Kakashi and Naruto Uzumaki made their way toward Tazuna's house.
Looking at Naruto, who wore a wide grin while idly playing with the ring in his hand, Kakashi gave an exasperated reminder: "Try to wipe that smile off your face."
Naruto blinked. "Huh? I'm not smiling, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Come on, your whole gum line's visible! Control your expression a little. When we meet Sakura and Sasuke later, if you show up grinning like that, they'll definitely notice something's off. After all, people usually find you pretty intimidating anyway."
Naruto unsheathed his ninja sword and used the flat side like a mirror to check his face.
Sure enough—he'd been showing half his gums.
After putting the blade away, Naruto pulled at his cheeks hard and asked, "How about now, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi studied Naruto's face carefully. "Hmm... better than before, but you still look too cheerful. Whatever—soon enough, you won't be smiling anymore."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused.
"When the teacher told me about it," Kakashi replied, "you were alone in a room talking privately with Lady Miyuki. Judging by your reaction, either she hasn't told you yet or she simply forgot. Either way, you'll find out soon enough once you return to Konoha—your father, Minato Namikaze, has awakened."
The joy vanished instantly from Naruto's face, replaced by a cold, hardened expression. "So he's finally awake..."
Kakashi tweaked the corner of his mask—just as he'd expected. That smile was gone for good.
But then Naruto let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "Talk about perfect timing... Just met my mother, and right after returning to Konoha, I get to see my dear father again. I wonder what he'll say when he first lays eyes on me. Heh."
Kakashi scratched his cheek. Definitely a completely different attitude—but understandable.
After all, deep down, Naruto truly hated Minato Namikaze.
Soon, Kakashi and Naruto arrived back at Tazuna's home.
Kakashi asked, "Sakura, how's Sasuke doing?"
Seeing Kakashi and Naruto walk in, Sakura Haruno immediately relaxed with relief. "Kakashi-sensei, you're finally back! Lady Tsunami had a doctor brought in, and Sasuke received emergency treatment. Fortunately, the injuries weren't fatal. Although his abdomen was pierced, the real danger came mainly from massive blood loss."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. In such intense battle conditions, landing a wound that precisely avoided vital organs?
He didn't buy for a second that it was Haku's mistake.
There are so many internal organs in the abdomen; avoiding injury to critical areas actually requires far greater precision than hitting them directly.
Nodding, Kakashi said, "Since he's stable, let Sasuke continue resting. We'll carry on with the mission as well."
Sakura Haruno asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what happened to Zabuza and that young boy? Also, those nine Otogakure ninjas wearing masks—and that whole group of rogue shinobi and wandering samurai… there were far too many unexpected people showing up all at once."
Kakashi answered, "Zabuza took that boy and ran. As for those ninja from Otogakure, their target was Gato. He's the kind of scum you can't even begin to describe, so someone hired Otogakure ninja to take him out. Gato and his gang of rogue ninja and wandering samurai were all wiped out by them. They've already left."
Tazuna happened to be standing in the doorway, overheard Kakashi's words, and asked in shock, "You mean... Gato is already dead?"
Kakashi turned to face Tazuna. "He's not quite dead yet, but he won't last much longer. With all his money, Otogakure probably wants to squeeze a bit more out of him first. Once he's no longer useful to them, he'll definitely be finished."
Of course, Kakashi threw in that last part just to do Otogakure a favor.
Tazuna's eyes welled up with tears as he said, "That's incredible—fantastic! Without Gato, our people in the Land of Waves will finally be free from oppression!"
Kakashi turned to Sakura Haruno. "Sakura, this mission isn't over until the bridge is completed. Now that the danger has passed, Naruto and I will handle the rest. You stay here and look after Sasuke."
"Sure thing! No problem at all!"
With everything calming down, Sakura finally felt at ease too.
And getting to care for Uchiha Sasuke alone—how could she possibly pass up such an opportunity!
Maybe when Uchiha Sasuke realizes she's been staying by his side the whole time, he'll get moved...
The thought made her too shy to continue imagining.
Then Sakura noticed Naruto standing behind Kakashi, looking gloomy. She whispered curiously, "Sensei Kakashi, what's wrong with Naruto? Why does he seem so unhappy?"
Kakashi glanced sideways at Naruto and casually replied, "Ah, I stopped him from killing that boy earlier—he's still sulking about it."
"Oh, I see."
Sakura didn't suspect anything.
Kakashi then turned to the tearfully rejoicing Mr. Tazuna. "Mr. Tazuna, your companions are only unconscious, not dead. But due to the aftershocks from the battle, they may have injuries. Hurry and get them medical attention."
"Oh right! I need to go now!" Excitedly and urgently, Tazuna rushed off.
Two days later.
Uchiha Sasuke, who had been unconscious, finally stirred awake.
Gently calling out to Sakura beside him, he weakly opened his eyes.
Sakura snapped wide awake at the sight. Overcome with joy, she cried, "Sasuke! You're finally awake!"
Uchiha Sasuke then asked about what had happened during the fight.
Sakura recounted everything that had taken place.
Then she gazed at Sasuke hopefully, silently waiting for words she desperately wanted to hear.
But as expected, nothing came—Sasuke simply went silent again, saying not a single word.
At that moment, Uchiha Sasuke's mind was consumed by memories of the battle.
What really haunted him was how weak he'd been in that fight.
If it weren't for Naruto Uzumaki, he probably would have been left unable to fight from the very beginning by Haku's attacks.
Later, even when he desperately tried to find an opportunity, he ultimately failed.
In this battle, he had played practically no meaningful role at all.
Sasuke Uchiha clenched his fists tightly, feeling deeply frustrated.
"Sasuke? Could it be that your wounds are hurting badly?"
Noticing something was wrong with Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno asked with concern.
Sasuke Uchiha relaxed his tightly clenched hands and thanked Sakura Haruno, saying, "Thanks for taking care of me these past two days, Sakura."
A smile lit up Sakura Haruno's face. Though she wished she'd heard something else, just hearing a 'thank you' from Sasuke Uchiha was enough to satisfy her.
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