"It's our first C-Rank mission; you'd imagine that Kakashi wouldn't be so late," I muttered to Sasuke, who gave an agreeing nod.

It was roughly about three weeks after we joined together as a team. In the morning, the three of us would arrive on time and knowing Kakashi would be late, we began with our own training.

Sasuke had mastered the Tree-Climbing and Water-Walking techniques within the first week, with Naruto a bit behind by about three days. My genjutsu had taken a better turn since Sasuke had loaned me the scrolls, and both him and Naruto became my test dummies—they needed practice escaping genjutsu anyway.

After the Tree-Climbing and Water-Walking techniques, Sasuke moved on to find his own style. At the moment, he was favoring a heavy ninjutsu arsenal along with very good taijutsu as a front-liner,but then I pointed out to him that his taijutsu was still average at best and until he could find a master (or Kakashi bothered to really teach any of us), he would have to train in ninjutsu only.

This was something I could help him in as I was able to get chakra paper once again. I had quickly confirmed my suspicions of him being a Lightning and Fire nature and loaned him my only lightning and fire jutsu scrolls. As of now, he was still trying to master the lightning jutsu.

Naruto was working hard at the training regime Sasuke had shown him and already, I could see the improvements showing. It was only a matter of time before he caught up.

In the end, between my genjutsu and ninjutsu training, my time was completely used up during these training sessions.

Then, when Kakashi finally bothered to show up, he would take us on two D-Ranked missions (or three if we finished particularly early). Knowing that the point of D-Ranked missions was to 'build up teamwork,' I explained that to the boys; and once I did, we quickly set out to prove to Kakashi that we could work well enough together, and move on to more challenging missions.

After exactly one week of D-Ranked missions, Naruto was more than a little fed up, claiming the missions were wasting our time and not allowing us to train. Sasuke agreed with Naruto and when we tried to discuss this with Kakashi, he completely blew us off.

So Naruto came up with a completely genius plan of training while we did D-Ranked missions. Of course, now we only took two certain kinds of D-Ranked missions.

Tora, and courier or messenger.

For Tora, it was an excellent training exercise for my tracking abilities.

But I was the only one allowed on the ground for this mission.

For Tora, both Sasuke and Naruto were not allowed to walk horizontally unless they were upside down. This forced them to rely on the Tree-Walking exercise, both techniques steadily increasing their reserves by constantly draining them as well as perfecting their chakra control. Soon enough, they would be comfortable with this exercise to use it in battle unconsciously—something that would prove most beneficial.

And while they were up there, it was their job to distract me from tracking—mostly by creating loud noises or, in Naruto's case, throwing the occasional stink bomb. This also helped me slowly to deal with my flinching and tracking.

For the role of messengers, it was naturally a race. We each split up the messages/packages among us and the first one to deliver them all without walking horizontally (unless upside down) won. We then asked Kakashi to make it more difficult for us by trying to throw us off our balance, either by throwing something at us or casting a genjutsu. Kakashi consented easily enough and through this, we were able to train our evasiveness and the ability to escape genjutsu as well.

D-Ranked missions weren't such a tedious waste of time after all.

But now, we were finally on our first C-Ranked mission.

It was not the Wave mission.

Surprised?

Why would you be? It was through pure luck that Naruto landed that mission in the first place; luck or fate—I couldn't decide which. And according to my estimation, we were ready for our C-Rank ahead of time. We still had a few more weeks before the previous Team 7 had received the Wave mission.

Who knew, though? For once, perhaps Team 7 could start with a more normal, basic mission.

Oh God... if only.

"Ach! Damn it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto howled. "We could have been over and done with this by now."

Which may or may not have been true. Our mission was to simply transport a few documents to one of the main outposts at Konoha boarders. It would take a couple of days to reach there, and a couple of days to make it back—and that was if we were running at full speed.

We planned it as a relatively easy mission.

This was Team 7, though.

And there was no such thing as an easy mission above D-Rank.

"Maa, sorry about that, my cute little students," Kakashi chuckled, appearing before us in a swirl of leaves.

Why is your teacher such an idiot? Kurama wondered, his voice low and rough.

He is not, I defended loyally. He's just... a little hung up about the past.

Kurama snorted, the sound echoing throughout my head.

"Kakashi-sensei, can we go now?" Naruto griped.

"Everyone ready?" Kakashi asked, eyeing each of us.

"Hn. Of course we are," Sasuke scoffed.

"Then let's go," Kakashi said, leaping up and away.

The three of us exchanged glances, and unable to help myself, I grinned widely.

I really couldn't help myself. This was our first C-Ranked mission, and the first time I would be outside of Konoha... ever... in this life time.

('･ω･')

"Alright. We'll stop and camp here for the night," Kakashi decided.

The three of us exchanged tired, yet anxious glances, hopping down from our respective branches and into the small clearing. Just as we were taught in the academy, we each systematically began taking off our packs while Kakashi, as our mission leader, stood above us on his own branch, surveying the area.

I unrolled my sleeping bag, flattening it out next to Naruto's. Sasuke had unrolled his own a little ways from ours.

"Shisho?" I called up. "Will a fire be allowed?"

Kakashi glanced around the area again before he said, "Yes. We're in safe territory and I don't sense nor smell anyone for miles around. Keep it low though, just in case."

I nodded my head in affirmation, turning to the boys. I offered, "I'll collect the firewood."

"Naruto, you set up the basic traps around the camp," Sasuke ordered, "I'll do a quick scout."

Kakashi landed down next to us, eye-smiling. "Maa, my cute little Genin sure know what they're doing. I'm starting to feel like maybe I'm not needed."

"That's not true," I was quick to say. "But you promised us that if we could show you we were ready, we could take on more C-Ranks."

"Exactly," Naruto said. "So we're taking turns being the leader. Tem—Sasuke gets to go the first night; then tomorrow night is me and the third night is Miwa."

"For practice when we become Chūnin," Sasuke explained.

"I see," was all Kakashi said. "Carry at it, then."

Sasuke nodded then turned to me. "When you get back, go ahead and start the fire."

"Hai," I affirmed, turning and heading away. Soon enough, I could no longer hear my team nor smell them, as they were downwind from me. I surveyed the area, picking up a dry stick before grabbing another and so on.

I breathed in the scents of the forest, curling my toes as I did this. This was a task that I enjoyed. After being cooped up for over twenty years, it felt so wonderful to be out here. The wild wind brushing gently past me—no loud noises of the village or city; no coughing or hacking of another patient, no whispered words or leers. Just myself and my surroundings.

The things I smelled captivated my interest. I could discern so many little things from this one area. From the mushrooms behind a tree a few paces away, to the wild flowers wavering in the breeze, to the bird eggs that were laid high above the forest floor...

For a moment, I lost myself, so immersed in the sensations I was feeling.

That was when the most chilling fear crawled down my spine.

It was gone just as quickly as it came and left me feeling confused, bewildered and anxious.

I strained my ears and nose to my surroundings, but couldn't find anyone—aside from my team.

I just imagined it, I told myself—and indirectly Kurama.

Did you? Kurama asked, a leer in his voice.

I must have. Do you sense anyone, Kurama?

If I did, why would I tell you?

Because if I die, then half of you goes with me, I reasoned. And if I die and you let that happen, then Naruto would make sure that you died with him.

Brat, Kurama snapped. I can't. While I share most your senses, they are your senses. If you don't sense anyone, then I don't either. It probably was just your overactive imagination. This is the first time you've been outside of your petty home.

That's true, I conceded, feeling a little better.

Although...

I hesitated in grabbing another stick at the wary tone in his voice.

The birds are gone.

I blinked at that, confusion causing my brows to furrow. We could have scared them off.

I didn't hear them even before we came here. And you scented that nest near us. I recognize it as a Catbird, or a Mockingbird. They're very protective of their young and most would act if something neared their nest.

Part of me was amazed at how Kurma could recognize a bird purely by secondhand scent, while another part of me grew very wary of the situation.

What do you think it means?

It could merely be our own paranoia and the bird could have just been eaten or killed. Or perhaps something... or someone is nearby and dangerous enough to force her to leave her nest.

Kakashi would have noticed something like that, I said.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. We did scare off the few animals that were here, so he could merely assume that the lack of animals was on our own part.

I closed my eyes, nodding. I think we're just being paranoid. Let's head back to the others.

Feh.

('･ω･')

The following day, my eyes squinted against the growing dark clouds that were slowly heading our way.

Kakashi—who was running beside me—narrowed his eyes.

"Is something wrong, Shisho?" I asked. Sasuke was currently leading us—and would be until noon, where Naruto would then switch over.

"Mn," Kakashi hummed. "I'm not sure. Just a sixth sense telling me that I won't like this storm. I'm sure it's nothing, my cute little student."

I smiled brightly. "I don't sense anything wrong, or smell anyone around us for miles."

"I don't either," Kakashi admitted. "But... well. We're still pretty far in Fire Land. The odds of someone dangerous enough to hide their scent well enough that I couldn't find them, or their intent for that matter, slipping past our borders are pretty slim."

I nodded. "This is our first time out of Konoha as a team, you know, Shisho."

Kakashi gave me an eye-smile. "I know."

My smile widened, and I continued to look on ahead.

('･ω･')

It was raining lightly, roughly an hour before Sasuke and Naruto would switch roles.

The rain was nice, cooling and refreshing, but I disliked being unable to smell anything but the water. A sort of gut feeling inside of me kept me from really enjoying the rain. My senses were pricked and the hairs on the back of my neck had risen.

My stomach was churning.

That was when the rain shifted.

It was so subtle, so carefully done that if I hadn't already been put on edge, I doubt I would have noticed it.

But I did.

What is this? I asked Kurama.

Chakra rain, Kurama answered me, his tone guarded. It's... I'm not sure what it's doing... something is wrong. Our chakra...

Fear washed over me, cold and certain as I realized that I was losing chakra.

"Shish—!"

My voice was lost in that moment when Kurama's screech overrode all my senses and I found myself obeying him unquestionably.

JUMP!

My feet hit a branch just in time for me to kick off straight into the air and as I did so, my eyes widened in horror as I watched, almost in slow motion, as the area I had just exited blow up in a bright flash of light.

The blast was enough to send me flying away, and instinctively I raised my arms up to my face and tucked in—preparing to land.

I hit the ground on my shoulders, continuing to roll to soften the impact. I rolled to a stop when I slammed into a tree, the air leaving me as my back cried out in protest at the sudden connection it had made with the tree.

I sucked in air, blinking my eyes blearily as the dots cleared away.

ROLL!

Still half blind, I lurched and rolled away just as the spot I was in exploded in an impact of dirt and debris.

I coughed, rolling unsteadily to my feet as I stared at the young man before me.

I didn't know him.

From his hitai-ate, I knew he was a Kiri nuke-nin. From the long katana he extracted from the ground—the ground where I had just laid—I could see that he was a close combat swordsman. From the way his body was built—quick, lean, and very flexible, I knew that he was agile and quick. From the whip tied to his waist, I deduced that he used it to bring his victims closer—to ensnare them.

Just as the academy had taught us so many times before, I processed and accepted this all within seconds.

What the academy did not teach us, however, was the cold, cruel, killer intent.

Cold fear prickled along my spine and my mouth dried. My stomach heaved and churned, but nothing would come up. I stared in silent horror before this young man, unsure of what to do next.

"What do you w-want, bayo?" My voice trembled and sounded so weak to my ears.

"My master and my friends are just here purely on business," he said. "The documents. We need them."

"Why?" I asked, my voice cracking as my brow furrowed. They weren't important. They were just the next schedules and standard report mission returns for the border patrols.

Sure, schedules would be useful and all, but what was the point in having them if they were already so far infiltrated into what we considered safe territory? And the standard report mission returns would be equally as useless. It was just a confirmation that they received the border patrol's earlier response.

He sneered. "That's none of your concern, little girl."

Duck.

I ducked just as his whip snapped out, cracking at the space above me. My eyes widened and I realized with a sinking horror that my eyes couldn't even follow the movements.

I was outclassed.

I was dead.

No, I thought almost desperately. I just... I just got this life. That's not fair. That's not fair!

My eyes stung and I lashed out instinctively, grabbing onto his whip and channeling my lightning chakra through it. The rain that still drizzled—but no longer consumed my chakra—had caused him and the whip to become soaking wet. A perfect conductor. He gave a strangled cry, releasing his hold on the whip before his eyes flashed dangerously.

I dropped my hold of his weapon, taking a step backwards.

I only had one hope.

Sensei...

No. Don't run.

I was torn. The fear and instinctive part of me was telling me to run, but the more rational side of me caused hesitation.

If he was able to come and save you by now, he would have. That can only mean he's preoccupied and bringing in another opponent could mean the death of him and us.

Don't run, Kurama repeated, an unrecognizable tone in his purring voice. Don't run. Fight him.

I was scared. I was terrified.

How could I fight him? How could I fight him?

Don't be a coward, Kurama snarled. Kill him. Destroy him. He has no right in being your hunter. He is your prey.

I was scared. I was scared. I was scared. I didn't want to die. I didn'twanttodie. Notagainnotagainnotagain.

Fight back or die.

I didn't have any more time to think, because the man lunged forward again, his katana jabbing towards me at a blurring speed. My body, humming and pounding on adrenaline reacted on instinct. My hand whipped out a kunai from the pack attached to my thigh, blocking and deflecting his katana. He continued to lunge forward towards me though, before delivering a vicious kick to my unprotected stomach.

I was sent hurtling through the air, unable to grab a breath until I had slammed into yet another tree.

My body was moving already though, popping back up to my feet as my mind worked furiously.

Didn'twanttodie. Pleasedon'tletmedie. Hadtogetridofhim. HowdidIgetridofhim?

I was getting hysteric. I was hyped up on adrenaline, and everything seemed sharper, more focused. I could feel that my fear had turned my body numb from the pain. I knew it was there, the pain. But I wasn't focused on it. I could ignore it.

Kill him.

Killhimkillhimkillhimkillhim. Nonononononononononononononononono. Wrongwrongwrong.

Kill him.

He was coming towards me, slowly, tauntingly. He was smirking. He was laughing. There was a gleam in his eyes. He was enjoying this. He was enjoying my fear, my pain.

Kill him.

I heard Kurama. I heard his voice. I heard his tone with that unidentifiable affliction in it.

I heard him.

I couldn't respond. I couldn't move. I was frozen.

Why? What did I do wrong? A miserable life before and a hated life now, why?

Why did life suck so much?

Kill him.

He was there before me, his fist connecting against my jaw, and I was sent sprawling towards the forest floor. He was laughing, gleefully laughing. I stayed down, my head whirling, and heart pounding so harshly I thought it would burst.

Kill. Him.

The words. Spoken with such finality that it had me freeze for just a moment, and for that brief moment I wanted to obey.

Sowrongsowrongsowrong.

A harsh kick connected to my ribs, and it hurt, it hurt so much, but I couldn't bring myself to react.

Where do you think he will go after he is done with you?

Another kick.

Who do you think he will hurt next?

Another one, I could taste copper in my mouth.

Who are you leaving alone if you die?

Everything stopped around me as time seemed to slow down to a crawl.

My breath hitched. No...

Yes...

Naruto. Nii-chan. Naruto-niichan. No. No. No. No! No! No! NO!

I wouldn't let him. I wouldn't let them hurt my brother again! He was good. He was such a good boy, and didn't deserve their glares. He didn't deserve their disdain or any of it. He didn't deserve to have to carry such a horrible burden, and they didn't deserve his loyalty and devotion. He would be alone. If I died he would be alone, and he would face all of that on his own.

I couldn't. I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't leave Naruto alone, trapped in that God-forsaken village.

I had to fight. I had to win.

Kill him.

I had to do whatever it took to survive.

My hands clenched into fists, and I gritted my teeth. Kurama... I need... I need...

I know, Kurama purred, a gleeful note in his tone. Just let me... out... just a bit, and I promise to take care of everything.

I had to survive, no matter.

Whatever it took.

White, burning hot fire raced through my veins and my vision slitted. I could feel foreign, yet familiar chakra bubbling out of me, a bright, bright red.

Anger. Pure, and utter anger raged inside of me. So much anger—I had never felt so much. My heart pounded wildly in my chest, and my hand snapped out, grabbing the man's ankle. I could hear a sizzling sound as the chakra latched onto his unprotected skin. He gave a screech and tried to break free, but I held tight.

I slowly, so slowly, began to push myself up. The pain was slowly retreating. My wounds were healing, and by the time I stood up, they were gone. I stood before him, taking him in.

And then I let go.

Just for a moment. Just a second. That was all the seal permitted.

It was all he needed to lurch my body towards him, where I snarled as my hand dove out. The man brought up his katana to try to stop my hand, but Kurama continued to drive my hand forward, chakra swirling around, unhindered by the blade. My hand swiped across his chest, and he was sent flying away.

That second passed and Kurama was gone from control, but his anger was not.

Kill him, Kurama whispered. Finish it.

Blinded by our—was it mine or his? I couldn't tell anymore—anger, I flickered towards the man on the floor. Just as I neared him, he snarled, jerking up onto his feet, his katana swinging towards me. His action, so sudden, caught me by surprise, and the anger inside of me evaporated in that instant.

The red chakra faded with it.

Reflexively, I grabbed his wrist—the same wrist he was using to wield the blade—before disarming him in the same motion. The katana fell to the forest floor, and the man whipped out a nasty blow to my nose that sent me to the floor with it.

He snarled again, and blindly, wildly with hysteria bubbling in me again, I reached for the nearest weapon—his katana.

Kill him.

Just as he launched himself towards me, I jabbed forward, my eyes closing as I flinched.

Nothing happened.

Carefully, my eyes opened, and I found myself staring into the wide eyes of his. They were a dark brown.

My eyes trailed down and I found myself staring at his katana.

That was in my hands.

That was in his chest.

His eyes followed mine, and he gurgled, blood pooling out of mouth and dropping on me.

His eyes rolled back.

He stopped breathing.

I released my grip on the katana, and he fell on top of me.

I rolled him off.

I stared at him.

I looked down at my red, red hands.

It wasn't raining anymore.

Why wasn't it raining anymore?

Why couldn't it have rained a bit more?

Horror and revulsion churned through me, and I couldn't stop my whimper. I couldn't stop my eyes from stinging, and my stomach from heaving. I couldn't stop myself from dry heaving right before a sob burst out of me.

I couldn't really stop myself as I curled up in a tight little ball, regretting my action with every fiber of my being.

Good girl...

('･ω･')

I couldn't have been like that for more than a few minutes—five minutes according to Kurama—before I heard the sweet, sweet, familiar voice of someone so very dear to me.

"Miwa-chan!"

Naruto's voice, so scared and worried sounded so close to me, and suddenly I found hands grabbing hold of me, and I smelled him right next to me. I lurched forward, grabbing on to him, and holding him tightly, my body still shuddering from my hiccups. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"What happened?!" Naruto demanded, his arms wrapping around me as he rocked me. "Imouto, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I repeated. "I didn't mean to kill him. I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Naruto shushed. "It's alright. P-Please stop crying, Miwa. Please."

I only shook my head, holding Naruto tighter.

I didn't want to hurt you, I thought, unable to voice this. I didn't want to leave you alone. But—Because of that I—

Did what you were meant to do, Kurama snapped, irritation clear in his tone. So stop sniveling like a whiny little brat. I thought you were prepared for this. This isn't the academy, little pest. It's hunt or be hunted.

It went against years of morals, I continued on. I'm so sorry.

Years? What years of morals are you referring to, brat? Kurama snapped. Now, shut up! Stop crying! It's giving me a headache. Stop it this instant.

It was wrong...

It was necessary. I understand you humans hold disdain for taking lives, but it was necessary for survival, Kurama growled. Stop whining. Be honest with yourself. If it was you or him, who would you pick?

I...

You would pick yourself.

I didn't deny that. I couldn't.

Kurama went on, So shut up. Get over it. Humans die all the time, and you can't prevent that. You're just a weak little brat who got lucky this time.

His words echoed throughout my head, and I found myself unable to cry anymore, hurt and anger choosing to dominate my emotions for the moment.

You couldn't even bring yourself to finish him off when you had the chance. You couldn't even formulate a plan at all. You were willing to let yourself die because you lacked the back bone. You're pathetic.

I couldn't deny it. I wanted to. I wanted to so dearly. He was right. It hurt. It hurt so dearly, but he was right.

I couldn't handle the situation. I couldn't handle the situation at all. I had plans, too. Emergency plans that I had crafted for every what if scenario I could think of. This was one of the many scenarios I had planned out. Yet the moment that adrenaline hit—all of it was gone.

Kurama was the only one thinking straight in that battle.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

If I can't bring myself to protect myself in one stupid fight with a stupid opponent... what hope do I have to protect those I wanted to protect in the future? What about Zabuza, Haku? What about Gaara and Sasuke in the exams? What about...?

I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it on my own. Not like this. Zabuza and Haku's mission would be approaching so very quickly.

I wasn't ready.

I thought I was.

I was so dearly wrong.

Naruto patted my head, bringing me back to reality and away from my thoughts. I looked up at him, my eyes bleary from the tears, and I sniffled. Naruto wore a worried expression, his wide blue eyes looking at me with concern.

"Miwa-chan," Kakashi said gently, and my head snapped around to find him kneeling beside me. Sasuke was there, beside him, and kneeling next to me, his face unreadable. "Can you tell us what happened?"

So I did.

Naturally, I left out the parts about talking to Kurama. I knew Kakashi wouldn't respond well to that, and I didn't think it was necessary to know.

"This would have been your first kill," Kakashi said softly, his eyes—I only realized just now that his hitai-ate was pulled up to show his Sharingan—closed.

I only nodded, not trusting my voice at the moment.

"What happened?" I finally asked, my voice cracking a bit.

"Naruto and I separated from Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, his voice eerily blank. "We were facing off against three more opponents, but they were weak. Genin level at best. It took a bit, but we managed to knock them out before we found Kakashi-sensei again. He was in the middle of fighting their leader. He won, knocking him out and then we came and found you..."

... like this.

He didn't say. But I heard it, lingering at the end.

I only nodded, resting my head in Naruto's lap as he continued to comfortingly pat me.

"Maa," Kakashi said softly. "This mission has been upgraded to an A-Rank... Naruto, Sasuke, take Miwa and find a nice place to camp. I'm going to talk with the leader and see what I can find. Stay alert. I don't sense nor smell anyone, but I've been wrong before."

Sasuke nodded in affirmation, and Kakashi spared us all one last glance, his eyes lingering a bit longer on me, before he flickered away.

Sasuke hesitated, staring at me. "Can you walk?"

I nodded, pushing away from Naruto weakly. Shakily—my body was still coming off the adrenaline—I stood up. I stumbled, and Naruto caught me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, as if he was unsure of how to approach me. He then decided to pat me on the head once, as he had seen Naruto doing, before nodding firmly and heading away.

I blinked vapidly as Naruto then guided me away.

I followed behind the two, docile, my mind still chewing over Kurama's words and my realization.

I couldn't do this alone.

But who could I turn to?

('･ω･')

"So?"

Sasuke's voice brought my attention over to Kakashi, who had flickered into the small hidden clearing. I was leaning against Naruto, taking comfort in his warmth and presence. Sasuke sat on the other side of me, his eyes occasionally scanning the surrounding area.

"They were working for an unnamed person," Kakashi said, his voice light. "They were hoping to take out the team carrying the documents to use those documents as implanted evidence."

"Implanted evidence?" Naruto echoed.

"They were going to implant the documents onto another corpse for purposes unknown. Usually, implanted evidence are things like clothing or hitai-ate. Things used to start-up a war," Sasuke said dryly.

Naruto's brow furrowed.

"By leaving our corpses," I said apathetically, "with the documents missing, whoever found us would have assumed that's what they were after. They could then attack someone else, a Suna team, for example, kill them - drag their bodies here - and leave the documents on them to make it seem like it had been them who attacked us."

"That's correct," Kakashi confirmed. "The unnamed person just wanted the tools to carry out the other half of that plan. No village was specifically targeted."

"Now what?" Sasuke asked.

"It's up to you," Kakashi said. "We can either continue on with the mission, and I send a messenger to Konoha to tell them of this latest status. Or we head to Konoha and I send a messenger to complete the mission."

Naruto gave me a worried glance and I shook my head. "It doesn't make a difference to me. I take as much comfort here as I do in Konoha."

Naruto's brow furrowed at that, but he didn't respond.

Sasuke gave us each an assessing look. "None of us are seriously damaged. Are there any objections to go on?"

"No," I said.

"No," Naruto said.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi.

"Very well," Kakashi said. "Let me send the message through Pakkun and we can go."