Chapter Nine:
"Team Minato…" the Jounin mumbled, shuffling through loose papers and scrolls on a messy desk. His task was encumbered by bandages wrapped over one eye and his right arm in a sling. It was likely the only reason a Jounin in his prime was sitting at a desk handing out missions. "Ah, here we go. Kakashi, Obito and Midori, correct?"
"Hai," Kakashi replied.
The Jounin scanned through the scroll, a frown growing on his face. "It's a B rank mission. You're to retrieve a confidential scroll from a village in Lightning Country and deliver it to Wind Country."
Obito whistled quietly. "We're infiltrating enemy territory? Why don't they hire their own ninjas?"
"Uemura Village opposes the war."
The three turned to see the Hokage emerging from a door on the other side of the room. Hiruzen smiled in greeting and walked over to the desk where the Jounin handed him the scroll. With a brief glance at it, he continued. "As such, it is under strict surveillance by the Hidden Cloud Village."
"Meaning, the scroll is by no means just a friendly greeting card?" Midori surmised.
The Hokage nodded. "The client is an old acquaintance of mine. His name is Amano Masanori, a former provincial lord. He recently passed the position down to his son and retired to his hometown in the countryside."
"A retired old man involved in an underground anti-war movement?" Obito asked with a shade of skepticism.
Hiruzen hummed. "Sounds about right. But retired or not, Amano still holds influence over the Lightning daimyo. Whatever the scroll contains, it is crucial we deliver it."
"Where are these two villages?" Kakashi asked. The Jounin pulled out a scroll containing a large map and they stepped closer. Uemura was located in the northeast of Lightning Country and their destination was in the northern region of Wind Country.
"Amano expects you by sundown in two days," the Hokage said.
Obito grimaced. Infiltrating enemy lands was hard enough without a time limit, not to mention their route to Wind Country would skirt the conflict-ridden northern border as well as Earth Country.
"Is Minato-sensei coming with us?" Midori asked.
The Third shook his head. "He left late last night on an emergency mission. I wish we could have waited for his return, but there's no time. Your team is most suited for this mission. Use your appearances to your advantage. Avoid any battles. Hurry."
The three nodded and left with the scroll that would identify them to their client.
.-.-.-.
Kakashi, Obito and Midori left the administration building at a light jog, quickly discussing what equipment to bring.
"Hitai-ate," Obito said.
"Concealed," Midori responded. "Minimal weapons. No pouches."
"No vests," Kakashi added. "Rations. Soldiers pills."
Obito pretended to retch but went on. "Civilian clothes. Dark shades. Medical kit?"
Kakashi hesitated.
"I've got a miniature set that Rin gave me," Midori said.
Kakashi nodded. "We'll meet at the North gate in fifteen minutes."
The three split up. Kakashi pulled off his forehead protector as he entered his apartment and dropped it into the small nondescript bag he used for missions. He unstrapped the weapons pouch and unrolled the bandages around his lower legs before changing into navy shorts and pulling on a long-sleeved innerwear and a loose t-shirt. He strapped a kunai against both his upper arms, concealed beneath the t-shirt and, rolling up the innerwear sleeve, wrapped a length of wire around his forearms. Two shuriken were slipped into a thin compartment sliced on the bottom of his shoes. He left the vest lying on his bed and filled his bag with rations, pills, a water canteen and the scroll the Third had given them.
After a quick mental check, Kakashi left the apartment and headed for the North gates. As he was crossing the residential district over the roofs, he caught sight of Midori waving him down and joined her on the streets. She wore shorts that just covered her knees, and a black and brown shirt. Her hair was gathered in a loose ponytail that bumped against the back of her neck as they jogged on.
They turned a corner and ran into Obito emerging from the Uchiha district. He was wearing dark grey trousers, a black t-shirt and a backwards cap on his head.
"If you say a word about my goggles, I'm going to demand Kakashi take off his mask too," Obito said when Midori's eyes lingered on his trademark fashion.
She just shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "I've given up on those goggles and mask a long time ago."
The guards at the gate laughed and teased them as they passed through but saw them off with wishes of good luck.
The three Chuunin leapt up into the trees and set a hard pace. Yet, they hadn't gone thirty minutes when Kakashi felt a faint disturbance in the air and stretched his senses to observe their surroundings. There was no mistake, they were being followed.
"Two… No, three." Obito muttered quietly.
"Somebody's been slacking at border patrol," Midori grumbled. "What should we do?"
Kakashi fell silent without dropping their pace. They had no time to lose but their mission couldn't risk being followed either. "You two keep going. I'll – "
He ducked out of reflex, catching sight of something long and pale streaking over his head from the corner of his eyes. A chill ran down his spine as he realized there was someone up ahead – and he hadn't noticed. Without needing to voice the warning, Obito and Midori stopped abruptly on the next branch even as they heard a shriek ring out from behind them.
"So many rats these days."
They looked up to see a Jounin land on a branch front of them. Contrary to his words, his pale face broke out into a thin smile brimming with amusement. The shadows of several other shinobi flew past them to engage the enemy.
"Orochimaru-sama," Obito greeted, the surprise clear in his voice. No wonder they hadn't felt his presence.
The Sannin looked over the three with interest, a thin kuchiyose snake sliding leisurely across his shoulders. His smile widened, thinning his eyes. "Go along children. We'll take care of this."
They bowed quickly and continued on their way but Kakashi couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of being watched by those predatory eyes.
"Sannin or not, Orochimaru-sama gives me the creeps," Midori said quietly, long after they were out of earshot. "He's nothing like Jiraiya-sama."
"Am I the only one who thinks those snakes were a close call?" Obito added. Kakashi shook his head. If they hadn't ducked in time, they would have been prey to the snakes' venom. Had Orochimaru been testing them? He pushed the thought away.
"We don't have time," he said. "Let's hurry."
The afternoon turned dark and an autumn rain dulled the bright forest leaves into a world of monochrome grey. By sunset, the three were thoroughly drenched but decided to push on through the cover of night. Luckily, the rain ceased near midnight and a thin crescent moon shone through breaks in the heavy clouds, lighting their way. Temperatures dropped, condensing their breaths into faint white fog and doing little to dry the damp clothes against their skin. But their movements kept them warm and none of them thought to voice their discomfort.
The trees began to thin during the early hours of the morning and the three dropped down to the forest floor, running until they could hear the faint sounds of waves crashing against the shore. They slowed their pace and evened their breaths.
There hadn't been enough time to send a message to the border patrol so they couldn't rely on finding back-up. They were already on the verge of crossing the border into no-man's land between the two great countries where enemies could be lurking behind every shadow.
They slowed to a walk, silencing their footsteps and concealing their presence. The wind shifted, bringing the scent of saltwater, wet leaves and another familiar odor to Kakashi's nose. He immediately raised a hand and they stopped where they were, sheltered beneath a twisted tree.
"Blood," he breathed. That in itself wasn't unusual. "It's still new."
Something snapped high overhead and the three jumped back as a shadow crashed onto the ground where they had stood. Kakashi crouched low with his hand gripped around the kunai strapped to his arm, but the stench of blood was overwhelming – unnaturally so. He slowly straightened and approached the dark mass. It wasn't moving. He couldn't feel anything from it.
"He's dead," Obito confirmed, crouching in front of the body that was nearly ripped in half. Midori covered her mouth with a look of disgust. It no longer had face. They could just barely recognize the uniform from the Hidden Cloud Village.
Obito got to his feet and their eyes met in silent agreement. There was no point lingering. But they froze again, this time as a group of shadowed figures dropped down and encircled them. Obito cursed softly under his breath as the three put their backs to each other. There still wasn't enough light to make out who they were beneath the shadows of the trees, but their hostility was tangible.
"Wait." One of the shinobi stepped forward. "Hatake, is that you?"
Kakashi turned to face the man and could faintly make out the abstract designs on a white mask. "Konoha ANBU," he muttered in surprise.
"They're one of ours," the ANBU said. One by one, the others relaxed, and though a high-strung tension still hung thick in the air, the hostility was tempered. The ANBU pulled up the animal mask and revealed a man in his early-twenties.
Kakashi searched his memory for a name. "Shiranui Renji." He had been an examiner during the Chuunin exams four years ago.
"Long time no see."
"Did you do this?" Kakashi asked, nodding to the dead body.
Renji's face turned hard. "No. We were just heading back when we heard the noise."
That meant there were still others nearby. As if to affirm the revelation, a crack of lightning split the dark morning air not far from where they stood and a gust of dirt smoke raked across the forest floor. A shinobi burst out of the trees, immediately followed by half a dozen more. The ANBU were already moving to engage them and the air was instantly filled with the chaotic clash of weapons and the roar of elemental attacks.
"Go!" Renji shouted to the three.
Obito and Midori leapt in the opposite direction toward the sea but Kakashi lingered for a second, feeling something amiss. The Clouds were caught off guard. Something was distracting them. This wasn't an ambush. His eyes darted left and right and finally caught the disturbance. A Cloud ninja, while dodging an ANBU's attack, threw a burst of lightning at a fellow Cloud. It grazed the targeted shinobi, who faltered but retaliated with a handful of explosive talismans.
"Kakashi!" Obito shouted.
Kakashi turned and leapt away. Within seconds they were clear of the trees and bushes, stumbling out onto a barren clifftop with nowhere to hide. The greying skies only revealed gentle, rolling hills in the distance.
"Down the cliff," Kakashi said. If they could make it over the edge without being seen they could conceal themselves against the rocks until the battle died down.
They were almost there when the ground split open with a blinding flash of lightning. The three Chuunin jumped out of harm's way, raising their arms against the powerful blast. Squinting against the light, Kakashi recognized the Cloud shinobi who staggered out of the attack. It was the one being chased. The Cloud sent a bolt of lightning back to his attacker, then turned and limped toward them through the cloud of dust. If he saw them, he gave no sign of it. He was making a strange noise halfway between a sob and a laugh.
It wasn't a second later that the dust was blown violently away and the air was oppressed by the splintering images of several electric wolves. The Cloud twisted around to counter the attack with a wall of mud, successfully stopping it for a moment before the precarious clifftop finally gave way and crumbled beneath their feet. With a mix of frustration, irritation and confusion, Kakashi scrambled to find purchase on the loose cliff wall, faintly aware of Obito and Midori close by. He risked a quick glance up in time to see one of the wolf shaped attacks snapping its teeth around the Cloud's body and tearing off his left arm.
.-.-.-.
As the edge of the clifftop plummeted from view, the attacker hurried forward to confirm the death of his target. He dragged his injured body, cursing the Leafs for their untimely appearance. Reaching the far end of land, he peered down into the foaming waves. It was the last he saw as Renji landed silently behind him, running his blade through the Cloud's neck and pinning him to the ground until his body stopped twitching.
Renji leaned over the edge of the cliff but found no sign of the three Chuunin. He called out Hatake's name, listening to his voice being swallowed by the sound of the waves. Then in the growing light of dawn, he saw a small figure emerge out of nowhere halfway down the cliff. The silver haired boy gave a quick wave and Renji breathed a sigh of relief. Lifting his own hand in response, Renji drew back and sheathed his sword before meeting up with the rest of the ANBU squad to discuss what to do with the Clouds they had killed or sent fleeing.
.-.-.-.
Kakashi withdrew back into the cave they had discovered by pure chance during their fall. Whether natural or manmade, it had long been abandoned, but it was dry and hidden from view. He turned to his teammates and suppressed the urge to sigh in exasperation.
"Why did you save him?" he asked.
Obito was looking uncomfortably down at the injured Cloud shinobi, who lay unconscious on the cave floor. "I don't know, I just did…"
When you read your old story and realize this mission had next to zero meaning in the original version... Hope this makes it more interesting. If not, let me know and I'll go hang myself somewhere. I'm kidding.
.LinSetsu.
