It was time to head back to Konoha and report the mission. The way Naruto, Obito, and Inari said goodbye was downright comical.
Zabuza sat on a rise not far away, leaning on his greatsword, with Haku standing beside him.
"Zabuza-san, would you like to go say goodbye?"
"Tsk. If you want to go, then go."
Haku chuckled quietly, saying nothing.
Zabuza hated that look of his—understanding everything yet refusing to say a word.
A moment ago, Kakashi's team and Minato's team made eight people in total. In the blink of an eye, they had become seven. And somehow, a new person had appeared behind them.
With no killing intent from either side, the three of them managed to exchange a few peaceful words.
Zabuza said, "If you ever show up behind me like that again, I'll cut you down!"
Minato smiled. "Ah, sorry. I didn't realize your back was so sensitive."
"..." Was this really about sensitivity?!
"What do you want?"
Minato said, "Kakashi and I talked it over. We'd like to invite the two of you to come to Konoha."
Haku blinked in surprise. Zabuza frowned, unable to guess what Minato was planning.
But honestly, using Konoha as a refuge was the best choice. The major nations would never let Missing-nin linger within their borders—it was a threat to their own security. The smaller nations might accept them, but they couldn't afford to offend the Mizukage, much less for a Missing-nin.
"The current Hokage is that old geezer, the Third. You think your word actually counts?" Zabuza asked suspiciously. "And aren't you worried the Mizukage will start a war with Konoha?"
"Worried? Would fear alone keep an ambitious man from trying to conquer the world?"
Minato Namikaze looked gentle to an unbelievable degree, but in truth, his political decisiveness far surpassed the Third Hokage's.
Zabuza frowned. "Conquer the world? What are you even talking about?"
Haku asked, "Minato-san, are you saying the masked man's goal is the entire ninja world?"
Minato didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked the two of them, "Besides him, who else could possibly deserve an SSS-rank mission? And the fact that he controlled the Mizukage for over ten years without being discovered—that alone proves he's capable of shaking the foundations of the entire ninja world, doesn't it?"
"....." Zabuza mulled it over. "You really trust that scroll so much?"
"A Space-Time Ninjutsu of that level—forget me, even the Second Hokage-sama, who created the Flying Thunder God Technique, couldn't pull it off. That's why I'm willing to try believing it."
Zabuza was clearly still hesitant. Part of him wondered what Minato's real goal was—there was no such thing as a free meal. The other part hated the idea of living under someone else's roof and owing favors.
Minato said, "You'll be going to Konoha, but realistically, you'll only be allowed to stay in the outskirts. And I'll need to mark you with the Flying Thunder God Seal, along with a seal that absolutely forbids harming any Konoha shinobi."
He didn't bother hiding his bottom line.
Zabuza didn't waste breath either. These past few days, he had already considered that if the real enemy wasn't the Mizukage but the Masked Man, then their intelligence on him was pitifully scarce. Their only option was to lay low somewhere and slowly gather information. And Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake—who had special means of obtaining intel on the Masked Man—were undoubtedly their best lead.
"You can carve the Flying Thunder God Seal," Zabuza said, "but the Hokage can't assign anyone to monitor us. If you can convince that old Third, then I have no complaints."
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Haku. Konoha, huh… It really was the best place for Haku…
So that settled it. Haku and Zabuza joined Naruto's group and began the journey back to Konoha.
The adults in the group were Minato Namikaze (21 at the time), Kakashi Hatake (26), and Zabuza (26). The children were Naruto Uzumaki (12), Sasuke Uchiha (12), Sakura Haruno (12), Young Kakashi (12), Obito Uchiha (13), Rin Nohara (12), and Haku (15).
Three adults and seven children made their way back to Konoha in lively fashion.
Along the way, Naruto and Sasuke, and Obito and Kakashi, kept picking fights over nothing at all, driving Zabuza absolutely up the wall with the two bickering pairs.
Even though Haku was only two or three years older, he was far more mature. Still just a teenager, he took great care of the younger kids.
Which left Adult Kakashi grumbling nonstop—why couldn't he ever end up with such adorable students?
"We're not good enough, Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto protested.
"Good?" Kakashi lifted his eyelids from his orange book. "You? A bunch of little troublemakers?"
Sasuke snorted. "Try stopping your own arguments with Obito first before calling anyone else a troublemaker, Kakashi."
Sakura chimed in, "Yeah, exactly!"
Successfully shut down, Kakashi went quiet.
Obito patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, being a sensei is already impressive! It's just that Big Brother Fugaku's son is a real handful, hahaha."
"What did you say?!" Sasuke glared at Obito.
But having another Uchiha around—someone of the same clan, the same presence—was undoubtedly something that made him genuinely happy. Sakura and Naruto had noticed too: lately, Sasuke—Sasuke-kun—though he often bickered with Obito, actually got along with him pretty well. He even seemed in a better mood than before.
As they neared Konoha, Naruto looked visibly excited.
After fourteen years apart, he thought that if the Fourth Hokage's big bro and Obito had nowhere to stay, they could temporarily live at his place.
Sasuke said, "Never mind the chaos the Fourth Hokage appearing in the village would cause. First think about whether your house is even fit to live in, you total idiot."
"Why wouldn't it be?! I live there every day!"
Sakura added, "Sasuke-kun means… your house is filthy! Don't torment the Fourth Hokage like that! You idiot, Naruto!!"
Naruto suddenly remembered—before leaving, he'd left a whole pile of clothes unwashed, and he hadn't cleaned up the leftover ramen bowls…
He instantly deflated.
"Hahaha, we'll just find a house outside the village like Zabuza did." Minato ruffled Naruto's hair. "But I'd still like to visit your home someday, if you'd welcome me."
"Of course I would!!" Naruto lit up instantly.
Sasuke deliberately rained on his joy. "Don't get your hopes up, Fourth Hokage. Once you see his room, you'll turn around and leave."
"Shut up, Sasuke! I'll have everything spotless before the Fourth big bro comes over!"
Kakashi, listening to their argument, suddenly spoke. "If you don't mind, Minato-sensei… why not stay at my place? It's a bit outside Konoha, and the house is quite spacious." He looked toward Zabuza and Haku. "You two are also welcome."
"Huh?! Kakashi-sensei's house?!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had never been there.
Kakashi said, "I live in the Jōnin apartments in Konoha now, but when I'm not on missions, I make sure to clean the old place at least once a month. It should be perfectly livable."
"Really?!" Obito looked at Young Kakashi eagerly.
Rin brightened. "The last time I visited Kakashi's house was back in academy days!"
Obito nodded enthusiastically. "I still remember how good Kakashi's fish dish was! And he was adorable!"
"Right! Obito even asked Kakashi if he wanted to be a chef someday!"
"And he's great at fishing too, right Rin?"
"Totally!"
The two Kakashis suddenly became the center of everyone's attention. The Adult Kakashi took it in stride with his usual shamelessness, but Young Kakashi turned red, begging Rin and Obito not to bring up such ancient stories.
Watching this group of overly pure kids, Zabuza felt like the world had suddenly grown several more Hakus.
In short… he was extremely not used to it.
After bringing everyone to the old Hatake residence, Kakashi told them to make themselves comfortable, then headed to the Hokage's office with his three students to report.
...
"So essentially, they submitted only the mission fee for a C-rank mission… even though it could actually be classified as B-rank, maybe even A-rank..."
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe. "But seeing how energetic you all look, I assume the mission went smoothly?"
"That's right! That's right! And—mmph!"
Sakura and Sasuke quickly covered Naruto's mouth.
Kakashi looked at the Third Hokage with a serious expression. "Lord Third, I have matters I need to report to you privately."
Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the surrounding shinobi.
But Kakashi still wasn't satisfied. "Please dismiss the ANBU as well."
An ANBU agent immediately objected, appearing suddenly and kneeling beside Hiruzen. "We must protect Hokage-sama's safety."
"Stand down."
Hiruzen waved off the last of the ANBU. Kakashi was the person he trusted most not to betray Konoha.
"Can I speak now?"
Kakashi got straight to the point, his voice steady.
"Minato-sensei is currently staying at my home."
"Oh, Minato… Wait?! You mean Minato?!! Which Minato?!"
No—there was only one person Kakashi would call Minato-sensei…
"Minato Namikaze?!"
The old man stared in utter shock.
"Grandpa Third, are you getting senile? Of course it's the Fourth Hokage!"
Hiruzen's expression shifted strangely as he looked from Naruto to Kakashi.
Kakashi knew what he wanted to ask.
He gave a cryptic explanation that only the Third would understand. "He still doesn't know. Minato-sensei hasn't told him yet. He probably wants to speak with you first before deciding."
Naruto squinted. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what kind of secret code are you guys talking in?"
Sasuke and Sakura were also staring at them, confused.
"Ahem… I'll explain when the time comes."
Kakashi then reported the major incidents that had occurred in the Land of Waves.
As for the Missing-nin from the Land of Water residing in Konoha—since Minato had personally invited him—Hiruzen didn't press the issue further.
Compared to the SSS-rank mission mentioned in the scroll and the revelation that the Mizukage was being controlled by the masked man, these two pieces of intelligence were clearly far more important.
"I'll visit him alone tonight. We can discuss the details after I meet with him."
"Understood."
"Um, also…"
"What is it?"
"Naruto's identity has been exposed."
...
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