Chapter 17 Zabuza Momochi!
"Uncle Tazuna, that's the man who came to pick you up, right?"
Rin Itsuka has a strong sense of perception; she woke Tazuna as soon as the ship docked.
The others remained vigilant, having been awakened by Rin Itsuka's voice, except for Naruto, who was still fast asleep.
"Naruto! Wake up!"
Kakashi shook him for a long time before Naruto finally opened his eyes.
"Huh? Is it already dawn?"
"Idiot! We should get going."
Kakashi reached out and tapped Naruto on the head, which brought him back to his senses.
"Haha, of course I remember it's time to leave, I just wanted to liven things up a bit."
Naruto scratched his head and laughed, trying to cover up his earlier embarrassment.
The three of them were already familiar with his personality, so they packed their things without being surprised. Only Sasuke muttered, "What an idiot."
Once aboard the ship, perhaps feeling more relaxed, Tazuna began to recount the story of the Land of Waves and Gato.
"Therefore, Gato now controls the lifeline of the Land of Waves. If they can't find a way out, this country is doomed!"
"Uncle Tazuna is so pitiful, Rin. The Land of Waves is so poor, could you...?"
Naruto, with a kind heart, looked at Rin Itsuka with teary eyes.
"Naruto, do you know what the consequences will be if Uncle Tazuna conceals the true nature of a mission?"
Rin Itsuka leaned against the gunwale and asked softly.
"Will it make you earn less money?"
That's all Naruto could think of, given his limited understanding.
"I could die!"
"No, really?"
Naruto was startled by Rin's answer. When he looked at Kakashi and Sasuke, he found that they looked very serious and seemed to agree with Rin.
"Concealing a mission is extremely serious. For Uncle Tazuna, the lightest consequence would be being blacklisted, with no more missions accepted from him. In more serious cases, he could be considered an enemy spy deliberately plotting against Konoha ninja. In that case, not only him, but his family would also be implicated!"
Upon hearing Rin Itsuka's words, Tazuna couldn't help but swallow.
"Not only that, but once word gets out about this kind of thing, others will follow suit. Do you know what the consequences will be?"
Naruto shook his head; his mind couldn't think that far ahead.
"Ninja who accept these kinds of missions will be killed by enemies beyond their capabilities, their clients will die without protection, and our comrades back in the village, our own classmates, could all die because of it!"
"No, it can't be that serious, can it?"
Naruto asked, stammering.
"Rin is right. The enemy won't let the ninja they're after go just because their client concealed the mission. If everyone does this, our comrades will keep dying!"
Kakashi spoke up, agreeing with Rin's words.
"But Uncle Tazuna is in such a tough spot, can't we help him?"
"Of course! But not by concealing the mission."
Rin Itsuka shifted her posture and continued speaking.
"For example, allowing them to pay the mission reward in installments this time is a form of assistance. Or, if the Hokage agrees, part of the mission reward could be waived. But as I said before, it absolutely cannot be done by hiding the mission's true rank!"
"I see. Well, uncle, when we get back I'll ask the Hokage to waive your mission fee."
Naruto turned to Tazuna and said.
"Thank you, thank you!"
Tazuna now realized the serious consequences of his actions and gratefully thanked the group.
'Her mind is very sharp.'
Kakashi looked at Rin Itsuka and silently made his assessment.
The small boat traversed the wide expanse of water and entered a narrow waterway.
"Tazuna, for now we're relatively safe. But just to be cautious, we'll have to use the channel hidden by the vegetation."
"Oh, thank you for your help."
Tazuna understood the situation; there was nothing to complain about.
After passing through the foul-smelling waterway overgrown with dense aquatic plants, the small boat finally reached the shore before the fog dissipated.
"Wow! We're finally ashore!"
Naruto shouted excitedly.
"Keep your voice down! Don't let Gato's men find out!"
The boatman said in a panic.
"I'm so sorry..."
Naruto quickly lowered his voice.
"Alright, I have to go. It'll be trouble if Gato finds out!"
With that, the boatman started the engine and quickly left.
"That guy looked scared out of his wits by Gato!"
Naruto muttered somewhat discontentedly.
"No, he was the bravest one; everyone else has already..."
Tazuna didn't finish his sentence, but the others already understood what he meant.
"Uncle, cheer up! With me, the future Hokage, protecting you, I'll definitely make sure that bridge gets built!"
Naruto quickly recovered and loudly encouraged Tazuna.
"Ah, then I'll leave it to you."
Tazuna laughed too.
To demonstrate his alertness, Naruto suddenly threw a kunai into the bushes ahead.
"There! What is it? ...Just a rabbit."
"Don't scare me like that!"
Tazuna clutched his chest; he had genuinely thought Gato had sent men after them.
"Sorry, sorry, hahaha."
Naruto scratched his head and laughed.
Someone's there!
"There!"
Both Rin Itsuka and Kakashi looked toward the bushes at the same time, and the next moment, Naruto also threw a kunai in that direction.
Kakashi ran over in a few steps, parted the grass, and found a white rabbit inside.
"Oh, it's a rabbit! Hahaha..."
Naruto thought he had made another mistake and laughed sheepishly.
"I told you not to be so jumpy!"
Tazuna snapped; his heart was still pounding.
"Get down!"
Kakashi suddenly shouted a warning, and Naruto and Sasuke both dropped to the ground.
Rin Itsuka tackled Tazuna down, then crouched low herself, as a massive sword flew over their heads.
The broadsword flew in an arc, then drove diagonally upward, finally embedding itself in a large tree. A man wrapped head to toe in bandages, looking like an unfinished mummy, landed on the blade.
"So it was the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi. No wonder the Demon Brothers never came back."
"And you must be the wielder of the Executioner's Blade, the infamous Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza."
Zabuza and Kakashi exchanged pleasantries, each acknowledging the other's reputation.
"Hey, Uncle Tazuna, this man is an elite Jonin. We need to raise the mission rank again!"
Ignoring their exchange, Rin Itsuka turned to Tazuna.
"Okay, as long as you can protect me and let me finish building the bridge, I'll pay whatever price you ask!"
Tazuna was now fully committed to seeing the bridge completed. As for the reward — he didn't have it now, and he might not have it later either. But that was a problem for another day.
Ps..
I'm working on Translation, don't worry..
Quality promised...:)
End of this chapter...