The Wanderers
Chapter 11 – Histories
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the Sharingan would be used to copy techniques more than just using eye techniques.
Even in war times, two Kage would never clash on the field of battle without there being a proper cause. While Minato hadn't been properly sworn in yet, he held the title of Hokage due to more than his military mind. His counterpart however was known as one of the strongest Kage in current times, his metallic iron sand technique driving many forces away from the Suna village.
The Kazekage's robe wavered as he ducked under Minato's quick strike, moving faster than the Hokage thought he could as he drove a foot into his chest. Minato jumped back and grimaced, noticing a fine black dust surrounding the Kazekage's foot.
That's his iron sand technique. I should keep my distance.
The Suna leader put out his arms and black sand began to come out from within his robe, taking a mist-like formation around the Kazekage's body. Minato pulled out a second kunai and threw them both to each side of the battlefield, before putting his hands together into a handseal. The sand around the Kazekage hardened as he pointed a hand at Minato.
"Satetsu Shigure!" (Iron Sand Rain)
Minato's eyes widened, he cancelled his original technique and bit at his thumb. The black sand bullets screamed towards the young Hokage as he slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Ninpou Kuchiyose..."
A wide plume of smoke arose in front of him, the Kazekage cautiously watching as his attacks slammed into the Hokage's position. The smoke began to clear and the Kazekage swore as he saw what damage his attack had done. Minato stood up slowly and undid his handseal.
"...Hogoshatate" (Summoning Technique: Guardian Shield)
Standing in front of Minato was a wall of steel and wood, a row of large toads holding overlapping shields that protected the blonde shinobi from the attack. Minato allowed himself a breath of relief, until he saw tiny specks of black coming around and beneath his shield wall. He dismissed the wall and pictured a seal in his mind, teleporting to one of his kunai as a long iron spike barely missed hitting his side.
Taking advantage of the situation, Minato grabbed the kunai from the ground and sped towards the Kazekage. He drew back the kunai to strike at the Suna leader's throat, but found a thin wall of black sand preventing his attack. He flipped in the air and drove a fist into the wall, grimacing as he felt the iron sand was as hard as stone, and his knuckles bruising under the strength of the wall. He ducked and weaved underneath the sand's counterattack, large spikes and bullets striking at his body. Minato saw an opening and threw his kunai, the Kazekage diverting the strike with his sand so that it passed across his front.
Minato vanished again as the sand threatened to encircle him, teleporting to the thrown kunai. He grabbed it in the air and spun around, slashing directly at the Kazekage's nearby face. To his surprise, the Kazekage simply placed up a hand and took the kunai strike into his palm, staring at the Hokage face to face.
"You are fast, young Hokage" said the Kazekage, wrapping his fingers around the kunai.
With a flash, the kunai collapsed in on itself before turning into small specks of sand. Minato went to jump back from the Kazekage but found his legs stuck to the ground by grasping hands of iron sand.
"Not fast enough it would seem" said Minato with a smile.
The Kazekage frowned as he formed an iron sword in his hand, drawing it back to slit the Hokage's throat, wary of the fact that he had caught Minato so easily. The Hokage kept his smile as the blade swept at his neck, the blade piercing through his skin with ease. The Kazekage's eyes widened as he noticed a blonde speck in his peripheral vision.
"Boom" muttered Minato as he formed a handseal with his seal-covered kunai in his hands.
The Minato that had just been killed shone brightly, as the Kazekage quickly drew all his sand towards himself, but it was too late. The explosion threw back the leader of the Sand village, Minato quickly taking advantage of the situation by placing down a seal on the grass. He began to run to another part of the battlefield, dropping tiny pieces of sealed paper on the ground as he went past.
The Kazekage landed hard on the ground near the edge of the battlefield, a layer of iron sand keeping him from suffering the full brunt of the explosive clone, though he took his time getting back up from the ground. Minato finished his run and placed his kunai back in its original position, satisfied that his circle was complete. The Kazekage threw off his hat and cloak, and placed his hands together as the sand around him began to fluctuate. Minato watched him cautiously.
Normal weapons won't work on him. He'll just dissolve them into sand and increase his attack range.
He watched as the iron began to collect together, forming strange blocks and weapons as he Kazekage prepared his counterattack.
Fighting at a distance won't work either; he has range and strength of arms over me. What a troublesome opponent.
Two large squares of sand hovered above the Kazekage as a sword formed in each of his hands. He waved one of the swords at Minato and a block of iron sand shot at him faster then his previous attacks. Not wanting to reveal his seal placements, Minato flipped out of the way of the projectile and began to make an approach towards the Kazekage. He jumped out of the way of the second block, sensing that the first block was tracking him from behind, barely making it out of the way as more sand projectiles attacked him.
Minato put a palm to his side and began to form a spherical ball of pure chakra above it. The Kazekage frowned as he saw the attack; he knew that he couldn't manipulate chakra, unlike metal. He pulled one of the blocks back above his head as Minato ducked under one of his sword strikes.
"Rasengan!"
The ball of chakra slammed into the Kazekage's chest, which had been covered by a thin wall of iron sand. The wall broke apart easily under the attack, though Minato was struck by dozens of tiny iron projectiles as the Kazekage spun backwards. The Hokage jumped back, then realised his mistake as the other block of iron sand landed behind him, the Kazekage emerging from within the sand, a long spear appearing from the block into his hand. The spear lunged at Minato's back, piercing through his mesh armour just before he could use Hiraishin to teleport to his kunai. The Kazekage turned around and glared at the Hokage before putting his hands together in a strange handseal. The block of iron sand collapsed into a cloud of sand that hovered around him.
"Satetsu Futatsu no Gun" (Iron Sand: Army of Two)
The Hokage frowned as the iron sand collected together until they formed into two soldiers, ten feet tall a piece, with different armaments. One had a long spear and an axe, whilst the other had two large spiked shields and spiked armour.
"Okay, this is not good at all" said Minato.
He had heard of this technique before, from the war. Puppet masters were common in Suna, but the Kazekage's control over his large soldiers put them all to shame. The weapon soldier held its axe up high, Minato wondering what it was going to do as it was clearly out of range of him. He cursed himself as the soldier flung the giant axe at an astounding speed, the iron weapon taking him in the shoulder as he teleported away, causing him to land awkwardly on the ground.
The sand axe quickly dissipated and the resulting sand flew back to the soldier, reforming into the axe as both of them turned to Minato. The Hokage took a deep breath and placed both his hands out. He had only perfected this stage recently, but was thankful he had as the two balls of chakra began rotating wildly in his palms. He knew that attacking the soldiers was mainly pointless. As powerful as his technique was, the sand could just be reformed. The Kazekage had stayed near the middle of the battlefield, but as the weapon soldier turned to Minato the Hokage noticed a slight opening in their defences.
It took all of his concentration to keep the two techniques going, but using Hiraishin was as simple as breathing to the Namikaze shinobi. He waited until the weapon soldier began to move towards him before activating the seal on his chest. He teleported to a closer position and fuelled as much chakra as he could spare into his legs as he sped towards the Kazekage. The Suna leader was no fool; he brought both the soldier forms between Minato and himself, the shield one taking the forefront. Minato ducked under a spear thrust and threw his palms into each of the soldiers.
"Rasenrengan!" (Rasengan Barrage)
The iron sand was extremely dense and powerful, but the sheer power and rotation of the chakra attacks sent the soldiers into thousands of chunks. The Kazekage afforded himself a smile as he jumped back and activated his handseal, the iron sand already beginning to reform itself. Minato smiled as he pulled a scroll from a pocket, quickly rolling it out onto the ground and running through a fast set of handseals. He slammed both hands onto the plain parchment.
"Fuinjutsu: Kangokuraikou!" (Sealing Technique: Lightning Prison)
Minato vanished in a loud crack of lightning, and all his seals around the Kazekage in a wide circle activated with lightning at once, the sound was deafening as lightning strikes thundered down into the battlefield. The Kazekage looked around cautiously, his ears in agony, but he felt no pain or injury as the lightning passed harmlessly through him. A giant lightning strike hit the battlefield, and as quickly as it came the attack was over. Minato reappeared above the scroll and undid his handseal, quickly wrapping up the ink-covered text and placed it back into his pocket.
The Kazekage frowned and looked around, wondering what Minato had achieved with such a flashy attack. He put his hands together, but felt no response from his technique. For the first time, the Kazekage found his visage breaking as Minato glared at him with a chakra ball forming in his palm.
"Very clever, Hokage-sama."
The Kazekage put up his hands in a defensive position and waited for Minato's counter attack. The Hokage sped towards him, but before he struck, he cancelled the technique, pulling himself upright and regarded the Suna leader from a few feet away. The Kazekage frowned at Minato's drop in guard, not understanding why the Hokage hadn't pressed his advantage.
"You hesitate?" he asked cautiously, still holding his position.
Minato sighed and rubbed his shoulders sorely, "I think that should do it."
There was a dull silence for several moments, before the Kazekage, a man of solemn expression, broke out into giddy laughter. He broke his stance and stood up, as tall as his blonde counterpart. Minato smiled weakly at the Kazekage's display, hoping that his bluff would work.
"You never wished to fight to the death" observed the Kazekage.
Minato shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
"A display for the armies. To satisfy honour and settle debts. Besides, neither of us has played our trump cards yet."
The Kazekage frowned as he tried to work out how the young Hokage had figured out that he was holding back.
"And what is your trump card, Hokage-sama?"
Minato reached back and gestured to the figures in the background with a smile.
"My comrades. My people…" He thought about it for a moment with a slow smirk. "…but mostly my wife."
The Kazekage looked at him blankly, and then burst out laughing again.
Minato laughed with him, "I'm not kidding. She's damn scary."
"Oh I believe you. I've heard tales of the Kyuubi container, and few of them are about her sunny disposition. I would not have liked to have met her on the field of battle."
They both shared a laugh before Minato extended a hand to the leader of the Sand village. The Kazekage took it with a smile, both gripping their compatriots hand hard as they conceded the duel finished.
"We shall have peace, Hokage-sama."
"I'm glad to hear that, Kazekage-sama. Let no man say we did not fight with honour."
They released each other's hands and stepped back from each other.
"My army shall retreat back to Suna."
"And mine to Konoha, as promised."
"For Suna, the war is over. We shall keep our borders safe, but that is as far as we will go."
Minato nodded in agreement, thankful that there didn't need to be anymore fighting. The Kazekage turned to depart, but his eyebrows rose as he thought of something and turned back to the heavily breathing Hokage, the long battle having taken its toll on both of them.
"Might I have my sand back, Hokage-sama?"
Minato laughed again and threw the scroll to the Kazekage with a smile. He caught it and looked at the young Konoha leader with respect. In his eyes there weren't many shinobi who could have pressed him so, but the Namikaze shinobi had earned his admiration.
"In more peaceful times, we should converse further."
Minato smiled and nodded in agreement before giving the Kazekage a respectful bow and turned away from the battlefield.
The Konoha shinobi ran to Minato's aid immediately once they he gave the signal that the fight was over. Kakashi and Mikoto kept an eye on the Suna shinobi doing the same with the Kazekage, as a Jounin let Minato lean his arm around his shoulder. Neither Kage had many visible injuries, though it was clear to Kakashi that neither had much chakra left at all, and their clothes had been torn to shreds.
"Give the order to retreat" said Minato through laboured breaths.
Kakashi had never seen his teacher so exhausted, though he was suspicious of the smile on Minato's face. Shikaku nodded in compliance to the order and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Minato grimaced as he stepped towards the Konoha forces; another Jounin moving quickly to take the new Hokage's other arm.
"We should get you back to the medical corps, Sensei" said Kakashi, reaching up and covering his Sharingan with his forehead protector.
He had tried to analyse the battle with the doujutsu, and he had learnt much of his teacher's fighting style, since he was able to copy it with the Uchiha doujutsu. But he knew that none of the Kazekage's techniques would be useable since they were because of his bloodline limit. An ANBU accompanying them nodded in agreement, the fox mask hiding its identity, though most of the forces knew who they were.
"This is not a defensible position, Hokage-sama."
"I'm not coroneted yet, please don't call me that."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
A puff of smoke appeared in front of the shinobi as Shikaku appeared, joined by a shinobi with a long coat and black sunglasses and, to Kakashi's surprise, Uchiha Fugaku. The clan head stared at the group before his eyes rested on the exhausted kunoichi accompanying the young Hokage. Mikoto sighed as she saw the stern look in his eyes, knowing that she would get an earful when the others weren't around. Kakashi noticed the silent exchanged between the two Uchiha, noticing that despite her exhaustion, Mikoto had her Sharingan activated in response to Fugaku's red eyes.
"The army is in full retreat, Hokage-sama" said Shikaku, his face still stuck in its normal lazy expression.
The other shinobi accompanying him reached into his coat and pulled out an ordinary looking scroll, handing it Minato with care.
"The scout report?" asked Minato as he used a free hand to place the scroll into his pocket.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. The Aburame clan always does their duty."
The Hokage smiled, "No-one ever questioned that, Shibi-san."
The young Aburame clan head simply nodded an acknowledgement before disappearing into a cloud of insects, which flew away towards the retreating Konoha forces. The two Uchiha were still staring at each other, a common observer would have thought there was tension between them, but the seasoned shinobi knew there was something different that passed between the married couple.
"There is a clan meeting" said Fugaku.
Mikoto matched his stare, Kakashi noticing her Sharingan flickering to that odd pinwheel shape from before. Her arms were tense underneath her Uchiha clothes, and the others of the groups were quiet throughout the exchange.
"I am still on the battlefield, Fugaku" she replied, motioning for the two Jounin to assist Minato back to the Konoha lines.
Even in his exhausted state, Minato was hesitant to interfere in the dispute, though to his relief he didn't have to. Fugaku went to argue his point, however Kakashi stood in front of Mikoto, his Sharingan revealed once more.
"Fugaku, we are currently on the battlefield."
The clan head turned his gaze towards the short Jounin, Kakashi suddenly wishing he had the chakra for another Raikiri as he saw the pure hate in the Uchiha's eyes.
"This does not concern you" he said, moving out of the way of the Jounin leading the Hokage away from them.
Kakashi held his position as the Nara clan head followed the Hokage. Mikoto went to speak, but Kakashi put up a hand to stop her.
"With respect, Uchiha-san, you have no authority here. As Mikoto's commander, you require my authority to release her from her duties."
He stood a moment to stare directly into Fugaku's eyes.
"And I have no intention of doing so."
Fugaku glared at Kakashi, the silver-haired Jounin noticing a rise in the clan head's chakra levels. Mikoto placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder for him to stop, but Kakashi shrugged it off, knowing that he had to stand up to the clan head, otherwise Fugaku would walk over him.
"Uchiha Fugaku, if you wish to appeal Uchiha Mikoto's appointment under my command, you may do so. However, until such a time, if you threaten the integrity of my unit I will take you out myself."
It was a huge bluff, one that Mikoto knew that her husband would not fall for.
"Enough, Kakashi. I have duties to the clan beyond my role as a shinobi."
"But…"
Fugaku raised a hand for both of them to be quiet, before placing it back into his cloak. He deactivated his Sharingan before looking at his wife with his regular displeased look.
"I meant it in that her son requires her attention. Itachi is young, and his mother is needed."
Kakashi frowned, he didn't believe a word that the clan head spoke, but Mikoto smiled at the mention of her son and deactivated her Sharingan.
"It is fine, Kakashi. We have to reconvene at the village anyway."
The young Jounin wasn't happy, but knew that if her son required her, that took priority over his pissing match with Fugaku. He let her go, giving Fugaku a cold look as the Uchiha accompanied his second-in-command.
It'll be a long trip back.
He jumped as a shinobi faded into his view, the white-armoured shinobi giving Kakashi a rare smile. The Jounin took a breath of relief and put away his teacher's kunai he had readied.
"You enjoy doing that, don't you Jito?"
The Senju shinobi gave a short laugh as he began to walk back with his commander.
"Every chance I get, commander."
Minato waved off the Jounin accompanying him as he entered his tent near the back of the forest. The ANBU warrior opened the flap for him and nodded in acknowledgement as the Hokage smiled at the fox masked shinobi. Minato grimaced as he removed his shredded coat and sat on a cushioned stool.
"You can take off the mask now."
The ANBU reached up a gloved hand and removed the animal mask. The Hokage grinned as he was greeting by the smiling face of his red-headed wife. Kushina reached up and undid her hair tie, letting her flush red hair fall past her hips.
"Was the fox mask necessary?" asked Minato as he began to take off his shirt, Kushina tried to hide a gasp as she saw all the bruises on Minato's body.
She moved to stand behind him and removed her gloves before placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Well it's the best way to keep an eye on you."
Minato sighed as she began to massage the muscles in his shoulders, trying to not grimace as she put too much strength into it.
"Oh suck it up" she said, laughing as Minato tried to squirm away from her.
"I'm hurt!" he complained.
Kushina sighed and let her grip lesson, but still gave him grief about it.
"What will we do now?" she asked as she helped him to his bed.
He had protested that he had lots of work to do, but she had just looked at him through her blue eyes and reminded him why he had never won an argument with her in the past.
"Do you need anything?" she asked while placing a blanket over the blonde, slightly embarrassed, Hokage.
"Tell Shikaku to take the army just north of…Konoha…and tell…Kakashi…to…"
He didn't finish his sentence, drifting off to sleep as Kushina smiled warmly at the sleeping leader of the village, stroking his blonde hair whilst singing a song softly.
A bright sky comes abound
The sun shines ahead
We come this day to start anew
Beginnings never end
The fog clears and shadows flee
At the sound of our call
We come this day to set things right
And make safe our home
"You can come in" she said as she finished the song, smiling as an embarrassed Kakashi walked into the tent, trying his best to not smile at the amusing scene of the Hokage getting tucked into his bed.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion" he said as he motioned that he should probably come back later.
Kushina laughed lightly and indicated for him to follow her out of the tent.
"Our forces are in full retreat" said Kakashi, showing her how the Konoha forces were taking apart the defences they had erected.
Kushina laughed again as some of the shinobi bowed to her respectively, telling them that she wasn't anyone special.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked as Kakashi showed her out of the forest.
Kakashi smiled and waved a greeting Genma and Yugao, who were trying to do their jobs as quickly as possible so they could rush back to the village.
He turned to Kushina, "You are the wife of the Hokage. You are also a Jounin, and the container to the Kyuubi. But most of all, you are really scary."
"And that means you need to tell me?"
"Just covering my bases, Namikaze-sama."
The young Jounin had one of the fastest reaction times in Konoha, with even Minato only a slight step above him. He stood no chance as Kushina slammed her fist into his head, the silver-haired shinobi's face hitting the ground with astounding force. Kushina's face broke out into a smile as she heard Kakashi coughed sorely next to a tree. The log he had replaced himself with had been obliterated, Kakashi thankful that he had recovered enough chakra to do a substitution technique.
"You are getting better" commented Kushina as she turned around.
"But don't call me that. I'm just Kushina."
"I know I say this a lot, but your wife is scary, Sensei."
Minato laughed, and then grimaced at the bandages around his waist. He had gotten two hours of sleep before the group had to set out, Kakashi remarking at how much Kushina had healed in that time. She had run ahead of them, to 'set things up' in her words.
"She means well. But enough about Kushina, I want you to show it to me."
Kakashi gave his teacher a confused frown, "It, Sensei? I don't understand."
They had been walking for several hours before Kakashi had gotten a chance to speak to his teacher, a man he had known for years, yet there were always things about Minato that had confused Kakashi. His ability to say many things with few words was one of those.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Kakashi. I let you observe the battle for a reason."
Kakashi had to think about it, until he felt his forehead protector shift as it covered Obito's eye. He suddenly realised what the Hokage had meant, causing him to blush terribly at the thought.
"You wanted me to copy your technique?"
He put out his hand and concentrated, not knowing exactly how he was doing it, but the knowledge was there as the air above his palm began to shimmer as the ball of chakra formed. Minato smiled as Kakashi kept the technique up for as long as he could before the ball dissipated.
"Why did you let me copy this?" he asked.
Minato turned back to the road and the shinobi around them.
"I created the Rasengan with the intention to add my element to it. To create a new ninjutsu."
Kakashi stared at his palm with fascination. His Sharingan had given him the ability to use the technique, but even as his teacher had explained it he did not understand how he was able to do it. Minato continued to explain his reasoning. Kakashi was surprised to hear that his teacher hadn't been able to add his lightning element to the technique, and even after their long conversation he wasn't sure why. The Rasengan was not the type of technique Kakashi would generally use, it was blunter then he was used to.
"But the reason I let you copy it is simple."
He turned and smiled at his student.
"If I can't do it, perhaps you can. I have faith in you, Kakashi."
A tap on his shoulder caught Kakashi's attention, the Jounin turning to find himself confronted by Jito's white-haired visage.
"I require a word, commander."
Kakashi went to tell the Hokage, but found that the shinobi around them had disappeared, and the background had faded away to a darkening night sky.
"Is the genjutsu really necessary?" asked Kakashi, stopping his stride and taking a seat on the ground, rubbing his tired legs.
The armoured shinobi sat down opposite him, and stared at him with a solemn expression.
"I feel a…duty…to inform you of why I am under your command."
Kakashi cocked his head curiously, he thought he knew why the talented genjutsu master was in the army, but hadn't realised he had requested it specifically.
"And it is a reason you don't wish others to know. You keep many secrets, for a Senju."
Jito gave Kakashi a rare smile, but there was no warmth in it, only sadness. He gestured to the space to the right of them as a large collection of boxes attached to each other shimmered into existence in the air, each of them bearing a name. Kakashi recognised several of the names, noticing a pattern that became frighteningly clear.
"This is your family tree" he observed.
Jito nodded and enlarged the later section of it, under the name Tobirama Senju. Kakashi recognised Jito's name, as well as one female other. But what drew his attention was the name next to Jito's, and underneath his name.
"I didn't realise you have a wife and son."
Jito shook his head and dispelled the family tree, not wanting to linger on that particular section.
"Had, a wife and son. They are long gone."
Kakashi thought about it for a moment as he began to understand why Jito had volunteered to be in such a high-risk unit.
"You wish to join them?"
Again, Jito shook his head. His armour was dented and scarred from his battle with Sasori's puppet, and his white hair was covered by dirt and dried blood. Kakashi looked up and noticed two silhouettes standing behind Jito's back; one looked like a young woman and the other a boy of no more then ten years old.
Jito gave Kakashi a solemn look, "I wish to atone."
His commander didn't say anything, knowing that his ability to command the Senju warrior depended on what the genjutsu master said next.
"I am a master of my form, Hatake-san. I am not arrogant, I am simply stating truths. My father, the Second Hokage, acknowledged that I was a prodigy of genjutsu, though he was disappointed I didn't follow his footsteps as a ninjutsu user."
It took him a moment, until Kakashi realised that all throughout the battle, Jito had not used a single ninjutsu technique.
"You can't use ninjutsu" he said with fascination.
He'd never heard of such an ailment, a ninja who could still use chakra but only for genjutsu.
"A fact I have kept from the village."
"Illusions on illusions. I'm amazed you kept your sanity."
Jito sighed as he dissipated the two silhouettes with a wave.
"At times, I didn't. What I'm about to tell you, you must never repeat. And remember, I can make you believe you are a yapping puppy if it pleases me."
Kakashi gave a short laugh, causing Jito to smile in response before once again showing Kakashi the family tree.
"The Senju clan is dying. At one time we had the same numbers as the Uchiha, but the wars have not been kind to our clan."
Kakashi frowned as he looked over the names, noticing a distinct pattern in the names.
"But there are many names on the tree, how can your clan be dying?"
"Of the past three generations, I am the only youthful male left in the Senju clan."
Kakashi's eyes widened as he realised what that meant for the clan. While the bloodline would have been continued as the woman married into other clans, the Senju name would fall into obscurity. The Senju were not like some of the clans like the Inuzuka, they were a patriarchy.
"I apologise if this sounds insensitive, but what has that got to do with our unit?"
Jito stood up slowly and indicated for Kakashi to do the same. Kakashi barely came up to his armoured shoulders, yet his stance showed how much respect he held for the young Jounin.
"Everything. And nothing."
He reached up and removed his armoured gloves, Kakashi's eyes widening as he saw Jito's hands. His skin was a dark red colour with black seals across the top of his hands. Kakashi had heard of this before, but it had only been done a few times in Konoha history. He stood a step back instinctively as he stared at the genjutsu master's hands.
"You are a kinslayer" he said, curious as to why he would show him this.
Jito took a long breath and nodded, glancing at his red hands before putting his gloves back on.
"I am, to my greatest shame. You could ask me the details, but I won't give them to you. It is more then enough to simply understand why I fight the way I do."
Kakashi saw Jito in a strange new light. On the one hand, he was a criminal that even his teacher would struggle to accept. However on the other hand, Jito had protected the entire group in the battle, and slain a large portion of the enemy forces with great risk to himself.
"I believe I do."
Kakashi considered his options, before stepped forward and offering his hand to the Senju warrior. Jito stared at it with fascination. Out of all the potential outcomes of this situation, this was the least probable in his mind.
"You would accept me, despite knowing my history?"
"If you want to atone, so be it. You are a fair shinobi, and a comrade. I don't know about your history, and in my mind it does not matter. I know you will fight harder then most when it comes down to it."
Jito broke his solemn look and slowly smiled warmly, grasping Kakashi's hand. Kakashi stared at the Senju shinobi's eyes with his one normal eye, making sure that Jito truly understood his position.
"And if you wish to die, I will make sure that it is for the good of the village. I understand the meaning of sacrifice."
They released each other's hands and regarded each other, Kakashi knowing that he wouldn't have to do anything more to secure Jito's loyalty.
"But don't expect me to go easy on you. There is still a war to be fought."
Minato frowned as he walked through the giant gates, wondering why the gates guards seemed so surprised to see him.
"Hokage-sama! We weren't expecting you until next week" said a Hyuuga clan guard.
Minato stepped to the gate station and stared at the surprised faces.
"We send hawks that the army was returning early from the war with Suna."
The guard besides him pulled out a collection of papers, and sifted through it quickly.
"The last hawk we received was an update on Iwa's movements from last week."
Kakashi walked up to his teacher and tapped him on the shoulder before pointing at a sentry on the wall. Minato looked up and after a few seconds swore under his breath and vanished. Kakashi turned around quickly and gave the shinobi behind him two hand signals, before reaching up and moving up his forehead protector. After several seconds, Minato reappeared with his tattered cloak shifting underneath a soft wind.
"The scouts on the walls are dead."
He turned to a group of Jounin that were scanning the area.
"Shikaku, take as many shinobi as necessary and find any civilians that haven't been evacuated. I will go to the Hokage mansion and attempt to contact the Third."
The Jounin nodded in acknowledgement and vanished, Shikaku giving pointing to a large group of shinobi that followed him into the village.
Kakashi stepped up to the Hokage, "What about the rest of us, Sensei?"
Minato looked down at his student before tracking his eyes across the Konoha army that had followed behind them.
"Assume that anyone not wearing a Konoha forehead protector is an enemy. Spread out into the village and destroy any enemy threats."
The army nodded in acknowledge and leapt into the village, leaving a small selection behind as Minato turned back to them. Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage, with Jito at his side, waiting for Minato to give them specific instructions. The Fourth Hokage pulled one of his kunai and handed it to Kakashi, knowing that his student's one had been damaged in the previous battle. He leaned down so that he was face level with the young Jounin, a serious expression on his face.
"I have a suspicion I need you two to confirm."
"Do you think he's right?" asked Jito as they ran through the streets under the cover of the Senju's genjutsu.
Kakashi stared at his target with his Sharingan, trying to stay calm but the idea that the village was under attack kept his nerves on edge. They had been running through the village for several minutes and had encountered no enemy forces outside the genjutsu camouflage, and there was no structural damage to the village at all.
"The Hokage is rarely wrong about these things" he said as they leapt over a small shopping stand.
But I hope he is this time.
They had seen the main Konoha force shepherding confused civilians towards the Hokage monument and the shelters, Kakashi noticing without pause that they had begun carving his teacher's face into the mountain side. Minato had given up reminding people that he hadn't been coroneted yet, simply accepting that he was already being seen as the village leader. They turned a corner and skidded to a stop as they reached their destination.
"Drop your genjutsu, Jito. If there are any enemies inside, we need to draw them to us."
The shinobi complied instantly, seeing the logic in Kakashi's move, though he kept his technique ready for any civilians they might need to protect. Kakashi took a deep breath before stepping forward and throwing the double doors of the hospital wide open. Both of the shinobi swore as they saw what had happened within the large building. There were no bodies on the main hospital floor, but there were patients sitting in the lobby with various minor injuries suffered in the war. However as they saw, each of the patients had their throats cut and the floor was covered in drying blood.
"What the hell happened here?" said Kakashi to no-one in particular.
Jito walked over and knelt beside the body of a small girl, placing a hand over her small face and shutting her wide eyes. Kakashi checked the other bodies, noticing that all the cuts were the same, and all the victims had minor injuries that showed they were all patients.
"Why slaughter the patients?" asked Jito.
Kakashi stood up from the body of a Jounin who had bandages around his arms, likely suffered before his sudden death.
"I'm not sure. But some of these shinobi were very powerful fighters. To kill them in this fashion requires…I don't know…"
He looked down the corridor with his Sharingan, noticing that he couldn't see any chakra signals on the ground floor. His Sharingan couldn't pick up chakra signals as well as Mikoto's, but it was troubling that there were none at all on that floor, friendly or otherwise.
"Jito, I want you to check the rest of the building from the second floor upwards. Use extreme caution."
The Senju shinobi nodded in acknowledgement.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
Kakashi reached down to his belt and removed Raido's black sword that Genma had asked him to keep an eye on. Minato had delivered the swordsman, as well as Hayate and Nagisa to the hospital, and Kakashi was scared that they had suffered the same fate as the patients in the lobby. He turned away from Jito and looked at the open sky beyond the open doors.
"I'm going to the roof. I'll check the floors from there downwards. We are short on time, Jito. Engage any enemy forces you find, but keep an eye out for survivors."
Jito nodded again and vanished, Kakashi figuring that he had reactivated his camouflage illusion. The silver-haired shinobi ran out of the doors, and with a single leap and a reasonable amount of chakra landed on the top of the roof. He held up the sword defensively, and scanned the area quickly with his Sharingan.
Still no chakra signals. Is there anyone left in this building?
It was in the second from the top floor when Kakashi found the first enemy body, the first bit of evidence on who had attacked their village. There were no bodies around him, and little indication of what had finally killed him, though on closer inspection Kakashi could see he likely bled out from one of the patient's counterattacks. The floor around him was splattered with blood, and there were dozens of kunai and shuriken marks on his body. He was covered with a dark cloak and hood, and he seemed to be as old as Jito by Kakashi's estimation.
He reached down and removed the body's hood, his eyes widening as he saw the forehead protector beneath the black cloth. The twin clouds on the metal plate caused the Jounin hands to tighten and he felt his choler rising rapidly at the thought of this massacre being done at the hands of another shinobi village. He hadn't found any survivors, and even the pregnant women hadn't been spared. Kakashi knew that the Hokage's suspicions were correct, a frightening thought as he pocketed the Cloud forehead protector and moved on to another room.
He made his way back down to the third level and nearly cut off Jito's head as he turned a corner and was confronted by the white fur-covered shinobi. Kakashi put down Raido's sword, then watched as the Jito in front of him dissolved and the Senju warrior stepped out from a small room next to Kakashi.
"You are on edge" he stated dryly, Kakashi merely staring at him angrily.
He wasn't frustrated with the genjutsu user himself, but there was something very wrong about what had happened here. Jito reached into his pocket and pulled out two blood-stained forehead protectors, the same as the one Kakashi had found.
"Alive?" asked his commander, knowing that out of all his subordinates Jito was the most capable of taking prisoners.
To his dismay, the Senju shinobi shook his head and handed the bloody metal plates to the young Jounin.
"Already dead. Along with dozens of patients."
Kakashi sighed, "I think I understand what has happened here."
He led Jito into the largest room of the third level, the last place they had to check. There were several bodies in there as well, patients and children with their throats cut. Kakashi frowned as he felt an odd presence in the room. Jito had noticed it as well, having already begun to weave an illusion around them to reveal the presence. The room was eerily silent, as Kakashi levelled Raido's sword defensively.
"If anyone is in here, come out!"
His Sharingan eye drew a small amount of chakra from him as a section of the wall began to fluctuate. Jito frowned, indicating to Kakashi that he had no part in what was revealing itself to them. They prepared weapons until they saw three forms in front of them. Panting heavily was the hunched form of his Inuzuka subordinate, her dark hair covered with sweat and dried blood, with the unconscious forms of Raido and Hayate under her arms as her black fur-covered skin receded back to its normal tanned colour.
Her face was snarling, and Kakashi could tell with his Sharingan that her chakra levels were dangerously low. She looked at the two Konoha shinobi through tired eyes, smiling as she recognised them before putting down her two companions to the ground gracefully. She went to stand back up, but her legs came out from under her and she slowly fell to the ground. Kakashi shot forward and caught her by the shoulders, while Jito quickly checked over their injured companions.
He took a moment before turning and giving Kakashi a rare smile, the Jounin able to see with his own eyes that both the shinobi were still breathing, with no additional injuries than the ones that sent them to the hospital in the first place. Kakashi bid Jito to bring him a chair, laying Nagisa on it with care as the Inuzuka struggled to stay awake.
"What happened here, Nagisa?" he asked, offering her a bottle of water he brought from his pack.
She took the water with a tired smile, her hands shaking lightly as the water passed her lips. She took a moment to collect herself, stretching out her sore shoulders before offering Kakashi back the water bottle.
"I'm…not sure" was her response.
Kakashi stood back and pushed his forehead protector down to cover Obito's gift.
"Start from the beginning."
He made a quick hand signal to Jito, who was about to show Nagisa the forehead protectors. He had a suspicion that he wanted to confirm.
"The Hokage dropped us off here and made sure that we were properly taken care of before leaving for the battlefield. The doctors were very kind, healing Raido and Hayate quickly enough."
She indicated to the unconscious shinobi, both of them wearing hospital gowns whilst Nagisa still wore her shinobi garb and flak jacket.
"The doctors told me I only needed rest. Raido will be left with that scar on his face."
She smiled as she remembered how the medics had marvelled at the fact that he had survived such brutish surgery.
"Apparently he was very lucky that Genma got the poison out in time. Hayate wasn't as lucky."
She looked over the now-pale looking shinobi.
"The Red Scorpion's poison broke down parts of his system before Mikoto could remove it."
Kakashi was thankful that his subordinates were safe, but he knew she was stalling. Nagisa sighed as she rubbed her tired legs.
"We were here for two days until something changed. The three of us were in a room on the fourth floor, but I felt that something was wrong. Raido and Hayate had not yet awoken, but I felt a sudden urge to get out of our room."
Both Kakashi and Jito kept their thoughts to themselves; though Kakashi made a note to recommend her to Minato for the ANBU should they survive. Considering the fact that many of the murdered patients were Jounin, all more experienced than him. As she told her tale, he realised that her skills were ill suited for an Inuzuka. She had taken the two male shinobi in her arms and transformed into some form of shadowy beast, though she wasn't specific about the details.
"There were…people…stalking the corridors. They bore no markings, nothing to suggest their motives or aims."
Kakashi swore as he heard that, a picture of what had happened forming in his mind.
Nagisa continued her tale, "We hid in the shadows. I couldn't do anything to stop them, as keeping up the camouflage was straining my chakra as it was."
Jito reached over and placed a gloved hand on the wild-shinobi's shoulder, "You did better than the rest of them."
"I didn't do enough. You don't understand. They only killed the ones they didn't need."
"They took the medics, didn't they?" asked Kakashi.
Nagisa stared at him with a sad expression for several moments before nodding slowly. Kakashi swore again, and reached into his pack.
"Why would they take the medics?" asked Jito.
He reached into his pack and pulled out the forehead protectors, as Nagisa had indicated that was all she knew. He showed her the images on the metal plates, but Nagisa immediately shook her head despite seeing the blood on them.
"This wasn't the Cloud. This was…"
"Enough, Nagisa" interrupted Kakashi. "You don't know who might be listening."
The Inuzuka nodded in compliance, asking his leave to rest and recover her chakra. Kakashi allowed her to do so as he regarded the kunai in his hand. His teacher had told him he didn't need to throw it to activate the seal. He slipped a small amount of chakra into the seal, which as a Jounin was as easy as breathing, and waited. Nagisa had found a small bed besides the ones that Jito had placed Raido and Hayate on. She had removed her flak jacket and crawled into a foetal position before slipping off into soundless sleep.
"Will the Hokage come?" asked Jito, taking a seat next to Raido's bed. Kakashi sighed and sat down next to Nagisa, noticing how strangely peaceful she looked in sleep, despite what she must have gone through. He knew what it was like to not be able to save your companions, and could only imagine how she must have felt. After fifteen minutes, Kakashi fuelled more chakra into the seal. It took the Hokage two seconds to respond to that one, the young blonde shinobi taking a few more seconds before a sad look came over his face.
"So I was right after all" he said solemnly.
Kakashi turned to Jito and gave him a silent instruction, the Senju warrior nodding in understanding before placing his hands together. Minato looked around himself with suspicion and as the background turned shadowy and black around the two of them.
"Genjutsu?" queried Minato.
He knew of Jito's abilities, likely more than the Senju realised since he had approved his application to Kakashi's unit. His student nodded in agreement and showed the Hokage the forehead protector he had taken from the corpse. Minato took the metal plate and examined it closely.
"The Cloud had a part in this?" he asked.
Kakashi shook his head, "I believe they were meant to look like they did."
Minato pocketed the forehead protector and indicated for Kakashi to sit down on a set of chairs Jito had made for them.
"Start from the beginning."
Kakashi had explained everything in detail fairly quickly, with Minato asking particular questions that drew out information Kakashi had forgotten.
"What do you think?" asked Kakashi once he was finished.
Minato took a moment to consider the facts, having told what he had encountered.
"I think you are right. I don't believe that Cloud could do this. They certainly need more medics and have tried to take them before, but this smells of something else."
"What's your plan?"
Minato placed a hand to his chin as he thought about their situation. Minato was considered a genius of his time, with even Nara Shikaku giving him due credit when it came to plan formulation. So Kakashi was surprised that it took his teacher several minutes before turned back to Kakashi.
"We are clearly being goaded into a confrontation with the Kumogakure. To cover for something or someone else."
"We can't abandon our medics" said Kakashi, knowing that Minato agreed with him.
"Can the Inuzuka girl track these figures she spoke of?"
Kakashi thought about the young Inuzuka girl sleeping with her white-streaked black hair wrapped up in her hands. She hadn't said anything about it, but Kakashi had faith in her. He felt a smile creeping onto his face as he remembered the look on her face. Minato smiled slyly as he saw the look on Kakashi's face.
"Something I should know about, Kakashi?"
The silver-haired Jounin recovered quickly, though Minato was highly amused at his young student.
"Uh…I believe she can. I have faith in her abilities."
Minato smiled and adopted his plan to fit. Luckily their forces had taken no casualties outside of Kakashi's unit in the previous fight, yet he was hesitant to meet another force in the field. But as Hokage he would not stand for such an infiltration, let alone such a massacre. Over one hundred patients in the hospital murdered, two score sentries killed at their posts, and over fifty medics and doctors taken from within their village.
"Okay, Kakashi. I have a plan, and I need you to carry it out."
Kakashi nodded in agreement. He was tired of the constant fighting from the war, but he also knew that with Suna out of the fight it would get worse before it was going to get better. His father would have done nothing less.
"We are going to take the bait and meet the Cloud army in the field."
Kakashi frowned at that, until he realised why he needed his unit.
"You want us to track down the attackers?"
Minato nodded, before telling Jito loudly to remove the genjutsu in a few minutes. He laid out his plan for Kakashi, though he left out certain details that Kakashi knew he didn't need to know to do his job.
"Two things, Sensei. How do you know the army will succeed?" he asked.
Minato waved off the concern uncharacteristically, "It will, don't concern yourself about that. What's the other thing?"
"I…don't know if one platoon will be enough."
Across from him, Minato gave him a caring laugh and patted him on the head. Kakashi hated it when Minato did that, though it was worse when Kushina did it as she seemed to rip out bits of his silver hair. The illusion around them broke apart as Minato turned and nodded his thanks to the Senju shinobi.
He turned back to Kakashi, "You have one day, and then you need to move out after the army."
Kakashi walked around and checked Nagisa's sleeping form. She seemed almost peaceful, and Kakashi smiled as he saw her drooling into the sheets. Nagisa was only two years older than him, though compared to Genin their age they were much older in terms of experience.
"There's one more I'd like to come with us" he said to Minato, who nodded before teleporting away.
Kakashi encountered little resistance at the estate; none of the guards said anything to him as he stepped to the front door of the house. He knocked on the door, jumping in his skin as the door slid open quickly.
"What do you want?" said the imposing figure of the Uchiha clan head.
Kakashi stood his ground, "I would like a word with Mikoto."
He noticing a twitch on Fugaku's face, but the clan head allowed him into the house regardless. Kakashi thanked Fugaku and walked into the main household, marvelling at how spacious and expensive-looking the inside of the house was. He heard a female laugh in a nearby room, causing him to turn and walk towards it. Inside sat Mikoto in a rocking chair, with a small child sitting in her arms with a large smile on his face. Kakashi remarked at how similar Itachi looked like Fugaku, and then smiled as Mikoto waved him over.
"Look, Itachi. This is my friend, Kakashi."
A young female Uchiha came into the room and picked up the young Itachi, taking him from the room with a smile. Mikoto stood up from the rocking chair and indicated for him to join her at a nearby table.
"You've come to take me to war again, haven't you?"
Kakashi smiled and accepted a cup of tea that she had poured for him. Mikoto sat back down and sipped at her own tea.
"I have" he said, laying out his plan quickly, whilst running a small amount of chakra into a seal Minato prepared for him to prevent any eavesdropping.
If Mikoto noticed it she made no comment as Kakashi finished his plan.
She thought about what he had said, "A solid plan, though quite risky."
She put down her tea and placed her hands on the table, regarding Kakashi with dark eyes.
"When do we leave?"
The young Jounin smiled at her willingness, but there was one thing he had to confirm before they set out. There was still time for Nagisa to recover her chakra, the Inuzuka giving Kakashi her confidence that she could track the real attackers.
"At dawn. But there is something I need to ask you."
"You want to know why I defy Fugaku so easily?"
Kakashi frowned at her glib speech until he realised she had sensed the seal and knew that no-one could hear them. He smiled and placed the seal on the table.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But if your own husband cannot trust you, that doesn't inspire me to."
Mikoto gave Kakashi a short laugh and poured herself another cup of tea.
"I won't bore you with Uchiha politics; though I'm sure you know more than you let on. Suffice to say, my marriage to Fugaku was a clan matter, and not of my choice."
"An arranged marriage?"
They weren't uncommon amongst the bigger clans, though they had begun to go out of fashion with so many varied shinobi in the village. Mikoto reached into her dress pocket and produced a photo that she placed on the table, sliding it towards Kakashi. It showed a younger looking Mikoto with an Uchiha in a smiling embrace, Kakashi not recognising the male figure.
Mikoto pointed to the male with a finger, "This was my lover. I come from a powerful line of Uchiha clansmen, so my hand was highly sort after within the clan. He was a 'lowborn' and not even a consideration for the family. But he was the only one who could make me laugh. He also had a beautiful singing voice, but that doesn't matter."
"And then the clan matched you with Fugaku?" asked Kakashi.
Mikoto nodded and sighed as she looked at the smiling face in the photo.
"He seemed a good man at the time, but neither my lover nor I wanted it to happen. The day before marriage, he challenged Fugaku for the leadership of the clan. If he was the leader, then there would be no disputing our love. We had kept the relationship secret from everyone. Uchiha are good at keeping secrets."
Kakashi began to get a picture of what had happened between the couple, understanding why Mikoto looked at Fugaku with a mixed look of hatred and sadness.
He handed her back the photo with a sad look, "And Fugaku killed him?"
Mikoto smiled sadly as she looked at the photo again before placing it back into her dress.
"Even as Fugaku cut him down, he smiled like there were no cares in the world. That stupid damn smile…"
Kakashi reached over and handed her a tissue box, Mikoto nodded her thanks as she dabbed at her eyes.
She put down the box and looked back at Kakashi with a serious look, "Fugaku didn't know about our love, and still does not. He is a shrewd man, but not uncaring."
"But you can't forgive him?"
Mikoto shook her head, "No, I cannot. I will care for any children even if they are his, but I will never love him."
Kakashi pushed his empty tea cup away from him and leant back in his chair.
"But why tell me this? I am a stranger in your household."
"Perhaps it is because of that. Or perhaps it is how close you were to young Obito before his death. I know you will not betray my confidence."
"And you are still willing to fight, despite your young child needing you?"
Mikoto's face changed instantly at the mention of Itachi, a warm smile passing over her as she thought of her son's face.
"I have a duty to the village, and to our friends. Fugaku may not like it, but I made a deal with him. Once the war is done, I will put away my forehead protector and being the caring housewife he apparently requires. And if I do not return…hopefully Itachi can forgive me."
She reached over the table and put her hand over the seal, crumpling it in a single grip before smiling sweetly at Kakashi.
"I shall meet you at the gate at dawn. And Kakashi…"
She closed her eyes for a second before opening them slowly, revealing the pinwheel Sharingan Kakashi had seen before. Mikoto kept a frighteningly serious look on her face as she regarded the young Jounin through her red eyes. Kakashi could tell immediately that there were things that she hadn't told him, that she wasn't going to tell him, but as he looked into the strange looking eyes he found himself not wanting to know. Mikoto broke the contact off with a smile as her eyes faded back to their regular black.
"…remember you are only as strong as those besides you. Have faith in us, and we will all come home safe."
Kakashi smiled before bowing slightly to her in respect and walking out of the room as Mikoto went to her son and the housemaid with a smile. He passed Fugaku in the hallway, seeing the suspicion in the clan head's eyes, but was relieved that it appeared that Fugaku hadn't heard any of their conversation. He would have to thank his teacher when he got the chance, but there was one more place he had to visit before their departure in several hours.
"This feels familiar" commented Kakashi as he looked over his companion.
Nagisa had recovered quickly and wore the standard outfit for Konoha shinobi, though Kakashi noticed the red fang marks on her face had black lining around them. She said she was confident that she could follow the scents from the hospital. Kakashi had found out that the scents of the medical staff lead towards Kumogakure, whereas the attacker's scents led into the Land of Snow. Jito had appeared soon after the two of them, still wearing his father's armour and fur, though Kakashi could tell that Jito seemed less solemn since the hospital.
He made no comment about it, but was thankful the Senju shinobi had agreed to accompany them. Just as the sun began to rise, Kakashi saw the form of Mikoto running towards them. She apologised for her lateness, greeting Jito and Nagisa with a smile.
She looked at Kakashi, "Didn't you have Raido's sword?"
Kakashi shook his head, "It didn't suit me. Besides, I figured Genma and Yugao could use it to defend him and Hayate."
Mikoto shrugged and nodded before taking her place besides him.
"What is our formation?" asked Jito.
Given that there were only four of them it was fairly obvious to them what it would be. Nagisa took her place at the front, Kakashi giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder before standing behind her. Mikoto stood behind him, cracking her knuckles in anticipation as her Uchiha cloak rubbed against her shoulders. Jito kept his counsel to himself at the back, knowing that he wouldn't have to do anything until they broke into enemy territory. Kakashi look a long look at the village before turning to Nagisa.
"Let's go."
Author's Note:
The next chapter will be the last in the mega-flashback, I promise. It does tie into the main story, more so than just Kakashi's memories.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.
Anime Spotlight: Black Lagoon. Fantastic anime about criminals and gives an interesting perspective on why people do bad things in a criminal environment. Fan service aside, Revy is one of my favourite characters, because she doesn't take crap from anyone. Not one for the faint-hearted, but fantastic nevertheless.