The next morning…
Kakashi stared blankly at the group assembled in front of him. His single eye twitched. "…Hidan. Are you… planning a school trip?"
Behind him, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura froze as well. Their faces cramped as they looked at the bizarre sight before them.
It wasn't just Hidan and Konan. It wasn't just Team Eight. Somehow, there was also Yuhi Kurenai—arms folded, expression sharp. A crowd of people that looked less like a shinobi squad and more like a festival tour group.
And at the center of it all? Hidan, sprawled smugly across Konan's back, grinning like a fool.
So what if they've got numbers? Five from Team Eight, add Kurenai, add Konan… tch, now that's what I call security detail.
But the real kicker—the thing that made Kakashi want to just collapse face-first into the dirt—was their outfits.
Casual clothes. All of them.
Hinata, especially, was wearing a frilly white dress with a sunhat perched on her head. She looked like she was about to attend a tea party in the Hyūga gardens, not go on a dangerous C-rank mission.
Kakashi's mind screamed. This… this is supposed to be a mission squad? It looks like a picnic outing! Lord Third was right—this guy isn't a teacher, he's a walking disaster.
"Alright!" Hidan called cheerfully, waving from his throne on Konan's back. "Ready to go, Kakashi? We're here to watch Class Seven do their mission, yeah? Like a field trip with snacks!"
Kakashi's jaw tightened. His hands trembled as if holding back the urge to strangle someone. "…Let's just go."
What else could he say? Hidan wasn't a shinobi. He was some… strange tumor that had infected Konoha's teaching system.
In that moment, Hatake Kakashi realized something terrible.
This man… is the true cancer of the ninja world.
--
The bridge-builder's face was all suspicion and disbelief. "You lot? You really call yourselves ninjas? This ragtag bunch—are you supposed to escort me back to the Land of Waves?"
He sneered, then jabbed a little harsher:
"Especially the short one with the crazy hair—what, is he the muscle?"
Naruto's face went red, but he just laughed wild and loud. "Hahaha… short idiot? Hahaha…" He sounded… proud, not offended. Totally Naruto.
Kakashi, Hidan, and the others exchanged looks that practically screamed: This kid can't be helped.
Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, and the rest lined up beside Naruto, the height differences cut and clear. Naruto's grin froze when he realized how ridiculous he looked.
"I'm gonna kill you!!!" Naruto barked, straining against Kakashi's hold, teeth bared—more bluster than actual threat. Kakashi held him steady, flatly exasperated. "Naruto, are you planning to kill our client? Don't be an idiot."
After a minute of pouting and huffing, Naruto settled down. Kakashi led Team Seven and Tazuna toward the dock, and they boarded the small boat bound for the Land of Waves.
Hidan and his entourage followed at a distance—walking, lounging, and gawking at the scenery, all with disturbingly relaxed faces.
It looked less like an escort mission and more like a village sightseeing tour. Perfect.
--
By now, Kakashi and the others had long since left Konoha's borders. The silent path stretched endlessly before them, their footsteps the only sound.
Splash… splash…
Their sandals struck a shallow puddle, sending tiny ripples across the stagnant water. Kakashi didn't think much of it. To a veteran shinobi, puddles on the roadside were nothing unusual.
But then—
Ripple.
From the still surface, two shadows rose. Masked assassins, bearing Kirigakure headbands slashed across, emerged quietly from the water.
The Demon Brothers.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. His black pupils twisted into scarlet, the tomoe of his fully-formed Sharingan spinning in readiness. He didn't rush forward—if Kakashi himself hadn't moved yet, there was no need. Their strength, after all, was leagues beneath his own.
"Whoosh!"
The assassins burst out, chains snapping forward with the hiss of steel, jagged links flashing in the air. In a blink, the serrated iron whipped around Kakashi, binding him tight.
"The first one to take the bait!" one of them snarled, tugging hard.
In an instant, Kakashi's body was shredded—ripped apart by the chains, torn to bloody pieces before his students' eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
"Kakashi-sensei!!"
Naruto and Sakura's cries rang out, horror written across their faces. In that moment, the backbone of the squad seemed torn away with him, leaving only trembling legs and the oppressive stench of fear.
Sasuke on the other hand, had a calm expression throughout the process of Kakashi getting shredded into pieces.
"You're the second!"
The hiss of chains cut the air as two more assassins emerged behind Naruto. Their jagged links whipped forward, ready to slice him apart. Naruto froze, panic locking his limbs in place.
For an instant, it looked as though he would be skewered—
Crackle!
Sasuke moved. His Sharingan spun, and his right hand flared with pale blue lightning, the sharp chirping of a thousand birds filling the silent forest.
"Chidori… Sharp Spear!"
The lightning didn't stop at his hand. It elongated, stretching outward into a glowing lance of crackling thunder nearly three meters long. With one swift thrust, the spear pierced clean through both assassins' abdomens.
"Guh—!"
"Impossible!"
Blood sprayed as their bodies convulsed, the thunderous current paralyzing them from the inside out. Their chains fell limp, clattering uselessly to the ground.
The two Mist assassins coughed blood in unison, eyes wide with disbelief. To be defeated—so quickly, so cleanly—by a child barely out of the Academy? It was a humiliation they hadn't even imagined.
Sasuke let the lightning fade, lowering his hand with cold precision. His gaze remained calm, the scarlet glow of the Sharingan unwavering.
Behind him, Naruto finally exhaled, stumbling backward with wide eyes. "W-woah… Sasuke…"
Even Sakura was frozen, caught between awe and fear at the sheer killing intent radiating from him.
Only one thought echoed through their minds:
This wasn't the same Sasuke they thought they knew.
This Sasuke was built different, he was Hidan's step-son.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's relieved cry rang out.
From the shadows, Kakashi reappeared, crouching protectively in front of his students. The torn body on the ground behind them flickered and dissolved into nothing but a bundle of splintered wooden sticks.
A substitution.
Sasuke didn't so much as looked surprised at his sensei's return. Hands in his pockets, he stood calmly, scarlet Sharingan still glowing faintly in his eyes.
His presence radiated a quiet, menace.
Kakashi's gaze lingered on him, deep and uneasy. This boy…
That technique—Chidori Sharp Spear. At his age, it was unthinkable. Not only had he mastered an A-rank jutsu akin to Kakashi's own Raikiri, but he had unleashed it with ruthless precision. The Mist assassins had no chance.
What chilled Kakashi most wasn't the power itself—it was Sasuke's demeanor. The boy hadn't hesitated, hadn't shown nerves or fear. There was no tremor in his hand, no flicker of guilt in his eyes. He had struck to kill. Clean, decisive, merciless.
This isn't the behavior of a nine-year-old child… it's the mindset of a seasoned killer.
Unbeknownst to Kakashi, Hidan's nightly "lessons" had already shaped Sasuke into something far darker—trained him in advanced ninjutsu, opened the three-tomoe Sharingan, and honed his hatred into something more darker.
Meanwhile, Naruto's fists clenched tight. His eyes flicked between the bloodied ground and Sasuke's calm figure, envy burning in his chest.
Damn it… why am I always the one frozen? Why is he the one who always looks cool?
Shame twisted into frustration, frustration into resolve. For the first time, Naruto's reckless heart began whispering a steady truth: I have to get stronger. No matter what.
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