14 That's Your Ninja Way

"How will you get out of this I wonder?"

It was at that moment that I noticed that the street was empty. In the desolate street, the tension hanged thick in the air like a suffocating fog.

There I was, lying paralyzed on the road from the overuse of my muscles, helpless beneath Kakashi's unyielding gaze. Sakura stands before him, her breath caught in her throat as his kunai presses against her neck, while Naruto, confused, faces us with Iruka sensei wrapped in his golden Adamantine Chains.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Can't you see?" Kakashi yawned. "I'm your enemy now. It isn't out of the realm of possibility for your captain to betray you. In fact, I might not be the only betrayer on the team."

Naruto stiffened before glancing at Sakura and I. "That's a lie!"

"That's a lie? Who said I didn't approach Yuji yesterday night and ask him to find a way to leave so that you two would be alone with Iruka sensei?" Kakashi asked. "What if Yuji's limit for his Nitro boost isn't thirty seconds and he's just faking it like I asked him to?"

What are you doing Kakashi? I couldn't help but wonder. His manipulation skills are out of this world!

Naruto stared at me with a serious expression. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he pondered. "I don't believe you. Yuji leaving us alone or him having only thirty seconds doesn't mean he betrayed us."

I sighed in relief. Yes. Naruto isn't an idiot. He's a great judge of character.

"Okay. What if I met Sakura instead? What if I told her to be still when I hold her hostage? Don't you find it odd? She's not struggling against me."

"I think everyone would find it hard to struggle when there's a kunai pressed to their neck." Sakura scoffed.

"What will you do Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

A silent standoff ensued as Naruto and Kakashi stared, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Leave us." Sakura's voice shattered the uneasy silence. "Complete the mission Naruto. Leave us behind!" She yelled, her determination burning brightly in her eyes.

Naruto wavered for a bit before his determination returned. "No. We do this together. If this is a real mission and it's a Iwa shinobi with a kunai to your neck, do you want me to leave you?" He snarled, meeting Sakura's gaze with unwavering resolve.

"You idiot! We fail if the scroll doesn't make it to the Hokage! There's no rule against one of us completing the mission!" She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, her face burning with anger.

"No." Naruto raised his fists, resolute. "We complete the mission together."

"Ha. Ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Amidst the tense standoff, I find myself overcome with laughter, the sound echoing through the empty street. "What's this? A Shonen manga? You're all crazy. What are you thinking Naruto? Even if the three of us are at our best, there's no way we're laying a finger on Kakashi. Dude's an elite ninja for crying out loud. We couldn't even defeat Iruka sensei without a master plan. What hope do we have against one of Konoha's elite? Just leave us you idiot."

Silence filled the street as they digested my speech. Naruto opened his mouth to reply before being cut off by the sound of jangling chains.

Slowly, Ichoku walked into the street. He stood shirtless, displaying his formidable figure with red hot chains coiled around his arms.

"What's this? A new challenger?" Kakashi's laughter filled the air. "Time is certainly not on your side. Tick tock, Naruto. What is your choice?"

Ichoku stopped and crossed his arms, watching.

Crack!

Naruto's Adamantine Chains holding Iruka sensei cracked and he fell to a knee in pain. He quickly pumped it full of Chakra repairing and reinforcing the chains.

"Let me tell you a story." Kakashi cleared his throat. "There was a powerful ninja who was sent on a mission very important to the village. During the mission, his team was ambushed by enemy ninjas. The ninja was faced with two choices. The first choice, complete the mission and abandon his teammates. The second choice, save his teammates and fail the mission. What did you think he chose?"

Why does this story sound familiar?

Kakashi's voice became lower. "He chose the second option. He saved his teammates and failed the mission. What happened to him? Well, the consequences of the failed mission impacted the village so hard, he committed suicide."

Shit. That's the story of Hatake Sakumo. Kakashi's father.

"Does that mean he made the wrong choice?" Kakashi's words hung heavy in the air. "Let's check our options. You see, if you choose the first choice, you gain the trust of the village leadership and lose the trust of your teammates. If you choose the second choice, you gain the trust of your teammates and lose the trust of the village leadership. Whatever you do, you gain something and you lose something."

"Even if you forget everything I will be teaching you, never forget this. Hard choices." Kakashi stared at Naruto. "That's what it means to be a ninja. Not the fancy battles, the flak jackets or the village rivalries. No. The hard choices we make."

He turned to me. "Do I trust my teammates and leave them alone with an unknown number of enemies?" Damn. I did, didn't I? I left them at the ramen stand when I didn't even know how many opponents were tracking us.

He tapped Sakura on the shoulder. "Do I make my teammate use an incomplete technique that have a small chance of completing the mission but a high chance of injury?" Sakura's face fell. She bowed her head, her pink hair hiding it from view.

He turned to Naruto. "And do I complete the mission or save my teammates?"

"Who do you want to trust you? The leadership or your teammates? I won't tell you the answer to that. You have to find it yourself. Whatever answer you get, that's your ninja way."

With a deft motion, he removed the kunai from Sakura's neck. "You fail. Two hours have elapsed," he declared as he turned to leave. The Iruka sensei in Naruto's chains turned to mud and Sakura sank to her knees.

Kakashi- no. Kakashi sensei walked towards the sunset. "See you tomorrow at training ground seven." He gave a small wave.

As I watched him disappear into the distance, I could see a sense of melancholy settles over him like a shroud. This is what it means to be a ninja. How many hard choices have you made sensei? How many of those choices were the correct one? Maybe I'll never know.

A/N: Did you enjoy this chapter? Drop those power stones as proof. Hehe.

Thanks for reading guys. This book exists because of all of you.