"Aaaah, why do we have to carry out such trivial tasks? It's so boring!"
After helping the daimyo's wife catch her lost cat for the tenth time, Obito finally snapped, his voice echoing through the alleyway like a tortured soul in a genjutsu.
The cat in Obito's arms was just as done with life. With a flick of its paw, it clawed his face and escaped—probably to get lost again.
"Because we're newly graduated Genin," Rin replied patiently, gently healing the fresh scratch on Obito's face. "We can only take the lowest-level D-rank missions for now."
"So, Obito, just be patient."
"I want to be Hokage! At this rate, it'll take forever for the village to even remember my name!"
Obito wailed dramatically, arms flailing like a wet noodle.
Kakashi looked up from cleaning his blade, clearly unimpressed. "Tragic. Truly. The world mourns."
Obito scowled. "Tch. You're just jealous of my ambition."
"Sure. Let me know when ambition starts catching cats," Kakashi muttered.
At that moment, Minato-sensei returned, smiling faintly.
"You really guessed it, Kakashi. Considering your overall growth, I went ahead and accepted a C-rank mission for the team."
"YES!" Obito jumped up like he'd won the lottery. Rin smiled warmly, glad to see her teammates happy.
Only Kakashi frowned slightly. Ah. There it is. The subtle shift in the wind. So it begins...
War is coming.
Minato took note of all their expressions—especially Kakashi's—and gave a meaningful smile.
"Meet me at the village gate tomorrow morning. Bring your rations. This mission will take about two days. Dismissed!"
"Yes!"
The Next Day - On the Road
Four figures dashed forward, low to the ground, arms trailing behind like aerodynamic birds. Konoha's finest running style.
Minato, in the lead, suddenly raised a hand. "Rest for ten minutes. Regain your strength."
Obito groaned and collapsed to the ground like a felled tree, gasping for air.
Despite running for three hours at high speed, Kakashi looked perfectly composed, and Rin was only slightly flushed.
Minato's eyebrows rose slightly. Impressive stamina control.
Unbothered, Kakashi said nothing. No need to tell them about Tsunade's Hell Camp™, where he and Rin had to carry 60-kilogram stretchers across canyons for fun.
Compared to that, this? Vacation.
By the time the sun began to dip low on the horizon, Minato halted them once more.
"One kilometer ahead lies your target—an encampment used by a bandit group. Your mission: eliminate every single one of them."
"...Ah?"
Rin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Minato-sensei, do we really have to... kill them? Couldn't we just subdue and hand them over?"
Obito's voice wavered, his hesitation painfully clear.
Minato's expression hardened. "No. According to intel, this group has looted nearby villages repeatedly—burning, killing, and destroying everything in their path. The local villagers pooled money to issue a bounty mission."
"They requested that no one be spared."
The finality in his voice hit like a blade.
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
But once the shock wore off, Obito clenched his fists, anger burning in his eyes. "Then we destroy them all."
Minato nodded, satisfied. "This mission is for you three. I will observe but not intervene."
Ah. Of course. Rite of passage, Kakashi thought. Every military likes to toss the new kids into the deep end and see who floats. Thanks for the trauma, sensei.
Without hesitation, Kakashi stood. "Obito, Rin—rest. I'll scout ahead."
He vanished into the trees, shadow-like.
"Will Kakashi be okay?" Rin asked, concerned.
Obito huffed. "It's just some bandits. That guy's like a robot. Nothing gets to him."
Minato, who had left a clone behind, disappeared again.
Thirty Minutes Later
Kakashi returned, calm and composed.
"There are roughly sixty hostiles. Four sentries in elevated towers and another ten hidden in the trees and around the perimeter. No chakra signatures beyond average civilians—these guys are just thugs."
He etched a simple map into the dirt.
"We attack after dark. We'll strike silently, eliminate the sentries, and move inward."
The others nodded solemnly.
Night came swiftly. Kakashi glanced up at the sky, then stood. "Let's go."
They moved like whispers through the trees.
Kakashi stopped just before the encampment. Fires blazed, dice clattered, and drunken laughter rang through the night.
"Wait for my signal. I'll handle the tower sentries. You two get the hidden ones after."
He vanished again.
The first sentry died without even seeing the blade that slit his throat. The second followed soon after, then the third.
Warm blood ran down Kakashi's hand.
Ah. There it is. The human part.
A chill ran down his spine—not from fear, but something more primal. A whisper of doubt.
Still, he didn't stop. This was war. This was the job.
You don't get medals for mercy.
He left clones disguised as the corpses to avoid suspicion. Five minutes later, the towers were silent.
Obito and Rin moved in... and then—
Bang!
A flare exploded in the sky.
"ENEMY ATTACK!"
Curses erupted as bandits grabbed weapons and rushed out.
Kakashi rejoined them instantly. "What happened?"
"I—I just hit him, I didn't know he wasn't down!" Obito stammered, guilt plastered across his face.
Rookie mistake. First kill's never clean.
Kakashi didn't blame him. "No big deal. Plan B—full frontal attack. Formation 'make-sure-we-don't-die.' Got it?"
They locked into a tight formation, back to back.
Bandits surrounded them, chattering, laughing.
"Just kids? You've gotta be kidding!"
"I've seen toddlers with bigger kunai!"
Their confidence evaporated as a massive man stepped forward—scarred face, thick beard, and a voice that could break glass.
He was clearly the leader.
"I assume you're Konoha shinobi," he said with faux politeness. "I don't know what grudge brought you here, but how about I double the price? Name it."
"You're criminals who've terrorized villages. Why would we bargain with you?" Obito spat.
The bald bandit beside the leader growled, "Boss, let us kill 'em—"
Shing!
The leader's blade slit the man's throat without hesitation.
"Apologies. He was out of line."
He turned back to the team with a chilling smile.
"So, back to business—how much are they paying you? I'll double it."
Kakashi shrugged. "Sure. You pay us in corpses, and we'll collect on delivery."
The leader's face darkened. "Fine. Kill them all!"
"Earth Style: Yellow Spring Swamp!" Kakashi slammed his palms to the earth.
Half the charging bandits sank into sticky mire with shocked cries.
"Obito!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito's fireball erupted outward, engulfing the trapped bandits in a wall of flame.
Screams filled the air.
"Crossbows! Now!"
Bolts flew at them in a deadly wave.
"Water Style: Water Barrier!" Rin's shield rose instantly, blocking the hail of bolts.
"Thanks for the cover," Kakashi said casually—and vanished.
By the time Rin lowered the water wall, all that remained were corpses.
Kakashi stood in the middle of the clearing, drenched in blood, his sword dripping red.
Like death itself had grown silver hair.
"Kakashi, are you okay?" Rin asked, rushing over.
He nodded, though his hands trembled faintly.
Behind them, Obito turned pale and vomited violently. Rin covered her mouth and ran after him.
Kakashi leaned against a tree and breathed slowly.
Even after two lifetimes, even if they were monsters—it still wasn't easy.
He thought of Itachi, the boy who would someday slaughter his own clan.
Is that what it takes to carry the darkness alone?
It doesn't make you strong. It just makes you numb.
These thoughts lingered as Minato reappeared and silently warped them all back to the village.
That night, no one spoke.
Back in the bathroom, Kakashi stood under a cold shower, scrubbing the blood off his hands for what felt like hours.
Even when his skin was raw, he kept scrubbing.
Not clean enough. Never clean enough.
Later, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
Welcome to the real world, kids.