The Heavens: From Naruto to sign in

Yoruha raised his head and took a sip of white wine.

Then, without a word, he held the bottle out toward Anko, gesturing for her to have a drink too.

Anko instantly shook her head.

"Wine? While I'm eating this amazing chicken? No way—I'm not about to ruin the taste."

Yoruha chuckled, then said boldly, "See? Whether you can drink or not has nothing to do with your age."

With that, he clinked bottles with Dazna and took another refreshing gulp.

Smooth.

"Mr. Dazna," Yoruha asked casually, "I heard you're heading back to the Land of Waves to help build a bridge connecting the islands to the mainland?"

"That's right," Dazna replied with a nod and a grin. "The Land of Waves is made up of scattered islands surrounded by sea. With no bridges or connecting roads, it's almost impossible for us to grow or prosper."

"I see," Yoruha nodded thoughtfully, then continued.

"According to the mission contract, we'll protect you until the bridge is finished. But I gotta ask... building a bridge is tough. Destroying one is easy. Does it really make sense to go through all that effort?"

"It does make sense!" Dazna said firmly, taking a sip of wine and straightening up.

"Kid, I get what you're saying—and so does everyone in the Land of Waves. But we don't have a choice. We must build that bridge. It's our way of resisting the daimyo's apathy.

"If we fail, the spirit of our people will be crushed. And if that happens, we'll never escape poverty or get out from under the thumb of people like Gato."

Yoruha was quiet for a moment.

He could understand that. The bridge wasn't just stone and steel—it was a symbol.

You could destroy a bridge with a few explosive tags if that's all it was. But Gato—if he wanted the bridge gone—wouldn't need to hire a rogue ninja like Zabuza just to stop construction.

Zabuza's involvement meant one thing:

This bridge mattered. It was a message. A declaration.

Which made it dangerous.

Three days later.

Yoruha, Anko, and Dazna were approaching the outer edge of the Land of Fire.

So far, the journey had been quiet. No trouble. No ambushes.

But Yoruha knew better. He knew what was coming.

They walked for another half-day.

And right on cue… he spotted them.

Two oddly placed puddles in the middle of the road.

To most, they'd seem harmless.

But to experienced ninjas like Yoruha and Anko, the chakra leaking from those puddles was as obvious as a campfire in the dark.

Still, the two of them walked by casually, not giving anything away.

Then—whoosh!

Two gusts of wind came rushing from behind.

Silver flashes sliced through the air.

Clang!

The spinning kunai were deflected, flipped midair, and buried deep into the throats of the two would-be assassins.

One strike. Two kills.

"Oi, brat," Anko said, frowning. "Show off all you want, but couldn't you at least leave one of them alive?"

She folded her arms and put on her teacher voice.

"Looks like it's time for another lesson: When a ninja is ambushed during a mission, the priority—aside from survival—is to leave one target alive for interrogation. Got it?"

Yoruha just shrugged and ignored her.

After all, he knew what was coming next.

Anko's show was only getting started.

"But even though you didn't leave anyone alive," she continued, smugly placing her hands on her hips, "I still have ways of gathering intel."

She gestured toward the fallen enemies.

"See their forehead protectors? They're rogue-nin from Kirigakure."

She pointed at the kunai still lodged in the dirt.

"And judging by their throwing arc, their target was Mr. Dazna here."

She turned to Dazna with a half-smile.

"So, Dazna… looks like the level of your mission just went up."

Temporary mission upgrades were common.

If a client lied about the mission's true danger level—or new threats emerged—the mission's classification could be changed mid-operation.

After all, if the enemy finds out Konoha shinobi are involved, they're likely to respond in kind—by hiring rogue-nin of their own.