Naruto: The Strongest Suiton User

Chapter 19: Land of Waves Mission

The next morning, the sky was clear and the air was crisp. The early sun shone warmly upon the earth.

At the Konoha Main Gate. The gate, dozens of meters high, showcased the spirit of Konoha, making the ninja passing through it seem so small. The members of Team 7 were already waiting there early, anticipating the arrival of the tardy young lady.

"Hmph, you're late, flower vase!" Sasuke snorted impatiently at Sakura. Originally, Sasuke wasn't one to call people nicknames; he had been corrupted by Sakura.

Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow. "Wrong! I arrived right on time! Also, I told you not to call me flower vase, blank-face!"

"If you're not a flower vase, then how do you explain the way you're dressed?" Sasuke said with a cold smile.

Naruto also chimed in with a jab: "Wow! Sakura, are you sick? Why are you dressed like that!" Then he rubbed his chin and pondered seriously, "But, the completely unfeminine Sakura actually looks like a woman when she dresses up. This world really is a strange place!"

Thwack! Sakura delivered a solid bonk to Naruto's head. "Thank you so much for the compliment!"

Today, Sakura was wearing a gorgeous kimono. Her usually neglected hair had been meticulously styled and tied up high, revealing her smooth forehead. On her feet, she wore a pair of small wooden clogs, which further accentuated her delicate feet.

This outfit indeed did not look like that of a ninja about to head out on a mission.

There was actually a reason for dressing this way. Sakura's dear mother had always been critical of Sakura's image. In her mother's eyes, Sakura's habit of casually washing her face, combing her hair, and heading out in an unaesthetic ninja uniform was simply sloppy and a disgrace to the family. "You child, you're so lazy, how will you ever find a boyfriend!" Sorry to disappoint you, but let's talk about finding a son-in-law after my little sister is born! Sakura retorted silently in her heart.

However, today, her dear mother finally exploded. For a long trip, the spare clothes Sakura had packed were actually two identical sets of the Konoha uniform, without even face wash. "If this continues, people will think Team 7 has three boys!" She insisted on stuffing women's products into her bag. After much persuasion from Sakura, she finally stopped stuffing her personal items in, but she insisted that Sakura must dress up "like a girl with feminine charm," even if it was just with the Transformation Jutsu.

In short, Sakura had also left home with a feeling of utter defeat.

Putting away her fierce expression, Sakura quickly changed her face. In a flash, her expression had shifted to a flirtatious smile, her emerald eyes looking at Sasuke with a trace of charm. "Am I pretty?"

For a rare moment, Sasuke's face turned red. "Tch!" he said, turning his head away with a tsundere look.

Sakura's image was instantly ruined as she opened her mouth and laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! Sasuke can get shy too!"

"Alright, alright, Sakura..." Kakashi interrupted Sakura's performance. "You can undo the Transformation Jutsu now!"

"Huh? This is the Transformation Jutsu?" Naruto asked foolishly, rubbing the large bump on his head.

Sasuke's brow furrowed in surprise. It's the Transformation Jutsu? I was so close just now and didn't even notice. When did Sakura get so good at concealing her chakra fluctuations!

"Hehe, Kakashi-sensei is still the most skilled, seeing through it at a glance!" Sakura smiled playfully and dispelled the Transformation Jutsu. This time, she changed into a new look. Her hairstyle was changed from her usual middle part to bangs, and her clothes were changed from the standard genin uniform to a short-sleeved top and capri pants worn by ordinary girls.

Kakashi's face remained impassive, but inwardly he sighed. This Transformation Jutsu was indeed beautifully executed. If she hadn't revealed a bit of her aura when she hit Naruto with the hand-chop, Kakashi wouldn't have been sure he could have spotted it was a transformation. Sakura's talent was truly unreasonable. Naruto's previous Transformation Jutsu was already stunning, but for Sakura to progress from a blatant use of ninjutsu to her current silent execution in just a few short months was astonishing, even for a simple Transformation Jutsu.

"Sakura, I never thought you'd dress up cutely like a normal girl," Kakashi teased her lightly.

Although the village issued uniforms, the new generation of ninja usually just wore their own clothes. In contrast, the Jonin of Kakashi's generation, most of whom had come from the battlefield, preferred a more uniform and practical style of dress. This was a big difference from the ninja who grew up in times of peace.

In this respect, Sakura, who wore no makeup, was more like Kakashi and his generation.

"Hey, hey, you guys are being too mean! I can handle this level of dressing up! This is to maintain the good image of us Konoha ninja outside the village!"

As she grew older and her features matured, Sakura was gradually starting to look like the little beauty from the manga.

However, one's appearance is born from the heart. The original Sakura had a weak and gentle temperament, while the current Sakura appeared more confident and vibrant, with a heroic spirit in her eyes.

While the members of Team 7 were chatting idly, it wasn't long before old Tazuna arrived. The group then officially began their mission to the Land of Waves.

The Land of Waves was located to the east of Konoha, across the sea. It was a very small island country. The narrowest part of the strait between the Land of Waves and Konoha was no wider than a large river, and that was where the bridge Tazuna was building was located.

Although Tazuna had hidden the truth, Sakura, who had read the original story, still remembered the reasons behind it.

The Land of Waves was once a peaceful and prosperous small country. However, everything changed after the arrival of Gato. In public, Gato was the owner of a shipping company, but behind the scenes, he colluded with the mafia and rogue ninja to smuggle controlled goods and dominate other companies and even small countries to make huge profits. A year ago, Gato set his sights on the Land of Waves. Through violence and wealth, he controlled all the maritime transport on the island, and thus controlled the lifeline of the Land of Waves. Under Gato's constant bloodsucking, the Land of Waves quickly became a poor and destitute country.

The bridge Tazuna was building was the sharp sword to break Gato's blockade, and for this reason, Tazuna had become a thorn in Gato's side.

As for the information Tazuna had concealed, with Konoha's intelligence capabilities, it actually wouldn't be hard to find out. Sakura guessed that this mission was likely intentionally given to Team 7 by the Hokage. Logically speaking, although Gato was rich, he was essentially an ordinary person. Even if he colluded with rogue ninja, they wouldn't be too strong, otherwise, he would have faced backlash sooner or later.

Team 7 taking this mission was, firstly, to find a mission of moderate difficulty to train them, and secondly, for political considerations. After the bridge in the Land of Waves was built, it would inevitably rely more on Konoha, so building a good relationship in advance was also very important. As for the small loss in commission fees, it was nothing.

Kakashi should have been well aware of the potential for ninja conflict in this mission. Otherwise, how could an ordinary person like Tazuna have convinced an elite ninja with just a few words? Team 7 was meant to continue the mission from the start.

If one were watching a hot-blooded manga, they might not notice this point. But Sakura, being in a real world, only needed to think for a moment to understand the key. Many things that seemed unreasonable actually had reasons for developing that way.

The only thing that was unexpected for Konoha was that Gato could hire a ninja of Zabuza's level. Hiring rogue ninja was in itself very risky. Many rogue ninja would kill their employer and rob them of their money simply because it was easier than completing the mission. Furthermore, being provoked by the employer or believing the employer had exposed their whereabouts could also lead a rogue ninja to kill their employer. In fact, if Zabuza hadn't tolerated him once, Gato would have been killed by Zabuza long ago. Konoha probably didn't expect Gato to be so stupid as to hire a ninja of this level. If you don't court death, you won't die.

And so, Sakura, pretending to be ignorant while understanding everything, began her first mission outside the country.

At a ninja's pace, it would only take three or four days to get from Konoha to the Land of Waves at full speed. But with the civilian, old Tazuna, in the group, the entire journey was extended to more than two weeks.

The team traveled on foot along the main road, traveling during the day and camping at night, or resting for a night in the towns they passed through. At first, the journey was quite novel. The furthest the three members of Team 7 had ever been was to a neighboring village for a mission. This was their first time being so far from Konoha.

In places far from Konoha, ordinary towns were very different. The biggest difference was that ninja were no longer seen everywhere. Over 95% of the Land of Fire's ninja were in Konoha village. In other places, you could at most see ninja on missions. Because of this, they became a rare sight and got a taste of what it felt like to be animals in a cage being watched by a crowd.

The armed forces patrolling the cities were often just soldiers who knew some rudimentary chakra application. These people were fine for dealing with ordinary thieves and bandits, but they were far from a match for rogue ninja. Fortunately, with Konoha's formidable reputation, ordinary ninja didn't dare to cause trouble here.

In contrast, a small country like the Land of Waves, because it had no ninja village of its own, could be bullied by even someone like Gato. This was the tragedy of a small country!

Another obvious difference was the architecture in the cities. The buildings in Konoha could be built grander and more magnificent, or exquisite, or large, or bizarre, due to ninjutsu. The buildings in the towns outside of Konoha, however, were often low and simple, without so many frills.

Along the way, Sakura carefully observed and savored the different atmosphere here, which was unlike Konoha, while secretly remaining vigilant for any enemy ninja who might appear at any time.

However, two weeks passed, and they were about to cross the border of Konoha and enter the Land of Waves, yet there was still no sign of the enemy. The journey was as peaceful as ever, as if Gato was completely unaware of Tazuna's return. This was impossible.

The closer they got to the Land of Waves, the greater the possibility of being attacked. Tazuna and Kakashi, who knew this, acted as calm as ever.

On the contrary, Sakura herself was getting nervous. One time, she almost thought someone was spying on them and directly threw a kunai into the distance, only to find nothing.

On this day, Sakura and the others arrived at a city on the border. They would rest here for one night, and then travel for three days straight to reach Tazuna's home.