The Radar Called "Fate" and the Price of Arrogance

Kakashi's figure drifted down from the tree, looking as carefree as if he had just attended a tea party rather than a life-or-death battle.

One hand was tucked into his pocket, while the other still held the orange-covered copy of Icha Icha Paradise. With his signature dead-fish eye, he glanced at the two unlucky fools foaming at the mouth on the ground, then at the distant tree Naruto had nearly snapped in half with a single kick.

He was somewhat shocked.

But more than that, he was truly exhausted.

This batch of students was the worst he had ever taught... No, they were the wildest.

His lone eye suddenly shifted, its blade-sharp gaze locking firmly onto Tazuna, who was sprawled on the ground and shaking like a leaf.

"Well..."

Kakashi's voice instantly turned cold, devoid of even a trace of laziness. The pressure of an elite jōnin descended over the entire area like tangible frost.

"Mr. Tazuna, Chūnin from Kirigakure came to assassinate you. These are no ordinary bandits."

"This has already far exceeded the scope of a C-rank mission."

"Shouldn't you... give us an explanation?"

As he spoke, Kakashi skillfully pulled out some rope from his ninja tool pouch and quickly tied the Demon Brothers into two sturdy bundles before hanging them from a tree.

Startled by that murderous aura, Tazuna shuddered, and cold sweat immediately poured down his face.

He looked at Kakashi's icy eye, then at Naruto Uzumaki beside him, who wore an expression that practically said, "You people are so noisy, you're interrupting my contemplation of life." Finally, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot!

Thud!

The bridge-building expert, already past fifty, suddenly went weak at the knees and dropped straight to the ground!

"Waaah—! Ninja sirs, I was wrong! I lied to you!"

With tears and snot streaming down his face, Tazuna began his performance in earnest.

He vividly described how Wave Country had been controlled by the owner of a shipping company named Gato; how Gato had colluded with rogue ninja to monopolize all maritime trade and leave the entire country in misery; and how the bridge Tazuna was building was the only hope for breaking that monopoly and saving the nation!

Naruto boredly picked at his ear.

He knew this plot.

In short: a crooked capitalist oppressed the working people, a heroic citizen rose up, and because he had no money to hire bodyguards, he could only resort to deception.

The acting was good, and the emotions were full, but the story was a little cliché.

Seeing that the ninja did not seem moved, Tazuna hurriedly pulled out his trump card.

"If you abandon the mission now, I'm as good as dead... I'm not afraid of dying! But my adorable grandson Inari will cry his eyes out! He waits at home for me to return every day! Boohoohoo..."

The old man cried so heart-wrenchingly that anyone who heard him would be saddened to tears.

Sure enough, Sakura Haruno, the softest-hearted member of the team, immediately could not take it anymore.

"Kakashi-sensei... Th-this mission is too dangerous! Chūnin have already come after us, so there'll definitely be even stronger enemies later! We're only genin! We should return to the village first and have the mission reclassified!"

Sakura's suggestion was perfectly reasonable and completely in line with how an ordinary genin would think.

However, she had clearly forgotten that Team 7 had two people who were anything but ordinary.

"So noisy."

Naruto, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke impatiently.

He could not even be bothered to argue with them. He merely lifted his right foot casually and lightly kicked a massive boulder by the roadside, one that was nearly half a person tall!

Whoosh—BOOM!!!

The boulder, which weighed at least several hundred pounds, shot away like a cannonball launched from a catapult, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant with a terrifying howl that tore through the air!

The next second, a string of deafening crashes echoed from deep within the forest as trees snapped and collapsed, sending countless birds flying!

The whole world instantly fell silent.

Sakura stared in dumbfounded shock, swallowing every remaining word.

Sasuke's mouth twitched. Looking at Naruto's foot, still wearing nothing more than an ordinary sandal, he felt his worldview get ground into the dirt once again.

Even Kakashi's dead-fish eye widened for a brief moment.

Naruto acted as though nothing had happened. He dusted off his pant leg, despite there not being any dust on it, and spoke in a tone that took everything for granted.

"What are you afraid of? Aren't they just a few blind idiots coming here to die?"

An exceptionally wicked grin curved across his lips.

"If a few come, I'll kill a few. If a whole group comes, I'll bury every last one of them."

"As for that Gato... I happen to be a little short on cash lately."

"Consider it... robbing the rich to help the poor."

Robbing... the rich to help the poor?

This was clearly criminals robbing criminals!

Kakashi let out a deep, deeply weary sigh.

What else could he say?

Refuse?

Then let Naruto, this walking nuclear weapon, rampage through Wave Country alone?

Who knew what he would turn that country into.

He looked at Naruto, whose fighting spirit was soaring—or perhaps whose greed had taken over—then at Sasuke beside him, who had completely shut down and begun questioning his life. Finally, he helplessly held his forehead.

"Fine."

Kakashi weakly waved a hand. "The mission continues."

A few days later.

A small flat-bottomed boat glided silently forward through the thick, impenetrable morning mist.

As the boatman rowed, he quietly recounted Gato's atrocities and the story of Hope Bridge.

Sakura and Sasuke listened with solemn expressions, while Tazuna sighed repeatedly.

Only Naruto leaned against the side of the boat, yawning as his mind drifted far away.

He had already begun calculating how to squeeze enough profit out of Gato, that "mobile treasury," once they arrived in Wave Country.

At last, the small boat passed beneath a massive bridge arch, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

"We're ashore. Next, we'll have to pass through a forest."

Kakashi took the lead in jumping off the boat, carefully scanning the surroundings.

The others followed in a line and entered the damp, quiet forest.

Just then—

A brand-new notification, carrying a certain sense of authority, rang out in Naruto's mind.

[Ding! As the host has formed deep bonds with multiple high-value targets, the Affection System has automatically upgraded to Version 2.0!]

[New function unlocked—"Fate-Intertwining" Radar!]

[Function description: When a "Child of Fate" possessing a special Kekkei Genkai or an overall potential rating of S-rank enters within one kilometer of the host's detection range, the system will automatically trigger an alert!]

Naruto abruptly stopped walking, his brows instantly rising.

The system... had upgraded?

Before he could think further, an alarm even sharper and more urgent than the one from when Ino's affection had skyrocketed blared wildly in his mind!

Beep! Beep! Beep—!!!

[Warning! Warning! An ultra-high-potential female target has been detected ahead!]

[Target overall potential assessment: S-rank! Possesses a top-tier Kekkei Genkai! The host is advised to make contact and pursue the target immediately!]

[Target location: Ten o'clock direction, five hundred meters away!]

S-rank potential?

And a top-tier Kekkei Genkai?

A thrill like that of a hunter spotting prime prey slowly appeared on Naruto's lips.

Who cared about the mission? He would satisfy his curiosity first!

He knew that activating the Byakugan would consume a huge amount of chakra, and frequent use soon after entering the Blood-Reflux State could trigger a rejection reaction from his Sage Body.

But so what?

With his current total amount of chakra, that bit of consumption was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

As for the so-called rejection... it was merely a trivial inconvenience.

Absolute power brought absolute confidence—or rather, arrogance.

Without hesitation, he silently spoke in his heart.

"Pure Byakugan, activate!"

In an instant, his azure eyes turned completely white!

A faint yet distinct sensation of rejection came from his optic nerves, while the chakra within his body began draining at a rate far faster than usual.

However, Naruto paid no attention to that "side effect." His boundless vision pierced through layer upon layer of trees, branches, leaves, and morning mist, extending with absolute precision toward the direction indicated by the system!

Five hundred meters away, on the other side of the forest.

A slender figure was quietly crouched beneath a large tree, carefully gathering a certain kind of medicinal herb.

Naruto's gaze instantly locked firmly onto that figure!

And the excessively massive fluctuations of his chakra, like a beacon in the night, completely exposed his location within this perilous forest.