Chapter 2
About an hour later, Naruto stirred awake. He was soaked and bruised, but the pain in his leg was no longer as intense. He saw the bandage and vaguely thought that Sakura must have taken care of it. They were flying low over a dense forest. When he fully regained his senses, he realized he was with Yamato on one of Sai’s birds. Sakura was on the second one, maintaining the chakra level of the only user of ink-based techniques to keep him from passing out—without him, the painted birds would dissolve into thin air. The third bird carried the unconscious official and the Daimyo’s secret scrolls—Yamato had wisely separated the hostage from the team, treating him as a potential threat. This mission had already been disastrous enough. Worried, Naruto scanned their surroundings once more.
"Yamato-taichou, where is Kakashi-sensei?"
Yamato looked at him for a long time without speaking. They were flying at an incredible speed and should reach the village by nightfall. The sadness in the commander’s eyes and the prolonged silence made Naruto uneasy.
"Taichou—"
"Why didn’t you obey his order, Naruto?" Yamato’s calm voice caught the boy off guard. He had expected a harsh reprimand for his reckless actions. Sai must have reported the course of their battle.
"But—"
Yamato had no interest in hearing excuses and immediately cut him off.
"Kakashi-senpai has been captured."
"What?! We left him there?!" Naruto sprang to his feet. "We have to go back—aaaaaaaah!" He doubled over in pain and immediately collapsed onto his side, clutching his thigh. The bird swayed dangerously. His vision darkened—until he moved, he hadn’t realized how weak he was. Blood had started seeping through the bandage.
Yamato watched him impassively.
"We weren’t a threat to them even at full strength. Do you think we could stand a chance now? Kakashi-senpai ordered us to retreat the moment we completed our mission. Why didn’t you listen to him?"
Naruto didn’t know what to say. All of a sudden his throat went dry. His eyes widened in horror. He was starting to understand—this was all his fault. He knew Kakashi-sensei had anticipated the possibility of a trap and that, at his or Yamato-taichou’s signal, they were supposed to regroup or abort the mission. He had heard the order to retreat loud and clear, but he had been so angry, so much had been happening, and the fight was so… and then… then Sai had been injured because he had to cover Naruto. That forced Kakashi-sensei to save them both, and… Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, furious at himself and terrified by the magnitude of his own foolishness. He was finally aware of Kakashi’s sacrifice.
Sakura looked away from him, her eyes full of fear. Pale and expressionless, Sai stared blankly at him. Yamato-taichou did not say anything more. The rest of the journey passed in complete silence.