Naruto: The new beginning

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Naruto's abrupt involvement nearly surprised Kakashi.

He glanced at Naruto solemnly and thought, 'When did you become so greedy for money?'

When Tazuna heard this, he immediately began to play the sympathy card, claiming that the Land of Waves was poor, that all their hopes were pinned on the bridge, and that he truly couldn't afford the fee for a B-rank mission.

Finally, Tazuna pulled out his ultimate move—moral blackmail:

"Even if you don't want to protect me, it's fine. If I die, at most my daughter and my eight-year-old grandson will resent Konoha for the rest of their lives and cry every day. But don't worry, I won't blame you. It's not your fault."

Tazuna's eyes gleamed cunningly.

Kakashi scratched his head, finding the situation troublesome. Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly, and Sakura's expression turned grim.

But Naruto wasn't fazed by this trick. He calmly said, "Well, I guess there's no choice. Why don't we put in some extra effort and head to the Land of Waves?"

Tazuna felt triumphant, thinking his plan had worked, and a sly smile crept across his face.

The team sensed that Naruto was up to something. Kakashi decided to play along with Naruto's act. "You want to continue the mission?"

"No, what I mean is, it wouldn't be good if they hated Konoha forever. So why don't we work extra hard, go to the Land of Waves, and kill his daughter and grandson? That way, the whole family will be reunited."

Naruto then turned to Tazuna with a malicious grin. "And of course, we'll take care of the real culprit who lied about the mission level first."

Tazuna collapsed to the ground in fear. "No! You can't do that!"

Naruto responded righteously, "If you eat a bowl of ramen, you should pay for it. It's only fair. We can't accept a low-level mission fee while doing a high-level mission, can we?"

Naruto was adamant about setting things right. Lying about a mission's level could have serious consequences, or it could be overlooked if Tazuna settled the matter by paying the correct commission or forfeiting the mission altogether.

After all, Tazuna's deliberate withholding of information was akin to endangering the lives of the Fourth Hokage's son and the Uchiha clan's prodigy.

In true shinobi style, ensuring the family's "neatness" wouldn't be unreasonable.

What was most infuriating was Tazuna's attempt to manipulate them through moral blackmail.

It was like reading a bad novel—where you can predict the plot exactly.

In the end, Tazuna apologized sincerely and requested Team 7 to continue protecting him.

He promised to clarify the mission level and make up the commission once they reached Konoha.

It didn't matter much to Kakashi whether they continued the mission or not. With his strength, he could handle any unexpected situation, and no village would bother to send an assassin just to kill a foreman.

Sasuke wanted to continue training and face strong opponents outside the village, so Sakura followed Kakashi's lead.

Naruto mainly wanted to test his current strength and see if he could go head-to-head with Zabuza.

So the group continued their journey. Along the way, they experienced hunger and thirst and spent the night in small inns.

But they reached the seaside pier and prepared to take the waterway.

As they boarded a motorized boat, Naruto found it fascinating.

While the land was still dominated by horse-drawn carriages, the boats had engines—a complex mix of technology.

"Now that we're here, Mr. Tazuna, why don't you tell us more about your situation?" Kakashi began the conversation.

Naruto, seated comfortably, took out some melon seeds from his scroll and started munching, offering some to his teammates as well. "Go on, let's hear your story."

So Tazuna continued with his tale, trying to evoke sympathy by explaining how the Land of Waves was oppressed by the evil merchant Gato.

The general summary was:

'Gato is ruthless, treating people like animals. The people of the Land of Waves suffer under his tyranny. However, the people are too afraid to resist.'

'Fortunately, Tazuna decided to build a bridge to rally the people's courage, shouldering all the burdens on his own...'

The atmosphere grew heavy after hearing this, but Naruto remained indifferent. If the people didn't stand up for themselves, who could they blame for being oppressed?

*Cough*, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the truth holds. With so many workers, can't they just pick up a hammer and sickle and fight back? If that doesn't work, why not post a bounty on the underground black market for Gato's assassination?

Just mark it as a D-rank mission and note that Gato is filthy rich. Perhaps a kind-hearted old man in his nineties would take on the task, saying, "I don't care about the reward, I'm just curious how much money Gato has."

Of course, if you don't dare to make the payment, you might find yourself having a "heart-to-heart" conversation.

It's not because the old man is stingy, it's just that there's a certain spendthrift in the organization who asks for money every day.

As Naruto was lost in these thoughts, the ship approached the dock.

This was Naruto's first time leaving the Land of Fire and stepping onto foreign soil.

For a moment, he felt a surge of emotion… and the urge to shout, "Land ahoy!"

****

After docking, there was still a long road ahead to reach Tazuna's house, and they could be attacked at any time along the way.

Naruto took out a stack of explosive tags, then grabbed some from Sasuke's ninja pouch and handed them to Sakura. "Sakura, take these for self-defence."

Sakura was the least lethal member of the team.

Sakura's hands trembled. "T-Too many."

There were dozens, if not hundreds, of explosive tags. The little money she'd earned from missions since graduating probably wouldn't cover the cost.

"It's fine. You can return what you don't use. Besides, Sasuke's family is in this business, so you can get a discount from him later," Naruto said generously, and Sasuke nodded in agreement, showing support for his teammates.

Sakura carefully stored the tags and enthusiastically answered, "I've never been in such a well-funded fight before!"

As they walked, a mist gradually formed around them, and suddenly, the sound of something slicing through the air echoed.

Kakashi quickly knocked Tazuna down and shouted, "Get down!"

The three genin reacted swiftly, crouching just in time as a massive sword, nearly two or three meters long, spun over their heads and embedded itself in a nearby tree.

A figure leapt out of the woods, landing on the sword's hilt, arrogantly turning its back to the group.

"I didn't expect to run into the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi. No wonder the Demon Brothers failed."

Kakashi also recognized Zabuza. His face was unreadable, but his eyes grew serious as he held back Sasuke, who was eager to fight. "It's the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza. This isn't an opponent you can handle. Form up and protect Mr. Tazuna."

With that, Kakashi raised his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan.

The three genin quickly stood and formed a protective circle around Tazuna.

Naruto gauged the situation and decided that Kakashi could protect them.

Naruto secretly made some hand seals, planning to give Zabuza a nasty surprise.

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