Naruto: Let the glory of the giants spread throughout the ninja world!

In the 55th year of Konoha, Naruto was seven years old.

The snow fell on the corner of my eye, and before it could melt, it was evaporated by my body heat.

Ryukura knew he was about to die.

On the third day of my journey, I had no cheat codes, no chakra, and no script for defying fate. All I had was the bone-chilling winter winds of the Land of Water and an empty stomach.

He huddled in the street corner, his consciousness beginning to fade.

In a daze, he wanted to laugh. In all the novels he had read before transmigrating, which protagonist didn't awaken a bloodline limit at the beginning or get picked up by a powerful figure?

When it's your turn, you won't even qualify to be a background figure; you'll become an unclaimed corpse in the freezing cold.

Just then, a warm breath appeared in front of them.

It's not snow, it's steamed buns.

Steaming hot white steamed buns landed on the cold stone slab, and the rising white steam dispersed before my eyes.

Ryukura Akira was stunned.

He looked up in the direction the steamed bun had fallen and saw a girl of about ten years old looking down at him.

The girl had smooth black hair, exquisitely beautiful features, and a cautious, pitying look in her eyes.

It's like seeing a frozen stray cat by the roadside; even though you know you shouldn't interfere, you can't help but stop in your tracks.

Then Ryukura Akira saw the person behind her.

Bandages covered half of his face, revealing a single eye that was as cold as a knife, and he carried a large sword that was taller than a man on his back.

He was all too familiar with the shape of that sword; it was a decapitation sword.

Zabuza Momochi.

So this girl is...

"Bai, I'm leaving. This is the last act of mercy I'm allowing you."

Zabuza's voice was cold as he turned and walked away. The girl looked away and obediently followed.

Ryukura Akira's mind became extremely clear in that instant.

He is a die-hard fan of Naruto and has watched the Team 7 vs. Zabuza Haku storyline countless times.

He remembered that Haku died under Kakashi's Lightning Blade while protecting Zabuza.

That cold-blooded monster cried like a child in the end.

And now, they are right in front of us.

Zabuza is not dead yet, Haku is still alive, and they are still wandering in the Land of Water.

This is a blank period that was not written in the original work.

Ryukura Akira didn't know where his strength came from; perhaps it was the will to survive when he was on the verge of death, or perhaps it was the deep-seated resentment he felt towards these two characters.

He propped himself up and called out in a hoarse voice.

"Please wait a moment!"

Zabuza stopped in his tracks.

"Kid," he said without turning around, "don't push your luck."

Ryukura Akira staggered to his feet, his knees weak, and he had to hold onto the wall to avoid falling.

He knew who Zabuza was: the demon of Kirigakure, a cold-blooded killer, someone who would kill all his classmates to become a ninja.

When talking to this kind of person, you have to be careful with every word you say.

"You must be a ninja master," he said breathlessly. "Please allow me to stay by your side."

Zabuza finally turned around, and his one eye looked him up and down. There was no pity in his eyes, only the indifference of assessing the value of his prey.

"I don't need a useless piece of trash."

Akira Ryukura's heart was pounding.

He knew why Zabuza had taken in Haku: because Haku possessed a bloodline limit and was a useful tool.

And what about himself? An ordinary person whose chakra he couldn't even sense, not even worthy of being cannon fodder in Zabuza's eyes.

You must find your own value.

Ryukura Akira desperately tried to recall every detail about the two people.

Original works, setting books, fan works, forum research—any information that can save your life.

"Although I have no fighting ability," he said, his voice more steady than expected, "I can do other things for you."

Zabuza didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Ryukura Akira took a deep breath and decided to take the gamble.

"You're a rogue ninja, aren't you, Lord Zabuza?"

Haku's eyes widened slightly. Zabuza's brow twitched, and his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

"I saw you near Kirigakure before," Ryukura Akira continued, fabricating an experience a dying orphan might have had.

"I know you assassinated the Mizukage, and I know you're being hunted now. You're someone who needs to hide your identity."

Zabuza's hand stopped on the hilt of his sword.

"Go on."

"You need someone to speak up for you openly," Akira Ryukura said.

"Going shopping, gathering information, and interacting with ordinary people—these are things that are neither suitable for you to do personally, nor are they suitable for her to do."

He glanced at Bai. "Her eyes are too clear; she's clearly not an ordinary person. But I am."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes.

"You mean, you want me to believe a kid I picked up off the street?"

"You don't need to trust me," Akira Ryukura said. "You just need to use me."

He paused, then added one last sentence: "I will become a competent tool. If I am useless, you can kill me at any time."

The snow is still falling.

The silence lasted for a long time, so long that Ryukura Akira thought he had lost his gamble and would be cut in two by the executioner's blade in the next second.

Then Buza laughed.

It wasn't a warm smile, but the kind of smile you get when you see an interesting toy.

"Hmph, this is interesting."

He removed his hand from the hilt of the knife.

"Kid, you have good observation skills." Zabuza took two steps closer, looking down at him. "But you've got one thing wrong. I never take in trash. You say you can be a tool, then prove it to me."

"From now on, you'll be responsible for handling all the trouble I don't want to deal with. Buying food, gathering intelligence, dealing with those troublesome civilians—if anything goes wrong, you'll suffer a fate worse than death."

Ryukura Akira lowered his head, trying to appear submissive enough.

"I see."

Zabuza turned and continued walking. Shiro fell two steps behind and glanced at Ryukura Akira as she passed him. There was no coldness in Zabuza's eyes, only a complex, almost curious light.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Ryukura Akira".

Haku nodded without saying anything and followed Zabuza's footsteps.

Ryukura Akira stood still, watching the two footprints in the snow gradually receding into the distance, until he was sure his legs were no longer trembling before he took a step to follow.

He has no chakra, no bloodline limit, but he has watched Naruto, knows what Zabuza's face looks like under his bandages, knows how Haku died in the end, and they will encounter a loser ninja in the Land of Waves.

He will protect everyone.

Snow fell on my shoulders, accumulating into a thin layer.

Ryukura Akira followed ten meters ahead, stepping in the footprints of the two people in front of him.

Zabuza never looked back at him, but Haku would occasionally sneak a glance back, only to quickly turn away after making eye contact, like a child who had done something wrong.

The blisters on the soles of his feet had burst, and with each step, warm liquid seeped out of his boots. Ryukura Akira gritted his teeth, not daring to stop.

But he noticed something strange: the calf that had been cut by pebbles in the dilapidated temple the night before had scabbed over by the morning.