Kakashi Hatake POV
I finished placing the last paper bombs near my training area and hopped onto a branch of the closest tree, keeping my position and chakra hidden.
I scanned the area again, spotting my current teammates, Rin and Obito, further ahead, still futilely trying to take the bells from Minato-sensei.
Even though I'd originally joined a team with Amaya and Shisui two years ago, when I was nine, I got reassigned to this new Team 7, made up of fresh Academy graduates.
Sure, they were both chunin now, after passing the exams earlier this year, but I couldn't say I was thrilled about it. I had zero interest in working with either of them.
Rin's training was almost entirely focused on Medical Ninjutsu. She was great at it, but that meant she always needed protection and was mostly just support.
And Obito, despite being an Uchiha, wasn't really good at much for a shinobi. Worse than that, he was a coward, always making excuses during training or when things got serious.
Having to work with them was annoying, so I usually just did things my own way. The only upside to all this was getting trained by Minato.
Even though he often had to leave us on our own for simpler missions, constantly being called to the war fronts, the blonde still taught us a lot and pushed us hard.
His training was almost as intense as Shikaku's, but with the key difference that the blonde tailored it to each of our individual limits, unlike the Nara who made us all train the same way so we'd balance each other out.
I hated to admit it, but I missed being on the same team as Amaya and Shisui.
The weasel-face and I had our differences, but when we needed to get serious, we did. And with Amaya, everything was simpler because of how balanced her fighting style was, whether she was attacking, defending, or supporting.
I wish I was on missions with them..., I found myself thinking. But instead, I'm stuck with a team that can't even act on its own... I let out a soft sigh and shifted my gaze to where the two chunin were, seeing Minato standing near them, unmoving.
Looks like sensei finally stopped letting them play around..., I thought, standing up. Now's the moment I've been waiting for.
The blonde was running a kind of test for us, where the goal was to take one of the bells attached to his waist. I used this moment while the Namikaze was distracted with Obito and Rin to start my attack.
– And now, for the next step... – I heard Minato say as I got closer.
I threw two shuriken at his left, his non-dominant side, but he easily blocked them with one of his personal kunai.
I leaped in front of him, my tantō in hand, immediately trying to strike sensei on his left side, where his guard wasn't as strong.
– Kakashi?! – Rin and Obito exclaimed in surprise, but I ignored them.
Minato dodged my strike without much effort, using my own back as a springboard to jump over me and create distance to my right. I quickly tried to slash at him again, but he used the kunai in his hand to defend.
– Sensei, today's the day I win – I warned him, continuing my assault as he retreated, blocking occasionally with his kunai.
– You've been hiding for quite a while, was that your strategy? – He asked, his tone not showing much concern.
When I struck towards the blonde again, he locked the blade of my White Light Chakra Sabre with his special kunai, leaving us in a stalemate for a moment.
– No, it would've been too hard to fight you while babysitting those two... – I commented, and sensei's expression turned more serious.
– So that's why you were waiting for me to defeat them... – He understood my point and slightly relaxed the pressure on his kunai hand.
I used the opening to create some distance and throw a kunai with a paper bomb attached straight at Minato. The blonde jumped to the right, just like I expected, right into the trap I'd set for him.
The moment he glanced down at the spot he was about to land, he noticed it was covered in paper bombs. At the same instant, I raised my right hand, forming half the Ram seal to activate all the papers at once. Yes!, I thought, already starting to run.
A huge explosion engulfed the area where sensei had been, kicking up dust from the sandy soil in that part of the forest. And just as I figured, the Namikaze escaped to a branch on a nearby tree.
I created a Shadow Clone and sent it to where Minato was, while I headed into the cloud of dust from the paper bomb explosion. Using it as cover, I consecutively hurled a volley of shuriken in sensei's direction.
He blocked most of them but had to dodge the rest. While he was busy, my clone closed in on him from behind, the blonde only noticing its presence when it was already attacking.
– What...?! – Sensei asked, visibly confused by the attacks coming from opposite directions.
Minato used his own arm to block my clone's kick and used the momentum to throw it away from him. My clone landed on a tree trunk, sticking to it by concentrating chakra on the soles of its feet.
I didn't waste any time and also moved into position to continue my plan. After all, even though I'd prepared well to fight sensei, it was always better to have a backup plan ready.
My clone attacked the blonde using only taijutsu, one of my strong points. The blonde just defended and tried to create distance, since close-quarters combat was a well-developed area for me.
During one of his attempts to get away, my clone almost managed to grab one of the bells, lightly brushing against it twice. Noticing this, Minato switched from a defensive stance to an offensive one against my clone, knocking it out of the tree.
– Not bad! – He praised – But it's not enough to beat me.
– I'm not done yet...! – My clone said finally, before disappearing.
– A Shadow Clone... – The blonde noted quietly, but I could still hear him.
I was at the top of one of the nearby trees, and there was no way sensei could reach me before I prepared my trump card. I quickly started forming hand seals.
– It's not complete yet, but... – I muttered under my breath, gripping my right wrist and concentrating my chakra at that point.
The blue hue appeared, along with a chirping sound like dozens of birds. Controlling the intensity of that jutsu was still difficult, as was its size and the amount of chakra I needed to use to maintain it.
– Now I'll end this! – I said, getting ready to stand up.
– I told you, didn't I? You can't beat me – I heard sensei speak behind me and saw him holding a kunai to my neck – Kakashi, you lose.
My surprise and confusion were so great that I even lost control of my jutsu, and it dissipated without me realizing.
– W-Wow... – I stared, amazed again, at the spot where Minato had just been – That's incredible speed...
That's when it hit me.
Sensei's teleportation jutsu only works where he's left his marks. The fact he got up here meant that when he dodged my first direct attack, he must have marked me while using my back as support to jump over me and create distance.
I clenched my fist and let out a heavy sigh, frustrated with myself for not realizing it sooner. I had everything I needed to get one of sensei's bells, but I got careless for a moment, too overconfident, and ended up losing.
– I was so close... – I complained under my breath, plucking a few leaves from the tree canopy beneath me.
– So close... – Sensei repeated my words softly.
I'm close..., I thought. Close to becoming the ninja I trained so hard to be... A ninja who follows the rules and fulfills his duty to the village. Nothing more than that... I sighed. But I'm not there yet. I need to improve and make up for these stupid mistakes of mine...
Rin and Obito quickly came over to us, since the test had ended with my defeat. Sensei was about to talk to us about today's training when an Anbu member appeared.
It was clear it was a male, and a young one at that, given his height, which was a bit taller than mine. He wore the standard Anbu uniform, along with a mask. It had a beak reminiscent of a bird's, with two small red wavy lines on the sides near the eye holes, and an inverted crimson triangle that ran from the top of his head down to the level of the mask's beak.
He carried a tantō on his back, like most Anbu members, though his seemed aesthetically different. And his hair was black, completely messy, like someone I knew...
– Minato-san, sorry for the interruption... – The Anbu spoke, confirming my theory about who it was – But the Sandaime is requesting Kakashi Hatake's presence.
– Of course, no problem – Sensei said calmly – We were finished here anyway – He looked at me – Kakashi... – I nodded.
– Yeah – I stood up again and faced the boy near us, who now had his attention on me.
He didn't say anything, and I followed him as he jumped down from the tree where I was with my new team.
– Of all the Anbu they could have chosen, why did they pick me to fetch this scarecrow? – Shisui wondered, obviously to himself, but also to provoke me.
– Who knows...? – I said with a shrug as we ran – Maybe because you're the least skilled, so they gave you this easy job, weasel-face.
– When are you going to learn to be sensitive like other people? – He asked.
– The day you stop being a sugar addict – The Uchiha laughed under his mask.
– Well, that's never happening, so... – And this time, I couldn't help but laugh.
__________________________________________________________________________
We reached the Hokage's office in a few minutes. Shisui knocked on the door, and we soon heard the Sandaime telling us to enter. As soon as we did, I noticed another man present in the room.
He wore a white shirt and a brown tunic that went down to his feet. The man was leaning on a cane and had a stern expression, with an X-shaped scar on his chin and some bandages on the right side of his face.
Danzō, if I'm not mistaken..., I thought. He's part of the Hokage's Council. He had a rather unfriendly look directed at me and Shisui.
– This is what I was telling you about, Hiruzen – Shimura commented with clear irritation in his tone – Do you really intend to send only these children on a mission like this?
I exchanged a brief glance with Shisui, noticing he was almost as lost as I was about the subject. Is he talking about us? And what mission is he even talking about?
– Neither of them is a child anymore, Danzō. They are a chunin and a jounin, fully capable and skilled. And I've already explained the reasoning behind these choices – The Hokage spoke in a milder tone than his councilor's, but no less firm – They were specifically requested, and I agree with the situation, having full confidence that they will fulfill their roles alone.
– I still say this is reckless on your part – Danzō insisted on his point and placed both hands on his cane – Let me send one of my men with them, as extra support, then.
The Sandaime pondered for a moment. It was clear the councilor wasn't in favor of the chosen members for a mission that apparently involved me and Shisui, because we were "children." On the other hand, the Hokage seemed, in a way, confident that we were capable on our own. However, it was clear to all three of us that Danzō wasn't going to make things that easy.
– Alright – Hiruzen conceded – Have your man report to the village gates in half an hour – Shimura nodded and finally turned his back on the Sandaime, leaving the room.
The Hokage let out a heavy sigh, causing Shisui and me to turn our attention back to him.
– Sorry to interrupt, Sandaime, but I've brought him as requested – The Uchiha spoke up, and Hiruzen turned his eyes to us.
– Thank you for that, Shisui – He said calmly – You can remove your mask for now – The Uchiha nodded and did so.
– We're being sent on a mission, right? – Shisui asked, and the Hokage promptly nodded.
– A rank A mission, for village investigation – He explained.
– Excuse me, Sandaime – I stepped forward – But that mission rank wouldn't be for my current level of graduation.
– Indeed, Kakashi – He agreed calmly and looked at me – But a jounin specifically requested you two for this mission. And as you gathered from my conversation with Danzō, I have no objections to this choice.
A jounin asked for both of us?, I thought for a moment. For an investigation mission, no less?
– Regarding the details of this mission... – Shisui took the lead – What exactly are we investigating?
– The mission leader will explain everything to you upon her return – Hiruzen said simply, and I raised an eyebrow.
– "The leader"? – I questioned – Which jounin are we talking about, exactly?
Just as I finished asking, three light knocks were heard on the office door, followed by the Sandaime telling the person to enter.
As soon as the door opened and the figure from outside entered, I recognized a familiar face. The tall figure with semi-pulled-back red hair, her characteristic dark strand tied up, and a serene expression on her face defined her features.
– Excuse me, Sandaime – The redhead spoke and finally looked forward, her expression softening – Kakashi, Shisui... – She greeted us.
– Amaya – We said in unison.
And in that second, something clicked in my mind. "The mission leader will explain everything to you upon her return"... The Sandaime's words echoed in my mind. Is Amaya the mission leader?, I wondered, confused.
– You're back quickly, Amaya – Sarutobi commented, and the girl looked at him, stopping near me and Shisui.
– I intend to depart for the mission location as soon as possible – The redhead explained calmly, but I noticed a slight seriousness in her voice, as if she was uncomfortable with something.
– About that... One more member will be joining the team – The Hokage informed her about what had just happened – At the request of one of my councilors, he will meet you and your team at the village gates in half an hour – The girl nodded – Shisui, Kakashi... – The Sandaime called our attention – Remember that Amaya chose you for this mission, so you will be under her complete command for its entire duration.
The Uchiha and I nodded in understanding. Soon after, Hiruzen dismissed us to go prepare for the mission.