Of war councils and gossiping shinobi
The day after the fight, Kakashi strolled into the Hokage Tower, fully prepared for some sort of fallout.
What he hadn’t expected was to walk into a full-scale war council.
The moment he entered, a group of Anbu and jōnin snapped to attention. Several of them were hunched over a hastily drawn battle map, complete with red markings and notes scrawled in hurried handwriting.
Asuma was there. So was Kurenai. Even Ibiki looked mildly interested.
And in the center of it all was Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffing on his pipe with the weariness of a man who had seen too much and was now seeing even more.
Kakashi blinked. “...Did I miss a mission briefing?”
Hiruzen exhaled a slow stream of smoke. “No, but perhaps you should give one.”
Kakashi tilted his head. “Oh?”
Kurenai turned to face him, arms crossed. “You and Sukea.”
Kakashi feigned nonchalance. “What about us?”
Ibiki slammed a kunai into the table, making a few newer jonin flinch. “Don’t play dumb, Hatake.” He jabbed a finger at the mess of notes in front of him. “Who the hell is this guy, and why has no one heard of him before yesterday?!”
Kakashi let out a thoughtful hum. “Sukea… Sukea… Ah, yes.” He sighed, shaking his head. “A thorn in my side.”
The room leaned in.
“Rogue shinobi?” Asuma asked.
“Something like that.”
“Former ally?”
“Not exactly.”
“Ex-lover?”
Kakashi paused. Now that idea could be a good one to use if he was ever in a tight spot.
Every single person in the room turned to Gai, who looked incredibly proud of himself.
Kakashi sighed. “really Gai?"
“Ah, but rival, your flames of youth burned so fiercely—”
“They always burn fiercely, Gai.”
The conversation might have gone further off the rails had Hiruzen not cleared his throat. “Enough.” His tired gaze fixed on Kakashi. “What exactly is your history with Sukea?”
Kakashi crossed his arms, giving a dramatic shrug. “Personal.”
Hiruzen closed his eyes for a long moment. “I see.”
Everyone waited for him to press further. He didn’t. The perks of being one of the Hokage's favorites.
Instead, Hiruzen simply waved a hand. “Very well. But if this conflict escalates, you will report to me immediately.”
Kakashi gave a lazy salute. “Of course, Lord Third.”
He left the war room grinning beneath his mask.
This was going better than expected.
Team 7 had never seen their sensei fight before.
They’d seen him dodge. They’d seen him lazily throw a jutsu or two at a training post. But to see him really go at it—against someone who seemed just as strong—had been… a lot.
And none of them could let it go.
“You’re telling me,” Naruto said for the eighth time that day, “our sensei has some secret nemesis we never knew about?!”
“Seems that way.” Sasuke didn’t look up from his kunai, which he’d been sharpening aggressively since the incident.
Sakura, arms folded, frowned. “But why haven’t we heard about him before?”
Naruto threw his hands up. “I know, right?! I mean, Kakashi-sensei’s kinda mysterious, but this is next level!”
Sasuke scowled. “He never even mentioned Sukea. That means either this guy wasn’t a threat before or—”
“He was a threat Kakashi didn’t want to talk about,” Sakura finished grimly.
Naruto’s eyes widened. “What if Sukea’s the only person who’s ever beaten him?”
Silence fell over them.
Sasuke looked absolutely murderous at the thought.
“We have to find out,” Naruto declared, clenching his fists. “We have to figure out who this guy is and why Kakashi-sensei never told us!”
Sakura hesitated. “But Kakashi-sensei won’t just tell us…”
Naruto grinned.
Sasuke smirked.
They all thought the same thing.
They were going to follow him.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the village, the gossip was spreading like wildfire.
A few merchants claimed to have personally known Sukea for years. Some shinobi insisted he was an ex-ANBU member gone rogue. Others swore they had seen the two fight before in the last war.
And, somehow, the rumors made their way beyond the village.
By the end of the week, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had sent a formal inquiry to Hiruzen, asking, in precise wording:
"What is a Sukea, and why is my court talking about him?"
Hiruzen rubbed his temples.
This was spiraling out of control.