Standing upright on the surface of the sea, Haku formed hand seals and activated his unique kekkei genkai— “Ice Release: Frozen Path!” Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
With Haku at the center, an intense wave of cold spread outward like a concentrated droplet of freezing energy.
The seawater beneath his feet rapidly froze over!
A solid road of ice extended across several hundred meters of the sea.
“Whoa!
Excellent work, Haku!” Tazuna’s eyes lit up.
Staring at the extraordinary power no ordinary person could wield, he exclaimed, “So this is the power of a shinobi?” “This is wonderful!
Our construction work at sea will be much easier now.” The construction workers stepped onto the frozen surface.
“It’s sturdy enough to carry the bridge-building materials directly onto the ice.” One of them struck the ice with a hoe and confirmed that it was exceptionally solid.
“Keep in mind that, with my current chakra reserves, this ice will only remain frozen for approximately ten hours,” Haku warned in his cool, composed voice.
“That’s more than enough!
Ten hours of construction work each day is perfect!” Tazuna nodded in satisfaction.
“Your abilities have been an enormous help, Haku.
Rest assured, we will pay you the full compensation promised for hiring a shinobi.” Haku inclined his head slightly.
He had chosen to assist Tazuna’s construction team partly because he needed to earn money to cover his basic living expenses.
There was another reason as well.
For as long as Haku could remember, he had served beneath Zabuza Momochi as a tool who simply followed orders.
Now that he was alone, he felt like a small boat lost in the middle of a vast ocean, drifting without direction and having no idea where he was supposed to go.
Keeping himself busy with work every day helped fill some of the emptiness in his heart.
“Hey~ You seem to be in good spirits today, Haku-chan.” Standing atop one of the bridge’s support pillars rising from the sea, Akira greeted Haku with a smile.
Haku looked up at him.
Ripples spread through his normally tranquil eyes.
His feelings toward the boy who had caused the death of the person dearest to him were extremely complicated.
Did he hate Akira?
Perhaps he did.
But could Akira truly be blamed for what had happened?
Haku and Zabuza had been the ones who went looking for trouble.
Zabuza had even attempted to force Akira into surrendering his wealth, threatening to kill him if he refused.
Even if Akira had complied, there was no guarantee Zabuza would have spared him.
Haku understood Zabuza’s personality very well.
He had been cold, ruthless, and decisive.
He would never have shown the slightest mercy to an enemy.
Akira had seen through that as well, which was why he had treated Zabuza so mercilessly.
After all, Akira was not a softhearted king.
As for why he had spared Haku, it was because Haku had never felt genuine malice or killing intent toward him.
Even now, he still did not.
Akira regarded Haku with great interest, seeing through every thought within his heart.
How interesting!
“…” Haku did not know how he should treat Akira, so he could only remain silent and turn away.
Akira did not mind.
The smile on his face remained unchanged as he waved at Haku’s retreating back.
“See you tomorrow, Haku-chan~” Haku’s footsteps paused.
He then used the Body Flicker Jutsu and fled at high speed, almost as though he were escaping.
Whoosh!
“How shy~” Akira’s day was now overflowing with delight.
“Honored king.” Tazuna approached and bowed respectfully.
“How is the construction of the bridge progressing?” Akira asked casually.
“Thanks to the generous funding provided by Your Majesty, construction is proceeding much faster than we anticipated,” Tazuna replied with emotion.
The bridge was intended to connect the Land of Waves to the mainland.
Once completed, it would significantly reduce the cost of trade and transportation between the two regions, gradually allowing the Land of Waves to escape poverty.
While Gatō was alive, he had done everything possible to obstruct the bridge’s construction in order to preserve his monopoly over the country.
Tazuna had even considered tightening his belt and gathering enough money to hire Konoha shinobi for protection.
Then the king appeared!
With overwhelming and decisive force, Akira killed Gatō!
He had even defeated the hostile shinobi who came afterward!
He had saved the people of the Land of Waves.
With no one left to sabotage the project, Tazuna naturally had no reason to travel to Konoha.
Tazuna might no longer have any reason to hire Konoha shinobi, but unbeknownst to him, the daimyo of the Land of Waves had an excellent reason to do so!
The following day, an official commission issued by the daimyo of the Land of Waves arrived at the Hokage Building.