The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in Naruto's apartment window, waking the hero of Konoha who had just attained the rank of Chunin.
An achievement!
Although the final exam was canceled due to the invasion, the Third Hokage, before the tragic incident on the stadium roof, had promised promotions for those who showed outstanding qualities.
And Naruto, with his actions against Gaara and his courage in facing Orochimaru, as well as Sasuke with his undeniable talent, clearly met those criteria.
Naruto stretched lazily on his futon, a wide smile spreading across his face.
"Hehehe... Chunin Uzumaki Naruto! That sounds so cool, dattebayo!" he muttered to himself.
"Ara ara~ My prince is awake, I see? And already admiring himself so early in the morning?"
The melodious voice of Hana, his Kyuubi Neechan, echoed amusedly in his mind.
Since part of her seal had opened, their interactions had become even more... lively.
"Shut up, Hana-neechan!" Naruto retorted inwardly, though a faint blush crept up his cheeks.
"I am great, after all!"
However, the joy of becoming a Chunin didn't seem to be enough.
There was one of Konoha's greatest mysteries, one unsolved puzzle, one mission even more challenging than fighting a Bijuu (according to Naruto's standards at the time): What was behind Kakashi-sensei's mask?!
"Yosh!" Naruto leaped out of bed, his eyes sparkling with renewed enthusiasm.
"Since Sasuke and I are Chunin now, we have to celebrate with a super special mission! An SSS-rank mission! A mission to see what's behind Kakashi-sensei's mask!"
"Pffft... An SSS-rank mission, he says?" Hana chuckled.
Naruto immediately rushed out, barely even eating breakfast.
His first objective: recruit team members. Sakura was an easy target. Although she would initially complain, Naruto knew Sakura would eventually join, either out of pity or because there was a chance Sasuke would also be involved.
"Sakura-chaaaan!" Naruto shouted in front of Sakura's door, banging impatiently.
The door opened, revealing Sakura with a sleepy and slightly annoyed face.
"Naruto! Can you not be so noisy this early in the morning?! What is it?!"
"Sakura-chan! We have a new mission! A super important mission!" Naruto said, his eyes glinting.
"A mission? From Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow raised.
"Nope! This is a mission... of our own initiative!"
Naruto leaned in and whispered conspiratorially,
"We're going to... see Kakashi-sensei's face!"
Sakura was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"Naruto... don't you have anything better to do? After everything that's happened, you're still thinking about something so silly?"
Nevertheless, a flicker of curiosity was also visible in her eyes.
The mystery of Kakashi's face had indeed become a legend among their peers.
"Come on, Sakura-chan! This is our celebration for becoming Chunin! Aren't you curious?"
Naruto persuaded.
"...Haaah, alright, alright. But if this ends with us getting punished by Kakashi-sensei, I'm blaming you entirely!"
Sakura said, finally giving in.
"Yosh! Now all that's left is to recruit Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed.
This was the hardest part.
Sasuke Uchiha, the ice prince, was known for his cold demeanor and indifference to things he considered 'unimportant'.
Inviting him on a 'silly' mission like this would require more than just ordinary persuasion.
They found Sasuke training alone in Team 7's usual training area, sweat drenching his black shirt.
His movements were sharp and deadly.
"Yo, Teme!" Naruto greeted with a wide grin.
"Good news and a super special mission for you!"
Sasuke stopped his training, turning with a flat expression.
"Hn. What do you want, Dobe?"
"We're officially Chunin, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed.
"And to celebrate, I, Sakura-chan, and you will undertake a secret mission: to see what's behind Kakashi-sensei's mask!"
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly, his expression unchanging.
"A stupid mission. I'm not interested."
He turned, about to resume his training.
"Eeeh?! Come on, Sasuke! Aren't you curious at all?!"
Naruto didn't give up.
"Imagine! We'll be the first to see his real face! It'll be legendary! We'll be heroes!"
"Heroes for seeing our own teacher's face? My prince's logic is truly extraordinary," Hana commented amusedly.
"It's pointless," Sasuke replied coldly, without turning.
"It won't make me stronger."
"But... but it's fun!" Naruto tried another argument.
"Consider it teamwork training as Chunin! Testing our infiltration and observation skills!"
Sakura, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up,
"Besides, Sasuke-kun, aren't you also a little... curious? Just a tiny bit?"
Sasuke paused for a moment.
Damn it.
He had to admit, in the deepest corner of his heart, there was a tiny, extremely small, bit of curiosity.
But his pride was too high to admit it.
"Hn. Troublesome."
"So that means you're in?!" Naruto shrieked hopefully.
"Don't misunderstand, Dobe," Sasuke said, still with his back to them.
"I'm only joining because... because I don't want you two to cause a mess and embarrass Team 7's name. I'll supervise you."
His tsundere attitude was truly at its peak.
"He says that, but look at his slightly red ears, my prince. He's clearly curious! What a prideful Uchiha!" Hana whispered, making Naruto almost laugh.
"Whatever your reason, Teme! The important thing is you're in!"
Naruto clenched his fist.
"Team Unmask Kakashi-sensei is officially formed!"
As the three of them were formulating their 'initial strategy' (which was mostly filled with Naruto's absurd ideas), a red-haired girl with glasses happened to pass by not far from there, seemingly walking alone while carrying several scrolls.
It was Karin.
"Oh! Karin-chaaan!" Naruto immediately waved enthusiastically.
Without a second thought, he quickly ran towards Karin and, without much ado, immediately grabbed her hand.
"Come with us! There's a super important and secret mission!"
Karin, who was daydreaming, jumped in surprise.
Her face immediately turned beet red as she felt Naruto's warm hand holding her wrist.
"Na-Naruto?! Wh-what is this? What mission?"
She stammered, her heart pounding.
Since the incident in the Forest of Death and dinner at Naruto's apartment, her feelings for the blond boy had become even more... complicated.
"I'll explain later! Anyway, this is fun!"
Naruto pulled Karin to join Sasuke and Sakura, who could only watch with resigned (Sakura) and slightly annoyed (Sasuke, because their 'secret' team had gained another member without his consent) expressions.
Karin, her hand still held by Naruto, could only nod resignedly, her face still blushing.
For some reason, she couldn't refuse Naruto's invitation, no matter how strange it was.
Thus began a series of attempts to uncover Kakashi-sensei's face.
First attempt: inviting him to eat ramen at Ichiraku. The hope was that when Kakashi ate, he would surely remove his mask.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto greeted with the sweetest smile he could muster when they 'coincidentally' met Kakashi on the street.
"Since we're Chunin now, how about we treat Sensei to ramen?"
Kakashi looked at his three (or rather four, as Karin stood slightly awkwardly behind Naruto) students with a scrutinizing gaze from behind his mask.
"Oh? You're being unusually nice? Is there a catch to this ramen, hmm?"
"Of course not, Sensei! We're sincere!"
Sakura said, trying to be convincing.
Finally, Kakashi agreed.
The four of them sat around Kakashi at Ichiraku, their eyes glued to the area of their teacher's mask.
Teuchi and Ayame, seeing their strange behavior, could only smile amusedly.
As a hot bowl of ramen was served in front of Kakashi, and he was just about to pick up his chopsticks...
"Yooo! Kakashi-sensei! Naruto! What a coincidence meeting you here!"
Ino Yamanaka's shrill voice suddenly sounded.
Team 10 – Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji – appeared out of nowhere and immediately sat next to them.
'Aaaargh! Why did you have to show up now?!'
Naruto grumbled inwardly, his plan completely foiled.
Kakashi, of course, enjoyed his ramen at super speed without anyone managing to see anything.
"It seems the universe isn't supporting your mission this time," Hana commented, holding back laughter.
Having failed at Ichiraku, they tried another strategy.
Shikamaru, after hearing about this 'noble mission' from Naruto (and perhaps being slightly forced by Ino, who was also curious), very reluctantly contributed an idea. "If you want to see his face, why not try taking a photo secretly? It's less troublesome than inviting him to eat."
Thus, with a borrowed camera, began the operation of surveilling and photographing Kakashi-sensei.
Choji was in charge of distraction (by offering Kakashi potato chips), while Naruto and Sasuke were tasked with taking photos from various angles.
Sakura and Karin served as lookouts and signal givers.
Ino and Shikamaru? They mostly complained from the sidelines.
However, the result was always the same: total failure.
Every time they managed to take a photo, there was always some strange obstruction.
Either the picture was completely blurry because Naruto's hand was shaking from nervousness, or a leaf somehow flew and covered Kakashi's face precisely when the shutter was pressed, or even a black cat suddenly crossed in front of the lens.
Kakashi himself seemed oblivious, continuing to read his Icha-Icha Paradise book leisurely.
"THIS MUST BE A CURSE, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto exclaimed in frustration after seeing the umpteenth failed photo.
"It's not a curse, Dobe. It's just because you're stupid,"
Sasuke retorted curtly, though he too was very annoyed by the continuous failures.
His Uchiha pride was starting to get pricked.
This curiosity turned out to be contagious.
One by one, other members of Naruto's generation – Kiba, Shino, even Lee and Tenten (Neji, of course, arrogantly refused) – eventually joined this 'sacred mission'.
Either out of pity seeing Naruto who was almost giving up, or because they themselves were secretly very curious.
Thus, the largest team in Konoha's history was formed for a single purpose: to see Kakashi Hatake's face.
They planned a 'perfect' trap in the forest training area.
There were nets, ropes, pits, and Shino with his insects was in charge of detection.
"Alright everyone! Operation 'Unmask Kakashi' final stage will begin now!"
Naruto exclaimed with burning spirit, giving the signal from atop a tree.
Kakashi, who 'happened' to be passing through the area, walked leisurely as usual.
When he stepped on the designated spot, all traps activated! Nets launched, ropes tied, the ground collapsed!
"SUCCESS!" they all shouted in unison.
However... when the dust settled, all they found in the net and rope bindings was a substitution log (Kawarimi no Jutsu) with a piece of paper attached, reading: "Next time, try again, kids. -K".
On a tree branch not far away, Kakashi stood chuckling softly, waving his hand.
"You still need a lot of practice to surprise me."
"NOOOOOOO!" A massive roar of disappointment echoed throughout the forest.
Even Kiba and Akamaru joined in, howling sadly.
Shikamaru could only say, "So troublesome..."
Finally, with deep disappointment and energy drained from a series of ridiculous failures, the impromptu joint team was disbanded.
Their biggest mission had failed utterly.
In the late afternoon, as the sun began to set, only Team 7 – Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura – and Karin, who faithfully accompanied them, remained, sitting listlessly under a tree.
They all looked exhausted and a little hopeless.
Naruto looked at Kakashi-sensei, who was now sitting leisurely in front of them, still with that mysterious smile behind his mask.
The unsatisfied curiosity gnawed at him again.
With his remaining courage, Naruto finally decided to ask directly.
"Kakashi-sensei..."
Naruto called softly, his voice sounding a little hoarse.
"...we... we are actually very curious... about what's behind Sensei's mask!"
Sasuke and Sakura, even Karin, turned towards Naruto, then to Kakashi, holding their breath.
Kakashi looked at them one by one, then chuckled softly.
"Hooo... so this is why you've all been so busy and acting strangely all day, huh?"
He shook his head.
"You guys are really... If you really wanted to know, why didn't you just ask from the beginning?"
The four teenagers looked at each other, disbelieving.
So... was it that easy?
All their efforts throughout the day... were in vain?
"S-so... Sensei is going to show us?"
Sakura asked with a trembling voice, between disbelief and full of hope.
Kakashi smiled, this time his smile seemed more sincere.
"Of course. You are my beloved students, after all. And you've worked hard today... even if it was for something silly."
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Karin simultaneously leaned forward, their eyes fixed on Kakashi's mask, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Their hearts pounded.
This was the moment they had been waiting for!
A decades-old mystery was about to be revealed!
With a slow movement that felt like it lasted forever, Kakashi raised his hand and began to pull down his mask...
The eyes of the four of them widened even more... Lower... lower still... And finally... behind that first mask... there was...
ANOTHER MASK!
An identical second mask, covering his face perfectly.
"WHAAAAAAAAT?!"
Naruto, Sakura, and Karin screamed in unison, disbelieving.
Even Sasuke who always acted the coolest, calmest, and most indifferent in all of Konoha, couldn't help but stumble over his own feet and almost fall from sheer shock, annoyance, and feeling utterly played.
His usually flat expression now showed a mixture of shock, anger, and disappointment that was quite amusing to see.
"Ka-Kakashi-sensei! Th-this... THIS ISN'T FUNNY AT ALL, DATTEBAYO!"
Naruto roared, feeling very, very, very deceived.
Kakashi Hatake could only laugh heartily at the angry, disappointed, and shocked expressions of the four brats before him.
His laughter echoed throughout the training area, making the leaves fall.
Their mission might have failed, but at least, Kakashi had gotten the best entertainment of the day.
And the mystery behind his mask... remained a mystery.