Konoha moved like it always did in the morning.
Vendors opened wooden shutters.
Children ran through narrow streets.
The Hokage Monument stood quiet above it all, sunlight brushing across carved stone faces — steady, unchanged.
Life was normal.
Or at least… it looked that way.
"TORAAAAAA!"
Naruto lunged forward and missed completely.
The white cat flipped mid-air with insulting grace, landing on a rooftop with its tail flicking smugly.
Sakura stood below with scratches on her arm and dust on her clothes. "I can't believe we're doing this again."
Sasuke, perched on a fence, sighed quietly. "It's a cat."
Naruto pointed dramatically upward. "Not just any cat! The demon cat of Konoha!"
Torah hissed at him.
Obito stood a few feet away, arms folded, clearly entertained. Rin stood beside him, trying not to laugh.
"Careful," Obito said lazily. "That's a dangerous S-rank target."
Naruto groaned loudly. "Sensei!"
With a final desperate jump and Sakura's perfectly timed block, they cornered the cat and handed it back to the wealthy client for the third time that week.
Naruto flopped dramatically onto the steps.
"I'm tired of D-rank missions!" he complained. "We've cleaned gardens and delivered groceries! Found lost dogs! And now cats!"
He pointed at Obito accusingly. "When do we get a real mission?!"
Sakura nodded. "It would be good for experience."
Sasuke stayed silent but didn't disagree.
Naruto puffed his chest out. "After all, I'm going to be Hokage one day—"
"You're still not Hokage," Obito cut in smoothly.
Naruto froze mid-sentence.
"And until then," Obito continued, voice calm but firm, "you still have to complete the boring missions."
Rin giggled softly beside him.
Naruto pouted dramatically, cheeks puffed. "This is unfair."
Obito looked at him for a moment, really looked at him.
The determination beneath the childish frustration.
The familiar stubbornness.
He sighed.
"…Alright."
Naruto blinked. "Huh?"
"I'll speak to the Hokage," Obito said casually. "Maybe it's time for a C-rank."
Naruto shot up instantly. "Really?!"
Sakura brightened. "Sensei?"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened with interest.
Rin smiled warmly. "But don't celebrate yet. C-rank missions aren't games."
Naruto grinned widely. "Anything's better than chasing that cat!"
Obito turned toward the Hokage Tower, hands in his pockets.
"…We'll see."
The wind moved softly through the village streets.
High above, the Hokage Monument watched in silence.
And somewhere beyond the safety of Konoha's walls…
The sky was still tinted pale blue when Team 7 arrived.
Naruto yawned dramatically. "Six in the morning should be illegal."
Sakura crossed her arms. "You were the one begging for a real mission."
Sasuke stood quietly, already awake and alert.
Obito appeared on a branch above them.
"Good. You're on time," he said casually, dropping down.
Naruto squinted. "You're early."
"Don't get used to it," Obito replied.
He looked at them for a moment, measuring.
"This is a C-rank escort mission," he said. "We're guarding a bridge builder in the Land of Waves. Simple protection detail."
Naruto grinned immediately. "Finally!"
Sakura straightened. "Understood."
Sasuke gave a small nod.
Obito adjusted his gloves.
"One more thing," he added. "Rin won't be joining us."
Naruto blinked. "What? Why?"
"She's been assigned to assist at the hospital," Obito replied lightly. "Short-staffed."
Sakura's expression shifted slightly. "Oh."
Obito continued, "That means you three will have to rely on each other more."
His tone was casual.
But something in it lingered.
A man stood waiting beside a cart stacked with supplies.
Older. Slightly unkempt. A bottle in hand.
He squinted at them.
"These are the shinobi?" he muttered. "They're just kids."
Naruto bristled instantly. "Hey!"
Obito smiled thinly. "We're more than enough."
The bridge builder introduced himself briefly, clearly unimpressed.
They began walking.
The gates of Konoha slowly disappeared behind them.
Naruto walked ahead energetically.
Sakura walked beside the client.
Sasuke scanned the treeline.
Obito walked slightly behind them all.
Watching.
The road stretched forward.
The forest thickened.
The air changed almost imperceptibly.
And for just a brief second—
Obito glanced back toward Konoha.
As if sensing something he couldn't quite name.
Then he turned forward again.
"Stay sharp," he said lightly.
The forest had grown thicker.
The air is damp.
Naruto was mid-complaint when—
Obito stopped walking.
Just a fraction of a second.
His eye shifted.
"…Down."
Before anyone could react—
Metal flashed.
Chains ripped through the air.
Two masked figures burst from the trees with violent precision.
The chains wrapped around Obito instantly.
And in the next breath—
They tightened.
Blood sprayed across the dirt.
Obito's body split apart.
Naruto froze.
"…Sensei?"
The pieces hit the ground.
Silence.
The two shinobi, the Demon Brothers, didn't stop moving.
They rushed toward the bridge builder.
Sasuke reacted first.
"Move!"
He threw himself in front of the client, kunai raised.
Naruto formed hand signs in panic.
Sakura stepped forward
Too late.
The chains whipped again.
Naruto was struck.
Sasuke was slashed across the chest.
They fell.
Sakura stumbled backwards, eyes wide with terror.
"N-no—"
The chain pierced through her.
Her body collapsed.
The bridge builder screamed.
Another flash of steel.
Silence.
One of the masked attackers let out a low laugh.
"That was too easy."
The other tilted his head. "Yeah… but something doesn't feel right."
The forest felt… wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
The ground beneath them
Cracked.
The air fractured like broken glass.
Reality shattered.
The world folded inward.
And in an instant
They were tied to a tree.
Bound.
Breathing heavily.
Alive.
Obito stood in front of them.
Unharmed.
His Sharingan is slowly spinning.
The Demon Brothers thrashed against the ropes, panic setting in.
"W-what—"
"You were inside my genjutsu from the moment you stepped into my chakra range," Obito said calmly.
Naruto blinked.
Sasuke looked around rapidly.
Sakura touched her chest.
No wound.
No blood.
Obito's gaze was cold.
"An ambush that obvious," he said quietly. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
The Demon Brothers struggled harder.
Obito stepped forward.
A precise strike to the neck.
Both slumped unconscious.
Silence returned to the road.
Naruto exhaled shakily.
"…That felt real."
"It was meant to," Obito replied.
He turned slowly toward the bridge builder.
The man was pale. Sweating.
"Care to explain," Obito asked calmly, "why C-rank bandits are using assassination-level tactics?"
The builder trembled.
"I—I couldn't afford a higher rank mission…"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Naruto clenched his fists.
Obito's voice hardened.
"This is no C-rank."
The man swallowed hard and told them everything about Gato, about the controlled shipping routes, about the assassins.
When he finished—
Obito closed his eyes briefly.
"…We return to Konoha."
Naruto stepped forward immediately.
"No!"
Obito looked at him.
Naruto's voice shook not from fear, but from determination.
"We can handle it. We're not kids."
Sakura hesitated.
Sasuke remained silent but didn't object.
Obito studied them.
Long.
Carefully.
Then he exhaled.
"…This mission is now B-rank at minimum."
Naruto grinned slightly.
Obito's tone sharpened.
"One mistake, and we retreat. Understood?"
"Yes, sensei."
The forest felt heavier now.
The real mission had begun.
The fire crackled softly.
Naruto was still talking about the ambush for the tenth time.
"And then the chain came from nowhere, but we handled it! Right, Sasuke?"
Sasuke gave a small nod. "You almost got hit twice."
"Almost doesn't count!"
Sakura sighed. "Just eat your food."
The bridge builder sat quietly, clearly still shaken.
Obito leaned back against a tree, arms folded loosely behind his head. His visible eye half-lidded, watching the flames dance.
The forest was calmer now.
But not peaceful.
Naruto eventually quieted.
Sasuke took first watch without complaint.
Sakura wrapped herself in her cloak.
The fire burned lower.
Obito lay down on his back, staring up at the sky through gaps in the leaves.
"…First C-rank," he murmured to himself.
The words pulled something loose inside him.
A memory.
He had arrived late.
Of course, he had.
Kakashi had been leaning against a tree, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"You're late," Kakashi had said calmly.
Obito had grinned. "I had important things to do."
"Sleeping?" Kakashi had replied dryly.
Rin had laughed softly.
Their first C-rank mission.
They had been excited.
Too excited.
The journey had felt long and full of possibility.
Then the ambush had come.
Not bandits.
Real shinobi.
Obito had panicked for half a second—
And Kakashi had stepped beside him without hesitation.
"Left side," Kakashi had said.
Obito had nodded.
They moved together without arguing.
Without thinking.
Perfect sync.
Back to back.
Kakashi's kunai had moved clean and efficiently.
Obito's fire jutsu had burned too wide.
"You'll hit Rin," Kakashi had snapped.
Obito had adjusted instantly.
And in that moment—
They weren't rivals.
They were teammates.
After the fight, Kakashi had looked at him and said quietly:
"You're improving."
Obito had pretended not to care.
But he had smiled the entire walk back.
"…He used to be different," he muttered under his breath.
Naruto shifted in his sleep nearby.
Sasuke remained awake, watching the dark forest.
Obito closed his eyes slowly.
A faint smile touched his face.
"…First C-rank."
The fire crackled once more.
And beneath the calm night sky
Obito drifted to sleep.
Unaware that by tomorrow…
That memory would no longer feel distant.
The morning had started quietly, almost deceptively so.
The sea below the unfinished bridge rolled in slow, patient waves, striking the wooden pillars with a steady rhythm that felt almost calming.
Naruto had been talking the entire walk across the planks, complaining about the damp air and the smell of salt, while Sakura tried to focus on keeping the nervous bridge builder steady.
Sasuke walked a little ahead, eyes sharp, posture alert in a way that no longer felt forced — it was instinct now.
Obito walked at the front.
And then he stopped.
Not abruptly, just enough.
His shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly, and his single visible eye narrowed slightly as he scanned the thickening air around them.
Naruto felt it next, not fear, but pressure. The kind that makes the back of your neck itch.
Sasuke's Sharingan activated without hesitation, the red glow cutting faintly through the fog.
The mist began to roll in heavier than before, swallowing the far end of the bridge and creeping around their ankles like something alive.
Then a massive blade spun through the air and embedded itself into the wooden planks ahead with a violent crack that echoed across the water.
A tall figure stepped forward from the white veil.
"Konoha sends children…" the voice rumbled, deep and amused beneath layered bandages.
Zabuza Momochi emerged fully into view, his single visible eye scanning them with open disdain before resting briefly on Sasuke.
"…with the black sheep of the Uchiha clan among them."
The words were deliberate.
Sasuke did not step back.
Obito moved forward calmly, placing himself between his team and the assassin.
"So the Demon of the Mist decides to make an appearance," Obito replied, his tone casual but steady.
Zabuza rested one hand on the massive Executioner's Blade and tilted his head slightly. "And you must be their caretaker."
The air snapped tight.
Without warning, Zabuza lunged.
The blade came down in a devastating arc meant to split both wood and bone in one motion. The bridge trembled as the steel carved through the air, but Obito was already gone, vanishing just before impact and reappearing behind Zabuza with a kunai aimed precisely at the gap beneath his arm.
Zabuza twisted with shocking speed, blocking the strike with the flat of his blade. Sparks erupted between them.
Naruto did not hesitate.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A burst of smoke exploded outward as clones surged forward from multiple angles, attempting to overwhelm Zabuza's blind spots. Sasuke moved in tandem, darting low beneath the wide sweep of the blade and aiming for the tendons behind the knee.
For a moment, their coordination was clean — practised.
Zabuza responded with brutal efficiency.
One sweeping motion shattered clones into smoke. Another force pushes Sasuke back several feet, boots skidding across damp wood.
Sakura remained close to the bridge builder, scanning the mist for additional threats, refusing to let fear root her in place.
Zabuza's grin widened beneath his wrappings.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu."
The world vanished.
The fog thickened instantly until even silhouettes disappeared, and the air grew heavy with moisture and killing intent.
Naruto strained to see through it.
A splash echoed to the left
Too late.
Zabuza materialised behind him as though he had stepped out of the water itself. A sphere of churning liquid formed around Naruto in an instant.
"Water Prison Jutsu."
Naruto was suspended helplessly within it, fists striking uselessly against the rotating surface as his breath grew short.
Zabuza raised his blade.
Obito moved before thought could catch up.
He crossed the distance in a blur and struck Zabuza's arm with a precise, brutal blow that forced the water prison to collapse. Naruto fell to the bridge, coughing violently.
But Obito did not look back to check on him.
His chakra spiked.
The playful laziness was gone completely.
"Enough," he said quietly, though the word carried weight.
He turned toward Zabuza fully now.
"Naruto. Sasuke. Stay back."
Naruto tried to protest, but Sasuke grabbed his shoulder.
Obito stepped forward slowly, blue chakra beginning to gather around his arm like controlled flame.
The temperature seemed to shift with it.
Zabuza's eye sharpened with interest.
"There it is," he murmured. "That pressure."
The blue fire intensified, wrapping around Obito's forearm in tight spirals.
"The Blue Flame of Hell," Obito said under his breath.
Zabuza adjusted his stance, lifting the Executioner's Blade with deliberate precision.
"Seven Forms of the Demon Blade."
The bridge groaned beneath the weight of their combined chakra.
They launched at each other.
Blue fire met steel with a detonation that shook the structure from end to end. Splinters flew, steam erupted from the impact, and the sea below surged violently as if reacting to the collision.
For several long seconds, neither yielded.
They were evenly matched in force against control.
And then
Something changed.
Not the clash.
Not the chakra.
The atmosphere itself shifted.
Both men felt it simultaneously.
The mist parted slightly behind them, not pushed but yielding.
Footsteps sounded softly across the damp wood.
Unhurried.
Measured.
The blue flame halted inches from its target.
The massive blade stopped mid-swing.
And someone stepped between them.
Calm.
Silent.
As if he had been there the entire time.
I promise to write the next chapter quickly. I've noticed that only a few people are leaving comments, so if you want the next chapter, please leave a comment and power stone