In Land of Waves,

Near a semi-constructed bridge,

"Kakashi-sensei, why did you allow that masked ninja to get away with Zabuza?"

Naruto questions Kakashi.

Sigh…

Kakashi takes a deep breath as he turns towards the bridge builder Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san… I am afraid this mission is now an A-rank mission. The involvement of Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist, has complicated a lot of things."

Kakashi turns towards Naruto and answers him.

"As for your question, Naruto, that masked ninja is a part of the hunter-nin of the Kirigakure. It is a special branch of Anbu of Kiri assigned to capture and deal with the Rogue Shinobis."

"Ah… so that's how it is."

Naruto nods his head.

"Kakashi Sensei! How does the hunter-nin deal with the Rogue Ninja? Do they decapitate them or just capture them alive?" Sasuke questions him.

"Earlier, although the senbons pierced through the central nerves of Zabuza rendering him dead I have my suspicion."

Hmm…

Kakashi ponders for a while and answers.

"Usually as soon as the Hunter-nin spots a rogue shinobi, they would immediately take action and decapitate them without giving a chance to retaliate. But in some rare situations, they would restrain the rogue shinobi to interrogate them. However, that doesn't seem to be the case with Zabuza."

"So, Sensei you mean Zabuza isn't dead yet." Sakura speculates.

"Most likely… We have to prepare to confront him again. This time though we will get rid of him for sure." Kakashi remarks.

He turns towards Tazuna with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Tazuna-san, you need to give a suitable explanation and compensation for the current rank of the mission. We won't risk our life meaninglessly for such meager compensation."

Ah…

Tazuna has a grim expression on his face upon hearing Kakashi's words.

'I must inform them about the situation of the Land of Waves. Maybe out of pity they would agree to complete the mission.'

Sigh…

Tazuna sighs helplessly as he narrates his story with a sad expression.

Sniff… sniff…

Naruto and Sakura have tears in their eyes as they listen to the sad story of the bridge builder Tazuna.

At some distance from the group, on a tree;

Izuna rolls his eyes as he listens to the sob story of Tazuna.

"Regardless of other things, I have to say this old man has a way with words. His Talk-no-jutsu is in no way inferior to Naruto.

The situation of Lord of Waves is commonplace in Shinobi World. Many powerful people bullies common people in smaller nation and in turn these shinobis serves as dogs for some rich mogul."

Izuna turns his attention to Naruto to see his reaction.

Sniff… sniff…

Naruto has tears in his eyes as snot leaks from his nose.

"Here."

Sakura passes a handkerchief to Naruto to wipe his tears.

Brrr…

Naruto wipes his tears and snots on the handkerchief.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan.,"

Naruto passes the handkerchief back to her.

Eew…

Sakura's brows crease in disgust as she pats away Naruto's hand.

"You can keep it." She shakes her head and turns towards Sasuke with a hopeful expression.

Sasuke completely ignores her and directs his attention to Tazuna.

'Hmm… although the words of this old man are overly exaggerated; still there is some truth to them. But I don't want to needlessly risk my life for nothing."

Izuna's teachings come to his mind.

'In this world, the strong feed on the weak. Such is the rule of this world. However, one must follow their conscience and act accordingly.'

He turns towards Naruto and waits for his response.

"Old man!… We will help your village deal with this problem. Dattebyo!"

Naruto pumps his fist.

Sigh…

'Nothing less to expect from this idiot. He is too naïve and easy to manipulate.'

Sasuke shakes his head.

'Still, I won't allow anybody to take unfair advantage of him.'

Kakashi silently listens to the story of the Land of Waves. Before arriving here, he has already done some prior research about this place.

It has become a habit of his to uncover everything before the start of a mission. A habit instilled in him by his former Anbu Team Leader Izuna.

"Sometimes I wonder Izuna-san was overly concerned or a little cynical in his approach."

Kakashi murmurs to himself.

Oh…

"So that's what Kakashi thinks of me. Looks like I have to seize some of the books from his collection."

Izuna glares at Kakashi.

Brrrrr….

Kakashi feels a shiver run down his spine.

"Kakashi Sensei!… Kakashi Sensei!"

The Banshee-like screams of Sakura drag him out of his stupor.

Ahem…

Kakashi clears his throat and turns to his group.

"So, what's the opinion of you, bunch? If you agree to continue your mission, then we will complete it. But you think it is too much for you then we will end it here."

"I will do it, Sensei!"

Naruto pumps his fists in excitement. Kakashi turns to Sasuke and Sakura for their opinion.

"Since this idiot has already said it, then I won't refuse either. Also, I would like to test my limits with a B-Rank or A-Rank mission." Sasuke shakes his head.

"If… if… Sasuke-kun is doing this mission then I will also do it!" Sakura exclaims with a red face.

Mmm…

Kakashi nods his head.

"Still, since it is registered as a C-Rank mission; the compensation would accordingly be of the same rank. There won't be any rise in your pay grade."

At the sidelines,

Tazuna is relieved to hear this as he takes a deep breath.

'Finally, my people have some hope.'

"Alright! I will lead you all to the village. The bridge is already semi-constructed. You folks have to protect me and the villagers for a couple of days till the completion of the bridge."

Tazuna leads them towards the village.

Buzzz… buzz…

Kakashi hears a buzzing noise in his head.

'This is… this is the secret voice transmission technique of Anbu created by Captain Izuna.'

Kakashi turns around and inspects his surroundings. He notices a pair of red eyes at a faraway tree.

Shoom…

The surroundings of Kakashi changes as he appears in a vast empty world coated in red and black.

Whoosh…

Izuna appears in front of him.

"Captain!"

Kakashi greets him.

"What brought you here? I thought you were out on an important mission." He inquires.

"The mission was a false alarm. As for why I am here, I am here to naturally deal with Gato and his goons. You see… this Gato dude has no strong backing from any hidden village or organization but he still dares to deal in illegal business.

Since our organization lacks monetary funds; we will usurp all of his wealth and business. You and the group take care of Gato while I will make arrangements for his business."

"Yes, Captain. As you wish." Kakashi nods his head.

Whoosh…

Kakashi is released from the Tsukuyomi as his consciousness returns to the real world.

"Also… don't kill Zabuza and his acquaintance. Just incapacitating them is enough. I still have some use for them."

Izuna's voice echoes in his ears.

"Yes!"

"Sensei!… Sensei!"

Naruto's voice falls in Kakashi's ears as he nags him.

"Why were you staring blankly in the air for a second?" He curiously asks Kakashi.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the earlier battle. Let's go!"

He nudges Naruto as the group follows Tazuna.

Whoosh…

Izuna appears at their previous place as he gazes at their faraway back.

"This Gato guy is an opportunity for me to get rid of my poverty. After investing in the model of chakra cannon, I am out of funds. The gambling in chunnin exam helped a little with the funds but all of it was consumed within a month."

Hmm…

Izuna ponders on his monetary situation.

"Looks like I will have to finally make a trip to Land of Silence to mine that reserve of pure chakra ore. That will substitute for the need for shinobis continuously pumping their chakra in the cannon to fire it. Also, the charging time would be a lot less with chakra ore acting as a fuel."

Izuna nods his head as he ponders over his next course of action.

'Since the canon has already started, I should also make suitable preparation accordingly. Also…'

Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and peeks inside his body.

Various small cracks in his chakra system appear in his vision.

'Then there is also this issue of me dying prematurely. My body is unable to content with my higher tier of chakra. Even my regeneration can't keep me going. I have to look for a solution to this problem as soon as possible.'

Sigh…

He takes a deep breath and shakes his breath.

'Taking too much tension is not good for my health. I have to visit Mei to calm myself.'

Whoosh…

He teleports from his location.

---

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