AN: Howdy all, here's the last chapter post for the week. We own nothing and unfortunately we didn't have time to add the dictionary. Sorry but we hope you enjoy.
Arc – Transition of Power
Chapter Four – The New Wave
The slow throbbing was, unfortunately, not a new occurrence. It was the constant pulse of a migraine barely formed yet still threatening to be a force of agony able to rival the combined pain of any wound he'd ever sustained. A feat he'd once thought impossible.
"I've heard a tall tale, Hisakawa-san. Surely it's not true?" Yagami-san spoke, dark hair piled into a messy bun atop his head, a grin on his thin mustache covered lips.
Haku's fingers twitched, aching to rub at his temples as the Council gossiped. Men all much older than him filled with a petty distraction that was until now completely foreign to Haku. Still, he had a task at hand, so he forcibly suppressed the urge as he attempted to refocus. This wasn't impossible. It wasn't like the nearly futile efforts that Zabuza-sama had undertaken in his attempt to realize his dream. No, this he could do.
"No, it's true, I am finally looking for a wife," Hisakawa-san replied straightening his white and blue haori before waving away the looks of disbelief. His dark beady eyes shifted around the room below thick brows and deep wrinkles from a lifetime in the sun, the same look that was shared among the rest of the men at the table.
Eyes closed as he drew in a calming breath, Haku tried not to think about how long this was taking. Instead, he exhaled, gaze refocused as he dragged it across the room, pleading for resolution more than anything else. The willfully oblivious, smiling faces that comprised the entirety of the Council for the Land of Wave stared back at him, none of its members particularly bothered by the length of the present meeting that continued to drag on uselessly.
"Hah, and what respectable young lady is going to want to tie herself to you, old man?" Matsumoto-san smiled around a cup of tea at his own humor. His own thin mustache rubbed against the top of the cup as loose strands of black hair slipped across his features. He was the youngest of the councilmembers, but it made no real difference. After all, they all gossiped just the same.
They continued to chatter amongst themselves cheerily blind to his slowly deteriorating mood. A mood which wished only for this meeting to end and to end with everyone on the same page. Which really shouldn't have been quite this difficult to achieve given the general consensus around the room.
"Yeah, you should just adopt your heir like Ueda-san." Shizuka-san added, wire framed glasses slipping down his crooked nose.
Haku ignored the comment only half listening as he attempted to review the only reason they were still here. Him. Or rather, his opposition to the current agreement, or rather lack thereof, as they continued to negotiate. Unfortunately, he'd been unable to change even one mind within the hour of time they'd spent discussing the issue today. Of course, he shouldn't have been all that surprised given that he'd failed equally in this endeavor in all of his previous attempts.
"Yup, make the whole lot of them compete for it. Solves all our problems." Ueda-san leaned back as his thick fingers found a thin cookie on the table, food and tea having been provided by the Uzumaki Clan. His wide shoulders shook with the beginnings of laughter as the entire council followed his lead, heads thrown back and hands slamming against the table as they laughed at what must have been some sort of inside joke given that Haku found no such humor in the current situation.
'Circles,' Haku thought bitterly. 'We've been going in circles all week. I can't…' he paused, eyes closed as he took another deep breath. He attempted to remember the last time he'd been this close to losing his patience. This close to possibly saying something he would regret, and he could not remember a time.
'Just focus,' he thought, discarding his last line of thought as the young attendant poured him another cup of tea.
'No problem is too massive. No situation too arduous. This isn't even the most vexing task I've ever had to accomplish,' he continued, rousing his spirits with the mental image of Naruto-kun and Inari-kun jumping around the small space of the former's apartment after consuming more than their combined weight in sugary sweets. No that had been a task worthy of sainthood. Surely, everything else was insignificant in comparison.
Haku took a small sip of his tea allowing the warmth of the beverage to further soothe his growing migraine. He'd give this one more attempt. One more try at the reasonable approach before he invoked the take no prisoners mentality of his former master.
With one more calming breath, he regained the attention of the men in front of him. "Honorable Council," he began, interrupting their completely off topic conversation. "If you will allow us to continue?" He waited with the last dredges of his patience for their nod of assent, somehow still managing to keep his exasperation from his voice. "As I've mentioned before neither Naruto-kun, nor I, feel comfortable accepting such a gift from the Land of Wave," he continued, putting special emphasis on the one aspect that he could not allow for what felt like the hundredth time today.
"Of course, Haku-sama. We would never expect you to," Hisakawa-san replied. He sounded amenable to change, however, the wide grin still plastered across his face told another story. Clearly they still didn't seem to get it, still lost in a fantasy of their own creation. His head pounded as his budding migraine grew, his patience on its last leg.
Hisakawa-san exchanged a knowing glance amongst his fellow councilmen, giving a small nod as he moved to continue, "Which is why we hammered out that last arrangement."
"For which, Master Haku, you've already paid in full," Ueda-san stated, the large man giving a nod of his own.
"Settling the matter on all of the land and surrounding water rights for the future Uzumaki Clan holdings," Yagami-san added as he leant back in his spot, a satisfied smirk gracing his lips.
Haku held back a frustrated sigh willing himself to power through the argument one more time, "Respectfully, I disagree." He paused for a moment, searching for his inner peace before continuing in a level voice, "Separating the two property deals was not a means to circumvent this discussion Honorable Council. It was simply a way to expedite the process so that construction on the Uzumaki Clan Compound could commence."
"Of course, of course, Haku-sama. We of the Council understand completely," Hisakawa-san replied, an overly exaggerated wink accompanying the emphasis in his statement. Grinning widely, the head of the Council shifted his gaze to share his knowing gaze with his fellow councilmen before settling back in his seated position.
"We're more than happy to discuss additional compensation," Shizuka-san added pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose all the while giving his own obvious wink to Haku.
"Hai, all payment for the additional property will be accepted at a later date," Matsumoto-san stated with an overly enthused nod and a wink just like his fellow councilmen before him.
Exasperated beyond belief, Haku finally let loose a frustrated sigh as the Council of Wave smiled amongst themselves, each member grinning widely as they nodded to each other. They smiled like they maintained a shared secret, each in on the joke that only they knew. Only this was no laughing matter.
The vein on his forehead pulsed angrily as he finally realized that the Council would never be made to see reason. This meeting, like the previous ones, was just a farce of a proceeding. It was him alone, struggling to even discuss the issue. This was thousands of acres of rice paddies gone to ruin, hundreds of acres of forest unused and uncultivated. All because they refused to acknowledge the financial state of Wave.
And how did it come to this, attempting to force reason on a country's ruling body at his own expense? How was it that he could sit here and even contemplate forcing someone to accept payment of all things? Zabuza-sama was probably laughing at him from his grave, the deep timbre of his voice chuckling as he chastised Haku for his wasted efforts. After all, his former master had always run towards power gaining options, snatching up every opportunity as it presented itself. Zabuza-sama would have taken that land without batting an eye, a smug comment said in confidence once they'd resold it for twice its value.
Even now, Haku could hear him. 'Money is power in this world, Haku. And like all powerful things it's limited. Fools on the other hand are found in droves.' His former master would always pause there, wistful for a moment as he lost himself in his dream before turning back to him. 'So forget about the fools, Haku. Because we're in the business of making money, not reasoning with the unreasonable.'
Of course money had been nearly everything to his former master. The 'key to the gate keeping us from the real battle' as Zabuza-sama had once described it. But that was in a different world. A world where Zabuza-sama's dreams had filled Haku with a singular purpose. A purpose that had commanded his mind, his body, and his very soul. His former master's dream had become his dream. His desires mirrored on the blank canvas that was his existence.
It had been a world where Haku would not have hesitated to exploit these people's pride and naiveté. And in his weaker moments, it was a world that Haku desperately wanted to return to. However, that could never be. Zabuza-sama was dead. His dream buried along with him.
Now, Haku toiled to realize a different dream. One that filled him with a pride he'd never felt under Zabuza-sama's tutelage. So he fought against the Council's self-destruction because Wave could not afford to just give away such a large tract of property. It didn't matter how much they appreciated Naruto-kun for his part in stopping Gatou. This was not the way to show it. Not when the country depended on good leadership. Not if Wave was going to ever truly thrive.
'You will have to forgive me, Zabuza-sama,' Haku thought as he took another deep, calming breath. 'For I cannot heed your words of wisdom.'
He had to do this. Had to strike this deal in such a way that Wave's economy didn't crash in the process. Because they needed Wave. Naruto-kun needed Wave. This was their home. The beginning of something grand. And he would rather disappoint the first person to save him, ask for a forgiveness that he would never have returned for the rest of his life, then fail the one person who took a chance on him when he'd thought he'd been beyond saving. Zabuza-sama would have to understand. He had a promise to keep. To Naruto-kun, to Zabuza-sama, but more importantly to himself.
Gaze hard, Haku prepared himself to be as unyielding as his former master, calling upon the strength of a man more demon than human to make a deal he knew no one would like. But there would be no compromising on this issue. It had to be done.
"Thirty-six million, four hundred thousand." His voice cut through the idle chatter that had started up again in Haku's silence. It's timbre as strong as any statement that had ever left his former master's lips.
"Na…nani ka?" Hisakawa-san stammered, whiskered mustache pulled into a frown of confusion.
"Master Haku, you can't…" Matsumoto-san started before Haku swiftly interrupted, his tone sharp.
"Thirty-six million, four hundred thousand ryo. That is the offer the Uzumaki Clan will make," Haku stated, his voice commanding the quiet of the room even as it remained even, distant from the warmth he normally attempted to infuse it with.
For a moment, no one spoke. The councilmembers mouths left open as they gaped at him. Finally, a member of the council regained his faculties. "But…" Only to be quickly cut off again.
"No. There will be no more discussion on this matter. This is the amount we will pay for the property in question. A paltry sum considering the breadth of the land; however, this is the same rate per acreage as the previous Uzumaki Compound land agreement, so we are willing to make this, and only this, compromise again."
Haku paused, waiting with eyes narrowed for the Council to nod their assent to the agreement. "Good. Now that we are all in agreement we can move on to the finer details of the land usage."
"What?! You can't possibly…"
"Please take the next few days to think about the percentage of villagers you would like guaranteed work opportunities within the Uzumaki Clan rice paddies," Haku continued, silencing Councilman Ueda with a sharp look. "Additionally, the Uzumaki Clan would like to extend a discounted rate per kilogram of rice to the Land of Wave as a thank you for allowing us to reside within your borders."
At the statement the councilmen sputtered ready to complain, so Haku pushed on with the one thing he knew would force their hands, "As you can imagine, Naruto-kun would be most displeased if he were to learn of your refuse of our humble offer."
"No, no. Of course we would never refuse," Hisakawa-san stated, a horrified look clouding his expression. Rapidly his fellow councilmen nodded their agreement, each man sweating nerves bullets at even the suggestion of insulting Naruto-kun.
"Very well, then I believe we are all on the same page," Haku stated as he moved to rise, the council quickly moving to follow his lead.
"Hai," Yagami-san replied. "And Haku-sama? Is it possible that this small, completely insignificant, extremely brief misunderstanding not be brought to Uzumaki-dono's attention?"
Haku moved to the door without speaking, leaving the man, and what he was sure was the rest of the Council, in suspense in the process. "While I will not lie to Naruto-kun, I do believe this was just a small misunderstanding that will not be repeated in the future." He paused for effect, allowing the underlying meaning to sink in before continuing. "As such, I do believe it is a rather insignificant detail for which to interrupt Naruto-kun's training."
Turning to leave, Haku bowed slightly to the Council, "For the betterment of our country, honorable Councilmen."
The Council returned his bow quickly, dipping far lower than ever before. "And please, Haku-sama, do send our most humble regards and congratulations to Uzumaki-dono." Ever attentive, the young attendant slid the door open behind him as he turned to leave, the Council still bent low at the waist. "As always we wish him long life and good fortune."
"Hai, I'll send your regards," Haku replied as he took his leave, the door sliding shut behind him.
His breath left him in a rush, exhaling on a sigh as his shoulders dropped momentarily. Without stopping, Haku continued on his trek across the town more than ready to get back to the easier Uzumaki Clan business. 'That was far more taxing than I anticipated,' he thought as a sudden wave of exhaustion set in. 'This property deal…' he shook his head as he maneuvered about the slowly growing market, new shops having popped up slowly over the few months since the bridge's completion.
'If I could have managed it, I would have sooner dropped the whole deal,' he thought with another powerful sigh. 'Be done with all this in the first property buy, but there's more to worry about here than just the Uzumaki Clan's future success.' He paused, the memory of a desperate Council rushing to the forefront of his mind. For the sake of the small country, the Council had practically begged the Uzumaki Clan to increase the size of their purchase to include the rice paddies they couldn't use, hadn't used, in nearly two generations.
'Wave's future depends on this whether they want to acknowledge it or not. And without Wave,' Haku shook his head again at the thought. 'We'd have no home. No place to call our own. No, the future of the Uzumaki Clan is invariably linked with that of this country. And I will not let either of them fail before they've even had a chance to thrive.'
Of course that meant that now they had thousands of acres of property that they couldn't use just yet. The rice fields were in such a state of disarray that they'd take several hundreds of thousands of additional ryo before they would even be usable, but that was just how it would have to be. 'We do what we must,' he thought as he nodded to the familiar faces that surrounded him. He wasn't surprised in the least at the number of times overly excited townspeople stopped him all wishing to send their bests to Naruto-kun.
After all, it was to be expected. Having adopted the blond as the patron and hero of the town, the townsfolks were still reeling from Naruto-kun's amazing win in the Chuunin Exams. They were just now coming off a week long celebration. Naruto-kun's wins more than qualifying as a feat worthy of such prolonged celebration in the eyes of the town.
In some ways, Haku agreed with the sentiment. After all, Naruto-kun's performance had been awe-inspiring. Near impossible given the competition he'd faced, but Haku had had no doubts in his friend's abilities. He'd even gone so far as to wager his entire life savings in Iruka-san's betting pool which granted was mostly money Naruto-kun had given him to help with his life here in Wave, but that was wholly beside the point. No, the point was that he'd had full confidence in his blond friend and that confidence had paid him back in spades.
And now those winnings had allowed him to purchase not only a fourth of the land in Wave but also a fifth of the surrounding water rights. Technically, while the Uzumaki Clan didn't own the bridge Naruto-kun had spent so much energy to save, they now own all the surrounding waters as well as the corresponding coastline. Although they would never abuse that power, they did now own the sole major trading route currently used within the Land of Wave.
Of course, the majority of the property he just secured was rice paddies and the surrounding forest that had fallen into disuse years ago, but that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. No, as his fallen mentor had taught him, what mattered was that it was land. And property, unlike most people, had infinite capabilities. If managed properly it could last forever. And amenable to near infinite change, it could easily be adapted to any situation or need. But most importantly, given enough time, the land would make its own money which was a prospect of which he was sure his former master would approve.
"Haku-sama! Haku-sama!" a familiar voice called, pulling Haku's attention away from his thoughts.
Turning around, Haku spied a tall, tanned man running towards him. Fisherman shorts and a sleeveless shirt covered the lean form of one of Tazuna-san's building managers. "Ah, Tenzu-san, how may I be of assistance?"
Tenzu-san slid to a halt, bending over to lean his hands against his knees as he caught his breath before speaking. "The boys… were wondering… if you'd let us build… a statue of Lord Uzumaki," Tenzu-san questioned between heavy pants.
More than ready to reject this latest outlandish idea out of hand, Haku was interrupted before he could even open his mouth, "Now hear me out, Master Haku. All the great Lords and Ladies have statues. It's like a, ah, a symbol of like power or something like that. I know, I had little Isamu-chan check with one of the village elders. So, we were thinking that Lord Uzumaki will have to have one too. I mean it is kinda important, and really no problem at all to add while we're building everything else. Plus, Moritaka-senpai is an expert stonesmith and he's already excited to work on a few ideas he's been drawing up since we started. Really, it would be…"
Knowing that he'd have to decline the generous offer, Haku let the man babble for a few more moments. The sentiment was appreciated, but given that Tazuna-san had already refused payment for construction of the compound, Haku could not allow them to build anything else, especially something on the magnitude of a Lord's statue that would be worth hundreds of thousands of ryo, free of charge. Like taking the land the Council had offered, it just wouldn't be right.
"I'm sorry Tenzu-san, but we just don't have the space right now for a statue of Naruto-kun. Perhaps we can revisit the topic once the Compound has been completed and the Uzumaki Clan has had a chance to grow."
"Oh," he replied disheartened. "It was just a thought."
With an internal sigh, Haku conceded a point in an attempt to lift his fallen spirits, "However, I'll run it by Naruto-kun and see how he feels about the idea."
Tenzu-san nodded, a grin slowly creeping back across his face. "Thank you, Master Haku," he said with a bow. "And please, give Lord Uzumaki my best."
"Of course," Haku replied as he watched as Tenzu-san ran off towards the busy marketplace. He was probably on his way to pick up the lunch orders given the time. It was one of the two things Tazuna-san had allowed Haku to pay for. Food and the raw building materials.
And while he didn't agree with the arrangement, he could understand why Tazuna-san didn't want to accept payment. It was the same reason that nearly everyone he saw stopped him, well wishes at the tip of their tongues as they inquired about Naruto-kun's wellbeing. To these people, Naruto-kun wasn't just anybody. He was their hero, their personal savior.
'No,' Haku thought, 'He's so much more than that.' To the people of Wave, Naruto-kun was modern royalty. So of course, they wanted to build a statue for him.
Approaching the water's edge, Haku spotted Sakura-chan and Ino-san still out on the water, arguing again in that playful way he'd come to associate with the pair as they worked. Although he would have been happy with just their company, he was eternally grateful to have their assistance for it made building the Compound well away from the coastline far easier. Already, they were nearly finished with laying the foundation for the main building. Soon, possibly tomorrow, they could begin ferrying the workers over to begin building in earnest. Certainly, the process was far faster than building a bridge that he would inevitably have taken down for security reasons.
In a few short strides, Haku finally reached his tent pitched close to the worksite. He had no idea why Sakura-chan hadn't mentioned the spare rooms back at the Tazuna residence to her companion, but he did not mind a few weeks spent living mostly in nature. As it was, he loved seeing the progress made bit by bit, falling asleep to the sight of the beginnings of the Uzumaki Clan Compound…
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the loud croak of a boisterous orange toad oddly dressed. "Heya princess, Haku right? Naruto left out how cute you are. Got a boyfriend yet? 'Cause I'm available, if you're interested."
A grin crept across Haku's features at the small toad's forwardness. Kneeling to get to its level to address it, he replied. "I just find it hard to believe that a handsome toad like you doesn't have someone already."
Despite his colorings, the responding blush was obvious, "Well, you know how it is," the little toad stammered.
"Oh," Haku replied softly, his smile fully taking place, "And what can I do for you, kind sir?"
"Ah yeah, well, ah, boss man asked me to give this to you," the toad replied, coming back to himself as he pushed a cloth wrapped bundle nearly as large as he was towards Haku.
With deft hands, Haku unwrapped the haphazardly wrapped bundle carefully removing two letters each marked with Naruto-kun's familiar handwriting, a thin book, and an orange kendama all neatly stacked atop a beautiful kimono.
"Arigatou gozaimasu," Haku replied as he turned back to the book, reading the title aloud. "The Sun and the Moon?" Flipping through the pages, Haku quickly read through the book. 'Oh, Naruto-kun,' he thought with a small sigh. 'At least, you tried, but a picture book is not a proper book for a seven year old.'
"Yeah, I know, I tried to tell the boss man that was a kid's book, but he didn't seem to get it," the toad stated, having caught the slightly disappointed look on Haku's face.
"That's quite alright. I don't imagine he would." Taking the letter addressed to him next he moved to open it. "Do you mind if I read it now?"
"Nah princess," he replied picking his teeth. "I've got all day."
Looking at the unruly handwriting, Haku sighed again. Just another thing they'd have to work on in the future. In the meantime, he'd just have to remember to write all of Naruto-kun's official correspondences for him. That was a pity, seeing as he was starting to receive a number of messages for his blond friend. It would have been nice to off load a few of them.
'Hey Haku-chan, I'm having a blast. At least I would be if it wasn't for that no good, good for absolutely nothing…'
"Alright, I totally think we've earned a break."
Sakura glanced up, jutsu already half formed to eye her companion. Ino, working with an elemental jutsu that she didn't seem to have an actual affinity for, looked exhausted. Letting her arms drop, she nodded once to her friend, "Yeah, sure thing. It's past time we stop for lunch anyway."
Mischief alight in her eyes, Sakura turned to the coastline. "Last one ashore owes the winner a backrub," she yelled across her shoulder, already running. She laughed at the roar at her back, speeding up even as Ino cursed her existence. This was just too much fun.
The first to the white sand coastline like she'd planned, she turned around just in time for Ino to nearly barrel into her. "Hey!"
"You hey," Ino replied, jabbing a finger into her chest. "That was cheating!"
"Really? I gave you plenty of warning," Sakura replied coyly, stepping past Ino to head towards the small camp further inland.
"Yeah that was completely fair, and Choji can say no to free barbeque," Ino shot back sarcastically, following after her.
"I think you're just mad I won and now you have to give little ol' me a high quality backrub," Sakura teased, slowing just enough to allow Ino to draw even with her.
"If you would've played fair, I would be the one getting that backrub," Ino huffed as they continued on making it to the center of the camp. "I am the one who actually needs it," she continued, grumbling under her breath.
"Hey, Haku," Sakura called out as they passed his open tent, completely ignoring her blonde friend's last comment. He glanced up from his hunched over position, pen raised as he answered what looked like about a half a dozen letters littering the surface of his temporary desk.
"Ah, Sakura-chan, Ino-san, a pleasure as always," he greeted, nodding in their direction. "I do hope you've finally stopping for a much deserved lunch break."
"Yeah, we have," Sakura replied with a smile. "Don't tell my mother, but Tsunami-san makes the best bento box."
"Your secret is safe with me," Haku said with a small grin before turning back to his work.
"Well, I can't say the same," Ino teased, as they finally made it to their own shared tent. "I think I'll need a little convincing to keep that little tidbit to myself."
"What do you want?" Sakura questioned with a roll of her eyes as she grabbed their prepared lunches.
"Well, when you ask so nicely…" Ino said, pausing to bat her eyes. "I think I could conveniently forget if let's say that backrub I owe you went to me."
"Fine," Sakura huffed, pulling back the tent flap for Ino to exit first. "Have it your way. I'm sure I'll win the next race too so no big deal. Now, come on. Let's go eat on the bridge."
They walked silently down the coast, sand slipping into her sandals. Despite the time of year, the sand was warm making the sensation far more pleasant then she would have expected. It was nice.
In the distance, she could easily spot the small island they'd managed to create. Each section created from pillars brought up from the ocean floor. It was just the foundation, but even so, the sight was impressive. In fact the whole country of Wave's transformation was impressive. After all, she'd been here when all of the people had been practically destitute. But now the market buzzed with renewed energy. And sure, it wasn't some bustling metropolis, but it was definitely something.
"That's going to be amazing when it's done," Sakura stated, breaking the silence as she pointed out into the distance. Even without looking over at her, Sakura knew her friend was rolling her steel blue eyes at the comment.
"Yeah, sure, but right now it's barely more than a hunk of dirt, a small hunk of dirt at that," Ino replied, the annoyed tint of her voice clear as day. Sakura grinned at the sound. After all, her annoyance wasn't exactly new. In fact, Sakura had made it one of her main missions to annoy Ino at every opportunity. Which basically meant that her friend had been snippy and snarky their whole trip, a complaint always at the tip of her tongue.
Although she hated to admit it, she rather liked having Ino here and it didn't matter how much she complained about it. Still, it was a shame Choji-kun couldn't come along, but he was off being a good friend so she couldn't fault him for it.
"But think about it for a moment," Sakura argued as they finally reached the edge of the bridge. "Imagine what it will be like to wake up every morning with the sunrise glinting off the still waters." A small merchant's cart passed them as they walked down the bridge. "I would think that you would appreciate that image more than anyone else," she finished, leveling a rather pointed look at her friend.
"Yeah, well, pretty future images don't change what it looks like now," she replied, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. "And don't give me that look," she continued with a narrowed gaze. "Just because I like to get up to see the sunrise doesn't mean I'm not peeved we're sharing a tent on the beach when I should be living it up at the capital."
"Well, I didn't force you to come now did I?" Sakura replied with a grin already knowing she'd won the argument. "And look, at least it's not a ninja travel tent. Our tent is practically a night staying at the Fire Daimyo's palace compared to one of those."
"Yeah, well, tell that to my aching back. You know the one that's sleeping on a very thin bedroll on the ground. Despite the tarp, I still wake up with sand in places I'd rather not have sand, thank you very much."
"Look at it this way. Haku-kun has his own tent so it's just the two of us, giving you a lot more freedom to gossip to your heart's content."
"Sure, but no amount of gossip can make up for the fact that I'm sharing the tent with you."
Sakura laughed lightly at the teasing tone, catching the glint in Ino's eyes as she spoke. "Come on, this is a good spot," she said as she plopped down at the edge of the bridge, feet hanging over the salt water. "Just be glad Naruto's not here. Now that boy can snore."
"Oh come on, he can't be that bad," Ino argued, taking her bento box from Sakura's hands as she sat down beside her.
"Nope, don't even go there. It is literally like an earthquake when he sleeps," Sakura replied with a half laugh, popping the box open in the process. "Honestly, it's so bad that Sasuke and I made him sleep with Kakashi-sensei and even then, Sensei has to put up a noise canceling jutsu on his tent so as not to alert the surrounding area to our location."
"No, that has to be an exaggeration," Ino protested, opening up her own bento box.
Sakura's grin widened as a mischievous thought entered her head. "Okay, well, if you don't believe me then the first time you go on a C rank with Naruto on your team, you can all just share the one tent."
"And risk you being right, not a chance."
Sakura laughed at the swiftness of Ino's reply, pulling her chopsticks out of the pink sleeve Tsunami-san had graciously gifted her.
"Itadakimasu."
They ate in silence for a moment. Looking out at the ocean, the beginnings of the Uzumaki Clan Compound just taking shape.
"Okay, so I admit, it would be kind of awesome," Ino admitted reluctantly, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen. "Romantic really, although I doubt your idiot of a teammate will be able to appreciate it."
Chuckling lightly, Sakura agreed with a small smile as she brought another bite to her lips. "Yeah, you're probably right about that," she stated, gaze glancing away from the ocean expanse to look down the bridge catching the familiar dedication plaque almost immediately. She really should remember to actually read that thing. After all, Naruto had barely said a word about it which was completely at odds with his normal habit of never shutting up. "He's pretty helpless when it comes to anything that isn't seal related," she finished.
The soft sounds of the ocean hitting the shore mixed with the occasional passerby as they walked the bridge filling the space between them once more. It was comforting, soothing in a way that she almost wished her life could always be this simple. Sitting here in a small but slowly growing town with her oldest friend with nothing more to worry about other than how long they would need to spend that afternoon on Compound foundation. 'Of course if it were to stay this way then who would I get to hit on a regular basis,' she thought with a grin, shaking the idea aside.
Seemingly without her permission, her gaze found the plaque again and this time, curiosity got the better of her. Setting down her bento box with one abrupt movement, Sakura stood up from her spot on the bridge startling Ino in the process.
"Hey, just where the hell are you going?" Ino questioned, clearly irritated at being caught off guard.
Already a quarter of the way to the plaque, Sakura pointed at the dedication. "That idiot Naruto actually is a big reason this bridge is here. The main reason this whole town loves him and everyone associated with him really."
"Yeah, and? I guessed that much with you know the huge Uzumaki Clan seal surrounded by whatever that is permanently etched into the center of the bridge," Ino replied as she got up to follow Sakura.
"Oh, that's actually the seal Naruto used to defeat Gatou's thugs. It's not active of course, but the seal used so much energy that the outline lasted a few days. Then some of the local kids decided to repaint it. And they kept repainting it every few days after the saltwater and sun faded the markings. Eventually, the town Council just had the image etched," Sakura explained, her head half turned in Ino's direction as she spoke over her shoulder.
Finally reaching the plaque, Sakura shifted her gaze down to read it, "Anyway, the real reason I wanted to come over here is because I haven't gotten a chance to actually read this."
"And what is it exactly?" Ino questioned as she moved to stand next to her.
Instead of answering, Sakura glanced across the text, reading it quickly, 'Dedicated to my best friend, the Princess of Konoha.'
"Well, I had assumed it was just more of Naruto's idiot ramblings, but…" Sakura paused, shaking her head. A sigh left her lips as she tapped gently on the edge of the dedication plaque.
Heat radiated against her back as Ino took a step closer to read the words over her shoulder. "You know, that's actually kind of sweet."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was actually expecting it to say something like 'the super awesome amazing bridge dedicated to all my super awesome fans'," Sakura replied pitching her voice to mirror her blond teammate's overexcitement. "But this…" she shook her head again, turning around to face Ino. "I didn't know the idiot could be this sweet."
"I guess he does have the heart of a romantic after all."
Nodding once, Sakura took a step back, slipping past her friend to head back to their spot on the bridge.
"You know, I always knew he was infatuated with her, but that right there is more than that," Ino continued, chancing one more look at the plaque before following Sakura back to their spot.
"Yeah, I've always had my suspicions, but that just confirms it. He's in love with her," Sakura stated, plopping back down.
A moment of silence filled the space between them before they both burst out in a fit of laughter.
"So are you going to tell that knucklehead or should I?" Ino asked as she sat down beside Sakura. "Because we both know he isn't going to figure it out on his own."
Sakura smiled widely at that knowing that Ino was completely right about Naruto. Despite all the complaining, most of which she'd intentionally orchestrated because she loved to watch her friend squirm uncomfortably, she was glad Ino was here. Yeah, sure she missed Sasuke, but he was still miserable and moody hold up in his hospital bed. And even if he'd been one hundred percent, he never seemed to want to do anything besides training. So while she missed him like she begrudgingly admitted to missing Naruto, she was glad it was just Ino and herself.
She guessed it was a good thing Shikamaru-san was stuck with Chuunin duties and Choji-kun was off being a good friend to someone who definitely needed it more.
"Hey, I'm glad you changed your mind about visiting the capital," Sakura said before resuming her meal.
"Well, don't get sappy on me. This was just the better option," Ino replied, her eye roll practically audible.
Power in the Name
Howdy all, here are a list of the names and meanings for the Wave Council. You probably don't care, but they're here anyway.
Yagami - eighth god
Hisakawa - from the word 'hisashi - a long time ago' and the word 'kawa - river'
Matsumoto - pine tree source
Shizuka - quiet summer
Ueda - high/rice paddy
Other names listed in this chapter were:
Isamu-chan - courage
Moritake - which is just a common last name that we decided to use
Counting the ryo
"Thirty-six million, four hundred thousand."
For all of you who thought 'wow, that's a lot of ryo. How did you even come up with that number?' well here's the process.
The number listed in this chapter comes from a calculation of a rate of $50 per acre converted into the current Japanese Yen value of ¥5892.13 for 25 km^2 of land rounded to the nearest ¥100,000. As you may have noticed (or not because we can't all be econ geeks), the market value for the land is super cheap. This is partly because we've used an inflation rate that assumed 7.85 CPI for around the Naruto universe time compared with the 237 CPI for 2015 in the US.
That means if you're counting and using the estimated current (2016) land value per acre in the US ($3,020) you get roughly $100. But wait, you might ask yourself, that doesn't account for the cost listed in this chapter. Well, remember that the people of Wave love Naruto (they were trying to just give the land away after all) so we added a 50% discount which was the same discount used in the previous land negotiation.
Fun fact: Haku negotiated 20% of the water territory and 25% of the land territory of Wave paying a grand total of ¥109,200,000 which was ~43.7% of his total winnings from the Chuunin Exam wagers. Clearly, Haku made bank betting on Naruto.
Culture Corner what Culture Corner?
Sorry guys, while there could have definitely been a culture corner for this chapter, we really didn't have the time nor the space to get it done here. Hopefully, we'll be able to post it as extra content. See you next week.