Yuki Haku

The next morning.

Su Yu arrived at the gates of Konoha early.

He carried a backpack containing a small portion of his ninja tools.

He waited for less than half an hour.

Uzuki Yugao arrived.

She wore a Konoha Ninja flak jacket, and her long purple hair was tied into a ponytail. She looked beautiful.

Uzuki Yugao showed the gate guard her travel authorization.

In fact, as an Anbu Ninja, she didn't need to show any authorization at all.

The Anbu under the Hokage, along with most of Konoha's ninjas, served the Third Hokage. They all knew one another.

The Chunin guarding the gate took a look and smiled warmly at Uzuki Yugao.

"Let's go," Uzuki Yugao said to Su Yu.

Su Yu nodded and headed out of Konoha.

Since they hadn't informed their client, they naturally wouldn't run into any danger.

Anyone who ambushed Konoha ninjas on the road would have to be out of their mind.

The two didn't travel particularly fast, but they still reached a seaside town by noon.

Uzuki Yugao found a boatman and had him take them to the Land of Waves.

Su Yu sat quietly in the boat, gazing at the scenery ahead.

This world felt unfamiliar to him, yet there was something familiar about it, too.

Watching the protagonist's adventures in an anime was completely different from experiencing them himself.

He savored this moment of peace, while also looking forward to the battles that lay ahead.

Uzuki Yugao stood in the boat, watching their surroundings.

Anbu members were more cautious than ordinary ninjas.

The boatman didn't say much, either.

For a while, all they could hear was the boat and the waves.

When the boat reached shore,

Su Yu saw the bridge under construction.

Once completed, this bridge would give everyone in the Land of Waves hope.

But Gato wouldn't allow the bridge to be built.

He wanted to keep the Land of Waves under his control.

Uzuki Yugao led Su Yu along the streets of the Land of Waves.

The vegetables displayed along the roadside made it clear just how miserable life was in the Land of Waves.

The best vegetables on offer were probably a few bunches of bright-green bok choy.

Several men dressed like wandering samurai stood at the entrance of the largest shop. It belonged to Gato.

Inside, the shop had fresh vegetables as well as all sorts of grains.

However, the prices were outrageously high.

"What do you think of this place?" Uzuki Yugao asked.

"There's no hope," Su Yu replied.

Uzuki Yugao nodded, clearly agreeing.

"If we can help them build this bridge, the people here will have hope. Even a little hope can give them the motivation to keep working hard and make this place better," Su Yu said softly.

"You're right." A hint of admiration showed in Uzuki Yugao's eyes.

"But there could be trouble..." Su Yu glanced at Gato's shop.

"That's not for us to worry about. Our mission is to build the bridge," Uzuki Yugao reminded him.

Su Yu said no more. He understood what Uzuki Yugao meant.

Since Uzuki Yugao had no intention of doing anything about it, he would have to act alone.

Half an hour later,

Uzuki Yugao found the client's house.

However, the client had already been injured.

Tazuna had planned to go straight to Konoha once he recovered.

He hadn't expected Su Yu and Uzuki Yugao to come looking for him themselves.

But since he was injured, he couldn't work just yet. They might have to wait a few days before he could gather the others and start building the bridge.

"Why don't you stay here for a few days? Once I've recovered, I'll be counting on you to protect me," Tazuna said with a smile.

With Konoha ninjas protecting him, he felt at ease.

"Teacher Uzuki Yugao, since we can't start the mission right away, can I keep practicing my Taijutsu for the next few days?" Su Yu asked, looking at Uzuki Yugao.

"Don't take any risks." Uzuki Yugao gave Su Yu a long look.

"Understood." Su Yu bowed, then turned and headed toward the forest.

Uzuki Yugao watched Su Yu walk away, but wasn't worried about his safety.

Su Yu was nearly as strong as a Chunin. The wandering samurai here wouldn't be able to hurt him.

In the forest,

Su Yu stood atop a tall tree, overlooking the entire Land of Waves.

The Land of Waves was actually very small. With no ninjas there, a merchant like Gato could easily control it.

He had many wandering samurai working for him, as well as a powerful ninja named Zabuza.

Su Yu didn't have a bad impression of Zabuza.

But words alone wouldn't convince him to listen.

At the very least, Su Yu would have to defeat Zabuza.

That raised the question: could he defeat Zabuza?

The answer was yes.

With the Byakugan, he could see Zabuza through the mist. His Chakra Sealing Palm could seal Zabuza's chakra, and he also had his Shadow Possession Technique.

In a one-on-one fight,

the Byakugan would be the key to victory.

Most importantly, there was his current identity.

He had already sided with Orochimaru. Going to invite Zabuza and Haku to join him was perfectly reasonable.

With that thought, Su Yu leaped forward and landed steadily on the ground.

"Byakugan, activate!"

His eyes turned white.

At a glance, he could see several figures.

Uzuki Yugao's chakra flowing, the faint chakra of the wandering samurai and wandering ninjas, and someone training in the forest.

"That should be Haku." Su Yu headed forward.

A little over ten minutes later,

he reached a tree less than a hundred meters from Haku and watched quietly.

Haku's full name was Yuki Haku, but there was no way to verify the Yuki surname.

He was a boy, yet he was beautiful, almost like a girl.

Unlike other ninjas, the weapons he used weren't very powerful.

Su Yu was watching him.

Haku stopped moving.

Then he threw several senbon in Su Yu's direction.

The moment Haku turned around, Su Yu had already prepared to dodge.

The senbon struck the tree.

Su Yu himself appeared in front of Haku.

Holding a Kunai, he lunged at him.

Haku was quick, too. He held a senbon and began fighting Su Yu.

Su Yu's attacks were only probes, and Haku focused entirely on defending, never attacking first.

The two continued fighting like this.

A little over ten minutes later,

Su Yu jumped back and stopped.

"My name is Su Yu. I'm one of Lord Orochimaru's pawns. You're Yuki Haku, aren't you?"

"Yes." Haku stared at him in surprise.

"I know you and Zabuza are hiding in the Land of Waves, but you don't have to live under someone else's roof. Gato is obviously a bad person. If we deal with him, the Land of Waves can have a new hope, and you two can earn some money as well," Su Yu said slowly.

Haku looked astonished.

This Konoha Ninja actually wanted to deal with Gato?

It looked like Haku couldn't understand his idea. "Then take me to meet Lord Zabuza. Would you do that?" Su Yu could see Haku's surprise, and knew he wouldn't agree to something like this.

"Sure." Haku thought it over, then agreed.