Sasuke held Mayumi close to himself refusing to smile when she unintentionally started to play with his fingers. She would study how much longer they were then her own, and curl them into fists and then uncurl and lock her fingers with his.
"KYAA!" Naruto and Sakura screamed when Kakashi had randomly opened his eyes.
The two students fell backwards; Sakura almost lading on Mayumi's lap. The door to the room shot open as Tsunami walked into the room. It was clear that she had rushed in when she heard the scream; seeing as she had to look around before staring at Kakashi.
"Oh Kakashi-sensei, you're awake," she mumbled.
Sakura shot a glare at Naruto. It was his fault that she didn't know what their Sensei looked like underneath his mask. Stupid Naruto...
Kakashi sat up with his hand in front of his mouth. The students stared at their Sensei trying to understand him.
"What's wrong, Sensei?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi ran his hand through his hair, "Well..." He shook his hand as if trying to get rid of something. "Body erasing teams usually dispose of the body of the person they killed right there."
Sakura made a face, "So what?"
"Don't you see? How did that masked boy dispose of Zabuza's body?"
"That gay guy that Sasuke-san turned down?" Mayumi asked, tilting her head to the side.
Sakura put her hands out in front of herself, "How could we know? That masked guy took the body with him."
"Yeah..." Kakashi muttered. "If he needed proof of his work he could have just taken the head. And the weapon that he used to kill Zabuza."
Mayumi felt Sasuke jump slightly. She turned to him but kept her mouth closed; not wanting to upset him.
He squeezed her hand tightly, "No way..."
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah... Exactly."
"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked, almost as if he had never been in the room.
"Most likely," the Jonin started. "...Zabuza is alive!"
Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna made faces.
Mayumi turned to Sasuke, "What are they talking about?"
He just shook his head and tightened his grip on her.
"What the hell do you mean?" Naruto shouted.
"Kakashi-sensei, you checked and said he was dead!" Sakura screamed at him.
"Yeah I did... But that was most likely...just a momentary death." Kakashi muttered. "The needle weapon that Hunter-nin used...unless it hits a vital organ, has a low probability in killing your opponent. It's an item even used by doctors in acupuncture therapy. Hunter-nins know about the body's structure thoroughly. Putting a person in a momentary dead state is probably easy for them. First, he carried away the body of the much heavier Zabuza. Second, he used a weapon that has a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that his motive was... Not to kill Zabuza, bit to save him. We can't ignore that possibility."
"Aren't you thinking too much? Hunter-nins are suppose to kill Missing-Nins," Tazuna asked making a face.
"No... With all the suspicion..." Kakashi muttered. "...we will prepare before it's too late. That's a shinobi rule. Plus whether Zabuza is dead or alive... There's no assurances that Gatou hasn't hired an even stronger shinobi."
Naruto smiled, causing Mayumi to smile along with him.
"Sensei," Sakura spoke up. "What do you mean preparing before it's too late? You can barely move."
"Hehe..." Said man laughed. "You guys will receive training."
"Huh? Training?" Sakura jumped back, her shock quickly changed as she started to yell at him, "Sensei! What's a little training going to do? Our enemy is a ninja you struggled against even with the sharingan!"
'Trying to get us killed?' Inner Sakura shouted.
"Sakura... Who saved me while I was struggling?" Kakashi asked her. "You guys are growing rapidly," he smiled. "Especially Naruto! You've improved the most."
Naruto stared at him then smiled. Sakura stared at him. Mayumi smiled brightly for the boy wanting to hug him, but knowing better because of Sasuke.
"But obviously..." The Jonin continued. "This is just training until I get better, you won't be able to defeat him without me."
"But Sensei," The Haruno girl spoke. "If Zabuza is alive he could attack at anytime, so should we be training?"
"About that..." He muttered. "A person put in a momentary death situation... Should take a while before their body returns to normal."
"So we train until then!" Naruto shouted, the excitement clear in his bright blue eyes. "Sounds like a lot of fun!"
"That's not fun..."
All the genin turned to see a small boy.
Naruto glared at him, "Who the hell are you?"
"Oh! Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna asked, spreading his arms wide.
"Welcome back... Granpa..." He muttered.
"Inari say hello to these people," Tsunami told her son. "They are ninjas who protected Grandpa."
Mayumi smiled brightly and waved at the boy. Sasuke gave her an odd look but didn't speak to her.
Inari blushed slightly and looked at his mother, "Okaa-chan... They are going to die..."
Sakura and Naruto jumped their feet.
"What did you say you little brat!" Naruto yelled angrily at him.
"There's no way you can win against Gatou..."
"You brat! I'll...!"
"Why are you getting pissed at a child? Idiot!" Sakura shouted as she pulled at Naruto's collar.
"Hey, Inari! Listen!" Naruto shouted at him. "I'm a super hero who will one day become an incredible ninja called Hokage! I don't know this Gatou guy, but he's nothing against me!"
"What are you, stupid?" Inari asked him. "There's no such thing as a hero!"
"What?"
"Stop it!" Sakura screamed as he held him back.
"If you don't want to die, you should leave..."
Sasuke reached for Mayumi as she stood to her feet.
"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked as the boy walked towards the door.
"To look at the ocean from my room," he explained.
He walked out of the room. Everyone remained silent. Naruto glared at the door, still fuming.
"Sorry..." Tazuna muttered.
Naruto stomped out of the room in search of the boy.
"Naruto-san wait!" Mayumi ran after him.
When she found him he was walking up a set of stairs. He was clearly still angry with the boy.
"Damn it! Where's that little piece of shit!"
"Naruto-san, leave him alone!" Mayumi growled as she tried to pull at him.
"He needs to learn a lesson..." He told her.
Naruto walked up the stairs dragging Mayumi along with him. He quickly found a door and started to pull it open when he heard crying. The blue-haired girl stared at the door. So Inari wasn't as tough as he acted. The both of them calmed down. Mayumi looked over at Naruto to see that his face had softened. She smiled at him softly and grabbed his hand, pulling him back down the stairs.
*Later*
"Okay, we will now start the training," Kakashi told his students.
"Hell yeah!" Naruto shouted.
"Okay... Before that... I want to talk to you about the shinobi ability, Chakra."
Naruto's and Mayumi's faces dropped, neither of them knowing what that was.
"Umm...ummm... What's Chakra?" He asked. "Hehe I used to sleep during the hard classes."
Kakashi looked at his daughter who laughed, "I wasn't paying attention..."
Kakashi sighed, '…This is bad...'
"Fine! Sakura..." The man motioned for the girl to explain.
Sakura pulled out a scroll, "Listen Naruto, Mayumi! I'm going to explain it simply. Somehow try to remember it with those slow brains you both have!"
Mayumi snickered when she read the side of the scroll which read, 'Beautiful Young Girl, Sakura's Lesson on Chakra'. Naruto tilted his head to the side as he thought about it causing Mayumi to grab her sides to stop herself from laughing.
"Simply put, Chakra is the energy a shinobi needs when performing a Jutsu. That energy has two parts. The body energy that is in each of the billions of your cells. And the spiritual energy gained through training and other experiences. These two parts are combined. So by bringing out and releasing Chakra, you can use a jutsu. This is done through the process of performing a seal with the hands."
"Exactly," Kakashi said when she stopped, causing Sakura to put her hands on her hips in victory.
"Hey? Hey?" Naruto said. "I didn't understand that complicated explanation but isn't that something you learn with your body?"
"Naruto is right," Sasuke said randomly causing Mayumi to jump. "We can already use jutsu."
"Nope!" Kakashi told them, "You guys are not using Chakra properly."
"What?" Naruto shouted at him.
"Well, listen... As Sakura said earlier, to release Chakra means...to bring out physical and spiritual energy and mix them together within your body. And based on what jutsu you use, the type and amount of Chakra that is released will be different. You guys are not using Chakra effectively yet. Even if you are able to release a high amount of Chakra unless you control it properly...the jutsu will be weakened or not work at all. And by wasting energy you won't be able to fight as long. These kinds of weaknesses will appear."
"So... What should we do?" Naruto asked.
"Learn how to control it. Through very tough training."
Naruto stared at the man, Sasuke frowned slightly, and Mayumi bit her bottom lip.
"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked.
"Tree climbing!" Kakashi told them.
"Tree climbing?" The genin yelled.
"Yeah..."
"What kind of training is that?" Sakura questioned.
"Well, listen until the end." Kakashi told them, balancing on his crutches. "This isn't normal tree climbing. You'll climb without using your hands."
The Haruno stuck her hands behind herself, "How?"
"Well... Watch."
Kakashi put his hands together. Soon enough he was climbing up the tree with only his feet. He stood on a branch high above his students upside down. The genin stared wide eyed at their Sensei.
"He's climbing..." Naruto muttered, a wide smile painted on his face.
"Vertically... With just his legs..." Sakura mumbled.
"..." Sasuke just stared in awe.
Mayumi crossed her arms, "Show off."
"You understand now?" Kakashi asked them, smiling. "Gather your Chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb up a tree. This is something you can do once you can use Chakra well."
"Wait a minute!" Sakura yelled at him. "How is learning how to climb a tree going to make us stronger?"
"There's no point to it... Sakura can't learn anyways, her head's already going to explode..." Mayumi muttered.
She hid behind Sasuke quickly as she received a glare from the pink-haired girl.
"Here's the main part. Listen closely," Kakashi told them, looking at Sakura as if she was stupid. "The purpose of this training is... First, to teach you how to control Chakra. To bring out the proper amount to the proper area. As I said earlier, this is the most important aspect when using jutsu. This can be difficult for even a skilled a ninja. The amount of Chakra needed to climb a tree is small, but it must be exact. And it is said that the bottom of the foot is the most difficult area to gather Chakra. So basically... If you can learn this control, you should be able to master any jutsu, theoretically..."
"The second thing is for you to develop the stamina needed to control Chakra properly," he continued. "Depending on the jutsu controlling your Chakra properly...can be very difficult. And a ninja will usually be gathering his Chakra during battle while constantly moving. Those types of situations make controlling Chakra even more difficult. That's why, from this tree climbing you must gain the stamina needed for this proper control." He reached into his pocket and pulled out four kunai. "Well... Me talking all day isn't going to accomplish anything. This is something you'll have to learn with your bodies."
Kakashi tossed the kunai. One landed at each of their feet, causing them jump slightly.
"Use those kunais to mark how high you make it up the tree," The man told them. "Then use that mark as your goal and try to surpass it. You guys won't be good enough to just walk up the tree at first. So get some momentum and try running up the tree. Got it?"
They all bent down and picked up one of the kunais.
"This training is nothing to me!" Naruto shouted. "I could do it before breakfast! Cause I'm the most improved!"
"Why don't you stop the bragging... Pick a tree and hurry up and try to climb it," Kakashi told them.
"That could also mean that you had the most to improve..." Sasuke muttered.
Each of the genin concentrated their Chakra to their feet.
"Here I go!" Naruto shouted as they all took off.
Naruto's foot touched the bottom as he started to climb...only to fall on his back. Sasuke ran up his tree quickly only for his foot to push through it. He scratched a mark into the tree with his kunai quickly before his back-flipped off the tree. He studied to mark on the tree then looked over at Naruto.
"This is pretty easy!"
The two males looked up quickly to find Sakura sitting on a branch high up towards the top of her tree.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted.
"It looks like the best at controlling Chakra right now is...Sakura," Kakashi muttered.
Sasuke huffed and looked down.
"Wow! You're great Sakura-chan! That's the girl I put my confidence in!" Naruto shouted to her.
Sakura dropped her head, 'I wanted Sasuke to be impressed... Why does this happen?'
"Wow not only does she know a lot about Chakra," Kakashi said. "But her control and stamina are quite good. As of now... Sakura is the closest to Hokage... Unlike a certain someone... I guess the Uchiha clan isn't worth much either."
"Shut up, Sensei!" Sakura yelled. 'He's going to get mad at me!'
"Ummm... Could someone help me down?"
The all stopped and looked up once more to find Mayumi clinging to her own tree. She stood a few feet below Sakura in a different tree, clinging to her plant for dear life.
*A little bit later*
Naruto sat on the ground rubbing his head, Sakura laid on the ground huffing, Sasuke glaring up at the marks he made on the tree, and Mayumi slowly climbing down her tree.
"Shit!" Naruto cussed walking over to Sakura.
"What?" She asked.
"Ummm... Ummm, could you give me some tips?"
'He's going to get stronger and stronger,' Kakashi thought. 'But just how strong? Naruto, your Chakra potential is most likely above Sasuke... And... Even above my own... I'm really looking forward to this...'
*With Sakura and Mayumi*
Noises filled the air around the pink-haired girl as she stretched her arms out and yawned.
"You sure seem bored all by yourself."
Sakura looked over to see Tazuna resting wood on his shoulder.
"Where's that blonde kid and the other one?"
"They're training. You see since I'm so superior... Kakashi-sensei asked me to protect you."
"Why am I getting left out of this?" Mayumi asked. Holding Tazuna's tools in her arms.
Sakura glared at her, "Shut up."
"Hey... Tazuna-san!"
The old man turned around, "What is it Giichi?"
"I've been doing a lot of thinking recently and... Can I stop working in the bridge?" The man known as Giichi asked.
"Why is that?" Tazuna asked. "This is so sudden! Not you too!"
"Tazuna-san, we've been close for a long time now. I want to help you but if we continue this Gatou will notice us. And if you get killed, then what's the point? Why don't we just quit now... Building the bridge..."
"... I can't do that," Tazuna told him. "This bridge is our bridge. This is the bridge we started building together believing it would bring resources into our super poor country."
"But if we lose our lives!"
"It's already noon, let's stop for today. Giichi, you don't have to come tomorrow."
Tazuna, Sakura, and Mayumi walked down the street. People walked by with signs saying that they would take any job, thieves ran by with other's money, while some sat off to the side begging for spare coins. It was strange, seeing so many people reduced to that. Life wasn't supposed to be like that.
"I'm suppose to bring home food for lunch," Tazuna told the girls. "Here we are."
Tazuna walked around the store for a short while before walking to the counter. Mayumi looked over at Sakura to see a candy wrapper sticking out of her bag. She reached for it causing the girl to stiffen then kick a random guy who was walking past.
"Pervert!" She screamed.
Mayumi backed away from the girl, 'Not to self: Don't try to steal Sakura's candy.'
"You sure surprised me earlier," Tazuna told Sakura after they left the shop.
"What's going on in this city?" She asked him.
Sakura turned around to find a small child standing behind her, she reached into her pack and pulled out the candy that Mayumi had tried to steal and dropped it into the waiting hands.
"It's been like this since Gatou came. All the adults have last hope. That's why we now need that bridge. A symbol of courage... We need for the people to lose their fear and regain the desire to stand up for themselves. If that bridge... If that bridge can be completed, the city will return to that time... The people will return to how they used to be," Tazuna told her.
*At supper*
"Wow! This is super fun! It's been a long time since we ate with so many people," Tazuna said, scratching the back of his head.
Naruto and Sasuke paid no attention and stuffed their faces. Mayumi flinched from the looks that they had painted on their faces.
Both boys raised their bowls, "More!"
They shot glares at each other. The both of them made faces as they threw up all that they had eaten. Sakura glared at them both and slammed her hands down. Mayumi made a face and walked away from the table holding onto her stomach hoping not to get sick herself.
"If you're going to throw up then stop eating!" Sakura screamed at them.
"Yeah no one wants to see food a second time..." Mayumi nodded in agreement.
Sasuke looked back at the blue-haired girl, wiping his face, "No, I must eat."
Naruto looked at Sakura, "Yeah, we have to no matter what. Because we have to become stronger."
After everyone ate Sakura walked from her seat and took a look around the room. Sasuke pulled Mayumi's chair closer to his own and wrapped his arms around her, earning a glare in return from her. Naruto sat at the table not really paying attention to anything that was going on.
Mayumi looked at Kakashi, "Otou-san...will you pass me some more soup..."
"But Mayumi you don't even have your bowl anymore," he told her.
"I know, but can you pass it anyways."
"No, Mayumi."
"But I was going to throw it on Sasuke-san!"
"No."
Sasuke squeezed her tightly, "Be nice."
She huffed and stuck her tongue out at him, "Fucking gay physic..."
"Mayumi language," Kakashi scolded his daughter, motioning towards Inari who still sat at the table.
"Hey," Sakura spoke. "Why do you have a torn picture on the wall? Inari-kun was staring at this during dinner. It seems like someone purposely removed the person that was in the picture."
"It's my husband," Tsunami explained.
"And... The man called the hero of the city," Tazuna added.
Inari pushed away from the table and walked out of the room.
"Inari where are you going?" Tsunami asked.
He slammed the door.
"Inari! Otou-san! I have told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" Tsunami yelled at Tazuna.
"What's wrong with Inari-kun?" Sakura asked.
"There seems to be some kind of explanation," Kakashi said, looking around slightly.
"Inari had a father, not related by blood," Tazuna explained. "They were very close, like a real father and son... Inari would laugh a lot back then..."
Mayumi squirmed slightly against the Uchiha behind her, deciding to get comfortable instead of trying to push him away.
"But..." He continued. "But Inari changed...since the incident with his father... The word "courage" has been stolen from the people of this island... And from Inari..."
"That incident? What happened to Inari-kun?" Kakashi asked.
Mayumi glared at her father, "Otou-san! I don't want to listen to a story right now!"
He waved his hand at her telling her to hush.
Tazuna removed his glasses and wiped 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, resting his head in his arms.
"It was about three years ago, Inari met that man..."
Mayumi rested her head against Sasuke and closed her eyes. She could almost see the events in her head as Tazuna told them.
"His name was Kaiza, a fisherman who came here to follow his dreams. 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 a real father and son. It was only a matter of time before Kaiza became part of the family. And Kaiza was also a man the city needed... If something is truly precious to you... Even if you lose your life... With your two arms... You must protect it; and he did! And then Kaiza was called a hero by the people of this city. And Inari could not be prouder of his father...but Gatou came to this city..."
"And then this incident happened?" Kakashi asked.
Tazuna looked down.
Mayumi opened her eyes and all the genin looked at the man.
"What exactly happened?" Kakashi asked.
Tazuna shook then looked up, "In front of everyone, Kaiza was...put to death by Gatou!"
Their eyes widened.
Tazuna changed to sound of his voice and mimicked Gatou, "Listen up! This man has been conducting terrorist activities against Gatou Corporation! He has been disrupting this country's peace and as punishment will be put to death. I just hope something like this never happens again. That's what he said, then he had him beheaded. From that day Inari changed... As did Tsunami... And the whole city..."
Naruto turned his head and glared, thinking back to what Inari had said earlier that day. Then to when he and Mayumi had heard the boy crying. Naruto stared to run from his seat but tripped over his chair.
"What are you doing Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"If you're thinking of training, take the day off," Kakashi told him. "You've released too much Chakra, anymore and you could die."
"I'm going to prove it..." Naruto said, pushing himself from the ground.
"What?" Sakura asked.
"I'm going to prove, that in this world... Heroes do exist!"
Mayumi grinned, it made her feel strong, like she could do anything, when Naruto talked like that.
Okay I left out a lot of humor in this chapter which kinda made me mad but I wanted to make it more serious because it just seemed more serious with this chapter in the Manga. But anyways thank you for reading and please vote/review! So far only one person has voted right and that didn't count cause I almost had to tell her. Anyways thank you to all you wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! You are the people who make me smile the most and get to the updates.