Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Rescuing Team 7 to Konoha
'Overused the Sharingan, can't move my body,' Kakashi lay on the cold bridge, looking extremely weak.
For a non-Uchiha, forcibly using the Sharingan puts too much strain on the body.
Plus, his recent lack of training meant that dragging himself to defeat Zabuza was his current limit.
"Sorry, I'll probably need a week to recover, so you'll have to wait for me for the mission to the Land of Water...", Having been away from the ANBU for so long, he didn't expect to keep messing up in front of his juniors on his first mission back.
Kakashi was quite embarrassed.
"Kakashi-senpai, the mission has been temporarily canceled. Didn't you receive the Hokage's message?", Uzuki Yugao blinked in confusion.
"Canceled?", Kakashi really hadn't received Sarutobi Hiruzen's message.
But he thought it was probably because he missed it during the fight with Zabuza, so he didn't dwell on it.
"That's good. In my current state, canceling the mission is indeed a wise choice."
"No, actually, the mission is already completed," While inspecting (looting) Zabuza and Haku's bodies, Uchiha Kage suddenly thought of a good idea.
"I heard the Yamanaka clan in Konoha has a secret technique to extract information from ninja corpses. We just need to bring these two bodies back, and we can get valuable information about Kirigakure."
This technique, which extracts information from the brain's cortex, can still glean some details even from corpses, though the effect is greatly reduced.
"As for contacting Kirigakure, let the Hokage send someone else later."
"I see, thanks to you, I wouldn't have thought of such a way to complete the mission," Uzuki Yugao's eyes lit up at Uchiha Kage's suggestion.
'Yes, just bring back the Kirigakure ninjas' bodies.'
'Especially since one of them is the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza. His body must contain valuable information about Kirigakure.'
"But... what about the dead bodies..."
Although they were enemies earlier, during the fight, Kakashi had developed a sense of camaraderie with Zabuza.
He felt somewhat reluctant to desecrate their bodies.
"It's fine, we can ask the Hokage to give them a proper burial later, right?"
Uchiha Kage didn't expect Kakashi to be so indecisive.
'Is he trying to live up to Obito's legacy?'
"Alright, let's do as you say."
Kakashi didn't insist and chose to follow Uchiha Kage's suggestion.
He was also impressed by his quick thinking and thoroughness.
'However, Naruto and Sasuke aren't bad either, no need to envy Kurenai...'
Recalling Naruto and Sasuke's excellent performance in this mission, Kakashi couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, what are you going to do with their bodies? And what were you talking about earlier? I didn't understand a thing..."
But soon, Naruto interrupted his smile.
"Naruto, this isn't something you..."
Seeing Naruto blocking Zabuza and Haku's bodies, Kakashi felt a headache coming on.
"Of course, we'll take them back to Konoha for a proper burial. After all, they were respectable opponents, even if they were enemies, right?"
Uchiha Kage looked at the 'Obito No. 2' in front of him... Well, that description sounds too much like an insult, so better not describe Naruto that way.
"Alright then, that's fine," Hearing this, Naruto finally lowered his arms blocking the bodies.
But he also started to feel that the masked ninja's tone and manner of speaking seemed familiar.
"Are you... Kage-kun?"
Sakura, who was about to help Kakashi up, was the first to guess Uchiha Kage's identity.
"Yeah," Uchiha Kage took off his mask.
Sakura's observational skills are quite sharp.
"Kage? You jerk, why were you wearing a mask?", Seeing Uchiha Kage's face under the mask, Naruto completely let his guard down.
"Sorry, it's a local specialty from the Land of Whirlpools."
Uchiha Kage took out a few ordinary masks he found in the Land of Whirlpools, gave one to Naruto, and after thinking, gave one to Sakura too.
"By the way, Naruto, where's Sasuke?", Sakura thanked him for the mask, then suddenly realized she hadn't seen Sasuke since earlier.
"Sasuke... he... he's dead...", Naruto trembled as he announced Sasuke's 'death.'
"What?", Sakura immediately ran in the direction Naruto pointed.
Then she really saw Sasuke lying in a pool of blood, covered in senbon, looking like a porcupine.
"Sasuke..."
Thinking Sasuke had died, Sakura felt her vision darken.
"Don't worry, he's not dead. The ninja who fought him was very precise, every senbon missed his vital points. So while it looks bad, it's mostly superficial wounds," Uchiha Kage caught Sakura's wide forehead with his shoulder, preventing her from fainting.
"Really?"
Sakura, who was about to faint, regained her spirits and quickly checked Sasuke's pulse.
'He's still alive!'
"Is that... Kage?", As if awakened by Sakura's actions, Sasuke struggled to open his eyes.
"Naruto, did you... defeat that guy?", Seeing Naruto nearby, Sasuke immediately asked the question he cared about most.
"Of course, I...", Naruto was about to boast, but seeing Sasuke so weak and recalling how he had risked his life to block an attack for him, he felt a strange tightness in his chest.
"Anyway, you need to rest and recover."
'Naruto rarely passes up a chance to brag, but this time he didn't.'
"Good... that you won."
The ever-competitive Sasuke closed his eyes again.
Of course, he's tough and won't die easily.
"Let me handle this."
Seeing Sakura wanting to remove the senbon from Sasuke but not knowing where to start, Uchiha Kage decisively took over.
With lightning speed, he pulled out all the senbon deeply embedded in Sasuke's body in an instant.
"Good thing I still have some of Hinata's ointment left," After applying the ointment and bandaging Sasuke, Uchiha Kage stood up.
"That's... amazing..."
Sakura watched intently.
'Who knew Kage-kun is so good at bandaging too.'
"Alright, our next mission is to escort our captain Kakashi and little Sasuke back to the village," Uchiha Kage saw Uzuki Yugao had already stored Zabuza and Haku's bodies in a space scroll, along with Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō.
With that, their mission was complete.
'Well, probably...'
"Alright!"
Naruto enthusiastically punched the air.
"But why call Kakashi-sensei 'captain'?"
"Don't worry about the details. Remember to treat me to ramen when we get back."
"Sure! With the mission pay and what I had before, I've got plenty of money now."
Naruto patted his chest, agreeing readily.
"Ah, it's just like back in my day..."
Watching Uchiha Kage and Naruto getting along so well, Kakashi reminisced about the past.
———
"Mei-sama, are we just going to let them take Zabuza's body?"
On a hidden tree, two Kirigakure ninjas with forehead protectors were secretly observing Kakashi and the others on the bridge.
"The village is in turmoil right now. Directly confronting Konoha ninjas would only add to our troubles."
The leading female ninja, Terumi Mei, advised her companion not to act rashly while examining a captured messenger pigeon.
"But what's this 'Kirigakure mission' the Konoha ninjas mentioned?"
"Whatever it is, it's definitely not good for Kirigakure."
Although the message was encrypted, the experienced Ao deciphered it.
"With that Sharingan Kakashi down, we could take them out now without any issues."
"Ao, to be on the safe side, let's wait until they lower their guard before we take action."
Whether for the current Kirigakure village or for themselves now, they could only act with utmost caution.
"Yes!"
———
"Zabuza's Water Release and Haku's Ice Release..."
Although they were just some conventional techniques, when combined, they weren't exactly weak.
After absorbing the ninja fragments of Zabuza and Haku, along with their soul bodies, Uchiha Kage was in her room calculating the ninjutsu and Kekkei Genkai obtained from them.
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