The Cunning Fox Kakashi [Continued]
Since they'd just come back from an outside-the-village mission, Kakashi generously gave them two days off. Sakura and the others used this time to rest at home.
However, their peaceful days didn't last long. Kakashi soon showed up and gathered them together again.
"Kakashi-sensei, you came knocking on my door so early in the morning and shouted so loudly—don't you fear getting beaten up by the neighbors?" Sakura yawned widely as she spoke. Kakashi had woken her up when it was barely dawn. If not for his status as their teacher, he would have been carried out unconscious today.
"Well, I had something important to tell you all," Kakashi chuckled sheepishly. "I went ahead early this morning to pick up a C-rank mission for you before too many people showed up at the mission office."
"Kakashi-sensei, what's your hidden agenda this time?" Before Kakashi could finish speaking, Sakura interrupted with suspicion. "This mission isn't going to turn out like that Land of Waves disaster, is it?!"
"How could you say that?!" Kakashi's pulse quickened, though his expression remained calm. "How could I deliberately choose a mission full of danger? You're thinking too much!"
"Really now?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, staring hard at Kakashi, trying to spot any sign of deception on his face.
"I swear—if there really is any danger involved in this mission…" Kakashi raised three fingers with his right hand, making an oath to the sky. "May Mr. Ichiraku chase me around all day long!"
"That's quite a harsh oath, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura started to believe him slightly. After all, ever since the incident between Kakashi and Ayame, Mr. Ichiraku hadn't looked at him kindly. If this oath truly came true, Kakashi might end up chased down the street with a kitchen knife.
"Therefore, there's no need for you to doubt me—I am your teacher, and naturally wouldn't try to trap or betray you," Kakashi inwardly sighed with relief, happy to have convinced these troublesome students. As for the oath he had made, well, Mr. Ichiraku never gave him a kind look anyway—even if he were chased around for a whole day, it wouldn't make much difference. Secretly, Kakashi even hoped that Mr. Ichiraku would hit him extra hard. That way, Ayame might feel sympathy for him, and Kakashi could act pitiful enough to perhaps improve their relationship again.
"All right then. We'll get our equipment ready and head out shortly!" Sakura figured it was better than sitting around doing nothing after a few lazy days at home. She felt like doing a mission to relieve her boredom.
"Oh, by the way, Kakashi-sensei, how long will we be gone this time?"
"We'll leave in the morning and return by evening. It won't take much time at all," Kakashi calculated mentally, confident one day would be more than sufficient.
"Great, then we only need to bring along some consumables like kunai and shuriken; nothing else is necessary."
If the mission required spending the night or multiple days away, they would definitely need to pack daily necessities. However, since this was simply an in-and-out mission for the same day, carrying just a few essential tools should suffice.
"Meet at Konoha's main gate in an hour and a half."
Kakashi dropped that statement and left without looking back.
"I feel like Kakashi-sensei is hiding something from us!" Naruto, the most perceptive among the three, said while scratching his chin.
"Don't overthink it for now. We'll take things one step at a time. If this mission Kakashi-sensei took really is a trap, we'll make sure to deal with him accordingly to let off some steam!"
Sakura said nonchalantly.
"I'll go pack my stuff first!" Sasuke muttered a brief prayer for Kakashi's demise, got up, and immediately fled the scene. Kakashi, as usual, failed to sense the tension in the air.
The Land of Fire enjoyed pleasant weather and lush greenery far surpassing that of other regions. As the group walked beneath the cool shade of trees, they felt surprisingly at ease.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you tell us about the mission location and our target now?"
Sakura asked seemingly casually while holding her oil-treated paper umbrella, yet Kakashi nervously swallowed hard.
"Uh... Could you maybe put the sword down first?" Kakashi let out a nervous chuckle as he tried to push away [Starlit Night], the blade pressing hard against his throat. "You guys don't need to be so tense. Actually, this mission is just a simple C-rank job. Our objective is to eliminate a bandit hideout. There are only regular bandits there, no ninja involved!"
"Wipe out a bandit hideout? You mean we're gonna be killing people?!" Sakura frowned slightly as she asked, "Are we supposed to kill all the bandits, or capture them?"
"That particular hideout has a terrible reputation—it destroyed several small villages. Our mission is to kill every single bandit there!" Kakashi replied after a few seconds of silence. "Oh, and one more thing—I should mention that not a single person at that hideout is a regular villager. Every single one of them is a bandit!"
"What about the elderly, women, and children? Are we supposed to kill them too?" Sakura bit her lip, her face paling slightly.
"The mission goal is to eliminate all bandits, and everyone on that mountain is a bandit!" Kakashi answered expressionlessly.
"I understand," Sakura finally responded after a brief silence.
The rest of the journey passed in silence, the weight of their thoughts pressing heavily on them.
When they arrived at the client's location, Sakura and the others couldn't help but stop in shock.
It was a very rundown little village. The houses looked unstable, as if they might collapse any moment. Within the village, Sakura and her companions saw very few young people. Almost everyone visible was elderly, and the few women, children, or mothers they did see appeared to have disabilities.
"What exactly happened here?"
Except for Kakashi, Sakura and the other two couldn't believe their eyes. Having spent most of their lives in Konoha Village, they'd never witnessed anything like this. Even the Land of Waves would feel like paradise compared to this place.
"This is one of the villages ruined by those bandits. Actually, these villagers were among the luckier ones—the other villages have now turned into nothing but ashes."
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