Gato

"D-did we... win?"

The scene fell silent. Naruto felt as if he had just woken from a nightmare. He could hardly believe it.

Then Tazuna let out an excited shout, abruptly breaking the stillness.

He hurried over to Sasuke, practically bubbling with enthusiasm as he grabbed Sasuke's hand and said:

"Sasuke, we owe it all to you this time!"

"Young heroes are the best! Don't you ever forget your Uncle Tazuna when you make it big! Ahahaha..."

He followed that up with an awkward laugh.

Sasuke stared at him, completely baffled.

Did this guy figure something out?

Why was he suddenly being so friendly?

And what did he mean, when I make it big?

"We should get Mr. Tazuna home as soon as possible."

"Even though we're already in the Land of Waves, we won't be safe until we reach our destination."

Kakashi spoke cautiously from the side.

Seeing how tired Kakashi looked, Tazuna quickly waved a hand and said generously:

"Of course, of course! Come back to my house with me. I'll make sure you're all well taken care of..."

Before he could finish, Kakashi pressed a hand to his forehead, swayed, stumbled, and collapsed to the ground.

"Teacher Kakashi!"

Team 7 and Tazuna cried out in alarm. They raced over to Kakashi.

A few days later, at Tazuna's home in the Land of Waves.

"Uh... have we finally reached our destination?"

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and saw Team 7 and Tazuna standing beside him.

He was lying on a bed, though he had no idea when they had put him there.

Feeling the chakra in his abdomen restored, Kakashi pushed himself up and sat down.

Then he turned to the others and said:

"Sorry for causing you all trouble..."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke before replying:

"Teacher, Sasuke insisted on carrying you all the way back."

"The mountain road was rough. It couldn't have been easy."

"Yeah, yeah! Teacher Kakashi, Sasuke really had a tough time..."

After all, Sasuke had saved Team 7 this time.

And since Sasuke had promised to treat them to all the ramen they could eat when they got back, Naruto, for once, nodded along enthusiastically.

At the mention of Sasuke, a spark returned to Kakashi's previously hazy eyes. He turned to Sasuke and asked:

"Sasuke, was the move you used earlier the Flying Thunder God Slash?"

The Flying Thunder God Slash?

Sasuke hadn't thought of that. His Dance of the Crescent Moon: Second Form—Star Treading really did resemble the Space-Time Ninjutsu known as the Flying Thunder God Slash...

After a pause, Sasuke shook his head. They were all on the same side, so he decided to answer without holding anything back:

"No. It's the Dance of the Crescent Moon: Second Form—Star Treading."

"Heh... Teacher Kakashi, want to learn it?"

Gekko Hayate had told Sasuke not to reveal the Dance of the Crescent Moon.

But the system had enhanced the technique, and Sasuke's own understanding of swordsmanship had also changed it. His version was already quite different from the original.

Besides, Kakashi was no foreign shinobi. He was one of their own from Konoha.

Teaching Kakashi the move wouldn't break Sasuke's promise.

But good things came at a price.

Nothing was truly free; every gift had a price hidden behind it.

If Teacher Kakashi wanted to learn it, he could trade the Chidori for it. Heh...

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. After Sasuke said that, the corner of his mouth curled up, just like when he had ambushed Zabuza. Sasuke was probably plotting something again...

With that in mind, Kakashi cleared his throat and replied cautiously:

"Uh... never mind. I can barely manage my chakra as it is. You should keep working on your swordsmanship yourself..."

The Dance of the Crescent Moon didn't rely primarily on chakra to activate, much like the Eight Inner Gates.

But Sasuke didn't press the matter. Instead, he changed the subject and asked:

"Teacher Kakashi, speaking of not having enough chakra, did you collapse earlier because you overused your Sharingan and ran out of chakra?"

Kakashi regarded Sasuke thoughtfully, then nodded.

"That's right. It was the Sharingan."

"Sasuke, you have a Sharingan too. You'll need to be careful about that from now on, so you don't run out of chakra and collapse in the middle of a fight."

"Understood. Thank you, Teacher..."

Sasuke furrowed his brow and answered cautiously.

Just then, however, the door behind them suddenly slid open.

A young boy ran inside.

He wore a straw hat and had delicate features. His outfit made him look like Luffy.

As soon as he entered, he ran over and threw himself into Tazuna's arms.

"Grandpa, you're back..."

"Oh, Inari, my precious granddaughter. What a good girl..."

Tazuna scooped Inari into his arms, hugging her fondly with a blissful expression.

So Inari was a girl...

Sasuke gave her a strange look. Honestly, he hadn't realized it when he first saw her...

The little girl seemed to notice Sasuke's gaze. She turned to look at Team 7, then faced Tazuna and said in a clear voice:

"Grandpa, these people are all going to die. They don't stand a chance against Gato..."

"Gato?"

The four members of Team 7 stared at her in surprise. The little girl's startling words left them completely confused.

Tazuna looked at them awkwardly.

"Children say the darndest things, folks..."

"She's always been like that. She lost her parents when she was young, and she doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. Sorry..."

Sasuke was the first to sense that something was wrong with what she'd said. He turned to Tazuna and asked:

"Who's the Gato Inari mentioned, Mr. Tazuna?"

"Why does she seem so afraid of him?"

Tazuna sighed before answering:

"Gato is the mastermind behind the threat to wipe out everyone working on Mother Bridge."

"The Zabuza you encountered earlier was probably hired by Gato to kill me."

"Quite a few people in the Land of Waves have already died at Gato's hands because of this."

"Ah... I may not be the first, but I'll probably be the last..."

His words were helpless and bleak, his whole manner dejected.

The others frowned as they listened.

That was right.

They had completed their escort mission, but they could still avoid getting involved.

Once Team 7 returned to Konoha, Gato would still have plenty of money. He could simply use the same trick again and do whatever he wanted to Tazuna and the others.

At that thought, all four fell silent.

Just then, Naruto suddenly leaped forward. He gritted his teeth and shouted, his voice shaking with defiance:

"Hey, you kid named Inari!"

"I, Naruto, am going to become a super hero just like the Hokage!"

"I've never even heard of this Gato or whatever!"

"I, Naruto, will never let a scumbag like that scare me!"