Hot 'N' Dangerous

Chapter 60: An Important Thing Called Trust

A grim expression shadowed Kakashi's face, "It really did happen," he said unconvincingly.

"Okay... well, I don't think we should be any later than we already are," Liz slung her pack over her shoulder, "Lead the way, Sensei" she motioned to Kakashi.

We took off through the gates, kicking up dust behind us.

"How far are we going?" Sakura asked from somewhere behind me.

"A few miles, but the range is large. The only reason no one was able to catch him is that he hides himself incredibly well. They say that his shinobi skills are only satisfactory, I'm assuming that Liz and Elvira are just as good or better than him but someone with low ninja skills must've hired other ninja. This could be a team-on-team confrontation," Kakashi filled us in on the details.

"Is there a plan?" I queried.

Kakashi nodded, "We will be split into three groups... that I've already decided," he caught Sakura drifting closer to Sasuke.

She sniffed.

"The first team will act as a decoy and try to lure out any other enemies. The other two teams will enter the hideout while they are distracted. The second team will grab the attention of the criminal himself and engage him in battle and any other personal bodyguards if he has any. The last team will rescue any hostages and when their safety is secured, split up. One person will aid in capturing the criminal while the other acts as a reinforcement for the first team, though it isn't mandatory, the safety of the hostages is one of our priorities," Kakashi said steadily.

I would never doubt Kakashi's role as a leader. He always seemed so sure of himself, it gave us a sense of security as well.

"Well, Vira and I can be in charge of getting the-"

"Who said you and Elvira were in a group?" Kakashi shushed Liz.

She pouted, "We're not? But we're always together! We work together the best!" she protested.

"I'm assigning you to whichever team I think that you'd work best in. For example, the first team will consist of Naruto and I, since Naruto has the Shadow Clone Jutsu, we can hold off enemy ninja while the four of you sneak in," Kakashi explained, "Sakura and Elvira both have medical ninjutsu handy, quick reflexes and a calm mind, they will be the most effective at developing an escape route and helping the hostages out."

Liz paled, "If you're with Naruto and Vira is with Sakura... that means..." she swallowed, "This is a mistake," she said firmly.

"Yeah! There's no way I can work with her! She's worse than Naruto!" Sasuke complained.

"Shut up, small fry!" Liz growled.

"See what I mean?" Sasuke grimaced, "That means we would have to take down the criminals... together," he said distastefully.

"You and Liz have sharp reflexes and are ruthless when it comes to killing or capturing. You two also have a good combination of defense and offense. Another plus, Liz is also knowledgeable in the medical ninjutsu area, she can perform emergency jutsus if necessary," Kakashi pointed out, "Now, there's one captain in each group."

"Damn it, just my luck," Sasuke grumbled.

"Yeah, same here," Liz muttered.

Sakura looked relieved and disappointed at the same time, she didn't have to group with Naruto but she couldn't group with Sasuke either. We kept running, Kakashi updated us on distance until he suddenly signaled for us to stop.

"What's wrong?" Liz asked in a hushed voice.

"We have to be extra careful of our surrounding from now on," he warned, "Summoning Jutsu," he whispered and Pakkun appeared, "Just look for anything out of the usual since we don't have anything I can let you smell," Kakashi straightened up.