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The Land of Waves - Part 1
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Kakashi's hair was a mess, and like every day, he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed and didn't check a mirror once. His students greeted him with complaint after complaint. They had waited for him the day before, after being told that he'd teach them ninjutsu. But Kakashi had never showed up.
"I'm here now," he said with a lack of enthusiasm, like a man who'd rather be somewhere else.
Naruto was ready to continue complaining, but Kakashi pulled some small pieces of paper out of his pockets and distributed them to his students. Curious, Naruto eyed it.
"Alright, you guys already learned about the five basic elements at the Academy, right? Today we'll see for which of those elements you have an affinity. That's the first step to learning ninjutsu. Because you don't want to waste your time trying to learn ninjutsu for an element you have no affinity for. It would take you ages." When he reached Naruto, Kakashi realised he was one paper short. "Ah, well, sorry. Seems like I didn't bring enough."
"Huh, what's that paper even good for?" Naruto wasn't too sad about not getting a piece of paper yet. He had enough paper at home.
"This is special paper. Infuse a small amount of your chakra into it and it will tell you your elemental affinity."
"What, really? The paper can do that?" Naruto looked at Sasuke next to him and his paper, wondering if he'd be able to snatch it away.
"You can have mine," Naho offered. She was the least enthusiastic about learning ninjutsu of the four, although she really did like the fire show they'd watched together.
"Oh, it's fine. Keep it," Naruto instantly answered. "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will get me another one, right?"
Sakura shrieked. "My paper's gotten all wet! How did that happen?"
"Seems like Sakura already found out her affinity. It's water," Kakashi explained.
Naruto's eyes glowed in excitement. He couldn't wait to find out his element.
Sasuke's paper wrinkled.
"Oh, that's interesting." Kakashi looked at Sasuke's wrinkled paper. "You already know fire style jutsu, yet it seems like your affinity is for lightning. Affinities are pretty much inheritable. A lot of people in Konoha, especially the Uchiha clan, usually have an affinity for fire."
"What are you trying to say? That I'm not an Uchiha?" Sasuke said, clearly offended.
Kakashi rolled his eye. "No, I'm saying you diverge from the norm, which happens all the time."
"I always knew Sasuke-kun was special." Sakura sighed.
"What about you, Naho?" Naruto's eyes were beaming. "I wanna see what else this magical paper can do."
"Huh? Should I? Now?" Everyone nodded at her and the girl started to infuse a small amount of her chakra into the paper. It caught fire almost immediately. Naho shrieked, throwing the burning paper away from her.
"And here we have the fire affinity I was just talking about."
"So, what about me? It's my turn now, right?" Naruto was dancing on the spot. He was hoping for fire too. It looked the most impressive.
Kakashi went over to a bag he'd brought and pulled out three books. He handed them to his students. "Here are all the basics on chakra natures. Good luck with these."
"Huh, books? Wait, you are not teaching us?" Sakura was ready to throw the book straight back at her teacher.
"Mh, just look at you guys. All highly individualistic with different affinities. I'm sure the people who wrote those books knew more about your affinities than I do."
Kakashi told Naruto to come along to the Hokage building. They stored more of the magical paper there for teachers to access. The books had tempered his enthusiasm, but there was still enough left.
It didn't take them long to arrive at the Hokage building. A man they didn't know was standing in front of it, looking around in confusion. From his clothing they could tell that he most likely was a civilian.
"Can we help you?" Kakashi asked when they approached.
He held up some documents. "I have an application form for a mission here. It's all filled out. Should I just drop it into this box or…?"
Naruto glanced at the form. He wanted to know what kind of mission it was. Because if it was something exciting, he'd make sure to get his hands on it. Unfortunately, it was simply another C-rank mission to accompany that old guy back to his home in the Land of Waves.
"We can hand it in for you," Kakashi offered.
"Well, you see… I'm in a bit of a hurry. Figured if I gave it to the Hokage in person, I might be able to… you know." He smirked and showed them a bottle of fine sake. "I heard this one's his favourite."
They ended up showing him the way to the Hokage office. The Third was sitting at his desk, a big pile of more forms in front of him. The man introduced himself as Tazuna, a bridge builder, as he gave his application to the Hokage, who was about to drop it on one of the big piles. When Tazuna presented the sake to the Third, he took the form back, put a stamp on it and gave it to Kakashi.
"Your team is free, right? This C-rank shouldn't be a problem for you."
Naruto's mouth dropped open. "Is this how things work in here?" he yelled at both Kakashi and his Hokage.
Tazuna turned to Naruto. "Don't tell me that brat's going to escort me. Don't you have someone else, Lord Hokage?"
The Hokage shook his head. "I'm afraid most of my shinobi fitting for this mission are occupied already. Usually, we don't answer requests that aren't of a certain degree of urgency this fast, so…"
Tazuna looked at Naruto again.
"Wait, but Kakashi-sensei was supposed to teach us ninjutsu today. We aren't free either!" The last two C-rank missions had not lived up to Naruto's expectation at all, so learning ninjutsu was definitely far higher up on his list.
But arguing was no good. The mission had already been assigned to his team. He pleaded to Kakashi to at least let him know his element first so he could train during their mission, but the Hokage crushed his hopes once more, telling them they were all out of chakra paper.
"Stop sulking. I'm sure they'll have stocked up again once we are back from this mission," Kakashi told him on their way outside. Tazuna followed them. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"Not fair. This way the others will have a head start on me again! What am I going to do while Naho spits fireballs and Sakura summons waterfalls during the mission?"
"Mh, I guess you can be team leader for this mission. You'll have plenty to do." It was the easiest way Kakashi could think of to make Naruto happy again.
A big grin formed on his face. He'd been hoping for this. "Don't worry, old man! I'll make sure you are all safe. I'm thinking about the crane wing formation, or maybe the diamond? What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Yeah, those both sound great."
"Really, you are putting my safety into that squirt's hands?" Tazuna was not happy at all with the guards he'd been assigned.
"Who are you calling a squirt?" Naruto defended himself. "I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage and one day, I'll be the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen!"
Kakashi was almost glad the boy had found back to his normal self. But only almost.
"Hah, I doubt that. All I see is a squirt. So, can we leave right away?" he turned away from Naruto and asked Kakashi.
They agreed on meeting in an hour, so everyone could get ready for the trip.
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Sakura, Sasuke and Naho had been told to take their books with them. After all, they'd be able to study during their breaks. The Art of Nature Transformation also made for a nice bedtime story according to Kakashi.
"Maybe you should read it to Naruto. He might learn one or two things. Or three or four," Kakashi said while they set up a camp. Reaching the Land of Waves in a day, especially while escorting a civilian, was impossible.
"The only book I'd read to him would be The Art of Not Being a Complete Pain in the Neck," Sakura complained. Naruto took his work as team leader very serious again, even more so than he usually did since they were on a mission.
"What did I do? I just made sure the old guy is safe. And for the safety of my teammates…" Naruto looked at the three tents that were being set up. "I decide that Naho and Sakura will both stay in my tent tonight!"
Sakura gave him a knock on his head. "Stop being an idiot."
Naruto kept complaining how Sakura did the exact same thing when she was team leader on their first C-rank. He didn't really want to spend the night close to those two, but he was hoping for some backup from his teacher, simply to get some assurance that he was making the rules. But Kakashi's thoughts were somewhere else.
Someone had been following them. Two people most likely. But they'd been reckless at hiding their presence. His four Genin hadn't noticed them yet, but to Kakashi, they might as well have run around right in the open. Either they didn't care enough or were Chuunin level at best.
Kakashi's eyes switched from the shadows of the woods around them to Tazuna. He seemed nervous. The sun was already hanging low. "What did you say was your occupation?"
"Carpenter and master bridge builder."
A safe job. Safer than being a shinobi. It was more likely those shinobi were after himself. Or Naruto. Or even Sasuke. He got up, telling his students to continue making camp. A fire wasn't allowed though. He had to lure them out before nightfall.
"Where are you going, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Sorry, nature's calling." He walked off into the forest, away from his students and Tazuna. He had to find out what they were after. Whom they were after.
Naruto took out two cups of instant ramen. Sakura reminded him that he needed boiling water for those, which wasn't possible without a fire. Naruto decided to try with cold water, because water was water after all.
"You're a lost cause, aren't you?" Tazuna said, shaking his head at Naruto.
"Lost cause?" Naruto didn't understand what he was talking about. Tazuna only sighed.
Suddenly, kunai flew through the air, aiming straight for Tazuna. All four Genin saw them fly, but only Sasuke was fast enough to react. He grabbed some shuriken from his bag. They collided with the kunai, throwing them off course.
Two shadows appeared out of nowhere before the kunai could even hit the ground. One of them swung a metal chain at Sasuke, who managed to dodge. He went for a counterattack, managing to land a hit, but another chain flew at him from behind. It wrapped around Sasuke, leaving him unable to move.
The two shinobi both charged at Tazuna again. Sakura jumped in front, ready to block for him.
"What should we do?" Naho's voice was almost a whisper, her eyes switched between Naruto and the fight happening in front of them.
"Naruto, protect Sakura," Sasuke yelled, rolling left and right to free himself from the chains. "Naho, go get Kakashi."
Naho didn't have to think twice and immediately turned around to run into the direction their teacher had vanished. Her heart was racing, but she was glad. Running away from the fight felt the most natural to her.
The two shinobi were right in front of Sakura and Tazuna now. One was raising a short sword at Sakura. Naruto watched in horror. He knew what would happen next. They would strike. The sword would cut. But he couldn't move. His feet didn't want to get into the fight.
The ground in front of Sakura broke open, and someone else jumped out of the hole. Kakashi stood between her and the two attackers. It took less than a second for his own kunai to find the enemy's heart. His free hand simultaneously disarmed the second shinobi and slammed him to the ground.
His three students stared at him with open mouths. Naho came back, another Kakashi walking next to her. He vanished into thin air. She got confused when she saw Kakashi standing over two bodies. One he held down with his foot, the other was lifeless. A pool of blood formed on the ground. Her eyes grew bigger.
"Good job, Sasuke. You saved our client there." Kakashi's voice was calm, like it always was. Just another day. "You too, Sakura." He seized his captive by the collar and pulled him up.
"How'd you get back this fast?" the shinobi asked.
"I was never gone." Kakashi looked at Tazuna. He seemed surprised, shocked almost. But not shocked enough. "Why are you after the bridge builder?"
"I was told to kill him."
"By whom?"
"My Lord Mizukage. It was just a mission, nothing personal. Please, don't kill me."
"Who's the client of your mission?" Kakashi asked, his eyes studying both the shinobi from Kirigakure and Tazuna.
"I don't know. They never give us much information about missions. I really don't know anything." He was talking fast, with fear in his voice. Kakashi was holding a blade to his throat. "Please, just let me go."
"Who is after you?" Kakashi looked at Tazuna. "This is at least a B-rank mission if there are enemy shinobi involved. You knew there was someone targeting you, didn't you?"
Tazuna opened his backpack and took out a bottle of sake. He took a long drink before answering. "Sorry, you're right. A man called Gato is after me."
"Gato? You don't mean that super wealthy chief executive of some shipping company, do you?" Sakura recognized the name. It was part of a shinobi's life to know the most influential people of each country. And Gato was definitely one of the richest.
"That's exactly who I'm talking about. He runs a despicable business, ruthlessly taking over nations and enterprises. He set his eyes on the Land of Waves around a year ago. Before anyone knew it, he'd taken complete control over our island's maritime transportation and shipping. In an island nation like the Land of Waves, controlling the ocean means controlling finance, the government, the people… everything."
"What does that have to do with you?" Sakura asked again.
"I'm a bridge builder. I started building a bridge to the mainland."
"And this bridge would ruin Gato's profit. I see," Sakura concluded, a thinking finger on her chin.
"If you knew that why did you apply for a C-rank mission? These kids are not trained enough to do these kinds of missions."
Tazuna laughed. "Your B-ranks aren't exactly affordable for a small, broke country. What was I supposed to do?"
"Well, this mission ends here. The only question left is what we're going to do with this guy." He had a better look at the shinobi from Kirigakure, who was no older than his own Genin. Killing him was still the most convenient approach.
"You… aren't going to kill him, are you?" Naho looked like she was about to cry.
Sakura too looked concerned. "He's so young."
"Kiri has a very different training system for shinobi. It's harder, more ruthless. Don't let his appearance fool you." He looked at Naruto, who'd been standing there all this while with clenched teeth. Kakashi could feel another speech coming. "What is it, Naruto?"
"We can't give up on this mission," Naruto blurted out. "Let's continue."
Sasuke grinned. "So you can get all scared again?"
"I'm not getting scared anymore," he returned instantly. "Next time I'll –"
"We are not continuing this mission," Kakashi cut him off. "You guys are not ready for this. And we weren't paid for this either."
Tazuna kept drinking sake. "Sure, just go back again. It's not like I'm gonna be dead before I arrive home. I'm sure my daughter will be heartbroken. Forever blaming the Konoha shinobi. But really, I understand."
"Come on, Kakashi-sensei. I'm the team leader, am I not? I thought I got to decide. I want to continue." Naruto was eager. Too eager.
Kakashi knew Naruto's decision made no sense and was emotional instead of logical. He also knew that this was one of the situations he was supposed to put his foot down and protect Naruto from himself. But then his eyes drifted away, to the Anbu following them. He'd lost track of them. Yet he knew they were there, watching. "I guess we might be able to make it to the Land of Waves before Kiri realises their mission was a failure."
The Kiri shinobi's eyes grew bigger. "I won't tell them, I promise."
"We can't let you go, sorry. You'd just come back for us." Kakashi raised his kunai again.
"Don't!"
He looked at Naho. There was terror in her eyes. Terror and disbelief, and Kakashi wondered how these children could be so different from his own young self. They were soft, inexperienced, forgiving. And stupid. "We can't let him go, Naho. He'll just attack us again or report back to Kiri. They'll send even more shinobi." He looked for signs of understanding in her eyes.
"Can't we just take him with us?" Naruto asked, happy he could contribute an idea.
"Do you want to be the one who shares his tent with the enemy?" Sasuke asked. "Just kill him."
"But… he's like us. He was just doing a mission," Sakura said.
Kakashi sighed. "Alright, Naruto. You want to be the team leader, so be the team leader. Decide what we are going to do. But be aware that as the leader, you will also have to deal with the consequences of your decisions." Those kids would never grow up if he kept coddling them.
Sakura, Sasuke and Naho all stared at Naruto, who didn't have to think twice about his decision. "Alright, we'll continue the mission and let this guy go!"
"Idiot, didn't Kakashi-sensei just explain that he'd just come back with back-up if we do that?" Sakura said.
"Oh right. Well, then we'll take him with us. Sasuke, go search him for weapons." He pointed a demanding finger at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't move. "You can't be serious. Kakashi?"
Kakashi only shrugged. "The boss has spoken."
"I'm not following the orders of a scaredy-cat. Leadership has to be earned." Sasuke turned around and simply left to continue setting up his tent. The conversation was over for him.
"Hey, come back! Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke's being a bullhead."
Kakashi shrugged again. "I'm just the guy making sure this Kiri shinobi doesn't run away first chance he gets. So, is anyone going to tie this guy up any time soon?"
Naruto reluctantly took over the job he'd assigned to Sasuke and searched the shinobi for weapons and scrolls of any kind. Afterwards, he started tying up his hands behind the back.
Kakashi looked his student over the shoulders, commenting every step with an 'Mh', 'Hmm' or 'oh'.
Naruto eventually lost patience. "What's wrong? Stop making those sounds, you are distracting me."
"You are tying him up completely wrong!" Sakura bumped Naruto aside to do the job herself. She undid whatever Naruto had done, and used a tying technique they'd learned at the Academy, one that made it impossible for the enemy to still weave signs.
"Just to be clear." Tazuna sat down next to Sasuke, observing them while continuing his drink. "If this goes awfully wrong, this isn't even my fault. You really shouldn't let those kids handle things around here. Just look at the brat. He's all green behind the ears. I'm doomed, am I not?"
Kakashi ignored the insults his student threw at their client, and went to look at the dead body of the second shinobi again. He was older, maybe around his own age. But it was an unknown face. None one would find in a bingo book. Kakashi searched his body for any signs of a Kekkei Genkai. But there was none either. It was common procedure. Dead bodies always had to be checked for those. He opened a scroll and sealed the body away. It cost a good amount of chakra, but this way he could at least make sure the body was gone.
His students tied the other Kiri shinobi to a tree. It was going to be a long night for Kakashi. He couldn't possibly go to sleep with this guy around. It was probably best to send a messenger back to Konoha and have someone pick the Kiri shinobi up. They could return him to Kirigakure as soon as their mission was over. There was a peace agreement between Kiri and Konoha, killing their shinobi was unacceptable, except for situations like these in which their missions simply clashed. In this case, the shinobi of either village weren't responsible for the deaths, their clients were. Returning their shinobi alive would surely be seen as a gesture of goodwill. He summoned Pakkun and sent him back to Konoha with a message for the Hokage.
"How's the Fourth Mizukage doing?" Kakashi wasn't expecting to learn anything interesting from their captive. But that didn't mean he couldn't try. The shinobi looked away. No answer. Despite the peace agreement, the relationship between Kiri and Konoha wasn't exactly a good one. Their Mizukage was young, and secretive. And Kirigakure was one of the most dangerous villages to send spies to, because they didn't hesitate to kill even their own people.
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The girls were talking about their elemental affinities and what they read about it in the books Kakashi gave them. It had gotten too dark to read, but none of them was tired yet. Naruto was complaining because his ramen from earlier turned out not tasty and cooked at all.
They all sat around in a circle. Sasuke was the only one of the four who didn't take his eyes off the Kiri shinobi.
"Hey, aren't you a Genin like us?" Naruto eventually asked. He seemed excited to be able to talk to someone from a different village.
This time, the shinobi showed a different reaction. He smiled at Naruto. "We don't have that system. Either you're a shinobi or you're not." He wore a scar on his forehead, as well as his cheek. But they were barely visible in the dim light.
"Eh, really? How does your Kage know which missions to send you on then?"
"Do you have to chat with him? He's still our enemy." Sasuke grunted. "Knowing you, you are probably going to blurt some of Konoha's secrets out sooner or later."
"Why shouldn't I talk to him? It's not his fault that the Mizukage gave him this mission. I'm sure he's not a bad guy."
"His mission is to kill our client," Sasuke reminded Naruto.
Tazuna agreed with some silent nods, before continuing to pour sake down his mouth. Sitting close to a guy ordered to kill you sure made you nervous.
"You have two cute kunoichi teammates there. I wish we got assigned to teams like that too." The Kiri shinobi looked at both Naho and Sakura with a smile on his face.
"Don't get your hopes up. I'm already taken." Sakura turned away from him to flutter her eyes at Sasuke.
"What do you mean? You don't get assigned to teams? I didn't know other villages were this different." Naruto was intrigued by this other shinobi. He wished he knew more about other villages, but he basically knew nothing at all. If only this guy hadn't been assigned to kill that stupid drunkard of a bridge builder, maybe Naruto and him could have become friends.
"We usually work in two-man squads. They guy he killed…" His eyes switched to Kakashi for a moment. "He was my mentor. They help you with your first few missions."
"One of your first missions… is to kill someone?" Naho couldn't quite believe her ears.
"Alright, that's enough for today. We need to continue our journey early tomorrow." Kakashi could only hope that the Lord Third would send someone after them soon to relieve them of that guy. He took his Genin aside, to talk in private before sending them off to their tents.
"You guys should be more careful around him. Especially you, Naruto." He looked at the boy, but Naruto didn't seem to quite get his words. So he continued. "Kirigakure is nothing like Konoha. I know this might seem unimaginable for you four, but killing is part of a shinobi's life, and I am not talking about killing animals here. I'm talking about humans. Kirigakure makes sure their shinobi know that. Don't think that guy will hesitate cutting your throats in your sleep."
The two girls looked at him with big, worried eyes again. Sasuke wore his usual know-it-all-already expression, though this time Kakashi believed he might actually be the only one of the four who truly understood. And Naruto narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
"How would you know?"
"Because I've lived in this world slightly longer than you, Naruto. Like, twice as long. You have never heard of the Bloody Mist, have you?"
All of them shook their heads.
"Kirigakure is also known as the Village of the Bloody Mist among foreigners. That's because their graduation exams include killing someone. But not only someone. The students of a class fight each other as a last exam, one on one, to death. So you can be certain that this guy has killed one of his classmates in order to become a shinobi."
There was silence among his students. Even Sasuke seemed slightly surprised, though he tried his best to hide it by averting his eyes.
"So, maybe don't get too attached to him, Naruto. You might wake up to a bad surprise."
Naruto bit his lips. "That's not fair. Why would Kirigakure do something so horrible?" He yelled instead.
"Keep your voice down. He doesn't have to hear everything." Kakashi knew it wasn't fair. But it was reality. "Go to bed now. I'll start keeping watch." He held Naruto back, and waited for the others to leave. "You should be especially careful that he doesn't find out you are Konoha's Jinchuuriki, Naruto." His voice was no more than a whisper.
"Why? What could he possibly do?"
Kakashi sighed, rubbing one half of his face. "You know a Jinchuuriki is both the strong and weak spot of a village. Being one makes you a target. They might kidnap you, they might kill you. Who knows."
Naruto still didn't quite understand. "Well, I definitely don't intend to tell him but… I think you are overreacting, Kakashi-sensei. No one ever tried to kidnap or kill me. Everyone always just avoided me."
Kakashi's eyes searched for the Anbu. He wondered if they could hear their conversation, if they were listening. The fact Naruto wasn't even aware of any danger at all sure was a sign how well protected he'd been. He just never knew.
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Kakashi lay next to Tazuna. Their tent reeked of sake, and despite all the worries and complaints Tazuna had before going to bed, he'd dozed off immediately, and was now snoring peacefully.
Kakashi had summoned Shiba, another one of his ninja dogs, to keep watch with their Genin. He couldn't trust those children enough with a shinobi from Kiri. But especially the sealing jutsu and shadow clone had been costly for his chakra level, so he had to forget about the enemy right outside and go to sleep. But he couldn't.
He lay awake reflecting about himself and his behaviour. It irritated him. He'd told himself that his Genin had to grow up, and that it was the reason he'd spared the enemy. The right thing to do would have been to kill him and show those kids that that's the world they lived in. That was how you dealt with enemies. Instead he allowed Naruto to take charge and have the enemy accompany them day and night until someone would pick him up. It was foolish, and risky, even though that guy was barely Chuunin level. But he couldn't kill him. He didn't want to. Not in front of Naho and Sakura. The way they looked at him made him weak, with their big innocent eyes. He wanted them to be right. He wanted this Kiri shinobi to be a harmless Genin.
Kakashi turned over to his side, sighing. His mind was torn between training his students, readying them to survive in this harsh world, and keeping their innocence, their childhood. He didn't want them to become soldiers at such a young age like he was. But some things couldn't be avoided.
A scream tore Kakashi away from his thoughts. It was Sakura. He immediately got up to run outside, but stopped for a moment to summon another shadow clone.
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Naruto, Sasuke and Naho went outside as well. It was dark, but the moonlight was just bright enough to see what was happening. The Kiri shinobi had freed himself and took Sakura hostage. He held a kunai to her throat.
"It seems he managed to break free," Shiba explained to Kakashi. "I'm sorry, he moved awfully fast. There was nothing I could do."
Kakashi looked over at the tree and the ropes laying there. "Seems like they got cut. He must've had a hidden blade somewhere."
"What? But I searched him thoroughly. Really!" Naruto stared at Sakura with big eyes. Was this really his fault again?
"Tsk, idiot. You don't manage to get the easiest tasks done." A fight was about to break out between Naruto and Sasuke.
"Quiet," Kakashi said with a lot more sharpness in his voice than usual. "You two realise this isn't the right time to fight each other?"
The two boys shut up and looked into different directions.
"If you don't want me to kill this girl, you will do as I say, do you understand?" The Kiri shinobi pressed the kunai harder onto Sakura's throat. One wrong move and it would cut into her skin. "Go send your summon away again. And you there," he nodded to Naruto and Naho. "Take those ropes and tie the other two up."
Naho stared at her sensei, waiting for any sort of signal if she should really tie him up. He nodded. So she walked him over to a tree and wrapped the rope around his upper body. Shiba vanished into a whirl of dust after wishing Kakashi good luck.
Naruto did the same with Sasuke.
"Old guy, come out of that tent," he called Tazuna. "I know you can hear me. I'll kill her if you don't do as I say." It only took a moment until Tazuna came out of his tent. "Good, come over here now."
"Don't." Sakura's voice was almost a whisper. "He'll kill you if you come here."
"Quiet." He pressed the blade closer to her throat. "Come here or I'll kill her."
Naruto and Naho exchanged looks. Both were hoping for the other to have an idea, a plan. But they had none.
Tazuna slowly approached the Kiri shinobi. He had no choice. With Kakashi tied up and Sakura taken hostage, there was nothing else left to do.
A grin formed on the shinobi's lips. He took the blade away from Sakura's throat when Tazuna was close enough. But he wasn't going to let go of her just yet. Instead, he was ready to stab her stomach, knowing a wounded ally offered more distraction than a dead one.
His blade was about to pierce Sakura's skin, when suddenly, it just stopped. The Kiri shinobi was surprised at his own movement. He wanted to stab her, wanted his kunai to continue moving. But he couldn't. Instead, his hand moved on its own, and opened to let the kunai fall to the ground.
"Sakura, now," Tazuna said, and Sakura used the opportunity to hit her elbow into his stomach and free herself. She jumped to Tazuna, ready to defend him again, just to realise that it wasn't Tazuna after all.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
"Go back to the others," he said. His Konoha headband no longer covered his eye, and Sakura could see that his left eye was nothing like the right one. It was red, with three black dots in it.
"What's happening?" the Kiri shinobi stared at Kakashi in horror. "Who the hell are you? What's that eye?"
Kakashi slowly picked up the kunai his enemy had dropped. "We would have returned you back to Kirigakure alive if only you had cooperated a bit more. But you are too much of a threat after all."
"I'd rather die here than return to Lord Yagura with a failed mission." He tried to jump away and get some distance between them.
Kakashi let him. He let him run, but he didn't let him run away. He killed him as soon as they were out of sight from his Genin.
They all knew what had happened when he returned alone. But they didn't ask.