"The world has five great nations and countless smaller ones, most with their own ninja villages..."
Walking along the uneven forest path, Kakashi explained the basics of the geopolitical landscape to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. This wasn't textbook knowledge from the Academy; it was the kind of intel only a squad leader on a real mission would share.
As they approached a small puddle ahead, everyone except the oblivious Naruto and the distracted Tazuna noticed it. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all glanced at the water. Sakura reached out to pull Naruto aside, but Sasuke stopped her with a sharp look. He signaled for her to stick closer to Tazuna for protection while he discreetly reached into his pouch for a kunai.
Kakashi glanced at the trees beside the path again, then slowly closed his book.
As the group passed the puddle, two heads wearing scuba masks suddenly burst from the water. But before they could launch their attack, Sasuke—who had been walking ahead—spun around, cheeks puffed out as he formed a pre-set hand seal.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball roared toward the two ninja in the water.
"We've been spotted!"
"Get out of the way!"
The two cried out, leaping from the puddle with everything they had. Unfortunately, the fireball was too fast; their legs were scorched as they landed. Before they could even register the pain, a whip-like kick sliced through the dissipating flames, striking both men squarely in the head. They crumpled to the ground.
"Hmph. Pathetic." Sasuke stood over them, face full of disdain.
The sun was bright, there was no sign of rain, and yet a puddle had appeared right in their path. Kakashi used this exact trick constantly during their month of combat training. It would have fooled no one—except maybe Naruto, the only idiot who got carried away by excitement.
"It's an enemy attack!" Naruto shouted, finally catching on. Seeing the puddle he'd ignored, his cheerful smile vanished. He turned and ran toward Sasuke, furious.
"These brats are actually reliable..." Tazuna breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally settling.
Up front, Kakashi frowned slightly before regaining his composure. He glanced at Tazuna and Sakura, then started walking toward Sasuke.
Suddenly, Menma's voice echoed in Naruto's mind.
"Naruto, prepare the hand seals for the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. Sakura and Tazuna are in danger."
Naruto stumbled mid-run. "What? Sakura in danger?!"
Sensing the malice radiating from the woods behind Sakura and Tazuna, Menma sighed irritably.
"You idiot, keep a natural expression. Don't give yourself away."
"There are hostiles in the woods behind them. They've been tailing the group since we left the village. They're closing in now, probably planning to attack. Don't alert them and let them retreat again."
The intense, murderous intent toward everyone in Team 7 left no doubt: this was Danzo's Root.
After being scolded, Naruto immediately understood and kept moving toward Sasuke. But his inner monologue continued, frantic.
What do we do now? They'll hurt Sakura and Uncle Tazuna!
"You're worried about Tazuna now?" Menma shot back, exasperated. "There are six of them. Not very strong, probably chunin level. I think Kakashi's already noticed. If you're really worried, let me out."
If Sakura weren't useful later, Menma wouldn't have bothered with her at all.
"No need! I can handle chunin by myself!"
Naruto, who had been hesitating about letting Menma take over, relaxed instantly at the news that it was only a few chunin. He wasn't bragging; he could take on ten Mizukis right now! Why ten? Because he could make a hundred shadow clones. Ten on one was a guaranteed win.
"I hope so," Menma replied dryly, saying nothing more.
Mizuki was a chunin who focused on training recruits. The six elites in the trees were probably far more dangerous than him, but Naruto didn't know that.
Just as Kakashi and Naruto moved away from Sakura and Tazuna, the six masked ninja finally dropped their stealth. They blurred into afterimages, leaping from the woods behind the group. They lunged at Sakura, who was standing in front of the trees, unaware of their presence.
"Finally coming out!"
Kakashi, who had been walking toward Sasuke, spun around and threw a volley of shuriken he'd already prepared.
"Sakura, I'm coming to save you!"
Naruto, ready and waiting, immediately turned and formed the seal for the Shadow Clone Technique. In an instant, nearly a hundred shadow clones materialized, swarming to form a wall in front of Sakura and Tazuna. Sasuke, furthest away, reacted the slowest, hesitating for a split second before rushing over.
"Damn it! We've been discovered!"
"Disregard capture. Eliminate them on the spot!"
The six Root ninja hadn't expected to be spotted so fast. They were forced to retract their hands to block Kakashi's shuriken. Five of them rushed Kakashi and Naruto to buy time, while the sixth charged straight at Sakura and Tazuna.
Their original mission had been to capture Sakura—Naruto's crush—and use her as bait to lure him to Root. Now that plan was shot, their only option was to eliminate Sakura and hopefully trigger Naruto's breakdown, causing the Nine-Tails' power to spiral out of control. Once that happened, Danzo would have another legitimate excuse to cause trouble and turn the tables on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Unfortunately, forced back into their stronghold and unable to operate openly in the Hidden Leaf, Root had made a critical error in intel gathering. They were completely unaware of Team 7's growth over the past month. They still assumed Sakura was just a genin—someone they could kill in one or two moves.
The Root ninja chasing Sakura first threw shuriken to restrict her movement. Then, with terrifying speed, he swung a kunai, aiming to slit her throat.
Sakura, who had sparred with Kakashi multiple times, reacted instantly. She ducked back to dodge, simultaneously delivering a sharp kick to his chin. She also shoved the terrified Tazuna behind her.
"Uncle Tazuna, run!"
Tazuna reacted immediately. Realizing he was nothing but a burden, he turned and sprinted away.
The initial attack had failed, and the five Root ninja stalling Kakashi and Naruto fared no better. They rushed forward but were immediately entangled by the swarm of shadow clones, unable to reach Kakashi.
Seeing the situation hopeless and the mission on the verge of failure, the Root ninja fighting Sakura made a resolute decision. He pulled out a stack of nearly ten Explosive Tags, channeled chakra into them, and charged at Sakura without regard for her counterattack.
"For the sake of the adults! Die together!"
"Sakura!"
Naruto's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. His shadow clones abandoned the five they were fighting and rushed toward her.
At the same time, Menma in his mindscape received a system notification.
[Primary personality emotional collapse. Host can perform personality switch at any time.]
Kakashi, closest to the scene, turned grim. He dropped the pretense of using this as a training exercise. Pulling down his mask to reveal his Sharingan, he quickly formed the hand seals for the Lightning Blade. He intended to use its blinding speed to intercept the Root ninja, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.
The Root ninja, resigned to death, triggered the Explosive Tags at maximum speed.
In the blink of an eye, a massive explosion tore through the sky.
BOOM!
The force of ten hand grenades blasted a massive crater into the earth. Billowing dust and dirt obscured their vision. But as the smoke cleared, the sight that greeted them made Kakashi and Sasuke's eyes widen in disbelief.
Sakura, who should have perished in the blast alongside the Root ninja, was being held securely in Naruto's arms. His body radiated a pale golden chakra.
"Naruto!?"
"No... that's not Naruto. That's Menma."
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