The Concealer

"As you command, my lord." Zabuza obeyed the order completely, never once questioning the reason.

Shadow then walked to the rear, staring at the cold-exuding Su, and said coldly, "If you cannot prove your worth, This Seat can shape you with my own hands, and I can just as easily destroy you."

Su looked earnest. "I will not let you down, my lord. I will kill that impostor with my own hands."

"Very well, the moment of testing has arrived. Let everything be proven in battle!"

Shadow vanished without a trace.

Su was an ordinary girl. When she was very young, her village was struck by a mudslide, and none of her family escaped. Just as she was about to starve to death, Zabuza saved her.

Su resolved to stay by Zabuza's side forever. Her obedient nature earned the favor of the lord Zabuza respected, and as a small child, she was granted unparalleled power.

"Why does my lord care so much about this yellow-haired boy?" Su had long, straight black hair and a beauty mark in the center of her forehead.

Zabuza sneered, "Although my lord told me to test him, I felt the killing intent he exuded with absolute clarity. I will let my lord know that I am the sharpest blade in his hand."

Su also believed Zabuza was the strongest. "Zabuza, how should we arrange the Demon Brothers?"

"Let them act as the vanguard to kill Tazuna. They are only at the level of Chunin; my lord doesn't think much of them at all," Zabuza said.

Su sneered, "Their disguise is worthy of some praise."

Konoha.

The main gate.

Naruto stood with his hands on his hips, looking lazy, his gaze lingering on old man Tazuna for a moment.

Tazuna had finished his drinking and slept for a night in the park clearing. The smell of alcohol on him had faded, and he had returned to being a rational, quiet bridge-building expert.

"Naruto, a bird just flew by." Hinata was full of spirit.

Sakura Haruno's backpack was packed with gear for the long journey. Seeing Naruto's empty hands, she chuckled to herself: Naruto really has no experience. We'll definitely be camping in the wild; let's see what he does then.

Kakashi stood behind them. "Everyone is here. The weather is perfect, let's move out!"

"Yay!" Sakura Haruno jumped up in excitement.

The group crossed mountains and ridges, gradually approaching the border of the Land of Fire.

Sakura Haruno was curious about everything and kept asking Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensei, what kind of world is it out there?"

Kakashi first shouted at Naruto, "Naruto, don't stray too far from us."

"Sakura, this world is primarily composed of five great nations: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning. Between these great nations are many smaller ones. These small nations are located in remote areas, but they serve as buffer zones for the five great nations. The five great nations monitor each other, which is the only reason these small nations are allowed to exist."

"Do all these countries have ninjas?" Sakura asked again.

Tazuna chimed in, "The Land of Waves has no ninjas."

Kakashi added, "It is difficult for small nations to have ninjas because training them requires a great deal of resources. Only the great nations have the strength for it. For example, the Land of Fire has our Konoha, the Land of Water has Kirigakure, the Land of Earth has Iwagakure, the Land of Wind has Sunagakure, and the Land of Lightning has Kumogakure. Every village has a powerful Shadow."

Sakura said with longing, "I also want to become a ninja as powerful as the Fourth Hokage."

Kakashi smiled. "Sakura, keep working hard. From Genin to Shadow, that is a very long distance."

Hinata applauded Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei explained it so well. It wasn't nearly as interesting reading it in a book."

Tazuna took off his glasses and wiped them with a towel. The strongest person in this group should be this man named Kakashi. The two girls have kind personalities, so I might be able to persuade them. That boy is just a restless brat, running off on his own—does he really think this is a field trip?

Tazuna was thinking about how to convince Kakashi to deal with the detestable Gato.

Naruto had already reached the border. He hid behind a large tree, his eyes fixed on two puddles of water on the road. He prepared to act, but then thought better of it; this matter should be handled by Kakashi-sensei. Besides, Kakashi-sensei seemed to want to train Sakura Haruno, so he would just watch the show from the shadows.

A short while later.

Kakashi walked over the puddles with a grin.

Hinata and Sakura Haruno followed behind him.

"Where did Naruto go?" Sakura Haruno asked Hinata. "Can't he just walk with everyone else?"

Hinata said, "Naruto is waiting for us up ahead!"

Suddenly, the water by the roadside transformed into two ninjas dressed in black. Their iron claws struck at Kakashi simultaneously: "Nintaijutsu: Chain Combo."

The sharp claws ruthlessly pierced through Kakashi's body.

Hinata and Sakura Haruno were stunned for a moment by the sudden attack.

Kakashi-sensei is dead? How is that possible?

Neither of them could believe what their eyes were seeing.

Kakashi collapsed into a pool of blood.

The enemies sneered and attacked Sakura Haruno in front with the same move.

Sakura Haruno was terrified, her mind going blank. She forgot all the combat methods she had learned at the Ninja Academy.

Hinata immediately calmed down. She activated her Byakugan and threw shuriken with precision to block the enemy's attack. "Sakura, protect the expert Tazuna! Kakashi-sensei cannot be this weak."

Reminded by Hinata, Sakura Haruno finally reacted. She quickly jumped back, dodging the enemy's attack. "Hinata, why hasn't Naruto appeared yet?"

The Demon Brothers looked at each other, revealing cruel expressions. Two Genin from Konoha actually dare to choose to fight us.

Hinata's expression was firm, and she had already assumed her Gentle Fist stance. "Naruto will appear. Even if I don't rely on Naruto, I can still become a brave ninja."

"Hinata, they've killed people before," Sakura Haruno said worriedly. "How could Kakashi be like this? There's no way we can defeat enemies this strong."

The Demon Brothers simultaneously whipped out their iron claws, the stench of blood clinging to the metal.

"Byakugan: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Hinata shouted, striking out with her palms to release two shockwaves of chakra.

The iron claws were knocked back, leaving the Demon Brothers stunned; they hadn't expected a Konoha genin to possess a technique capable of threatening them, so they grabbed each other's hands, planted their feet, and launched themselves into the air.

"Nintaijutsu: Poison Demon Claw!"

The Demon Brothers spun at high speed, their iron claws merging to form a terrifying cyan demon head as they charged toward the three people ahead.

They intended to slaughter Hinata, Sakura Haruno, and Tazuna all at once.

"Konoha Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

Two Kakashi appeared behind the Demon Brothers, their hands formed into the Tiger seal as they thrust their fingers toward the Demon Brothers' rectums.

The terrifying impact instantly interrupted the Demon Brothers' attack.

The Demon Brothers collapsed to the ground, fainting from the pain.

Kakashi dispelled his clones. "Naruto, come out now."

Naruto walked out from the forest. "Kakashi, being overly protective of your students isn't actually good; they need to accumulate combat experience."

Kakashi grabbed Naruto and scolded him, "There is no such thing as absolute certainty in this world; intervening in time is the only way to avoid regret."