Chapter 44: Zabuza, You Should Become the Mizukage

Dazuna shared a tale about a wealthy merchant named Gato who tyrannized the region, and the impoverished Land of Waves.

Dazuna placed special emphasis on the fact that the bridge they were currently building was the sole hope for the entire nation.

In the end, he even resorted to a bit of moral blackmail, forcing the group to continue protecting him.

To this, Naruto wanted to say: did they even need to resort to moral blackmail?

The moment he heard he could spend three whole weeks outside with Naruto, Sasuke’s eyes lit up so brightly it looked as though he was going to skip the Mangekyo Sharingan entirely and evolve straight into "Flashy Eyes."

Moreover, what the Land of Waves lacked wasn’t a bridge, nor ninjas, but rather a Dragon-Slaying Manual.

Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance!

If you refuse to fight back, even if the bridge is completed, the tyrant Gato will sooner or later blow it up.

Naruto had nothing to say to such naive thoughts from these people.

"What do you all think? Shall we continue?"

Teacher Kakashi turned around to consult the opinions of Naruto and the other two.

"Of course we continue, Teacher Kakashi!" Sasuke answered eagerly, knowing he still needed his Naruto-brand portable charger.

Three weeks of this was more effective than half a year of his routine training.

Afraid that Naruto might veto the idea, Sasuke couldn't help glancing sideways at Naruto and provoking him, "Naruto, you're not scared, are you?"

"Let's continue."

Ignoring the little brat's provocation, Naruto pulled an apple out of his backpack and began peeling it with a top-tier kunai dropped by a video game.

Fruit was good—rich in Vitamin C, so one had to eat plenty of it.

"I want to continue too, Teacher Kakashi."

Sakura had performed exceptionally well today. She felt she was growing stronger at a rapid pace, and fundamentally, she also wanted to get closer to Naruto. Thinking of this, she stole a peek at Naruto.

Crunch~

Noticing Sakura's gaze, Naruto, currently munching on his apple, instantly felt like life was meaningless. He had completely turned into a utility tool!

"I want to go back to Konoha!"

Wait, no, that wasn't right!

Naruto felt he was still being too kind. Having obtained such treasures, it was one thing not to throw his weight around within the team, but to actually have no room for pushback?

Fine, tonight he was going to make Sasuke wash his smelly socks.

The group resumed their journey.

Swish~

With nothing better to do, Naruto flicked the kunai in his hand and sliced a passing fly cleanly in half.

Only after cutting it did he remember he still needed to use that same kunai to eat his apple.

Ew~

Casually wiping the kunai clean on Sasuke's clothes, Naruto looked back at Teacher Kakashi, who was bringing up the rear.

Another question suddenly popped into Naruto's mind.

How on earth did Teacher Kakashi get his Sharingan?

Could it have been the Uchiha clan's annihilation night?

No, Kakashi didn't seem like such a bad guy.

Could it be that Hatake Kakashi's real name was actually Uchiha Kakashi?

Judging by Teacher 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've arrived."

Ahead lay Dazuna's home.

The architectural style of the Land of Waves was indeed different from the Land of Fire; at least this building was quite unique.

Dazuna’s family consisted of a daughter and a young grandson.

The daughter was the type favored by Lord Cao, while the grandson was rather obnoxious, bluntly telling them all that they were going to die.

What a little punk!

In the end, he was pacified and sent away by Naruto with a bag of potato chips and a cola.

Soon after, Naruto noticed a strange phenomenon: the chakra tagged as Momochi Zabuza had suddenly begun to stir.

"Could Zabuza still be alive?"

Wasn't he taken away by the tracker ninja?

Suddenly, a possibility crossed Naruto's mind: the pursuers and Zabuza might actually be in cahoots.

Oh boy.

This trickery was enough to amaze even Naruto.

As expected of a ninja who had spent years wandering the shinobi world, their ploys ran deep.

However, no matter how brilliant the strategy, it remained vulnerable in the face of absolute strength.

Earlier, to prevent Zabuza from escaping, Naruto had planted a Flying Raijin mark on him.

With a Flying Raijin tattoo on his body, how could he possibly run away?

Still, this piqued Naruto's interest in Zabuza.

"Teacher Kakashi, could you tell us about that Zabuza fellow?"

Naruto wanted to learn about Zabuza from Kakashi, as well as about the Land of Water.

The shinobi world was too vast, and shadow clones were too few.

Up until now, the map of the Land of Water remained pitch black.

He wanted to gather more intelligence!

"Zabuza, you say..." Kakashi began recounting the known information piece by piece.

Graduation exams where one had to kill all students of the same year, the Bloody Mist, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, assassinating the Fourth Mizukage, and turning rogue.

Listening to this series of events left all three youngsters dumbfounded, and Naruto was completely stunned into silence.

He had originally thought that Konoha was already twisted enough for raising a twelve-year-old boy into a qualified assassin.

Little did he expect—truly, he never expected—that there were even more outrageous cases out there. Whose subordinate was this anyway?

The Fourth Mizukage, was it?

He somehow got the feeling that this guy really didn't want the Hidden Mist Village to do well.

Being a Kage, surely he couldn't have been a spy from another village, right?

And Zabuza was truly a ruthless man, actually wiping out everyone in his own graduation year.

Yet.

Looking at it the other way around, why did Zabuza somehow seem like a good guy?

He killed his peers to force the village to halt the Bloody Mist practices, and later even assassinated the Fourth for that very reason.

No matter how you looked at it, he was doing it for the good of the Hidden Mist Village.

Though his skills fell short, leaving him no choice but to become a rogue ninja, his motives were certainly commendable.

"Today's events were somewhat peculiar... I have a feeling I missed something." Storyteller Kakashi ruminated on the events, sensing something was amiss.

Naruto grinned broadly as he listened.

He was just about to blurt out: Teacher Kakashi, your intuition is spot on; Zabuza is alive and well.

However, Zabuza probably wouldn't have the opportunity to come make trouble anytime soon.

Because Naruto had decided to select him as one of the executors of the "Cuckoo's Nest Plan."

Even as a rogue ninja, once his name was cleared, he would simply be the premier candidate to contend for the position of Mizukage.

Yep.

He was the one.

Now there was only one question left.

"Teacher, does the Hidden Mist have a Mizukage right now?"

Interrupted in his thoughts, Kakashi answered Naruto's question: "Not yet. Ever since the Fourth Mizukage was assassinated, the seat of the Mizukage has remained vacant."

Still vacant?

Naruto nodded—that was fantastic, the plan was a complete success!

By then, Kakashi had more or less pieced the whole incident together. He reminded everyone that Zabuza was not dead, and then stressed:

"As for you lot, you need to train hard! If the three of you were able to fight Zabuza to a standstill, next time you'll be able to handle both Zabuza and that boy."

"Especially you, Naruto." Kakashi specifically praised him: "Your strength is the greatest, keep up the good work!"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded with a smile on his lips.

Watching Naruto smile, Kakashi felt a complex mix of emotions inside.

"Chances are, Naruto might already be stronger than me now; he only lacks a bit of combat experience."

Kakashi prepared to lead the three of them into the forest for training.

"Teacher Kakashi, I need to use the restroom." Naruto made an excuse to slip away midway.

Reaching a secluded spot, Naruto threw on his cloak, donned his mask, and activated his Sharingan.

Once properly attached, he sensed the location of his Flying Raijin mark.

Swish~

Reappearing in an instant, he found Zabuza lying on a bed, unable to move, alongside a pretty-faced ninja standing close by.

"Zabuza, the organization has made its decision: you're going to be the Mizukage!"