Half an hour later, Lu Yu returned to Tazuna's house, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the nearby forest.
Lu Yu glanced at Zabuza, who followed behind him with an expectant look, and said calmly,
"I do have a way to make you stronger, but—"
As soon as he heard Lu Yu's words, Zabuza nodded understandingly.
"I understand. Getting stronger must take some sincerity, so what do you need me to do for you, Lu Yu?"
Looking at Zabuza's understanding expression, Lu Yu nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. It's always a pleasure dealing with someone smart. Here's the deal: starting tomorrow and continuing until we leave the Land of Waves, you and Haku will put the others on our team through combat training."
"Combat training?"
Zabuza stared at him for a moment. He hadn't expected it to be so simple.
"Yeah. It shouldn't be hard for you and Haku. I suggest ambushing them at least three to five times a week..."
"Three to five times..."
Zabuza's expression changed as he looked at Lu Yu. He understood that Lu Yu wanted his teammates to get stronger, but wasn't that a little too frequent?
"Mm. Just give them a day or two to rest. As long as you train them seriously, I can also guarantee that you won't have to keep living on the run afterward."
"What?"
Zabuza's face lit up with joy as he stared at Lu Yu in disbelief.
Only someone who had been on the run could know how miserable it was...
At any time, anyone might want you dead. Even the slightest sound while you were sleeping demanded your full attention.
At any moment, even a second of carelessness could get you killed.
Zabuza had had more than enough of living in constant fear.
Hearing Lu Yu say that, he eagerly asked,
"Is that true, Lu Yu?"
Hearing Zabuza's trembling voice, Lu Yu looked at him seriously.
"Mm. Don't worry. I'll make arrangements for you and Haku. Now go do your job. Oh, and try not to let them realize that you and Haku are training them. You get what I mean..."
"Don't worry, Lu Yu. I'll make sure they experience the feeling of being a hair's breadth from death at all times."
When Zabuza saw Lu Yu nod, he knew he was no longer needed. He leaped away and disappeared in an instant.
An hour later, Asuma returned to Tazuna's house with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.
Choji and Shikamaru weren't too badly hurt. Asuma gave them a rough bandage, and they were fine.
Ino was only a little tired. When she returned to her room to sleep, she unexpectedly found a small note on the table.
Ino recognized Lu Yu's handwriting at a glance.
The note said that Lu Yu had to go away for a while and didn't know when he would return.
Two minutes later, Asuma saw the worry in Ino's eyes and couldn't help sighing helplessly to himself.
Silly girl. You're still worried about him? You'd better spend the coming days worrying about yourself.
Zabuza had already spoken with him. Starting tomorrow, he'd have to put on a stellar performance as an "actor."
Only after Asuma repeatedly assured Ino that Lu Yu would be fine did she return to her room to rest.
Meanwhile, Lu Yu set off on the long-awaited trip around the Land of Waves with his luggage. Sea fishing, swimming, surfing, mountain climbing, camping—he had no idea life could be so relaxing.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, on the other hand, had it rough...
Starting the next day, the three of them began a hellish existence...
Haku: "Thin Eyebrows, yesterday you would've died at my hands if I hadn't run out of chakra. I'm well-rested today. Prepare to die..."
Shikamaru: "Hmph, we'll see who dies!"
Two days later...
Zabuza: "Heh, didn't see that coming, did you? Your Big Beard Teacher has been trapped by Haku. Since you've been lucky enough to survive this long, I'll let you experience what true cruelty is..."
Shikamaru: "Choji, Ino, watch out! This guy's strong!"
Three days later...
Haku: "I didn't expect you guys to be so tough. You actually survived fighting Mr. Zabuza. Today, I'm definitely going to kill you..."
Shikamaru: "Hmph, I'm afraid it won't be that easy..."
One month later...
Haku: "Thin Eyebrows, what's with that look? You want to fight? Take this—Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
Shikamaru: "Hey, hey, that's a pretty flimsy excuse. We're fighting again?"
Three months later...
The two sides met again and stared at each other from a distance. This time, they stared for a full five minutes, and then—
Haku: "Ugh..."
Shikamaru: "Ugh..."
They'd been fighting for three whole months, and by now they knew each other all too well. They were so sick of fighting they could hardly stand it.
That was how they'd ended up like this, greeting each other by throwing up...
Tazuna and the others, who were building the bridge nearby, had gone from being scared at first, to getting used to it, to not even bothering with them anymore.
The workers went on building the bridge and doing their jobs.
A worker pushing cement frowned at Haku and Shikamaru as they fought and grumbled in annoyance,
"Hey, could you go fight over there? We just finished smoothing the cement here..."
Then Haku and Shikamaru, who had been fighting fiercely, stopped at the same time and looked at the worker apologetically. Together, they said,
"Sorry about that."
Then the two of them looked at each other.
"Ugh..."
That same day, Lu Yu finally finished exploring everything the Land of Waves had to offer. He returned to Tazuna's house looking completely satisfied.
He was covered in bags of all sizes, full of local specialties and all sorts of strange novelties. The largest bag was packed to the brim with Sealing Scrolls.
Looking at the huge bag full of Sealing Scrolls, Lu Yu was in high spirits.
At last, he'd never have to worry about money again...