The One Person You Never Touch! Sunagakure's Three Block the Way

Kakashi said nothing.

The silence lasted about ten seconds.

Then Kakashi spoke, his tone unusually serious.

"Zuo Hao, I mean this. What you did today wasn't smart."

Zuo Hao raised an eyebrow. He neither denied it nor agreed.

Kakashi continued, "We can sit here eating barbecue because the Third Hokage chose not to hold it against you."

"Do you know what would've happened if someone else had said those things? You questioned the Hokage in front of every candidate and brought up Danzo's name in public. That wasn't bravery. It was stupidity."

"Mm." Zuo Hao answered offhandedly, without a trace of seriousness.

Kakashi saw that he wasn't taking it to heart. His brow furrowed, and he lowered his voice.

"Zuo Hao, I'm not joking. I understand why you want answers for Sasuke."

"But have you thought about where you stand? You're a Genin who only just survived the second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"You have no backing, no influence, no resources. Your place in Konoha can be decided by a single word from the Third Hokage."

"If you want to stay here, make something of yourself in Konoha, and let Sasuke grow up safely, you can't make enemies of both the Third Hokage and Danzo."

"Danzo is one thing, but you even humiliated the Third Hokage. What do you think he'll make of that?"

Zuo Hao slowed his chewing.

He set down his chopsticks, looked up, and met Kakashi's eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're right about all of it."

"I know you're looking out for me. You're a Jōnin, one of Konoha's elite. You understand all the twists and turns of how this village works."

"If I wanted to live quietly under its protection, then yes, I shouldn't have done what I did today."

He paused, then abruptly changed tack.

"But I have a question for you."

Kakashi didn't answer, but his silence showed he was listening closely.

"If it had been Obito, your old friend, standing outside the village that day and being dragged away by ANBU, what would you have done?"

Kakashi's pupils contracted.

Zuo Hao caught that instant of discomposure and pressed on. "Would you have done nothing? Would you have thought, If I rush in, my life is over. I'll have no future in Konoha, so I should endure it, wait, and trust the Third Hokage to handle everything?"

The air went taut.

"You're right. I'm not smart." Zuo Hao looked away and picked up another slice of meat, his voice returning to its lazy, icy drawl. "But this has nothing to do with being smart. Sasuke is the closest person I have in this world."

"I lived through the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre."

"Ever since that night, the first thing I've done every morning is make sure he's still alive."

"What do you think I'm afraid of? Dying? Offending the Hokage? Losing my place in Konoha?"

He gave a sudden smile, one with an indefinable chill to it.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke is the one person no one gets to touch. I don't care who goes after him—the Hokage, Danzo, or even the Sage of Six Paths crawling out of his grave. I'll make them pay."

"Call me shortsighted. Call me reckless. The reason these eyes still move and this heart still beats is that I want to protect him."

"If the day comes when I learn to play along, to weigh the costs and benefits, to sit drinking and smiling with people who plot against him..."

"Then Sahiro Uchiha will no longer exist."

Kakashi was silent for a long time.

"You really haven't changed at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Kakashi shook his head. "I meant to talk you out of it, but you reminded me of a few things. Maybe you're right. Some things can't be measured by reason."

He looked up, his one visible eye resting calmly on Zuo Hao.

"But remember this: I'm not on the Third Hokage's side, and I'm not on Danzo's. I'm on your side and Sasuke's. I just stand with you in a different way."

"I know." After a moment, Zuo Hao's voice softened. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

"All right, enough of the mushy stuff. You're paying for this meal."

"Sure. Put it on the Hokage's tab."

"You really won't take a loss, will you?"

The charcoal still sizzled inside the restaurant, but the sound of heavy footsteps cut through the aroma of grilled meat.

"Zuo Hao! Kakashi-sensei! Are you in there? We need help!"

Naruto's booming voice burst through the doorway, and the curtain was yanked aside.

Sasuke was practically hanging off Naruto. His face burned red, and huge beads of sweat rolled down his deathly pale jaw.

The Cursed Seal on his neck had spread. Like something alive, its black markings followed his blood vessels down to his collarbone.

Sakura was beside them, her eyes badly swollen from crying as she struggled to support Sasuke's other arm.

"Kakashi-sensei... Sasuke suddenly collapsed on our way back from the training ground. We couldn't wake him up, and he's barely breathing... That Cursed Seal on him..."

Zuo Hao was on his feet the moment he saw Sasuke.

"Idiot! What did I tell you? I said not to mess with your chakra! That thing on you isn't—"

Kakashi was already moving. He strode over, his visible eye narrowing as he pressed his fingers to Sasuke's neck to check his pulse.

The burning heat of the Cursed Seal made his fingers recoil the instant they touched Sasuke's skin. He frowned, his words coming fast.

Kakashi's expression sharpened. "I have to take Sasuke away immediately. His condition may be worse than we thought."

Before he had finished speaking, he had hurried off with Sasuke and vanished.

Sakura clasped her hands against her chest, her fingertips pale. Her voice trembled. "Sasuke... He'll be all right, won't he?"

Naruto paced back and forth, his brow knotted. "What's wrong with him? What the hell is that Cursed Seal? Damn it!"

The two crowded around Zuo Hao, talking over each other. All he could hear was Sasuke's name.

His temples throbbing, Zuo Hao finally raised a hand to quiet them. "All right, all right. Stop chattering, you two. Sasuke's tough. One little Cursed Seal isn't going to finish him. Quit worrying."

At his answer, Sakura let out a long breath. The weight on her chest finally eased.

A few minutes later, Zuo Hao walked alone through a quiet alley in Konoha, heading home.

He hadn't gone far when several figures blocked his path.

They were the three from Sunagakure: Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.