Wood Leaf Hospital.
When Taiichi announced that both Rin and Kakashi were out of immediate danger, Minato finally let out a long, shaky breath.
He was exhausted.
Those two hours of waiting had drained him more than the entire battle against the Iwa-nin.
"Taiichi, I really owe you this time. Without you, Kakashi and Rin might not have made it."
Minato gripped Taiichi's hand tightly, his gratitude completely sincere.
"Don't say that. They're my friends too. Saving them was the least I could do."
Taiichi straightened up, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his lower back. Hours of intense surgery had taken their toll.
"By the way," Taiichi continued, "I was in such a rush earlier that I didn't get the chance to ask properly. What the hell happened out there? Why didn't they use the special kunai I gave them?"
That question had been bothering him ever since he saw their condition. He had given them that Flying Thunder God kunai specifically as a last-resort lifeline. The fact that they never used it made no sense.
Minato looked just as frustrated.
"I only allowed them to join the mission because I knew they had that kunai from you," he said, spreading his hands helplessly. "My shadow clone searched the entire area afterward. We found three jonin and seven chunin corpses. With that kind of pursuit force, they should have called for backup immediately. Instead, they tried to run without ever using your kunai."
The conclusion was obvious.
Either the kunai had malfunctioned, or it had been lost—or deliberately destroyed—during the fight.
Since the kunai itself had never been found at the scene, the most likely answer was that someone had intentionally gotten rid of it.
"Details will have to wait until Kakashi and Rin wake up," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, stepping in to ease the heavy atmosphere. "Taiichi, when do you think they'll regain consciousness?"
Minato looked up at Taiichi as well. This was the question weighing heaviest on his mind—especially since Obito was still completely missing, with no trace of him anywhere near the battlefield.
"Kakashi should wake up soon. Probably within the next hour," Taiichi answered. "As for Rin…"
He shook his head, a shadow of worry crossing his face.
"Her physical injuries were severe, and she suffered serious mental trauma before the fight even ended. I can't say exactly when she'll wake up. At the very least, it'll be a full day."
"In that case," Hiruzen said, rubbing his lower back with a tired sigh, "you two stay here. I need to head back. There's still a lot that needs handling on my end."
He looked at both of them.
"Once things are clearer, Minato, come give me a full report. And Taiichi—you're off duty for the rest of today."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Both men bowed as Hiruzen turned and walked away down the hallway.
Once he was gone, the tension in their shoulders eased slightly.
"Taiichi," Minato said after a moment, "you joined the ANBU? You really surprised me back there. I was just about to go looking for you when I decided to check with the Hokage instead. I never expected to find you right there in his office."
Minato still felt a chill when he thought about how close they had come to losing both students.
Taiichi chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
"Honestly, whether you went to the hospital or my house, you would've found me. You know how it is—I've got plenty of clones to go around."
Minato gave a small, bitter smile. His normally bright blond hair looked dull and limp.
"Taiichi… tell me the truth. Am I a terrible jonin instructor? Ever since Kakashi and the others started following me, they've barely had a single peaceful day of training. First I dragged them to the southern front, then handed them off to your squad. Then I brought them to the western front and kept throwing them into missions while I kept disappearing on my own. No wonder they eventually asked to take solo assignments. I've probably spent less time actually teaching them than you and Yohei have."
Taiichi stayed quiet, simply listening.
He knew Minato didn't need comforting words right now. He just needed someone to hear the guilt he was carrying.
Minato kept talking for a long while before finally stopping, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry. I must sound pathetic."
"Not at all," Taiichi replied gently. "Anyone would feel this way after something like that."
But deep down, Taiichi knew this wasn't going to end here. Something about the whole situation felt wrong.
"By the way," Minato said, changing the subject, "we've been talking about me this whole time. What about you? Why did you decide to join the ANBU?"
He glanced at Taiichi again. Now that he was paying attention, he could tell this was Taiichi's real body, not a clone. The subtle difference in presence was clear to someone with Minato's senses.
Taiichi shrugged with an easy smile.
"I'm just a brick in the village. I go wherever they need me to go. The Hokage was worried I'd get bored, so he pulled me into the ANBU to keep me busy."
He said it lightly, but Minato felt a twinge of guilt. He understood exactly what Hiruzen was doing—removing Taiichi from the public eye and placing him in the shadows to reduce his growing influence.
Taiichi noticed the look on Minato's face and laughed.
"You don't need to feel bad about it. I never wanted the Hokage position anyway. You have no idea how exhausting it is just watching the old man work from morning till night with zero personal time. That kind of life would drive me insane in a day."
As Taiichi kept describing Hiruzen's brutal daily schedule in detail, he suddenly noticed Minato's face growing paler and paler.
Shit. He might have gone too far.
If he accidentally scared the Fourth Hokage away from the job, Hiruzen might actually try to push him into the position instead.
The thought made Taiichi's own face go slightly pale.
He needed to fix this. Fast.
"Still," Taiichi quickly added, "that's also what makes the Hokage who he is. He has a heart that genuinely wants to serve the village. Not everyone can carry that kind of burden. Being Hokage isn't just about glory—it's a heavy responsibility. Right now, there aren't many people in the village who can truly shoulder that weight."
He looked straight at Minato.
"Minato, if you become Hokage, I'll support you completely. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't trust them to carry the Will of Fire the way you would."
Taiichi was laying it on thick now, saying whatever he thought would keep Minato from getting discouraged. In reality, Minato's dream of becoming Hokage was far too strong to be shaken by a few dramatic descriptions.
Minato had simply been startled by how grueling the job actually sounded when described in such vivid detail.
Before either of them could say anything else, a nurse rushed out of the intensive care unit. She spotted them immediately and hurried over, her expression bright with relief.
"Lord Taiichi, Lord Minato—the patient is awake."
Taiichi and Minato exchanged a quick glance, both visibly relieved.
Without another word, they followed the nurse toward the recovery room.
---
Inside the hospital room, Kakashi had been trapped in a nightmare.
In the dream, Rin died trying to protect Obito, impaled by an enemy kunai. He himself had fought three jonin at once and collapsed, barely alive. And Obito… Obito had somehow exploded with power at the very end, slaughtering every last Iwa-nin before passing out from exhaustion.
Even in the dream, Kakashi had found it ridiculous. There was no way Obito was that strong.
But at least it had only been a dream.
A small, relieved smile formed on his lips as he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the stark white ceiling. The second thing he felt was the sharp, deep pain radiating through his entire body.
The smile vanished instantly.
Tears slipped silently from the corners of his eyes and soaked into the pillow beneath his head. The physical pain was nothing compared to the crushing weight in his chest.
The memories came flooding back—Rin's final moments, the look on her face when she took the fatal blow meant for Obito. Kakashi's tears flowed harder.
Footsteps approached.
Kakashi weakly turned his head and saw Taiichi walking toward him, with Minato right behind, his face filled with concern.
Taiichi reached the bedside first. He saw the tears in Kakashi's eyes but didn't comment. Instead, he placed a glowing green hand directly on Kakashi's chest.
Chakra flowed steadily through Kakashi's body. After a moment, Taiichi nodded.
"The treatment worked well. With proper rest, you'll make a full recovery."
Minato waited until Taiichi finished before stepping closer. He looked at Kakashi, who was still drowning in grief, and forced himself to ask the question they needed answered.
"Kakashi… tell us what happened. Why didn't you call for backup? And what happened to Obito? I searched the entire area and couldn't find any trace of him."
Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.
"Obito's missing? That's impossible. He was the one who killed all the Iwa-nin at the end. And Rin… Rin died! She—"
"Rin is alive," Minato cut in gently but firmly. "Taiichi pulled her back from the brink. She's stable now. Right now, we need you to tell us everything that happened. From the beginning."
Hearing that Rin was still alive, Kakashi's devastated expression finally cracked into something close to hope.
"She's… alive? Really?"
It took him a long moment to process the relief. Then, voice hoarse and tired, he began recounting everything—from the moment they started retreating from Kannabi Bridge until the point where he blacked out.
He told them how they had tried to escape, how the special kunai pouch had been destroyed, how Obito had seemed to awaken some terrifying power and slaughtered every last enemy before collapsing.
Minato and Taiichi listened in complete silence. They didn't interrupt. They didn't question anything. They simply absorbed every detail.
By the time Kakashi finished, he was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted from the effort. Even with a shinobi's constitution, waking up right after major surgery and talking this much had drained him.
Taiichi and Minato exchanged a glance.
"Rest now," Taiichi said quietly. "We understand the situation. We'll handle the rest."
Kakashi struggled to sit up.
"No—Taiichi, let me see Rin. Please. I need to see her with my own eyes."
"You can't," Taiichi answered firmly, pressing him back down. "You need to rest. And Rin's condition is still critical. She's in a special recovery room. You won't be able to see her yet."
Kakashi looked like he wanted to argue, but eventually gave in. He turned to Minato instead.
"Sensei… Obito really is missing?"
Minato nodded.
"For now, yes. I'm going to search the surrounding area again based on what you told us. If he's still alive, we'll find him."
"…Okay."
Kakashi lay back down and slowly closed his eyes.
Minato and Taiichi quietly left the room and headed toward the Hokage Tower.
"What do you think?" Minato asked suddenly as they walked.
"There's something off about this," Taiichi replied. "Kakashi was in the middle of it, so he might not have noticed, but listening to him… everything feels wrong."
"Exactly," Minato agreed, his expression darkening. "Obito can be reckless, but he's not stupid enough to try fighting that many jonin alone in that situation. And both Kakashi and Rin are cautious by nature. For them to go along with something that reckless doesn't add up."
"There's also the matter of the kunai pouch," Taiichi added. "It was made from special reinforced material. Normal weapons shouldn't have been able to destroy it so easily. Someone did that on purpose. And I already checked—the Flying Thunder God kunai itself is completely gone. It was destroyed."
Minato's frown deepened.
"So there was someone else at that battlefield," he said quietly. "Someone besides the Iwa-nin and our team."
The implications were troubling. Who had the power to influence Kakashi and the others without them realizing it? And what had they been trying to accomplish?
By the time they finished talking, they had reached the Hokage Tower.
"Minato. Taiichi. How's Kakashi? Did you get any answers?"
Hiruzen looked up from his desk the moment they entered.
Minato's face was grim as he gave a full report, combining Kakashi's account with the suspicions he and Taiichi had discussed.
Hiruzen's relaxed expression gradually hardened as he listened.
A hidden force capable of subtly influencing skilled jonin like Kakashi without anyone noticing… That wasn't something to take lightly. Cloud? Mist? Or someone else entirely?
"Hokage-sama," Taiichi said, stepping forward, "I'd like to request permission to investigate the scene personally."
Hiruzen considered it for a moment, then nodded.
This kind of hidden threat required someone strong and discreet. Sending anyone less capable could easily end in disaster.
"Approved. You leave immediately."