Journey to the Land of Waves

Thunder raged like the chorus of a thousand birds, and blazing arcs of lightning burst forth from the Black-haired Youth's hand!

"Chidori!"

With Lightning Release stimulating his body's cells, Sasuke's speed reached its absolute limit. At some point, a hint of crimson had already lit up in his eyes.

"What?!"

Seeing the boy charge at him with a technique that made his hair stand on end, the tall, bandage-faced man could no longer spare any attention for Kakashi, whom he had restrained with the Water Prison Technique. He swiftly retreated!

However...

"Sasuke!"

A clear, bright young voice rang out behind him. Zabuza slightly turned his head and glanced back from the corner of his eye.

The Blond-haired boy he had looked down on moments ago was now charging at him with an azure ball of Chakra in his hand!

The Chakra within that sphere spun at high speed, like a miniature typhoon tightly compressed in his palm!

Another high-level technique!

These were really Konoha's two Genin?!

Even in this critical moment, Zabuza could not help but curse!

"Naruto!"

The Black-haired Youth roared with all his might, a massive cluster of lightning in his hand surging toward Zabuza!

Yet at that moment, an exceedingly faint chime of bells sounded.

Several nearly imperceptible Senbon flew toward Naruto and Sasuke at once!

Watching from Tazuna's side, Sakura unhesitatingly pulled four shuriken from her Ninja Tool Pouch.

Sure enough, faced with such a crisis, that servant of Zabuza's could no longer hold back from attacking Sasuke and Naruto.

Empowered by Monstrous Strength, the shuriken's speed soared to its peak. Though launched later, they arrived first, instantly and effortlessly severing the Senbon aimed at Naruto and Sasuke!

"Mr. Zabuza!"

At that moment, a figure dressed in dark blue rushed toward Naruto and Sasuke. But even though Kakashi had only just escaped and his Chakra was nearly depleted, he would not give him the slightest chance.

Kakashi blocked the youth's path.

"Get out of my way!"

Ignoring Kakashi's attack, the youth was instantly cut by Kakashi's Kunai, leaving a bloody wound. Yet he still charged toward Zabuza without regard for himself.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, as scalding blood instantly splattered across Sasuke's face!

The youth who had suddenly appeared had taken Sasuke's Chidori for Zabuza!

Sasuke's hand was deeply embedded in the other's chest. He could feel the other's burning blood, as well as the fearless resolve to protect Zabuza...

"Haku, well done."

Zabuza glanced at the youth before him without paying him much mind, then swiftly turned toward Naruto, who was charging at him with a Rasengan.

He raised the Kubikiribōchō high, about to bring it down. Zabuza was already tall and long-limbed, and coupled with the exaggerated length of the Kubikiribōchō, he could easily strike Naruto before Naruto's Rasengan came within two body lengths of him!

But just then, Zabuza suddenly staggered. The Kubikiribōchō in his hand sharply veered aside, and the immense force nearly made both his hands tremble!

A howling gust swept past. A Giant Shuriken sank deeply into the ground, then with a bang, a cloud of white smoke rose and it reverted into an ordinary-sized shuriken.

Zabuza had no time to see who had thrown that shuriken. Naruto had already charged before him with the Rasengan in hand!

"Rasengan!"

The technique created by the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, slammed heavily into Zabuza's chest!

The rapidly spinning Chakra instantly tore apart the skin, muscles, and bones on the surface of his body. Under that high-speed rotational force, even a Jonin like Zabuza could not endure such a blow!

Driven by the Rasengan's force, Zabuza's entire body began to spin. Seeing that he was also within Naruto's attack range, Sasuke swiftly pulled back.

Spinning as he was driven by the Rasengan, Zabuza was instantly sent flying more than ten meters away!

Sakura watched it all calmly. The deaths of Zabuza and Haku did not stir much emotion in her.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangements, she had spent four years in the Anbu and had become the captain of an Anbu squad. She had not obtained that position through connections.

It was nothing more than a little hardship.

Now, Zabuza had been defeated the moment he appeared, without even a chance to flee and return for revenge.

The boss of the Land of Waves had already been cleared ahead of time.

All that remained was to wait for Tazuna to finish building the bridge.

As for Gato, the one behind Zabuza.

Sakura knew that man...

Several days later

Late at night

Sakura walked into a remote villa ablaze with lights.

Two rows of people in black suits stood neatly arranged to welcome Sakura.

Kakashi followed behind her, his expression complicated.

"Hehe, Haruno-sama..."

The man at the head of the group was a middle-aged man of short, stocky build, dressed in a white suit and holding a gemstone scepter.

He was Gato.

A wealthy tycoon with considerable assets.

Though his methods were somewhat despicable, he truly had a keen head for business.

At the very least, during Sakura's previous Resource War, he had sharply sensed the looming danger and directly ignored that seemingly tempting but actually deadly piece of cake.

And now, he did indeed have a hand in the Land of Fire's little corner of territory.

"I don't want to say much. Once the bridge in the Land of Waves is finished, just obediently collect tolls. Also, you've been squeezing them far too hard."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Haruno Sakura's gaze was calm.

This man had nothing but money on his mind, but his business sense had saved his life before.

Yet a black-hearted merchant with money but no strength was nothing more than a fat sheep raised by the Land of Fire. When needed, he could be slaughtered with a single stroke to meet an urgent need.

"Yes, yes, I understand. Do you have any other instructions, Haruno-sama?"

With a fawning smile on his face, Gato nodded and bowed before the twelve-year-old girl.

"No. I only came to tell you that."

Haruno Sakura waved her hand and was about to leave, but suddenly paused. Her emerald-green eyes, like green gemstones, looked at Gato without the slightest emotion as she said:

"Oh, right. After I leave."

"Find an opportunity to kill that old man Tazuna."

"As for his family and the others, don't touch them."

After leaving behind those words, Haruno Sakura and Kakashi vanished into the night.

Tazuna had falsely reported the mission rank, passing off an A-rank mission as a C-rank one. Whatever his reasons, it was something no ninja village could ever tolerate.

Such a precedent absolutely could not be set.

What was more, he had taken the money everyone had pooled together and spent it on revelry just to satisfy his own appetites. That old bastard was plainly courting death.

Had it been any of the other four ninja villages—Wind, Lightning, Water, or Earth—not a single member of that old man's family, young or old, would have survived. They would all have died.

That old man Tazuna ought to be grateful that Sakura was kind-hearted.