"Goodbye, Naruto." Tenten somehow pulled over a pull - cart and piled it up with all kinds of weapons and hidden weapons. She waved to Naruto and then happily pulled the pull - cart away.
After watching Tenten leave, Naruto went back into the weapon shop. He said to the shopkeeper mysteriously, "Is the thing I asked for ready?"
"Sir, we've done what you asked." The weapon shopkeeper took out a long wooden box from a secret compartment in the floor.
The wooden box was presented in front of Naruto. He excitedly opened the box, and a sword shining with silver light was lying inside.
Naruto thought to himself: I spent most of magnate Gato's property just for this sword. Whether I can get rid of the cancer for Konoha also depends on this sword...
"This is the sharpest sword in the Land of Fire that you wanted," the weapon shopkeeper introduced. "This sword has been a treasured heirloom of the Fire Daimyo for generations. It's called the Yata no Magatama Sword."
"How on earth did you get the Fire Daimyo's sword?" Naruto was quite interested.
"Hehe," the weapon shopkeeper said mysteriously. "As long as you can pay, no matter how difficult the task is, there will be rogue ninjas willing to do it. I heard that a rogue ninja from Taki Ninja Village attacked the Fire Daimyo, stole the Yata no Magatama Sword, and finally sold it to the black market."
Taki Ninja Village? And a rogue ninja! Naruto remembered a name - Kakuzu!
Kakuzu is a rogue ninja from Taki Ninja Village who would do anything for money, and his strength is extremely terrifying. If there's anyone who can take something from the Daimyo, Kakuzu is one of them.
Naruto asked tentatively, "What's the name of the rogue ninja who stole this sword from the Daimyo?"
"I don't know about that," the weapon shopkeeper said indifferently. "I just bought this sword from the black market. As for its origin, I only heard about it through the grapevine."
"I'll take this sword," Naruto said with a smile.
After leaving the weapon shop, Naruto carried a sword case on his back and walked towards his home.
When he got home, looking at this shabby little place, he thought: It's time to get a bigger place...
Naruto opened the door and saw Haku standing at the entrance, seemingly welcoming him home.
"Naruto, you're back?" Haku said.
"Yeah, I'm back," Naruto replied. Then he asked, "Has Karin caused any trouble?"
"Karin has been waiting for you for a long time. She seems to have a lot of questions for you."
"Humph," Naruto took off the sword case on his back and handed it to Haku, saying, "This is a weapon I specifically chose for you." After that, Naruto went straight into the house.
The house was very small. At this time, Zabuza and Karin were sitting across from each other on the sofa. Zabuza seemed to be keeping an eye on Karin, and Karin felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Yo, Karin, you've changed into new clothes," Naruto said cheerfully as he just entered the house.
Seeing Naruto come back so late, Zabuza Momochi couldn't help complaining, "You're back so late. This girl is really annoying. Just let me slice her in half with one blow."
Karin instantly flew into a fury, gritted her teeth hard, and showed an expression as if she was going to face death.
"Yo, not a bad expression."
Zabuza Momochi said in a bully's tone, "People usually look just like you right before they kick the bucket."
"Alas—" Naruto sighed and said, "You guys are all my buddies. I'll buy a big mansion later. Just hang in there for now."
"Companions?" Karin shouted angrily, "Who's your companion? I don't even know you!"
"You're still wearing the forehead protector of Kusagakure Village. Are those guys from Kusagakure your mates?" Naruto countered, "If you want to go back to Kusagakure to find your companions, I can let you go."
"..." Karin was instantly stunned. She had no companions. The world was so vast, yet there was no place for her to stay.
Naruto knew Karin's background well. Due to the war, Karin's mother fled with her to Kusagakure Village. Since both mother and daughter had the special constitution of the Uzumaki clan, anyone who bit them could heal their injuries.
Kusagakure Village took in the mother and daughter in distress, but the price was that they had to give everything for the village. Whenever a ninja in Kusagakure was injured, they would bite Karin's mother to absorb the chakra of the Uzumaki clan and recover from their injuries.
The people in Kusagakure Village didn't know how to be moderate and never made reasonable arrangements. They bit Karin's mother to death, completely squeezing out all the value of her.
After Karin's mother died, this little girl became the new healing blood bag for Kusagakure Village. In this Chunin Exams, Kusagakure just sent Karin here to serve as a healing blood bag for others.
Naruto walked up to Karin, grabbed her hand, and rolled up her sleeve. He saw that Karin's slender arm was full of bite marks.
Looking at the arm full of bite marks, Naruto said, "If you go back to Kusagakure Village, you'll end up being bitten to death by those greedy ninjas."
Karin broke free from Naruto's hand and thought to herself: If the people in Kusagakure Village are greedy, aren't you?
Naruto took out a bottle of concealer from his pocket and said, "This thing can help you cover the bite marks on your arm. Even if you wear short - sleeved clothes in the future, no one will see those bite marks."
"Konoha Village will be your home from now on, and I'll be your family. From now on, no one's gonna have the guts to mess with you."
"..." Karin was hesitating. She couldn't tell whether what Naruto said was true or false.
"The forehead protector of Kusagakure Village is just junk. If you like wearing a forehead protector, I'll give you this Konoha Village forehead protector." Naruto took off his forehead protector and held it out in front of Karin.
Looking at Naruto's bright smile, Karin thought that his honest - looking appearance didn't seem like he was lying.
Karin finally took the Konoha Village forehead protector that Naruto offered. She had no choice. If she didn't choose Konoha, she would have to go back to Kusagakure Village, and in the end, she would still be bitten to death.
"From now on, we're companions, just like a family." Naruto said with a smile, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Suddenly, Haku walked over, holding the Yata no Magatama Sword and asking, "Naruto, why did you give me a sword?"
"Because I want you to change your weapon." Naruto stared at Haku and said, "This is a weapon I specially picked for you."
"Wow!"
Zabuza Momochi, standing beside, watched the sword in Haku's hand with great interest.
Haku showed a determined look and declared, "I won't use this kind of weapon."
"You have to use it," Naruto said equally firmly. "Your Ice Release can grant you extremely fast speed. If you combine it with this sharp sword, maybe you can cut off that arm."
Zabuza Momochi, Haku, and Karin were all shocked simultaneously.
Zabuza Momochi asked, "Are you joking? With Haku's speed and this sword, just to cut off an arm? It can even decapitate someone."
"Just cut off an arm, Tanzo Shimura's arm," Naruto's eyes showed a chill.
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