Author's NOTE: Finally. I am sorry for such a late update. I came back to college and got caught up in work and stuff. But here it is. The Ten-Tails project. Not exactly the details, but what went on behind the scenes. And longer than all other chapters of my story. I don't know how this is. Hope you like it. .
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. I own this fict and that's all I care.
Chapter 10
'The ten-tails project huh? Long version or the short one?' Kakashi said. He could just give the specifics of the project and how it fit into the Konoha incident. But Kakashi could feel everyone begging him to have their story told.
'I have got till tomorrow. Plenty of time I would say.' Yamato replied.
The long version. Kakashi felt that the things that went down behind the scenes, the lives that made the project a dream, and the mistakes, his mistakes, which had led to the showdown, the festivities soon coming up which stood for lives lost, and his life, built upon the blood of that day, all wrapped up into one thing. One fateful assignment.
'Everyone believes that the ten-tails project was all defined by what happened here seventeen years ago. But the truth is, it was only the final verse of a long epic. And it started years before the Konoha incident. With our previous Hokage. Long before he became president. When he was a student.
This is classified info. Not a word should go outside this room. Minato Namikaze, our previous Hokage was one of the founding members of the ten tails project.' Kakashi said.
Kakashi could remember that day as if it was yesterday.
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Kakashi stood in front of the man who commanded the most power in the whole country. He knew that whatever he had been called for could not be good. His reputation as one of the most formidable of the ANBU force was well known.
'This is a simple body guarding assignment Kakashi. You have to guard this man.' the man sitting behind the table said, passing him a file.
Kakashi looked into the file. The face of a golden haired man stared up at him.
Why does a university professor need a body guard? But Kakashi knew better than to ask that aloud.
'Yes sir. Any details I need to know sir?'
'Yes. He is working on a top secret government project. He can not die. He will be in constant danger due to his involvement in the project. He is the main mind behind this. You don't need the details behind the project. But you need to protect him. And his family.'
Kakashi was handed another file.
'You are teamed with Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara on this. Your mission is to make sure this project is a success. Any questions?'
This was unusual. Kakashi usually worked alone. And he knew both Obito and Rin. Obito was the military academy screw up, the one who couldn't do anything right. Kakashi had graduated from academy, then written the exam for Special Forces as soon as he completed his first tour of duty. Obito had graduated alongside him. But he had been the most recent recruit into the ANBU.
'Just one question sir, if you don't mind me asking. Why Obito Uchiha sir? We have men more suited for this mission on my squad.'
'He is an Uchiha. His family, especially two people, Shisui and Itachi Uchiha have been pioneers in thermal imaging tech which hasn't yet been released or patented. Yet Obito Uchiha has this device, they call it the Sharingan, basically an NVD with advanced daylight capabilities. They gave it to him as a prototype test. He doesn't know how to use it yet. Maybe you could help him. With a device with capabilities like what they claim it has, it would be a huge tactical and technological advantage to have it in our hands. Give this a test run. This might tie into the project on which these people are working.'
Great. A screw up on Kakashi's team. He was confident about Rin. She hadn't been the best, but she was a good enough medic and an average combatant. Obito would prove a lot more difficult.
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'You need to listen up. First, Obito, you need to get your ass here on time. This is the last time this is happening. Understood?' Kakashi said.
'Yes' Obito said baring his teeth.
'I expect a sir from next time Uchiha. I am your captain.'
'Yes sir.' Obito said, voice full of malice. Kakashi didn't miss that.
'Excellent. Now, I will be guarding Minato Namikaze. You two will be guarding Kushina Namikaze. Simple enough?'
'Yes sir.' Rin said. Sounded weird coming from her.
'Yes' Obito said. This just irked him.
'Sir.'
'You don't need to call me that Kakashi.'
'Get your fucking ass in line Uchiha.'
Now Obito seemed completely riled up.
'Listen Kakashi. You and I, both of us were in academy together. Now, just that you happened to get into ANBU before me doesn't give you the right to act all high and mighty. I will be on par with you in no time. And then above you in the food chain. Watch out then.'
'Till then, Uchiha, proper salutes and Honorifics. Understood?'
'Yes sir.' Obito said, cursing. Kakashi smirked as Rin looked on, worried.
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'Do you know what I am doing Kakashi?' Minato asked him.
It had been over six months since Kakashi had been assigned to this mission. These six months had been enlightening for him. Kakashi got to see a part of life he had never seen before up close. Family had never meant much to him. He had not known his mother who had died when he had been born. His father had been a covert ops operative before him who had always been distant until he died by taking his own life after he was burnt. (A/N: Burnt as in given a burn notice). A bad home environment was always a good place for people like Kakashi to start. A family was something new to him. Yet he felt at peace when he was with Minato and Kushina. They had included him into their family. He had gotten used to lunches every Sunday cooked by Kushina, watching them relax each night even though he couldn't. He finally had a sense of belonging.
'No sir.'
'You can stop calling me sir Kakashi. Come on, let's go. I have something to show you.'
They arrived at an abandoned statue in the middle of the woods surrounding Minato's house.
'This is the gedo statue Kakashi. You know the story behind it?'
'Yes.'
'Well I always liked this story, the victory of good over evil, yet the fact that evil cannot be completely exterminated, it can just be kept at bay. I always liked to think I could bring peace to this world when I was younger. And then I would always think of this story. Peace comes at a price. And you need to be ready to pay that price when the time comes. That's what the legend of the gedo statue taught me.'
Kakashi looked at the professor. He seemed to be serious about what he was talking about.
'When I was in college, I decided that I would do something that would help people all over the world. That's when I came up with the idea. What if all the people in the world were born equal. Both intellectually and physically. There would be no fights. People wouldn't fall sick. Maybe that would be one step closer towards world peace.'
'I started off as a physics major in college. But soon I dropped out and then got in again as a biology major. I started working towards this dream of mine. But I would have needed funds, a lot of them. And I was writing my second doctoral paper on this already when I caught the attention of the government.'
'I was called in. I was told that the government wanted me to do what I had proposed to do in my papers. I was supposed to make a neurotoxin, an activator which would grant superhuman strength, and resilience to all diseases and higher analytical capabilities to whoever used it. Except one part. This would be used only for military purposes. The general populace couldn't be given something this dangerous. That is what they said.'
'This is what I am working on Kakashi. The ten-tails project as it is called. Though I wanted to call it the six-paths project. But seeing that I am already compromising on the bigger parts, this seemed a small price to pay.' the professor finished smiling.
Kakashi was intrigued by the smile. Maybe this man didn't care whether his work was used for a reason completely opposite to his dreams. Destruction instead of peace. But Kakashi could recognize the smile. He had used it many times. A smile that was a lie in itself.
'Why?'
'Why what Kakashi?'
'Why did you agree to do something which you know is completely different from what you had wanted?'
'Hope Kakashi. One day I will bring this project to the masses. I think I have to become the president for that. And I will.'
Kakashi admired this man. He was willing to sacrifice his dream to only get it back again. He knew the price he would have to pay for peace. And he was ready for it.
'Never abandon hope Kakashi. And it will not abandon you. Hopes and dreams go hand in hand. You might not always find the straightest path in life, but your dreams are always around the corner. Don't stop looking for them.'
Kakashi didn't have dreams. He had orders. Orders he couldn't abandon. But maybe one day, he would have another life. A life in which he would have dreams and hopes and maybe even a family.
One day. Maybe.
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There was confusion everywhere.
'What happened?' Kakashi asked. As instructed, Kakashi followed Minato everywhere. That included into the lab where the core team worked.
And right now the whole lab was in a state of chaos.
Minato let out a nervous chuckle.
'Nothing much. Umm… there were some problems with our tests.'
'I don't suppose you would need my help?'
'No. Not your kind of thing Kakashi.' Minato said, smiling.
'Maybe Rin can help in some way? She is a medic after all. A quite good one actually.'
'Maybe. But don't lose your sleep over this Kakashi. Things will work out.'
'I heard my name.'
Kakashi turned to see Rin, Obito and Kushina standing in the doorway.
'Kushina wanted to come.' Obito said.
'You people were talking about me?' Rin asked, smiling.
'Mr. Namikaze was in some kind of a problem, and I thought maybe you could help in some way. You understand biology more than me at least.'
'What's the matter Minato?' Rin asked.
'I told you to call me Minato, didn't I Kakashi? Well anyway, we have been trying to simulate the results of our experiments on a computer. And when needed, we have also tested on animals. And I am not very proud of it. But this time we were trying to enhance underwater breathing biologically. Thing is, the hormone we are trying to affect is only present in humans but we are not getting any results from our simulations.'
'You need a human subject?' Rin asked.
'No!' Minato replied, shocked, 'Never. We will think of something else, or else we will drop the idea completely.'
'I can volunteer.' Rin said.
There was silence in the lab. No. In the world. The whole world seemed to be turning their heads simultaneously towards Rin. Everyone stared at the young woman who herself seemed nonchalant.
'NO' Obito said, 'No way!'
'Do you realize that your life may be in danger? I cannot allow this.'
'My mission is to make sure the project is a success. I am willing to take the risk.'
'Kakashi, say something. You are her commanding officer. You can order her to step down. Kakashi, please.' Obito pleaded.
'Rin, NO!' Kushina said angrily.
Kakashi said nothing. He just remembered. What the president had said before he left for his mission. Make sure the project is a success.
'KAKASHI!' Obito screamed.
'I will not allow this anyway.' Minato said.
'It isn't up to you to decide Namikaze.' a man said, 'We need a subject. We have one. It is not like we are forcing her. Don't you agree?' he said looking towards the others in the lab.
Some agreed. Some seemed to be too shocked to speak. Some seemed to be confused.
'NO. NO NO!' Obito screamed.
'We will have a vote' the man said, 'how many are for having a volunteer?'
Hands were raised.
'A majority I see.' the man said.
'NOOOOO! KAKASHI! SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!' Obito screamed.
Kakashi still said nothing.
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'I am leaving the project. That means your mission here is finished Kakashi, Obito.' Minato said.
'Yes sir.' Kakashi said and looked at Obito.
Obito was looking at him, sheer hatred in his eyes.
'You killed her Kakashi.'
Kakashi still said nothing. What would he say? Obito was right. He was the one who killed Rin Nohara.
'YOU KILLED HER!'
Minato seemed to be dazed. All of them had gone into shock following Rin's death. Except Kakashi. He had toned his emotions to a minimum. But he could feel as if he had lost a part of himself.
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Kakashi stopped. He looked at his watch. He had been speaking continuously for hours.
Yamato was looking at him, surprised.
'What happened after that?'
'I left the assignment. Obito stayed on. Minato ran for the elections that year and was elected. In two years he was the president. A new guy was working on the project. He finally completed it. He made nine different serums, all mixed in a specific proportion would produce the serum which was initially intended. They were codenamed after mythical tailed beasts. One tailed Raccoon, two tailed cat, three tailed turtle, four tailed monkey, five tailed horse, six tailed slug, the seven tailed butterfly, the eight tailed bull and the nine tailed fox. That is what the names you might find in the official files stand for.
'The thing is, each serum in itself was unstable for human use. The serums were produced in large quantities. On the day of the Konoha incident, nine trucks, each containing a load of the serum were dispatched. One truck, containing the serum codenamed the Nine-Tailed-Fox was hijacked. The Nine-Tailed-Fox was a volatile liquid. And the hijackers opened the containers. About a gallon of the liquid was inside which was completely vaporized. You know what happened after that right?'
'The vapour spread over more than half of Konoha city and killed over 5,000 people.'
'The infamous Konoha incident. Even Minato, Kushina and Obito died. Of all those involved in the project, only I survived.' Because he was a coward. All because Kakashi had failed. Kakashi felt everyone gone heave a sigh. They were happy their story was told. But he wasn't forgiven. He would never be forgiven they seemed to say.
'Kakashi sir?' Yamato looked worried. Kakashi had phased out it seemed.
'Yeah?'
'How does Naruto Uzumaki fit into this?'
A/N: Thank you for all that praise and compliments xXYouMakeMeSmileXx. You literally made my day. I am definitely gonna try to progress (I have no idea if this chapter showed any progress on my part or not). Hope you like this chapter too. And you too MYK-ON. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hope this chapter met all your expectations.
