Naruto had a bad feeling. "You didn't find Haku's trail?"
"We did find it," Pakkun looked awkward. "But when Bull was retreating, Haku spotted him. You know… Bull's kind of huge…"
Naruto's face went stiff. "Bull is the biggest one, the one with the scary-jacked face?"
"Yep. And Bull said when he ran back, Zabuza came out holding his sword. Bull panicked so hard he dispelled himself on the spot."
Sakura frowned. "So Zabuza's almost healed… weird. By the timeline he should need a few more days."
Naruto's expression darkened. "It's Gato. He probably hired a specialist to speed up Zabuza's recovery."
Naruto explained the workers' situation in detail. Everyone's face hardened.
Sakura broke the silence. "Look on the bright side—we learned about Zabuza early. At least we won't get blindsided."
Sasuke cracked his knuckles, eyes cold and eager. "Honestly… I really want to test myself against that guy now."
Naruto glanced at him. Sasuke meant Haku.
To be fair, after seeing Naruto and Haku's methods, Sasuke's edgy arrogance had cooled a lot, and he'd been training harder.
Now the sky was clear, the rain had stopped, and the "pillar" thought he could stand tall again.
Naruto patted his shoulder with a satisfied sigh. "When the time comes, you go 1v1 Haku."
Sasuke didn't answer, just snorted.
The three of them and the dog moved the food back in orderly runs. Along the way, using the chingu roster Naruto stole, they knocked out patrolling mercenaries, tied them up, and tossed food into workers' courtyards.
The area around Tazuna's old home had the most mercs. Team 7 just dumped the bound mercenaries right inside his house.
Still, this was only a temporary fix. As long as Gato lived, Wave Country would never be safe.
The chingu cult was rising. Zabuza was healed. The storm was coming.
…
In Tazuna's new living room under dim yellow light—
"We move tomorrow," Kakashi said, leaning his cane aside.
"The longer we wait, the worse it gets. With Gato's methods, re-brainwashing the people is only a matter of time."
Naruto agreed. Gato might be weak in combat, but he was rich enough to just buy more food and repeat the cycle.
Sakura asked, "Naruto, when do your Konoha reinforcements arrive?"
"Probably within a day or two. Not sure exactly. Boss, what's your plan?"
Kakashi looked around the three of them. "Right now, Zabuza and that masked kid are the biggest threats. Since we know where they are, tomorrow we'll ambush them and finish them. After that, we carry out a decapitation strike on Gato."
Simple. Direct.
Sasuke asked, "Isn't that plan too simple?"
"No," Naruto shook his head. "The more complex the plan, the more points can fail. One mistake and everything collapses."
Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Exactly."
Sasuke was stunned. He'd already been outshone by Naruto physically—now Naruto was beating him in strategy too?
Naruto noticed the look. "Pillar Bro… if you're weak, train more."
"You say that again!" Sasuke snapped.
Naruto yawned and didn't bother replying. Sasuke's eyes went even colder.
"Stop. Say one more word and I'll start hitting people," Sakura said flatly.
Both boys flinched and shut up.
Sasuke considered himself strong overall, but lately he'd grown increasingly wary of Sakura.
Reason? She'd gained in both monstrous strength and water-style. He'd personally watched her smash a huge boulder bare-handed.
"She used to only crack it…" Sasuke's mind had been blown, and he'd started grinding fire jutsu whenever he could.
At this point, even Kakashi felt like he was starting to lose control of the trio's growth curve.
"One more issue," Sakura said. "Do we need someone to stay here and guard the family?"
Kakashi thought briefly. "Sakura, can you stay and protect Mr. Tazuna and his family?"
"I can." Sakura nodded without hesitation.
"Then I'm at ease." Kakashi told Naruto and Sasuke to pack light. They'd depart at dawn.
After the meeting, Naruto pulled Sakura aside and whispered, "Hey. What are you thinking? Not running the dungeon with us?"
Given Sakura's Souls-game veteran personality, Naruto expected her to personally beat Gato into paste.
"Sasuke needs Haku's secret art to stimulate his Sharingan," Sakura said calmly. "You and Kakashi will be there, so Haku won't make waves."
"Also… something feels off. Gato knows we're here, yet he still developed so many chingu. I think he's aiming for something else."
"So I'm staying. If Tazuna gets grabbed by chingu, we're done."
Naruto hesitated, but couldn't imagine what Gato's "something else" was.
Maybe Sakura was just being extra cautious.
Naruto tried to sound relaxed. "Maybe you're just tense from the training and the chingu crap. Let's talk about something lighter."
"Like what?"
"Like—like you!" Naruto brightened. "I still haven't seen what you looked like in your past life."
"How about this. We both use Transformation Jutsu to show each other our old faces. Call it a proper cross-world meetup?"
"No."
"Why not? Don't tell me you're ugly. Relax, I'm not a face-snob."
"No means no."
Naruto scratched his head. The more she refused, the more curious he got. He paced in circles.
"I'll cover your meals this month!"
"…My parents cook for me."
"Right, forgot. Then name a price—I'll go buy lottery tickets!"
He remembered canon Naruto had insane luck. Hit a ticket and boom.
"I can earn my own money." Sakura rejected him clearly. She wasn't taking a man's cash.
Naruto proposed ten more schemes until Sakura threatened to give him a "head massage." He finally gave up.
"Ugh. That shy, awkward energy—definitely a woman. At least it rules out the 'zero' option."
…
Morning came.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi were ready.
Before leaving, Kakashi repeated sternly, "When we engage, you listen to my commands. No freelancing like last time."
"Don't worry, boss."
"Let's go."
Sakura watched their backs leave. Her right hand rose to her cheek.
Her right eyelid was twitching again.
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