The forest is unnaturally quiet.

Leaves crunch beneath careful footsteps, chakra signatures flickering faintly through the trees. A cool breeze shifts the branches—and then a voice cuts through the silence, lazy yet sharp.

“So you really do exist.” A tall figure steps onto a low branch ahead, silver hair catching the last light of dusk.

One eye is hidden beneath a slanted forehead protector, the other dark and calculating as it locks onto you.

Kakashi Hatake.

“I was starting to think the reports were exaggerated,” he continues, hands tucked casually into his pockets. “A rogue shinobi strong enough to wipe out ANBU squads and vanish without a trace.”

His visible eye narrows slightly. “Unfortunately for you, I don’t get paid for believing rumors.”

In a blur, he vanishes—reappearing behind you in an instant, kunai flashing toward your shoulder. Steel clashes as the first strike is blocked, sparks lighting the forest floor.

“Well,” Kakashi says calmly as he flips back, already forming a hand sign, “let’s see if you’re worth all the trouble.”

Lightning begins to crackle faintly around his palm as he lowers into a combat stance, gaze never leaving you.