Naruto: I Am Uchiha Sasuke!?

Several people walked through the dense forest, the rustling of leaves accompanying their journey. Naruto, his eyes filled with excitement, glanced around constantly.

"Hey, Naruto, stop bouncing around. Be careful," Sakura scolded, noticing his restless energy.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! This is my first time leaving the village," Naruto said, grinning. "Back then, the Third Hokage always had Anbu watching me. I wasn't allowed to step foot outside Konoha."

Kakashi cast a brief glance at Naruto. Was the Hokage worried about the Nine-Tails? he thought. He understood why—each Tailed Beast was a vital asset to its village. But to Naruto, it must have felt like living in a cage.

"By the way, Kakashi-sensei, what's the Land of Waves like?" Sakura asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Yeah, I've never heard much about it either," Naruto chimed in, stepping closer.

"Alright, listen up, all three of you," Kakashi began, his tone taking on a lecturing edge. "The ninja world is primarily ruled by the Five Great Nations: the Land of Fire—"

He continued, briefly explaining the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the various smaller nations. While Naruto and Sakura listened intently, Sasuke already knew most of this information.

"The Land of Waves doesn't have a ninja village, so we shouldn't run into any shinobi. At most, we might encounter bandits or mercenaries. Isn't that right, Mr. Tazuna?"

Kakashi turned his gaze toward their client, who flinched slightly, his forehead damp with sweat.

"Uh… yes, that's right," Tazuna muttered, averting his gaze.

They continued walking for several hours until they came across a small puddle along the dirt path. Kakashi glanced at it briefly before continuing on as if nothing was wrong.

Suddenly—

Two masked figures burst out of the water, iron chains wrapped around their gauntlets.

"You're the first!" one of them growled.

In a blur, the chains lashed out and wrapped around Kakashi. With a sharp pull, his body was ripped apart into several pieces.

"What?!" Sakura gasped, her eyes widening in horror.

"Enemies?!" Naruto froze in shock.

The two rogue ninja wasted no time and lunged toward Naruto next.

"You're next, brat!"

Time seemed to slow as the masked shinobi closed in on Naruto. Just as they were about to strike—

Shurikens flew through the air, precisely striking the iron chains, pinning them to a nearby tree.

Sasuke moved swiftly, his body a blur as he leaped forward. He delivered a sharp kick to both enemies, sending them sprawling. Before they could recover, he followed up with a mid-air spin, his heel crashing down on one of their heads.

"Lion Barrage!"

Boom!

The rogue ninja's head slammed into the ground with a sickening thud.

The second enemy abandoned his chains and rushed toward Tazuna.

"Damn brat! Out of my way!"

He swiped at Naruto, knocking him aside effortlessly. Sakura gasped, stepping in front of Tazuna with her kunai raised.

Before Sasuke could react, a blur of silver appeared.

Thwack!

The rogue ninja crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Kakashi stood over him, completely unharmed.

"K-Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto and Sakura blinked in disbelief.

"Oh? You're alive? I thought you were going to play dead longer," Sasuke scoffed, putting away his shuriken.

"Whew, that scared me…" Tazuna let out a breath of relief.

Kakashi's "corpse" on the ground dissolved into chunks of wood.

"A Body Replacement Technique…" Sasuke murmured, unimpressed.

"Hahaha, I just wanted to see how you'd handle yourselves," Kakashi said with a lazy grin. "Sasuke, great job neutralizing the threat. Sakura, nice initiative protecting the client. Naruto… well, try to react faster next time."

Naruto pouted. "Tch… I was just warming up!"

Kakashi turned back to the restrained enemies, waking them with a splash of water. "Alright, spill it. Who sent you?"

The rogue ninja scowled. "Hmph. How'd you even know we were there?"

"Simple. There's no way a puddle would exist on a sunny day like this," Sasuke stated flatly. "Your deception was amateur at best."

"Tch…" The ninja gritted his teeth.

"Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi said, his voice firm. "This level of assassination attempt isn't something you'd see in a simple C-rank mission. You've been hiding something from us. Explain."

Tazuna hesitated, sweat dripping down his forehead.

Meanwhile, in a hideout in the Land of Waves—

"Hmph. The assassination failed?" a deep voice rumbled.

A massive figure, his head wrapped in bandages, leaned against a wall, a massive blade slung over his shoulder.

"I told you Konoha's ninja aren't easy to deal with."

Across from him, a short man in sunglasses scowled. "Tch. That damn Tazuna—how does he have the money to hire such strong shinobi?!"

"No matter." The man with the sword smirked. "If I go personally, they won't stand a chance."

The man in sunglasses grinned slyly. "Mr. Zabuza, I'll be counting on you. Money is no issue, just get the job done."

Zabuza took the offered payment, his grin widening. "You won't be disappointed."

With that, the Demon of the Hidden Mist vanished into the night.

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