Kakashi, Need a Hand?

Twenty-five days later, Miya crossed the border of the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Grass to carry out the last mission on his list.

It had taken ten days longer than he had expected to finish his missions. But that was fine. Ninja needed to balance work and rest too!

Miya had spent the past few days sightseeing as if he were on vacation, and his gloomy mood had lifted considerably.

During his previous mission, Miya had spent thirteen days visiting eight bandit strongholds. He hadn't killed many people, and he had carried out Orochimaru's orders perfectly, leaving no one alive.

Well, the exact number was fewer than fifteen hundred.

By now, Miya also understood how "thoughtful" Orochimaru had been. He had truly put a lot of effort into cultivating Miya's killing instinct.

Moreover, Miya had carried out his mission during this time no differently than he had on Mount Batō.

He had swaggered up the mountains, deliberately let the bandits spot him, and then wiped them all out in one fell swoop.

It saved time, effort, and trouble.

He fought them as soon as he saw them, fought his way through, killed every enemy, and then hurried off to find the next band of bandits without stopping.

Travel, kill.

That had been Miya's daily routine for the past few days.

Standing on Land of Grass soil, Miya took out his mission scroll and looked it over. Then he found the direction of his mission destination and slowly set off.

"The neighboring Land of Grass has its own charm too!"

Without a care or a hurry, Miya admired the scenery and customs unique to the Land of Grass.

Suddenly, Miya stopped in his tracks.

"Huh?"

Cries of battle, faint as the buzz of a mosquito, drifted through the woods to Miya's ears.

Let's take a look!

Changing direction, Miya headed toward the sound.

"Kill them."

"Kill them! Don't let a single one escape!"

"Kill."

The voices grew closer. Landing on a tree branch, Miya saw clearly what was happening ahead.

A horse-drawn carriage had stopped on the main road, and a group of people were charging at its owner.

From their clothing and the long blades in their hands, it was easy to tell that they were samurai or household soldiers acting on someone's orders.

But that wasn't what Miya was focused on. What caught his attention most was the boy his own age standing on the carriage roof.

The boy had short, tousled silver hair, a black mask over his face, and a short blade strapped to his back. He calmly watched the battle between the attackers and the guards around him.

"Kakashi Hatake!"

After recognizing the boy on the roof, Miya was a little surprised. He hadn't expected to meet this Konoha genius, renowned throughout the Shinobi World, here.

At the very front of the carriage, three Konoha Ninja, one adult and two children, were fighting three ninja among the enemy. They were Kakashi's Jonin instructor and his two teammates.

Suddenly, several Shuriken appeared in Kakashi's hand, and he flung them toward Miya's position.

Whoosh.

Miya easily dodged Kakashi's attack, then came into his view.

"Hey, Kakashi."

"Is that how you treat an old classmate when you meet again?"

Miya's words startled Kakashi on the carriage roof, and then he recalled a memory from deep within his mind.

Two faces gradually overlapped.

"Miya?"

Kakashi's gaze remained cold. Miya's sudden appearance hadn't made him relax; instead, he became more focused and tense.

For the moment, Kakashi wasn't wondering why Miya had appeared here. He was considering whether Miya might pose a threat to his completion of the mission.

Miya nodded, seemingly oblivious to Kakashi's cold, wary gaze, and said:

"Need a hand?"