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There's probably nothing wrong with Sasuke.
Kakashi's side is doing great.
It was an impressive physical duel. When the opportunity arose, the water dragon and the ice dragon clashed fiercely. Nadare is quite powerful, having been able to hold his ground against Kakashi for so long.
Kakashi is a master of chakra control. When using ninjutsu, he selects his techniques based on the environment and chooses the most suitable time to release them.
This is the result of copying so many different jutsu, allowing him to maximize every ounce of his chakra.
He's quick-witted and cautious in combat. These are the traits of a skilled Konoha ninja, and it's not just because his limited chakra forces him to make careful calculations.
Naruto couldn't tell if Kakashi was growing anxious because his students had already finished their battles or if he had figured out all of Nadare's moves and the capabilities of his armour.
Naruto watched as the two fighters exchanged blows and then distanced themselves. Kakashi raised his headband, revealing his Sharingan, and simultaneously made the same hand signs as Nadare:
"Ice Release: Giant Beluga!"
Two enormous narwhal-like beluga whales, larger than the boat the crew had taken, rose from the sea and collided above the glacier.
The beluga made of ice shattered, sending shards of ice everywhere, and the entire glacier trembled.
"Copying again, Kakashi? The same jutsu won't determine the winner!" Nadare seemed to have seen Kakashi's Sharingan long ago and spoke with disdain for the imitation.
"Who knows?" Kakashi suddenly vanished from his position, his speed increasing in an instant, and kicked Nadare in the chin before he could react.
Nadare was sent flying, and Kakashi followed him, staying close like a shadow, both of them suspended in midair, like falling leaves.
Panicking, Nadare exclaimed, "This is..."
"Leaf Shadow Dance!" Kakashi threw steel wires from each of his hands, binding Nadare's arms tightly to his sides, preventing him from moving.
"And now... Front Lotus!" Kakashi grabbed Nadare's body, adjusted his position, and began spinning rapidly, headfirst toward the ground. As they neared impact, Kakashi jumped away, landing safely.
Meanwhile, Nadare crashed into the ice, his legs sticking out, kicking twice before falling still.
"You rely too much on that armour. Even if regular ninjutsu and genjutsu don't work, ninja still have taijutsu." Kakashi jabbed a kunai into Nadare's body and lowered his headband, covering the Sharingan.
Then, Kakashi slumped, reverting to his usual laid-back demeanour. Using the Sharingan repeatedly and performing such large-scale ninjutsu, especially summoning the enormous beluga, combined with opening the first gate for Front Lotus, had drained him.
Thanks to his Sensei's rigorous training over the years, Kakashi thought happily, otherwise, after this battle, I might've been lying on the ground exhausted.
Kakashi glanced over at Sasuke and Naruto's fight and praised, "You both fought well."
Naruto almost felt his blood pressure rise but reasoned that Kakashi was simply encouraging them with no hidden meaning, so he held back.
Naruto asked, "Is that guy's armour broken?"
Kakashi glanced over and said, "It's damaged, but not destroyed. Why?"
"Because I'm collecting loot." Naruto ran over, and he and Sasuke broke off the remaining two pieces, though Kakashi's piece was still intact.
In truth, Naruto had his eye on the woman's armour, not because he wanted women's clothing, but because it could fly.
Kakashi reminded him, "Ninjas shouldn't rely too much on things like that."
"I know, but that's advice for us genius ninjas. What about regular ninjas with limited talent?"
Kakashi fell silent. Naruto's point made sense, even if nobody else bragged about being a genius as much as he did.
"Either way, we should take it back for research. It could greatly enhance Konoha's strength." Naruto grinned and stored the third-level armour from Nadare in a storage scroll.
When they returned to the boat, the director and staff were discussing something excitedly.
Curious, Naruto asked, "What's going on?"
Sakura replied, "The director filmed all the battle scenes and said they could be edited into material for the movie's fight scenes."
"Uh... Weren't they worried about getting caught in the crossfire?" Naruto was surprised. Were these people really that brave?
Sakura sighed and explained, "Most people were scared, but the director kept shouting things like, 'Let them witness the ambition of a professional filmmaker! Even if we risk our lives to capture it!' And so, here we are."
"That's incredible." Naruto mused. "If film crews in the future were this dedicated, they wouldn't need slow motion for fight scenes."
"Hey, do we get paid?" Naruto suddenly remembered something important.
"Huh?" His teammates didn't seem to follow his train of thought.
"We participated in the filming and contributed so many special effects, and it wasn't even part of the mission. That sounds like extra work to me."
Sasuke wasn't interested in engaging in Naruto's conversation. Kakashi, on the other hand, seemed puzzled. Since when did Naruto care so much about money?
Maybe it was because he had a girlfriend to support at home. Naruto went to negotiate with the director about payment but came back dejected.
The director agreed, but most of the payment would go to Sasuke and Kakashi, while Naruto received the least. The crew wanted more footage of Sasuke and Kakashi's flashy ninjutsu, like Fire and Lightning Styles.
Naruto, on the other hand, had only summoned a single water dragon, which the cameraman missed. The rest of his fighting was up close and personal, not what the director wanted.
After all the trouble, Naruto realized he'd just helped Sasuke and Kakashi make more money. Feeling defeated, he demanded they treat him to dinner.
Still, the experience gave Naruto an idea. In the future, he could partner with film crews, providing special effects and acting as a stunt double.
As for the danger, shadow clones could handle that. Naruto was sure they'd love doing this kind of work. The Uzumaki Arts Company could serve the film industry wholeheartedly.
"Alright, enough small talk. It's time we had a serious discussion with our client."
Escorting an actress and guarding a princess who also happened to be the princess of a fallen country had changed the nature of this mission.
There was now the delicate matter of not interfering in the internal affairs of other nations.
Still, it couldn't be said that Sandayu Asama had lied about the mission. After all, Fujikaze Yukie was an actress—that was simply the stage name of Princess Koyuki Kazahana.
And considering the strength of the Snow Country's ninjas, applying for an A-rank mission seemed appropriate—as long as the situation didn't escalate further.
Now, whether to continue the mission or abandon it would depend on Sandayu's attitude.
Kakashi sighed. All he had wanted was a simple escort mission. How had things become so complicated?
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