Chapter 20: Choice
The panel popped up—it was still the classic, infamous two-choice scenario.
[Option One: Kill Momochi Zabuza. Reward: Ice Release (Max Level)]
[Option Two: Kill Haku and obtain all of Gatō's wealth (stored in the new System Warehouse feature)]
Seeing this, Naruto almost swallowed his saliva on instinct. He felt no guilt about killing either of them. Whether it was Momochi Zabuza or Haku, they were enemies locked in a life-and-death struggle.
But what really made Naruto's head ache was—why did it have to be one or the other?
Why was this world so cruel as to force such a choice?!
Couldn't he just kill them both?
The system, of course, gave no response. What lay before Naruto was a monumental dilemma: money or a Bloodline Limit?
"Naruto? Why did you suddenly stop? Is… is something wrong?"
Noticing Naruto's sudden pause, Sakura immediately grew alert, her eyes darting nervously around in case another ninja jumped out from the shadows.
Fortunately, her fears didn't come true. Kakashi and the others, walking ahead, also turned to glance back at the halted Naruto when they heard the commotion.
"It's nothing, just a bit of a stomachache," Naruto said.
Hearing that, Kakashi and the others turned back around and continued walking.
Naruto kept pace with the group, eyes locked on the floating panel before him, brows furrowed as his mind battled itself.
Zabuza was a Water-style ninja; Naruto could counter him with the Nine-Tails' chakra. Coupled with Lava Release, he should be able to put up a fight.
With Kakashi around, there wouldn't be much pressure even in a direct confrontation with Zabuza. He could even use Zabuza's underestimation of genin to land a surprise attack.
Haku, on the other hand, was Zabuza's hound—a user of the Ice Release Bloodline Limit, a natural nemesis to Naruto's Lava Release.
No matter what, if he wanted to kill Zabuza, he couldn't bypass Haku. As long as Haku was alive, he would fight to the death to protect Zabuza.
Which meant that killing Zabuza outright wouldn't be easy. Rather than take that risk, why not simply target Haku from the start?
Killing Zabuza would earn him the first-ever max-level Bloodline Limit: Ice Release. For the Naruto of this moment, that was an invaluable boost.
No—getting max-level Ice Release might even catapult his strength to jōnin-level.
But Gatō's treasure… that held a deadly allure of its own.
Wasn't being a ninja all about surviving for money and, along the way, becoming stronger? As the saying went, "Money makes even ghosts work for you." In this shinobi world, money was omnipotent.
The Exchange Center could make Kakuzu work for you—name a target, put up a bounty, and someone would take their head.
Even the Akatsuki had taken on missions for money, with Kakuzu as one of their prime beneficiaries. The Third Hokage's own son, Asuma, no matter how high his status, was nothing but a cold number on that list.
What did people live for, anyway?
Naruto let out a long sigh, then shook his head and chose the second option.
In the end, he succumbed to the devil of wealth, abandoning his once pure ambition of becoming stronger for its own sake—he even forgot what color underwear he was wearing.
"With this money, I'll finally be truly free," Naruto muttered softly, just loud enough for himself to hear. "I still want to get stronger… next time, for sure."
Ahead, Kakashi was conversing with the bridge-builder, Tazuna. Their voices inevitably drifted to Naruto's ears.
"Over the years, Gatō's used ninjas to amass quite a fortune. Now, his wealth rivals nations. He commands countless rogue samurai and shinobi—his forces are immense," Tazuna said.
"Well, I've heard bits of that myself," Kakashi replied lazily. "You pick up a lot of intel while on missions."
"That man is terrifying. If you weren't escorting me, I'd probably already be dead on the road," Tazuna said.
"Since Konoha accepted the mission, there's no way we'd abandon it halfway. Don't worry—we'll get you home safe," Kakashi assured him.
Their voices gradually faded into the background as Naruto stopped listening. His gaze grew firmer. Wealth to rival nations?
As expected, he had chosen correctly. The system had eliminated all future worries for him. The treasure would go straight into the System Warehouse.
That meant Naruto only had to complete the mission, and the fortune would appear in his warehouse without a trace.
Even if someone discovered Gatō's wealth had vanished, no one would ever suspect Naruto. It would be, quite literally, ghostly.
Heaven knows, earth knows, he knows, and the system knows.
Once he secured the money, Naruto could pay others to do his bidding. Anything he couldn't handle personally, he could solve by posting a bounty.
Money truly was a wonderful thing—it meant financial freedom.
Since he no longer intended to rely on the Third Hokage, avoiding all that "the village's interests come first" brainwashing, he had to seize economic control for himself.
He remembered in the original timeline, Naruto ran himself ragged on missions for the village, one job after another, yet remained a mere genin.
Sure, part of it was being too busy for exams, but rules were rules—genin got low pay.
In the end, all that hard work earned him little. Even as Hokage, he lived entirely for the village.
Meanwhile, Konoha's major clans were never short on money. Even Tsunade, with her gambling addiction, couldn't burn through her fortune.
And the dowry from the Hyūga Clan alone would have supported him for life. His financial state before and after marriage couldn't even be compared.
Living off Hinata wasn't bad, of course—but as a man, he needed to have his own edge…
After much thought, Naruto stuck with Gatō's treasure as his first step toward building his fortune.
Soon, Team 7 would be short a member.
Naruto had to plan ahead. He couldn't afford to be trapped in the cycle of endless, low-paying missions. Everyone around him had money—he couldn't live like Konoha's "prince" and still have to work like a dog.
Just then, a massive spinning sword suddenly blocked the path ahead.
"Danger!" Sakura shouted, shoving Tazuna to the ground.
The Executioner's Blade whirled past them, slamming into a tree with a thud. A figure appeared atop the embedded sword, eyes cold and merciless as he stared them down.
"Momochi Zabuza?" Kakashi recognized the bandaged man atop the massive sword almost instantly.
"Kakashi, long time no see."
Zabuza leapt down onto the grass, a feral grin twisting his face as he hefted the enormous blade onto his shoulder and bellowed,
"That man in front of you—his life is mine!"
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Zabuza vanished, reappearing in front of Tazuna with a resounding bang.
"He's my client. If this mission fails, it'll be a real headache for me," Kakashi said lazily but firmly, blocking the massive blade with a kunai.
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