The midday sun hung at its zenith, the heat becoming almost unbearable. The forest air was dry and heavy, filled with the monotonous droning of cicadas. The only sounds breaking this hum were the crunch of their own footsteps on the parched, sun-scorched path and Tazuna's rare, nervous coughing.
The team moved in standard formation: Kakashi, lazily reading his book, walked in front. Behind him, constantly trying to strike up a conversation, walked Sakura. Sasuke followed, ignoring her and everyone else, his face an impenetrable mask. Naruto, as agreed, brought up the rear, guarding the client's back.
Sakura felt miserable. Her hair plastered to her neck, and her forehead glistened with sweat. She constantly stole glances at Sasuke. He didn't seem to be sweating at all; his stride was as even and confident as it had been in the cool morning air. It was so cool.
She shifted her gaze to Naruto, trudging behind her. He wasn't complaining either. He just walked. He didn't look tired or frightened by the unknown depths of the forest.
If even Naruto is holding himself with such confidence... Sakura thought, wiping sweat from her brow. Then I, a kunoichi, certainly shouldn't go soft.
She took a deep breath, trying to quell the trembling in her legs, and straightened her shoulders. His calmness, however incomprehensible, somehow helped her pull herself together. She snorted, chasing away stray thoughts about his "coolness," but her steps became firmer and her back straighter.
Sasuke, contrary to Sakura's thoughts, did feel the heat. He hated it. He hated this mission, hated this drunk old man, and hated this entire waste of time.
His mind was far away. He replayed the Bell Test in his head over and over. Kakashi's speed. His Sharingan. And then... Naruto's speed. That strange, fluid Taijutsu that had caught Kakashi off guard. It was humiliating. While he, an Uchiha, had been so easily neutralized, Naruto had managed to display technique. It burned his pride even hotter than the midday sun.
Naruto, meanwhile, resided in his own world. He used this monotonous marching as another opportunity for practice. His Qi Sensory constantly, passively "felt" the surroundings.
They passed a small bend. The road sloped downward, into the shade of dense trees. And right in the middle of the path, in a spot where the sun barely reached, lay a puddle.
It was shallow, but unnaturally dark and completely still.
Kakashi, without looking up from his book, noticed it. His single visible eye narrowed imperceptibly.
A puddle? a quick thought flashed through his mind.
He scanned the dry, cracked earth around it.
It hasn't rained for at least three days. The ground is dry. It's an ambush.
His lips curled into a smirk beneath his mask. Too obvious. Too crude. Amateur work.
A C-Rank mission... that smells like an A-Rank. And here are the first signs—low-level chunin. Well... He decided to say nothing. This is the perfect field test. Let's see which of them notices.
The very moment Kakashi saw the anomaly, Naruto felt it too.
His passive "net" of Qi Sensory, which he had kept active this whole time, suddenly snagged on something. It was that very "false note" he had been searching for.
The vibrations of the water in the puddle were... wrong. They were too even, too calm, as if the water were not water, but a dense gel. He instantly focused his sensory perception.
Two auras, he determined instantly. Hidden. Low vibration, almost motionless. They are waiting in ambush. In the puddle.
He didn't slow his pace. He simply looked up, meeting Kakashi's single eye as the jonin lowered his book to look at him.
Kakashi expected to see Naruto trudging along obliviously like the others. But Naruto's gaze was clear and focused.
Naruto barely noticeably, with just a movement of his eyes, pointed to the puddle. And then, just as imperceptibly, nodded.
Kakashi was genuinely surprised.
He noticed? The jonin was impressed. He had been sure Sasuke was the only one with a real chance. But it turned out to be Naruto. Is that so...
Kakashi gave a barely perceptible nod in return, conveying the message: I know. Follow my lead. Do nothing.
"What is it?" grumbled Tazuna, noticing the exchange. "Something happen?"
"Nothing," Kakashi answered lazily, raising his book again. "Just thought I saw a rabbit run by."
They approached the puddle. Sakura and Sasuke, suspecting nothing, walked around it. Tazuna followed nervously. Kakashi walked right through the center.
Naruto, bringing up the rear, walked last. He felt the two auras beneath the water tense up as he passed.
The moment he took a step off the wet patch...
BOOM!
The puddle exploded like a geyser.
Two dark figures flew out of the water in a vortex of spray. They wore Hidden Mist protectors, and massive gauntlets with claws adorned their arms.
"The first one!" one of them roared.
A metal chain, studded with barbs, shot out and wrapped around Kakashi with a clang. Sakura screamed.
"Sensei!"
The two Mist shinobi landed on the road, their eyes fixed on the frozen genin.
"Now it's your turn," the second one growled.
They yanked the chain violently in opposite directions.
SPLAT!
Kakashi's body, caught in the trap, was instantly torn to pieces.