[Scene Break – Later That Day: Hayato's Personal Training Compound]
The sun hung at its peak, casting sharp shadows across the compound where Naruto and Hayato now stood. Their briefing complete, they had retreated to this private space — a small courtyard behind the eastern training grounds, lined with weapon racks and scroll shelves.
Naruto knelt before an open gear pack. Each item was laid out with precision — not the cluttered mess he once might have carried.
Standard kunai set — twelve, perfectly balanced.
Three wind-sharpened shuriken.
Two sealing scrolls (Hayato's addition).
Compact ration packs for eight days.
Field medical kit.
Rope, wire traps, chakra tags.
Basic hygiene kit.
And at the side — his blade, sheathed in new leather. The chokutō gleamed faintly even in shadow.
Hayato knelt beside him, arms folded, watching in silence.
Finally, Naruto looked up. "Is this enough?"
Hayato's voice came quiet, but final."Gear does not win battles. Mind does. But this will suffice — if your intent matches it."
He unfolded a slim paper and handed it over."Rations will be supplemented by hunting along the route. Water sources are marked here — study them tonight."
Naruto scanned the small map — Kawa Gorge, Ridge Fork, Tetsu Stream. Noted.
Hayato stood."We leave at first light. Sleep well — but not late. This is not an academy field trip."
A rare flicker of a smile crossed Naruto's face."I know."
[Scene Break – Dawn: Village Gate]
The eastern gate of Konoha loomed ahead, half-shrouded in morning mist. The village beyond still slumbered; only a few vendors prepared their stalls. Crows called from distant rooftops.
Naruto adjusted the weight of his pack, blade secure at his side. He felt every layer — the reinforced boots, the tight bindings beneath his jacket, the subtle hum of chakra now more familiar than breath.
Hayato stood beside him in full jonin attire, cloak hanging loose for mobility. His expression was unreadable as ever.
Ahead, the convoy awaited. Five merchant carts, oxen already harnessed. Two grizzled caravan guards glanced toward the arriving shinobi with muted relief.
Naruto's gaze flicked across the road stretching beyond the gate.
Kawa Valley. The Gorge. The Ridge. Two weeks of uncertainty.But beneath the thought, something else thrummed in his chest — not fear. Not recklessness.
Readiness.
Hayato's voice broke the quiet."Last chance. Doubts?"
Naruto shook his head once."No doubts."
Hayato nodded faintly.
From behind, a familiar voice called out.
"Yo. Already leaving?"
Naruto glanced back — Kakashi, leaning lazily against a nearby post, book in hand. One eye fixed on him — not mocking, but assessing.
Kakashi's visible eye crinkled faintly."Hm. Don't die. Bandits aren't the worst thing on the border roads."
Hayato gave a small, knowing nod."Nor is death the worst outcome. A failed mind is harder to recover than a wounded body."
Naruto didn't speak — but the words rooted themselves in his mind.
With a subtle flick of Hayato's hand, they moved."Form up."
As Naruto fell into step beside his sensei, the eastern gates creaked open. Cool dawn air swept through.
And for the first time in his life — truly beyond the village walls — Naruto Uzumaki walked forward, blade at his side, shadow lengthening behind him.
No longer the loud boy chasing attention.Now a shinobi in the making — eyes forward, step steady, purpose clear.
[Scene – Road to the Kawa Valley: Day 1 of Mission]
The eastern road unfurled beneath steady wheels and silent feet.
Naruto walked with even strides beside Hayato, eyes sharp beneath the brim of his headband. The convoy rumbled slowly ahead — five merchant carts, heavy with cloth, rare metals, and medicines bound for the distant border outpost.
To either side, tall swaying grass bowed in the wind. The Higashi Plains stretched wide here — open country that made Naruto instinctively uneasy. Too easy to be seen. Too few places to vanish.
Ahead, rising like jagged teeth against the horizon, the first ridges of the Kawa Valley awaited. A place of narrow paths, shadowed ravines, and legend-heavy forests. Farther east lay the Tetsu Stream Crossing and the frontier lands — bandit country, unstable at the best of times.
The caravan master, a gruff older man named Genta, rode a weathered horse near the first cart. He glanced back often, eyes flicking nervously toward the waving grasses.
Naruto noticed.
"First sign," Hayato said quietly beside him, voice barely above breath.
Naruto tilted his head slightly.
"His gaze. They've already heard rumors of ambushes. This is the first layer of tension — do not dismiss it. Nor should you let it rule you."
Naruto nodded once.
They pressed on. The morning sun climbed higher, shadows shortening. By mid-morning, sweat beaded at Naruto's brow beneath his headband, though his movements remained fluid.
His senses were tuned — a habit born of the last month's relentless training. Every shift in the grass, every odd flicker of movement caught his notice. He catalogued them silently, resisting the urge to act without certainty.
Patience, Hayato had drilled again and again."A shinobi's blade strikes when the mind is still — not when the heart is loud."
[Scene — Road to the Kawa Valley: Late Evening]
By the time the sun dipped low, painting the Higashi Plains in molten gold, the caravan had entered the outer fringe of the Kawa Valley.
Here, the road narrowed between rising shoulders of earth and stone, dotted with wild shrubs. The comforting openness of the plains was gone — replaced with a natural choke point. Shadows stretched long across the track. The evening air grew cool and dense.
Naruto's senses prickled.
Hayato, walking calmly beside him, slowed his pace.
"Evening is their hour," the older shinobi murmured. "Stay sharp."
Then — without a sound — Hayato vanished into the treeline.
A test.
Naruto knew. Hayato had warned this day would come: a moment when he'd leave Naruto to face a threat alone. Not out of neglect, but to measure readiness. To see if the blade they had forged could cut through reality — not just drills.
[Moments Later — The Ambush]
The convoy rounded a bend — high ridges rose sharply to left and right, forming a natural funnel.
Then it happened.
A single shrieking arrow split the dusk — fired high from the left ridge.A signal.
From both flanks came movement — fast, practiced.Not random thugs — coordinated.
Twelve figures in total:
-Six from the right ridge, sliding down with rope and blade.
-Four more sweeping in from the front brush, cutting off retreat.
-Two archers remaining above, covering lanes of escape.
Bandits — but well-equipped. Better steel. Light armor. Eyes sharp. Not peasants.Someone was paying them.
Naruto's hand blurred — blade drawn in reverse grip, chakra surging.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Four clones burst into existence — no hesitation.
First Phase — Front Sweepers
The four bandits rushing from the front barely had time to register what hit them.
One clone darted right, drawing their eyes — another feinted left.
Naruto himself shot low between them — body flickering into their center with a spin.His chokutō gleamed in a rising arc — a perfect Moon Arc Slash through ribs and shoulder.
Two dropped in a heartbeat.
The others staggered, too slow.A clone's chakra-enhanced kick shattered one's knee.The last fell screaming beneath Naruto's second flowing strike.
Four down.
Second Phase — Ridge Attackers
The six descending from the ridge came fast — aiming to catch the caravan in chaos.
Naruto's clones intercepted.
Two clones met the first pair on the right slope — steel clashing in the dim light.
Naruto himself vanished mid-step — Fading Phase + Body Flicker — reappearing behind a third attacker.
Steel whispered. One bandit gasped — throat opening beneath a single, silent crescent slash.
The clones bought precious seconds as Naruto forced the others into narrow footing — turning terrain against them.
They came with brute force.He answered with speed and precision.
His blade never stopped moving — turning, deflecting, striking in liquid motion.He no longer fought like a brawler.
He fought like a shinobi.
Six more fell.
Final Phase — Archers
The two archers on the ridge loosed arrows in panic, having watched the massacre below.
Too late.
One clone surged up the slope, drawing fire — giving Naruto the angle he needed.
He blurred upward in a series of Flowing Step Flickers — closing the vertical gap in moments.
The first archer barely had time to nock again before Naruto's blade swept in low — hamstringing cleanly, non-lethal.
The second turned to flee.Naruto's last clone caught him mid-stride — a chakra-enhanced strike to the gut ended the flight.
[Aftermath — Less than Three Minutes Later]
Silence.
The road lay empty but for the fallen and a faint wisp of dust.
Naruto stood alone amid the aftermath — sweat streaking his brow, breath controlled, blade faintly red with blood.
Twelve enemies. Alone. No wasted motion. No shouting.
The caravan remained untouched behind him — not a single merchant harmed.
From the shadows, Hayato reappeared at last — arms folded, gaze sharp.
He surveyed the scene. His eyes flicked once over Naruto.
"Three minutes. Clean. No panic."
He approached one of the conscious, bound archers.
"Well done, Naruto."
"Now — we ask questions."
Naruto nodded, eyes cold and steady.No trembling. No fear. Only the calm of purpose.