Land of Waves.
A villa in a suburban area.
A short, stout man wearing sunglasses, accompanied by a group of subordinates, aggressively burst in.
"Zabuza!"
The fat man came up to Zabuza, raised his arm, and pointed at Zabuza, his face filled with anger.
"Zabuza, what did you promise me?"
"Why is that Tazuna still alive and well?"
"You call yourself an S-Rank Missing-nin... I think your title is all talk, isn't it?"
Hearing the man's words, Zabuza unhurriedly drained the red wine in his hand.
"Gato, you'd best watch your words."
"The other party hired Konoha Ninja this time, which is why the assassination plan went awry."
"Ultimately, this time it was your intelligence that was flawed."
"Two of my subordinates lost their lives because of it; you are responsible!"
Saying that,
Zabuza suddenly swung a nearly two-meter-long greatsword with one hand, slashing fiercely towards Gato.
"Ah!!!"
Feeling the breath of death, Gato screamed in terror.
"Hahahahaha..."
A burst of mocking laughter echoed in the room.
Gato opened his eyes,
and found that the huge kubikiribōchō was less than a centimeter from his neck.
"Za... Zabuza, what do you want to do?"
"I am your employer; are you going to attack me?"
Gato said, still shaken.
"Heh heh... Don't forget, I'm already a wanted Missing-nin."
"One more life on my hands makes no difference, one less makes no difference."
Zabuza said calmly.
Hearing his words, Gato realized what a huge mistake he had just made.
"Um... Mr. Zabuza, I was just overcome with anger."
"As long as you can get rid of Tazuna, the mission fee will be doubled!"
"Now that's more like it."
Hearing Gato's promise, Zabuza rested the kubikiribōchō on his shoulder.
"You just wait for my good news at home."
"This time, I'll handle it myself."
..."Everyone, you've worked hard. When we get to the Land of Waves, I'll treat you all to a big meal."
On the way,
Tazuna laughed.
Ever since he explained everything, he was no longer as cautious as before.
His personality had also become more cheerful.
"Mr. Tazuna, don't celebrate too early."
"Since this assassination failed, the other side might send other assassination Ninja."
Kakashi Hatake reminded him.
"It's fine."
"Not to mention Kakashi-sensei."
"Even Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, their strength is extraordinary."
"No matter what Ninja the other side sends, you will definitely be able to protect my safety."
"After this mission is over, I will spread the reputation of you Konoha Ninja to the villagers."
Tazuna laughed loudly.
Hearing his words, Uchiha Sasuke's face showed a hint of pride.
Being praised like this by the employer on his first mission made him feel very good.
As the group was talking, a whooshing sound suddenly came from behind them.
Everyone turned to look,
only to see a huge longsword rapidly spinning and rushing towards them.
"Watch out!"
Kakashi Hatake shouted, then tackled Tazuna to the ground.
Uchiha Sasuke, relying on his Sharingan, narrowly avoided the greatsword's attack.
And Uzumaki Naruto,
teleported to the side with Sakura at the first instant.
"No wonder the Demon Brothers' assassination failed; your strength is indeed impressive."
A low voice sounded.
Everyone looked up,
and found that,
on the kubikiribōchō stuck in the tree trunk, a tall Ninja, covered in bandages, had appeared at some point.
"Naruto, thank you so much just now."
Sakura said, still a bit shaken.
"It's nothing."
Uzumaki Naruto patted Sakura's shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face.
"Is it another assassination Ninja sent by that Gato?"
"Hmph!"
"Watch me take care of him!"
Uchiha Sasuke snorted coldly, pulled out a kunai, and prepared to attack the tall Ninja.
But just as he was about to move, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sasuke, you guys protect Tazuna from behind. This guy is not comparable to those two we met earlier."
"You are not his opponent."
Uchiha Sasuke looked back and saw Kakashi Hatake staring intently at the Ninja in the tree.
"This peculiar weapon..."
"Are you Zabuza Momochi?"
Kakashi Hatake said in a deep voice.
"Oh?"
"You know me?"
Hearing Kakashi's words, Zabuza raised an eyebrow.
"Kakashi-sensei, you know this guy?"
Uchiha Sasuke asked nervously.
He had never seen Kakashi look so grave before.
"Well... I wouldn't say I know him, I've only heard of his name."
"Zabuza Momochi, an S-Rank Missing-nin from the Hidden Mist Village who assassinated the Fourth Mizukage, is a true Elite Jonin."
"During his graduation exam, he single-handedly killed all the students of his class, forcing the Hidden Mist Village to change its exam rules."
"His weapon is the kubikiribōchō, one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist Village famous throughout the Ninja World."
"All in all, he's a very dangerous guy!"
Kakashi Hatake spoke slowly.
"To deal with an enemy like you, it seems I'll have to go all out."
After Kakashi Hatake finished speaking, he pushed up his forehead protector, revealing his left eye.
Inside, it was a crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"That eye..."
"Could it be that you are Kakashi Hatake, the Konoha Elite Jonin who has mastered thousands of Ninjutsu and is known as the Copy Ninja?!"
Upon seeing Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan, Zabuza Momochi also showed a surprised expression.
"What?"
Hearing their conversation, Uchiha Sasuke's expression was a mix of fear and uncertainty.
Killed all the students of his class?
And an S-Rank Missing-nin who assassinated the Fourth Mizukage?
How strong must this person be?
But even such a brutal guy, still showed a surprised expression after learning Kakashi's identity.
Kakashi-sensei... could his strength really be comparable to a guy like this?
Also, why does Kakashi have a Sharingan?
Isn't that a Bloodline Limit unique to the Uchiha Clan?
For a moment, Uchiha Sasuke felt his brain was about to explode.
Compared to Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura Haruno's expression was much more relaxed.
At this moment, she looked at the contents of the diary and almost burst out laughing.
[Goodness, playing it cringe, are we? Is this the legendary mutual flattery?]
[It would have been enough to just say the other person's name, but they had to add so many titles before it...]
[What S-Rank Missing-nin? Compared to those S-Rank Missing-nin who appeared later, he's completely unworthy of the title.]
[Copy Ninja? Mastered thousands of Ninjutsu? What's the use? He still runs out of chakra after two Jutsu!]
[It feels great to show off in front of an innocent little fool like Sasuke, doesn't it?]
[Look at Sasuke's nervous expression, tsk tsk... Poor Erzhuzi, he's almost been completely fooled.]
After complaining a few times in the diary, Uzumaki Naruto saw that the two still had no intention of fighting, and he couldn't help but speak up.
"Hey, I'm telling you two..."
"There should be a limit to mutual flattery, right?"
"Consider other people's feelings, hey!"