Plotline Changed Again

Before heading to the Real Waterfall to cleanse themselves, the Nine-Tails' Chakra could stir up the malice deep within a person's heart.

For Naruto now, his twenty-odd years of experience from his previous life were enough to prevent him from being deeply affected. Coupled with the Nine-Tails recovering some of the malice, the absorption of Chakra was purer than before.

Naruto could feel strength surging through his cells, and a faint red Chakra materialized around him, raising the temperature of the air.

Without hesitation, Naruto dug his toes into the ground and charged at Haku like lightning, aiming to shatter his mask with a single heavy punch!

At the same time, Sakura pulled out a Fuma Shuriken, spun it, and threw it. The target: Zabuza's "corpse"!

Everything happened in a flash!

Kakashi instinctively tried to intervene, but he was heavily depleted and couldn't move for a moment, supported by Sasuke.

Haku's heart sank, and he immediately dodged to the side, carrying Zabuza.

"Boom!" Naruto's lightning-fast strike created a sonic boom in the air. He exerted force, adjusting his body mid-air and rapidly wrapping his leg in Chakra, kicking the missed Fuma Shuriken towards Haku!

"Damn, I almost lost my leg to that blade," Naruto sneered, his body propelled forward by inertia towards a tree trunk. He pushed off with his foot, launching himself towards Haku again, red Chakra wings sprouting from his back, increasing his speed.

Although he maintained basic sanity, Naruto's fighting style had become extremely aggressive, giving off a sense of a fight to the death.

Haku kicked the handle of the Fuma Shuriken, deflecting it before throwing needles at Naruto's pressure points.

Naruto easily deflected all the silver needles with Nine-Tails Chakra, then headbutted Haku and Zabuza away, while Sakura had already rushed behind Haku.

Haku rolled a few times, enraged.

"You... you dare lay a hand on Mr. Zabuza's beautiful body!" A crack appeared in his mask, his hair flying wildly, his initial cool demeanor completely gone.

Naruto stood before him, a mocking smile on his face, "Little chick, showing your dirty feet now, huh?"

A domineering little cross-dresser falls for the CEO, that's quite something.

Haku began to form hand seals with one hand, looking like he intended to reunite Naruto with his loved ones on the spot.

Just then, chaos erupted!

A large team of ninjas wearing masks and silver armor emerged, attacking Tazuna. Sasuke was shocked and instinctively threw all the Explosive Tags and Shuriken from his bag, shouting to Naruto, "Naruto, let's retreat!"

He felt like a babysitter on the battlefield, first protecting Tazuna, then Kakashi.

He had sacrificed so much for this team...

"Gato's men!" Naruto cursed. He couldn't keep chasing Haku now; otherwise, the enemy would steal the crystal, Tazuna would die, and they'd be GG.

"Boom!! Boom!!" At this moment, the traps Sakura had set earlier began to be triggered, causing significant casualties among the enemy. Blood and chunks of flesh flew, black smoke billowed, and chaos ensued.

The trio regrouped. Naruto carried Kakashi, Sasuke carried a terrified Tazuna, and Sakura threw the remaining lethal ninja tools at Haku to prevent him from forming ice shields.

However, Haku's secret jutsu required the enemy to be within his casting range. Naruto and Sakura agreed that the Naruto in the original story was an idiot; if they had just kept throwing Explosive Tags from outside, Haku might have been in trouble.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The five escaped amidst the chaos. Before leaving completely, Naruto specifically summoned a Shadow Clone and began heading towards Konoha.

Damn, you think you can play the numbers game!

I'll go back to Konoha for reinforcements and bring a whole company, let's see how you fight then!

Sakura gave Naruto a thumbs-up for his cleverness.

The group hurried and finally escaped the enemy encirclement. The trio quickly asked for Tazuna's home address and began to consider whether they should move somewhere else to hide.

In the original story, Gato's mercenaries went specifically to Tazuna's home to take his family hostage.

If Naruto hadn't overslept, Tazuna's daughter and grandson would have been in mortal danger.

"In the original story, they didn't move to depict the growth of Tazuna's grandson, which was a consideration for character arc. But now, not moving would be pure foolishness."

Naruto, having regained his clarity, sternly stated they must move, or he would show them what the inherently evil Nine-Tails Fox was capable of.

"Indeed, Kishimoto knows nothing about Naruto," Sakura nodded. Meanwhile, their conversation was overheard by Sasuke and Tazuna.

The two looked bewildered.

Sasuke coughed and interjected, "We really can't stay in the original place, and it's best not to go near the bridge right now either."

"Right!" Naruto slapped his forehead. "Uncle, just stay with us honestly for two weeks. Once the Konoha Imperial Army arrives, we'll make further plans."

Sakura held her forehead, Konoha Imperial Army?

Can't you be more serious!

Tazuna's expression became agitated, "No! The construction of the bridge absolutely cannot stop now. This is the only hope for our Land of Waves..."

As he spoke, his eyes welled up with tears.

"Slap!" Naruto smacked the back of his head, impatiently, "Can you have some sense of the bigger picture? It's not that you can't build it, just that you need to stop construction for a while."

"Besides, stopping construction can also lull Gato into a false sense of security, so he won't bother your fellow workers, understand?"

"I'll write the suspension notice," Sakura said sympathetically, feeling Naruto was like a bandit. "I often wrote tweets before, so the wording will be fine."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I thought you were a streamer, so you're actually a civil servant?"

"Public institution," Sakura replied calmly.

"Hey, I say," Naruto grinned mischievously, "Don't men around you feel a sense of accomplishment conquering you, being both a speedrunner and a public servant..."

In Naruto's opinion, Sakura had a lot of charm. In his past life, he would have definitely been willing to be friends with a girl like her.

She was a fresh, tender Sichuan girl. Everyone knew the Land of Abundance was especially good for raising people...

Ahem, except for Mǔ 0.

Sakura: "Climb."

Naruto: "You got it."

The group rushed back to Tazuna's house at lightning speed. Sakura stepped forward to explain the situation to Tazuna's family.

Of course, Tazuna agreed to move. After all, if he didn't, Naruto would help him agree.

"I don't want to move!" Tazuna's grandson, Inari, shouted and quickly ran upstairs.

Tazuna's daughter looked at them apologetically and asked cautiously, "Can we move in a few days? Inari needs time to prepare mentally, not to mention this gentleman also needs care." She pointed to Kakashi on Sasuke's back.

"We move now," Naruto said expressionlessly. "Madam, we can't gamble on Gato's kindness. Besides, we were attacked twice on the way here. If they find us later, it will be too late."

After speaking, he strode upstairs and smiled back at Tazuna's daughter.

"Don't worry, I won't hit him."

It's understandable for a brat to be attached to his home.