I'll Give You My Konoha Village Forehead Protector

"Goodbye, Naruto." Tenten somehow pulled over a handcart, piled it full of all kinds of weapons and hidden tools, waved at Naruto, and walked away contentedly while pulling it.

After watching Tenten leave, Naruto returned to the weapon shop and mysteriously asked the owner, "Is the thing I wanted ready?"

"Customer, we have completed everything you instructed." The weapon shop owner took out a long wooden box from a hidden compartment in the floor.

The wooden box was placed before Naruto. He excitedly opened it, revealing a treasured sword gleaming with silver light inside.

I spent more than half of that wealthy bastard Kado's fortune just for this sword. Whether I can remove the cancer from Konoha also depends on this sword...

"This is the sharpest sword in the Land of Fire, as requested by our customer." The weapon shop owner introduced it, saying, "This sword was a treasured blade passed down and collected by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for generations. It is called the Eight-Foot Magatama Sword."

"The Daimyo of the Land of Fire's sword? How exactly did you get it?" Naruto asked with interest.

"Hehehe." The weapon shop owner pretended to be mysterious. "As long as the price is high enough, rogue ninjas will do anything, no matter how difficult it is. I heard that rogue ninjas from Hidden Waterfall Village ambushed the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, stole the Eight-Foot Magatama Sword, and eventually sold it on the black market."

Hidden Waterfall Village? And rogue ninjas! Naruto thought of a name—Kakuzu!

Kakuzu was a rogue ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village who would dare to do anything for money, and his strength was terrifying. If anyone could steal something from the Daimyo, Kakuzu would be one of them.

Naruto probed, "What was the name of the rogue ninja who stole this sword from the Daimyo?"

"I do not know that." The weapon shop owner said calmly, "I only bought this sword from the black market. As for where it came from, I only heard rumors."

"I'll take this sword." Naruto said with a grin.

Naruto left the weapon shop with the sword case still on his back and headed toward his home.

After arriving home, he looked at the small, old, shabby house and thought, It's time to move into a bigger house...

Naruto opened the door and saw Haku standing in the entryway, apparently welcoming him home.

"Naruto, you're back?" Haku said.

"Yes, I'm back." Naruto asked, "Did Karin cause any trouble?"

"Karin has been waiting for you for quite a while. She seems to have many questions to ask you."

"Hmph." Naruto took the sword case off his back, handed it to Haku, and said, "This is a weapon I specially chose for you." After saying that, Naruto walked straight into the house.

The house was very small. Zabuza and Karin were sitting face-to-face on the sofa. Zabuza seemed to be keeping an eye on Karin, while she looked uncomfortable all over.

"Yo, Karin, you changed into new clothes." Naruto greeted her warmly as soon as he entered.

Seeing Naruto return so late, Zabuza Momochi could not help complaining, "You came back too late. This little girl is very annoying. Why not let me chop her in half with one stroke?"

Karin was shocked. She sprang to her feet, gritted her teeth tightly, and wore an expression as if she were ready to die.

"Yo, not a bad expression." Zabuza Momochi said in the tone of a bully, "People usually look just like that right before they die."

"Sigh..." Naruto sighed and said, "You are all my companions. I'll buy a bigger house later, so bear with it for now."

"Companions?" Karin snapped. "Who is your companion? I don't know you at all!"

"You are still wearing Hidden Grass Village's forehead protector. Are the people of Hidden Grass Village your companions?" Naruto countered. "If you want to go back to Hidden Grass Village to find your companions, I can let you leave."

"..." Karin froze instantly. She had no companions. The world was so vast, yet there was nowhere she belonged.

Naruto knew Karin's background well. Because of the war, Karin's mother had fled to Hidden Grass Village with her. Since both mother and daughter possessed the special constitution of the Uzumaki Clan, anyone who bit them could heal their injuries.

Hidden Grass Village took in the desperate mother and daughter, but the price was that they had to devote everything to the village. Whenever a ninja from Hidden Grass Village was injured, they would bite Karin's mother and absorb the Uzumaki Clan's chakra to recover.

The people of Hidden Grass Village knew no restraint and made no reasonable arrangements. They literally bit Karin's mother to death, completely squeezing out all her value.

After Karin's mother died, Karin, still just a little girl, became Hidden Grass Village's new healing blood bag. For these Chunin Ninja Exams, Hidden Grass Village had sent Karin merely to serve as a healing blood bag for the others.

Naruto walked up to Karin, grabbed her hand, and rolled up her sleeve. Her thin arm was covered in bite marks.

Looking at the arm covered in teeth marks, Naruto said, "If you return to Hidden Grass Village, those endlessly greedy ninjas will bite you to death."

Karin shook Naruto's hand off. The people of Hidden Grass Village are endlessly greedy, but aren't you the same?

Naruto took a bottle of concealer from his pocket and said, "This can help cover the bite marks on your arm. From now on, even if you wear short sleeves, no one will see those marks."

"Konoha Village will be your home from now on, and I will be your family. From this day forward, no one will dare bully you again."

"..." Karin hesitated. She could not tell whether Naruto's words were true or false.

"Hidden Grass Village's forehead protector is trash. If you like wearing one, then I'll give you my Konoha Village forehead protector." Naruto removed the forehead protector from his head and held it out before Karin.

Karin looked at Naruto's bright smile. His somewhat goofy appearance did not seem like a lie.

In the end, Karin accepted the Konoha Village forehead protector Naruto offered her, because she had no choice. If she did not choose Konoha, she could only return to Hidden Grass Village, where she would eventually be bitten to death anyway.

"From now on, we are companions, companions like family." Naruto said with a smile, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

At that moment, Haku walked over, holding the Eight-Foot Magatama Sword. "Naruto, why are you giving me a sword?"

"Because I want you to use a different weapon." Naruto stared at Haku and said, "This is a weapon I specially chose for you."

"Oh!" Zabuza Momochi watched the sword in Haku's hand with great interest.

Haku's eyes became resolute. "I will not use this kind of weapon."

"You have to use it." Naruto was equally resolute. "Your Ice Release can give you incredible speed. If you combine that with this sharp sword, perhaps you can cut off that arm."

Zabuza Momochi, Haku, and Karin were all shocked.

Zabuza Momochi asked, "With Haku's speed and this sword, you only want to cut off an arm? Aren't you mistaken? It could even cut off someone's head."

"Just one arm—Danzo Shimura's arm." A chill appeared in Naruto's eyes.