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?