Chapter 76: Finally Reconciled

As Sasuke's eyelids fluttered, the fog and ice crystals on the battlefield dissipated. He leaned in between his teammates, his back to Sakura, and Naruto crouched beside him, both of them staring at the scene in front of them.

A breathless silence fell over the area, holding a meaning that Sasuke had yet to comprehend.

Kakashi stood a few meters away, facing the seriously injured Zabuza. Blood was gushing out of Zabuza's shoulder, but he still held the beheading sword tightly, protecting Bai in front of him.

"I have a question, Zabuza." Kakashi asked in a low voice, "It seems that there is no difference between the two of us."

Zabuza gave a dry laugh.

"Go ahead."

"Why would you work for a scumbag like Cardo?"

Zabuza tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and narrowed his eyes, seeming surprised by the question.

"For money," he answered reflexively.

"You're lying." Naruto suddenly spoke, his tone sharp. This was not an accusation, but a statement of fact.

Zabuza's gaze turned to Naruto and then back to Kakashi.

"It's to protect him, right?" Kakashi said calmly, "to avoid being hunted down by the Hidden Mist Village."

Zabuza snorted coldly, and Sasuke could almost swear that he saw a flash of smile beneath the other person's bandages.

"It seems that you are not that stupid, Hatake Kakashi." He admitted, "Yes, Kado is a bastard, but his power is something that even the Hidden Mist Village dare not easily provoke."

They continued talking, their tones strangely calm, the subject turning to possible political struggles, but Sasuke was no longer in the mood to listen.

He tried to adjust his position, to sit up, a slight groan escaping his throat.

Hearing the noise, two pairs of worried eyes immediately looked over, one pair was as green as the sea, and the other pair was as blue as the sky.

"You're awake." Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, "You really scared us to death, idiot."

Sasuke squeezed her arm gently to comfort her, but his eyes quickly locked on Naruto. He gave him a weak smile but didn't move closer, keeping a cautious distance.

There was a glimmer of hurt and fear in Naruto's eyes, and that was too much for Sasuke to accept.

"Naruto——"

"Ah, it looks like reinforcements have arrived," Naruto said sharply, his tone clearly unnatural.

That was the worst red herring Sasuke had ever heard in his life, even though Cardo's men did show up on the battlefield.

Because he was busy convincing himself not to act impulsively, Sasuke only heard the end of the conversation between Zabuza and Kado, but he did hear the words "You are fired."

This was probably one of the most ridiculous things he had ever heard, considering he lived with an idiot.

If this wasn't typical of civilian ignorance - trying to fire a ninja like an underperforming employee. Sasuke wasn't even the one being insulted, but he still felt bad, and he could even see Kakashi-sensei's hair bristling.

Kakashi and Zabuza immediately straightened up from their defensive stances.

Zabuza turned around and looked at Cardo and his men with a cold look that seemed to suck all the moisture out of the air.

Bai suddenly chuckled, breaking the tense atmosphere.

He covered his mouth with his hand, and with his other hand he wrapped his arms around his chest, supporting his injured ribs, while laughter escaped from between his fingers.

Sakura also started laughing, and her laughter sounded as clear as a silver bell in Sasuke's ears.

Soon, the laughter spread like wildfire, even infecting Naruto, who was in a gloomy mood.

Kakashi-sensei also let out a few low laughs, but he quickly hid his laughter behind his fists.

"What you said is very interesting." Zabuza said in a long voice, looking at the cowardly appearance of Cardo's subordinates with undisguised contempt.

Even if seriously injured, any one ninja is more difficult to deal with than a group of rabble.

Cardo hesitated, his fat face turning red because of everyone's laughter.

Sasuke noticed that Bai looked at Naruto for a long time, and there seemed to be some kind of tacit understanding between them.

"Do you need help?" Kakashi asked.

Zabuza didn't seem surprised by the suggestion.

Without the conflict of interest, the atmosphere between the two jonin became much more harmonious, as if an unspoken understanding had been formed.

"If you don't mind." Zabuza said easily, raising the beheading sword with the arm that was not seriously injured.

His eyes flickered between Sasuke and Team 7 as Sasuke struggled to his feet, followed by Naruto and Sakura.

"What do you think, Shiro?"

The boy still looked at Naruto, and Naruto still seemed to be on guard against Shiro. But after a while, Naruto's shoulders relaxed and he gave Shiro a big smile.

"I think it's time." Bai said with a smile. After that, he lowered his head and got under Zabuza's raised arm.

Zabuza turned around and faced Cardo head-on.

Needless to say, Cardo and his men were quickly defeated.

---

Bai finally gained Naruto's recognition.

That night, they camped near the bridge and watched the workers working all night under strong lighting to repair the damaged bridge.

Tazna seemed a little confused by this transformation. One second he was a sworn enemy, and the next he became a friend, or even a potential ally.

Naruto questioned aloud why they had to fight to the death to complete the mission.

Tazna didn't seem to know how to answer that question, he just muttered something like "ninjas are crazy" and went back to work.

Haku gave the antidote to Sakura, which helped Sasuke regain feeling in his legs.

To everyone's surprise, Shiro and Sakura immediately began a lively and professional discussion about medical ninjutsu.

Kakashi and Zabuza were talking in low voices at the edge of the camp, leaving Naruto with Sasuke most of the time.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, like an invisible gap separating the two of them.

Naruto moved restlessly, and Sasuke reached out and grabbed his wrist without hesitation, pulling his hand close, carefully observing the marks on the back of Naruto's hand. He gently rubbed the few seal marks on Naruto's arm that had disappeared with his thumb.

"This is not a bloodline limit." Sasuke said softly, without looking up to meet Naruto's eyes.

Naruto swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Yes," he admitted, "but I did inherit it from my mother."