Chapter Four:

Kakashi opened his right eye under the mask when a faint noise reached his trained ears. It was a moonless night and he was sitting on the flat rooftop of a local inn with his back against the low concrete block running along the circumference of the housetop for safety measures. He turned around and got to his knees to peer down the side of the three story high building. The small town was asleep, and no light came from any of the buildings. Then a figure slipped quietly out of a window on the second floor, and with only a short pause to close the window again, he leapt onto the nearest roof. Kakashi ducked under the wall to remain hidden, and then after a moment or two, he cautiously raised himself on his arms. The presence of the man who was leaping away over the roofs belonged to Kiyoshi without mistake.

Kakashi jumped lightly over the concrete block and stopped quickly beside the window Kiyoshi had just come out of. Gathering the chakra to his hands and feet, he came to a halt and glanced inside. The three Genin were still sleeping soundly, and he couldn't feel the presence of any clones, so he leapt away from the wall and onto the roofs.

He brought his thumb up under his mask and he bit the skin open. Flicking through a set of hand seals, he paused for a brief moment on a slanting roof to bring his hand onto the surface. Kuchiyose no jutsu. From a small puff of smoke appeared a lean, brown dog wearing a Konoha hitai-ate around his neck.

"My blood's scent should be on his vest," Kakashi said quietly to the dog. "It's faint, but it should be there. Can you pick it up?" The dog parted his lips to bear his sharp teeth and roll out his tongue. He gave an assenting nod and led the way. Tora, the dog, was probably the one with the sharpest nose for picking up very faint and distant smells. Kakashi knew that Pakkun had roughly an equal skill to Tora, but the young Pakkun was too loud and obnoxious of late, ever since he had discovered that he could talk several months ago.

During the trip to the Land of Salt, Kakashi had dripped a few droplets of blood onto Kiyoshi's vest when he had been preoccupied. The blood had landed on the red swirl at the back of vest, and would be difficult to detect by anyone. He hadn't expected that Kiyoshi would do nothing during the mission. If the suspicion the high ranking shinobi had on him hadn't been more than a trifling guess, they wouldn't have assigned the mission to the ANBU.

Kakashi followed Tora out of the village, and as he stared at the dog, he recalled his first summoning. Shortly after Obito's death and his rehabilitation, he had gone to the old and empty Hatake household. There he had found various scrolls that his father had left, the Hakkou Chakra Tou, and the Dog Summoning contract scroll.

(Flashback)

Yuki walked through the training grounds and approached the river bank where he found Kakashi sitting on a flat boulder by the water. He turned around as Yuki neared him. He had a day off from work, and instead of his ANBU uniform, he wore a casual shirt bearing the Uchiha symbol, and loose, Jounin trousers.

"It's quite unusual for you to call me out," Yuki said. "Something the matter?"

"I want you to teach me something," he replied. Yuki raised a questioning brow. Kakashi stood up and pulled out a fairly large scroll, which Yuki recognised immediately.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu, is it?"

Kakashi nodded. Yuki sighed and took the scroll. He undid the thin strings and rolled it out on the ground. There were numerous names already written, and his gaze lingered on the very last, Hatake Sakumo.

"You probably already know the theory behind it, and you've seen Kazuma-san and I perform it a number of times, but basically, you're summoning the chosen species of animals from another dimension. In order to do that, you have to first sign the contract by writing your name in the next open slot with your blood and your hand's finger prints at the bottom. Then the seals are boar, dog, bird, monkey, sheep. Bring a large amount of controlled chakra to the hand you signed with, and it should work, in theory."

Kakashi finished writing his name and pressed his fingers onto the paper. Then silently, he went through the seals and brought his hand down on the ground. Dark patterns and symbols slithered along the ground from his hands and a puff of smoke rose into the air. Kuchiyose no jutsu. When he took his hand away and the smoke disappeared, a very small, brown dog was laying in a bundle with its nose below its chubby body.

"A…bulldog puppy?" Yuki mumbled, not bothering to hide the heavy doubt in his voice.

"If one can even call it a newborn of the canine species," Kakashi added.

The creature in question flailed its legs a little and managed to roll over onto its side, from where it proceeded to sit up. Its extremely short, almost nonexistent, muzzle was a few shades darker than the rest of the body, and so were the hanging ears that looked too big for the small stature. It was difficult to even tell where the short legs were located. It looked up at Kakashi and Yuki with large, drooping eyes.

There was suddenly a second pop accompanied with a thin puff of smoke and a second dog appeared, and one that actually looked like one. Standing tall on long, stable legs, the short haired, black dog stepped out of the smoke and approached them.

"Ah…Kuronushi," Yuki said with recognition. The dog looked up and fixed his eyes on Yuki.

"Oh it's you," it said without much joy. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me it was you who called Pakkun out. You already have those annoying ducks."

Yuki chose to ignore the last sentence. "No, it wasn't me; it was him" he responded, nodding towards Kakashi. Kuronushi's eyes went to Kakashi and they widened a little, and then narrowed again.

"A Hatake," he said. Yuki nodded. "Sakumo's kid?" Again, Yuki nodded. "Well, I've been ordered to baby-sit Pakkun, so that's why I've come. Sorry to break it to you, but he's not ready to work yet, and I've decided that I'm not going to assist anyone for a few generations, unless it's an absolute emergency of course. So I'm going to be taking him back."

The puppy, apparently named Pakkun, seemed to have just discovered Kuronushi, and he turned around with a yip and a yap, and then stumbled onto his nose again when he tried to jump forward. Kuronushi gave an audible sigh and stooped down to pick up the pup by the scruff of the neck.

"I'll inform Boss about you, as the new user of us Dogs," he said as he turned around. "I'm sure there are some youngsters who are itching to get out here." With that, he disappeared in another rise of white smoke.

"You know the black one?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, he was one of Sakumo-san's most loyal companions," Yuki replied. "But you really are a genius. It took me several tries to summon something more than an egg, you know?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Kakashi mumbled under his breath. Yuki's eye twitched.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Hatake, stop playing innocent."

"If I had the time to play, then life would be much more relaxing, Yuki-san."

"…Cocky, big mouthed brat."

"Thoughtless, overgrown child."

(End Flashback)

The memory cut off at that moment and Kakashi had to take a short moment to try and recall what exactly had happened after that last remark he had made. Then it came back to him: Yuki had tried to wage a duck war against him.

Kakashi snapped back from his thoughts as Tora stopped, poised in an alert position with one foreleg raised and his nose into the air. They had left behind the small town and were now near the peak of a small cliff where on the other side was a narrow canyon that would lead to the sea in several hundred metres. Kakashi ascended the last few metres and staying close to the rocks, he peered into the dark canyon. Although he couldn't see very well, he could definitely feel Kiyoshi's presence radiating from below. He could also just make out the shape of a little hut in the gloom. Before he could move on, however, something moved and he withdrew back behind the cover of the rocks.

Presently, he saw Kiyoshi carrying something and rising the opposite canyon walls. Kakashi vaulted silently over the rocks and descended a little into the valley to make sure that it had been a hut. He landed in front of the shaggy shelter and noticed that someone had been using it recently. Without another thought, he leapt nimbly up the wall, following in Kiyoshi's footsteps and met up with Tora who was crouched low at the top. Unlike the other side, where the rocks slanted into a steep and jagged slope, it the ground was mostly level on this side, although there were many boulders and ragged rocks that jutted out from the surface, serving as the covers that he needed at the moment.

He ran from boulder to boulder until he caught up with Kiyoshi roughly a hundred metres from the canyon. The sound of waves crashing against rocks rose clearly and the smell of salt grew increasingly stronger. Kakashi held out a hand to signal Tora to slow down, and he stopped at the last cover, pressing his back against the rough rock surface. He peered beyond it and saw Kiyoshi at the edge the cliff, tying heavy stones to an unconscious person, who Kakashi recognised as the criminal they were meant to hunt down. He did nothing as he watched Kiyoshi attach several more weights, and then shove the thief off the edge.

"Forgive me, friend," Kiyoshi muttered aloud as he watched the drugged man plummeting into the distant water. Simply falling from the height and hitting the water could kill a person. "For my sake, you need to die here and now."

"What are you up to?"

Kiyoshi spun around at the sound of the soft voice that was only barely heard above the roar of the waves. His wide eyes fell on the lean figure only metres away from him. He recognised the uniform and mask immediately.

"What business does the ANBU have with me, so far from the village?" he asked politely, maintaining a casual demeanour.

Kakashi ignored his question. "You mission was to hand that criminal over to the authorities alive. And this is the Genins' mission; it is forbidden to do all the work for them. What are you up to?"

"Nothing," Kiyoshi replied calmly.

"There is nothing you can hide," Kakashi said. "Why did you kill him? Answer my question, Kiyoshi. I don't want to kill a fellow Konoha ninja for no reason."

Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes with irritation. Several thoughts ran through his head as he kept his silence. I was being watched the whole time. Why didn't I notice him? More importantly, this means that the village is suspicious of me. No matter, I could guess that would happen. The task at hand is to silence him. Surely the Hokage wouldn't send more than one ANBU to deal with a mere Jounin. Judging from his stature and voice, he's no older than a teenager. Their hearts are still naïve. If I can kill him, then my plan can continue without a problem. Killing a boy shouldn't be too difficult, even if he is an ANBU.

"I suppose I cannot play innocent as I have been caught red-handed," he said aloud, a small, mirthless grin curling his lips. "But you talk of fellow villagers. Fellow villagers! I find then detestable! They are all fools and liars. They betrayed me, and so now I'm going to betray them. They can feel how much it hurts. As a child and a young shinobi, they all said my way of thinking and morals were very similar, almost identical to that of Yukisaka Kazuma. My family and relatives, the teachers at the Academy, all the villagers; they compared me to Kazuma and praised me. They were not false morals that I portrayed, they were and still are my own thoughts and ideas. But Kazuma was chosen as the Fourth Hokage. I was not even considered! Why him and not me, if our train of thoughts ran along the same track? Why he and not I, when we could surely be compared in characteristics and intelligence levels?

"It had to do with strength and skill. That was what I lacked. But the villagers had lied to me! They said that I had the potential to become the Hokage as well! And when it was finally decided, they talked as if it was natural that Kazuma had been chosen and not me. They betrayed me. So I will leave the village and gain strength. And then I will return and will no doubt be given the seat of Hokage. But to achieve that, I must leave as if I had fallen in battle and return like a lost hero who had wandered the many countries and back to his homeland. I will be selected as the next Hokage. And you are the obstacle in my way."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, staring through his mask with one eye at the newly revealed man who had been the calm and wise teacher for the past few days. The resemblance to Kazuma was gone completely, as if it had never been there before. "I have heard your reasoning," he said quietly at last, "and have no regrets about killing you."

As the last word reached Kiyoshi's ears, Kakashi had disappeared from his sight and he felt the small trickle of a presence directly behind him. He spun around on his right foot and pushed away from the ground, the short katana held in the ANBU's hand slicing a line through is clothes along his upper arm. He landed several metres away from Kakashi and his hands flicked through hand seals. Doton: Chuchi Yagara no jutsu. Short, sharpened shafts of hardened soil pierced through the surface, flying out by multiples from random directions. Kakashi moved only a few paces from where he stood, wielding the katana in swift, controlled swings to block the arrows. Then seeing no possible end to this by simply dodging, he ran forward, nimbly making his way around and between the offensive weapons. When he came closer to Kiyoshi, near solid waves of the arrow shafts exploded from the ground from all sides. Gathering chakra to his feet, he leapt up at the last second, disappearing to the normal eye.

Kakashi came down behind his target, his blade already descending in a vertical slash. Kiyoshi swirled around just in time to raise a kunai to block the killing swipe. They disengaged quickly and Kakashi spun in a quick arc, bringing the katana in from the side, using the momentum to gain speed. Kiyoshi's kunai flew from his grip as it attempted to intercept the blow and he hastily created a further distance, which Kakashi closed in a few bounds.

Kiyoshi was thinking quickly as he slowed the ANBU down with the arrows shafts once again. When he had spun, he had clearly seen the silver hair. An ANBU so young and with silver hair and the rumours that had flared among the higher ninjas a while ago. If this ANBU is Hatake Kakashi…It was definitely worth a try.

Kakashi slipped past the earthen arrows quicker than the first try, and he avoided a greater wave of them that came to the side. He was taking too long, and he had every intention of killing Kiyoshi with the next strike. While still holding the sword in his right hand, he formed several seals and preformed the technique that he had recently finally perfected. Shunshin no jutsu.

"Stop, Kakashi."

The cold, sharp blade was resting lightly against the skin along Kiyoshi's neck. It quivered just a little, which was the only sign that revealed the slight shake of Kakashi's hand. He cursed himself as his one eye was fixed on Kiyoshi's face. The calm, stern voice and the subtle, but firm command, mirrored in his eyes, truly echoed Kazuma. Kakashi's grip tightened around the hilt and his teeth ground forcefully against each other. He was caught off guard when felt he felt an illusion wrap around him. He swiftly jumped back from Kiyoshi to see him smiling triumphantly.

"You see, I was never a combat specialist," he said smugly. Kakashi, try as he might, failed in dispelling the genjutsu; it had already gotten a hold of him. "My talents lay with illusions."

Kakashi's vision blurred for a moment, and when it cleared again, he saw Kazuma walk out from behind Kiyoshi. With the cliff to his back, Obito and Midori approached him from both sides. He didn't stop to wonder if it was possible to create people one didn't know in an illusion. He knew has a fact that as the illusions became more advanced and complex, a shinobi could use his opponent's mind and fear again them. Almost as one, his former team rushed at him: Midori with her wind, Obito with his fire and Kazuma with the Rasengan. His reflexes wouldn't allow him to simply stand still before the attacks, and his own techniques would be useless against illusionary opponents. He leapt above them, escaping into the air, but their voices reached him, calling him and saying things they had said in the past.

He hardly noticed the pain of being engulfed in a streak of fire from Kiyoshi and falling over the edge of the cliff. The air rushed against him as he fell and the illusion faded away from his fazed mind. He cursed himself again and his hands tightened in seething anger and humiliation while he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. A last thought crossed his mind before he plunged painfully into the water.

I am still…too weak.

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Translations:

Doton: Chuchi Yagara no jutsu: Chuchi is earth or soil. Yagara is the shaft of an arrow. Or something like that at least.

Thanks for reading!
.LinSetsu.