AN: thanks for all the reviews (those that I couldn't reply to: guest and Misaki-sama – thank you too)! Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks to beartes also for telling me that something went wrong in the upload – hopefully that's all fixed now. I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4: I will admit; I did not expect that (a brief interlude by Hatake Kakashi).

Hatake Kakashi was a broken man. He was 95% positive that someone in a past life must have cursed his ancestor to live in interesting times. His father killed himself, his team is all dead, and his sensei is a former shell of the man Kakashi remembered him as.

The day that was supposed to be the happiest in Minato-sensei's life instead was the saddest. He lost both his wife and someone kidnapped his daughter.

Minato-sensei spent the next 6 years raising Naruto, governing Konoha, and trying to find his daughter.

"Inu report."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Inu stood up from his kneeling position, as did the rest of his ANBU team. "There has been no sign of Kahicki-hime. No traces of the masked man either."

Minato-sensei took a deep, shuddering breath before exhaling.

"Team Inu. Make sure this order is sent to all ANBU, jonin, and chunin. As of today, Uzumaki Kachiki will no longer be looked for and is consider a long running S-rank mission. Anyone that passes to the rank of chunin will be made aware of Uzumaki Kachiki and if anyone has any information will come forward and next steps will be made. Dismissed."

They left to tell everyone. Within 4 years, the Hokage was pressured to change the order and the next day Kakashi had one more name on the memorial stone to mourn.

oOo

Whatever the Hokage was thinking, he has no idea what actually prompted him to give Kakashi, of all people a genin team. Let alone this specific genin team. He has consistently failed any team that he is contracted to, and he doesn't see any snot-nosed brat understanding the bell test.

Until Namikaze Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura.

His view of the world gets a little wider after that.

He immediately regrets accepting those three when he learns that teasing Itachi about his brother complex will only mean that Itachi is aware that Kakashi is aware of said complex, meaning he loses no face when he comes to bug them and actually get Kakashi to teach something. Worse when he brings his cousin Shisui.

Kakashi knows that there was some dissonance within the Uchiha clan and the village, sowed by the ex-elder Danzo, several deaths of Uchiha elders, and the removal of Shisui's eye. Suffice to say Danzo was no more upon Minato-sensei realizing how deep his machinations ran. Unlike Sandaime-sama, Minato-sensei had no personal issues with stopping Danzo, when he brought his business underground versus cease and desist as ordered; well, Danzo found out why Iwa calls Minato-sensei 'Iwa butcher'. To this day, they are still trying to go through everything that Danzo did with Root. Minato-sensei is not even positive Danzo was dead, he said something along the lines of 'when men live underground, they always find a way to come crawling back'.

With the Uchiha's main opposition out of the way and the other two elders retiring to make room for Hiruzen-sama to become an elder along with Jiraiya-sama when he's in town, and Tsunade-sama, which Minato-sensei had come back to the village 2 years after the Kyuubi attack, things became much less stressful.

Minato-sensei had no problem letting Uchiha's take whatever mission, if they allowed others that wanted to on the police force. Everyone in the village was much more cohesive. After the Uchiha almost-rebellion blew over, Itachi at 13, resigned from ANBU and took up a position as a jonin, Shisui remained in ANBU and is still crazy.

Therefore, Kakashi resigns himself to having three brats and two older brats on his team.

It takes Naruto a month to get tired of the D-ranks. Naruto begs to get a C-rank at their next mission debrief with the Hokage. Kakashi can see how much Minato-sensei sees Kushina-san then – while Naruto may be the spitting image of Minato-sensei, his mannerisms, gestures, speech, and temperament all scream Kushina-san.

So Minato gives them a C-rank. Escort the bridge builder and guard him while he finishes the bridge. Routine mission.

Until two missing-nin that are chunin level try to kill the bridge builder. That makes this a B-rank. At least. The bridge builder squeaks under questioning but easily tells them of Gato, a rich man that is trying to take over Nami and that this bridge is their last hope.

They decide to continue on.

That was a mistake.

They barely survive Zabuza's encounter. Kakashi may have been slacking since being forced out of ANBU, but surely his skills hadn't deteriorated so much that he nearly fell to an A-rank missing-nin? If it wasn't for the hunter-nin, Kakashi and his team would not have survived.

Kakashi gets Naruto to use his toad summons, courtesy of his father, to send a message telling them of the situation and to see what he wants them to do. The situation is so far out of their control, jumping up to an A-rank with a possibility of an S-rank if Zabuza had any friends. Though he doubted Gato hired any more, Zabuza was the highest known shinobi he ever put on his payroll.

Minato-sensei answers that night, a toad poofs into existence carrying two certain Uchiha and a hiraishin kunai. He is surprised that Minato-sensei wants to be included in the fight, but thinks it may have something to do with his son being the one threatened. Since Kachiki's kidnapping and supposed death Minato-sensei is much more protective of his son.

Itachi and Shisui assure that they are not to interfere in the mission unless absolutely necessary.

oOo

The final stand of Zabuza and his accomplice is occurring over the bridge. Kakashi realizes that the environment is much more to their liking than Konoha's but Sasuke and Naruto are holding their own to the accomplice. Sakura is guarding the bridge builder. Itachi, Shisui, and Minato-sensei are all watching this happen. Mostly watching Sasuke and Naruto battle, neither Itachi nor Shisui have seen Hyoton, ice release, at work, ever, and are interested in what is happening.

Sasuke and Naruto have broken a single mirror when Zabuza yells across the battlegrounds "If you think you can defeat us that easily, you have another thing coming." This seems to mean something to Haku who grows a dome of ice around both Sasuke and Naruto and smoke encapsulates the area.

Minato-sensei shoots out a widespread ninjutsu to blow away all the mist and smoke, Kakashi can see nothing new, but can make out some additional scents; however, they are all encased within the hunter-nin's dome.

oOo

Kachiki definitely did not expect to be summoned within Haku's ice mirrors – the situation must be more desperate than they originally thought.

"The two leaf shinobi are genin; try to incapacitate them rather than kill if you're able to." Haku states between throwing sebon at the two who've had the misfortune of being caught. One of them seems to be an eyesore of shinobi – wearing orange and having bright yellow hair. Kachiki at least uses a henge tied to her mask to hide her hair when she goes on missions. She also would have thought that, like the other genin, he would wear colours that would match their surroundings better. It's almost as if he's just asking to get a kunai in his back.

Considering it is leaf shinobi, Kurama disappears back into the seal to take a nap and avoid the fighting. Kachiki's heard stories about leaf shinobi as being eccentric, powerful, and the friendliest of the nations, but looking at their genin, she doesn't really see it. She can see in their chakra and body language that they aren't as smooth in their dynamics as she would expect. A team that was sent out for the mission she assumed would be not only well versed with each other, but also much more powerful – bordering on jonin almost – considering that the if this were Kiri it would be classed at an A-rank; these ninja look as if they are fresh out of the academy.

"Ha! If you think getting more people will make us lose you have another thing coming!" The eyesore boasts; while silent, his black-haired companion seems to agree. Utakata disappears back into one of Haku's mirrors and covers his retreat with a genjutsu – hopefully he will be able to make it to Zabuza before something happens to him.

Kachiki and Kimi stay silent as they observe their new enemy. Haku is throwing at a high speed, easily enough a low chunin level and both are easily dodging the sebon. Kachiki immediately places them at chunin level. As Haku starts adding in his ice sebon, she signals to Kimi what she knows. Kimi will take the black haired genin while Kachiki will take the blonde eyesore. She passes him a knockout tag and they signal Haku to distract them.

It takes a few more minutes, partially letting them tired themselves out and partially because they've been trying to escape the ice domes with little luck. The black haired boy has activated his sharingan during the battle, and while they seemed to cause trouble for Haku – he has managed to brow beat them into submission. They've tried a ninjutsu combination of fire and shadow clones to escape the dome but Haku's jutsu is holding strong. Kachiki and Kimi have been waiting for the number of people to go back to the original two so they aren't knocking out a shadow close and losing their element of surprise.

Haku aims for the blond eyesore what most would assume is an immediate kill shot. The black haired boy sees this and his eyes flash red as he darts in front of his fellow genin, aiming to save his teammate. It is while they are both looking at each other that Kimi and Kachiki strike. Kimi grows a bone shield out of his back, stopping all the sebon in place while he smacks the tag on the apparent Uchiha's back. Kachiki body flickers behind the blond and activates the tag on his neck. Both are knocked out without any chance of regaining consciousness for ten minutes. Plenty of time for everything to wrap up here.

"So, what's the story with them Haku?" Kimi prompts as he secures ties on the two ninja.

"They were hired by the bridge builder we have to kill." Haku murmurs as he starts collecting sebon. By keeping up his dome, he allows them some semblance of privacy – the benefit to using knockout tags is that if any of the opposing ninja's are sensors, they have to be A-ranked at least to sense the differing chakra patterns of unconsciousness. It's safe to bet that any sensors believe they are still awake and fighting. They'll have a few minutes to regroup and plan their next step.

"So the bridge builder is next or helping Zabuza?" Kachiki chirps from the other end of the dome.

"The bridge builder is being protected by the third genin, two jonin, and their Hokage. I think it's safe to say we'll be helping Zabuza-sama. He'll have to instruct us on next steps. With the heavy protection detail there isn't anything we would be able to do without giving away major advantages – or losing our lives." Haku ends ruefully.

"Who even wants this guy dead? We're not really in any big city – what's the motivation?"

"Gato wants to kill the bridge builder so he'll have exclusive rights to Nami – not really a mission we wanted to take, but we can't be choosy and with this mission under our belt Zabuza-sama will have enough for the rebellion and we can go back to Kiri."

"...You really want to go back?" Kachiki whispers, thoughts of the Purges running through her head.

"My will is the same as Zabuza-sama's. He fights for the old Kiri, before the Purges, I will follow him."

"Gato isn't known to be reliable. Quite the opposite – he's known to use the missing-nin to defeat the opposing side and either die in the conflict, or kill the missing-nin while they are vulnerable after attack to keep the payment to himself. Someone mentioned it in one of the bars last months while we were on our way to Yugakure."

The three of us share a loaded look before the three hear chirping birds and then dead silence. Haku immediately drops one mirror, letting the others crash into the floor of the bridge, and flickers over to Zabuza, Kimi and Kachiki following.

oOo

Kakashi is about to chidori Zabuza when he's honest to God caught in a bubble.

First a water prison and now a bubble.

This entire month hasn't been Kakashi's month.

He's floated back to the Konoha contingent before his bubble pops and he barely lands on his feet.

There's a lull in the fighting as each side takes in the new faces.

The three newcomers are similar heights, wearing outfits similar to hunter-nins. Their gender is unknown and their clothing is a simple cloak that helps them blend into the water around them. Masks on their face have no origin sign, and are actually blank. Upon one shoulder is a slug, a personal summons perhaps. The other two have no animal with them. The original hunter-nin has moved to stand beside Zabuza.

"What have you done to Sasuke-kun and Naruto-sama?!" Sakura shrieks as she sees Shisui and Itachi return with two bodies.

"Calm down Pinky, they're knocked out but otherwise in fine health." One voice replies.

"If you're lying I swear to Kami I'll kill you myself!" All the Kiri-nin seem to just look at Sakura and she shrivels under all the attention. Zabuza laughs before voicing:

"We have no quarrel with Konoha anymore."

"What makes us so certain you're not just saying that?" the silver haired one poses.

"Gato is on his way; you'll see then. He's just getting to the bridge." One of the newcomer's articulates to the group at large.

"Brat." It's spoken in a monotone, but Kakashi can hear the questioning tone underneath. The remaining shinobi all turn to face the three newcomers.

"Just wait until he shows up, he's a minute away, tops." So a sensor shinobi then, should things prove different, this will be a hassle to stop her.

The minute is filled with tension as both parties return to their original sides; it is the 7 Konoha-nin, 2 unconscious, facing the 5 nuke-nin, though where the three are from Kakashi hasn't the foggiest.

He can hear Gato waltzing up to the bridge.

"Figures that the demon of the Bloody Mist is too soft to take down the Konoha shinobi. Doesn't matter anyways, my mercenaries are more than enough to finish the job! Whoever takes down the bridge builder will get the money from Zabuza!"

The sensor shinobi cannot help but snort and Kakashi is sorely tempted to agree with them. Does Gato not see that there are 7 Konoha-nin that are all in fighting condition?

"I suppose this counts as helping, but we'll still be in touch." The summon-less one says.

"I reiterate, it seems we have no quarrel." Zabuza says before rushing into the fray to kill Gato – and no doubt prove his status of 'Demon of the Bloody Mist' Kakashi lets him have at it, his hunter-nin following in the fray after him. The other three just seem to be content to watch and only step in if need be.

"How did you know about Gato?" Minato-sensei asks the newcomers.

"Gato isn't known for his loyalty." The slug summoner says dryly. "There's been whispers if you know where to look." He turns toward the other two "this is why we collect information before we take a mission. Reconnaissance is an important shinobi art." So the slug summoner seems to be at the top of their hierarchy.

"Gato is a jerk dattebane! Anyone that meets him would know!" She turns toward the fighting, "Haku why didn't you figure this out?! I expect it from Zabuza but not you!" Kakashi can feel the jerk that Minato-sensei gives off, and the inhaled breathe from the two Uchihas on the other side of him. The two nuke-nin return, Gato's head in the scroll Haku's holding while bodies are strewn over the bridge and many retreating backwards.

"Apologies Kachiki-sama, I know you have taught me some tricks to sensing chakra, but we cannot all be on your level." Haku snarks back at the sensor, Kachiki. Kakashi can feel Minato-sensei's chakra fluctuating, frozen between hope and anger. Kakashi realizes this must be because of the verbal tick 'dattebane' and the fact their name is Kachiki. However small, this may be either Uzumaki Kachiki or a clue to where she is. Kakashi's eyes narrow for any further slips of information they can give.

"Anyone with eyes can see the slimeball that Gato was!" Kachiki jests back, the third one mirroring his teammate, echoing "slimeball" to Haku.

"..Kachiki?" He hears Minato-sensei question in a voice that is not his own, it seems much more vulnerable, and all too hopeful. "Namikaze Kachiki?" The Kiri-nin all snap out of their petty argument to focus on Minato-sensei.

The three figures exchange glances and close rank around Kachiki.

"I thought it was always proper manners to introduce yourself before asking for someone's name?" And if that comeback wasn't pure Minato-sensei Kakashi would turn in his hitai-ate when they get back to the village. If the actual chuckle of Itachi and Shisui didn't send him into cardiac arrest first. His genin are flipping back and forth between what seems to be happening here, and the massacre Zabuza is currently performing.

"Namikaze Minato." Sensei's voice sounds tired, but much more confident than before.

"Hm." She puts her hands under her chin as if she is contemplating the information. "No. I'm not Namikaze Kachiki. Uzumaki Kachiki at your service. If you knew I existed I'm surprised you didn't turn me over to Patches." Shisui makes some strangled noise in the back of his throat as he tries not to laugh.

"I didn't know you had black hair." Sensei is just baiting them now, but seeing who was behind the mask would let them know if it was a male or female. Kachiki after all is a male's name.

"I didn't know the Hokage was aware I existed." She shot back before answering, "My hair isn't black – it's a henge." Shisui scoffs before he can help himself.

"Yeah right, Itachi and I would have seen through a henge with our sharingan." She tilts her head to the side before answering.

"True, if the genjutsu was anchored to a person or environment. Ours isn't. You have yet to disrupt the chakra so you have yet to break it."

"There's no genjutsu that isn't placed on a person or surrounding area."

"Then, tell me, O' all-knowing one, why you have yet to see what colour my hair is?"

"Duh. It's a bluff – your hair is black." If Kakashi didn't know any better he would say that Shisui is actually just arguing for the sake of arguing rather than prompting the shinobi to show her true hair colour.

"Fu—OW!" She begins to speak before the slug one hits her upside the head. "It's not like he would have understood what I said – he's from Hi no Kuni, he doesn't even speak that language." A look sent through the mask makes her shiver and turn back toward Shisui; she bows at the waist, "Sorry Uchiha-san, that was rude of me." She pointedly looks back to the slug summoner until he nods.

"...no problem? Not sure what really happened, if we're being truthful but I'll just assume it was insulting. Not surprising seeing you try to avoid admitting that your hair is black." She shoots him another look through her mask – Kakashi is admitting it's probably a 'not impressed' before she sighs and removes her mask. Her hair changes into a blood red as her mask is fully removed. So she wasn't lying. With that off, Kakashi and the rest of the Konoha-nin can see her face.

Kachiki is a miniature Uzumaki Kushina. Her hair, her eyes – everything. It seems that as much as Naruto takes after his father, Kachiki does with her mother. Even if she has Minato-sensei's personality and Naruto his mother's. Sensei has all but frozen, making a near gurgling sound, similar to Shisui, and Kakashi is sure that sensei is restraining himself from going up there and taking Kachiki.

Kachiki for her part is looking at the Konoha-nin as if they were crazy.

"Sugoi. Chichiue always said that the leaf were crazy, but I've never seen something like this on a battlefield. Desperate fighting, Haku calling us, a betrayal and now this." She turns to look at the slug summoner. "Chichiue, do Konoha-nin always look like Uchiha-san and Minato-san? They look kind of wimpy..?" Sensei recoils as if someone physically hit him, whether it was because she called the other man father, or because his daughter just insulted him. A hum from the slug summoner and Kachiki seems to take that as 'yes. Konoha-nin are this crazy.' "...Okay," Kachiki seems to take a step back, as if she can avoid whatever is happening to the Konoha-nin. Kakashi doesn't even know at this point. He's running on automatic functioning at the moment. "This was nice, love to do it again sometime, thanks for inviting us Haku but we really got to get going, people to see, dango to eat, sacrifices to be made – okay BYE!" Kachiki rushes out all at once and all three disappear in an instant.

Hiraishin.

She knows Hiraishin.

The only known jutsu of it, Kakashi knows, is in Konoha. No other place would have a copy. The Nidaime wouldn't just give that out.

Suddenly she's back. Before anyone can react, she's grabbed Zabuza and Haku and has disappeared again.

"She's alive." Sensei breathes out; staring at the spot that Kachiki disappeared from.

Well, that certainly happened. Kakashi thought to himself.