Running on all fours was a difficult task but one that Kakashi took to well. His ninken pack surrounded him and the scruffy white husky he'd chosen as his transformation allowed him to blend in the snow. They split up, watching from the alleyways and rooftops as Naruto headed to school. When the boy had disappeared into the building, Kakashi motioned to his pack.

They had another stop to make.

The dogs dispersed, fanning out to make sure that they weren't being followed. If on the off chance that they were, their pursuer wouldn't know who they should be following. At least that was the hope. If his theory was correct, it didn't matter if they separated. He'd be found.

It doesn't matter, Kakashi thought as his husky form darted through the snow-covered rooftop and then descended into the alleyway. When he transformed, the white fur of the husky turned into his ANBU captain's cloak, and he pulled the hood over his head. He was a phantom in the flurries, materializing only when he landed at his destination.

Anko responded quickly to his knocks and Kakashi passed through the crack in the door before the sunlight and candle flames in the living room merged. He felt the chill disappear as Anko shut it behind the door and turned to him.

"Were you followed?" she asked.

"Probably," Kakashi replied dryly. "Doesn't matter."

"Right." Anko opened a pouch on the kitchen counter, shifting through it briefly before pulling a vial from it.

"That's the one?"

"Yeah," she said. "From your description of his file, your bug boy uses kochū insects that seem to have been mutated to produce poison similar to puffer fish. A specific neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin."

Kakashi nodded, piecing together what he knew from chemistry and biology classes and books he'd read. Then, he arrived at a dead end. "But...there's no antidote or cure for that."

"Not one that's available outside of the Aburame clan. Orochimaru synthesized one with the DNA of foreign, newt-eating garter snakes that developed a resistance. It's part of his catalog," Anko said. Kakashi blinked at the revelation then shook his head. The where didn't so much as his next question.

"How does this concoction work then?"

"To build total immunity, you'd need to take a smaller dosage daily for about a month or more depending. With this though, a quick swallow should be enough to ward off the more extreme effects. You might feel that it's harder as your muscles slowly begin to shut down but, you'll still be able to move and function for much longer than usual."

Kakashi eyed the vial. "Assuming that 'longer' is subjective."

"Tetrodotoxin can kill in as quick as twenty minutes or take as long as a day. The point is, you'll have time to deal with him." Anko paused. "Should it come to that."

"Should it come to that," Kakashi repeated. He put the vial into a pouch on his side, remembering the foreign texture of the glass as he sealed it away behind his zipper. He inhaled and exhaled silently. He knew that he was operating almost purely from paranoia, but it wasn't just that. It was an instinct. Yugao was of no worry. Besides being a virtually sparkling clean rookie, if she did so happen to be a spy, Kakashi was confident he could take her down quickly. But Sugaru was another story.

He was the only person investigated as to having ties to Root that Lord Fugaku excused, solely because all of his records showed that he'd only ever been evaluated for membership, never fully instated. The same could be said for Kakashi and Itachi. Danzo's eyes and reach extended to all he considered prodigies in the Leaf and beyond. But, if Sugaru were the spy, then it meant the bugs placed on his teammates and in the Uzumaki home weren't just for tracking their location. Kakashi knew that Sugaru received reconnaissance information from them as well and could communicate with them across several miles. The bug that had crawled out after his talk with Orochimaru could have always been there.

A bug could've been in the bastard's cell the whole time… Kakashi thought. It was all a possibility, the darkest outcome that came to his mind. That part of him wanted to act preemptively and go back to his post and tear the answers to his suspicion from Sugaru's brain. And it was getting louder.

"Is...that all you needed?" Anko's voice and touch brought silence to his mind. Kakashi looked down at her and sighed.

"Yeah," he said. "Thank you."

This made her blush, like it did every time he said those words. "Whatever." Her fingers tapped on the counter. "Just...don't..." She paused and shook her head. "Don't forget to drink the antidote. It'd be best if you did it now so your body had time to adjust."

Kakashi nodded and flicked the cap off of the vial. To his surprise, it was scentless. Possibly for the best. He held his breath and took the booster down in a quick gulp. He felt his hand spasm and he heard the hard plastic clatter against the floor. He stepped towards the fridge to brace himself and grit his teeth. The spasms went throughout his body and he felt himself retch.

The brief lack of muscle control made him vomit in his mask. Before he could think a curse, Anko had moved around the kitchen, grabbing paper towels. When he fell to his knees, she was at his side. She rubbed his back and Kakashi felt himself slowly regaining control over his body.

Anko handed him a wet paper towel. "Aren't you glad you did this now?"

The alternative was having involuntary muscle spasms in front of a potentially dangerous opponent or while simply sitting at his post. He didn't know if that sounded any worse than vomiting in front of her. "Not particularly."

He went to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. When he pulled his ANBU and cloth masks down, he was grateful that he had been mostly sustaining himself with food pills while on duty. He washed his face thoroughly and put the dirty mask to the side. He had a spare hidden in his cloak, so the old one could be torched. When he looked at himself in the mirror, the Sharingan briefly reflected back to him.

Rin smiled at him.

Minato-sensei was in a tree branch above him.

Then Kakashi saw himself drop into view.

Obito's memories, the silver-haired shinobi thought. Our last bell test. He'd been selfish and foolish then, waiting until Minato-sensei had defeated his teammates before he challenged him by himself. He didn't trust them, not back then. Trust had always been an issue. The one man he had trusted left him alone in the world. He'd trusted himself to be the best and the strongest on the field of battle at any given moment. And it had all ended with the deaths of both of his teammates.

Was his paranoia and preparation now just him doing what he always did? Would more people die because of him?

He closed the gifted eye of his fallen friend and pulled himself back together. With each mask, he felt his worry and emotions be shut away. Kakashi Hatake was gone. Cold-Blooded Kakashi remained.

When he left the bathroom, he stopped in front of Anko. She started to mouth something, but he silenced her by caressing her cheek. She was pinker than she'd ever been when he left her alone in the kitchen.

He pulled a dog whistle out of his pouch and let the sound carry in the wind. When he heard a return howl, he transformed back into his canine disguise and darted up onto the rooftops. His pack converged on him, panting in misty breaths behind him. Pakkun broke formation and came to his side.

"Nothing much to report besides a few new scents in the air," he said.

"The festival is approaching so that's not abnormal." Kakashi could see their post approaching. Sugaru and Yugao seemed to still be in the same position. He'd have to make the transition quickly. "Fine, when we get back, I'm going to reverse summon you to the perimeter of the village. Howl if you smell, hear, or see anything out of the ordinary."

"Got it." Pakkun fell back into rank and the dogs descended onto the Uzumaki home.

As the smoke billowed, Kakashi switched with his clone and released his transformation. When it had settled, he was perched on his post in the same position he'd left the clone. If Sugaru or Yugao noticed, they didn't show any signs.

Good, he thought. Now, I just need to wait. He decided to check on Yugao. It would be better to work his way up his suspicion ladder.

He found her on the level below, covering the south. "Captain," she said as he stopped behind her. "Is everything okay?"

"As far as I can tell," he replied. "How are things here?"

"Quiet. Lady Kushina's been cleaning up from the breakfast she made earlier. By the way, after we ate, you left your post with your ninken."

So she did notice, Kakashi thought. Had she been looking for him? "Yeah, I escorted Naruto to the Academy."

"And left a clone in your place in case we needed support." He could tell from her voice inflection that she was smiling behind her mask.

Ah. "You have a sensory perimeter set up around the house," he said.

She nodded quickly. "I can track any breaches of chakra in or out up to twenty meters. I usually use it while we're out in the field since it helps with finding our targets."

"But here, we'll have a brief window to gather ourselves should something happen."

"Are we...expecting something to happen?" Yugao's tone was surprisingly innocent.

Kakashi tried to play it off. "Lady Kushina is a valuable target for an enemy. With the threat of war, there's no telling what our enemies will do."

"You think that they'd be bold enough to infiltrate the village when we're already on alert?" Yugao asked.

He feigned an honest shrug and sigh. "We can never be too careful." In truth, he was all too sure something was going to happen. Travelers coming in for the festival could be a perfect cover for an infiltration mission. If they were targeting Kushina, though, it would be hard to get out. Kakashi knew most shinobi in Kumogakure who were of any note and none of them were strong enough to pose a serious threat to Konoha. Even with Lord Fourth and Minato-sensei gone, there were enough people here to stop any invasion from a village.

It was all Lord Fourth's plan. Kakashi tried to let himself rest in that.

"I'll leave you to it. Come to me if you need anything," he said. He returned to the rooftops and looked over at Sugaru. He was still on his perch at the highest point of the rooftop, a small lookout station surrounded by bird feeders and empty flowerpots. Kakashi cast a glance his way then returned to his perch on the ledge. He was a still, white ghost in the swirling and snowy winds. Time was hard to track. He watched the sunlight behind the clouds move towards the west in its slow descent.

He counted that at least an hour or so had passed when he saw Sugaru begin to stir.

His head went fractionally and then tilted to the side. Kakashi watched as the young man's shoulders twitched. And then, he began signing frantically. Captain!

Hatake went to his side. "Report," he said.

The village's perimeter was breached to the eastern side. My insects relayed the message, Sugaru signed.

Kakashi furrowed his brow behind his mask. "Can they tell who or what it was?"

Sugaru shook his head. They crossed too quickly. Only a scarce scent.

Right. "Yugao," Kakashi hissed. He saw the kunoichi elegantly flip onto the rooftop and dart towards him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Sugaru says we've got intruders to the east. We'll need to prepare to move Lady Kushina just in case," Kakashi said.

"Right. Do you want me to let her know?" Yugao asked.

"No, I'll go." Kakashi entered through the window on the second floor and casually descended the stairs. When he got to the bottom, he saw Kushina laying on the couch. She's fallen asleep? That wasn't right. It only took him a moment to see that her eyes were still open and her book was on the floor. He walked toward her and scanned her body. He pinpointed the bite wound on her hand. It seemed to have already begun to heal though to his surprise. The skin around the bite was still red and a bit swollen. And it looked like it had sunken in deeply.

She was paralyzed by the poison... If the wound was healing on its own, then maybe...

He didn't know when it could have happened, but it had been a large enough dose that she was essentially frozen in place. Kakashi unveiled the Sharingan, tracking chakra signatures in the air. He saw the large cluster in the corner of the dining room. He was made. It didn't matter now. He had to make a move...

"Kakashi!" Yugao's voice called.

Now of all times... He looked back up at the bugs in the corner and scowled. He could ignore them, kill them, or attempt a genjutsu powerful enough to control them all. The urgency in Yugao's voice pointed to the first option.

He looked back at Kushina and saw a flicker of fiery orange chakra around her. It made him feel cold and shiver. The Kyūbi was healing her and was probably the reason such a large injection of poison was necessary. It was one hell of a gamble, but one that may have worked out in their favor regardless. If the bijuu inside her didn't save her, then her Uzumaki blood may have.

But what was the play?

Separation.

Kakashi flung himself to the rooftop, ready to draw his blade.

When Sugaru saw him, he paused. He's out, he signed.

"Who...?"

I know you went there, remember?

Kakashi almost blanched with realization, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Orochimaru was free from his prison? It was happening. The only thing stopping the Sannin now was the garrison at Kigashi.

"What do you mean?" Yugao asked looking at them both.

He's trying to hide the fact that he snuck to speak to a criminal. Now, they are loose, Sugaru signed.

Kakashi blinked. Yugao turned her back on the Aburame and gestured as though she was going to demand an explanation. But the Sharingan foresaw the next action. The captain grabbed Yugao and pulled her to the ground as Sugaru's blade hummed over her head. He then pushed her back and feinted a draw for his sword.

The Aburame's aimed a strike for Kakashi's left hip, targeting his sword hand. He rolled his shoulder, taking a more shallow cut as he pivoted around Sugaru. The Chidori sparked in Kakashi's palm and shrieked as it burrowed into the other man's chest.

The body dispersed into a cloud of insects, blown away by the frigid winds.

"Captain!" Yugao called out. This time Kakashi did draw his sword. His swing whizzed past Sugaru's neck. When he backed away, Yugao followed through.

"Traitor!" she hissed. Sugaru was nicked a few times by her sword swings. One blow sliced into his mask and Kakashi was milliseconds too slow to take his head from his shoulders. The Aburame man bounded away and entered the house, bursting through one of the second-floor windows. Yugao and Kakashi followed him inside.

They found him standing in front of the couch where Kushina lay stiff. They stared at each other, all three shinobi hesitating to move a muscle as they assessed the situation. Kakashi's sword felt heavy in his hand and he slightly adjusted his fingers to hold it more tightly. Beside him, Yugao was slowly lowering herself to a crouch. The living room was too small an area to evade them. Sugaru would be trapped in here with them.

He had to know that.

It dawned on him that they'd been led into a trap mere seconds before the ball of insects in the corner began to stir and buzz around the room. He turned to Yugao and started to speak.

The front door opened and snow fell onto the floor. Naruto followed it in, kicking snow off his feet as he raised his head and looked up. His somber face twisted into one of horror. Sugaru moved, sending the swarm at Kakashi then dashing for Naruto.

Predictable. The silver-haired shinobi left a clone in his place that exploded into a lightning trap and electrocuted every insect. He dashed forward and cut Sugaru off before he took two steps toward Naruto. Kakashi saw Yugao slip by and grab the boy, then roll to the couch.

Captain Hatake pinned Sugaru to the wall with his sword, sliding the blade right below his ribs and up through his liver. The Aburame clansman coughed up blood onto his sleeve. Kakashi backed away and drew a kunai from his pouch. He sliced his thumb with the knife and weaved quick hand seals. His pack appeared in a puff of smoke, growling and barking at Sugaru.

He was in his Sharingan's icy gaze now. "You've seen up close what my ninken are capable of." Kakashi stepped forward and removed his former subordinate's mask. Sugaru's facial expression was almost blank. The captain dipped his head in acknowledgment. "You will either talk or be ripped apart. And I'm done waiting for an answer."

The ninken barked viciously, snarling at Sugaru, but his face did not change. A few moments passed and Kakashi prepared to the final whistle.

"No." His voice was a ragged mess but clear enough to give Kakashi pause. Bugs crawled around his mouth, stopping to rub their legs together. "No," Sugaru said again.

"Who are you–"

There was a loud crash, followed by an influx of cold air. Brick, tile, and wood rained down on them and Kakashi turned and stepped back toward the wall. His ninken immediately began to bark and growl again. A figure stood tall in the grey-white light of the snowy sky, flakes falling around them. They wore a black cloak with large red clouds emblazoned brightly all over. A mask covered half their face, but Kakashi could see that his skin was tanned. However, what was most striking was the man's green, pupil-less eyes and his forehead protector. The symbol for Takigakure, the village hidden by waterfalls, had a long slash through it. When he turned to look at them, Kakashi could feel the man's power radiating from him.

"Where...is...he?" Sugaru croaked.

The man barely spared him a glance, instead looking from Kakashi to Kushina. "I seem to have been graced with good fortune," he said. "Stumbling across the Copy Ninja himself." Kakashi rolled away, thanking the gods for the gift Obito had given him as the man darted forward and drove a hole into the wall next to Sugaru. Skating back, the captain rejoined Yugao, Naruto, and Kushina. His ninken, however, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

He's fast, Kakashi thought. They had to get out of the house and create enough separation so that they could follow through with their escape plan.

"He should be here. Where is he?" Sugaru wheezed.

The Taki shinobi cocked his head to the side and sighed. "For a mute boy, you talk too much," he said. Kakashi's eyes widened when the man dug into Sugaru's chest and snatched out his heart, still beating and dripping with blood. The Aburame's body slumped over, only held up by Kakashi's sword pinning him to the wall. The other shinobi held Sugaru's heart for a moment, before absorbing it into his hand.

What the hell? He heard Naruto quiver with disgust and a little fear. The man turned to them and flexed his hand.

"Your little interrogation is over with," he said, looking at Kakashi. "Now, step aside and allow me to collect what I came for."

"You should already know our answer," Kakashi replied. Despite the cold, he could feel sweat dripping down the side of his face. He'd wasted a Chidori on Sugaru's bug substitution. He only had two more left in him before he was out of chakra. He had to manage what remained carefully, otherwise, he wouldn't have enough to teleport to the safe house. The goal wasn't to fight though.

Minato-sensei had said that he would get to Kushina if they needed to make a tactical retreat. Kakashi wasn't entirely sure how he'd know that she was in need of saving, but he did know that keeping Kushina safe from capture while also protecting Yugao and Naruto would be too difficult a task. His partner and the boy would have to use the reverse summoning and get away immediately. Then, Kakashi, decided, he would have to buy some time for his sensei.

Step one.

Kakashi grabbed Kushina his arms and Yugao followed through with a smoke bomb. They disappeared out of the hole their enemy had created in the ceiling. He turned back to Yugao and gave her a nod. She didn't move for a millisecond then nodded and went to her pouch. The Taki shinobi came out of the hole as well, shifting his gaze towards Kakashi.

Step two.

He glanced down at Kushina. She was still limp from the paralysis and was essentially dead weight. He only had one other gambit to try to buy time for her to heal. "I need you to make a noise when you can move," he whispered to her as he summoned his ninken again. This time, most of the pack were giant mastiffs and bulldogs with the exception of Pakkun. Kakashi picked the pug up and put him in one of his larger waist pouches. "I need one of you to take her and get out of the village." One of the bulldogs huffed and Kakashi patted Pakkun's head. "Be my extra ears and nose," he said.

The Taki shinobi came forward slowly and then darted at an angle. "Three o'clock," Pakkun barked.

Kakashi braced him, sliding another blade from his forearm holster as the man crashed into him. A few of his dogs dispersed, taking Kushina with them while the larger mastiffs piled onto the invader. He could see Yugao and Naruto still hesitating. "Go!" Tears fell from the little boy's eyes as the kunoichi infused her chakra into the kunai's hilt. They disappeared in a flash of yellow.

Good, he thought. Now, for step three.

Kakashi ran forward and jammed his wrist blade into the man's neck. He noticed a small twitch in his shoulders as the rogue weaved a hand seal. The metal splintered against his skin, deflecting off Hatake's mask. The mastiffs' mouths began to bleed as their teeth cracked from biting. He had used some kind of jutsu to harden his skin. He shrugged the dogs off and kicked them away.

The Taki shinobi looked around and scoffed. "A teleportation jutsu, hm? Like the Second's..." He turned to Kakashi and cracked his neck. "You sent the two weaklings away to avoid them getting in your way and cleared the area of my quarry so that I couldn't just snatch her and go. That leaves just you here to do what exactly?"

"Hold you off at the cost of my life if need be," Kakashi replied lazily. He remembered the seal that the man had used. The Snake for Doton.

"Hmph," he grumbled. "If your village is worth that much to you, you're a fool."

Kakashi read his moves and danced away and around him. The Sharingan scanned the small rooftop fighting arena and the misty snows swirling above their heads. He came up with a plan and followed through in seconds. He pressed the attack, throwing a combination of leveled punches and kicks. The Taki man blocked them all and parried the last punch that Kakashi pulled back on.

He sold the impact of the man's kick and rolled into the hole in the rooftop. When he landed in the living room, he quickly created a shadow clone and sent it up to meet their foe. Kakashi quietly withdrew his sword from Sugaru's body and guided him to the ground. After a brief, cold glance, he stalked outside and climbed the side of the building, listening as his clone gave its all. Pakkun padded on his shoulder to get his attention. His doppelgänger had turned the man's back to Kakashi.

Falling into the wind and snow, the ANBU captain was as silent as death until the birds cried and a storm danced in his hand. The Chidori passed through the man's chest and he heard him gasp.

"How did you...?"

"It's a lesson we learned at the Academy about chakra natures. Lightning always wins again Earth," Kakashi said, making sure to twist as he pulled his arm free. The Taki man fell to his knees and then on his face. Who's the fool now? He patted Pakkun with his clean hand. "How far are the others?"

The pug sniffed. "Three miles. Can't smell the other two."

"Good. We need to rendezvous with the pack," Kakashi said. When his eyes went down to the man's body, the Sharingan predicted something his other eye couldn't see as possible. The Taki man moved. He grabbed at his throat and the ANBU shifted his left wrist blade in front of his face. It did little to help him.

The man gripped Kakashi by his throat and forced him to his knees. The mastiffs closed in on them but the rogue shinobi didn't move. Instead, his body convulsed and spat fire at the dogs, burning and sending them away in a puff of smoke. Pakkun jumped forward to bite at his hand, but the man slapped the dog to the ground. The pug whimpered and then collapsed as he followed the mastiffs back to their home if a swirl of grey smoke.

The rogue shinobi's eyes at a ghoulish look to them when they met Kakashi's gaze. "It's been some time since I've been injured to this degree. That lightning jutsu of yours is quite the technique."

Kakashi strained against his grasp. He knew that he'd pierced the man's heart. He'd done this so many times, killing everyone that had found themselves on the wrong end of his Chidori. But, this man was still standing. Did he possess some kind of advanced healing jutsu? He had taken Sugaru's heart earlier. Maybe that was a condition for the technique. Or...

"Orochimaru said you would be difficult to get rid of, but I thought his serpent tongue was good for nothing but lies," the man said.

Kakashi felt himself grow stiff with dread and shock. This was the Sannin's outside contact? "Where is he?" he strained.

"Free," the man replied. "I wouldn't worry about that though, considering your position." The man gave him a look over and snorted. "I should take your heart to replace the one you destroyed," the man said. "But with that Sharingan in your socket, I bet your head would fetch a nice purse."

Replace the heart I destroyed? Kakashi thought as his eyes widened. If this man had sustained his life by using another heart to take the blow and could also find others to put in his body...

"I'll do you this kindness, boy. You're the first Konoha shinobi since Hashirama to harm me so I'll give you my name before I take your head." He wrenched Kakashi's sword from his hand and raised it to slash at his throat. "Kakuzu the Immortal."

Captain Hatake didn't move as the blade went toward his neck. Kushina was on the way out of the village, and he prayed that he'd given her enough time to fight the poison. If not, if her seal was tampered with, Minato-sensei would come for her. Yugao and Naruto were at the safe house. He'd saved his comrades and fulfilled his mission.

His father would be proud.

As he felt the sword begin to make contact with his skin, he saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye. For a brief moment, he thought he dreamt his sensei had arrived to save him. But, the flash of yellow became a large stream as hundreds of children pushed Kakuzu away and piled onto him. He felt a hand grab his, and he looked down to see Naruto.

"Give me the kunai!" he screamed. Kakashi absently patted his pouch and Naruto dug inside and pulled the knife free.

It's no use, Kakashi thought numbly. You're too young to...

The next thing that he saw was the inside of a small room, empty save for a bed and a three-pronged kunai hanging from the ceiling. He heard Naruto laughing in amazement as the boy looked down at his hands. "I did it," he said quietly, before raising his head with happy tears in his eyes. "I did it." A few moments later, his smile was replaced by a deep frown as he grabbed Kakashi for a hug. "Is Mom going to be okay?"

He let the boy sob in his arms for a beat before taking in a deep breath and nodding. "Yeah," he said. "Your father is going to see to it."

As Naruto settled down, Kakashi shook his head at the boy. Minato-sensei would be proud of you, was his final thought before he allowed his exhausted body to rest.