Hearing the hysterical shout, Team Seven turned to look at the Kirigakure ninja clutching his dead partner.
Kakashi's dead-fish eye drifted to Naruto without any visible concern. "Naruto, did you just trample someone to death?"
Naruto nodded seriously. "I was having such a good conversation with Uncle Tazuna that I wasn't watching where I stepped. Accidentally came down on a small puddle and felt something sharp poking the sole of my foot. So I used a little force to break it."
He lifted his foot to show the damage. "Look, Kakashi-sensei. My shoes are ruined."
The sole had a hole punched clean through it, the edges sharp and precise. Based on Kakashi's years of experience, that laceration pattern came from a kunai.
His visible eye shifted to the surviving Kirigakure ninja. "Based on your headband, you're Kirigakure chunin. You transformed into a puddle and waited in the middle of the road—clearly an ambush meant for us. Or for one of us specifically."
Kakashi gestured at the corpse. "Look at your partner's broken kunai. When Naruto walked past, your friend tried to assassinate him from below. The blade shattered against Naruto's foot instead." He paused. "Hence the trampling."
After delivering this analysis, Kakashi studied Naruto's calm expression with internal shock. He'd known Naruto's body was extraordinarily durable—Kakashi attempt using the Thousand Years of Death on Naruto had broken his own fingers. But feet had even thicker, tougher skin.
The Kirigakure chunin's death, while unfortunate, wasn't exactly undeserved.
Hearing Kakashi's words, the surviving ninja's eyes filled with rage and grief. The analysis was correct—they'd ambushed this road specifically to eliminate their target. But his partner had been trampled to death by that blonde kid.
Actually trampled. Like an insect.
This would become a joke in the ninja world. If word spread, his partner would be mocked by other shinobi in the Pure Land itself.
A ninja trampled to death? Humiliating didn't begin to cover it.
For the sake of his partner's dignity, this Kirigakure chunin couldn't let anyone survive to tell the tale. He'd kill every witness. Then no one would know.
"Die, you blonde brat!" The ninja surged forward, chains on his wrists whipping through the air with lethal intent.
Watching the incoming chains, everyone except Tazuna remained completely calm.
Sasuke and Sakura knew Naruto was a monster. An enraged chunin posed no threat whatsoever.
Kakashi wanted to observe Naruto's combat abilities. If things went wrong, he'd intervene with a... well, a kick, since his hands were useless.
Naruto ignored the weapon entirely. With his current physical defense, drawing blood would be an impressive achievement. More importantly, you had to give people a chance to attack before countering.
Seeing Naruto motionless, the Kirigakure ninja's hope surged. The chains wrapped around their target successfully. "Got you!" he screamed triumphantly.
He yanked hard on his wrist, already imagining the beautiful result: Naruto torn apart by the razor-edged chains, blood misting the air, body parts scattering across the ground in a horrifying display.
But reality didn't follow his script.
The chains wouldn't budge. They'd caught on Naruto like hooks on solid stone.
"Impossible!"
Shock colored the ninja's voice. This can't be right. The chains were stuck. No matter how much force he applied, Naruto remained immovable. This completely shattered his understanding of how the technique worked.
"I don't believe it!" The chunin gritted his teeth, leaned back, veins bulging in his neck, face flushing red with exertion.
Naruto stood like an immovable boulder. Unmoved as a mountain.
Naruto sighed. He couldn't stand watching people drown in despair. The Kirigakure ninja before him had fallen into that pit. Naruto himself had once nearly drowned in despair's abyss. Without the System's appearance, he might still be sinking into darkness.
"Let me free you from your despair."
His whisper was gentle, almost kind.
He reached out with one hand, grasped the chain, and pulled lightly.
The Kirigakure chunin felt himself yanked by tremendous force. Like a leaf caught in rapids, he lost all control. His feet left the ground. A moment later, he crashed down in a perfect kneeling position before Naruto.
His kneecaps shattered on impact.
Horror flooded his system as he looked up. A large palm descended toward him, passed his eyes, and came to rest gently atop his head. He glimpsed strands of hair floating downward. The top of his head felt suddenly cool.
Then darkness.
Watching the Kirigakure chunin collapse slowly to the ground, Naruto stood lost in thought. He'd used vibration force to disrupt the man's brain cells directly, ending his pain instantly.
As for killing two ninja in a single day, Naruto felt no discomfort. The System had explained very early on that Ultimate Taijutsu was a bloody path. Without decisive killing, you'd never reach the end.
Both Kirigakure ninja had clearly intended to kill him. To avoid being killed himself, Naruto had eliminated them first.
You try to kill me, I kill you instead. Perfectly normal.
Watching Naruto handle the second death with equal composure, Kakashi nodded internally. With mental fortitude like that, he'll survive long in the shinobi world.
Sakura, being a girl experiencing her first real killing, looked uncomfortable despite understanding Naruto had acted in self-defense.
The Uchiha boy had weathered stronger storms. He'd witnessed enough blood during the massacre. His expression remained cold and neutral.
Tazuna felt relief wash over him. Naruto was clearly this team's dark horse. With him along, the journey to the Land of Waves would be safe.
Naruto unwound the chains from his body and turned to Sasuke. "Bury them. They were ninja who valued their companions. That deserves respect."
Then he added, "Use your Fire Style first to cremate them. Reduces groundwater pollution."
Even in death, environmental protection mattered.
Sasuke nodded and stepped forward. He dragged both corpses together, then began... looting them.
He removed everything valuable from the two Kirigakure ninja. After all, dead people couldn't use money or equipment anymore. Burning perfectly good supplies would be wasteful.
Besides, the Uchiha boy was broke. The Third Hokage controlled his living expenses and didn't distribute much. He lived at Naruto's house and had to contribute to food and rent.
Frugality was a virtue.
After thoroughly searching the bodies, Sasuke formed hand seals. Fire erupted from his mouth, reducing the Kirigakure brothers to ash.
While Naruto teased him about the "Can't-Hit-Anyone Fire Style," that critique applied to live, moving targets. If Sasuke couldn't hit a corpse that wasn't moving, he'd find a hole and crawl into it.
Watching the flames consume the bodies, Naruto nodded approval.
Then he vanished.
He reappeared behind a tree, one hand landing firmly on someone's shoulder.
The shoulder's owner went rigid with terror. He spun around without hesitation, both hands raised in surrender.
"I'm just passing by! Please don't hit me!"
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