It was dinnertime again. Looking at the bruises on Naruto's face, it was clear he had suffered quite a bit.
Inari had become much more subdued. He was actually able to exchange a few words with Naruto now. This surprised Kusuo. They had only been here for a few days, but Naruto had already gotten familiar with him. He wondered if Naruto had used his "Talk-no-Jutsu" to persuade the brat. For him, a troublesome kid like Inari just needed a good beating and that was that. Teaching him? Sorry, no time.
"The mission has been successfully completed. We'll be leaving in a few days. Thank you very much for your hospitality during this time," Asuma said to Tazuna, putting down his chopsticks. Naruto's arm, which had been cut by Zabuza, was already healed. It was time to return to the village.
Tazuna was visibly stunned and looked troubled. Kusuo knew that Gato hadn't been dealt with yet, and the entire town was still shrouded in his shadow of fear. With the protection of powerful ninja like them, the safety of the bridge construction had greatly increased. It was foreseeable that once they left, many of the villagers would quit working on the bridge.
After hesitating for a long time, Tazuna sighed and couldn't bring himself to ask them to stay.
After dinner, Naruto, spurred on by the shock of the sudden tidal wave, proactively went out to train. Asuma nodded in satisfaction at his departing figure, then turned to Kusuo.
"Did you go out to practice your sword today?"
Kusuo nodded.
"Then, where did you practice?" Asuma felt that wasn't the right way to ask, so he rephrased. "Did you notice anything unusual by the sea when you were practicing?" Naruto hadn't noticed, but Asuma was different. He had keenly detected the residual sword energy in the giant wave from that day. Although it was faint, almost like an illusion, he just had to confirm it.
Kusuo realized what he was asking. It must have been about his slash from that morning. However, he just shook his head again. "Not sure. I like to meditate when I practice my sword, so I wasn't paying attention."
Not getting the answer he wanted, Asuma turned away, not quite convinced, muttering to himself. "Was it really Kusuo who caused it, or not?"
...
Naruto gritted his teeth, glaring at a tree so large it would take three people to wrap their arms around it. I will definitely succeed in climbing it!
Calming his heart and mind, Naruto distributed chakra to the soles of his feet and began to walk up, step by step. One step, two steps, each one steady and firm. Until he reached the top of the trunk—
"Oww! My butt!" He tumbled down, once again ending up bruised and swollen, his face covered in dirt.
"Ptui! Ptui!" Spitting out the dirt in his mouth, Naruto was extremely frustrated. Why can't I learn how to climb a tree? As a member of Team 10, Kusuo was already so powerful, and Hinata was very skilled too. Only he was still a burden.
"No! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage! How can a little difficulty like this stop me?" After giving himself a pep talk, he launched round after round of assaults on the large tree.
An entire night passed. Naruto had left word that he wouldn't be coming back to rest, which meant he had practiced for the whole night. And the results were remarkable. The current Naruto could now successfully stand on the top of the tree and maintain his position for a long time.
Now, he was so tired he just wanted to fall asleep on the spot, with the ground as his bed and the sky as his blanket.
"Pfft."
He didn't know how long he had slept, but a light laugh woke him up. Rubbing his drowsy eyes, he vaguely saw a pretty older sister.
"Ah, did you wake me up? B-big sister," Naruto said, scratching his head bashfully.
The "big sister," with a smile on their face and their smooth hair falling naturally, covered their mouth with a hand. "Why are you sleeping here?" 'She' was holding a basket filled with some medicinal herbs and mushrooms.
Naruto scratched his head and blushed. "Because I'm training hard!" He clenched his fist tightly. "Only by training hard can I become stronger. Then I can better help my teacher and teammates when we encounter danger."
"That may be so, but you'll catch a cold sleeping here," 'she' said with a faint smile.
"By the way, what are you doing over here?" Naruto asked, scratching his face.
"Gathering herbs," 'she' replied, and Naruto's gaze fell on the many herbs in her basket. "Herbs to treat illnesses," 'she' added. "You should go back now. It'll be very uncomfortable if you get sick."
Naruto's sleepiness was all gone now. He pumped his fist. "No way! I'm going to train! I'm going to keep training hard!"
"Training?" The 'big sister' saw the headband on Naruto's forehead. "Are you a ninja?"
"Yeah! Do I look like one? Do I?" Hearing this, Naruto got excited and suddenly leaned in close, asking eagerly.
"That's really impressive," the other person said, praising him with a smile. Naruto's face beamed with satisfaction.
"I'm going to train hard and become the strongest person in the village, so I can get everyone's acknowledgment!"
The strong... Naruto thought he saw the big sister opposite him fall silent.
"Do you have someone you want to protect?" 'she' finally asked after a long moment.
"Eh?" Naruto was愣住 (lèngzhù) - stunned.
"For example, someone important."
Someone important? Naruto sat on the ground, dazed. The first face that came to his mind was Sasuke's. Then it vanished in a flash.
Someone I want to protect... someone important... Naruto suddenly thought of many things. In the thick fog where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, Asuma-sensei had been willing to get hurt to protect them. Kusuo, who always stood in front of Hinata, no matter when or where. And Iruka-sensei, who had put his own life on the line to protect him.
...
"I do! I have important people, people I want to protect!" Naruto exclaimed, as if he had found the answer, his eyes shining.
The 'big sister' smiled, picked up her medicine basket, and turned to leave. "In that case, you will become strong."
Then, 'she' walked further and further away. Just before 'she' was out of sight, 'she' added, "Also, I'm not a big sister. I'm a boy."
"WHAAAT!!???" Naruto instantly freaked out, rubbing his head frantically.
"He's even cuter than Sakura, but he's a boy!!?"
At such a young age, he was already bearing the pain he shouldn't have to bear at his age.
On a tree-lined path, Kusuo was on his way to find Naruto. He happened to pass by someone on the road.
A person carrying a medicine basket.
Haku.
The two of them passed each other by, neither showing any reaction.
-------
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