I, Kakashi, Will Talk Them Down!

Kakashi casually removed his mask. He had no choice but to face reality. Rather than wondering how Namikaze Minato-sensei's opponents dealt with him, he should think about Namikaze Minato's fighting style.

In the entire ninja world, only two people could use the Flying Thunder God alone: the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato... Given Shimura Danzō's methods, he had probably acquired every technique developed by both users.

If they fought alone, they could only wait to die...

"Uchiha Shisui!" Kakashi leaped down from the branch and landed beside Shisui's clone. "We can't let any kunai land near us. Every single one could carry a Flying Thunder God mark. His fighting style is very crude..."

That bizarre black-and-white enemy relied only on his speed and strength. He was not even proficient in the most basic swordsmanship...

Perhaps he had recognized his own weakness. He kept using the Flying Thunder God to flee, never choosing to confront anyone head-on.

"Do we have any options now, Kakashi-senpai?" Uchiha Shisui nodded. That kunai earlier... its owner had not cared whether it hit Kakashi.

"We can only remain vigilant for now..." Hatake Kakashi shook his head. "That person has used the Flying Thunder God six times since appearing... This technique consumes a great deal of Chakra. Even Minato-sensei..."

Clang!

A kunai was knocked far away by Shisui!

A figure appeared instantly. He had miscalculated... That kunai bearing the Flying Thunder God mark had landed far from Kakashi and the others... He really needed to practice his ninja fundamentals!

"Wait!" Hatake Kakashi suddenly called out to him. "You've already used the Flying Thunder God seven times. There can't be much Chakra left in your body, right?"

"..."

Not being able to speak was a serious weakness!

The attacker slowly turned around. His body was astonishingly bizarre, as though a completely black person and a completely white person had been stuck together... He looked like the product of human experimentation!

Hatake Kakashi confirmed his suspicions and continued, "I know your mission target, but you can't succeed anymore, can you?"

"..."

Apparently certain that the strange man would not speak, Hatake Kakashi continued talking to himself. "And as you can see, under the watch of two people with Sharingan, you can no longer get close to us..."

"In the end, we can only both lose!"

"I know how valuable a Flying Thunder God user is. Konoha could need you at any moment! We're from the same village... fellow ninja... How about we each leave peacefully?"

The strange man nodded. Keeping a wary eye on them, he retrieved every kunai he had thrown and erased all the marks from the ANBU corpses.

Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui watched his movements, remaining on guard... Only when he truly began walking slowly toward the forest did Shisui suddenly call out, "Hey, have you seen a crow?"

The strange man stopped and gently shook his head before disappearing into the woods.

After remaining alert for a long time without the strange man reappearing, Hatake Kakashi finally relaxed. "Let's go..."

"Kakashi-senpai, I still need to find a crow... Summoning Jutsu!"

After sending a vast flock of crows into the sky, Uchiha Shisui laid everything out: how the clan head and his wife had asked him to take a crow for a walk... how he had suspected someone of impersonating the Hokage... how that crow had been terribly disobedient...

Uchiha Shisui watched as his flock quickly returned. "Fortunately, that strange man didn't attack Kitahara. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to explain it to Fugaku-senpai's family..."

Caw! Upon seeing Shisui, Kitahara immediately took the initiative and accused him of being too impulsive.

"Alright, alright, who could have expected such a dangerous person to show up..." Shisui's face darkened beneath the accusations of a flock of crows. He hurriedly changed the subject. "Kakashi-senpai, what's wrong?"

Kakashi looked at the corpses of several ANBU ninja and said softly, "We suffered heavy losses this time. It was fortunate that you appeared, Shisui. Otherwise, we probably couldn't even have sent the news back..."

"It's fine." Uchiha Shisui suddenly asked, "Senpai, do you know who that person was? Was he a ninja from our village? Why did he attack you?"

"... That's ANBU classified information!"

"Senpai!" Uchiha Shisui said sternly, "Shouldn't this matter be kept secret no matter what! Whether it's a Flying Thunder God user or someone assassinating the Hokage..."

Hatake Kakashi could not endure the boy's questioning and could only evade it. "The Hokage will deal with it. Hey, Shisui, I hope you don't return to the village for now..."

He looked straight at Uchiha Shisui. Everything that had happened today would cause a huge uproar... If possible, Kakashi wanted to lock Shisui in a dark room.

Not for that kind of play, of course. He simply wanted to keep the secret tightly guarded.

The problem was that, against a genius Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, no matter how he looked at it, taking him down would not be easy.

Kakashi made the minimum demand, while turning his gaze toward the crow on Shisui's shoulder. "Because what happened today can't be allowed to leak..."

...What do you mean by that? The viciousness in Kitahara's eyes nearly overflowed.

"Senpai, are you joking?" Uchiha Shisui reached out and soothed the crow.

Hatake Kakashi had seen this crow's behavior at Ichiraku Ramen, and he had often heard Uncle Teuchi and his daughter discussing the strange combination of Uchiha Itachi and the Red Eye crow. He only said quietly, "It's too intelligent..."

"Sorry, but Kitahara is my friend too."

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Shisui's eyes activated once more, and his expression gradually turned cold. "If you insist, senpai... can I take it that you want another battle with the ninja of this village?"

"It's only a crow, but it could throw the entire village into danger..."

"Kakashi-senpai!" Uchiha Shisui refused to yield in the slightest. He would never kill his own friend, no matter what. Especially when nothing was known yet.

"Fine, fine, I was only joking." Kakashi tugged at his mask and muttered, "Really, what does any of that have to do with me..."

Their conversation ended there. However, with an enemy who could appear at any time, they had no choice but to travel together for the moment.

Along the way, Hatake Kakashi seemed lost in thought. He was distracted, and his mental state was poor. Though Shisui was full of curiosity, he would not deliberately provoke him.

After returning to the village, the two of them would probably both be summoned by the Third Hokage. Perhaps then he could find out something...

Fortunately, the black-and-white strange man who could use the Flying Thunder God never appeared again along the way. Perhaps he had truly accepted Kakashi's proposal. Shisui grew even more curious.

Konoha.

Uchiha Shisui's shadow clone was waiting there. It familiarly tossed the mission target's scroll to Shisui, then dispersed itself... It seemed Shisui had used this trick often...

The problem was, this was not over yet!

"... Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The dispersing shadow clone appeared once more. Uchiha Shisui handed the crow on his shoulder to it. "Help me take Kitahara home..."

Shisui's shadow clone: "..."

Second update. This will do for now.