The Land of Redaku, separated from the outside world by a mountain range thirteen thousand feet high, had maintained a policy of strict isolation for so many centuries that it now belonged to an entirely different cultural sphere than the Land of Fire and the other Great Nations. In recent years, as Hokage, Kakashi had started corresponding with Redaku’s king, the first official exchange between the two countries in recorded history. The letters were nothing more than a simple exchange of information about their respective nations, and it was more a modest correspondence between two leaders rather than any kind of diplomatic relations.
The way things stood, Naruto and his friends simply had too little information to go on.
“Looks like our only option is actually to go there ourselves,” Sasuke said, sounding totally sedate as usual. Directly ahead of him, the round firelight of the lamp flickered and filled the room.
I’ll go.
Naruto somehow managed to swallow the words on the tip of his tongue. They had no idea how many days it was to the Land of Redaku. The Seventh Hokage couldn’t exactly disappear for a lengthy period on unofficial business.
“I’ll go.” It was Kakashi who offered himself up. “I’m the only one here who has a connection with Redaku’s king. I wanted to go and see him sometime after I retired anyway, so this is perfect. Plus, I’ve got nothing going on right now.”
“Even if you take the train to the far west of the Five Great Nations and then go to the capital from there,” Sakura said, “if you hurry, it’ll take maybe two weeks?”
“No.” Sasuke shook his head. “He’ll need to get his body used to the oxygen concentration at higher altitudes. It’ll take twenty days.”
“Right.” Kakashi nodded. “Well, either way, best to leave as soon as possible, hm?”
“Master Kakashi, you don’t have to do this.” Naruto threw cold water on the conversation unfolding before him.
Shikamaru turned exasperated eyes on him. “Of course he does. You can’t keep going like this.”
“But this is my own personal problem. Master Kakashi … Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, you’re all valuable resources for Konoha. I can’t go using you for something like this.”
Sasuke glared questioningly at Naruto. “Those who don’t obey will be stripped of ninja status?” he said, obvious anger in his voice.
Naruto fell silent.
Kakashi quickly spoke up again. “That’s exactly right. We’re ninja failures, Naruto, when it comes to you. Sorry I can’t live up to your expectations, but when something’s going on with you, I just can’t make myself care about going by the books.”
Naruto slowly lifted his gaze and looked at each of his friends in turn. None of them showed it on their faces, but he had known them all a long time, so he could tell just how worried they were. Kurama had told him to get his friends together to investigate the illness, and the first people he had spoken to were these four.
But the truth was, he hadn’t wanted to tell anyone. He didn’t want to cause any extra worry over him.
“Well, I get how you feel.” Kakashi shifted his weight where he sat cross-legged. “But whatever you say, I’m going to the Land of Redaku. If I’m going, though, it’d be a huge help if we could make it official Hokage business, rather than private business. I could use the travel budget.”
Travel expenses were not the real reason for this request.
Naruto glared at the tatami mats. If the media found out about Kakashi’s trip to the Land of Redaku after the fact, they would probably tear Naruto apart: “The Hokage is using the shinobi of the village for personal business.” But if there was a record of it being an official mission, then at least he couldn’t be criticized for a private dispatch.
“Naruto,” Shikamaru said, and Naruto lifted his gaze. “If I can speak as the Hokage’s aide, we shouldn’t begrudge the resources in looking for a reason for this illness. If something happened to you, it would be a devastating loss for the village. To be honest, it would have an impact on the power balance of the Five Great Nations.”
“And we also bear responsibility for bringing this on.” Kakashi picked up where Shikamaru left off. “We’ve relied on you too much for too long. Both during the Fourth Great Ninja War and the rebuilding afterward. The daimyo of the other countries acknowledge that your strength is what built the peace we have now, and you’ve also been a major part of building up the Land of Fire. But the end result’s been all the heavy burdens being placed on your shoulders alone.”
“That’s …”
I mean, it’s the same for you guys.
Naruto looked around at his friends.
Shikamaru, supporting the Hokage both onstage and behind the scenes as his adviser; Sasuke, protecting Konoha from the shadows in his missions in undeveloped areas; Sakura, giving her everything to developing medical treatments; Kakashi, who laid the foundations for the current Konoha as the Sixth Hokage—although their roles were all different, they were all shouldering the same burden.
“I’ll go too,” Sasuke declared abruptly. “The Land of Redaku’s a city-state. Information may not necessarily be concentrated in the capital. Better to have more hands on deck.”
“No, Sasuke,” Naruto said. “I can’t go using you for my illness. Absolutely not.”
They already had a very capable resource in the form of Kakashi on the job. Naruto couldn’t also involve Sasuke in what was his own personal problem.