Land of Waves.
A small boat carried Team 10 and Tazuna steadily toward Tazuna's home.
The Land of Waves was often shrouded in thick fog. Visibility was poor; anything more than ten meters away was hard to make out.
That was why Asuma and the others looked so serious and cautious.
The enemy they were about to face was most likely a jonin.
Gato was one of the richest men in the world, and he surely had plenty of hired thugs at his disposal. That was a real headache.
On top of that, they knew for certain that he had a ninja working for him, so things weren't looking good.
Lu Yu, however, wasn't too worried about it.
He'd already scared Zabuza off. Lu Yu figured that kind of psychological trauma would take at least a week or two to recover from.
Thinking about it, Lu Yu couldn't help admiring Gato's sheer nerve.
In a world where strength was everything, no matter how rich Gato was, he was still an ordinary man. To the powerful, he was nothing more than a walking vault.
Lu Yu figured that even if Zabuza took the opportunity to slack off, Gato wouldn't dare complain. So there was no way Zabuza would attack anytime soon.
That was why Lu Yu was in such a good mood throughout the trip.
After all, it was his first time in the Land of Waves, and he was quite interested in the place.
A few days later, Team 10 arrived at Tazuna's home without incident.
According to the mission requirements, Team 10 had to protect Tazuna until the bridge was completed.
So Team 10 settled in at Tazuna's house, while Lu Yu eagerly slung a big bundle of fishing gear over his shoulder and went fishing.
After all, unlike inland countries such as Konoha, island nations offered the rare pleasure of deep-sea fishing.
The fish here were at least half a meter long. The biggest ones were two or three meters long, or even more than ten.
Asuma had already given Lu Yu complete free rein, and the other three had long since gotten used to it.
If Lu Yu ever started training diligently, he wouldn't be the Lu Yu they knew. Besides, he was so strong already—what was wrong with slacking off a little?
The next day, Asuma took Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji into the forest, while Lu Yu happily munched on roasted pork nearby.
Asuma gave Lu Yu a helpless look, then smiled at the three in front of him and said:
"I know you're jealous of Lu Yu, but there's nothing I can do about it."
"You've all got a pretty good idea of how strong Lu Yu is. If you reach the same level someday, I'll give you complete freedom too."
"For now, your top priority is to get stronger. Understood?"
Thinking back to how Lu Yu had easily beaten a wild boar to death with his bare hands half an hour earlier, the three nodded firmly.
Seeing how inhumanly strong Lu Yu was, there was no way they couldn't be jealous.
But the three of them clearly didn't have Lu Yu's monstrous talent, so they could only grit their teeth and vow not to slack off again until they got stronger.
Seeing the fighting spirit in their eyes, Asuma smiled with satisfaction.
"Good. Since you've decided to get stronger, starting today I'll put you through a proper, systematic training program."
Lu Yu took a hearty bite of a pork leg, its fat rich but not greasy, and watched with interest as Asuma explained how to channel chakra into the soles of their feet.
After that, Team 10 began their chakra training—the tree-climbing exercise.
And Lu Yu began his own training: eating.
He'd finally made it to the Land of Waves, where there was an abundance of wild game and seafood. As a laid-back soul who knew how to enjoy life, how could he not try everything?
From that day on, Ino, who liked to mooch meals off Lu Yu in the evenings, was in for a treat.
Every day she got to eat different kinds of game, from tigers, brown bears, and wild boars to crabs and other seafood. For a whole month, not a single meal was repeated.
What shocked Ino most was that this lazy troublemaker turned out to be an incredible cook.
Every meal left Ino thoroughly satisfied and wanting more. When she went back to Tazuna's cooking, she could barely work up an appetite.
One morning a month later, Team 10 got dressed as usual and prepared to protect Tazuna while he worked on the bridge.
Ino looked at Lu Yu, still fast asleep, and gently tucked his blanket around him.
Watching Lu Yu's handsome face as he breathed evenly, Ino glanced around like a thief.
When she saw that no one else was there, her cheeks flushed slightly. She slowly leaned down, and just as she was about to kiss Lu Yu on the forehead—
"Ino, it's time to go!"
Asuma's voice rang out at the crucial moment, startling Ino as she was about to do something naughty. She glared resentfully in Asuma's direction, then looked unwillingly at Lu Yu, whose brow had furrowed slightly.
Clearly, she couldn't get away with anything now. Ino could only stomp out of the room, grumbling to herself:
Teacher Asuma is so annoying...
An hour later, Asuma arrived at the bridge with the three of them and Tazuna.
Since it was still early, the fog over the bridge was thick. Asuma glanced around, his brow furrowing slightly as an inexplicable sense of unease settled over him.
As soon as he sensed something was wrong, Asuma shouted:
"Quick, fall back!"
As he spoke, Asuma leaped backward.
Clang!!!
The instant Asuma jumped away, an enormous cleaver came whistling through the air and plunged into the spot where he had been standing.
The others looked ahead and were shocked to see that half the enormous blade had sunk deep into the bridge.
They immediately prepared for battle, staring tensely into the mist around them.
The next moment, a man wearing spotted overalls, with bandages wrapped around half his face, dropped from the sky and landed firmly on the hilt of the Kubikiribōchō.
A sinister air hung about him, and his small eyes radiated murderous intent.
Zabuza looked at Asuma and said mockingly:
"Well, well. If it isn't Sarutobi Asuma, one of Konoha's famous 'Twelve Guardian Shinobi'..."