MTLNOVEL Chapter 274: Kakashi, Conscientious Objector
"I'm afraid we can't agree to your demands," said Kakashi coolly. "We all know what would happen to Gaara if you extracted his Tailed Beast. The Fifth Hokage ordered us to ensure the Kazekage's safety, so we will not let that happen."
The four traitors' faces darkened.
"Typical Leaf arrogance," spat Jōseki. "Do you still think you're in the Land of Fire? In case it's escaped your notice, you're no longer dealing with your puppet— you're dealing with me. And I'd say it's high time the Hidden Sand stood on its own and severed ties with the Leaf!"
Since it wasn't exactly easy to farm in the desert, the Hidden Sand had often resorted to invading neighbouring countries in search of resources in the past, typically going after softer targets like the Land of Rain, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Birds. The trouble was, most of these smaller nations— the Rain being a notable exception— had military alliances with the Five Great Villages. So, when Suna attacked, Konoha and Iwa would inevitably get dragged into the conflict… which, in turn, represented an irresistible invitation for Kumo and Kiri to launch attacks from the rear, while their rivals' attention was elsewhere.
By that point in the Third Shinobi World War, the entire continent had been consumed by the flames of war, rehashing the same old tired rivalries and reopening the wounds that had been festering since the last war. To avoid bleeding each other dry, the other four Great Villages had inevitably turned their attention to the juiciest prize— the Land of Fire— and concentrated their aggression on Konoha, the strongest of them all.
Unfortunately for the other Great Villages, Konoha emerged victorious in the end, driving its enemies back to their own borders. As for the Sand— responsible for sparking two of the bloodiest conflicts in recent memory— they were forced to pay steep war reparations to the Leaf and accept terms that were nothing short of humiliating… Especially since Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo had escaped the worst of the consequences, largely by virtue of distance and strength: they were too far from the Land of Fire to be sanctioned effectively, and Konoha was stretched too thin to collect ryō from those villages after fighting a war on so many fronts.
All that to say… while the Sand was technically independent on paper, it was in the world's best interest if they stayed subservient to the Leaf. And if they had to live in abject poverty and their citizens starved to death, then so be it.
"What do you think you're doing, Miss Mei?" said Kurenai, stepping in front of Guy, who was still holding Gaara's limp body. "I thought we had an agreement."
"Don't be silly, dear, that was before these gentlemen so kindly offered to let us go in peace," said Terumī Mei, a wisp of acid vapours escaping from her plump lips. "Your squabbles have nothing to do with Kirigakure. If the return of their Kazekage is all that's needed for us to go home, then let us be done with it."
Amakusa, the Hidden Grass's team's Jōnin-in-charge, nodded. He wanted nothing to do with this either!
"Kakashi?" said Guy, his eyes flickering back and forth. "Just say the word."
The atmosphere instantly grew tense again.
Kakashi's mind raced to find a way to end this in a way that would be satisfactory to everyone, but he inevitably came to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do. Naturally, it wouldn't be impossible for them to break through the encirclement and leave with Gaara and his siblings, but that was much too risky.
Firstly, doing so would probably start a war, which was the worst-case scenario that had to be avoided at any cost. Secondly, the village's Genin were exhausted from participating in the Chūnin Exams, and they would doubtlessly be hounded every step of the way to the Land of Fire, even if they successfully made it out of the Hidden Sand Village.
His father's voice echoed in his mind: In the Ninja World, those who break the rules are scum, that's true...but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!
"We abandon the mission," sighed Kakashi. "Guy, give them their Kazekage back."
Gaara was no friend of his, but in his opinion, Sakura and the other Genin were worth a hundred Gaaras each! And Sasuke was worth a hundred Sakuras, so with that mathematics, the choice was easy to make.
"Kakashi, I'm disappointed in you," said Guy, shaking his head.
"War is the last thing we need right now," said Kakashi wearily. "No more."
Meanwhile, Sakura had been assisting Karin with treating the wounded, all the while keeping one ear on the conversation. She was horrified by what she was hearing; it might be acceptable for Kakashi to let Gaara slip through his fingers like this, but at this rate, there would be no one left powerful enough to stop Deidara from blowing up the entire Hidden Sand Village. The casualties would be incalculable…
And naturally, stopping the Ten-Tails' resurrection was pretty important too. If Shukaku couldn't be extracted at all, then Black Zetsu's mummy issues would just have to go on unaddressed for the foreseeable future.
Sakura mechanically shoved her hands in her pockets, searching for something that might give her an idea, finding: some pocket sand, a bit of lint, a gold nugget she'd picked up while wandering through town, her wallet… and a concealed pouch sewn into the lining of her shorts. Wasn't that where she'd stashed Tenten's special needle— the one she'd never got to use on Ajisai of the Rain?
She had no idea what it was for, or why Tenten had wanted Ajisai poked with a senbon, but the important thing was that she still had it.
Hoping it didn't contain any poison, Sakura quickly gave Gaara a little prick as Guy carried him by her, and for good measure dropped the thin needle in one of his many pockets.
If Sakura was Tenten and she had access to the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, she would write down the formula on everything she owned. The needle was a bit thin, yes… but if Tenten had managed to master electronics thirty years in advance, then she would have surely mastered miniaturisation by now!