"Zabuza. I need you to hold off Hatake Kakashi."
Zabuza had no objections to that particular request. The Sharingan-wielding Kakashi was the biggest obstacle in the picture—getting him out of the equation would make everything easier.
"Kakashi's a pain. But if we can lure him away from the others, your Haku and I can handle a handful of Genin. You don't need a decisive outcome. You don't even need to beat Kakashi. Just tie him down. And if things go wrong, pull back. Don't overdo the performance, either—we don't want him getting suspicious."
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Zabuza scoffed.
"Our goal is simple—controlling the Nine-Tails is our victory. Keeping ourselves intact comes first." Yukii kept her tone measured.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you." Zabuza waved her off.
"I'll go continue my preparations." Yukii took her leave.
After she was gone, Haku slipped into the room.
"That woman. Too soft-hearted. She wants revenge against the world but she's too squeamish to accept casualties." Zabuza glanced toward Haku. "Is that a clan thing with your people?"
"I wouldn't know." Haku smiled. "I'm Zabuza-sama's tool. Snow clan, bloodline—those are just distant words to me."
"If not for this particular connection, she'd have never jumped in to save us." Zabuza said it matter-of-factly.
"Who knows." Haku kept smiling.
In the live feed, the danmu flooded in:
[Starting to feel like it really is just one person]
[Oh no oh no—those warm slice-of-life chapters weren't setup for a tearjerker, were they]
[I'd honestly rather she be a genuine villain]
[Stay calm. This is a hot-blooded shounen. Nobody dies early. I'm telling you all—these shows don't kill characters until episode one hundred, two hundred minimum. And even then, they pull a resurrection]
[Which series normalized resurrections again?]
[Dragon Ball: ...did someone call my name?]
[But Toriyama-sensei himself didn't get a resurrection]
[💀]
The last comment dropped a silence over the comment section.
Though the viewers had pieced together part of the picture—Kushina Yukii was almost certainly the mystery woman. They had guessed that much.
Hanabi hadn't particularly been trying to hide it. The audience didn't know because the Dimensional Popularity Stage had deliberately withheld a sliver of information while broadcasting—manufacturing the suspense itself. Not Hanabi's doing. The show's production.
Which, objectively, worked in Hanabi's favor. Her popularity count had broken through five digits into six—and it was still climbing.
"I'm back."
Naruto had left looking hollow. He returned looking recharged, like he'd plugged himself directly into a power source.
"Welcome back."
Hanabi greeted him with a smile.
"Uh—"
Something familiar in those words—something that stopped his voice in his throat before it could come out.
"Hey!"
But then Inari came barreling in from across the room.
"I'm sorry! This morning—I was wrong!"
He bowed his head to Naruto.
"Nah, I said too much too, jumping in without knowing anything." Naruto scratched his nose with one finger. "But this time I'm not shooting my mouth off—we are going to beat Gatō. I mean it."
Not just for Tazuna-san. For Aunt Kushina too.
"Idiot. My mission is to protect Tazuna-san." Sasuke appeared behind Naruto out of nowhere.
"Well, look at this—quite the gathering." Tazuna and Kakashi walked in together. Both of them wore odd expressions.
"Speaking of Gatō. We just received some very unexpected news." Tazuna looked uneasy.
"What happened?" Tsunami came in from the side; her whole family went tense at the mention of that name.
"Gatō's sent someone to say he's willing to negotiate." Tazuna shook his head.
"What?!" Naruto's eyes went wide.
He had just steeled himself—and the enemy surrendered?
That couldn't be right.
Over dinner that evening, Tazuna laid out the full story: shortly after they'd wrapped up for the day, Gatō's people had arrived to say that the bridge in the Land of Waves could, in fact, be completed. He wasn't opposed.
"But I can't shake the feeling it's a trap." Tazuna couldn't imagine a man as ruthless as Gatō giving up this easily.
Kakashi's gaze moved to Hanabi almost without thinking.
[Kakashi: HELP ME, HANABI-SENSEI!]
[Dead—he's got a conditioned reflex now]
[One hundred percent a scheme]
[Honestly, just kill Gatō and divide his assets equally between everyone]
The danmu ran its usual cheerful commentary.
Hanabi spoke. "Because Tazuna-san entered a contract with me, Gatō would essentially be provoking Konoha if he moved against Tazuna now. A merchant who reassesses his tactics after evaluating the risk—that's rational behavior. I don't find it surprising."
A lie, naturally.
Gatō was a crooked businessman. The kind of geopolitical chess she was describing was several leagues above him. A man who genuinely thought two hired swords would be enough muscle to control an entire country didn't have that kind of strategic range.
Gatō had changed course because of genjutsu. He was already under her control—the same way the Fourth Mizukage had been under Obito's.
If Tobi could do it, why can't I?
"It may still be a trap," Hanabi continued. "But I think we should go."
"You mean we accept the meeting?" Tazuna looked to her.
"Gatō himself isn't what we should fear." Hanabi spoke calmly, one hand moving to the bell at her collar. "We need to watch for Zabuza. He's the unpredictable piece. And we're not there to cooperate with Gatō. We're there to make Gatō return every last thing he's taken from this country."
"But how can you negotiate with that kind of person?!" Naruto was indignant.
"We're not negotiating, Naruto." Hanabi kept her voice even. "Gatō's shipping company was built on this country's suffering. Everything he's extracted—we need it all back."
She left the details for later. There was still time to feel things out.
After the meeting ended, Hanabi found Kakashi alone.
"Kakashi-sensei. I believe the other side's real objective probably isn't Tazuna-san. Gatō may have been used by Zabuza."
"…The strange woman. Is she after the Nine-Tails?" After learning someone had designs on Naruto's tenant, Kakashi had become considerably more watchful.
"I already have a grasp on most of the Land of Waves. As long as we stay within this country's borders, the risk is manageable—and we can always retreat if things go badly." Hanabi continued.
"That may not be quite enough." Kakashi frowned.
"—Then we outlast her." Hanabi said it simply. "I've looked into what I could. That deity's power seems to be highly corrosive in nature. The strength her bloodline has reached—it came at a price. That woman doesn't have much time. So even if it were only Naruto and Sasuke—they can run the clock out on her."
"Is that so."
Kakashi relaxed slightly.
He glanced toward the nearby windowsill. Someone had been there, listening—Naruto, slipping away as quietly as he could.
"So as long as Tazuna-san survives and the bridge is completed—that's our victory." Hanabi met Kakashi's eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei. I need you to occupy Zabuza."