"The Nine-Tails misled me!"
Regarding the enemies who had been severely injured by the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, the individual claimed that his mind had been affected by the Nine-Tails' negative influence. By intermittent psychiatric standards, he should receive a lighter punishment.
Ah, but this is the ninja world—no problem.
As the trio prepared to clean up the chaotic battlefield, Kakashi appeared.
He was dragging several unconscious enemies with his right hand, his gaze on the three of them showing a mix of relief and concern.
Kakashi's primary worry was undoubtedly Naruto.
"Could it really be the Nine-Tails affecting him?" he thought.
This was an old suspicion of Kakashi's. Naruto's series of abnormal behaviors were likely caused by the Nine-Tails' influence.
He decided to secretly contact the Third Hokage later.
Damn Nine-Tails!
"Sorry for the trouble, everyone. I needed to observe whether the enemies were targeting Team 7 or Tazuna, so I couldn't act immediately. But Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke—you all did an excellent job!"
He gave the three a thumbs-up and, along with a few others, bound the remaining captives who were still breathing.
Afterwards, Kakashi looked at Tazuna. "Tazuna-san, I'd like to speak with you privately."
This was critical. The number and identities of the attackers far exceeded the capacity of a standard C-rank mission.
Seeing this, Naruto immediately stood up, scratching his backside. "Oh, I just happen to need a bathroom break… cough, cough, cough!"
He winked at Sakura.
Sakura held her forehead. "Can you at least pretend to be serious when you make excuses? Do you really expect me to go to the bathroom with a grown man like you?"
She thought for a moment, realized she also needed to relieve herself, and ran in the opposite direction.
After a while, they reunited.
Seeing Sakura, Naruto lowered his voice. "Something's off. Don't you think this attack was too easy?"
Sakura nodded. "Indeed. It's like a beginner in Soul Journey putting all their points into strength—completely useless."
Although the attack's intensity had increased, this was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Will he put it on Zabuza?"
"No, Zabuza can't command these troops—but Kardo can."
Kardo came from a criminal background. In the original story, he hired Zabuza to assassinate Tazuna to prevent the bridge's construction, cutting off the Land of Waves' shipping routes and gaining full control.
"But doing this only gives us experience packs; it's otherwise meaningless," Naruto added, slipping into gaming terminology.
"There are only two possibilities," Sakura said after a moment of thought.
"That guy either hasn't read Naruto, or he has some other plan."
"I hope it's the first one," Naruto sighed.
They briefly speculated about what might happen next, then hurried back.
Don't take too long—or it will arouse suspicion.
Before returning, Naruto released another Shadow Clone, allowing him to quickly return to Konoha to restock his lethal ninja tools.
Upon returning, Kakashi looked at the trio and gave a brief explanation.
It turned out that Tazuna didn't have enough money to pay rewards for missions above C-rank, so he lied.
Naruto and Sakura immediately understood, especially when Tazuna tried to elicit sympathy using his family. Naruto even patted his chest, promising to help take care of his daughter!
As for Tazuna's grandson… well, that was a different matter.
Tazuna was moved to tears, repeatedly expressing gratitude, and even placed Naruto on a "blacklist."
In fact, this fit Naruto and Sakura's plan—they wanted to eliminate threats at their earliest stage. Even if they couldn't kill them, at least they could uncover the truth.
Sasuke, hands in his pockets, coldly remarked that these enemies weren't strong enough and were no match for him.
"Alright, since you all insist," Kakashi scratched his head and decided to proceed.
As they walked, Naruto's thoughts drifted once again into the spiritual space.
After this battle, Naruto discovered that he could communicate with the Nine-Tails in the spiritual space while walking, and the usual lag from traveling in the mental realm had almost vanished.
He no longer felt suffocated by the Nine-Tails' dim, dark presence and heavy breathing.
Back home at last~
"Nine-Tails, I'm disappointed in you," Naruto said from scratch, expressing strong dissatisfaction over the rent the Nine-Tails owed him.
"What? Didn't you just defeat all the enemies using my power? Heh…" The Nine-Tails squinted, smugness evident on its face.
Finally, I have the chance to bring my intoxicating power back into this world. Kid, the more you talk like that, the more you prove you can't control yourself!
"Let's put it this way," Naruto said, sitting cross-legged, dismissively, "your chakra is like roadside dog poop—stinky, but somewhat useful. Like fertilizer, maybe."
"What did you say?!" The Nine-Tails immediately roared in anger, its massive body seemingly doubling in size.
"Stop talking nonsense—it's too noisy," Naruto said, picking at his earwax. "Why do you inject malice into your chakra?"
The Nine-Tails snorted. "I am the embodiment of malice. My chakra doesn't inherently contain malice, but it amplifies the malice within your heart."
Naruto calmly retorted, "You're like a malice-filled yo-yo. You've been toyed with by humans so many times that your malice just grows deeper."
"In fact, you were split from the Ten-Tails by the Sage of Six Paths, and the Ten-Tails' power comes from the Chakra Fruit on the God Tree."
The Nine-Tails was stunned. It never expected this boy to know so much.
As before, the boy effortlessly saw through the lies in the Nine-Tails' words.
The Nine-Tails fell silent for a long moment. "Who… are you?"
"Your landlord," Naruto said calmly. "Next time, I need you to provide purer chakra—or don't even think about leaving the seal."
He paused, then added, "Don't underestimate the Fourth Hokage, and don't underestimate the power of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique."
Before the Nine-Tails could respond, Naruto exited the spiritual space.
Enough.
To control the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto not only needed to use PUA tactics (ninja manipulation) but also showcase his uniqueness and gradually bring the Nine-Tails' strength to his own level.
Once the Nine-Tails could reliably provide pure chakra, he would practice tree climbing, water walking, and then the Rasengan.
Of course, shuriken training could also be added—Naruto planned to learn the Uchiha shuriken throwing techniques.
They walked for several more hours, and Naruto had an idea. He immediately threw a kunai, accurately scaring away a small white rabbit—specifically, a "snow rabbit" used as a tech substitute.
"Zabuza is here," Sakura whispered to Naruto. He nodded and made a hand gesture behind him.
The Shadow Clone Naruto behind them was already ready.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a strong farting sound echoed through the air.
Facing a powerful enemy, Kakashi shouted, "Duck!" Naruto pressed down on Tazuna's head, while Sasuke and Sakura simultaneously lowered theirs, narrowly avoiding Zabuza's sword.
Zabuza stood tall, bare-chested, masked, exuding a cold, murderous aura.
Mist swirled around him, the Hidden Mist Technique reducing visibility drastically. However, the Shadow Clone did not use an explosive tag to disperse the fog. The plan was to let Kakashi act according to plan, then ambush the approaching Bai.
The real Naruto squinted, carefully scrutinizing Zabuza.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "A Witty Life in the Naruto World" is 30 chapters ahead there