The morning breeze swept past, blowing a single leaf from a tree. It drifted gently through the air before finally landing on the surface of the lake, sending ripples spreading outward.
Several minutes passed. Within sight, aside from Minato Namikaze - who was calmly observing - and Might Guy, who was still pinned to the ground, there was no one else to be seen.
Kakashi frowned slightly, then casually shouted toward a random direction:
"Come out.
I'll count to ten. If you still don't show yourself, I'll kill your teammate, Might Guy."
As he spoke, Kakashi adjusted the angle of his short blade. The edge sank a little deeper into Guy's neck, slicing the skin and drawing a line of bright red blood.
A few seconds later, a voice echoed from somewhere in the forest, its source impossible to pinpoint.
"Go ahead and do it. I choose to believe that Guy already has the resolve to give his life for the team.
Carrying out missions is a ninja's duty. If completing the mission requires sacrificing one's life, so be it.
Guy may lose his life, but he will gain victory and honor. His spirit will live on in my heart forever, immortal."
Kakashi: "..."
How could there be someone like this - willing to abandon a teammate's life just to complete the mission?
…Oh. In the original story, I also abandoned my teammates to complete a mission - and that was in real combat. Never mind, then.
"Ugh…"
Honest, straightforward Guy was moved to tears by Uchiha Maí's words. So that's it - so I'm actually that noble, that important a person?
I absolutely cannot allow myself to be captured and used as a bargaining chip against my teammates!
Guy steeled his resolve, craned his neck forward, and tried to press it against the blade, attempting to slit his own throat and free his teammates of all burdens.
What the hell - he's serious?!
Kakashi instinctively pulled the blade back a few centimeters, nearly forgetting that Guy was the type who took things too seriously - serious enough to stake his life over a mere exercise.
Just like Rock Lee in Shippuden, who burned everything he had during the Chūnin Exams, willing to be shattered to pieces just to defeat Gaara.
"Kakashi! Do it!" Guy shouted, struggling wildly, his face flushed red.
"I, Might Guy, was born with honor and will die with glory! For the team's victory, what does one life matter?!"
You're glorious my ass.
Kakashi rubbed his forehead, a splitting headache coming on. This was just an internal training exercise - there was no way he could actually kill Guy just to force Uchiha Maí out.
Even Konoha's wartime training wasn't brutal enough to treat human lives as disposable.
Kakashi said angrily, "Uchiha Maí, if this were a real battlefield, I'd already have acted.
Because of your cowardice, your teammate would have died by my hand."
A few seconds later, another voice drifted out from the woods.
"Tactical simulations require assumptions - but blindly clinging to assumptions is just as foolish.
You and I both know this is only an exercise, so you would never actually kill Guy. At most, you'd beat him senseless, or maybe cut off a finger or an arm.
That's fine - go ahead. Konoha's medical ninjutsu is excellent; they can reattach it easily.
On the other hand, you know full well this is just an exercise and poses no real threat to me - yet you still chose to maim Guy so severely.
If Guy is left with lasting injuries, or bleeds out and dies… that responsibility will be yours."
Moral blackmail - who couldn't do that?
Watching from the sidelines, Minato Namikaze nodded slightly, then shook his head.
Maí clearly understood this was only a drill, and thus ignored Kakashi's threats - an entirely valid use of the rules.
This kind of flexible, cunning mindset was well-suited to a ninja who operated in the shadows.
On the other hand, Maí's complete indifference toward a captured teammate still left Minato feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Kakashi ground his teeth, furious - but utterly helpless against Uchiha Maí.
Before long, another voice came from the forest:
"Kakashi, we can actually negotiate."
A sudden turn for the better. Kakashi asked warily, "Negotiate how?"
"You stop Guy's bleeding and temporarily reconnect his tendons with chakra.
In return, I guarantee that I will not deliberately destroy the alarm clock."
Kakashi twitched at the corner of his mouth. "You call that negotiation?
Your teammate gets to live, while all I get is your promise not to destroy the alarm clock.
If the clock is destroyed, you can't win either. The terms aren't equal."
"We both know you'd never let Guy die here, nor do you want him left with permanent damage.
Besides," Maí continued calmly, "you want to win even more than I do - don't you?"
Kakashi fell silent for a long time before finally agreeing to Maí's terms.
When your opponent is shameless, cunning, and adept at exploiting the rules, it's best not to try any tricks.
Kakashi released his chakra, stimulating the cells around Guy's wounds and stopping the bleeding.
Then his fingers flashed through a series of hand seals, and he slammed his palm onto the ground. Chakra flowed from his hand into the earth, tracing an intricate pattern.
Summoning Technique!
With a pop, a pug wearing a Konoha forehead protector leapt out of the summoning circle. It looked strikingly similar to one of Kakashi's ninja dogs from Shippuden - Pakkun.
Hidden in the shadows, Uchiha Maí felt a bit puzzled. This dog looked exactly like Pakkun - very possibly the same one.
But… were ninja dogs really that long-lived?
And this one, while resembling Pakkun, seemed slightly larger than the version seen in Shippuden.
After landing, the pug glanced around, raised its head, and asked, "Kakashi, what do you need me to do?"
Kakashi picked up one of the shuriken Maí had thrown earlier, crouched down, and held it in front of the dog's nose.
"Pakkun, I need you to track someone.
He's hiding somewhere in the surrounding forest."
There was a saying: never enter a forest recklessly. Charging in blindly made it difficult to locate an enemy and left you vulnerable to ambushes from every direction.
But if a ninja dog could lock onto the enemy's approximate location, the situation changed entirely - many uncertainties would be eliminated.
Pakkun… Ninja Dog Pakkun. Why did he seem to age backwards and shrink in size by the time of Shippuden?
Puzzled, Uchiha Maí suddenly shouted, "Kakashi, what's your ninja dog's name?"
Why ask something like that all of a sudden?
Though confused, Kakashi still answered, "Pakkun. Full name: Benjamin Pakkun."
"Does his spouse happen to be named May Pakkun," Maí added dryly, "and does he have a nephew called Peter Pakkun?"
The ninja dog froze - completely stunned. Its canine eyes widened in disbelief as it exclaimed, "How did you know?!"
Uchiha Maí: "..."
Ah. So it really connected. Straight-up Spider-Man, huh.
Case closed - the Pakkun from Shippuden was this one's nephew.
After the brief shock, Pakkun refocused on the task. He sniffed the shuriken, locked onto the scent, and bolted off toward a specific direction.
(End of Chapter)