Chapter 102: An S-Rank Mission, Catching the Executioner’s Blade with One Hand

"Let’s go, Teacher Kakashi. There’s no point wasting any more time."

Naruto turned to Kakashi and said this before the two of them turned around and walked away.

Tazuna immediately shouted, "No, wait! Building the bridge has truly drained all the resources of our Land of Waves!"

Seeing that Naruto and the others had no intention of stopping, Tazuna hurriedly shouted even louder.

"How much is the mission fee? I’ll pay! Don’t go! I’ll pay!"

Kakashi stopped.

This mission had been arranged by the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage had probably already realized that there was something wrong with the mission.

That was likely why he had deliberately assigned Team 7 to experience combat between shinobi, preparing them for the upcoming Chunin Exams.

Simply ending the mission like this probably wouldn’t work.

Thinking this, Kakashi could only turn around.

"Any mission involving shinobi is at least a B-rank mission. But the person targeting you is the tycoon Kado.

"The construction of the bridge in the Land of Waves is affecting his shipping business. I believe he will continue putting bounties on you.

"With the increased difficulty and the possibility of encountering shinobi battles multiple times, this mission should at least meet the standards of an A-rank mission.

"Furthermore, this mission is already affecting the future development of an entire country.

"A national-level mission falls within the scope of an S-rank mission.

"Considering the poverty of your Land of Waves, I’ll make the decision to calculate this mission according to the minimum standard for an S-rank mission.

"Full payment: one million ryo. The mission can continue, and we will guarantee your absolute safety throughout the bridge’s construction.

"Tazuna, what do you say?"

Naruto, standing nearby, couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Kakashi really was ruthless!

He had directly raised a C-rank mission to S-rank and demanded a whopping one million ryo.

And yet, everything he said sounded perfectly reasonable and convincing.

Of course, Naruto had no idea how mission ranks were actually evaluated.

If judged according to the official standards, Kakashi really wasn’t ripping Tazuna off.

The bridge would affect the future development of the entire Land of Waves.

A mission that affected an entire country did indeed fall within the scope of an S-rank mission.

No matter how poor the Land of Waves was, it was still a country, wasn’t it?

"One million ryo?!"

Tazuna’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Had he heard that correctly?

Not one hundred thousand ryo?

The C-rank mission he had originally posted had only cost fifty thousand ryo!

This was a twentyfold increase!

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Looks like we can’t reach an agreement. In that case, forget it."

With that, he turned around and started walking away.

Tazuna glanced at the Mist ninja, whose face was already showing a hint of delight, and immediately shouted.

"Don’t go! We have a deal! We have a deal! I accept!"

Hearing this, Kakashi took out a blank mission scroll and wrote down the detailed mission requirements along with the payment.

He then turned to Tazuna.

"By the rules, thirty percent is required as a deposit. Since we’ve reached an agreement, sign here to confirm it."

With that, he handed the mission scroll to Tazuna.

Tazuna gritted his teeth, took the scroll, and signed his name.

Then he pulled thirty thousand ryo from his bag as the mission deposit.

His heart was bleeding.

Seeing the agreement finalized and the deposit handed over, Naruto blinked.

Tazuna could actually afford it?

He was carrying three hundred thousand ryo with him.

What kind of wealthy man was this?

Was building a bridge really that profitable?

Of course, Naruto didn’t know that this was money Tazuna had originally prepared for the mission.

After arriving in Konoha and having a couple of drinks, he had gotten clever and decided to take a gamble by issuing a C-rank mission.

The three hundred thousand ryo was practically everything he had.

He would have to find a way to gather the rest after returning to the Land of Waves.

After putting away the deposit, Kakashi turned his head toward the two Mist ninjas.

"Hinata."

Hinata nodded.

She took out two kunai and threw them directly.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two sharp flashes of cold steel streaked through the air.

"No! Don’t kill us!"

The conscious Mist ninja’s pupils suddenly contracted.

The next moment—

Thud! Thud!

Two brilliant sprays of blood bloomed from the throats of the Demon Brothers.

Kakashi secretly nodded in approval.

During their missions recently, Hinata had been the one to handle most of the killing.

She was becoming stronger and more resolute.

Even though she still looked as gentle and delicate as ever...

Tazuna, standing nearby, suddenly shrank his pupils.

Watching two lives end just like that, his body trembled uncontrollably.

They killed without hesitation!

Was this what ninjas were like?

Then he looked at Naruto and the others.

They acted as though this was completely ordinary, without even the slightest change in expression.

Even after killing someone, Hinata was still chatting with Naruto with a smile on her face.

What kind of disregard for human life was this?

Fear began to rise from the depths of Tazuna’s heart.

What kind of monsters had he gotten himself involved with along the way?!

Land of Waves.

The next day.

They had boarded a small boat the previous night and crossed the sea.

That morning, they had finally set foot on the soil of the Land of Waves.

At present, Team 7 was walking through a lush forest.

A clear river flowed beside the woods.

Trees even grew directly within the river itself.

Naruto hadn’t been to the Land of Waves in quite some time.

After becoming acquainted with Orochimaru, Uchiha Izumi had suggested sending Izumi’s mother to the Sound Village.

Naruto naturally had no objections.

After sending Izumi’s mother to live in the Sound Village, Naruto rarely came to the Land of Waves anymore.

Looking at the scenery of the Land of Waves, Naruto couldn’t help feeling somewhat nostalgic.

As he continued looking around, something suddenly stirred in his heart.

Then—

A powerful gust of wind came from behind!

A massive sword came spinning through the air at incredible speed!

"Danger! Get down!"

Kakashi, walking at the front, sensed something wrong and immediately shouted a warning.

In the middle, Sasuke directly placed his right hand on Tazuna’s head and forcefully pushed him to the ground.

Naruto, who was walking at the back, swiftly turned around.

With his exceptional dynamic vision, he extended his right hand toward the handle of the rapidly spinning sword!

Hinata’s heart tightened when she saw this.

Her Byakugan instantly activated!

But she neither dropped down nor tried to stop him.

Instead, she clasped her hands tightly against her chest.

Hinata believed that as long as Naruto decided to do something, there was absolutely no problem he couldn’t handle.

Smack!

Several dozen meters away, a shinobi with short black hair, a forehead protector worn on the left side of his forehead, and bandages covering the lower half of his face and neck suddenly widened his eyes.

The Executioner’s Blade he had thrown as a surprise attack had actually been caught by a kid!

Even Kakashi, who was lying on the ground, looked stunned.

Judging from the powerful gust of wind that had just reached him, the sword had been moving incredibly fast.

If he had to catch it head-on without using his Sharingan, even Kakashi couldn’t be certain that he could catch it.

It required precise dynamic vision, calm judgment, and tremendous wrist strength.

The slightest mistake would result in being sliced in half by the rapidly spinning blade.

He had never expected Naruto to catch it with one hand.

Kakashi couldn’t help recalling the time during their training when he had grabbed Naruto’s fist and tried to force his wrist downward, only to find that he simply couldn’t push it down.

That wrist strength was simply absurd.

Seeing that Naruto was fine, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly,

"Are you okay, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled.

"Don’t worry. I’m fine."

He then twisted his wrist and held the Executioner’s Blade horizontally in front of his chest.

After looking it over, he turned his gaze toward the stunned figure in the distance.

"Yo, you don’t want such a good sword anymore?

"Are Mist ninjas really this generous?"

Momochi Zabuza’s face immediately darkened.

Wasn’t this a provocation?!

Just how much did this kid look down on him to say something like that?

Recognizing the person in front of him, Kakashi stepped in front of Naruto.

With one hand behind his back, he subtly gestured for the others to retreat, while smiling as he spoke.

"Eh~! Isn’t this the missing-nin of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza?"

Even as he spoke, Kakashi remained secretly vigilant.

Momochi Zabuza narrowed his eyes.

"You’re not mistaken. You’re the Sharingan Kakashi, aren’t you?"

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