"You're wasting your time," said Inari with tears falling down his face and with anger at them, "Why do you all constantly train knowing you're fighting a losing battle? None of you know anything about this place and yet you all are helping us anyway for the sake of getting paid. None of you know what it means to suffer-,"
"That's enough," Naruto said sternly cutting the boy off as he rose off his seat and stared Inari hard as though his very eyes were piercing through his soul. The voice that came out of Naruto's mouth was enough to silence and grab everyone's attention as they all turned to look at him. Naruto's voice had a form of authority that none but Kakashi could comprehend. Inari cringed in fear from the feeling the blonde pierced through him the moment he stared straight at him with those hard blue eyes of his. Kakashi saw the look in Naruto's eyes and knew of only one man who had that kind effect…
That's the same look sensei would give before scolding me and the others back then, Kakashi thought as he recalled the couple of times Yondaime had scolded him, Rin and Obito for their mistakes during their days as a Genin cell. Inari got up and dismissed himself to his room upstairs.
Sighing, Tazuna gave a detailed account to everyone about what had happened with Inari and the man who became his surrogate father named Kaiza. The old man explained how Kaiza saved Inari from drowning one day after the boy was bullied by the older boys of the village. From that day, Tazuna elaborated, Kaiza quickly became a hero in Inari's eyes and the two were inseparable. Many others started seeing Kaiza as a new hope for the people seeing how he possessed such a carefree yet courageous heart and spirit which inspired many as he helped wherever he could.
"Everything was going so well for everyone," Tazuna continued before giving a sad expression, "But later Gatō and his men came to our island and took over. Kaiza was the only brave enough to stand up to his cruelty. He was later captured and Gatō and his thugs had Kaiza publicly killed in front of everyone and Inari, it crushed the poor boy's heart. Adding to this terrible tragedy was the fact that my daughter Tsunami was planning on marrying and settling down with Kaiza and have another child with him. Like my grandson, my daughter was heart broken by that tragic event and she cried many times thinking about how her son lost his birth father and surrogate father who would have loved to become his new father."
Everyone was silent after hearing Tazuna's story. Tsumani wiped away the few tears that spilled out of her eyes remembering what happened. Sai and Sasuke didn't say a word as Sakura gave a sympathetic look at Tazuna and Tsumani. A moment later…
"Please excuse me as I have to go talk to Inari," said Naruto calmly as he went upstairs to Inari's room. Sakura was about to follow after Naruto when Kakashi said, "Let them be."
"But Kakashi-sensei," Sakura was about to argue when Kakashi raised his hand to silence her.
"Trust Naruto, Sakura," Kakashi said, "I'm sure he'll resolve this in an appropriate manner. He won't do anything rash, I promise."
Sakura reluctantly complied as she sat back down. She decided to trust Kakashi's words and leave matters to Naruto. It amazed Sakura that her sensei displayed such trust and faith in Naruto.
(Meanwhile In Inari's Room)
Inari sat there on his bed holding a picture of a smiling man with a small cross shaped scar under his chin without. The man looked so happy and carefree.
"You were so strong," Inari said with a tear-covered face, "Why can't I be strong like you?"
"Because you lack the will to swallow your hurt and fight for what you truly believe in," said Naruto who was now standing next to Inari who turned to look at him.
"Inari," Naruto said calmly, "I will not deny that you went through a painful experience, but you're selfishly going at it as though you're the only one who's suffering. You think your mother and grandfather take pleasure in seeing you behavior the way you do? Quite the opposite really; in fact, you're the one who's adding more to their pain by your constant moping and pessimistic attitude. I know you truly loved that man Inari, but so did your mother and grandfather. What you should be doing is feeling grateful that in spite of the ordeals you went through you still have your family there for you. Believe me, I know people who suffered far worst than you, me being one of them."
"And what do you know about suffering," Inari sneered, "From what grandpa told me, you're the son of a Hokage in your village. You never had to go through the kind of hard times like me, grandpa and mom did!"
"Everyone in my home village knows me as the village clown and prankster, someone who always give them something to laugh about, even if the joke is on me," Naruto said as he continued with a still calm but now stern demeanor, "What they don't know is that my antics of being the village clown and prankster are my methods of maintaining my sanity. But you're right though; I didn't go through what you and your folks did…I go through something different and far worse everyday for as long as I can remember."
Inari looked at Naruto as he continued calmly, "Unlike me, you didn't have to go through the experience of being an infant that was only a week-old being kidnapped by a traitorous ninja from your own village seeking to sell you to village enemies because of whose son you were. Unlike me, you don't have to go through the experience of always worrying if you'll wake up the next morning to see another sunrise because you have enemy villages who want your death because of who you are and what clan you're from.
"Unlike me, you don't have to worry about strong and vicious S-class criminals who're after you and will use anyone and anything as instruments for the sole purpose of getting to you because of something you know that you refuse to give them. Unlike me, you don't have to worry about the many enemies your parents made over the course of their lives coming after you for revenge. Unlike me, you won't always have enemies. Unlike me, you don't have to live a life that's a constant fight. Unlike me, you don't suffer from horrific nightmares that would have driven a sane person to madness. If I let my guard for just a moment, I'll lose my life."
The young boy was stupefied at what Naruto was telling him so calmly and collectively. It was so unreal to the dark haired boy.
"H…How…," Inari asked with a dumbfound expression, "How could you go on…through such a harsh life?"
"I learned to deal with it," Naruto replied, "Rather than whine about the hard times and problems I have to live with, I learned to count my blessings and remember that I have family and friends who are there for me. I grew fond of these precious people in my life so much that I seek to protect them from my nightmares and enemies. It's also one of the reasons why I push myself so hard to become stronger in order to become Hokage of my village. It's not to prove that I'm better or stronger than anyone else, it's because I value everyone and everything that's precious to me. They're worth protecting, with my life, and I'll fight and kill anyone who dares to bring harm to them."
Naruto turned and headed towards the door of the house, before exiting, Naruto turned half-way to Inari and said, "Count your blessings Inari. If you truly want to make that man in the picture proud of you if he were still alive then I suggest you find someone or something you value and fight to protect it."
With those words, Naruto exited the room, leaving Inari alone with his thoughts. The young boy wiped away his tears as he stared at the picture and contemplated on everything Naruto just told him.
(The Following Night)
Sasake and Sai had finally master tree climbing after much effort. Needless to say, the boys were most pleased with their success though they returned back exhausted and in want of food and rest.
(A Few Days Later)
Haku stood up and walked over to the window. Releasing the bun, her hair fell down to just under her shoulder blades. Twelve minutes later, she left the cone-shaped house and went walking into the forest. She now wore a pink kimono with red cherry blossoms on and brown sandals. She carried a basket and was humming slightly to herself.
After an hour of walking, she came upon what she had searched for. Kneeling down, Haku started to pick medical herbs. Soon her basket was almost full. A bird landed on her shoulder, and she smiled at it, cooing slightly at it before returning to her task. Haku was startled when the bird suddenly flew off. Feeling slightly down, she followed where it was going.
She saw the bird land next to a boy. The boy had blonde, spiky but stringy hair, and a Konoha forehead protector. He was dressed similar to a Konoha Jounin with black fingerless leather gloves and wore a white vest with red flame designs that went passed his waist and a little more than halfway to his kneecaps. On the back of his vest was the red kanji "Konoha No Nidaime Senkō" or Konoha's Second Flash.
Haku got up and walked towards him. The bird flew off, as if thinking that the girl was going to kill the boy. Instead she crouched down in front of him and shook him awake.
"Hey, you'll catch a cold sleeping here," she said kindly. Naruto was awoken from his slumber by a gentle nudge. He opened his eyes and looked up at the pretty girl his age. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes before looking at her.
"Hello neesan, what are you doing here," Naruto inquired. Haku smiled and gestured to her basket.
"I'm picking medical herbs," Haku said with a smile on her face.
"Ah, I see."
"By the way, I'm Haku," the girl greeted.
"I'm Naruto," he replied in return.
"Are you a shinobi," asked Haku.
"I am, so what of it," Naruto replied.
"Well, what were you doing out here," Haku asked.
"I was training before I decided to take a break," the blonde replied straightforwardly, "I must've fallen asleep till you woke me."
"Why would you be training," the girl asked, "You look very strong already."
Naruto smiled before replying seriously but still cheerfully, "Maybe, but I want to become even stronger so that I can become the Hokage of my village."
"So, you train because of your precious people," Haku said.
"Wow," Naruto replied, "You're the first person to have ever read me like an opened book. Were my motives that obvious to you?"
Haku couldn't help but smile brighter and blush at what Naruto said to her. She spoke, "I believe that you have people precious to you and you're working harder to become stronger to fight to protect them. I believe that if you have someone to protect…you can be truly strong."