I am the most popular character in Naruto!

Sasuke gritted his teeth and assumed a defensive stance, back to back with Naruto.

Naruto scratched his head in frustration, "It's all gone... I should have learned some powerful techniques from my godmother!"

boom!

boom!

boom!

At the same time, the two heard the sound of Sakura punching the mirror again and again outside the magic mirror's ice crystal, as well as Sakura's furious roar.

However, it is clear that with Sakura's current level of superhuman strength, she is not yet able to break through Mizuki Haku's Magic Mirror Ice Crystal.

"If only I had known, if only I had known—"

Sasuke gripped his arm in frustration, realizing he lacked a powerful offensive ninjutsu. He felt that a breakthrough ninjutsu would be the key to escaping this predicament.

"Sasuke—Naruto—!!!"

Sakura's fists were covered in blood outside the magic mirror's ice crystals. She gritted her teeth and punched the mirror surface again and again. Everyone knows how painful it is to smash ice with a bloodied and mangled hand, but Sakura couldn't care less about that in order to save Naruto and Sasuke.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!"

Watching Sakura throw punch after punch, Tazuna's eyes reddened and tears streamed down his face.

He had never experienced such a brutal battle scene before.

The previous battles were all minor skirmishes, but when it came to such a large-scale scene of life and death, he felt particularly sorry for his three children.

They're only teenagers!

"it's over!"

Mizuki Haku's techniques are cold, and so is his heart.

He is not the same person as in the original story. Even though he is kind-hearted, he also knows very well what the rules of ninjas are, having grown up in a large family.

For ninjas, it's either you die or I die!

In such a conflicting mission, showing mercy could very well lead to the sacrifice of a teammate.

He didn't want to see Zabuza get into trouble.

For Zabuza's sake, it doesn't matter if my already unclean hands are stained with a little more of the boy's blood!

Mizuki Haku steeled his resolve and whispered, "Ice Release! Thousand Kills Water Flight!"

A massive amount of Ice Release chakra condensed into Ice Senbon. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened. "Naruto! You have to defend against it! If you can't, you're dead!"

"Oh!!!"

However, the next second, a violent roar reached everyone's ears, followed by an unstoppable torrent of water that swept over like a heavy hammer, utterly destroying the "unbreakable" magic mirror ice crystal.

"What!?"

Mizuki Haku tumbled out of the water in a disheveled state, staring wide-eyed at Zabuza, who was also rolling around in the water.

"Zabuza-sama!"

Chapter 587 Becoming Stronger

"...That concludes the report."

"This C-rank mission has been successfully completed. During the mission, we encountered a large number of ninja attacks, as well as an attack from an elite Jonin. I suggest that the mission level be adjusted to A-rank."

Kakashi reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi with a blank expression, while Hiruzen, holding his pipe, stared at Kakashi in shock.

"What did you say?"

"A C-level mission can encounter so many things?"

Kakashi nodded. "According to the shared intelligence from the Land of Water, the owner of a trading company in the Land of Waves issued a mission in the Land of Water. Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and Haku Mizuki of the Mizuki clan accepted the mission."

"After I resolved their issue, I sent them back through official channels and received a portion of the ransom."

A hint of amusement crept into his smile; the ransom for an elite Jonin, a ninja with a bloodline limit, was no small sum.

He pays part of it through official channels, part of it as taxes, and Kakashi still has a large sum left for himself.

"That's it, I know."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. No wonder he had just received a letter from the Land of Water. Mei Terumi's attitude was strange. He had originally thought it was because of the woman being the Kage, but he didn't expect it to be for this reason.

A small team of genin defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, their signature group. It would be strange if they weren't sarcastic and sarcastic.

Kakashi, what are you competing with them for a mere C-rank mission?

"Well then, I'll go submit the mission now. Third Hokage, what do you think of this mission...?"

Kakashi tentatively asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, who cleared his throat and said, "Go ahead. Raise the difficulty of this mission to A-rank. The village will reimburse the medical expenses for the three injured."

"Okay, thank you."

Kakashi's eyes lit up. He knew that the three little ones were seriously injured, and their medical expenses would be a huge sum if they had to pay for them themselves.

He himself was fine. After sending Tazuna to the Land of Waves, he easily dealt with Gato, who wanted to rebel, without any trouble or effort. The whole mission was uneventful.

For Naruto and his two friends, that was incredibly exciting.

Naruto and Sasuke went through a life-or-death battle, and Sakura almost experienced a separation from her lover. The three of them have grown a lot mentally and can now be considered qualified ninjas.

Hmph, there are still two months left until the Chunin Exams. As long as I lead them to perform well in the Chunin Exams and help them all successfully advance to Chunin, I think I will have completed the task that Sister Chiaki entrusted to me!

Kakashi, humming a tune, arrived at the mission submission area. After submitting the mission, the staff at the handover point gave him a bill and extended their hand to Kakashi with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

Kakashi was taken aback. He looked down at the bill, which read, "Pay the difference in handling fees for upgrading a C-rank mission to an A-rank mission."

Kakashi's expression froze instantly.

"That damned Tazuna—!!!"

……

The Thousand Hands Old House.

"That's how it is, so Master, how can I grow faster?"

Sakura stretched out her hands and knelt in front of Chiaki. Chiaki casually touched her hands, and pink chakra began to dance gently in Sakura's hands.

"You want to grow quickly?"

Chiaki smiled, pleased with Sakura's completely different appearance from the original story.

The Sakura in the original work is indeed annoying. Not only does she speak rudely to Naruto, but she also doesn't have any outstanding qualities.

She truly began to change after becoming Tsunade's disciple and when she began saving lives on the battlefield.

But things are different now. With Chiaki's guidance, Sakura is growing up quickly, and her temperament is maturing rapidly. She is already showing signs of becoming the person she will be in the future.

The feeling of helplessness she experienced kneeling before the magic mirror's ice crystals that day was deeply etched in Sakura's heart. She desperately hoped that she could grow up quickly and become a ninja who could stand on her own.

"Yes! I want to be as strong as you!"

Sakura looked at Chiaki with stars in her eyes, "Master, just how strong were you back then?"

"then?"

Chiaki blinked, her memory also becoming somewhat hazy. She had been in this ninja world for countless years, and the next generation of children were growing up.

"Among my peers, I'd say I'm pretty strong."

She covered her mouth and laughed, recalling the scenes from back then, and said with great emotion, "I don't understand why I, who was just a low-level ninja back then, was able to fight against so many masters, just like you are now."

It's like someone's targeting you; when Qianqiu was weak, he fought his way up.

He's a complete genin and chunin, he's never fought any of them. Chiaki comes in and fights elite jonin right away, and then immediately starts fighting kage-level ninjas. It's ridiculous.

"Then, how did the master win back then?"

Sakura looked at Chiaki excitedly, and Chiaki flicked her forehead with his finger. "I didn't win at all back then, and I came here in such a sorry state."

"Therefore, I made a firm decision deep in my heart: I must become stronger than anyone else!"

Upon hearing this, Sakura paused for a moment, then clenched her fist.

So that's how it is. My master went through the same thing!

Feelings of powerlessness and despair—all setbacks are the driving force for growth. Only by experiencing resentment can one strive to grow stronger!

At that moment, Sakura understood.

A strong will to become stronger rose within her. Her master had gone through the same thing, so there was nothing shameful about it!

"Alright, your hand is fine now, go back to your studies."

Chiaki pulled himself out of his hazy memories and smiled slightly at Sakura. Sakura then realized that her hand had recovered and quickly thanked Chiaki.

Medical ninjas spend most of their time learning and training chakra manipulation skills, which are the foundation of their profession. Fortunately, Sakura may not excel in other areas, but she is outstanding in her learning ability.

Once she was determined to become stronger, she felt that no difficulty was insurmountable.

While the master and apprentice were happily studying together, the gate of the Senju mansion suddenly opened, and Kakashi, looking exasperated, led the noisy Naruto and Sasuke in.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Go find Sister Qianqiu."

He waved his hand with a pained expression, letting the already lively Naruto and Sasuke go and mess with Chiaki.

"Godmother—!!!"

"I want to learn powerful ninjutsu!"

Naruto rushed over first and pounced on Chiaki, throwing a tantrum.

Sasuke silently stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on Chiaki. "Lord Chiaki, I need a powerful ninjutsu!"

Chiaki paused slightly, then gestured for Sakura to study on her own for a while before looking at Kakashi.

"what happened?"

Chapter 588 Ninjutsu Specialization

"So, you're saying that you're all helpless because of the bloodline limit ninjutsu used by Mizuki Haku?"