Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 206 Class 7's First Advanced Mission - Failure

On the fog-shrouded cross-sea bridge, several men dressed in black lay sprawled about.

"You...you're Morton?"

Upon hearing Tazuna's question, the man kneeling and begging for mercy trembled, lowering his head even further, seemingly unable to meet his gaze.

Kakashi, who was standing nearby, noticed something amiss. These people were probably acquaintances of Tazuna from the Land of Waves. He gave the three of them a wink, signaling them not to act recklessly. In fact, he was mainly reminding Hairi not to kill innocent people indiscriminately.

Naruto and Sasuke naturally put away their weapons, while Hairi was studying the thick fog under the bridge and had no time to pay attention to the ordinary person begging for mercy. The changes in the Land of Waves had caused the disappearance of the Ice Release technique she cared about most, and she had little interest in Morton or Raiga.

Anyway, if the enemy jumps out, she can just kill them directly. Why bother with anything else?
If this were a game, she would already be pressing Enter to skip it.

When questioned by Tazna, Morton, with his head bowed, did not answer Tazna's question, but his identity was already self-evident.

Dazner was overjoyed to finally encounter someone familiar, but seeing Morton's silent demeanor and the black robe belonging to the enemy, he began to understand the situation.

"Morton, how did you end up with these rogue ninjas? Did you surrender too much?"

"I don't!"

The kneeling man seemed to have been provoked by these words and immediately looked up and roared at Tazuna.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at the other person's face. His eyes were bruised and his nose was bleeding. They could vaguely tell that he was not old, probably a young man in his twenties.

"Nothing? If not, why are you wearing enemy clothes?"

Even the thickest-headed Naruto didn't believe his words. He pointed at Morton's standard black uniform with disdain. Sasuke slightly drew his sword, ready to kill Morton if he made the slightest move.

Sensing danger, Morton moved his lips slightly in fear, but still managed to argue:
"Lei Ya locked Gato in a coffin, and the Land of Waves has been taken over by the Black Shovel Clan. I only joined the Black Shovel Clan; I did not surrender to Gato!"

"you!"

Dazner was so angry at Morton's shameless sophistry that he was speechless for a moment.

Thanks to the convenience of the Hero Bridge, the Land of Waves was finally connected with the outside world. While this brought economic development, it also attracted many people with ill intentions. Zabuza was left to deal with the attacking ninjas, but ordinary pirates and robbers were particularly troublesome.

To protect the Kingdom of Waves from bandits, his son-in-law Kesha revived the self-defense force that had resisted Kado. Morton was a member of the Kingdom of Waves' self-defense force, but this warrior who was originally protecting the country has now chosen to betray it!
Naruto and Sasuke both looked at Morton with disdain.

Instead of resisting the invasion of foreign enemies, they chose to aid and abet them and even attacked Tazna, who was trying to get reinforcements. Such people are even more despicable than the enemy.

"Why don't we just kill him!"

"agree."

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." Naruto and Sasuke spent too much time with Hairi, and their personalities were more or less influenced by it.

Seemingly enraged by Sasuke and the other's attitude, Morton's face flushed red, his blood boiling and even his fear vanished:
"Even that powerful Water Release ninja was scared away by Raiga. You have no idea about his power. As long as he can rule the Land of Waves, we will never have to be afraid of people like Gato again!"

"Yes!"

"Since all the heroic ninjas have fled, we naturally need to find even more powerful ninjas to protect the country!"

The few people who were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy had been silent until now, and they were quietly echoing Morton's words. They had obviously been brainwashed by this strange logic and genuinely believed that they were doing the right thing.

Tazuna looked at the men and, though he couldn't recall their names, they looked very familiar. They must be members of the Self-Defense Forces. Thinking of Keisha, whose fate was unknown, he felt even more furious!
With his words echoing the crowd's sentiments, Morton felt even more confident, and a hint of smugness appeared on his disheveled face.
"What a load of bull! These Konoha ninjas will just run away after completing their mission and leave. In the future, when our Land of Waves encounters danger, we'll still have to shoulder the burden ourselves!"

Now that the invincible Raiga is willing to rule the Land of Waves, we will never have to be bullied by others again. Isn't that a great thing?

"Uncle, I suggest you quickly send these ninjas back to Konoha and join the Black Sumire Clan. You can build bridges; I guarantee Raiga won't kill you. Then we can work together to make the Land of Waves even better!"

As they talked, Morton turned around and began to persuade Dazner to surrender.

What's most terrifying is that Kakashi actually found some truth in what he said.

From the perspective of the Land of Waves, this place, sandwiched between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, is a natural transportation hub. There must be a large number of merchant ships coming and going. While the economy is booming, it is also inevitable to encounter unscrupulous merchants like Kado.

The Land of Waves has no ninjas to protect it, so there's really not much that can be done if danger strikes. They have to return to their village after completing their missions and can't stay here for long. Zabuza, whom they used to rely on, has also mysteriously disappeared. Having Raiga Kurosuki rule the Land of Waves does provide some security.

"Impossible, my family is still here..."

"That's easy!"

Before Dazner could finish speaking, Morton interrupted him with a laugh:

"You are a renowned bridge-building master. This cross-sea bridge cannot be built without your participation, whether it is widening and construction or daily maintenance. As long as you can persuade Brother Kesha not to go against Boss Leiya, it would be easy to release a few people with this connection."

"This……"

After Morton unleashed a barrage of attacks, Dazna's eyes began to show hesitation.

Gato is no longer a threat. If Raiga Kurosuki can really release Tsunami and the others and protect the Land of Waves like Zabuza, it would be much more convenient than spending hundreds of thousands of ryo to ask Konoha for help.

Zabuza and the Konoha ninjas are all ninjas who follow orders. If Raiga Kurosuki successfully occupies the Land of Waves, he will be the ruler of this land, and he will naturally be more dedicated to protecting what he owns than others...

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what the other person said made sense.

Seeing Tazuna suddenly fall silent, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes.
If Tazner, the client, gives up resisting, what will happen to their mission?
Sasuke's worries were even greater than Naruto's. He hadn't even gotten his hands on the ninja sword he longed for yet, so wouldn't it be a wasted trip to return to the village in such a sorry state?
But they wanted to stop Tazna, yet they didn't know how to bring it up, because no one could offer a solution to this matter.

This country has neither its own army nor any ninjas who can stand alone.

The country is protected by a self-defense force composed entirely of ordinary people. You don't even need to encounter Gato; a few low- or mid-level rogue ninjas can easily defeat this self-defense force.

The reason the Land of Waves was able to live in peace in the past was simply because the country was too small and too poor. Apart from Gato, who was transporting drugs, who discovered the value of the Land of Waves, no one else cared about this wretched place.

But now, with the bridge across the sea built by Tazuna, and after more than five years of development, the Land of Waves is showing signs of developing into a port city of the Land of Fire. People's livelihood and economy have improved significantly, far exceeding its weak military capabilities.

Strong economy, weak military.

The probability of attracting bad people increases exponentially.

Team 7 cannot stay in the Land of Waves permanently, nor can they offer any help; this is a problem that seems unsolvable for them.

Whatever decision Tazuna ultimately makes, it will be based on the Land of Waves' position, and they have no right to interfere or prevent it.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The pervasive fog dissipated slightly, revealing a sliver of light in the sky. The cross-sea bridge, which had just been filled with shouts of battle and screams of agony, fell silent for a moment.

Morton's suggestive whispers persuaded Tazuna, who was struggling but already swayed. Kakashi and Naruto stood there anxiously, unable to do anything. After studying the thick fog under the bridge for a while, Hairi suddenly came to her senses and saw the scene before her.

What's going on?
She looked puzzled, like a player who had skipped too many key plot points and missed some quest items. After listening to Morton's advice for a while, she finally understood the specific reason.

I spent the whole day hunting geese, and the geese pecked my eyes.

Naruto, who is extremely skilled at talk-no-jutsu, was actually subdued by this ordinary person named Morton using talk-no-jutsu!
Faced with this scene, Hui Li was both surprised and helpless.

They are hired ninjas, and there's nothing they can do if the client wants to cancel the mission. If Raiga Kurosuki can truly protect the Land of Waves, it might not be such a bad thing.

The most crucial point is that she didn't really care whether the mission could be completed. She made this special trip just for Haku's Ice Release. Now that the Land of Waves mission has nothing to do with Haku, if Tazuna wants to continue the mission, she will beat Raiga Kurosuki to his knees. If he doesn't want to, she won't force him.

It's all a personal choice anyway.

"Uncle, Brother Keisha just can't get it. You've been working hard outside for many years and have seen a lot. You can't be so dense."

The leader of the Kurosuki clan said that as long as people are willing to join the Kurosuki clan, those with talent can learn the Chakra Extraction Technique, and those with strong abilities will have the opportunity to become executives and learn powerful ninjutsu. At that time, our Land of Waves will have its own ninjas, and we will not need these outside ninjas for protection.
Look at that Zabuza guy, what's his name? He's so unreliable. He ran away before the enemy even arrived. Would something like that happen if we had our own ninjas?
Think about it carefully, I really did all this for the Land of Waves!

Tazuna's face was filled with complex emotions. The future of the Land of Waves, the bridge, ninjas... all sorts of thoughts swirled in his mind. Finally, under Morton's expectant gaze, he nodded.

"Okay, maybe you're right..."

"Ah, you're so sensible!" Morton's face lit up instantly, and a thin slit appeared in his swollen, bruised right eye.

Tazuna sighed, turned around to look at Gray and the others, and his already wrinkled face seemed to age ten years in an instant.

Without needing to say more, everyone could tell from his expression that he had made the other party's choice.

"Uncle Tazuna..."

"Naruto!"

Naruto wanted to make one last effort, but Kakashi stopped him. He looked at Hairi and Kakashi, and seeing that they both shook their heads, he could only keep quiet.

"I'm sorry to bother you all with this trip."

Tazuna looked somewhat guilty as he spoke. He had knelt down and begged everyone to save the Land of Waves when he was in the Land of Fire, but now he had directly defected to the enemy. He didn't know how to face Hairi and the others.

After thinking for a moment, he took out two large stacks of silver notes from his bag and stuffed them into Naruto's arms, saying apologetically:
"This is the final payment for this mission. It's definitely not enough, but this is all I can offer. The rest of the money belongs to everyone. I can't make that decision on my own. I'm really sorry!"

You need to think this through.

Hui Li remained noncommittal about his choice, but said in a chilling tone, "Hei Chui Lei Ya is no kind person. He may not let you and your family go. It will be too late to regret it then."

“Yeah, Uncle Tazuna, what if they kill you?” Naruto and Sasuke chimed in from the side.

"Will not."

Dazner shook his head, a hint of pride in his voice:

"Most of the value of the Land of Waves lies in this cross-sea bridge, and I designed and developed the internal load-bearing structure of this bridge. Without me, no one would be able to handle the later maintenance of the bridge. Even if it's just to threaten me, they won't easily kill Keisha and the others."

How naive!

A ninja isn't a profit-driven businessman like Gato; he won't care about your ways.

Silently reflecting on her thoughts, Hui Li remained silent. Good advice is useless against a damned devil; since Tazuna had already made up his mind, she could only respect his fate.

Sasuke also looked disappointed; he really wanted to see that legendary ninja sword from Kirigakure.

"Fellow Konoha ninjas, the rest is an internal matter for our Land of Waves, so there's no need for you to worry about it."

Seeing that Dazner had made his decision, Morton's face lit up with joy, and he turned around to shoo the guests away.

Seemingly fearing that Hairi and the others would be unwilling to continue interfering, they deliberately emphasized "internal affairs of the Land of Waves," essentially turning Kurosuki Raiga's occupation into a domestic political dispute.

Ignoring the other party's attitude, Grey Gli gave Morton a deep look.

At first, none of them took this ordinary person seriously, but the mission to the Land of Waves failed because of a few words he said.

Since the completion of the Eight Gates of Reversal, the surging power has made her increasingly proud, and she no longer regards ordinary people as her own kind.

However, Morton's existence undoubtedly served as a wake-up call for her. Even Kaguya Otsutsuki could be sealed away if she was careless. She seemed to be about to reach the level of a Kage and feared no one, but there were countless seals and secret techniques in the ninja world. This arrogant attitude would inevitably lead to her suffering greatly in the future.

Now, she has only suffered a tiny loss, which is not even worth mentioning, but it has made her understand this principle, so she has actually gained something.

"You all continue guarding the bridge. I'll take Uncle to find Boss Leiya."

"Yes!"

The Black Hoe members on the ground picked up their weapons and staggered to block the bridge, while Morton, supporting Tazna's injured arm, walked into the fog. Soon, the Black Hoe members disappeared from everyone's sight.

Looking at the bridge where only two corpses remained, Naruto held two stacks of silver notes, completely at a loss.

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do?"

Faced with the students' questions, Kakashi could only gasp in disbelief:

"Whether a task can be completed depends not only on the strength of the team, but also on the mind to handle complex situations and a crucial bit of luck."

Because of Zabuza's help over the years, the people of the Land of Waves lack the courage to protect their country.

What seems like outrageous behavior now is simply the exposure of problems that have been concealed in the past. Without their own awareness of protecting their country, no one can help them. Perhaps our help will only be meaningful when they regain the courage to resist.

"How stupid!"

Sasuke sheathed his sword, leaving behind a cold comment that everyone immediately nodded in agreement, and they crossed the bridge back to the Land of Fire.

Class 7's first advanced mission—has failed!
dong dong dong...

The chaotic footsteps grew increasingly faint on the bridge.

Beneath the Hero Bridge, an unusually thick fog clung to the rock walls of the bridge piers, lingering for a long time.

(End of this chapter)