With Zabuza and Haku -
Safely removing the senbon from Zabuza's neck, Haku watched as he sat up with a gaze he hadn't seen on him before, mumbling something to himself with a slight tremor in his voice.
"Za-
"He told me to say hello to you once I woke up... a-and that I should investigate Gato."
Zabuza spoke up, revealing the words Kakashi whispered to him before the senbon put him in a false death state.
Haku tensed, having not sensed that his cover was compromised when he had retrieved Zabuza.
"What do you mean? He told you to say hello to me?"
Haku was beyond confused and a little on edge.
Zabuza sighed, trying to calm down a bit as he gripped his blade handle.
"Whatever we do, we'll avoid Kakashi and his team. I am interested in what he meant about investigating Gato."
"What will we say when Gato asks about the mission?'
Haku asked while preparing to tend to Zabuza's wounds.
"We make up an excuse. A hard-fought battle that we won't lose next time that we know their tricks. I shouldn't be bedridden. Kakashi was holding back, even if his kicks hurt like hell. I'll place a clone and investigate Gato while you watchover my 'bedridden' clone and protect it.
Haku nodded to Zabuza's plan, finishing up with the mostly superficial wounds.
With Kakashi -
Walking closer to Kakashi than the others, Naruto spoke up just loud enough for his sensei to hear.
"Sensei, why let them go?"
Kakashi smiled softly.
"Call it a whim."
"A whim?"
Naruto murmured with an amused tone.
Kakashi merely shrugged, leading the team through the quiet, mist-laden streets to Tazuna's home without incident. Inside, Tsunami's warm welcome provided a cozy refuge from the danger outside, filled with the smell of home cooking and lighthearted banter. However, this relaxed atmosphere shattered the moment a young boy in a bucket hat wandered in, his face clouded with a profound, sour misery that seemed too heavy for someone so small. Deeply traumatized by the loss of his stepfather, Inari tore into Team 7 with tears in his eyes, calling them naive fools who didn't understand that 'heroes' were just fantasies—that the weak, and pampered like them, always died at the hands of Gatō's men. His emotional outburst only ended when his mother, Tsunami, tearfully scolded him, causing him to run off in a fit of rage and despair.
Tsunami apologized for her son's behavior, prompting Tazuna to speak of Inari's late stepfather, Kaiza. He described how Kaiza was once Inari's entire world—a true hero who dared to stand up to Gato. But that spark was brutally extinguished, and Kaiza's public execution shattered Inari's spirit, leaving him unable to believe in heroes after losing his so cruelly.
Hearing the story lessened some of the annoyance that Naruto and Sasuke didn't allow to show. They weren't close to exploding back at the boy, but being called 'pampered' by a brat who still had a mother and grandfather struck a nerve that was a bit too close to home for them.
Kakashi finished his tea, standing with an effortless grace before leading his team toward the door, promising a bewildered Tazuna and Tsunami that they would return well before sundown. Upon reaching the nearby dock, Kakashi calmly explained the principles of water walking to Sasuke and Sakura, demonstrating the technique with precise, minimal chakra control. Seeing them begin their training with focused determination, Kakashi left a shadow clone to supervise them, then directed Naruto toward the clearing beside Tazuna's house.
In the quiet of the clearing, Kakashi unsealed a set of intricate fuinjutsu supplies. He began working with Naruto on the fundamentals, presenting the lower-level seals with complex, theoretical explanations. Naruto absorbed the information rapidly, his sharp mind picking up on the subtle nuances of chakra flow within the designs. Naruto proved to be quite prodigious in recognizing the common seals and understanding their structural integrity, only attempting to draw them after Kakashi checked over his meticulous designs, quickly adapting to the precision required for the craft.
Hours went by, ink, scrolls, and the sounds of Sasuke and Sakura walking on the water's surface nearby.
"I got it."
Naruto handed Kakashi the scroll, and he gave it back with a smile after checking the seal meticulously.
"Very well done, Naruto. This storage seal is high quality; it'd get you around 40,000 Ryō if you sold it in the village."
Kakashi praised, handing Naruto a kunai to test the seal.
Grabbing the Kunai, Naruto made a shadow clone and had it test the seal a few feet away, watching as the kunai was stored and retrieved with a light pulse of chakra.
Kakashi handed over a beginner's fuinjutsu primer to Naruto—a volume authored by his parents—before retrieving a more advanced text from his pouch. Having underestimated the Uzumaki definition of "intermediate," he realized he couldn't rely on Leaf standards alone. Kakashi was aiming for mastery, and he intended to be judged by the clan's notoriously rigorous standards.
"I suggest only using one clone to read that at a time."
Naruto nodded in agreement. The amount of information in the book would likely make his brain explode if he attempted it with more than two clones.
They returned to find Sasuke and Sakura resting on the dock, successful in their water-walking practice. Though not yet capable of accounting for unexpected movements of the water, they managed to sustain stable water-walking for 5-10 minutes at a time, depending on the conditions of the water and their own ability to stay calm.
Kakashi clapped to get their attention. "That's enough for one night. Let's get you two inside and dried off before you catch a cold." He chuckled at his two genin, who resembled drowned rats. While Sakura demonstrated precise chakra control, water walking was proving challenging due to her smaller reserves, as staying afloat required high-volume, consistent output to counteract the water's flow. Sasuke, conversely, possessed the reserves but allowed his competitive nature to override his focus, with his frustration leading him to fail more than he should have.
With the help of E-Rank wind jutsu, Kakashi dried off his students, ignoring their ridiculous hair as they all walked in to eat dinner and rest for the night.
Chapter End -
The chapter was a bit short, but I'll try my best to make the next one longer than the average word count. 1.6k minimum. Thank you for reading.