After Team 7 left the gates of Konoha and met the bridge-builder Tazuna, an argument broke out just as it did in the original story.
After all, while the three young shinobis' skills had improved, they hadn't changed in appearance—they still looked like kids. And Tazuna naturally looked down on them as before.
He had watched the Sky Screen, but a so-called "savior" who was still weak at this stage was useless to him.
The three young ones, however, had been riding a wave of success lately and were extremely displeased with Tazuna's suddenly hostile attitude.
Especially Naruto—he couldn't believe that even after he'd gotten stronger, Tazuna still looked down on him. So Naruto started yelling about teaching Tazuna a lesson, but Kakashi held him back.
Thus, Kakashi and the others set off. Along the way, they once again ran into the stubbornly reckless Demon Brothers, rogue-nins from Kirigakure.
But this time, Naruto wasn't paralyzed by fear. He reacted quickly, and together with Sasuke and Sakura, they dispatched the Demon Brothers in no time.
After that, the journey went incredibly smooth, and without any further obstacles, they arrived in the Land of Waves.
A few days later.
Land of Waves, Tazuna's house.
Team 7 had been staying here for several days. The bridge construction was progressing smoothly, but the anticipated enemy still hadn't appeared.
Kakashi remained on high alert every day, his nerves stretched taut—yet not a single shadow showed up—something felt deeply wrong.
'Where are the enemies?'
'Where are the others?'
'The Demon Brothers were clearly just scouts.'
So where did the enemies hiding behind them go? He had been on high alert for nothing these past few days.
And if they didn't show up soon, the bridge would be finished.
---
Meanwhile, in a certain mansion in the Land of Waves.
The greasy, corpulent Gato was equally displeased. He shouted at the tall, bandaged man before him, "Zabuza! What are you playing at?!"
"If you don't act soon, Tazuna will finish building the bridge! I paid you a fortune—is this how you treat your employer?!"
Hearing Gato's outburst, Zabuza grew impatient. "Shut up!"
"Haven't you watched the Sky Screen?"
"Do you really think those kids would come out here so openly? Konoha definitely has a backup plan!"
"It's just a bridge. Can't you just tear it down after they leave?!"
"You—" Gato was fuming. "I don't care about that! You have to kill him before Tazuna finishes that bridge. I will never allow anyone in the Land of Waves to openly defy me!"
Zabuza said nothing in response, but a gleam of murderous intent flickered in his eyes.
---
Just as Kakashi's team and Zabuza's group were locked in a game of patience, the Sky Screen lit up once more.
[This time, let's compare the obvious difference between Hand signs used in early Naruto battles versus those in later ones.]
As the screen spoke, images flashed across the sky—various shinobi performing Hand signs and unleashing Jutsu.
Great Fireball Jutsu!
Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Water Dragon Bullet!
Naruto craned his neck, watching intently, muttering to himself: "I know that one, I don't know that one… that one looks so cool—Sasuke, you gotta teach me that later."
Sasuke ignored him.
Dozens of techniques appeared in the sky in rapid succession, dazzling to the viewers.
[Hand signs are the most iconic action of a shinobi. The flying gestures of their hands, combined with the shouted Ninjutsu names—it just gets you pumped, doesn't it?]
[They are a very important part of the Eight Shinobi Attributes. The fluidity or speed of Hand signs directly affects the speed of releasing Ninjutsu, and to some extent, determines a Shinobi's strength.]
[And the earlier a character appeared, the more they suffered from the Hand-sign disadvantage. The most typical example is none other than the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza.]
A man with the kubikiribōchō on his back and bandages wrapped around his torso appeared on the screen.
[As the first mini-boss encountered by Team 7, Zabuza can be said to have fully reaped the benefits of the early power scaling.]
[Punching Indra, kicking Ashura, intimidating the Sixth Hokage—his record is even more exaggerated than Kaguya's. Who else could compare?]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Waves, Tazuna's house]
Naruto looked bewildered. "Indra? Asura? Isn't that… Sasuke and me?"
Sasuke remained expressionless, but his eyelid also twitched.
'Sixth Hokage—is that Kakashi?'
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, tapping his fingers lightly on the windowsill. Indra was Sasuke, Asura was Naruto.
But the Sixth Hokage… was that what he thought?
When had he become the Sixth Hokage?
And who was Kaguya? She'd been mentioned more than once already.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked quietly, "is that Zabuza really strong?"
Kakashi didn't answer right away. He thought about the screen's descriptions: punching Indra, kicking Ashura, intimidating the Sixth.
Zabuza was indeed strong—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—but could he really have beaten all of them?
He knew how powerful Naruto and Sasuke would become in the future.
No matter how strong Zabuza was, the gap between him and Six Paths-level powerhouses was like sky and earth. So Zabuza could only have been facing them at their current level.
"It's probably an exaggeration," he finally said. "The screen is just teasing."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it! With how strong I'm going to be, there's no way that bandage guy could beat me!"
Sasuke said nothing, but his expression clearly relaxed as well.
---
Somewhere in the Land of Waves, a hidden room.
Zabuza was equally stunned.
He stared at the image of himself on the screen, the kubikiribōchō resting across his knees. His bandaged hand unconsciously tightened around the hilt.
Punching Indra? Kicking Ashura? Intimidating the Sixth Hokage? Was that really him?
If he was really that strong, would he still be hiding here?
Or was that his future self?
"Haku," he called out.
"Yes," the white-clad boy standing in the corner responded.
"Who are Indra and Asura?"
Haku thought for a moment. "The screen mentioned before—they're the sons of the Sage of Six Paths. Indra is Uchiha Sasuke, and Asura is Uzumaki Naruto."
Zabuza fell silent. Sons of the Sage of Six Paths. Future Six Paths-level fighters.
And he, a Jōnin, could fight both of them?
Was the screen for real or what?
"Haku."
"Who is the Sixth Hokage?"
Haku thought again. "It should be Hatake Kakashi."
Zabuza's fingers tapped on the hilt. Intimidating the Sixth? He could suppress Kakashi?
That Copy Ninja—once he opened his Sharingan, copying his Water Release would be child's play.
The Sky Screen's words were clearly exaggerated.
Still, even if the screen said that, Kakashi and his team were still no pushovers. After all, it said he was strong here—but the ones who survived in the end were Kakashi and the others.
He had been right to stay hidden.
"Haku."
"Yes."
"Keep watching. If they don't leave, we don't move."
Haku nodded, and his figure vanished by the window.
*****
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister