Soon enough, three weeks had passed since they arrived in the Land of Waves.
Kakashi had long since recovered from overusing his chakra, which allowed him to go out and gather information about the current situation in the surrounding area. Or more precisely, to figure out what Gatō was up to, and whether he had more shinobi working under him.
The search didn't reveal the still-weakened Zabuza, who was clearly hiding somewhere while recovering, but at least it allowed Kakashi to determine that there weren't any more rogue shinobi involved.
Just Zabuza, the Chūnin who had pretended to be a hunter-nin, and a small army of regular goons.
This was also why Kakashi had decided to stick around, because he judged that the situation wasn't worse than he could handle.
He himself had already beaten Zabuza once, and had determined he could do so again. He knew what Zabuza could do, and still had plenty of cards he hadn't played yet.
As for the Chūnin? He wasn't too worried about that, since Sasuke was also at that level, and if Naruto and his army of shadow clones were added to the mix, there was no real threat there.
In fact, Kakashi was almost more worried about the army of normal goons. Sure, they were no threat, but he wasn't sure Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke could handle the killing.
But then again, there was no way they would get involved in this fight. They would just get in the way, and worst-case scenario, Naruto could use clones to fight them.
The chakra of an Uzumaki Jinchūriki was truly enviable.
As for Naruto, he had already mastered tree climbing, and while he wasn't entirely steady on water while fighting, he was making steady progress.
As for Sakura, she had already mastered both. She didn't have much chakra, but that only helped her at this stage.
Still, it couldn't be denied that having a low amount of chakra was also a big issue.
After all, without chakra, there was little difference between a shinobi and a civilian, except for training.
And as a Genin, without enough chakra? A few bandits or goons like those following Gatō could indeed threaten her.
So Kakashi had her working on increasing that, which was by no means easy or quick, as only by strengthening the body could it produce more chakra.
A strong body, a healthy mind; those two were key.
"Eat more, Sakura," Kakashi said as they sat around the table and ate dinner.
"I already had a big lunch, and I'm on a diet," Sakura said, clearly hungry, but trying to force herself to eat less.
"Your diet is a foolish one. A shinobi must eat enough to power the body, especially since you are not an Uzumaki and don't have massive chakra reserves. If you don't eat properly, your training will be wasted, and your ability to fight will decrease. We will be seeing a lot of action soon, so you must be ready."
Sakura was still hesitant, but with how serious Kakashi was being, and how hungry the physical training left her, she nodded and obediently added a bit more food to her bowl.
Even Sasuke, who had no interest in Sakura's diet, couldn't help but agree with Kakashi. She was an idiot if she thought being on a diet was a good idea, especially when she was already skinny.
As for the rest of them, they all had their own focus.
Naruto's was mastering water walking while fighting, a difficult task that he was working on with all his might.
Sasuke's was mastering the Chidori, something he had now gotten to a decent level, though still not anywhere close to mastering it.
Still, it wasn't bad progress at all. He only had passing guidance from Kakashi, so he was more or less on his own, but despite that, he clearly had real talent for Lightning Release.
Kakashi was not surprised about that at all. The Uchiha clan were naturally gifted at learning ninjutsu, and given how talented Sasuke's brother had been, it would have been far more surprising if he hadn't been talented.
The only downside to all this was the ever-gloomier mood of Inari. The little boy hardly ever joined them for a meal, and when he did, he wouldn't speak at all.
It was as if he was trying to stay away from them.
"He's a stubborn boy," Tsunami said with a sigh, as she looked at the empty seat at the table. "He used to be so happy, so full of life. But ever since his father died... he's just been so... so sad."
"He'll come around," Kakashi said, trying to reassure her. "He just needs some time."
"I hope so," Tsunami said, a sad smile on her face. "I really do."
"He needs to get over it," Naruto grumbled, causing Sakura to instantly slap him on the back of the head.
"Don't say that, Naruto! He's just a kid, and he lost his father!" she scolded him.
"He lost his father, but he has a mother, he has a grandfather, he has people who love him, and he's not alone! Yet he just sits there and mopes all day! He doesn't understand what it's like to be truly alone!" Naruto roared, as he stood up and stormed out of the room.
The room fell silent, the only sound the crackling of the fire in the hearth.
Naruto's words hung in the air, a raw, painful confession of a loneliness they all knew existed but had never heard spoken with such visceral honesty.
Sasuke stared at the empty doorway Naruto had just disappeared through.
He knew where it came from. Naruto was jealous, angry that Inari, despite still having a family, was so ungrateful for what he had and only cared about what he had lost.
Because Sasuke felt the same. He was just able to hide his feelings; after all, he too had lost nearly everything.
So he knew better than anyone that one should treasure what remained. But Inari didn't, and that angered him.
Sasuke looked over at Kakashi, a question in his eyes. He wanted to know what the Jōnin thought of Naruto's outburst.
But Kakashi's face was unreadable, a blank slate behind his mask.
-----
Naruto stormed outside, fuming with righteous anger. He couldn't stand it, couldn't stand how selfish Inari was being. He had a family, he had people who loved him, and he was just throwing it all away.
Meanwhile, Naruto didn't even know the names of his parents. He had no one but Grandpa Hokage and Iruka-sensei.
He rushed into the woods where he had been training tree walking for the past few weeks, and without hesitation, he summoned an army of clones.
"Get to work!" he commanded, as he lay down in the soft grass and watched the clones get started.
Given that he had already mastered the exercise, he had half the clones stand on the ground and throw small stones at the other clones trying to climb the trees.
It forced them to jump around and dodge as they tried to focus on the jutsu, forcing them to learn how to handle distractions.
He had found this method worked very well for him. It allowed him to push his limits and improve faster than he could otherwise.
And so, he continued to push himself, training and training, pushing himself to the limit, trying to forget about Inari, and trying to get stronger.
As clones slowly got hit by stones and popped, the throwers stepped up to replace them, until only a single clone was left.
The clone gave the main body a look before dismissing itself, leaving Naruto alone in the grass under the moonlight.
Now, surrounded by nothing but silence, Naruto slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Naruto was woken up by the feeling of someone getting close, and as he opened his eyes, he saw a pretty girl standing over him with a basket of flowers in her hands.
"You must be tired," she said, her voice soft and gentle.
Naruto shot up, rubbing the back of his head. "Who are you?"
"My name is Haku," she said. "I saw you sleeping here, so I wanted to see if you were alright."
Haku had long black hair and kind, dark eyes. She was wearing a simple pink kimono, and a warm smile rested on her face.
"I'm fine," Naruto said, a bit flustered. He wasn't used to talking to pretty girls, especially not ones being so nice to him.
"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Haku asked.
Naruto felt a little embarrassed and didn't want to talk about why he had been out here alone. "I was training last night and lost track of time." He didn't really lie, just didn't mention why he was training here alone so late at night.
"Training? So you are a shinobi?" Haku asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Yep, I'm a great shinobi! I'm from the Hidden Leaf Village, and I'm going to be the next Hokage!" Naruto declared, a proud grin spreading across his face.
He was so caught up in showing off to this cute girl that he didn't even stop to think about how he, a Konoha shinobi, was just openly telling a stranger everything.
"The Hokage? That's amazing," Haku said, a genuine smile on her face. "You must be very strong to have a dream like that."
"I am! I'm the strongest shinobi on my team!" Naruto boasted, puffing out his chest.
Sasuke, who had been looking for him as Kakashi had asked, couldn't help but sigh from behind a tree.
An idiot, he thought. How can someone be so open and trusting? He would have told her everything if she had asked.
Still, as he looked at the girl, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she seemed... too perfect. Too gentle, too kind.
Like a mask.
But as he wasn't the best at sensing things, he didn't want to jump to conclusions.
So, he just watched, ready to intervene if needed.
"I'm sure you are," Haku said, her smile never wavering. "But you know, being a shinobi isn't just about being strong. It's about having something, or someone, that you want to protect."
Her words struck a chord with Naruto. He thought about the old man Hokage, about Iruka-sensei, about Team 7, about the people of the Land of Waves. He had people he wanted to protect.
"You're right," Naruto said, his voice filled with a newfound determination. "I do have people I want to protect."
"Then you must train hard," Haku said, her eyes softening. "Because the only way to protect those you care about is to become strong."
"I will," Naruto said, a fire burning in his eyes. "I'll become the strongest shinobi in the world, and I'll protect everyone."
"I'm sure you will," Haku said, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "But be careful. The path of a shinobi is a lonely one."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing," Haku said, shaking her head. "Just... be careful."
She then turned and walked away, leaving Naruto standing there, a bit confused.
But before she left, she added one more thing. "By the way, you have something on your face."
Naruto, confused, wiped his face with his sleeve, only to find a smudge of dirt. "Huh? How did that get there?" he wondered.
As she walked away, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Her last words, that innocent comment... it was a feint. A subtle, almost undetectable probe. She had gotten close, tested his awareness, and found it wanting. The brief, almost imperceptible shift in her posture as she spoke, the way her eyes hadn't quite met his... everything screamed shinobi.
But he still wasn't sure.
He waited until she was out of sight, and then he walked over to Naruto.
"You're an idiot," he said, his usual greeting for the blond.
"What do you want, Sasuke?" Naruto grumbled, still feeling a bit down.
"Don't trust strangers, especially not pretty girls who appear out of nowhere in the middle of a mission," Sasuke said, a hint of warning in his tone.
Naruto didn't say anything, but he did think about what Haku had said, about being strong to protect those you care about. He couldn't help but agree with her.
Who is she, I wonder? Sasuke couldn't help but think, as he followed Naruto back to Tazuna's house.
(End of chapter)
Support me at patreon.com/unknownfate - for the opportunity to read up to 30 chapters ahead.