Of course, when Nara Kazuki approached Jiraiya, it wasn't just for fun —He fully intended to drag the old pervert back to Konoha.
If Jiraiya were present during the Night of the Nine-Tails, fewer people would die.Maybe, just maybe, Minato could even survive.
Kakashi wasn't thinking that far ahead, but he instinctively understood:Bringing Jiraiya back could help lighten their teacher's burden.
Jiraiya spotted Kazuki and Kakashi easily — their forehead protectors and outfits screamed Konoha.But he clearly had no interest in dealing with Leaf shinobi right now.
He simply spun on his heel and vanished into a side alley in a few agile leaps, gone without a trace.
"Looks like he doesn't want to see us," Kakashi muttered, withdrawing his gaze.
The Legendary Sannin...Once Konoha's pride.Now?Tsunade had left, Orochimaru had defected, and Jiraiya wandered in exile.
No one knew where they truly stood anymore.
"Let's move," Kazuki said, not pressing the issue.
Right now, they had no realistic way to catch Jiraiya.
Later, maybe, if they scouted the right kind of places...Women's bathhouses, open-air springs, anywhere "inspiration" flowed freely.
And if they caught him red-handed, maybe — just maybe — they could blackmail him."You wouldn't want Tsunade-sama to hear about your peeping escapades, would you, Jiraiya-sama?"
Though knowing Jiraiya, he'd probably just snatch the evidence, laugh it off, and pretend nothing happened.
That night, Kazuki and Kakashi crept toward the designated bandit camp.
"Preliminary count — no enemy shinobi. Thirteen armed bandits,"Kakashi reported from a high tree branch.
Once the mission started, Kakashi snapped back into proper form — sharp, cold, efficient.Whatever guilt and self-loathing he carried, battlefield instincts took over when needed.
"I'll handle it alone,"Kazuki said, cracking his neck, feeling a knot of tension build in his gut.
He had lived two lives — but this would be the first time he'd ever truly kill someone.
No matter how brave you pretended to be, the first kill always left its mark.
"I'll watch your back,"Kakashi replied, not moving from his perch.
Against mere bandits, Kazuki shouldn't have any trouble — unless he was monumentally stupid.Kakashi was just there as insurance.
Kazuki inhaled deeply.Kunai in hand, he slipped into the shadows.
The bandits were gathered around a campfire, laughing, drinking, arguing over spoils.
Amateurs.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"Kazuki's hands blurred through the seals — and a roaring inferno blasted forth, engulfing the campfire and the five nearest bandits.
Screams split the night.The stench of burning flesh clawed at the air.
Three were incinerated instantly.Two more, half-charred and crippled, wouldn't last long.
Kazuki's heart pounded in his ears.His breathing quickened — but there was no paralyzing guilt.
Kill or be killed.
That was all.
"Die, brat!"One bandit lunged from behind, blade raised —Only to strike a hunk of wood.
Kawarimi.
Before the idiot could even blink, Kazuki buried a kunai in his heart.
Cold. Precise.One by one, he hunted them down, ending lives like snuffing candles.
Twelve bandits fell before him, dead or dying, sprawled like broken dolls.
Only one remained — trembling violently, clutching a bloodied sword that offered no real protection.
"You left one alive,"Kakashi said, stepping into the clearing.
He had kept watch from the perimeter.The survivor's fear was palpable, thick enough to choke on.
"I've been meaning to test something,"Kazuki said casually.
He had been itching to try the Sacrificial Dance hidden within his Shadow Imitation Jutsu.
Konoha wasn't the place for such experimentation — he'd get branded a rogue ninja instantly.
But here?Here was perfect.
Kakashi caught the implication and, without a word, wandered off to relieve himself —No doubt wanting plausible deniability regarding clan secrets.
Kazuki didn't mind.
"You... what are you doing?"the last bandit whimpered.
Kazuki smiled thinly, cold fire glinting in his eyes.
The campfire's glow warped his shadow, stretching it like monstrous tentacles.
In an instant, his shadow shot forward, capturing the bandit's.
The man froze, paralyzed.
Kazuki began the Dance.
There was no grace.No beauty.The steps were ugly — convulsions like a fish gasping on dry land, desperate, futile.
And as Kazuki moved, so did the bandit.
Limbs twisted unnaturally.Bones creaked and popped grotesquely.
The air grew heavy, cold.
Even Kakashi, far away and minding his own business, suddenly felt an overwhelming wrongness seep into the night.
For a moment, he thought he heard distant, whispering voices.Faint, maddening, incomprehensible.
Then it passed.
"Let's go,"Kazuki said, walking calmly back, carrying a pouch filled with "proof" — severed tokens needed to verify mission completion.
"You experimented with a new jutsu, didn't you?"Kakashi asked, wary.
Technically, clan jutsu were private matters.But that aura... that chilling atmosphere...It wasn't something normal.
"Just a boring little technique,"Kazuki waved dismissively.
In truth, even he was unsettled.For a brief instant during the Sacrificial Dance, he had felt something... something watching.
Something vast and alien.
And then — just as suddenly — it vanished.
As for the bandit?Dead.Bones twisted backward, body mangled beyond recognition.
Effective, Kazuki mused.But way too unpredictable.
Could be useful.Could be fatal.
Kakashi stared at him, words bubbling on his tongue —But in the end, he said nothing, falling into silent step beside Kazuki under the indifferent stars.