After collecting all the money, Zabuza headed back to their hideout.
He was very satisfied with today's loot.
Three billion ryo!
He was freaking rich.
He was sure that once he returned, he could very well be the richest individual in the Hidden Mist Village.
Upon reaching home, the first thing he did was store all the scrolls filled with money.
Satisfied with his work, he slumped onto the couch and waited for Haku.
Haku returned not long after—he had just dropped Naruto off.
Seeing Zabuza sitting on the couch, Haku approached.
"Where's that brat?" Zabuza asked curiously.
He hadn't seen Naruto while moving the scrolls earlier.
But he knew Haku well.Knowing Haku's personality, he already had a good idea of what he had done
Now that Naruto was no longer needed for the mission, Zabuza figured Haku would send him back.
"Mr. Zabuza, I sent Naruto back. Since he no longer held any value to the mission, I thought it was the right thing to do. Did I do something wrong?"
"No, Haku, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just… that brat's so unlucky."Zabuza leaned back, rubbing his chin.
"I was feeling really generous today. I might've given him a million ryo before he left. But now that he's gone—eh, forget it."
Haku simply nodded politely.
As expected, Mr. Zabuza is generous too…
But he doesn't need to worry—I already gave Naruto the money for his idea.
Forget a few million…
If Zabuza ever found out what Haku had actually done, he might just die from shock alone.
"Haku, we're heading back to the Hidden Mist Village tomorrow. Prepare accordingly."
"As you wish, Mr. Zabuza," Haku said respectfully and headed into his room to pack.
Meanwhile, Zabuza just sat on the couch, eyes narrowed in thought.
This time… I'll overthrow the Mizukage.
I'll put an end to this 'Bloody Mist.'
The next morning, just as the sun had risen and bathed the Land of Waves in a soft golden light, Team 7 stood quietly in the middle of a forest clearing.
They were all curious about why Kakashi had gathered them so early.
He had told them the previous night that they would be doing special training today.
Kakashi stood in front of the three genin and began the session.
"Now that you're all here, let's start the training. Today, we're working on chakra control."
He paused to let his words sink in.
"You've all studied chakra theory in school, but knowing what chakra is isn't enough. What's far more important is learning how to control it."
"If you can properly control your chakra, your combat ability will soar. You'll be able to use techniques more efficiently, avoid wasting chakra, and sustain longer fights without burning out."
The trio nodded, listening seriously.
"There are a few exercises that can help develop chakra control. The first is tree climbing, and the second is water walking," Kakashi explained.
"For now, let's begin with tree climbing."
He walked over to a nearby tree. With a casual step, he placed one foot on the trunk—then the other—and began walking vertically up the tree as if it were flat ground.
"What you need to do," he said from halfway up the trunk, "is focus chakra into the soles of your feet and use it to stick to the tree. Who wants to go first?"
"Me, Sensei! I'll try!" Naruto stepped up with enthusiasm.
He stood in front of a tall tree, his expression tense. Kakashi walked over to him and gave him some guidance.
First, relax your body and mind. Then focus your chakra evenly into the soles of your feet. Once it feels stable, place your foot on the tree and begin climbing."
Naruto took a deep breath and nodded. He focused hard, and when he gathered chakra to his feet, he felt it—like his feet were sticking to the tree.
He placed one foot on the trunk… then the other.
"Haha! I did it!" he shouted as he took a second step up.
But just as he tried the third step, the chakra flow destabilized.
Thud!
"Ouch!" Naruto winced as he hit the ground.
"Naruto," Kakashi said with a sigh, "you can't lose focus while maintaining chakra control. It needs to be constant, or it won't hold."
"Sasuke, Sakura—you two give it a try too."
Sakura nodded and began preparing. Sasuke, however, shot Naruto a smug glance.
Naruto turned to meet his eyes—and saw Sasuke mutter under his breath:
"Trash."
Naruto's fists clenched. He definitely heard that. His blood boiled.
Sasuke stepped up to the tree with confidence.
He placed one foot on the trunk, then another—but before he could match even Naruto's progress, his chakra fluctuated, and he lost balance.
Thud!
He crashed down too.
"Hahahahahaha! Sasuke, you're even worse than me!" Naruto howled with laughter.
"And you were calling me trash!"
"You wanna fight, dead last?!" Sasuke snapped, brushing dirt off his clothes.
He had already called Naruto trash for failing to climb the tree—but now, he felt deeply insulted.
He hadn't even made it as far as that so-called trash.
What did that make him now?
Worse than trash?
But before they could bicker further, Sakura's voice rang out sweetly from above:
"That was easy, Sensei. I reached the top!"
Everyone turned and looked up. Sakura was standing proudly at the very top of the tree.
"WHAT?! How did Sakura do it so easily?! That's cheating!" Naruto's jaw dropped.
He and Sasuke hadn't even made it halfway, yet Sakura had climbed to the top of the tree in one smooth attempt.
That had to be cheating
Kakashi, meanwhile, blinked with mild surprise.
'Precise chakra control… She really pulled it off on the first try. If she trains further, she'd make an excellent medical ninja.'
But that was for another day.
Right now, he focused his attention on Naruto and Sasuke, who were now competing more than training.
They kept trying to climb, only to fail again and again. Kakashi watched them closely.
'At this rate, it'll take four or five days for them to master tree climbing.'
He was already planning to move Sakura to the next exercise—water walking—while the boys continued to struggle.
Now that Gato and his goons were out of the picture, the Land of Waves was safe.
With no further threats, Tazuna could continue building the bridge in peace.
So, Kakashi took this opportunity to train his students seriously—before their mission came to an end.
While Naruto was competing with Sasuke over who would reach the top of the tree first…
Gato's former secretary, Masato, had completed all the necessary paperwork. At last, all of Gato's wealth officially belonged to Naruto.
Masato was now on his way to meet him—after all, he could now be considered Naruto's secretary, being responsible for managing all of Naruto's properties across the continent.
His purpose today was twofold:
– To deliver the monthly business report, and
– To transfer the profits earned from Gato's legitimate enterprises.
Now that all of Gato's illegal operations have been shut down, this month's profits can be considered the highest.
Masato had already calculated that from next month onward, the profits would decrease significantly, as many of the high-revenue black-market deals were no longer active.
However, there was still one key point.
Gato had land deeds and stakes in several businesses that hadn't been fully assessed yet.
Their earnings were stored in a separate account, and hadn't been included in this month's report.
What Masato had compiled so far was solely the revenue from Gato's shipping and transport business—which, even alone, was incredibly profitable.