Escape

" Konoha has gained another remarkable talent!"

In the Hokage Building, Utatane Koharu, one of Konoha's senior advisers, said this after seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi looking over Gu Qi's file.

"Indeed! At such a young age, he managed to fight an elite Cloud Ninja jōnin and survive. If he comes into his own, Konoha will have another pillar to rely on," Mitokado Homura said.

"Leave this talent to me to train. I'll make him a pillar of Konoha," Shimura Danzō said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "Kakashi Gu Qi is Kakashi Hatake's cousin. I think Kakashi is more than capable of training him into a powerful ninja."

"Hmph!"

Shimura Danzō snorted. If Kakashi trained him, Gu Qi would only end up belonging to the Hokage's faction.

Shimura Danzō thought highly of Gu Qi's talent.

With proper training, it wouldn't be long before he became an outstanding Root ninja.

What a shame. With Kakashi Hatake around, he had no chance of reaching out to Kakashi Gu Qi.

"Hiruzen, what do you plan to do with Kakashi Gu Qi?" Utatane Koharu asked.

The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe. "I asked Kakashi. He's decided to send Kakashi Gu Qi to the Ninja Academy like any other child."

"Hmph, that's a complete waste of Kakashi Gu Qi's talent!" Shimura Danzō said, clearly displeased.

The Third Hokage shook his head. "I don't think that's a bad idea. We're not at war now. Letting Kakashi Gu Qi grow at his own pace is the most suitable approach."

"Even if it's not wartime, only constant fighting can help him grow," Shimura Danzō retorted.

"Kakashi Gu Qi needs time to build his foundation, and the Ninja Academy is an excellent place for that. If we interfere with his development so hastily, we'll only do him harm," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied, refusing to back down.

"Suit yourself! You'll only hurt him with that approach." With that, Shimura Danzō left.

"Danzō is getting more and more unreasonable!" Mitokado Homura frowned.

"Let it go." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

"Although the matter with Kumogakure has been settled, we lost a powerful ninja on our side."

Thinking of Hizashi Hyuga, who had died, the Third Hokage couldn't help sighing.

"We had no choice. If the war had continued, we would have become the villains of Konoha," Utatane Koharu sighed as well.

If war had broken out, Konoha would surely have lost unless the Sannin returned and the Fourth Hokage came back to life.

"Alas! I hope the ten years we've bought will be enough for Konoha's next generation to grow." The Third Hokage walked to the window and gazed into the distance.

"Look, Kakashi, if you don't have anything to do, go home! I heard the latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise just came out. Hurry up and buy it!" Gu Qi said to Kakashi, who was leaning against the windowsill in Konoha Hospital.

Kakashi put down the book in his hand. His one visible eye twitched. "Heh. Are you trying to sneak out again? Don't even think about it. It's not happening."

"Of course not!" Gu Qi protested stubbornly. "I'm a well-behaved kid. Why would I sneak out?"

"Heh!"

Kakashi rolled his eye. Before, he might have believed him.

But not long ago, Gu Qi had secretly slipped out of the hospital. Kakashi and the Hyuga had thought Kumogakure was retaliating, and the resulting panic had nearly turned everything upside down. Since then, Kakashi had spent almost every day at the hospital keeping an eye on Gu Qi.

Even when he went home at night, Kakashi left at least two Ninja Dogs to watch Gu Qi.

If there was only one, Gu Qi would probably threaten or bribe it into leaving.

"Damn it! What do I have to do to get discharged?" Gu Qi grumbled in frustration.

Gu Qi had been lying in the hospital for a month since getting injured.

He'd recovered quite well over the past month. At least he could get out of bed and walk now.

But after spending so long in the hospital, Gu Qi was miserable.

He could pass the time by reading, but even that got tiresome after a while.

"Discharged? You can leave when the doctor says you're ready," Kakashi replied casually.

"..." The doctor had already said that, given Gu Qi's condition, it would take at least half a year before he could leave.

The Cloud Ninja had attacked with the intent to kill Gu Qi. If the shield hadn't absorbed most of the force, Gu Qi would probably have ended up in another world by now.

He had Secret Brew that could heal his injuries right away.

But for one reason or another, he couldn't mention it, and that left Gu Qi feeling utterly frustrated.

"All right, it's getting late. I should head home." Kakashi glanced outside, then stood up.

"Summoning Technique."

A cloud of smoke appeared, and two Ninja Dogs materialized in the hospital room.

"Bru, Guruko, keep a close eye on Gu Qi. Don't let him leave the hospital, understand?" Kakashi instructed.

"Don't worry, Kakashi. We'll keep an eye on Gu Qi." Guruko and Bru stood up straight, looking determined as they assured him they had it under control.

"I'm off. I'll come see you tomorrow," Kakashi said.

"Heh. I don't want to see you tomorrow."

"Gu Qi is so cute." Kakashi laughed and left.

Once Kakashi was gone, one person and two dogs stared at each other in silence.

As for Saye and the other two, Pakkun and the Inuzuka Clan had been training them while Gu Qi was in the hospital.

"Guruko, Bru, I'll give you beef jerky if you let me go out and play," Gu Qi said, trying to sweet-talk the two Ninja Dogs.

"Well, I'm not sure about that..." Bru seemed to be wavering. He was a big dog, after all, and he ate a lot.

"No way, Gu Qi. Your injuries haven't healed yet. You can't go wandering around," Guruko said firmly, refusing him.

Gu Qi's eyes darted around. He put on a dejected face. "All right, then. Guruko, could you go to my room and bring me the scroll on the second shelf of the bookcase?"

"Hm?" Guruko narrowed his eyes at Gu Qi, seeming to wonder what he was up to.

"I'm just bored and want to study more," Gu Qi said with an innocent look.

Guruko thought it over. Gu Qi's house wasn't far from the hospital; he could be back in just a few minutes if he hurried.

"All right. You stay put, and I'll be right back." Guruko then turned to Bru. "Bru, keep an eye on Gu Qi. Don't let him leave the room, not even for a moment."

"Don't worry!" Bru promised in a deep, rumbling voice.

Watching Guruko leave through the window, Gu Qi grinned. He pulled a piece of jerky tightly wrapped in a cloth pouch from under his pillow, then suddenly tossed it. "Bru, beef jerky!"

Bru reflexively opened his mouth and caught the jerky, swallowing it with barely a chew.

"Why does it taste a little strange?" Bru tilted his head and looked at Gu Qi in confusion.

"Sorry about this, Bru. Get some good rest." Seeing Bru eat the jerky, Gu Qi got out of bed and changed into his usual clothes.

Bru was about to stop him, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and Gu Qi's figure grew increasingly blurry.

Thump!

When Bru's huge body collapsed, Gu Qi grinned triumphantly and slipped out of the hospital through the window.

"Damn it!"

When Guruko reached Gu Qi's room and saw that there was no scroll on the bookcase, he realized Gu Qi had tricked him.

He'd rushed back as fast as he could, but he was still too late.

"Bru, Bru, wake up!" Guruko pushed Bru as hard as he could, but Bru was sleeping soundly.

"That rascal! This is infuriating!" Guruko's nose twitched, and he immediately caught the faint scent in the air.

It wasn't the first time Gu Qi had fooled him, but every time, Guruko felt like biting someone.

"No, I have to notify Kakashi right away."

Realizing Bru wouldn't wake up anytime soon, Guruko had no choice but to leave him there to sleep.

Guruko jumped onto the windowsill, twitched his nose, picked a direction, and ran off.

"So Gu Qi just ran off like that?" Kakashi, who had been engrossed in Icha Icha Paradise, couldn't help twitching at the corner of his eye when he heard Guruko's report.

"Kakashi, what should we do now?" Guruko asked.

"Couldn't you smell Gu Qi?" Kakashi asked.

Guruko shook his head. "No. Gu Qi deliberately covered his scent. I can't track him."

Kakashi put a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Forget it. If Gu Qi doesn't want us to find him, we'll just wait for him to come back on his own."

"That's all we can do."