The young man surrendered! He closed his eyes, let his hands hang down, as if he were at their mercy.
Naruto gave Sasuke a look. Sasuke understood. Although he was annoyed, he still did as told. He darted behind the young man and knocked him out with a palm strike.
At this moment, Zabuza feigned death, and the young man was subdued. Kakashi finally let out a sigh of relief. Unable to hold on any longer, his legs suddenly gave way and he collapsed to the ground.
"Teacher Kakashi!" Sakura was shocked and quickly ran to Kakashi's side. She looked him over for a long time but couldn't find any wounds on him.
"Sasuke! Naruto! Come and see what's wrong with Teacher Kakashi! What happened to him?" Sakura shouted.
Naruto took out a bundle of ropes from his backpack and tied up the unconscious young man tightly. Naruto knew that this young man was named Haku and had the ability of Kekkei Genkai. If they hadn't resorted to underhanded methods, it would definitely have taken a great deal of effort to subdue Haku.
"Phew—" After Naruto finished his work, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Compared to Kakashi fainting, Naruto thought it was more important to tie up Haku first.
"Don't be worried," Naruto said. "Teacher Kakashi is okay. He just used too much Chakra and is suffering from exhaustion. This is your first time seeing it, but you'll get used to it later."
Sasuke asked, "Naruto, how do you know so much?"
"Uh..." Naruto was at a loss for words for a moment and quickly made up an excuse. "Teacher Might Guy from Team 3 told me."
Sasuke asked, "You know the Jonin from Team 3?"
Oh no! Once you tell one lie, you have to tell another to cover it up. Naruto stammered, "Uh... Well... Haha... Actually, Teacher Might Guy and Teacher Kakashi are life - and - death friends, really good friends..."
"Let me tell you secretly, don't tell Teacher Kakashi. One day I accidentally met Teacher Might Guy. After he knew I was Kakashi's student, he invited me to have ramen and told me a bunch of Teacher Kakashi's secrets, including the fact that Teacher Kakashi is especially prone to running out of Chakra after a fierce fight."
"Might Guy said that Kakashi always has to lie in bed for three days after a big battle," Naruto said with an awkward smile at this time.
At this time, Kakashi, lying on the grass, had a completely dark face. Although he couldn't move, he still heard what Naruto said and cursed inwardly: Damned Might Guy, how dare you bad - mouth me to my students... I'll settle the score with you when we get back to the village...
Naruto didn't think too much. He just made up a reason to deceive Sasuke and Sakura, but he didn't notice that Kakashi had heard what he said.
After learning that Kakashi was okay, everyone felt relieved. Naruto ran into the depths of the jungle and retrieved Tazuna, who had been hiding.
Looking at Zabuza Momochi, who looked like a ferocious demon, Tazuna asked, "What should we do with these two who came to assassinate me?"
Sakura said, "Normally, we'd send them back to Konoha or hand them over to the Chasing Ninja from the Mist. Either way, they'll probably end up dead."
Sasuke held up a Kunai and said, "It'd be simpler to just kill them right away."
"Hey! Are you serious?" Naruto thought to himself. "Sasuke, you haven't even awakened the Sharingan. If you want to kill Haku now, it'll probably postpone the timing of your awakening."
"Geez, you guys are so cruel. You always want to kill someone!" Naruto said with an innocent look on his face.
Sasuke was utterly confused. Who was it that held Zabuza hostage to force the young man to surrender just now? And who was it that kept yelling about cutting off Zabuza's head?
Sasuke thought to himself, "Humph, anyone has the right to call me cruel, but not you, Naruto. You're even more ruthless than me."
Seeing Naruto's silly look at this moment, Sakura felt that Naruto had returned to his old self. There was no longer a sense of strangeness, nor any fear.
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted angrily, "How dare you say that about us? Who was it that was shouting about killing someone just now?"
"That was a strategy, a ruse," Naruto quickly explained, "I was just scaring them."
Meanwhile, Kakashi, lying not far away, couldn't move his body or speak. He could only silently groan in his heart, "You three, stop arguing and take me somewhere quiet to rest..."
"Oops, we seem to have forgotten about Teacher Kakashi!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed as he remembered that Kakashi was still lying there.
Tazuna carried Kakashi on his back. Sakura took care of Kakashi. Sasuke carried Haku, and Naruto carried Zabuza. The group then headed to Tazuna's house and finally arrived at their destination.
After a night's rest, Kakashi finally recovered a great deal. Naruto had an outstanding performance in the battle the previous day. He not only coordinated well with Kakashi but even engaged in a fight against a Jonin. He saw through the enemy's feigned - death plan, prevented them from rescuing Zabuza, and captured Zabuza's companion. He could be said to have made the greatest contribution.
Kakashi praised Naruto, and Naruto looked extremely proud. At this moment, the most dissatisfied person was Sasuke. Naruto had stolen the show, while he himself had not shown anything.
Looking at Naruto's beaming face, Kakashi sighed inwardly, "With Naruto's performance, it won't be long before I have nothing much to teach him. Sigh..."
"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," Kakashi said seriously, "After yesterday's battle, what insights have you gained?"
"Naruto is very strong," Sakura blurted out.
"Hehe," Naruto said arrogantly, "Right? Right?"
"Tsk," Sasuke turned his face away.
"I don't mean that," Kakashi said, "Although Naruto performed well, you all need to have a clear understanding of your own strength. Especially you, Naruto. Remember, pride leads to failure. Don't slack off on your training just because of one victory."
"Whoa!" Naruto said excitedly, "Are we starting training? I'm ready. As the future Hokage, I know my strength's upper limit very well. You wouldn't even believe it if I told you."
"Uh..." Kakashi looked helpless. Had Naruto grown up or not? Sometimes he seemed so dependable, and other times he was just so absurd.
Moments later, all the members of Team Seven entered the woods. Since Kakashi hadn't fully recovered, he was using a walking stick.
"Today, I'll teach you the basics of being a ninja: the fine manipulation of Chakra," Kakashi explained. "Chakra is a form of energy within our bodies. We need to learn how to precisely manipulate it so that Chakra can flow throughout our bodies under our control."
"Making Chakra flow to your feet is the most challenging part. It's not only difficult to make it gather there, but it's also hard to control the amount," Kakashi said. "Now, I'll show you how it's done."
Kakashi then concentrated his Chakra on the soles of his feet. Suddenly, a gust of wind sprang up under his feet. Leaning on his walking stick, he made his way to a tree and stepped onto the trunk.
Under the shocked looks of Sasuke and Sakura, leaning on his walking stick, Kakashi walked up the vertical tree trunk step by step.