Chapter Text
Hounds breath was ragged. His muskles on the verge of giving out. The only thing keeping him standing was the little chakra he had left. He was bleeding. Blood seeping into his uniform. He didn't have enough time to stop and rest or to heal himself. Even if he had time to heal himself he would not have enough Chakra to treat the wounds himself.
The only thing he could do was to run. There was no other choice. He needed to deliver the message and end the mission. The information were vital for the next diplomatic mission that would start the next day and he was still a two days walk from Konoha. Hound belived he could make it in time if he would run nonstop. So he gritted his teeth and went on.
It would have been much esier if he did not run into an ambush from a bunch of missing nin. They thought a lonly ANBU would be an easy target. They did not expact to face Sharingan no Kakashi. The thugs were not strong oponents but their numbers and the surprise was on their side.
They attact him from behind and tried to overwellm him quickly. They did not succeed. Before the first attack could hurt him he turned around and blocked the attack. They were not strong but they seemed to be smart. They had perfect teamwork. They threw attack after attack at Hound and overwhelmed him with the pure mass of attacks.
He struggled defending himself, having no time to attack.
They landed a few hits making him bleed. But they could not hold up for long. Their chakra was running out and their strength gave out.
The moment they begann to slag of Hound attacked. His Sharingan showing him the openings. So Hound used his chance and turned the fight.
It was only a matter of time until one after anouther fell. The last of his attackers fell and the fight was over. Hound searched them for a mission scroll investigating if this was a planed ambush. He could not find one. It seemed like they were just after the bounty. They saw him and used their chance.
Hound contemplaited what he should do. Non of the missing-nin were from Konoha so he did not need to dispose of them. But it woud be better if he did not leave a trail behind.
As he thought about what to do, he heared voices in the distance. The voices were rapidly approching.
They were Ninja.
He did not know what they would do when they saw the massacare that happend here. Were they just by passeres on there own mission or were they part of the now dead group. Hound did not know. So he ran before they could reach him.
Hound was gone when the strange Ninjas stepped onto the clearing. The Anbu ran further towarts Konoha. Hound send a llittle bold of Chakra into his cheek to deactivate the seal on his mask.
His nose was flooded with all of the scents around him. He could smell all the different scents of the forest, the plants and the animals a radius of ten kilometer. The natural scents were clouded by the metallic scent of his own blood. He could feel it dripping down his left arm, his back, his stomach and seeping through his hair on the back of his head.
Dispite of his blood he could smell the Ninjas. The further he got away the lesser the scent would get. But the smell did not dessipiate. The scent stayed stabile.
Shit! They were following him.
Somehow they had a trail and they knew it was him who killed the thugs.
Okay, change of plan: First getting rid of his hunters. Secound getting back to Konoha.
Hound changed his direction, away from Konoha. First he ran in circles, hoping they would lose his trail. They did not.
The only other option he had was confrontation. So he slowed down. Let them come to him. The lesser the distance the better he could smell them.
He could make out three enemies. One of them smelled like a salty coast, a water-affinaty. The secound like a muddy path, an earth-affinaty. And the third smelled like the burnt coal, a fire-affinaty. He could work with that.
He stopped, turned around and let them come. For a few secounds only the sounds of the forest and Hounds breath could be heard. As his hunters approched their scents got stronger and their steps louder. They knew, he knew and did not even try to hide their presence. They splite up circling him.
Hound opened his left eye. The Sharingan span in his eye. He tracked every movement around him. They did not show themselfs yet. But they did not anticipate the infamous Sharingan of the Uchiha. The only detail they could see was that he was a whitehaired Anbu. Uchiha had black hair and Kakashi of the Sharingan was not in the Anbu anymore as of the knowledge of everybody outside and inside the village of the hidden leaf. And Hound would not let them live to tell the story that Kakashi of the Sharingan was back in business.
So these three needed to die and he would make it happen.
It was slowly getting dark and he knew if he would prolong the fight his chakra would run out and as well as the value of the Information he had. The information were savely written down in a scroll and it was from utmost importance that it would reach the Hokage before the diplomatic mission would start in one day and a night.
Hound took a risk and summend his Chidori. Ozone filled the air. The moment his enemies recognised his Ninjutsu their scent took on a sour note. Hound let his killing intent role from him into the forest. The missing-nins freezed overwhelmed with the pure feeling of his power. Hound used the moment of weakness and attacked.
One after another was pierced through the heart. Dead.
Hound looked through there things but did not find anything important. So he pieled there bodys up their wounds to obvious to be left behind. He set them on fire and left them to burn. The flames lighted up the dark forest. In the morning only ashes would be left. Hound left the clearing and continued his way towards Konoha.
——————————
Hounds breath was ragged. His Chakra on a dangerously low level, just short before not being able to move anymore. He was on his last soldier pills. But he needed to go on. He was still too far away from Konoha. Hound had one day for a one and a half walking distance.
Every step he took every jump he made, it hurt. His muscles straining under the impact. He could still fell blood running down his arm, even though the wound is hours old. The wounds on his head, stomach and back stopped bleeding as the sun climbed over the horizon. But still, the blood loss was making him dizzy. But he kept running. Every breath he took felt like a fight. The fabric of his mask was soaked with the blood he coughed out, making it even harder to breath. His left eye hurt. The Sharingan was draining more and more of his last Chakra. If he did not reach Konoha soon, he was sure he would die.
Hound ran. He needed to end this mission and survive. He had important information that he must deliver to Konoha.
If Hound had luck he would not run into more trouble. He was to exhausted and had not enough Chakra to fight. Moreover his wounds would hinder him weile fighting. But Hound knew that he could not treat his wounds.
Even if he had enough time to stop and make a break Hound was not sure if he would be able to start again. To stand up and move.
Without much of a choice he continued. His head pounded. His vision going in and out of focus.
Just one more step. And another. And one more.
Move! Move!! MOVE!!! Run! Deliver the information! End the mission! Run! Deliver the information! End the mission! Run!
His thoughts spiraled. The only thing on his mind was: "Run! Deliver the information! End the mission! Run!" He repeated it like a mantra.
Hound moved forward, ran through the trees of the fire county, jumped from one tree to another. His lungs were burning, his muscles screaming, but the adrenalin, the mission kept him moving. Hound ran for hours.
The moment he saw the gates, he could feel the adrenalin leaving his body. It left him with this bone deep exhaustion and pain. But he moved on.
There were protocols he needed to follow:
An Anbu is never seen. He creeped through the shadows of Konoha, not the way the Nara did, but the way every other Anbu did. Never in the open of a street or roof.
Even though he could not breath, he did not make a sound. An Anbu was never to be seen or heard.
There should be no trail left of an Anbu. If you asked a civilian, Anbu were fairy tales and did or did not exist. So Hound stayed in the shadows, made no sound and left no blood behind. Even though Hound was on the verge of death; he was still first and foremost an Anbu.
The Hokage was in her office with the Jonin Commander and a group of Jonin and Chunin. Hound waited in the shadows.
He could feel his blood soaking through the bandages he wrapped around his arm hours ago while running. His muscles felt heavy. His head felt like exploding and his vision was getting blurry. He did not thought he could move anymore, but he would anyway.
After a few minutes which felt like hours the group of Jonin and Chunin left the office leaving the Hokage and the Jonin Commander alone. The moment the doors closed behind them Hound moved, he knelt before the Hokage handing over the scroll.
Information delivered.
The Hokage opened the scroll and read through the intel. After she finished, she gave it to the Jonin Commander and the best strategist in the village. Only then found her gaze Hound again. The Anbu did not move, still knelling on the floor.
Tsunade smiled at him: "Thank you, Kakashi. You can take of the mask and stand up."
Kakashi took of the Anbu-mask and looked up to her. Kakashi gave her an eye-smile and said: "I am sorry. I don't think that I can stand up."
He could see the realization dawn on her face as she looked over his body cataloging every injury she saw. Kakashis vision blurred again and he could hear a chair falling over before he hit the floor and everything went black.