"What do you want?" Kakashi's eyes immediately turned sharp and vigilant upon seeing Daniel Davis, Zabuza, and Haku appear ahead of them. With a swift motion of his left hand, he shielded Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura behind him.
This mission to the Land of Waves had been unexpected, so after its completion, Kakashi chose not to take the main road back to the Leaf Village. Instead, they were traveling through the forest to save time and also to give Team 7 a chance to practice their wilderness survival skills.
For a ninja, surviving in the wild is crucial, whether on missions or during war. Although the ninja academy provides some training in this area, it's more like camping compared to real survival skills. True survival requires scouting for safe locations, foraging for food, setting up traps, and guarding against insects, poisonous snakes, and other dangers.
Not everyone can live in the wild as comfortably as Yamato, who could construct a small wooden house whenever needed.
"Relax, I don't mean any harm," Daniel said with a smile.
Despite his words, Kakashi's guard remained unwavering. It wasn't surprising—besides Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were extremely important individuals. One was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the other was the last remaining heir of the Uchiha clan. If they had been ninja from another village encountering Daniel, Zabuza, and Haku, they likely would have already considered abandoning Sakura and focusing on escaping with Naruto and Sasuke.
The "Will of Fire" of the Leaf Village—though Daniel viewed it as nonsense—could also be seen as "Leaf Village Supremacy." Itachi's massacre of the Uchiha clan was fueled by this belief, and Naruto had been one of its greatest victims.
Of course, despite Daniel's disdain, there was no denying the power of the Will of Fire. The Leaf's prominent ninjas like Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai wouldn't abandon their comrades.
"What have you decided?" Daniel ignored Kakashi's wariness and instead focused his gaze on Sasuke, who stood behind him.
As soon as Daniel spoke, Sasuke stepped forward, pushing Kakashi's arm aside. His steps were slow but filled with determination as he walked toward Daniel.
"Sasuke, what are you doing?" Kakashi reached out to grab Sasuke, but his expression shifted, and his arm pulled back instantly as Zabuza appeared before him.
"Sasuke, come back!" Kakashi called urgently after Sasuke, who continued to walk toward Daniel without hesitation.
"Kakashi-sensei, this will be the last time I call you that," Sasuke said after reaching Daniel's side. He turned to face Kakashi, removed his Leaf forehead protector with his left hand, and used a kunai in his right to carve a line through the Leaf symbol.
"Sasuke, do you even know what you're doing?" Kakashi's expression darkened as he saw Sasuke's actions. Behind him, Sakura stood frozen in disbelief, her mouth hanging open, while Naruto, looking confused, struggled to grasp the situation.
A ninja's forehead protector is a symbol of their allegiance and pride, much like a pirate flag in the world of One Piece. If damaged in battle, it doesn't matter much, but deliberately defacing it with a line means only one thing: betrayal.
Naruto, still the class clown and not the brightest, didn't fully understand the significance of Sasuke's actions. However, Kakashi and Sakura knew very well what it meant. For such betrayal, Kakashi had the right to kill Sasuke on the spot.
"I know exactly what I'm doing. Kakashi-sensei—no, Kakashi," Sasuke coldly replied, placing the defaced forehead protector back on his head, now marking himself as a rogue ninja.
"Sasuke, why are you betraying the Leaf?" Sakura suddenly shouted, her voice filled with confusion and desperation.
"What? Sasuke betrayed the Leaf?" Naruto finally caught on after Sakura's outburst. He immediately turned to Daniel and yelled, "What did you do to Sasuke?"
Naruto's shout snapped Kakashi out of his momentary stupor, and he turned his full attention to Daniel. His tone was grave as he asked, "Do you understand the consequences of your actions? You're provoking the Leaf. What did you do to Sasuke?"
The Leaf Village, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, was not an entity that could be easily provoked.
"Provoking the Leaf? That's a pretty serious accusation. I haven't done anything to him. I just told him the truth, and now, he's making his own choices."
"The truth? What truth?" Kakashi asked, his face growing darker.
"The truth of the Uchiha clan's massacre."
This time, it wasn't Daniel who answered—it was Sasuke. After Daniel had revealed the truth to him, the two had met a few more times, and Sasuke had thoroughly thought things through, leading to the events of today.
"The truth of the massacre?" Kakashi fell silent. As one of the Leaf's elite Jonin, he was aware of the hidden reasons behind the Uchiha clan's demise.
"Itachi was strong, yes, but with his strength alone, it would've been impossible for him to massacre the entire clan. So, Kakashi, tell me—who helped him that night?
Even if Itachi had somehow managed to kill everyone, how could the entire Uchiha clan be slaughtered right in the middle of the Leaf Village without anyone noticing? Did the Leaf really not notice, or did they just let it happen? Kakashi, can you tell me why?"
Sasuke's voice was filled with anger—not only anger toward the Leaf but also toward himself and Itachi.
After learning the truth from Daniel, Sasuke had felt overwhelming anger at himself for not seeing through the lies sooner. It wasn't until Daniel laid it out that he began to realize how much he had missed.
He was also furious at Itachi. Even if the situation was irreparable, why did Itachi have to kill their parents? Killing the rest of the clan was one thing, but their parents? That was unforgivable.
If the Leaf couldn't tolerate the Uchiha, why couldn't the Uchiha just leave? The ninja world was vast, and with their strength, the Uchiha clan could have survived without the Leaf.
"Kakashi, tell me why!" Sasuke shouted in a rage.
Daniel couldn't help but reflect on Sasuke's intense emotions as he noticed the two tomoe in Sasuke's Sharingan. Sasuke's emotional nature was deeply ingrained in the Uchiha clan.
This wasn't the first time Sasuke had let out his fury. In their earlier meetings, Sasuke had vented his frustrations to Daniel, and it was during one of these outbursts that his Sharingan had evolved to two tomoe.
"Sasuke…" Sakura and Naruto were both left speechless by Sasuke's rage. Naruto, though simple-minded, wasn't stupid. He understood the meaning behind Sasuke's words.
"Sasuke, there may be more to this than meets the eye. Leaving with them is not the right choice. They're just using you," Kakashi tried to reason.
"Using me?" Daniel chuckled at Kakashi's words. He wouldn't deny that he had plans for Sasuke, but at least he had told Sasuke the truth. Compared to the lies from the Leaf and Itachi, Daniel's honesty was refreshing.
Unlike Itachi, who had mapped out Sasuke's entire future, Daniel had given Sasuke the freedom to choose. No one likes to have their destiny controlled, and Sasuke was no exception.
"Let's go," Sasuke said with a cold smile, giving Kakashi one last glance before turning to leave with Daniel.
"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto suddenly shouted. "The Third Hokage isn't like that! This must be a misunderstanding! Come back with us, and the Third Hokage will definitely get to the bottom of this!"
"The Third Hokage, huh? You speak so fondly of him," Sasuke sneered as he turned to look at Naruto.
"Do you even know how your parents died? Or why you're called the demon fox?"
"Wha—" Naruto froze at the mention of his parents. Beside him, Kakashi's eyes flickered with concern.
"My parents… didn't they die during the Nine-Tails attack?" Naruto's voice grew somber at the thought of his parents.
"Do you even know who your parents were? Many people in the Leaf know, yet none of them told you. Do you know why?"
"Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted, cutting Sasuke off.
"Why, Kakashi? Afraid of me telling him the truth? Naruto, why don't you ask your teacher who your parents really were?"
"Kakashi-sensei, who were my parents?" Naruto asked, his eyes filled with hope.
The official story given to Naruto was that his parents were ordinary ninja who died in the Nine-Tails attack.
Faced with Naruto's eager gaze, Kakashi hesitated.
"What's wrong? Can't bring yourself to say it? Then let me do it. Naruto, your father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."
"What?" Both Naruto and Sakura were stunned by Sasuke's revelation. Sakura especially couldn't believe that Naruto, of all people, was the son of the legendary Fourth Hokage.
"The Fourth Hokage was my father?"
"That's right. You're the son of the Fourth Hokage, yet after their deaths, you lived a life where you barely had enough to eat, hated and feared by the villagers. Do you know why? Why your identity as the Fourth Hok
age's son was hidden? Why the Third Hokage pretended to be a kindly old man to get close to you? It's because you're a Jinchuriki."
"Enough, Sasuke!" Kakashi snapped. He drew a kunai and charged toward Daniel, only to be blocked by Zabuza's executioner's blade.
"This is too funny! The Leaf Village, always preaching peace, turns out to be this kind of place. What an eye-opener!" Zabuza laughed as he intercepted Kakashi.
"Naruto, have you ever wondered why the Fourth Hokage had to die, while the Third Hokage is still alive? After the Fourth Hokage's death, instead of selecting a Fifth Hokage, the Third Hokage took power again. Doesn't that strike you as strange? Look at how the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, is treated in the village compared to you, the son of the Fourth Hokage. Naruto, do you still think the Third Hokage is a good man? Do you really think he approached you out of kindness?"
"Sasuke, stop!" Kakashi shouted in desperation as Zabuza held him back.
"How can this be?" Naruto muttered, his mind reeling from the revelations. He stood there, frozen, repeating the same words to himself in disbelief.
"Kakashi, are you afraid of me saying these things? Which part of what I said was wrong? I remember you were the Fourth Hokage's student. Did you really not know what Naruto went through as a child? And what did you do about it?"
"Naruto, it's not like that. The Third Hokage would never do something like that," Kakashi insisted.
"Never do something like that? Kakashi, do you remember how your father, Sakumo Hatake, died?" The moment Sasuke mentioned Sakumo, Kakashi's face twisted in shock, and a surge of chakra exploded from him, pushing Zabuza back. But he didn't press the attack.
"Who are you?" Kakashi's gaze locked onto Daniel. It was clear that Sasuke couldn't have known all these secrets. Zabuza and Haku were from the Mist Village and couldn't have this level of knowledge about the Leaf. That left Daniel as the only one who could have provided this information.
"I told you before, I'm just a passerby," Daniel replied nonchalantly. Sasuke's questions had been fed to him via Daniel's secret technique, Heavenly Sound Transmission.
"It seems I have no choice but to stop you." Kakashi's Sharingan began to spin rapidly. If Daniel possessed such deep knowledge of the Leaf's secrets, letting him go would be disastrous for the village. Kakashi decided to go all out, his left eye beginning to use a portion of Kamui's power.
"Already using a bit of Kamui's power, huh?" Daniel wasn't surprised by Kakashi's actions. After all, the ninja world is a place where almost any crime can be forgiven. Orochimaru, who killed the Third Hokage, was eventually pardoned. Even Obito Uchiha, responsible for the death of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, was forgiven.
Though Kakashi was deeply hurt by his father's death, under the Will of Fire—essentially Leaf Village supremacy—his first priority was dealing with Daniel, who held so much of the village's dark secrets.
"Are you sure now is the best time to fight me? The Nine-Tails is about to break free," Daniel said calmly, unfazed by Kakashi's killing intent. Naruto, who had been overwhelmed by Sasuke's words, was now surrounded by a thick red chakra. Two red tails flickered behind him as the Nine-Tails' power surged.
"Unfortunately, there's no way to sway Naruto." Daniel had managed to turn Sasuke against the village by revealing the truth, but Naruto was different. No matter how dark Daniel painted the Leaf Village, Naruto would never turn his back on it. As Ashura's reincarnation, Naruto was incredibly stubborn.
Boom!
With the explosive release of the Nine-Tails' chakra, a powerful shockwave erupted from Naruto's body, instantly destroying everything within a 20-meter radius.
Daniel quickly grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, teleporting them out of range, while Zabuza and Haku retreated rapidly. Kakashi, meanwhile, grabbed the stunned Sakura and pulled her to safety.
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[w w w . p @ t r e o n . c o m / M u t t e r]