The Land of Waves, a Country Under Another's Control

Just now, when the two assassin ninjas ambushed Kakashi, Naruto, who was not far from him, had been unlucky enough to be cut by the spiked chain.

The cut on his hand from the spiked chain had already turned a purplish black!

Kakashi glanced at Naruto's wound, and his years of combat experience told him: "The spiked chains those two had were poisoned. We need to let the blood out quickly, or once the poison spreads, his life will be in danger."

Sasuke stood nearby with his arms crossed. "What a troublesome coward."

For once, Naruto didn't talk back. He stood there in silence.

He had been ashamed of his failure to act just now!

Now that Sasuke had provoked him, Naruto merely lowered his head, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"All right, Naruto, don't just stand there. Let the blood out quickly. Don't let the poison reach your brain," Kakashi-sensei reminded him.

Naruto nodded, gritted his teeth, and took a kunai from his backpack.

"Squelch!"

Naruto drew the kunai across his palm, cutting open the injured spot and letting the blackish-red blood flow out.

"I swear on my injured arm that I'll never shrink back when danger comes again!!"

Naruto Uzumaki spoke with determination in his eyes.

At that moment, he seemed to have grown.

Shinki was a little surprised. He saw the determination and resolve in Naruto's eyes and was happy to see him grow.

But as an elementary schooler with common sense, Shinki reminded him, "If you don't stop the bleeding soon, you can die from losing too much blood, too."

"Huh?"

Naruto's tough act fell apart instantly, and he hurriedly searched his ninja backpack for a bandage to stop the bleeding.

Shinki sighed, took out a bandage he carried with him, and went over to help Naruto dress the wound.

But when he saw the wound Naruto had just cut open, Shinki noticed something was off.

The wound was already showing signs of healing.

Was Naruto's body really that terrifyingly good at healing itself?

Or was something else interfering with his body?!

Shinki looked at Naruto's blank, clueless face and figured that even if he asked, Naruto wouldn't be able to tell him anything, so he suppressed his doubts.

After a simple bandaging, the group prepared to continue on their way.

Kakashi suddenly turned back and called out, "Mr. Tazuna, there are some things you need to explain to us."

"When you posted the mission, you never said you were being targeted by ninjas."

"The mission you posted was for us to escort you and protect you from attacks by thieves and bandits."

"Fighting ninjas doesn't fall within the scope of a C-rank mission."

"A false commission causes us a lot of trouble."

Mr. Tazuna lowered his head, looking somewhat embarrassed, and fell silent.

Kakashi continued, "There's something you need to make clear: who just attacked you, and why."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Shinki also turned their gazes toward Tazuna.

Though going out on a mission was great, they didn't want to be taken for fools, either.

Faced with the ninjas' gazes, Tazuna knew he couldn't hide it any longer. He sat down on the ground and began to explain. "I'm sorry. I deceived you."

"The truth is, a very frightening man has had me marked for death for a long time."

"You've probably heard his name too: Gato, the shipping company tycoon."

"Gato?"

Kakashi's voice rose.

He had spent years carrying out missions outside Konoha, so the name was familiar to him.

"He's one of the richest men in the world!"

Kakashi said.

Tazuna nodded. "That's right. On the surface, he's the big boss of a shipping company, but behind the scenes, he uses thugs and ninjas to traffic in contraband. He even goes so far as to swallow up other businesses and countries, doing nothing but shady business."

"About a year ago, that guy set his sights on the Land of Waves. Using his wealth and violence, he did as he pleased and quickly monopolized the country's sea transport."

"For an island nation like the Land of Waves, controlling the sea means controlling all its wealth, politics, and people."

"So the only thing Gato fears now is the Land of Waves building a bridge of its own and interfering with his monopoly."

"In that case, Mr. Tazuna, who can build bridges, is standing in Gato's way," Naruto said, having understood.

"Not bad, Naruto. You actually figured it out so quickly. I thought your clueless head wouldn't be able to make sense of it," Sasuke teased.

Naruto said, "Quit looking down on me! (ꐦ ಠ dish ಠ)"

Kakashi signaled for the two of them to be quiet, then asked Tazuna, "But there's still something I don't understand. Even if your mission was difficult, you could have explained the situation directly to the village. That would have made it easier for the village to send you the appropriate ninjas for the mission."

"A commission that conceals the truth causes considerable trouble for both of us."

Tazuna's weathered face reddened, and he explained, "The Land of Waves is an extremely poor country. Even the daimyo has no money, and naturally, I'm penniless too. I simply can't afford the high fees for a B-rank mission or above."

(Daimyo: equivalent to a feudal lord in ancient China.)

Kakashi spread his hands, looking helpless. "A mission that falls completely outside the scope of our assignment... I'm sorry, but we can only end the mission here. I don't want my students to get hurt."

Naruto stepped forward. "If we leave, won't Mr. Tazuna be doomed? And then the Land of Waves will be under Gato's control forever."

Even the usually cold Sasuke stepped forward, sympathizing with Tazuna. "That's right. Without us, Mr. Tazuna will die soon."

Kakashi's brows and eyes drooped.

Just as I thought, it's a hassle to bring a bunch of brats along.

Mr. Tazuna put on an understanding expression. "It's all right. This mission really is outside the scope of your assignment. If you end it and return to the village, I can understand."

"Although, if that happens, I'll soon be killed by assassin ninjas, the people of the Land of Waves will live in misery forever, and my eight-year-old granddaughter will spend every day in tears..."

"Don't play the sympathy card at a time like this. (눈‸눈)"

Kakashi mercilessly called him out.

But it had to be said that Tazuna's clumsy attempt to play the sympathy card did have some effect.

"Kakashi-sensei, can we help him?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke also looked at Kakashi, his eyes full of expectation.

Kakashi sighed and finally turned his gaze to Shinki.

If even one person was unwilling to carry out this mission, he would immediately take the whole team back to Konoha.

Shinki met Kakashi's gaze, looking thoughtful.

Although saving the people of an entire country sounded grand, and Shinki had dreamed of doing something like that too,

safety came first.

So Shinki asked Kakashi, "Can you guarantee the safety of the three of us?"

Kakashi's eyes curved as he smiled. "Before I die, I won't let any of you get hurt."

Shinki said, "But Naruto's hand just got cut."

Kakashi: ... (눈益눈) ...

Hey, don't say something so embarrassing while I'm raising a flag!