The fire crackled gently beneath the canopy of the late evening sky. The sun had dipped past the trees, casting long shadows that danced across the forest floor. Birds had gone quiet, and even the bugs seemed hesitant to break the heavy silence that hung in the air around Team 7's camp.
Naruto sat by the flames, knees tucked to his chest, staring into the fire with a frustrated frown. His earlier excitement had melted into something colder—confusion, maybe even shame.
"I froze back there," he muttered.
Sakura sat beside him, arms wrapped around her legs. "You moved eventually… that's what matters."
Sasuke, leaning against a tree, kept his silence. He hadn't said a word since the fight, but Kakashi knew his mind was grinding through every detail.
Kakashi stood a short distance away, eyes fixed on the night beyond the trees. His body was still, but his mind boiled.
A Bitter Reflection
In my old life, I always thought Tazuna was lucky.
Kakashi's hands were buried deep in his pockets, his gaze distant.
Lucky that Team 7 had me. Lucky that I took the job seriously. Lucky that Naruto survived.
His single visible eye narrowed.
But what if it had been Team 10? Shikamaru—brilliant, but lazy. Ino and Chōji? Not battle-hardened. Asuma wouldn't have expected a lethal ambush either. They could have died. Easily.
The memory of Naruto's terrified face earlier that day replayed in his mind. The boy had nearly been gutted before he could react. That wasn't his fault—it was Tazuna's.
That bastard lied on a mission request. That's not desperation. That's gambling with other people's lives.
Kakashi's hands clenched. And I hate gamblers.
He turned and walked toward the edge of the camp where Tazuna sat alone with his flask, pretending not to notice Kakashi's approach.
The Ultimatum
"Tazuna."
The old man stiffened but didn't look up. "…Yeah?"
"You lied." Kakashi's voice was even, but colder than before.
Tazuna exhaled, clearly annoyed. "I did what I had to do. Gato's men would've killed me. And the village doesn't have the money for a high-ranked mission. I didn't have a choice—"
"You had a choice," Kakashi interrupted. "You chose to gamble with the lives of children."
Tazuna's jaw clenched, his voice defensive. "They're shinobi, aren't they? This is what ninja do. Fight and protect!"
"Don't throw words around when you don't understand them," Kakashi snapped. "They're fresh Genin. The ink on their headbands hasn't even dried. They're barely trained for real combat. If I hadn't been watching, we'd be carrying their corpses back to Konoha right now."
Tazuna's face paled slightly. He looked away, mumbling, "They did fine…"
Kakashi crouched beside him, his voice low. "So listen carefully, because I'm only saying this once. When we reach the Land of Waves, you're going to push for a new system. Every person who enters or leaves the country—merchant, traveler, shinobi, anyone—will pay a 100-ryō toll."
Tazuna's head snapped toward him. "What?! That's ridiculous!"
"That money," Kakashi continued, unmoved, "goes to me and my team. Consider it retroactive payment for the real rank of this mission. For every risk. For every lie."
"You're insane!" Tazuna hissed. "You want me to start taxing everyone just so you can get a payday?"
Kakashi straightened slowly, his presence suddenly suffocating. The firelight cast long shadows over his face as his single eye glared down.
"No, Tazuna. What you did was criminal negligence. You endangered my students and lied to a military village. I'm being generous. I'm charging you for protection you weren't supposed to get."
Tazuna rose shakily to his feet. "And if I say no?"
Kakashi stepped closer. "Then I walk. Tonight. I leave you here, right where you stand. And you can tell your village how the great Tazuna the bridge builder got his first escort team slaughtered because he couldn't cough up the truth—or the coin."
Silence.
Tazuna's breath hitched. He looked toward the kids—toward Naruto, who sat with ash on his cheeks and bruises on his knuckles. Toward Sasuke, who had fought with fire in his eyes. Toward Sakura, who had screamed at the thought of losing her teacher.
He looked down.
"…Fine," he muttered bitterly. "I'll push the idea. But they won't like it."
"I don't care if they like it," Kakashi said. "They'll live because of it. That's enough."
Return to Camp
Kakashi returned to the fire, sitting down beside Naruto without a word. He opened his little orange book, but he wasn't reading.
Sasuke eyed him. "…We continuing the mission?"
"Not tonight," Kakashi said. "We rest. I'll make the call in the morning."
He felt their eyes on him. They didn't know what he'd said to Tazuna. Didn't know how close they'd come to turning back.
He glanced at them from the corner of his eye.
They're still rough. But they listened. They reacted. They can learn.
And more importantly…
They deserve to live long enough to.