Chapter Six: The Attack on the Land of Waves

Chapter Six: The Attack in the Land of Waves

“I’m going to kill you, I swear it! How dare you underestimate me!” On the way to Konoha’s main gate, Naruto glared relentlessly at Dazna, his murderous aura maxed out, as if he could transform into his tailed beast at any moment.

“Knock it off, you idiot! What do you think you're doing, trying to kill the person you’re supposed to protect?” Kakashi kept a close eye on Naruto the entire way, making sure that, in a moment of carelessness, their charge didn’t become another victim of the fox’s claws.

“Wahaha~” From a distant treetop, two rogue Hidden Mist ninja watched the group as they left Konoha.

“Hm?” Shuster’s right hand went to his sword hilt, but Kakashi stopped him.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Scene shift, on the road to the Land of Waves ––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, we’re headed to the Land of Waves, right? So, do they have shinobi there?” Sakura, bored from the journey, asked Kakashi.

“No, the Land of Waves doesn’t have shinobi. While cultures, customs, and habits differ, most countries have a ninja village. For the many nations on the continent, shinobi…” On the way, Kakashi explained to everyone the distribution of power among the various countries and the significance of shinobi and the meaning of the title Kage.

“Don’t worry. In a C-rank mission, we won’t encounter ninja from other countries,” Kakashi assured them.

“….” Dazna’s expression grew uneasy at those words.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Upstairs, during a meal break –––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The group continued their journey, coming across a pond along the way. Shuster gripped his sword; Kakashi appeared nonchalant, but his muscles tensed, prepared for combat. Sasuke, noticing Shuster’s hand on his sword, also readied himself. Only Naruto and Sakura remained oblivious.

As they passed the pond, two figures emerged from its surface.

“Move out!” One rogue Mist ninja, forehead protector glinting, hurled his partner—also marked as a rogue—straight at Shuster, who stood close to Kakashi.

“A double strike!” In an instant, Shuster and Kakashi were entangled by a long, spiked iron chain wielded by the two attackers. The next moment, the rogue ninjas pulled the chain, crushing Shuster and Kakashi into a mangled heap.

“Ah—ahhh!” Sakura screamed in terror.

“Ah—Kakashi, and Hatake-sensei!” Naruto shouted in disbelief.

“Hmph—” Sasuke, however, did not believe they were dead.

In a flash, the two appeared behind Naruto, saying, “Next!”

“What?” Naruto spun around, only to see the iron chain flying toward him at breakneck speed.

Sasuke leaped up, pulling a kunai and a shuriken from his pouch. He flung the shuriken at the chain hurtling toward Naruto. With a clang, the shuriken’s edge caught the chain’s link, pinning it to a tree. Sasuke followed up with another kunai, securing the chain further, then kicked the two attackers off balance.

The two quickly tossed away the iron chain, one rushing at Naruto, the other at Dazna.

“What do I do, what do I do, damn it—” Sakura, seeing the ferocious attacker with a headband charging at her, drew a kunai and stood protectively in front of Dazna.

Just as the iron claws were about to strike, Sasuke appeared before Sakura using the Body Flicker Technique.

“Ugh—!” A hand crackling with lightning hooked around the rogue ninja’s neck, electrocuting him into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, over by Naruto, Kakashi similarly knocked out the other rogue with a blow to the neck.

“Hatake-sensei!” Sakura exclaimed in relief.

“Tsk,” muttered Sasuke.

“K-Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto stammered.

“Sorry, Naruto, for letting you get hurt. I didn’t expect you to freeze up like that. Also, those claws are poisoned. You’d better cut open the wound and let the poison out,” Kakashi said apologetically.

“Well—Sasuke did a good job, and so did you, Sakura!” Shuster praised them as he tied up the two unconscious attackers.

“Damn it, why am I so useless? Damn it, I refuse to lose to you, Sasuke!” Naruto cried, stabbing a kunai into his palm to bleed the poison out.

“!” ×5

“I won’t lose to you, Sasuke! I swear on the pain in my left hand! With this kunai, I’ll protect the old man! Hmph… Ah.” Naruto lowered his head, then said, “Mission, continue!”

“Hey, Naruto, if you don’t bandage that you might die, you know!” Shuster pulled out some bandages.

“Waaah, I don’t want to die!” Naruto, his fighting spirit suddenly giving way to panic, cried out, “Hatake-sensei, hurry up and save me!”

“Here, hold still. I’ll bandage you up,” Shuster said, taking Naruto’s left hand. Hm? The wound is already healing? The power of the Nine-Tails really is terrifying! He completely forgot that he himself was even scarier—incapable of dying, no matter what.

“Well then, now that our wounded are taken care of, let’s discuss our situation, Mr. Dazna,” Kakashi turned to Dazna as Shuster finished bandaging Naruto.

“Oh? I see, I see… But this is quite a headache, Mr. Dazna. This is basically a B-rank mission now, not something a genin squad should be handling. According to the rules… we’re entitled to abandon the mission and return to the village…” After questioning, Dazna revealed everything.

“As expected, this mission is too much for us… and Naruto’s been hurt as well…” The thought of fighting other ninja made Sakura waver.

“Sakura…” said Naruto.

“Hm?” “I’ll be fine. The mission can continue. Even if we’re up against ninja, I’ll beat them for the old man to see, to show him how strong I am, to prove myself to Sasuke!” Naruto said, grabbing Sakura’s hand.

“I don’t care,” said Sasuke.

“What about you, Shuster?” Kakashi asked.

“Makes no difference to me. Even if a Kage showed up, they’d die here,” Shuster shrugged.

“All right, all right! The mission continues,” Kakashi declared.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Scene shift –––––––––––––––––––––––––––

After some time traveling by boat, the group arrived in the Land of Waves.

Once ashore, they found themselves surrounded by clear lakes and lush green trees, admiring the beautiful scenery as they moved on. By midday, they were approaching their destination…

“So that’s it. No wonder the Demon Brothers failed… So, it was Konoha’s Copy Ninja, Sharingan Kakashi…” In the bushes, a Hidden Mist ninja with bandages around his mouth watched Kakashi under the tree. His eyes suddenly landed on Shuster, and he froze. “That one? Damn, Konoha’s Thunder as well. This could be troublesome. Should I retreat and find reinforcements? No, I’ll strike first and think later.”

“Everyone, get down!” Shuster instantly knocked Naruto and Dazna to the ground as he activated his signature move. Sasuke dove to the left, and Kakashi pulled Sakura down. A massive sword, as wide as a door, flew over their heads, embedding itself deep in a tree. A tall figure stood atop the blade.

That man!

Kakashi’s eyes grew serious as he looked at the figure before him.

“Well, well~ Isn’t this the rogue Mist ninja, Zabuza Momochi?” Kakashi’s tone was teasing.

“A rogue ninja? Whatever—this time I’m going to outshine you, Sasuke! I’m going in!” Naruto charged forward.

“Get back! All of you, fall back. This guy isn’t someone you kids can handle,” Shuster grabbed Naruto and threw him back.

“If it’s you, then I’ll have to go all out as well,” said both Shuster and Kakashi.

“I didn’t expect both Sharingan Kakashi and Thunder Shuster to be here!” Zabuza’s gloomy, lifeless voice came from behind his bandages.

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PS: Let’s keep climbing the rankings!