An Imperial Influence

[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.”