Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

After a while, Sakura slowly regained consciousness.

Noticing everyone around her, she looked relieved: "Thank goodness, everyone's okay."

Then, she turned to look at Naruto and frowned, "Naruto, what's going on here?"

Naruto glanced at Kakashi and Sasuke, both looking thoroughly uninvolved, and his gaze eventually settled on a thoroughly baffled Tazuna.

With a quick flash of inspiration, Naruto hatched a plan.

"Sakura, it's not my fault… Tazuna bears the main responsibility here!"

"Me… responsible?"

Tazunahesitated, even until now, he still didn't know what happened.

"These two are Kirigakure's Shinobi. They're the type to fight to the bitter end, no matter the cost."

Naruto explained, pointing at the two bound Kirigakure's Shinobi.

Tazuna was still puzzled and asked, "But if you knew they were here, why did you pretend to be dead just now?"

Naruto snorted, "Of course it's to understand who their target was. Clearly, they're after you!"

Tazuna was still perplexed: "What do you mean by this?"

"If the enemies were targeting us, we'd take care of it. But since they're after you, things aren't that simple."

Naruto said with a smirk, "The commission we accepted was just to protect you from ordinary people like bandits. Now that Shinobi are involved, the difficulty of the commission is at least B-Rank. And you didn't disclose any of this to us beforehand, which led to the current situation, with Sakura frightened and fainted. Don't you think that's on you?"

"You kept saying we weren't up to the task, but don't you still rely on us in times of crisis?" Sasuke also snorted.

Kakashi nodded in agreement, "Tazuna-san, regardless of your reasons, you didn't disclose the full situation, and now we're dealing with a scenario beyond our original mission scope."

"This…" Tazuna was suddenly speechless, his eyes wandering, and his previous earlier arrogance and inebriation were all restrained at this moment.

After a long silence, Tazuna finally bowed deeply and said sincerely, "I take full responsibility for this. Please let me explain the reasons behind it."

"The truth is, I've long been targeted by a terrifying individual. You may have heard of him… a wealthy tycoon from the shipping industry named Gato."

Hearing this, Kakashi looked slightly surprised, "Gato, from the shipping company? I've heard he's one of the richest men in the world. But why would he be after you?"

Tazuna explained, "On the surface, Gato is a shipping company owner. But behind the scenes, he deals in illegal goods, using thugs and Shinobi to do his dirty work."

As he spoke, Tazuna's face grew somber with memories, "About a year ago, that guy set his sights on the Land of Waves. With his wealth and his willingness to use violence, he quickly monopolized all sea transportation to and from the island. In a place like the Land of Waves, whoever controls the sea controls the wealth, politics, and even the lives of the citizens. The only thing Gato fears now is the completion of the bridge that's been under construction for some time."

"So, as a bridge builder, you're considered an obstacle by Gato, and he wants you eliminated?" Sasuke caught on quickly.

"But if that's the case, why did you hide the truth?" Kakashi was puzzled.

"The Land of Waves is an incredibly poor country. Even the Daimyo has no money, and I am naturally even poorer. I simply can't afford the high fees for a B-Rank or higher mission."

With a sigh, Tazuna added, "That being said, it's fine if you want to abandon the mission. The worst that can happen is that I will be assassinated when I return home, and my eight-year-old granddaughter will be left crying every day, and my daughter will live a lonely and bitter life, blaming the Konoha's Shinobi forever."

After hearing this, Sakura, Sasuke, and even Kakashi looked uncomfortable. It was as if, by not helping Tazuna, they would be heartless villains.

Only Naruto snorted coldly and said, "Everyone has their own fates. Wealth and status are up to chance. If you're not paying, we'll just stop the mission here."

"Naruto, don't you have any compassion at all?" Sakura couldn't help but feel sympathy when she thought of the eight-year-old girl crying.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but his stance clearly aligned with Sakura's.

Naruto replied indignantly: "Sakura, are you pitying him? Then who's pitying you? These two Kirigakure's Shinobi are just Chunin-level. With Gato's wealth, he could easily hire much stronger Shinobi. If we are unable to deal with them by then and Sasuke ends up dead, is that the outcome you want?"

"And you, Sasuke. You already have so much trouble you need to take care yourself, but you still have the time to worry about others? Tazuna's granddaughter may be crying but still alive. Meanwhile, your entire clan is gone. If you die here, who will revive the Uchiha or avenge your clan?"

"…"

Sakura and Sasuke fell silent.

Naruto continued, "Besides, even if we can help him, there's no benefit to us. Wouldn't it be better to use this time to do other commissions? As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. If he's not paying, why should we unconditionally help him with his moral blackmail? There are so many injustices in the world, should we help for free every day?"

Hearing Naruto's words, Kakashi, too, didn't argue further.

Indeed, even a village as big as Konoha still needs to make money through commissions, so they couldn't simply intervene in every neighboring issue.

Seeing the group ready to leave, Tazuna was stunned.

In the past, he had used this trick of taking advantage of his age and moral blackmail, and it always worked, but why could it not work this time?

Watching Naruto and the others walk away, Tazuna anxiously pleaded, "Please don't go! If you leave, the Land of Waves is doomed!"

"Old man, quit trying to guilt-trip us. At your age, haven't you learned any shame? Here's some advice: Survival of the fittest. If you won't put in the effort, expect nothing in return."

Naruto snorted coldly and walked away without looking back.

Plop!

Tazuna dropped to his knees, gritting his teeth and pleading: "Please, I beg of you… save the Land of Waves."

Seeing that Naruto and the others had no intention of stopping, Tazuna gritted his teeth and added: "As long as the bridge can be built, I'll do whatever I can to meet your demands."

"I know you don't have money. But as the bridge's builder, you must have some say in how it's managed, right? My condition is simple. Name the bridge after me and set up a toll booth. Each crossing should cost ten ryo. Can you agree to that?" Naruto said.

Hearing this, Tazuna fell into deep thought.

Once the bridge is built and becomes a trade port, the development of the Land of Waves will also be boosted. Besides, ten ryo is not a lot of money to cross the bridge.

After considering it, he nodded and said, "I can promise you that!"

Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but smile, then he turned around to help Tazuna up enthusiastically, "Tazuna-san, why are you kneeling? The ground is cold. Get up quickly, let's keep moving."

Seeing Naruto's sudden change in attitude, Tazuna was stunned.

'What on earth is this kid thinking about...'