When Zabuza asked if "Yagura Karatachi" had a grudge against Minato Namikaze,
Obito froze for a moment, unsure of how to respond.
Unexpectedly, while he was pondering his answer, Zabuza mistook his hesitation for an admission of having asked an inappropriate question.
Waving his hand dismissively, Zabuza said, "I'm not interested in your plans. Tomorrow at noon, I'll kill Kakashi and the other three brats. You handle the rest."
To be honest, ever since he had unexpectedly appeared on another battlefield earlier that morning and witnessed Minato Namikaze kill over fifty Iwagakure Jōnin in the blink of an eye, Zabuza had no desire to provoke him.
His earlier question about whether Yagura Karatachi held a grudge against Minato was simply to gauge whether Yagura had the resolve to fight Minato to the death.
Otherwise, if he killed Kakashi and the other Konoha kids but Yagura failed to kill the Fourth Hokage, wouldn't he still be doomed?
Of course, the ideal scenario would be to delay until Minato killed Yagura.
Zabuza had no grudge against Minato.
With Gatō out of the picture, there was no animosity between him and Kakashi either, and those kids weren't worth his attention.
Rather than making enemies over Gatō or Yagura, it was far smarter to count on Minato to take down Yagura. Even if Minato severely injured Yagura and left him to deal the finishing blow, that would be just fine.
Though Zabuza appeared ruthless and tyrannical, he was actually quite calculating, with his schemes clicking away in his mind.
Obito, seeing that his plan had succeeded, returned to the rendezvous point with Minato-sensei. Together, they used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return.
Gatō, unaware that Zabuza knew of his betrayal, contacted him again through a walkie-talkie, urging him to eliminate the bridge builders as soon as possible.
Zabuza sneered coldly and invited him to watch firsthand the next day how he would deal with the men on the bridge.
Gatō interpreted this as Zabuza finally acting like a mercenary who followed orders.
Just as he was about to tell his men to bring him the one who had broken his hand for punishment, Zabuza, unwilling to hear even his breathing, crushed the walkie-talkie in his hand!
Minato Namikaze's shadow clone, disguised as a Gatō Corporation employee using the Transformation Technique, found a secluded spot to release the clone after gathering the necessary information.
The clone dissolved, and the memories were transferred back to Minato's original body.
With the information secured, Minato ordered that the plan continue as scheduled.
Early the next morning, Team Minato and Team Kakashi were already on the Bridge of Waves, helping Uncle Tazuna with the construction of the bridge that would restore the courage of the people of the Land of Waves.
Team Kakashi was instructed to conserve their stamina and chakra for the upcoming battle with Zabuza and Haku.
Having learned of Gatō's plan, Minato stationed shadow clones at Tazuna's house and along the route the Kirigakure pursuers were sure to take.
Just as Inari was about to be harmed by two of Gatō's men while trying to protect his mother, Tsunami, who had been taken hostage,
Minato's shadow clone, lying in wait, suddenly appeared behind them!
The two thugs hadn't even fully drawn their blades!
A flash of yellow light appeared behind them, each hand wielding a kunai! The kunai spun in his hands before Minato Namikaze drove them without hesitation into their throats!!
Pfft—!
Blood spurted from both thugs' necks!
Before the blood could splash on him, Minato used his Body Flicker Technique to teleport Inari and Tsunami ten meters away.
Seeing Minato Namikaze, Inari finally broke down, tears streaming from his face in pure terror.
Minato ruffled Inari's hair. "You're very brave."
"But Naruto says I'm a crybaby."
"That's because you said he—they—don't know the pain of watching their father get beaten to death by evil forces right in front of their eyes."
"I'm sorry..." Inari looked up at Minato Namikaze. "Was Naruto's father killed too?"
"…I suppose so. I'm not entirely sure, but I imagine Kaiza (Inari's stepfather) would want you to be as strong as Naruto, right?"
"Why?"
"Because if I ever have a child, I'd want him to be like Naruto—strong, determined, and chasing his dreams with unwavering resolve."
...
Meanwhile, Naruto's group had already encountered Zabuza and Haku.
Minato's team hid in the shadows. To ensure Naruto's safety, Minato recorded the coordinates of the Flying Thunder God Technique on the bridge.
To avoid arousing Zabuza's suspicion, Kakashi deliberately asked, "Since you already know Gatō betrayed you, why are you still hostile towards us?! Shouldn't you be leaving the Land of Waves immediately to escape the Kirigakure assassins' pursuit?!"
Zabuza replied, "It has nothing to do with Gatō. You only have yourself to blame for making too many enemies. Others have also put a bounty on your heads."
"In that case…" Kakashi drew his kunai.
Zabuza responded, "Hiding in Mist Technique."
Thick fog rapidly enveloped everyone.
Knowing a fierce battle was imminent, Tazuna led the boatmen to safety far from the bridge. Zabuza's target wasn't them this time, so he paid them little mind.
Zabuza immediately deployed four Water Clones to surround the group.
But after a week of training, the three genin from Kakashi's class had not only improved their strength but also gained significant combat awareness and experience through frequent sparring with Minato's team!
Naruto's fist, Sasuke's kunai, and Sakura's flying kick each took down a water clone. Kakashi hadn't even moved a step, yet the water clone before him had already splashed onto the ground.
Kakashi struck first, hurling shuriken at Zabuza, followed immediately by a Water Release technique!
"Haku, these three brats are yours."
"Yes, Zabuza-san."
Haku threw a thousand shuriken toward Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. Clang! Clang! Clang! The shuriken rained down, only to be deflected by the trio's kunai.
Naruto recognized Haku from his attire—he was the one who had accompanied them to the Fourth Hokage's era last time, the handsome youth who had woken him that morning.
"Why? Why would you side with someone like Zabuza?"
"When you can defeat me, I'll tell you."
With that, Haku launched his attack.