Subduing Zabuza and Haku, Planning to Swallow Gato's Assets!

"I already said it, we ninja are nothing more than tools!"

"All I want is his ability."

"Not him!"

"I... don't regret it at all..."

Squelch—

Kakashi's Chidori pierced Haku's heart.

Zabuza stood frozen in place.

The Chidori that should have pierced his heart was blocked by Haku.

"I'm sorry... Mr. Zabuza... I'm so useless..."

"It's fine. You did well."

Zabuza's voice trembled slightly, but his expression remained calm.

At that moment, he clearly had countless chances to attack Kakashi.

Yet he waited until Haku had completely died. Only when he could no longer suppress the rage in his heart did he swing his blade at Kakashi.

"At least... in the final moment, I wanted to be by your side..."

"If possible... I also wanted... to go to the same... place as you..."

The Tsukuyomi World ended.

Zabuza abruptly opened his eyes.

He saw Haku, his mask removed, looking at him with a smile.

That utterly content expression made Zabuza let out a bitter laugh.

"So I still went to the same world as you."

"Haku."

"No, Mr. Zabuza. Look."

Haku gently shook his head, then stepped aside.

Zabuza, lying on the ground, glanced past Haku and saw Naruto wearing an ambiguous smile.

He paused, then sneered.

"Brat, I didn't expect you to come to this world too. How interesting."

"Did you enjoy yourself in my Tsukuyomi World?"

"If I didn't provoke you, you'd never say what was truly in your heart."

Zabuza immediately fell silent.

He looked at Haku's smiling face, then at the glaring sunlight.

He was silent.

In the end, he turned his head away.

"Hmph, that's why you Konoha ninja living in peace are so naive."

"You don't kill your enemies at the first opportunity?"

With that, Zabuza suddenly leaped up, pulled out a Kunai, and lunged at Naruto.

But in the next moment, Zabuza discovered that he could not move his entire body.

"Genjutsu? When did—?!"

Countless vines bound him again.

"Mr. Zabuza, this isn't Genjutsu... it's... the legendary Wood Style, isn't it?"

Haku's eyes widened as well.

He had never expected to see the legendary Wood Style here.

"In the Tsukuyomi World, killing you would have been as easy as lifting a finger. Why would I need to go through all the trouble of casting Genjutsu again?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and waved a hand. The countless vines retreated.

"Here. That broken Kubikiribōchō isn't much use."

Naruto casually tossed the broken Kubikiribōchō to Zabuza.

"Hmph. If you're going to kill me, then kill me. Stop playing these boring games."

Though he said that, Zabuza did not dare look at Haku again.

"You've failed your entire life."

"You rebelled against Kirigakure. Failed."

Zabuza did not deny it. He simply sat down on the ground, ready to accept whatever came.

"You tried to revive Kirigakure. Failed."

"You knew they were Konoha ninja, and that the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, was among them, yet you still chose to attack. You failed again."

"When it came to love, the one choice where you could have succeeded, you failed because you feared the strange looks of others and dared not face your own heart."

"Utter nonsense!"

At the mention of love, Zabuza could no longer remain seated.

"Well, don't be so nervous. I won't kill either of you. But your lives belong to me. Want freedom?"

"Want to fight Kirigakure?"

"Want to succeed?"

"I can give you all of that."

Zabuza frowned. "What exactly do you want?"

Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh.

"I see. The whiskers on your face... twelve years ago, Konoha suffered Kurama's Rampage... so it's you, Kurama's Jinchuriki."

"You can barely protect yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't have hidden your strength all this time. Who gave you the courage to say such things?"

Naruto knew he would say that. With a raised hand, countless vines emerged from the ground.

The vines quickly twisted together behind him into a chair.

Naruto sat down and raised his hand again. A fruit containing Nutrients grew out.

He casually tossed it to Haku.

"Your Kekkei Genkai awakened too early. Your body is depleted, and you have quite a few hidden injuries. Eat it."

"Don't!"

Zabuza hurriedly tried to stop him, but Haku ate it without hesitation. Then he gave Zabuza an innocent smile.

"Mr. Zabuza, I trust him. We don't have a choice either."

Haku's words struck straight at the heart of the matter.

Zabuza fell silent.

"Heh... Wood Style... I never thought it was real."

"As expected, ninja raised in peaceful places like yours are always so detestable."

"Tell me, what do we need to do for you to buy our lives?"

Seeing that he had accepted his fate, Naruto smiled and raised a hand, making vine chairs for them as well.

"No rush. Someone will come to meet you soon."

"Come on. Experience the feeling of power. Bump fists with me."

Naruto's words were like a devil's whisper, and a glimmer of hope lit up in Zabuza's eyes.

Just as Naruto had said, he had failed his entire life.

Now someone had given him light. Even if it was false, he was willing to gamble on it.

"We'll discuss Kirigakure later. Your Fourth Hokage has been controlled by someone all this time. The time is about right."

"Actually, in the end, I won't even need you. The Fifth Mizukage already has a candidate, and the Blood Mist Village will become a thing of the past."

After Zabuza and Haku took turns bumping Naruto's fist.

A massive amount of Chakra suddenly surged forth within their bodies.

The amount was so immense that even Zabuza's mouth fell open.

Haku's calm expression also became one of utter shock.

The Seeds of Nine-Tails Chakra had been planted.

Now, their lives and deaths rested on a single thought from Naruto and Kurama.

Unfortunately, the two who had gained Nine-Tails Chakra—no, including those frustrated Genin and Chunin in Konoha—could not sense it at all.

"What is your name?"

"My lord, please tell us."

By comparison, Haku saw things more clearly.

Though the Chakra Naruto had given them carried malicious intent, it did them no harm.

As Zabuza gained power, another thought arose in his heart.

That mere Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake—if we fight again, I can bury him under ninjutsu!

Haku thought even further ahead.

If this lord could grant this kind of Chakra to other ninja without limit.

Then... the future was bright!

He and Mr. Zabuza had always been like rats crossing the street.

As long as they followed this lord without wavering, they would surely see the light of day again!

He knew that the young man before them certainly had his own plan.

Once that plan was carried out, the Ninja World would undergo earth-shaking changes.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Remember this. From now on, both your lives belong to me. Don't even think of harboring other intentions."

"Yes, Lord Naruto!"

Haku respectfully dropped to one knee.

Zabuza asked in a deep voice, "You said that Kirigakure's Blood Mist Village will soon become a thing of the past?"

Naturally, he knew something was wrong with the Fourth Mizukage. That assassination attempt had allowed him to glimpse quite a few secrets.

"Of course. The Fifth Mizukage already has a candidate."

"Then that's good... You don't need me."

Zabuza looked up at the clear sky.

Then he slowly bent down and dropped to one knee.

"What do you need me to do?"

Naruto turned his head and looked into the distance with a faint smile.

"In about ten minutes, one of my people will come. He isn't in a position to act, but his wishes are my wishes. You just need to obey."

"Also, prepare yourselves mentally. My goal in coming to the Land of Waves this time is the patron behind you."

"Gato?!"

Haku and Zabuza were both filled with shock.

They were going after their patron?

Even in the original story, when Gato had tried to double-cross them and cheat them out of payment.

They had not intended to act against him.

If they did this, it would not just be Kirigakure hunting them down.

They would likely soon face a joint extermination by the five great ninja villages!

"Don't worry. Just do it cleanly enough."

Haku frowned, while Zabuza shook his head. "It won't work. There's no way to erase all the evidence."

Suddenly, Haku stopped Zabuza.

"Lord Naruto, does the Konoha Hokage know about this mission?"

Naruto smiled and praised him without hesitation.

"Smart!"

"You've already guessed my identity... This is my first mission outside the village, and my first C-Rank Mission."

Haku understood instantly. Zabuza frowned and thought for a while before realizing it too.

He gave a bitter smile.

"So that's how it is... It was all destined."

"I thought I had guessed wrong."

In the Genjutsu world, Zabuza had killed Gato once.

At the time, he had not thought much about it.

That was because Naruto had not shown him every detail from the original story.

Otherwise, Zabuza would definitely have figured it out.

By killing Gato, he would indirectly help Kakashi complete the mission of intervening in another country's internal affairs and dealing with the Criminal Syndicate.

What was more, after killing Gato, Zabuza himself had died.

He was already a rogue ninja with no attachments.

Even if this matter was brought into the open, there would be no way to pursue it.

"Lord Naruto, are you planning to swallow all of Gato's wealth?"

"That's right. So you're the most suitable people for this mission."

"I understand. Mr. Zabuza and I will go back and say the mission failed and that we need time to recover from our injuries."

"While letting Gato lower his guard, secretly investigate the distribution of his assets."

"Once everything is confirmed, Mr. Zabuza and I will handle it ourselves. We absolutely won't implicate Lord Naruto."

Zabuza looked at Haku, a trace of reluctance in his eyes.

"Mr. Zabuza, let me do this."

"No!"

"My current bounty poster still isn't worthy of you."

Zabuza was filled with...

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Enough, enough. If you've got something to say, say it. Cut this out—you can take it back and talk slowly tonight."

"Kurama, if you're done watching, come out."

"Hmph, I'm tired. I just wanted to rest for a while."

Then Naruto was utterly dumbfounded.

"No, Kurama!"

"You've got a male voice. Do you really need to use this appearance?"

"Or did the first two Jinchuriki both being women warp your thinking?"

"Don't forget, wasn't the Two-Tails tricked by Shukaku into shaping herself as a woman..."

Before Naruto could finish, Kurama cut him off irritably.

"What's it to you?!"

"Fine, fine. I'll leave them to you. Pluck them clean—don't leave them a single thing."

"Hmph, got it, got it. You're so damn naggy."

"I'll be going first. I've been gone a little too long."

"Then Gato is in your hands."

Naruto held out his hand, intending to shake hands with Zabuza and Haku.

But Haku was the first to drop to one knee. "Farewell, my lord!"

Naruto shook his head and said nothing more, using the Mayfly Technique to leave.

"My lord, you are?"

"Nine-Tails."

"My apologies, my lord, I..."

"Hmph, the Chakra that brat gave you is mine."

"Nine-Tails. Tailed Beast. Do I need to say it again?"

Zabuza: "???"

Haku: "???"

"Yo, Naruto. Did you take care of those two ninja who were obstructing the mission?"

Kakashi greeted him with a smiling face.

Yet he himself was lying motionless on the ground.

Clearly, the Sharingan had consumed too much.

After the battle that morning, there were quite a few fish along the shore.

Pick them up, wash them clean, and they could be stewed in a pot.

Sakura ladled out a bowl of fragrant fish soup.

"Naruto-kun, warm yourself up first."

Uchiha Sasuke held his fish soup in both hands. After taking a sip, he turned back and gave Naruto a smug grin.

"I won!"

Just as expected of you, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Kakashi, where did your Sharingan... come from?"

Once Naruto returned, Uchiha Sasuke could no longer hold it in and asked directly.

Kakashi reverted to his dead-fish eyes. "Well, I thought you'd ask right away. I didn't expect you to wait until Naruto came back."

"This eye was given to me by an old friend before he died."

"It was a gift for when I became a Jonin at twelve."

Uchiha Sasuke was dumbfounded. "A Jonin at twelve?"

But he was clearly focused on the wrong thing.

Sakura: I suspect Kakashi-sensei is showing off!