Author's Note:
I'd really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on this chapter in the comments—whether you liked it, disliked it, or noticed any strengths or weaknesses.
Your feedback helps me understand what works and what needs improvement, and it also creates a space for readers to discuss the chapter and its events together.
Feel free to be honest and speak your mind. This story grows with you and because of you.
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Two down.
At that moment, the readers' breaths caught when they saw the enemies finish off Kakashi and move to eliminate Naruto, who had frozen in place.
"Is he scared? Move, Naruto!"
"What? Is he down? When did that happen? Is his weapon poisoned? Naruto's been injured!"
"Sasuke moved too late!"
"Wait—what am I seeing? Those are at least two veteran chūnin!"
"Sasuke is blocking them brilliantly!"
"Are you telling me this is a C-rank mission? C-rank my ass! That old man is dodging the commission for a B-rank mission or higher—there are shinobi from the Village of the Mist who want his life!"
"Amazing! Sasuke is fighting like a seasoned shinobi! Is he really a newly graduated genin?"
The Konoha shinobi's eyes widened as they witnessed the rapid flow of battle—iron chains flashing with a metallic gleam, deflected by Sasuke's swift kunai. With agile movements, he saved Naruto from being killed by the two enemies.
Then, like lightning, he dashed off to protect the old man, Tazuna. Not only that—Sakura also stepped in to shield the old man.
But before the enemy could reach them, Sasuke appeared in front of him and intercepted the attack with finesse, leaving the readers—especially the shinobi among them—stunned.
"That's—Kakashi is back! Awesome!"
"As expected, a jōnin isn't someone who goes down easily."
"So it turns out Kakashi was playing with them from the start, haha!"
"Look at the way he's handling those bastards!"
With Kakashi's appearance, the fight—which had lasted no more than a few seconds—came to an end. He grabbed the two enemies as if he were picking up chickens.
…
"Phew~ luckily." Young Kakashi wiped the sweat from his brow; the tension on his face faded, replaced by a broad smile as he watched Kakashi's return.
"Haha! I told you not to worry. Those little enemies from the Village of the Mist can't do anything to Kakashi," Sakumo chuckled lightly.
Sakumo returned his focus to the manga page, his gaze stopping on Naruto, who looked pitiful.
"What happened to Naruto?" young Kakashi asked sadly.
"Well, this isn't his first fight… He performed wonderfully against Mizuki back then. But his tension here—and the fact that he didn't move—shows that something's wrong," Sakumo replied.
He knew Naruto possessed terrifying potential, but the child's mentality still dominated him. Kakashi's role here was to help him overcome this hurdle.
Sakumo viewed it positively, but most of the shinobi at that moment felt that Naruto had shown cowardice—and that was something they despised deeply.
At that very moment, many readers began to favor Sasuke over Naruto.
…
"Dad, what happened to Naruto?"
Young Maito Gai asked curiously, wanting to know his father's opinion as well.
Maito Dai smiled broadly before answering. "Remember when Kakashi got torn apart? We felt fear at that moment. Our minds didn't even consider that he might use the Kawarimi jutsu and hide somewhere else… The same thing happened to Naruto."
"He forgot what to do in a moment of danger. Luckily, Sasuke was mentally prepared—maybe that's why Sasuke outperformed Naruto at the Academy," Maito Dai said with a fair-minded smile.
"So that's how it is…" Young Maito Gai nodded, then returned his attention to the manga.
…
"Excellent…"
Uchiha Hugaku applauded Sasuke's outstanding performance in this sudden battle.
He felt Sasuke resembled him more and more—so much so that he believed that if he ever had grandchildren in the future, Sasuke would certainly be one of them.
"What do you think now?"
The Uchiha clan head looked at the dozens of clan members who had previously been dissatisfied with Sasuke… all of them were staring at the floor in embarrassment.
They had been slapped hard across the face! It turned out Sasuke had been a wolf in sheep's clothing all along!
His handsome appearance, suggesting he was gentle and incapable of harm, coupled with his cold demeanor toward girls, had turned out to be only one side of the boy's personality.
In real combat, he displayed skill and sharpness that surpassed even the most adept chūnin!
And with Kakashi's confirmation, it became clear that the Demon Brothers who attacked them on this journey were two chūnin from the Village of the Mist.
…
[—
"Naruto, I'm sorry I didn't save you immediately. I got you injured. I didn't think you would freeze like that."
Kakashi apologized to Naruto, expressing his frustration as well. Then he turned and praised Sasuke.
"Anyway, nice job, Sasuke." , ''Sakura, too.''
As for Naruto, he stood there, blaming himself. 'I couldn't do anything…'
He looked at Sasuke, thinking, 'Yet he… It was his first real battle. Was he not scared at all?'
'He looks as if nothing happened. And he doesn't even have a speck of dust on him. He even saved me…'
"Hey!" At that moment, Sasuke looked at him and said mockingly, "Are you alright… scared cat?"
Hearing that, Naruto's expression turned ugly.
"Naruto, save it for later. Their claws are soaked in poison. We have to remove it quickly," Kakashi said.
"We must open the wound and release the poisoned blood from your body."
"Don't move much, the poison will spread."
Naruto looked at the back of his hand, which had been cut by the poisonous claws, his face showing anxiety and pain.
"Tazuna-san…" Kakashi looked at the old client.
"What is it?" he replied tensely.
"I need to talk to you."
—]
…
Kushina covered her mouth as she stared at the page, her expression sad and tinged with worry.
"The life of a shinobi is full of ups and downs, especially at the very beginning. There are moments of weakness—Naruto is in that very moment right now. I bet this will make him stronger."
Jiraiya spoke at that moment. He had changed seats; earlier, he was sitting beside Tsunade, but now he had come to sit next to his student: Minato, Kushina, and the others.
"That's right… Naruto isn't weak—he just wasn't prepared," Kushina said sadly.
"I didn't expect him to freeze like that either…" Minato said in frustration.
Seeing Sasuke perform well and receive praise from Kakashi—while even Sakura did better than him—gave him a bitter feeling for some reason.
Perhaps the resemblance between himself and Naruto made him feel a certain bond with the boy in the manga, which explained that feeling.
At the very least, he was certain that his favorite character in the manga was Naruto.
"Forget it, it's fine. No matter how great a shinobi is, they'll experience moments of weakness. We're human, after all. Even Sasuke will have moments when he weakens and needs Naruto to save him—that's the purpose behind forming three-man teams in the shinobi system," Jiraiya spoke again, this time exuding a teacher's aura.
After all, Minato was still his precious student.
…
Beside them, Hiruzen calmly observed the scene. He wasn't interested in the performance of Team Seven's children at this difficult moment; he was far more concerned with the enemy's identity.
"Shinobi from the Village of the Mist… why are they pursuing Tazuna?" the Third Hokage wondered, wanting to know the story behind it.
From the moment that the civilian named Tazuna appeared, Hiruzen searched his memory to see if he recognized him—a famous bridge builder, as introduced in the manga, at least at present.
No matter how much he thought, he couldn't find anyone who matched the descriptions and information shown in the manga.
'Hmm, maybe he hasn't become famous yet… or maybe he doesn't exist and is just a fictional character…' Hiruzen thought internally.
He was more interested in confirming the truth of the manga's events than in whether Tazuna existed or not.
If Tazuna were a real person, he alone would be able to find out. As Hokage, he dealt with many civilian clients—whether from the Leaf Country, the Wave Country, or neighboring countries. He was confident that with a bit of investigation, he could uncover the truth of this person's existence.
'Alright, let's keep this aside for now…'
"Hiruzen… what do you think about making the Village of the Mist the first enemy to openly show hostility toward our shinobi in this manga?" Danzō asked calmly.
"Obviously, they're targeting that bridge builder, not our shinobi," Hiruzen replied.
"So your counterpart was fooled by a mere civilian… tsk, it seems your old counterpart has gone senile," Danzō mocked.
"What did you say!?" Hiruzen felt anger surge.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 61: Naruto Rises Up! We're Continuing the Mission!
Chapter 62: The Appearance of Momochi Zabuza!
Chapter 63: The Copy Ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan!
Chapter 64: Kakashi vs. Zabuza – An Astonishing Battle!
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