Who Will Protect the Land of Waves

The tobacco in Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe burned slowly as he exhaled a cloud of murky smoke.

"C-rank mission: escort bridge expert Mr. Tazuna safely back to the Land of Waves."

His gaze swept across the three young members of Team 7 before finally settling on Kakashi.

Kakashi wore his usual lazy expression, but in his one visible eye was a trace of scrutiny directed at Naruto.

Sensei, where did things go wrong? Your kid's style is a little off.

Sasuke was expressionless. To him, a C-rank mission was nothing but a waste of time.

Sakura, on the other hand, was excited. This was her first time leaving the country on a mission.

Only Naruto stood silently like a statue, listening. He had long noticed the strong scent of alcohol on Tazuna and the fear hidden in his constantly darting eyes.

The client was lying. This was no simple escort mission.

Naruto disliked lies, but this was indeed an opportunity to temper the team. Under normal circumstances, a newly formed team like theirs would have difficulty receiving missions above B-rank.

"Then go prepare. Gather at the village gate in one hour." Kakashi waved a hand, signaling them to disperse.

"Yes." Sasuke and Sakura answered in unison.

Naruto did not respond. He simply turned and became the first to leave the office.

On the forest path leading to the Land of Waves, sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering dappled spots of light across the ground.

Tazuna walked in the middle, nervously glancing around. Sakura, meanwhile, chattered away like a curious tourist, asking all sorts of questions about the Land of Waves.

Sasuke walked at the rear of the group, one hand constantly resting on his ninja tool pouch as he remained alert.

Kakashi and Naruto walked side by side at the front.

"Naruto, teamwork isn't simply about commands and obedience." Kakashi tried to break the silence.

"I know." Naruto kept his eyes ahead. "It is a tactical combination that maximizes individual abilities based on a shared objective."

Kakashi was briefly speechless. The answer was too textbook-perfect, yet too cold. He could neither refute it nor continue the conversation.

His attention was drawn to a puddle ahead.

The weather was clear, and it had not rained in a long time. There should not have been water there.

Kakashi did not slow his pace in the slightest, as though he had noticed nothing.

He was waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity, and for an answer. He wanted to see how Naruto, who regarded efficiency and discipline as absolute principles, would handle such a textbook ambush.

Naruto had noticed the puddle as well.

He had even sensed the two chakra signatures beneath it, deliberately suppressed to their limits.

Chunin-level.

They were excellent test subjects for Sasuke and Sakura's combat abilities.

He chose to ignore them as well.

The group walked straight past the puddle.

The instant they passed it, the puddle exploded!

Two burly figures entwined with chains burst from the water, the shriek of metal in the air as they instantly bound Kakashi!

"First one!"

"Swish!"

The sound of blades tearing through flesh was crystal clear.

Before Sasuke and Sakura's horrified eyes, Kakashi's body was instantly shredded into several pieces by the chains.

Blood... did not gush out.

"What?" one of the ninja cried out in shock.

It was only a substitution.

"Get down!" Kakashi's voice came from behind them.

The two Kirigakure rogue ninja known as the Demon Brothers, Meizu and Gozu, had already abandoned Kakashi. Their target instantly locked onto the least threatening person present: Tazuna.

"Second one!"

Sasuke's pupils contracted, and his body reacted faster than his mind. He drew a kunai and stepped in front of Tazuna, his face showing the nervous ferocity of someone confronting a real fight to the death for the first time.

"Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura froze in terror, her mind blank as she could only let out meaningless screams.

This was the battlefield.

When facing the threat of death for the first time, training and theory became pale and powerless. Fear was the only instinct.

Meizu and Gozu flanked him from both sides, their metal-clawed gloves slicing through the air as they lunged at Sasuke.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and barely managed to block them, only to be driven back again and again by their brute strength, his arms going numb.

This was the strength of Chunin.

Then.

A golden afterimage cut into the battle at a speed that utterly defied common sense.

It was not a ninja's Body Flicker Technique. There was not the slightest fluctuation of chakra.

It was pure speed unleashed by the body.

Naruto moved after them yet arrived first, appearing behind Gozu.

He used no ninja tools. With his fingers pressed together and his palm turned into a blade, he struck precisely at the back of Gozu's knee from a vicious angle.

"Crack!"

A bone-breaking sound that made teeth ache rang out.

Gozu let out an inhuman scream. His entire right leg bent outward at an unnatural angle, and he instantly lost the ability to move.

At almost the same instant, Naruto's other elbow slammed upward like a battering ram into Meizu's jaw.

"Bang!"

Amid a dull impact, Meizu's body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, teeth and bloody foam spraying through the air.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

From Naruto's attack to the complete loss of fighting ability of two Chunin-level enemies, less than five seconds had passed.

No ninjutsu. No hand seals.

Only the most efficient, most brutal violence.

Sasuke stood frozen in place. He looked at the Demon Brothers writhing on the ground in agony, then at Naruto, who stood there without even the slightest disruption to his breathing.

A feeling called helplessness swept over him again with agonizing clarity, as though he were being tortured.

That was not a style of fighting he could comprehend.

Sakura's scream caught in her throat. As she stared at Naruto's back, her fear exceeded even what she had felt when facing the enemies just now.

"Not bad, Sasuke."

Kakashi leaped down from a tree. He walked over to Naruto and looked down at the two ninjas, who had already passed out.

The methods had been so clean and decisive that they were chilling.

He turned to Naruto, and for the first time, his lazy eye carried a stern accusation.

"You noticed them long ago."

"Yes." Naruto's answer was crisp and direct.

"Then why didn't you warn us beforehand?" Kakashi's tone grew heavier. "Your teammates and Sakura were exposed to lethal danger!"

"It was a drill." Naruto calmly met his gaze. "On an unpredictable battlefield, an ambush can come at any moment. I could warn them this time, but what about next time? If the enemy is a sensory-type ninja, any unusual movement in advance would expose us."

He paused.

"Kakashi-sensei, you noticed those two ninjas too, didn't you? And your thoughts were the same as mine."

"You also know that they need to adapt to facing death without warning. The sweat shed today is so blood will not be shed tomorrow. Sensei, you should understand that better than I do."

Kakashi's body stiffened as his experience at Kannabi Bridge flashed through his mind.

With a grave expression, he walked up to Naruto and placed a hand heavily on his shoulder, slowly applying pressure.

"You brat..."

"Why did you have to put it so bluntly? You're making your teacher lose face."

Kakashi laughed and patted Naruto's shoulder.

"You're not cute at all like this."

A small boat glided slowly across the mist-shrouded river.

The atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive.

Sasuke and Sakura were both silent, deeply shaken by the fight just now.

"Mr. Tazuna." Kakashi broke the silence, explaining the intelligence on the Demon Brothers and his reassessment of the mission's rank. "This is no longer a C-rank mission. It is at least B-rank. And your opponent may send Jonin to carry out assassination attempts. At that point, it would become an A-rank, or even S-rank, mission."

He looked at his three students.

"For safety's sake, the mission is terminated. We will escort Mr. Tazuna back to Konoha, and the village will reassess the situation and send a more suitable team."

This was the safest and most correct decision.

"I disagree."

Naruto spoke, interrupting Kakashi's arrangement.

"Why?" Kakashi crossed his arms and looked at Naruto.

"The risk assessment is wrong." Naruto met Kakashi's eyes and began his tactical analysis. "First, we have already fought the enemy, and they have learned our basic information—a Jonin leading three Genin. If we withdraw now, they will only conclude that if even Konoha is afraid to fight, they have nothing to worry about. The next force they send to harass the Land of Waves will be stronger and more unscrupulous."

"Second, Konoha's reputation. Accepting a commission and abandoning it halfway damages the Hokage's credibility. A ninja village that loses its credibility cannot survive for long."

Every word he spoke was like a nail driven into everyone's hearts.

Sakura and Sasuke both raised their heads, staring at him in shock.

This had completely exceeded their understanding of missions.

"Lastly..." Naruto narrowed his eyes, a gentle heaviness flashing within them.

"If we do not protect the Land of Waves, no one will."