Chapter 555: A Different Land of Waves Plot
"Hey, Shino, don't you think the way those two fight is a little..."
Kiba stood farther back, rubbing his nose.
His sense of smell was exceptionally sharp, no worse than a dog's. Unfortunately, that had worked against him when Naruto threw quicklime earlier.
Kiba had rushed straight into the cloud of powder and immediately started sneezing nonstop.
"Underhanded."
Shino watched Haku dodge a kick aimed between his legs, only to have quicklime thrown into his eyes before taking a point-blank punch from Naruto.
For some reason, Shino suddenly felt a trace of sympathy for their opponent.
This fighting style was truly shameless.
It hardly resembled a battle between ninja. It looked more like something a group of street thugs would do.
However, when Haku was caught by Sasuke and blasted with Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu, Shino had to admit that the method was undeniably effective.
Haku's Ice Release was particularly troublesome for Shino.
The extreme cold greatly restricted his kikaichu, making it difficult for the insects to move or function properly.
"Enough!"
Haku rapidly retreated.
His eyes were bloodshot as he quickly formed hand seals.
Dense mist immediately spread across the bridge.
Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Naruto frowned.
Above the open sea, the effectiveness of the Hidden Mist Jutsu was greatly amplified.
It was ridiculously troublesome.
At the same time, ice mirrors formed once again, surrounding Naruto's group and Team 8.
Haku moved between them and repeatedly launched sharp ice senbon, aiming directly for Hinata's eyes.
Shino and Kiba hurried to protect her.
However, when Hinata noticed Naruto looking toward her, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to respond.
Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!
Hinata spun rapidly, creating a defensive barrier of chakra around herself.
"Wait, didn't you trap me inside too?"
Naruto stared at the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals around him and rubbed his chin.
A faint layer of fuzz had already begun growing there.
Then Naruto glanced toward Haku, who was rapidly withdrawing.
He shook his head and immediately chased after him.
By the time Naruto reached the main battlefield, Zabuza was already kneeling on the ground.
Kubikiribocho lay beside him.
Kakashi had restrained Zabuza with ropes.
"Zabuza-san!"
Haku immediately threw a kunai, intending to cut the restraints binding Zabuza.
Naruto reached out and tried to catch it.
The kunai stabbed straight through his hand.
Blood flowed down between his fingers.
A sharp wave of pain surged through Naruto.
He stared expressionlessly at the kunai for a moment before letting it fall from his hand.
He felt slightly embarrassed.
He had intended to catch it neatly between his fingers.
Unfortunately, he had misjudged the timing and let it slip.
Kakashi blinked.
What was that supposed to be?
As for Zabuza, whom Kakashi had already subdued, there was little reason to worry.
Kurenai had placed him under genjutsu.
Zabuza still possessed enough strength to fight a jonin and could even defeat one under the right circumstances.
However, once he had been caught off guard, his defeat was practically decided.
Especially when the opponent was Kakashi.
Naruto glanced toward Haku, who was still anxiously trying to confirm Zabuza's condition.
He shook his head and charged forward.
Haku immediately responded with Secret Jutsu: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death.
Countless ice needles flew toward Naruto.
Naruto stared at the dense barrage.
Could he see each one clearly enough to dodge?
He quickly abandoned the idea.
His dynamic vision was not good enough yet.
He could not perform such precise movements for the time being.
However, another idea flashed through his mind.
Naruto immediately used the Body Flicker Jutsu and avoided Haku's attack.
At the same time, he stomped hard against the bridge.
The ice covering the ground shattered.
Naruto kicked through the broken fragments, sending countless tiny shards flying toward Haku's eyes like grains of sand.
Haku had never imagined that someone would use their feet to launch debris in the same manner as throwing quicklime.
Caught completely off guard, he instinctively narrowed his eyes against the sharp stinging sensation.
Naruto did not stop.
After stomping the ground, he closed the distance and threw a side kick toward Haku's knee.
Even with his vision impaired, Haku instinctively moved to block.
Then Naruto's leg suddenly changed direction.
His foot appeared beside Haku's head from an unusual angle.
The kick slammed directly into Haku's neck.
The tremendous force sent Haku flying sideways.
He crashed heavily onto the bridge and stopped moving.
"This kid..."
Kakashi stared at Naruto's strange kick and clicked his tongue.
That move again.
He had suffered from the exact same technique during Team 7's survival exercise.
If Kakashi had not realized something was wrong at the last moment and used the Substitution Jutsu, the result would have been extremely embarrassing.
Once Naruto confirmed that Haku was unconscious, he finally relaxed and twisted his neck.
The physical training his older brother had put him through had dramatically strengthened his body.
At the very least, Naruto no longer needed to rely on the Nine-Tails' chakra just to fight someone like Haku.
"Is this your student?"
Kurenai wiped blood from her face.
Some of her wounds had reopened during the battle.
Fortunately, Kakashi had arrived.
Otherwise, the situation would have become considerably more troublesome.
"Yeah."
Kakashi watched Naruto's casual expression.
"He's an excellent ninja."
He was beginning to think Naruto should be recommended for the Chunin Exams.
Remaining a genin no longer seemed suitable for him.
"That's really unusual."
Kurenai hissed slightly as pain surged through her shoulder, then slowly sat down and began unwrapping the bandages to apply medicine again.
"Judging from the way he fights, I think he'd fit better under Guy."
Kakashi actually agreed.
During this period, he had often seen Kenichi training Naruto and Sasuke.
Kenichi's insane training methods reminded Kakashi strongly of Guy.
The two trained people in remarkably similar ways.
Of course, transferring Naruto was impossible.
Kakashi was already Team 7's jonin instructor, while Guy had his own students.
"Why did you bring Hinata out here?"
Kurenai frowned at her friend.
Hinata's status was anything but ordinary.
Although her father appeared to have given up on her, Hinata did not bear the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead.
If something happened to her, even with all the contributions Kakashi had made to Konoha, he would still be held responsible.
This was no minor matter.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was always treated as a vital asset by Konoha.
More importantly, Hinata was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family.
Even if she was not favored, she was still the eldest daughter.
If her Byakugan were taken, someone would have to answer for it.
"Look over there."
Kakashi sighed and pursed his lips toward the side.
Kurenai followed his gaze.
Then she saw Kenichi squatting nearby and calmly watching the entire scene like a spectator.
Kurenai's mouth twitched.
She did not know much about Kenichi.
She only knew that he was extremely powerful.
The Third Hokage had also specifically warned them not to provoke him.
Once Kurenai understood how Kakashi's team had ended up here, she explained her own situation.
"...So you originally thought it was just a normal escort mission, but you were attacked almost immediately after leaving Konoha?"
Kakashi looked at Kurenai with a strange expression.
For a moment, he genuinely did not know what to say.
"Yeah."
Kurenai nodded, her expression complicated.
"I originally intended to abandon the mission. Fighting enemy ninja clearly exceeds the scope of a normal C-rank assignment."
When Kurenai first noticed a puddle on the road despite the sunny weather, she had immediately sensed that something was wrong.
However, the elderly client had repeatedly pleaded with her.
Kurenai had also wanted to give her students some real experience, so she ultimately chose to continue.
She had believed that as a Konoha jonin, she should at least be capable of safely escorting the client to the Land of Waves.
Once the mission was complete, they could simply leave.
Naturally, there should have been no further danger.
Instead, she ran straight into Zabuza Momochi.
"It's fortunate you were here this time."
Kurenai exhaled.
"Otherwise, I really would've been in trouble."
Kakashi's arrival had made the situation much easier.
And with Kenichi present, Kurenai no longer had anything to worry about.
Still, she had never expected to encounter Kakashi here.
During her fight with Zabuza, she had suddenly heard the familiar chirping sound of birds.
That was when she realized Kakashi might be nearby.
It turned out she had been right.
"But speaking of that, how did you..."
Kurenai looked toward Kakashi curiously.
By now, she had finished treating the wound on her shoulder and put her clothes back in place.
As long as she avoided strenuous fighting, the injury should not cause serious problems.
"I brought my students out for a bandit suppression mission, but..."
Kakashi began explaining why Team 7 had come to this area.
Then his gaze shifted toward the side.
A sleazy looking middle-aged man wearing sunglasses had appeared on the bridge with a sinister smile.
Behind him stood a large crowd of thugs dressed in mismatched clothing and carrying all kinds of weapons.
Gato smiled coldly.
Then he noticed something unexpected.
Beside Zabuza and the Konoha ninja he had expected to see, another Konoha jonin had appeared.
At the same time, several more young Konoha ninja were present.
Gato froze.
This was completely different from the information he had received.
According to his intelligence, Zabuza and the troublesome Konoha ninja should have fought until both sides were heavily injured.
Then Gato only needed to make a small effort.
He could eliminate Zabuza and avoid paying the enormous sum he had promised him.
At the same time, he could deal with the Konoha ninja and indulge his other vile impulses toward one of the young shinobi.
Yet when he arrived, there were far more people on the battlefield than expected.
"Who is this?"
Kakashi looked toward Gato.
The surrounding mist had only recently cleared, and with Gato wearing sunglasses, Kakashi had not recognized him immediately.
However, he soon identified the man and gave Kurenai a strange look.
"He appears to be Zabuza's employer."
Kurenai stared coldly at Gato.
"He's also the person who ordered people to intercept and kill my client."
As a Konoha jonin, Kurenai could naturally understand what Gato intended by appearing now.
Especially after bringing so many armed men.
Kakashi nodded, his visible eye returning to its usual dead look.
Considering that Gato had arrived with an entire mob of armed thugs, his intentions were already obvious.
Kenichi glanced over the people standing behind Gato.
Each carried various weapons and looked exactly like common thugs.
That reminded him of the traces he had discovered near the shore while investigating the bandits.
Could the bandits Team 7 had been assigned to suppress actually be Gato's men?
If so, Gato truly had remarkable nerve.
But that was fine.
Kenichi liked people like this.
The greedier Gato was, the more wealth Kenichi could squeeze out of him.
"So many people..."
Naruto swallowed nervously.
Sasuke gripped his kunai, his expression cold.
His breathing had quickened slightly, and his heartbeat accelerated.
"Go!"
Gato pointed ahead.
"Kill them!"
He assessed the situation, then focused on Kurenai.
The bandages around her shoulder were still stained with blood.
That reassured him.
With so many men, killing two ninja should not be impossible, right?
As for the group of young ninja, Gato did not consider them much of a threat.
"This guy is unbelievably confident."
Kenichi yawned.
In theory, someone as wealthy and influential as Gato should understand how dangerous ninja were.
Yet he had actually brought a mob of ordinary thugs to attack them.
In the original story, both sides had indeed suffered considerable injuries.
But now Kakashi had barely consumed any chakra.
Team 8 was also still present.
Forget this group of weaklings.
Even if Gato had brought twice as many, Kenichi doubted it would make much difference.
The armed crowd charged forward with wild shouts.
A flash of excitement appeared in Sasuke's eyes.
He had no intention of backing down.
Hinata nervously gripped her clothes.
Just as she prepared to charge alongside the others, Kakashi stepped in front of them.
"This time, let me show you why missions involving combat against ninja are usually classified as B-rank."
Kakashi stood calmly between the genin and the approaching mob.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Kakashi really knew how to choose the perfect moment to act cool.
Kenichi especially wanted to say, "I don't want to watch. Move aside."
But he swallowed the words.
Kakashi immediately began forming hand seals.
Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!
A massive torrent erupted across the bridge.
In a single attack, Kakashi completely routed Gato's mob.
Kenichi watched the thugs scattered everywhere, groaning and screaming.
Some were even more unfortunate and were swept directly off the bridge by the violent current.
Falling into the sea from such a height was dangerous.
If their bodies were not sturdy enough to survive the impact, they would probably become fish food.
"The villagers didn't come either?"
Kenichi looked toward the far side of the bridge.
In the original story, the people of the Land of Waves had eventually gathered there.
This time, none of them appeared.
That was genuinely interesting.
Although the Land of Waves escort mission had still taken place, the plot surrounding it had clearly changed.
Without Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu, the people of the Land of Waves had never gathered the same courage.
So what would become of this country in the future?
It was even questionable whether the Great Naruto Bridge would continue to exist.
Kenichi yawned.
Just now, he had grabbed Gato before the torrent could sweep him into the sea.
In other words, Kenichi had protected Gato's life.
Charging him a modest protection fee would not be excessive, right?
....
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