A/N Thanks for the review Tyla, I'm not sure there'll be any pairings in the story, except maybe a very subtle Hanabi X IzashiOC).
Chapter 2 :Politics
He slipped the string through the hoop and drove the last kunai into the ground. Stepping back he surveyed his work. Something about carrying your lively hood with you, appealed to the Ninja. The tent was summoned by one of his scrolls, and set up using nothing but kunai and string. It was sturdy enough to keep him reasonably warm during the night.
Once inside Kakashi separated his equipment and belongings out and took off his outer clothing. Suspecting he'd find some answers to question in the mission sleeve, he lay there reading the profile and background Tsunade had let him take.
Team 14 consisted of three Genin and one Chunin. Hanabi Hyuga, Izashi Kurama and Anako being the Genin with Hinata Hyuga as the Chunin leader. There was no doubting Hinata's recently established abilities and her little sister was showing the same potential. Izashi he hadn't heard of before, but being of the Kurama clan he was probably a Genjutsu user of some form. He knew even less about Anako.
Reading the sleeve revealed that they had originally been sent on a B rank mission. Sarukuno the weapon smith from the land of water wished to take his talents to the land of wind, in the hope he could receive a contract from the Kazikage. Each attempt was unsuccessful, each case he was hampered by or attacked by Cloud Ninja.
The political situation was tense; The Land of Lightening was on the verge of war with The Land of Wind. Allied to the Land of Lightening more through geography than want, the Land of Water couldn't exactly intervene, after all Sarukuno could be accused of Arming an enemy of both nations. They hadn't gone as far as to aid The Lightening in stopping him, for fear of the Sand retaliating.
Thinking about all of this made Kakashi's head hurt. So Tsunade had feared a break down in the situation, with The Leaf being caught in the middle. With Team 14 going missing, it seemed that was coming to be. The mission was intended to be covert, no Leaf association was to be worn, they couldn't be seen to interfere.
If Hinata had returned with her team everything would have been fine, but now it seems like the Leaf could get embroiled in a dispute they were never meant to be in. No wonder she stopped Neji. This was a delicate one. Kakashi Hatake was expected to recover the lost team, guide the weapon smith to the Village Hidden in the Sand, all the while concealing who sent him.
"This is a problem" Kakashi muttered as he put the sleeve down and turned to get some sleep.
It took the copy ninja most of the following day to cross the land of fire and enter into territory that belonged to none of the great ninja villages. It was this way that Kakashi would reach a port that would allow him transport to the Land of Water.
According to Hinata-kun's last message, they'd reached the Land of Water and removed Sarakuno from his village. They would had to have passed through both docks on the way back, so it was as good a place to start as any.
Late in the evening well after the sun had set beyond the horizon Kakashi landed silently on the wooden pier. Naturally the dock hands hadn't left for the night, one of the longest days a man could work.
Aware that people weren't that used to Ninja appearing at their side, Kakashi decided to hail one of the dock hands from a distance. Broad shouldered and thick skinned the worker eyed him, he pulled his head in a invitation, one that Kakashi took.
"What you need?" the man asked, obviously noting the Konoha headband. Admirably this guy didn't seem unsettled, he stood firm and confident.
"I need to speak to someone who could answer a few questions." Kakashi paused and considered his next words, "About who's been on and off of these boats, in the past week." The blonde looked thoughtful for a moment, and then Kakashi pulled some coin from his pouch and added, "I can pay."
The foreman of the dock had finished a few hours early that night, returning home to be with his children for a few hours before they went to sleep. Still laughing when he opened their house door, they found a tall masked man eye smiling at him.
"Greetings,"Kakashi started, "Is this the house of Han Tsuba? One of your men told me I could find you here."