Chapter 46: Invasion Part II

                                    

                                          
In the end it would have been far too risky to keep Han alive in the middle of a war. Kakashi made his decision and ended Han; the bijuu would not be back for at least another two years. By that time one way or another, the war should be over.
                          
Much to Kakashi's relief shortly after he had executed Han word arrived that Naruto and Sasuke were injured but alive. Itachi on the other hand was dead. Kakashi had faith in his team but against someone like Itachi his faith had been tested.
                          
Not all the news was good. Fuu, the jinchuuriki of Takigakure, had been captured by Kisame. Iwagakure's invasion had been stymied but Konoha hadn't been able to finish off the enemy due to Kisame and Itachi. For now their ally was safe and very grateful, but long term Iwa was far from defeated. The invasion had been sizeable but they still had thousands of more shinobi to call upon. The quality would be lacking but they were still a threat. Kakashi hoped Sunagakure stayed true to their alliance so that his village could fully deal with the threat of Kumo.
                          
"Naruto, Sasuke I'm proud of you both. Naruto, ensure the toads know the full situation here. In the morning Jiraiya will summon a toad like normal and we'll await orders."
                          
"Hai Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied.
                          
It was possible, perhaps even likely that Inoichi would initiate mental correspondence again but Kakashi always liked to plan for the worst. Jiraiya would need to know what happened here.
                          
Kakashi knew that Naruto's leg wound would heal by morning. The rapid regeneration of a jinchuuriki was impressive. Sasuke however would be down for several days. Chakra exhaustion was not something you could recover from lightly. He was deeply curious about the information Itachi had shared. He knew Sharingan eyes could be transplanted since he had Obito's gift, but the knowledge that a transplanted eye could give greater power to an existing Sharingan wielder was intriguing. He knew his eye would eventually grow weaker and possibly make him go blind. Well at least in that eye. Could one of Itachi's eyes fix that problem? It felt... wrong to take someone else's body part without it being gifted but Kakashi was nothing if not pragmatic.
                          
Then again would the weakness of the Uchiha eyes eventually affect Sasuke? If so Sasuke had more of a right to the eyes then he did.
                          
As for Kakashi himself, he was dangerously low on reserves though not quite as bad as Sasuke. Sakura was probably the healthiest of them as she had not suffered chakra exhaustion or serious wounds. Her efficient genjutsu used little chakra and her fuinjutsu even less since most of the chakra used in those seals had already been expended in the making of the seals, not in the triggering of them. That was really the true beauty of the seals since she could have Naruto make most of the simpler ones while she focused on the complex matrices.
                          
Shikamaru, Ino and Chōji were also going to be OK but their wounds would prevent them from assisting Konoha for some time. The only other name of any note was Hana Inuzuka, who had proven to be more than deserving of the title of clan head. While Hana wasn't quite the powerhouse her mother was in close combat she also had medical jutsu that was nearly on par with Shizune. Her medical abilities, superior senses, her four legged allies and her immense taijutsu skills made her one powerful jōnin.
                          
For now Kakashi could do little more than rest and try to recuperate as much as he could. Konoha had many strong shinobi defending it but it was likely that the Raikage himself would lead the assault.
                          
***BREAK***
                          
Dawn arrived and the Raikage set out with his army. The scouting cadre under Fuyu had finished clearing the vast majority of the traps and the way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves was clear. Their march would allow them to arrive a couple of hours before dusk. The Raikage did not intend to give them another night to prepare.