I Thought You Were Already Dead

The Letter From The Outside World

Sarutobi Hiruzen was an old man; he had seen many things in his days as a child, a teen, an adolescent, an adult, and as a Hokage of Konoha. However, never before in his whole life had he seen a child be thrown to so much tests and misery as Hatake Kakashi.

The child had accomplished a lot in his life- academy student at four, graduated and genin at five, chuunin six, and jounin at ten. However, he had lost a lot in the process. His mother died at childbirth. At age six, he lost his father. He lost two of his teammates on a row shortly after his jounin promotion at age ten. And now... Sarutobi sighed.

"Kakashi, what am I supposed to with you?"

Kakashi's physique had been deeply affected by the death of his loved ones. These people had been everything to Kakashi, and altogether, they slowly healed his scarred heart and filled his life with light. He only had a limited amount of people who genuinely cared for his well-being and more than half of them had already died. Even worse; the boy seemed to blame himself for their deaths.

Just three weeks ago, his mentor and mother figure were lost to the nine tailed fox- the Kyuubi. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina had been the young boy's pillars for as long as he remembered. After Kakashi's father died, they anonymously adopted the boy and kept him from sinking too deep into depression.

The couple's death had hit the young preteen's half-healed heart, and now Kakashi was back to square one. Now, he had no one again. Everyone was dead.

The Sandaime Hokage returned to the letter carefully laid out in front of him. It was from an old acquaintance of the Shodaime and the Nidaime, and by extension, Sarutobi himself. Albus Dumbledore... A man of great and sometimes questionable wits, a large and respected figure in the wizarding world, and a mentor of many young scholars.

It had been such a long time since the Elemental Nations had interacted with the Outside World. The last time Hiruzen recalled such a thing happened was during... Hm, he couldn't even remember the last time he had been in touch with the wizarding world.

The aged man surveyed the short letter in front of him once again, considering what his next move should be.

Sarutobi, Hiruzen

Sandaime Hokage

Konohagakure, Hi No Kuni, Elemental Nations

Hiruzen:

How are you, my old friend? It has certainly been a long time since we last saw each other, has it?  I do hope that you and the village have been doing well. 

I am writing to you in hopes of receiving help in a problem of mine. As you probably heard, lately, the wizarding world has been in turmoil. After young Harry Potter's run in with my old student, Tom Riddle- now known by the public as Lord Voldemort, my world has been plagued with darkness. 

However, this year seems to have taken a quick turn around. Just last week, a dangerous criminal and mass murderer escaped from one of our top jail compound, and has been sighted in multiple places. It seems that he has been set on finding Potter. Additionally, Voldemort's forces have been becoming more persistent by the day.

I would like to request for you to send me at least a full team of your best men, suitable for  infiltration, guarding, and assassination if the need arises. I am willing to pay a handsome amount of money in exchange for these fine men of yours. If you can, please send a team that includes at least one person young enough to be a third year student or younger. I will provide for every and any thing he or she needs, as well as arrange the transportation needed. Please consider the fact that this will be a long term mission; lasting for at least nine months.

I appreciate your consideration of my request. Take care.

Sincerely yours,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Highlands of Scotland, Europe

Dumbledore certainly has outdone himself this time, the Sandaime thought. However, as a friend and a leader myself, I cannot ignore his request for help.

He then turned towards a small list of the shinobi candidates he had gathered that he trusted were enough for this mission. They fit Dumbledore's list of requirements pretty well. However... Most, if not all, of them were either injured severely and still in recovery, or dead. 

The tired Hokage looked out the window towards his beloved village, and his mind went to all the things he needed to do. First off, his village was still in repair for what the Kyuubi no Youko did to majority of the village. He needed as much workforce as he can gather not only for repairs, but also for guarding. Secondly, his predecessor had been forced out of his office earlier than anyone expected, thus leaving him to reclaim his seat as Hokage once again. In addition to Minato's early death and retirement, he and his wife had left an orphan- their son, the third jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and the son of two powerful and well-feared people in the Elemental Nations. Being such an important child, Uzumaki Naruto had to be shielded from many dangers; political, physical, and psychological. 

Speaking of orphans, the village was now full of them. As Konoha was a shinobi village, many of its citizens were shinobi; from child to teen to adult, and many of them were wiped out by the Kyuubi. Families were broken, houses were destroyed, fear and chaos were present- all in all, his village was a mess. He couldn't just send out his strongest men when his village was in such a state of vulnerability. For the nth time that night, the Sarutobi sighed. 

His mind going back to Kakashi's case, he made his decision. This is for the best. Kakashi, I hope that you will recover a bit from this mission. Consider this your well deserved vacation.

And with that last thought, the Hokage summoned one of his Anbu. "Bring me Hatake Kakashi immediately," he stated, and was met with the small gust of wind left by the shinobi.