Arrival in the Land of Waves

Naruto realized what he'd gotten wrong!

Hinata and Sakura weren't Naruto.

Thanks to the system, Naruto had Super Self-Healing and didn't have to fear getting hurt.

Hinata and Sakura didn't.

Accidents always happened when people underestimated their opponents.

"Kakashi-sensei, I won't be so reckless about fighting again. A battle to the death between ninjas is never a good thing."

"We'd much rather see everyone get along!"

Naruto crushed the Demon Brothers' weapons underfoot with just two stomps, then sensibly admitted his mistake to Kakashi.

Kakashi turned and fixed a sharp gaze on Tazuna, the Land of Waves bridge expert who had concealed the true difficulty of the mission.

"The attackers were at Chunin level, and it's obvious you were their target. The escort mission you described can't be called a C-rank mission."

Kakashi wasn't about to be a fool who let himself get cheated.

With no way to hide the truth anymore, Tazuna put on a pained expression and gave an impassioned account of the suffering of the people of the Land of Waves, the evil deeds of the merchant Gato, and his own unwavering determination to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Hinata was kindhearted and sympathized with Tazuna and the people of the Land of Waves.

Sakura Haruno's sense of justice flared. "Expert Tazuna, I'm willing to help you!"

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "Naruto, Gato controls all the resources in the Land of Waves. With his money, it'd be easy for him to hire even stronger ninjas to take care of Tazuna."

"Kakashi-sensei, if we keep escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves, we're bound to make an enemy of Gato. But if we abandon the mission, that'll hurt Konoha's reputation, and it could affect your future, too."

Continuing the escort was more in keeping with the conduct of a Konoha Ninja.

Kakashi said sternly to Tazuna, "Expert Tazuna, the rank of this escort mission has changed. It's at least A-rank. Let me make this clear: you can only take advantage of their kindness this once."

Tazuna laughed heartily and thanked them.

So Hinata and Sakura continued on with Tazuna, while Naruto and Kakashi stayed behind to deal with the Demon Brothers.

"Should we tie them up?" Naruto asked Kakashi. "They look like bad guys."

Kakashi glanced at the slashed Forehead Protectors on the Demon Brothers and said expressionlessly, "They're both missing-nin from Kirigakure. Judging by their actions, they've been assassinating people for a while, and they're pretty good at disguises. We can't leave them here, either. Let's send them on their way."

Naruto wasn't surprised by that decision.

Kakashi wasn't some great saint.

Kakashi had been fighting on the battlefield since he was a teenager. He'd long since learned that some ninjas really did deserve to die!

Naruto turned away.

Kakashi followed him.

Two Shuriken flashed through the air and sank into the Demon Brothers' chests.

Who had thrown them was anyone's guess!

Out on the sea.

A wooden boat carried Naruto's group toward the Land of Waves.

The sea was fairly calm.

Naruto sat at the stern with a pork rice ball in hand. "Expert Tazuna, what would you have done if we'd chosen to abandon the mission?"

Tazuna took off his straw hat and laughed bitterly. "I'd have gone back to the Land of Waves by myself. Gato would definitely have killed me. My poor granddaughter would never see her beloved grandpa again, and my daughter would cry every day, hating Konoha forever."

"No, we won't let that tragedy happen." Moved by Tazuna's fearless spirit, Sakura Haruno said, "Naruto, how could you ask Expert Tazuna something like that?"

Naruto gave an awkward laugh. "I won't ask anymore. I think I can see that bridge over there."

On the pillars of the unfinished bridge, Tazuna's son-in-law, Kaiza, still hung from the beams.

Tazuna's eyes widened. He clutched his hair in agony. "He was hanged in front of everyone by Gato for trying to protect me."

Sakura Haruno covered her mouth in shock. She had never seen such a cruel way to kill someone.

Hinata clasped her hands together and prayed for the dead to find peace. "I'm so sorry."

The landing.

The ninja thugs keeping watch spotted the wooden boat slowly drifting closer and hurriedly passed the news along.

Gato, a cigar clenched in his mouth, said angrily, "Zabuza, the two men you sent out failed. The ninjas from Konoha are already bringing Tazuna back."

The cigar wasn't lit, and not a wisp of smoke rose from it.

Zabuza sat sprawled on the sofa, his eyes wolfish. "Gato, you don't need to remind me. If you think we can't handle it, why not send the ninja thugs you've got on hand to wear down Konoha's ninjas first?"

The newly appointed leader of the ninja thugs wanted to earn a great reward from Gato. He immediately dropped to his knees and begged, "Boss, my men and I won't let you down."

Gato spat out his cigar and ground it beneath his foot. "Zabuza, just stand there and watch as I crush those Konoha ninjas under my heel. Then I'll make your boss follow me willingly, too."

Gato's gaze lingered on Su's face for a moment. A pure, innocent girl like her ought to be at his side.

Su closed her eyes and held herself back from attacking.

Zabuza stood and leveled his broken sword, Kubikiribōchō, at Gato. "Gato, my blade's been thirsty for blood for a long time. Keep your eyes to yourself."

Gato adjusted his glasses. "Let's go!"

On the shore, more and more ninja thugs gathered after Gato appeared.

The leader of the ninja thugs raised his hooked blades and shouted, "Brothers, kill old man Tazuna and everyone on that boat! Boss Gato will reward you handsomely!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Hundreds of ninja thugs shouted in unison, their hostility blazing.

On the wooden boat.

Sakura Haruno's face turned pale. "Are we really going to fight that many people?"

"Yep!" Naruto said, laying it on thick. "Weren't you the one who said you wanted to help the expert? Gato runs a gang. How could he control the whole Land of Waves if he didn't have plenty of thugs?"

The ninja thugs weren't completely disorganized.

Tazuna saw Gato standing on higher ground behind the crowd and gritted his teeth. "That's Gato, the evil man who's done countless wicked things! He's the one who's stopped the people of the Land of Waves from building our bridge!"

Kakashi stepped to the bow. "Naruto, we're about to reach shore."

Naruto jumped over beside Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, I didn't really want to get dragged into a great battle to save the people of the Land of Waves, but we've come this far, so I want to resolve things quickly."

"Kakashi-sensei, can you see those people farther away? They're just watching. I can help them kill one Gato this time, but who'll help them kill the next one?"

"Kakashi-sensei, the people of the Land of Waves are still a long way from being truly saved, a long way from waking up."

Kakashi suddenly couldn't understand what Naruto meant.

What was Naruto planning?

The ninja thugs hurled weapons toward the boat.

Naruto leaped into the air and raised his right hand above his head. "Fire Release: Super Giant Burst Rasengan!"