"Take on Orochimaru?!" Sasuke blurted out. "Is that Uchiha guy... really that strong?!"
As the last surviving Uchiha besides Itachi, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity about meeting this other Uchiha.
Young Kakashi pondered Sasuke's question for a moment. "He's formidable when he's serious."
He wouldn't normally say such things in front of Obito, lest he get cocky.
But like Sasuke, when Obito and Naruto weren't around, they weren't stingy with their recognition and praise for those two.
"When he's serious?"
"Think about Naruto Uzumaki."
"What?"
"Obito is a peculiar Uchiha whose personality resembles Naruto Uzumaki's, but his strength..." Young Kakashi's voice remained even. "At the very least, his eyes were praised by the legendary ninja Madara Uchiha. Like Naruto, he possesses immense potential."
"Praised by Madara Uchiha?! Strong potential like Naruto?"
The more Sasuke heard, the more confusing it became. Now, he was completely lost.
They encountered an ambush by Sound and Suna ninja, and Young Kakashi said, "You go first. Your mission is to stop the Suna ninja from being deceived further and reduce Konoha's enemies."
Sasuke scanned at least seven or eight adult male ninjas standing in front of them. He had no idea about the strength of this boy named Kakashi, who claimed to have time-traveled from the past.
"Will you be okay alone?"
"No problem." Young Kakashi crouched low, drawing his White Fang ninja blade, ready for battle. "Hurry up and go! Stop them from finding Naruto Uzumaki and preventing him from fighting Gaara!"
Sasuke didn't understand why they insisted on sending Naruto Uzumaki to stop Gaara, but he only said, "Be careful yourself." Turning away, he knew the one who must stop Gaara was Sasuke Uchiha, himself!
...
Meanwhile, at the Chūnin Exams spectator stands,
Sakura Haruno had been assigned by Kakashi Hatake to dispel the genjutsu affecting the audience, prioritizing the Konoha ninjas like Naruto Uzumaki.
"Naruto, wake up, Naruto."
The Naruto Young Kakashi was looking for was currently sleeping soundly in the Chūnin Exams spectator stands. After being roused, he rubbed his eyes cutely. "What is it, Sakura?"
"Watch out!" Sakura Haruno pressed down on Naruto Uzumaki's head, forcing him to duck low.
Clang--!
A kunai struck the wall behind them, landing at Shikamaru Nara's feet.
"A kunai?!" Half-asleep, Naruto Uzumaki assumed it had accidentally flown over from the tournament arena.
Sakura Haruno: "I'll explain later. Just come with me now."
She approached Shikamaru Nara, intending to dispel his genjutsu as well, but unexpectedly...
Pakkun took a bite, and Shikamaru's disguise operation ended in failure.
"Ow!!! Where did that dog come from?!!"
"Shikamaru! If you're not under an illusion, why are you pretending to be unconscious?!!"
"I don't want to get dragged into this mess." Shikamaru pinched Pakkun's face, preparing to use Shadow Bind.
But their loud voices had already alerted three Jōnin from Otogakure.
"Take out those brats!" one of the Sound ninjas shouted.
Oh no! They've spotted us!!
The Konoha Genin—Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Shikamaru Nara—were startled, quickly falling into a defensive stance.
But before they could react, the three Sound ninjas each let out a scream and collapsed, knocked down from behind.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Rin Nohara asked gently, addressing the three and the dog. She was a girl they'd never seen before in Konoha!
"Who are you?"
"Rin. For now, you can consider me your senpai."
"Senpai?!" Shikamaru clearly didn't believe it. "You'll have to show us something more credible to prove it, right?"
The most credible proof was right beneath their feet. The moment Pakkun saw Rin Nohara, he rubbed his doggy eyes vigorously.
"Did I fall for a genjutsu too?"
Rin struck down another enemy charging at them, then smiled at Pakkun. "Your nose shouldn't be affected by Genjutsu, right? Do you still remember my scent, Pakkun?"
She knew this Pakkun hadn't smelled her scent in over ten years.
Pakkun sniffed sharply. "It really is Rin's scent!!"
Shikamaru: "Where did this dog come from?"
Sakura: "Pakkun is Kakashi-sensei's ninken. See the Konoha forehead protector on his head?"
"Rin!" Pakkun rushed forward. "Is it really you? But fourteen years ago, you... didn't you... sacrifice yourself?"
Fourteen years ago...
Looking at the girl before him, who appeared to be no older than thirteen. Sacrificed.
"Aaaah!!! Ghost!!" Naruto Uzumaki curled into a tight ball, his back to the world, clutching his head in terror and too frightened to look up.
"Idiot Naruto, ghosts don't have a scent," Sakura Haruno said, exasperated.
Shikamaru: "And she has a shadow."
Just then, a Sound ninja hidden in the stands launched a surprise attack at Naruto!
At the same time, another Sound ninja tried to ambush Rin from behind!
"Raikiri--!!!"
"Haa! Leaf Whirlwind!"
Two figures shot past them in a blur! Their speed was so overwhelming that Sakura and Shikamaru Nara could only catch fleeting afterimages!
"Kakashi-sensei! Guy-sensei!"
Kakashi's Raikiri pierced the enemy, pinning him to the wall. But Kakashi himself seemed off—his eyes burned with murderous intent, yet there was a hint of fear in them.
He panted heavily from the force of the attack. His transplanted Sharingan was visible now, and a few strands of hair had fallen across his forehead, adding a chilling fierceness to his appearance.
Meanwhile, Might Guy charged in from the distance, slamming the Sound ninja who had tried to attack Naruto into the wall behind the spectator stands.
Without a second to waste on his own opponent, Guy exerted a burst of strength, sending both the enemy and the wall crashing outward.
Sakura, Shikamaru, and Naruto were momentarily stunned, staring at the gaping hole in the wall and then at Kakashi-sensei, who had his target impaled on the wall, his hand piercing the enemy's body.
The sheer power of their two teachers left them in awe.
"Rin... is it really you?"
Rin nodded. "I can't explain everything clearly right now. Kakashi, that boy named Gaara is just like Naruto. Only Naruto can defeat him. I just saw Sasuke go after him. Even though Kakashi from our time is following him, it's still dangerous."
Kakashi Hatake nodded. "You're from the past, right? My younger self mentioned it earlier." He quickly gave his orders. "Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru—follow Pakkun and find Sasuke, quickly."
"Sasuke went after Gaara?!" Naruto was completely confused. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei! You've been speaking in riddles since earlier. What do you mean I'm like Gaara? What do you mean only I can defeat him?"
Without answering his questions immediately, Kakashi glanced toward the direction of the Four Violet Flames Formation and asked Rin, "Are Obito and Minato-sensei there too?"
"Yes, they're both here," Rin replied. "They went to assist the Hokage-sama."
Kakashi Hatake nodded. "Naruto, you two should go and return as quickly as possible. You might just get to see an unexpected surprise."
A surprise?
"Alright, hurry up! After defeating Gaara, come back quickly."
No way...
Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru stared in disbelief at Kakashi. Sending Naruto to defeat Gaara? Was this seriously not a joke?!
Shikamaru Nara even wondered if this was like the shogi strategy of pitting the weakest against the strongest.
In truth, not only were they shocked, but Naruto himself was pretty shocked too.
"Kakashi-sensei, you believe I can defeat Gaara?"
"Because that person believes in you, you will surely succeed."
"That person?" Naruto tilted his head. "Which person is that?"
"Go now. If you return early, you might get to see Minato-sensei." Kakashi Hatake said. "Regardless, you, Sasuke, and the others must return safely."
Minato...
Sakura and Shikamaru Nara felt that name was... far too familiar...
"Could it be?!!"
Sakura covered her mouth in shock. She glanced at Shikamaru, seeing from his expression that he'd guessed the same thing.
Upon hearing Sasuke's name, Naruto immediately worried whether he could handle Gaara alone.
Before Sakura and Shikamaru could ask if the "Minato-sensei" mentioned by Kakashi was the legendary "Minato-sama" they imagined, Naruto had already dashed through the wall shattered by Might Guy to find Sasuke and Gaara.
"Naruto!"
"That idiot sure runs fast."
"When it comes to Sasuke-kun, he always acts so impulsively."
Watching Naruto dash away while Sakura and Shikamaru grumbled as they gave chase, Kakashi told Pakkun, "Take care of them."
Pakkun glanced toward the Four Violet Flames Formation, sniffed the air, and replied,
"They're a bit far, but it's definitely those two."
"Got it."
After a worried glance at Kakashi, Pakkun headed toward Naruto and the others.
Meanwhile, in the forest outside Konoha—
Nine Sound ninjas received their orders, each holding a special intelligence card—the same type Kabuto Yakushi had used during the first Chūnin Exams.
The card displayed their target for this mission.
Prominently displayed was a half-body portrait of Naruto Uzumaki, complete with his personal details and intelligence.
One crucial piece of information, however, remained unwritten: the fact that during the second Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru had discovered Naruto was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
"That brat?"
They spotted their targets in the forest.
"Let's go!"
Swish, swish, swish. The Sound ninja vanished from their previous position and appeared...before the four members of Team Kakashi who had arrived from another world.
….
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and their sensei, the Adult Kakashi, were on their way to the Konoha Chūnin Exams arena when they were intercepted by nine Sound ninja.
"The blond brat in the middle—come with me," one of the Sound ninja commanded. "The rest—kill them."
It had been a long time since Kakashi had seen anyone act so recklessly in front of him—especially when they were just a group of ordinary, weak ninjas.
"Sound ninja?!"
Naruto was confused. They had just arrived in this world and hadn't done anything yet—why were they being targeted?
Sasuke, wanting to know what Naruto was thinking, replied, "Idiot, they're after you—the you from this world."
Kakashi quickly pieced together the scattered bits of information in his mind:
"This must be around the time of the Chūnin Exams. Considering the mission scrolls and other factors, it's likely that Orochimaru has already killed the Fourth Kazekage and successfully tricked the Sand ninja into joining forces with the Sound ninja to attack Konoha."
"The two most urgent things right now: one is stopping this world's Sasuke from getting cursed by Orochimaru, and the other is preventing the death of the Third Hokage."
He glanced at Naruto. "There might be a third thing—it's possible that you, or this world's version of you, might end up facing off against Gaara again."
"Me... or this world's me?!"
Naruto swallowed hard, wondering if he could defeat Gaara and the One-Tail without the S-rank mission rewards or Kurama's chakra mode.
Kakashi added, "These are all Sound ninja Chūnin. They're still far from Jōnin level. I won't intervene. You two can handle this, right?"
"Of course," Sakura said, putting on her gloves. "No problem." She glared at the Sound ninja, her youthful, beautiful face full of confidence.
Naruto immediately made the Shadow Clone hand seal. "Don't stop me from saving this world's Sasuke, Gaara, and the Hokage! Let's finish this quickly!"
Sasuke said, "I don't think I need to do anything either."
The nine Sound ninjas felt insulted. How dare these lowly Genin—whose numbers were barely half of theirs—speak so arrogantly?!
"How dare you look down on us?! You little brats!!"
"Think we're trash?!" One of the Sound ninja charged at Sakura.
Without hesitation, Sakura punched him!
Thud! Her fist connected squarely with his face. In an instant, "Whoosh—" the ninja was sent flying back, following the same path he had come from.
The other Sound ninja watched in shock as the first attacker was knocked back by the sheer force of Sakura's punch. He even grazed past them before flying another four or five meters, finally crashing into a tree and coming to a stop.
Knocked out with a single punch.
Trash?
Hmm... not quite.
Just as Naruto had predicted, taking down these Sound ninja didn't even take three minutes.
But in those three minutes of battle, Temari and Kankurō, who had been evacuating Gaara from this world, arrived at their location! They saw the last enemy being punched into the ground by a girl with cherry-blossom-pink hair.
Temari: "What... kind of monstrous strength is this?!"
"Hey! Aren't those the pink-haired and blonde-haired kids from Sasuke Uchiha's class? And who's that person following us?!" Kankurō asked suspiciously.