Return to Konoha

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke arrived beside the river in front of Tazuna's house. Kakashi asked curiously, "Naruto, are you really sure you want Zabuza and Haku to join Konoha? You have to know they're missing-nin. I don't think the Third will take them in."

Naruto smiled. "I know it'll be difficult to get the old man to take Zabuza in. It might even sour relations with the Mist Village."

Sasuke asked, puzzled, "Then why are you willing to take them in?"

Naruto replied, "Heh, Sasuke, have you forgotten our dream?"

Sasuke answered, "Of course not. Our dream is to bring peace to this world."

"Exactly," Naruto said. "To bring peace to the world, we need powerful allies and strength. I talked with Zabuza. He's a victim of this era, too. I told him about my dream and asked him and Haku to help me make it come true. He didn't believe in it at first, but he's willing to take a chance on me. How could I refuse to help him? Besides, Zabuza's strong, and Haku is a genius."

Kakashi replied, "In that case, how do you plan to explain this to the Third?"

Naruto answered, "The old man will understand. If we want peace, we can't turn away anyone who longs for it and wants to join us. Only by embracing others can we bring true peace to the world."

Sasuke thought it over, then said, "It's your decision. I have no objections."

Kakashi added, "All right. I'll do my best to explain things to the Third."

Naruto smiled. "Heh, thanks, Sasuke. And thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi smiled. "When my student has such a noble dream and is working so hard to achieve it, how could I hold him back? Keep at it, Naruto. You've chosen a path no one has walked before. I hope you succeed."

Naruto nodded. "I will, Kakashi-sensei."

In the dark space, Dark Naruto said to Good Naruto, "Just as you expected, he chose the hardest path. You must be happy."

Good Naruto smiled. "With his personality, it wasn't hard to guess."

Dark Naruto didn't believe Naruto could succeed. He scoffed, "You know it's impossible. Why didn't you stop him?"

Good Naruto replied, "You're just too pessimistic. How can you know he'll fail if he hasn't even tried? And even if he does fail, it won't be all bad. He'll grow stronger along the way."

Dark Naruto answered, "You have a point. Whether he succeeds or not, he'll grow stronger. And the higher his hopes, the greater his disappointment. When that happens, his eyes will evolve faster, too."

Good Naruto replied, "I still hope he succeeds."

Dark Naruto scoffed. "I don't care whether he succeeds. All I care about is whether he reaches the standard I want as soon as possible. The rest doesn't matter to me." With that, Dark Naruto vanished.

Good Naruto murmured, "I really don't want to talk to someone like you. You're so selfish." Then he vanished, too.

A few days later, once Haku had recovered from his injuries, Naruto and the others set off for Konoha. Inari watched them leave and asked Tazuna, "Grandpa, can we make this country prosperous?"

Tazuna smiled. "The bridge is finished, and Naruto gave us all of Gato's businesses. I believe we can make the Land of Waves strong."

Inari nodded, then asked curiously, "Grandpa, what are you going to name the bridge?"

Tazuna watched Naruto and the others disappear into the distance and replied, "Naruto Bridge."

After two days on the road, Naruto and the others finally returned to Konoha.

Kakashi said to Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku, "Naruto, come with me to explain the situation to the Third. Zabuza and Haku, you two come along as well."

Then Kakashi said to Sasuke and Sakura, "As for you two, head home. Team 7 will take a break for now."

Sasuke looked worriedly at Naruto. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Sakura looked worried, too. "Yeah, Naruto. Should we come explain things to the Third with you?"

Naruto smiled. "There's no need. It's not a big deal, and the Third isn't some stubborn old fossil. He'll understand."

Haku apologized. "Sorry for causing you trouble, Naruto."

Naruto quickly waved his hand. "No, no. It's no big deal."

Kakashi assured Sasuke and Sakura, "Don't worry. I promise everything will be fine." So Sasuke and Sakura had no choice but to head home.

Kakashi led Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku to the Hokage's office. He knocked, then went inside.

The Third looked at Haku and Zabuza and said, "So these are the Mist Village missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza and Yuki Haku."

Zabuza replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Third said, "Kakashi informed me that you're planning to join Konoha. Is that right?"

Zabuza and Haku replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

Naruto, standing nearby, couldn't stand them talking so stiffly and said impatiently, "Hey, old man, can you stop dragging this out? Just tell us whether you agree. Why make it so complicated?"

Kakashi said from beside him, "Naruto, you can't be so rude to the Third."

The Third smiled. "It's all right, Kakashi. Naruto, you're still young. Some things need to be made clear, or they could cause trouble later. You'll inherit the Hokage's position someday, so you can't be so impulsive."

Zabuza and Haku were surprised to hear the Third say Naruto would inherit the Hokage's position, but it didn't mean much to them. Kakashi, however, was different. He knew how awkward Naruto's position in Konoha was.

As a Jinchuriki, he was disliked and hated by most of the villagers. Only a few accepted his existence.

And because the Fourth had killed so many people during the Third Shinobi World War, he had offended the other four nations.

To keep Naruto safe, the Third didn't dare reveal his heritage to the public. As a result, Naruto was the Fourth's son but didn't receive the treatment he deserved.

Now the Third was saying Naruto would inherit the Hokage's position someday. That meant the Third might reveal Naruto's heritage and was also preparing for a war with the other four nations.

Kakashi could see that, and so could Naruto. Though he was happy inside, he still said, "Old man, how many more years can you keep working? Stop trying to dump your responsibilities on me. I want another ten or twenty years of freedom. You'd better stay alive for another ten or twenty years before we talk about it."

Naruto made the Third laugh. "Then I'd be a monster, wouldn't I?"

After laughing, the Third turned serious. "All right. Momochi Zabuza and Yuki Haku, I know why you want to join Konoha, and you're welcome here. But Zabuza, you're still a missing-nin from the Mist Village. Konoha isn't afraid of the Mist, but it's better to keep the peace if we can. So I plan to have you work at my side and join the Anbu. What do you think?"

Zabuza answered without hesitation, "I'll follow your arrangements."

The Third nodded, then said to Haku, "As for you, Yuki Haku, what would you like to do? Since you're not from the Mist Village, you can walk openly around Konoha."

Haku replied, "Lord Hokage, I hope I can stay with Mr. Zabuza."

The Third smiled. "All right. Then you can work at my side and join the Anbu, too."

Haku thanked him. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

The Third smiled and waved his hand. "No need, no need. Tenzo, take them both to the Anbu and get their files sorted out."

An Anbu member suddenly appeared beside the Third and replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

Kakashi looked at the Anbu member and said in delight, "Isn't that Tenzo? How have you been?"

Tenzo replied politely, "Kakashi-senpai, thank you for asking. I'm doing well."

The Third said, "All right, Tenzo. Take them with you. They'll be under your command from now on."

Tenzo replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Third smiled at Zabuza and Haku. "Heh, welcome to Konoha. Go with Tenzo."

Zabuza and Haku replied respectfully, "It's our honor, Lord Hokage. We'll take our leave now."

Before leaving, Haku said to Naruto, "Naruto, thank you. I'll come see you once I've settled in."

Naruto nodded. "Sure, Haku-nii."

After Kakashi gave the Third the details of the mission, he left, too. Naruto stayed off to one side. He knew the Third still had things to ask him and tell him, so he didn't leave.

After Kakashi left, the Third waved his hand, and Naruto sensed that all the Anbu surrounding them had left.

Naruto smiled. "Old man, why all the secrecy? Why send the Anbu away?"

The Third smiled. "Naruto, Kakashi's confidential report said you can control the Nine-Tails perfectly now. Is that true?"

Naruto replied casually, "I thought it was something serious. So that's what this is. It's true. In the Land of Waves, I finally managed to synchronize with Kurama's chakra. Oh, Kurama is the Nine-Tails' name."

The Third sighed with emotion. "If Minato knew how far you'd come, he'd be so proud."

Naruto's expression turned somber. "Yeah. He'd be proud of me."

After a moment, Naruto said, "All right, old man. You didn't ask me here just to reminisce about my father, did you? What is it?"

The Third grew serious, too, and said, "Kakashi's confidential report also said that you, Sasuke, and Hinata have been using the power of nature to temper your bodies since you were young. Is that right?"

Naruto wondered why the Third was asking, but answered honestly, "Yeah, that's right."

The Third's face immediately darkened. "Who taught you?"

Naruto noticed that the Third didn't look pleased. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Uh, Jiraiya-sensei taught us."

The Third looked both shocked and furious. "You said Jiraiya taught you?"

Seeing the Third's face turn purplish, Naruto decided to save himself at the expense of Jiraiya. He said firmly, "Yeah, Jiraiya-sensei taught us."

Far away in the Land of Hot Water, Jiraiya was gathering material for his writing and suddenly sneezed several times, nearly getting caught by the girls bathing nearby. Luckily, he escaped just in time using the Body Flicker Technique.

Jiraiya hid on the roof of the bathhouse and said, "That's strange. Who's talking about me? It's about time I went back to Konoha. I wonder how Naruto's doing."