Just as Aoi Rokushō was about to attack, Sasuke's words suddenly came from behind him. A moment later, Aoi felt a terrifying impact slam into his back.
Then his vision went black, and he slowly collapsed to the ground. As he lay dying, one question crossed his mind: Was he talking about me when he said "villain"?
"Looks like it did quite a bit of damage!"
Sasuke smiled in satisfaction at Aoi Rokushō, whom his Taiji Rasengan had taken out in one hit, then used Shenlian on the body.
His pitch-black Divine Refining Eye appeared. In the blink of an eye, it absorbed Aoi and the Sword of the Thunder God in his hands, leaving only a black scroll on the ground.
"It's not the Sealing Scroll!"
Sasuke's expression turned strange as he looked at it. No wonder they'd only sent them on a mission to retrieve it. So this was just an unimportant forbidden-jutsu scroll!
Once he realized it wasn't the Sealing Scroll, Sasuke lost interest in it. He already had the forbidden jutsu he liked most, and the others held little appeal for him. Besides, this was a mission scroll, and he'd have to hand it in later anyway.
While Sasuke was still wondering what to do, he suddenly noticed a large group approaching from afar. He quickly dispelled his Shadow Clone Technique, retreated beneath a large tree, and waited.
Soon, figures appeared around the scroll. There were eight of them, all Rain Ninja. That was one of the Ninja World's drawbacks: a Forehead Protector made it easy to identify someone's allegiance.
"What's going on? This is where that guy Aoi Rokushō was supposed to meet us. Why is there a scroll here, but no one?"
After arriving, one of the Rain Ninja stared at the huge crater in the ground and asked, his expression grave.
"Boss, what should we do?"
As the Rain Ninja was still considering what to do, a short man picked up the scroll and handed it to him. So the man who'd spoken was their leader.
"We shouldn't stay here. Move out!"
After a brief moment of thought, the Rain Ninja leader glanced at the scroll in his subordinate's hands, then turned and left.
The others followed his order and withdrew. Sasuke didn't mind. If the scroll ended up in Rain Ninja hands, everyone would probably forget about Aoi Rokushō, who'd run off with the Sword of the Thunder God.
If Sasuke wanted to keep the Sword of the Thunder God for himself without anyone finding out, he needed someone to take the blame. Aoi Rokushō, whom Sasuke had just Shenlian-ed so thoroughly that not even his body remained, was the perfect scapegoat. It was settled: Aoi Rokushō, you're up.
"What happened?"
Sasuke had just worked out what to say when Kakashi appeared beside him. He looked at the crater in the clearing, then gave Sasuke a strange look. It was obvious the Taiji Rasengan had made it.
"I ran into the rogue ninja Aoi Rokushō. After I beat him, I realized he was a Shadow Clone. He should have the Sword of the Thunder God on him. The Rain Ninja took the scroll."
Sasuke was startled by Kakashi's sudden appearance, but then he gave the explanation he'd just come up with.
"Troublesome. After them!"
Kakashi's expression turned grave at Sasuke's words. He immediately gave the order and raced ahead.
Sasuke smiled mysteriously at Kakashi's command and followed. It looked like Kakashi had mostly believed him. That made sense, after all—Sasuke was his student.
Sasuke sped after Kakashi in the direction the Rain Ninja had gone. Naruto and Sakura, meanwhile, were trying to talk Morino Idate out of doing anything reckless.
After pursuing them for a while, Kakashi finally spotted the group carrying the scroll. Without hesitation, he lifted his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan Obito had given him.
Electricity began to gather, and blue sparks slowly appeared in Kakashi's right hand. A piercing sound rang out, like birdsong mixed with the rumble of thunder...
Then the noise stopped, leaving only blue lightning in Kakashi's right hand, crackling with a terrifying force.
"Lightning Blade!"
With a shout, Kakashi shot forward...
"You hold them off. I'm getting out of here!"
As soon as he heard the screeching sound, the Rain Ninja leader gave that order and fled on his own. He knew he had no chance against Copy Ninja Kakashi. Their only option was to retreat as fast as they could. Once they reached Amegakure's territory, even Kakashi wouldn't dare cross the border recklessly.
Abandoned by their leader, the Rain Ninja watched Kakashi hurtling toward them and could only smile bitterly. Wasn't this just sending them to their deaths?
The outcome was obvious. Kakashi quickly took down all seven Rain Ninja with his Lightning Blade. This time, he was able to launch multiple attacks with it.
"Clean up the battlefield. I'm going after them!"
After dealing with the Rain Ninja, Kakashi gave Sasuke the order, then continued after the others.
Once Kakashi had left, Sasuke glanced at the seven Rain Ninja who'd lost their lives, his expression strange. But it wasn't because of Kakashi's Sharingan, nor was it because of the dead Rain Ninja.
[Lightning Release: Chidori: A-rank, 50/800] [Lightning Release: Lightning Blade: S-rank, 50/1000]
What truly left Sasuke stunned were the jutsu he'd just copied.
"I thought it would take a while to get these two jutsu. I didn't expect it to be so easy! This mission really has been rewarding!"
Sasuke closed the panel, looked at the Rain Ninja on the ground, and began the task he was best at: looting their bodies!
After taking anything of value from the Rain Ninja, Sasuke used Shenlian on them. According to what he'd learned at the Ninja Academy, the fewer traces left behind, the better the cleanup.
When Shenlian was done, Sasuke headed after Kakashi. There was still some General Proficiency waiting up ahead. He couldn't pass that up.
Sasuke hadn't gone far before he saw Kakashi returning with the scroll. Sasuke was speechless. It seemed Kakashi had dealt with the Rain Ninja leader's body, so that General Proficiency was gone.
"We've got the scroll. Mission's over. We're going back the way we came."
After spotting Sasuke, Kakashi stopped and began walking at an easy pace.
Sasuke couldn't say anything in response. He was just a junior team member and had to follow orders.
"You saw it just now, didn't you?"
As they walked, Kakashi asked in a tentative tone. He'd clearly felt Sasuke pause for a long moment when Kakashi opened his Sharingan.
"I saw it. The Sharingan." In response to Kakashi's question, Sasuke deliberately sounded a little dejected.
Aoi Rokushō, the scapegoat; Chidori, the Lightning Blade, and the Sharingan.
Please, everyone, spare a vote or two! (づ●─●)づ
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