After finishing their discussion with Tazuna—
Kakashi gathered Orion, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura for a meeting.
Inside the room—
Kakashi sat in front of them and said:
"For this escort mission, I need to make some arrangements."
"We have to protect Tazuna-san…"
"While also continuing your training."
"So I'm dividing you into two groups."
"One group will guard Tazuna."
"The other group will train with me."
"You'll rotate."
Before Kakashi could finish—
Naruto immediately raised his hand.
"Kakashi-sensei! I want to be in the same group as Sakura!"
Sakura's mouth twitched.
"I refuse."
Her blunt rejection crushed Naruto instantly.
"Sakura, come on—let's be a team!"
Naruto pleaded.
Even though Sakura had clearly rejected him many times—
Naruto still refused to give up.
To him—
Sakura was his dream girl.
Unfortunately—
The more clingy he acted—
The more she disliked it.
"I said no."
Sakura crossed her arms.
"I'm teaming with Sasuke."
Sasuke didn't react.
He didn't care either way.
Orion was the same.
The grouping meant nothing to him.
Kakashi rubbed his forehead.
"Enough."
"Sasuke and Naruto—one group."
"Orion and Sakura—another group."
"That's final."
Naruto exploded.
"What?! No way!"
"I'm not teaming with Sasuke!"
Sasuke frowned in irritation.
"You think I want to team up with the dead-last?"
Naruto clenched his fists.
"Bastard! This isn't the academy anymore!"
"You think you're still stronger than me?!"
Sasuke wanted to argue—
But decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
Naruto turned back to Kakashi angrily.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're being unfair!"
"Why does Orion get paired with Sakura?!"
"She's not even his teammate!"
Orion remained calm.
He didn't care about the grouping at all.
In fact—
He would've preferred being alone.
Kakashi looked at Naruto and explained:
"I grouped you this way for a reason."
"Orion is strong enough to protect Sakura."
"As for you and Sasuke—"
"Individually, you're not strong enough yet."
"But together…"
"You can at least protect yourselves."
Naruto paused.
He glanced at Sasuke.
"…I'm still not teaming with him."
But—
He was secretly pleased.
Kakashi had acknowledged his strength.
Sasuke nodded.
He accepted the arrangement.
Sakura sighed helplessly.
"Kakashi-sensei… so I'm the weakest, right?"
It was the truth.
Even Naruto—
Despite his poor performance—
Was still stronger than her in combat.
Kakashi didn't answer.
Which—
Was basically confirmation.
After the groups were decided—
Everyone went to rest.
Meanwhile — Zabuza's Hideout
After retreating—
Zabuza returned to his forest hideout.
Inside the room—
He placed the Executioner's Blade aside—
And sat down in deep thought.
After a while—
The door opened.
A beautiful figure walked in.
Zabuza spoke without turning:
"You'll have to fight next time."
"You saw everything, didn't you?"
The figure nodded calmly.
This person—
Was his companion:
Haku.
With delicate features—
Haku looked like a beautiful girl.
But in truth—
He was a boy.
A shinobi from the Yuki Clan—
With the Ice Release bloodline.
His strength—
Was easily jōnin level.
If not for his gentle nature—
He would be considered strong even among jōnin.
Haku stepped forward.
"That person…"
"Is very strong."
"He's not weaker than me."
Zabuza's expression darkened.
"Yeah."
"He's at least on your level."
"If we want to complete this mission—"
"We have to hold him back."
"As long as you stall that brat—"
"I'm confident I can kill Kakashi."
Haku recalled Orion's performance.
"He seems inexperienced."
"His strength is high…"
"But his combat experience is lacking."
Zabuza nodded.
"He's probably Kakashi's student."
"Fresh out of the academy."
"If that kid is allowed to grow—"
"Konoha will gain a terrifying shinobi."
"But that's not our concern."
"To complete the mission…"
"He must die."
Haku fell silent.
He didn't like killing.
Especially someone like Orion—
Who had no personal grudge against him.
Zabuza glanced at him.
He knew Haku's nature.
"Haku."
"If he lives—"
"We fail the mission."
"We must complete this."
"Don't waste your compassion on him."
Haku said nothing.
Even so—
He couldn't bring himself to accept it fully.
But he knew—
Zabuza was right.
They were fugitives—
Hunted by the Mist ANBU.
They couldn't stay in one place.
To survive—
They had to complete Gatō's mission.
Haku knew—
In the end—
He would have no choice.
Gatō Arrives
Suddenly—
The door was kicked open.
Two armed samurai appeared.
Zabuza frowned.
He hated being disturbed.
The samurai trembled under his gaze—
And quickly stepped aside.
Behind them—
Gatō walked in.
Unlike them—
He showed no fear.
"Zabuza!"
"Why didn't you kill that old man Tazuna?!"
"Aren't you a jōnin from the Hidden Mist?!"
"I'm paying you a fortune—"
"So why hasn't the job been done?!"
Zabuza looked at him coldly.
The killing intent in his eyes—
Made Gatō instinctively step back.
But—
Relying on his status as employer—
He forced himself to stand firm.
"I hired you because of your reputation."
"You've disappointed me."
Before he could continue—
A thin line of blood appeared on his neck.
The massive Executioner's Blade—
Was already resting against his throat.
Gatō froze.
His body trembled.
"Y-you…"
"You wouldn't kill your own employer, would you?!"
"If you do—"
"Your reputation will be ruined!"
"You'll never get work again in the shinobi world!"
Zabuza's voice turned icy.
"Say one more word…"
"And I'll take your head off right now."
Gatō swallowed hard.
For the first time—
He was truly afraid.
Because he knew—
Zabuza meant it.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus (NR)Chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus (NR)Chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 (NR)Chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage