"So that's what happened."
Lying flat atop the coffin sealing Hidan, Zabuza was now wrapped in even more layers of heavy bandages. Konome crouched at his left side, healing his broken ribs while listening to him recount what had happened five years ago.
The heavily burned Zabuza wore a conflicted expression. Taking advantage of the pauses in Konome's treatment, he told the whole story from beginning to end.
Kakashi and the others pushed the scattered rubble aside and sat around them on the ground, craning their necks like curious children.
Even though they were very familiar with Konome, her background and origins had always been a mystery. They only knew she was a ninja from outside the village and that Guy was her father in name.
The reason they said "in name" was simple. Konome had never once acknowledged Guy as her father. Most of the time she addressed him by name, as though he were her peer. In daily life, whether it was major matters or minor ones, Konome was always the one making the final decisions.
In fact, in terms of temperament, Konome was more composed than Guy.
Out of curiosity, they had once asked Guy what his real relationship with Konome actually was.
But wearing an apron over his chest, Guy had only shown a bitter smile, waving them off while cooking. His eyes had refused to leave the stove even for a moment.
It had felt as though he had lost something before.
They guessed it might be an old heartbreak and did not press further.
Only yesterday, when Zabuza exposed Konome as a surviving member of the Kaguya clan, had some of their confusion been answered. Yet today they had discovered that she could also use Wood Release, and all their questions came surging back.
They desperately wanted to know what clan Konome truly belonged to, and how the bloodline of the Senju could have ended up mixed with the Kaguya of Kirigakure.
Unfortunately, even Zabuza could not give them a clear answer.
"To save me, Haku agreed to become Orochimaru's subordinate. If you want to find Haku, then you'll have to find Orochimaru first."
Watching Konome's expression carefully, Zabuza seemed slightly tense.
He had traded information about Haku in exchange for her saving the Land of Waves. Under normal circumstances, that would have been a fair deal. But because of Hidan and Kakuzu's unexpected appearance, the difficulty of the mission had risen sharply.
After all that effort, if all she got was such a vague clue, any dissatisfaction on her part would have been completely understandable.
"Orochimaru has a treasure said to have been left behind by the Sage of Six Paths..."
After a moment's thought, Zabuza threw in that extra piece of information as a goodwill bonus. In any case, he had been telling everyone that Orochimaru had a treasure. If he could attract one more powerful enemy to make trouble for Orochimaru, all the better.
Konome merely nodded.
She knew better than anyone what that so-called Sage treasure actually was, so she did not care much about the delayed clue.
As for Haku's whereabouts, she had already guessed them.
Given Orochimaru's personality, there was no way he would let a rare Ice Release bloodline go. If Haku was not with Orochimaru, where else could Haku possibly be?
In a way, that worked out nicely.
The Land of Waves mission was over, and Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan was about to begin. There was a high chance Haku would appear among the Grass ninja team. At that point, she could collect Haku and the little Magnet Release tanuki in one go.
As they spoke, a noisy clamor rose in the distance.
Kakashi and the others turned to look and saw that the civilians of the Land of Waves had grown uneasy after hearing nothing for so long. Carrying weapons from the self-defense force, they were rushing back in a great flurry.
Then...
Clang. Clang.
Their standard-issued weapons fell to the ground one after another. The returning civilians stood there dumbfounded, staring at the battlefield around Konome.
"This is..."
"How did this happen?!"
"The harbor, the plaza, it's all..."
Kaiza and Tazuna pushed through the stunned crowd with weapons in hand. But when they saw the plaza covered in cracks and craters as though trampled by a god, and the coastline in the distance nearly erased, they too were left speechless.
This plaza had been built after the Hero's Bridge was completed, with the entire now-prosperous Land of Waves pooling its resources to make it happen.
Leaving aside the value of the land itself, the materials alone had been high-grade Mist Tide Stone shipped in from the Land of Water. Adding transportation, construction materials, and labor together, the cost had exceeded six hundred million ryo.
At the time, the Land of Waves had never been able to produce that much money outright. They had only finished paying the remaining balance to the Land of Water the year before last.
And now... it was all gone.
The grief on the faces of the Land of Waves people was plain for everyone to see.
Zabuza carefully watched Konome's expression, wary of offending her, but found that she remained perfectly calm as she continued healing him, as if none of this had anything to do with her. That was, of course, assuming one ignored the little footprints that had mysteriously vanished amid the Earth Release disturbance.
"Do you think we can still get the rest of the mission payment?"
Naruto elbowed Sasuke at his side, looking somewhat awkward.
Originally he had thought they might earn a heroic title like Zabuza's. But now...
"You're still thinking about that bit of pay?"
"It'll be good enough if they don't make us pay for damages."
Kakashi and Sasuke answered in unison.
None of them knew the exact value of this plaza, but it was definitely far more than their mission fee. They might not only lose the payment for this mission but end up in the red.
"Honored ninja, have the enemies been dealt with? Zabuza!"
As captain of the self-defense force, Kaiza carefully skirted the ruined ground and came over.
His eyes first fell on Konome, whose hands were glowing green as she healed someone, then on Zabuza lying atop the coffin, and his tone instantly turned excited.
"Yes. Kaiza."
Still sweating profusely from the pain, Zabuza managed a strained greeting. He really was a hardened man.
"Weren't you already... Why are you hurt so badly?"
Kaiza was puzzled. Zabuza had been missing for a long time, so how had he suddenly reappeared in the Land of Waves and ended up mixed in with Konoha's ninja?
By then, Tazuna, his right arm bandaged, had also led the villagers closer once he saw there was no danger.
"It's Zabuza... Didn't he run away..."
"Could he be one of the enemies?"
"Nonsense!"
Hearing the murmurs among the crowd, Naruto could no longer hold back. Since the two ninja who had pursued Zabuza were already dead, he could not let the true hero be slandered.
"Zabuza didn't disappear because he ran away. It was because..."
Naruto already had a loud voice, and now that he was desperately trying to clear Zabuza's name, it boomed out even more forcefully, making the loose dirt on the ground vibrate.
He spilled out everything at once, the reason Zabuza vanished, and everything he had done during this mission.
"If Zabuza hadn't left, your country would have ended up like this too!"
He pointed at the wrecked harbor plaza, and his words left the crowd flushed with shame.
Those who had originally spread the story that Zabuza had fled stepped forward at once and bowed deeply to him in apology.
To be fair, the moral standards of the Land of Waves people were not that bad.
The truly rotten ones had already joined the Black Hoe gang and died in the aftermath of Konome and Kakuzu's battle.
And those who had rushed over carrying weapons despite the fierce fighting and visible tremors were clearly brave people who had already been tested by crisis after crisis.
For a time, apologies and thanks filled the air.
Seeing the misunderstanding cleared up, Kakashi and the others smiled. But as the person at the center of it all, Zabuza remained expressionless.
"It's fine. I was only carrying out the task Kaiza gave me."
The meaning beneath his words was clear. He did not care in the slightest how the people of the Land of Waves viewed him.
That cold statement instantly drained much of the warm energy from the scene. Fortunately, the people of the Land of Waves were already used to Zabuza's icy temperament, so they did not take it to heart.
At this moment, they were simply too overwhelmed by the joy of seeing Cardo and the other enemies dead, and of witnessing the return of the hero who had once protected the Land of Waves.
Only Konome noticed the constant "happy" emotion bubbles floating above Zabuza's seemingly cold exterior.
Tch. Another dead-serious tsundere.
"Achoo!"
Sasuke suddenly sneezed. He glanced around suspiciously but noticed nothing unusual, so he decided he had simply caught a chill from diving into the sea.
"All done."
The green light gradually faded, and Konome finally finished treating Zabuza.
His injuries had been severe. More than seventy percent of his skin had suffered burns. His heart and chakra pathways had both been torn from violent strain, and there were even traces of old toxins lingering in his lungs and organs from years ago. Broken ribs had actually been the mildest of his problems.
He had only gotten this lucky because he happened to run into her.
Zabuza immediately felt much lighter. Even the flow of chakra through his heart no longer felt as sluggish as before.
"Thank you."
This time he bowed his head sincerely to Konome.
"If you ever need anything in the future, find me through the underground black market. Assassination, information gathering, tracking, whatever. Preferably sooner rather than later. I'm not sure how much longer I'll live."
Konome nodded, accepting the offer.
Shing.
Zabuza hoisted the Executioner's Blade onto his shoulder and turned toward the sea.
"Wait, Zabuza!"
Kaiza hurried to stop him.
"You're leaving again?"
Hearing Kaiza's voice, Zabuza paused, the great blade resting across his shoulder, and turned slightly back. The salty sea wind whipped his short hair wildly, while golden sunlight poured over his figure.
The people of the Land of Waves gradually fell silent. Looking at him standing there in the golden afterglow, longing filled their eyes.
They wanted their hero to stay and keep protecting their country.
"Cardo is dead now. I've also fulfilled my promise to protect the Land of Waves."
"But..."
Kaiza tried to persuade him further, but Zabuza cut him off with a shake of his head.
"Your family has been saved. But I still have an important family member waiting for me somewhere far away. I have to go find her."
Once he finished speaking, he did not spare the gathered people another glance. Carrying the oversized blade, he walked toward the rolling sea.
His figure grew smaller and smaller, until at last he seemed to dissolve into mist above the water and vanish without a trace.
Kakashi and the others exchanged glum looks.
They naturally knew what he intended to do, which only made their mood heavier.
Orochimaru, one of the Sannin of Konoha, was no ordinary foe. Zabuza's odds were grim. Yet looking at the determination in his back as he left, they all understood that no one could stop that man.
"It'll be fine. He won't be able to find Orochimaru anyway."
Konome quietly tried to reassure the others.
Judging by the timeline, Orochimaru was most likely already hidden in the Land of Wind preparing to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage. Once that succeeded, the Konoha Crush plan would begin.
At the very least, until after the Chunin Exams ended, Zabuza had no real chance of finding Orochimaru.
Unless he was outrageously unlucky.
Then again, considering Zabuza had somehow managed to run into the undead duo in the middle of the open sea, Konome suddenly felt less confident about making such assumptions.
Although disappointed, the people of the Land of Waves could understand that he was leaving to save someone precious to him.
Yet the melancholy in their eyes was impossible to hide.
Now that the Land of Waves had become prosperous again, it had also become a target. With Zabuza gone, it was like a lamb waiting for slaughter. Once these powerful Konoha ninja left too, there would likely be another Cardo sooner or later.
...
Kaiza, Tazuna, and the few officials of the Land of Waves who had been captured by Black Hoe Raiga gathered together and began discussing something.
Before long, the two old men nodded solemnly and walked toward Team Seven.
"First of all, thank you..."
The opening was just formal thanks and empty official language. There was no substance to it.
Seeing the flicker in their eyes, Konome already understood. They had a request that was difficult to say aloud.
"If you have something to say, then say it directly."
Kakashi, seeing the hesitant expressions of the officials, clearly understood that they had come with a purpose and chose to be straightforward.
Kaiza and Tazuna exchanged a glance before finally voicing it.
"Although the enemy has been eliminated, this plaza was destroyed..."
Here it comes.
Naruto and Sasuke both jumped inwardly.
They had indeed helped defeat the enemy, but they had also undeniably caused tremendous destruction. One thing was one thing and another thing was another. Under normal circumstances, they should have been liable for compensation.
At this rate, they might end up losing money on the mission.
"The enemy's technique was too powerful. We did everything we could to stop the disaster here. If we hadn't acted in time, the entire Land of Waves might have been destroyed."
Kakashi's blame-shifting technique was polished and elegant.
He smoothly pinned the disaster on the enemy while also claiming a fair share of the credit for his team.
As a jonin, he was highly experienced in handling this sort of grubby practical issue. As he spoke, he even cast meaningful glances at Konome and the others, as though using the moment as a kind of social survival lesson.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Konome all gave him a thumbs-up. They had deep respect for their captain's skills.
"Yes, yes, thank you for your help."
Kaiza and Tazuna nodded quickly, clearly understanding the direction he was steering things in. Then they finally stated their true purpose.
"We mean that this plaza needs to be rebuilt. To express our gratitude for your help in saving the Land of Waves, we would like to name the new plaza Konoha Plaza. What do you think?"
As they spoke, the two men rubbed their hands together awkwardly.
Naruto and Sasuke could barely suppress their excitement. What boy did not dream of earning a heroic name?
But Konome and Kakashi both frowned.
It sounded good on the surface. As thanks for their aid, the plaza would bear the name of Konoha. But the implications of invoking Konoha's name were completely clear.
Without Zabuza to protect it, the Land of Waves was lamb meat on the butcher's block. The name of Konoha would be its best harbor.
From then on, anyone entering the harbor would first arrive at Konoha Plaza and hear the tale of how Konoha ninja heroically defeated the enemy and protected the Land of Waves.
And those crossing the bridge would still have the tale of the hero ninja layered on top of that.
These people really did know how to set up a long game.
But then again, wasn't this simply how the weak survived?
If they had another way, who wouldn't prefer to protect their own country openly and with dignity?
"If you want to use our personal names, that can be discussed. But the name Konoha is not something we can decide on ourselves."
Kakashi rejected the idea outright.
"Unless..."
Konome gave the disappointed pair a sliver of hope.
"Unless you send a representative back to Konoha with us. If you can obtain the Third Hokage's approval, then forget a name. You could even stamp Konoha's emblem onto your bridge."
"Excuse us."
The two old men nodded apologetically, then returned to the people of the Land of Waves to continue discussing the matter.
Konome knew exactly what they were doing. They were trying to calculate what benefits they would need to offer Konoha in exchange for its protection.
Deals between nations involved huge sums and would not be settled quickly. It was no longer something for mere ninja like them to worry about.
Black Hoe Raiga and Ranmaru were dead. Kakuzu's consciousness had been wiped out. Hidan had been captured alive. The Land of Waves would have to pay a heavy price, but in return it had the chance to gain Konoha's protection.
At last, the Land of Waves mission was truly over.
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