Yoruha's strength had simply risen far too quickly.
Even though Kakashi had always thought Yoruha's talent was exceptional — perhaps even possessing the potential to one day catch up to the Fourth Hokage — he hadn't expected his growth to be this fast.
Now, Yoruha was only a few powerful jutsu away from reaching the level of a jonin.
And with his astonishing gift for learning new techniques, it likely wouldn't take long before Yoruha truly possessed the strength of a jonin — or even an elite jonin.
Shaking his head, Kakashi formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
In an instant, several earthen walls rose around the corpses of the two enemy ninja, enclosing and burying them beneath the ground.
After dealing with the aftermath, Kakashi stepped out of the forest.
Along the way, he glanced at the splintered trees scattered everywhere.
Even he couldn't help but be stunned.
"How strong must that kid be to snap these trees like twigs?"
"This much destruction, just from the aftershock… ordinary ninjutsu couldn't possibly cause that."
When he arrived before Yoruha and the others, the boy stood calmly, his expression unchanged.
Seeing Kakashi approach, Yoruha asked,
"How are those two ninjas?"
Kakashi sighed.
"They're both dead."
"Do you know who they were?"
Yoruha already suspected they were from the Hidden Mist Village, but he still asked.
"Two chunin from the Mist," Kakashi replied, glancing at Tazuna. "Their target was likely Mr. Tazuna."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew Tazuna must have hidden the true difficulty of this mission.
Two enemy chunin — this was definitely not a C-rank mission.
At the very least, it was a B-rank one or above.
In fact, Kakashi suspected these two weren't even the strongest enemies they would encounter.
It was clear these Mist ninjas had merely been sent to scout the way.
That meant the mission could very well escalate to include jonin-level opponents — an A-rank mission.
And the gap between a C-rank and an A-rank mission was enormous.
Even the commission fee differed drastically: a C-rank cost at most 50,000 ryō, while an A-rank started at 150,000.
Yoruha turned his gaze toward Tazuna.
Feeling both Kakashi's and Yoruha's eyes fixed on him, the old man became visibly nervous.
"W-why are you looking at me like that?"
Despite his unease, he forced a calm tone.
Kakashi's voice turned cold.
"Mr. Tazuna, those ninjas were after you."
Tazuna immediately denied it.
"Impossible! They were clearly targeting you!"
Kakashi frowned.
Seeing his teacher's displeasure, Yoruha stepped forward.
"Mr. Tazuna, if you don't explain the full truth about this mission, we can't guarantee we'll continue it."
"There's no reason to hide it anymore. I'm sure those two weren't the last assassins coming after you.
If we abandon this mission now, what do you think will happen to you?"
Yoruha knew that if he didn't press Tazuna, Kakashi might call off the mission altogether.
Tazuna hesitated, then, meeting Yoruha's steady gaze, finally sighed and confessed everything.
When he finished, he looked at the two ninja.
"Our Land of Waves really needs that bridge. I know I hid the mission's true danger, but our country is poor — we don't even have shinobi of our own."
"We can't afford to pay the fee for an A-rank mission. Please… help us. Help the Land of Waves."
With that, Tazuna dropped to his knees.
Yoruha looked at Kakashi without a word.
He knew the decision wasn't his to make — it was Kakashi's call whether to continue or withdraw.
Kakashi helped Tazuna to his feet and turned to his team.
"What do you think? Should we continue this mission, or return to the village?"
He handed the choice to his students.
Yoruha stayed silent.
Sasuke's eyes remained fixed on Yoruha, still unable to recover from the shock of his earlier display.
Sakura, seeing Sasuke quiet, stayed silent as well.
Naruto stood off to the side, still stunned speechless.
No one answered. Tazuna grew increasingly anxious.
If Kakashi refused to protect him, the bridge in the Land of Waves would never be completed.
Gatō had hired a jonin-level assassin — only someone of Kakashi's caliber could keep him alive.
And after witnessing Yoruha's strength, Tazuna trusted him completely.
In his mind, as long as Kakashi and Yoruha were there, even a jonin hired by Gatō wouldn't be able to kill him.
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.
He sighed.
They were still green, clearly terrified by what had just happened.
Finally, his gaze settled on Yoruha.
Yoruha felt a little helpless.
This wasn't his team's mission — it was Team 7's.
He hadn't planned to interfere.
But seeing the way things were going, if he didn't speak up, Kakashi really might turn back.
"Kakashi-sensei," Yoruha said, "I think we should continue. I believe Mr. Tazuna's words."
Kakashi nodded.
"Since you've said so, we'll proceed with the mission."
"However, Mr. Tazuna, you must tell us exactly what kind of ninja has been hired to kill you. We need to be prepared."
Hearing Kakashi's decision, Tazuna's relief was palpable.
He quickly explained, "Gatō hired a jonin from the Hidden Mist(Kirigakure) — a powerful one."
Kakashi murmured, "As I thought… a jonin."
His expression hardened.
He was leading four genin on this mission — if he were alone, it wouldn't be so bad.
Yoruha didn't worry him.
But Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were genuine beginners.
If they faced a jonin, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Kakashi turned to Yoruha.
"Yoruha, I'll leave Mr. Tazuna in your care. No matter what happens, ensure his safety."
"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura — stay close to Yoruha. If you get separated, the enemy could pick you off one by one."
Sasuke frowned. Kakashi's words clearly meant Yoruha was stronger than them.
But remembering Yoruha's display of power earlier, even Sasuke — though reluctant — gave a stiff nod.
Sakura didn't object either.
If not for Yoruha, she would've been killed earlier.
And since even Sasuke agreed, she had no reason to refuse.
Naruto, however, just stood there blankly.
Kakashi sighed.
"Naruto, what about you?"
His words jolted Naruto back to his senses.
"Huh? I—I have no objections."
At that moment, he felt the gulf between himself, Sasuke, and Yoruha more clearly than ever.
Even if Sasuke hadn't performed as well as Yoruha, he had still done far better than Naruto — who had stood frozen, useless, the entire time.
Naruto clenched his teeth, ashamed of his own cowardice.
"Next time," he muttered, "I'll stand in front of Sasuke and Yoruha. I'll surpass them, no matter what."
With that, he drew a kunai and drove it straight through his palm.
"Ah—!"
Everyone froze in shock.
No one had expected Naruto to injure himself.
After a moment, Kakashi nodded.
"Your performance just now wasn't great, but knowing shame and wanting to improve is good."
He hadn't been pleased with Naruto earlier, but it was his first mission outside the village — his first time seeing real bloodshed — so it was understandable.
Now that Naruto was reflecting on himself, it meant he wasn't hopeless.
In truth, Yoruha hadn't wanted to intervene in that earlier battle.
This was Team 7's mission — a trial meant for Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.
If he stepped in, it would defeat the purpose of their training.
But when those enemy ninjas had nearly killed Sakura, and Kakashi still hadn't emerged from hiding, Yoruha had no choice but to act.
He understood that Kakashi had likely wanted to test his real combat ability.
---
Currently at chapter 345 for advance chapters
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