Hateno Village, a modest farming village at the borderline of the war, was exactly as Kakashi imagined. Damaged buildings with rudimentary fixes, civilians in tattered clothing, children begging for food on the streets and glares directed at the shinobi. It was reminiscent of every civilian village caught in the crossfire of ninja wars.
The busiest direction of travel was towards the East. In the distance, two large windmills spun lazily under the light summer breeze. A third windmill barely twitched, the tattered cloth around the spokes hung loosely and failed to catch the wind to turn. The civilians walking to and from the area were layered with dirt and sweat.
He heard Obito's gasp of surprise as he took in the state of the village. Obito had been sheltered from the war up until this deployment. Kakashi knew that his teammate was probably devastated at the situation, just as Sakura and Naruto had been when they first arrived at the Wave. Let's hope he doesn't start any revolutions like Naruto did.
Their guide, Sasaki Kaiya, didn't even bat an eye as she gave them a quick rundown of the situation. Things have been quiet since Iwa has been busy, and the village hadn't been used to launch an attack for over two months. The civilian medics were given rudimentary chakra healing lessons and thus, the village served as a midpoint to treat the injured should the need arise. Beyond that, the main problem they had to look out for was saboteurs from Iwa, who employed hit and run tactics. The most common target was the crops and wheat pasta mills to keep the land impoverished, but there were the occasional attacks on the village.
"When did they destroy the third mill?" Kakashi asked.
"Oh that? About a month ago," Kaiya replied nonchalantly as she led them down towards the village center where a small pagoda lay.
"Why hasn't it been fixed it?" Taiki followed up. "That's a long time to keep a food resource down given the obvious food scarcity problem."
"Not our problem," Kaiya said with a wave of her hand. "Our job is to provide defense and keep Iwa out. You have any questions outside that, go ask the village leader, Maeda-san."
The streets leading to the center were lined with merchants, who barely had enough food stocked. Taking a glimpse at the prices, even the few crops they had for sale were being sold at exorbitant prices. It was painting an ugly picture.
"Isn't it our job to help though, as allies?" Banri asked with bitterness.
Kakashi saw Obito nod along empathically, "We have to do something."
Banri's clipped voice and judgy undertone was not lost on Kaiya who finally shed her carefree attitude, "Look, you guys just got here. We do our best, but we're not miracle workers." She turned to glare at Banri, "Konoha provides protection, so they stay alive, even if they live in poverty. In return, Hateno provides our defense forces with food and medical supplies. It's a fair trade."
"Forgive them," Furuya replied before Banri could argue back. "They're still young and not accustomed to the realities of war. We understand your situation completely."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. Kiss ass.
"Good," Kaiya sniffed before refocusing her sight forward.
Banri turned to face Katsu, clearly not satisfied. He wasn't the only one. Although, Kakashi noticed that Izumi and Obara were also upset, they viewed the situation with defeated acceptance. They were probably used to it. On the other hand, Kakashi's squad mates were mostly stationed on transport so haven't been faced with the realities of civilians outside of Konoha.
Before Katsu had the chance to help Banri navigate his emotions, Furuya placed a hand on Banri's shoulder and shook his head. Banri fisted his hands, and they shook in frustration. But with Furuya's stern gaze, he slumped his shoulders in defeat. The rest of the walk was completed in silence, but they were close to their distance, so the awkward silence didn't last long.
"Here we go," Kaiya announced as she beckoned them inside a wooden two-story building. It was one of the most well-maintained structures Kakashi had seen so far. He waited for everyone to trickle in and made sure to close the door behind him.
Kakashi spotted a few Konoha ninja milling around, writing reports or sharpening weapons. There weren't as many ninja as reported, most were probably still patrolling the village. In contrast to the village outside, Kakashi noticed a table to the side stocked with food for the ninja to eat, including fruits, eggs, soup, rice and wheat pasta. He narrowed his eyes. No wonder civilians outside of ninja villages hate us, he thought.
Fortunately, the rest of them were distracted by the greetings of their comrades to really notice the table. After the general pleasantries were exchanged, Furuya brought them back to the task at hand, "I was informed that Watanabe-san is in charge, is he around?"
"Watanabe-san is out at the northern border," one of their comrades supplied. "Apparently something is going to happen, and we were told to increase our defenses and stay on guard. I'm Itou Eisaku, Watanabe-san's second in command. He already asked me if you could split into teams of twos and help patrol these areas." He beckoned them to follow him to a wide table at the far end.
Kakashi shuffled forward to observe the map the man was gesturing towards, showing the village and 5 km outwards. It was a basic geographical map with the main areas of the village marked and red-colored wedge-shaped pentagonal pieces places around, similar to the pieces in shogi. They clearly marked the patrol areas.
"We need some extra reinforcement in these four locations: the two watch towers to the North, the northern defensive wall and a team to patrol around the village," the man pointed at each location respectively. "Preferably, we need your strongest fighters at the wall. If anything happens, that's where Iwa will likely attack. Our team will take care of border patrols. We know the defensive gaps and easiest points for Iwa to infiltrate by heart."
"Understood," Furuya nodded and turned to the new arrivals. "Fujita-kun, you and I will go to the wall, your long-distance fighting could help delay the Iwa forces. You kids stay in the village while the rest of you take a watch tower."
Everyone nodded in approval. Personally, Kakashi was silently relieved that he and Obito were given the easiest assignment, even if it was clear that Furuya underestimated them for being kids. Obito, on the other hand, was not satisfied, "Just because we're young doesn't mean we can't fight!"
"It's not about strength but experience, Obito-kun," Furuya placated him. "The rest of us have years of experience in keeping an eye out for danger. You have an important job. If danger does come, the villagers will get antsy and it's your job to reassure them and protect them if someone slips through our defense. Can I trust you to do that?"
Obito huffed, still peeved, but nodded, nonetheless. Kakashi was surprised to how quickly Obito relented. Could his teammate not see how condescending Furuya was generally being towards them.
After they were given a bit more information, Kakashi and Obito left for their assignment. They were made to patrol the district far south, the farthest away from the action if anything were to happen. Although Obito accepted the assignment, he was shuffling along, hands in his pockets and a frown on his face.
Kakashi wasn't sure how to approach the situation. He and Obito were rarely, if ever, together without Rin or Minato around. Sure, his and Obito's relationship was better than it has ever been, but it was a tentative truce. As they walked further out, none of them said a word. Well, this is awkward.
Kakashi distracted himself by observing the civilians around them. They didn't seem to know there was anything major happening. Despite an air of misery clinging into the air due to their situation, there wasn't any anxiousness. Only a resigned acceptance of their situation as they went about their day trying to survive.
"How come you aren't angry?" Obito asked suspiciously, breaking the silence.
"The chances of anything happening here are low anyway," Kakashi explained. "Besides, I've had enough action for a while." Between fighting Haruki and assisting his sensei with Gou, he didn't mind a backseat for this low priority mission. Moreover, he wasn't in the best mental state as he was worried about his sensei and Jiraya.
"Of course you'd rub it in, Bakashi," Obito spat out angrily.
Kakashi halted in his tracks, "What? I didn't…"
"Whatever," Obito bumped him in the shoulder on purpose and kept walking forward, fuming.
Kakashi had to blink away his shock before following a few steps behind. He wasn't trying to brag about being assigned high profile missions. Kakashi knew that Obito's assumptions were built upon three years of annoying one another. No matter what I say, Obito always takes it the wrong way. I don't know how to talk to him.
If Kakashi was honest, a lot of the times they fought had nothing to do with purposeful jabs. Even without meaning to, Kakashi and Obito's opposite personalities simply clashed and drove the other person to be annoyed. Logically, Kakashi was aware that years of bad blood wouldn't be solved by one incidence, but he wished it were that easy.
While Kakashi contemplated the realities of their relationship, they had arrived at the district. Unlike the center of the village, the signs of poverty were more pronounced. Nobody was dressed in anything better than rags, the majority of people were skin and bones, children were running around barefoot and Kakashi even spotted a few homeless people sleeping on the sides of the street.
The harsh reality seemed to shake Obito out of his anger, replacing it with sadness. He slowed down, allowing Kakashi to fall back in step with him, "If this is the case in a village that has Konoha helping out, what's it like in villages with no allies?" Obito whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
"It depends how close they are to the action," Kakashi answered honestly. "If an unaffiliated village was close to the action, it would either be abandoned or destroyed by now. If they are far, the situation would be similar to here or even better really. Being affiliated with a ninja village doesn't mean you're better off financially, just that you are protected so you don't have to abandon your home. With a war raging, nobody goes on trade so there's no new income. They money they have is probably being coveted by a few who won't spend it on anything more than the essentials, given the difficulty in making more. No external trade, no internal trade, and a portion of the food they produce is being given to us. None of that makes for a good economy."
"That is so wrong," Obito growled. "It's wrong on so many different levels. When I'm Hokage, things won't be the same."
Kakashi chose not to reply, knowing that pointing out his thinking was wishful would only add to his teammate's animosity.
"No wonder they hate us," Obito muttered dejectedly, keeping the conversation going. Kakashi observed that his teammate kept his eyes down, feeling guilty for the villagers' situation and not wanting to face their accusatory glances.
"You're right," Kakashi agreed. "But you have to remember that it's their choice to stay. They could have immigrated somewhere safer, a village with more distance from the war."
"Why should they have to leave their home?" Obito shook his head in disagreement. "I love Konoha. If things got bad, I still wouldn't want to leave. Also, I may not be smart but if it's too dangerous to leave to trade, it's going to be too dangerous to leave too."
Kakashi smiled softly behind his mask; Obito was too kind for this world. "I guess when things got bad, they stayed, hoping things would improve and now it's too late. Another point is that other villages might not want to welcome them. Even if these villages are far from the action, they're also struggling to survive. Having additional mouths to feed won't be welcome."
"I didn't think of that," Obito grimaced. "I know we have some war refugees in Konoha. I never really talked to any of them. I didn't even think about them."
"Did you know that the Hatake clan originally joined Konoha as farming refugees?" Kakashi asked. Obito twisted towards his teammate, eyes gleaming with curiosity and surprise. Kakashi wasn't sure what spurred him to share, but his gut feeling told him that sharing this part of his history with his teammate could help speed up the process of becoming friends. It's not like any of his clan's history was personal. He never knew any other Hatake, and as far as he was concerned, it was simply a part of history.
"They… refugees? And wait, you're from a clan?" Obito asked.
"Not much of a clan left to be honest," Kakashi replied. "I was told that we were originally from a farming village between the Cloud and Konoha, in what's now at the edge of the Land of Hot Water and Land of Frost. Our village was caught in the crossfire of the first ninja war. Both countries wanted to add the land to their territories. There are a lot of fertile lands there so it's great for farming. We had a few ninja in our ranks, but not enough to protect against the ninja villages. Most of my clansmen died and the remaining few left to join Konoha."
"Why Konoha and not the Cloud?" Obito was hanging on to every word.
"One of my ancestors was a friend of the Second Hokage," Kakashi replied. "Apparently, he was roaming around the area before Konoha was founded and was injured. She gave him food and a place to heal, so he welcomed our clan without too much trouble."
"That's really cool!" Obito's mood lifted. "You don't think you're related to the Second, do you? I mean you have the same hair!"
Kakashi snorted, "Not everyone with white hair is family. Otherwise, I'd be related to Jiraya-sama too."
"Yeah, that's true," Obito chuckled with embarrassment, "Also, the Second Hokage never got married."
"You don't need to be married to have a child you know?" Kakashi was bemused by Obito's logic. Did his teammate not know about how reproduction works?
Obito blushed, "I know that, Bakashi! I'm not an idiot. I meant he's THE Hokage. He wouldn't have kids without anybody knowing."
"You never know, he is a ninja," Kakashi joked.
"Whatever," Obito punched him lightly on the shoulder. "So does that mean refugees in Konoha are forced to become ninja?"
"Not necessarily," Kakashi said, "however, they are encouraged to enroll their children in the Academy to see if they have talent. Hatakes did. By the time I was born, everyone had already died in service of the village."
"That really sucks, I'm sorry," Obito shared his condolences. "I can't understand what's that's like. It's like all the Uchiha dying. It's hard to even imagine."
Kakashi covered his incredulous laugh at those words with a cough. Oh, the absolute irony. Obito glanced at him with confusion and Kakashi waved away his concern. After controlling his emotions, Kakashi cleared his throat a few times, pretending that it was just a small coughing fit, "Sorry, dust. Anyway, you're right. There's no way that would happen."
Obito looked even more confused, "You're wearing a mask…"
"Says the person who gets dust in his eyes while wearing goggles, crybaby," Kakashi reminded him dryly.
"I have sensitive eyes," Obito spluttered.
Before Kakashi could respond, they heard someone yell in panic. Kakashi and Obito's demeanors quickly changed, and they rushed towards the sound. Conversely, the civilians wanted nothing to do with the trouble and were quickly walking away from the area. Kakashi didn't judge them harshly. They were barely surviving their own problems and didn't want to add more responsibilities on their plates.
As they approached the alleyway where the sound came from, a man ran out breathless, his hand clutching something hard in his pocket. The man glanced at them, eyes landing on their headbands and widening in panic. He glanced at the other direction before turning back towards them and speaking out in a rushed manner, "Help! Someone was hurt. In the alley."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The man was clearly the attacker. Based on his body language, his first instinct was to flee the other way when he saw them approach. He seemed to think he had a higher chance of success tricking them than running, but he was so obvious it was laughable. Without even acknowledging his act, Kakashi burst forward and punched the man in the gut, causing him to crumble onto the street unconscious.
Obito wasn't even phased and ran inside the alley to help the injured person, having caught on as well. Kakashi bent down and pulled the unconscious man's hand out of his pocket to reveal a small amount of cash fisted in his hand. Now confirmed, Kakashi pocketed the money to return to its rightful owner and tied the man up. He felt sorry for the man, knowing he was probably driven to crime by his circumstances.
Kakashi left the man on the street for now and followed Obito into the alleyway to check on the situation. He found Obito leaning on top of a young man, hands pressing down on a stab wound in the man's abdomen. All his feelings of pity for the thief vanishing and turning into anger instead.
"We need to take him to the medic center," Kakashi said as he took out a swath of bandages. Obito maneuvered the man so that Kakashi could tie the bandages around the wound as a temporary stop measure. "Do you remember where it is?"
"Yes," Obito confirmed as he lifted the man and supported him over his shoulder.
"I'll take the thief back and join you," Kakashi ordered. Obito was physically stronger and larger than Kakashi; he would be faster.
Obito nodded and quickly ran towards the medic center while Kakashi ran back to the thief and found him still sprawled on the floor. The street had mostly empty out by then. Only a few villagers lingered, observing the scene cautiously. Nobody dared approach.
Kakashi concentrated chakra into his hands and brought his hands to the man's head, using some basic medical ninjutsu to wake him up. The man groaned as his consciousness returned. Kakashi did not want to carry the man anywhere. He didn't care if the thief's gut would still be in pain, he was making him walk.
"Don't! Don't kill me," the man pleaded in fear once he came to and realized the situation he was in.
"I'm not going to kill you," Kakashi replied, masking his emotions. "Get up, we're going to our base."
"I had no choice, please," the man cried out and grabbing at Kakashi desperately.
"You had the choice to steal without endangering that man's life," Kakashi glared at him as he unhooked his grip and pushed him away from, making the man clam up. Kakashi grabbed the man's shirt and lifted him up to stand, then motioned for him to start walking.
Knowing he had no choice, the man walked in resignation, face pale as a ghost. As they moved across the village, onlookers would stop and stare as they passed. Despite the man being the one who committed a crime, the people chose to glare at Kakashi instead. Without knowing anything about the circumstances, their first intuition was to blame the ninja. Accustomed to the glares he spent a childhood receiving in Konoha for being the White Fang's son, he ignored them with ease.
He entered their base and noticed that there were fewer Konoha ninja than before. Still, one of the more senior ninja approached him and he explained the situation.
"I had no choice," the man explained himself, hoping to garner sympathy from the other ninja. "We have nothing, and my children are starving. Please."
"It's not my call to make," the Konoha ninja replied sadly. "I'll take him to Maeda-san. Village matters are not our concern."
"No please! He'll kill me. He doesn't show any mercy, please," the man pleaded. "I'll leave. My family and I, we'll leave!"
"I can't,"the Konoha ninja said, tone full of regret. "We have an agreement; we don't meddle in village matters. I can't risk our alliance for you, I'm truly sorry."
"Do you need anything else from me? I'd like to check in on the victim," Kakashi asked. This whole situation was terrible and he wanted to avoid hearing any more of the thief's pleas.
"No, it's all clear," the man shook his head. "Don't take too long since you need to go back on patrol."
"Will do," Kakashi acknowledged the command and left before the man changed his mind. He made a beeline to the medic center and wasn't surprised that the village's medical center was small and dingy. He stepped inside and found a small commotion to the left and Obito standing to the side, watching the medics try to heal the man.
"Any problems?" Kakashi asked quietly as he joined his teammate's side.
"No," Obito shock his head sadly. "But I don't think he's going to make it."
"Where is she?" one of the medics cried out. As if summoned by the medic's cry, the door at the opposite end of the center opened with a bang. A brawny man was walking with rushed steps, clutching a woman's hand tightly and dragging her behind him.
"What the…?" Obito was left speechless by the bizarre display.
Kakashi was similarly stunned into silence, but not due to the vulgar actions of the brawny male. Instead, he was taken aback by the features of the woman being dragged. Bright red hair ran straight down to her chin, parted in the middle. Kakashi swore the woman's nose was the exact copy of Kushina's. This woman is an Uzumaki!
"Please, I'm pregnant. I can't heal anyone else," the woman was desperately trying to release the grip on her hand, her face contorted in panic.
"It's Maeda-sama's cousin's son," the man growled and tugged her forward harshly. With that piece of information, Kakashi knew the thief had no chance of surviving Maeda's judgement. What someone from the village's ruling family was doing in the poorest district would not be questioned.
Once the man and Uzumaki were next to the injured person's bedside, the man roughly dragged her sleeve down, revealing a slew of bite marks all over her hand. He brought her hand close to the man's mouth and the woman stopped struggling in defeat.
"Stop! What are you doing?" Obito could no longer remain silent. Although he had no idea what was going in, the woman's distress alarmed him, and he moved forward to help her.
"Stay back," one of the medics blocked Obito's path. "We have an agreement with this woman. She has a healing ability and in exchange, we provide for her. This is not a part of your jurisdiction, Konoha. Stand down."
"But, she said she can't use it now," Obito exclaimed angrily. Before the medic could reply, Kakashi heard the woman wince in pain as they coaxed the injured man to bite down on her arm. A green glow enveloped the man, color slowly returning to his face as the injury stitched itself up.
That's when it clicked. Kakashi remembered hearing about a woman with Orochimaru who had the ability to heal others rapidly. It was an offhand piece of information that Jiraya had told him when sharing information about his teammate's attempts to find immortality. He would never have guessed that the person Jiraya mentioned was an Uzumaki. He wondered if even Jiraya knew that. One thing is for certain, Kushina-san would be livid if she knew.
A minute passed before the man was healed and during that time, nobody moved. As the glow finally eased, Kakashi saw the Uzumaki slump in fatigue, breath shallow.
"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" the man who manhandled her growled at her slumped figure.
"See, she's fine," the medic added her two cents. "You should leave now. You're not needed here."
"There is nothing fine about what happened," Obito yelled back, finding his words again.
Kakashi grabbed his teammate's hand and dragged him out, in a sight eerily familiar to what they just witnessed. "We'll be going now," Kakashi said before Obito could complain.
Once they were outside, Obito pulled his hand out of Kakashi's grip, "What the hell, you jerk! Don't you have a heart?"
Kakashi lifted his index hand to his lips, ordering Obito to be quiet. He then pointed to the roof of the building facing the back of the building. Once he confirmed Obito understood, he jumped over there and was joined by Obito.
"She's an Uzumaki," Kakashi stated.
"Like Kushina-san!" Obito replied loudly.
Kakashi shushed him urgently, "Be quiet, this is a delicate situation. Like the medic said, this isn't our jurisdiction. We can't just accuse our allies of abuse or make demands. We have to think about this logically. I know it's terrible, but we need to think about this carefully before taking any action."
"We can write Kushina-san," Obito suggested, venom lacing his voice. At least that venom was no longer directed at Kakashi now that Obito understood that his teammate was just as unnerved by the situation as he was. "There is no way she'll let them get away with this."
"Kushina-san won't, but Konoha might," Kakashi disagreed. "We are finally pushing Iwa back and Konoha will not risk creating any problems for someone who isn't even from the village."
"But she's an Uzumaki. They're Konoha's biggest allies," Obito couldn't believe it. "Even if the Village of Whirlpool was destroyed, Sandaime-sama won't leave her to suffer."
"The Third needs to think about what's best for Konoha," Kakashi shook his head. "If we write to Kushina-san, the Third won't let her do anything. Knowing Kushina-san, she'll probably still help the woman escape against orders. If she does so, Hateno village will pin the blame on Kushina-san, and Konoha by extension. We can't let that happen."
"So, what do you suggest?" Obito asked annoyed. "You can't honestly be thinking of doing nothing. I don't care if it's against your precious rules, we can't just leave her here!"
"That's not what I'm suggesting. Can you stop attacking me for a second and calm down?" Kakashi asked.
Obito huffed and folded his arms.
"Thank you," Kakashi muttered, grateful that Obito finally calmed down. "The best course of action… I'd say what we need to do is help her escape, but make sure nobody can tie it back to Konoha."
"Didn't you say it's dangerous to wander around?" Obito asked. "Even if we helped her escape, where would she go and how will she survive being pregnant?"
Kakashi was surprised that Obito was thinking ahead. He had lumped Obito and Naruto in the same category. He wasn't sure if it was the passage of time or Kakashi's bias, but Obito wasn't as big of a knucklehead as Naruto was.
"She'll go to Konoha," Kakashi shared his thoughts. "Konoha won't be able to orchestrate her escape, but if she came to Konoha as a runaway, the Third won't let her go. Uzumaki genes are strong. He'll want to keep her, and her potentially strong baby, in the village."
"I don't like it, it's like she's a weapon," Obito muttered.
"If it keeps her safe, who cares why," Kakashi said with shrug. "This way, she'll have a family in Kushina-san too."
"That'll make Kushina-san very happy too," Obito nodded happily. He was clearly imagining the happy reunion if his dopey smile was any indication.
"Regardless, all of this is moot until we talk to the woman," Kakashi said. The first thing Kakashi did was create a shadow clone, "Go cover our patrol, create a basic clone to look like Obito and make a showing of us being back out on the streets."
The clone nodded and left. Before Obito could ask, Kakashi clarified, "We need an alibi, remember? We can't let anyone tie this back to Konoha."
He heard Obito let out a sound of understanding as he ran through the familiar signs for the summoning jutsu. Once the smoke cleared, his second favorite Ninken greeted him with a wagging tail, "Hiya, Kakashi."
Kakashi patted the dog on the head gently, "Hey Bisuke, I need your help."
"What do you need?" Bisuke was eager to help.
"See that building, the medical center? There is a pregnant woman that should be held alone in a room in the back. Can you go check the area and let us know if there is anything to worry about before sneaking in?" Kakashi asked.
"Sure thing," Bisuke nodded and immediately set out on his task.
Until Bisuke returned, Kakashi turned back to Obito with a serious look, "Are you sure you want to go through with this? If we succeed in getting her to Konoha, the Torture and Interrogation Unit are going to scan her memory to clear her before allowing her to stay. They'll know we're involved. I can take it from here and you can stand back and avoid the consequences."
"Don't be stupid, Bakashi," Obito scoffed, "We're in this together."
"Alright," Kakashi nodded. He felt warm at the statement. Kakashi and Obito were rarely on the same page. He knew executing this rescue together could do wonders for their relationship.
"I just have one question, why don't we ask the others for help? If it's not just the two of us, there's less chance of getting into trouble, right?" Obito pointed out.
"Furuya-san is a spineless ninja looking to curry favor, he'll sell us out in a heartbeat," Kakashi said. "If we ask Katsu-san, there's a chance Furuya will find out. The others are at the watch tower. I also don't want to get them into trouble. They're struggling to rise the ranks and having this on their record will set them back."
"I can see that. But I don't understand," Obito said, staring at Kakashi intently.
"What's not to understand. It's pretty straight-forward," Kakashi frowned.
"Why are YOU doing this?" Obito clarified. "Doesn't this go against the rules? If you're worried about your squad getting into trouble, doesn't that mean you're going to get into trouble? You're always stubbornly doing everything by the book. So no, I don't understand, what are you playing at? Are you stringing me along while that clone goes and tells on us or something?"
Kakashi winced at the accusation. He spoke to soon. Obito clearly thought he was heartless. Again, he couldn't fault Obito; his younger self would never do anything that would risk getting him into trouble the Hokage. But it still hurt. Forget about friendship, his own teammate didn't trust him.
"You may believe that I'm heartless, but I don't want people to suffer needlessly," Kakashi said stoically. "I know I'm skilled enough to pull this off. I'm also gaining a reputation so even if I do get into trouble, Konoha needs me. I'm the genius of my generation so the most I'll get is a slap on the wrist."
This was also true. Oh, this stunt would definitely set him back in bringing honor to the Hatake name. Kakashi couldn't find it in himself to care. He was fighting for his loved one, and he wasn't going to stand by and watch Kushina's family suffer. Especially when he knew Orochimaru would eventually get his claws on her or this unborn child. Nobody deserved to suffer by the Snake Sanin. He really needed to hurry and get Tenzo out of there.
Obito kept looking at Kakashi, apparently trying to discern whether there was any hint of foul play. Kakashi rolled his eyes and looked back at Bisuke casing the center, deciding to ignore Obito.
Whatever it was Obito was searching for, however, he seemed to have found it. "Ok then, I'll trust you."
"I'm honored," Kakashi muttered sarcastically, still annoyed by Obito. Part of him wondered if they would ever become friends. Maybe it was enough to know that the Uchiha was alive and happy, then leave it there.
Obito could tell his teammate was upset but felt he was justified in his concerns. Instead of apologizing, he let the tension between them fester.
When Bisuke came back, he immediately sensed the tension and gave Kakashi a concerned look. Kakashi shook his head, "What did you find, Bisuke?"
Bisuke obeyed the silent command, letting the matter drop, "She's kept in a room by herself in the back. There are metal bars on her window so she can't escape. There doesn't seem to be anyone around, everyone else is in the main medic area. The rest of the rooms are supply rooms or a rest space for medics. It's very barebone security. The woman you want to talk to is clearly a civilian, even though I can sense she has a lot of chakra."
"Thanks, Bisuke, that's very useful," Kakashi praised. "Can you stay with us and let us know if anyone is coming?" Bisuke nodded his consent.
Kakashi then turned to Obito, face completely serious and tone leaving no room to argue, "Obito, you Must Stay Quiet. No matter what she says, don't let your headband get too tight and stay calm."
"I know, I know," Obito said impatiently.
"I mean it," Kakashi cautioned as he stood up from their crouched position.
"I said I know," Obito snapped as he followed suit.
"Alright then," Kakashi nodded. "Let's go talk to her."
We might not be starting any revolutions but of course we got dragged into something, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh at his misfortune. Was it too much to ask for a simple mission?
Author's Note: I also wanted to let you know that I edited chapters 4 & 5. I realize that having the ninja behind the borders all be S-Ranked is not very realistic. Neither is having Kakashi defeat an S-ranked ninja in this small body. It's important to me to keep the story make sense logically and will keep the S-ranked fighting for the future.