Previously:

"… What's wrong with Inari-kun?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"It seems there's a reason behind it." Kakashi remarked, subtly implying that he would like to hear it.

"… Inari had a father that wasn't related to him by blood. They were very close, like a real father and son… Inari would laugh a lot back then…" Tazuna said solemnly. Naruto perked up when he heard that and glanced at the photo hanging on the wall. Sure enough, there was a big smile on the younger Inari's face.

"?" He, Kakashi, and April said, concerned when Tazuna clenched his fists and started to shake.

"But…" Tazuna's voice trembled as thick tears began for in his eyes. "… But Inari changed… since the incident with his father…"

Chapter 19: The Country That Had A Hero

"The word 'courage' has been stolen from the people of this island… and from Inari…" Tazuna said grimly, furrowing his brow. "Ever since that day… because of that incident…"

"!" The others said, taken aback to see the tough old man on the verge of crying.

"That incident? What happened to Inari-kun?" Kakashi asked.

"…" Tazuna removed his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes. "Before I get to that, I first… have to tell you about the man who was called the hero of this city."

"Hero…?" Naruto asked.

"It was about three years ago when that man and Inari met…" Tazuna said, deciding to start from the beginning.

««Flashback««

"Pochi!!" Inari cried as two bullies held him back while the boss kid, Akane, took his dog.

"Wrong!!" Akane said. "This is Shooting Star. He's my dog starting today."

"He's not Shooting Star, that's my Pochi!! Give him back!!" Inari shouted. "Pochi is my friend! I won't give him to you!!" A vein throbbed on the Akane's head.

"Shut up!!!" He snapped angrily, annoyed that he was talking back. "Hmph!" The boy smirked evilly as he tossed the whining dog off the pier.

SPLASH!

"Pochi!!" Inari gasped in alarm as he watched his canine friend struggle to keep his head above the water.

"Hehe. That's what you get." The Akane taunted him. "I don't care about that dog anymore. Hey, let him go." He ordered his friends.

"What are you doing!?" Inari demanded incredulously as they released him. "You're gonna kill him!!!"

"Heh! He's your precious dog, right?" The Akane asked mockingly. "Go save him. Hurry up."

"Guh…!!" Inari flinched, looking guilty as he hesitated.

"What's wrong? Look, Pochi's going to die."

'I can't let him die!! He's my only friend!!' Inari thought anxiously, trembling as he watched his dog struggle to survive. 'But… But… sorry, Pochi… I can't swim…' He squeezed his eyes shut, too afraid of drowning to jump.

"Hey, if he's your dog, then jump in!!" The Akane told Inari, giving him a kick.

"WAAA!!!" Inari yelled and alarm as he fell off the pier and into the rough water.

"This is bad, Akane-san…" One of the other boys said when they saw how much he was struggling to keep his head above the water. "If he can't swim…"

"Ahh!! Help me!!" Inari cried desperately, thrashing wildly in the water.

"Forget him!!" Akane told his underling sternly with a vein throbbing on his head as he grabbed the other boy by the front of his shirt.

"But… But…" The boy said timidly.

"Then, do you want to save the pet?" Akane asked dangerously.

'I don't want to die… Someone save me…' Inari cried internally, choking on the water.

««««

"This isn't very important, but… Right then, Pochi remembered he could dog paddle…" Tazuna commented.

"…" The others stared at him. How ironic…

««««

"Ruff!" Pochi barked as he suddenly calmed down and began to swim his way to shore, leaving his drowning owner behind.

"Pochi!!" Inari cried, feeling immensely betrayed. "Pochi!!" Pochi managed to reach the shore safely and shook himself to dry off, none the worse for wear.

"Whoa! Hey, Shooting Star is getting away!! After him!!!" Akane yelled. He and the other kids all left Inari behind to chase the escaping dog.

"Pochi!!" Inari cried as he went under. 'Ahh… help… I'm finished… I'll… die…' Inari thought miserably as the air left his lungs and his vision faded to black.

The next thing Inari knew, he was laying on his back, staring up at the sun in the sky above. The scent of a smokey fire and roasting fish wafted through the air.

"You finally awake kid?" A deep, manly voice asked.

"!!" Inari gasped, shooting up into a sitting position when he realized he wasn't alone. What happened? How did he…?

"I yelled at those bad kids and taught them a lesson. Here, eat!" The man who had just saved him said with a friendly smile, handing him a roasted fish on a stick.

'… G-God…?' Inari wondered, staring at him in awe. No, that couldn't be. "You saved me?" He asked.

"You sure were getting picked on. Just eat up, then we'll talk." The man said, encouraging him to take the fish. Inari accepted gratefully. Despite having almost just drowned… or maybe because of it… He was suddenly starving.

–∞–

"I see… even your dog didn't help you?" The man said sympathetically after hearing the whole story while Inari ate. "In my country, dogs are very loyal animals. But you didn't try to save him either, so what can you expect?" Inari stopped upon hearing that.

"… I was so scared I couldn't move…" Inari said as he lowered his head, feeling ashamed.

"!" The man said. He hadn't said it to be mean. "…" He smiled a little wanly as Inari continued with a shaky voice, starting to cry again.

"I wanted to save him… but because I don't have any courage…" Inari said, sniffing as tears ran down his face and his nose started to run. The man gently placed his hand on top of Inari's head to comfort him.

"Yeah… any kid you age would be afraid." He said. "But kid… Remember just this. If you're a man, choose a life of no regrets…"

"Huh…?"

"For something that is precious to you… no matter how tough, no matter how painful… you must try and try… and even if you lose your life, protect it with these two arms." The man said confidently, making a fist as he patted his own arm. Inari blushed as he stared up at him in awe. He wanted to be brave like that… "If you do that, even if you die, the proof of a man's life will remain… forever. Right?" He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hehe, it's a bit corny…"

"Yeah!" Inari said with a smile, not caring that it was corny. He thought it was cool!

««««

"His name was Kaiza, a fisherman who came here to follow his dreams." Tazuna explained. "After that, Kaiza and Inari became very close. It may have been because Inari's real father died before he got to know him, but he and Kaiza were inseparable, like real father and son. It was only a matter of time before Kaiza became part of the family." Naruto smiled. "And Kaiza was also a man the city needed."

««««

"Terrible news!!!" One of the men from the city yelled as he burst into their home. "Kaiza, this rain is overflowing the dams!!! D-Area is going to be flooded!!!"

"What!!?" Kaiza exclaimed, shooting out of his chair.

"Dad!" Inari said.

"Inari, bring me a rope!!" Kaiza said urgently.

"Yeah!!"

"This is bad." One of the other men said as they stood on top of the flood wall while a torrent of rough water rushed through the open gate. "We'll have to tie a rope to the gate and pull it closed."

"Are you crazy!!?" Another shouted. "How can we tie a rope to it!? If you enter those rapids, you'll die!!"

"But if we don't do something, D-Area will be wiped out. What else…"

"I'll do it!!" Kaiza said bravely, stepping up to the challenge.

"Don't do it!!"

"You'll die!!"

"This is too much even for you!!"

"Dad!!!" Inari said anxiously.

"Don't worry… Your dad is invincible." Kaiza told him, placing a hand on his head. "… Because your dad loves this city where you are from." Inari watched in amazement as Kaiza took the rope and jumped into the rapids, swimming with all his might for the open floodgate, remembering what he had told him the first day they met. If something is truly precious to you… even if you lose your life… with these two arms… you must protect it!! "Dad!! You can do it!!!" Inari yelled.

"Yes, he did it!" The other men cheered when Kaiza succeeded in tying the rope to the gate. "Everyone pull!!"

««««

"After that, the people here started calling Kaiza a hero, and he became a father Inari that could be proud of… But Gatō turned his eye on this city around that time." Tazuna said, furrowing his brow.

"And then this incident happened?" Kakashi said.

"…" Tazuna hesitated and started breaking out into a nervous sweat.

"!" Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke said worriedly. The old man was starting to tremble with fear and anger. April frowned. Seeing how deeply disturbed Tazuna was… She had a feeling she knew where this was going… and she didn't like it.

"What exactly happened?" Kakashi asked.

"… In front of everyone, Kaiza was… put to death by Gatō!!" Tazuna said bitterly.

"What?" Sakura asked quietly in disbelief as she, Naruto, and Sasuke stared at him, stunned. April furrowed her brow. It was just as she had suspected. She noticed Kakashi-sensei didn't seem at all surprised. He must have seen this coming, too…

««««

"Listen up!!" Gatō ordered everyone standing outside the enclosed area he had chosen to make an example out of Kaiza, whom he had strapped to a cross after ordering his men to cut off both of the arms he seemed to be so proud of. Kaiza was still alive, but just barely. "This man has been conducting terrorist activities against the Gatō Company!! He has been disrupting this country's peace, and as punishment will be put to death. I just hope nothing like this happens again." Gatō finished sinisterly.

"Dad!!" Inari yelled, pushing up against the chain-link fence. This couldn't be happening!!!

"Inari!" One of the people closest to him said, concerned he was going to get himself in trouble if he attracted too much attention. Despite his pain, Kaiza made an effort to smile one last time for his son.

"Kill him." Gatō ordered without hesitation. One of the swordsmen at his side drew his katana.

"Dad!!!" Inari screamed as his father was killed in one swing. 'You said you'd protect me… the city… with your two arms…!! … You're a liar, Dad!!!' Inari thought, clutching the fence for support as tears streamed down his face, overcome with the pain of loss and despair.

««End Flashback««

"Ever since then, Inari changed…" Tazuna finished sadly. "As did Tsunami… and the whole… And the whole city…" Naruto furrowed his brow as he thought back about how Inari had been acting since they arrived. It all made sense now… He tried to stand up but fell and face planted on the floor.

"!" He grunted in surprise. It looked like his body didn't want to listen to him after all the abuse he had already put it through this morning. "Oww…"

"… You okay?" April asked him, sweat-dropping. That was a pretty loud thud he just made…

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"If you're thinking of training, don't." Kakashi advised him. "You've released too much chakra, anymore and you could die."

"I'm going to prove it…" Naruto said, trembling slightly from the effort as he pushed himself back onto his feet.

"?" Tazuna said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to prove that in this world… Heroes do exist!!" Naruto declared, gritting his teeth with determination as he staggered forward, heading for the door. April smiled.

'Yeah, it's gotta be like that…' She thought, using the table for support as she made herself stand up. "Wait up, Naruto… I think I feel a second wind coming on."

"Hey…" Kakashi said as they both tried to leave while supporting each other. He was glad they were so enthusiastic about getting stronger, but how did they expect to train when they could barely make it to the door on their own? April was shaking even worse than Naruto.

"Don't worry, Sensei..." April said as they opened the door. She hadn't forgotten his warning earlier, but like he said, she still needed to train three times as hard as the others if she wanted to improve. "I'm sure we'll pass out from exhaustion long before we actually die."

"…" Kakashi and the others stared after them as the door shut behind them.

'That settles it… They're both idiots.' Sasuke decided.