The stage had already been set.
All the actors were in place.
Everything at the beginning had unfolded exactly according to what should have been the script.
As the atmosphere brewed to its very peak, just on the verge of exploding—
One of the main characters actually chose to exit the stage?
This created an extremely jarring contrast.
It was not until everyone fully confirmed that Momochi Zabuza had truly led the Demon Brothers to retreat, rather than launching a deceptive mist-based ambush, that the three inexperienced genin of Team Eight finally looked at one another in disbelief.
This was completely different from what Inuzuka Kiba, Hyūga Hinata, and Aburame Shino had expected.
At the beginning, that gloomy, bandage-wrapped man—no, it should be said, the terrifying Demon of the Mist—had clearly given off the impression that he would slaughter his way through the battlefield and only leave after completing the mission. But now, the development of events had completely deviated from that expectation.
He had simply chosen to retreat.
"It seems that this jōnin named Kakashi must be extremely powerful. Otherwise, that Mist ninja named Zabuza would never have chosen to withdraw."
Hinata's clear, bright eyes flickered slightly as she looked toward Hatake Kakashi, who stood beside her instructor. This thought naturally surfaced in her heart. After all, during the previous battle, Zabuza had completely suppressed Kurenai-sensei. To put it bluntly, if both sides had possessed equal intelligence, Kurenai would never have been able to hold out until Kakashi arrived, and she would have been killed long before that.
Even though they were both jōnin, the gap between them was enormous.
If Kakashi's strength were not truly formidable, that ferocious Kirigakure missing-nin would never have retreated so decisively.
"Sharingan…"
Hinata glanced once more at Kakashi, her curiosity slightly piqued, and wondered whether she should return later and look into his background. After all, the Sharingan carried extraordinary meaning.
Standing at the front, Kakashi naturally had no idea about the careful thoughts of the Hyūga clan's eldest daughter behind him. Although retreating was a perfectly reasonable decision for Zabuza, considering his identity as a missing-nin of Kirigakure, Kakashi did not relax his guard at all the moment he saw Zabuza withdraw.
Even after the enemy retreated, Kakashi remained fully alert, his nerves taut.
Only after repeatedly confirming that Zabuza had truly left the area and was no longer nearby did Kakashi finally relax his tightly drawn nerves. He raised his hand and gently pulled his forehead protector back down, once again covering his left eye.
When facing such a terrifying ninja as Momochi Zabuza—
No amount of caution was excessive.
After all, this was a ruthless man who had dared to assassinate the Mizukage.
Kakashi did not mind dealing with such an opponent using the most extreme level of vigilance.
At the same time, Kurenai was obviously thinking along similar lines.
As a jōnin of Konohagakure, Kurenai was also familiar with Zabuza's reputation and intelligence records. After finally confirming that Zabuza had completely withdrawn, she let out a long breath of relief. Being able to end things this way was, in her eyes, an incredibly fortunate outcome.
As for the idea of pursuing or killing Zabuza—
She never seriously considered it.
Even if she did not value her own safety, she still had to consider the lives of the members of Team Eight. Losing even one of them in such a battle would be an unbearable loss. Moreover, killing Zabuza would bring no tangible benefit whatsoever.
Was she supposed to expect gratitude from Kirigakure?
That was nothing more than a joke.
Even if the Executioner's Blade could be seized as a trophy, judging from the current political stance of Konoha under the Third Hokage's renewed leadership, returning the blade to Kirigakure to avoid escalating tensions—or even the risk of another great ninja war—would likely be the preferred course of action.
From every possible perspective, retreating and avoiding a deadly confrontation with a high probability of casualties was the best possible outcome.
"Fortunately, Kakashi-san, you were nearby, and your support arrived in time. Otherwise… this time, our Team Eight would have…"
After fully confirming that Zabuza's presence had completely vanished, Kurenai finally withdrew from her combat stance. She shook her head slightly, looked at Kakashi with a bitter smile, and spoke softly. This mission had truly been a brush with death for Team Eight.
To be honest, Kurenai had never expected that a mere C-rank mission would attract such a terrifying enemy as Momochi Zabuza.
With her jōnin-level strength—even as a newly promoted jōnin—she should have been more than capable of leading Team Eight through ordinary C-rank missions, and even standard B-rank missions would not have posed such danger.
Yet this seemingly simple "C-rank mission" had transformed into something approaching an A-rank mission, drawing in enemies of this caliber.
This was absolutely not a task that Team Eight, as a newly formed genin team, should have been exposed to.
If Kakashi had not arrived in time—
Let alone the employer—
Every single member of Team Eight, including Kurenai herself, would likely have died here.
And there was no possibility that Zabuza would have spared them, especially considering that he had already laid eyes on Hyūga Hinata.
"No, it's nothing. The real problem lies with this mission itself."
In response to Kurenai's gratitude, Kakashi waved his hand casually and replied in a calm tone.
"This is clearly not a mission level that Team Eight should have accepted, Kurenai. At the very least, this should be evaluated as an A-rank mission. A newly formed genin team like yours shouldn't be taking something like this, and the mission office shouldn't have assigned it to you in the first place. Don't you think so?"
Kakashi looked at Kurenai with a serious expression, his words filled with doubt.
As he spoke—
The bitter smile on Kurenai's face deepened.
At the same time, the previously carefree-looking middle-aged man, Dazna, who had been protected by Hinata and the others, visibly stiffened. His pupils contracted, and a clear trace of unease flashed across his face.
"Kakashi-san, you're right. Not to mention an A-rank mission—our team isn't even qualified to take on B-rank missions yet. When we accepted this job, it was classified as a C-rank mission."
Kurenai sighed, turned her gaze toward Dazna—whose eyes were clearly darting about—and spoke with both helplessness and suppressed irritation.
"What? A C-rank mission?"
Kurenai's answer caused Kakashi's brows to furrow sharply, his expression instantly turning subtle. He shifted his gaze at the same time, fixing it directly on Dazna.
Kurenai said nothing further.
But that single sentence was enough.
Kakashi immediately understood the underlying issue.
Since the establishment of the ninja villages, situations like this had occurred more than once.
In fact, they were far from rare.
Of course, it was possible that some employers genuinely failed to understand the true danger of their situation and did not intentionally misrepresent the mission.
However
Kakashi only needed to look at Dazna's current expression.
And he immediately understood.
This was a clear case of an employer deliberately concealing and misreporting the true difficulty of the mission.
The Duel doesn't end here… it only gets more intense.
30+ chapters ahead are already waiting.
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