An Unexpected Turn of Events!

After a hearty meal last night and a good night's sleep, Kakashi and the others began their journey early in the morning.

Following yesterday's trek, they were now less than ten miles from the border of the Land of Fire.

Passing through a silent forest of stone, Kakashi walked quietly, his vigilant gaze constantly sweeping over the massive rocks surrounding them.

As a battle-hardened jonin, Kakashi never let his guard down, remaining ready at all times to deal with any sudden situation.

"Uncle Qianwei, yesterday's grilled fish was so delicious. Why don't we have grilled fish for lunch again?"

With his hands clasped behind his head, Naruto walked along while reminiscing about the taste of the fish, then smiled.

With delicious grilled fish to eat, who would want to swallow those hard-to-stomach Military Ration Pills?

"I agree!"

Haruno Sakura, walking beside him, immediately chimed in with a smile.

"Heh, we were just lucky yesterday to catch those fish. I'm afraid we won't find any here!"

Glancing at the forest of rocks surrounding them, Qianwei replied with a wry smile.

"That's true. In a place like this, there's no way to find a river."

Nodding, Haruno Sakura felt helpless; although she really wanted to eat grilled fish, she had to face reality.

"What a lousy place, nothing but rocks!"

Knowing he wouldn't be having grilled fish for lunch, Naruto couldn't help but curse under his breath.

The moment Naruto complained, Kakashi, who was walking in the lead, suddenly changed his expression and shouted sharply, "Watch out! We have company!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Immediately following his shout, several sounds of wind being torn apart rang out, and several Kunai, flying from an unknown direction, shot directly toward Kakashi and the others.

"Protect Uncle Qianwei!"

After giving the warning, Kakashi quickly drew a Kunai and swung it, intercepting the incoming projectiles.

"Yes!"

Hearing Kakashi's order, Sasuke, Naruto, and Haruno Sakura immediately formed a "front, left, and right" formation, shielding Qianwei in the center.

"Haha, silver hair—it can't be wrong. As expected of the elite jonin Kakashi, famous throughout the ninja world, to so easily neutralize my attack."

After Kakashi deflected the Kunai, a loud laugh echoed out, and a man dressed in black, wearing a Kirigakure forehead protector, stepped out from behind a rock.

"Are you a rogue ninja from Kirigakure?"

Seeing the horizontal scratch across the village symbol on the man's forehead protector, Kakashi immediately deduced his status.

Under normal circumstances, rogue ninjas would carve a horizontal line through their village's symbol to signify their severance from their home village.

"Heh, let me introduce myself. My name is Sanli, and I am currently a mercenary in the black market."

With eyes gleaming with undisguised coldness and malice, Sanli scanned Kakashi's group and smiled.

"A black market mercenary?"

Hearing this, Kakashi narrowed his eyes and demanded, "Is your target Uncle Qianwei?"

"Haha, wrong! My target is you! Your bounty in the black market is as high as fifty million."

Sanli chuckled, though his smile carried a sinister edge that he could not hide.

"My head is the target?"

Even with Kakashi's composure, he couldn't help but change color at Sanli's response.

Just as Kakashi was momentarily distracted by Sanli's words, the man brought his hands together and began to weave hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"

Once the hand seals were complete, Sanli puffed out his cheeks and spat out a massive wave of water.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Although this was a relatively common ninjutsu, Kakashi did not dare to be careless while watching the surging wave rush toward them; he quickly wove his own hand seals and slammed his palms onto the ground.

Accompanied by a loud rumble, a thick wall of earth suddenly rose from the ground in front of Kakashi, and the water wave slammed violently against it.

"Bang!"

Under the impact of the water, the earth wall shattered and collapsed, but the force of the wave had been exhausted, leaving only a pool of stagnant water on the ground.

"Wow, Kakashi-sensei is amazing!"

Seeing Kakashi easily neutralize the enemy's ninjutsu, Naruto and Haruno Sakura, who were watching from behind, immediately cheered.

"As expected of Kakashi-sensei!"

Sasuke also sighed to himself in admiration.

In truth, the attack Sanli launched was incredibly fast; if it had been him, Sasuke feared he wouldn't have been able to match Kakashi's level of calm in executing a defensive technique.

"No matter what your objective is, I will not let you harm anyone!"

Listening to the cheers of Naruto and Sakura, Kakashi pulled down the black cloth covering his left eye, looked up, and said coldly.

"Heh heh, I'd like to see what kind of ability you have to protect them."

Sanli laughed with a sinister tone.

However, just as Sanli was sneering, Kakashi's left eye suddenly snapped open. A powerful and surging aura erupted violently from within Kakashi's body.

"That... is that the Sharingan?"

Seeing Kakashi reveal the Sharingan in his left eye, Haruno Sakura gasped in shock.

"How does Kakashi-sensei have the Sharingan? Isn't that something only the Uchiha Clan possesses?"

Naruto also asked, filled with confusion.

As ninjas of Konoha, Naruto and Haruno Sakura naturally knew that the Sharingan was a bloodline limit exclusive to the Uchiha Clan, which was why they found it hard to believe that Kakashi possessed it.

"So what if you have the Sharingan? Today, you all have only one fate, and that is death!"

If it were any other enemy, seeing Kakashi activate the Sharingan would surely be a headache, but Sanli's expression only shifted slightly before he continued to shout.

"Lightning Blade!"

Ignoring Sanli's shouting, Kakashi's palms moved with lightning speed to form hand seals as a thunderous roar echoed in his mind. Instantly, his right hand was covered in dazzling electricity.

"Sanli doesn't seem like a reckless ninja. Why is he so confident that he can defeat Kakashi-sensei, who possesses the Sharingan?"

After Kakashi completed the hand seals for the Lightning Blade, a voice filled with surprise echoed in Sasuke's mind.

In Sasuke's view, Sanli must have some sort of special trump card; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained standing in place the entire time.

Just as Sasuke was questioning Sanli, a figure suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, and a sharp Kunai was thrust without hesitation toward Kakashi's vitals.

"Kakashi-sensei, watch out!"

The scene before him caused Sasuke's expression to change drastically, and he shouted in horror.

"What?"

The moment Sasuke's warning rang out, a chill ran through Kakashi's heart as he sensed an intense danger behind his back.

"Heh heh, too late!"

Knowing that Kakashi intended to dodge the attack, the figure accelerated the speed of his hand.

"Sshhh!"

After a moment of silence, a piercing sound rang out. Kakashi's back looked like a target, with only the handle of a Kunai visible; the entire blade had already been driven into his body.

"Pfft!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the electricity on Kakashi's hand vanished rapidly. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his body, Kakashi forced himself to dash forward, attempting to distance himself from the attacker behind him.