Sakura: "What's the plan?"
"According to canon, Naruto is supposed to run into Haku once after he takes off the mask and they have a talk," Naruto lowered his voice. "I want to try my luck—see if I can follow Haku's movements and find their hideout ahead of time."
"Good idea," Sakura nodded. "But Haku and Zabuza have been fugitives for years. Their anti-tracking instincts will be strong."
"Exactly why I'm just trying my luck." Naruto nodded. "It's a casual probe. If it doesn't work, whatever."
For Naruto, the biggest unstable factor right now was still Zabuza and Haku.
Zabuza wasn't under Gato's control. After being humiliated this time, next time he'd definitely target Kakashi with more vicious tactics.
And he might start factoring the three kids in too.
"There's something else you need to watch," Sakura said suddenly. "Gato's side."
"What about it?"
"I replayed everything in my head. Don't you think Gato's manpower is… way too much?" Sakura's face was serious. "The first ambush was already at least a platoon. The encirclement against Haku was a full-on mob. And now they're openly distributing food across Wave Country…"
Naruto frowned slightly. "Human-wave tactics don't mean anything. In front of the Nine-Tails, nobody can dance for long. This isn't Madara."
"It's not just a human-wave tactic. It feels more like a pyramid scheme."
Naruto's expression stiffened. "Alright. Once we find that 'oppa,' we take him out immediately."
…
Early the next morning.
Naruto lay down lightly in the forest where they'd trained before, eyes closed, waiting for Haku to show up.
He got bored and started thinking about the manga.
"Gotta admit, Haku is a real peacock for a pretty-boy," he thought. In his memory, Haku had long hair, wore women's clothes, and even had pale green eyeshadow.
What kind of boy wears green eyeshadow…?
Suddenly, Naruto had a spark of realization. A memory stream rushed into his mind.
"The Konoha imperial army is almost here," he murmured. One of his shadow clones had been dispelled and sent its memories back.
Perfect—time to let "President Gato" experience the righteous Leaf-style group beating.
And the reinforcements… unexpected, but also totally within reason.
Rustle, rustle.
"Little brother, you'll catch a cold sleeping here."
Naruto opened his eyes. The figure from memory overlapped with reality.
He really was wearing eyeshadow.
Naruto forced a sleepy look. "Ugh—did I actually fall asleep here?"
"What are you doing out here?" Haku asked as if casually.
Naruto stretched. "Me? I'm waiting for a passing road roller. When it shows up, I'll unleash a full ORA-ORA combo and blow it up."
Haku: "?"
"Training. Just training."
"I see." Haku tidied his hair. "You're wearing a forehead protector… are you a ninja?"
"Wearing a protector doesn't automatically make you a ninja. Could be a rogue ninja."
Haku paused. "So you're training to catch rogue ninja?"
Naruto shook his head.
"I train to survive."
"Imagine you're walking down the street eating hotpot, singing a little song, and some bandits—uh, rogue ninja—suddenly slash you dead. How would you feel?"
Haku fell silent.
Naruto asked softly, "Do you have someone you care about?"
"…Of course." Haku's voice wavered.
He was about to sink into Zabuza-san flashbacks—
"I get it, you're about to start reminiscing, but hold that thought," Naruto cut him off. "I am tracking rogue ninja. They killed people. They need to give the victims' families an explanation."
"An explanation?"
"Yeah, an explanation." Naruto deliberately didn't say the best explanation is 'you die.' "A hero was murdered by villains, and now those rogues want to kill the hero's family too."
He spoke evenly. "You can understand that, right? Sometimes a ninja kills so that more people won't die."
He patted Haku's shoulder. Haku instinctively recoiled.
Haku's emotions tangled into a knot.
Does following Zabuza-san… make more people die?
No. That can't be right.
Zabuza-san is my benefactor. He's my entire world…
Still trapped in that struggle, Haku didn't notice Naruto had already walked away.
…
"Boss, can you summon your ninken?" Naruto came sprinting back, breathless.
Kakashi looked up. "What happened?"
"I left a scent on someone who's probably the enemy. I need the dogs to track it."
Naruto lifted a handful of crushed herbs.
He'd ground local herbs and rubbed them between his palms to leave a faint, distinct smell. When talking to Haku, he'd patted his shoulder, trying to transfer that scent.
Haku had been collecting medicinal herbs anyway—Naruto was just adding insurance.
"Please, boss. We've got a chance to strike first."
"…Alright." Kakashi pushed himself upright, circulated chakra for a moment, then formed seals.
"Ninja Art: Summoning!"
Poof! A puff of smoke—Pakkun the ninken appeared and squinted up at Naruto.
"Kakashi, this kid's the one, huh."
Naruto: "You know me too, Lord Dio?"
Pakkun: "?"
"Slip of the tongue. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Genin for two and a half months."
Then Naruto turned to Kakashi. "Boss, one dog isn't enough. I need more."
"You doubting my nose?" Pakkun growled.
"The enemy's carrying herb scent, but the forest around here has it too. I need more dogs to help filter out false trails."
Kakashi thought for a second, then summoned more ninken.
Naruto presented the herbs. The dogs sniffed, then split in different directions.
"Now we wait," Kakashi said, looking at Naruto with approval. "Naruto, nice work."
Sasuke, who'd been about to go train, froze.
Ever since joining Team 7, he felt his presence shrinking by the day.
Am I getting weaker? Or is Naruto just improving too fast?
After seeing Naruto's ruthless fighting style and unshakable confidence against strong enemies, Sasuke's balance started slipping.
How is this dead-last pulling this off?
"Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "You're free right now, aren't you? Spar with me."
For reference: all three of them had already finished the tree-climbing training.
Naruto barely held back a laugh. Sasuke only had to lift a leg and Naruto already knew what kind of "fart" was coming.
"My foolish… uh, teammate." Naruto clasped his hands behind his back, radiating smug-leader energy. "Don't be obsessed with fighting fighting fighting. Yes, we compete—but we unite through competition. With that mindset, you'll never win any awards later."
Sasuke: "Quit babbling. Are we fighting or not? What, you scared?"
"Fine. Today I'll show you the power of your Nine-Tails grandpa."
Naruto rolled up his sleeves, ready to use the "Big Memory Recovery Technique" to help Sasuke remember the Night of the Nine-Tails.
"Enough. Stop messing around." Sakura pushed the door open. "I've got new intel. Listen up."
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