teams. Now close to the pillar Katsu was atop of, Kakashi leaped into an arc and landed next to his squad captain who was launching another arrow into the fray.

“You’ve made it!” Katsu remarked with a sigh of relief “Glad to see you’re still alive. Did your mission go well?”

“Yes, thank you,” Kakashi replied “What about here?”

“So far so good,” Katsu said as he took another arrow and latched it into his bow. “Iwa is trying to keep up with our assault, so they’re not too concerned with the backlines at this point. Lots of injured though. If you and I protect them, we can have both Taiki and Banri bring in the injured instead of just Banri. Save double the lives.”

“On it, captain,” Kakashi nodded and dove into the action. Currently, Banri was running back while Taiki was defending a fallen comrade until Banri could return to carry him back as well. Kakashi ran towards Taiki, his tanto already out. “Taiki san, you can take him to the medics, I’ll hold the line.”

“Kakashi kun! No injuries?” Taiki went straight to the point.

“Nope, I got you covered, go,” Kakashi reiterated. Taiki bent down, hoisted the ninja and hooked his arm around his shoulder to support him. Once secured, he rushed back, leaving Kakashi alone at the front. Kakashi’s eyes darted rapidly from one point to the next, looking for any signs of trouble. He glimpsed two comrades taking the full brunt of a Mud Bomb and falling backwards. Three enemies were descending upon them, and he ran.

“Lightning Senbon,” he shot his favorite spam jutsu in their path. One ninja vaulted over senbon, another stopped in his tracks while the last didn’t notice them and was shocked in place for a brief moment. The enemy who vaulted over continued barreling forward. Kakashi began charging his feet with chakra. Before he could launch in his path, an arrow whistled past him and caught the enemy in the left shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain and take a few steps back. Nice aim, Katsu, Kakashi praised his captain.

The attack provided Kakashi enough time to stand in front of the two Konoha ninja ready to defend. Yet, there was no need as both had already recovered from the Mud Bomb attack, a little bruised but otherwise uninjured. “Thanks kid,” a finger salute in gratitude before they rushed their attackers once more.

Knowing his role was over, Kakashi reluctantly left them to their fight and scanned the battlefield once more, looking for anyone else who’d need assistance. It was only a few seconds before Kakashi spotted another group of Konoha ninja in trouble in front of him. Their enemy had used the Bottomless Swamp Jutsu to trap them in place and were moving in with a follow up attack.

“Flame Bullet Jutsu,” Banri’s voice projected from his left as a concentrated ball of fire rushed towards an array of kunai thrown by the Iwa ninja, stopping the weapons in their tracks.

“Wild Water Wave Jutsu,” Kakashi released a wave of flowing water against the current of the swamp, washing it away and freeing the trapped Konoha ninja. The swamp turned into muddy water and flowed back towards the Iwa ninja in a powerful wave.

“Earth Wall Jutsu,” he heard as a wall protected the Iwa ninja from the attack.

In retaliation, Kakashi charged both his hands with lightning before unleashing a torrent of electricity, “Lightning Stream.” Despite the wall protecting them from the onslaught of water, Kakashi knew that the water had already pooled around them. Due to the nutrients and impurities in the muddy water, his jutsu traveled quickly towards them, lightning dancing across the surface. The freed ninja, along with Banri, rushed the sides to take advantage of Kakashi’s attack. Before the Iwa ninja realized an attack was coming, yelps of pain could be heard as electricity coursed through their bodies. Now in position, the others attacked the electrocuted Stone ninja and quickly eliminated them down from a distance. Their comrades nodded towards them and continued forward, leaving Banri and Kakashi to look for the next trouble spot.

“Lightning jutsu is so useful,” Banri smirked in appreciation as he observed the left side while Kakashi turned to the right.

“It’s the best element for sure,” Kakashi couldn’t help but make a dig.

While he couldn’t see his expression, Banri’s splutter of indignation made him smile, “Konoha is the strongest and we mostly use fire, so there.” Kakashi chuckled at the childish retort.

“We’re in the middle of a skirmish, focus,” Taiki had joined them, voice stern.

“There!” Banri pointed at a group of Konoha ninja that were a few meters inside the frontlines to the left. Kakashi shifted his vision towards where Banri was pointing and saw two Konoha ninja standing in front of another two, protecting those that were injured badly.

“That’s a bit too deep,” Taiki stated as the trio ran forward beyond the backlines, “so be careful of incoming attacks from the sides.”

Just as Taiki finished his warning, Kakashi spotted four enemy ninja rush to engage them. “You just haaaad to jinx us,” Banri sighed.

“I’ll go protect those up front, can you two delay the others?” Kakashi asked.

“We got it, go and we’ll catch up to take them back,” Taiki ignored Banri’s comment as they both went to meet the reinforcements head on. Taiki was usually the one giving Banri commands, but he realized that he had been following Kakashi’s instructions ever since he had joined them. The kid was faster in suggesting a sensible course of action so naturally he just agreed. It was an unexpected observation, but surprisingly not an unwelcome one. Taiki preferred situations where Katsu could lead, but he’d always rise to the occasion if need be. Yet he never saw himself as a leader. He knew, though, that the silver haired ninja running ahead was not going to grow up in the sidelines.

While his teammates engaged the reinforcement, Kakashi saw one of the two Konoha ninja standing guard take multiple kunai to his arms and chest. The three Stone ninja jumped back after a quick sign, and one released an exploding kunai at the four Konoha ninja. Kakashi ran through the familiar sides as he jumped in between his comrades and the kunai, “Earth Mud Wall Jutsu.”  The wall came up just in time to catch the kunai and protect them from the explosion. Kakashi stood firm as the explosion caused chunks of the wall to fall apart around him, the heat dancing across his arms.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu,” Kakashi used his student’s favorite technique, creating only one as opposed to his student’s usual army. He kept the Shadow Clone hiding behind the wall as he leapt over the damaged but still standing structure, tanto out. Two enemy were already attacking from the left side of the wall, but Kakashi left them to his clone as he engaged the other two standing back.

He saw the ninja smirk in glee once they realized he was their opponent. “Looks like Konoha’s forces are worse off than we thought if they’re sending pipsqueaks to fight,” one laughed as he took out a sword while the other readied a saber.

Kakashi and the saber user both slashed forward, metal clanging as they met. Kakashi used his other hand to grab the man’s arm and push him down. The other ninja was already striking him with a sword, but Kakashi rolled over the first enemy’s back to avoid it. The saber user, while still unbalanced, slashed at Kakashi’s feet as he landed. Kakashi dodged with an aerial cartwheel kick, evading the attack and kicking the man in the jaw at the same time. The man’s head snapped back with a satisfying oomph.

The sword user didn’t allow Kakashi to capitalize on his attack, throwing his sword at him. Kakashi blocked the sword with an upwards flick, causing it to fly upwards. Still, the sword user was already in front of him and kicked him in his torso, sending him flying into the wall. Kakashi could barely take a breath as he caught the glint of a sword slashing towards him from above. Kakashi rolled to the side, narrowly missing the attack. The sword user twisted and used the momentum from his failed attack to swiftly slash at Kakashi from the side. Kakashi raised his tanto and used his left arm to support it from the tip to block the sword. Instead of fighting against his enemy’s momentum, he used the block to lift the sword and glide under it, letting his tanto scrape his enemy’s sword away from him. Once in the clear, Kakashi dropped his tanto away from the enemy’s sword and stabbed forward, right into the enemy’s abdomen from the side. Kakashi continued pushing until the tanto was buried in his enemy up to the hilt and peaking from the other side.

He heard a cry of dismay from the saber user who was still disoriented from Kakashi’s jaw attack and was struggling to stand. Not wanting to give him the chance to recover, Kakashi buried his hand in his weapons pouch, picked up a kunai, twirled it in his hand and snapped it into his grip. He then launched the kunai at the saber user as he pulled his tanto out from his now dead opponent with a squelch. The saber user shakily blocked the kunai and prepared to defend as Kakashi rushed forward.

A hand came out of the ground, grabbing the man’s ankle and pulling him down into the ground up to his neck. His clone had made an appearance. With a burst of speed, Kakashi was crouched in front of the Stone ninja, slashing at his neck. A spurt of red covered the ground as the man’s head lolled back.

The clone burst out of the ground and gave him a thumbs up before dissipating and sending his memories to Kakashi. Noting that the other enemy were dead and that the last standing Konoha ninja was protecting his teammates, Kakashi went to check on Banri and Taiki. As he passed the wall, his eyes immediately found his squad mates fighting the same four Iwa ninja. None had fallen yet, and the clash was at a stalemate. Not for long, Kakashi thought. 

Not wanting to waste the element of surprise, Kakashi quietly maneuvered behind the enemy ninja, sandwiching them between him and his team. “Stormy Blockade” Kakashi muttered as he summoned water from the sky that came crashing down on the enemy. Being a C-ranked jutsu, it wasn’t enough to do a lot of damage. However, the goal was to disorient.

His squad quickly utilized the attack to their advantage. Taiki rushed them, sword blazing as he disabled two enemies, aiming for crippling blows to their feet since they were protecting their vitals.

At the same time, Banri engaged the other two using Fox Fire. Ten small balls of fire were shot in rapid succession to push the enemy back. Banri aimed the jutsu low, forcing them to jump up to avoid the attack. It was then that Katsu made his presence known once more as two arrows forcefully struck them: one in the chest and the other in thigh. The man with an arrow in his thigh landed shakily due to his injury. Banri, who was aiming for this combo, was already behind the ninja and struck the finishing blow.

“The others?” Taiki asked Kakashi who was jogging over.

“Alive but injured,” Kakashi answered him.

They quickly made their way back to the four Konoha ninja. The last-standing comrade was still standing guard over his injured comrades but fortunately none had attacked after Kakashi’s departure.

“There are three of you, can you carry one back as well? Kakashi kun is too small.” Taiki asked the man quickly. While taller than the average eleven-year-old, Kakashi agreed that carrying a fully grown adult will hinder his movement and it was best to leave the transportation to them.

“Yes of course, thanks,” the man sighed in relief as they each supported one of the injured.

“You guys are life-saviors,” one of the injured ninja smiled shakily, “Remind me to treat you if we all make it back alive.” He clearly didn’t expect to live to see another day and was still in a daze.

“We enjoy barbeque,” Banri winked playfully.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, watch our back,” Taiki instructed Kakashi as they started running back to the medical line. Fortunately, the enemy was engaged with other Konoha ninja and Kakashi didn’t need to do anything.

Kakashi noted that as their forces advanced, the backline had also advanced and was now moving closer. While the medic team stayed back, the Transport Teams would always move in tandem with the front lines. This was a good sign, they were winning. Once they were close to the area protected by the backlines, Kakashi saw two young Konoha ninja in danger.

“Taiki san, I’ll leave them to you” Kakashi called out as he broke formation and ran over; confident that Katsu and the other Transport squads can protect them the rest of the way.

Kakashi grimaced as one of the young ninja fell from an earth pillar to the stomach before he could arrive. Even from this distance, he could see the fear in the face of the remaining Konoha ninja as he faced two Stone ninja. The ninja, who could be no older than fourteen, was outmatched and was barely keeping up with the onslaught of attacks.

One of the enemy caused him to lose balance and the other swopped in, poised to strike with a sword. “Lightning. Beast Tracking Fang,” he called out his fastest jutsu. Make it in time, he pleaded.

The enemy didn’t even acknowledge the jutsu as his let his teammate blocked it with a Wind Release, Great Breakthrough. The wind jutsu, which is strong against lightning, canceled it out, and Kakashi could do nothing as his comrade was slashed in the stomach.

A squad of Konoha ninja descended on the scene and pushed them back so that Kakashi didn’t have to engage the enemy. Instead, Kakashi ran towards the fallen ninja. Please don’t be dead, he prayed.

He crouched down next to the ninja and found him barely conscious and breathing heavily. Kakashi grabbed a roll of bandages and quickly tied them around the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding.

“I don’t…. want… to die,” the teen’s voice was labored and filled with fear.

“I got you,” Kakashi tried to reassure him as he lifted him up, looping the teen’s hand around his neck and grasping it to keep him upright. With the other hand, Kakashi pressed down on the wound, hoping that he could slow the blood flow down and started to run back. Kakashi could feel the teen losing consciousness.

“Stay with me,” Kakashi stated forcefully. He made sure that while stern, his voice was calm to reassure the teen. The teen blinked and tried to lift his head up to stay awake.

“What’s your name?” Kakashi asked to keep him engaged.

“Touma,” he breathed out, blood trickling down from his mouth.

“We’re almost to the medics, Touma kun,” Kakashi reassured him. Touma didn’t reply, barely acknowledging Kakashi’s words. Instead, Kakashi could feel the teen going limp in his hands. “Touma kun, we’re almost there, just hang on” Kakashi repeated as he saw the young teen’s eyes start to close. Despite only being a few meters away, the race across the battlefield to the medics felt like a marathon, each second trickling away the young ninja’s life. Kakashi urged his feet to go faster, but he was already pumping them with chakra and was running at max speed.

An arrow flew over Kakashi’s head, so he turned around to see an enemy stop to deflect Katsu’s attack. Unlike previous attacks, Katsu had attached an explosive tag on the arrow. The enemy’s eyes widened when he heard the spark but was too late to do anything as the explosion took his life, allowing Kakashi to continue unhindered.

As Kakashi approached the medical lines, a medic was already running to meet Kakashi. Kakashi lay the teen down in front of the medic, whose hands were already shining in the bright green common to medical ninjutsu. Kakashi glanced at the teens face as the medic worked. The teen’s half-lidded eyes started back at him, glassy and unseeing. Even before the medic stopped the glow and removed his hands Kakashi knew, the teen did not survive. He had already died in Kakashi’s arms as they raced over. Kakashi had lost many comrades over the years, but it never got easier. Even though he didn’t know the teen, the sting of losing a comrade, one that was still young at that, created a bitter taste in Kakashi’s throat.

“Do you know his name?” the medic asked sadly as his hand reached towards the ninja’s face and closed his eyes.

“Touma, don’t know his last name,” Kakashi replied softly, his eyes twinged with grief. Without waiting for a reply from the medic, he rushed back to the battlefield. He would mourn the teen later; his job wasn’t over.

Kakashi was shaking his hand in an attempt to removed Touma’s blood from his hand, when he heard the shout, “Enemy ninja coming from below!”. Kakashi turned to the source and saw a Hyuga staring into the ground, Byakugan active, throwing kunai all around the area to mark the location of the Stone ninja.

Although the ideal counter would be Opening Earth Rising Excavation to launch the enemy from deep underground and into the surface, the marked locations show that the enemy is spread out too far. Using the A-Rank jutsu to cover that large of a surface area would deplete my chakra, Kakashi analyzed.

So far, Kakashi had made sure to restrict himself to mainly C-Ranked jutsus to avoid a large strain on his chakra. The only higher level jutsu he had used was the B-Ranked Lightning Stream and the A-Ranked Chidori against Gou. Despite that, he could already feel that his chakra levels were low and knew his next move would force him to remove the chakra stabilizing seal or retreat from the battle.

The thought process only lasted milliseconds. Kakashi jumped into the air and rushed through the Rabbit, Boar and Ram seals as he called out to his fellow ninja, “Jump now!” he ordered. Kakashi was worried that they wouldn’t reply due to his age, but fortunately, due to the chaos and adrenaline of battle, his comrades in the line of attack automatically responded to his command and jumped.

“Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning!” he called out the B-Ranked jutsu. Knowing that in the time it had taken him to act, the enemy would have moved around 20 meters in circumference of the kunai the Hyuga had thrown. As such, Kakashi charged the jutsu with enough force to hit at a range of 25 meters just in case and used the kunai as a guide for directing the jutsu. The air crackled as thirteen high intensity lightning bolts cut through the air and towards the kunai, breaking the ground around them as the bolts hit with devastating force.

By the time the Konoha ninja landed, the ground was riddled with pits, each marking the strike of a lightning bolt. The battlefield was strewn with debris and injured, or dead Stone ninja lay amidst the shattered earth. Kakashi counted two to three ninja hit at each pit, so he estimated that thirty ninja were thwarted in that attack. He saw his fellow Konoha ninja finish off those that had survived, which was fortunate, as Kakashi needed a moment to catch his breath afterwards, balancing on one knee to do so.

He considered removing the seal but saw the Hyuga approaching him. The ninja would notice a sudden rush of spiritual energy which would lead to some awkward questions. “You alright?” the man asked with worry.

Kakashi simply nodded while his chest rose and fell heavily; his chakra levels were severely low.

It was then that Banri was by his side, frowning, “Stay near the medics to catch your breath. If they tell you to rest, stay there. We can handle it. Do you need help getting there?”

“No no….. I’m good…,” Kakashi waved him away in between breaths.

Banri rolled his eyes and grabbed him from the chest and back, lifting him and jumping towards the medics. He was clearly not satisfied with Kakashi’s reply. It was only a few seconds until Banri deposited him near a medic. Of course, the teen couldn’t help but have the final word as he leapt back into the action, “You need to learn how to pace yourself, genius-kun.”

Kakashi scoffed but took the opportunity to rest for a moment. If I’m being honest, mini-me has a large chakra pool for his age and I was able to use quite a lot of ninjutsu. Still, I really need to raise my chakra levels. At least I don’t have any injuries, he thought.

“Are you injured?” a medic asked him once she noticed him there.

“Just low chakra,” Kakashi shook his head in the negative.

In reply, the medic threw him a soldier pill, “Don’t take it unless you really need to get back out there. Once the effects wear off, you’ll become a sitting duck for enemies.”

“I know, thanks,” Kakashi replied. Now that she had confirmation that he knew the dangers and wouldn’t act recklessly, she nodded and moved to the next patient.

The soldier pill was risky but would replenish his chakra pools evenly. On the other hand, removing the spiritual energy drain seal would give him the needed energy, but the pools would become imbalanced and leave him nauseous, whereby engaging in taijutsu or kenjutsu battles would be suicidal. Moreover, removing the seal would only allow him to perform ninjutsu with high spiritual energy, thus the jutsu would have precision but lack a strong punch.

So then, what do I do now? Kakashi wondered.

Chapter Text

Kakashi debated his next move and ultimately decided that the best course of action was to remain on standby. He could not predict how the battle would unfold, and his assistance may be required at a pivotal moment down the line. Rushing back now would force him to withdraw completely and become useless for the remainder of the battle. Even though he knew it was the best tactical decision, it was difficult to sit back and watch as Konoha ninja fell in the skirmishes ahead. He clenched his hands and bit his lower lip in frustration as one of the Special Tactics squads up lost one of their teammates and were pushed back to a defensive position.  

Fortunately, all in all, Konoha was forging forward. The Iwa ninja were falling faster. Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Noburu’s tactics were overwhelming the Stone’s higher numbers. In fact, Kakashi saw that Konoha was near to the Grass Gate, and soon they could start the battle to destroy the outpost. Unlike after his fight with Gou, where the Konoha forces where pyramiding towards the Gate, Konoha had now managed to capture a front line and were advancing as a singular unit.

Kakashi was able to spot Minato even from a distance, the distinctive yellow hair a beacon to his location. The man was leading the frontal attack with Uchiha Jiren by his side. Kakashi smiled knowing that the man was alright. Minato and Jiren were joined by other Special Tactics squads, whereby the remaining squad members merged into new impromptu units.

It was interesting that his sensei wasn’t taking down the most ninja, rather, was using his presence as a “Flee on Sight Ninja” as a decoy to capture the Iwa ninja’s attention with flashy jutsu and moves. In doing so, the enemy were becoming distracted by his sensei, allowing Minato’s teammates to attack them from blind spots and at unexpected moments. Who would expect that the strongest ninja on the battlefield would be used as a decoy?  I bet this is another strategy devised by Shikaku san, Kakashi smirked.

The Konoha ninja steadily moved in on the Grass Gate and the fighting near the backlines came to an end. The enemy ninja were either defeated or falling back to support against the main forces. Katsu, Banri and Taiki should remain safe; the only thing they had to contend with now was transferring the injured.

The main force was now close enough to the Gate that enemy ninja in the towers began actively supporting the retreat of the Stone ninja. Arrows and sharp earth spears flew towards the Konoha ninja leading the frontlines. It was in that moment that Chouza Akimichi and two others of his clan expanded in size, looming over the Gate a few meters ahead of them. With their staves, they began knocking away the incoming arrows and earth spears. Hyuga ninja were also using the famed Kaiten to defend against any projections missed by the Akimichi. Living up to its claim as one of the most impressive defensive jutsu, the Kaiten, or Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, was able to ensure that Iwa’s tower defense barely delayed the advancing force.

Iwa did not panic and quickly switched to explosive jutsu and kunai. In response, Konoha was forced to halt their advance as multiple Water Formation Walls rose in front of them, catching the explosions. Booms reverberated as water, steam, smoke and fire covered the area. Kakashi intuitively stood up, anxiously waiting to determine the result of the exchange. It was only a few seconds before the effects of the explosion cleared away enough for Kakashi to see that the Konoha ninja were mostly unscathed, albeit drenched in water.

After fire, affinity for water was the most common in Konoha. The prevalence of water affinity ninja was fortunate as together, they could combine their chakra to create water ninjutsu even with a lack of water source nearby. Appreciation of Konoha’s water users could not be made without a nod to the Nidaime Hokage. As a master of all nature elements, Senju Tobirama left behind numerous elemental ninjutsu, but none more so than water release as it was his main nature affinity.

Although the Konoha ninja were proficient in water ninjutsu, they were not skilled enough to call forth water walls that were high enough to protect the three now-giant Akimichi. This is where the Aburame had made their presence known again. There were seas of insects falling from the sky which had acted as barriers to take the brunt of the explosions. As such, while the Akimichi were visibly signed by the onslaught of explosions, they were still able to press on. It’s been a while since I saw large groups of Konoha ninja fighting together. Sometimes I forget to appreciate how versatile and unique our techniques are, Kakashi mused. 

With that thought, a deep resonant sound broke through the din and chaos of battle, the low-pitched echoing carrying all the way over to the medical backlines. A Horogai, Kakashi noted in surprise.

Despite ninja mostly communicating covertly, large scale battles sometimes required instruments to help convey orders to all units. To prevent an enemy using the same instrument to confuse the forces, it was followed with a wide-scale elemental ninjutsu to prove validity. The sound captures the attention, the jutsu confirms the origin. In all his years of service as a ninja, Kakashi only wintessed the instruemnts being used a handful of times. As the trumpet sound reverbaerated, Kakashi saw a large slab of earth rise; a large number of Iwa ninja were clearly using the S-ranked Great Moving Earth Core Jutsu. The Iwa ninja began a retreat.

Around him, Kakashi could see that others were similarly confused by the sound. The conch shell trumpet, the Horogai, was the favored instrument of the Hidden Mist. Iwa usually used Kakko drums, the sharp and enduring beat matching the sturdiness of Stone. Konoha, for example, relied upon the Shakuhachi, which was often used in meditation and relfected a deep connection with natural elements. Despite it’s soothing sound, the sound also had penetrative qualities. The choice of instrument signfiyied the Leaf’s tie to nature, as well as Konoha’s startegic and reflective qualities. Iwa probably doesn’t  want the sound of their drums associted with retreat, Kakashi guessed.

The ninja in the tower sent forth more explosions and earth spears then disappeared from their posts. As the Konoha ninja had to deal with the next wave of defense, the enemy on the ground used the Earth Mud Wave in tandem and the Konoha ninja were driven to jump back to avoid the attack. The high-chakra combination was not deadly but was successul in delaying them. The around thirty seconds lost to coutner the annoying combination allowed the Iwa ninja to make a headstart in running away.

As the Stone ninja fled, Sarutobi Shigeru called off on following them. The outpost leaders had decided that chasing down a retreat runs the risk of taking too long and allowing a jinchuriki enough time to come to their aid. The objective of this mission wasn’t to kill as many Iwa ninja as possible, rather, destroy one of Iwa’s key outposts.

Regardless, Kakashi saw a handful of squads rush after the enemy from the sides of the outpost. Leaving the enemy to their own devices would allow the Stone ninja to regroup and counter, or worse yet, buy some time to unite with reinforcements. Hence, some squads were assigned to push them further away, keep an eye out for any reinforcements and send an early warning if need be. In foresight of these possibilities, the squads chasing down the runaways consisted of a high number of Hyuga, Aburame, Inuzuka and Uchiha ninja, ensuring that a surprise counter was off the table.

As that was happening, Kakashi spotted Minato at the front of the five slabs of the Grass Gate. He knew his sensei would now spend his time dismantling the protective seals and destroying the outpost. It would take some time as they had to proceed with caution to avoid any traps once they made it inside.

Satisfied with the trajectory of battle, Kakashi slightly lifted his shirt and tore off the spiritual energy drain seal. He felt the rush of spiritual chakra fill his body and was filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, his body was no longer fatigued, and he welcomed the new energy. On the other, the imbalance towards spiritual energy made his head spin. Maybe I should’ve taken a soldier pill instead, Kakashi groaned.

Knowing that expelling most of his spiritual energy to rebalance would make removing the seal pointless, Kakashi expelled just enough to prevent him from falling over in dizziness. He then spotted a rock that served well as a focal point and trained his eyes on it. From previous experiences, Kakashi knew that stabilizing his vision by focusing on a signal point would help reduce the sensory inputs and allow his brain to regulate his balance. The anchoring, along with deep breathing, pushed the nausea away until the world was no longer spinning. Kakashi tested this by looking around and was grateful that he wasn’t overwhelmed with nausea. Now ready, he went to rejoin his squad. With Iwa retreating, he would focus on providing emergency first aid.

As he approached his team, he found them transfixed on their tasks to the point that they didn’t acknowledge his presence. Banri and Katsu were both aiding a ninja with what appeared to be a back injury while Taiki was trying to stop another’s bleeding. A kunoichi was grasping her chest in pain as she anxiously observed the first aid treatment. Kakashi walked up to the kunoichi and examined her symptoms, concluding that the woman had a broken ribcage.

“This is going to hurt a bit, shinobi-san,” Kakashi informed his first patient as he took out a roll of bandages, planning to tighten them around the woman’s broken ribcage to prevent further damage.

“Sure,” the woman nodded distractedly while her eyes remained fixed upon the ninja Taiki was trying to save.

“Can you remove your vest, I’ll help you,” Kakashi instructed her. With careful movements, Kakashi stood behind her, grabbed the Konoha vest from the shoulders and slowly pulled it down. The movement caused the woman’s chest to move slightly, and she flinched but made no noise of complaint. Kakashi threw the vest to the side and grabbed the bandages. He secured the end of the bandage to the uninjured side and began rolling clockwise.

“Sorry,” Kakashi muttered as the woman gasped in pain, but she still wouldn’t respond to him. Methodically, Kakashi began to wrap the bandages around and around.

“No!” The kunoichi suddenly wailed and jerked forward. The bandages loosened as the woman fell forward, the pain in her chest preventing her from getting to her teammate.

Kakashi held onto her shoulder and pulled her back gently, he would now have to reapply the bandages. That’s when the woman’s anguished shout turned into flowing tears, “Daisuke-kun…. Daisuke no…”

Kakashi looked up towards Taiki, whose head was bowed. The teen had failed to save the ninja. As Kakashi began to reapply the bandages, he watched as Taiki took out a scroll.

“Don’t!” the kunoichi called out.

Taiki gave her a mournful look but moved to seal the body away until they could give him a proper burial.

Daisuke was considered lucky, in the sense that he could rest in Konoha. It wasn’t often that ninja in war were able to be returned to their villages. Often, ninja bodies were either burned or left behind. We could never bring Obito’s body back, Kakashi thought sorrowfully.

Instead of voicing his opinion, Kakashi tried to calm the woman down. “I’m sorry about your teammate, but Taiki-san is storing his body so we can help him rest back home,” Kakashi spoke softly.

“Shut up, this is all your fault!” the kunoichi didn’t appreciate his words. “If it wasn’t for your father abandoning the mission like a coward, none of this would be happening. I’ll bandage my own chest, go away.”

Kakashi startled to a pause. He knew the woman was distraught but couldn’t help but feel a stab of annoyance at her words. Glares from afar where one thing, but outright insulting his father boiled his blood. He debated helping her versus leaving.  

The woman moved her arms to reach out for the bandages, “That’s dangerous and unnecessarily painful,” he replied in annoyance and moved to grab the bandages back.

“I told you to go,” she growled, glaring at him with hate-filled eyes.

Kakashi was about to retort but Taiki spoke up before he could, “I got this,” the teen said as he kneeled in front of the woman and stuck his hand out in an unspoken command to hand over the bandages. The woman sniffed as she agreed, dropping the bandages in Taiki’s hand.

Now that the woman was being treated, Kakashi stood up angrily. You’re crying over your teammate because you care for him like my dad did his teammates, you hypocrite. Kakashi fumed internally as he stepped away.

He turned to Banri and Katsu and saw them lifting the unconscious comrade onto a stretcher; his back injury making it risky to carry him to the medics in the traditional manner. Both teens would be needed to carry him and ensure a stable transport.

“I’m going ahead,” Kakashi informed them stoically, making sure not to convey any of his rage. Taiki gave him a sympathetic look and nodded in understanding.

“Ah, leave it to us,” Katsu replied without looking up from his task. The other two did not hear the exchange and continued as normal.

A quick scan made him spot a Konoha ninja resting his back on a pillar and breathing heavily. He quickly made his way over, glad to avoid the kunoichi. “What are your injuries?” he asked with concern once the man spotted him coming.

“I’m fine… just some… chakra exhaustion,” the man breathed out, sweat dripping down his forehead. “Go help… someone who needs… needs it more.” Kakashi couldn’t help but wince in sympathy. Low chakra was one thing, chakra exhaustion was another.

Kakashi ripped some cloth from the man’s shredded pants and tied it to a kunai. He then threw the kunai into the pillar above, letting the makeshift upside-down flag act as a marker of the man’s location. “Someone will come pick you up once the emergent cases are dealt with,” Kakashi explained.

“Ah, thanks,” the man smiled shakily.

This was how Kakashi found himself monotonously scurrying around the battlefield and aiding any he could. In most cases, he couldn’t provide much assistance beyond first aid. The majority of the forces were larger than him, and he couldn’t use the Transformation Jutsu to change heights and carry them back. The jutsu was simply an illusion after all. As such, he mainly helped bandage wounds, splint broken appendages and mark locations with kunai for transport, be it injured or dead Konoha ninja. He wasn’t provided with sealing scrolls for the dead, thus, Kakashi would simply bow in respect for their fallen ninja and tag their location for the others.

He slowly worked his way up the battlefield and towards the Grass Gate. He noted that with the battle over, other Konoha ninja had joined the rescue efforts. With the influx of more ninja to transport the injured, the work went a lot faster than usual. In fact, in most instances where Kakashi spotted someone in need of assistance, someone was already there or on their way.

“This one is already dead too,” Kakashi heard a Konoha to his left say.

“Most would have already committed suicide to avoid capture as per usual, rookie,” his teammate said. “Look for unconscious enemy and seal the rest.”

Some teams have switched to capture and disposal units. Mercifully, because his squad were teenagers, Inuzuka Genji hadn’t assigned them to the disposal teams.

Killing enemy that could no longer fight was a necessary reality of ninja life, but one that left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had been responsible for such work numerous times in ANBU. He recalled the moment he and Itachi had followed Gai knowing a mission would end with betrayal. The look of horror on Gai’s face as he and Itachi methodically disposed of the downed ninja and felt his heart constrict. It was not at the thought of his actions, rather, about what message he had probably sent Itachi during those days as his junior in ANBU. Kakashi had taught Itachi that protecting Konoha form the shadows was unpleasant but crucial work to protect future generations. Was it partly my fault that Itachi ended up committing the massacre… Did Itachi just see it as another unpleasant but necessary mission to prevent a civil war? Kakashi wondered.

“Over here!” the shout of a ninja cut off Kakashi’s thoughts. He saw one man bent over another, hand grasping onto his stomach to prevent further bleeding from the earth spear currently lodged in his stomach as the shadow of the Grass Gate loomed over them. The man wasn’t shouting at Kakashi, rather at a group of ninja placing exploding tags around the base of the defensive wall.

Before they could reply, Kakashi joined the man and analyzed the situation, “He’s going to bleed out at this rate.” The man’s teammate was unconscious but was already deathly pale, his breathing shallow.

The unit at the gate saw Kakashi and decided to leave it to him so they could continue their mission. Without another glance, they returned to their task, running along the wall and placing tag after tag. The sooner they could bring down the fort, the sooner they could evacuate the area before reinforcements showed up. Their message was clear, the life of one man was not worth delaying their task.

“Call someone, hurry!” the man bit back in frustration at the situation. He had believed that help from the unit would come and instead, the only one helping him was a child.

“Even if I do, they won’t make it in time,” Kakashi didn’t take the bark personally. Kakashi quickly took out the remaining bandages he had and cursed when he found only a measly roll left. He quickly removed his t-shirt and bundled it up, merging the cloth with the bandages, “Let’s try to package the wound,” he informed him. Kakashi was still wearing an undershirt attached to the mask and hoped that the bundle of cloth in hands would be enough to control the bleeding.

With a mutual nod, the man lifted his hands and Kakashi packaged the wound with the cloth. He pressed down as hard as he could, grateful that the man was unconscious as he would have undoubtedly be in a lot of pain otherwise.

“Damn it,” the man cursed as he and Kakashi saw the blood begin to seep through Kakashi’s shirt.  “Keep pressing,” he ordered as removed his hands. The man hastily removed his own shirt, bunched it up clumsily and added more volume to their makeshift padding.

Even before the man’s frustrated exclamation Kakashi could tell, the wound wouldn’t stop bleeding. “What do we do now?” he asked.

“We could signal the medics; they should be able to come to the battlefield now that Iwa retreated. Otherwise, we can try cauterizing the wound,” Kakashi mumbled his trailing thoughts as he tried to think of solutions.

“Ca… cauterize,” the man’s eyes widened in panic, “I’m not going to cauterize the wound! I’ll kill him! I don’t have that kind of control. I’ll signal the medics.”

Without waiting for Kakashi to reply, the man stood up and ran through the hand seals of a basic fire jutsu then released it into the air above them. A breath of fire shot up into the sky. The area around Kakashi lit up in a hue of orange before the fire slowly faded away. The man ran through the seals again, “I’ll keep going for as long as it takes,” he said. Another pillar of fire shot into the sky.

Kakashi was about to tell the man that they didn’t have for ‘as long as it takes’ before they heard a voice call out to them, “What do we have?”

The man was wearing the signature uniform of a medic; Konoha’s medics had gotten the green light to leave the backlines and provide aid to critical cases on the battlefield as Kakashi expected. Kakashi sighed in relief, Thank Konoha I don’t have to cauterize the wound.

He had been forced to do so a few times in ANBU, and not all those he had tried to save survived. His attempts to save them only resulted in increased pain during their last moments. Their final groans of agony haunted Kakashi’s dreams on occasion. Cauterization was always a last resort because makeshift stitches and tightly wound bandages were safer. The burns, if not treated swiftly and properly, could easily get infected and lead to death.

“Massive puncture wound to the lower abdomen,” Kakashi replied.

The medic’s hands began to glow green as they hovered over the stomach, “You can move your hands now,” he ordered Kakashi.

“How can we help?” the man asked as Kakashi dropped his hands to the side.

“Standby for transfer once I stabilize him,” the medic said.

Kakashi stood silently next to the man, and both looked down as the medic worked his magic. In less than a minute, the bleeding began to slow down. Reassured that the situation was now under control, Kakashi spoke up, “I need to go help the next person, shinobi-san,” he informed the man.

“Thanks for your help,” the man gave Kakashi a shaky smile, “I’ve got it from here.”

Leaving it to the two, Kakashi shifted his body so that he could see across the battlefield.

Indeed, the area between the Grass Gate and medical bay was filled with Konoha ninja rushing back and forth with the injured. Kakashi could also spot some medics treating the critically injured. The clearing was covered. Decision made; he moved closer to the main entrance to see if he could find any more injured.

“Transport Teams, start taking the injured back to the main outpost. Frontlines, protect the medics still treating the injured!” Inuzuka Genji’s voice barked orders.

Kakashi turned to the direction of his captain’s voice. He found him standing in the middle of the battlefield, giving orders and assigning roles to the uninjured. At the backlines, Kakashi noticed that some teams had already started transporting the injured back to the main outpost. It would be a day’s travel.

Instead of falling back with the Transport Teams, Kakashi ignored the orders and continued towards the Grass Gate entrance to linger back and observe. It’s not like he could carry anybody back anyway.

When he arrived a few meters away from the Gate’s main entrance, he smiled at the sight of the main entrance already collapsed. The remnants of the five earth slabs that guarded the outpost littered the ground, sealing kanji crisscrossing across their surface. Minato sensei has already countered the seals, Kakashi was impressed. Then again, Iwa wasn’t well-known for their sealing arts. In fact, if Kakashi were to rank the main villages in terms of sealing knowledge, he would place Iwa at the bottom of the list. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that one of Konoha’s best fuinjutsu users would be able to rapidly bypass the Stone’s defenses, especially one trained in the Uzumaki sealing arts.

Even with that, Konoha was approaching with caution. Only sensory ninja and those with ocular techniques were entering the outpost and keeping an eye out for traps. Kakashi was sure they were trying to find any useful information before demolishing the outpost. He doubted Iwa left anything of value behind. If anything, he bet that the Stone bought as much time as possible to destroy any valuable information before retreating. However, that won’t stop Konoha from trying to find anything Iwa missed.

Kakashi inched closer to the entrance to where Sarutobi Shigeru was discussing next steps with some of the captains and squad leaders.

“We’ve finished setting the explosives are set around the entire perimeter,” one was informing them.

“Good, the teams inside have scouted most of the outpost, we should be ready to detonate soon,” Shigeru said.

“The outpost is smaller than I expected,” another said, her blonde ash hair marking her as a Yamanaka.

“From what I’ve observed, the accommodations are very efficient,” someone explained, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Another way of saying they were packed in like sardines,” another chimed in with a laugh.

“With their large numbers, they sure have found a way to make most of a space,” the Yamanaka seemed vaguely impressed.

“You can discuss construction marvels later,” Shigeru cut them off sharply.

“Of course, Captain,” they intoned together. Despite the high level of death around them, they seemed to be in high spirits for securing a big win for Konoha. Kakashi figured this day will go down in the history books for future generations to study.

“Shigeru-san, we have a problem,” a Hyuga landed in front of them.

Aaaaaaand he spoke to soon.

“One of the jinchuriki is on the way,” the man continued. Despite the urgency, he was calm as he delivered his report. “Our sensors estimate thirty minutes before his arrival. We can’t tell which of the jinchuriki though. The squads switched from chasing the enemy away to setting up traps to slow them down. They’ll turn back in five minutes to avoid getting caught.”

“Traps won’t slow the jinchuriki but will hinder the rest,” one commented, levity in his voice replaced with the steel of urgency.

“Isn’t this bad?” a ninja close to Kakashi asked his teammate in alarm. His teammate nodded back in fear.

“Good work, Chimon-san,” Shigeru took the news in stride. “Aika san, communicate with the leaders inside, tell them they have ten minutes to wrap up.”

“On it,” she said and closed her eyes in concentration.

“In the meantime, you three go let Genji-san know and begin coordinating the retreat of all our ninja,” he continued, pointing at the three in question.

“Yes sir,” they nodded and left immediately.

“Arashi-san, take a few squads and set some traps around here as well. Chimon-san, go with him and help guide the returning squads through them as quickly as possible once done.”

“Minato-san says he needs fifteen to twenty minutes to break into a sealed room he found, what should I tell him?” Aika Yamanaka cut in as the others left.

“Can’t he do it faster?” Shigeru asked in annoyance.

She closed her eyes again and conveyed the message, “He says they’re A-ranked seals, nobody else here has enough knowledge to help draw the counterseals.”

“I hate fuinjutsu,” Shigeru rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

Despite being the most proficient village in sealing, most jonin developed B-ranked knowledge in the sealing arts but rarely took it a step further. Otherwise, you had Chunin who were chosen to study sealing extensively. These ninja would become part of the administrative force, whereby their role shifted from combat to providing Konoha with a steady supply of the needed seals. Ninja like Jiraya, Kushina and Minato, who were well-versed in both combat and sealing were rare, even in Konoha.

“He says he’ll stay behind, grab anything useful he can find, activate the explosions and simply teleport to us when done,” Aika continued the message.

“I love fuinjutsu,” Shigeru smirked.

That was a quick change of heart, Kakashi sweat-dropped as the rest laughed.

“Leave it to the Yellow-Flash!” one exclaimed happily.

“I guess we were wrong,” the ninja next to him said, his previous alarm replaced with glee.

Reassured that his sensei would be safe, Kakashi turned back to join his squad. His sensei wasn’t the impulsive type and wouldn’t risk his death for a room that had probably already been cleared. Knowing Katsu’s personality, the teen won’t leave until they were all together. The sooner they left, the safer the teens would be. He quickly maneuvered across the battlefield and easily located the three teens sitting next to some lightly injured comrades.

Katsu was looking around, head swiveling left and right in search of something… most likely him. Used to making people wait for hours, Kakashi couldn’t muster any guilt at making them wait.

As Katsu scanned the direction from which Kakashi was coming, his eyes lit up as he spotted him.  “Kakashi!” Katsu waved him over, “There you are!”

“Sorry sorry,” Kakashi rubbed the back of his head in a fake show of repentance as he sheepishly jogged over. “I ended up helping right by the Grass Gate.”

“Now that you’re all here, let’s go,” a man Kakashi didn’t know stated in a commanding tone. He clearly wasn’t in the mood for any further delays. The man had a makeshift splint on his ankle which was painted with ugly shades of purple and blue. His ankle didn’t look broken, however. Whoever treated the injury healed the bones but not the bruising in order to save their chakra for other patients. It was standard field medicine: heal the bone to ensure no permanent damage was done but let the ninja deal with the pain.

“Of course, Enso-san,” Taiki said. He stood up with the man, making sure to keep supporting his weight. Banri and Katsu did the same and everyone shuffled to their feet. Now that they were all standing, Kakashi noted that each pair was around the same height for the fastest and most secure transport. Kakashi felt useless as he saw them adjusting their grip until everyone was comfortable.

“Can you grab that?” Katsu jerked his heads towards a large backpack to his side.

Kakashi bent downwards, grabbed one of the straps and slung the bag over his shoulder. He felt the contents shuffle around as secured the other strap. Scrolls, Kakashi concluded.

“Be careful with those,” the injured ninja being supported by Banri wheezed out. The labored speech indicating a chest injury, while the blood-tinged bandages around the thigh a clear sign of a deep stab wound.

“Those are some of the bodies we’ve collected,” Banri verified. Unlike his usual demeanor, Banri’s voice was devoid of any emotion; suppressing the sorrow till they were off duty.

“I’ll keep them safe,” Kakashi stated.

With nothing more to be said, Katsu signaled them to leave and the seven ninja took to the trees. It was time to get back to the outpost.

Chapter Text

The outpost hospital was busier than Kakashi had ever seen it. A triage station was set up where medics would evaluate the injured being brought and assigned them a color based on urgency and complexity. Yellow bands were assigned to life-impending injuries if not treated properly and were delivered to senior medics, blue bands were given to ninja with painful injuries to provide them with relief while green bands were given to those who could wait till the chaos wound down.

Critical cases were immediately rushed in, skipping the triage station all together. The inside of the hospital could not accommodate all the injured. Therefore, massive tents were raised in the open square in front of the tower, with flags fluttering above for all to see: yellow, blue and green. His squad mates were currently waiting in line at the triage station with the injured they had escorted back.

As for Kakashi, another booth was set up for ninja to drop the body preservation scrolls. And that’s where he went. The two chunin manning the booth were asking for some details, wanting to know more of the battle that took place. The news of their victory had already made it back to the outpost and the main outcomes were already shared by the squads that had arrived before them. Still, the ninja that stayed behind for other duties were starved for details. A person on the Transport Team was sating their curiosity and sharing some of the action he witnessed. They were invested in the tale thus didn’t spot Kakashi waiting. Kakashi ducked under the person’s arm and deposited the bag on the counter, startling the three.

“By the Hokage’s hat!” one exclaimed by the sudden sound.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Kakashi eye-smiled, turned heel and left before they could gather their thoughts.

“That really spooked me,” he heard another sigh.

“Kids…” an annoyed drawl followed.

With his assignment officially complete, Kakashi’s body ached for rest, but he made a beeline to a spot under a tree towards the south side of the outpost. He chose that tree as it could shelter him from view but was close enough to the center that he could peek out and observe the activity. The tree was right in between two buildings: the gear supply and the provision supply warehouses. This made it so that only one those who walked at the other end of the buildings and peeked into the makeshift alleyway could spot him. However, the south side was also flush with activity and everybody that passed by was in a rush as they simply walked by briskly, perfect.

There was a dull ache in his right shoulder that was particularly annoying him. He had tried to relive the area during their short rest on the way back, but the ache remained. He pulled his right arm over his shoulder, grabbed his elbow with his left hand and pushed. The pain of the stretch was mingled with relief as the muscles slowly released tension.

He then tossed his saber on the floor next to him and rested his back on the bark. For the first time since they left for the skirmish, Kakashi felt it was safe to let down his guard. That said, he still had a job to do. Kakashi unpacked a scroll and ink, rested the scroll on the ground and began to draw. He made sure to use standard stationary that could be found anywhere in the elemental nations. The cacophony of noises around him faded into a constant din in the background as he made stroke after stroke on the paper.

Kakashi was by no means an artist. His creativity was reserved for battle tactics and the occasional experimental dish. He couldn’t create, but he could copy images easily. He fondly remembered Rin’s jealousy of this skill.

The incident happened early on in their team formation. Whilst waiting for Obito, she was studying medical ninjutsu and punctuated the silence with a loud sigh. The level of annoyance portrayed in the sigh was high enough that Minato had asked her what was wrong. She admitted to struggling in her attempt to draw an illustration of a heart in her notes. Minato had tried to give Rin drawing advice using his seal inking techniques and she listened with undivided attention. Getting bored of the art drivel, Kakashi had grabbed the notebook and drew the heart exactly as it was depicted in her book in an attempt to get them to stop. He fondly remembered the twitch of her eyebrows as her eyes settled on the perfect illustration.

“Maybe you should get tips from Kakashi instead,” Minato was clearly amused.

“It’s just copying lines,” was Kakashi’s matter-of-fact reply, which only agitated Rin further.

From then on, she had practiced illustration drawing frequently and even signed up for a short medical drawing course at the hospital at one point. He remembered her triumphant smirk as she showed Minato and Kakashi her illustration skills after that. Minato’s praise made her beam with pride. Kakashi, in pure bratty fashioned, had asked why she wasted so much time on a non-essential skill. Rin’s face fell but she explained that her goal was to eventually create her own techniques, whereby illustration was key to properly transfer and share her knowledge.

The Copy Ninja in more ways than one, Kakashi recalled fondly as he continued with his task.

Of course, Rin’s irritation was nothing compared to that of the chunin working at the mission desk. When reporting S-ranked and A-ranked missions, his reports were well-written, detailed and included illustrations when needed. Anything below that and Kakashi wouldn’t really bother; handing in reports with messy handwriting and filled with the bare-bone information. Since the desk ninja knew he could deliver professional reports, they always hounded him to repeat the low-ranked ones, but he’d just teleport away without acknowledging them. It was rare he was assigned low-ranked missions anyway; so, they could deal with it. The only exception was after he was assigned Team 7. He shuddered as he recalled the amount of D-ranked mission reports he had to fill out.

Once his illustration was complete, he used a simple wind jutsu to dry the ink. He tested the finish with a light tap on the ink lines and was pleased to see that nothing smudged. Satisfied, he rolled and bent the scroll to crumple it up a bit. After which, he rolled it completely and sealed the ends.

Done, he sat at the other end of the tree to observe the chaos and waited, eyes trained onto the incoming ninja. The main bulk of those approaching headed to the medical triage station while the other half made their way to their tents and were looking forward to a well-deserved rest. The captains and high-ranking players had yet to make an appearance.

However, high-ranking ninja that stayed back were all loitering in front of the Tower, two of whom were Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi. Kakashi also made out some of others who were at the strategy meeting, the jovial Tatsuki and the Hyuga who greeted them when they first arrive and oversaw the patrolling teams. Their demeanor was relaxed, so Kakashi felt confident that nothing unexpected has happened.

After waiting for over half-an-hour, Kakashi’s eyes began to droop. He jealously watched those entering the public baths around the camp. He was sure his aching muscles would love a dip in the hot water. Not to mention that he stunk. Of course, everyone who was still busy had the stench of battle hanging over them, so it won’t make him stand out.

Kakashi shook his head and focused again. He spotted the Yamanaka that communicated with his sensei outside the Grass Gate and let out a relieved sigh. Aika, he recalled her name. If the woman was here, that meant everyone of importance should be arriving soon. He kept his eyes trained on the woman and watched her greet Shikaku and the rest with a tired smile. Inoichi bowed to her, despite being the heir to the clan. Guess she’s someone important, but I don’t remember her at all, Kakashi thought. It made him realize how clueless he was to Konoha’s internal politics as a child.

He had trained in the art of lip-reading during his ANBU days and could make out her words. “All clear, the jinchuriki didn’t follow. Keep double patrols for a while, just in case,” she was instructing them. That was fortunate, his sensei didn’t need to fight the jinchuriki after already having fought in the skirmish. His sensei did say he would rejoin them before he was forced into battle, but it was reassuring to hear that all the same.

Unfortunately, in facing her, Shikaku’s face was no longer visible to Kakashi, so he had no way of knowing what the man’s reply was. Furthermore, there was too much chaos and noise around them to hear, even with his advanced senses.

“Shigeru-san is behind me; he’s talking to the lead patrol teams,” he read Aika respond.

Another pause as Shikaku continued the conversation.

“Not sure,” she messaged her forehead and a light grimace. “We haven’t perused the materials we found yet. Nothing appears to be too special thou --” Kakashi cursed as someone walked in front of him. He quickly jumped to a branch to have a better view and managed to catch the rest.

“…when Minato-san found a sealed room, but it was bobby-trapped to explode. If it were anyone other than Minato-san,” she left her sentence dangling for the rest to imagine the worst scenarios. “Anyway, luckily, he teleported away, and the bobby-trap triggered our own explosions and lit up the sky. It was a remarkable show!” Although he couldn’t hear her tone of voice, her facial expression showed that her last remark was seeped in sarcasm. Kakashi winced at the thought of his sensei dying in such a way.

He waited to learn more, however, Aika only nodded to something Shikaku had said and pulled out two scrolls. A few more moments of silence from her end before she bid them farewell and entered the tower, scrolls still in hand.

Well, that answers that, they’re gathering the materials inside. I can’t go in without a reason, it’ll be suspicious. I must wait for Minato sensei and follow him. If anyone asks, I can say I wanted to check in with my sensei, Kakashi planned.

Other high-ranking ninja started to arrive in small groups after Yamanaka Aika’s arrival, whereby most would provide Shikaku with a quick update before entering the tower. Kakashi caught snippets of their updates, all of which mimicked what Aika had shared.

After a few more minutes passed he saw his sensei approach. His blonde hair was matted with dust and soot, yet he didn’t appear to be injured. He was talking to Uchiha Noburo to his left, his face serious. Noburo had his arm in a sling but was otherwise in good health. They were still too far away to make sense of their conversation.

Instead of waiting as usual, Shikaku walked up to the two men. Kakashi didn’t dare approach closer as it would be suspicious if he was spotted near Minato but only bothered to check in with him after the man entered the tower. It would also be suspicious if he arrived right as his sensei did.

Therefore, he settled on waiting as they stopped to converse with Shikaku. Fortunately, the conversation was brief. Minato and Noburo continued towards the tower, with Shikaku and Tatsuki in tow. Inoichi remained outside waiting for the rest to join. Kakashi waited another twelve minutes before he walked over.

Inoichi was currently in a conversation with some other ninja so he easily slipped inside unnoticed. The tower wasn’t off-limits so there was nothing wrong with him being there. That said, he didn’t want to risk Inoichi calling his sensei outside instead.

He stuck to the shadows and remained silent as he followed his sensei’s fresh scent. The tower hallways were nearly empty and despite his light step, he could hear a light echo. Kakashi sensed some captains behind the doors of their chambers and imagined them sluggishly trudging about their rooms. This suited him.

Two ninja saw him coming from the stairs but barely spared him a glance. They clearly knew him as Minato’s student and let him be. There was grief on their faces and his presence was the last thing on their mind.

With no one blocking his path, he easily made his way up the remaining level, down the hall and looked out to the main briefing room where the strategy meeting was held.

He paused at the top of the stairs, waiting. There were three people talking to Inoichi, would one of them come up soon? The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs after Kakashi came a few beats later, one person. That was more than enough.

Kakashi took a breath and walked over to the door slowly, making sure that the person coming up started approaching the room as well, as opposed to climbing another level. Satisfied, Kakashi knocked and opened the door.

There were seven people already inside all of whom looked up as he entered. His sensei was one of them, “Kakashi?”  he asked confused.

“Sensei!” Kakashi pretended to look worried as he jogged over to his sensei. His sensei was right next to the table where multiple scrolls and papers were laid out. Relieved that he confirmed the location of the confiscated materials, Kakashi looked up to address his sensei, “I heard you were caught up in a huge explosion.”

“Oh that,” Minato laughed nervously, one hand on his hip and the other rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t worry, I teleported away just in time.”

“It was too close for comfort,” Noburo said with a grimace.

“Really, my heart sk—” Yamanaka Aika was interrupted as the ninja Kakashi had waited for entered the room. As the ninja turned to face the new arrival, Kakashi took the opportunity to quickly take out his scroll and placed it with the others. It was actually easier than he expected, as everyone’s guard was down now that they were back at the outpost. They’ve been on high alert since they started planning the attack, and now most of the ninja in the room appeared tired and ready to relax.

“Glad to see you’re all well,” the man hummed. “Genji-san asked me to drop these off. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to shower and sleep for three days. Take care.” He tossed the scroll in the direction of Shikaku who easily grabbed it, turned heel and left as quickly as he came.

A few snorted at the display while others blinked in shock. “Can’t really blame him, I’m exhausted!” Aika laughed.

“You get some rest, I’ll start sorting through this mess with Tatsuki and Inoichi,” Shikaku spoke up. They weren’t part of the battle and remained on standby, thus were still fresh and had the energy to analyze the items found at the Iwa camp immediately.

“It’s our turn now,” Tatsuki gave them a thumbs up.

“We’ll take you up on that,” Noburo said. The others took that as their cue to leave, so Kakashi trotted after his sensei and left the room. Everyone immediately left to go to their rooms as nobody was in the mood for small talk.

Minato only walked a few paces away before he turned to Kakashi, “Are you hurt?” he asked with worry.

“No,” Kakashi reassured him. “Just a few bumps and scrapes, also some mild chakra fatigue. I should be fine with a day or two of rest.”

“Your leg didn’t act up or anything?” his sensei pressed.

“I’m fine sensei, you’re the one who was in an explosion,” Kakashi muttered and crossed his arms in faux annoyance.

“I was close to being in an explosion,” his sensei corrected cheerfully. Kakashi gave him a deadpan look for his efforts, but that only served to make Minato’s smile widen.

“Now that I know you’re ok, I’m going to go rest,” Kakashi sniffed. He really should let his sensei get some rest of his own. Kakashi knew that Minato will be busy over the next two days as well, unlike most of the forces.

“Rin will probably be busy with healing and Obito with patrols but maybe we can all have dinner at my quarters tomorrow. Things should have calmed down by then,” Minato suggested.

“Ok, till tomorrow then,” Kakashi replied and started to walk away.

“Oh, and Kakashi,” Minato called out and waited for Kakashi to turn back and face him, “You were a big help. That was some jutsu, I was really impressed!”

This is weird, Kakashi thought as he saw the genuine pride in his sensei’s eyes. In the original timeline our teamwork was abysmal, so I only got reprimanded by sensei when he saw Chidori. Then Obito died. Then Rin ran in front of it. Well… It’s funny. We talked about the jutsu’s technical aspects in detail, but this is the first time Minato sensei compliments Chidori openly. Why? I’m thirty. So why does it feel so good to receive praise about it from sensei?  I made myself notorious with this jutsu. People across the five nations spoke about it with reverence and fear. I’ve heard praises song to it so many times. Yet, this is different.

He had refrained from smiling in front of his team to stay in character. However, a smile was threatening to break out, so he replied softly before his emotions got the better of him, “Thanks, sensei. It should have been a killing blow though. I really need to get faster.”

“You already know that’s something to work on. We’ll work on that as soon as possible,” Minato reassured him.

“I know,” Kakashi sighed, pursed his lips and stuck his hands in his pockets, “next time I won’t fail.”

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Minato said. He knew that his student rarely accepted praise. In fact, whenever he complimented him, Kakashi would simply state that it wasn’t good enough and he still needed to get stronger or shrug the compliment away. “No matter how you look at it, Gou went down quickly because of you.”

“I guess,” Kakashi appeased shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow, yeah?” Minato didn’t know what else to say. He added another item to the list of things to teach his student: how to take a compliment.

Kakashi nodded and left, although he doubted his sensei would have time for dinner tomorrow.

Because now, in that pile, lay a simple map with devastating consequences.

The scroll won’t be from the first they’d check; it looked too simple and small to be of any importance. But when they do open it, it will set off another wave of motion.

All it would take was one look.

Just one look at the small rectangle marked with the words ‘Kannabi Bridge’.

Chapter Text

The first thing Kakashi noticed after he woke up was the soreness in his shoulder. He yawned away the last vestiges of sleep as he propped himself upwards, sighing as he pressed down on his shoulder looking for the knot.

After he had bid farewell to his sensei yesterday, Kakashi went straight to one of the bathhouses around camp for a soak then came back to sleep. When he arrived, his squad mates were already sleeping. Despite getting an earlier start to their rest, Taiki and Banri were still sleeping soundly. He closed his eyes and detected Katsu’s chakra right outside the tent.

Not wanting to disturb the sleeping teens, Kakashi rubbed away the sore spot in his shoulder till the tension eased and then quietly left the tent, grabbing his hygienics kit on his way out. Once he stepped outside, he was pleased to note that it was a cloudy day, the shade and small breeze a welcome change to the summer heat.

“Good morning, Kakashi-kun,” Katsu greeted him in a low voice so as not to disturb the sleeping ninja all around him. The teen was eating some rice balls with a smile on his face, but Kakashi could tell it was fake.

“Good morning, Katsu-san,” Kakashi nodded in reply regardless. “Did you rest well?” he asked, wanting to give the teen a chance to talk if he wanted to.

“Ah, I was so exhausted I just collapsed,” Katsu sighed tiredly.

“When I came back you were all completely out of it,” Kakashi agreed.

“We’re not as young as we once were, it’s your youngsters turn now” Katsu joked.

“I’ll be sure to pass on your words of wisdom when you retire soon,” Kakashi joked along with him. Katsu let out a small laugh, and his eyes seemed to clear up a bit.

“Want to join me for breakfast?” Katsu asked, waving the rice ball in his hand. “Those two will be asleep for a few more hours.”

“Sure, let me just freshen up,” Kakashi agreed, lifting his hygienics kit up in proof. He left him and got ready for the day. It didn’t take him more than ten minutes, and he rejoined Katsu at the tent.

“Here you go,” Katsu passed the pack of rice balls to Kakashi once he returned.

“How were the ninja we brought back, any serious long-term injuries?” Kakashi asked as he took one and settled down on the floor next to Katsu.

“Fortunately, not, besides they were mostly already patched up. One of them has a few broken ribs though, he will have to heal back in Konoha once he’s good enough to travel,” Katsu informed him.

“His cough did seem pretty bad,” Kakashi recalled the ninja’s labored breathing with a scowl.

“I have to admit though, I was surprised by how good you were,” Katsu stated. “I knew you were a genius, but I thought some of that title was exaggerated by your age. When you attacked those ninja tunneling from below… that was some great control!”

“Thanks,” Kakashi took the compliment in stride. “I was also impressed, Taiki and Banri had great teamwork, and I never realized how useful a bow in skilled hands could be,” Kakashi reciprocated.

For the longest time, Kakashi never gave much thought to the bow, categorizing it as a tool used by weapon masters in certain scenarios. After seeing Katsu’s fighting style, it gave him some ideas for create archery-inspired lightning jutsu. Of all the elements, the fastest was lightning. If he could shoot arrows enhanced with lightning, that would give him a deadly long-distance attack, something that is missing in his arsenal.

“Ah no,” Katsu shook his head, “it’s easy when your teammates cover the front so well.”

With nothing more to add, the two enjoyed the remainder of their breakfast in companiable silence. Once done, they proceeded to clean the container, and Katsu flipped it upside down to dry.

“I should probably clean the clothes I wore at the skirmish,” Kakashi stated. “Do you have a bucket or something?”

“Good idea,” Katsu nodded. “Yes, Taiki has one. I’ll get it for you.”

They both went back into the tent and got the necessary items as quietly as possible. As Katsu approached Taiki’s area to grab the bucket, Taiki shifted in his sleep. Both Kakashi and Katsu froze in place, hoping that by making no other sounds, the teen wouldn’t wake up. True enough, Taiki just rolled to the other side but remained asleep. Katsu gave him a silent thumbs up.

“That was close,” Katsu grinned once they were outside again. He laid the bucket down and ran through some seals for a low-ranked water jutsu to fill it. Kakashi grabbed some soap, squeezed some in and mixed it with the wooden stick Katsu handed him.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Katsu shuffled on his feet as Kakashi stirred. Kakashi detected the hesitancy in his voice, and only raised a questioning eyebrow in response.

“It’s just that, well… Taiki told me what that kunoichi said… about your father that is,” Katsu visibly winced as to how badly he had approached the topic.

“It’s fine,” Kakashi replied sharply. He did not want to talk about his father, especially not with a teen he barely knew. Moreover, there was not much to discuss anyway, he had gotten over it and respects his father. Of course, he still gets angry when people disrespect his father but that’s because they’re insulting his father. Otherwise, the topic as for as he was concerned is closed.

“I know you don’t know me that well,” Katsu continued awkwardly, “but you should talk to someone. It’s not good to keep things bottled in. And for me, I probably would have made the same decision as your father. Others feel the same. So don’t let the rest get you down.”

“Why do you care?” Kakashi asked curiously. Like the teen said, they barely knew each other.

“Well, I am your squad leader,” Katsu said as he placed his and Kakashi’s dirty clothes in the bucket.

“Yes, just for a week or two,” Kakashi countered as he grabbed his shirt and started rubbing away the dirt and dried blood.

“Nonetheless,” Katsu shook his head as started doing the same with his own shirt, “we’re on the same team and that means it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re ok. And even if it wasn’t my responsibility, you’re alright kid. It’s not fair what that kunoichi said, whether I agree with your father’s decision or not, that was his decision and not yours. It’s really not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, Kakashi replied gently, “but you shouldn’t worry. I’m ok.”

“Ok good,” Katsu let out a sigh of relief, happy to let the matter rest. Kakashi smiled fondly at the teen. It wasn’t common to see young ninja captains consider moral support as part of their responsibilities.

“You’re different than other captains your age, it’s a nice change,” Kakashi remarked off-handedly as he moved on to cleaning his pants.

“Oh, why?” Katsu was pleasantly surprised by the statement.

“I was assigned to several other young captains and most of them were arrogant and more worried about how things would reflect on them,” Kakashi explained. “However, you focus on providing emotional support too. I noticed you doing the same with Banri and Taiki.”

It was a trend in rising captains. In the beginning, they wanted to prove themselves so only focused on tangible results. Their ambition gave them tunnel-vision as to the team’s needs and ironically showed less leadership skills than before they were assigned the role. Kakashi was the same when he first became a jonin. Then again, my teamwork and leadership before that was abysmal too, Kakashi lamented.

“Ah no,” Katsu was embarrassed, laughing nervously, His laugh slowly stuttered out as he looked at the ground; his eyes downcast, “This is my way of contributing, you know? It’s the least I can do.”

Kakashi recognized the lack of confidence Katsu was displaying. It reminded him of Sakura before Tsunade-sama began teaching her. In the beginning she was confident but as Naruto began to excel, she began to feel inferior to the boys. Slowly, she took on a more supportive role and left the fighting to Naruto and Sasuke. It was only after Tsunade-sama’s guidance that she was able to blossom, so to speak.

Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes, Kakashi didn’t ignore the signs this time. As much as he would love to be blunt, he knew that approaching this head on may not be the best approach. Although he simply wanted to tell the teen that he underestimated his importance to the team, he was still a child in their eyes. Those words would come off as condensing.

“Want to have a taijutsu spar later?” Kakashi asked. From Banri’s request to protect Katsu due to his weak taijutsu, and Katsu’s focus as to how Banri and Taiki were strong frontline fighters, Kakashi was able to read that the teen’s taijutsu was a key driver for his low self-esteem.

Katsu dropped the garment in his hands with a splutter, “What, why?”

“During the skirmish I realized I really need to improve my speed and fight against new styles. I already know how Taiki and Banri fight, but I didn’t get to see your taijutsu during the skirmish. I want to try and fight someone who’s style is completely unknown to me,” Kakashi used a smatter of the truth to disguise his true intent.

“My taijutsu isn’t really the strongest,” Katsu admitted, verifying Kakashi’s observations, “but I can get you someone else to fight. I know some solid taijutsu users.”

“I’d rather fight you,” Kakashi replied stubbornly. “My focus is ninjutsu and kenjutsu, so my taijutsu isn’t the best either,” he lied. One cannot be rivals with Might Gai and not develop their taijutsu. Kakashi’s taijutsu was of high caliber simply because he didn’t want to lose to Gai. Therefore, he focused on it more so than he would have without the Green Beast as his close friend.

“I mean, if you’re sure,” the teen was hesitant but gave in to Kakashi’s request.

“Great, tomorrow we should be well-rested. I’m meeting my sensei for dinner, so I’ll book a room in the Tower. Say, 11:00 am?” Kakashi asked as he dumped the dirty water on the ground.

While Kakashi refilled the bucket with clean water for a final rinse, Katsu sighed in annoyance but nodded in agreement. “How troublesome, as the Nara would say,” he said. Kakashi smirked in reply but said nothing more as they finished their laundry.

The rest of the day passed in a more relaxed manner, whereby his squad decided to avoid the central area. They knew many would be grieving their loved ones and waiting to hear news of the injured; and they’d rather avoid the somber atmosphere.

In its place, they spent the rest of the day resting and lounging around, allowing their bodies to rest after the grueling skirmish. They made sure to stay relatively quiet so as not to disturb those who were in mourning. Despite being mentally older, Kakashi enjoyed spending time with the three. As evening approached, Taiki taught Kakashi some card games to fill the time.

“You’re cheating!” Taiki uncharacteristically growled as he slammed his cards onto the ground in annoyance. “There’s no way anyone can be so lucky five hands in a row.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Kakashi sing-songed innocently.

“Yeah right,” Banri muttered as he shuffled the cards again. “I don’t know how you’re doing it, but this time I’m catching you.”

“You can try,” Kakashi challenged mischievously, clearly indicating that yes, he was cheating, and no, they wouldn’t catch him.

“We cheat all the time,” Katsu chuckled, finding the game amusing despite losing constantly.

“Yes, but not every round. We also get caught every now and then,” Banri flicked three cards at the ground in front of Katsu with annoyance.

“What can I say, I take the lessons we learn very seriously” Kakashi said as he picked up his own cards and organized them in his hand.

“This time, there’s no way you’re winning,” Taiki glared at him from behind his cards.

During the round, Kakashi was impressed to see them gang up on him; playing cards that helped each other or hurt him even if they didn’t necessarily benefit themselves. He contemplated letting them win to encourage their teamwork. In the end, he decided teasing them was much more entertaining. “I commend you for teamwork but…,” he said dramatically as he played his final hand with extra flair, winning by a slim margin, “maybe next time?”

“Oh, come on!” Banri groaned and let himself fall backwards to lay on the ground in mock fatigue.

“Damn it, I was sure we had you this time,” Taiki muttered.

“We were so close,” Banri complained with a whine.

“As fun as it is trouncing you, I need to go meet my sensei,” Kakashi added insult to injury.

“Laugh it up Hatake, next time you’re not winning a single hand,” Taiki vowed. Who knew the quiet teen would take card games so seriously.

“It’s good to have dreams,” Kakashi smirked as he got up. He clapped his hands together briskly, as if brushing away dust after completing a task.

“Brat,” Katsu laughed at the gesture while Taiki and Banri intensified their glares.

Content with having successfully provoked his squad, Kakashi approached the central area. It was a breath of fresh air to be himself. The three never knew him before, so he didn’t worry about living up to a personality he had shed a long time ago.

As he made his way over, he passed by a stall selling goods for entertainment and the small collection of books on the racks caught his eyes. The books filled him with the sense of the strangest nostalgia; he missed walking around with a book. Although he wouldn’t be able read his typical choice in literature, it has become part of his trademark to walk around with his head inside a book. Bolstered by the enjoyment of embracing his true personality, Kakashi decided to make a quick detour to the stall.

He inspected the shelves and immediately disregarded the informative books. One, he doubted a stall in the middle of war outpost would stock any advanced texts; just in case the outpost was overtaken. Instead, the stall probably housed texts on fundamentals across the ninja disciplines for those picking up new skills. Secondly, he wanted a book to read for fun, and would leave his studying for when he was back in Konoha.

A mystery novel seemed interesting, so he grabbed it and began reading the synopsis in the back, but the summary didn’t grab his attention, so he placed it back. His eye caught the covers of an adventure series that he recalled had become popular when he was a kid. Genma, Raidou and Asuma used to discuss it all the time. Kakashi had of course ridiculed them for wasting time as opposed to training. He was surprised to later learn that his sensei was a fan of the series. Genma had told Kakashi that Minato had used their mutual interest in the series to get to know Genma when he was assigned to train as a future Hokage guard. Deciding to give it a try despite not favoring the adventure genre, Kakashi purchased the first book in the ‘Path of the Wandering Ninja’ series.

He immediately opened the book and began reading as he maneuvered around the camp. Dodging the various ninja and obstacles in his path without batting an eye felt so familiar that Kakashi nearly felt he was back in his own time and walking around Konoha. He didn’t have much time to delve much into the story as it was only a short distance from the stall to the Tower. The triage station and the tent with the green flag had already been taken down, indicating that all minor injuries had already been taken care of. Kakashi closed the book and took a glance at the outpost hospital, frowning at the sight of many ninja loitering around waiting to hear news of their comrades.

With a sigh, he looked away, entered the Tower, and made his way to his sensei’s accommodation as instructed. He tapped on the door twice and walked inside when he heard a soft command to enter from the other side.

Kakashi opened the door and was not surprised to find he was the first of his teammates to arrive. The room was simple, housing only a futon and a trunk off in the corner. Minato was sitting on a tatami mat on the other side of the room and was placing food containers around the mat.

“Obito should be here in a few minutes,” Minato informed him tiredly as Kakashi was closing the door behind him. “Rin, unfortunately, won’t be able to join us. She’s too busy helping with the injured.”

“Figured as much when I saw that only the green flagged tent has been taken down,” Kakashi shrugged as he joined his sensei on the mat.

“There were a lot of serious injuries,” Minato verified, “Rin told me that she can’t heal many ninja per day as her chakra levels are still developing. But even so, she’s helping where she can or observing the senior medics. She’s keeping very busy.”

“That’s good. You seem to be very busy too. Are you sure you’re up for a team dinner?” Kakashi asked skeptically. Minato’s eyes were slightly droopy, and his hair was more messy than usual. It was clear that his sensei was running around without much rest.

“I’m fine,” Minato smiled as he placed three chopsticks in the center, “some of the information we found is promising but could lead to another important mission soon. In fact, Jiraya sensei is heading over as a result.”

“Oh, what did you find?” Kakashi asked innocently.

“Can’t tell you that, I’m afraid,” Minato said seriously. “Don’t worry about it though, we’ll handle it.” Kakashi found that ironic, given that he was assigned the Kannabi mission despite only being twelve years old at the time.

“If it’s an important mission, you should rest instead of having dinner with me and Obito,” Kakashi said.

“I might not go myself; nothing’s been decided and won’t be for a few days. Also,” Minato said cheerfully, “you guys are what keeps me going.”

Kakashi sweat-dropped at the comment. He keeps forgetting how sappy his sensei could be at times, “If you’re sure,” he said hesitantly.

“What have you been up to today?” Minato asked as he raised his leg and leaned into it.

“Just hanging out with my assigned squad,” Kakashi said, legs crisscrossed, head cupped in his hand in a bored manner.

“What are they like?” his sensei asked curiously.

“Hmmm, they’re good people,” Kakashi replied.

“That’s great,” Minato rolled his eyes at the lack of any useful information in that reply. With nothing more to add, Kakashi didn’t say anything else.

The silence stretched for a few seconds before Minato revived the conversation again. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Obito will probably be late, so this is a good time as any…” he trailed off.

“What about?” Kakashi asked lazily.

“Well,” Minato began seemed conflicted on where to begin “These last few days you’ve been through a lot. That fight with Haruki. Your assist with Gou. Being out on the frontlines again after being absent for some time… I want to make sure you’re doing ok.”

Now then, what should I do? Kakashi mused. On the one hand, he could dismiss his sensei to make sure the man wasn’t distracted for the Kannabi bridge mission. On the other, this was the moment he was waiting for to start his personality change without raising red flags. Reflecting on his own experiences as a sensei, he was able to put his concerns for his students on hold whenever the situation called for it. He knew his sensei should be able to do the same and decided to forge ahead.

“If I’m being honest… things have been a bit, confusing, I guess?” Kakashi settled on.

“Oh!” Minato clearly didn’t expect his student to open up. He quickly masked his surprise, sat up more vigilantly and asked for more details, “In what way?”

“I tried to keep Rin and Obito at arm’s length for so long. I didn’t want to repeat my dad’s mistake,” Kakashi said, ignoring Minato’s reaction and placing his hands behind him to lean back to look up at the ceiling.

“But when Pakkun told us that Haruki was approaching,” he continued, “I knew it that if I failed to stop him, they would die. To me, that was the worst-case scenario. We’ve been in do-or-die situations before, but you were always there to protect them, so I didn’t have to worry about them, you know?”

“You were able to follow your way of the ninja without consequences, right?” Minato summarized. Kakashi appreciated how quick Minato was on the uptake as it showed the man clearly thought about his students frequently.

“Exactly. This time I had a choice to make and… I didn’t care about my deployment. I didn’t care if I died as long as they lived. I always thought I’d be able to leave them behind if the mission called for it. I’m more like my father than I thought I was,” Kakashi pretended to be frustrated, as if he was reprimanding himself for his ‘apparent’ weakness.

“I believe we are at our strongest when protecting those we love,” Minato replied passionately, “Despite being so young, you beat Haruki. I still can’t believe it. It’s because you weren’t just fighting as a ninja, rather, as a friend.”

“What about the rules?” Kakashi frowned, “My dad fought for his friends and saved them, but at what cost?”

“Konoha was teetering on war for some time before your father’s mission, and war would have still broken out even if he had succeeded. The White Fang wasn’t solely to blame, Kakashi,” Minato explained gently.

“Still, his failure led to the start of the war. Are Obito and Rin’s lives worth more than the rest of Konoha?” Kakashi sat upright and crossed his hand under his chin in thought.

“Your point is valid, Kakashi, and it's one of the hardest truths we face as shinobi. Every decision we make comes with a cost. But I believe that the measure of our strength isn't just in the battles we win or the missions we complete—it's in the compassion we show and the principles we uphold, even when it's difficult,” Minato paused for a second to place a supportive hand on Kakashi’s shoulder who remained still.

“Your father’s actions, though controversial, came from a place of deep loyalty and love for his comrades. His sacrifices remind us that while we may be tasked with protecting the village as a whole, we should not forget the value of each individual life within it. Obito and Rin’s lives were not less important than the lives of the many. In the end, it's the sum of our choices—made with both courage and empathy—that shapes the path to a future where we can strive for peace without losing our humanity,” Kakashi turned to face Minato to acknowledge he was listening.

“It's a delicate balance, and sometimes the right path isn't clear. But holding onto our values and remembering the worth of every person we fight for,” Minato lifted his hand, settled it softly on top of Kakashi’s head and ruffled it lightly, “that is what makes us truly strong.”

And there he is, the future Fourth Hokage, Kakashi thought fondly.

Although out loud he said, “I don’t know if I can afford to think like that,” Kakashi said in a low voice. It would be too easy if he agreed with a new perspective on life with just a few words of encouragement. “Still, you gave me some stuff to think about.”

“Promise me, though, that you’ll really reflect on what I’ve told you,” Minato smiled in understanding.

“Yes, sensei, I will,” Kakashi nodded.

“Good,” Minato was content with that promise. “So, tell me a bit more about this squad of yours.”

Kakashi went along with the topic change, “They’re a bit rowdy and joke around a lot. They work well together so it’s not too bad. The captain uses a bow. None of us are long distance fighters so that’s new.”

“A bow huh, that is unique,” Minato acknowledged, “is he skilled at using it?”

“Yes he is,” Kakashi said, “he knows how to cover our weak points and is very accurate despite the long distance.”

“I’ll have to ask Genji-san about him. It’s always important to nurture various skills so we’re prepared for any scenario,” Minato said. The last skirmish proved the strength of leveraging the various skills Konoha had at its disposal.

“I think that’ll help him,” Kakashi replied, “he seems to lack confidence.”

“Oh, why is th—”

“Senseeeeei!” Obito barged in with a whine, “How could you assign me to patrol, it’s super boring! My talents are wasted there.”

Rather than get annoyed at the rude displayed, Minato smiled in amusement, “Hello to you too, Obito.”

“Yea yea, hello to you too,” Obito grumbled impatiently and closed the door behind him. He then plopped down onto the mat with a huff and hands crossed in annoyance “I’m going to be the greatest Hokage, I can’t waste my time on patrol, sensei!”

“This is your first frontline assignment,” Kakashi lectured. “Almost everyone starts on patrol.”

Obito pointed an accusatory finger at Kakashi, “Easy for you to say. You were right there in the thick of it!”

“I already told you twice, that I used to be on patrol, you idiot,” Kakashi said exasperatedly.

“You were like what, a toddler? That doesn’t count,” Obito claimed.

“Now now, keep working hard and next deployment you’ll see some action,” Minato placated him.

“Of course I will, I’m the great Obito-sama,” Obito puffed his chest.

“Confidence without a foundation,” Kakashi muttered in a low voice.

“What was that?” Obito glared at him, having not heard Kakashi’s comment but knowing it was derogatory nonetheless. Kakashi played with a loose straw in the mat instead, refusing to argue with Obito.

“Where’s Rin when I need her to play mediator?” Minato bemoaned the absence of his third student when he saw Obito twitch at Kakashi’s dismissal.

“You should want Rin to be here for her own merits, not to do your job for you,” Kakashi stated nonchalantly, still playing with the mat.

It was now Minato’s turn to twitch in annoyance as Obito laughed, “He’s trying to cover up for the fact that Rin’s his favorite!”

“I do NOT have favorites,” Minato exclaimed in disbelief at the notion. Although Kushina favored Obito, Minato loved all his students dearly and equally. Rin was the easiest to deal with as she was the most level-headed, but he certainly did not love her more than the other two. Am I really giving them that impression? Minato asked himself in worry.

“It’s ok sensei, Rin’s my favorite too,” Obito replied seriously and patted him on the arm for extra reassurance.

“Mine too,” Kakashi added.

Rin was always kind to everyone, so it was hard for anyone to dislike her. Even mini-Kakashi couldn’t find it in himself to berate her and would strike up the occasional conversation with her. Other than Gai, who forced himself onto Kakashi until he could no longer ignore him, Rin was the only one in their age group he didn’t mind spending some time with. Only a little, but for his bratty younger self that was basically a large declaration of friendship. He still hasn’t completely forgiven her for jumping in front of his Chidori and scarring him for life, yet he also couldn’t find it in his heart to resent her either.

“Wait, she is?” Obito spun his head towards Kakashi, nearly giving himself whiplash.

“She’s not annoying,” Kakashi elaborated, folding his arms and nodding sagely as if he was in the middle of imparting crucial wisdom.

“Are you saying I’m annoying, Kakashi?” Minato teased.

“Rin’s the least likely to be annoying on any given day,” Kakashi replied easily, refusing to get flustered.

“That’s, umm. I agree, but I’m also not satisfied,” Obito got flustered. He wasn’t sure how to reply without insulting his crush in the same breath.

“Be that as it may, I don’t have favorites,” Minato felt the need to restate, looking each boy in the eye.

“Uhuh,” Kakashi nodded absently as he grabbed the chopsticks and started passing them around.

“Sure thing,” Obito followed suit, snickering and grabbing one of the containers to start eating.

Minato sighed but lay the matter to rest and joined them. At least they’re getting along, even if it’s to make fun of me. I’ll chalk that up as a minor win. 

“You still didn’t tell us about your fight with Haruki, Baka.. er Kakashi,” Obito changed topics. Kakashi appreciated his teammate’s attempt to refrain from the nickname. It meant that Obito was still trying to build a better relationship with him, and he was all for it.

Minato smiled softly and raised the food container closer to his mouth to avoid his students’ notice, “Yes that’s true, I’m still interested to hear the full details as well.” Despite his words, Minato gave Kakashi a concerned look. They had talked about how this fight was weighing heavily on Kakashi’s mind and he didn’t want to push him into talking about it more. Kakashi understood from that look that Minato, the man was silently asking him if he was sure he wanted to talk about the fight.

“I guess now’s a good time as any,” Kakashi mumbled and gave his sensei a nod. Obito scooted closer, eyes glistening with excitement over an epic tale. “He was underestimating me at the start, so I managed to get a few shallow wounds in. That annoyed him, and you know what they say…”

“An annoyed shinobi is a shinobi who makes mistakes,” Minato replied easily.

“Exactly. That’s when we started exchanging some jutsu. I recognized the seals of his first attack as the Earth Wave Jutsu, and I used that too. He didn’t expect the same jutsu, and –

“You used that in that ninjutsu contest when we were kids!” Obito remembered happily. He then slumped in defeat as he recalled Kakashi stealing his victory with the jutsu.

“Ninjutsu contest?” Kakashi thought, trying to remember but it didn’t quite ring a bell. He may look eleven, but he was almost thirty. Whatever Obito was talking about was ages ago and not a worthwhile event for him to remember after all these years.

“Yeah, anyway, with the surprise attack I managed to trick him into attacking a Lightning Clone and nearly landed a killing blow, but he suddenly turned into a golem,” Kakashi sighed in annoyance.

If only the fight could’ve ended there. Fighting against people with strong defenses was aggravating. Fortunately, strong defenses tended to be earth-natured so at least he had the affinity to deal with that easily. The ease through which Sasuke’s Chidori penetrated Garaa’s defense was proof of that.

“I didn’t know you could make Lightning Clones,” Minato said in surprise.

“It takes up a good amount of chakra so I try to use it when I know I can follow up after the effects of it dispelling,” Kakashi explained.

“Why, what happens when the clone dispels?” Obito asked confused.

“Unlike other types of clones, Lightning Clones burst into electricity that can shock you in place for a few seconds. The Fire Clone jutsu also has a dispel effect as it bursts into flames,” Kakashi answered.

“Cool! I want to learn that sensei!” Obito was almost bouncing up and down in excitement at the prospect.

“You need to improve your chakra control and when you’re at that level, I’ll teach you,” Minato promised him.

“I’ve been practicing my control during rest periods,” Obito reassured him. “Your main nature element is wind, right sensei? What do Wind Clones do when they dispel?”

“Wind Clones just fade into the breeze, not the strongest clone types I’m afraid,” Minato lifted both his hands up, rotating his palms to the ceiling, in a ‘what-can-you-do’ gesture.

“Sensei uses Shadow Clones though,” Kakashi filled in for his sensei. “They don’t have a dispelling effect, but you retain the memory of the clones so it’s super useful in infiltration. They require the most chakra though.” Of course that meant nothing to Naruto, Kakashi’s thoughts turned to his knucklehead student fondly.

“Neat!” Obito cheered, “but I’ll stick to Fire Clones, they sound way cooler.”

“They’re better suited to your fighting style,” Minato agreed then turned back to face Kakashi. “We got a bit side-tracked, so what happened next, Kakashi?”

“Well, the golem was very powerful but slower than I was, so after a bit of back and forth Haruki created two smaller golems to try and pincer me,” Kakashi continued the tale. “Speaking of different clones, I used the Shadow Clone here and that’s when I charged two kunai and created a lightning cable like I told you sensei. Worked like a charm and I sliced the smaller golems in half.”

“Still impressed with the creativity there,” Minato reiterated his previous thoughts, then taking a sip of water.

“Haruki seemed even more frustrated after I defeated the two golems. I goaded him a bit more here, to add to his annoyance,” Kakashi said.

“Whadya say?” Obito asked through a mouthful of meat.

Kakashi grimaced at the disgusting display, “Close your mouth when you speak, that’s disgusting.”

Obito swallowed the food and stuck his tongue out at Kakashi.

“And what did you say?” Minato quickly intervened to prevent an argument from breaking out.

“Nothing great, I only told him that ‘too bad Earth is weak to Lightning’. He didn’t like that very much,” Kakashi stated.

“For a ninjutsu user, a bad elemental match-up against another ninjutsu user isn’t the most ideal of circumstances,” Minato scratched the side of his forehead in thought.

“It’s even more annoying when your match-up is a kid,” Obito smirked.

“He certainly didn’t expect us to be fighting for this long,” Kakashi agreed. “He started using more elaborate jutsu and I got caught a few times. I kept using Lightning Senbon to create cracks in the golem while doing my best to dodge. Things started turning worse when an Earth Spear stabbed my calf.” He grimaced as he recalled the pain of that injury.

“That would also impede your speed,” Minato was not happy, realizing once again how close to death his student was.

“Exactly. That’s when I came up with the idea of using the seals I created to destabilize the golem,” Kakashi replied.

“Seals? You know fuinjutsu?” Obito frowned.

“I’m still learning,” Kakashi elaborated.

“Wait, I still have it here,” Minato wiped his hands on a napkin and got up to open the trunk. Kakashi heard riffling before his sensei turned back to them with the seal held in between two of his fingers. “It’s designed to dispel spiritual energy, and as you know Obito, the balance between spiritual and physical energy is key to using and stabilizing jutsu.”

Obito grabbed the seal his sensei was offering him for a closer look, the frown on his face only growing deeper, “When did you start learning seals?” he asked irritated.

“I study all ninja specialties. I had solid theoretical knowledge, but I only started making seals a few months ago,” Kakashi provided a timeline that would make sense to create the A-Ranked seal. He was used to Obito moping whenever Kakashi learned something new and didn’t think much of it.

“I’m still upset you didn’t tell me,” Minato grumbled as he sat back down. “I’d love to help you learn more about fuinjutsu! Very few people take an interest in it. I’m well-known as a fuinjutsu master and to think that my own student didn’t come to me to learn.” Kakashi bet that his sensei was internally pouting given the near whine-like voice that came out at the end.

“I’m more interested in ninjutsu, and knowing you, you would have only talked to me about seals if you knew I was learning them,” Kakashi accused.

“I wouldn’t have,” Minato denied. Kakashi only raised an eyebrow in disbelief. His sensei was obsessed with fuinjutsu and Kakashi had no doubt in his mind that he would’ve kept pushing Kakashi towards sealing had he known. It was the same reason his younger self also didn’t share that piece of information. Well, that and his stupid desire to do everything by himself.

“I mean, I will teach you more about it now that I know, but I’ll still teach you other things,” Minato allowed. “Besides, you know more about elemental ninjutsu than I do. I don’t really need to teach you that, do I?”

Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but Obito jumped in before he could reply, “Enough talk about seals. Then what happened?” Kakashi swore his teammate’s demeanor was more dejected now. Obito was never interested in sealing, so he didn’t understand the aggravated look on the boy’s face. He couldn’t really be jealous about me learning sealing, could he? Kakashi wondered.

“Nothing much,” Kakashi obliged to avert a tantrum. “Once there were enough cracks, I waited tell he used an earth jutsu and countered with a water one, drenching the man. He got angry that I could use a third element which gave me the time to strike the area he was standing on with lightning. Since he was wet, the lightning struck him through the cracks. Before he could recover, I used the Rasengan to finally destroy the golem. I followed up with a combo of attacks and then stabbed him to end the fight. I lost consciousness a few seconds after that.” Kakashi summarized quickly and then proceeded to grab a rice ball to eat.

“So basically, you defeated him by annoying him into making mistakes?” Obito asked in disbelief.

Kakashi swallowed before replying, “It’s like sensei said, annoyed and angry ninja are easier targets.”

“I can see that, you’re very annoying,” Obito perked up again at the thought as he threw an impish smirk his way. Kakashi rolled his eyes but decided that getting some food in his stomach was a better use of time and continued to munch on his rice ball.

“Annoyance aside,” Minato winked “you did well in using your strengths to your advantage. I understand how you said you got lucky; if Haruki was better able to handle his emotions, it would have been a much harder fight.”

“You hear that Obito?” Kakashi turned to his teammate with a knowing look.

“I can control my emotions, Bakashi” Obito grumbled, proving the exact opposite.

“You’re getting better, but this serves as a solid cautionary tale for you to keep working on that,” Minato lectured.

“Hmph!” Obito turned his face away from them in anger.

Minato sighed, “Come on, Obito. Let’s just enjoy our meal, ok? Why don’t you tell me about your squad, hmm?”

“They’re boring,” Obito began and then launched into a tirade of how his team, while kind, were dull and old. Of course, to Obito, old was ninja in their thirties. Kakashi felt offended at the implication that his original age was old. However, he refrained from egging Obito on or joining the conversation much, hoping to keep the peace as his sensei was desperately trying to do.

As Obito continued to embellish his teammates’ traits and so-called boring nature, Kakashi’s thoughts drifted back to the Kannabi Bridge. Jiraya was coming. Between his sensei and the man, he knew they’d be able to handle it. He was worried, of course, but anyone would be more prepared than three young ninja who were in way over their heads.

Chapter Text

When Kakashi asked for a spar with Katsu after hearing about the teen’s weakness in the area multiple times, he expected various scenarios. Bad habits, low physical strength, or an incompatible fighting style to name a few. Instead, Kakashi found himself having one of the simplest spars in his recent memory.

Kakashi delivered a series of punches and when Katsu halted in place to stop them, he spun around him and kicked him in the back, making his opponent stagger forward. He remained at the ready as opposed to following up, allowing Katsu a chance to rebalance.

It’s not that Katsu was a complete novice to taijutsu. Some of the moves he executed highlighted hours of practice. Sure, he wasn’t the strongest, but Kakashi himself did not have a strong build either, even as an adult. No, the problem wasn’t with learning taijutsu techniques. Katsu had another glaring issue.

Kakashi easily saw the roundhouse kick, blocking it with a two-arm guard easily. He followed up with a sweep and then an upward kick aimed at where the teen had jumped. Katsu effectively used a cross-block to avoid the attack. However, Katsu left a wide gap in his defense as he landed. Kakashi exploited the hole in the defense, delivering a strong elbow thrust to the gut. The teen staggered back with a labored cough as sweat dripped down his face.

Knowing it was pointless to continue, Kakashi relaxed his stance, signaling the end of the spar. Katsu gratefully plopped down on the floor with a grunt, gently massaging his gut with his left hand as he tried to control his labored breathing. The light rise and fall of Kakashi’s chest a sharp contrast to the exhausted older ninja.

No. The main weakness in Katsu’s taijutsu wasn’t a lack of training or raw strength. The teen clearly had difficulty reading fast-paced close-range movements. Every time Kakashi would execute a series of attacks or counter above a certain speed, Katsu would show a delayed reaction time. This made it hard for him to keep up with higher level taijutsu exchanges. When Kakashi slowed down, the teen was able to hold his guard. No wonder he focused his energy on long distance. If anything, he has good self-awareness; I’ll give him that at least.

If Kakashi was being honest, Naruto Sakura and Sasuke showed faster reaction times when they were still fresh genin. Sasuke was, as usual, ahead of his peer group, needing only to learn more advanced techniques while improving his speed and strength at the same time. Naruto had amazing stamina and reflexes, but the technique of a civilian brawler. Sakura had perfect technique but lacked stamina and strength until Tsunade got a hold of her. So yes, even as fresh genin, Kakashi saw more potential in his three kids than Katsu. At least in taijutsu.

Kakashi frowned as he went to fetch his water bottle, I thought they were exaggerating, but Katsu really is terrible at taijutsu. He grabbed one of the water bottles and tossed it to him. In milliseconds, Katsu had it opened and was drinking greedily.

Still, it wasn’t hopeless. Katsu was probably never going to be the strongest taijutsu fighter. But if he worked on his speed, he could slowly build the experience to make up for his slow reaction time. It would take time, but at least he wouldn't face imminent danger every time a high-ranking chunin-level ninja got too close. He had the technique, he just needed to learn when and how to use it properly.

While Kakashi was reflecting on the spar, Katsu had regained his breath. “I told you I wouldn’t be a useful taijutsu partner.” Those words erased whatever praise Kakashi was reluctantly giving him. What truly aggravated Kakashi was not the weak taijutsu skills, rather, Katsu clearly knew he was weak in taijutsu and didn’t seem to care at all. Katsu was in his teens and has been fighting on the frontlines; he had no excuse to be this cavalier.

Kakashi crossed his arms, “You made the right choice in focusing on long-distance. However, if someone comes in close it could be disastrous.” Kakashi was never one to pull back punches.

Katsu gave a resigned shrug, as if to say, ‘It is what it is’.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his masked nose in frustration. Did Katsu really have no idea how dangerous his weakness in taijutsu was? He tried a different approach. “You may have slow reflexes, but it’s not hopeless. If you worked on your speed, you’d be better able to dodge attacks even if you’re slow to see them coming. Then, as you start having higher level taijutsu spars, you’ll gain the experience to make up for your reflexes.”

Katsu lazily patted Kakashi on the shoulder in reassurance, “Between Taichi and Banri’s close quarter skills, and my techniques in keeping the enemy away, it’s not easy for anyone to come close.”

“Don’t patronize me.” Kakashi lightly pushed Katsu’s hands away. “That does not reduce the odds to zero.”

Katsu rolled his eyes and began walking away, giving his back to Kakashi. “No ninja can work on everything. If I waste time improving my speed, I increase the chances of someone coming in close. By working on long-distance fighting, I will keep reducing that chance.”

“That’s now how it works,” Kakashi rubbed his temple as he felt an ache coming from the foolishness of Katsu’s line of thinking. “Taijutsu is the foundation for every ninja. It’s not like saying I can’t cast genjutsu. No ninja will survive for long if they don’t work on taijutsu.” Kakashi wanted to wring Katsu’s neck and shout in his ear to work on his taijutsu.

Katsu turned to Kakashi, and for the first time since they started sparing, true agitation showed on his face. “Maybe that’s not how it works in genius land, but not all of us are prodigies. Not all of us can work on honing many skills.”

Aaaaand there it was. It always came back to that.

Genius. Prodigy. There was a special brand of solitude that only another genius could understand.

Even when someone knew how much Kakashi trained and studied, they only became more dejected, feeling they could never catch up. It was a defeatist attitude that Kakashi despised. Look at Jiraya, Gai, Naruto and Sakura to name a few. None of these people were great from the start. They had to work hard to build the skills suited to their strengths and weaknesses. If they had just thrown their hands up in the air and decided that they were fated to be at a certain skill level, where would Konoha be?

Kakashi started Katsu dead in the eye, refusing to avert his gaze from the teen’s harsh glare. “My friend, Gai, can’t do ninjutsu. He’s constantly getting better and can match me in a spar even when ninjutsu isn’t off the table. You don’t have to write off your taijutsu. Your bow skills are the best I’ve seen, but even if you improve your skills ten-fold, you still can’t make jonin if your taijutsu is weak.”

Katsu startled. He then threw his head back and laughed. “Jonin? Me?” It wasn’t a malicious laugh, rather one twinged with incredulity and slight self-loathing. Katsu’s laugh reduced to a fake chuckle. “Kakashi-kun, look, I appreciate the sentiment but… I’m not jonin material.”

Knowing it was futile to convince Katsu at this moment, Kakashi shook his head and began to walk away. As he passed, he heard Katsu sigh. He grabbed the doorhandle, paused and glanced back over his shoulder. 'With your bow skills, you could be,” he said, and walked out.

____________

He filed inside the commander food hall tiredly with the rest, all consumed with their own thoughts. The war was escalating. Right after the large battle at the Grass Gate, another significant special operation with dire consequences was now being launched. Worse still, his students were now being deployed to the outposts and taking on bigger roles in the war.

Minato grabbed a tray, too distracted to appreciate the different flavors of okonomiyaki the civilians have prepared for them as a special treat. He made a beeline to a table in the far corner to dissuade others from joining him. They had discussed the plan ad nauseum, and the last thing he wanted was another run through with commentary on everyone’s thoughts. Every person wants a say, but they rarely add anything new.

His thoughts drifted to Kushina. He hadn’t been able to see her much lately and was looking forward to some downtime after this deployment to catch up. However, it appears that he’s going to have to remain here for a bit longer. Even so, he was excited to finally see the tide turn in Konoha’s favor. Moreover, he was proud to contribute so much to Konoha’s safety. It’s what he had worked so hard to achieve; the strength to protect his comrades.

He hoped that the next skirmish would succeed and maybe, just maybe, they could end the war before his students lost their innocence. Well, it was a bit too late for Kakashi, but Obito and Rin were still so young and innocent. He didn’t want the reality of war to change them.

Then again, Rin had just been at the center of healing so many wounded. He didn’t know how many patients she may have lost, but Rin was so sensitive. He knew every loss would weigh heavily on her heart. Part of him didn’t want to see Rin; not sure of what he would find in his student’s eyes. He hoped that no matter what horrors she was witnessing, that Rin would retain her kindness and ability to see the best in people. Kakashi came under his command already hardened, and he wasn’t ready to see another student growing up too fast.

“If you frown this much, you’re going to get wrinkles before you reach thirty,” a ninja he didn’t know joked as he joined him on the table.

Minato fought back a scowl. “Can I help you?” he asked, doing his best to mask his annoyance.

The tall black-haired ninja leaned back confidently as he prepared a bite, “Not really.” The man began eating without a care in the world, humming a cheery tone to himself. Part of Minato wanted to ask him to leave, but another part didn’t want to be rude. He decided to ignore the man and went in for another bite. Fortunately for Minato, the man wasn’t talkative and similarly ignored Minato. He hastened to finish his food before the man so that he could leave before the man decided to start a conversation. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” the man questioned as Minato wolfed down his food.

 “I have things to do,” Minato said.

“There’s time, you should enjoy the down moments or you’ll burnout.”

Minato nodded distractedly but didn’t slow down.

“You okay kid?” the man’s tone changed from playful to concerned.

Minato blinked twice at the familiar intonation of the word. He concentrated on the man’s chakra and his eyes widened. He leaned in closer, “Sensei?” he whispered in confusion. He didn’t know why his sensei was disguised but trusted the man enough to keep his disguise intact regardless.

“Took you long enough,” he scoffed and tilted back leisurely in the chair.

“Why are you transformed?” Minato asked in a low voice.

Jiraya pouted. “It’s great to see you in great health, sensei. So glad that you’re here, sensei. It’s been a while sensei, how are you?”

Minato chortled lightly, “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. It’s good to see you, Jiraya-sensei. But still, why are you in a Henge?” Leave it to Jiraya-sensei to always lift his mood.

“I decided to keep undercover so that there’s less of a chance that Iwa would learn we’re planning something. If word gets out that I’m here right after the Clash at the Grass Gate, they’ll be more alert than they already are,” Jiraya explained. “More importantly, why are you in such a sour mood? Fight with Kushina? Your boys get in a big fight?”

“No,” Minato shook his head. He waved his chopsticks distractedly in the air, “If anything, Obito and Kakashi are getting along better than ever before. Who knows how long that will last though. I miss Kushina sure, but she’s safe.”

Jiraya raised an eyebrow, “Then why do you look like someone pinched your wallet? Does that have to do with your students finally venturing out on their own a bit?” Jiraya asked knowingly.

And of course, Jiraya could still read him like an open book. Minato nodded in acknowledgement as he played with his food. That still didn’t explain how Jiraya knew his students were with him. “How’d you know they’ve been deployed?”

Jiraya twirled the chopsticks in clockwise motion, an arrogant smirk on his face, “I know everything.”

Minato rolled his eyes and flicked a small piece of food on his sensei’s red haroi. Although his clothes were transformed to look like a non-descript jonin of Konoha, his real clothes would still get dirty.

“Oi! This one’s new!” Jiraya scowled and brushed away the crumbs. Minato smiled back mischievously and took another bite. Jiraya rested his head in his left palm and picked at his food dejectedly, “I swear I never get the respect I deserve,” he muttered quietly.

Minato smiled fondly; Sensei never changes. Minato’s cheer turned into slight worry as he recalled dinner with his students the previous night. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “About keeping your presence a secret. Those of us involved in the mission agreed to only share details on a need-to-know basis, but I kind of told Kakashi and Obito about you coming.”

Jiraya groaned at the revelation. “Would they tell anyone?”

“Kakashi isn’t the social type. Obito on the other hand….” Minato trailed of his speech, letting his sensei fill in the obvious blanks. “Don’t worry, I’ll let them know to keep quiet. More importantly, how is the situation in north?” Minato asked.

Jiraya sat up straight, his demeanor turning serious. “Quiet. With the death of the Raikage and many Iwa ninja, no new skirmishes have broken out. We’ve taken advantage of that by sending capture squads to Rice and Waterfall to detain some of the injured that were left behind. We expected the Mist to take advantage, but they’ve been unnaturally quiet. Actually, my original mission was to infiltrate the Land of Water to get some information. But then we received the missive about the bridge. Before I left, Orochimaru-teme managed to extract some extra information about it from one of the higher-profile prisoners.”

“Anything useful?” Minato asked; food forgotten.

“How much do you know of the bridge’s strategic value?” Jiraya asked.

“The map we found displayed patrol schedules around the area. Moreover, the patrol is not at the bridge but areas around it in a clear attempt to ensure its location remains secret. Lastly, the high number of ninja allocated for its defense made it a clear strategic point to target.” Minato said.  

Jiraya placed one hand under his chin in thought, “They have smaller bridges constructed using earth ninjutsu in the area, but they can only transport so much along those lines without the jutsu destabilizing. By building the Kannabi Bridge with reinforced materials, they were able to transport supplies more rapidly to the entire Iwa force. Still, it took them nine days to build without any enemy interference. Also, Kitsuchi, the Tsuchikage's son, was part of the construction,” Jiraya summarized.

Minato tilted his head in annoyance at the new information, “So we should expect a big reception?”

“Add to that the big losses from their last two fights, a large number of their shinobi force probably retreated back to the outpost near the bridge,” Jiraya said.

Minato rubbed the back of his head in agitation, “I’m starting to think that taking only two squads to distract their forces while you sneak in with a one squad to destroy the bridge won’t be enough.”

Jiraya waved away his concern, “Too large a team and you’ll be easily detected. I’m not worried about their numbers. I bet you they have their two jinchuriki on standby. They’re cornered and a beast is most dangerous when cornered. It’s more likely than not that we’ll face them. That’s the main concern really.”

Minato dropped his head into the table with a groan. “Damn it. All this new information means another round of strategic meetings.”

Jiraya barked out in laughter, “You’re the one who wants to become Hokage. You do know that the position comes with daily meetings? Heads up, political meetings are ten times worse than battle strategy ones.”

Minato lifted his head slightly to meet Jiraya’s eyes, “Is it too late to change dreams?”

Jiraya placed a reassuring hand on Minato’s shoulder, “Yup! But think of the bright side. We now have your Rasengan in our arsenal. If we manage to kill one of their jinchuriki that’s it, Iwa will have no choice but to surrender.”

Minato perked up at the thought and sat up straight again. “If that happens it would be the turnaround of ninja history. Imagine, going from the main force to losing the war in the span of three skirmishes?”

“It won’t be easy,” Jiraya cautioned. “Also don’t forget there’s still Cloud to deal with. True, they lost their Raikage but his replacement has already been trained. I don’t need to tell you that. You fought him multiple times and none of you have ever gotten the full upper hand on the other.”

Minato smiled thinking back to the small altercation, “I liked his younger brother.”

Jiraya gave him a puzzled look, “The Eight Tail jinchuriki?”

“Yes,” Minato confirmed. “He fights with his heart on his sleeve. Besides, even though A beat me to the title of Hokage, I’ve always seen him as an equal and I can tell it’s the same for him. He may have a short temper, but I know that Sandaime-sama can come to an agreement with him.”

Jiraya looked up at the ceiling, “If only more people were like you then maybe this war would be over by now. But it’s not that simple.” Jiraya always believed that if more ninja could open their hearts and truly see their enemy, then they would better understand one another and solve problems with diplomacy instead of war. Some would call Minato’s feelings naivety, but to Jiraya it sparked hope. It was moments like these that made him believe Minato was the Child of Prophecy.

“Well, the war can’t go on forever,” Minato said. “Besides, if A refuses then I’ll do my duty. I hope it doesn’t come to it but with the proper strategy I can defeat A if you keep the Eight Tails jinchuriki occupied. Especially now that we know that the Massive Rasengan works against the Tailed Beast Bomb we have an advantage. They won’t expect that.”

Jiraya reached out his hand to smack Minato in the head. Minato easily evaded the lazy attempt and gave Jiraya a wounded look, “You’re getting ahead of yourself, kid. First, we need to worry about surviving the Kannabi Bridge tomorrow.”

“Yes sir,” Minato said and gave his sensei a cheeky grin.

Jiraya rolled his eyes and looked around to see that the commander food hall had mostly emptied out during their talk. “I’ll catch up with you later then. I want to check up on Tsunade before we finalize the plan.”

Minato pushed his chair back, got up and grabbed his tray, “There’s still many injured. She might be too busy.”

Jiraya placed his empty tray on top of Minato’s and quickly sauntered off with a wave, “I’m sure she has a few minutes to greet an old teammate!”

“I’m not your waiter,” Minato complained, two empty trays in hand, as his sensei walked away. “Are you listening? Oi, Sensei!”

________________

Kakashi walked out of the tower in a bad mood over his spar with Katsu. He was wondering how to take his mind off it, when, out the corner of his eye he spotted his sensei walking out of the commander food hall with a slightly irritated look on his face. In fact, the man was glaring at a tall black-haired ninja who was heading for the medical bay. That was weird. Minato was known to be very patient with everyone and rarely got agitated.

He observed the black-haired ninja more carefully and sensed something amiss, or rather, familiar? Confused, he closed his eyes and focused his senses. The man’s chakra was mostly masked, which was odd in the middle of a friendly camp. Kakashi would have been worried about an infiltration, if it wasn’t for Minato walking back to the tower. His sensei was a sensor and if he had any doubts, Minato would have followed the man.

Curious, Kakashi quietly trailed closer to the medical bay. Channeling chakra to his nose as he got closer, Kakashi finally connected the dots, Is that? He may have masked his chakra, but Kakashi was an expert tracker and was very familiar with this man’s scent. There was no doubt about it, the man was definitely Jiraya.

Jiraya appeared to be in a hurry, rapidly navigating through the crowd towards the medics at the door. The medics were stationed to prevent visitors from going inside the already crowded hospital, except for those close to ninja on their deathbed. Jiraya spoke briefly to the medics at the entrance and walked inside. It was child’s play for Kakashi to use the chaos around him to slip inside and follow him, the medics at the door none-the-wiser.

As expected, he saw Jiraya walking up the stairs at the end which lead to Tsunade’s office. He probably wants to visit Tsunade-sama without delay, Kakashi justified Jiraya’s actions. Before he could consider abandoning his pursuit, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

Kakashi turned around to find his sensei peering down at him questioningly, “What are you doing?”

“Sensei,” Kakashi greeted, pretending nothing was amiss. Internally he cursed, why was Minato here?

Minato narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “I was about to come find you and imagine my surprise when I saw you sneaking inside the medical bay. What’s going on, Kakashi?”

“I’m the one who’s confused, sensei. I saw you glaring at a man who I sensed was masking his chakra. He just went upstairs, who is he?” Kakashi turned the question around.

“So instead of asking me, you decided to what? Become a vigilante investigator?” Minato was unimpressed.

In hindsight, it would have been easier to have done so, but Kakashi preferred to deal with matters on his own. Seeing Minato upset at this small escapade made him wonder how angry his sensei would have been if he ever found out Kakashi broke into the Hokage library when investigating Danzo by himself. Not to mention the fact that he was dealing with time travel without telling anyone. Oh, if only his sensei knew.

If there was anyone he would tell, it would be his sensei or Jiraya. However, he couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t inform the Third. He respected the Third immensely. The Professor was the person who saw them through two wars and helped maintain the peace. Despite that, Kakashi did not always agree with the man’s approach. Learning that Danzo orchestrated the Uchiha massacre, tried to get Kakashi himself to murder the Third and was still allowed to lead ROOT was something Kakashi could not fathom. No, he did not trust the Third to make the right decisions. Worse still if the Third told the council or Danzo or Orochimaru, Kakashi didn’t trust any of Konoha’s political figures. Really, he didn’t trust himself to make the right decisions either, but as fate would have it, it was up to him.

“Ninja,” Kakashi said.

“Kami help me,” Minato muttered. He loved his students but there were times when they drove him crazy. Usually, he was patient and better at handling their antics, but his nerves were already frayed.

“Well then, who is he?” Kakashi crossed his arms before his sensei could start lecturing.

Minato sighed and unclasped one of the vest pockets to take out a piece of paper and a pencil. He jotted down some words and passed the paper to Kakashi.

It’s Jiraya. Keep his presence a secret; safer. Tell Obito.

Done reading, Kakashi nodded and burned the paper.

“Satisfied?” Minato asked, his eyes still hardened. Knowing his sensei was still angry, Kakashi thought it was safer to leave as soon as possible. He nodded and planned to walk away but his legs refused to move.

Kakashi wasn’t sure what made him stop. Maybe it was the injured ninja all around him. Maybe he didn’t want to leave his sensei angry. Maybe it was the thought of keeping time travel a secret gnawing on him. Maybe it was his hatred for anything Kannabi related. Whatever the reason, Kakashi stared up at his sensei who was still clearly annoyed, “I don’t know what you’re doing but, whatever it is, come back safe, sensei.”

Minato’s eyes widened slightly and his eyes softened. He placed one hand on Kakashi’s shoulder and squeezed lightly, “Everything is going to be alright; you don’t have to worry.”

Kakashi wished he could believe his sensei, but he lived the life of a ninja for too long. His sensei’s platitudes were the same as the ones he gave Sakura the day Sasuke left, and Naruto followed him. He knew his words then barely comforted Sakura, but he didn’t know what else to tell her. Being unable to alleviate her worries was just another reason why he failed as a sensei. Not wanting his sensei to have similar doubts, Kakashi made sure to relax his body posture before replying, “I’ll hold you to that.”

Chapter Text

Kakashi flipped upwards from his crunching position, sat on the branch and watched from afar as another team of Konoha ninja left the outpost. By Kakashi’s count, that’s the sixth squad so far, all heading in the direction of the Land of Grass. The squad was in a hurry and not even pausing at the gate, becoming smaller and smaller until they disappeared into the blanket of trees to take cover from the moon’s light. Kakashi scanned the area around the gate to see if any other squads would come, but only the guards remained.

He looked up at the night sky, the moon hanging proudly with no clouds in sights. Not the best of nights to set out on a stealth mission, although knowing Nara Shikaku that’s probably the point, Kakashi concluded.

It actually worked well for Kakashi. Since none of his squad mates were sensor ninja, he had decided to forego using the seal at night despite the annoying vertigo he wakes up to. He knew of the dangers of prolonged chakra suppression and already had too much on his plate to add a damaged chakra network to the mix. But that also meant that his stealth without the seal would be terrible. So even though he couldn’t really get close, the light of the full moon allowed him to observe from a distance without raising any alarms.

Very few people were awake now, and even those who were would only witness individual squads heading out. The camp’s leadership has clearly decided to send out the squads in waves under the cover of night so as not to alert the masses of the critical campaign. Minato’s warning to make sure Obito stayed quiet about Jiraya’s arrival a testament to that. Kakashi agreed that the less people who know, the less chance of a possible traitor getting the word out to Iwa.

“You should get some rest,” Pakkun said. Kakashi had sent his pug to find Obito and deliver Minato’s warning. After his completed mission, Pakkun had decided to stick around. Up until now, the pug was lounging lazily as he watched Kakashi switch between light physical exercises and spying on the gate.

Kakashi knew that Pakkun was right. He would regret not sleeping as his squad was assigned protective detail at a village in the Land of Grass the next day, but he was too nervous to sleep. Despite Konoha being vastly more prepared this time, it was the Kannabi Bridge. Kakashi would not rest easy until it was destroyed. He had camped out on this branch since the evening, refusing to leave until we got a full reading on what was happening. It was boring, mostly waiting until another squad left. Yet it was still better than lying down in his tent and staring up at cloth.

“Jiraya-sama and Minato-sensei still haven’t left,” Kakashi replied.

Pakkun turned around and placed a palm on Kakashi’s chest, “Jiraya and Minato have a bunch of experienced ninja with them; they’ll be fine. If three out of four of you survived last time, the odds now are so much better.”

“In the past, Iwa had also lost many ninja in the extra year of war. I’d expect that the defenses would be stronger now,” Kakashi said.

Pakkun withdrew his paw and gave Kakashi an unamused look, “And how does it help; you sitting on this branch?”

“Shut up,” Kakashi snorted and flicked him lightly on the head, then hung upside down to resume his training.

Pakkun grumbled under his breath but didn’t reply.

He couldn’t really explain it, but he needed the confirmation that his sensei and Jiraya-sama were leaving with competent people. He also wanted to know who they were in case he wanted to fish out some information from them after the mission. Besides, their mission was more of a diplomacy stunt to show their allied villages in the Land of Grass that Konoha doesn’t abandon its allies. He had completed S-Ranked missions without sleeping for a few days, he could handle an easy mission with a bit of missed sleep.

Silence enveloped them once more. Up down, up down… Kakashi got back into the rhythm easily. He had to admit that he was impressed with mini-Kakashi. Training core strength was always a pain, but his younger self was disciplined. It took Kakashi many reps before he started feeling the burn in his abdomen.

Fondly, he recalled a challenge with Gai during their teen years where they ran through all manner of core-body workouts. Needless to say, Gai won that one. Still, Kakashi was proud of how well he managed to keep up with his taijutsu crazed friend.

He kept up the routine, switching to various strength exercises as he watched squad after squad leave. Pakkun kept him quiet company, but Kakashi could see the pug starting to get restless as the night dragged on.

As he finished another set, Kakashi spotted the distinct yellow hair of his sensei, “Pakkun,” he called softly, jerking his head in the direction of the gate.

“Finally,” the pug muttered as he focused his attention on the activity at the gate too.

There were seven ninja with his sensei: two squads. “Could it be that sensei is running the infiltration this time? I thought it was going to be Jiraya-sama for sure.”

“Isn’t Minato good at infiltration?” Pakkun asked curiously.

“Yea he is,” Kakashi confirmed, “but his skills are better suited for large scale attacks. No offense to sensei but, Jiraya-sama is one of the best spies in the ninja world.”

“I will never get over how weird it is that someone that… energetic would be so good at stealth,” Pakkun said.

“That’s why it’s always important to look underneath the underneath,” Kakashi chirped, causing Pakkun to roll his eyes.

Unlike previous squads, his sensei stopped at the gate and was having a discussion with those on guard duty. “Nee Pakkun, can you sneak closer and listen in? Also, can you identify the ninja with sensei, or at least memorize their scents?”

“Sure thing, afterwards you go sleep, deal?” Pakkun asked.

“Yea yea,” Kakashi sighed and shooed him away. Pakkun eyed him suspiciously but still obeyed, jumping away and towards the gate.

“I should’ve summoned Bisuke,” Kakashi grumbled. His second Ninken was also great at stealth but had the fun bonus of not being an argumentative and bossy pest. Kakashi wouldn’t trade Pakkun for anything in the world.

Adding the two squads, Kakashi counted a total of nine squads that have been sent out on the Kannabi Bridge mission. So Kakashi estimated seven squads; he couldn’t verify if all the squads who left were tied to the mission.

Regardless, seven squads were a sizeable force for one mission. Compared to their four-man-team led by a ninja who hadn’t even hit puberty yet… well it would have been funny if it wasn’t so nauseating. Back then, the war had raged on a year longer and Konoha’s forces were spread thin. Kakashi knew that the village had no choice but to rely on three teenagers and their sensei. The Third probably didn’t expect them all to survive. If anything, the fact that only Obito was martyred was probably seen as blessing.

In the next moment, his sensei and the other ninja leapt into the darkness as well. He hoped Pakkun was able to gather any useful information in the three minutes his sensei had lingered. He used the opportunity while waiting to take a few chugs of water from his battered kanteen. It wasn’t the toughest workout, but he had been going about it for a long period and he could feel a few muscles starting to cramp.

It was only another minute before Pakkun rejoined him. “I couldn’t get very close as there was an Inuzuka with them. But based on their body language, it was mostly small talk.”

“An Inuzuka huh? I still can’t see Minato running the infiltration if Jiraya-sama is here though. Did you recognize any of the ninja?” Kakashi asked.

“The Inuzuka was Inuzuka Gaku I think,” Pakkun said. “There was someone from the Sarutobi clan. I don’t know who he is, but they all smell of the same type of tobacco. Even those who don’t smoke have the tobacco smell lingering on them. It’s disgusting. Nearly gagged. I probably gagged a little.”

Kakashi chuckled, “I swear it’s a family trait. Kurenai tried to get Asuma to quit for years. But nothing worked. I told her to give him an ultimatum: her or the cigarettes. She called me a hopeless bachelor and laughed off my advice.”

“Her loss. I think that would’ve worked,” Pakkun nodded sagely.

“Thank you,” Kakashi said feeling vindicated, “I thought so too! Any others you recognized?”

“There was an Uchiha and an Akamichi, but the rest aren’t from clans,” Pakkun finished his report, laid down on all fours and rested his head on his paws.

“If it’s Gaku,” Kakashi said, “then he’s a combat specialist. Also, if you didn’t see anyone from the Aburame or Hyuga clan then Minato-sensei is most likely still running distraction. You’d think with how prepared they are, they’d add some members of sensory specialist clans to an infiltration team.”

Pakkun shrugged and was frowning in displeasure. Kakashi immediately worried; it was not like Pakkun to get despondent. The pug is typically fiercely proud and determined, always taking up a challenge and leading the pack.

Kakashi stretched out his hand and petted Pakkun lightly on the head, “What’s wrong, Pakkun?”

Pakkun relaxed under the touch, “I don’t know a lot of the ninja from this time. It’s annoying.”

Ah I see! Pakkun loves to prove he’s the best and not being able to give a comprehensive report most be killing him, Kakashi realized. Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled at his companion’s mini tantrum.

“It’s not your fault,” Kakashi reassured him. “I’m also playing catch up.”

Pakkun wasn’t appeased and his frowned only deepened.

Kakashi tilted his head in thought, wondering what he could say to lift Pakkun’s mood, thoughts on observing the gate abandoned for now. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll summon you soon during my downtime and we’ll walk around, and I’ll identify the ninja to you and maybe Bisuke.” It was actually an important point, in hindsight. He had gotten used to Pakkun knowing a large portion of the populace in Konoha that he didn’t think they’d need to work on that.

Pakkun perked up at that, “You should also let Akino tag along.”

“If there’s many of you it’ll bring too much attention,” Kakashi shook his head. “I can summon you both at a later time and you can walk around and the bring the rest up to speed.”

“I can do that,” Pakkun said. To anyone else, Pakkun would appear neutral, but Kakashi knew him well enough to pick up on the happy notes in his tone.

“Come on, let’s turn in,” Kakashi stood up while stretching his hands above him and let out a yawn. “Now that I confirmed Jiraya-sama is leading the mission to destroy the bridge, I can rest easy.”

“Try not to take any more detours,” Pakkun said in place of a farewell before dismissing himself in a cloud of smoke.

Taking one last look at the moon, Kakashi sent out a prayer to keep them safe and headed back to his tent.

_________________

“I wonder what’s happening?” Taiki said, a hand under his chin in thought as they assembled at the gate.

Katsu frowned, “Whatever it is, it’s big. They’ve assigned so much of the transport and patrol teams to cover more ground in the Land of Grass.”

Banri placed a hand over Taiki’s shoulder with a smile, “I bet we’re pushing the Iwa further back. We’ll push Iwa out of the war.” Banri brought his two fists together, “I’m glad we were selected to be a part of whatever the mission is!”

“Not really,” Taiki folded his hands, “We’re on protective detail. The chance of us seeing any action is slim.”

Don’t jinx us… Kakashi thought with dread. True it was only protective detail, but the village they were assigned to protect is the closest one to the Kannabi Bridge. When he heard they were assigned Hateno Village that morning, Kakashi wanted to scream in frustration. The simple thought of being anywhere close to the bridge made his stomach curl.

“Whatever happens, we’ll do our part,” Taiki said as they watched the camp leaders organizing the squads into their groups.

Kakashi observed the ninja around them. Most were as animated as Banri, communicating their excitement. Kakashi even heard a few assigned to camp or patrolling the south bemoan the fact that they weren’t selected for missions in the Land of Grass or Land of Waterall. Conversely, Kakashi envied them. He would gladly switch places with any of them.

Once their squad was called to the gate, Kakashi was surprised to see Obito assigned to Hateno Village too. His teammate’s eyes widened when he spotted him approach, “Kakashi! What are you doing here?”

“I guess we’re assigned together,” Kakashi said, and wasn’t that another punch to his gut? What were the odds, of both him and Obito being close to the Bridge again? He did everything in his power to keep his teammates away from this mission. Could it be that despite his changes, destiny was still pushing them towards the same tragedy? The unease he’d been clamping down all day rushed back, full force. Kakashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure. At least Rin is safe.

“It’s not a coincidence,” one of Obito’s teammates spoke up. Kakashi estimated that the man, who was projecting a clam energy, to be in his mid-thirties. The way the other two members of Obito’s patrol team looked to him clearly marked him as their captain. “Both my team and Katsu-kun’s are missing a member due to injuries. A missing slot that you two filled. By having our squads work together, we have three pairs of teams among us.”

“You’re vastly overestimating me and Obito’s ability to work together,” Kakashi couldn’t help but mutter.

Obito opened his mouth to argue but froze when he realized that he agreed with his teammate and slowly closed his mouth.

At this time, Kakashi and Obito’s teamwork was basically non-existent. Minato had tried running exercises where he and Obito were pitted against their sensei and Rin. From what Kakashi remembered from those exercises, they always ended up with him and Obito either squabbling or getting in each other’s way. They were completely out of sync. In missions, Minato was always there so they could fight solo with Rin covering their backs. That’s not to say that Kakashi wouldn’t be able to work with Obito now since he was no longer an eleven-year-old brat with an ego complex. But they didn’t know that. Kakashi wanted to find out who ever thought this was a good idea and wring their necks.

“Well, this is a serious mission. I trust you two to have the maturity to put all that aside and not behave like little children,” the man glared at them, delivering a very stern warning. Kakashi didn’t appreciate the man’s condescending tone.

“Yy.. yes, Captain Furuya,” Obito stuttered.

Kakashi simply nodded, not intimidated by the man at all. He had experienced the killing intent of the likes of Orochimaru and Kakuzu, a career chunin didn’t faze him at all. If anything, Kakashi was trying to clamp down on his own killing intent regarding the whole situation. I swear if anything happens, I will find out who assigned us this detail and I’ll unleash unholy terror on them for their lack of common sense.

“I look forward to working with you, Furuya-san,” Katsu extended an arm to greet the other captain.

“Likewise, Fujita-kun. I heard positive feedback from Genji-san,” Furuya replied in kind, shaking Katsu’s hand. “If you have any questions, let me know.” He then pointed to the rest of the team, “These are my teammates. You already know Obito-kun. This is Utai Obara and that’s Jouji Izumi.”

Their squad rattled off their introductions and then the team head out. Konoha’s typical formation dictates that ninja with heightened senses are up front, while the strongest ninja would stay at the back. Frontline fighters would take up the second line while support specialists would be closest to the back. As part of Team Minato, Kakashi took up the first spot while his sensei protected their backs. As a captain and then sensei, however, he always lingered back.

Therefore, when Furuya motioned him to take point and fell to the rear, Kakashi was able to get an idea of Obara’s and Izumi’s roles. Obara and Katsu took positions right in front of Furuya, marking them as support. Behind him were Banri and Taiki while Obito and Izumi took the third line; the line reserved for ninjutsu specialists.

He found it interesting that his temporary squad leaned heavily towards taijutsu and kenjutsu while Obito’s was focused on ninjutsu. He knew the missing member of his squad was a medical ninja, and he bet that the injured ninja from Furuya’s squad was a close-combat specialist to round out the team. But who was the medic?

“Is it only our two squads protecting the village or are their more squads stationed there already, Furuya-san?” Katsu asked.

“There are three more squads there, we’re adding to their numbers until we hear from the Outpost,” Furuya explained.

“So there really is something big happening!” Banri said. “Do you know what it is?”

“We don’t know anything,” Izumi said, annoyance seeping into her words.

“Many are saying there’s big skirmish but really, I think it’s only a matter of tightening our defense now that the Grass Gate fell,” Obara said with a shrug. “It would look really bad if we won that and then lost one of our strategic territories.”

Even though Uchiha Noburo and Shikaku Nara tried to contain as much information as possible, dispatching multiple squads in the morning made it obvious. It didn’t matter though, the key squads left at night and even if someone tried to get the word to Iwa, their forces were already in position. There won’t be enough time to warn the Stone.

“Whatever it is, we won’t lose,” Obito declared. Kakashi was surprised that Obito stayed quiet. Even though it won’t matter much now if their squads knew Jiraya was part of the skirmish, it was good to know that Obito could resist the temptation to show off his knowledge.

“Who’s the medic?” Kakashi asked. He was surprised that their skill set wasn’t the first topic of conversation. They needed to know what everyone was capable of.

“Oh, that’s Obara,” Furuya said, the sudden shift in topic throwing him off.

“Is that your main area of expertise?” Kakashi asked. There was a chance Obara had another specialty and was assigned the medic role forced upon all squads by Tsunade’s directive.

“I specialize in poisons and senbon,” Obara explained. “Naturally, I ended up being the team’s medic too. What about you?”

Kakashi heard Obito mutter ‘scary’ under his breath. He knew there was a story there but would ask his teammate later. Either way, he knew what beasts Genma and Shizune would become as adults specializing in the same area. If Obito thought someone at Obara’s level was scary, he wondered what the Uchiha’s reaction would be to his two classmates in the future. It was bound to be over-the-top but nonetheless amusing.

“Our medic is injured and recovering back in the village,” Taira explained.

“Oh, so you’re not a medic, Fujita-kun?” Izumi asked. She had also made assumptions based on their formation.

“Ahh no,” Katsu smiled nervously. “I’m a long-distance fighter. My main skill is archery.”

Izumi whistled in surprise, “That’s really rare nowadays! I love reading stories about the early ninja era. Back then, ninjutsu wasn’t as common, mainly reserved to major clans. Even then, it was mostly samurai who had skilled bow users, but it was still more common among ninja than now. Archery has fallen out of style since ninjutsu and genjutsu have become really versatile, which has enhanced both offensive and defensive capabilities. I have personally never come across a bow-user! Are you finding it effective?”

“He’s amazing,” Banri bragged. “The number of times Katsu saved my ass with a bullseye to an enemy ninja! We’d be dead without him.”

Although Kakashi was facing forward, Kakashi could practically hear Katsu’s blush as he spoke up, “No no, it’s really Banri’s and Tairi’s close combat skills that allow me free reign to fight to the best of my ability.”

“Well duh, that’s what teamwork is for,” Izumi said playfully. “For us, Obito-kun and I are ninjutsu users. Unfortunately, we both use fire as our main element so we’re not the most balanced. But what we don’t have in variety we make up in raw power! Right, Obito-kun?”

“I am an Uchiha after all,” Obito puffed his chest out.

“So are we!” Banri exclaimed happily, pointing at Taiki and himself.

“Great, more fire fanatics,” Katsu joked and Kakashi couldn’t help but agree.

Furuya sighed loudly, “It’s a shame though. Obara and I are not very strong in ninjutsu. I hoped to have a bit more balance on the team. What about you, Fujita-kun?”

“I have water affinity but don’t use much ninjutsu. I fight from a long distance, so I don’t get lots of opportunities to use it in battle. But don’t worry, Kakashi will more than make up for that,” Katsu reassured Furuya.

“I’ve heard the stories,” Furuya said but didn’t appear to believe them.

“I don’t know what stories you heard but as annoying as it is, Kakashi’s really good at ninjutsu,” Obito got upset at the clear lack of faith. Once again, Kakashi found himself surprised by Obito. He never expected the Uchiha to come to his defense.

“They’re saying you used a lightning jutsu to take out Gou and eliminated 30 enemy in one-go with another. Sorry if I don’t think an eleven-year-old is capable of that,” Furuya explained patronizingly.

“They’re true,” Taiki said with an undertone of steel in his voice. Taiki was the one who heard the kunoichi refuse Kakashi’s help because of his father. The teen obviously thought Furuya harbored similar feelings. Kakashi was flattered but knew Taiki’s anger was misplaced. He could sense that Furuya did not care about his father and was only judging him for his age. There was also a touch of envy. You didn’t survive long as an ANBU if you couldn’t get a good read on people.

From the second the team met, Kakashi noticed Furuya immediately take control and treat Katsu as a young captain in need of mentorship. Their interactions quickly set Furuya as the main captain and Katsu as the secondary one. Of course it made sense, Furuya had a lot more experience. Yet simultaneously, the man seemed to have a need to be the leader and probably fancied himself a hero. Kakashi had no patience for that.

“It’s fine, Taiki,” Kakashi decided to end the conversation before things escalated, “I’ll let my actions speak for themselves.” That said, hopefully we don’t see any action at all, Kakashi prayed again.

He then changed the conversation again, “So Obito tells me you guy enjoy Karuta?” He got all the information he needed. It was safer to maintain the peace by going back to small talk.

“Oi Bakashi, why?!” Obito whined as he saw his squads’ eyes light up.

Kakashi refrained from chuckling at Obito’s annoyance and instead summoned Bisuke and Akino to help keep an eye, ear and nose out for trouble. Poor Pakkun deserved some rest. Meanwhile Obito’s squad quickly launched in glorious praise of the game while his team shared some of their thoughts on the card games they enjoyed. The air became lighter as they moved closer to Hateno Village.

_________________

Conversely, the air around Jiraya was thick with tension as the group of four Konoha ninja moved further into Iwa-controlled territory. Despite all of them suppressing their chakra, Jiraya could still feel the nervous pulse hidden beneath the surface. He couldn’t blame them. The consequences of failing this mission were the war prolonging and missing the chance to change the tide in Konoha’s favor. Jiraya knew every ninja placed on his squad was strong, yet they were all relatively young and weren’t used to the weight of the entirety of Konoha on their shoulder.

This brings me back to the Second War, Jiraya thought. Tsunade, Orochimaru… just as we did, there will always be a new generation rising up to protect Konoha. Jiraya shook those thoughts away; he had to focus; this wasn’t the time to reminisce over the past like an old man. He’ll leave that to when he retires.

Jiraya raised a hand to halt their advancement. Everyone stopped tree hopping and stood still on the next branch, awaiting further commands. “We’re almost at the bridge,” Jiraya spoke up in a low voice. “Minato should have just started the distraction so it’s best to give it a few minutes before we continue. Use this time to steel yourselves and we’ll get going again in half an hour.”

The ninja scattered into better hidding spots in the area, making sure to continue suppressing their chakra. Jiraya took a swing of water and observed his squad mates. Hyuga Yusei was only 23 years old but had already distinguished himself in tracking. While his taijutsu was average amongst the Hyuga, he was blessed with a Byakugan that could see farther than average, clocking in at 700 meters. Yusei currently had his Byakugan active and was scanning the area around them for any enemies. Despite the Hyuga being known for having a cool head in any situation, Yusei was currently drumming on his leg, clearly restless.

Similarly, Sawamura Seiji’s chakra was barely contained as the man kept his eyes on Yusei, worried about the enemy finding them. Although he wasn’t from a clan, the man had worked hard to become a well-balanced ninja. Seiji favored kenjutsu to preserve his low pools of chakra and worked hard to develop his chakra control. His hard work made him the perfect choice to become his squad’s mandatory medical ninja as per Tsunade’s directive. He was told that Seiji picked it up quickly without neglecting his other skills. As such, he was one of the few medics in Konoha that could boast offensive capabilities alongside his medical skills.

Uchiha Noriya, on the other hand, was the picture-perfect Uchiha and radiated confidence. Even though he was the youngest at 19 years of age, as the nephew of Uchiha Noburo, the young man already had experience in high-stake missions. In fact, Noriya was their second strongest combatant. Gifted in ninjutsu, Noriya had already learned three elements: fire, earth and wind. Jiraya wasn’t the biggest fan of Uchihas but had to give credit where credit was due. It was quite rare for a ninja with a natural fire affinity to also learn the wind element. Noriya must have trained really hard to learn his opposite nature affinity to power up his fire attacks, Jiraya complimented.

He knew at this point, nothing he could say would reassure them. They have already said everything that needed to be said, and now it was time to implement it. Once they started their attacks, he knew his teammates would be fine. They were all hand-selected for a reason.

Having given Minato enough time, Jiraya commanded the team to start moving again. This time they slowed down their approach knowing there were enemy squads likely defending the bridge up ahead.

As they approached, Hyuga Yusei’s chakra spiked lightly, eyes widening. “There are three enemy squads defending the bridge. One of them is Han,” he spoke in an urgent whisper.

“The five-tailed jinchuriki?” Sawamura Seiji squeaked in surprise.

“No, the renown sushi chef,” Yusei said, deadpan.

“I heard that his sushi is legendary,” Jiraya chuckled, hiding his concern as he commanded them to a halt once more. He had hoped that Minato’s distraction would take up more resources. How many ninja did Iwa originally have guarding this bridge? Paranoid bastards.

Uchiha Noriya rolled his eyes unamused, “Anyone else worth noting?”

“Nakamura Haruto, and I don’t know who he is but there’s someone wearing the typical garb of the Kamizuru clan,” Yusei replied.

Noriya pursed his lips in annoyance while Seiji face-palmed, “Seriously? What kind of messed up luck is that?”

The Kamizuru clan was the Stone’s version of Konoha’s Aburame clan, except they were known to host bees. Despite being less versatile than the Aburame, their ninja were similarly well-known as trackers and sensors. They wouldn’t be able to sneak up on the bridge easily it seems.

Meanwhile, Nakamura Haruto wasn’t the strongest ninja, being only a B-Rank. Yet, he had an arsenal of devastating genjutsu. His main role was to support stronger ninja in distracting enemy ninja. Of course, any second of distraction against Han would be fatal. It was clear which ninja the genjutsu user was supporting.

"Calm down, Sawamura-kun,” Jiraya spoke calmly. “Let’s discuss the best course of action before engaging.”

“The most important thing is to isolate Nakamura and Han,” Yusei said, picking up on that fact as well.

“That’s going to be the biggest challenge,” Noriya said in agreement. “I suggest creating a distraction that makes it clear I am an Uchiha. There’s no way Han would leave the bridge unguarded, but there’s a good chance Han will command Nakamura to whichever dispatch they send. They’ll be afraid of the Sharingan and would want a genjutsu expert to dispel any I cast.”

“And how will you create an Uchiha distraction?” Yusei asked. “Most of Konoha use fire ninjutsu.”

Jiraya nodded in agreement with Yusei. “Noriya, we’re going to have to let you engage and have them see you. For that to work though, we need to make it seem like you are in a four-man cell. Otherwise, they might realize it’s a trap.” Ninja usually traveled in squads of four.

“Between Nakamura and Kamizuru, they’ll recognize a genjutsu. It’ll have to be a shadow clone, but I don’t know the jutsu,” Noriya said.

“Me neither,” Seiji chimed in.

“I do,” Jiraya said.

Yusei pursed his lips, “Can you afford to split your chakra? You’re going to have to fight Han.”

Jiraya waved his concern away, “To be on the safe side, I’ll only make two clones. Seiji will have to join Noriya.”

“They’ll probably send only one squad after us,” Noriya said. “Will you and Yusei be able to handle a jinchuriki and seven other ninja?”

“What if I transformed into Noriya?” Now was not the time for clan pride and everyone knew that Noriya was the stronger fighter. “They’ll sense I’m channeling more chakra to my eyes, so they probably won’t suspect a thing.”

“But you and Seiji will become susceptible to Nakamura’s genjutsu this way,” Jiraya shot the idea down. “Our best bet is to have Noriya and Seiji finish off the squad of four rapidly and rejoin us.”

“I can’t hold down seven ninja by myself,” Yusei replied honestly and he knew that Han will hold all of Jiraya’s attention. “I know we were planning to attack using the element of surprise to take out a whole bunch of enemy at once. But after Noriya and Seiji show up, they’ll be on their guard.”

Jiraya stretched his hand out and whipped his hair in a ridiculous motion “I may not look like it, but I am a master at infiltration. I’ll land the surprise attack no problem.”

Yusei could tell Jiraya was confident, and who was he to question it. He trusted the Toad Sannin implicitly. He took a deep breath to calm down and nodded twice, “Ok. Ok, if you say you can do it, I’m in.”

“Good man,” Jiraya chuckled and gave him a strong pat on the shoulder, making the younger man slightly lose his balance. “In that case, let’s do it. That Bridge is going down today!”

Chapter Text

Hateno Village, a modest farming village at the borderline of the war, was exactly as Kakashi imagined. Damaged buildings with rudimentary fixes, civilians in tattered clothing, children begging for food on the streets and glares directed at the shinobi. It was reminiscent of every civilian village caught in the crossfire of ninja wars.

The busiest direction of travel was towards the East. In the distance, two large windmills spun lazily under the light summer breeze. A third windmill barely twitched, the tattered cloth around the spokes hung loosely and failed to catch the wind to turn. The civilians walking to and from the area were layered with dirt and sweat.

He heard Obito’s gasp of surprise as he took in the state of the village. Obito had been sheltered from the war up until this deployment. Kakashi knew that his teammate was probably devastated at the situation, just as Sakura and Naruto had been when they first arrived at the Wave. Let’s hope he doesn’t start any revolutions like Naruto did.

Their guide, Sasaki Kaiya, didn’t even bat an eye as she gave them a quick rundown of the situation. Things have been quiet since Iwa has been busy, and the village hadn’t been used to launch an attack for over two months. The civilian medics were given rudimentary chakra healing lessons and thus, the village served as a midpoint to treat the injured should the need arise. Beyond that, the main problem they had to look out for was saboteurs from Iwa, who employed hit and run tactics. The most common target was the crops and wheat pasta mills to keep the land impoverished, but there were the occasional attacks on the village.

“When did they destroy the third mill?” Kakashi asked.

“Oh that? About a month ago,” Kaiya replied nonchalantly as she led them down towards the village center where a small pagoda lay.

“Why hasn’t it been fixed it?” Taiki followed up. “That’s a long time to keep a food resource down given the obvious food scarcity problem.”

“Not our problem,” Kaiya said with a wave of her hand. “Our job is to provide defense and keep Iwa out. You have any questions outside that, go ask the village leader, Maeda-san.”

The streets leading to the center were lined with merchants, who barely had enough food stocked. Taking a glimpse at the prices, even the few crops they had for sale were being sold at exorbitant prices. It was painting an ugly picture.

“Isn’t it our job to help though, as allies?” Banri asked with bitterness.

Kakashi saw Obito nod along empathically, “We have to do something.”

Banri’s clipped voice and judgy undertone was not lost on Kaiya who finally shed her carefree attitude, “Look, you guys just got here. We do our best, but we’re not miracle workers.” She turned to glare at Banri, “Konoha provides protection, so they stay alive, even if they live in poverty. In return, Hateno provides our defense forces with food and medical supplies. It’s a fair trade.”

“Forgive them,” Furuya replied before Banri could argue back. “They’re still young and not accustomed to the realities of war. We understand your situation completely.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. Kiss ass.

“Good,” Kaiya sniffed before refocusing her sight forward.

Banri turned to face Katsu, clearly not satisfied. He wasn’t the only one. Although, Kakashi noticed that Izumi and Obara were also upset, they viewed the situation with defeated acceptance. They were probably used to it. On the other hand, Kakashi’s squad mates were mostly stationed on transport so haven’t been faced with the realities of civilians outside of Konoha.

Before Katsu had the chance to help Banri navigate his emotions, Furuya placed a hand on Banri’s shoulder and shook his head. Banri fisted his hands, and they shook in frustration. But with Furuya’s stern gaze, he slumped his shoulders in defeat. The rest of the walk was completed in silence, but they were close to their distance, so the awkward silence didn’t last long.

“Here we go,” Kaiya announced as she beckoned them inside a wooden two-story building. It was one of the most well-maintained structures Kakashi had seen so far. He waited for everyone to trickle in and made sure to close the door behind him.

Kakashi spotted a few Konoha ninja milling around, writing reports or sharpening weapons. There weren’t as many ninja as reported, most were probably still patrolling the village.  In contrast to the village outside, Kakashi noticed a table to the side stocked with food for the ninja to eat, including fruits, eggs, soup, rice and wheat pasta. He narrowed his eyes. No wonder civilians outside of ninja villages hate us, he thought.

Fortunately, the rest of them were distracted by the greetings of their comrades to really notice the table. After the general pleasantries were exchanged, Furuya brought them back to the task at hand, “I was informed that Watanabe-san is in charge, is he around?”

“Watanabe-san is out at the northern border,” one of their comrades supplied. “Apparently something is going to happen, and we were told to increase our defenses and stay on guard. I’m Itou Eisaku, Watanabe-san’s second in command. He already asked me if you could split into teams of twos and help patrol these areas.” He beckoned them to follow him to a wide table at the far end.

Kakashi shuffled forward to observe the map the man was gesturing towards, showing the village and 5 km outwards. It was a basic geographical map with the main areas of the village marked and red-colored wedge-shaped pentagonal pieces places around, similar to the pieces in shogi. They clearly marked the patrol areas.

“We need some extra reinforcement in these four locations: the two watch towers to the North, the northern defensive wall and a team to patrol around the village,” the man pointed at each location respectively. “Preferably, we need your strongest fighters at the wall. If anything happens, that’s where Iwa will likely attack. Our team will take care of border patrols. We know the defensive gaps and easiest points for Iwa to infiltrate by heart.”

“Understood,” Furuya nodded and turned to the new arrivals. “Fujita-kun, you and I will go to the wall, your long-distance fighting could help delay the Iwa forces. You kids stay in the village while the rest of you take a watch tower.”

Everyone nodded in approval. Personally, Kakashi was silently relieved that he and Obito were given the easiest assignment, even if it was clear that Furuya underestimated them for being kids. Obito, on the other hand, was not satisfied, “Just because we’re young doesn’t mean we can’t fight!”

“It’s not about strength but experience, Obito-kun,” Furuya placated him. “The rest of us have years of experience in keeping an eye out for danger. You have an important job. If danger does come, the villagers will get antsy and it’s your job to reassure them and protect them if someone slips through our defense. Can I trust you to do that?”

Obito huffed, still peeved, but nodded, nonetheless. Kakashi was surprised to how quickly Obito relented. Could his teammate not see how condescending Furuya was generally being towards them.

After they were given a bit more information, Kakashi and Obito left for their assignment. They were made to patrol the district far south, the farthest away from the action if anything were to happen. Although Obito accepted the assignment, he was shuffling along, hands in his pockets and a frown on his face.  

Kakashi wasn’t sure how to approach the situation. He and Obito were rarely, if ever, together without Rin or Minato around. Sure, his and Obito’s relationship was better than it has ever been, but it was a tentative truce. As they walked further out, none of them said a word. Well, this is awkward.

Kakashi distracted himself by observing the civilians around them. They didn’t seem to know there was anything major happening. Despite an air of misery clinging into the air due to their situation, there wasn’t any anxiousness. Only a resigned acceptance of their situation as they went about their day trying to survive.

“How come you aren’t angry?” Obito asked suspiciously, breaking the silence.

“The chances of anything happening here are low anyway,” Kakashi explained. “Besides, I’ve had enough action for a while.” Between fighting Haruki and assisting his sensei with Gou, he didn’t mind a backseat for this low priority mission. Moreover, he wasn’t in the best mental state as he was worried about his sensei and Jiraya.

“Of course you’d rub it in, Bakashi,” Obito spat out angrily.

Kakashi halted in his tracks, “What? I didn’t…”

“Whatever,” Obito bumped him in the shoulder on purpose and kept walking forward, fuming.

Kakashi had to blink away his shock before following a few steps behind. He wasn’t trying to brag about being assigned high profile missions. Kakashi knew that Obito’s assumptions were built upon three years of annoying one another. No matter what I say, Obito always takes it the wrong way. I don’t know how to talk to him.

If Kakashi was honest, a lot of the times they fought had nothing to do with purposeful jabs. Even without meaning to, Kakashi and Obito’s opposite personalities simply clashed and drove the other person to be annoyed. Logically, Kakashi was aware that years of bad blood wouldn’t be solved by one incidence, but he wished it were that easy.

While Kakashi contemplated the realities of their relationship, they had arrived at the district. Unlike the center of the village, the signs of poverty were more pronounced. Nobody was dressed in anything better than rags, the majority of people were skin and bones, children were running around barefoot and Kakashi even spotted a few homeless people sleeping on the sides of the street.

The harsh reality seemed to shake Obito out of his anger, replacing it with sadness. He slowed down, allowing Kakashi to fall back in step with him, “If this is the case in a village that has Konoha helping out, what’s it like in villages with no allies?” Obito whispered, almost afraid of the answer.

“It depends how close they are to the action,” Kakashi answered honestly. “If an unaffiliated village was close to the action, it would either be abandoned or destroyed by now. If they are far, the situation would be similar to here or even better really. Being affiliated with a ninja village doesn’t mean you’re better off financially, just that you are protected so you don’t have to abandon your home. With a war raging, nobody goes on trade so there’s no new income. They money they have is probably being coveted by a few who won’t spend it on anything more than the essentials, given the difficulty in making more. No external trade, no internal trade, and a portion of the food they produce is being given to us. None of that makes for a good economy.”

“That is so wrong,” Obito growled. “It’s wrong on so many different levels. When I’m Hokage, things won’t be the same.”

Kakashi chose not to reply, knowing that pointing out his thinking was wishful would only add to his teammate’s animosity.

“No wonder they hate us,” Obito muttered dejectedly, keeping the conversation going. Kakashi observed that his teammate kept his eyes down, feeling guilty for the villagers’ situation and not wanting to face their accusatory glances.

“You’re right,” Kakashi agreed. “But you have to remember that it’s their choice to stay. They could have immigrated somewhere safer, a village with more distance from the war.”

“Why should they have to leave their home?” Obito shook his head in disagreement. “I love Konoha. If things got bad, I still wouldn’t want to leave. Also, I may not be smart but if it’s too dangerous to leave to trade, it’s going to be too dangerous to leave too.”

Kakashi smiled softly behind his mask; Obito was too kind for this world. “I guess when things got bad, they stayed, hoping things would improve and now it’s too late. Another point is that other villages might not want to welcome them. Even if these villages are far from the action, they’re also struggling to survive. Having additional mouths to feed won’t be welcome.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Obito grimaced. “I know we have some war refugees in Konoha. I never really talked to any of them. I didn’t even think about them.”

“Did you know that the Hatake clan originally joined Konoha as farming refugees?” Kakashi asked. Obito twisted towards his teammate, eyes gleaming with curiosity and surprise. Kakashi wasn’t sure what spurred him to share, but his gut feeling told him that sharing this part of his history with his teammate could help speed up the process of becoming friends. It’s not like any of his clan’s history was personal. He never knew any other Hatake, and as far as he was concerned, it was simply a part of history.

“They… refugees? And wait, you’re from a clan?” Obito asked.

“Not much of a clan left to be honest,” Kakashi replied. “I was told that we were originally from a farming village between the Cloud and Konoha, in what’s now at the edge of the Land of Hot Water and Land of Frost. Our village was caught in the crossfire of the first ninja war. Both countries wanted to add the land to their territories. There are a lot of fertile lands there so it’s great for farming. We had a few ninja in our ranks, but not enough to protect against the ninja villages. Most of my clansmen died and the remaining few left to join Konoha.”

“Why Konoha and not the Cloud?” Obito was hanging on to every word.

“One of my ancestors was a friend of the Second Hokage,” Kakashi replied. “Apparently, he was roaming around the area before Konoha was founded and was injured. She gave him food and a place to heal, so he welcomed our clan without too much trouble.”

“That’s really cool!” Obito’s mood lifted. “You don’t think you’re related to the Second, do you? I mean you have the same hair!”

Kakashi snorted, “Not everyone with white hair is family. Otherwise, I’d be related to Jiraya-sama too.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Obito chuckled with embarrassment, “Also, the Second Hokage never got married.”

“You don’t need to be married to have a child you know?” Kakashi was bemused by Obito’s logic. Did his teammate not know about how reproduction works?

Obito blushed, “I know that, Bakashi! I’m not an idiot. I meant he’s THE Hokage. He wouldn’t have kids without anybody knowing.”

“You never know, he is a ninja,” Kakashi joked.

“Whatever,” Obito punched him lightly on the shoulder. “So does that mean refugees in Konoha are forced to become ninja?”

“Not necessarily,” Kakashi said, “however, they are encouraged to enroll their children in the Academy to see if they have talent. Hatakes did. By the time I was born, everyone had already died in service of the village.”

“That really sucks, I’m sorry,” Obito shared his condolences. “I can’t understand what’s that’s like. It’s like all the Uchiha dying. It’s hard to even imagine.”

Kakashi covered his incredulous laugh at those words with a cough. Oh, the absolute irony. Obito glanced at him with confusion and Kakashi waved away his concern. After controlling his emotions, Kakashi cleared his throat a few times, pretending that it was just a small coughing fit, “Sorry, dust. Anyway, you’re right. There’s no way that would happen.”

Obito looked even more confused, “You’re wearing a mask…”

“Says the person who gets dust in his eyes while wearing goggles, crybaby,” Kakashi reminded him dryly.

“I have sensitive eyes,” Obito spluttered.

Before Kakashi could respond, they heard someone yell in panic. Kakashi and Obito’s demeanors quickly changed, and they rushed towards the sound. Conversely, the civilians wanted nothing to do with the trouble and were quickly walking away from the area. Kakashi didn’t judge them harshly. They were barely surviving their own problems and didn’t want to add more responsibilities on their plates.

As they approached the alleyway where the sound came from, a man ran out breathless, his hand clutching something hard in his pocket. The man glanced at them, eyes landing on their headbands and widening in panic. He glanced at the other direction before turning back towards them and speaking out in a rushed manner, “Help! Someone was hurt. In the alley.”

Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The man was clearly the attacker. Based on his body language, his first instinct was to flee the other way when he saw them approach. He seemed to think he had a higher chance of success tricking them than running, but he was so obvious it was laughable. Without even acknowledging his act, Kakashi burst forward and punched the man in the gut, causing him to crumble onto the street unconscious.

Obito wasn’t even phased and ran inside the alley to help the injured person, having caught on as well. Kakashi bent down and pulled the unconscious man’s hand out of his pocket to reveal a small amount of cash fisted in his hand. Now confirmed, Kakashi pocketed the money to return to its rightful owner and tied the man up. He felt sorry for the man, knowing he was probably driven to crime by his circumstances.

Kakashi left the man on the street for now and followed Obito into the alleyway to check on the situation. He found Obito leaning on top of a young man, hands pressing down on a stab wound in the man’s abdomen. All his feelings of pity for the thief vanishing and turning into anger instead.

“We need to take him to the medic center,” Kakashi said as he took out a swath of bandages. Obito maneuvered the man so that Kakashi could tie the bandages around the wound as a temporary stop measure. “Do you remember where it is?”

“Yes,” Obito confirmed as he lifted the man and supported him over his shoulder.

“I’ll take the thief back and join you,” Kakashi ordered. Obito was physically stronger and larger than Kakashi; he would be faster.

Obito nodded and quickly ran towards the medic center while Kakashi ran back to the thief and found him still sprawled on the floor. The street had mostly empty out by then. Only a few villagers lingered, observing the scene cautiously. Nobody dared approach.

Kakashi concentrated chakra into his hands and brought his hands to the man’s head, using some basic medical ninjutsu to wake him up. The man groaned as his consciousness returned. Kakashi did not want to carry the man anywhere. He didn’t care if the thief’s gut would still be in pain, he was making him walk.

“Don’t! Don’t kill me,” the man pleaded in fear once he came to and realized the situation he was in.

“I’m not going to kill you,” Kakashi replied, masking his emotions. “Get up, we’re going to our base.”

“I had no choice, please,” the man cried out and grabbing at Kakashi desperately.

“You had the choice to steal without endangering that man’s life,” Kakashi glared at him as he unhooked his grip and pushed him away from, making the man clam up. Kakashi grabbed the man’s shirt and lifted him up to stand, then motioned for him to start walking.

Knowing he had no choice, the man walked in resignation, face pale as a ghost. As they moved across the village, onlookers would stop and stare as they passed. Despite the man being the one who committed a crime, the people chose to glare at Kakashi instead. Without knowing anything about the circumstances, their first intuition was to blame the ninja. Accustomed to the glares he spent a childhood receiving in Konoha for being the White Fang’s son, he ignored them with ease.

He entered their base and noticed that there were fewer Konoha ninja than before. Still, one of the more senior ninja approached him and he explained the situation.

“I had no choice,” the man explained himself, hoping to garner sympathy from the other ninja. “We have nothing, and my children are starving. Please.”

“It’s not my call to make,” the Konoha ninja replied sadly. “I’ll take him to Maeda-san. Village matters are not our concern.”

“No please! He’ll kill me. He doesn’t show any mercy, please,” the man pleaded. “I’ll leave. My family and I, we’ll leave!”

“I can’t,” the Konoha ninja said, tone full of regret. “We have an agreement; we don’t meddle in village matters. I can’t risk our alliance for you, I’m truly sorry.”

“Do you need anything else from me? I’d like to check in on the victim,” Kakashi asked. This whole situation was terrible and he wanted to avoid hearing any more of the thief’s pleas.

“No, it’s all clear,” the man shook his head. “Don’t take too long since you need to go back on patrol.”

“Will do,” Kakashi acknowledged the command and left before the man changed his mind. He made a beeline to the medic center and wasn’t surprised that the village’s medical center was small and dingy. He stepped inside and found a small commotion to the left and Obito standing to the side, watching the medics try to heal the man.

“Any problems?” Kakashi asked quietly as he joined his teammate’s side.

“No,” Obito shock his head sadly. “But I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

“Where is she?” one of the medics cried out. As if summoned by the medic’s cry, the door at the opposite end of the center opened with a bang. A brawny man was walking with rushed steps, clutching a woman’s hand tightly and dragging her behind him.

“What the…?” Obito was left speechless by the bizarre display.

Kakashi was similarly stunned into silence, but not due to the vulgar actions of the brawny male. Instead, he was taken aback by the features of the woman being dragged. Bright red hair ran straight down to her chin, parted in the middle. Kakashi swore the woman’s nose was the exact copy of Kushina’s. This woman is an Uzumaki!

“Please, I’m pregnant. I can’t heal anyone else,” the woman was desperately trying to release the grip on her hand, her face contorted in panic.

“It’s Maeda-sama’s cousin’s son,” the man growled and tugged her forward harshly. With that piece of information, Kakashi knew the thief had no chance of surviving Maeda’s judgement. What someone from the village’s ruling family was doing in the poorest district would not be questioned.

Once the man and Uzumaki were next to the injured person’s bedside, the man roughly dragged her sleeve down, revealing a slew of bite marks all over her hand. He brought her hand close to the man’s mouth and the woman stopped struggling in defeat.

“Stop! What are you doing?” Obito could no longer remain silent. Although he had no idea what was going in, the woman’s distress alarmed him, and he moved forward to help her.

“Stay back,” one of the medics blocked Obito’s path. “We have an agreement with this woman. She has a healing ability and in exchange, we provide for her. This is not a part of your jurisdiction, Konoha. Stand down.”

“But, she said she can’t use it now,” Obito exclaimed angrily. Before the medic could reply, Kakashi heard the woman wince in pain as they coaxed the injured man to bite down on her arm. A green glow enveloped the man, color slowly returning to his face as the injury stitched itself up.

That’s when it clicked. Kakashi remembered hearing about a woman with Orochimaru who had the ability to heal others rapidly. It was an offhand piece of information that Jiraya had told him when sharing information about his teammate’s attempts to find immortality. He would never have guessed that the person Jiraya mentioned was an Uzumaki. He wondered if even Jiraya knew that. One thing is for certain, Kushina-san would be livid if she knew.

A minute passed before the man was healed and during that time, nobody moved. As the glow finally eased, Kakashi saw the Uzumaki slump in fatigue, breath shallow.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” the man who manhandled her growled at her slumped figure.

“See, she’s fine,” the medic added her two cents. “You should leave now. You’re not needed here.”

“There is nothing fine about what happened,” Obito yelled back, finding his words again.

Kakashi grabbed his teammate’s hand and dragged him out, in a sight eerily familiar to what they just witnessed. “We’ll be going now,” Kakashi said before Obito could complain.

Once they were outside, Obito pulled his hand out of Kakashi’s grip, “What the hell, you jerk! Don’t you have a heart?”

Kakashi lifted his index hand to his lips, ordering Obito to be quiet. He then pointed to the roof of the building facing the back of the building. Once he confirmed Obito understood, he jumped over there and was joined by Obito.

“She’s an Uzumaki,” Kakashi stated.

“Like Kushina-san!” Obito replied loudly.

Kakashi shushed him urgently, “Be quiet, this is a delicate situation. Like the medic said, this isn’t our jurisdiction. We can’t just accuse our allies of abuse or make demands. We have to think about this logically. I know it’s terrible, but we need to think about this carefully before taking any action.”

“We can write Kushina-san,” Obito suggested, venom lacing his voice. At least that venom was no longer directed at Kakashi now that Obito understood that his teammate was just as unnerved by the situation as he was. “There is no way she’ll let them get away with this.”

“Kushina-san won’t, but Konoha might,” Kakashi disagreed. “We are finally pushing Iwa back and Konoha will not risk creating any problems for someone who isn’t even from the village.”

“But she’s an Uzumaki. They’re Konoha’s biggest allies,” Obito couldn’t believe it. “Even if the Village of Whirlpool was destroyed, Sandaime-sama won’t leave her to suffer.”

“The Third needs to think about what’s best for Konoha,” Kakashi shook his head. “If we write to Kushina-san, the Third won’t let her do anything. Knowing Kushina-san, she’ll probably still help the woman escape against orders. If she does so, Hateno village will pin the blame on Kushina-san, and Konoha by extension. We can’t let that happen.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Obito asked annoyed. “You can’t honestly be thinking of doing nothing. I don’t care if it’s against your precious rules, we can’t just leave her here!”

“That’s not what I’m suggesting. Can you stop attacking me for a second and calm down?” Kakashi asked.

Obito huffed and folded his arms.

“Thank you,” Kakashi muttered, grateful that Obito finally calmed down. “The best course of action… I’d say what we need to do is help her escape, but make sure nobody can tie it back to Konoha.”

“Didn’t you say it’s dangerous to wander around?” Obito asked. “Even if we helped her escape, where would she go and how will she survive being pregnant?”

Kakashi was surprised that Obito was thinking ahead. He had lumped Obito and Naruto in the same category. He wasn’t sure if it was the passage of time or Kakashi’s bias, but Obito wasn’t as big of a knucklehead as Naruto was.

“She’ll go to Konoha,” Kakashi shared his thoughts. “Konoha won’t be able to orchestrate her escape, but if she came to Konoha as a runaway, the Third won’t let her go. Uzumaki genes are strong. He’ll want to keep her, and her potentially strong baby, in the village.”

“I don’t like it, it’s like she’s a weapon,” Obito muttered.

“If it keeps her safe, who cares why,” Kakashi said with shrug. “This way, she’ll have a family in Kushina-san too.”

“That’ll make Kushina-san very happy too,” Obito nodded happily. He was clearly imagining the happy reunion if his dopey smile was any indication.

“Regardless, all of this is moot until we talk to the woman,” Kakashi said. The first thing Kakashi did was create a shadow clone, “Go cover our patrol, create a basic clone to look like Obito and make a showing of us being back out on the streets.”

The clone nodded and left. Before Obito could ask, Kakashi clarified, “We need an alibi, remember? We can’t let anyone tie this back to Konoha.”

He heard Obito let out a sound of understanding as he ran through the familiar signs for the summoning jutsu. Once the smoke cleared, his second favorite Ninken greeted him with a wagging tail, “Hiya, Kakashi.”

Kakashi patted the dog on the head gently, “Hey Bisuke, I need your help.”

“What do you need?” Bisuke was eager to help.

“See that building, the medical center? There is a pregnant woman that should be held alone in a room in the back. Can you go check the area and let us know if there is anything to worry about before sneaking in?” Kakashi asked.

“Sure thing,” Bisuke nodded and immediately set out on his task.

Until Bisuke returned, Kakashi turned back to Obito with a serious look, “Are you sure you want to go through with this? If we succeed in getting her to Konoha, the Torture and Interrogation Unit are going to scan her memory to clear her before allowing her to stay. They’ll know we’re involved. I can take it from here and you can stand back and avoid the consequences.”

“Don’t be stupid, Bakashi,” Obito scoffed, “We’re in this together.”

“Alright,” Kakashi nodded. He felt warm at the statement. Kakashi and Obito were rarely on the same page. He knew executing this rescue together could do wonders for their relationship.

“I just have one question, why don’t we ask the others for help? If it’s not just the two of us, there’s less chance of getting into trouble, right?” Obito pointed out.

“Furuya-san is a spineless ninja looking to curry favor, he’ll sell us out in a heartbeat,” Kakashi said. “If we ask Katsu-san, there’s a chance Furuya will find out. The others are at the watch tower. I also don’t want to get them into trouble. They’re struggling to rise the ranks and having this on their record will set them back.”

“I can see that. But I don’t understand,” Obito said, staring at Kakashi intently.

“What’s not to understand. It’s pretty straight-forward,” Kakashi frowned.

“Why are YOU doing this?” Obito clarified. “Doesn’t this go against the rules? If you’re worried about your squad getting into trouble, doesn’t that mean you’re going to get into trouble? You’re always stubbornly doing everything by the book. So no, I don’t understand, what are you playing at? Are you stringing me along while that clone goes and tells on us or something?”

Kakashi winced at the accusation. He spoke to soon. Obito clearly thought he was heartless. Again, he couldn’t fault Obito; his younger self would never do anything that would risk getting him into trouble the Hokage. But it still hurt. Forget about friendship, his own teammate didn’t trust him.

“You may believe that I’m heartless, but I don’t want people to suffer needlessly,” Kakashi said stoically. “I know I’m skilled enough to pull this off. I’m also gaining a reputation so even if I do get into trouble, Konoha needs me. I’m the genius of my generation so the most I’ll get is a slap on the wrist.”

This was also true. Oh, this stunt would definitely set him back in bringing honor to the Hatake name. Kakashi couldn’t find it in himself to care. He was fighting for his loved one, and he wasn’t going to stand by and watch Kushina’s family suffer. Especially when he knew Orochimaru would eventually get his claws on her or this unborn child. Nobody deserved to suffer by the Snake Sanin. He really needed to hurry and get Tenzo out of there.

Obito kept looking at Kakashi, apparently trying to discern whether there was any hint of foul play. Kakashi rolled his eyes and looked back at Bisuke casing the center, deciding to ignore Obito.

Whatever it was Obito was searching for, however, he seemed to have found it. “Ok then, I’ll trust you.”

“I’m honored,” Kakashi muttered sarcastically, still annoyed by Obito. Part of him wondered if they would ever become friends. Maybe it was enough to know that the Uchiha was alive and happy, then leave it there.

Obito could tell his teammate was upset but felt he was justified in his concerns. Instead of apologizing, he let the tension between them fester.

When Bisuke came back, he immediately sensed the tension and gave Kakashi a concerned look. Kakashi shook his head, “What did you find, Bisuke?”

Bisuke obeyed the silent command, letting the matter drop, “She’s kept in a room by herself in the back. There are metal bars on her window so she can’t escape. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around, everyone else is in the main medic area. The rest of the rooms are supply rooms or a rest space for medics. It’s very barebone security. The woman you want to talk to is clearly a civilian, even though I can sense she has a lot of chakra.”

“Thanks, Bisuke, that’s very useful,” Kakashi praised. “Can you stay with us and let us know if anyone is coming?” Bisuke nodded his consent.

Kakashi then turned to Obito, face completely serious and tone leaving no room to argue, “Obito, you Must Stay Quiet. No matter what she says, don’t let your headband get too tight and stay calm.”

“I know, I know,” Obito said impatiently.

“I mean it,” Kakashi cautioned as he stood up from their crouched position.

“I said I know,” Obito snapped as he followed suit.

“Alright then,” Kakashi nodded. “Let’s go talk to her.”

We might not be starting any revolutions but of course we got dragged into something, Kakashi couldn’t help but sigh at his misfortune. Was it too much to ask for a simple mission?

Chapter Text

Kakashi and Obito swiftly entered through one of the windows of the storage rooms with Bisuke leading the way. They slithered towards the door and waited for Bisuke’s signal that the hallway was empty before making a silent rush to the Uzumaki’s door. The door was locked, but the mechanism was simple. Kakashi took out a lockpick and shifted it around with purpose for a few seconds, quickly opening the door.

He entered the room first, raising his finger to his mouth to silence the woman who was lying on the bed as Obito and Bisuke shuffled inside. The woman stood up in alarm but was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and remained quiet. She stood on guard but clearly wasn’t a ninja judging by the lack of proper stance, further confirming her civilian status. Why she was willing to hear them out, Kakashi wasn’t sure. But he was grateful that she didn’t make a fuss as he closed the door.

“Are you ok?” Obito asked, breaking the silence first but keeping his voice a whisper.

“Who are you?” The woman replied instead, swaying lightly on her feet from fatigue but refusing to sit down with two strange kids in her room.

“We’re from Konoha,” Kakashi explained getting straight to the point. “We know an Uzumaki back in the village, and we want to help you escape.”

“Another Uzumaki?” she was cautiously optimistic.

“Kushina-neesan,” Obito nodded energetically. “They call her the Red-Hot-Blooded Habanero because she gets crazy scary when she’s angry. Do you know her?” Obito asked hopefully.

The woman contemplated the name for a moment then shook her head, “Doesn’t ring a bell. Then again, we’re all scattered. Uzushiogakure fell when I was still a child.”

“Oh yeah, I’m... I’m sorry,” Obito mumbled not sure how to reply.

She waved his concern away, “It happened a long time ago.”

Kakashi was about to share his own condolences but then saw her sway on her feet again, “You need to sit down; you’re really tired.”

“One moment,” she crouched next to the bed and opened a secret compartment in her drawer. She took out a small box and ruffled through the paper slips inside. Seals, Kakashi noted. Uzumaki seals. Grabbing the one she was looking for; she carefully hid the box and then made her way to the door. Obito and Kakashi sidestepped out of her way and watched her stick the seal on the door.

“Allow me,” Kakashi said and moved to charge the seal, so that she didn’t waste any extra energy. He inspected the seal and recognized it as a privacy seal. It would mask their voices, but not their chakra signatures so they had to remain vigilant.

“Privacy seals,” she elaborated. “They usually leave me alone after I heal a lot of people so we should be fine. Never hurts to be extra careful.”

“Bisuke will also alert us if someone is approaching,” Kakashi pointed at his dog who nodded confidently. “Please sit down now, you need to rest.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” she smiled warmly at them before sitting down on her bed with a tired sigh.

If Kushina is a whirlpool, this woman is a soft stream, Kakashi noted. It was probably a terrible assumption to make but with Kushina and Naruto being bundles of chaotic energy, he assumed the high chakra levels genetic to the Uzumaki made them all a bit crazy. It’s probably just Kushina-san’s own brand of frenzied genetics, he concluded.

“Alright, now that we’re set let’s start from the top, what are you two doing here?” she asked kindly.

“I’m Uchiha Obito, the person who’s going to be Hokage and protect everyone,” Obito boasted. “But I don’t need to wait till I’m Hokage to help, we’re going to get you out of here and back home to Konoha where you’ll be safe.”

“Pleasure to meet such an outstanding young ninja,” the woman replied genuinely that Kakashi wasn’t sure if she really meant it or was humoring his teammate out of good manners. “I don’t want to get you two into trouble, and I’m sure you’re both great ninja but I know Konoha isn’t allowed to intervene. I may not be a ninja but I’m well aware of the politics at play.”

“Screw the politics,” Obito growled. “What happened right now… that’s… that’s so wrong! They can’t do that to anyone. They hurt you!”

The woman subconsciously rubbed at her sleeve above the bite marks, “I’m used to it.” There was an undercurrent of sadness that they all picked up on. Bisuke jumped onto the bed and whined softly. She smiled at the dog and petted him gently.

“You may be used to it, but can your fetus handle it?” Kakashi asked bluntly. Obito bumped him none too gently on the side, giving him a glare for being inconsiderate. Kakashi lightly shoved him away from him but kept his focus on the woman.

The woman took a deep breath as her hand moved from her sleeve to her stomach, clenching lightly. After a few beats of silence, her eyes hardened in resolve, “No, no it can’t. But if they catch me...” She left the words unspoken, yet her fear spoke volumes.

“We won’t let them,” Obito promised, even though nobody could promise that.

“I have a plan,” Kakashi stepped in.

“It’s too risky,” she replied conflicted. On the one hand she wanted to protect her unborn child. On the other, she didn’t want to be killed or get the young pair involved.

“He’s really smart, Uzumaki-san.” Obito reassured her as he pointed at Kakashi. “I know we’re just kids, but we can get you to Konoha safely. Please trust us.” 

Kakashi was surprised by Obito’s outspoken praise, even if he knew it was partly to convince her. Obito jumps from hurling insults to complimenting me as fast as Danzo grabs any opportunity to usurp power. Was he always this way? Kakashi wondered.

“Is that so,” she smiled softly at Obito’s plea before facing Kakashi. “Alright then, let’s hear this plan,” she said kindly. “But first, how about we introduce ourselves too? My name is Uzumaki Ayana.”

“Hatake Kakashi,” he replied. While sharing your name to strangers wasn’t usually wise, Kakashi knew it was important to establish trust if he had a chance of getting her to agree to his plan to get her to Konoha.

“Uchiha Obito,” Obito said, making Ayana try to hide her laughter.

“You already said that” Kakashi reminded him, resisting the urge to face-palm.

Obito blushed several shades of red as he stammered, “I knew that!”

“Anyway,” Kakashi decided to spare his teammate further embarrassment, “before I finalize the plan I need to know. Are any of your guards skilled chakra sensors?” Kakashi knew as a civilian she probably didn’t have the best assessment, but she may share some information that could help. As he always notes, knowledge was power.

“No,” she shook her head. “I know they can sense tell I’m in the room. They have a guard throughout the night but once during the daytime I tried to escape. I could barely get a few meters away before they tracked my scent using dogs. So, I’m guessing that they can’t sense distinct chakra signatures like I can.

“You’re a sensor!” Obito exclaimed excitedly. Although his face was set in a grimace as she spoke, it’s not every day you meet a skilled sensor. Even Obito could appreciate that.

“Why’d you think I trusted you so quickly?” Ayana smiled at his reaction. “I assure you that I am not a naïve woman despite not being a ninja. I can sense your kind chakra and good intentions.”

“Kind? How can chakra be kind? And you can tell if we’re lying?” Obito asked confused.

“Chakra sensing is complicated, and I don’t think this is the time to get into the specifics,” she replied gently. “I’ll explain it to you in more detail later if fate allows us. But yes, your chakra reacts in different ways when you’re lying, or worried, or happy and so forth. I can also feel your chakra in relation to your general personality.”

“That’s really cool!” Obito was fascinated and even Kakashi could respect her tremendous chakra sensing ability. He knew for a fact that Kushina didn’t possess this skill. The Uzumaki were always full of surprises.

“To be very brief Obito-kun, your chakra is like a roaring but warm flame,” she continued. Kakashi didn’t think it was possible, but Obito blushed an even brighter red, reminiscent of the Uchiha crest he bore so proudly.

“While Kakashi-kun, your chakra is like the hush before a storm, a distant summer thunderstorm,” she also shared her thoughts on his chakra. Fortunately for Kakashi, his mask hid the light flush in his cheeks. Personalized chakra signature readings should be kept private, he decided.

Kakashi coughed and changed the subject, “Ok then, well since it’s dogs that’s perfect. We can confuse dogs, right, Bisuke?”

“As easy as hunting a duck,” Bisuke confirmed. A duck? Kakashi knew there was a story there that he needed to extract from his Ninken later.

“He speaks!” Ayana startled.

Bisuke, who was still on her lap, looked up to her lazily, “Of course I can.”

“Summoning animals usually do,” Kakashi said, used to civilians being surprised by this fact.  “Alright, so here’s the plan.”

_____________

As he blocked the steam-powered kick, Jiraya cursed for the fourth time that day. His first curse was uttered when their first surprise attack took out four ninja, leaving Yusei to fight three at a time. His second, was when his shadow clone with the distraction team dispersed. They were winning the fight, but now the fate of Noriya and Seiji was unknown. His third curse was expelled when his red haroi was burnt mid-battle… he had just purchased that one recently too!

And his he continued his fight with the jinchuriki, he knew many more curses will follow. So far, the combatants had been evenly balanced. The landscape was littered with the remnants of explosions, curtesy of Han’s steam release and Jiraya’s boiling oil release techniques. Jiraya knew from the last time they fought that he couldn’t allow Han time to use the jinchuriki transformation.

Although Han used the steam technique to power his taijutsu, Jiraya was no slacker. After sparring with Minato multiple times and dealing with his students’ speed, as well as entering the fight with sage mode active and the two toad sages on his shoulder, he kept up with the jinchuriki’s advanced taijutsu.

Additionally, while Jiraya was at a disadvantage as the high pressure of the steam could disperse his boiling oil release, his fire and boiling oil releases worked well-enough as a defensive counter. Even if Jiraya couldn’t land a finishing blow using the elemental attacks, they stopped Han’s attacks against him. This allowed Jiraya to pressure Han from the moment they started the fight, always staying close to him. Moreover, the longer the fight went on, the more Jiraya was able to read his opponent and slowly turn the fight in his favor. Han was strong, but Jiraya had vastly more experience.

The jinchuriki remained outwardly calm but internally was starting to worry. Han, who is renowned for his close-combat steam-armor charges, was used to ninja trying to force him into mid-range battles rather than letting him close the distance. Therefore, he was always able to easily transform in the jinchuriki cloak. It took a few seconds, but his opponents were usually far away enough. Jiraya was the first ninja to want to fight against him in close quarters. Begrudgingly, he was impressed. Screw whoever gave us this intel and forgot to mention that Jiraya of the freaking Sanin was the one invading the bridge.

Knowing it was risky, but that that the battle’s pace needed to change, Han prepared his next attack. He started to gather more of Kokuo’s chakra as superheated steam began to swirl around him. The air crackled with intense heat, and faint wisps of boiling mist seeped from the seams of his armor.

With a sharp grunt, Han slammed his foot into the ground. The built-up steam blasted outward in a violent burst, unleashing a concussive wave that tore through the earth underfoot and ripped into Jiraya’s defenses. The Sannin braced himself, but the shockwave hit like a hammer, hurling him backward.

For an instant, victory seemed near. But when Han tried to advance, his armor hissed and rattled, the overheated joints of his gear locking up from the extreme pressure. Steam vented wildly, filling the air with scorching vapor as he stood frozen, unable to move for precious seconds.

That momentary lapse was all Jiraiya needed to regain his footing and prepare his next move. Knowing this was a turning point in the battle, Jiraya signaled the husband-wife toad pair to action. “Sage Art: Bath of Boiling Oil,” they yelled in unison. A burst of wind, oil and fire rushed towards the jinchuriki. The elements mixed together in a fiery inferno, the heat so intense that the air around the jutsu distorted as it hurled forward.  

Han desperately channeled steam, knowing that he could negate most of the damage by dispersing it his steam blast pressure, he wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed. He desperately launched himself to the left to avoid the powerful blast that engulfed the area. Without the use of his locked appendages, he landed clumsily on his side,

Jiraya already knew that winning a raw elemental clash against steam release would fail and was expecting Han to avoid the attack. The true goal was to distract him long enough to catch him with this next long-range attack.

The second they had unleashed the first attack, the two frog sages had leapt into the sky, “Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant,” they spoke in unison. Jiraya had followed Han’s trajectory and was already running in close once more as the jinchuriki regained his footing.

Between the roaring flames and clumsy evasion, Han wasn’t aware of the toads’ attack and focused on blocking Jiraya as they clashed together once more. Before Han was even aware of what was happening, the toad chant’s waves reverberated around them.

Han summoned more steam to create a wall of fire to block the attack. What Han didn’t know was that the attack wasn’t physical even if it presented as such. The genjutsu bypassed the physical barrier and the jinchuriki’s movements froze as he was ensnared in the illusion.

Not wasting the chance as Han’s steam-based defenses finally fell, Jiraya moved to deliver the decisive finishing strike. A stream of blood gushed from the jinchuriki’s neck as his head rolled to the left and the body collapsed. As the jinchuriki’s life faded away, the pent-up steam he had been building up, coupled with the release of Kokuo’s chakra, created another power blast that rocked the battlefield.

Jiraya was suddenly flung into the edge of the canyon and slammed into the ridge before he started falling into the ravine. As the final vestiges of his consciousnesses began to fade, Jiraya managed to use Needle Jizo to protect his body right before his back slammed into the surface below, and he knew no more.

______________

Kakashi and Obito sat in one of the tables at the corner as they ate their lunch. They had aligned on all the details of the plan they’d launch tomorrow night. Kakashi would have preferred an extra day to observe the guards, but it wasn’t clear how long they’d be in Hateno Village. Their deployment was added support until the Kannabi Bridge was destroyed. At most, they’d stay an extra day or two. Having Uzumaki Ayana escape the same day they left would be more suspicious. They couldn’t chance it.

“I can’t stand leaving her there,” Obito whispered, barely touching his food.

“Not here,” Kakashi warned. Watching Obito’s face twist as if constipated at those words, Kakashi sighed, “It’s the best way to secure her a happier future. Just two more days. Now drop it.”

“Whatever,” Obito stabbed a piece of egg aggressively before stuffing it into his mouth.

“Good job, you killed the egg,” Kakashi snorted as he snuck in another spoonful of food without anyone seeing. It was still weird to think that his old team had all seen his face. As a child, he didn’t have the skills to eat quickly without those close to him catching glimpses of his face. Hence, he had a general rule as kid to not eat outside his home or team training grounds. On the occasions where his team went to a restaurant, Kakashi made sure he sat in a way where they blocked his view so he could eat in peace. It was a welcome change to be able to eat without his companions trying to catch him without the mask on.

Obito’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance but thankfully he didn’t reply. He picked at his food, clearly in distress, “I never felt guilty for eating before.”

Ahh this is now about the poverty situation in Hateno Village now, Kakashi realized. “Hopefully the war ends soon, and everybody will be better for it,” he said.

“Except the losing side, right?” Obito asked.

“It’s been going on for so long so I think all parties will be ready to agree to generous terms if it means the end of the fighting,” Kakashi said. It was what had happened in the past. When Iwa, the main aggressor, was forced to drop out of the war, Konoha and Kumo decided to stop fighting after a few weeks because they didn’t want to lose manpower and remain the strongest two nations. The people also didn’t have the energy and drive to continue. Everyone just wanted the war to end. Sure, Iwa had to pay reparations and lost some territory, but the terms in general were quite forgiving. The Stone still harbored ill-will towards Konoha for being the reason they lost the war, but they didn’t act upon it and focused on rebuilding.

“And you say that I’m the blindly optimistic one,” Obito raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. Witnessing some of the realities of the world had shaken him. Kakashi wasn’t worried though, Obito will snap out of it soon. It wasn’t in the Uchiha’s nature to be sulky and morbid.

Without warning, Obito slapped his cheeks and took a deep breath, startling everyone in the building. “I can’t lose to you in hope! The war will end peacefully, and as Hokage, I’ll make sure the peace remains.”

That was quick, Kakashi sweat-dropped as the other ninja in the room startled. Some had even leapt from their chairs, kunai brandished and whipping their heads around for the danger.

“Oi kid, don’t start shouting randomly around ninja! We’re all tense. Didn’t your sensei teach you anything?” a man yelled.

“Don’t you dare say anything about Minato-sensei!” Obito leapt from his chair and yelled back even more loudly.

Kakashi grabbed Obito’s sleeve and pushed him back down onto the chair, “Sorry sorry, it’s been a long day.”

Obito was about to shout something else, but Kakashi stepped on his foot and making his teammate wince in pain. The other Konoha ninja shook their heads and went back to their food, fortunately dismissing the whole ordeal as childish antics.

“Did you have to step so hard?” Obito pouted as he rubbed his foot, his eyes glistening with held back tears.

“It seemed necessary at the time,” Kakashi replied unapologetically. “Besides, if you want to be Hokage, you can’t have people hate you. You aren’t trusted and respected because you become Hokage, you become Hokage because people respect you.”

“Oh,” Obito’s eyes widened in realization. “That makes so much sense! I never thought about it that way.”

Kakashi recalled the moment when Shikaku had told him he was close to being voted in as Hokage. When Kakashi denied he was good for the role, Shikaku told him that almost everyone in Konoha trusted him to always strive for what’s best for Konoha, and that’s what made him qualified. It was quite a long journey from the disgraced White Fang’s son to Hokage candidate. Regardless, he wanted nothing to do with that role. Better to make sure Obito didn’t screw it up.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re different,” Obito gave him a curious look.

“Almost dying can do that to a person,” Kakashi replied indifferently.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Obito asked with concern.

“Not two hours ago you accused me of being a manipulative heartless bastard and now you’re worried about me?” Kakashi asked in annoyance. Obito switching between liking and hating him at the drop of a coin was starting to bug Kakashi. He had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and didn’t have time to manage his teammate’s mood switches.

Obito winced at the reminder, but stood his ground “You can’t be upset with me for wondering why you’d break the rules. You never did before. Besides, I want to make sure you’re ok so that you don’t screw up.” Kakashi was easily able to tell that Obito was lying. He was concerned, but not about screwing the mission up. He was concerned for Kakashi. He just didn’t want to admit it.

“I’m fine. If you want something to worry about, focus on how you’ll accomplish your task,” Kakashi said, before picking up his plate and leaving the table. “Come on then, we need to get back on patrol.”

Obito wanted to stop Kakashi, wanted to raise his arm and block his teammate’s path. He wanted to talk. His body wouldn’t move though. He let Kakashi pass him without speaking up and silently followed him. Standing side by side as they washed their dishes, Obito couldn’t help but remember the first time he had talked to Kakashi after the genius had graduated from the academy.

Kakashi was already running around on missions by then. Instead of praise, Obito was hearing annoyed Konoha ninja complaining about Kakashi’s rule-obsession. Hence, despite a part of him being jealous that Kakashi was out there and fighting for Konoha, another part was worried.  

Therefore, when Obito saw Kakashi sitting in the middle of the playground at sunset, he found it strange and decided to talk to him. He didn’t think much of it was he walked up to him. Afterall, before leaving the academy, Obito and Kakashi were somewhat friends. At any rate, Kakashi tolerated his presence, and they would engage in conversation. If Obito was honest, he had missed Kakashi even if the other boy was usually very quiet and mostly replied with one-worded answers.

He had walked up to him confidently and asked him about his missions. When Kakashi dismissed him, he had gotten angry, telling the other boy he was only worried about him. Obito recalled the exact words that shock him: I’m not so desperate as to need a weak ninja wannabe like you to worry about me. Obito saw the hurt in Kakashi’s eyes, but his anger blinded him to Kakashi’s pain, and he lashed out. When they became teammates, the division between them only continued to grow.

Now here he was again, standing next to Kakashi, angry but also concerned. This time though, Kakashi had saved his life. Kakashi chose to stay behind, to die, to protect him and Rin. This wasn’t the same as the past. He knew Kakashi cared, irrespective of what the other boy said.

“Not this time,” Obito vowed silently. “This time, I’m not letting him run away!”

“Look, I only wanted…” Obito began but was interrupted by a comrade barging into the building full of distress.

“Jiraya-sama was injured badly.” The man announced as he ran to the second-in-command, Itou Eisaku. “They’re only a few meters out. You need to send a message to Tsunade-sama to come and treat him. NOW.”

Isaku immediately grabbed a paper and began scratching out a message in ink furiously. Kakashi didn’t wait for his next set of orders. While everyone was distracted and asking for more details, he quietly left the building and headed towards the gates in a sprint. He was surprised that Obito had followed him without making a scene. Obito nodded seriously and the two of them increased their speed.

When they arrived at the gate, they saw a group of ninja already crowding the gate. A man was ordering everyone to stand back and maintain their posts. Kakashi assumed that this man was the commander, Watanabe-san. “Stay vigilant, Iwa could attack. Protect the village and protect Jiraya-sama.”

The ninja listened to him and parted reluctantly as they returned to their posts across the wall. Now that the field of vision cleared, Kakashi saw Jiraya and another ninja lying down on makeshift stretchers. Surprisingly, he also saw his sensei walking next to Jiraya’s stretcher, mouth in a deep-set frown.

“Sensei!” Obito ran up to the man once he noticed him a few seconds after Kakashi.

“Obito? You were stationed here? Kakashi, you too?” Minato’s focus was clearly shaken, and he was taken aback at the sight of two of his students next to him.

“What are you two doing here?” Watanabe asked.

“Is Jiraya-sama going to be alright?” Kakashi ignored both questions as he fell in step with his sensei and assessed the Sanin. Jiraya had a few burn marks and bruises all over his body. Yet the main issue was clearly the man’s back. Whoever provided initial treatment had stabilized the man’s neck and spine.

“He broke his back,” Minato said as they walked towards the medical center. They couldn’t run as they didn’t want to jostle Jiraya and make the injury worse. “It’s… it could be really bad.”

“How bad?” What do you mean?” Obito asked confused. Kakashi knew from his sensei’s tone that Minato was worried about paralysis. Medical ninjutsu was amazing, but there were some injuries that even the best ninja couldn’t heal. Traumatic injuries to the spine were always complicated.

“We’ll have to wait for Tsunade-sama, if anyone can heal injuries like this it’s her,” Watanabe answered. Minato pursed his lips and didn’t offer any reassurances.

“What about the other ninja?” Kakashi asked, turning his head to glance at the ninja being carried in another stretcher, the clean bandages on his leg already dotted with blood.

“Seiji-san will need extensive therapy, but his leg should go back to normal with time,” Minato replied. Kakashi was glad to see some tension release at the mention of some good news. “Yusei-san made it without any major injuries,” Minato pointed at a Hyuga walking next to Seiji, hand in a sling and littered with shallow wounds.

“What happened sensei?” Obito asked. They still had a few minutes before reaching the medical bay at their pace and the curiosity was eating him.

“That’s confidential,” Watanabe cut Minato off.

Minato waved away the man’s concern, “The mission ended in success, the news is already spreading. We destroyed Iwa’s Kannabi Bridge, a key logistical channel for their war efforts. We also killed many of their ninja when serving as a distraction. We’re hopeful that this means Iwa will have to drop out of the war.”

“It’s more than many,” Watanabe snorted. “From what I’m hearing, you killed around a thousand Iwa scum all by yourself, Yellow Flash.”

Minato’s expression barely changed, and for those who don’t know him they’d think he was unaffected. Yet Kakashi was able to note the minuscule tension in his sensei’s shoulder. Killing a thousand people was not easy, but he had done it again. Last time, Obito’s death eclipsed everything else. I wonder how affected Minato-sensei was after killing so many last time?  

“A… a thousand!” Obito yelled in astonishment. “Sensei! You’re amazing!”

Minato replied with a strained smile yet failed to elaborate further on the matter.

“But who could get one up on Jiraya-sama?” Kakashi asked, mind reeling at the outcomes of the mission.

“Jiraya-sensei fought and killed the five-tailed jinchuriki,” Minato let out a long-suffering sigh.

“He killed a jinchuriki from Iwa? Amazing.” Obito was stunned. He grew up hearing warnings about how Iwa’s jinchuriki were especially strong and had a flee-on-sight warning.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was stunned to a stop. What was a jinchuriki doing at the bridge? Curse the Kannabi Bridge to the deepest pit of the Shinigami’s stomach!

“Kakashi-kun?” Minato noticed Kakashi’s distress.

“You said the mission was top-secret,” Kakashi needed answers, and he needed them now.

“Sometimes the unexpected happens,” Minato replied darkly. At the same time, he signed for Kakashi to be quiet and drop the matter for now. His sensei was worried about a leak. Kakashi forced the next question down his throat, as much as he needed clarity this was not the time and place.

Minato changed the topic quickly, “Watanabe-san, any news on finding Uchiha Noriya?”

“Nothing yet,” the man shook his head gravely. “I sent two teams as back-up. I hope we find him, alive.”

“Noriya-san is missing?” Obito’s eyes widened. Kakashi briefly wondered how his teammate knew this other Uchiha. Kakashi certainly didn’t.

“Yes. We’re not sure what happened. Between the blood loss and low chakra, Seiji-san blacked out. When he woke up, Noriya-san and one of the Iwa he was fighting were missing,” Minato explained. “We sent a team to track him down. We all wanted to give chase, but with the severity of the wounds we had no choice but to evacuate the injured as soon as possible. The Two Toad Sages were with Jiraya-sama when I found him. Even with their Sage Mode, they couldn’t detect hints of Noriya-san. Then again, they aren’t as familiar with his chakra so that could mean nothing.”

They arrived at the medical center and Hateno Village were giving them the royal treatment. Medics were already waiting outside and escorted the ninja inside. Representatives of the Maeda clan were there as well, reassuring the Konoha ninja that they would provide the best care and treatment they had.

A group of medics led the injured to beds and began treating them while Jiraya-sama was taken to a private room. Watanabe dropped back to take care of the mass injured and deal with the Maeda clan, leaving Jiraya’s care to Minato. Obito and Kakashi trekked after their sensei, not wanting to leave him alone.

“Minato-san, I’m Haruto, the head-medic here. Don’t worry, Jiraya-sama is in good hands,” the man stated pridefully.

“Assess him but do nothing,” Minato stated threateningly. “Tsunade-sama is coming, and injuries of this gravity are best left to the most experienced medic.”

“Minato-san, I assure you that I’m the best Hateno has to offer,” Haruto said.

“I don’t doubt that, but any error on spinal injuries could spell permanent paralysis,” Minato did not give the man any leeway. “Tsunade-sama will heal him. You may leave.”

“I still haven’t assessed him,” Haruto proclaimed with annoyance.

“There’s no need anymore, I take that back,” Minato stood between the medic and Jiraya protectively. After witnessing the medic’s boastfulness, Minato didn’t trust him not to screw up in attempt to prove his worth. “You may leave, Haruto-san.”

Haruto's face flushed red in anger, but nobody dared mess with Minato on a regular day. An angry and agitated Minato, Haruto was wise to high tail it out of there without another complaint.

Now that it was only Minato and his two students in the room. Minato collapsed on a chair, no longer masking his concern. His shoulders hunched forward, and his head tipped downwards as he rubbed the sides of his temple.

Obito turned to Kakashi and looked absolutely lost and unsure of what to do. Obito had never seen his sensei as anything but infallible. He clearly had no idea how to approach a vulnerable Minato.

Kakashi was going through his own turmoil about the outcomes of the mission. A potentially permanently disabled Sanin, a killed jinchuriki and a missing Uchiha. He couldn’t even fathom the implications of these changes to the timeline. Also, what were the odds that another Uchiha would go MIA (missing in action). How could so many things change but also stay the same. Kakashi’s mind was filling up with new theories as to how time travel worked and its consequences. Maybe the universe did not like change and tried to balance any actions Kakashi took? Maybe the universe was vengeful, causing more damage the more Kakashi tried to fix things?

Seeing Minato’s state of mind, Kakashi forced himself to push these thoughts away for now and turn his full attention to his sensei. He could brainstorm his theories later.

“Jiraya-sama will be alright,” Kakashi broke the silence. “Tsunade-sama is the best and he’s her teammate. She won’t rest until he’s back on his feet.”

“Exactly,” Obito jumped in. Never comfortable with silence, the Uchiha took the chance to keep the conversation going, “Jiraya-sama is very strong. Everything will be fine.”

Minato lifted his head up and saw the concern on his students’ faces. He gave them a shaky smile, “Let’s hope for the best then.”

“Yes sir,” Obito smiled brightly, happy to see his sensei feeling better.

“You never did tell me, what’s your assignment? Don’t you need to get back to it?” Minato asked. It was a good distraction from his circling thoughts.

“We were assigned to patrol the village farthest from the gates,” Obito groused. “Basically, we were given the useless task.”

“You have to work your way up, Obito-kun,” Minato let out a small laugh at Obito’s dismay. Obito perked up at that and began to describe in exaggerated detail the tediousness of their task. His over-the-top complaints and descriptions helped Minato relax.

“Then we went to the medical center, and you won’t believe what happened,” Obito’s exuberance became a bit muted as he recalled the plight of Uzumaki Ayana.

“Turns out that the injured man has ties to the head of the village, Maeda-san,” Kakashi cut his teammate off. “The thief will probably be executed without a second thought.”

Obito caught on, and ended the story there, “It’s so unfair. The village is suffering so much.”

“Let’s hope that Iwa can’t continue, that will help bring life back to the village,” Minato said. Kakashi could tell that the man didn’t really believe that. If anything, the Maeda clan will take advantage of the chaos that follows the end of conflict to increase their wealth.”

Once Minato turned to look at Jiraya again, Obito shot Kakashi a questioning look. Kakashi signed later but didn’t elaborate. Minato had enough on his mind without adding the stress of helping an Uzumaki escape. The fact that his sensei never noticed the interplay between his students or that Kakashi cut Obito off purposefully showed how distracted his sensei was. Kakashi knew that it was best to wait and see before deciding whether to loop him in.

If anything, Kakashi was worried they would force Ayana to heal again. Based on what he’d observed so far, Hateno would keep Ayana a secret for fear of Konoha forcing them to hand her over despite their agreement. However, the temptation of gaining higher favor with Konoha by treating a Sanin could tip the scale the other way. He would bet his saber that the Maeda clan were now discussing the pros and cons of doing just that.

“Kakashi-kun, could you do me a favor?” Minato asked, still looking at Jiraya.

“Of course, sensei,” Kakashi nodded.

“Please pen a letter to Orochimaru-sama,” Minato asked. “He should know about Jiraya-sensei’s condition. The missive sent to the outposts only explained the outcome of the mission but not the details of the injured. Jiraya-sensei would want Orochimaru-sama to know.”

Kakashi wanted to say that Orochimaru probably didn’t care about Jiraya based on the number of times the man had tried to kill the Toad Sanin in the future. Regardless, he decided to honor his sensei’s wishes, and if he was being honest, he wanted a moment to collect his own thoughts.

“I’ll be right back,” Kakashi said. Before leaving, he nodded at Obito seriously: take care of him. Obito nodded back and went to sit on a chair next to Minato. Kakashi heard Obito launch into a tale about his patrol assignments as he left the room.

He avoided everyone else as he made his way outside the medical center. Before heading to the headquarters to send the message, Kakashi jumped to one of the roofs to take a breather.

What do I do now? He wondered. Uzumaki Ayana, the knowledge of the future… what was the best way to proceed? The consequences of the Kannabi Bridge made him feel like he was failing horrendously.

Despite his consuming thoughts, Kakashi didn’t miss the slight movement on an adjacent roof. Only someone trying to remain hidden would move so cautiously. He quickly turned around, kunai blazing. It was brief, but Kakashi wouldn’t forget that man. Half black and half white, he was looking into the window of Jiraya’s room with a wide smirk before disappearing into the ground leaving no trace of his presence.

Akatsuki? That is, without a shadow of a doubt, the weird plant guy who was with Tobi. What’s he doing here?

Pieces of an ambiguous puzzle began to click in Kakashi’s brain, and he did not like the picture they were making. His mission had gotten infinitely bigger, and he no longer held the belief he could handle it all on his own.

Chapter Text

After penning the letter to Orochimaru, he returned to find Minato regaling Obito about a funny mission mishap he had when he was under Jiraya’s wing as a genin. Kakashi’s curiosity piqued; his sensei barely mentioned his genin team and he had never met his teammates before.

Once Minato ended the anecdote, eliciting laughter from Obito, Kakashi couldn’t help but ask, “Where are your teammates now?”

“Yui retired after she married and lives in the Fire Capital,” Minato said with a wistful smile. “Haruki was our medic, and he retired to work full-time at the hospital. We didn’t stay together for long, but it was fun.” Minato turned back to look at his sleeping sensei fondly, the memories of the past swimming in his head.

Kakashi found it interesting that only his sensei came out as a high-ranking ninja. He knew Jiraya was a great teacher; he managed to train Naruto, Pain and the Yellow Flash after all. Usually though, all the ninja with a direct line to the First and Second Hokage were either jonin or dead, or so he thought.

“Obstrician?” Obito asked confused.

“Obstetrician,” Kakashi clarified. “They focus on caring for pregnant women, delivering babies, and postpartum care.”

“Why do you know that?” Obito asked.

“How do you not?” Kakashi replied.

“Now now, not everyone is aware of the various medical fields,” Minato said once he saw Obito’s eye twitch in annoyance.

“What does Tsunade-sama specialize in?” Obito asked curiously.

“Tsunade-sama is well-versed in so many areas, to be honest I’m not even sure,” Minato chuckled. “She revolutionized medical ninjutsu through her research and created numerous highly specialized medical ninjutsu. She’ll know what to do.”

“Does Rin not talk you ear off about this stuff?” Kakashi asked curiously. He was honestly surprised that Obito didn’t know much about the medical field despite being best friends with Rin since before the Academy. Rin is obsessed with medical ninjutsu so wouldn’t she share that with Obito, her best friend?

Obito chuckled nervously, “Well, she used to. But I didn’t understand half of what she used to say so she stopped. She met Shizune during medical training and now I guess she talks to her about medical things.”

“You can always ask her about her goals and aspirations, even if you don’t understand the medical jargon,” Minato said kindly.

“I tried that! She still gets into these crazy details,” Obito laughed fondly.

“Sounds like Rin,” Minato chuckled.

With nothing more to add, they let the silence envelope them, each lost in their own thoughts. Kakashi was trying to build more concrete theories with the appearance of the plant ninja in Akatsuki, or Aloe Vera, as Naruto had dubbed him. Kakashi thought the man more closely resembled a Venus Flytrap, but whatever.

After twenty minutes or so had passed, Minato perked up, “Tsunade-sama is here.”

Kakashi stretched out his senses and could also detect the strong chakra associated with the Slug Sanin. It was still muted compared to her future-self, but the undercurrent of strength never wavered.

Minato got up from the chair and opened the door, “Tsunade-sama!”

“What trouble did my teammate get into now?” Tsunade asked as she walked over.

“He injured his back,” Minato explained.

“I know that much, did anyone treat him?” Tsunade asked impatiently.

“No, I thought it best to let you handle it,” Minato replied.

“Good thinking,” Tsunade nodded her approval as she finally entered the room. Her eyes immediately zoned in onto Jiraya and her eyes narrowed in concern. She was accompanied by Shizune and another medical ninja Kakashi didn’t know.

Kakashi beckoned Obito to walk out and let Tsunade work before they were kicked out. Tsunade made a beeline to Jiraya’s bed as they stepped out, barely acknowledging their presence.

“Good luck, Shizune-chan,” Obito said. She gave them a shaky smile as Obito closed the door shut after them.

“And now we wait,” Kakashi said.

“And now we wait,” Minato confirmed.

_______________________

The hours dragged on as Tsunade remained shut inside the room with no updates. The more time passed, the more worried their sensei became. Once midnight began to creep in, Kakashi knew they needed to act soon if they wanted to stay on plan for Ayana’s escape.

He convinced Obito to go and grab something for their sensei to eat. Minato was adamant he was fine, but Kakashi knew he probably didn’t have anything to eat since the morning. After some light pestering, Minato relented and agreed to eat something.

“Instead of both of us gathering intelligence, you bring food back to Minato sensei. I’ll cover your area. Tell him I got roped into a task or something,” Kakashi whispered quietly as they walked through the empty streets.

“Ayana-san, that’s right,” Obito said, eyes downcast.

“Are you good to go or are you going to stay distracted yourself?” Kakashi asked annoyed.

“It’s just, with Jiraya-sama and everything,” Obito mumbled.

“Ayana-san is counting on us, and I can’t do the plan by myself,” Kakashi considered snapping at him but knew better—Obito would just get even more flustered.

“Don’t worry, I only got distracted for a bit,” Obito could barely hide the grin on his face.

Kakashi refrained from rolling his eyes - children are so easy to manipulate.

“Oh yeah, why didn’t you tell Minato sensei? He can help,” Obito asked.

“Not here,” Kakashi shook his head. Fortunately, they had arrived at the barracks, and he jumped to the window of their temporary lodgings. He peaked in and saw it was empty despite the late hour of the night. As expected, everyone was running around given the potential end of the war.

He gestured for Obito to follow and then stepped inside. Obito followed not a beat later, closing the window behind him as Kakashi closed the door, kicking a stray pair of pants to the side on the way.

“They’re so messy,” Obito wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“Good thing we’re only here for a few more days,” Kakashi agreed. This was one of the most glaring differences between Naruto and Obito. Although both were loud and chaotic, Obito’s Uchiha upbringing made him used to a certain level of discipline at home. Naruto, with no parent figure in his life, got used to disarray.

“So why aren’t we telling Minato-sensei?” Obito asked again.

Kakashi put up one finger, “Minato-sensei has enough on his mind with Jiraiya’s condition and the war winding down.”

Obito nodded to show he understood before Kakashi moved on to the second point, another finger going up, “And two, and more importantly, Minato-sensei wants to become Hokage.”

Obito’s face crumpled in confusion, “What does that have to do with anything?”

Kakashi leaned against a wall, looking up at the ceiling, “If we fail, we can lose our alliance with Hateno. Even if we succeed, taking that risk won’t win us any favors. I told you, we’re going to get punished but the only reason we can get away with this is that we’re kids. If Minato-sensei is aware, and doesn’t put a stop to this, the elders and council could use it as an example of his inability to make the tough decisions and lead. It could lose him the hat.”

“But that’s wrong! A Hokage is supposed to protect our allies.” Obito’s fists clenched at his sides. “The Uzumaki are our most precious allies, it’s our duty to honor our strongest ever alliance. Even if their village is gone, we have to protect its people!”

Kakashi looked down from the ceiling at Obito, fighting to keep the smile off his face, “And that’s what you need to tell the Hokage when all is said and done.”

“I will,” Obito vowed. “Minato-sensei and I will change how things work when we’re Hokage. This is so stupid.”

“Anyway, now you know,” Kakashi wanted to bring them back on track. “Take some food to sensei and I’ll scout the village for the best exit. Be ready to create a distraction in the evening if we need it.”

“I already have some ideas,” Obito smirked.

“Do I want to know?” Kakashi asked dryly.

Obito replied with a wide smile, “I’ll let you know when my plan is complete.”

Kakashi sighed, “Just remember, the distraction should ideally only distract Hateno. Make it seem like a local incident.”

“I remember,” Obito scowled as he walked out the room.

Kakashi shook his head in exasperation and followed. He needed a quick meal to fuel himself for what was going to be a long night.

_______________

“You got it from here, Bisuke?” Kakashi asked.

“Compared to some of our other adventures, this will be a piece of cake,” Bisuke nodded before bounding away to cover Obito’s part in their intel gathering.

Kakashi had already decided to send Pakkun and Bull with Ayana. Pakkun is his best tracker and will detect any dangers. Bull is his strongest and can protect her. Given that summons had a limited time before needing to go back, he chose to rely on Bisuke. Once Bisuke went out of sight, Kakashi started on his end of the mission.

“Transformation Jutsu,” Kakashi whispered. A puff of smoke later and a generic civilian of Hateno village stood in his place. Disguised as a young man with a bandana over their face to mask their identity, Kakashi snuck inside the clinic once more. According to Ayana, this was the time the guards changed shifts.

After confirming nobody was in the room, he snuck into an empty office as they were closest to the main medic bay. All the rooms opened into one hallway that connected all the rooms. After the medic bay, they had a few resting rooms and medic offices, followed by the archives and then the supply rooms. After the supply rooms was one guard room and at the very end stood the head medic’s office. Ayana was kept near the end, right next to the guard quarters. Back inside, he adjusted his chakra to mimic Ayana’s—a constant, untrained wisp of energy, common for civilians with ninja lineage.

That done, he slowly made his way to the door. He kept his footsteps at a civilian’s level of sneakiness; meaning he wasn’t sneaky at all. He peaked out the office door and found a medic walking from the resting area back to the medic bay. The medic opened the door to the medic bay and the quiet hallway was flooded with the noise of a busy medical floor. He was sure that this level of activity at night was not common for Hateno and was driven by the arrival of the Konoha ninja. The sounds were soon muffled as the door shut once more.

At the other end, the guard desk lay empty, confirming Ayana’s knowledge of the guard shifts. Kakashi made his way into the long hallway which was the most exposed part. This would be the truest test. He slowly weaved from door to door to stay near potential hiding places should another person walk in. However, at this time of night, the hallway was mostly abandoned.

Once he reached the last archive room, one of the guards came out of the quarters. He clamped down on the urge to hide like a ninja and instead opened the door to walk into the archives with little finesse. He heard the guard’s footsteps follow him. Kakashi ducked behind one of the shelves in the supplies room and waited.

“Hello, anyone in here?” the guard called out. Kakashi could’ve easily transformed into one of the medics he saw, but he was a ‘civilian’. His best bet was to hide quietly and hope the guard dismissed the sound. The guard walked further inside the room, eyes darting left and right. A few seconds later the guard walked out muttering to himself, “Raccoons searching for food again.”

Good, that was a rookie mistake. Luck’s on our side so far.

The guard closed the door, making it more difficult for Kakashi to conduct the next task. Yet, Kakashi was pleased, it gave him more opportunities to test the level of the guards.

He waited for two minutes before taking out the rock in his pocket and quietly opened the door. He used a mirror to get a viewing angle at the guard. The man was now sitting on the desk, playing with some cards.

Another good sign, he thought.

Kakashi quickly threw the rock at one of the open doors closer to the medical bay before ducking back in. If Kakashi had aimed correctly, and he was sure that he did, the rock had hit the open door and bounced inside the archive room.

He heard the guard push the chair back and walk briskly towards the sound. Once the man’s shadow passed the room he was hiding in, Kakashi waited a few seconds and opened the door quietly. He watched as the guard went inside the room he threw a rock at and quietly rushed towards the supply room at the end; his makeshift target.

Walking inside, he pretended to look through some cabinets, as if looking for a certain medicine, and started counting. At the 18 second mark, he heard the guard rush back.  Kakashi stopped rustling the papers to get a better listen to the guard’s actions.

The first thing the guard did was open Ayana’s door quietly. A hissed command—Ayana’s feet stumbled as the guard dragged her with him. That confirms that Ayana-san is their main priority.

“Wake up,” he heard him order the others as he opened the door, trying to stay as silent as possible. “There’s an intruder. Masaki, keep an eye on her,” he whispered. If Kakashi were truly a civilian, he would have heard their whispers but wouldn’t have been able to clearly understand what they were saying.

“Where did you see the intruder?” another asked.

“I heard something but dismissed. Later, I heard another sound and found a rock by the supply room. It’s a clear distraction. Check the rooms,” came the reply.

Kakashi prepared himself as the guards split up. The person with Ayana and three sets of footsteps. Four guards in total. None of which showed abilities beyond bandit level. One of the guards walked in and found Kakashi grabbing some pills and run out of the window. The man shouted in alarm and ran after him.

Kakashi easily made his way through the empty street, ducking in alleyways as two guards chased after him.

“Let’s see how fast you can be,” Kakashi smirked. He hastened his steps up until the guards started falling behind. He nearly laughed; he was faster at six years old. He darted just fast enough to keep their curses ringing in his ears as he took them on a wild goose chase near around the slums of Hateno.

Although the streets were mostly empty, there were some people out and about. However, they weren’t fans of the guards and just ignored the scene. It reminded him of his last race with Gai and Kakashi found himself enjoying himself as he made them follow him through muddy streets and rickety structures, cursing up a storm.

At one point, he spotted an old bucket collecting water dripping from an old drainpipe. With no hesitation, he grabbed it and threw it back at the guards.

“Iwa’s dung!” the young guard’s curse was music to Kakashi’s ears.

“Don’t shake that filth on me,” the older guard warned, not slowing down for his junior to keep up.

The chase continued until the guards started slowing down around the fourteen-minute mark. Kakashi pretended to crash into a pillar and made a show of dropping the pills, abandoning them to continue his supposed escape.

The guards stopped where he dropped the pills, huffing and puffing in fatigue. Now that they had gotten the pills back, they seemed to have decided to let him go. The return of the pills should be enough to save their hide when they reported back.

Kakashi turned the next corner and dispelled his transformation. He jumped to a roof to observe the guards further, finally utilizing his full stealth skills to remain hidden. His lungs burned sharper than they should—a cruel reminder that his endurance hadn’t fully matured.

Looking at the guards, he saw one grasping his knees while the other used his hands to brace his lower back as he leaned his head upwards.

“Annoying… junkie…,” the younger guard bit out in between breaths of air.

The other took a deep breath before calmly replying, “You can’t assume that rookie. He probably wants to sell them for money.”

“I don’t care what he wants. When I catch him, I’ll wring his neck.”

“There’s a lot of desperate people here. This won’t be the first time you’ll end up chasing a slum rat. Don’t let it get to you. Come on, let’s go back. Should be a straight-forward report,” the older one said as he threw the pills at the younger guard.

The younger one fumbled to catch them, letting out more obscenities as he followed his senior back to the medic bay.

Kakashi counted the mission as a success. With his stunt, he was able to confirm the guards’ level of attentiveness, response time, stamina, speed and make sure that they had no reason to tie this to Ayana. Once he gets a breakdown of the village guard rotation from Bisuke and overview of Obito’s ideas for a distraction, he would finally be able to iron out the details of the plan and save Ayana.

Chapter Text

Delegated to messenger boys by the outpost leader, Watanabe, Kakashi and Obito spent the next day running around the village delivering orders. During these runs, he was able to learn that Jiraya was being transported back to Konoha this afternoon. That was fortunate, as Ayana’s disappearance would occur later at night and wouldn’t overlap.

Losing count of how many times he’d visited the medical center over the last two days, Kakashi resigned himself to the assault of antiseptic smells and walked inside. The Konoha ninja were easily recognizable from the other citizens, especially the Hyuga, and Kakashi made his way over.

“Ano, Hyuga-san, Sawamura-san?” Kakashi asked. He was happy to note that Hyuga Yusei’s hand was no longer in a sling and appeared to have made a full recovery. Sawamura Seiji lay flat on the bed, his face pale, but he was no longer in life-threatening danger. Most likely a stomach injury, Kakashi concluded.

 “Any news?” Yusei asked desperately as Seiji shuffled upward with a grunt. Yusei shifted his attention back to his teammate, “Be careful, you’ll reopen your wound.” He then gently guided him back to his previous position.

Kakashi waited for them to settle down before replying, 'I’m sorry. The teams sent out were unable to locate Uchiha Noriya. Watanabe-san said that they haven’t given up yet. The tracker teams sent from the outpost to catch stragglers and prevent a counterattack will keep looking.”

“Damn it,” Yusei clenched his eyes shut as he tried to maintain his composure. Kakashi saw the beginnings of the tell-tale signs of the Byakugan’s activation. However, the bulging veins subsided a moment later as Yusei regained control of his emotions.

“What are the chances they’ll have better luck?” Seiji asked despondently.

“Well, these team are highly specialized in their field.” Kakashi replied. “They will have the best chance of finding him.”

Yusei also chimed in with his own reassurances, “I know Masato-sama, the Hyuga leading the tracking teams. He’ll assign a strong team.”

“Even if it’s an Uchiha?” Seiji wasn’t satiated.

“Oh, come on,” Yusei said with an exaggerated groan, “Yes, we have a rivalry but we’re all Konoha.”

Seiji let out a short, relieved laugh and gave Yusei a sheepish smile in return.

Kakashi was glad to note that the tension hanging around them eased with that. However, Kakashi didn’t share their optimism. He doubted that Noriya had survived and felt guilty that another person wound up dead instead of Obito. At the same time, he was extremely relieved that his teammate had survived.

Who am I to decide who gets to live and who dies? He was inflicting the pain that crippled him for years onto others, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“I’ll let you know if we get any more updates,” Kakashi said, not a hint of his emotions seeping into his tone.

“Thank you,” Yusei replied, and Seiji gave him a nod in acknowledgement.

 “Rest up well,” he gave them a short bow and walked away. 

His first instinct was to head back to base for his next assignment, but instead, he extended his senses to determine if his sensei was still at Jiraiya’s bedside. Minato had ordered him and Obito to rest before Tsunade finished her diagnosis. Although they had tried to argue, their sensei was adamant that they rest enough to perform their duties today.

It was a good thing he did as they’d need their energy to help Ayana escape. But at the same time, Kakashi desperately wanted to know how Jiraya was doing. Another person whose fate I changed. Would he hate me if he knew?

Minato’s chakra wasn’t present, which was a good thing as his sensei really needed to rest as well. Yet, Tsunade’s chakra stood out like a beacon. Knowing that she’d be the best person to give him an update on Jiraya anyway, he knocked on the door and entered after hearing her call him inside.

Tsunade was alone in the room and her face lined with worry. There was no sign of bags underneath her eyes, but Kakashi knew Tsunade could easily conceal her physical state.  Jiraya continued to lay in a coma, ignorant to the seriousness of his injuries.

“Brat,” Tsunade greeted fondly.

“Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi bowed his head lightly.

 “Shouldn’t you be busy with something?” she asked.

“I’m playing messenger today,” Kakashi said in a bored tone as he sat on the bedside chair opposite her. “I just delivered one and have a few moments to spare.”

“Well, I’m glad they finally gave you safe assignments,” Tsunade said with a scoff. “Watanabe’s an uptight bastard, but at least he’s got some common sense.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes, “I’m fine. I told you I would be. No injuries at all.” He casually opened his arms to emphasize the lack of bandages on his body.

“You got lucky,” Tsunade said. “Jiraya may be an idiot but he’s strong and now look. He’ll need multiple surgeries if he has any hope of walking again. Don’t underestimate the ninja world.”

“Is it that bad?” Kakashi asked, heart constricting at the seriousness of the Toad Sanin’s injuries. Although he knew it was serious, he believed Tsunade would be able to fix it.

“Unfortunately,” she said and bit her lower lip. “Multiple fractures, many of them in critical areas. It’ll take a few surgeries to fix, if it can be fixed at all. Right now, I have him sedated to prevent any movements. We’re taking him to Konoha in around two hours. Once I get a better look, hopefully I’ll have better news.”

“I see,” Kakashi cast his eyes towards Jiraya as he digested the news.

“Don’t worry,” Tsunade reassured him. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m pretty incredible at my job.”

Kakashi was startled to see the determination in her eyes. Based on his interactions with the Tsunade of this time, he expected that this would be another notch leading her towards despair. He wondered what happened to light a fire in her again. It was small, but it was there. Is it just Jiraya-sama’s injury that spurred her or did something else happen?

“I heard you’re alright,” Kakashi replied instead. He wanted to keep her in good spirits and knew that getting into fights is an easy recipe for a lively Tsunade.

He was rewarded with an arrogant smirk, “Oh I see, you really do have a death wish, you rude brat?”

Kakashi replied with an eye-smile and placed both hands up in surrender, “Just kidding, just kidding. You’re the best medic to grace the lands, nay the worlds, nay the galaxies. We are nothing but humble farmhands in comparison to you.”

“Kami, help me,” she shook her head in dismay. Her face changed to one of contemplation a beat later, “You’re not like what I heard.”

“Let me guess, serious arrogant asshole of a genius?” Kakashi asked knowingly. He knew he was acting different with Tsunade, but she didn’t know him well in the past. Kakashi knew that personalities like his younger self would clash terribly with Tsunade, and he wanted to rebuild a relationship with her.

“Pretty much. I’ve seen many children grow up on the battlefield and there are a few ways it goes. You have the ones who become hardened to survive, like Orochimaru. You can become like me, realizing that the ninja world sucks and not wanting anything to do with it. Or you can become like Jiraya and have hopes that things could change if we all do our part,” she placed one hand under her chin and titled her head in thought. “I pegged you as the Orochimaru type, but maybe you’re more like this optimistic idiot over here.”

“I think it’s the Minato-sensei effect,” Kakashi suggested, trying not to vomit at being compared to Orochimaru in terms of personality. “There’s only so much you can resist before you get infected by his optimism.”

Tsunade laughed, “Orochimaru does always say he’s a sappy gold ball of sunshine.”

Kakashi snorted, finding himself reluctantly agreeing with the Snake Sanin.

“Speaking of Minato-sensei, will he be traveling back to Konoha with you?” Kakashi asked.

“No, we’re pushing our advantage against Iwa to force them to surrender. He’s a big deterrent for any more fighting so he’s needed on the frontlines right now,” Tsunade said. “He wasn’t happy but understands his responsibility. He’ll make sure everyone’s efforts on this mission aren’t wasted.”

Kakashi figured as much. Nobody wanted another battle with the Yellow Flash, especially now after he defeated so many ninja by himself. “I should go before I get into trouble; important messages need to be delivered and all,” he said and stood up to leave.

“Try not to get into any more trouble,” Tsunade replied.

Kakashi nodded, despite knowing what he and Obito would be up to tonight. I’ll only get into a bit more trouble, he thought.

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After a long boring day of being errand boys, Kakashi and Obito were able to get a short power nap before launching their plan late that night. Tsunade had already left with Jiraya back to Konoha, and Minato had also ventured back to the frontlines, leaving him and Obito alone. Kakashi was relieved as this would spare them any suspicions.

They were scheduled to be back on patrol in the outskirts once more. Instead, they made their way to their respective escape plan tasks. Nobody would miss them.Obito appeared nervous but Kakashi knew he would be more than capable of fulfilling his role. As for Kakashi, his job was to break Ayana out and lead her outside the village undetected, which brought him back to the medical center… again… for the sixth time in two days.

He was about to sneak in but stopped when he realized something was amiss. He couldn’t sense Ayana’s chakra. Startling to a pause, Kakashi focused more intently on finding her, but to no avail. Trying not to jump to conclusions, he snuck to her window and peeked inside… nothing!

Reflecting on everything he knew, Kakashi tried to make sense of the situation. The last time he saw her was when he had run his test yesterday. He saw her being taken out but never confirmed her return. Could it be my act worried them enough to hide her somewhere else until Konoha left?

Knowing he had no choice, Kakashi made his back into the alleyway and summoned Bisuke. “Ayana-san is missing. Can you find her? Quickly? Remember, we need to stay hidden so avoid main roads.”

“On it,” Bisuke quickly began sniffing around to catch her scent. A few seconds later, he began heading North, Kakashi quietly on his heels.

As Kakashi followed Bisuke, he kept pondering the situation. Given that the village never mentioned Ayana to Konoha, they had probably decided to keep her a secret from the renown Konoha ninja instead of a way to curry favor with the village. His stunt probably freaked out the Maeda clan, whereby another incident could have revealed her presence.

The biggest problem right now wasn’t why, it’s when. Obito was scheduled to trigger his distraction fifteen minutes after arrival. Kakashi needed more time with this change in plans. Did they even launch the plan today or gather more information and recalibrate? Then again, time was ticking. He heard the base talk about the teams being sent back to the outpost soon. They couldn’t afford to risk waiting another day and losing their window.

“She’s in there, second room on the bottom right,” Bisuke’s statement brought Kakashi out of his musings. The building she was in was the main civilian guard barracks. Fortunately, the room Ayana was in had no bars on the window and it was connected to a private bathroom. However, the barracks was close to the Maeda family’s grounds. This also meant that the building was close to the brewery, where Obito was.

“How many guards?” Kakashi asked.

“In her room, there are two. There are many others throughout the building,” Bisuke replied. “There are guards outside the building, but they’re just sitting at the entrance.”

That explains the no bars. She wouldn’t be able to escape under the constant watch of two guards, he concluded.

“Bisuke, I need you to go to the brewery,” Kakashi said. By the time it took them to arrive at the barracks, ten minutes had passed. According to their original plan, Kakashi and Ayana should have been close to the marketplace by now.

He now had a decision to make. Does he delay the distraction until they’re at the market again, or do they use it for Ayana’s escape. Knowing it would be much harder to sneak her out and keep her missing presence a secret for long at the barracks, he concluded that they needed Obito’s distraction earlier. He would find a way to make it across the marketplace undetected when they got there. “Tell him to launch the distraction in the next ten minutes, not four.”

“You sure you got this from here?” Bisuke asked.

“It’s two guards. I got this,” Kakashi confirmed. With that show of confidence, Bisuke bound away, leaving Kakashi to his own devices.

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Obito only needed a few more steps, and he’d arrive at the brewery walls. There were a few guards at the entrance, but they weren’t the problem. A quick jump over the fence from the other side could be executed by a first year Academy student. Also, as they had observed, nobody was working at the brewery this time of night.

No, his challenge lay in climbing up to the top of the building. The brewery lay in the middle of a walled off section where a few trees dotted the area. With little coverage between the building and surrounding houses, he could be seen by anyone if he used the tree-climbing technique to reach the top.

Still, the chances of anyone being awake at this hour and looking out towards the building were low. Obito frowned. When he made this point to Kakashi, he was met with the younger boy’s typical ‘are-you-an-idiot’ look.

Ha, I told him. Not a single house has a light on, paranoid Bakashi, Obito thought triumphantly.

Now hiding behind the shrub closest to the staircase leading up to the roof, he stared intently at the wall ahead. The walls were a simple white, cracked lines dancing across the face. The staircase had seen better days, rust patches decorated the bars all the way up to the top. Simple enough.

Obito’s first instinct was to wall climb quickly, Kakashi’s paranoia be damned. However, Ayana’s face stopped him. His eye twitched as he remembered Kakashi drilling the instructions into him more than once, despite their simplicity. He wasn’t stupid.

“This is soooo useless, but fine. Whatever,” Obito muttered as he gave in and followed his teammate’s plan to the letter. He brought his hands into the familiar seals, “Transformation Jutsu,” he whispered. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he admired Kakashi for thinking of the smallest risks and trying to mitigate them. Just a teeny bit.

Clothes now mimicking the tired structures, he snuck towards the staircase, grabbed the handles and began climbing. He kept glancing left and right, verifying that nobody was looking his way. He made his way to the top without none-the-wiser.

The roof housed five water tanks and even featured a rainwater collection system with gutters and downspouts channeling water into the water storage tanks. Obito kept to a crouch and used the tanks to maintain his cover as he crept towards one of the chimneys that were part of the ventilation system. He grabbed a small wood plank and blocked the vent.

He bent his head from one side to the next. He noticed that he was off by a few millimeters to the right; air could still escape. He adjusted the plank’s position. Another quick check and he confirmed everything was set. He plopped down on the floor next to the vent and pouted. And now I wait while Kakashi does the cool bit.

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Kakashi took a deep breath and snuck past the lazing guards easily. They weren’t even scanning the area. A point in their support though, they weren’t watching out for ninja, only civilians. Once he was under the window, he eavesdropped into the conversation happening in the room.

“Cut, I’ll stay with this hand” a voice stated.

“I’m going for another draw,” the other replied.

You’ve got to be kidding me, Kakashi facepalmed silently. Kakashi didn’t know why most guards and bandits he spied on loved playing Oicho-Kabu? It’s such a cliché that they’d be interested in a gambling game.

He heard the guards play two more turns before he had his chance.

“I drew a five three times and have one in my hand,” one stated in anger. “There’s no way you drew another one.”

“I’m telling you, you counted wrong,” the other argued back heatedly. “I got a nine, pure and simple. I win this round.”

With the guards engrossed in their animated debate, Kakashi knew they’d be distracted and peered inside.

He saw the two guards sitting on a table close to the door, the size of the pot small and not worth their squabbles. Then again, Hateno was struggling so Kakashi took back his previous judgement. Who knew what their financial situation was like.

To the right, he saw Ayana sitting on a bed, next to a small wooden desk. She was pretending to read a book but was glancing left and right. She was probably looking for a sign of him. Kakashi managed to catch her eye and hers widened in recognition, then relief. Kakashi shook his head silently, asking her to stay calm. Then he pointed at the bathroom and raised three fingers in the air. He didn’t want her to stay too long in the bathroom and draw suspicion. It’s better to time it close to Obito’s distraction. She gave him the tiniest nod and Kakashi ducked away again, the guards non-the-wiser, still caught up in their argument.

After three minutes had passed as he’d ask, in which Ayana hopefully took the time to steel herself, Kakashi heard one of the guards speak, “Where are you going?”

“I need the bathroom,” she replied.

“Again?”

“The baby keeps pushing on my bladder,” she explained calmly.

“Make it quick.”

Taking that as his cue, Kakashi opened the window of the bathroom and hauled himself inside. Ayana entered two seconds later and gave him a wobbly smile.

Kakashi gestured for her not to worry. He took out a water bottle and began squeezing it into the toilet to give the impression of someone using the bathroom. He then gestured for Ayana to continue doing so.

She took the bottle, shaking her head in amusement. Her shoulders lost a bit of tenseness, but she still looked worried as she followed Kakashi’s actions as he scanned the room.

He walked towards the shower and unscrewed the metal shower head. He tested its weight balancing it on the palm of his hand. Satisfied, he took out three pieces of paper and ink. On the first, he scribbled a note to Ayana asking her is she can draw two simple chakra draining seals.

Ayana scanned the words, noted the three lines under the word simple, and nodded. Kakashi handed her the tools so she could get on it. She handed him the bottle back, which was almost empty at this point. He waited a few seconds as Ayana quickly drew on the papers before flushing the empty toilet and then opening the sink.

Less than a minute to go.

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Obito resisted a sigh as he watched the sky, bored out of his mind. Thinking back on his experience on patrol, he determined that he wasn’t good at keeping an eye out for trouble and waiting for the action to happen. It was too boring. Missions that needed sneakiness were proving to be just as boring. Maybe if he was doing the main part like Kakashi, but all he had to do was sit here and wait from some gas to accumulate.

Or so he thought.

It had only been a handful of minutes before a scrambling noise coming from the staircase startled him to a crouch and he strained his ears. He could barely make it out, and if he wasn’t solely focused on it, he would’ve missed it completely. Someone was climbing the staircase, and whoever it was, wasn’t a civilian.

Barely holding in a curse, Obito debated what to do. Plan A: he could remove the plank to avoid whoever was coming up from seeing it, but that would delay the distraction. Plan B: he could keep the plank in and try to think of a way to keep whoever it was away, but did he have time to come up with something?

Obito grabbed the plank with one hand, getting ready to remove it depending on who came up. He could make his decision based on the incoming person. Except that, it wasn’t a person who finally emerged on the roof. “Bisuke?” Obito asked quietly, confusion lacing his voice once he recognized the dog.

“Obito, it’s me,” Bisuke verified just as quietly as he trotted over.

Obito let go of the plank and let out a sigh of relief, “I’m so glad I didn’t go with Plan A.”

“Ayana was taken to another location. We found her but Kakashi needs an extra six minutes to set things up,” Bisuke informed Obito as he watched him double-check the plank to make sure he didn’t mistakenly shift it.

“But we needed the distraction to get Ayana-san across the market,” Obito said, his early relief swiftly replaced with panic again at the unexpected turn.

“Plans had to change,” Bisuke shrugged without any concern.

Obito was put out by the dog’s indifference, “How come you’re not worried?”

Over the years and missions with Kakashi, they have faced numerous setbacks and had to work around them. This would be no different. “Kakashi didn’t seem worried,” Bisuke replied and decided to lay down and rest his legs before the next part.

“Of course he isn’t,” Obito rolled his eyes. He then eyed the resting dog, “Aren’t you going back to them and help them escape?”

“I’ll wait for the distraction and meet them at the marketplace,” Bisuke said. “Once you set it off, I won’t be much help since so many people will start running around. If anything, a dog might catch their attention.”

“Even his dogs are paranoid,” Obito said with scoff, but he accepted the explanation and sat down next to Bisuke in silence as they counted down the final minutes.

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Kakashi looked over the seals drawn by Ayana. Unlike common sealing techniques, which would used algorithmic logic, Ayana had used an asymmetric geometric pattern. Seals based on geometric symmetry were much more difficult and were reserved for complex seals like the Eight Trigram Seal or the Four Element Seal Minato had used to seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto. He had never seen them used for something as simple as a chakra draining seal. She had done it effortlessly too. The Uzumaki sealing techniques truly were to be feared. He would love to discuss the spiritual energy draining seals he created and see how she would modify them. But that was for another time.

He positioned himself behind the door and beckoned Ayana to stay where she was. Only a few moments later and a loud boom reverberated from close by. Kakashi could hear shouts of alarm and even saw Ayana jump, hand clutching her heart. She knew of the plan, but it still caught her by surprise.

The door opened briskly as one of the guards roughly called her over, “Come back here!”

Kakashi nodded to her, and she followed the man, leaving the bathroom door open.

Knowing the shower head would now look suspicious, Kakashi screwed it back on. Ayana wouldn’t have had time to unscrew it before the guards rushed in after the explosion. If the guards remembered how quickly they’d checked on her, it would seem too coincidental for her to have removed the shower head just before the explosion. That kind of timing could tip someone off. He’d have to find another way to arm a civilian.

Kakashi heard one of the other guard opening the bedroom door, “What’s going on?”  

“Not sure. I just heard an explosion. Same as you,” one replied abruptly from the hallway.

Kakashi could hear many footsteps running around outside. He snuck a glance and saw both guards by the door. He scanned the room and immediately pinpointed a vase, a lamp and a heavy book at the desk near the bed where Ayana was standing. He dismissed the vase as it would shatter on impact and might alert someone.

Instead, he snuck to the desk, grabbed the book and then ducked under it. While hidden from view he slowly unhooked the lamp from the socket as the guards stayed by the door to try and get more information.

“It’s coming from the brewery!” he heard a voice shouting.

“I don’t think it’s Iwa, a lot of Konoha are here,” another said.

“What do we do?” the guard asked his partner.

Kakashi rolled the wire of the lamp to prevent it from hitting anything and alerting them. He then grabbed the lamp and book, crawled under the bed. Such a cliché hiding spot, Kakashi thought. But it was the best cover the room had.

“The rest have it covered, we’ll stay here,” the other said after a beat, and he closed the door. They could still hear the panic outside the door.

“What do you think it is?” one asked as Kakashi saw his shoes pass him as he walked towards the window.

“Like Kuzani said, I doubt it’s Iwa,” the man replied as he joined him by the window to watch the other guards leaving the barracks.

Now that they were both facing the other way, Kakashi slowly crouched behind them, book and lamp poised to strike in each hand. Ayana was biting her lip as she watched him make his way closer and closer.

“They’re heading towards the brewery. Doesn’t make sense for Iwa to attack that. It’s more likely an internal –"

Kakashi struck both guards in tandem, using enough force to knock them unconscious. The two fell forward but Kakashi grabbed them and pulled them towards the ground and away from the window.

After he lay them down, he took out the seals prepared by Ayana and slapped them onto the guards to ensure that they stayed out of it for a long period of time. He left the book and lamp on the floor. When they awoke, and not having seen Kakashi at any point, they would assume Ayana took the opportunity with the chaos to escape.

Kakashi heard Ayana take a deep sigh of relief, “That was nerve-wrecking,” she said. She had her hands on her knees and bent over as she took a deep breath to ease her nerves.

“Don’t worry, I told you I’d get you out of here, right?” Kakashi asked and gave her a reassuring smile. “Let’s go.”

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The darkness of the night was a stark contrast to the orange glow coming from the brewery in the distance. Now outside, Kakashi could also smell the smoke and see the wisps of smoke travel higher into the sky.

Kakashi held his hand out, ordering Ayana to remain hidden behind the wooden crate as he heard a group of people making their way to the brewery. Two of them had buckets in hand, hoping to help put out the fire.

Kakashi waited for the group to disappear behind the next corner before beckoning Ayana to follow. She shadowed a beat later, her hesitant footsteps mimicking his path. They traveled through the streets and alleyways at a cautious pace. Following Bisuke’s instructions, he managed to avoid the paths with more traffic.

Their destination, a crack in the village’s outer wooden walls that Ayana could easily slip through. While he could easily carry her up the wall, he instructed Bisuke to find an escape a civilian could manage. Any way to cover up ninja involvement would spare Konoha, or at least, make it difficult for Hateno Village to accuse Konoha of orchestrating her escape.

However, the location of the wall crack was past one area that would pose the most difficult challenge. The street was lined with merchant stalls on either side, and wider than others to accommodate the number of buyers coming to the market. Moreover, since many merchants resided and had their products in the area, patrols were frequent. To cross the street at a civilian pace without being discovered, especially with people now out and about, wouldn’t be easy.

Kakashi considered going the long way round, but the longer they stayed in the village, the higher the chance of discovery. They had already increased the expected travel time as they had to meander through many detours to avoid the people loitering outside their house. They were clearly waiting to hear news about the brewery from their family members who rushed to the scene. Thus, his planned diagonal route turned into a maze of twists and turns.

Finally arriving at the merchant street, Kakashi and Ayana ducked behind a tool shed in one of the side roads. Compared to a regular day on the market, the road was not busy. However, Kakashi found more people than ideal. Unlike the alleyways, people were clumped in small groups as they waited for news, mostly older men. It was futile to all rush in and help, and they knew it. Kakashi determined that they had probably sent the younger villagers to the brewery.

Some even used the opportunity to sell drinks and snacks to the waiting people. Even the guards who were patrolling the marketplace stayed in the area to keep an eye on things, most with a beverage in hand. Their eyes would continuously gaze into the direction of the brewery were lisps of smoke continued crawling upwards into the sky. Yet, the orange glow, which earlier was so bright, was now dull. The fire was being tamed. They needed to hurry up before someone checked in on Ayana.

“Wait here,” he whispered to Ayana who nodded. He wanted to observe the area and come up with a new way to get them across undetected. Maybe a shadow clone to create a distraction on the opposite end?

Ayana tucked into the shadows as much as she could. She placed one hand on her belly and took a deep breath, steeling herself. She knew this was a risky part of the escape. Kakashi had explained all the details to help her prepare.

He recalled her quavering voice after the discussed this part, asking him to leave her behind if they get caught here. She didn’t want Konoha or Kakashi and Obito to get in trouble. If it was a failed mission either way, it’s best only she faced the consequences. Kakashi had promised her to do so, but he was a ninja; he didn’t need to keep his promise.

Before he could start devising a plan, he heard a familiar voice ring out.

“Hello everyone,” Obito’s voice called out as he skidded to a stop near the entrance of the merchant street. Next to Obito, Kakashi saw a clone transformed to look like him, Bisuke at his heels. “My name is Uchiha Obito, I am one of the Konoha ninja and wanted to reassure you that nobody is attacking. There was an explosion at the brewery and our ninja have already put out most of the fire.”

As Obito began talking, the groups of people disbanded and headed closer. The road in front of him and Ayana cleared up. Obito had made an unexpected but brilliant move. Perfect timing, Obito.

The original plan was for Obito to continue patrolling their designated areas with the clone to give them an alibi. His teammate did so, but knowing that the distraction for the marketplace was no longer an option, he had improvised and came to provide them with a new one. Bisuke probably tipped Obito off that he and Ayana were close by, giving them the perfect timing to distract the masses.

“Hurry,” Kakashi grabbed Ayana’s hand and used chakra in his feet to pull her along faster. The few guards patrolling the streets were facing Obito and away from them, asking him for more details.

They reached the crack in the wall in mere minutes after that, and Kakashi pulled the planks away, finally giving Ayana a way out of the village. Ayana stared at the gap in the wall, her breath catching as the reality of her freedom hit her. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away, determined not to falter now.

“Don’t relax until you’re safe” Kakashi said and helped guide her through. He followed her and then ran through the familiar hand seals to summon Pakkun and Bull. Kakashi had already informed his Ninken of the plan, but this was their first time meeting Ayana. They trotted up to her and took in her scent.

“We’re a bit late, unforeseen circumstances,” Kakashi said. With all the detours they were around forty-five minutes behind schedule. “Take her to the outpost. Quickly.”

“You got it,” Pakkun nodded and then turned to Ayana. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe with us.”

Bull, who preferred not to speak, licked her hands to try and reassure her, sensing her worry. Kakashi was glad to note that the food and basic medical supplies he had given Bull to help Ayana make the journey safely were strapped to his back

“Thank you,” Ayana smiled and patted his head fondly. She then turned to Kakashi. “I can’t thank you all enough.”

“Don’t thank us yet,” Kakashi could understand her elation at making it outside. But he was worried Ayana wasn’t taking the next part of her escape journey seriously. “I don’t know who could be out here. Pakkun and Bull will help lead you to the outpost as safely as they can. The patrols will find you and they already know my dogs. You got the letter?”

Ayana patted her pocket, in it a letter Kakashi had penned to the outpost. While he would have preferred to send her all the way to Konoha, his dogs wouldn’t have enough chakra to make the full journey. If they were traveling at ninja speeds sure, but Bull was too small to carry Ayana thus they would have to move at her pace. It was safer to send her to the outpost and let the commanders at the outpost organize her return to Konoha.

Kakashi stood in silence as he watched Ayana jog away with his dogs. They would go at a faster pace in the beginning to cover more distance away from the village, then slow down. Once the trio were no longer visible, he ducked back inside the village and made his way back to Obito. He couldn’t wait to reassure the Uchiha that they had done it. Maybe he would also pay a compliment to his teammate for his quick thinking.

Chapter Text

Over the next two days, Hateno Village’s guards were seen more actively patrolling the street, searching homes and combing the woods—reckless, given the Iwa scouts probably lurking nearby.

The Konoha ninja noticed the change in behavior and Watanabe-san was seen heading to the Maeda clan to get to the bottom of it. Based on his anger when he returned, the Maeda head had clearly failed to disclose the presence of Ayana to Konoha. Watanabe had reassured the Konoha ninja that it was an internal affair and had no bearing on their duties. Still, he had assigned two ninja to monitor the comings and goings of the civilian guard.

Kakashi and Obito feigned ignorance, kept their head down and stuck to their tasks without getting involved in the discussions on the matter. One of the Konoha ninja even started a betting pool, whereby whoever had the closest guess would win the pot. Fortunately, nobody pushed the two children to join, them being kids and all. That didn’t stop Obito from laughing at some of the theories when he and Kakashi were patrolling alone that morning.

“My favorite guess is that the Maeda clan head’s wife lost her cat, one that is also descendent from the original Tora,” Obito cackled.

“There is no original Tora, that demon-spawn defies mortality,” Kakashi said, marveling at how the ‘Capture Tora’ mission has been running for over twenty years. He wondered how many genin had developed an aversion to cats because of her. Still, recalling his genin team’s struggle in capturing her always brought a smile to his face.

He was fortunate that Obito was well-connected with the granny population of Konoha and was able to finish that mission with relative ease. He’d been enraged at the time, hating that the Uchiha could track the cat despite his own training. Now, he’s relieved he never got scratched by the beast.

“She wasn’t too bad,” Obito said.

“Don’t the Uchiha clan have an affinity for cats?” Kakashi asked. “It doesn’t count.”

“Wha..what? Where’d you hear that? No we don’t,” Obito’s confusion was as plain as day.

“Then what about all the cats around the compound?” Kakashi asked. In his childhood he had on multiple occasions gone into the Uchiha compound to fetch Obito. He distinctly remembered seeing a lot of cats wandering around. He also recalled Itachi being overly fond of cats.

“They just like to hang around because everyone feeds them,” Obito said, still giving Kakashi a weird look.

Kakashi made a noise of acceptance, I guess I just read more into it than there was.

“Anyway, do you think Ayana-san made it to the outpost safely?” Obito asked.

“We should find out soon,” Kakashi replied.

Just as he said that a comrade approached them, “Hey kiddos. You can finish your patrol; Watanabe-san wants to talk to you.”

“Do you know why?” Obito asked curiously.

The man shrugged his shoulders, “No idea. Fair warning though, he seemed annoyed.”

“Isn’t that his default?” Kakashi asked dryly.

The man chuckled, “Fair point. I have to go, don’t keep him waiting.”

After the man jumped away, Obito turned to Kakashi, “You don’t think he knows?”

“There’s a good chance he got word from the outpost,” Kakashi said as they took to the roofs and headed to their barracks.

“That means she’s safe!” Obito exclaimed with excitement.

“If so, it’s time to face the explosive tag,” Kakashi said.

“I’m good with fire,” Obito replied without worry, flashing his teammate a cocky smile.

It was a quick roof-jump until they arrived at their barracks and found Watanabe-san waiting for them inside, with only Obito’s temporary captain, Furuya, by his side. Both seemed agitated, Watanabe more so than Furuya.

“You can leave now, Furuya-san,” Watanabe dismissed the man once he spied the two children approaching them.

“I’m the captain. If you’re taking them off my team, I should know what this is about,” Furya insisted, clearly a point the man had already made if the frustrated sigh from Watanabe was any indication.

“Well, Sarutobi-san doesn’t seem to think so,” Watanabe waved him away. Furuya’s eyes narrowed, but decided it wasn’t worth a fight and stalked angrily out of the room.

Kakashi fought off a smirk; he couldn’t stand the self-important man and was happy to see him knocked down a peg. Obito, however, shuffled his weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with seeing his temporary captain so summarily kicked out of the room.

Now that they were all alone, Watanabe stared the two boys down, “Do you know who Uzumaki Ayana is?”

Straight to the point it is, Kakashi appreciated skipping the small talk.

Seeing no reason to lie, as the man clearly knew they were involved, Kakashi took the lead, “She’s a medic.”

“So you decided to play heroes. Without. Informing. Anyone,” the man was not amused.

“Is she safe?” Obito asked, desperate for any news on the woman’s condition. 

Watanabe’s scowl lightened briefly, “She’s fine. Hatake’s dogs were able to deliver her safely to the outpost and our healers treated her for fatigue.”

“Thank Konoha,” Obito smiled in relief and turned to Kakashi with a fist bump raised. Kakashi hesitated for a moment before he returned the gesture, also relieved to know their mission was a success. It was bold to celebrate in front of the clearly angry outpost leader, but his desire to strengthen his relationship with Obito won out. Even if the other boy had no diplomatic tact.

“Celebrate now. But when Hateno connects the dots—it’ll be your heads on the line,” the man interrupted their jubilation.

“Does Hateno know we were involved?” Kakashi asked, eyebrows raised in an unspoken challenge.

“Well, no,” Watanabe admitted. “But that does not mean they won’t find out in the future. Not to mention the risk you took! What if you were caught in the act? Do you know what the consequences of that would be?”

“So, we were supposed to just let her suffer?” Obito asked incredulously. “We knew what we were doing. We didn’t tell anyone because we know it would look bad for Konoha. If we were caught, you would have told Maeda we were just kids and didn’t know any better.”

Watanabe sighed in frustration, “You know what, I don’t care. It’s not my problem. Sarutobi Shigeru-san has recalled you to the outpost. He can deal with the two of you while I clean up your mess here.”

“But we didn’t leave a mess,” Kakashi replied as he put his hands in his pockets. “Nobody knows.”

“For now,” Watanabe reminded him.

“Kids. Being. Kids. Watanabe-san,” Kakashi reiterated, shrugging his shoulders without a care. “Besides, what can the Maeda say? Oh yes, we know Ayana. We were abusing her despite knowing Konoha’s close ties with the Uzumaki. Maybe those stupid kids didn’t know what they were doing but could you give her back to us so that we can abuse her some more, please?”

Watanabe started to massage his forehead and Kakashi knew he won that round. “Just go. I don’t have anyone available to escort you. Make sure you take the long road from deep inside Konoha territory and try not to cause any more trouble.”

Kakashi began walking out, but Obito refused to move. “Watanabe-san, I’m sorry we made trouble for you, but I won’t apologize for rescuing Ayana-san. We’re ninja, we take risks every day and I would do it all again, no matter what. Thank you for taking care of us while we were here.” Obito gave the man a short bow and joined Kakashi.

Kakashi hid a smirk. Obito’s bluntness had disarmed Watanabe better than any diplomacy.

CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC

Kakashi and Obito stood side by side, heads bowed down in respect. In front of them stood captain of the outpost Sarutobi Shigeru and strategy advisor Nara Shikaku. Kakashi wasn’t sure if the other leaders of the outpost were on a mission or were otherwise busy with tasks and didn’t have the time to berate two young boys. Regardless, Kakashi felt fortunate to have only these two to contend with.

Silence stretched after their obligatory bows. Obito shuffled, unable to endure the quiet. Kakashi remained statue-still, the perfect soldier. They needed to convey that they had taken the matter seriously and were confident in their actions. Obito’s fidgeting wasn’t helping.

“Ummm…” Obito spoke up hesitantly after the silence stretched for a minute. He was never comfortable with silence.

“We’re just waiting for Noburo-san,” Shigeru said, answering the unspoken question.

“Noburo-san is coming?” Obito asked with a squeak, face going pale.

Kakashi noted the minuscule tightening of Shigeru’s shoulder as he nodded in confirmation. The battle for top leadership position seemed to be raging more than ever now that the war appeared to be nearing its end. This is when legends and names are made. Kakashi should know; the Kannabi Bridge battle was the main turning point in making him renown in Konoha and beyond.

Kakashi was brought out of his musings when Noburo finally arrived, “Apologies for the delay.”

“It’s fine,” Shikaku replied as the man briskly joined them, sparing Obito a glare as he passed them while completely ignoring Kakashi. Obito gulped in worry and gave Kakashi a look that screamed help.

“We are very disappointed with both of you,” Shikaku started the conversation before the other two can begin their fight to assert control. “Fortunately, you managed to pull off the rescue, but had you failed, or had Hateno gotten even an inkling as to what you were planning, you could have cost us an important ally.”

“Let’s not mince words,” Shigeru added curtly. “Not only Hateno, but it would have caused a domino effect. Other smaller nations would have also abandoned their alliance with us. And right as we finally turned the tide of war! What in the name of the Six Paths were you thinking?”

“We were aware of the risks,” Kakashi spoke confidently. “Still, the Uzumaki are Konoha’s most trusted allies, and we failed them. Rescuing Ayana-san from the abuse she was facing is the least we can do.”

“They just dragged her out and she was begging them to stop!” Obito emphasized, not believing his teammate conveyed the situation properly. “She could barely stand!”

Kakashi was glad to see Obito had regained his nerve. He would need his charisma to seal the deal in reducing their punishment.  

“One person, one not even of Konoha, is not worth extending this war and losing more of our own,” Shigeru replied.

“The Uzumaki are one of our own,” Kakashi cut in. “Or do we wear their symbol just for theatrics?” Kakashi saw Shikaku give a tiny nod in acknowledgment. That small sign was all Kakashi needed to know that he had at least one ally amongst the adults.

“Of course we care about our lost allies,” Shigeru said impatiently. “But we’re in a war.”

“If a person cannot uphold their values at all times, then they are meaningless,” Obito retorted heatedly.

“There is a time and place,” Noburo was not amused, withering Obito down with a harsh scowl. Obito shrunk back a bit, hurt by the unforgiving treatment his own family was giving him. 

Kakashi found it interesting that the man seemed to be angrier at Obito than at him, despite Kakashi clearly being the mind behind their operation. Then again, they were both Uchiha and any actions Obito took would reflect on the entire clan.

“Agreed,” Kakashi said, bringing the spotlight back on him. The adults blinked at the unexpected retort while Obito shot him a look of dismayed betrayal. That was, until Kakashi continued, “The time and place were ideal for helping Ayana-san.”

“Explain,” Shikaku asked, willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

“There is a reason why I refrained from involving Watanabe-san, or anyone else for that matter,” Kakashi said, glad to finally have a proper chance to explain his strategy. “If by any chance we were caught by Hateno, the fact that nobody else knew would have protected Konoha. You would have written the situation off as the actions of naïve children.”

“That still doesn –” Shigeru spoke up but Kakashi interrupted him.

“Please Shigeru-san, I’m trying to explain everything,” Kakashi refrained from raising his hand to stop the man from talking, forcing himself to keep them at his side to ensure no disrespect was given.

Shigeru seemed torn between wanting to reprimand him for the interruption, but decided to hear him out, waving him to keep going.

“Thank you,” Kakashi gave a light bow. “Let’s break it down. If Konoha had confronted Hateno directly, forcing them to release Ayana-san, it would’ve looked like we were bullying a weaker ally. Result? She stays trapped, Konoha seems powerless, and we’d add ‘failing the Uzumaki survivors’ to our guilt.”

And Kushina wouldn’t take that quietly—an angry jinchuriki is trouble, but he wisely kept that to himself.

“Option two,” he continued, “Make it a village-sanctioned rescue. If caught, Konoha gets accused of betraying allies—worst-case scenario.”

“So, you’re saying that informing someone would’ve backfired?” Shigeru asked.

“Exactly.” Kakashi nodded. “Option three? Just us getting caught. Konoha writes us off as reckless kids, sweeps it under the rug, maybe negotiates later—but that’s back to strong-arming. Instead?” He gestured between himself and Obito. “Two ‘stupid’ kids succeed. No diplomatic fallout, the Uzumaki clan gets a chance to rebuild, and Konoha keeps its hands clean. Perfect scapegoats. Am I wrong?”

As Kakashi spoke, Obito’s nails dug deeper and deeper into the palm of his hands. So much so, that a small trickle of blood ran down his palms. “It’s what you taught us the Will of Fire is all about, how is it wrong?” Obito couldn’t help but add. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if we chose the easy way out and just ignored Ayana-san.” He gripped his shirt at the chest, as if clutching his heart. “That’s not what being a Konoha shinobi is. That’s not the Konoha I love!”

Shikaku smirked, Shigeru’s eyes softened but Noburo remained impassive, not giving them a clue to what he was thinking. The man had been silent for most of the conversation, which was unlike him based on what Kakashi had observed. It unnerved him. Then again, he did just lose his brother in the Kannabi Bridge. It made sense that the man was out of it.

“I’m glad to hear that you two didn’t just impulsively launch this plan,” Shigeru began. “It’s clear you put a lot of thought into it and took a sensible course of action.”

Obito started to smile, hoping to hear more good news.

“However,…”

Obito’s face fell.

“Konoha could have launched this plan with only Watanabe-san in the know. He could have pretended he had no idea and had given you more guidance. He also has more experience and while I agree you took the best path, it may not have been,” Shigeru said calmly.

“You’re clearly smart enough to have thought about this, why didn’t you approach at least Watanabe-san?” Shikaku asked.

Kakashi did think about it, but he knew his answer would not be well-received and he chose to give a logical reason instead. “Involving Watanabe-san would’ve forced him to lie to Hateno directly. If discovered, Konoha’s deniability vanishes.”

“I want the truth,” Noburo said, not buying Kakashi’s answer. While it bore some truth, the man knew there was more behind the decision.

The truth? He trusted his own judgment over Watanabe’s. But admitting that would brand him a rogue asset—unfit for teamwork. If word got out, he’d become even more of a pariah than he already was.

“Well, if you want the truth,” Kakashi said and let out a large sigh, trying his best to sugarcoat it. “I guess, I don’t know Watanabe-san. I don’t know if he would have agreed with us or trusted us to carry it out. We had one shot.”

“You didn’t trust the man the Third Hokage trusted to lead the outpost? You don’t trust Konoha’s chain of command? Is that what you’re saying?” Noburo wasn’t letting him get away with roundabout answers.

Uchiha Noburo had him trapped.

The silence stretched. Kakashi couldn’t admit the truth—that he trusted his own judgment over Watanabe’s. Over Konoha’s. That after years of war, he’d learned to rely on his instincts, not titles. But saying that out loud would be more than arrogance; it’d be defiant. A shinobi who second-guessed command was a liability. A lone wolf. And if word spread, no team would ever trust him again.

“We didn’t think of it like that,” Obito spoke up, saving Kakashi from having to reply before the silence could grow uncomfortably long.

Thank you, Obito, Kakashi internally breathed a sigh of relief.

“We just wanted to rescue her, and we didn’t have a lot of time to plan,” he said as he fiddled with his goggles. “Then Jiraya-sama came in injured, and we wanted to tell Minato-sensei, but he had enough on his mind and had to go back to the frontlines. He had enough to deal with and we didn’t want him to be distracted out there.”

“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t mean it, Obito-kun. Even though you really should have thought about it,” Shigeru said, voice a cross between sternness and understanding.

“What happens now?” Kakashi shifted the conversation before Noburo can get on his case again. He really wanted to shut this down as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately, as well-intentioned and thought-out your plan was, it still makes me wary of sending you out again. You have so much more to learn before you can make decisions that would affect the entirety of Konoha,” Shikaku explained. “It worked out well this time, which is fortunate. But right now, I don’t want any wild cards. I vote to sending them back to the village to cool their heads.”

“I agree,” Shigeru voted next. Obito slumped his shoulders, knowing what was coming. They both already knew but he still had hope that they may get away with it. “If this wasn’t a time of war, your actions would have been commended. Be that as it may, we have too many unknown factors to deal with already.”

“I’m with you both but I’d like to add a caveat,” Noburo was the last to vote. “They’ve done a great job here, especially given their age. I say we send them back, yet without making it an official dishonorable discharge. They’re still kids, it would be a shame to have this on their public record. This way, it says between us, Watanabe-san, their sensei and the elders.”

Kakashi was shocked, given that Noburo was the strictest and least impressed with the whole ordeal. Obito was even more shocked, gaping at Noburo as though he were an alien.

“Is that so?” Shikaku said, giving Noburo a searching look. “Since when are you lenient?”

“These kids have been forced to fight in a war despite their age. I say that’s punishment enough. I’d hate for them to also have this follow them around. The children of Konoha have sacrificed enough,” Noburo said with a shrug. “Let them go back and let’s focus on ending this war once and for all."

Kakashi stifled the urge to mirror Obito’s gaping. An Uchiha showing mercy? Unlikely. Noburo’s vote reeked of clan politics—something Shikaku seemed to clock too, given the Nara’s lingering stare.

“Wouldn’t that decision fall back to the Hokage?” Shigeru pressed.

"Our outpost, our call," Shikaku said, though his tilted head betrayed calculation. After a pause, he conceded: "Fine, Noburo-san. Your suggestion stands."

Shigeru’s frown deepened, but he folded. The man clearly knew there was more to Noburo’s forgiveness, but with Shikaku going ahead, he went along with it as well.

Lucky? Hardly. Kakashi’s instincts screamed of ulterior motives. Noburo wanted no public stain on the Uchiha name—that much was obvious. But Shikaku’s compliance? That was the real puzzle.

“Tomorrow morning, we have a group of ninja going back with some of the injured,” Shigeru informed them. “You’ll return with them. Make sure you reflect on your actions deeply.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Obito said as he smiled as wide as a cheshire cat. The hidden political interplay sailed completely over his head. Beaming, Obito rushed forward and thrust out his hand. Shigeru accepted his hand and nearly laughed when Obito began shaking his hand up and down animatedly. Noburo sighed in exasperation, the casual display was unbecoming of an Uchiha.

“I hope you know how lucky you are,” Shigeru wanted to impress on them the seriousness of the situation.

What are they playing at?

“We learned our lesson, I promise,” Obito nodded and then turned to Kakashi with a grin, “Right, Kakashi?”

Kakashi startled out of his internal thoughts and bowed deeply, “Yes, thank you for your leniency.”

“Alright get out of here, we’re busy,” Shikaku waved them away.

“Before that, I’d like to talk to you alone, Obito,” Noburo stated.

Shikaku’s eyes narrowed, “Clansman to clansman, is that it?”

“Is that wrong?” Noburo gave the Nara a bored look. “I’ll be back in ten minutes tops.”

The man began walking towards the door, flicking his head towards the door when he passed Obito. His teammate gave a haphazard bow to the rest of the room before he rushed after him. In his nervous rush, Obito tripped on his feet and fell to the floor. He blushed heavily as Noburo sighed loudly, a whispered mutter of annoyance passing his lips. Obito quickly pushed himself back up on his feet and they both left the room.

Kakashi gave Shikaku a meaningful glance, conveying his confusion at the whole ordeal. Shikaku faintly frowned but shook his head, ‘let it go’, he seemed to say. Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Kakashi offered a final polite bow before leaving the office too.

He was curious about what Noburo wanted to discuss with his teammate, but knew he couldn’t spy on them or anything. Instead, he decided to wait for Obito outside the Tower. Noburo had said he’d only be away for ten minutes. He could wait that long and gain some insight on the conversation based on Obito’s mood.

Better yet, maybe Obito would share the conversation, but he doubted that would be the case. Despite being the black sheep of the clan and constantly mocked by his clansmen, Obito had a lot of pride in the Uchiha name. He wouldn’t share any internal matters with the clan and had always kept his complaints to himself.

Kakashi found a wall to recline against as he waited for his teammate to reemerge. He mentally replayed the confrontation, trying to glean hints.

“Hatake,” a voice called to him after a handful of minutes had passed. An unfamiliar ninja emerged from the tower and walked towards him. “We’re short on explosive tags. Head over to the sealing team and help them prepare more tags.”

“Oh? Whose orders?” Kakashi pitched his voice lighter, masking suspicion with boyish curiosity.

“Noburo-sama, don’t keep them waiting,” the man replied with a hint of disdain and made his way back inside.

Kakashi frowned but had no choice except to follow the order. Typical Uchiha clan posturing. But Shikaku’s cooperation? That was the real puzzle.

CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC

Helping the sealing team kept him busy for the rest of the day. Fortunately, his status as the Yellow Flash’s student was a large boon in his welcome. The team was relieved to have some additional help and trusted him immediately; knowing that one of Konoha’s best seal’s experts was his teacher. The ninja in charge checked his first tag, found no mistakes and gratefully left him to work in peace.

When he realized how big the shortage was, he even created a shadow clone to help. Konoha was pushing hard, and every ninja kept tags on hand. The sudden increase in fighting forced the sealing team to fall behind on the demand.

“You know the Shadow Clone jutsu?” one of the ninja asked with awe. He was still a teenager and Kakashi assumed he was one of those chosen to specialize in sealing and not combat.

“Can you teach me?” another ninja asked, clasping her hands in a pleading gesture. “That would be soooo useful.”

“Me too,” the first asked as well.

“It can be dangerous if you don’t have a large enough chakra pool,” Kakashi stated. He didn’t want to be responsible for the sealing team going out of commission due to a series of chakra depletion.

“Ono-san, Shiranui-san, and I can learn” the leader rattled off the names. “The rest of you are still not ready.”

Shiranui? Kakashi wondered as another man joined them. He bore a striking resemblance to Genma. A relative, perhaps?

“I can do it!” the teenager cried in anguish.

“Try again in a few years, Kaito-chan!” the female ninja who asked to be taught laughed.

“Aww man,” the teenager pouted as he went back to his work.

That was how Kakashi found himself teaching the Shadow Clone jutsu to three others, marveling at the surrealism of the moment. As they tried to master the jutsu, he went back to writing tags and would offer tips when they’d ask.

Shiranui mastered it fastest—under an hour. No surprise, given Genma’s own knack for seals. “Thanks, this should really help us in the future,” the man said gratefully as his clone walked back to the man’s bench and began working on some seals.

“No problem,” Kakashi replied, placing a finished tag onto his pile. “If you don’t mind me asking—are you related to Genma?”

“He’s my nephew,” the man confirmed. “That’s right, you were in the same class at the academy.”

“Yes, does he know sealing?” Kakashi asked curiously. He always thought that Genma learned sealing from his sensei after he had become the Fourth.

“I taught him the basics, but I don’t know if he’s keeping at it,” the man said. “Best get back to it, lots of exploding tags to create. Thanks again.”

Filing away that piece of information for later, Kakashi went back to the task at hand. The other two eventually learned the jutsu and their output saw a sizable spike.

He wasn’t surprised they all learned it in a day. The Shadow Clone wasn’t a hard jutsu to master, but a hard one to use safely. That alone was enough to earn it 'forbidden' status. Splitting your chakra to create them was the real danger. Creating too much could deplete a person’s chakra stores suddenly. This would not only lead to chakra exhaustion but could also result in a heart attack if one wasn’t careful. A ninja had to have either great control and knowledge of their limitations, or insane chakra pools like Naruto.

It was also a nice change of pace to teach adults. Genins were much more exhausting. With adult ninja, he just gave them direction and let them be. In the past, he had written down so many ninjutsu for his colleagues to learn and to expand the village’s knowledge, but he was never directly involved in any training.

By the time the clock neared midnight, Kakashi accepted he wouldn’t see Obito before departure. Whatever Noburo said would have to wait for Konoha.

The sealing team finally stopped, needing rest to replenish their chakra. Even though you need chakra to activate a seal, you also needed chakra to draw them. Every tag absorbed a fragment of the creator’s chakra. Despite exploding tags being among the simplest and least chakra-intensive seals to create the number of tags they drew would wear down most ninja. They were finally dismissed, but despite their fatigue they left in good spirits now that they were much closer to closing the gap.

The leader clapped him on the back, grin tired but genuine. “Minato-san taught you well. Konoha should make the Shadow Clone jutsu a must for sealing experts from now on. It’s so useful! If you ever thought about expanding your sealing knowledge, you know where to find me.”

“I appreciate that,” Kakashi bowed lightly before heading to his tent to pack up.

Rolling his stiff shoulders, Kakashi let the earlier irritation fade. However Noburo had intended this, the outcome—three sealers now doubling their output—was undeniable. For all his distrust of the current command, tonight proved he could still serve Konoha’s future—one tag, one technique at a time.

Chapter Text

There was one thing Kakashi wanted to do before he had to head back to Konoha in an hour. After having packed all his belongings, he had made his way to the outpost medical center. He wasn’t aware if Ayana’s presence was being kept secret, so instead of asking about her whereabouts, he extended his senses and found her signature in one of the rooms on the second floor. He made his way inside and headed straight for the stairs, before a voice made him halt in his tracks.

“Kakashi-kun!” Rin’s voice came from his right. He turned to find his teammate walking briskly over, a smile on her face.

“Rin,” Kakashi nodded politely as she came to a stand next to him.

She leaned forward, bring up her hand to mask her mouth before slowly asking, “Are you here to visit Ayana-san?”

Uncomfortable with how close she was, Kakashi nodded and took a step back, reclaiming his personal space.

“Follow me,” she said and made her way upstairs. He resisted the urge to tell her that he already knew where Ayana was, opting to follow her and curious as to how she came to know about Ayana in the first place.

After a few steps, Rin paused, and Kakashi nearly slammed into her. He had expected to keep walking to one of the rooms at the far-end where he knew Ayana was resting, but Rin beckoned him to another room. Confused, he followed her. The room was empty and clearly housed the medical ninja who were working downstairs. Unlike the general mayhem he was used to, the room was much neater. He wondered if it was a medical ninja thing or simply a matter of chance.

“Before we go see Ayana-san I wanted to check up on you,” Rin spoke up shyly once she saw Kakashi give her a puzzled look.

“I’m fine,” Kakashi replied. “How do you know? I didn’t think our rescue was common knowledge.”

“Oh, it’s not. Obito-kun came by to visit Ayana-san and he told me everything,” she explained. “He seemed a bit distraught. I think his relative was very harsh. I know you don’t like breaking the rules and if Obito was upset, I… anyway are you really ok?”

“Obito was distraught?” Kakashi asked instead, his interest in Obito’s conversation with Noburo mounting.

“If it means anything, I think you two did the right thing,” Rin went off on a tangent. “I know Kushina-san is going to be so happy to hear she has family. Ayana-san is also so sweet and it wasn’t fair what was happening to her. So don’t listen to the outpost captains, I know Minato-sensei is going to be so proud of you two once he hears.”

“I’m not worried, the Uzumaki is a strong clan. Having more in Konoha and potentially reviving the clan will smooth things over,” Kakashi reassured her, finding her concern endearing, even if wasn’t necessary.

“Her value isn’t just her genes,” Rin scowled.

“That’s how the elders will think about it,” Kakashi said with a shrug.

“Heartless old geezers,” Rin muttered angrily under her breath, nearly making Kakashi laugh. The Rin in his memories was always so poised and respectful. She seemed to realize what she said and got flustered, “I… I mean they think too much with logic instead of their hearts, you know?”

“As ninjas do?” Kakashi said. Finding the balance between rational and emotional thought has, and will always be, a struggle in the ninja world. Not for his knuckle-head student though, Kakashi added fondly.

“Hmph,” Rin was unamused. “I’m just glad you and Obito know the importance of doing what is right.”

“Well, I don’t think I would’ve saved her if she wasn’t an Uzumaki to be honest,” Kakashi said, to maintain a more realistic behavior. His future-self wouldn’t hesitate to help others and has done so even when it didn’t necessarily benefit Konoha. However, it’s not something his younger self would do, and he had to maintain his gradual personality shift.

“Because of her genes?” Rin asked scornfully.

“No, although that helps. It’s because of Kushina-san,” Kakashi said and shuffled his weight to his other leg.

“I’m sure Kushina-san would really appreciate it, Kakashi-kun,” Rin said with a wide smile.

“Anyway, I don’t have long before I have to head out,” Kakashi wanted to move away from emotional topics. “I don’t know if Obito told you, but we were dismissed from the frontlines.”

“He did,” Rin said, a frown on her face. “It’s incredibly stupid. But yeah, I guess you want to check on Ayana-san before leaving? Come on, I’ll take you.”

“First up,” he spoke up, stopping her, “how has your assignment been? Every time I pass by the medical center things seem to be very busy.”

“Kakashi-kun,” Rin’s eyes lit up. She wasn’t used to a Kakashi that cared enough to check up on her.

Kakashi wanted to build a stronger relationship with his teammates, and Rin was so much easier to deal with than Obito. He also enjoyed her company more. Even when he was a kid, he didn’t mind striking up the occasional conversation with Rin. Also, seeing her uncharacteristic small outburst before, he wanted to get to know her more.

“It’s a bit difficult; you can’t save everyone but that doesn’t make every loss hard. But at the same time, I’m learning so so much,” she explained. “You were right; however, I definitely need to increase my chakra levels.”

“Of course I was,” Kakashi said with a touch of arrogance, breaking the tension that was mounting.

She rolled her eyes at him, although her smile gave away her amusement, “The advanced techniques I learned also came in handy.” She emphasized the “I” a little too much, telling him that her decision was also right.

“I did say there are multiple scenarios and your techniques could be what’s needed,” he defended himself. “So, I’m still right.”

“If you account for everything obviously, you’ll be right,” she countered with mirth. “The weather today could be sunny, but it could also be cloudy or even rainy. I mean really?”

“Right is right,” he replied nonchalantly.

She shook her head in faux exasperation, “Boys…”

“So… Ayana-san?” Kakashi asked after the conversation lulled. “I don’t have much time.”

“Yes of course,” she grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the hallway. Kakashi smiled softly at the familiar gesture as he trailed after her. She quickly led him to the door where he previously felt Ayana-san’s signature. “I must get back. I’ll see you later, Kakashi-kun.”

“Yea, good luck,” he replied, replying to her animated wave with a lazy one of his own.

He knocked on the door gently and walked in after he received a reply to enter. The room Ayana was in housed other people as well, but same as with Rin’s quarters, it was empty as most were tending to the wounded downstairs. Kakashi figured they kept her upstairs to keep her presence as much of a secret as possible. Ayana was lying down on a bed next to the window, and had an IV strapped to her arm. She appeared tired but was otherwise alright.

“Hello, Kakashi-kun,” she smiled and waved him over.

“Ayana-san,” Kakashi greeted before sitting at a chair that was placed next to her bed. “I’m glad to see you made it here safely. Any trouble on the way over?”

“Nothing too bad,” she shook her head. “We had to change course a few times to avoid others your Pakkun sensed. But otherwise, it was just a long journey.”

“Pakkun and Bull are great, I knew they could get you here safely,” Kakashi said. “Any trouble when you arrived?”

“The guards were quite hesitant to let me in, even with your letter,” she explained. “But then a Nara Shikaku came and smoothed everything over. He was very efficient.”

“Naras tend to be,” Kakashi said and his fondness for the Nara clan leader went up a notch.

“I’m sorry you got into trouble,” Ayana said. “Obito-kun came by and visited me last night. Said you two were sent back home.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Kakashi said, wondering why Obito had to tell her that. Couldn’t his teammate have been more considerate. She was obviously feeling guilty when all she needed to focus on was resting, both physically and emotionally. “We were mostly assigned menial tasks. This is a chance to train more.”

She laughed softly, “You ninja and training; Obito-kun said something along the same lines.”

Kakashi startled at the mention of Obito having a similar response. He never found any similarities between the two of them.

“Then he started telling me about how he was going to become Hokage and protect everyone,” Ayana continued.

“Sounds like Obito,” Kakashi sighed. Same as with Naruto, those two couldn’t shut up about their dream and made sure everyone they met knew it. He wondered briefly if his sensei was the same as a child but couldn’t imagine that. Something to ask Jiraya later once he was better. “Physically, are you alright?”

“The medics said my body is fatigued and ordered me on a lot of bedrest. They also say I have some malnutrition, so they keep giving me these fluids,” she told him. “The baby is fine, but this should help him or her be healthier and stronger. I’m so grateful for all their help.”

“That’s a relief,” Kakashi said. “Besides, Uzumaki are strong, so I’m sure your baby will be strong.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” she smiled, making Kakashi blush lightly at the address. Luckily, she continued speaking so he didn’t need to reply. “I’ve heard some stories about Kushina-san from the medics and Rin-chan. She seems like a very strong and spirited person. I’m very excited to meet her,” she said.

“Did they tell you when?” Kakashi asked curiously.

“The medics want to keep me on bedrest for two weeks,” she explained. “Afterwards, they said that Kushina-san and some other ninja will escort me back to Konoha.”

“I’m sure Kushina-san wouldn’t have let anyone else escort you other than herself,” Kakashi chuckled. “She’s a very strong ninja so you don’t have to worry. She’ll keep you safe.”

“I still can’t believe I’m moving to Konoha where I will have family,” she said in awe. As if she still couldn’t believe the change in her fate. She rubbed her stomach fondly, imagining a life where her child would grow up with more than one person who loved him or her.

Kakashi knew it won’t be as easy as Ayana was imagining. There were going to be a lot of interviews, background checks, health checkups, memory scans and more before she was accepted as a Konoha citizen. However, he didn’t bring that up. He saw no reason as to why the woman would be turned away, and Kushina wouldn’t stand for it anyway. He left that tidbit for someone else to explain.

“I’m sorry, I have to go now,” Kakashi said once he noticed the time. “I’ll see you in Konoha.”

“In Konoha,” she repeated, the words still sounding surreal. “Thank you so much, you and Obito-kun. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

Kakashi shook his head, “We’re ninja; it’s our duty to protect. No thanks are necessary.”

“Still, I truly am grateful. I’ll see you in two weeks, right?” she asked.

“Two weeks,” Kakashi reassured her and gave her a salute before leaving to the gates.

It was time to leave the frontlines.

CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC

They way back to Konoha was uneventful. The ninja they were returning with did not know they were discharged, assuming they were also finishing their deployment, so nobody paid them any mind.

The only thing of note was Obito being uncharacteristically quiet. Kakashi asked him why he was in a bad mood, but Obito said he didn’t want to talk about it and changed the topic. Annoyed that he had to wait more before sating his curiosity, Kakashi dropped the matter for now. He’d give Obito time to calm down first and maybe find a private moment to talk about it.

They arrived at Konoha during the afternoon on the next day. As always, the sight of the gates brought a warm feeling to Kakashi’s chest. After parting ways with Obito, Kakashi went home for a long soak in the bath.

After he finished freshening up, the sun had already started to set. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to relax, Kakashi had a light snack and made his way to the hospital. He wanted to see if there were any updates on Jiraya. He was really worried and hoped that Tsunade was able to find a solution to heal him.

“Hello, can you tell me which room Jiraya-sama is in please?” Kakashi asked the hospital front-desk.

“None of your business, kid. Scram,” the receptionist replied briskly.

Kakashi was surprised by the harsh reply, before narrowing his eyes, “My sensei is Jiraya-sama’s student. He knows me. I would like to check up on him.”

“Jiraya-sama is resting,” the receptionist replied. “He doesn’t need an annoying child interrupting his healing. Come back with your sensei or don’t come back at all, Hatake.”

“Ask Tsunade-sama, she’ll tell you to let me up,” Kakashi didn’t let the matter drop, insisting on visiting the Sanin.

“Tsunade-sama is busy,” the receptionist said, not budging.

Kakashi’s eye twitched in annoyance. Fortunately, Shizune came to his rescue before things could escalate further.

“Kakashi-kun, welcome home,” she smiled as she walked over. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and seemed to be going home for the day.

“Shizune-san,” Kakashi acknowledged her greeting with a nod.

“Are you here to visit Jiraya-sama?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, but this man won’t let me,” Kakashi turned to glare at the receptionist who glared right back.

“Ah, Kimura-san was ordered to keep everyone away,” she said, trying to keep the peace. “But it’s fine Kimura-san, Kakashi-kun is close to Jiraya-sama. You can let him up.”

“Are you sure, Shizune-chan?” the man asked skeptically.

“Positive,” she nodded. “He’s in room 334, Kakashi-kun. Do you know the way?”

“Yes, I’ve been here enough times to know my around,” he said.

“Great, I’ll see you later then,” she nodded. “Good night, Kimura-san,” she also bid farewell to the receptionist before leaving the hospital.

Kakashi smirked at Kimura-san. The man couldn’t see his mouth, but Kakashi’s eyes gave away his satisfaction.

“You better watch it, Hatake,” the man all but growled in annoyance.

Kakashi didn’t even bother replying, turning heel and walking inside. As he walked through the halls, he mulled over the flip in script, “I’ve been visiting too many people in medical centers these days. Usually, people are visiting me after a bout of chakra exhaustion.”

Reflecting on his constant companion, chakra exhaustion, reminded him about the training he needed to do. Now that he was back in Konoha, it was time to focus on his training and find a way to rescue Tenzo.

He made his way into Jiraya’s room and found a similar scene to a few days before. The room was empty except for Tsunade, who was reading a thick medical book as she watched over her teammate who was still in a coma. The only difference, Jiraya had more bandages on his torso and a contraption holding his back in place.

“Kakashi-kun? What are you doing here?” she asked, looking down from the book in her hands. “Shouldn’t you be at the outpost?”

Apparently, Tsunade hadn’t received the news of their rescue. He quickly explained the situation, ending on his dismissal and desire to check up on the Toad Sanin.

“Another Uzumaki huh,” she said in wonder. “Things are sure to get lively around here then.”

“Ayana-san is a very quiet person,” Kakashi said. “If anything, maybe she’ll get Kushina-san to calm down a bit.”

Tsunade snorted, “That’s unlikely.”

“Ano, about Jiraya-sama?” Kakashi almost dreaded to ask. Tsunade seemed to be in good spirits though, so he hoped that meant good news.

Tsunade sighed, “The good news is we realigned his spine.”

“So, he’s not paralyzed?” Kakashi asked, voice edged with hope.

“It’s too soon to tell the extent of the damage,” Tsunade replied. “Once the swelling goes subsides, we’ll wake him up and assess. Even if the nerves are still functional, he’ll need extensive physiotherapy to walk again. This will be a long recovery.”

Kakashi’s shoulders slumped. “Oh,” he’d hoped for better.

“But I’m cautiously optimistic,” Tsunade adding, trying to reassure him and herself. “It could’ve been worse. The swelling is fading faster than expected. With targeted nerve rejuvenation, he might recover fully.”

“Nerve rejuvenation?” Kakashi titled his head.

“By applying a controlled electric current to specific points, we can stimulate regeneration,” Tsunade explained patiently.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Kakashi asked. As a lightning user, he knew just how volatile electricity could be.

“It is,” Tsunade admitted. “The current must be strong enough to revive the nerves but not fry them. And since the damage varies, the intensity needs constant adjustment. It’s theoretical, but it’s our best option if the damage is severe.” She hefted a massive tome. “Hence this.”

Kakashi squinted at the title: Neurophysiological Foundations: Principles of Neural Conductivity and Synaptic Reanimation. He sweatdropped. Was this how others felt when he read advanced ninjutsu scrolls?

Then he noticed the author’s name. “Wait—Orochimaru wrote this?!”

“He has… niche interests in medical research,” Tsunade said dryly. “This focuses on postmortem neural stimulation via electricity. I’m adapting his findings for live restoration.”

Postmortem?! Kakashi stiffened. The signs of his immortality obsession were there all along. Did anyone realize how far he’d go?

“Sounds… complicated,” Kakashi muttered.

“It is,” Tsunade agreed. “The technique would require expert medical knowledge and precise Lightning Release. Neither Orochimaru nor I specialize in Lightning Release, though Orochimaru may be skilled enough to pull it off. Still, it’s safer to design a device to regulate the current.” She trailed off, scribbling notes.

Kakashi stayed silent, not daring to interrupt. The thought of Orochimaru’s involvement twisted his gut. They’re still teammates now, but when did he turn? He didn’t trust the Snake Sannin anywhere near Jiraiya.

The scratch of Tsunade’s pen filled the room. Watching her furrowed brow, Kakashi relaxed slightly. She was determined to keep full control of Jiraiya’s treatment. He trusted her to take care of Jiraiya.

Stepping out of the hospital, he inhaled the crisp Konoha air. The village hummed with evening activity—vendors closing stalls, shinobi returning from missions—but Kakashi’s mind was already elsewhere. His priorities.

First off, speed and Lightning Release. The Chidori’s flaw gnawed at him. No Sharingan crutch this time. He’d need to refine his control.

Secondly, Tenzo. Danzo’s grip on ROOT was ironclad, but shadows had cracks. He needed to gather intel first. Then a plan.

Then there was Akatsuki. Where to even start?

He exhaled, rolling tension from his shoulders. One step at a time. For tonight, rest. Tomorrow—

A distant laugh echoed from the streets. Carefree. The sound was jarringly normal.

Kakashi smiled despite the monumental tasks ahead, right, this is what we’re fighting for.

Chapter Text

Kakashi wiped the sweat of his brow as he shuffled towards one of the trees in the training area. He removed the weights, chucking them to the ground, before grabbing his bottle and taking large gulps of water.

He didn’t know how Gai did it. He was in Rin’s corner, taijutsu training could be so boring at times. However, the thought of his missed Chidori against Gou Ogata during the Clash of the Grass Gate spurred him on. Speed. He had to improve his speed.

His taijutsu style was developed to take advantage of his agility and lightning nature. That’s not to say he wasn’t physically strong, but the strength in his taijutsu lay in his ability to dodge and strike back with deadly efficiently, often with a charged kunai. He could proudly say that while Gai easily surpassed him in terms of raw power and even speed, Kakashi’s read on his opponents and defensive abilities were higher. It’s the only reason he was able to keep up with Gai during taijutsu spars.

Yet, a big part of that was the Sharingan. By reading his opponent’s miniscule movements before they were made, it gave him more time to dodge into a counter position. Without the Sharingan, he would see to it that Obito would live, he had to develop his speed even more than before.

But that was just the beginning.

His eyes flashed back to the list of things he needed to accomplish and grimaced.

• Being comfortable with younger body
• Navigating a personality shift
• Researching key information areas
• Changing events of the future in a plausible manner
• Personal training
• Develop my generation’s skill

Fortunately, he has made headway on the first two, and Obito survived the Kannabi Bridge, so he was off to a good start. Yet there was so much more to accomplish, and changes were already happening that he had no idea how long his future knowledge would be an advantage. It certainly would in terms of developing his and his generation’s skills. He knew their strengths and weakness, as well as fighting style. It wouldn’t be hard to guide them in the right direction when the time came. But the more he delayed changing future events, the more likely his information would become useless and his mission that more challenging.

He laid back down to stare up into the canopy of tree. Tenzo was now seven years old, meaning he had already survived Orochimaru’s experiment and had started his training in ROOT. He was technically safe for now, if not happy. He wanted to rescue him as soon as possible, but Danzo was a dangerous adversary.

Last night he debated the merits of handling Danzo now or waiting till his sensei became Hokage. It would certainly be safer. But could he condemn Tenzo to another year of suffering? If history were to repeat itself, it would take another year of fighting till Iwa surrendered. The Kannabi Bridge was the turning point in the war, as Iwa lost access to supplies, ground and morale. It wasn’t the end though. More battles, Rin’s death, there was so much more senseless loss before both sides agreed to come to a peace agreement.

To wait or not to wait…

His strategizing was interrupted by a low explosion of a fire jutsu in the neighboring training grounds. Instinctively, he extended his senses and was surprised to note the familiar signature. He quickly packed up and made his way over. He knew he couldn’t overwork his muscles with physical training lest he injure himself. His plan was to theorize over new ninjutsu after lunch, but a small detour couldn’t hurt.

The neighboring training ground was similar to his, an open area surrounded by a bunch of trees. It was the most typical training ground structure in Konoha. He crouched on one of the branches on the outskirts and decided to observe.

This one hurt, as it was the freshest death for Kakashi. But here he was once again, cursing up a storm as his attempts to launch a fire attack backfired once more and threw him back. The lack of beard and cigarette made him appear even younger to Kakashi. It was like seeing Gai without his green jumpsuit, Kakashi without his mask or Genma without his senbon. It was unnatural.

He didn’t know that Asuma started learning fire release this early. His fellow jonin used both Fire and Wind release. Yet the first time he remembers seeing Asuma use Fire Release was in their mid-teenage years. Did it really take Asuma that long to learn Fire Release?

Bottling his emotions, Kakashi spoke up calmly from his perch as he saw Asuma gain his footing, “You’re going to give yourself concussion at this rate.”

“Kakashi!” Asuma startled, turning to face the masked ninja. He then scowled, registering the comment, “Not all of us can be ninjutsu prodigies.”

Kakashi tilted his head to the side, “Guess not. But your father is one. You should ask him for advice before you end up in the hospital.”

“He’s probably too busy,” Asuma replied. Although the young ninja tried to sound casual, the underlying anger was easy for Kakashi to detect. That’s right, Asuma and his dad had a complicated relationship until he returned from his deployment as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kakashi recalled.

“Your sensei then?” Kakashi suggested. Kakashi had too much on his plate right now to spend a lot of time training Asuma. Helping his peers improve was on his list, but Kakashi still had a lot to improve himself and more pressing matters to attend to.

“Not a ninjutsu specialist,” Asuma replied. “Sensei knows Water Release and Wind Release as a secondary element. Even then, he doesn’t use ninjutsu often. He won’t be able to help me with Fire Release.”

“You don’t need to use the element to help,” Kakashi said. “Granted it’s favorable. But the fact that he knows two natures can help. Otherwise, fire is the most common element. I’m sure as the son of the Third, someone will be willing to help if you ask.”

Plus, it was better than what Asuma was currently doing. His clothes, face and hands were twinged with small burn marks. His face was also red and splotchy from repeated attempts. He hoped Asuma was drinking water, or he would face a severe headache from dehydration.

Asuma grimaced visibly at the suggestion, “Yeah, no thanks. Besides, why do you care?”

“We may not be friends, but I don’t want to see you blow yourself up,” Kakashi shrugged. Once he joined Team Minato, he naturally spent more time with his age peers but saw them as nothing more than acquaintances. At this point in time, he and Asuma barely had any form of relationship and merely tolerated the other’s presence.

“Your care is touching,” Asuma replied drily.

“I try,” Kakashi said before jumping down and walking towards Asuma. Seeing no other choice given Asuma’s stubbornness, he decided to help. He swore not to spend more than an hour. “Show me what you’re doing.”

Asuma’s eyes widened at the request before narrowing in suspicion, “Is this a joke?”

Kakashi refrained from twitching his eye in annoyance. First Obito and now Asuma. Sure, he was serious and focused on the rules as a kid, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about them at all. He was pretty sure he saved their lives during the war at some point, even before his personality change. Heck, he saved Obito’s life many times. Did that count for nothing?

“Yes, I would love nothing more than to waste my time by playing a prank on you,” Kakashi rolled his eyes. 

“Do you even know anything about Fire Release? Don’t you use Lightning and Earth?” Asuma was still skeptical.

“I know Water Release too,” Kakashi said casually. He also knew Fire Release of course, but he was keeping that under wraps.

“Oh, come on! And I’m still struggling to learn a second,” Asuma groused, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. Or maybe the dehydration was kicking in?

“Not everyone can be a ninjutsu prodigy,” Kakashi parroted Asuma’s previous words with a smirk, knowing it would get a rise from his future friend. It was entertaining, especially since Asuma grew up to be someone who was not easily fazed.

“Yeah yeah, you’re the incredible genius of our generation. We only pale in comparison to your amazing skills,” Asuma’s voice dripped with mockery, and he bowed to him in an exaggerated manner.

Kakashi couldn’t help but scoff in amusement, to the further surprise of Asuma who expected an angry outburst or rude dismissal. “Anyway, do you want my help or not? I don’t have a lot of time.” Kakashi was tired of beating around the bush.

“Can you really help me with Fire Release?” the annoyance in his voice was replaced with a twinge of hope.

“You forget that my teammate’s first response to anything is to throw a gigantic ball of fire at it,” Kakashi said, masking his fondness for Obito. “I know how Fire Release works.”

Asuma laughed, “Sounds like Obito. Alright then, I’ll gratefully accept your help. I already know how to burn a leaf and everything. But whenever I try to use a fire jutsu, it doesn’t work. I want to learn Mist Blaze Dance, but it doesn’t ignite. So, I decided to learn Dragon Fire instead, but then it just blows up in my face.”

Kakashi was familiar with both C-Ranked fire jutsus, and they should be fairly simple to teach. It made sense that Asuma wanted to learn the Mist Blaze Dance jutsu, where the user blows flammable gas from their lungs that ignites into a large fireball when sparked. As a wind user, fire release is a great compliment that can help him create large scale attacks. In fact, in the future Asuma was fond of the Ash Piling Burning jutsu, a level up from the Mist Blaze Dance.

“Show me both,” Kakashi asked once more and stepped back a few steps to observe safely.

Asuma sighed but went through the hand seals of the Mist Blaze Dance first. As he mentioned, once Asuma followed up with a match to test it, the matched flickered briefly, but nothing to the scale it should. Then he tried Dragon Fire, and the jutsu exploded before it managed to take form, forcing Asuma to jump back to avoid the backlash.

Asuma turned to Kakashi expectedly, waiting for his comments, his breathing slightly labored. Kakashi grabbed his water bottle and threw it Asuma and then sat down. Asuma gratefully took a few sips before joining Kakashi on the floor.

“Your problem is actually simple,” Kakashi began. “When you’re using ninjutsu, your wind nature is leaking into your jutsu. You’re basically overpowering the fire jutsu. With Dragon Fire, you’re accelerating the combustion chaotically. Result, fast boom. For the Mist Blaze Dance, you’re dispersing the flammable mist. Result, weak spark.”

“But I thought that’s why we learn with the leaf first; to isolate the nature release. Why would it be mixing?” Asuma asked.

“My guess? You were probably unconsciously fueling the fire during that exercise. Your chakra circulation defaults to wind, like a muscle memory. When you mold fire, residual wind slips in unless you consciously suppress it,” Kakashi explained.

“Wouldn’t that have made me fail the leaf exercise?” Asuma asked.

“Wind boosts fire but excessive wind will disrupt control. Burning the leaf needs little chakra, so your wind helped boost the fire. If anything, you made it easier to burn soooo…. you kinda cheated,” Kakashi finished sheepishly.

“I could use a bit of cheating,” Asuma replied sullenly.

Kakashi shifted his weight to his other foot and didn’t know what to say. He was never one for consoling others and chose to remain silent. Ask Sakura, I doubt any of my platitudes ever helped her.  

“If I get what you’re saying, it’s like I’m burning a candle while using my wind nature as fuel instead of creating pure fire?” Asuma paraphrased to make sure he understood.

Kakashi happily followed the conversation shift back to chakra theories, “That’s exactly what I’m saying. However, when you do ninjutsu, you’re using more chakra and the wind, instead of being fuel, breaks your control.”

“Oh, that makes so much sense actually,” Asuma face palmed and let out a small groan of frustration. “How come I didn’t see it before? It’s so obvious.”

“Most things are in hindsight,” Kakashi said.

“So how do I fix it?” Asuma asked curiously.

“First, you need to go back to the leaf exercise,” Kakashi said. As expected, Asuma’s face fell. Nobody really enjoyed the leaf exercise, and it was much more fun to learn actual ninjutsu. “You need to learn to isolate fire chakra. Visualize fire as a closed system, like a furnace where wind doesn’t leak or something. Whatever works for you.”

“I think I’ll stick to the candle,” Asuma nodded.

“If that’s what makes the most sense to you,” Kakashi said. “Then, you need to learn to switch between the natures. Cut a leaf, then burn it, cut a leaf, then burn it.”

“That’s a thing?” Asuma asked in confusion.

“It’s how I learned to switch between Lightning and Earth release. Like you, my second element was the opposite of mine. My earth ninjutsu would easily crumble from my lightning nature and that’s the exercise I thought of when I was a kid,” Kakashi said. “If you were learning water release, I don’t think you’d be having this problem. It’s quite unique to learning the opposite element.”

“What were you like six? I hope you know how insane that is?” Asuma said, genuinely impressed.

“I guess,” Kakashi said and moved to stand. “For some natures, a bit of mixing isn’t a big problem. But when you’re using the opposite of your true chakra nature, the jutsu can become very unstable. That’s why you must practice executing different elemental jutsu in a row after you get the basics down. Doing so, switching between them becomes, well, second nature.”

“That’s a terrible pun,” Asuma pointed out with mirth.

Kakashi ignored him and ran through familiar seals, “Tearing Earth Turning Palm,” he called out first. The ground spiraled inwards, swallowing up whatever was in between.  He followed with Wild Water Wave, flooding the freshly dug crater. Lastly, he used the Lightning Beast Tracking Fang, releasing two wolves that flashed across the area quickly thanks to the aid of the water. The combo was perfect in isolating an enemy and preventing their escape with the quick follow up. It worked better with a clone to release the water and lightning jutsus at the same time, but Kakashi was trying to get an idea across.

“Damn,” Asuma whistled appreciatively.

“If I was still facing an issue with my earth ninjutsu, the cavern wouldn’t have been as deep or would have broken from the water. That’s the level you want to get to before using combos in real battle. First, you learn to isolate the nature, then you can use that element in battle. But it’s only once you can use the nature release in quick combinations that you can say you’ve mastered the element,” Kakashi explained.

Asuma went silent, absorbing everything they’ve discussed. Seeing that Asuma didn’t have more questions, Kakashi took that as his cue to leave. “I’ve got to go now,” Kakashi announced as he walked back and grabbed the strap of his backpack. He had given enough for Asuma to work with for now and he had to get back to his own training.

“Kakashi, I… thanks a lot,” Asuma said, shooting Kakashi a grateful smile.

Asuma’s smile was too bright, too alive. Kakashi turned away before it hurt. “Good luck,” he said and pretended not to hear the echo of his own voice, you always run.

“You too,” Asuma replied, even though he wasn’t sure what he was wishing him luck for.

Kakashi estimated the time it took to help Asuma, and it was barely thirty minutes. Maybe helping his peers didn’t need to wait. They weren’t his genin, he didn’t have to observe the training.

Helping Asuma was efficient. Thirty minutes could save weeks of his future failures, Kakashi thought as he took one last look at Asuma who was gathering a bunch of leaves to practice with.

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He avoided any more detours and made a beeline to his house. He turned on the hot water and prepared a protein-filled meal while he waited. By the time he finished eating, a hot bath was ready for him. He gratefully dipped in the hot water and hoped it would stave off the worst of muscle aches he was sure to feel the next day. He was drying his hair when he heard a knock and sensed a familiar beacon of chakra behind the door.

Kushina.

He should’ve known she’d come to find him and Obito after their rescue of Ayana. He braced himself to meet another person long since dead. With the towel still in hand, he opened the door and saw that she was in her familiar green dress as opposed to her jonin outfit, marking her off duty.

“Good evening Kakashi-kun!” she yelled out happily as soon as he opened the door.

“Kushina-san,” Kakashi bowed lightly in greeting.

Unlike with his team, his heart ached but he didn’t break down. He wasn’t very close to Kushina in the past, viewing her as an occasional companion to his sensei. She would come to their training stocked with healthy meals to keep them going. In those moments, she would occasionally tease him, especially regarding how serious he was. However, most of the time she would get into fights with Obito and dote on Rin. After the deaths of Obito and Rin, she started to check up on him and invite him for meals, but he would refuse; not in the mood to spend time with anyone really. He was then assigned to protect her, but he made sure to keep his distance. Her death hurt him of course, but it was not to the same extent as his team or Asuma’s.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the words Kushina spoke.

“Sorry, what?” he asked distractedly.

Kushina’s grin faltered as she watched him hover by the door, towel clenched tightly in his hand. “I said, aren’t you going to invite me in? It’s good manners, you know,” she said, folding her hands together.

Kakashi walked to the side of the door an opened it more in an unspoken response.

“Minato-kun needs to teach you some manners instead of skills,” she joked as she walked inside. Kakashi closed the door after he and found her staring down at him with visible concern. “I came by this morning, and you were already out. You look a bit peaky. Have you been training already? You just came back. You need to take it easy, you know,” she said.

“I’m fine,” Kakashi dismissed her concern, wrapping the towel across his shoulders.

Her eyebrow arched, a slow, deliberate curve that said, ‘You expect me to buy that.’ Problem was, Kakashi really was ok. He assumed that Kushina, like Rin, was worried about his anxiety over breaking the rules and being dismissed.

“Did you need something, Kushina-san?” Kakashi asked, sidestepping the unnecessary conversation.

Kushina’s body language shifted to one of exuberance as she recalled the chief reason she was here. “I wanted to thank you for rescuing Ayana, you know!” she exclaimed loudly, despite only centimeters between them.

That explains why she wanted to come in. The rescue still isn’t common knowledge, Kakashi realized.

“The Uzumaki are important allies of Konoha,” Kakashi replied seriously, wanting to stave off any potential hugs Kushina might force him into. He had enough surprise hugs from an excited Naruto to see the tell-tale signs.

“And it had nothing to do with me, Ka-ka-shiii?” she teased, a playful smile adorning her face.

“It was one factor,” Kakashi said, throwing her a bone.

“I’m sorry it got you dismissed. It’s so so stupid, you know! I mean I get it, but you and Obito-kun pulled it off and nobody got hurt. If I was leading the outpost I would have let it slide, you know!” she said, patting him on the back appreciatively.

Kakashi stumbled a few steps and winced at the volume; he had forgotten how loud Kushina could be. He needed this conversation to end and barreled forward instead of acknowledging her opinion, “Ayana-san said you’re going to pick her up from the outpost?”

“Yup! I can’t believe I have a cousin coming to live in Konoha!” she said. Her eyes got a faraway look filled with eagerness as she plopped down on the couch. Kakashi was sure she was imagining a new life with Ayana-san. With family.

“The odds are more like, a fourth cousin twice removed or something,” Kakashi said, only for the sake of being a contrarian as he joined her.

“It doesn’t matter, family isn’t measured by closeness of blood, you know. I bet we’ll be like sisters,” she nodded to herself assuredly.

“I’m sure Ayana-san would like that,” Kakashi reassured her. He remembered Ayana’s excitement about Kushina and hoped the two found comfort in one another.

“What’s she like?” Kushina asked.

“Composed, caring, quiet,” Kakashi said, making sure the last trait was spoken pointedly.

Kushina only huffed in amusement, refusing to take offense, “Sounds like Mikoto.”

“The Uchiha clan head’s wife?” Kakashi asked, knowing fully well that was who Kushina was talking about.

“Yup! She’s a close friend, you know,” Kushina said.

Oh, Kakashi did know. All that time he protected Kushina from the shadows meant he was privy to the two women’s joy over having babies of the same age. They’d be devastated if they knew the tragedy that was Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship in the future. Maybe this time around the two of them could have a semi-normal rivalry. One without all the betrayal, guilt and attempted murder.

Great. Now I’m the one being dramatic.

“Before I was deployed, I heard her son was sent to the frontlines. Is that true?” Kakashi asked. He wondered what Itachi’s mother thought about letting her son learn about the horrors of the ninja world that early.

“That rumor is still spreading?” Kushina asked surprised. “They didn’t take him to the frontlines, you know. It was a small skirmish with some missing ninja.”

“Still, isn’t that kind of…” Kakashi trailed off, not sure how exactly to describe the whole affair.

“He’s the future head of the Uchiha Clan,” Kushina said. “He needs to be prepared. It’s crueler not to prepare him, you know.”

Kakashi was honestly surprised. He was curious as to why Mikoto allowed it but did not expect Kushina to be on board as well.

“Would you let your child be taken to a battlefield when they’re young?” Kakashi asked casually.

“My children won’t be the head of a clan,” she replied instead.

“Don’t you and sensei want to be Hokage?” Kakashi reminded her pointedly. “If that happens for one of you, you could argue that your children will need to be prepared too.”

Her eyes perked up, “It’s when, not if it happens. But you’re right I didn’t think about it. If that happens, I’ll do what I must as their mom to prepare them for their duty. We Uzumaki don’t run from duty, we embrace it, you know! And yeah, I’ll spoil my kid rotten too.”

Kakashi imagined a young Naruto in a battle zone. It would crush him. He suddenly felt nauseous.

“You don’t agree?” she asked surprised, noticing his discomfort.

“I don’t know,” Kakashi lied. “Never thought about it.”

Kushina pursed her lips, “I always knew I’d become… I knew I’d be sent to Konoha when I was really young, you know. That helped me. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to leave home if I wasn’t prepared for that.”

She’s talking about becoming a jinchuriki, Kakashi noted. He didn’t know that Kushina was aware of that. Now that he thought about, he didn’t know anything about her experience as a jinchuriki. He’d only ever discussed the topic with Minato, and only for the purposes of his mission and sealing theory. His thoughts went to his student. Would Naruto have preferred to know about the Kyuubi before turning twelve? He had never asked either.

“Some of us are born with a large responsibility and duty than others, you know,” Kushina continued resolutely. “We can complain about it being unfair or we can do whatever we can to make it easier to bear.”

Kakashi understood, but he didn’t agree. His duty for being a prodigy. Itachi’s duty to prevent a civil war. Tenzo’s duty for having Wood Release. The only thing that duty did was steal their childhood. They protected a lot of people but still, they shouldn’t have needed to bare that weight. Duty is good and all, when you’re older.

He was grateful that his students were still innocent and childish despite being twelve. At that age, he, Itachi and Tenzo were all seasoned ninja. But his students quickly grew into fine ninja, even if they weren’t thrust into it from childhood. If anything, he found that the next generation, baring a few exceptions like Neji, were more well-adjusted than the likes of him, Tsunade and others who grew up in the middle of a war. He wondered what the First Hokage would have felt, seeing children have a chance at growing up like he’d dreamed of.

Did it only take two generations for people to forget why Konoha was founded in the first place? Kakashi wondered.

He couldn’t judge them though; not when he lived and breathe duty. It had taken Rin’s blood on his hands, Obito’s plea in the rubble, and Minato’s sacrifice to learn the lesson etched into his bones: sometimes, you had to protect people from the village you loved, even if it meant going against the village occasionally.

“I understand where you’re coming from,” Kakashi said. He didn’t want to get into a deep conversation with Kushina by debating the matter. He wasn’t comfortable enough with her for that.

“Wow, how’d we get here, you know!” Kushina laughed. “You need to lighten up, Kakashi-kun. Obito-kun and I ended up discussing how we’ll spoil Ayana-san’s baby while you and I are talking about ninja duty.”

For some reason, her comment made Kakashi agitated. “It’s been a long day,” he said while tampering down his ire.

“I told you need to rest,” Kushina said getting up. “If you need anything, let me know Kakashi-kun. I owe you one, you know!”

“Don’t mention it,” Kakashi replied as he bid her a good night.

Although it was getting late, he decided to make a bit of progress. He dumped the towel in the hamper before heading to his desk and reviewing the notes he wrote during the first training he had with his team.

Kakashi’s notes blurred, Kushina’s voice echoing: We do what we can to make it easier to bear.

A bitter laugh escaped him. Easier. Since when had any of it been easy? But that was the difference between them: Kushina shouldered duty like armor. He wore his like scars.

He rubbed his temples. There’d be time for philosophy later… after he ensured this world’s children wouldn’t need armor at all.

Chapter Text

He searched his home, their regular training grounds and even his favorite barbeque shop, but Obito was nowhere to be found. Running around aimlessly was not on Kakashi’s agenda and so he summoned Pakkun for help. That was how he found himself at the top of the Hokage monument. Obito was sitting cross-legged on the First Hokage’s head, looking out to the village with a troubled look in his eye. 

Kakashi dismissed Pakkun with a wave and walked over, making sure not to mask his presence so Obito wouldn’t be startled. As he walked closer, Obito didn’t give any indication that he had noticed his presence, goggles hanging loosely around his neck and eyes still trained ahead.

When focused on something, Obito did have the tendency not to notice the things around him until it was right up in his face. One incidence that came to mind was when Obito wanted to kiss Rin in their team photo. Kakashi sweat-dropped at the memory. Still, it was uncharacteristic of the Uchiha to be so still.

Kakashi halted in his tracks and debated on leaving Obito alone with his thoughts. If he were to put himself in Obito’s shoes, sometimes a person wanted some time to mull things over alone. At the same time, the political scheming of Uchiha Noburo was weighing heavily on his mind. He could not let the same fate befall the clan.

Making his decision, Kakashi approached Obito. “Are you ok?” he asked, breaking Obito from his trance. Knowing Obito, if I startle him by coming up close, he’s just going to be petulant, Kakashi thought.

Obito turned to face him, fortunately more surprised than angry. “What are you doing here?” he asked instead of answering.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Kakashi replied. He flicked his wrist twice, asking Obito to scoot over so he could also sit on the First Hokage’s head too.

Obito sighed dramatically as he placed both hands on the stone and made a dramatic show of shuffling to the left.

Kakashi took a deep breath to remain calm and plopped down next to him. He mimicked Obito’s cross-legged pose, placed one hand on his knee, cupped his head and turned to face Obito, “So?”

“So what?” Obito asked.

“Why have you been in a shitty mood since you talked to Noburo-san?” Kakashi refused to beat around the bush.

Obito’s face flushed red, “I have not!”

“Riiiiight,” Kakashi rolled his eyes, and trained them to the village instead. He knew pushing Obito would only make him more tight-lipped. He changed his angle, “Kushina-san came by my house yesterday.”

Kakashi could hear Obito’s mind working overtime as he tried to determine whether to engage with him or leave. There were a few seconds of silence before Obito replied, “Same here. She’s very excited for Ayana-san to move to Konoha.”

“Hopefully, Kushina-san doesn’t scare her,” Kakashi said.

“Hey! Of course she’d be super excited to have family,” Obito defended Kushina.

“That will make it worth it,” Kakashi said.

“What?” Obito asked confused.

“Them getting family,” Kakashi explained as he turned to face Obito again. “That makes being dismissed worth it.”

“Of course it does, Bakashi,” Obito stated confidently. “Why? Are you regretting it?” he asked, eyes narrowed in accusation.

So that nickname is back, greaaaaat, Kakashi thought.

“No,” Kakashi shook his head. “It seems like you do, though.”

“WHAT?” Obito jumped to his feet in anger. He pointed a hand right in Kakashi’s face, “You’re the one who is probably upset because you broke  your precious… rules.” Surprisingly, Obito’s voice faltered a bit near the end. That was new. Obito always threw Kakashi’s rule abidance in his face without a care.

Kakashi batted Obito’s finger away calmly, “Then why are you so angry? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“You don’t need to know everything, genius,” Obito replied.

“If Rin was here, I wouldn’t bother,” Kakashi said. Unashamedly, he had used Rin. Rin was Obito’s weak point. Rin was Obito’s everything. And sure enough, the second Rin’s name left his lips, Obito’s face relaxed.

“I wish she was here,” Obito pouted. He took in a deep breath, and with the exhale, sat back down. The tension was still visible, but at least it had eased. Obito was used to always having Rin around. They were best friends before the academy and since then have been on the same team. Even when Minato was dispatched on missions without his team, he occasionally took Kakashi for the experience since he was ahead. Obito and Rin would stay behind together. Kakashi wondered if Obito even knew how to function without her.

“You could write her,” Kakashi suggested.

“I can’t,” Obito shook his head. “It’s clan stuff and I don’t think Noburo-san will like that.”

“Rin will be back in two weeks. As for Noburo-san, he was uncharacteristically reasonable,” Kakashi said thoughtfully. “I didn’t expect him, of all the outpost leaders, to be the one to defend us. Did you?”

Obito shifted uncomfortably. That confirmed it. Something more happened.

“He’s, I mean…. He’s very strict, but, but I mean he care, I guess? Especially about the clan,” Obito jumbled reply did little to fill Kakashi with confidence.

“Are you in serious trouble?” Kakashi asked, making sure to add a tone of concern so Obito knows he’s being genuine.

Obito shook his head, “No. I swear I’m not. I just learned a bit more about how the clan works and stuff. It’s a lot to wrap my head around.”

Outside of the clan head family, the children of the clan were given vague guidelines about clan workings. Mainly, ‘what you do reflects on the clan.’ After they reach a certain age or rank, they start getting brought into the fold of clan politics. Kakashi tried to recall if this happened in the past. Of course, their rescue brought in on faster, but he wasn’t sure if Obito was ever taught these things. As far as Kakashi knew, his teammate was the Black Sheep of the family. They didn’t hate him, obviously everyone was still family. However, at the same time, they didn’t think that Obito’s brand of existence fit the Uchiha mold.

“Well, that’s good. Isn’t it?” Kakashi probed lightly.

“Good?” Obito asked.

“Didn’t you always want the clan to recognize you?” Kakashi asked rhetorically. “This is a step in that direction.”

“I didn’t think about it like that,” Obito smiled at the thought. Just as he did, his smile fell into a frown. “But it’s not that they recognized me,” he said sadly. “Our mission to rescue Ayana-san could have ended badly for Konoha. I think Noburo-san was more worried about how I didn’t think about what it would mean for the clan if we did fail. What is means even now. They kinda had to tell me stuff, you know?”

“We pulled off the rescue with none-the-wiser,” Kakashi said. “Clearly they recognize that.”

“No, Noburo-san was very, very, super clear that he thinks we only succeeded because of you,” Obito snorted.

“That’s stupid,” Kakashi said immediately.

“What?” Obito clearly didn’t think Kakashi would defend him.

“When they changed Ayana-san’s place and we have to use our distraction to get her out of the barracks instead of safely across the market, it was you who immediately came to create another one,” Kakashi said. “Without you, I would’ve probably been caught. I would have gotten Ayana-san out of there, but Hateno would have known we were involved and that could have led to more political ramifications. Don’t listen to him.”

“Why are you being so nice?” Obito asked. Fortunately, his tone wasn’t accusatory.

Kakashi tilted his head, "If I were really nice, I’d let you keep wallowing. But Rin would yell at me."

“That’s not fair,” Obito mumbled.

“What?” confusion was clearly written on what could be seen of Kakashi’s face.

Obito stood up abruptly, but not before Kakashi caught the way his hands clenched, like he was physically stopping himself from saying more. "I have to go," Obito muttered, already turning away. "I’ll see you later. And… thanks."

The words were dismissive, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him. Kakashi watched him go. This wasn’t just avoidance. Obito was hiding something. Something he was worried about letting slip.

He knew it was best to leave his teammate for now. Whatever Noburo-san had told him about clan politics clearly shook his teammate up. As far as he knew the Uchiha’s plan for a coup was devised after the Kyuubi attack. He knew the village and Uchiha weren’t on the best of terms even before then, yet as far as he knew it wasn’t that serious. Was something else happening?

As Kakashi’s thoughts swirled, he heard Obito’s voice drift over, a whisper so faint he might have imagined it.

"You're making it harder."

Kakashi stiffened. Harder for what? To stay true to himself? To obey the clan? To stay loyal?

A lingering silence fell over the monument, and for the first time, he wondered if rescuing Ayana was a mistake.

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For the next four days, Kakashi’s mind kept wandering back to his conversation with Obito. He really wished Rin were here. If anyone can get Obito to share, it was her. He knew that pushing Obito would only backfire, so his only option was to wait for his sensei and Rin.

That was until he received orders to report to the Hokage. The order was probably about Ayana-san and if so, Obito would also be summoned. Whatever the summon is, it could be a chance to reopen the matter with his teammate.

He reported a few minutes before the scheduled time and wasn’t surprised to see Obito missing. The best the Uchiha could do was to be exactly on time for things, never early. Once the chunin confirmed the summon, Kakashi took a seat waiting for his turn to be called in. There was a room a few steps down from the Hokage’s office. Having too many ninja waiting around wasn’t ideal security. As such, the building design ensured that no room was very close to the Hokage office. There were other meeting rooms and offices on the same floor, but there was a sizable distance between them and the office.

He noticed a few other ninja but paid them no mind, and they not him. In his hand, he had the first book in the “Path of the Wandering Ninja” series he had purchased at the outpost. He could only read the first two chapters before giving up, adventure was not his favored fiction genre. He could see why it appealed to so many, his sensei included, but it was too bright. The book was supposed to be about ninja, but Kakashi didn’t feel like he could relate to the story at all.

As the minutes ticked closer to his appointment, and Obito nowhere in sight, Kakashi began to worry that his teammate would miss a summons by the Hokage. Could it be something else that has nothing to do with the rescue?

“Hatake-san, Hokage-sama will see you in Room #3 now,” the chunin called out.

Kakashi acknowledged the chunin with a nod as he walked over.

Room #3? So, it wasn’t just a meeting with me and the Hokage, Kakashi thought, curiosity mounting.

The chunin also didn’t call for Obito, so it wasn’t about Ayana. Kakashi tried to rack his brain to determine what else the summon could be about. Room #3 was a simple space with a long desk on side, reserved for simple and quick mission assignments. The Hokage occasionally usually used it to assign genin and chunin missions to get to know ninja across the chain. Otherwise, it was occupied by administrative chunin who took on that role. Maybe they needed him back on the frontlines or needed a tracker from something? He knocked on the door twice, and walked in after the Hokage’s call to come in.

He immediately noticed that the elders were there, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo. He resisted the urge to glare at the last elder and tamped down on his killing instinct before it could rise. If only he could reach out and stab the bastard, he would save so many people from misery.

On the outside, Kakashi remained the perfect ninja. “Hokage-sama, Mitokado-sama, Utatane-sama and Danzo-sama,” he greeted politely, giving each elder a short bow.

“Kakashi-kun, glad to see you back safe, my boy,” the Hokage returned the greeting genially. His tone then shifted to one far more serious, “We have much to discuss.”

“I’m at your command,” Kakashi replied, betraying no emotions.

“Funny you say that, when you went ahead and ignored the chain of command,” Koharu spoke up curtly.

“This is about Uzumaki Ayana-san I take it?” Kakashi asked nonchalantly.

“Indeed it is,” the Third replied.

“Didn’t Shigeru-san inform you of our discussion?” Kakashi asked.

“We know about your… explanations,” Homura confirmed.

“Then, what do you want to know?” Kakashi asked, wishing they would spit it out already. Although he had an inclination as to where this was headed.

How he hated all this posturing. He hoped that he wouldn’t need to get ten inches close to the Hokage hat this time. He had been nominated one too many times and if this was a Hokage’s day-to-day, he would lose his mind.

“Since you seem so eager I’ll cut to the chase,” Danzo spoke up for the first time. Kakashi had never realized how grating the elder’s voice was till now. This was the man that ordered the extermination of an entire clan, including the civilians and children. The. Children. Unbeknownst to Kakashi’s internal thoughts, Danzo continued, “Based on the information we received, and the plot carried out, it is clear that it was you, and not Uchiha Obito, that orchestrated the rescue.”

“Is there a question there?” Kakashi asked. That explains why Obito wasn’t here. They wanted to put the blame on him. Kakashi wondered if this had anything to do with why Obito was acting weird.

Koharu and Homura narrowed their eyes at the display of rudeness. But the Third and Danzo kept a straight-face, completely unfazed. No wonder it was those two that truly lead the village.

“We’d like to know what was going on your head,” the Third answered. “What drove you to proceed with the rescue?”

Kakashi resisted the urge to start with as ‘I said’. Didn’t he already explain this at the outpost. “Ayana-san was being mistreated terribly, and she’s an Uzumaki. An ally of Konoha. We failed them. I wanted to make sure that we don’t also fail the remaining survivors.”

“Your father prioritized mercy over orders. You prioritize, what, redemption? Where does the village’s interest rank in your calculations?” Danzo asked.

The Uzumaki had burned while Konoha looked away. The Uchiha clan slaughtered. I'd be damned if I stand by and let these atrocities happen again, Kakashi vowed.

“I prioritize Konoha’s long-term interests. Rebuilding the Uzumaki clan inside of Konoha would increase Konoha’s strength significantly. Ayana-san is well-versed in sealing and is a high-level sensor. Not to mention the insane levels of chakra known in Uzumakis. She is pregnant with a child too,” Kakashi replied succinctly.

He had to play the long game. As much as he wanted to openly be defiant and spit on Danzo’s brand of being a ninja, that risks giving the council excuses to label Minato unfit for command. Speaking of his sensei, why wasn’t he here? This reeked of a test… or a trap.

His answer didn’t appease everyone, “Before you worry about the long-term, you should worry about correcting your father’s mistake that led us to this point in the present,” Koharu said harshly.

“I’m aware of my father’s… legacy. That’s why I ensured this mission had zero fallout for Konoha,” Kakashi said. He wouldn’t let them get a rise out of him. He served as an ANBU Captain for ten years. If they thought, they could get him to lose his cool, they had another thing coming.

“There’s a fine line between confidence and plain arrogance,” Danzo sneered. “One wonders what your sensei would say about your disregard for orders?”

It was barely there, but Kakashi noticed the Third’s mouth start to dip in a frown before it was concealed.

If you wanted to know what Minato-sensei thinks, maybe he should’ve been here, Kakashi wanted to say. Instead, he continued playing their game. “Minato-sensei teaches us to weigh risks. Hateno’s actions threatened more than one woman. They tested our alliances. If word spread that Konoha abandons even its oldest allies, smaller nations would flock to Iwa or Kiri. I judged the strategic gain worth the risk,” Kakashi replied cooly. He’d be damned if he gave Danzo any ammunition against his sensei. You’re never getting that hat you genocidal psychopath.

“Everyone let’s calm down,” the Third interjected. The Third clearly wanted to avoid anything that could hurt Minato’s standing as a leader. It appears that his sensei was once again the top candidate for succession, and the Third wanted to keep it that way. Kakashi couldn’t be happier with his decision to leave Minato out of the rescue.

The Third waited until everyone settled down before shifting the conversation, “Kakashi-kun, you have improved a lot over the last few years. We’ve received glowing reports form Genji-san about your deployment and assistance in defeating Gou. And yes, your rescue was a success, but you don’t have the experience to make these decisions. Not yet at least. It worked this time but there is no guarantee of similar success in the future. Do you understand why we are concerned?”

“I acted on the best intelligence available, Hokage-sama. But I recognize that broader experience might reveal alternatives I couldn’t see. I’ll defer to my higher-up’s wisdom in the future,” Kakashi replied obediently.

“See to it that you do. You’re a strong ninja, but if you can’t be trusted to follow orders then we’d have no choice but to act accordingly,” Homura said, direct as always. “Without your stunt you could have made jonin next year. Clearly you still have much to learn.”

“Yes, Homura-sama,” Kakashi replied. He didn’t want to make jonin yet anyway. He had far too much to do and being jonin would keep him too busy.

“I believe we have everything we need,” the Third said, turning to the elders, asking them silently if they had anything else they wished to discuss. Danzo seemed displeased but agreed to end the conversation. The other elders followed in Danzo’s lead.

Kakashi left quickly after that. As soon as he closed the door, he finally let out the smirk he tried to hide. Danzo’s displeasure was always worth a smile. He knew that Danzo wanted him to react, but Kakashi refusing to rise to their bait derailed his plan. Good.

Speaking of plans… Kakashi went back home without taking any detour to mull over today’s proceedings. He sat cross-legged on his bed and ran through all that transpired once more. Noburo, Shikaku, Obito, the council, Danzo, the Third… Minato. Rescuing Ayana had affected all of them, and threw him right in the center somehow.

Danzo. His play was obvious: discredit Minato. That would explain why they pushed to interrogate him with his sensei there. He was trying to anger Kakashi so that he would say something that Danzo could leverage against his sensei’s leadership.

But why did the Third agree? He probably thought that Kakashi poses a threat to Minato’s reputation as a leader. Kakashi knew that if Minato was in that room, his sensei would defend him fiercely. He figured that the Third went ahead with the interrogation without Minato so that he could keep the man separate from the rescue and Kakashi’s actions. It was the only thing that made sense.

Then there was Obito. Why remove Obito from the rescue. Even if Kakashi was the planner, Obito went ahead with the decision too. It’s not like Obito needed any convincing. If anything, Kakashi would have been the one who needed convincing. Was Obito aware of what was going on or was it something else?

There were so many questions, but so little answers. However, there was one thing Kakashi was sure of. He had somehow found himself stuck in the middle of a power play. Everyone was trying to use him to forward their agenda, an agenda his younger self would have been ignorant and easily susceptible too. Too bad for them, their pawn was not a child. If the elders and clan leaders thought they could easily manipulate the situation by using him, they had another thing coming.

Hashirma’s idealism, Tobirama’s pragmatism, Hiruzen’s compromises… Kakashi unfolded his leg and walked to the window, glancing at the Hokage monument where his sensei’s face would be.

Then, a flicker of movement in the roof ahead. He could barely make it out, but he would never forget those masks. A ROOT agent?

He casually let the curtain fall shut. Danzo was watching. So was he.

"Games only end," he whispered, "when someone flips the board."

Outside, a crow cawed. Once, twice. Then silence.

Chapter Text

Fortunately for Kakashi, the next few days passed peacefully with no more deep conversation and political mind games. This allowed him to focus on his strength training. He still had a long way to go, but his speed was steadily improving, and his chakra pools were finally starting to balance out. He still relied on the draining seals, but he adjusted them to absorb spiritual energy at a slower rate.

Still, no matter how much I improve my speed, I won’t be able to use the Chidori safely, Kakashi thought despondently.

With everything going on, Kakashi had filed that fact away to the back of his head. Now that he had a moment to stop and think, the loss of his prized jutsu hurt deeply.  It was his signature, an extension of himself. Without having the Chidori in his repertoire, his confidence in dealing with the threats to come decreased massively.

Sure, there was the Rasengan, but it didn’t fit his style. He would use it in a crunch, but he wanted a jutsu that could mesh with his style more naturally. He briefly wondered if his sensei made any progress following the Shadow Clone hint. But Kakashi didn’t dwell on that; he had enough problems with his own jutsu to worry about Minato too much.

He had tried to find a solution to the Chidori using his existing knowledge on elemental ninjutsu theory. While those efforts had allowed to come up with numerous ideas on new jutsu to create, none came close to the effectiveness of the Chidori. He could fully develop those ideas later, only after he made some progress on his favorite jutsu.

That’s how he found himself in the ninjutsu section of the Konoha public library, perusing texts that could help spark an idea. Kakashi had a deep knowledge of ninjutsu. Therefore, he wasn’t looking for theories on ninjutsu, rather, he was hoping something could plant the seeds of an idea he had overlooked.

Although it was still early in the morning, many ninja were walking around the shelves and occupying tables around the area. He also spotted some Uchiha police members milling around. The most prized scrolls and tomes were highly protected in the Konoha Archives, but there was still a lot of knowledge in these walls that it qualified for a minimum level of protection. Kakashi could even sense a few ANBU lingering outside.

Fortunately, this meant nobody paid him any mind. It was one of the reasons why he considered the library a haven in his youth as a village pariah. He preferred to read outside, but it was much easier to take notes on a desk. Thus, his more serious studies were mostly pursued within the walls of the library. Up until he made jonin at twelve, this was one of his common haunts. Then again, he wondered if Ayana’s rescue meant he would not become jonin at twelve-and-a-half this time around.

There’s still ten months before I made jonin, a lot can change between now and then, Kakashi thought as he closed the text in his hands and placed it on a pile of books to his left. The Forbidden Equation: Attempts to Create a Sixth Element failed him.

Kakashi had grabbed his usual corner desk near the window. A stack of books stood tall to his right while a smaller one stood to his left. He had read most of the theoretical ninjutsu books available in the library already.  As such, he carefully selected the ones he remembered enjoying, hoping to find that seed in their pages. So far, he had no luck.

With a sigh, he stood up to grab the next title and sat back down. The Mathematics of Shape Manipulation was the book he read right after Minato had started teaching him the Rasengan. He made it to the third chapter before he a shadow was cast over his table, making him look up.

“Can I join you?” Asuma asked casually, two books in hand.

That was interesting. His peers didn’t usually seek him out in their pre-teen years. Looks like helping Asuma has made the other boy more friendly towards him.

“Ok,” Kakashi said with a nod.

“Your advice the other day really helped,” Asuma stated as he dragged the chair opposite Kakashi back to take a seat.

“Can you do fire jutsu now?” Kakashi asked curiously.

“It’s only been a week, Kakashi” Asuma said with amusement. “But I wanna improve my understanding of elemental ninjutsu. That’s why I’m here.”

Regardless, Asuma was in much higher spirits compared to the last time they spoke so Kakashi took that as a sign that his training was going well.

“Guess so,” Kakashi said and glanced at the books Asuma was reading: The Unified Theory of the Five Great Elements and The Interplay of Physical and Spiritual Energies in Elemental Ninjutsu. Asuma placed the first book to the side and opened the second one in front of him.

“I recommend starting with the other one,” Kakashi spoke up.

“Huh?” Asuma looked up.

“The book you’re reading now is more advanced. The other one should help provide you a better foundation in elemental jutsu so that you can better comprehend the concepts in the second one,” Kakashi explained.

“Oh… I mean if you say so, sure,” Asuma said before switching books.

“Also, don’t you have a notebook or something?” Kakashi asked.

“This isn’t the Academy,” Asuma replied with a tired sigh.

“It’s important,” Kakashi insisted. “You don’t have to take notes like you’re studying for a test.” Kakashi grabbed his own notebook and lifted it in front of Asuma, tapping the contents for emphasis, “But you’re going to have ideas or things you want to test out. How else will you keep track of them all?”

“Maybe next time,” Asuma was clearly not convinced.

Kakashi sighed before riffling through his bag, grabbing an extra notebook and pen, then tossing them to Asuma.

Asuma pursed his lips and reluctantly took the offered items.

With a satisfied nod, Kakashi went back to his own book.

Both boys began reading in silence, which was only broken by the sound of pages being turned and the occasional scribble. As Kakashi continued going through the contents of The Structures and Arrays of Shape Manipulation, he jotted down a few more ideas for jutsu in his notebook. However, nothing that he could use to make Chidori usable for a non-Sharingan user.

As he started the next book, he bemoaned his younger self for missing out on the chance to fully explore the ninjutsu texts in the Konoha Archives. The Third had granted him access to the ninjutsu section of the Konoha Archives after he had made ANBU Captain. At that point, he was weighed down by so much pain and trauma that he no longer had the drive to pursue further studies. His skills and jutsu repertoire were enough to handle the missions assigned to him so he didn’t bother. He vowed that when he was given the permission to access those texts again, he wouldn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

“There you are,” a familiar drawl made Kakashi look up to find Genma slouching against a bookshelf, stick in his mouth. “Took me forever to find you. I got lost in the boring foundational ninjutsu section. Almost took a nap.

“You’re late,” Asuma snorted.

 “Eh, blame Choza-sensei.” Genma yawned, stretching. “Dude gave us the day off. You expect me to wake up before noon?” He eyed Kakashi’s book fortress. “Damn, Hatake. You trying to solve the world’s problems?”

Kakashi ignored him.

“You gonna sit or just loiter?” Asuma asked.

Genma sighed dramatically. He flopped into a chair, tossing his sealing books on the table. “Ebisu bailed, by the way. Training with his dad.”

The teen had books on sealing as opposed to ninjutsu, which made sense based on what Kakashi knew of the man in the future. Genma’s main fighting style was fast combat taijutsu and weaponry. He did use ninjutsu, but it wasn’t the main foundations of his style. Between Genma, Gai and their sensei Choza, Kakashi bet their team had a very dynamic fighting style. Ebisu was probably the support, being an all-rounder.

“Are you going to keep talking? I’m trying to concentrate,” Kakashi felt it was time to speak up. Genma rolled his eyes while Asuma laughed.

“You’re taking notes?” Genma whispered at Asuma, perplexed.

Kakashi’s eye twitched in annoyance, Was younger Genma always this chatty?

“Yes. Now shhhh,” Asuma said without bothering to look up from his book.

Luckily, the silence enveloped them once more and Kakashi was able to go through some other books, but he still hadn’t found anything. As the pile on his left grew taller and taller, Kakashi’s hope dimmed. No longer needing to stand, Kakashi easily grabbed the next book. The book titled Efficient Conversions for Maximizing Elemental Output gave him a sense of nostalgia. This was the book he had read when trying to control concentrated lightning in his hand. It was because of the theories in this text that he was able to determine the hand seals that would help stabilize his Chidori best.

He recalled the late nights he spent hunched over this text, the different options for hand seals he explored, and the feeling of nearly giving up using such advanced shape manipulation with lightning. Each nature element had a certain shape manipulation geometries that best suited it. Minato’s Rasengan didn’t fit any nature, as the elements didn’t behave in perfect shapes. That’s what made the jutsu so difficult to master. It was already incredibly difficult to manipulate pure chakra into a ball, let alone force your nature into that shape too.

Lightning was the most volatile element. If someone simply let their lightning chakra out without any control, it would fork all over the place. That was why Kakashi ended up resorting to hand seals to stabilize the jutsu. Each hand seal corresponds to a ‘command’ that directs chakra flow into shapes and into specific techniques. Eleven-year-old-Kakashi didn’t have the control to stabilize the Chidori. However, with time he became so well-versed in the jutsu that he could now safely create it without any hand seals.

Kakashi’s eyes zoned in on one line that was written in the conclusion of the book. A line so short, that it was probably more of an after-thought written by the author. ‘Advanced ninja can wield multiple natures, but the elemental output will not be as strong as their original nature affinity. Although, I admit that there are very few exceptions, like Uchiha Madara who was hailed equally for fire and lightning. However, understanding how your element behaves…’

Uchiha Madara huh? Kakashi thought as his interest peaked.

He glanced outside. The sun was still high up in the sky. He had plenty of time to explore the historical section. Maybe researching a bit more about Madara’s combat style would be more effective.

“I’m going to read up on some old battles,” Kakashi announced as he closed the book.

“It’s lunchtime,” Asuma said. “Wanna eat first?”

“I don’t know…” Kakashi said, he had a good feeling about Madara and wanted to check immediately.

“Let’s grab food before Asuma’s stomach growls loud enough to summon the Hokage,” Genma insisted.

Asuma glared at him, “Says the guy who eats like a starving weasel.”

“Takes one to know one.” Genma lobbed a crumpled paper at him. “Kakashi, back me up.”

Kakashi eyed them both, “You’re both annoying.”

“Ouch.” Genma clutched his chest. “And here I thought we bonded over books.”

“I think I’m done for the day, but I’ll join you for lunch,” Asuma decided. “I’m not like you two nerds. My brain is starting to turn to mush from all the reading. I’m gonna return these.”

“You haven’t finished the second one, aren’t you gonna check it out?” Genma asked as he scribbled a note asking people to leave the space as is. He didn’t want to risk anyone taking his books away. It was a common behavior for people who were going on a quick break. Nothing was more annoying in a library than taking a walk and coming back to find someone had reshelved all your books.

“So my mom can see it and push more studies on me?” Asuma asked incredulously. “Or even worse, she might assign me a tutor!”

Kakashi didn’t have many interactions with the Third Hokage’s wife, but he has heard stories of her serious nature.

“That’s bad becaaaause?” Genma asked.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Asuma said casually as he grabbed his books. “Kakashi and I will return our books. Can you save us a table?”

“Whatever,” Genma muttered at the dismissal.

“I can shelve your books too,” Kakashi offered as he dumped his in a basket. Unlike the other two, he had taken too many books to comfortably carry around.

“Nah it’s fine,” Asuma said and began following Kakashi as he placed the books back on their respective shelves.

“Your mom seems…strict,” Kakashi said.

“Strict? That’s not even close. She’s crazy intense,” Asuma complained. “People think my father, as the Hokage, is the one focused on me and Masato’s training. But it’s all mom. Not that my father is around enough to tell us anything anyway.”

The last part was spoken bitterly. Kakashi didn’t miss how Asuma referred to his mother casually but his father formally either. Deciding to avoid the dangerous topic, he shelved the remaining books in silence. Once done, they headed towards the cafeteria situated at the rooftop.

Given that most civilians hated the trek all the way to the seventh floor of the towering public library, they preferred the stalls and restaurants nearby. This was fortunate as it meant that the library cafeteria was usually full of ninja only as civilians were more vocal about their disdain to the Hatake clan.

Kakashi opened the door and was greeted by the familiar rooftop garden, where four-person tables were arranged in rows to fill up the space. At the end was a small line in front of the shack that served various dishes. Asuma closed the door behind them, and they joined Genma who was near the end of the queue.

“What took you two so long? Books too heavy for you?” Genma said.

“Kakashi had a lot of books,” Asuma explained. “Anyway, want to spar soon Genma? I’m bored of fighting just Raidou and Kurenai.”

“I thought sparring with Kurenai-chan would be your favorite thing,” Genma said with a knowing smirk.

Asuma blushed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Honestly, a rock knows what Genma’s talking about,” Kakashi said, making Genma laugh out loud.

"Ooooh!" Genma clutched his chest. "Asuma, you hearing this? Our boy's got jokes now!"

“I’m not your boy,” Kakashi frowned.

“Kurenai is just a friend,” Asuma said.

“I’m up for a spar,” Kakashi said, answering the initial question to save Asuma from further embarrassment. He was curious what level his classmates were at.

“You wanna spar with us?” Asuma asked in disbelief.

“I didn’t think we’d be much of a challenge for someone who defeated Ito Gou,” Genma said.

“You know about that?” Kakashi asked in surprise.

“Everyone knows about that,” Genma drawled.

“Oh,” Kakashi wasn’t sure what to make of that. “But I didn’t defeat him. Sensei fought him. I just hid and delivered the final blow when Minato-sensei gave me an opening.”

“He says, like that’s not an accomplishment,” Genma said and shook his head.

“What about saving a medical squad by raining lightning bolts down on the attacking squad?” Asuma asked.

“That, I can take credit for,” Kakashi said with a smirk.  

Asuma grinned. "Guess we'll have to team up. Two-on-one handicap?"

Their turn arrived and they tabled their conversation to order their meals. Once they received their respective bowls, they claimed one of the tables and eagerly dug into their meals.

“When can you spar?” Genma asked between bites.

“Our team is staying in Konoha for another two weeks,” Asuma replied.

“I’m not sure when we’ll be redeployed,” Kakashi answered as well. He had no idea how long his and Obito’s dismissal would last.

“Isn’t Rin still on the frontlines?” Asuma asked confused. It wasn’t normal for teams to split up.

“Minato-sensei is too,” Kakashi confirmed. “We were each assigned different details more suited to our talents this time. There are a lot of skirmishes breaking out right now. I guess they need every able medical ninja. I don’t think I need to explain why Minato-sensei is still out there.”

“Man, I’d love to learn from the Yellow Flash,” Genma said. “Choza-sensei is the best, but he doesn’t know much fuinjutsu. But Minato-sensei's explosive tags? Pure art. Saw one during a lecture he gave, and it made a perfect Konoha symbol. Patriotic and deadly.”

Kakashi blinked. "...He did what?"

"Right??" Genma's hands flew up. "The man's a genius. I'd kill to learn from him.”

“You could… you know, simply ask him,” Kakashi stated the obvious.

“Do you know how many people wanna learn from him?” Genma asked in disbelief. “My uncle works in the sealing team, and he said many asked Minato-sensei, but he turned them all down.”  

Kakashi didn’t know that. His sensei seemed starved to teach others about Fuinjutsu. At least that is what it seemed like. He felt a spark of guilt flash in his heart. His sensei didn’t want to teach just anyone. He wanted to bond with his students and share his passion with them. It must have hurt Minato more than he showed when he found out that Kakashi had taught himself. He vowed to engage in Fuinjutsu with Minato more often in the future.

“Maybe when the war is over, he’ll have more time,” Asuma said trying to reassure Genma. He knew his sensei would eventually teach Genma some sealing so Asuma’s words would indeed become true.

“Why would he train me though, out of everyone else?” Genma asked dejectedly.

“It’s not like there are a lot of ninja specializing in sealing,” Kakashi said. “Besides, sensei is a sucker for inspiring the next generation. Are there many our age studying Fuinjutsu seriously?”

“There are a few, Shimada Kenya is particularly amazing,” Genma answered but he seemed to perk up anyway.

Shimada-san, the future head of the Fuinjutsu corps, Kakashi noted fondly. The man was, as Genma put it, amazing. He came from a civilian background and wasn’t the best in combat. But his knowledge of sealing more than made up for it. He never went on missions but managed to fill some of the massive gaping hole left behind with the loss of many of their sealing experts: the death of his sensei and Kushina, the defection of Orochimaru and the wandering of Jiraya. One of the weaknesses of Shimada was that he didn’t have the chakra reserves for some of the more complicated sealing arrays, for example, sealing a jinchuriki.

“Back to sparring. Genma, no more changing the subject,” Asuma said.

“What?” Genma’s stick dropped in shock. “You were the one that asked why Rin was still at the frontlines, not me!” Genma complained.

“But then you started writing odes about Minato-sensei,” Asuma retorted.

“Better than being in denial about a crush,” Genma shot back.

“There’s nothing going on between us!” Asuma said.

“Yes, there is,”

“No there isn’t,”

“Is”

“Isn’t”

“Is”

“Isn- What the hell, Kakashi?”

Kakashi smirked at the two soaked ninja, empty water bottle in hand.

Genma threw a crumpled napkin at him, which Kakashi casually evaded. "Cheap shot, Hatake."

“How about Tuesday then? 11 am?” Asuma asked, wiping his face with a napkin.

“Works for me,” Kakashi replied.

“I’m telling Raido. He’ll grumble all week if I don’t tell him,” Asuma said.

“Sure, I’ll bring Ebisu and Gai too,” Genma agreed.

“Obito too then,” Kakashi said.

“I’ll let Kurenai know. If everyone’s coming,” Asuma said.

“Dibs on that two-on-one spar though,” Genma eyed Kakashi challengingly.

“Against you two? Might need to handicap myself,” Kakashi taunted.

“Hear that Asuma? Hatake is asking for it,” Genma shot back.

“I’m so scared,” Kakashi said before standing up. The mention of Madara’s lightning techniques itched at him like an unsolved puzzle. “I have some reading to get to. Later.”

“One of these days a book is gonna be permanently glued to your face,” Genma said.

“I can see you throwing books instead of kunai at enemies. Like these large thick ones,” Asuma added spreading his palms wide open.

“The masked-book ninja,” Genma laughed.

“Ha ha ha, very funny. Hilarious really,” Kakashi replied deadpan as he walked away, Genma and Asuma’s laughter echoing after him.

He deposited the bowl in the designated area before walking to the edge of the roof. Glancing down, he made sure there was nobody walking below before he jumped down to the floor, using chakra to cushion his feet and absorb the impact. He couldn’t be bothered to walk down seven flights of stairs when there was such a convenient shortcut.

Unlike the ninjutsu section, the history section was on the lowest floor. There were two floors reserved for history. One was on the ground floor, which both civilians and ninja alike could access. This floor contained texts about general history, culture, folklore, geography and the like. This made it one of the busiest sections in the library.

Then there was the basement floor only accessible to ninja. It was dedicated to scrolls and analyses of various ninja battles that had occurred in the past. Some scrolls weren’t even research or historic texts, rather redacted or re-written mission reports. These reports focused on the fights and strategies but removed all important mission parameters. In the future, many of Kakashi’s more exciting exploits had made it onto these shelves. He figured the Clash at Grass Gate would make its way onto the shelves soon enough.

Kakashi was interested in the basement floor, wanting to read exerts on battles Madara were a part of. This was fortunate as he hated the busy ground floor.

He saw the administrative chunin manning the basement floor with her face down, reading a book of her own. As he approached, she raised her index finger to ask for a moment to finish whichever sentence she was one. After a few seconds, she lifted her head and addressed him with a drawl, “Ninja registration number?”

“Hatake Kakashi, 009720,” Kakashi said, forgoing any greetings as well.

She scribbled it down, lazily waved him in, and went back to her book. The person on desk duty usually asked them what they were looking for to help, but he couldn’t blame her as desk duty was super boring. Besides, he knew his way around.

During his stint as a chunin, the Mission Desk administrators were worried that as a child, he wouldn’t have any authority. They were fine with him fighting in a war but apparently desk duty is where they drew the line. Thus, he usually ended up on sorting archives and scrolls instead of desk duty, which was also boring. But at least he didn’t have to deal with other people.

He entered the room and noted that many of the closed rooms to the side were already occupied. All studies regarding past battles happened in the walls of the library since you weren’t allowed to check out any of the material. Therefore, many meeting rooms were built around the floor. These were used by groups of ninja who were brainstorming strategies for a mission and using the texts as references. Only in Hokage-mandated exceptions when scrolls were allowed outside the library; usually when discussing high-ranking missions. For security, these meetings couldn’t happen in a public space and were instead held in the Hokage Tower.

Luckily, only a handful of people sat at the individual desks. He quickly scanned the shelves relating to the First Hokage era. He supposed he could investigate the Warring States Period, but information about specific battle tactics were very rare. Also, Madara’s strength peaked after Konoha was founded. It made better sense to start his search there.

After grabbing a few scrolls, Kakashi secured a desk and soon got lost in battles of the past. Curiously, he noticed that some of the skirmishes Madara fought in were not available. He knew from history that Madara had disseminated a couple of groups that had tried to destroy Konoha, not happy with the new village system. Whether it was due to a lack of any witnesses or secrecy, the details of these fights were not discussed. He wondered if they existed in Konoha’s or the Uchiha clan’s archives.

As true with any Uchiha, Madara mainly used fire jutsus in battle. Most of the battles Kakashi had read depicted amazing feats of fire power. The Majestic Destroyer Flame jutsu was a clear favorite, used multiple times to destroy enemies with a large sea of flames. Although it was only a B-ranked jutsu, the raw power Madara put behind the jutsu elevated its strength to one equal of S-ranked jutsu, a sign of his mastery of the element.

That did not mean his search was a bust. He was currently reading about a battle that the First and Madara had fought in against what would be the fore-founders of the Village Hidden in the Sand. Their goal was to show they were fighting for peace, thus, their tactics were more focused on subduing, rather than killing.

The First Hokage’s wood release was perfect for subduing and capturing. Thus, the focus of the scroll was on the First Hokage’s actions. But Madara was not idle and had relied upon lightning jutsu instead of fire. According to the scroll, ‘Without a single hand seal, thick, crackling tendrils of violet lightning erupted from his fingertips. Each bolt snaked towards its target. Upon contact, the lightning didn’t pierce the enemy but formed a cage of purple energy that paralyzed them.’

Purple? Of course Madara showed off even with his secondary element. But how’d he do it?  While some bloodlines allow ninja to use black or yellow lightning, I haven’t come across purple before, Kakashi thought.

He knew for a fact that Madara did not have a lightning bloodline limit. Otherwise, Madara would have used lightning a lot more often. Not to mention that the Uchiha would have boasted about having multiple bloodlines and focused on lightning and not fire release. But he wasn’t aware of a technique that changed the color of lightning jutsu from the custom blue.

He read the rest of the scroll, but unfortunately, that was all of what was written in the scroll. He went back to the description of Madara’s lightning jutsu and focused on memorizing it word for word. He was on his third read-through when someone grabbed the scroll from his hand.

“Hey!” Kakashi turned around angrily and found the familiar snake-like eyes of Orochimaru eerily staring down at him. Orochimaru didn’t bother giving him a verbal response, only lifted an eyebrow, daring him to complain.

Kakashi debated the merits of arguing with Orochimaru and bringing attention to himself or letting it go. Since he had already memorized the contents, Kakashi decided to let it go and turned away from Orochimaru without a fuss. The last thing he wanted was that snake’s attention.

He grabbed another scroll and pretended to start reading it, expecting Orochimaru to walk away. Instead, the man began shuffling through his others scrolls, grabbing some of them as well. Kakashi grit his teeth in annoyance but continued to ignore the man and kept his eyes trained on the scroll in front of him.

“Uchiha Madara. A peculiar reading choice,” Orochimaru said, voice smooth as silk.

Kakashi looked up and kept his voice flat, “Foundational history.”

Orochimaru smiled and tapped the passage about Madara’s lightning. “How… specific.”

Kakashi’s hand twitched, wanting nothing more than to grab a kunai, “It’s good inspiration.”

“In more ways than one, hmm?” Orochimaru commented, tongue flicking over his teeth.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as understanding washed over him, “I’m loyal to Konoha, if that’s what you’re asking.” He resisted the urge to tag in, ‘unlike you’.

Orochimaru leaned over him, breath tickling the tips of Kakashi’s hair. “The shadows may believe otherwise.”

Danzo! Orochimaru is threatening to tell Danzo. Or could it be that… he’s actually… warning me? Kakashi wasn’t sure what to think as he watched Orochimaru take most of his scrolls and walk away.

Chapter Text

He stopped roof-hopping, staring out at the walled off compound in the distance. The dark-tiled district was a stark contrast to the remainder of Konoha, which favored a brighter palate. Mostly red. Yet the Uchiha reflected their no-nonsense approach to life even through their architecture. Traditional houses spiraled at the far-back, roads obscured by stonewall paths leading from one to the next. Buildings closer to the entrance were more like Konoha’s construction style, an attempt to make it more familiar for other villagers to come and trade in the compound. The civilian population and less prominent members of the clan made those newer sections a home. That included his old teammate’s apartment.

He glanced at the neighboring compound. To the right, the Hyuga clan’s compound stood proudly. It featured walls even higher than that of the Uchiha and boasted green tiled roofs trimmed with gold. Unlike the Uchiha, the Hyuga didn’t want many outsiders walking around the compound. He could count on one hand the number of times he entered the Hyuga clan grounds. All visits were to deliver messages from the Hokage during his stint in ANBU. Kakashi always found it ironic that the two rival clans were neighbors.

He made his way through the Uchiha compound gate, marked by a blue banner bearing the Uchiha symbol. A vibrant Uchiha District was not something Kakashi ever thought he would ever see again. He often revisited the compound in his memory when thinking about his dead teammate. In those simpler times, he would zip through the streets. A man on a mission. Thus, the only clear memories he had were of the fastest path to Obito’s apartment.

As such, he took his time scanning the stores around him. Weapon shops lined the left-side of the pathway entrance and the right was dedicated to general items. While the general shops were mainly being visited by other Uchiha, Kakashi saw other Konoha ninja exploring the weapon shops.

The Uchiha’s main trade was high quality weapons. The Uchiha blacksmiths have been a vital part of the Uchiha’s strength even before the founding of Konoha. Although more and more Uchiha started focusing on ninjutsu, most were taught how to wield various weapons and the basics of Kenjutsu before entering the Academy.

People were grabbing items and inspecting them carefully. Others were testing their sharpness on wooden stakes placed outside the shops. Two teenagers walked past him, one muttering “11,400 Ryo for twenty shuriken, these prices are insane.”

A clang of two swords come from a shop with a sign that read Hiroto’s Custom Swords – tailored perfectly for you. A bunch of young children watched the pair testing the swords with awe. “Did you see that combo?” he heard one of the girls say, “It’s like he’s dancing.”

“Ninja don’t dance,” a boy scoffed.

“I said like he’s dancing,” the girl argued back with a sniff. The boy’s retort was interrupted as the man tested another combo and drew his attention away from his friend.

Despite a war going on, the atmosphere was less tense than when Kakashi had last visited, a few days before the massacre. The Konoha shinobi in the area were comfortable and chatting with other Uchiha amicably. A stark reminder of how much the suspicion after the Kyuubi attack had changed perceptions.

He shivered lightly, surrounded by the echoes of the dead; familiar strangers long since gone. It was a sea of dreams unfulfilled, of childhoods cut short. Each laugh, each smile, each voice lay heavy upon him, another stone added to the burden he already carried.

He shook his head and dashed towards Obito’s house, away from the bustle of the main road. He reached the three-story apartment complex, and jumped to the second floor, right next to Obito’s window. The familiar cork board blocked half of the window but he heard furious scribbling so knew Obito was on his desk. He peaked from the top of the board and peered down on Obito hunched over the desk.

“Ryo for your thoughts,” Kakashi said nonchalantly. Obito whipped his head up quickly and swept his hand to a kunai on the desk. His hand bumped the notebook, and it sailed to the opposite wall, hitting it with a thwack before landing in an upside-down V.

“Stop doing that!” Obito yelled once he recognized his teammate, dumping the kunai back on the desk with a thwack.

Kakashi raised an unimpressed eyebrow, “It’s your fault. Who places a board right in front of the window?”

“I told you, I get distracted,” Obito growled, the response quick on his tongue as the old argument came up again.

If Kakashi played his part, he would make fun of Obito’s lack of ability to concentrate as a sign of his lack of skills as a ninja. Instead, Kakashi slid the window towards the board, allowing him to jump into the room from the other side. The notebook lay on the floor forgotten.

“A bunch of us are sparing this Tuesday, noon, training grounds 42,” Kakashi said.

Obito leaned back on the chair, “Noon? I thought you and Gai were all, only the super earliest of morning is the best time of day to start training,” he said mockingly.

“Not just Gai, a bunch of us,” Kakashi reiterated, ignoring the jab. “Asuma, Genma, Raido, Ebisu, maybe Kurenai.”

“Wait, who set this up?” Obito asked, the new information changing his indifference to confusion.

“Asuma, Genma and I,” Kakashi answered patiently. “Does it matter? Do you want to join?”

“Since when are you and Asuma and Genma chummy?” Obito asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Yes, we make each other flower crowns and sing birthday odes to one another,” Kakashi replied with false cheer.

“Ugh, you’re the only person who could become more annoying after having that stick pulled out of ---"

“--- Do you want to come or not?” Kakashi asked impatiently.

Obito glanced to the ceiling in thought before replying, “What’s the set up?”

“Dunno,” Kakashi said, shrugging without care. “Asuma and Genma want to team up against me for one spar. No idea about the rest. Whatever everyone wants to do I guess?”

Obito frowned, “Genma and Asuma are strong. You can’t expect to beat them both, right?”

“It’s a spar, the point is to improve,” Kakashi said. “Besides, I think I have a good shot. They’re on different teams and may not be very familiar with the other’s style. There’s a good chance they’ll get in each other’s way.”

Not to mention all of you are really really slow compared to what I’m used to, Kakashi thought to himself. There’s no way I will lose to any of you, even if you all teamed up against me.

But that was best left unsaid.

Obito began to smirk, but then grimaced, before settling on frustration.

“Are you having a seizure or something?” Kakashi asked, voice anything but concerned.

Obito glared him and punched him in the shoulder, “I was worried about you, jerk.”

“Worried?” Kakashi asked, rubbing the spot even though Obito’s punch was light.

“You’ve never lost against any of us. Will your ego survive?” Obito asked, his voice genuine.

“It takes true talent to insult and show concern to someone in one go,” Kakashi said.

“Oh, come on, everyone knows your arrogant,” Obito waved the comment away.

“If you can’t differentiate between confidence and arrogance then sure,” Kakashi said, being difficult on purpose. He truly was an arrogant brat, but it was more fun to rile Obito.

“You… you seriously think you’re just being confident?” Obito asked, his mouth agape.

“I trust in my abilities,” Kakashi confirmed.

“Wow, that’s… you need help,” Obito said.

“After you,” Kakashi said without missing a beat.

“My social skills are fine,” Obito replied and pointed a finger right in Kakashi’s face. “You’re the one who’s messed up in the head!”

“Aren’t we all a little messed up?” Kakashi asked rhetorically.

Obito rolled his eyes, “You’re so weird,” he said.

“So, I’m arrogant, crazy and weird. Anything else you’d like to add?” Kakashi asked drily.

Obito had the grace to look embarrassed, if the red flush in his cheeks was any indication. “I… I didn’t… sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Kakashi said, easily accepting the apology. He did rile Obito up after all. Besides, I’ve been called much worse, he thought amused.

“Still, you better not lose,” Obito said and pointed a thumb towards his chest. “The first person who’s going to defeat you is me!”

“Right now, the one who has the best chance of beating me is Gai. Not you,” Kakashi replied honestly.

“But he only knows taijutsu,” Obito said, eye twitching.

“So? He beat you twice,” Kakashi asked challengingly. Gai has proven himself again and again. How could Obito still not see the green beast’s worth?

A knock on the door rescued Obito from putting his foot in his mouth again.

“Coming, obaa-chan!” he called out and rushed to open the door.

Obito’s grandmother stood with her hands behind her back, her wizened face drawn into a gentle smile, “I heard voices.” She tilted to the side to get a good look at Kakashi, who has partially hidden behind Obito’s frame. “You must be the infamous Kakashi-kun?” she asked.

He bowed lightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, oba-sama,” he greeted her.

In the previous timeline, the first time he met Obito’s grandmother officially was during Obito’s funeral. He had spotted her around with Obito but never had a conversation. Now that he thought about it, this was the longest time he spent in Obito’s house. Usually, he’d just grab him, and they’d leave almost immediately. After the funeral, Rin and Minato talked to her briefly. But he didn’t have the courage to join them. He stayed off to the side and watched as Rin hugged her and Minato consoled her.

“It’s nice to finally meet you too dear,” she smiled before turning to her nephew. “Obito-kun, if your friend is staying for a while you should offer him some tea. Or at least a place to sit.”

“Obaaaa-chan,” Obito whined.

“Forgive my grandson, he can be a bit forgetful,” she smiled playfully, making Obito’s face fall in dejection. “I’ve made some Chicken Rice Bowl and it’s almost lunchtime. Why don’t you join us for lunch, Kakashi-kun?”

“Ah no thank you, I don’t want to impose,” he said waved his hands awkwardly in a cross motion. “I also need to get going soon. But thank you for offering, oba-sama.”

“The offer still stands, you’re welcome anytime,” she accepted his reply. She gave Obito a friendly pat on the shoulder and walked away.

Obito sighed and gestured towards the hallway. “Would you like some tea or water?” he asked with an exaggerated flourish.

“How courteous of you,” Kakashi said with a snort but shook his head.

Obito eagerly closed the door, “I hate all the fussiness.” He walked towards his futon and plopped down. “You should see when we have guests over. It’s all so traditional.”

“I mean, offering a guest water and tea is the bare minimum of hosting,” Kakashi said.

“Arriving unannounced all the time is the bare minimum of being rude,” Obito snapped back.

"That doesn’t even make sense,” Kakashi pointed out.

“Yea but… you… you know what I mean. Stop nitpicking everything!” Obito groused.  

“Whatever. So, are you coming or not?” he asked again. “You make decisions slower than politicians,” he added.

“Shut up! Yes, I’ll be there. I’ve been training hard, and I’ll show all of you how much stronger I’ve become!” Obito announced confidently.

Kakashi had flashbacks to all the times he saw Obito spar with their agemates and frowned. “Have you noticed that you’re much stronger whenever we spar, or when we’re on a mission, than when you’re sparing with our classmates?” Kakashi asked hesitantly.

Kakashi tried to string his thoughts as he was struck with an epiphany. This was his chance to help Obito improve, but he had to approach it with a balance of bluntness and encouragement for Obito to take him seriously.

“That’s only against Beast Face! I had a lollipop in my mouth the first time and in the second match he attacked me while I was looking at Rin. It was a cheap shot!” Obito exclaimed angrily.

“It’s not just that,” Kakashi sighed and took a seat on the desk. This could take a while. “Your style is to overpower your opponent. Gai also overwhelms his opponent with speed and taijutsu. Therefore, he’s less likely to panic when you rush at him chaotically. Also, one moment of distraction against Gai leaves you open for his quick attack. Gai is the worst match-up for you. You said it yourself; you get distracted easily.,” He finished his explanation with a jab towards the board covering the window.

“It doesn’t matter. When I get my Sharingan I can see him coming and react faster,” Obito bragged.

“Even with the Sharingan, if you can’t keep up with him, you’ll lose,” Kakashi argued. “What good is seeing an attack if you can’t dodge it?”

“Once I see the attack, I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Obito insisted.

Kakashi rolled his eyes but let it be. There was no use arguing with Obito when he was in this mood. He had to switch gears.

“Ok, forget Gai. Out of our classmates, who do you think is the easiest to beat?” Kakashi asked.

“Hmmmm… probably Kurenai. She’s not very fast,” Obito replied without giving it much thought.

“Interesting.”

“What?” Obito said annoyed.

“Against Kurenai, I’d say the odds are more likely 50/50,” Kakashi said. “If you had the Sharingan I’d agree with you, but until then, if she gets you in a genjutsu there’s a good chance you won’t notice until it’s too late.”

“I know how to spot and cancel genjutsu without the Sharingan,” Obito said.

“But Kurenai is specializing in genjutsu. I’m positive she’ll have a few tricky ones up her sleeve. It’s a game of first blood. You must overwhelm her quickly and prevent her from casting genjutsu until you can pin her down,” Kakashi said.

“Then if it’s not Kurenai, who will be the easiest?” Obito asked sarcastically. He didn’t fully agree with Kakashi’s reasoning.

“Want to hazard another guess?” Kakashi asked.

“Just tell me already,” Obito said in frustration.

“Raido,” Kakashi obliged.

“Raido? But he’s good at everything!” Obito said incredulous.

“Ah he’s the most well-balanced, which will serve him well in the future. But right now, it just means he’s a jack of all trade and a master of none. His style is straightforward and predictable. Yours is all about unpredictability and raw, explosive fire power. I don’t think he has anything in his repertoire that will easily counter a large-scale fireball, for example. Similarly, he doesn’t have anything that will overwhelm you. Raido’s best chance is to keep dodging and make you lose patience. But if you stay calm and collected, the fight is yours,” Kakashi said.

Obito went silent as he pondered everything Kakashi was telling him. Kakashi gave him a moment to digest the information, grabbed a wad of paper and crumpled it into a ball. He began throwing it high up in the air and catching it. Once… twice…

His teammate stood up from the futon and took a seat on the chair, more focused than Kakashi has ever seen. “What about Asuma?” he asked.

“What about him?” Kakashi prodded further, despite having an idea what Obito was getting at.

“He’s also a balanced fighter,” Obito pointed out, one hand resting on his knee, the other under his chin in thought.

Kakashi internally smiled, glad to see his teammate was finally starting to use his brain. Hopefully this means he’ll learn to think and not just rush in blindly.

“Asuma is actually the second worst match-up for you,” Kakashi stated.

“What? Why?”

“It’s quite simple,” Kakashi said. “Asuma is just better. He also uses the chakra blades, has strong command of the wind element and is learning a second one already. You’re a ---”

“He is!?” Obito asked, sitting up straighter. “Which one?”

Kakashi glared at the interruption, “You’ll have to find out,” he said.

Obito pouted but didn’t say anything, so Kakashi felt it safe to continue, “As I was saying. You’re a mid-close fighter like Asuma. But his technique is more polished. He’ll eventually be able to outpace you.”

 “Ugh my mind is starting to hurt,” Obito grabbed his hair in fistfuls and moaned.

“Here,” Kakashi said as he threw his paper ball at Obito. Obito, startled, fumbled the ball and stretched his hand low to grab it clumsily before it hit the floor. In the meantime, Kakashi had grabbed a pen and paper from his desk. He wrote the name of each person in big letters on top, then scribbled the odds of winning, advantages and challenges of each they discussed. He then started removing the old notes on the board.

“Hey!”

Kakashi ignored him and methodically removed them one by one. He stifled a laugh when he removed one note that read ‘Ask Rin on a Date’. The intensity of the color of both pen and paper had already started to fade. He could hear Obito’s blush without even looking back. After they were all removed, he took some of colored pins on the desk and stuck them in order of ‘most likely’ to ‘least likely’ to win. He kept blanks for Ebisu, Genma and Rin. The board now showed:

Raido – BLANK – BLANK – Kurenai – BLANK – Asuma – Gai

Obito studied the board with rapt attention, the visual aid helping him slot everything they discussed neatly in his mind.

“Alright so based on this, which blank do you think Rin, Genma and Ebisu will fall in?” Kakashi asked.

“Kurenai is tougher for me to beat than two of them. Seriously?” Obito asked. It was a far cry from Obito’s perception that she’d be the easiest to beat.

“The others don’t have one attack that can stop you. They’ll need multiple attacks to beat you. But genjutsu is subtle, which isn’t your specialty. If Kurenai lands a strong genjutsu, you lose. You’re underestimating her too much,” Kakashi said.

In the future, it was Asuma, Gai and Kurenai that came became fully-fledged jonin, while the others got the slightly lower rank of Special Jonin. Kurenai got the rank in her early twenties, but she had a strong work ethic and quick mind. He was sure Genma and Raido could have made it, but they were happy to focus on their specialties and stay where they were. That didn’t take away from their strength; they were on the Yondaime’s bodyguard unit after all. But yes, Kurenai was stronger than them.

Obito frowned, “I didn’t know it was this big of a weakness for me. Stuff like elaborate techniques.”

“Fortunately, the Sharingan will help you keep up with those type of fighters. It will cover up a major weakness once you awaken it,” Kakashi reassured him.

Obito perked up again. Kakashi felt a whiplash trying to keep up with the speed through which his teammate jumped from one mood to the next.

“So Genma is between Kurenai and Asuma, right?” Obito asked.

“No.”

“It can’t be Ebisu, Genma is stronger. You can’t mean… Rin-chan?” Obito asked.

“Yes, for one reason and one reason only. In a friendly spar, you would perform your absolute worst against Rin, but only because you would rather lose a thousand times than risk hurting her or having her think poorly of you. It is a self-imposed defeat born entirely of your affection for her,” Kakashi explained bluntly.

With each word, Obito’s face flushed deeper and deeper.

Seeing his teammate’s reaction, Kakashi decided to tease him further and made a show to grab the paper. “Hmmmm… actually, maybe I should put her above Gai?”

“I have sparred with Rin-chan before,” Obito stated annoyed.

“One-on-one? When?” Kakashi asked, not believing it for a second. “Minato-sensei always has you fighting him or me. Whenever Rin is involved, it’s a team exercise. Or an exercise where one of you is practicing a new technique and wants a live target. Never a full out spar.”

“That can’t be…” Obito began but paused midway as he realized that, as crazy as it sounds, Kakashi was right. “That…” Obito was at a loss for words. “Why would Minato-sensei…?”

“Minato-sensei was sparing you. It won’t benefit you to fight against Rin from a technical standpoint. It’d be a similar fight to one with Raido. So, he thought it best to leave you two be,” Kakashi said.

“That’s nice of him,” Obito said with a wide smile.

“I said it didn’t hurt you, but it might have hurt Rin,” Kakashi burst his bubble.

Obito jumped out of his chair, “How come?” The chair fell to the floor but they ignored it.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temples, did he really have to spoon-feed Obito everything. “Rin knows there’s no way she could beat me or Minato-sensei. When she does lose, it’s as expected. Thus, there’s no emotional backlash for losing to spur her to work harder. But against you? She has a chance. If you two fight and you win, which is most likely if you can put your crush to the side for one minute, then it might galvanize her to improve her fighting techniques, not just medical skills.”

“Is that what why you told Rin-chan to keep up with her physical training?” Obito asked.

“I didn’t go into so many specifics, but yeah. Basically,” Kakashi said with a shrug.

“Minato-sensei doesn’t think it’s an issue,” Obito pointed out.

“Sensei knows Rin wants to specialize in healing. If she does the bare minimum of physical training, he lets her focus on her path. Trust me when I say that Minato-sensei has had to push Rin to physically train many many times. Rin doesn’t have the desire to focus on fighting. You’re just always late so you’re not there to hear it. At this rate though, she will no longer be able to go on missions with us or will be a liability,” Kakashi said.

“Without Rin-chan we’d have died!” Obito didn’t appreciate Kakashi calling her a liability.

“I never said anything about her medical skills. She’s way ahead and dare I say, a genius, in medical ninjutsu. There will come a point, however, where she will no longer be able to keep up with our opponents. When that time comes, she will just sit back and heal us once we’re done. But if an opponent attacks her mid-fight, she won’t be able to defend herself without us. Thus, she’ll become a liability,” Kakashi said, not holding anything back.

It wasn’t just Rin that needed a wake-up call. Both his teammates were naïve and thought if they continued to do what they do, things will work out. They never truly considered the downsides to their approach to ninja training. Rin will keep neglecting her physical training and Obito will keep rushing into things with the false confidence that he’ll think of something or it won’t be an issue once the Sharingan awakens. Kakashi saw what that path leads to.

“Gimme a sec,” Obito muttered and began pacing in the room.

Kakashi gave him a moment and busied himself with filling out the sheets for Ebisu, Genma and Rin. Every now and then, Obito would stop. Kakashi would look up but by then Obito would resume his muttering and pacing. It was fascinating. This is what a focused Obito looked like.

He pinned the rest to the board so that it now read:

Raido – Ebisu – Genma – Kurenai – Rin – Asuma – Gai

“I didn’t mean to hurt Rin,” Obito whispered.

Kakashi turned to face him, and saw the other boy stand still in the middle, his fists clenched to his side. A worried expression drawn on his face.

“Look, it’s not that bad. Rin knows now too, to some extent,” Kakashi reassured him.

“Everything you told me. My strengths, weakness, how I do against everyone. You always think about this stuff? Obito asked seriously.

“Pretty much,” Kakashi verified.

“You think too much,” Obito stated, but there was a hint of awe in his voice. “If we were talking about you, where would I fall on the list?”

“Middle,” Kakashi replied honestly. “Asuma, Gai and Genma are tougher for me to beat. Funnily enough, Kurenai would be my easiest win. I’m the worst match-up for her.”

“If it’s about landing a hit on her fast, wouldn’t Gai be harder for her to beat?” Obito asked.

“I’m nearly as fast as Gai but have the extra advantage of being able to quickly detect when I’m in a genjutsu thanks to my fine chakra control,” Kakashi explained. “With Gai, if she lands a genjutsu, it will likely give her enough time to end the fight. Against me, landing a genjutsu is nowhere near the end of the fight.”

“So, you’re saying, by doing that,” and he gestured at the papers on the board, “I should come up with a different strategy to fight each one of them.”

“Simple, right? You do it subconsciously, how you fight me and Minato-sensei is different because you are thinking about this. But you only subconsciously strategize when you know the person well. Even then, your approach is very simple. However, this is what to strategize is truly like,” Kakashi said and patted the board twice for emphasis.

“When you’re fighting someone new, you can’t do that,” Obito pointed out.

“That’s why they made us teammates. Because I do,” Kakashi said.

“No way!” Obito denied.

“I don’t write it on pretty notes, but I am thinking about all this when the fight first starts. If I am able, I try to beat them with the element of surprise. If that doesn’t work, then I test out different approaches, I analyze from afar, the works. And once I get a good feeling for my opponent’s ability, I strike. This is only for the strong ones though. If someone is much weaker than me, I just go for the kill,” Kakashi said. “Also, there is this great resource called the Bingo Book, you might have heard of it?”

Obito rolled his eyes. “If you’re saying we’re teammates because you can analyze the opponent. Are you saying that my role is to overwhelm them like you keep saying I do, so you can do your analysis?”

Kakashi wanted to cry in joy, “Yes. More importantly, if the best way to beat someone is raw power, then it’s up to you. Once you have the Sharingan, I’ll also be asking you to let me know if you see anything weird or to watch out for certain things.”

“Are you saying I’m stronger?” Obito asked gleefully.

“No,” Kakashi scoffed. Of course that’s what Obito would focus on. “But you can spam larger scale jutsu more than I can.”

For once, Kakahi’s rebuttal didn’t make him dejected. If anything, Obito’s smiled widened.

“Anway, you have a good chance to beat half of them. Of course, only if you stop your incessant need to showboat instead of focusing on the win,” Kakashi said.

“I don’t” Obito replied hotly.

Kakashi’s expression screamed a sarcastic ‘REALLY?’

“I don’t!” Obito repeated more animatedly.

“Well, if there’s any bright side is that Rin won’t be there. Maybe without you trying to impress her you can fight for real,” Kakashi allowed.

When Kakashi mentioned Rin again, Obito’s face became serious again. He walked to the board, stared at her paper intensely before removing it in a rapid motion. He then placed it before Raido’s and stuck it in.

Rin – Raido – Ebisu – Genma – Kurenai – Asuma – Gai

Kakashi smiled behind his mask and hopped down from the desk; work done. Obito’s resolve was clear, he wasn’t going to hold back on Rin next time. He was looking forward to their next team training session. He couldn’t wait to witness Minato’s confusion. His sensei was hard to shock, but an Obito wanting to spar against Rin seriously? Should be entertaining.

“Hang on, you didn’t put your name here!” Obito exclaimed.

Kakashi walked towards the window and shot a cocky smirk towards his teammate, “This is about your likelihood to beat them. It’s a given that you can’t beat me yet.”

Before Obito could reply, Kakashi jumped away. The sound of Obito’s frustrated screams was music to his ears.

Chapter Text

Once is a coincidence. Twice is a chance. Three times is a pattern.

Kakashi had been staking out the areas around ANBU Root, trying to catch a glimpse of his precious Kohai. He wanted to establish a connection with Tenzo before freeing him. To build trust. To do that, he needed an idea of his movements to ambus… er strike a conversation with him.

It wasn’t just him, Kakashi had asked his Ninken to help as well. Between him and his eight faithful dogs, he was able to determine that Tenzo loved to go into the Forest of Death at sunrise even at this young age. Tenzo loved hanging out in areas with numerous and large trees. During their ANBU days, he would often seek out Tenzo at the Forest of Death. Kakashi found it weird, but Tenzo insisted that he could sense the immense energy of the forest and feel at peace.

Who was Kakashi to judge anyway?

But he had no idea that this behavior carried over from his Root days.

Regardless, Kakashi had plans for tomorrow. He only hoped Tenzo didn’t have a mission. For now, though, he had two annoying peers to defeat.

CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC_CWC

Kakashi slouched at the base of the tree, pretending to be bored while he waited for his turn. In truth, he was very interested in the level of his agemates. He didn’t really give them much thought in the past, so he wasn’t sure where each person was in terms of strength and ability. Well, Gai and his teammates being an exception, not that he had much choice in that matter.

Next to him sat Shizune, who was constantly tapping her fingers on her thigh nervously. Shizune’s fist clenched when Ebisu caught Kurenai with a punch to the stomach. Kurenai got up quickly, not allowing Ebisu to capitalize on the advantage. Shizune’s fist relaxed, but she went back to repeatedly tapping her finger on her thigh.

“What are you so worried about?” Kakashi asked. He was surprised when he saw Tsunade’s apprentice walk into the training grounds with Kurenai and Anko.

Shizune left with Tsunade when she was six, attending the Academy for only a year. Her constant travels made it hard for Shizune to make and keep friends. However, during some medical training program, Rin and Shizune became close. Rin knew of Shizune’s struggles to make friends, and so Rin, being Rin, invited her to join her friends. Despite being two years older than them, Shizune hit it off with the other female ninja his age. When Shizune returned with Tsunade, Kurenai and Anko welcomed her back with open arms and they continued their friendship. Kakashi often wondered how much the absence of Rin was felt by them.

“Arranging for multiple spars without adult supervision to stop anything from going wrong is a seriously bad idea,” she said.

“Nobody is going fully out or trying to kill each other,” Kakashi replied without a care.

“You are all young, Kakashi-kun,” Shizune explained patiently. “One bad bruise to your ego and one of you will surely lash out with a dangerous technique.”

“We’re kids but we’re also ninja, we know how to control our emotions… mostly,” Kakashi allowed.

“Maybe some of you,” she began, pointing to their left, “but forgive me if I don’t think Anko or Obito are level-headed.”

The two ninja were standing near the spar boundary line with Gai, and all were cheering on the combatants, energy rolling off them in waves. They seemed to be a second away from joining the fray themselves.

Kakashi chuckled lightly, “You got me there.”

“Offf, come on Kurenai, where’s the defense?” Shizune bemoaned.

“Rule three, a medic should always be the last of their platoon to die, right?” Kakashi knew where she was coming from.

“Exactly, and for that you need good defense,” Shizune nodded passionately. “But even if you aren’t a medic, any ninja in a supporting role needs to focus on defense.”

“I know,” Kakashi groaned, thinking of all the ninja who focused on their specialties and neglected this fundamental theory. “I was teamed up with a guy called Katsu, an incredible bow user. He ignored taijutsu because he thinks: Hey, I’ll just shoot from afar and my team will cover for me.”

“During one of our trainings, Tsunade-sama made us run an obstacle course and most of the medics failed in the first few seconds,” Shizune vented. “It was embarrassing.”

Shizune blushed once she realized that she had insulted a bunch of her peers.

“It’s good to have an ally on this. Specialists think I’m being unrealistic whenever I mention this. Now if you could share that same story with Rin,” Kakashi said.

“I don’t think I need to, she was working hard on her taijutsu training at the outpost,” Shizune said. “I’ve never seen her that invested in strength and cardio training.”

“Good,” Kakashi replied happily.

“Who are you plan—”

“Nice, Kurenai! Finish it!” Anko’s yell diverted their attention. They turned just in time to see Kurenai tap Ebisu’s neck with a kunai and release her genjutsu. He gasped once the genjutsu fell. He blinked a few times, washing away the last of the genjutsu.

“Next time I won’t fall for your genjutsu,” he spoke after he was composed. He lifted the glasses to the bridge of his nose and gave her a respectful nod, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Good spar,” she smiled back.

Kurenai walked towards Asuma who was beaming at her with pride. Once she was closer to him, he showered her with praise, making her blush. Meanwhile, Genma and Gai were consoling Ebisu and congratulating him on a good fight.

“Asuma and Kurenai are so cute,” Shizune said.

Kakashi remained silent, not comfortable with gossiping about his friends’ crush. He will not be sucked into - shudder - girl talk. Luckily, Shizune wasn’t expecting a reply and went to talk to Kurenai about her spar.

“Who wants to go next?” Raido asked, his head on a swivel looking for any volunteers.

“How about you and me, Raido?” Obito asked.

“Hmm interesting. We never had a spar, have we?” Raido nodded his consent. “Let me just warm up quickly.”

“Great!” Obito beamed at him, throwing him a thumbs up, and started his own warm up on the side.

Kakashi walked towards his teammate, hands in his pocket. Once he was in hearing range, he addressed his teammate, “You better win.”

Obito, who was stretching his hamstrings looked up with a serious look, “You said he’s the easiest to beat, right? I’m curious to see.”

“Got a plan?” Kakashi asked.

“Don’t give him a chance to breathe,” Obito replied, remembering their discussion a few days ago. He righted himself up and shook his hands loose.

“Good, go beat him,” Kakashi said.

Obito smirked, “You got it!” His teammate then dashed to the center of the training area, waiting for Raido to join him.

Kakashi walked back to his tree and was joined by Gai midway. “You and Obito-kun have gotten closer, my rival.”

“We’ve come to tolerate one another,” Kakashi shrugged. “He’s become slightly less annoying.”

Gai laughed, “I’m glad. Teammates should support one another.”

Kakashi sat back down, forgoing his lazy posture to give this spar his full attention. It was a subtle way to show Obito he was paying attention.

Raido and Obito stood in front of each other, with Genma standing in between to initiate the countdown. The second Genma told them to begin, Obito rushed quickly at Raido, fists up and barreling.

Raido’s eyes widened in shock, not expecting a full rush from the get-go, but managed to bring his defense up in time as their arms clashed. With their right arms blocking one another, Obito followed up with a left kick. Raido ducked down to avoid the attack, freeing up Obito’s hand once again. Obito used the momentum from his kick to twist in the air, land behind Raido and continue the assault.

“Obito seems very spirited today,” Gai noted with interest. Kakashi only hmmed in agreement.

Raido finally managed to create some distance, but Obito immediately responded with the Great Fireball jutsu. Raido cursed and called up a wall of water to block the attack.

Obito stuck with his strategy to stay on the attack and was already up in the air, calling out the Great Phoenix Fire jutsu. Obito’s chakra control still wasn’t the best and so some of the fireballs floated or disintegrated uselessly in midair. Despite that, enough fireballs made it through to force Raido to dive to the side. Before Raido could regain his footing, Obito was already in front of him, kunai poised at his neck.

Everyone other than Kakashi was stunned into silence. Nobody expected Obito to win that easily. The spar only lasted a minute. But it wasn’t just the spectators that were surprised, Kakashi could see that Obito was also surprised by how easily he won.

Obito blinked away the confusion and pocketed the kunai. He then helped Raido up on his feet and they gave each other the peace sign.

“I... congratulations Obito-kun. Seems like I need to train a lot more,” Raido mumbled. Kakashi felt for Raido. Losing so quickly and not even managing to attack your opponent made the spar a devastating loss for him.

“Thanks,” Obito smiled hesitantly. As someone who failed from time to time, Obito knew what Raido was feeling. Obito didn’t want to rub his victory in and tried to console him instead, “I think my rush caught you off guard. I’m sure next time our spar won’t go like this.”

“No, it won’t,” Raido vowed with a shaky smile.

As Raido walked back to his teammates, the whispers started to breakout. Kakashi saw Raido deflect any attempt to support him, shaking off his teammates.

Obito walked up to Kakashi, his face scrunched up in thought and annoyance, “You.”

“Told you,” Kakashi gloated.

“I hate you,” Obito replied without any malice. He ruffled his hair with a sigh, before joining his teammate and Gai under the tree.

“Feeling’s mutual,” Kakashi snorted.

“What did you tell him?” Gai asked curiously.

“I told him that Raido is his easiest matchup. He didn’t believe me,” Kakashi said.

“Nobody is better than you at analyzing stuff, my rival. Of course you were,” Gai said happily, making Kakashi lightly blush.

“Gai, you can’t keep saying stuff like that,” Kakashi groused in embarrassment.

Obito snickered at Kakashi’s discomfort. Kakashi shot him a glare. Obito raised his hands up in mock surrender.

“But it’s the truth,” Gai replied. “I just hope Raido-kun doesn’t take it too badly.”

Kakashi looked back towards Raido, who was sitting by himself off to the side, a frown on his face. Asuma and Kurenai were looking at each other lost, not sure what to do.

“It’s not THAT surprising that I won,” Obito grumbled in annoyance once he realized the stunned atmosphere that settled in the training area.

“I think it was the speed through which you won,” Kakashi explained gently.

“Hmph, well they better get used to it,” Obito wasn’t appeased. “I’m going to be the Hokage after all.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Ebisu was telling Genma, though his voice was loud enough for all to hear. “It’s obvious that Hatake told Obito-kun what to do. Raido-kun shouldn’t be this upset.”

Obito’s face flushed red in anger.

“Ebisu, you jerk,” Anko shouted at him before anyone else could respond. “A loss is a loss, you know!”

Bless Anko. Kakashi felt guilty for forgetting about her in his plans for a better future. He had to find a way to protect her from the damage Orochimaru inflicted on her. At the very least, he needed to protect her from getting the cursed seal.

“I’m just stating the obvious facts,” Ebisu replied haughtily.

Genma took a few steps to the side as we he saw Anko approach. He did not want to be in the fiery kunoichi’s line of fire.

Kakashi noted that Asuma and Genma seemed to agree but were uncomfortable with how Ebisu was going about it. Kakashi felt annoyance bubble up. Obito was a bit clumsy and brash, but he was a talented ninja. During their Academy days, Obito was no slouch and was one of the best in their class in taijutsu. He only underperformed in comparison to the ‘average’ Uchiha.

“The only fact I see is that you are an asshole,” Anko walked up to Ebisu to square him straight in the face. “Obito won fair and square.”

Obito blushed at Anko’s defense and was happy to see someone stand up for him. He was used to that from Rin, but didn’t expect such a passionate defense from someone else.

“You can believe what you want,” Ebisu was unfazed by Anko’s aggression.

Kakashi flashed to the scene in an instant, putting himself next to the two of them and pushing them slightly apart before they could start fighting. He may have ‘accidently’ stepped on Ebisu toes when he flashed over. Ebisu howled in pain, clutching at his toes.

“Opps, sorry I suppose,” Kakashi drawled as he watched Ebisu massage his foot.

Anko snorted and gave Kakashi a thumbs up in appreciation.

“Everyone, stop fighting,” Raido intervened. He clearly thought that nobody was doing a good enough job of de-escalating the situation. “Obito beat me and saying anything else is disrespectful to our friend… and to me. Just start the next spar already.”

Kakashi saw the subtle signs of Raido trying to keep it together, despite putting on a brave face. He respected it. Raido was truly that most mature one from their age group, always has been. Rin would be a close second.

The training grounds went silent, as if daring anyone to escalate the situation further. Luckily, Genma nudged Ebisu to the side. Ebisu glared at them but agreed to let the matter drop and walked away. 

Anko took a deep breath and then turned to point at Gai. “Come on Gai. Let’s show everyone what an amazing spar looks like! I’m all fired up.”

“Yosh, our spar will be full of youth!” Gai proclaimed excitedly, dashing over.

Everyone relaxed as the situation died down. Kakashi made his way back to Obito, and saw his teammate was the only one who was still tense.

“Ignore Ebisu,” Kakashi said as the sound of the next spar began in the background.

“Yea, but… is it that weird that I won?” Obito asked.

“Well, the last time they saw you fight was in the Chunin exams a year and a half ago. You were very… erm,” Kakashi wasn’t sure how to continue without offending his teammate.

“I was completely distracted,” Obito sighed knowingly. He fully knew that his showing in the first exam was quite bad. He managed to make Chunin in the next one, but most of his peers were already Chunin by then and didn’t see his improvement.

“And now the only two who have a high chance of beating you are Asuma and Gai, so don’t worry about it,” Kakashi said. “You more than caught up.”

“You’re still not counting yourself, arrogant jerk,” Obito laughed lightly, mood lifting.

“I guess so,” Kakashi acknowledged.

Obito shook his head in exasperation, “Beating Haruki has inflated your ego even more than I thought possible.” Kakashi could hear the relief in his teammate’s voice though. If Kakashi were weaker, he would have died. It was clear that for Obito, Kakashi’s strength has changed from a source of complete jealousy to one of relative relief, as it’s what kept him alive.

With nothing more to add, the two boys turned their attention back to Anko and Gai’s spar. It was highly entertaining, as the two boisterous and dramatic fighters went at it. The juxtaposition between Gai’s shouts of joy and Anko’s curses amused all spectators. Unsurprisingly, it ended with Gai winning the bout after knocking Anko into a tree and pinning her before she could move away.

That left his spar with Genma and Asuma. He had originally planned on keeping things more even, but after the way they reacted to Obito’s win, Kakashi was feeling less generous. He decided that they needed to be taken down a peg.

“Go beat them,” Obito parroted Kakashi’s words back.

“You got it,” Kakashi replied on script.

As they stood in front of one another, with Kurenai initiative the countdown, Kakashi was surprised to sense an unknown chakra resting on some branches a ways back to observe. The chakra held no malice, only a touch of curiosity.

“One second, bathroom break,” Kakashi interrupted Kurenai’s countdown.

“What? You can’t be serious?” Asuma groaned as Kakashi bound away.

Kakashi heard Genma muttering something but was more concerned with the spy. Could it be one of Danzou’s agents? If it were, he had to downplay his strengths a lot more than he had planned to.

He hid and looked towards the signature and sighed in relief. He recognized the intruder as Asuma’s old brother: Sarutobi Yakumi. The young man saw Kakashi looking at him and placed one finger in front of his mouth: a request to remain silent. Kakashi rolled his eyes but gave the man a thumbs up. He scanned the area once more to be on the safe side but was happy to note that other than Asuma’s nosy brother, nobody else was there.

He waited a minute before he jogged back, a sheepish smile behind his mask, “Sorry sorry. I was focused on the spars and didn’t notice.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Anko asked grinning like a cheshire cat.

His peers also accepted the excuse with amusement. Obito, knowing Kakashi, and that such antics weren’t like him at all, shot him a weird look. Kakashi subtly signed to him, letting him know everything was ok.

“Can we start now, your highness?” Genma asked.

“Yes, I look forward to beating you up,” Kakashi replied.

“Here we go again,” Kurenai said. She put her hand in between them and glanced at both sides as they got into their fighting stance. Noting everyone was ready, she lifted her hand up quickly, “Start!”

Asuma and Genma immediately jumped away to hide. Kurenai had also jumped out of the way, leaving Kakashi standing alone in the center. Kakashi resisted the temptation to whip out a book. Instead, he shrugged and sat down cross-legged, one hand resting on his knee and cupping his head. His stance screamed ‘bored’.

“Is he serious?” Kakashi heard Ebisu mutter to Raido.

Three minutes ticked by before Genma and Asuma made their move. Kakashi heard the rustle of movement and stood up just as a spray of senbon were thrown at him, courtesy of Genma. Kakashi took out a kunai and batted them all away, without taking a step away from his position.

Asuma followed up with a strike using his wind blade to Kakashi’s blindside. He also saw Genma rush in from his periphery. Kakashi ducked Asuma’s wind blade at the last second, causing Asuma to stumble forward with the momentum of his missed strike. Genma was already there with a sword slash. Kakashi twisted to the left, placing Asuma's stumbling body directly in Genma's path. Genma was forced to abort his attack mid-swing to avoid cutting his own partner.

Kakashi used that opportunity to leap away, landing a few steps away and taunted them, “Is that the best you got?”

Genma readjusted his grip on his sword and attacked again. Kakashi took out his tanto, agreeing to face him head-on. As they clashed, Asuma stayed on the sideline, waiting for an opportunity to pitch in. Kakashi figured Asuma would support with kunai and shuriken until Genma would give Asuma space to launch an attack.

Kakashi didn’t let their plan pan out, sticking close to Genma. He kept an eye out on Asuma, who frowned when he realized he had no window. Genma kept attacking though, not discouraged. A minute after nobody gaining the upper hand, Kakashi could see Asuma getting restless. Perfect.

Kakashi allowed Genma some space to launch a larger attack. He made a motion of stepping away and Asuma was happy to throw a fire jutsu at him. Kakashi smirked. As per script, he jumped upwards, knowing Genma would be on the attack. Genma slashed his sword and Kakashi blocked with the tanto. He pretended that the power Genma had wound in the attack forced him to lose his grip on his tanto and let it spiral away.

As Asuma came in to deliver the ‘finishing blow’ with a kunai, Kakashi used the Earth Shard jutsu he learned back at the Grass Gate. The ancient-looking earth sword quickly materialized in his hand. Asuma’s eyes widened, but he was already in motion and couldn’t backtrack. All three combatants were now in midair.

Genma threw a kunai to try and throw off Kakashi's attack. Kakashi, however, had already changed targets. Instead of pressing his advantage on Asuma, he used the momentum to spin and kick Asuma directly toward Genma. Asuma collided with his teammate just as Genma was recovering his stance, and the poorly aimed kunai meant for Kakashi instead grazed Asuma's leg.

“Damn it,” Genma shouted. Asuma winced in pain as he landed. The cut wasn’t deep, but it would hinder his movement. The two regrouped and turned to face Kakashi defensively. They expected a follow-up, but Kakashi was casually picking up his tanto, while whistling jauntily. Asuma growled in frustration while Genma twitched in annoyance. Kakashi was clearly messing with them.

Kakashi waited for them but the two seemed to hesitate. Clearly, they were worried about how he’d turn their attacks against them and were reevaluating.

“It’s my turn,” Kakashi smirked.

He ran through earth seals and called out, “Tearing Earth Turning Palm.” A deep rumble shuddered through the training ground as the earth tore itself open. The middle of the field turning into jutting rocks. Before the dust could settle, he followed with Wild Water Wave. A rushing cascade that flooded the area with such force that water lashed against the freshly exposed earth walls.

Kakashi saw Asuma’s eyes widen in recognition of the combo. “Genma get him. I got this! Wind Style: Dust Wind jutsu.” he countered, blowing the water away from him before Kakashi could summon the lightning dogs.

Or so he thought.

Genma, who moved forward to attack, saw that Kakashi was gone. He shouted a warning, “Asuma, look out!”

But it was too late. The moment Asuma released his wind jutsu, the spray of water and dust was at its thickest. Using that sensory cover, Kakashi’s hand erupted from the ground beneath Asuma, yanking him down into the earth before he could even process the danger. A light tap of a kunai to his throat sealed the deal.

“One down,” he called out to Genma who halted his attack now that his teammate was effectively out.

“That was devious,” Shizune commented.

“I didn’t expect the sword jutsu to be a trick,” Kurenai agreed.

“Not just that, every attack was a setup. Asuma clearly recognized the ninjutsu combo, but his counter only set him up for another attack. I’m guessing Kakashi-kun adjusted it knowing Asuma already knew the original combination. Even losing his tanto at the beginning; it was all scripted,” Shizune replied, awe in her voice.

“A plan within a plan within a plan. Ugh, my head hurts,” Anko groaned. “Fighting people who think too much sucks.”

“Looks like they agree with you,” Shizune pointed at Genma and Asuma, both of whom were scowling hard.

Genma refused to give up and switched to taijutsu. Kakashi acknowledged the switch and sheathed his tanto. Their taijutsu bout only lasted a few seconds before Genma launched some senbon at Kakashi. Kakashi stepped away and allowed Genma the chance to launch a fire jutsu. Kakashi switched with a log which took the brunt of the damage. The fact that one of the broken barks launched into Ebisu was just a happy coincidence. Really.

Feeling that there was no reason to continue this match, Kakashi took off the metaphorical gloved. He upped his speed, vanishing for a moment before reappearing inside Genma's guard. A sharp strike to the wrist disarmed Genma's senbon, a sweep took his legs out, and a final, gentle tap of a kunai to his heart ended the spar.

Obito winced in sympathy, “Daaamn, that was brutal.”

“My rival didn’t give them a chance,” Gai nodded.

Kakashi stepped back, extended a hand and helped Genma to his feet, “Good spar.”

“Good? You were running circles around us the entire time,” Genma groaned, accepting the hand up.

Asuma, having been freed from the earth, limped over, his expression a mix of frustration and grudging respect.

Kakashi shrugged, his hands slipping back into his pockets. “You both have solid fundamentals. Your individual skills aren't the problem.” He glanced between them. “Your teamwork is.”

“We were coordinating!” Asuma protested. “I provided covering fire, we attacked from different angles.”

“That’s not teamwork,” Kakashi interrupted, his tone not unkind, but matter of fact. “That’s just two people fighting the same enemy at the same time. You moved like separate pieces, not a single unit.”

He pointed first at Genma. “You kept attacking on your rhythm, not waiting for or creating openings for Asuma.” Then he gestured to Asuma. “And you got impatient when you didn't have a clear window, instead of using your ninjutsu to create one for Genma. You both assumed the other would adapt to you.”

“Aaaand you both fell for the same trick,” he sighed dramatically. “You fought the Kakashi you expected to see, not the one who was in front of you. Asuma, you saw a known combo and assumed you knew the ending. Genma, you saw a dropped weapon and assumed a vulnerability. I wasn't just predicting your moves; I was guiding them.”

He let that sink in for a moment before offering the core lesson. “Stop thinking about what you are going to do next. Start thinking about what your partner is going to do, and what your opponent wants you to do. The moment you do that is the moment you stop being predictable.”

Asuma and Genma looked incredibly glum. Now that it was spelled out to them, they ran over the spar in their head and saw all their mistakes clearly.

“I wouldn’t be too down, it’s to be expected,” Kakashi consoled them. “You two aren’t used to fighting together. I’m sure if you partnered with one of your teammates, it would have been better.”

Everyone went silent, mulling over the advice themselves. It was sound advice that they could all benefit from.

“Let me heal your leg, Asuma-kun,” Shizune volunteered. She quickly healed the minor injury, only needed a few seconds. Asuma tested the leg and thanked her.

“First Obito-kun wins in a flash and then you control a 2-vs-1 match from start to finish. Man, what has Minato-sensei been teaching you?” Anko asked impressed.

“Minato-sensei has been teamwork this and teamwork that since the first moment we met him,” Kakashi replied with faux-annoyance. “At some point, I guess he beat it into our skulls. Although, in this case I exploited the lack of teamwork.”

“He also repeatedly told me to put my actions where my mouth was, not in those words obviously. Sensei is too nice for that,” Obito added his own experience. Obito didn’t want to add that Kakashi taught him where he was in comparison to them. He stilled remembered Ebisu’s words and they stung. He didn’t want to give Ebisu’s words any weight.

“Orochimaru-sensei constantly tells me to think before I move, maybe I should listen to him more,” Anko said.

“Chouza-sensei tends to be right more often than not,” Genma said.

“Our senseis provide amazing guidance that helps us reach the pinnacle of youth,” Gai chimed in passionately.

With nothing more to add, Kurenai suggested they all have lunch together, but many were not in the mood; namely Ebisu, Raido, Asuma and Genma. They had a lot to consider. So instead, everyone packed up and went their separate ways.

"Ramen?" Kakashi asked, glancing at Obito as the group dispersed. Obito agreed, and as per Team 7 tradition, they found themselves at Ichiraku Ramen.

“Hello, just the two of you today?” Teuchi asked pleasantly.

“Hey Teuchi-san. Yup! Minato-sensei and Rin are still at the frontlines,” Obito confirmed as he jumped onto one of the stools cheerfully. Kakashi took the chair next to him.

“You are in high spirits,” Teuchi commented. “Something good happen?”

“We were awesome during some spars today,” Obito bragged, fidgeting with his goggles excitedly.

“Is that so?” Teuchi replied kindly. “That deserves some extra ramen today, what do you say?”

Obito’s eyes lit up, “You’re the best, Teuchi-san!” Even though Obito’s favorite cuisine is barbeque, he loved ramen as well.

“Thank you,” Kakashi added politely.

Teuchi moved to the back to prepare their meals without asking them for their order. He already knew what each boy preferred, as he did with all his frequent customers.

“I can’t wait to tell Rin and Minato-sensei,” Obito said.

“Don’t get too excited; Raido was your easy match-up,” Kakashi said, wanting to make sure that Obito didn’t overestimate his abilities. He didn’t want his teammate to rush into danger.

“I know, I know,” Obito pouted. “Let me have some fun.”

“I’ll hand it to you though, that was faster than I expected,” Kakashi threw him a bone.

Obito grinned at the comment, bouncing back. “I hate to admit it but the way you handled Asuma and Genma was even more impressive. When we spar, your style is more direct. Why don’t you fight like this in team practice?”

“Well, I do fight like that when I’m fighting Minato-sensei alone. When I’m fighting at equal or bad odds, I need to rely on tactics more. But when I spar with you or Gai, I’m focused on improving specific skills or am trying to win using power alone,” Kakashi explained. “The main reason behind a spar isn’t to win, it’s to improve.”

“Well, and win,” Obito grinned.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t disagree without being a hypocrite. He hated losing. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but sometimes he would go back on an internal limitation if it wasn’t working. Of course, any restrictions he agrees upon verbally were adhered to. But nobody needed to know about the challenges he set for himself.

Now that he helped his agemates, it was time to direct his attention to his juniors. He resisted the urge to sigh. So much to do, so little time. This time travel business was turning him into a social butterfly against his will. But if it meant keeping his precious people safe, he would become best friends with the Daiymo’s cat if he had to.