Day 2
Konoha Training Ground No. 4
You arrived at Training Ground No. 4 at 9:50 AM, ten minutes earlier than the time Kakashi had mentioned.
But the moment you stepped through the trees, your footsteps stopped.
Naruto was already there.
Sakura was already there.
And—most shockingly—
Kakashi Hatake was standing there before everyone else.
You blinked once.
Twice.
Kakashi?
Early?
Your mind needed a moment to process this impossible phenomenon. This man was legendary for drifting into meetings like a lazy cloud, always late, always with some absurd excuse involving black cats or secret paths. And yet here he was… waiting. Before time.
Naruto noticed you and waved.
Sakura nodded politely.
But Kakashi simply looked at you with that single exposed eye and said nothing. He only offered you a casual nod—as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
You almost felt a chill.
"…This must be the butterfly effect," you thought, swallowing.
Ever since your transmigration, small changes had already begun to ripple through the timeline. But Kakashi arriving early?
That was practically a natural disaster.
You walked toward the group, feeling a weird mix of excitement and nervousness. The second day of Team 7's journey had officially begun—and clearly, even the world was reacting to your presence.
---
Day 3
The first mission of Team 7 arrived so quietly that it almost felt like a prank.
A small lady from the eastern district bowed deeply and said,
"Please… help me find my ninja cat."
You weren't surprised in the slightest.
Naruto and Sakura, however, froze like someone had slapped them all at once.
"A cat?! Our first ninja mission is a CAT-HUNTING MISSION?!" Naruto shrieked, hands in the air.
But even while complaining, he had smile slowly spreading across his faces.
After all—this was his first income as full-fledged shinobi.
Even a silly mission was still his mission.
So everyone started hunting for the furry escape artist.
Trees were climbed. Rooftops chased.
You even saw Kakashi lazily reading his book while the cat sat on his head, completely undetected by the others.
And like that, the days passed.
---
Day 32
A full month had gone by since your ninja career began.
Team 7 had accepted countless D-rank missions and a handful of simple C-rank ones.
Most D-rank missions were inside Konoha—fetching lost pets, cleaning storehouses, carrying letters.
The C-rank missions were more interesting: escorting merchants to nearby towns, delivering sealed scrolls, collecting minor information.
Team 7 mostly handled merchant escorts—nothing too dangerous, but enough to make Naruto brag as if he'd protected an entire kingdom.
---
Day 47
Hokage's Office
You and the rest of Team 7 were sitting together in the Hokage building.
Naruto was whining a tragic musical performance, Sakura was pretending not to hear him and Kakashi…
Kakashi was reading his orange book, turning pages as if Naruto's voice didn't even exist.
You just sat back and watched the circus.
"I want a higher-rank mission!" Naruto complained for the tenth time.
"We've been escorting old merchants and cleaning up stuff for weeks!"
Just as Naruto inhaled for complaint number eleven, a knock sounded.
An old man entered—scruffy beard, half-empty bottle of courage, eyes sharp despite age.
Tazuna.
The man whose arrival would begin the Land of Waves arc.
You knew exactly who he was.
And you also knew what he had done.
In the future, he would be praised as a hero of the Land of Waves, the man who risked everything to build a bridge of hope.
But from Konoha's perspective?
He lied.
He deceived the mission rank.
He dragged genin into a mission that involved Zabuza, Haku, and a small army of samurai assassins.
An ordinary genin/chunin team—or even a weak jōnin—would've died.
But you said none of that.
You simply watched silently as he made his request.
Kakashi accepted. Naruto cheered. Sakura sighed in relief that something exciting was finally happening.
You kept your thoughts to yourself.
---
After a few hours of preparation, Team 7 left the village with Tazuna in tow.
The road was peaceful—too peaceful.
You and Kakashi exchanged a glance.
You both knew who was hiding behind the puddle.
But you said nothing.
When the Demon Brothers attacked, their chains lashed forward—
SHRRING!
Both you and Kakashi vanished with a timing so perfect that even Sakura didn't see the movement.
Sakura shrieked, trembling as your "dead bodies" appeared in clouds of smoke.
Naruto just stared blankly and muttered,
"Seriously? This is… boring."
Because in your world, Jiraiya had appeared early.
Naruto had unlocked access to Kurama's chakra early.
He couldn't control it well—but he could harness all his chakra, use complex ninjutsu, and feel illusions instantly.
His Uzumaki senses told him neither you nor Kakashi were dead.
With a grin, he charged at the Demon Brothers.
Sakura, calming down as she realized the trick, followed right behind him.
Tazuna, on the other hand, turned pale.
His legs shook so hard you thought he might collapse.
Within moments, the Demon Brothers were defeated, tied up, and gasping.
Kakashi stepped out from behind a tree and began interrogating them.
But the brothers, defiant and desperate, exchanged a final glance—
—and slit their own throats with poisoned claws, ending their lives before Kakashi could get more information.
Tazuna dropped to his knees in shock.
Naruto grimaced.
Sakura gulped.
---
The moment the Demon Brothers' bodies fell still, Kakashi's entire presence shifted.
No smile.
No casual slouch.
Just cold, professional calm.
"Tazuna-san," Kakashi said, voice sharp enough to cut through the trembling air.
"Explain everything. Now."
Tazuna froze.
His lips trembled.
And then—like a dam bursting—he told them everything.
About Gato.
About the thugs.
About the assassins.
About how the Land of Waves was choking under the weight of tyranny.
And finally, about how he had intentionally lied about the mission rank because he couldn't afford a proper escort.
When he finished, he sank to his knees and wept.
His tears soaked the dirt beneath him, his shoulders shaking violently—whether from fear, regret, or pure desperation, you couldn't tell.
But Kakashi's expression didn't change at all.
No pity.
No anger.
Just decision.
"We're leaving this mission," he said simply.
"We will not continue."
Sakura nodded immediately, relief washing over her.
Naruto opened his mouth—
"Kakashi-sense—"
Kakashi's single, warning glance silenced him instantly.
The message was clear: Not this time.
Tazuna stared blankly.
Then the shock hit him like a sword to the chest.
"H-Huh? B-But… but… without you—my daughter… my grandson… the bridge… the whole village…"
He reached out, as if grabbing for a lifeline.
But Kakashi stepped back.
"Tazuna-san," he said quietly, " You tried to deceive us, knowing full well the danger. If Team 7 had been an ordinary genin squad, they would already be dead."
Tazuna's tears only grew heavier.
He had gambled with other people's lives… and lost.
---
And so, Team 7 escorted Tazuna back the same day.
The road back felt colder than the one they had walked earlier.
Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Kakashi-sensei… why? I mean—we could have—"
"We could have helped him?" Kakashi finished, not unkindly.
"Yes. We could have. But we shouldn't."
Naruto frowned. "But his village is suffering…"
Kakashi's voice deepened.
"His village is suffering because a true evil is strangling it. That evil is called Gatō, correct?"
Tazuna nodded miserably.
Kakashi continued,
"He wanted us to fight an evil he never told us about. He tried to save money by risking our lives. Naruto… every person must take responsibility for their actions."
Naruto looked down, fists clenched.
"If he had told the truth," Kakashi went on, "and requested a B-rank mission honestly—even if he couldn't pay the full amount—Konoha might still have accepted."
He glanced at Tazuna.
"But he came here with deception. If we accept this once, others will follow. Konoha is not a charity house where people can lie because they expect forgiveness."
Naruto swallowed hard.
Sakura was silent.
You watched it all with a calm expression, knowing this version of events was another ripple of your existence in this world.
Tazuna didn't speak again.
He simply walked, shoulders heavy, as the weight of consequences crushed him from within.
---