In that moment, Megumi had just one job: escape. He didn't want to throw his little hands against Kakashi right now.
'System, do you think I can win with your swordsmanship?' he asked internally, not daring to attack yet. 'What's my winning percentage if I fight him? And what are my chances of escaping unscathed?'
[HOST, YOUR OVERALL CHANCE OF WINNING IS 100%, BUT IN PURE SWORDSMANSHIP... YOU WILL BE SPEED-BLITZED.]
"Wow, thanks for the help," Megumi muttered sarcastically.
As he faced Kakashi, three more ANBU members suddenly appeared on the scene.
"Hi, brothers and sisters. I'm just getting some fresh air," he said, his voice not at all sounding like that of a four-year-old boy.
This confused the ANBU members who had come to support their captain.
"Captain, don't worry. I'll end this quick," said one of the members.
[HOST, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR DOJUTSU. DON'T HOLD BACK.]
Megumi closed his eyes. When he reopened them, they were pitch black, putting him into a mindless combat state as intricate tattoos spread across his skin, reaching his neck.
Clack! Clack!
No longer afraid, Megumi met the ANBU officer head-on, his blade clashing against the other's in a flurry of slashes and thrusts.
I need to end this quick, he thought. Storing his short blade in his shadow, he clenched his fist and ran head-on toward the ANBU. The operative underestimated what the little kid could do, relaxing his guard and dropping his own blade, thinking he could easily subdue Megumi in taijutsu.
"Black Flash!" Megumi shouted.
He struck the ANBU straight in the gut, the impact knocking him out cold. Seeing their teammate's terrible condition, the other two ANBU immediately rushed forward. One of them knelt, checking if his comrade was still breathing before immediately applying medical jutsu.
"Captain, we need to get him to the hospital! His condition is critical!" the ANBU medic said, his jutsu unable to reverse the severe internal injuries.
[HOST, YOU SHOULD LEAVE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE YOU GET JUMPED.]
"Shit! Reinforcements can't be far from here," Megumi thought, his mindless state not registering the danger properly.
"Chidori!"
A voice shouted from below, and a hand infused with lightning erupted from the earth, aiming to pierce Megumi's heart. But due to his mindless state, his body's instincts kicked in. He shifted just enough for the attack to hit his shoulder instead. Before Kakashi could finish the job, Megumi yelled, "Now!"
He called forth the Divine Dog: Totality, which he had stored in his shadow. The beast burst out, its sheer ferocity forcing Kakashi to leap back to where his shadow clone stood.
"He can summon without hand signs," Kakashi wondered in shock. "And that summon... it has no chakra."
Badly injured, Megumi fell to his knees, using his free hand to press down on the bleeding wound.
"Damn, I forgot this one-eyed Uchiha always uses shadow clones. Lucky I stored the wolf inside my shadow," Megumi thought, noticing a crack on the left side of his ANBU mask.
The battle had attracted shinobi from various clans. Arriving on the scene, they were surprised to see a small child in a cracked ANBU mask, wounded, surrounded by three ANBU members—one of whom lay unconscious in a crater caused by Megumi's Black Flash.
Losing consciousness, Megumi immediately retreated into his shadow, a move made possible thanks to Shikaku Nara casting his Shadow Imitation Jutsu in an attempt to bind the suspect.
"Don't let him get away!" a man with a bandaged face ordered his soldiers, but they were too late.
'Hey, System, make sure you get me home,' Megumi thought while still inside the shadow.
[YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND.]
...
The Third Hokage arrived and, after seeing the state of the ANBU, gave Kakashi a brief nod before addressing the crowd. "Everyone can leave now. The issue has been taken care of," Sarutobi Hiruzen announced to the various clan heads.
Inside the Hokage's office, only four people were present, with Kakashi kneeling in the middle.
"Please tell me what happened, Kakashi," the Third Hokage said, drawing smoke from his pipe.
"I was on patrol when some civilians reported someone running across their roofs. Then, I heard a howl coming from the Hokage Monument. When I got there, I saw this kid with a large wolf beside him," Kakashi explained, not hiding a single detail.
"You may leave."
After Kakashi's departure, the office was as quiet as a graveyard.
"Hiruzen, I suspect this has to do with the Uchiha," said the old man with the bandaged face, showing little respect for the Hokage. "Let me recruit more men to protect the village from the dark. I will find the kid for you. You need me."
"You don't have to worry about the Uchiha, Danzo. You will need no more men. Minato will be having his inauguration in a week. Let's allow the younger generation to take care of this 'kid' issue," Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly, still smoking his pipe.
"You will regret this, Sarutobi!" Danzo snapped.
"Danzo, I am still the Hokage," Hiruzen replied, his expression unchanging.
Danzo stormed out of the office, slamming the door in anger.
...
"Ahhh!" Megumi woke up, checking the injury on his shoulder. "It's healed," he sighed in relief.
"Did you use the shadow deer to heal me? Thanks for that."
[WOW, WHO ARE YOU TO IMPERSONATE THE HOST?]
Megumi, hearing the System's sarcasm, wasn't in the mood to argue. "Whatever."
Kaede entered his room, her expression serious. "Where were you last night?" she asked. She had gone to check on him only to find his room empty. The barrier she had installed, capable of sensing even a civilian with no chakra, had not been triggered.
[R.I.P. HOST.]
Damn, Megumi thought. He knew he was in big trouble and had to come up with a convincing answer, or this woman would be applying a different kind of "medicine" to his wounds.
"I was in the forest, training," he lied with a straight face.
Kaede knew he was lying. "Come to the backyard and show me what you've learned so far," she said, turning and walking out of his room.
A few minutes later, Megumi was standing in front of his mother, a wooden sword in his hand.
"I'm ready," Megumi said, positioning himself for another round of brutal "training."