Chapter 42 — Team Kakashi
While Hyūga Ritsu and Uchiha Shisui rushed toward the embattled Ishigoryu Mountain defensive line, the main Konoha encampment behind them was equally busy. After hours of frantic coordination, the reorganization of all incomplete squads on the eastern front had finally been completed.
Nearly all Hyūga clan shinobi had been distributed into new teams.
Unsurprisingly, every jōnin was assigned as a team leader, roaming the camp with personnel lists in hand to collect their new members. Due to a shortage of jōnin, several tokubetsu jōnin were also appointed as captains.
Hyūga Akiha was not among them.
She sat with roughly a dozen other tokubetsu jōnin who also hadn't been picked as captains, each perched on a small folding stool inside a spacious command tent. All of them were waiting for their assigned squad leaders to arrive and call their names.
In truth, a veteran chūnin was already qualified to lead a team of three genin on lower-risk missions.
But mission difficulty varied—
and for the kinds of operations demanded on an active warfront, only elite squads were suitable. Those were built around powerful jōnin captains, supported by experienced chūnin and tokubetsu jōnin.
The Hyūga clan, being the backbone of reconnaissance, was without exception placed into these elite formations.
Before Hyūga Akiha could grow bored, the tent flap was lifted.
A silver-haired boy wearing a face mask stepped inside, two sheets of paper in hand. His single uncovered eye scanned the group before fixing onto Akiha and another dark-haired Uchiha girl.
"Hyūga Akiha. Uchiha Aika.
Come with me."
He didn't wait—just turned and walked out.
Akiha rose, exchanged a glance with Aika, and the two followed him outside. Standing at the entrance was the silver-haired boy—Hatake Kakashi—and beside him, a brown-haired girl with soft features and gentle eyes.
Kakashi looked at his two new subordinates and spoke in a calm, flat tone:
"I'm Hatake Kakashi.
Starting today, you two are members of my squad."
"Reporting, Captain! Hyūga Akiha—fourteen years old, tokubetsu jōnin. My specialties are Byakugan and Gentle Fist!"
Akiha introduced herself energetically.
The information was obvious—every Hyūga specialized in those—but her cheerful nature made her seem easy to get along with.
When she finished, the black-haired girl beside her stepped forward. Her features were delicate like a painting, her smile bright.
"Uchiha Aika. Fourteen. Tokubetsu jōnin. I specialize in genjutsu and fire release, with some training in lightning release."
Kakashi nodded.
Two girls, both prodigies in their own right—one from the Hyūga, one from the Uchiha.
Fourteen-year-old tokubetsu jōnin weren't quite on the same level as himself, a jōnin at twelve… but they were unquestionably elite.
The gentle brown-haired girl beside him took a small step forward.
"Hello. I'm Nohara Rin, chūnin and the squad's medical-nin."
Her voice was soft and warm, matching the painted purple markings on her cheeks.
"Rin, you're a medical-nin? Then if I get hurt, I'll be counting on you!"
Akiha beamed, immediately leaning in close as if they'd known each other for years. She had no hesitation using Rin's name so familiarly.
"No problem at all, Akiha," Rin laughed lightly. "I may not be much help in direct combat, but I promise I'll take good care of everyone's wounds. Just come to me if you're hurt!"
Equally outgoing, she matched Akiha's tone without a trace of distance.
Uchiha Aika didn't join the girls' cheerful chatter. Instead, she looked directly at Kakashi and asked,
"Captain, what about you? What are your specialties?"
"Swordsmanship. And Lightning Release."
Kakashi's answer was as brief and sharp as a blade.
Then he swept his gaze across the three of them.
"Now that you've all met, there's no need for small talk. Our fight with the Hidden Mist is at a critical point, and we already have a mission waiting. You have ten minutes to prepare.
We meet at the camp gate."
"Yes, Captain!"
Hyūga Akiha responded loudly, full of energy.
"Then please excuse me first,"
Aika said politely before she and Akiha headed off in different directions.
When they were gone, Rin moved closer to Kakashi with a bright smile.
"Kakashi, this is great! Our new teammates seem easy to get along with."
"Rin… you don't need to come on missions with us. With your medical ninjutsu, you could stay in the main camp where it's safer and help the injured."
Kakashi didn't comment on the new teammates; instead, he made another attempt to persuade her to remain behind.
"Kakashi," Rin puffed her cheeks slightly, "Obito is already gone. If I leave too, you'll be all alone, won't you? Besides, I trust you to protect me. And our new teammates are both strong—one from the Hyūga, and the other another talented Uchiha like Obito. And they're both really cute! Speaking of which… do either of them match your type?"
Rin rattled on endlessly, just like always—and just like always, she refused to stay someplace safe.
Kakashi scratched his head, sighed silently, and lifted his gaze toward the sky.
Obito… how am I supposed to convince Rin to stay in the rear where it's safe?
But the dead do not answer.
Meanwhile, the lively, warm-hearted girl continued chattering beside him:
"…If we're talking beauty, it has to be Uchiha Aika. Even as a girl, I think she's stunning. But Akiha is really pretty too—bright and elegant. Kakashi, what type do you actually like?"
Kakashi pretended not to hear her.
No reaction.
No interest.
He simply walked on toward the camp gate, Rin following beside him as they waited for the rest of the team to gather.
---
Twenty meters outside the camp gate, under the shade of an old tree—
A distorted yin–yang face slowly pushed out from the trunk, its strange features blending into the bark so naturally one could almost mistake it for part of the tree.
"Why did we give Hatake Kakashi and Nohara Rin those two teammates?"
the white half muttered.
"Aren't we supposed to get Rin killed so Obito finally opens his eyes? Giving them strong teammates is just making things harder for us."
"That alone won't work,"
the black half replied coldly.
"Killing Nohara Rin isn't enough. Obito has to believe—beyond any doubt—that her death is entirely Konoha's fault… and the Mist's fault… and the fault of this rotten world.
And under no circumstances can he suspect us."
Its gaze fixed on the four-person squad assembling at the gate.
"And since the Hidden Mist and Konoha are already brewing conspiracies against each other, we may as well ride the tide. Later, even if Obito grows suspicious and investigates… everything will appear perfectly reasonable. No cracks. No loose ends. No flaws."