Chapter 74 – Suien's Fate
"Talk"
'Think'
A/N: Sorry for the delay, I usually write one chapter in 2-3 days, and then post it. But the flow of this story was flooding my head so I decided to write it down as many as possible. I want to write more but I saw my inbox was flooded with people following and making this story their favourites, so I had to post to say how thankful I am for your supports; cheezewizard3, grimlock987, kd940, Lord Loptr, pjpokefan, taylor9944, Theshadowwolf17, Umbra99 and Yurilover0204.
A/N:…and thank you for making me laugh with your comment MattKennedy.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.
"Katsu!"
The spiders thrown by the blonde figure exploded. Fearing their safety, Tenzō shouted "Mokuton: Mokujōheki!" and created a wooden dome.
…
…
Once the dust has settled, Naruto asked "What happened?"
"I think Suien was taken by the Akatsuki" said Noriko as she looked at the direction (with her byakugan and sharingan) where the blonde figure had appeared and disappeared "They rode on a large bird and flew away. They are out of my range now"
"I guess that means there's no hope of retrieving Kakuzu's body" sighed Tenzō.
…
…
…
No one gave an answer as none of them wants to admit that their first mission as a chūnin, was a failure.
"Where's the money!" demanded Sasori.
"I- I- I'm sorry Sasori-sama" pleaded Suien "I was about-
"I don't care" said Sasori coldly "Do you have the money?"
"N-no, please. Look, I have Kakuzu's body-" Suien released Kakuzu's body from the sealing scroll-
"Dead body is no use for me" said Sasori disdainfully, swiping Kakuzu's body away with his tail "You on the other hand, might have some uses".
"What? No! Please! No! ARGGGGGHHHHHH!"
It was a subdued Team Kakashi + Sasuke when Kakashi and Gai finally caught up to them.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he looked at them before turning to Gai and asked "Gai, do you mind taking these prisoners by yourself?"
"Of course, my friend! I'll make sure they reach Konoha by tonight! If I fail, I'll climb Hokage Mountain 500 times with one leg!" cried Gai as he pulled the rope that bound the prisoners and ran towards Konoha.
'Poor fellas' thought Kakashi. He turned to face the chūnin and asked "What happened?" asked Kakashi.
With despondent voice, Naruto, Noriko, Sasuke and Tenzō told him what had happened "… … …so we've failed our mission"
…
…
…
Boink! Boink! Boink! Boink!
"OUCH! What was that for?!"
"You guys deserved it" said Kakashi calmly.
"What?!"
Kakashi sat on the ground and made a gesture for the chūnin to follow him.
Kakashi faced four disgruntled chūnin who sat in a circle before asking "Why didn't you chase after the Akatsuki?"
"It was a stupid thing to do" replied Naruto.
"Why is that?" asked Kakashi
"We've fought them before. We won because we outnumbered them 8 to 1" explained Sasuke.
"Ahhhhh…So you are capable of making the right decision" said Kakashi in a wondrous tone.
"Why does it feel like you are mocking us?" asked Noriko.
"Because I am" said Kakashi with an eye-smile before continued in a sombre tone "Look, the four of you are exceptionally strong for your age. So far, none of you had failed a mission and frankly speaking, I was quite worried about that, and now, I'm glad"
"Glad that we failed?!" asked an indignant Tenzō.
"Yes" said Kakashi, putting on a thinking pose "and no. Failure in a mission is something no shinobi wants, but will face it eventually"
"You too, sensei?" asked Noriko.
"Yes" Kakashi had a faraway look "It was during the war. I was just promoted to jōnin. I was hell-bent on completing my mission; we did… … …but my friend never returned" Kakashi touched his left eye tenderly.
"But you completed your mission…" said Noriko in half-whispered voice.
"Yeah, but…" Kakashi sighed "My father failed a mission so he can save his friends. Sometimes, I questioned myself, if there's a choice where I could save him and completed the mission-"
"My point is-" continued Kakashi "-sometimes, you can do everything right, but still failed a mission. That's when you started to doubt yourself, questioning whether you deserved your promotion-"
Naruto, Noriko, Sasuke and Tenzō looked down on the ground.
"Don't-" said Kakashi firmly "-ever doubt yourself. You have given your best, made a smart choice of not chasing after Akatsuki, and if the mission failed, so be it. At least you still got each other" he ended softly.
Naruto, Noriko, Sasuke and Tenzō looked at each other, and smiled albeit a small one.
"Well, that's enough talk" Kakashi stood up briskly "Now come on, I want all of us to reach Konoha before Gai"
"What?!" "Why?"
"It's your punishment" said Kakashi "Besides, I cannot let Gai win" he shook his head before shouted as he ran "If you lose, you have to train with Gai for a week"
"That's not fair SENSEI!"
"In green jumpsuit!" said Kakashi again.
"What?!" "NOOOOOO!" "I don't want!"
Yup, they lost.
End Chapter 74
Mokuton: Mokujōheki – Wood Release: Domed Wall Technique