Menma had originally planned to find a suitable opportunity after arriving in the Land of Waves to have an "offline meetup" with the wealthy merchant Gato. Now that he could bring it up openly, it saved him some unnecessary trouble.
On the way back with Kakashi,
Menma was also considering where he should begin tomorrow.
Gato could control the Land of Waves because, first, his own forces were strong enough—at the very least, stronger than the Land of Waves itself—leaving its people angry but afraid to speak out. Second, there had to be traitors within the Land of Waves. More often than not, the best way to dismantle a group was to break it from within.
Therefore, Menma could start his investigation from that angle. The Land of Waves was not large anyway, unless Gato decisively abandoned his plan. But no matter how Menma looked at it, that man did not seem particularly intelligent.
He had dared to threaten Zabuza to his face, and he even thought that leading a bunch of so-called gangsters meant he could stand against ninja.
That was absolutely the behavior of an idiot.
"Oh, oh, you're back, Brother Kakashi, Menma."
After only a few steps, Naruto, who had been waiting inside the house long enough to grow bored, brightened at the sight of the two returning.
He instinctively wanted to ask something, but as though he had remembered something, he forcibly swallowed the question back down.
His expression looked somewhat frustrated.
Kakashi inwardly shook his head with amusement when he saw it.
"Starting tomorrow, the four of you will split into two groups. Menma will investigate information regarding Gato, the employer of the enemies in this mission. The three of you will have two people protect Tazuna-san while he builds the bridge, while the other