"The situation is becoming graver by the day" Tsunade sighed
"We'll abolish Akatsuki once and for all" declared an ignorant chunin
Murmurs of disapproval rang across the office
"Come on guys!" the same ninja said "We defeated their leader!" waving his hands all over the place
"Correction, Jiraya and Akio sama defeated their leader and THEY had trouble" another black haired jounin answered
"ENOUGH!" bellowed Tsunade "Are we going to give up our will of fire after we've come so far?"
Nobody dared to disagree with Tsunade
"We will show them that we aren't a bunch of wimps!" she declared "We will show them what Konoha is made of and will never sell out our own jinchuriki!" she glared at all the ninja present and her eyes lingered on Kakashi. He was currently hiding in the shadows next to some of his ANBU colleges staring outside the window. It wasn't clear whether he was listening to her or not.
Despite that fact, the other ninja were now back on track each determined to end Akatsuki once and for all.
"The funeral for Asuma will be tomorrow at five on the tower" she finally stated "Everybody except Kakashi is dismissed"
Some people poofed away immediately while other lets their eyes linger on Kakashi curiously. Some low leveled chunin were in shook since they never noticed the silver haired man who usually stands out in a crowd and left hurriedly through the door like gentlemen.
Kakashi was either unaware of his comrades' reactions or decided to ignore them but it was probably that he didn't care at the current moment. Once everybody was gone Tsunade motioned for Kakashi to take a chair. Kakashi reluctantly sat down and waited for Tsunade to speak.
"Kakashi" she finally said "I want you to continue training for the next few days" Kakashi nodded in turn as she continued to speak. "I want you to perfect what Akio taught you since you'll join them in their hunts of stronger members while large groups will attack the remaining Akatsuki members
"Hai" Kakashi nodded again. A silence hung over the room and Kakashi took that as his cue to leave. Just as he was about to open the door Tsunade spoke up "Go visit Jiraya and Akio while you're at it". Nodding for the last time Kakashi left and headed for the hospital.
"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled as he saw him exit the tower and ran up to him
"Where's Sakura?" he asked as they both began walking towards the hospital
"She went to check up on Ino" Naruto clarified "Looks like things are beginning to heat up"
"Don't worry" Kakashi replied "With me and Jiraya there nobody will get their stinking hands on you"
Naruto smiled "By the way" he started rummaging through his backpack. "aha!" he said with victory as he finally found what he was looking for "Here!" he said handing him a ramen takeaway
Kakashi took it and thanked him "I thought you might still be hungry"
"You were right" Kakashi stated as he stored it away "I'll have it once I'm at the hospital"
"I was going to visit Jiraya anyway so can I tag along?" he asked
Kakashi nodded not sure whether Tsunade simply told him to go there or if it was an arranged meeting. It would have been better to tell Naruto that he wasn't allowed to come but Kakashi wanted Naruto to not be left in the dark.
"Sensei?" Naruto broke the silence "Now that Asuma sensei is gone, how do you think will be next?"
"I don't think killing Asuma was part of their plan" Kakashi supplied
"No" Naruto shook his head "I mean how many more have to die before we get rid of Akatsuki?" then he eyed the ground with guilt. If he wasn't a jinchuriki, Asuma wouldn't have been looking for Akatsuki in the first place
"It's not your fault" Kakashi stated strongly "Whether you had the Kyyubi or not, this is a war we would've been sucked into eventually"
"I guess" Naruto said shoving his hands in his pockets as they turned left with the hospital now in sight
"As long as the ninja system exist, only chains of hatred will be created" Kakashi said
"Jiraya said that before" Naruto stated
"It is his words, not mine" Kakashi sighed and opened the hospital doors
"Did he say them to you?" Naruto asked curiously
"No, my sensei did" Kakashi informed him "And my sensei was taught by Jiraya so naturally…" Kakashi trailed off knowing his message doesn't need to be completed in order for Naruto to understand it. They began walking up the stair cases
"Why?" Naruto whispered staring at the ground right in front of him
"Well…. I lived in a time of war" Kakashi shrugged as if that will explain everything even though it explains nothing.
FLASHBACK
"You need to stop hurting" Minato said as he jumped through Kakashi's window. Kakashi was currently on his desk writing notes on his new jutsu.
"Where did that come from?" Kakashi asked calmly putting his pen down and turned to face his sensei
"I can see it in your eyes" Minato stated. Well he could only see his eyes but that's beside the point
"Oh! Of course you can" Kakashi rolled his eyes and went back to his notes
"Kakashi" Minato continued unfazed by his student's lack of acceptance "You need to stop all the hate"
"You want me to…" Kakashi was laughing now "stop hating the people who brought me nothing but misery
Minato simply nodded while Kakashi continued his laugher as if Minato was saying a joke
Kakashi immediately glared at him "You're kidding!"
"I know you find it hard especially since they don't treat you right but…"
"but what sensei?" Kakashi yelled. Minato opened his mouth to speak but Kakashi stopped him "BUT NOTHING!"
"Kakashi clam down and hear me out" Minato demanded. Kakashi knew that there was no arguing with that tone unless you wanted to be punished big. Apparently sensei's punishment isn't being ground but what you hate the most. His latest being D ranked missions and helping out in the academy
"Fine" Kakashi folded his arms and grumbled
"I know the way the villagers treat you is unfair, extremely inappropriate however if you give in you'll only become a part of the chain of hatred that's only purpose is to create monsters" he said
"Are you saying that if I give in to the villagers scorn, I'll turn into a monster?" Kakashi asked narrowing his eyes
"Precisely" Minato nodded eyeing his student carefully "Jiraya's words"
"If you want me to take what you're saying seriously" Kakashi said "Don't mention they're from Konoha's biggest pervert"
"Jiraya might be a pervert, Kakashi" Minato sated "However he is a great shinobi"
Kakashi remained dormant this time. Minato sighed "Just think about what I said"
Kakashi nodded and went back to creating chidori. Chain of hatred? Whatever…
"I heard about Asuma" Jiraya smiled sadly as Naruto and Kakashi entered
"Tragic loss" Kakashi muttered as he sat down on of the chairs
"So what now?" Izumi asked. Kakashi turned to her in surprise. He hadn't seen her, when did she come back.
"Once we get out of the hospital we will train a bit then go and end Akatsuki" Akio answered
"It isn't that simple!" Kakashi stated rather angrily "If one person regardless of whether he is the leader or not gave you this much trouble, you expect things to work out?"
Naruto never saw his sensei outburst before but he agreed with him anyway. It's very dangerous and if Jiraya died he wouldn't know what to do
"Calm down" Jiraya told him "We know it'll be difficult but it must be done"
"Near impossible is a better term regarding this situation" Kakashi grumbled silently that only Naruto heard him
"Here" Izumi said walking over to Kakashi "You left in such a hurry you forgot your journal"
Kakashi extended his hand to take it a flipped through it. One of the pictures fell out and Naruto reached to grab it. He turned it over and saw his old team.
"I wish those days would come back" he smiled sadly and gave it to his sensei
"I gotta go" Kakashi sighed and poofed away before anybody could stop him. He turned up at his apartment and flopped down on his bed. After spending five minutes staring at his white ceiling Kakashi ran a hand through his messy hair and went into the shower.
The hot water was washing his troubles away. He reached for his shampoo and began scrubbing his hair watching the murky water sink down the drain. He believed that he could defeat the Akatsuki individually but there was really no chance to attack them all at once.
He closed the water and dried himself off. He put on his night clothes and crawled into bed hoping that things will work out.