An Orchestrated Coup [Exemplary]

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi glanced down over the rooftop at their savior’s arrival. After wearing himself to the bone trying to keep back those abominations, he was more than a little skeptical that they were finally safe. He stood dumbfounded as he watched a small squadron of the newcomers draped in outfits similar to the female (?) that stood before them, weaving an intricate dance of death through the legions of snarling hellspawn. In the minute or so the copy ninja had stood observing, the numbers of the demonic horde were reduced by nearly a quarter without the leather-garbed warriors suffering even a single wound. Had he not the visual prowess granted by his sharingan, he would have found the movements of the champions difficult to even follow. Doubt or not, he could hardly argue with what he was witnessing.

“Worry not,” the mysterious soldier said, drawing a formidable falchion from their side. “We few are more than a match for these curs. You must return to the Morikage.” Without another word, the warrior leapt from the rooftop, joining their brethren in battle.

The shinobi duo shared a nod before hustling back toward the village. They had silently agreed to stay among the rooftops, as this would be the fastest way to get back with all of the destruction the attackers had brought. As they traversed the tiled trusses, moving as fast as their fatigued limbs would allow, Kakashi attempted to puzzle out what had happened. Some way or another, the group of monsters had bypassed the numerous patrols outside the gate, even managing to get inside the wall without the military presence noticing. Perhaps their foes were in command of some kind of invisibility or illusions, allowing them to sneak through without raising alarm?

“Kakashi,” Minato inquired, shaking the masked ninja from his thoughts. “Things are really getting bad, aren’t they?” Typically he would offer a sarcastic comment in response, but the normally jovial Kage now wore a look of troubled severity. As they ran, Minato kept his gaze trained on the village below.

“Yes,” the copy ninja replied. “It’s looking pretty bad. Hopefully Lady Tsunade will have some more information for us.” He paused, looking over at Minato. “We need to keep ourselves focused, sensei.”

The fair-haired jonin made no reply, instead gazing down at the frightened citizens, now just beginning to leave their houses as peace slowly settled. The scarecrow could tell what was on the man’s mind without needing to ask. The Fourth Hokage had lived for Konoha, his sacrifice for the village being the very feat that had ushered him into the Omniverse. Though this village was much more foreign to Minato, his actions back during the battle spoke volumes. He had always had a big heart, willing to do anything for those that needed it. Here, buried within the Tangled Green, he had found just such people in need. Though Kakashi had found himself drowning in his own shortcomings and inner demons upon arriving in Mokugakure, his mentor’s influence had begun to awaken something within him. It was perhaps the nostalgia of his youth, memories of training with Minato rekindling his sense of honor and duty. He found himself wanting to help the citizens of Moku, rather than simply robotically completing a mission. Even so far from Konoha, he now felt himself somehow closer to home. 

---

“Lady Tsunade,” Minato exclaimed, vaulting the windowsill and coming to a stop behind the leader’s desk. He heaved heavy breaths as he spoke, the signs of fatigue etched in his every feature. “Do we know who or what caused the attack on the village?”

The First Morikage sat at her desk, staring emotionlessly at the doorway. “We have a few ideas,” she said, turning finally to address the duo. “But nothing concrete.”

“They breached the gate somehow,” Kakashi reported, continuing to briefly recount their battle. Through his explanation Tsunade nodded, jotting down what small details she needed. It seemed she already knew much of what had happened. 

“We need to get out there and find out who caused this,” Minato asserted. Sweat still dripped from his forehead, golden locks sticking to his brow. Though Kakashi had exerted much more energy than he should have, his mentor had taken it to an extreme.

“I agree, though for now you two need to rest.” The Morikage got to her feet, riffling through a stack of papers as she spoke. “I’m redirecting all scouting and patrol parties to guard the village gate. Hopefully this will keep out another attack, though we’ll have to wait and see. For now, get to the infirmary.”

“Bu-” Minato began before being silenced by the stern kunoichi’s raised hand. He could barely form the words to retort before the spoke again.

“No. You’ve burned through a lot of chakra out there,” she said, dropping the paperwork on her desk. “You’re no good to this village dead.” Though the words seemed harsh, the look on Minato’s face told Kakashi that he knew the comment to be more out of concern than anger. She turned to the masked shinobi, nodding. “Kakashi, ensure he gets to the infirmary.”

“Do we have the time to be recuperating, in the middle of all of this?” the ANBU captain asked. Though his body ached with fatigue and his chakra reserves were circling the drain, the worry of another attack breaching the walls while they healed weighed on him. 

“Probably not,” Tsunade answered, frankly. “The odds aren’t great, but we’ll have to roll those dice.” The gold and silver shinobi exchanged looks, knowing full well the Morikage’s reputation for being a terrible gambler. 

They could only hope her bad luck hadn’t followed her to Mokugakure.