[+200PS REACHED!!]
Kakashi indeed bore responsibility.
He thought it was just a small matter and that with his presence, he could solve everything.
Thus, recklessly continuing the mission was a dereliction of duty as a squad leader.
If he had been a bit more cautious and chosen to return to the village to have the Hokage reassign the mission, perhaps the danger could have been avoided.
Of course, if you look at it through the lens of conspiracy theories, there might have been schemes from Sarutobi to take action against Gatō, or ulterior motives regarding the Land of Waves. But for now, Natsuki decided not to dwell on that.
However, Naruto, refusing to learn his lesson, was still unconvinced.
"But, but we completed the mission, and nothing happened..." Naruto said.
"Nothing happened? Naruto, do you even hear yourself?"
Natsuki narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on Naruto.
"In reality, Sasuke actually died once, didn't he? Were you not filled with despair at that moment? Wasn't Sakura crying in agony? Didn't you taste the pain of losing a comrade?"
Naruto and Sakura's pupils contracted.
That's right.
At that time, Sasuke had indeed died—his breathing had completely stopped!
Naruto had been utterly helpless and desperate then, even releasing the Kyūbi's chakra, and Sakura had cried her heart out.
How could they have forgotten?
How could they still proudly say they completed the mission excellently?
Sasuke, however, stubbornly said,
"But I didn't die, did I?"
Natsuki let out a laugh, almost amused by his stubbornness.
"You call that 'not dying'? That was because that boy named Haku had a kind heart and chose not to kill you!
So you're telling me that your success was due to the mercy and compassion of your enemy?
That's what you call completing the mission excellently?"
This time, the entire Seventh Squad fell into complete silence.
Kakashi looked at his three wilted students and shook his head helplessly.
Frankly speaking, Natsuki's point was correct.
The mission at the Land of Waves was not something to be proud of—instead, it deserved deep reflection.
If that boy named Haku hadn't shown mercy, what they would have brought back would have been Sasuke's corpse.
Would they still be able to laugh then?
Natsuki concluded,
"Naruto, you're reckless and impulsive. Your strength is insufficient, yet you still lack calmness.
Sasuke, you easily become arrogant, thinking you're invincible after a little progress.
Sakura, what exactly did you do during the mission? What role did you play?
Thus, if I were to rate your performance during the Land of Waves mission... it would be unqualified!"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all lowered their heads without refuting.
Even the foolhardy Naruto understood now.
And precisely because they understood, they felt even more dejected, ashamed of their previous arrogance.
What 'outstanding accomplishment of a B-rank mission'?
It was simply a disgrace!
Seeing this, Natsuki turned and apologized to Kakashi.
"Sorry, Kakashi-senpai, did I speak too harshly?"
Kakashi waved his hand dismissively.
"No, it's fine. What you said made a lot of sense.
These little guys really were getting a bit too full of themselves; your words came at the right time to make them reflect."
Hearing this, Natsuki said no more.
He simply couldn't stand seeing Naruto acting so smug, and he had to knock him down a notch.
Honestly, in the early stages of the original story, Naruto was truly useless—boasting big, being unreliable, impulsive enough to ruin things.
Only his Talk no Jutsu was effective; everything else was frankly unbearable to watch.
If you didn't discipline him a little, he would think he was truly exceptional, oblivious to the importance of learning from failures.
Thus, after venting his frustration, Natsuki felt greatly relieved.
At that moment, Naruto's voice, full of grievance, broke the silence.
"Kakashi-sensei, did we really perform that badly?"
Sasuke and Sakura also looked at Kakashi, longing to hear their teacher's evaluation.
Even though they understood Natsuki's words were correct, they still wished for Kakashi's confirmation.
Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well, you still have a lot of room for improvement."
In other words, their teacher also acknowledged Natsuki's opinion!
For a moment, the atmosphere of the Seventh Squad became even gloomier.
However, Sasuke suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Natsuki, fight me."
"Eh? You want to fight me?" Natsuki was surprised.
He had thought Sasuke might say something else, but challenging him was unexpected.
Upon thinking about it, though, it made sense.
Sasuke wasn't like Naruto, who liked to talk big; he preferred to prove things through combat.
Thus, Naruto had never been able to convince Sasuke—because he simply couldn't beat him!
Sasuke stared directly at Natsuki and said,
"You might be right with your words, but talking alone doesn't prove anything.
I lost to you in our final battle before graduation, and now I'll win it back.
I'll prove that I'm stronger than you, and that your words don't apply to me!"
Good—this was very much like Sasuke.
Even if logic didn't win, as long as he was stronger, he was the logic.
As long as he was strong enough, whether the Land of Waves mission was right or wrong would be for him to decide—not for others to judge.
Natsuki understood Sasuke's thoughts and agreed with a smile.
"Alright, let's have a match. Just in time—I also have something I want to ask Kakashi-senpai about. Let's do it together."
Kakashi blinked, guessing that Natsuki wanted to consult about the Hatake-ryū Kenjutsu (Hatake Sword Style), and didn't refuse.
"Fine, I'll act as the referee. Let's head to the training grounds."
Soon, the group arrived at the training ground.
Sasuke and Natsuki faced each other and made the seal of confrontation, waiting for Kakashi's command.
"Begin!"
Sasuke immediately acted, throwing several kunai at Natsuki.
Natsuki sidestepped casually, easily dodging them.
But Sasuke then threw shuriken, making them collide with the kunai midair and changing their trajectory to arc toward Natsuki.
"Nice! Sasuke-kun, you're amazing!" Sakura couldn't help but cheer.
"...",
Tenten didn't think it was anything amazing—it was just basic ninja tool throwing.
Natsuki didn't even move from his spot.
In a flash, his hands shot out, effortlessly catching all the incoming kunai and shuriken, and casually tucked them into his ninja tool pouch.
Since he had accepted the challenge, collecting some "interest" was fair, right?
However, he still commented.
"Sasuke, I know the Uchiha's throwing techniques are impressive, but this level won't do.
Bring out your real skills—like opening your Sharingan?"
Sasuke took a deep breath, and red light flashed in his eyes.
Sure enough, he activated his Sharingan—one tomoe in one eye, two tomoe in the other, asymmetrically.
Still, Sasuke's aura changed dramatically.
"Then let me show you the true power of the Sharingan!"
Sasuke dashed forward, aiming a punch at Natsuki's head.
But Natsuki's figure suddenly blurred—he disappeared in an instant.
In the next second, he reappeared below Sasuke, delivering a fierce upward kick to Sasuke's chin, launching him into the air.
Sasuke was shocked.
"Why?! I clearly saw your movements!"
Natsuki kindly explained.
"The Sharingan is amazing—it can see my moves clearly.
But your body can't keep up.
You're too slow!"
As he spoke, he delivered two more kicks in midair, sending Sasuke flying—just like he had done back at the academy.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]