Chapter 14 – Choices and Growth
Zabuza stared at the fox-masked ninja standing before him, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the techniques used moments ago. His grip tightened slightly as realization slowly dawned on him.
"Are you from Konoha? Those jutsu were the Third Hokage's Shuriken Shadow Clone, the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan, and the Sannin's Monster Strength Jutsu."
Naruto smirked behind the fox mask, clearly amused by Zabuza's deductions. He casually shrugged as if the matter was completely unimportant.
"You think I would just tell you? And those jutsu aren't that difficult to copy."
Zabuza's mouth twitched slightly at the response. The Rasengan was an A-rank technique created by the Fourth Hokage, and the Monster Strength technique required nearly perfect chakra control, sometimes even considered S-rank level difficulty.
For someone to dismiss them as "easy to copy" sounded absurd.
Naruto suddenly sighed as if he had grown bored with the conversation. His tone became colder and more serious than before.
"Well, I'm done playing around."
He looked directly at Zabuza.
"So what will it be? Are you going back to the Hidden Mist and meeting Mei, or should I just kill you and the boy hiding in those trees?"
Before Zabuza could react, Naruto suddenly vanished.
A flash of movement appeared beside the kunai that had fallen near Zabuza's feet.
Naruto teleported instantly using Flying Thunder God.
"Rasengan."
The spiraling sphere of chakra slammed forward with terrifying force. Zabuza instinctively raised the Executioner Blade to defend himself.
The moment the Rasengan collided with the massive sword, the blade shattered under the overwhelming force.
Zabuza was sent flying backward.
His body crashed through several trees before finally slamming into the ground with a heavy thud.
"Zabuza-sama!"
Haku screamed in panic as he rushed forward, launching his Ice Senbon Jutsu toward Naruto.
Naruto disappeared instantly using Flying Thunder God, the needles striking nothing but empty air.
Haku ran toward the fallen Zabuza, kneeling beside him with worry. Zabuza lay on the ground barely conscious, struggling to breathe.
Just as Haku opened his mouth to speak—
Naruto appeared again beside them.
Before Haku could react, Naruto grabbed him by the shoulder.
When Naruto had struck Zabuza with the Rasengan earlier, he had secretly placed a Flying Thunder God mark on him.
"Heavy Limb Seal."
Complex fuinjutsu markings instantly spread across Haku's body, sealing both his chakra and movement.
Zabuza tried to move but realized he was also covered in sealing marks.
His body refused to obey him.
Naruto looked at the two calmly.
"Now you understand."
His voice was quiet but absolute.
"If I wanted you dead, you would already be corpses. So obediently go back to the Hidden Mist and help Mei end the Bloody Mist era."
Zabuza exhaled slowly, finally accepting defeat.
"Will you let Haku go?"
Naruto blinked in confusion at the question.
"Of course."
He tilted his head.
"You're taking him with you. What, did you expect me to babysit him?"
The sealing marks on both Zabuza and Haku slowly disappeared.
Naruto placed his hand over Zabuza's chest and activated Mystic Palm Jutsu, healing the worst of his injuries.
Moments later Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Zabuza and Haku stared in shock.
"T-that was just a shadow clone?"
Zabuza slowly stood up while holding his side.
"Haku… we're going to the Hidden Mist."
Haku looked confused and worried.
"But Zabuza-sama… you are a missing-nin."
Zabuza looked toward the distant horizon.
"You think we have any other choice?"
He tightened his grip on the broken handle of his sword.
"And if what he said is true… I want to be there when the Bloody Mist era ends."
---
Meanwhile, Team 7 had already dealt with the two hidden attackers on the road.
The Demon Brothers lay unconscious after Naruto and Sasuke subdued them easily.
Kakashi looked at Tazuna with narrowed eyes.
"Mind explaining why missing-nin were waiting on our route and targeting you?"
Tazuna laughed nervously and scratched his head.
"H-ha ha ha… they were probably just robbers."
Kakashi's eye became sharp.
"Robbers don't attack a client while ninja are protecting him."
His voice became colder.
"Are you treating us like idiots?"
Under Kakashi's intimidating stare, Tazuna finally broke.
He explained everything about Gato, the control over the Land of Waves, and the real danger behind the mission.
Kakashi's expression darkened dangerously.
"If this were another team, they might have died because of your false information."
Tazuna dropped to his knees in desperation.
"W-we had no money to request a higher-rank mission!"
Before he could say more, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him.
A kunai pressed lightly against Tazuna's throat.
"That is not a reason to lie."
Naruto's voice was calm but firm.
"You risked the lives of ninja by giving false information."
After a long discussion, Team 7 eventually decided to continue the mission.
However, Tazuna would have to pay additional compensation according to the real mission rank once the bridge was completed.
The group continued traveling and soon arrived safely at the Land of Waves.
Unknown to them, Zabuza and Haku had already left for the Hidden Mist.
Team 7 stayed in Tazuna's village while guarding him and the workers as they built the bridge.
Kakashi also used the opportunity to train Sasuke in chakra control and combat skills.
Sakura and Naruto already had excellent chakra control, so Kakashi allowed them to train however they preferred.
Sakura spent most of her time reading medical ninjutsu books.
Naruto often sat beside her reading as well.
Although he had already learned techniques like Mystic Palm through the analysis of his Six Eyes, his theoretical knowledge of medical science was still lacking.
With the help of the Six Eyes' processing ability, Naruto finished entire books incredibly quickly.
Sakura simply assumed Naruto disliked reading and returned the books after skimming them.
Naruto eventually grew bored.
Then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Hey Sakura, do you want to learn a super strong jutsu?"
Sakura blinked in surprise.
"A jutsu?"
Naruto nodded excitedly.
"You need really good chakra control for it."
Before Sakura could say anything else, Naruto grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the nearby forest.
They stopped in a quiet clearing.
Naruto pointed toward a large tree.
"Watch carefully."
Sakura nodded.
Naruto casually punched the tree.
The massive trunk exploded apart instantly.
Sakura stared in complete shock.
Naruto rubbed his fist casually.
"This is the Monster Strength technique."
He explained patiently.
"When you punch, you release a burst of chakra from your fist. The better your chakra control, the faster you'll master it."
Sakura's eyes sparkled with excitement.
However, Naruto's next words crushed her hopes.
"But this technique needs a lot of chakra."
He looked at her apologetically.
"And you don't have that much."
A vein popped on Sakura's forehead.
For the first time in her life she truly wanted to punch Naruto.
"Did you bring me here just to show off?"
Naruto looked genuinely wounded.
"How cruel, Sakura."
He placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"Here I am trying to teach you a powerful jutsu, and this is how you think of me."
Sakura panicked immediately.
Naruto did say she could learn it later when her chakra improved.
"I-I'm sorry Naruto!"
Naruto grinned mischievously.
"Fine, I forgive you this time."
He suddenly formed a hand sign.
"But I have another jutsu that's perfect for you."
Naruto's hair suddenly grew longer.
The strands wrapped around Sakura and began tickling her relentlessly.
"Hahahaha—Naruto st-stop! Hahaha I-I'm sorry!"
Sakura struggled while laughing uncontrollably.
Naruto laughed and released the technique.
His hair returned to normal.
"This jutsu lets you control your hair like extra arms."
He explained while wiping the tears from Sakura's eyes.
"You can make shields, tentacles, or grab enemies. It uses much less chakra."
Sakura nodded in amazement.
"It's a really good jutsu… but are you sure it's okay to teach it to me?"
Naruto tilted his head innocently.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's my jutsu. I can teach it to whoever I want."
He added casually.
"Hinata and Ino already know it. Ino is actually better at it than me."
Sakura blinked.
"So I can't lose to Ino."
Naruto chuckled and handed her a small piece of paper.
"Channel your chakra into this."
Sakura did as he said.
One side of the paper became wet.
The other side turned to dust.
Sakura blinked in surprise.
Naruto nodded.
"Water and Earth affinity, just like Ino."
He explained calmly.
"But Ino also has Wind."
Sakura looked at the paper curiously.
"Wait… Ino has the same affinities as me? What are these affinities for?"
Naruto smiled.
As they walked back toward Kakashi and Sasuke's training area, Naruto began explaining the concept of nature chakra affinities.