It was not difficult to understand why Danzo wanted the Fifth Kazekage's older brother dead. During the war launched by the Allied Shinobi Forces, the Fifth Kazekage had never truly wished to fight. Even after being forced into the conflict, Sunagakure only made a token effort, barely participating at all. They took no spoils, no plunder, no meaningful reward from the war. Danzo found that deeply irritating.
Everyone among the Five Kage knew exactly what Akatsuki had been doing. Even if the Raikage had once been unaware, after so many Five Kage meetings, there was no way any of them remained ignorant.
The destruction of the Land of Rain was a stain, a basin of dirty water splashed onto everyone involved. Every Kage had been dirtied by it except the Fifth Kazekage, who had emerged spotless. Not only Danzo, but even the Tsuchikage and Raikage were displeased by that. As for Mei Terumi, who remained overseas, Danzo simply did not have the reach to touch her. Had she been inland, perhaps the one dead would not have been the Kazekage's brother, but someone close to her instead.
The Land of Wind had always been a wasteland of endless sand. Ninjas survived through war, and although the Kazekage had relinquished the spoils of the Land of Rain, that nation was hardly the only one dragged into the flames. Whenever great nations clashed with smaller ones, the larger countries inevitably profited. In that sense, Sunagakure was still doing relatively well.
Large-scale warfare had effectively ended the day Amegakure ninja surrendered. What remained now were merely scattered pockets of desperate resistance.
Kakashi understood that feeling, the grief of losing one's homeland. He also understood the determination to resist to the very end for one's country, regardless of the sacrifices required. Blood could be spilled upon this earth. But one could not bow upon it. Which mattered more, life or dignity? Before dying once, Kakashi would have said dignity. After dying once, he believed nothing was more important than life. How much bloodshed made sacrifice meaningful? How could one continue living without becoming pathetic? Kakashi truly did not know.
Thinking back now, Shigure's decision not to stab him to death after he announced his surrender, that had been astonishingly merciful. And somehow, Kakashi even found himself grateful for his own strength. If he had not possessed it, he would never have come to the Land of Wind. If he had not possessed it, he would now be imprisoned like Shigure, pinned down with sealing needles in some dark cell. If he had not possessed it, Hatake Kakashi might not even have been given a bowl of water.
Wearing shinobi clothes without the usual flak jacket felt strange even to himself. Thankfully, he could hide it beneath a black cloak. Then he summoned Pakkun.
The forehead protector still bore Konoha's symbol. The clothes were still Konoha's colors. Pakkun had once said he liked the pattern on the back of Kakashi's blue shirt, and so Kakashi had worn it for years.
Ordinarily, Pakkun would have greeted him with, "Yo, Kakashi." But this time, he said nothing. No "yo." No "Kakashi." Only three days had passed since the village fell. On that very day, Pakkun had still been there, wanting to witness the village's destruction alongside him. Kakashi had sent him back to the realm of the ninja hounds instead.
As a dog, Pakkun did not know what to say. So Kakashi said it for him. "Yo, Pakkun."
"Can you tell me about your situation?" Pakkun asked quietly.
Kakashi curved his eyes into a crescent smile. "Well, there's no time for that right now. Help me find Kankuro first."
Pakkun noticed the equipment Kakashi carried, the finely crafted weapons, and among them was his sword. Strangely enough, Yamato had discovered it while cleaning the battlefield and later returned it to him. The weapon Kakashi had once given away had somehow found its way back into his hands.
He had also seen Sasuke's new sword recently. It had once belonged to Karin. According to Obito, Orochimaru had given it to her. But after Karin's defeat, the weapon had been lost.
Kakashi had seen Karin during those three days. She was badly wounded, but thanks to the Uzumaki clan's extraordinary vitality, she regained consciousness after only a short coma. Suigetsu, however, was nowhere to be found.
Of course, if Kakashi claimed he was looking for Kankuro simply to catch up, that would have been absurd. As a ninja hound, Pakkun understood enough not to ask too many questions. Sometimes, digging deeper served no purpose. "Understood, Kakashi."
After taking a few steps, Pakkun paused. "Oh, right. Sasuke seems to have severed his connection with me." Then he left.
Kakashi's crescent-eyed smile froze. What remained afterward was an empty expression so lifeless that even he could hardly bear it.
He knew he was being selfish. At a time like this, cutting ties with him was probably the best thing for Sasuke. Out of sight, out of trouble. If things truly collapsed someday, Sasuke would remain uninvolved. There was no reason for Sasuke to ruin his future over a shinobi who had abandoned the village. That was the correct choice. The mature choice. So why did Kakashi still feel like he had raised an ungrateful wolf? The thought disgusted him.
Besides, even if Sasuke had not severed ties, what could he have done? In the end, shinobi often fought alone. This was not even true despair. True despair had been the boulder crushing Obito beneath it. True despair had been piercing Rin's heart. And Kakashi himself had already declared that the bond between master and student ended that day. It's nothing serious. He repeated that to himself until the crescent smile returned.
Kakashi admitted Shigure was powerful. A master assassin, exceptionally skilled in Water Release techniques. Unfortunately, Shigure's greatest limitation was his chakra reserves, while Kankuro's puppet techniques had proven unexpectedly troublesome. Given those circumstances, it made sense that Shigure had failed to kill Kankuro instantly during their battle.
But severe injuries? Those were unavoidable. The hospital room was heavily guarded. After all, Kankuro was the Kazekage's older brother.
Unfortunately for them, Kakashi was still Kakashi, the elite shinobi. If Kankuro died from his injuries, blame would naturally fall on Shigure and the Rain shinobi. If the scene instead appeared to be an assassination, suspicion would spread within Sunagakure. Danzo excelled at turning suspicion into bloodshed. Internal chaos within the Sunagakure could then damage relations between Sunagakure and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. After all, it had been the Wind Daimyo, not the Kazekage, who pushed for war. For Konoha, instability within the Land of Wind would be advantageous.
And yet Kakashi did not want Danzo to get what he wanted. That was the terrifying brilliance of the future Sixth Hokage. No matter what choice Kakashi made, Danzo would still profit. Kakashi knew he was acting out of stubbornness. But at that moment, he simply refused to satisfy Danzo completely. So he chose the path with the fewest casualties. The path that benefited Danzo the least.
Elite Jonin of Sunagakure, Kankuro, succumbed to severe injuries.
Danzo was dissatisfied with the report Kakashi submitted. Still, life rarely unfolded perfectly. If everything always went smoothly, there would be no meaning in conquest.
"The antidote." Faced with those simple words, Danzo responded with unsettling calm. "They are my bargaining chips. I care more about whether they live or die than you do. You needn't worry about that." That was all he said regarding the antidote. Then he added, "If you don't want others to know, continue as you have been. Next time, don't enter through the front door. If someone sees you, you'll regret it."
Kakashi understood. This was Konoha. And this was the Hokage's office.
After receiving the scroll, Kakashi understood the mission immediately. It was the kind of classified assignment meant to be burned after reading. Having once spent time in Root, he knew exactly what level of secrecy this represented.
He no longer knew whether to judge such missions from Konoha's perspective, or from the perspective of the world itself. He only knew one thing. If he stopped now, the Jofuku Flower poison would not even last seven days.