Asama Sandayu followed the two of them from beginning to end, but he didn't say a word.
After purchasing the ninja tools they needed, the three of them set off.
The Land of Waves.
On the bridge that was nearing completion.
Zabuza, Haku, and a group of Kirigakure's rogue ninja surrounded Team 7.
Sasuke had been gravely wounded by Haku while saving Naruto.
Naruto stared blankly at Sasuke, who stood in front of him, his body studded with steel needles.
"Sasuke, Sasuke..."
Naruto's voice was filled with shock.
He couldn't believe that Sasuke, who had mocked him all along the way, had stood in front of him.
That top student he had once hated so much, that arrogant guy who was far more popular with girls than he was—he had actually stood in front of him.
Naruto clenched his fists.
An intense fury welled up inside him.
"You—you actually killed Sasuke! I'll kill you!"
Naruto thought Sasuke was dead.
"Roar!"
Chakra brimming with malice surged from Naruto in an instant.
Red chakra slowly gathered behind him, forming a tail.
A blood-red Tailed Beast Shroud enveloped Naruto's body.
His teeth grew into fangs, and the nails on both hands lengthened, becoming like fox claws.
His pupils turned a deep blood red.
Naruto had gone berserk.
Every mirror nearby shattered from the chakra radiating from his body.
A terrifying force swept across the entire bridge.
Kakashi, who was fighting Zabuza, felt the terrifying chakra.
When he saw Naruto, completely enveloped in a Tailed Beast Shroud, his eyes widened. "Naruto's gone berserk? What happened?"
Kakashi didn't yet know that Sasuke had just stood in front of Naruto.
But Naruto's rampage was a serious problem.
"Damn it. Now that Naruto's gone berserk, there's no way I can restrain him."
Once Naruto went berserk, the only options were for him to overcome it himself or for a sealing ninja to reseal the rampaging Nine-Tails.
Zabuza looked at Naruto too, muttering to himself, "That's a Tailed Beast's chakra. Is that guy Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"You've got some nerve letting a Jinchuriki go on a mission."
Most Jinchuriki were kept confined to their villages and forbidden from leaving.
Only those who could control the Tailed Beast inside them were allowed out.
Clearly, Naruto wasn't the kind of Jinchuriki who could control the Tailed Beast within him.
Zabuza sneered at Kakashi. "Kakashi, what are you going to do now?"
"This is no longer a simple mission."
"Maybe Konoha's Tailed Beast is about to go out of control here. You might even lose it."
They were in the Land of Waves. If Naruto went berserk and the Nine-Tails broke free of its seal, almost no one would be able to seal it again.
And if the Nine-Tails escaped, could Konoha really capture it again?
During the Nine-Tails Incident, it had taken the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki's Uzumaki sealing jutsu to seal the Nine-Tails.
Was there anyone in Konoha now who could seal the Nine-Tails back inside its Jinchuriki?
The Third Hokage was already old.
And they were quite far from Konoha.
If the Nine-Tails completely lost control, Kakashi's abilities wouldn't be enough to seal it.
Watching Naruto roar furiously, Kakashi's expression grew grave.
"Naruto, you have to hang on."
Right now, Naruto was the only one who could keep the Nine-Tails in check.
If he couldn't hold on, the Nine-Tails would break free.
"Third Hokage, it seems we let Naruto out too soon."
The Third Hokage was the one who had insisted that Naruto be allowed to move freely.
If Naruto really went berserk here and completely lost control, or even let the Nine-Tails break free of its seal, Kakashi would be the first to take the blame.
But the one who would bear the greatest responsibility would definitely be the Third Hokage.
The factions opposed to him would seize this chance to force him out of office.
Danzo certainly wouldn't let an opportunity like this slip by.
Kakashi frowned. At this point, the mission no longer mattered, and neither did Zabuza.
The most important thing was to help Naruto hold on and keep the Nine-Tails from breaking free of its seal.
Zabuza raised Kubikiribōchō.
His expression was cold. "Kakashi, that brat can't possibly control a Tailed Beast. Letting him out was the biggest mistake Konoha could have made."
"But can you still complete your mission now?"
"Which matters more: this mission, or Konoha's Tailed Beast?"
Kakashi frowned, gripping his Kunai tightly.
"Naruto, you have to hang on."
"Only a tiny bit of chakra has leaked out so far. Naruto should be able to hold on. That seal was left behind by the Fourth Hokage. It must be extremely difficult for the Nine-Tails to get out."
Remembering that Naruto's seal had been left by the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi's anxious heart settled a little.
That's right. It was the Eight Trigrams Seal left by the Fourth Hokage. It was much stronger than the seals used on Jinchuriki in other villages.
It came from the Uzumaki Clan's Four Symbols Seal.
The Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu were the strongest in the entire Ninja World.
Kakashi tried to reassure himself with those thoughts.
But the Tailed Beast Shroud around Naruto was growing darker and darker.
Its original pale red gradually turned dark red, and it was nearly black-red.
They were over a hundred meters away from Naruto, yet Kakashi could feel the Nine-Tails Chakra leaking from Naruto growing denser and denser.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was unusual, filled with the utmost malice.
Even ninja who weren't sensory types could feel it clearly.
Naruto's skin began to peel away, and the chakra concentration in the Tailed Beast Shroud around him grew higher and higher.
His hands were almost turning into claws, his pupils grew redder and redder, and his fangs kept getting longer.
Chakra gradually gathered behind him, forming a fox's tail.
"Boom!"
The moment the chakra tail appeared behind Naruto, it swept through every ice mirror around him, shattering them all.
The surface of the bridge beneath his feet instantly broke apart.
Haku couldn't dodge in time and was gravely injured.
His body was blasted hundreds of meters away and crashed into the sea, sending up a spray of water dozens of meters high.
The force knocked Haku unconscious instantly, leaving him floating on the surface.
Zabuza, whose expression had been calm, widened his eyes. "Haku! Damn it, how can this beast be so strong?"
Zabuza, who had been gloating just moments ago, no longer paid Kakashi any attention. He jumped off the bridge and ran toward where Haku had fallen unconscious.
Kakashi didn't try to stop him.
The moment he saw the blood-red fox tail appear behind Naruto, Kakashi's scalp prickled.
As Zabuza ran toward Haku, Kakashi headed for Naruto.
"No, I can't just sit here and do nothing. I have to do something. I may not be good at sealing jutsu, but the Nine-Tails Chakra Naruto's leaking out isn't that much yet."
Watching the Nine-Tails Chakra around Naruto grow stronger and stronger, Kakashi no longer dared to rely on Naruto's willpower or the Fourth Hokage's seal.
Before you continue