Tazuna told a story about the wealthy merchant Gato, who ruled the area with an iron fist, and the desperately poor Land of Waves.
Tazuna also emphasized that the bridge they were building was the only hope for the entire country.
In the end, he even tried to guilt-trip them into continuing to protect him.
Naruto wanted to say, Did he really need to guilt-trip them over this?
The moment Sasuke heard that he could stay outside with Naruto for three weeks, his eyes lit up. He looked ready to skip right past the Mangekyō Sharingan and evolve straight into the "Shining Eye," okay?
Besides, what the Land of Waves lacked was neither a bridge nor ninja. What it needed was a dragon-slaying manual.
Where there was oppression, there was resistance!
If they did not resist, then even if the bridge was completed, the tyrant Gato would blow it up sooner or later.
Naruto had nothing to say about these people's naive thoughts.
"What do you think? Should we keep going?"
Kakashi-sensei turned around and asked for the opinions of Naruto and the other two.
"Of course we'll continue, Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke immediately answered first. He still needed the Naruto Power Bank.
Three weeks would be more effective than half a year of his usual training.
Sasuke was even afraid Naruto would object. He could not help glancing at him and provoking, "Naruto, you're not scared, are you?"
"Continue."
Naruto ignored the kid's provocation. He took an apple from his backpack and used a high-quality game-produced kunai to peel it as he ate.
Fruit was good. It was rich in vitamin C, so he needed to eat more.
"I want to continue too, Kakashi-sensei."
Sakura performed exceptionally well today. She felt herself growing stronger so quickly, and when she thought about why, she also wanted to spend more time close to Naruto. Thinking that, she secretly peeked at him.
Crunch~
Noticing Sakura's gaze, Naruto, who was eating his apple, instantly felt like life had lost all meaning. He had completely become a tool!
I really want to go back to Konoha!
Wait, no!
Naruto felt he was still too kind. He possessed such a treasure, yet not only did he not throw his weight around within the team, he did not even have any room to resist?
Fine. Tonight, he would make Sasuke wash his smelly socks.
The group continued on their journey.
Swish~
With nothing better to do, Naruto swung the kunai in his hand and split a passing fly in two.
Only after cutting it did he remember that he still needed that kunai to eat apples.
Eugh~
Acting as if nothing had happened, Naruto wiped the kunai clean on Sasuke and glanced back at Kakashi-sensei, who was guarding the rear.
Another question suddenly popped into Naruto's mind.
How exactly had Kakashi-sensei obtained the Sharingan?
Could it have been during the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall?
No, Kakashi did not seem like such a bad person.
Could Hatake Kakashi-sensei's real name actually be Uchiha Kakashi?
Seeing that Kakashi-sensei had no intention of explaining, Naruto could only bury the question in his heart.
"We're here."
Tazuna's home was up ahead.
The architectural style of the Land of Waves was indeed different from that of the Land of Fire. At the very least, this building was quite distinctive.
Tazuna's family included a daughter and a young grandson.
The daughter was Cao Big Official's type, while the grandson was rather annoying, bluntly declaring that all of them would die.
What a little brat!
In the end, Naruto sent him away with a bag of chips and a cola.
Then Naruto noticed something strange: the Chakra marked as Momochi Zabuza had suddenly become active.
Could Zabuza still be alive?
Hadn't he been taken away by the hunter-nin?
Suddenly, Naruto thought of a possibility: the pursuer and Zabuza might have been working together.
Well, damn.
Even Naruto was impressed by that move.
As expected of ninja who had spent years in the ninja world. Their tricks ran deep.
However, no matter how good a scheme was, it would still crumble before absolute strength.
Earlier, in order to prevent Zabuza from escaping, Naruto had planted a Flying Thunder God mark on him.
With the Flying Thunder God tattoo, how could he possibly escape?
Still, this piqued Naruto's interest in Zabuza.
"Kakashi-sensei, tell us about that Zabuza?"
Naruto wanted to learn about Zabuza from Kakashi, as well as the Land of Water.
The ninja world was too vast, and he had too few clones.
Up to now, the Land of Water's map was still completely black.
He wanted more intelligence!
"Zabuza, huh." Kakashi began recounting the information he knew.
The graduation exam where he killed every student in his class, the Bloody Mist Village, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, assassinating the Fourth Mizukage, becoming a rogue ninja.
The series of events left all three of them dumbfounded. Naruto was especially stunned senseless.
He had thought Konoha training twelve-year-old children into qualified killers was already perverse enough.
Who would have thought? Who would have thought?
There was actually something even worse. Whose subordinate was this?
The Fourth Mizukage, right?
It really felt like that man did not want Kirigakure to prosper.
As the Mizukage, he could not possibly have been a spy from another village, could he?
Zabuza was truly ruthless too. He had actually wiped out everyone from his own class.
But.
Looking at it from the other side, why did Zabuza suddenly seem like a good person?
He killed his classmates, forcing the village to end the Bloody Mist Village system. Afterwards, he even assassinated the Fourth Mizukage over it.
No matter how one looked at it, he had been doing it for Kirigakure's sake.
Although his lack of strength had left him no choice but to become a rogue ninja, his motive was worthy of praise.
"Something about today's events was strange. I feel like I've overlooked something." Kakashi-sensei, who had been telling the story, came to his senses and noticed that something was off.
Naruto bared his teeth as he listened.
He almost wanted to say, "Kakashi-sensei, your intuition is right. Zabuza is alive and well."
However, Zabuza probably would not get the chance to come looking for trouble.
Because Naruto was planning to choose him as one of the executors of the Cuckoo's Nest Plan.
Though he was a rogue ninja, after clearing his name, he would simply be the best possible candidate to compete for Mizukage.
Mm.
He was the one.
Now, only one question remained.
"Sensei, does Kirigakure have a Mizukage now?"
Kakashi was interrupted in his thoughts and answered Naruto's question. "No. Ever since the Fourth Mizukage was assassinated, the position of Mizukage has remained vacant."
It was still vacant?
Naruto nodded. That was perfect. The plan was complete!
By then, Kakashi had also recalled nearly the entire incident. He reminded everyone that Zabuza was not dead, then stressed:
"As for you, you need to train hard! The three of you can defeat Zabuza. Next time, you'll be able to defeat Zabuza and that boy."
"Especially you, Naruto." Kakashi specifically praised him. "You're the strongest. Keep it up!"
"Mm." Naruto nodded, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Looking at Naruto's smile, Kakashi felt rather conflicted inside.
For all I know, Naruto might already be stronger than me. He's only lacking a bit of combat experience.
Kakashi planned to take the three of them into the forest for training.
"Kakashi-sensei, I need to use the bathroom." Naruto made an excuse midway and left.
After reaching a secluded spot, Naruto put on a cloak, donned a mask, and switched to the Sharingan.
Once he had finished dressing up, he sensed the location of the Flying Thunder God mark.
Whoosh~
When he appeared again, he saw Zabuza lying immobile on a bed, along with a pretty-looking ninja beside him.
"Zabuza, the organization has decided that you're going to become the Mizukage!"
Thanks to Guanggu Hua Yi Jia Yi for the five monthly tickets. Thank you.
Also, thanks to every esteemed reader for your recommendation votes and follow support. Thank you.
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