Naruto : I Aspire To Become Hokage Man

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Zabuza, with a swollen nose and two massive lumps on his chest, was miserably squatting by the side of the bridge, while Naruto stood in front of him, delivering a lecture.

"I told you before—I could help you, I wanted to help you—but nooo, you had to be stubborn! You had to try to convince me with reasoning." Naruto waved his fist angrily.

Sakura stood to the side, speechless. Just moments ago, Naruto had been so damn cool—like, mysterious, powerful cool. And now? Now he had transformed into an absolute clown in a matter of seconds. Did this guy have a split personality or what?

"Schizophrenic?" she thought. "Yeah, sounds about right."

Naruto turned back to Zabuza and Haku. "You don't need to go to Amegakure. Just find a place to lay low. In a few years, the Fourth Mizukage will die, and after that, go assist the Fifth Mizukage, who is—" Naruto paused. He had been this close to saying "who is my wife", but wisely chose to keep that part to himself.

At that moment, an arrogant voice echoed across the bridge.

"Oh~ my, what a brutal battle."

Naruto looked toward the source of the voice. A short man stood there, leaning on a cane with both hands, surrounded by hundreds of rogue ninjas and mercenaries.

"Gato!" Zabuza growled. "Why the hell are you here? And what's with all these thugs?!"

Gato smirked. "Heh. There's been a slight change in plans."

His smirk widened as he mocked, "Sorry, Zabuza, but you can go ahead and die here along with the rest of these fools."

Zabuza's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What?"

"Hiring actual shinobi is way too expensive," Gato sneered. "So I hired a bunch of fugitive ninja instead. Now that you guys have already weakened each other, I've saved myself both money and time. 'Demon of the Hidden Mist'? Hah! You're nothing but a washed-up joke!"

The mercenaries behind him erupted into laughter.

Naruto sighed, rubbing his temples. "There's always some dumbass who doesn't know when to quit."

He turned to Zabuza and Haku. "Go ahead. Have fun with this group of dumbasses."

The two didn't need to be told twice. In an instant, they rushed forward, tearing through the enemy ranks like lions in a flock of helpless sheep.

Despite their injuries, neither Zabuza nor Haku had slowed down in the slightest. And Haku? Haku was pissed. As she struck down the mercenaries, she muttered under her breath, "Let's see you try to grab my chest again! Try it!"

It wasn't long before the entire battlefield was littered with bodies.

Zabuza and Haku slowly turned to Gato, who was now trembling with fear.

"Y-you want money?! I'll pay you! I'll pay you a lot!" Gato screamed, clutching his cane in terror.

Naruto smirked. "Did you hear that? Be smart—take his money first. Then kill him."

With that, Naruto casually turned away, strolling over to where Sakura was standing.

Behind him, Zabuza and Haku exchanged a glance before looking at Gato with terrifying smiles.

Gato bolted.

Or at least, he tried to.

Haku knocked him out cold in seconds. Without a word, they dragged him onto a boat, looted every ryō he had, and sailed off into the mist.

---

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, Sakura glanced at Naruto.

"Why'd you let them go? What if they come back for revenge?" she asked.

Naruto yawned dramatically and collapsed against her, draping himself across her shoulders. "Actually... my chakra's been completely gone for a while now. I was just bluffing. Didn't expect it to actually work."

Sakura's eyes widened in panic. "Wait, what?! Are you injured?!"

Naruto cracked open one eye and smirked. "Ah, well,—"

SMASH!

Sakura decked him right in the face.

"BASTARD!"

She sighed, rubbing her temples before glancing over at Kakashi and Sasuke, who were both still unconscious.

"Great," she muttered. "Looks like I have to drag both of these idiots back to Tazuna's house…"

---

A few hours later, in Tazuna's home…

"BASTARD! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Sasuke suddenly sprang up from the bed, grabbed Naruto by the collar, and shook him violently.

"WHY DID YOU KNOCK ME OUT?!" he demanded. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO—"

Naruto cut him off with a smug grin. "You're still far from Itachi."

Sasuke froze. His expression darkened. "How far?"

Naruto casually leaned back, stretching his arms. "Oh, not too far."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Just one Pacific Ocean away."

Sasuke blinked. "What the hell is a Pacific Ocean?"

"Nothing important. Just keep training," Naruto replied smoothly. "Oh look! Kakashi-sensei's awake!"

Kakashi groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Why does my skull always hurt after overusing the Sharingan?"

Sasuke, still fuming, touched the massive lump on the back of his head and shot Naruto a murderous glare.

Naruto, in a masterful act of avoidance, turned toward the window and loudly declared, "Wow, the sun is really bright today!"

Sasuke glanced outside at the gloomy, foggy weather.

…This bastard.

---

Konoha Village – Hokage's Office

SLAM!

Hiruzen slammed his hand down on his desk.

"WHO LEAKED THE INFORMATION TO ITACHI?!" he roared. "Find out immediately!"

The Third Hokage's sharp eyes narrowed as he exhaled through his nose.

"Danzo... don't let me find out it was you."

---

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Team 7 had returned to their exciting daily routine of picking up garbage and cleaning public toilets.

Naruto, however, had a much better plan.

It involved a recliner. And napping in the sun.

He lay back, hands behind his head, eyes drifting toward the sky.

He knew the Land of Waves mission had been more than just a simple C-rank gone wrong.

It had been a statement—a sign that the conflicts within Konoha's higher-ups were starting to boil over.

And soon?

The Chūnin Exams would begin.

Naruto smirked lazily, staring off into the distance.

"Old man Third Hoe-Kage … are you ready for your curtain call?"

His gaze shifted toward the horizon.

Toward Otogakure.

And Orochimaru.

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