Hokage's Office
Through the crystal ball on his desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Kosuke Maruboshi and Team 7 leave Konoha. He waved his hand to deactivate it and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Someone from the Land of Waves came to the village to post a mission. Why did no one tell me about this?"
"Forgive me, Lord Hokage," an ANBU ninja said, emerging from the shadows. He knelt on one knee before the desk and explained in a low voice, "We have been investigating Shisui Uchiha's old files recently. Besides, Iruka Umino was on duty at the Mission Assignment Desk, and the citizen from the Land of Waves only posted a standard C-rank escort request..."
"That is no simple request!" Hiruzen sighed, clasping his hands on the desk. He looked down at the mission file. "I don't know if Kosuke can handle this mission..."
The trade route between the great nations of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water was a source of huge profit, all controlled by a single shipping magnate. The Konoha leadership had been dissatisfied with this for a long time. Moreover, the Land of Waves was the closest island nation to the Land of Fire. Under no circumstances could they allow the magnate controlling it to slowly turn his allegiance to the Mist Village.
It was just that no one from the Land of Waves had ever come forward before. Now, with someone from inside the country wanting to build a bridge to the Land of Fire, it was a rare opportunity. Wasn't this an attempt to get closer to them—to Konoha?
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed as he looked at another request beside it: a C-rank mission to retrieve goods from bandits. The two missions seemed unrelated, but Team 7 was the closest ninja squad to the Land of Waves.
He lowered his voice and muttered to himself, "With Kakashi's insight, he should be able to understand the importance of the Land of Waves, right?"
In fact, it was just as he expected.
Kakashi Hatake came from the ANBU and had long been exposed to the darkness beneath Konoha. As a result, he possessed a strategic perspective that his peers lacked. The mission he had accepted for Team 7 was located closest to the Land of Waves, making it convenient for him to secretly investigate the country's situation.
But there was another matter that Hiruzen had not anticipated...
In a dark underground base in Konoha's back hills, a figure hurried through a passage. The rush of air from his movement made the candlelight flicker, casting a menacing shadow on the wall.
"Lord Danzo, we just received news that Kakashi has led Team 7 out of Konoha on a C-rank mission!" The masked ninja looked up at his respected superior and continued in a deep voice, "And their mission target is a group of ronin under our control..."
"Hmm?" The one-eyed old man turned in surprise. After hearing his subordinate's report, a smile touched his lips. "Originally, they were just pawns placed to constrain those greedy merchants. I didn't expect them to have some use on the chessboard..."
The ninja under the animal mask asked with some confusion, "But that group of ronin isn't strong enough to defeat Kakashi Hatake, are they?"
"Hmph..." Danzo Shimura snorted coldly, his mood souring. "Because of him, I lost an important subordinate back then!"
That subordinate was the only surviving Wood Style experiment subject. Even though his power was nowhere near the First Hokage's, he still held overwhelming strength against other ninja. His name alone showed how highly Danzo had regarded him.
Tenzō(Yamato).
Back then, to ambush Kakashi and take his Sharingan, Danzo had dispatched Tenzō to complete the task. Unfortunately, Hiruzen discovered the matter and personally came to take Tenzō away from Root. The old monkey had just swooped in and stolen his prize.
Danzo's face gradually became solemn, and he gripped the ninja sword in his hand tightly. "It just so happens that I can use this opportunity to resolve all of Konoha's unsettling factors at once."
"During this time, Hiruzen has been dispatching ANBU to investigate Shisui's old files and has no time to watch Root. Send out several squads in a large-scale operation."
"I will stay here to create an alibi. I must also be wary; it's not impossible that the ANBU could trace Shisui's matter back to me."
In a flash, Danzo had formulated a plan. Using Team 7's mission as an opportunity, he would replace the ronin with a group of highly skilled rogue ninja. He could use them to eliminate the hidden threat of Kakashi. That white-haired ninja knew too much, even about the assassination attempt on Hiruzen. Moreover, from Hiruzen's words, he sensed the Hokage intended to list Kakashi as a candidate to succeed him soon.
That was not a good sign.
Besides, the little ones of Team 7 were also very useful. If he could plant the darkness of loyalty to Konoha in the mind of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he would have a chance to turn him into a weapon for his own use. There was also an added bonus: having Root ninjas control Sasuke Uchiha would allow him to indirectly control that elusive S-rank rogue ninja, Itachi Uchiha.
The timing, the location, the people involved—an opportunity this perfect was rare.
With Danzo's order, a dozen masked ninjas quickly assembled before him, respectfully awaiting his command.
"Fu, this matter is of great importance. You will personally lead the team. The mission is to kill Kakashi Hatake, then bring Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha to our base outside the village. I will equip you with the organization's strongest ninja. Do not disappoint me..."
Danzo stared at his trusted subordinate. This was a standout he had requested from the Yamanaka clan, raised by him since childhood, and utterly loyal.
Fu Yamanaka nodded. "Yes!"
"Then go. You don't have much time..." The one-eyed old man waved his hand. Watching his subordinates swiftly depart, a determined smile appeared on his lips, a faint red glow visible under the gauze on his face.
The sky gradually darkened.
Team 7 was not yet aware of the crisis they were about to face. They set up camp in the wild before nightfall. Sakura Haruno, along with the merchant they were escorting, watched with interest as the three guys stood by the river, listening to Kakashi explain the essentials of fishing.
"First, you have to put the bait on properly," Kakashi instructed. "Hang it diagonally on the hook. Otherwise, small fish will just nibble it off..."
Sasuke Uchiha frowned and offered a different opinion. "Sensei, wouldn't using your Lightning Style be faster?"
Kakashi lowered his head. "Camping in the wild is extremely dangerous. We could encounter enemies at any time, so we cannot carelessly waste our chakra."
"..." Sasuke rolled his eyes and pointed to his teammate next to him.
Naruto Uzumaki was compressing a Rasengan in his palm. Soon, he had condensed its chakra into the size of a marble. He flicked his finger, and the marble-sized Rasengan shot into the river.
Plop!
After the light sound of the marble hitting the water, the river instantly began to surge. A whirlpool gradually formed on the surface. The large and small fish still swimming below didn't have time to react before they were swept into the air by the swirling water, scattering and falling onto the ground.
Naruto looked at his right hand and nodded to himself. "Hmm... I'll call it the Rasengan Bullet from now on!"
"Don't waste... chakra..." As Kakashi was speaking, his eyes involuntarily rolled upwards, staring blankly as a fish fell and landed squarely on his head.