How much does a person need? It depends on the person. And it also depends on the circumstances. Tazuna, for example, rejoiced like a child when he saw the familiar lands, or rather, waters. And all because the escort team he got was crazy, especially the jonin mentor. The most adequate seemed to be a girl named Ten-Ten. The gray-eyed genin boy seemed like a monster, and the mini-copy of the jonin was essentially no different from his sensei…
A lot had happened in those three days. On the first day, the architect almost died from overexertion. After all, Tazuna was no longer young, and running dozens of kilometers a day was too much for an old man, especially since he hadn't led a very active lifestyle before. On the second day, the architect almost died three times. Once – from cardiac arrest and lack of air – the damn jonin was not going to spare the client, and all of Tazuna's pleas about this were ignored. The second time – at the hands of a pair of mercenary shinobi from the Hidden Mist. The third – from a concussion: the stone that accidentally hit his head was quite heavy, but Ten-Ten diagnosed a bruise and no concussion, so when the jonin returned, these monsters wanted to do a forced march again. However, Tazuna, considering past experience, asked to be carried on a stretcher or have something like a palanquin made.
The naive architect sighed with relief when the male part of the team began to build a portable wooden frame on two poles. True, the poles seemed a bit short to him, but the shinobi knew better how to build. After all, they were the ones who would carry it. The architect thought that now he would definitely be able to breathe easy, drink sake, maybe even doze off on the way. But it wasn't to be. As soon as Tazuna climbed into the palanquin box and pulled a bottle out of his backpack, he was immediately thrown upwards; hitting his head painfully on the "ceiling" of the frame, the architect then cursed loudly, but that was only the beginning. And the next two days turned into sheer hell for Tazuna. He didn't actually suffer from seasickness, and he had never gotten motion sick in boats or carts. However, this time, the team of monsters seemed to be deliberately mocking the poor old man. He was shaken in the palanquin in a way that couldn't happen under any circumstances. Looking out through a hole in the side, he was horrified to see that he was not being carried on the ground, but in the air (!), jumping from branch to branch. Later, Tazuna found out that the shinobi called this method of transportation "upper level movement." Why was it even necessary to attach poles to the frame if each shinobi carried it in turn? And why couldn't they just run on the ground – the architect also didn't understand. Not only did his body acquire many bruises and abrasions from this, but also, rest stops in this mode of transportation were not made every few hours, but every eight…
— Thank Kami, — said the pale green architect, falling to his knees. — I'm almost home. Just a little bit left… — he whispered. Tears welled up in his eyes. However, no one noticed under his hat.
Three days of hell. Three! On the morning of the fourth, this torture ended. Wiping his eyes under his glasses and blinking, Tazuna raised his head and looked around.
The Nami Strait, separating the mainland from his native land, was illuminated by the rising sun. The strip of sky near the water's surface seemed to be painted orange, the rays of the golden luminary scattered upwards like a fan, disappearing into the clouds. After a couple of moments, the distant cries of seagulls could be heard.
— Beautiful, — Ten-Ten assessed the view, — you won't see such sunrises in Konoha.
— This sunrise is as beautiful… as our Sunrise of Youth! — Guy declared, stretching his lips into his signature smile. His student just nodded vigorously at his sensei's words.
— I don't want to interrupt the admiration of the beautiful, — Neji said coldly, stepping slightly forward, — but we have a mission. We'll cross the strait on our own two feet, and will we carry the architect in the box again?
— No-no-no! — Tazuna exclaimed, rising to his full height. — No more boxes. And in general, you treat clients terribly. I'm covered in bruises and scrapes from your way of moving. I demand financial compensation for the moral and physical damage you inflicted on me in…
The architect stopped mid-sentence. He was being stared at by the activated Byakugan of the sharply turned Hyūga, so further outpourings stuck in the man's throat.
— Did you say something? — Neji frowned. The veins around his eyes seemed to bulge even more.
— N-no, — Tazuna croaked.
Hyūga snorted, but his dōjutsu remained activated, and his gaze intently studied his vis-à-vis.
— Keep in mind, deceiving shinobi regarding the content and essence of the task is actually a violation of the law. Withholding mission details is equivalent to deception. Do you know what the punishment for deception is?
The architect turned even paler than before, and his hands involuntarily began to tremble:
— N-no… I d-don't know…
Hyūga paused, fixing a stern gaze on the client, but suddenly deactivated his Byakugan and turned away from the architect.
— I don't know either, — the genin said gloomily. — But don't forget: the fact that we agreed to see the mission through to the end is just our choice. We could have abandoned you and refused such a client. But we are here. And we will complete our mission to the end…
— In the name of the Power of Youth! — Lee shouted. — Four days left. We'll complete the mission in a week! No, wait. We can complete it even earlier. In five days. No… in four days! Exactly!
— Lee! — tears welled up in Guy's eyes. — You're amazing. My school!
— Guy-sensei!
— Lee!
— Guy-sensei!..
Neji only shook his head at this meaningful dialogue between the jonin and the genin. When the student and teacher hugged tightly, sobbing like little children, Ten-Ten wearily rolled her eyes…
***
— Quite large, — Ten-Ten said in surprise, examining the unfinished bridge. Only the general outlines were visible through the fog, but even so, it struck the girl with its monumentality. Although it wasn't too wide, its massive rounded columns supported the span structures, raising the upper part of the bridge almost fifteen meters above sea level.
— So, you have money for such a behemoth. But as soon as it's about ordering an A-rank mission – suddenly the Land of Waves is poor… — Neji muttered discontentedly.
Tazuna only shrugged at this and hid his apprehensive gaze behind his "onion" hat. He didn't answer the genin, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
— These stone blocks must be quite heavy, — Guy pondered, scratching his chin. — I think carrying such blocks would be excellent training.
— Hai, sensei! — Lee shouted enthusiastically. — In the name of the Power…
— Quiet down, you, — the boatman fussed. — I told you not to make noise. Do you think we're sailing like this, with the engine off, rowing?.. To avoid attracting attention, so we don't get noticed.
Rock Lee nodded his head desperately at the ferryman's words and adopted the most serious expression he was capable of. Ten-Ten almost laughed when she saw the genin like that. However, when she noticed Hyūga's tense look and activated Byakugan, the smile quickly left her face:
— What happened?
— They've gone out of my sight, — Neji began, surveying the surroundings. — But there were four of them. Judging by all appearances, one jonin and three chunin.
Ten-Ten looked at her teacher.
Guy's face was calm, but his thick eyebrows were slightly furrowed. The jonin didn't think for long, then outlined a plan:
— We disembark and head to the target's house. If they attack – Lee and I will distract them and fight them off. Neji and Ten-Ten, you're in charge of protecting the client. Is that clear?..
— Hai, sensei, — the trio said quietly but distinctly…
Ten minutes later, the boat passed through a stone tunnel, and another five minutes later, everyone disembarked onto a small wooden pier, not far from some rather dense reed thickets.
— Well, my job is done, — the boatman said. — Goodbye and good luck to you.
Despite the early morning and not very hot weather, the guy was covered in sweat. This seemed suspicious to Neji, so when everyone said goodbye, the genin lagged behind the main group and watched the ferryman for a while. The latter reached for the boat's engine…
— You start the engine – and I'll kill you, boatman. Do you understand me?
The noise of the engine would be a great way to give us away, and although we shouldn't expect a surprise attack from mercenaries, I still don't want our location and arrival time to be calculated so easily.
The guy's hand froze halfway to its goal, then, swallowing loudly, he turned towards Hyūga. Seeing the bulging veins around his eyes, as well as, собственно, the pupil-less eyes, which the ferryman hadn't noticed before, the guy rolled his eyes and fainted. Examining the body lying in the boat, Neji curled his lip contemptuously.
— Faker, — he muttered. You can't fool the Byakugan; all the processes in the boatman's body didn't resemble those of a person lying unconscious. Especially his rapid heartbeat, accelerating with each passing moment, gives him away.
Spitting on the hapless ferryman, Neji moved towards his team. After ten breaths, the sound of an engine was heard, and turning around, Guy's team saw the boatman speeding away at full throttle…
***
— Saitama, now is not the time to joke around, — Anko began to boil over. — We're on a mission. Keep your jokes to yourself.
The guy and the girl had almost reached the Land of Waves. They just needed to cross the strait, and they would be at their destination. Mitarashi wasn't sure if Guy's team needed help, but an order was an order, so she would carry out the mission. However, some circumstances forced the tokubetsu-jonin to stop.
— What are you even talking about? — the bald man didn't understand. — How is that – walking on water?
Anko slowly exhaled and began to explain:
— You're a shinobi. Any adult shinobi can walk on vertical surfaces and water using chakra… — seeing the incomprehension in the bald man's eyes, Mitarashi continued: — You watched Naruto train, didn't you? Remember him walking on trees and water?
— That-uh… — Saitama scratched his chin, trying to dredge up the relevant memories. — I recall something like that. So what? I'm not a shinobi. Why would I need to walk on water? Isn't it easier to just swim across?
The kunoichi gritted her teeth, lowering her head. She was starting to shake with irritation. She had long since resigned herself to the fact that Saitama pretended to be a stupid and inept idiot. But… Not on a mission, right?! How to knock some sense into this cretin?
The girl spun around her axis and kicked the guy in his bald head. However, her leg felt like it had hit a steel beam, and Saitama just continued to stand like a statue, scratching his head in bewilderment:
— Why are you fighting? Do you want to spar? But we haven't eaten yet. Let's eat, then we'll spar.
— Saitama! — Anko hissed, pointing a finger at the protector that was tied around the bald guy's neck. — You're a shinobi. Behave accordingly…
In the following minutes, the kunoichi began to scold Saitama for his inappropriate behavior and for fooling around on his first serious mission. She also talked about what she considered inappropriate behavior, reminded the guy of great shinobi like Hashirama and Madara. Then she started talking about how at any moment they could be attacked, and Saitama wouldn't take the enemies seriously and might even die from his own carelessness or put his partner, that is, her, at risk. She talked about the Hokage and the Will of Fire. About supporting each other and much more.
On the first minute, the bald man silently listened to the kunoichi. On the second, he began to get bored and count the birds flying across the sky, yawning periodically. On the third, his eye twitched, and he began to get annoyed by the amount of verbal outpouring that was being directed at him. So it was not surprising that after a while he simply couldn't take it anymore:
— Damn it, will you stop already?! In short, or what?! Fit the essence of the problem into ten words.
Anko pouted and, turning away, confidently strode towards the water's edge:
— Don't be an idiot. Follow me. We don't have much time.
— Well, — Saitama scratched the back of his head, — you could have said so right away.
Mitarashi only snorted; channeling chakra into her feet, she walked on the water, deciding to ignore the bald shinobi's words. However, a sudden "glug-glug" behind her made the kunoichi turn around.
Saitama was following her with brisk steps. True, he was already… waist-deep in the water. In surprise, Anko almost sank into the water up to her neck herself, but regaining her composure, she asked:
— So you weren't joking? You really can't walk on water?
— Anko, what the hell would I joke about? — Saitama asked in bewilderment, stopping. — We're on a mission. I even got paid for it.
Mitarashi's eye twitched. It was the first time she had encountered an SS-rank shinobi who didn't know the basics. What hole did he crawl out of? Only Naruto or other naive kids could believe that nonsense about a hero from another world. And how would they get to the Land of Waves? They could, of course, arrange with some ferryman, but that would take a long time. The distance here wasn't so great that it couldn't be covered by moving across the water, the usual way for shinobi.
— Don't look at me like that, — Saitama requested.
— Like what? — Anko was distracted from her thoughts.
— Like I owe you money, — the guy said hoarsely.
Anko snorted, but after a moment, she forced a smile:
— I'm not sure about the money, but you'll definitely owe me.
The girl approached Saitama and, crouching down, offered him her hand. The bald man looked at it very warily in response. He didn't want to be indebted to anyone. What if they demanded money from him in return?..
— Bijū!.. phew, Saitama, phew, I hate you…
— What for now?
— You're, phew, too heavy…
Anko was carrying the bald hero piggyback. She was running across the strait at a fairly fast pace. For the girl, such a "promenade" with the bald man on her back turned out to be quite a test, a kind of training close to Guy's "Power of Youth" training. After all, the chakra expenditure turned out to be incomparably greater than if she had been running alone.
The jonin had almost crossed the entire Nami Strait. The unfinished bridge was visible to their right. The shore was within reach.
— And you're quite a comfortable steed, soft, — Saitama drawled, looking at the rising sun.
Anko turned crimson and gritted her teeth:
— I'll throw you off right now, damn it…
— But it's not scary. I offered to swim next to you from the very beginning. And you're so tense. Why? — the bald man didn't understand.
— You'll swim slowly, I'll get you there faster, — Mitarashi explained discontentedly.
— Hm… — Saitama pondered. — Or maybe you just like it?..
— Shut up!
***
Earlier, even before getting into the boat, Guy and his student had to remove and seal their weights so that the flimsy vessel wouldn't sink under such weight. After Team Three and the client stood on solid ground, the green tandem wanted to put on the extra weight again, thus continuing their passive training. However, Neji still managed to reason with his sensei and teammate, providing weighty arguments. Arguments in the form of one enemy jonin and three chunin, discovered by Hyūga during one of his area monitoring, did indeed work, although the genin initially doubted that he would be able to convince these green beasts.
— It's unknown how many more of them there are, — Neji said quietly. — Perhaps this quartet of mercenaries aren't the only shinobi…
— We'll see how things go, — Guy said on the move. — For now, we're sticking to the plan.
The five moved slowly, at a leisurely pace, so as not to fall into a trap in case of anything. Neji periodically activated his dōjutsu and scouted the area, but the mercenaries persistently loomed on the periphery, after which they went beyond the detection range of the Byakugan for a while.
The air in the Land of Waves was humid, so it was a bit difficult for the genin to breathe out of habit. The ground was also damp. Despite the few clouds and the frequent appearance of the sun warming the earth, Team Three could observe a light fog in the forest. Considering the fact that noon would arrive in a couple of hours, this phenomenon seemed somewhat strange to Hyūga.
— The fog is of artificial origin, — Neji frowned, peering at the vapors. — Sensei, they're already waiting for us, — he addressed his teacher.
Guy remained silent. He froze in place for a moment and signaled to stop; the genin immediately obeyed the command, and Neji and Ten-Ten stood even closer to the architect. They froze like stone statues for about a minute. Tazuna even held his breath.
The jonin's thick eyebrows were furrowed at this time, and he himself seemed to be listening to something.
— Lie down! — Mighto roared. Even the birds were startled by his cry and flew up from their perches.
" Whistle "
Along with the jonin's cry, the sound of air being cut was heard. The genin immediately obeyed the commander's order; Neji knocked Tazuna down, slamming the latter's head into the ground. The architect groaned from such treatment, but didn't protest, as his mouth was filled with damp soil mixed with humus.
Maito jumped to his feet and prepared for battle. Lee followed his teacher's example, and the other two picked up the spitting client and slowly began to lead him aside.
A two-meter-long cleaver had just flown over them, embedding itself in a tree. A man suddenly appeared on this cleaver. He stood half-turned towards the third team. A bare, sinewy torso, a mask of bandages, and a Kirigakure protector were the main distinguishing features of this shinobi.
— Mighto Guy, the Green Beast of Konoha, correct? — the stranger began in a hoarse voice. — No wonder the demon brothers failed…
— Who are you? — the thick-browed jonin frowned. — Is this how you decided to say hello? — Maito nodded his head towards the sword that had recently almost taken their heads off.
— You could say that, — the shinobi smirked under his mask. — I am the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza. Surely you remember me…
— First time I've heard of you, — Guy shook his head, interrupting his opponent. — We have a mission, so hurry up and say what you want, and we'll be on our way.
The man who called himself Zabuza let out a soft chuckle:
— How short your memory is, Green Beast…
— Sensei, three in ambush at three o'clock! — Neji, the shinobi from Kiri, interrupted.
The masked man, glancing at the genin with the Byakugan, narrowed his eyes.
— Hyūga… What an inconvenient genin, — he waved his hand.
A couple of moments later, three chunin with Mist protectors appeared before him. They looked similar to each other, with completely unremarkable appearances: the kind you see and forget in a couple of minutes. And their identical uniforms with pale gray vests only emphasized their similarity. Unlike the demon brothers, these chunin did not have respirator masks. Landing below their commander, they froze in a low stance, ready to jump at any moment. Each held a tantō in their hands.
Zabuza jumped down, deftly pulling the stuck sword out of the tree. Once on the ground, he slung the cleaver over his shoulder and said:
— This old man is ours. Get out of the way, or you'll all die…
***
" Oh crap… my head hurts so bad, " was Uchiha's first thought upon waking up.
Opening his eyes, he squinted from the bright light that hit them. He felt nauseous, his thoughts were confused. The last thing he remembered was a D-rank mission to weed the fields, and also – how he had been thinking about why Naruto had become so strong and changed in such a short period of time. After that, he seemed to have offered the blond a sparring match… And that was it. Then there was nothing. Occasionally, some phantasmagoric images floated up, but he couldn't make sense of them.
Sasuke tried to get up, but the slightest movement sent pain shooting through his skull. He carefully brought his hand to his head.
" Bandaged? But when did I get injured? "
Could it be that the sparring match had happened, and Naruto had beaten him? But why couldn't he remember the details? How could this be?
Uchiha slowly looked around. It was logical to assume that he was in a hospital, lying on a hospital bed. Judging by the symptoms, he had a concussion. How long he had been here, Sasuke had no idea. Judging by the sun, it was morning. So, at least a day, maybe more.
" How did that idiot get me? "
The door to the ward opened, and…
" Sakura? What is she doing here? Although… "
Knowing Haruno, or rather her attraction to the ravenette, it was not surprising to see the girl here. She must have been worried. After all, the pink-haired kunoichi was head over heels in love with Uchiha.
— Sasuke-kun, you're awake, — the girl blushed slightly.
The ravenette snorted. Sharply looking away, he almost cried out from the shooting pain in his head.
— Be careful, — Haruno began worriedly, approaching the bed, — you shouldn't make sudden movements…
— What are you doing here? — Sasuke asked gloomily.
Sakura's reaction was strange. She smiled sadly, remembering something.
— What's the last thing you remember? — the girl clarified.
Sasuke snorted again, but didn't shake his head; moreover, he answered honestly, as it was. That is, that he remembered almost nothing about the time spent before the sparring match.
— Naruto-baka, — Sakura fumed, clenching her fists. — That idiot, can't he gauge the power of his blows? It's definitely said about him: strength there is – brains not needed…
She grumbled for a while longer, but after a couple of minutes of mentioning what a cretin Uzumaki was, she finally told Sasuke what had happened at Training Ground 66.
And what happened was the following. Naruto brought them to the training ground and demonstrated his true abilities. First of all, he showed how he trained and what techniques he possessed. Clones, sparring between clones, ninjutsu training… As the kunoichi recounted, the images that Sasuke had previously considered phantasmagoric gradually gained clarity. He began to recall something, but everything was as if in a fog, and memories were awakened with great difficulty.
The sparring match between the blond and Sasuke, according to Sakura, didn't last even a couple of moments. As soon as Uchiha approached Naruto, he was immediately sent flying by a counterattack like a bullet. Naruto's blow itself… Sasuke, unfortunately, didn't remember. However, Haruno said that she hadn't even managed to understand what had happened. One blow from Uzumaki – and Sasuke was lying unconscious a dozen steps away from the blond. That's how the training fight went.
After the sparring match, Naruto then jumped to the ravenette's body and checked Sasuke's pulse, then examined his eyes, lifting his eyelids, after which, hoisting the ravenette onto his shoulder, he hurried to the hospital. Sakura couldn't keep up with him, as Naruto turned out to be too fast, but the girl came later, and as a teammate, she was allowed to visit Uchiha occasionally.
By the way, Sasuke had been out cold for a couple of days. During this time, iryōnin had patched him up, and now the boy's health was no longer in danger.
Sasuke clenched his fists.
It was incomprehensible. When did Naruto manage to become so strong? Was it all because of his teacher? Then Uchiha had to, at all costs, win the favor of this Saitama, learn more about him from Naruto, and then try to ask to become his student. The gap between him and Uzumaki turned out to be huge, and at first, Sasuke blamed himself for his weakness, feeling his inadequacy as a shinobi. However, after thinking it over carefully, he came to the conclusion that such a state of affairs was to his advantage. He had a worthy rival whom he should catch up with, and preferably surpass. After all, to avenge his brother, Sasuke had to become much stronger. And the opportunity to have as a mentor a person capable of turning even an idiot like Uzumaki into a monster was worth a lot.
— You know, Sasuke, — Sakura interrupted the ravenette's thoughts. — I enrolled in iryōninjutsu courses.
Sasuke didn't immediately understand what Haruno had said.
— Back then at the training ground, — she continued, — seeing Naruto's real abilities, and then you unconscious… I realized I was useless. I'm the weakest on our team. So, to be useful to you, it would be better if Team Seven had an iryōnin. I don't know what rank I'll be able to reach, but I like iryōninjutsu…
Sakura fell silent for a moment. Her cheeks turned pink.
— And also… I like… well… — she stammered. — I like you…
Sasuke raised an eyebrow questioningly, but it wasn't very noticeable under the bandages. The girl blushed even more deeply:
— I… I don't want you to die. That's why I became an iryōnin! — Haruno blurted out in one breath, lowering her head.
Most likely, she hadn't meant to say exactly that, but Uchiha understood her and only nodded slowly in response, returning his thoughts to Uzumaki. Sasuke had to become stronger; he didn't care about the feelings of this weak girl.
He only accepted equals.
Or those who were stronger. He had accepted Uzumaki.
" One day I will surpass you, Naruto. And I will get even with Itachi. And until then… my immediate goal is Saitama. My goal is to become his student… "