Just as Sasuke and Kakashi were talking, Ge Liang walked up to Zabuza and Haku, looking at the two with a smile.
To be honest, Zabuza, with his Face revealed, couldn't be called ugly; he just wasn't handsome, merely ordinary.
As for Haku's appearance, even Ge Liang, who had seen many cross-dressing men on Earth, found it stunning.
"Haku, are you absolutely sure you're a boy and not a girl?"
While Ge Liang observed the two, Zabuza and Haku were also observing him.
From the outside, Ge Liang looked very ordinary, just like the boy next door.
Before understanding the situation, they found it hard to believe that such an ordinary big boy could hold such great Face with the Third Hokage.
Just as they were wondering how to greet him, Ge Liang's single sentence stunned both Zabuza and Haku.
Neither of them expected Ge Liang's first words upon meeting to be that question.
"I am very clear about my gender. I am a boy."
Back in the Land of Waves, Naruto had discussed the issue of Haku's gender multiple times.
Encountering the same problem again after entering Konoha made Haku feel helpless.
It's not my fault I look pretty!
"My apologies, that was presumptuous of me."
Indeed, asking someone such a question right after meeting them only went smoothly because Haku had a good personality. If it were anyone else, they might have reacted strongly.
"It's alright, I'm used to it."
He accepted Ge Liang's apology and thought that Ge Liang, for apologizing, was quite decent.
At least Naruto never apologized to him and kept calling him 'Older Sister.'
Haku: Sooner or later, I'm going to castrate Naruto. Then we can all call each other sisters—wouldn't that be wonderful!
(*・ω・)✄╰ひ╯
...After chatting with Zabuza and Haku for a while, Ge Liang explained the situation regarding the Internet Cafe to them.
Hearing that they could become stronger just by playing games, both found it a bit unbelievable.
However, Zabuza glanced at The Rookie Three, especially Naruto, and thought that if even such an idiot could become so strong, then the miraculous notion of gaining power through gaming didn't seem impossible.
To help them understand better, Ge Liang paid for Zabuza and Haku to play 'the legend of jin yong heroes' for one hour.
Of course, while he said he was treating them, it was really just moving money from his left pocket to his right, as it was his (the Internet Cafe's) money anyway.
One hour was enough time for both of them to realize that Ge Liang was telling the truth.
After confirming the situation with the Internet Cafe, Zabuza finally understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Ge Liang so much Face.
Anyone who could open such a miraculous Internet Cafe was certainly not simple.
Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi had already suffered some loss at his hands; it was hard to say.
Just like that, Zabuza and Haku successfully joined and became two waiters at the Internet Cafe.
Since the Internet Cafe System had not yet unlocked the Employee function, Zabuza and Haku could not enjoy the benefits provided by the System.
The two of them were currently still considered guests—at most, special guests. Only after the System unlocked the Employee feature could they truly become Internet Cafe waiters.
However, Ge Liang wasn't a devil; he wouldn't make people work for free.
Since business had been slow lately, Zabuza and Haku could play games for free when things weren't busy, using the normal mode, of course. If a customer arrived, they still had to get up and greet them.
Zabuza's injuries were simple for Ge Liang to handle. His arms were merely crippled, not gone. After spending hundreds of thousands of Ryo, Ge Liang directly used a System skill to restore Zabuza's arms.
As for accommodation.
As mentioned earlier, because they were not official employees, Haku and Zabuza could not stay at the Internet Cafe. They had to leave after closing time at 8 PM.
Unless they wanted to become like Danzo, they could stay overnight at the Internet Cafe.
But surely no normal person would choose that option.
Therefore, accommodation was a problem.
Fortunately, Sasuke stepped forward at the critical moment. His house had quite a few empty rooms, and setting aside two for Zabuza and Haku was certainly feasible.
However, he had a condition: Zabuza and Haku had to serve as his sparring partners.
Zabuza and Haku had no objection to exchanging labor for lodging.
Thus, the accommodation problem was happily resolved... Another two days passed.
During these two days, members of Team 8 and Team 10 also completed their missions and returned to the Village.
They were not as 'lucky' as Team 7 to encounter a Jonin-level expert during their mission.
Their missions were very ordinary, simply escorting clients to certain locations. The tasks were easy, and they didn't encounter any formidable enemies; the only factor was the long distance.
That is why they were two days behind Team 7 and only just returned to Konoha.
The return of the members of the three teams immediately boosted the Internet Cafe's occupancy rate.
Inside the Internet Cafe, Asuma was playing 'legend of sword and fairy 1' while saying to Kakashi beside him, "The Chunin Exams start the day after tomorrow. I wonder if Guy will make it back in time."
"Speaking of Guy, what mission did he go on anyway?"
"I don't know, I just know it seemed to be a B-rank mission. It wasn't dangerous, just very tedious."
Pausing here, Asuma continued, "You know how Guy is. After every mission, he never returns to the Village as fast as possible. He always trains while he travels back. Maybe Guy is already on his way back now."
As Guy's 'fated rival,' Kakashi naturally knew that given Guy's personality, walking and training simultaneously was exactly the kind of thing he would do.
"Don't worry, Guy will definitely make it back."
The truth was exactly as the two of them had said.
In fact, Team Guy, led by Guy, had completed their mission long before Team 7 dealt with Gato.
However, they didn't rush back to the Village like Team 7. Instead, just as Asuma had said, Guy and Rock Lee walked on their hands the entire way, training as they headed toward Konoha.
After several days of long-distance travel, they finally returned to Konoha.
The first thing Tenten and Neji did upon returning to Konoha was go home and take a good bath.
By the time they heard the news that Guy was back, it was already the next day.
"Oh? There's such a fun place? You absolutely must take me there!"
Inside the Hokage Office, Guy, who had submitted the exam candidates, heard Asuma and Kakashi talking about the Internet Cafe and immediately found it intriguing.
"Guy, the exams officially start tomorrow. There are a lot more strangers in the Village now. As Jonin, we need to properly maintain Konoha's public order."
That's right. Both Kakashi and Asuma felt that on such an important day, they shouldn't go to the Internet Cafe.
Jonin should act like Jonin, even if they aren't in the Anbu.