Experience Points

In the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tails lay on the ground boredly, watching the two little bugs spar in front of it. Before the massive Nine-Tails, even one of its fangs was much bigger than Naruto. Minato and Naruto were truly tiny bugs.

Smack!

Bang!

The two figures swiftly collided and separated, bouncing off the surrounding walls several times before clashing again. Their fists struck each other with sharp, violent impacts.

"Naruto, did something good happen?"

Catching Naruto's fist, Minato asked with a smile. He could feel Naruto's excitement and joy through that punch.

"Dad, listen to this. Tomorrow, I'm leaving the village to carry out a mission."

Naruto smiled, but his attacks did not stop. When his hand was blocked, he kicked at Minato instead.

"Really? It'll probably be a C-Rank Mission escort job. Do your best."

Minato dodged Naruto's attack perfectly and nodded approvingly. Naruto might have been a little slow, but he trained harder than anyone else. Minato patiently taught him Taijutsu as well, and he had not scolded Naruto again.

"Yeah!"

"Take a break."

"Oh, right, Nine-Tails. You said before that once I left the village, you could leave my body, right? Are you going?"

Naruto sat beside the Nine-Tails and leaned against its body to rest. Its soft fox fur was more comfortable than any sofa, and as a being made entirely of Chakra, the Nine-Tails could also help Naruto recover his strength.

"Of course I'll leave. But I also told you that our lives are linked. If I leave you, I won't die. But you..."

An eyeball larger than Naruto's entire body shifted. The Nine-Tails stared at Naruto for a moment, then sneered.

"Eh? I'll die? I'll die? No, I don't want to die! I can't bear to leave Hinata! (°д°)"

Naruto was utterly horrified. Clutching his head, he wailed miserably. The thought of leaving Hinata made him burst into tears.

"Naruto, stop crying. The Nine-Tails is lying to you."

Minato patted Naruto's head to comfort him, then turned and glared at the Nine-Tails.

"But I want the Nine-Tails to see the outside world too. Staying in this corner all the time must be boring, right? But I don't want to die..."

"I don't need some brat's pity. Hmph."

Naruto's completely sincere words drifted into the Nine-Tails' ears. Even its heart, frozen after being exploited for thousands of years, developed the slightest crack. The Nine-Tails extended a massive claw and flicked Naruto lightly on the forehead, then snorted as it watched him fly away.

Outside Konoha lay an ancient forest. Countless towering trees gathered together, looking solemn and mysterious. It was this forest that had nurtured Konoha's land. Compared to the other Four Great Nations, the Land of Fire occupied the best territory on the continent.

"Teacher Kakashi, we won't run into anything scary, will we?"

Facing the endless forest, Sakura nervously moved closer to Sasuke. Having been warned by adults since childhood never to leave the village, this was also her first time outside.

"Something scary? Do you mean venomous snakes, poisonous insects, or the human heart?"

Kakashi's eye flicked toward a patch of water in the middle of the road ahead as he asked meaningfully.

"Teacher Kakashi!"

"Don't worry. There are no ninja in the Land of Waves, so this journey will be peaceful. You can handle ordinary bandits yourselves."

"There are countries in this world without ninja?"

"Well, ninja are a military force used to keep the various countries in check. Small island nations like the Land of Waves do not need ninja, nor can they afford to train them."

"Speaking of ninja, the strongest ninja forces in this world belong to the Five Great Nations. Only those countries have people known as Kage. They are the strongest ninja, standing above every other ninja in this world."

"Is Grandfather Third Hokage really that strong?"

Naruto doubted Kakashi's words. That old man had lost to him before.

"Naruto, don't you think the Third Hokage is strong?"

"I beat him twice all by myself. Does that mean I've already surpassed the Hokage?"

"The Third Hokage was just playing around with you, probably."

The helplessness in Kakashi's eye deepened. Before Naruto, no one had ever developed the Transformation Jutsu into something so lewd. Perhaps it might be exceptionally effective against some straight men.

As Naruto passed the patch of water, his steps paused. He looked around strangely, then continued onward after finding nothing unusual. Kakashi also slowed down and moved to the back of the group.

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, a ninja wearing a gas mask emerged from the puddle. And there was more than one. After the first appeared, another ninja dressed the same way leaped out, swinging a chain that wrapped around Kakashi's body and tore him into pieces.

"Ahhh!!!"

Seeing Kakashi ripped apart, Sakura screamed. In that instant, the two assassins lunged at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Got him!"

Seeing Naruto so frightened that he could not even move, the assassin rejoiced inwardly. His chain wrapped around Naruto's body, but with a poof, the Naruto before him turned into a wooden log.

"Mister, your Killing Intent is too obvious."

Like a devil whispering in his ear, Naruto's voice sounded behind him. Naruto appeared instantly at his back and kicked the assassin in the back of the head, sending him and all his equipment flying.

The other assassin targeting Sasuke did not succeed either. The chain he hurled slithered toward Sasuke like a spirit serpent. Sasuke took out a kunai and a Shuriken, using the Shuriken to strike through an opening in the chain and knock it aside. He then threw the kunai, pinning the chain to a tree.

Unable to pull back his chain, the assassin abandoned it and attacked Sasuke with the claws on the mechanical gauntlets around his arms.

"Courting death!"

Sasuke's gaze turned cold. Facing the claws lunging at him, he calmly bent backward to evade them. Then he pushed off with his rear leg, clenched his fist, and sprang up like a fierce tiger, punching the assassin beneath the jaw.

"Damn it!"

The assassin gave up on Sasuke and turned to rush toward Tazuna behind Sakura. The other assassin Naruto had kicked away did the same, and the two charged at Tazuna together.

"Mr. Tazuna, hide behind me."

Seeing them change targets, Sakura hurriedly pulled out a kunai and shielded Tazuna behind her. Even though her legs were trembling, the girl did not abandon the person she was meant to protect.

"The game ends here."

In an instant, before anyone could see what had happened, Kakashi caught both assassins around the neck with his arms and smashed them together, knocking them unconscious.

"So this is a jonin?"

Sasuke knew those two assassins were no match for him, but he could never have dealt with them so easily. More importantly, he had not even seen Kakashi move. His gaze toward Kakashi grew heated. This jonin was no ordinary person.

"Teacher Kakashi, you're alive!"

Sakura cried out excitedly, her gaze instinctively turning toward Kakashi's shredded body. All she saw was a pile of rotten wood.

"Sorry, I scared you. I could have dealt with these two at any time. I only wanted to see who their target was. After realizing they were no match for us, they immediately switched targets to the real one... right, Mr. Tazuna?"

Kakashi walked over to the stunned Tazuna and looked at him coldly.

"Yo, Sasuke. You're pretty strong."

"I thought you were really too scared to move."

"I'm especially sensitive to Killing Intent. I was on guard from the start."

Naruto confidently wiped his nose. Under the Nine-Tails' training, even a well-trained ninja would be met with Naruto's response and counterattack if they revealed even the slightest Killing Intent.

"Mr. Tazuna, ninja do not appear in C-Rank Missions. I've said that many times. Now my students are looking at me like they don't trust me anymore. Can you explain?"

"Whew. I did falsely report the mission's rank. The Land of Waves is a small country. Even its daimyo is poor, so there's no way I could pay a high mission fee."

Tazuna sighed. There was no point hiding it any longer, so he admitted his lie.

"Hmm. The mission is to protect you until the bridge is completed. Does that mean more ninja will attack us afterward?"

"That's right. Have you heard of Gato?"

"Gato? That one of the richest men in the world?"

"Rich? Is he richer than the Hyuga Clan?"

Naruto's eyes gleamed as he asked, being particularly sensitive to money. Kakashi gave him a chop to the head, making him squat down clutching it.

"On the surface, he runs a shipping business. In truth, he uses ninja and the underworld to sell drugs and controlled goods for enormous profits. He has even occupied countries before. A year ago, he set his sights on the Land of Waves. Relying on wealth and violence, he instantly took control of the Land of Waves' shipping. For an island nation, shipping is its lifeline. The only thing that man fears is the bridge being built across the sea. Once it is completed, the Land of Waves will have a glimmer of hope."

"I see. Although I sympathize with your situation, a B-Rank Mission is beyond what we can accept. Prepare to return to the village."

"Hmph. Hahaha! I knew you ninja were all cold-blooded creatures who only cared about money. I'll go alone, then. If I die, only my eight-year-old grandson will cry his heart out. My poor daughter, who lost her husband, will merely hate Konoha for the rest of her life. You should all just leave!"

Tazuna gave a bitter laugh. After speaking, he turned around and continued down the road alone, looking utterly lonely.

"...What do you all think?"

Kakashi forcibly stopped in his tracks. He naturally knew the old man was exploiting his age, but he was not wrong either. If they truly left like this, they would be abandoning someone to die. Still unaware of the big boss waiting ahead, Kakashi decided to ask Team Seven for their opinions.

"Let's go. I promised Hinata I'd bring back a gift. If we go back now, should I give her leaves?"

"Go. I want stronger opponents."

"If Sasuke is going, then I'll..."

"Alright, then the mission continues!"

Kakashi nodded, only to see Naruto walk toward the two assassins. After Kakashi knocked them out, they had been tied to tree trunks. They had already regained consciousness.

"Naruto, what are you...?"

Before Kakashi could finish, his eyes widened. Holding a kunai, Naruto unhesitatingly sliced open one assassin's throat. After a few seconds of agony, the assassin lowered his head.

"Hm? Teacher Kakashi, were you planning to let them go?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi strangely as he headed toward the other assassin.

"It's not that I planned to let them go. I just didn't expect you to do it."

Kakashi also knew that keeping them alive under these circumstances would only bring trouble. He had planned to deal with them himself after they left, but he had not expected Naruto to be so aggressive.

"Huh? Didn't your teacher teach you not to leave survivors when carrying out a mission? Leaving them alive is irresponsible toward your own team."

"Brat, I don't need you to teach me that. I just didn't plan on exposing you to this so soon. At least show some consideration for the girl."

Kakashi could not see the slightest hesitation or lingering fear in Naruto's eyes. It was as if he had grown accustomed to killing since childhood. Yet Naruto did not feel like a murderer; he killed to protect something.

"Give it to me!"

Sasuke had not expected Naruto to be able to kill someone either. Gritting his teeth, he snatched the kunai from Naruto's hand. Looking at the assassin tied to the tree, he hesitated for only a few seconds before slicing open his throat and ending his life.

"Are you alright, Sasuke? This is your first time killing someone, isn't it?"

"How would you know? I've been killing for ages."

"Only someone killing for the first time would have trembling hands and get blood on themselves."

Kakashi answered for Naruto. Sasuke's mental fortitude was already very good. Other than his slightly trembling hands, his expression was normal. Only his clothes had been stained red by the spraying blood.

Naruto was different. That brat had known exactly which direction the blood would spray, and not a drop had landed on him. Kakashi became even more suspicious that something was wrong with the way Naruto had grown up.

"S-Sasuke, are you alright?"

Only then did Sakura react. As a ninja, she naturally knew this was something they had to experience. She could only try not to look at the two corpses as she offered Sasuke a handkerchief.

"Sakura, my path will surely be drenched in blood. If you can handle it, then keep up."

Sasuke took the handkerchief, casually wiped himself a few times, and returned it to Sakura. Feeling the bloody smell on his body, he spoke coldly. He knew Sakura liked him, but unnecessary feelings would only become stumbling blocks on the path of revenge.

"W-Whether I can handle it or not, wait for me!"

Sakura looked at her favorite handkerchief. After hesitating, she still clenched it in her palm and followed Sasuke's footsteps.

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PS: Thanks to fly2803 and Night Wind White Moon for the 100 Ryo donation.

PS: A complaint about the villain's intelligence... and he's supposed to be a tycoon? Are you worthy of all the effort other tycoons put in?

If he wants to build a bridge, let him build it. Once it's finished, just destroy it with one RPG shot. People who have just seen a glimmer of hope before being swiftly plunged back into despair are the ones who will obediently submit to your rule. Idiot.