"Damn it!!"
His center was wide open!
Menma pressed in close.
His arm raised high.
Under the bright sunlight, the cold gleam of the kunai reflected sharply.
In that moment.
There seemed to be a slight hesitation in its movement.
But just a second later.
A fierce glint flashed in Menma's eyes.
He stabbed down ruthlessly toward the attacker's vitals.
"?!"
At this distance, dodging was impossible.
Gritting his teeth, the attacker twisted his body with all his might, simultaneously swinging his right arm horizontally to shield himself.
Splurt!
He barely managed to block the lethal strike.
But the kunai plunged effortlessly into his right arm.
The dull sound of metal piercing flesh echoed.
Squish!
Blood spurted out.
The attacker grunted, unable to suppress the pain.
He tried to swing his other arm around to counterattack.
Wham!
But Menma was faster. He raised his left leg and delivered a powerful kick straight to the attacker's abdomen.
Explosive force erupted.
"Gah!"
The attacker spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was launched backward like a cannonball.
Thud!
He crashed heavily onto the ground.
Under the double impact, the attacker felt like his body was falling apart. before he could recover...
Menma flashed into the air above him.
He drove his knee down hard into the attacker's stomach again. This blow completely incapacitated him.
His eyes rolled back, and he passed out instantly.
Just as Menma subdued his opponent...
On the other side.
Sasuke delivered a sharp chop to the neck of the second attacker, knocking him out cold as well.
"Ahhh! You two are way too fast! Leave one for me!!!"
Naruto, who was lagging behind, looked at Menma and Sasuke standing over their defeated enemies with an expression of pure frustration.
This was their first time out of the village! A rare chance for real combat!
And he missed it just like that!!
Naruto's heart ached with regret!
"Heh. Next time, you'll just have to be faster, Naruto!"
Menma pulled out a rope and began tying both attackers to a nearby tree as he spoke softly to Naruto.
"Hmph! Just you wait! Next time, I'll definitely be faster than both of you!"
Naruto wrinkled his nose and retorted.
"Is this really the time to discuss that?! Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei was killed!"
Not far away, Sakura Haruno seemed to have just snapped out of her stupor. Seeing Menma, Naruto, and Sasuke looking so calm and composed, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she screamed instinctively.
Sakura genuinely couldn't understand.
Didn't the death of their Jōnin sensei matter at all to Menma, Naruto, and Sasuke?!
"I say, Sakura-chan, take a closer look at where Big Brother Kakashi was standing. Seriously, this is the second time already. Don't you have any grasp of Big Brother Kakashi's strength?"
Hearing Sakura's scream...
Naruto shook his head and pointed at Kakashi's original position, speaking with a hint of helplessness.
Menma and Sasuke maintained their calm expressions.
"Huh?"
Only Sakura was stunned by Naruto's words. Instinctively following his finger, she saw that "Kakashi's corpse" had somehow turned into several pieces of a wooden log. The blood that had sprayed everywhere was gone without a trace.
It was almost identical to the scene from a month ago.
Sakura's face instantly flushed with embarrassment.
"Ahaha... so it was the Body Replacement Technique..."
Sakura forced an awkward but polite smile, trying to cover up her blunder.
"Also, Big Brother Kakashi, you should come out now, right? With your strength, you could have easily defeated these two enemies! Why did you hide?"
Naruto asked, sounding a bit dissatisfied and confused.
"Haha, nothing escapes your eyes. But I had a reason for hiding, Naruto. It was to determine who the attackers' real target was. After all, don't forget, this was supposed to be just a C-rank mission. Although... Menma and Sasuke, you two acted too fast. Now I can't confirm it for sure!"
Kakashi stepped out from the shadows of a tree on the right side of the road. Wearing a smile, he finished the first half of his sentence...
Then deliberately looked at Tazuna as he delivered the second half.
In that moment, Tazuna finally lost his composure. A look of panic clearly surfaced in his eyes.
"Eh? Real target? Big Brother Kakashi, what do you mean?"
Naruto was simple-minded and sometimes lazy about thinking, but that didn't mean he was stupid.
Especially when Kakashi had made it so obvious!
It would be strange if Naruto still didn't understand!
"Wanting to know the target? Isn't that simple? Kakashi-sensei, you should have plenty of ways to pry open these Mist ninja's mouths, right?"
Menma smiled lightly, glancing at the unconscious Demon Brothers before looking back at Kakashi.
"That's true. You heard him, Tazuna-san. Do you have an explanation for us? Oh, of course, you can remain silent. But over there... I'm sure someone will be willing to talk!"
Kakashi turned to look at Tazuna. At this point, there was no need for pretense.
Menma, Sasuke, and even Naruto's gazes followed Kakashi's words and fixed on Tazuna.
Only Sakura still looked confused, looking back and forth without understanding the situation.
"Sigh..."
After the two Mist ninja were subdued and Kakashi reappeared...
Tazuna's expression had been tense.
As Kakashi's words fell, Tazuna couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
He hadn't been pretending not to understand.
He had been hoping against hope.
He had fantasized that if he hired Leaf ninja to protect him, those who wanted his life would back off. He hoped to freeload a period of safety until the bridge was finished.
But now, that fantasy had been brutally shattered.
"No need to ask. These people are after me!"
Tazuna admitted it frankly. The facts were right in front of them; continuing to lie would be meaningless.
Tazuna had lived for decades; he knew when the jig was up. He was still holding onto a sliver of hope!
Naturally, he had to try and salvage whatever goodwill might still exist—or might not!