Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Gatō's large, ugly head rolled across the floor before finally coming to a stop at Aburame Shino's feet.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses.

Though inwardly shocked, his expression remained unchanged.

"You... you... you..."

Tazuna, who had followed them all the way here, was completely speechless.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not comprehend how things had escalated to this point.

Only a short while ago, they had been hiding inside a rotting warehouse, terrified of being discovered.

Then this black-haired young man arrived in a burst of lightning, confirmed the situation with a few simple questions, and immediately brought them straight to Gatō's hideout.

Tazuna could not help glancing behind him.

The entire path was littered with unconscious gangsters and hired shinobi.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"You... you just killed him like that..."

"Shouldn't he die?"

"No, I mean... this..."

Tazuna did not even know how to respond.

At that moment, he was simply grateful that he had not said anything disrespectful to this young man when they first met.

"Oh, right."

Sasuke suddenly thought of something.

"I asked him for the password to his treasury, but I forgot to ask where he keeps the safe."

"Eh?!"

Tazuna immediately thumped his chest.

"Finding things like that is easy! I'll gather some people and search for it ourselves!"

"You boys have already done enough. Come rest at my house!"

Sasuke nodded before walking over to Shino.

"You're already at your limit."

"Don't push yourself."

I can still continue.

Shino looked at the unconscious gangsters scattered around the room.

In the end, he swallowed those words.

On the way here, Sasuke had simply followed the trail left by the gangsters searching for them.

Those pursuers had unknowingly become guides leading Sasuke directly to Gatō.

Shino's insects had barely been useful.

The realization left him somewhat discouraged.

Back at the Academy...

The gap between them had never been this large.

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

"Just get all the water out of your lungs."

"You swallowed quite a bit, but at least your life is no longer in danger."

In a secluded corner of Wave Country, Mei Terumi gently patted Haku's back, helping him breathe easier as he coughed violently.

"...Cough... why are you here?"

Zabuza finally managed to raise his head.

"Why shouldn't I be here?"

"If I wasn't, both of you would already be dead."

"...You're taking me back to Kirigakure to claim the bounty?"

"Take a look at the forehead protector I'm wearing."

Mei pointed toward the Konoha forehead protector hanging from her waist.

Zabuza's expression immediately changed.

"You defected and joined Konoha?!"

"Yep."

"Not a bad arrangement, right?"

"...Heh."

"Hehehehe..."

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Zabuza burst into hysterical laughter.

"The current Mizukage joins the Akatsuki."

"The future Mizukage joins Konoha."

"Kirigakure really deserves to collapse!"

"...What did you just say?"

Mei froze.

The playful smile vanished from her face.

"Eh? Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"...I'm here."

"I'm invisible."

Naruto followed the voice and quickly pushed aside a pile of carefully arranged grass and branches.

There lay Kakashi.

Naruto helped him sit up.

It was obvious that after Mei left, she had still worried about the possibility of a wild dog dragging Kakashi away.

Afterward, Naruto formed a hand seal and dispelled the concealment technique covering him.

Ignoring his disheveled state, Kakashi immediately asked:

"How are Kurenai and the others?"

"They're all fine."

"I already sent Kurenai-sensei and Shino to the hospital."

"Hinata and that bearded teacher are taking care of them."

"Shikamaru and the others are there too. Apparently the Third Hokage sent them to reinforce us."

"But after they left the village and found the corpses of the men chasing Sakura and Kiba, they realized we'd already rescued them."

"When I dropped Kurenai-sensei off, that bearded teacher got really emotional and insisted on treating me to a drink."

"Asuma, huh..."

As Kurenai's close friend, Kakashi was not surprised.

Though he would probably need to remind Asuma later that Naruto was only twelve and definitely not old enough to drink.

"And after Sasuke finished handling things in Wave Country, he suddenly asked where you were, so I... ah, wait!"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"So you all forgot about me?"

Realizing his mistake, Naruto immediately put on an apologetic grin.

"I was worried, okay?"

"Mei-nee suddenly showed up. I wasn't expecting that at all."

"...She left?"

Sitting on the ground, Kakashi looked up at the sky and sighed.

"I can take you to her."

"...You left a marker on her?"

"No."

Naruto shook his head.

"But I left one on Zabuza."

"...That's actually a pretty good habit."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"Forget it."

"She has her own path."

"What was I supposed to do? Convince her to abandon her village and join Konoha?"

"Sensei..."

Naruto carefully observed him.

"You're not sad?"

Unfortunately, Kakashi's face remained completely hidden beneath layers of cloth, making it impossible to read his expression.

"Why would I be sad?"

"She's simply doing what she believes she has to do."

"She's not throwing her life away."

"Don't underestimate her."

"She's an incredibly capable shinobi."

"I know."

Naruto nodded.

Then he stood.

"In that case, Sensei, I'll take you back to the village first."

"Wait."

Kakashi suddenly stopped him.

"What is it?"

Kakashi glanced around the deserted area.

"This place is remote."

"No one should be nearby."

"Can you sense anyone around us?"

Naruto closed his eyes briefly.

Then he shook his head.

"No one."

"Good."

Kakashi looked directly into Naruto's eyes.

His expression was more serious than Naruto had ever seen.

"Then, Naruto..."

"Take me to see Minato-sensei."

The gears that had remained still for years had finally begun to turn.

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