Chapter 21: Pushing the Limits

Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi gathered together.

Dazna glanced at Naruto and muttered, "Still just a kid... and a short pumpkin at that..."

Dazna, an old man carrying a bag and always holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

He looked imposing.

But in reality, perhaps the alcohol was to mask his inner fear.

Afraid of his secret being revealed, he downgraded a mission close to A-rank to a C-rank mission. Quite clever of him.

Naruto stared into Dazna's eyes, his voice turning cold because of his inner discomfort. "Who are you calling a short pumpkin?"

Being stared at like that made Dazna's heart skip a beat.

Those eyes were full of mockery and disdain.

And... a hint of hesitation.

As if someone who knew his secret was hesitating whether to reveal it.

Dazna felt nervous, reassuring himself that it was just a kid, he was probably overthinking it.

And Naruto was indeed hesitating.

The mission in the Land of Waves involved an underground force led by Cardo.

This force monopolized water transportation due to the inconvenient land routes in the Land of Waves, skyrocketing ship prices and exploiting the country's civilians.

Dazna wanted to build a bridge for the Land of Waves to connect to the outside world, thus ending Cardo's exploitation.

In a sense, Dazna could be considered a hero.

Admirable.

Both in courage and ideology, he was extraordinary.

But the crucial point was... among Cardo's subordinates, there were two ninjas with combat abilities at the Jonin level.

Zabuza, and the one with the unique Ice Release Bloodline of the Yuki clan, Haku.

The voice of the Nine-Tails echoed in Naruto's ear, "Kid, I sense fear in your soul... I'm curious, what makes this little lunatic who uses his clones as human bombs afraid?"

Naruto replied, "Of course, I'm afraid, because I fear death."

Nine-Tails retorted, "Oh? But isn't it just a C-rank mission?"

Naruto replied, "Let's just call it my intuition... Kyuubi-sensei, let's make a deal. If I encounter a danger I can't handle, can I borrow some of your chakra?"

Nine-Tails replied mockingly, "Sure, but the timing will be up to me. After all, you do call me sensei, so I have to take some responsibility, right? Otherwise, if you rely on me for everything, how will you grow? Right?"

Sasuke asked, "Naruto, why are you carrying a sword? Can you even use it?"

Sasuke had experienced Naruto's fighting style before.

There was no technique at all, nothing like someone who had undergone systematic training.

So seeing Naruto carrying a sword made him curious.

Naruto's height was currently 1.5 meters.

The sword was one meter long in total, with the handle being 38.2 centimeters and the blade being 61.8 centimeters.

In Naruto's words, the handle was a bit long...

But the shopkeeper told him that a longer handle was easier to grip.

As for the truth... the shopkeeper wouldn't tell him it was because of accidental forging mistakes...

Of course, swords in this world were single-edged.

As for the scabbard and blade, they were a matte camouflage color according to Naruto's request, making it easier to hide.

Naruto replied, "I didn't use to, but I'll learn."

Otherwise, it would be a waste of the Leaf Sword Art in his mind...

With Sasuke's interruption, Naruto's gaze shifted away from Dazna.

Dazna pretended nothing happened and took a sip of his alcohol.

Kakashi said, "Now that everyone's here, let's set off."

This is setting off?

Feels like stepping onto an irreversible path...

Naruto took a deep breath, calming himself down.

If he were to be intimidated even by Zabuza, how would he face stronger opponents in the future?

So... no dodging.

There was no safe place in this world to begin with.

Expectations shouldn't be placed on one's strength in the future, but on persevering when weak.

With various emotions, everyone left Konoha.

Today was a sunny day.

Kakashi said, "Don't be too nervous. C-rank missions won't encounter ninjas. Just treat this mission as a way to relax."

But no one went along with him.

Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei, do you have any explosive tags on you?"

Mentioning explosive tags made Kakashi's eyebrows twitch.

The memory of Naruto's use of explosive tags during that exam was still fresh in his mind.

Kakashi replied, "What are you up to again? I've already told you not to use explosive tags like that!"

Naruto replied, "Uh... just in case, hehe."

Kakashi said, "No!"

Would a Jonin not carry a few explosive tags?

However, Sasuke enthusiastically took out two.

Naruto took them and pocketed them, feeling relieved.

Kakashi said, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke replied, "I see him restless, giving him these seemed to calm him down a bit."

Would someone calm down because they had explosive tags on them?

Kakashi looked at Naruto, feeling speechless as Naruto did seem to calm down.

Kakashi said, "Additionally, the storage of explosive tags should be done with special anti-explosion scrolls, or chakra-sealing scrolls. Otherwise, if chakra accidentally triggers it, be careful not to be blown to bits. Of course, unless you have the money to buy those exclusive explosive tags. In that case, the safety factor of those tags is higher, with specific activation techniques. But... those are usually equipped by Chunin, and if bought outside, the price doubles..."

Naruto replied, "Uh... it's okay, I have an anti-explosion scroll."

Saying that, Naruto took out a red scroll from his bag.

Kakashi's eyelids twitched. "How many explosive tags are in there?"

Naruto replied, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Then, seeing Kakashi trying to take the scroll away, Naruto immediately used Shadow Clones.

Three Narutos stood together.

It seemed like they were saying, guess which one is the real me.

Kakashi said, "Forget it, just be careful yourself..."

The clones dispersed.

Kakashi instantly appeared behind Naruto and snatched the scroll from his hand.

Naruto exclaimed, "Damn! You cheated!"

Kakashi replied, "As the captain, I can't watch you throw your life away."

Kakashi was about to put the scroll in his pocket, "Huh?"

This touch...

He turned to look at Naruto, his eyelids twitching, "Is this a clone?"

Naruto replied, "Huh? What did you say? I can't quite understand..."

Kakashi's fist came down.

"Boom!" The clone dispersed.

At the same time, the scroll Kakashi snatched also disappeared.

Everyone looked at each other in silence: "..."