Land of Waves—
Deep within the dark forest stood a strange, honeycomb-shaped structure.
It was the hideout of Zabuza Momochi and his companion, former ninjas from the Land of Water.
"The ninjas from Kirigakure are utterly useless! They can't even deal with the lowlifes their subordinates let slip through! And they call themselves 'demon ninjas'? What a joke!"
Gatō, their client, swaggered arrogantly toward Zabuza, who was lying on a bed, recovering from his injuries. He even tried to humiliate him by reaching out.
Smack!
Haku swiftly grabbed Gatō's hand before it could reach Zabuza, applying a bit of pressure.
"Ahh! My hand! It's broken! It's broken!!"
The two rogue ninjas trailing Gatō, seeing their boss injured, immediately drew their swords from their waists.
But before they could react, Haku's Body Flicker Technique had already placed him behind them, his hands gripping the hilts of both blades.
Smack—
He slammed the unsheathed blades back into their scabbards!
"So... so fast..."
"You... you'll pay for this!" One of the rogue ninjas, frightened by Haku's speed and presence, threatened as he quickly turned and ran.
"Don't do anything unnecessary, Haku."
In truth, Zabuza had already gripped his kunai tightly. Had Gatō come even an inch closer, he would've struck!
Haku smiled lightly. "We must hold back for now. If we kill Gatō here, and the Kirigakure ANBU find our hideout, they'll be on us in no time."
"That's true." Zabuza's face darkened. "That damned Fourth Mizukage! He'll pay for this one day!"
Zabuza had once attempted a coup against the Fourth Mizukage, but he had underestimated his opponent's strength.
To avoid the relentless pursuit of the Fourth Mizukage and his assassination squad, Zabuza had fled to the Land of Waves, hiding, recovering, and gathering resources while waiting for his next chance to strike back.
Haku sat beside Zabuza's large bed, a faint smile on his face. "No matter where or when, I'll always follow you."
"Hmph. There's no need to keep saying such empty words." Zabuza turned his face away.
Haku's smile brightened. "I believe you'll eventually change the situation in the Land of Water."
The Land of Water had closed its borders for over a decade, and the infamous blood mist had cast a dark shadow over the ninja world for years.
The outside world knew little about the Land of Water—less even than the Land of Waves.
Under the tyranny of the Fourth Mizukage, destitution plagued the common people, and countless Kekkei Genkai users had been brutally oppressed.
Deserters, if captured, often ended their own lives to avoid the Fourth Mizukage's cruel punishments. Those who didn't have the chance to take their own lives before falling into his hands were unlikely to ever get that chance again.
Haku believed that if Zabuza could successfully spark a coup, overthrow Yagura Karatachi, and install a new Mizukage, he could surely restore the Land of Water to its former glory.
…
On the other side, at the client's residence, the Tazuna household—
Minato ascended to the second floor. After knocking several times with no response, he pushed the door open, only to find that all three disciples were absent.
Climbing through the window and onto the roof, he found the trio sitting there, as expected.
But none of them spoke, merely sitting beneath the moonlight, staring out at the vast ocean that seemed to stretch on forever.
"Being in Konoha all the time, you rarely get to see scenery like this, huh?" Minato commented.
"Minato-sensei." Rin was the first to react, greeting him.
Kakashi followed suit.
Obito clearly wiped away his tears after pushing his goggles aside before finally turning around.
Minato: "Failing to protect you in this future... is my failure."
Obito: "..."
The three of them knew it wasn't Minato-sensei's fault. After all, their time was one of constant war, where they saw ninjas returning to Konoha every day, carrying the wounded—or even the dead.
But dying like this still felt... unbearable.
Rin hesitated for a moment, then softly asked, "Minato-sensei, are you truly set on not changing this future?"
Obito and Kakashi both turned to Minato with urgency in their eyes.
They had all heard him say that once they found a way back, he would use Fūinjutsu to erase everyone's memories.
Seeing Minato remain silent,
Obito shouted in frustration, "Then what was the point of us coming to the future?! Doesn't that make it completely pointless?!"
"I'm begging you too! Why not try to change this future?!" Kakashi, who usually complained about Obito holding him back, had never imagined how lifeless he would become after losing him—like that slacker downstairs.
Kakashi: "Isn't this very opportunity to see the future a gift in itself?! Minato-sensei!"
If he could return to the past, what would he do?
He would stop his father from rescuing that comrade, ensuring he completed his mission and remained alive as Konoha's hero by his side.
Minato sighed and shared his understanding of Space-Time Ninjutsu with them.
"If we alter the future, everything in this world could be wiped out in an instant. That's why I approach this with such caution."
The three understood the gravity of the situation.
After all, their own survival seemed insignificant in comparison to the fate of the entire world. Erasing the happiness of an entire world just to save themselves… they couldn't bring themselves to be that selfish.
Minato: "But we still have time before we find a way back. Until then, I'll focus on unraveling the rules of this space-time power."
He waved the scroll in his hand. "This scroll contains the same space-time energy that brought us here. Give me more time, and I'll figure out its patterns."
"Mm." Obito had also considered this. "We still need to return to complete the mission at Kannabi Bridge. If we don't, Konoha's disaster will only grow worse." The Kannabi Bridge was Iwa's supply line. If more Iwa ninjas infiltrated the Land of Fire through it, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"It's commendable that you have such selflessness," Minato praised them before handing Obito his scroll.
Obito: "Minato-sensei, weren't you planning to study the space-time chakra within?"
"I've already committed that power to memory. Once we're back at the village, I'll combine it with the Flying Thunder God Technique for calculations."
Obito nodded, unrolling the scroll. He was going to think more about the SSS-rank mission and try to figure out who the 'masked man' really was.
But to his shock, a new mission had appeared in the blank space at the end of the scroll, right after the SSS-rank one?!
"What the hell is this?!"
Obito shouted—
"Why do I have to impersonate the Fourth Mizukage and talk to that Zabuza?! I don't even know who the Fourth Mizukage is, what he looks like, or what his personality is like!!"