"Keep your voice down, Naruto!" Tazuna hissed. "It'll be terrible if Gato and his men find out we're here!" He pointed into the mist. "We'll be able to see the Land of Waves soon."
He was right. As the small boat sailed through the sea fog, a magnificent, half-built bridge came into view, spanning the sea before coming to an abrupt end.
"What a magnificent bridge!" Naruto exclaimed.
Tazuna's expression was a mix of pride and sorrow. "When it comes to bridge-building technology, the Land of Waves is second to none."
"If this can be completed," Hinata added, "the Land of Waves will be closely connected to the Land of Fire."
"But it has to be completed first," Tazuna said with a wry smile. Seeing that the coast was clear, he quietly brought the boat to shore. Team 7 finally set foot on the soil of the Land of Waves. Naruto looked around curiously. It was just as Tazuna had described—a poor island nation. There were only a few people on the street, and all of them had gloomy, defeated expressions.
"Why does everyone look so sad?" Naruto wondered aloud.
Tazuna sighed. "They've all lost something. Hope."
Naruto's heart stirred. He understood. The group followed Tazuna to his home, where a woman with a gentle and welcoming presence came out to greet them.
"Father! Thank God, you're finally back safely!"
"This is my daughter, Tsunami," Tazuna introduced. "Tsunami, these are the Konoha ninja who escorted me back: Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata."
"Thank you all for protecting my father," Tsunami said, bowing deeply. "I am extremely grateful."
"It's nothing," Naruto said with a smug grin. "It's our duty as ninja!" Suddenly, he noticed a small figure peeking at him from behind a doorway before quickly shrinking back.
"That's my grandson, Inari," Tazuna said awkwardly. "He's... become a bit strange since what happened to his father. Please forgive him."
Naruto had heard the story from Tazuna. Inari's adoptive father, Kaiza, had been a hero in the village. After Gato began his brutal takeover, Kaiza bravely organized a resistance but was cruelly executed for his defiance. Since then, Inari, who had idolized his father, had become pessimistic and no longer believed in hope. Naruto was moved by the story and initially wanted to talk to the boy, but then he thought better of it. Instead of chatting, he could use the time to train. In this life, while Naruto was still lively and energetic, he was also far more disciplined. The system had forced him to train in every spare moment, and the habit had stuck. The art of "talk-no-jutsu" had been severely nerfed.
The Tazuna family warmly welcomed the team. Tazuna knew he had deceived them, using the fee for a C-rank mission to hire a team capable of handling a B-rank threat or higher. The fact that they had still protected him after learning the truth was a kindness he hadn't deserved. So, despite his poverty, he did his best to provide them with a good meal.
Naruto knew that eating was crucial for training and getting stronger, so he dug in. Seeing him wolfing down his food, Sasuke, not to be outdone, began to eat bowl after bowl. The two were locked in a fierce, unspoken battle of wills, eating until they were on the verge of being sick.
"While it's good to eat a lot at this age," Kakashi said, frowning, "this is a bit much. Besides, we are guests. We can't eat Mr. Tazuna out of house and home. You two, that's enough. Why don't you look at Hinata...?"
Kakashi turned and saw that the bowls in front of Hinata were piled even higher. There had to be at least a dozen. He was so shocked his visible eye widened in disbelief. "Hinata, you..."
Hinata blushed and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I... I ate a little too much."
"Kakashi-sensei, you have no idea," Naruto laughed. "Hinata is the real glutton! I've seen it!" Not just Kakashi, but even Sasuke was taken aback. *She actually ate more than that idiot Naruto? I really underestimated her.*
Tazuna just laughed heartily. "Good, good, eat more! You're all at a growing age!"
"Well," Kakashi added, "after you finish eating, I'll start teaching you something during our mission downtime."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all paused mid-bite. "Teach us something?" For a moment, Naruto was extremely excited. "What are you going to teach us, Kakashi-sensei? Is it a super-powerful ninjutsu?!"
Kakashi just smiled. "You'll find out when the time comes."
After the hearty meal, Kakashi led the three of them, along with Tazuna, to a nearby forest. "The first lesson I'll teach you today," he announced, "is tree climbing."
"Tree climbing?!" Naruto was taken aback. "Kakashi-sensei, I already learned that from Asuma-sensei!" Without waiting for a response, he gathered chakra in his feet, leaped up, and easily scaled a tree, standing smugly on a high branch.
"You really did learn it," Kakashi said, surprised. "And you've mastered it perfectly. What about you two?"
"Um, Kakashi-sensei, I've also trained in this," Hinata said softly, demonstrating with effortless grace. It was only natural; when it came to chakra control, the Hyuga were unparalleled. Kakashi's gaze then fell on Sasuke.
Sasuke's face went pale, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I... I haven't learned it."
Seeing the embarrassed expression on Sasuke's face for the first time, Naruto couldn't help but let out a wicked grin. "Hehehe, Sasuke, so you're finally the one holding us back! Doesn't feel good, does it, 'dead-last'?" Sasuke's eyes filled with a murderous intent.
Kakashi scratched his head, somewhat surprised. "In that case, Naruto and Hinata can proceed to the next training session. That is... walking on water. This trains the external release and sustenance of chakra, and it's much more difficult than climbing a tree."
Naruto was taken aback for a second, then raised his hand again. "Reporting to Kakashi-sensei, I've also completed the water-walking training!"
"...What?!"
Without wasting words, Naruto ran to the nearby river and stepped onto its surface, his chakra humming as it supported his body. He could even walk, run, and jump.
Kakashi frowned deeply. "Good heavens, you've trained in this too?! Did Asuma teach you that as well?"
"Yep!"
Kakashi finally understood what a true genius Naruto had become. He was an elementary school student learning university-level courses in advance. He sighed. "And Hinata, what about you?"
"I haven't trained in that yet," she shook her head, "although... I can project my chakra." Kakashi understood what she meant.