The Tale of a Shinobi

Logan arrives at the ramen shop still wearing his Leaf headband, the training grounds fresh in memory. Warm lanternlight and familiar broth welcome him from the street.

Teuchi, the broad elderly shopkeeper in his white headscarf, sets a bowl near the counter and leans forward with open interest. The shop remains peaceful and nearly empty.

Teuchi ladles more broth into the bowl, his smile turning knowingly amused. Outside, evening settles over the village while the shop’s warmth holds steady.

The words leave Logan quietly, and his smile fades when the hot bowl shifts beneath his hand, spilling broth across the counter and staining his sleeve.

Teuchi quickly lifts the bowl away from the spreading spill and places a folded cloth beside Logan. Steam curls between them as evening deepens outside.

Logan wipes the broth from his sleeve, then looks toward Teuchi and smiles. He accepts the cloth and cleans himself while the shop’s lanterns glow warmly.

Logan finishes the ramen while Teuchi tends the simmering pot. Outside, night settles over the village, and the successful exercise gives way to sleep and a new morning.

The next day, Team Seven waits inside the Hokage’s office. Naruto fidgets beside Logan, Sakura stands composed, Sasuke watches silently, and Kakashi leans near the wall.

Behind the broad desk sits Hiruzen Sarutobi, an elderly man with a lined face, white beard, and ceremonial robes beneath the shadow of his Hokage hat.

Hiruzen unrolls a mission scroll across the desk. Kakashi straightens from the wall, while Naruto leans forward beside Logan and Sakura studies the document.

At the village gate, Team Seven gathers beneath the morning sun. A stocky elderly man waits beside a travel pack, his gray beard untrimmed and his weathered coat patched from long use.

Naruto bristles, Sakura glances toward Kakashi, and Sasuke quietly measures the road beyond the gate. Kakashi lifts one hand, signaling the squad to assemble before departure.

Kakashi’s raised hand lowers. Team Seven forms around Tazuna, then passes through the village gate and follows the road into unfamiliar countryside beneath the bright morning sky.

The village walls recede behind them. Grasslands and wooded slopes replace the familiar streets, while Logan walks beside Naruto and studies every turn in the road.

Farther along, the road narrows between damp trees and low mist. Two faint disturbances move behind the team, concealed near a shallow pool and a tangle of roots.

Kakashi continues walking with one hand in his pocket, apparently relaxed. His visible eye shifts briefly toward the mist, while the students remain unaware of the hidden pursuit.

The mist explodes with motion. Two young adult men in dark travel gear spring from the roots, hooked blades flashing toward Tazuna’s back.

Logan lunges toward Tazuna, reaching to pull him clear and block the attackers’ path. His sandal slips in the wet moss, scraping loudly against stone.

Kakashi appears between them in a blur. He catches one attacker’s wrist, knocks the second blade aside, and drives both shinobi backward from Tazuna.

The two Wave shinobi retreat into the mist, their attack broken. Logan’s scraped sandal fills with cold water, but Tazuna stands unharmed behind Kakashi.

The road bends between dripping trees. Mist gathers over the shallow ditch, and the two Wave shinobi burst from concealment again, blades sweeping toward Tazuna.

Kakashi vanishes before the attackers reach the client. His movement becomes a blur of silver hair, redirected steel, and precise strikes hidden by the thickening mist.

A heavy impact sounds beyond the roadside trees. The two shinobi do not rise again, their weapons abandoned in the wet grass as Kakashi returns without a mark on him.

Kakashi gestures for Team Seven to continue. Tazuna walks rigidly ahead, while the students follow through thinning mist and wet woodland toward the distant dockyard.

By afternoon, wooden piers emerge beside gray water. A weathered ferry waits at the dock, its ropes creaking as waves strike the pilings.

Kakashi’s visible eye settles on Tazuna as the bridge architect steps aboard. Sakura and Sasuke quiet, while Naruto’s enthusiasm fades beneath the instructor’s sharper tone.

Tazuna glances toward the gray water, his weathered hands tightening around the ferry rail. The dock creaks beneath the shifting weight of the boat.

The ferry pushes away from the dock, cutting through dark water toward the distant Land of Waves. Kakashi watches the horizon, his suspicion now fully confirmed.

Kakashi Hatake turns from the horizon toward Team Seven. The ferry rises and falls beneath them, gray water stretching toward the mist-shrouded coast.

Kakashi Hatake’s visible eye narrows, but his voice remains calm. He gives the team a concrete advantage: his full attention will remain on threats beyond their ability while they guard the client.

The ferry reaches the Land of Waves. Team Seven disembarks with Tazuna, following a damp road beneath heavy mist while gray water disappears behind them.

They pass weathered cottages and winding roads toward Tazuna’s home. The silence feels wrong, broken only by distant water and footsteps on wet earth.

A massive sword suddenly tears through the mist and crashes toward the road. Team Seven barely scatters as the blade embeds itself in a tree ahead.

A tall adult man emerges atop the sword’s hilt, wrapped in bandages with only his cold eyes visible. Kakashi steps before the students.

Protect Tazuna from Zabuza