Naruto: The New Beginning

43. Manipulation of Tazuna

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Naruto's abrupt involvement nearly surprised Kakashi.

He glanced at Naruto solemnly and thought, 'When did you become so greedy for money?'

When Tazuna heard this, he immediately began to play the sympathy card, claiming that the Land of Waves was poor, that all their hopes were pinned on the bridge, and that he truly couldn't afford the fee for a B-rank mission.

Finally, Tazuna pulled out his ultimate move—moral blackmail:

"Even if you don't want to protect me, it's fine. If I die, at most my daughter and my eight-year-old grandson will resent Konoha for the rest of their lives and cry every day. But don't worry, I won't blame you. It's not your fault."

Tazuna's eyes gleamed cunningly.

Kakashi scratched his head, finding the situation troublesome. Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly, and Sakura's expression turned grim.

But Naruto wasn't fazed by this trick. He calmly said, "Well, I guess there's no choice. Why don't we put in some extra effort and head to the Land of Waves?"

Tazuna felt triumphant, thinking his plan had worked, and a sly smile crept across his face.

The team sensed that Naruto was up to something. Kakashi decided to play along with Naruto's act. "You want to continue the mission?"

"No, what I mean is, it wouldn't be good if they hated Konoha forever. So why don't we work extra hard, go to the Land of Waves, and kill his daughter and grandson? That way, the whole family will be reunited."

Naruto then turned to Tazuna with a malicious grin. "And of course, we'll take care of the real culprit who lied about the mission level first."

Tazuna collapsed to the ground in fear. "No! You can't do that!"

Naruto responded righteously, "If you eat a bowl of ramen, you should pay for it. It's only fair. We can't accept a low-level mission fee while doing a high-level mission, can we?"

Naruto was adamant about setting things right. Lying about a mission's level could have serious consequences, or it could be overlooked if Tazuna settled the matter by paying the correct commission or forfeiting the mission altogether.

After all, Tazuna's deliberate withholding of information was akin to endangering the lives of the Fourth Hokage's son and the Uchiha clan's prodigy.

In true shinobi style, ensuring the family's "neatness" wouldn't be unreasonable.

What was most infuriating was Tazuna's attempt to manipulate them through moral blackmail.

It was like reading a bad novel—where you can predict the plot exactly.

In the end, Tazuna apologized sincerely and requested Team 7 to continue protecting him.

He promised to clarify the mission level and make up the commission once they reached Konoha.

It didn't matter much to Kakashi whether they continued the mission or not. With his strength, he could handle any unexpected situation, and no village would bother to send an assassin just to kill a foreman.

Sasuke wanted to continue training and face strong opponents outside the village, so Sakura followed Kakashi's lead.

Naruto mainly wanted to test his current strength and see if he could go head-to-head with Zabuza.

So the group continued their journey. Along the way, they experienced hunger and thirst and spent the night in small inns.

But they reached the seaside pier and prepared to take the waterway.