At Dazuna's home.
On the way back, Kakashi had already begun to feel that something wasn't quite right.
"Haruto…"
Sitting cross-legged on the tatami, Kakashi turned his head toward Senju Haruto. "Something about all this feels off."
"What do you mean?" Haruto replied casually, though in truth he had already guessed what Kakashi was getting at.
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Dazuna all turned their heads toward Kakashi as well, waiting for him to explain.
"Normally," Kakashi said slowly, "hunter-nin deal with the bodies on the spot."
"So what?" Sakura asked, puzzled. They had all seen with their own eyes how Zabuza was killed by that masked boy. They had confirmed it themselves—Zabuza was dead. Carrying the body away could also be considered a way of handling things, couldn't it?
"That's true," Kakashi nodded. "The boy could have been moving the body to dispose of it elsewhere."
But even as he said this, his expression hardened.
"Before I became a jonin, I was a squad captain in the Anbu. In situations like this, there's no need for something so troublesome. If you need proof of a completed mission, you simply take the target's head back. The rest of the body is usually destroyed on the spot by fire."
Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed.
"And another thing—the weapon that boy used to 'kill' Zabuza… there's something strange about it too."
"Just spit it out already, will you?" Dazuna burst out, unable to bear the tension. The more he heard, the more his unease grew, a creeping dread gnawing at the back of his mind.
"Fine." Kakashi sighed. "What I'm saying is… there's a chance Zabuza is still alive."
As he expected, everyone—except Haruto—reacted with wide eyes and looks of shock, unwilling to accept such a possibility.
"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Kakashi asked Haruto directly. He didn't know why Haruto hadn't mentioned it, but based on his understanding of him, there was no way he had overlooked such a detail.
"Mm." Haruto gave a short nod. "But whether Zabuza is alive or dead actually doesn't matter."
"What?!" Dazuna sprang to his feet. "How can it not matter?!"
To Dazuna, if Zabuza hadn't been dealt with, that could only mean he would return again. As long as Zabuza lived, Dazuna's life was at risk.
But Haruto just looked at him with a calm, matter-of-fact expression.
"The real problem isn't Zabuza—it's Gato. As long as Gato's alive, he'll keep sending people after you. And it's very possible he's got people even stronger than Zabuza at his disposal."
"Unless Gato himself is eliminated, this will never end."
Dazuna collapsed back onto the floor with a thud, his legs giving out beneath him. What Haruto said wasn't complicated. It was painfully obvious once you thought about it—he simply hadn't allowed himself to think that way until now.
"It's fine."
Not everyone was intimidated by Gato's power. Naruto flashed a confident grin.
"Sakura, no matter who that guy sends after us, I'll protect you!"
After all, he was the one who had defeated Zabuza. Even if Zabuza was still alive, even if Gato sent someone even stronger, Naruto wasn't worried. In fact, he was practically itching to test himself against whoever came next.
But when Sakura heard him, she instinctively backed away and moved closer to Sasuke instead.
Even though Naruto had undeniably grown stronger, her feelings were still for Sasuke. And besides, Kakashi-sensei and Haruto were both here. There was nothing to worry about.
"Naruto…"
Naruto's shoulders slumped, his expression crestfallen. He had thought that defeating Zabuza would finally make Sakura think he was cool. But even now, she still only had eyes for Sasuke—who had been so terrified in front of Zabuza that he could barely move.
Still, Sakura wasn't blind. She could see how much Naruto had changed.
He really has become so much more reliable than back at the Academy, she thought. Compared to Naruto, she and Sasuke felt as though they had been standing still. Naruto had already reached the point where he could take down a jonin, while she and Sasuke could do nothing but tremble in fear.
"Hey."
Sasuke, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood from the tatami, his dark eyes locking onto Haruto. No matter how much he hated to admit it, he knew Haruto was the strongest person here.
"H–Haruto…"
His throat bobbed as he forced the words out. He only managed to hold Haruto's gaze for a second before turning his eyes aside.
Everyone's attention shifted to him—Haruto, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, even Dazuna.
"If… if there's really a chance they'll come back…" Sasuke's voice was halting, strained. "…then… could you… train me?"
It took him a long time to finally get the sentence out.
As an Uchiha, Sasuke couldn't stand the idea of letting Naruto hog all the glory. He wanted to fight someone like Zabuza himself—and win.
"That's not fair, Sasuke!"
Naruto shot upright. "You can't just ask Haruto-nii to train you—if you do, then I want training too!" He spun toward Haruto, fists clenched. "Haruto-nii, train me too!"
"Sasuke, Naruto…"
Sakura looked at Sasuke, conflicted. Naruto was one thing—he had already spent years training at Mount Myoboku. But Sasuke? He was strong, yes, but only top of the Academy. No matter how much he trained, there was no way he could reach Zabuza's level in such a short time.
And as for her… she was even further behind. No amount of training would close that gap now.
"You want me to train you, huh…" Haruto chuckled softly. He understood Sasuke's frustration all too well. Watching Naruto return from Mount Myoboku so much stronger—it was no wonder Sasuke felt indignant.
Sasuke knew full well that Kakashi was his jonin instructor. Asking someone else to train him wasn't proper, wasn't within the rules. But he also knew that once this mission ended and they returned to the village, he might never get a chance like this again.
So he couldn't let it slip away.
"P–Please."