"I'm going out for a bit."
Naruto suddenly said this and then left the room without showing any emotion.
Sakura watched his back as he left. There was something lonely about it, which made her look at Kakashi in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei, what's going on with Naruto?"
"He… maybe just needs some fresh air."
After watching Naruto walk away, Kakashi turned back to Sakura with a smile. "Now, tell me—do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"
...
Outside the house,
Naruto stood alone on the rooftop, looking at the dark night sky, letting the cold wind brush against his face.
Since Team 7 was formed,
his relationship with Sasuke and Sakura had quietly changed over time.
From strangers to classmates, then to teammates… and eventually, to what people call comrades.
During mission after mission, Sasuke and Sakura had come to see him as their anchor—trusting him, relying on him. Without realizing it, he had started taking on the role and responsibility of the team leader.
Even though… officially, Kakashi was still the leader.
But Kakashi hadn't really taken care of them much. Most of the time, it was Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura who handled everything during missions.
So Sasuke and Sakura mostly just saw Kakashi as their guide or teacher.
And Naruto, being the strongest among them and the one who led them through the graduation test, was the one they looked up to as their real leader.
Back then, Naruto didn't even realize what it meant to take on that role.
He just thought, "I'm the strongest, so they should listen to me."
But he didn't know…
that in those dangerous missions, Sasuke and Sakura were entrusting their lives to him.
After a while,
Kakashi suddenly appeared next to Naruto. "I've checked Sakura. She's fine. Just some scrapes—nothing serious. She'll heal soon."
"Okay," Naruto replied without turning around.
"You don't need to blame yourself too much. We run into all kinds of enemies on missions. Some are tricky, and it's normal to get caught off guard," Kakashi said to comfort him.
"I know."
Naruto replied calmly, "I'm not too hung up on the failure. I just came up here to clear my head so I'll be ready for the next mission."
Kakashi looked at Naruto's side profile and couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or just putting on a strong front.
But he knew one thing:
Naruto wasn't the kind of person who would wallow in self-pity.
Once Naruto faces difficulties or failure, his first reaction is never to doubt himself. Instead, he always thinks about how to do better, how to overcome the challenge, and how to avoid failing again.
Maybe Naruto does feel guilty for messing up this time, but there's no way he'd let himself fall apart because of it.
After a moment of silence, Kakashi suddenly smiled. "Tazuna's daughter made us a big dinner. It's about time to head down and eat."
"You go ahead. I'll be there soon," Naruto replied without even turning his head.
"Well, don't take too long, or the food'll get cold." With that, Kakashi jumped down from the roof without another word.
Naruto stayed there a bit longer by himself before he finally jumped down from the rooftop too.
But just as he came down, he locked eyes with a kid by the third-floor window.
That kid was leaning on the window, crying loudly as he looked out at the sea...
Their eyes met in midair for just a second before Naruto vanished from sight.
"Ah!!"
Inari froze for a moment, then let out a panicked scream.
Anyone would freak out if they saw someone jump down from above and land so close to them.
He quickly leaned out the window to look down, but there was no sign of Naruto.
Did he die?
That thought flashed through Inari's mind, and without meaning to, he leaned out even more to get a better look. But his hand slipped, throwing off his balance and making him fall forward out the window.
"Ah!!!"
"Help… someone help!"
Inari shouted for help in a panic, but it seemed like it was too late.
He was falling fast, about to hit the ground headfirst—when suddenly, a flash of gold streaked past and caught him just in time.
Inari found himself hanging in the air, being held up with one hand by Naruto, completely stunned.
When he looked down, he realized he was less than half a meter from the ground.
"I... I'm safe?"
Inari muttered, still in shock, as he felt Naruto set him down.
He looked up and saw a boy who wasn't much taller than him.
"You're a ninja from the Konoha Village, right?" Inari asked.
Naruto glanced at him but didn't say anything. He turned and walked away.
He didn't like this brat much. If the kid hadn't been in real danger, Naruto wouldn't have bothered saving him at all.
"Since you saved me, I'll give you some advice—get out of here while you still can!"
"You guys can't beat Gato. If you stay here, you'll all be killed sooner or later!"
Inari yelled at Naruto's back. The only response he got was a single word:
"Idiot!"
Naruto honestly couldn't understand what was going on in Inari's head.
Because of his own fear and cowardice, he was trying to chase away the Konoha ninjas who came to protect his grandfather.
What then?
Was he planning to let his grandpa die?
Now that Naruto thought about it, people in the Land of Waves weren't exactly the smartest.
Inari, who cared more about hating Leaf ninjas than protecting his own grandpa.
Tazuna, who believed building a single bridge could save the entire country.
Gato, a villain with cheap tricks who thought he could beat ninjas using thugs and gangsters.
Gato even sent ninjas to assassinate Tazuna, but never thought of just taking over the bridge or kidnapping Tazuna's family to make threats.
If he'd gone after the family from the start, none of this would've happened.
By the time Gato finally realized he should target Tazuna's family, it was already too late.
The guy was hopelessly stupid.
As for Zabuza and Haku...
It's hard to say about Haku. If you wanted to call him foolish, it was because of the path he chose.
His kindness wouldn't let him act like Zabuza. Otherwise, Naruto would've been killed the first time they met.
As for Zabuza, from a ninja's point of view, he was right to be cautious—gathering intel first is smart.
But unfortunately, that made him miss the best chance they had to win.
At night, Team 7 sat down for dinner with Tazuna's family.
The Land of Waves didn't have much in terms of resources, and Tazuna wasn't well-off either. But to make sure Naruto and the others had enough to eat, he still had Tsunami cook up a big meal.
"Why is this photo missing a corner? I saw Inari staring at it while we were eating,"
Sakura, who had a small appetite and finished eating first, walked over to the wall where a damaged photo was hanging and asked.
Everyone except Naruto and Sasuke paused for a second and went silent.
"That's my husband," Tsunami replied quietly, as if the photo had brought up painful memories.
"Ms. Tsunami's husband?" Sakura was a little surprised.
"Yeah, he was once known as a hero around town!" Tazuna added.
As soon as they mentioned Kaiza, Inari suddenly stood up with a gloomy face.
Seeing this, Tsunami quickly asked, "Inari, where are you going?"
But Inari didn't respond. He just closed the door and left.
"What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked.
Tazuna stayed silent for a while, and Kakashi, looking like he was just here for the drama, said, "Looks like there's a story behind all this~"
"Yeah."
Tazuna nodded. "Kaiza wasn't Inari's real father, but they were very close—just like a real father and son. Inari used to be a happy, smiling kid. But… but… everything changed."
"Ever since what happened to his father!"
As Tazuna spoke and tears fell down his face, Naruto, who had just finished eating, silently stood up and walked away without looking back.
He wasn't interested in hearing another tragic story—especially one he already knew.
"Naruto?"
"I'm full. I'm leaving."
Naruto waved to Sakura and walked out of the room.
Sasuke looked at Naruto's back as he left. After hesitating for a moment, he got up and followed.
He wasn't too interested in other people's stories either.
Now, only Kakashi and Sakura were left in the room, listening to Tazuna talk about the cowardly Inari and his brave stepfather.
!
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