They traveled south at a steady pace.
Within the Land of Fire, the roads were wide and well-paved, allowing the carriage to move quickly.
But once they left its borders, things changed.
Dense forests stretched endlessly, and the paths turned into winding, muddy trails. Fortunately, it was summer—otherwise, they would have been forced to continue on foot.
After crossing the Great Mixed Strait, Yuzuru's group entered the Land of Forests.
The area was covered in thick woodland, making it increasingly difficult for the carriage to proceed.
"This should be the Illusion Forest..."
No sooner had Yuzuru finished speaking than a sudden gust of wind swept through.
A group of ninja wearing rogue headbands appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them. There were around thirty of them.
"Stop right there. This is our territory. If you want to pass, you'll have to pay the toll."
Yuzuru wasn't surprised.
The northern regions had already been unified under his control, and security there was far better than before. Bandits and rogue ninja who relied on robbery had almost disappeared.
But outside his territory, such incidents were still common.
In fact...
Because many rogue ninja had fled from the north to the south, the southern regions had become even more chaotic than before.
Before Yuzuru could respond, Naruto and Sasuke had already rushed forward.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
"Wind Release: Typhoon Sweep!"
The two combined their techniques, instantly engulfing nearly ten rogue ninja.
Compared to when they carried out missions in the Land of Snow two years ago, their strength had undergone a complete transformation.
"Be careful! These guys aren't easy to deal with!"
The rogue ninja shouted as they charged forward with weapons drawn, attacking Naruto and Sasuke.
Gaara immediately manipulated sand to shield Tazuna.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The defense formed by Gaara's Magnet Release was incredibly strong. Kunai and blades struck it without leaving even a scratch.
Seeing this, a rogue ninja who seemed to be their leader grimaced and threw out an explosive tag.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted—but the sand barrier remained completely intact.
The rogue ninja were stunned.
"Run!"
Realizing they couldn't even break through the defense, they lost all will to fight and scattered in all directions.
After all, this was the Illusion Forest. Anyone unfamiliar with it would quickly get lost, let alone track them down.
That was why they had dared to rob travelers here.
What they didn't expect, however, was that just a few steps after fleeing, they triggered the traps Naruto and Sasuke had set.
Steel wires sliced through the air. Explosive tags detonated.
In an instant, more than twenty rogue ninja were wiped out completely.
Seeing the scattered limbs and blood-soaked ground, Tazuna dropped to his knees and vomited.
Naruto and the others calmly used Fire Release to burn the corpses.
Sasuke snorted, clearly dissatisfied. "Too weak. Those guys were probably just Genin-level."
"And they still thought they could rob people. They were asking to die."
Gaara said, "Out here, thirty Genin already make for a terrifying force."
Naruto tilted his head. "Do you think they were sent by Gatō?"
Naruto shook his head almost immediately. "Probably not. Tazuna said Gatō is the richest man in the Land of Waves. There's no way he'd hire a bunch of nobodies like that."
"Alright, let's keep moving."
They set off again. Gaara raised a mass of sand and carried everyone over the Illusion Forest.
What was an impassable wilderness for others was easily crossed by them.
They continued all the way into the Land of Waves without encountering another attack.
Under the blazing sun, they walked along a narrow dirt path.
"What kind of weather is this? Why is it so dry...?" Naruto complained, stepping through a small puddle on the ground.
Gaara and Sasuke followed behind, their expressions unchanged.
After they passed, two ninja emerged silently from the puddle.
They exchanged a glance and leapt out.
"Now!"
With a sharp metallic clang, the long chain they wielded wrapped around Yuzuru, Naruto, Gaara, and the others in an instant.
The chain was lined with razor-sharp blades that glinted ominously under the sunlight.
"Die!"
The two ninja pulled hard, tightening the chain.
In the next moment, the bodies of Gaara and the others were sliced apart, bursting into a rain of blood.
"Got them."
The two rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist showed a hint of satisfaction.
They had expected a difficult mission—but it turned out to be this easy.
Before they could think further, a sudden gust came from behind.
The two reacted quickly, turning to counterattack.
But while their minds kept up, their bodies did not.
Before they could move, their heads were slammed together with brutal force.
Bang!
With a dull impact, the two Hidden Mist rogue ninja were instantly disoriented, losing all ability to fight.
A pair of crimson three-tomoe Sharingan appeared before their eyes.
————
————
"These two are known as the Demon Brothers. They were hired by Gatō to assassinate Tazuna."
"They're Chūnin from the Hidden Mist, and later defected alongside Momochi Zabuza..."
"This time, the ninja Gatō hired should be Momochi Zabuza."
Naruto relayed the information he had extracted from their minds, then flicked out two kunai, piercing both of their hearts.
His movements were so practiced that it was hard to believe he hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet.
Gaara asked, "Father, do you know this ninja called Zabuza?"
Yuzuru nodded. "Momochi Zabuza. Dissatisfied with the Fourth Mizukage's policies, he attempted to assassinate him."
"After failing, he fled and became an S-rank rogue ninja wanted by the Hidden Mist."
"During his graduation exam at the Ninja Academy, he killed every other student taking the test, earning the title 'Demon of the Hidden Mist.'"
"He's extremely dangerous."
After hearing this, Tazuna remained expressionless.
To him, no matter how dangerous Zabuza was, there was no way he could be a match for Yuzuru.
From the moment he learned that Yuzuru was protecting him, he had stopped worrying about his safety entirely.
On the other hand, Sasuke and Naruto were both excited.
This rogue ninja named Zabuza sounded like a truly formidable opponent.