Tazuna recounted the story of Gato, a wealthy merchant who ran rampant, and the desperately poor Land of Waves. Tazuna particularly emphasized that the bridge they were currently building was the country's only hope. Finally, he morally coerced them, forcing the group to continue protecting him.
Naruto, for his part, wanted to say, "Do you even need to morally coerce us?" As soon as he heard they could spend three weeks outside with him, Sasuke's eyes lit up, almost skipping the Mangekyo Sharingan and evolving directly into "Flash Eyes."
Moreover, the Land of Waves wasn't lacking a bridge or ninjas; it was lacking a "Dragon-Slaying Manual." Where there's oppression, there's resistance! If you don't resist, even if the bridge is built, the villainous Gato will eventually blow it up. Naruto had nothing to say about their naive ideas.
"What do you all think? Should we continue?" Teacher Kakashi turned to ask for their opinions.
"Of course, let's continue, Teacher Kakashi!" Sasuke immediately jumped to answer. He still needed Naruto as his human power bank. Three weeks with Naruto was better than half a year of his usual training. Sasuke was even afraid Naruto would refuse, so he glanced at Naruto provocatively, "Naruto, you're not scared, are you?"
"Continue." Naruto ignored the kid's provocation. He took an apple from his inventory and peeled it with a fine kunai, a product of the game, to eat. Fruit was good; it was rich in Vitamin C, so he should eat more.
"I also want to continue, Teacher Kakashi." Sakura was performing exceptionally well today. She felt like she was getting stronger very quickly, and the reason was that she wanted to stick close to Naruto. Thinking this, she secretly glanced at Naruto.
Crunch~
Noticing Sakura's gaze, Naruto, eating his apple, suddenly felt life was meaningless. He had completely become a tool!
I really want to go back to Konoha!
Wait, that's not right! Naruto felt he was still too kind. Having such a treasure, not only was he not lording over the team, but he also had no room to resist? Fine, tonight he'd make Sasuke wash his stinky socks.
The group continued on their journey.
Swish~
Naruto, who had nothing to do, swung the kunai in his hand, slicing a passing fly in half. After he cut it, he remembered that the kunai still needed to cut apples.
Eww~
Casually wiping the kunai clean on Sasuke, Naruto looked back at Teacher Kakashi, who was covering their rear. Another question suddenly popped into Naruto's mind. How did Teacher Kakashi get his Sharingan? Was it during the Uchiha Clan Massacre? No, Kakashi didn't seem like such a bad person. Could Teacher Hatake Kakashi's real name actually be Uchiha Kakashi?
Seeing Kakashi's demeanor, he didn't seem to have any intention of explaining, so Naruto could only bury the question deep in his heart.
"We're here." In front of them was Tazuna's house.
The architecture of the Land of Waves was indeed different from the Land of Fire; at least this building was very unique. Tazuna's family consisted of a daughter and a young grandson. The daughter was the type that Lord Cao would like, while the grandson was quite annoying, directly stating that all of them would die.
This little brat! In the end, he was appeased by Naruto with a bag of chips and a soda.
Then, Naruto noticed something strange: the chakra marked as Zabuza Momochi suddenly became active.
'Is Zabuza still alive?' Wasn't he taken away by the Anbu tracking ninja? Suddenly, Naruto thought of a possibility: the pursuing ninja and Zabuza might be working together.
Goodness. This trick even surprised Naruto. He truly lived up to his reputation as a ninja who had been in the ninja world for years; his schemes were deep.
However, even the best strategy was vulnerable in the face of absolute power. Previously, to prevent Zabuza from escaping, Naruto had planted a Flying Thunder God mark on Zabuza. With the Flying Thunder God tattoo, how could he possibly escape?
However, this also piqued Naruto's interest in Zabuza.
"Teacher Kakashi, could you tell me about Zabuza?" Naruto wanted to learn about Zabuza and the Land of Water from Kakashi. The ninja world was too vast, and he had too few clones. So far, the map of the Land of Water was still completely dark. He wanted more information!
"Zabuza, huh..." Kakashi slowly recounted the known information: killing all his classmates during the graduation exam, the Bloody Mist Village, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, assassinating the Fourth Mizukage, becoming a rogue ninja. This series of events left all three of them dumbfounded, and Naruto was especially stunned. He had thought that Konoha cultivating 12-year-olds into skilled assassins was already insane. He never expected, never expected... that there was something even more extreme. Whose subordinate was this?
The Fourth Mizukage, huh? He felt like this person truly didn't want the Hidden Mist Village to prosper. As a Kage, he couldn't possibly be a spy from another village, could he? This Zabuza was truly a ruthless individual, actually wiping out his entire graduating class.
But, looking at it from another perspective, why did Zabuza somehow seem like a good person? He killed his classmates, forcing the village to stop the Bloody Mist practice, and then he even assassinated the Fourth Mizukage for it. It seemed, in every way, to be for the good of the Hidden Mist Village. Although his strength was insufficient, leading him to become a rogue ninja, his motivation was commendable.
"Something about today feels strange... I feel like I missed something," Teacher Kakashi, who was telling the story, suddenly realized something was amiss.
Naruto grinned wryly as he listened. He wanted to blurt out: "Teacher Kakashi, your intuition is correct, Zabuza is alive and well."
However, Zabuza probably wouldn't get a chance to cause trouble. Because Naruto planned to select him as one of the executors of his "Cuckoo's Nest Plan." Although he was a rogue ninja, with his name cleared, he would be the best contender for the Mizukage position.
Yes. He was the one.
Now, only one question remained.
"Teacher, does the Hidden Mist currently have a Mizukage?"
Kakashi was interrupted from his thoughts and answered Naruto's question, "Not yet. The position of Mizukage has been vacant ever since the Fourth Mizukage was assassinated."
Still vacant? Naruto nodded, that's perfect, the plan is complete!
At this point, Kakashi had mostly recalled the entire incident. He reminded everyone that Zabuza was not dead, then emphasized, "As for you, you need to train hard! If you three can defeat Zabuza, next time you can defeat both Zabuza and that boy."
"Especially you, Naruto," Kakashi specifically praised Naruto, "Your strength is the greatest, keep up the good work!"
"Hm," Naruto nodded, a smile playing on his lips.
Looking at the smiling Naruto, Kakashi's heart felt quite complex.
'Naruto might actually be stronger than me now; he just lacks a bit of combat experience.'
Kakashi prepared to take the three to the forest for training. "Teacher Kakashi, I need to use the restroom," Naruto excused himself midway.
At a secluded spot, Naruto donned his cloak, mask, and activated his Sharingan. After getting dressed, he sensed the location of his Flying Thunder God mark.
Whoosh!
He reappeared to see Zabuza lying on a bed, unable to move, and a beautiful ninja beside him.
"Zabuza, the organization has decided: you're going to be the Mizukage!"