"You..." Kakashi found himself unable to refute.
No, he could refute. He had to refute.
"This is about war, Naruto," Kakashi's voice deepened, carrying a hint of a Jonin's pressure, "But we're not at war. We are Konoha Ninja, on a protection mission! Our duty is to protect the client, not to incite a revolution here!"
"Then, Sensei, your definition is too narrow," Naruto met his gaze without an inch of retreat, "A doctor who only removes a tumor but allows cancer cells to spread within the patient is a failed quack."
He stretched out a finger and pointed at the silent Village outside the window.
"Gato is the tumor; this country's weakness is the cancer. Without a cure, everything we do today will be meaningless."
"But, but they…" Sakura's voice was tearful. She looked at Tazuna, who was slumped on the ground, unable to imagine that scene, "They are ordinary people! They only build bridges, only fish! You can't… you can't send them to their deaths!"
Naruto glanced at her. There was no scorn in his eyes, only a calm that was almost cold.
"They are already slowly dying, Sakura. Rotting day by day in poverty, hunger, and fear. I am just giving them a choice, a chance to fight for themselves, to live for their descendants."
He paused, then turned his attention to Sasuke.
"What do you think, Sasuke?"
This question instantly froze the air in the living room.
Kakashi and Sakura both looked at Sasuke. This was the first time Naruto had openly sought Sasuke's opinion on a tactical decision, and he had done so over Captain Kakashi.
Sasuke raised his head, his black eyes swirling with an uncontrollable excitement.
"Hmph, very reasonable."
He only said three words, but they were like a knife, completely severing the original balance of the team.
He sided with Naruto.
Naruto nodded, as if he had received the expected answer. He no longer paid attention to Kakashi, who was frozen in place, and walked directly to the dazed Tazuna, squatting down to meet his gaze.
"Mr. Tazuna, I need a list."
His tone was as calm as if he were discussing what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.
"All men and women in the Village between fifteen and fifty years old. Also, write down their previous occupations. Blacksmiths are more useful than fishermen; hunters are more valuable than carpenters. We must make the best use of everything."
This tone, which quantified human lives as resources, made Tazuna's teeth chatter. He looked at Kakashi for help, his lips moving, but he couldn't utter a single word.
"Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto stood up, looking at his guiding Jonin again.
"Your Sharingan is unmatched in reconnaissance and high-level combat technique instruction. I will select the most talented individuals, and you will teach them the basics of trap-setting and guerrilla tactics. Your experience is crucial to us."
This move made Kakashi's heart sink.
This was not a request, nor a provocation.
This was an undeniable "appointment." Naruto acknowledged his value but forcibly incorporated him into his plan, assigning him the most suitable "position."
He, a battle-hardened elite Jonin, Konoha's "Copy Ninja" Kakashi, was openly arranged by his student, a twelve-year-old Genin.
Kakashi looked at the golden-haired young man before him, who was calmly discussing something in a low voice with Sasuke, as if the fate of the entire Land of Waves had already been decided on his chessboard.
At this moment, Kakashi suddenly realized.
The mission had long since spiraled out of control.
From the moment Naruto tore open his shoulder, the reins of this team were no longer in his hands.
He was not leading a Genin squad.
He was witnessing a crazy revolution initiated by his student.
Late at night, the light of the oil lamp flickered on the wooden walls of Tazuna's house.
Tazuna trembled as he handed a rough piece of paper covered with names to Naruto.
Naruto took the list, not even looking at the bridge builder slumped on the ground. He spread the paper on the table, his finger tracing each line.
"Inari, male, eight years old, unemployed. Value: zero."
"Tsunami, female, twenty-nine years old, housewife. Value: logistics."
His tone was like he was inventorying goods in a warehouse.
Each time he read a name, he used the tip of a kunai to mark a simple symbol next to it.
Kakashi stood by, watching Naruto categorize over three hundred living people into three cold categories.
[Core Combatants], [Support Personnel], [Logistics Support].
Three hundred people were not the entire population of the Land of Waves; Tazuna had merely adopted the attitude of a student responding to a teacher, writing a passable "assignment."
But these three hundred people, as the first mobilized force, were enough to stir up trouble.
This method of classification was efficient, professional, and carried a chilling swiftness.
Sasuke leaned against the wall, Naruto's profile reflected in his black pupils. He felt no fear, but rather a strange sense of identification.
This was what a strong person should be like. Eliminating all useless emotions, only to achieve the goal.
Sakura looked at the list. She knew many of the people on it; they had smiled at her earlier that day. Now, they were strings of symbols waiting to be assigned a purpose.
"Alright." Naruto put down the kunai, "Twelve core combatants, sixty support personnel, and everyone else assigned to logistics."
He handed the list to Kakashi.
"Sensei, this is your job. Tomorrow, I will hand these twelve people over to you and Sasuke."
Kakashi took the paper, feeling it weigh a thousand pounds.
He felt Naruto was too rational, rational to the point of being almost ruthless.
But, he also had to admit, this was the most efficient approach.
The next morning, before dawn fully broke.
The villagers on the list were summoned by Tazuna to the unfinished bridgehead, under the pretext of "discussing important matters regarding the bridge project."
People breathed out white mist, hands tucked into their sleeves, gathering in twos and threes, discussing animatedly.
"What's wrong with the bridge? Isn't it almost finished?"
"I don't know, Mr. Tazuna looks very upset."
Sasuke stood behind Naruto, his hand on his Ninja tool pouch, his expression cold. Sakura nervously clutched the hem of her clothes, uneasily watching the panicked crowd around them.
Kakashi leaned against a bridge pillar, hands in his pockets, silently observing everything.
He did not stop it.
Or rather, he wanted to see what Naruto would do.
Naruto walked onto the highest bridge pillar, standing above everyone's line of sight.
He didn't speak, merely looked down calmly at the dense crowd below with his blue eyes.
Panic and unease fermented in the silence.
"Do you think you are building a bridge?"
Naruto's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"What you are building is the path to all of your graves."
The crowd instantly erupted.
"What nonsense is this kid spouting!"
"Get him down! Bad luck!"
Naruto ignored the commotion.
"Gato, the true ruler of the Land of Waves. He doesn't want money, nor the right to pass over this bridge."
"He wants complete monopoly, absolute control. This bridge is the only hope to break his control, so he will destroy it at all costs."
"And after the bridge is destroyed?"
Naruto paused, his cold tone hitting everyone.
"He will kill everyone involved in building the bridge. Then your families, your children. He will use a massacre to warn anyone who dares to resist him."
"The entire Village will be wiped off the map. Not a blade of grass will grow."
Despair, like a plague, quickly spread through the crowd.
"No… that won't happen…" a young fisherman loudly retorted, his face flushed, "We are just ordinary people! As long as we don't resist, why would Gato kill us? He wants money!"
"Naive."
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