A night's sleep always passed quickly.
At sunrise, Ye Liang stretched lazily.
Naruto and the others looked worn out, with dark circles under their eyes and sluggish movements.
For a squad on a mission, this kind of condition just wasn't going to cut it. But considering even Kakashi, their team leader, looked the same, there wasn't much to say.
"What dedication," Ye Liang mused, thinking of Kakashi and the rest.
Obviously!
These people had been training all night trying to master the S-ranked ninjutsu that Ye Liang had taught them.
"Uncle Ye, look at my Tailed Beast Ball!" Naruto excitedly showed off his achievement from the entire night.
The small black orb in his hand was already taking shape, but still fell short of a real Tailed Beast Ball.
After all, these were all S-ranked techniques. If they could be mastered so easily, there would be no point in calling them S-ranked.
"Hmm, well done. No wonder you're my student," Ye Liang patted Naruto's head appreciatively before walking toward Kakashi's tent.
The latter was still reading his little orange book, despite having eye bags like a raccoon dog.
"I remember Kakashi wasn't originally like this—what happened that made him so obsessed with this little orange book?"
Ye Liang felt filled with questions.
In the original world, Kakashi had been his disciple. Although not outstanding academically, he'd at least been passable in conduct.
But what the heck went wrong here?
Hormones hitting hard?
"Something you need?" Kakashi casually asked when he saw Ye Liang approach.
"Aren't we supposed to eliminate those bandits today? Shouldn't we go already?"
"Eliminate bandits?" Kakashi was full of question marks. "Weren't we just here for training?"
He asked Ye Liang, then suddenly slapped his forehead as if remembering.
"Sh*t! We were actually supposed to do a mission!"
He'd completely lost his head!
Ye Liang naturally understood why when he saw the Flying Thunder God drafts scattered all over the ground.
After all, it was just a C-rank mission.
Forget the mission while learning an S-ranked jutsu? Totally normal.
"Well, hurry up and let's go already—it's almost noon..." Ye Liang said helplessly.
After traveling several days, Team Seven had already arrived at their destination. The group swiftly dashed between the tree branches and soon reached the grand base of the bandits.
Bandits during the Hokage era weren't to be underestimated—most of them had at least a few unusual ninjutsu tricks up their sleeves.
Although weak, sometimes you'd hit the jackpot!
Like during their previous mission, Team Seven encountered Zabuza Momochi—an extremely powerful pseudo-ninja-level warrior. And that was only a C-ranked mission.
Back in Ye Liang's former life, such situations were called "wolves in sheep's clothing."
You never know when a routine mission might land you face-to-face with deadly experts playing possum.
Team Seven remained cautious.
Only two lackeys stood guard at the entrance to the bandit camp. Observing how low their chakra concentrations were, Ye Liang estimated their level to be about equivalent to genin.
Comparable to the usual members of Team Seven.
"Watch carefully, Uncle Ye—I'll defeat them with my Tailed Beast Ball!" As soon as Naruto noticed their small numbers, he noisily charged forward.
Kakashi tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
Ye Liang just shook his head in disbelief.
No wonder they call him the bottom of the barrel! He's lousy at this stuff and charges in like an idiot!
The entrance of the bandit camp indeed had very few guards, but that didn't mean there weren't enemies inside! What if a few elite Jonin suddenly came out? Kakashi wouldn't be able to protect him then.
Of course, with Ye Liang watching over things, that wasn't going to happen.
Two bandit henchmen were taking a nap when suddenly a shuriken flew toward them.
"Shwooosh!"
Missed!
"I'm throwing again!"
Still missed!
Naruto was getting furious.
Uncle Ye Liang was watching nearby! If he kept missing like this, he'd lose all his face!
Even though he was still young, Naruto took his reputation seriously.
"Who's that brat messing around?"
The two bandits grabbed their kunai and walked over.
They weren't even worried—Naruto's skill level was obvious enough.
From ten meters away!
He couldn't even hit anyone. You call this guy a ninja?
They assumed Naruto was just another annoying little kid, so they let their guard completely down.
"Puh!"
A shuriken finally embedded into flesh.
After throwing over a dozen shurikens, Naruto finally scored a hit on one bandit!
The bandits got angry.
Despite the pain, they charged straight at Naruto screaming wildly, slashing their kunai toward him!
Their strength was weak.
Naruto struggled to defend himself, but Ye Liang had absolutely no concern.
Inside Naruto lay the raw power of the Nine-Tails itself. Even if he sustained some injuries, he would heal immediately anyway. Besides, Kakashi was close by should any real danger arise.
With Kakashi's fame as the Copy Ninja, these petty thieves stood no chance against him.
Sasuke and others hurried over to help.
Ye Liang looked at Kakashi.
He didn't step forward.
"Kakashi, you noticed something too, right?"
"Hmm."
Kakashi nodded slightly while remaining vigilant toward the main compound.
These bandits weren't ordinary ones!
Typically, a Genin-level ninja alone could serve as a core force among bandits. Yet here, two Genin-level ninjas were merely serving as guards—a clear indication that whoever led from within must be quite strong.
At minimum a Chunin, possibly even a Jonin-level ninja!
"They're likely Rogue Ninjas from some smaller Hidden Village," Ye Liang deduced.
He noticed that both gatekeeping Genins wore forehead protectors marked with a small water symbol—the insignia of River Village.
River Village was a small village dependent on Mist Village without powerful ninja, skilled only in basic water techniques, thus easily overlooked.
However, Ye Liang noted that despite their clumsy abilities, these two River Village members hadn't used Water Release jutsu at all—they relied solely on Taijutsu during the fight.
"They aren't truly from River Village!"
Just then, Ye Liang caught a sudden gust of wind near his ear before two middle-aged men in blue clothes landed directly in front of Kakashi and his team.
Without hesitation, the pair launched [Water Dragon Bullet] jutsu, instantly eliminating the two bandit guards.
"We're Kage Retainers from River Village here to deal with traitors! Outsiders, stay out of our way!" They warily glanced at Kakashi before proceeding straight into the bandit base.
"What's going on, Teacher Kakashi?" Naruto asked cautiously while staring at them.
Team 7 hadn't even had time to react before everything unfolded.
"Just wait and see," Kakashi replied with a nod.
They had encountered rogue ninja missions like this before. However, if the village's own people came to handle it, Konoha ninjas would naturally step aside. It was their family affair, so there wasn't much they could say.
Before long, those two ninjas dragged a young girl covered in blood out of the bandit camp.
She looked about twelve or thirteen years old. From her delicate facial features, she must have been a stunning beauty once cleaned up.
"Kakashi, Teacher! What exactly is going on here!"
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