The life expectancy of a shinobi tends to be low, and this doesn't depend solely on their skill. It can vary according to the village (some are far more violent than others), the presence of a major war, or even the degree of their involvement in global politics. It all depends. But generally speaking, it's usually short. Ninjas need to be prepared to lose their comrades early.

This is why the idea of celebrating his students' birthdays always made Kakashi more excited. Unironically, every birthday could be the last. He trained them so they could live to see more birthdays, but as mentioned, ninjas often die young.

Among the trio, Sakura was the first to celebrate her birthday. It was a pleasant spring day, and she invited all the teams from her class for a picnic at the training field. It was a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon, filled with a variety of food and drinks. All her friends attended, including the senseis. Even Sasuke, who always seemed indifferent to his friend, showed up and brought a gift: a new kunai model. Naruto, on the other hand, wouldn't have his birthday until the following autumn, but he was already chattering about how much he looked forward to going with his friends to Ichiraku and stuffing himself with the best ramen in the village. Kakashi felt happy to see his late sensei's son finally have people to share his special day with, after so many years of being alone on every occasion.

It was the height of summer in Konoha, during the latter half of July. By midday, people sought refuge from the intense sun and tended to go out more in the evening when the temperature became more pleasant. Occasionally, in the afternoon, there were torrential rains that lasted an hour or two, but summer rain was always fleeting and cooled the hot day a little.

It was around five in the afternoon when Team 7 returned to Konoha's gates after a mission. Kakashi dismissed them, giving instructions on where and when they would meet for their next activity the following day. But as he watched his students walk away, each heading toward their respective homes, the sensei sought out Naruto and Sakura separately.

"Listen closely. Tomorrow you'll have a day off, but don't tell your teammates, okay?" he said.

Both Sakura and Naruto were surprised but gladly accepted the day off. It would be great to rest for a day in this summer heat.

Sasuke finally arrived home after the mission. All he wanted was a cold shower and a plate of food. The young man removed his shoes, washed his hands, but when he opened the refrigerator and saw the empty shelves, he remembered it was time to go to the market to restock. Grumbling irritably, he returned to the entrance of his house, put on his sandals, and headed to the market.

The place where Sasuke usually bought his groceries wasn't far from home, perhaps two blocks away. It was a neighborhood market, like most in Konoha, usually run as a family business. This particular one had a display at the entrance showcasing various sweets, all very beautiful—and very tasty, according to popular opinion. Sasuke rarely paid attention to this part of the display since he wasn't fond of sweets, but that day, something immediately caught his attention.

It was a simple, round cake with white batter and what appeared to be a lemon frosting and filling, judging by the zest decorating the confection.

Sasuke found himself staring at the cake with an almost indecipherable expression. If scents from the past could somehow return to the present, that was precisely what was happening to him. The young man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could almost smell the aroma of a cake baking in the oven, the scent of lemon frosting being prepared on the stove. It was the smell of happiness…

Happiness that would never come back.

With no intention of allowing himself to be overwhelmed by nostalgia, Sasuke shook his head and went straight to the section for vegetables, fruits, grains, and meats to buy what he needed. After paying, he couldn't help but pass by the sweets display again and glance at the cake. The same kind of cake his mother used to make for his birthday had to appear there, right in front of him, on the eve of his birthday?

What a disturbance.

The Uchiha returned home, irritated. He set some vegetables to steam while he took a shower, then ate and threw himself onto the bed.

He spent a while staring at the ceiling, wishing all the good memories would leave his mind. He needed to focus on another mission the following day. However, the day's exhaustion eventually helped him fall asleep.

The next day, for the fifth year in a row, Sasuke woke up without his mother's embrace on his birthday. He woke with an emptiness in his chest, as he had on most other years. Sasuke always tried to spend these commemorative dates the same way: ignoring their existence and pretending it was just another day. Still lying in bed, he took a deep breath and made that agreement with himself. Just another ordinary day.

The young Uchiha ate, got dressed, prepared his ninja gear, and left for the team's meeting point to receive the day's mission alongside his teammates.

Sasuke was always punctual, arriving at least five minutes before any scheduled time, even though Kakashi was habitually late. Sakura was another who was usually punctual, but when the meeting time arrived, she was conspicuously absent. So was Naruto. Sasuke found this strange but stayed in place. Something could have happened, but he figured his teammates would have informed him if it had.

An hour past the scheduled time, Kakashi arrived, smiling beneath his mask when he saw the boy.
"Good morning, Sasuke!" he greeted, waving. "Abandoned by your teammates today?"

"Where are the others?" Sasuke asked, masking the faint concern creeping into his voice.

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, raising his hands. "I assigned them another mission. Today's task will be more suitable with just you and me."

Sasuke blinked. That was rare. Standard shinobi teams always consisted of four individuals.

But who was he to question Kakashi's methods?

The teacher pulled a small map from his hip pouch and unfolded it in front of Sasuke.
"See this village here?" he pointed to a location south of the Hidden Leaf. "It's called the Village of Healers. The people there specialize in producing products derived from medicinal herbs, which we use a lot at Konoha Hospital. They're an important part of our supply chain, but we haven't heard from them in a while, and the messengers we sent there have disappeared."

"What do you mean, disappeared?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi shrugged.
"I have no idea. The reports say they vanished under very strange circumstances."

"And our mission is to investigate this, then?"

Kakashi folded the map and tucked it back into his pouch.
"You catch on quickly, don't you?" he said, earning an eye roll from Sasuke.

The two shinobi headed south. It wasn't too far, perhaps two or more hours of walking. As they approached their final destination, they entered a dense forest that blocked most of the daylight.

Most of the journey was made in silence. Kakashi knew Sasuke's personality well and understood that the boy wasn't the type to enjoy distracting himself from the trek with chatter.

The forest seemed quieter than usual. One would normally expect to hear the sounds of animals and people moving, especially on a path that, despite being dense, should have seen a little more traffic at that time of day. All they could hear was the rustling of leaves beneath their feet as they walked. Something felt off.

"It's strange you chose to do this mission with fewer people," the young man observed, keeping his eyes on the road. "Wouldn't it be better with the full team?"

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets.
"Maybe it would, but I thought this mission would be better suited for just the two of us," he said casually.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in suspicion, glancing briefly at his sensei. For a moment, he wished Naruto's chatter was there, so he wouldn't have to deal with Kakashi's peculiarities alone.

Noticing his student's reaction, Kakashi stifled a laugh.
"Well, think of this as an opportunity for individual training. Let's see how far you've come. If anything goes wrong, I'll use you as a human shield."

Sasuke snorted, annoyed.
"Excellent way to motivate someone."

"Motivation?" Kakashi tilted his head at the boy. "I didn't know you needed that."

Sasuke looked at him.
"Why do you seem so relaxed in a situation like this?"

"Why do you seem so anxious?" Kakashi replied.

Even more irritated, Sasuke turned back to the path ahead and began walking slightly faster, putting about three steps between himself and Kakashi.

"What kind of thing are we expecting to find in this village?" the Uchiha asked a few moments later, trying to change the subject.

"I don't know. There are no traces of anything, just silence," Kakashi said, pensively for a moment. "But silence can be a way to hide things."

The Uchiha crossed his arms.
"Everything you've said so far has been more philosophical than useful."

"Oh, I'm full of useless wisdom. You should know that by now," Kakashi said, hiding a smile behind his mask. "You'll understand."

They continued in silence for a few more moments, hearing only their breathing and the crunch of leaves beneath their feet.

"It's very quiet," Sasuke whispered.

"Too quiet," the older man replied. "Stay alert."

"You didn't need to say that," Sasuke retorted sarcastically.

They finally arrived at the village. It was small and simple, with one-story wooden houses. The ninjas looked around. It was completely deserted. There wasn't a single living soul in sight. The streets were empty, and the doors and windows of the houses were open, swaying in the wind. There was no sign or smell of bodies.

However, Sasuke noticed and pointed out signs that a fight had occurred. In some places, the ground seemed oddly uneven, with some stains that could easily be dried blood.

Kakashi motioned toward one of the houses, signaling with his head for Sasuke to enter with him, and the younger man followed.

As soon as they both stepped inside, something strange began to happen. Their vision started to distort, as did the house itself. The walls, the overturned furniture—everything seemed to shift and move, and they began hearing faint whispers. When they realized it might be a genjutsu, indistinguishable human-like shadows started attacking them.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted, assuming a defensive stance against the attacks.

"I know!" the boy replied, activating the scarlet Sharingan and scanning his surroundings as he tried to dodge the blows directed at him. The distorted visuals made every movement difficult. It felt like they were perpetually dizzy.

Through his eyes, Sasuke saw that all the shadows attacking them were part of a genjutsu. There was nothing physically present, even though they could feel some form of contact when the shadows struck them. It was all an illusion.

"None of them are real," Sasuke said, forming a hand sign.

"Then focus on breaking the genjutsu," Kakashi said, moving closer to his student. "I'll cover you."

Kai! Cancel!

Slowly, the shadows vanished, and the distorted scenery returned to normal. Soon, the house's interior appeared exactly as it had when they entered. Sasuke checked all the rooms while Kakashi kept watch at the door, but there was no sign of life. They explored other houses, remaining alert for further threats, but all they found was a kunai.

The two regrouped in the center of the village to discuss their next steps.

"What's this symbol?" Sasuke asked, looking at the kunai in his hands.

Kakashi took the tool and examined it. At the end of the handle, there was a small symbol.
"I think I recognize this mark," he said. "It's from a clan known for collective genjutsu abilities. As far as I know, they're capable of creating area-wide illusions that trap people inside."

"They were very amateurish leaving a weapon like that."

"They just didn't count on us being the perfect pair to break illusions, right?"

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh through his nose.

"But if they use area genjutsu, then it means the people here might be alive, but under some kind of genjutsu," said the Uchiha.
Kakashi thought for a few seconds.

"Indeed. But where could the people be?"

The two looked around. They had explored most of the place. There was no way any of those houses could house a large number of people. But, at one moment, Sasuke's face lit up in realization.

"Give me the map."

The young Uchiha opened the map again and located the village.

"Look, there's a temple nearby. It usually has a lot of space and often has a basement. We can go check it out."

Kakashi nodded, pleased with his student's sharpness.

The temple was on the rise of a hill, really close to the village. As they approached, the air grew heavier, darker. Not in a physical or material sense, but in a psychological one. It felt as if they were getting close to the objective.

Suddenly, the shadows of the trees started dancing and swallowed the shinobi into a dense gloom, to the point where they could no longer see each other. It felt like they were alone.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke shouted, grabbing a kunai and taking a defensive stance, but received no response.

Sasuke noticed the shadows begin to take on new shapes, now clearer, of an individual dressed in the shinobi clothes of the Hidden Stone Village. Finally, the enemy revealed himself.

There were many shadows, and Sasuke began to be attacked almost simultaneously. It was likely that the enemy's goal was to wear the boy down until he completely succumbed to the genjutsu. Sasuke was getting tired, but refused to give up and tried to track the movements of the shadows with his Sharingan. He was managing.

He's an Uchiha, after all.

The boy couldn't identify, among the shadows attacking him, one that could be the real person. Perhaps the real one had gone after Kakashi.
Then, the Uchiha had an idea. He managed to get away and performed a series of hand seals.

"Stop hiding like a coward!" he exclaimed. "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"

The enormous flame covered a considerable area and had its effect, making all the shadows that had pursued him disappear. The natural light returned to normal, and Sasuke was able to orient himself around. When he looked around and noticed Kakashi's absence, the young man ran into the temple when he saw the entrance door ajar.

As soon as he entered the place, which was a large stone hall, Sasuke noticed that several people were huddled against the walls. They looked like peasants, but they were in some sort of trance, muttering meaningless things and maintaining vacant stares. Kakashi was in the center of the hall, lying on the ground with his body moving weakly, over a glowing circle, but with his visible eye open. Near him was the same individual who had taken on the form of the shadows Sasuke had just fought. The enemy had a confident, almost defiant posture. His calculating eyes immediately focused on Sasuke as the Uchiha entered the temple.

"You're late to the party, Sasuke," Kakashi grunted as the younger one approached.

"I learned from someone out there," the Uchiha retorted, worried.

The enemy noticed Sasuke's scarlet eyes.

"An Uchiha?" he said, smiling. "I didn't expect to have the honor of having you under my genjutsu."

Sasuke's body became tense.

"A coward who hides in the shadows won't defeat a Sharingan."

"You arrogant brat."

The man raised his hands, and for a few seconds, nothing happened.

However, suddenly, Sasuke felt his knees give way as if tons of weight were resting on his shoulders. It was a very real physical sensation, and soon that same weight began to affect the boy's mind, as if an entirely oppressive force were holding him by the head and squeezing his brain.
Sasuke fell to his knees and groaned. He gritted his teeth, struggling against the crushing pressure that seemed to want to bring him to the ground. He felt his vision blur, but forced his Sharingan to stay active. His mind spun, but he refused to give in. He looked at the glowing circle under Kakashi and the chakra that seemed to pulse from it, like a power core connecting the enemy to the people around.

With effort, Sasuke tried to focus on the chakra flow in front of him. Despite the throbbing pain in his mind, he gathered his energy and forced his hands to move, though trembling.

"Go to hell!" he shouted, quickly forming the hand seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Small fireballs shot from his mouth, this time fast and accurate, aimed at the glowing circle. The impact of the flames caused an immediate fluctuation in the chakra emanating from the symbol, and the glow began to weaken.

The man stepped back, surprised. The heat from his own jutsu helped Sasuke regain control of his body and mind.

"You have more resistance than I expected, kid. But this won't be enough!"

The enemy charged at him straight on, driven by desperation, and Sasuke took the opportunity to attack him, forcing him to retreat once more.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi managed to shout, though weakly. "The circle is the key point! It's with it that he's casting this genjutsu!"

Sasuke nodded, dodging an attack from the enemy and throwing himself to the side, spinning in the air using all his strength to run to Kakashi and use the kunai to cut the chakra lines.

The glow disappeared completely, and with it, the peasants fell to the ground, unconscious but free. Kakashi felt the pressure on his body lift and was able to get up, still a bit unsteady.

"Good job, Sasuke. But I think it's not over yet."

The enemy roared in rage, incredulous. It seemed that the source of his strength came from the subdued peasants, and now he no longer had that resource.

"Can you fight or are you going to let me handle this alone?"

Kakashi smiled, returning to his relaxed position, crossing his arms.

"Go ahead. You deserve to finish this job."

Sasuke cracked his knuckles, smiling slightly. The idea of a bit of violence excited him greatly.

Later that day, a medical support team arrived in the village. The villagers were very shaken and also in need of psychological care. After reporting the events to the head of the support team, Sasuke and Kakashi were cleared to return to the village.

The orange sunset painted the sky as the two shinobi made their way back to the Hidden Leaf Village. The walk after a successful mission was always more pleasant, even though silence reigned between them again. Additionally, hearing the sounds of nature without any enemy genjutsu was satisfying.

After a while, Kakashi broke the silence.

"Not bad for your first collective genjutsu, huh?" he said, as relaxed as ever. "You haven't been using the Sharingan for long. Excellent job."

Sasuke glanced at his sensei.

"It wasn't anything special" he replied. "I just did what was expected."

Kakashi chuckled softly.

"Being humble now?"

Sasuke gave him a slightly irritated look but quickly turned his gaze back to the road ahead.

"It's not humility. It's just... there's still so much to improve"

Kakashi stopped and, for a moment, observed the young Uchiha ahead of him.

"Sasuke, there's nothing wrong with recognizing your progress" he said, tilting his head slightly "This isn't about getting complacent, if that's what you're thinking. All your achievements, no matter how small, are the foundation for you to go further."

The boy remained silent, stopping as well, but Kakashi continued.

"Look, this mission was more than solving the problem of that village. It was about seeing how you handle bigger challenges, problems we got there not knowing what we'd face, with no manual or full team to back you up. We went with what we had at that moment. You did well. More than well, actually. You saved me, too."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.

"I didn't save you" he said, turning around. "You'd never be caught by someone like that."

The boy stared at his teacher. He paused for a short moment before speaking again, but there was a lightness in his tone that was rarely heard.

"If I knew this mission was just a test of my abilities, maybe I would've declined."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, relaxing his shoulders with satisfaction.

"Oh, but that would've been a shame" he said, continuing to walk, passing Sasuke, who was watching him. 'You'd miss the lesson... and the gift."

The Uchiha looked confused at his retreating teacher.

"G-Gift?"

Kakashi raised his hand, calling for Sasuke.

"Let's keep walking. I want to get to Konoha while the market is still open."

Sasuke quickened his pace, his face wearing a smile.

The next day, when Team 7, now complete, was returning from the mission of the day, Kakashi told the students that he needed to go to the training area with them, as the person responsible for the mission report would be there. Sakura asked the boys to wait for her there, as she had to do something quickly at home, and ran off.

When they arrived, there was no one to report the mission to, but rather a picnic blanket laid out with a basket and a package. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura smiled, glancing at Sasuke when he realized what it was about.

"You thought your birthday was going to slip by unnoticed, huh, idiot?" Naruto said, running to sit down and eat. "You did thought wrong!"

Sakura and Kakashi pushed Sasuke and made him sit down. He was too stunned to say anything or react otherwise.

When Sakura opened the package resting on the ground, there was the very same cake Sasuke had seen in the bakery window. The same lemon cake his mother used to make for every one of his birthdays, the one he hadn't eaten in many years.

He was so taken aback by the sight of the cake that his expression even slipped out of his usual personality. Finally, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I don't know how I still put up with all of you" he said, smiling slightly as he grabbed a knife and a napkin.

Knowing their friend, they knew that was his way of thanking them.