Chapter 12

Naruto was grumbling as he watched over the bridge from a high position. He was regulated to guard duty on Kakashi's orders. He would switch out with Sakura after lunch but that wasn't what he was so irritated about. He couldn't stand how lazy Kakashi was. After showing his skill with the chakra exercise and even helping Sakura become a better ninja, the guy didn't even give him some other type of training. He had asked for a technique or a new exercise but he would just wave him off and tell him that he was good right where he was. What kind of answer was that? It did not improve his impression of the jōnin and made him even more disrespectful toward him.

Naruto sighed and decided not to think about so much. He already had some techniques that he learned from Anko. He wished that she would teach him the Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands) but she was very adamant about him not learning it. She did teach him that genjutsu that charmed snakes which was pretty cool. She did teach him a Katon (Fire Release) technique and he learned a Doton (Earth Release) from a scroll that she gave him. He also learned a technique from Iruka which could be useful. He had some stuff that he could work on so he wasn't feeling too mad anymore.

"Hey kid, I'm breaking for lunch." Tazuna called out to him.

"Alright, I'm on my way down." Naruto said and jumped off his perch. He landed next to the guy and the two left the bridge with others who were also breaking for lunch. Each of them had a clone follow them to protect and observe.

XXX

After Sakura came to relieve him, Naruto decided to head into the village just to see how things were. He used a Henge (Transformation) to move as one of the villagers. What he saw tugged at his heart. He knew that things were bad but he wasn't prepared to see how badly. He saw that the stories barely had food in them, children were living in the streets and people's will had been broken. He had stopped a man from stealing but stopped his justice when the man was in tears. He must have no choice in doing what he did because of what Gatō had done.

The more he witnessed, the angrier he got. It took all his will power not to find Gatō and beat his ass. He couldn't stand it and wanted to do something about. It was then he swore that he would help Tazuna complete his bridge so that it would break the hold that tyrant held on the people of Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves). He left and headed back to Tazuna's house to get some training done.

XXX

The next day found Sakura in a lot of pain. She was on the ground and groaning in pain. She looked up at Naruto's clone and glared at him. The clone would just grin at her, which pissed her off more. After getting the exercise down and increasing her stamina a bit, Naruto began sparring with her. He said it was so that she could get use to the Ki Nobori no Shugyō (Tree Climbing Practice) without thinking about it but she felt that this was just a way to torture her for all the things that happened back at the academy. She got up and glared at her sparring partner. He just grinned at her.

"You managed to stay on the tree's surface for forty-five minutes. That's quite an improvement but unless you can spar with me for an hour, you're not quite ready yet." The clone said.

"I am going to wipe that stupid smirk off your face." Sakura growled.

"That's the spirit pinky. Let's see what you got." Naruto said. Sakura prepared to run up to get him.

"Sakura," a voice stopped her. It belonged to Sasuke. He looked at her for a while and Sakura blushed under the gaze. "Can you help me with this exercise?" he asked. The clone and Sakura looked at him in surprise.

"Holy crap, did I just hear that? Did the great Sasuke ask for help? Is it the end of the world? I've got to let Kakashi know that demons are about to enter our dimension!" the clone exclaimed franticly. Sasuke glared at Naruto with evil intensions.

"Shut up clone!" Sakura shouted. She turned back to Sasuke. "Of course I'll help you Sasuke-kun. Let me show you how it's done." She walked with him toward his tree and began tell him what he need to do. The clone just gagged and decided to practice his taijutsu.

XXX

Three days would pass during the mission. Kakashi was getting stronger and he would be ready for Zabuza when the week would be up. Naruto was also getting stronger with his training as he had helped a woman out earlier in the day. She decided to give him a manual and a scroll. The manual was a basics in fūinjutsu (sealing technique) and the scroll was a technique called Daibakufu no Jutsu (Great Waterfall Technique). This excited Naruto as he would get to add something to his arsenal. Sasuke had finally made it up to the top of his tree and had demanded that Naruto spar with him. Naruto would have agreed if he didn't have guard duty in the morning. Sakura was also getting stronger and was so close in defeating Naruto's clone. Everything was going great for team Kakashi.

As they talked and had dinner with Tazuna's family, Inari decided that enough was enough. He slammed his hands on the table and glared at the first person he saw. That person was Naruto.

"Look at you, laughing and grinning like an idiot! How can you be so stupid?! Why are you still here anyway! You're just wasting your time! No one can defeat Gatō!" Inari shouted.

"What the hell are you going on about? Is this about your dad, Kaiza?" Naruto asked. Two days ago, Inari had left the table when Tazuna mentioned Kaiza. He then explained that Kaiza was the village hero. He was a fearless man who believed in the right thing. When Gatō came into town, he was one of few that stood up to him. He was overwhelmed by Gatō and was made an example of to the village when they executed him. The scene had destroyed Inari's belief in heroes. "Man, all you've done is whine and bitch about how we're going to die. I'm glad that I'm nothing like you."

"What do you know? You're nothing but a fool! You don't know anything about pain and suffering!" Inari spat loudly. That would be the wrong thing to say to Naruto. Inari found himself slammed against a wall and looking at the coldest blue eyes. When Sakura was going to stop Naruto, she was stop by one of his kunai, which landed dangerously close to her leg. Naruto glared at the boy with absolute loathing.

"You're nothing but a coward! You speak of pain and suffering but you have a mother and a grandfather who love you! There are many within the village who have less than you and here you are, crying like you've lost more! You haven't lost jack! What's even worst is that you spit on your grandfather's bravery and on your father's grave! He fought so that YOU would not have to live like your living now! Yeah, he died, but he died for your sake! It's the same as you grandfather but here you are whining and crying! Grow the hell up!" Naruto roared.

"Naruto, that's enough! Release Inari. That's an order." Kakashi said. Naruto sucked his teeth and released Inari. Inari sank to the ground under the gaze of Naruto. The blond stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Everyone was silent and the tension in the room was thick. Sakura was the first to break that silence.

"I don't think that I've ever seen Naruto so angry. What do you think set him off?" Sakura asked no one in particular.

"Naruto's has endured more pain and suffering that you can't even image." Kakashi said. Inari wiped his eyes and made his way out of the house. Tsunami made a move to go talk with him but Kakashi held up his hand. He stood and made his way to speak with Inari.

XXX

Naruto was breathing hard and glared at the forest that was in front of him. There was some destruction from the jutsu that Naruto had been launching into the forest. He was so damn angry at Inari right now. He could believe that he had the nerve to say that he didn't know about pain and suffering. He's suffered since the day he could talk. No one wanted him, no one liked him and no one cared for him. He was alone for most of his life all because some people couldn't tell the difference between him and the Kyūbi. Yeah, he cried about it but he moved forward and worked to get people to acknowledge him. He didn't wallow in despair and spout nonsense.

He clapped his hands hard and began running through those hand seals again.

"Tora (Tiger), Ushi (Ox), Saru (Monkey), U (Rabbit), Hitsuji (Ram), I (Boar), Ushi, Uma (Horse), Saru, Tora, Inu (Dog), Tora, Mi (Snake), Tora, Ushi, Saru, U, Tori (Bird), Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Naruto roared. The water swirled in front of him and shot forward into the forest. The force of the water tore up the ground and ripped off some branches. When the technique died down there was some more damage. Naruto was still pretty angry, so he summoned some clones and had a free-for-all.

XXX

Kakashi sat next to Inari and waited for the boy to talk. Inari didn't say anything and would sometimes rub where he was grabbed.

"Does it hurt?" Kakashi asked.

"A little." Inari answered.

"Sorry about Naruto, he tends to wear his feelings on his sleeves. He's had a hard life since he was born." Kakashi said.

"What do you mean?" Inari asked.

"Naruto was the only child born on a tragic day in Konoha. Because of this, he was ignored and bullied by many of the villagers. He was like you in a way, as he would cry and wonder why life was so unfair." Kakashi answered.

"He doesn't act like it." Inari said.

"I guess he got tired of crying. He decided to try and make everyone take notice of him. As he got older, he got a few people to notice him and he was happy. He wants you to see that you do have people who notice you and want you to be happy." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Inari looked at him and then at the moon. He just sat in silence with Kakashi keeping him company.

XXX

The next morning, the household was awake and waiting for breakfast. Everyone was seated at the table with the exception of Naruto. Sakura was a little worried but also pissed at him.

"I can't believe that idiot stayed out all night. I'm going to find him and give him a piece of my mind." Sakura stated.

"I'll go and find him. Knowing the idiot, he probably wore himself out training." Sasuke said. He stood and made his way out of the house.

XXX

Naruto snored loudly as he lay out on the ground. His little battle royal was intense and he barely got out of it. He blamed Anko as his clones had her sadistic attitude. After winning, he dragged himself to a tree and laid down on it. He had a little bit of chakra and was really tired. He was only going to rest for a few minutes but ended up sleeping for the night. As he snored, he suddenly awake and had a kunai in his hand. He grabbed someone and slammed them down to the ground. His kunai touched the neck of someone. Naruto was ready to spill some blood when he saw who he had pinned.

Naruto was quickly off the person and back leaning against a tree. The person in question sat up and had a blush on her face. Naruto had a blush as well and was now kneeling and bowing at the person, muttering apologies from grabbing her chest. The girl in question was finally able to calm him down so that she could talk.

"Please, calm down. I'm not angry at you. It was my fault seeing that I attempted to wake you up. By your skills, you are a shinobi and I should have known better. I accept your apology." She said.

"Thank you. It's not really my fault because of the tendencies of my oneesan. She usually ambushes me constantly. I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto greeted.

"Nice to meet you Naruto, my name is Haku."

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Authors' Notes – All new chapter folks, sorry about the wait. I'll try to be faster in my post.