"Alright, boys and girls," Kakashi spoke with a strange kind of lethargic joviality, "Get your fill of breakfast. At full pace we should reach Kishi today."
"Yosh!" Guy shouted, much more comfortable being high energy than the Jonin in command. "That means this is an ideal time for us all to get to know one another! After all, the flames of youthful teamwork burn brighter with mutual understanding!" He either didn't notice or care about the baffled looks most of the Genin wore. "My fated rival Kakashi only knows his own student, I only know mine, young Tenten! Let's learn from one another, tell us your passions that define the springtime of your youth!"
The Genin continued to stare. Kakashi decided to take pity on them. "He means say what your skills are so you all know what you'll be doing if a fight breaks out."
"How do you two fight then?" Sakura asked.
"Hm, that is a question, isn't it?" Kakashi hummed as he perused his book.
Only to have his dismissive attitude ruined. "As Jonin we have a diverse set of skills that we have trained to excellence!" Guy announced with pride. "Kakashi is a master of ninjutsu, whereas I am the Leaf's Great Green Beast! The finest taijutsu practitioner in the village!"
"Better than the Hokage?" Sasuke asked snidely.
"I have never faced the Hokage," Guy conceded, "Though now that you say it I can't help but want to!"
"Do your best, Guy," Kakashi drawled, turning a page. Though as he did, his one eye flicked to his student for an instant.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, getting the message. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm good at everything and the Sharingan only makes me better." He chose to ignore the blond rolling his eyes.
"Umm, I'm Hinata Hyuga," the pale-eyed girl introduced herself to Guy, Kakashi and Tenten specifically, the only ones who didn't know her personally. "I'm okay at taijutsu..."
"Naruto Uzumaki!" The blond boy announced. "I'm an expert with seals, pretty good with ninjutsu, and decent up close."
"Sakura Haruno," the pinkette followed up from her boyfriend. "I'm not all that great in a fight. I'm okay with genjutsu. But I'm also a qualified medic nin. So I guess I'd be staying back if I can."
"I'm Tenten," the brunette girl unknown to the other Genin introduced herself. "I'm a weapons expert. I can hit a target with any weapon I get my hands on. Also I'm pretty good with seals."
Naruto's ears perked up. "Really?"
Before the unfamiliar girl could answer, Kakashi's book snapped shut. "Alright, that's enough. If a fight breaks out you should all have an idea of where to be and what you should be doing. The academy's tactical training shouldn't have fallen out of your heads yet." He smiled with his one visible eye. "Pack up camp. We're moving on in three minutes."
The Genin continued to know better than to second guess their orders, or complain that the Jonin weren't pitching in. They all had their own experience with their Jonin sensei, experience that told each and every one of them that the commanders were there to supervise the grunt work at best.
Just under three minutes later, the group of seven were once again on the move at high speeds. The thicker forests of central Fire began to give way as they passed into grasslands, then in and out of less dense woodland. "Almost there," Kakashi noted aloud as they passed by a wooded basin. The site of some battle or other from the distant past. So long ago that not even the locals would be able to name the participants.
Six ninja stopped perched on sturdy branches at a raised fist from their commander. They could see the town of Kishi from where they were. A comfortable resort town and trade port. It sat on the coast, an archipelago to the east partially claimed by Hot Springs and around fifty miles to the north was the border of said nation. In a time of war, Kishi would be an acceptable first landing point for forces from Water. But after nearly two decades of peace the seaside vacation spot had been allowed to flourish.
"The rest of you walk from here," Kakashi ordered, "No need to draw more attention to ourselves than necessary."
"What are you going to do?" Sasuke asked.
His teacher's answer was to smile and then disappear in a flurry of leaves.
"Yosh!" Guy took over without missing a beat. "Let's get this mission started! All of you be respectful now! You're representing your village!"
The crowd of ninja dropped out of the trees, walking with casual self-assurance into the town. They received wary looks wherever they went. No doubt the incident had left the people on edge. Then seeing ninja walking into town on top of that would of course leave civilians feeling uneasy.
Not that Naruto paid them much mind. He was far more focused on something he saw as more important than what ordinary people were feeling. "So Tenten," he spoke as he manoeuvred himself to walk next to her, getting her attention, "You said you're good with seals?" He did his best not to sound too excited.
With only limited success. Tenten couldn't help feeling ill-prepared for the Uzumaki's intensity as he stared at her expectantly. "I mean, I guess? It was one of those skills they taught in the academy that didn't– I mean, it was something I could learn and it gives me a lot more options."
"That's great!" he cheered, startling her slightly. "Sorry," he apologised, rubbing his head. "It's just, not many people go for learning seals, ya know? It's a rare skill that people overlook so I don't get to talk to people outside my clan about it much."
She smiled just a little, feeling a touch more comfortable knowing he was just enthusiastic. "I know what you mean. It's done a lot to give me a leg up. Maybe for most people it's too much investment before you see any kind of return. I know kinetic seals alone have done wonders for me."
"Oh, you buy kinetic seals?"
"No, I make them myself."
The blond gaped at her. She said it so casually. "You... You make your own kinetic storage seals? That's a little more than just 'pretty good', ya know!"
An awkward blush rose to her cheeks at the unexpected praise. "It's just supplemental. I got my hands on one and copied it, then kept copying it until I could do it perfect." The Uzumaki nodded along. He was familiar. It was gruelling work learning to draw new seals. "It's the one I needed to learn the most so I worked until I got it. I mean I had to tweak it a little to make it work exactly like I wanted to but–"
"You modified a kinetic storage seal?" There weren't even words for his astonishment at this point. Copying a seal was one thing and kinetic storage seals were quite a bit more intricate than the standard storage and explosive seals that were the bread and butter of ninja sealing arts. It took skill and precision. But to modify one on top of that and have it work? That took genuine understanding of the art. Something much rarer. He tried to keep his voice casual as he asked, "Can I see?"
"Uhh..." She felt like she had been put on the spot. It was generally a little rude to ask to see another ninja's techniques outside long-term squad assignments. They had only met yesterday! She could maybe understand his desire from the context of professional curiosity. He called himself an expert on sealing and she wasn't about to doubt an Uzumaki's word on the subject. But that just made it all the more unnerving. An Uzumaki, the clan famed for their sealing prowess, wanted to see the little bit of nothing she had done to alter a standard seal design. That was a lot of expectation she didn't think she merited.
"Ho!" Guy shouted. His lone student assigned to this mission breathed a silent sigh of relief from the attention he stole from her. "Team! We have arrived!"
The first thing that every Genin noticed about the building they were in front of had nothing to do with the building itself. It was the security. Samurai guards stood out front at the doors and strategically around the walls on alert. It was also all they had time to notice before the doors opened, emerging from within a man in formal robes escorted by two more samurai. "The Leaf ninja I presume," the man drawled as he stepped forward, hands concealed in his wide sleeves.
"That's right! Leaf Jonin Might Guy, here to assist with the investigation."
The man let out a sharp hum of dissatisfaction before introducing himself as the town magistrate. "Hiring ninja would not have been my first choice for resolving this situation. As far as I am concerned you are all superfluous to this investigation."
"Lucky for us it's not up to you then," Kakashi noted as he also emerged from the building. The magistrate spun around, his bodyguards' hands dropping to their swords. The famed ninja smiled. "Don't worry guys. They're with me," he assured the three men who had clearly never seen him before and had no idea he was inside the building. "Come on in, team."
Guy apologised to the magistrate for his colleague's hip attitude as he passed. It didn't help lessen the man's impotent frustration. Nor did each Genin bowing to the official as they too passed inside the doors.
"Here's what the investigators came up with before we got here," Kakashi spoke as he led the group of seven down into the basement, the air growing cooler as they walked. "The lord's advisor was staying in his manor near the south-west edge of the city. Something pierced his chest, destroyed his heart. Then, an explosion that destroyed much of the room he was in. They suspect ninja involvement. The lead investigator's conclusion was pretty much 'ninja paper bombs'." The lead Jonin laid his hand on a door. "Any of you little ninja squeamish?" A round of shaking heads. "Well, let's see who's lying!" he grinned vocally as he pushed open the door.
"Eugh," Tenten groaned at the smell. Hinata quickly turned an unpleasant shade of green. Naruto and Sasuke looked distinctly nauseous.
Sakura didn't even flinch.
"Good on you, Haruno," Kakashi praised. "The rest of you have about a half minute to get yourselves together," he informed them as he approached the body.
He was face-up, the front of the body mostly intact save for a very visible wound situated over his heart. His back, though, it appeared to be completely shredded and blackened with burns.
"Well Sakura, you're the medic here," Kakashi gestured at the cadaver, "Wanna give your best shot at an examination?"
"Alright," the pink-haired girl nodded, stepping forward next to the bier the body rested on. "I can touch, right?" she asked as she fetched a convenient pair of gloves that were a little big for her hands.
"Sure, go nuts," the Copy Nin waved her on.
She nodded again, leaning over the body. Putting a hand on his chest, she spread the wound slightly with her fingers. "It's a clean entry wound. Whatever he was hit with it was designed to punch straight through. Too wide for a blade. Not large enough for a spear."
"An arrow?" Tenten asked having stepped up during Sakura's examination. "That's an arrow wound. He was shot by an archer?"
"Casts doubt on ninja being responsible," Sasuke grunted. "How many ninja use a bow and arrow?"
Sakura frowned as she came around the table to stand next to the weapons expert. From that side she was closer to the entry wound. Examining again, she realised something. "It goes all the way through!"
Tenten's eyes widened. "Seriously?!" Taking a look herself she made no attempt to hide her bafflement. "That's... That's a hell of a shot! Missing the ribs in and out, going straight through the heart?! That's insane! Not to mention it'd take incredible force to send an arrow all the way through!"
"It's burned most of the way through too. Did they say if there was a lot of blood?" Sakura asked Kakashi.
"Nope," Kakashi answered, leaning against a table. "That is, no there wasn't much blood."
"... It all happened fast," the medic concluded. "If this wound didn't even have time to bleed before it was cauterised by the explosion there must've been... Barely more than a second at most between the time he was shot and the time of the explosion."
Naruto frowned. The body was a grisly sight but that wasn't the reason for his discontent. The burns... "Can we see where it happened?"
"That is where we go next!" Guy announced.
"Once these two have finished their examination," Kakashi agreed.
An hour later the group crested the small hill that the manor was built into. From above it looked almost intact, save for the one patch of roof on the far side that was blackened and broken. "That can't be right," Tenten muttered under her breath.
The group weren't bothered by the few samurai guards who remained at the scene. Allowed to pass without comment. It became increasingly clear as they moved through the house where the explosion occurred, where the victim was when it happened. Most of the house was more or less intact save for some minor fire damage. Further toward the back, however, the walls grew increasingly damaged. Some of the supports had been broken or burned away leaving sections of wall to collapse. And then the room where it happened. It was right at the back of the house, furthest away from the rest of the town. The far doors opened out onto a walled veranda with a small garden. Opened in the sense that they had been nearly blown off by the explosion. On the opposite side of the room part of the walls and ceiling had caved in over a crater in the floor.
"Yeah, this wasn't explosive seals," Naruto immediately concluded. "They don't burn anywhere near this much. You'd need fifty of 'em to even come close to this much fire damage."
"It could've been seals that were planted here," Sasuke countered. "Detonated when the attack happened to cover up what happened."
"No." It wasn't Kakashi who denied him. Surprising everyone with the severity of his tone, Gai explained. "Ninja look down on samurai, often unfairly. Those Kakashi snuck by to get into the magistrate's offices were dutiful but those who would guard a man from the Fire Lord's retinue would be among the finest in the nation. And as my student noted," he spoke with just a hint of pride creeping into his voice, "The archer who performed the assassination must have been incredibly skilled."
Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Why use a second method that could be discovered before the attack? The fewer moving parts in a plan, the less that can go wrong."
"So... The arrow was explosive?" Hinata asked.
"They're not really known for piercing but maybe a fire jutsu?" Naruto guessed, looking at Sasuke who would know better than him.
The Uchiha shook his head. "The Uchiha are experts in fire jutsu. I've never heard of anything like that. Besides, wasn't it an arrow wound?"
"Okay," Naruto grunted in frustration, "But maybe it was a fire arrow jutsu or something."
"There would have been more severe burns at the entry point then," Sakura interjected.
"O-kay, let's refocus, " Kakashi sang, putting a hand on his student's and Naruto's heads, redirecting the conversation to get them back on track. "The victim was penetrated by an arrow that may or may not have been explosive. Or something else happened that caused an explosion that we aren't aware of."
"If only we could've seen the scene first, before they moved the body," Sakura complained. "We could've figured out where the shot came from."
"The body wouldn't have told us much," Kakashi informed her. "The explosive force would've thrown him and made it impossible to guess based on where he landed. So," Kakashi waved around the room, "We don't have that information. Work from what we do have."
Tenten sighed, then pointed at the blackened walls. "Those walls are the most damaged. If the explosive was on the arrow, that means the archer was in that direction," her pointing finger moved around to point in the opposite direction, the veranda. The veranda that overlooked a steep hill leading directly into the basin to the south-west of town. "But that's impossible! The only way they could've done that was to be standing on the veranda! They would've been seen by the guards! Someone would've seen something!" She looked to her sensei. "Right? If the samurai protecting him would've been that good."
"Not impossible," Kakashi answered instead, "It's not likely but it could be done. To assassinate someone of his station you don't send just anyone."
"You think it was a stealth or infiltration expert, Kakashi?" Guy asked with discontent. "That makes this investigation much more complicated."
"I don't know what to think yet. All I know is whoever did it had to be a cut above."
"Wait," Sakura interrupted, stepping over to the cratered floor. "Tenten, the arrow punched right through the torso, right?"
"Right."
"If the victim was standing, facing the veranda since that's where we think the shot came from, where would the shot have gone after?"
Tenten gave her a strange look. "If it had enough force to go through a body, it would've kept going."
"So it would've hit the wall."
Kakashi smirked behind his mask.
"Yeah. Those walls are the most damaged."
"Not more than the floor over here," the pinkette pointed out, crouched by the decently-sized crater near the broken walls. "In fact, it looks like the wall came down as much because the floor went as it did because the wall itself was hit."
"So it wasn't from straight on, it was from... Above?" an incredulous Sasuke asked.
"Only a little above, but yes."
"That's even more impossible," Tenten said flatly. "Where could they even have been shooting from if it came from above? There's nowhere they could have gotten a solid enough footing to make a shot with that kind of accuracy and power. Not to mention the angle would make it even harder to punch past the ribs without getting caught on them."
"Hinata," Kakashi said as he stepped out into the small garden. "Could you use your Byakugan to have a look out this way? See if you see anything suspicious?"
"Ah, yes sir! Specifically this way?"
"That's right."
The most timid of the group focused her chakra into her eyes, the veins surrounding them bulging with the increased strain of her bloodline being active. With her telescopic vision she stared out into the distance, scanning the ground below them. Her range was greater when focused in one direction, giving her a range of several hundred meters. She saw a few campsites, most she could identify as made by nearby civilians that might have been out hunting. Though, she focused. One of the civilians didn't look quite right. Their natural stance too solid yet flexible. Their chakra network too developed. Her head came up. "I think I saw some–"
She stopped. As her head came up her focus shifted. No longer looking at the basin, she was instead looking above it. At a bird that was very much not a bird. A large man perched atop it holding an enormous war bow. "We need to move," she breathed. "We need to move now!"
Gai was already moving at the panic in the Genin's voice. The fastest present, he grabbed Sakura by the midsection and carried her as he leapt over the garden wall. Naruto and Sasuke joined him, hurrying the other two female Genin up and over. Kakashi stood on top of the short barrier, stared at the indistinct shape that must have been what panicked the Hyuga. Too far for most ninjutsu. At this range he couldn't do much of anything.
His instincts screamed. He leapt off of the wall right as an arrow sailed through where he had been, doing yet more damage to the already ruined home as the arrow detonated on impact.
The rest of his team were already off and moving, knowing better than to be a static target for someone with that much advantage.
Kakashi realised in that moment. This wasn't about assassinating the advisor. The advisor had never been the target. He was bait.
They were the real targets.
