"Get rid of that old man!"
One of the Demon Brothers yelled, swinging his arm violently. The jagged chain mechanism detached from their hands as the two killers rushed toward Tazuna, determined to complete their mission.
"Your opponent is me!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth and quickly stepped in front of them. This was his first real battle, and even without clashing yet, he could sense their strength exceeded his own.
"And me!"
Sakura frowned, gripping a kunai tightly. She twirled it in her fingers, trying to steady her nerves, but her hands betrayed her—trembling faintly.
"Tch, annoying brats!"
One of the Demon Brothers swung his half-severed chain, aiming straight for Sasuke's face.
Sasuke, knowing the power behind the weapon, didn't dare take it head-on. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the jagged steel, and countered with a swift whip kick toward the enemy's legs.
The Demon Brother leaped into the air to avoid the attack, then pulled several kunai from his pouch and hurled them at Sasuke mid-air.
Clang! Clang!
Sasuke dodged left and right, deflecting some kunai with his own. The ground around him soon became littered with shuriken and knives, but something felt off.
"Hmph!"
The ninja landed with a smirk. Sasuke's sharp gaze flickered downward—among the kunai embedded in the dirt, several had yellow slips of paper attached to them.
Boom! Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the battlefield, sending a cloud of dust and flames surging into the air. When the smoke cleared, all that remained of Sasuke was a shattered wooden log.
"Oh, come on! Are you kidding me?! A substitution jutsu?!" the ninja shouted, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. He looked around frantically, completely blindsided by Sasuke's speed.
Before he could scan for Sasuke, the temperature around him suddenly spiked. His instincts screamed at him to turn around, but it was too late.
A massive fireball roared toward him, engulfing his body in searing flames.
"AHHH!"
Screams filled the air as the fire licked at his skin. The intense heat choked the breath from his lungs, and within seconds, he collapsed to the ground—charred and barely clinging to life.
Meanwhile, Sakura was faring much worse.
Unlike Sasuke, she lacked both his talent and rigorous training. She dodged the relentless chain attacks clumsily, barely managing to avoid lethal strikes. Each time, it felt like she was one step away from death.
Still, with Kakashi and Naruto nearby, the fight never spiraled completely out of control.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his partner defeated, the second Demon Brother's attacks grew even fiercer. He found an opening and whipped his chain, catching Sakura's arm. The jagged edges cut deep into her skin, drawing fresh blood as she cried out in pain.
"Die, brat!"
Just as he was about to yank the chain and sever her limb, a kunai whizzed through the air—
Pfft!
The blade embedded itself into the ninja's wrist. He instinctively released the chain, saving Sakura from losing an arm.
"Tch... you little—!"
The ninja's enraged eyes snapped toward the direction the kunai came from—only to meet Naruto's grinning face.
"Man, you guys sure fall for the simplest tricks," Naruto chuckled, shaking his head. "You should work on that."
The Demon Brother's face twisted in fury, but he quickly realized something. He was outmatched. His companion was already down, and now he was injured.
"In that case… let's all die together!"
With a crazed roar, he pulled out two black spheres from his cloak and prepared to slam them into the ground.
Before he could, Sasuke's kunai found its mark, piercing through the back of his heart.
Pfft.
The ninja froze. His grip loosened, and he crumpled to the ground, the deadly spheres still clutched in his hands.
"Sasuke, Sakura, you both did well," Kakashi said as he stepped forward, his tone approving.
"Sensei... you could've handled that easily," Sakura muttered, her voice trembling slightly. Blood dripped from her wounded arm, her body aching from exhaustion. "Why did you make us fight?"
Kakashi crouched and began bandaging her wound, his voice calm but firm. "Because you're ninjas now, Sakura. This is the reality of our world. Injuries are nothing unusual. And if you're not careful, death is always a possibility."
His usually carefree expression was absent, replaced by something far more serious.
Sakura clenched her fists. Though she was frustrated, she understood.
Meanwhile, Naruto picked up the black spheres curiously, rolling them in his palms. "What are these things?"
"Likely some kind of explosive—similar to a paper bomb but condensed into a sphere," Sasuke remarked, stepping closer.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Explosive, huh? Let's see!"
Without hesitation, he tossed one toward a distant tree and said, "Art is an explosion!"
BOOM!
A mini mushroom cloud erupted, and a five-meter radius of trees was instantly obliterated. Smoke billowed up into the sky, leaving behind only splintered remains.
Naruto blinked at the destruction, then quickly tucked the other sphere into his pouch. "Yeah, I'm keeping this. Might come in handy."
Tazuna, who had been watching in stunned silence, let out a nervous chuckle and stepped forward. "Well, well, you brats are stronger than I thought. Looks like I misjudged you."
At that moment, Kakashi, having finished treating Sakura, turned his sharp gaze toward Tazuna. His voice was calm but carried a distinct edge.
"Mr. Tazuna, before we continue, I think it's time we confirm one thing who exactly were these assassins targeting?"
(End of this chapter)