The breeze was gentle, and the sun hung high overhead. Three little kids, a white-haired young man, and a grizzled old man made for a strange group of five.
Kakashi briefly explained what they needed to watch out for, then they set off.
"You're that, that, tha-that, that, that, tha-that, tha-tha-that, tha-that, sunshine rainbow little workhorse." Meihui walked at the front, humming a tune.
Up ahead, a puddle lay on the ground. Meihui was honestly at a loss.
"Seriously, are they insulting our intelligence? A puddle on the ground on a sunny day without a cloud in the sky? This disguise is so bad even a dog would shake its head."
He shook his own head as he spoke. Still, Meihui gave nothing away.
When he reached the puddle, he stepped straight onto it. Yet his shoes showed no sign of getting wet.
At first, the others thought Meihui was showing off his skills, but then they realized something was wrong.
The Demon Brothers beneath his feet were thinking much the same thing. Is there something seriously wrong with this kid? Why won't he leave?
Only after stomping on them forty-nine times did Meihui reluctantly move on.
Seeing their chance, the two brothers charged straight at Kakashi, using their chain to tear him into several pieces.
"That's the first one. You're next, you little brat. Had fun stomping on us just now, did you?"
Tazuna was so frightened that his voice cracked.
"Aaaah!" Tazuna shrieked, unconsciously curling his fingers into a dainty pose.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? What's with that god-awful noise, you old auntie? Stop yapping."
"Naruto, Sasuke, let's teach these two a lesson." With that, Meihui charged forward.
He sent one of them flying with a kick, leaving the other to Sasuke and Naruto.
But Naruto had been scared out of his wits and stood frozen in place. In the end, Sasuke had to step in and save him.
Meihui took down his Mist Ninja with just a few blows, while Sasuke finished his fight just as easily.
Kakashi appeared then and restrained the pair.
"Meihui, Sasuke, well done. Naruto, your performance was a little lacking. Also, Naruto, their weapons were poisoned. Meihui, drain some blood from his wound."
Meihui wasted no time. He grabbed Naruto's hand and used a shuriken to cut it open and let some blood out.
"My foolish little brother, try to be more careful. This is a lesson every ninja has to go through. Get used to it sooner rather than later."
"Then, Onii-chan, could you bandage me up?"
"Bandage you? Why didn't you say so sooner? Your wound's already healed."
"Huh?"
That freakishly resilient body really was enviable.
Kakashi looked at the two captured ninja. "You two are from Kirigakure, aren't you?"
But the Demon Brothers ignored Kakashi and instead asked Meihui how he had spotted them.
"Seriously, are you two out of your minds? It's a sunny day, and it hasn't rained for days. How are you going to explain a puddle on the ground? That's basic common sense!"
"Damn it, why didn't I think of that?" With that, both of them swallowed poison and killed themselves. Whether they were too ashamed to face anyone or had some other reason, who knew?
Since they had killed themselves with poison, Kakashi had little more to say.
Instead, he turned to Tazuna.
"Don't you owe us an explanation? Why are ninja trying to assassinate you? This is beyond the scope of our mission. It's no longer a simple C-rank assignment. With ninja involved, it's practically A-rank now."
"I expect every word you tell us to be true, not a bunch of nonsense. I won't gamble with my subordinates' lives."
Tazuna seemed to age in an instant.
"The truth is, I'm an engineer from the Land of Waves. I'm returning to finish building our bridge. But Gato, the man who rules the Land of Waves like his own little kingdom, wants me dead."
"I really didn't mean to deceive you. The Land of Waves simply has no money left. We can't afford a higher-ranked mission..."
Before Tazuna could finish, Kakashi cut him off.
"And that gives you the right to hide the truth and disregard other people's lives?"
Looking at Kakashi, Tazuna continued to plead. "Once the bridge is finished, we can break free of Gato's control, and the whole country can prosper. Please, I'm begging you."
But Kakashi and the others remained cold, giving Tazuna no sign that they intended to help him.
So he steeled himself and said, "Even if you don't complete the mission, even if an old man like me, already one foot in the grave, ends up dead, I won't blame you. But my ten-year-old grandson will cry his heart out and hate you Konoha ninja. My daughter will spend every day in tears, living with grief and treating Konoha as her enemy for the rest of her life."
Meihui was not pleased.
"Hey, old man, what's that supposed to mean? You hid how difficult this mission was, and now you're turning on us because we won't help? You've really mastered emotional blackmail, haven't you? Helping you would be a favor, not an obligation. What gives you the right to act so self-righteous?"
"And if you kick the bucket, that's somehow our fault? That doesn't add up. What do your grandson's grief and your daughter's tears have to do with me? You make it sound like you can't even take care of yourself without us. I really don't get it. You're the one in the wrong, but you insist on forcing the blame onto everyone else. I can't tell whether bad people got old or old people turned bad."
Meihui had something of a foul-mouthed keyboard warrior about him, and his tirade reduced Tazuna to tears.
Watching Tazuna sob uncontrollably, Kakashi felt a headache coming on.
After he asked the three students, all of them said they wanted to continue the mission.
"Mr. Tazuna, as you've heard, they're all willing to continue. But I expect you to pay the outstanding mission fee later. My student may have been a little blunt just now, so please don't be too upset."
Hearing that they were going to help him, Tazuna excitedly clung to Kakashi's leg.
"Thank you, Master Ninja! I'll never use my age to throw my weight around or emotionally blackmail anyone again. Rest assured, I'll pay the full fee for this mission."
And so, the group continued toward the Land of Waves.
They wound their way onward for who knew how long.
Their peaceful journey ended when a jumpy Naruto threw a shuriken into the grass to check for danger.
Kakashi spotted a snow hare where Naruto had thrown the shuriken and immediately realized something was wrong.
"Everyone, get down! Naruto, protect Tazuna!"
A huge sword came hurtling toward them and embedded itself in a tree.
Demon Zabuza made his entrance, standing on the sword's hilt and clearly thinking he looked very cool.
"Oh? If it isn't the famous Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. How about this? Hand over that old man, and we'll stay out of each other's way."
"I can't do that. He's our client for this mission."
"Then it looks like there's nothing to discuss." With that, Zabuza activated the Hidden Mist Technique and vanished from everyone's sight.
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