Twelve-year-old Jonin ×, Jonin team leader who's late every day √

"You'd better report this to your Jonin team leader. The Forest of Death doesn't seem very safe right now," Kakashi explained.

Orochimaru had sneaked into the Forest of Death and caused such a commotion that Konoha's Anbu were sure to notice.

Sakura could only get shakily to her feet. She was the only one on her team still standing, and she had to find a way to take care of Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi had no choice when he saw this. He would have to help take care of them for a while; in her current state, Sakura would have trouble looking after herself, let alone anyone else.

"Hey, why were you three chasing them so relentlessly?" Having dealt with Sakura's situation, Kakashi turned to handle the three from Otogakure.

Dosu was stunned by the strength the Shinobi before him had displayed. He didn't dare defy Kakashi now.

Zaku was still hanging from a tree, after all.

"We're Genin from Otogakure here to take part in the competition. We were chasing them to steal their scroll, of course." Dosu concealed the fact that the three of them were Orochimaru's subordinates.

Kakashi frowned at Dosu's answer. They were Shinobi who had come to Konoha to take the Chunin Ninja Exams, so he couldn't go too far.

"Leave your scroll behind." Kakashi decided to let them go after all.

Dosu was immensely relieved. Not daring to waste a moment, he hurriedly pulled Zaku down from the tree, and the three left without looking back.

They wore expressions of relief as they left. The pressure Kakashi had put on them just now had been overwhelming.

Unlike Obito, who had become a Jonin through system rewards, Kakashi had earned his Jonin qualification entirely through his own strength.

Whether in combat experience, intelligence gathering, or handling problems, Kakashi was highly seasoned.

Kakashi had already completed multiple S-rank missions in his teens. Even an ordinary Jonin wouldn't necessarily be a match for him.

Suddenly, Sasuke showed signs of waking. The Cursed Seal kept spreading from the back of his shoulder.

Before long, the Cursed Seal had covered Sasuke's entire body. His eyes were blood-red, and he looked like a mad beast.

"Something's not right." Shikamaru noticed Sasuke's condition and hurriedly pulled Ino and Choji along, ready to leave.

Choji was still eating his snacks when Shikamaru suddenly grabbed him and started running.

"Wait a minute, Shikamaru, what's going on?" Choji still didn't know that Sasuke had lost his mind.

The Cursed Seal of Heaven Orochimaru had placed on Sasuke now covered his entire body in black markings, and a terrifying aura radiated from him.

With a whoosh, Sasuke appeared behind Choji. He had clearly mistaken Choji for an enemy who had attacked him.

"Oh no!" Shikamaru had no way to stop him now. Sasuke was too fast.

Kakashi finally moved, grabbing Choji by the shoulder and flinging him aside.

At the same time, he held one hand out in front of Shikamaru and caught Sasuke's enraged blow.

"Wait, Sasuke, he isn't—" Before Sakura could finish explaining, Sasuke attacked again.

Sasuke suddenly appeared behind Kakashi and tried to kick him away, but he was no match for Kakashi, even with the Cursed Seal of Heaven boosting him.

Kakashi drove an elbow backward, then grabbed Sasuke and threw him over his shoulder.

Kakashi pinned Sasuke to the ground, leaving him unable to move.

But Kakashi wasn't very proficient in Sealing Jutsu, and what Sasuke needed now was a Sealing Jutsu to suppress the Cursed Seal on his body.

The others knew even less than Kakashi. Just as he was at a loss, Orochimaru and Anko, who had also come to take part in the instance, found their way over.

After arriving in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru had begun searching for his future disciple. Among the nearly hundred participants he had seen, there were indeed some capable youngsters, but they clearly weren't good enough to become the disciple he was proudest of.

Just then, Orochimaru and Anko ran into the three Otogakure ninja Kakashi had just released. The three mistook the Orochimaru before them for the one who had brought them to Konoha to carry out the plan.

They reported what had just happened to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru could also tell that the people before him had used the power of the Cursed Seal he had recently been researching.

He hadn't yet studied it in depth, though, and he hadn't expected his counterpart in this world to have already developed something so remarkable.

Orochimaru then learned about the Uchiha from them. After getting a clear picture of the situation, he headed in the direction they had indicated.

When Sakura saw Orochimaru, she was so frightened she felt as if she might faint. She thought the person who had hunted them down had come back.

Interesting. I didn't expect Konoha's Shinobi to react like that when they saw me. It looks like these are my future disciples mentioned on the mission scroll.

Orochimaru also noticed Sasuke's condition.

"He needs a seal placed on him now. Let me do it," Orochimaru said slowly.

Tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, ram, rooster. Orochimaru pressed his palms together and began performing a Sealing Jutsu.

"Evil Sealing Method!"

After completing the final step, Orochimaru placed the Evil Sealing Method on Sasuke. The black markings all over his body began to fade until they had all returned to his shoulder.

With the Cursed Seal gone, Sasuke woke up. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a man looking at him curiously, with a disgruntled-looking young girl beside him.

"You're awake." Orochimaru did his best to show his friendly side.

Naruto had also recovered some time ago. For someone with the Uzumaki Clan's constitution, those injuries had been minor.

"Hey, Kakashi, what's the mission on your mission scroll?" Seeing that Sasuke and the others were awake, Anko asked Kakashi.

Hearing about the mission scroll, Naruto suddenly grew excited.

"You have mission scrolls too?" Naruto asked.

"How do you know about mission scrolls?" Kakashi asked when he saw that Naruto recognized the term.

Sakura and Sasuke were both bewildered, unsure what Naruto was talking about.

"Did you forget, Sasuke? Obito, the one we met in the Land of Waves on our first mission?" Naruto's reminder immediately brought back Sasuke's memories of Obito.

"You know Obito?" Kakashi grew even more curious. Why did they know Obito?

"Of course. We even helped Obito complete his mission scroll before," Naruto said proudly.

So this instance world was set in the period after Obito's first visit to an instance world, and the three still remembered carrying out a mission with him.

That makes things simple. Since everyone knows each other, it'll be easier to explain how I traveled through time.

At that moment, Shikamaru suddenly spoke up. "Did you travel here from the past?"

Choji and Ino looked curious, surprised that Shikamaru would say that.

"How did you know?" Kakashi hadn't expected his identity to be discovered so quickly.

Naruto and the others looked curious too.

"Come on, she just called out Kakashi's name, and she was obviously talking to that silver-haired guy." Shikamaru pointed at Anko, who had called Kakashi by name.

"Kakashi?" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could hardly believe it when they heard Shikamaru.

The three then gathered around Kakashi and looked him over from head to toe.

Naruto pulled Sasuke and Sakura aside and spoke in a low voice.

"Seriously? Is this guy really Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly. How could Kakashi-sensei be this cool and handsome? Look how strong this guy is. He's nothing like Kakashi-sensei, who never does anything but show up late every day," Sakura said in response.

Naruto and Sasuke nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Little did they know that Kakashi could hear every word. These little brats were actually badmouthing him behind his back.

And when had he ever been late? He wasn't like Obito, helping old ladies across the road every day.

"I am Kakashi Hatake, but I'm definitely not the teacher you're talking about who's late every day," Kakashi called out.

"Really? But you two do look a bit alike. You both wear masks," Naruto countered.

"And you have the same silver-white hair," Sasuke added.

Kakashi hadn't expected them not to believe that he was Kakashi.

"I can vouch for him. He really is Kakashi," Orochimaru said.