Kakashi rubbed her forehead with a disgruntled groan. Even though she had wrapped her head in a light scarf to block out the sun, it didn’t help much.
Itsuki, walking ahead of her, snickered into the palm of his hand. “You look like you’re on your way to the Land of Wind, sensei.”
Kakashi extended a hand and slapped him on the back of the head. “Making fun of your poor sensei when you could have stopped me at any time.”
She had woken up this morning with a terrible migraine that just wouldn’t go away. Getting out of the comfortable bed at the inn to watch her student run around trying to catch some low-level criminals wasn’t helping her bad mood.
Shū glanced over his shoulder. “Who told you to drink that much in the first place?”
“So mean, Shū-kun.” Kakashi sighed.
The road ahead stretched through a wide stretch of forest, with the occasional ray of sunlight slipping through the leaves overhead. Kaneishi Town was already far behind them.
According to the information they’d gathered, Kuroda and his partner had been robbing travelers along this road for the past several weeks.
The two boys had been given strict instructions before leaving Kaneishi. Their mission was simple. Locate the criminals, observe them, and then capture or kill them according to the circumstances.
Kakashi deliberately stayed several paces behind. After all, this was their mission, not hers.
If they encountered something beyond their ability, she would step in. Until then, she wanted to see how they handled themselves without her constantly telling them what to do.
Shū suddenly raised a fist, and Itsuki stopped immediately.
Oh, look at them. They finally noticed people talking far off the path.
A moment later, Shū pointed toward the trees on their left. Kakashi watched as the two quietly disappeared into the underbrush.
Not bad. They hadn’t said a word. No unnecessary signals, no shouting, and no frantic glances in her direction. Their movements were still a little stiff, but they were learning.
Kakashi followed at a leisurely pace, keeping enough distance to avoid interfering with their observation while staying close enough to see and hear clearly.
Well, that’s them.
She crouched behind a tree and peered through the branches.
“Think he’s got anything good?” one of the men asked.
“Probably not. But that pouch looks heavy.”
“Could have money hidden somewhere.”
“Then search better.”
Two men stood farther ahead by the road. One was tall and thin, with a sword at his waist. The other was shorter and stockier, carrying a-
Huh, she was pretty sure that was a dead body.
She glanced toward the bushes where Shū and Itsuki had disappeared. The two boys were already moving.
Shū crept along the left side while Itsuki circled from the right. They were trying to flank the pair rather than charging in headfirst.
Kakashi’s mouth twitched beneath her mask. She was really proud of how well they were handling this.
His companion looked at him. “What?”
“Did you hear that?”
Shū and Itsuki froze. Kakashi could see they were panicking a little, but neither made any sudden, reckless moves.
The stockier man frowned. “Probably a bird.”
When the two seemed to relax, Shū sprang from the bushes.
Itsuki attacked from the opposite side, throwing two kunai. The first struck the ground directly in front of the man’s foot. The second embedded itself in a tree beside his head.
The man stumbled backward. “Shinobi?!”
Kakashi bit her lip to keep from cringing at the terrible aim.
Shū rushed forward, kunai flashing in his hand as the taller criminal drew his sword. Steel clashed, and Shū’s first strike was blocked. He twisted his wrist and kicked toward the man’s knee.
The move unbalanced the man long enough for Shū to drive the blade into the man’s throat.
Blood sprayed across the dirt.
The man’s hands flew to his neck as he staggered backward, eyes wide with disbelief. He collapsed a moment later.
The stockier man stared at his fallen companion for a split second before his expression twisted with rage. “You little brat!”
He dropped the body he had been dragging and lunged at Itsuki, drawing a short blade from his belt.
Itsuki barely dodged the first swing. The blade grazed his sleeve, and he stumbled backward, his heart hammering against his ribs.
The man swung again.
Itsuki ducked, feeling the blade whistle over his head. He retaliated with a slash aimed at the man’s wrist, forcing him to pull his arm back.
Itsuki could hear Kakashi-sensei’s voice in his head.
She told him he didn’t always need to strike his opponent directly. Take away their weapon, their footing, or their options. Make them move where you want them to.
Itsuki’s eyes flicked toward the uneven ground behind his opponent, an idea forming. He threw a kunai.
The man twisted aside, avoiding it with an ugly laugh. “Missed me, brat!”
The kunai struck a tree behind him. Itsuki didn’t look at it because he was already moving, darting to the left, forcing the man to turn after him.
When the bandit stepped forward to pursue, his heel caught on a thick exposed root and he stumbled.
That was enough for Itsuki to strike, lunging to slash at the hand holding the blade. The man cried out, and his weapon slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
Itsuki pivoted, slipped past the man’s clumsy attempt to grab him, and drove his kunai upward beneath the man’s ribs. The criminal’s eyes widened. A strangled sound escaped his throat as Itsuki pushed the blade in deeper, then twisted it free.
Itsuki stepped back as the man crashed onto the dirt, his weapon lying uselessly a short distance away.
Silence settled over the road.
Kakashi emerged from behind the tree, her hands tucked into her pockets. Her head still throbbed, and the smell of blood certainly wasn’t helping, but she kept her attention on her students.
“Check your surroundings first,” Kakashi instructed calmly. “There could be another one.”
The two hurried to do exactly that, both a little annoyed they hadn’t thought of it first. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
After a moment, Kakashi nodded. “Good. Now check whether either of them is still alive. If they are, bind them. If not, search their belongings for anything you might like to take.”
Shū huffed under his breath. Wasn’t that just her telling them to rob these people?
Shū crouched beside the first bandit, carefully wiping his kunai on the man’s clothes before returning it to its sheath. Itsuki, meanwhile, stood over his own opponent.
“...Sensei?” Itsuki suddenly called out to her.
Kakashi turned toward him. “Hmm?”
“What’s this?” He had moved to crouch beside the dead guy the bandits had been carrying.
He was now sprawled on his side where the stockier bandit had dropped him. The man’s outer robe had been pulled open, and a small leather pouch lay open near his outstretched hand.
Itsuki had apparently noticed something inside the pouch. He carefully pulled it free to show Kakashi.
A small glass container, roughly the size of his palm, caught the sunlight filtering through the trees.
Kakashi’s gaze settled on it. Then she went completely still, losing all color in her face.
Inside the container floated two human eyes in a cloudy liquid.
Shū abandoned his search and came over. “What is it?”
Itsuki held the container up, his face twisting in disgust. “Someone’s eyes.”
“Put that down!” Kakashi snapped.
Both boys flinched. But Itsuki didn’t let go of the container as he turned to look at his Sensei. He had never heard her use that tone of voice before.
When he didn’t move to comply, Kakashi surprised him by appearing right in front of him and snatching the container from his hands.
She didn’t need to examine the container to know exactly what those eyes were. The distinctive patterns surrounding the pupils were telling enough.
Those were the Sharingan.
That man had been a Dōjutsu thief.
“Well, well.” A man’s voice came from behind them. “Looks like I found our little Hagoromo thief.”
Shū and Itsuki turned at the sound, their hands instinctively moving toward their weapons.
But Kakashi was frozen in place. She knew that voice. Kakashi would recognize it anywhere. That was the voice of a man who had haunted her nightmares for years.
Kakashi slowly turned to look over her shoulder.
Standing in the shade of a tree was a man, with long black hair framing a face she would have recognized even without the red armor or the red Sharingan to match.
Uchiha Madara.
His dark eyes were fixed on the item Kakashi still clutched in her hand. It didn’t take a genius to guess that he was under the impression that Kakashi was the one who stole the eyes.
God. She really should have just canceled this entire thing and stuck with Hashirama-sama.