Naruto: From Extra to Savior

Mizuki wasn't big on hospitals. He'd spent way too much time here before—long enough not to feel nostalgic, just annoyed. Most people came here for bad reasons: someone close got sick or hurt and needed visiting. Injuries were part of the job for shinobi—and sometimes those wounds meant death. During his month-plus stay, Mizuki had seen that kind of tragedy more than once. So showing up here never felt good.

After breakfast with Tsubaki and a short walk, Mizuki made his way to the hospital alone. It wasn't like he had someone special to visit, but now that he was here, skipping a quick check-in would feel off. But first things first.

Mizuki climbed the hospital stairs easy-like, heading straight for the top floor. As he reached for the door to the rooftop, a voice from outside called, "Who's there?"

"Relax, Kakashi. Just me..." Mizuki pushed open the door and stepped out. "Knew you'd be hiding here with your book again. Looks like I hit the jackpot."

Kakashi Hatake, who loved slipping into quiet corners to read his favorite series Make Out Paradise, had picked the rooftop as his hideout—perfect for passing time while keeping an eye on Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Rooftops and top-floor balconies suited him just fine.

Recognizing the familiar face, Kakashi didn't bother hiding and kept reading as he asked, "What brings you here so early?"

"There's something about yesterday's conversation I wanted to talk to you about…" Mizuki got straight to the point. "It's not really my problem to worry over, but some of this might affect the village—and maybe even me. I figured I should hear what you think…"

"Hm?" Sensing the seriousness, Kakashi actually closed his Make Out Paradise book—a rare move—and looked up at Mizuki. "No need to be so formal. When it comes to teaching, you've probably got more experience than me. If you've got something on your mind, just say it—we can talk freely."

If you counted his time at the Ninja Academy, Mizuki could definitely be called "experienced."

Mizuki stepped forward and leaned against the railing beside Kakashi, watching the steady stream of people below. After a quiet sigh, he finally said, "Just how much do you really know about the Sharingan?"

"The Sharingan?" Kakashi blinked in surprise at the sudden question. "I guess I know quite a bit—I've used it for years now…"

"Exactly because you have the Sharingan, you miss a lot of things…" Mizuki turned his head toward Kakashi seriously. "Konoha has two famous dojutsu clans—the Uchiha and the Hyuga—both known as having the strongest Kekkei Genkai. But have you ever really thought about why that is?"

"They're powerful, useful, and near impossible to counter…" That was all Kakashi could come up with.

"Ah," Mizuki sighed, shaking his head. "Must be quite a burden on you too. Without this Sharingan, wouldn't things be easier for you?"

Though Uchiha Obito's Sharingan was powerful, it weighed heavily on Kakashi Hatake. Remember back in the Land of Waves? Fighting Zabuza Momochi drained all Kakashi's chakra—he passed out after that. For such a strong Jonin, having limited staying power because of low chakra reserves really isn't ideal.

The immense chakra consumption of the Sharingan—this well-known fact—left Kakashi unable to refute it directly.

"So come on—are you seriously saying this level of Sharingan still qualifies as the strongest Kekkei Genkai?"

An ordinary Sharingan not yet elevated to Mangekyou level—even if it had three tomoe—was certainly powerful enough against regular ninja. But the ninja world wasn't lacking in exotic secret techniques and other Kekkei Genkai. There were more than just a few whose abilities surpassed what the Sharingan currently displayed.

"Oh? Seems like you know quite a bit about things most people don't..." Kakashi Hatake listened with obvious interest.

"If you want to find something out, there's always a way. Isn't that exactly what ninja are for?"

"That's true enough," Kakashi admitted. "You know better than to judge a ninja by normal standards."

"Whatever the case, watch your back around Sharingans—both yours and others'..."

"Others?" Kakashi asked, furrowing his brow. "Do you mean Sasuke? Or Itachi Uchiha? Sasuke's still not strong enough yet, so you must be talking about Itachi, then?"

Kakashi also paid great attention to that terrifying young prodigy who possessed both talent and determination. Especially yesterday, Hiashi Hyuga—a powerful ninja—had led a fairly capable team but was forced to abandon their mission under pressure from Red Sand of the Desert and Deidara. Kakashi deeply feared these external experts.

"Did you get intel on something?" Though he believed himself no worse than Itachi Uchiha, if there really was misinformation regarding intel, poor preparation could lead to serious trouble.

Mizuki shook his head slightly. "I'm just saying... while the Sharingan is effective against itself, that only works when their dojutsu levels are relatively similar."

"Hmm, I've noticed something along those lines too..."

Recently, Kakashi had indeed sensed some changes occurring within his left eye's Sharingan. But since his body wasn't compatible with the Sharingan and he lacked the huge chakra reserves needed to sustain its consumption, he couldn't tell exactly what kind of transformation it was.

"Noticed something?"

Mizuki looked at Kakashi in mild surprise. He didn't seem to be lying. Originally, he had thought it would take another three years before Kakashi unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan through natural talent. Guess that theory was way off track.

"Is this change the result of accumulated experience finally bursting forth after several years? Or had Obito actually unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan years ago, and Kakashi is only now starting to adapt, slowly activating it himself?"

"I don't know the answer to Mizuki's questions yet. But being able to control the Mangekyo Sharingan without being an Uchiha or having Hashirama Senju's cells transplanted... that kind of talent is truly extraordinary. That's probably why some people say Kakashi might've been even stronger without the Sharingan."

"It's good you understand. These days could get unstable, so watch yourself. If Lord Jiraiya isn't around, it'll fall on experienced Jonin like you to protect the village..."

"You seem to have quite a solid intelligence source. Do you really think Itachi Uchiha might return?"

"If someone were planning to invade the village, sending someone familiar with our defenses—like Itachi Uchiha—would make strategic sense."

"There's some truth to that," Kakashi Hatake reluctantly admitted Mizuki's reasoning.

Just then, an unexpected voice interrupted.

"Mizuki's right, Kakashi."

The white-haired figure of Jiraiya appeared shortly after.

"Lord Jiraiya..."

Mizuki and Kakashi quickly greeted him. Strong ninja like Lord Jiraiya always deserved respect, especially since he could have become Hokage himself.

Waving them off, Jiraiya spoke directly to Mizuki. "I don't know where you got your information, but what matters is that you're not wrong. I might leave the village soon to find Tsunade. We can't keep the Fifth Hokage position vacant for long..."

"Is it already decided? The Fifth won't be Lord Jiraiya?" Kakashi Hatake asked somewhat regretfully.

"Tsunade is more suitable," Jiraiya explained. "I might take Naruto with me for protection while traveling, but if I'm away and enemies attack the village, then you all will need to defend it, Kakashi."

"I understand completely." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

At that moment, loud shouting suddenly came from the hospital room below.

"Is he always this noisy?" Mizuki turned to ask Kakashi.

"More or less," Kakashi replied with a slight headache. "Team morale has gone downhill lately. Whenever we've got free time, it just turns into a total mess..."

It was probably still because of that big fight with Gaara two days ago. Those two brats never kept quiet in the hospital either—one was always showing off for attention, and the other was being a bit selfish about something. It was nothing short of a miracle they hadn't started fighting yet.

"I'll leave things here to you for now, Kakashi. I have other business to attend to," Jiraiya said before leaping from the rooftop and disappearing into the distance.

Watching their senior's retreating figure, Mizuki turned to Kakashi and said, "Lord Jiraiya must be heading out for drinks. Things are about to get busy for you down there."

"Well, looking after my students is only natural..." With official business concluded, Kakashi once again pulled out his Make Out Paradise book.

Seeing how the conversation wouldn't go any further, Mizuki didn't bring up anything else complicated. After all, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were still recovering in the hospital and shouldn't cause any problems for now. Better to focus first on repelling the anticipated attack from Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.

"I'll head downstairs to check on Kurenai and Hayate. If something comes up later, feel free to swing by again for another chat. As for Sasuke, you really need to figure something out. If things keep going like this, it won't end well..."

Kakashi knew just how powerful emotions could be—it's just that dealing with them was never easy.

"How about we all go out for drinks once everyone's healed? We can have a proper chat." Kakashi lived alone, but he certainly didn't live poor. The two people currently weighing heaviest on his mind were fellow members of Obito Uchiha's clan and the son of his late mentor, Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato. Given Kakashi's personality, not worrying about them just wasn't possible.

"Alright then, I'll take my leave first..." Mizuki said, pushing open the door and walking away.

"Well, we're not done talking exactly, but we're close enough. Most urgent matters have been discussed. What comes next simply can't be resolved anytime soon."

...

Mizuki arrived first at Hayate Gekko's hospital room. When he pushed open the door, inside there was only one staff member on morning duty and Hayate himself lying in bed—no one else.

Walking straight to Hayate's bedside, Mizuki examined his complexion. Except for the paleness caused by prolonged lack of sunlight (his natural hair color couldn't even be seen clearly anymore), Hayate's silver strands stood out sharply. Otherwise, there was nothing particularly unusual; his physical condition appeared quite stable.

"Has he always looked like this?" Mizuki asked the attending staff.

"It's basically the same every day — no better, no worse. Guess that's about as good as we can hope for right now."

Hearing this, Mizuki let out a quiet sigh inside his heart. Just keeping him alive was already quite fortunate. However, this tricky issue regarding severe chakra overuse was something even Mizuki himself hadn't yet figured out how to resolve—he could do absolutely nothing about the current situation. It looked like they'd just have to wait for Tsunade to come back and take another look.

Since he couldn't help further, Mizuki didn't stick around any longer. He turned around and left, then headed toward Kurenai Yuhi's hospital room.

"Huh? So early and there's already someone inside?"

Hearing voices within, Mizuki knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in."

Pushing open the door, Mizuki indeed spotted Asuma Sarutobi's figure. Still, a quick glance around revealed only the unconscious Kurenai; no third person was present.

"He's actually talking to an unconscious Kurenai... seriously, there are people who do stuff like that..."

Realizing the awkwardness under Mizuki's strange gaze, Asuma gave an awkward smile.

"You're here this early?" Mizuki took the initiative to change the subject.

"I'm about to leave the village for a mission. Thought I'd drop by while I still had time..." Asuma replied.

"A mission... leaving the village?" Mizuki frowned involuntarily. At a time like this, sending top-tier fighters out of the village didn't seem like a smart move—at least not until Tsunade got back.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I wasn't supposed to share this mission with anyone, but since you're involved, you might as well know..." Asuma took out a cigarette, about to light it, but then seemed to remember they were in the hospital—specifically in Kurenai Yuhi's hospital room—and put it away immediately. "The negotiation documents from Iwagakure in the Land of Earth have arrived."

"About Deidara? Why so soon?"

"Who knows? We're not exactly enemies with Iwagakure, but we're certainly not close either. What's worse, relations between Iwagakure and Sunagakure have always been terrible... and that's putting it nicely."

These two ninja villages were practically mortal enemies. Konoha couldn't afford to pick any new fights right now. Yet, to appease Sunagakure—which had only recently come under control—they needed to handle things carefully, or their newly-signed alliance agreement might fall apart before the ink even dried.

"Honestly, Mizuki had worried about possible trouble from capturing Deidara, but he didn't expect things to blow up this fast," Mizuki muttered. "Maybe Iwagakure had been keeping a close eye on Deidara all along and wasted no time opening negotiations once word got out that Konoha had captured him."

"Not that bad, I suppose. Still, in times like these, anything could happen."

At this point, Mizuki stopped asking further questions about the mission details. Asuma had already revealed plenty.

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