Naruto: Raizen

"Umm... Tuzuna?" Sasuke begins.

"What?" He replies, making Sasuke furrow his brows but ignore the rudeness.

"You're from the Wave country, right?"

"What about it?"

"Dad, do they have ninjas in that country, too?" Raizen asks, pretty much asking exactly what Sasuke wanted to know.

"No, not in the Wave country. But in most other countries... The culture and customs may be different, but hidden villages exist, and so do ninjas."

"The five great Shinobi countries. In countries of the continent, the existence of a shinobi village means military power; this is how they hold and maintain advantages over each other. But, it's not that the village rules the countries, they merely stand equally with the countries government. A small island country like the Wave country doesn't receive much interference from the larger countries and may not need a shinobi village, within the many shinobi villages, leaf, mist, cloud, sand, and stone are large and powerful, which referred to as the Great Five Shinobi Countries. and these are the only countries whose leader receives the name Kage." Kakashi gives a mini-lesson to the three.

"The five kages are Hokage Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage. They reign over the thousands of Ninjas in the world."

That lame geezer, is that incredible? Sounds fishy... Raizen thinks of their Hokage.

"Hokage is the best!!" Naruto exclaims.

ggb "You doubted the Hokage just now, didn't you?" He says to Raizen, looking straight at him.

Raizen avoids eye contact. "Nope."

ss"Well, don't worry; there won't be any ninja combat in a C-rank mission." Kakashi says as he puts a hand on top of Raizen's head.

"Hey! Don't mess my hair up," Raizen says as he flicks his Dad's hand off his head while catching a peep at Tazuna's expression. It didn't look good.

Kakashi, walking ahead of the group, suddenly narrows his eye. A puddle lies in the middle of the path. A puddle? In this weather? His gaze lingers for a second, but he doesn't say anything, choosing to walk past it casually.

As the others step forward—

SCHLICK.

A ripple distorts the puddle, and from its surface, a figure emerges.

First, ahead. Then a full body—clad in a black cloak, a robotic-looking arm gleaming under the sunlight.

Raizen's eyes widen. What the—?!

Before anyone can react, a chain-like weapon shoots from the figure's robotic arm, wrapping around Kakashi in an instant.

"What—?!"

With a yank, the chain tightens, binding Kakashi completely.

SHLICK!

Another figure appears from behind the first—he must have been on the other's back.

"One down," the enemy sneers.

Then, in a flash, the chain pulls—SHUNK!—and Kakashi is sliced into pieces.

"Dad!" Raizen yells, his heart dropping, for a second.

Naruto screams. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!!"

Sasuke's eyes widen in shock. No way. Did he get taken out that easily?

Before they can even process it, the two enemies blur forward, appearing right behind Raizen.

"Two down," they mutter, raising their weapons.

Raizen doesn't hesitate.

He bends his knees, then launches himself into the air, flipping backward—his foot cracks against both their heads mid-flip, sending them stumbling.

Catching the two off guard.

Sasuke reacts next. His hands flick to his kunai pouch, and he flings a kunai toward their chains—THUNK! It lodges into a tree, pinning the chains down.

Now trapped, the two enemies struggle to pull their weapons free.

Raizen doesn't waste the opportunity. He dashes forward, fists clenched. His right fist slams into one enemy's jaw while his left foot kicks the other straight in the gut, sending them both flying.

They skid backward, but instead of retreating, they immediately refocus—this time, their eyes are locked on Tazuna.

They're going after the old man!

Naruto freezes, his body locked in hesitation.

"Move!" Raizen yells.

Sasuke doesn't wait. He dashes forward, stepping in front of Tazuna, arms spread defensively. "Get back!"

The two enemies lunge toward them—

SHWIP!

A huge figure suddenly appears between them.

Kakashi.

His hand moves in a blur, catching both enemies by the collar.

"What—?!"

With a single motion, Kakashi flips them upside down, slamming them into the ground.

Naruto, still frozen, blinks in disbelief. "… H-huh?"

Raizen exhales through his nose, shaking his head. What a showoff. He quickly realizes that his dad must've used Kawarimi no Jutsu right before the chain attack landed. Of course.

Naruto lets out a loud sigh of relief, hands on his knees. "Phew! We're saved."

Kakashi gives him a small glance. "Naruto, sorry for not helping you right away. I got injured." His voice is calm but firm. "I didn't think you'd completely freeze up."

Naruto lowers his head, embarrassed.

Kakashi shifts his gaze. "Good job, Sasuke. Raizen."

Raizen nods, but his attention shifts to Naruto, who's clenching his fists. Tch. He shrugs.

Sasuke smirks, turning to Naruto. "You alright, scaredy cat?"

Raizen lets out a sharp laugh.

Naruto's eyes widen in shock and offense. "Wha—?! Scaredy-cat?! I—" He grits his teeth, trembling.

Kakashi sighs, noticing Naruto getting heated. "Save it for later."

Then, Kakashi kneels next to Naruto, pointing at a small scratch on his hand.

"That wound," Kakashi mutters. "It's poisoned."

Naruto's eyes widen. "P-Poisoned?!"

Kakashi pulls out a bandage. "We need to treat it."

Raizen, still watching, notices something else—Kakashi had already tied up the two enemies against a tree before tending to Naruto.

"Tazuna." Kakashi begins as he walks up to the two he captured.

"W..what is it??!" Tazuna exclaims, obviously nervous.

"I need to talk to you. These guys are Chunin class ninjas from the hidden village of Mist. They are ninjas known to keep fighting no matter what."

"How did you read our movements?!" One of them exclaims, trying his hardest to get out of his imprisonment.

"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days... a water puddle shouldn't exist."

"Why did you let the brats fight when you knew that?" Tazuna asks.

"If I wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but... There was something I needed to find out... who their real target was."

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Meaning, were they after you or one of us? We weren't told if there was Shinobi after you. Our mission was simply to protect you from thieves or gangs. This has now become at least a B-rank mission. To protect you from ordinary dangers until you complete the bridge you're currently constructing... would be a simple thing." Kakashi says to Tazuna.

Tazuna looks down to the floor for a second, contemplating.

"If it was known that ninjas were after you... This mission would have been an expensive B-rank. I'm sure you have a reason, but it causes problems when you lie about mission details. We are now operating outside of our jobs."

"This might be too much..." Kakashi continues as he looks at his three students.

"I guess we should return to the village to treat Naruto."

Out of nowhere, Naruto grabs a Kunai from his bag and stabs his hand.

The entire team widens their eyes.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Raizen asks, surprised.

Is this kid crazy?

"With this kunai... I'll protect the old man, we're continuing the mission!!" He says, making Raizen roll his eyes.

"That is the stupidest thing I've seen you do."

"Naruto... It's good that you are releasing the poison, but... Anymore and... You'll die from blood loss... seriously." Kakashi smiles.

"No!! That's bad!! I can't die from something like this!"

"Let me see your hand," Kakashi says.

"Naruto... are uou a masochist?" Raizen laughs.

As Kakashi moves, his gaze flickers briefly, and Raizen catches it—his dad looks surprised about something.