Chapter 2
Pain. It was the first thing Kakashi felt when he woke up. Slowly opening his eyes he tried to get a look at his surroundings. He found himself in a mid-sized room with nearly nothing in it. A light bulb dangled from the ceiling above him. Trying to look behind him he wanted to sit up but learned that he was unable to do it. His wrists and ankles were fastened to a table in the middle of the room. Even his head was strapped to it and the only thing he could look at was the wall in front of him. Searching for a way to escape he missed the sound of the door.
"So you're awake. Finally" a bored sounding voice said, startling the jounin. Kakashi's eyes jerked to his right. A man in his fifties came into his vision. He wore a white lab coat and hold a clipboard in his hands. "Who are you?" Kakashi asked and was confused. His voice sounded really strange. "Hmm, hmm...You don't have to know that. You're just a test subject" the man said. "Although I have to admit you are the perfect test subject for our purpose." He was scribbling something on his clipboard but Kakashi paid no attention. He was shocked by the words of the stranger. A test subject? "What do you mean? I am nobodies test subject!" He growled, glaring angrily at the man. "Sure you are. And now shut up. I have to think" the man answered absently. Kakashi wanted to say something else but was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. The stranger was rather startled too, so Kakashi assumed that this hat nothing to do with their 'research' The man quickly left the room, leaving Kakashi still strapped to the table.
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"What happened?" The scientist asked one of his comrades? "It's the Kyuubi! It is rampaging outside!" The shinobi answered. "What? But that means that they found us!" The scientist yelled fearfully. "It was your job to left no track behind. And you failed miserably! Do something about it!" Gulping, the other man nodded and ran outside, his comrades in tow. Spinning around the scientist returned to his lab. They needed to move this facility and to destroy everything they couldn't took with them. Shoving his research material in boxes he hurried from one end to the minutes later he grabbed a syringe with an anesthetic. Their test subject had to come with them. And to prevent the subject fussing around he would put it to sleep. Leaving his lab behind after ordering his assistants to move his things away, he stepped into the examining lab where they held their captive. Rounding the table he froze immediately at the sight of it and cursed inwardly. He shouldn't have left the test subject alone.
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Right after Naruto discovered Kakashi's location
"Good. Now we have to find a way to rescue him" Shikamaru said, already thinking about the best way to do so. "Hinata, are there some hidden entrances or natural weaknesses in the cave?" He asked the shy kunoichi. Activating her Byakugan again she searched for another way in. "There is a second entrance about 500 meters north. But it looked like it is used a lot. I don't think we can enter without being discovered" She reported. "300 meters away, at the north-west side of the hill, the cave is quite near to the outside. Maybe we could make there an entrance by force. It is just a storage room by the looks of it." "Okay, that is our way in. But we need a distraction to do so. Naruto, you and Gai-sensei will try to enter at the main entrance. Make it look as if Kurama breaks loose" he ordered the two. There was no way he let this two loudly shinobi enter a sneaking-mission. The both of them gave their standard answers. Satisfied he turned to Sai. "You and I will go to the second entrance and try a more silent way to enter. But we should show us really soon. This will be the second distraction. Meanwhile Yamato, Kiba, Hinata and Sakura: make an entrance and search for Kakashi. Try to find him fast and leave immediately after making sure he can be safely moved." Everyone nodded their approval and left to their destination.
Gai laid his hand at Naruto's shoulder and said: "Let's begin, Naruto. The mission of the rescue of my eternal rival!" "Yosh! Bushy-Eyebrow-sensei!" Naruto replied, running already at the entrance. Gai, for once being smart, yelled after him: "Stop, Naruto! They will discover us!" "Don't try to stop me! I will safe Kakashi-sensei, no matter what!" With this words he began to glow and just a moment later the boy wasn't there anymore. Instead there was a giant nine-tailed fox, using his tails to destroy as much as possible. Shinobi left the cave and attacked the fox in hope to push it away from the cave.
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At the second entrance, Shikamaru and Sai tried to sneak into the enemies base but were soon discovered. Shikamaru was pleased how smoothly this operation went. He could hear Naruto from the main entrance and he even thought hearing Gai yelling his dynamic entry. Since the two distractions were working so well he hoped the true sneaking-mission went well as well. Suddenly one of the enemies appeared in front of him and he stopped worrying about the others and fight back. He was glad that he doesn't have to face too many opponents.
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"This is he place" Hinata whispered after they arrived at the location to enter. "Good. I will make an entrance" Yamato whispered back ad stepped in front of the earth wall. Creating one of his mokuton-jutsus he broke through the earth and they stepped into the cave. Like Hinata said before it was a storage room. "We have to find Kakashi quickly. We shouldn't waste the distraction of the others." They could still hear the fight the fighting-squad of their group hold outside, although muffled by the earth. "Kiba, can you make out the place Kakashi's being hold?" "Yes. It's this way" Kiba answered and started moving.
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Kakashi heard the door close and had to admit that he was a bit scared. Strapped to a table, unable to move and no clue what happened to him he had no other option than to wait for something to happen. To distract himself he checked himself. He had earned many scratches and bruises all over his body but nothing too serious. But that was no surprise if they wanted to use him as a test subject. He still had no idea what made him so special for their research. While he thought about it he noticed the headache he had and mused he had a concussion. Closing his eyes he drifted back into unconsciousness. He wasn't aware of the rescue party that entered his room five minutes later, gasping at the shock of their sight.
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"What did they do to him?" Sakura asked after they found Kakashi. "Is this really Kakashi-sensei?" "I think so. Can he be moved, Sakura?" Yamato asked. Snapping out of her shocked state Sakura started to check Kakashi for serious injuries. Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru stand somewhere behind, looking bewildered as well. "I think it is safe to move him" Sakura reported after a few minutes, find nothing but minor scratches and bruises. "They wanted him alive so it was to be expected" Yamato responded and started to unfasten Kakashi's bonds. A moment later, Kakashi was free and Yamato swung him on his back. During the whole procedure Kakashi didn't stir. Running back the same way they came in they hurried to left this place. Since this cave was a maze it was good to have Kiba with them. He and Akamaru followed their scent back until they were back in the storage room. They were really lucky to not run into an enemy. But they are probably busy with Naruto and the others. Maybe it never hit them once that there was a third party in this rescue mission. They do not even consider it necessary to set up a guard in front of Kakashi's prison.
"Before we get out I want you to check if there is something in our way, Hinata" Yamato ordered, crouched against the wall. "Understood." A few minutes later Hinata said it was safe to leave. "How are we to inform the others that our mission was a success and that they can retreat?" Sakura asked Yamato. "I talked to Shikamaru about that before we separated. We could use a signal fire. But the enemy could easily guess what it means. So we thought about a more natural signal." He explained. The three younger nodded in agreement. "Akamaru. Can you howl like a wolf?" Yamato asked the nin-dog. Instead of a barked answer Akamaru lifted his head and howled, imitating a wolf so perfectly that it gave them goose bumps.
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Shikamaru heard Akamaru's howl and smiled satisfied. They had Kakashi back and it was time to retreat. Sai had heard it too and the two of them jumped away, retreating in the trees and rushing to the meeting point.
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Gai attacked his enemies forcefully and defeated one after the other. Soon their opponents stayed back and just guarded the entrance. They assumed that they wouldn't destroy the cave since they held Kakashi captive in there. "You are such cowards!" Gai shouted, trying to provoke them. He swirled around and took some of them down with one hit. Pathetic. "Is this the best you have?" Next to him, Naruto/Kurama were still destroying their surroundings, beating every now and then an unlucky enemy. The entire time the two of them growled angrily. Gai was used to Naruto doing that, but that Kurama felt that way too was new. Before the war he wasn't friendly with any of them. But now he got quite a liking of Naruto and the one dear to him. And that included Kakashi of course. Suddenly the giant fox stopped in his attacked and his head jerked to the north. Gai listened too and heard a triumphant howl. Grinning, Gai kicked his enemy in front of him and left the battleground immediately, shouting to Naruto to do the same.
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Their meeting point was five kilometers away. After everyone arrived they gathered around Kakashi and Sakura. The distraction teams were as shocked as the rescue team at first to see Kakashi in this state. Naruto was the first to found his voice again. "Sakura-chan, why does Kakashi-sensei look like a child?