Even Kakashi himself—veteran of countless battles—couldn't see through the mask nma wore. In fact, during this mission, Kakashi made one of his rare misjudgnts. nma's sharp reprimand toward Inari, followed by his emotional withdrawal that night, had only reinforced Kakashi's impression that nma was exactly what Iruka once described him as—a shinobi who appeared cold on the surface, but whose heart burned fiercely for his comrades beneath.
That belief wasn't entirely wrong.
But it was incomplete—and, more dangerously, untily.
nma had once carried the habits and ntality of his previous life, never fully blending into the shinobi world he now lived in. But that had changed. His heart was no longer divided between past and present.
Comrades? Of course, he would value them—but only those who shared his path.
Those who stood on different sides, those whose ideals clashed with his—could such people still be called companions?
No.
To walk a different road ant to beco strangers.
That night, as the cold sea wind howled outside the Tazuna ho, nma fully grasped the true weight behind the shinobi adage: Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.
He understood now that the definition of "comrade" wasn't universal—it was personal, bound by shared goals, not sentint.
And in this quiet revelation, nma's will hardened. His resolve beca sothing that even Kakashi's keen eye could not perceive.
⸻
The night passed in silence. Morning ca to the Land of Waves wrapped in mist.
The child Inari, still shaken from nma's killing intent the night before, had not appeared again. Whether out of fear or because Tsunami and Tazuna had warned him to keep away from nma, it didn't matter.
nma, for his part, didn't care in the slightest.
His mind was already focused elsewhere. Kado—the corrupt magnate pulling the strings of the entire country—was his next objective. That man's fortune could fund nma's future plans. Every great endeavor required capital, and nma intended to start now.
After breakfast, Team 7 split into two groups as Kakashi had arranged.
Sakura and Sasuke stayed behind to protect Tazuna as he worked on the bridge, while nma took Naruto with him to investigate Kado's movents. The decision was deliberate—Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu made him invaluable for information gathering, allowing them to cover a wide area quickly.
nma's goal was simple: gather enough intel by noon to pinpoint Kado's current location. If possible, he wanted to end the threat today.
As he had anticipated, luck favored him.
It took less than thirty minutes before nma's kunai pressed coldly against the throat of a trembling middle-aged man in a narrow alley on the southeastern edge of town.
"Interesting," nma murmured, eyes narrowing. "So Kado plans to take matters into his own hands—just like in the original account of this incident. And today, no less. How confident."
His tone was quiet, almost amused, as the frightened man whimpered beneath his grip.
The interrogation had been swift. nma had noticed this man tailing him shortly after splitting from Naruto—his movents clumsy, his chakra weak. A civilian spy. It didn't take long to corner him.
Threatened with a kunai, the man broke instantly. He confessed everything: his role as an informant, how he had betrayed his fellow villagers for a handful of ryō, and how Kado had paid him to report the team's movents.
Pathetic.
nma had prepared himself to use genjutsu or other forms of coercion if needed—he had even considered bringing the man back for Kakashi to interrogate with Sharingan genjutsu—but none of that was necessary. The coward spilled everything with the slightest pressure.
The only valuable piece of information was this: Kado himself was preparing to lead a group of thugs and rcenaries to attack Tazuna's bridge that very day, hoping to wipe out both the villagers' resistance and the Leaf shinobi protecting them.
It was all nma needed.
"Well," the man stamred, clutching his hands together, "I've told you everything, shinobi-sama. May I… go now?"
nma looked down at him, his face unreadable.
"Of course," he said calmly. "I'll see you off personally."
The man blinked, a brief mont of relief crossing his face—until the aning registered.
"W-wait, what do you an by—"
Shing!
The kunai flashed in the morning light.
Pfft!
A crimson spray splattered across the wall. The man's eyes went wide, one hand clutching his throat as he collapsed. His body twitched briefly before falling still, blood pooling beneath him.
nma watched without expression. The man's unseeing eyes stared back at him, frozen in disbelief—as though asking why?
nma's reply was silence.
A man willing to sell out his countryn, betray his own people for scraps—such a person was nothing but poison. Killing him wasn't cruelty; it was cleansing. Leaving him alive would only an he'd betray soone else tomorrow.
This was the way of the shinobi world.
After wiping the blood from his kunai, nma turned and disappeared into the mist, heading toward the rendezvous point.
⸻
When he t Naruto again, the blond was wide-eyed.
"Wait—what?! You already got intel? That fast?" Naruto exclaid.
nma's calm smile didn't waver. "Just a bit of luck. Kado's on the move. He's leading his n to attack Tazuna and the bridge today."
"Seriously? He's coming to us?" Naruto grinned, his excitent barely contained. "Heh, then we won't have to go looking for him! Finally, so action!"
nma chuckled faintly. "Exactly. No need to waste effort searching when our enemy's delivering himself. We just have to be ready to welco him."
Naruto pumped a fist in the air, his energy infectious. "Then I'm going all out this ti! I'm not letting you hog all the credit again!"
nma nodded, that sa faint, knowing smile tugging at his lips. "Fine by . Let's make it quick."
With that, the two leapt into the trees, moving swiftly toward the bridge.
From the information nma had extracted, Kado was approaching with a small army of hired swordsn and rcenaries—enough to overwhelm civilians but no match for true shinobi. Still, the sheer numbers ant this would be no simple encounter.
Kado intended to finish everything today—to kill Tazuna, destroy his bridge, and crush the last hope of the Land of Waves.
But this ti, fate would not favor him.
The mist-shrouded sea ahead was about to witness the first true clash of this mission—where the path of the cowardly tyrant would collide with that of the shinobi who had decided to live without restraint.
And in that silent, gray dawn, nma's eyes glead coldly.
This would be the day everything changed.
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