Inari's stepfather was a man with a great sense of responsibility and courage.
He once risked his life during a torrential flood to save the towns of the Land of Waves. Because of this, he became a hero to the people.
However, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
Gato wanted to control this country. The first thing he did was make an example of this hero of the Land of Waves.
The citizens who had been saved by Inari's father were too afraid to intervene. They all watched helplessly as he was beaten to death by Gato's subordinates.
Since then, Inari no longer believed in heroes. He thought it was just all talk and showing off, unable to change anything when facing a real enemy.
When he saw Team 7 accepting low pay to protect Tazuna, he subconsciously thought they were just trying to play hero.
He didn't want his father's tragedy to happen again. He also didn't want to see a group of unrelated people die in vain for a country destined to be doomed. Inari spoke harshly to them, hoping to drive them away.
Although his intentions were good, Jokichi had no patience to lecture a brat whose hair hadn't even fully grown. He wasn't good at lecturing anyway. He simply stated the facts.
Yamato was different from Kakashi. He was more prudent and cautious. He wouldn't let the team take risks out of sympathy.
The reason he continued the mission after knowing the details Tazuna had hidden was because he had confidence in Team 7's strength.
In his judgment, with himself and Jokichi around, they could complete an A-rank mission without casualties even with two rookie Genin. A B-rank mission was even less of an issue.
Since the members' safety wasn't a problem, the team itself didn't object, and it could help them grow, why not do it?
As for Naruto and Sakura... In the anime, they might have continued the mission purely out of kindness, but now...
Having already experienced their own weakness in advance, they were not just being kind. They were doing it for themselves.
From the very beginning, they insisted on doing high-rank missions for faster progress. Now that the mission rank had been raised, it suited their wishes perfectly.
As for Jokichi, he was purely doing it for the equipment.
...
The following days were somewhat peaceful. Momochi Zabuza and Haku did not launch another attack after the last one.
While guarding Tazuna's house, Jokichi guided Naruto's training. He originally thought that without Sasuke as a rival, Naruto's progress would slow down significantly. Unexpectedly, it was even faster than in the anime.
However, thinking about it carefully, the key could be understood.
In the anime, Naruto clamoring all day to do high-rank missions was just because he had too much energy. He just felt low-rank missions were too boring.
It wasn't until he witnessed Haku, who was about his age, fake Zabuza's death with two needles that he realized his weakness wasn't due to his age. That ignited his motivation to move forward.
But now, during the battle between Jokichi and Sasuke, he had already realized it. And the battle with Zabuza stimulated him even more deeply.
Although he didn't say anything on the surface, he held his breath fiercely in his heart, swearing to work hard to catch up. In this training, he worked even harder than in the anime. It could even be called crazy.
In just one week, he not only learned the Tree Climbing Practice but also the Water Surface Walking Practice.
However, some minor episodes also happened along the way. Perhaps because of Naruto's passionate idiot personality, even though Jokichi told him the truth that day, he still believed they were just kind-hearted. He thought they wanted to meddle and play the hero.
He assumed Jokichi's attitude that day was just a deliberate act to reassure him. Regarding this, Jokichi was very speechless but didn't explain anything.
Talk Jutsu wasn't his forte. Educating bratty kids and inspiring the citizens' courage was better left to Naruto.
The next day. It was Jokichi and Naruto's turn to protect Tazuna's safety.
Jokichi got up early and followed Tazuna to the bridge. Naruto, due to severe chakra overdraft from yesterday's training, was still sound asleep.
Arriving at the half-built bridge, scattered workers hurried over to start work. These past few days, the bridge workers had also received threats from Gato. Most people gradually quit, leaving only a small portion who valued the future more than their lives.
Jokichi found a place to sit near the construction site, waiting for the day to pass.
At this time, a crisp jingling of bells came from a distance. The sound was very light, yet distant. It transmitted accurately to Jokichi's ears even in this noisy construction site.
Hmm?
Jokichi frowned and looked in the direction of the sound.
Two people wearing black cloaks with red clouds and straw hats were walking this way. Their pace was neither rushed nor slow, very steady. They exuded an unhurried calmness from head to toe.
Akatsuki!
Jokichi frowned even tighter.
He absolutely didn't expect that the ones coming this time wouldn't be Zabuza and Haku, but members of the Akatsuki organization. But thinking about it a little, he could understand.
He possessed the ability to crack the Silent Killing Technique and had displayed formidable strength. If Zabuza continued to execute the assassination mission, it wasn't a matter of being stubborn, but having a problem with his brain.
Jokichi stood up, standing in the middle of the bridge, blocking their path forward. The other party also stopped at a distance of ten meters, looking at him from afar.
At a close distance, they could see each other's faces clearly.
A middle-aged man with a shark face, carrying a giant weapon wrapped in bandages with only the hilt exposed on his back. The other was an expressionless, handsome young man with deep tear troughs on his face.
— Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi.
The workers currently working felt the change in the atmosphere. One by one, they stopped their work and looked over.
"The one protecting Tazuna is this kid?"
Kisame cracked open his large mouth full of sharp teeth, smiling casually.
"I heard Zabuza lost to the ninja guarding Tazuna and was so scared he abandoned the mission. I thought it would be some famous character. I didn't expect it to be a kid like this."
"Kisame, don't judge a book by its cover."
Itachi beside him reprimanded lightly, but his gaze remained fixed on Jokichi.
"True."
Kisame froze slightly, then smiled.
"After all, Konoha produced a genius like you who could eliminate the higher-ups at age thirteen. It wouldn't be strange for another genius to appear."
Itachi turned his head, staring silently at Kisame. His pitch-black eyes turned blood-red, with three tomoe slowly rotating in the pupils.
"Just joking, just joking, don't mind me, ahaha..."
Kisame waved his hands repeatedly, a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead.
Itachi withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Jokichi.
"Although I know it's impossible, I'll ask just in case. We have no grudges between us. Can you hand over Tazuna? I hate pointless battles. (We are very strong. If you're not confident, abandon the mission and run away!)"
Jokichi didn't speak, but pointed to the forehead protector on his forehead.
The meaning was clear: You, a Konoha missing-nin, have the nerve to say there are no grudges?
Seeing this, Itachi closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, then opened them. A trace of sharpness appeared in his calm eyes.
"In that case, let's let our ninjutsu do the talking!"