Chapter Nine

The Illusion of Freedom

Pakkun had spent months tracking the illusive organization and now he had to wonder if his ability to scent was not working.

"This can't be right."

The small pug shook his head rapidly from side to side in an attempt to clear his sinuses. He took another sniff at the ground – the scents hadn't changed. He'd found a strong occurrence of the plant-like member of the Akatsuki, and that of the Itachi kid and his cohort from the Mist Village. Plus a paw full of others he couldn't quite place. What made Pakkun question his abilities was the strong scent of Kakashi mingled throughout the others.

"This can't be good."

Pakkun followed Kakashi's trail away from the mingled scents. Now he could make out only a few – the Mist Village freak, one he wasn't familiar with and of course – Kakashi. Eventually he found a discarded cloth in the brush. He stuck his snout deep into the fabric. There was no question about it – the blood coating the fabric belonged to Kakashi.

"What have you gotten yourself into now, pup?"

Pakkun marked the location in his mind and bounded back to the Leaf Village to see what had occurred since he left. Something told him he wasn't going to like what he found out.

--


Iruka sat next to Tsunade with his fists clenched as they listened to Pakkun's report. It was bad enough to learn the Akatsuki was truly behind the Sixth Hokage's abduction, but to learn he was injured as well was just too much. He stood up – surprising himself as much as Tsunade. She stared at him.

"What is it Iruka?"

The academy instructor looked from Pakkun to Tsunade. "I just can't sit here anymore. Please – Lady Tsunade – let me go to retrieve the Hokage!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Do you know what you're asking Iruka? You are chunin – you can not think you are a match for the members of the Akatsuki."

Iruka turned toward her, the scar stretched across his face twitched as he tensed. "You and I both know my skills are higher then the average chunin!"

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "I know Iruka – but those skills are still no match for one jonin – let alone all of the Akatsuki."

Iruka lowered his gaze to the floor. Pakkun's voice floated up to him.

"Chunin or jonin doesn't matter right now. We need all we can find on this task or Kakashi will not be retrieved. It already may be too late."

Iruka raised his head and set a determined look on his face. He moved to stand next to the pug. "Pakkun is right, Lady Tsunade. This is no time to argue."

Tsunade crossed her arms. "Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you Iruka. This won't be like one of your training classes."

Iruka smiled and rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "Mistress Hokage – this won't be my first battle."

He turned and headed out the door with Pakkun. Tsunade's words followed after him.

"I just hope it won't be your last Iruka."

--


"You shouldn't have moved him. It's a miracle he didn't bleed out on your way here." The healer busily gathered his needles and thread and headed back to the patient.

Mishobi grabbed the man's wrist, causing him to meet the masked ninja's piercing gaze.

"Will he live?"

"If you leave me alone to stitch him up – yes – he'll live. But if the incision had gone a quarter of an inch farther it would be a different story."

Kisame leveled his sword at the healer. "I think you forget who you speak to."

The healer's eyes went wide and he quickly bowed low to the two members of the Akatsuki.

"Forgive my boldness Lord. I am your humble servant as always."

The man was silent as he tended to Kakashi's wound and Mishobi watched the ninja's breathing as though to make sure for himself that their charge would survive.

Many moments later the healer stepped back from Kakashi. He wiped sweat from his brow as he moved.

"I've done all that I can. Please do not let him be active for at least four days or his wound may yet end him."

He bowed and waited for them to speak.

Mishobi frowned. "What do you mean by active?"

"He should not be allowed to move around too much. No heavy lifting – limited activity."

Kisame laughed. "This shouldn't affect his purpose then. He'll keep in one position for days!"

Mishobi joined in the laughter. "True enough. We'll start back tomorrow then."

Kisame stretched his arms out. "Yes. Tomorrow it is. They won't need us for at least a handful of days anyhow. Will you take first watch, Brother?"

Mishobi yawned. "I suppose so – but not for long."

Kisame waved at Mishobi and walked toward the sleeping room. "A few hours is all I need."

"Good! Because that's all I'm giving you."

Kisame smiled a toothy grin and left the room.

--


Kakashi listened to the exchange with his eyes closed. He waited until he heard Mishobi pull up a chair next to his bed. Slowly he opened his eyes a crack and turned his gaze toward Mishobi just as the man let out another huge yawn behind his mask.

Kakashi closed his eyes and waited a bit longer. Mishobi's yawns became more frequent and Kakashi heard the healer leave the room. Kakashi timed his moved precisely – he deliberately let a low moan escape his lips and opened his eyes to lock his sharingan with Mishobi when he looked toward the sound. Kakashi's hypnotic gaze worked its magic on the already exhausted member of the Akatsuki and the man quickly slumped in his chair.

Cautiously, making sure not to make a sound – even though his wound made him want to cry out – Kakashi pushed himself out of bed and left the house. Without shoes on his feet he started out into the night, eager to put as much distance between himself and the house as he could before his escape was discovered.

He'd traveled for hours and as he went he tried to think of what his next step should be. No matter where he went the ring on his finger and the characters carved into his flesh made it impossible to escape the Akatsuki's purpose. So why was he running?

Ah – yes . . . the words of the healer came back to his mind. Do not let him be active or the wound may yet end him.

Perhaps – if nothing else – he could end this entrapment by making himself useless for their purpose. He ran on for many more hours until, at last, his body betrayed him and he fell to his knees. The wound ripped open with the movement. Kakashi gasped for air as the ground rose to meet him. He smiled while he faded to unconsciousness.

I'm coming, Obito . . .

--


"Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi-sensei . . . can you hear me?"

The young woman's voice sounded familiar and more than a little worried. Kakashi tried to ignore it and fall back into the comfortable darkness that embraced him moments before. Other voices joined the first, refusing to let Kakashi return to the darkness.

"Why won't he answer, Sakura?" A young man's voice this time.

"Back away Naruto – give her room to work!" An older voice now . . . Iruka's? That made no sense.

Sakura's voice was full of concern. "His wound was poorly mended and far from clean. I'm not sure yet if the infection entered his blood or not. Give me a moment. Meanwhile Neji, can you scan the rest of his body to see if I missed anything?"

Neji's voice sounded close to Kakashi's ear. "At once Sakura."

This was shortly followed by the Hyuga's sharp intake of breath. Iruka's voice rang out.

"What is it Neji?"

When the young man spoke, his disgust was clear in his voice. "The wounds on his arms are infused with someone else's chakra."

Everyone in the room talked at once and Kakashi knew his hopes of sinking back into the warm darkness were gone. The voices wouldn't go away and now the pain in Kakashi's body was reasserting itself. He moaned.

"Kakashi-sensei . . . don't move. You're going to be alright." Sakura's voice didn't sound convincing.

Slowly he opened his eyes, squinting at the bright sun shining through the canopy of leaves over them. He cringed in pain as Sakura continued to work on the knife wound. Kakashi pushed words out of his throat.

"You should have left me alone."

Naruto leaned over him – blocking the sun with his spiky yellow-haired head. "What do you mean Kakashi-sensei? If we didn't find you then you would have died!"

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes. "Exactly."

He sank back toward unconsciousness while listening to snippets of the others' conversation.

"Why would he say that?" Naruto's voice was thick with emotion.

Iruka's voice sounded tight. "He's injured Naruto. He doesn't know what he's saying."

Naruto's words followed his back into the comfortable darkness. "I can't lose him too. Please Sakura – don't let him die. Not Kakashi . . ."

--


"You fools! How could you misplace a badly injured man?" The Leader glared at Kisame and Mishobi. They had no answers for him.

He looked around the small house and saw Kakashi's shoes and over-shirt lying on the floor near the bed. Perhaps the man hadn't gone far. The Leader lifted his hands into position and closed his eyes. He focused his chakra into the shared connection of the Akatsuki's rings. After a moment he lowered his hands and opened his eyes.

"He's still alive – but he isn't near. And at this moment Kakashi's whereabouts will have to wait. Our next guest is on their way and fortunately we will be able to utilize Kakashi Hatake no matter where he is." He turned toward Mishobi. "That is correct – is it not Mishobi?"

The masked shinobi swallowed hard. "So long as the ring's connection is intact my jutsu will do its part."

The Leader grinned. "Good. Then let us return to our preparations secure in the knowledge that even though Kakashi has escaped us momentarily, he has not freed himself of the Akatsuki's hold."

--


Iruka looked down into the masked face of a man he'd always idolized for his strength and skill. Seeing Kakashi so pale and unmoving had shaken him to the core, and now, as they waited for him to regain consciousness Iruka found himself doubting they could defeat the Akatsuki.

"Iruka-sensei?" The tone of Naruto's voice seemed to mirror his own doubts.

"What is it Naruto?"

The yellow-haired boy – no – he was a man now . . . but he seemed devoid of all energy since they arrived at this vacant country house. They'd stopped here at Sakura's urging after she realized Kakashi needing more medical ninjutsu then she could do on the move.

Naruto's face betrayed the fear in his heart when his eyes moved to look at Kakashi. He sniffed back tears. "Why does this keep happening to everyone I care for?"

The distress in Naruto's voice cut deep into Iruka's heart.

"Naruto . . . this isn't your fault. Even if you weren't in the picture Kakashi would likely have still been a target of the Akatsuki."

Naruto looked at his feet. "It isn't fair. They shouldn't be allowed to do this to people."

His fists clenched. "They shouldn't get away with this!"

Iruka noticed a flare of chakra gathering around the young man. "Naruto . . ."

Naruto's voice rose and he looked up with eyes glowing red. "I have to put an end to them all!"

"Calm down, Naruto . . ." Kakashi's voice sounded exceptionally tired, but it was enough to cause Naruto to relax his fists and transform his face with a look of hope.

"Kakashi-sensei . . . " Naruto fell to his knees at the bedside and leaned his head and arms against Kakashi's shoulders. Tears flowed down to hit the masked man's bare skin. His words were barely heard between his sobs.

"I thought . . . you weren't . . . going to wake up. I thought . . . I thought we'd be . . . carving your name . . . into the memorial stone."

Iruka held back his own tears when he watched Kakashi lift one hand up to rest on Naruto's head. "Hey there Naruto – it's going to be OK. We'll find a way together."

Naruto lifted his face and smiled at Kakashi's words. Kakashi lowered his hand and took a deeper breath.

"Now how about you find me something to drink – OK?"

Naruto pushed himself up and bounded toward the kitchen. "Hey Sakura! Kakashi-sensei's awake and he wants something to drink!"

They heard Sakura respond. "What am I? Your maid? So come and get something for him!"

Iruka and Kakashi chuckled lightly at the exchange. Iruka moved to the jonin's side to help when he saw the man struggling to sit up.

"Maybe you should take it a little slower Hokage until you've healed more."

Kakashi met the academy teacher's eyes with a hard stare. "Iruka – you need to tie my arms down – now."

"What?" Iruka took a step back but Kakashi caught his wrist in his hand.

"I don't have time to explain. Find something – anything – that will hold up against my strength and do it quickly. I don't know how long it will be before the Akatsuki uses me again."

Iruka was pretty sure Kakashi was still suffering delusions from his injury. He gently pried the Hokage's fingers loose from his wrist and tried to calm the jonin down.

"Lie back and rest Kakashi. It will all make more sense once you've gotten a bit more sleep."

"Idiot! If you don't move now the jutsu placed on my arms will activate again and I won't be able to stop it!"

As though bidden by his words, the crudely carved characters up and down Kakashi's arms flared to life – glowing with a strange orange color that seemed bright against his pale skin. His arms jumped and jerked as though connected to strings like one of Kankuro's puppets.

A look of despair crossed Kakashi's face. "Dammit! Too late."

Iruka didn't understand what was happening. He tried to hold the arms still, but he was quickly pushed back as the chakra infused within the wounds coursed throughout the limbs. Kakashi's arms and hands moved into a complex hand sign and once set – no matter how hard Iruka tried – he could not pry Kakashi's arms free. The Hokage's gaze became unfocused and soon he closed his eyes as though he'd fallen into a trance. All Iruka could do was watch helplessly.

--


Kakashi felt his chakra pulled into the ring the moment his hands completed the sign. When full awareness returned he found himself atop the stone idol once more. No – it was only a projection of himself. Still it was enough that he was being used once more for the Akatsuki's purposes.

The Leader's voice grated against Kakashi's nerves. "Ah, Mishobi – your skill astounds even me. Welcome back Kakashi. We told you there'd be no escape. Although I an curious as to where you managed to crawl off to."

Kakashi turned toward the Leader. "I thought you could tell that with this leash. Perhaps the Akatsuki isn't as impressive as I thought."

The Leader scowled. "Oh, rest assured Kakashi, we will use your leash – as you've named it – to track you down readily enough. I was simply giving you a chance to work with us so that it might prove less painful for you in the long run."

Kakashi narrowed his gaze. "Less painful?"

The Leader smiled. "Oh yes. The ability to track this link has certain side effects which can prove quite debilitating. But you'll learn that soon enough. Meanwhile we will continue to use you from afar."

--


Iruka watched Kakashi sitting motionless and tried desperately to think of what to do. He attempted to wake the man from his apparent trance – even went so far as to try and pry his fingers lose of the hand sign – but to no avail.

Then at last an idea came to him. "Neji! Come quickly – and bring Sakura!"

The two young shinobi ran into the room and skidded to a stop at Kakashi's bed. Sakura's confusion colored her words.

"Why is Kakashi-sensei sitting up? And what on earth is he doing?"

Iruka sighed. "I'm not entirely sure what's happening – but those marks on his arms came to life and his arms moved into that position – although I think Kakashi fought it every step of the way. Then he slipped into a trance. Neji – I need you to see what you can tell me about this."

Neji nodded once and activated his Byakugan to scan Kakashi from head to toe.

"His chakra is being pulled into his arms where there is a second type of chakra infused into his muscles – locking his arms in place. Kakashi-sensei's own chakra then moves to a point on his right ring finger and then exits his body."

Iruka frowned and then moved to see what it was about his right ring finger that would siphon chakra away. He pushed the partial glove back from Kakashi's finger until the white porcelain ring came into view. On the face of it was the character that stood for 'tool' and when his fingers brushed against it he pulled them back with pain.

"Ouch!" Iruka stuck his fingers into his mouth to ease the burning. Sakura reached up and guided his hand out again so she could survey the damage. Blisters were already forming where his bare skin brushed the ring. The young medical ninja pulled a salve out of her pouch and applied it liberally, ending the searing pain at once.

Iruka smiled at her. "I guess removing the ring is out of the question."

Neji moved so his gaze could focus on the ring. "The piece is fused to his finger. What's more – there's a flow of energy coming into the ring even as Kakashi's energy is siphoned through it."

Iruka frowned. "Coming in?"

Neji furrowed his brow, "It's difficult to explain. There seems to be an even flow between Kakashi and wherever this ring links to. I can see the tether as a gossamer thin thread, but it's definitely there."

Iruka's eyes held hope. "Then we could use this tether to find the Akatsuki's location."

Neji tipped his head to one side. "While the connection is active – yes. I can't tell you more until the disconnect from him. We may not be able to follow it once it's inactive."

Iruka nodded in understanding. "OK. Meanwhile Neji think about ways to interrupt both their flow in and Kakashi's flow out using your soft-boxing technique. I don't like how easily the Akatsuki can manipulate our Hokage."

Neji met Iruka's eyes. "I wouldn't say he is being easily manipulated. The depth of the chakra infused into those arm characters and the level of struggling I am witnessing within the Hokage are staggering. The power of this jutsu is among the highest I've ever seen."

"Are you saying we can't counter it?"

"No – Iruka-sensei. I'm saying it will take me some time to figure out how to counter it."

Iruka placed a hand on Neji's shoulder. "Then I'll leave you alone while you contemplate the next move."

He turned toward Sakura. The look on her face was somewhere between fear and anger.

"Sakura, I need you to monitor Kakashi's injury. I imagine this position can't be good for him for a sustained period of time."

She nodded and placed one hand over Kakashi's wound as she used her medical jutsu to scan the injury. "He's OK for now – but I can't say for how much longer."

Iruka left the two to their tasks and headed into the kitchen to check on Naruto. The yellow-haired boy stared at him – a glass of water held tightly in his hands. Iruka sighed. He'd never seen Naruto look quite so lost . . . and that was saying something.

He reached out and took the glass from Naruto's hands then placed his arm around his shoulders. The young man tensed under his touch and then, with a shaky sigh, broke into quiet sobs and lowered his head.

"Hey, hey Naruto. There's no need for that. Kakashi's going to be fine. We'll find a way to fix this, I promise."

Naruto looked up at him, the tears still rolling down his cheeks. "Iruka-sensei, if they can get to Kakashi-sensei what chance do I have against them? I mean – Kakashi-sensei is the strongest, smartest, bravest shinobi ever . . " He paused and blushed slightly.

Iruka read his uneasiness easily. "It's alright Naruto. I admire Kakashi for the same reasons. But don't think so poorly of your own abilities. Even Kakashi has said you have more chakra then he does – and that you have a strength inside that will help you be the best Hokage yet."

Naruto wiped at his tears. "But Iruka-sensei, that will only happen if we can stop the Akatsuki . . . and I don't think we can."

Naruto looked at his feet again. Iruka tried to think of something – anything – to bolster Naruto, but in truth those thoughts mirrored his own.

--


Kisame turned his head toward Kakashi's projection. "He looks tired. Can he survive the process Mishobi?"

The masked member of the Akatsuki made no reply causing Kisame to focus his attention there. Mishobi's concentration was entirely focused inward and there was sweat covering his brow.

The Leader scowled. "Kakashi is proving to be a bit more difficult to control this time, I think. Fortunately this jinchuriki is almost finished. Once we have concluded this task, the recovery of Kakashi Hatake will become our priority. We cannot afford this waste of energy for the remaining jinchuriki. They are far too strong to chance it."

The others nodded. The Leader looked back at Kakashi. "I will bring Itachi, Kisame and Zetsu with me for this task."

All of those gathered – except Kakashi and Mishobi – turned toward the Leader. Kisame spoke for then all.

"You will be going? This will be a treat."

The Leader narrowed his eyes. "It is time Kakashi Hatake learned the cost of his mistakes from me personally."

The others showed their approval and then all settled back in to complete the removal of the latest tailed beast while Kakashi and Mishobi continued their silent battle.