Crack… crack…
The metal arms of the Demon Brothers' weapon began to fracture. No matter how hard they pulled, they couldn't tear apart Senju Haruto's body. Instead, the very weapon they took such pride in—those specially forged chain gauntlets—was crumbling before their eyes.
What… what was this man? Was his skin made of iron?
Before the brothers could even figure out why the gap in strength was so overwhelming, an invisible force surged outward.
Against opponents of this level, Haruto needed neither ninjutsu nor taijutsu. Simply by releasing his chakra, he pierced through their armor and muscle, the energy slamming straight into their organs—crushing them to pieces.
Splurt!
The Demon Brothers' eyes bulged wide as blood sprayed from their mouths. Their bodies arced through the air in a grotesque curve before crashing heavily to the ground.
The chains coiled around Haruto fell apart completely, scattering uselessly onto the dirt.
It had all happened too fast. Kakashi and the others hadn't even had time to react.
Especially Tazuna. Only moments ago, he'd been worried about whether Haruto and the team could protect him. Yet in less than a heartbeat, Haruto had erased the threat.
"Th-this… this is what it means to be a shinobi…?" Tazuna swallowed hard, his mind blank with shock.
He had heard that ninja were far stronger than ordinary men, but he had never imagined the difference could be this extreme. His eyes hadn't even caught what Haruto had done!
But in truth, it wasn't just Tazuna. Even Kakashi, experienced as he was, couldn't figure out how Haruto had taken them down.
Still, disbelief or not, he forced himself to act. Drawing in a slow breath, Kakashi stepped forward and crouched carefully, placing two fingers against the neck of one of the brothers.
No pulse.
"They're dead," Kakashi announced flatly to the others, officially ending the crisis.
"Dead?!" Sakura and Sasuke both gasped.
Neither of them had seen Haruto move. He had just stood there, almost as if he hadn't even reacted to the ambush. And then suddenly—the ones who launched the attack lay slain.
It was unbelievable.
"…If only we'd managed to keep one alive," Kakashi muttered with a sigh. "We might have been able to get more information out of them."
More information. He had chosen his words carefully. Not "any information."
The implication was clear—these two had already revealed something.
Haruto's gaze shifted sharply toward Tazuna. His voice was low, cutting like steel.
"Tazuna. You explain."
The members of Team 7 turned their eyes to the bridge builder as well, waiting for his answer.
But faced with Haruto's blunt demand, Tazuna turned his head aside, scratching his scalp with an awkward laugh.
"I—I don't know. Maybe they… maybe they were here for revenge on you instead? I mean… in a shinobi's world, enemies… that's normal, right?"
His stammering only exposed him further.
Haruto shot a glance at Kakashi, silently passing the word to him.
Kakashi nodded and spoke levelly.
"Tazuna-san. From their forehead protectors, it's clear these men were shinobi from Kirigakure—the Hidden Mist. Their village is infamous for its ninja who fight to the death without retreat."
"But their attack wasn't aimed at me. Or Haruto. Their first target was you."
"If this were revenge against Konoha, why would they go straight for the bridge builder?"
Kakashi exhaled softly. "The truth is obvious. These men came for you, Tazuna-san."
"And by the terms of your contract, the mission you gave us was a C-rank. That means dealing with bandits, mafia, smugglers at worst. But shinobi assassins? That makes this at least a B-rank mission—more dangerous, more complex, and far more costly."
"A squad of one jōnin and three fresh genin is not equipped for this level of work."
Haruto stepped in then, his words cold and absolute.
"Exactly. Tazuna—you concealed the truth, and now you've put us in a compromised situation."
Kakashi couldn't help but grumble silently.
Can't handle this level of mission, huh? If I didn't know Naruto already had Sage Mode and his golden cloak, I might actually believe you.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Senju Haruto-sama, since the client has deceived us, I formally request to withdraw from this mission."
"What?!"
Tazuna paled instantly, panic washing over him.
After witnessing Haruto and Team 7's power, even a fool could see how much safer he was under their protection. Without them, his death was inevitable.
"The Land of Waves is a tiny nation—we don't even have our own shinobi village. There's no way I can afford the fees for a higher-ranked mission."
He swallowed hard, his voice trembling.
"But without your protection, they'll kill me. And if I die, well… it's not your fault, of course. Only my ten-year-old grandson will cry his heart out—he'll grow up alone, consumed by hatred for the Leaf shinobi who abandoned us…"
"Ah… but of course, none of that would be your fault…"
He poured out his plea in one breath, but his heart pounded with desperation.
On one hand, he didn't want to lose Haruto's overwhelming protection. On the other, he simply couldn't pay the fee. The only option left was emotional blackmail—appealing to their conscience, hoping the shinobi of Konoha wouldn't abandon him once they knew about his family's plight.
In the original tale, this tactic had worked. Even Kakashi, though annoyed, had gone along with it.
But Haruto wasn't so easily swayed.
"That's right. It isn't our fault. It's yours, Tazuna."
His voice was colder than steel, devoid of the slightest hint of sympathy.
Even if he needed to head to the so-called "Great Naruto Bridge," he would never accept being manipulated. And the pathetic, conniving way Tazuna tried to twist the situation only deepened Haruto's disgust.
"In that case," Haruto said firmly, "I hereby declare Team 7's mission complete. We're returning to Konoha."
Tazuna's eyes flew wide. He had never imagined Haruto would so bluntly cast aside the mission—completely disregarding the client's life or death.
Didn't he care about Konoha's reputation? Didn't he fear the consequences if word of this spread?
"Ah… Haruto-niisan!"
At that moment, Naruto's voice rang out. The boy stood a short distance away, his face tense as he called out to stop Haruto.