Book III: Tsunade
Tsunade was starting to get worried. She didn't want to admit it or think about it too much because there was no reason to worry! The mission she'd sent Kakashi on was a difficult one, but it was the subterfuge, political delicacy, confidentiality, and time-consuming nature of it that made it S-rank. It really wasn't a particularly dangerous assignment in a life-threatening kind of way, especially not for someone as skilled as the Jounin. Damn it! So, why was she worried?!
She felt her eye twitching as she clenched her fists at her sides and glared at the irascible stubborn young man glaring right back at her. And why the hell was that impudent little brat exacerbating the situation?! There was no fucking reason to worry! Her conviction and faith in Kakashi had to remain unwavering. She was the Hokage! She could not give in to this irrational bout of concern for a man that could easily replace her simply because the thick-headed blonde demon standing in her office wouldn't stop staring at her with the weight of the world burning behind his eyes!
Shizune's interruption was a godsend, both for her building temper and for the safety of her office structure in general. Naruto wasn't going to leave this time without the both of them dishing out some serious collateral damage. She barked out some ridiculous order and turned on her heel to read the paper Shizune had handed her, focusing on the words just to try to distract herself. She wasn't going to be able to hold out against Naruto's demands much longer, not when he was this frightened. He was far too attached to that man. It was unhealthy.
The header at the top of the page was what made her heart stop. The Tea Country Daimyo's seal? Her eyes flew over the paper, reading just enough to get her heart stumbling into a gut-wrenchingly painful sprint. It was an autopsy and interrogation summary, the mission had been a complete success. Where was Kakashi?! All but a small group of underlings had been apprehended. Where was Kakashi?! An apology for the report taking a week to get there, but there had been an unanticipated delay concerning the unidentified men found at the scene. Where was Kakashi?!
The brief autopsy report at the bottom made her want to vomit, but it had nothing to do with the curt details of how the unknown men had died. It had everything to do with what they'd had in their possession, and where they had apparently come from. The saboteurs she'd sent him to deal with used poison as their mainstay, but it was all derived from ingredients local to that area. That was why she'd been able to make a basic antidote that would secure his safety across the border!
An antidote that was not designed to be used in conjunction with any of the poisons found West of the Land of Fire! The possibility of him still being alive with the effects of combining those pills and that poison were-
...oh my god, what have I done?!... She'd killed Kakashi! She'd sent him out there to die just like Jiraiya! He was taking that 'medicine', and she was putting him through a slow agonizing death! It was her fault! By her own hands! And there was no way of finding him in time if he was still-
"Baa-chan!" Naruto's voice pleaded furiously behind her, snapping her out of her spiraling panic.
She stared wide-eyed at the reflection in the glass window, gold eyes over her shoulder radiating strength and an unbreakable will. If anyone could do it, he could, and she latched onto that hope with all the force she had in her being.
"Naruto!" Tsunade barked, steeling herself for whatever outcome would land on her doorstep in the next few days. "I'm sending you Southeast, toward the Tea Country peninsula."
"What?! I'm not leavi-"
"Head South, damn you!" She spun around, the sting of tears in her enraged eyes and an edge of desperation to her voice that she couldn't suppress. "Find that fool and bring him back alive!"
He stared at her with wide eyes, momentarily as still as a frozen pond. Then it was like a wildfire ignited from within him, consuming him completely in a flash of golden light as he vanished. Tsunade rubbed her arms and glanced at Shizune, her skin tingling at the force of all that chakra.
"Sakura's working on it," Shizune said, scratching at her own arms unconsciously. "They sent a sample of the poison with the main report, which should be completely decoded within the hour for you."
"Good," she nodded, sinking down into her chair and reading the summary with more attention. "Have Hiroshi's team on standby in the hospital for her use. Also, send out an ANBU squad to retrieve the bodies the Tea Country has in storage for us, we need to get them here for our own examination as soon as possible."
Shizune left quickly, and Tsunade pulled out a stack of clean paper from a drawer in her desk. The summary had called the unknown men smugglers, negotiating an agreement to use a sea port for their business. She knew she'd get more detail from the main report, but she had a very good idea as to what they were planning on smuggling. Picking up her pen, she began writing out the first draft of the letter she would send to Iwa and Suna the moment those bodies were in her possession.
It would undoubtedly take her several drafts before she had the wording perfect, and it had to be perfect. She would not be denied her 'request' to get involved in the efforts of the Kazekage and Tsuchikage to take down the human trade ring plaguing them. Not when the filthy bastards were threatening to pull that shit on her turf!