An Imperial Influence

[Kakashi Hatake]

“From one problem to the next,” Kakashi muttered, leafing through their assignment. Though it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him, he had to admit that he was unaware of just how deeply embedded the Miu clan was in the village’s everyday goings-on.

The ninja trio had exited the Morikage residence and made their way to small roadside eatery in the northern district. None of the trio had bothered to purchase anything to eat, though they had graciously accepted hot tea from the kettle on the simple oak table. They could waste no time with setting up a full meal, especially with the strict schedules of the Miu clansmen.

“They sure are busy,” Minato mused, sipping his steamy beverage. “I wonder who we should tail…”

Kakashi frowned at the lengthy list, rife with complex routes through the city from various meetings here to conferences and summits there. Any of such meetings could hold vital intel related to their assignment or else be completely useless. There was no way of telling which could perhaps pull back the curtain obscuring the shady business with the Miu clan. “So many possibilities. And we don’t have nearly enough chakra to have a clone follow each person.”

“True enough,” the blonde Kage replied, nodding pensively as he refilled his teacup. Kito sat between the two men, silent throughout their exchange.

The masked shinobi made to reply, but stopped as his eyes fell upon the title ‘Guard Captain’ among the listed options. If the Miu clan had been in communication with some outside force, it stood to reason that the very men who controlled the borders would have some hand in it. “I think I have my mark,” he said aloud, pulling the target’s schedule from the middle of the stack. “The Guard seem like a good place to start; work our way from the outside in.”

Minato nodded thoughtfully, thumbing through the remainder of the pile. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s all meet back here when we’re done.” Following a shared nod, the blonde’s former student departed.

---

“Nagai Miu,” Kakashi muttered, examining the dossier. The man’s village-issued ID was displayed helpfully at the top-left of the page, the black-and-white face of the captain staring back at him with expressionless eyes. His hair was pulled back in a topknot with the remainder of the ashen locks hanging around his shoulders. He looked to have a medium build and looked otherwise quite unassuming. Had he not been told to find the man, the scarecrow would have never guessed that the man headed the border guards.

Kakashi slowed his pace as he neared the address listed in the man’s file, stirring his chakra reserves as he remembered his ANBU training. With practiced precision, he brought his hands before his chest and formed a few quick seals, his body soon blending in with the trees behind him with perfect fidelity. In the Omniverse, the silver-haired shinobi could not be sure that something as simple as a camouflage jutsu would hide him from those whom he stalked. It was equally likely that inhabitants could have heightened sensory powers that could allow them to see straight through his slights. Still, the cheap tricks couldn’t possibly be harmful, if only as a back-up plan to support a more conventional approach to espionage. Just as the door to the man’s pagoda-style abode swished open, Kakashi ducked smoothly into the adjacent alley. Keeping the noise of his footsteps to a minimum, the cloaked shinobi made haste in Miu’s wake as the captain marched quickly toward the village gate, dropping low behind the occasional tree or foot cart to avoid detection. If the schedule were to be believed, it was nearly time for the captain’s midday rounds.

Thankfully time passed quickly as the masked shinobi tailed his objective, owing mainly to the official’s urgent pace as he adhered to his strict schedule. It was not long before they reached the gate, each of the seasoned guardsman fortunately seeming entirely oblivious to their leader’s unseen tail. Nagai brought a hand to his brow as he neared, his men responding with their own salute before returning to face a rather annoyed-looking man at the reigns of a horse-drawn carriage.

“Are we quite through here?” the driver pressed, an elderly gentleman draped in an oversized brown poncho. His head was polished to a high shine, accentuating the thick eyebrows that were now wrinkled into a look of utter displeasure. “I’ve got a timetable to keep here.”

“Ah, yes yes yes. One moment please, I need to verify your wares.” The voice came from behind Kakashi and his target, the source soon striding clumsily toward the coach. The newcomer was a youthful man not nearly twenty-five with shoulder-length blonde hair. He seemed out of breath, as if he had ran most of the way.

“Well, hurry up,” the angry cue ball snapped. “I don’t have time for an inspection today.”

Kakashi watched as Miu strode to meet the inspector, a warm smile on his countenance. He pulled the man aside, draping an arm affably around his shoulder. The invisible ninja followed closely behind the duo as they spoke in whispers. “Surely we can just let this man through,” the captain said quietly. “This shipment from the Kingdom is already overdue.”

“Bu-”

“Ah.” The amiable captain simply held a single finger to hush the man before pulling a small envelope from his breast pocket. He slipped the package discreetly into his new friend’s pocket, offering another smile and a nod. The inspector seemed to know the meaning of the gesture, nodding with a similar smile and promptly turning to address the waiting guards.

“Well, I don’t want to hold anyone up. Just a quick count of the number of pieces here should be enough.”

Without wasting another second, Kakashi slipped between the two men and approached the back of the caravan. The vehicle was loaded up with a variety of crates and boxes of varying sizes, stacked somewhat precariously by someone who had clearly been in a hurry. He grabbed quickly as the nearest crate, watching as the ottoman-sized parcel vanished from sight as his fingers gripped the handholds. In one quick motion he removed the crate from the pile, slipping away as the guards continued their count.

Kakashi toted the parcel until he was out of sight of the guardhouse, ducking between a house and a dumpling shop. He lowered his camouflage jutsu as he put the box to rest in the dirt, quickly reaching into his belt pocket and drawing a kunai. The contents of the box, whatever they were, were worth bribing a village inspector to get through. As far as he was concerned, that was good enough reason to do his own inspection. He jammed the blade into the crate’s seam and gave the eyelet a few quick whacks with the palm of his hand. With some doing, the top came loose.

The box contained, aside from an abundance of multicolored packing material, around a dozen or so smaller boxes. Though he was not about to open each individually, Kakashi reasoned that such a shipment was likely a bulk order of a singular item. He fished one of the palm-sized white packages from within the mound of foam peanuts, quickly breaking the adhesive seal and popping the lid open. In his hand he held a small electronic device, looking to be nothing more than a small microphone receiver attached to a small bit of wiring and an antenna. The shiny black finish on the receiver and brushed aluminum antenna gave him the impression that such a piece of technology was not cheap. In many ways, the doohickey resembled the wireless communication devices used back in Konohagakure, though these lacked an earpiece. They seemed to be more designed for one-way communication.

A singular thought stuck in Kakashi’s mind: What would Moku need with a crate full of listening devices, and why had the Miu clansman gone to such lengths to hurry them through?

[Minato Namikaze]

With Kakashi taking initiative, that left Minato and Kito to find their own target. The blonde sipped at his hot beverage as he eyed the papers over. A pair of names stood out to him, Ai and Haru. Their roles labelled them as the head of the family. He took a moment to look over their daily activities before speaking to the young shinobi that sat with him.

'Ai and Haru Miu, are they her parents?' Minato asked, still sipping from his cup. Kito looked at the papers, then to his mentor and nodded. The former Kage leant back in his chair and thought for a second, before placing an empty cup onto the table.

'We should tail them.' he spoke, watching the boy's expressions carefully. He clearly respected this family, and Minato had noticed that the boy had found it hard to be suspicious of them. Kito didn't say a word, he just nodded and stood up from the table. It was time to go, it seemed.

A short time later

The pair had taken to the rooftops upon exiting the small teashop. The safety of heights, and the various building wall heights seemed to be a more favourable position than the store fronts and large crowds that sat below them. They watched their targets carefully, observing their actions and mannerisms closely as the couple made their way through the village streets following the routine that was printed on the mission papers.

'See, they aren't doing anything wrong.' Kito spoke out, his naivety showing through his words. The former Kage looked at the boy and shook his head, it was never that simple. But Kito was inexperienced, he still hadn't learned how his own world worked yet, let alone the how the Omniverse worked. Even Minato had trouble anticipating this new world, so he couldn't blame the boy.

'That's not how these things work. It's never as black and white as you think it is.' the blonde responded, it was harsh, but it was the only way Kito would learn. He turned to the dark haired boy, he clearly thought too highly of these people to go through with this mission unaffected. Minato reached into his jacket and pulled the papers from it, handing them to Kito.

'If you want to go and tail someone else, go ahead. I can handle this from here.' the man suggested. Kito nodded his head and examined the papers for a moment before dropping down into a nearby alleyway and disappearing into the village.

'Now, what are you two up to...?' the blonde muttered to himself as he turned his attention back to the married couple. They walked through the streets, stopping outside of a rather small-looking tea shop. They spoke for a moment, Minato couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't look like it was important, before entering the establishment.

'That's my cue.' the shinobi thought to himself. Dropping from the roof top into the streets and making his way into the small restaurant.

The inside of the building was littered with small tables that seemed to only seat two at a time. The interior design was foreign to him but he was in a different world now, so he did expect some differences. The place smelled of various herbs and teas. The man found a table only a few rows down from his target's. They were talking about the type of teas they like.

'What would you like, sir?' A young, feminine, voice queried. The blonde looked up at a young woman in a long dress and apron standing in front of him, smiling.

'Just some tea please. Whatever is recommended.' he responded, retuning the woman's smile with one of his own. She nodded her head, her cheeks slightly red, turned towards the front counter, and headed off to get his order. The man returned his attention to the couple that sat a few tables away from him, they hadn't noticed him yet and, as far as he could tell, they were just having lunch. Either they were expert actors and liars, or they really are just worried about the village security. Only time would tell.

'Your tea, sir.' the waitress's voice chimed, interrupting his concentration on the couple. He took the tea from the girl and smiled as he sipped at his beverage. It was pretty good tea, going by his standards. Minato reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet, hopefully the money he had on him would suffice in this new world, before he was stopped by his server.

'Oh no no, this one's on the house.' She said, winking at him as she returned to her work duties.

'What a nice girl.' Minato smiled as he took another sip from his cup. Watching the married couple had reminded him of Kushina. He felt guilty. He was alive, and flirting with waitresses to get free food and drinks, while she was most definitely dead. He placed his cup on the table and turned to look at the people he had been tailing, only to find that they had left the store.

'Damn, I got distracted.' he thought as he took another, quick, sip from his glass and stood. He'd gone to take a step as something at the table caught his eye, a folded piece of paper. The blonde made his way to the abandoned table, unfurling the paper to find a note.

“Meet us at sundown, the construction sites in the North District are usually empty as 

They don't work after then. It's a perfect meeting place.”

The golden haired shinobi refolded the paper, placed it back onto the table and headed to the exit of the store. He was disappointed. He'd hoped that Kito was right about these people, but he hadn't counted on that.

'Hey, watch where you're going.' A gruff voice snapped. Minato had bumped shoulders with someone and knocked them back a little.

'Oh, sorry. I didn't-' he began apologising as the sight of the man he'd bumped into broke his thought pattern. It was that Empire representative that had been arguing with Tsunade earlier.

'You didn't what?' The man lashed out as Minato's train of thought returned.

'I didn't see you there. Sorry.' he finished, his apology was met with a firm grunt before the man entered the tea shop.

'Interesting... I should return to Tsunade now.' he thought to himself as he leapt onto a roof and began heading towards the Morikage's office.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi chewed his lip thoughtfully beneath his mask as he eyed the open crate, pondering the motivations of the Miu clan. It seemed Tsunade was indeed correct in assuming the family was worthy of some degree of suspicion. While he could not rightfully assert that they had malicious intent just yet—at least based solely on the box of receivers—the devices would certainly be of interest to the village leadership. The masked shinobi slipped the unit he had been holding into his trouser pocket and reached for a scroll from his belt with his free hand. He unbound the roll as he had done so often before, letting it unravel freely with a flick of his wrist before laying out the blank white surface on the ground of the vacant alleyway. Taking a knee, he performed a quick series of hand seals before bringing his gloved palm down forcefully upon the scroll, causing the crate to vanish in a puff of smoke as intricate scrawls of black ink sprang from the point of contact and wove strange patterns upon its face. Kakashi sighed as he began to roll the parchment back up, happy to find that his storage scrolls still did their job.

Bwooooooow.

Kakashi became aware of the chakra signature on the very edge of his periphery just seconds too late. He felt an alien sensation contact the back of his head before his vision began to blur. Though he made to turn and face the source of the sensation, he felt himself unable to rotate his neck more than a few degrees. Strength rapidly drained from his body like bath water from an uncorked drain, his legs crumpling uselessly beneath him as his lungs began to seize. His eyelids drooped as he slumped forward, vision going dark before his face could reach the gravel.

Moments ticked by in silence as the mid morning lull crept through the village. The silver-haired shinobi lay prone in the side street for a few moments, limp frame flopped over the newly anointed document. A sight like this may perhaps have aroused concern or suspicion among a crowd of passersby, though there was but a single person present to take notice of the man’s dilemma. With his target showing no signs of stirring, said watchful assailant descended quickly from his perch atop the second story balcony of the noodle shop opposite the alley.

“Kakashi Hatake.” The man spoke more to himself than the prostrate prey at his feet, his voice even and quiet. He gave the downed shinobi an experimental tap with the toe of his geta before nodding satisfactorily and stowing his weapon. Though he hadn’t the faintest idea how the device managed to incapacitate his quarry, in the end he was just thankful that his contact had supplied him with such measures. Nagai Miu bent at the waist and tugged the loaded scroll from beneath the fallen man, wrapping it up and tucking it neatly into his kimono. “I do apologise,” he muttered, raising his left arm high above his head. Seconds later, a trio of hooded men seemed to appear from thin air a few yards behind him, hastening forward to grasp and lift Kakashi’s dead weight from the ground. Without a word, the men fled the scene.

---

“We can’t afford to rouse suspicion with such tactics.”

“Tying up these loose ends would be much more beneficial to the plan, don't you think?”

“Our directions are clear. Any unnecessary attention drawn to our operation is strictly forbidden. We’ll wait until after the move is made before we get rid of these two.”

Kakashi fought against overpowering nausea as consciousness trickled back. His enfeebled mind struggled to provide him with any useful information, failing to even parse the positioning of his disabled body as he drew dangerously slow and short breaths. He felt as if he were awash in a sea of white noise, bobbing along erratically within the nonsensical static. After several moments of tumultuous tumbling in the distorted current, his hearing slowly began to return, outpacing the ability to so much as flex any voluntary muscle. This was perhaps for the best, as it allowed him to take in the conversation across the room while remaining stone-still.

“So, we kill them after we get the order...” The speaker paused, weighing the idea for a few seconds before replying. “I really just think it would be easier to do it now. They won’t even be awake to struggle.”

“The answer is no,” a much more stern voice returned. “We’re taking no chances here. We’ve already had to doctor the plan once thanks to them.”

Unable to wait for his body to get a grip on its faculties, Kakashi wrestled control of his breathing and began channeling chakra into his left eye. Though his strength continued to return as he listened to the bickering of his captors, he was not content to place the odds of his survival on whichever of the two grunts was the better debater. If he couldn’t rely on his own senses, he’d trust in Obito’s. Supplied with the necessary chakra, the Uchiha birthright drew back the veil on his surroundings.

“And you trust this plan?” Kakashi watched with perfect clarity as the nearest captor glared at his comrade, turning his back on their prisoner to lock eyes with his partner. “Why should we trust them?” He stood not an inch over five feet, though his thick and stocky stature made him more than a little intimidating. His black hair, matching the shade of his long tunic, was tied in a tight bun upon the top of his head.

“That’s not for you to inquire.” The second voice, a stern and commanding female tone, belonged to a rail-thin woman standing along the wall opposite Kakashi’s disabled body. She too was dressed in ebony drab, curtains of black hair framing her narrow face. “We cannot afford to take a chance; this is our command.”

From the low vantage point and angle, the former ANBU could tell that he had been dumped unceremoniously against the back wall. His sharingan revealed to him that he had been bound and gagged, only to be placed face up with his arms beneath him to further discourage any use of ninjutsu. Finally, a thick cloth sack had been draped over his head and cinched tightly around his neck. Kakashi could feel the rough fibers abrading his flesh as feeling returned to his skin.

“They’re enemies of Mokugakure!” The male exclaimed, positively fuming. “Why does it matter?”

The silver-haired shinobi continued to note his surroundings as he eavesdropped on his jailers. The room was small—approximately five by five feet—and dimly lit, despite the early afternoon sun that shone outside the building’s walls. The room was completely undecorated, bearing no signs that the quarters were used for anything under normal circumstances.

“It’s not our task to decide what’s best for the Village; that is up to the elders.” The woman folded her arms over her chest, turning away from the ire of her peer. “Come, we’ve wasted enough time.” She crossed the room to the doorway, her companion reluctantly following her over the threshold and snapping the door shit behind him.

Kakashi sighed as he began to stretch his cramped muscles. He hadn’t realized it, but at some point during the conversation much of the feeling had returned to his body. The scarecrow lifted himself to a seated position, resting his upper back against the wall as he struggled against his binds. He hadn’t a doubt that he’d be able to free himself from the meager rope in short order; it seemed that his captors had not even bothered to relieve him of his tools. His sharingan eye stared straight ahead at the backs of his captors, now several yards down the hallway. As he began to focus on undoing the knots around his wrists, a familiar chakra signature caught his attention, just a few rooms away.

Kito?

[Minato Namikaze]

Was it just a coincidence? A thought that filled the man's head as he leapt from rooftop to roof top. The fact that the Empire's representative had arrived at the building shortly after his targets had left couldn't be a coincidence. It had to be related. The blonde tried to make sense of the Miu family's reasoning. Were they going to turn against the village, and give the Empire a proper foothold in the Greens. Or was it like Kito had suggested, were they being blackmailed by the Empire? The evidence suggested another coup, and all he had against that was Kito's word, unfortunately.

'There's always a problem.' Minato sighed disappointingly, the rooftops giving him relatively quick and easy passage, as he rushed back towards Tsunade's office.

Minato pushed, gently, against the large wooden doors that sat before the Morikage's office. They opened slowly, a rather loud creak emanating from them as they swung open. The room looked just as messy as it had before the trio had left on their mission. Old habits never die, a thought that went through the blonde's mind as he observed Tsunade's unwillingness to do paperwork.

'I wonder which part of the village she visits to gamble.' the man breathed to himself, making sure that the monstrously strong woman wouldn't hear his snide remark.

'So, did you find anything?' she asked, standing from her chair and moving towards the front of her desk to greet the man as he entered the room.

'The Miu family leaders are meeting with someone tonight.' Minato nodded, watching as Tsunade brought her thumb and index finger to her chin. 'They left a note, detailing the meeting spot and time.' he finished. Tsunade nodded her head and thought for a second.

'You know what to do.' the woman stated, Minato giving a nod in response. He was to go and eavesdrop on the meeting to gather information on the situation. A simple task.

'Has Kakashi checked in yet?' the former Kage queried. It had been a while since his comrade had separated from the group and he wanted to know if the man had found anything. Minato's question was met with a swift shake of the woman's head as she returned to her chair, sighing as she grabbed at a stack of papers in front of her.

'I'll go and check on him then. Maybe he found something.' Minato replied. Tsunade replying with a nod, giving her approval as he left the room. 

'Now, where did he say he was going again?' the man thought to himself, crossing his arms as he descended the staircase. 'I think he said he was going to tail Nagai, the guard captain.' the blonde remembered. If he was going to find his former student anywhere, it would be at the village guard towers.

---

Minato approached the two towers, gazing up at them as they stood firm next to the village gates. The two, rather large, towers framed the village gates, the large hinges attaching the massive wooden doors to the stone walls of the guard towers. They were the village's main access to the top of the wall. Any Ninja that was stationed on wall patrol had to go through there. The gates stood firmly in their closed position, but the blonde noted fresh marks in the dirt, probably from the gates opening earlier in the day. He moved closer towards the village entrance, a pair of strange parallel lines ran along the ground and under the gates.

'A delivery...' The ninja muttered as he noticed a set of light footsteps leading away from the area. 

'He doesn't usually leave any tracks, was he carrying something heavy?' the shinobi pondered as he followed the set of tracks to a nearby alleyway. Travelling through the small alley, the man came to a small clearing in between the buildings. At first, nothing seemed odd, the smell of freshly cooked dumplings filled the man's nostrils as he entered the small area. A single tree sat off to one side, it was probably the reason the buildings were so far apart.

'The tracks lead here, but then stop. He must have done something with whatever he was carrying.' Minato deduced as he eyed the tracks. A large, crate-sized, indent sat in the dirt just a few feet from where the footprints had ended.

'Kakashi must have began inspecting whatever was in that delivery... but what happened between then and now?' the blonde muttered as a reflection of light from a metallic item caught his eye. Minato crouched down to find a small, pointed, object sticking out of the ground. The man parted the dirt, revealing a couple of barely used throwing stars. Kakashi wasn't the type to leave his tools just lying about like this. If he'd been here, then someone had either snuck up on the man, or he was leaving a trail for his partner. Minato stood, placing the shuriken in the tool pouch on his backside, and looked around.

'No trace of any other shuriken... Guess someone caught him off guard.' he noted as he examined the area, there was only one entrance, and he'd come from there. The tree was quite tall, but the branches were thin, they wouldn't be able to hold any sort of weight beyond their own. The rooftops were quite low, Kakashi would have seen anyone waiting up there for him.

'So they were already waiting then, some sort of stealth aiding their intentions.' He concluded. He doubted that he'd find any more clues in the area, and he'd need to scope out the construction site if he was going to find the perfect hiding spot. Besides, if this was all related, and not some sort of vendetta from before the two had met up, his best bet was to wait for the meeting anyway.

'For now, I have to focus on this. But I'll find you soon, Kakashi.' Minato spoke as he leapt up onto the dumpling store's roof and headed towards the Aplisto construction site.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi furrowed his brow, pulling his attention away from the departing wardens and instead toward the familiar chakra just meters from where he sat. Finding himself taken prisoner so suddenly had been enough of a surprise; he had not expected that his cohort would have had similar misfortune. Though impeded by the jute bag cinched around his neck as well as several layers of wood-and-such walls, he could discern the boy’s energy with perfect clarity; although somewhat weakened, it was unmistakable. Kakashi watched the bickering pair of captors disappeared from his sensing range as he quietly set about freeing himself from his bindings. With some doing, he was able to open the clasp on one of his belt pockets and worm a gloved forefinger through the eyelet of a kunai. Several moments of struggling and contortion later, he managed to shred the roughspun rope and untruss himself.

The former captain rubbed his irritated wrists as he stepped cautiously toward the door. “Kito?” he whispered urgently, hoping his hushed tone would carry to the lad.

Silence.

”Kito?” he repeated, slightly louder. Though urgency in his tone could not compensate for his volume, he was sure that if the boy were as near as he felt, he would be able to hear. Still, no response came.

Having discarded the bits of rope and cloth that had so recently held him captive, Kakashi took time to examine his cell. Though quite dark, owing to the lack of windows or any sort of lighting fixture, he could see that his surroundings were indeed as he had noted with his sharingan. The walls seemed to be composed of some variety of sturdy composite, quite alien compared to those of the typical village abode. His senses told him the floor of the room was either a barren square of earth or else stone flooring filthy to the point of being indistinguishable from the former. Clearly whomever was holding the ninjas captive cared little for providing any homey touches. Through the walls, Kakashi saw that three or four more rooms roughly identical to his own ran along a hallway that stretched past the far end of his sensory range. To the best of his knowledge, only the room two doors down was occupied.

No sign of Minato, the silver-haired shinobi thought as he reached the door to his cell. He’d last seen the boy and his ward together, though he supposed it was possible the two had split up to spread the workload. Kakashi made a mental note to get a set of walkie-talkies for the trio when he saw them next.

The masked shinobi soon found his exit to be somewhat more difficult than expected. He frowned as the door refused to move despite his efforts, the man unable to so much as rattle the decrepit-looking thing on it’s hinges despite throwing his full weight against it. Puzzled, he tapped the adjoining walls experimentally. To his chagrin, he found the durability to be much the same as the door; the meager wood felt more like stone, despite the splinters that had embedded themselves in his shoulder during his earlier attempt to batter his way through. It did not take much mental effort to induce that there was clearly something else at work. Kakashi took a step back from the seemingly-impervious barricade, focusing on the doorway and surrounding walls with his sharingan. To his surprise, the walls looked to be made of nothing more than walnut timber and some variety of clay or plaster, with the door itself being fashioned from nearly-rotted teak. Nothing seemed to indicate such a sturdy impediment to his escape, yet there it was.

“I guess I have no choice,” the scarecrow muttered to himself. He unclasped the flap on his belt pouch, fishing a small sealed scroll from within. After a brief mental ‘hinges-versus-doorknob’ argument, he opened the rolled parchment and pressed the slip to the door beside the bronze handle. “I hope this doesn’t draw any attention,” he said, taking a few steps back and forming a hand seal before him.

Seconds later the scroll detonated with a thunderous crash, stirring a cloud of thick particulate from the room’s floor and generating a formidable plume of its own. For all of the scroll’s clamor, though, the door and walls around it remained completely intact. Kakashi stood dumbfounded for a moment before reactivating his sharingan. There has to be something here I’m missing.

No sooner had he taken to reexamining the masonry did he spy the likely cause of his struggle. Around the perimeter of the doorway the shinobi could make out the conspicuous shapes of some variety of alien runes located at each of the four corners of the jamb. Though exact identity or nature of the characters was completely unknown to him, he surmised that such shapes likely formed a protective seal around the exit, allowing nothing-even a concussive blast-from disturbing the area. A quick glance around his environment revealed similar scrawls around the edges of his enclosure and upon the ceiling and floor, hidden between the layers of brickwork. Some skilled individual had painstakingly etched sealing characters around the entire room, trapping him within. Kakashi reasoned that the formula must have been activated when his captors took their leave.

The silver-haired shinobi sighed heavily, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He hadn’t the time to wait for the jailers to return; if he had been captured, it was not a stretch to assume that Minato may likewise soon fall to harm. Though Kakashi could sense Kito’s chakra from where he stood, the several layers of sealing magic impeded the usual clarity of the jonin’s sharingan; though he could feel the boy’s presence, he could not be sure of the his physical state. If the Miu clan, whatever their motivations were, could manage to subdue the three of Mokugakure’s finest, it would not be long before Tsunade and Galan were in their sights, the rest of the village following soon after. No, he hadn’t the time to wait patiently for a chance to slip out. He would have to improvise.

Kakashi quickly dropped to a knee, glancing to and from the door and the ground as he drew his own facsimiles of the sealing runes into the layer of freshly piled dust and soot. Though he couldn’t be sure, the former captain reasoned that the sealing glyphs likely worked in a similar fashion to those he learned back in Konoha. Simply layering another set of similar seals over those currently in place would do him no good, but there was another somewhat crude way to break through. Having sketched his version of the seal on the ground before him, Kakashi then set about scrawling a trio of kanji (heaven, earth, and air) in the center of the rectangle. Even if he couldn’t unseal the door, applying an odd-numbered seal over the existing even-numbered seal could imbalance the forces holding the seal together and provide him the opportunity needed to break through. His lips curled into a small smile as the dust began to tremble within the mini-seal, tumbling as if rocked by an unseen force. It would work.

I should really start carrying ink, the shinobi mused as he completed the final scrawl, smudging a bloody finger over the otherwise unpainted wall. The trio of symbols were imposed outside the archway, each around the middle of their respective edge. As he drew the final line, Kakashi could feel the doorway begin to tremble almost imperceptibly. Hope sprang up within his gut as he gave the door an experimental nudge with his shoulder, feeling door shudder as if something anchoring the door had been rattled. To complete the seal, and hopefully imbalance the seal to the point of fault, he would need to apply a significant amount of chakra and force; he had just such a technique to supply these needs. Taking a few steps back, Kakashi formed a azure orb within his right palm, allowing the sphere to swell to the size of a softball before turning his sights on the barricade. With a final grunt, the masked ninja dashed forward and slammed the rasengan into the center of the doorway. A satisfying crunch echoed through the room as the door and jamb separated from the wall, spraying into the vacant hallway in pieces.

[Minato Namikaze]

The sun had started it's decent as Minato approached the construction site. Considering the circumstances that caused all of this, the hustle and bustle of the workers made him feel somewhat guilty. It had been the actions taken by both Kakashi and himself that had caused this. The man sighed, audibly, as he sauntered through the ground floor of the establishment, noting several advantageous positions that he could use. There was a corner hidden away in the back, a wooden beam running the width of the building that sat high above the floor, and a rather large concrete slab that he could hide behind.

'I guess it is enclosed...' The man spoke, voicing his doubts as he noted several beams of evening sunlight penetrating the halfway finished building. Minato thought for a second, figuring out which spot would be the most advantageous for him to take. If he sat behind the concrete slab, he'd definitely be hidden away, but it didn't look like this place would echo, so it might be a little too hard to eavesdrop. The corner was great... if they didn't bring some sort of lantern or light source, which they most definitely would. That left him with the wooden platform. 

Minato leapt into the air, focusing a portion of his chakra into his feet, and landed on the wood. He tested it's strength, and it seemed to hold well. It also seemed to sit high enough above the ground that he probably wouldn't be noticed.

'Kito hasn't shown up either... I wonder if he's with Kakashi.' Minato pondered. If he was, then he'd be fine. Kakashi is a skilled shinobi, and he wouldn't let anything happen to the boy. Though the Omniverse was different. There weren't many people that were able to sneak up on the sharingan wielder, let alone capture him without some sort of fight. For someone to be able to get the drop on him, they must be quite skilled at concealing their presence.

'There's no point in worrying myself,' The blonde spoke aloud, an attempt to reassure himself. 'I'm sure they'll be fine.' Besides, if he was going to find anything out, this would be the place. He just had to separate himself from his worries for now.

---

Hours had passed since the man had taken his position. To be honest, he had not expected to be this bored, but meditation had helped him pass the time. Plus it was better than having small sections of the village explode, so he had no right to complain. A quiet observation mission inside the village was better than a mission that put any part of the village in danger.

The sound of footsteps and the appearance of a dim light broke his train of thought as figures strode through the construction site. It was dark, and he didn't have Kakashi's sharingan to aid his vision, but with what little light their lanterns gave off, he could make out three different silhouettes. The two Miu family heads and that Empire representative that he'd bumped into earlier.

'So my suspicion was correct...' the golden haired shinobi thought to himself. His eyes locking on to his targets as they began conversing.

'So... what of the three shinobi that have been snooping around?' Ai spoke, hesitation and worry in her voice.

'You mean the three ninja that Tsunade sent to investigate your family?' His enquiry was met with a nod from both the man and woman.

'Two of them were captured, the other one eluded me however.' the representative shrugged as the agitation on the other two participants seemed to grow. A smile cam over the man's face as he realised the position of power he'd suddenly been put in.

'Don't worry. Your daughter won't be hurt. As long as you follow our instructions and give us what we want, that is.' His words carried a threatening tone that didn't sit right with the blonde. The two parent's couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement in order to keep their hope and protect their daughter.

'So Kito was right...' the former kage muttered to himself. 

'Anyway. The two were taken to a special facility in the Greens.' the man in grey stated confidently. 'We've had a couple of our subordinates study the unique sealing ability of the shinobi in the village and they found a way to enhance it. They won't be escaping from their cells any time soon.' he grinned. It was a half baked idea at best. It would only be a matter of time before Kakashi figured out how to break any seal they threw at him. Minato couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle as the man spoke.

'We can give you fifteen ninja now, and dozens more in a couple weeks time.' Haru interrupted. 'It may not sound like much, but each one of our ninja is worth at least ten men.' he mentioned, hoping to reinforce his offer.

'One worth ten you say? And you can supply us with more in the future?' the man queried, stroking his light stubble as he mulled the offer over. Ai and Haru nodded in confirmation as they awaited the man's response. Minato wasn't sure whether or not they were bluffing the strength of their own shinobi. Whether it was just an attempt to buy time for their daughter, or their Shinobi were actually that good was still up for debate. Minato assumed the former though.

'Alright. You have yourselves a deal.' the man spoke. 'It's not much, but it's better than none.' he sighed, scratching the back of his head and taking a quick moment to stretch his limbs. He seemed satisfied with the deal he'd made. his co-conspirators, however, did not. The woman, Ai, stepped forward and spoke.

'What about our daughter?' her words quick and to the point. The man stopped and stared, a smirk on his face.

'She's safe. She's being taken care of. Don't you worry.' giving a slight laugh as he spoke. 'Like I said earlier, just follow through on your end of the deal, and there won't be any problems.' his words seemed more like commands than anything else. The couple nodded and then walked past the man, the gathering was over. The man dressed in a grey suit turned on the spot and thought for a second.

'I'll be around tomorrow!' he called out, the Miu family leaders giving little physical recognition of the man's statement. Minato watched as the dim light illuminating the Miu couple disappeared, leaving the Empire's representative alone as he wrote a couple of notes down. The blonde couldn't agree with their methods, but they were protecting their daughter. If someone had Kidnapped Naruto, and he was still in the leaf village, he would have gone after them. Whether he was allowed to or not, he'd have done anything to protect his own child.

Minato sighed as he watched the man in grey leave. He scratched his head as a wave of disappointment came over him. There was always some form of trouble. There could never be any sort of peace when it came to a shinobi world.

'Maybe this world isn't so different to my own.' he frowned. 'I can't do much about it just sitting here though. I should report back to Lady Tsunade.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Hesitantly, Kakashi stepped through what remained of the warded doorway. He remained on-guard, unconsciously taking up twin kunai in his gloved hands as he stared down the prison’s corridor. Walls of unpainted composite were interrupted every few meters by plain flush doors. The architect responsible for drafting the complex had clearly spared every expense save those of function. Splinters and chunks of door and jamb of various sizes had made their home upon a thick carpet of otherwise undisturbed dust that caked the full length of the hall; this a consequence of skimping on ventilation, no doubt.

A quick sweep of the area with his chakra senses yielded nothing of interest, save the weak signature of Kito’s lifeforce beyond a door a few meters from the shinobi captain’s position. Kakashi silently thanked his wardens for their ineptitude as he approached his comrade’s cell, stopping short of grabbing at the knob. Though not immediately obvious, his sharingan took note of the sealing mechanism within seconds: upon each corner of the door frame was a familiar-looking glyph, scrawled neatly in white chalk. Likewise, the center of the cheap single-panel door was adorn with a palm-sized insignia embossed in what the ninja thought resembled a paste of blood and the same chalk. Centered a foot or so above the door, a lone piece of parchment hung pinned by the tip of a shiny pewter dagger.

“Kito?” Kakashi inquired, for what felt like the hundredth time. As before, only silence came in reply.

The scarecrow sighed, pocketing one of his blades. I’ll have to take my chances, he thought. He couldn’t be sure whether his rasengan had been the cause of the detonation or if perhaps breaking the seal had itself supplied the force; a kind of baked-in ‘anti-tamper’ mechanism like this was something he had experienced during past missions through the Land of Fire. Though, wary of injuring the younger ninja, he simply couldn’t waste time shouting at the walls. He eyed the sealing glyphs suspiciously for a moment before taking to them one-by-one with his kunai, scratching away randomly at sections of the seals. Lastly, he reached up and tugged the decorate blade from the wall and allowed the parchment to float lazily to the dusty flooring. With a deep breath, Kakashi twisted the knob and forced the door open in one fluid motion.

The unconscious body of Kito came into view as the door swung open, devoid of violent fanfare. Kakashi was quickly at his side, kneeling beside the prostrate youth and checking for a pulse. Whatever it was that had subdued him and smothered his chakra signature, it was temporary at best, as the boy’s heart continued to thump away rhythmically in his chest. The older shinobi let out a sigh of relief and rolled him onto his back, his anxiety ebbing as he noted the boy’s chest rising and falling. Though his captors had not bothered to tie Kito up, the fact that he had been sealed in a similar warding to his own meant that whomever was holding them saw them as a threat. A threat to what exactly, though, was up for debate.

A low groan shook Kakashi from his thoughts as the genin began to stir. Kito winced in pain, rolling his shoulders and clenching his fist as if to shake off the specter of some persistent discomfort. His eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times before locking on the man kneeling at his side. “Kakashi?”

The jonin nodded, finally pocketing his kunai as the boy slowly pulled himself to a seated position. As Kito had not been bounded, he wouldn’t be needing the blade. “I’m glad you’re alright. Where’s Minato?”

The dark-haired youth let out another groan in reply, bringing a palm to his face. “I don’t know. My head is killing me.”

“I know the feeling,” Kakashi conceded. It seemed that whatever technique they had used on him had also taken down Kito. He hoped that Minato had not been similarly dispatched, however unlikely it was. The fact that two shinobi of such high caliber had been taken down without so much as a struggle spoke of how dangerous their enemies were.

The captain helped his comrade to stand, the duo crossing the room to the exit. The hallway remained empty, silence hanging around them. “Where are they?” Kito asked, suddenly wary of his surroundings.

“They left a little while ago,” Kakashi began to explain. “I imagine somewhere down the-”

“There’s only one set of footprints,” the youth interrupted, pointing at the set his ally had left. “The rest of the hallway is clean.”

Kakashi stood for a moment, dumbfounded. He hadn’t even noticed, but the boy was exactly right. The former ANBU knew he had felt the arguing couple leave down the hallway, even watched them with his sharingan. Despite this, they left no trace. Were they lying in wake, deceiving his sensory abilities and waiting to ambush them?

“Strange,” Kito said quietly, eyeing the ceiling and then staring down the empty corridor. “No sign of escaping through the ceiling or anything. Maybe they just laid down dust behind them at they left?”

“But what reason would they have?” Neither gave an answer to the query, standing stock-still in the doorway as they each searched for any small hint of a concealed assailant. Unsurprisingly, they found nothing.

“I’m worried about Minato,” the younger ninja said suddenly, stepping out into the hallway. Each waited for the sound of an incoming attack, though there was not so much as a creak of the floorboards. “We’ll just need to keep an eye out for enemies while we try to find a way out.”

Kakashi nodded; he couldn’t fault the boy’s logic. Who knew how long it would take to puzzle out where their captors had gone, or even why they had been deposited here in the first place. They simply didn’t have the time to assemble all of the information; whoever was out for them was surely hot on Minato’s tail, if they hadn’t already disposed of him. They’d need to move. Without another word, the two took off down the hallway at a sprint, a plume of dust kicking up behind them as their feet tore through the carpet of particulate.

[Kakashi Hatake]

The pair of shinobi charged down the musty corridor, taking corners at full speed with little regard for safety. Kakashi took the lead; being able to see a fair distance ahead and through the walls gave him an obvious edge in the event they were ambushed. With the walls being as tight as they were, it was nearly impossible for the average person to tell what could lay around each corner. The duo soon found, though, that their fears were seemingly unfounded. They soon enough came to the end of the hallway, having met no resistance.

“Where’s the way out?” Kito asked, glancing at the plain, unpainted wall in front of him. The walls on either side of the corridor were similarly doorless, the last one they’d seen being some 10 meters down around the last corner. “Maybe the exit was back through one of those doors?

Kakashi shook his head. “I checked them with my sharingan on our way past. They were all empty rooms, similar to the where we were kept.” The masked ninja knew that what looked like a dead end was likely a warded doorway, based on how the other doors were treated. The trick was in locating and removing the warding.

“You can’t see where any of the wards are?” The younger shinobi glanced around, hoping in vain to find some sort of hidden button or false wall, but finding nothing.

“No,” the scarecrow muttered. “The seal must be different; I don’t see anything.” He removed the glove from his right hand, gently running it along the wall for any raised surface that could indicate an etching. “Maybe…”

“But if you could see the others, why not these?” The genin furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment. Sighing, he tipped his head back and glanced up at the cobwebbed rafters; they too were of no help to him.

“It’ll have to be brute force then,” Kakashi said, pulling a paper bomb from his belt. He placed the scroll flat against the untreated wall, adhering and priming it with a small chakra infusion. He and Kito walked back down the hallway, waiting around the corner as the former Captain detonated the charge. As the smoke cleared, they returned to find the wall entirely untouched. “The same as my room,” Kakashi said. Were they trapped until their captors returned?

“Wait, Kakashi, look!” Kito was crouched in the dust, furiously wiping away at the thick carpet of debris. “The explosion moved the dust and I noticed this!”

The jonin glanced down at the boy’s findings, his eyes widening as what was most assuredly a sealing ward revealed itself. Around the size of a manhole cover, the glyph was quite ornate, with intricate scroll patterns and complex swirls. As Kito finally finished clearing the symbol of dust, Kakashi wondered if perhaps this glyph was too complicated to break with a simple imbalancing. The others had more or less been polygons with a few symbols here or there, but this one was an order of magnitude more complex.

Before he could worry over it for long, the genin began tracing the the symbol with his fingertips and mumbling to himself. After a moment he nodded, a muttered “Got it,” escaping his lips.

“What do you mean?” the silver haired shinobi inquired. “You understand this symbol?”

“Sort of,” Kito replied, pulling a small bottle from his pocket. He twisted the cap off and dabbed a small amount of dark liquid onto his fingertip. “It’s the Miu family seal. Or well, it should be. It’s missing something.” In one fluid motion he scrawled a large ‘S’ shape through the middle, followed by another similar swoosh at a slightly different angle. Almost immediately, a loud clunk issued from below their feet.

“Impressive work,” Kakashi said, smiling under his mask. Minato had truly taught his protege well. He caught a quick glance at the small bottle the genin had produced: Ink. Smart boy, he mused.

With some doing, the two tugged free the false floor, sliding down the rusty steel ladder beneath it. As they both touched down they turned, spying the dim glow of moonlight behind them. With renewed vigor, they sprinted for the exit, stopping just short and staring downward at the treetops below. “We’re...on a mountain,” Kito muttered.

“Seems like it,” Kakashi confirmed, sighing. It would take them the rest of the night to get down the cliff in on piece. Even if they hurried, the lack of climbing equipment made it nearly impossible to do so without injury. Their wardens had left the last puzzle as both the simplest and the most difficult.

The round of falling rocks from below suddenly dragged the attention of the fleeing shinobi downward, the two watching as a dark figure raced up the cliffside. The enormous shadow leapt hither and thither, expertly climbing from landing to landing on a direct course toward their location. As panic rose in their throats, they could only stumble backward, away from the ledge. The ninja duo fumbled for their weapons as their pursuer came into view.

“Wait, put the kunai away Kito.” Kakashi let out a sigh of relief as the familiar form of a massive wolf landed lightly near the cliff’s edge and took a seat. The scarecrow sheathed his chokuto and gave the canine a quick bow, which was returned in kind by the somewhat winded worg.

“Friend of yours?” the genin inquired, mouth slightly agape. “Is he...friendly?”

“Friendly enough,” Kakashi said, chuckling softly. “Climb on, he can get us back to the village in record time.”

The two ninja swung their legs over Fenrir’s back, taking a firm grip of his thick fur just as the mighty beast took off down the mountain and back toward Mokugakure.

[Minato Namikaze]

Minato's mind couldn't help but ponder the situation the village was in. Even though the village wasn't in danger of being destroyed this time, it was in danger of another coup. The Empire, he'd heard about them from Tsunade. Most of the stuff she said made the faction seem fine, but he'd never got the impression that they'd go this far. He could only imagine that Tsunade had no idea either. With another sigh, the jounin leapt from the roof of a building and towards his destination. On top of this, Kakashi had disappeared and Kito hadn't returned either. The day hadn't been kind to him. 

'I see he failed then.' A commanding, yet feminine, voice spoke as the underside of a boot collided with Minato's face, causing him to crash into the below. Minato stood, wiping his face and dusting his clothing, a big boot mark decorated the right side of his face.

'I was just wondering if this day could get any worse.' The man replied as he pulled out a pair of his kunai, readying himself for battle. His opponent was a slender woman, dressed in ebony garb. Long black hair, matching her clothing, framed her face. She gave the man a smirk as she revealed her own weapons, a pair of brass knuckles with pointed spikes running their length. The woman took a couple of strides towards Minato before launching herself high into the air. The jounin followed her movements closely, examining them closely as he began figuring out her abilities. The slender woman brought her fists down like a guillotine, stopped only by her opponent's pair of kunai knives. The force of the impact cracking the the ground beneath him. She was very strong. Minato pushed back against the lady, forcing her backwards down the street. 

'Not many people could boast abilities developed enough to withstand that attack.' the woman spoke, her words filled with a self-centred wit. 'But it's not like you'll be around to tell anyone.' she shrugged as Minato felt something catch his legs, sweeping him off of his feet. Before he could react, the woman's fist had been thrust into his stomach. The brass knuckles piercing clothing and skin alike. Minato grabbed at her arms but, in another display of her immense strength, he was forced backwards through the earth.

'Strong.' Minato coughed, blood spattering out of his mouth and onto his cheeks. 'But I've fought stronger. Kushina for one.' he joked, his laugh cut short by the pain from a couple of broken ribs. Now was not the time for jokes.

'Is he still alive?' a male voice called out as the blonde stared up at the two, now, silhouettes. The question was met with a snort and a nod, someone was confident in their abilities. With a quick motion, Minato tossed the kunai in his right hand into the air, catching the woman's cheek as she leaned back. 

'You'll have to try better than that.' she laughed, her long black hair falling down over the man's grinning face. 'What's that grin for?' she questioned, a tone of anger in her voice. 

'Clearly, you don't know why they call me The Yellow Flash.' the man spoke just before disappearing into thin air. The pair of attackers leapt backwards to opposite sides of the street, trying to locate the man. The former Kage watched from high up in the air as his manoeuvre caused confusion in his opponents. The lack of people in the streets, and just back up in general, confused the man. Surely, by now, someone would have reported something. But that was of little concern to the man right now. He raised his right hand as a ball of swirling chakra began to form above the centre of his palm. The orb grew larger by the second, growing to the size of a beach ball as he approached the ground. 

'Big Ball Rasengan!' he exclaimed as his rasengan collided with the street. A shock wave knocked his adversaries backwards before his jutsu began ripping through the ground beneath him, breaking apart and rupturing the surrounding area. As the jutsu subsided, Minato turned his attention to the woman, before disappearing again.

'Rasengan!' The blonde exclaimed as he thrust one of his regular rasengan into the woman's back. The force of his attack sent the woman spinning through the air towards her companion, who seemed to be bracing himself. The stocky man, covered in a similar garb to his partner, caught the woman and placed her on the ground. She was puffing and panting, just as Minato was, but still managed to get back on her feet.

'I guess I have no choice.' Minato spoke as energy began flowing into his body. An orange pigment appeared around his eyes. His pupils lengthened into thin, horizontal, rectangles as the colour of his eyes shifted from blue to orange. Since arriving here, he had been getting better at utilising sage mode. Whether this was just a natural progression of his ability or just an influence of this new world was still up for debate, but he wasn't going to complain.

With one swift motion the powered up shinobi drew and tossed his kunai at his opponents. Watching as they deflect them with ease. In a flash of yellow light, the blonde was now above his opponents, holding both blades. He twisted his body into a spin, extending his arms and slashing at he opponents as he spun towards them. As quick as their reflexes were, they weren't fast enough to completely dodge his movements. His blades sliced through the flesh on their shoulders like butter. Minato landed on all fours, driving his weapons into the dirt before launching himself at the small man. 

'W-What happened? How did you recover this fast?' he chocked as Minato wrapped his legs around the man's neck and shoulders. Without giving a response, the jounin transitioned into a backward handspring and slammed his opponent's head into the ground. Without any time to think, the blonde felt the sting of metal piercing his right cheek. Stumbling backwards, Minato felt blow after blow connect with his rib cage, each successive blow piercing his clothing a little more than the last.

'We need you gone!'  the woman exclaimed as she forced the man down the road towards the village gates. Without realising it, she had moved their fight into a populated area. Village guard and civilians alike began to stare at the violently one-sided brawl. Blood began to drip from the man's mouth as his opponent continued to strike him. Sage mode had done it's job, without it, he'd have probably died already. But death wasn't a part of this plan. Minato caught her fists, refusing to let go as she struggled to get away from him.

'No point in struggling.' he coughed 'whatever advantage you had created for yourselves back there is useless here.' He spoke as several Anbu shinobi appeared behind him. 

'Minato, we'll handle this from here.'  they spoke from behind their masks. Shaking his head in response, Minato let go of the woman, allowing her to put some distance between them.

'Next time-' she began before being cut off by the blonde's fist. In a terrifying display of speed, and a demonstration in how he got his name, the yellow flash began teleporting around the woman. With each reappearance he struck his aggressor. Ending the combo with a swift kick to the lower jaw that sent her rocketing into the air. With another flash of yellow, he reappeared with an unconscious man in his hands. With a great deal of effort, and one hell of a spin, he threw the stocky man at the thin woman. 

'This village...' he gasped as the formation of a rasengan began in his right palm. 'Is not yours!' he howled as his jutsu began to change shape and emit a high-pitched noise. Within 5 seconds  four shuriken-like curved edges had formed around the the orb of swirling chakra. The was no going back, with what little chakra left he'd have to make due. This stunt might kill him. 

'Rasenshuriken!' Minato exclaimed, his vision temporarily warping, as he hurled his new jutsu and fell to the ground.

'I'll have to ask someone what happened.' He thought to himself as he lost consciousness.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Evening had begun to set in over the Tangled Green as Kakashi and Kito raced toward the village astride their worg companion. Though not quite at his maximum velocity, owing to the increased weight of two riders, Fenrir moved with impressive speed and agility back toward Mokugakure. Whether the beast had somehow sensed the urgency of the situation or perhaps he had followed the orders of Tsunade, they couldn’t be sure.

“Kito,” the silver-haired shinobi yelled over the wind rushing past his ears. “Do you remember anything from before you were taken? Anything at all?”

A moment of silence hung between them before Kakashi heard the boy’s voice behind him. “I was tailing one of the targets in the dossier and all of a sudden I...passed out.”

“That’s very similar to what I experienced,” Kakashi noted, thinking back to the altercation in the alleyway. “My whole body suddenly went limp and then I blacked out.”

“Yeah!” the genin agreed. “That’s exactly what happened to me. I heard a weird noise right before it and then I woke up to you shaking me in that building.”

Of course, the jonin thought. The noise he had heard shortly before collapsing had been neither an auditory hallucination, nor had it been some other explainable coincidence. Whatever weaponry had been used to subdue the two ninja, it seemed to be sound-based. “Sonic weapons,” Kakashi called over his shoulder, pointing at his ear. “It’s how they were able to get us. They probably have data on how far we can sense chakra and just attacked from outside our range. Unlike a kunai or a dart or something, a sound wave travels at Mach I. Effectively instantaneous at that range.”

“You really think that’s the case?” Kito responded, pondering the notion. “How could they have accomplished that?”

“Just before I was captured, I had stolen a crate from one of the shipments that came into the village. The driver seemed pretty insistent on being let through the gate, and the Guard Captain convinced them to let him through without a thorough inspection.” The elder ninja paused, trying to recall the rest of the events before his capture. “There was...some kind of technology in the crate. I’d guess whatever they used to subdue us came from the same place.”

“The Empire,” the genin replied almost instantly.

“It’s definitely a possibility,” Kakashi answered, nodding to himself. “Though the Miu clan seemed to be involved somehow or another as well. Maybe Minato has more information for us.” He hoped his sensei’s intel would shed some light in things.

It was not long before they finally reached the village gate, hopping off the exhausted worg and greeting the guard detail milling around the gate. Kakashi got the distinct impression that they were on-edge; were these men also under the employ of whatever benefactor had taken Kito and him hostage? He eyed them with caution as he bid farewell to Fenrir, sure to keep them at arm’s length. If there was one thing they definitely didn’t need right now, it was to be captured again.

“Something isn’t right here,” Kito muttered just loud enough for his jonin partner to hear. “It’s...tense.”

“I agree,” Kakashi replied, mentally scanning the area for any possible attackers. His hand trembled at his side, prepared to draw blades if an aggressor made an appearance. He steered Kito and himself through the main roads to the Hokage residence, paranoia gnawing at his nerves. If they shadowy assailants could truly strike from outside of their range and incapacitate them, there was definitely cause for concern.

As they reached the massive hollowed-out tree where the village's government resided, they were met by a familiar face. Asuma Sarutobi stood by the doorway, puffing on a cigarette as he leaned casually on the rough bark. His dark eyes settled on Kakashi as they neared. “You’ll want to head to the hospital,” he advised, half-smirking.

“We’re not hurt,” Kito readily offered, heading for the door. “We need to see Tsunade.”

“That’s where Tsunade is,” Asuma replied, not bothering to move. “Lord Fourth got into a scuffle and he’s being treated there now. Tsunade left a little while ago to check on him.”

Kakashi’s eyes widened at the news. “Someone attacked him? Is he alright?”

“I think he’ll be fine,” the bearded Jonin answered, stomping his cancer stick into the dirt. “The guys he was fighting on the other hand...well, I’m not sure they’ll be able to tell you much.”

No surprise there, the masked shinobi mused. There weren’t many that could go head-to-head with his sensei. “We’ll head there and get filled in on what we missed. Thanks, Asuma.”

“Any time,” Sarutobi replied, flashing a thumbs up.

Minato’s students nodded in unison before taking off at a sprint toward the infirmary. What had happened while they were out?

[Minato Namikaze]

Fluorescent hums and muffled voices caught the former kage's ears as he began to regain consciousness. He felt as though he'd been hit by a mountain, but this was to be expected after using his chakra so irresponsibly. Blurred silhouettes in front of fluorescent lights stood by his bed as the voices began to clear up.

'We don't need to worry about it right now.' Tsunade's spoke as as the silhouettes began to take a proper form.

'But we need to-'

'Making sure Minato is okay is my first priority right now. We'll get the information after he wakes up.' She interrupted. 

'Information?' Minato's dry voice cut in, surprising both Tsunade and the man that was talking to her.

'We'll talk later, Lady Tsunade.' Galan spoke before giving a bow. His tone conveyed irritation, but he still had a lot of respect for the Morikage. The elven man turned to Minato, giving the man a bow as well. Minato smiled and returned the gesture as best he could.

'It seems that trouble likes to find you,' Galan stated as he turned his attention from the blonde to the two beds across the room. 'but I'm glad you're on our side. Having to fight you seems rather unhealthy.' he finished with a faint smile, before exiting the room. Minato gave a pained chuckle as Tsunade sat down by his bed, examining a chart.

'Minato-sensei!' Kakashi exclaimed as both he and Kito dashed into the room.

'Asuma sent you?' Tsunade questioned, looking up from her chart. Kakashi and Kito nodded in unison.

'Is that Minato-sensei's chart?' Kakashi questioned. Tsunade shook her head and then pointed towards two other beds just across from them. Kakashi's eyes widened at the appearance of the two jailers that he had sensed prior to his prison break.

'Where have you two been?' Minato coughed as he sat up in the hospital bed. His hands and forearms were bandaged and, upon moving them, felt numb.

'Sorry, Minato-Sensei, we were taken by surprise.' Kakashi explained as Minato gave him a reassuring smile. 'Those two over there are responsible.' he finished, pointing at the shinobi's most recent opponents. 

Minato nodded and then looked down at his right arm, it was bandaged and numb, not a good sign. Holding onto his rasenshuriken for too long seemed to have some serious repercussions. He'd need to make sure that he didn't do it again. 

'Well, whatever you did to them, they aren't getting up any time soon.' The woman spoke.

'Wind style combined with the rasengan...' Minato mumbled, catching the attention of the three other shinobi in the room.

'That would explain it.' Tsunade sighed. “Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, though somewhat limited, is still quite powerful here.' 

Minato, initially surprised by her words, found himself feeling delighted. He had died, which meant she was talking about Naruto. He knew his son could do it. Though, if he was anything like Kushina, Jiraiya-sensei probably had to find ways to keep him focused during training. At that moment, as if a cold breeze had blown through the room, Minato chills rush down his spine at the thought of Jiraiya's influence on his child. But the was nothing he could do about it now.

'So, what did you discover?' Tsunade queried as she crossed her legs and sat back in her chair besides the bed ridden blonde.

'Well the Empire is behind it,' he spoke, Tsunade sighing in response. 'and they are blackmailing the Miu family into helping them.' he finished with a sigh. He was still rather tired but, on top of that, there was always a problem that needed dealing with. It was like some sort of endless cycle that he couldn't escape. 

'And you two? Did you find out anything?' Tsunade asked, shifting her focus from Minato to his two squad mates. Kakashi looked at the genin, giving him the opportunity to relay any information he'd gathered before being kidnapped, but he seemed deep in thought. 

'Well,' the silver haired shinobi began, clearing his throat. 'They've acquired some sort of highly advanced weapon. It can attack from outside of sensing range and that was how they got Kito and Myself.' he explained before taking a pause so that the Kage could take note of the Important details.

'Go on.'

'They've been studying us for some time. They learned basic sealing techniques and then tried to improve on them.' the man continued. 'They've lined prisons with the seal, making it rather difficult to sense anything outside of the cells or to escape from them.'

'Is that all?' The woman asked, resting her chin on her palm, Kakashi nodded as she leaned back and let out another loud sigh. 'Okay then. We should let Minato sleep. He'll be better in the morning.' 

Kakashi nodded, turning to the dark haired boy and ushered him out of the room.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi and his youthful companion followed the Morikage into the hallway of the infirmary, the latter closing the door quietly behind them. Tsunade placed the chart she had been eyeing back with the other clipboards, on a wire wall rack hanging adjacent the door. They turned to continue down the hallway, but were first greeted by the face of Galan. He had evidently been waiting for them.

“Apologies, Lady First,” the noble elf monotoned, bowing slightly. “While we wait for Minato to recover, might I question his students on their activities?”

Tsunade nodded. “Yes, that’s fine. We’ll walk and talk, though.”

Galan followed between Kakashi and Kito as they made their way through the hospital wing in the blonde kunoichi’s wake. Kito had remained silent about his own exploits, leaving Kakashi to do most of the talking. Given that banter was not really his strong suit, the masked ninja kept his explanations brief.

“I’m not really familiar with type of sealing techniques they used in their hideout,” Kakashi muttered, scratching his chin idly. It occurred to him that the fact that he was wearing both gloves and a mask might make this seem somewhat comical. He shook the thought from his head and continued. “It seems to follow rules similar to those of where we’re from, though.”

Galan glanced first at Tsunade, then back to Kakashi. “I’m somewhat familiar with your craft after working together with Lady First, but I must admit I do not fully understand what you mean.”

“I was able to break out in the same way I would have done back home,” the silver-haired shinobi clarified. “It seems to me that maybe the seals they're using are somehow related. Maybe just in concept, though; I’m can only speculate.”

Windforge nodded thoughtfully. “It is something to consider. And you say they used a strange weapon to subdue you?”

“Some kind of sound technology,” Kito piped in. “It knocked us both out before we even knew anyone was there.”

“That definitely seems to indicated Imperial involvement,” Galan agreed, nodding once more. “Where did you say you were being held?”

The group fell silent as they reached the stairwell, resuming as they exited onto the first floor. “I can show you on a map,” Kakashi offered. “It seems like an old Miu clan facility. It must not have been occupied in years.”

The elf nodded solemnly, as if such information was not new to him. “Is there anything else I should know?”

The copy ninja paused, thinking for a moment as they stepped out into the night air. “Actually, yes,” he said. “Lady Tsunade, you might want this.” He produced from his pocket the strange bit of tech he had swiped from the incoming shipment he had been investigating. “Here’s what they were shipping into the village, or at least one of the them. There was a whole cart full.”

Tsunade and Galan examined the gizmo closely under the dim lighting of the hospital’s entrance awning, each alternating between curiosity and suspicion. The village leader took it delicately from Kakashi’s offering hand, nodding. “Thank you, Kakashi. I’ll have to check the shipping invoices and see if we can track down what else came in.”

“I suspect we will find the information conveniently missing,” Galan muttered, shaking his head. “But I will send a few of my men to perform a thorough inventory of what we are storing. There are only so many places they could be hiding.”

“I have a feeling those two up there,” Kakashi replied, jabbing a thumb up toward Minato’s room. “Will probably have that information for us. The question is whether or not they’ll be willing to offer it.”

“With the beating that the Fourth gave them,” Tsunade said, chuckling. “They might find their lips loosened. We’ll hope for the best.”

“What should we do now?” Kito asked. “Should we keep looking into the other members of the Miu clan?”

“I think it would be wise to investigate the hideout you escaped from,” Galan responded. “We have enough to go on from our side. We can start to make preparations now, while you three try to uncover more information.”

The scarecrow nodded, bowing. “Understood. Thank you both.”

“And thank you two,” Tsunade said, smiling warmly. She turned to head back toward the Morikage residence, stopping for a moment to glance back over her shoulder. “Oh, and when Minato wakes up...tell him to keep the destruction inside the village walls to a minimum in the future.”

“Will do,” Kakashi replied, sharing a nervous chuckle with Kito.

A long moment passed between the two ninja as they walked quietly toward the nearest inn. “Do you think there will be an ambush waiting for us when we go back?” Kito asked, both curious and concerned.

“It’s likely,” the sharingan-wielder replied simply. “But now that we know what we’re up against, we will get the jump on them.”

The dark-haired genin nodded slowly. “Knowing what we do about the Miu clan’s involvement,” he started, staring down at his feet. “I’m hoping we don’t have to subdue any of them.”

Kakashi’s nodded silently as they reached the inn. It was something he had considered himself. “We’ll do what we have to do.”

[Minato Namikaze]

The man stared intently at his hands, examining them. They ached and, beneath the bandages, were covered in cuts and chakra burns. His new jutsu, the Rasenshuriken, was something else. He’d have to take further caution when using it in the future. The name was a bit much, but it did take the shape of a shuriken, and he had grown quite fond of giving his techniques complicated names. It was one of his many quirks. His analysis, however, was cut short as a cough interrupted his train of thought. Looking up, he was reminded of the fact that he shared a hospital room. He had almost forgotten about the two Empire agents that he had confronted earlier. They appeared to have it much worse than he did. It seemed that a direct hit from the Rasenshuriken had a much more severe effect.

‘Laugh it up, blondie.’ the woman coughed through her bandages. He couldn't really see past the coverings around her face but her eyes glinted in the moonlight. She was glaring at him or, at the very least, trying her best to.

‘There’s nothing to laugh about.’ he responded, emotionlessly. The woman grunted back at him before letting out a pained cough. Her partner was still unconscious, though the shinobi could see that he was in a similar state. He’d done quite the number on the empire duo.

‘We’ll never speak.’ She groaned with an air of confidence and arrogance. ‘You kept us alive for information, but we'll never give you anything.’
‘What do you mean?’ Minato responded. ‘I was trying to kill you.’ He threatened.

The woman fell silent, his threat clearly eliciting some sort of fear in her. He could kill them now, but Tsunade clearly has plans for them and Minato didn’t want to get on her bad side. That would be dangerous for his health. After Letting out a loud sigh the blonde shifted in his bed and laid down. He still quite exhausted

‘Minato…’ a deep, ominous, voice emanated from behind the bars.

‘It seems like everyone wants a piece of me today… Huh Nine Tails?’ he sighed as he found himself standing in, what appeared to be, a rather poorly lit room flooded with water. Minato stood in front of a ginormous, grey, metal gate. A single piece of paper inscribed with a sealing formula kept them from being opened. It seemed flimsy but it was a seal of his own design, he trusted it to not fail on him.

‘Why haven’t you used my power yet?’ The beast questioned one of the creature’s eyes appearing from the thick covering of darkness. A Blood red iris with a black, vertical, slit for a pupil, a sight that the man had not seen for quite a while. A sight that he’d hoped not to see anytime soon. He was, to say the least, not happy to see the creature.

‘It’s not like you, Nine Tails, to be this talkative.’ The man mused, almost letting out a laugh. Though the beast did raise an interesting question. He’d been in the Omniverse for a while and the enemies he’s had to face so far had only increased in strength, the Makhel family leader and the two empire spies were a testament to that fact. He and his allies had managed so far, but the people they faced seemed to only be getting tougher. The gigantic fox let out an impatient sigh. Minato turned to the beast and smiled.

‘You know, I might have to in the future…’ The man spoke with an oddly soothing tone. Something that the fox didn’t expect. ‘But for now, we’ll have to stay separated.’ Minato turned, placing a hand over his bellybutton.

‘Maybe next time.’ He finished as he moved his hand in a circular motion, as if he was turning something. The seal on his stomach heated up for only a moment before Minato opened his eyes, finding himself back in his hospital bed.

‘I guess he’s not full of hate after all.’ Minato thought, causing him to laugh a little as he lay awake, staring up at the roof. Things would only get worse from here.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi and Kito quietly crossed over the threshold and met the dim glow of dawn, closing the inn door behind them as they departed. The streets of Moku were deserted this early in the morning, though the sounds of awakening townsfolk would soon begin to pull the village from its restful silence. The pair of shinobi had left a vague handful of gold coins at the reception desk as payment for lodging--likely quite a bit more than was necessary. The staff of the hostel had yet to awaken themselves, so they couldn’t be sure precisely what their tab had come to. Objectively, it would have perhaps been wiser to simply wait until the sun had risen in the sky before venturing out, both to avoid such issues and as the visibility was still far from desirable at present. As neither Kakashi nor his youthful companion had slept very well, though, they opted to instead soldier on, with only a few cups of strong tea in their bellies to stave off fatigue’s achy grasp.

“I’m getting a bad feeling,” Kito said as they trekked back toward the village hospital. “Something just feels off.”

Though one could argue that their anxiety-fueled sleep deprivation could perhaps be the source of such feelings, the former captain had more than enough experience with insomnia to know that the boy was right. “I know what you mean,” he muttered, tucking his hands casually into his pockets. Years of black ops missions had steeled Kakashi’s nerves to the point where his body could shrug off most stressors; his mind, though, was another story entirely. “This village seems to always be on edge, but...it’s different now. It reminds me, in a way, of the Third War.”

The genin nodded thoughtfully, brow furrowed. “We learned about the War in the academy. That’s when Minato got the nickname ‘Yellow Flash’, right?”

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. “It is. Some argue that without him we’d have lost the war. He saved a lot of people.”

“Our history books say that he wiped out over one thousand Iwagakure troops,” Kito said, eyes fixated on the medical building creeping up from over the horizon. “Is that true?”

“I heard the same,” Kakashi replied. His smile faded as his mind shot back to the lives he himself had taken that day. “I...wasn’t there,” he stammered, shaking away the painful memories. “But knowing Minato, I can’t imagine anything different.”

Silence hung over the duo for a moment. The scarecrow could only hope that the conflict in which they’d currently found themselves could be resolved without such bloodshed. Orcs were one thing, but he’d had his fill of meaningless slaughter of otherwise innocent human lives. They’d have to break the Empire’s grip on Moku, even if it hurt them in the process.

“The Miu,” Kito said, breaking the silence. “They’re being extorted by this...Empire?”

Kakashi would almost have been surprised by the boy’s words, had he not seen how much Kito was invested in the clan’s well-being. He’d venture to guess that most of the boy’s thoughts up to this point where with the Miu elders and their lost child. “That’s where the evidence seems to point,” the masked ninja responded. “I don’t know much about them, save the fact that they have a reputation as a fairly oppressive regime.” He paused. “I think we can assume that a group like that is immensely strong.”

“So, what you’re saying is that to save this village from becoming another puppet of the Empire, we might be putting targets on our backs?”

Kakashi fell silent, stunned by the boy’s clarity of thought. “That’s...exactly what I’m saying.”

-     -

Though the pair had every intention of sitting down with Minato and explaining the next step of the plan in his hospital room, they found the former Kage fully dressed on arrival, signing his discharge paperwork in the hospital lobby. With his characteristic comforting smile, he ushered his companions back through the glass doors. “We’d better get moving!”

“But, shouldn’t you maybe take it easy while we lay out the plan?” Kakashi asked, placing a gloved hand against the man’s chest in an effort to slow him down.

“We’re headed to where they took you and Kito, right?”

“Uh...yeah, actually,” Kito returned, cocking an eyebrow and smirking at his sensei’s jovial demeanor. “How’d you know that?”

“It’s the only plan that makes sense right now,” the blonde jonin said, shrugging. “Also, my roommates might have let a few details slip while I was asleep.” He finished the sentence with air quotes, chuckling to himself.

“Well that’s fine I guess, but shouldn’t you still maybe relax for a little and have something to eat? Lady Tsunade said you were pretty banged up last night after that fight.” If it were anyone else, Kakashi would have needed no further convincing. Minato, though, had been a second father to him after Sakumo took his own life, and dealing with the Kage’s death at the hands of the Nine-Tailed Fox had been one of the hardest things he’d ever dealt with. If he sat idly by as his mentor pushed himself to death’s door once more, he’d never forgive himself.

“I’m fine, Kakashi,” Minato assured him, resting a hand on his protege’s shoulder. “Primes seemed to heal pretty quickly here, thankfully. Now...you two lead the way to that bunker.”

Where or not his sensei was as 'fine' as he'd claimed, he'd have to trust him. The village depended on it.

-     -

After leaving a quick sketch of their route with Pakkun to be delivered to the Kage residence, the trio took off into the Greens. Kakashi had decided he’d spare Fenrir the difficulty of carrying all three of them back to the hideout, not because he was concerned about the worg’s ability to heft their combined weight, but because the shinobi themselves could make the journey much more quietly on foot, at the expense of speed. The scarecrow hoped that Galan and his men could keep the peace in the village if something happened while they were gone.

The sun had risen quite high in the sky when the group neared the steep cliffs that held their goal. A thick cloud cover stained the sky a murky gray despite the star’s attempts to shine through. Activating his sharingan, Kakashi combed the cliffside for the hidden entrance while Kito and Minato watched for anyone who might have followed them. Though none of the three could sense anyone for quite a distance, the circumstances that had brought the two younger ninja here in the first place had naturally set them on edge.

“Maybe we should have brought earplugs?” Kito asked uncertainty, casting his gaze back and forth. “If we get caught by those sound weapons again we’ll be in trouble.”

“Sadly that wouldn’t help,” Minato replied, staring straight ahead as he focused his chakra senses. “Sound waves travel just as easily through bones and the water within your body. If they want to take us out, they can.”

“So...we just hope they don’t catch us?”

“That,” the blonde jonin said, tapping a single finger to the corner of his eye. “Or we catch them first. You two were caught individually, but the three of us together should have much higher odds.”

“Found it,” Kakashi called over his shoulder, closing his left eye. “More or less dead ahead, but slightly to the left. About ten meters or so from the top, next to that withered tree sticking out of the rocks.”

The three nodded in unison before taking off at a sprint, falling naturally into a triangular formation before reaching the sheer wall of the cliffs. Without a second thought, the shinobi barreled forward, feet sticking firmly to the wall as they sprinted upward in spite of gravity’s protest. They kept their eyes peeled as they ascended, ready for an assault at any moment as they neared the den of the beast. Nothing came.

“This is seeming a little too easy,” Minato commented as they reached the opening into the cliffside. “They must have other hideouts like this, maybe.”

“Or it’s a trap,” Kito offered, glancing uneasily over his shoulder.

“We got out of here once before,” the scarecrow replied, drawing a kunai from his belt. “It wouldn’t do them any good to trap us here again. I doubt they’d be able to ‘change the locks’ by now.”

“True,” Minato agreed. “Even still, let’s hope they haven’t been back here at all, yet. With any luck there’s some evidence lying around.”

Kakashi lead the way down the tunnel and through the familiar warded hatch. The dark, dusty hallway was in much the same condition as when they had so recently left, a thick coating of undisturbed dust blanketing the floors. The ANBU operative stopped abruptly as he had this thought, his breath catching in his chest.

“Why are we stopping?” Kito asked, glancing around the dark hallway. He shuffled his feet restlessly as he awaited a reply.

“The dust…” Kakashi muttered, opening his eye and allowing his sharingan to flare to life once more. “It’s back where it was. Completely undisturbed.”

Kito’s mouth fell open slightly as he gazed at his feet. “Our footprints are gone.”

[Minato Namikaze]

The facility did seem a little too easy to break into, it was probably just a temporary holding cell. The two that he had battled must have meant to bring him here as well, then transport the trio somewhere else and out of the way. Whatever plans they had for the Ninja village, they needed them gone to do it.

‘So, what about our footsteps leading in here then?’ The man questioned as he turned to look behind them. They were also gone. He thought for a moment, placing his index finger over his mouth. An Idea formed in his head as he turned to his grey-haired companion.

‘Can you scan the dust with your Sharingan?’ the blonde queried. Kakashi nodded and gave the room a quick once over with his Sharingan.

‘It… It’s chakra. This makes a lot of sense now.’ Kakashi spoke, closing his eye to cover his Sharingan.

‘Ah, that’s what I thought too.’ Minato nodded. Kakashi was always impressed by his former teacher’s intelligence and deduction ability. Even without the Sharingan, he was able to determine how a jutsu worked.

‘And for those of us that don’t have decades of experience?’ Kito asked, a slight frustration in his voice. Minato let out a soft laugh, he’d forgotten what being a Genin was like.

‘Well, the dust is probably some kind of Earth Style jutsu.’ He began to explain as he knelt down and pressed on the surface of the dust. The trio watched as the displaced dust rushed back into place as he lifted his hand, leaving no print behind. ‘It probably sends a signal to the jutsu caster every time the dust is displaced.’

‘Then we should be ready to defend ourselves then.’ He breathed, wearily, as he unsheathed his blade and looked around. His face full of worry. Minato gave another laugh.

‘Yes but, if there was anyone here, Kakashi or myself would have sensed them by now.’ He spoke with a smile, reassuring the young shinobi. Though the boy did bring up a good point. If they could make a security system like this, then they could have other systems in place to reinforce it. His smile turned into a focused stare as he looked around the room, examining the cells. Something about them seemed funny, it made his senses seem dull and fuzzy.

‘The cells, some kind of sealing Jutsu?’ Minato questioned, Kakashi and Kito both responding to him with a quick nod. ‘How did you get out?’

‘I layered an odd numbered seal over the already existing even seal.’ Kakashi spoke, somewhat proudly.

‘Crude but effective.’ Minato responded as he switched his attention from the holding cells in front of him and back to the larger room they were situated in. ‘Well, we should probably look around the room then.’

He said room, but it was more like a corridor. At the back end was a lone desk and chair combo, untouched by the dust. Kito had already been rummaging through it and reading the papers that he found. So far nothing interesting had turned up, just that the facility was about half a decade old. Other than that, it housed only a few prisoner dossiers, and a few papers that detailed when and how it’s security systems were upgraded, most of which were blacked out with some sort of ink.

‘Hey, sensei, I’ve been wondering about something since you explained the security jutsu.’ Kito spoke, sheepishly as the former kage turned and gave him a smile.

‘And what would that be?’ Minato enquired.

‘Well, when we left, we definitely left footprints behind. But, earlier, when you pressed against the dust, it instantly rushed back into place.’ He spoke. Minato had to admit, the young Genin had a point, it was a little puzzling. Minato thought for a moment, scratching his chin, as Kakashi rejoined them, having been unable to open the cell doors to have a look inside.

‘If the entire security system is related,’ He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. ‘then when Kakashi broke through the sealing jutsu, he could have temporarily weakened all the other security systems in the building.’ He finished as he watched the boy soak up his explanation.

‘Oh, I think I understand.’ Kito nodded, somewhat amazed by his sensei’s ability to come up with such well thought out theories in a small amount of time. He’d heard only tales of the Fourth Hokage’s skill and intellect. But now he was able to learn from the man himself, in person.

‘Any luck with the rooms?’ the blonde asked as he turned to his silver haired companion.

‘No, I didn’t want to make too much noise.’ Kakashi replied, shaking his head.

‘Alright, I can try something.’ the man spoke before approaching the cell door. ‘There’s definitely some kind of seal on the door?’ He questioned, as he placed his hand on the sturdy mass and looked to his companions. They nodded in unison. Minato retuned his attention to the door and began to focus for a few moments.

‘Alright, here we go…’ He spoke hesitantly as a jutsu formula appeared beneath his palm and began to spread across the door. The jail-like facility, as if coming to life, began to rumble and make a kind of whining sound as the Former kage’s formula turned white and began to glow. Kakashi and Kito both drew a kunai as they, instinctively, readied themselves for battle. A small smile spread across Minato’s face as his jutsu began to work against the sealing on the room, the rumbling becoming increasingly violent. Then, to Minato’s surprise, it all stopped. The blonde’s Jutsu formula disappeared and the building became perfectly still and silent again.

‘So… Did it work?’ the young genin queried.

The blond looked down to the small indent that was cut into the door, it didn’t look like there was a physical lock built into the door. After all, it was sealed with a jutsu, what use would they have had for an actual lock? Minato grabbed the small handle and pulled, no reaction. He sighed and then gave the door a push. Still no reaction.

‘I guess not.’ He answered.

‘So, what do now sens-’ Kito began, before abruptly stopping mid-sentence, prompting his two companions to turn their attention to him. The two men stared at what stood in front of them, stunned looks on their faces. They were now looking at mirror images of themselves, Minato’s doppelganger was holding a kunai to the boy’s throat. Minato reached for the kunai in the pouch on his back, but his copy just brought its own even closer to the boy’s neck. Minato withdrew his hand and returned it to his side.

‘Okay, don’t do anything too hasty now.’ Kakashi spoke from behind his mask, raising his hands up in front of him, a firm grip on his kunai. The copies of Kakashi and Kito stepped forward, weapons drawn, in response. Kakashi, behind his mask, smirked.

‘I wasn’t talking to you two.’

Kito, in one swift motion, dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding an attempt to slash his neck, and tripped the copy. He then plunged his kunai into the copy’s abdomen and rolled backwards, avoiding the other two attackers and rejoining his companions.

‘That wouldn’t have worked on me.’ Minato spoke, somewhat self-consciously, as he drew his own kunai. Dust poured from the creature as it removed the boy’s weapon and stood up. It promptly tossed the small weapon back at the boy, who proceeded to deflect it with his katana.

‘Alright, so it isn’t a transformation jutsu then.’ Kakashi spoke hesitantly as the trio prepared themselves for battle.

[Kakashi Hatake]

“Dust duplicates,” Kito confirmed with his comrades, the human triumvirate watching as the wound that the youth had inflicted on the doppelganger rapidly closed. “And it’s not going to be as easy as taking out a regular person.” The youth took his position against the far wall, the originals forming a triangle as the duplicates followed suit.

“Don’t be discouraged,” Minato replied, a confident smile painted across his face. “Just because they can recoup from our attacks doesn’t make them unkillable.” He glanced from one copy to the other, sizing each up. “Everything has a weakness. Find it, and exploit it.”

If there was one thing that Kakashi was good at, it was analysis. During the few seconds that the facsimiles had been recovering and his sensei had been giving his motivational speech, the ANBU captain had already been scanning the copies with his ocular jutsu. The clones were nearly identical to their templates, save for only perhaps a slightly lighter hue to their skin. Additionally, though they didn’t have anything as recognizable as a chakra network, there was definitely some kind of energy or force animating the beings. He didn’t have a doubt in his mind that Minato could sense the same thing. The question now became: what would they do with that knowledge?

The shinobi had little time to plan their attack before the phonies went on the offensive, surging forward with startling speed and lashing out with untamed strength and savage, unconventional strikes. The silver-haired jonin quickly found himself parrying a dusty proxy of his own White Light Sabre with a kunai, though its blows lacked the characteristic fang that was its namesake. Despite this, Kakashi found himself staggering backward into a wall as the sheer strength of the blow broke his parry. “This is going to be a challenge,” he muttered as he squared up for another clash.

The filthy figment bearing his visage gave him no time to regroup, the fingers of its right hand clawing around what Kakashi knew instantly to be the beginnings of his mentor’s signature technique. Though its face remained more stoic than Kakashi’s own countenance, he’d know the Rasengan anywhere. The ANBU captain’s lips twisted into a smirk as he darted sideways, channeling his own spiralling sphere in his palm. If he could out-pace his copy, he had little doubt that the he could end this before it truly began.

“You know, you three should really trade partners,” the scarecrow taunted. “Using our own attacks against us is flawed when we know exactly how they work.” Kakashi fell to a somersault as he finished his goading, deftly dodging a kunai from Kito’s reflection. He threw an arm out to catch himself against the wall of the narrow corridor as he neared it, landing in something of a squat as he faced the oncoming Hatake. Five paces his brain calculated instantly. I have a second or two before he makes his move…

The Captain’s eyes shot open behind his earthenware mask as his duplicate stopped its charge all at once, cocking back the off-blue orb clasped between its digits. The mirage was still a good a few meters from where he lay, ready to strike back. Why had it stopped, and what did it hope to accomplish? Panic bubbled in his gut as he quickly ran through the possibilities. Is he...going to throw it?

Before his mind could properly process what he was witnessing, Kakashi’s left shoulder lit up as his nerves registered agony. The shinobi’s lightweight breastplate had been breached, a beam of caustic energy pouring from the clone’s grasp and burning into his flesh, threatening to perforate his torso. It had been a split-second reflex that had moved him the few inches it took to evade a direct hit to where he knew his heart lay, currently thumping out a staccato rhythm within his ribcage. Adrenaline rushed into the man’s veins, spurring his movements as he sloppily rolled sideways and sprang into a desperate sprint. A handful of shuriken thunk-ed into his arm guard, courtesy of the Minato clone, before the masked man sensed his facsimile drop its destructive beam and begin to charge after him. Kakashi winced as he reached over his injured shoulder and drew the chokutō from his back with his left hand, his right mitt forming a hasty hand seal. He’d need to turn the tide and go on the offensive if he hoped to dispatch his reflection.

Once more he spun in place after a dozen paces, his sandals skidding upon the dusty floor as he stopped and turned to face the oncoming duplicate. Fortunately, it seemed like the dust-man was appreciably slower to offset the power behind his version of Kakashi’s jutsu, the fake now lagging a good 4 meters behind him. The real McCoy took a breath and ignored the pain as he slapped his hand upon the hallway floor, a plume of particulate becoming airborne as rivulets of white chakra zigzagged toward his foe. A beat later, the silver-haired shinobi caught his breath as the clone dropped into a pit that had sprung open under its feet. He hoped these few seconds of respite would grant him some kind of edge.

As he caught his breath, Kakashi hastily stole a look around the cramped battlefield, noting his comrades enduring their own struggles against their dusty twins. Kito looked to be having a particularly difficult time keeping up with his foe, though what blows had already landed did not seem to be grievous. Similarly, despite landing lightning-fast blows that might otherwise cripple the average foe, Minato had yet to put much of a dent in his target. Though their enemies seemed to be exact duplicates of their host, upon closer inspection there appeared to be notable differences in ability. Before he could posit much more about their opponents, Kakashi caught sight of his dusty duplicate climbing out of the pit.

[Minato Namikaze]

Minato flew through the hallway, his cheek red and dusty. The clone knew how to throw one hell of a right hook. The blonde landed with a thud, but quickly sprang to his feet and launched himself back at his opponent. Orbs of swirling chakra formed in his hands as he dashed through the hallway and past his companions, who seemed to be having just as much trouble as he was. A trail of dust kicked up into the air behind him from the combination of his speed and the swirling chakra in his hands.

Minato released a flurry of lightning fast strikes into his opponent’s body. His sustained rasengan tore through the clone’s body with each s trike. Creating swiss cheese of his opponent would have been quite the understatement. The blonde breathed heavily, taking a couple of steps back as he let his jutsu dissipate. Sustaining them seemed to be getting easier and easier, but it still took quite a bit of his chakra and stamina to do so. He glanced around at his companions as the sound of electricity emanated throughout the hallway.

Suddenly, he felt his clothing tear and steel piercing his stomach, followed by electrocution. He’d been careless, and his opponent had taken advantage of the fact. The man dropped to the ground as he found himself unable to control his limbs momentarily. Blood dripped from his wound, staining his white coat. 

“Minato sensei!” Kakashi called out before appearing beside his mentor, striking the clone with a swift kick that sent it flying. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He coughed as he regained control of his body and pulled himself to his feet. “It was just a glancing blow.”

A small blade appeared between the two ninja, causing the both of them to dive towards opposite sides of the corridor. Kakashi’s clone looked back and forth at the two, almost taunting them. Minato dashed forward, outstretched arm, while the clone’s attention was focused on the silver haired shinobi. His palm connected with the creature’s mask and threw it into the wall besides Kakashi.

“Let’s switch opponents for a while.” Minato smirked as Kakashi nodded and launched himself at his Sensei’s clone. Minato Pulled a pair of Kunai from his pouch and readied himself for battle. Blood still dripped from his torso, but the wound had already started to feel better.

One of the perks of this world, I guess.

The Kakashi clone launched itself at him but, with a flash of yellow light, failed to land a strike. A moment later, the blonde reappeared behind it, the faux Kakashi spun around, but only caught glimpse of the same yellow flash as Minato seemed to disappear again. 

“There’s a reason I’m called The Yellow Flash.” Minato spoke as he continued to teleport around the clone, releasing strike after strike onto the dust creature’s body. The creature’s limbs began to come apart, as if they had been sliced all the way through, as the former Kage continued his assault. The clone fell into the dust on the floor as Minato reappeared several meters back from the clone. Panting heavily, he watched as an arm extended from the dust pile. No matter how hard they tried, these things would just keep coming back.

Time to stop holding back.

Minato dropped one of his kunai and held out his right hand, palm facing towards the ceiling like it was gripping onto something round. Chakra began to swirl and form in his hand as a rasengan began to form. Before long, the orb of chakra began to howl with the sound of wind as four blades of wind seemed to extend outwards from the center of the Orb. Guts of wind began to kick dust up into the air around the Blonde as the wind began to rotate rapidly around the rasengan. Minato moved his arm up and back, as if he was about to throw a baseball, before pausing.
“Kakashi, Kito, move!” he called out as the duo looked towards him, their eyes widening as the man threw his jutsu through the enclosed hallway, striking and carrying the copy of Kakashi. Kakashi dove down, covering his head, as the Rasenshuriken connected with the clone Minato and pulled him along with it.

The young ninja couldn’t seem to shake his clone. Kito looked over his shoulder, the hissing orb of chakra and wind getting closer. A flash of yellow light appeared between them as Minato’s arm wrapped itself around the boy’s waist before pulling him to the ground. The Jutsu flew past the two and struck the third clone. Minto shielding the boy as the jutsu exploded and tossed the pair back towards Kakashi.
The former hokage grunted with each bounce, his would spitting a little more blood every time he hit the ground. Kakashi got in their path and caught the two of them, sliding backwards down the hallway as he tried to compensate for their velocity.

“That’ll only give us a moment.” Minato winced as the trio dusted themselves off. “We should leave, now.”