Even Set Rules of Your Own

Before long, when Ling Xuan finally lifted his hand from Zabuza, his body swayed.

"All right. Your life is out of danger. From here on, you'll need time to recover."

He stood and went over to Haku. Using what little chakra he had left, he treated the worst of Haku's wounds and stabilized his condition.

Only after finishing did Ling Xuan feel the world spin around him. It was the first time he had used the Eye of Truth and Medical Ninjutsu at such intensity simultaneously. The combined toll on his mind and chakra was almost too much for him.

He took out a Military Ration Pill, swallowed it in silence, and began to regain his strength.

The battle on the bridge had ended long ago. With the villagers' help, Gato and his rabble's bodies had been cleared away and thrown into the sea. In a single night, Gato Shipping, once a symbol of fear and oppression, had crumbled.

In the days that followed, the Land of Waves experienced a rebirth. With everyone's efforts, the bridge was successfully completed.

Meanwhile, under Tsunami's care and Ling Xuan's continued treatment, Zabuza and Haku grew stronger by the day.

A week later, in a quiet room, Zabuza and Haku—whose injuries had healed by seventy or eighty percent—met their new master formally for the first time.

"There's... a mark inside me..." Zabuza said, sensing the subtle connection between himself and Ling Xuan. His expression was complicated.

"It's the Master-Servant Life and Death Pact." Ling Xuan explained the terms of the contract calmly, his voice devoid of warmth. "Simply put, your lives are in my hands. Any hostility or betrayal toward me will trigger it. Aside from that, you have complete freedom of will."

"You turned Mr. Zabuza... into your puppet!" Haku cried, his eyes filled with anger.

"No." Ling Xuan shook his head. "I simply recovered and repaired a tool on the verge of breaking, along with its user, and gave them a new purpose. Puppets have no thoughts of their own. You do. You can choose to accept this rebirth, or I can end the pact right now and return your bodies to that cold bridge a week ago, where you can wait for death."

Haku's face paled, and he fell silent.

Ling Xuan continued, "Demon Zabuza Momochi, your assassination skills, Water Release Ninjutsu, and knowledge of Kirigakure are all valuable. Haku, your Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, speed, and medical knowledge are equally precious resources. Dying in the Land of Waves would be a waste."

He stood and walked to the window, looking out at the land slowly coming back to life.

"Gato may be dead, but he left behind a vast network of interests and intelligence channels in this country and the surrounding seas. We can't just let them fall apart."

He turned to Zabuza and Haku and gave them their first mission.

"From today on, you'll stay here. Your task is to take over everything Gato left behind and turn his filthy underground business into a network that serves me, one that brings together intelligence, resources, and money. You'll become the new shadows of the Land of Waves, ensuring that another Gato never takes root in this country."

"This is your new purpose, and the beginning of proving your worth. I'll keep in touch through special channels. Can you do it?"

Zabuza and Haku exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

They had thought they would be taken back to Konoha as prisoners or hidden away as secret weapons. They hadn't expected Ling Xuan to give them a mission like this. It seemed less like an order and more like he was handing them authority.

Zabuza remained silent for a long time. He looked at the boy before him, whose wisdom and finesse far exceeded his age, then slowly dropped to one knee and bowed his proud head.

"Yes, my... master."

Seeing this, Haku immediately knelt as well and said quietly, "Understood."

They knew that from this day on, their lives were bound to the boy before them.

The day of departure finally arrived. Their mission to build the bridge was complete, and Team 7 had to begin the journey back to Konoha.

The villagers of the Land of Waves gathered of their own accord at the edge of the village to see them off. Inari was sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to Naruto and refusing to let go.

After saying their goodbyes, Team 7 set out for home.

On the road, Kakashi seemed preoccupied. Several times, he looked at Ling Xuan as if he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

Finally, during a rest, he found Ling Xuan alone.

"Ling Xuan..." Kakashi's voice was dry. "About Zabuza and Haku... What you've done amounts to recruiting rogue ninja and forming your own private force. Do you know what it would mean if the village found out?"

"I know." Ling Xuan's answer was frighteningly calm.

"Then why..."

"Kakashi-sensei." Ling Xuan cut him off and looked up at Kakashi. "My dream is to understand every rule and truth that governs how this world works."

"Sometimes, to understand the rules, you first have to learn how to use them to break them."

"Even set rules of your own."

Kakashi's heart sank. As he looked at his student, for the first time he felt a chill deep within him.

An unusual silence hung over the road from the Land of Waves back to Konoha.

Naruto and Sasuke had both experienced a real fight for their lives. The restlessness of youth had faded from them, and they had grown much more composed.

They found themselves observing their surroundings and watching for suspicious tracks. It was the most direct mark the battle had left on them.

But the silence had more to do with the strange atmosphere between Kakashi and Ling Xuan.

Ever since Ling Xuan had said, "set rules of your own," on the way back, Kakashi had barely spoken.

He no longer kept Icha Icha Paradise in his hand. Instead, he walked silently at the rear of the group, his exposed eye fixed most of the time on the unnervingly calm black-haired boy.

His gaze held admiration, wariness, confusion, and even bewilderment in the face of the unknown.

Kakashi felt as if he were escorting an unstable bomb capable of upending everything. It possessed unparalleled intelligence and potential, but no one knew whether its fuse was connected to heaven or hell.

Ling Xuan, however, seemed not to care at all. He continued walking in the middle of the group, his pace steady and his breathing even. His mind was rapidly processing the wealth of information this mission had yielded.

Zabuza's swordsmanship, Haku's Kekkei Genkai, Kakashi's fighting style...

It had all become precious nourishment, absorbed and digested by his Eye of Truth and made part of his understanding of the world.

At last, Konoha's familiar gates appeared in the distance.