Heroes, and those who protect

"He's a man who was once called a hero of this town…." Tazuna continued.

Inari got of the chair and left silently, not wanting to be reminded of his foster father's tragic story…

"Inari! Where are you going?" Tsunami asked, despite which Inari slammed the door as he went completely ignoring his mother.

"Father!, I'm always telling you not to talk about that person in front of Inari!" She said angrily as she ran after Inari.

Tazuna was upset, wanting to almost cry out

"What happened with Inari?" Sakura inquired.

"It appears there's some kind of good reason." Kakashi interpreted.

"Inari had a father not related by blood…..It was like they were real father and son, who got along really well…"

"Back then, Inari was a child who laughed all the time…."

"However…"

Tazuna was in tears, as he started cry while he still continued

"Inari had changed ever since that incident with his father….."

"The word bravery was eternally taken from the people of this island and from Inari...." Tazuna said.

"That incident?"

"What happened to Inari?" Kakashi inquired curiously.

"To explain the incident, I must first….tell you about the man who was called the hero of this land…"

"Hero?….."

"It was around three years ago…." Tazuna started to recount all the experiences Inari and the village went through, of course, Naruto already knew about it, but he still listened while admiring Inari's dad and also thought of how Minato died to protect the village.

"Ever since then, Inari has changed….as well as Tsunami….and the townspeople….." Tazuna finished in a disheartened manner.

Naruto thought back to what Inari said

"Hero? That's just stupid. There's no such thing!"

He also thought back to how Inari went to his room and cried as he looked towards the sea.

At the same time the words his dad spoke about him having changed a bit, and the words that reminded him of his mission.

Naruto got up with a burning resolve

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"If you are thinking about training then you better forget it, You have already overworked your chakra…." Kakashi said.

"I'll prove it" Naruto said as he grabbed the door handle.

"Prove what?" Sakura asked.

"I'll prove that there are heroes…in this world" Naruto said as he walked out the door.

After coming out , Naruto turned towards the door and inscribed a mark onto it, and then left towards the forest.

…

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The Next Day morning

In the forest, a young boy in orange track suit was sleeping on the floor peacefully. Naturally it was Naruto who slept after his intense training the earlier night meanwhile a figure in a pink kimono was busy picking herbs and transferring them to the basket.

The figure in the pink kimono was Haku who was busy picking herbs to treat Zabuza's wounds. Haku turned around after picking herbs with his basket towards Naruto who was peacefully sleeping on the grass.

Haku walked over to Naruto and stared at him. Thinking back to the battle in which Zabuza was defeated in one move made him wary of Naruto as he revealed a shred of killing intent. Naruto after reconnecting with Kurama's powers had regained the ability to sense killing intent as he instantly reacted.

This development surprised Haku to the point he was completely paralysed by shock, whereas Naruto continued subconsciously and pinned haku down in one move.

Naruto then opened his eyes with difficulty just to witness himself riding beautiful figure.

Overcome by shame, Naruto instantly jumps off and performs a dogeza and apologises.

While apologising he finally remembered what Haku looked like, and became wary enough not to reveal anything as he continued on with his act.

"Sorry sweet Sis, I did not do that intentionally…" Naruto wailed with apologies while Haku stared at him with a blank look.

("How did he react like that? Is he a trained veteran? Even jonins will not be able to react to such killing intent, much less sensory ninjas would be able to react only after making some decisions, but this boy reacted with instinct….") Haku looked at Naruto in a shocked manner.

"Oh!, don't worry, I just wanted to wake you up, since you would catch a cold if you were to keep sleeping here…" Haku said with his voice indicative of showing care towards Naruto.

"Ah I see…. Sis, what're you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I am gathering medicinal herbs" Haku replied as he went back to start gathering the herbs next to him. Naruto also played along, gathering herbs for Haku while thinking back how close he was to getting killed back there.

"You've got it hard for you in the morning, sis…" Naruto said as he poured the herbs he just collected into the basket.

"You too" "What have you been doing in a place like this so early?" Haku asked.

"Training", Naruto replied with passion

"Could it be that….. you are a ninja or something?" Haku asked curiously.

"Yup! I'm a Ninja!" Naruto said proudly sticking out his right thumb towards himself.

"Heehhh… No kidding, you're great aren't you?" Haku asked with a sense of admiration.

"hahhah" Naruto started laughing in a manner of acknowledgement.

"But why are you training?" Haku asked curiously.

"To protect those who I care about….." Naruto said as though he suddenly had a mood swing to being serious.

"But you already look strong though…." Haku continued.

"No, no! I want to get even stronger!"

"What for?"

"To become the best ninja in my village!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"I'm going to get everyone to recognize my strength!"

"Ehhhh….."

"You said you want to protect those you care about right?…"

"" Naruto acknowledged with a nod

"When a person has something precious they want to protect…. That's when they can truly become strong….." Haku said as he thought back to how Zabuza has saved him.

"Yeah! I know that well, too!" Naruto replied with a smile.

Haku smiled back as he got up and said "You'll become strong"

"Yeah!"

"I hope we meet again somewhere…." Haku said as he was leaving.

What Haku had failed to notice was that there was a mark behind his right arm, which Naruto applied when held it while he was on Haku.

He walked a few metres forth and stopped as he said "By the way….I'm a boy!"

("Why the hell would you wear the pink kimono in the first place") Naruto thought as he already knew Haku was a boy before before.

While Haku left the the forest, Sasuke passed him and called Naruto to have breakfast.

….

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Back in Zabuza's hideout…

"You've recovered considerably" Haku said, feeling happy for Zabuza

"All right... Just a little more, Haku" Zabuza commented.

….

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….

Evening time, Back in the forest

The field was riddled with holes and trees with partly broken barks, while two figures stood in the middle as the breathed heavily….

"Shall we go back?" Sasuke asked.

"Okay!" Naruto replied.

….

….

"They're late…And not just Naruto, but even Sasuke too" Sakura was complaining

(clank!) The door opened

"What happened to you guys?" "You're really muddy and really wiped out" Tazuna asked upon seeing the duo's ratty appearance.

"we both trained our asses off" Naruto said appearing heroic while Sasuke leaned on him.

"Good" "You both are to start guarding Tazuna next time!" Kakashi said.

The duo then sat down and started eating.

..

..

"In just a teeny little bit, the bridge will be complete" "It's thanks to you guys…" Tazuna said almost feeling a major part of the burden lifted off.

"Even so, don't let your guard down…" Tsunami reminded the entire team.

Meanwhile Inari had a lot running in his head as he started crying.

"Why….? Why do you desperately work so hard until you get like that?! There's no way you'd be a match for Gato's men even if you train!…." "No matter what cool things you say or how much effort you put…. The weak always lost out..against the truly strong!" Inari shouted out loud hoping for Naruto and his team to still quit, while they had time.

"Shut up. I'm not like you….."

"Shut up!" Inari interrupted as Naruto and continued speaking

"Looking at you makes me sick! Sticking your nose in even though you know nothing of this land! I'm not like you who's always acting frivolous, not knowing one thing about pain!"

"So you're just gonna cry all day like the lead in a tragedy?..." "An idiot like you can just cry forever! You Crybaby!" Naruto said as he glared at Inari.

"Naruto!, that's a bit harsh!" Sakura said while Naruto got up and walked off leaving Inari crying to himself.

…

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…

Outside the house, Inari faced the sea as he curled up.

"Got a minute?" Kakashi asked as he approached Inari.

…

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…

"Naruto didn't mean any harm with what he said…" "He's just uncouth, so…"

"We heard about the story about your father from Tazuna…" "Like you, Naruto never had a father as a young child…""Actually he doesn't know either of his parents. Not only that. He didn't have a single friend." Kakashi continued.

"What?" Inari was surprised as he turned towards Kakashi's face.

"However, I've never seen him sulk, be timid, or cry…" "He's always eager, wanting to be acknowledged by someone…" "If it is for the sake of that 'dream,' he always risks his life." "I suppose, he's probably tired of crying….." "So, he knows the true meaning of the word strong. Like your father." "In-fact Naruto is the only one who might understand your feelings the most….."

Inari looked at Kakashi, trying to confirm if all he's been hearing was the truth.

"There's no mistaking that he's told himself that over and over again" Kakashi said after which Inari thought deeply over his actions.

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The next morning,

The team left along with Tazuna towards the bridge.

Tazuna and the others worked on the bridge while Naruto kept watch, using his abilities to scan the area around the bridge.

After a few minutes had passed. Naruto reacted as he thought to himself.

("They have arrived!…..")