Sandstorms and Falling Leaves

Chapter 25: Naruto: Faith

Naruto leaned against the wall of the small wooden house they were staying in and looked up at the sky. They had finally arrived in the land of waves but they had yet to encounter the resistance that Tauna insisted was coming.

The hyperactive jinchuriki had been pleased to spend time catching up with the old man at first but now he was beginning to get restless.

'Still, it does give me time to work on this...' The blonde thought with a critical look at the lump of wood in his hand. It didn't really look like anything yet but he was going to do his best to make it into the pendant for a necklace that Gaara would be proud to wear.

He wondered what the redhead was up to, picturing her training with Hinata or eating with her noisy sister and brother.

That's how Sakura found him some time later, a goofy smile on his face as he imagined the progress the determined young woman would no doubt make in his absence.

"Naruto, it's time to go. We've been waiting on you for half an hour. Even Kakashi-sensei is already there!" The pink haired girl fumed.

"Oh, sorry Sakura-chan." The blonde scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

Sakura glared and nudged the boy none too gently in the direction of the waiting ninjas and their client.

"Sorry." The blonde apologized with a small smile. "I was...uh...thinking."

Sakura snorted and slapped the boy on the back of the head. "Yeah, that explains why it took you so long." She joked fondly.

"Sakura-chan!" The blonde blushed.

"What's that in your hand, Naruto?" Kakashi asked curiously as the younger pair got close.

Naruto hurriedly pocketed the half finished carving. "Nothing." He said, too quickly.

Kakashi was obviously curious but he knew when to bide his time so he let the question go.

The group then set off for the construction area, as they had for the previous several days.

Naruto watched Tazuna as the elderly man examined his blueprints for the hundredth time that day before giving orders to one of the muscular young men helping him with the construction. The bridge he was working on was actually a series of bridges connecting two smaller islands in a chain to the larger and better supplied island. The bridge was facing heavy opposition from the wealthy land owners on both islands because they claimed their elite communities would be invaded by new settlers from the more crowded large island. However, the poorer residents of the small islands were eager for the construction to finish so they could take advantage of the increased trade and services available on the main island.

'Nothing changes.' The bored jinchuriki thought with a sigh. 'Four years later, different bridge, same story.'

Sakura approached and sat down next to the blonde teen on a pile of building materials. "What's wrong with you?" She asked sharply, having watched her normally hyperactive friend grow steadily more depressed as the days wore on.

"Nothing." Naruto said defensively.

Sakura's expression was dubious and the jinchuriki caved before she could chastise him for lying.

"It's just...this mission, I guess." Naruto said slowly. "So much is the same as the last time we came here, the same as I've seen now a hundred times over. The weak try to make their lives better and the strong try to crush them back down. We help one person or even a whole nation, but there are hundreds more situations just like this that we can't do a thing about. No matter how much we struggle or how much good we do, nothing seems to change."

Sakura sat silent for a moment, absorbing the words she never would have expected from the usually optimistic jinchuriki. She had to agree though, no matter how long they fought or how many successful missions they went on, human nature wouldn't change.

Naruto's bemused voice pulled her from her reflection. "But...I can't seem to stop trying to fix it. No matter how useless it all is, I can't stop." He smiled sadly at her. "I guess I really am an idiot, ne?"

"Well...if you are, then I guess I am too." The pink haired teen smiled fondly back. "Because I'm going to be fighting right beside you all the way."

Naruto chuckled. "Really?"

"Of course!" She grinned crookedly. "But you're wrong about something."

"I am?"

"Yep. We may not be able to change the world, but we do make a difference. Just think of all the people who are alive today because of you. Think of all the people who you've inspired to change their lives for the better."

Naruto shook his head at her words. "I don't get credit for that stuff. People change because they want to, not because of me."

"You really are thick sometimes." The mednin said without any real venom in her tone, slapping the blonde in the back of the head and sending him sprawling.

"Hey, watch it! What was that for?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head as he retook his place.

"Stop moping!" Sakura demanded. "It doesn't suit you! You're Naruto Uzumaki! You don't quit and you don't mope around! If you're going to be Hokage someday you better start acting like it."

Naruto grin grew despite her harsh words. "You're right, Sakura-chan." He said, standing and brushing the dirt from his pants with a grin. "I'm gonna be the next Hokage! Then I'll be able to really fix things so maybe the next generation won't feel the way we do." His mental picture of the future formed in his head as he spoke and his grin grew at the image of his and Gaara's children playing happily.

Sakura smiled, happy to see her friend back to feeling like himself.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned.

Sakura nodded. "Don't mention it."

The blonde couldn't tell from her tone if she meant that or not so he decided to err on the side of caution and changed the subject. "I'm gonna scout the perimeter again."

Naruto bounded away, splitting into several shadow clones to make the task go faster as he moved out of sight.

Sakura sat under the tree, lost in thought for a few minutes.

"Naruto really has grown up these last few years, ne?" Kakashi's even voice startled the mednin out of her thoughts as the jonin seemed to appear on the other side of the tree without warning.

"Yeah. I guess he really has." Sakura agreed thoughtfully. "I'm just not sure I was ready for that to happen." She admitted sheepishly. Naruto's confidence was her constant, her anchor in an unstable world. To see his childlike faith in himself shaken was disconcerting.

"Aa..." The silver haired man agreed, thinking of the nearly out of control, attention starved orphan that had been placed under his watch at the age of twelve. That boy was slowly growing into a powerful, kind hearted, confident young man. One Kakashi was proud to have had even a small role in molding.

"He'll make a great Hokage someday, ne?" Sakura said with a small smile.

"Aa, soo desu ne." The jonin agreed quietly before moving off to talk with Tazuna and the other workers.

To Be Continued...

Author's note: Short chapter...I can't wait to get our heroes back together so I don't feel the need to break the chapters up like this. Still, Naruto got all introspective and serious on me there. That was weird but I think it shows he's really growing up, even if he remains outwardly the same knucklehead everyone expects him to be most of the time. Anywho...next chapter we'll go back to Konoha and see what Gaara's up to. Just a few more weeks to cover before Naruto comes home. What will be waiting for him?