"Kakashi-sensei, can I punch that guy?" Naruto glared ferociously at the newly arrived ninja. This kill-stealing dog deserved at least a five-minute Earth-style airplane ride, or Naruto wouldn't be able to sleep.
Even if he did sleep, if he suddenly remembered it in a dream in the middle of the night, he'd slap himself.
It was too infuriating!
"Naruto."
Kakashi jumped over and lightly patted Naruto's shoulder, stopping his impulsiveness.
This was a legitimate Hidden Mist ninja, specifically a pursuit ninja from their Anbu. He had status and a background, unlike a rootless rogue like Zabuza.
Besides, life is full of dissatisfactions, just get used to it. Have you ever heard me, Kakashi, complain about my life?
He bent down to examine Zabuza's body.
"He's dead."
Kakashi looked at the new Hidden Mist ninja. He had indeed struck with heavy force, killing him outright.
"Sigh~"
Hearing the result, Naruto sighed and turned to check on his teammates, "How are you two? Still okay?"
Sasuke and Sakura were one standing and one sitting, both panting heavily, covered in numerous wounds and bleeding quite a bit.
Zabuza was an experienced Jonin in combat; even with distractions, he was still powerful. Although the two of them had a burst of strength to defeat him, they themselves had sustained considerable injuries.
"I'm fine, just a minor injury," Sasuke insisted, trying to stand, seemingly not wanting to appear weaker than Naruto.
But Naruto had long seen through his pretense. With a gentle push, Sasuke directly slumped to the ground.
Still trying to act tough.
Sasuke glared at him in annoyance.
"Is the battle over?" Sakura, who was sitting on the ground, exhausted, asked.
Even though she had just learned her Monster Strength taijutsu, and it was inconsistent during the fight, Naruto genuinely felt that Sakura had inflicted more damage than Sasuke.
Opening Zabuza's death data, Sakura's damage output should be at the top.
Naruto, as a support, would be second.
As for Sasuke, he was undoubtedly at the bottom.
"It should be over."
Glancing back at the ninja perched on the tree branch, Naruto added, "Unless he wants a fight."
Seeing the two bleeding and exhausted, Naruto pulled out a red Xiaoyao Pill and handed it to them. "Stop talking nonsense, hurry and take the medicine."
"Thanks, Naruto." Sasuke knew this wasn't the time for politeness. He took the Xiaoyao Pill and swallowed it.
Sasuke wasn't short on money.
After all, he was the young master of the Uchiha clan. Although his family was annihilated, he inherited all their assets.
But Sakura hesitated. She had heard at home that one such pill could fully revive a dying Chunin. Using it for her current minor injuries felt like a complete waste.
Moreover, this pill was worth 20,000 ryo and often required an additional premium to buy, so... Sakura felt reluctant.
"Naruto, my injuries aren't serious. Should I save it for next time?"
"It's yours. You decide when to use it."
Naruto generally understood Sakura's thoughts. This was indeed a problem.
The reason he hadn't noticed this before was partly because he was rich; small items from the shop worth 1,000 ryo were like candy to him, it didn't matter.
Secondly, he wouldn't typically use these pills before graduating, and those who could afford them were mostly Jonin, who naturally wanted the strongest possible effect.
But now, it seemed there was still a large market to explore for this item.
He could try splitting the system-produced Xiaoyao Pills into two, four, eight, or even sixteen portions.
Even split into sixteen, it could still restore 625 HP, which was enough for Genin and more than enough for ordinary people to fully heal five times.
Hmm, I'll try it when I get back.
On the other side, after negotiation, Kakashi agreed to let the pursuing Hidden Mist ninja take Zabuza's body, but only the body; the Kubikiribocho (Executioner's Blade) was gone.
Naruto glanced at the long-haired ninja disappearing into the distance, feeling particularly emotional.
This person seemed to be around their age, yet his strength was already that of a pursuit ninja?
And he was pursuing someone like Zabuza, an opponent that required Naruto's presence to keep in check and still pushed Sasuke and Sakura to exhaustion before they could take him down.
Indeed, there's always someone better.
Still, it was close!
If that person had shown even a hint of malice just now, Naruto would have immediately engaged.
What a pity...
"Eh, Kakashi-sensei!" Turning his head, Naruto saw Kakashi-sensei had suddenly collapsed and fallen asleep.
What's wrong?
Kakashi-sensei, weren't you just observing from the sidelines the whole time?
Can just watching cause side effects too?
Naruto was puzzled. He rushed over to check but found no injuries. What could be the problem?
He tried giving him a blue Xiaoyao Pill.
Kakashi-sensei immediately sat up with a sit-up.
This flexible sit-up left Naruto dumbfounded.
Was Kakashi-sensei weak again?
That's not right!
Naruto was utterly confused. Does the Sharingan consume that much chakra?
He didn't feel it did.
And Kakashi-sensei didn't even have a girlfriend, so how could he be so weak that even activating his Sharingan was difficult?
From this perspective, perverted books consume more chakra than girlfriends.
Indeed, perverted books should be read less often.
Or perhaps, I should discuss it with Kakashi-sensei and just have me, Uzumaki Naruto, keep those books for him.
And Kakashi-sensei, instead of reading perverted books, you should just find a girlfriend and get married.
You're not getting any younger, why are you still outputting into thin air?
"Kakashi-sensei, you..." The other two also gathered around, looking at him with concern.
Sasuke and Sakura felt that Kakashi was the true backbone of the team; if something happened to him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Naruto, on the other hand, simply wanted to get his hands on the perverted books—no, to safeguard them.
"Cough, cough~ Well, we can talk about this later."
Kakashi-sensei successfully changed the subject. He looked solemnly at Tazuna, "Mr. Tazuna, I have an important question for you."