章節 123: Chapter 123: Modifying the Two Protagonists and a Windfall

After Natsuro emerged from that space, only a moment had passed in the real world, and Sakura didn't notice anything unusual.

Although Natsuro had said that, he was also aware that the reality couldn't be as simple as he described. As for the specific reasons, he didn't know—perhaps it was because Kushina was indeed affected by the Nine-Tails' power?

That was the only guess he could come up with, as he wasn't very knowledgeable about it. He figured it was probably ultimately Kishimoto's fault.

Next, Naruto and Sasuke engaged in a kind of competitive training, both wanting to prove they could learn faster than the other.

This was indeed hard to compare; Sasuke had a higher talent for ninjutsu but faced greater difficulty in learning it. Naruto had the Shadow Clone technique to accelerate his training, but his talent for ninjutsu was not as good as Sasuke's. Moreover, Naruto was trying to learn Natsuro's version of the Gale Palm, which was practically as difficult as a B-rank ninjutsu.

By the time Kakashi had nearly recovered, neither Sasuke nor Naruto had made much progress, which wasn't surprising. After all, Chidori wasn't something easy to master. Naruto had managed to grasp the basics of the Gale Palm but was still far from Natsuro's version...

At this pace, Naruto would likely master the basic version of the Gale Palm first, and then it would be uncertain what would happen next.

However, in this mission, it was impossible for them to learn new ninjutsu, as Gato had really called together some ninjas after Zabuza had left.

Yet, Zabuza's level wasn't something to be taken lightly, and the ninjas he gathered were basically at the level of fodder in Natsuro's eyes. It seemed like he wanted to win through sheer numbers?

Seeing this, Natsuro, after some thought, showed a glimmer of light in his eyes and called over Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, who were still training.

After all, there was no better training opportunity than this, and it was time to make a change!

"Are we really going to kill them?" Naruto swallowed nervously and asked.

"Exactly, that's the fate of ninjas. When encountering hostile ninjas during a mission, it usually ends this way," Natsuro replied. "And if you don't kill them, Gato's group will likely seek revenge later."

"I understand." After a moment of silence, Naruto adjusted his forehead protector.

Sasuke and Sakura remained silent, looking uneasy.

"Well, if you regret it now, you can back out, but if you do, I suggest you not continue being a ninja," Kakashi added. Having struggled to survive on the battlefield as a child, he naturally supported Natsuro's approach.

In his view, many of these temporary ninjas were probably even fake ninjas, and each one was the kind of guy who wasn't worth sparing, making them suitable for Naruto and the other three beginners to handle.

Hearing Kakashi's words, the three clenched their teeth. Not become ninjas? How could that be possible?!

Then, all three began to act simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Natsuro remained hidden in the shadows.

Natsuro watched the three figures; this scene definitely didn't occur in the original story. Throughout the series, Naruto never got his hands dirty, but he didn't think that was right.

In anime, the protagonist is usually depicted as a hot-blooded hero, so it wouldn't be suitable for them to be portrayed as a cold-blooded killer. But having not a trace of blood on their hands was also incorrect.

Because this was reality, this moment arose. Natsuro hoped that after this event, Naruto and the others would become more aware and not easily forgive things that shouldn't be forgiven.

As for the Nine-Tails, that was Naruto's burden, and the Nine-Tails had been controlled at the time. Moreover, Minato had forgiven it, and Kushina, although not openly, had more or less done the same...

But others, like Nagato, who had killed Jiraiya, who had been like family to him for years, and Obito, who had caused the deaths of Minato and Kushina...

In Natsuro's eyes, these were people Naruto shouldn't forgive.

Natsuro never intended to turn Naruto into a heartless person, but at the very least, he hoped he would become someone like the version seen in the movie, someone who wouldn't hold back against enemies!

Actually, Sasuke had a similar issue. In the early stages, he also adhered to a principle of not killing, but later, after being broken by Itachi, he entered a mode of indiscriminate slaughter. However, he was ultimately somewhat better than Naruto.

In fact, the outcome was better than Natsuro had imagined because all three had graduated from ninja school.

Especially Sasuke and Sakura, who had excellent grades in class and were already aware of the harshness of the ninja path, thus having some psychological preparation, although they hadn't expected it to come so quickly.

As for Naruto, he seemed to be forcing himself to go through with it, but it appeared to be manageable.

"Okay, that's enough for now." After seeing this, Kakashi nodded in satisfaction and formed a hand seal. In the next moment, 2 Shadow Clones appeared around him. For dealing with such fodder, using Shadow Clones was still viable.

"Natsuro, I'll remind you once again, don't interfere," Kakashi's real body glanced at Natsuro and said.

"I understand. I have other things to do." Natsuro smiled when he saw Gato running away when he realized the ninjas he hired were useless.

"Hmm?" Kakashi looked beside him and noticed Natsuro had already vanished, causing him to be startled.

This wasn't something achievable with Body Flicker Technique, and given the rumors surrounding him, could it truly be Sensei's technique?

However, Kakashi had never seen a similar seal, so although he guessed about seventy to eighty percent, he hadn't come to a conclusion.

"Konoha's White Fang… the Yellow Flash…" Kakashi murmured, his expression complex. One was his father, the other his teacher; now he saw a hint of similarity in Natsuro.

At this moment, Kakashi sighed and rushed toward that direction, allowing Naruto and the others to see blood would suffice; there was no need for more on the first time.

This was something a normal ninja teacher would do, unlike Natsuro's first time, where he had been harshly let down by his teammates and captain.

"Hmm? Is that you guys?" Natsuro was surprised to see familiar faces—Zabuza and Haku.

"Hmph, why wouldn't it be us?" Zabuza also noticed Natsuro and relaxed when he saw Kakashi wasn't behind him.

"What's this? Do you want to go at it again? This time, there's no deal with the guy from the Land of Water," Natsuro asked casually.

"Hmph, without Kakashi, you think you can threaten us?" Zabuza coldly questioned.

"First, I can call Kakashi over right away. Second, your current condition isn't too good, is it?" Natsuro glanced at Zabuza, noting that his injuries were significantly worse than in the original story and that he still hadn't fully recovered.

"So, how about we give it a try?" Natsuro said, twirling a kunai inscribed with the Flying Thunder God seal with a smile.

"Sorry, Zabuza's goal isn't you guys. It's probably... similar to your objective," Haku recalled how they had used Zabuza to extort him and said.

He didn't seem angry; techniques were learned, and that was that. The important thing was that Zabuza was okay.

"My objective... Gato? Are you guys trying to kill your employer?" Natsuro asked in surprise.

"Hmph, is that a problem?" Zabuza countered.

"In that case, wouldn't your reputation for the bounty be ruined?"

"Hmph, it shouldn't be known to anyone." Zabuza glared at Natsuro; they were indeed startled by his arrival, but Zabuza felt it would be hard to keep him here.

After all, the rumors surrounding Natsuro were about speed and strange abilities, possibly even related to the technique of the Yellow Flash, who had terrorized during the Third Shinobi World War.

Natsuro observed Zabuza and Haku, and they looked back at him, creating a tense silence in the air.

For these two, Natsuro found them quite tricky. Although Zabuza hadn't fully recovered, his strength was still at about eighty to ninety percent, and Haku, with his Ice Release, could match a jonin, especially since he might not hold back against Zabuza like he did with Sasuke and Naruto...

However, he wasn't without opportunities; like before, he was absolutely confident he could slowly kill the two before him.

But this would require enough time.

Unfortunately, it seemed he didn't have that time. Kakashi was almost fully recovered and was quickly making his way back.

Moreover, it was Naruto's first time seeing blood, and he might be in an unstable state. He had originally intended to go quickly and return, so he couldn't afford to delay for too long...

"You get half, I get half; otherwise, I'll immediately call Kakashi over," Natsuro said.

At once, Zabuza's eyes widened, and he directly cursed, expressing his disbelief at Natsuro's suggestion.

Then, after a hard time holding Zabuza back, Haku finally managed to get him to agree, but Natsuro had to promise not to tell anyone that they had killed their employer.

Naturally, Natsuro agreed; he hadn't planned on saying anything anyway. However, his condition was that they would take action, and Natsuro wouldn't intervene—he wasn't in a position to fight right now.

Zabuza found this somewhat contemptible, but since killing wasn't a big deal for him, he ultimately agreed.

In the end, the two groups completed the action while keeping a wary eye on each other, as the remaining ones were ordinary people with no ability to resist.

However, as Natsuro looked at what he had obtained, he fell silent—it was significantly less than he had imagined.

"That's enough, though; after all, most people wouldn't keep all their savings on them. We only acted after confirming that he had enough cash and valuables," Zabuza said, somewhat satisfied with this outcome. Seeing Natsuro's expression, he curled his lips, as it was clear he wasn't used to this kind of thing… cough, he wasn't used to it either.

"Well… then let's part ways here." Zabuza took Haku and grabbed some lighter treasures before leaving. He didn't want to see Natsuro again after losing half of his loot. If it weren't for the difficulty of keeping Natsuro there, he would have wanted to keep him around.

After they left, Natsuro sighed. This haul was indeed less than he had expected, but…

Natsuro smiled as he looked at the larger treasures that Zabuza and Haku couldn't take away. He pulled out a large handful of scrolls; just because they couldn't take them didn't mean he couldn't.

One could only say that the sealing technique was indeed a divine art!

Afterward, as long as he dealt with these treasures, although it was still much less than Natsuro had imagined in terms of wealth, it was still a substantial gain; at least he wouldn't have to worry about financial issues for the rest of his life.

Since becoming Jiraiya's disciple, he hadn't really lacked money, but it was always better to have more; who could complain about having too much money?

Soon, Natsuro left Gato's lair with a satisfied smile, happily using the Flying Thunder God technique, and this time he directly chose Naruto's coordinates as his target.

What a windfall, what a windfall~

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Currently on Chapter 172 - A Recommendation and the Yang Release