In almost three seconds, only Yoruha's head remained above the surface.
Yet, no further attacks came from the darkness.
Sure enough, the moment the swamp swallowed Yoruha's head, a puff of smoke appeared.
The "Yoruha" sinking into the swamp turned into a log.
"Heh, a substitution technique, is it?"
"You've really mastered applying your ninjutsu in combat."
It turned out that Yoruha had used the Body Replacement Technique to avoid the attacker's Earth Release jutsu.
His true body had already appeared more than ten meters away.
But he wasn't feeling relieved at all.
With a grave expression, he looked toward the direction from which the attack came.
"This guy is too strong. There's no way I can fight him in my current state. Who is he?"
"I shouldn't have any enemies."
"I barely know anyone in the village. So who the hell wants me dead?"
Yoruha frowned. Those few attacks earlier had all been aimed to kill.
What grudge could there possibly be? He didn't remember offending anyone that strong.
While Yoruha's mind raced, trying to figure out who could be behind the ambush, a shadow emerged from the trees.
"Not bad. It seems you already have the strength of a chunin."
Seeing the figure, Yoruha's nerves tightened further.
It was too dark, and the man's face was covered. He couldn't tell who it was.
But the pressure he felt was immense—far stronger than even his teacher, several times over.
"If this guy really wanted to kill me, I probably wouldn't even still be standing."
"Then what's his goal?"
"This is still inside the village. Would he really dare to kill someone openly?"
Even though shinobi often carried out assassination missions, this was still within the village—there were rules here.
No ninja would dare casually attack someone without reason.
And with this person's strength, killing him wouldn't have required such effort.
Yoruha knew very well—this man could kill him instantly.
As Yoruha pondered, the man stepped closer.
"I don't recall ever offending you, have I?"
Yoruha didn't move. He wanted to know who this person was.
The attacker gave him a brief look and said flatly, "Come with me."
Then he turned and began walking away.
For a moment, Yoruha considered running.
But realizing the power gap between them, he gave up the thought.
"If he wanted me dead, I wouldn't have survived earlier."
"Then what's his real intention?"
Unable to figure it out, Yoruha hesitated for a moment—then followed.
There was nothing else he could do. Resistance would be pointless.
Besides, Yoruha also wanted to know who this man was, and what he wanted.
Under the cover of night, the two walked in silence, one following the other at a distance of several meters. Gradually, they arrived at the forested hills behind Konoha.
When they first approached the rear mountain, Yoruha had hesitated to follow, but in the end, he did.
He could tell this man wasn't planning to kill him.
They soon arrived at the lake where Yoruha and his team had cleaned up yesterday.
In the moonlight, the man's silver hair caught Yoruha's eye.
"Wait a second... could this guy be Hatake Kakashi?"
Yoruha studied him carefully. The more he looked, the more certain he became.
"No way... I don't remember ever offending him. Unless... did my teacher do something to him back in the ANBU?"
"So now he's trying to 'teach me a lesson' as payback?"
Once he guessed the man was Kakashi, Yoruha immediately assumed it was because his teacher, Kimoto Tōichi, had somehow angered Kakashi in the ANBU—and Kakashi was now using him to send a warning.
But since it was likely Kakashi, Yoruha also knew he wasn't in any real danger.
---
And indeed, it really was Kakashi.
During the day, he had been accompanying Naruto and Sasuke on missions.
Though, truthfully, it was Naruto and Sasuke doing the mission work—while Kakashi stood aside reading his novels.
After all, Kakashi was a devoted fan of Jiraiya's books.
As they reached the lakeside, Kakashi removed his mask.
Yoruha let out a breath of relief. "So it really is Kakashi."
Now that he was certain, Yoruha didn't say anything further. He simply wanted to know what grudge, if any, existed between Kakashi and his teacher.
After all, those few attacks earlier—any ordinary genin would already be dead.
Yoruha didn't resent Kakashi, though. Since it was him, and if it was really over his teacher, then Kakashi must have already gauged his strength precisely.
Otherwise, given Kakashi's nature, he would never attack at random.
Kakashi wasn't the kind of man to act out of malice.
Yoruha was simply curious about what kind of conflict might have existed between Kakashi and his teacher back in the ANBU days.
The two stood there for a long time, neither saying a word.
The silence grew awkward.
Eventually, Kakashi broke it.
"Kagefumi Yoruha," he said, "your performance just now wasn't bad."
Yoruha didn't reply.
He just quietly watched Kakashi, who stood beside the lake, pretending to be deep in thought.
Kakashi, not getting the reaction he expected, also felt a bit awkward.
But as a seasoned jonin, he quickly composed himself.
"You're probably wondering," he said, "why I attacked you just now."
Yoruha nodded. "I assume Kakashi-sensei wasn't just bored and playing around with me, right?"
Kakashi felt slightly embarrassed.
Yoruha didn't seem the least bit curious about his motives.
Instead of showing the panic he'd had during the attack earlier, he was now perfectly calm—even calmer than Kakashi himself.
Even Sasuke wouldn't react like that.
Sasuke's "calmness" was really just pride—but Yoruha's was genuine composure, as if he had everything under control.
In truth, Yoruha didn't know anything. The only reason he was calm was because it was Kakashi—meaning he wasn't in danger.
His understanding of Kakashi made him feel completely at ease.
He was also certain Kakashi's reason for attacking had something to do with his teacher.
After all, he had no prior connection with Kakashi, while his teacher had once been an ANBU. There must have been some old grudge between Kimoto Tōichi and Kakashi.
Seeing that Yoruha wasn't reacting the way he expected, Kakashi felt slightly disappointed.
But he didn't forget his purpose here.
Turning toward the lake, the moonlight reflected off his silver hair.
"My earlier attacks—an ordinary chunin wouldn't have been able to block them. That means your strength already surpasses most chunin."
"But that's about it. If I had increased my intensity even a little, you would have lost."
Yoruha nodded. "You're right, Kakashi-sensei. I could tell—you could've defeated me from the start."
"In front of you, I don't have any power to resist."
"I'm well aware of that."
There was no doubt in his tone.
He knew perfectly well that if Kakashi wanted to take him down, he wouldn't even have the chance to fight back.
Even though the rank difference between a chunin and jonin was only one level, in terms of actual power, the gap was vast.
Back during the Land of Waves mission, two chunin had looked like clowns before Kakashi—defeated the instant he got serious.
Yoruha wasn't foolish enough to think that being praised by Kakashi meant he could challenge him.