The Greatest Gift
The air was bitterly cold as he walked across the due soaked grass towards the large stone placed in the middle of the field. The stone had a strange shape that had always slightly amused him in a past. It resembled a kunai in both structure and colour and was supported by a small plinth. The way it was situated in the middle of an open field seemed fitting to him, as it demanded attention and didn't allow itself to go ignored.
As he reached the memorial stone, he picked up the dying flowers that lay in front of it. He then placed a fresh set where they had been and straightened up the orange goggles that he had left there. To his annoyance, he noticed a small crack in the top corner of the right lens. It wasn't visible from far away, in fact you could only see it if you lifted them close to your eyes. Yet, he knew it was there now and he wouldn't let himself forget it. Everything had to be perfect; it was all a part of the debt that he owed.
He finally turned his attention to the names written on the stone and he moved his eye towards the last name on the list. To his horror, it was not the name he was expecting to see and the revelation threw him into a panic for a second. He stared around wildly, looking for some kind of explanation about why his friends name had been wiped from existence. He couldn't allow such a thing to happen, he wouldn't. He checked the name again, just to be sure that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. On closer inspection, he realised that this name was slightly further down the stone than his friends. He looked up the list and, sure enough, two names above was the one he was looking for. The two new names must have been freshly carved the day before, during the brief interval that he had not been sat at the stone. Such quick work was a reminder of the times that he lived in and the hardships that his village faced. He extended his index finger and traced the letters of the name that had been etched onto the stone's surface just two weeks before.
O-B-I-T-O U-C-H-I-H-A
This was the name of a true hero. Ever since they had returned from the Land of Rock, all of the talk had been about how great he, the young Kakashi Hatake had been. Obito's sacrifice had earned some words of sympathy and a place on the stone but for Kakashi that wasn't enough. Even the members of his own clan, save his parents who Kakashi had been too cowardly to speak to, had largely ignored his death and had focused on other matters that had emerged in the incident. It made Kakashi so angry just thinking about it and he had struggled to contain his feelings over the last fortnight.
He scraped away some of the dirt that had gathered near the bottom of the stone with his foot and sat cross legged on the floor. He sat and stared at the stone and allowed his mind to drift back to the memories that were now so precious.
"Obito! You're doing it wrong! I've showed you this so many times, how are you not getting it? Aren't the Uchiha clan supposed to be the best at using Fire Jutsu?"
The small boy with spikey brown hair glared back at his teammate, who was participating in his usual hobby of making fun of him. Of course, it was hard for him to measure up to such a prodigy and the fact that they were separated by rank only enforced his inferiority.
"I'll get it eventually, you're just putting too much pressure on me" Obito moaned, as he straightened himself up and prepared to try the jutsu again. "If Minato Sensei wasn't on a mission and teaching me this technique instead, I'd have learned it by now. You know what they say, a student is only as good as their teacher."
Kakashi shook his head and ignored Obito's attempt at being witty. He then observed Obito, in order to see exactly what was going wrong. He watched Obito make all of the hand seals in turn: Rat – Tiger – Dog – Ox – Rabbit – Tiger. That was it, one of his fingers wasn't extended fully when making the Ox hand seal and because of this, the result was inevitable: several small spits of fire was all that he could manage.
"Since when were you under the impression that the Ox seal involved a crooked finger?" Kakashi mocked. "You're supposed to do it like this."
Kakashi then went from the Dog to Ox seal effortlessly and at speeds far quicker than Obito could manage. Obito pouted once again, which caused Kakashi to sigh in frustration. Obito's performance reflected directly on him, so he had to make sure that his teammate got this right.
"Alright, I'll show you a trick that helps to swap between these two hand seals" Kakashi muttered, before sitting Obito down to talk him through the process. It took half an hour and a lot of frustration but it finally looked like he could do it.
"Now, try it again" Kakashi said, as he studied Obito's technique. The young Uchiha made the seals slowly but perfectly and dramatically paused at the final tiger seal. A cocky smirk appeared on his face as he prepared to unleash his attack.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
A small array of fireballs flew out across the lake, creating a dazzling display above the water. After it was over, Obito ran over to Kakashi with unbridled joy.
"Thanks Kakashi, you're the best friend ever!" he yelled without thinking, as he jumped all over his stern faced teammate like a toddler. It was enough to knock the small Chunnin to the ground and he responded with his typical serious attitude.
"Before getting too excited, you might want to take care of that" Kakashi declared, as he pointed towards the tree on the opposite side of the lake that had caught fire. Obito yelled out in alarm and comically ran over to the burning tree, which was being quickly reduced to ashes. Kakashi simply watched the hapless Genin desperately try to put out the fire with handfuls of water, apparently forgetting about the basic water jutsu that Kakashi had taught him the day before.
"Kakashi, help me!" Obito yelled, as his efforts had no effect on the growing fire.
"I don't have time to clean up your mess Obito" Kakashi shouted back, as he turned around. "I need to go meet the Hokage, so you can deal with this on your own.
Kakashi listened to the various curses and taunts that Obito sent his way and would usually yell back in the situation. However, this time he allowed a small smile to appear on his face for the briefest of moments.
"Best friend, huh?"
"Hey Kakashi, are you listening to me?"
Kakashi quickly wiped the tear from his eye and turned to see who had disturbed his private vigil. Standing above him wearing a sympathetic smile was his teacher, Minato Namikaze. It was hard for any man not to be slightly jealous of Minato, what with his boyish good looks, which was typified by his stylish blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. When combined with the fact that he was possibly the Leaf Village's strongest Shinobi and the rumours that he was going to be named as the Fourth Hokage, it wasn't difficult to figure out where the envy came from. Yet, there wasn't anyone that was jealous of the situation he had been put in after his last mission. Losing one of your students is one of the toughest things you can go through, especially when you had trained them since they had graduated from the academy. On top of that, he had to deal with an incredibly delicate political issue.
"Sorry Sensei, I think that I missed that" Kakashi replied, while trying to sound as casual as possible.
Minato gave Kakashi a bemused look when he fully turned his face and stared quizzically at Kakashi's eye.
"You put your headband over your left eye?" Minato asked, having been unaware of this development up until that moment.
"I couldn't wear a bandage forever and I have to wear this anyway, so…" Kakashi responded, assuming that the rest of his statement was obvious.
"It's a good idea but I don't think that covering that eye will help much today" Minato sighed, as he checked the time. "Speaking of which, you have to be at the Hokage's office in 15 minutes. Were you planning on making your way over there any time soon?"
Kakashi's guilty look spoke a thousand words and Minato had his answer.
"Well being late won't help you at all, so I'll come with you ok?" Minato suggested, acting as if Kakashi had a choice in the matter.
Minato helped Kakashi up and the two set off for the Hokage's office, although Kakashi snuck one last look back at the memorial stone as they went. As they walked through the village, Minato turned to Kakashi.
"So, you doing ok?" he asked, trying not to sound too concerned. He also made sure to avoid any specific questions about Obito, as that particular topic had been discussed enough already.
"There's been a little pain in my eye, I think I'll ask Rin to take a look at it later" Kakashi replied, while placing his hand on his headband without thinking. "Apart from that, the only thing that's been bothering me is this."
Kakashi thought that it was best not to lie to his teacher, who would have seen through any excuse he could make up anyway. There was no denying that the upcoming meeting was all that he could think about and its importance could not be understated.
"Yeah, it's been bothering me as well" Minato admitted, as he put his arm around Kakashi reassuringly. Usually, the young Jonin would have disapproved of such a thing but a parental like figure was what he needed at that moment. They walked the rest of the way without saying anything else and the tension was palpable as they climbed the stairs to the Hokage's office. Surprisingly, a timid, brown haired Kunoichi who was playing with her fingers nervously greeted them at the top.
"Rin?" Kakashi asked, which startled the young girl.
"Kakashi!" she said, her eyes lighting up at the very sight of her teammate. They hadn't seen each other too much over the past two weeks, which made Rin's relief at seeing Kakashi understandable. "I came here to support you."
Kakashi grinned back at her, although it was impossible for her to see this through his mask.
"Thanks for the offer, but I can only take one person in" Kakashi explained, before looking back at Minato to emphasise his choice.
"Oh, I know" Rin replied, trying to keep her voice sounding optimistic. "I just wanted you to know that I'll be rooting for you out here."
She then rushed over to Kakashi and gave him an awkward looking hug. He attempted to return the sentiment but his lack of emotional contact became painfully obvious at that moment, so he settled for simply patting her back.
"All right Kakashi" Minato said, with a slight hint of teasing in his voice. "We need to get serious now, this meeting is important."
Minato knocked on the door and pulled Kakashi in front of him. A voice called out with permission to enter, so Kakashi slowly opened the door and tentatively stepped inside. The room was deceptively large and spread out across an oval shape. Several bookcases adorned the walls and a simple desk sat in front of a window that covered the entire back wall. Two men were already inside, with one sat behind the desk and the other stood off to the side. The younger man wore a standard Leaf uniform and had black hair that reached the bottom of his neck. He kept his head down and ignored the two new arrivals.
"Kakashi, Minato welcome to you both" the old man behind the desk said seriously. Of course, he wasn't just any ordinary man. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Third Hokage and was one of the most respected men to have ever walked the earth. His wrinkled face and greying hair gave off the impression that he was just a frail old man but his red and white uniform gave off a different impression altogether. He took his job incredibly seriously and at times he could be very frightening.
"We should just dispense with the formalities and get straight to the point" the younger man said, as he finally looked up. His jet black eyes stared right at Kakashi in a threatening way that left him with in no doubt about what way he was going to argue.
"Of course Fugaku, we don't want to drag this out" Hiruzen replied, as he adjusted the set of papers in front of him. "Kakashi, there has been an official request from the Uchiha clan that you forfeit the Sharingan in your left eye."
Kakashi had been expecting this before he had even returned to the village. Like the Hyuga, the Uchiha clan were very protective over their kekkei genkai and wouldn't be very happy about an outsider gaining their power.
"I respectfully decline this request" Kakashi replied, having rehearsed the line in his head.
"You little brat" Fugaku spat, as he walked over to Kakashi menacingly. All pretence of civility was dropped at that moment and Fugaku seemed intent on intimidating the young Jonin. "You think you have any choice in the matter? That power belongs to the Uchiha and the Uchiha alone."
"Fugaku" Hiruzen growled, in an attempt to restrain the angered Uchiha. Fugaku quickly spun around at the mention of his name and looked to appeal to the Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, you know how important this is to us," Fugaku said. "Allowing such a thing would be a disgrace to our clan!"
"I'm not giving up Obito's eye" Kakashi declared, as he stared back at the Uchiha clan's leader. "This was his gift to me and I would rather die than surrender it to a clan that didn't even care about him."
"You dare to say that, when you know how his parents have grieved" Fugaku responded, while unsuccessfully trying to add a hint of emotion to his voice. "Besides, you are in no position to talk. "I heard that you were willing to let him go into that cave alone, before getting your eye cut. Then, it was your negligence that caused his death. How do we know that you didn't just rip that eye out of his head?"
There was the sound of movement and a flash of yellow zoomed through the air. Minato was stood just centimetres from Fugaku, who had his Sharingan activated. Their faces were almost touching and pure rage could be felt in the air.
"Don't talk about something that you know nothing about," Minato growled, as he clenched his fist so tightly it shook. "Say another word along those lines and I'll make sure that you regret it."
Very few people had ever seen Minato like this and most would be surprised that he had an aggressive side. However, you can't take out divisions of Shinobi by yourself and earn a "flee on sight" order without showing some aggression.
"You shouldn't get so far ahead of yourself, Minato" Fugaku whispered. "After all, the Uchiha are feared in all five great nations for a reason."
"That's enough!" Hiruzen yelled, as he decided to regain control of the situation. "Fugaku, I've decided that if Kakashi doesn't want to give up the eye then I won't make him."
"What, Lord Hokage!" Fugaku began, before being stopped by Hiruzen.
"The Sharingan belongs to the individual and not the clan," Hiruzen said, as he made a note on his paper. "Obito willingly gave his Sharingan to Kakashi, so it belongs to him now and that's all there is to it. I know how you feel, but I don't want to start a precedent for something like this."
Fugaku scowled and turned away from the Hokage. He marched towards the door and pulled it open with so much force that it was a surprise that it didn't come off its hinges.
"Oh well, it's not like it matters" Fugaku said, as he paused in the doorway. "You don't know how to use the Sharingan properly and we won't be teaching you. As you're not one of us, all that eye will be is a massive drain of your chakra with no upside. Yeah, this is going to be a good thing the more I think of it. It'll make everyone think twice before trying to take an eye from us again."
With that Fugaku stormed down the hall, making as much noise as possible. Minato continued to glare at the doorway for a few seconds afterwards, before turning to Hiruzen.
"I think you made the correct decision, sir" Minato said, returning to his usual polite self.
"Maybe, but all decisions have a downside. I certainly haven't helped to improve relations with the Uchiha clan. You'll have to learn to trod carefully around that particular clan Minato" Hiruzen sighed, as he shook his head regretfully. "Anyway, before you two go I have your next mission here."
Hiruzen held out a manila coloured folder, expecting either Minato or Kakashi to take it. However, there was nothing but an awkward pause as master and student stared back at each other. Hiruzen noted the exchange and had a confused look of his own.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's just that, it's only been two weeks since it happened. Kakashi might need more time to-"
"No, it's fine" Kakashi interjected, cutting off his Sensei. "Life and missions still go on, Obito wouldn't have wanted me to waste my time moping around. So, what's this about?"
"Read the folder and find out" Hiruzen replied blandly, to Kakashi's embarrassment. Minato took the folder and he and Kakashi read it together. After a minute or so, Kakashi looked up.
"So, we have to round up the Hidden Stone Shinobi that have infiltrated the Land of Fire. Seems straight forward enough. Actually, Minato Sensei probably could have done this himself."
"Possibly, but there's no need to take risks now that we have the upper hand in this war" Hiruzen croaked. "Besides, I did take your situation into account and I thought that an easier mission would be best."
"We'll leave tomorrow," Minato said, before leading Kakashi out of the door. As expected, Rin was standing right out side looking anxious.
"So, what happened?" she pleaded, all of her earlier composure apparently lost. "I heard that man angrily taunting you as he left and I didn't know what to think. I was going to ask him what happened but he seemed scary so I didn't. Then you didn't come out for so long and I didn't know what to think and-"
"It's ok Rin" Kakashi said reassuringly, as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I can keep Obito's eye."
Rin started to tear up, which made Kakashi nervous that another hug might be forthcoming. In order to divert her attention, Kakashi grabbed the folder from Minato and began explaining the mission to Rin.
"I understand" Rin said, as she finished reading the document. "Hey, it says here that this mission is for four Shinobi."
"That's right" Minato confirmed. "I have a pretty good idea who the fourth member is going to be as well, I'll go and meet with him after we leave here."
Minato and Rin both looked over at Kakashi, fearing what his reaction to this turn of events would be. He looked over at Minato, before making what appeared to be a smile.
"Sounds like a good idea. So, what time do we meet in the morning?"
"I should probably get going" Kakashi thought, while staring mindlessly at the perfectly crafted stone once more. As he turned to leave, he noticed the small crack on the goggles again and he scolded himself for not repairing them the day before like he had said he would. He had gone to the memorial stone earlier than usual, but he was going to end up being late meeting his team.
Kakashi walked through the streets of the Leaf Village rather nonchalantly, not really too concerned that he was late. He'd started appreciating the world around him much more, as the recent reminder of his own mortality had put him on edge. He even made the effort to greet some acquaintances of his on the way, giving a friendly wave to anyone whose face he vaguely recognised. Eventually, he reached the gate to the village and found three Shinobi waiting for him. Minato Sensei and Rin were facing forwards and looking at him disapprovingly while the mystery third person was checking his backpack with his back turned.
"Care to explain why you're an hour late?" Minato asked, although there was a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Need to think of an excuse" Kakashi thought, as he didn't want them to know that he had been at the memorial for so long. "Damn, nothing comes to mind. How did Obito do this so often? As long as I say something, it'll be alright."
"A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long route?" Kakashi said, putting the statement out there to see what the reaction would be. It brought a small giggle from Rin and a wry smile from Minato. For the briefest of moments, Team Minato was complete again and it brought a warm feeling in Kakashi's heart.
"Before we set off, I'll get the final introduction out of the way," Minato said. "Kakashi, this is Might Gai."
As soon as Minato had finished speaking, the other Shinobi in the group jumped up and spun around. Kakashi hadn't noticed it before, but the boy appeared to be wearing a green jumpsuit underneath his Leaf Village vest. His shining black hair was cut in a bowl shape and the light gleamed off of his perfectly white teeth that he revealed when he smiled.
"Kakashi Hatake" Gai boomed, his voice sounding unnatural and overly dramatic. "I've heard so much about you, I'm excited to see what you can do. You're the son of the White Fang and the first person to successfully transplant a Sharingan. You've built quite a successful reputation."
Minato and Rin both shifted uncomfortably and once again their eyes turned to Kakashi. Not only did Gai bring up Obito's death, he mentioned Kakashi's late father. Bringing up both of those taboo subjects would surely bring a hostile reaction from Kakashi.
"Nice to meet you" Kakashi said, as he shook Gai's hand. "I can't say that I've heard of you, but I look forward to working with you as well."
Encouraged by Kakashi's new attitude, Minato explained the mission in more detail. They decided on a basic formation that they would use while travelling, with Kakashi at the front and Minato at the back. The rolls would usually be reversed but Kakashi's compromised vision left him more vulnerable from behind. With everything prepared, the team set off and began walking through the forest. For the first part of the journey, the team were travelling on a dusty path in the middle of the trees, which was quite clearly safe territory. With a minimal amount of work to do, Gai soon became bored and struck up a conversation with Kakashi.
"So what age were you made a Chunnin?"
"6"
"Unbelievable, that's so young! What's the most amount of enemies that you've defeated at the same time?"
"No idea."
"Too many to count, huh? I understand, some times the power of youth just takes control and you don't have time for things like that. How many jutsu do you know?"
"Erm-"
This line of questioning continued until it became dark. Kakashi's late arrival meant that night had fallen before they could reach their destination, so they were forced to set up camp. They chose a small field in the middle of the forest, which gave them a clear view all around them. After several small tents were set up, rain began to fall hard. While this seemed to slightly annoy everyone else, Gai was delighted about the change in weather.
"Spar with me Kakashi!" he declared, to the shock of everyone gathered.
"What? You want to spar now of all times?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes! The rain is making me cold and the best way to heat me up is to take advantage of my hot blooded youth and spar with you right now!"
Before Kakashi could even formulate a response, Minato began chuckling.
"Just do it Kakashi," he said, before biting his thumb to draw blood. "Although, don't go all out and stay close by. I'll be just over there, I need to send a message to Jiraiya Sensei."
Reluctantly, Kakashi went with Gai and moved away from the camp. Rin put on a waterproof jacket and went with them, although she only did so to watch.
"Before we start, move your headband from over your eye" Gai asked, as he adopted a fighting stance. "I want as big of a challenge as possible and fighting against the Sharingan is the best I can think of."
Kakashi had intended to argue against this, but changed his mind just before he spoke. Despite Rin's best efforts, Obito's eye had been bothering him over the last few hours and this gave him the perfect excuse to unleash it.
"Alright, lets go" Kakashi yelled, after he unleashed his special eye.
The main thing he took away from his first ever battle with Gai was speed. He hadn't expected such a blistering attack from such a strange looking boy and he could tell from the way that the air moved around his arm that he had strength to back up his pace. Given his small stature, Taijutsu had always been a weakness of Kakashi's and he felt it being brutally exposed during the fight. He didn't think that he'd be able to avoid Gai's dangerous attacks at first. He couldn't explain how but his brain seemed to know where Gai would strike and when. He was able to both dodge and parry each blow and was even able to start getting some counter attacks in. The rain became heavier as the battle raged on and flashes of lightning dramatically lit the area. Kakashi found that he was even enjoying himself and that Gai was a suitable challenge.
"Go Kakashi!" Rin yelled excitedly.
Kakashi looked over at his teammate for a second and had an incredibly strange and panicked feeling. He didn't know why but he did know that she was in imminent danger. He pivoted past Gai and hurriedly made hand seals as he ran at full pace towards Rin. As he neared her, a giant bolt of lightning screamed down from the clouds heading straight for her. The sound of birds chirping echoed across the field as Kakashi jumped into the air above Rin and kicked her out of the way. Then, before the lightning could strike him Kakashi swung his Chidori at the deadly wave of electricity and cut it completely. The next second felt like a crazy dream as he contemplated what had just happened. Everything moved in slow motion as he eventually landed on the ground and watched as the rest of the team ran over to him. He felt many pats on his back coming from different sources and the image of the beaming faces of Minato Sensei and Rin stook in his mind for years afterwards. He could even hear Gai shouting about rivals or something similar, although he ignored it at the time. All he did was stare at his right hand in wide-eyed shock.
"So, this is what the Sharingan can do."
The next morning, the team was ready to start moving again. The cheerful banter from the night before had all but evaporated, as the seriousness of the mission loomed large over them.
"All right Kakashi" Minato began, after doing one last check of their equipment. "Summon your ninja hounds so we can get an exact location for the enemy. They shouldn't be far, so the search shouldn't take too long."
As Kakashi bit into his finger and made the required hand seals, he could hear Gai commenting on how awesome a summoning contract was and that he was going to get one as soon as they got back to the village. A few seconds later, a small group of dogs of various shapes and sizes assembled in front of Kakashi.
"Aw, look at this one!" Rin said excitedly. "He's so adorable, just look at those tiny paws!"
Rin went to stroke the smallest dog of the group, who was covered in brown fur and wearing a Leaf Village headband. Judging by his appearance, Rin guessed that it must have still been a puppy and would appreciate the attention.
"Kakashi, if she takes another step closer I will bite her" the puppy squeaked, to Rin's horror.
"Sorry about that Rin" Kakashi apologised, as he lead her away from the angered dog. "Pakkun doesn't really appreciate being called cute, he's got a bit of a complex when it comes to his appearance."
Kakashi then turned back and addressed his faithful summons.
"I want you all to follow any strange scents that you come across. We're looking for a group of roughly five men that should be situated around a riverbank. Once you've found them, I want you to report back to me immediately and guide us there. Now, scatter!"
The hounds did as they were told, and jumped off in different directions. After a few anxious minutes of waiting, Pakkun returned.
"It's this way," he said, before running into the forest. The rest of the team followed and were guided by the small dog for the next ten minutes.
Suddenly, Minato sensed a disturbance coming from the trees to his right. Kakashi and Rin felt it to and responded by stopping dead in their tracks. Unfortunately, Gai missed this and didn't realise that the others had stopped moving either. Consequently, he didn't notice the Shiruken that came from the trees until the last second and he didn't have time to defend himself. Fortunately, Kakashi had already moved and he sent Shiruken of his own to protect Gai. The team stood still for a second, surveying their surroundings and waiting for the second assault. Then, a mass of black shapes flew out from the trees and materialised around the team. A group of Shinobi wearing hooded black capes and strange looking masks had surrounded them with their weapons drawn.
"Just as we thought" Minato said, as he slowly reached into the pouch on his right hip. "An ambush from enemy ANBU, they knew that we would come for them so they positioned these guys away from the main group. Pakkun, how far is the main group from here?"
"1 km straight ahead" Pakkun replied, while shaking with fear. "If you don't mind Kakashi, I think that I'll go now."
Kakashi barely had a chance to give permission before Pakkun disappeared in a ball of white smoke.
"Kakashi, you know what to do" Minato whispered.
He then slammed a smoke bomb into the ground and created an impenetrable purple fog. Using the confusion that Minato had created, the three younger members of the team darted through the smoke and ran through the trees ahead of them. However, while such a trick would fool an average Genin it was not as effective against a group of elite ANBU. The faceless enemies darted towards them at speeds that made Gai look slow and closed the gap within seconds. However, before they could reach the team the two closest pursuers were kicked backwards with terrifying force and Minato stood on the tree branch that separated the ANBU from Kakashi's squad.
"Why are you guys in such a hurry to leave?" he asked, as he pulled one of his unique kunai's out of his weapons pouch. "After all, the real battle is right here."
Kakashi raised his hand after another five minutes of running and the team stopped dead in their tracks.
"They should be just up ahead, we need to be quiet from here on out" he said, before noticing Gai's uncomfortable expression. "What's wrong?"
"Shouldn't we go back to help Minato Sensei?" he asked. "We left him against 10 ANBU, that's like a death sentence."
Kakashi and Rin burst out laughing at that point, much to Gai's confusion.
"I wouldn't worry about that," Kakashi said.
"Yeah, the one's you should really be worrying about are the guys that have to go up against Minato Sensei" Rin added, before she looked over at Kakashi. "So, what's the plan?"
Kakashi surveyed the camp below him, looking to familiarise himself with their surroundings. There were three tents haphazardly set up on top of the small patch of grass next to the slow moving river. The patch of grass was narrow and was situated just in between the river and the edge of the forest. Kakashi was able to spot five separate Shinobi walking around the camp, all of which seemed to be male. Their clothes were scruffy, which reflected the state of the camp in general. It was obvious that they had been stranded there for an extended period of time and, judging from the way that they moved, Kakashi guessed that they had been forced to ration whatever amount of food they had left. He quickly checked Rin and Gai's positions, just to make sure that they were ready to go.
"Okay, this shouldn't be too difficult. They are weakened and unprepared, so hopefully we can wrap this up before Minato Sensei gets here."
Kakashi withdrew the special kunai that he kept in his rucksack and gripped it tightly. As he looked at the kunai for a second, Kakashi felt a small wave of regret. He had been given the gift just a day before Obito's death and all the oddly shaped metal and special sealing tag brought up were memories of how badly he treated his young teammate. However, he put that to the back of his mind for the moment, as he had something rather more important to focus on. After the enemy Shinobi had gathered in a group, Kakashi launched the kunai into the ground near them and quickly jumped in after it. Gai and Rin did the same, as the kunai was the signal to attack. They quickly surrounded the enemy, and raised their weapons ready to attack.
"Surrender now and there won't be any unneeded injury," Kakashi demanded confidently. He was sure that the enemy would do what they were told, given the circumstances they were in.
"They're just brats" the Shinobi nearest to Rin rasped bitterly. "It shows how little the Leaf really cares about bringing us in."
"What do we do?" another asked, as he desperately looked around the group. "We have a numerical advantage, but they are a lot fresher than we are. Could we really take them?"
"We don't have a choice" the first replied, as he reached for a weapon of his own. "We can't let them get the boss."
That was when Kakashi realised that he recognised one of the enemy. His messy brown hair combined with the fact that he was looking down had covered his face initially. However, when he looked up Kakashi was reminded of a report he had read a few months earlier. He couldn't remember the name but the man was definitely lifted as a Captain of the enemy's forces. Kakashi knew how far the enemy would go to protect such a valuable source of information and he found himself reassessing the entire situation. However, he didn't have much chance to do so, as Gai was knocked back almost immediately and a battle broke out. Kakashi knocked away the nearest combatant and quickly moved to block an attack aimed for Rin.
"Kakashi, I had that covered" Rin complained, as Kakashi moved himself in front of her. "You need to go, he's getting away!"
Kakashi had already noticed that the Captain was escaping by running down the river, but he didn't do anything about it. Rin was his priority, as he had a promise to keep.
"I won't abandon you again" Kakashi replied, as he continued to battle with the multiple enemies that came his way. 10 seconds later, three of the enemy were knocked off their feet and Gai emerged once more.
"I'll handle things here, go after him Kakashi" Gai yelled out, as he delivered a brutal kick to the face of the nearest Shinobi.
"But I-"
"Do you think this is what Obito wanted?" Rin cried out from behind Kakashi. "Do you think he wanted you to spend all of your free time at that memorial? Do you think that he wanted you to treat me like a Genin that doesn't know what she's doing? Kakashi, Obito wanted you to become a great Shinobi and that won't happen if you keep this up!"
After considering Rin's words for a second, Kakashi saw what an idiot he had been. He took off and ran down the river in pursuit of the Captain. It only took a minute or so to catch up and he jumped in front of his enemy to stop him in his tracks.
"Brave kid" the man croaked, while displaying a wicket smile. "Very brave indeed."
"Give up quietly and I'll let you live" Kakashi snapped, as he held his kunai up threateningly.
"It's too bad for you that we're on the water" was the reply, as the Captain began making seals. "I might not be all there physically, but my jutsu should be strong enough to take care of you."
There was a small disturbance in the water, which made Kakashi believe that the Captain had been bluffing. That view soon changed as the disturbance became a torrent that caused Kakashi to lose balance. Before he fell Kakashi jumped into the air. He desperately pulled the headband from his eye and adjusted the chakra that he sent to his feet. Once he landed again, he had regained his balance but was still in trouble. It was obvious that he was battling a water user and it would be difficult to use Chidori while trying to simply keep his balance.
"What's up with that eye of yours?" the Captain asked, while squinting at Kakashi. His sight appeared to be compromised, but it didn't help Kakashi's situation.
Before he could think of a strategy, Kakashi noticed that the Captain was making more seals. Despite not knowing that was coming, Kakashi decided to use the only water jutsu that could possibly help.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A giant mass of water leapt up from the surface and surrounded Kakashi. Luckily, this turned out to be a perfect counter to the attack as it blocked the several beams of water that had assaulted him.
"You got lucky with that one" the Captain mocked, before making yet more seals. "However, that jutsu won't be able to stop this!"
A huge vortex of water emerged and spiralled in front of the Captain. Without warning, the water surged towards Kakashi at breakneck speed and powered into him with tremendous force. The attack knocked him backwards by a few metres and it took Kakashi a huge amount of effort to stand up.
"If I was at my maximum, you'd be dead right now" the Captain roared, as he slowly made the same seals. "I'll give it you one more time, that should finish you off."
Kakashi stared back at the Captain completely dumbfounded. He had seen everything with perfectly clarity and remembered it perfectly. That jutsu that he had just witnessed, it was as if the Captain had given him a step-by-step guide in how to perform it exactly. How had he done that? After he asked himself that, he remembered something that Obito had told him a long time ago.
"The best thing about the Sharingan's copy ninjutsu is that you don't eve have to do anything! Once your Sharingan's active, you'll copy it automatically! I'm telling you, once I get my Sharingan I'll be able to beat you!"
He knew that he'd be able to replicate that jutsu now and quickly made the seals.
"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"
The Captain was horrified to see his jutsu being replicated and was shocked once again when the two vortexes' clashed in the centre of the river. Kakashi knew from the moment that they collided that he was going to emerge the victor. The Captain was weakened and low on chakra, so Kakashi's was the stronger of the two. Sure enough, Kakashi's attack powered through the Captain's resistance and engulfed him. Half a minute later and Kakashi was kneeling over his victim with a kunai to his throat.
"I see" the Captain mumbled as he saw Kakashi up close. "That eye of yours, that's how you did it. But you don't look like an Uchiha and you only have one Sharingan. Who are you?"
"His name" a voice called out from the riverbank. Kakashi looked up to see Minato standing there with an enemy Shinobi on his back. "Is Kakashi Hatake and I expect that you won't forget that."
"Kakashi Hatake" the Captain whispered, as he began to slip into unconsciousness. "I'll be sure to let my troops know to beware of you, the boy that can copy all of their techniques."
In the world of the Shinobi, a sunrise can reveal many secrets. On this particular morning, as the sun shone over the Hidden Leaf village, just one boy was revealed and he was definitely not a secret. Kakashi found himself standing in front of the memorial stone once again, holding a pair of cracked orange goggles in his right hand. There were no flowers in front of the stone this time and no tears were being shed. Kakashi simply stood there, staring at the stone in silence.
"You always said that you would be a famous ninja once your Sharingan awakened" Kakashi said, speaking directly at the stone. "Well, don't worry I'm working on that for you. I'm sorry about the goggles, I guess I left it too long to get them repaired. They probably need a new lens altogether now. I'll keep them in a safe place from now on though, you can count on that."
Kakashi's monologue was interrupted by the sound of many voices shouting. He looked back to see three figures waiting for him, his team deciding that it would be much quicker to come to him.
"Well, looks like I have to go. Sorry for leaving so early, but you know how pushy Minato Sensei can be about the time. I'll see you the same time tomorrow, I promise."
Kakashi hurriedly placed the goggles in his backpack and headed over to his team. Together, they walked towards the Hokage's office to get their next mission.
"Kakashi, I'll race you there!" Gai yelled, as he ran off before hearing Kakashi's tired rejection of this challenge.
"Hey, I thought I told you to stop spending so much time there" Rin said, as she gave Kakashi a half joking disapproving look. "You know that's now what Obito would want."
Kakashi smiled at this, although Rin couldn't see it underneath his mask.
"Since when did I do things only to please him?" Kakashi said, as his mind drifted towards those orange goggles once again.
"Maybe I'll leave them unaltered," he thought. "After all, I still don't have the time to clean up your mess Obito."