15: Chapter 15 The Land of Waves, Murderous Intent in the MistAt the gates of Konoha Village, the four members of Team 7 met their employer, bridge expert Tazuna, for the first time.He was a somewhat disheveled old man, reeking of alcohol, with a towel tied around his head and his face etched with the marks of time.
"You sent these few brats to protect me?" Tazuna took a swig of his drink and swept his cloudy eyes over the three men."Especially the shortest one, he looks like an idiot.Is he really a ninja?"
Sakura Haruno was about to explode, but Sasuke Uchiha didn't even bother to look at him.
Naruto Uzumaki, however, didn't care at all.He raised his hand high and revealed a bright, dazzling smile.
"Don't worry, uncle!I'm going to be Hokage, protecting you is a piece of cake!"
That was the perfect idiot's statement.
Only Naruto himself could see that Tazuna's emotional data was clearly displayed on his system panel.
[Ding!You have received 300 [Fear] from Tazuna!]
[Ding!You have received 200 "Boldness" from Tazuna!]
oh?
A simple C-level escort mission, yet the client carries such intense fear.Interesting.
Naruto's heart remained completely calm.
The Land of Waves, Gato, Zabuza, Haku.
This is an excellent script, a perfect stage to reap a wealth of high-quality emotions.
He couldn't wait any longer.
"Alright, let's go." Kakashi Hatake closed the novel in his hand and spoke lazily.
He clearly sensed something, but didn't point it out.
For him, this might be a perfect practical test for his three disciples.
The group left the village and embarked on the dirt road to the Land of Waves.
Sakura Haruno followed closely behind Sasuke, trying to find a topic of conversation.Sasuke kept his hands in his pockets, maintaining his usual aloofness.
Naruto, on the other hand, had an excess of energy, running around in front of and behind the group, sometimes throwing a stone, sometimes chasing a butterfly, perfectly embodying the liveliness and naivety of a twelve-year-old boy.
[Ding!You have received 120 [Contempt] from Uchiha Sasuke!]
[Ding!You have received 90 "disdain" messages from Sakura Haruno!]
Even a mosquito's leg is meat.Naruto never tires of it.
After walking for about two hours, a puddle of water appeared on the road ahead.
On such a clear, cloudless day with dry ground, the appearance of a puddle is itself the biggest flaw.
Kakashi's steps did not falter.
Sasuke's gaze lingered on the puddle for a fraction of a second before he casually looked away.
Naruto, however, acted as if he hadn't seen anything, maintaining his cheerful demeanor as he stepped inside.
Pfft.
The icy mud splashed onto his trouser legs.
Right now.
The puddle suddenly burst open!
Two dark figures darted out from within with a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.They were dressed in the standard uniform of Kirigakure, with a gleaming chain attached to their arms.
Whoosh!
The chains wrapped around Kakashi's body at an extremely tricky angle, and then tightened suddenly!
Pfft!
A sickeningly loud tearing sound rang out.
Amidst Sakura Haruno and Tazuna's terrified screams, Kakashi Hatake's body was instantly sliced into several pieces by sharp chains, blood and internal organs splattering all over the ground.
"The first one!" one of the Hidden Mist ninjas chuckled hoarsely.
Sakura Haruno's mind went blank, and her body froze on the spot.
Uchiha Sasuke's reaction was incredibly fast.
He showed no panic.At the same time that the chain was strangling Kakashi, he had already drawn his kunai, lowered his body slightly, and flipped his wrist to precisely pin the flying chain to the tree trunk next to him!
This composure and judgment completely transcend the realm of a genin.
"Naruto!What are you daydreaming about!" Sasuke shouted angrily as he turned around after securing the chains.
Naruto Uzumaki stood rooted to the spot, his body trembling slightly.His usually smiling face was now pale with the shock and terror of someone who had survived a near-death experience.He remained motionless, as if he had been paralyzed with fear.
Of course it was an act.
[Ding!You have received 800 units of ultimate [Fear] from Sakura Haruno!]
[Ding!You have received 500 "Anxiety" items from Uchiha Sasuke!]
"Take care of that trembling brat first!" The other member of the Demon Brothers, Ye Tou, gave up on breaking free of his chains and instead focused his attention on Naruto, who posed the least threat.
With a sinister grin, the two charged at the blond boy who seemed to have completely lost the will to fight.
"Watch out!" Sasuke wanted to rush to the rescue, but between him and Naruto was Tazuna, who was paralyzed with fear on the ground.
The distance made it impossible for him to arrive in time.
The demon brothers' poisonous claws rapidly magnified in Naruto's vision.
He remained "terrified" and motionless.
But in his inner world, unseen by anyone else, Naruto calmly issued an order.
"Possessed by evil spirits."
Just as the venomous metal claws were about to touch Naruto's neck.
Clang!
A deafening metallic clang suddenly rang out!
That wasn't the sound of flesh being torn apart, but rather like two heavy hammers being swung at high speed and colliding violently.
The two ghost brothers felt as if their claws had struck an indestructible piece of refined gold, and an irresistible, enormous recoil force traveled from their arms throughout their bodies.
Click!
The bones in their arms groaned under the immense impact, their jaws splitting open instantly, bleeding profusely.Their venomous claws, capable of easily tearing through steel, twisted backward at an unsettling angle.
"What?" The two of them were filled with incomprehensible horror.
Naruto, on the other hand, seemed to be pushed by this force, staggering backward and falling to the ground with a thud.His face showed a perfect mix of bewilderment and fear, as if he had just survived a close call.
"Teacher!" he exclaimed in surprise.He screamed in panic.
Behind the demon brothers, Kakashi, who should have been dismembered, had appeared silently.The "corpse" on the ground then turned into a broken wooden stake with a "bang".
"Your opponent is me." Kakashi's voice was as languid as ever, but his attack showed no mercy.
He delivered a chop to the back of Mingtou's neck with one hand, and with his other hand he easily snatched Yetou's arm and twisted it in the opposite direction.
Two rogue ninja from Kirigakure, who would be considered nightmares by ordinary genin, were easily subdued without even putting up a decent fight.
The battle is over.
Kakashi tied up the unconscious Demon Brothers, then turned around and slowly walked to Naruto, who was still sitting on the ground.
He said nothing, but simply looked at him quietly with his single eye, which was not covered by his headband.
That wasn't blame, nor was it concern.
It was a pure inquiry, imbued with a strong sense of scrutiny.
That was definitely not a coincidence.
That hardness, that recoil force, it doesn't even seem like the defensive power a person could possess.
"Sensei…" Naruto looked up, his blue eyes brimming with tears, his voice trembling with sobs, "That was close… I thought I was going to die…"
A perfect performance.
A level 3 acting master is enough to fool any discerning eye.
[Ding!You have received 1500 [Doubt] from Kakashi Hatake!]
Kakashi's gaze lingered on him for a full ten seconds, but he still couldn't figure it out.
He could only temporarily attribute it all to the unconscious outburst of the Nine-Tails' chakra during the crisis, or.some kind of passive protection from that "golden mark".
He extracted information from the demon brothers, then cast a cold gaze at Tazuna, who was sprawled on the ground.
"I think you need to give us an explanation.This has gone far beyond the scope of a C-rank mission.Their real target is Zabuza Momochi, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the 'Demon,' right?"
Dazner's body trembled violently; he knew he could no longer hide it.
He struggled to tell the whole story about how the wealthy Gato controlled the Land of Waves with money and violence, and how he built the bridge to break the blockade and save the country.
The atmosphere in the group instantly became extremely heavy.
"Let's abandon the mission, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura Haruno was the first to speak, her voice trembling with tears."The enemy is the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!We'll die!"
Sasuke didn't speak, but his clenched fists and eyes burning with fighting spirit already showed his attitude.
Kakashi fell silent.
Just then, the surrounding air began to become damp and cold.
A thick layer of white fog rose from nowhere and quickly enveloped the entire forest, reducing visibility to less than five meters within seconds.
On the distant water, a tall figure stood silently, carrying a huge cleaver on his shoulder that was disproportionate to his height.
That sword is called the Decapitation Sword.
Through the thick fog, he coldly watched the few Konoha ninjas arguing on the shore.
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