Little Axe Li Comes Out to Cause Trouble

The group of five moved away from the water. Two punk-looking men slowly emerged from the water, their eyes cold and their bodies emanating a faint killing intent.

The key was that the two of them were still tightly embracing each other.

If Teacher Kakashi and Might Guy, Naruto and Sasuke, and Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had ultimately failed to end up together for one reason or another—

Then the Ghost Brothers could truly be said to have achieved a happy ending.

Hinata had always been pondering a question.

Teacher Kakashi and Might Guy had remained unmarried for life. Naruto and Sasuke had gotten married, but Sasuke had always refused to return to Konoha. Hashirama Senju had gotten married too, yet Madara Uchiha remained single.

And not only was Madara Uchiha single, he had also left Konoha and eventually fought Hashirama Senju to the death.

Could there be some unspeakable secret behind all this?

The mechanisms on the Ghost Brothers' arms were connected by iron chains. One of them leaped up, instantly wrapping Hinata and Kakashi tightly in the chains.

The chains had been sharpened to an extremely keen edge. With a hard pull from the Ghost Brothers, Kakashi and Hinata were instantly dismembered. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and severed limbs flew through the air.

The Ghost Brothers confidently scored a double kill!

"Teacher Kakashi!"

"Hinata—"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Tazuna were all stunned by the sight before them, so shocked that they had even forgotten how to think.

The Ghost Brothers silently appeared behind Naruto and said cruelly, "The third one took the bait!"

Just as the Ghost Brothers were about to finish Naruto off, Naruto was so frightened that he had forgotten to resist. However, the chakra within him began to surge violently. Before the Ghost Brothers' attack could reach him, a crimson chakra as tangible as substance burst forth from Naruto's body.

Hinata hid in the woods, originally watching with great interest, but she had not expected Naruto to directly unleash the Nine-Tails.

Red chakra swept out of Naruto's body like nine tails. The Ghost Brothers were sent flying by that enormous, violent chakra and crashed to the ground on the spot.

"You actually killed Hinata—"

To Naruto, Hinata was not only his... uh... that sort of person. She was also the first person to acknowledge him, the first person to give him a trace of warmth during his loneliest, darkest days.

So Naruto had always regarded Hinata as someone extremely important.

Seeing Hinata brutally killed by the Ghost Brothers with his own eyes, Naruto could not suppress the killing intent in his heart. The Nine-Tails seized the opening and leaked out a trace of chakra.

"This is bad!"

Hinata felt somewhat remorseful, realizing that her joke might have gone a little too far.

Although Hinata enjoyed teasing people in the past, they had always been harmless jokes. She had always known where to draw the line and had never gone overboard.

At heart, Hinata was still a kind person.

Hinata had only wanted to slack off just now, deliberately pretending to be taken out by the Ghost Brothers, but she had overlooked Naruto's feelings.

Watching the person most important to him get brutally killed by the enemy, it would have been strange if Naruto had not gone berserk.

Twelve years had already passed, and the Eight Trigrams Seal Minato Namikaze had left behind had long since loosened.

Hinata and Kakashi quickly revealed themselves. Hinata looked at Naruto worriedly and asked, "Naruto, are you okay?"

"Hinata?"

Seeing that Hinata was still alive, Naruto's expression improved considerably. The violent emotions around him gradually subsided, and the Nine-Tails' chakra returned to his body.

Patting Naruto on the shoulder, Hinata said with concern, "You really scared me just now."

Naruto grinned foolishly and scratched his head. "I'm fine! Thank you, Hinata!"

Hinata sighed inwardly. What an idiot. He was the one with the problem, yet he was thanking me.

Thinking that, Hinata could not help feeling a little sad.

For Naruto, even if he were seriously injured, as long as someone showed him a little concern, he would no longer feel the pain.

Forget it. I should bully him less from now on!

No, that would not do either. I still have not avenged the grave offense of him corrupting Konohamaru.

Hinata stroked her chin. Hmm! It seemed there was still much to learn about striking the right balance!

Hinata knew that what Naruto needed was not pity, but recognition and encouragement. She immediately clenched her fist and lightly punched Naruto's shoulder, smiling sweetly. "You were pretty amazing just now! You sent those two flying in one go."

"Hehe!" Naruto chuckled foolishly.

Sasuke was having a hard time right then.

There was no need to mention Hinata. Her strength was beyond anything he could compare to.

Originally, Sasuke had thought that with Naruto, the dead last, around, his own strength would at least rank among the top three in the team.

But Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu was already impressive enough. That burst of chakra just now had made Sasuke's heart tremble, as though he would be killed the next moment.

"Naruto..."

Sasuke clenched his fists, his face full of unwillingness. What have I been doing all these years? Why am I not even as good as Naruto?

Kakashi looked at Tazuna with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Tazuna."

"What is it?"

"I have something to say to you!"

Kakashi glanced at the thoroughly dead Ghost Brothers and said blandly, "They were Chunin from Kirigakure, famous for fighting to the death without regard for their lives. Mr. Tazuna, I never expected you to be targeted by ninja. A C-rank mission should at most involve bandits or wandering samurai. What we have now is already a B-rank mission or higher."

"You may have had your reasons, but this puts us in a difficult position as well."

Upon hearing that, Hinata immediately put on a frail and delicate act, saying pitifully, "It's still too early for us to carry out a mission like this. I think we should forget it. I was almost killed just now!"

Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke: "..."

Are you sure you're not just trying to slack off?

Kakashi followed up, "Yes! This really does put us in a difficult position!"

No matter what, Naruto had already unleashed the Nine-Tails' power, and the seal within him had loosened. They absolutely had to return to the village at a time like this.

Sasuke trembled all over with agitation. Hinata was so strong, and Naruto had surpassed him too. Why was this happening?

I should have grown stronger too, shouldn't I?

Why did I lose to them when I had desperately trained ninjutsu alone at home every day?

After a long while, Sasuke suddenly calmed down. Looking at Kakashi coldly, he said, "Teacher Kakashi, let's continue the mission!"

Unfortunately, Kakashi had no intention of caring about Sasuke's opinion at that moment.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, then at Kakashi, and said seriously, "Teacher Kakashi..."

Before Naruto could finish, Tazuna suddenly said, "Sir, I want to tell you something related to the mission..."

Seeing that both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to continue the mission, Hinata knew Sasuke wanted to prove himself, while Naruto was probably getting cocky.

Even Naruto himself did not know why he had suddenly erupted and then effortlessly taken down two Chunin from Kirigakure... Have I become this strong already?

Hinata struggled pitifully, saying, "Teacher Kakashi, what if the enemy sends dozens of Jonin? Then we'll all be wiped out."

Kakashi ignored Hinata and only listened as Tazuna continued, "Yes, this may truly be a bit too much for you. Actually, an extremely terrifying guy wants my life."