Chapter 32: So-called Ninja Village
To travel from the Land of Fire to the Land of Waves, one must first reach the border of the Land of Fire, then cross the sea by boat, and only then will they arrive at the Land of Waves. Because the Land of Waves is an island nation highly dependent on sea transport, the bridge under construction is extremely important.
On this day, while en route to the border, Naruto was excitedly looking around while Tazuna, the old man, continued his usual pessimism. “Hey! Can that kid even do anything? Why are all you ninjas so useless?”
Since the departure, Tazuna had been constantly sniping at Yukigetsu, whose initial behavior had left him deeply unimpressed. Although his remarks were mostly aimed at Yukigetsu, Naruto also occasionally caught the flak.
“Hey, old man! Don’t underestimate us, ninjas! I’m strong too!” Naruto yelled angrily, pointing at Tazuna. “I’m going to be the Hokage, the super awesome ninja someday! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, remember it well!”
“Hokage is the strongest ninja in your village, right?” Tazuna retorted, leisurely sipping from his bottle. “Doesn’t seem like a kid like you could become Hokage.”
“Shut up!” Naruto shouted. “I will become the Hokage, no matter what it takes! When that happens, even you will have to acknowledge me!”
“Not likely, kid…” Tazuna continued to mock him. “Even if you do become Hokage, I won’t recognize you.”
Naruto, enraged, screamed, “I’m going to kill you!”
Kakashi sighed and pulled Naruto back by the collar. “Don’t. He’s the mission client, remember? We’re supposed to protect him.”
“Naruto…” Yukigetsu approached Naruto, uncharacteristically serious. “Your logic is flawed.”
Naruto blinked, confused. “What?”
“It’s not becoming Hokage that makes people acknowledge you,” Yukigetsu paused before continuing, “it’s being acknowledged by others that qualifies you to become Hokage.”
Sasuke and Sakura lowered their heads in thought, while Naruto looked baffled, still too inexperienced to grasp the concept fully. Tazuna, seeing Yukigetsu approach, turned his head away in disdain, holding a grudge from earlier.
Kakashi, however, found himself agreeing most with Yukigetsu’s words. He gave the boy in the windbreaker a deep look. Did this kid want to become Hokage too? That wouldn’t be so bad; he was starting to expect great things…
Yukigetsu, hands in pockets, walked ahead of the group, the hem of his coat fluttering. Suddenly, he thought becoming Hokage might not be such a bad idea, at least because the Hokage robe was extremely cool. For someone who loved trench coats, what could be more appealing?
As for being acknowledged by everyone…
Yukigetsu smiled lightly in the sunlight.
To be a successful politician, one must know how to win people’s hearts; to be a successful political figure, one must know how to guide people’s hearts; and to be a successful ruler… one must know how to intimidate people’s hearts!
“By the way, Mr. Tazuna,” Kakashi suddenly spoke up, breaking the somber mood. “You’re from the Land of Waves, right?”
“Yes, what of it?” Tazuna replied casually.
“Kakashi-sensei…” Sakura asked curiously. “Do they have ninjas there too?”
Before Kakashi could answer, Yukigetsu turned around with a look that screamed, ‘Are you an idiot?’ “You don’t even know that?”
Sakura, instantly irritated by his tone, put her hands on her hips and snapped, “Why should I know that?”
“Aren’t you supposed to gather information before a mission?” Yukigetsu said, giving her a sideways glance.
Sakura and Naruto both froze, starting to sweat. Sasuke frowned, realizing Yukigetsu had likely been late because he was gathering information, something he hadn’t even considered…
Yukigetsu shrugged and decided to explain. “Actually, the Land of Waves doesn’t have any ninjas.”
“Huh? Why not?” Naruto asked, puzzled.
“This goes back to the role of ninja villages,” Yukigetsu explained. “Despite differences in culture, customs, and habits, most countries have their own ninja villages, large or small. For landlocked nations, ninja villages represent military power. In other words, their existence helps maintain a balance between nations!”
“Even so, they’re equal to the countries and don’t have to be subordinate. Therefore, small island nations like the Land of Waves, which are less likely to be interfered with by major countries, don’t need ninja villages…”
What a boring system, Yukigetsu thought. Once I control Konoha, the first thing I’ll do is swallow the Land of Fire. As the great Red Emperor of the Celestial Empire once said, ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun…’
Yukigetsu smirked and continued. “Among these ninja villages, the most powerful are the Five Great Shinobi Villages: Konoha, Mist, Cloud, Sand, and Stone. Only the leaders of these villages are entitled to be called ‘Kage.'”
At this point, Kakashi took over. “The Five Kage are the Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage, the strongest ninjas in the world.”
“Wow—Lord Hokage is so amazing!” Sakura clasped her hands together, her voice filled with admiration.
Yukigetsu glanced at her. Are you really not doubting if that old man is really that amazing?
Just then, Yukigetsu’s expression changed. He glanced back at a small pond they had just passed and then looked up at the sky—clear and sunny, with not a cloud in sight.
Where did these idiot assassins come from? Did their moms know how dumb they were?
Yukigetsu kept walking casually.
Splash!
A sudden splash of water and two figures wearing water masks and iron claws emerged.
Clank, clank, clank…
Accompanied by the sound of chains, the two quickly circled around Kakashi, binding him tightly.
“What?” Kakashi’s eyes widened, his expression ‘shocked.’
Sakura had just turned back. “Ah?”
Naruto was completely stunned. “Wh-what’s going on?”
Only Sasuke tensed up immediately, holding a kunai in his hand.
Yukigetsu noted everyone’s reactions and casually moved a bit closer to Tazuna.
“The first one down!” one of the ambushers laughed darkly, and they both pulled on their chains.
Clank, clank, clank…
In the next moment, blood and flesh scattered as Kakashi was torn to pieces, red splattering everywhere. The smell of blood filled the air, and Naruto and Sakura’s eyes widened in horror. This scene was too terrifying for them.
“Ahhh!”
“Kakashi-sensei!”
Only Sasuke managed to say a full sentence. As the two attackers swung their chains toward Naruto, he moved.
Swoosh!
Leaping into the air, he threw a shuriken that pinned the chain to a tree. He then swiftly threw a kunai, nailing the shuriken in place.
The two enemies immediately reacted, snapping the chain and charging—one toward Tazuna, the other toward Naruto. Naruto and Sakura, standing in front of Tazuna, were too scared to move.
Yukigetsu prepared to step forward, but then he smirked and decided against it, simply putting his hands in his pockets.
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