Aftermath of the Land of Waves Mission

After Menma returned to his own body, he turned his back to everyone and pretended to form hand seals with both hands:

"Sealing Jutsu: Four Symbols Seal!"

As they had agreed beforehand, Saiken conveniently retreated back into Utakata's body, healing the wound at Utakata's waist in the process.

"He actually did it!" Kakashi was stunned. "Menma, just how many things have you been hiding from me?"

After "sealing" the Six-Tails, Menma slowly walked toward Kakashi and the others.

No one spoke. They could not believe that something two veteran elite Jonin had been helpless to deal with had been so easily resolved by Menma.

Zabuza's thoughts raced. If his leg bones had not been broken, he would have broken his personal rule against killing and slaughtered Menma on the spot. There was no other reason—Menma was simply too powerful. He had directly stripped Jinchuriki of their strategic deterrent value; the rules of the Shinobi World would have to be rewritten!

Menma knew he had drawn far too much attention this time, so he hurriedly tried to explain himself.

"Um, you don't really think I could seal a Tailed Beast by myself, do you?

That's not how it was. Most of his Chakra had been used to break through the seal, and the little he had left was basically exhausted in the battle just now.

Besides, this seal is only temporary. It can last three days at most. You should hurry up and take him back to seal him properly!"

So that was it. Zabuza reluctantly believed Menma's words. Mainly because he could not beat Kakashi right now. If a conflict truly broke out, the three of them plus Utakata would definitely be killed.

So when a way out presented itself, he had better take it. A person had to give himself a way out! Zabuza reconciled with himself.

Wait, weren't there six of us in total? Where were the Demon Brothers? Where the hell had they gone?!!

Perhaps they sensed that the danger had passed, or perhaps they heard Zabuza's internal rebuke. The Demon Brothers, who had been playing dead nearby for ages, instantly appeared at Zabuza's side. One supported Zabuza, while the other crouched down to tend to Yuki Haku and Hozuki Suigetsu.

Supported by one of the Demon Brothers, Zabuza stood up and said to Kakashi, "Kakashi, no matter what, thanks!"

Kakashi waved a hand. "If you want to thank someone, thank my subordinate. He's the true hero of this incident!"

Zabuza turned to Menma. "Menma Namikaze, thank you so much for this. If it weren't for you, we might all be dead!

I won't say anything more. If you ever need anything from me, Zabuza Momochi, I'll give it everything I've got!"

Menma scratched the back of his head and gave a simple, honest-looking chuckle. "Not at all, Uncle Zabuza. You're being too polite!

Actually, there is something I'd like to ask of you. Could you keep what happened this time a secret? It'll be troublesome if the other ninja villages find out."

"No problem. We'll keep our mouths shut!" Zabuza solemnly promised aloud, while inwardly planning to report everything to the Mizukage the moment he returned.

"Oh, right." Kakashi suddenly remembered something. "What about the final match?"

Pointing at his broken leg, Zabuza gave a bitter smile. "How am I supposed to fight like this? The final match goes to Konoha!"

"Then thanks for that," Kakashi said casually.

After Sakura gave their wounds some basic treatment, Zabuza led everyone back to the Land of Water. They did not know whether Menma's claim about three days was true, but it never hurt to be careful. Getting the Jinchuriki back to the Land of Water was what mattered most.

Zabuza bid farewell to Kakashi, Menma, and the others before boarding a ship bound for the Land of Water.

Kakashi also spoke to Gato and had him pay the remainder of the mission fee.

Gato understood that this was already the best possible outcome. Though the daimyo's written order he had spent a fortune acquiring had become worthless scrap paper, at least the Land of Waves and his own life had been saved.

As long as no bridge was built in the future, they would not provoke the Land of Water. As long as the Land of Water was not allowed to station troops there, they would not cross the Land of Fire's bottom line. They could continue struggling to survive in the gap between the two nations, and he was already satisfied with that.

At least it was better than the Land of Rain's situation! Gato comforted himself.

The tsunami caused by the previous Tailed-Beast Bomb had destroyed the coastal homes, so Tazuna was busy leading everyone in disaster relief. Kakashi and the others did not see him when they left.

However, they did see Tazuna's grandson, Inari. The child glared at Kakashi and the others with hatred in his eyes.

According to Gato, Inari's stepfather, Kaiza, had been swept away by the waves while trying to save people and had died in the disaster.

The seed of hatred had been planted. No one knew what kind of fruit it would bear.

Menma felt a little guilty too. If he had admitted defeat earlier, the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki would not have gone berserk, and this disaster would never have happened.

But after feeling guilty for only a moment, he got over it. The Hidden Mist Village was the one that cheated, Utakata was the one who went berserk, and the Six-Tails was the one that fired the Tailed-Beast Bomb. What did any of that have to do with Menma?

Before they left, Gato sent Kakashi and the others an extra one million ryo, along with another one million ryo specifically for Menma. He had seen through the camera footage that Menma had been the main contributor in resolving the Jinchuriki rampage.

"Don't worry, little brother Menma. I've completely destroyed the camera footage. I guarantee no one will ever find out about this," Gato said, patting his chest in assurance.

As expected of a merchant wealthy enough to rival a nation. With this kind of perceptiveness alone, he deserved to get rich!

On the way back, Kakashi thought about many things. His heart waged a fierce battle, but in the end, his personal feelings triumphed over the greater good.

He decided to bury this matter in his stomach and not tell even Danzo.

Menma was also weighed down by his thoughts.

He could hide the Six-Tails' Chakra inside his body from Zabuza and the others, from Kakashi, and perhaps even from Danzo, but he definitely could not hide it from Kushina.

How was he supposed to explain it to her? Menma was deeply troubled.

Sakura and Sasuke, meanwhile, looked perfectly normal. Their experience was still limited, and they did not understand what sealing a Tailed Beast truly meant.

Sasuke was even a little pleased with himself. He believed Menma had succeeded in sealing the Tailed Beast entirely because his Chidori had severely wounded the Jinchuriki.

Meanwhile, Mount Myōboku was in complete chaos!

"Gamaba, didn't you say the Great Toad Sage had woken up? Why is he asleep again now?" Sage Fukasaku asked a dark green toad.

"It's true, Lord Fukasaku! The Great Toad Sage really did wake up just now, and he told me to call you and Granny Shima. But when you came back, the Great Toad Sage fell asleep again," Gamaba explained aggrievedly.

"Dear, why don't we wake the old master? I still have soup simmering in the pot, and Gamakichi and Gamatatsu will be here soon. It wouldn't do for them to go hungry—they're still growing..." Sage Shima prattled on.

"Enough, enough! You're driving me crazy!" Sage Fukasaku interrupted impatiently.

"You old toad! I've barely said two words, and you already think I'm annoying? I work myself to the bone every day serving your family of four generations..." Sage Shima cursed as she tugged on Sage Fukasaku's ear. (Wait, do toads even have ears?)

Amid the commotion below, the Great Toad Sage, seated in a large chair atop the high platform, finally slowly awakened.