Kage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

"It seems... that won't be an issue."

Leaf would have to be insane to tear down the bridge; wouldn't collecting tolls be a lucrative endeavor?

"Then what else are you worried about?"

Upon closer reflection, that logic held up. Even if the bridge were completed, who would it belong to?

Everyone contributed the funds, so naturally, it belonged to everyone, but wasn't that just a title?

At most, people wouldn't have to pay tolls, but the other end of the bridge was built in the Land of Fire. Could you really stop the Land of Fire from collecting tolls on their side?

Therefore, it didn't seem to matter who the bridge belonged to.

Keiichi's proposal truly tempted Tazuna. He didn't care who owned the bridge; he only cared if it could be finished and if it could bring vitality to the impoverished Land of Waves!

"Mr. Tazuna, you have to look at it this way. If you offer the bridge as the reward for the mission to Leaf, then this bridge belongs to Leaf. We won't even mention the mission anymore; surely Leaf can protect a bridge of its own? No matter how powerful Gato is, can he be more powerful than Leaf? Believe me, as soon as we hoist the Leaf banner on that bridge, Gato will have to take a detour in the future, not even daring to glance at it."

Once these words were spoken, Tazuna was completely at ease.

Even if it meant spending money to act as a 'Pal' for Leaf, so what?

I'm determined to be this Pal!

Striking while the iron was hot, Keiichi immediately produced a blank scroll and drafted an agreement to finalize the matter. The bridge connecting the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire was thus designated as the reward for this mission, valued at three million ryo, and transferred to the ownership of Leaf.

The extra five hundred thousand ryo would simply be treated as labor costs.

Clutching the agreement, Keiichi couldn't stop smiling after stepping outside.

He couldn't help but be happy; the gains here were simply too massive.

Chapter 16: Kakashi's Dilemma

Don't forget, in the original plot, this bridge was named the Naruto Bridge.

But with this turn of events, the naming rights belonged to Leaf; who would ever name it the Naruto Bridge now!

This event held significant meaning in the original work; wouldn't this reap a massive amount of Magic Modification Points?

To be safe, he even went ahead and set the name of the bridge in the agreement: "Leaf Bridge"!

Sure enough, as soon as the agreement was signed, 50 Magic Modification Points were credited to his account, making him beam with joy on the spot.

Even more miraculously, the plot modification degree increased directly to 0.43290%, the greatest 'magic modification' in history.

And it didn't end there. By merely using his silver tongue, he had saved Leaf from a major economic loss. When he reported this to Hiruzen later, could he possibly be short-changed on his rewards?

The mission rank would definitely be upgraded to A-rank, the mission reward would certainly not be small, and he would improve his standing with the Leaf higher-ups—this was an intangible asset.

Now, as long as he dealt with the trouble that was Zabuza, everything would fall into place.

And for that matter, he already had his own plans.

The Land of Waves was poor, so naturally, Tazuna's home had nothing good to entertain guests with. Everyone hastily finished a lunch and began pre-battle special training.

Leaning on his crutches, Kakashi began to teach his disciples the essentials of chakra control and designed a tree-climbing method for this practice. Keiichi watched coldly from the side, not participating.

He could see that Sakura had the strongest ability to control chakra; she didn't need much training to easily meet Kakashi's requirements.

It was no wonder she would inherit Tsunade's mantle in the future; after all, medical ninjutsu relied most on precise control.

This was the innate talent of the Haruno bloodline, something others couldn't help but envy.

However, Naruto and Sasuke weren't bad either. Their competitive spirit became the driving force for mutual encouragement, and their progress was naturally rapid.

Once Kakashi had arranged his disciples clearly, Keiichi approached and asked with a smile, "Lord Kakashi, when do you intend to teach me the Water Clone Technique?"

"Eh? Didn't I already teach you that?" Kakashi wore a look of surprise.

Keiichi's smile suddenly turned somewhat bitter. He knew his own situation; he didn't know any Water Clone Technique—that was something the system had gifted him.

It looked like Kakashi intended to welch on the debt... no, that wasn't quite welching; the man was only willing to vouch for him, he never said he would teach him.

And in Kakashi's view, Keiichi should have already learned the Water Clone Technique, so why would he need him to teach it?

"Fine, you're right..."

"Anything else?"

"I have one thing I don't quite understand. Why do you only teach them the most basic things, but never teach them powerful ninjutsu directly?" Keiichi asked with curiosity.

As a prophet, he knew clearly that of the three who studied under Kakashi, only Sasuke learned Chidori from start to finish; no other ninjutsu was taught to them.

Perhaps some would say Chidori was Lightning Release, and Naruto and Sakura couldn't learn it.

But don't forget who Kakashi was—the Copy Ninja who had copied thousands of ninjutsu. Could he really not find a ninjutsu suitable for Naruto and Sakura?

Yet, Kakashi had been a teacher for so long, and he hadn't taught them a single thing.

Kakashi looked slightly surprised, smiled bitterly, and just waved his hand, not wanting to answer the question.

Just that expression made Keiichi realize the truth in a flash.

Precisely because Kakashi was the Copy Ninja, he didn't dare to teach.

Look at how the major ninja villages treated the corpses of their ninjas with extreme caution, having dedicated personnel responsible for recovery, all to prevent the village's ninjutsu secrets from leaking.

Yet, the Copy Ninja ability Kakashi possesses allows him to replicate the ninjutsu of others; wouldn't that mean all his weaknesses and countermeasures are laid bare for everyone to see?

This in itself is a highly taboo matter. If he dared to pass on these "stolen" ninjutsu to others, he would not be far from death, for he would have provoked the collective wrath of the ninja world.

Therefore, he only dared to teach the Chidori, his own original creation, to Sasuke, as it was the only thing he could offer without violating those taboos.

Thinking about it this way, the fact that Kakashi was willing to vouch for Keiichi regarding the Water Clone means the debt of gratitude is far too heavy; he was literally risking his own life.

Keiichi suddenly realized that he had underestimated how severe the sectarianism of this era truly was. Even someone as noble as Jiraiya, after becoming Naruto's teacher, only taught him the ninjutsu originally created by the Fourth Hokage—this is what they call returning property to its rightful owner.

And then, look at the gap between Naruto and Sasuke after Naruto returned three years later.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, had absolutely no sectarian bias; he truly taught everything he knew without reservation.

Of course, he taught a bit too much, but let us set aside the matter of the student starving the master for now.

So, perhaps Sasuke really did see something when he defected from the Leaf Village to become stronger. With Kakashi's level of instruction, it is possible that when the three-year period ended, he wouldn't even be as good as Naruto.

Keiichi realized he had been too arrogant back then; exposing that he had learned the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was far more dangerous than he had imagined. Fortunately, his luck was good, and he had passed the test smoothly.

Kakashi had no idea that a single expression of his had led Keiichi to deduce so much; he was still worried about the threat posed by Zabuza.

"Lord Kakashi, I actually have an immature idea that might solve the Zabuza problem." Keiichi began to discuss the serious matter.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"Zabuza was hired by Gato. As long as we take care of Gato, wouldn't he lose his reason to meddle in this mess?"

Keiichi pointed in a certain direction, speaking with full confidence.

Kakashi followed the direction of his finger and saw a magnificent, gilded building that looked particularly out of place in this slum-like village; it was the headquarters of Gato Shipping Company.

"If only things were as simple as you say," Kakashi said with a bitter smile.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Gato is one of the world's top billionaires. Do you really think that with his assets, no one has set their sights on him? Yet, why is he still living comfortably?"

"It is indeed quite strange. His subordinates are nothing but down-and-out ronin; they might handle ordinary people, but how could they deal with us ninjas?" Keiichi frowned.

If nothing else, the Akatsuki organization is busy raising funds all day; would they not notice such a fat piece of meat as Gato?

They could send anyone over to bring him to his knees.

"Remember those two Kirigakure ninjas we encountered at the beginning? Those two were actually on record in our Anbu; they are known as the Demon Brothers."

"Could it be..."

"These two belong to the Kirigakure Anbu. Just like our Leaf Village Anbu, they are under the direct jurisdiction of the Kage and are usually only responsible for protecting the safety of the village and the country."

Keiichi suddenly realized. If the Demon Brothers, who were Kirigakure Anbu, were being driven by Gato, who would believe that it had nothing to do with the Mizukage?

"In other words, Gato is actually being backed by Kirigakure?"

"Exactly."

Although Kakashi was well-informed, he hadn't taken it seriously at first, until he met Zabuza and suddenly understood the logic.

"That's not right. If that's the case, why did Zabuza, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, become Gato's subordinate?"

"It is more accurate to say that precisely because of this, Zabuza, who chose to defect, could only cooperate with Gato, because this man was the one he was most familiar with," Kakashi said with conviction.

Presumably, Gato was never content to be a puppet for the Mizukage. His choice to control Zabuza rather than turning him in suggests he had plans to set up his own shop.

Keiichi thought of even more. He knew that the current Mizukage was actually being controlled by Obito, and since Gato was the Mizukage's purse, wouldn't that make him the purse of the Akatsuki organization by extension?

No wonder Akatsuki had no interest in a fat target like Gato; it turns out he was already meat in their own bowl!

With things turning out this way, Keiichi's plan fell through. He had thought that solving Gato would be equivalent to solving the Zabuza problem, but he hadn't expected things to become so complicated.

However, he was unwilling to wait for both sides to recover to full health and then have a tragic final battle according to the original plot.

Is he not allowed to earn Magic Modification Points?

To increase his own strength, he cannot just follow what is written in the script!

Although Kakashi is incapacitated, isn't Zabuza also incapacitated? Everyone is recovering from their injuries; it is the perfect time to take advantage of their vulnerability.

But where exactly Zabuza is recovering, heaven only knows.

No, there is someone who knows—for example, Gato.

However, after hearing what Kakashi had to say, he no longer dared to barge into the Gato company headquarters. Who knows how many swordsmen from Kirigakure are hiding inside?

After pondering for a long time, Keiichi decided to try his luck. In his memory, he vaguely recalled that Zabuza's base was somewhere in the forest, and this area was surrounded by the sea on three sides, with a forest only to the east.

Thus, while Team 7 was undergoing special training, Keiichi went out early and returned late, sparing no chakra to send out Shadow Clones to search the entire forest.

Yet, by the third day, he still had nothing to show for it. This forest was much larger than he had imagined; continuing like this was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack, and his anxiety continued to grow.

On the other side, Tazuna, who was supervising the bridge construction, also encountered his own trouble. In recent days, people had been resigning one after another, and now even his best friend, who had supported him the most, could no longer go on.

"Give it up. You know how powerful Gato is; it is impossible for our bridge to be completed."

"How can you talk about giving up at the final moment? The happiness of the people of the Land of Waves depends on this one effort!" Tazuna urged.

"But I'm afraid I'll die here first! Haven't you noticed? Many people in the village have gone missing recently, all of whom were supporters of the bridge construction. It must be Gato and his men!"

"Don't be afraid. This time, I've hired ninjas from Konoha, and they will protect us well."

"Are you kidding me? You mean those four brats? You're actually counting on them to deal with Gato? Do you even know how many men Gato has under his command?"

"No, I can guarantee you that no matter how many men Gato has, he wouldn't dare touch our bridge!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? You've gone mad! Is there anything Gato wouldn't dare to do?"

"I'll tell you the truth: I've actually sold this bridge to Konoha. From now on, its name is the Leaf Bridge."

"What?!" The other man grabbed Tazuna by the collar, his expression turning agitated.

Tazuna had already closed his eyes, bracing himself for a friendly, face-shattering punch from his old friend.

However, he didn't feel the expected pain; instead, he heard his friend's voice, laced with excitement and agitation—

"Are you telling the truth?! You really sold it?"

"Yes, I sold it..."

"That's great! You did the right thing! With this, would Gato still dare to touch our bridge? How did you even come up with this idea? It's absolutely brilliant!"

Tazuna never expected this reaction from his friend, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Soon, the news spread, and all the workers constructing the bridge gathered around. Upon hearing the news, they were all beaming with joy, tossing Tazuna into the air again and again to vent their happiness.

They didn't care who the bridge belonged to; they only knew that their hard work wouldn't be in vain, and that the Land of Waves was truly saved this time!

"Quick, hurry and go plant the Konoha emblem all over the bridge!" Tazuna finally regained his senses and hurriedly ordered.

"Yes!" This time, they were more motivated and proactive than ever before.

Tazuna wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had always felt that something was off, wondering if he had been swindled by that ninja named Keiichi, but at this moment, he suddenly felt that he had made the most correct decision of his life.

Selling this bridge was worth it!