Chapter 26: Kakashi's Predicament

Bai Mu was somewhat dissatisfied with the reward—only a paltry hundred gold coins, with the rest of the spoils having been split by A Fei. There was no helping it; after all, half of his attributes were provided by A Fei, and when he took a beating, A Fei absorbed a portion of the damage as well. If you cling to someone powerful, you must accept the consequences. If not for his eagerness to activate Doctor Mundo’s ultimate move, “Desperate Stand,” he would have preferred to use his wits to outmaneuver his foes. After all, when dealing with dim-witted creatures, the best weapon is the mind.

Still, this battle had taught Bai Mu the limits of A Fei’s attribute-sharing: a combined attribute cap of 3000. What’s more, it wasn’t as A Fei had claimed—Shiro Jue was not an inexhaustible perpetual motion machine of cuteness. At least for now, A Fei resembled a recently neutered tomcat, head drooping listlessly, lacking the energy even to crack a joke. He probably needed time to recover, or perhaps Bai Mu should feed him back some chakra.

“Are you really alright?” Yuugao Uzuki looked at Bai Mu’s body in disbelief.

“I’m fine, just hungry,” Bai Mu replied, gnawing on rice balls one after another, unable to fill the black hole in his belly. He hadn’t expected “Desperate Stand” to have such a side effect.

“But I saw your arm break…” Hayate Gekko was just as astonished.

“It was A Ma’s arm that broke. But cats are liquid, so it’s no problem,” Bai Mu said, stroking the dispirited A Fei on the ground and making a feeble excuse.

“It’s not fine at all. I’ve forgotten the joke I just thought of… my joy is gone…” A Fei complained, clearly miserable.

“Well… whatever the case, I still have to thank you.” Hayate Gekko bowed his head in earnest gratitude.

“It’s nothing, we’re all friends here,” Bai Mu replied breezily with a casual wave of his hand.

Still, he was somewhat annoyed that no quest had been triggered—apparently, you couldn’t farm too many rewards from the same group of people; he’d have to set his sights elsewhere.

“By the way, how did you find us? Our missions are supposed to be confidential, aren’t they?” Yuugao Uzuki asked in confusion.

“With this!” Bai Mu swallowed his fifth rice ball, patted his stomach, and once again transformed into a human-shaped sage’s compass. He spun rapidly, pointing in a new direction. “The next target is that way!”

“…So it was truly the gods’ will that you found us,” Yuugao Uzuki said awkwardly, having suspected that this weirdo had been stalking them.

“Wait… are you planning to keep going? If I’m not mistaken, there should be plenty more Iwagakure ninjas nearby,” Hayate Gekko said with a frown.

“You’re not giving up on your mission either, are you?” Bai Mu countered.

“Of course not. We still have enough strength to fight—there’s no way we’re abandoning the mission now,” Hayate Gekko nodded resolutely.

“Then that’s settled. I’m not leaving either. I can feel the mission calling out to me!” Bai Mu declared, eyes full of determination.

“But… this is a matter for Konoha. It has nothing to do with you,” Yuugao Uzuki said, puzzled.

“How could it have nothing to do with me?! Yesterday, Konoha welcomed me so warmly—fed me, gave me shelter, rewarded me richly, and Hayate Gekko even… ahem, entertained me. How could I stand by and watch Konoha’s friends fall into peril and do nothing? As a ninja of Zu’an… I simply can’t!”

“I hope the shinobi world will have no more barriers and discrimination between people—that no one will be ostracized because of where they come from. I hope the shinobi world can know peace!”
“For any friend who shows me the smallest kindness, I will repay them a hundredfold. If he wishes me good morning, I’ll wish his entire family well!”
“This… is the will of Zu’an. I will follow this path to the very end.”

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling on Bai Mu’s face like a righteous beam, illuminating every shadowy corner.

“What an honest, pure village Zu’an must be…” Hayate Gekko exclaimed in wonder.

“Ahem… nothing special, really…” Bai Mu’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“I never expected this from you, Bai Mu. I always thought you were a pervert. I misjudged you…” Yuugao Uzuki confessed, ashamed.

“Ahem… that really was a misunderstanding. I might act a little crazy when I’m fighting, but deep down I’m rather reserved,” Bai Mu said, wiping his nose.

The system chimed in—both of their favorability levels had soared, now reaching the level of true friendship.

“They really are just kids—so easy to fool,” Bai Mu thought with glee. No matter how many foes they vanquished on the battlefield, they were, after all, only twelve years old.

“Well then, let’s get back to the mission,” Hayate Gekko said, nodding. The task of rescuing civilians was just as urgent.

“Be careful,” Bai Mu replied with a nod.

The two groups split up and went their separate ways.

…

Bai Mu ran off in the direction he had indicated earlier. Along the way, he saw several Konoha teams caught in ambushes—some had managed to defeat their Iwagakure attackers, others had fallen miserably, and some were still locked in combat.

A quick glance told him they were all nameless extras—meaning there wouldn’t be any valuable quests to gain. If he could help easily, he did; if not, he simply activated Ghost Step and slipped past.

The real quests, he thought, were likely to be found with Kakashi’s team—or perhaps Might Guy’s team.

However… in the next instant, as Bai Mu arrived at a small village on the border, he truly couldn’t tell if his luck was good or bad.

A notification appeared:
“Ding! Resolve the predicament of Kakashi’s team.”
“Reward: One Hero Skill Draw.”

The border village had never been bustling, but now it resembled a living hell—fresh lava still flowed, houses lay toppled and burning, and the air was thick with the choking stench of sulfur.

This village was a crucial supply hub for the front lines and had been garrisoned by many Konoha shinobi. Now, all that remained were charred corpses, sprawled in grotesque poses at the village entrance—dead in the most wretched of ways.

There was only one person capable of such devastation: the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi!

Just as Bai Mu expected, in a clearing streaked with dark-red magma, he saw the red-haired, red-bearded middle-aged man. Opposite him stood Kakashi, lightning crackling in his hand, but Obito and Rin were nowhere to be seen.

“Kid, you’re pretty good at dodging! But… how many more times can you use a jutsu like that?” Roshi sneered coldly.

“It’s far from over,” Kakashi said, standing atop a charred rock, breathing heavily. The light of Chidori still glowed in his hand, but the cold sweat on his brow betrayed his exhaustion.

With just a few words, Bai Mu grasped the situation. No matter how much of a genius Kakashi was, at his current age he was no match for the famed Four-Tails Jinchuriki.

Yet, he’d managed to hold his ground—barely.

Roshi’s Lava Release was unimaginably powerful; even a brief touch of magma would sear to the bone, more than enough to kill any “fragile” shinobi in an instant.

Kakashi’s team’s mission here must have been to save the village and drive away the Iwagakure ninja. Most likely, Nara Shikaku had no idea the enemy was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki—otherwise, he would never have sent just Kakashi’s team, or perhaps all other support squads had been intercepted.

By rights, if the target turned out to be a Jinchuriki, the mission should have been automatically cancelled for being overleveled—they could have retreated and enjoyed some hotpot.

But perhaps, in a sudden flash of shinobi resolve, the three of them had stubbornly chosen to stay, rescuing the surviving villagers from the molten ruins.

Now, moving through the devastated, lava-ridden village, Bai Mu could occasionally see figures darting about—likely Obito and Rin.

As the strongest member, Kakashi had stayed to occupy Roshi, using the sheer speed of Chidori to keep the Four-Tails Jinchuriki at bay for so long.

What could Bai Mu say?

According to the shinobi handbook and the words of the Hokage, the founding of Konoha and the very existence of shinobi was for the protection of the Land of Fire’s civilians, shielding them from outside harm. The lives of civilians were meant to be valued above those of shinobi.

Only by instilling in civilians the belief that “I am their god” would they pay taxes and submit requests willingly.

But in practice…

When Bai Mu was a civilian: “If I pay this much in taxes every year, of course you’d better come save me!”

When Bai Mu was a shinobi: “Save them? Are you kidding? That’s suicide. Sorry, nothing I can do. Good luck surviving!”

The three kids were still too young—or perhaps the characters Kishimoto wrote were simply too dazzling for their age.