Seeing Senju Haruto's stern attitude, Tazuna had no choice but to shut his mouth. Deep down, he knew full well that his need for shinobi protection far outweighed any payment he could provide. If he kept throwing his weight around here, the consequences would be no joke.
Besides… Tazuna wasn't wealthy to begin with. The money he had brought along for this trip had barely carried him to the Hidden Leaf, already stretching his finances to their limit. If he were to walk away now and try to hire shinobi from another village, the cost of travel alone would crush him.
And stepping back to look at the bigger picture, Konoha was without question the strongest among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. All he could do was mutter a few complaints under his breath. At the end of the day, he was just a small-time man—what bold declarations could he really make?
Gulp.
Tazuna tipped back his bottle for another swallow, then laid out his situation for Team 7, pleading with them to protect him until his bridge was completed.
Naruto, of course, wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. Even if it was only guarding an old man while he built a bridge, it was still better than babysitting children or pulling weeds.
Most importantly—if they were protecting someone, that meant there would be enemies. And if there were enemies… then Naruto could finally show off what he was capable of.
Sasuke and Sakura didn't voice their thoughts aloud, but in their hearts, they were thinking the same thing. Both of them were eager for this mission, itching for a chance to prove themselves.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was indifferent as always. As a jōnin, he was long used to following orders. Whatever the assignment, he accepted it without complaint.
"Still," Haruto suddenly shifted the tone of the discussion, "since I'm bending the rules by letting you take on this mission, I'll be accompanying you. Think of it as both supervision and an evaluation."
After all, according to shinobi regulations, Team 7 wasn't yet qualified to accept this level of mission.
"You're coming with us?" Kakashi looked genuinely surprised.
A C-rank escort was supposed to mean no enemy shinobi—at worst, some bandits or hired thugs. Even without chakra at the moment, Kakashi felt confident such enemies would pose no real threat. Besides, their squad had Naruto—the perfect jinchūriki. As far as Kakashi was concerned, protecting Tazuna shouldn't be a problem.
So when Haruto declared he would be joining them, it startled more than a few people.
"This kid may look young," Tazuna thought, carefully keeping his face neutral, "but he gives off the feeling of someone utterly reliable."
Inwardly, the bridge builder was thrilled. With both Kakashi and Haruto on his side, his safety was as close to guaranteed as it could get. Haruto was a Special Advisor to the Hokage—he didn't need anyone's approval. His word was law.
And so, with Team 7 formally accepting the escort mission, Senju Haruto and the group set off from the Hidden Leaf, bound for the Land of Waves.
Naruto was easily the most excited of them all. This was his first mission to protect someone—and with Haruto alongside them, he was determined to make the most of any chance to shine.
Tazuna trailed quietly with the squad, silently praying that the journey would pass without incident.
Then—
"The ground…"
Haruto narrowed his eyes, frowning as he noticed puddles of water on the path.
It hadn't rained in days. The sky was perfectly clear. There was no natural reason for standing water here.
"Kirigakure assassins…" Haruto murmured to himself, recalling how, in the original events, Team 7 had been ambushed by Zabuza's subordinates not long after leaving the village.
It was during that encounter, after all, that Tazuna's deception had been laid bare.
Haruto glanced at Kakashi, silently signaling him to stay alert.
Right now, Kakashi couldn't mold chakra. If he was targeted first by Mist-nin, he could be killed before anyone could react.
Catching Haruto's warning, Kakashi understood at once. He deliberately slowed his pace and shifted toward the edge of the group, minimizing the chance that he'd be the focus of the initial strike.
Just as Haruto had anticipated, the moment they stepped past the puddles, a wave of killing intent erupted from behind them.
As far as assassination tactics went, Haruto thought these attackers a bit sloppy. Still, because Kakashi had shifted aside, they abandoned him as a target and instead focused directly on Tazuna.
Two figures burst out of the water, chains extending from strange iron gauntlets as they leapt forward in perfect unison, aiming to entangle the bridge builder.
The attack was so sudden, Tazuna froze in panic, unable even to scream for help before the weapons closed in.
"Naruto."
Kakashi's low voice cut through the tension. No matter what, they couldn't let the client die here.
"Got it!"
Though startled, Naruto reacted instantly at his sensei's command. Golden chakra cloaked his body as he shifted into his Nine-Tails Cloak, vanishing in a blur with the Body Flicker Technique.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Tazuna, grabbed the old man, and whisked him out of harm's way.
Neither the bridge builder nor the assassins even had time to register what had happened before Naruto had deposited Tazuna safely beyond danger.
Kakashi let out a small breath of relief at the clean, decisive movement.
The Demon Brothers, however, were stunned. They had never imagined a brat like Naruto could move so fast. But suspended midair as they were, they couldn't alter their trajectory.
Snarling in frustration, they shifted their target to the next closest figure—Senju Haruto.
As shinobi of the Mist, they were infamous for fighting to the death without hesitation. Even if their first strike had failed and their cover blown, retreat was never an option.
So long as they slaughtered everyone here, it wouldn't matter.
"Blame yourself!" one of the brothers bellowed, their chain weapons snapping around Haruto with brutal precision. All it would take was a single hard pull, and his flesh would be ripped apart.
The method was cruel beyond words.
"Damn it," Sasuke thought, eyes widening. He had believed Haruto was as powerful as Kakashi had claimed, someone who could easily evade such attacks. But to his shock, Haruto had allowed himself to be caught!
"Haruto-nii!" Naruto shouted instinctively, lunging to help.
"Heh—too late!" the Demon Brothers sneered, crossing past each other and pulling their chains in opposite directions.
Boom!
Instead of tearing Haruto apart, a thunderous crack split the air. The brothers froze in disbelief, staring at the iron chains in their hands—fractured and splintering under the strain.
Their eyes bulged wide as they turned toward Haruto, as if unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
It didn't feel like they had ensnared a man at all. It was as though they had tried to bind a mountain. No matter how much strength they poured into their pull, the chains refused to budge.
"This guy… is he even human?!"