Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"How is it possible? How can you be this powerful!"

Zabuza gasped, coughing violently, spitting out blood that stained the ground in a dark red.

At this moment, he no longer had his original indifference, and only fear remained in his eyes.

If Naruto had only been a bit stronger than him, Zabuza might not have reacted like this.

But the gap in their strength was undeniable, as Naruto had obliterated him with a single blow.

However, the idea of a mere teenager being this strong was something he'd never heard of, shattering his entire worldview.

Of course, his fear was only short-lived.

Soon, the fear in his eyes turned into resentment.

From Naruto, he sensed the same malevolent Chakra as the Mizukage.

"Are you also one of those damned Jinchuriki!?"

Zabuza's eyes were bloodshot, seething with a hatred that seemed like he wanted to rip Naruto apart.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't look at me with those scary eyes. I'm not your foolish Mizukage. I still have my own consciousness."

Naruto replied with a hint of exasperation.

'It's not like I had killed your family or anything. Why did you hate Jinchuriki so intensely?'

'But from his reaction, it was evident that Yagura must have done some truly atrocious things in Kirigakure.'

"Consciousness? What do you mean by that?"

Zabuza was unable to break free from the tail formed by the Kyubi's Chakra, so he began to think about what Naruto had said.

It would have been fine if he hadn't thought about it, but after just a simple thought, he realized something was wrong.

Naruto decided to give him a hint, "Think back carefully. Was Yagura always a tyrant, or did he suddenly change?"

Zabuza replied without hesitation: "No need to think about it… he changed suddenly. If he'd always been this cruel and twisted, he wouldn't have been chosen as the Yondaime Mizukage. But why are you asking this? Are you saying his change was deliberate?"

"I didn't expect you to be so smart. You catch on so quickly." Naruto said, a bit surprised but pleased to skip the lengthy explanation he had planned, "That's right. Yagura was controlled by someone using Genjutsu for a long time, which is why Kirigakure became the Village of Blood Mist."

"The Yondaime Mizukage is extremely powerful. How could he be controlled by a Genjutsu? Unless..."

Zabuza's mind raced until he had a sudden realization, "Unless it was the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan!"

Zabuza knew that only the Sharingan could have such a terrifying level of control.

Hearing this, Naruto was completely shocked.

He originally thought Zabuza was a fool who only knew how to kill people, but here he was, piecing things together faster than expected.

Naruto had already thought of a lot of explanations, but they were completely useless at this moment.

But he was naturally happy to save some trouble.

However, before Naruto could say anything further, Zabuza's expression darkened even more as he muttered furiously, "Sure enough, it was Konoha behind all this. I always wondered why Konoha allowed the Uchiha Clan to be wiped out. Now it all makes sense… it was to cover their tracks, leaving no one to reveal the truth. Konoha, you're ruthless!"

Hearing this, Naruto quickly interrupted, "Stop, stop, stop! Don't let your imagination run too wild. The person who harmed your village and the Mizukage had nothing to do with Konoha."

"Impossible! If it weren't for Konoha, how could you remain unaffected?" Zabuza frowned.

Naruto sighed, realizing that more words were pointless. He took out a special contact lens, and upon putting it in, his blue eyes shifted to a scarlet Sharingan.

"It's true that someone harmed your Mizukage, but you don't need to overthink it. I'll keep it simple: I have the Sharingan, and I can break Yagura free from the Genjutsu that controls him, returning peace to your Kirigakure."

Zabuza fell silent, absorbing Naruto's words. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Why do you want to help our Kirigakure? Is this another of Konoha's schemes? I don't believe in free lunch."

Naruto responded calmly: "My motive is simple: become my subordinate, and in any situation, follow my orders. If you agree to that, I'll help you. Think of it as a transaction."

"Fine, I agree!"

Zabuza's immediate, firm response took Naruto by surprise.

Naruto blinked, a bit bewildered, "Aren't you afraid I'll break my promise?"

Zabuza shook his head and replied in a raspy voice, "We, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, have gone our separate ways. The chances of launching a successful coup are slim. Regardless of whether what you said about Genjutsu is true or not, I'm willing to take this gamble. After all, you are also a Jinchuriki. Even if you cannot change the Yondaime Mizukage, you are more capable of killing the Yondaime Mizukage than me. It's just..."

"Just what?"

Zabuza let out a self-deprecating laugh, "It's just that I don't understand why you need me. You could easily kill me, so why bother? I don't see how I'm of any use to you."

"Perhaps."

Naruto said with a small smile. Truthfully, he didn't want Zabuza and Haku to die tragically. It could be considered as making up for the childhood trauma of his previous life.

Of course, it's not that simple.

He had just calculated that Zabuza's value if he were alive was far greater than he had imagined.

Firstly, Zabuza has an assassination organization in his hands, which will make it convenient for Naruto to develop his own power in the future.

Secondly, this assassination organization was also hired by Gato, so they must have had many opportunities to get close to Gato.

As an unforgivable bastard, Gato amassed countless wealth.

Naruto was extremely jealous of this huge sum of money.

Naruto, as broke as he was, couldn't resist the idea of redistributing Gato's riches to help the poor (himself).

Finally, Zabuza was a formidable Shinobi in his own right, and along with Haku's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, the duo could accomplish missions that would otherwise be inconvenient for Naruto.

With these three factors in mind, Naruto felt that Zabuza was extremely important for him.

"Zabuza, since you've agreed, let's make it official." Naruto took out the Servant Contract from the system inventory.

The mere thought of Gato's wealth was too tempting, and Naruto was willing to use one of his precious contract slots to secure Zabuza.

Although he could also make a contract with Gato, it was completely unnecessary.

Naruto still has his own bottom line, and evil people like Gato deserved a fate worse than death.

Naruto opened the Servant Contract, flipped to the third page, and a burst of golden light shot toward the willingly surrendered Zabuza.

Under the golden glow, countless intricate runes arranged themselves in precise patterns, interlocking and embedding themselves onto Zabuza's body.

When the runes fully settled, a massive golden hexagram appeared under Zabuza's feet, gradually rising until it imprinted itself on his heart.

Finally, the hexagram on his body resonated with the one on the contract, and a notification echoed in Naruto's mind.

[Congratulations to the host for successfully signing a Servant Contract with Zabuza!]

'Alas, if I had thought of Zabuza's value earlier, there would have been no need to waste words on him. It would have been better to just sign the contract directly.'

Naruto couldn't help laughing at himself in his heart.

'However, all the things I said before were not in vain. At least it made Zabuza willing to cooperate actively, which is a good thing in the end.'

"What did you do to me?"

Zabuza only felt that there was an extra mark in the depths of his heart, as if from this moment on he could no longer go against Naruto's will.

"It's just a contract to keep you from breaking your promise… nothing to worry about."

Waving his hand dismissively, Naruto said, "Alright, you can go now. I'll work on the plan, so meet me here in three days."

"Understood, Master!"

Since Naruto had said so, Zabuza didn't ask any more questions and vanished in a flash.

Naruto left a Flying Thunder God's mark on the ground.

When he was done, he suddenly realized, "Wait, why'd you leave so fast? You didn't even lift the mist! Now it's pitch dark… I can't see a thing! How am I supposed to get back like this?"