Chapter Text
Captain Yamato had been captured by the enemy. Again. Poor guy can't catch a break, Raido thought to himself as he let his eyes wander trough the room. It was stock full of people who were here to sign up for a mission to rescue Yamato. Almost all of the Jonin in Raidos age group were here, from Genma, Aoba and him to Guy in his wheelchair and Kurenai who had her child strapped to her back. Iwashi stood near Genma and Raido, as he was the third member of the Hokage Guard Platoon. They were joined by Kotetsu and Izumo, who were currently talking over each other in trying to convince the Hokage to let them come along, as well as several other Chuu-nin and Jonin. Also, what seemed like half of the entire ANBU forces were gathered in the room, sitting on windowsills, the shelves and one of them even hanging from the ceiling.
There were roughly 20 people gathered in the Hokage's office right now, and everyone, without any exception, was fired up to save Yamato.
They hadn't gotten word out to the Konoha 11 or anyone in their age group, since that would have inevitably activated Naruto. And Naruto would definitely have wanted to come along to save his team captain. Besides the sheer chaos and unpredictability that came from having Naruto on a mission, the Jinjuuriki was still recovering in the hospital, and was also still one-armed.
The only exception to their unspoken rule to keep this between the older ninja was Shikamaru, who was on his usual place behind the Hokage and looked even more annoyed than usual. The 'what a drag' was practically dripping from his face.
Kakashi looked increasingly exasperated as everyone yelled at him to let them come along. Guy was currently bothering him by leaning over the desk and grasping his clothes, crying something along the lines of "Yamato is such a pure soul, we have to save him". The ANBU members were murmuring among themselves or occasionally shouting "Let's save Tenzou!" or "We need him back!". It was as loud and chaotic as you would imagine.
After Yamato had been pulled from his ANBU duties to substitute for Kakashi and have an eye on Naruto, his reputation in the village had increased drastically. Not only because his invaluable wood style - which had been a huge asset both in battle and in house-rebuilding - he was an incredibly reliable ninja, good partner and great team leader. More than that, he was just generally a pleasant person to be around. He was serious and well-prepared on missions and would always make his team members feel safe. But he also had a good sense of humor and always had an ear to listen to people. He was quiet and reserved, but everyone had gotten along with him incredibly well. Because of that, all of them were pumped up to get him back right now.
Kakashi let out a loud sigh and stood up, slamming his hands on the desk in the process. The crowded room went quiet.
"Alright", Kakashi started. Despite being annoyed with the lot of ninjas in his office, he had a dark spark in his eyes that betrayed his true feelings. Raido knew how close he and Yamato were, so Kakashi must have been the one that wanted to see him back safely the most.
"As you probably could have guessed, i can't let all of you go to save Tenzou. I mean, Yamato." Disappointed murmuring went trough the room. Kakashi looked to his right.
"Guy. You're still hurt, and in a wheelchair. I can't let you go." Guy crossed his arms, offended. He started sulking.
"Kurenai.", Kakashi continued. "Please take care of your child. I know you trust them, but i don't think Kiba and Shino are the best babysitters for more than 15 minutes." Kurenai simply sighed and complied.
"Next..." Kakashi looked up, trough the room. "I can't let the ANBU go. I need you here in the village, and to carry out other high-priority missions. I'm sorry." Loud, mask-muffled grumbling was heard throughout the room. The ANBU members started to leave, disappointed. They made a point to leave slowly trough the door (instead of just flickering away like they would usually do), one by one, each of them staring at Kakashi trough their masks to express their disgruntlement. It took a while for all of them to leave, but finally the room was much emptier.
Kakashi left out an exasperated sigh once more, looking over the people left. He thought about who would be the most skilled people left, and who was most likely to succeed in this mission.
"Okay everyone, we'll go in a four-man-squad, containing me, Aoba, Raido and Genma.", he finally said. Raido felt adrenaline rushing trough him in excitement.
"No fair! Why do you get to go!", Guy immediately started.
Shikamaru nodded. "Hokage-sama, you know that we need you here. You can't leave the village right now, so shortly after the war. There are still a lot of things to be sorted out."
Kakashi scoffed and gritted his teeth. He tried not to let it shine trough, but everyone in the room could see that he wanted to save Yamato himself, as soon as possible. However, Kakashi wasn't stupid. He knew that it was unreasonable for him to go himself.
Izumo stepped forward. "Please, Hokage-sama, let Kotetsu and me go instead."
Kotetsu agreed, serious for once. "Yeah. We will definitely save Yamato-senpai."
Kakashi stared at the two chuu-nin. He knew they were capable, but he didn't like having to stay back.
"So, a five-people team? Isn't that a little unconventional?" Shikamaru asked. "They might get noticed easier." He didn't have any malice in his voice, he was just considering the options.
All of them stared at the Hokage. Izumo and Kotetsu were nodding at him, all fired up. Aoba had his arms crossed, and his expression was unreadable as usual with his sunglasses, but he seemed more determined than normal. Genma was chewing on his senbon so hard that you could hear the metal clanking against his teeth. Even Raido himself, who usually tried his best to appear calm and collected, had a spark in his eyes, burning with the desire to get Yamato back. He was important to them, and they all knew they had been taking him for granted.
Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "Sheesh, what a drag..."
Kakashi sighed once more. "Ahh, guess i have no choice then. Alright, the five of you go. Raido, you're the group captain." He handed Raido a folder with all available info they had to that mission. "Please make your preparations and leave as soon as possible." Raido felt a burst of pride welling up in his chest. He was absolutely determined to do his best.
"Yes, sir!", all of them shouted and disappeared in a flash.