Mist Hidden Rogue Ninja

They had been out for about half an hour, and everything was calm. The three youngsters gradually lowered their guard; since no rogue ninjas had appeared to intercept them for so long, they figured the mission wasn't as dangerous as they had thought.

Carried by this sense of luck, their pace grew lighter until they reached a small path. Despite the clear, sunny day, a puddle of water sat abruptly in the middle of the road.

Kakashi Hatake and Mufeng Uchiha exchanged a glance, both understanding the other's intent. Kakashi Hatake stepped to the front, and the puddle instantly transformed into two Kirigakure rogue ninjas.

Chains tipped with blades bound Kakashi Hatake tightly, restricting his movement, while the other companion's blade slashed viciously into his flesh. In that instant, Kakashi Hatake was hacked into several pieces, blood splattering all over them.

"Ah—Kakashi-sensei, he's dead!"

Sakura Haruno screamed in terror, yet nothing could change the fact that Kakashi Hatake was dead.

"Kakashi Hatake, nothing more than that. You're his students, right? Perfect, I'll send you all down to reunite with him."

Sasuke Uchiha was the first to react. He lunged forward immediately, hands resting on the hilt of the blade at his waist.

"Thunder Breathing, First Form—Thunderclap and Flash."

Rumble—

Sasuke Uchiha transformed into a bolt of lightning, sprinting toward the nearest rogue ninja. But a linear attack was too easy to track. As rogues who had emerged from the Village of the Bloody Mist, they were warriors bathed in countless blood; such an ambush was far too simple to dodge!

"Brat, you're still too green if you think you can catch us off guard."

Predicting the trajectory in advance, the Kirigakure ninja's long blade was already positioned in Sasuke Uchiha's path. The blades collided. Clang—

"Pay the price for your impulsiveness with your life, genius!"

The rogue ninja loved hunting these self-righteous geniuses. The thrill of killing future powerhouses was something he could never get enough of.

"Calling you Second Pillar really isn't a grievance. You're so impulsive you'd kill yourself before a weasel even had to lift a finger."

Mufeng Uchiha pinched the rogue ninja's blade between two fingers and snapped the steel with a single exertion of force. At the same time, he stepped forward and slapped the man across the face, pinning him to the ground instantly.

When did he appear? We didn't even notice him. Realizing he had run into a tough opponent, the rogue ninja chose to flee immediately, lest he lose his life here as well.

"Naruto, I'll leave him to you."

As the words fell, Naruto Uzumaki drew the blade at his waist and utilized Wind Breathing to unleash over a dozen wind blades in rapid succession.

Sasuke Uchiha understood the intent and unleashed the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, spitting over a dozen fireballs from his mouth to combine with the wind blades. The wind blades, imbued with raging fire, surpassed the rogue ninja's speed in an instant.

"Water Style—Water Whip."

The rogue ninja condensed a whip made of water in his hand, waving and spinning it above his head to wrap himself in a small protective barrier.

This level of defense was as fragile as paper when faced with fire-enchanted wind blades.

"To have this level of fusion... Konoha really does have many geniuses. It's enough to make one jealous."

Before being swallowed by the flames, the last thought of this rogue ninja was that for the sake of Kirigakure, he had to kill a few Konoha geniuses!

"You're dying anyway, so stop with the petty tricks."

Blood sprayed three feet high as Mufeng Uchiha cleanly severed the hand the rogue ninja had been trying to use to trigger an Explosive Tag.

The other companion, who had been pinned to the ground by a single slap, had already had his neck snapped and was dead. Originally, they had only chosen to defect because of the Village of the Bloody Mist; had the village not turned into such a place, perhaps they, too, would be out on missions with their own students.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs." Looking at the corpses, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno could no longer hold it in, bending over to retch. Sasuke Uchiha, tempered by the night of the clan's massacre, appeared much calmer, though his pale face betrayed that his heart was anything but tranquil.

"This is your first lesson as ninjas. Killing is something you must face to become a ninja. The main reason you were able to kill these two is that they underestimated you. Remember, if you look down on your opponents, you will end up just like them."

Kakashi Hatake, who had been hiding nearby, finally revealed himself. He had been observing everyone's performance. Sasuke Uchiha's performance was passable, but he was disappointed in the terrified Naruto Uzumaki and the bewildered Sakura Haruno. As for the monster that was Mufeng, he wouldn't comment.

"Naruto, when Sasuke moved forward, you should have provided cover instead of standing there like a fool. Sakura, when the two of them went to deal with the enemy, you should have moved immediately to protect the client as support. Finally, Sasuke, you were too impulsive. Facing an opponent whose intel you lack, you shouldn't have been so reckless, charging at the enemy regardless of the consequences and leaving yourself wide open."

Kakashi Hatake lectured the three youngsters one by one until he looked at Mufeng Uchiha, who immediately replied.

"I used my Sharingan to extract the intel from his mouth before I killed him."

Mufeng Uchiha relayed the information about the enemies they might encounter on the road. Upon learning the details, Kakashi Hatake's brow furrowed tightly.

"Besides the Demon Zabuza, there is also a ninja with the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai. Added to those rogue ninjas, this mission has completely exceeded our capabilities."

Even Kakashi Hatake was now considering giving up. He could handle the mission alone, but he couldn't protect his students while distracted.

"No problem, Kakashi-sensei. With me here, you don't need to worry about their safety. I will take action!"

Mufeng Uchiha looked confident. Behind him, Tazuna let out a secret sigh of relief; the mission hadn't fallen through after all. If he had to go back alone, it would have been certain death.

"Relax, Kakashi-sensei. Look at how we just defeated two strong enemies together. Just trust us."

"Leave it to me, an Uchiha, rather than a dead-last who was too scared to even move."

The two began to bicker again, and Sakura Haruno stepped in as the peacemaker. The group continued their journey amidst the noise.

"Old man, don't stand so close. Be careful, or I might just leave you here."

Tazuna chuckled, not minding at all as he stuck close to Mufeng Uchiha. From the previous battle, he had realized that this child was the strongest among them.

With all that fire-breathing and water-spraying going on, his frail body couldn't handle it.

"Sharingan Kakashi, and you're even bringing a bunch of brats. Can you stop me from killing your students in this thick fog?"

A dense mist suddenly rose around them, and a hoarse voice rang out. The Demon Zabuza had arrived.