The mist slowly cleared, leaving behind a battlefield full of mud, smoke, and one very dead Demon of the Mist.
Tazuna exhaled shakily, nearly crumpling.
"I-I thought I was dead…"
Kakashi gave him a glance.
"You almost were."
Tazuna didn't find that comforting at all.
Sakura still stared at Sasuke with wide, unnerved eyes.
Naruto kept glancing between Zabuza's lifeless body and Sasuke's cold expression.
Kakashi sighed again.
At this point, he'd lost count of how many times he'd done that today.
Then he shot Tazuna a sharp look, his voice dropping into a firm, serious tone.
"Before we go any further, I need some answers. This mission was supposed to be a C-rank escort. But Zabuza — an S-rank criminal — is definitely not on the level of mere bandits."
"A C-rank mission should only involve thieves or bandits.Not ninjas. Hiring us without giving the full details is a violation of the contract."
Then he asked directly:
"Tell us the truth. Who is after you? And why?"
Tazuna hesitated for a long moment, but seeing Kakashi's dead-serious expression, he finally admitted the truth.
"The person trying to kill me… is really Gato, just like I said before. He controls the entire economy of the Land of Waves and uses thugs and missing-nin to keep his power."
He lowered his head slightly.
"I deceived you about the kind of forces he could mobilize. He can hire higher-ranked shinobi… not just bandits like I claimed. But my village is kinda penniless, and if this bridge isn't completed… the people of the Land of Waves will remain slaves to Gato."
"My life… doesn't matter anymore.
But please—let me finish this bridge."
Tazuna lowered his head, practically begging them...fully expecting they would abandon the mission.
Kakashi, his face unreadable as always, spoke calmly:
"This is no longer a C-rank mission.
The rules say we should turn back."
But Naruto, still angry and shaken from almost dying... because of his cowardice and especially after seeing Sasuke's cold reaction—suddenly erupted.
"No way! I'm not going back! I don't want to feel like what I felt today anymore! If we turn back now… I'll never become Hokage!"
Sakura stayed quiet but clearly listened, her eyes darting back and forth between them, tense and unsure.
Sasuke…
Sasuke, on the other hand, quietly clenched his fist inside his pocket… then loosened it… then clenched it again, his eyes fixed on Tazuna with a grim expression.
No one knew what he was thinking.
No one could tell what he was planning.
Kakashi watched them for a while, then suddenly spoke in a much lighter, almost cheerful voice:
"Well, I did say the rules say we should turn back… but we already defeated Zabuza. So isn't that basically free labor? Might as well do a little more."
Naruto instantly brightened up, pumping his fist in the air.
Tazuna, overwhelmed, had snot dripping from his nose in gratitude—white… and absolutely disgusting.
And with that, Team 7 officially accepted the mission that should've been over long ago, now just treating the remaining danger as a minor inconvenience, and followed Tazuna toward his home.
--
Tazuna's House – Later
Tsunami ushered them inside, panic in her eyes.
"Oh thank goodness! Father, you're alright! Please, everyone, come in!"
Tazuna hobbled in dramatically like he'd just survived a war — which to be fair, he technically had.
Kakashi followed with his hands in his pockets, pretending he was exhausted, Sakura stepped in gently behind him, Naruto dragged his feet like a pouting kid, and Sasuke walked in last, his expression thoughtful, as if deep in his own thoughts.
The house was warm, cozy even — a sharp contrast to the cold, misty battlefield outside.
But the atmosphere lasted exactly six seconds.
Because from the hallway, a small boy stomped out.
Inari.
The human raincloud.
The master of bratty comments.
He took one look at Team 7 and—
"Tch. Bunch of idiots," he muttered loudly.
Naruto blinked, his footsteps stopping for half a second.
"…Huh?"
Inari crossed his arms dramatically, fake tears already forming.
"You're all stupid… coming here thinking you can help! You're gonna die! Everyone who tries to fight Gato dies! Just leave and stop pretending you're heroes!"
Naruto's expression twisted into a full pout.
"HEY—WHAT!?! We literally saved your grandpa from being sliced like sashimi—!!"
Inari stomped again, doubling down.
"You don't know anything! You're weak! You can't protect anyone! You're just—just—USELESS!"
Naruto's eyebrow twitched violently.
Even Sakura felt irritated.
Sasuke turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing slightly like the kid was a fly buzzing too close.
Naruto clenched his fists, inhaling sharply, preparing for one of his explosive emotional rants...
"We're risking our lives—!!"
"You don't understand—!!"
"You can't just—!!"
But Inari wasn't going to listen. He ran off with his head down, straight into Sasuke—bounced off him, and fell backward onto the floor.
He looked up, saw Sasuke's calm expression, and immediately snapped at him too.
"You better go and die a worthless death!"
And just as he started yelling even louder…
Sasuke slapped him so fast Naruto didn't see the movement.
SMACK!!
A clean, sharp backhand.
The sound echoed through the entire house like a whip.
Naruto froze mid-sentence, Sakura let out a small gasp with her hand over her mouth, and Tazuna nearly choked on his drink.
Nobody expected Sasuke to suddenly slap him.
Inari's eyes popped open in pure shock as he clutched his swelling cheek.
Kakashi didn't even blink—he simply turned another page of his book.
Sasuke lowered his hand calmly.
"Shut up," he told Inari. "You're too noisy."
Inari trembled with shock and outrage.
"H-HUH!? WHY DID YOU HIT ME!?!"
Sasuke pointed at him without even bothering to look his way.
"Because you're wasting my time. Your opinion doesn't matter to me. Now get moving."
Inari's mouth hung open.
Sasuke continued in the same cold tone:
"Crying doesn't make you special. If you think you're the only one who suffered, you're wrong. Grow up."
Inari took 10 emotional damage points and collapsed internally.
Tsunami was too stunned to speak.
Naruto sputtered.
"I—I WAS TRYING TO MOTIVATE HIM—!!"
Sasuke walked past Naruto, hands in his pockets.
"Your voice is too annoying for that."
Naruto looked personally offended by the entire situation.
Kakashi gave a tiny nod of approval.
Sasuke has understood the basics of psychological warfare, he thought.
Good.
Inari sniffed while wiping his tears away
"You… you don't understand anything! My dad was—!"
Sasuke shot him a flat stare that would silence an entire room.
"If you want pity, cry to a pillow."
Inari froze again.
Naruto stared at Sasuke in pure horror.
"Sasuke!! You can't just—!"
Sasuke turned slightly.
"Yes I can."
"Since when!?"
"Since I don't care."
Naruto felt that hit somewhere in his soul.
Tazuna, having finally recovered from choking, rushed toward Sasuke shouting, "You brat! How can you hit my grandson, you little—"
Slap!
Sasuke slapped him too—right across his old face—turning it bright red. The mark was so vivid it looked like it might actually start bleeding with how much force he'd used.
Anyone could tell Sasuke didn't hold back on that one. And if you looked closely… there was even a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"You don't have the right to say anything, you retirement-home escapee, after what you pulled that almost got us killed. The only reason we're even here is because of our strength," Sasuke said, his voice heavy and unyielding.
This was what he was angriest about. Because of this ancient turtle, he could've died on this mission if he didn't have his current strength.
Sasuke couldn't help but think to himself—
if that man hadn't helped him reach this level…
if he'd come into this mission as weak as he used to be…
He was certain he would've died during the very first encounter.
Of course, Sasuke didn't know he might have survived thanks to Kakashi, or because he was Indra's reincarnation, or whatever fate nonsense was attached to him. What he did know was the truth right in front of him.
His revenge—his entire purpose—could've been lost because of a single lie.
How could he not be angry?
Honestly, he was being merciful by not straight-up running a Chidori through this old man's spine.
And then the geezer's grandson started talking mad shit too, which only gave Sasuke the perfect opportunity to smack some sense into both of them.
Kakashi finally closed his book, giving Sasuke a calm but firm look.
"That's going too far, Sasuke… Even if you're angry about his deceit, he's still an elderly man. You can't just hit him in the face."
Tazuna's expression crumpled with shame.
His anger evaporated the moment Sasuke reminded him of what he had done.
"Sasuke, what the hell are you trying to pull?! How can you hit Grandpa Tazuna?!" Naruto stepped forward and tried to grab his shoulders
...but Sasuke side-stepped him like Naruto wasn't even worth looking at.
Then he finally spoke:
"Don't touch me, Naruto. Go bark somewhere else. And get out of my way — your stupidity might be contagious."
Naruto's face went pale, the insult hitting him harder than any punch.
Tsunami, voice trembling, hurried to break the tension.
"A-Anyway… d-dinner is ready—!"
Sasuke just walked out of the room—out of the house—without looking back once.
--
The house went completely silent as Sasuke stepped out and the door clicked shut behind him.
Sakura hesitated for a moment, taking a step forward as if to chase after him… but the memory of Sasuke's expression before he left made her freeze.
She swallowed.
Maybe it was better to check on him later, when that look in his eyes wasn't so frightening.
Kakashi stood up with a sigh and helped pull the fallen Tazuna off the floor. He brushed the old man's shoulder lightly and turned to the family.
"Sasuke… he's still a kid. And he's suffered his share of pain too," Kakashi said gently. "On his behalf, I apologize. I'm sorry."
Tazuna finally came back to his senses and quickly shook his head, waving his hands.
"Ahaha—! No, no, it's fine, it's fine," he said with a forced laugh that fooled absolutely no one. "D-Doesn't matter… doesn't matter at all."
But Inari's sniffle echoed through the room.
He clenched his tiny fists, eyes wet, and then ran straight to his bedroom without a word.
Naruto watched him go, his face shifting from anger to confusion… then to something softer.
Without saying anything, he hurried after him.
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