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The Land of Waves was a small island nation surrounded by the sea, a country without shinobi of its own.
Before the Great Naruto Bridge was built, the only way for its people to reach the mainland was by boat.
This was precisely why Tazuna wanted to construct a bridge—to connect the Land of Waves to the shinobi continent and revitalize the island's economy.
Located at the easternmost edge of the Land of Fire, the Land of Waves was separated from the mainland only by the distance of a cross-sea bridge.
Unlike the arduous mountain-crossing journey to the Iron Village in the Land of Rivers, Team 7 only needed to travel through a series of forest paths to reach the coast, then take a boat to the island to arrive at their destination.
Having grown tired of the scenery along the way, Team 7 soon fell into casual conversation.
During this time, both Kakashi and Sakura took the opportunity to educate the illiterate Naruto on common knowledge—at least ensuring he understood the political landscape of the shinobi world, the one-country-one-village system, and the status and influence of the Five Kage.
Otherwise, this guy who kept shouting about becoming Hokage might have genuinely believed the title was nothing more than that of a village chief.
Dressed in a red cheongsam, her pink hair cascading down to her waist, Sakura exuded the grace of a classical lady. Like Hinata, she periodically activated her sensory techniques to scan their surroundings.
Watching the composed and reliable Sakura, a glint of satisfaction flashed in Kakashi's eye.
Though Sakura lacked offensive techniques, her mastery of sensory and medical ninjutsu perfectly compensated for the team's weaknesses.
Moreover, the girl seemed to have someone she liked, which meant she didn't show favoritism within the team. Her impartial attitude—supporting whoever had the stronger argument—often helped defuse conflicts between Naruto and Sasuke.
This girl… reminded him of Rin.
The thought of the girl he had killed with his own hands darkened Kakashi's expression once more.
Seeing Sakura's vigilance, Ryūsei was equally pleased.
This was the result of his training!
As a transmigrator whose narrative perspective transcended all others, Ryūsei had always been extremely cautious since childhood.
This caution had also influenced Ino and the other two girls who grew up with him.
During their training, Ryūsei had frequently drilled their sensory abilities.
This habit of constantly scanning their surroundings had become second nature to Ino's trio.
Neither Hinata nor Sakura had disappointed him—they were far more capable than their original counterparts.
However, despite her caution, Sakura still failed to detect Ryūsei's presence.
Even Kakashi, an elite jōnin, remained unaware that a figure had been following them from a hundred meters behind.
To test the illusionary capabilities of his Red Eye, Ryūsei periodically closed the distance between himself and Team 7, observing whether they would notice him.
As the natural counter to the Three Great Dōjutsu, the Red Eye did not disappoint.
Its illusions remained undetectable even to telescopic and X-ray vision, making ordinary sensory techniques useless against it.
However, recalling that his Sharingan could detect the Red Eye's crimson particles, Ryūsei refrained from getting too close.
If Kakashi were to lift his forehead protector, his three-tomoe Sharingan might just spot the red dust.
And so, Ryūsei trailed Team 7 at a leisurely pace.
The next morning, Team 7 neared the eastern edge of the Land of Fire.
After passing through one last forest path, they would reach the sea and the Land of Waves.
Just then, a large puddle of water appeared on the road ahead.
Seeing this, Ryūsei glanced up at the clear blue sky and sighed in exasperation.
Sure, we're close to the sea, but this is just brain-dead.
How far apart are the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves anyway?
It hasn't rained in days—who would believe a puddle this big just formed naturally?
At that moment, Ryūsei realized the importance of cultural education.
Even a chūnin would lose to a genin if they lacked common sense.
As expected…
Aside from Naruto, both Sasuke and Sakura immediately noticed something off about the puddle.
Sakura made a subtle hand signal, and after receiving a slight nod from Sasuke, she relaxed slightly.
But when she glanced at Naruto, who was still humming cheerfully, she nearly facepalmed.
'What is wrong with this guy?'
He's mastered the forbidden-level Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, has chakra reserves beyond comprehension, and his real strength is anything but dead last—so why is he so oblivious?
Thankfully, her other teammate was Sasuke, the only one in class who could hold his own against Ryūsei for a while. Otherwise, Sakura might have actually lost her temper.
She couldn't even imagine how blissful life must be for Hinata, who had been placed on Ryūsei's team.
Just like in the original story, as Team 7 passed the suspicious puddle, two figures suddenly emerged from the water, wielding a chain that wrapped around Kakashi—who had somehow ended up at the back of the group—and bisected him.
The sight left Naruto frozen in shock.
Sakura, gripping a kunai in one hand and a few small orbs in the other, positioned herself protectively in front of Tazuna.
Sasuke, meanwhile, lunged at the Demon Brothers with swift precision, effortlessly knocking them down.
Before Naruto could even process what had happened, Sasuke had already defeated the assassins.
Then, the supposedly dismembered Kakashi reappeared before Team 7.
After interrogating the Demon Brothers, Kakashi delivered a sharp verbal jab at Naruto, disguised as an apology.
When Naruto stabbed his own hand with a kunai, swearing an oath through pain, the dead-last officially began his transformation.
Under Tazuna's emotional manipulation, Team 7 ultimately decided to continue the mission and escort him home.
By the time they reached the coast, Tazuna's allies were already waiting.
Team 7 boarded a small boat bound for the Land of Waves, while Ryūsei simply walked across the water's surface.
That morning, the Land of Waves was shrouded in thick mist.
For Tazuna, this was a blessing—it would help them avoid the patrolling rogue samurai and allow them to reach his home undetected.
But he didn't know that after losing contact with the Demon Brothers, a powerful jōnin was already lying in wait.
When an enormous cleaver came spinning toward them like a giant shuriken, forcing Team 7 to duck, an elite jōnin-level battle was about to erupt!
Unlike Raiga, who had to protect someone, Momochi Zabuza had no such restrictions and could fight at full strength.
Kakashi, on the other hand, found himself in Raiga's previous position—forced to protect Team 7 and Tazuna, which significantly hampered his combat ability.
Yet Ryūsei paid no attention to the clash between the two jōnin.
Instead, his eyes glowed with a crimson light that not even colored contact lenses could conceal, his gaze fixed in a specific direction.
More precisely, on a masked youth perched in a tree.
This boy was Ryūsei's true target—Haku.
Having located Haku, Ryūsei didn't act immediately. Now wasn't the right time.
So, he simply watched the battle unfold.
As in the original story, Kakashi—likely rusty from lack of high-intensity combat—was caught off guard and trapped by Zabuza's Water Prison Technique, temporarily incapacitated.
But since the technique required Zabuza's real body to maintain it, he could only send a water clone to deal with Team 7 and Tazuna.
To his surprise, Sasuke and Naruto—now having overcome his fear—displayed unexpected synergy, bypassing the clone entirely and attacking Zabuza directly.
Forced to dodge, Zabuza released the Water Prison, freeing Kakashi.
Now unshackled, Kakashi went all out, showing Zabuza the true might of the Copy Ninja, the master of a thousand techniques.
In the end, Zabuza was defeated by Kakashi's superior hand seals and a devastating Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique.
Whoosh—!
Just as Kakashi moved in for the kill, the sound of slicing wind cut through the air.
Several senbon needles embedded themselves in Zabuza's neck.
Haku, disguised as a Kirigakure ANBU, appeared before Team 7 and, after receiving Kakashi's permission, took Zabuza's "corpse" away.
Seizing the perfect opportunity, Ryūsei immediately flickered after them.