Ge Liang is not worried about this mission to the Land of Waves.
In the original work, they managed to get through it safely, so there's even less to worry about now.
The Rookie Three are much stronger compared to the original work, and with Ge Liang having unlocked the Nine-Tailed cheat for Naruto, if they still can't handle Zabuza and Haku, he'll accept it.
As for how Zabuza and Haku will enter Konoha, he isn't worried either.
Konoha has no reason to offend Ge Liang for the sake of two Rogue Ninja.
Hiruzen Sarutobi is a politician; he will weigh the pros and cons of this matter.
"Boss, I heard you have games here?"
Just as Ge Liang was fantasizing about his impending 'freedom,' another customer arrived.
"Welcome... Konohamaru Sarutobi?"
...Time flew by quickly. Team 7 had already assembled and successfully left the Village.
The Rookie Three were still very curious about the world outside the Village. They spent the entire journey looking around and goofing off, as if they were going on an excursion.
Kakashi thought their behavior was simply too amateurish.
However, this was only a Rank C mission. Judging by the mission description, they would, at most, encounter some bandits or thieves; there was absolutely no need to worry.
Even if something unexpected happened, wasn't he, Kakashi, in the team?
What kind of trap could escape the eyes of me, 'Copy Ninja' Kakashi?
'Hmm? Speak of the devil.'
Kakashi was speechless as he looked at the two small puddles not far ahead.
It had been sunny for the past few days without rain, so where did these puddles come from?
This Ninja's ambush method was utterly ridiculous. Thumbs down.
Kakashi noticed the puddles, and naturally, The Rookie Three noticed them too.
Sasuke secretly gave a few hand signals to Sakura and Naruto. After receiving them, the two remained calm and acted as if nothing was wrong.
As they passed the puddles, Sakura, perhaps due to a shaky hand, dropped an Exploding Tag, which coincidentally landed right next to the outer puddle.
Just as the group passed the puddles and the Exploding Tag was about to detonate, the Demon Brothers, who had Transformed into puddles, immediately released their Transformation Jutsu and reverted to their original forms.
But it was already too late.
With a 'boom,' the Exploding Tag detonated, and Meizu, one of the Demon Brothers, was instantly severely wounded and lost the ability to fight.
Meanwhile, Gozu immediately used the airflow from the Exploding Tag's explosion to rush toward Tazuna, attempting to eliminate him immediately.
Are you kidding? The Rookie Three had been on guard the entire time. How could they let him succeed so easily?
"Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms."
"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill."
"One Yang Finger."
Before Kakashi even made a move, The Rookie Three had already knocked Gozu to the ground, unable to get up again.
"Tch, are the Ninja from other Villages really this weak?"
"Don't say that, Naruto. Didn't you see their headbands? Aren't they Hidden Mist Ninja from the Land of Water? Their Kage is called the Mizukage, so it's understandable that their strength is a bit 'watery' (weak)."
"You're right about their Kage, too. Why call themselves the Mizukage? Isn't that openly telling everyone that their Ninja Village is weak?"
"Naruto, Sasuke, look, they're Rogue Ninja!"
"Rogue Ninja? Heh, they'd rather be Rogue Ninja than stay in their Village?"
"This Kirigakure Village really does seem weak."
...The Rookie Three spoke back and forth, belittling Kirigakure Village and the Demon Brothers, nearly causing the two of them to burst a blood vessel and die.
Although the Demon Brothers weren't hugely famous in the Ninja World, they weren't entirely unknown either; otherwise, this mission wouldn't have been assigned to them.
Now that the tiger was stripped of its might, they were being ridiculed by three brats. At this moment, they wished they could fight to the death.
"Alright, if you three keep talking, these two will actually die."
Meizu, who was severely wounded by the explosion, was already rolling his eyes. Gozu was slightly better, but having been provoked so much, he looked like he was barely breathing.
"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, they won't die yet."
Sakura's role was self-defined as support, which is why she chose the One Yang Finger—a skill capable of offense, control, and healing—as her Real-World Martial Art.
"Biu~biu~biu~"
After Sakura hit both brothers with a few shots of the One Yang Finger, their complexions immediately improved.
"If I wasn't mistaken just now, Gozu's primary target should have been our client, Tazuna."
"Kakashi-sensei, do you know these two Rogue Ninja?"
Hearing Sakura, Kakashi nodded and said, "These two Rogue Ninja are both Chunin. They gave themselves the nickname Demon Brothers. The one severely wounded by your explosion is Meizu, and the one nearly angered to death is Gozu."
After a brief introduction, Kakashi turned to the client, who was frozen in fear on the ground, and asked, "Mr. Tazuna, don't you have something to say?"
"W-what can I say?"
Tazuna played dumb, pretending not to understand what Kakashi was talking about.
"When I first spotted these two Rogue Ninja, the reason I didn't attack immediately was because I wanted to confirm who their target was."
"If their target had been us Ninja, then there would be nothing more to discuss."
"But Gozu's primary target was you, which makes me suspicious."
"A Rank C protection mission generally doesn't involve combat, or if it does, it's against ordinary people like bandits and thieves."
"Now, we are facing two Chunin-level Rogue Ninja. This is no longer within the scope of a Rank C mission."
"Mr. Tazuna, if you don't tell the truth, we have the right to refuse to continue the mission."
At this point, Kakashi thought the person in front of him was very foolish.
Doesn't he know the consequences of falsely reporting a mission's Rank?
He was lucky to have encountered Team 7, an elite squad. If an ordinary squad led by a Chunin had taken this mission, he definitely would have been killed by the Demon Brothers.
"I'm sorry, I falsely reported the mission Rank. Please don't abandon this mission."
Hearing that Kakashi was going to refuse the mission, Tazuna panicked. He immediately knelt down and begged the group.
"If you want us to continue the mission, then you need to explain everything in detail. Remember, no lies this time."
Having no other choice, Tazuna could only explain the full story to get Team 7 to continue the mission.
"The situation is this... blah blah blah." (This time it's not a rant =.=)
It turns out that their destination, the Land of Waves, was a small island nation with virtually no Ninja presence.
The number of Ninja in the country was almost zero, the economy was poor, and the people lived in poverty.
Only by building a large bridge connecting them to the outside world could the Land of Waves possibly escape this poverty.
Unfortunately, a merchant named Gato did not want them to build the bridge, so he sent Ninja to hunt down Tazuna.
If Tazuna died, the Land of Waves would lose its master bridge builder, allowing Gato to continue monopolizing all the Land of Waves' marine resources.