Undercurrents, New Shoots, and the Wave Country

At the same time, in the backyard of the Hyuga Estate.

Hinata tightly hugged the bouquet of Blue Enchantresses, larger than her face, to her chest. The crisp floral fragrance lingered beneath her nose, along with... that person's domineering yet reassuring scent.

"Wait for me to come back. I'll marry you."

Those words had branded themselves deep into her soul like the most sacred of spells.

"I... I want to become stronger too!"

The girl used all her strength to clutch the bouquet even tighter, as though she wanted to melt it into her body.

"I'll definitely become stronger, become a woman who can stand beside Naruto, instead of one who can only look up at him from behind!"

At that moment, the timid and weak young lady of the Hyuga Clan died.

In her place stood a warrior determined to raise her fists against the entire main house, against her own fate, for the sake of the man she loved!

The next day, at the Hokage's Office.

"Third Hokage, did you summon us?"

Sakura and Sasuke stood in the middle of the office, both looking somewhat confused.

Kakashi stood nearby. His expression was as lazy as ever, but his eyes were completely clear.

"Heh heh, don't be nervous, children."

Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a kindly smile as he took a deep drag from his pipe. "I just wanted to talk to you about the previous exercise. You performed very well, especially in terms of teamwork."

He began with a few customary words of praise, then his tone shifted and his gaze deepened.

"During the exercise, Naruto displayed some... special abilities. What are your thoughts on that?"

Sakura instinctively wanted to say something, but she did not know where to begin.

Sasuke's gaze sharpened. He knew the important part had arrived.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes swept over their faces, taking in every reaction.

"Those eyes of Naruto's, as well as the extraordinary taijutsu he used, are all S-rank secrets of the village."

His tone turned stern. "Starting today, you must keep this matter absolutely confidential. You are not to mention it to anyone, including your family. This is the Hokage's order. Understood?"

"Yes!"

Sakura and Sasuke immediately stood at attention and answered.

Looking at the two genin, who seemed to understand but not fully, Hiruzen Sarutobi added meaningfully, "You only need to remember that Naruto is your most important comrade. That is enough."

After leaving the Hokage Building, Sakura's head was filled with questions, while Sasuke clenched his fists.

An S-rank secret... just how many secrets was that dead last hiding?

The target he sought to catch up to seemed to be getting farther and farther away.

A few days later.

Konoha, commercial district, a ninja tool shop with an "East Wind" sign.

"Tch. These mass-produced goods are an insult to the very term 'ninja tools.'"

Naruto idly toyed with a kunai in his hand, then casually flicked it away. With a sharp thunk, it pierced the bullseye of a distant target with perfect accuracy, its handle still humming.

He was here because he had truly had enough of D-rank missions like catching cats and pulling weeds.

Rather than waste time, he might as well get himself some handy "toys."

"Hey, customer, you can't say that!"

A clear, spirited voice came from behind the counter. "The ninja tools in our shop are among the best in Konoha!"

Naruto looked toward the voice and saw a cute girl with twin buns, hands on her hips as she glared at him indignantly.

It was Tenten, the ninja tool user from Guy's team.

Naruto curled his lip and picked up another shuriken. After watching so many videos on forging cold weapons and metalworking explainers in my previous life, they're finally useful. Combined with the Sage Body's natural sensitivity to the conductivity of chakra metal, I could tell what was wrong with this kunai the moment I touched it.

He said, "The center of gravity is off, the quenching was uneven during forging, and there are too many impurities mixed into the material. This stuff can only fool Ninja Academy students."

Tenten was stunned by his words.

She prided herself on being an expert in ninja tools, yet this blond kid spoke with perfect confidence, and every word struck at the heart of the matter.

She picked up the shuriken and examined it closely. Her expression changed slightly. Everything he said was correct!

[ Ding! Target detected: Tenten. Affection has fluctuated slightly! ]

[ Current Affection: 45 (An interesting guy) ]

Tenten looked at Naruto with some reluctance to concede. "You... how do you know all this?"

"Because I'm a genius."

Naruto arrogantly raised his chin. "Enough. Don't try to fob me off with this junk. Do you have a way to get custom work done? I want the best materials and the finest craftsmanship. Money isn't a problem."

Seeing Naruto's smug, money-is-no-object attitude, Tenten not only did not get angry, but her eyes lit up.

This was a big customer!

More importantly, he was a genuine expert!

"Yes! Of course!"

She immediately put on an enthusiastic smile. "Please come with me. Our backyard is a workshop, and my father is one of Konoha's best ninja tool smiths!"

[ Ding! Target: Tenten. Affection +5! ]

[ Current Affection: 50 (An expert! I have to befriend him!) ]

An almost imperceptible smile tugged at Naruto's lips as he followed Tenten deeper into the shop.

During this low-key growth period, it was time to upgrade his equipment too.

"Meow—!!!"

On the roof of a residence somewhere, an extremely smug-looking fat cat let out a pig-slaughtering scream.

Naruto held the famous pet of a Land of Fire noblewoman, Tora, in one hand, his face utterly lifeless.

"Damn it, I can't live like this anymore!"

He roared inwardly, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, wielder of six divine skills and the future king of the Shinobi World, and you have me catching cats every day?!

Not far away, Sasuke wore a serious expression as he faced a large tree, attempting the force-generating technique Naruto had casually pointed out.

Meanwhile, Sakura had completely fallen into chaos as her worldview crumbled.

She looked at Sasuke, who was treating a tree like a punching bag, then at Naruto, who was holding the fat cat with an irritated expression. Remembering what the Third Hokage had said a few days ago, she felt like her brain's CPU was about to burn out.

Sasuke... actually called Naruto "Big Brother"?

And he was so humbly asking him for advice?

And Naruto's secrets were actually S-rank secrets?

What... had happened to this world?!

At last, after completing yet another childish mission like "find the lost dog" or "help villagers pull weeds," Naruto finally exploded.

He shoved the dog leash into Kakashi's hand, dark-faced, then turned and strode toward the Hokage Building.

Hokage's Office.

BANG—!!!

The doors were kicked open from outside!

"Old man!"

Naruto planted one foot on the threshold, looking no different from a thug coming to collect a debt. "Stop fobbing me off with these kiddie missions! I'm practically growing fur here! Give me something difficult! Something that can draw blood!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe, foxlike shrewdness glinting in his cloudy old eyes.

"Heh heh, young people certainly have plenty of drive... Fine. There happens to be a C-rank escort mission that requires Team 7 to make a trip."

"Escort a bridge-building expert named Tazuna back to his hometown, the Wave Country."

As soon as he finished speaking, an old man reeking of alcohol staggered in.

With bleary eyes, Tazuna swept his gaze over them, then rudely pointed at Naruto. "Are you kidding me? This stupid-looking runt is supposed to protect me? He'd better not wet his pants from fear when he sees bandits on the road!"

Dead silence.

Kakashi had only one thought: It's over. We're screwed!

A cold smile curled across Sasuke's lips as he silently took half a step back.

Naruto slowly turned his head, and terrifying killing intent, like mountains of corpses and seas of blood, erupted from him!

"Uh... ah..."

Tazuna's legs went limp. With a thud, he collapsed onto the floor like a puddle of mud, while a wet patch rapidly spread beneath him.

He really had been scared into wetting himself.

"Alright, Naruto. That's enough of a joke with the client."

Kakashi hurriedly stepped forward and pressed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

The killing intent vanished instantly.

Naruto withdrew his gaze and curled his lip with a bored expression.

Kakashi sighed, nodded to the Third Hokage, then turned to announce to the three behind him, "Alright, that's the situation! Everyone, go back and prepare. Gather at the village gate in half an hour!"

After Naruto and the others left, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe. The foxlike gleam in his eyes became even deeper.

He took a special envelope used for ANBU communications from a drawer, wrote a line on it, and stamped it with the Hokage's seal.

"Anbu Ape."

A masked figure appeared by the window.

"Follow Team 7 and secretly monitor Naruto Uzumaki the entire time. Record every detail of any unusual abilities he uses, especially those eyes. He can pretend while he's in the village, but once he leaves and encounters real combat, he won't be able to hide it. I want to know exactly how many hidden trump cards he still has."

Anbu Ape vanished without a sound.

The Third Hokage relit his pipe and muttered to himself, "I'm letting you leave not because this old man has no way to deal with you. It's because... a bird in a cage can never spread its wings."

Half an hour later, at Konoha's main gate.

All of Team 7 had assembled, along with the still-shaken Tazuna.

Kakashi had shed his usual lazy demeanor, his expression more serious than ever before.

"Listen carefully. Although this is only a C-rank mission, any mission can have unexpected complications. From this moment on, we are entering combat status."

He pointed at the ground beneath them. "Next, I'll announce our marching formation and assignments. Mr. Tazuna will remain in the center. Sakura, stay by his side. You'll be responsible for watching the surrounding environment and keeping an eye out for traps or anything suspicious."

"Sasuke, you'll act as the vanguard. Activate your Sharingan and scout the movements within one kilometer ahead."

"Naruto, you'll cover the rear. Use your... sensory ability to monitor our rear and flanks, preventing us from being surrounded."

"And I'll coordinate from the center, handling intelligence analysis and command for the entire team. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes!"

The three answered in unison.

Looking at the three genin before him, whose faces were still youthful but whose eyes had already grown sharp, Kakashi relaxed slightly.

Perhaps this generation's Team 7 really could create a miracle.

"Alright, destination—Wave Country! Move out!"