Kazama had a grass stalk in his mouth and raised his foot to kick Naruto in the rear:

"What are you howling about early in the morning? Hurry up and pack your things properly. If we can get back to Konoha before sunset today, Teacher will treat you to grilled meat."

"Grilled meat?" Naruto's eyes lit up, and saliva almost dripped from the corner of his mouth.

You must know that normally, getting to eat a meal of Ichiraku Ramen was already like celebrating the New Year for him.

Grilled meat was a high-end delicacy that he didn't even dare to dream of!

Not only Naruto, but Sakura and Sasuke also quickened the pace of their hands.

"Wahahaha! Grilled meat feast! Here I come!!"

Naruto let out a weird cry and stuffed his luggage into his backpack in two or three moves.

Under the powerful temptation of grilled meat, coupled with the absence of the torture of weighted jumping, the group's traveling speed was flying fast.

...

At dusk, Team 7 finally returned to Konoha Village village.

Guarding the gates were still the pair of gate guardians, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.

Seeing that Kazama was back, Izumo Kamizuki greeted him: "Yo, Kazama, you guys are finally back. Has Tazuna's commission been completed?"

"Done, everything went smoothly."

Kotetsu Hagane also asked curiously: "Smooth? I heard that things were quite chaotic over in the Land of Waves, and Anbu also received emergency intelligence a couple of days ago about Rogue Ninjas from Hidden Mist operating at the border. You guys didn't run into any tough characters, did you?"

Hearing this, Naruto's desire to show off could no longer be contained, and he immediately hopped forward:

"Hehe, let me tell you guys, that Tao..."

"Thud!"

Before Naruto finished speaking, the back of his head received a knuckle rap.

Kazama grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him behind himself.

Naruto covered his head in pain: "Ouch! Teacher Kazama, what are you doing..."

"Did you eat too many peaches and your brain got dizzy, huh?"

Kazama glanced at him sideways, then turned his head to smile at Kotetsu Hagane: "The Land of Waves only had a few blind ruffians and punks, where would any tough characters come from. You two brothers go ahead with your busy work, we'll go to the building to report the task first."

...

Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was browsing through a newly delivered secret scroll.

A knock on the door sounded, and Kazama led Team 7 inside, placing the mission report on the desk.

"Third Hokage, Tazuna's escort mission has been successfully completed, and Team 7 has come to report back."

Hiruzen Sarutobi first looked at Kazama, then looked at Naruto and Sasuke. As for Sakura? Sorry, not familiar!

(I thought carefully about it today, it seems the Third Hokage never once spoke to Sakura in the original work.)

"Naruto, this trip out didn't cause any trouble for Kazama, did you?"

Naruto immediately puffed out his chest: "Old man, you underestimate people too much! I am a super main force! I contributed the most to defeating the bad guys!"

Sasuke turned his head away and let out a hum from his nose, clearly showing extreme disdain for Naruto's bragging.

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled twice: "Naruto, Sasuke, you guys have worked hard. Go back and rest first, Kazama stay behind."

"Ah? Teacher isn't leaving together? We agreed on treating us to grilled meat, hey!" Naruto asked.

Kazama messily ruffled Naruto's blond hair: "You guys go wait for me at my place, I'll discuss the specifics of this mission with the Third Hokage and then come find you."

"Then hurry up!"

...

After the three of Naruto left, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up Kazama's mission report and began reading.

"Kazama, going out on this trip for nearly half a month, the kids under you must have suffered quite a bit, right?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked while reading.

"One must endure hardships beyond hardships to become a person above persons. If they don't suffer now, they'll shed blood on the battlefield later..."

As he spoke, Kazama pulled out various classic educational remarks from his past life.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi got a bit of a headache from Kazama's nagging, "I heard from Anbu's reports that that Kato, who has long monopolized the shipping industry of the Land of Waves, is missing?"

"Missing? That means he's dead. His head was kicked into the sea to feed the turtles."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and let out a long sigh: "He deserved to die... But that Kato, doing business on the surface while trafficking arms and smuggling contraband behind the scenes, the private wealth he has plundered over these past few decades is probably thicker than the storehouses of several cities in the Land of Fire combined."

Speaking up to here, the Old man paused and looked up at Kazama:

"We in Konoha haven't been well-off these past few years either. A while ago, we repaired the Ninja Academy, plus updating the Anbu's equipment, the village's fiscal deficit has expanded quite a bit more. The appropriations from the Daimyo's Residence have been getting stuck, and I've been losing sleep over funding these past few days."

Kazama sneered inwardly.

This Old man went such a big roundabout circle, turning out to have his eyes on Kato's inheritance, wanting to make him hand over the stolen money to be confiscated for public use?

Keep dreaming!

That is my starting capital used to make waves in the Shinobi World, buy Kunai for your Konoha? Not a chance in hell.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could say the four words "hand over for public confiscation," Kazama directly took over the conversation, wearing a look of utter righteousness:

"Third Hokage, you don't know how poor that place, the Land of Waves, is! When I brought Naruto and the others into the village, the common folk there couldn't even afford wild vegetable dumplings, and the children were so skinny they were left with just a handful of bones!"

"That Kato's money is all blood and sweat money squeezed from the cracks in the bones of the common folk in the Land of Waves!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi vaguely felt something was a bit off: "So, that money..."

"I have already made the decision on your behalf!"

Kazama smiled so brightly: "I thought to myself at the time, what kind of place is Konoha? That is the benchmark of a righteous and benevolent army in the Shinobi World! Third Hokage, you usually teach us that the Will of Fire is to protect the weak and never covet ill-gotten wealth!"

"So after I raided Kato's base camp, right in front of all the old and young of the Land of Waves, I distributed those gold bars, silver notes, and the rice and flour in the warehouses down to the last copper coin!"

"Rest assured, I definitely didn't lose face for the village this time!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth.

Gave it all away?

That was the family fortune Kato had accumulated for over a dozen years. Even if he brought back a tenth of it, all the expenses in the village this year would be completely covered!

You brat had it good, using my name to go outside and act as a wealth-scattering boy, not bringing back a single dime to the village?

Looking at Kazama's sincere look of "I paid too much for Konoha's reputation," Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a stifling sensation in his chest, yet his words were completely blocked by this scoundrel brat.

As the Third Hokage, he couldn't possibly slap the table and scold his subordinate for using the money to relieve disaster victims, could he?

Hiruzen Sarutobi relaxed for a few seconds before picking up his pipe and taking two puffs.

The money was completely out of the question, but another matter had to be asked clearly today.

"Put the matter of money aside for now. Kazama, you wrote in your report that the ones causing trouble in the Land of Waves were just a few unranked wandering samurai?"

"That's right, they were chopped down in a few slashes, not even counting as a warm-up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned:

"That doesn't right, does it? Three days ago, the Hidden Mist Village's Hunter-nin unit was active in the border waters of the Land of Fire. Intelligence intercepted by Anbu shows that Zabuza Momochi, an S-Rank Rogue Ninja from Hidden Mist and one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was hired by Kato and has been lurking in the Land of Waves."

"Kazama, I am asking you now, where is that Zabuza Momochi right now? You must answer me seriously!"