“I kill people.
I never need a reason!”
“He is the only exception!”
“Give me a reason, and I won’t hold back!”
“Just like right now!”
CLANG!
The long sword left its scabbard, a flash of steel cutting through the air!
CLANG!
Back in the scabbard.
“I don’t like having too many eyes on me.”
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Three figures dropped from the trees behind Naruto and the others and hit the ground hard.
Blood ran down the tree trunks, drip by drip, falling onto their corpses.
“Ah…”
Sakura went pale and couldn’t hold back a scream.
“He — he killed them!”
Naruto and Sasuke had both gone white, their legs still shaking.
That sword had flown right over both their heads.
“Quiet!”
“Too noisy!”
Tiange was still facing Kakashi, yet all three of them felt it, a pair of eyes loaded with killing intent had locked onto them.
Sakura snapped to attention.
Forcing the fear back down, she thought: compared to the corpses over there, the person standing right in front of her was far more terrifying.
Naruto slapped a hand over his own mouth.
He was terrified this disobedient mouth of his would let something else slip.
Never in his life had Naruto been so scared of his own mouth moving faster than his brain.
Cold sweat was pouring down Kakashi’s forehead.
What kind of training even produced a killing method that ghostly and untraceable?
He couldn’t wrap his head around what kind of person this was.
One moment talking to you perfectly calmly, and in the next breath three people were dead.
Not a single ripple in his tone.
What kind of ice-cold heart did it take to pull that off?
Calm?
Well, if his voice weren’t so freezing cold, you’d probably call it pretty calm.
Kakashi felt he was actually quite approachable himself, like a little lamb.
Anyone who talked to him would find him easygoing enough.
“Did you remember what I said?”
“Relay it to him.
Word for word.
Don’t leave anything out.”
“If you’re unwilling, I can go say it myself.”
“I remember!”
“I will relay every single word.
Not one thing left out!”
Good grief.
There’s no way I’m letting you go in person.
Please, just rest easy!
Anything that needs passing along, leave it to me.
Running errands is what I do best.
Tiange gave a small nod, confirming Kakashi would get the message through.
He knew those three hadn’t been there to spy on him.
But so what?
He didn’t like it.
So he cut them down.
“Heh…”
“Tell me — what exactly is so special about this team?”
“That it needs two elite jonin assigned to lead it?”
Tiange turned his head and looked at Naruto and the other two.
Kakashi caught the mockery in those words perfectly clearly.
But he didn’t dare pick up that thread.
He knew exactly what made this team special.
He was certain Tiange knew too.
He just couldn’t figure out why Tiange was asking.
“I don’t know either!”
“I only follow orders!”
“Boring.”
“In that case — assistant!”
“Fight them.
Don’t hold back.”
“If you hold back, I’ll fight you instead.”
“Don’t worry.”
“With me here, they won’t die.”
“I think you should know, my teacher is Tsunade.”
Those words sent a shiver straight through Kakashi’s whole body.
He looked silently at the three kids.
Sorry about this.
I don’t want to get hurt, so I’m going to have to put you through a proper education.
This is for your own good.
Don’t blame me.
Tiange didn’t care what Kakashi was thinking.
An assistant had to act like one.
Tiange looked at the three young ones standing before him.
The voice was still cold, but it no longer carried the killing intent from moments ago.
“Formal introduction.
My name is Tiange Hyūga.”
“I am your leading jonin.”
“I don’t need to know what you want, or what your dreams are.”
“I don’t even want to know your names, even though I already do.”
“What you need to do right now is fight him.”
“Everything you’ve got.
I need to understand your abilities, the more detail the better.”
“If you want to grow stronger, go into that fight with the resolve to kill him.”
“If you don’t, I can swap you out for different students at any time.”
“I can lead the weak.
But the weak cannot lack the will to grow stronger.”
“Ten minutes to prepare.
When ten minutes are up, the fight begins.”
Tiange finished speaking, didn’t wait for a reaction, and walked over to a nearby tree.
Eyes closed, leaning against it.
Tiange Hyūga.
It’s him.
The moment Tiange said the name, Sasuke’s pupils shrank and his fists clenched tight.
Earlier in the classroom, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma had greeted Tiange by name.
Sasuke had felt something familiar about it, he just couldn’t place it in the moment.
Now, hearing the full name, and stealing another look at those eyes,
Sasuke was certain.
It was that person.
The person who had only ever lived inside his ears.
The one who, from the very beginning of their enrollment, had always been above his brother, Itachi Uchiha, the man who massacred the entire clan.
No.
“Above” wasn’t the right word.
The right word was: one-shotted.
Always one-shotted.
No matter how strong that man became, this person could put him down in a single move.
That man had told him so himself, face to face.
Back then, Sasuke hadn’t believed a word of it.
He hadn’t believed a person like that could exist in this world.
But then he saw how desperately, relentlessly that man trained.
It was real.
And there were the fragments, times Sasuke had overheard his father talking.
The name Tiange Hyūga came up often.
Especially the year Sasuke turned three.
Something major had happened.
During that stretch of time, it wasn’t just his father, Sasuke kept hearing that name from other clan members too.
It was all coming back to him now.
Every last piece of it.
He felt a hot surge of agitation rise in his chest.
Grow stronger.
He had to grow stronger.
The will to grow stronger had never left him.
No matter what price had to be paid.
Weak?
Yes.
In front of this person, even that man was probably just a weakling.
Right now, Sasuke himself might not even qualify to be called one.
In the past, if anyone had dared call Sasuke weak, he would have exploded on the spot.
But now, after recalling everything about Tiange’s history, he didn’t have a shred of temper left.
“Time’s up.
Begin!”
Tiange’s eyes opened beneath the tree.
Looking at all four of them, the call went out.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
The instant Tiange called start, Sasuke sent a torrent of flame blasting straight at Kakashi.
BANG!
BANG!
Two sounds.
The first was Kakashi using the Body Replacement Technique.
The second was Sasuke hitting the ground after being kicked clean away.
“Pfft, ”
Sasuke coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He tried to get up.
No matter how hard he pushed, his body refused.
“Sasuke!”
Sakura was sick with worry, but she didn’t dare cry, and didn’t dare shout.
That person found noise irritating.
“Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!”
“Go!”
Hundreds of Narutos burst into existence and swarmed Kakashi from every direction.
Same as always.
Kakashi shifted into Naruto’s appearance and let the army of clones tear into each other.
Then he appeared behind the real one, kicked him flying, and Naruto went down just like Sasuke, flat on the ground with no way up.
Sakura was even simpler.
Kakashi walked straight toward her.
She didn’t even find the courage to fight.
One kick, and she was sent sprawling next to Naruto and Sasuke.
“You’re nowhere near his level.”
➤ Next: Provocation!
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