Four years later—
"Your Sword Kage is out again? How is it that for the past four years, he's always out of the village whenever it's time to pay his debts? Hmm?"
In the Sword Kage's office in the Swordsmith Village, Kakuzu, who had come to collect, had a face as black as thunder. In the last four years, not only had Uchiha Nagi failed to pay back his debt to Kakuzu, but he had actually borrowed more.
When you're deep enough in debt, you stop worrying. The Land of Iron was a small country, and there was a limit to how much money could be squeezed from the Daimyo. So, Nagi had borrowed heavily from Kakuzu. The debt had snowballed, growing from a few hundred million to tens of billions.
Kakuzu was unaware that when a person owes a certain amount of money, their creditors have to protect them at all costs, lest they trip and fall, choke on water, or get stabbed in the street.
Uchiha Nagi's debt had now grown so large that even Pain himself would have to protect him.
"It's like this, Kakuzu-san. The Land of Fire is hosting the Chunin Exams, isn't it? The Swordsmith Village was invited to participate, so our Sword Kage is leading the team there," Yukihime said apologetically. She was now the acting secretary, handling official business in Nagi's absence.
"Then it's the usual arrangement. I'll take the cannons as a down payment against the interest."
"They've already been prepared for you. This way, please, Kakuzu-san. Ten cannons and twenty crates of shells..."
"Haha! I'll get them, I'll get them! Such noble works of art should be handled by yours truly! Kakuzu, you just stay here and chat with them," an enthusiastic voice interjected. A blond man with a ponytail and an eyepiece—Deidara of the Akatsuki.
"Haha! An explosion is art! These noble works are worthy of my status! When I get back, I'm going to ask Leader Pain for half of them!"
It was a unique weapon. After Uchiha Nagi's "Artillery—Performance of a Hundred Machines" became famous in a single battle, many people overlooked his other skills like the Susanoo and his swordsmanship. They only remembered two things: the Sky Fortress that could fire Tailed Beast Bombs, and his "Artillery—Performance of a Hundred Machines."
This new invention, a first for the shinobi world, made many sharp minds realize that the future of warfare might be about to undergo a major shift.
A single cannon, a hunk of iron, could launch an attack from over ten kilometers away. A single shell had the power of an A-rank jutsu. And most frighteningly, it required no chakra; an ordinary person could operate it.
A hundred cannons were equivalent to a hundred A-rank jutsu. A single exploding tag couldn't block a shell. A hundred cannons firing nonstop was like a hundred jonin bombarding from a distance.
Countless spies had infiltrated the Land of Iron, trying to uncover the secret of the cannons. Unfortunately, Nagi had moved all production to the Sky Fortress, where no one could get to it. The manufacturing process itself was divided into many steps, with fakes mixed in with the real thing, making it impossible for spies to discern the truth.
Currently, Nagi only sold cannons to the Land of Rain to pay off his debt. His only other customer was Orochimaru. After all, with Orochimaru's scientific prowess, he could reverse-engineer them even if Nagi refused to sell. It was better to sell them to him at a high price.
Deidara had become extremely excited after learning about this strange form of art. Each time, he fearlessly volunteered to go with Kakuzu to the Land of Iron to receive the cannons. If not for Pain's stern warnings to Kakuzu, Deidara would have been secretly "dealt with" many times over.
"Ooh, what beautiful works of art! This kind of art, filled with the scent of gunpowder, is the most brilliant of all! It's beautiful, and it smells so good..." Deidara cooed upon entering the warehouse, stroking a cannon coated in tung oil with one hand and sniffing a crate of ammunition with the other.
"I must incorporate this novel art into my own jutsu! An explosion is art! Hahahahaha—"
"What a madman," Kakuzu muttered, shaking his head. The appearance of the cannons had driven the Art-Combi insane first and foremost.
After his defeat at Nagi's hands, Sasori had holed himself up in his base and refused to come out. He had declared that he wouldn't emerge until he had created a greater work of art. His strongest puppet, the Third Kazekage, had been destroyed. After studying the cannons, he felt they were something that could increase his power. He believed that Uchiha Nagi was a half-baked puppeteer who couldn't bring out the full artistic potential of the cannons.
Deidara, on the other hand, believed that if such a small shell could create such a huge explosion, he could surely create an even more powerful work of art.
The Art-Combi had begun to frantically research gunpowder and cannons. Half of all the cannons and ammunition Nagi traded to the Land of Rain ended up in their pockets.
Unfortunately, the Art-Combi didn't yet know that the late-stage battles of the shinobi world were clashes between gods. Even cannons wouldn't rank in the Great Ninja War.
"We'll cross the border into the Land of Fire soon. Hey, hey, Genya, make us a Wood Style house."
"Amaru, making a house isn't hard, but it'll be trouble if we run into enemies. We could be blown up in our sleep before we have time to react."
"What's there to be afraid of?" the young girl, Amaru, said, rolling her eyes. "There are three of us. Who here is easy to kill? We don't even need to talk about Kimimaro. And you could lose your head and still be fine. I'm the one who's most likely to die."
"Cough, cough..."
Beside them, Kimimaro coughed a few times, a small smear of blood appearing on his handkerchief. "Genya is right. We should be careful if we can. There's no problem with sleeping in the wild for a night. Our mission for these Chunin Exams is very important. We can't afford to be careless."
"Speaking of which, where did Sensei run off to? He said he'd lead the team himself, but then he just took off halfway through, saying it would be good training for us to get to Konoha on our own," Amaru grumbled.
"Maybe Sensei went to find a cure for Kimimaro's illness. He said it can't be delayed any longer," Genya said, looking worriedly at Kimimaro, who was still coughing up blood.
"Let's not talk about it. We have a mission to complete. That's what's most important. Cough, cough..."
"I heard that people from many different countries are coming to participate in these exams. I feel like our Swordsmith Village will be the one getting the most attention. Four years ago, Sensei defeated the Land of Lightning in a single battle. After that, they meekly paid the ransom for the Raikage's body and didn't even dare to retaliate," Amaru said proudly.
In four years, their generation had developed a strong attachment to the village. They had participated in building it from the ground up, a feeling that outsiders could never understand. It was like how the Uchiha clan, after co-founding Konoha, was unwilling to leave with Madara.
This year's Chunin Exams were laden with military objectives. In times of peace, the great nations used these small-scale competitions to showcase their military strength.
And Konoha's attitude was simple: to send a message to everyone around them that they were still the top dog. Otherwise, just take a look at the strength of our genin...
Nagi wasn't one to back down. You invite us just to show off your strength? I'll come and slap you in the face. He had dispatched the Zero-Tails jinchuriki, Amaru; the demon-eating boy, Genya Shinazugawa; and Kimimaro—the three strongest of the Land of Iron's new generation.
Of course, Karin Uzumaki and a few other talented youngsters were also present, making up three teams sent to the Land of Fire. It wasn't that he didn't want to send more children, but this year's Chunin Exams were destined to be a bloodbath. Those who weren't strong enough would just become cannon fodder.
The Konoha Crush plan.
The seeds Orochimaru had planted four years ago were finally about to bear fruit. Nagi wasn't sure what kind of deal Orochimaru had made with the various Konoha clans that had resulted in so few coming to the Third Hokage's aid during his fight, but that had nothing to do with him.
Where was he now? In the Land of Waves.
The start of the Chunin Exams meant that Naruto was about to take center stage. Faced with the impending great war, Nagi still had no way to deal with Obito. So, he had decided to get his hands on Obito's eyes first. Once Obito lost his spatial defense, his strength would be greatly diminished.
That was why he had left his students halfway and run off to the Land of Waves.
In the Land of Waves, fate was playing out its curious course. After all these years, Kakashi's chakra reserves were still about the same as when he was twelve. Only his techniques and combat experience had improved. The Sharingan had become a crutch that held him back.
"You... you all need to run! Get out of here! Don't worry about me!" Kakashi yelled at his three students. He was trapped in Zabuza's Water Prison. His students were fresh genin; they stood no chance against even one of Zabuza's water clones.
"No way! If we run now, Kakashi-sensei will die! I will never abandon a comrade! That's my ninja way!" the blond boy, Naruto, shouted after a moment of panic, his eyes fixed firmly on Zabuza.
"You kids..." In a daze, Kakashi thought he saw a vision of himself and Obito from long ago.
"Heh heh. You brat, you're overestimating yourself. You think you can beat one of my clones? Alright then, I'll play with you little brats," Zabuza said. Whether out of arrogance or a cat-like desire to play with his prey, he didn't kill Kakashi immediately after capturing him. Instead, he trapped him in a Water Prison and sent a clone to fight a few genin.
Perhaps his intelligence had been debuffed by the protagonist's plot armor.
"But... but we can't beat a jonin! What do we do, Sasuke?" the pink-haired Sakura, still a naive neighborhood girl, was terrified.
Sasuke just tightened his grip on his kunai. It was clear he agreed with the blond's decision.
At that moment, a new, unexpected voice interjected. "Actually, there's another way. Just give up the mission and hand the old man over to Zabuza. Then you'll have no reason to keep fighting."
"Who's there?!" +3
"Who are you?!"
Everyone turned in shock toward the voice. They saw a young man with black hair and black eyes, sitting cheerfully in a large tree, cracking open sunflower seeds and sipping a drink. Judging by the pile of shells on the ground, he'd been watching for quite some time.
"Who are you? When did you get here?" Zabuza was stunned. He hadn't noticed this person at all until he spoke. It was like seeing a ghost.
The man was like a rock, a tree. Zabuza couldn't sense a single trace of his presence. Even now, looking right at him, it was as if there was no one in the tree at all. If not for his own eyes, he would have doubted there was anyone there.
"Uchiha Nagi? Why are you here?" The others might not know him, but Kakashi, trapped in the Water Prison, certainly did. This was his former classmate, now the Kage of the Swordsmith Village in the Land of Iron.
"Oh, Uchiha Nagi? The missing-nin from Konoha who not only survived but built his own village..." Zabuza's eyes narrowed. This was the man who had participated in the assassination of the Fourth Mizukage and had single-handedly killed the Fourth Raikage.
A person's reputation precedes them. Nagi's was simply too great. No matter how arrogant Zabuza was, he knew he couldn't win.
"Oh, perhaps you wish to save your classmate, Kakashi? If that is Your Excellency's request, I can release him," Zabuza said gravely.
A wise man submits to circumstances. Taking a step back was no great shame. Otherwise, he would have had to commit seppuku after his failed assassination of the Fourth Mizukage.
"Relax. I'm not here to save Kakashi. I'm just here to watch the show. You all carry on, don't mind me," Nagi said with a wave of his hand.
Hearing the word "classmate," Naruto's eyes had filled with hope. Hearing Nagi say he was just "watching the show," they filled with despair. Nagi cheerfully enjoyed Naruto's rapidly changing expressions.
"Hey, little blondie, here's a tip for you. A teacher you're close to is far more important than a mission or a stranger," Nagi said, smiling at Naruto. "I think if you toss that old man over to him, Zabuza-san will kill him, and then he'll have no reason to kill your teacher, Kakashi. I'm sure after completing his mission, Zabuza-san wouldn't mind letting Kakashi go. Right, Zabuza-san?"
Zabuza was speechless.
I haven't even said anything, and you're already making decisions for me?
But sensing Nagi's state of perfect harmony with nature, he was certain he couldn't handle him. Zabuza could only nod silently.
"No! Absolutely not!" Naruto shook his head, looking from Kakashi to the old man, still hesitating.
"Naruto, what are you waiting for? Is Kakashi-sensei less important than some stranger?" Sasuke's eyes glinted coldly as he looked at the old bridge builder. He pushed Sakura aside, grabbed the old man who had given them the mission, and threw him toward Zabuza.
"SASUKE—"
SQUELCH!
Zabuza didn't hesitate. Before Naruto's horrified eyes, he swung his greatsword. The old man who had hired them was sliced in two. Fortunately, the blade likely hit his heart, and he died instantly. His entrails and blood spilled across the ground.
"You... you guys—" Naruto stared in disbelief at the old man's body, then at Sasuke.
SLAP!
Naruto slapped Sasuke across the face. Sasuke retaliated with a hard punch to Naruto's stomach. "A mission is never more important than family," he snarled. "You, who have never had a real family, will never understand."
"You bastard! Were you really going to watch Kakashi-sensei die for the sake of some old man you'd never met before?"