Isn't Naruto's Ability Above Mine?

"Hmph." Tazuna said coldly, "What makes you say these two ninja came to assassinate me?"

"We accepted the mission to escort you," Naruto said loudly. "If these two ninja weren't here to assassinate you, were they here to assassinate me?"

"That's hard to say." Tazuna said with a grim expression, "You ninja have countless enemies. Maybe they really did come to assassinate you, and I was nearly dragged into it because of you."

"Don't regret this!" Naruto pointed angrily at Tazuna. "Don't blame me for not giving you a chance. You were the one who failed to take it."

"..." Tazuna said nothing. He did not understand what Naruto meant.

Just then, the two Hidden Mist ninja Kakashi had subdued suddenly sprang up. Working together, they raised their chain saw and attacked Kakashi. Since it was a sneak attack, even Kakashi failed to react in time and was caught by the chain saw.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried out, his voice trembling.

Amid Naruto's shout, Kakashi was split cleanly in two by the sharp chain saw. He was severed at the waist and died on the spot.

Having succeeded in their sneak attack, the two Hidden Mist ninja swiftly charged at Tazuna after dealing with Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei! You died such a horrible death!" Naruto was still consumed by grief, seemingly having forgotten the escort mission.

There was no choice. Kakashi had already fallen, and Naruto was not in his right state of mind. At this moment, only Sasuke stepped forward.

Facing two Chunin alone, Sasuke knew his chances of victory were slim. He could only focus on harassing them, throwing kunai from a distance to disrupt his opponents.

The two Hidden Mist ninja easily dodged Sasuke's kunai. They changed tactics: one held Sasuke back while the other attacked Tazuna.

Sakura bravely stepped forward and stood in front of Tazuna. She held a kunai horizontally in her hand, warily watching the approaching enemy.

The Hidden Mist ninja attacking Sakura showed no mercy. He drew a kunai as well and thrust it directly at Sakura, intending to kill her on the spot.

The kunai pierced flesh, and blood splattered everywhere. Sakura's kunai remained in her hand, while the Hidden Mist ninja's kunai had stabbed into Naruto's body.

Naruto gritted his teeth and stood in front of Sakura. He had used his own body to block the kunai strike for her. At that moment, the Hidden Mist ninja's kunai was lodged in Naruto's chest.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed.

"Ah!" Sasuke looked equally shocked. The battle situation was extremely unfavorable for them.

"Tazuna!" Blood trickled from Naruto's mouth as he said in a tragic tone, "I wasn't wrong, was I? These two ninja really did come to assassinate you. What do you have to say now?!" He practically roared the last sentence.

"Because you deceived us and hid information, we were ambushed by ninja! Kakashi-sensei is dead now, and I'm seriously injured too. What do you have to say for yourself?!" Naruto shouted, blaming Tazuna.

"It was my fault." Tazuna knelt behind Naruto and begged for forgiveness. "I didn't have enough money. I couldn't afford to issue a B-rank mission, so I had no choice but to lie and issue a C-rank mission. I was poor, and that's why I got you all hurt."

"Hehe." Naruto wore a smug grin as he turned around. "Wouldn't it have been fine if you'd just told the truth?"

"What?" Tazuna stared at him in dumbfounded disbelief. The situation before him had completely stunned him, leaving him at a loss.

Sakura and Sasuke were equally shocked, unable to make sense of the situation for a moment.

"Kakashi-sensei, you can come out now," Naruto shouted.

Kakashi emerged from the bushes, holding a rope in his hand. The other end was tied to two Hidden Mist ninja.

"What is going on?" Sakura was completely confused.

Sasuke looked around. Kakashi was alive, and he had two subdued Hidden Mist ninja in his hands. Yet there were also two Hidden Mist ninja here who could still move. That made four Hidden Mist ninja in total.

Sasuke instantly understood what was happening. He threw a shuriken at one of the Hidden Mist ninja. That ninja neither dodged nor blocked it, taking the shuriken directly. White smoke instantly burst from his entire body, and he vanished into thin air. It was the Shadow Clone Technique.

It turned out that Tazuna had refused to admit the Hidden Mist ninja had come to assassinate him, so Naruto and Kakashi had secretly put on this little performance.

First, Naruto had stepped forward to accuse Tazuna, drawing everyone's attention away, while Kakashi secretly hid with the two Hidden Mist ninja.

Naruto then quietly used the Shadow Clone Technique to create two clones. The two clones used the Transformation Technique to take on the appearance of Hidden Mist ninja.

And so, this performance began. The Hidden Mist ninja impersonated by Naruto's clones took out Kakashi, but the Kakashi they had taken out was merely a substitute. The real Kakashi had already hidden in the bushes.

There were two Hidden Mist ninja impersonated by Naruto's clones. One was responsible for holding Sasuke back, while the other attacked Sakura. Naruto then ran out to block the kunai strike, using a self-inflicted injury to trick Tazuna into admitting everything.

Naruto explained it all with a smug look, then pointed at Tazuna and laughed loudly. "Old man, you were so scared just now that you knelt right down. I told you long ago that I gave you a chance, but you were useless. You just had to be stubborn in front of me. Regret it now?"

"After all, I, Naruto Uzumaki, am going to become Hokage someday. I'm magnanimous enough not to fuss over this little bit of money." Naruto said arrogantly, "As long as you had been sincere and told me honestly, I would've been willing to take a loss and escort you home. But now, I'm very disappointed in you."

Tazuna had lost his previous overbearing manner. He had been completely won over by Naruto before him. He could not help but admire this shortest ninja of the group. He had never expected Naruto to be so capable.

Sakura walked over and asked, "Naruto, why is there blood on you?"

"This isn't blood." Naruto pulled out a bottle of ketchup from his pocket. "It's just ketchup I prepared beforehand. A little ketchup fooled all of you. Seeing how nervous you looked just now was so funny. Hahahaha!"

Sakura was furious. She truly had been worried sick for Naruto just now, only to find out that this had all been a show he directed himself. He had made her worry for nothing. Sakura roared inwardly, Naruto! You're absolutely awful!

At that moment, Sasuke began to deeply doubt himself. When had Naruto conspired with Kakashi to put on this act? Why did Naruto cooperate with Kakashi so well, while he himself was like an outsider, completely unaware of what was going on?

Sasuke thought to himself, Naruto can coordinate with a Jonin so well. That proves Kakashi has already acknowledged him. A Jonin may be powerful, but he wouldn't cooperate with trash. Since Kakashi can work with Naruto, doesn't that mean Naruto's ability is above mine...

Sasuke felt immense pressure. Just a few days ago, Naruto had been the dead-last failure in their class. Yet now he could coordinate with a Jonin. Naruto's tremendous progress was truly difficult to accept.

At that moment, Kakashi walked over and said, "Naruto, you really don't let up once you have the upper hand. No matter what, he's the client who commissioned our mission. Can't you be a little more polite?"