The group didn't stop there; they continued on their way to the Land of the Waves. Thankfully, there weren't any attacks on them this time, and they even came across the half-built bridge where Tazuna spoke of what was actually going on.
"Gato? I heard of him once when he came to meet my brother. My brother kicked him out," Naruto said.
"Your brother threw Gato out?" Sakura was horrified when she heard that.
"Yes. Brother said he was shady, so he got angry and asked Corazon to throw him out," Naruto said, as if it was a small matter, but Tazuna was horrified when he heard that.
"Who did you say your brother was?" Tazuna asked.
"My brother's name is Aoto Yamazaki. He is the richest man in Konoha," Naruto said with pride in his voice.
"I never thought Naruto would be smart enough to understand economics," Sakura said.
"Don't underestimate Naruto. He has better money-saving skills than any of us," Kakashi said. Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto with wide eyes, seeing him in a new light. Naruto had always been good with money, long before he was adopted by Aoto.
Though Aoto was rich, he had always taught Naruto to be strict with money and not to indulge in useless luxuries. Naruto had always been a model child, except for when he was foolish. Meanwhile, Tazuna didn't expect that the person rising in the world in terms of monetary power was the brother of the small genin he had been escorted with.
Soon they reached Tazuna's home, where they met his daughter and even his grandson, who seemed quite upset with the ninjas. Naruto had a conversation with the grandson about heroes, and the grandson said he didn't believe in heroes.
His father had wanted to be a hero and had lost his life, so he hated the whole notion of heroes. After resting for a full day, Tazuna was ready to leave to build the bridge, and Kakashi had to accompany him for safety.
As soon as they reached, they finally met the main villains of the whole arc.
Zabuza. Along with Haku.
Unlike the original story where Zabuza came alone to attack Kakashi and the three genin, both of them came together. And with that, the fight started as it was supposed to. Only this time, Haku didn't find it easy to overpower Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
There were multiple reasons for this. Firstly, because there wasn't as big of a rivalry between Sasuke and Naruto, they were ready to team up instead of trying to be the hero from the beginning, and Naruto was less insecure due to Aoto's influence. Knowledge had helped Naruto a lot as he had read many books and even been taught by a God who could control time. So he had seen many things in life. Another reason was Naruto's myriad of magical abilities at his disposal.
Zabuza came with a mission to take care of Tazuna and to deal with Kakashi, who had a significant bounty on his head. Haku went after the genin.
"Alright, guys, let's take him down!" Naruto said when he saw the masked man standing in front of them, preventing them from helping Kakashi.
"Stay sharp, Naruto. We need to watch each other's backs," Sasuke said as he kept an eye on Haku, while Sakura was given the task of saving Tazuna, who was shaken by the unexpected attack on the first day.
"You three are no match for me," Haku said from behind his mask.
"Meow." Meanwhile, Yoriichi looked bored even in this tense situation. Naruto and the others could feel the bloodlust of both Zabuza and Haku, enough to terrify the genin, but it seemed to have no effect on the cat at all. Any other animal in the vicinity had already fled, but not this cat.
Even the palicko that Kakashi had summoned for help was a bit distraught by this. It took some time for Naruto and Sakura to get used to this while Sasuke seemed to be doing much better than the other. Though it was weird, nobody paid any attention, and the fight immediately started. With a swift motion, Haku unleashed a barrage of ice needles towards them. Sasuke dodged swiftly, while Naruto summoned a large Tao mandala to defend himself.
Finding an opening, Sasuke charged at Haku with a kunai in his hand and tried to strike at his neck, but Haku, being the capable ninja he was, stopped it with his needle. The surroundings had already become misty, with water everywhere.
Haku danced gracefully around Sasuke's attacks, forming intricate hand signs.
"Hyoro no Jutsu (Ice Style: Ice Prison),"
he exclaimed, creating a dome of ice around Sakura, momentarily trapping her. Naruto was angered by this and threw tao mandalas at the prison, cutting through it easily and breaking it instantly. Haku, having never seen such a technique before, had to back out while Sakura was freed.
"Idiot Naruto, what if your attack had hit me?" Sasuke shouted as he emerged.
"Huh! Ehe." Naruto smiled sheepishly.
"Ehe te nandayo." (A/N: If you know, you know.)
"I am sorry," Naruto said apologetically.
"I see you two have started quite the circus," Haku said mockingly. Naruto was angry that someone made fun of him and attacked Haku.
"Bolts of Balthakk!"
A single streak of bolts appeared on the ground, tearing through it like lightning, made up of yellow energy, attacking Haku. Haku didn't expect such a strange attack and had to dodge. The bolt landed on the ground, tearing up a significant portion before fizzling out.
"Naruto? What the hell was that?" Sasuke didn't expect this and had to ask, witnessing the destruction caused.
"Bolts of Balthakk. You know.. Something that Balthakk made in his journey." Naruto spoke the truth as Balthakk was a being of pure energy on the multiverse.
"Your brother taught you this?" Sasuke asked.
"Something like that." Naruto replied as he was under oath not to speak of the library and could only speak half truth.
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