Chapter 90: A New Beginning
"Welcome, Leader!"
On the Great Naruto Bridge, Zabuza and the ninjas behind him all knelt on one knee in an instant, shouting respectfully.
Their loud voices broke through the sky, shaking the woods behind the bridge.
Seeing this scene, Naruto was slightly surprised.
He could see that everyone here was a ninja trained by Zabuza and Haku in the Land of Waves.
He just hadn't expected there to be so many—it looked like dozens of them.
It seemed Zabuza and Haku hadn't wasted any time in the Land of Waves. They had cultivated this many ninja in such a short period.
Naruto nodded in satisfaction and looked at Zabuza with approval.
"I didn't imagine that in such a short time, the Land of Waves would have this many ninja."
Hearing Naruto's praise, Zabuza laughed a few times, feeling relieved.
Then, Zabuza looked at Naruto with great admiration and said:
"I didn't expect the leader to actually follow through on what you said back then. You completely crushed Konoha. What happened in Konoha has shaken the entire ninja world. Even here in the Land of Waves, we've heard all about it. It's truly surprising."
Clearly, news of Konoha had spread all the way to the Land of Waves. Everyone there knew about it.
The ninjas nearby were surprised and shocked when they heard Zabuza's words. They looked at Naruto with admiration.
They never imagined that the one who destroyed Konoha was such a young boy.
Even more unexpected—this young man was actually their leader.
Naruto smiled lightly and didn't say anything.
But some people believed it, while others had doubts.
Seeing Naruto's age, some among the crowd who didn't believe him showed suspicious looks. A few stepped forward and couldn't help but say:
"Lord Zabuza, is he really our leader?"
"A kid like that destroyed Konoha? That's hard to believe."
Hearing these words, Zabuza frowned.
He was about to reprimand them.
But Naruto smiled lightly. His eyes swept over the ninja who had spoken.
Suddenly being stared at by Naruto, those ninja froze. Before they could speak, they heard Naruto laugh:
"You don't believe it, do you?"
Those ninja were stunned for a moment, then hesitantly nodded.
Apparently, even after meeting Naruto in person, they still didn't quite believe it.
But the moment they nodded—
Suddenly, Naruto raised his finger.
Lightning flashed at his fingertip. A white bolt of energy burst from his fingertip and shot directly at those ninja.
Hado #4—White Lightning.
Facing such a terrifying White Lightning, those ninja didn't even have a chance to react. The lightning pierced through them instantly.
Then, their bodies collapsed, looks of disbelief frozen on their faces.
Seeing Naruto behead the questioning ninja without hesitation, everyone around gasped. They looked at Naruto in horror.
At that moment, they finally understood.
Their leader was not as kind as he appeared on the surface.
This was the ruthless person who had truly destroyed Konoha.
Now, no one dared to doubt Naruto's words.
After killing the two ninja, Naruto glanced around lightly and said slowly:
"Does anyone else not believe it?"
His cold voice rang out. Everyone who heard it shivered.
At this moment, no one dared to speak. No one dared to object.
After witnessing Naruto's terrifying methods just now, they would never dare question him again.
Seeing that no one spoke, Naruto nodded.
He knew there would always be people who doubted his identity. Who couldn't accept a new leader. Who couldn't believe that a thirteen-year-old boy could destroy Konoha single-handedly.
Naruto didn't want to explain. He didn't need to explain.
At times like this, showing overwhelming power was the most effective way to deter everyone.
If someone didn't believe him—that was fine.
He needed such a person to step forward.
Use them to make an example of the others. Kill one to warn a hundred.
Let everyone see his terrifying strength.
Shock the crowd with overwhelming power.
And make them thoroughly understand—at this moment, the Land of Waves had a new master.
Only by making them fully aware of how terrifying Naruto's power was could he earn their complete loyalty.
Of course, this was only temporary.
Once he had controlled the Land of Waves for a while, Naruto was confident he could take complete command. Ensure the Land of Waves never had a dissenting voice again.
Seeing Naruto behead someone without hesitation, Zabuza and Haku were also slightly taken aback.
The two looked at each other, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
Clearly, Naruto's White Lightning had startled them. They didn't know how Naruto had released such a terrible technique.
But Zabuza quickly recovered.
He had known for a long time that this young man far exceeded everyone's expectations—in both intelligence and strength.
He had experienced Naruto's methods firsthand long ago.
Soon, Naruto saw that everyone was quiet. Without another word, he led Zabuza and the others into the Land of Waves.
Along the way, Naruto asked some questions about the Land of Waves.
The Land of Waves was indeed developing well. Although it was a small country, it had abundant resources. In such a short time, they had already trained more than a hundred ninja.
Only the elite had been on the bridge just now. There were other ninja patrolling and guarding their posts.
This truly exceeded Naruto's expectations. He had originally only wanted the Land of Waves to be a temporary base, but he hadn't expected it to grow so quickly.
However, the Land of Waves was a small country after all. There weren't many talented ninja to be found there. If they wanted to tap into more potential recruits, they would need to look outside.
Naruto knew there was no rush. The next step was to grow step by step.
Things hadn't been entirely smooth for the Land of Waves. Zabuza told Naruto that the Mist ninja had sent several groups to attack, causing considerable casualties among his subordinates.
As Zabuza said this, he looked a little guilty.
Apparently, he felt that he was the one who had brought the Mist ninja down on them.
Naruto knew about Zabuza's identity and what he was thinking.
But Naruto didn't blame Zabuza.
Because he knew the fault wasn't Zabuza's.
It was the Mist's original regime—the Bloody Mist's tyranny.
Back then, Zabuza had attacked the Mizukage and become a rogue ninja because he wanted to end the Mist's brutal policies.
After all these years, the Mist was still hunting Zabuza.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. He was not a kind or tolerant person.
The Mist's attacks—he couldn't just sit by and do nothing. If someone bullied him, he would remember it. And settle the score properly in the future.
What's more, he had never forgotten what he had promised Zabuza back then.
Thinking this, Naruto looked into the distance and said calmly:
"The Mist. I'll go there myself."
—
On the other side—
As Naruto arrived in the Land of Waves.
In the Land of Rain.
The Village Hidden in the Rain was also quietly changing. The change was about to begin.