Ah
Thud!!!
After Lin Fan pierced Gato's heart with Chidori, Gato suddenly spat out a huge mouthful of black blood.
Then he fell straight off the bridge and into the sea, where his body became fish food.
The hundred or so wandering ninja saw their boss die before the fighting had even begun, and panicked.
One of Gato's lieutenants shouted to the crowd, "Damn it, that brat killed our boss! There goes our bounty, too.
"Let's take out these commoners together and loot every last bit of money in the village!"
"Kakashi-sensei, shouldn't we join the fight this time?"
"Yeah, let's go, Naruto. Let's make a real mess of things!"
"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof.
The two shouted in unison, and clouds of white smoke billowed across the bridge.
Naruto and Kakashi then made a hundred Shadow Clones between them—ninety-five from Naruto and five from Kakashi.
A hundred and two figures charged forward, each gripping a kunai, and unleashed an enhanced secret Konoha Style Taijutsu technique: Kunai One Thousand Years of Death!!!!
Every kunai stabbed straight and hard at the wandering ninja's cracks.
"Ah!"
The wandering ninja's agonized screams and pleas for mercy quickly rose into one deafening chorus.
The entire bridge was soon stained red with blood.
Watching from a distance, Lin Fan couldn't help chuckling as he softly sang a classic song by Jay Chou from his past life: "Chrysanthemums wither, strewn across the ground; your kunai have turned yellow."
Kakashi and Naruto soon finished off all the wandering ninja.
[Congratulations, host. You have completed the guidance mission. Rewards: Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique Lv1, Silent Killing Technique Lv1]
I've finally completed the guidance mission and claimed my rewards?
Lin Fan was very pleased.
The Hidden Mist Technique and Silent Killing Technique were, after all, two of Zabuza's signature ninjutsu.
In the original story, he was completely countered only because he faced Lord Kakashi, who had both the Sharingan and Ninja Dogs.
These two techniques could prove extremely useful in assassination missions down the line.
Upgrade them with skill points!
Lin Fan said excitedly to himself.
[Congratulations, host. Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique has reached LvMAX. Reward: Water Release Ninjutsu affinity increased by 10% (total increase: 60%)] [Congratulations, host. Silent Killing Technique has reached LvMAX. Reward: Body Flicker Technique affinity increased by 50% (total increase: 50%)]
"Lin Fan, thank you for helping me truly understand how important he is to me."
After speaking softly, Zabuza gave Haku a kind smile.
"It was nothing. It was the least I could do."
Lin Fan smiled back.
If Dragon Ball had left us with battles that set our blood racing, and One Piece had left us with the courage to seek adventure,
then Naruto had left us with one heartbreaking regret after another.
And what Lin Fan wanted now was to make up for the regrets he'd carried with him since his youth.
Anything beautiful only seemed precious after you'd lost it once.
Even if Zabuza had experienced it only in an illusion,
ninja were human, too. They couldn't simply be without feelings.
Lin Fan believed Zabuza wouldn't treat Haku as a mere tool anymore. He would accept him sincerely.
"Mr. Zabuza, where should we go now?"
Haku's face flushed red as he spoke.
What a person most wanted to see was the one they loved caring about them in return.
After learning just how sincere Zabuza's feelings for him were, Haku's heart had already been bursting with joy.
"From now on, we'll go—"
"Home!!!"
With Haku supporting him, Zabuza slowly walked toward the end of the bridge.
At last, the bright sun came out.
Rays of sunlight pierced through the thick fog and fell across everyone's faces.
Warm light suddenly flooded the bridge, which had been bitterly cold moments before.
Watching Haku's retreating figure, Naruto felt a pang of sadness.
If you'd once loved someone, you should wish them well and hope they'd be happier with the person by their side.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was quietly watching Naruto, too.
Over the past few days, they'd trained together, eaten together, bathed together, and bickered together.
They'd grown much closer than they'd been back at the Ninja Academy.
His gaze darted between Naruto and Haku, and he felt rather put out.
"Lin Fan, we arrived a little late. What exactly did you do to make Zabuza turn into a completely different person?"
Kakashi came over to Lin Fan and asked, bewildered.
"It was a genjutsu. I showed Zabuza the future I'd set up for him and Haku—how they were going to die!"
"Kakashi-sensei, do you want to try it, too?"
"You can tell me in advance how you'd like to die."
Lin Fan narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Uh, I think I'll pass!"
Kakashi gave an awkward laugh and said no more.
He, too, watched from afar as Haku and Zabuza—one tall, one short—supported each other as they walked away. His nose stung with envy.
Obito, if only you were still alive.
Then we could be like Zabuza and Haku, supporting each other whenever we were hurt, until we grew old together.
Kakashi murmured softly.
Hearing this from beside him, Lin Fan couldn't help laughing.
If Emperor Guy heard Kakashi say that, he'd probably burst into tears in the restroom.
He and Kakashi had been so close they'd compared sizes while peeing as kids, yet Kakashi still couldn't stop pining for Obito.
As the saying went, what you couldn't have was always the thing you kept yearning for.
And now it seemed Team 7 had all fallen under the spell of this bromance.
That evening, Lin Fan went alone to storm Gato's shipping company in the Land of Waves.
But he found the employees had already abandoned the place after Gato's death.
After searching for a while, he easily picked the lock on the safe Gato had hidden in the basement and found a pile of banknotes.
He filled several sacks and tossed them all into the Other-Dimensional Scroll.
Three days later, the Great Naruto Bridge was completed without Gato to hinder its construction.
But they ran into a bit of a problem when it came time to name it.
Tazuna suggested to the villagers that they call it Lin Fan Bridge.
After all, Lin Fan had protected them throughout their journey back from the Land of Fire. It was only natural that Tazuna would suggest it.
But Lin Fan was speechless.
His name was going to become famous throughout the Shinobi World. Was he really going to end up sharing it with a bridge?
"Let's call it Naruto Bridge instead!"
"Naruto?"
"Yeah. He's my friend, and he wants to become Hokage, too."
"Naming it after him might bring the bridge some renown in the future."
"All right, then. Let's name it Naruto Bridge."
Tazuna nodded happily in agreement.
With the mission in the Land of Waves complete, the four of them immediately set off to return to Konoha.
Among the crowd gathered to see them off, Lin Fan spotted Zabuza and Haku again.
Zabuza had filed down his pointed teeth, and he looked much gentler now.
Haku, meanwhile, was dressed as a girl and cradled a Snow Rabbit in his arms.
He looked strikingly beautiful.
They told Lin Fan that they were tired of all the fighting and killing in the Shinobi World.
They'd decided to settle down together in the Land of Waves, living a quiet, carefree life as husband and wife.
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