Two days later.
Goku, Kakashi, and the three young genin stood at the entrance of Tazuna's house, saying goodbye to Tazuna's family, Zabuza, and Haku.
"Mr. Goku, thank you so much!"
Tazuna tightly held Goku's hands, his gratitude overflowing.
After learning that Gato possessed great wealth, Goku thoughtfully presented the impoverished Tazuna family with a windfall that would make anyone envious.
This windfall was all of Gato's wealth!
When Tazuna learned about this, he nearly knelt before Goku.
Fortunately, he still had his wits about him and knew that such wealth was a hot potato.
If his family truly took it all, their grave grass would probably be a meter high by next year.
So, he only accepted a tiny fraction of the wealth.
And even that small amount was enough for his family to live without financial worries for ten years.
"Mr. Goku, I also thank you, and the old master I have never met."
Haku took a step forward and bowed to Goku.
The words of the Turtle Hermit that Goku repeated had revived his heart, which had been filled with thoughts of death.
He suddenly felt that perhaps a person doesn't need a specific 'meaning' to live; one just needs to enjoy everything in life and be happy.
Of course, he still couldn't let go of Zabuza in his heart.
That's why he invited Zabuza to live the kind of life described by the Turtle Hermit with him.
Fortunately, after much hesitation, Zabuza agreed.
In his own words, he was just a bit tired lately and wanted to try a different way of living; it definitely wasn't because he liked the idea of living such a life with Haku.
"You're all too polite, haha." Goku rubbed his head and grinned.
"It's about time we set off." Kakashi glanced at the sun and said to Goku.
At Naruto's invitation, Goku decided to set off with them towards Konoha.
Although there was some risk in allowing such a powerful outsider into the village,
After their interactions over the past few days, Kakashi believed Goku wouldn't pose a danger to Konoha.
So he tacitly accepted Naruto's invitation and even decided to vouch for Goku himself once they entered Konoha.
"Alright then, let's go."
Goku waved goodbye to Tazuna and the others, then followed Kakashi and the others onto the path leading to Konoha.
Meanwhile, in a field not far from Tazuna's house.
"Work faster! Why are you dawdling?!"
"If this wheat field isn't harvested by noon, don't expect any food today!"
Several burly villagers surrounded Gato, shouting angrily at him.
Gato was drenched in sweat and looked utterly wretched.
His once bright and clean suit was covered in mud, and the sunglasses on his face were gone.
Looking at the seemingly endless wheat field, he couldn't stop wailing inwardly,
'When will this end?!'
On the road, Sasuke glanced at Goku, then at Naruto.
Then he abruptly said, "Hey, Naruto, you've been sneaking out these past two days to train with Goku, right?"
Although Naruto hadn't uttered a single word about his training in front of him these past two days,
Sasuke's sharp observational skills had picked up on some clues.
For example, every time Naruto returned after going out with Goku, he was dirty and gave off a pungent smell of sweat.
This was very common during training.
Not only that, but Naruto's hands often trembled slightly when picking up his bowl and chopsticks during meals, indicating his arms were overexerted, making it hard to hold things steady.
This was also a very likely occurrence during training.
Added to the fact that Kakashi had only been teaching him and Sakura tree-climbing training these past two days, but didn't include Naruto, also pointed strongly towards this conclusion.
Naruto had been walking cheerfully ahead, happily thinking about which flavor of Ichiraku Ramen he would eat when they got back to the village.
Hearing Sasuke suddenly expose his secret, he stumbled on his feet.
"H-how did you know?!"
He turned around, pointing at Sasuke in disbelief.
Then, as if remembering something, he glared angrily at Kakashi, his face full of accusation, "Kakashi-sensei, you promised to keep it a secret!"
He thought he had guarded this secret very well, and Goku spent most of his time with him, so he had little opportunity to tell anyone.
That left Kakashi, who spent most of his time with Sasuke and the others, as the only one who could have revealed it.
And Kakashi had promised not to tell his secret!
Hearing Naruto's accusation, the corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched, feeling utterly wronged.
"Naruto, I didn't say anything."
He spread his hands, adopting an innocent expression.
Hearing Kakashi's denial, Naruto was confused.
'If it wasn't Kakashi-sensei who leaked it, how did Sasuke know?'
"Idiot."
Seeing his expression, Sasuke couldn't help but curl his lip.
Just as Naruto was about to fly into a rage upon hearing this, Sasuke asked, "What have you been training with Goku?"
"Stupid Sasuke! I'm not telling you!" Naruto refused to answer without a second thought.
But he didn't expect someone else to answer for him.
"Naruto has been training in Ki with me." Goku, who had been watching the spectacle from behind, suddenly chimed in.
"Ki? What's that?"
Although he got an answer, Sasuke was still in the dark.
He racked his brains, thinking back to everything he had learned before, but found he had never heard of it.
"Let me tell you. Ki is..."
Kakashi, feeling it was his time to shine, explained before Goku could.
He knew that if Sasuke heard Goku's explanation, he would likely make the same mistake he initially did, thinking Ki was the same as Chakra.
By having him explain, he could avoid that misunderstanding.
After Kakashi's explanation, Sasuke's eyes lit up.
Lately, he had been feeling increasingly weak and wanted to find a way to get stronger faster.
And this 'Ki' he was hearing about for the first time seemed like it could clearly help him improve his strength.
Moreover, Goku was a powerful expert who could take down Zabuza with one punch. Training under him would surely lead to significant improvement.
Thinking this, he didn't hesitate to ask Goku, "Goku, I want to make myself stronger, I want to learn Ki. Can you teach me?"
Nearby, after accepting the fact that his secret was out, Naruto was squatting in a corner, nursing his sorrow alone.
Hearing Sasuke's request to Goku, he surprisingly found himself hoping Goku would agree.
Probably because he knew what burden this companion carried.
'Hmph, stupid Sasuke, even if you join in, I won't lose to you!'
He thought to himself.
After watching Sasuke for a moment, Goku nodded and said, "Of course I can."
He could sense that Sasuke also possessed considerable potential.
Moreover, he saw a strong desire to become stronger in his eyes.
Others might place great importance on these two points.
But for him, neither was particularly important.
As long as someone sincerely sought his guidance, he would generously teach them.
Hearing their conversation, Kakashi, standing to the side, suddenly felt a bit lost.
'Wasn't I the teacher? Why were my students going to ask someone else for guidance one after another?'
'Didn't this teacher have any honor left??'
It wasn't until he saw Sakura, who had remained silent, that he felt somewhat comforted.
'Sakura was still good; she knew how to protect my dignity.'
But just then, Sakura also spoke up, "Goku-sensei, I would also like to train in Ki with you."