Heading Home

But he didn't believe Konoha would really stand up for these people from the Land of Waves.

He'd heard that Tazuna had only commissioned a C-rank mission, and the people he'd hired were just a bunch of snot-nosed brats. The only one worth worrying about, Kakashi, was injured, too.

In that situation, who could stop him, Gato?

The only thing that annoyed him was Zabuza's disappearance. Maybe after getting injured, he'd gotten scared of that man called Kakashi. And after Gato had secretly captured so many villagers for him to use as sword fodder, too.

These missing-nin really couldn't be trusted. If only he'd reported everything to Kirigakure from the start. He might even have gotten something out of it.

Standing on the bridge, Gato watched his men beat the disobedient workers until they wailed in pain. He was in high spirits, imagining that one day he would use his money to "buy" the whole country and become its Daimyo.

Then he would build a ninja village of his own, so the Mizukage couldn't use him like a puppet on a string anymore.

But his good mood didn't last long. Trouble broke out below: someone had actually dared to fight back, and several of his men had been knocked to the ground.

"Who are you? How dare you ruin my fun?" Gato roared, waving his arms furiously.

"I'm a ninja from Konoha. I'm taking charge of this bridge!" Sasuke revealed his Sharingan. His crimson eyes made Gato uneasy.

Damn those ninjas!

Sakura joined the fight right after him. She wasn't as strong as Naruto and Sasuke, but she could easily handle a bunch of lackeys.

"Get them all! Beat those two brats to death!" Gato snarled.

But this wasn't a matter of numbers. Sasuke handled them with ease, without even breaking a sweat.

Before long, the ground was covered with lackeys groaning in pain. Gato was the only one left, trembling in the wind and unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Sir, save me!" Gato suddenly shouted.

In an instant, dozens of Kirigakure Ninja dropped from the sky. They had clearly been lying in wait nearby. Sasuke hurriedly shielded Sakura, his expression grave.

Fighting ninjas was completely different from fighting ordinary people. No matter how confident he was, he couldn't take on so many at once.

"Are you planning to go to war with Konoha?" Sakura shouted, thinking quickly.

"Hmph. You two brats don't represent Konoha. Bring your grown-ups over, and then we'll talk." A cold voice drifted from somewhere nearby, answering her question.

"This bridge belongs to Konoha. If you're planning to destroy Konoha property, how is that any different from declaring war on Konoha?"

Just then, Keiichi finally arrived on the bridge, shouting urgently.

"What proof do you have that this is Konoha's bridge?"

"Will this do?"

As he spoke, Keiichi lifted the stone slab covering the bridgehead. The four powerful characters—"Leaf Bridge"—were revealed for everyone to see.

Now it was the other side's turn to fall silent.

"It's nothing but an attempt to throw your weight around! The villagers built this bridge with their own money. How did it become Konoha's?" Gato hurriedly cut in, growing frantic.

"You say this is Konoha property, but you're leaving it in the hands of just a few brats to protect. Isn't that a joke?" The voice sounded somewhat sullen.

"Who said there were only a few of us?" Keiichi said with a confident smile.

"You mean that Kakashi who's badly injured? If he weren't hurt, I might have been a little wary. But now... Hahahaha!" The other party laughed mockingly.

"Oh? Are you talking about me?" A voice suddenly came from behind them. Kakashi emerged from the thick mist and walked over to Keiichi, resting a hand on his shoulder. He looked completely at ease.

"I don't believe your injuries could have healed that fast!" the other party snarled.

The Kirigakure Ninja grew restless, looking ready to charge.

But the next moment, something happened that made everyone's eyes nearly pop out of their heads. One figure after another emerged from the thick mist. Just one look at their faces, and familiar names sprang to mind.

"Hyuga Hiashi!"

"Might Guy!"

"Asuma Sarutobi!"

"Choza Akimichi!"

"Inoichi Yamanaka!"

"Shikaku Nara!"

"..."

What was going on? Why had all of Konoha's strongest Jonin come running over? Was this bridge really that important to them?

As if they weren't facing a tense standoff, the Jonin greeted Kakashi one by one, looking utterly relaxed.

The Kirigakure Ninja, on the other hand, began to retreat without realizing it. Their faces had gone pale, and their morale plummeted.

As the saying went, a man's reputation was like his shadow. Any ninja who had made a name for himself had blood on his hands. These people were no more than ordinary Genin or Chunin. How could they not be afraid?

"This is Konoha territory. Get back where you came from!" Keiichi stepped forward with a swagger, speaking with complete confidence.

Faced with such a provocation from a twelve-year-old boy, the Kirigakure Ninja didn't even dare utter a threat. Instead, they broke out in cold sweat.

Seeing that the other side still hadn't backed down, Keiichi suddenly unfurled a scroll. With a poof, a weapon appeared: the Kubikiribōchō.

"Your village's missing-nin, Zabuza, has been killed by us. This is the proof. If you want this sword back, have your Mizukage discuss it with Lord Hokage in person and offer sufficient terms."

At the sight of the Kubikiribōchō, the Kirigakure Ninja stared at one another, stunned.

They knew better than anyone how fearsome the Demon was. Every one of them was relieved they hadn't been in the same graduating class as Zabuza. Otherwise, they would have been doomed!

The person hiding behind them couldn't help sighing. His last doubts had now been dispelled. If Konoha hadn't sent out its elite, how could Zabuza have been killed so easily?

Thinking that those few children in front of him could kill Zabuza was a joke!

It seemed those unruly villagers really had struck a deal with Konoha at some point and sold them the bridge!

So the Kirigakure Ninja withdrew, leaving without the slightest hesitation. Even Gato had vanished without anyone noticing.

After a while, Keiichi finally waved tiredly and said, "Naruto, that's enough."

The "Jonin," who had been so spirited just moments earlier, all burst into clouds of smoke. They had been Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clones.

Only Naruto, the inventor of the Harem Jutsu, could use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique while transforming into the likeness of various Jonin.

"Whew, that nearly scared me to death." Naruto collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.

"You really were the MVP this time, Naruto!" Keiichi gave him a thumbs-up.

"Of course!" Naruto replied proudly, giving him a thumbs-up in return.

Keiichi breathed a sigh of relief. The Land of Waves Arc was finally over.

Chapter 25: Heading Home

"Useless! You're all useless!" Back at his company, Gato smashed everything in sight to pieces.

Kirigakure wouldn't support him, and he couldn't destroy the bridge either. He couldn't afford to make an enemy of Konoha.

That meant his shipping business would inevitably suffer. Who knew how much money he would lose in the future?

But before he could even sit down, he suddenly began to choke. Then his feet left the ground, and his whole body was lifted into the air.

It was as if an invisible hand had closed around his throat.

"I'm very disappointed in you," the voice said.

"My lord... I was wrong..."

"What did you do wrong?"

"I... I paid... too little tribute..."

"Seems you still don't know what you did wrong. The money you earn already belongs to me. What difference does it make how much you pay in tribute?"

"I... I..." Gato had a bad feeling. Panic seized him.

"You went wrong when you took in Zabuza. He was a missing-nin from Kirigakure. What you did was treachery."

"I was wrong... I really was..."

"You had it all worked out, didn't you? You wanted to take in Zabuza and attract other missing-nin so you could build a force of your own?"

"..."

"But you're not a ninja, so you can't understand us. Even if Zabuza hadn't died, he would have killed you sooner or later. What makes you think you could control him?"

The words jolted Gato awake. His face flushed red.

"Do you understand? We're willing to spend vast resources arming and cultivating a puppet precisely because it's lifeless. But the moment a puppet develops a will of its own, the first thing we do is destroy it, before it turns on its master."

Understanding the meaning behind those words, Gato began to struggle desperately. He didn't want to die.

But it was no use. Before long, his legs went rigid, and he died.

In this life, Gato hadn't died at Zabuza's hands, but he still hadn't survived the day. The power of fate wasn't so easily shaken.

To Kirigakure, Gato was utterly insignificant. Replacing the lock on their wallet was all it amounted to.

The bridge was completed without a hitch, and the Konoha group prepared to head home. The news had already reached Konoha, and they would naturally send people over to handle everything that came next. There was no need for the group to worry about it.

With Gato dead, the Gato Company vanished overnight. The crisis surrounding the bridge was completely resolved, and everyone could leave in peace.

This mission had been perilous. They'd come close to death several times. But Naruto and Sasuke wished they could have more experiences like this, because they had both felt themselves growing stronger at an incredible pace.

They had improved more during this stretch than they had over the past several months combined.

"The mission's over, Keiichi. When are you finally going to fight me?" On the way back, Sasuke still wouldn't leave Keiichi alone. This was already the eighth time he'd challenged him.

"We're not back in Konoha yet. What if we fight until we're exhausted and a group of enemies suddenly jumps us?" Keiichi replied listlessly.

"With Kakashi-sensei here, what are you worried about?" Sasuke scoffed, unconvinced.

"Kakashi-sama would save you, but he might not save me..." Keiichi muttered, making sure not to speak too loudly in case a certain someone heard him and gave him a hard time later.

"Then what do you want?" Sasuke was getting impatient.

On this trip, he'd suddenly realized something: there were so many powerful ninjas out there, and some of them were even his age!

He'd heard the word "genius" so often that he'd started believing it himself. He'd thought he was at least the strongest of his age in the village, but Keiichi's appearance had shattered that dream.

What a load of crap. The nerve of him!

He felt that whenever other people looked at him, they were all thinking the same thing.

The real question was, how much longer would it take him to get revenge on that bastard Itachi?

"Don't worry. The Chunin Exams are coming up, aren't they? You won't have to worry about finding someone to fight then."

"The Chunin Exams?" Sasuke had never heard of them before.

"All the major ninja villages will send their best Genin to take part. Then you'll see what it means to be surrounded by strong opponents."

That immediately excited Sasuke. He wasn't afraid of running into strong opponents. He was only afraid he wouldn't get to prove that he was the strongest of them all!

"So you're definitely taking part, then?"

"Not necessarily." Keiichi irritably ruffled his hair. "My teammates are all lying in the hospital, and I don't have a team leader. How am I supposed to take the exam by myself...?"

"If that's the case, then let's fight first." Sasuke immediately straightened up.

Without waiting for Keiichi's agreement, Sasuke attacked him first.

But Keiichi dodged the punch with ease. He even slipped past the combination that followed, leaving Sasuke punching at the air.

"What!" Sasuke was shocked. He'd thought he'd improved so quickly that Keiichi would have a hard time dealing with him.

But Keiichi's effortless movements shattered that belief.

It was as if he could predict his opponent's every move, just like Sasuke could with his Sharingan!

When Sasuke's eyes began to turn red, Keiichi quickly deactivated his own Sharingan, afraid Sasuke would notice something.

Then he sprang away, leaping from trunk to trunk and putting distance between himself and Sasuke.

"I told you I wouldn't fight you, and now you're taking this seriously!"

"Don't run!" Sasuke was about to chase after him, but Naruto stepped in front of him.

"Your opponent is me! I'll fight you!" Naruto pointed his thumb at himself, his face full of defiance.

Keiichi might be strong, but that didn't mean Sasuke could ignore him!

"Get stronger first!" Sasuke had lost interest in Naruto.