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The dirt road stretched ahead of Team 7 as they continued their journey to the Land of Waves. The early morning mist clung to the trees, and the air smelled fresh from the nearby river. Tazuna walked ahead of them, mumbling something about hoping they were actually competent, while Kakashi trailed behind, nose buried in his usual orange book.
Naruto, walking beside Sasuke, suddenly perked up as a thought hit him. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Naruto, then kicks a stray pebble down the path, letting out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Man, I don't get it…"
Sasuke, walking beside him, barely spared him a glance. "What now?"
Naruto crossed his arms, brows furrowing. "Well I stopped by Ichiraku's last night to get a bowl of Tonkotsu ramen, after I finish some bowls I talked to Ayame-neechan and she randomly brought you up. She was like, " you know I've seen your teammate Sasuke come by recently. And then we'd talk about something else and then she'd bring you up again saying something like, I wonder if Sasuke will stop by again soon.'" Saying this in a mocking girly tone, doing a little dance like a chicken. He scrunched up his face, now angered by the thought. "Like, why do people keep acting like you're some kind of big deal!? With the boy pointing an accusative finger at him.
Sakura, walking just behind them, raised an eyebrow. "Wait, Ayame? Who's that?
Sasuke cuts in to explain. She's the waitress that works at the ramen shop Naruto mooches off of.
As in the waitress from Ichiraku? Since when does she care about whether Sasuke eats there?"
Kakashi, who had been seemingly lost in his book, chuckled softly. "Ah, young love."
Naruto snickered. "See, even Kakashi-sensei gets it!"
Sakura, however, frowned, crossing her arms. "It's not love! Ayame's just being polite because Sasuke-kun happens to be a customer."
Naruto waggled a finger. "Nuh-uh! She was definitely interested. She even said, and I quote, 'I wonder if Sasuke will stop by again soon.'"
Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temple. "This conversation is a waste of time."
Naruto scratches his hair franticly trying to process this. "All you do is just sit there all broody and quiet, and somehow that's interesting?"
Sasuke remained completely unbothered. "Maybe you're just annoying."
Naruto twitched. "Oh, yeah? Well, maybe you're just—" He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing he had nothing to counter with. He scowled. "Tch. Whatever."
Sakura, who had been listening, giggled. "It's not that complicated, Naruto. Some people just like the mysterious type." She sighed dreamily, sneaking glances at Sasuke. "It is kind of cool…"
Naruto groaned loudly. "Oh, come on! You too, Sakura-chan?! What's so great about being a walking mood swing?"
Kakashi, who had been silent up until now, chuckled. "Ah, the Sasuke Effect. It even works on hearts of young ramen shop waitresses, too, huh?"
Naruto pointed accusingly at him. "Not you too, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi turned a page in his book, his visible eye curving into an amused look. "It's just an observation."
Naruto shook his head, grumbling under his breath before turning back to Sasuke. "So? You gonna go or what?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Maybe."
Naruto gawked at him. "That's it?! Just maybe?"
Sasuke glanced at him. "What do you want me to say?"
Naruto groaned before suddenly smirking. "Y'know, now that I think about it, you should totally go back with me."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Naruto's grin widened. "Because Ayame-neechan is totally gonna slip me some extra ramen if I bring you.
Sakura blinked. "What? Why would she do that?"
Naruto snickered. "Because she likes him, duh. That's what girls do when they like a guy, right?" Looking at the girl for some confirmation. He gave Sakura a cheeky look. "Maybe you should try it, Sakura-chan."
Sakura's face turned red. "Naruto!!"
Before she could smack him, Naruto ran ahead, laughing. "What? I'm just saying!"
Sasuke shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Idiot."
Kakashi simply smiled behind his mask. Ah, youth.
The morning mist clung to the dirt path as Team 7 and Tazuna walked along the road, the only sounds being the rustling of leaves and the occasional chirp of birds in the distance. The journey had been quiet—too quiet.
Kakashi, walking at the back with his nose still buried in Icha Icha Paradise, had already noticed something was off. The puddle they had passed earlier shouldn't have existed in this dry weather. But he gave no indication that he had spotted the anomaly, waiting to see what would unfold.
Sasuke notices the unusual puddle, having knowledge of the previous series that its host to the demon brothers. He looks to Kakashi to see what he'll do. But the one eyed Jonin does nothing, so he decides to press his luck as he thinks it'll be funny.
whizz whizz whizz
The others stop and watch him, with all of them having different reactions to what he's doing. Sakura's face turns crimson with her heavily breathing like she'd pass out at any moment. Naruto and Tazuna look unimpressed and confused while Kakashi is wide-eyed from my action, with him sweat dropping. Because indeed the proud, broody boy known as Sasuke Uchiha is pissing on the puddle, letting out a satisfied sigh. Even though this is totally out of character for the Sasuke they know, I don't mind doing it as Sasuke's racked up enough cool and arrogant points to where this action wouldn't change their opinion of him.
Suddenly the puddle ripples violently. " YOU FUCKING BRAT YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"
SHINK!
Two dark, masked figures exploded from the water, chains in hand. Revealing the two chunin level missing-nin, known as the demon brothers. In a flash, they shot toward Kakashi, their weapons whirling as they wrapped the metal links around him.
"One down."
With a sharp yank, the chains tightened—shredding Kakashi into pieces.
Naruto's eyes widened in horror. "K-Kakashi-sensei?!"
Sakura gasped, taking a step back. Tazuna froze in fear, gripping the strap of his bag tightly.
But Sasuke didn't hesitate. The moment the two shinobi turned toward their next target, he moved.
The Demon Brothers lunged at Naruto next, their chains flying toward him. But in that instant, Sasuke saw something in Naruto's eyes—hesitation, shock. He wasn't going to move in time.
Useless.
"Naruto, move!" Sasuke barked.
Sasuke clenched his teeth, already predicting how the battle would unfold. If Naruto couldn't handle himself, then it was up to him. But instead of just fighting them head-on, an idea flashed through his mind.
This is the perfect time to test it.
Sasuke's eyes flickered with anticipation. His Sharingan had awakened not long ago, but he had yet to push its full potential. Now, with real enemies in front of him, he had the perfect chance.
Sasuke didn't give them a chance to recover. He leapt onto one of their chains and used it to propel himself forward, twisting mid-air as he planted a kick straight into the masked ninja's face. The enemy staggered back, and before he could retaliate, Sasuke was already flipping behind him, kunai pressed to his neck. Then, without hesitation, he darted forward and locked eyes with one of the enemies.
For a split second, the masked shinobi flinched.
And that was all Sasuke needed.
The Sharingan's genjutsu took hold. The enemy's body stiffened, his mind thrown into an illusion where Sasuke's kunai had already pierced his heart. His breath hitched, confusion and terror flashing in his eyes.
Before he could even attempt to break free, Sasuke capitalized on the opening—flipping behind him and pressing a real kunai against his throat.
One of the Demon Brothers growled. "Tch. Annoying brat."
"Give up," Sasuke said coldly.
The second brother moved to help, but before he could even lift a finger—
POOF.
Kakashi reappeared behind him, his hand gripping the back of his head. "Well, that was disappointing."
The enemy barely had time to react before Kakashi slammed him into the ground, knocking him out cold.
Naruto blinked. "K-Kakashi-sensei?! But you—"
Kakashi gave a casual eye-smile. "A simple Substitution Jutsu. You didn't really think I'd go down that easily, did you?"
Sakura let out a relieved sigh. "You could've at least warned us!"
Kakashi turned to Sasuke, nodding approvingly. "Good job, Sasuke."
Sasuke merely grunted, keeping his kunai pressed against the captive's throat until Kakashi gestured for him to let go. He released the ninja with a small shove, stepping back as Kakashi tied both enemies up with ninja wire.
Naruto, still catching his breath, clenched his fists. "Damn it… I froze up…"
Kakashi glanced at him but said nothing just yet. Instead, he turned to Tazuna, his tone dropping to something more serious. "Alright, Tazuna. You want to explain why two Chūnin-level shinobi just attacked you?"
Tazuna gulped, looking away. "I… I might've left out a few details about this mission."
Kakashi sighed. "Of course you did."
From there on the scenes from the previous timeline panned out with Kakashi questioning the bridge builder and ultimately deciding to abandon the mission. Tazuna tries to emotionally blackmail us and Naruto, as much as I find him to be a stubborn kid with a hero complex. Made a strong convincing argument to continue the mission.