Chapter 19

Kakashi ran through the training field, lightning chakra surrounding his hand as he struck his targets one after another. He stopped on the far side, breathing heavily from exertion as he allowed the chakra to dissipate.

"Wow, Kakashi! That was so cool!" Obito said, jumping down from where he'd been observing from a nearby tree branch. A lollipop stick protruded from his mouth as he sucked on the candy he'd been given by an old lady he'd helped earlier that day. "I've never seen anything like that before. What was it?"

"It's a new jutsu I've been working on," Kakashi replied. He accepted the canteen Obito held out to him gratefully. He took several gulps of water before corking it and handing it back. This new jutsu used a lot of chakra. Much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't going to get much use out of it until he either built up his chakra reserves or found a way to make it more efficient. Two uses a day, that was all he could currently handle. Maybe three if he pushed himself dangerously close to completely draining his charka. It was better not to risk it unless he had no other choice as miscalculating could very well be fatal. Building up his reserves would be better for him in the long run. Kakashi specialized in ninjutsu, which meant the larger his chakra reserves, the better. Sometimes he was jealous of his father's kenjutsu mastery. While Sakumo often incorporated chakra through his blade to enhance his attacks, it used much less chakra than ninjutsu. Despite his extensive practice with a blade in the years since he had first asked his father to teach him kenjutsu, Kakashi was nowhere near his father's level. He was proficient – he made certain he was proficient in everything he did – but he had been forced to accept the fact that his true strength did not lay in kenjutsu. His father had ruffled his hair and explained that his mother had been a ninjutsu user; it was one of the few things Kakashi had inherited from her.

Obito's eyes went wide behind his goggles as he accepted the canteen back. The question of just how Kakashi was able to eat and drink without Obito ever getting so much as a glance at his face was pushed to the side as he considered what he'd just said. "You made up a new jutsu?"

"Well… yeah. It's not quite perfected yet, though."

Obito looked around at the splintered targets incredulously. The sheer destructive power of Kakashi's jutsu was impressive. He calls this 'not quite perfected'?! he thought, stamping down a wave of jealousy. To create a brand new jutsu was incredibly difficult. To create on with such destructive potential was even more so. And to do it at twelve years old…"Whatcha need to make up a jutsu for, anyway?" he asked. With the wide array of jutsu available already, it seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. Not to mention Kakashi looked worn out from just his run through the training dummies. What good was a jutsu that sapped all of your strength?

"I've tried adding a change in nature to Minato-sensei's Rasengan but I can't make it work!" Kakashi explained, his tone showing his frustration. He was not accustomed to failure and was not enjoying it.

"You tried doing what?" Obito asked, confused. He had no idea what Kakashi was talking about.

"Adding a change in nature to the Rasengan."

"Huh?"

Kakashi held out one hand and began focusing his chakra. A moment later, a swirling sphere appeared in his palm. "This is the Rasengan," he explained. He walked over to a post and thrust his hand towards it. The jutsu plowed through the wood, leaving a perfectly round hole in its wake.

"Okay," Obito said. "What's wrong with that? It seems pretty powerful."

"It is. But if I can infuse it with my lightning nature it'll be even better!"

Obito shook his head and watched as Kakashi created another Rasengan in his hand. His brows drew together in concentration as he attempted the change in nature again. As with every other time he had attempted it, the jutsu dispersed as soon as he began attempting to add a change in nature.

"See? That happens every time!"

"Maybe it can't be done," Obito said.

"Maybe…" Kakashi wasn't convinced. He was certain the Rasengan could accept the infusion of a chakra nature. He just couldn't figure out how to do it. He wished his father was home to ask. While he may have preferred kenjutsu over ninjutsu, Sakumo still commanded a wide array and understanding of the latter. His natural genius also allowed him to often pick up things others would overlook. Kakashi was certain he could help figure out what he was doing wrong. Sakumo had been gone for weeks at a time this past year, only home for a couple of days before leaving for another mission. He had left to patrol the border weeks ago and would remain out of the village indefinitely. Kakashi had some vague recollections of his father being gone like this during the last war when he had been very young. This time Kakashi had his own training to focus on and missions to carry out. That didn't mean he didn't occasionally wish his father was home more often, especially when the nights dragged on and the house seemed too large and lonely.

"What are you two up to?" came a familiar voice from behind them. "That looked like the Rasengan."

The boys turned. Minato and Rin were approaching.

"It was," Kakashi answered. "I was trying a change in nature."

"Trying to add your lightning style to it?"

"Yeah. But I haven't been about to get it to work. It destabilizes and dissipates every time I try, no matter what I do. I just can't figure it out!" he finished, his frustration evident in his tone.

Minato nodded. "I had the same problem trying to infuse wind style with it. I believe a change in nature can be done. But I haven't figured out how to do it yet."

"You haven't?" Kakashi asked in surprise. Minato had created the Rasengan. If he couldn't manage a change in nature… He sighed. Perhaps it was a lost cause, he thought in disappointment. It would have made a great jutsu. It was still formidable on its own, of course, but a shinobi's most powerful jutsu were those which aligned with his own chakra nature.

Minato smiled gently, seeing Kakashi's disappointment. "Not yet. But it took me three years just to develop the Rasengan itself. To be honest, I'm not certain I'll ever be able to manage it."

"Oh." Kakashi was disappointed. If someone like Minato sensei couldn't modify his own created jutsu what chance did Kakashi have of figuring it out?

Minato looked around the training field, noting the splintered and half-destroyed targets. "You didn't do all that with the Rasengan," he observed.

"I've been working on a new jutsu," Kakashi admitted. "In case I couldn't infuse lightning with the Rasengan."

"I see," Minato said. Whatever Kakashi had come up with, the evidence showed that it had sheer destructive power if nothing else. He knew that he shouldn't be surprised. Kakashi had enormous potential. Considering who his father was, it was almost a given. Minato knew little of Kakashi's mother - Sakumo did not often speak of his late wife outside of those closest to him and most other shinobi were strangely respectful of not gossiping about her. From what little he had gleaned, she had been no slouch herself. It had been exciting watching Kakashi's growth over the past couple of years. Minato suspected that once he fully matured, Kakashi would easily be the equal of any Leaf shinobi, quite possibly even surpassing his father.

He changed the subject to more immediate matters. "At any rate, I have some news," he said. The three chunin gathered around attentively. "Kakashi, the Hokage has approved your promotion to jonin. It becomes official in a few days."

Minato smiled as the silver-haired boy tried not to look too pleased with himself as his teammates congratulated him. Though Minato hadn't told Kakashi that he was recommending him for the promotion, he doubted he was too surprised. Kakashi was already the equal of many jonin in the village; he had been for years. He'd simply lacked the experience to match his skills until now. His smile slipped a bit. He'd heard that Sakumo had been quite vocal in his opposition to the promotion to the Hokage. Minato suspected his opposition came not from him feeling Kakashi didn't deserve it but from fear that he'd be sent into the thick of the war because of it. It was not a baseless fear; the Hidden Leaf was at its lowest military strength in history. They had lost too many chunin and jonin in this war already. Still, he hoped Sakumo hadn't expressed his displeasure to his son. Kakashi idolized his father and Minato knew it would upset him greatly if he knew his father opposed his promotion, even if it was out of concern for his safety. Especially if it was out of concern for his safety.

"And we have a mission. I don't have all of the specifics just yet. We assemble to head out in two days. I'll fill you all in on the details then. Until that time, I want you to continue training but don't overdo it." He gave Kakashi a stern look, knowing he was the most likely of the three to push himself too hard. He was looking rather ragged this morning, probably from whatever new jutsu he was working on. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they chorused.

While Minato did not yet have the mission details, he knew it would be behind enemy lines. Very likely infiltration or sabotage given his team's specialization. Minato watched his squad exchange friendly banter as they walked across the training field with a heavy heart. They may be shinobi but they were still children as well. Despite his objections, the Hokage had made himself clear:

The Hidden Leaf no longer had any choice but to send its youngest shinobi to war.

Sakumo studied the map that was unrolled on a large boulder in front of him. Michiko, one of the best trackers Sakumo had ever worked with and a member of his current team stood beside him. A messenger bird had just arrived, bearing news about the changing battle fronts. Such birds were commonplace these days, delivering intelligence between the teams spread out along the Land of Fire's borders. In coordinating the patrolling teams' efforts, they had a better idea of the enemy's movements. It wasn't foolproof but they had managed to prevent any sizable force from sneaking up on the Land of Fire thus far.

He took the scroll from the bird's leg and unrolled it. He glanced at it, saw it was troop movements and handed it over to Michiko to fully decode and make the proper notations on the map. They were currently camped near the border between the Land of Fire and Hidden Grass, one of several teams that currently patrolled the Fire Nation's borders. They had halted several incursions by the Hidden Stone into the Land of Fire over the past few weeks. For the time being they were keeping an eye on things but Sakumo expected new orders any day now. There had been skirmishes, true, but it had been too quiet. For nations at war, Sakumo would have expected them to clash more often and in much greater numbers. It was nagging at him. The Hidden Stone had to be planning something big.

"Damn, the Hidden Stone has managed to infiltrate a large force way too far into the Land of Grass. Their army's almost to our borders," he murmured as Michiko finished updating the map. His grey eyes traced the new battle lines. "This doesn't bode well for the Land of Grass or us. They've got to have a good supply train set up in order to maintain their position for so long so far from their village. It takes a lot of supplies to keep an army moving. Let's see…" He traced one finger along the map, figuring the most efficient route given their position and the terrain. "Kannabi Bridge. That's going to be the weak point. Take out the bridge, take out their supply line, take out their ability to wage war so far from home." They were supposed to be patrolling the border but each team captain had a certain amount of autonomy to take independent action should they find a way to hinder the enemy. Disrupting a major supply line certainly qualified. It might even be enough to force the Hidden Stone to surrender, bringing them that much closer to ending this senseless war.

"Kannabi Bridge?" Michiko said, breaking into his thoughts. "There's a team already headed that way." She checked the scroll to make certain. "It was in this last update. They're sending the Yellow Flash's team to take care of it."

Sakumo's head jerked up at that news. That's Kakashi's team! His heart clenched as he looked at the new troop movements. They would be walking right into the thick of the enemy's forces and probably didn't realize it. There was a Leaf force in the area, engaging the Hidden Stone on the front lines. It consisted of about fifty shinobi who were tasked to harass the enemy until reinforcements could arrive. According to their latest intelligence, the Hidden Stone had deployed over a thousand shinobi to that region. No matter how skilled they were, the Hidden Leaf forces were woefully outnumbered. It would be too dangerous to send messages to an infiltration unit so deep in enemy territory; there was a high probability it would be intercepted, placing the team in even greater danger.

"They're about to walk right into the middle of the enemy," Sakumo said. He blew out a frustrated breath. He turned and called out to the rest of his team. "Isamu! Jiro! break camp! We're leaving!"

"New orders?" Jiro, the team's medic, asked.

"Not exactly."

"Where are we going?"

"We're heading towards Kannabi Bridge. Namikaze's team is headed there to destroy it and they're about to walk right into an army of a thousand Hidden Stone shinobi. We're the only team that's close enough to possibly make it in time to warn them."

Sakumo knew his four-man squad wouldn't make a dent against the enemy's sheer numbers even if they were all high level jonin. He hoped to intercept Minato's team before they got that far. If they could reach them before they reached the Hidden Stone's forces, there was a chance they could skirt the army and remain undetected. He considered the route Minato was most likely to take from the village. He ran a finger along the map as the others gathered around, indicating the course they would take to try to intercept them.

"Unless they've gotten delayed or pushed extremely hard, we should be able to intercept them right around here," Sakumo said, tapping the location on the map. "Michiko, you'll take point. Everyone stay alert. The Land of Grass is an ally but the Hidden Stone's infiltrated pretty deeply. We have to assume it's hostile territory now."

"Got it!"

It took only minutes for them to break camp and head out towards the border. An experienced team, they worked together seamlessly, each knowing their role. Michiko took the lead as they headed out. Isamu and Jiro followed a short distance behind while Sakumo brought up the rear, watching all of their backs as they entered potentially hostile territory.

This was war. People died. Sakumo had lost friends and family to war. But Kakashi was his son. Sakumo would never forgive himself if he didn't do everything in his power to protect him. Sakumo's team knew Kakashi was with Minato headed for Kannabi Bridge. They also knew their captain well enough to know that they were not rushing off simply because his son was in danger. He would have gone to the aid of any Leaf shinobi. They had also understood the implications for the course of the war should the bridge be destroyed. It would be a critical blow to the Land of Earth, possibly even enough for them to be willing to cease hostilities.

So much for the children not being sent to war, Sakumo thought, bitterness welling up within him. It had only been a few weeks ago that the Hokage had told him of Kakashi's upcoming promotion to jonin and had promised that he would not be sent to the front. Kannabi Bridge may not be the front lines but it was in many ways even more dangerous. They would have no back-up and no support if something went wrong or they were discovered. Minato was a skilled jonin and Sakumo respected his abilities. But his team consisted of three children. No matter how skilled they were, no matter what rank they attained or what they accomplished, they were still just kids.

Damn this war! Damn those who care nothing for those of us who fight and die in it! Damn them for sending my son into it! Sakumo breathed the cool forest air deeply, tamping down his building rage though sheer force of will. Now was not the time. It would only serve to distract him at a time when it was crucial he remain focused and alert. Minato Namikaze's no fool, Sakumo reminded himself. He's a skilled jonin and he cares for his team. He'll be cautious traveling through enemy territory with them. He'll protect them.