"Simply put, it's a boat race."
Naruto explained, "This competition is a solo event. Each participant must construct their own boat, with a minimum length of 15 meters and a width of at least 1 meter. You'll have one night to build it. By noon tomorrow, everyone will gather at the river outside the base. The race will start then, with the Great Naruto Bridge in the Land of Waves as the finish line. Whoever reaches it first will be the winner. No other rules apply."
Naruto finished outlining the rules in one breath. He had modified the traditional dragon boat race format, as it was typically a team event. Moreover, he couldn't quite convey the grandeur of an actual dragon boat, so he adjusted the rules to fit his vision.
"Any questions?"
Naruto asked, sweeping his gaze over the group.
Seeing no one spoke up, Naruto waved his hand and said: "In that case, I look forward to seeing your boats. Dismissed!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto transformed into a streak of golden light and disappeared.
Those who set out first can seize the initiative and be the first to find suitable trees to serve as the keel of their boat.
"This one's good. That one's great. Whoa, look over there… absolute perfection! So big, so sturdy. It'll definitely be satisfying to use!"
Naruto sprinted toward a towering 30-meter tree and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. He also breathed a sigh of relief.
Originally, Naruto had considered suggesting a game of Monopoly, but he figured playing that with a group of ruthless individuals might be dull. A boat race seemed far more engaging. The thought of seeing everyone's unique boat designs tomorrow excited him.
However, when Naruto proposed this game, one concern nagged at him: finding trees big enough for the keels. So standing before this massive tree, he finally felt reassured.
With this 30-meter giant, he could craft an extra-long keel, securing the title of 'largest boat' for himself!
After chopping down the giant tree by its roots, Naruto stood there in a daze.
The problem wasn't that the tree was damaged… Naruto confirmed through his Byakugan that the giant tree was perfectly intact. The reason why he was dumbfounded was very simple… because he had no idea how to build a boat.
Even the first step, extracting the keel, was beyond him.
"What should I do now?"
Naruto pondered for a moment, and an idea suddenly came to him. After putting the giant tree into the system inventory, he sensed the Flying Thunder God's mark left before, and after a few flickers, he arrived at the Land of Waves.
To be precise, it was in Tazuna's house.
"Who's there?"
Tazuna, startled mid-drink, nearly dropped his glass. After adjusting his cup and taking a closer look, he asked uncertainly, "Naruto-kun, is that you?"
He pushed his glasses and after seeing who was coming, he asked uncertainly, "Are you, Naruto-kun?"
"It's me." Naruto confirmed with a nod, "I need your help with something. I'll treat you to a drink later."
In the months since their last meeting, Naruto had grown more refined and confident, with a noticeable change in his demeanor. Tazuna's initial hesitation was understandable.
"If it's something I can help with, consider it done." Tazuna replied readily.
On the way back, Naruto made small talk and learned about Tazuna's recent life.
Since the completion of the Great Naruto Bridge and the death of Gato, the Land of Waves had experienced significant economic growth over the past few months.
Tazuna had become a local hero, enjoying a leisurely life filled with good food and drink.
Back at the starting point, Naruto explained, "This is what I am going to do. I am going to build a super large ship, but I don't know how to do it. You just need to draw a design for me, and I will do the rest."
"That's no problem at all." Tazuna agreed without hesitation.
Despite Tazuna being primarily a master bridge builder, he also had a fair understanding of ship design.
With Tazuna's expertise, Naruto's shipbuilding project finally got on track.
Since Naruto only needed the boat's exterior design, Tazuna didn't have to create an overly detailed blueprint. Within an hour, he had sketched a basic structure.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Naruto formed hand seals, and at the next moment, thousands of shadow clones appeared.
Many hands make light work. With a thousand people working simultaneously, the shipbuilding process was extraordinarily efficient. By dawn, Naruto had finished constructing a colossal boat: 25 meters long and 5 meters wide.
Though there was still plenty of time left, Naruto refrained from adding unnecessary details. Extra embellishments would only make the boat heavier and reduce its speed.
For aesthetic purposes, Naruto painted the boat black and, in bold red lettering, wrote the kanji for Narutomaru on its side. (T/N: Usually, Japanese boat used Maru at the end of their name.)
It was not until 11:30 in the morning that the paint dried and Naruto stepped aboard the boat with satisfaction, anticipating the arrival of the others and their creations.
Tazuna also boarded the Narutomaru. However, he didn't have too many expectations.
"Naruto-kun, don't get your hopes up." Tazuna remarked honestly, "Building a boat overnight is absolutely impossible for anyone without experience."
"Don't be so sure. I have faith in them," Naruto replied with a grin, though deep down, he wasn't entirely confident either.
"They're here!"
Naruto exclaimed as he sensed familiar Chakras approaching.
Two massive boats came into view. It was Zabuza and Haku.
Their boats were nearly identical: both entirely white, measuring 20 meters in length and 3 meters in width. The only difference lay in the names painted on their sides, Momochimaru for Zabuza and Hakumaru for Haku.
"Wait... Zabuza?! He's still alive?"
Tazuna wasn't paying attention to the boats. The sight of Zabuza alive left him utterly stunned. His sake bottle fell from his hand, shattering on the ground.
Naruto quickly formed hand seals and cast a Henjutsu, causing Tazuna to lose consciousness.
"Sorry about that." Naruto muttered with a helpless shrug.
Since Naruto's identity was already meant to remain a secret, the existence of Zabuza and Haku made things even more complicated.
From the beginning, Naruto had planned to erase Tazuna's memories of this encounter.
Of course, he'd slip Tazuna some money as compensation for the inconvenience.
After dealing with Tazuna, Naruto looked at Zabuza and frowned, "I said the rules require building your own boat. Are you seriously claiming you two built those?"
Zabuza defended himself, "We bought the boats, sure, but technically we still built them. We removed the original flags, added our own flags, and even painted them. That counts as custom work, right?"
"You've got a real knack for twisting logic," Naruto said, exasperated. "Fine, I'll let it slide."
Technically, Naruto hadn't forbidden such loopholes in the rules, so Zabuza's argument was valid, though frustrating.
Not long after, Itachi arrived.
To Naruto's annoyance, Itachi's boat was identical to Zabuza's, except for its name and flag.
It seems that the two servants, Itachi and Zabuza, had communicated with each other before, which led them to do such a thing at the same time.
Just as Naruto began losing interest in the boats, a long blue shadow appeared on the horizon. His curiosity was immediately reignited.
When the long blue shadow got closer, Naruto couldn't help but swear, "F*ck, that works too..."