Chapter 32: Return to Konoha
After a long absence, they finally returned to Konoha.
Seeing the familiar environment, little Sakura laughed happily.
They had benefited a lot from their trip to the Land of Waves. Not only had they learned how to climb trees, but they had also encountered powerful ninja from another village. The intimidation Zabuza had caused left a deep impression on them.
It also made them deeply aware of how weak they currently were.
Of course, Naruto was the exception.
Seeing little Sakura and Sasuke breathe out easily, Kakashi smiled. He knew that the two children had been on guard day and night, worried about another attack, and it had taken a lot out of them.
Immediately, Kakashi said:
"The mission is complete. You guys go to the barbecue shop and wait for me. We'll celebrate later. I'm going to report to the Third Hokage and hand in the mission information."
Little Sakura nodded happily.
After Kakashi finished speaking, he turned and left.
"Naruto, Sasuke, let's go." Little Sakura said enthusiastically.
When the three of them arrived at the barbecue restaurant, they found a few familiar faces already there.
It was Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi, along with their genin teams—Hinata and Shikamaru.
Seeing that the other young graduates from their class were also there, Naruto and the others couldn't help but feel slightly surprised.
Little Sakura was very friendly and quickly said hello:
"Hey, Ino, why are you here too?"
Ino was also surprised for a moment when she saw little Sakura and the others run over. But soon she recovered and replied proudly:
"We've completed three or four D-rank missions. To reward us for all our hard work, Teacher Asuma specially invited us to eat barbecue. Hinata and the others are here too."
Hearing what Ino said, little Sakura nodded in understanding.
Soon, Ino looked at little Sakura with a smile again and asked in a slightly competitive tone:
"Little Sakura, how many missions have you completed?"
Ino's words didn't discourage little Sakura at all. On the contrary, little Sakura puffed out her chest with great confidence and pride and boasted:
"One. But what we completed was a C-rank mission. We even ran into some rogue ninja. One of them was a really powerful missing-nin—he was one of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist…"
Hearing little Sakura's words, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma, who had been talking nearby, were startled. They looked at little Sakura and Naruto in disbelief.
The two Jōnin exchanged glances, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
Other people might not know who Zabuza was, but how could they, as Jōnin, not know?
That was the ruthless killer who had attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage.
Little Sakura and the others had encountered such a terrifying enemy during their mission. They couldn't imagine how dangerous that mission must have been. Thankfully, Kakashi had been there to protect them. But even for Kakashi, fighting Zabuza while keeping the kids safe would have been incredibly difficult.
What Asuma and Kurenai didn't know was that Kakashi wasn't the one who had driven Zabuza back.
It was Naruto.
Naruto hadn't just defeated Zabuza—he had also taken him and made him his ally.
If the two of them knew that news, they would probably be shocked beyond belief.
Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi immediately became interested in the mission that Sakura was talking about. They couldn't wait for Kakashi to arrive so they could ask him what had really happened during the trip to the Land of Waves.
Ino and the others were also surprised, looking at little Sakura with envy. After all, they had just become genin, and they couldn't even accept C-rank missions yet, let alone run into ninja from other villages.
Naruto looked helplessly at little Sakura showing off and chattering away. When he heard her exaggerating what had happened to them, he shook his head and ignored it, simply finding a place to sit down.
Soon, in the middle of everyone's lively discussion, Kakashi showed up.
Seeing Kakashi arrive, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma rushed over enthusiastically and started asking him about the mission.
They knew that if there was such a dangerous rogue ninja involved in the mission, it definitely couldn't have been as simple as a C-rank mission.
Looking at the two curious Jōnin, Kakashi cast a speechless glance toward little Sakura, who was still showing off. He shook his head and had no choice but to explain the mission process.
When Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi heard Kakashi talk about Naruto's excellent performance, both of them involuntarily looked at Naruto in surprise.
Neither of them had expected that Naruto—who had always been seen as the dead-last—would perform so well during the mission.
While everyone was chatting and sharing stories about the mission, Naruto sat quietly, drinking by himself and feeling very comfortable.
At that moment, a timid and shy voice suddenly came from beside Naruto:
"Naru… Naruto-kun…"
Naruto paused for a moment and followed the voice. Soon he found the delicate girl sitting nearby.
The girl was lowering her head shyly, poking her fingers together and glancing at Naruto from time to time.
That girl was none other than Hinata, the young lady of the Hyuga clan.
Seeing Hinata talking to him, Naruto smiled lightly and said gently:
"What's the matter, Hinata?"
Hinata looked at Naruto shyly, with a little worry in her eyes, and asked in a low voice:
"Naruto-kun… are… are you hurt?"
Naruto was taken aback. He hadn't expected Hinata to ask him that.
Hearing little Sakura and the others chatting excitedly nearby, Naruto quickly understood what was going on.
It seemed Hinata had heard little Sakura talking about how dangerous the mission had been, and she had gotten worried about whether Naruto had been injured. So she had gathered up her courage to ask.
Thinking about that, Naruto couldn't help but smile slightly. His heart felt warm.
This was the first time someone had cared about him like this.
Then Naruto replied:
"Don't worry, Hinata. I'm fine."
Hearing Naruto's response, Hinata froze for a moment. Her cute face quickly turned red. She lowered her head shyly, playing with her fingers, and said:
"Th… that's good."
Looking at the shy and beautiful Hinata, Naruto couldn't help but smile. He reached out and gently touched Hinata's long hair.
Feeling the warmth of Naruto's palm, Hinata's body trembled slightly. But she didn't stop him. Instead, she lowered her head obediently and stayed quiet, as if she had silently agreed. Her pretty face, however, turned even redder.