"You needn't thank me, nor is there any need for this." Zabuza spoke in a cold voice. "I dealt with the Sky Ninja who destroyed your homeland. If you have nowhere to go, you may follow me to the Land of Waves, the Land of Sea, or the Land of Whirlpools."
"There, you will have a place to settle down. Your children can receive an education, your injuries and illnesses can be treated, and everyone can earn food and dignity through their own labor. You will also be protected."
In less than ten seconds, the overwhelming majority of the villagers who heard those words expressed their willingness to follow Zabuza to one of those three countries and settle there.
Only a very small number, still attached to their homeland, said they wanted to return and rebuild it. Zabuza did not stop them. He gave them some basic travel funds and had a Dawn Shipping ninja escort them away.
Afterward, Zabuza left the area and went outside, where he looked at the older Sky Ninja researchers who had been gathered and placed under control after the battle.
Most of them were from the Sky Ninja Village and possessed the core technologies behind the aerial fortress, all kinds of ninja tools, and even the naval fleet.
It would be a pity to kill them, Zabuza thought. Lord Naruto will surely need their knowledge.
He then escorted the pale-faced researchers to the central hall at the heart of the ruins.
At the center of the hall, Zabuza immediately spotted the azure chair and the unusual golden floor panel before it.
"Go. Activate this fortress and make it fly. I don't need to tell you how to activate it, do I?" Zabuza ordered, using the tip of the Kubikiribōchō to point at the golden