Hello to whoever will read this. Let's continue the story. Hope you enjoy.
Naruto was walking down the street from the Hokage tower. The lights starting to turn on changing the village life, from the quiet morning, to the buzzing evening. Our blond hero could see all around him the stores closing and the people either going to their houses our towards the, now open, bars and restaurants.
Most of these were in the Eastern part of the village. Naruto's feet ignored their previous order to head for home. Instead, they marched towards the flashing lights and the noise of people talking. Being closed in the office for the majority of the day, Naruto, even though he didn't knew it, he wanted to relax.
"A quick walk to take my mind off things should help me, although..." He trailed off as he saw all the people in the area.
"So many people... So many eyes... Those eyes..." Naruto looked around him to all the people, images of when he was younger and was abused and bullied by the villagers start flashing in his mind.
Naruto wouldn't call himself an introvert when he was with a friend. When he's alone... that's another story.
Our blond teen saw a group of civilians drinking at a bar as he walked down the street. One of the men turned around and locked eyes with Naruto.
'Ok, Time to go.' Naruto turned his head forward and start walking faster... Not fast enough.
"Hey!"
'Shit'"Are you Uzumaki Naruto or am I drunk?" Immediately the entire street turned around at the mentioned of Naruto's name.
'Shit...' Naruto looked around, not looking at anyone in the eyes. Those eyes...
"He is Naruto."
"Yeah. That Orange suit stands out like a beacon."
"And the blonde hair."
More and more civilians came closer to our blond teen. Naruto raised his hand awkwardly to greet everyone.
"Hi..." He said to the man that yelled his name. The man was scanning him from head to toe...
"How old are you Uzumaki Naruto?" The man asked. Naruto braced himself, his mind creating infinite scenarios of how bad this could go.
"I'm sixte-"
"It doesn't matter how old you are! Come. Come. Let me buy you a drink, our Dear Hokage-sama!!!" The man yelled and wrapped his hand around the blond's head.
"Barman! A round for everyone, even those on the street! Lord Fifth is here!" The man yelled once again. Everyone cheered. Naruto was sat down to the chair the man was sitting before. More and more people gathered around our blond hero.
"NOW DRINK!!!" Naruto looked at the glass of sake infront of him and then back at the man.
"Come on now. Drink. We won't start if you don't." Other man said.
"Start what?"
"HEALING SAKE!!!" The barman yelled as he placed a giant plank of wood full of glasses of sake.
"What?!" Naruto asked in disbelief.
"Yeah! Lord Third was adamant at keeping this old tradition alive." The man who was at the side of Naruto answered.
"Tradition?" An even more confused Naruto asked again.
"Yes. It's an old tradition from before the formation of the village. When a major disaster happens, people take their time to mourn, especially when people have died." The room became quiet. Naruto took a quick glance and as many people as he could. Their eyes were full of sorrow.
"But, time of mourning must one day stop, so that people can finally move forward."
"That's where the sake comes in." Naruto finished gaining a nod from the man.
"Exactly. When the village was formed, the Hokage would declare when the time for mourning would stop."
"Lord Third was quite fond of this. Some times he would declare a one-day mourning period for a failed mission just so that he could drink with us!" The entire bar burst into laughter. Their smiles however slowly start disappearing. The barman spoke.
"The last time we held this tradition was at the death of Lord Fourth. Hiruzen-sama didn't participate in it nor did he declared any other Healing Sake..." The room was dead silent. Naruto looked at the glass infront of him and after a few seconds he picked it up. Everyone looked at him expecting a speech.
"We've lost important people and we've cried for them. Then the next day came and we survived. Our village was destroyed by we are rebuilding. This. This glass of Sake is for the ones we've lost. It's for the mothers and fathers. For the brothers and sisters. for the sons and daughters... This is for the fallen shinobi who protected us. For the doctors, who are trying to save us. This is for the survivors who will rebuild." Naruto raised the glass high in the air, everyone did the same.
"This is for Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konohagakure. He died protecting the Village hidden in the Leaves, protecting US!!!" With one motion, the young Hokage drank the sake. The moment his glass touched the wooden table everyone drank their own drink.
The solem atmosphere disappeared and our blond hero saw the citizens drinking and laughing like before or even more lively, he wasn't sure. One thing is certain though, he has a lot to learn if he wants to become a worthy leader for them.
Naruto, drank a few more rounds but when he began feeling dizzy he bid the farewell and started the long walk to his home.
"Why am I walking uphill? I don't remember living on a hill..." The drunk blond teen looked around him.
"Why am I on top of the Hokage Mountain?!" He sat down in defeat and exhaustion. He watched as the lights from the streets, the houses and the bars showed him what parts of the Village was alive at this hour.
"It's really beautiful..." he murmured. His eyes traced the lights of the streets wanting to know where they would lead him. Suddenly, there were no more lights, just darkness. Naruto knew exactly were he was looking at. The Uchiha District and next to it, the Hospital area.
"So many people dead... So many injured... Tomorrow I will do my best to help them. Believe it!!!" He first bumped the air and fell asleep atop the head of the Fourth Hokage.
Done. A very small one. I just had an idea on what would Naruto do if he walked the streets. Next up we will finally see what we can do of the injured... If you like please leave a review, I want to know if you like or hate the story and if you want something to change. Anyway, thank you for reading.