Restorer
"Character Talking"
"Character Thinking"
"Demon or Summon"
"Jutsu"
"xxxXXXxxx" Scene Change.
Chapter 3
One month had passed since Team 7 officially became a team, and it had been a very unpleasant month for both of its male components. The entire month had been given to D-rank missions, which in actuality were only chores the villagers were too lazy to do by themselves; they had to water plants, catch cats, pet dogs, shop for the villagers and other missions that Naruto considered a complete waste of time but never said it out loud.
He also spent the entire month training with Yamato, he used his shadow clones to an outstanding level, and mastered his Chakra. After the tree climbing exercise, he completed the water walking exercise, and then he also did the leaf concentration exercise, and it was the leaf practice that Naruto found very helpful since it improved mental focus.
He was a bit surprised to see that such simple exercises were able to help him that much. Before he started to train with Yamato, he had only a very basic knowledge of Chakra that was taught in the academy. But now he was very close to mastering it completely.
He realized that the key is not actually having chakra, but being able to sufficiently control and conserve it. Everyone has chakra, but only skilled ninja can correctly "mold" and "manipulate" it to its fullest extent. And since he was an Uzumaki he had a lot more Chakra than anyone in the village.
Despite training his Chakra, that didn't mean that he didn't train his physical side as well; he worked hard in improving his physical strength and stamina as well. But he had to wait to see changes, since it had only been a month since he started.
As he reflected on his past month, he found himself in the office of the Hokage with his team. They had just completed the mission of capturing the cat Tora, they had done that mission quite a lot recently, since the cat always ran away, but since the customer was the wife of the Daimyo and paid them handsomely, they said nothing.
"Now then, for squad seven's next mission, we have several available tasks, among them babysitting the chief councillor's 3-year-old, helping his wife do the shopping, taking up potatoes and…" Hiruzen read out a list of tasks for their next mission.
"With all due respect to you, Lord Hokage, I believe we are above those meaningless tasks. I think our team is one of the strongest Genin teams in the village; I think we should be awarded a better mission than that," Naruto interrupted, making Hiruzen look at him with a serious face.
"He's got a point," Sasuke thought to himself.
"How dare you even ask for such a thing? You are a brand new Genin with no experience; like everyone else, you start with simple missions to improve your skills and gain experience," Iruka shouted at him, trying to make him see reason.
Naruto's face was as serious as when he talked earlier. "Principal Iruka, I thank you for your concern, but I am not a student that you can raise your voice to; I am a Genin, yes, but I am a Ninja, and that makes me your comrade, I'm not beneath you" Naruto told him.
Iruka was taken aback. Naruto never acted this way; he guessed he was still mad at him; after all, the Hokage had told him of what had happened that night. Naruto had overheard his conversation with Mizuki, and he cursed himself for not speaking in Naruto's defence.
He sat back down, and looked at the scrolls, a pained look on his face. Both Kakashi and Hiruzen watched the exchange with interest. Sakura wanted to scream at Naruto, but she didn't. Naruto had changed this past month; he wasn't the same as he was back in the academy. He didn't seem to take insults lightly, so she wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.
"Naruto, it seems that you do not understand the tasks that you have been given." Seeing Naruto listening, Hiruzen continued.
"Listen, many kinds of different requests come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassination. These requests are carefully recorded, analysed, and then ranked A, B, C or D, depending on their difficulty; we ninja are also ranked by ability," Hiruzen explained.
"We assign our missions to the ninja's with the appropriate skill and if the mission is successful we receive a fee that supports our village and our work"
"I do know that, and I am suggesting that we have the appropriate skill to do higher ranked missions" Naruto shot back.
"Kakashi is the judge of that, not you. So Kakashi, what do you think? Are they ready for a higher ranked mission?" Hiruzen asked, awaiting an answer.
"In all honesty Lord Hokage, yes, I think they are ready for a higher ranked mission." Kakashi answered truthfully.
"Is that so?" Hiruzen smiled a little. "Naruto wants to show us his improvement isn't that right, then so be it. Since you want a higher ranked mission i am going to give you a C-rank mission, you'll be bodyguards on a journey" the Hokage told them.
Naruto looked at Kakashi who gave him an eye smile "We humbly accept" Kakashi responded.
"And who are we going to be protecting?"
"I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor" Hiruzen said and the door behind them opened revealing a middle-aged man, with a gray beard and a bottle of alcohol in his hand. From the look on his face, Naruto saw that he was drunk.
"What tha, a bunch of little snot nose kids" he said before he took another sip of his bottle. "They don't look bad for kids, but you don't want me to believe they can keep me safe"
"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country. I am building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving up your own lives" He told them.
And with that they all left and made their way towards the gates of the village, despite the fact that there wasn't going to be any danger on the mission, Naruto still felt a bit of excitement wash over him, it was the first time that he would be leaving the village, and he was a little excited.
Once he reached the gates he stopped to take in the view and up in the trees he sensed a familiar Chakra.
Tazuna was talking with Kakashi while they were walking, "Can I really trust your team to keep me safe,"
"You don't have to worry, they are with me, and I am Jonin," Kakashi tried to reassure him.
With that, they started their walk towards their destination, not aware of two people watching over them.
"Say Mr. Tazuna, your country is the Land of Waves, right?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna replied to the question.
"Kakashi sensei, there are ninjas in that country aren't there?" she asked Kakashi.
"No there are no ninjas in the Land of Waves, but in other nations there are hidden villages each with their own different costumes and cultures." Kakashi explained to her.
"To the people of this continent, the existence of Shinobi nations means strength, military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves, and maintain the balance of power between the nations. Ninja Villages are not controlled by any government, they're independent and have equal status, now a small island like the Land of Waves is protected by the sea, so there is no need for a ninja village" Kakashi explained.
"The five ancient lands that possess Shinobi villages are: The Land of Fire, Water, Lighting, Wind and Earth. They each occupy vast amounts of territory, together they are known as the Five Great Shinobi nations. The land of Fire has The Village hidden in the Leafs, the land of Water the Village Hidden in the Mist, the Land of Lighting the Village hidden in the Clouds, the land of Earth the Village hidden in the Stones and the land of Wind has the Village hidden in the Sand" Kakashi continued.
"Only the leaders of these villages are permitted the title of Kage which means Shadow. Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage. These are the leaders, the five shadows that reign over thousand of Ninja" Kakashi finished.
"Then that means the Hokage is very important" Sakura said aloud, but deep inside really wondered if the old man was really that strong.
"Well anyway, there are no ninja battles on a C-rank missions, you can relax" Kakashi said trying to calm her down.
"So we won't run into enemy ninjas or anything like that" Sakura said with a smile on her face.
"Not likely"
They then continued their walk for another half an hour, passing by a puddle of water. And Naruto instantly looked at Kakashi, his sensei instantly understood that Naruto saw it too.
But they said nothing and walked past it. After they passed, the puddle released some bubbles and two people came out of it. Without wasting any time, they instantly attacked and tied Kakashi with both of their Chains.
"Do it" was the last thing they said before snapping Kakashi in half.
Sakura and Tazuna screamed in horror, seeing Kakashi's body drop to the ground. Naruto and Sasuke remained calm and prepared for battle.
Both the enemy ninjas disappeared and appeared behind Naruto, but he reacted quickly, elbowing one of them in the face and sending him flying into a nearby tree, the other one was about to retaliate but was sent flying by a kick to his face by Sasuke.
But they weren't defeated, both of them got up and instantly went after the bridge builder, Sakura got in front of him to protect him, but their charge was stopped by the arms of Kakashi. Who appeared in front of them.
Sakura smiled in delight at Kakashi being alive, while Naruto and Sasuke looked at him with annoyed faces. He looked at them all, "Great job everyone, great reaction Naruto and Sasuke, you too Sakura."
Sakura looked at Naruto "Since when did Naruto become so strong, he reacted even faster than Sasuke, and not even a scratch remains on him" she thought to herself.
"By the way, Mr. Tazuna" Kakashi said looking at the client.
"Yeah what"
"We need to talk"
They tied up both of their attackers to a nearby tree.
"They're Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist, their speciality is relentless attack, they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice" Kakashi explained.
"How did you know about our ambush" one of them asked.
"A puddle in a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks" Naruto answered his question.
"In that case why didn't you do anything and let the Genin fight" Tazuna asked them.
"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I would have learned nothing, I had to know who their target was, and what they were after" Kakashi explained.
"Huh, what are you getting at?"
"I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking Ninja or if they were after you the master bridge builder, when you put in your request you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen, you didn't say there were Ninja looking for you, hunting you down, if we knew this it would be a B-rank mission or higher" Kakashi said.
"Our task was simply to get you to your destination, and protect you while you finished building your bridge, if we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy Ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-rank mission, apparently you have your reasons but lying to us is unacceptable" Kakashi told him.
"We are Genin, this is too advanced for our level of training" Sakura said, pleading to go back.
"Tch" Naruto scoffed "Kakashi Sensei, we have worked too hard to get here, we can't just go back to the village after all this" Naruto said.
"Yeah Naruto is right, let's continue this mission" Sasuke said, he rarely talked so it was weird seeing him agree with Naruto.
"You want to continue?" Kakashi asked both of them.
"Yes" was the combined answer of the two.
"Sakura" he turned to look at his only female student.
"I…i guess it's fine" she said timidly.
xxxXXXxxx
Deep in the forest of the land of Wave's.
"You failed, YOU FAILED, what is this amateur action? I put out big money for you. I thought you were supposed to be hot shot assassins" screamed a short man with glasses.
"Stop whining" replied another man, he was seated on a couch.
He drew a large sword and swung it at the short man, stopping at his throat. "This time i'll go personally, and this sword will be the last sword he ever sees." the masked man told him.'
"You sure about that they say Tazuna has some elite Ninja protecting him and since your first attempt failed they'll be expecting you, it will take someone with very advanced skills" the short man said, his tone was shaking.
"Who do you think you're dealing with…I am Zabuza Momochi The Demon of the Hidden Mist"
xxxXXXxxx
Team 7 were approaching the Land of Waves fast, but since it was an island, they had to take a boat there. And to make it worse, they were surrounded by a thick fog that obscured their vision.
"The bridge isn't far now" said their boat sailor. And true enough they saw the bridge, it was massive, and team 7 was quite impressed.
"Mr. Tazuna I wish to ask you something, the men who are after you, i need to know why if you don't tell us I am afraid i will end this mission once we land ashore" Kakashi warned him.
"I have no choice but to tell you, no, I want you to know the truth like you said. This is beyond your mission. The one that seeks my life is a very short man that cast a long and deadly shadow"
"A deadly shadow, who is it"
"You know him, I'm sure you've heard his name before, he is one of the wealthiest men in the world, the shipping businessman Gato."
"Gato, you mean the owner of Gato Transport, he is a business leader everyone knows him" Kakashi said with surprise clearly evident in his voice.
"Gato is a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, but beneath the surface with the same ruthless tactics he uses to take over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and contraband using gangs and Ninja, it was one year ago when Gato set his sight on the Land of Waves, he came to our land and took control of our transport and shipping, everyone that tried to stand up to him disappeared, for an island nation a man that controls the sea controls everything" Tazuna explained.
"So that is why he fears the completion of the bridge, when it is complete it will join us to the mainland and it will destroy his control, i am the bridge builder"
"So you're the only one that's standing in this gangsters way" Sakura said.
"But if you knew that he would want to kill you, why did you lie to us about the mission" Naruto asked him.
"Our land is poor, not even the nobles here have that much money, it is the people that are building the bridge, we do not have the money to pay for an A or B rank mission. It is too expensive. If you leave me at the shore they will kill me before I reach home. But don't feel bad about that, of course my little grandson will be upset. He will cry "I wAnt My GrAnDaD, I wAnt My GrAnDaD" he said making team 7 annoyed in the process.
"I guess we will continue to protect you," Kakashi said, making a decision.
"We are approaching the shore," the sailor said, breaking the silence.
"Tazuna we have been very fortunate nobody has noticed us so far"
"Then let's keep going"
The boat went underneath the bridge and brought them to the sight of the Land of Waves. Their boat sailor stopped them at the shore and left them, he didn't want to be seen.
They started their journey towards Tazuna's home. "The next opponent will not be Chunin, he will be Jonin" Kakashi thought to himself.
Naruto continued to walk in front of them, after a while of walking Naruto threw a Kunai at a bush suspecting an enemy, but it turned out it was only a rabbit. "This is a snow rabbit, but the colour they only have white fur during winter" both Kakashi and Naruto thought.
They both seemed to check their surrounding carefully. "So they're already here"
"No wonder the demon brothers failed their mission, it's the Copy Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leafs, Kakashi of the Sharingan"
Out of nowhere a massive sword flew towards team 7, they managed to dodge just in time, the sword hit and got stuck in a tree, and on top of him appeared a shirtless masked man.
"Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi said.
"This could be treacherous," Kakashi said as he began to lift his headband, revealing his eye. A red eye with three tomoe on it.
"It's too bad, but you are my enemy, so you will have to hand over the old man" Zabuza told him.
"Protect the bridge builder and stay out of my way" Kakashi told them.
"Well, guess I get to see the Sharingan in action, it's an honour" Zabuza said with a smile underneath the bandages.
"I'll make sure it is more than an honour, it will be the last thing you ever see" Kakashi told him.
"Well you can try, i know of you Jonin, in the assassination unit in the hidden mist we had a standing order to kill you on sight, your profile was in our Bingo Book, they called you the man that copied over a 1000 Jutsu's Kakashi the Copy Ninja" Zabuza told him.
"Kakashi sensei is really that famous of a ninja" Sakura thought.
"But the Sharingan only awakens on an Uchiha, my clan, so does Kakashi have it?" Sosuke thought to himself.
"Alright enough talk, it is time I kill the old man" Zabuza told them.
He got down on the water, and began to build a large amount of Chakra, which was noted by Kakashi.
"Ninja Art: Hidden in Mist Jutsu" he said.
"Be ready, he is Zabuza Momochi a master of the Silent Killing Technique"
His team took their position around the bridge builder. Sakura commented on the mist getting thicker.
"8 Points, Spine, Lungs, Liver, Kidneys, Heart now which will be my kill point" Zabuza's voice rang out throughout the arena.
Kakashi gathered his own Chakra. Sasuke sensed the killing intent, something that scared even him.
"Sasuke calm down, I will protect my life, I will never allow my Comrades to die" Kakashi told them.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Zabuza told him, appearing right behind the bridge builder.
In an instant Kakashi appeared in front of him and stab Zabuza in the gut with a Kunai but instead of blood water leaked out of Zabuza showing that it was a water clone, the real Zabuza appeared behind him, and cut him in half, only to find out that Kakashi too was a water clone.
A Kunai was placed at Zabuza's throat. "Now it's over," Kakashi told him.
"Nice try, but I am not that easy to fool," Zabuza told him, appearing right behind him. He swung his sword with full force, but Kakashi dodged underneath, and Zabuza's sword hit the ground, without wasting movement he changed direction and kicked him across the chest, sending him flying into the water. Zabuza tried to chase him but was toped by the traps in the ground laid by Kakashi.
Kakashi finally got up above the water, he realized that the water was not normal, it was denser. Appearing right behind him Zabuza went through hand signs "Water Prison Jutsu" he shouted engulfing Kakashi in a circle of water.
"I'll finish you off later, first i'll take care of your friends" he told him, "Water Clone Jutsu" he said and the water next to him took the shape of another Zabuza.
"You think wearing a headband makes you a Ninja, when you hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you then you might be called a Ninja, when you've become so deadly your profile is in my Bingo Book then you may have earned the title Ninja, but to call upstart like you Ninja is a joke" Zabuza said before suddenly appearing in front of Sasuke and kicked him.
"You're just brats" he said in a mocking tone.
"Listen take the bridge builder and run, you can't win this, he is using his power on me, and is fighting with his clone and his clone can't go that far away from him, so run"
"Run, no, that isn't an option" Naruto told him.
He took a Kunai out and Charged at Zabuza, he threw Kunai's at him and vanished.
Zabuza looked around, trying to find him, he appeared behind him, and took a stab at Zabuza, but he was faster than him so he dodged. Zabuza quickly sun around and trying to cleave Naruto's head off with his sword. But Naruto dodged and spun back, gaining some distance.
Zabuza was about to charge at him once again but was thrown in complete pain as he was hit by a massive fire attack on his unprotected back, and the clone completely dispersed, Naruto looked back and saw Sasuke was the one that had unleashed the attack.
"Good for a moment, I thought you wouldn't take the opportunity to attack," Naruto told him.
"Nah, he was wide open, of course I was going to" Sasuke said with a grin on his face.
They turned around and looked at the real Zabuza, he was watching them in complete anger, "Damn those brats, how did they manage to defeat my water clone"
He thought to himself.
Kakashi looked at them in awe, "They actually did it," he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Now we have to free Kakashi Sensei," Naruto said.
"Right, so how do we do that"
"Shuriken"
Sasuke understood. He took out a massive shuriken in hand and launched it at the real Zabuza with incredible speed, but the shuriken was caught by Zabuza in his left hand. He was about to say something until he saw the second massive shuriken come his way.
He dodged the second one as well by jumping above it. "I told you Shuriken will never reach me" he told them, but quickly turned around when he heard the shuriken behind him disappear in a puff of smoke, revealing Naruto.
"Take this, you ugly bastard" he said as he threw a shuriken from behind Zabuza.
Being forced to either take the attack and keep Kakashi, or let Kakashi go and dodge the attack, he chose the latter option, he dodged the Kunai but lost his grip in the Water Prison. Without wasting any time and in a rage he took the Shuriken that he had caught earlier and threw it at the original Naruto.
As if to only anger him further, Naruto caught the Shuriken the same way Zabuza did earlier. "Why you little…" Zabuza muttered.
He didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts when he was punched in the gut by Kakashi. He recovered quickly and gained some distance. Zabuza started to go through hand seals and Kakashi mirrored them perfectly.
Team 7 watched on as 2 water dragons formed, one behind Zabuza and the other behind Kakashi, before they both collided with one another in an incredible spectacle of power.
As they continued their fight, Zabuza came to realise that his movements were being completely predicted by Kakashi. It was as if he could see the future, as if he could read his mind as well. It made him extremely mad.
It quickly became apparent that Kakashi was the one in control of the fight with Zabuza struggling to keep up, in a final attack Kakashi created a giant vortex that sent him flying up against a tree. "You're finished," Kakashi told him.
"How, can you see into the future" Zabuza asked with a bit of fear in his tone.
"Yes this is your last battle, ever" he told him but was completely shocked to see 3 Senbon's implant themselves into Zabuza's neck, blood spilled out and he went down to the ground
Kakashi looked up at the tree ahead of him. And saw a masked Shinobi. "You were right. This was his last battle" the ninja told them.
Kakashi went and checked Zabuza's pulse, "No pulse" he looked at the Ninja above him. "Thank you i have been tracking him for quite a while to take him down, but it was this opportunity for me to end him"
"From your mask, i see that you are a Tracker Ninja from the Mist," Kakashi said, in a suspicious voice.
"Impressive you're well-informed, it was my duty to kill him"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed at him. Kakashi moved away from the body back to his team and in a swift instant motion the Ninja moved to Zabuza's body.
"Your struggle is over for now, I will deal with the remains" the Ninja said before made hand signs to leave.
"Wait" Naruto's voice caught everyone off guard.
"What is it?" the tracker ninja asked him.
"Kill him" Naruto told him.
"What"
Naruto's words shocked everyone around him. "You say you are a tracker Nin, well then go ahead kill him, destroy his body right here that's your job isn't it, destroy the body at the moment of sight, that's the duty of the tracker Nin"
A silence entered the area for a while and nobody said anything. "Naruto's right, the tracker Nin destroys the body instantly" Kakashi said eyeing his student and the Ninja in front of him.
"Very well" the masked Ninja said before he reached for something into his back pocket. Naruto wanted to ask what he was doing but got his answer when the Nin shot something down in the ground, creating a lot of smoke.
"Damn it, how did we fall for that, it was a smoke bomb" Naruto cursed.
When the smoke cleared, there were no sign of either of them. Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"You did good for one day, now it's time we rest" Kakashi told him.
"Well sorry for causing you all this trouble, but since that guy is out of the way now we can go and rest at my house" Tazuna told them with a smile on his face.
"Let's go" Kakashi said, beginning to move, but suddenly he was struck by pain throughout his entire body and fainted.
He woke up the next morning to find himself in bed in Tazuna's house.
"I think i overdid it with my Sharingan"
"Are you OK?" Asked Tazuna's daughter. She had been the one to look after the Jonin ever since they had brought them into the house.
"I've been better" he acknowledged.
"Then all the more reason to stop moving"
"Right" Kakashi laid down, not long after he heard footsteps coming to his room, he opened his one eye and saw his team but not all of them. Only Sasuke and Sakura were there, their blonde teammate was missing.
"Hey Kakashi sensei, your Sharingan is amazing and all but if it drains you like this then maybe it isn't worth it" Sakura told him as she knelt beside the bed.
"I'm sorry for the trouble you guys" Kakashi apologized to them.
"Ah there's no need for apologising, after all you defeated that assassin. We shouldn't have any more trouble" Tazuna exclaimed.
"Well let's not forget, he did escape with that hunter Nin" Kakashi told them sceptically.
"Yeah, we have no idea who that Ninja was" Sakura said worriedly.
"Hey, where is Naruto" Kakashi asked suddenly.
"He left a bit earlier to…" Sasuke began to explain but was suddenly interrupted by a voice behind him.
"He must have left and ran, good at least he has a brain" a small voice rang out.
Team 7 turned to look at him. It was a boy with spiky black hair and dark-coloured eyes, he wore a green jumpsuit with a yellow shirt and a simple pair of sandals. He also wore a blue and white striped hat.
"Inari, come and give your grandpa a hug" Tazuna shouted. Inari did just what he was told and ran to hug his grandad.
After he was done he turned to look at team 7 "You should also leave, you can't do anything against Gato, he'll simply kill you" he said before he walked away, leaving team 7 to ponder his words.
xxxXXXxxx
The weather was clear and it gave the ocean a majestic look, and the cold winds of the ocean washed against his face but Naruto didn't mind that. He had taken a place under the shade of the tree overlooking the ocean, he was sat down on the ground. His arm rested above his knee that nearly reached his face.
Right next to him stood a tall figure, dressed in Leaf Shinobi gear. They both stood there in silence watching the tides of the water. "Just there beyond this water lays Hinami Island and beyond that the main island of Whirlpool Country and the village of Uzushiogakure" Naruto said.
"Are you sure you can't get us a ship to the island, Yamato" Naruto asked once again hoping to get a different answer.
"I investigated all the ships at port, they all belong to Gato, and none would want to take the journey to Uzushiogakure. It seems this nation has gotten superstitions about Whirlpool Country, they call it the Land of Demons, they say demons, vampires, dwarfs, dragons, sea monsters among others inhabit the island" Yamato told him.
"Demons and dragons is that it? They have quite the imagination"
"They certainly seem to"
"Well anyway, did you manage to gain information on the location of Zabuza and that Ninja that took him away?" Naruto asked changing the topic.
"Yeah i followed them back to their hideout. I know where they are, it seems like Zabuza won't be able to get up for a week," Yamato told him.
"I see, well that is good news for us, anything else you learned"
"Yes, it seems that Gato plans to backstab Zabuza, and take over the Land of Waves by force"
"Is that so, well let him. In fact i think we can use this to our advantage"
"How so?"
"I'll tell you later, for now i want you to keep a close eye on the missing Ninja. I am very interested to see what abilities he can display" Naruto said, his eyes never leaving the ocean.
"As you wish" was the only thing Yamato said before he vanished.
Naruto got up as well, he looked at the ocean one last time before he pushed his thoughts out of his head. He needed a clear mind for the week ahead. He began walking back to Tazuna's home, when he ran into his own team on their way to the nearby forest. Kakashi told him about the training.
He went with them and took a look at their training, however he was deeply disappointed at the basic training that Kakashi was plaining to get them through. It was the simple exercise of tree walking. He quickly proved to Kakashi that he could do the exercise.
Naruto saw Sasuke's eyes flicker in jealousy at him and so did Kakashi, but neither of them said anything. Kakashi then told Naruto that he should use his ability of the Shadow clone Jutsu and help with the construction of the bridge. He complied.
He was greeted with the sight of Tazuna and all other workers diligently toiling on the bridge. Naruto's sharp blue eyes scanned the scene until he spotted Tazuna overseeing the construction. With purposeful strides, he made his way towards the bridge, intending to stand alongside the determined builder. However, before he could reach Tazuna, a man named Giichi intercepted, disrupting the serene atmosphere.
"Huh? What's up, Giichi?"
"Uh, actually...I gave it a lot of this bridge...will you let me quit?" he asked. Tazuna was shocked, "Why so suddenly? Not you too?!"
Giichi's stern expression bore the weight of his decision. "Tazuna, I've had a bond with you from the old days. I'd like to cooperate, but if we push it too far, Gato will set his sights on us, too. Also... if you get killed, everything is lost! Why don't you just stop building the bridge?" The plea echoed through the air, laden with concern.
Tazuna, however, remained resolute in his commitment. "I will not stop building the bridge. We've come too far," he declared, his determination unwavering.
As the tension thickened, Naruto, who had observed the entire exchange in silence, decided to make his voice heard. Stepping forward, he addressed Tazuna with a conviction that resonated in his words. "Tazuna, let this pathetic coward go. If you need manpower, then you've got them right here." With a swift hand sign, Naruto conjured an astonishing spectacle. Hundreds of shadow clones materialized on the bridge, each mirroring his determined expression.
The workers and even Tazuna himself stood in awe, witnessing the impressive display of Naruto's skill. The sheer number of clones created an army of willing labour, ready to contribute to the construction of the bridge.
After 3 hours of hard labour Naruto's last clone ran out of energy. All those in the bridge were absolutely amazed at Naruto's clones they were a massive life saviour they had never completed so much work in such short hours and they were really glad that the blonde was on their side. He didn't seem to smile much but he was helping them get their job done.
After the clone died out they decided to call it a day and head back home, they took the road through the main city where Naruto saw first hand just how poor the country was. He saw man selling themselves into labour, he saw children sleeping of the streets, he saw the stores were completely bare.
"I was asked to get some ingredients for dinner on the way home… is it a problem if we stop at a nearby store" Tazuna said as politely as he could, after seeing his ability he didn't want to risk offending Naruto.
Naruto saw the change in behaviour but said nothing about it. "Sure" he replied to Tazuna's question. They entered a shop and Tazuna bought what he wanted.
They both walked down the street in relative quiet. "Was the Land of Waves always this poor, or is this a new occurrence" Naruto questioned.
"This is how it's been ever since Gato showed up. Here, all the adults have turned into cowards. So that's why now that bridge is necessary... It's a symbol of bravery... in order to restore their spirit, so they don't keep running away…" Tazuna began talking.
"For the people of this land... who have set their minds on remaining passive... If we can just... complete that bridge... this town will return to how it once was... and everyone will come back." Tazuna said sounding hopeful.
"I see, i think you can do it, i think you can rebuild your nation." Naruto told him.
"Really you think so, you really think we can do it?" Tazuna asked wanting to hear it one more time.
"Yeah i do believe you can do it" Naruto reassured him.
Tazuna wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Let's go back" he said.
"You go ahead without me , i need to check on someone first" he said before he jumped away, moving from rooftop to rooftop.
He reached his intended destination quickly, and sat atop a tree watching. He looked around, his sensei and Sakura were no where to be seen. "They most likely finished, Sakura doesn't have that much Chakra so she shouldn't have that much of a problem with this exercise" he thought.
He looked down and saw Sasuke trying to climb up, he was going as far as he could but it didn't look like he could reach the top. Naruto stood there and watched him go up again and again and again only to fall short.
He made his way towards him. "Hi there" he greeted.
Sasuke looked up to see him, his breathing was ragged. "Need some help?"
"No"
"Yes, yes you do, if you didn't you would have reached the top by now isn't that right?" Naruto asked but it looked more like he was telling.
"What do you want" Sasuke growled at him.
"Listen. Chakra uses spiritual energy, so you mustn't get too strained or frantic. Relax and concentrate on the tree so that you can constantly accumulate a fixed amount of Chakra in the bottom of your feet. Concentrate! That's all there really is to it" Naruto's explanation hit Sasuke like a brick. This entire thing he hadn't even realised that most basic of things. He was feeling jealous of Naruto for knowing something that he himself didn't know, that in turn destroyed his focus.
For his next attempt he did what Naruto told him and it worked at least better than usual, he couldn't reach the top but he definitely saw progress.
After a couple more tries they went back to the house and ate dinner, Sakura inquired about the picture frame in the house and Tazuna began to tell them the story with tears on his eyes.
"To explain the incident, I must first... tell you about the man who was called the hero of this land."
"Hero?"
"It was around three years ago... when Inari met the man…" Tazuna began telling them of Inari's suffering as a child being bullied by other kids.
"Potchi!Potchi!" he screamed at the other kids.
"Wrong! His name's shooting Star... As of today, he's my dog!" the other kid told him.
"He's not shooting Star! He's my Potchi! Give him back! Potchi's my friend!"
"Who's going to give him to the likes of you?!" the other kid mocked him.
"Shut up! Potchi! To me now" he screamed. Not willing to take it any longer the other boy decided to put an end to the show and pushed the dog into the water.
"That's cuz you wouldn't hand him over quietly... Now I couldn't care less about that dog!" the older boy told him with a smirk on his face.
"What have you done?! Are you trying to kill Potchi?!" Inari screamed in horror.
"Heh! He's your special mutt, right? Then save him, quick. What's the matter? Is it okay with you if he dies?!"
"Of course I'm not okay with him dying! He's my only friend!' Inari reassured himself.
One of the boys walked behind him "Hey! If you're his owner, dive in after him!" he said as he kicked Inari in the back and pushed him into the water.
The boys watched as Inari struggled in the water he couldn't swim.
"This is bad, Akane. What if he can't swim?" one of the boys said nervously as they heard Inari's plea for help.
"Leave him be" the one identified as Akane told them.
"B-but what if he drowns or some…"
"Then why don't you go save him if you like?" Akane warned him, grabbing him by the collar.
As he was struggling, Inari saw his pet dog Potchi, swim away, he tired to reach for him but he couldn't so he screamed at him but Potchi didn't care to listen and swam away. Potchi learned how to dog paddle then. "Shooting Star escaped. Get him!" shouted Akane and with that they ran after the dog completely ignoring Inari. Leaving him to drop to the very bottom of the ocean.
He woke up after a good couple of hours. "Are you awake, boy?" an unfamiliar voice asked him, "I gave those kids a good scolding. Here, eat!" he offered him a fish that he had been cooking.
"Is this God? Oh…" he thought to himself. "Did you... save me?" he asked.
"Just eat! Start with that." the man told him. He did as he was told and ate after a while they began talking again.
"I see. You were betrayed by your dog, too... In my country, dogs are creatures that have a keen sense of loyalty... Well, you betrayed your dog's trust first, so there's nothing you can do about that." the man told him.
"I was scared and couldn't move. I wanted to save him... But... I have no guts, so…" Inari admitted to him.
"That's right. Of course, a kid your age would be scared. But you know... boy." the man admitted, he glanced at Inari "Just remember this. If you're a man, choose a lifestyle you won't regret... For things, I truly hold dear to myself, I'll protect them until the very end with both these arms. Even if it's tough, or sad, I'll stick it out... even if it looks like I might lose my life!".
"His name was Kaiza, and he was a fisherman who'd come to this land from another country in search of his dreams." Tazuna said continuing his story.
"After that, Inari really took to Kaiza. It may have been because Inari had lost his real father when he was too young to remember anything. But he was very attached to Kaiza. They were like father and son... It didn't take long for Kaiza to become... a member of the family." Tazuna recounted.
"And he was a man this town needed." his last statement drew some weird glances from team 7.
He told them the story of Kaiza and how he fixed the river dam in the middle of a massive storm, gaining the respect of everyone in the village.
"From then on... the people of this land called Kaiza a hero. And he became a father that Inari could be proud of." Tazuna told them with pride evident on his voice.
"It was around that time when Gato set his sights on this land. And then, one night…" Tazuna's voice suddenly turned grim.
"They say that you're going to protect this town with those arms…" one of Gato's thugs mocked him as he hit Kaiza with a metal rod. "I dare you to!" Gato told him a smirk plastered on his face.
"Well don't worry my men will make sure those arms of yours aren't active for anything" he told him before massive hammers swung at him, hitting him until he went unconscious.
After the sun had risen the village woke up to see the gathered man of Gato corporation gathered around a huge wooden cross with a man tied to it. They quickly realised that it was Kaiza.
"Listen up! This man resisted through force, the policies of the Gato corporation and disturbed the order of this nation. Therefore, he will now be executed! I just hope that such trivial matters will never occur again." Gato spoke to them.
Inari had taken a place in front of the crowd, he griped the bars that kept them away from Kaiza, tears were pouring down his face after seeing the face of his father.
Gato moved away and one of his thugs unsheathed his sword, with one swift movement he took off Kaiza's head off.
"Ever since then, Inari has changed... as well as Tsunami... and the townspeople..." Tazuna finished the story.
And that is the end of this chapter, yeah i know a pretty lame way to end it but i really am tired so i just ended it there.
