Mei Terumi explained everything that was currently happening in the Land of Lightning in meticulous detail. As she spoke, she watched Kakashi's initially calm expression gradually sour, and her voice trailed off, becoming quieter and quieter.
"So that's what you call a 'plan'?" Kakashi's voice was strained. "Wait, can you even call that a plan?"
Looking at Mei, who was now pitifully biting her lip, Kakashi could only swallow his frustration. He blamed himself for not being clearer; if she had just found any random place to leave him for a few days, he would have healed on his own.
The girl's 'plan' had completely derailed Kakashi's original intentions. He had hoped to find an opportunity to infiltrate the Hidden Cloud Village stealthily, maybe train for a bit in that legendary place brimming with lightning, all without encountering any Cloud shinobi.
Because encounters meant exposure, requiring even more time spent hiding.
"But you? You just laid all our cards on the table. The only smart thing you did was not mentioning I'm a Konoha missing-nin. Otherwise, we'd be truly finished."
Mei saw that although Kakashi was clearly angry, he wasn't actually blaming her. She stuck out her tongue playfully.
"The Land of Water and the Land of Lightning are allies, that's why I asked them for help. They only declared war suddenly in the last two days."
"That was just sheer luck," Kakashi retorted. "If we had come under the Raikage's scrutiny, and they decided to investigate us, we would have had absolutely no chance of escape."
"That... probably wouldn't happen, right?" Mei asked, a flicker of worry in her voice. Questioned like this by the boy, she only now began to grasp that they might have just narrowly escaped another life-or-death situation.
"Anyway, let's stay put for now. Trying to flee suddenly would attract even more attention. Help me up."
With Mei's support, Kakashi sat up. He pulled off his forehead protector, examining the engraved symbol meticulously. On the backplate, he found a tiny black dot, easily overlooked.
"Give me yours too."
The girl removed her headband and handed it over. She watched as he found a similar black dot on the back of hers.
"Is that a tracking device?" she asked.
"Not entirely. Looks like it has a listening function too, though definitely not real-time. The Land of Lightning's technology is quite a bit more advanced than Konoha's."
Prying the minuscule device out, Kakashi channeled a thread of lightning-style chakra into it, ensuring all internal components were fried before carefully tucking it back behind the metal plate.
"I'd actually be more surprised if they hadn't planted these things," he sighed, reattaching his own headband. "You really need to be more careful. We're in a time of war."
Lowering her head in embarrassment, Mei didn't put the now-safe headband back on her forehead but hung it around her neck instead.
It looked rather like a collar.
"I'll pay attention next time," she mumbled.
Kakashi was rendered somewhat speechless.
"There's going to be a 'next time'? Sigh... And you're supposed to become Mizukage looking like this..."
"I...."
She desperately wanted to refute the disbelieving look the silver-haired boy gave her and his mocking words, but she couldn't find a solid argument. Pouting slightly to express her dissatisfaction, she let him pull her onto the hospital bed, making some space for her.
"You look like you haven't slept in days. Rest for a while. Later, when you wake up, come with me to find the attending doctor outside. I want to see what they could find out from studying my blood."
"Mm," she agreed乖巧 (guāiqiǎo - obediently/meekly).
Since Kakashi had woken up, he had effectively become the girl's external thought processor. Basically, as long as she followed his lead, things wouldn't go wrong. Over time, Mei's reliance on him had grown, and when she was near the boy, she would unconditionally accept his decisions.
Kakashi shifted onto his side. The various tubes and bottles attached to him made movement difficult. He gritted his teeth and pulled out two IV needles that were hindering him from turning completely, finally managing to face away from Mei. The half-naked boy felt an unexpected tinge of embarrassment being shirtless in front of the girl, even if she was only a teenager. It didn't feel quite appropriate.
As expected, a pair of small hands carefully reached around the remaining IV tubes, encircling the silver-haired boy's neck and chest from behind.
"Kakashi...."
"Still not sleeping?"
"That doctor... said there were eight wounds on your heart."
"I passed out after the second one."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry?"
The girl carefully pressed herself against Kakashi's back, burying her head in his shoulder.
"It's because I was too weak. I couldn't help you at all."
"It was just because the enemy was too strong," he murmured.
Before he could offer more comfort, Kakashi heard her breathing even out. The arms holding him gradually lost their strength. A touch of softness appeared on his usually impassive face. Gently, so as not to wake her, he turned and returned the embrace.
The irritation he felt about being inside the Hidden Cloud Village began to subside.
She's actually kind of cute when she's asleep.
He lightly brushed aside a strand of her bangs; the long orange hair shifted slightly. This feeling of being trusted so completely stirred something within the silver-haired boy.
Shaking off the messy thoughts, Kakashi didn't close his eyes. Four days of sleep had left him wide awake. Since he was already inside the Hidden Cloud, he had to make good use of this opportunity. If he could acquire the Cloud's unique secret techniques, his Raikiri's power and his own physical conditioning would undoubtedly reach a new level.
He also needed to find those people suffering from the ravages of war.
As evening approached, Mei Terumi woke up. Kakashi had already removed all the medical equipment from his body and was sitting on the edge of the bed, meticulously studying two physical reports.
"Did I oversleep?"
"No, it's just about time for dinner." Kakashi didn't look up, his eyes still scanning the reports for metrics that interested him.
Things like 'cell activity' and 'chakra concentration per cell unit' were beyond his understanding, so he focused on analyzing the effects of that 'Intermediate Healing Potion' based on aspects he could comprehend.
Its specific duration, method of recovery, the principles behind how it worked.
That's right. Kakashi wanted to replicate that miraculous potion. Relying solely on exchanging his own chakra for it wasn't sustainable. If he could obtain its formula, or even apply its permanent restorative enhancement to his own body, he wouldn't have to fear such unforeseen, insidious attacks again.
If only I had the First Hokage's cells...
The name Orochimaru flashed through his mind. If he wasn't mistaken, Orochimaru should still be fighting against the Hidden Stone shinobi from the Land of Earth. If he was conducting his human experiments, could Kakashi find him and get a piece of the action?
Unlike with Uchiha Madara, Kakashi didn't fear Orochimaru. Although his current strength hadn't reached that level yet, it was only a matter of time. No matter what schemes Orochimaru might employ, faced with an absolute difference in power, he would surely be forced to tread carefully. Besides, Konoha absolutely forbade human experimentation; Kakashi could potentially use that as leverage.
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