Setting Off · Journey to the Land of Waves

He puffed out his cheeks, swung his arm, and pressed it directly onto the scratch-off ticket.

A fierce scraping ensued, and with a flash of golden light.

From the middle of the scratch-off ticket, a broom with missing bristles flew out.

A row of letters was printed on the broom's handle.

"What's this thing?" Naruto held it in his hand, looking at it curiously.

"A broom? Isn't it a bit too old!" he said with some disdain.

Wu Di pursed his lips in a smile, looking at the broom as he once again recalled his childhood.

He slowly stepped forward, took the broom, and explained softly.

"This isn't just any ordinary broom."

"It's called a Flying Broom!"

"It's something only wizards from my hometown have."

"Once you ride it, you can soar freely through the sky like a bird!"

Naruto's blue eyes suddenly lit up, and he was overjoyed.

"So amazing? If I ride it, I can fly?"

He couldn't contain his excitement and directly mounted the broom, shouting loudly.

"Take me to Ichiraku Ramen!"

"Whoosh!"

A blur was left on the ground.

His figure vanished instantly.

Then came the sound of pots, pans, and dishes shattering, along with Uncle Ichiaku's furious roar.

"U-ZU-MA-KI NA-RU-TO! Pay up!"

Through the narrow door, Wu Di saw Uncle Ichiaku, his head covered in ramen, angrily dragging Naruto and tossing him out of the shop.

"If you don't make up for my losses, you won't get any ramen from now on!"

Uncle Ichiaku clapped his hands and turned back into the shop.

Naruto felt terribly wronged. Looking at the broom in his hand, he wanted to throw it away but couldn't bear to part with it.

With no other choice, he had to take on missions to pay off the debt.

He sighed, mounted the broom with some disappointment, and said softly, "Go to the Hokage's Office!"

"Whoosh!"

His figure vanished again.

Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage was puffing on his pipe, his expression serious as he looked at the mission manual.

Beside him, four or five masons were nervously filling in the human-shaped pit left by Asuma.

The Third Hokage took a deep breath, blew a smoke ring, pushed the mission manual forward, and pointed at one of the entries.

"Kakashi, this mission in the Land of Waves is simple. Take your team and complete it!"

Kakashi glanced down, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes behind the bandage, and said softly.

"Isn't this mission a bit too simple? Any three genin sent out should be able to handle it. I'd rather..."

Before he could finish, the Third Hokage shook his head.

"It's your team. Those two kids need experience!"

Kakashi immediately stood at attention, his expression turning serious.

He knew very well who the Third Hokage meant by "those two kids."

"Alright, I'll go notify them now."

He turned and was about to walk out the door when he heard Naruto's wailing from outside.

"Move out of the way! I can't stop..."

"Smack!"

"Thud!"

The sound of shattering glass and the impact against the wall were less than 0.01 seconds apart.

The masons in the office were stunned.

The hole they had just painstakingly repaired was broken open again by an unidentified flying object.

After a moment, Naruto crawled out of the rubble, looking around with eyes swollen like walnuts.

He said resentfully, "Didn't I yell for you guys to get out of the way!"

Kakashi looked at him with a grave expression, gritting his teeth and lowering his voice. "Naruto! What are you doing here?"

Naruto quietly looked up, immediately putting on a confused expression.

"Huh? Who's this weird uncle with his head wrapped up? Why does his voice sound so familiar!"

Kakashi was left speechless.

Why was his head wrapped in bandages? Wasn't it all Naruto's fault?

"Naruto, can't you even recognize my voice anymore?"

Kakashi leaned in a little closer, a hint of chill seeping from his eyes.

Naruto shuddered violently, then let out a carefree laugh. "Oh, it's Kakashi-sensei!"

After that, he patted the dirt off his clothes and climbed out of the pile of gravel, carrying his broom.

The Third Hokage glanced at him sideways, blew out a smoke ring, and said softly.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Naruto scratched his head, a nervous smile on his face.

"Well... well... I want to take a mission!"

"I broke Uncle Ichiaku's kitchen tools, so I need to earn money to pay him back."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage noticed the flying broom in his hand and asked.

"What's that thing?"

Naruto immediately puffed out his chest and said proudly.

"This is the flying broom I won at the scratch-off ticket shop! Ride it, and you can fly anywhere in the sky!"

The Third Hokage frowned, thinking to himself.

A scratch-off ticket shop again? Wasn't Asuma also winning something there just now? No, I'll have to go check it out when I have time.

Then, he said softly, "Kakashi, take Naruto and the others to carry out the mission first."

"Yes!" Kakashi stood up straight and nodded firmly.

Hearing this, Naruto immediately jumped up. "Whoohoo! Time for a mission!"

Downstairs from the Hokage's Office, Anbu.

"A bunch of useless trash! Can't even clean up a single strand of hair! What use are you to me?!"

Danzo clenched the hair tightly in his hand, shouting at the people around him, his eyes filled with endless despair.

Ever since he was carried back from the scratch-off ticket shop, he had ordered everyone around him to keep quiet.

Then he had his trusted subordinates shave off all the pink hair on his head.

But less than half a minute after it was cut, that dazzling pink hair grew back again.

And the hair that had been cut off on the floor would disappear along with it.

That outfit—he had torn it to shreds who knows how many times.

But even now, it still clung stubbornly to his body.

He let out a despairing, cold laugh, his whole body slumping together.

Staring at the pitch-black room before him, he said quietly.

"All of you, get out. Let me calm down alone."

"Yes!"

A group of masked figures turned and left the room.

At the gates of Konoha.

Kakashi met up with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"The mission we're carrying out today is extremely dangerous. We're going to the Land of Waves, across the ocean!"

"You'd better be prepared."

Naruto immediately stood up straight, looking quite serious. "Alright!"

Sasuke shot him a sidelong glance, the scene from the classroom coming back to his mind.

So he deliberately widened the distance between the two of them.

"Let's set out." Kakashi didn't bother with whatever conflict existed between them, simply saying softly.

The four of them shouldered their packs and headed off into the distance.

From here to the Land of Waves, they had to cross a vast sea.

And from Konoha to the docks, there was still a long way to go.

Along the way, Naruto flew left and right on his flying broom, gradually mastering the controls.

Sasuke looked up at him, a strange emotion stirring in his heart.

The outline of a man with a Three Tomoe Sharingan gradually appeared in his mind.

That man—one day, I will kill him with my own hands. And when I come back, I'm going to that scratch-off ticket shop too...