If You Don't Cheat, You Won't Get Chopped Up—Why Don't You Understand?!

Naruto laboriously lifted his eyelids. The exhaustion in his body had yet to fully fade. He only remembered that after the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu ended, an immense pressure had returned to his body along with the shadow clones. Unable to endure it, he had passed out.

"Why do people hurt each other, little ninja?"

"Huh?"

Naruto's mind was still foggy, and he could not immediately process such a philosophical question. Only then did he realize he was lying on Haku's lap, still in that forest. She had changed into the kimono she wore when they first met and was gently stroking Naruto's hair.

"Do you remember when we met here? You were completely defenseless. I actually wanted to kill you here back then, so Mr. Zabuza would have had much less trouble to deal with. But I just couldn't do it. And perhaps it was precisely because I didn't attack you that I survived. Thank you for saving me."

"No, it was Sister Haku's kindness that saved you. I still remember the warmth of Sister Haku bandaging my wound."

Naruto clenched his fist. The faint mark on the back of his hand was still there, as though reminding him that he had to protect the girl who had bandaged him.

"I actually wanted to poison your wound back then."

"Eeeh?! (°д°)"

"I'm kidding."

"Kid, if you're awake, get off Haku's lap already."

The Demon's irritated voice came from nearby. Leaning against a tree trunk, he glared at Naruto with an unfriendly expression.

"Ah! You want to fight again?"

Naruto immediately sprang to his feet and assumed the stance for Hand Seals as he faced Zabuza.

"No more fighting. I take back what I said—you're not suited to be my disciple. Haku merely showed you a little kindness, yet you went berserk for her. I really don't know what's going through that head of yours. A killer must be prepared to cut down even his own family when necessary."

Only afterward did Zabuza begin to wonder why Naruto had gotten so angry over Haku. It was practically as if they had secretly pledged themselves to each other. If Haku truly had someone she liked, then all he could do was leave and live like a lone wolf. Yet after asking around, he discovered that Haku had merely bandaged Naruto's wound. Someone that naive was not suited for assassination. In a sense, he was just like Haku...

"That's why I never wanted to be your disciple in the first place! (°д°)"

"Mr. Zabuza obtained Gato's inheritance, so he's rich enough to rival a nation now. He's in a very good mood."

Haku chuckled. While cleaning up the bodies, they had discovered Gato's secret key. The man had hidden all his wealth inside a cave protected by the world's best security door. Zabuza and Haku had followed him for a long time before discovering it, but they had not known where the key was. Who would have thought that idiot carried it on him?

"Kid, I won't thank you for saving Haku, because we'll continue living with our lives on the edge of a blade. You can't save her again and again. You merely delayed the inevitable."

"The ninja world is a damned hell. Someone once told me that. But he also said I possessed the power to end that hell. Before, I doubted whether I could do it. But now I want to try. There's nothing wrong with working hard for the people you like, right?"

Naruto lowered his head. It was not only for Haku; more importantly, it was for Hinata. In such a dangerous world, he could not stay by Hinata's side all the time. Protection was not just something you said—it was something you did. As long as the world was at peace, Hinata would no longer have to take dangerous missions.

"Don't talk nonsense. Even the 'Kage' of the Five Great Nations can't accomplish that. What makes you think you can?"

"Then I definitely have to do it, because I'm going to become a man who surpasses the Hokage!"

In the same forest, beneath the same sunlight, Haku once again saw Naruto's confident smile and could not help pulling him into her embrace.

"World peace wouldn't be a good thing for an assassin like me. I wouldn't get any work. But I suppose I'll look forward to it a little. Let's go, Haku."

"Goodbye, little ninja. Mwah."

Haku lightly kissed Naruto's cheek, then followed after Zabuza. Meeting Naruto had not changed anything. She would still follow Zabuza and help him fulfill his dream.

"I-I already have Hinata! (°д°)"

Naruto covered his cheek and stumbled back several steps, his little face bright red as he called after Haku's retreating figure.

"Naruto... I never thought you were that kind of person. I'm going back to tell Hinata."

Sakura, who had apparently come over at some point to watch, happened to see it all and spoke with ill intent.

"Sakura, this is a misunderstanding!"

"Oh? I suddenly feel like eating Konoha dango."

"This is extortion! Did you eat the Three Ninja Taboos along with your food?!"

"Hinata would probably cry her heart out."

"...Fine, I'll treat."

Naruto hung his head. In the end, Sakura successfully extorted him.

"Well, that settles everything. Team Seven didn't lose a single member, so let's head back and get some proper rest."

Kakashi clapped his hands and led the three members of Team Seven on the journey home. This A-Rank Mission disguised as a C-Rank Mission had been successfully completed. Although Naruto had many secrets, he did not intend to pry.

"By the way, why is Naruto called the Dead Last? I haven't had much contact with the Ninja Academy in a long time. Have the standards for top students become that high?"

Still, some questions needed asking. The strength and adaptability Naruto had displayed were nothing like a Dead Last, yet Sasuke and Sakura kept calling him one.

"Teacher Kakashi, don't you know? This guy skips class whenever he gets the chance, pranks Teacher Iruka, and turns the school upside down. He's never passed a proper exam. Thanks to him, our class always ranked last in average scores. If Teacher Iruka hadn't pleaded for him every year, he wouldn't even have graduated from first grade."

Sakura became furious just talking about it. Because of Naruto's foolishness, Iruka's class came in last every time, and even she got called part of a Dead Last class.

"So no matter how strong he is, he'll always be the Ninja Academy's Dead Last."

Sasuke added a timely stab.

"Naruto..."

Kakashi's helpless eye fixed on Naruto, making him extremely embarrassed. He hurriedly explained.

"I couldn't help it! I couldn't understand anything in the books. Stuff like, 'At what angle should a ninja throw a kunai from a tree to hit someone on the ground?' How am I supposed to know that? Shouldn't that be learned through actual practice? Rather than sleep in class and get beaten up by Iruka, it was better to sneak out!"

"Then what did you do when you snuck out?"

"Fishing, catching wild chickens and rabbits to roast, checking out the general store street to see if any elderly people needed help..."

"So that was what gave him such a reckless personality..."

"By the way, was Uncle Tazuna's bridge finished?"

"It was. It was a very beautiful bridge, too, with a strange name."

"What was it?"

"Naruto Bridge."

By the time they returned to Konoha, it was nearly evening. After telling the three of them to rest, Kakashi vanished to turn in the mission. Naruto took Sakura and Sasuke to buy dango.

"Naruto, the three-day break starts tomorrow, right?"

Sasuke had no fondness for dango. After eating one skewer, he gave up. After all, it was the food that man had liked as a child. Just seeing it annoyed him.

"Hmm?"

"Could you... spare one day to spend with me?"

Though it was hard to say, Sasuke still spoke up somewhat awkwardly. Sakura was so shocked that her dango fell into her bowl, while the voice in her head nearly exploded, screaming nonstop.

Why, why didn't he ask me? Could Sasuke be... Even if he is, it shouldn't be that idiot Dead Last Naruto...

"...No."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before bluntly refusing Sasuke's invitation.

"Huh? We have three days, don't we? Would it kill you to spend one day with me? We're teammates!"

"No. I'm spending all three days with Hinata. I haven't seen her in half a month already."

Naruto swallowed the rest of his dango in two or three bites and leaped away without looking back, as though afraid Sasuke might grab him.

"You bastard, I'm going to chop you up someday. Sakura, you come with me."

"W-W-W-What? Is this a date?"

"Water Walking practice."

"Ugh, I knew it. Fine, it's still better than nothing."

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PS: Thanks to reader Yiqiao Wang Jiangnan for the 100 Ryo donation.