"You're finally here," Kakashi said with a relieved breath.
Naruto set Pakkun down and said casually, "The main character always shows up last."
"…"
Where did he even learn to say cheesy stuff like that?
Kakashi was speechless. That kind of line sounded more like something Sasuke would say.
"Where's Sasuke?"
Because of the thick fog, Naruto couldn't see more than three meters ahead. If it weren't for Pakkun, he wouldn't have found this place at all.
"Sasuke's fighting Zabuza's partner. Last I saw, he was over there." Kakashi pointed in a direction.
Zabuza had been thickening the mist as he fought.
That's why Kakashi could see Sasuke earlier, but now he was completely out of sight.
And once Zabuza noticed Naruto had arrived, he vanished into the mist too.
Naruto looked around at the thick fog, which seemed to be getting even heavier, and frowned. "Is there a way to clear this fog, Kakashi?"
Kakashi shook his head. "I'm not good with Wind Style jutsu. Against mist this thick, I doubt it'll help much."
"No other way?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. He did have a natural talent for Wind Release, but he had never actually learned any Wind Release jutsu.
As for the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit—
He had already tried it before. The strong light could cut through the mist, but it didn't help with actually seeing through it.
In other words, he couldn't do much about the thick fog and had to rely on Kakashi.
"Well, there is one way."
Kakashi thought for a moment and said, "If a ninja releases a large amount of chakra all at once, it can blow away the mist. But I don't have enough chakra to pull that off."
It was a possible solution, but Kakashi didn't think anyone here had the ability to do it.
Because to control a chakra burst that strong, the ninja needed an enormous amount of chakra—and also incredibly precise chakra control!
Naruto might have enough chakra, but his control was only at the level of climbing trees...
While Kakashi was still thinking, a sudden burst of chakra blew so hard it made him squint his eyes!
"This chakra!!"
Kakashi raised his hand to shield his face, staring in shock at the chakra erupting from around Naruto!
That amount of chakra!
That level of control!
Is this really a genin?
No... with Naruto's strength, he clearly wasn't in the genin league anymore.
That golden jutsu of his alone was enough to make him a jonin in Konoha.
His chakra control was just icing on the cake.
And his strategy…
The reason things went so smoothly this time against Zabuza was all thanks to Naruto's planning!
Last night after Naruto got back, he had already warned Kakashi that Zabuza was very likely to attack again today.
To prepare, Naruto gave two suggestions to adjust the team setup.
One was to have Sasuke switch places with Sakura and pretend to be her.
That way, the team's overall strength would go up, and they wouldn't alert the enemy too early.
After all, Sakura really couldn't contribute much in a fight of this level.
Kakashi's previous team arrangement wasn't just about balance—it also considered Sakura's pride.
No matter what, Sakura was still their teammate. Leaving her out just because she was weaker would seem too disrespectful.
But Naruto didn't think that was necessary... You do what you're capable of. Trying to act tough when you're too weak only puts your teammates in danger.
So the best choice was to have Sakura stay in the cabin and protect Tsunami and Inari!
Zabuza's mission was to kill Tazuna, and Tsunami and Inari weren't his targets.
Sakura also wouldn't have to face any ninja-level enemies.
As for those samurai following Gato, if Sakura couldn't even handle them, then she really had no business being a ninja.
The other suggestion was to leave Pakkun on the edge of the bridge, where he could keep watch. If anything strange happened, he'd run back and get help right away.
This setup was way safer and more reliable than what Kakashi had planned before.
Though... it did make things a bit tougher for Sasuke!
But there was no other way—this spot could only be for Sasuke!
Let's not even talk about how Naruto still hadn't mastered the Transformation Jutsu. Even if he could use it, he still couldn't take Sasuke's place.
Because they had to be ready for any unexpected situations!
Even though Tsunami and Inari weren't targets of Zabuza and Haku's assassination, just in case—and also for little Sakura's safety—either Naruto or Kakashi had to stay in the cabin!
Even if that meant slightly weakening the ambush team guarding Tazuna, it was worth it!
Neither Naruto nor Kakashi could accept losing a comrade because of how they'd set things up.
"Looks like the chakra burst still isn't strong enough."
Naruto looked around. The visibility had only improved by about five meters, and he still couldn't see Sasuke. So he began gathering chakra again.
He could feel two types of chakra inside his body.
One was his own. According to Kakashi, the amount of chakra Naruto had in his normal state was about four times the usual amount.
As for the remaining ninety-six times that amount—it was sealed off to suppress the Nine-Tails!
The other kind was Nine-Tails chakra.
That chakra came from the Nine-Tails, but it wasn't under its control. It was leaking out from it on its own!
Whether that leak was accidental or on purpose—no one could say for sure.
But Naruto was certain that even the leaked chakra was already more than what he normally had!
"If it's just about clearing the mist nearby, then using only my own chakra should be enough. But... I really want to see what the Nine-Tails' chakra can do."
With that thought, Naruto gave up on gathering more of his usual bluish chakra and instead started trying to control the leaking chakra from the Nine-Tails inside him.
"Ha!"
With a soft shout, orange chakra burst out from Naruto's whole body.
A wave of terrifying chakra pressure blasted all the mist away!
"This chakra...!!"
Kakashi stared in shock at Naruto, whose teeth and eyes had become sharper and more beast-like.
This was the Nine-Tails' power!
That violent chakra—there was no mistaking it!
Had the seal started to weaken?
Or... had Naruto already learned to control the Nine-Tails' power?
If it was the latter, that was still manageable. But if it was the former...
Just thinking about that made cold sweat drip down Kakashi's face. He wasn't confident he could take on the Nine-Tails alone!
"Kakashi, I can feel your chakra's emotion... are you scared?" Naruto said without even turning around.
"My emotions?!"
Kakashi was shocked, looking at the Nine-Tails' chakra drifting around him.
Naruto could sense someone's emotional state through the Nine-Tails' chakra—just how far had his chakra control improved?
Kakashi couldn't imagine it. But at least Naruto hadn't lost control, and the Nine-Tails' seal was still intact.
That, at least, was a relief.
"Don't worry. No one can mess with my mind."
Naruto knew what Kakashi was afraid of. He said it calmly, then turned his gaze toward a nearby ice dome.
"Ice Style, huh?"
He raised a finger, ready to fire a laser beam—but he couldn't see clearly inside from the outside.
If he attacked without knowing for sure, he might end up killing Sasuke.
So he had to cancel the beam and instead cupped his hands into a circle. "Yata no Kagami!"
Golden light bounced across the wet ground and shot into the ice dome in an instant.
At this moment inside the ice dome,
Sasuke was facing off against Haku.
Thanks to unlocking the two-tomoe Sharingan early and not being slowed down by teammates, Sasuke was only slightly at a disadvantage.
Still, he had quite a few injuries, while Haku wasn't hurt at all—though he did look a bit roughed up.
"Sasuke, you don't look so good," a flash of golden light landed next to him and turned into Naruto, who spoke calmly.
"I can beat him even without you," Sasuke glanced at Naruto, his face emotionless.
"So you want to handle this guy yourself?" Naruto asked.
"Leave him to me," Sasuke said seriously.
Naruto glanced at the senbon sticking out of Sasuke and hesitated for a moment, but then stepped back to give the fight back to him.
Just like Sasuke said—he didn't want to always fight from behind Naruto.
If he wanted to rely on himself, then he had to face battles where he might die.
Naruto wasn't going to take away Sasuke's chance to grow.
"Then be careful."
With that, Naruto turned back into golden light and headed toward Kakashi.
Seeing that Naruto didn't end the fight and rescue Sasuke, Kakashi looked a bit confused. "What about Sasuke?"
"He wants to handle it on his own. We just need to take care of Zabuza," Naruto said calmly.
"Is that so," Kakashi muttered.
Out of trust in his comrade, Kakashi didn't try to stop Sasuke.
Still, he kept an eye on him—just in case things went sideways.
---
Read 40 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---