Three Years Ago
Waiting for battle to happen is not fun. The first day guarding Tazuna goes by super slow. He, Naruto and Urushi patrol the house, guard Inari and Tsunami, and train, while Sakura accompanies Sensei and Tazuna to the bridge. This means Sakura sees more of the town than he and Naruto do.
What she sees leaves her subdued the entire evening afterwards. Subdued, and determined.
"We need to help them," she says, soft but resolute. "Sensei, can't we just... you know."
Know what?
The answer is Sakura lifting her hand and making the sign for lethal force, followed with a question sign. Is she... is she suggesting they assassinate Gato? That's... very clever actually.
It's also disturbing. And worrying.
Are things in town that bad?
"I fear that if we get rid of Gato now, it will do more harm than good," Sensei answers, so smooth that he has to have thought about this already. That's... well, Sensei is ANBU, so Sasuke supposes it makes sense that he would think of this, but still. It's weird that he's talking about killing someone so calmly. Weird, and uncomfortable. Yeah, they're going to have to kill eventually, but already? Shouldn't that be a last resort only?
Sensei's words make Tsunami startle, but then she looks at them with an uncomfortable amount of hope. So does Tazuna. Inari, fortunately, is upstairs.
"Why?" Sakura demands, pointedly not looking at Naruto. Who's making no secret of how weirded out he is by her behavior.
"Gato has an army of mercenaries. If Gato dies, they lose their income. While they wouldn't remain here for long, they'll stay long enough to ransack everything of value in town."
"What value?" Tazuna mutters bitterly, and Tsunami scowls in a way that says she agrees with her father.
Sensei doesn't even glance at them.
"I can protect the townspeople but not their belongings. A battle of this scale would cause a great deal of property damage, which is something the town can't afford. This is without considering what Zabuza would do if he were to lose his employer."
Wow. Sensei really has given this serious thought, hasn't he?
"But you'd be willing to do it?"
Tsunami's demand, urgent and desperate, draws all their attention.
"You'd be willing to kill Gato?" Tsunami clarifies, never looking away from Sensei. The way Tazuna looks at Yamato-sensei shows that he really wants to know the answer as well.
The state of Wave must be a lot worse than he thought it was if both Tazuna and Tsunami are this desperate to get rid of Gato. Though given that Gato killed Tsunami's husband, well. It's understandable.
Doesn't stop Sasuke from feeling uncomfortable anyway.
"If getting rid of Gato was the best way to complete our mission, then yes, I would be willing," Sensei says like he's talking about the weather and not about killing someone. "If you're asking whether Konoha accepts assassination contracts, then no, we don't."
Sensei looks at the three of them.
"Not unless the circumstances are exceptional."
Sasuke shifts his weight, even more uncomfortable than before. Naruto and Sakura are just as weirded out. Sensei is obviously saying this for their benefit, teaching them about how things work. Which, well, they knew those kinds of missions existed, obviously they knew. But actually hearing that Konoha sometimes accepts them is really unnerving. They aren't Kiri.
"And the circumstances here aren't exceptional?" Tsunami demands, but while there's some anger, she seems more tired than anything else.
"Not exceptional enough," Sensei says with an apologetic look.
"But Sensei... Gato is really awful," Sakura says softly. When Yamato-sensei meets her eyes, she lifts her chin, gaining more confidence. "The people here are suffering. They're starving. They're dying."
Tsunami flinches, while Tazuna closes his eyes and suddenly looks twice his age.
"Isn't this exactly the kind of exception Konoha makes? To help people?"
"Not when the client has already falsified information," Sensei says, and Sasuke can't help but notice that he didn't actually answer Sakura's question.
He didn't confirm that they only take on assassination contracts to help people.
"But it would help Konoha in the long run," Sakura says like she's arguing with Iruka-sensei. Like she isn't talking about killing someone.
"And allowing people to falsify information without repercussion would harm us in the long run," Yamato-sensei counters. "We're open to renegotiating existing contracts," he assures Tazuna and Tsunami, who've become alarmed. "But there will still be consequences to your actions."
Tazuna grimaces but he seems more resigned than anything else.
"Well. Best we can hope for, I guess."
Tsunami doesn't look like she agrees with him, but she doesn't speak up either.
"But that's not fair!" Sakura yells, starting to get worked up.
"Lying about a mission isn't fair either," Sasuke points out. Yeah, he gets why Tazuna did it, but the fact remains that he put them all at risk. If he'd been honest from the start, the Hokage could've figured out another way for him to pay and send an appropriate force from the start.
"Oh who cares!" Naruto bursts out, only one moment away from jumping to his feet. He's as worked up as Sakura is. "We're here now and we aren't leaving until we make things better! That's what ninja do."
Is it, really? He used to think it was, but hearing Sensei avoid Sakura's question... he's no longer so sure.
But if ninja aren't meant to make things better, then what are they meant for?
"Right?" Naruto demands, looking at him and Sakura, and it helps him shake off his stupid thoughts. So what if not all ninja help people. They do, and that's what matters.
"Right," Sakura says firmly. He nods his own agreement.
Naruto gives them the beaming smile that always makes him feel better.
Tazuna and Tsunami are giving Naruto weird looks. Like they don't believe him but really want to.
They'll show them. They're going to make things better no matter what. They're going to complete the mission no matter what.
The next day, he goes with Sensei and Tazuna to the bridge, while Naruto and Sakura stay with Tsunami and Inari. He sees more of the town on the way, and yeah, Sakura was right. It's... it's bad. It's really bad. A lot of buildings are destroyed, looking like they've been ransacked or torched. The people on the streets look thin and twitchy.
There are no kids anywhere. Somehow that's the creepiest thing of all. Kids are always running the streets in Konoha.
Sasuke manages to shake off his feelings when he reaches the bridge. Up close, it's very impressive. It already seemed huge when they sailed under it during their arrival, but that's nothing compared to standing on top of it. Even the biggest streets in Konoha are small compared to this thing.
Tazuna acts different here than he does at his home. He doesn't show any fear or resignation, just stubborn determination. He isn't hopeful, not exactly, but he's constantly moving between the workers and giving them gruff encouragement.
He's a good leader.
Sasuke can't train here like he can at the house, there's too many people to watch over. But he can do light control exercises, and occasionally Sensei presents him with a combat scenario to work through. Even doing as little as this helps him feel more at ease.
Still. Sasuke can't stop thinking of how tired everyone here looks. How scared they look.
When they go back to Tazuna's house, Naruto races out to meet them.
"You'll never guess who's here," he says with a huge grin, bouncing in place with excitement. Something really good happened.
"I can, actually," Yamato-sensei says, his eyes crinkled with humor.
"Shush, Sensei," Naruto says with a wave of his hand, his grin growing some more. "Don't ruin the surprise."
And then Naruto grabs his hand and starts dragging him to the house.
"What the – let go, idiot," he snaps while recovering from the stumble Naruto's yank caused. Naruto ignores his demand with a cheeky grin. Sasuke resigns himself to being manhandled.
Naruto drags him into the house. Sasuke stares.
"Sasuke! I am delighted to find you in good health!"
Gai gives him a blinding smile and an enthusiastic thumbs up. Three others are present, and while he's never seen them in person before, he recognizes them immediately. Gai loves talking about his students. There's Lee, who looks like he could be Gai's son and who apparently acts like it too. Tenten, who has amazing aim and who dreams of becoming a legendary kunoichi.
Hyuuga Neji. A prodigy. Who apparently needs to enjoy life more.
"My team and I are here to assist you in your mission! Together, we shall aid the fine people of Wave!"
"Told you you'd never guess," Naruto says with relish. Sakura, seated at the table, laughs brightly. He feels a wide grin grow himself.
Their mission just became a lot easier.
AN: Thank you so much for all the comments! They made my week, they really did :D