Before Arata could even respond, Naruto grabbed his wrist and pulled him out the door.
"What are you waiting for? Come on! It's a C-rank mission! Who knows how long it'd take before you get another one like this if you stayed in the village?"
Naruto's jealousy toward Kakashi's special attention to Arata still lingered — but it wasn't resentment.
If anything, he liked Arata.
He was one of the few people in the village who'd never treated Naruto like a monster.
As they walked, Arata glanced at Kakashi, puzzled.
Kakashi had once told him he'd only be allowed to join real missions once he reached jōnin-level strength.
So why now, all of a sudden?
Naruto, ever the chatterbox, quickly filled him in on what had happened earlier in the Hokage's office — the tension, the argument, the Hokage's reluctant approval.
By the time Naruto finished, Arata understood.
He said nothing more, but the faintest smile tugged at his lips.
If Kakashi had gone that far for him, then he wouldn't waste the trust placed in him.
At Konoha's village gates, the team found Tazuna already waiting — bottle in hand, half-drunk as usual.
When his eyes landed on Arata, he gave a crooked grin.
"Now this one looks like a real ninja. Not like that goofy little runt."
He jabbed a thumb toward Naruto.
Naruto's smile twitched. He glared at the old man, fists clenched — but remembering that Tazuna was their client, he swallowed his temper and turned away, grumbling under his breath.
The group set out.
The road out of Konoha was long and quiet, filled only with the sound of sandals brushing against dirt.
Naruto chattered nonstop, while Sakura occasionally responded.
Sasuke, however, barely spoke.
His eyes kept flicking toward Arata.
He wanted to see it — the strength that had made Kakashi stand up to the Hokage himself.
Just how strong are you, Arata?
Sakura, too, was curious. She hadn't seen Arata fight before — and his calm, quiet demeanor made her wonder if the rumors about him were true.
Hours later, they passed through a forest.
Up ahead lay two shallow puddles of water.
It hadn't rained in days, and the sun was high — hot enough to dry any water left on the ground.
Yet there they were.
Two still pools, untouched by the heat.
Arata's golden eyes flicked toward Kakashi.
Kakashi met his gaze — then gave a subtle shake of the head. Not yet.
Both of them could feel it: faint traces of chakra pulsing beneath the water.
There were ninja hiding there.
They walked on casually, pretending not to notice.
Ten steps.
Fifteen.
Then —
Whoosh!
Two figures burst out of the puddles, chains spinning through the air.
Clang! Clang!
In an instant, the chain blades wrapped around Kakashi, tightening with a metallic screech.
Before anyone could react —
Slash!
Blood sprayed across the dirt.
Kakashi's body was torn to pieces, chunks of flesh and cloth scattering as scarlet soaked the ground.
Everyone froze.
Even Arata, who knew it had to be a substitution jutsu, felt his chest tighten at the gruesome sight.
He'd seen death before — but never like this.
Never so raw.
For a moment, nausea rose in his throat. He forced it down, steadying his breath.
The two attackers turned, grinning viciously beneath their breathing masks.
"Target neutralized. Now for the rest."
Naruto was too shocked to move. His knees trembled.
Sasuke reacted first.
He flung several kunai with swift precision, the metal flashing through the sunlight.
Clang!
One struck the chain, pinning it to a nearby tree.
But it was a feint.
The two rogue ninja — both masked and moving with frightening speed — weren't aiming for them at all.
Their real target was Tazuna.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "Sakura! Watch out!"
But it was too late — the assassins were already in front of her.
Sakura's hands shook, but she didn't back away.
She drew her kunai and stood between Tazuna and death itself.
"Foolish girl," one of the ninjas sneered. "You'll die first."
Both struck at once —
And then—
BOOM! BOOM!
A shockwave ripped through the clearing.
The next thing anyone knew, the assassins were gone — blasted backward like rag dolls.
Their bodies slammed through the trees with bone-cracking force, crashing through several trunks before hitting the ground in a heap.
The forest went silent.
Sakura stood frozen, her kunai trembling in her grip.
In front of her stood Arata — calm, expressionless, his hand still extended from the strike.
The sheer power radiating off him made even the air feel heavy.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Sakura finally whispered, her voice trembling,
"Th-thank you, Arata…"
Tazuna, who had been seconds away from death, exhaled shakily.
Staring at the boy's back, he muttered under his breath,
"I knew it… this one's the real deal."
Sasuke, meanwhile, was speechless. His mind raced.
Even my Sharingan couldn't follow that movement.
He was faster than I could see…
He clenched his fists tightly.
"This guy… he's a monster," he thought bitterly.
Even with his one-tomoe Sharingan, he should have been able to track most jōnin-level movements.
But Arata's strike had been a blur — so fast it didn't even exist to his eyes.
Hidden nearby, Kakashi's visible eye widened.
He had expected Arata to be strong, yes — but not this strong.
He approached the fallen assassins, crouching beside their broken forms.
Their chests were caved in — ribs shattered, organs crushed.
"They were both chūnin," he murmured. "And he killed them instantly."
Kakashi stared down at his gloved hand, then looked back toward Arata.
How much strength did he even use in that kick?
It didn't make sense.
Just a few days ago, Arata's chakra and physical control had been around mid-chūnin level — exceptional for his age, but still manageable.
Now… he was effortlessly crushing chūnin-level enemies with raw power alone.
He's growing too fast, Kakashi thought uneasily.
The boy hadn't even used ninjutsu — only taijutsu.
If he combined that with his Chidori…
Kakashi's expression darkened slightly.
At this rate… his strength is already at jōnin level.
And he's only just begun.
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