Naruto, born from the world of his parents.

As the entries filled the book one by one, a feeling of surprise gradually filled Kakashi's heart.

Pearls, gemstones, and specialty fruits.

Kakashi could find traces of all the local specialties listed in this entry on the island, and the quantity was quite considerable.

Although it doesn't seem like there are as many as Naruto said, it's not that Naruto is wrong. On the contrary, Kakashi thinks that the number Naruto provided is even conservative.

Needless to say, pearls and gems buried deep underground and at the bottom of the sea are produced only because the physical capabilities of ordinary people are limited. Although the production is far from the enormous quantity that Naruto mentioned, this is only because ordinary people are not physically capable of deep mining.

For example, regarding pearls, Kakashi discovered that the Land of Waves possessed extremely rich pearl reserves, but due to the physical limitations of the island's civilians, the pearls that the Land of Waves could mine were only a small portion of those found in the near-shore area.

According to Kakashi's investigation, this small portion of pearls alone was enough to account for 30% of the price that the merchant named Gato paid for goods each time he purchased them in the Land of Waves.

In other words, this small portion of pearls is enough to create wealth comparable to 30% of that of a small country!

Although this comparison isn't quite appropriate, it was enough to make Kakashi's heart flutter.

It's important to know that Konoha only receives about this much funding from the Land of Fire each year.

Pearls alone are enough to give Konoha a certain degree of independence, but this island has much more to offer.

The more Kakashi investigated, the more excited he became. He finally understood why the Third Hokage had told him to follow Naruto's choice before leaving.

This child is the future direction that the gods have bestowed upon Konoha!

Kakashi slammed the notebook shut, which he had almost finished writing down, and stretched as he looked at the sky, which was already turning red.

I haven't felt this energetic in a long time.

He sighed inwardly. He had already spent half a day running around, going up and down mountains and down rivers, chatting with people. These things, which he would have found incredibly troublesome in the past, now made him feel somewhat unsatisfied.

Kakashi chuckled self-deprecatingly, put the entry back in his ninja tool bag, and headed towards Tazuna's house, which he had already inquired about.

As he walked, Kakashi mentally reviewed what he had seen and heard that day, hoping to provide the most objective data possible when he met Naruto later.

But as he was engrossed in thinking about the data, a violent surge of chakra jolted him awake.

Kakashi frowned, looking in the direction from which the chakra was coming. Startled, he immediately rushed over.

This is the direction of Tazna's house!

……

At Dazner's home.

He leaned on his broadsword, barely managing to stand, the pain in his ribs causing his brows, beneath the bandages, to furrow tightly.

He looked at the blond kid not far away, his eyes filled with apprehension.

After learning that Tazuna had returned to the Land of Waves, Zabuza lay in wait near the Land of Waves, waiting for an opportunity to behead him.

Just now, Tazuna arrived here with three kids.

Zabuza's initial plan was to wait until night to launch a surprise attack in conjunction with his Hidden Mist Technique.

After all, the ninja that Tazuna brought back this time was Kakashi, the Copy Ninja of Konoha, a Jonin with a illustrious reputation in the ninja world. Although Zabuza was not afraid of him, he did not want the mission to assassinate Tazuna to go wrong.

After all, the sources of missions for the ninja are already scarce, and if there are records of failures, it will be even more troublesome.

Zabuza is someone who hates trouble.

But when Zabuza discovered that Tazuna was only accompanied by three Konoha kids, and after investigating and confirming that Kakashi was not nearby, but had gone to the beach dozens of kilometers away for some unknown reason, Zabuza's heart was moved.

Although he didn't know why Kakashi had run so far, Zabuza wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

So after tracking Kakashi, Zabuza immediately launched an attack.

In his eyes, this time the opponents were only three genin and a bunch of defenseless civilians, so Zabuza did not use ninjutsu, but just charged straight at them with his Executioner's Blade.

He thought things would go smoothly, since the three kids were too scared to move.

But just as his greatsword was about to strike Tazuna, Zabuza suddenly sensed a strange sense of danger.

His keen senses honed during years on the run allowed him to draw his broadsword back in time and hold it in front of his chest when he was unable to dodge in mid-air. The next moment, he was kicked away heavily.

Although the Executioner's Blade took almost all the damage, the aftershocks emanating from it gave Zabuza the illusion that his ribs were broken.

The pain was almost unbearable for Zabuza, who was used to pain. After calming himself down, he looked coldly at the blond brat in front of him.

"Hey kid, give me your name."

"Naruto Uzumaki"

Naruto replied coldly, the signature smile he inherited from his father long gone.

"Naruto Uzumaki, huh? I'll remember you."

Hearing the hurried footsteps approaching through the forest, Zabuza gave Naruto a deep look, lowered his hands from the hand seals, and disappeared from the spot.

Naruto remained standing quietly, warily observing his surroundings, until Kakashi appeared before him, at which point he relaxed.

And with that moment of relaxation, he collapsed straight down.

Seeing this, Sasuke rushed over, but Kakashi beat him to it.

After catching Naruto, Kakashi's eyes flashed with a hint of doubt, but then the "fainted" Naruto winked at him.

This exchange of glances made Kakashi understand. He hugged Naruto and looked at Sasuke with a cold expression: "What happened?"

Sasuke glanced at the unconscious Naruto with concern, took a deep breath, and slowly recounted what had just happened.

Kakashi was startled when he heard that the person was covered in bandages and holding a large sword that was as tall as a man.

Zabuza?!

Almost instantly, that dangerous name surfaced in his mind.

But thinking of Naruto's gaze just now, Kakashi had a sudden thought, and an idea was formed in his mind.

He glanced at the anxious Tazna beside him, his eyes icy cold.

"Why wasn't such important information revealed sooner?"

"Huh? What?"

"Stop pretending you don't understand!"

Kakashi interrupted Tazuna almost scolding him.

After handing Naruto over to Sasuke, he looked at Tazuna, who had a blank expression on his face.

"This mission has encountered a dangerous ninja named Zabuza, which is no simple matter."

"Why didn't you reveal such important information from beginning to end?!"

"I...I don't know either..."

"You don't know? You've dealt with Gato so many times, how could you not know that he has a ninja named Zabuza by his side?!"

Kakashi's voice was sterner than ever before, which made Tazuna's already trembling body shake even more violently.

He said, almost in tears, "I...I really don't know."

"This is no longer a matter of whether you know it or not."

"If ninjas were involved, then it would be a B-rank mission, which is still within the scope of this team's capabilities. However, the name Zabuza has exceeded the limits of this team's ability to handle it. As the Jonin leading the team, I hereby declare this mission over."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this news, Tazner jumped up instantly, shouting, "You can't do this!"

But when he met Kakashi's cold eyes, Tazuna's anger vanished instantly.

He stammered in response, "You can't, you can't just stand by and watch someone die."

"We're just ninjas!"

After leaving that answer, Kakashi turned around without showing any mercy, but after taking only a few steps, he heard Naruto's extremely weak voice.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Hearing Naruto's voice, Kakashi immediately turned around and walked towards Naruto, looking at the weak boy with great concern: "Naruto, are you alright?"

"I, cough cough, I'm fine, it's just that I overused my chakra."

"That's good. Get some rest. We'll be heading back to the village soon."

"Kakashi-sensei."

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto's voice suddenly became incredibly low.

"Um?"

"When you went to gather intelligence just now, did you take a thorough look around this country?"

"Um?"

Kakashi paused for a moment, then realized what he meant: "I've seen it. It's truly spectacular."

Hearing Kakashi's answer, Naruto felt relieved, but he still maintained that weak expression. However, his voice carried a trace of pity: "This is indeed a beautiful country, but it is also a tragic country. It is like a parasitized whale, crying silently."

"Kakashi-sensei, I... I want to help them."

"But Naruto, Zabuza's appearance has already caused the situation to spiral out of control."

"this……"

Naruto was clearly hesitant, and Tazuna also keenly noticed this hesitation. Without any hesitation, he immediately knelt down, adopting a perfectly standard taxi dismount posture.

"Please, esteemed ninjas, help us!"

The numerous emotional ups and downs throughout the day caused this not-so-clever craftsman to completely lose control of the situation; he was now single-mindedly focused on keeping the people in front of him.

Like a drowning person desperately grasping at a straw, even if it seems futile.

The sight of an elderly man with white hair getting out of a taxi is enough to evoke pity in anyone. Not to mention the sentimental Sakura Haruno, even Sasuke hesitated.

However, Kakashi's eyes remained unmoved; he simply looked at Naruto quietly, waiting for Naruto's answer.

Naruto seemed to be caught in some kind of dilemma, standing hesitantly in place, unable to make up his mind for a long time.

The situation instantly reached a stalemate, and this tense atmosphere, like a swamp, gradually swallowed up Tazuna's hope. Just as he was about to despair, a child's voice suddenly rang out: "Grandpa?!"

Upon hearing this voice, Tazuna, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled slightly, but still did not get up.

Naruto looked in the direction of the sound and saw a withdrawn and gloomy boy staring at them in disbelief.

The next moment, the boy looked away and turned to leave.

Seeing the boy's strange behavior, Naruto looked at Tazuna and asked, "Is that your grandson?"

"Yes, Ninja Master."

After several emotional fluctuations, Tazner no longer dared to act arrogantly due to his age, and his attitude became extremely respectful.

"Can you tell me why this child is like this?"

These words were like a crossbeam, rekindling hope in Tazuna, who was about to be overwhelmed by despair. He was about to speak with his head down when he heard Naruto say softly, "Get up and speak."

Tazna hesitated for a moment, then stood up and looked at the child in front of him, who was about the same age as his grandson Inari, and slowly recounted a past event that had occurred on the island.

The story itself is nothing special; it's simply a tale of rebels being killed by those in power. But when the person involved tells it, there's an inexplicable sense of sorrow about it.

Naruto listened quietly to this story, then turned his gaze to the direction where the boy had disappeared.

"Heroes? They don't exist?"

He pondered the words he had heard from Dazner and suddenly laughed.

The sun was always bright and clear by the sea. Naruto turned to Kakashi, smelling the salty sea breeze, and said, "Kakashi-sensei, I've made up my mind. I want to help them."

"But……"

"I understand, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto nodded to Kakashi and then looked at Tazuna: "Mr. Tazuna, do you remember the deal I mentioned at the beginning?"

"I remember, of course I remember."

Naruto smiled and said, "Actually, it wasn't a transaction, but rather, well, it was buying on credit."

"On credit?"

"Yes."

Naruto nodded: "My initial idea was to help you get on the right track and establish a contract, so that you could come to the village to make up for the mission rewards when you have the capacity."

After saying that, Naruto bowed and apologized, "But as you know, you can't easily open the door to credit in any business, so my attitude at the beginning wasn't very good, and I want to apologize to you."

"It's okay, it's okay, I understand."

After receiving Naruto's reply that he wanted to help, Tazuna didn't care about attitude at all.

"But as Kakashi-sensei said, the current situation is beyond our ability to handle, so my idea is to invite another batch of ninjas from the village."

"Really!?"

"But as you also understand, this isn't free."

Upon hearing this, Tazuna's expression froze instantly: "But, but we don't have any money."

"So, I have a new idea."

"A new idea?"

"Yes."

Naruto pointed towards the sea and asked softly, "That's where you're planning to build the bridge, right?"

"Yes."

"If I remember correctly, this should be a bridge connecting the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire."

"Yes."

"So, after this bridge was built, the Land of Waves is now within the Land of Fire's sphere of influence, is that right?"

"I guess you could say that?"

Naruto nodded: "Then we can do it the way the Land of Fire does."

"The Land of Fire?"

"That's right, the Land of Waves funded the purchase of protection for the ninja village."

"Oh? But we don't have any money!"

"This is the new method I was talking about. From now on, Konoha will be fully responsible for the security of all commercial activities in the Land of Waves. As for the reward, it will be 10% of the profits from each product protected by Konoha."