Chapter 6- Assigning The First Mission

"A king may be a tool, a thing of straw;

But if he serves to frighten our enemies,

And secure our property, it is well enough;

A scarecrow is a thing of straw, but it protects the corn."

-ALEXANDER POPE, Essay on Man

Kamen, Naruto and Sasuke finished off their bowls of ramen at a leisurely pace, well at least the two black haired members of the trio did, a certain blonde had already filled his guts to the brim with a good dozen bowls of the stuff.

It felt strange to Kamen, seeing this phenomenon from the outside for the first time, rationing was strict during the war, being able to stuff his face in such a way had been a very distant and faded memory.

Kamen watched on fondly as Naruto clutched at his comically oversized stomach, his face betraying the regret he felt for having eaten so much in one go. Sasuke sneered slightly at the sight but before he could make a sly remark Ayame interrupted in a slightly Joyous voice, "That'll be twenty-one thousand ryo please!"

Neither Sasuke nor Ayame would have thought that the already unhealthily pale looking Kamen could have gotten any worse, but at the young teen's utterance a wave of pure white washed over the older man's face, "T-twenty-one thousand ryo?" It seemed as though Kamen had forgotten how to count momentarily, his cool exterior melting away as he began counting on his fingers, "Th-That's twenty-one times my monthly rent!"

Kamen could just barely see a slight smirk grace Sasuke's lips as he reached into his pouch that rested on his hip, "You really aren't a Shinobi Kamen, this much is chump change to us." As if proving his point, he slapped down a stack of thousand ryo notes onto the table, to which Ayame's eyes lit up with ryo signs.

The black-haired time traveller gradually regained his composure, faintly remembering that money wasn't actually that big of a deal for Shinobi. The Forth Great Ninja War truly had affected culture more than anything else, weapons and food became the most valuable commodities during the first two years where there had been people to barter and trade with, after that it was scavenge what you could and carry as little as possible.

Money was the best motivator, Kamen couldn't help but think that he really did need a job, though he wasn't exactly going to ask two genin for their advice, his position of superiority was already slightly knocked of quilter by his lack of money.

"Hey, Teme, stop showing off with all that cash!"

Kamen picked up a slight flinch in Sasuke's posture, a little crack in his mask. The only reason he had so much money was because he had inherited it from every member of his dead clan, that and the Uchiha's treasury had already been rather bloated.

"Now, Now Naruto, if you're going to address someone you should use their name, it's the basics of politeness."

Naruto squinted at Kamen from his slouched position, a finger coming up to scratch at his whiskers, obviously Naruto thought little of Kamen's advice, "What's the point of politeness, a badass shinobi doesn't need that stuff if he can beat anyone he comes across!"

There was a little glint in Kamen's eyes as he straightened himself out on his stool and took on an intellectuel demeaner.

"Well I suppose I might as well declare this an official 'Kamen-sensei' lesson now that you've finished eating, right?" Flicking a gaze to Ayame and Teuchi, who seemed to be waiting for his next words with bated breath, he smiled under his mask, content that they wouldn't mind him borrowing their little shack for a quick shinobi lesson, "You're right Naruto, a badass shinobi or kunoichi should be able to beat anyone he or she comes across, but stopping someone with jutsu and physical strength is only a small part of the puzzle, unlike what the academy would have you think. An enemy who is bruised and battered but still has the stubbornness to keep fighting will come back again and again, whereas someone who has been defeated mentally," Kamen emphasised his words by resting his index finger on his temple, "Is out of the fight for good. Politeness, even to one's enemy can be seen as advantage right off the bat, because the enemy will see it as confidence rather than simple arrogance, staying cool in the face of even the most brutal odds, that's what makes the strongest fighter."

Sasuke was the first to speak up, a question singeing his lips, "Hn, we were always taught that enraging an enemy was the best way to defeat them."

The raven haired genin's eye twitched at the annoying grin he knew Kamen had under his mask, "You see, if a simple smile can irk someone with such ease, imagine how a hothead would feel if he felt he was being looked down upon because his adversary was being polite!"

Naruto seemed to understand thanks to the given example, but he had trouble adapting to the idea. Ever since he had met Kamen, the man hadn't ceased saying things that directly contradicted his most direct beliefs… It made him feel as though he had missed something as he was growing up, a hidden culmination of strategies that all other powerful ninja like the fourth Hokage and the third had discovered and exploited to the fullest. However, Kamen took the young blonde's frown as one of disbelief and so he pressed on.

"But believe you me there are much more obvious uses to mastering manners and politeness, it's not rare that chunin or higher ranked shinobi can be assigned to protecting nobility. When you're hired for such a job you become a representative of your village. Any rudeness you display is the rudeness of your village, any of your failures are your villages and any of your successes are those of your village too. But most importantly, and I can't stress this enough, becoming a chunin is the first step to becoming a leader. You'll never get the respect of your subordinates if you don't yourself respect them enough to be polite."

There was the slightest of sounds as the flap of the ramen shack lifted, the rays of the midday sun lighting up the trio. Kakashi was stood, resting against the frame of the entrance with one hand holding up the cloth that hung above his head. Sakura was standing but a few steps away, a bright red mark in the place of her previous wound, her face seeming much healthier than it had the last time they had seen them.

"I couldn't have put it better Kamen, however your lesson is going to have to end there, team seven and their plus one has a mission!"

Kakashi's eye smile seemed a little more off putting than it usually did, and the 'plus one' in his phrase didn't bode well for a certain black-haired time traveller, "When it comes to politeness, you're are hardly one to talk Kakashi… Wait, what do you mean 'plus one'?"

The sadism in the ex-anbu's eye faded slightly as his shoulders slouched a bit more than normal, "I'll explain along the way to the Hokage's tower, he wants us to report to him personally, all five of us."

Kakashi began leaving, assuming that Kamen would follow behind, a grim look that only Sakura caught a glimpse of painting his visage as the memory of his encounter at the hospital ran through his thoughts.

Kakashi had been sat on a bench just outside the Hospital, waiting for Sakura's healing to be over. A little park like area had been erected for the patients; benches, green grass, trees and a little pond were the scenery he had surrounding him. He felt at peace here and with his new injury prone students, he had got to hang around this place quite often in the last few weeks.

However peace is never eternal and the calming quiet was suddenly replaced by a pervasive silence. Something which made Kakashi shift his black gaze from the clear azure sky down to his surroundings, scanning them thoroughly without making a single sudden gesture. Where he had previously spotted a handful of patients and nurses mulling around in the distance, he now saw not a single soul.

His inner tension was snapped by a sudden flicker and a shimmering of the air which added sound to the soundless park, seven pairs of feet landing on the soft grass with barely a sound. Kakashi's eye fixed itself onto the six black-clad anbu, stood in a diamond formation. They approach the seated son of the white fang and as they were but a few steps away, a white and red clad man emerged from the obscurity.

Kakashi barely showed his surprise at the appearance of the man before him, and yet the smile that graced the older man's wrinkled lips, despite the smoking pipe that was clutched between them, gave away that he had read the ex-anbu like an open book. A bony hand reached up to the hat that rested atop its owner's head, lifting it up slightly to unveil narrowed brown eyes and a face marred by wrinkles and kidney spots.

The Disciple of the Second Hokage, The Teacher of the Sannin, The God of Shinobi, The Professor or The Third Hokage… Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before Kakashi Hatake, the aged leader had left his tower and come halfway across the village to see him… All that was left in Kakashi's mind at that instant was: Why?

"Don't seem so surprised Kakashi-Kun, when one of my best and brightest starts giving away S-rank secrets to a complete stranger, you had better hope I find out about it. I would not make a very good ruler otherwise, would I? Now tell me *bochan*, what made you do something so irrational?"

Bochan was the nickname Hiruzen used for Kakashi when he was severely *pissed* with him, not that anyone would be able to tell as not even the air around the aged Kage seemed to give away a millimetre of the anger that he felt. However, that word was like a trigger for Kakashi, it was almost as if it alone reverted the fully-grown veteran soldier to the young thoughtless genin he had once been. Swallowing the lump in his throat Kakashi began spewing out the first thing that came to his mind, something only his Kage could make him do.

"Kamen-san seemed like a potential asset for the village and a situation arose that risked compromising the seal on Naruto-kun had I not mentioned anything. He doesn't seem- No, he isn't the type of person who would be a spy for another village!"

Sarutobi's calm gaze pierced through Kakashi's eye and into his soul. He didn't have to do this, he knew Kakashi's loyalty to the village was absolute, but this was his punishment. If the white haired man got off with just a slap on the wrists Hiruzen would lose quite a bit of credibility, not that many people even knew of Kakashi's slip up, but those who did were much more important. The scarecrow was spouting anything that came to mind and had the possibility of absolving him, and the old war hero knew it, but he gracefully ignored the ramshackle defence Kakashi had put up, instead he set about solving the current issue; an unknown with too much information.

"You'll be the only one picking up your own slack bochan. As you well know, Sunagakure's movements have become erratic of late, as has those of the land of wind's Daimyo. We cannot currently afford to show weakness, and should this Kamen Sakamoto character turn out to be a spy…"

Kakashi nodded grimly, his bangs shadowing his eyes slightly, he had acted on his emotions, something a true shinobi should never do. Kakashi had always had trouble maintaining control over his inner demons, but of late, with Naruto being a constant reminder of his dead sensei, it had gotten even worse. No amount of Anbu emotional strengthening had helped him back then and he was certain it wouldn't now, but he had to take responsibility, had to show he was still a shinobi of Konoha, "I'll take care of him myself sir…"

Sarutobi was satisfied with that. As a person and as a sort of grandfather figure to the copy nin, it pained him greatly to even make him think for a second that he would have to harm someone he saw as a comrade, but as a leader he saw it as a fitting punishment, "Now, let's not be hasty Kakashi-kun, you said he might be an asset to the village did you not? What kind of a Leader would I be if I not only ignored the advice of one of my elite soldiers but also passed up on the chance to gain a new defender of the peace. No, I think we'll give this Kamen Sakamoto a chance. As soon as your team is ready come to my office and bring Kamen-san along, I will have a mission for you."

A wave of relief washed over the downtrodden veteran. His shoulders, which he hadn't even realised had tensed, suddenly went slack and a stiff pain in them erupted, like a sort of cramp. A soft hand placed itself on Kakashi's shoulder snapping him out of his stupor, a young nurse stood next to the bench. Sound had returned to the world, people had started coming into the park and the seven intruders had vanished, "Kakashi-san? Your student has been healed; the bill will be sent to the Hokage's office."

The group had been walking for a short while, Kakashi gave his somewhat altered explanation of the situation to get Kamen to follow along. The five of them stuck out like a sore thumb in the growing crowds of midday civilians. Not too far in the distance, a tall red tower with the kanji for 'fire' engraved into its side cast its shadow across the academy which stood but a few meter away from its base.

"So, you want me to accompany you guys on a mission?" Kamen seemed slightly on edge, anyone would be if they were suddenly summoned by the leader of a country, which was lucky because it allowed the midnight blue eyed man to hide his real anxieties, that he had been uncovered or was at the very least suspected of something fishy.

"That's right, I'm not quite sure of the details but the missive I received said that he has an important mission that would be too difficult for a simple group of genin but that it wasn't worth assigning a chunin squad to. I was thinking that my team with you added on might be up to the task."

Suspicious wasn't the right word, Kamen now knew something was up, but if he reacted, he would blow his cover. Sure enough, Kamen knew a little bit about leadership and how ninja villages were organised, and he knew that Kakashi didn't have the authority to add an unaffiliated combatant to a mission, not without the authority of a superior. And who exactly stood above an elite jonin sensei? Well it certainly wasn't a clan head or the anbu commander… No, this was set up by none other than the Hokage himself… Now as to the why? Kamen didn't have an answer… Yet…

It didn't take long for the group of five to make their way up the tower, once they had been given the green light by the tower's rather elderly secretary. Kamen couldn't stop his heart from beating at a thousand miles per hour as they paused before the large mahogany doors of the Professor's office. The two guards on either side looked team seven and their plus one up and down several times before tugging on the brass handles, unveiling the inside of the room before them.

The room was built in the shape of a half circle with windows lining most of the curved side, looking down upon the village from on high. A huge desk that looked like it was made of material that could resist an S-rank fire jutsu with barely a scratch,with behind it a large leather office chair that looked as though it would be heavenly on the spine, was where the third Hokage could be found.

To the left of the doorway leading in was a small corner with two sofas, a small coffee table and a door that lead into the Hokage's personal quarters. The place seemed to have been designed with the intention of serving as a home away from home for any Kage who so wished to isolate themselves in their work.

The leather chair that the Hokage was sat in had been spun to stare out over the village as the midday rays of sun lit up the multi-coloured rooves and ununiform rows of buildings. Having likely know of team seven's arrival beforehand, the leader of Konoha calmly turned around to greet his guests.

Kakashi was the first to enter, swiftly followed by his three genin who seemed remarkably well behaved compared to usual, especially for a certain young blonde, though that didn't stop his usual, "Hi old man!" from escaping his lips. Kamen hung back a little, seeming to slouch more than even Kakashi as he tried his best to melt into the background.

The air of the room was as disarming as the almost wistful smile that graced the third Hokage's lips as he greeted Naruto with a slight nod, his fingers interlaced in front of his face, "Good to see you Naruto-kun, how goes the Ninja life?"

Kamen found it strange that neither Sasuke nor Sakura seemed to question the peculiar attitude the Kage took when interacting with the jinchuriki of the kyuubi, but perhaps they already had grown used to it from their short time as shinobi, "Great! Kakashi-sensei said you had an awesome mission for us!"

In that moment, the raven haired veteran wished Jiraya had taught him the chameleon jutsu when he was young so that he could disappear right now, not that it would have helped when faced with Konoha's elite, after all they might not have invented the Jutsu but they sure as hell mastered it. Kamen knew that there were guards in the room, likely six or seven very faint chakra signatures, barely the level of a fly, however even those were so vague and fuzzy that he couldn't be sure of their exact location.

Hiruzen's gaze shifted from young Naruto to his older version, his narrow brown eyes scanning him up and down until finally settling on the midnight blue orbs that gazed back at him. Hiruzen was very suddenly confused, rather he was unsure what to feel for the first time in a long time… This person who stood behind team seven, who he was certain he had never met, was peering back at his brown eyes with a vortex of emotions, nostalgia, fondness, respect and sadness all cascaded together into a melting pot of hazy blue, "And who might this be? Did Kakashi-kun bring along a little extra help?" At the grey-haired leader's words Kamen snapped to attention, the veteran's misty eyes regained their outer shell and his whole body straightened up as though he were about to salute, "That's correct Hokage-sama. I am Kamen Sakamoto, it's an honour to meet you sir."

"It is a pleasure to meet you too Kamen-san. However, I would like to get an idea of your skills before I can allow you to accompany my soldiers on their mission…" 'and answer honestly, I'll be able to tell if your lying' was what Kamen felt the third meant by his slightly serious gaze.

"Of course, Hokage-sama, I have an elemental affinity for wind jutsu and am able to utilise a small selection of offensive ones, however my main proficiency which I am most confident in would be Fuinjutsu. I wouldn't say I'm as skilled as Jiraya of the Sannin, but I believe that my ingenuity makes up for my lack of mastery of the art as I mainly focus on the combat and training applications of it. Apart from that I'm about average with taijutsu, shuriken and Kunai. While I have never really been interested in kenjutsu or genjutsu, I can handle myself enough in both to defend myself from them."

There was a silence in the office for a few minutes, Kamen hadn't lied, Hiruzen could tell, however it was obvious he had purposefully omitted certain details… However, that wasn't enough to warrant branding him a spy. As he had originally suspected, talking to this man would not be enough to expose him, were he actually an infiltrator, "I understand why Kakashi would want to bring you along as insurance then, but tell me, are you a mercenary perhaps? It's rare that people with your kind of skills just appear from nowhere."

A slightly sombre air washed over Kamen's being, something that the Hokage didn't miss, "I was never officially a shinobi, sir… However, I was drafted as a soldier when I was young… I'm from Kewagakure, you see-" The oldest man in the room rose his bony fingers in the air slightly, as a sign for him to stop.

"I understand, it would be best we pick up this conversation on a separate occasion, perhaps when there are less ears." It was implicit that the old man didn't want the genin to hear what the war veteran had to say, especially not Sasuke who had already lived through a massacre, hearing about another would likely only harm the boy's already delicate psyche, at least that was what Hiruzen thought, "I'll approve your going along on this mission with them."

A gentle smile graced the old kage's lips as he turned back towards Kakashi, rummaging slightly around in his papers before retrieving a thick looking paper folder, "Now then, today's mission is slightly more complicated than usual and the time range is uncertain, it has been designated as a B-rank mission as a precaution, however I believe team seven along with Kamen-san's help will likely be enough to handle it." Kakashi stepped closer to the desk and grasped the folder that had been handed to him by his superior's outstretched arm. Throwing a quick glance over the details of the mission, he swiftly nodded, "Alright, team seven and their plus one accepts the mission to escort Ozymandias of the Land of Wind's daughter from Otafuku Gai to Ren'ai Fuun. We will be departing in thirty minutes; I want to see everyone at the Main gate by then."

And with that everyone left the Hokage's office, Kamen having only a single thing running through his mind, 'Why the hell did I go along with this?'

Author's note:

Yup, It's me again, I wanted to apologise for the length of time it took me to upload this one, I must have written and rewritten it in its entirety at least three times (because yes, the pre-written material ended a chapter ago and save going over the old stuff for inspiration I'm having a little trouble pushing onwards)… Finding a legitimate and logical reason as to why Kamen would end up going along with team seven on a mission was complicated. (trust me the first two ideas, which were a preemtive suna attack and Kakashi basicly throwing caution to the wind and breaking what I imagine would have been several guidlines, were not the best nor the most thought out ideas, especialy because of what is to come) I hadn't originally meant for Sarutobi to get involved with it, but I think it turned out pretty well. And as you could tell I've modified Hiruzen's character a little (quite a lot) to make him seem a little more leader-like, I was never really satisfied with the Kage of Canon, they all seemed a little bit like wet blankets, at least in my opinion. When other Kage Show up, expect them to have some drastic changes as well.

I also wanted to take this time to address the issue of pairings in my story as posed by Aya Song. I do have a pairing in mind, relating to Kamen, though it isn't going to be for a while and I'll keep my lips sealed as to who the mystery woman is going to be. (Remember he's twenty-five and most of the other people he cherished in his timeline are 12~14, so no one from the younger generation) And yeah, sorry to all those Fujoshi out there, but there ain't going to be no KakashixKamen in this one!

That's all I wanted to say, except that as usual, I hope you enjoyed and if you've got some feedback don't hesitate to post a review!