Naruto (SI) Starting With Glint Glint Fruit

"Naruto, do you think we'll run into ninjas from other countries on the way?"

"We will."

"Huh? Why? Aren't we on a C-rank mission? Only B-rank or above should involve enemy ninja, right?"

"In theory, yes. But there are exceptions. Like… right now."

"Right now?"

Just as Sakura was confused, she saw Naruto suddenly stop and stare at a small puddle without moving.

"What's with the puddle?" The others noticed Naruto had stopped and turned to look, asking curiously.

"It didn't rain in Konoha yesterday. So how could there be a puddle here?" Naruto said calmly.

Everyone thought for a moment—it was true.

But Sakura had a different opinion.

"Maybe a traveling merchant spilled a bucket of water? Besides, just a puddle doesn't prove anything, right?"

She walked a couple of steps forward to check, but Naruto quickly pulled her back.

"Sure, that's possible. But what if it's not?"

"So what if it's not?"

Sakura still didn't get it, so Naruto gave her a more direct hint: "One of the chakra natures is water."

"Water… Water Release?"

Sakura was startled, but still not fully convinced.

It's just a puddle—what could it possibly hide?

Could someone really be hiding in it?

Just then, Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "Sasuke, use Fire Release on that puddle."

Unlike Sakura, Sasuke trusted Naruto's judgment completely.

Even if Naruto was wrong, it didn't matter. Being cautious on a mission was always a good thing!

Kakashi also agreed with Naruto's judgment, but he had originally planned to stay out of it and see what those ninjas wanted first.

But since Naruto had already made a move, he didn't interfere.

Following Naruto's order, Sasuke stepped forward and quickly formed hand signs.

Just as he was about to use Fire Release, two chains suddenly shot out from the puddle!

The chains were incredibly fast. Sasuke had to stop his jutsu and dodge to avoid getting hit.

"Tch! That brat actually saw through us!"

A cold grunt came from the puddle, and then two people floated up like driftwood!

They both wore Hidden Mist forehead protectors, with gas masks hiding their faces. One had a metal claw on his right arm, the other on his left. Their eyes were sharp and full of killing intent—definitely the kind of ninja who had taken many lives.

Sakura turned pale the moment she saw them.

She never thought there could actually be someone—two people, even—hiding in that small puddle!

If Naruto hadn't stopped her earlier, she might've been dead by now!

"Th-thank you, Naruto."

Just as Sakura said that, Naruto appeared beside her and kicked away one of the enemies who had tried to ambush her.

"Save the thanks for later. The other guy is going after Tazuna-san."

"Ah, right!"

Sakura snapped out of it and quickly rushed toward Tazuna to help.

But in the end, she was still too slow. By the time she got there, the other attacker had already been taken care of by Sasuke.

"Not bad at all, Naruto, Sasuke… and you too, Sakura."

Seeing the three of them take out the Demon Brothers so smoothly on their first real fight, Kakashi couldn't help but praise them.

Even though Sakura mostly just stood there in shock, the fact that she didn't freeze in fear was already enough for Kakashi to acknowledge her, considering her current level.

"Tazuna-san... I need to ask you a few things in a bit."

Kakashi tied the two fallen Mist ninja to a tree and looked seriously at Tazuna. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" Tazuna replied, a little guilty.

"That Mist ninja didn't even go for us—he came straight for you. That means you're the real target."

Kakashi said calmly, "You requested a C-rank mission. At most, that means protecting you from thugs or bandits. But when ninja are involved, it's already B-rank or higher. So what else haven't you told us?"

Tazuna went silent, clearly unsure how to answer.

Seeing this, Kakashi continued, "Right now, we need to decide if we'll keep going with this mission, which is beyond the original terms. If you still plan to keep secrets, then we might as well stop now."

"Yeah, yeah, fighting real ninja... that's still way too early for us," Sakura chimed in, agreeing with Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced at her, then turned to Sasuke and Naruto. "What do you two think?"

Doing anything above a C-rank mission wasn't what he originally planned for Team 7. But seeing how well they handled the fight, Kakashi figured it was worth hearing everyone out.

Especially—Naruto!

"I say we keep going with the mission," Naruto said calmly.

He still had AI-chan's task to complete. Even if the pay was low, he had to finish it.

"I think so too," Sasuke said, arms crossed, backing Naruto up.

"So that's two votes against one~"

Kakashi looked at Sakura again, as if giving her one last chance to decide. "Sakura, if you really don't want to go on, we'll call it here. One veto is enough to stop the mission."

"Uh…"

Sakura hesitated, especially under Naruto and Sasuke's gaze. The pressure was huge.

Then Naruto said to her, "Don't worry. Even if we run into really strong ninja, I'll protect you. We're teammates, right?"

"Yeah. With the two of us here, you won't be in danger," Sasuke added. He still didn't like how Sakura slowed things down, but to keep the mission going, he had to calm her down.

Looking at their cold, expressionless faces, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if they were just reading off a script.

But since Naruto and Sasuke both gave their word, she felt reassured.

After all this time, Naruto had become someone she really trusted.

If Naruto said he'd protect her, then he definitely would!

Thinking that, Sakura changed her mind. "Let's keep going with the mission, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Good. Then let's move out."

Kakashi smiled with satisfaction, but his face quickly turned cold as he looked at Tazuna. "But listen carefully, Tazuna-san. You're going to tell us everything as we go. If something unexpected happens again, I'll protect my team first and leave you behind."

"I… I understand. But first let's hurry to the port. My companions are waiting for me there. We've already been delayed for a while, and if we don't arrive on time, we'll have to hire another boat."

"That costs money!"

"..."

Naruto didn't expect their client to be even poorer than him.

Still, if they wanted to avoid losing money on this mission, they had to hurry and get to the port.

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