"Is that so?"
Naruto murmured to himself as he began to replay the plot in his mind.
The Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Obito, and Kirigakure was torn into pieces.
Various members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were dissatisfied with Obito's tyranny and left the village one after another.
Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, was very brave and went to assassinate the Mizukage.
But he failed, and then he became a rogue ninja.
Now Terumi Mei has become Mizukage.
The reason why Kirigakure didn't remove the warrant against Zabuza
is because Zabuza's crime isn't only the attempted assassination of the Mizukage.
The decapitating sword in his hand is still the property of Kirigakure.
So over the years, Kirigakure's main reason for hunting Zabuza was the Decapitating Blade.
Thinking of this, Naruto said to Zabuza, "The Mizukage has been replaced. The new Mizukage is quite good."
Zabuza chuckled. "I've known that for a long time, but after being under the rule of the Fourth Mizukage, how good can his successor really be?"
"Maybe you should choose to trust the new Mizukage." Naruto suggested to Zabuza, "Kirigakure is different from before. Why don't you give it a chance to change?"
"Go back to Kirigakure, turn in the Decapitating Blade, and your crime will be cleared."
"And with your strength, and with the current situation where Kirigakure has no real masters, the chance of you regaining the right to use the Decapitating Blade is very high."
Zabuza frowned and asked Naruto, "Why should I believe you?"
"Because I want to gain Haku's allegiance. There's no reason for me to frame you." Naruto explained, "Secondly, even if I'm wrong, your life won't be in any danger under my protection."
For some reason, Zabuza's heartbeat quickened. "You mean, you want to go back to Kirigakure with me?"
"No." Naruto said calmly. "I'm just giving you advice to put Haku at ease."
"Of course, what I said about being under my protection is true."
Naruto took out a Flying Thunder God kunai and threw it next to Zabuza, saying to him, "If you're in danger, send chakra into it and I'll sense it."
Zabuza didn't reply, and his previously stirred emotions returned to calm.
Yes, Naruto had already fulfilled Haku's request, and there was no need to continue helping him.
This Flying Thunder God kunai was just an act Naruto performed for Haku in order to make him安心 and become his subordinate.
Zabuza understood this, but he also agreed with Naruto's words.
After all, not every Mizukage is brutal.
Maybe Kirigakure really has changed.
The snowflakes in the sky were still falling slowly.
Haku and Zabuza had met on a snowy winter day.
And now, they were saying goodbye again in the snow.
Zabuza dragged his bandaged body away, while Haku remained with Naruto.
The two stood at the edge of the Tree World, watching Zabuza's back grow further and further away.
Naruto said to the dazed Haku, "Next, you need to learn some barrier-related knowledge from the ninjas of Konoha."
"I will study hard, sir."
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."
"Yes, Lord Uzumaki. My name is Haku."
[FLAG: Original text said "Minazuki Shiro"—non-canon surname. Corrected to simply Haku.]
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
"Well..."
…
There are always people who say something incomprehensible in a sad atmosphere.
But it can also be a good way to break the sadness of parting.
After confirming, Naruto finally determined Haku's gender.
Under Haku's resentful gaze,
Naruto assured him, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Haku: "..."
But in truth, it no longer mattered to Haku.
In this way, Haku was brought back to the Land of Snow by Naruto.
Zabuza, on the other hand, hid nearby to recuperate.
Naruto didn't care whether he would return to Kirigakure to check things out.
Naruto didn't even intend to use that Flying Thunder God kunai again.
This separation was the right ending for Naruto.
Naruto recommended Haku to the leader of the barrier team from Konoha.
The days passed.
The barrier was quickly established.
Haku was indeed a genius.
Under the captain's guidance, Haku also mastered the technique of observing the barrier.
He could even deal with some minor glitches in the barrier.
Although he was not yet a professional barrier master, Haku had already become capable of keeping the barrier running.
As a result, in Naruto's mind, the safety level of the Land of Snow increased by several levels.
The next step was to seize the time to improve his strength.
But Naruto soon discovered a problem.
The system had not released new tasks for a long time.
And his latest mission was to increase his combat power to 200,000.
This task wasn't difficult for Naruto. He only needed to wait.
When Naruto's Senju bloodline and Uzumaki bloodline reached the necessary stage, his combat power would soar.
But Naruto had already predicted that once he reached 200,000 and completed the mission,
the next mission would require him to reach 250,000, or even 300,000.
This was not good news for Naruto.
After Naruto's inquiry,
he learned that the system issued tasks based on things happening around him.
But Naruto himself had been too arrogant. When he was a ninja in Konoha, he never needed an instructor.
He never accepted missions either, so even if the system wanted to issue tasks, it had nothing to trigger from.
This was troublesome for Naruto.
He needed to reduce the difficulty of system tasks before his combat power reached 200,000.
Otherwise, if things continued this way,
the difficulty of Naruto's missions would skyrocket.
The combat power targets would soar from 200,000 to 250,000, 300,000, even 350,000.
By then, even with all his plug-ins activated, Naruto might not meet the mission requirements.
After a long time of thinking, Naruto finally came up with a good idea.
Dragon Vein!
According to the original timeline, Naruto knew that the Dragon Vein could travel back to a previous time.
If Naruto traveled to an earlier timeline and joined Konoha as a student again,
would he be able to trigger another set of academy novice missions?
For example, simple tasks like getting first place in the written exam or first place in combat...
That way, Naruto could gain many simulation opportunities.
Once this thought appeared in Naruto's mind, he couldn't let it go.
Naruto decided to carry out the plan.
Based on the information he knew,
there were two known ways to travel.
First, using the power of the Dragon Vein beneath Loulan in the ruins of the Land of Wind.
Second, using an Ōtsutsuki artifact preserved in Konoha—the Turtle-Plow.
But that turtle required Ōtsutsuki chakra to operate.
To ordinary people, it was nothing more than scrap metal.
And since Naruto had no Ōtsutsuki bloodline at the moment, he had to give up that method.
The first way of traveling was uncertain, but according to the original work, it seemed harmless.
After making his decision, Naruto headed toward the Land of Wind.
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