Consecutive ambushes.
From two ordinary Chūnin, the difficulty suddenly spiked to the level of an Elite Jōnin. It must be said that this C-rank mission was special to the extreme; the difficulty had soared straight to A-rank. Because it was Kakashi leading Team 7, they survived. If it had been any ordinary team, Zabuza would have wiped them out N times over.
Even a team led by Asuma or Kurenai might have struggled. Asuma's strength was still a tier below Kakashi's, not to mention Kurenai's.
So when Tazuna said he was lucky, he was astronomically lucky.
After smoothly dealing with Zabuza and Haku, Team 7 and Tazuna resumed their journey. The rest of the way was calm and uneventful.
They encountered no further attacks.
Arriving at the strait between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves, they boarded a small boat Tazuna had arranged, crossed the sea, and arrived directly at the small island nation known as the Land of Waves.
By the time the group arrived...
The sky had completely darkened.
However, upon entering what was supposedly the wealthiest town in the Land of Waves, the lighting within was pitifully sparse.
This made Naruto, Sakura, and the others—who were accustomed to the brightly lit nights of the Hidden Leaf Village—feel somewhat unaccustomed.
On the road to Tazuna's house by the sea...
"Why don't the people here turn on the lights at night? Old man, are people in the Land of Waves used to sleeping early? Isn't it a bit too early for that?"
The outspoken Naruto asked Tazuna directly.
"Uh, Naruto, it's not because we sleep early. It's because the Land of Waves is very poor. So poor that even electric lights... we save where we can. Many families don't even have electric lights..."
Tazuna's expression froze slightly before he replied with a bitter smile.
A poor country...
Could be poor in every aspect!
Electricity was just one facet of the problem.
"?!"
Naruto seemed shocked by Tazuna's answer.
His eyes widened, and he was speechless for a long time.
Born in the Leaf...
And raised as the son of the Fourth Hokage in this life...
The current Naruto couldn't truly understand what poverty meant.
He could only try to understand it literally.
Continuing straight ahead...
They arrived at Tazuna's house on the edge of the coast. As a bridge expert, Tazuna's family was much better off than ordinary citizens of the Land of Waves.
At least judging by the bright lights inside, the gap was evident.
Seeing his familiar little house, Tazuna's eyes grew slightly moist. This trip had been incredibly turbulent; he had almost thought he wouldn't make it back.
If that had happened, Tazuna wouldn't have regretted his choice, but he would have worried terribly about his daughter and young grandson.
The Land of Waves was not a stable country.
"I'm back! Tsunami! Inari!"
Striding forward, he pushed open the door.
Tazuna shouted loudly, his heart filled with joy.
Hearing footsteps outside, a woman with delicate features had already walked into the hallway. Upon hearing Tazuna's familiar voice, a look of delight appeared on her face.
"Father, you're back!"
This woman was Tazuna's only daughter—Tsunami.
"Yes, I'm back, Tsunami. Quickly prepare dinner. Several ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village will be dining with us! Make it a feast tonight!"
Seeing his daughter's familiar face...
Tazuna's expression softened further.
Stepping aside slightly to reveal Kakashi, Menma, and the others behind him, Tazuna instructed his daughter.
"Ah? Welcome, honorable ninja. I'll go prepare it immediately."
Tsunami knew very well why her father had gone to the Leaf. Seeing Kakashi and the others, she quickly bowed in greeting.
"Ah, no need to be too formal. Just prepare something simple. We ninja are very casual about these things," Kakashi said with a smile.
This wasn't just polite talk.
The profession of a ninja often required sleeping in the wild and eating rough rations—or sometimes not eating at all. This was routine. Not only was Kakashi used to it, but Menma, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had also become accustomed to it during their Academy days. While the Leaf's current education system might be a bit like raising flowers in a greenhouse...
Basic ninja education couldn't be skipped.
Field survival training was a mandatory course in the upper grades of the Academy.
During simulated survival exercises in the vast forests of the Leaf, they had already gotten used to such a life.
So, they really weren't picky about food and drink.
"Yes, I understand."
Tsunami smiled faintly and immediately went to the kitchen to prepare.
Led by Tazuna, Kakashi, Menma, Naruto, and the others filed in, heading straight for the living room on the left to rest.
As Menma passed the hallway, he caught a glimpse of a small figure peeking out from the edge of the hallway on the other side. Noticing Menma's gaze, the figure quickly hid again.
Tazuna's grandson?
Menma just raised an eyebrow and didn't pay it much attention.
He was just a passerby.
For Menma...
In the upcoming itinerary, besides waiting for Tazuna to finish building the bridge, his only goal was to find an opportunity to fleece that big fat sheep, Gatō. Money wasn't everything, but without it, you couldn't do anything!
As a businessman who could manipulate the economies of small nations and mix with the underworld...
Gatō's assets were certainly substantial.
This fat sheep!
Menma was determined to eat him up. He wouldn't waste such a resource like the original Team 7 did.
Although they said to keep it simple...
Tsunami clearly brought out everything the family had.
After all, these were the ninja who had protected her father. Tsunami naturally couldn't treat them perfunctorily.
Just as dinner ended...
"Kakashi, I have something to ask you!"
Sitting to the side, Sasuke stood up. He looked at Kakashi, his gaze slightly sharp.
This was a predictable development.
After all, for a non-Uchiha like Kakashi to possess the Sharingan... Sasuke was 100% going to care about it.
Previously, they had been in combat or traveling, so there wasn't a suitable opportunity to ask. Now that they had arrived at their destination and settled down...
Sasuke naturally couldn't hold back his impatience.
"Hmm, no problem. Follow me."
Kakashi was prepared. The moment Sasuke asked, he also stood up and led Sasuke out of the house.
Beaten to the punch...
Watching the two leave...
Menma, who had also been preparing to stand up, shook his head with a bit of helplessness.
He also had questions for Kakashi.