章節 7: Kakashi-II

Kakashi leisurely jumped in through the window and straightened up. As he stashed his copy of Icha Icha, he noticed that almost everyone in the room was glaring at him. Nothing unusual for him at this point.

"Yo," he waved his hand to no response. Shikaku just mumbled something under his breath while Lord Jiraiya snorted in amusement. Ichigo on the other hand exhaled in exasperation as he leaned back on the wall.

"Five more minutes and I would have assigned a heap of D-Ranks to you and made your genin watch while you do it," grumbled Lord Third. Kakashi couldn't help but think that the rebuke was undeserved. He had almost been on time since apparently it was an important meeting. Well, it didn't matter as long as he didn't get punished.

"Anyway, now that everyone is here, let's begin," said Lord Third as he activated the new fuinjutsu array that sealed up the room. Without preamble, he threw several scrolls at the occupants of the room ordering them to read them at once. Ichigo had no scroll in hand and was leaning on the wall, so whatever they were reading must have something to do with his latest mission.

Kakashi wasted no time as his eye roved over the contents of the scroll. He was an old hat at speed reading, which immensely helped him catch up on his recreational reading. It was only natural that the skill would help him out in his official duties as well. Some fools would say that he had it twisted and that he could only read fast due to his training. Such pitiful fools would not know that Icha Icha was an unparalleled page-turner that urged you to read faster.

As he kept reading the contents of the scroll, all of his laidback demeanor disappeared and he stood ramrod straight. It looked like the peaceful days were coming to an end. One way or the other, what he was reading would lead to some sort of conflict.

His mind immediately went to his newly minted genin team and how unprepared they were. If any large-scale conflict erupted, they would not survive. The bloodstained faces of Obito and Rin flashed in his mind and he gripped the scroll tightly, almost tearing it in the process. It would not happen again under his watch.

A somber mood settled around the room as everyone finished reading their respective scrolls. Without a word, everyone returned the scroll to the Hokage. Such volatile information was better off with him. Not like anyone over here was amateur enough to forget what they read.

"As you can see, Ichigo's mission has borne some unexpected fruits," said Lord Hokage.

"Were we able to verify this intel?" asked Lord Jiraiya.

"Some of it. We have nothing on Shin Uchiha apart from what I found in that base. On the other hand, we were able to verify some of the info about Yakushi and Danzo. Sai told us that Danzo was absent for a little while a few years ago. He doesn't know the exact details, but Danzo apparently came back with a sealed arm. Other than that, he also told us about several missions that Danzo has sanctioned. Bad stuff all around. Yakushi on the other hand is the most likely suspect who smuggled in the arm and attached it to Danzo. Sai did confirm that Yakushi and Danzo have had contact several times," said Ichigo.

"I always told you that the old man was up to no good," grumbled Lord Jiraiya, looking at his teacher pointedly.

"I know Jiraiya… I know," Lord Hokage said in a tired voice.

"So what is the plan?" asked Shikaku, whose mind was unquestionably going through multiple scenarios.

"Kabuto Yakushi obviously has ties to Root. Given that he is mentioned in the files we got from the hideout, it is safe to assume that he is Danzo's liaison in Orochimaru's camp. If we move against Danzo, Kabuto might get spooked and abscond. He'd go running to Orochimaru," stated the Hokage.

"And if we catch Kabuto first, Danzo would get spooked and do something to save his hide," finished Shikaku as he scratched his goatee.

"Yes. Apart from these two, this… Shin Uchiha is also a priority target. That's why I want to hit them all at once," said Lord Hokage.

"Given that you have Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Ichigo over here, I suppose these three will be the squad leaders?" questioned Shikaku.

"Exactly. I want Kakashi to lead the operation against Yakushi. Jiraiya will be leading a team to capture or execute Shin. If word of his existence gets out, most villages will be willing to go to war for such an asset. I'm sending Jiraiya because there is a chance that they might come across Orochimaru."

"No offense to the kid, but are you really sending him to confront Danzo and his minions?" asked Jiraiya.

"Think about it Jiraiya. If he has Shisui's eye, I can't afford to confront him in battle. Imagine, if he manages to subvert me in the middle of the fight and turns me against our allies, it would be a disaster."

"Can't he do the same to the kid?" he asked.

"We'll get to that later. Let's decide the team compositions first. Shikaku, what do you suggest?"

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Kakashi sat hidden on the rooftop and observed the site that had been chosen for their confrontation. The street had already been cleared several hours ago. It was on his way home from the hospital and was the optimal location, as it was the farthest point from any root base in Kabuto Yakushi's route. Sure, the empty street might spook him, but it didn't matter. The moment he stepped into the street, his fate was sealed.

As the target walked into the street, Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector just in case. He was confident enough that it would not be necessary, but he was told to take this seriously. They could not afford to let this one escape at all costs. Given that he was in cahoots with both Danzo and Orochimaru, and had been prancing around the village all these years, he would have several tricks up his sleeves.

He peered at his target using the Sharingan and readied himself for the inevitable. He watched on as Kurenai used a genjutsu to ensnare the target. If this worked, then there would be no fight, but something told him that it would not be so simple.

His eye automatically copied the jutsu even though it could do so much better. All he would need was eye contact. Sadly, him walking up to the target and lifting his forehead protector would have given the game away in an instant. If it was one genjutsu that he wanted to copy, it was Yakumo's. It was such a shame that he could not copy it due to it being a Kekkei Genkai. Her genjutsu was without par, the most effective area of effect genjutsus he had ever seen. Of course, it was incredibly potent in a one-on-one scenario as well, but it truly shone when cast over a wide area.

The reason why he had Kurenai in his squad and not Yakumo was because right at this moment, Yakumo was covering the areas around the root bases and ensuring that the general population did not catch a glimpse of the shadowy organization. Lord Hokage didn't want word of it spreading. Another reason was that the information regarding Danzo was still a secret and only the team hitting Danzo's location were aware of what they would be facing. Yakumo already knew, and Kurenai did not. It didn't matter though, as Kurenai would have been told if her skills were deemed indispensable for that mission. The fact that Kurenai, a jonin was not deemed worthy for that mission while Yakumo, a tokubetsu jonin was, would be a slap in the face to Kurenai. Ironic, considering Lord Third agreed to seal up Yakumo's out-of-control power due to Kurenai in the first place. Oh, how the tables had turned.

He saw how Yakushi got hit with the genjutsu, and how he snapped his finger the next instant. Such a swift response meant that the target was as skilled as Ichigo speculated during the meeting. Without waiting for him to make his next move, Kakashi dashed at the target full tilt and slashed at his back.

It didn't seem like Kabuto would be going down easily. The man moved way faster than a genin should be and avoided Kakashi's strike by a hair's breadth. At the same time, a glowing palm reached for Kakashi's neck. Unfortunately for Kabuto, Kakashi easily predicted that and stabbed the kunai into his stomach. He then kicked the kunai so hard that it got embedded into him up to the ring. The sheer force of the blow sent him ragdolling across the street.

"That's not an ordinary genin for sure," said Kurenai as she dropped next to him.

"Jonin level at the very least," Kakashi added.

Both of them moved in unison and pounced at the downed target, hoping to subdue him at once. The moment their blows landed on Kabuto, he crumbled into a pile of rocks. Two glowing hands burst out of the ground, attempting to grab onto both of them. Kakashi easily evaded it since his eye saw it coming. Kurenai escaped the grab as well, but her calf still got grazed, which caused her to wince and stumble.

Kabuto burst out of the ground, attempting to strike both of them with the chakra scalpels. But Kakashi got inside his guard before he could do so and lashed out with a punch that sent him flying once more. He looked at the ground and saw his bloodied kunai lying there. A glance at Kabuto showed a hole in his shirt, but the injury had already healed up. The finger that he had snapped to escape the genjutsu seemed fine as well. It seemed like their opponent was not just a run-of-the-mill jonin. A medic that could weaponize their iryojutsu and also heal themselves midst battle was a tough opponent.

He was glad that he had listened to Ichigo's rambling and started off with the Sharingan. It was not like Kabuto would have had the upper hand otherwise, it was just that the eye truly helped him see how much the spy was holding back. It was apparent to Kakashi that Kabuto was faster than Kurenai. And now that her muscle got sliced up, she would be a liability.

"Take cover and run interference with your genjutsu," he said as he glanced at her injured leg.

"But-" she started, but was immediately interrupted by Kabuto dashing towards them.

All of a sudden, a fireball jutsu intercepted the spy and gave cover for Kurenai to retreat. The raging fireball consumed the place where the spy was at.

"Good timing Aoba. Stay at range. Kurenai, play to your strengths," said Kakashi as he ran through a set of hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

At once, Kabuto burst out of the ground a few feet in front of Kakashi as earthen spikes followed him on the way. The tips of a few spikes were bloodstained and Kakashi could see that the spy was injured once more. Once again, the injuries began healing up on their own. Every passing second, it seemed like capturing the target alive was going to be a hassle.

Aoba was the ranged support for the mission since he was good with ranged fire attacks. The timing of his attack gave enough leeway for Kurenai to escape at last. Both of them would ensure that Kabuto could not escape from this fight.

So, Kakashi jumped back into action and began engaging Kabuto with a kunai in hand. Typically, it was foolish to engage someone with chakra scalpels in close combat. Alas, his eye helped him predict Kabuto's every move as he kept slashing at vulnerable points while evading any attack coming his way. If it were any other jonin, except for Gai, they would have been sporting several severed muscles at the very least.

He could see Kurenai casting her genjutsu on Kabuto and him breaking free by disrupting his chakra flow. It did cost him his concentration as he got battered by Kakashi as a result. He dodged another glowing palm thrust and caught the arm firmly as he smashed his fist into the elbow, shattering it in one move.

Kabuto howled in pain and immediately inhaled hard. Kakashi disengaged before the jutsu was even ready. As a parting gift, he speared his kunai through Kabuto's other elbow before backing up. A slew of wind bullets followed him, but he evaded them casually.

To nobody's surprise, Kabuto's injuries healed rapidly once again. But Kakashi could easily tell that the spy had burned through a lot of chakra with the latest bout of healing and impromptu sealless wind jutsu.

"I'd have gotten you good if you didn't have that damn eye," spat Kabuto as he pulled out the Kunai embedded in his elbow with his freshly healed arm. At this point, Kakashi planned to force him to keep healing and empty his reserves. That way, it would be an easy capture.

"It seems that I can't be taking this easy anymore," Kabuto said as he raised his now healed hands and speared a line of blood into his palm.

He didn't need his eye to recognize the familiar motion. It was a jutsu he was all too familiar with. Any subordinate of Orochimaru who was doing that jutsu would be summoning one thing and one thing only. Even if it wasn't a massive snake, Kakashi could not take that risk inside the village. Moreover, this would jeopardize the important mission that the others were doing at the moment.

Without hesitation, he rushed at Kabuto at his top speed, a raikiri buzzing to life in his right hand. Aoba launched another fireball at Kabuto, and he deftly dodged it. He started doing the hand seals for the summoning jutsu mid-dodge. To Kabuto's annoyance, he was intercepted by a hail of shuriken thrown by Kurenai.

Kabuto grit his teeth and dodged a few of them as he completed the hand seals. Several kunai cut into his flesh, but he ignored the pain and went through the motions of the jutsu. Before he could finish executing the jutsu though, Kakashi's lightning-clad hand plunged through his chest.

"Heh," he laughed then coughed up a good amount of blood, "Mother, it looks like it's already bedtime…" he trailed off as he slumped forward, leaning on Kakashi. For a second, he thought of another medic that he had to kill similarly. But that was where the similarities ended.

Kakashi withdrew his arm from the cavity where Kabuto's heart used to be, as every indicator told him that Kabuto was dead. He looked at him for a few more seconds with his Sharingan and confirmed that he was dead. He wanted to capture him alive, but they couldn't risk a massive summon at this stage of the joint operation. It wouldn't matter in the end, as Inoichi could still get what they needed from the corpse. The Yamanaka clan was nowadays on top of their game after all.

"Can you walk?" he asked as Kurenai and Aoba descended right next to him.

"I think he busted the tendon. I can still hop around on one leg. Just won't be good for a fight," she said with bitterness coloring her voice.

"Hmm, then drop him off at T&I and tell them to keep the corpse fresh for Inoichi. Aoba, relay our mission status and join the perimeter squad," he said as he repositioned his forehead protector to cover his Sharingan. Thankfully, the fight hadn't dragged on for long, and he still had some chakra left. Not as much as he would have liked, but definitely more than he expected.

"What're you going to do?" asked Kurenai as she sealed up the corpse in a scroll and stood gingerly on one leg.

Right on cue, there was a loud crashing sound, and in the distance, an all too familiar black arc of chakra soared towards the sky.

"I'll be going there," he said as he disappeared in a shunshin.

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A.N: I am back from the business trip. Not too satisfied with the chapter as I'm still shaking off the rust from not writing for a while.

Before anybody says that the fight seemed one sided, remember that Orochimaru himself confirmed in part 1 that Kakashi was stronger than Kabuto at this point. Sure, Kabuto gets way stronger down the line. But at this point, in a CQC scenario with an active Sharingan in play, and other allies playing interference, it was not much of a fight.

If you want to talk to me on discord, please find the invite in the auxiliary chapter.