The Yellow Flash and The Village of Mokugakure

[Kakashi Hatake]

Continued from An Orchestrated Coup

For the umpteenth time since his arrival in the Omniverse, Kakashi found himself sprawled upon a cot in an infirmary. Lying in the bed adjacent his was Minato, each decorated with a similar array of bandages. With the assistance of several members of the Windforge clan, the duo had managed to escape from the ruins of the Makhel homestead and into the waiting hands of the medical staff. Following the initial triage, the medics had left the pair of jonin to rest.

“We keep finding ourselves here,” Minato mused, resting his head upon a particularly thin pillow. Though battered and exhausted, his student could sense an air of accomplishment about him, a stark contrast to the desperation he had sensed on the rooftop. He seemed more himself.

“It seems that way,” Kakashi answered, resting his back against the stiff headboard. “I can’t wait to hear what Lady First has to say.” He paused, turning to look at the exhausted blonde. “Sensei, what will happen with the village now?”

The fair-haired shinobi stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly as he mulled the question over. “I’m not sure,” he said, furrowing his brow. “With their leader gone I imagine what’s left of the Makhel clan will escape or be captured.”

The scarecrow nodded, peeling a small bandage from his cheek. He was already beginning to heal. “With them gone there should be fewer orc attacks. My gut tells me they were behind a fair few of them.”

“I think so too. I’m sure Tsunade will be glad to be rid of them,” the former Kage said. “But I’m worried about what will happen between the other clans.”

Kakashi nodded knowingly. “A power vacuum. Any of them could try to take the opportunity and leverage more influence.” He didn’t want to entertain such a thought, especially following their recent victory, though they had to stay vigilant. Minato nodded silently in response, the gears turning in his head. “And then there’s Galan,” the silver-haired shinobi said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What do you mean?” the former Kage inquired, sitting up in bed. The creases at the corners of his eyes had begun to fade, signifying his returning stamina.

“I know that he and his clan were there to help us,” Kakashi began, absent-mindedly stroking his chin. “But I wonder about his motivation.”

“Well, Lady Tsunade said herself that he cares deeply for the Village. I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.” 

The sharingan-weilder nodded in reply, though he could not shake the worry that perhaps the elf had other motives. After all, with the Makhel gone and Tsunade holding him with such trust, he was in a perfect position to usurp power. He had come to the estate with a weapon that had quite literally torn a hole into some hellish dimension, dragging the monstrous ‘woman’ in despite her formidable power and pleas for mercy.

“You don’t need to worry about Galan.”

The injured men swung their gazes toward the door in unison as the First Morikage stepped over the threshold. She looked to be as exhausted as they each felt, though she bore no signs of battle.

“Are you feeling alright Lady First?” Minato asked, swinging his feet from the bed and onto the tile floor.

“I’m fine,” she sighed, pulling up a metal chair and dragging it to their bedside. “I’ve been dealing with the clan leaders since you two left. It’s exhausting.” She sat heavily upon the cold metal, turning to look at Kakashi. “I trust Galan.”

The masked shinobi gave a quick nod in reply. “My apologies.”

“No, you’re right to be concerned,” the kunoichi responded. “The village is in a tough spot. Trust me though, knowing what I know about Galan, I’m not concerned.”

“What do you mean?” Minato asked. 

“I won’t bore you with the details,” the Morikage said, “but suffice it to say, Galan feels indebted to me. We’ve been friends for a long time and he’s more concerned with keeping this village united and protected than some asinine power struggle.” She turned toward the open window, staring disdainfully in the direction of the meetinghouse. 

“We trust your judgement,” Namikaze replied. “That gives us one less thing to worry about.”

“I appreciate all that you two have been doing for the village. We all do.” Tsunade smiled warmly, pausing for a moment before looking back toward the door. “Kito, are you just going to wait out in the hallway?”

The boy strode into the room at the Morikage's words, hands in his pockets. His gaze fell on Minato, a small smile on his face. “Glad to see you two made it back.”