Morning came. A new day had begun — and with it, a new page in my life.After putting myself in order and having a solid breakfast, I put on my new jacket and packed everything I needed into my backpack. Leaving the apartment, I headed toward the meeting point where our team was supposed to gather with Tazuna. Once we reached the location — near one of Konoha's main gates — we finally set out on our journey. Surprisingly, our instructor arrived on time this time.
"Let's move out!!!" I shouted joyfully as we passed beyond the village walls, unable to contain my excitement.
"What are you so happy about?" Sakura-chan suddenly asked.(She was clearly surprised when she noticed my new clothes.)
"Well, it's my first time leaving the village, and I'm really excited about our adventure!" I answered honestly, still full of enthusiasm.
"Hey, are you sure this runt can actually protect me?" Tazuna suddenly asked, eyeing me with obvious doubt.
"Heh. Don't worry — I'm a jōnin," Kakashi-sensei reassured him calmly.
"Don't worry, you drunk builder! Your life's in safe hands!" I shot back.
"Sigh… the younger generation has absolutely no respect for their elders…" Tazuna muttered tiredly, pulling out booze from his backpack.
Damn drunk… it's barely morning, I cursed inwardly.
Overall, the first day passed quietly, without any incidents. We took two or three breaks during the day, resting in the forest near the road. Interestingly enough, we even crossed paths with a group of people who looked like bandits, but they avoided us. Apparently, they had no desire to mess with ninja — even if we were just teenagers. As for me, I enjoyed the journey: the fresh air and the beauty of nature.
I also noticed changes in Sakura's behavior. It seemed my conversation with her had the intended effect. She no longer clung to Sasuke — and he noticed it too. My teammate even glanced at me in surprise, guessing I had something to do with it. I simply nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. Sasuke nodded back, a faint — barely noticeable — smile appearing on his face.
With the sunrise, we continued our journey. As usual, Kakashi-sensei walked ahead of us, reading Icha Icha Paradise. Sasuke, Sakura, and I positioned ourselves around our client, ready to protect him from a sudden attack. By midday, we had already covered half the distance.
Suddenly, I noticed Kakashi-sensei stop reading and look deeply toward the forest. He'd never done that before. I also caught how he glanced sideways at Tazuna.
I see… so Kakashi already noticed we're being followed. An ambush is coming, I thought, growing serious.
"Kakashi-sensei, does the Land of Waves have its own ninja?" Sakura suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
"Hm? No, the Land of Waves doesn't… but most other countries do. Customs differ, though…" Kakashi replied, momentarily distracted from his book, before explaining more about the world, hidden villages, and the Five Kage.
"Wow!!! Our Hokage is the best!" Sakura exclaimed dramatically after learning that the Third Hokage was actually an incredibly powerful shinobi.
"Yeah. But there's no need to worry about other ninja. On C-rank missions, we won't encounter them," Kakashi-sensei said reassuringly — while once again glancing at our client from the corner of his eye.
"…"Tazuna stayed silent, staring at the ground, clearly burdened by guilt.
Got it… Kakashi has already figured Tazuna out. Oh — and there they are, I thought, noticing something on the road that absolutely shouldn't have been there.
"Oh, look, Kakashi-sensei!" I said energetically, pointing at a puddle in the middle of the road.
"…What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi looked from the "obvious" trap back at me, curious whether I'd truly noticed it or was just fooling around.
"A trap. Though I don't really understand what kind of idiots it's meant for… Maybe rookie enemy ninja? Either way, I hide way better — and I only just graduated from the Academy. Hey, whoever you are, you can stop embarrassing yourselves now," I said, folding my arms and verbally tearing into the Demon Brothers.
"…?!"Sakura and Tazuna immediately tensed up.
"…"
Sasuke, meanwhile, shot me a tired look and stepped into a combat stance.
"…! You'll pay for those words, you little rat!"Surprisingly, my provocation worked. The Demon Brothers emerged from the shallow puddle, glaring at me with murderous intent.
"So there were two of you in that tiny puddle? Lovebirds, wasn't it cramped in there? Or are you just that close?"I couldn't resist mocking them again. Their eyes bulged with rage.
"Hmmm… seems like a good opportunity to see what you've achieved in team training. I'll leave them to you," Kakashi-sensei said, looking at Sasuke and me.
He finally put his book away and moved to stand beside Tazuna, who watched us nervously.
"Your left," Sasuke said briefly.
Without replying, I dropped my backpack and rushed toward my opponent, pulling a kunai from my pocket. My first real fight had begun.
The left Demon Brother charged me. His chain screamed through the air in a wide arc. I ducked under it — but a split second too late. A knee slammed into my side, sending me flying. It hurt — badly. But I quickly forced myself back to my feet.
Damn… he's fast!
I rolled aside, narrowly avoiding another strike. My kunai clashed with the chain — sparks flew, metal screeched against metal. He pressed me relentlessly, leaving no room to breathe. His movements were brutal and efficient. I had to track every step carefully, suppressing the fear clawing at my chest.
I caught a glimpse of Sasuke to my right. He was fighting nearby. The second Demon Brother tried to overpower him with sheer force, attempting to break his defense. Sasuke was holding up better than I was — but his opponent matched him in speed.
I reengaged my opponent, fighting mostly defensively and occasionally taking hits. Thankfully, nothing critical. I remembered their weapons were coated with poison, so I stayed extremely cautious. My heart pounded wildly. This wasn't training. One mistake could cost me everything.
"Fall back!" Sasuke shouted, and we both jumped away from the enemies.
"…Annoying little brats," one of the brothers snarled. Judging by their expressions, they'd clearly underestimated us.
The other glanced at Kakashi-sensei warily, fearing a sudden strike.
"Naruto, use your clones. I'll cover you," Sasuke suggested.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"I nodded, formed the hand seals, and poured chakra into my favorite technique.
Smoke exploded across the road as twelve shadow clones emerged. I rushed forward with a kunai in hand. The first clashes were brutal — one clone attacked head-on, another from the side, a third from above. I slashed, parried, and adjusted to the flow created by my clones. Thanks to training with Sasuke, my coordination with them had improved drastically.
The Demon Brother snarled, dispersing two clones — but he was already losing control of the battlefield.
"Right!" Sasuke shouted, launching shuriken.The second Demon Brother dodged, but one shuriken pierced straight through one of my clones, dispersing it in smoke.
The enemies pushed back hard. Two more clones were knocked down and dispelled — but the rest kept pressing, forming a solid wall. I fought alongside them, creating more clones to overwhelm the enemy with numbers.
Sasuke stayed out of close combat, maintaining distance and throwing shuriken. Several struck my clones — sacrifices I willingly made to stop the brothers from breaking through. I could see Sasuke waiting patiently for the right moment.
"Now!" he shouted.
I immediately understood his plan — so did my clones. Around ten shadow clones piled onto the enemies at once.
The Demon Brothers were clearly tiring, struggling to fend off the relentless swarm. The constant pressure disrupted their coordination. I attacked from above, targeting weak spots with shuriken while adapting to the chaos my clones created.
Several clones were dispersed again, but the pressure didn't let up. The brothers tried to break free, but I kept pelting them with shuriken, forcing them into defense. Our training paid off. My clones finally managed to grab their limbs, severely restricting their movement.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"Sasuke finished the hand seals and expelled a massive sphere of fire.
The fireball surged forward, engulfing both brothers — and the remaining clones. Heat slammed into my face as the air warped violently. My clones vanished instantly.
"AARRRGH!!!"
Flames tore across the Demon Brothers' bodies, burning their clothes and scorching their skin. They crashed to the ground, rolling and trying to smother the fire, choking in agony and rage.
"Damn… little bastards…" one of them rasped, barely pushing himself up.
"We'll… kill you…" the other growled, his voice breaking.
They couldn't hold on any longer. Their bodies went limp, chains clattering onto the road as both collapsed unconscious.
"Hah… hah…"I was breathing heavily, adrenaline flooding my system.
I looked at Sasuke — sweat ran down his face, but he remained outwardly calm.
"Naruto, Sasuke — well done. Excellent teamwork. Your joint training wasn't for nothing," Kakashi-sensei said, breaking the silence.
"We'd be way stronger if you weren't so lazy and actually trained us properly, Kakashi-sensei!" I complained emotionally.
"Easy there, Naruto. Everything in its time. Protect Tazuna-san while I question these unfortunate nukenin," Kakashi replied lazily, grabbing the Demon Brothers and disappearing into the forest.
Tazuna didn't look particularly relieved — which was understandable, considering he'd concealed the true danger of the mission.
"That was amazing… Sasuke-kun… Naruto," Sakura said excitedly, looking first at Sasuke, then at me — but she restrained herself from clinging to him.
Whew… that was a tense first fight. Could I have beaten them alone? Hard to say… Either way, I'm glad Sasuke was there. I hate to admit it, but he reads fights better than I do. I got lucky with my partner, I thought.
About half an hour later, Kakashi-sensei returned alone. I think it's obvious what fate befell the Demon Brothers.
"They were the Demon Brothers — nukenin from the Hidden Mist. Former chūnin. I noticed them an hour ago," Kakashi explained.
"So you saw them right away?" Tazuna asked.
"Yes. I wanted to confirm their target before revealing the ambush. Naruto's observance simply surfaced sooner than expected," Kakashi said, glancing at me.
"Hey! How is this my fault? I saw a puddle in the middle of the road on a sunny day and thought, 'That's suspicious.' I wasn't completely sure, so I decided to provoke them," I explained.
"…In any case, their target was you, Tazuna-san. You failed to mention that shinobi were after you. Our assignment was to protect you from bandits. That's a C-rank mission. Now, it's at least B-rank. And we were supposed to guard you until the bridge was completed," Kakashi continued seriously.
Tazuna lowered his head in shame.
"If we'd known, this mission would've been classified as B-rank — and far more expensive. I understand you had your reasons, but this puts us at risk. We are no longer obligated to continue."
"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! Let's keep going! I don't know why the drunk builder hid the truth, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy. We can handle this!" I jumped in.
Kakashi fell silent, staring down the road as if weighing the decision.
"…We'll continue. But from now on, you tell us everything. Any omission could cost lives," he said firmly.
"Understood," Tazuna nodded heavily — then glanced at me, gratitude in his eyes.
"Stay alert. Third formation," Kakashi ordered.
And we continued on our way.