Chapter 15 - Land of Waves(4)
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"So? How's the seal? Sensei?" Naruto asked how he felt
Kakashi felt that the sharingan wasn't draining his chakra like usual "It feels great… it's been a long time since I felt this way…"
"Try opening it." Naruto said
Kakashi opened his eye and the sharingan started draining his chakra again then closed it "Feels great. It still activates the sharingan when I open it and cuts the connection between my body and the eye when I close it."
Naruto nodded, "That's good to hear."
Kakashi then said "At this rate, I'll probably recover in a day or two, thanks to the seal."
Naruto then asked "Based on what you saw. How strong is that masked guy compared to me? Based on his voice… no her voice. It sounded like a female. and physique, he wasn't that much older than me, no her voice.
Kakashi sat up as he recovered his strength much faster without the Sharingan draining his chakra like crazy and said "That probably was a female based on her voice if not just really feminine. And about strength. He's nearly as strong as a Jounin."
"I see… So young yet so strong. I thought I was the only genius around here."
Sasuke snorted while listening from the side clearly disagreeing that he was the only genius around.
"Anyway… You guys need a little bit of training if you don't want to be cannon fodder when we fight against them again. We'll surely encounter them again as we protect Tazuna-san." Kakashi said
Kakashi looked at them "You guys will learn water walking. A more advanced chakra control. So you can keep using chakra in your feet like Naruto does to boost your movements."
Naruto indeed saw Kakashi and Zabuza walking on water "That sounds fun."
A kid entered the room and said out of nowhere "That's not fun."
"Who's this kid?" Naruto asked Tazuna
"This kid is Inari." Tazuna introduced and opened his hands as he talked to Inari "Where were you? Inari?"
Inari stepped up to the house and said "Welcome back… Ojiichan…"
Inari hugged Tazuna from the side and stared at Naruto and the others.
Tsunami walked to the side and introduced them "Inari, say hello to these people. They are ninjas who protected your grandpa."
Inari then walked away a bit after hugging his grandpa and said while pointing towards Naruto and the others "Mom… these guys are going to die…"
Naruto chuckled and said with firm conviction "There's no way that's going to happen. I'm gonna become the strongest."
"There's no way you can win against Gatou…" Inari said with a pessimistic tone.
Naruto replied "Just because no one in your country won against him doesn't mean there's no one else that could win against him. It just means the people who fought with him weren't that strong."
"Pfft… What are you? Stupid? You can't win against him, even the person who was hailed 'hero' in our country died fighting against him."
Naruto laughed "Hahahahaha!"
Sasuke joined his laugh who also chuckled
Inari got annoyed a bit and asked "What are you laughing for?"
Naruto then replied "I'm guessing this person was important to you but I'll be blunt. For him to be hailed as a 'hero' he possessed righteousness, courage and bravery. But he lacked one thing and because of that. He died."
Inari asked in a bit of fright as he remembered his dad. "W-What did he lack?"
"Strength!" Naruto bluntly and calmly replied as he exuded his determination in the word he just said that made Inari, Tazuna, and Tsunami flinch. It made Sasuke's blood boiled thinking 'This is my rival! Naruto!'
He continued "Without the strength to back up your values, it means nothing! The world is cruel, without strength, you will kneel in front of the power of the strong. You'll be lucky if the person you meet is righteous but if he/she is not, you can do nothing but kneel and beg for your life"
Sasuke silently agreed, this rival of his has the same mindset as him despite having different personalities from each other.
"My dad is not like you! He's an ordinary man! Despite that he fought a lot of people much stronger than him! He's much stronger than you'll ever be!" Inari shouted while tears were shedding in his face as he ran.
"Naruto… You said too much…" Kakashi scolded
"Che… It's not like I said anything wrong."
Tazuna scratched his head and said in shame "You don't understand… We normal people can't be as strong as you people…"
Naruto then replied that left them dumbfounded "Who said you have to be strong alone? You can be strong together if you can't be strong alone. A group of people with courage can be stronger than ninjas, you know."
"That… Why didn't you say that before when Inari was present…" Tazuna said with a sigh
"Anyway, who's this hero guy Inari was talking about?" Naruto asked
Tsunami answered after she sipped some tea "It was my husband…"
Tazuna continued as he also sat down and talked while trembling as if remembering something really tragic happened "That man called the hero of the city… Inari had a father not related by blood. They were very close like a real father and son… Inari would laugh a lot back then… but since the incident with his father, Inari changed."
He cried as he continued "The word "Courage" has been stolen from the people of this island… and from Inari… Ever since that day… Because of that incident…"
Kakashi and his team continued to listen and Kakashi asked "That incident? What happened to Inari-kun?"
He wiped his tears and continued "Before I get to that, I first have to tell you about the man who was called the hero of this city."
"It was about 3 years ago since Inari met that man. Inari's dog, Pochi was being bullied by a group of boys and Inari tried to confront them but they threw his dog into the water. Inari couldn't swim so he couldn't save him so he just watched on the side as his dog was drowning but then he was pushed to the water as well. He drowned asking for help and Pochi learned how to swim on the spot he tried to ask for help but the dog didn't help him as the dog thought he abandoned him. That man saved Inari and said to him these words 'For something that is precious to you, no matter how tough, no matter how sad, you must try and try so even if you lose your life, protect them with your own two arms. If you do that, even if you die, the proof of a man's life will remain.'"
He continued "His name was Kaiza, a fisherman who came here to follow his dreams. After that, Kaiza and Inari became very close. It may have been because Inari's real father died before he got to know him, but he and Kaiza were inseparable, like a real father and son. It was only a matter of time before Kaiza became a part of the family."
"Kaiza was a man that the city needed, he saved an area from being flooded by swimming through a burst of water, and tying the gates despite that and saving the area from being flooded. Everyone thought it was impossible but that man, Kaiza, did it! Kaiza was called a hero by the people of this city, and Inari could not be prouder of his father. But Gatou came to the city."
Kakashi then asked "Then the incident you're talking about happened? What exactly happened?"
"In front of everyone… Kaiza was put to death by Gatou!" He smashed his hand on the table with anger. "He said that Kaiza was conducting terrorist activities against his corporation and that he was disrupting this country's peace and as punishment he will be put to death."
"From that day, Inari changed… as did Tsunami… and the whole city…"
Naruto chuckled and then said "I'll change all of that then."
Tazuna bewildered and said "What?"
"I'll become your country's hero! A hero that possesses bravery, courage, and strength! I'll show it to you all!"
Naruto smiled and sunshine seemed to embody his smile making Tazuna, Tsunami, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi believe in his words without any reasons besides his words.
Tazuna also smiled as he thought 'It's weird how I can trust someone so much despite only meeting him today, this kid… no, this ninja possesses something special.'
Meanwhile, Sakura blushed, and shakes her head like a vibrating phone chanting inside her head 'I like Sasuke-kun! I like Sasuke-kun! I like Sasuke-kun!!!!'
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(A/N: I think it was a bit forced but... Let's let Asura's soul put into play for this moment. Leave a power stone if you like the story. Thanks!)