So-called Rogue Ninjas were different from the powerful missing-nin who could survive pursuit squads from ninja villages. They were merely ordinary people who had happened to learn the Chakra Refining Technique.
Many of them had never learned ninjutsu. They simply used Chakra to strengthen their bodies, then fought with cold weapons.
As for their strength, most of them were weaker than even the most ordinary Genin. Even the strongest among them were, at best, only as strong as an average Chunin.
As for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, although Sakura was the most ordinary kind of Genin in Konoha, she had been a top student at the Academy and possessed exceptional talent for Chakra control.
If she had been in an ordinary small ninja village outside the Five Great Villages, she would have been considered a genius-level Genin.
Naruto and Sasuke needed no further mention. Even without counting the Nine-Tails Chakra, Naruto's own Chakra reserves alone were already more than a hundred times those of Kakashi, an Elite Jonin. He was also proficient in the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, and his Body Technique was not bad either.
The other had a Single Tomoe Sharingan, was proficient in Fire Style ninjutsu and Shuriken Jutsu, and was the strongest genius of his class.
The two of them had already possessed the strength of Chunin from some small ninja villages when they first left the village. After these past few days of Chakra control training, they had grown even stronger.
The three of them might not have found it extremely easy to fight over a hundred Rogue Ninjas, but their chances of winning were certainly very high.
"Looks like being a teacher isn't easy either, Mr. Kakashi!"
After Sakura and the other two became entangled in a chaotic battle with the Rogue Ninjas, Li Chuan smiled at Kakashi beside him—or rather, Kakashi's Shadow Clone.
It turned out that when Sasuke had charged out just now, Kakashi had secretly followed him at the same time. The one left here was only a Shadow Clone.
"Can't be helped. My three subordinates are too adorable. I can't let anything happen to them."
Kakashi was somewhat surprised by Li Chuan's sharp perception. He adjusted his forehead protector and smiled.
He was not actually worried about those Rogue Ninjas. What truly concerned him were Zabuza, who was hiding in the shadows, and the youth who had rescued Zabuza.
Since Gato had appeared with his men, Zabuza and that youth, whom Gato had hired, had to be nearby.
Li Chuan smiled at that. He knew what Kakashi was thinking, and Zabuza and Haku were indeed hiding in the thick fog beneath the bridge right now. However, they were not there to deal with them, but to kill Gato.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"..."
Five minutes later, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke stood there panting. Before them lay Rogue Ninjas strewn across the ground, along with Gato, whose legs had gone weak with fright.
Gato had never expected that the many men he had spent money raising would actually be unable to defeat three little brats.
If he had known, he would have hired more missing-nin like Zabuza from the Bounty Hunter Guild.
"Just you wait! I won't let you get away with this!"
Gato viciously spat out his threat, then turned to flee.
Seeing this, Naruto and the other two turned to look at Kakashi, seemingly awaiting his instructions. Kakashi merely shook his head.
Clearly, Kakashi did not want to kill Gato here.
Their mission was to protect Tazuna. If Gato sent people after them, they could drive them away or kill them. But as long as Gato himself did not attack them, it would be inappropriate for them to kill him.
Otherwise, it would certainly harm Konoha's reputation afterward.
If this incident caused wealthy patrons to collectively develop a dislike for Konoha and stop coming there to issue missions, Konoha's income would drop significantly.
Of course, if they had accepted an assassination mission, that would be another matter. But on the surface, the major ninja villages would never accept missions to assassinate wealthy magnates, daimyo, or government officials.
Most such missions only appeared in underground Bounty Hunter Guilds.
Thus, in this world, wealthy magnates like Gato were generally not in much danger, provided they did not encounter some utterly deranged missing-nin.
"Slash!"
Just as Gato's figure was gradually disappearing across the bridge, an exceedingly horrifying sound suddenly rang out.
Then they saw Gato's head instantly fly from his body, tracing an arc before falling beneath the bridge. His body also crashed to the ground with a bang.
"Hmph, just an ordinary man!"
Zabuza emerged from the mist carrying the Kubikiribōchō. With one kick, he sent Gato's headless corpse into the sea. Beside him stood the masked Haku.
"Zabuza!!!"
As they watched Zabuza appear and directly cut down Gato in one stroke, disbelief filled the eyes of Kakashi, Naruto, and the others.
What was this supposed to mean?
"Enough, Kakashi. Stop hiding. I know you're nearby. This time, I have no intention of fighting you."
Zabuza glanced toward a large boulder to the left of Naruto and the others.
Kakashi's Shadow Clone beside Li Chuan instantly dispersed, while the real Kakashi, who had been hiding behind the boulder, revealed himself and shielded Naruto and the others behind him.
"Why did you kill Gato?"
"That bastard tried to kill me without paying after I was injured last time. So I had no choice but to collect the payment myself!"
Zabuza sneered, then looked at the wary Kakashi.
"Relax. Though I really want to fight you again—you fooled me with your Sharingan genjutsu last time—after killing this guy, the real pursuit squad will probably arrive soon. I need to preserve my strength."
"If that's the case, then all the better."
Kakashi also breathed a sigh of relief at those words.
He was confident that he could defeat Zabuza, but he was not confident that Li Chuan and Naruto's group, who had just gone through a battle, could defeat that youth.
So naturally, it was best if they did not have to fight.
More importantly, Zabuza was a missing-nin from the Hidden Mist Village, not Konoha. Why should he help another ninja village eliminate its missing-nin? If not for Hidden Mist Village's schemes back then, Rin would not have died.
To be honest, if he had to name the two villages he hated most, Hidden Mist Village and Stone Village would come first. One had caused Rin's death, and the other had caused Obito's death.
"You are a worthy opponent. When the chance arises, I will settle the score with you again!"
Leaving behind those final words, Zabuza vanished from everyone's sight with Haku.
"Gato is dead, and Zabuza's group won't cause any more trouble. It seems the people of the Land of Waves can finally live happier lives in the future. Good deeds are indeed rewarded, and evil deeds are punished. It is not that retribution does not come—it is simply not yet time."
After Zabuza left, Li Chuan approached Kakashi and the other four with a smile.
Zabuza and Haku's appearance had been deliberately arranged by him. His purpose was to prevent anyone with ulterior motives from linking Gato's death and the subsequent acquisition of his assets to the merchant caravan under his command.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for Zabuza to kill Gato. Li Chuan could have dealt with Gato in secret himself.
Now, the matter was perfectly clear. Missing-nin Zabuza had fallen out with his employer Gato, killed Gato, taken a sum of his money, and fled.
Li Chuan's friend, the kind-hearted merchant Matsukawa, helped the Land of Waves build its bridge and, incidentally, acquired Gato's estate after his death, leading the people of the Land of Waves toward a better new life.
Konoha Ninja Kakashi and the three Genin, along with the bridge builder Tazuna, could all testify to that.
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