Naruto: Drop System

The Land of Waves is an island surrounded by the sea, a nation without ninja. Before the Naruto Bridge was built, the people of this country could only travel to the mainland by boat.

That's why Tazuna wanted to construct a bridge connecting the Land of Waves to the ninja continent, hoping to revive the island's economy.

The Land of Waves was located at the eastern edge of the Land of Fire, separated from the mainland by just one sea-spanning bridge. Unlike the mountainous terrain of the Land of Rivers, Team 7 only needed to pass through several forest paths to reach the coastline and then take a boat to the island—arriving at their destination.

As Team 7 grew tired of the scenery, they began to chat along the way.

During this time, Kakashi Hatake and Sakura took the opportunity to teach Naruto, who was largely illiterate, about basic knowledge. At least, they helped him understand the geopolitical situation of the ninja world, the "one country, one village" system, and the role and influence of the Five Kage.

Otherwise, the boy who kept shouting about becoming Hokage would continue to think the Hokage was just a village chief.

Wearing a red qipao, with her pink hair flowing down to her waist and exuding a refined and classical demeanor, Sakura occasionally used her sensory skills to scan the surroundings—just like Hinata.

Kakashi's eyes showed a glimmer of satisfaction as he observed the calm and reliable Sakura.

Although Sakura lacked offensive capabilities, her proficiency in sensory techniques and medical ninjutsu made up for the team's deficiencies. Additionally, it seemed she had feelings for someone, but she never showed favoritism within the team. She treated everyone equally and always helped whoever was in the right, often resolving Naruto and Sasuke's conflicts.

This girl reminded him a lot of Rin, the girl he had killed with his own hands. The memory of Rin darkened Kakashi's expression once again.

Yagyu, watching the vigilant Sakura, felt a surge of satisfaction as well.

These were all results of his careful training!

As someone who had transmigrated into this world and possessed knowledge beyond anyone else, Yagyu had always been extremely cautious from a young age. His cautious nature had influenced the three girls he grew up with, including Ino.

During their training, Yagyu often helped them hone their sensory abilities. This instinct to constantly monitor their surroundings had become second nature for Ino, Hinata, and Sakura.

Both Hinata and Sakura were now much more skilled than their original versions in the story.

However, despite her caution, Sakura still hadn't detected Yagyu. Even Kakashi, an elite jonin, hadn't noticed the figure following them from a hundred meters behind.

To test the illusionary capabilities of his Red Eye, Yagyu had been periodically closing in on Team 7, trying to see if they would detect him.

As the natural enemy of the Three Great Dojutsu, the Red Eye did not disappoint Yagyu. Its illusions, undetectable even by long-range or X-ray vision, couldn't be sensed by ordinary methods.

Still, remembering how his Sharingan had been able to spot the red powder of the Red Eye, Yagyu made sure not to get too close. If Kakashi lifted his headband and activated his own three-tomoe Sharingan, he might spot the red powder as well.

And so, Yagyu continued tailing Team 7 as they moved forward.

The next morning, Team 7 was about to reach the eastern edge of the Land of Fire. After passing through one more forest path, they would reach the sea and, beyond that, the Land of Waves.

At this moment, they noticed a large puddle of water on the path ahead.

Seeing this, Yagyu tilted his head up to the blue sky, speechless.

Even though they were near the coast, wasn't this an absurd setup? How far were the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves from each other?

It hadn't rained for days, and yet they dared to place such an obvious puddle here. It was practically shouting, "Something's wrong here!"

At that moment, Yagyu realized the importance of education. Even a mid-level ninja could be outsmarted by a lower-level one if they lacked common sense.

Sure enough...

Apart from Naruto, both Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances when they saw the puddle. Sakura made a discreet hand signal, and after seeing Sasuke nod in acknowledgment, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

But when she glanced at Naruto, who was still humming a tune, she was utterly exasperated.

What's wrong with this guy?

He had mastered a forbidden technique like the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, his chakra reserves far surpassed hers, and his real strength was nowhere near dead last. So how could he have such poor perception?

Thankfully, she had Sasuke, the only one in their class who could last against Yagyu in a sparring match. Otherwise, Sakura might have lost her mind.

She couldn't help but imagine how happy and lucky Hinata must feel to be on the same team as Yagyu.

Just like in the original story, as Team 7 passed by the puddle, two figures suddenly emerged from the water. Chains in hand, they wrapped them around Kakashi, who had somehow moved to the back of the group, tearing him apart.

This scene left Naruto paralyzed with fear.

Sakura gripped a kunai in one hand and a few smoke bombs in the other, standing protectively in front of Tazuna.

Meanwhile, Sasuke dashed forward, quickly taking down the Demon Brothers with agile movements.

Before Naruto even had time to process what had happened, Sasuke had already easily defeated the two.

At the same time, Kakashi, who had seemingly been dismembered, reappeared before the group.

After interrogating the Demon Brothers and delivering a few well-placed words that stung Naruto's pride, Kakashi's apology pushed Naruto to a breaking point.

Determined, Naruto stabbed his own hand with a kunai, vowing to never be a coward again. It marked the start of his transformation from the dead last to a capable ninja.

And with some emotional manipulation from Tazuna, Team 7 decided to complete the mission and escort him home.

At the coast, Tazuna's companion had already been waiting for them.

While Team 7 boarded the boat to head toward the Land of Waves, Yagyu walked across the water himself.

That morning, the Land of Waves was shrouded in thick fog.

For Tazuna, this was a good thing—it allowed them to avoid the patrols of rogue samurai and safely make it back to his home with Team 7.

However, what Tazuna didn't know was that due to the Demon Brothers' failure to report, a powerful jonin was already waiting for them ahead.

When a massive cleaver, spinning like a giant shuriken, flew overhead, narrowly missing Team 7 as they ducked just in time, a high-level jonin battle was about to begin.

Unlike Raiga Kurosuki, who had to protect someone, Zabuza Momochi didn't have anyone to worry about. He could fight at full strength.

In contrast, Kakashi was in the same situation as Raiga had been—he needed to protect Team 7 and Tazuna, which weakened his combat effectiveness.

However, Yagyu wasn't particularly focused on the jonin battle. His red eyes, glowing so brightly that even his colored lenses couldn't hide them, were locked onto a particular direction.

More precisely, they were focused on a tree, where a boy wearing an ANBU mask was perched.

That boy was Yagyu's target for this mission—Haku.

Now that he had found Haku, Yagyu didn't rush to make his move. It wasn't the right time yet.

Instead, Yagyu watched as the two jonin clashed.

Just like in the original story, Kakashi, who likely hadn't fought such an intense battle in a while, became distracted and fell victim to Zabuza's Water Prison Jutsu, temporarily losing his ability to fight.

Since Zabuza's real body was maintaining the water prison, he could only send a water clone to deal with Team 7 and Tazuna.

But to his surprise, Sasuke and the newly determined Naruto, setting aside their usual bickering, showed incredible teamwork. They bypassed the water clone and attacked Zabuza directly, forcing him to retreat and release the Water Prison Jutsu.

Freed from the water prison, Kakashi fought at full strength, showing Zabuza the power of the renowned Copy Ninja of the Leaf Village.

In the end, Zabuza was defeated by Kakashi's faster Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Just as Kakashi was about to finish off Zabuza, the sound of projectiles cutting through the air rang out.

Several senbon needles pierced Zabuza's neck.

Disguised as a member of the Hidden Mist's ANBU, Haku appeared before Team 7. After receiving Kakashi's permission, Haku took Zabuza's "corpse" away.

Finally, now that the best opportunity had arrived, Yagyu immediately used Body Flicker to follow them.

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