Sasuke was handling things relatively well. Faced with a sudden death, he didn't show much discomfort… his mind was more occupied with shock at Naruto's strength.
While he had already suspected it before, seeing a Chunin-level opponent die so helplessly at Naruto's hands was still staggering.
'If it were me in that situation, would the outcome have been the same?'
After running the scenario through his mind, Sasuke's gaze toward Naruto grew increasingly complicated.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was thinking much deeper.
'There is no doubt that Naruto's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Chunin.'
'Beyond that, it was hard to gauge without actually fighting him.'
'At the very least, it was clear that Naruto's physical abilities were extraordinary, capable of shattering steel with sheer brute force.'
'If I remembered correctly, this kid should have mastered one of the Forbidden Techniques, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, right?'
'Such physical prowess… could it be due to the Nine-Tails?'
At the same time, Kakashi keenly sensed that Naruto had deliberately killed that man in front of him.
'Did he already know something? Was this a display of fangs… not just toward him, but toward the village as a whole?'
Unlike the two overthinkers beside him, Sakura and Tazuna were more overwhelmed by the shock of witnessing death, along with an instinctive urge to vomit.
Glancing at Naruto's back, Sakura reassured herself internally, 'It's alright, Naruto killed a hostile Ninja. This is normal.'
Meanwhile, Tazuna had grown much more subdued, no longer daring to mouth off.
"Cough, Tazuna-san."
At this time, Kakashi, the Jonin Instructor, suddenly spoke up.
"Huh? Y-Yes, what is it?"
When Tazuna heard his name being called, he quickly responded.
"Your commission was for us to protect you from bandit attacks, but now, Chunin-level assassins have appeared. This has already exceeded the scope of a C-Rank mission… I suspect you've been withholding critical information from us."
As Kakashi said this, the look he gave Dazna began to become extremely oppressive.
Still reeling from the earlier shock, Tazuna could only stammer weakly.
"A mission of this level, which is now bordering on B-Rank, is beyond what we can handle. We'll prepare to return to the village immediately."
The latter part was directed at Naruto and the others. Having said his piece, Kakashi made a show of turning to leave. Tazuna couldn't bring himself to beg them to stay, after all, he had concealed vital details, and the funds he'd provided were nowhere near enough to hire ninja capable of handling a B-Rank mission.
'Was this as far as I could go…?'
The gray-haired old man lowered his head, a deep despair settling over him.
He could already envision the future: His homeland falling completely under the control of the evil businessman, Gato, crushed under his exploitation.
The mere thought made his heart twist in agony.
Then, he did something that left the group in stunned silence.
The elderly man, who was already over fifty years old, dropped into a formal dogeza, with his forehead pressed firmly against the ground in the deepest bow of supplication.
"I… I sincerely apologize for hiding the truth about the mission."
"The Land of Waves has always been a poor nation. Because of Gato and his gang, we simply don't have the funds to hire stronger Ninja."
"I know my actions were despicable… but please… please help me."
"Please… save the Land of Waves. Our future can't be destroyed by Gato."
He was answered by silence.
Objectively speaking, Tazuna's actions were reprehensible, as he's essentially treating the lives of the Genin as expendable.
But at the same time, he truly had no other choice. He'd been forced to betray his own principles just to scrape together a chance at survival.
After all, if he'd told the truth and no strong enough Ninja took the mission, his fate would have been just as bleak.
Seeing that no one else spoke up, Sakura awkwardly broke the silence.
"There's nothing we can do… This mission is beyond us. Let's go, Naruto, Sasuke…"
To be honest, she didn't want to abandon their first high-rank mission. And faced with Tazuna's desperate plea, she couldn't bring herself to outright refuse.
But at the same time, Sakura was acutely aware of her own limitations. If they continued, she would likely just become dead weight.
Meanwhile, Sasuke stood frozen in place, lost in thought.
At this time, Naruto suddenly stepped forward and walked up to Tazuna. Without a word, he reached into the old man's bag and pulled out that cheap bottle of alcohol.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
In just a few swigs, Naruto downed nearly half the bottle of sake. Sasuke and Sakura both stared in shock at Naruto, who had inexplicably chugged someone else's drink.
'Hey, even if you wanted a drink, now's not the time… and you didn't even ask!'
But Kakashi's gaze sharpened. He seemed to have guessed what Naruto was planning.
"Ahh… It really tastes like crap..."
Wiping his mouth, Naruto casually set the bottle down. Then, in one swift motion, he grabbed Tazuna by the collar and yanked him up from his kneeling position.
Then, he said to Tazuna, who is staring at him blankly.
"I can't just stand by and watch a man's knees covered in dust."
"I, Uzumaki Naruto, have already accepted your payment."
"Now, let's keep moving."
After saying this, Naruto turned and strode forward without another word, leaving the others staring at his retreating back.
Behind him, Sasuke seemed to come to some realization of his own. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he stopped overthinking Naruto's strength.
Then, in an uncharacteristic move, he picked up the half-empty bottle and took a couple of small sips before silently following Naruto.
Tazuna and Sakura were both dumbfounded. Kakashi, as the team's leader, felt obligated to speak up.
"Naruto, Sasuke, are you sure about this?"
Naruto's only response was a careless wave of his hand.
Then, as if steeling herself, Sakura suddenly grabbed the remaining liquor and took a big gulp. Her face immediately scrunched up in disgust, but she turned to Kakashi with determination.
"Kakashi-sensei… please take care of us!"
Hearing this, Kakashi could only chuckle wryly before accepting the bottle from her.
"Honestly… kids shouldn't be drinking."
Tazuna stared at them all in disbelief before bowing his head again, his voice trembling.
"Thank you… truly… Thank you very much..."
…
After getting rid of the Demon Brothers, the journey after was relatively smooth, almost as if Gato had only sent that one assassination team.
But everyone knew this was just the beginning.
Along the way, Tazuna explained the full situation in the Land of Waves.
In short, Gato's company monopolized the shipping industry, exploiting the locals while smuggling illegal goods. The construction of the bridge would break that monopoly and finally lift the Land of Waves out of poverty.
Gato had countless thugs, gangsters, and even Missing-nin under his command.
There were likely many more like the Demon Brothers in his side.
As they talked, the group boarded a small boat and crossed into the Land of Waves' borders.