In Konoha, Naruto lies down

"It's just protecting the target anyway." Sasuke said, "It doesn't matter who they are. Kakashi said there will be no fighting in C-rank missions."

"It's boring. Just end it early. It's a waste of time."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and noticed that he was wearing a blue wrist guard on his left wrist.

"Naruto, who do you think that bridge-building expert is?" Sakura turned to look at Naruto, who was yawning at the moment.

"I don't know. Since he's an expert, he must be an old man with a bad temper." Naruto scratched his face and said disapprovingly.

Half an hour later, at the gate of Konoha Village.

"Hey! Are you kidding me? I paid you! You sent three brats to protect me. What's wrong with you Konoha?"

An unshaven old man holding a bottle of wine was yelling at Kakashi.

"Is this Konoha's attitude? How can you protect me like this? I'm an expert in bridge construction!"

Sakura's face was full of black lines. She stared at the tall and sloppy old man, then turned and glanced at Naruto, meaning that you guessed it right.

Kakashi was explaining with a smile, but the old man didn't believe it at all and spoke excitedly.

"I'm Dazna, the bridge-building expert from the Land of Waves!"

Naruto on the side became a little impatient and shouted at the man.

"Shut up, old man! Building a bridge is nothing to brag about!"

"You little brat!" Dazna looked a little excited, but was quickly persuaded by Kakashi, and after much persuasion he finally agreed to set off.

Half a day later.

The group reached the border of the Fire Country Forest. A little further on, they would reach the ferry. Kakashi's eyes sharpened, and he glanced left and right.

Sasuke also noticed Kakashi's reaction and frowned slightly. Although he still looked calm, he was secretly alert.

Naruto had long known that someone was following him; the Kirigakure ninja's tracking tactics were truly clumsy. He wasn't worried, and continued humming as he walked forward.

As they walked, even Sakura in the team felt a little nervous. She couldn't help feeling uneasy when she heard Naruto's ambiguous humming.

Just as she was about to speak, something unexpected happened.

Two ninjas suddenly jumped out from the bushes nearby, holding two spiked chains in their hands, and rushed towards Kakashi in front of them to cut them.

At that moment, the sultry wind stopped, and Naruto could feel the sweat sticking to his skin frozen in an instant.

This mysterious feeling was fleeting, and the black and white image instantly took on color, becoming vivid. With a ding, the mechanical synthesized sound in my head rang out again.

At this moment, the still image suddenly moved. Kakashi was attacked by a slash, and blood immediately covered the ground.

Naruto knew that this was Kakashi's substitution technique and ignored Sakura's screams. The two ninjas thought they had dealt with Kakashi and rushed towards Naruto, who seemed to be defenseless.

"Naruto, get out of the way!" Sakura shouted in horror.

But Naruto remained unmoved, as if frozen in place. Not far away, Sasuke snorted and threw three shurikens with gritted teeth.

Three shurikens temporarily pushed the two ninjas back, and then Naruto finally moved. However, he did not retreat, but went towards the two men.

"Naruto! Danger!"

Sasuke was also stunned. After he came to his senses, he grabbed the kunai and ran over there without any hesitation.

"Sakura, protect Mr. Dazna."

Sakura only heard a few words left by Sasuke, and then saw Naruto and Sasuke running towards the two ninjas.

Her heart was pounding rapidly, and she felt a little panicked and a little inferior. Although it was their first mission, they didn't seem to be as afraid of fighting ninjas as she was.

Just as she was losing her focus, Naruto's voice came from the front.

"Damn it! You're teasing me!"

"Options! Get out here!"

Bang bang bang, the two Kirigakure ninjas fell to the ground with bruised eyes and noses, and Naruto was still muttering strange words while beating them.

Sasuke stopped midway, also looking horrified. Kakashi, who should have been dead, was standing nearby intact, looking at Naruto and shaking his head.

Chapter 19: Cardo's Treasure

"Okay, Naruto, stop messing around."

Kakashi glanced at Naruto who was punching and kicking two ninjas and muttering to himself and said.

"I have something to ask those two."

Hearing this, Naruto stopped reluctantly.

He was sure that the system must have been to blame for the pause and loss of color in the screen, but strangely, the system option did not pop up directly.

The ripples that appeared and disappeared in an instant were like the system experiencing some terrible freeze. Naruto didn't know what had happened to cause the system to appear and then retreat.

Is it broken?

Naruto felt a little uneasy. The last time he had the option of grabbing the bell, he chose to do his best to get it instead of giving up and lying down.

That option was already somewhat illogical. Doing nothing? Wouldn't that harm both ourselves and others? Even if they acquired Wood Release, Team 7 might not exist anymore.

At the same time, Naruto also realized one thing.

Each option given by the system is not equal, but more like random. The system has no emotions, it just randomly triggers options.

Neither the active option nor the lying option is a perfect option. Once a choice is made, you will inevitably have to pay the opportunity cost.

For example, when Naruto refused Mizuki's invitation, he gained the maximum level of fishing skills. At the same time, Naruto lost the opportunity to obtain multiple shadow clones.

However, Naruto did not regret it afterwards. Few people can use multiple shadow clones, and it will be his turn sooner or later.

But if he agreed to Mizuki, he would not be able to step into the touching drama set up by the third generation's top management, and he would suppress his nausea and speak of his loyalty to the village.

After some mental reflection, Naruto realized one thing: the system was just a helper, and whatever he chose was only to make his situation better.

It is precisely because of the existence of the system that Naruto can obtain ninjutsu without relying on anyone, and he doesn't even need to establish any bond with the Nine-Tails to directly draw its power.

This is the purpose of the system, it can save Naruto a lot of trouble. He can refuse things he doesn't want to do, and get what he wants.

Naruto thought silently, this is probably the true meaning of the lying down system.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"It's okay." Naruto waved his hands to indicate that he was really fine.

Sakura calmed down a bit after hearing that, but soon seemed to remember something and asked hesitantly.

"Naruto, why were you standing there motionless?"

"It was my first real combat, so I was a little panicked."

"Really?" Sakura said with relief, "I was also startled just now. My whole body was stiff."

It's more like Sakura was comforting herself than comforting Naruto. When Kakashi was cut into five or six pieces by the two Mist Ninjas, Sakura's face was as white as paper.

Naruto nodded and said nothing more.

Kakashi's interrogation also made progress. The two Kirigakure ninjas were actually the demon brothers, and they were coming for Dazna.

But when asked about it, Dazna remained silent.

The mission had already been accepted, and even if he sensed something was amiss, he couldn't abandon the client. Kakashi thought for a moment and decided to lead Team 7 to complete the mission head-on.

It was not until Team 7 reached the other side of the Land of Waves and was on the boat heading to the island of the Land of Waves that Dazna told the truth.

"The person who wants to kill me is a wealthy man in the shipping company. You must have heard of his name." Dazna showed a helpless expression on his face.

......

As Dazna spoke, the whole story became clear.

Cardo is the owner of a shipping company, a tycoon who has his hands full with both law and crime. He runs a company in public, but secretly uses money to hire ninjas to commit crimes.

It was this Cardo who set his sights on the island country of Wave Country, which was surrounded by the sea. He wanted to control the waterways and thereby expand his voice on the island until he had complete control over Wave Country.

The only bridge on the island is under construction, and the old man in front of him is the only one who knows how to build a bridge on the sea. If Cardo kills him, the bridge will naturally not be built.

Naruto leaned against the back of the boat, his hands drooping to touch the flowing sea water, thinking about how to make a fortune from this Cardo.

The Land of Waves was a small, impoverished island nation, but Cardo was a veritable tycoon. Cardo was going to die anyway, so he might as well take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

After all, the purpose of being a ninja is to earn money to eat. If you keep doing missions, not to mention that you don’t make much money, you can’t always work.

Ninjas also have a golden age. Ninjas from large families usually only go out to gain experience in their youth. After that, they work from nine to five, burning incense and drinking tea.

Since Naruto has decided not to work towards becoming Hokage, he will have to rely on himself for the rest of his life, and there are so many places where he will need money.

Dating, buying a house, traveling.

Speaking of which, Zilaiye's lifestyle is pretty good too. He travels everywhere, exploring different places and exploring different women.

She is in her fifties or sixties, but still looks so moisturized.

Just as Naruto was lost in thought, the ship had already reached the shore.

Kakashi was troubled by Dazna's lies and could choose to give up. However, the purpose of this trip was also to train Team 7, and thus the next plan was set.

The mission is over as long as we can get Dazna home safely.

"What should we do after this mission?" Kakashi said leisurely as he walked down the street. "How about we give Team 7 two more days off?"

"That's good." Naruto was the first to agree.

"That's great." Sakura said with a smile.

Sasuke remained silent, his eyes scanning the surroundings. As the mission neared its end, he frowned slightly as he heard several people seem to have let down their guard and even discussed their post-mission plans in advance.

If all ninjas were like this, it would be difficult for them to survive to the end.

"Hey, how long will it take?" Naruto turned to Dazna and asked with a stern face, "Old man, speak up."

Compared to Sasuke, Naruto wasn't worried about Zabuza Momochi suddenly showing up. It was a 50-50 chance... Oh no, with Kakashi there, there was no problem at all.

Even if Uchiha Madara came, Kakashi could at least withstand a few moves. Kakashi is a man who can fight anyone on equal terms.

With such strong protection, Zabuza's sneak attack can only become a laughing stock.

Besides Kakashi, there were also Sasuke and Naruto who could fight. With three against one, the advantage was on Team 7. Naruto didn't pay attention to Zabuza, he was always thinking about Kado, the financial backer behind Zabuza.

"System, system, please come out." Naruto thought silently in his heart, "I can't accomplish such a big thing as robbing the rich and giving to the poor without you."

system?

System dad?

【Ding! 】

A familiar mechanical synthesizer sounded, and Naruto immediately took a breath. The sound was like heavenly music to his ears.

Chapter 20 Choice

The panel pops up, and you can choose one of two classic scenes.

[Option 1: Kill Momochi Zabuza. Reward: Ice Release (Incomplete)]

[Option 2: Kill Bai, Reward: All assets related to Cardo. (Real estate and company assets will be converted into cash at equal value and stored in the new functional system warehouse)]

Seeing this, Naruto almost swallowed his saliva at the same time. He had no guilt in killing anyone. Whether it was Momochi Zabuza or Haku, they were both mortal enemies.

But what really annoyed Naruto was, why did he have to choose between two options? Why in this world was there such a cruel thing as choosing between two options?

Can't we just kill them all?

The system didn't respond. Naruto didn't dare act rashly, the previous incident making him somewhat wary. If a bug caused the system to crash, it would be a loss.

Without the system, Naruto would be unable to escape his predetermined fate. Whether he wanted to or not, the Akatsuki would find him and kill him. Unless he devoted himself to training, which would also mean being stuck in Konoha's vicious cycle.

Those bonds had to be formed, and they were involved in troubles like the Child of Prophecy. They were tortured to death over and over again, and licked blood on the tip of a knife.

"Naruto? Why did you stop so suddenly? Is...is there something wrong?"

Noticing Naruto's sudden pause, Sakura immediately became alert and looked around nervously, fearing that another ninja would suddenly jump out from a corner.

Fortunately, what she worried about did not happen, and Kakashi and others who were walking in front heard the noise and turned back to look at Naruto who had stopped.

"It's okay, just a little stomach discomfort." Naruto said.

Hearing this, Kakashi and his companions turned back and continued on their way.