Konoha: I Have a Gravity Training Room

It was just that Naruto was terrible at cards, often making the other two curse in frustration.

"Yo! You three sure are free!" Xia Mu greeted them.

"Huh! Xia Mu, Tenten? You're... oh, on a date, right?" Sakura looked at the two holding hands as they strolled through the streets, her face full of envy.

How wonderful it would be if she could someday hold hands with Sasuke and go on a date like that. But Sasuke seemed to have no interest in romance at all, which troubled her greatly.

But perhaps she had never considered how someone burdened by a blood-soaked vendetta could possibly have the heart for romance.

She completely failed to understand Sasuke's feelings. There was no way Sasuke would like her!

"Xia Mu! Tenten! Want to play cards together?" Naruto called out.

"I'll pass on the cards."

Xia Mu decisively refused. "By the way, why are you all loafing around here? Haven't you had any missions lately? Where's Kakashi?"

Naruto immediately puffed up with pride. "Hehe, Xia Mu, you probably don't know this, but we just got back from a mission outside the village! We completed a B-rank mission, believe it!"

"B-rank? Impossible! Lord Hokage wouldn't assign such a high-ranking mission to newly graduated ninja!" Tenten was the first to disbelieve him.

"It's true, believe it! Let me tell you, we went to the Land of Waves this time..."

Here it was—the Land of Waves mission!

After Naruto's scattered and disjointed account, Xia Mu more or less understood. It seemed much the same as the original story. Even though every member of Team 7 had learned Tree Climbing and Water Walking early, their strength had not improved by much. When they encountered Zabuza and Haku, nothing had really changed.

Zabuza and Haku had still died together in the end.

What a pity. After all, many people had started watching Naruto because of those two.

Naruto's talk-no-jutsu had not worked. Haku had lived only for Zabuza and died for Zabuza, while Zabuza had only realized after Haku's death that he could no longer live without him.

After hearing the story, Tenten was deeply moved and did not know what to say for a while.

Xia Mu, however, sighed. "What a tragic and beautiful love story. Such a pity for those lovers!"

Huh? Love story? Lovers?

The three members of Team 7 were stunned. Sakura was the first to timidly raise her hand and explain, "X-Xia Mu, that boy named Haku might have been really cute, but he was a guy. He and Zabuza weren't lovers."

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded, meaning Xia Mu had misunderstood.

But Xia Mu looked completely matter-of-fact. "You guys, why don't you get it? That boy named Haku said he was a man, but he never said Zabuza wasn't a woman!"

Huh? Could it be understood that way?!

So Zabuza Momochi was a woman?!

"Besides, who said two men can't fall in love? Just like Naruto and Sasuke—you two gave each other your first kiss, didn't you?"

"Xia Mu, shut up! Don't bring that up!"

Naruto and Sasuke bristled, wishing they could rush over and strangle Xia Mu to stop him from talking. Meanwhile, Sakura recalled that memory and stood there in utter disarray.

Sakura: So Naruto and Sasuke are actually the ones in love? Am I the third wheel?

Evaluation of the Land of Waves Mission ### Tenten looked utterly incredulous. "No way! You two are... uh, I'm not discriminating against you. I'll respect you!"

"That's not it! Tenten, don't listen to Xia Mu's nonsense, believe it!"

Naruto and Sasuke were really losing it. They had not expected Tenten to believe Xia Mu's ridiculous lies.

It was true that they had kissed, but they had bumped into each other by accident. There was no love involved at all! Didn't she know not to believe rumors or spread them?

Then a terrifying voice rang out. "Oh, I just got here and already heard something so explosive. It seems that, as your teacher, I still don't understand you very well. Naruto, Sasuke, I never expected you to have that kind of relationship. I thought you two didn't get along. It seems your teacher was mistaken."

Kakashi had appeared on the rooftop at some point, and his words nearly made Naruto and Sasuke explode with rage.

Naruto jumped to his feet on the spot. "Teacher Kakashi! Why do you believe Xia Mu's nonsense too, believe it?! That was an accident! Sasuke and I only kissed by accident, believe it!"

Sasuke's expression changed. "Idiot Naruto! Stop talking!"

That idiot was shouting so loudly that now the entire world would know they had kissed!

Sure enough, Kakashi's eyes widened. "So you really did kiss? Xia Mu wasn't making it up? Heh, the world truly is a strange place. But don't worry, I won't discriminate against you!"

"We didn't! Teacher Kakashi, stop talking nonsense too!"

Naruto and Sasuke had truly exploded by now, while Sakura was still reeling.

Xia Mu, thoroughly enjoying the chaos, pulled out a photograph. He showed it to Tenten first, making her cover her mouth in shock, then tossed it to Kakashi.

Kakashi caught it in a daze. After one look, he was even more stunned. "Looks like it's true. You even have a photo to commemorate it!"

Xia Mu grinned. "I took that with my precise skills as a super photographer. The theme is Naruto and Sasuke's Love Story. Or maybe Team 7's Beautiful Scenery. Take a closer look, Kakashi. Isn't Sakura's confused expression in the background too?"

Kakashi examined it more closely and clicked his tongue in wonder. "You really did capture a great angle. Team 7 is all there. It really is beautiful!"

"Haha! Right? Right? I'll give this photo to you, Kakashi. This is a treasured weapon against Team 7!"

"A treasured weapon against Team 7? Very good, I'll take it. From now on, whenever one of the three disobeys, I'll get a huge copy printed at the photo shop and paste it up on the street so everyone can admire such a beautiful romance!"

"Please don't, Teacher Kakashi!"

The farce finally ended after Xia Mu treated everyone to Ichiraku Ramen as an apology. As for destroying the photograph, that was impossible. This was the beauty of youth.

Inside Ichiraku Ramen, the four members of Team 7 ate with relish, while Xia Mu and Tenten drank beverages.

They had just eaten Grilled Meat, so they were not hungry.

While eating, Naruto looked up and asked, "Xia Mu, how did you meet Teacher Kakashi, believe it?"

Xia Mu did not hide it. Pointing at Tenten, he said, "Tenten's team leader, Might Guy, knows Kakashi. I happened to want to ask Kakashi for guidance, so I asked Might Guy to introduce us."

"I see."

Naruto nodded, but then felt something was off. "That's not all, right? I heard Teacher Kakashi thinks highly of you, believe it. Things between you two can't be that simple, believe it!"

Xia Mu rolled his eyes. "Naruto, you really stick your nose into everything. Take care of yourself first. I haven't even said anything about you yet. You handled this mission like that, but you were just bragging to me about it. I almost wanted to scold you."

Huh? The other members of Team 7 immediately looked over, and even Kakashi was surprised.

Sasuke was displeased. "Xia Mu, do you think we did poorly on this mission?"

Xia Mu looked at Kakashi instead. "Kakashi..."

Kakashi set down his chopsticks. He had already finished his ramen. "Perfect. I also want to hear someone else's opinion of this mission. Speak freely. You don't need to worry about me."

But Naruto had already stood up. "Xia Mu, you can't put down Team 7 just because you're jealous that we completed a B-rank mission, believe it! We completed this mission exceptionally well! Even Old Man Hokage praised us! The mission was raised from C-rank to B-rank, so what did we do wrong?"

Xia Mu glanced sidelong at him. "See? I haven't even said anything specific, and you're already getting worked up. With such an impatient temperament, can you really complete missions well? You must have caused plenty of trouble during the mission because of your recklessness, right?"

Naruto choked, unable to refute him.

Even Sasuke and Sakura could not help nodding.

It was true. Naruto had been incredibly reckless, and he had caused no shortage of embarrassing scenes along the way.

Xia Mu organized his thoughts before speaking. "First of all, from the moment you discovered that Tazuna had concealed information and that there might be ninja among the enemies, you continued the mission despite having no clear intelligence at all. That was reckless."

"Then were we supposed to stand by and watch Uncle Tazuna and the Land of Waves die?" Naruto became agitated again.

"Did I say to stand by and do nothing? I said you were reckless! Shut your mouth and listen until I'm done!"

Xia Mu's tone turned unpleasant as well. "Forget Tazuna's fault in concealing information. The fact that you continued the mission when you knew virtually nothing about the enemy was extremely dangerous. If things had gone badly, people could have died! You felt sorry for Tazuna and the Land of Waves, but did you not think your comrades' lives were important too? Couldn't you have suspended the mission, returned to report to Lord Hokage, and then come up with a proper solution?"

Naruto opened his mouth but could not make a sound. In truth, after going through that mission, he knew how dangerous it had been.

If another team had taken the job, they might not have been as lucky as Team 7. People might truly have died. If Konoha ninja had died, Konoha would not only have refused to help the Land of Waves, but would also have held Tazuna accountable.

So Xia Mu was actually right!

They wanted to help others out of a sense of justice, but they could not be reckless, much less put their companions in danger!

Sakura timidly raised her hand. "Xia Mu, the Land of Waves is very poor. Uncle Tazuna didn't have enough money to issue a higher-ranked mission..."

Xia Mu chuckled coldly. "Is that an excuse? If he had no money, couldn't he pay in installments? Couldn't he offer another form of payment? Is Lord Hokage really the kind of cold-blooded, unreasonable person who refuses to listen? If Tazuna had honestly explained everything, would Lord Hokage not have sent people to help? Once he finished building the bridge, started doing business, and made money, couldn't he have paid the reward in full then? But he chose to hide the truth. He chose to put Konoha ninja in danger. Was that right? Did you ever trust Lord Hokage?"

Sakura opened her mouth, but had nothing to say.

Kakashi scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Well... I was partly responsible for this too."

Team 7's Dejection ### Kakashi truly was responsible. He had thought it was a small matter and that, with him there, he could resolve any problem.

That was why he had rashly continued the mission. As their team leader, he had failed in his duty.

If he had been more cautious and chosen to return to the village so the Hokage could make new arrangements, perhaps it would not have been so dangerous.

Of course, if one wanted to view it as a conspiracy, perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi had been calculating something. Maybe he wanted to move against Gato or had some designs on the Land of Waves. In that case, pretend Xia Mu had said nothing.

But Naruto had not learned his lesson and still refused to accept it. "But... but we completed the mission, and nothing happened..."

"Nothing happened? Naruto, do you hear yourself?"

Xia Mu narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "In reality, Sasuke died once, didn't he? Were you not desperate then? Was Sakura not in agony? Haven't you experienced what it feels like to lose a companion?"

Naruto and Sakura's pupils shrank.

That was right. Sasuke had died once back then. He had even stopped breathing!

Naruto had been utterly helpless and desperate at the time, to the point where the Nine-Tails' Chakra had erupted. Sakura had cried her heart out. How had they forgotten?

How could they still smugly claim that they had completed the mission excellently?

Sasuke stubbornly said, "But I didn't die."

Xia Mu laughed in anger. "You call that not dying? That was because the boy named Haku was kind-hearted and chose not to kill you! So you completed the mission by relying on the enemy's mercy and kindness? Is that what you call completing it excellently?"

This time, Team 7 fell completely silent.

Kakashi looked at his dispirited three students and helplessly shook his head.

To be honest, Xia Mu was right. The Land of Waves mission was not something to be proud of. On the contrary, it was something they should deeply reflect upon.

If the boy named Haku had not been kind-hearted and held back, Team 7 would have returned with Sasuke's corpse. Would they still have been able to smile then?

Xia Mu concluded, "Naruto, you're reckless and impulsive. You lack strength and aren't steady enough. Sasuke, you're too easily pleased with yourself. The moment you make a little progress, you think you're invincible. Sakura, what did you do throughout the entire mission? What role did you play? So, if I were to evaluate this Land of Waves mission, I could only call it a failure!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura lowered their eyes without arguing.

Even Naruto, idiot though he was, could think. He could tell whether Xia Mu was right or wrong.

But it was precisely because they understood that they felt so dejected. They were ashamed of how smug they had been before. What excellent completion of a B-rank mission? This was clearly disgraceful!

Seeing this, Xia Mu apologized to Kakashi. "Sorry, Kakashi. Was I too harsh?"

Kakashi waved his hand. "It's fine, it's fine. What you said makes a lot of sense. These little guys really were getting too carried away. Your words are exactly what they need to reflect properly."

Xia Mu did not say anything else.

He simply could not stand Naruto's smug attitude, so he had to knock him down a peg.

Honestly, early on in the original story, Naruto really had been rather useless. He loved bragging, was unreliable, reckless, and easily caused trouble. Talk-no-jutsu was about the only thing he was good at; the rest of his performance was hard to watch.

If no one scolded him, he would think he was amazing, become smug, and never learn from his mistakes.

So Xia Mu had finally said everything he wanted to say, and he felt much lighter.

Then Naruto's voice sounded aggrieved. "Teacher Kakashi, did we really perform that badly?"

Sasuke and Sakura both looked at Kakashi, wanting to hear their teacher's answer. Even though they knew Xia Mu was right, they still wanted to hear what their teacher thought.

Kakashi scratched his head. "Well... you still have room to grow."

In other words, their teacher agreed with Xia Mu too!

For a moment, Team 7's atmosphere became even more oppressive.

But Sasuke suddenly broke the silence. "Xia Mu, fight me."

"Huh? You want to fight me?"

Xia Mu was surprised. He had thought Sasuke was about to say something else, but he had chosen a fight instead. Still, it made sense on reflection. Sasuke was not like Naruto, who just talked nonsense. He preferred settling things with his fists.

That was why Naruto had never been able to persuade Sasuke. In the early days, Naruto truly could not beat him.