NARUTO: Kakashi’s Story

by Masashi Kishimoto

  She was safe.

  As he breathed a sigh of relief, Kakashi focused his mind.

  The air was thin. Sai’s estimate of around six thousand meters was probably on the nose. Kakashi did the calculations as he searched for a way into the ship. They could go up to around seven thousand meters and the passengers wouldn’t pass out right away, even if the air inside the cabin wasn’t pressurized to mimic a sea-level environment. But it was only a matter of time before they ran out of oxygen. And from what Kakashi could see, the Tobishachimaru was gradually ascending. Maybe the gauges in the pilothouse were broken. So the pilot wouldn’t notice the ship’s ascent—

  “There.” Sai pointed. “There’s a hole in the gondola of the passenger cabin.”

  Kakashi turned his body in the direction Sai indicated. Through a break in the clouds rolling by, he scrutinized the entry point. On the lower part of the air bladder, at the base of the carp’s pectoral fin, was a hole big enough for a single person to slip through.

  “Good. I’ll go in through that.”

  Sai nodded, and the bird tilted its wings to slide through the sky at an angle before stopping precisely beside the hole.

  In the Hokage’s office in Konohagakure, Tsunade was giving orders and taking action like there were eight of her.

  “Shizune, have we still heard nothing from the Land of Waves yet? According to Ino’s report the leaders are a pair named Rahyo and Kahyo. Tell Waves that and get them to tell us whatever they know about them! Shikamaru, what’s happening at Hozuki Castle? If they see any unrest among the prisoners, shut it down immediately! I don’t care how! Sakura, put together a medical team and get over to Hozuki Castle right now! Shizune, put the Anbu on standby!”

  She then closed her eyes and prayed silently. “Ino, what’s happening with Kakashi right now!”

  “According to Sai’s report, he’s slipped into the Tobishachimaru once more.”

  The office door opened with a bang, and Guy came flying in, leaning on Sai’s shoulder. “Lady Tsunade! I, Might Guy, have returned this very—”

  Konk!

  Tsunade’s iron fist came down squarely on Guy’s head.

  “Ooh… Aaaaah…”

  “Guy, you—!” Tsunade grabbed Guy’s collar and shook him roughly as he held his head and moaned. “You abandoned your position and boarded the Tobishachimaru!”

  “No, uh, that’s—don’t be absurd! Th-the truth is… um, the truth is, you see… Oh! Right, right, my leg was not so great, you see. And my personal doctor is in the Land of Waves, so… Right right right right! And I happened to be on my way to the clinic when the Tobishachimaru—”

  “You—! Enough with the lies.”

  “Lady Tsunade, this isn’t the time for that!” Shizune grabbed Tsunade’s arms from behind as she tightened her fist, about to deliver a second blow to Guy’s head. “Lord Ohnoki from Iwagakure is on the wireless!”

  “Th-that’s right, Lady Tsunade!” Guy breathed a sigh of relief. “Right now, our first priority should be the Tobishachimaru!”

  “Hnnngh. Guy, sketch the faces of our enemies for us.” She then turned toward the wireless set up on her desk. “What is it, Tsuchikage?”

  “So no hello then, Princess Tsunade?” The wireless spat out Ohnoki’s voice. “Well, fine. What’s important here is that thing floating in the sky above your land. Isn’t that the ship the Land of Waves developed in utmost secrecy?”

  Tsunade was at a loss for words.

  “Come, come, we too are shinobi. Someone like yourself, Princess Tsunade, couldn’t actually believe you could hide something that enormous?”

  “So from Ishigakure…you can see it?”

  “Not just Ishigakure. I expect the other nations have noticed too. They’re just pretending they don’t see it, out of respect for a comrade they fought alongside in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Since it seems that guarding that ship is Konoha’s top secret mission.”

  “Trying to play both sides, old man?”

  “I never dreamed myself it would be so large as that.”

  “I’m busy right now!” Tsunade roared. “Just have out with what you want already!”

  “My, my, young people are so impatient.” A sigh slipped out from the wireless. “Well then, I’ll speak. A few days ago, some unfamiliar fellows showed up in the village of Rokoku and stocked up on a large quantity of blue fire powder.”

  “What?!”

  “As you know, Rokoku is a village of chemists. The explosive power of the blue fire powder they create is several times greater than any explosive tag.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “We chased it down. After all, if something like were to be brought into Ishigakure, it would be quite serious. Well, that aside, it does appear all that blue fire powder is stockpiled in the ship bobbing along up there.”

  “What!”

  “The Land of Waves is trying to use that ship to disrupt the world of commercial transport and usher in a new era of trade.” The Tsuchikage’s voice started up again. “But, well—Princess Tsunade, there’s always a dark side to any technological innovation. Someone comes up with an anesthetic, someone else turns it into a drug. Someone comes up with a cooking knife, someone else uses it to cut another person down—”

  “Someone comes up with a flying ship, someone else uses it for aerial war, is that it?”

  “The other ninja villages are quiet right now because they’re carefully watching the path of that ship. If it hadn’t turned its snout in the direction of Ishigakure, we’d have kept quiet ourselves.”

  Tsunade remained silent.

  “Listen carefully, Princess Tsunade,” Ohnoki said. “I don’t intend to pry into what’s happening on that ship right now. But, well, if that ship doesn’t change course, if it flies into Ishigakure, I’ll shoot it down.”

  If Kakashi’s guess is right, Tobishachimaru is heading toward Hozuki Castle in Kusagakure, Tsunade thought. And Hozuki Castle is on the border between Kusagakure and Ishigakure.

  “The ship is heading for Kusagakure.” Tsunade glared at the wireless. “In the event that it passes Kusagakure, I will shoot it out of the sky myself.”

  Nervous tension filled the office.

  “Hearing that sets my mind at ease,” the Tsuchikage said, before cutting off the call. “Having a ship jam-packed with blue fire powder hovering overhead is not my most favorite of feelings.”

  Double-dealing old man. There’s no way he’s satisfied with just this, Tsunade thought as she stood in front of the now silent wireless. He’s probably setting something up on the border with Kusagakure right now.

  Guy, Sai, Sakura, Shizune, Kiba, Shino, the members of the Anbu—not one of them said a word.

  Ksh. Ksh ksh. Ksh.

  After letting the static echo for a long while, the wireless came back to life. “Hokage!” An irritated man’s voice reverberated in the room. “Has Lord Garyo been released yet?!”

  “…Rahyo?”

  After a beat, Rahyo snorted in laughter. “We’re already found out, are we?”

  “Change direction, Rahyo,” Tsunade insisted. “If you continue this way, the Tobishachimaru will be shot down. Even if Konoha doesn’t do it, the other villages will not stay silent. You still have time. Bring the ship back to the Land of Waves.”

  “I’ll decide where the Tobishachimaru goes.”

  “Listen to me—”

  “Shut up! Release Lord Garyo right now! In three minutes—if you don’t give in to our demand after three minutes have passed, we will resume the executions!”

  The wireless was disconnected violently with a loud chak.

  Three minutes… Tsunade gritted her teeth tightly. What on earth can Kakashi do alone in that amount of time? At any rate, we can’t release Garyo. If we give in to ruffians like Rahyo, Konoha will lose its standing among
the five great nations. Our economy will collapse, and the people of the village will starve.

  Dammit, what am I supposed to do here?

  The office was enshrouded in a painful silence when a commotion came in from the outside.

  “Hey! Look there!” Kiba called out, as he raced over to the window and pointed at the sky. “I can see the Tobishachimaru!”

  Dark clouds had filled the sky without her noticing it. Below them, the enormous carp was slowly moving westward.

  “W-what is that?!” the stunned villagers shouted in surprise as they looked up from their daily business out on the streets. “An enormous flying fish!”

  “Sai.” Tsunade set her chin down over her laced fingers and closed her eyes. “How long before the Tobishachimaru reaches Hozuki Castle?”

  “There’s a good tailwind up there,” Sai said. “At this rate, in about twenty minutes.”

  “Lady Tsunade, are you serious?” Sakura put forward timidly. “About shooting down the Tobishachimaru? Even though Master Kakashi is still inside?!”

  A silence that seemed eternal settled over the room, only to be broken by the voice of Tsunade.

  “Sai, stand by in the air!” Tsunade ordered, firmly, eyes popping open. “Have Ino communicate the Tsuchikage’s words to Kakashi! And everyone head immediately for Hozuki Castle without Naruto noticing!” And then she said, “In the event that the Tobishachimaru does pass near Hozuki Castle—even if it is simply blown off course by the wind—shoot it down immediately!”

  When Ino told him about the Tsuchikage’s intentions, Kakashi was crawling through the ventilation ducts. He was just a little ways away from the opening into the pilothouse.

  “They’re starting the executions again. In about two minutes.”

  But just as heavy a presence in Kakashi’s heart as the recommencement of the executions was the existence of the stocks of blue fire powder in the ship.

  Dammit, where exactly are they hiding blue fire powder?!

  “Master Kakashi, please get out of that ship right away. Lady Tsunade is serious. If something happens, she truly intends to shoot down the Tobishachimaru.”

  “Thanks, Ino,” Kakashi replied, as he crawled along through the duct. “But I can’t do that.”

  “But—”

  “The people still on this ship have someone somewhere worrying about them the way you’re worrying about me.”

  Ino was silent.

  “If I can simply cast aside those people so easily, then I won’t be able to protect the people of the village when I’m Hokage.”

  Dropping out through the vent, Kakashi silently struck down the enemy on guard in the pilothouse with some fluid, quick work. The pilots both looked back, stunned.

  “Shh!” Kakashi held his index finger up to his mouth. “I’m a shinobi from Konoha.”

  The pilots nodded. A sea of gray clouds spread out in the large window in front of them.

  “Just stay calm and maintain this altitude as best you can. Even if the enemy tells you to descend, trick them somehow, but please make sure you keep this altitude.”

  Kakashi had a reason for this request.

  If there really was blue fire powder on this ship, the enemy had probably procured it for the purpose of blowing up Hozuki Castle. The Ryuha Armed Alliance standing by on the ground would take advantage of the confusion the blast generated to rescue Garyo. And the powder would likely be dropped onto the castle from the sky above. So to improve their accuracy, they would have no choice but to lower the ship’s altitude.

  He heard a commotion from the direction of the dining lounge.

  “Please help me!” a woman screamed. “My child—he’s been asthmatic since birth!”

  Killing the sound of his steps, Kakashi approached the lounge and hid in the shadow of a pillar.

  “He was just so looking forward to riding on the Tobishachimaru. Please! If you’re going to execute someone, please execute me! In exchange, just please let my boy live!”

  A woman—no doubt the boy’s mother—held a gasping child in her arms. Looking closely, he saw that it was the boy Guy had rescued from being crushed by the piano.

  When Kahyo made her hole in the ship, the air pressure in the cabin had dropped instantly, and the air had gotten thinner. Kakashi realized this was why the boy was experiencing an asthma attack.

  He ran his eyes in every direction. It seemed that in the early confusion, a third of the passengers had been swept out of the ship. The twelve members of the enemy group were now down to seven. Eight, if the one he had knocked out in the pilothouse woke up.

  “I lost his medicine in the commotion!” the mother pleaded, desperately. “Without it, he can’t breathe! He’ll die!”

  But Rahyo merely looked down on mother and child with cold eyes devoid of any emotion.

  “Please! Please! Somehow, please—”

  “I can’t land this ship for the sake of a single child. You’re from the Land of Waves, yes?” Rahyo asked. “What do you do for a living?”

  “M-my husband is a doctor—”

  “A doctor!” His face lit up with a cruel glee. “My nephew, you see, was left to die by the doctors of the Land of Waves. The child of my younger sister standing beside you there.”

  Still holding her son as he gasped for air, the mother looked up at Kahyo with eyes spilling over with tears. The other woman turned her face down.

  “This is poetic justice,” Rahyo said, and shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. “This time, it’s our turn to leave your child to die.”

  Listening to the laughter that made his ears ache, Kakashi narrowed his eyes to focus on Kahyo. She didn’t move. Her long, curly hair cast deeps shadows on her now maskless face.

  Before he stepped forward from behind the pillar, Kakashi confirmed that the shadow of the bird was indeed floating outside the window. “Help that child.”

  “Hatake Kakashi?!” Murderous bloodlust immediately surged in Rahyo’s veins. “You don’t know when to give up—”

  “Kahyo.” Kakashi ignored him. “You said so to me before. That I couldn’t understand the feelings of a parent whose child had been killed. But you do.”

  Kahyo’s body stiffened and froze.

  “I’m begging you, help that boy.”

  “You fool!” Rahyo roared. “This time, I’m definitely going to send you to the afterlife!”

  “Shut up.”

  Under the pressure of Kakashi’s gaze, Rahyo froze.

  “You don’t need to land the ship.” He turned his eyes back to Kahyo. “A comrade of mine is flying along and following this ship. All you have to do is give the child to him. In exchange, you can execute me.”

  Kahyo glared at him from beneath her long hair.

  “In that case, you die first,” Rahyo interjected again from the side. “There’s no guarantee you won’t have a change of heart the instant we release the kid.”

  The attackers laughed vulgar guffaws.

  Kakashi didn’t hesitate. Instantly, he gathered his chakra in his right hand and chopped at his own neck with a striking hand crackling with bands of purple electricity.

  Rahyo gasped and held his breath.

  But the person most surprised was Kakashi himself. He had indeed activated Violet Bolt. And yet his strike only slapped up against his neck—no blood came gushing out, his head had not been torn off.

  His right hand, which had been white hot, quickly cooled. Plumes of chilly white air rose up from his feet, and a pain like ice needles scraping against the insides of his veins raced over his entire body. Ice began to crawl up from his feet, crackling as it climbed.

  Kakashi immediately sent chakra whirling through his body. The ice—which had already climbed as far as his knees—abruptly vanished like mist.

  “There’s no need for you to die,” Kahyo said, softly. “
I’ll help the child.”

  “Oi! Kahyo, you can’t just—”

  “Be quiet, brother!”

  “What!”

  “Indiscriminate slaughter is not our objective.” Brushing aside her brother’s interruption, Kahyo looked into Kakashi’s eyes. “And you can no longer do anything, anyway.”

  “When?” Kakashi asked, carefully molding his chakra. “When did you cast your jutsu on me?”

  “The first time we met.”

  So that time I caught her when she tripped—Kahyo running along to board the Tobishachimaru, lifting the hem of her blue dress—I was already stuck with this jutsu?

  Kahyo approached the child, nodded at the mother, and picked the boy up.

  In that moment, Kakashi saw the sad face of Kahyo in profile, looking at the gasping boy as though it were her own child in her arms.

  With a wave of her arm, a fissure big enough for a single person to slip through opened up smoothly in the ice plugging the hole in the ship. The air pressure within the cabin was already the same as it was outside the ship, so no one was sucked out through the hole this time.

  Sai appeared with a cold wind on the back of his Cartoon Mimicry bird. Bracing himself so that he was ready to attack at any moment, he brought the bird up alongside the fissure in the ice.

  Holding the boy out, Kahyo said, “The next time I see you, I will kill the hostages.”

  Sai met her gaze with a blank face before leaning forward and silently accepting the boy.

  Looking back, Kahyo said to the mother, “Come. You too.”

  Face wet with tears, the mother thanked her over and over as she took Sai’s hand and became a person outside the ship.

  “Th-that’s not fair!” Grumbles of discontent slipped out from amongst the people remaining in the lounge.

  “Why does that family get special treatment? If that’s how hostage situations work, I should’ve brought along my own sick son!” said one man.

  Closing the fissure in the ice, Kahyo waved her arm again without even looking in the man’s direction. “It seems it’s execution time.”