Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

It is impossible to make Zabuza really injured just for the act. And using animal blood as a substitute to fake a serious injury is almost enough.

One dead and one seriously injured, this result made Kakashi and the others relieved.

Tazuna even took the lead in applauding, and the workers also burst into warm applause.

"Naruto, well done!"

Kakashi praised as he stepped forward to congratulate Naruto.

But before Naruto could respond, they heard the blast of a horn.

Soon, a ladder appeared at the edge of the broken bridge, and a group climbed up.

Leading the group was a short, middle-aged man wearing sunglasses and looking cunning. He was none other than Gato, the man who was as wealthy as a country.

Surrounded by his men, Gato slowly came to Haku.

Seeing Haku lying on the ground motionless, Gato was slightly stunned, and then a smile uglier than crying appeared on his face.

"You brat! Disrespectful to me, and now you're dead. Serves you right!"

While cursing, Gato stretched out his foot and kicked Haku's head.

Bang!

Haku's mask shattered into pieces, and the broken pieces even cut his delicate face.

"Gato, what are you doing here?" Zabuza's eyes narrowed slightly, his voice cold.

Gato laughed mockingly, "Can't you see? Hiring regular Shinobi would be costly and time-consuming, so I hired a Rogue Shinobi like you. But now that you're no longer useful, you're just a naive fool."

"Kakashi, I see no reason for us to keep fighting." Zabuza said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Kakashi nodded and stopped moving.

After all, both parties are just carrying out their respective missions, and there is no reason to take action after there is no conflict.

Feigning exhaustion, Zabuza dragged his massive Kubikiribocho toward Gato, emanating an almost tangible bloodlust.

He was glad that he had reached an agreement with Naruto long ago, otherwise, he would have been fooled by Gato and the consequences would have been disastrous.

"Move your foot off Haku!" Zabuza shouted in a deep voice.

Instead of complying, Gato pressed his foot harder on Haku's face, "You are about to die, and you still dare to speak so shamelessly? Go kill this guy for me!"

"Kill me? We'll see who ends up dead!" Zabuza roared, surging forward with his massive sword aimed at Gato.

As for the thugs brought by Gato, they didn't dare to approach Zabuza at all. After all, Zabuza's massive sword could kill a person with each strike.

Seeing this, Naruto nodded to Tazuna.

Tazuna took a deep breath and encouraged, "Now is the best chance to prove our courage. Let's drive away these invaders together!"

"Yes!"

The workers shouted in unison, charging toward Gato's henchmen with makeshift weapons.

Outnumbered two-to-one by over fifty workers, the twenty-odd thugs couldn't hide their fear as the determined crowd approached.

Meanwhile, Zabuza had reached Gato, but he feigned weakness, barely able to lift his sword and ultimately crashing into Gato, sending both of them tumbling off the bridge.

"To think that Zabuza, the Kirigakure's Demon, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, would meet such an end."

Kakashi murmured, feeling a somber kinship with Zabuza's fate.

"Yeah."

Naruto agreed, but there was only calmness in his eyes.

But what no one expected was that after falling into the water, Gato's head reappeared as he struggled and screamed, "Retreat! Hurry, I'm hurt!"

Gato barely climbed onto the boat.

The thugs, already shaken, took this as their cue and scrambled to the boats in a panicked retreat.

Watching the boats sail off, Tazuna and the workers were thrilled. They had successfully driven Gato away with their own strength.

"As long as we work hard, we can still make it happen!" Tazuna said excitedly, "Let's finish this bridge quickly. By then, even if Gato comes back, we won't have to worry!"

"Yeah!"

The workers echoed, refocusing on their work. Thus, the invasion was resolved in a somewhat ridiculous but effective way.

"Kakashi, Sasuke is seriously injured, let's head back too."

As he said that, Naruto came to Haku's body, discreetly removing the senbon before casting Haku and the Kubikiribocho into the sea.

"Let them rest together in a burial at sea."

Splash!

Haku fell into the sea and his figure was gradually submerged.

Naruto and the others then returned to Tazuna's home.

Since there would be no more dangerous people invading, there is no need for them to keep guarding it all the time.

As long as the bridge is completed, they can leave the Land of Waves and return to Konoha to report.

Once the group departed, bubbles rose from the water's surface.

Then, a head slowly emerged from the water… it was Haku with a wound on his face.

He carried the Kubikiribocho on his back and swam slowly in the direction where the Gato's boat left.

Haku did not go to seek revenge on Gato, but to join him.

Since Zabuza was just pretending to be seriously injured and his actual condition was still at its peak, how could he not be able to beat Gato?

He pushed Gato into the water to make it look like they died together, but in fact, he was trying to deceive people by killing Gato in the water and then transformed himself into Gato before coming out.

In this way, under the watchful eyes of everyone, everyone would think that Zabuza died of exhaustion, and Gato miraculously survived. No one would notice such a substitution.

As for pushing Haku into the water, it was also to create an impression that Haku was indeed dead. In the water, Haku could dispose of the real Gato's body and leave safely with the Kubikiribocho.

From this point on, both Zabuza and Haku were assumed dead, allowing them to avoid any pursuit from Kirigakure.

And after taking on Gato's identity, Zabuza and Haku could quietly transfer Gato's wealth to support Naruto's goals. This was the essence of the 'Plan T'.

On the other side, after Sasuke received treatment and lay down, Naruto used the excuse of going to the toilet to quietly create a shadow clone to meet up with Zabuza.

By the time his shadow clone found Gato's docked ship, only Zabuza and Haku were on board.

"Where are the others?" Naruto couldn't help but frown.

"Naruto-sama, please rest assured. I am not stupid enough to kill these people. I paid them off and asked them to go back and rest. They will definitely spread the news of my and Haku's supposed deaths, adding credibility to the story." Zabuza explained.

Naruto was a bit surprised at Zabuza's foresight.

"Alright, in that case, let's review today's actions." Naruto sat in the main seat and glanced at the two people below.

Upon hearing this, Zabuza's expression changed. Ever since he saw Gato's true face, he was even more convinced of Naruto's power, so he was very worried that he was forced to change his plan due to his carelessness.

"Naruto-sama, I know I was careless, and I accept any punishment." Zabuza declared firmly.

"It's not just your oversight, but mainly Haku's defiance of my intentions, nearly jeopardizing the mission. That's the real issue here!" Naruto replied sternly.

Thud!

Haku immediately knelt on the ground without any hesitation, "Naruto-sama, I'll accept any punishment!"

"Since you are so sincere, I won't make things too difficult for you. Just follow the previous punishment."

Naruto said with a smirk.

"Previous punishment?"

Haku was a little confused. He was previously eroded by the Kyubi's Chakra and fell unconscious, so he hadn't heard Naruto's decree.

The corner of Naruto's mouth raised slightly, and he said word by word, "I want you to undergo gender reassignment surgery..."