Chapter 51: Moral Blackmail Is Useless
After listening to Tazuna's explanation,
Kakashi's mouth twitched beneath his mask—good thing no one could see it.
"You clearly requested a C-rank mission, but in reality, the difficulty has already reached B-rank."
"Why didn't you tell us the truth earlier?"
"What if something happened to my cute, weak, and helpless students?"
"They're on their first mission outside the village, you know!"
Toward the end,
Kakashi's tone grew noticeably stern.
He didn't care about himself.
But he was responsible for the entire team!
Still—after witnessing Naruto's astonishing performance earlier,
Kakashi was mostly just putting on a show when he said this.
He was actually quite grateful to Tazuna.
If not for this mission,
he wouldn't have realized
just how terrifyingly strong Naruto had become!
Tazuna looked stunned. He glanced at Naruto, then back at Kakashi.
He wanted to say something,
but the words seemed stuck in his throat.
"I… I…"
He couldn't get a full sentence out!
Tazuna was inwardly collapsing!
Look at what you're saying—is that even human speech?
Your cute students?
Weak and helpless?
Have some shame!
He had personally witnessed
that blond student of yours one-shot two chunin-level assassin ninjas!
The technique was extremely practiced.
It didn't look like someone on their first mission outside the village at all!
Tazuna raged internally.
Okay… to be fair, he really had wronged Kakashi.
This truly was Team 7's first real mission.
But regardless—Tazuna was the one in the wrong here.
In the next moment, he burst into loud laughter.
"I've heard that Konoha is full of heroic and righteous ninjas—helping those in suffering is only natural."
"I can't afford B-rank mission pay because the Land of Waves is poor and oppressed. Being bullied is just our fate—others treat our lives like ants and trample them freely."
"I accept it. Who told me to be born in such a weak country? But after I die, my grandson will lose his grandfather, my daughter will lose her father."
"I'm sure they'll hate Konoha forever!"
Tazuna spoke clearly and logically.
He positioned himself as the weak, pitiful side.
He was already in the wrong.
But with this speech,
he suddenly climbed to the moral high ground!
This put Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke in a difficult spot.
Sakura's saintly heart flared up again.
"Uncle… that's so pitiful…"
Tazuna was actually quite loyal.
Later, after Pain devastated Konoha,
he traveled thousands of miles with his grandson to help rebuild.
He remembered that kindness.
But right now Naruto's strength was monstrous.
He wasn't afraid of Pain coming here.
In fact—he'd welcome it.
Helping out wasn't unreasonable.
After all, Naruto had come out to relax and see the world.
The outside was huge—he was getting tired of staying in Konoha.
Simply put: if you ask for help nicely, Naruto's happy to assist.
Even for free.
But if you try moral blackmail,
modern Naruto hates that!
In his previous life, people who loved moral blackmail
could take something completely unjust
and twist white into black!
They'd refuse to admit fault
and stand on the moral high ground to condemn others.
He didn't know how many people had died because of that.
For example—small children scratching luxury cars with sharp objects.
Because it's a million-yuan car and the owner isn't short on money.
The owner asks for compensation—a simple apology should settle it.
But the parents stand on the moral peak:
"The child is still young—why are you, a rich person, arguing with ordinary people like us?"
"Are you trying to make it impossible for us to live?"
They post it online, get tons of likes, and everyone agrees the rich guy is stingy.
He'll die of anger eventually!
After hearing Naruto's words,
Tazuna's head hurt like hell!
He had thought—using his age advantage,
plus the genuine poverty of the Land of Waves,
and selling a bit of misery—
he could win the team's sympathy.
Moral weapons usually worked great.
Tazuna rarely used them—he was stubborn and valued honor.
But when he did, they almost always succeeded.
Who knew he'd hit a brick wall?
This kid didn't buy it at all!
He even turned it around and stabbed back!
Tazuna's old face flushed red, his mouth twitching wildly.
This boy was young,
but damn—he wasn't easy to fool!
Tazuna looked heartbroken.
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said those things earlier. I really had no choice."
"I've brought every single coin I have."
"I know it's far from enough to cover a B-rank mission fee…"
Thud—
Tazuna dropped to his knees in front of Naruto.
Tazuna had no idea what "dabuli" meant in Naruto's earlier rant.
Maybe some kind of Konoha currency?
"Dear ninja lords—I know helping me is kindness, refusing is your right. You can leave anytime. But I still hope you can help…"
"If there ever comes a day when you need me, I'll come without hesitation!"
He didn't dare sell misery anymore.
He laid his heart bare.
Whether they helped or not
was exactly as he said—
refusing was their right!
Nothing to complain about.
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