Kakashi's Sharingan Hangover and the Case of the Stolen Corpses

[ T/N: Hey all! Boundless_Beacon dropping in with FOUR chapters today! 🎉 I've been busy! 😅 Enjoy the read! 👍 And try not to judge my translation too harshly! 😉 If you're feeling extra generous, a Power Stone or two would be amazing and help fuel future chapter releases! 🙏 Thanks in advance! 😄]

***

**

*

"I overused the Sharingan. I can't move my body anymore."

Kakashi lay on the cold Bridge Surface, looking utterly exhausted.

Being a non-Uchiha, the strain of using the Sharingan was still too much for his body.

Plus, his lack of diligent training in recent years meant that dragging himself to victory against Zabuza was already his limit.

"Sorry, I'll probably need a week to recover, so you'll likely have to wait for me on the Land of Water mission..."

It had been too many years since he'd returned to the Anbu, and he hadn't expected his first mission back to be such a string of failures in front of his juniors.

Kakashi was quite ashamed.

"Kakashi-senpai, the mission has been temporarily canceled. Didn't you receive Hokage-sama's message?"

Uzuki Yugao blinked in confusion.

"Canceled?"

Kakashi really hadn't received Sarutobi Hiruzen's message.

However, he figured his lack of communication was due to being preoccupied with the battle against Zabuza, so he didn't delve too deeply into it.

"Well, that's probably for the best. In my current state, canceling the mission is definitely the wise choice."

"No, actually, the mission is already complete."

Uchiha Kage, who was examining the bodies of Momochi Zabuza and Haku, suddenly thought of a good idea.

"I heard that the Yamanaka Clan of Konoha possesses a Secret Technique that can extract information from ninja corpses. We only need to bring these two bodies back, and we can obtain plenty of useful information about Kirigakure."

This Secret Technique to obtain information from the cerebral cortex could glean some information even from corpses, although the effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

"As for contacting Kirigakure, we should let Hokage-sama send someone else in the future."

"I see! Thanks to you, I really wouldn't have thought of such a way to complete the mission!"

Uzuki Yugao's eyes lit up upon hearing Uchiha Kage's suggestion.

Yes, all they had to do was bring back the Kirigakure ninja's corpses.

What's more, the opponent was Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Kirigakure. They would definitely be able to obtain valuable Kirigakure information from his corpse.

"But... doing so to the deceased's bodies..."

Although he had been enemies with Zabuza, Kakashi had developed a sense of camaraderie with him during the battle.

He was somewhat reluctant to desecrate the other's corpse.

"It's alright. We can just ask Hokage-sama to give them a proper burial later, right?"

Uchiha Kage hadn't expected Kakashi to be so indecisive.

Was he trying to live as Obito as much as possible?

"I understand. Let's do as you say."

Without further hesitation, Kakashi chose to follow Uchiha Kage's suggestion.

At the same time, he admired Kage's quick wit and thoughtfulness.

But Naruto and Sasuke aren't bad either, so there is no need to envy Kurenai…

Recalling Naruto and Sasuke's impressive performances in this mission, Kakashi couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, what are you going to do with their corpses? And what were you talking about just now? I didn't understand any of it..."

However, Naruto quickly interrupted the smile on his face.

"Naruto, this isn't something you need to..."

Looking at Naruto, who was standing in front of Zabuza and Haku's bodies at all costs, Kakashi couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"Of course, we're taking them back to Konoha for a proper burial. After all, even though they were enemies, they were also respectable opponents, right?"

Uchiha Kage looked at Naruto, thinking he was like a second Obito... but forget it, that's too mean, I shouldn't describe Naruto like that.

"If that's the case, then, then okay."

Only after hearing those words did Naruto lower his hands, which had been blocking the two corpses.

However, he finally began to feel that the masked ninja in front of him seemed familiar in his tone and manner of speaking.

"You're Kage-san... right?"

Sakura, who was about to help Kakashi up, was the first to guess Uchiha Kage's identity.

"Yeah."

Uchiha Kage took off his mask.

Sakura's observation skills, as befitting the 'Heavenly Emperor,' are quite sharp.

"Kage!? Why are you wearing a mask, you!"

After seeing that the face under the mask was Uchiha Kage, Naruto completely let down his guard.

"Sorry, it's a local specialty from Whirlpool Country."

Uchiha Kage took out a few ordinary masks he had found in Whirlpool Country from his pocket, gave one to Naruto, and then, after thinking about it, gave one to Sakura as well.

"Oh right, Naruto, where's Sasuke?"

Sakura happily thanked him after receiving the mask, then suddenly remembered that she didn't seem to have seen Sasuke since a while ago.

"Sasuke... he... he died..."

Naruto said Sasuke's 'death' in a trembling voice.

"What!?"

Sakura quickly ran towards the direction behind her.

Then she really saw Sasuke lying in a pool of blood, his whole body covered in Needles, like a hedgehog.

"Sa... Sasuke..."

Sakura couldn't help but feel her vision go dark, thinking that Sasuke had died just like that.

"Don't worry, he's not dead yet. The ninja who fought him was very precise. Every single Needle avoided his vital points, so although it looks serious, it's basically all superficial wounds."

Uchiha Kage caught Sakura's Forehead with his shoulder, preventing her from fainting on the ground.

"Re, really?"

Sakura, who was almost unconscious, regained her spirits upon hearing this, and then quickly reached out to check Sasuke's pulse.

Sure enough, he was still alive!

"Is... is that Kage?"

As if awakened by Sakura's actions, Sasuke, who was lying on the ground, struggled to open his eyes.

"Naruto, that guy... did you defeat him?"

After seeing that Naruto was also nearby, Sasuke quickly asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Of, of course, I'm..."

Naruto originally intended to show off, but looking at Sasuke's weak appearance and recalling how he had risked his life to block the attack for him, he felt a strange pang in his heart.

"Anyway, you should get some treatment first."

Naruto rarely missed the opportunity to brag.

"Won... won."

The ever-competitive Sasuke closed his eyes again.

Of course, he was tough and wouldn't die easily.

"Let me do it."

Seeing Sakura wanting to pull out the Needles from Sasuke's body but not knowing where to start, Uchiha Kage decisively replaced her.

He extended his palm with lightning speed, and in just an instant, all the Needles that had been deeply embedded in Sasuke's body were pulled out.

"Luckily, I still have some of the ointment Hinata gave me left."

After applying the ointment and bandaging Sasuke, Uchiha Kage stood up.

"So, so amazing..."

Sakura watched with rapt attention.

She didn't expect Kage-san to be so good at bandaging.

"Alright, our next task is to escort our Kakashi-senpai and Sasuke back to the Village."

Uchiha Kage saw that Uzuki Yugao had already used a Space Scroll to preserve Zabuza and Haku's corpses, along with Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.

In this way, their mission was completely over.

Well, it should be...

"Okay!"

Naruto waved his fist in cooperation.

"But why call Kakashi-sensei captain?"

"Don't worry about the details, remember to treat me to Ramen when we get back to the Village."

"Alright! With the reward from this mission plus what I had before, I have a lot of money now!"

Naruto patted his chest and readily agreed.

"That's great. It's just like back then for me..."

Looking at the harmonious scene between Uchiha Kage and Naruto, Kakashi once again recalled the past.

----

"Terumi Mei-sama, are we just going to let them take Zabuza's body?"

On a hidden tree, two ninja wearing Kirigakure headbands were secretly observing Kakashi's group on the bridge.

"The Village is currently in turmoil. Directly confronting the Konoha Ninja would only complicate things further."

The Female Ninja leading the two, Terumi Mei, instructed the ninja beside her not to act rashly, while looking at the carrier pigeon she had intercepted in her hand.

"However, what could the 'Kirigakure mission' that the Konoha ninja mentioned be?"

"Whatever it is, it's definitely not good for our Kirigakure."

Although the text on the letter was encrypted, Ao, who was knowledgeable, still deciphered the information above.

"I saw that Kakashi of the Sharingan has fallen. If we take action now, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Ao, to be safe, let's wait until they lower their guard before we make a move."

Whether it was for the current Kirigakure or for them, they could only be cautious and careful in everything they did.

"Yes, Lord!"