The Demon Brothers Appear

The Land of Waves was a tiny island nation, connected to the outside world by a single unfinished bridge. It had almost no ninja of its own, and its economy was so poor that its people lived in poverty.

The Land of Waves could hardly be called a country at all. It didn't even have a government; at most, it was simply an island where people had gathered.

There were many small countries like the Land of Waves in the Shinobi World. Their resources were so meager that the great nations had no interest in them whatsoever.

Still, some people did take an interest in these small countries. The culprit behind the current turmoil in the Land of Waves was one such person: Gato. This "evil" merchant wanted to keep the country under his control, so he forbade Tazuna and the others from building the bridge. He had even hired a large group of samurai and Zabuza Momochi to stop the righteous Tazuna.

Merchants existed to pursue profit. They could do anything for it. Of course, there were good merchants in the world, but most merchants—or capitalists, as they could also be called—put profit first. In their eyes, anything was acceptable as long as it brought them a gain. Anyone who dared stand in the way of their profits had to be eliminated completely.

The main reason was that the Land of Waves was simply too weak. It had no means of resisting a merchant of Gato's caliber. If they hadn't been lucky enough to meet Kakashi and the others, the country would have remained under the control of people like Gato forever.

The journey from Konoha to the Land of Waves took a little over half a month. Tazuna was an ordinary person and couldn't keep up with the speed of the ninja, which slowed the whole team down.

Fortunately, the Land of Fire had a dense network of rivers, and they could travel by boat not long after leaving Konoha.

Yu had already accepted that the Shinobi World had engines but no cars. Still, it felt a little ridiculous to actually ride on a modern-looking boat.

Has no one ever thought of using an engine to make a vehicle that can travel on roads? Yu wondered.

But it was a minor matter, and he didn't need to worry about it. Besides, even if someone managed to build a car, it wouldn't do him much good. He had no interest in developing an automobile industry in the Shinobi World. After all, in the world of ninja, strength was the ultimate goal.

They could only travel by boat for part of the way. They would have to walk on land for a while, too.

Nothing unusual happened on the road. Even in a few areas notorious for unrest, no one was foolish enough to target Konoha's ninja.

That was when the purpose of the Forehead Protectors became clear. Anyone who saw the ones they wore could tell they were Konoha Ninja.

Even officials of the Land of Fire didn't stop to inspect them. Although Konoha was technically an institution under the Land of Fire, in terms of power it actually stood on equal footing with the country's royal family.

Every year, the Land of Fire gave Konoha a large sum of money for its military expenses. In return, Konoha protected the country from foreign ninja and sent people to guard its daimyo. Sarutobi Asuma, for instance, had once been selected as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja who protected the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

So even though their pace was slow, they still made good time. That was one of the benefits of hiring ninja: they could avoid a great deal of danger and trouble.

During the journey, Yu had considered paying for a horse-drawn carriage or some other means of transport, but Yamashiro Aoba stopped him. He said they needed to train their patience, since patience was an essential lesson for a ninja.

More importantly, the client was responsible for all expenses during a mission. The ninja only had to do their assigned work. But Tazuna had no money at all. The boat fare alone had nearly drained him.

Yu still respected Yamashiro Aoba a great deal. Aoba was undoubtedly no match for him in strength, but he had far more experience as a ninja. Yu could learn other things from him.

Two weeks later, they were nearing the Land of Waves. They had traveled by water for much of the way; otherwise, they wouldn't have reached the country until who knew when.

As they approached the Land of Waves, Yu kept a close eye on the area around them. According to the story, this was when two Chunin under Zabuza Momochi would come after them.

Convinced that events would unfold as he remembered, Yu kept watching the puddles along the road. In the anime, the Demon Brothers had leaped out of a puddle to attack Team 7. If they showed up, his Sharingan would surely spot them.

For the past couple of weeks, Yu had kept his Sharingan activated the whole time, which had greatly surprised Yamashiro Aoba.

Aoba had spent many years in Konoha, but he had never heard of any Uchiha ninja keeping their Sharingan active for so long.

Once, he couldn't help asking Yu about it. Yu's only answer was, "It's fine. The Sharingan doesn't put much strain on me."

Yamashiro Aoba understood how powerful a Sharingan that could remain active indefinitely would be.

"I have to report this to Lord Hokage as soon as possible."

So they picked up the pace during the last few days. Aside from the breaks they needed, they were constantly on the move. This was no trouble for Yu and the others, but it was hard on Tazuna, an ordinary old man. But what could he do when he had no money?

Yu continued watching his surroundings. As they passed along a narrow path through the woods, his eyes suddenly settled on a small puddle beside the road.

"They're finally here."

Yu spoke softly, then stopped. He had been waiting for them for a long time. Thank goodness the plot hadn't changed.

Fujiwara Chima, who had been walking beside Yu, stopped as well. The rest of the team came to a halt.

Yamashiro Aoba lived up to his reputation as an all-around support ninja. His scouting abilities were excellent, and he sensed the Demon Brothers as soon as Yu stopped.

"There are enemies. Protect Mr. Tazuna, and stay alert," Yamashiro Aoba said at once.

At the same time, his right hand darted to his waist and flung a kunai toward the puddle.

"I didn't expect to be discovered so easily. Move, Meizu!" Gozu called from inside the puddle.

As his voice rang out, a chain shot from the puddle, aimed straight at Tazuna, whom Yu and the other two were protecting.

Gozu burst out of the puddle. His target was Yamashiro Aoba, the strongest person in the group, whom he meant to ensnare.

The plot had changed once again. The Demon Brothers had been discovered early, and Yamashiro Aoba lacked Kakashi's ability to brush aside two Chunin, so he had launched the first attack.

Yamashiro Aoba wasn't a combat specialist. In terms of strength alone, he was only somewhat stronger than a Chunin.

"How could a C-rank mission involve two Chunin?" Yamashiro Aoba thought.

He stepped forward and engaged Gozu in battle.

As for Yu, Aoba wasn't too worried about him. He knew how capable Yu was in a fight.