Takemi didn't mind their eavesdropping. He said with a chuckle, "Oh, Kakashi-sensei, isn't this Tazuna the victim of Gato? This time, can't we..."
"Hey, it's been so many years, and you still haven't forgotten him?"
Kakashi's smile instantly vanished, and his crescent-shaped eye immediately turned deadpan.
"Also, you're willing to come on a mission this time. Could it be that you knew we were coming to the Land of Waves and deliberately followed along?"
"How could that be? Am I that kind of person? But he's really rich! Robbing him would not only benefit Konoha, but also eliminate evil and bring peace."
"..."
"Besides, this time there's a mission involved, Kakashi-sensei has no reason to object, right?"
"..."
Kakashi didn't want to talk anymore. He realized that his disciple truly hadn't forgotten his original intention.
After so many years, he was still fixated on Gato. Is this really okay?
Rubbing his head, Kakashi sighed, "We'll see. As long as he doesn't go too far, you can't act recklessly."
"Yes, yes." Takemi nodded.
This promise was enough, he was sure Gato would definitely mess up.
"Even if he doesn't mess up, I'll find a way to make him mess up."
After so many years, he had accumulated a small fortune, but that didn't mean he would let go of Gato's money.
"Besides, the rewards that Naruto brought me are quite a lot..."
The Scroll of Seals, he was coveting that. Although he had already learned quite a few things, the complete version would have more information. He couldn't possibly not be curious.
Last night, he had also seen the Scroll of Seals that Naruto had brought out, but it was a 'special edition'.
What he didn't expect was that the system immediately sent him the complete version.
"There are quite a few interesting things inside..."
This complete version not only gave him Soul-Body Separation Jutsu and Mutually Multiplying Exploding Tags, but also Four Red Yang Formation and Four Symbols Seal.
"And the initial version of Reaper Death Seal!"
Combined with the Bringer of Darkness Technique he already knew and the subsequent Spirit Transformation Technique he obtained from Hiruzen, this wave almost made him perfectly comparable to the Second Hokage.
"Besides that, there's also a lot of Wood Release data and records..."
He hadn't spent time understanding Wood Release, aside from having targets for Earth Release and Water Release Chakra.
The most crucial thing was that he couldn't determine whether Wood Release was kekkei tota or kekkei genkai.
"After all, with Yamato as a comparison, his Wood Release is like making furniture, while Hashirama's Wood Release is world-destroying."
It's hard to say whether Hashirama's Wood Release involved Yang Release, but now he didn't need to investigate.
"After all, God Tree Source seems to have solved these problems for me..."
The God Tree Source had absorbed the Chakra that had burst from Naruto this time, receiving a large amount of replenishment.
Although there was no new Tailed Beast Chakra to enhance it, it gained some new abilities.
God Tree Clone, this ability seemed very similar to Wood Clone, but it was a fully enhanced version.
Madara's Wood Clone could use Susanoo, but this clone could use most of Takemi's abilities except for 'Ōtsutsuki Transformation'.
"In terms of strength, it's probably around five or six tenths of my own, which looks pretty good."
Besides that, he also gained an ability similar to Obito's Wood Release: Cutting Technique.
Also, the power of the god tree source passed through his body, forming a large amount of lethality.
"Isn't this thing much simpler and more effective than Wood Release?"
Takemi rubbed his head. Even if his God tree source application wasn't very good yet, he seemed to have Wood Release now.
"Or should I call it God-level Wood Release?"
As he pondered, he suddenly heard a commotion. Two dark figures instantly appeared from the shadows of the forest.
They held chains and charged towards Kakashi.
"..."
— — —
"Zabuza, you're already a rogue Ninja, so why don't you join us?"
In a forest in the Land of Waves, Kisame spoke coldly to Zabuza, who was not far away.
Besides him, Obito and Itachi stood silently to the side.
Although Itachi and Kisame had just recovered, Itachi's body wasn't in good shape.
But among the Kirigakure rogue Ninja, these three were the most familiar.
"Hmph, why would I join you guys?"
However, Zabuza seemed completely uninterested.
"But I didn't expect you to join them. It seems you killed Fuguki?"
"That's right, I killed him."
Kisame didn't deny it. He looked at the Kubikiribōchō behind Zabuza and couldn't help but smile.
"You're even worse than me. You launched a rebellion, and after Jūzō died, this sword should have been in Kirigakure. It seems you're still thinking of Kirigakure, aren't you?"
Zabuza didn't speak. After Jūzō died, the Kubikiribōchō did fall into Kirigakure's hands, and he took it when he infiltrated Kirigakure to investigate the situation.
He was still in the stage of raising funds, and for the time being, he had also come under Gato's employ. He just didn't expect to be targeted by old colleagues.
"I'm not interested in your affairs. I advise you not to bother me, or else…"
Zabuza's hand rested on the great sword behind him. He looked coldly at the three in front of him, but his words made Obito shake his head.
"You Kirigakure people are really interesting. Every one of you has to have a fight before you give up. Jūzō, Raiga, and you too."
"Oh, Raiga?"
Hearing Raiga's name, Zabuza's eyebrow twitched. He felt like these guys were targeting Kirigakure rogue Ninja for recruitment.
"Lord…"
But just as he was thinking, a masked figure suddenly appeared.
"We found Tazuna. Meizu and Gozu have already made their move, but Tazuna seems to have hired Konoha Ninja."
"Konoha Ninja…"
Hearing Konoha, Zabuza instinctively clenched his fist, and bad memories flooded his mind.
He hadn't forgotten being grabbed by the neck by Jiraiya, Kakashi, and a brat, and running all the way to Kirigakure.
"Konoha?"
Obito's trio's expressions also changed slightly. It couldn't be that coincidental, could it?
After all these years, they had come to a realization. Encountering 'randomly spawned' Konoha Ninja out in the field usually meant trouble.
"I don't have time to mess around with you guys."
Zabuza was silent for a moment before speaking.
"I'm going to check out the situation. You guys can do as you please."
After saying that, he walked forward without looking back, leaving Obito's trio standing there.
"What do we do now?"
After a while, Kisame finally asked, "Should we go check it out? But our current situation isn't very optimistic."
Itachi also spoke in a low voice, "Indeed, having just recovered, it's not ideal for combat. Besides, don't you have a plan?"
These words made Obito frown, and after much hesitation, he finally said, "Let's go see. I refuse to believe that we'll encounter those guys every single time."
"After all, Hiruko is still alive now…"
— — —
Two figures suddenly appeared and instantly attacked Kakashi, causing Sakura, who was walking behind, to let out a cry of surprise.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
"What?!"
But the next moment, she saw blood mist spray from Kakashi's body.
This sight made her body stiffen. It was the first time she had experienced such a cruel scene.
However, she didn't notice that Sasuke and Naruto seemed quite calm.
The two Kirigakure Ninja didn't hesitate at all, turning their heads to look at Takemi, but the moment the chains swung, the figure had already disappeared.
"Where is he?"
"Never mind, let's complete the mission first!"
The two were startled, but as professional assassins trained by Kirigakure, they immediately calmed down and turned to swing their chains at Tazuna.
"Oh no…"
Sakura had felt that taking on such a mission right after graduating was somewhat inappropriate.
Now it seemed her worries were justified!
Seeing the enemies approach, she gritted her teeth and stood in front of Tazuna alone. Sasuke and Naruto also moved at this point.
"Kakashi-sensei, it seems you only fooled Sakura and that old man, but you didn't fool anyone else."
On a nearby tree, Kakashi was observing the situation, but Takemi's voice quickly sounded in his ear.
"These kids nowadays are really unlikable."
Kakashi said casually, then stroked his chin and continued, "But that old man lied to us. He didn't mention there would be Ninja involved."
"Actually, this mission itself has problems."
Takemi squatted to the side and nodded.