II - Red Haze
The first thoughts on Kakashi's mind when he meets his team is surprise. He had expected it to be composed of prodigies or ANBU black ops' recruits, but instead it is Gai and Tenzo— while they are strong shinobi, he knows Danzo. Ever the planner, scheming in the shadows; what would he desire with the ever upbeat Gai? When the elder reveals himself and rushes to attack, Kakashi is skeptical.
He moves backwards, while motioning towards Gai and Tenzo to regroup. Although the elder can not use one of his arms, the Copy Ninja knows well that it could be a illusion- Elder Shimura was a teammate of the Sandaime after all. He pushes up his headband, revealing his Sharingan as he readies himself.
"Futon: Vacuum Bullets!" Kakashi flips out of the way of the bullets, drawing a kunai into the palm of his hand. He rushes forward to close the gap; confident in his Taijutsu skill to be able to defeat the student of the Nidaime. His fist connects with Danzo's right arm, and his eyes widen as the entire body collapses into mud. A clone! He rotates quickly, scanning the area for any sign of his adversary.
"Kakashi! Tenzo!" Gai turns towards them, and Kakashi can see the signs of damage. "We must work together- Shimura-sensei is quite skilled at paralysis techniques!" Kakashi cursed slowly. He had forgotten about Fuinjutsu, hadn't he? The Sharingan gazed at the ground, and he could see the chakra flowing through it.
"Understood! Folow my lead- there is nothing that can hide from the Sharingan!" Tenzo nods as the trio move in before taking to the trees. Kakashi knows that he has claimed the spot of team leader but buries any guilt down his chest. This is his chance to find out about who killed Minato-sensei, who killed Kushina-san and to finally avenge them.
"The chakra you see, what if some of them are decoys? Fake seals?" Gai's observations jolt Kakashi out of his reminiscence as he looks around. He wanders why Tenzo hasn't spoken yet. The "seals" are laid around, and he can't help but realize that the arena was prepared in advance— this is Danzo, not Minato or any other shinobi he had faced before.
"The whole forest has been rigged with those seals." Kakashi can feel the tenseness from the air, and repositions himself to try to find Shimura. He turns towards Tenzo and frowns. The chakra is all wrong with him— is it something to do with the Mokuton? It's surrounding him completely, almost like a—
Tenzo rushes towards him and Kakashi can see the single-handed handseals forming. It was a henge!
"Roaaa!" Gai launches a feirce kick towards Danzo who reciprocates by leaping backwards. Kakashi can make out the seal where he was standing and shoves his rival out of the way. Gai turns towards him, and Kakashi points towards the black script.
"Kakashi! We have to locate Tenzo!" Kakashi curses slowly. How had he failed again? When had the elder taken him? As he moves backwards, he replays the scene in his mind once more. Paralysis techniques, leaping away— of course! Tenzo had not spoken when leaping away, meaning that Danzo had replaced him from the beginning!
"I think he was replaced at the beginning of the fight! We have to circle the forest— there's no telling where Tenzo could be!" Gai frowned as well. This is not like any spar they had done with their Genin teams, no this is full on tactical fighting.
"We'll have to make a plan, my eternal Rival!" The two back up once more, but then they hear chuckling. They see Danzo step out from the shadows with Tenzo in his free hand, a kunai to his throat.
"Foolish children. I did not tell you this was a spar. To be a shinobi is a game of life and death!" He spat at the twosome. "Either way, you have given me more than enough information." With a twist of his kunai, he slits Tenzo's throat.
"N-o-oooo!" Kakashi screams. He knows that it could be a Genjutsu, but nothing works. The dispell technique doesn't do anything, and he gasps as the air is knocked out of his lungs. Gai is shaken, gaping at the corpse on the floor.
Danzo only smiles. "Look at you, Friend-Killer Kakashi." He sneers before kicking Tenzo's corpse. "Perhaps you could add his Mokuton to your collection? After all, isn't power the only thing you want?"
Kakashi should control his emotions, but he can't. He rushes forwards in a blind rage, leaping forward, lighting blazing into life on his right hand. "CHIDORI!" He isn't acting on logic, and in this red haze he can make out Gai screaming and rushing towards Kakashi, but the white-heaired ninja ignores that.
The lightning meets water before collapsing, and Kakashi grits his teeth. This is why he works alone, since then he won't get others killed. If this was a one versus one, only Kakashi would have to die.
"Pathetic. For all the praise you get, you are horrible at controlling your emotions." Kakashi's head whips around, and Gai grabs his hand before he rushes forward again.
"Kakashi, I'm okay." He turns to the right and sees Tenzo, who just died and he breaks down. "KAI!" he screams, and Tenzo's face doesn't fade away like the rest of those he failed, he lets out a shaky sigh.
"What happened?" His voice lacks any emotion. Gai looks visibly relived, and lets go of Kakashi's arm.
"Shimura-sensei captured me at the beginning using a..." He pauses there, almost hesitating before continuing, "...unique seal. The rest of the fight I had to sit out. "
"It's ok, Kakashi." Gai's hand is cold on Kakashi's shoulder, and he wipes the sweat of his face before refocusing on Danzo.
"It is clear that I shall have my work cut out for me with you three." There is nothing but disregard in Danzo's face, and Kakashi knows it. The three of them had expected an old cripple reliving his glory days, but received a tactical genius. "While you may have flashy techniques, they mean nothing if you know not of true shinobi techniques."
He pauses, before slowly tapping his cane on the dirt. "Tenzo is free of any blame in this situation— I had spoken to him to arrange this exercise." Kakashi's head snaps towards Tenzo, and the boy gives him an apologetic smile. "I have taught him before, so there was no need to assess him. But you two..."
Gai looks at the ground, waiting in silence. The man smiles slowly, and it looks almost unnatural. "...have plenty of potential. It is clear you have been babied by the Shinobi system so far, so I shall tell you this. Never look at your instructions as absolute. You can never know who is friend or foe, so always be vigilant!"
"You shall face many foes you have not met before. You will be assigned comrades you will not have met. They could be spies, they could be something else. Know who to trust. Take this for example. You three could have easily met up yesterday and readied this field for your test. You could have made group contingencies, and planned. "
Danzo slames his cane into the ground. "And NEVER underestimate your foes!" The three students gaze at each other, and back at him. Gai is the first to speak up.
"Sensei, then are we to continue meeting here?"
"Yes. You all have great potential, which is why you were chosen. Now then— " And in that moment, Kakashi knows that Danzo is something else. Gone is the stern, emotionless shinobi who prioritizes constant vigilance and awareness.
"Let's get some breakfast together!" Gai gasps slowly, and Tenzo just gapes. The elder is smiling broadly, and looks almost like a kind grandfather.
"But first, I want you to run 100 laps around the village on your hands! Then another 100 on your feet!" Kakashi turns toward Gai, who is crying?
"Yosh! I shall do my best to complete this task set in front of me with all my energy! And if I fail, I shall do 200 push-ups!" The sheer enthusiasm coming from Gai is something else, and Tenzo just nodes his head slowly.
Fugaku Uchiha smiles as he enters Senbei Bakery. It is the prime bakery in all of the Uchiha district, and he hopes that Itachi and Mikoto will enjoy the surprise cake he decided to get for Itachi's birthday.
"Is it true sensei that the Sandaime summoned his monkeys to defecate over a Kumo base in the First Shinobi War?" Fugaku turns towards the booth where the voice emerged from, and nearly gets a heart attack.
What the bloody hell were Danzo Shimura, Hatake Kakashi, and two other ninjas (he's pretty sure one is the son of Maito Dai) doing in a bakery in the Uchiha district?