Contra Has Thirty Lives

After Minato left, Tazuna did not immediately begin work on the bridge. Instead, he and the workers spread the news everywhere that Gato's men had all been taken out by rogue ninja.

The residents of the Land of Waves rejoiced. Hundreds of them grabbed all manner of weapons and farm tools and rushed toward Gato's residence.

As for what happened to Gato, Naruto had no idea. All he knew was that Tazuna later returned beaming, with several times more workers than before.

While the residents of the Land of Waves were taking action, Naruto sat in a circle with his two teammates and one slacker, reviewing their battle experience. Their two fights with Zabuza had indeed exposed some problems.

Naruto spoke first. "First of all, our team's Perception Ability is still not strong enough. Once we run into the Hidden Mist Technique, we're left completely blind.

"That was why, in the second battle, we had no choice but to go all out to stop Zabuza from using Ninjutsu."

Kakashi could summon the Eight Ninja Hounds, but most of the time they were used for tracking rather than combat. As for the Earth Release: Fang Pursuit Technique used in conjunction with the hounds, only he could use it.

"I can handle that part. I'm practicing a sensory Ninjutsu. If I succeed, I'll gain a very powerful ability."

As he spoke, Naruto formed hand seals and created thirty Clones. With a wave of his hand, he sent them off to train.

The Clones slipped into the forest, brimming with fighting spirit. After finding suitable spots, one of them pulled a small round badge from who knew where and stuck it to his chest. Written on it were the words "No. 001."

No. 001 opened his mouth. "Back when I cleared Contra, I only used three lives. This time, the original gave me thirty lives. If I still can't master one sensory Ninjutsu, how the hell am I supposed to face the original again? Brothers, start training!"

No. 001 and the other twenty-eight Clones immediately began practicing.

Only one of them muttered, "We're all Shadow Clones. Why are you the only one with so much drama?"

After saying that, he casually transformed into Naruko, a blonde with twin ponytails, before happily starting his training.

No. 001 looked at Naruko and fell silent. He raised a hand to adjust the badge on his chest, thinking, So she's finally here to steal the spotlight.

Naruto had no idea what nonsense his Clones were getting up to and continued the meeting.

Sakura raised her hand. "I think Exploding Tags are very useful, but they cost too much. Isn't that too wasteful?"

Inner Sakura shouted excitedly, "That felt amazing! How was that just an explosion? That was art!" Then she drooped again. "But it burns through money way too fast!"

Naruto comforted her. "We're still rookies fresh out of the academy. Being able to hold off a Jonin for that long with a few dozen Exploding Tags was well worth it."

Kakashi wanted to complain. You still had the nerve to call yourself a rookie? Had you considered Zabuza's feelings?

Sasuke nodded in agreement, then said, "My Chakra and stamina still need improvement. A strategy like today's consumes too much. We probably can't use it often, right?"

"It's not easy to run into someone on Zabuza's level. Against ordinary ninja, the method we used against Teacher Kakashi back then should be more than enough.

"But you really do need to train more. You ran out of juice after only ten minutes. That's way too weak."

Sasuke glared at Naruto but did not argue. Did he think everyone was a beast like him?

He continued, "Zabuza transforming into Naruto and blending in with the Clones was a pretty good move. If we ever face a situation where we're outnumbered, we could consider fishing in troubled waters and taking out the enemy leader directly."

Naruto wanted to say that they would basically never encounter a situation where they were outnumbered. No matter how many enemies there were, could there really be more of them than him?

Still, Zabuza's move had reminded him of something. "That really was dangerous. If we'd kept up the area bombardment when he threw the smoke bomb, we could've taken out my Clones along with him. If something like that happens again, let's do that."

Sakura asked timidly, "You don't mind? Didn't you say Shadow Clones can bring their memories back to the original? Wouldn't that hurt a lot?"

"They're just a few dead Clones. That's still better than putting our real bodies in danger. How about this: whenever I make a large number of Shadow Clones, we'll look for a chance to hide among them. Besides, those weird Clones of mine all seem pretty happy when they die."

Kakashi could not help cutting in. "Speaking of that, I've wanted to ask for a long time. Normally, aren't Shadow Clones supposed to have the same memories and way of thinking as the original? Why are all your Clones so uninhibited? Maybe... after we return, you should visit the Yamanaka Clan?"

The Yamanaka Clan? Wasn't that Konoha's psychiatric department? Naruto stared at Kakashi. I treat you like a brother, and you call me crazy!

If the Yamanaka Clan saw the stuff in his head, it would not be him going insane—it would be them.

Considering that ignorance was no crime, Naruto decided to explain a little. "There's nothing wrong with my mind. If there were, Mom would've dragged me to the Yamanaka Clan ages ago.

"Maybe there are just too many random thoughts in my head, and when some Clones split off, certain aspects of my personality get amplified."

Including that Clone who liked cross-dressing? His teammates did not ask. Once they confirmed that Naruto was not sick, they merely breathed a sigh of relief.

After discussing a few more battle details, they began their individual training.

Naruto focused on sensory Ninjutsu training, determined to unlock the Mind's Eye of the Kagura as soon as possible.

Sasuke intensified his stamina training and Chakra control training, hoping to improve his endurance.

Sakura continued poring over her medical materials. She also added a survival training regimen.

That was, dodging all kinds of attacks from Naruto and Sasuke. The rule of medical ninja was that anyone who had not mastered the Strength of a Hundred Sealings Technique had to prioritize preserving themselves.

As usual, Kakashi leaned against a tree, pulled out his spiritual sustenance, flipped through two pages, then closed it and put it away.

"My students are all working so hard. If I, their teacher, don't put in some effort too, it'd be hard to justify."

In truth, Kakashi was somewhat dissatisfied with his performance that day.

He had only been dealing with one teenager, yet it had taken him so long. As a result, his adorable students had faced such danger.

It seemed he really needed to train harder. Maybe after returning, he could spar with Guy?

Kakashi shuddered violently and shook his head. How could I have such a terrifying thought?

After a while, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all caught glimpses of lightning flickering from Kakashi's direction now and then.

That slacker actually wanted to turn over? The three exchanged smiles and trained even harder.

Three days later, the bridge in the Land of Waves was officially completed, and all the workers cheered in celebration.

Gato was gone, the bridge was complete, and the Land of Waves finally had hope.

Tazuna bid farewell to Kakashi, saying that he would visit Konoha in a few days to explain the details of the mission and make up the appropriate payment.

Thus, the teacher and his three students set off on their journey back to Konoha.

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