When they arrived at the house the pair informed the jounin what had happened and their suspicions. But to their surprise the adult just told them to eat and ignored the subject temporarily. After they had put some food in their stomachs the Hatake resumed the subject, although the meal was not over.

"So you think you've found a ninja." he began, looking at the boys.

"Naruto said that he possessed chakra," Sasuke said, knowing that the boy could explain better than he could in this case.

"And you're sure of this?" he turned to the blond boy.

"Yes." he nodded positively, putting his glass back on the table.

"Really? You're not experienced enough to notice these things so quickly yet." the whitish man raised an eyebrow.

"I know." he knew he didn't have the experience for it, but he also wasn't stupid enough not to notice that there was something strange near him. "I'm sure, sensei."

"How many chakras can you feel here?" asked without breaking his gaze, deciding to put it to the test.

"9." answered with his eyes closed and frowning with the effort, he had already started to get a headache too. "3 are yours, 2 are not with us at the table," he said, opening his eyes and looking at the older one.

"Hm... How do you know they're mine?" he asked checking.

"They are equal energies and no one has the same," he said without hesitation. "And you wouldn't let us talk about it if you thought we were being watched by other people." the other two team members looked at the boy, surprised by the analysis.

"What about the other 6 chakras?"

"They belong to everyone in the house, not counting you. Mine included," he added, in case it wasn't clear.

"We have chakra too?" Tsunami stopped curious, her father and son also didn't know the answer and were waiting curiously.

"Well... Chakra is a kind of energy and..." Sakura was about to explain, but was interrupted by the Uzumaki.

"Everything has chakra." the boy said, gesturing to everything around them. "Animals, trees, even the air has some energy. Like it's different, but everything has it. With people, it's funny because everyone has chakra but depending on whether you're a civilian or a ninja the sensation is different, the chakra is more active and has more strength in our case." he explained well, to the shock of his colleagues who were not used to a Naruto who knew more about something than they did or who jumped in to give answers. The blond always shied away from having to answer in class first.

"How interesting. I always thought only ninjas could have and use chakra." the woman spoke intrigued.

"Naruto is right. The ninja are only trained to mold this energy to use it in different situations in combat." Kakashi clarified, turning his gaze to the blond pleased with the answer since he also answered what he had previously questioned.

"What difference does it make if you are all going to die anyway?" the little boy spoke for the first time since until then he seemed to avoid them all.

"Inari!" his mother quickly scolded.

"But it's true! They're trying to be heroes, and we all know that heroes only die in the end!" he protested indignantly, slamming his hands on the table.

"Heroes?" someone repeated with enormous contempt. When they looked for who it was they were stunned to see that the person who had spoken was Naruto, who had a frown on his face and his eyes shining with... Anger? As if the word had personally offended him. "Who the hell would want to be one? Who even mentioned it? Wanting to get strong to survive and win is completely different from wanting to be a damn hero!" fuzzled the boy with his eyes. The attitude was so unexpected that no one knew how to handle it. 'It was a hero who cursed my life!' he thought with a growing revulsion against the one who had turned him into a weapon before he even had a chance to be something more.

'The Sandaime had said that Naruto had an inner anger well hidden deep inside him, but I don't like the direction this is going...' the Hatake thought ruefully. 'Without knowing the whole story I can't blame him for resenting sensei, it's just that if this continues like this when he finds out the rest I don't know how he will react.'

"You came to help and are trying to save everyone here, this trying to be a hero!" the smaller boy replied, almost shouting.

"No, it's not! This is called doing the mission!" the blond boy replied in the same tone as before, but it was obvious that he was getting exalted too, losing any patience.

"No, you are a bunch of idiots who think you can be heroes!" he shouted.

"And what do you know about heroes, brat?" the Uzumaki confronted angrily.

"They die!" the boy replied promptly.

"Exactly!" he slammed his hands on the table, taking everyone by surprise for agreeing to something that the boy himself internally found absurd. "And they don't think about the damage they leave behind or the impact it can have!" 'If they care!" he mentally added and stood up. "Sensei, I'm going to go rest. I've lost my appetite." he turned and walked out of the room, leaving behind a silent audience, processing what had happened there.

"Inari! That was rude and disrespectful of you! They are here to protect us!" Tsunami scolded her son seriously, who looked at her indignantly.

"But Mom...!"

"Your mother is right. You can't treat others like this." Tazuna looked at his grandson, who was about to argue. "Whether there's a reason or not."

"But they're not even from here and they're trying to meddle and..." was interrupted by his grandfather.

"They're being paid, and they had the goodwill to continue helping us even after they found out that their lives might be in danger." he looked at the younger boy seriously.

"You can't and shouldn't treat our guests like this." the mother spoke in the same tone and turned to the ninja. "-I'm sorry for his behavior, it won't happen again, will it?" she looked at her son at the end.

"It's okay. Naruto also exaggerated his tone a bit." he spoke soothingly, although he was still worried about the young blond.

"No, no. Inari, who shouldn't have approached you like that. It was good for him to learn that every action has at least one reaction." sighed. "Don't think I didn't notice, finish eating your vegetables, you know how hard your grandfather works so that we have food, no matter how much better off we are than many others don't you dare waste food!" she said quickly to her little boy before turning her attention to the other adult. "I am really sorry, you are doing so much for us that the least we can do is to be good hosts, especially since you have already saved my father's life twice just to bring him back to us intact. We will be eternally grateful to you for that." she smiled genuinely, although she was saying it so that the boy would understand.

"It's nothing, as my student himself said: this is our role as ninjas on a mission." he smiled at her. "I apologize for my student's behavior too, he's been going through some tough times lately." the two teammates took interest in his speech, could this be the reason why the other had been acting different and a little strange since the academy test? But what could have happened? As much as they wanted to ask, they knew they would be ignored and the answers to that would not come now.

"And what does he know about difficulties?" the child asked dismissively. "What do ninjas, who are oh so powerful know about the problems of ordinary people?" his mother sighed in frustration and ready to scold him again.

"Naruto, he... He's an orphan, he became one the day he was born in an attack that happened in the village. He has no one to call family and practically raised himself. He has lived alone since he was 5, which is not an easy task for any child, even one who is from a ninja village. He has been through countless hardships. So yes, he knows very well." he said to the boy but Sakura half shrank and looked down half ashamed that before they were in the same team she didn't even remember that about her colleague, being that it was obviously common knowledge since even the sensei that didn't even know them before seemed to know that with details, it didn't cross her mind that there could be other reasons.

"..." Inari opened and closed his mouth, clearly not expecting an answer like that nor the serious tone with which it was spoken. "It's not as if he saw someone he loves dead..." he mumbled, but his voice was still clearly audible. "If he can't even remember them, then it doesn't count!"

"Hey!" Sasuke was the one who protested although they were both equally offended on behalf of their teammate. "That wasn't nice!"

"Inari, your grief over Kaiza is no reason to act like no one else has a problem. He didn't fight so you could then act so rude." the builder spoke seriously and the boy looked at him with tears in his eyes and a betrayed look, getting up again and throwing the plate, fortunately already empty, on the floor in protest and anger.

"Inari, to your room. Now!" she said firmly, and the boy ran out and slammed the door when closing it. "Dad, we've talked about this, don't mention this name in front of him! You know how sensitive he's been since that happened."

"Who would Kaiza be?" Kakashi asked, after making sure that the boy was no longer listening.

"My husband... He was Inari's stepfather." Tsunami revealed with sadness and longing in her voice.

"How... How did he die? You talked about fighting..." Sakura spoke half-unknowing how to ask a subject like this, she didn't want to be rude to a family's grief.

"He fought to try to save our country from the hands of Gatou. He led a group of rebels to his mansion to try to convince and force him to leave. But as you can see and imagine, it didn't work very well." the older man recounted. "The next day they were all exposed dead on the walls of the estate. They were made an example of against anyone who wanted to rebel. This silenced most of the population out of fear. Even the few nobles who supported the cause kept quiet for fear of retribution, since there is no military power here. And after that day it became very clear that Gatou did not mind hiring mercenaries and using force."

"The people were losing hope until my father started to build the bridge. It is our last act of rebellion and our greatest hope. All those who are helping are the rebels who didn't attack that afternoon and some joined the cause later. They all helped with the money we used to hire you." the woman added.

"I understand. I'm sorry for your loss. But from what I understand, Kaiza was a man of noble heart and immense courage. You have a right to be proud of him." he said and looked at the family photo on the wall that was partially torn. "At some time your son will understand, when the worst of the mourning is over."

"How long has this been going on?" the pink girl questioned.

"Months."

"It's a surprise nobody knows anything then. Especially since this island is near the coast of the Fire Country and has trade relations with it all the time." the Uchiha commented.

"From what I know he kept the trade relations operating as if nothing was happening. And few can leave the country or make it without him noticing." Tazuna shook his head ruefully. -I was lucky that I managed to get out and build the bridge so far.

"You have resisted well. Now leave the security part to us. Once this mission is over we will report Gatou to the Fire Country authorities and they will deal with it and help you." Kakashi reported, it was the least they could do to help.

"Not Konoha?" Tsunami looked confused.

"Ah, people always get confused. Konoha is just a shinobi military power that defers to the Feudal Lord. We don't deal with political issues or issues that affect the entire country unless we are ordered to do so through a mission." the silver-haired man clarified.

This ended the conversation, there was nothing more to talk about but to think about what they heard and what was said. The local residents would be extremely grateful for any help they received, and if they could get rid of the tyrant, even better. It would be like receiving a gift before the date for them.

With each passing day, you could feel the tension rising among those who participated in the construction, practically, of the bridge. Fear was in the air, as if Gatou's henchmen would emerge from the shadows at any moment and attack them. Some people, those who were the most fearful and who believed they had the most to lose by staying there were even apologizing and going back to their homes and families, hoping that they would not know about their involvement in the bridge and would not become targets anymore.

The leaf ninjas continued training, the boys getting closer and closer to reaching the top of the trees. Each in his own way and using his own form to accomplish the task. The important thing is that they were getting the hang of it, they practically didn't need to run and get momentum to start climbing. But staying fixed to the trees for too long was still proving to be an obstacle. In these days when the team was separated, Kakashi was training the third member, since she was better with chakra control.

"What are we going to do today, sensei?" she looked at her teacher curiously, would they continue with the same exercise?

"As tempting as it is to continue with the same exercises and make you improve your endurance, no walking on water today." he declared, which made the younger girl's eyes widen and she looked at him with anxiety and anticipation.

"What are we going to do then?" she was already excited to be ahead of the others in this regard, she could hardly believe she could learn something more!

"As you know, you have a very good control over your chakra. Which is impressive for your age and comes naturally to you. So you have some options of what you can do with that control, besides saving chakra when it comes time to use some ninjutsu. What I would recommend to you, precisely because of the level and potential you are showing, is to invest in genjutsu and Iryō ninjutsu." laughed a little at her excitement.

"Iryō ninjutsu?"

"It's a type of ninjutsu made for medicinal use, the use of chakra to heal wounds, diseases, and even poisoning." he explained.

"Wow, so I can become an Iryō-nin?" she widened her eyes, that sounded so cool!

"Everyone can become almost anything with training. That's what I believe." he smiled at the younger one. "But I'm not good with medicinal ninjutsu and they're a little complex to learn, so back in Konoha, you can apply to learn them at the village hospital."

"So that means you will teach me genjutsu?" she remembered the other option presented.

"Yes. Something simple for now, something you can learn in enough time for the attack that is sure to come soon." the girl certainly picked things up quickly. "I don't think you'll have any problems with it."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, intrigued and honored by the confidence.

"Because you have a talent for henge. I noticed that you used a henge to pretend you were Sasuke after you made a simple bunshin of yourself, because you thought the enemy would go first to Sasuke since he was more of a threat than you, so you would try to get rid of him first, which would keep Tazuna safe longer." he said. "When someone has a talent for henges it's an indication that the person can do well in genjutsus."

"I get it. And what does the jutsu you're going to teach me do?" she nodded positively and smiled proudly at herself.

"Depending on how you go with this one, maybe I'll teach you a second one that can be used very well with it." the girl seemed to almost glow at the idea. "The first jutsu works in an area of 5 meters around you and is to hide the presence and confuse the opponent about where you and whoever is nearby are really, the name is Genjutsu: Presence Concealment.

"The idea is to use the genjutsu to protect our client, right? Does that mean I will be on guard again?" she didn't know how to feel about it, whether to be disappointed or honored by the trust.

"Exactly. I can trust you for this role as you have been the one most focused on protecting him since we left the village. You have done well in two pressure situations." he said seriously, in a complimentary tone. "The boys will need to work together against the second ninja, but I don't know if they will be enough actually, while I fight against Zabuza. And of course, someone needs to stay with the builder, you're the best choice, plus since you've proven yourself to him, he'll trust you and that will calm him down. A client freaking out in the middle of the action would complicate everything."

"What about the second jutsu?" she agreed after accepting her role a little more good-humored.

"It's the Genjutsu: False Presence. The ideal complement to the first, since it works as a mixture of the henge with the basic bunshin, only without the creation of smoke." he speaks. "Both are D-level jutsus, for genins, so they are easily dispersed when noticed, but buy some time when they are not waiting for them or when they are not good at sensing the chakra around them."

"I get it." she nodded determinedly. "When do we start?" this was something Hatake couldn't complain about his students, they were always eager to learn new things, he was pretty sure that all three of them were a bit competitive, no matter how hard they tried to hide it.

With that, the days left for both Jounins to recover full strength passed, the wound on Kakashi's arm was already healed and his chakra completely recovered. Zabuza was ready too, he and Haku were already planning their next attack more carefully, knowing that the Konoha ninja would do everything to get in their way. The boys had already mastered tree climbing the day before and were already joining the patrol on the bridge. But the teacher was smart so he never left the house completely defenseless, in case someone decided to attack Tazuna's family. Especially when he discovered that the boy knew the maximum use of the kage bunshin.

That was exactly what happened that day, mercenaries appeared ready and believed that it would be an easy task since someone had reported seeing all 4 ninjas on the bridge. What they didn't know was that the blond man on the bridge was a clone, so they got a big surprise when there was a ninja in the house and he quickly went to the defense of the two inhabitants there. With clones at their disposal, they were quickly overwhelmed.

"You saved us." -Inari looked genuinely shocked by the event as if he really couldn't believe it.

"Thank you very, very much!" Tsunami thanked him, still hugging her son tightly as if there was a chance he would disappear if she let go.

"It was nothing, I just did what I was supposed to do." he replied a bit clumsily, not used to this kind of behavior and gratitude coming from others to him.

"I-I'm sorry for being so rude to you! -the little boy said in tears. -Thank you for saving my mom, I d-don't know what I would have done if I had lost her too." Naruto nodded to the boy that it was okay, they didn't have the best start and he didn't care much for the boy himself, it was just too much going on in his life right now. And he had been through worse times in the village.

"It's okay, you'll be fine now. But if I were you I would hide, who knows if more people will come and..." his concentration was interrupted when he felt the bridge clone disperse.

The bridge was under attack.

Notes:

It was a quieter chapter, but a transition before the battle that you know will happen in the next one. I can't wait to share it with you! But that won't be until next week, if all goes well!
Remembering: feedback is always good and welcome, I love to know what you think and your theories for what comes next. Questions are welcome too, although I won't answer them with spoilers, of course!
Hope to see you in the next chapters!
See you next week!