Chapter 145: Gato's Recklessness [Part 2] (Patreon)

Chapter List: Naruto: Sakura Blizzard

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"Wood Release isn't as powerful as you think!" Sakura chuckled at Zabuza's remark. "Many people believe that Wood Release is what made Hashirama Senju famous. But in my opinion, it's Hashirama Senju who made Wood Release famous. In his hands, Wood Release was invincible, but it might not be the same for others!"

"I haven't personally met the First Hokage of Konoha, but according to the books I've read, Hashirama Senju used his Wood Release ninjutsu to bring stability to a chaotic era. He was revered as the God of Ninjas. From his time onward, the concept of ninja villages emerged in the ninja world. Perhaps you're right. Even without Wood Release, Hashirama Senju could have achieved all that!"

Zabuza shook his head. Nowadays, most of the information about Hashirama Senju in the ninja world was mostly false, with only a grain of truth. Many details about Hashirama Senju's life were based on rumors and speculation, and no one knew the exact facts.

Although Tazuna's house was remote and desolate, there was an advantage to such an environment—it was quiet enough. Sakura and her group spent their days practicing while the meals for the entire group were taken care of by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, who was a good wife and mother. Tazuna himself had found several people willing to resist Gato and had begun construction on the Great Bridge. Naruto allocated one of his shadow clones every day to protect Tazuna, preventing Gato's men from causing trouble.

Several consecutive days passed peacefully. Tazuna worked happily on building the Great Bridge, while Sakura and the others focused on their training. The only thing that bothered Sakura a bit was Tazuna's grandson, Inari. Ever since their first meeting when Inari learned that Sakura and her group were escorting Tazuna and would protect him during the construction of the Great Bridge, Inari's attitude towards them had been less than friendly. If someone didn't know any better, they would think there was some grudge between the two sides.

According to the original storyline, Inari would be persuaded by Naruto's persuasive words and gather the people of the Land of Waves to resist Gato's rule. However, the current Naruto was not the same as the one in the original story, who eagerly wanted to make friends and was infinitely tolerant and forgiving. As far as the present Naruto was concerned, he couldn't care less about Inari's past. If the other party disliked them, he had no interest in getting closer. After all, they were all strangers. The fact that they were willing to stay and help Tazuna build the Great Bridge was already a generous act of kindness. So, there was no need to earnestly persuade Inari. It was wishful thinking!

Without Naruto's persuasive words, Inari could only sulk alone. However, after a few days of brooding, he eventually came to his senses and started helping Tazuna with the construction of the Great Bridge every day. Sakura just chuckled and didn't pay much attention to the matter.

Inari was a typical brat. Whenever he felt hurt, he would act as if the whole world owed him something. The more kindly he was advised, the more stubborn he became. It was best to leave him alone for a while, and eventually, he would calm down on his own.

As for Gato, since Zabuza disappeared without a trace, even a fool like Gato knew something had gone wrong. However, he didn't think that Zabuza had switched sides. He believed Zabuza had run off with the deposit he had given. This infuriated Gato to the point that he couldn't eat for several days. Although that amount of money was insignificant to him, the fact that Zabuza had taken it and failed to accomplish the task made him extremely angry.

After thinking it over, Gato gathered his subordinates, inquired about Tazuna's whereabouts, and headed straight to Tazuna's house with two new Chunin defector ninjas and a bunch of wandering warriors. He didn't believe they could cause any trouble for Tazuna, his family, and the others.

In the morning, after quickly finishing breakfast, Tazuna prepared his tools and was ready to leave for the Great Bridge construction site. However, as soon as he stepped out of the house, he was confronted by Gato and his gang approaching with great force.

"Oh no, Gato is here, and he brought hundreds of people with him!" Tazuna hurriedly ran to Sakura and the others to inform them. He knew he didn't have the capability to handle such a situation and decided it was best to seek protection.

"Oh? We've been waiting for this guy for so long, and he finally shows up!" Swallowing the last bite of her food, Sakura's expression remained unchanged. She knew that someone like Gato wouldn't simply stand by and watch them build the Great Bridge. It was expected that he would come to cause trouble. However, Sakura didn't anticipate that Gato would lose patience and show up after just a few days.

"Heh, that foolish short and fat man!" Zabuza secretly lit three sticks of incense in his heart. That dead short and fat man had treated him and Haku poorly before. It was as if they had become his slaves the moment they were recruited. If not for the unwritten rule in the ninja world that prohibited ninjas from harming their employers, Zabuza would have cut Gato in half long ago.

"It seems like you really dislike him. Isn't he your employer?" Kakashi asked while sipping his porridge. Since the incident when Sakura and her team forcefully unmasked him, Kakashi no longer intentionally acted mysterious. He genuinely feared that his three little troublemakers of students would play some prank on him. After all, it was just showing his face, not something particularly difficult.

"That short and fat guy who looks like a winter melon? He's extremely arrogant. If it weren't for the fact that he's my employer, I would have killed him long ago!"

Zabuza's tone was filled with killing intent and resentment. The killing intent was naturally directed towards Gato, while the resentment stemmed from an unexpected discovery. Damn it, who would have thought that this guy who always wore a mask and never dared to show his face would turn out to be quite good-looking? If this pretty boy continued to hang around in front of Haku, what would happen to her heart?!

"Don't worry, he's no longer your employer. Your dream of killing him can come true very soon!" Sakura said with a smile.

"By the way, lend me your Kubikiribocho for a moment."

"What do you need my Kubikiribocho for?" Zabuza was puzzled but obediently handed over the Kubikiribocho.

"Boom..."

"Crack..."

"My sword..."

The first sound was Sakura punching the blade of the Kubikiribocho, the second sound was the sound of the Kubikiribocho breaking in half from Sakura's punch, and the last sound was Zabuza's agonized wail of despair.

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 146: Gato's Recklessness [Final]