Sakura Haruno: "So amazing!"
Sakura was genuinely stunned.
This was her first real battle as a Ninja.
The trip to the Land of Waves had left a deep impression on her.
She still remembered how, back then, she couldn't help with anything.
Well… things didn't change much later either.
Sasuke fell silent as well.
He watched his image on the black-framed large screen.
He knew that although he could have dealt with the Demon Brothers back then, he definitely wouldn't have done it as effortlessly as the version of himself in this black frame world.
The gap was considerable.
He hadn't spent much time with Naruto.
Yet it felt as if his own strength had undergone a qualitative leap.
'Can a D-rank mission really help me improve?'
Sasuke couldn't help but doubt.
["Not bad, you've improved a lot."]
[Kakashi tied up the still-living Demon Brother.]
[He gave the not-overly-arrogant Sasuke a glance and didn't hold back his praise.]
[Sasuke slid his hands into his pockets and nodded coolly.]
[Sakura stared at the Demon Brother she'd killed with one punch, dazed.]
["You'll get used to it."]
[Naruto said softly.]
["Mm, I'll do my best."]
[Sakura finally came back to her senses, suppressed her discomfort, and hurriedly nodded.]
["Damn Konoha Ninja… you'll regret sticking your noses into this!"]
["Don't even think about getting information out of me!"]
[Crack—]
[The Demon Brother Sasuke had subdued let out a hoarse roar and bit down on the poison pill hidden in his mouth.]
[A few breaths later he collapsed, stiff.]
["Well… a bit troublesome. Whatever, intel isn't that important right now, right, Tazuna?"]
[Kakashi spread his hands, casually tossed the corpse aside, and smiled meaningfully at Tazuna.]
[Tazuna kept his head low, looking guilty.]
[He didn't dare answer Kakashi's question.]
[He'd wanted to raise his head and keep arguing.]
[But seeing Kakashi's half-smile, he swallowed the words.]
["Well, Hidden Mist Ninja… Rogue Ninja. Bad luck running into them."]
["Mission continues. Let's move."]
[Kakashi looked away, letting Tazuna off the hook for now.]
[By now this mission had surpassed C-rank parameters.]
[Team 7 could refuse to continue.]
[Yet it seemed they wouldn't refuse.]
[Still, falsifying mission details wasn't a trivial matter.]
[Kakashi glanced back at Naruto.]
[He chose to turn a blind eye.]
["Proceed," Naruto said.]
["Mm." Kakashi nodded slightly.]
[After that, no one spoke for a long stretch of road.]
[The atmosphere turned eerie.]
[Pressure inside Tazuna exploded.]
[A thin layer of cold sweat had formed on his forehead without him noticing.]
[Finally, Tazuna couldn't bear it.]
[Whether from guilt or something else, he stopped walking.]
["I… actually… those two Ninja were after me."]
["They planned to kill me halfway… outside Land of Waves territory… assassinate me."]
[Team 7 stopped as well.]
[None of the four looked surprised, as if they'd expected it.]
[Seeing that, Tazuna felt even more pressure.]
["Mr. Tazuna, I think you'd better explain properly."]
[Kakashi replied calmly.]
["This mission is no longer C-rank."]
["Besides, you knew that all along."]
["So, do you know what price you'll pay for lying about mission intel and getting Ninja killed?"]
[Kakashi's voice grew colder.]
[Tazuna's shoulders trembled slightly.]
[Fear spread through his heart.]
[The pressure Kakashi gave him rivaled the life-or-death threat of the Demon Brothers.]
[Kakashi hadn't even released killing intent.]
[It was all Tazuna's own guilt.]
[Tazuna slumped to the ground in despair.]
[Then he told them about the situation in Land of Waves.]
[A short while later.]
[Sakura looked at him, displeased.]
["So those two Hidden Mist Ninja were targeting you, right?"]
["Yes…" Tazuna kept his head low.]
["Those two Hidden Mist Ninja were at least Chunin level."]
["They spotted us the moment we left the Village and tailed us all the way."]
["That means a Ninja stronger than them is commanding them."]
["Anyone who can make two Chunin obey is at least a Jonin."]
["You understand what I'm saying." Kakashi stared at Tazuna, voice colder.]
["Even reclassifying this as A-rank wouldn't be unreasonable."]
["In fact, it'll probably end up S-rank."]
["Hidden Mist Rogue Ninja… most likely the S-rank Rogue Ninja from Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi."]
["And Team 7 are only Genin who graduated two months ago."]
["A C-rank mission is easy, but if it's this one…"]
["It's tantamount to murdering Konoha's finest rookie Genin."]
[By now Kakashi's tone carried killing intent.]
[Tazuna said nothing, head down, shoulders shaking.]
[At this moment he regretted it.]
[But there was no way out.]
[He could only stay silent.]
Tobirama Senju: "Silence doesn't mean we won't pursue it."
Tobirama Senju: "Killing Tazuna now would raise no objections."
Tobirama Senju: "Even if killing a client gives Ninja a bad name, in matters of life and death it's trivial."
Fourth Raikage: "Hmph!"
Fourth Raikage: "Only proves that old fool Hiruzen Sarutobi was a lousy Hokage—else how would a tiny Land of Waves dare?"
Kurotsuchi: "If they hadn't eyed Gato's fortune this request would never have been posted."
Tenten: "Exactly."]
[Sasuke's eyes lit up.]
[The moment he heard "Jonin" he grew excited.]
[The fastest way to improve is through battle.]
[Especially against a Jonin.]
[He looked at Naruto, eyes full of desire.]
[Right now, if even one of them voted to quit, the mission would end.]
[Naruto obviously wouldn't cancel it—doing so would rob him of justification and make it hard to pin blame on Konoha.]
[As for the S-rank Rogue Ninja Zabuza Momochi Kakashi mentioned, he already had some ideas.]
[Among the intel Yūgao gathered were plenty of files on Rogue Ninja.]
[He knew a fair bit about Zabuza.]
["I see… if possible, I could subdue this Demon Zabuza Momochi."]
["Only… Zabuza Momochi… seems to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."