"Sensei Kakashi, can I beat him up?" Naruto glared viciously at the man. For someone who traded in human heads like this, if he didn't drag him down and give him a five-minute dirt-plane package, Naruto wouldn't be able to sleep.
Even if he did fall asleep, the moment he remembered it in a dream in the middle of the night, he'd have to slap himself.
It was fucking infuriating.
"Naruto."
Kakashi jumped over and lightly patted Naruto's shoulder, stopping his impulsiveness.
This guy was an official Hidden Mist ninja, and a pursuing ninja affiliated with the Anbu. He had status and backing. He wasn't like Zabuza, some unwanted rogue.
Besides, nine times out of ten, life didn't go your way. He just had to get used to it. Look at Kakashi—had he ever complained about his own life?
He bent down to inspect Zabuza's corpse.
"He's dead."
Kakashi looked at the newly arrived Hidden Mist ninja. He really had gone all out and killed the man outright.
"Ahh~"
Hearing the result, Naruto sighed and turned to check on his companions. "How are you two? Still okay?"
Sasuke and Sakura, one standing and one sitting, were both panting heavily. They were covered in wounds and had lost quite a bit of blood.
Zabuza was a Jonin with extensive combat experience. No matter how distracted he had been, he was still incredibly strong. Although the two of them had powered up and defeated him, they had suffered plenty of injuries themselves.
"I'm fine. Just some minor wounds." Sasuke forced himself to remain standing, seemingly unwilling to look inferior to Naruto.
But Naruto had already seen through him. With a light push, Sasuke collapsed onto the ground.
Still trying to act tough.
Sasuke shot him an angry glare.
"Is the battle over?" Sakura, who was sitting on the ground from exhaustion, asked.
Although she had only recently learned Super Strength Taijutsu and had been inconsistent during the fight, Naruto genuinely felt that Sakura had dealt more damage than Sasuke.
If he opened Zabuza's death data, Sakura's damage value should have been at the top of the rankings.
Naruto himself, as support, would be in second place.
As for Sasuke, he was undoubtedly dead last.
"It should be over."
Glancing back at the ninja on the tree branch, Naruto added, "Unless he wants to fight."
Looking at the two of them, bleeding and exhausted, Naruto took out Red Carefree Pills and handed them over. "Enough talking. Hurry up and take the medicine."
"Thanks, Naruto." Sasuke knew this wasn't the time for politeness. He took the Carefree Pill and popped it into his mouth.
Sasuke wasn't short on money.
After all, he was the young master of the Uchiha clan. Though his family had been wiped out, he had inherited all of their assets.
But Sakura hesitated. Back home, she had heard that one of these pills could bring a dying Chunin back to full health. Using one for her minor injuries now would be completely wasteful.
Besides, each pill was worth twenty thousand, and they often required paying extra just to get one. Sakura couldn't bear to use it.
"Naruto, my injuries aren't that serious either. How about I save it for next time?"
"It's yours. You decide when to use it."
Naruto roughly understood what Sakura was thinking. It really was a problem.
The reason he hadn't noticed before was, first, because he had money. He could eat items worth a thousand ryo in the shop like candy without caring.
Second, he had barely needed these pills before graduating. The people who could afford them were mostly Jonin, while everyone else who could buy them naturally wanted the strongest possible effect.
But...
Now that he thought about it, this thing still had plenty of room for market expansion.
He could try splitting the system-produced Carefree Pills into halves, quarters, eighths, or even sixteenths.
Even divided into sixteen portions, each would still restore 625 health. That was enough for Genin, and ordinary people could fully recover five times with some left over.
Hmm, he would try it when he got back.
Meanwhile, after some negotiation, Kakashi agreed to let the Hidden Mist pursuing ninja take Zabuza's body away. But he could only take the body; the Kubikiribōchō was staying behind.
Watching the long-haired ninja leave, Naruto felt deeply moved.
That guy seemed to be around the same age as them, yet he was already a pursuing ninja?
And he had been pursuing someone like Zabuza, an opponent Naruto needed to hold down while Sasuke and Sakura fought until they were completely exhausted before they could take him down.
There was always someone stronger out there.
But it had been so close!
If that guy had shown even a little more hostility just now, Naruto would have gone straight at him.
What a pity.
"Hey, Sensei Kakashi!" The moment Naruto turned around, he saw Kakashi suddenly fall over and go to sleep.
What was going on?
Sensei Kakashi, hadn't you been spectating from the sidelines the entire time?
Could watching cause side effects too?
Not understanding what was happening, Naruto ran over to check. There were no wounds. So what exactly was wrong?
He tried taking out a Blue Carefree Pill and feeding it to him.
Kakashi did a sit-up and got back up.
That nimble sit-up left Naruto dumbfounded.
Could Sensei Kakashi be weak again?
That couldn't be right!
Naruto was utterly confused. Did the Sharingan consume that much chakra?
He didn't think so.
And didn't Sensei Kakashi still not have a girlfriend? How could he be this weak, to the point that even activating the Sharingan was difficult?
Looking at it this way, those little yellow books consumed more chakra than girlfriends did.
Sure enough, he needed to read fewer little yellow books.
Maybe he should discuss it with Sensei Kakashi and let Uzumaki Naruto keep those things for him.
And Sensei Kakashi should stop reading little yellow books and just find himself a girlfriend. Maybe get married while he was at it.
He wasn't getting any younger. Why was he still firing at empty air?
"Sensei Kakashi, you..." The other two came over as well, and all three looked at him with concern.
Sasuke and Sakura believed Kakashi was the true backbone of the team. If something happened to him, they didn't dare imagine the consequences.
Naruto, on the other hand, simply wanted to obtain the little yellow books. No, he meant keep them safe.
"I'm fine. It's an old problem." Kakashi rubbed his left eye beneath his forehead protector, looking deeply emotional.
Seeing him like that, Naruto made a suggestion. "How about it, Sensei Kakashi? Why don't you get a girlfriend?"
Huh?
The three of them all looked at Naruto. How had this gotten onto the subject of girlfriends?
Naruto kept talking. "Sister Hua, who lives one street over from me, is twenty-three and still single. She's gentle, pretty, and has a great figure."
"It's just because she's too pretty that no one dares pursue her, so she's stayed single.
"I'm not lying, Sensei Kakashi. Really, Sister Hua has an amazing figure. I checked for you." As he spoke, Naruto imitated Might Guy, flashing a brilliant smile and giving a thumbs-up.
That expression conveyed one word: awesome!
Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and even the gossip-watching Tazuna: Huh?
Uh... had he let something slip?
Whatever.
Naruto's stance was: Don't ask how he checked. If you asked, he'd say it was against his will.
No, the system had forced him to go to the bathhouse, where he had accidentally run into her.
Not only that, Sister Hua was one of the few people who didn't discriminate against Naruto. She was beautiful, had a great figure, and was gentle, and her age was within his preferred range.
Sadly, Naruto himself was still too young. His little elephant hadn't grown up yet.
He was only introducing her to Sensei Kakashi because Kakashi was handsome, strong, and a decent person.
All four of them looked at Kakashi in unison again.
The three kids genuinely wanted to watch the show. Compared to finding Sensei Kakashi a girlfriend, was there any better entertainment?
Tazuna was purely a spectator enjoying the gossip.
"Cough, cough~ Well, we can discuss that later."
Kakashi successfully changed the subject. He looked solemnly at Tazuna. "Mr. Tazuna, I have something important to ask you."
＿|￣|●: Please keep reading, and send monthly and recommendation votes!
Before you continue