It's hard to trust a masked person

A slight breeze and the leaves ruffle.

The ninja masked in .....I don't what animal shape that is....I would guess ...dog? Cat?

Anyway...he lands in front of us in grace like it doesn't matter even if we surround him like he didn't just perfectly hit a person's chakra points to render him in suspended animation.

"Who are you ?", Kakashi asks.

The question has a ring to it.

"I am a hunter nin from the village hidden in the mist and I've come to collect what is owed to the village" " says the nin in monotone.

"What is owed?", Sakura ponders.

" a hunter nin hunts missing ninjas from their respective village", I explain.

"You mean Jabuja? The bastard almost killed us", exclaimed Naruto.

"Be on your guard. They are skilled", Kakashi again makes sure to stand between him and us.

His indulgence to undermine a topic knows no bounds.

A hunter is the only individual skilled enough and legally permitted to roam the lands freely to hunt missing ninjas.

They don't need any orders, just a bounty and a location.

I wonder if Kakashi ever wanted to be a hunter.

"And for that, I thank you for eliminating Jabuja momochi. I shall take the body back to the village", Says the nin.

For a second Kakashi contemplats.

Then he nods.

Hak....ehm the ninja goes near the body.

He quickly notices that his beloved master has a finger short.

If I wasn't attentive, I wouldn't have noticed the sudden surge in chakra that twirled inside Hak...ehm.....the ninja. But that is taken under control in a nanosecond.

For a moment he looks around. That would make him seem suspicious.

"Ehm....", I clear my throat. The squad and the ninja included a look at me.

I point at the scroll with my ring finger, the same that Jabuja lost.

The ninja understands and freezes on his feet.

Should he attack for the lost finger or ignore it, save his master from the famous Kakashi of the Sahringan, who seemed to be out of juice but still standing?

Oh....look at him. The sheer confusion and dread he is in right now, makes me feel like a villain.

So, I tossed it at him. The scroll casually rolls to the ninja's feet.

"Sasuke?", Kakashi asks with furrowed eyebrows.

"What? I just wanted a sample that's all. You know how valuable a DNA sample can be", I said in my defense.

"But a finger? dude, you are sick!", Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura has mixed feelings I'm sure.

Haku picks up the scroll ....gently as if it's something precious. Of course, it's precious, his master's career depends on that finger.

He looks at me and does a slight bow.

How sincere.

Then he picks up Jabuja and hops away.

We look at the scene of him jumping away as Kakashi stumbles on his feet ready to drop.

I catch him on my back. The height difference is inconvenient.

"The Sharingan is taxing", Says a huffing Kakashi.

Sakura runs to us. Supporting kakashi.

Tazuna comes out of the woods with a bear can in hand. The guy was drinking in the middle of all this?

"My house is close", Tazuna suggests with a smug face.

Well.... we would crash at his house.

Now that Kakashi needs to rest, he is acting like doing us a favor.

I try to convey my feelings through my stare.

With a bloody stare, that gives him a genjutsu of receiving a warning notice from Konoha to pay for the overdue A rank mission.

With a slight gulp, he receives it and humbly leads us to his residence.

"You know.....", Kakashi grimaces.

"You....remind me of someone", He says.

"Eh?"

He crooks.

#######

A strange large bird, with an obnoxious cry lands beside me on the concrete railing.

According to the locals, it's called a seagull.

And it's giving a very dangerous look towards the onigiri in my hands.

I turn sides. It flies in front of me. I turn again, it flies in front of me again.

The bird slowly closes in, hoping to rob at least half of it.

"Sucks to be you!", I decide to gulp down the whole thing.

The next thing I knew, another bird flew in and snatched it right out of my hands. The bird close to me gives a lough and flies away. Did it just laugh?

I sit there dumbfounded for a second as Naruto is laughing his ass off.

Sakura gives me another one with a smile.

I accept it with a blushed face.

"Hope they don't set off any traps", Sakura wonders in concern.

"No, they won't. The traps made by yours truly will only activate once a certain level of chakra pulse is emitted", I say after taking a sip of the cold tea from the flush that Sakura brought. She is very resourceful in terms of food.

I see Naruto stopped laughing and is now looking... quite serious. I guess his clone relayed the message.....or got dispelled and we are under attack.

"Kaka-sensei's up", he notifies.

Wow....that was fast. He woke up from chakra exhaustion in 2 hours.

Experience!

We make hast.

Outside the house I see Kakashi on his feet with a stretcher, basking in the afternoon sun.

He turns, looks at us, and does a playful wave.

I pause for a second, to see if there is any genjutsu going on. Someone like Kakashi just standing there doesn't look or feel right.

I grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and stopped him.

To my credit, that is a genjutsu.

I frantically turn around to see Sakura's throat at the sharp end of Kakashi's Kunai.

He is still on his stretcher though.

"Maa....where were my students at, leaving their sensei's defenseless body behind?", Kakashi asks.

Shit....should've left at least one of us. I was so sure of Jabuja not appearing for at least a few weeks that I just left him to Inari's Mom's care.

Now, he has to check if we are imposters or not.

The amount of tension in the air is like Jabuja all over again.

A shinobi, even handicapped, can be deadly.

That was very....very irresponsible of me.

I can't move, what if he reacts to it? Shit...!

Kakashi suddenly sighs and relaxes his posture. Letting go of Sakura.

"Relax, team 7. I hope you understand what I wanted to convey", Says Kakashi while putting away his kunai.

"What gives Kaka- sensei, you scared us!", Says Naruto.

Sakura .....didn't look angry. She is looking at Kakashi's bandages? With a concerned look, she inspects the cut on his cheek. Kakashi lets her, but the attempts to make distance....rather palpable.

"A ninja should cover all grounds. Do his mission to protect the client and also take care of fallen comrade. Always be alert, should the enemy strike again", Says Kakashi while he slowly walks towards the woods.

It has been one embarrassing evening, I scratch the back of my head.

"I just thought, Jabuja wouldn't attack again with a finger short. Even if he tends to his wounds with mystic arts, it will take at least a week to heal", I say.

"Oh! So you think Jabuja is alive?", Kakashi asks with raised eyebrows.

Eh?....is he testing me?

"Em....yeah? I know it's hard to see, but the ninja hit him with blankets on the neck, one for the respiratory center, one for blood circulation. He just put him in suspended animation. You let them go since we were too beat up to fight a new foe? Right?", I say.

Kakashi looks away....that was his idea, right? Right?

"You.....studied tanketsu?", Kakashi stops to ask as if to change the subject.

"Yeah.... of course I did? At least one person in a team should have minimum medical knowledge", I say as I put a finger on Naruto's neck. The guy fell limp on the ground before he could react.

"You ....can see them? That's impossible without byakugan", Says an astonished Kakashi as he inspects Naruto on the ground who has a tongue out and diverted eyes.

"No, I can't. Just memorized our tonkatsu points. I don't know yours though. Helps a lot with pain and chakra exhaustion ", I say.

Sakura pokes Naruto with a stick. He twitches slightly.

Kakashi lookes.....Happy?

"Good job Sasuke, that is genius . Okay....put him back, we have to prepare".

He turns.

Oh my god...I just got praised.

I re-establish Naruto's chakra on the neck.

The blond snaps back and gets up.

Attapmts to punches me

"What was that? Konoyaro!!"

"Medical checkup!" I say with a deadpan and dodge while belle dancing.

Naruto follows up with a roundhouse kick.

"Your moves are becoming smother ", I comment as I dodge while jumping over it.

"But you are no match for me child!", I put my foot in his face as I extend my belle's leg.

"Fon sua! Belle kiccku!", I scream.

But I can't land. Naruto caught my foot and trapped me in mid-air. Goddamn for using half-baked moves like that.

The angry fox glares at me while the red sandal mark on his face emits smoke.

I apologetically grine. The bastard is strong if nothing else.

If he grabs me with both hands I'm fucked.

So, I swiftly slip out of it, twirl midair and safely land myself on a tree branch.

Naruto looks at me confused.

Sakura too.

???!!!!

"What? It's just oil. A good ninja will never let his enemy keep a hold on him. I always oil my limbs!", I say it for a fact.

"Quite relying on goddamn tricks and fight me like a real man, bastard!", Naruto screams.

"I'm a ninja, above all else!", I say with pride.

I stand up on the tree branch.

" A ninja doesn't fight. He just wins"

Naruto is fuming. Sakura...has sparkling eyes. Feels good to be a good influence.

I see Kakashi still waiting. But...he doesn't look annoyed.

"Sorry sensei. The boys are acting all weird again!", Sakura hops towards Kakashi.

Sensei sighs for the 3rd time for the day.

"You will lose lifespane if you sigh so much, sensei!", I say while jumping down.

"I would be dead a thousand times if that was the case, now get to it., or I will have to put you underground up to the neck".

Me and Naruto shudder at the thought.

######

"So, Since Jabuja is alive and kicking ", Kakashi walks towards a tree.

"We have to have to prepare for what's to come. I didn't intervene previously as 3 of you individually had it already covered", Says Sensei.

"But now, I will personally supervise your training for the whole of the mission. You guys have seen who is Jabuja and what he can do. Along with an unknown factor the 2nd masked ninja. Judging from the situation we are in, if you have anything in particular you wish to learn in this short amount of time, now is the chance", Kakashi sits on a tree root with legs crossed.

Sakura raises her hand.

"Not just Jabuja sensei, Gato is said to have a local gang of sorts. They might join the fray ", Sakura adds.

"Good point, Sakura-chan", Kakashi says.

"But that can be dealt with a few explosives on their boats, which .....", Kakashi looks at me.

"I have plenty of, don't worry Sakura Chan. Just say the word I will make you a tag that will blow up half of a wave!", I say with a thumbs up. Sakura gives a wry smile at the statement. I didn't mean it figuratively though.

"Sensei teaches us a new cool jutsu", Says Naruto.

Kakashi shakes his head.

"We don't have time for that", I say with a sigh.

Naruto slows down sadly. Sakura pats him on the back.

Kakashi looks at Sakura.

"Sensei.....I couldn't tell which was a water clone and which was Jabuja", Says Sakura.

"Please, teach me"

Kakashi closes his eyes and contemplates for a second.

Then it turns upside down.

"Okey, Sakura.....Naruto what do you think you need?", he asks.

Naruto with furrowed eyes sits crossed-legged on the ground and ponders for a second.

"My taijutsu's whack! I could've taken the last one solo if I could dodge more. I like teaming up with Sakura .....but still", Says Naruto while glancing looks at Sakura.

Kakashi then nods thoughtfully.

"Yosh! Naruto and Sakura, you two will be a pair, I have some things set up for you in the forest North of here. Why don't you go there and check them out? I'm gonna have a little chat with your .....defacto leader here", and he looks at me.

They go....oh boy, it's just me and Kakashi now.

"Okey...now, Sasuke . What do you have?", asks Kakashi.

Of course, he noticed that I bugged the school that I had given earlier.

It was an obvious thing to do.

I give him a note.

"That's all I could get before his assistant Haku destroyed the scroll", I say as I hand him over.

"Hmm...not much on location ha....and the conversation mentioned.....", Kakashi mutters.

"Jabuja wanted some ice for the bump on his head", he adds

"Ice.....they are living somewhere with modern appliances?", I ask.

"The wave County isn't that well off. Gato's prowling didn't do much good for local development. They don't even have radios here", he says with a chuckle.

We glance at each other and nod. The number of things we understand by simply looking and nodding is astonishing. I'm not saying me and Kakashi am like-minded, that would be too arrogant. Let's just say, it feels refreshing to not have to explain myself down to the Naruto level. Not that I hate it. The guy can process some complicated shit once it comes down to it. Which I will never be able to do.

"So then...hmm....Good job Sasuke, this is valuable info", Says Kakashi with his upturned smile.

"Don't you want the rest of the team to know that a Yuki clan, kekkei genkai user is gonna attack us?", I ask.

"Maa....don't you trust your sensei?", Kakashi asks playfully.

I take a hard and long look at Kakashi.

Because this guy has been to the 3rd war and all the small skirmishes that followed, he can give us some juicy experience info about the said clan's techniques and whatnot. He must've fought at least one ice user in his lifetime, for someone said to have copied a thousand jutsu.

But he is holding onto the info. I'm sure, the fact that I know of the existence of such a clan is disturbing to him.

Now, Kakashi has asked the thousand ryu question.

Do I trust Kakashi? Why won't I? That is so obvious.

But.....then why would such a question arise?

Does he think I have some kind of trust issue?

"Of course sensei, whatever you say!", I say with a slight bow.

He raises an eyebrow at my words. For once I can see some worry in his eyes. Fighting A rank criminal puts a smile on his face, yet troubled by his Genin's responsibility.

That is some next-level shit.

Then he suddenly looks at the large tree trunk towards the end of the clearing.

Points at it and says, "Incidentally, the construction of the bridge requires a large amount of wood and why don't you help them by cutting down a few", he says.

"How many are we talking about?", I ask.

"About .....Emm.....600 logs would be fine?", he says.

....

"Are you serious?"

" maa....why would I lie to my most trusted genin?", he again answers a question with another question.

"They are planning on paying for the A-rank mission. Hence, the village had to cut funds from construction. Which would cause delay. We can't return if they don't finish. By helping them, we help ourselves", Kakashi explains.

I sigh. Unseal my axe and start chopping.

These woods seem harder than any normal wood.

I'm hardly making any dent.

Don't tell me...

"These happened to be Hashirama trees, the foundation that will be used for the said bridge", Kakashi says.

Kakashi extends his hand, I give him my axe.

For a second I see a swirl of chakra around the axe iron.

With a single-handed swing, he cuts the tree down.

With a loud crack, the tree falls to the ground.

Nothing comes out of my mouth and I forget to breathe as I see the monstrous power that was displayed in front of me.

"Is this....an original technique?", I ask.

"Jutsu's aren't the only thing I copied", Says Kakashi.

To think Kakashi would know about axe welding.

Then he throws it back to me.

"You copied it from the Mist?", I muttered.

"The same way you are learning axe welding from your clan scrolls", he adds."They copied them too",

I sigh.

"you want me to do what with it? Chop his sword off?", I ask with a cheeky grin.

"Should that be your question, Sasuke?", he Chided.

"All right, how did you do it sensei?", I ask. Even though I know of the origin of it, I can hardly learn it with just schools alone to explain. I'm not a genius.

He raises his index finger.

Concentrates his chakra on it.

"That's a chakra scalpel sensei", I point out.

"It's the same principle here. You can use affinity such as wind or lighting to sharpen and increase the range of an elongated weapon. But a weapon with such a small sharp end and multiple angles doesn't do well with affinity. You need raw chakra for effectiveness", he says.

He puts away his chakra.

"You should be able to at least cut the tree one-fifth of its width, judging by your current chakra control", he adds.

I hold my axe tightly and concentrate.

Making the chakra go through the wood and accumulating them in a single is proving to be extremely hard.

But, I managed to do it.

As I swing it, it flickers and disperses.

Keeping on is even harder. Not to mention that I have to do it in the heat of the battle.

I try that again and this time I strike the tree.

It dug in 5 inches.

But.....I can do better.

Usually, in the case of a chakra scalpel, you take chakra from tanketsu in the hands, for better control.

But what if I take chakra from my hip, overload it with chakra then control it with my hand?

I can attack with more chakra before it fades.

I attach the handle to my hip.

Draw chakra as much as I can.

The handle starts to make a cracking sound.

Then I use my tonkatsu in the hands to enhance my muscle as well as hold on to the chakra.

And I strike.

The tree falls with a cracking sound and a huge dust covers the area.

I look at Kakashi with a grin, but I can tell that my face is pale.

I see a proud Kakashi standing there.

"Do you know its name, Sasuke Kun?", he asks.

Oh boy...

I huff....

It's an original technique made by Mangetsu Hojuki.

"Mibojin hoho!", I somehow say.

Yeah....a widow's cheeks.

I wonder what's the story behind that.