An Orchestrated Coup [Exemplary]

[Kakashi Hatake]

The foul stench of ash and brimstone stung Pakkun’s nostrils as the canine bound through the village on his tiny legs. He had been tearing through the village, tirelessly making his way toward the Academy on strict orders from the Morikage. The miniature pug displayed surprising agility in spite of his size; he hoped that this could perhaps help him save lives.

“Pakkun, you are to gather up your fellow ninken at once,” Tsunade had said, grabbing her haori from a hook on the wall. “Escort as many people as you can away from the main village entrance. If it comes to it, evacuate the village.”

“Evacuate?” he had inquired, staring up at the towering kunoichi. “Who’s behind this attack?”

He remembered the look on her normally stern face with perfect clarity. Though the average person might see the expression as not much different than her typical stone face, the miniature pug knew better. Finally, she spoke; “I don’t know.”

---

“HEY!” Pakkun croaked, raising his gravelly voice over the sounds of crashing lumber at the village gate. He could just barely see the Academy, and with it the squadron of ninja hounds, each looking more perplexed than the next.

“Hey, what’s the ruckus?” Akino asked, raising a paw to fix his tiny sunglasses. 

Pakkun shook his head, instead issuing Tsunade’s order to the Shiba Inu. “We’re to round up any civilians and escort them away from the entrance. If necessary, we evacuate the village.” He found himself out of breath as he finished recalling the edict. Whether it was anxiety or overexertion, he couldn’t tell.

“Where’s Kakashi?” Biscuit poked his head out from behind the academy’s entrance. “Weren’t you with him?”

“That’s not important,” the miniature pug responded. “Let’s get moving.”

“Ruff,” the enormous bulldog asserted, standing to his full height. His squinty eyes peered toward the village entrance. He could smell it. They all could. Blood.

Biscuit nodded without another word. Dutifully, as if performing a practiced motion, he cast his head back and letting out a loud yappy bark. The call echoed for a moment, reverberating through the village. Barely a moment later, a fast-moving gray blur cleared the village wall, landing nimbly in the middle of the group of hounds. The intimidating glare of Fenrir locked eyes with Pakkun, nodding wordlessly at the pup’s dire expression. 

“Fan out boys, we’ve got work to do.”

---

“Shit!” 

Blade met blade, the wielder of each threatening to overtake the other at but a moment’s notice. Limbs quaked as the pair of clashing foes struggled against one another, sweat dripping from their brows. Each silently willed their blades forward, glaring at the other. Suddenly, the smaller of the duelists leaped backward, opening a gap between them. His opponent raised himself to full height, a broad grin spreading across his ashen face. 

A spent cigarette fell to the earth, quickly stomped out by a toeless boot. “Dunno why you’re smiling,” the man said, raising his diminutive trench knife. “This isn’t anything worth celebrating.” 

The smoker inverted the blade in his hand, the combatant’s inverted grip giving it the look of a tiny dagger. His foe’s eyes widened as a thick sheath of blue fire began to wind its way from the hilt to the tip. Reflexively, the ghastly foe raised his own blade, diving frantically forward to strike.

“Flying Swallow!” the bearded shinobi cried, his technique reaching completion just as his foe moved to strike him down

Life energy now encompassed the smoker’s blade, the blossoming energy reaching nearly 3 feet past the blade’s tip. As his opponent neared, he too pressed the attack, bringing his blade to clash against the pitiful creature’s own longsword. A horrendous screeching was heard as the energy-sheathed blade tore through the second-rate sword and cleaved the hellspawn’s head from its shoulders. 

Breathing heavily, Asuma Sarutobi ceased his chakra flow, lowering his trench knife and kicking the demon’s head away with needless spite. “Kakashi, Lord Fourth, you’d better get this over with quickly. I can’t keep this up all day.”