A morning breeze swept through, blowing a leaf loose. It drifted and fluttered before finally landing on the lake, sending ripples across the water.
A few minutes passed. Within sight, there was no one but Namikaze Minato, who was watching the show, and Might Guy, who was pinned beneath Kakashi.
Kakashi furrowed his brow slightly and called out in some random direction, "Come out!
"If you're still not out by the time I count to ten, 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, breaking the skin and drawing bright red blood.
A few seconds later, a voice came from somewhere.
"Go ahead. I want to believe Guy is already prepared to give his life for the team.
"Carrying out missions is a ninja's duty. What does it matter if we have to give up our lives to complete them?
"Guy may lose his life, but he'll gain victory and honor. His spirit will live forever in my heart, immortal and undying."
Kakashi: "..."
What kind of person was this? He didn't even care if his teammate died, all for the sake of completing the mission.
Oh, right. In the original story, I abandoned my teammate to carry out the mission too—and in an actual battle, no less. Never mind, then.
"Wah..."
The honest Guy was moved to tears by Uchiha Mai's words. Uchiha Mai really understood him. So I'm such a noble and important person?
I absolutely won't let the enemy capture me and use me as leverage against my teammates!
Guy steeled himself, craned his neck, and thrust it toward the blade, trying to slit his own throat and free his teammate of any burden.
Holy crap, you're actually doing it!?
Kakashi instinctively pulled the blade back a little. He'd almost forgotten that Guy was the sort of person who took things seriously—he really might risk his life over a training exercise.
Just like Rock Lee in Shippuden, who gave it everything during the Chunin Ninja Exams and was willing to break his body just to defeat Gaara.
"Kakashi, do it! I, Might Guy, lived gloriously and will die a great man. What does it matter if I sacrifice my life for the team's victory?"
Guy struggled incessantly, his face red and his neck bulging as he shouted, "Bring it on!"
What the hell was so great about him?
Kakashi rubbed his forehead, aching with frustration. There was no way he could actually kill Guy just to make Uchiha Mai come out during a team exercise.
Even the harsh wartime training in Konoha hadn't reached the point where human lives meant nothing.
Kakashi snapped, "Uchiha Mai, if this were a real battlefield, I would have already done it.
"Because of your cowardice, your teammate will die by my hand."
A few seconds later, another voice came from the woods.
"Wargames require us to make assumptions, but making assumptions blindly is no good either.
"You and I both know this is only a training exercise, so you'd never actually kill Guy. At most, you'd beat him up or cut off his fingers or an arm.
"That's fine. Go ahead. Konoha's medical ninja are highly skilled; they can easily reattach them.
"On the other hand, you know this is only an exercise and that you can't threaten me, yet you're still cruelly hurting Guy.
"If he suffers any lasting damage or bleeds to death, that will be your responsibility."
Moral blackmail? I can play that game too.
Namikaze Minato, watching from the sidelines, gave a slight nod, then shook his head.
Uchiha Mai knew this was only an exercise, so he ignored Kakashi's threat. That was a reasonable use of the rules.
Such flexible, cunning thinking was well suited to a ninja who operated in the shadows.
On the other hand, Uchiha Mai really was leaving his captured teammate to fend for himself. That still left Minato a little uncomfortable.
Kakashi clenched his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do about Uchiha Mai.
Before long, another voice came from the woods. "Kakashi, we can negotiate."
Just when things seemed hopeless, Kakashi asked in confusion, "What are you proposing?"
"You stop Guy's bleeding and temporarily use chakra to reconnect his bones and muscles.
"In return, I promise I won't deliberately break the alarm clock."
Kakashi's mouth twitched. "You call that a negotiation?
"Your teammate gets to live, while all I get is your promise not to deliberately break the alarm clock.
"You can't win if the alarm clock is broken, either. Those terms aren't fair."
"You and I both know you'd never let Guy die here, and you don't want him to suffer any lasting damage.
"Besides, you want to win more than I do, don't you?"
Kakashi fell silent for a long while, but in the end, he decided to accept Uchiha Mai's terms.
When your opponent was both shameless and cunning, and knew how to make clever use of the rules, it was best not to try any tricks on him.
Kakashi released chakra, stimulating the cells around Guy's wound and stopping the bleeding.
Then his fingers flashed through a series of hand signs, and he slapped his palm against the ground. Chakra surged from his hand into the earth, tracing an intricate pattern.
Summoning Jutsu!
With a "pop," a pug wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector leaped out of the summoning circle. It looked just like Pakkun, one of Kakashi's Eight Ninja Hounds in Shippuden.
Uchiha Mai, hiding in the shadows, was a little puzzled. This pug looked more and more like Pakkun. It might actually be the same one.
But did Ninja Dogs really live that long?
And although this Ninja Dog looked a lot like Pakkun, it seemed just a little bigger than the Pakkun in Shippuden.
After landing, the pug looked around, raised his head, and asked, "Kakashi, is there anything you need me to do?"
Kakashi picked up one of the shuriken Mai had thrown earlier, crouched down, and held it in front of the pug's nose. "Pakkun, I need you to track someone.
"He's hiding somewhere in the woods nearby."
As the saying went, never enter a forest lightly. Charging in would make it difficult to find the enemy and leave you vulnerable to ambushes from any direction.
But if a Ninja Dog could pinpoint the enemy's general location, that would change things. It would eliminate a lot of uncertainty.
Pakkun, the Ninja Dog Pakkun—why had he gotten younger and smaller by the time of Shippuden?
Uchiha Mai wondered, then called out, "Kakashi, what's your Ninja Dog's name?"
Why was he suddenly asking that?
Kakashi didn't understand, but answered anyway. "Pakkun. His full name is Benjamin Parker."
"Is his partner named May Parker? And does he have a nephew named Peter Parker?" Uchiha Mai quipped.
Pakkun was utterly stunned. Disbelief filled his doggy eyes as he asked in astonishment, "How do you know?"
Uchiha Mai: "..."
Well, there it was—a crossover. So it really was Spider-Man.
Mystery solved. The Ninja Dog Pakkun in Shippuden was this one's nephew.
Despite his shock, Pakkun didn't forget what he was there for. He sniffed the shuriken, locked onto the scent's direction, and darted off.
Before you continue